13477/Speed(y) Service Guaranteed

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Speed(y) Service Guaranteed
Date of Scene: 30 November 2022
Location: Ryker Heights - Founders Island
Synopsis: A protest against the union-busting activities of a corporation-owned coffee chain comes to an abrupt end when an explosion blows the shop wide open. Lonnie (leading the protest) and Gabby and Tommy (bystanders) provide first aid and discover the source of the explosion: a young mutant unable to control her emotion-based powers. She runs away, but her overbearing, abusive mother ends up with a broken nose caused by... well, there were no witnesses, so who knows!
Cast of Characters: Tommy Shepherd, Lonnie Machin, Gabby Kinney




Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    It's smack-dab in the middle of the workday, and something very, very strange is happening in Gotham: it's sunny. Cold, sure, because it's the middle of November, but the sun being out means that what would otherwise be a coat-and-scarf kind of day is now downgraded to maybe just a light jacket.

    Which is good, because Tommy definitely forgot his winter coat back in NYC. The good fortune of half a dozen brokers, lawyers, and sundry other corporations needing same-day courier service from New York to its darker, moodier New Jersey cousin -- with a hell of an attached payout -- has him maybe a little distracted.

    Sure, someone could ride the Hyperloop and theoretically get the jobs done, but Tommy's faster. Fast enough that he can get away with taking a break for lunch while he's in town.

    Which is why Gabby receives the following texts:

<<gabs, u in g-town? wanna do lunch?>>
<<bro's dad was talking about an amazing jewish deli near the wayne bldg>>
<<my treat!>>

    Which are, of course, received back to back in the space of half a second, which is as fast as the cellular network can keep up.

    Tommy's out front of said deli ten minutes before their scheduled meet-up time, and he's standing there squinting up at the aforementioned Wayne building from behind his sunglasses. His cap (from the Memphis Redbirds for NO PARTICULAR REASON) is turned around so the bill is facing backwards.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Nearby, there is a coffee shop - you know the one - whose workers are currently outside picketing. There is one particular rabble-rouser who's leading the revolt against coffee hegemony even though he doesn't work there and probably doesn't even like the blends they serve. City roasts, nasty.
    "No blood for coffee, from the slave labor who pick it to the baristas who serve it! Workers are not servants!" Lonnie calls, into a bullhorn. "People should not suffer for your luxuries. Fair wages and fair treatment over corporate profits!"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The upcoming holidays were something Gabby hadn't thought much of until recently. With so many friends and family members spread out now, and her newfound freedom being an adult, she hd to decide where to go when to spend time with whom. Boy did that suck. She'd spent the night over at Xavier's catching up with her roommate, Negasonic (who made fun of her clothes per usual) and now she was back in Gotham for work. Much as it was 'work' for her.

Getting some texts about lunch was a great time for a break and she jumps on it.

<I am! Sure thing, see you there ASAP.>

Because she knew it'd be quick as could be for her. He would be there near instantly after all. Finding a spot a bit down the street to park her motorcycle she does so, and then her path leads her past the protestors. Ones which she has to agree with. Fist-pumping into the air she joins in with, "Unions, fuck yeah!"

It takes her only a few moments to recognize the main rabble rouser and the fist-pump turns into a friendly wave. "Hey Lonnie! Keep up the good fight!"

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    Technically, Tommy is a New Jersey native. Not that he's from Gotham, so it's kind of a moot point anyway, but he's been living long enough in New York City that he's adapted to tuning out pretty much everything. So it isn't until he hears a familiar voice that Tommy even looks over in the direction of the strike, and he looks between her and the figure she's apparently recognized for a moment.

    "Hey, Gabs!" he calls out, one hand lifting so that he can wave to her. After a moment of deliberation, which is really just a blink and you miss it sort of thing from an outside perspective, Tommy steps away from the wall he's been doing a passable job at holding up to walk down the street towards Gabby, and the unnamed coffee shop that certainly doesn't have a nautical-themed logo.

    He's only intending to meet her halfway and walk her back to the deli. But then the coffee shop's windows suddenly explode outwards, showering the picketing crowd in glass.

    Tommy's at Gabby's side in an instant, pulling her and a couple of people from the fringes of the protestors down behind the cover of a nearby set of newspaper stands before the shards can reach them. The rest of the group is not so lucky, though, and as Tommy pops back up he sees at least one woman with a nasty gash across her forehead. "Shit," is all Tommy has to say to that, before making a superspeed trip to the nearest bathroom so that he can return and press a wad of paper towels against the wound.

    She's certainly not the only one injured, though at least nothing seems particularly life-threatening in the immediate aftermath. Whatever explosion led to the windows bursting was, thankfully, not quite that high pressured.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    You would think that Lonnie would used to this sort of destruction by now, but there isn't really any point to blowing up a coffee shop. Police cars, sure. The occasional wasteful civic works project, absolutely. But a coffee shop? Anyway, it blows up, and it's a real mess. People on the picket line get injured, cars parked on the street get wrecked.
    Lonnie got blown off his by the blast, and when he gets up, his nose is bleeding and his ears are ringing, and he can't hear a thing. But he's not dead, so... huh.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
It happens a split second before the explosion. That eerie high pitched ring that Gabby's ears pick up that grows in force until something in her ears pops. Suddenly nothing is heard anymore. All she's aware of his the burst of light glinting off of flying shards of glass as her view of the store front changes drastically.

Then her eyes blink and she's behind some cover next to Tommy, and another, reeling from the loss of one sense and the disorientation that comes with. Pushing to her feet she wobbles as her balance is thrown off but she takes in the sight of everything that's gone on.

"Shit. Um. SHIT." Staggering out she moves toward the nearest injured to do similar to Tommy in reaching down to grasp the hands of a coffee shop worker before they started to try and pull out a piece of glass from their arm. A quick shake of her head is given, and she moves the barista's hand to press just above the area firmly with a simple, "Hold, don't pull till EMTs are here, it'll make it worse." Would they even hear? She wasn't sure as the echoing ring in her own ears was just starting to come back from her healing factor. That meant the only one currently functional was... Tommy.

"Tommy," she calls out. "Make sure people don't pull glass out, it'll bleed worse. Um. Fuck. Triage, worst first, street needs to be clear for EMT..." All this is said while she gets back to her feet wobbly once more, green eyes flitting around to assess as much damage as she can. Spotting Lonnie she absently signs in his direction a simple 'You okay?'

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    "Shit," Tommy agrees distantly from where he's still holding the paper towels in place against the woman's -- her name is Glenda (like the good witch) per the nametag on her barista apron -- forehead. All of his first aid knowledge is from tv shows and movies, which means it's probably all crap, so he nods over towards Gabby at her instructions.

    He might not be able to help treat any of the wounds beyond applying pressure as needed, but Tommy can at least do so very quickly. Another fresh wad of paper towels is thrust into Lonnie's hands, and then Tommy's helping another young man to his feet who wobbles dangerously as soon as he's upright.

    "Ooookay, buddy, let's just move you over here to the curb," Tommy says as he does just that, and it's only when the kid sits down that he notices the shard of glass sticking out of his thigh. Tommy doesn't notice until the screaming starts, but he's at least fast enough to grab hold of the kid's hands and keep him from pulling it free.

    Thanks for that advice, bee tea dubs, Gabs.

    "Nope, no, Ipromiseyouthat'sabadidea!" Tommy says frantically as the kid struggles against his grip in a panic.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    "FINE, I THINK," Lonnie says, after a cursory check. "HEARING'S SHOT THOUGH." Which means he can't hear the police sirens, but he's already timing their arrival down to the second. He notes the injured, but there's nothing he can do for them now that wouldn't be better handed off to an EMT.
    Still, when paper... towels wind up in his hands, he does do some emergency triage to the most severe injury he can find, which is a bad cut on a bystander's arm. "IT'LL BE FINE." He says, looking up. "JUST SIT TIGHT AND WAIT FOR THE PARAMEDICS. SIT. TIGHT. DON'T MOVE."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Just about when Lonnie starts yelling to sit tight is when Gabby's own hearing suddenly rights itself. The cacophony of injured people moaning, sobbing, one screaming, suddenly hits her full force. At least now she had regained her balance properly. "Good job Lonnie," she calls out even though he may not be able to hear her either yet.

Seeing Tommy is having issue with the guy at the curb she heads over to crouch as well. "He's in shock, needs another shcok," she says trying to think of some way to snap the man's attention back to the here and now so he would stop flailing. With a sigh she reaches down to grab the edge of her shirt and pull it up flashing him her chest.

Simple. Hopefully effective. Once attention is gained she does the same as the other woman she'd helped; showed him where to put his hand. "Just press. I know it hurts I'm sorry. Don't move and make it worse."

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    There's a lot of yelling. Some of it is from Tommy, because he tends to lose the ability to modulate his own voice right about the time he starts speed-talking, but there is a sudden cone of silence originating from Gabby's current location.

    The kid, who also has a nametag and apparently goes by Oscar, is staring slack-jawed at her. Tommy, meanwhile, goes through the process of a double-take first at superspeed, and then at regular human speed, after which he goes red in the face and looks away. Maybe one or two other people are also shocked into speechlessness.

    Which only means it's easier to tell that the sirens in the distance are getting closer.

    "Paramedics are almost here," is what Tommy manages to pull together enough brain cells to say after a couple of seconds. "They'll take care of you. Just breathe, that's all you have to do until they get here, okay?"

    Oscar is left in Gabby's more capable hands, as Tommy stands and starts ushering the last of the crowd out of the street. The crunch of glass underfoot makes his nose wrinkle with discomfort, and he spares a glance into the now-exposed storefront of the coffee shop. Apparently some people had crossed the picket line, as there's a lone employee -- the manager -- huddling behind the counter, as well as an older woman and very likely her pre-teen daughter backed into a corner, the only customers.

    But the glass had exploded outwards, so Tommy doesn't pay them much mind beyond that. Instead he taps Lonnie on the shoulder and points first to Lonnie's face, then his own. "You're bleeding, you need to sit down too!" he says, though he's also trying to communicate via gesticulation. Sadly he doesn't know any sign language. He has, however, had his nose broken before too.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie shakes his head. "NO. THE AUTHORITIES AND I DON'T GET ALONG." He gives his head another small shake, trying to clear the rattles out of it. "BESIDES. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT BOOT-SUCKING FASCIST DID THIS!" And then he turns and, while still a little unsteady on his feet, he heads right for blown-out coffee shop.
    Ugh, he's going to be a wreck later. He's not bleeding from the ears, so his eardrums aren't blown, or so goes his self-assessment, which is good. No serious wounds, the bloody nose appears to be mostly superficial trauma. Bruises.
    "PEOPLE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEMAND FAIR TREATMENT. ANYBODY WHO TRIES TO INTIMIDATE THEM INTO SILENCE IS THE ENEMY."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney feels the eyes on her. Given the situation it had been the quickest way to get done what needed to get done. It's only after the fact that she finds herself feeling a bit embarassed by it--but there was no time for that, either. She just tucks her shirt back down to continue her momentary triage. Oscar's hand is put on his upper thigh, away from the glass to press down. And she quickly tips his chin up to keep him from looking down again. "Police and medics should be here in a moment. Keep an eye out for them, okay?" Pointing to her eyes, she gestures down the road, then to him as she says this to make her point. Giving him a task to keep his mind off the leg. "Don't move, just wave with your free hand when they get here to signal them. Okay? I'm trusting you to do this, other people are hurt too and I need to go check on them. You're doing great. Okay?" She waits until she gets a nod, grins warmly at him with a pat on the shoulder, and then moves off to triage some others.

"Doing great, Tommy! Lonnie get the fuck out of here before you get hauled away in a paddy wagon." Of course she doesn't stop him, he likely can't really hear very well yet regardless.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    The street is clear enough -- you know, aside for the glass -- for the paramedics to get here, and when Tommy stands up on his toes he thinks he can see an ambulance making its way through traffic a few blocks down. If driving in Gotham is anything like in New York, though, Tommy suspects it'll still be a few minutes before they're able to get here and start the real medical treatment.

    Tommy stands there for a moment, but there's no missing Lonnie's yelling, so he's right there a second later, clambering through the destroyed window-front. He's admittedly a little distracted trying not to cut himself on the remaining glass, so he's not paying attention. And Lonnie's hearing is probably too far gone still to hear the whispered argument going on in the corner. The manager, no matter what one might think of the type of person to cross a picket line and continue working, looks much too shocked to be responsible. She's certainly not capable of answering any questions, only able to hide behind the espresso machine whilst shaking her head back and forth over and over again, like she can't even process what's happened.

    The woman with her daughter in the corner, however, is another story. She's the source of the angry whispering, and on further investigation it's less an argument as it is a one-sided dressing-down. Things like "I can't believe you'd cause trouble like this," and "I can't take you anywhere," and "You're an awful girl," sum up the derision this woman, with her bobbed haircut and too many highlights, is aiming at her child.

    Meanwhile the child herself is shaking, crying, and has her hands covering her face. Her face, which is currently awash in a shade of red. She's practically glowing with embarrassment and shame.

    Actually, no, she's for real glowing, the color leaking out between her fingers. Which is when her mother shifts from general disappointmentment to commands to "pull herself together, so help me god."

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie was all set to go on a stomping spree, but what he sees stops him cold - and then he puts his hand on the woman's shoulder, and shakes his head at her, before giving her a glare. He kneels down next to the girl, and after a moment he modulates his voice. "Hi." He says, "I can't hear so well right now, but I need you to nod if you understand me."
    He waits to see if the child responds, and then he asks, "Was this an accident?" He patiently waits for a response.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney glances over seeing the hold up down the road. There was nothing she could do though. There was a back up on traffic due to a few cars being flipped over from the blast and she wasn't someone with super strength. Even if she could lean into it and scoot a car along it would take too long, and she'd tear muscles in the process.

So instead her attention shifts back toward where Lonnie and now Tommy had wandered. Crunching over the glass, checking on people as she passes, she finds herself peeking in watching Lonnie stoop down to question the glowing girl. A sudden quick breath is drawn in causing her to scowl as she presses her lips together tight. "Ah." This suddenly made sense in so many ways. A pang of sympathy runs through her as she looks out over those here... and catches the hissed angry whispers of the mother. A glare is shot her way angrily, but she moves to stand guard while the others check on her.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    This probably comes as no surprise, but the Karen who crossed the picket line just so she could get her overpriced caramel mochachokawhatever frapp with soymilk is not the type of person who appreciates being interrupted. She shoots a glare right back at Lonnie and spins on her heel to address him, her voice going from whispered disappointment to a shrill outcry. "Exactly who do you think you are, putting your hands on me? Don't talk to my daughter!"

    Meanwhile, her daughter has folded in on herself even more tightly, now little more than a tiny compact shape. She can't be older than 13 or 14, wearing plain clothes that look oversized on her. Sort of frumpy, given the sweater looks like something better suited to an old woman than a teenager.

    And at Lonnie's question, she immediately bursts out crying. She doesn't have the coherence left to nod, she just starts wailing, sputtering and blubbering an affirmative. "I didn't mean it, it was just so loud!" is what Tommy is able to make out, amidst the sniffling and snottling. He has a scavenged paper towel left, which he offers to her with a faint grimace.

    Which she just... looks at. It seems to somehow have stunned her into silence, her eyes shining as she stares at his outstretched hand. Then she looks at Lonnie.

    The red glow of her face shifts through the color spectrum until it lands on blue, and she covers herself with her hands again as she begins to cry once more. And as the glow intensifies, so too does the feel of the air on everyone's shoulders, as if gravity has suddenly become twice, three times as much as it ought to be inside the coffee shop. Tommy falls to his knees immediately, as do both the remaining barista and the Karen herself.

    Tommy shakes his head, a little perturbed, but he gently takes the girl's hand and pulls it away from her face so that he can set the napkin in it. "It's okay," he tells her, even though he feels like he's about to melt into a puddle. "The same thing happened to me when I was your age. And I promise, everything's going to be okay."

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    "Madam, you just terrified your overstimulated Mutant daughter until she blew out the windows in a coffee shop and injured several dozen bystanders, at least one of them is going to require hospitalization. I'm not a fan of the authorities, but I do know how they operate, and you can either SHUT UP and this will probably be written off as an accident, or you can continue to be an absolute shrew and the odds go up that the manager hiding behind the counter will give the police a statement that the prime mover behind this debacle was - well - you."
    "Also, I can't hear you right now, and I'm also not a litigious man. Be glad about that, and CRAM IT!"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
That increase of gravity is felt after a few moments dragging Gabby down as well. Her healing factor makes her body recover after every bit of weight on her, but she's still forced to hold her arm out to rest against the edge of the broken window. A deep breath is drawn and she moves in herself to join the others, glass crunching beneath her feet loudly as she comes. Normally she would be quiet. That didn't seem wise right now--plus the added weight didn't help.

"Hey, Karen," she starts trying to help distract the woman now that Lonnie's had his say. "I know a boarding school that is used to dealing with things like this. Very prestigious and quiet," she assures with a small smile as she reaches into a pocket to fish out a card. God she would really just like to flip the woman off, but better this is given. A card with the school logo is handed over, forcefully thrust into the woman's grasp. "If you're overwhelmed then send her there for awhile till she can control herself. Nice and discreet."

That's all she says to the woman before stepping over to join Tommy and Lonnie near the girl. Quieter, softer, just for the girl's ears she speaks, "And safe for people like us. They don't judge and there's so many there with similar abilities that can help. If you need to get away, even without her permission, just call them. They'll help," she assures in a quick whisper.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    "My name isn't Karen!" the woman screeches, and things only go downhill from there. While she does struggle upwards to accept the card, she snatches it away from Gabby as if she were taking something from a leper, her sneer on full display. "And there is no way my daughter would be accepted at a *prestigious* school, as lazy and undisciplined as she is! She can't even keep herself together long enough for a simple outing!"

    But then she turns the card over, seeming to consider it. The weight of the atmosphere has begun to lessen, and she climbs to her feet, awkwardly brushing the knees of her dress pants off. "Maybe I ought to send her away. It would certainly make *my* life less exhausting."

    She turns her distasteful grimace on Lonnie. "Speak another word to me and you'll be hearing from my lawyer. Though maybe I should turn Sophia over to the authorities, so she can pay for her crimes rather than continuing on as such a disgrace!"

    All this time, Tommy has been attempting to help the kid--Sophia--dry her eyes. She's just barely managing to pull herself together thanks to an iron-clad grip on Tommy's free hand, a match to how the effects of her powers have slowly diminished. But at her mother's voiced consideration of letting her be arrested, Sophia's face flushes a bright yellow, and she screams a sharp "No!" before she disappears with a *pop*.

    Tommy rises to his feet, looks back and forth around the shop with his brows furrowed, and then he glances at Gabby. He doesn't even look at Sophia's mother; it's as if she doesn't exist at all to him. And then he disappears too, but with a whoosh of air as he runs.

Lonnie Machin has posed:
    Lonnie is only momentarily taken aback by this. But then he turns back at the woman and says, "I learned a long time ago that the things we say and do have consequences - or at least they should. Sometimes you don't see those consequences coming. And sometimes you ought to know better, ma'am. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find out whether or not I have a ruptured eardrum." He looks over at Gabby and there's only a moment of resignation that crosses his face, and then he adds, "And besides. I'm *allergic* to pigs."
    Then, having said that, he begins to pick his way back out of the ruined coffee shop, glass crunching under his boots.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney draws a deep breath as the woman continues going on and on and... Then the girl vanishes. Tommy's soon after her earning a nod of approval, and one is given to Lonnie as well. A little pat to his shoulder is given to send him on his way. She understood.

Turning she starts to head for the front again only to pause, and glance over to the very dazed manager to give a small smile. "Hey, head outside, get yourself checked over by the EMTs. You okay otherwise?" A hand is held out to usher the manager for the door. Once that's done, manager safely sent on the way, she turns back toward 'Karen.'

You know? She fights against crime. She does. No one ever said she was completely on the straight and narrow though. Which is why she hauls back to send a straight punch right at the womans' nose with full intent to break it. Not kill, she's not doing the 'up into the brain' motion, but definitely to break it.

"Child abuse is a crime too, you shit-heel!" she snarls out before just turning to walk out. The woman can get help on her own but her? She's gone, with a bunch of witnesses having seen her HELPING everyone out, and no visible witnesses to punching this woman that so needed it.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    EMTs have arrived on the street. They're not cops, who are a few blocks away still; unsurprisingly, given that this is Gotham, the medics are more on the side of good than the police, so they don't hassle Lonnie at all.

    Well they do try to help treat his injuries, superficial they may be, but none of them are going to chase after him if he waves them off. Too many people needing attention, for that.

    As it so happens, of course, none of them care about the woman in the coffee shop screaming bloody murder while being bloody, herself. After all, if she can yell and shriek about the teenagers who kidnapped her daughter (which the manager assures is a total lie) and viciously assaulted her, then it's not like she's that badly hurt, right?

    She definitely has a broken nose, though. And a significant plastic surgery bill is in her future to get it fixed.