2338/Dude, Where's my Jeep

Dude, Where's my Jeep
Date of Scene:	04 July 2020
Location:	Greenwich Village
Synopsis:	Lara and Julie enjoy a leisurely stroll through NYC and a nice Jeep ride toward some dinner!
Cast of Characters:	Lara Croft, Julie Yan

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Lara Croft has posed:
It's a relatively quiet summer night in Manhattan, and Lara Croft has just separated from a rather interesting group of individuals that had been on a rather... interesting expedition into the levels beneath the city. The subway had yielded quite an experience into the magical and mystical corners of reality, and out of it all... Lara had gained experience, insight and, a crystal skull?

But she'd also left her Jeep quite a ways north of her, along with her jacket and cell phone as she hadn't known they'd be teleported across the island.

In her hands is that softball sized crystal skull with the dark gems for eyes. She's holding it carefully and glances back over her shoulder toward Julie who's moving to catch up. "I should probably flag a cab or something, I would think." She says to the other.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie had offered to tag along with Lara, it's usually a bad idea being alone in this city when you're on a hike. Besides, the Brit was cute and it wouldn't hurt to get to know people a little better. Trying to be aloof wasn't Julie's style. "Probably a good idea. Maybe snag some grub while we're at it? I heard of a place called uh..." She checks her phone for a second. "'Ramon's El Supernatural Mexicano.' Supposed to be pretty good, hangs out near central park." She says, after a quick Google. "I mean, if you don't mind a little detour."

Lara Croft has posed:
When Julie joins her at her side on her left, Lara glances over to her and shows a reserved smile. "I left my money in my vehicle as well." She says softly. "I don't mind a detour, food sounds lovely, but I do need to get this some place safe, I feel." A nod is given up the way. "My place is just up ahead. I can take this there--" She pauses then and exhales. "I don't have my keys." A small laugh comes from Lara then as she pauses her walking to just let all of that sink in. "I really didn't expect anything but a small meeting with that rather peculiar doctor back there." She glances back the way they'd come, then looks again to Julie.

"Always be prepared for the unexpected." She states dryly, and follows it up with a smirk.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie nods, "Tell ya what. I'll handle the food, we just gotta get to the jeep. Hope you don't mind a hike." She says, with a little chuckle. "I wasn't expecting to meet him at all, I just go this weird hunch and felt like I needed to follow it..." She muses, before checking her GPS and trying to remember which station they'd gone to before.

    "My sifu told me all about him, they'd met at some international doctor's convention ages ago, back when Strange was just a top-tier surgeon and not...well, what he is now. If Sifu Aaron knew what he was up to these days, he'd probably have laughed. Maybe he did, I dunno."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara releases another light laugh at this. She turns to start to walk again. "We were on 42nd street, on the upper west side. I've gone on long hikes more times than I can count, but I'm not sure we'll survive this one. New York is its own kind of animal." She says with a smirk over to Julie. She swatches the other for a moment while she works with the GPS. As they walk she glances up to Julie's face again. "Sifu." She says. "So you're a Kung Fu student?" She's familiar with the Cantonese term, so it would seem. A second later she offers another small smile. "I majored in Asian history at University." She mutters the last part with a slight smile.

A pair of people pass by them on the sidewalk and one of them notes the skull in Lara's hands, they raise their cell phone up to snap a picture of her with it. "Yo, SHIELD Agent!" The teenager says. "You on a case or something?"

Lara smirks and shakes her head. "Not at the moment, but maybe later!" She says back to the kid who laughs but keeps on walking.

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Yeah, my master taught me since I was little." Julie nods. "Sifu Aaron took me in when I was barely a few months old, my parents were...well, they were targeted by bad people." She says with a dark look in her eye, following along. "He raised me like one of his own, taught me everything about martial arts when I started breaking stuff like it was made of powder." Her eyes turn nostalgic and wistful. "He died recently, I'm still a novice with the magic stuff. All I know is I can use chi and make fire with a thought, so it's a start. I was hoping I'd be able to find somebody to complete my training, so I came here."

    She does perk up a little, "Really? I'm studying it right now, over at Midtown Uni, when I'm not working to pay off my loans anyways...there's gotta be some kind of scholarship deal I can find."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara looks over to the other as they walk together, listening to her story unfold little by little. She smiles at it lightly. "Even if it doesn't seem like a lot, I swear there have been many times where I wish I could 'think' fire into existence." She tells the other, glancing forward again, but keeping the smile. "I've found myself in many places that were ... less than warm." A quick glance goes back to Julie then. "But I think you've come to the right place. In all of my traveling abroad, few locations had as many powerful people located within them than Manhattan, than this city. It seems to be the epicenter for magical, mutant, meta and more. If you're going to find what you're looking for, I imagine you'll find it here." Her voice is calm, laced with that London accent.

When they reach the street corner with the busier side traffic, she tries to hail a cab. "I'm terrible at this." Lara says then. "They just sweep right past me like I don't exist."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Oh, it's as useful as you can imagine when it comes to staying warm. I could go naked in the snow and not really think much of it." Julie winks playfully. "I can imagine, SHIELD stuff and all." She says and laughs, "Yeah, New York is -packed- with supers. It's so weird, you'd think everyone would be all over the country instead! Then again, the big groups like the Avengers can be anywhere they need to be, I guess. If you wanted my answer, I'd say it's something to do with ley-lines. This city's probably built over one."

    She whistles sharply at a cabbie, before getting flipped off by that same driver. "Asshole!" She returns the favor with a withering glare, before she groans in annoyance. "It's like they don't wanna do their job, stupid pigs. Let's see if Uber's any better." the martial artist goes through her apps, trying to get a driver nearby.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara has to chuckle softly at that initial response. "I'm not sure I'd go quite to that extreme, but if it's true, at least it'd be superior to sleeping like a frozen dinner, as I generally do in such places." When the subject of New York is expanded upon, the Briton takes a moment to glance around at their surroundings. "I grew up only ever seeing them now and then on a random television broadcast. I was ... in the middle of no where when the Avengers defended the city from that terrible invasion in 2012 in fact. I was with my mentor who kept telling me that being as far away from New York as possible - like we were - was the best place we could possibly be in that moment."

A sly grin is shown at the rude exchange with the cab driver and Julie's proper reaction to it. "Now here we are in the heart of the city, unable to find a ride." She glances down at the skull again as she holds it in both hands in front of her lap. "Uber will surely come to our rescue, if Superman is just so pre-occupied." She flashes another grin then.

"So you're in college?" Lara asks. "I wish I could offer advice on scholarships, but I'm not very familiar with how they work here in the States. All I ever hear are financial horror stories about it all."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Seriously. I should just find some wealthy, beautiful socialite and charm them into being my sugar mommy. It's not like I've got any better ideas." Julie jokes with a bitter laugh. "I figure studying up on mythology will help me figure stuff out about myself. I didn't get these powers in a lab accident that's for sure. I'd show you, but the mark I have is in a bit of a sensitive place, maybe later." She winks playfully.

    Eventually they get themselves a ride, and Julie lets Lara in first. "Sorry pal, we need to commendeer your-hehehehe, I'm just kidding! But seriously we need a ride." She jokes to the driver, who just scoffs and follows the map. "96th station, huh? Whatever, just don't touch nothin'." He says gruffly, before driving along.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara watches the driver pull up to the curb that they're sharing and she glances over to Julie again to grin at her once more. "From what I hear, it's quite hard to meet the rich socialites, as they generally stay at the peaks of their ivory towers, looking down upon all of us with contempt." she's of course joking, and is of course, well... not often forthright about her own status in such a possible social echelon. Anyone who looked her up online likely would be well aware of it all though, considering she's directly tied to British royalty.

"Thank you." Lara says softlya s she slips into the car and settles in with the skull resting on her lap, it's dark gem eyes aimed forward to the back of the seat that the driver is occupying. Lara looks from the driver to Julie and grins at the joke from Julie.

"Thank you for picking us up." She tells the driver, to be polite. She looks to her right now back to Julie. "No more spirits in the subway for us tonight?" She says then. "You said you happened on it all on a 'hunch'? That's quite a radar you have for trouble then too."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Dunno, maybe Strange'll give me some kind of scholarship." Julie shrugs. "Magic uni is a thing, right?" The ride is fairly long and boring, thanks to New York traffic being what it is. All Julie can do is just chat. "Yeah, it's some serious Spidey-Sense, huh? Made it super easy for me to find bad guys to fight in Hong Kong, usually triads or demons, or demon triads."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara leans back in the seat and lets her stare go out the window as they drive. Still in Greenwich Village she points at a building as they pass it by. "That's my place there." She says of an apartment building with a set of stairs leading up between two trees resting in front of it.

She looks back to Julie though and smiles at her. "He might." She says of Strange. "It almost seemed as though he was testing the magic users that were with us tonight. I actually thought about that, the way that he introduced himself and then dropped down into the subway tracks. It felt like he was teaching a class, or ... testing all of you, to see how you'd handle yourselves."

She glances down at the skull again before back up and over to Julie. "So if you do hang around him again, be aware... I'm pretty sure he's gaging your abilities. Maybe I'm far off-base though... but... I don't think I am."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "He might. Sifu always said sorcerers weren't exactly to be trusted, even though he was one himself." Julie shrugs a shoulder. "They've got their own power games going on, enough reason for me to think twice about going to Strange directly. Even so, he...doesn't seem like he's that kinda wizard. More the 'smug but well intentioned' sort."

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara looks forward then to their driver who's making his way through the New York weekend traffic. When he asks them where they're headed, Lara takes a few minutes to explain that she's a SHIELD Agent and that she got separated from her vehicle.

So naturally he has a number of questions for her about Aliens, Monsters, the usual sort've thing, all of which Lara does her best to skirt around as none of those things are her personal expertise.

Eventually though they draw close to their destination and she points out her Jeep. "There it is." She says, telling the driver where to go. She glances over to Julie again then and grins. "Some part of me expected to find it gone. A bit pessimistic, perhaps?" She asks with a playful edge to her tone.

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie thankfully has to explain nothing. Once they get to the jeep, she's pretty happy to find it intact. "Let's hop it hasn't been burgled." She says, before hopping into the passenger seat. "TO EL SUPERNATURAL!" She points dramatically. The uber driver, also gets a generous tip. Maybe more than Julie should tip, but screw it.

Lara Croft has posed:
When their ride delivers them, Lara thanks the driver again before exiting the vehicle and starts toward the Jeep. She glances back to Julie. "Thank you again, I'll reimburse you." She says with a light smile before she uses the keyless entry to get inside of the Jeep. She pops the door open and then reaches in to get her coat, fixhing around inside of it for a moment she gets her keys, phone and a wallet out, all of which get put in pockets of her pants around her waist.

"Okay." She says with a heavy exhale. "Lets find you a place out of sight." She says to the SKULL OF DOOM, as she moves to the back of the Jeep to access it, then a black duffle bag that she unzips and slides the skull inside of. "That should do..."

Lara closes up the back of the Jeep then and smiles to Julie again. "I think we're good to go then."

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie nods, "Of course! Least I can do for a lovely agent of some weird pan-government outfit." She teases. "Actually, I'm curious. I always thought SHIELD was an American outfit, but you're English. How's that work? Who does SHIELD answer to? Or is that something you're not allowed to talk about?"

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara pauses at this question and takes a moment after hearing it to try to word it properly. She glances at the Uber driver's car as he makes his way down the road to mix back in with NY traffick, then looks back to Julie.

"SHIELD works in conjunction with many governments around the globe. Similarly to the United Nations, but with the best interests of the countries involved with regard tot he sorts of issues we're facing in the world today. Like... Demon Triads." She grins softly to the other. "But, China isn't an active member of SHIELD. Britain is, however, and I spent my initial training time in London earlier this year, before being transfered to the US, where... I am slowly settling in to the American lifestyle." She grins again. "I have my reasons for why I joined up though."

Julie Yan has posed:
    Julie doesn't press too hard. "Fair enough." She sits back in her seat, trying to be comfortable. "I admit, there's other reasons why I came here. To be blunt, I don't trust China at all. The government there...they're pretty tightly controlling over any super activities, so if what they've been doing in Hong Kong is any indication, imagine what they'd do to me. Bad enough they're not exactly 'accepting' of people in my lifestyle, imagine what they'd do if they knew what I was up to. I just hope this doesn't cause some kind of international incident."

Lara Croft has posed:
The Jeep is turned on and Lara has it on the move within moments. She looks over to Julie then and shows her smile after all of that "You're out of there now." She tells her. "You'll not have to worry about that. Plus, you know me now, so if you need any help you can just reach out to me and I'll make sure things are fixed." She tries to reassure the other. "You're looking to live the best life you can, like the rest of us, and this is... supposedly, the 'land of opportunity', yeah?" Lara holds her smile as she looks forward again when the traffic moves forward.

Julie Yan has posed:
    "Really? Didn't know SHIELD came with 'waving away entire countries' privileges for its agents. I'll try and be responsible with that." Julie says with a bitter laugh. "Turn here, Central Park won't be too far away from Greenwich." The martial artist relaxes some, and reaches over to give Lara's hand a squeeze. "This is weird to say, but I'm really glad I met you tonight. So far youv'e been a pretty great friend." She smiles warmly.

Lara Croft has posed:
Lara turns where indicated and keeps the vehicle moving at a leisurely pace. She glances back over to the other after the hand gesture and smiles at her. "Happy to help." She replies to it. "But, yes, I do have limitations. Don't turn into a 'super villain' as the News describes them. I probably couldn't help you if you did that." Lara looks forward again then and continues the drive to where Julie had spoken of. "You don't have anyone 'after you' do you?" She asks then. "A past like you describe, often yields that. I speak from experience, myself."

Julie Yan has posed:
    "You don't have to worry about that." Julie promises, and shrugs. "Cult guys back in Asia, but so far I don't think they've tried too hard in coming for me. Black Lotus is a weird beast, when I kick their asses they tend to run and hide for a while before trying again."