2013-01-01 The Lost Get Found

Brooklyn Bridge Park, a lovely place, if you can stand the aroma of the East River. Usually such aromas would probably be overwhelming the littlest Brood, but today, a New Year on this planet has begun, and while millions are celebrating, Broo is not. He sits, his poor sweats starting to look tattered, covered in holes, burn marks, dirt, and who knows what else. In his hand he clutches a single crumpled piece of paper with a depiction of the 16th President of the United States on one side and a depiction of his memorial on the other side of on it. He stares at it as if perhaps he can gain some great wisdom from the deceased philosopher on it, tears slowly leaking from his eyes.

It's been /days/ since Jubilation could get away from the school. Between classes, extra Danger Room sessions, the holidays, and Logan hounding her steps, the California girl's been up to her earrings in obligations. Except for the few days she could get away by claiming to be Christmas shopping, she hasn't had time to look for her smallest friend at all!

But today is different. Today she finally managed to shake Logan for a few minutes and headed straight for town, and the bus stop there. One bus ride later, she arrived in New York City, determined to find Broo or get expelled trying.

Three hours and lots of questions later, she's still doggedly keeping at it, though fatigue is slowing her steps and fogging her eyes. A days-old newscast, which wasn't about Broo but had him in the background, isn't the best clue to work from, but apparently she isn't the only sharp-eyed person in this area. A few people who weren't too busy celebrating the New Year pointed her at Brooklyn. Right now she's stopping for a much-needed hot dog, and a moment's rest for her weary teenage bones. She's done a /lot/ of walking today!

There are quite a few parkgoers milling about, laughing and talking while walking their dogs or playing a game of frisbee on one of the few days out of the year they have off of work or school. They ignore the little bug creature for the most part, but a few of them wrinkle their noses at his looks.

And a blond-haired musician is leaning against a tree nearby, strumming an ambient tune on an acoustic guitar. All seems to be well, for now. However, a few minutes later, a group of teenaged boys happen by where Broo is with the picture of Lincoln clutched in his hand. They point and stare.

"Ew, what is that thing? It's ugly as hell!" One of them says loudly. Another laughs, and chucks his half-eaten hot dog in the alien's direction.

Putting his little five dollar bill away, just in case he can still use it, his last bit of money, if he can find a way to make it perform a miracle. He leans over and snidds the hot dog, then cringes, and pushes it away, sticking his tongue out in disgust, "Yuck... Pork." shivering a bit, "How can Terran's consume that stuff." He otherwise just hunkers over and ignores the boys. He has no beef with them... and if he had any beef, he'd eat it, not toss it at them, beef is good and shouldn't be wasted. He reaches into his belly pocket and pulls out a pair of small little wrapped packages, surprisingly in pristine shape despite how his clothes look, as if he protected them both above all else. He sighs and looks back, then spews off some comment in an alien tongue, with lots of hissing and clicking, perhaps to do his best to intimidate the boys so there is no need for a physical confrontation... after all, Broo doesn't want to hurt anyone, even if they want to hurt him

It's been a long day and a longer walk, but even as tires as she is, Jubilee's famous luck hasn't deserted her. She's just close enough to hear that braying question, and to see what it's aimed at. Broo! "Um, hold that for me, please? I'll be right back!" she tells the hot dog vendor, giving him an apologetic smile as she sets her money on the edge of his cart. She slips out of line and hurries for the scene of the one-sided confrontation. Oh, this is /sooooo/ not good...

The boys continue to taunt and harass the poor little bug, ignoring the hissing and clicking. They haven't yet noticed Jubille coming toward them, and get even closer, and start attempting to kick at him.

"Look at it, looks like an oversized cockroach!" The tallest one hoots.

"...What's the matter, can't even defend yourself?" Another sneers.

At this, the guitar playing stops as the musician, Joseph keeps a close eye on the unfortunate situation that appears to be unfolding. He takes note of the girl running toward them. Hopefully, she could diffuse the problem without anyone getting hurt.

Slowly clamoring to his feet, Broo turns toward the boys, "I am defending myself nanocephalic ones, I am not retaliating, there is a considerable difference. Your pre-partaken pork projectile presents particularly paltry problems. Perhaps posterior pummeling preference plans passed pondering? Please proclaim preferred pallbearers and plot placement." extending his wings to try to look bigger, placing the little packages securely back in his belly pocket, and slowly hovering off the ground a foot or so, his crest rising up and his eyes half closing...

Broo's vocabulary has never ceased to amaze Jubilee, but this is perhaps the worst time to be impressed. She tips her shades down over her eyes. "Broo? Might want to pull up your pants!" she calls... and sends a bright white plasmoid circling around behind the little alien, to pop up just behind and above his head and burst with a blinding white flash! "Come on! Let's get out of here!"

The boys goggle at the alien as he starts to hover into the air and babble words they've never heard before. They don't even try to /begin/ comprehending his words. "Whoa, it can fly!" One of them exclaims while another starts taking pictures from his phone.

But then, there is a giant glowing ball of plasma above them that suddenly bursts into a blinding flash of light! Stunned, the teens throw their arms over their faces and stumble backward. One of them crashes into another hot dog stand, which tumbles over. The vendor jumps and lets out a string of cuss words as his products tumble all over the ground.

Jericho, meanwhile, blinks to clear the spots out of his vision before smirking a little and going back to playing the guitar. Problem solved, hopefully.

<p class="MsoNormal">While extremely intelligent, Broo is also quite naive, and not familiar yet with classic jokes and gags, so when his pants are mentioned, he does fall for it and look down, checking them, "Are they supposed to be worn higher? I have seen many Terran males wearing them far lower than this. I am not sure I can pull them much further up." he looks up and shrugs as the boys are falling everywhere and getting dealt with. He then flutters to the ground and tries to pull his pants up further anyway, "Thank you for correcting me, Jubilee..." it is while he is saying this out of partial reflex that he realizes who he is thanking, his eyes widening, and partially tearing, "Jubilee?" he exclaims and then again is flying, rushing to hug her legs as he cries, forgetting his dirt covered appearance to cling to the being of his percieved salvation, "You are not a symptom of a mental scism or some chemical reaction to something I consumed? You are real? I missed you an incalculable amount." he holds up his left wrist to show the shattered display, gaps where parts are missing, and mangled look of the holoimager watch, his voice lowering as he says, "I was good and didn't lead anyone back, when this broke. I knew my appearance would be too conspicuous to risk traveling the manner in which I arrived." trying to reassure that he wouldn't risk a secret that wasn't his to share.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilation blinks as the bullies go toppling everywhere. Wow! She couldn't have planned a better outcome!

<p class="MsoNormal">And then... well, she can't move. There's a tiny alien hugging her legs! "Oh, Broo! I missed you too! It'll be okay, I promise. You did good, um, keeping the secret." Which is /not/ something she'd thought about. Well, she'll have to, now. How will she keep the alien hidden and get him back to the school?

<p class="MsoNormal">That can wait. They're still not out of this mess. And they won't be until they move! "Um, could you let go now? You're pulling my jeans down, and we /really/ need to get out of here before those jerks remember why they're here. And we should find you a disguise or something."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilee was right, in fact, one of said bullies was picking himself up off of the ground as they were speaking. The one who had stumbled into the hot dog stand, that is, and he also happened to be the tallest and largest of the three. He did /not/ look happy as he brushed bits of hot dog and ketchup off of his clothes and silenced the cussing vendor with a single glare. It didn't take much to figure out that the young Asian had created the plasma diversion. Despite knowing this, he storms over and is about to shove her rudely and make some snide comment. Strangely, though, his arms stop just before touching her and he suddenly just looks confused and then embarrassed. He steps back, the anger gone from his face.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Uh....er...sorry about that, miss."

<p class="MsoNormal">Looking up at Jubilee, Broo peers, sniffing a bit. He lets go of Jubilee and nods, "I'm sorry. I just was sooo happy to see you. I came to New York to get new clothes and presents for the special festivals and wanted to participate with the ritualistic giving of gifts. I was doing good, found gifts, then saw very strong male larval human who broke this when he cried and hurt my auditory organs. I tried to find safe ways to return, even found a friend who knew where the lake was, so I hoped she could guide me back, but her other friend ran off very fast and she flew after her other friend, and I could not match their speeds. I was going to ask Mr. Lehnsherr for a ride from his people at the Mutant Action Center, but something made me feel wary of enlisting his aid. He seems like a very nice and caring gentleman, but there is something deeper that I can not place that made me feel perhaps I should find another means." As the boy approaches, Broo prepares to protect her, by taking any beating meant for her, but pauses as the boy apologises.

<p class="MsoNormal">"It's okay, totally! But we really need to leave..." Jubilation replies, patting Broo's head gently. "You can tell me all about it later." Not that she doesn't want to listen, but there are more immediate problems right now.

<p class="MsoNormal">And one of them's coming this way! The tallest of the teenage bullies, in fact. Jubes frowns, flexing her fingers in preparation to rock his world with a plasmoid sandwich... and then, he apologizes. Just like that, the wrong world got rocked. Jubilee blinks, looking at him more closely. "Um, okay... thanks. Maybe you should think about this, ya know? It's not nice to go around picking on people smaller than you. Aliens are people too."

<p class="MsoNormal">The kid nods. "Yeah...I know. Seriously, miss, I have no idea what had gotten into--" But he is interrupted when suddenly there is a flash of a bluish-grey color and Jericho, the musician who had been playing the guitar over by that tree is standing there next to him. "...me?" The teen's eyes are wide as he glances wildly around at Broo, Jubilee, and Joey. "What the...what did you...who...?" Confused and terrified, he begins backing away slowly before scampering off.

<p class="MsoNormal">At the surprise appearance of Joseph, Broo takes a moment to realize where he has seen the guy before, then smiles, an greets, "Hello nice bar assistant guy. I never got your name, and am sorry, but I still do not speak any Terran hand gesture languages." he looks to Jubilee, "This is a nice guy I met during my travels. He was very nice and got me chicken sandwiches and hot chocolate... they were both very good." seeming completely oblivious to the fleeing bully, or at least too focused on those still present to care about the ruffian.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilee's just as surprised as the now-fleeing bully. She looks after him for several moments, before the newcomer captures her attention again. "Okaaaaay... Broo? You know this guy?" she has to ask, looking over Joseph with mingled curiosity and suspicion. "Um, hi... thanks for helping Broo out," she offers, along with her hand. "I'm Jubilee."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jericho looks down at Broo as the teenaged bully runs off, appearing concerned as he takes notice of the small Broodling's tattered condition. He wondered if the guy was hungry again--probably. Joey smiles and nods at him in greeting, then reaches into his pocket and hands Broo a bunch of 20-dollar bills. That should last him a while, anyway. Maybe get him a few new clothes.

<p class="MsoNormal">And then the girl introduced herself. He takes the offered handshake and tells her his name is Joey and a 'pleased to meet you' in ASL. Broo doesn't know 'Terran hand gesture langauges' but maybe Jubilee does?

<p class="MsoNormal">Looking at the money, Broo contemplates... Sure, the money could buy him food and clothes, but is it right to take it when he has done nothing to earn it, it isn't like he helped Joseph with his homework, or even cleaning the bar area where Joseph works. He hesitantly starts to reach for it, then stops himself, the starts to reach for it again, repeating the process a few times, never quite taking the money, but pondering it... one might even say Brooding on it. He looks up and smiles, "Hello Joey... I am Broo. Jubilee is my first friend on this world. She is very wise, and well educated, especially in whatever Episilon-class is sessions in Gym are. I'd wager she is the best in that class of sessions in the entire solar system."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilation, while wise in Epsilon-class gym sessions (whether she really wants to be or not), knows very little of ASL besides the name. She blinks owlishly at the signs, frowning in confusion. "I... I'm sorry, I don't understand," she finally says. "I know what you're doing, but I'm totally unfluent in the language... if unfluent is a word, I mean. But it's good to meet you, Joey," she adds, with an uncertain smile. "So, did you do... um, whatever it was that happened to that guy?" she asks, nodding in the direction of the fleeing bully. She's careful to keep her voice down. "And could we talk about this someplace else? Someplace warmer and less open?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Joseph looks surprised at the fact that Broo does appear to understand sign language, just not use it himself. Heh! Impressive, the alien had learned much about Earth. He wondered how long Broo had been here. When the bug-like alien refused to take the money, Joey simply places it in the pocket of the sweats he was wearing, the one in the front where he had the oddly unscathed paper-wrapped packages.

<p class="MsoNormal">Unfortunately, Jubilee didn't appear to know ASL as well. 'Tell her I said it was nice to meet her, and yes, I did send him away...I couldn't let him start a fight. Especially not here.' he signs, looking down at Broo. 'By the way Broo, how long have you been here? On Earth.' he continues, a brow arching a little.

<p class="MsoNormal">Looking to Jubilee, Broo smiles and translates, "Joey says it is exquisitely wonderous to make your lovely acquaintence, and admits that he dismissed the boy as he could not allow a conflict, it would be inappropriate especially in this locale." he then looks to Joey, "Let's see, approximately 3 local weeks, 1 local day, 0 local hours, and 23 minutes, and 36 seconds. I could be a bit off on my estimation from the angle of the rays coming from your primary star, but it is definitely accurate to the local day." he then looks to Jubilee, "I think you are not of legal age yet, or we could go to the place I met Joey. It is called a bar, and you must be legal to go in it. It smelled heavily of Methylcarbinol, as did many of the individual egressing from it, but it is not a totally unpleasent aroma."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Totally cool of you!" Jubilee replies, taking her turn in this lopsided three-way conversation. "And thanks, Joey. However you did it, it kept this from getting a lot worse."

<p class="MsoNormal">She grins at Broo. "I was thinking of a coffee shop, or a restaurant. This is New York, so you can't walk a block without finding one or the other. I owe Joey a hot chocolate, at least, and you look like you could use something warm, too. Plus, it'd be a lot warmer than out here."

<p class="MsoNormal">Uh--well, that wasn't /exactly/ what he'd said...

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">Jericho looks a little abashed at Broo's...more extensive use of positive adjectives. He blushes slightly, because his little friend was kind of making it sound like he was trying to impress her or something. He rubs the back of his head and glances at Jubilee anxiously, but is glad when she doesn't appear be weirded out by it. He nods, indicating that a coffee shop or restaurant would be fine with him.

<p class="MsoNormal">The mention of hot chocolate practically causes Broo to dance, "Ooooo, hot chocolate. Greatest consumable I have found so far on this planet. If interstellar trade is ever enacted here, I would heavily suggest hot chocolate, or actually any form of chocolate, being a majorly good choice to deal in, it will probably have an exceptional trade value, easily able to barter for large tracts of land on many worlds with a few galleons." he nods eagerly, "Yes, we must 'hunt down' a place to get some." seeming happy to use the termanology of hunting for this purpose, one of many things he has learned during his adventures.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I think you're cold too, Joey. Your cheeks are getting pretty red," Jubilee observes, though for the wrong reason. "Okay, Broo, we can look for a coffee shop. I think I passed one a couple blocks that way. I just need to make sure I have the money for that /and/ bus fare for both of us back home."

<p class="MsoNormal">She reaches into her pocket... or not. It seems to be a little lower than usual. Blushing, she tugs her jeans back into place and /then/ checks her pocket money. "No wonder I was feeling so cold... uh-huh, looks like just enough. Let's go!" And she leads the way out of the park.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jericho awkwardly watches Jubilee pull her pants back up and glances at Broo, 'Well, it looks like she was the one needing to pull up her pants after all. Maybe you could suggest she get a belt or something.' he signs, smirking a little as he follows the two of them out of the park toward a warmer and more comfortable locale.

<p class="MsoNormal">Looking between the too, Broo obviously is missing even more of the cues and confusion, but he just sniffs the air and leads the way, knowing he can track the scent of Hot Chocolate... despite the East River nearby. He smiles as they approach a little family run Brooklyn cafe and deli, with pretty decent prices... one of the advantages of family run places, big portions without big prices.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilee, seeing Broo's eagerness to take the lead, smiles and lets him out in front. She's seen how he can sniff out food. Maybe chocolate's just as easy?

<p class="MsoNormal">Turns out it is! "Ooh, that's the place! I remember the smell from when I passed it," she recalls. "And it smells like they just put on a fresh pot of cocoa." She giggles and stops, pretending to look in the window, just to see if Joey will open the door for a lady.

<p class="MsoNormal">Joey shakes his head, smiling at Broo's cluelessness. It was only expected, he supposed. Or maybe he was just much too excited over the prospect of having hot chocolate, as the small alien scampers ahead of his friends.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jericho approaches the cafe behind them and of course opens the door for the lady, standing just outside and waiting for her to enter first.

<p class="MsoNormal">There is an eagerness to go inside, but Broo waits for Jubilee to go first, perhaps he has learned proper etiquette, perhaps his own culture has something similar, maybe it is just a consideration for a friend, but he waits. He does peer through the window at the deli menu too, "Ooo, they make sandwiches here too... and will make them... custom." he sort of salivates at that, "I can pile many different meats and cheeses on it, and have..." he pauses, "Are those lengths really the lengths of the bread? Sandwiches with a foot of bread... or six feet of bread, stacked with meats, and cheeses, as well as other toppings?" his eyes growing wide and almost like he has seen heaven...

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilation giggles, bowing her head to Joey in amused thanks, and steps inside, trying not to smile at Broo's question. "They're accurate, Broo. They provide those six-foot sandwiches for parties and the like, for people who have a lot more money than I do," she adds ruefully, rubbing Broo's head behind his brow ridge. "But I think I can afford a foot-long sandwich. Just let me know what you want on it." She looks speculatively at the little alien and his tattered attire. He's probably spent some hungry days and nights in this town, as expensive as everything is.

<p class="MsoNormal">Joseph begins to step inside as soon as Jubilee has gone in, but holds the door open for Broo to enter as well. He'd let him go in front but...he didn't want to draw unwanted attention to the little guy. After all, Broo had probably had quite enough of /that/ sort of attention for one day. 'Yeah, but six feet might be overdoing it, especially for someone your size. I'm not even sure if I could eat that much in one sitting.' he signs, giving a bit of a lopsided grin.

<p class="MsoNormal">Considering Jubilee's comment of cost, Broo starts to reach for the money Joseph put in his hoodie pocket, but the signed comments about the six feet possible being more then Broo could consume, does make the littlest Brood pause to weigh the logistics and he nods, ascenting, "I would like to try cajun prize roast beef, chipotle chedder, spicy jalepeno chicken, pepper jack cheese, american cheese, grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, sauted spinach, and fried jalepenos. I have a little money left from the 'homework' I did," holding up the crumpled five spot, "Plus Joey put more money in my pocket too, so I could use that if you don't have enough for my sandwich?" he looks down at his clothes, "Though perhaps I should save some for more clothing. Eddie Haskell said these very rare 'Fruit of the Loom' designer sweat pants were worth $50, and the even rarer 'Fruit of the Loom' designer hooded sweatshirt with special belly pocket was worth $100. That meant I did 6 projects total for him and his partner Eddie McClintock. You remember the designs that I did for the Kree Fusion Engine, that was the final assignment for them, and when they left these for me." pouting at his designer clothing's terrible condition. "I was happy to find out they do not read Kree, when they complained a few days later. I told them something I heard on those view screens they have in some of the rooms, 'all deals are final', 'No returns, exchanges, or refunds'."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilee blinks, but she memorizes all those toppings. "Wow. You /did/ spend some hungry nights," she marvels. "I don't know if I'll have enough, but..."

<p class="MsoNormal">And then the bombshell hits. $150 for... "Broo, I need to talk to you when we get our food and find a table. Joey, could... oh, right. Stupid of me. Three large hot chocolates, and one Broo Special Sandwich?" Since she's the only one here who can, she steps up to the counter to order, giving the counterperson a slightly embarrassed smile. Hopefully nobody taking this order has eaten recently!

<p class="MsoNormal">Joey listens patiently to Broo's long speech. Certainly a talkative one, wasn't he? $150 sweats? Sheesh, what a shame. '$150?' he signs back, looking a little shocked. 'You probably should have gone for something a little more...practical. And wow, you sure know a lot about our food for only having been here for 3 weeks.'

<p class="MsoNormal">He glances at Jubilee when she addresses him, but then she turns away to order. Well, he would have obliged. If the cashier didn't know sign language, then he'd have written out /all/ those toppings on a napkin, plus the hot chocolates. As laborious as that might've been...

<p class="MsoNormal">Looking at Joseph, Broo shrugs, "Well, I didn't want to ask Santa for clothes, because I wanted to ask him to get me membership into the Xandarian Nova Corp. I almost got to ask him in person, but the mentally unbalanced doctor lady at the mall attacked, and then Santa escaped through the broken skylight on his sleigh, so I had to mail a letter to him from one of the stores in the mall." he looks around, "I never got around to looking at the prices for clothes there, and had other important things to buy when I got to New York." he sighs, "Then my imager broke, and I was too busy making sure I had money for food and so if I found a way to hide my appearance I could pay to get home... but then it took so long." he looks like he is about to cry, "I have been in this city for eleven of the days I have been here, half my time on this planet has been spent in this city. I... I... just wanted to get presents for my friends and get some other clothes... and now these special designer ones are ruined." his little mouth quivering a bit

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilation, seeing what's going on with Broo, just kneels and hugs him on the spot, order or no order. "Oh... poor Broo," she says softly. "It's okay. At least you've been found, and you'll be going home soon. There'll be other times for presents and new clothes, and Santa comes every year. And there's cocoa and a sandwich on the way!" she adds, trying to keep things on the bright side, motioning behind the Broodling's back for Joey to get the order that'll be coming up any moment now.

<p class="MsoNormal">Joey shakes his head as he listens to the Santa Claus story. He tries not to laugh at all or look amused, you know, since Broo looked like he was about to cry and that would probably be kind of tactless. Instead, he pats the little alien on the back in an attempt to console him before signing back to him,

<p class="MsoNormal">'Hey now, it's okay. It's the thought that counts. And you're going back home with Jubilee now, right? But a couple of things. First, I'm no fashion expert but I don't think Fruit of the Loom is a rare designer brand at all. In fact it's quite the opposite. They make...like...underclothing and T-shirts, mostly. Socks, too I think. Second...'

<p class="MsoNormal">But he stops there as Jubilee embraces Broo and assures him that Santa will come every year, unsure of whether it was wise to tell him the truth about Santa Claus right now. He nods at Jubilee and brings the order to the table once it is ready.

<p class="MsoNormal">Sniffling a bit, Broo nods, and then pauses and pouts a bit at Joseph's signing, "Is what Joseph said true? Are my designer clothes, not actually designer, but very inexpensive common clothing made by a company that designs basic utility and support garments?" seeming perhaps a bit appalled that he has invested so much energy into worrying about them, only to find they could be potentially replaced a few times over from the money Joseph madeh im take. He smiles as Joseph brings the food, and then takes the sandwich and starts trying to cram it whole into his mouth as he's done before with normal sized sandwiches... he pauses and does something new... biting angrily into the sandwich, still ripping a quarter of its length in one mouthful, but perhaps focusing his frustration on something semi constructive for the moment. He rolls the sandwich part around in his mouth with his tongue, enjoying the taste longer then either of his companions have seen him do in the past, savoring the flavor, though still not chewing... but perhaps he has learned to enjoy his meals a bit longer in his time in New York. As the group exit with their sealed drinks and Broo brooding on matters, he swallows and sighs, "Please take me to some place we can buy more of these... not so designer clothing. I will buy a new set, use one of the elevated showers with rush water blasts and disk soap to clean myself, and perhaps we can find something to cover my face, feet, and hands. Then I would really like to go home, please."

<p class="MsoNormal">Jubilation winces as Broo tears into his sandwich, literally. "Um... I wish I could say differently, but he's right. I've been known to wear it myself. It's not a designer brand," she replies, looking sympathetically at her small friend. "If it helps, they make really, really comfortable underwear. And it means you can afford to replace what you've lost."

<p class="MsoNormal">She takes a sip of her own cocoa, glad for the pick-me-up on a long day that shows every sign of getting longer still. But at least she found Broo! "We'll go there right away, if Joey's agreeable. The sweats are easy to find, and I know a place with showers. From there, the rest is easy." She reaches down and pats his shoulder, smiling. "Welcome back, Broo."

<p class="MsoNormal">