ArchivedLogs:Helping

Helping
Dramatis Personae Iolaus, Alicia, Jax, Cage, Chelsea
In Absentia	2013-12-28 These are the people in your neighborhood
Location <NYC> The Mendel Clinic - Lower East Side
With its sharp crystalline edges and sleek lines knifing up into the sky, this building is one of the most /distinctive/ new additions to the neighborhood. An angular structure in glass and steel, the tall tower has a deceptively slender look to it that is belied by the heavy security as soon as you enter the doors. The front doors are frosted with the Clinic's logo -- a rising sun over a rod of Asclepius -- a motif echoed in many places throughout the building. Visitors to the clinic must first pass through a small mantrap, guarded by some of the Clinic's security guards; once they make it through the metal detector and airlock's double doors they emerge into the much more hospitable lobby. With dark wood floors underneath and comfortable black and red couches at its edges, the high windows give the room an airy feel. A bank of elevators to one side carry visitors to the many destination floors, while the wide welcome desk at the other side is manned by a security guard ready to help point visitors in the right direction. Once past the security screen and through the mantrap, across the lobby and up the elevator, the waiting rooms are a warm place to sit and wait, and the pediatric and family waiting room is even more so. A TV with a PS3 is setup in one corner, and newspapers and magazines are strewn over coffee tables sitting next to the different rows of chairs. There is a desk where an administrative assistant sits, providing a quiet background chatter as calls come in and out to schedule appointments and get refills. Still, this waiting room is one of the quieter ones, even with people coming in every so often looking for a different room. Luke Cage arrives with an Afro-Latina girl in her early teens. He's dressed in a black pea coat, heavy blue jeans, and black biker boots. The unseasonably warm weather has let him leave the hat and gloves at home at least. The girl with him is dressed in clothes that look brand new. She has on a blue and black sweater dress that goes almost to her knees, tights illustrated with the bones of the legs, and Doc Marten boots. She's also wearing a pea coat, though hers is a rich red, and reaches down past her waist a bit. Cage puts a friendly hand on the girl's back when they come in, as he holds the door open for her, and then they mosey in, looking around. "Whoa," the girl says, when she spies the PS3. She doesn't bother to ask but runs, and then does a home-base-slide to come to a halt at the device, picking up a controller, and looking about for what games they might have. For his part, Cage follows her over but sticks his hands in his pocket while he looks around for who to talk to. He smiles when he notices the admin, and walks over to her desk. "Uh hi, I'm Luke Cage. I called about an appointment for my daughter?" Alicia sits nervously in one of the waiting room chairs, her legs folded up underneath her. She looks nervous, eyes flicking over to the desk regularly. Part of her keeps wanting to bolt, so her knee bounces a little bit. She knows she probably shouldn't be here, not without her Grandmother even knowing about it. But how do you say, "Hey, Grandma, I think the demon haunting me might be some sort of mutant thing which will only make people hate me even more and I want to get tested for it". Yeah, that'll go over reeeeeeeeeeeeally well. But she has to know. Either she can prove she isn't a mutant and people will start to believe her...or they'll prove that she is and she'll...have to figure out what to do about that. Try to distract yourself, Ali. Focus on the Candy Crush. Her fingers glide over her phone absent-mindedly as she considers everything. When Cage and his daughter come in, she glances up, trying not to listen in too much and wondering if this girl is in the same boat she is...or some other boat entirely. The assistant holds up a finger and gives Cage a smile, tapping once at the headset hanging off of her ear. "Yes, I understand. It's no problem. We'll see you on the 10th, then. Have a good rest of your afternoon." A button press on the black phone, and the assistant is pulling off the headset and letting it rest around her neck. "I'm sorry about that. What's your daughter's name?" The woman asks, voice warm and light even as she taps at the keyboard. "Ah, I found it. Never mind!" A little laugh, and she nods at Cage. "Doctor Krieger is just finishing up with his last patient. Shouldn't be too long." "Thanks, I appreciate it," Luke says with a smile. It's always a gamble for him, how he'll be treated in any given place. It's still disorienting for him to have a place like the Mendel Clinic where he's always treated like a person. "So, Chels, what'd you find-" Luke asks when he turns back to Chelsea. He stops when he finds her playing a racing game of some kind that seems to encourage one to crash as much as possible. He just shrugs, and nods at Alicia. "Hi," he says to her, amicably enough, and takes a seat nearby. Alicia smiles and raises a hand nervously to the adult, "Hello," she says softly, her nerves showing through in her voice a bit, a slight tremble to her tone. Her fingers continue to toy with the screen, but she's not even really looking at it yesterday. He distraction also causes her not to quite notice the magazine rack behind her is now hovering about two feet off the ground, spinning lazily... The door to the outside hall opens and lets in a fairly short man, dressed in a blue dress shirt and a pair of blue jeans. A badge hanging off of his waist has the Mendel Clinic logo on it, and it and the authority in which he steps up to the desk speaks to his employment. "Hey, Jess. How's things going here? Have you seen Jenny around? I needed to grab her at some point, but if she's with a patient..." The assistant - Jess, apparently - looks up and gives the newcomer a smile. "I think she's in with Doctor Krieger, Doctor Saavedro. And she's got two patients before her schedule is open." She says, a friendly note of caution in her voice as she gestures to the waiting room behind her. "But I'm happy to tell her you're looking for her, after she's finished." "But not before," Iolaus adds, shaking his head and grinning as he turns to look around the room at the waiting patients. His eyes stop on Cage, and his smile fades slightly before brightening. "Well, hello there. I think you're a little bit old to be seen in pediatrics, Mr. Cage. Is this your daughter?" he asks, stepping forward and gesturing to Alicia. "Hello." "Whoa, what the..." Luke is looking past Alicia now, wide-eyed, at the floating magazine rack. Her father's tone now is enough to get Chelsea's attention and she turns to see what concerned him, and is equally flummoxed. She turns and comes up to her knees, asking, "Uh, are you doing that?" She nods at the floating rack to emphasize her point. Both Cages turn when Iolaus greets them, but only Luke gets up to greet the man, only giving the rack a distrustful glance before extending his hand to the doctor. He manages a friendly grin and says, "Heya Doc, yeah. This is my daughter Chelsea. We're next up to see Doctor Krieger, actually. How you been?" Alicia blushes at the question, having been asked it far too many times in her life already. "Yes. No. Maybe?" she says with a sigh of resignation. "I...I guess that's kind of what I'm here to find out..." she says. She stands up nervously as the doctor enters, a few of the magazines flying out of the rack and flipping up to slap against the ceiling, prescription cards and perfume samples out on the teenager's head. When the doctor addresses Cage by name, she realizes exactly who he is. Oh crap. How do you react to famous people? Should she have said something different? Asked for his autograph? Do people still get autographs? Oooooooooh. Ooooooooooh. And now there's a doctor, who's looking at her and asking her something, "Alicia!" she says, in response to a question no one has yet posed to her. Iolaus looks up at the magazine rack with a curious look, but it does not seem to phase him particularly, even when vomiting cards onto the ground. "Interesting." A pause, and he looks back down to Cage. "You're in good hands. Lance is a fantastic doctor, and I am very glad we have him." Alicia's outburst gets a warm smile. "Alicia. I'm Doctor Saavedro. It's good to meet you." He extends a hand even as he crouches down to eye level. The doctor glances around the room, then turns his attention back to her. "Are you with someone, or are you here alone?" "Holy shit, that's so cool..." Chelsea says to the older girl, getting to her feet and wandering closer to the floating rack. Luke puts a hand on her shoulder, saying softly, "Hey Chels, don't make fun." She looks back at him chagrined, but shakes her head. "No, I /wasn't/, it's actually... I mean." She turns back to Alicia and shrugs. "{Sorry}," she says in Spanish at first, and then, "I meant it though. That's rad." Luke nods and smiles at Iolaus' assurance, and then turns to watch his interaction with Alicia. Alicia blinks at Chelsea for a moment. Nobody's ever thought it was 'cool' before. Usually, it's "yell at the freak until she leaves" or "make sure she's not allowed to come in here anymore" or "let's get the priest in here with the holy water and the Bible and the beads". Never cool.. That sentiment alone brings a big smile to Alicia's face, her pale blue eyes brightening, "Thanks...I think. If I'm the one doing it. Which I don't know if I am yet. When the doctor extends his hand, she meets it, offering her own slender fingers for the social ritual. "Um...it's just me. My parents are back in Maine, and...my grandmother...I don't know if she'd want me to be here, honestly. I know I don't have, like, my own insurance, but if there's even, like, one of those take home tests, y'know, like they have on Maury where you can just send in a DNA sample and find things out, I can do that, no problem, just lemme lick a q-tip or stick it in my ear or something...' Iolaus' shake is firm, and he slides into the chair one down from Alicia. "I understand. There aren't any take home tests for mutants. The only test is a lab test, and it takes some time to run, and quite a lot of money." A pause, and the doctor's fingers drum along his legs. "But in order to give it to you, we would need the consent of your guardian. Your grandma, it sounds like. Does she know about your... abilities?" Cage gets an apologetic look. Luke shakes his head and lifts his hand to dismiss Iolaus' apology. Apparently he agrees that Alicia is a high priority just now. He and Chelsea already have their own appointment to wait for anyway. Luke nods at his daughter, and they both take a seat a little ways away from Io and Alicia. Alicia looks a bit nervous once more, now that everyone's looking at her. She hadn't really thought this through. Just kind of...came on impulse. She's had something of an emotional day. "I...I might be able to get her permission, I guess. Yeah, she...she knows. I mean, that's why I came here. Mom and Dad couldn't take it anymore, especially after I got expelled..." she says softly. "They thought I was...possessed. So did I...Grandmother...I don't know what she thinks. She'd rather just not talk about it or pretend it doesn't exist, like it'll go away if she just goes to another fashion show or gives me a gift card..." she says, hugging herself a bit, feeling a little self conscious as she relates all of this to what are, basically, strangers. But what choice does she have, at this point? Sitting down in the pediatric waiting room isn't exactly the best place to have a serious, confidential conversation, and the way Iolaus glances around the room shifting his weight in his seat shows it. With Alicia a seat away, and Cage and Chelsea a few chairs down, it is not the most private of areas. "Well, I don't think you are possessed. And you are certainly about the right age to come into your abilities. Even without a genetic test, I think it would be a good bet to guess that you are a mutant." Iolaus says, gently. "But... if you would like some help talking to your grandmother about it, it might be a good thing to talk to one of our social workers about it before you do." The elevator doors whoosh open, dispensing a very /brightly/ colourful addition to the lobby. Jax doesn't /look/ like he's at work, really -- silver fishnet tights layered over solid blue ones, a black knee-length cargo skirt, shiny purple Doc Martens, a black t-shirt that reads 'believe in faeries' on the front among purple and blue stars and has a blue pair of butterfly wings on the back. His hair has recently changed colours yet again, vivid-bright purple with pink highlights at the front, his nails glittery silver and blue. Despite being indoors he's also wearing sunglasses, large and mirror-lensed. In his hands he has a cup of tea, fragrant Assam still steaming. He slips over towards Iolaus to set the tea quietly down on a nearby table, murmuring soft: "-- s'hot, sir, careful." Though his face lights in a bright smile when he sees Chelsea there with her newly discovered father. "Woah, hey, honey-honey! How, um --" A faint dusting of pink flushes across his cheeks. "... How's. Everything /going/ with you?" "What the fu-" Chelsea starts, before Luke puts his huge hand over hers, covering it. She's clearly incensed about the treatment Alicia received from her family. "What?" she says, when Luke tries to censor her. "That's fucked up." He sighs, and says quietly, "Yeah, but it's rude to but into their-" Luke is interrupted by Jax's entrance, and then Chelsea's noisy exclamation. She waits just long enough for him to set the tea down and then practically flies from her chair. "Jaaax!" She flings herself at the man wrapping her arms around his neck and hanging on. Luck chuckles and stands, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Hey Jax, Chelsea said you were the one who helped her out. I've been hoping we'd run into each other." He offers his hand, just in case Jax is able to reach past Chelsea's ongoing hug. Alicia considers the offer for a moment, "I...I suppose so, but...I'm not really worried about Grandma. I'm worried about...me." she says. Her head is swirling a bit. She alwyas just assumed her parents were right, that the old house had some sort of haunting or infestation that had latched onto her somehow. Some parts of Maine are still surprisingly superstitious. "What...what do I do if I'm a mutant? Do I...do I have to sign in somewhere? Am I...am I going to jail? Do I have to move somewhere or...or go to a special school?!?" she asks. Jax's entry takes at least some of the attention off of her, giving her a chance to try and collect her wits while the familiar faces greet one another. "Ah, thank you, Jax." Iolaus says, turning to give his bodyguard a wide smile as he leans over to inhale the steam from the tea. "Mm. Smells delicious. Assam, right? My hero, yet again." His eyes twinkle and he gives Jax a wink. "Saved twice in so many days." The doctor's face becomes more serious as he turns back to Alicia. "Well..." Iolaus trails off, lacing his fingers in his lap and looking at Alicia. "What does it mean? Nothing, yet. Registration isn't implemented, yet, and you're not going to go to jail for it either. Learning control is certainly going to be a good asset to help you blend in, but nothing is all that different than it was yesterday." Jax's smile stretches brighter and warmer, and he lets out a quiet oof at the sudden tacklehug. He returns it in a fierce squeeze, warm as well in his typical far-overheated radiant warmth. "Ohgosh -- hi, sir," his blush deepens as he extracts one hand from Hug to reach around Chelsea and take Luke's hand in a warm firm squeeze. "Oh, I was glad t'help. An' I work here, s'a good place to find me." He squeezes Chelsea tight for a second more and then rocks his weight back onto his heels, hands dropping to his side. "Assam, yeah," he assures Iolaus. "Um -- did any of y'all want somethin'? There's a -- cafeteria. I made. Tea." In case they didn't notice. His pierced brows furrow above the huge mirrored lenses of his glasses, and he shakes his head at Alicia's question. "Ain't goin' to jail for bein' one of us, no." His molasses-thick Southern drawl is slow and pensive. "Ain't a whole lot of telling /what/ registration's gonna bring, but I don't think they're at the point of locking us up whole cloth yet." Luke shakes Jax's hand warmly, saying softly, "I /owe/ you man. We should talk later." Then he pats Chelsea gently on the shoulder to get her to release the man. She does so with a brief, sheepish grin, and reaches up to push her sproingy curls out of her face. "You work here?" Luke asks, brows furrowed. "But Chelsea said you're up at the school. Damn, brother, you must be /busy/. I figured you were just on here during the... well. Yeah." Luke shrugs, and nods at Alicia. "Yeah, girl, I don't mean to be nosy, you can be damn sure no one's lockin' you up for being a mutant." He nods at Iolaus, "'Scuse my buttin' in man, my bad." He nods at Alicia again. "But you can trust Dr. Saavedro, young lady. They treat my family at this clinic. I wouldn't go anywhere else." He squeezes Chelsea's shoulder and she tries to brush his hand off like any annoyed teenager. "But I'm guessin' we should probably let these two talk. Jax, you got any coffee in this cafeteria?" Alicia watches the adults talk for a moment, but relaxes a little bit. No one seems to be freaking out on her, as they usually do. To Jax, she says, "I...I didn't mean anything bad, it's just...I guess I don't really know what to do. I...just thought I was cursed," she says, the girl seeming perhaps a bit credulous, but, well, that's the way it goes sometimes. Luke's fierce reassurance makes her smile, especially from someone of his stature, "I hope not. I don't think I'd do very well in prison. I can't even pee with the door open," she says...and then realizes that probably wasn't the most appropriate thing to say either. "I mean...I guess I just...have to figure out what the next step is. Control...but, I mean, I...don't have any control. It just happens. I've even tried to...make things happen, on purpose. Nothing." She kind of makes a vague flailing gesture at the potted plant, which just sits there. Planting. "Sometimes, it isn't that easy. But you're better off talking to other people about that than me," Iolaus says, with a little smile. "Still. Why don't you talk to your grandmother, since you don't think she'll mind, and come back here with her? There are lots of people here who can help answer your questions better than I can - and answer your Grandma's questions too. I'm sure, just like you, she'll have her own set of them as well." Iolaus gives Alicia a warm smile, glancing to Cage and giving him a winning smile. "We come with the Luke Cage Seal of Approval." The doctor picks up his tea and takes a long sip. "I wouldn't recommend prison, I ain't heard no good things," Jax says with a flicker of amusement -- that dampens into a /deep/ blush and very sheepish duck of his head as he glances back towards Cage, signing 'sorry' contritely. "I teach mornings, but I got class myself after that an' -- I bodyguard for Io an' there's a tattoo studio jus' around the corner where I --" His nose crinkles up and he admits with a touch of self-consciousness: "... little busy." He squeezes Iolaus's shoulder briefly, murmuring, "... I'll be in the cafeteria." To Alicia, warmer: "I know it's scary, but you're in /real/ good hands here. They can help work with you -- figure things out. Jus' take it one step at a time. An' bein' a mutant is a lotta things, but it ain't no curse." He nods towards Luke, gesturing back to the elevators. "We got /so/ much coffee. An' cookies today -- okay cookies /every/ day but today I baked 'em special. Chai snickerdoodles. Tea an' coffee /both/ -- y'want some cookies, Chels? I can bring some back up if y'got an appointment t'make here." "Hon, nobody does well prison," Luke says with a gentle smile. And then he's digging his hands into his pockets, strangely awkward at the Doctor's comment about his seal of approval. He looks about to mumble something when Chelsea chimes in with, "And the goddam /Chelsea/ Cage seal of approval." She bobs her head in a curt nod, turns, and takes Jax's hand. "Take me," she says imperiously. "To the cookies, please." Luke tries on a couple different facial expressions and finally says, "Well, I guess we could wait for Dr. Krieger in the cafeteria. I could definitely use a cup of coffee." He squeezes Jax's shoulder affectionately and says, "Don't worry about it, man. Not one bit." Alicia raises a hand to wave goodbye to Chelsea as she and Mr. Cage seem about to leave Mr. Jax, "It was nice to meet you all. Thank you for being...nice," she says. It actually means a lot to her to have people be nice. She nods to the doctor, hugging herself quietly. Only a few strands of her hair are floating about, nothing too serious, "I could see about that. I don't know if Grandmother would come herself...would her lawyer be okay? Or maybe her personal assistant?" she ponders. She's not really sure what she's even signing up for, potentially, but at least things seem to be going relatively well so far and, in her book, that's an improvement. "Your guardian, or their designee with medical power of attorney. Her lawyer may or may not have that for you, but I would recommend that she come herself if at all possible." Iolaus says, with only a slight hesitation about recommending someone bring a lawyer to a doctor's appointment. "Thanks, Jax. I'll be in the lab after this." Attention returning back to Alicia, he adds, "How does that sound? Think that's something that you can arrange?" Jax lifts his hand, too, curling glittery-nailed fingers in a wave to Alicia. "They're /super/ nice here. Good luck." His hand squeezes Chelsea's warmly, a small bounce in his step as he leads the way off towards the elevator. And coffee. And /cookies/. Later, in the cafeteria… When Luke and Chelsea follow Jax into the cafeteria they finally peel off their pea coats, his black, hers red, and looking brand new. Someone went shopping with her new daddy, it seems. When Chelsea loses herself in the plate of cookies Jax brought, trying to sample a little of everything, Luke tilts his head to see if Jax will step away with him a few paces. Jax gets himself a cup of coffee first, leaving it black but filling it heavily with sugar. He glances up to Cage at the tilt of head, brows raising over his sunglasses. He follows along, though, rocking absently from heel to toe as he blows on the surface of his coffee. "Hey. What's up, sir?" Cage is about to say something when something Jax says catches his ear. "You know, you can just call me Luke, if you want. It's up to you. Just saying." Luke shrugs, and soldiers on. "Look, I didn't even know I /had/ a daughter, and thanks to you, she's part of my life now. I won't forget that." Cage swallows hard, the big man trying hard to maintain his Tough-Guy (tm) exterior, through obvious emotional feelings. "But I really wanted to talk to you about the mass evictions. I heard about it in the news. That's /you/ guys, right? Your building?" "I'm just -- I'm real glad," Jax says, soft and sincere. "I see so many kids come through the school don't got no kinds of family an' -- it's. Important. I wish everyone could have happy endings like that." His cheeks flush darker, and he nods quickly at Cage's question. "Yeah." His nose wrinkles up a little distastefully. "That's us. We had some folks come by today to offer help findin' lawyers which -- that'll be good I think we'll need help fightin' it but to be honest even if we win I don't think I /want/ to stay there no more. A bunch'a us are already lookin' into startin' a new -" He shrugs a shoulder quickly. "Lookin' into other options." "Well, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to about," Luke says. He's briefly distracted when he catches Chelsea literally stuffing her cheeks with cookies. He's about to say something when a surprisingly gentle smile softens his face, and he just looks back to Jax. "It seems to me this city has been needing a mutant-friendly apartment building for way too long. And I thought, maybe if we pooled our resources, we could really get something going, like a co-op or something. I mean, I don't really know shit about how they work, but I been reading up on it, and it seems like we could at /least/ buy a building. I think my lawyers could put a shell company together, try to purchase something so it doesn't have mine, or anyone else's name on it, you know?" A quick crooked grin cracks across Jax's face. "Actually we were thinking of putting a co-housing group together. Kinda like a co-op but a little -- more privacy I guess." He hitches a shoulder up in a shrug. "We've got some properties we're -- kinda looking at pretty derelict places, got an architect friend -- one who built /this/ place actually," his hand gestures around the clinic, "who'll be able to fix up places good. Um -- right now we're sort of just brainstormin' but if y'give me your email I can add you to the list, we can -- maybe all work t'gether on figurin' this out? Cuz yeah, mutant-friendly housing'd be -- a blessin'." Luke looses a bright smile on Jax, broad and beaming. "Hey, that's great. Great minds think alike, right?" He claps the young man on the shoulder and pulls a business card out of his pocket. It's a standard HFH card, but he draws a pen as well, and writes a different email address on the back. "That's my personal address. I'm not real good at it yet, so this my cell phone too. Feel free to call or text or whatever. Maybe I can do some of the heavy lifting for you all, after everything you've done for me." He's about to say something else when they call Luke's name over the intercom system. He shrugs, and shakes Jax's hand again. "Thanks a million, brother. I'll see you real soon." He collects Chelsea, their jackets, and they make their way to the exam room.