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Summary: Vinny tells Bruce he is returning to Australia. David, Nathaniel, & Lucas happen by soon after.
Log Title: Good Riddance
Rating: PG
NYC- Thompson Square Park
Thompson Square Park is a small park in the middle of Mutant Town. The benches might need a fresh coat of paint, the fence might be rusted in places and the pavement is raised and has cracks but it's all part of the mutant haven and fairly relaxing. Trees and grassy areas are in between the many paths, there are a few structures and benches along the path as well as a special area of the park that is marked 'the dog walk'.
Two trees have been planted in the park as a Memorial to Carmencita Florez and Detective Baxter each with a plaque stating the tree is in their memory.
Scene
Evening in Mutant town finds Vinny moving to his usual practice spot. He's made an extra effort since Bruce's return to keep the park area clear of his usual sand deposits, staking out the park as his territory it seems. He sets the small cooler he carries on a bench and begins to remove his diggeridoo from it's case.
There is, however, a rather large pile of sand just sitting arbitrarily in the middle of the park. It seems Bruce noticed that some jerk stole all of his sand and decided to replace it all. Even though it's currently dark out, there are a few teenagers playing on the sand pile. It appears that one of them is pretending to be the Dingo, rescuing Mutant Town from the evil Iron Man.
Vinny spots the pile and sighs.. making a note to wash it away after the kids are done playing in it. Though what bothers him more than the presence of the sand is what they're playing. "Yeah.. I need a bloody break."
The kids seem to be having some kind of argument now on who would win in a battle between Bruce and Iron Man. The fight is ended as a sudden sand storm kicks up from the east and the sand pile grows a bit larger. The storm quiets down quickly, leaving Bruce stooping at the top of the mound looking down at the kids. "Hey there kiddos, didn't I tell ya to get home? It's not safe out here at night."
One of the kids jumps up, "Aw come on Mr. Dingo! I'm tough like you, I can protect them. Besides, I can do this!" The boy jumps up in the air and hovers for several seconds before landing again.
Bruce laughs, "That's very good, but it'll just make you a bigger target when the bad men come. Why don't you run home for now and I'll help you guys train later on in the week, ok?" The kids seem simultaneously annoyed and excited, but they eventually run off, saying hello to Vinny as they run past him. Bruce seems not to have noticed the platypus at the moment. If he has he shows no indication.
Vinny gives a nod to the kids as they pass. He felt Bruce's presence the moment the mutant entered the range of his electrolocation power. His mood now definately soured he opens the cooler and takes out a beer.
Bruce waves a hand idly and the sand pile dissipates, spreading out over the park in thin layers. He tips his head to the side as he notices someone nearby and turns to look at Vinny, giving the other mutant a grim smile. "I kind of figured it was you. And lemme guess, washing away my sands, too? Easy enough for me to replace…" He turns completely now and begins to walk toward the Platypus. "You know, it was before I met you when the sand in this park allowed me to save the literally hundreds of people that were nearly gunned down here. Actually that happened twice. Do you want to be responsible next time that happens and I can't defend the people here?"
Vinny takes a long swallow from his beer. "Way I remember it last time there was gunfire here you were trippin' out on Kick an I was tha one savin' lives.. so stow it wanker. As for tha next time somthin' hits tha fan around here ya can be all tha hero ya wanna be. I won't be here." He takes another swallow.
Bruce rolls his eyes. "Yes Vinny, we all know about the Kick. I was there, remember? Also remember how there isn't any Kick anymore?" He folds his arms. "Like those kids got taken up by Miss Mind Control or whoever, you gonna blame them forever once we get them back to normal?" He gives the Platypus a smirk, "What, you leaving us?" He shrugs, "Who will keep everyone else in check?"
Vinny nods "Yup, residency Visa expires at tha end'a the month and right now I ain't really excited about gettin' it renewed. Gonna head home for a bit, go on walkabout. Came ta tha states ta see the hotbed of tha mutant rights battle an I seen about all I need to. Need some time ta get my head right again."
Bruce nods, "Ah I see. Well, just watch yourself back there. Used to be in RAIC. They wanted to use me as a weapon. Ended up killing someone quite close to me. And as annoying as you've been the past month or so, I'd rather not see you dead or being used to fight in the humans' petty wars."
Vinny shrugs "Always a wart somewhere it seems. But I ain't real worried.. goin' Bush. Figure I'll see my folks a bit then head out ta tha tribes where I first changed. Gotta get back ta basics.. don't like tha way this place has changed me."
Bruce shrugs, "Well if that's how you feel. Way I see it this place is where people like you and me should be. You hide out in the bush too long you may come back to find you're the only mutant not locked up in a death camp. Or the only one alive. Assuming they don't find some way to track you down that is." He snorts. "You run away. I'll stay here and protect the city."
Vinny looks over and snorts "Whatever mate, all I know is I never used to hate bein' a mutant till I came here. After all in seen and been through I think I'd give just about anything ta be normal right now." He closes the cooler and returns the instrument to it's case. "It's this whole us against them crap that's gonna get us all killed."
Bruce folds his arms again and turns his head to the side. "Yeah well we're not the ones who started it. And I'm not gonna sit on me ass and sing Kumbaya (sp?) while they gun down all our people. So you have fun eating sticks and starving yourself drunk. Maybe if you ever come back you'll finally wake up and join the cause."
Vinny can't help but chuckle.. "Yeah.. tha cause. Sorry but I did a little diggin' inta what 'tha cause' has done around here. It spawned groups like the NMO, and before that Magneto used this town as bait against the gamesmen.. I'm sure if ya went to the parents of those that got killed during that attack they'd tell ya where ya can stick yer 'cause'. Hell even tha Jihadists in the middle east have tha decency ta use voulenteers ta be martyrs. Yer boss didn't give these folks that choice. So how many mutants does 'tha cause' need to sacrifice ta make tha rest of us safe?"
Bruce gives Vinny a very disappointed look. "Oh I see. And where did you learn all this? Did the people who came to this town to kill us all tell you that? Or maybe the police who kidnapped Lil, maybe they told you. I don't know if knew this since you crawled out of a place with no civilization, but people ,lie about things. And when they see a mutant who seems a bit confused they'll say what they want to get him to do what they want."
Vinny shakes his head "Yer name truly does ya justice Bruce. Yer a sheep. I learned all this from tha people in this town. Ya may be a soldier but I'm a Bushman an even a novice could see tha rally that brought out the gamesmen was a trap, tha town used as bait. Tha embassy organizing a peace rally with magneto makin' a personal appearance, get enough mutants all out of their homesw in one spot and drop the proclaimed figurehead of tha mutant nation inta tha middle of it. Of course they were gonna hit tha rally."
"Yes of course they're gonna hit a rally like that. That's why 'I' planned the whole thing. That's why 'I' went to Magneto and said "Hey, I know how we can stop them". Because in war decisive battles save more lives than drawn out wars. Because the few that were lost were not as many as those who would have been if we'd sat on our asses. You're right, you're not a soldier. So stop trying to tell me how to do my job."
Vinny smiles and gathers up his items. "Well then with ya here in chrage I'm not needed. So ya can drop tha whole "Run off and hide" guilt crap. Though I'll be a nice guy and leave ya with a parting gift. Once I'm packed up and out I'll leave ya the key to my apartment. I'll leave tha rest of the Kick stash in tha closet and ya can have yerself a party."
Bruce frowns at Vinny. "I hope you're kidding. You know if you do leave me a key I'll just give it to Lil and have her go in and destroy that stuff. I think we can both agree that's probably the best way to deal with that stuff. Oh wait, no you decided to hold onto a bunch of it. That means you obviously think it's something we should keep, but you look down on people who got trapped in it. Good logic there."
Vinny shakes his head "Actually I don't have a way to safely dispose of tha crap. When Chemicalo was brought down I spent tha next couple'a weeks hammering what was left of tha NMO ta make sure they didn't have anymore.. but I don't trust tha embassy ta deal with it, and I'm not gonna hand it over ta Iron Man so I just hid tha stuff where only I could find it. So if you got a way to safely destroy it then by all means once I'm gone deal with it." He slings his instrument case over his shoulder. "But anyway I'm glad we had this talk.. if I had any doubts that goin' home was tha right thing ta do this just erased them. I'll slip tha key under yer door at tha end'a tha month. Have a good war." He turns and heads back towards the street.
"Actually, Rashmi just moved into my building the other week. Give her the key. She'll be much less tempted than me to use the stuff. And even if she does I don't think she'd be able to literally take down buildings with the stuff." He offers a wave to the Platypus. "Have a great trip!" It sounds not too sincere. Bruce turns around and begins smoothing out his sands again.
Bruce snorts as the Platypus heads off. "Jackass." He begins apparently walking in circles, redistributing the misplaced sands as he does so. "Maybe I should just blck up his sewer drains. Granted, if he's leaving that doesn't really matter I suppose." Yes he's talking to himself. He apparently does this a lot.
Nathaniel has just arrived in the park… in time to step into a puddle up to his ankle. What happens next is a series of curses that only seem to get more inventive with time, the young man stepping up onto one of the flaking benches. He sighs down at his soaked shoes, flips a cigarette out of a package in his pocket and lights it, then focuses on Bruce, all as if standing perfectly erect on a bench were entirely normal. He studies the man as he takes a drag, then exhales in time to ask, with a flick of a hand to the receding water, "I'm guessing that wasn't you. Fucking… mutants." It's likely a slur, but he says it in a long-suffering fashion, sitting down on the back of the bench. It's less likely a mutant-hater would actually be in Mutant Town, anyway.
Bruce is vaguely aware of the cursing as he goes about his work. He hears the man say something about mutants and turns to give him a disapproving shake of the head. He snaps his fingers and three dogs made of sand rise out of the grass. One of them appears to be rather soggy and falls apart after a few moments. "Just that one," he points in the direction Vinny went, "Is the…One to be annoyed with I guess." Bruce figures this guy isn't too serious about his anti-mutant remark. The sands melt back down into the grass.
Nathaniel watches the dogs idly and shrugs a bit, sighing and leaning down to take off his shoes and socks, "Hydrokinetic? My roommate used to be cryokinetic. Our room was a freezer." He just seems to be talking idly as he tries to get his feet bare, stretching them out after a moment or two. He wiggles his toes, waiting for the air to dry them off at least enough to matter, even if the air isn't exactly hot. Taking another drag on his cigarette, Nathan watches the dogs melt again and smiles faintly, "Empathy, myself. Useful, right? I wish I could make dogs out of… sand? Dirt?" He doesn't bother exhaling, just lets the smoke trail out as he talks and huffs it a bit to clear his throat afterwards.
Empathy control eh? Could be useful if the kid's telling the truth. "Sand. Psammokinetic. I wonder who sits around and thinks up these words…Anyway, yeah. Negative Nancy over there's a Hydrokinetic. Seems we won't be seeing much of him for a while though. heading back to Oz he is." The man's accent is sharply Australian, and he is wearing less clothes than one would expect considering the temperature. He seems to only be wearing a pair of black shorts with a tan tank-top. He appears to not be wearing shoes
"Scientists," Nathaniel says with a deadpan expression that quickly melts into something of a crooked smile, the younger mutant flicking ash to the ground next to the bench. Nathan doesn't have much in the way of an accent, not anymore, and he's dressed in his typical jeans and a thermal shirt, currently under another flannel shirt. Considering his height, he looks amusingly slouched right now on the back of the bench as he tries to keep his feet hanging over the edge. He glances in the direction the platypus went, arching a brow contemplatively and propping his chin on his hand, "Yeah? Why, if you don't mind me asking? Just tired of New York?" If he finds Bruce's clothing odd, he doesn't show it.
Bruce chuckles, "Ah yeah probably. Nothin better to do I suppose. Wanna cure cancer today or figure out a word for this lady who can control skunks?" He shakes his head and holds out a hand level, smoothing out the sand he created the dogs with. "He's not used to society I think. That and he's a stubburn idiot who doesn't understand how war works. Gets all pissy every time one of us fights back against those bastards out for mutants."
Lucas wanders through the park. It's a shortcut back towards the train. He's wearing a pair of skinny gray jeans and a thermal shirt with a gray scarf that's more trendy than practical. His blonde hair is messy and he has a guitar case slung over his shoulder like a backpack. He flips a cigarette into his mouth, and then his hand bursts into an undulating flame for a moment, lighting it. His hand returns to normal, and he takes a drag as he walks, nearing Bruce and Nathaniel.
Nathaniel tucks his damp socks into his wet shoes and steps down off the bench, finally, just padding idly over towards Bruce so he can watch his sand-smoothing, "What would that be? Skunkonic? Skunkokinesis? Photostinkethis?" He grins faintly at this last one, admitting, openly, "That was pretty bad." He pokes his toe in the sand since he doesn't have much in the way of options, twitching his nose, "War? I didn't think a real war had actually started… unless it's sort of like the cold war. It's sort of pointless to get pissed whenever some mutant hater gets a face full of payback, though." He takes quick notice of Lucas, however, pausing with his own cigarette halfway to his mouth while his eyes narrow minutely. He remembers Lucas, or is fairly sure he does, and his expression suggests he's trying to figure it out. When he does, he blinks and turns his attention rather rapidly to Bruce. Eeeesh.
"Skunkopathy, I'd wager". Bruce pauses for a moment and flattens out his hand, causing the sands in the area to sink below the ground. "The war has been going on for quite a while. You'll hear about a battle here and there. A couple big ones happened in this park, which is why I like to keep plenty of ammo stocked up." He follows Nathaniel's gaze and notices Lucas, but seems not to recognise him. "While back I went a little wonky. Vinny's still pissed and keeps washing my sand away, but all that's gonna do is make me less able to save folk."
Lucas notices Bruce, and offers a little nod as he heads past. Then he spots Nathaniel, and he slows a little, his own brow furrowing. He stares at Nathaniel for a long moment, and then slows to a stop, looking right at him. He swallows, and then his face crinkles into something a little more akin to, 'uh oh,' and he starts to walk past them more quickly.
Nathaniel grins mildly - his expressions overall seem to be fairly understated - at Bruce's decision on Skunkopathy. He listens regarding the war and the like as well, but Lucas is a distracting presence and he ultimately turns his head and calls, "Lucas!" He motions the other man over, giving him a somewhat sympathetic look only to turn his attention on Bruce again, "I honestly haven't heard of much, but I've been… avoiding mutant related things since I left high school. What kind of battles are you talking about? …and what happened when you went wonky?" He asks without shame; it's not like Bruce has to answer, anyway.
Bruce looks from Lucas to Nathan and back again. "What's with that look? He your ex?" He waves it off and turns back to answer Nathaniel's questions. "Real physical battles. They're on the news from time to time. A while back there was a group out here shooting up crowds of mutants. They had a point system for killing the most dangerous mutants. They're all dead now though…And then the police started up some shit. But that's fixed now." He shrugs. When i went all crazy it was from this drug that…Well let's just say I went Godzilla on Times Square."
Lucas starts to answer Nathaniel, and then Bruce makes a comment about being exes. He furrows his brow and starts to answer again, but then Bruce is talking about mutants being killed, and he suddenly seems uncomfortable. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, "Nathaniel," he says, quietly, greeting. He nods at Bruce, "Um… not ex-es… heh…"
Nathaniel looks surprised in reaction to the idiots shooting at mutants like that, nodding slightly as he says, rolling up his sleeves absentmindedly with the heels of his hands, "Fucking good. Who the hell does something like that? Goddamn." A beat. "Also, Godzilla would've been interesting." He looks along to Lucas and smiles again, that faint, crooked sort of smile, "No, my ex is a lot more cheerful looking. He is blonde, though, weirdly enough. Me and Lucas… went to school together." He considers that explanation for a few seconds, then nods, apparently finding it satisfactory. With a sidelong glance at Lucas, he continues, "We haven't seen eachother for a while, though. Are you still with Rashmi?"
Bruce looks between the two again. They seem to be interacting in some strange way. "Well then. But yeah, the humans tend not to be very smart. And the Godzilla thing…Well I hurt a lot of people. Luckily Iron Man and a couple mutants were able to calm me down." And then suddenly, "Rashmi? You know her? She works at the embassy. Helped out in quite a few of the battles, too."
Nathaniel shrugs mildly at Bruce only to spare him one of those faint smiles, hidden partially behind his raised cigarette, "Bad things happen. So long as they calmed you down, right?" He glances at Lucas and gives him a slight nod, frowning and sighing, "Yeah, me and Leo, too. Doesn't seem like much of anything from Xavier's lasted long, does it?" He looks surprised when Bruce mentions the name, though, "You know her, too? Wow. I didn't think the world was /that/ small. No surprise that she's working at the Embassy, though. Rashmi could probably end any war just by giving somebody a sideways look… or, like, cookies or something. She's a class act."
Wrapping up another evening of outreach in Mutant Town, David dressed in jeans, a blue plaid-patterned shirt, black Nikes, and yellow cybershades walks into Thompson Square Park to take a break. Carrying a small backpack the mutant youth strolls through but stops when he spots two familiar faces. Shaking his head as he approaches, "Bruce. Nathaniel." Not sure of Lucas, he seems familiar, but is unsure and simply nods, "Small world, huh."
Bruce shakes his head. "Eh too bad about that I…I guess. Rashmi's pretty ok considering she's so much of a goody good." This is in response to Lucas saying they broke up. "I can't remember how specifically I met her. She tends to meet with my boss from time to time, but then again he runs the embassy so that's to be expected I suppose." Bruce seems distracted for a moment, "Oh Xavier's. So you guys went there too then? I've heard pretty good things about that place. You know, aside from the whole "Humans are our friends" crap." He looks like he's about to say something else when David appears. "Ah, hey buddy. Haven't seen you in a while."
Lucas tilts his head at the humans are our friends comment, and then he nods a little, "Ah'm still at Xavier's. Ah work there." He looks at Nathaniel, "Ah should go." He nods once, then begins to head off.
Nathaniel shrugs and smiles at Lucas, waving his hand to him, "Yeah. Look me up if you want, Lucas. You know… ah… well, you know you can." He shrugs slightly, but then David arrives and the young man's personality changes slightly as he throws his hands up - damp shoes dangling from one, cigarette from the other - "David!" He drops them only to sigh and shake his head, his eyes brightly amused as he teases the other man, "I told you, man. I won't sleep with you. Stop following me around, it's sad." He looks aside at Bruce, licking his lips and giving him a sardonic smile, "I was more against the 'welcome to Xavier's, put on this suit and become a hero' standpoint. As far as I've been able to tell, saying humans or mutants are our friends in a general way both turn out wrong. Some are, some aren't. Way it is."
Catching the bit of conversation about Xavier's, David nods, "Yeah, been busy. New semester started this week, so gotta help the teachers prepare stuff." As Lucas heads off, David offers other nod and wave to the leaving mutant. With Nathaniel's exciteably overreaction to David's arrival, he snaps his fingers and sulks, "Darn it! I'll have to try again another day." Smiling and laughing, his mood brightens up a bit, "But yeah, been busy with school. How're the rest of you?"
Bruce offers a wave to Lucas as he departs and turns back to David. "Hmm? I'm fairly good I guess. Trying to get my sands back in place after Lamey the Platypus decided to wash away all my ammo. I swear he's so annoying sometimes. I won't miss him once he's gone." Apparently that's happening. "Yeah well, I suppose any school has an agenda. It happens."
"Busy with school, too," Nathan says with a heavy sigh, scuffing his bare foot against the ground and tucking his shoe-holding hand under his arm while he continues to smoke, "I've got a project to finish for one of my primary classes. It's testing my patience." He looks aside at Bruce again, waving that cigarette-hand between the two of them, "You guys know eachother?" A realization hits him and he tucks his cigarette between his lips, offering his hand to Bruce in a momentary lapse of restraint, "I'm Nathan." See, he doesn't usually shake hands, because his powers would like him to not touch people too much.
"Well, you know, Bruce, you could always use come and do a lecture at Xaviers. " He jokes. Looking to Nathan, "You need help with the project. I can help you if you need help and yes, Bruce and I know each other. We go back a bit." Back to Bruce, "Wow, you still messed up after that happened. Seemed like that happened weeks ago." David blinks, "Wait, what? Vinny is leaving? Where is he going?" He looks back off towards Mutant Town. "Damn!" Shaking his head,"Vinny had hoped to be the protector of Mutant Town. Crap"
Bruce takes Nathan's hand and shakes it. "Bruce. Or Dingo…Whichever you prefer." Then to David, "Yeah I'm fine now from the Kick and all. But uh…Well Vinny's still all unhappy. He's going back to Oz to 'find himself'." He makes air quotes as he says that. "And yeah he can go and be the protector of the desert. Maybe he'll come back less of a douche."
Nathaniel looks rather confused at first, arching a brow and looking between them for a second or two, "Protector? Mutant Town needs an actual guardian?" He shakes his head and spares a smile for David, adding, as the smile slips into a grin, "Only if you've got extensive technical knowledge of making oil paints by hand and then using a single color in different shades to make one complex picture." He doesn't even think of shaking Bruce's hand until he takes it back, perhaps a bit quickly, and he smiles easily at the man and says, "Nice to meet you. I thought Australians went on walk-about?" This last is said in a playful tone before Nate flicks his cigarette away and cusses, glancing in the way Lucas went, "I should've seen if he could've dried my shoes and stuff."
"Well, I hope he is ok. He was admittedly kinda a douche to you when I last saw him, but he generally was a good guy who cared about mutant rights and whatnot. I'm surprised you two didn't get along." David offers to Bruce, "Well, good luck to him." He shrugs and looks to Nathaniel, "Well, when is your project due? While I wouldn't do this for a current student at Xaviers, but for you. If we can find someone who has technical knowledge about oil painting and is skilled at that, then once I am near them, I will know all they know and yeah, I will get extensive knowledge on the topic and could make that picture for you." See, David's power can be useful.
Bruce glances around the park quickly. "Yes Mutant Town needs a protector. The people here are under constant attack from one thing or another. People are always getting killed or kidnapped or whatnot. And yes he's going on Walkabout, so he says…Though I'd not mind if he just stayed back there for a while." He frowns, "Actually knowing my luck RAIC will pick him up and send him back after me. That'd suck." Bruce just quirks a brow at David, "We used to get along. Then he decided my methods were too extreme. Then he decided someone who gets hooked on kick can't ever get clean. You know he's got a stash? He told me where it was and told me to take it. What a bastard. I'll send Rashmi to take care of it. I trust she'll figure out something appropriate."
Nathaniel blinks at David for a second or two, considering, before he shakes his head and smiles gratefully, "Nah. Thanks, man, but if I do that, I won't learn a fucking thing. It'll be a pain in the ass, but it'll be a pain in the ass worth dealing with myself." He listens to Bruce talk while digging out another cigarette and lighting it up, tucking the paraphenalia away so he can drag properly and speak again, "I'd offer to do it, but I'm pretty sure there's fuck all I could do if some serious badass showed up. I'm pretty bullet-sensitive." He turns his head to exhale so he doesn't blow smoke into either man's face, then licks his lips and looks between them, "Whoa, whoa. RAIC? Mutant drugdealers? And when did Rashmi's job become cleaning up after mutant drugdealers?"
"Good answer, Nate." David smiles and entering into the conversation proper, "Well, ordinarily sending in a student, I'd say is probably not a good thing. But Rashmi has a good head on her shoulders and is connected to SHIELD. She'll be fine." Turning to Nate, "Rashmi is a student at that school that Leo is at. The SHIELD school. Some other Xaviers students go there now. A bit more disciplined and rigorous More militaristic that Xaviers."
Bruce chuckles, "Ah see, that's why I'm perfect for the job. I'm pretty much bullet proof. And sword proof and all that crap. And Rashmi's in no danger. He stashed the stuff in his closet and told me to go pick it up. But…I don't trust me. I'll send someone I don't have to worry about using the stuff." At this time Bruce will not voice his opinions of SHIELD. Maybe when David's not around.
You aren't carrying anything.
You have 501 oreos.
Nathaniel arches a brow at that, shifting his feet to a more stable stance and considering David slightly for a few seconds, "I know Rashmi's a good egg. That's not really what worries me, you know? She's good at cleaning up other people's messes. I didn't realize SHIELD was gobbling up old Xavier's students as a rule, though. Are you working with them, too, Davie? Or just Xavier's?" He cocks his head curiously as he takes another drag on his cigarette, though he flicks a curious look in Bruce's direction as well. Unvoiced, maybe, but not entirely unnoticed, "So you're going to be the new protector?"
"No I'm not working for SHIELD and they are not actively recruiting at Xaviers. Just some students end up there." David hmmmmns, "Though I wonder. Imagine me. Working for SHIELD." He pauses a moment as he actually thinks it over and quirks his brow, "Well, probably not. I can't see them taking me." He shrugs and looks back between the two as he still lulls it over in his head.
Bruce shrugs. "Eh, not THE protector. There isn't ONE protector. It's more if you have the power to do something, you should do something. If not, try to stay out of the way I guess. When things come up I take action." He shakes his head, "And I wouldn't join SHIELD. I've heard some horror stories. I'll tell you about them eventually." The man takes a look around and seems satisfied that things are better prepared in this area. "Well, suppose I should be heading out about now. Better check up on the rest of Mutant Town. See ya around David. Nice meeting you Nate." He offers a wave and dissipates into a small flurry of sand that spins around for a second before blowing off to the east.
Nathaniel makes a small round shape of his mouth to indicate understanding, relaxing it and giving Bruce a nod, "I get it… and yeah. I want to hear horror stories about SHIELD. Leo's not… anything for me anymore, but it can't hurt to check. I doubt they'd want me, either, though." He lifts a shoe-holding hand in something of a wave only to blink in surprise as Bruce turns into a miniature sandstorm. He watches it blow off and looks at David, "That's quite the exit. How do you really feel about that guy? Also, if SHIELD gets up to some powerful and maybe nasty business, don't you think you being there might end up in, you know,
"See ya ,Bruce." David watches the fancy exit, "I've seen him do that and a lot more. He is one of the more powerful mutants, I've met. As for how I know him." David looks around a bit and then frowns a bit when Nate mentions the David for president problems, "Um, yeah. I um. Magneto had me contact him to help out with a situation in Mutant Town. Bruce, despite his demeanor and reputation is a good guy. And yeah don't worry. I won't be working for SHIELD anytime soon, if ever." David frowns, "SO why are your shoes off and wet?"
"Not how you know him. How do you /feel/ about him? I mean, I could just check, but I'd rather hear it from you. It seemed a little tense - though maybe that's just me," Nathaniel says, nodding contemplatively at this last and shifting his weight a bit as he looks in the direction Bruce's sandy self skittered off to, "He's hot. That counts for something." He flashes a quick grin, taking another drag on his cigarette, only to frown sulkily at mention of his shoes, looking down at his bare feet. He sighs and rocks forward, propping his head on David's shoulder, "Stupid hydrokinetic mutant bastard flooded the park right when I got here, then left." Grump grouse pout.
"Oh well, I genuinely like him. As I said, he is good for Mutant Town. He genuinely cares about our kind. And while I may not approve of some his methods, I have come to appreciate that people like him and Magneto are necessary. Just like Xaviers and people like the X-Men are necessary too." When he mentions Bruce is hot, David blinks and makes a face. He shrugs, "I guess if you are into that sort." Then with the mention of the hydrokinetic, "Was it a platypus? It was probably Vinny. Again I gotta wonder why he is heading back to Australia. Seems unlike him."
Nathaniel rubs his forehead with the back of his thumb and says, flatly, "You know, in a normal universe, the question 'was it a platypus?' in relation to a sentient, walking creature would be insane." He exhales roughly only to jerk his head towards the nearest bench and throw himself onto it seconds later, stretching his feet out in another attempt to air them out, "I'm into all sorts. You're hot, too, David, but you like two girls, so I don't think commenting is much use." He props his head against the back of the bench, taking another drag on his cigarette, "Why's it so weird? Lots of people get sick of this place and go home, if they have a home to go to. At any rate… I'm not against much of anybody. I think the X-Men are a bit too optimistic and I think people that want to kill all the normies are too trigger-happy. Of course, if we took /my/ route, it'd probably be anarchy." He grins faintly, though doesn't elaborate.
.
Laughing, David plops himself right next to Nathaniel, "Well, thankfully, we don't live in a normal universe. And I suppose it's not weird for Vinny to want to go back home. I just thought he considered Mutant Town his new home and was pretty dead set on protecting this place. When I saw him take on Bruce, I didn't think he would leave. But he has his reasons and hopefully I will get to see him before he goes." Resting his head on the back of the bench and stretching his arms, David tilts his head in Nate's direction, "We need all types of people in this world. As for anarchy, I could use some of it in my life. I've been rather bland most of my life, so I'll follow your route." David pats Nathaniel's knee and grins as he rubs the back of his neck, "So have you heard from Leo again?"
Nathaniel smirks slightly at that, looking sidelong at David as he says, playfully, "Looking to have your hair dyed pink again? Or are you going for a match?" He lets his eyes dive down just to tease David a little, but then he sighs and looks at the sky, "My life is pretty bland in its own ways. I just have really bad judgement. At any rate, maybe taking on Bruce is what made him want to leave? There are places even mutants can go without having to worry about fighting aliens or demons or humans or other mutants all the time, you know." He turns his head to look past the edge of the park, shifting his feet a bit and then looking back at David, "I came to check this place out a little bit. I still don't know how I feel about it."
Laughing as he looks down as well, "Well. It would definitely look interesting, but I don't know how I'd feel about dish soap down there." Becoming serious, David sighs, "Yeah, a life without demons, aliens or other mutants embroiled in battle would be nice." Looking around, "By this place, you mean Thomspon Square Park or Mutant Town?" David catches sight of the Memorial to Carmencita Florez and Detective Baxter and nods, "Well maybe we should head to Australia too. I think the X-Men used to have a base out there. God, imagine living out there." He sighs, "Nope, our lot is here."
Nathaniel laughs hard at that, resting his shoes on the bench and running his fingers through his hair, "I seriously doubt dish soap will deal witth he problem. It'd definitely get you laid if we went to a rave, though. Girls and guys, to be honest." He crosses his ankles and waves a hand at the area nearby, "Mutant Town… and fuck Australia. Do you know all the crazy things that can kill you there? They have sharks and wild dogs and… fucking sharks, man." He frowns hard as he says this, very, very obviously not a lover of all things with pointy teeth. He shakes his head and considers, wagging his cigarette back and forth, "My parents disowned me, so I can't go anywhere but here, really. Not enough cash to wander, not any reason to go. It's not really a decision." He shrugs casually enough, apparently not overly bothered, though he does give David an amused look, "I'm surprised you've been here for so long and haven't gone out that much. It IS New York, dude."
"Well, if it will get me girls, let's do it." David grins and then jokes, "And /guys/ well that's a plus, but the only guy for me is you, of course." David continues joking but when Nathaniel makes reference to his parents disowning him and not being able to wander. David ponders a moment, "Well, we'll have to work on that. I say we plan something when the break comes up. But in the meantime, I need to catch up on going out, since this IS NEW YORK!" Looking around, "Bruce owns a cool spot in Mutant Town. I say we go. Crash at your place and then I head back up to Xavier's in the morning." David does not really give Nathaniel a chance to respond as he grabs his hand and jerks him up, "Let's have some fun, bro."
Nathaniel waves off David's dedication, sighing and reaching over to pat his shoulder, "Don't worry. I'll always love you… you know, except for when I'm loving someone else." His smile turns abruptly wicked before he laughs and draws his hand back to suck on the cigarette, puffing smoke into the air in an attempt to make little clouds. He yelps in surprise when he's suddenly hauled upright, wavering in place only to grin and nod, "All right. Sounds good. We'll say we're friends with the owner." He gives a short, sharp laugh and then blinks and jerks a thumb at his shoes, "You have a car I can dump these in? I'll hit a store and get some flipflops or something stupid. Clubbing barefoot just makes you look homeless." He'll move to amble after David, amenable to the idea, and adds, with a small grin, "Man. All my bad habits are going to rub off on you at this rate."
~ Fin ~
