16935/A Mugging in El Barrio

A Mugging in El Barrio
Date of Scene:	16 January 2024
Location:	East Harlem
Synopsis:	Damian is nearly mugged, but is saved by Golden Eagle. Awkward conversation is awkward.
Cast of Characters:	Damian Wayne, Yaretzi Acama

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Damian Wayne has posed:
Damian Wayne had always wanted to see the Guggenheim Museum, it was on his places to visit place and when he had visited the Barrio before to visit with Yaretzi, he had missed his chance. So, with the time for a second visit, he had spent part of his day there in the late afternoon. And when he was done with the exhibits and tours, he figured he had enough time to visit Patsy's.

He visited the Pizzeria, having a vegeterian special and water, and by the time he was done, it was getting dark outside. He had called for his car and found his way to a corner to wait for his ride home.

Dressed in a comfortable sweater, khakis, nice shoes and a heavy coat against the winter chill, he is in clothes that are on the higher end of the fashion spectrum.

Which has drawn the wrong attention. A small group of men have been tailing Damian since he left the pizzeria and approach him at the corner. "Hey, hey, you got a dollaa I can borrow?" one of them asks.

Damian, at first, attempts to ignore the three. Then one of them uses his hand to shove on Damian's shoulder. "I said, Do. You. Have. A Dollar."

Damian turns and looks. "No, I don't carry cash." he says in response, a small frown. "My ride will be here any moment, you would do well to..."

And that causes one of the guys to pull a switchblade, flicking it out. "Or what?" he asks, the other two flanking Damian to drag him towards an alley. Safer to do their work there.

And Damian puts up little resistance. Because it would be better to handle this issue there, out of the prying eyes of the world. Unless someone else happens to notice.

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
Golden Eagle's been out on patrol for the evening, and she was flying overhead, intending to land on the rooftop of Taino Towers, when she spots the mugging in progress down below. "Really? I go out on patrol and nothing... and -here-, HERE!... this is where someone's making trouble?", she mutters to herself.

Her heels kick up into the air and she goes into a full-on dive down to street level, as the trio start getting their 'prey' into the alley. She doesn't know it, nor do they, that she's probably about to save the three would-be muggers from broken noses, dislocated joints, and whatever other assortment of hurt they might've been about to receive...

Golden Eagle comes to a sudden stop above the group, one of her arms reaching down so that her hand is grasping the hand holding the switchblade -- as she hovers, hanging completely upside-down over their heads.

"Oye, chavos... you guys got some someplace better to be, or do I hafta get rough with you first?", she says to the trio. Her grip on the knife-hand is solid... and, to a normal person, pretty unshakable, of course.

"Ay caray!", says one of the three. "It's /her/!", he concludes, pointing up at Golden Eagle. She's known around these parts, at the very least, as this area's her usual stomping grounds.

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Hey, hey! He was just a lost tourist! We were /helping/!" one of the guys try to protest, but switchblade guy is growling at her. "What, you helpin the rich puntas now? You sellin us out?!" he accuses her.

The other two are starting to wisely back away, but as long as Eagle has his wrist, switchblade guy is going to be defiant and angry.

Damian, on the other hand, is looking up at the upside down young woman and blinking a few times. "I think he might run if you let him go?" he suggests lightly. "And I don't really want this ending up in the paper? So..." A small smile touches his lips. "I mean... you will leave, right?" he asks switchblade guy.

"SURE! Sure!" the guy cries out as he feels the pressure on his wrist. "Won't bother him again, I promise! Just let me go!"

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
"Soy por todos, even gringos who visit our side of town, from being mugged. You know this, chavo. I'm going to let your hand go... but that knife gets put away, and you and the homies back off and him alone. Comprende?", Golden Eagle says to the knife-wielding mugger.

"... and stop mugging people. You can do lots better than that, amigo. What would your parents think if I had to take you to the blue and turn you in? I don't wanna do that, and I'm sure you don't want them to see that happen, either", she adds, finally releasing the hand from her grip. She remains suspended upside-down in the air over everyone's heads, though her hair still obeys gravity as normal. She crosses her arms and just arches a single eyebrow at the trio.

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Fine fine, we won't do it no more!" Switchblade guy offers as he puts away the knife and nudges his partners. "Come on, lets get outta here!" he tells them, as the trio turn to flee from the scene as fast as possible, in case Golden Eagle changes her mind.

"So... ah. Are you always upside down?" comes Damian's question as he looks up at the young woman. "And thank you for the assist." he offers gratefully, "I think I spent a little too long at the pizza place - the food was really good, and I kind of lost track of time." he confesses with a small shrug of his shoulders. Then he remembers his manners. "I'm Damian." As if a superheroine would want to know that.

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
Golden Eagle kinda turns 180 degress, with her head as the pivot point, as the trio heads off. She turns to look at the man she just 'rescued' from the mugging. She opens her mouth as if to reply, but then stops. Her facial expression is one that clearly speaks of that she finds the voice familiar, somehow, for the moment that she wears it. She seems to shrug off the feeling, though, and replies, "Golden Eagle. You got your car parked around here, somewhere? I can follow you to it, if you want?" She gestures towards the street, beyond the nearby alleyway entrance, offering to escort the young man. Curiously, too, the 'latina girl' accent she had when speaking with the would-be muggers is gone. Though the voice differs, the cadence and rythym of her voice, to someone familiar with her alter-ego and able to notice such things, is now, with the accent gone, just like Yaretzi's.

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Oh. I had a driver coming to pick me up. He'll be about fifteen minutes." Damian admits with a small chuckle of embarassment. There's none of that familiar growl in his voice. He just sounds like a young man, if somewhat flighty in his tone. But there is something of a neutrality as well. As if he's still getting used to emotions in his voice.

"If there's a safer place for me to wait, I'd be happy if you show the way? I know you're probably busy with patrols and all and don't really need to have to wait around on me." He shakes his head, hands in his pocket as he considers the latina beauty. "It's not like I can ask you to fly me back home either. That's rude to ask on a first meeting, Golden Eagle."

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
"Not to mention, I don't even know where 'home' is for you", is the heroine's reply. Hands falling to her hips as she floats alongside the man, she suggests, "You could wait in Patsy's 'til your ride shows up?", with a gesture at the restaurant. "The windows there give a good view of the street, and judging by how they're looking out the window at you, they'll probably give you a free drink while you wait, too. They're good about helping take care of folks in this area", she adds, with a gesture towards the store.

At the gesture, the three Patsy's employees in the window lift their hands and wave. Golden Eagle smiles and returns the wave.

Damian Wayne has posed:
"Oh! That's where I just came from. I didn't want to be a bother." Damian admits as he glances to the pizza shop and gives a wave to those within. He turns his attention back to Golden Eagle, and nods. "I can do that though, if that's what you recommend. They seemed rather nice."

And then, to answer her question, Damian looks thoughtful for a moment and clears his throat. "Wayne Manor." he offers to her quietly, for just her to hear.

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
Golden Eagle nods. "Yeah, they're nice folks", she agrees. With the question of where Damian lives having already come and gone, she looks puzzled for a moment before his words have meaning for her. "Oh", she says. Then her eyes widen, "Oh!", she says, more loudly, and with a tone of surprise. "Oh... uhm... wow! Oh! You're...", she says... then lets her voice trail off as she glances towards the restaurant again. Turning back to Damian she says, in a quieter voice like the one he used, "... You're -that- Damian! Sorry... I never thought I'd run into you here, I guess", she says, lifting one hand to rub at the back of her neck. Her tone of voice makes the apology sound genuine.

Damian Wayne has posed:
A chuckle rises from Damian. Warm and genuine, it's a noise Robin would never make. It's not mocking her, he's just as embarassed as she is. "I was at the Guggenheim!" he explains quickly. "And I wanted to get a bite to eat, and Yelp recommended this place, so I wanted to give it a try and it was really good, and yeah, lost track of time."

"So since I doubt you want to carry me all the way back there... it would probably make you uncomfortable to hold me for all that, I can totally go inside and wait for my ride but I feel like I need to find some way to thank you for helping me tonight." he comments quietly a smile offered to her. "So. What can I do to thank you?"

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
Golden Eagle is suddenly wearing an expression that speaks volumes about how she wasn't expecting any sort of reward and, now that she's been offered such by one of the richest people she could possibly happen to have bumped into, doesn't have a clue what to ask for. She stammers a bit, her face darkening. "I... I really don't need anything", she manages. "Maybe just don't forget about the shops and restaurants here in El Barrio? It's always a good idea to support small business, right?", she says... then her expression changes. She obviously just realized she's talking to someone who's related to very BIG business...

Damian Wayne has posed:
"I can totally do that." Damian offers with a nod of his head. "My family and I are usually in Gotham, but when we're next in New York, I can totally offered to do that." A warm smile touches his lips, before he points out. "I dress the same way as anyone else, Golden Eagle. If anything, I'm more in awe of you. Strong and beautiful. I'm envious!" he admits with a laugh. "I'm sure you have plenty of fans around here!"

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
Golden Eagle nods. "Yeah... I try to take care of El Barrio, and the people here, they've gotten to know me, I guess", she says, smiling. Then the compliment she was paid, by one of the richest 'eligible bachelors' on the planet, registers. Her face flushes yet again... then her expression changes as she realizes something.

>>Everyone says that to Eagle all the time, but not to Yaretzi<<, she thinks to herself, both hands falling to her hips as she turns to face away from Damian. "Anyway", she adds, this time aloud. "...I do suggest waiting in the restaurant, instead of standing out on a corner. Most folks around here mean well, and even most of the ones who do things like muggings have kinder hearts than they try to let on... but there's no sense making a target of yourself, right?", she says. It was all so very, very clearly a change of topic.

Damian Wayne has posed:
Damian is well trained in reading the art of someone's expressions. And there is alot in the way Golden Eagle reacts that he realizes. And he also has a cheat sheet. He can guess that Yaretzi may not have ever heard that. Not that he's had a chance to say that. "My apologies." he offers to her politely. "That was out of line for me." Apologetic to a fault, he blows out a breath.

"I'll go wait at the restaurant then. Thank you again, for your assistance. And all that you do." There's a tip of his head in a bow, and instead of making things more awkward, he starts to make his way to Patsy's.

Yaretzi Acama has posed:
Golden Eagle nods, and says, "I hear it a lot, come to think of it." When he starts towards Patsy's, she lifts off into the air -- her feet never once having touched down, being as she was always floating about. She goes up and over Taino Towers, using her exceptional vision to check, making sure her parents aren't at any of the windows to see when she lands and transforms back into her civilian persona.

Yaretzi slips in from the rooftop patio area and makes her way to her room for her after school and after 'work' downtime.