ArchivedLogs:Park Strollers

Park Strollers
Dramatis Personae Kate, Lorna
In Absentia	2014-02-16 Kate and Lorna take out the trash.
Location <NYC> Gramercy Park
Known as a quiet and safe neighborhood, Gramercy Park is home to a lot of families, a lot of yuppies, and a lot of townhouses and pristine architecture. There are not any skyscrapers to be found, here, just quiet shops and quiet homes. The eponymous park in the center of the neighborhood is one of the only two privately owned parks in the city, and access is only allowed to those living in the surrounding neighborhood -- those who pay a fee are granted a key giving them access to the two acre parkland. It's an overcast, freezing cold day in New York, and while most of the streets are cleared of snow, deep in Gramercy Park, only the walking paths have been shoveled. The rest has plenty of ankle-deep snow for kids to romp and play in. There's one such family playing by the fence in fact, a human-looking father with a two daughters. One girl's skin is green, but not planty-green. She's a bright neon green, with no hair to be seen. It's not clear whatever else her mutation might have done for her. Her sister looks fairly normal until their frisbee slips through the bars of the fence of the park. The human-looking girl reaches her hand out and her arm stretches much farther than any human anatomy could account for. She's apparently made of putty. In addition, when the frisbee escapes the bars, Lorna is right there to stop it with her foot. Even the stretchy girl probably couldn't have reached it if it made it to the street. Lorna offers the obvious mutant family a kind smile, and hands the frisbee over. She's wearing what looks basically like ski or snowboarding clothes for the most part, even though it's not that snowy out. Thick white ski pants and heavy boots, with a checkered gray and black parka. She also has a fleece hat pulled down low over her ears. Kate emerges from her apartment building, bundled up against the evening chill in a pink-purple faded puffer coat, a blue-green plaid scarf wrapped around her neck, matching the knit cap that is tugged low over her ears to keep out the cold. She wears faded blue skinny jeans tucked into her fuz-lined snow boots, and keeps her gloved hands tucked into her pockets as she makes her way out into the night, a bounce to her step despite the darkness. Her path takes her past the gated park, just as the frisbee escapes and she pauses a few steps short as the arm emerges from between the bars after the lost toy. "Oh," she says, blinking with a surprised smile, glancing over at where the frisbee stops, and thus up at Lorna, a bemused smile still on her lips. Turning from the family, Lorna spies Kate and raises her hand to wave but then jumps at a shout from inside the park. "Hey!" calls a sharp voice from just beyond the family in question. Three big men have stepped out from the trees wielding weapons, one with a baseball bat, another with a crowbar, and the third carrying a length of chain. "This /used/ to be a nice neighborhood, and we mean to /keep/ it that way. No freaks in the park!" The father moves to shield his crying daughters behind him, but it's obvious he's no fighter, and certainly no match for three armed men. "C-c'mon guys. You don't have to do this-" The father chokes off his reply with a yelp of fright as the man with the crowbar steps forward, swinging with murderous intent. Only, the bar never connects. Lorna's arm whips out and the crowbar halts so abruptly the man's motion causes him to keep going, only now off balance he tumbles to the snow. Additionally, the woman grabs the wrought-iron fence and launches herself in an impossible leap to clear the fence, landing softly to place herself between the thugs and the family. "Back off, and no one gets hurt," she says, as the crowbar drifts to her outstretched hand. Kate offers a cheery-bright smile to Lorna, though her attention too is drawn by the shout in the park. The diminutive young woman startles, falling into a defensive stance as she looks around for the source of the shout, dark brown eyes settling on the three men in the park beyond the wrought iron fence. "Hey!" she shouts, digging for her phone in her pockets as she heads towards the gate, though her voice trails off as Lorna springs into action. Hesitating only briefly, Kate slips through the slightly ajar gate nearby, watching the action nervously as she edges her way over towards the frightened family. While Lorna deals with the miscreants, Kate stops beside the father, adding another, admittedly smaller, barrier between the would-be vigilantes and the children. "You alright, sir?" she asks quietly, keeping her eyes on the attackers for potential further movement. Her phone is still clutched in her hand, ready to call emergency services if necessary, depending on how this goes. "Oh shit, she's one of 'em!" says the guy with the chain. He drops the weapon and runs. The previous owner of the crowbar decides that distraction is his moment, and tries to rush Lorna from the ground, but she was ready for it and plants her boot in his face, stunning him for the moment. Unfortunately, it's these two things that buy a real opening for the man with the baseball bat. A /wooden/ baseball bat. Lorna sees it coming just in time to provide a weak defense with the crowbar which absorbs some of the punishment, but it goes on to connect squarely with her shoulder. Lorna rolls to the ground with a grunt of pain, but then the dropped length of chain leaps into the air and wraps around the man's hands, squeezing until he drops the bat. Standing slowly, holding the crowbar with her good arm, she growls at him, "Now /get gone/ you worthless piece of trash." The man doesn't stay to listen to everything she has to say. He turns and runs awkwardly, hands still bound in front of him. Lorna calls after him, "What kinda man beats up on little kids, huh?" It looks like she's about to give him a pointed gesture with her free hand, but the movement causes her to wince and squeak with pain. She throws the crowbar into the bushes and turns to Kate, asking, "Oh um." Lorna seems a little confused to see Kate inside the fence. "Is uh, is your family ok?" Apparently she thinks these people belong to her! "Look out!" Kate manages to squeak, clapping her hands over her mouth, just as the baseball bat connects with Lorna's shoulder solidly. "Oh dear," Kate says, taking on a defensive stance in case the morons decide to come at the kids again, though when the three run off into the rest of the park, Kate relaxes. "A coward," she responds to the question, with a frown, shaking her head and glancing back at the man and his kids. "Oh, they're, um, they're not my family. I just... well, tend to react with action in a potential emergency," she blushes, looking a touch guilty at her foolishness of rushing into the situation. "Are you alright?" Kate asks, taking a step towards Lorna, concern on her features, "That sounded like a rather nasty crack he took at you." The man who received the business end of Lorna's boot groans slightly and climbs to his feet, obviously unsteady. Lorna watches him, wary, until he moves to leave in the same direction as the other two went. She nods to herself when they're gone, and turns back to focus more fully. The dad looks up from where he's knelt down to hold his girls, and then stands, holding one in each arm hugged against his body. "Thank you," he says in a shaky voice. "Thank you so much. But... I have to get them home. I'm sorry." He turns and moves as quickly as he can to leave the park through the closest gate. Lorna nods at Kate's question then, finally, and starts to roll the injured shoulder experimentally, but instantly winces in pain. Throbbing rolls through her arm, from an epicenter of pain close to where the upper arm connects to her shoulder. The woman seems otherwise in remarkably good health. "Ergh, ow... Think the crowbar took the worst of it, but damn, that smarts. Don't think it's broken at least. That's something." She offers Kate a weak smile. Nodding silently, Kate watches as the family heads off toward safety, offering a soft sigh that puffs into the chill air in a cloud of white. "My gosh. New York is certainly more... interesting than I would have expected it to be," she grimaces, talking mostly to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Parents would drag me home if they knew how this week was going." When Lorna tries to move her shoulder, Kate steps forward, reaching out a hand tentatively to the taller woman, "Careful there, miss. Don't move it around too much - could just be a bruise, but it could be dislocated or worse." She hesitates, thinking of the scene she had just witnessed, with the flying metal and superhuman leaps, "I, ah, I'm a nurse. My name's Kate. I can see what's wrong, if you want." She glances around hesitantly, as though expecting the cops to suddenly jump out of nowhere, her voice ver quiet in the mostly empty park, "I could probably repair any damage, if, um, if you wanted. At the very least make it hurt less." Smiling in spite of her pain, Lorna nods. "My mom only gets an abbreviated report." Lorna listens to Kate's warning, and raises a dark green eyebrow when she says she's a nurse. "My work has... good health coverage. But I - wait, you can 'repair' what happened? What do you mean? Are you a mutant too?" Lorna looks interested and unzips her parka revealing a black tank top underneath. Shrugging out of the jacket reveals a beautiful purple-yellow bruise blossoming on her upper arm. She shivers in the cold air and asks, "So how does this work?" "Nope," Kate snorts with amusement at the question, looking up at the taller woman, "Magical fairy princess that just happened to be passing by." She tugs a glove off, shivering at the chill against her skin as Lorna shrugs out of her coat, "Yes. I am a mutant - healer type, I guess." Wiggling her exposed fingers in a small wave, Kate offers a smirk, "I need to touch your shoulder to see what is wrong, and at least start fixing it. Can't guarantee I'll repair all the damage if it's broken, but I can give the healing a good solid start." Kate sucks in a sharp breath at the exposed bruise, shaking her head, "Alright. Hand is going to be a bit cold, so apologies in advance." Kate's fingers are soft and just slightly chilled, though they start to warm as she is in contact with Lorna's shoulder. "Alright. Not broken. So that's good at least. No permanent damage - just a really nasty, deep bruise," Kate explains after a moment of quiet, nodding slowly, "I'm going to clear up the surface bruise at least, and at least get the inflammation down a bit. I still would suggest taking a dose of the pain med of choice, and maybe put some ice on it." Her eyes flutter half-closed as she talks, but as she continues to explain, the throbbing pain from the shoulder and arm begins to lessen, eventually dulling entirely. Lorna drapes her jacket over her good shoulder to hold in some of her heat at least, and barely seems to notice when Kate's fingers are a little chilly. She shies away at the first touch, but then makes herself hold still. Finally she's able to take a deep, shuddering breath as the pain leaches from her body. "Oh wow... You must make a good nurse." She closes her eyes and takes another deep breath when Kate finishes, and flexes her arm. She offers her good hand to Kate. "I'm Lorna, by the way. Thank you for this." Kate looks a little bit woozy as her hand drops away after a few minutes, tugging her glove back on, but offering a pleased smile, "There you go. You might feel a bit tired once the adrenaline from your little hero adventure wears off, but otherwise you shouldn't feel too much in the way of side effects. or extreme pain." She offers a cheery smile, gently shaking Lorna's good hand with her own gloved hand, "Nice to meet you Lorna." Tilting her head a bit, Kate checks the previously bruised shoulder, nodding at the vanished damage, "I try. It's the least I could do, after you saved that family. I... hate to think of what would have happened if you hadn't stepped in there. I'd suggest getting it checked out by your doctor if it bothers you more, but from what I can tell, it'll heal up good as new in short order." The petite nurse seems quite pleased with her work, nodding once with a smile. "Wow, Kate..." Lorna says again with wonder in her voice, flexing her arm and rolling the shoulder. "Hardly hurts at all... that's amazing. This city is lucky to have you." Lorna pulls her parka all the way back on and zips it up, and then pulls her head wrap off revealing her dark green hair in a tight bun. She prods at it briefly to make sure things are still in place, and then wraps the scarf around and over her head again. In the distance can be heard some police sirens, rare enough in this neighborhood, and Lorna glances in that direction. She sighs and then lifts about six inches off the ground before she nods at Kate. "Thanks again, Kate, but I should probably take off. These guys don't even listen to explanations these days." Kate suppresses a yawn, covering her gaping maw with the back of her hand, "No problem. Keep an eye on it. And probably should call it an early night, if at all possible. The healing is faster, but also can be a touch tiring at times, depending on the severity." She yawns again, shaking her head - apparently it takes a bit out of her, as well. "Thank you, as well. I certainly hope they think so, after I have to register," she sighs softly, tugging her hat further down on her head, the shadow of another yawn tugging at her lips. "I should be off as well. Take care, Lorna. Have a good evening," Kate turns, and wiggles her way out through the gate, shutting it behind her, "Watch out for bat-weilding nut-jobs. Apparently that's a thing around here."