2011-12-18: Homeless Man Vs Dingo

Players:

Bruce_icon.jpg Warlock_icon.jpg

Summary: Warlock happens upon Bruce starting trouble in Central Park.

Log Title: Homeless Man vs. Dingo!

Rating: PG


NYC - Central Park - Lake

Bethesda fountain sits at the edge of the lake with a large terrace for people to hang out and relax. Benches sit under the trees creating a peaceful atmosphere. A dock stretches out into the lake for people to rent row boats to enjoy the entire lake. In the distance Bow Bridge can be scene crossing the man make lake.


Scene

Bethesda Fountain is not running today, the fountain function having been turned off for the winter. Sheets of ice now cling to the sides of the pool, the still water reflecting the angel statue above it. The sound of water falling into the pool has been replaced by that of branches scraping against each other in a harsh, chilly wind. The last leaves having fallen several months ago, and though the park staff cleans regularly a few still dance around the square. Despite the cold and the dark, overcast sky there are still quite a few people in this area of the park. A few street performers play instruments and sing Christmas songs while joggers and couples go past them.

There is one man who looks a little troubled as he moves through the area. Bruce is not too happy with the cold and shivers as a particularly strong gust of wind hits him. He fluffs up his bomber jacket and pulls his camo cap down a bit more before glancing around again desperately. He is holding a leash, but there is no dog attached to it at the moment. "Oh come on Tiberius, I am so not in the mood for this today." The man looks a bit more disheveled than usual, sporting a full beard to keep his face a little warmer in the cold months.

Wrapped up but still shivering is Warlock, realizing it was the eighteenth of December already and he still hasn't found the right gifts for the people back home yet he decided to brave the cold and check out the city. Having been given directions by some guy he asked he's currently got his gloved hands shoved in his pockets and his head bowed against the wind as he tries to cross the park as quickly as he possibly can, hypothermia was not on his Christmas list this year.

Bruce stops walking and sighs. He removes his hat and runs a hand through his hair before replacing it. "Bloody dog. I'll sell you to a China restaurant." The man puffs up and glowers at a homeless looking man who is getting a little too close to him, causing the man to change his direction and head toward a teenage boy not too far off. Bruce shakes his head and crosses his arms, tipping his head down. Maybe he can detect the dog's movement from afar.

Warlock looks round seeing the homeless looking man coming his way, he automatically reaches into his pocket and takes out his wallet before he stops, if he tries to give the man some change and he's not actually homeless he might end up pissing the guy off, he looks at the man he'd just walked away from, "Can I ask him?", he sighs, it's easier to tell back home.

Bruce is standing quite still. It looks almost as though the man is sleeping or has fallen into a trance. Another strong gust of cold wind blows and knocks the man's hat off. He curses and seems to loose focus on whatever he was doing. The hat lands directly in front of the homeless man who picks it up, inspecting it before glancing over at Bruce. Apparently deciding this is a nice hat, the homeless man turns and begins shuffling away at a quick pace. "Hey! Give that back you filthy old rat!" Bruce charges at the homeless man, looking quite unhappy with him at the moment. Given the frail look of the man with his hat, it appears likely that someone will be injured. That someone is unlikely to be Bruce.

That is pretty much the thought process Warlock goes though, yes what the homeless? man just did is wrong but he looks to weak for a fight, while that may not be the other man's intention Warlock does take off after the two hoping to catch the two and defuse the situation, how is he going to do that?, not even he knows just yet.

The homeless man certainly isn't going fast enough to get away from Bruce. It looks as though he's about to get trampled when someone new runs between Bruce and the old man. Bruce stops suddenly and shifts into a battle stance before blinking and looking this new person up and down. "What kid? He take something from you, too? Stay put. I'll go break his legs and you can take it back yourself." He makes to move around the boy to chase his quarry again.

Warlock stops just behind Bruce when he spots someone else whom he figures must've had the same idea as him but the other man is getting away with what he stole… if Lock wanted to he can probably catch the frail man, he'll wait for this new guy to try and diffuse the situation first.

The teenager in front of Bruce puts his hands up to try and stop him. "No mister! That man is homeless, can't you just let him have your hat? He needs it more than you do I think."

"What? Are you an idiot? I'm not going to let some damn hobo take my things and roll around with them in a filthy hole somewhere. Go play in the street, kid." Bruce takes one hand and shoves the boy to the ground, moving forward toward the homeless man who is almost now at the end of the plaza.

"Hey! Hey you ass hole! Did you just touch my son? How dare you?" A rather large and angry looking man is now coming in toward Bruce at a quick pace. Apparently that boy was not here by himself. A couple of police officers on the overlook above the tunnel now appear interested as well. They've turned and are moving toward the stairway to get down onto the plaza.

Warlock groans, "Bugger", he starts off after Bruce again only stopping to give the other teen a hand up, making a mental note to check out the view here in the summer he keeps running until he's in-between Bruce and the kid's dad, "Sir you son's ok, it's all a misunderstanding, no need to start trouble", he's assuming the man will start a fight, his dad would if someone started on him.

The man grumbles at Warlock and moves right around him. "Go home kid, this is between me and that man right over there. Yeah you. Stop or I swear I'll…" Bruce's continuous ignoring of the angry man only seems to make him angrier. The man pulls back and aims a punch right at the back of Bruce's head. His hand passes directly into the head and out the other side, which causes the angry man to recoil quickly with shock. Bruce's head appears to be made out of sand, and after quickly reconstructing itself it turns back to normal. Angry man now seems rather concerned. "D…Di…"

"Yes, Dingo. Now if you don't mind, I'd rather get my hat back before…Damn it!" Bruce looks around and sees that the homeless man has vanished in the confusion. Bruce folds his arms, closes his eyes, and seems to be focusing on something again. It is about this time that the police arrive on the scene. They look a little unsure of themselves now that they realize this man is a mutant. "Ah, there he is…" There's a yell from the bushes that sounds like an old man. Bruce looks in that direction and moves toward the sound.

As the man isn't listening to him Warlock can only watch the man throws a punch which goes though the mans head?! "Mutant", he whispers to himself in realization, of course New York is full of mutants, he knew that. Warlock gulps as the police start arriving and Bruce seems to have found the man, shaking he steps in front of him, "I..if I go and get your hat, w..will you leave the old guy alone?", while he is looking serious, his voice betrays him by breaking randomly, sometimes being a teenager sucks.

"Leave him alone? Leave him alone? I'll leave him alone…At the bottom of some ditch so the rats can have something to eat for Christmas." The police seem agitated by this remark and glance at each other before reaching for their guns. ""Why don't you just take your dad and…" Bruce realizes now that the boy speaking to him is not the same one as before. That other boy is indeed leaving with his father, the angry man now much less eager to pick a fight with Bruce. Bruce glances at the police and holds up a hand for them to stop. "Fine, I'll let him live…If one of y'all will help me find my dog, too? Can't seem to keep hold of anything today. Well, except him…" Bruce juts a thumb toward the bushes and the homeless man is pushed out into the plaza by a hand which appears to be made of sand. "Didn't run far enough old man."

Warlock starts to nod agreeing to help find Bruce's dog before he uses his powers to push the old man, "Leave him alone, you may be angry but it isn't right, none of us have the right to harm another person", again his resolve fails him somewhat but he's trying to stick to his beliefs, "You should leave, the police have guns", it doesn't seem to actually hit him until he says it. GUNS!

Bruce laughs at Warlock and moves over toward the trapped man. The vast majority of people in the area are moving out of there as quickly as they can. One or two of them called out in alarm when the homeless man appeared. "None of us has the right? Well if anyone does I suppose I do. You humans treat the animals beneath you however you want, and so I'll treat you humans as you should be treated. Less than me." He plucks his hat out of the man's hand and claps the man on the cheek. "There we are. Back to it's rightful owner." Bruce then turns back to the police, the man behind him still captive. "Yes, they do have guns. And if they know who I am then they know that guns won't hurt me. They also know that I try not to harm the police if they stay out of my way. So…Stay out of my way. I was only trying to find my dog."

Warlock is shaking for a number of reasons, he's standing in front of a guy who has guns pointed at him, he's freaked out by what's happening and he's kinda annoyed underneath it all, "E.. everything on this planet is connected and i..i don't care who you are, you don't have the right, n..now let him g..go", remembering the panic button on the phone his school gave him he slips a hand into his pocket.

Bruce seems to ponder for a moment. On the one hand, this is more fun than he's had in a while. On the other, Lil will be very unhappy if he starts another war with the police. What to do what to do. "Why do you even care? Look at him." The man behind Bruce is lifted a couple feet into the air by the sand. He yells out before Bruce turns to shush him. "He's worthless. Pathetic even for a human. You want him rummaging around the park? Taking people's things, knocking over trash cans, using the fountain as his toilet? Removing him would be a public service."

One of the police officers seems to find his voice. "Um…Excuse me, Mr. Dingo. I'm sorry that this man was…A problem for you. But I mean come on, it's almost Christmas. Couldn't you let him go, please?"

The other officer nods. "Yeah and besides, it's pretty cold out. The time you're wasting here? Isn't your dog still out here someplace? I bet he's awful cold."

Warlock gulps, "Because… I care because someone should, no we all should", he is clearly way over his head here but he can't leave him to it, if something happened to the old man he wouldn't be able to deal with the guilt. He looks round at the police with a look of utter shock on his face, they're apologizing?

One of the officers moves toward Bruce to continue speaking with the man, the other moves toward Warlock so that she can speak to him in a quiet voice. "Be careful not to make him angry, that's the Dingo. We don't have anything that can hurt him right now. Usually when he becomes a problem we need Iron Man or someone else like that to calm him down." She keeps an eye on her partner but tries to look non-threatening. "He can be reasoned with…Usually. That's our best bet right now unless an Avenger flies past."

The other officer stops near Bruce and reholsters his gun. "What do you say, huh? I know I don't want to have to write up the paperwork on this. And I'm sure your dog would be happier indoors. And the people of Mutant Town would be happier with you home I'd bet, hmm?"

Bruce sighs and snaps his fingers, dropping the man behind him. "Get him out of here. I'll go find my dog." The female officer gives Warlock a look and nods before helping her partner escort the homeless man out of the area. Bruce sighs and shakes his head again, before crossing his arms and focusing on something again. "What a waste of time. Tiberius is probably half way to SOHO by now." He seems to have forgotten completely about Warlock at the moment, or perhaps he's just ignoring him."

Warlock nods at the policewoman and begins backing away as Dingo lets the man go, now that it looks like no one is going to get hurt he's more than happy to have been forgotten by Bruce, now he just wants to get back to school and not come back to the city for a long time.

Bruce taps his foot on the ground as he concentrates. The boy is moving away now too, that's easy enough. And a few people are wandering around the outskirts of the plaza, trying to get a good look. And…Something vaguely dog shaped out toward the east. He'll go that way. Hopefully he can find his dog and get back down to Mutant Town before his shift at the bar. If not he'll likely have to answer to Lil.

~ Fin ~

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License