2013.05.14 - Hope For Mutant Town

Mutant Town...
If someone is looking for a mutant, this may be the easiest, and hardest place in all of New York City to find one.
The easiest since well... There's a heck of a lot of mutants here! It's how it got its name! heck, if a mutant wanted to just up and visit a part of the city and not feel strange, regardless of how they look, this would be the place to be, since so many obvious mutants call this place home.
Unfortunately though, it's also the hardest, because if one is looking for a specific mutant it is almost a bit too easy to 'blend in', due to the high concentration of mutants, including obvious ones. But hey, in this part of town, who needs to hide, or hide what they are?
Admittedly, one can already blend in 'okayishly' in New York. It's New York, and New Yorkers - the 'real' new Yorkers, not those upstaters - pride themselves in just being able to roll with anything. Fuzzy man. Silver girl. Winged person. Whatever. Still, one can get looks.
Given that, Cessily relaxes notably as she steps off the ferry. "Feels different already," she says with a slight smile to Kurt.
On foot, things are always slower.
Normally, Kurt would be bamfing from shadow to shadow, wall to wall.. even in Mutant Town. But here and now, he's got responsibilities.. and that is to the girl travelling with him. Call it a 'field trip', call it what one may, but the trip in is one of more .. educational value than anything else.
Off the ferry, tail out behind him, yellow eyes look out into the city before them. "Even though it is our .. people, always be on your guard.." is given softly, his german accent harsh. "Some here are desperate.. und poor."
The Xavier Institute isn't the only place to have 'students' visiting Mutant Town right now. And yet, despite everything...
Well, that probably will be explained a little better later.
Instead lets just say that there is /another/ redheaded mutant girl in Mutant Town. Heck, she isn't even that far from the ferry. This one is in a bit of an odd green outfit, and is sitting on the ground, talking to someone else who's sitting on the ground. Only that second person /is/ hidden by the shadows. If one were to of seen her before they may even recognize her as a girl 'Hope'. That is if they remember. If not... It doesn't matter.
Anyways, as she sits there, the other person just says something, just barely above a whisper. Something that sounds like 'Don't know' followed by 'Keep watching'.
"The state's helping them though, right?" Cessily asks as she walks with Kurt. "We didn't stop being people when..." Cessily frowns, trailing off. She catches sight of the redhead, dressed in an odd green outfit. A uniform, really, almost like something she'd see at the Institute. "Mister Wagner?" she asks, nudging Kurt and nodding towards Hope. "Is...she a new student?"
Kurt's gaze is moving about; he's a little more careful with a young charge than if he would be alone. As a result, he does catch sight of a redhead- one that he had met, after a fashion, some time ago. And she'd turned into him. Now, there's questions again, and his voice lowers, "You do realize you're in mutant town. They could be telepaths, und you would be noticed easily." He's good humoured about it, at the very least..
That doesn't stop the elf from approaching, however.. and perhaps with student in tow, he makes his way to where the fire-haired girl dressed in green is seated..
Unfortunately the girl... Hope, doesn't notices Kurt or Cess. At least not at first.
Instead she just nods at the person, and calmly says, "Thank you. If you hear anything else, let me know. Heck, if you hear about any other time travelers, let me know. Since I'm at the aca..."
Only then, it's almost as if she does somehow detect the others. For as she drifts off she starts to turn her head, and then mutters a quick "Crap." as she notices just who is nearby, before she starts to scramble up onto her feet.
On the other hand, who ever she was talking too just up and vanishes all together!
Cessily edges closer along with Kurt. "I'm already noticed easily," she whispers. Kurt may be blue, but at least he doesn't reflect. She tilts her head slightly and thinks she heards something from that conversation. "Time travel?" she whispers, seemingly in disbelief. She's read of the X-Men's exploits, of course, but the idea of actual time travel still seems like something from science fiction, not life.
"Was.. time trav--" and yellow eyes move to Cessily, then to Hope.. and back before he realizes that he didn't necessarily answer a question. "Nein.. most do not because most do not wish to be on any list from the government." For obvious reasons, or perhaps reasons that will one day become more obvious to the girl.
It's back to Hope, however, that he turns his attention, and he calls out as he approaches, they approach. "Guten Abend, Fraulein.. it has been a little while since the park, ja?" Kurt looks around to make the gesture part of his words, "Sometimes it feels safer here, but it is not always."
And yet as Kurt gets closer, it looks like the non-silver redheaded girl is getting ready to bolt. Which may be a bit odd. then again...
"It has... 'Dad'." Yeah. Hope says that again, but well... There is a certain amount of snark in that, like she's joking or making a reference to some joke.
All though as her gaze flickers to Cess, she does pause for a moment.
"So, should I ask what brings you here, or should I just start running?"
"The...ferry?" Cessily says, pointing at the departing boat and making a deeply wrinkled, concerned face. "There's no reason to worry," she points out. "This is Mutant Town. We're mutants," she says, gesturing to herself and Kurt, as if it weren't already obvious.
Kurt remembers the park, and the fact that she'd .. shifted into him, after a fashion. He also remembers the vendor, always close.. but that wierdness is a little bit behind him. Now, he's curious once again, and he stops his approach.
"Nein," and he shakes his head. "You don't need to run. I'm here with a student of mine..." and he lets that sit in the air for a few moments before glancing at Cess..
"You know," Kurt begins again, those pupil-less yellow eyes watching Hope. "I have heard of dimension hopping.. but until the other night, I had never heard of time-travelling. Not until I met a giant robot named Death's Head. Fellow was about a hundred years off.. I think..."
"Only a hundred?" Hope tosses back, again with a certain amount of snark. Or at least that's before she lets out a /very/ faint chuckle. "He's lucky then. Heck, odds are he doesn't come from a point where things really have fallen apart."
Then well, there's yet another faint chuckle... Before something odd happens. It's as if somehow the redhead in greens skin is up and becoming silver?!? yeap. In fact it looks more like mercury than actual silver...
"And I kind of figured you were. Or at least I knew he was."
"So you're a...." Before Cessily can actually ask that, she's distracted by the other redhead's changing skin. It's like watching her own manifestation, on somebody who doesn't look so unlike herself, "I..." she sputters eyes going very wide. "What" she blubbers, her own body going a bit loose as she takes a step back and towards the side.
"I didn't stay to ask." It's nothing but a statement. No confession, no admission. Kurt shrugs lightly and takes another step forward only to find that the young woman is beginning to turn into Cessily.
His student's initial response is met with a shaking of his head. Kurt isn't sure what it is. He's seen Mystique's change, and somehow, this young woman's is a little different. It feels different, anyway. It may very well be the same. It is Cessily's movement, the sound of her voice that gains more of the elf's attention, and he looks to the girl, his expression.. studying, and compassionate.
Right.. time to take the girl away from all of this. While it may be completely safe, the girl losing control is not something that he wants to deal with here.. and now. Somewhere else is good. Like the ferry back to the City.
*bamf*
And as Kurt BAMFs away, taking Cessily with him, the redhead in the green outfit lets out a faint snerk as she shakes her head and her skin returns to normal.
"I did it to him last time. Guess that's fair."
It could be later...
It should be later...
In another part of Mutant Town...
There is a coffee shop with some outdoor tables. Sitting at one of the tables is a girl. The same girl. Only now she's dressed differently. Heck, she looks almost like she's in a different sort of uniform all together. A school uniform. White shirt with a blue, green, and brown plaid sweater over it, a skirt, knee socks, expensive looking shoes. It's more the thing from a high end private school rather than something people would wear in this rather not so nice part of town, but she is. And strangely enough the people who appear to live in this part of town aren't even giving her a second look, despite her wearing that...
Kurt BAMFs Cessily out, depositing her on the ferry, and getting some waves and looks from other passengers. The two of them talk and Kurt stabilizes Cessily. Cessily who, once her fear and shock feels increasingly embarassed. And confused. How did that all happen anyway?
The ferry returns a few hours later just with the silver girl, who puts her hands in her pockets as she stalks the dock, walking up Bay Street, just idly looking. It's a fortunate surprise, then, to come across the redhead hanging out at a coffee shop, of all place. Cessily watches her for a few minutes, to make sure it's really her. Steeling herself, Cessily walks up to the table and pulls up a chair, taking a seat. "Nice shoes," she says, looking nervous.
Yes, it is her. But as the other girl comes over... Or returns... Or how ever you want to put it...
Well, as she notices Cessily, Hope frowns. Then she takes a deep breath, which she then releases ever so slowly.
"They came with the uniform. I hate them to be honest, but I have to wear them with the school stuff, and it's not like I really have much else to wear."
Yeah. She doesn't ask the obvious question. Nor does she volunteer much information wise.
"Oh, what school?" Cessily asks. She pauses a moment and then shakes her head, rubbing her hands over them. "I'm sorry...I mean....what happened before. I didn't even know I could...do that," she says, her voice wobbling. "It must have been terrible," she says, her voice quieter.
"Terrible...?" is said before something odd happens. Namely... Hope bursts out laughing!
Heck, she just laughs for a bit before she tries to stop, but still, she giggles a bit in between words.
"That.... Was nothing. Compared to clones, aliens, cockroach soldiers, and other things that was /nothing/."
That is not a valid event number.
You have joined event "Academy of Tomorrow Open House."
Cessily goes rigid, sitting up straight and stiff with her hands on the table. "Is...that something that happens?" she asks, sounding concerned. "Seems like it'd be pretty terrifying..." she adds, thinking to when it happened to her. Terrifying didn't even cover it.
"They will happen." is said as the redhead girl who's in a school uniform just looks directly at the silver skinned girl. "Of course I shouldn't be talking about any of that. Especially not out in the open like this. /Especially/ not to a stranger. After all, if certain groups were to find out about this, well..."
"Let's just say that who knows how they could react."
But huh...? If she's saying this like this, then doesn't she already know, or...?
Kurt BAMFs Cessily out, depositing her on the ferry, and getting some waves and looks from other passengers. The two of them talk and Kurt stabilizes Cessily. Cessily who, once her fear and shock feels increasingly embarassed. And confused.
How did that all happen anyway?
The ferry returns a few hours later just with the silver girl, who puts her hands in her pockets as she stalks the dock, walking up Bay Street, just idly looking. It's a fortunate surprise, then, to come across the redhead hanging out at a coffee shop, of all place. Cessily watches her for a few minutes, to make sure it's really her. Steeling herself, Cessily walks up to the table and pulls up a chair, taking a seat. "Nice shoes," she says, looking nervous.
Yes, it is her. But as the other girl comes over... Or returns... Or how ever you want to put it...
Well, as she notices Cessily, Hope frowns. Then she takes a deep breath, which she then releases ever so slowly.
"They came with the uniform. I hate them to be honest, but I have to wear them with the school stuff, and it's not like I really have much else to wear."
Yeah. She doesn't ask the obvious question. Nor does she volunteer much information wise.
"Oh, what school?" Cessily asks. She pauses a moment and then shakes her head, rubbing her hands over them. "I'm sorry...I mean....what happened before. I didn't even know I could...do that," she says, her voice wobbling. "It must have been terrible," she says, her voice quieter.
"Terrible...?" is said before something odd happens. Namely... Hope bursts out laughing!
Heck, she just laughs for a bit before she tries to stop, but still, she giggles a bit in between words.
"That.... Was nothing. Compared to clones, aliens, cockroach soldiers, and other things that was /nothing/."
Cessily goes rigid, sitting up straight and stiff with her hands on the table. "Is...that something that happens?" she asks, sounding concerned. "Seems like it'd be pretty terrifying..." she adds, thinking to when it happened to her. Terrifying didn't even cover it.
"They will happen." is said as the redhead girl who's in a school uniform just looks directly at the silver skinned girl. "Of course I shouldn't be talking about any of that. Especially not out in the open like this. /Especially/ not to a stranger. After all, if certain groups were to find out about this, well..."
"Let's just say that who knows how they could react."
But huh...? If she's saying this like this, then doesn't she already know, or...?
"But you are," Cessily points out. She glances around, as expecting to see a 'Two Guys From Langley' pizza truck parked nearby or something. She doesn't, but in the process she twists herself nearly all the way around, before snapping back to being a more standard shape. "So you're like the Terminator?" she asks.
Hope starts to take a sip of her drink, only instead she ends up hearing /THAT/. Prompting her to in turn spit it out before letting out a loud "Hah!" at the terminator bit.
Or that's what /WOULD/ happen, complete with an explanation that if this was a Terminator movie her last name would be Conner.
/But/ since she doesn't get the reference, the girl in the school uniform blinks, and finishes her sip, offering her fellow redhead an odd, puzzled look.
"Do I even want to ask what you mean by that?" is said by Hope before she shakes her head. "Look, I said too much. And as is the X-Folk already know just enough to cause issues, so I should really just shut up."
"Ahunuld," Cessily asks, gesturing with her hands. "Robot from the future? Sent to change things? Um...it's a classic, and...." she trails off. "You have no idea what I'm talking about," she says with a faint sigh, which gets cut off when Hope name-drops. "X-Folk?" she asks. "I'm a..." she pauses and her voice drops. "Like who?" she asks, suddenly trying to be at least vaguely cagey.
There's a slight nod, "And I have no clue." as Hope sits back.
"Look, I'm not gonna claim I'm fearless, but let me just put it this way..."
Yeah, she noticed the reaction to the X-Folks thing.
"All the things I mentioned? How bad they get? I didn't scratch the surface. And they were all caused by one person. An X-Man who basically went crazy and decided that the best way to stop some 'bad future' they knew of was... Will be, to kill a baby, and when that fails, to chase them through time."
Cessily makes a face, confused. "For somebody who's not supposed to talk you're talking a lot," she says. The metal girl slouches faintly. "Oh no, is this one of those crazy nudgey strategy things?" she asks. Her eyes narrow. "Is this a test?" she wonders. She certainly wouldn't put it past Kurt to slip her into some kind of 'real life exam' for her nominal X-Men membership.
Slowly, Hope leans forward, and then.... Smiles?
"Look. Lets just say that the first few things were a test. How you reacted showed me certain things. What you do from here is all up to you. So if you want to call it a test, go ahead. Otherwise..."
There's a slight shrug.
"Let's just say that I'm getting a bit tired of running. I've been doing it all my life. I grew up in one bad future after another. And if a certain someone is in this time, and still connected to The X-Men, I'd rather face them head on."
Then though, there is a slump, and even possibly a sigh.
"And if they're not, then I just have to be careful, especially with the X-Men, if they even exist here and now. After all, if I haven't been born yet, then it's got to be close to happening..."
Cessily leans back in, as the odd girl goes on. "So you're really...." she asks, "...from the future? A possible future?" she asks. "That's....that's wild," she says. "What's your name?"
That grin grows, "I'm not hiding it." is said
"It may sound crazy. Heck, it is crazy. But for the first time in my life, I'm not running."
Then well, comes something else. Something else she knows could get a reaction. Her time around a certain telepath has made it clear how certain people can react to it.
"Call me Hope." Pause. "Hope Summers."
"No, you're sitting," Cessily says, a faint joke that barely lands. Cessily's eyes go wide and she stares Hope in the face, jaw slightly open. She manages to remember to close it, eventually. "I......okay," she says. "I'm Cessily. Kincaid."
And that reaction doesn't surprise Hope. At all.
"And I'm sorry if I'm coming off as some sort of... Well, I don't know what to call it. But it isn't nice or friendly, especially with how I keep baiting you with information, but don't share as much as you'd like or feel you need."
"Still, it's nice to meet you Cessily Kincaid."
"Prophetic?" Cessily suggests. "Doomsaying? Maybe your name should be Cassandra," Cessily says. She returns to a slouch in the chair. "No, it's not," she agrees. "I'm still not sure why. Who'm I? I'm nobody special."
Okay, now /that/ does earn Cess a laugh. Not one of the dark knowing laughs that Hope may have done earlier, but instead a more open and honest one, like the other girl actually said something funny.
"You're kidding right? I might not know who you are... I might not have heard your name before, but if there's /ONE/ thing I have learned it's that everyone is special, somehow. So don't sell yourself short."
Cessily blinks a few times. "I'm a mutant, sure, but...." she stretches her hand, turning it into a series of tendrils that she twists and flexes around, before bubbling her hand back into normal. "It's not as if I read minds or fly or shoot lasers. Hey, I haven't even started college yet. Why, what makes /you/ special, other than being spooky future girl." She pauses. Man, she should introduce Hope to Ruth.
"You're a mutant who is when and where she naturally belongs, who probably had a normal childhood, and does not have any insane maniacs trying to kill her. That makes you special in my book." is said with a slight grin before Hope sits back and shrugs.
"I'm a mutant too, but my powers are useless without other mutants around, which is why I /like/ Mutant Town. After all, if I need to 'borrow' something power wise I can always find it here in one form or another. Which could be helpful if /they/ ever find me."
Then there's a shrug.
"And if you want me to say more, I can. But odds are between Nate, that guy with the languages, that redhead telepath, the guy you were with earlier, his cold friend, and maybe others... Well, I'm probably an open book to you guys."
"Not yet," Cessily says, but then she frowns at the mention of childhood. "Not....really," she says, her head dropping down and shrinking in towards her shoulders. "At least I didn't hurt anybody," she offers weakly. And it's true, her manifestation didn't hurt anybody but herself, which was quite enough. "Oh, so that's how it happened. I never thought I could change others," CEssily observes.
"Um....who guys?" she asks, playing dumb for a moment. Probably not best to start name dropping in public, although those all sound rather like her teachers.
"Odds are you can't. But I can change myself. Sort of. When other mutants are near me, I sort of can copy what they can do. Which is still something I'm getting use to."
Yeah, as soon as that's said, Hope shrugs. All though she does look a bit curious at the whole 'manifestation happening' thing.
"Really? How'd it happen for you?"
Then though, there's a slight chuckle.
"And you know who I'm talking about. But I won't push that."
Cessily glances left and right furtively. "We're....not supposed to talk about it," she says. "We don't want anybody to get hurt or....make them targets." she says, and then nods. "I do, though. Yeah," she says. Cessily shifts awkwardly in her seat. This is the first time anybody's pinned her own own association with the X-Men.
"Badly," Cessily says, her voice sullen as she looks down. "I....melted," she says, voice shaking now. "It was horrible. Terrifying."
"As someone who already is a target, I understand." is said just barely above a whisper as Hope glances around. "Odds are I wouldn't of even figured out certain things if Nate Grey hadn't already let certain things slip to me..."
Yes. She did just say that name.
Then though, there's a wince.
"That does sound.... Bad. I'm sorry."
Cessily lets out a breath. "I don't like to talk about it. Or remember it," she says. "Oh, Nate," Cessily says with a slight nod and a look of amusement. "Doesn't that make him your brother?" she asks.
There's something between a shrug, and a shake of Hopes head at that.
"No. Heck no." is said before she... Laughs?
"He does kind of look like Nathan, the guy who raised me, but I /know/ it's not him. Or his clone. So he might be more like my uncle or something..."
Cessily smiles and tries to laugh back. "That must be very trippy. Seeing all the people you know but hwo you don't know," she says. "Is it hard?"
And here's where there a pause. A somewhat long one, as Hope glances away.
"Actually it isn't hard. Mainly because there's so few people I /have/ interacted with. That I know. I mean growing up, there was only me and the guy who raised me, and of course the insane guy trying to kill me. And we just kept jumping farther and farther down the line..."
"What is hard is seeing all of this. All the people. Alive and well. Going on, living their lives, while knowing what could happen to the world in the next thousand years, all because of me."
"Plague. Drought. Climate change. Nuclear war," Cessily says, counting them off on her fingers. "A thousand years is a long, long time and lots of bad stuff could happen. It's not like you'd cause all that. Any of that! Unless you become President, I guess. Seems kind of...well, kind of narcissistic to think you could," Cessily suggests. "Anyway, people've been predicting the end of the world since what, ancient Greece? And we're still here. Humans are pretty tough when you get down to it," she says rather confidently.
"Thanks to germ warfare. Due to nuclear weapons being used in America. Because of every continent being made unlivable by one weapon or another. And that's what did in Australia." says as she responds to those four things that Cess says.
"And no. I don't become President. But a Cockroach soldier does, and he leads his army of giant bug people to try and take out the rest of the normal humans so they can eat them."
Yes. That was also said with a straight face.
"And I know I was a cause because that wacko who's been trying to kill me? He basically used a bunch of super weapons to make every continent unlivable. each one in a different way. All so he could flush me out."
"And believe me when I say that. I saw it. Just like I saw the last humans on Earth killed."
Cessily's about to weigh in on that, when she stops. She pauses thoughtuflly and stares. "You really like yanking people's chain, don't you?" she asks. Cessily's shoulders drop. "Downer," Cessily says. "So can we stop it? Like, that's what you're here for, right? Warn us and we stop it and everything changes and bam, happiness?" she suggests, sneaking in a look of - no pun intended - hope on her face. "Because otherwise there's this rave up in the Bronx...."
"Actually that's /NOT/ why I'm here."
Yes, Hope did just admit to that.
"We were trying to get back, more towards a time not long after I was taken, but things went wrong. Jumped back and forth in time a lot, overshooting. Then I got separated from them and ended up here. As far as I can tell, before I was born. Now I have to be careful. After all, if I change things too much, I might /not/ end up being born."
Then there's a pause. And a blink.
"What's a rave?"
"So...you've come back..." Cessily says slowly, trying to make sure she has it right, "To save yourself?" she asks. She holds up both hands and puts her fingers together, E.T.-Style. "Do things explode if you touch yourself?" she asks. A pause. "It's....a kind of big party. You get very very drunk and don't remember it the next day."
There's a chuckle at that, before Hope shakes her head.
"More like I came back to be where I was suppose to be, but got sent somewhere else instead. And as far as I know, things don't explode when I touch them. That is unless I'm using a power that causes that."
But as for that party bit...?
"That sounds interesting. Not the being drunk bit, but the rest... It sounds like it /could/ be fun."
"I'm...just going to stop trying to get my head around it," Cessily admits. "I think it'll sieze up if I do." A faintly laugh. "It can be. Depends on the crowd. Sometimes if they're really up on something I get a lot of stares," she says. "Like I'm aluminum foil...."
"Aluminum... Foil?" is said before Hope lets out a faint laugh of her own.
"I could sort of see that. If they were high enough. Or you were doing something strange..."
Cessily bats her eyes. "Other than just being me?" she asks dryly.
Unable to help herself, Hope just laughs at that.
Cessily laughs too, if for no other reason than to go along. "You seem less spooky than before," she tells Hope. "Better stop laughing or you'll wreck your mystique."
And yet Hope does laugh for a moment or two after that's said, before it finally lessens and stops.
"I wasn't trying to be spooky. As I said, I'm tired of running. I'm just trying to draw the person I mentioned out, so they can be dealt with. That way I might finally be able to /live my life/. At this rate though I might have to do things that are a bit more extreme to do that, especially since things he may have already done didn't work out."
Cessily ahs and brushes at her hair. "I hope it works," she says. "I can't imagine having to run, like all the time. I mean you're what, my age?" she asks, gesturing between the two of them.
With a smile Hope manages a slight, "I guess. Between time travel and some sort of suspended animation for a bit, my age isn't exactly something that can be sorted out easily."
Then there's a nod.
"And I hope it works too. Still... You mentioned something about a party...?"
Cessily grins. "I'll need to go change and everything but yeah, party," she says with a nod. "I can meet you later? Grand Central?
There's a slight nod at that, as Hope says, "Barring another attack from some religious nut jobs... Or the like, I'll see you there!"
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