16516/Doing good from the bottom up.

Doing good from the bottom up.
Date of Scene:	02 September 2024
Location:	Our Mother of Mercy Shelter for Abused women and Children.
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Gambit, Spawn, Shiloh Foster, Wonder Woman

---

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau is usually called Shades by the guests and fellow volunteers at O-MOM, mostly because he is always wearing those dark sunglasses regardless of the time of day. He doesn't correct them because... well he's not sure. Maybe because he likes having a part of his own soul that is untarnished by his wicked past. He's also popular for the fact he brings doughnuts from Dark Side bakery every time he comes as well as...

"JACK!" Several of the kids cheer as the adoribally ugly dog races in to be loved upon by the shelter's kids. Remy setting the boxes of sweet treats out near the coffee. "Jus' once Ah like ta be greeted as fondly as mah dog." he says to no one in perticular.

Spawn has posed:
Everybody knows Al. They just call him Al, because he wears one of those stickers that has, "HI! MY NAME IS:" pre-printed in bold white letters on a red background, then a big white space below where he scribbles his name which is in fact "Al." He's a good-looking black guy with a tight fade, a neatly trimmed goatee, always clean-shaven cheeks and always clean clothes. He's so athletically built that most assume he's ex-military, but he radiates a really creepy sensation that prevents most people from asking him about himself. It's not the look in his brown eyes, or the set of his jaw, or even the cast of his mouth... it's just a really bad feeling that gets stronger the closer one is to him.

Al does most of the outside work for the charities he volunteers for, driving an organization-provided van or station wagon around the Tri-State area to pick up donations or drop the beneficiaries off at doctor appointments, job interviews, and the like. Just now, he's returning to the shelter after taking a young woman with black-and-blue bruises covering one side of her face to pick up some clothes at the apartment she used to share with her husband.

Nobody knows whether Al has some kind of mystically unlimited supply of them, or if he just washes the same one every night, but under his stuck-on nametag he's wearing that t-shirt he absolutely always has on: It's printed with the universal image of Jesus Christ with his hand poised to knock on a door.

Shiloh Foster has posed:
"Just means you're gonna have to become cuter than the dog..." Shiloh comments, coming up behind Remy with another box in tow. This one is filled with cupcakes, because donuts can get a little boring over and over again. The kids know her too - as she has come on her own - or sometimes has had bigger donations that someone comes and picks up from her place. Either way, she gives Remy a hip-bump and then heads further inside. "You kids keep Jack away from the treats or there won't be any left if he gets hold of them..." She offers this much more before finding a place to set boxes down. "One of these days I'll remember to buy those portable to-go coffee things to bring something for the Sisters..."

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince may be the ambassador for a sovereign nation and a member of the Justice League; it doesn't prevent her from devoting time and focus toward more local needs in the City that Never Sleeps. Making time to help those in New York City who may not be able to help themselves, or may need a hand up rather than a hand out is important to her.

Timing is everything they say and today it would seem to be particularly true today as she arrives within a few minutes of the other volunteers.

A nondescript black sedan parks near the shelter and the tall Amazon woman emerges from the driver's seat. Diana is dressed in a button up dark gray blouse over comfortable denim jeans and simple canvas walking shoes. The front tails of her blouse have been tucked into the waist of her jeans while in back the tails have been left untucked. As she moves, flickers of silver on each wrist can be glimpsed under the cuffs of the blouse sleeves. Frameless glasses with softly purple tinted lenses perch on the bridge of her nose and her hair has been left to spill around her shoulders other than two braids from her temples that have been pulled back with a clip just to keep her hair away from her face.

Making her way inside, she smiles at seeing Jack. Perhaps the dog has a face only a mother could love, but his spirit is strong and loyal. Appearance isn't everything. Pausing to kneel and give Jack some petting and ear scritches of her own, she rises and smiles to the others. "Hello Remy. Jack has been looking after you I see." The others are offered warm smiles and nods in greeting, "Hello. I'm not sure we've met? I'm Diana." Though she may not be wearing her signature tiara, she has done little to actually try and hide her identity. As ambassador and League member her likeness appears with some frequency in the media.

Gambit has posed:
Jack whiplashes that too long tail of his, hitting no less then four kids with it, who all giggle as if it were some great fun, lavishing in the attention. Remy smiles the the Amazon and says "Always good ta see yah, Yah Majesty." He always refers to the woman as "Your Majesty," an honest sign of respect for her heritage. To Shiloh he says "If yah jus' gonna use dem foh coffee from de shop ta /here/ Ah t'ink de professor have a few in de attic Ah sure he let yah 'ave." Taking the moment to give Shy a hip bump of his own and a slime before saying "Actually, if yah got a minute Princess, dare was somet'ing Ah woul' like ta talk ta yah about, Got a ... personal problem, an' Ah'm grasping at straws at dis point.

Spawn has posed:
On his way into the building when Diana gives him a nod, Al returns it in the brusque but polite manner that the guests of the shelters are familiar with. He heads further inside, parting ways with his passenger before heading behind the business desk and rummaging in the drawers until he finds an expense report form and a pen. Then using one end of the desk, he starts to fill out his report on mileage and gas and whatever basic maintenance he did on the charity's vehicle while he was out.

The average-sized but incredibly fit man stares at the page in front of him and occasionally scribbles on it with the pen, seeming as if it demands his full attention to figure out where the figures and notes should go.

Shiloh Foster has posed:
"I mean, yeah. I can buy some later if and when I start getting bigger orders for stuff..." Shiloh says this much, giving Remy a smile back as they set up the treats for everyone. Cause it's not just the children who should be able to indulge of course.

Her attention becomes a bit distracted as Diana introduces herself, and then she hears Remy using 'Her Majesty' and calling her 'Princess'. Well she surely ain't the monarch of Englad, but they're not the only monarchy around either. "Uhm... I'm Shiloh. Shiloh Foster. I'm here on behalf of my business, just bringing some treats to hopefully gain some smiles." She offers but as Remy takes Diana's attention, she turns to the man and his paperwork.

"Heya Al. How's running around the town been going for you?" Feeling that sense of forboding - similar but not quite - to someone else she knows. She still hasn't put THOSE pieces together yet.

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince looks up from Jack to Remy and gives him a long-suffering smile. The number of times she has asked him to call her Diana only for him to decline have been, well, legion. She understands his intent, but there are places where being simply Diana would be far less complicated.

Looking between Al and Shiloh, her attention turns to Shiloh as she introduces herself, Offering a warm smile and her hand, she responds, "Hello Ms. Foster. I'm pleased to meet you." Glancing sideways she wonders, "Are you a friend of Remy's?" She begins to gravitate toward the treats. Because who can turn down fresh baked doughnuts?

Once she picks a doughnut, she holds it over a napkin and looks to Remy, "Hmm? Of course, Remy. I'd be happy to talk with you - just let me know when and where?"

Gambit has posed:
If Mrs. Pottsworth ever heard of Remy referring to a Princess by her first name, she would be quite annoyed. And an annoyed Mrs. Pottsworth scares the Cajun allot more then Wonder Woman... Or Thanos... or Darksied... Or that creepy clown in the sewers with the balloon.. He smiles and brushes a swift kiss against Shy's cheek before gesturing to one of the tables with the built in boardgame setups. "If yah got time now, Ah'd appreciate it. Dis migh' be a bit below yah pay grade, but like Ah said Ah'm graspin' at straws."

Jack for his part, no longer being the center of attention, a situation that is completely untenable for the dog, turns and trots over to Al from under the table, and tries to effectively crawl up into the big man's lap, despite there not being nearly enough room to preform this feat.

Spawn has posed:
"Same as ever," Al answers Shiloh's question in his quiet, measured basso that should tug the strings of familiarity too. "Traffic's heavy, drivers are stupid, and there's always a cop handy if I don't quite come to a stop at a sign, but never one when a road rager starts waving a gun around."

He glances up from his paperwork to flash a look at Remy and Diana, then over to Shiloh, before he goes back to studying the page. "Mostly I just wish there was a standard form, instead of every charity in the metro area making up their own. Sisters of Mercy over in Bludhaven," not to be confused with Our Mother of Mercy where everybody is now, "only asks for total mileage and the dollar value of gas and oil. These people want the mileage from point A to point B and back again."

When the goony-looking mutt sidles up to him, Al leans over and gives the animal a friendly scritch between the ears, a couple of slow pets down the neck and shoulders, and then a firmly dismissive pat on the ribs behind one foreleg. Just like his behavior with humans, Al goes through the motions of being sociable without any indication of actual feeling.

Shiloh Foster has posed:
Shiloh nods. "Maybe I can help with that. I could make some sort of spreadsheet that you could fill out based on what you need to report and then you just put in the numbers accordlingly." Shiloh says this much before seeing Jack going under the table to try and get Al's attention since no one else was giving him any. Since Al does give Jack attention she doesn't pay it much mind. "You know if the Sisters are going to want anything sooner rather than later?:

Wonder Woman has posed:
Diana Prince watches Jack search out more attention while nodding to Remy. "I have time. Is it something private?" she wonders curiously. "I'm sure we can find someplace quiet if so."

Her attention shifts toward Al and Shiloh as they discuss difficulty with charitable transaction forms. "That does sound complicated. Perhaps we might be able to contact the shelters and charities in the city and see if we might help them arrive at a universal form standard. It would benefit them as much as anyone."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau nods a bit, "It's on de shadier side of t'ings, but one t'ing about folks like dis, dey know 'ow ta keep a secret." He says grabbing two fantastic doughnuts and a cup of ...something pretending to be coffee. Deffinatly need to get those travel thermoses for Shiloh. He pulls the chair out for Diana, those unshakeable Cajun manners again, and sits across from her. "Ah believe Ah mentioned mah Pappa ta yah before. He claimed he fought wit' bot' yah an' Captain America in Worl' War two. He was probibly lieing mind, de man is Cajun after all."

Spawn has posed:
"Well," Al glances up from his sheet again and makes a wry face at Shiloh's question about the Sisters, as if he doesn't really want to say it. He hides the expression quickly by looking back down at his paperwork and scribbling a number into a blank space and then a short note off aside of it. Finally he says: "The Sisters have a hundred plus mouths every meal service, you know. Sometimes they run lunch until they straight up *run out.* Last couple of days, they've been down to Ramen Noodles and small servings of it." He pauses, seems to be leaving it at that, but then adds, "A couple of number-ten cans of powdered egg would go a long way."

Then, since both Shiloh and Diana brought up changing the way the charities do things, he straightens up and looks between the two of them with a skeptical expression. "I don't know anything about the actual job of keeping the books for a non-profit," he disclaimers before, "but the bookkeepers are old women who either have position with a church or are married to the preacher. If you can get them to change their ways, I'll owe you one."

Then Remy pulls out a chair for Diana, and Al takes one final look at his paperwork. He makes one final scribble in the body of it, then a couple of careless scribble-slashes in the signature field, and he slips the form into a plastic bin labeled "inbox" on the edge of the desk.

Finally turning to face Shiloh, Al asks, "What about you? Ever find those droids you were looking for?"

Shiloh Foster has posed:
Shiloh smirks. "I might take up a couple meetings with them then. See if there's something we can all work out. Might take some extra sweet talking, but I think I can manage..." She offers this much with a smile before looking over to Remy and Diana who seem to be in their own conversation now. This has her looking back over to Al when he asks a question that causes her face to contort in a bit of confusion.

"Droids? I don't ever remember looking for robots..." She offers this and then seems to think on something

"Would they prefer powdered eggs compared to fresh because of the shelf life? Maybe we could do a food drive... or... hell I'd just go buy some stuff from the store, donate it, and call it a tax writeoff..." If only because she likes to have SOME benefit from helping others, even if that means she gains a little break when needing to pay taxes on her business. Little can go a long way sometimes.

"If you can get me a list of things they need, I can see what we can do to help."

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau takes Diana's silence as permission to continue his tale. "So one man Ah know mah pappa did serve wit' in de war was a man named Otis Brown. Otis retired aftah de war. Bought a townhouse wit' 'is GI bill. Dat was ten grand back in de Forties. Millions today. Den some slick lawyer wit' a firm called Wolfram an' 'Art stole his identity. Took out t'ree morgiages on Otis' 'ome. De banks forclosed. Now one of dis contries greatest 'eros looking at dying in a VA 'ospital."