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Post by k on Mar 19, 2011 16:36:40 GMT -5
[/b] Babs never finished her sentence as the third man, who had previously been grounded, managed to catch her in the side with a plank of wood. And he got her hard. Babs was momentarily stunned, but it didn't stop her from taking the man down swiftly with a new wave of anger. The girls were crying even harder now. Babs delivered an uppercut to the man, and then a kick in his gut, slamming him back against the wall with heavy force. The wood had definitely impacted hard on her, and she glanced at her side, swallowing heavily. It didn't take long for the woman and her daughters to be legging it. Babs looked at the three men, deciding they'd received enough punishment, and she swiftly made her way to the rooftops to check the woman and her kids got home fine. Satisfied they were finally home, Babs crouched down on the roof of the apartments opposite, her side throbbing. She pulled her hand up to wipe the blood from her nose, and it was coming thicker and faster than ever. Hoping she hadn't broken yet another bone, she descended down to street level to inspect the damage to her side, somewhere she could get enough light from. Spotting an open cafe, somewhere Babs had once frequented in her civvies before East Gotham had descended into such chaos, the light streaming from inside was enough for her to have a look. Something on the wood had managed to cut open her costume, exposing her side and a deep gash. Probably a nail that had been in the wood, Babs thought. Oh, Alfie was going to love fixing this, she thought. She didn't want to stand on street level for too long, and began to head toward a back alley.[/ul]
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Post by megan on Mar 19, 2011 17:14:02 GMT -5
It's been a long evening, and Margaret is cleaning up the cafe for the night. She's never held very exact hours during the evening - normally she closes whenever the trickle of customers comes to a halt or it gets late enough that it would cut into her sleep and nobody wants to pay her fee for hanging around into the later hours. Tonight she just has a couple customers lingering around while she cleans up; she won't kick them out until she's ready to leave.
But the ever-observant Margaret doesn't miss the flash of movement at her front window - Batgirl, using the light to check on an injury. Margaret glances at the two remaining men: she knows that both of them have 'hazy' dealings, but neither of them would have records long enough or terrible enough to either merit Batgirl's attention or have much of a reason to object to what Margaret does next so she doesn't pay them much attention.
Opening the door to the cafe just wide enough to poke her head out, Margaret says, "It's safe for you in here right now, and I have a good first aid kit." Being a vigilante on the street is one thing, but inside the cafe is another. At this time of night everywhere in the eastern part of Gotham is a somewhat dangerous place to be, but Margaret is so well-liked by so many that her place is generally seen as neutral ground. If anyone walks by and doesn't like what they see through her window, they'll probably just keep walking.
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Post by k on Mar 19, 2011 17:43:09 GMT -5
[/b] Babs said, wiping yet more blood from her cowl. "Though I won't deny a tissue would be handy," she smiled. It was odd to be offered help in East Gotham, most people disliked the vigilantes, even if they weren't criminals. They were a nuisance, even if they served for the greater good. Very little people would ever to go out their way to help, and Babs was warmed by the woman's concern for her. As yet more blood began to form from the wound in her side, Babs began to consider the woman's offer a lot more thoroughly. [/ul]
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Post by megan on Mar 19, 2011 18:18:50 GMT -5
Margaret turns a blind eye to so much wrong done around and even in her cafe that it would be a bit hasty to describe her as a 'good person'. She can stake a larger claim to being called 'trustworthy', though really it's more that she's kind when she feels that she can be and silent when it's in her best interest. And she wouldn't consider what she's offering right now to be going out of her way - had she a different mix of customers tonight, she'd have ignored Batgirl's problem without thinking about it twice.
But tonight she can honestly say, "It ain't any bother." She waves a hand encouragingly, almost insistently, as if to back up that point. But, true to her observant nature, she's able to guess a bit at what's holding Batgirl back from accepting her offer - the need for it becoming steadily more apparent as the blood continues to flow. "Everybody knows I serve everybody," she adds, sounding completely unconcerned about the idea that someone may get upset with her for helping a vigilante (not that being concerned about anything is a frequent emotion for Margaret to begin with).
She may not be opposed to having criminals for customers, but even as she does that she's not choosy about which criminals either. There's more than one group of them, not all of them are on very good terms, and she's more likely to get flack for a few of her regular customers than she is for helping Batgirl once. And whether that's a good business practice in east Gotham or a sign that she has a death wish is up for debate, though it seems to be more of the former than the latter.
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Post by k on Mar 19, 2011 18:43:37 GMT -5
[/b] Babs said, though it was stupid thing to say. Of course the woman was sure, she didn't seem the type to hesitate now she'd put the offer on the table. She had nothing to lose by helping Babs out, her neutral ground cafe was one of the few places Babs could say she would probably feel safe in East Gotham. It wasn't likely anyone would kick off anything in there. She hoped. [/ul]
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Post by megan on Mar 19, 2011 19:11:05 GMT -5
To that Margaret only gives a small, confirming grunt. Of course, she's sure. She doesn't do anything unless she's completely sure that she wants to do it. So many people assume that she's quiet and harmless because she appears to be, but actually she's a good reader of situations and people, and she likes this situation.
Only holding the door open long enough for Batgirl to come in, Margaret's is quick to note the reactions of her two remaining customers. One of them merely glances in their direction and goes back to reading the paper, while the other scowls at Margaret. However, the old woman responds to the glare with a quick, "If ya don't like it, you can leave." And that seems to do the trick because the man goes back to sipping his coffee as if Batgirl being here was a normal occurrence.
Margaret heads behind the counter and pulls out the bag that functions as her first aid kit which, as she said, is a good one. It's a bit light on a few things like band-aids and other supplies for treating small wounds, but she has no shortage of gauze, antiseptic, and bandages. When someone asks for the first aid kit in Mae's Cafe, it isn't because they got a paper cut on a newspaper. Wordlessly, Margaret sorts through the supplies and pulls out what they'll need.
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Post by k on Mar 19, 2011 19:28:28 GMT -5
[/b] Babs said, breaking the silence. "Thanks," she said again, realising she simply wouldn't be able to express how odd she found this whole situation.[/ul]
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Post by megan on Mar 19, 2011 21:56:17 GMT -5
Initially, Batgirl's comment and thanks only gets another confirming grunt, and the instructions, "Keep that hand on your nose and have a seat so that I can look at your side." She waves a hand vaguely at the stools by the counter and she finishes pulling things from the bag.
As always, the woman's expressions are hard to read; she simply keeps most of her thoughts and feelings from reaching her face as a matter of course. Indeed, all she shows is a certain concentration on the task at hand. And that affected reserve hides an awful lot. If the people who came to Mae's Cafe knew half of what its owner was able to know or guess about them by simply watching them out of the corner of her eye for awhile, they'd probably be much less comfortable around her. And even more so if they knew how well she remembered and could piece together everything that she didn't seem to see or hear. In reality, Margaret simply has the good sense to not do anything with the majority of what she finds out aside from using it to benefit herself.
And keeping herself as innocuous as possible is a certain survival mechanism for Margaret. If she weren't so easily dismissable it's likely she'd have gotten herself killed at some point. But there's this other side to her that does things like this whenever she knows that she can get away with it - and knowing when is one of her little talents. It's seen her through a number of potential problems, which she hints at now by commenting, "This might make the list. Depends on how long the list is." Oh, if Batgirl finds this situation odd, then Margaret could tell her stories... Not that she'd actually tell any of those stories, as knowing when to keep her mouth shut is yet another one of the things that keeps her alive.
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Last Edit: Mar 21, 2011 22:53:28 GMT -5 by k
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Post by k on Mar 21, 2011 22:52:19 GMT -5
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Post by megan on Mar 21, 2011 23:56:25 GMT -5
Once Batgirl is sitting and she has everything she might want within reach, the speed at which Margaret works on the wound is surprisingly quick even though she's gentle at the same time. While dressing a wound and making a good sandwich are entirely different tasks they both require careful movements of the hands and setting everything 'just so', and Margaret has done a bit of the former before and the latter everyday for over 20 years.
First Margaret makes use of the tear in Batgirl's costume to take a look at the wound and notes, "You'll want this looked at by someone better when ya can." She doesn't have any medical training, aside from raising three children, but she does know what to do to keep it from getting worse until Batgirl can get to wherever she normally goes for this sort of thing - Margaret doesn't imagine that she simply walks into a hospital. She's guessing that the vigilantes are like the higher level criminals that way: have their own people.
After glancing over the wound, she gently cleans away the excess blood with a wipe, pulls out a tube of antiseptic and applies it liberally on and around the wound, and tops that with layer of heavy gauze slid neatly through the hole in the costume. All in all, it's less than a minute before she's presses firmly on the gauze with one hand and instructs, "Hold this too." With the other hand she grabs one of the long bandages - something she'll definitely need two hands for.
Throughout the entire procedure Margaret's expression doesn't waver from that quiet focus, seeming to be unbothered by the blood, who it belongs to, whatever the injury might tell her about how it happened, or what sort of consequences may or may not happen to her for doing this. Which is extremely misleading given how much Margaret's subconscious mind likes to piece things together without her consent, but the important part is that none of it will ever be spoken of.
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Post by 2741953 on Mar 22, 2011 12:09:39 GMT -5
John Jones was a regular at Mae's Cafe. It was the sort of place you couldn't help but be the wiser for visiting, frequented as it was by lowlifes of all sorts. It stuck out like a jewel in mud, given its location, and John (or J'onn) never failed to leave with a measure of hope restored to him after this visit. If a place like this could exist in the heart of Gotham's worst squalor, then surely there was hope for the human race after all. It was something J'onn forgot at times, seeing as he did the worst of humanity so often. Yet Mae's Cafe, surrounded and far more deeply ingrained into these same dregs, persisted, being in its own way a light of good in a bad neighborhood.
For this reason he often stopped by on his nightly patrols, his form his human rather than martian one. There was always some news, some useful information, some rumor worth investigating. As far as rumors went, this was certainly the place to be.
The Cafe was quiet tonight, empty of almost all customers. As J'onn walked in, the door jingled, and the three remaining customers glanced him, then just as quickly looked away. He was nothing special to see; that was no surprise. What was for more interesting was that they ignored the woman in the skintight costume in front of the counter, the woman who Margret was present busily bandaging. But “the woman” was rather generic, was it not? Particularly when her costume made her instantly recognizable as Batgirl.
Though he knew quite well of Batgirl, J'onn ignored her. Here was not the place to show signs of recognition to a vigilante. Instead he nodded to Margret and sat a few places down, waiting for her to take his order. He would have offered to help, but here it was more dangerous rather than less to do so. No, he would sit, he would listen; but if the need arose, he was prepared to act, as well.
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Last Edit: Mar 26, 2011 12:43:43 GMT -5 by k
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Post by k on Mar 26, 2011 12:42:31 GMT -5
[/b] she said, with a sense of conviction. She wasn't going to ignore this problem like she had done with the bruised and broken ribs. That had taken a long time to heal. She could speed up the process by showing the damage and getting it tended to. For now, however, the woman was giving her a temporary relief. She was surprised to see the actual wound as she cleaned the blood off. Babs wasn't looking forward to getting her suit repaired, although it was a regular occurence to get issues with it here and there. She had more, but it was nice to know they were all in prime condition. Babs slipped her hand down to hold the gauze with her hand, finally removing her other one from the bridge of her nose, assured that the blood had stopped running so fiercely and freely. Her gloves were covered in blood, though she was pretty sure some of it wasn't even her own. Holding the gauze in place, she glanced up as the door tickled and someone stepped inside. Batgirl's heart jumped everytime someone walked past, let alone when they entered, hoping no one was going to kick up a fuss about Margaret patching up a vigilante in the cafe. The man gave a nod of recognition toward Margaret, but didn't acknowledge Babs. She recognised him too, but likewise didn't give this away. That was be a very dangerous thing to do, and she wasn't prepared to put J'onn in that kind of situation. Beside, she wasn't here to socialise. She was here to get temporarily patched up so she could continue to patrol. She'd already made her mind up now that because Margaret was placing a temporary treatment, she could easily continue to patrol. Perhaps not in the East though, she thought. Maybe a little more closer to Central Gotham instead. There was silence in the cafe now as Margaret worked and Batgirl sat patiently, feeling suitably useless and helpless as the woman worked to clean her wound and patch her together again. The redhead glanced out the window again, alert in case of trouble, paranoid that someone would walk past and cause a problem because of her presence. She glanced at the other inhabitants of the cafe, only very briefly to see what they were doing. She found herself wanting to ask the woman's name, wanting to know about her, but only for the matter of small talk as she worked. Babs knew it was best not to pry, best not to know anything about the woman who was currently helping her. She was hoping this wouldn't have repercussions once she'd left. Out the corner of her eye she spotted a large gang of men congregating on the other side of the road, and she sat up straight and began to hold her breath. Were they coming over?[/ul]
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Last Edit: Mar 26, 2011 17:22:44 GMT -5 by k
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Post by megan on Mar 26, 2011 17:22:25 GMT -5
When the door to the Cafe opens, Margaret glances up only briefly, returns the nod when she recognizes John, and turns her attention back to what she's doing. He's a bit of an odd one in Margaret's book, mostly because her natural ability to read people is somewhat unable to quantify him. What she does know is that he 'acts normal', which implies that he's somehow not normal. But whatever that means is something that Margaret has never been able to get the slightest clue of. And she also knows that he's probably more observant about the happenings inside her cafe than she is. However, he's also never caused her any sort of trouble, and as long as that's the case she's very happy to pretend to ignore him and make no attempt to find out anything else about him.
With Batgirl holding the gauze, Margaret makes quick work of wrapping the long bandage around her waist and over the costume to hold it firmly in place against the wound. The pressure of it ought to ease if not stop the wound from bleeding further, and when Margaret reaches the end, she gives the whole thing a good tug just to make sure that it will stay in place; it's easy to assume that Batgirl will be doing more than a little light walking tonight, so Margaret knows the importance of that detail.
Just as she finishes, the girl stiffens and that brings Margaret's attention to what she's looking at. Even a large gang of men isn't enough to make her worry for herself - odds are good that a few of them are also loyal customers, given how quickly they've gathered. And while they might be irritated that she's helping a vigilante, it would come as a definite surprise if they actually took it out on her. No, the problem here is that she has no power to stop them from directly coming in after Batgirl if that's what they want to do, and what's more they'd know perfectly well that she wouldn't even try.
Signaling that she's finished by starting to put away the unused supplies, she says, "There's a sink in the back that you can use if ya want to." And then, so quietly that not only her words but the fact that she's talking at all is obviously strictly meant for Batgirl she adds, "And there's a back door if ya need it. And tell Batman that Margaret says 'Hello'." Then, as if she'd said nothing, she speaks up again to ask, "So what can I get for ya, John?"
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Post by 2741953 on Mar 28, 2011 15:09:16 GMT -5
He sat, waiting for Margret to get to him, as he knew she would. He trusted Margret in ways he trusted few others in some senses. Her most persistent quality was her fierce, quiet, almost blind trust, in everyone, really. It was a quality that could played by either side of the law, for good or for bad, but on the whole J'onn felt it favored the good more than the bad. It was certainly true that, as a wise man of earth had said, that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph was for good men to do nothing, but J'onn had lived long enough that he knew it to be far from an absolute rule. Margret herself proved it; with the order she somehow maintained in her cafe she demonstrated a halted slide into depravity for these few square feet into the city, and was, without really doing anything, advancing good in the world, whether she knew it or not.
He heard Margret's final words to Batgirl, approving but giving no sign of assention, merely waiting for his own turn. The group of men outside were closer now; either wanting to drink together or to get revenge corporately. Batgirl was far from helpless, he knew, but should she find herself in trouble (especially given her injuries), he would make certain she was not alone until she was safe. If it became necessary, that is.
As Margret advanced towards him he considered the various ways he could help without disrupting the serenity, or more importantly the neutrality of this place. It would have to be outside, certainly. The further away, the better. Away from prying eyes inside the restaurant or out...
Marget's words brought him from his thoughts, and he replied, “The same thing as always. A drink. And stories.” It was the rumors that brought him back here- the whispered tales of dark happenings in the depth of Gotham that hinting at broader occurrences. “There was a breakout at Blackgate a few weeks ago. And a very strange crossword puzzle in the newspaper after that. Heard anything?”
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Last Edit: Apr 4, 2011 18:21:02 GMT -5 by k
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Post by k on Apr 4, 2011 18:20:38 GMT -5
[/b] Batgirl repeated. She hadn't asked the woman about herself, nor enquired about any specific information - like her name, for such. She was glad to know it though, because she automatically felt like she knew her now. She felt a warm rush of gratitude toward the woman, and smiled. "I will do, and thank you, for... this," Babs smiled, looking down at Margaret's handywork again and then back up to the woman. She glanced over at J'onn as Margaret moved away and she smiled. The cafe was certainly full of the eccentricities of Gotham tonight. Wordlessly she slid through the back room quietly, finding the sink Margaret had spoke of. She cast her thoughts back to the group outside and hoped they'd dispersed by now, she wasn't in the mood to take them all on. She quickly washed her hands and her face, trying to remove the majority of dried blood around her nose before she darted toward the back door. She pushed it open, only to find that the group had dispersed - and were now outside. Great, Babs thought, she'd just been patched up and now she was back into a fight. There were at least six stockily built guys. All in a days work, she thought, just glad they hadn't come into the cafe nor caused Margaret any hassle. One man took a run at her, and she managed to dodge, though found her bandage was beginning to slow her down. She delivered a sharp kick to the man's back, sending him flying into the back door of the cafe with a crash.[/ul]
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