| Ice Cream in Mutant Town |
| Summary: | Pete Wisdom is having ice cream in Mutant Town when Amanda shows up by coincidence. Jean Grey and Tanya join them but then Jean has to leave. Domino sneaks up on Pete and gets slammed to the table. Domino and Tanya trade insults. |
| Date: | 2016-07-18 8 PM |
| Related: | http://marvelreborn.wikidot.com/log:2016-07-19-flight-708-jfk-to-heathrow |
| NPCs: | None |
| Scene Runner: | NA |
| Social/Plot: | Social |
| Players: |
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The air was wet. The rain had passed — a short rain, but with the low-hanging clouds and the near-sea-level altitude of New York City, the city was sticky with a layer of humidity that for most, was decidedly uncomfortable.
This included Pete. Right now his coat was off, his sleeves were rolled up and his tie was loosened. The heat didn't bother him. The fact that he felt like he was breathing in water was what was so incredibly bothersome. But he was trying to cool off, so to speak, right outside of the Meta Diner. He was sitting at the outdoor seating area, with a tall glass of ice water before him. And some ice cream!
Everybody loves ice cream. Even the British.
It was also hovering close to 8pm, with the sky in a gray state of twilight. Clouds overhead, thick and heavy. Night would be falling soon in Mutant Town.
A very mundane thing is enjoying ice cream on a hot day, even if it's more like the ending of the day, so true to her purpose, Jean makes her way to a certain little ice cream parlour on Mutant Town. Word is the owner was enhancing the flavors with his mutant power, and she simply had to try.
A sticky evening after a rainy day, and Tanya is riding her motorcycle into Mutant Town. The engine rumbles as she putters along, a wire cage with a chocolate-brown house cat strapped to the motorcycle behind her, and a four-armed, fiery skinned, androgynous individual with a swirl of orange-y/red-y hair in the side car. Pulling up in front of an apartment complex near the ice cream parlor, she kills the engine and leans back in her seat, resting her hands on her thighs. As her companion extricates themself, she says, "Hey, next time don't bet your subway money on' Cubbies, yeah?"
The individual grins, sharing a fist-bump with both of their left fists. "I'm going to forget you said that," was the response, the voice as sexless as the rest of them, though the humor is evident.
There was no Mutant Town in New York where Amanda came from so naturally she was fascinated by the concept. Rather than paying for a cab, she takes advantage of the fact that powers are an accepted thing in Mutant town by simply teleporting in. Amanda's teleport is not something one can miss. Pink and gold sparkles float away from the sorceress even before she actually land. There's also the beautiful but noisy sound like a thousand harps playing the same note at once before she steps out of the magic sparkles and walks off down the street to look around.
Oh, god. Pink and gold sparkles. And the sound of harps. Wisdom lifted a hand to shield his eyes from the light, and the shining, and the…
"Amanda?" he asked, after the fluff and bluster faded. He stood up, lifting a hand to beckon her over. "Come on in, grab some ice cream. Take a seat." Then — who could miss that red hair? — Wisdom spied Jean, and his face fell. He immediately had a bad feeling. First, Jean was alive… again. With her, Amanda, and himself in the same place, that's a magnet for trouble.
And as far as he knew, it might not be the same Jean. Not that they've ever met.
Nobody can ignore an entrance like Amanda's, it was as if taken out of fairy tales, and Jean certainly turns to take note, before offering an amicable wave of her hand, "Amanda…how have you been? Good to see you," then again, considering Jean should be dead, it's probably good for her to see just about anyone. Even Pete Wisdom, as she turns back to see if the line moved, "Pete? Pete Wisdom?" She asks as if not entirely sure, "you used to date Kitty, didn't you?"
As the androgynous mutant makes their way into the apartment building, Tanya arches her left eyebrow in thoughtfulness and looks around at the various people moving about. Ice cream really does sound like a good idea, and the cage can be taken inside, so she keeps the motor off and gets off the vehicle, so she can unfasten the cage and take it with her.
Amanda Sefton glances round at the sound of her name and actually chuckles. "Okay that's three days in a row, Pete. I think the universe if trying to tell me something." And then Jean speaks. Amanda takes this in stride simply assuming that Jean didn't die in this universe like she did in hers. "Jean. You are looking great. I'm just settling back in New York. Things are going well." She walks over to Pete's table.
"I think you're right. You dating Kurt again?" Wisdom asked Amanda, half-teasing, half-flirting. Then Jean addressed him. He immediately slipped his sunglasses on and lifted a hand to try to cover his face. Any telepath could immediately pick up, . o O ( Oh god. Oh god. Oh god. She mentioned Kitty. ) A flood of emotions. A sudden suppression.
Pete had issues.
"Ahem. Mrs. Summers. Welcome back to the land of the living," he said, as though it was a normal thing. "How's… um. How're you? Come join Amanda and I. She was just about to join me for ice cream." He cast a look at Amanda that, even past his sunglasses, said, 'please, help.'
"Thanks, Amanda, you're not looking half bad either," Jean winks playfully, "and that was quite an entrance. I would love to have those harps for my door bell." When she makes the quip about Kitty to Pete, Jean didn't expect such an affect on the poor fellow. She usually tries to keep out of people's mind without having permission, but then at times, thoughts lash out in such a way that it's difficult to avoid. "I'm sorry, Pete, didn't mean to bring back 'fond' memories, as it were."
"I'll be a moment," Jean says, laughing at being greeted back to the land of the living, though for the time being she says nothing of it. She just goes to order herself a single scoop of grapefruit and campari sorbet, before joining the others at the table.
Tanya gets in line, though isn't one to do so standing still. A mild fidgeter, she, so she sticks her tongue out in reaction to the sheer mugginess of the evening, the darkening sky doing absolutely nothing to aid anything in her book. After blowing a quiet raspberry to herself, she looks around — and spots a somewhat familiar shock of red hair. She tries to catch Jean's attention and give a wave of her left hand, trying to not be /too/ intrusive, considering the woman's occupied, but still.
Amanda Sefton has got the poise to avoid a similar mental reaction to the comment about her dating Kurt, "Actually, I'm not dating Kurt again. I suppose I still qualify as his favorite ex though. And yes, I was about to take your lovely offer of ice cream." She sits down across from Pete while Jean goes off to get her ice cream. Amanda teases him softly, "You're buying this time right?"
Lifting a hand to his face, Pete sighed, pushing up his sunglasses just a bit. He seemed exasperated. He was faking. "Cor, Amanda, I'm on a government payroll, and the pound's value dropped so much!" He then pff'd. "Sure, I'll buy. No problem." He looked at Jean, and… well. It was Pete.
He checked her out while her back was turned. In all honesty, who wouldn't? She's less mean than Emma.
Wisdom spooned up some ice cream, looking back at Amanda, not even the least bit apologetic or sheepish. "So you're single?" he teased.
Amanda knew that Pete wasn't. Sort of. It was complicated.
"Hey Tanya," Jean greets the girl waving at her and with her cup of ice cream in hand, she motions at the table with Pete and Amanda, "I was just about to sit with some friends, you can join us if you like?" Noting the cat in the cage, she mmms, "unless of course you're in a hurry to get back home and let the little one out?"
After ordering a plain, old-fashioned scoop of Rocky Road in a small waffle cone and a small cup of water, Tanya hefts Baudelaire's cage and clomps over to the table. "Hola," she says to the others in general, wagging the last three fingers of her left hand to the others. "Thank you," is then said to Jean directly, "and nah, Baudelaire's fine. I'll stick 'im in'a shade'n the blankets'll keep'a cement from gettin' too hot for him." So saying, she crouched to do just that before pulling a chair over.
Laughter slips from the gypsy sorceress, "Well I haven't gotten paid again yet. I was on hiatus from the job. And yes, last I checked I was single until someone sees fit to change that." She waves to the newcomer as Jean and Tanya come to the table. She smiles at Jean and offers, "Just in case you were serious, I could make an auditory illusion of it for you to record, Jean."
"Welcome welcome," Wisdom said, giving Tanya an eyeing. He seemed… well. Suspicious. But he was always suspicious. After all, Jean Grey was alive again. "Pull up a… chair… Well done." Another spoonful of ice cream later and he'd say, "So you travel the world, Amanda. I heard working on an airline is one of the two most frequently ill jobs in the world. The other being, of course, in healthcare."
So much for flirting.
"You know him better than I do, if he's fond of the cage, so be it," Jean says to Tanya with a smile, as she introduces her when they get to the table, "that's Pete Wisdom, he's a dapper fellow," Jean offers politely, before motioning at Amanda, "and that's Amanda Sefton, see her for all your magic needs." Case in point, Amanda is actually awesome enough to offer those harp sounds, "that would be lovely, Amanda, I'd appreciate it. But sometime when I'm not tending to ice cream." She is just about to sit at the table herself, when she suddenly looks lost in thought, before announcing, "I apologize, but if you'll excuse me, I need to help a student." She moves to the side, her focus appearing to be elsewhere, even though she's physically not far away.
Amanda Sefton does not actually get up to fetch the ice cream she teased Pete about buying for her. "I never call in sick. Well I offered once but didn't end up doing it." She gives a little wave toward Jean even though she's not paying attention any longer. That's followed by a smile to Tanya, "I don't think I caught your name."
Once Baudelaire is settled, the glass of water tucked in with him, Tanya plops down in her seat. "It's more that he wants to be near me," she says as she crosses her ankles and stretches her legs out. "He's a Havana Brown, and — oh, hey, yeah, not a problem, Jean." She straightens a touch as the red-haired woman appears to be — well, Tanya isn't sure, not being familiar in the slightest with such things. Looking at the others, she says, "Uh — right. So. Pete'n Amanda. Hey. Tanya. Met Jean here not far from that school'a hers, the nifty mutant one." It might be clear she's using the term "mutant" as a descriptor and nothing else, to separate it from the other ritzy and rich schools. It might be.
Considering the unique look Tanya bore, it may be safe to assume Pete thought she was a mutant, herself. "Well, here we are in Mutant Town. So it's safe to say we're everywhere, here." Though it seemed a lot of these folks were lucky in that they weren't obvious mutants. And Amanda's a wizard. Not a mutant.
Was Pete the only real mutant here?
"Got a good point, which I think is cool's shit," says Tanya with a nod, lifting her cone in something of a mock-salute. "S'why I like my boss — James Mack? He don't truck with no anti-mutant crap. Like Jay, I was just droppin' 'em off 'cause they didn't have subway money. Said we was the fourth job he tried for since he got laid off at a warehouse." She clucks her tongue and glances down at her ice cream.
Baudelaire is in a cage at her feet, shaded by the table — though it's getting too dark for that to be a major concern — and she sits with her new companions in front of the diner, in the outdoor-eating area. The mugginess and clamminess of the evening is attempted to be beaten back by ice cream.
Amanda Sefton nods, "It's good that people have a place to feel safe and don't have to live in the sewers and such any longer if they don't want to. Maybe one day the whole world will be that way."
"It's a farce," Wisdom said. "But then, even false security's still security." His ice cream was melting in the heat and night humidity. Damn. He listened to Tanya, and pursed his lips, thoughtful. "There's still hate and suspicion and whatnot. Just… we've got our happy little segregated community," Pete said, almost snidely.
Unfortunately, weather like this doesn't make a person feel any better. Still, life goes on. For one of the few albinos in the city she should probably be counting her blessings. Domino looks like death warmed over, a clear limp in her step and a blank, half-lidded expression one might sooner find on a zombie than a random pedestrian. Bruises and scabs across her face prove that it's more than a lack of caffeine or an abundance of hangover dragging her down.
Which means it's probably 'work' related. And yet..the universe provides.
She doesn't need an invitation. In fact, people could have told her to stay away and she wouldn't have listened. As soon as she sees Pete sitting over there she wanders on up behind the guy and drops a heavy hand on the back of his shoulder. "Tell me you have something for me to do." Even now, looking like she got run over by a semi- truck.
"Well, yeah, but there's always -" is all Tanya gets out before a familiar little cloud of gloom comes up. Considering their last meeting — their last /few/ meetings, really — the scowl that alights on her features might be forgivable. At least she hasn't said any of the "choice" invectives that spring to mind. Yet. She's able to stay quiet — for the moment.
Whatever Amanda might have been about to say in response to Pete's commentary about mutant town goes unsaid when Domino arrives looking like hell. She looks from Pete to Tanya then to Domino before offering, "Why don't you join us for ice cream. Pete's buying."
The next few moments were a blur. Words were ignored in favor of reaction and training as a heavy, stranger's hand was on Pete's shoulder. Wisdom's seat shoved back as he pushed himself to stand, reaching his arms back. He grabbed Domino by the arm, and the impact of the chair had her double over just so, to give him leverage to throw her… right onto the table.
Plates broken. Ice cream, everywhere. Gasps rose, at least one shout.
And then there was Pete, crouched over Domino with one hand still on her arm, the other hovering by her face. His fingertips were glowing the color of molten metal, bright orange, and thin, shimmering sharp-edged points were sprouted from those glowing fingertips. A faint haze was above them, distinctive heat waves.
That's when Pete recognized who it was… and how she looked.
"Domino."
(Ohshi — )
THUD.
Approximately two seconds ago Domino was standing behind Pete Wisdom. Now she's lying awkwardly on her back across the table, staring up at the other mutant from behind the sights of a semiautomatic pistol which came out of hiding somewhere..at some point..within her non-entangled hand while she had been getting thrown onto said table.
A forced smirk pushes aside the pained grimace which immediately follows. Despite the disadvantaged situation she's still looking about ready to give Pete a third nostril from a nine millimeter. "Hey."
And now she's lying on top of a bunch of ice cream. Funny, the outside weather doesn't seem to be bothering her quite so much as a moment ago. Cool and refreshing.
"So, we should probably stop meeting like this before it becomes a thing."
With a hissed invective in Cantonese, Tanya grabs Baudelaire's cage with her right foot, pulling it back as she uses her left to push herself out of the way. He hisses as things go flying, as it becomes pure, aggressive chaos for that moment. Once things settle down — more or less — she shifts in her chair and leans closer to Amanda. Keeping an eye on Domino, she murmurs, "I don't know Pete, but I do know her. She has that effect on people." Still not having gotten over that "kidnapping", as if there was really any question about it.
Amanda Sefton looks down at her shirt as ice cream gets splashed across the red fabric. Nodding to Tanya, Amanda says calmly, "Please don't make me separate you two. I hate being mistaken for someone's mother." She makes a gesture and her shirt is subtly replaced with a freshly laundered copy of itself.
With a gun in his face, and deadly hot-knives in hers, Wisdom was grinning at her. "Don't sneak up on me next time. How would you have reacted." He pulled his hand away, before using the one on her arm to lift her back up to stand. "Should I get napkins?" he asked. "Or do you think you look better with creamy goo running down your back and arse?"
That was lewd, even for Pete. "You look like yesterday's chunder, petal." As he spoke, the hot-knives in his other hand gradually faded. "What's going on?"
With a soft snort, Tanya shakes her head as she crosses her left knee over her right. "Probably showed the wrong person her sweet'n sunny disposition," she mutters without even the attempt of making it sound like a friendly barb. Nothing friendly about it.
"Yeah..sounds like a plan," Domino admits when being offered napkins.
Her expression does falter when being pulled away from the table, though. (Ow..ow..ow…) Once more her actions are stiff and reserved as she tucks her pistol away, cryptically answering his next question with "Traffic in this city sucks" before she gives the other two women a glance. It -would- have just lingered upon Tanya, along with an unspoken dare for the pink-haired woman to object to the albino's presence, except that Amanda pulls a trick with her shirt that doesn't go unnoticed.
So, that glance ends up lingering upon both of them.
"Well look at you, sittin' at a table full of women. Glad your week's goin' swell," she deadpans at Pete. Then to Amanda, she teases "We were just havin' a little fun, mom."
For the moment she doesn't reply to Tanya, instead weighing the pro's and con's of kicking the other woman over, chair and all. While that thought runs through her head she removes her soggy black overshirt, adjusting the underlying black tank to fully cover the grip of her sidearm tucked behind her.
Back to 'mom,' she simply states "I don't know you." She's probably not on speaking terms with Social Grace.
Amanda Sefton tsks at Domino's comment then gestures at her while looking at Pete. "You see what you did? Now I'm getting teased and you haven't even bothered to make introductions. I thought they taught manners in Britain."
"I was by myself. Suddenly I've got three," Wisdom said. "Looks like my day's getting better," he snarks right back. "They do teach manners. Doesn't mean we always listen," he said to Amanda. "Amanda. Domino. Seems you two have already met," he said to Tanya. He stepped away, before saying, "Getting napkins. Be good, girls."
That first comment of Domino's earns a smirk from Tanya; she's had enough "reminders" of her usual caustic attitude being rather less than helpful had finally had /some/ kind of effect. Simon would be proud, hopefully. To Pete, she says, "Yeah. We've — met." And then, as the man gets up, she actually finds enough magnanimity to add, "She helped — resolve — a problem…" Though she left unsaid — but /oh/ so plain in her voice — that the problem was one she thought Domino helped cause to begin with.
"I'm kinda thinking Wisdom here's not one for following the rules," Domino replies while oh so carefully tilting her head to one side. There's a dull *Krik!* and wince soon following the motion. "Maybe that's why we work so well together."
Or..did work well together, back with the previous version of Neena. Come to think of it..Pete said that he had been her boss, though he never actually said what prompted him to -stop- being her boss. There might be a good story somewhere in all of that.
For the meantime she claims a chair and gingerly takes a seat, backwards as if she needs that extra support to lean forward against. "Yeah, that's me. One big trouble-shooter. You're welcome."
Amanda Sefton's gaze briefly follows Pete then she looks between Tanya and Domino. "I'm constantly surrounded by trouble, so I barely even notice unless I have a friend needing help."
"I'd say more about you, but you and I live secret lives for a reason, Domino. Let's keep it that way." He said this as he returned with many, many napkins. And an attendant, to help clean up the mess, and gather the broken plate bits. And Pete already paid. With a big tip. At least the table wasn't broken.
"Have we all been getting along?" he asked the lot of them. "Everyone know everyone else's sordid origin stories, yet?"
"…enough," says Tanya, glancing at Domino and trying to keep those proverbial daggers from shooting across the short space at warp speed. "We was catchin' up on old times. Playin' stickball in the alleyways, y'know." The insane bucket-o'-loony isn't doing anything /ovetly/ crazy, so if Domino can play nice — for her — then Tanya can play nice — for /her/. She works on her ice cream — and thank the universe it was in a waffle cone and not a regular one, else she'd have been wearing it. Small favors.
"That explains why you're hanging around this guy," Dom says to Amanda while thumbing in the direction Pete went — Oh, there he is. Luckily for Pete, this Neena doesn't really know anything about the guy! Makes it kind of difficult for her to talk about his personal life. Though in the interest of him not spreading word about hers she won't push the matter.
"We know that we have strange choices in the company we keep," she suggests with a slight shrug. "It's fun finding common ground. But hey, I won't harass you kids for long. Just came over to jab at Wisdom for a moment."
Amanda Sefton laughs, "A series of coincidences, really. Though maybe I'll show up where you're going to be on purpose next time instead of by coincidence, Pete. Then the universe won't have to work so hard at pushing us together.""
"You need anything besides a minor scuffle, Domino?" Wisdom asked the albino. "Should I refer you to a discrete physician? Someone who'll patch you up for cheap? Wait. You can afford expensive," he teased. To Amanda, he smirked. "Well. You've got my card. I'm sure you can contact me and get to me when you need me." Listening to Tanya, Wisdom's brows raised. "The woman with the gun makes an impression. She's not a good person for a civilian to be around, it's true. If I may, Dom, you're not a good person for most people to be around. Too many people want you dead."
"Puttin' it mildly," mutters Tanya before she can stop herself, then she squeezes her eyes shut and emits another hissed pair of syllables. At least she then adds, "Sorry…" to it, so there's that. She's still /trying/ to not end a day with her and Domino verbally sniping at each other. That'd certainly be nice.
--
"Yeah..that's a thing," Domino awkwardly replies to Pete while dipping her head forward to rub at the back of her neck. "It's actually getting a little annoying, I don't even know half these people."
She'll just watch that attendant try -really hard- to not overhear anything being said at their table before hurrying away with the last of the garbage.
Well, Tanya's been putting up a good fight over there. In this regard she's probably a better person than the albino, who can contain her smirk no longer. "Aw, Tanya, that kinda stings a little."
Amanda Sefton nods to Tanya and Domino as she stands, "It was interesting meeting you, ladies. I'd stay longer but I'm supposed to work a morning flight to Heathrow. One shouldn't serve drinks in first class on no sleep."
"What," says Tanya, mouth obviously operating without her brain even being involved in the process, since she barely offers Amanda a glance, "worse'n your face? I mean, what, you kidnap someone else'n — this time someone who could actually teach ya'a lesson?" A beat's pause, too short for her to let anyone cut in, then, "Nah. That kind'a lesson, you got off way too light for. Probably just got up on'a ugly side'a Juggernaut's codpiece after he had'a good jog in it. Again." Later, she'll have to apologize to Amanda and Pete for what amounts to throwing gasoline on a car fire, but — that's later.
Domino just sits there, waits for Tanya's rant to end, then kisses the air in the other woman's direction. "Love you too, sweetie." Then to Pete, she just says "Wisdom. Call me." Then a wave to Amanda, who..serves drinks on an airline..? That's unexpected!
Time for her to get moving again, too.