| "Just Another Day at Gracie's" | |||||
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| What: Jbilee invites Whitney and Tanya to a late lunch so they can meet each other--Emmy ensues. Later, Luke Cage drops by and Cordelia hurries over when she hears what happened. | |||||
A pleasantly warm afternoon in Harlem. Even an outsider might enjoy it here. Even an obvious outsider.
And you can't get more obvious, or outside, than Jubilation Lee. Her rollerblading attire consists of black VSX brand exercise pants, coordinating hoodie, and a bright white workout tank, and her ruby shades and spiky 'do only make her stand out more. She slows to a stop in front of Gracie's, one of the best eating places she knows of in this part of town. Sure, it's basically a diner/bakery mix, but the cornbread is to die for.
And who better to share it with than two of her best friends? She's already called up Whitney Pratt and Tanya Li. Now she's just got to wait for them to arrive. She leans against the wall next to the door, humming some catching pop tune from the radio and trying to ignore the stares she's drawing. Sure, she's cute, but not all of those looks are friendly.
At least the stares will likely be directed at someone else, considering who's walking up. Tanya has her hands stuck in her jacket's pockets, walking along with a bit of a hurry. She's not used to walking everywhere, but can't really trust she won't take a spill on the motorcycle if she was suddenly dizzy, and Cordelia would kill her. This might be bad enough as it is.
When she sees Jubilation, she grins and waves, hurrying to a jog so she can hug the teen warmly. "Hey, you," she says as she pulls back again. "Thanks for the call. I've been going stir-crazy. So how've you been?" She, too, ignores the stares and looks. She's had just as much practice at the art, though of pretending she isn't aware that she stands out like a sore thumb.
The third person to arrive actually arrived early, but then there was the struggle with finding an available parking spot for her Hummer. Eventually she finds a spot, technically an illegal one, and jogs down towards Gracie's. She's wearing hose decorated with flying monkeys and a man's shirt that acts as a dress. A loosely tied tie with witch faces on it adorns the shirt, and she's got a fedora loosely plopped down on all her mess of blond hair. As she jogs up she smiles, "Hey! Juju!" She eyes the other woman, offering a smile, "You must be Tanya? I'm Whitney."
That can't be anyone but Tanya. Jubilation smiles at the sight and sound of her friend, stretching up to hug the taller girl back. "Hey!" she replies. "I thought you might be. I've been sick, too."
And then Whitney arrives, driving a gigantic vehicle that takes some time to park. Whatever she's wearing, she's still welcome company, and the California girl lets go of Tanya (carefully...) to hug the blonde. "Whitney! Your timing's perfect. This is Tanya Li! Tanya, this is Whitney Pratt," she says, letting go to introduce the two. "It's so good to see you both!"
Smiling at the fedora-wearer in return, Tanya says, "That I am." As Jubilation makes the official introductions, she holds out her hand for a firm handshake, then sticks her hand back into her jacket pocket. "Whitney," she says with a small inclination of her head, then grins at Jubilation. "You know, I think mine is the least interesting name. Cordelia, Jubilation, and now Whitney, all at least somewhat uncommon ones, but Tanya is still pretty common." Brows lift in humor; at least it's nice to stand out the least in /some/ fashion. It's almost nice, in a way, even if she really likes the interesting and different names.
Whitney gives Jubilation a friendly squeeze. "Hey there cutie patootie." She then gives Tanya a nod of the head and a handshake when Tanya offers. Her hand is a bit odd to the touch, not quite right. Once that is done she says, "I would like to say my parents were inspired by Whitney Houston. But the fact of the matter it was just a bad sense of humor on my Mom's part."
Jubilation giggles, returning the squeeze with interest. "And there you go, talking about others' patooties again," she teases gently. "Hope you're hungry. The cornbread here is absotively delish!"
And back to Tanya. "Tanya's common in some places, but I haven't met more than three in my life. It's not so bad. It beats everybody remembering you forever because of your name. How many Jubilations do you know, huh?" she asks, laughing good-naturedly.
And once more back to Whitney. "Wait... so what /did/ inspire your name?"
"Not many," Tanya admits to Jubilation, smiling at her before looking back to Whitney curiously. "I'm pretty curious, too. Can't be much worse than my full name, so what the hell, right?" A shrug of her shoulders, given with a slight widening of her coat thanks to the hands in her pockets.
"Well, you won't get it if you don't know. But anywho...I was named after Pratt & Whitney Aviation. My Mom has a thing for aviation, so I got named after a radial engine." She quirks a smile and holds the door to the diner Gracie's open for the other two, "Cornbread sounds great to me. And some fried patooties." Then she grins over at Tanya, "My middle name is Merlin. How's that for awful? My birth mother has what is proverbially known as bad taste in names."
Jubilation giggles. "There are worse things to be named after. One of basketball's most famous players was named after a bird," she says, cheerfully accepting the invitation to slip through the open door. "Oh, wait... a Merlin is a bird, too. Soooooorry Whitney..." she adds, drawling apologetically and blushing.
"Whoa! Look out! Coming through! Watch... hey, is that Cappucino I smell?" comes a rather high pitched voice sounding -almost- like it's on the verge of panic briefly, until that last part of her comment. The part that draws attention even more than the voice, is the fact that she's dressed in her oddball LED and Track lighting manner, with her feet planted on a large snowboard. That snowboard appears to have added extras such as the lined and powered tracks of an old 80's electric racecar set along the bottom as well as lights and such flashihg... oh, and the fact that with her rear foot inside the loop to hold it in place, she's skimming along right about head height and trying to make her way through/over the nearby crowd... yes folks, that runaway hoverboard is heading right in your direction, and Emmy is ... 'piloting?' it. Of course, at the moment she's taken her attention off of piloting to peer into a window she's passing by... the window of the coffee shop making that delightful smell she caught wind of.
"Thank you," says Tanya, inclining her head politely and smiling at Whitney, going to head through the door behind Jubilation. "And I like that name. I mean, hell--a twenty-eight-cylinder supercharged air-cooled four-row radial piston engine--that's just damned cool." She grins as she pauses to wait for Whitney. "And, hell--me? Tanya. Tu. Yun. Li." She purses her lips in a humorous over-display of distaste, emphasizing the first consonants in her name. "I mean, try going through high--holy shit." The last said with widened eyes as she looks past Whitney to the--person--beyond. "And I thought /I/ was an attention-getter for a little bit'a pink..." she mutters.
Whitney looks impressed that Jubilation knows that the Merlin is a bird. "Meadowlark Lemon." she comments, faking a slow kick towards her friend's backside. "Smarty pants!" Then, Tanya comments on the engine and it's completely obvious that Whitney's entire notion of the woman changes in that moment. A big smile spreads over her face, "Tu Yun Li, that's a prett...Crap! Incoming." She steps so that she provides some kind of barrier to ward off the wild woman on her board from colliding with the other two women. "Watch out!'
The teener playfully dodges Whitney's feigned kick, blowing a raspberry over her shoulder. "Tanya Tu Yun Li... I dunno, I kinda like it," Jubilation repplies with a smile. "My folks didn't name me anything very traditional. Kind of makes me feel disconnected from my roots."
And then along comes /someone/ riding on /something/ that flies! Lots of lights, high voice, hoverboard... nobody she knows! "Oh, /cool/! An air skateboard!"
Trouble is, as she realizes a half-second later, it's heading right for them! "Oh, fudgesicles! Look out!" She's low enough to be missed, but the rider doesn't seem to notice that she's heading right for the wall of the diner! "Hey, stop!" Jubilation shouts, ducking past Whitney and Tanya to jump and grab hold of the board, trying to hang on and stop it with her added weight. Cowabungle?
Inhaling the delightful scent of cappuccino, Emmy almost misses the whole event ahead of her. That is, until she has a sudden added passenger. The board dips downward a bit and then she looks towards Jubilee, "Hey kid! I ain't a taxi. I... oh hey, cool shades." she remarks as her own flicker with little lights and things. Then if her eyes were visible, they might widen quite a bit and she stuffs her lead foot into the loop designed to hold -it- in place as well. When she does that, she yoinks the front end about something like sixty degrees, now aiming right out into the street, with Jubilee hanging from the front end. But the good news is, she's not aiming at the wall anymore! The bad news... traffic!
While everyone else is running and jumping around, Tanya takes a slightly different approach. Hands are jerked out of her jacket and extended out in front of her as she widens her stance, and she becomes a light bulb again. Hands, eyes, and the flame "sleeve" on her lower right leg all glow in bright pink--then the wind kicks up. It swirls around the hoverboard-rider and "passenger", kicking hair and coat-tails up something fierce. The wind only strengthens, fighting the hoverboard's engines to slow it down as well as turn them to the side and keep them on the sidewalk, as Tanya grits her teeth and narrows her eyes, fingers dancing as she tries to micromanage and manipulate such a force. No, kids, playing in traffic is a /bad/ thing.
The bus? The motor turns off and the brakes engage even before the driver sees the trouble up ahead. Whitney runs after Jubilee and the woman on the the hoverboard. When the wind picks up she squints against the grit. Her shirt dress flies up. For once she is the is flashing undies without Jubilation's help. Though it might count, since she is running to grab hold of the board, adding her weight to all the forces trying to keep the thing under control in the middle of all that crazy wind.
"Hey, I don't want a ride! I'm trying to stop you from becoming a wall decoration!" Jubilation ripostes, swinging beneath the hoverboard and trying to hang on. With all this wind, she's suddenly glad she doesn't have a lot of hair to blow around, though the force on her body isn't pleasant. It's also not kind to her wardrobe, billowing her unfastened hoodie wildly, pulling at her flare-leg pants insistently, and tugging at the shades she was just complimented on. She presses the side of her head against her arm to retain her shades, but there's nothing she can do for her pants without letting go of the board. And she can feel them sliding...
Just then Whitney jumps on, shaking the board. "Whoa!" Jubes cries, clenching her fingers and clapping her knees together as her pants slip off her hips, leaving her flashing undies along with her friend. Embarrassment, it seems, loves company! "Can you stop this thing before we're street pancakes?!"
"Huh?" asks Emmy as winds slow the board down, and she whips the front end back away from traffic using her lead foot. She overcompensates a bit and is aiming right for a window of a diner. She adjusts once more and starts actually gaining altitude. "Stop?" she asks almost as if trying to translate a foreign tongue, "Oh! Right! Brakes!" She starts looking at the board's front end, "Now where did I put that brakes button?..." she asks aloud, "Um, that's the afterburner. That's the altitude adjustment... hrmmm." And then she pauses, actually seeming to take the time while climbing. Well, the good news, she's not aiming towards anything dangerous other than potentially getting higher in the air. Granted, it's slowed down quite a bit by Tanya's interference (*Shakefist!*) And then she has her glasses give her a warning, "Oh hey! That girl has raw power!" she exclaims, totally distracted from her quest for brakes. "Wait, where was I?" she asks, actually looking towards Jubilee to ask the question. "Oh hey kid, you might consider a belt in the future, you're losin' your pants." There is another pause and she adds, "Hey, where'd passenger number two come from?" And then it's not like she planned this, but she's right over the roof of the diner, only a few feet off of it as she says, "Oh hey! I forgot! I put the brakes control at the back end!" And she stomps on them using her rear foot, which she had to yank out of its restraint to do... the board literally stops in midair. It was doing like 20mph, but it goes to a dead stop RIGHT now... Emmy herself tumbles off of it and lands on her back on the rooftop with an "Oof..."
Trying to use magic to fight magic /and/ physics means that Tanya is on the losing end of the battle. She can't stop the damned thing, but she can sure as hell slow it down. Left eye twitching, she concentrates harder, lips pulling back as she fights the board and its pilot. She'd curse when the thing arcs skyward, but the throbbing in her head combined with the losing fight to concentrate doesn't leave much ability.
Even when the thing gets out of view, she can feel it come to a stop--and the pink glow finally fades, leaving her to sink to her knees and lean against the door, one hand coming up to lightly cover her temple and the throbbing vein nearby. She woozily sways a bit, then rests her full weight against the door. This is a good spot. A nice spot.
Whitney curses under her breath as the driver of the snowboard thing cuts the power suddenly. She grabs around Jubilee's waist with her flesh arm and keeps hold of the board with the other as they all go falling to the rooftop. She twists so that she lands on bottom, giving Jubilee something a bit more forgiving than the tarred roof to land on. Her breath goes out of her at the impact with the roof, and Jubilee's impact with her. "Unf!"
"Right... thanks for the heads-up," Jubilation ripostes with just a touch of sarcasm. "But these pants don't take a belt!" At least she wore clean undies today! And then, suddenly, the hoverboarder manages to find the way to stop! Trouble is, she's not only over the roof of the diner, she stops it /instantly/! Which means all kinds of not-fun things for the passengers and pilot.
If it was just herself, Jubilation might be able to hang on. But with Whitney's arm around her, she has no choice but to go when Whitney does. Intertia and gravity combine to land them on the roof of the diner, not far from the pilot, the Chinese-American girl landing partially on top of her friend. "Oof!"
Wincing, Jubilation sits up, shaking her head. "Next time, I take the train," she murmurs, rolling off of Whitney and standing up with surprising ease; ease which becomes less surprising when she realizes she's standing in her pink-striped panties. She somehow lost her exercise pants in the landing. But, priorities! "Whitney! Are you hurt?" she asks, kneeling and offering a hand.
"Okay, mental note, include decelerator -and- brake." says Emmy as she just lies there. She goes so far as to reach down and whip a tablet computer out of her holster and is already loading a schematic app she got from the app store. Yes, she got it at the app store, but it wasn't supposed to do schematics so much as just generic artwork. Anyhow, she's lying on her back, tablet out and over her face as she uses her free hand to start drawing in little additions. Never mind the fact that her board is up there hovering a good several feet back and upwards. Also, she has totally forgotten about the glowing chick on the sidewalk who's found a nice spot for a nap. She's also forgotten about her stowaways... she's -focused- now.
The board is actually in Whitney's hand, but not for long. Whitney legs go of it after Jubilee gets off of her. She then groans and says, "Yeah. I'm fine. Only a few broken bones." She gets up and pulls her shirt dress down, covering up her garter belt and assorted other bits of underpinnings. She heaves a sigh at a broken heel, then pulls off her shoes. "Are you okay?" she asks her friend as she puts the shoes into her off hand. "You really need to staple your clothes to your backside." she suggests to Jubes, then she looks over at the nutter, "Check on the crazy. I'm going to check on Tanya." That said she hops off the rooftop down to the street, to check on the passed out woman.
"Your idea of okay and mine don't mesh well," Jubilation observes, helping Whitney up. "I think I'm good, just a little banged up... and yes, needing something warmer below the waistline. Grab my pants if you see 'em, okay?" Because she doesn't.
She turns, looking over the busy aviatrix with wary eyes. "Um, hi?" Jubilation says, moving over and crouching beside her. "Are you okay? You fell further than we did. Um, if you're paying attention..."
It's not that she's ignoring anyone. She's just... well, distracted. Of course, once Emmy finishes making notes, she sits up and rubs her lower back. "Also note to self, driver's airbag." she mutters as she's getting to her feet. It's then that she notices the other two on the rooftop. "Oh hey, um... where are your pants?" she asks Jubilee as she reaches up to make an adjustment to the little glowing (and humming) thing on the side of her glasses. "Huh? Oh I'm fine, other than mildly disappointed. I should've included a way to slow it down without stopping entirely. But, it worked!" her face beams in a smile as she reaches another hand to try to push strands of hair out of her face, "I really should make something to control all this gunk." she mutters before looking down to the sidewalk, "Hey, is she okay?!" she calls down as Gearbox seems to be checking on Tanya.
Thankfully, perhaps, Tanya isn't actually passed out, though she's not too far from it. Her eyes are half-closed, and the stitches at her hairline are visibly moving from the throbbing of the veins beneath. She's still got her right hand to her forehead, her left planted on the ground to keep from toppling over. When Whitney shows up, it takes a few moments for comprehension to dawn, and she mutters, "Tiān xuán dì zhuăn..." in Mandarin, before something visibly clicks inside her head and she switches to the right language. "Umm, I'm dizzy..."
Whitney lands in her stockinged feet near Tanya and quickly moves to her assistance. She puts her prosthetic arm around the girl to help her, "You don't look so good Tanya. I think we need to get you a place to sit down." She helps the woman gingerly, "Let's get you inside." That said she tries to help Tanya into the diner so she can get a seat.
She calls up to the roof as she starts to move Tanya inside, "She looks pretty woozy! She's talking in Mandarin! At least I think it is Mandarin. I'm not really up on my Chinese dialects."
"You've got my complete and total agreement there: Air brakes should be on the next design," Jubilation replies, grasping what the girl's trying to do. "As for my pants, I wish I could answer that question. I don't see 'em." She stifles a snicker as the inventor pushes hair from her face. "Well, there's something already made for it. It's called a ponytail," she adds teasingly. "Scrunchees are great, too."
She moves to the edge of the roof, glancing down at Tanya and Whitney. "Tanya? Are you okay?" she calls down. "And do you see my pants anywhere?" Two-track mind, but the tracks are close together.
"Translator!" announces Emmy. "I need a Universal Translator!" Then she hears Jubilee's request and sets about scanning the area using those high tech shades of hers. "Your pants? Well, they're over there." she remarks to Jubilee, gesturing towards the Direct TV dish on top of the next door rooftop. "Oh, inside? That coffee did smell great!" she offers as she heads towards the edge of the roof and looks down. "Oh, that'd hurt to jump or fall." And then she reaches onto her back for the hoverboard that's supposed to be there, "Damnit." she mutters, "Where's that boar..." and her eyes track upwards to the thing still hovering up there and she turns to run towards it, jumping a time or two to try to grab on to the thing, but looking awfully unathletic in doing so... oh, and she's quite handily failing to reach the thing.
She'll have to be helped to her feet, but Tanya can at least half-stumble into the diner proper. At least she's too far out of it to really give a crap how they're basically the only ones left in the diner. At the open display of powers, the place is pretty much empty save for the staff--who are about as pleased with a pair of not-normal-humans as one would expect, considering what just happened.
Tanya eases down into a chair and starts to put her head on the table--then realizes, no, that's not a good idea. "Thank you," she murmurs to Whitney, trying for a smile and not quite getting there. Her attention is flickering about, seen in the way her eye muscles move, like someone's eyes dancing a bit from having trouble focusing on anything. At least it noticeably starts to get better, so there's that.
"Good idea! Maybe get her some water as well as a seat?" Jubilation calls down to Whitney. Just a suggestion.
She looks back at the inventor, just in time to hear about the location of her pants: Out of reach. Sighing, she turns back to the task of getting down from here.
Only, that'd be easier with a hoverboard. And the inventor's not proving too good at grabbing it. She moves over to have a look at how high the thing is. "Make you a deal, miss? I get your flying board back, you get my pants back?" she suggests, flexing her knees a bit. Judging by those legs, she just might be a jumper and a gymnast of some talent.
Whitney has no problems taking Tanya's weight and helping her inside. Once she's got Tanya into a chair, she heads over to the counter and puts down some cash, "That will cover things I think. Could we get some water please." That said she heads back over to make sure Tanya is okay, "With a head injury, it is probably best you talk or something. Once Jubilee's down from the roof we can take you to your doctor, to make sure you didn't hurt yourself out there." She resists the urge to get some drones up into the air so she can see what is going on outside, instead focusing on the interesting figure of Tanya. "How are you feeling? Blurred vision? Dizziness?"
Looking over at Jubilee, Emmy blinks a bit, "Huh?" she asks, "What pants?" And then it hits her, "Oh, right, you're the kid with no pants, they're.. right, got it." She shrugs and gestures up to the board, "Sure. I mean I could shoot the thing down I suppose." she offers as she literally pulls what has got to be a prop from a Star Trek movie. It's a molded phaser toy and Emmy is making an adjustment to the back end of it, twisting a dial as a holographic aiming assist lights up on top of it.
"Umm, water's'a good idea," says Tanya, lifting her left hand from the table to pat down her jacket. They're in there somewhere--ah, the soft rattle comes from her right-hand inner pocket. "Umm, headache-y, dizzy--stupid P.C.S...." A grunt of distaste as she reaches her hand into her coat, followed immediately with, "Doctor says it can last days, weeks, months--longer. Fucking hell." She has to treat herself like a Fabergé egg almost, and that perhaps obviously goes against her usual rough-and-tumble nature. A sneer appears on her lips as she pulls out a beige, semi-transparent pill bottle. "It's, like, at least half past the house, right? Can't--see the--the clock from here..."
"Yes," Jubilation murmurs, blushing. This could be an all-day task. "Um, I don't think shooting it down will help us much! I could just jump up and grab it, and you could tell me how to make it come down," she suggests, stooping to make the leap. "Seriously, put that away. Somebody might see it." After all, it looks like a gun. And this is New York.
And the gymnast takes a deep breath, tenses just a bit, and takes a good run-up to leap... and catches hold of the board! "Yes!" And then realizes she's hanging from a flying skateboard above the roof of the diner in her bright pink and white undies. "Hey, how do you get it to come down?" There's got to be a control, right?
"Half past the house? Yeah...I think that's the time exactly." Seeing as the service is still hanging back being freaked out, she goes and gets a glass of ice water for Tanya, quickly returning with the glass. She sets in down, watching Tanya with concern, "So, once you've got that taken, and Juju gets back...it sounds like that is the right time to go visit a doctor. Just to be on the safe side." Outside, Jubilation's phone will start buzzing with a text message. Perhaps more insistently than is normal. Buzz buzz buzz. Is it in the pants or the raincoat? That is the question.
"Okay, once you get up there, look for... wait, you're going up?" and then Jubilee does her running leap. "Great jump!" Emmy calls out. She shakes her head and adds, "Okay, now that you're up there, you just need to find the purple... no wait, not purple, the green foot button in the back left quadrant. Click that and the whole thing turns off. I just hope that doesn't make the power core invert polarities and overload..." she mutters, pulling out her tablet and starting to flick through schematics to find the right one.
Jubilation pulls herself up to try and look at the top of the board. "Green, back left quadrant... what in the world is a quadrant?" she asks herself, grimacing as she tries to keep the board in balance. But she finally hits the button and lands, tucking the board beneath her arm. "Okay, that's got it. Now can you use this thing to get back my pants?"
"Half past the--what?" Tanya says, looking at Whitney. Her cheeks flush a bit when she realizes that what she apparently said was not what she thought. "Buh." Maybe she's not as well off as she'd thought after all. The bottle should help with that, so she pops the top off and takes out what might be recognized as a Vicodin. That's partly why even in her fugue she was concerned about not overdosing. She'll stick to the prescribed dosage, yes. In this case, it's a single pill, thrown into her mouth then dry-swallowed before she reaches for the water. "Thanks, um--Wanda? Willodean? Winifred? Whitney! The--the aircraft engine. Right. Yes, thanks." Another flush as she chugs the water, trying to pass it off as a simple mistake. After all, she /did/ just meet the woman a few minutes ago, so surely something like forgetting her exact name won't be held against her.
"Sure!" announces Emmy as she takes the board back and uses it to retrieve those pants. It's not a quick operation, and not simple. But she does manage to do it and then offers Jubilee a lift to the street before shutting off the board again and attaching it to her backpack before walking on inside the diner, "That tea smells awesome." she mutters. "Coffee, not tea, duh!" she adds.
Whitney watches Tanya fumbling with the bottle of pills, resisting the urge to take it from her. "Whitney." she confirms when Tanya gets to the right name. Then she reaches out to hold the woman's hand for a moment, checking the label on the pill bottle for the doctor's name. As soon as she's got it she lets go of Tanya's hand. She places a call to the doctor's office with her arm while she digs out her phone in order to pretend. About that time Emmy shows up and Whitney's attention is drawn from the obviously rattled Tanya for a moment, "Where is Jubilation? The girl stuck on the roof with you?"
"Hey, mine..." Tanya protests as the bottle is taken from her. Not that she can do a whole lot about it. What she can do, though, is give a less-than-pleased look and slouch in her chair, and that look stays on her face, if in a somewhat muted form, when the pills are given back to her. "Hmph. Cordelia would /love/ you..." And then she remembers that she has a little something that might help, if only a little. While Whitney is making her arm-call and the crazy woman shows back up, Tanya reaches into her coat to first put the pills away, then to draw out an M.P.3 player. It's seen better days and wasn't exactly top-of-the-line when it was new, but it works. One earbud is put in, and she starts blasting--polka, head bobbing a little.
"Huh? Seriously, do I -look- like I'm trapped on a rooftop?" asks Emmy as she's spoken to. "Standin' in a diner, and folks tell me I'm stuck on a rooftop. I swear, some people think I'm a little out of it too..." Then she starts heading for the counter before she pauses, "Oh, you mean the girl whose pants I just helped recover? She ran off to repair'em or some such. She seemed to think that a split inseam was a problem." she shrugs and says at the counter, "Hello? Anyone here?"
Whitney keeps an eye on the crazy woman while she calls Tanya's doctor, checking in on what she should do. It isn't a long conversation of course. To cover any possible problems, the office is of course recommending the ER. Just to be safe. Whitney quickly wraps up the call and puts it away. "Well, if Cordelia makes sure you are safe, then I'd love her right back. You can't be too careful with head injuries." She reaches over to put her fingertips near the stitches on Tanya's head, leaning in to study everything. Unfortunately, skill with engines doesn't translate into skill with head wounds. She sighs, "So...I guess we are going to the hospital. I don't think you are about to die. But if you have any sudden dizziness or nausea...let me know so I can panic properly." She eyes the music coming out of the earbud, "Catchy...but you need a new player. What is that, Fred Flinstone's MP3 player?" And to Emmy, "Thanks. They seem sort of petrified due to the almost collision with their shop of a flying hoverboard, a sudden hurricane, and women falling from the sky. Go figure."
When those fingers come for her head, for just a flash Tanya looks tempted to to retaliate with her fist. Granted, she'd probably miss by a country mile, but still. At least the woman doesn't actually touch the damned thing. "God damn it," she mutters instead, to the bit about going to the hospital. She can sense too much Cordy in Whitney to even try putting up a real fight, though.
Instead, she crosses her arms over her chest and slouches. "Actually, this is the only one I /can/ use. And on a related number--note, damn it--you know a hospital that deals primarily in mutants and/or magic-throwers? 'Cause it's not like it's not all related." Yes, she still sounds very Not Amused, but at least she's being honest. It's not like every hospital has the ability to deal with someone like her.
She looks up to Emmy, then, saying, "Tell her, yeah? It's not like if you can weave magic you're totally normal or anything." She gives the engineer a hopeful look.
Shaking her head, Emmy shrugs and approaches the other two, "Technically, anyone who can just sling the stuff like it was going out of style is not just unusual, but freakin' weird! Magic needs to be focused just right. That's what all these upgrades are for.. so I can channel the stuff without having it try to eat me alive." Then Emmy stops making so much sense. That was way too serious for her brain at the moment. "Oh, you're the girl in the street who was all glowy! You should see my phaser!" and that said, she whips the toy out of her chrome plated holster and holds it out for Tanya to inspect. There we go, back to nonsensical crap.
"No. I don't. I understand you have special gifts. Apparently magical ones. But you did go to a Doctor over the head injury. Would you prefer going to her? You are Jubilee's friend, and I would hate for you to drop dead on me." Whitney twists to look back at Emmy. The offering of the toy gun to Tanya drags her attention rather forcibly to the toy. Her own powers tickle at it, but the magic blended in with the tech...that makes her head hurt.
...a phaser. /Awesome/. Tanya takes the thing and looks at it, then looks up to Whitney. "Actually, I probably would," she replies a bit less forcefully, accepting defeat. "She at least dealt with me before, when this--happened." She looks back to the phaser and--it's probably a good thing that the place is empty save for the three women and some staff. Of course, the fact that the diner looks, nearly literally, like a hurricane blew through it probably has something to do with things. Couple of tables overturned, random detritus everywhere--it was apparently a sight to see.
Tanya looks closer at the "phaser"--and accidentally presses the stud to fire it. At least the thing was pointed at the wall. Tanya yelps in surprise--then stares at the complete lack of damage. "Bah, didn't even mean to fire it and it doesn't work, anyway."
Jumping back as the weapon goes off, Emmy presses a button on the hem of her jacket almost like Spider-Man activating web shooters. To Tanya's senses, her whole body is suddenly surrounded by an energy field, defensive in nature. "Hey Careful! You could knock someone out with that and they wouldn't wake up for a while!" And then as Tanya expresses disappointment, Emmy doesn't think logically, she just says, "Oh, it's set to stun. Twist the knob on the back to the left and you'll have it set to kill. Also, use your thumb and cover that little sensor node there, to activate the aiming sight on top." Yes, she's helpfully giving the concussed mage advice on how to make the toy phaser actually blow things up.
"Whoa whoa whoa! Hello, head trauma and dizziness do not mix well with high tech blasters set to kill!" protests Whitney. She tries to find a safety and make sure it remains on, but again the combination of magic thrown onto the technology bites her. She grimaces and says, "I am sure that your fellow magic user would love to let you play with her toy when you are less likely to evaporate any random people with it." She will carefully try to extract the thing from Tanya's grip. Keeping it friendly and all that, trying not to spark a confrontation. If successful, she will offer the weapon back to Emmy. "It is very impressive." That said, she starts her SUV where it is parked down the street, and brings it around to the front of the diner. While doing that she checks a few of her camera feeds and that sets her to cursing, "Just sit tight Tanya." She looks dubiously at Emmy, "Don't get her killed." Then she rushes for the door, "I'll just be right outside if you need me okay?" That said, she races outside so she can climb into the Hummer and tend to some heroing across the city via remote control.
Luke pulls up on his Harley in front of the diner, visible through the front windows, but apparently he hasn't really registered the mess inside as he's walking up. Signing a couple autographs for the kids loitering outside is probably what distracted him. He's wearing jeans, biker boots, and a fitted yellow t-shirt. He walks inside and the surprise is plain on his face. He slowly takes his sunglasses off, and looks around. "Sweet Christmas! What the hell happened in here? This is my /favorite/ diner in Harlem!" Then he sees Tanya standing with a couple of women he doesn't know. "Yo, Tee-Ell." He steps over some debris to approach them, hands out to indicate he's not here to cause problems. He's just confused.
"God damn it, stop taking things," mutters Tanya as the phaser is taken from her and handed back to its rightful owner. First her pills and now her new blasty toy. She folds her arms again and tries to focus on the music coming her her old and less-than-best-model M.P.3 player sitting on the table in front of her. One earbud is in her ear, blasting polka, interestingly. "Yeah, fine, I'll wait here for you, or see you soon. Whichever," she mutters as the woman bolts for the door.
The drone of the chopper engine draws her attention, and she smiles brighter when Luke walks in. "Hey, rage of the Cage." She's genuinely glad to see the positively humongous man, especially when compared to her. "That--" she points out the door where the other woman sped through, "--was Whitney, and this--" she nods toward the other woman, "--is--hmm. What /is/ your name, actually?"
Looking down at the phaser handed back to her, Emmy just shrugs. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't deplete the antimatter batteries anyway." she mutters before stuffing it back into its holster. Wait, Antimatter?! Then she hears the Harley and turns to face the window. In fact, she moves to where she's roughly pressing her face to the glass, "Oh, I could turn that into -such- a sweet ride... just a few coils here, some LED's there, just the right amount of wire to carry the countergrav current. It even comes equipped with brakes built in.." Yep, totally ignoring the fact that someone just asked her name... well less ignoring, more... absorbed.
Luke smiles as Tanya makes introductions, his eyes following the sprinting girl. he grins. Supers. it happens. Then his gaze crosses the mad scientist scheming on his bike. "Oh no girl, no no no. That motorcycle is a work of art. An American original. No offense to your mad skills and all, but that would be like 'updating' the Mona Lisa with crayons." Cage grins and then offers his hand to the new lady. "Hiya. I'm Luke Cage."
Arching a brow, Tanya looks back at the woman, then back to Luke. "She--apparently does that a lot. Think she's less coherent than me right now, which is sad." She reaches for a glass of water on the table. "She came in here zooming on a hoverboard-thingy, and damn near took Whitney and Jubilation into traffic. I kind'a--helped stop it." She looks around at the--well, not destruction, really, considering most of her winds were outside, but it's not exactly sparkling clean or anything.
"But it could be so beautiful." and then Luke talks about the Mona Lisa and Emmy grins, "Well, not with crayons, but I think the right shade of sharpies might do wonders!" Then her tablet beeps and she eeks, "Oh god, I gotta get back to the lab! Experiment is finishing." She pauses as it registers that Tanya asked her name, "Oh, Brown. Emmy Brown." she remarks as she reaches into the CD case at her hip and pulls out what looks to be a computer CD with a few attachments. She tosses this at the wall and steps back. There's literally a Stargate style sideways flush before a portal appears and she rushes through it. Afterwards, it closes and the CD disintegrates in essence.
Luke watches as Emmy goes too, actually open-mouthed for a moment before finally shrugging. With everything else he's seen, this will just get added to the list. He picks up a couple of tables to right them again and grins over at Tanya. "Jeez. was it something I said?"
And Tanya stares along with Luke. Teleportation that actually /works/. That's got to be nice. It's certainly cool-looking, if nothing else. She grins over at Luke, then finally gets to take a sip of her water. As she sets the glass back down on the table, she says, "Nah. Around here, you get used to that kind'a crap. If it's not one thing, it's another, right?"
Cage laughs and nods at Tanya's explanation. "Ain't that the truth?" He waves to when the skittish restaurant staff poke their heads out. He helps set some more things back upright as they come out and start to clean up around the only two patrons left in here. "So how's things? And your lady?"
"Mmph, gonna be upset after this..." Tanya looks around at the damage; at least she was outside then it happened, to there's that. "I'm supposed to be resting after the whole--thing." A vague motion to her head and the stitches. "Damn near knocked myself unconscious trying to get them to not crash. A beat's pause as she watches Luke, her own head still swimming a little. "Stupid P.C.S.," she mutters, somewhat under her breath.
"Hey, I've had my fair share of knocks on the noggin," Cage says. "Trust me. Best to go easy, than cause more problems." Luke backs up and gets out of peoples' way so they can start setting tables and what not. For some reason, they just happen to set up Luke's favorite booth first, and when it's ready, he slides in, and smiles up at Tanya. "Have a seat. Lunch is on me. Coffee should help your head." Right? Because coffee fixes /every/thing.
"I'll--stick with water, I think," says Tanya, smiling apologetically as she scoots her chair back. Retrieving her M.P.3 player and her glass of water, she teeters as she goes over to the booth, all but falling down into the seat. At least it wasn't the floor. "I'm just--ready for this shit to go away, you know?" There might be a little self-pity in there, though she's trying for a stiff upper lip and all.
It'll be a few minutes before they're ready to take orders again, but the waitress does at least bring Cage his coffee. He sips at it, black, and sets it down again. He nods and says, "Hell yeah, I know that feeling. I haven't had a concussion in a long time, but I definitely remember. Dizzy all the time, constantly not sure if you're about to puke. Totally. Hated it." He rests his hand out on the table, offering a fistbump of solidarity. "It'll pass soon enough."
That fist-bump makes Tanya smile, and she gladly extends her arm for it. "I hate the lack of concentration--more of it, that is," she says as she settles her hands around her glass again. "I just hate, well--not being whole. My memory's getting spotty, my head constantly aches..." And then her phone goes off. "Just a sec, 'kay?" She retrieves her sPhone from her pocket, smiling when she sees who it is. "Hey, babe. No, I'm at Gracie's, that diner just down the street, you know? No, the opposite direction from the auto shop. Yeah, it's right in the middle of the bl--yeah. I'm--here. No, I'm--fine-ish, I guess. Nothing too bad, just--a little bit of an--incident..." Which is apparently all it takes. She looks at her phone, then back to Luke. "We're going to have company," she says, smiling at the man--but a little cautious, too. After all, the diner is--not destroyed, but dirty as heck, and the staff are still picking up the last table. There are no other customers yet, as they've still been frightened off by what happened not that long before, and it was apparently a doozy, to judge by the dirt and other detritus on the ground.
Knowing what a good tipper Cage is, the manager finally has one lady peel off from the clean up detail to come over and take the table's order. Luke puts in an order for eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. For lunch. Because hey - diner. He smiles and nods when Tanya announces their visitor and watches the big windows for any sign of her. "She better not sit on my Harley..." he says, a little distracted as he watches. "She keeps trying to..."
That news is close enough for Cordelia to hop over. No mention of a goodbye, just the sound of running before the phone hangs up. True to her moniker, she makes a beeline for that diner, straight through any and all obstacles aside from flesh and blood people. But they're not big, she just goes around them. At the door of the diner she almost leaps in, looking around. The place is a /mess/. But the thought only shows on her face for a second before she turns to look for - and find - Tanya, and rushes over. Tunnel vision at its finest, she ignores Luke, for now. "What happened? Are you hurt? Whose car should I disable? Do I call in some mob favors?" Aaaaand she's not joking. Which apparently means she knows people in the mob. Delightful. Then... Luke. "Oh. Hey."
"I--don't think your Harley is going to be an issue," says Tanya, suddenly finding the table very interesting. She's trying to keep her swaying under control, and make sure she's enunciating, all that. At least she was a good girl and /walked/ here from their apartment, earlier, so maybe that will earn points, even if she's in another semi-fugue because she taxed herself to exhaustion, thus bring about another spate of dizziness, headache, and so on. "If anything, I think--" And then the woman appears. Tanya flushes a little, smiling up at Cordy as she hurries over. "Umm, an accident, no, no one's, and--no, in that order?" she replies, brows knitting together. "I just--sort of had to--push myself too far too quickly..." And the table gets a fingernail idly picking at it, though she keeps her attention pointed upward.
Cage holds his hands up before he can be accused. "Hey, I just found the place like this! Thought I'd try to get some food into your girl here. I'm glad you were nearby." He waves over the waitress behind Cordy in case she wants anything. "How about we all sit and catch our breath?"
Though Cordy takes a look around again and notes the mess, she's appeased by their statements. Mostly. She holds onto Tanya's hand possessively and worriedly, sitting as close as possible to her. "...Okay." It's a subdued reaction to what she had expected to give. After all the running, she had partially expected some form of vengeance on whoever did it. Turns out, don't need that. Cool. "I'm not hungry. Thirsty, though. Water's fine." She's still a bit shaky from the worry, holding Tanya to keep her own balance. "Thanks, Cage. She probably needed it."
A smile as she squeezes her beau's hand, Tanya finally starting to feel a bit more relaxed as she presses leans against Cordelia. "I'm sorry for worrying you, but Luke here's kept me company, and is, as usual, as sweet as he is strong." A grin flashed for the large man, there, then her attention is given back to Cordy. "Jubilation was here earlier, and I'd met her friend Whitney. I think you'd like her--a tigress, like you. Took away my pills and everything to make sure I wasn't overdosing, after making me sit down whether I wanted to or not..." A slender brow arches in amusement as she looks between Cordelia and Luke.
"What else are friends for, right?" Luke smiles, and is interrupted by the arrival of his eggs, bacon and hashed browns. It sure doesn't take long when you're the only table in here! He admires the simple beauty on the table before him for a moment before picking up his fork. "You two sure you're not hungry?" It's a difficult concept for him to comprehend.
"Picked up a hotdog on the way over." Cordelia's a bad liar. "Yeah, she and I might butt heads but she sounds like someone I'd get along with." With a sigh of relief, she rests her forehead on Tanya's shoulder... And finally starts the heavy breathing. She's totally worn out from that run, and she had to keep her composure until Tanya was alright. "Just... Glad you're... Okay."
"You did not," retorts Tanya softly, putting her arm around Cordelia's shoulders and holding her firmly. "I'll try to nibble on something I think I can keep down if you eat, too, okay? And I haven't eaten since dinner last night, so I fully intend to use this to guilt-trip you into eating." She grins as she reaches for her water, to bring it to Cordy's mouth. "In the meantime, rest and sip some water." She turns to look at Luke, smiling at him. "You always do show p at interesting times; are you sure it's not another power of yours?" A lift of her brows in humor, there.
"Hey, that's the spirit!" Luke says, when they agree to eat something. Food. Food and coffee fix everything. He waves the waitress back over and tucks into his own plate while they decide what to get.
Well, Cordelia knows guilt - her family is Polish. They know guilt like a Jew shaming a Nazi. Probably because that's what happened a lot. Either way, this hits her hard and she frowns. "Not fair." But after a glance at Luke's plate... "Okay. Yeah. I'll have some eggs and stuff." It's reluctant, and only for Tanya's sake.
"All's fair in love and war, and--I know I need to get something down, but you do, too," says Tanya, shifting her hand to rub Cordelia's back. "Besides, I'll make it up to you later, okay?" A grin, there, then she looks up at the waitress. "I'll just have some eggs and wheat toast, and she'll have what he's having." A nod to Luke, then, "And just water for me." She looks to Cordelia, leaning in a little. "You want some coffee or soda or something?"
Luke nods, looking pleased with himself at being a decent friend, and encouraging them to eat. Food, and coffee. Just ask Cage's Momma. He's about half way through his own plate of food by this point, and then his phone starts buzzing. He looks annoyed until he actually sees the message. "Oh shit, sorry ladies," he says, trying to chug his coffee before he gets up. "Got a lead on a case I've been working." He points a finger at each woman in turn, "Take care of each other." He grins. He knows he isn't anyone's daddy (or is he?), but he's just being cuddly. Don't tell anyone! He slides out of the booth and heads for the door.
Cordy shakes her head. "Naw... Just water. And stuff." She smiles, trying to look helpful. But Luke is up, and the smile fades slightly. "Oh. Alright... See ya 'round, Cage." And so she supposes she'll just wait for food, head resting on Tanya's shoulder.
"Hey, thanks for coming by, Cage," says Tanya, lifting her free hand and smiling after the man. "And don't worry, I'll take good care of her; she takes good care of me, after all." She continues rubbing Cordy's back as the waitress heads off to place their orders. "And thank you for coming after me," she says to her beau, a bit more quietly. "I do appreciate it, you know." It's nice to get that reaffirmation of how much she means to Cordelia, after all.
((Fade out))