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The night is young and with the weather making its grand attempt to warm up, there are people out on the streets! It could be because the college isn't far distant and the students are getting some much needed air before exams begin in earnest. Okay, more like well hidden alcohol as they hang out on benches, on stoops and the like, but there are people without.
Walking down the street, shoulders hunched under layers of coat is a muttering, softly complaining Kate Bishop, recently off the plane from LA and warmth. "Cold.. cold. Yeah, cold. Where did I put, seriously. Did I…?" A hand is digging into a pocket in search of something that obviously isn't there. Stopping in her path, she rocks her head up and takes a deep breath, only to exhale in multiple coughs. Cold air!
"I hate New York!"
*
Lorna walked with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face. A fashionably new winter coat, with matching gloves, hat and scarf covered her up in a bundle against the cold and she hummed as she went. Every so often she'd turn and spin on her tose as she walked. Clearly cheerful and happy to just be out and about. A bag swung from her grip, and a hot chocolate was nursed as she practically danced along the side walk.
Of course, said 'dancing' led to her bumping promptly into Kate's fumbling.
Hot chocolate went tumbling to the ground, shopping bag sprawling just as Lorna herself took a fall back to the icy side walk. "Oo!"
*
Ava does not look fashionable or like a student in her oversized, ratty coat with a stocking cap pulled over her red hair and fingerless gloves on her hands. As a matter of fact, she looks more like the homeless who occasionally bum a drink or a cigarette off of college students with too much money to burn. But college students make good targets for the criminal element, and trouble for the lawful element, so she's…patrolling.
Just in time to see Kate and Lorna's collision.
For a moment, she hangs back. Just long enough not to look amused when she comes closer. "Lorna?"
*
It may be warmer, but it's still colder. Kate's fumbling means an elbow is pulled out of her jacket in frustration in the lack of finding something, but unfortunately her timing is off. Way, way off, which is usually her luck. Spinning around, the young woman reaches out, quite probably a little late, "Oh god, I'm so sorry." This is New York? One can probably tell just from her reactions that either she's 'new' in town, or just returned and is getting used to the whole 'who cares?' thing.
Extending a hand, Kate twists such that she can get a glimpse of the person that she can hear over her shoulder. "No Ka— oh, her." She looks back to the fallen, stricken one, and looks sheepish, "Not going to have your friends beat me up, are you?"
*
Lorna bounced up to her feet with a ready smile, a bit too happy for someone that took a nasty spill and dropped their hot chocolate. Still, she brushes herself off, and pluck up her shopping bag with a shrug and a hop in her step as she spins around. "It's totally groovy! I fall down pretty often. No worries!" She chirped, and grinned, offering a hand to shake despite Kate's sheepish nature.
"I'm Lorna, nice to meet you!"
Then without so much as a pause, whether or not Kate took her hand she was off once more.
"Ava!" She bounded toward the young woman, and promptly attempted to throw her arms around the girl in a hug. "It's been so long, oh my gosh."
*
Ava is most definitely not a hugger. This much is clear by the way she stiffens up when Lorna goes in for the hug, staring over the other girl's shoulder at first, then at her once she carefully extracts herself. "You are…" She frowns, looking around Lorna toward Kate. "Sorry," she says with an awkward, forced smile. "I think my friend is…"
Well. It's hard to tell what her friend is. She takes another step back, eyeing Lorna. "Lorna, are you all right?" she asks.
*
"Kate." Her name is drawn out for a couple of seconds, sounding a little shell-shocked with the exhuberent response, if not a little wary? She lets go of the other woman the moment the now identified Lorna is on her feet once again, gesturing towards the bit of an ice patch that hadn't been seen before the 'accident'. "Be caref-"
When Lorna launches herself at Ava, so identified by the exclamation, Kate takes a step to the side, her head quirking, and she tries not to break that smile in the face of the obvious awkwardness. "She looks it?" The smile is forced down with some teeth on the bottom lip, but it really isn't working. Nope.
*
A giggle, and Lorna eases off the embrace as she bounces back onto her toes. "Of course I am, silly." She beamed and glanced toward Kate and back to Ava. Then popped open the bag she'd slung over and brought out a rather chaotically patterned dress.
"I went shopping and got this on sale! Isn't it just the best? And I found the cutest little earrings to go with it. I'm thinking that I'll wear it when I go out on a date next time. It's totally date material, right?" A pause and she continued on as if Ava had answered her.
"Okay. Maybe not if Julian takes me on a date again, he took me to this fancy French place before. I so totally need to get better clothes if I go out with him again. What do you think Ava?"
*
"I…" Ava peers at Lorna, then back at Kate, then back at Lorna. "Lorna, where have you been lately?" She reaches out to take the bag, presumably as if she's going to help carry it, but maybe if Lorna's that excited about the contents it'll keep her from making a run for it. "Who is Julian?"
She smiles faintly to Kate, but it's a worried sort of expression. "I am sorry," she adds quickly to the other girl. "She didn't get you with the hot chocolate, did she?"
*
Kate checks her arms, one leg kips up to check, then the other, and she's shaking her head. "No.. awww." There, on the back of her leg is a chocolate smear. A huff sounds from her before she brings her attention back up, "Was my fault anyway. Was looking for keys, which I probably left in my suitcase. Not that I really needed them, but now I'll look more like I'm breaking and entering than I already do."
Lorna's quick fashion 'show' causes Kate to crane her neck to see the item in question. Brows rise and a step is taken towards the prize. "That is really… yes, that is so date material. Only if he's a good guy, though. Don't waste it on a jerk." Though, from the sound of it, a fancy French place? The jury may still be out. "They come in all economic levels."
*
A shrug and Lorna remains all smiles, "Oh here and there and about. I went to Macy's today, and ooh, there was this cute little boutique down the road that had the most far out shoes. I nearly bought a pair, but I figured I should sleep on it. They're a bit pricey." She offered in a hushed tone. She plopped the dress back into the bag and slung it back over her arm.
"Julian Keller, he's a new kid at the Frost Institute. Apparently. He asked me out. He had a nice car." She shrugged. "Picked me up and everything, though I had to kind of steer us home. He had a little too much to drink." She tossed her hair back and glanced back to Kate.
"Oh, oh! Let me help. I'm good with those kinds of things. I can totally help you get back inside, no problem. Think of it as an apology for bumping into you. I was dancing and humming a bit." She flushed and bit her lower lip, still smiling that thousand watt smile.
*
Ava looks thoroughly unimpressed with this entire conversation, crossing her arms over her chest. "Lorna, if you had to steer the car back home, then it is not a good date," she grumbles. Then again, what does Ava know about dates? Lorna's almost certainly never even seen her be nice to someone. "And you should not go out with him again. Save your nice dress for something else. Also, where have you been? Everyone has been looking for you, you know. There has been a rash of disappearances in the city," she adds as an aside to Kate. "It is wise to be careful right now."
*
'Little too much to drink' sends all those red flags up for Kate, too. They're waving in the breeze of the evening for her, and taking a step back, she agrees, "Not a good date. I know you don't know me from anyone else, but when a total stranger completely agrees with your friend? Don't look back." Picking up on what was said just before, hands rise to fend off the offer, following closely with, "Oh no. He'd be a little annoyed." There's a pause before, "No, a lot annoyed, even though he deserves it. I can get in, no problem. It's just easier with keys is all."
Kate's curiosity is piqued, however, when word comes of 'disappearances' in the city. Her smile that she'd tried to hide now comes out in full view, quirked, and brows rise. "You don't say. A rash of them? Anything other than that? Any particular area? Neighborhood? Road? Time of day?" She at least has the courtesy to look apologetic when she adds, "I like stuff like that. I'm trying to get a Private Eye's license, but no one wants to actually give one to a girl."
*
Lorna rolls her eyes, "He bought a several hundred dollar bottle of wine and I told him I didn't drink. So instead of pressuring me, he drank it. He didn't want to waste it. Gosh." She shook her head, "And also, it's not like I had to, steer, steer the car." She made a little motion with her hands as if she were driving.
"I just… gave it a nudge when he let things tilt a bit. You know?" She wiggled her fingers before Ava, hinting at her powers.
"So it wasn't that big a deal." She shrugged and then glanced away as Ava questioned about where she'd been and touched on the fact that her entire family was freaking out. Billy, Teddy, Tommy had all seen her disapear through Mojo's portal. It wasn't a question of where she'd gone, just how to get her back.. and yet here she was. Apparently.
"And pfft, I'm here, totally good. As you can see!" She beamed and glanced to Kate. "Oh! Really? That's totally cool. You should get a disguise and a hat and be one of those noir dectectives! It'd be totally cool."
*
"So maybe he should have asked you before he bought a several hundred dollar bottle of wine?" Ava points out, then quirks a brow. "Why would anyone spend that much on wine anyhow?" She wrinkles her nose, then scrubs a hand over her face, looking to Kate.
"You should speak with Jessica Jones, Alias Investigations, in Hell's Kitchen," she suggests. "I do not think her name is on the license, but she runs a business. She can tell you how it's done, I think. Lorna, have you talked to your family?" she asks, turning back to the girl. "They have been worried about you."
*
"Hundred dollar wine?" Kate whistles softly, her head nodding appreciatively. "That's good stuff. Or, that's stuff that the sommalier thinks he can pawn off on some unsuspecting kid who doesn't have any sense." A thumb sticks out in Ava's direction, "But I'm still in her corner, for what it's worth." That thumb is shoved into her coat, though, and she rolls her shoulders so it settles a little better. The smile turns wider, into something more of a grin as she nods, "I would look amazing in one of those outfits, too. So cool. With the floppy hat, dark glasses, and lower my voice so I sound huskier?" All the noir stars did that!
Though now, when Ava offers advice, Kate spins half around to look at the young woman. "That would be amazing. I had no idea there was actually a lady Eye. Alias Investigations, huh? Hell's Kitchen? I'll have to look her up."
*
Lorna wrinkled her nose up, "He was trying to surprise me. And it was at this fancy French place, I forget the name. He's got the money, trust me. His family has a running tab at the place and he didn't even have to pay it at the end. Seriously. Pretty sure the dinner plate I had was expensive too. The waiter there wheeled out this cart and it had this massive thing of cheese, and he rolled the pasta in this thing with shaved bits of truffles. Like it was crazy." She widened her eyes, her eyebrows climbing upwards.
As Ava mentioned her family, however her smile faded and she took a step backwards. "Mm, yeah totally. Look, I gotta go, Ava. See you soon and all that right?" A side eyed glance was offered to Kate and she smiled, but this time it was strained.
"That would be totally, cool. It was nice meeting you. And hey, if you ever want to play detective I would so love to see it." She wiggled her fingers, and promptly made to take off.
*
"Lorna, you should-" Ava frowns as Lorna makes a break for it, giving Kate a speculative look. "If you help me follow her, I'll introduce you," she offers in an undertone. "Something here is not right. I want to see where she goes."
*
Kate nods knowingly, though with Ava's disquiet, she's more watching the other woman than actually listening to the breathed words. Until, of course, Lorna says she has to go. "Aw, okay. See you later, then? I'm sure we'll run into each other again. Hope so."
When Lorna turns to leave, Kate is turning slightly to look at the remaining woman. She hisses a soft breath in, "Yeah…" is said slowly and quietly. "Don't have to ask me twice." She's ready to follow. "You have any preferences? I usually go high."
*
Lorna took off, the bag dropped as she ran in a flat out sprint. Her arms pumping as she dodged around people walking on the sidewalk, her eyes wild and utterly terrified as she ran. A hand shot out, grabbing the front of a brick building to catch herself and swing down an alley way at full tilt. She didn't pause to look behind her, it was clear that she knew, somehow that she was being persued.
"No, no, no. Please no. Plea—"
Then came the screams. Horrible gut wrenching screams as she fell to her knees in that alley. Skin melting off in sloughs of fat and muscle. Bones turning into dust and nothingness as she collapsed into a pile of goo. Only her clothes remaining. It was a slow enough process that even Kate and Ava, if they were quick on their feet, would see happen.
*
"Sure, you take high," Ava nods, not questioning the plan in favor of following after Lorna. The melting, though? That was not expected. She stops short, staring, until "Lorna" is gone. Frowning, she stares at what remains. "Well. That was not what I expected to happen."
*
Kate spins around and starts on a path up a fire-escape, and when she crosses to the next building, there she gets a grand view of what Ava gets from the ground. Melting. Her nose wrinkles and a hand shoots up to lay in front of her mouth, "Oh god.." The next available fire-escape is taken down, and she jogs back to Ava to stand with the other woman. "That isn't supposed to happen. I'm pretty sure of it." She is dumbfounded, and there's a bit of moisture welling at the bottom of her eyes. "I really think we should call someone." Before Kate freaks out. Melting? "Someone."
*
Ava sighs as Kate joins her, shaking her head. "I will let the appropriate people know. That was not really Lorna, I think," she grimaces. "I am not certain what it was. But it was not Lorna." She moves toward the goo, reaching beneath her coat to the small of her back to pull out what looks like the hilt of a fencing saber…except with a flick of her wrist, a blade extends. Handy for poking at goo.
*
Kate stares at Ava for a good minute, her jaw slightly open before she repeats, "Appropriate people? Like, not police you're saying? Lorna, or whatever she is, is goo. That's really not normal. That's more- oooooooh." There's the little lightbulb. She's definitely home. "That's kind of disgusting." Though she's not stopping or even trying to stop Ava from picking at it from a distance. "Any idea- yeah, not me either. If I was gonna be a jerk, I'd say that it'd be something I'd find in a friend's apartment, but even he has standards." She offers a tight smile to the other woman, "Mostly."
*
Ava pushes her hat off of her head, shaking a hand through her hair as she straightens up. "Her family, for one," she muses. "I…am not sure what the other appropriate agency is, but it is not the police." She gives the bag a speculative look, then looks to Kate. "Do you want the dress?" she offers. "I am reasonably certain it's real, at least."
*
"I'm thinking Good Will." Kate reaches for the bag, but with a couple of fingers just in case the goop is on the bag. "I'll bring it there. I just won't tell them that it was once owned by someone who melted." Once she takes the bag, the young woman takes a step back away from the scene and glances over her shoulder once. "My name's Kate Bishop. I live on the Upper East Side. Plaza952. In case, you know, you ever want to call. I will completely look up the detective agency in Hell's Kitchen. Probably tomorrow."
*