5307/Tracking a Wolf

Tracking a Wolf
Date of Scene:	22 February 2021
Location:	SoHo
Synopsis:	Black Canary goes hunting a werewolf and finds more than she realizes.
Cast of Characters:	Dinah Lance, Jake Gomez

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Dinah Lance has posed:
<You've got to be kidding me.> Black Canary is up in Manhattan, motorcycle engine rumbling low as she rides through the streets of SoHo. In the rain. Just like the song. Blonde hair is soaking wet, fluttering in the cold evening breeze, and she'll probably have to throw out the fishnets after tonight. Such is the life of a hero!

At first she questioned the request when it came in from the Justice League. 'Werewolf sighted in New York. Investigate at once.' What do they think, that he'll be walking down the street with perfect hair looking for a Chinese place?

Admittedly, stranger things have happened. Time to start talking to people. At least it'll get her out of the rain. She eases the bike over to the curb, switching off the engine and rocking it back onto the stand.

Jake Gomez has posed:
Word on the street is that this 'Werewolf' has only been spotted a handful of times. There was no real rhyme or reason to his sightings, but one lady did say that she was being held by gunpoint at an ATM machine and this 'thing' that looked like a werewolf came out of no where and threw the gunman around like a sack of feathers.

One by one, each contact and lead that she investigates will take her to a neighborhood near the University of Columbia, though a few blocks away to a more 'affordable' neighborhood where young students come and go for apartments.

Jake is currently sitting on a bnech under an umbrella, waiting for a bus that is already thirty minutes late due to it breaking down. He's dressed in an oversized gray hoodie and a pair of worn jeans that look like they may have come from the 90's. Hand me down clothing. He has a long braid over one shoulder, thick and hanging near his hip. The clearly Native American is staring at a book on his lap as he reads, not minding the cold or the rain so much. As others pass by him, they give him a wide berth for whatever reason.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance makes a lot of stops along the way, asking questions and trying to sort truth from rumors from urban legends. She is more than just a pretty face, however, and after a while the modified Triumph is rumbling along near the University of Columbia. By this time she's soaked to the skin and thinking about a long, hot bath. After the long, cold ride back to Gotham, of course.

She spots the guy with the long braid and the hoodie, and eases the bike over to the curb close by. "Hi there!" she calls out, wiping the rain from her face. "Got a sec to answer a few questions for me?"

Jake Gomez has posed:
At the sound of the voice, Jake continues to read his book, that is until he realizes that there is a person in front of him. He is used to being ignored and avoided. As he glances up at her, he gives a few blinks of his dark eyes, then closes his book with a light thump. Taking ahold of his braid, he pulls it over his shoulder so that it hangs behind him.

"Sure.." He trails off, straightening up as he tilts his head up to look at her with a serious gaze. His eyes are intense. Almost as if he was expecting the worst to come out of her mouth.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance switches off the bike, rocking it back onto the stand before swinging a leg over. She steps up... close... then looks at him with a bit of a smile. "First, mind if I share the umbrella?" She has to look up, even though he's a couple inches shy of six feet. Head tilting, she sluices water out of the blonde locks. Dinah has been asking the same questions all night, so it's almost a litany for her now.

"I'm not sure if you're aware of it, but there have been rumors of a man-like wolf... or a wolf-like man, depending... who has been seen around this part of the city. I'm Black Canary with the Justice League. I'm trying to locate him, and would like to talk."

Jake Gomez has posed:
"Sure, you can have my umbrella." Jake says as he passes it over to her. As the rain falls down upon him, he tilts his face upwards towards the sky for a moment, taking in a deep breath and inhaling the world into his lungs as he lets out a low hum in his throat. Scooting over to make room for her on the bench, he begins to listen.

The questions cause him to stiffen up. Super hero. He knows who she is of course. The Justice League is a big deal and their roster is practically on everyone's lips. "Okay.." He trails off as he clears his throat. He seems 'hyper' aware now as he stares at her with those dark eyes of his, as if they were trained one very word she speaks.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance sits casually close, holding onto the umbrella in one hand as she wipes rain water from her face with the other. She's wearing the mask, but it's simply cloth; overall a pretty low-tech kit, with the fishnets and leather. "Thanks so much. Really bad night for a ride." she offers, flashing a smile. Dinah is a pretty good read of people, especially when she's this close, and she meets his gaze evenly.

The smile usually helps break the ice, so she flashes it now. "Listen, I understand all about keeping quiet in the neighborhood and all that, really I do. And from what I've heard, this guy hasn't eaten anybody or anything. Like I said, I just wanna talk. Maybe you know him, maybe you don't. Just pass the word that we're listening, and we're watching. And we want to know more. That's all."

Jake Gomez has posed:
There is a shifting of Jake's jaw as he listens to her. His heightened senses are on fire now. He's listening to her vocal inflection, the rate of her heart, how she /smells/. If any of this is a trap, he will quickly find out. Does she know his secret? "Why do you want to know more? To capture him?"

The delivery of his question comes out rather blunt and to the point. He stares at her ice breaking smile, then back upwards to her eyes. He doesn't seem all that relaxed. If anything, he looks rigid and stiff.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance shakes her head, wet locks flipping about as she runs her fingers through her hair again. She even laughs, and it's a genuine sound. "Listen, if it helps to put this in context, let me explain a bit about who we are and who's one the roster. First of all, almost everybody wears a mask and has an assumed identity. Like me, for instance. One of our group is an extraterrestrial. Another stalks Gotham at night, scaring the hell outta criminals. Do I need to continue...?"

Comfortably holding the umbrella in one hand, she leans back and crosses one leg over the other. "From everything I hear, all this guy has been doing has been beating up bad guys. I can definitely get behind that. So no, we're not looking to capture or detain."

Jake Gomez has posed:
"It's what I have heard also. Some of these neighborhoods are not safe, especially for young women who walk home alone from classes. No one is afraid of him, except those that should be. He protects us here." Jake says as he glances away from her, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. By now, he is throughly soaked, but he isn't shivering. It's as if he has thick skin. Or, living in Arizona with their lack of rain gives him a chance to catch up with what he's been mostly missing.

"Wolves are very sacred to our people. He is the protector and the guardian of the lands. When we would dance around our fires back on our reservations, we call him Kweo. He dances from the shadows behind the deer and the antelope, watching, waiting to hunt. At night. No one should fear this .. wolf man .. as long as he does not hunt the innocent."

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance looks over at him, watching as the rain soaks in. She extends the umbrella to at least partially cover them both. And she listens, nodding slowly. "Well spoken." Dinah replies softly. "You speak like someone with more than a little understanding. Still, isn't it a bit unusual for a wolf to go urban like this? I mean, wolves are creatures of the plains. Protector or not."

Black Canary shifts, uncrossing her wet legs and recrossing them. "Are there many of... your people... here in the city? I mean, I'm sorry, but I don't know your name and I'm not very good at guessing tribes."

Jake Gomez has posed:
"No, I am here on a full scholarship. There was a corporation called Life Pharmaceuticals that were kidnapping people from my reservation, myself included, to experiment and run tests on us. We were able to escape. The law got involved and we were able to sue them for a lot of money. I was accepted to Columbia University to study climate change, so that I may return home to my people. I am from the Hopi Land Reservation in Arizona. The only little bit of land left that we are allowed to own."

As Jake speaks, there is a clear bitterness to his tone. Anger. "My name is Jake Gomez." He glances over at her for a moment, then gives a furrow of his brow, wide creases.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance gazes up at him while he talks, listening quietly all the while. When he introduces himself she offers a wet, gloved hand of her own. "And it's nice to meet you, Jake. I'm the Black Canary, for conversational purposes." Of course she already told him that, but now it's official. Or at least proper.

"So Life Pharmaceuticals kidnapped and experimented on you?" The blonde's squinting can be seen, even through the mask. "I can hear the emotion in your voice, but a lot of people would get bitter about that." Pause. "Almost vindictive. I won't ask what you've been through, but if you wanna talk sometime I'll give you my number. Just give me a call."

Jake Gomez has posed:
Taking her hand, Jake's palm is hot, as if he was having a fever. He gives her a firm shake. "They was just taking blood from us, DNA, you know. Don't know for what. I was just a kid at the time. Sixteen or so." He lets go of her hand, nudging the umbrella back to her direction so that she can have all of the coverage. He doesn't seem to mind the rain.

"You are the woman with the sonic powers from your throat, right? You scream very loudly and it knocks people over." He wipes his hands along the top of his pants.

Dinah Lance has posed:
Dinah Lance shrugs at the question, shifting her grip a little more on the umbrella. Truth be told, his warm hands are nice through the wet leather. She regards him more closely as he speaks. In her eyes he doesn't look to be much more than sixteen right now, but she nods. "That's my metagene, yeah, but I'm not a one-trick pony." she replies, on the question of sonic powers.

"I'm also a pretty good detective, and I'm pretty good in a fight." One of the best in the world, if you follow that sort of thing. Regardless, that's probably not the first thing that comes to mind when looking at the petite blonde who couldn't be more than a buck-twenty, soaking wet. Which she is. "And I know how to rebuild a carburetor."

Jake Gomez has posed:
"Sorry, I don't really follow most of that. I just know the basics of who you all are. I'm afraid that superheroes aren't really my .. interest. Once I move back to my reservation in two years, I most likely won't ever hear about most of you again unless it's on a local radio. We don't watch a lot of TV or use the Internet. We feel that too much consumption of that pollutes the soul as well as the mind. We simply live off what our lands provide for us." As Jake speaks, he continues to look around the city, giving a visible frown.

"I'll admit, even after being here for a year, I still feel lost and out of place. It is too loud. The air is not fresh. Everyone here does not know who they are, or who they belong to. I miss my mountains, my fresh grass, our lake to swim in." He gives a sly grin to her along his sun kissed features. "Naked of course. We live very close to how our ancestors did."

Dinah Lance has posed:
It's Dinah's turn to let out a sly grin at that, the blonde not skipping a beat. "Sounds like a big hippie commune to me." she replies. "And it also sounds like a place I'd like to visit." She rises, then. "I could probably be convinced to go native, even." Wink. Then she hands back the umbrella. "Thanks for the talk, Jake, and for borrowing your umbrella." She reaches into her jacket, then, and hands over a card that manages to get only damp thanks to the umbrella.

"If you do see this wolf-man, please tell him I'd like to talk. Good intentions or not, we do like to keep track of vigilantes. It's sometimes a thin line between vigilante and serial-killer." She pauses, then, snugging her gloves up a bit more. "And I meant what I said about giving me a call if you want to talk sometime."