8753/Interactin' Cafe Au Lait

Interactin' Cafe Au Lait
Date of Scene:	20 November 2021
Location:	Rise N Grind
Synopsis:	Everyone ate and Madi weirded BK out.
Cast of Characters:	Madigan Belle, Billy Kaplan, Bart Allen

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Madigan Belle has posed:
The Rise N Grind is a bit bustling in terms of an early afternoon. The morning rush has gone but there's always those folks sitting around, eating up the wifi and doing schoolwork or reading, or chatting it up. Madigan is one such person. Unlike some of the others, however, she's not sitting there sipping one cup of house coffee and draining resources. No, she's a productive customer. Around her table are books from a multitude of genres, a few physics books, some biology is in there, genetics? Is there a laptop that she's typing on occasionally with a tablet that's got a racing game going, and a comic book? And in between, looking from one book, flipping a page, then moving on to another one, flipping a page, and rotating, she's also sipping coffee... while taking big mouthfuls of various cafe desserts. There's no less than 6 of them and a small stack of empty plates.

Maybe she's been here a while. "Oh, hahahaha, right. That's an error, oh my goodness, an error in a gene therapy text book... get real." Speaking aloud, and loudly, Madi is engaged in what she's doing and seems to be talking to herself as she has no guests at her table.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy Kaplan is moving through space like one who's mind is far away. Almost unconsciously he weaves this way or that to avoid colliding into people in this bustling coffee shop. Once arrived at the counter, he asks for a large breve with extra vanilla and extra caramel. His eyes wander over the various desserts. He licks his lips gently and points. "Can I also please have one of those chocola...be-better make it two. Two of those chocolate croissants?" He taps one of his toes nervously, like one who just made a grievous error in judgement. He blurts out, "Can... can you also include one of those apple cheese danishes?"

Once his order is prepared and paid for, he moves into the main area to try to find a place to sit. He blinks once when he hears Madigan. "Did you just find an error in a gene therapy textbook?" he asks, surprise plain both on his face and in his voice.

Madigan Belle has posed:
There's a lot of chewing, quick bites of her food, Madigan is pretty much consuming while reading. She pauses a moment and laughs lightly at the book on genes she's reading, and shakes her head. Biting her tongue and grinning big, she's moving forward with a pen and crossing off some word in her textbook, then going up to an organic structure formula and adding in some symbols when she hears the question from Billy.

Looking up, she's grinning big, her eyes are a bit wide and excited looking, while she's biting at the tip of her tongue, then releases it. "Oh, hello. You... person, were you asking me?" A quick look around, enough that her hair is wooshing a bit about her face, until she looks again at Billy. "Must be me, no one else is looking at genetics textbooks. Huh, well, yes, yes I am. I mean, when there's mistakes... it's like, duh, right? Textbooks are always filled with mistakes, from science books to history books, it's all just a lot of blah blah I have a Ph.D and am making you buy my book. Blabbity blah." She actually holds up her hands and makes her fingers and thumb clamp open and closed with each hand like she had sock puppets on them as she says the words blah blah and blabbity blah.

There's a quick pause though, and she squints, furrowing her brow a bit, and very visibly is scrutinizing something about Billy. Until she offers, "Apple cheese danish? Really? With that coffee? Paaaaahlease. You probably want to get some caramel on there, or inside of your drink. Just a tad though, not that you can go wrong with extra sweet, that's the best, so, maybe not a tad." She speaks... quickly.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy Kaplan just...stands there holding his large drink and a plate with two chocolate croissants and an apple cheese danish on it...and stares at Madigan who is presently in the process of firing a verbal word machine gun at him. He blinks several times with eyes wide as he tries to parse the massive incoming wall of speaking that is barraging him. "I... "

He looks down at the aforementioned apple cheese danish then back up at Madigan. "Are you okay?" he asks genuinely.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will walk into the place he is wearing a Gotham Zoo uniform including the hat. He steps inside heading for the counter as he looks around the room and blinks seeing a few people he knows one as Impulse and one as Bart.

Madigan Belle has posed:
"Okay? I'm totally fine. I mean, as far as I know... why?" Madigan's eyes get bigger, and she's shuffling through her backpack till she finds her cosmetic compact and flips it open, she's looking all over her face. "I don't see it, is there something wrong with my face? It doesn't look like there is..." Her hand is moving back and forth, trying to get at every possible corner of her face. Hanging from the side of her chair is a crutch, and she's not gotten up but it might be slightly visible that there are leg braces supporting her legs from even this angle for Billy.

Once her review of her face has been done, she claps it closed and tucks it back away. All within a matter of a dozen seconds or so, and she grins big, "Or, were you just confused about my name? Maybe that's it. I'm not Okay, then, Miss Okay. That'd be a really benign version of that whole Misses Right thing, am I right?" She giggles a bit, big grin, shaking with the laughter a bit before offering, "I'm Madigan, people call me Madi. Like, Here Madi. I mean, seriously, it literally means little dog in Irish. But, there's a history with that, and it's not as negative as it might sound." Quick pause, "You?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy Kaplan's gaze shifts to Bart--he's cute so he gets an extra few moments of looking--then back to Madigan. He stands calmly through the manic behavior like one who maybe long ago got used to such things. Finally: "Hi, Madigan. Madi. I'm Billy." He looks her up and down appraisingly. He briefly notes the leg braces. "You...remind me so much of my brother." He laughs a little bit, almost just a brief release of nervous energy more than actual amusement. "Do you.. do you want one?" He extends the plate he's holding. On it are two chocolate croissants and one apple cheese danish.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will look over offering a wave to Madi, and Billy who may recognize him or may not. Bart does wear a mask, but his hair and specially his eyes are rather distinctive. He gets himself a couple different energy drinks, and a half dozen different pastries. He will move to the end of the counter to pay and heads towards a table in their direction.

Madigan Belle has posed:
Gone. One of those chocolate croissants is gone, and soon enough being bitten by the pink lipped glasses wearing redhead. Madigan is saying, after the first bite, "Thanks." And then she offers with a quirk to her lips and a sidelong look off to the side, "I mean, it is the -least- you could do for saying I look like your brother. That's not the /best/ compliment you can give to a cute collegiate girl like myself, but hey, I got some chocolate out of the deal." And she is chewing on it, she waves a hand to a seat, "So, Billy, huh? Like Billy the Kid, Billy Club, or just 'a' Billy?" She's smiling big again, eating, taking a few long sips from her nearest coffee.

When Bart waves, her eyes dart in his direction, "Bart, hi." She waves quickly in his direction, and then back to Billy, looking at him as she smiles more, "You like science? Or maybe you just heard textbook and was like, what kind of super smart awesomely cute nerdy expert in genetics is here in this fine 80s themed establishment? I should get her autograph?"

Billy Kaplan has posed:
It happened so fast. He doesn't so much watch the absconding of the chocolate croissant as he does note its absence. He uses one foot to slide the proffered chair out from the table so he can sit. He sets the plate down--as far from Madigan as would be socially reasonable without appearing rude--as he sits. He takes a long pull from the drink he ordered. "I didn't say you look like my brother. I said you remind me of him. He...is very active and talks really fast. And I don't know much about science. It just seemed impressive that someone knows enough about gene therapy to find a mistake in a gene therapy textbook. I don't even think I have ever spoken the phrase 'gene therapy' before today." A small smile that reaches his cinnamon eyes, and a little bit of a laugh.

As Bart Allen approaches the table, it wouldn't take a psychology major to see that for whatever reason that both excites and terrifies Billy. He sits up straighter. He clears his throat. His pupils unconsciously dilate to allow in more light.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will set his food and drinks down on a table next to the pair, and says "Hey there." He will move to offer Madi a hug if she seems ok with it and says "You showing off that big brain of yours again Madi?" He asks her. "Madi here is in the top 10 smartest people I know, and she is friends with the rest of them I think." He comments "Hope I am not interrupting."

Madigan Belle has posed:
There's no issue with the hug, Madi just hugs back and lets everyone get into their seats. She's eating, still, and stuffing her face, even around the hug. Then she takes a moment to swallow, sip coffee, and smile. "Oh! I am, in that top 10 list. I'm probably the smartest when it comes to genetics, I've met a few really smart other people, but I do have a bigger than normal brain. It just isn't a medical condition causing me problems... it's really, just, bigger... for good benefits."

With that she nods her head a few more times, in response to what Billy is saying, "Whew. I thought you were either say I looked like a dude, which isn't so bad, or that your brother looked like a super cute Irish woman. Which, there are worse things in life. Though, being a mutant isn't always what it is cracked up to be..." She raises a finger and points at her hair, while she sips her drink, then she pulls that down and tries to clarify, "MC1R. But, yeah, I'm basically done with my Ph.D at Columbia buuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I haven't gotten around to turning in my Thesis for like, the past year, but whatevs, it's only tuition."

To Bart specifically she shakes her head, "No interruption. I just met this Billy ... the kid." She pauses to finger gun shoot toward Bart,"And he's pretty astute, he's already impressed by me."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
It's probably safest to eat that apple cheese danish now, while there's still time. Things seem to be happening really quickly around here. So Billy picks up the pastry and takes a nice big bite. "I don't.. I don't really know what I did to impress someone with a larger-than-average brain, but okay." He twitches his lips to one side for a moment as he contemplates that. "But I won't complain."

He looks to Bart, raising one hand in a really pathetic, lame wave. "H-hi," he says, his voice struggling to be heard suddenly, barely a whisper. He clears his throat and tries again. "Hi." That's better.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen will nod a bit and says "Well you are impressive Madi. Oh did not get a chance to let you know I ended up got a place in New York earlier this month. Found a cheap place, so I had somewhere near school." He will sit at his table beside theirs and says "Billy here seems like a smart guy, but lets be honest figuring out your special is an easy one." He says to Madi. He looks over to Billy, and offers his hand "I'm Bart, a pleasure to meet you." He plays off as if he does not recognize Billy from the tower. He does wonder if he should warn Billy, there is a chance Madi could be at the tower.

Madigan Belle has posed:
There's a long wait, Madi looks at Billy, at first she's smiling. Then her eyes are looking around, then she's fiddling with a book nearby her, all with the patience of a squirrel hoarding things for the winter. Then she's back to looking at him and quirking her mouth to the side, "Are you in college? Are you working? What do you do? Do you like video games? I have this new one..." And she's reaching into her backpack that hangs off the back of her chair and pulls out her nintendo switch, then sets that on the table, then pulls out her Steam Deck and then is powering it on, she rocks in her seat waiting for the thing to boot. And she takes in a deep breath, eyes get wide, her lips close together and so when she exhales her cheeks puff out a bit as she slowly deflates with the exhale.

"Anyhow, while this thing taaaaakes for-ev-er to boot, I, yeah, I'm smart. Special is a lame way of saying it Bart, cause people might think you are being rude what with the no-go on the leggos." She offers, though doesn't stop smiling at this point, she keeps moving her head to look at Billy and Bart as they speak or make movements.

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy Kaplan finishes the danish, swatting some crumbs from his chin with the fingertips of one hand. Again he gets that deer-in-the-headlights look as he is peppered with questions from the hopped-up Madi. "I am in college," he responds, just trying to take this one thing at a time. "I'm a freshman at NYU studying political science. I don't /really/ work but I have a part-time job on campus as a peer tutor that's required by one of my scholarships." He drinks some of his vanilla caramel breve. "I do like video games a little bit. I've been playing a bunch of Baldur's Gate 3 lately, and some New World." He watches Madi carefully to see if more verbal barrage is incoming. This is quite exhausting, it turns out. She is being so intense that for a moment Billy seems to forget that the calmer-by-comparison Bart is even there.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen does look over to see what game is loading, cause lets face it video games and bart. He smirks a bit and says "Madi and I met over a video game." He will munch a bit of his food, and looks over to Madi. "You been working on anything interesting lately?" He smirks a bit at Billy and says "Part of the bigger brain is the bigger curiosity as well." He grins a bit and says to Madi "And I was using special smart, attractive, cool to hang out with and maybe a bit hyper." He offers her a grin. Bart Allen calling someone else Hyper, may want to check to make sure we aint having another crisis event.

Madigan Belle has posed:
Also, she has a Steam Deck which isn't out until sometime next year. Though she's loading it up and pulling it out like she got it at the local game store. And when the games are talked about, Madi quirks her mouth to the side, "Baldur's Gate 3? Really, that's kind of ... slow, same with New World. I'm playing this one game where you are in a First Person Shooter mode, then it resets time, and you have to strategically fight again, and again, it's like 3 rounds. And it keeps resetting you but your old version keeps around." She grins big, "I'm super good at it. I also play Fortnite, and racing games, and smash, and a lot of fighters..." Pausing for a moment she leaves the Steam device just sort of sitting on the table, having gotten distracted away from it.

Then she thinks a moment, "Political science? Are you doing that because you want to become a politician? Run for POTUS? I'd make a great President, a regular FDR, if he was smarter and younger. I guess I'll have to wait a long time before I can even apply. Right? Unless we gather up enough people to change that stupid 35 rule. I mean, Ghenghis Khan wasn't 35 when he took over. Why should I have to be?"

There's a bit of a chuckle as she side looks to Bart, and then turns her head in his direction, "I know, but people hearing it might think otherwise. Is all. You know, impression is about as important as ... anything, really." She shrugs and lets her arms droop down, she then lets one go to the counter top of the table as she flips a page in one of her books. Is she still reading while she's talking with everyone?

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. Maybe trying to swing at each pitch here is the wrong approach. Instead he maybe just picks one. "I'm not super sure what I want, but I think I want to go to law school. Poly Sci seemed like a flexible major for getting into law school. Plus I find people to be interesting." He takes a bite from the surviving chocolate croissant now. "I'm going to be heading out here in a minute but it was nice to meet both of you. Got a ton of work to do this weekend."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over and nods a bit to this both Billy and Madi. "Oh sounds interesting." He says of the game, and then to Billy he adds "I go to Empire state if you ever have to take any classes over there, or looking for someone if ya see me just hollar, and will help ya find it. " His snacks have seemed to disappear pretty quickly as well. "My grandfather works with the police." He says of the whole law school comment.

Madigan Belle has posed:
"Law school?" There's a bit of a grimace from Madigan as she visually cringes, causing her eyebrows to furrow, her face to scrunch up and she rolls her eyes. And then her eyes get big, "OH, wait, you could totally become a lawyer. Figure out the best way to talk to juries to get them to do what you want. That'd be cool. I mean, all the hotshot lawyers are the ones who defend people who are like, obviously guilty, but that person gets off anyhow. That'd be super great." She smiles big and nods her head a few times, though she looks over to Bart as he mentions his connection with the police, "Really? Your grandfather is in the police force? I guess that's a thing. I don't think I knew that. I mean, I'm all for defunding the police though, why should they get to have all the military weapons? It seems unfair, at the very least."

Billy Kaplan has posed:
Billy Kaplan stands up and pushes his chair in. Based on his facial expression, clearly he found Madi's comments about getting guilty people off the hook to be off-putting but he's too polite to say anything. "Take care, you guys," is how he decides to reply. He heads out.

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks over to Madi and says "I don't know about defunding them, cause they aint got all the cool toys, heck most of them have less stuff than the guys they are going against, specially in the big cities and all, but my grandfather is actually in forensics so his toys are expensive, but they are science toys and you know even the low level them are expensives.

Madigan Belle has posed:
There's a pause as Madi looks over at Bart, "Well, I mean, like, they can legally have an armored personnel carrier. I want an APC that I can legally drive around. That's not cool. I have to break the law cause I want to feel extra protected?" She shakes her head a little bit at that idea, and then shrugs her shoulders just a little bit. She waves off to Billy as he goes, and then hrms, "He's in Forensics? That's... at least, interesting. But I just, find it a little weird the whole disparity thing. You know? Even in his world, I could be arrested for having all the materials to make a bomb, but your grandfather can just cart it around in his trunk. I just think it's strange we trust some strangers with that power and not everyone."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen looks to her, and says "But if you have a job, that requires you to have the items it would be no big deal. It is not just the police, do you want research scientists defunded cause they can have things the normal person should or could not have?" He ask her turning to talk to her and motions to the table in ask if he can move to hers.

Madigan Belle has posed:
"Of course not, I mean, like... that'd be dumb." Madi mentions about the whole research scientist thing, "But, that's just cause the general population doesn't know what they are doing with these things and could really cause a lot of damage. Guns are just point and click. APCs are just big trucks. We already let people have some of those things." Quirking her mouth to one side, then the other, she shrugs a little, "Not that it'd matter though. Right? Like, Researchers have to petition, get permits, all kinds of things. So, if they kept those rules for 'normal people' it'd probably be enough of a barrier. I doubt people would even really be able to figure out how to fill out the paperwork."

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen hmmms and says "Perhaps, but I think people who are trying to protect people need to have the items they need for the job. " He seems to be set in his belief there, but perhaps is not a surprise. "So what you been up to of late?"

Madigan Belle has posed:
"Not much, just working on my degree, and working with other people doing research. I met a demon." Madigan mentions and shrugs a little bit as she offers, "Though, a good one, maybe a devil? I am not sure what the 'difference' really is but yeah. The research I'm working on with him is interesting, but pretty hush hush is all." And she then looks over her stuff that is littered out on the table and sighs as she starts to put some of it away back into her backpack, "What about you?"

Bart Allen has posed:
Bart Allen nods a bit and says "Well, I have been working a lot, and then the whole moving into the new place. " He starts and this his phone rings and he reads it "Um, I hate to run out on you but seems I need to go pick a package up for the zoo, and get it back to them." He will offer her another hugs and says "Call me, lets have dinner again sometime soon." And he leaves her one of his energy drinks and throws his trash away and is gone to get the frozen package for the zoo.