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Summary: Bruce reads something in the paper which annoys him. Misha, Felix & Theo
come to investigate. Debate and a plan to contact Magneto ensues.
Log Title: Park-Bench Plotting
Rating: PG (L)
Mutant Town - 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'.
Scene
Considering how nice a day it is outside, it is really no surprise how many people are out and about. There are a number of people jogging around the park and a few kids playing Frisbee off the path. Right off the dog walk is a man sitting and smoking a cigar. This man would be Bruce.
The Australian is wearing a khaki shirt with shorts and a wide brimmed Akubra. He is currently reading a newspaper and glancing down occasionally at a sleeping shepherd-mix tethered to his bench. He snorts suddenly and crumples up the newspaper, slamming it down on the bench next to him and puffing at his cigar a bit. Apparently he read something he did not agree with.
While Mikhail didn't mean to sneak up on Bruce, his voice might be a bit of a surprise. His voice is awful frankly. Sounds like he'd been chain smoking for fifty years, never mind that he isn't even twenty yet. "Bad news?" Not Bruce's week, for this young man has a heavy accent. Polish, but hey. Was honestly just meandering by, continuing his exploration of the city, when Bruce slammed down that paper. He should keep walking, but he doesn't. Any wonder he finds trouble all the time?
The teen is nothing to look at. Average of appearance, dark hair, and muddied hazel eyes, Misha wouldn't earn a second glance if it weren't for his voice and the scar over his left eye. Very average. Almost too much so.
Dog and cigar. Two smells that just set one puma's fur twitching. He finds a tree that's neither upwind nor downwind of the man with the burning stinkthing, and is pondering mischief when he realizes that the fellow is reading the Daily Bugle and becoming incensed. Imagine that.
When the guy with the raspy voice appears, something in his feline half says "Oh, playtime."
He jumps down from the tree, shifting to human form to land, and strolls casually towards the others. It's a hot day so he's not wearing his usual heavy coat, instead wearing a dark brown athletic tee with a puma printed on it in black — an amateur print job to be sure. That and the board shorts make him look like just about any kid in the area, except for the fact that he has a bit more body hair than usual, and his black hair is shot through with spots of brown and yellow. (The dye is wearing off again.)
He approaches the guy with the smelly dog, and the guy with the scar and the totally harsh voice. "What, you're reading the Bugle? Everyone knows they're full of it. They're like the Enquirer. Only less believable."
Bruce jumps slightly at the raspy voice and turns suddenly. He sees it’s just a kid and raises an eyebrow, holding out a hand to calm his dog. “Down, Tiberius. It’s fine. Lay back down.” The dog sits and stares at Mikhail, then at Felix as he appears. The man shrugs at the two of them. “Doesn’t matter if it is, the story’s the same in all the papers.” He unfolds the crumpled up mess and holds up a page. There’s a piece on some politician’s views of the MRA. “Only a matter of time, I suppose.” He does notice Mikhail’s odd accent, but he has learned not to question such things. He wags a finger at his dog again, it seems that the dog is more interested in Felix than he usually is with strangers.
Demeanor shifts slightly as Felix approaches. Wary, watchful. Mikhail takes in the details that are Felix and isn't comforted. To many telling signs of a mutant. It's not that he has anything against mutants, and nor is he surprised to find one in Mutant Town, but he isn't letting his guard down either. Ironic then that he doesn't give the dog the same wariness. Should the dog approach, the teen holds still and allows it to inspect him. No attempt to pet, but also no fear. Instead he frowns at the paper, and holds a hand for it. Hadn't seen that. "May I?" Asked politely. "I am being sorry for startling you. I am Mikhail." English, clearly, is not his first language.
Felix looks blandly at the paper, the very image of someone who doesn't follow the news at all. "What's a matter of time?"
He watches the dog steadily, tongue touching the tip of one slightly sharp tooth as he sees how it interacts with rough-voice-guy. Who … smells different. Odd whiff of something alien and familiar.
Bruce quirks a brow again at Mikhail when he speaks with such a strange syntax. “Uh, sure. I’m Bruce, by the way. Work over in Nowhere…” He looks at the two. “But maybe you’re too young fer that. Anyway, some polo is trying to scare up some votes by attacking the rights of mutants.” He glances at Felix, “Only a matter of time before they round us up and toss us in camps, that’s what.” He doesn’t seem afraid to admit his race in this section of town. Also the two of them seem non-threatening enough. Tiberius seems to lose interest and lies down again, breathing out a sigh before falling back asleep.
Yes, the teen would have a strange scent, not only for how he gained his power, but for the place it grants him access. Has no idea he smells strange either. It has never occurred to him. Instead Mikhail listens to Bruce about the camps, turning his eyes to the page and reading. He opts not to admit he isn't a mutant. It's easier that way. "Only too young in America." For bars. Doesn't seem that interested in one either. "Is like old concentration camp idea?" No, he hasn't heard about a lot of this. Other nations aren't as paranoid as America seems on the subject. Bruce is offered his paper back.
Felix shrugs, lowering his sunglasses to give him a better look at the paper while Misha reads it. Huh. Right. "How can people that stupid remember to breathe and chew gum at the same time? Mutants are humans, they're born from human parents and can usually interbreed. What, do they think it's some kind of devil substituting … oh crap. Right. Swell."
He brushes his hand through his hair in a "wash" gesture, smoothing it down a bit. The cigar is still irritating, the dog seems to have decided to live and let sleep, but the guy has an Ozzie accent, which the puma-shifter finds fascinating. "Talk more," he suggests to Bruce, a grin forming on his face. A slightly too wide, slightly too fangy grin.
Bruce doesn’t seem to notice anything strange about Misha. He assumes that the boy is a mutant due to the location of the park and the fact that he is not corrected. “Yeah well, America’s got some funny drinking laws. Don’t bother me much, I was over the age when I got here.” He shrugs and takes the paper back, nodding. “Yeah, like them Nazi camps. Granted, they’d never admit to such a thing. But mark my word, it’ll happen. One day you’ll be out buying bread and BAM! They snatch you up.” He gives Felix an odd look. “Talk more? Er…Well if anything mutants are a step above humans. It’d be like chimpanzees litigating against humans because they’re more advanced.” He glances over at Theo and chuckles at his shirt before shaking his head. “Nothing too great. Just the government in action”
For most purposes Misha could very well be a mutant. Most the people who know him believe he is. "They were not admitting to the camps for the Japanese being concentration camps, but those were being very real." America has made concentration camps before. As for Mikhail himself, the only thing worth noting about him is a scar over his left eye, and his horrible voice. Other than that he's so average of appearance most wouldn't look at him twice in passing. His opinion isn't the same as Bruce's, but if he argues he won't get to hear more, so he listens more than talks.
The arrival of Theo has him eyeing the other teen. Taking in the details. Another mutant if the tshirt is correct. "Maybe people will be seeing sense." This to Bruce about them snatching people up. Maybe it won't happen.
OK, Felix loves the accent officially. He sort of crouches on the bench, not sitting like a reasonable person, but he seems comfortable enough physically. He watches the third kid approach and looks around suddenly. Is this a convention or a coincidence or a flash-crowd?
His human part, meanwhile, is irritated. "Wait, humans and chimpanzees are cousins, humans didn't evolve from chimps. And who says mutants are necessarily a step above? Evolution doesn't work that way. It just favors the survival and reproduction of the ones who can survive better at a given time. Sometimes that's a mutant, other times it's the unchanged, right?"
Yeah, Felix did actually steal some of the Medium-Low Evolutionary's papers in order to figure out what the basterd DID to him, and this is all argued out … the MLE actually thought Evolution was a sentient force, the wanker.
Bruce eyes Felix and ponders his feralistic movements, but he doesn’t say anything. This IS Mutant Town after all. Maybe the kid has some strange mutation. “Evolution is a change in gene frequencies. And Chimpanzees and Humans had a similar ancestor some time back there. Anyway, my point is that maybe people with no power shouldn’t be telling people who have amazing powers what to do.” Apparently he’s been reading up on the subject. Trying to learn the lingo that’s being used against his people. He hears what Theo has to say and snaps his fingers. “Good on ya, kiddo. That’s what I’m talkin’ about. Stupid blighters just want to be in control of everyone around them, well too bad.” He frowns slightly. “Except they’ve got the military to back them up should they decide it.”
Misha is wary of those gathered, but he masks it well. Especially Felix. Mutants are one thing, but the demeanor tells Misha to be watchful. "Balance of power." He articulates the words carefully, for English isn't his first language, and his voice is bad. "Is what government is always about, yes? They are being afraid. Some have been giving them good reason." Most mutants don't make trouble, but there are a few who do. The teen doesn't expect this group to listen however. "Is not mattering who we are born from with that. Different means alien."
Felix grins even wider. Almost mad, that grin. "Power. Right. Because that's what makes someone a person. Might makes right. To the victor the spoils. The one with the gun should be free to shoot anyone who annoys him. If you're weaker, or just in the wrong spot, too bad for ya, and that's the way it SHOULD be."
He's still grinning when he says this stuff, but if one were looking carefully his fur is going from 'slightly fuzzier blond guy with black-dyed hair' to 'full-on puma fur' and at 'SHOULD' he starts to become a bit transparent along the limbs. "At least you're honest about it, right?" the puma-guy purrs.
The teen places his hands on the back of the bench, and turns his head toward Felix. He doesn't look at his face, rather he watches the color of the fur change. "Well," he reasons. "Seriously, that's been the way the world has run since it's been around. Everybody looking for power to get what they want. And why not? You only go around once, right?" His utilitarian remarks continue, and he looks to Misha.
"It's not a new idea," he explains, "it's one people have been taught to be ashamed of. That it's wrong to take what you can because you can. Why? Says who? Says the people who have the power and can get their way. So if you can convince others that they shouldn't have their way because they are too dumb to know the difference, then that's a good way to keep power. I'd do it too if I were them."
To Felix he adds, "They have the cards right now, but all it takes is one sly cracker with an ace up his sleeve to change the game, and if he cheats to win, but still wins, then that's what counts. Who cares what the historians say, none of us will be around to hear them whine anyway. That's why crazy dictators get into power, because they're the ones with the balls to do what other people just think about." He takes a deep breath, having finished his rant. Something definitely hit a button with him. "I'm Theo, by the way, just rambling and I don't even know who any of you are."
Bruce chomps his cigar a bit and ashes on the ground. The dog is still sleeping and seems unconcerned with the events around him. He DOES live with Bruce, so it can be assumed he’s used to humans doing things they shouldn't. To Misha he shrugs, "Yeah there are a few who cause a bit of trouble, but maybe they wouldn't if they didn't feel like they had ta? And then there's the ones who go about an' try to fix things, and everyone just THINKS they're bad news." He would mention his adoration of Magneto at this time, but he's discovered that makes him slightly unpopular.
Bruce glances at Felix and scratches his head. "Yeah well. Maybe not that exactly. But certainly in nature it's the strongest wolf who leads the pack. The one best suited to protect the rest of the group takes control, but that's not so much the case here." He glances up at Theo as the boy rants. "Well I'm not saying that's how the world should be run, but if you had someone like Magneto in charge, people'd think twice about causing a ruckus." Seems he decided to drop the name after all. Bruce turns and narrows his eyes at the Puma-Man. "You feelin' alright, mate? You look a little woggy."
This conversation is going places he isn't much enjoying, and Mikhail is almost grateful when his phone rings. No fancy ring tone, but instead the standard beep the phone comes with. Pulling it from a pocket of his jeans, the teen looks at it before answering. "Yes?" He answers, phone to ear. Listening a moment, he looks back to the gathering. "Good night, gentlemen. I must be going." Doesn't wait for replies as he begins to move away. "Eh." Says to the phone. "Half an hour at least. Am not close. On my way." And with that he's out of normal hearing range. Not that what he says is anything special.
Felix laughs. "Woggy moggy. Yeah. I'm just wondering if you guys have thought this through, is all. See, you're wrong about wolves. They're pack animals. Like you humans." The puma must be talking now, because Felix has grabbed his tail (when that grew in) and alternately looking at it and at Theo and Bruce. "You're mostly pack animals … sometimes tribe animals like we cats are. You forget, living in these stinking anthills, that you're not really all alone, that the world doesn't give a damn about your surviving, and that it's not something you can do alone. Theo-human, you talk like other humans are to take advantage of. They're also your only protection from monsters and predators."
The puma is still growing more transparent, as he talks. "And you, man with accent that makes my human half melty, you have this idea that it's the strong that rule. It's not true, it's the strong and smart and the one that can convince the other pack members, because they'll all turn on a stupid one. And no wolf is gonna survive a winter alone. They can't hunt like us pumas. You gotta think about the whole pack you're part of."
Nevermind that Cheshire's puma half doesn't really know how to hunt, his human part does.
Theo arches his brow, and gives a half-hearted shrug. "That's the way things are. I didn't write it, but I will make sure I have my protection. Maybe we are 'pack' animals, but when you have a pack of wolves going after a bear, you usually lose a couple. I don't want to be one of the dead wolves." He indicates to Felix's skin. "You look at yourself in a mirror? Humans won't give you anything. And in case you haven't noticed, our "pack" has been trying to kill and marginalize us, so maybe it's time to make a new pack. This guy here is right," he says, reaching out to give Bruce a pat on the shoulder. "Somebody like Magneto in charge, that'd clear things up pretty quick." He doesn't seem to mind openly supporting the famed villain.
Bruce waves a hand idly as Misha just sort of wanders off. He realizes he never gave his name to Theo and offers a distracted wave. Bruce over here, by the by.” He’s a bit confused by Felix’s tail and sudden change in demeanor, but that doesn’t keep him from a rebuttal. “Wolves can certainly hunt and live alone. May not be the best life for ‘em, but they can do it. Just like some folks’d be alright on their own. Maybe not the humans, but I’m not a human. I’m something bigger and stronger who could take down a predator on me own if I need to. That’s what makes me better. The humans are like sheep, the mutants like wolves. We’d do best to team up under the smartest and the strongest, but we can survive alone. The sheep however’ will just mill around and consume everything around them. If they see something that spooks ‘em they make a big hulabaloo.” He apparently doesn’t completely understood the connotation of “melty” here…or maybe he’s just ignoring it.
He nods in agreement with Theo, “And right, they would kill us if they could. Just like sheep would kill off a pack of wolves if they could. Thing is, a sheep can only kill a wolf if the wolf lies down and gives up. They know that, so they do everything in their power to keep us hiding in the shadows.” He nods to Felix, “Kiddo here’s right. You walk down any normal street lookin’ like that an’ you’ll probably get into a scrap. But here, here you’re accepted. It should be like this everywhere. It could be if proper action were taken.”
Felix is almost completely gone from the waist down, though he seems to be perfectly fine as a floating torso and head. With lunatic grin and eyes a touch too wide open. "You have it half right, Theo-human and sexy-accent human. You just think you can get behind a powerful leader … you think he'll accept you in his pack. He's known for devouring his young, though. And he did a crap job of it several times. Humans aren't sheep. But if they were, the best thing to do would be to act like a shepherd, not like a wolf. You're thinking like wolves and you should be thinking like humans. That's how humans got to where they are now. If you want to survive, you need to make their pack not hate you."
He's gone up to the shoulders now. Pretty soon there'll just be that wide eager grin.
Theo gives a smile, nothing on the surface, but something underneath is dark about it. "That's why I get behind me," he says. "I'd not mind learning a few things from that old clown, but I'll keep my own counsel. I've seen the way people act, they really are sheep." He seems a little hot under the collar on this point. "The only difference is that when sheep blindly follow people, it doesn't usually end up with death. With humans that's prone to happen." He takes a mental step back. "I think I need a drink."
Bruce just watches Felix as he vanishes, wondering if he is really going someplace else or if he is just turning invisible. He reaches out to poke where Felix’s chest should be, trying to figure out this guy’s ability. He does hear the wisdom in Felix’s words, but at the same time he’s not going to talk bad on his personal hero. “Magneto knows what he’s doing. If something happened to a few of his followers it’s because they weren’t strong enough.” He quirks a brow. “Sexy accent? This is just how I talk. And I’m old enough to be yer dad…Almost. Also yours.” He turns to Theo. “I’m pretty sure kiddos your age can’t drink here in the states.” But Theo is the first person he’s met here with similar views. He’ll keep that in mind for whenever he is able to start carrying out his plans.
There's nothing there when Bruce pokes. He's vanishing just like that cat in that not really children's book. "Actually," Felix says to Theo as his neck vanishes, "when sheep follow humans, it does indeed quite often end up with death. For the sheep. And be careful then that the old clown doesn't think of you as the sheep."
The bright-green eyes, the sunglasses balanced on the wide feline nose, and that wide, terribly amused grin, all turn on Bruce next. "Please do consider thinking more broadly about things, then, Daddy. The odds are good that you'll run into Magneto, since he's in town, and you won't impress him as more than another expendable sheepdog to use in his next scheme. And it would be a terrible waste of a beautiful" … the eyes look Bruce over once more … "voice." The rest of his head is gone, only the eyes, the hint of his nose, and the grin, which is if anything even wider and sharper somehow now that it's not constrained by the context of a face.
Theo hadn't seemed to notice before this point that Felix was disappearing. "Wow, you're like the Cheshire Cat, or something," he says. "That's kinda cool," he comments. "It won't matter if he thinks me a sheep. I ain't one. It'll be his mistake if he thinks I am."
He laughs to Bruce, "Yeah, we can't drink like we can't sneak out of class and play hooky in the middle of the day. Doesn't stop us. Say, I'll pay you $20 to get me some booze," he offers, or requests, depending on how you look at it.
Bruce makes an annoyed sound when he is referred to as “Daddy“, but when Felix mentions that Magneto is in town Bruce jumps up suddenly, causing Tiberius to get up and look around nervously. “Wait! What do you mean he’s in town? I thought no one knew where he was. Do you know where to find him?” He realizes that he is simply speaking to a mouth now and hopes that this entity can hear him without ears. Judging by the question it seems that Bruce isn’t concerned with Magneto’s reputation. The two have similar goals, that’s all that matters to the Australian.
Bruce snaps his fingers, assuming the cat won’t answer him now that he’s all but disappeared. He glances over at Theo and gives him a once over. “Twenty bucks won’t get you much.” Not that he’s looking to lose his tending license, but this kid seems to have similar ideals and Bruce would like to stay on his good side. “Also you don’t know me. You picked up the booze from a homeless guy on the street.”
"Egad," Felix says, "I think he's sussed me out."
The eyes glance at Theo, and the grin is momentarily replaced by a sideways-scrunched moue, which looks REALLY odd since he's so strongly mountain-lion-featured at the moment. The cat says to Bruce, "Of course he's in town. He was attacked by aliens a few days ago, he comes and goes from some uptown hotel. I don't know him, I don't want to know him, he's bad for people around him. But if you want to find him, I'll see if I can find him. You'll owe me a favor, or a jar of beluga caviar. Or two for that fleabag remark."
"May take a day or two. Meanwhile if you want to find me ask around for Cheshire. Someone will get me a message. It pays to cultivate friends among the humans, and the squirrels, and the mutants…" and the eyes and nose fade, and the sunglasses drop to the bench, then the grin starts laughing, and slowly fades out.
And a second later a paw appears and GRABS the sunglasses, a voice saying "BOTHER!" as if from a distance, then the paw vanishes with the sunglasses.
Theo is distracted for a long moment, watching as Felix disappears entirely. "That is some wacked out shit, there," he says. He had his ears about him, though. "I knew Magneto was in town. I talked to him a few days ago," he says with a sly grin. "Sounds like I got something better than money for you, though. It's pricey to pay a Jefferson on top of whatever alchohol costs every time," he says. "I can get you in touch with Magneto, I've done better than talk to him," the teen continues, walking around to sit on the bench next to Bruce, and lowers his voice.
"I get you in touch with Magneto, I give you something for life. I think that'd call for something a little more regular with things I'd like to get that I can't. I can talk to him TO NIGHT," he adds emphasis. "And I'd still like the booze," he folds his arms. "And that cat…" he looks around, to see if he reappears. "I don't think he gets quite where we're coming from. Doesn't sound real keen on the idea. So what do ya say?"
Bruce seems surprised that the mouth and eyes can hear him, but he listens to the creature's words. Once the mouth has vanished he offers a "Um…Thanks?" To the open air. "I don't think Belugas lay eggs. Ain't they a whale?" He asks that to Theo and shakes his head. "A favor'll do I guess. If he can find me Magneto."
Bruce hears Theo begin to speak and turns to him. He looks slightly skeptical about the kid's boasts, but he figures it's worth a shot. "Alright, tell ya what." He motions to a bag under the bench. "I'll leave the park and forget that bag. It's got a nice bottle o' Stoli in it and a couple packs o' durries." He looks around nonchalantly, trying to make it look like they're not up to anything illegal. "That's probably about…A good forty bucks right there. I work at Nowhere, I'm easy to find. Let Magneto know that the Australian bartender supports his efforts and that I'd like to meet with him. He probably won't go to the bar himself, but he should be able to get word to me. AFTER I hear from him I'll get ya whatever ya want. You got contacts? Have one of 'em get word to me at the bar.
Theo doesn't look down into the bag, understanding discreet. He seems a sharp kid, not just in the booksmart department. Almost like this is his element. "Sure," he says. "Australian, that the place, or just cuz of your accent the cat liked so much?"
Bruce stands up and stretches slightly. He chuckles, “Oh no. True blooded Oz right here. And that cat wasn’t the first and won’t be the last. You Yanks love Aussies for some reason.” He calls to Tiberius who also stretches and stands up. “Well, s’pose I should be headin’ out. Have a good night, eh mate? I’ll be waitin’ to hear back from ya, right?” He waits for the boy’s response before heading back to his apartment with the dog.
The boy's gaze shifts to the bar, and nods, "Aight," he says. "Been a pleasure meeting you, I'm sure I'll see you again before long." He gets up as well, picking up the bag, and dropping it in his own. "You take care, too." He gives a satisfied smile, and turns on his heels, beginning to wander off down the direction he had started to walk before coming across the newspaper crowd. Amazing what you can learn from the newspaper, eh?
~ Fin ~
