13708/A Cold Day in January

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A Cold Day in January
Date of Scene: 27 January 2023
Location: Bushwick <Mutant Town>
Synopsis: A conversation in the night leads to a plan to implemented in the light of day and the warmth of the spring!
Cast of Characters: Roberto da Costa, Douglas Ramsey, Franklin Richards, Micola Maximoff, Lydia Dietrich, Marie-Ange Colbert, Illyana Rasputina




Roberto da Costa has posed:
The LaGuardia Projects were built in the 1960s as a fine example of the enduring Brutalist style. They are located along the border Bushwick shares with Bedford Stuyvesant. It is a campus of 11 apartment buildings each with over 100 apartments. They were built by the city as affordable housing but were sold off to private landowners in the 80s. The intention was to update the buildings and turn them into condominiums but this plan was scuttled when a community group had the projects classified as a historical landmark in the early 90s.

    This meant that they could not be re-tasked from their original usage but also made capital improvements much more difficult. This lead to the gradual decline as only the most basic and most necessaries repairs have been attempted.

     MutanTown opened in the early twenty teens in this area at least in part because of the large number of mutants who had taken shelter in these dilapidated structures. Today they are 70-80% mutant and contain thriving communities. Communities that refused to be moved. This is their home. Their home is cold in the winter and warm in the summer, it is a barely functional structure but the owners won't sell. They are making money milking New York's housing system doing the least they can, protected by historical status and the status quo.

    Even gratis attempts to make improvements have proven impractical as the contractors have been arrested for trespassing and when complete they have only been used as fodder to increase rents breaking up the communities we have been trying to protect.

    This year the cold has been brutal. Several people have gone to the hospital suffering from exposure. This week is particularly hard and Roberto has reverted to using himself as a heater storing light during the day and generating heat to warm the buildings in the coldest hours of the night. But he is one man and he looks exhausted from days of this Herculean effort.

    He is sitting under a tent sipping coffee, there are similar tents in front of each of the buildings stocked with hot food, warm clothes, hats, mittens and gloves, jackets and blankets. They also have a group of generators and heaters assigned to each building.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    Doug, with his innate understanding of systems, was pressed into service as an impromptu electrician and repairman. He's not licensed, of course - but it looks like a lot of the people who did work on these buildings weren't licensed. "The place is a mess." He explains to someone. "Even if I DID turn the furnace back on, it'd just flood the apartments with carbon monoxide-" He wipes grime off of icy fingers with a wet wipe, grimacing at the chill as he does so. "...The gas is turned off to so many of these buildings anyway."
    "I'm having better luck with the power. That's mostly just a case of replacing fuses and making sure I'm not going to start any fires." He gratefully accepts a cup of coffee from someone, and curls his fingers around it for warmth.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin comes stumbling into said tent though he isn't alone. There is an older gentelman with his arm around Franklins neck as the young adult has been carrying/dragging the poor man through the snow. Franklin though his coat isn't on he does have the hoodie with a hat under it. From head to toe it is all Fantastic Four Merc, as the colors blue and black with the number four on each part was displayed. His jacket was on the old man as Franklin thought he needed it more as he is just trying to get out of the cold.

As Franklin comes in he frowns a bit at the people inside, but it was warmer.. "Sorry to interupt we are just looking for a warm area." he lays the old man down and looks outside "Man ot is crazy cold out there" he looks to each person already in the Tent gicen they are not asked to leave again. Strangly though Franklin shows no signs of cold, no shivering, goosebumps, none of it though he blows in his hands as if wrming them up.

He glances around a bit.. "Did I hear something about starting fires? In New York they use metal trash cans, do we have any of those.. might be a good way as there are people out there that really need some heat."

Micola Maximoff has posed:
Micola is not an unknown face to Mutant Town and other parts. She'd volunteered in these places since she was a teen. Running errands, trying to make life a little more bearable and happy for others. Tonight she is bundled up and with a tub full of winter accessories for adults and children, her best friend, Shane, is trundling behind her with a tote of blankets and things to add to the other offerings.

The woman with the green, black and blue hair is looking a bit determined to get things delivered to where things are being collected. "This happens every year. I wish there was more that we could do." she murmurs to Shane.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Despite all that has happened to her over the past year, the one thing that Lydia has never stopped being is a mutant, and her loyalty has //always// been to her own kind. She knows these winters can be brutal, so she's been busy over the past few months cobbling somethings together that should help.

    When she arrives, she's dressed for the cold, a thick, cable knit black turtle neck sweater covered by a thick woolen gray trenchcloak. A matching gray woolen skirt adorns the lower half of her and high heeled boots complete the ensemble. Her tightly curly black hair is worn loose, down to her shoulders, and her pale skin shows none of the rosy pinkness one gets when standing out in the cold. As always, there's a glittering field of stars that surround her, like a billion twinkling stars. A crate of what looks like candles is being held aloft by a soft amber glow, trailing behind her.

    Behind her lumbers Baruch, the Golem of Bushwick. A supernatural protector that has been patrolling the streets of Mutant Town in a bid to keep the area safe, and indeed, it's worked somewhat. Unfortunately, the golem can't be everywhere all the time, so crime still happens on the streets. Under each arm are crates of clothes, all to be donated to those who might need them.

    "Good afternoon," Lydia says, shooting everybody a pleasant smile, and finding a table with which to set the crate of candles down. "I brought something that should help." She pulls out a candle, and it's obvious that it's magical of some kind, with softly glowing runes carved into the wax. She sets it into a simple candle holder and with a snap of her fingers the wick alights and instantly the area around the table is filled with comfortable warmth. She turns to the others, "This'll be good enough to keep a room warm for a couple of weeks before it burns out. It's..." she turns back to her candles and frowns. "It's not much, but it should help in the meantime."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie-Ange Colbert has many skills... but none of them really relate to building repair. Still, what the French girl does is a big heart and desire to make positive change -- the cards told her she could -- so she's here. She'll do what she can. She's bringing coffee to various people, holding flashlights... just really whatever is needed and doesn't require specialized knowledge to complete.

"It is a good thing that you are here, Monsieur Doug, Monsieur Roberto. The extremes of temperature... can be as hostile as any enemy." She knows from experience. Her grandmother, who raised her through much of her early life, lived in such a place. Her parents might have been wealthy, but the relative she spent any real time with, her grandmother, lived in a similar place. "Does anyone else need anything?" she calls out, looking around.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
'Cold' by New York standards is, maybe, June by Illyana's ancestral bar for winter. She could probably give knowing looks to Piotr about winter over a bowl of borscht at Yuri's Pierogi Hut. NYC is more like May at its worst for her. Really! Borscht alone doesn't solve the fact some unfortunate mutants end up shuffling between emergency rooms, couches in barely warmer apartments, and cheap diners or the library to keep frostbite at bay. So, she comes with probably ninety very peculiarly knitted scarves that together could entangle the Empire State Building or festoon Lady Liberty out there in the harbour. Peculiar because the colour runs just don't make a lick of sense, and the abundance of zigzaggy patterns is profound.

The demon choruses put to work for the good of humanity sure can produce, but unfortunately, their sense of style is light-years ahead of most mortals. That's the excuse. The oversized duffel bag is one practical solution, albeit a somewhat limited one. "I'm starting to think maybe we borrow the sun, you know? Direct some nice mirrors and create fusion heat domes. Better for everyone, good model for the planet. But then I remember Fallout, and..."

She's a presence settling into a stronger physical one when dropping off that bag at a tent-front where donations apparently now include the greater Manhattan JoAnn's and Michael's stock of knit goods. Or possibly one Grandma in Little Odessa.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa is dressed for the weather which is unusual but he is reserving every bit of energy for the buildings. He smiles at Doug, "Thanks, all the work you've done keeping these generators up and the power running. It's made a difference. Everyone tells me to thank the swoopy haired man... Though." He looks from Doug to Franklin, "Hunh, you too Franklin. I'm not sure open fires are a good idea in a structure this size... or did you mean out here?"

People come to take the donations from Lydia, and Yana and Micola, they are distributed gratefully. Berto nods to each of them with a small smile as he takes coffee from Marie. "Obrigado, for coming out. You're right that we need to get heat in there. If you'd like to walk the halls with me we can give them out to who we see?" He stands and starts to walk towards the building picking one seemingly at random. He fades to vanta black and the heat comes off him in waves.

Micola Maximoff has posed:
Micola gives a dip of her head to Roberto and others that she recognizes. Her friend does as well, "We'll bring another load tomorrow. I'm sure it'll all help out." the woman states with a smile. She gives a look over things and then back to Shane, "I know we've got to get going soon, but did you want to help out?" she asks him.

The big blonde man gives a nod in the affirmative and moves to follow the group into the building.

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin explains as he checks the older mans status, "Found him out there laying in the snow." he puts a hand to the mans head, and some color would return, but it was just temporary. "Five more minutes, and he would of been gone." he shakes his head as with the heat he should be alright, "Hey.. Stay awake." he says to the older gentelman as they moan though it is a good sign it seems as Franklin leans back a bit with a sigh. He looks at Marie, "We meet again it seems." and he grins at her as it was nice to see a familer face.

He looks out into the cold again, "Any chance maybe you can tell me locations to look?" he asks her knowing her cards were rather acurate. If maybe she had some way to lead him to the right path they could find some of the more desperate of people out there. Thankfully he had the spark of the cosmos inside of him and that kept him warm in much colder enviroments then this.

He then looks at Roberto, "Well.. the people in here are only one issue, when it gets this cold people underestimate how quickly they will run into trouble out there." he explains though nods, "I ment outside, as I was going to head back out there." he points out the way he came. "I figure you two can fix the heat, ya just need to unblock whatever is keeping the CO2 in. Keep in mind You are in a town of mutants.. I am sure you can find someone out there that can make a hole." and grins at them. He looks back to Marie, "So you need something to help ya do your thing? Or are you good?" hoping he didn't have to hunt down something wierd he had no idea how that stuff worked. "Do I have permission to make a mental connection?" he asks her as he wasn't going to take her with him of course.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"I do have great hair." Doug says, before he adds, casually, "The problem with starting open-air fires is that someone might call the police." He exhales, and says "The people who got these buildings declared historical landmarks meant well, but those same laws that exist to protect landmarks are being used to oppress the people here, because of the hoops you would need to jump through in order to modernize them. New windows, new HVAC, all of those things require dramatic alterations to the existing buildings. And these people have nowhere to go."

He rubs the back of his neck. "If I were *someone*, I'd make a dramatic pronouncement, threaten the whole city, and somehow it'd end with another statue of me being put up and everyone else as hard-up as they were before."

He watches Berto go, and then mutters, "But maybe the mutant leader of tomorrow's a Dark Horse. I remember when they were all convinced he'd go bad. They could've asked me. He was a *jerk* at fourteen... but he was about as *bad* as "London Calling."

"Were you talking to me?" Someone near Doug says.

"...No, just giving exposition to the universe, I guess." He gets to his feet. "Oh, better capture this for my YouTube channel." He says, as he follows behind the others.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "Baruch," Lydia says, turning to the eight foot tall golem. "Stick around, and lend people a hand wherever they need it most." Burning ember pinpoints of light set in the hollow sockets look at her and then look around before it dips its massive head in assent and lumbers off to be useful. She beams like a proud mother, watching him go for a moment before turning back to those at hand.

    She snorts at Doug's comment. "The police won't come even if somebody //does// call them. Not for a barrel fire. They won't come when people get //shot// for God's sake." She shakes her head, "If they did I wouldn't have had to build the Golem."

    She walks up to him and holds out a gloved hand. "I'm Lydia. It's a pleasure to meet you." It's only this close is it noticeable that the woman has golden eyes that matches the twinkling stars that's about her.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Illyana's familiar with Roberto's darkest form, that ultra-deep mobile shadow cracking a grin out of her. Rare as hen's teeth but present all the same. "This is good, helping out." She nods to Doug and Marie-Ange, greeting given easily enough. "But no one willing to let us fix the building up some? This cannot be sustainable for anyone. There can be some wiggle room in laws because historical buildings used as home must meet certain code standards. It sounds like a job for..."

The legal experts! Solidly /not/ her unless you can count the expertise of the Demon Queen in contract law, particularly where loopholes may be involved. "Mr. Murdock, maybe. Or Ms. Walters - she is very good with this sort of thing. But we have /some/ lawyers, da, who must be happy to navigate through this."

She's soon out of reach for that, given she continues to follow Berto, sussing out the surroundings of the apartment. "Some things I can do to fix this, off books, off anything. But they might be more trouble than they are worth. Residents would have to explain why all the walls are patched up inside. Maybe in less visible places, inner structure?"

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"De rien, Monsieur Roberto." Marie chirps when she delivers the coffee to the man, already making her way back to collect another one when Franklin is coming to greet her. Head bows slowly, "Bonsoir, Monsieur Franklin, it is good to see you again." she replies. As for the question? That stops her in her tracks, brows rising in unison.

"If fate wishes it, I can tell you nearly anything." she replies, "...but as I mentioned when you sought a reading from Madame Crowe," who, she'd admit, might be her superior as a reader. "It is important to be as open and honest as possible with your reader to allow us to best interpret it." A slow smile. "I care not whether you use to use your answers to rob a bank, or save a bus full of orphans -- the answers you receive from a reading will be true, and confidential." Because she takes her duty to fate that seriously. A hand also reaches up to wave to Illyana -- now that's a familiar face she hasn't seen in a while!

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa watches Franklin interact with the man, "Thank you, we all contribute in our way. If only it were that simple. A few people we've had try were arrested for trespassing." He nods to Doug, "I don't think that it's working as intended." Then he turns to Yana, we have dome people working on it but the most ambitious timeline for being able affect change is Spring, most likely summer. The red tape in this system is stangling." He looks at the golem and then at Lydia, "We've managed to decrease call response time by 20% but, yes, we need to do more. We're trying to make an ongoing dialogue with the police. We're also trying get comminity members trained as first responders and paramedics." He shrugs, "There is alot money can do but not everything, like most mutant powers."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug returns Lydia's handshake. "Doug Ramsey." He says, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

He adds, "If we could crowd-source the help of some electricians and HVAC technicians we could get things fixed up enough to limp along until spring when there's real movement. Hmmmmnh. Couldn't hurt. Could crowd-source some funds, see if we can get some sympathetic people with the skills we need to donate their time." He rubs his chin. "Technology creates problems, but it also gives us the means to solve them."

Franklin Richards has posed:
Franklin chuckles at Douglas, "I do not think it needs comentary." though just shakes his head as he turns to face Marie and thinks about it, For a moment, "So there is no.. to your left card." and grins at her and gives a shrug, "And I am always honest I figure I need to leave all that cloak and dagger to my sister." though he got what she ment. Thinking about it quietly for a moment he nods slowly, "Well if it gives you any hints.. I will be listening." and he taps his head as he starts heaing outside again.

As he goes he looks back at Roberto, "We fix it one problem at a time." and smiles a bit. "Fix the heat.. Figure it out, then worry about what comes next." he chuckles as he turns again, "And they don't have the guts to arrest me.. I'm Franklin Richards.. Fantastic Four.. We have a very good lawyer." and chuckles again, as he continues to leave.

As he passes Illyana she gives a nod that was an interesting one but only says to her, "It is not the lawyers coverin them is the issue, it is the courts themselves." as he just shakes his head moving past her and grabbing one of scarfs if allowe an then head back out into the cold. He would float up in the air the cold air blowing past him as he scans for other people out here even though it was hard to see. He hopped they would come to their own answer for the buildings heaters, but for anyone not in there they were going to need a ride.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia nods at Doug. "Good idea. I know an electrician out in Jersey City who may know some people who are more local than he is." She pulls out her phone and starts tapping out a text. "It'll take him a while to pull anything together, and I'll owe him a favor but..." she shrugs. "I've done more for less for Bushwick."

    Her head snaps up when Franklin introduces himself, and stares at him blinking. She quickly tears her gaze away, shaking her head. Of course. Franklin is a mutant. That would explain somebody as prestigious as him to be here.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
"There is." Marie replies, inclining her head. "But if I asked you, 'what time is it?', and you looked at your watch and told me... but I wished for the current time in Paris? Would I get the answer I sought?" Marie explains. Then, Franklin's off to wander and work his wonders elsewhere... which, ultimately, is fine for the seer. He'll seek her when he's ready, she's sure. Meanwhile, she's going to collect another pair of cups to deliver out.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
"Spring or summer." Illyana nose-wrinkles. "It is still illegal to grease hands here, isn't it? Too bad, sometimes it has a use. But what immediate things can we fix?" Because not everything requires or abets a very large pile of demons showing up to 'help.' Solutions and solutions yet await to be found. She steers clear of an open patch in the ground and frowns at several of the sketchy solutions used to rig up wiring or handle crooked doors and other imperfect building issues. "I see lots of problems, but ... hm."

Her silence prevails as she tries to get a grounding for her location, still listening for the others and any possible grumblings from the inhabitants.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa smiles and asks off-handedly, "Doug, what's the current time in Paris?" He grins at Marie, not waiting for Doug. "I appreciate the exuberance but until we can take possession away from the current owner, and sadly the state they are in helps us with that." He sighs, knowing his Father would push him to make it worse, to exacerbate the situation to drive the man to capitulation no matter who it hurt. He shakes off the dark thoughts and glances at Doug, and what he might have said to the universe. "but make the calls, see what we can work out, Just be aware capitol improvement increases the value and means he can drive rents up, that was the deal they made when they put the historical landmark status. This is the worst example of Brutalist architecture I've ever seen- or maybe the best?" Berto sighs and recites from the rules he has seen, "No major applicances, work without the owners permission is considered trespassing. But I like where your harts are at and we can have them in repair the wiring in people's homes, to get things ready made even to insulate the windows."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
"We aren't making improvements." Doug says, "We're making sure that this place can support the necessary utilities - power, water, and heat. Collecting evidence that the owners *aren't* maintaining the building and that that neglect makes them unsafe could only help you in your bid to take possession away from the owners, Berto. At least, I think a good lawyer could make that argument. Especially if we have testimony from trained electricians and HVAC techs along with photo evidence."

He rubs his chin. "It's about 5 in the morning." He says, "...I'm about ninety percent sure."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    "It is only illegal if you get caught," Lydia grins at Illyana. "Corruption is rampant in this city, so might as well put it to good use, I say." With the candles and clothes being handed out by other volunteers she turns her attention to the tenement building. "People only care about Bushwick as long as it lines their pocketbooks or if they're left little choice," she says bitterly. "So we appeal to their pocketbooks, and leave them little choice."

    She nods at Doug. "Get pictures. //Lots// of pictures. Document //everything//, if we're going that route. My father's a lawyer, so I know a little bit about how this works. I could ask //him// for help, but..." she shakes her head, "this isn't his area of expertise and everybody he knows would be prohibitively expensive."

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
Marie takes the moment to check her watch. Doing the math is easy enough. "/I/ believe you are one hundred percent correct, Monsieur Doug." The question, admittedly, had been rhetorical to show Franklin how vagueness could make getting the answers he sought, well, difficult. Lydia's presence is noticed as well, and the woman gets a little bow of Marie's head. "Madame Dietrich, it is good to see you again -- I do not believe we've met. My name is Marie-Ange Colbert, I have seen you... around."

For the sake of privacy, she won't mention exactly where.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa blinks and nods slowly, taking that in, tilting his head considering, "That makes sense, I must be tired. Thank you." He chuckles at Lydia's suggestion, "I have prohibitvely expensive handled. But I would appreciate your insight, Lydia, and yours as well Doug, seeing how you can work the housing services system might just make this worth it." Berto still chuckles as Marie checks her watch, his own point being that some questions require asking the right question to the right person. Which is also born out by Doug's answer to him. The other exchange catches Berto's attention as he can deduce the connection and he looks from one to the other with a bemused expression, and a nod. "Right, then. Thanks this has been helpful. I'm just hoping that this cold snap ends, the buildings are very well insulated because of the concrete and with all the people they remain warm in anything warmer than a mild Russian spring," he looks after Yana with a soft chuckle and a nod. "Yes, I will be around but for now, let me go provide what heat I can for this evening."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    Doug jerks his thumb at Berto. "...Maybe not. Berto's so rich, sometimes he hosts parties where all of us have to wear a monocle, and a flying robot serves glasses of Moet & Chandon." Is... is he joking? He straightens up, with his hand on the small of his back. "I've been photographic every piece of rat-gnawed wiring, every busted pipe, every scorchmark I can find, don't you worry about that."

"Oh, you know. Anything for a good cause."

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Recognition sparks in Lydia's eyes as Marie-ange addresses her. "Of course! Of course." She holds out a hand to be shaken, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've always meant to get a reading from you, we'll have to trade numbers." Her gold eyes glitter, "Perhaps I can do something for you in return."

    Doug gets a quirk of the lips. "A monocle? My, that //is// fancy. I've never worn a monocle before." She nods, "Very well, then. I'll bring it up with my father and see what he can manage. I'll keep in touch, yes?" After an exchange of information, she gives those gathered a nod, and the stars coalesce behind her back into a pair of golden wings, and she streaks off into the night.

Marie-Ange Colbert has posed:
The offered hand is taken, and shook; Marie is nothing if not polite, though she's definitely not particularly strong, either. "Of course, here," she trails off for a moment, digging out her cell phone and tapping a few buttons, before holding it out to Lydia -- displaying her number for the other woman to see. "My services are always available. It's truly my honor to read, so let me know when... and consider the question you wish to have answered. Once you have it, give me a call, oui?"