[Saturday, October 11th. 7 PM] [Christian casually walks down an alleyway in the Bronx, mostly recovered from the injuries he sustained during the fight against the Kitchen Cinqo the previous day, aside from some minor soreness. This a largely industrial/business area, and even at this early hour it's pretty sparsely populated, especially on a weekend.] [In the middle of the alley, Christian opens a door on his right and heads down a dimly lit flight of stairs, letting the door close behind him. The stairs lead to a transparent door, behind which sits a pretty young woman behind a large desk. She smiles as she sees who it is, and presses a button to open the door for Christian.] ["Hi, Christian. The doctor's in the back; the night rush hasn't started yet, so you can head back if you want to see him."] [Mini Start] * Christian nods to her and gives her a winning smile. "Thank god." He then loses it for a second and looks at the door, without moving, kind of distant. "Been busy lately, ain't 'e?" ["It's been crazy, yeah. We're seeing triple our usual patient load, and far more serious injuries."] * Christian runs his fingers through his hair. "Jesus christ. It's no wonder I've seen him passed out so fuckin' often lately." He then looks at the lady sheepishly. "...sorry, slip of the tongue. Y'know how it is..." * Christian lets out a breath. "Seems like it's been fuckin' forever though. How the hell've you been, Glo?" [She grins. "I won't tell him, don't worry." Gloria takes a deep breath, and exhales slowly. "I've been good. Tired, but I really feel like we're doin' something important, keepin' all these people up and running, so it's worth it."] * Christian shakes his head. "Well yeah. It's murder up there. Peeps like you and the doc are all that's keepin' us runnin'. Fuckin' underappreciated, y'know that?" He then takes in a deep breath and straightens his jacket. He looks a bit forlornly at the door. "Though as much as I'd like to stick around and keep chatting with your charming little ass...I guess I shouldn't keep the doc waiting, huh?" [She raises an eyebrow, and smirks. "Watch it. I've got a zap gun back here that I'm not afraid to use."] * Christian pouts. It looks serious now as he holds the handle of the door. "Oh come *on*...Gloria, you know me better than *that*..." ["Don't worry, I'd set it to stun."] * Christian frowns. "It ain't like it's any worse than some of the other guys who come down here who give you a real reason to use it. I hate those grabby guys..." [She smiles warmly. "I know, I just like teasing you. Gotta make sure you don't start taking your playa self too seriously."] * Christian snorts. "Right. Right..." He sighs and runs his fingers through his hair again. "Guess the date's out then. Maybe next time." [In response to that, she just whistles a jaunty tune.] * Christian opens the door and heads on in. [Through the door is a fair sized room with several beds crammed together alongside numerous scanning machines, containers of supplies, and the like. Trying to get things organized for the rush is a man in a labcoat, in his late 30s with reddish-brown hair.] [He looks up, and smiles broadly as he sees it's Christian. "Why hello, stranger."] * Christian smiles back. "Could say the same about you." He reaches out his hand and clasps it around the man's own hand, giving it a firm shake while closing over with the other, his smile warming a bit more. "How've you been, Doc?" ["Busy as hell, but I doubt I need to explain that to you, hmm?"] * Christian shakes his head slightly and sighs, leaning against the wall. "Not at all. Should we get started off with the weekly exam though? I figure should at least get it out of the way since I haven't been able to show up lately..." ["Sure, why not."] * Christian nods and gets on the table near one of the doc's many machines, taking off his shirt and jacket. It looks somewhat like an MRI type scanner. [Doc Stryder proceeds to put Christian through a short battery of basic tests, checking his heart/blood pressure/breathing, pupil response, and reflexes before starting up the scan.] ["Remember, don't fidget while the scan's ongoing."] * Christian lets out a breath. "Yeah, I know...don't need to remind me." * Christian lays still with a blank expression. [The doctor scans Christian's noggin!] [He finds nothing.] [Just kidding.] [After a few minutes, Doc Stryder shuts off the machine. "Everything checks out fine. How are you feeling?"] * Christian comes out of the machine and sits up, rubbing his wrist a little bit. "Fine...fine. I was ran through the ringer the other day though..." He then glances at the doctor a little bit and his lip thins. "That's right...don't know how much press we've been getting but we met up with Stone the other day." He rubs his head slightly. "Still not sure how I feel 'bout all this..." ["Stone, the head of SPLEE-NY? He's got a good rep among my usuals; never heard any of the folks who pass through here speak ill of him." He frowns at that second part. "About what?"] * Christian looks up at the doctor and mumbles a bit stubbornly. "I guess he's okay..." He then gives him an even look. "All this publicity. I don't think I'm ready for it..." He frowns. "It was so much easier bein' on the street..." [Stryder shakes his head, and puts a hand on Christian's shoulder. "Christian... this ability you have, you have to understand what we're dealing with here. Your power potential is off the charts. As much good as you were doing against the gangs... you can do so much more."] [He grins slightly. "There's an old saw about responsibility and power I won't bore you with, but it's true. You don't have to be one of those guys who does public service announcements and preaches about truth and justice, but you're in the game now."] * Christian pushes his hand away and then glares at him slightly. "Don't you think I fuckin' know that?" He then deflates. "It's not that...I just get the feelin' I'm in over my head. I have no clue how do do this fuckin' team thing...and it ain't like..." He then lets out a breath. [Stryder, and definitely not Stryker, who's someone else entirely, lets the cursing slide, and nods as Christian continues. "Go on..."] * Christian puts his arms down. "I got into this whole business to clean up the streets. And...I know how...how bad it is out there. But I've got to work with a bunch of people who've been at this a helluva lot longer than I have and well, I just don't know where I fit. I feel like an idiot half the time..." He then looks at him again. "Plus it ain't like all of 'em are exactly cordial..." ["I think you're looking at it from the wrong perspective. You're not there for your experience, or your knowledge of superheroics. You're there because, with all the heroes gone, you're probably one of the more powerful superhumans left. Accept that and roll with it." He grins slightly at that last part. "This may shock you, but people who dress up in spandex and go running around at night fighting evil aren't always the most socially graceful."] Especially ex-supervillains? * Christian starts putting his shirt back on, but he's still sitting. ["Oh, you've got one of those? One of my regulars is an ex-hitman who went straight. How bad is it?"] * Christian sighs and leans back slightly. "I dunno. I mean...of all people, I shouldn't fuckin' care, right? And I don't...it's just...that attitude annoys the hell out of me. It's like she's *obligated* or somethin'." He swings his legs over. "Plus there's American Dream but I knew what the hell to expect from him and he ain't on our team much. The rest of 'em...I guess they're pretty cool." He then dips his head. "Damn. I forgot about Horus though." ["American Dream? That asshole? I'm so sorry. And what was that about Horus? I'd heard rumors there was a new one flying around."] Oh yeah. ["Is he any good?"] * Christian lets out a breath. "Actually, she's the best one on the team but...well sh--" He looks at the doctor and stops himself. "How the hell do I relate to someone like that?" * Christian then looks up. "American Dream? Guy's a tank but a complete asshole. His introduction to our team was basically making a slam against everybody." He smirks. "Though he couldn't think of shit to say to me. Was kind of hilarious actually." [Stryder raises an eyebrow. "Yes, how could you possibly relate to someone who's taken on the mantle of an enormously respected superhero, the corresponding tremendous powers, and the colossal responsibilities that are doubtless nearly overwhelming her?"] * Christian stops for a moment, then gets a little quiet. "Never thought of that." He rubs his head. "Well...that'd explain a lot then." [He grins slightly. "Trust me when I tell you that most everyone is feeling rather overwhelmed at the moment, what with all that's going on."] * Christian nods. "Yeah. Heard from Gloria 'fore I came in here." He frowns a little. "Ya ain't been 'round much either... workin' all hours here I bet too, huh?" [Stryder nods. "Busier than it normally is at night by a good margin, and I've been called in more these past couple of weeks during the day than I did all of last year."] That's what I thought. Better take care of yourself, old man. * Christian grins and gets off the table, putting his jacket on and stretching. "If you didn't, who'd I trust to make sure that I'm not going to make myself explode one of these days, huh?" Session Time: Mon Jun 08 00:00:00 2009 [He chuckles. "I feel like an old man. I'm only 37 and I'm aching in places I shouldn't ache for another ten-to-fifteen years."] * Christian grins. "Look at the bright side. You're not getting trucks and barrels and pillars getting thrown at your head." He stops for a moment. "And hitting it for that matter." [This line of discussion prompts Christian to reveal the identity of his first nemesis, the extensively-named Ugg.] [After a bit of further discussion, Christian departs to head off to HQ, since, miracle of miracles, there's a training session tonight! Will it get interrupted?] [Mini End]