20111/There Are More Than One Way To Be A Hero

There Are More Than One Way To Be A Hero
Date of Scene:	22 February 2025
Location:	Jamii Shelter
Synopsis:	Sam assist with establishing a veterans homeless support group at the Jamii Shelter, while Morrigan promises tablet and tutors. Jamii Shelter and Cinque have benefitting this night from the present of the Wilsons.
Cast of Characters:	Cinque Evers, Sam Wilson, Morrigan MacIntyre

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Cinque Evers has posed:
Friday night settles over Jamii Shelter, marking the start of the end of the evening transport runs. The shelter?s familiar white vans have completed their routes, delivering those committed to spending the night in its safe embrace.

At the entrance, Rebecca, a young goth woman in her late twenties, stands beside a security guard. Her dark attire contrasts with the warm glow of the check-in desk as they process new arrivals and welcome back returning residents. The hum of quiet exchanges and the shuffle of weary footsteps fill the space.

Meanwhile, in the meeting hall, an Alcoholics Anonymous session has just concluded. A stream of attendees makes its way toward the cafeteria, the promise of a hot meal pulling them forward. Among them, one particularly hungry individual grumbles about the need for food, specifically, the hope that some gumbo remains.

Behind the serving counter, Cinque easily accomplishes multiple mental tasks at once. With a ladle in hand, he continues to dish out meals while keeping an eye on the intake numbers and mentally tracking the status of the remaining vans. His presence is steady, a quiet force ensuring that everyone, whether hungry, weary, or simply seeking a place to belong,finds what they need tonight.

Sam Wilson has posed:
There's someone else that is here. Sam Wilson, the high flying Falcon, is currently grounded as he's tacking a flyer to the bulletin board to open a forum for homeless veterans to meet on Sunday evenings for fellowship, support and advice. It has the backing of the local Vet center and the VA for the times Sam can't be there - but he's committed to the first couple of weeks at that.

After getting the flyer posted, he moves to join in the serving line. "Gumbo smells almost as good as my sister's." he comments with a grin. As he washes up to help serving, he continues to speak. "Thanks for letting me know about this place. I'd been around sooner if I had known." comes to admission with a rolling shrug of his shoulders as he gloves up to man the rice station.

Cinque Evers has posed:
"Almost?" Cinque pauses for the moment in mock anger before laughing, "I got this recipe when I was in Baltimore, so it does have more crabs than some more traditional gumbo recipes. In the back of his mind, the thousands of times he has made and smelled this gumbo play in his mind in perfect detail. Cinque scoops out a ladel of soup to elderly woman, "Now, I want you to eat this slow, tonight before you see the nurse for your medicine."

Cinque turns to Sam, "No, thank you, I am glad we had an opening to accomodate you on Sundays. We have been trying to get a steady veterans support group here for awhile, so you are doing us favor. Cinque, who is always asking for more donations ask, "We also like people to come in and mentor some of our children too. I mean if you have the time."

Sam Wilson has posed:
"Sarah was New Orleans born and bred. She makes a gumbo that will make you wanna slap your mama and then sit on the porch all evening telling stories. But it wasn't the same as our mom's. Now that was something special." As he watches Cinque give instructions, Sam can't help but to offer a small smile of sympathy, before offering a ladel of rice if she wants it.

"There's those folks that tend to think that the government automatically will take care of a veteran. But so many of them fall through the cracks, most of the time because they don't know where to start - or don't want to start. I'm just setting bait. Hopefully I'll get a few bites."

When the mention of mentoring children comes up, Sam considers it. "Have you met my wife yet?" he asks curiously, after serving up another helping of rice. "Mo runs a school down in Happy Harbor. It's a bit of a haul, even with the hyperloop, but maybe we can suggest an expansion of her remote learning program she's championing at the moment."

Cinque Evers has posed:
"No, I haven't had a chance to meet up with anyone from Happy Harbor. It is that the school for metahumans, right?" Cinque steps off the main line and goes to a counter that has a host of soup thermos. Cinque calls on the radio and says, "Night brigade to the kitchen and night drivers begin loading your vans with supplies for vans. We depart in twenty minutes. Cinque assists in loading up the night thermos with gumbo as additional Jamii shelter join him.

Cinque pauses for him and says, "We do have some homeless children that are mutants, and we do have the a metahuman teen that may stay the night or two, but they never stay for long. Cinque bits his lips as he remembers his own life growing up as metahuman and says, "We take any help that is offered. Recently, I have gone as far as Gotham and Metropolis to ask for more donations to keep this place up and running."

One of the Jamii Shelter are putting bags of crackers and MRES on the table to be packed along with the thermos containing gumbo. Cinque continues to talk as he continues orchestrate this part of the shelter's night routine, "As for the veterans falling through the cracks, I agree with you. We used to have someone who specialize in helping our veteran guest get back on their feet, but she decided to retire to New Mexico. I tried to get her back with offers of more money, but with the World Eater coming, she decided to stay with her grandkids."

Sam Wilson has posed:
"Not just metahumans." Sam corrects. "Happy Harbor works with normal students as well as the extraordinary. It's an all-inclusive thing." comes the explanatuion as he listens to the instructions that are being given out. "You have any luck there?" Asked when Cinque mentions Gotham and Metropolis, he's running his mind through who he may know in those two locations that could help with the task. I know I've seen Barbara Gordon doing charity work in Gotham from time to time."

"As far as mutants go? The school is good for them, but there's also that school in Westchester. Though I don't know what their admissions circumstances are like. But Morrigan will know more about that then I would."

As the conversation returns to the veterans, he lets out a breath. "Yeah, I do counseling at the VA for veterans that are fresh from the wars around the world, or those that have served and just in the care of the VA because they have nothing left to turn to. I know I owe them a bit after I came home from the Middle East and lost my wingman."

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan's never one to intrude where Sam is generally, but the message had left her intrigued and since she wasn't that far she'd headed that way. And she doesn't arrive empty handed either. She steps through the doors and gives a look around until there is someone that graciously points her towards where Cinque and Sam are standing.

"Pardon my intrusion." the Irish woman states as she approaches. "Is there a protocol for how donations are handled?" she asks.

Cinque Evers has posed:
At the Jamii Shelter, the team finishes ladling the last of the rich, steaming gumbo into a large soup thermos. Storage containers filled with the night's meals are neatly packed and sealed, ready for distribution. As the staff conducts a final inventory check of the food supplies, the hum of coordinated movement fills the kitchen.

Cinque picks up his radio, his voice steady but focused. "What's our van situation?"

A gruff voice crackles through the speaker. "All evening vans are back and secured for the night. The night vans are prepped with blankets, hand warmers, and all the usual goodies loaded up. We?re standing by for the food."

Cinque nods, acknowledging the update. "Thanks. We're bringing the food out now. Make sure the loading dock is closed, and tell the drivers to have a safe night." As he steps away to wash his hands, he casually calls over his shoulder, "Funny you mention Barbara Gordon. She helped me win a hacker contest back when I was in the city. That was actually the only real money I brought back here. A reporter from the Daily Planet also said she'd do a story on me and the shelter. Got myself on the appointment list to try again in a couple of months in both cities.

Meanwhile, inside the main meeting hall, the atmosphere is soft and warm. It?s Friday story time, a cherished weekly ritual. Younger children settle in with their blankets, nestled beside parents, older siblings, and volunteers. A volunteer flips open a well-loved picture book, their voice rising and falling with the tale, while others pick out donated books to read along. The gentle rustling of pages and the occasional giggle weave together, forming a quiet pocket of comfort within the shelter?s walls.

Cinque turns around and says, "It depends on what type of donation. We can pick up any type of supplies, but it might take a week for us to pick it up. We can take money variety of secure ways, except cash, unless we are doing a fundraiser." Cinque says. "We don't like to have a lot of cash on the premise to keep our guests and staff safe."

Sam Wilson has posed:
As Sam listens to the situation on the vans, he lifts a brow. "Well, it seems you have transportation down pat." There's a small grin as he continues to work the food line and carry on the conversation. As he's serving up one person, the young man peers at him for a moment, and recognition flashes in his eyes. Sam lifts a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, as he spoons out some rice and nods to what Cinque is saying.

"Barbara's good people, and the press will be a big help - especially if you plan to expand into Gotham or Metropolis. May have to get more hands on deck to run other branches though, or do you plan to work in concert with existing shelters?"

He was about to ask something else when the gorgeous redhead enters the shelter, and he knows his aren't the only eyes drawn to her. But at the same time? "You're drop dead beautiful." he comments to the Irish girl. "If you don't tell my wife, I'll totally ask you out." There's a wink cast to Morrigan. He'll do introductions at the moment, might as well get the cheesy flirt out of the way.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a smile to Cinque and there is a nod of her head to his words, "It would be a check." she tells him. "Cash tends to draw the wrong kinds of attention as well, so that is completely understandable on that." she comments. There is a soft smile given to those around, "Apologies on interrupting." she tells them.

Then she looks to Sam as he lays on the flirting and there is a bit of a laugh, "I'm very married, Flyboy." she winks at him. Then she leans in to kiss his cheek. "Anything I can help with?" she asks the two of them.

Cinque Evers has posed:
"Yuo must be Sam's Mo." Cinque chuckles softly, "It is a pleasure to meet you. Sam was just talking about you." Cinque starts to gather the pots to take them to the kitchen, "Well, we need to load as many of these pots into the dish water, and begin washing them. Cinque recalls all of things that needs to be done in the next hour and states, "We can always need more volunteers to help read books to children.

Cinque taps his right foot on the floor and explains, "We need to security rounds before we stop accepting visitors, and we need someone to check the supplies for our emergency intake wing. It is the only part of the shelter is that open after hours. It is for runaways, abused spouses, and some people who desparately need us in the middle of the night for safety." Cinque turns to Sam and states, "That was the dream when I started, but it takes a lot to keep this place running. We don't make a profit, so it is hard to expand at the moment." Cinque sighs a bit, "Maybe in a few years"

Sam Wilson has posed:
"Damn, well, he's a lucky lucky man." Sam comments, before leaning into the kiss to accept it and give one of his own. "My one and only." he responds with pride to Cinque. "Cinque Evers, this is Doctor Morrigan Wilson, Mo, this is Cinque. And yes, I was considering how we could set up some remote learning for the kids that call this shelter home." he explains to Morrigan, before Cinque goes into the list of needs.

And it's a long list. Sam gives a low whistle. "That's a lot." he comments dryly, while turning over the information in his mind and he glances over to Morrigan. She probably has a better handle on how to work this problem than he would.

But he can feel it. He really can. He knows what it's like to grow up in that type of sitaution. His parents weren't bad, but he dealt with gangs and peer pressure when he was young, which is why he joined the military to get away. "Yeah, sadly, people ain't lining up to help a shelter. Which is a damn shame."

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
"I am." Morrigan states with a smile. "And it is nice to meet you, I had a work emergency at the hospital come up or I'd have been in sooner." she admits. "I'm not afraid of washing dishes or reading to the children. I could probably handle helping with both of those." she comments with a soft smile.

She reaches out to give Sam's arm a gentle squeeze and the man a soft smile. "On the topic of remote work, if that is something that people would be interested in I could see about providing desktops with the necessary software or tablets that could be checked out for classes, I'm not sure how space is right now for you here." she admits. "And that would be something that we would fund." she adds.

"Do you have any medical connections?" she asks.

Cinque Evers has posed:
"Tablets work best for us. We have quite a few here, but we are always needing to repair and replace them." Cinque says, "But, we would love to get remote tutors, especially ESL tutors. We have a lot of students that need extra help due to being homeless, but we don't have enough volunteer tutors for all of them." Cinque lets out a frustrated sigh and adds, "If you add the language barriers....it is hard to get them where they need to be academically."

Cinque loads up the dishwasher with the first load as he continues talking over his shoulder, "We have a three nurse practioners that work part time here. We used to have a regular doctor on staff but again we don't pay a lot. There are a lot of still clinics that pay more than we do.

Sam Wilson has posed:
"I've already offered to do Veteran's outreach on Sundays, when I'm not otherwise occupied. But I have some contacts, I can get something set up." Sam comments in response to Morrigan. The squeeze gets him to grin, but he's grinning more as his wife goes to work on trying to figure out the problem.

But with Cinque telling Morrigan the issues with the education program, he quiets down tio work on pulling the pots to bring them over to the sink to start to wash them out.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan is quiet when others are talking and there is a look given to one of the children and a smile as she listens. "We'll see about getting tablets set up with things and see if we can contact a few tutors to help." she explains to Cinque. "I completely understand language barriers. I didn't speak a lick of English when my grandparents brought me here." she admits. "I learned from my adopted parents." she nods to that.

There is a look to Sam and a smile, "If you're good with that then I'll just have to find something to do...like oh wait, paperwork." she grins. Then she sets about helping out with what needs to be done for the evening!

Cinque Evers has posed:
Cinque Evers nods to Morrigan and Sam, "Thank you for all of your help." Cinque finishes the dishes and makes his way to assist with the security rounds.