3435/Abracadabra And- Hey Where's My Wallet!

Abracadabra And- Hey Where's My Wallet!
Date of Scene:	19 September 2020
Location:	Central Park
Synopsis:	Street magician Jackson entertains while some kids begin pick pocketing the crowd. Hot dogs were eaten and a Turtle made an appearance.
Cast of Characters:	Jackson Mathias, Heather Danielson, Kitty Pryde, Donatello, Natasha Cranston, Tony Masters

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Jackson Mathias has posed:
The park dusk right before it is no longer safe on these streets of NYC, on a Saturday packed people, milling around enjoying the outdoors, what better time to busk for your supper. Jackson is standing on a bench with a simple table next to the bench, covered in a black silk sheet. The mage is walking up and down his hands, covering his mouth, yelling out into the world."MAGIC SHOW! MAGIC SHOW! GATHER AROUND!" His right hand is thrown outwards, as a clown horn slides out from inside of his sleeve, as he rolls it around his fingers, as he squeezes it four times over and over, with a loud squeak.

As he spins now, throwing that horn down on the table, the back of his jacket is lighting up in the dark as those eyes seem to glow. With that, he is leaping back up on the metal bench, watching as the crowd starts to gather around him. His eyes are counting as he rolls his hand slowly, placing a little bone bowl down on the center of the table, with a cardboard sign that he sets there for donation.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Evening jogging is awesome. Heather lives in Metropolis these days. Near the Titans Tower since she's a member of the team. But since she doesn't have a secret ID, she doesn't really bother with a mask. Which means whatever she is wearing can be her uniform. Hence... the sports bra with the Titans T logo on it.
    The fact that she is in New York is easily attributed to some of the charity work she's been doing as both a Titan and a semi-celeb model. She took some girls from a local Make-a-Wish thing to the Met for a charity gala and met some interesting people. But tonight she just needed to get out and burn off some energy. Okay, she burns energy without trying, but she likes running and central part is so good for that.
    Now mind you, when she says jogging, what she means is damned near a full sprint that doesn't end until she is finished. Healing factor is good for something at least. So she's running through the area when festivities begin, and she pauses when she notices the scent of food... slowing down and getting in line to purchase a Central Park Hot Dog from a vendor cart.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Dinner with a friend at Katz's Deli ran late, but Kitty is in no rush to get back to Westchester. She's enjoying the evening, walking towards the other side of the city before getting a ride. Central Park is not only a shortcut, but an enjoyable walk as such things go in New York.

She makes her way into the park, knowing the trails well enough to pick the ones that she wants. She's wearing a pair of shorts and tennis shoes, with a light t-shirt and a thin windbreaker overtop that really isn't needed for the weather.

Up ahead she hears a horn honking. Kitty's attention successfully drawn, the young woman makes her way over towards where a few other people are starting to gather around Jackson's table. Kitty glances up at the man standing on the bench, taking him for the street magic busker. She looks over to an elderly coupe who have stopped beside her, and gives them a smile. "Looks like I get dinner -and- a show," she tells them, drawing a soft laugh from the couple. The woman gives Kitty a friendly smile back. "The talent of some of these young people who perform on the streets just amazes me," she says.

Donatello has posed:
    After a best-two-out-of-three set of Bubblegum Bubblegum In A Dish, fate has decided that the mutant turtle known as DONATELLO would be the one tasked with retrieving tonight's dinner -- a large cheese pie. Unfortunately, due to some issues with a local seafood restaurant's refrigerator, the neighborhood's sewers were working beyond capacity. This led to a forced detour for Donnie. After a left turn instead of a right turn, and long trek through unfamiliar tunnels, Donatello would find himself underneath a manhole cover in Central Park, instead of a block from Rupert's Pizza in Brooklyn.

    The metal cover pops up from its opening, just an inch or two, and a pair of eyes take a look. A crowd. A magic show. Maybe this mistake won't be so bad, after all!

Natasha Cranston has posed:
Capoeira practice ended a while ago, but Benny has a fare on the other side of town right now and won't be here for at least another half hour. But that's fine; it's not as if The Shadow has any pressing engagements at the moment, so "Jenny" decides to take some more time for herself.

    She takes a moment to put shoes back on before heading into the Park, looking for what the night might bring. After a moment she pauses to smell the air, then makes her way to the hot dog stand for a quick bite, giving the familiar-looking young woman with the distinctive logo on her T-shirt a nod and a smile as she waits for the vendor to get to her.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
"Now now, gather closer, closer." Jackson's hand is moving quickly over the crowd, move them forward, as he flicks his right wrist a sealed deck of cards coming out from the sleeve, as he scans the crowd, trying to pick someone as he points to Kitty."Come forward; the cards want you to open them." With that, he waits now, his right foot resting on the armrest of the rusted, old metal bench.

As he waits for her, the crowd surges forward slowly, trying to view the show better. His right foot is taping against the metal, quickly as if he is tap dancing that loud crashing of steel toe on metal, but it rhymic, luring the sense all to him."I have a total of three tricks tonight; if anyone else would like to be part of the show, come line up behind this young beauty." His voice is Cajun, filled with deep pleasure, as his hands held out the deck, as he waits for her to take it or, if not at all, pick someone else.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Smiling to Natasha because well.. Heather smiles to just about anyone. She reaches to a small fannypack she carries her debit card, Titans comm, and Starkphone in because... not pockets in spandex shorts and a sports bra... but she pulls her debit card out and steps up to place her order.
    "Four of your totally Zen dogs please." A pause, "Yes, everything on'em." she adds with a smile, "And a water." Then she looks back at the line behind her and she's in a good mood. "And put the next ten customers on my tab please." she adds before she steps aside to await her order, single earbud bopping some bass beat in her ear and making her hips and feet move just a bit to the beat. "We got a show?" she asks aloud to anyone, everyone, or no one in particular.

Tony Masters has posed:
It's Central Park. People come through here constantly. One such is a well-dressed, reasonably handsome brown haired man strolling along. Nothing about him particularly stands out. He notices the crowd forming around the street magic act, and his steps turn that way. A curious expression on his face as he takes a spot to the side to watch. Eyes fixed on the movements of the cajun mans hands, arms crossing over his chest. Maybe he'll pick up a new trick today. Unless it turns out to be real magic again. That's always annoying. He can't copy that.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty misses the stealthy turtle peeking out from below, as she grins back to the elderly couple she's standing beside as the show begins. When she's pointed out in the crowd by Jackson, she points to herself to confirm he's talking to her and not someone else behind her. As the stage is set on what he'll be doing for them, and she gets referred to in complimentary terms, Kitty turns back to the older couple to say, "Oooo, I already like how this show is going!" which garners a laugh from them and a couple of other people near enough to hear the comment.

Kitty slips through the crowd and over to where Jackson stands on the bench. She'll reach out for the deck of cards, and assuming he gives them to her, examine them briefly. "All plastic wrapped and everything, look brand new," she confirms to the crowd before removing the plastic and then opening the tab of the box that holds the cards, and then slipping them out. She looks at the first few cards, turning to look at the face of the joker card and at the back of the others. "Deck of cards," she confirms with a grin before holding them where Jackson can take them back if he wishes.

Donatello has posed:
    The manhole cover tilts back slightly as a green hand pushes one side up. Donatello's eyes watch as the small line in front of the hot dog stand rejoice at the thought of their orders being paid for by a kind stranger. The turtle scans the crowd, looking for a break through which he might actually get to see the magic show. Nope. Not from down here.

    Donatello takes a breath and sloooooowly slides the manhole cover to the side. The metallic sound of the cover sliding against the pavement could undoubtedly be heard, but this is New York! Does anyone really care? Should anyone be watching, they might catch a glimpse of a tall, humanoid turtle emerging from that manhole. It's a brief glance, however, because no more than a moment after the figure climbs out, it seems to disappear into a nearby shadow -- the manhole cover slowly rocks back and forth and settles back into its rightful spot on the pavement and covers up the hole.

    From behind a nearby bench, Donatello crouches and watches the show. Kitty Pryde's inspection of the deck of cards earns a slight squint of the turtle's eyes -- is she a plant in the audience?

Natasha Cranston has posed:
     "... /four/?" Jenny blinks, but only for a moment - she's not exactly unfamiliar with the demands of a heavy metabolism - and then shrugs, unwilling to ask impolite questions of someone who is offering free food... "Just one dog for me, thanks," she tells the vendor, then joins Heather to the side to wait for her order.

    "Thanks. I'm Jenny, by the way. You come around here often?" she asks, looking Heather over with the (undoubtedy familiar) expression of someone who thinks she recognizes her but isn't quite certain from where offhand.

    The introductions are cut slightly short as she notices the show about to start, and she looks over just as the magician puts Kitty on the spot...

Jackson Mathias has posed:
"Take those cards, shuffle them and pick a card, then show everyone. I will be not looking or touching them." With that, Jackson leaps on the back of the bench, his toes resting on it, as he takes out a hanky wrapping around his head, as he looks down at the ground, there is not many ways for him to see behind him, as he waits now."When you have done this, place the cards down on my table, and step away." As he waits now, a few people yelling out for her to check the blindfold, or other such things, to find the trick.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Getting her first hot dog, Heather's blue eyes light up. "Thanks!" She tells the vendor. "But get the rest of mine after everyone else please. No sense in them waiting on me."
    That said, she turns to regard Natasha. "Hi Jenny. I'm Heather." she intones before taking a large bite of the dog. She seems like she's about to say something with her cheeks filled like a greedy chipmunk, but then she thinks better of it and blushes. She chews, swallows, and then gestures to the show. "He seems pretty good." she says.
    "And... I come to the park whenever I'm in town. But.. it's not as often as I'd like. My job takes me all over. Well, one my jobs."

Tony Masters has posed:
Being a paranoid sort of fellow, Tony's ears perk at the sound of metal scraping against pavement. He glances around briefly, but doesn't spot the emerging nerdtle coming out of the sewer. After a couple moments he turns back towards the magic show. Studying Kitty carefully as she inspects the cards. She doesn't really look like a trained plant to him. But, who knows. He moves a little closer, mostly blending into the crowd that's gathering. He raises a brow when the man theatrically jumps onto the back of the bench, head tilting as he tries to spot the trick.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty takes the cards, showing the jokers to Jackson to see if he wants them discarded, and then either way she shuffles the cards several times, splitting them in two and then riffling them together, pushing them into a square stack and then repeating. She's a competent shuffler, but the person in the crowd who can pick up others skills would not be getting any kind of good card skills out of her from observing. Probably not a plant.

After she's done that enough to thoroughly mix them up, she draws out a card and shows it to everyone. It's the Five of Clubs. After getting the instruction from Jackson and clarifying she's doing what he want, she puts the card into the middle of the deck and gives it a few more shuffles. Then sets the deck down on the table. "Ok, you can look again," she tells him as she steps away from the table, moving back to the front edge of the crowd again.

Donatello has posed:
    A pair of eyes watch the display from behind the bench, studying the events on stage -- watching them carefully, as is expected for a member of the audience at a magic show. He. must. not. be. fooled. Okay, the deck's been shuffled pretty well -- but not too well to be suspicious -- the jokers removed, and then a card picked. Five of Clubs. Alright. But then...

    ...As the hot dog vendor's grill gets filled up with dogs to feed the hungry line of people, who have all been promised a free meal, the smell begins to travel. It's been an awfully long walk from Brooklyn and, by now, Donatello's stomach was expecting food. The turtle's attention becomes split -- he wants to make sure he won't be fooled once the magic trick comes to an end, but the smell of the hot dog cart is a difficult distraction to ignore. He takes a breath and waits for the right moment.

    When Jackson leaps up and balances on the top of the bench, Donatello makes his move. Careful eyes might catch the turtle upgrading his position to just behind the hot dog vendor's cart. As the vendor turns his back to fetch some buns from his storage container, a green hand rises up and begins to feel around for a hot dog to take. He'd pay, but...he doesn't have money. And in his defense, it was announced that everyone's order would be covered. There was no disclaimer for turtles.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
"Okay then, watch this." Jackson flicks his wrist forward, producing a match, as he strikes the match on the side of the bench quickly, as it burst into flame. He flicks it forward towards the deck of the cards on that wooden table; as it lands, everything is whoops up into flames, as it quickly engulfs the table. The flame is large not lot of smoke, it is burning first till the cards, the table, and there is nothing left, but as he walks over to the table, leaping over it, lifting it high in the air, the Five of Clubs is scorched into the center of the table. As he jumps back up on to the bench, still holding it high, for all to see."Is this your card?!" His eyes right locked on to Kitty's with a look of pure joy for his craft, as he waits now.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    "Heather..." Jenny's eyes glaze over briefly, then she looks at the symbol again and snaps the fingers of the hand not currently holding a hot dog, eyes widening. "Oh, right. Knockout, wasn't it?" she asks, but seems to hold back from any major geek-outs. Still, her voice probably carried enough that others may make the connection.

    Luckily, whatever else she might have said gets short-circuited as movement from the corner of her eyes draws her attention to a large green hand sneaking around the hot dog table. "...Uh..." she mentions, drawing Heather's attention down to it as well.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde is focused on the trick, so misses any shenanigans going on over at the hot dog cart. Like much of the crowd, she takes an extra step back as the contents of the table suddenly go up in flames.

"oh my word," the elderly man says, his arm going around his wife protectively, though she's just laughing. Kitty watches as the smoke clears and Jackson turns the table over to show the card's identity burned into the table. "Oh my god, it is. The Five of Clubs," she confirms, laughing as well. Kitty prides herself on her capability for reasoning, and the way she's looking at the table she seems to be quite stumped as to how the trick was done.

"Remind me not to hire you for a dinner party though," the brunette kids towards Jackson. "I don't think my table could survive it!"

Tony Masters has posed:
Not anywhere near the hot dog cart, Tony definetly doesn't see the green hand reaching for food. His attention is fixated on the magician, his brows furrowed. Hmmm. Finally he shakes himself, turning away from the magician. Oh hey. Hot dogs. He starts towards that in turn, weaving through the crowd on his way to the New York staple. Already fishing out his wallet as he moves, retrieving some cash. He doesn't use cards or the like when he can help it. He steps into line behind the girls.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Inclining her head, Heather smiles, "Yep. That's me." she says to Natasha in confirmation. "Apparently I have the super power to induce jealousy by needing about ten times the calories a day than normal folks. I just..." She notices Natasha's gaze move, and she inclines her head. She's heard of mutants who can't buy food, and things such as that. So when she notices the hand... or more like the tip of a finger as it searches... she takes the second dog that she was handed, and places it RIGHT where the hand can grab it even while she moves to try to block the vendor's view of that probing digit.
    "Anyway. Good show!" She calls out to the magician.

Donatello has posed:
    The turtle hand feels around for a few seconds -- it's difficult work trying to find a hotdog without touching that sizzling grill. But then, a hot dog seems to move itself right into his grasp! Mysterious. The hotdog is claimed and pulled from the cart! When Jackson's trick comes to its fiery conclusion, Donatello dive-rolls back to his spot behind the shadowy bench and stuffs the plain hotdog into his wide mouth. As the gathered crowd continues its applause, the turtle splits himself between chewing his mouthful of food and clapping for the magician. All things considered, it's been a rough week and this small bit of entertainment helps, even if he missed most of the first trick.

    Meanwhile, the hot dog vendor turns back to his cart, now holding a fresh package of rolls. He looks down at his grill, which now has a single empty spot roughly the size of a hotdog. He looks up and turns his head rapidly, trying to spot the thief -- or pigeon -- making off with his product. The vendor sighs, resigned to his duties, and goes back to serving his customers. The Universe has gotten in one more shot.

    Donatello's eyes might just be visible from behind that bench, especially if his movements were watched after his hand was spotted. Behind the bench, his eyes widen a touch and a finger is brought up to his lips. Shhhhh. A plea to not say anything to whoever might notice.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
As the fire is burning out, that table is held so high in the air for the audience; it was an excellent time to start the work. A group of children begin to run through the crowd; it seems they are moving trying to get a better view, bumping into people over and over, as they push and shove. Pockets are getting lighter, watches getting snatched, and time for the street kids to get paid.

As he looks over at Kitty with a little chuckle, as his hand is offered towards her to shake it."Of course, and I don't do this trick unless we are outside, too much fire, too little room not to cause fire." He grins at her as he moves along the metal bench's back as he bows towards the crowd. "Now, I have another trick, this one not as fire-driven, it is going to be fun." Jackson sets the table back down on the bench's side as he leaps upon the table now. He is dancing along the table now, in a quick Russian jig, kicking his feet and dropping down low, as he starts to make more news, as he starts to stomp his right foot with a loud bang. Now, he begins to throw his hand above himself, as he waits now his right hand up so high, holding something, as he counts and waiting for the next person to step up.

Those kids, 5 of them darting in out, as they are now at the other side of the park, waiting for the next trick it seems, before doing another push into the crowd. People know checking pockets, looking at missing watches, not yet thinking of pickpocketing, doing that slow count down of where they had been, reliving the long day.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde retakes her place beside the couple. Strange how just a few spoke friendly words with someone makes them your group so you seek them back out after. Kitty smiles to them and focuses back on the magician, not noticing the little hand that slips into the elderly woman's purse and comes away with a coin purse. Not the biggest score by any means, but it goes unnoticed.

Kitty glances around the area briefly, eyes going over to the line at the hot dog cart. Though she ate at Katz's not that long ago, the smell from it is definitely enticing. It seems like there's a bit of movement in the shadows over near a bench, but a quick glance doesn't see what it was, especially with a few people from the crowd in the way. She turns back to wards Jackson again, eyes drifting across Tony Masters briefly before continuing on to the magician.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    Jenny nods slightly at Heather's movement, then takes an exaggeratedly big and slightly loud bite of her own hotdog, drawing attention to herself just in the instant Donny needs to snatch that dog. She closes her eyes briefly, savouring the taste, then looks around as she opens them again, her gaze passing over Donny's hiding place without appearing to spot him.

    As the trick concludes, she quickly pushes the rest of her dog into her mouth so she has both hands free for clapping, her smile only freezing slightly when she notices the kids.

    Dammit. Here she is, with no way of getting clear of this crowd or explaining how a perfectly ordinary young woman could spot five pickpockets moving through a crowd... Perhaps there's still time for the owner of the green hand to earn his hotdog. She very briefly glances directly at Donny, then flicks her eyes and head minutely in the direction the kids headed off, in a fairly impressive command for all that it was entirely non-verbal...

Tony Masters has posed:
Once it's his turn, Tony orders a hot dog with the works. Paying the vendor then moving back to the crowd. Glancing around the area, his gaze lingering for just a moment too long on the bench Donatello is currently behind. Maybe he notices the nerdjas movements from the cart to there. Or maybe he's just looking for a place to sit, as he makes his way over to it and settles down, taking a bit of his dog as he focuses on the performance again. Perhaps coincidentally, he doesn't block Donatello's own view where he sits. Stretching an arm along the back of the bench. "Hmm. Still not sure..."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Smiling as she notices the offered foodstuff donation has been accepted, Heather doesn't even look in that direction. It's not that she doesn't want to know that things are okay, that someone who needs food has it. It's that she doesn't want her gaze going that direction to draw anyone else's attention that way.
    It is fortunate for her that her valuables are in that zipped shut fannypack which is right below her belly button. Makes it difficult to pick a pocket when there are no pockets. But she shrugs to Natasha. "So what about -you-? What brings you to the park?" she asks.

Donatello has posed:
    All things considered, Donatello has a pretty good seat for this show. Sure, being ON the bench might be nicer than sitting behind it, but beggars can't be choosers, can they? A small sigh comes from Donnie, just a slight tuft of air, as Tony just sprawls out on his bench. Humans think they own the place, don't they? Can't he see that he's sitting there? Well, behind there, but still!

    With a lifetime spent living in the shadows, the ninja knows a thing or two about subterfuge, misdirection, and general sneakiness. After all, it was during the key moments of the trick that he did most of his more obvious movements. He would have seen the crowd of children picking wallets if he wasn't too busy with a heist of his own. However, as Donatello sits behind the bench, munching on his hotdog and clapping for Jackson, the crowd of children fleeing from the magic show and towards the other side of the park is impossible for him to not notice. That's weird. What kind of kids would ignore a perfectly good magic show? And fire?

    The mutant turtle stares into the distance, curious about the kids, but it's not long before the allure of Jackson's tricks recaptures his attention. After all, what kind of kid would ignore a perfectly good magic show? But then...

    ...Donnie's young eyes find another thing to glance at, unknowingly, as he takes notice of Jenny, who seems to be looking directly at him. It's equal parts teenager's eyeballs and the intuition of knowing when someone's looking right at you that bring Donnie to look that way. He had dropped the children as a cause for concern until the young woman tilts her head back in their direction. It's a silent command, but he gets it. The turtle takes a breath and begins to slowly slink back from the bench and further into the shadows, looking for a secure path to approach that group of kids.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
A young girl moves forward to be the nice helper for the next trick, as his hand is coming down for a moment, watching her."Hello there, no, don't tell me your name, have we met before?" The girl is 17 or maybe 18 if a day red hair, nerdy glasses, shy as she thinks about stumbling away from the man, but something is placed in her hand, as he leaps off the bench now."Hold that, tug it as I go grab myself a dog." With that, Jackson starts to walk towards the line getting into it a vast rainbow colorful hankies connecting from his inner pocket of the leather jacket. He moves around people, waving through the crowd, with each step, a hanky is left dangling, till he is waiting in line as he taps his foot, that long line of scarfs still being pulled out by her.

The line for the dogs moving so slowly. Still, eyes turning in the crowd watching the long line of the hankies and the man's movement. Those little troublemakers are seeing the trick's distracting nature and giving them time to move into the crowd once more, as they start once again to bump, shove, and skilled little hands are moving so quickly in work. As they stumble around in the crowd, each picking targets, and then again stopping in random spots, pretending to watch the show.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    ... And just as quickly as that expression emerges, it's gone again by the time she turns back to respond to Heather's question.

    "Capoeira," Jenny replies as soon as her mouth is sufficiently empty to speak politely, briefly hefting her sports bag for emphasis -- . "We finished around sunset and I had some extra time before I need to go home so I figured I'd take a stroll, get a bite to eat, maybe catch a show, y'know?"

    Behind Jenny's cheerful mask, Natasha thinks quickly, aware of the kids making another pass through the crowd. This may require becoming significantly less subtle than she was hoping to remain...

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty grins as the ever-increasing line of handkerchiefs comes out of the magician's jacket. "I'm going to sneak over there when he's done and see if the vendor has peanuts or maybe a pretzel," she tells the older couple. The woman pats Kitty's arm with a smile before Kitty turns to make her way through the crowd.

It's slower going as she has to step under the line of handkerchiefs, or people try to move out of her way and come near to getting tangles, resulting in a good-natured laugh from Kitty. She finally makes it to the edge of the crowd near the vendor, but waits for Jackson to finish up his trick so she doesn't get in the way, before approaching him.

Heather Danielson has posed:
    The mention of Capoeira makes Heather smile, "Every time I think about that.. Capo... Air-uh... I hope I didn't butcher it, I think of like dance battle, or breakdance fighting." she admits with a bit of a blush, "I only ever studied like some basic Karate and such. I'm trying to learn better stuff, but it's not like I generally try to avoid getting hit..."
    She shrugs and she's totally oblivious to the kids. She's just watching the show. Silly midwestern goody goody naive idealist that she is, she doesn't even consider the New York Pickpocket population.

Donatello has posed:
    Tony can have the bench. Donatello begins his short journey from the magic show to the knoll where the group of children have started to congregate. At least one other person thought that this was suspicious, using that tilt of her head to put him on the case. Either there was something foul going on with these kids, or parents have been right all along -- smartphones truly have ruined this generation. Can't even be bothered to watch an old-fashioned magic show?

    The turtle's route brings him from one shadow to the next, really anything that could conceal him a bit -- trees, garbage cans, benches. From behind a tree trunk, Donnie watches the crowd of children suddenly become interested in the magic show again. As they come running back, Donatello realizes that he is an inevitable oddity right in the middle of their path.

    He looks left, right, and then up. Seeing no other option, the turtle suddenly leaps into the air and conceals himself in the low branches of the oak tree. Thankfully, the leaves are still fairly plentiful and do a decent job keeping him out of sight. From this new vantage point, Donnie watches the children carefully. One, two, three, four...At least five wallets. The turtle forms a deep frown, a tight line in his brow partially concealed by a purple eye mask.

    Donatello's eyes briefly flash back to the hot dog cart. He watches the vendor toiling away to serve the line of customers. Donnie lowers his eyes, suddenly realizing that a hotdog isn't too different from a wallet or a watch. He takes a breath and gives his brain a moment to justify the means.

    "Alright," the oak tree whispers to itself. "What's the play here? 'Mutant Turtle Ruins Magic Show' ... 'Green Menace Terrorizes Children' ..." The voice softly considers tomorrow's newspaper headlines. What option does he really have here? Usually the smart one, Donatello finds himself stymied. He looks out to try and spot the human. Jenny. Maybe she'd have an idea?

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    "Close enough!" Jenny replies. "And that's basically what it is, yeah. It's a lot flashier than most martial arts, but that's how it was created. Great fun though. Hang on, I've got a card..."

    She turns a bit and swings her sports bag around, 'accidentally' clocking one of the kids as he tried to brush past. "... Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" she asks, kneeling by where the kid has hit the ground, apparently heedless of the wallet that fell out of his hand.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty Pryde gets up to the vendor and looks over what he has. "Ooo, the roasted peanuts, please," she tells him. He fills up a bag with them, and Kitty pulls out her phone, which thankfully hasn't been nicked by anyone, and uses it to transfer over payment to him. "Thanks," she tells him as she turns back to watch the magic show.

She wanders about the edges of the crowd for now, pulling out a peanut and breaking the shell open to get at the good parts inside. The shell goes into the bushes where it'll degrade to help the plants, but be out of sight in the meantime to not leave the park looking messy.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
Bam one kid is down, losing that wallet, up and adam time to bolt. One kid is flying down the path, off it, and running for his life. This is a town where you get spotted, run too many do-gooders.

As he throws his hand back, that card flying out yanked into the waiting hand of that nerdy redhead, it is a simple card, with a name on it reading Mary Beth Holland."THAT'S MY NAME!" With that, Jackson nods towards her with a flourish, as he watches it all."Now, that was there is one more trick of the evening!"

The other kids are moving quickly, watching the one bail, as they also scatter one for each direction, one down all got to bolt the rule of the streets. Jackson makes his way back to the bench, as he throws his hand upwards, holding it."I want everyone to close their eyes tightly, think of an animal, the perfect animal, the one you adore, your little pet, and the thing you love the most." Then, one of you shout it out, and I will make it appear right now, so it's a first-come, first-serve kind of game."

Heather Danielson has posed:
    Funny thing. Heather herself is only 18 years old. But she's done a bit more (and less) living than city street teens. She hasn't had the same rough life lessons, but she has been shot at least seventy five times. So, details.
    And then the kid is struck by 'Jenny's' bag, and Heather, ever the empathetic teen she is, steps forward and crouches to offer a hand, "Are you okay?" she asks with concern. Her big blue eyes wide with concern.
    She's forgotten about the magic trick now, and the Great Frankfurter Heist...

Donatello has posed:
    Donatello is totally missing the discussion about martial arts -- he'd totally share some of the unique moves of Hamato-do, which tend to make at least partial use of a giant turtle shell. However, one thing he did not miss was Jenny's precise use of her gym bag on those would-be pickpockets! The teen can't help but grip his hand into a tight fist and pull his elbow back -- a celebratory gesture! Nice going! She sprung the trap and the kids are on the run!

    Donnie jumps down from the tree, right in front of one of the pickpockets! It's got to be a pretty scary thing -- as though the darkness of the tree spit out a tall, muscular turtle monster, almost totally green except for his tan plastron and a touch of purple.

    "Drop it!" he growls, doing a pretty decent impression of his brother Raphael. The 'it' in this case is a handful of wallets.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty wanders with the bag of peanuts, staying near the edges of the path so she can dispose of the shells into the bushes in a responsible manner. She keeps an eye on the magic show though, having really enjoyed that first trick in particular. When Jackson gets the girl's name, Kitty transfers the bag of peanuts to holding it under an arm as she claps.

As Jackson gives the crowd instructions for his next trick, a number of people do as he says. Including the nice couple that Kitty had talked to earlier. Edna, for that's her name, is one of the first to speak up. "A tweety bird!" she calls out to Jackson.

Kitty meanwhile has a kid running past her draw her attention. She turns to follow, wondering what he's doing out at the late hour, when a form drops from a tree in front of the kid and growls at him to drop something.

Kitty's eyebrows raise a bit as she eyes Donatello. "I'm thinking... turtle right now," she says, though it's not loud enough to carry to the crowd, though Donatello can surely hear it.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
With a swipe of his hand, as he kicks the table over now, the burn marks hidden. As he lifts it high into the air, a picture of a realistic duck is on the back of it. Rising his hands into the air, as he leaps back up on the bench, as he bows now."If you enjoyed it, the show is over; please donate to the I need a place to sleep fund tonight." With that, he is pointing to a hat on the ground, a large black top hat.

The kid that was stopped by the large green man with a shell, as getting his wish that kid is dropping 18 wallets, three watches, and five cellphones, and a medical alert bracelet.

The Kid rushing past Kitty, is jingling like he is a made of change, he is the watchman, the master of watches. He is running leaping into a bush, as trying to crawl into a drain, but Kitty is easily able to catch up to him.

Donatello has posed:
    Huh. Donatello stands there, doing his best to look as scary as he possibly can, and the kid just drops it all? The grass is filled with wallets, phones, and watches. It's like someone busted the pinata at a rich kid's birthday party -- not that Donatello had ever /been/ to a birthday party, mind you. Conflicted, Donatello stands there, an imposing figure -- and probably the fuel for a future therapy session -- but he lets the kid run away, if they're looking to. He's not about to rough up children.

    His brow line rises a touch before lowering into another scowl. "Get out of here!" he growls, taking a step forward to put himself between the kid and the pile of valuables. There's also the medical alert bracelet. Though, if the kid reaches for it, Donnie'd have to let him keep it. He'd need it if things had to get ugly.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty watches the kid scurry off after wisely dropping the stolen goods. She looks back to the magician, seeing Jackson is done and directing people towards his hat where donations can be left. She pulls out a bill from her pocket, leaving it in hand for the moment though she intends to drop it in when she can.

Though at the moment she's focused on Donatello. And when confronted with a turtle, a 5'6" mutant turtle teenaged ninja, she says the only thing to him that you might expect someone to say in a moment like that.

"Mikey? It's Kitty. From the beach birthday party, remember?" she tells him.

Of course, how could he forget? There were only two Avengers there, and someone making gigantic ice ramps in the ocean for people to jet ski over. Unless he isn't Mikey and so wasn't there.

She glances back over her shoulder and then pulls off her windbreaker, offering it over to him. "Here, if you need to cover up," she says. "Good job getting him to drop that stuff. I can help get it back to people," she offers.

Donatello has posed:
    Mikey. Now that's not at all what Donatello was expecting to hear. He frowns just a bit and brings a three-fingered hand up to his chin -- a thinky kind of gesture. In some ways, perhaps the turtles /do/ all look alike to the humans, but they absolutely, positively, do not. In Kitty's defense, he is wearing his purple eye mask, so it's reasonable for him to not be recognized. After all, he wears it as a disguise, right? Donatello's brow relaxes and he turns to the voice.

    "Nope, not Mikey," he calls out. His voice has gone up slightly, no longer trying to make himself sound scarier than he is. Realizing that this person was not going to scream and run off, Donatello takes a couple of steps in Kitty's direction. He gives the pile of wallets and things a lasting glance before nodding. "Yeah, you better take that stuff," he agrees.

    "I'm Donnie," he greets, managing a smile. "Donatello." There's a family resemblance. Wait. Beach birthday party? Michelangelo is SO LUCKY that Leonardo isn't here to catch that.

     Emboldened by this turn of events, Donatello calls over to Jenny. "Hey, nice going with that bag move!" He makes a swingy sort of gesture.

Jackson Mathias has posed:
There is a moment when he picks up the hat, as he takes out the cash---placing the money in his back pocket as he starts to head away as he waves over his shoulder.

The children gone are taken care of it is not hard to give out the goodies back, to do the right thing. It was an eventful evening, but now it was time for everyone to return to their lives, now with their wallets and watches, medical bracelets thanks to our evening heroes.

But, now it was time for our Mage to notice the take was not as it should be as he checks his little dropbox, with a frown, but a pawn is a pawn. He would put the money in the payoff spot; there is always another show.

Natasha Cranston has posed:
    With the situation apparently stabilizing, "Jenny" decides it's a good time to be elsewhere before people start to pay more attention to her than she really wants to have to deal with. A few steps, a quick shift as she moves through the crowd, a side move to pass between two onlookers, a brief bump -- and anyone still keeping note of her loses eye contact, and doesn't regain it...

Donatello has posed:
    Nice going with that bag move! No sooner than the instant he finished saying it, Donatello realizes he's calling out to someone who isn't there. The turtle squints one eye, briefly, before lifting his brow in a gesture of silent admiration. Interesting...