2012-12-03 Just Gravity and Me

In a world where a percentile of the population have evolved the ability to shoot laser beams from their faces, flying suits of armor can deliver nuclear payloads, and human beings can conjure up various other natural catastrophes, construction workers are well employed. Someone has to keep putting buildings back up. So Norm is at work in the Bronx, rolling around a wheelbarrow near the site of a squat building being put together.

It's a fairly average afternoon, the sun beginning to dip down, work almost done for the various business around. There's a few shops around, a few people wandering the streets. There's also a trash can. A flying trash can. It's just slowly floating down the street, bobbing a few inches off the ground, blissfully ignorant of the cars that swerve out of its was as it wobbles down the street. It's just a little weird.

"Man, that looks boring." Deadpool is kind of obnoxiously following Norm around, and has been for about twenty minutes, saying the same thing repeatedly. He's also noshing down coney island hot dogs, his mask pulled up to his nose so he can messily devour his snack.

"I mean, look at me," he tells Norm, around a mouthful of garlic onion polska kielbasa. He spreads his arms. He's more heavily armed than most tactical combat squads, with swords to boot. "I hang out, I have all the free time I want, and I make like, six times what you do. You're like what, twelve bucks an hour? I got paid fifty grand for my last gig, and it was a weekender." He swallows heavily and brushes his fingers, sprinkling detritus along his path. "Also, what's up with the floating trash bin?"

Rain tries to avoid being lasered, squished or what have you. It tends to be bad for her, as she lacks armor. Mercifully, she has pants and a shirt. She has a box under her arm, peering at a slip. Well, then. Today, she travels on foot. Her violet eyes peer out from beneath her hat, as does a curious imp. "Sssh, try not to get spotted." She hisses softly to the little demon under her hat, who promptly disappears back under. Rain glances here and there, until - ... is that a flying trash can? It is. Is that REALLY a flying trash can? Well, it has circumference and - sigh. "Well, on the bright side, it's not trying to devour our soul, set us on fire, stick my face in its cleavage or kill me," Rain takes what she can get. Her standards are so low, she took the bar, gave up and painted the line on.

And then she notices Deadpool and Norm. An eyebrow lifts, her head tilts. She looks positively owlish. Harvey the imp peers out from beneath her hat, too. "Um. I'd say we need to quit drinking but..." They don't. "... wonder what was in that chai." The duo just STARE.

Norm is nothing if not polite and terrible at talking to other people. So he's kind of just carried on through all of this, doing his best to keep his back to the costumed man behind him. Not that it does much to hide the robotic arms, but he does try. "I'm non-union, so, not much?" He offers awkwardly. There's really no way to NOT be awkward when a walking armory is trying to hold a conversation with you. "Oh. Um. That's cool, man. I guess.."

The trash can is soon joined by other things. Little scraps of paper lining the street, cast-off bits of trash, a tire. Then a car. One of the wheels of the vehicle slowly begins to rise into the air, the driver flailing around like a marionette tied to rabid dog. People on the street, Rain included, seem to be getting more?bouncy. A few of Norm's bricks start to float away, a fact which he regards with about as much incredulity as he does Deadpool. "Wha-Me? You're asking me? Why a thing has decided to defy all the laws of physics?" Now he just sounds exasperated.

Deadpool watches the detritus float towards them, then looks at Norman and shrugs. "Because you're the guy giving the background narration," he tells Norm, as if it's the most obvious fact in the world. "I mean, like /I/ know what's going on? I'm a flavor enhancer. I mean, if this was a /series/ title, I could maybe peek ahead a bit and find out, but I have /no/ idea what is going to happen next." He takes a wolfish bite of the coney island dog, watching gravity slowly go insane. "Whee, I'm floating!" he squeals as he starts to go skyway also.

"..." Blink. She smiles faintly at Norm. There's a sympethetic look from the violet-eyed girl. Rain is baffled by the spectacle. Poor robot armed guy with another strange fellow behind him. And there they go, floating. She glances down then - wait, no. She's a bit skinny for that. Geez. She pauses, taking a step. "Wow, not only am I a living argument against natural selection..." She's breaking the law of physics. It's all Judas Priest in here or something. By now, Harvey is peeking out entirely. He pokes her hat and Rain's hat is - hey wait! She frantically pulls it down, provoking an unhappy squawk. Is she smuggling parrots?

No, just an imp. there's a look to Deadpool. "You are floating..." She looks baffled, trying to not float. "Um." She moves to grab onto something and hang onto her box. "Oh no. I'm pretty sure we paid our gravity bill." She's peering around, trying to find the source or if someone is doing something obvious.

"I...literally don't understand the things you're saying to me." Then Norm starts to float away. Ah-ha! Escape! Several other construction workers go barrel-rolling gracelessly through the sky, as do other heavy and dangerous looking objects. "I really don't know what I did to deserve things like this." There's Rain too, and a thing dwelling in her hat. Which is, to be fair, the least strange thing he's seen today. "Excuse me."

The door of one of the shops along the road bursts open, and a young girl comes tearing out of it. She's bawling her eyes out, her hands stuffed against her ears, screaming, "YOU NEVER GIVE ME WHAT I WANT I HATE YOU GO AWAY." Very loudly. She seems, however, to be the only thing that hasn't abruptly taken to the sky as if it were filled with helium. If Newton could see this he would be PISSED. The girl flees across the street toward construction area post-haste. Which happens to be right next to where Rain clings, and everyone else floats beyond.

Rain pauses. She watches Norm and the others. Now, she floats. Harvey drifts out of her hat. A few people might freak about the imp, but mostly the floating. Her eyes are wide as can be. "I -" Pause. "Yes, sir?" She tilts her head to Norman. She's trying to figure out what's going on herself. There's a pause as she notices the girl. "Ah, hey! Um, why aren't you floating? Miss!" Flail! She looks apologetically to Norman, eyes wide with worry. She tries not to get hit anything. "I'm sure you didn't do anything to deserve it..."

"That's very nice of you to say." Norm mumbles this in passing as he bobs past. But, well, he can't just float forever. He glances down at his pincers, at the sky above and ground that he's not standing on. The man breaths an exasperated sigh, and then he turns on the force field. A very loud, obnoxiously bright sphere of crackling yellow energy that appears around him. He kind of bounces around in it like a pinball for a few second, and then he actually starts to maneuver back over toward Rain and the girl.

The small girl comes to a slow halt nearby, her head turning up toward Rain. She's someone who might be a sympathetic ear, after all! Even if she is floating away. And she has an imp. "What?" More importantly: "It's not fair that I can't have a dog. Don't you think? I'm old enough for a dog. I'm twelve! That's old enough. Don't you think?" A stack of pizzas float by in the background.

Rain smiles faintly. She watches the fellow for a moment, blinking, eyes widening. A bubble. "Neat!" And poor Harvey is doggy paddling back to cling to Rain and hide in her jacket. She blushes faintly. Then a pause and looks to the girl. She tilts her head. "Hmm. Well, that is when a lot of kids get dogs. Maybe you could tell your parents all of the things you'd do to make sure he's taken care of? Like play with him and take him outside?" She watches the pizzas go by, blinking owlishly. "A dog is a lot of work to make sure he's happy and healthy, but I'm sure you could." She seems sympathetic enough, trying to offer a reasonable solution. "Do you keep up with your chores? It's important when you have a dog..."

"Uh-huh. Uh-huh." Lots of nodding from the girl. Norm seems to realize the problem a bit late, but he does his part. A small dome of the same energy that surrounding him pops up behind Rain and Harvey, probably to prevent them from floating too far away. It's not like the wants to talk to angry gravity girl if someone else will!

"Once the girl is done with her tantrum things behind to float back to earth. Mostly in a safe fashion. Mostly. The girls parents hesitantly sneak out, scurrying forward to collect her in short order.

"Well, there you go." Rain smiles. "You can tell them that you work hard to do your chores, and that you know what your doggy needs. That even if you don't always feel like it, you'll take care of him forever," Nod. "He's a friend for life and he needs you, after all." She offers a quiet 'thank you' to Norman. She's not ungrateful, though Harvey has dug his way back into Rain's jacket and seems content to stay there. She smiles politely at her parents. "It'll be fine, I bet." She seems hopeful. Rain's an optimist, even in the face of being a potential Darwin Award winner one of these days.

The girl nods, and he parents kind of usher her away from staring eyes. Lots of eyes. Some of which Norm gets, though the man drops his fields fairly quickly once they're no longer necessary. He coughs once, fidgeting around and commenting to Rain, "Nice job." He turns to go, and then seems to hesitate just a moment. "Do...you have a tiny man? In your hat?" This is why bad things happen to Norm. Because he just doesn't leave things alone.

Rain smiles and waves. She doesn't pull Harvey out of her jacket for now though. She looks relieved as gravity is restored and kind of awkwardly glances to Norman. "Um..." She looks around. She whispers. "Yes. He's an imp." Then, in a normal tone. "Um. Thank you. I appreciate the help." Nod. She did notice his bubble, after all. And frankly, the fact that she is insanely curious is probably why Rain is a Darwin candidate.