2013.03.13 - Helpful Souls

It's late in the evening, the sun nearly fully set, and near one of the local homeless shelters, Jeremy's spending a little more time outdoors before he heads in for the night. A bag of trash leans against the side of the building, and the street and sidewalk in front of it are surprisingly clean of litter. With little foot traffic around at this hour, the boy seems to be amusing himself by playing martial artist, running through a kata...or maybe he's really practicing, because that actually looks pretty good.

What drew her back here? Well, Marissa's heading for the homeless shelter with what looks to be a donation. Not of cash...she's got a bag of old clothes slung over her shoulder and is heading for the door...until she sees Jeremy working out. She whistles slightly, "You're good."

"Ah!" Jeremy yelps. He was getting pretty into it, apparently, as he jumps when someone speaks to him and nearly trips over his own feet. Stumbling a few steps, he goes red and looks up at Marissa. "Oh! Oh, um...miss Mary, no, Marissa, right? You were talking with mister Gabriel."

"I was." She grins. "I don't need a miss, though. I'm not a teacher and not *that* much older than you are." She thinks she is a bit, but not that much. Hard to tell. "I never caught your name."

Jeremy looks a little flustered, still, but nods a bit. "Um, okay. Well, um..." He takes a deep breath, and offers a hand. "Um, I'm Jeremy. It's nice to meet you, um, again. Fully, I guess." He pauses. "You really think it looked good?" he asks with a little smile.

"I know a little bit about martial arts and yeah, it looked good." She's not going to reveal her identity just yet. It might spook him, after all...she's a public superhero, one step away from being a cop in many people's minds.

And Jeremy does seem the skittish sort, especially when you factor in his situation. "Great! Um, I've been working on it, 'cause I rem...um, 'cause...it'd been a while." Kid's an awful liar. "I guess I'm, um, getting the rust off or something."

An awful liar. Marissa knows a couple of those. "Still, you did look like you don't have to worry about who you meet in a dark alley, unless they have guns. Guns make it harder."

Jeremy smiles nervously. "Um, yeah, they would...so I'm gonna try avoidin' dark alleys instead." He clearly misses any implication that she's talking from experience, and looks from side to side a little, then ohs. "Hey, um, by the way, I was...well, I hope you don't mind my asking, miss Marissa..." Apparently that request went right out of his head. "...but, um...you seemed kinda upset when we were talkin' about, um, bein' from places. A-are you okay?"

"Family problems," Marissa says, softly, breathing in and then out. "I don't know if you know how that goes or not."

"Neither do I," Jeremy says, shrugging a little, and then coughs, looking away. "I-I mean, um, no. Well, I-I just wanted to make sure you weren't...in trouble or anything, 'cause if you are maybe I...well, I probably couldn't do anything but I could tell Mister Gabriel and maybe he could help, 'cause he's good at that. Or there was this superhero I ran into the other day and I don't think I could catch him really easy to tell 'cause he was fast, but...um, I'd try!"

"No, I don't need any help. I'm doing fine. Just as long as I stay well away from my "old man." She air-quotes the euphemism, rolling her eyes. Justa family quarrel, then?

Jeremy watches her a few more moments, but finally nods. "Well, okay. But if you need any help, um..." He looks down, toeing the ground a bit. "Um, well, there's probably better people to talk to, but I'll do my best if you want, okay? I'm gettin' lots of help, so...I've got to pass it on."

"I try to pay forward what I've got. I'd have ended up on the street after my dad cut me off if I hadn't gotten some help." She grins at Jeremy. "So, now I'm passing it on."

Jeremy looks at the bag of clothes, smiling. "Yeah...I bet it'll help. Um, actually, my shoes came out of the clothes here, so I know it'll help!" He raises a foot and taps the sneaker with his hand.

Marissa Sometimes nods. "Most aren't mine. I'm kinda broke too, but I put out the word I was taking old clothes to somewhere they'd do most good and it's the perfect time of year for it." She grins a bit. "I know that every little thing helps.

Jeremy blinks. "Wow, really? Y-You...wow, that sound like it took kind of a lot of...um, I mean, I-I don't think I could've done something like that, asking for donations and stuff. I-I get kind of nervous." He shakes his head. "So I've just been cleanin' up a little--washin' the windows, picking up trash...but...it's somethin', right? And there's always a lot to do."

Marissa Sometimes nods. "Hey, that's good stuff. A lot of people are above picking up trash and cleaning stuff, you know."

Jeremy shrugs a little. "Well...I guess, yeah. I just needed, I mean, wanted stuff to do and that's what it seemed like I could do." He looks at her again, and starts getting that worried look again. "Um...but you know, you probably shouldn't be walking around here this late all alone...um, it's not really bad but there's some bad people around sometimes, like purse snatchers and muggers and stuff."

"If somebody tries to mug me I'll kick their butt and leave them gift-wrapped and labeled for the cops," Marissa promises. With the tone of a woman who believes she can do just that.

Jeremy blinks, and stares. "Um, oh. Oh, right, you know a little bit." He tucks his hands in his pockets, going a little red. "I-I was gonna offer to walk you once you were done, but I-I guess you're okay, huh? Sorry..." He looks off to the side.

"Oh, I wouldn't turn company *down*. I might not need it, but I don't mind having people around." She offers a smile. "Relax. I don't bite."

Jeremy tries to stand a little taller, looking up at her again. "Um, I wasn't worryin', I-I just..." He shakes his head, and calms himself down. "Sorry...I-I'm still kinda new to all this." A little pause. "Um, you don't like...work with the cops or anythin', right? You were just, um, just saying...what you'd do to bad guys...that's all, right?"

"Sometimes I do, but I haven't seen you do anything worth telling them about." He seems a decent enough kid, and if he's hiding stuff? Marissa's got enough she wants to leave behind in HER past.

Jeremy unconsciously takes a step back, despite assurances. "Um, just...please don't tell them about me, okay? Mister Gabriel said stuff a-about foster homes and Child Services and the Man and stuff like that and I-I don't wanna, I mean...it might be bad if that happened. Okay? Promise me."

"How old are you?" Marissa inquires. "And don't worry. I wouldn't hand anyone over to the *foster care system*. I've heard too many stories."

Jeremy frowns a little. "Um...I'm..." A long pause. "Um..." He hangs his head. "Um, it doesn't matter." Which means he doesn't know, clearly. He looks probably 13 or so. "I just...I don't want that, and...there's things I've got to figure out, and...and do, and I don't think it'd be good if I got put someplace. So...so thanks."

"What you need is to find somebody to take you in whom you get on with, then." A pause. "You're not old enough to be emancipated, so you'll need somebody, but...I'm not going to turn you in."

Jeremy nods. "Good...'cause...if you tried I'd have to run, and I don't really want to 'cause that'd get, um, scary. But...I don't think somebody should take me in, either. I-I just..." He looks down, toeing the ground again. "I don't think that's...good...right now. But...But I've got it worked out, s-so you don't need to worry about it, okay? I won't worry about you and you won't worry about me. Okay?"

"But if you don't...then somebody WILL turn you in." She furrows her brow. "They'd think it was for the best." He's already running, she's sure of that much. Possibly from somebody or something truly dangerous.

"I'll figure it out when that happens," Jeremy says, shaking his head. "F-For now this is workin' fine. I-I move around...I keep to myself, um, mostly...I try not to get mixed up with anybody that works with the cops..." He gives her a look at that, and shakes his head. "I'll be okay. If...If I have to run, I bet I'll be really good at it."

"Just don't hurt anyone...or get hurt." Marissa lets out a breath. "You can walk me to the rail station?"

Jeremy shakes his head. "I would never hurt any good guys," he says, quickly. "I-If I have to pick between getting caught and hurting a cop or something...I'll get caught. I promise." He smiles a little in relief, and nods. "Um, sure. I can go with you...I'd like to. I mean...I know you said you'd be fine, but...it doesn't seem right not keepin' an eye out."

"Okay, then. Hold on, though." She grins and then vanishes into the homeless shelter to drop off her "loot."

Jeremy nods, and picks up the trash bag laying against the wall, walking a short distance to a nearby dumpster and flinging it in. Shooting it like a big basketball, actually. Have to make the job fun somehow.

Marissa Sometimes emerges after a moment. "There. Let's go." The young woman starts to head towards the rail station. Oddly...or perhaps not so oddly...she hasn't pried into Jeremy's past at all. Thirteen. She *wants* to see him find a family, but she's not going to push.

Jeremy hesitates for a brief moment, but then scampers over to walk by her side. "Miss Marissa, I, um...I'm really sorry for worrying you." He keeps scanning from side to side, carefully, keeping a pretty good watch over the area. "I don't like it...and I know it's probably not easy lettin' me live like this. So...um, thank you for doing it anyway."

"Well, a lot of people think *I* still need a guardian." A pause. "But I manage...with my friends." Her superhero friends, but she knows if he finds that out it'll spook him. Best she stays just plain Marissa for now.

Jeremy smiles at her a bit. "Yeah...I think that's the way it is for me, too. Um, Mister Gabriel's been helping a lot...and...and Mister Jonah at the shelter, and I'm meetin' other people. So...it's working out." He frowns, then, and looks up at her. "Um, but please don't tell your friends about me either, unless they won't call the cops on me either, okay?"

"Don't worry. I won't." She shakes her head a bit, murmuring something under her breath about better ways to do things.

Jeremy smiles more brightly. "Thanks. I-I wouldn't mind havin' more friends, but I have to be careful, you know?" He looks a little curious at the muttering, but shrugs. "Um...it's...it's not just that I ran away or something, okay? It really isn't, I promise. I wouldn't do that...I think." He shakes his head. "Um, it's just, something bad happened, and...and I can't tell you what, but..."

"But you're pretty sure somebody might have bad things in mind for you and you don't want to bring them down on somebody else." Dang. She's not stupid.

Jeremy sighs a little, hanging his head. "Um, yeah. I think so. I-I don't know...I might be wrong. But if somebody bad tracked me down 'cause I was in a system or something, and nice people got hurt, I mean...anybody got hurt 'cause of it but especially nice people who took me in or something...I couldn't live with myself." He looks up at her. "I-I think it's pretty big." Marissa Sometimes nods. "Well. I can look after myself...I promise you that." She considers. This might be something the Titans can *fix*. Find out who's after him, deal with them. She's sure it's not anybody good or on their side.

Jeremy nods. "I, um, I kinda get the feeling you can. You're...you're really strong. That's the feeling I get." A pause. "Um, I don't mean like lifting heavy stuff strong. I mean like...um...I'm not sure what I mean. But...you're strong. But...I still don't want you gettin' hurt for me."

It's not that far to the rail station. On the way, "I've gotten hurt for people who deserved it a *lot* less than you do." A smile...but once she's at the station, she heads for the platform. "My train should be here soon."

Jeremy frowns, and goes quiet, just raising a hand and waving as he watches her go. "I'm...not so sure I deserve it at all..." he says to himself quietly, as she walks away, and then he turns to run back to the shelter in a hurry.