2013.03.16 - Diner Confessions

What a week! Domino's tracked Jocelyn down once, already. That night also led to the freak encounter of another mysterious mercenary, as well as a peculiar lead which had her come right back to the area for a little fun and games involving a classic car. Now she's out around Port Jarvis, stepping on into a small diner in all of her black-clad, purple sunglasses-wearing glory. Maybe it's instinct that leads her out this way. Maybe it's plain dumb luck. But (and this is the honest truth,) she's not actively pursuing Jocelyn anymore.
Sometimes things just have a way of working out on their own with this mutant.
Jocelyn had decided she had to lay low. Her few reliable contacts had indicated a lot of people had been making inquiries. So, she figured that if she made any trips back to Detroit, not only would all of the local underworld know it in a heartbeat, but all the cops would, too. Not to mention that she suspected anyone else looking for her would start there. So, it made perfect sense to Jocelyn to hit up some sleepy little town, after applying some more serious disguise work. Alter the face with a (very good, but still fake) tattoo, mess with the hair, and it draws everyone's attention away from the height, which she couldn't change without serious medical intervention. She just wasn't quite that dedicated though.
She'd stayed the night at a hotel in Jarvis, and was out taking a little bit of a walk. She's got a pair of slim sunglasses on, covering her eyes, as she walks along the street. She's still on high alert, but she needed some space to plot out her next move, and the hotel room was a little too cramped for her.
Then luck intervenes.
As Jocelyn turns the corner and steps into a diner, she spots an increasingly-familiar psionic signature. More than that, she spots Domino herself this time, having not had to make some guesses from on a mountain this time. Well, now it was time to see if her disguise worked or not, because if she reacted in any way, it'd be way too obvious. The girl continues forward into line, stopping right behind Domino. She knew Domino would be perfectly aware of someone making an abrupt change in direction, even if they were behind her. The woman was too perceptive to not notice.
Let's face it, it's not so easy to sneak up behind someone in a line and be inconspicuous when your presence casts a shadow over the person ahead of you. A reflection in Domino's lenses, a feeling of something being out of place, and she turns her head as though to look at the dessert offerings only to look beyond that with her shielded eyes to the woman standing behind her. Definitely tall. Not many women of -that- stature around this city, for as many people as it contains.
Is that really..?
Her head dips forward slightly, helping to hide the smirk that crosses her darkened lips. But, nothing is said. Not a word. She continues to wait in line until it's her turn to order. Her selection gets locked down. Then, out of the blue, she thumbs over to the tall girl and says "And whatever she's having."
Go ahead, Jocelyn. Make your move and run away this time. Only one that'd be making a scene here is you.
Jocelyn can play this game. If Domino is going to pay for the meal, then Jocelyn would play along. Jocelyn makes her order casually, lifting up her sunglasses briefly and setting them on top of her head. When asked for a name, she gives the name 'Veronica' to the woman taking their order. It's a seat yourself place, and so Jocelyn steps forward towards a booth near the back. There is an emergency exit door next to the booth, however, and Jocelyn makes sure to slide into the seat that is closest to that door.
There might not be much Jocelyn can do to hide her height, no, but she was at least giving it as good of an effort as she could with her resources. It's a good thing she doesn't see that hidden smirk, or she might be annoyed with Domino. Instead, she simply waits to see if Domino joins her or not, having not physically looked back to see if she would be. She also knew Domino wasn't going to be making a scene here. It was way too public of a place, even if it wasn't especially busy, since the town wasn't exactly all that huge.
There's always a chance of Domino making a scene, the location doesn't matter. In this instance, it's far from her thoughts. Instead she assembles her coffee, which takes little time on count of going with no frills straight black, then she settles into the seat across from the wayward mutant.
"You're really dedicated to seeing this through," she off-handedly observes. "Seem to have everything figured out, except one little detail. You haven't actually left yet. So what's eating you, kiddo? Not quite ready to face your demons?"
Now and then, things really are that simple. She's not about to complicate matters any. At least this time it isn't some crazy game of cat and mouse. You want a free lunch, you sit right there and share some words with the pale mercenary. Otherwise, the exits have already been mapped out by the two women present at this table.
"It's too hot in a couple places I need to go," Jocelyn says. She takes a drink of the Dr. Pepper she ordered as she speaks with the mercenary. "Too many people asking too many questions. I'll get made in a heartbeat. So it's best to stay low for a little bit and keep out of site. More than just the cops kicking around, too". She keeps her voice low enough to avoid being overheard. She's done this song and dance before.
"It's a simple matter of practicality. Besides, I got a couple specific people I need to talk to, and word is they're on the move now. Need to let them land before I pay them a visit". Another drink is taken. "If things got hairy, I'd have been there," she adds. She'd been nearby, just in case, on the mountain. She doesn't elaborate on that point further, however.
No elaboration is required to settle any curiosity that Domino might be feeling toward the matter, either. Instead she kicks back in the booth, tucking her shoulders into the far corner near the window and hooking her ankles together on the far edge of the seat. She'll just go ahead and make herself comfy, here.
"You could always ask for a lift, you know."
The offer is left hanging for a moment as she downs more of her coffee. "No authorities. No checkpoints. No unwanted heat. I can get you there and get you back, easy as easy goes."
There's probably -some- reason why she would make such an offer, and free of charge? Any additional motives are kept to herself, focusing strictly on what it is that you're looking for. What -you- want. Sometimes that's enough of a motivation in itself.
"This is all part of that whole 'Things they wouldn't want you to tell me' job you've got, isn't it," Jocelyn says. It isn't a question. Their food arrives, and Jocelyn starts in on the chicken she ordered. "Travel time isn't a huge problem for me, but I appreciate it. I just want to find out why someone thinks messing with my name and running it through the mud is needed. Then I need to fix it". That's her line, anyway. "I wouldn't want anyone else getting hurt because of me". There's another sip of her Dr. Pepper as she speaks, not really making much in the way of eye contact with Domino at this point.
The matter is given a moment of thought before Domino responds, "Not really."
Before another thought can leave her mouth she's darting a hand out to swipe a fry from her tray, been a while since she's eaten.
"You're way past the bullshitting stage, so I'm gonna lay this out for you, plain and straightforward. I'm there for security help. This -might- entail retrieving and returning those who decided to take a walk and not stop. We both know that isn't going to work with you. Wouldn't even want to try."
Another fry is selected for systematic termination, quickly disappearing after the first.
"There's something called compromise, here. The path of least resistance. You're stuck in this self-propagating loop. So long as you're caught up with this you're putting your life on hold. The life at the school, a shot at improving yourself and your future. We could be on the road as soon as we're done eating. The sooner we get you there, the sooner you can take care of matters, the sooner we can get back and let you get on with your new life."
She can also keep an eye on you and make sure that you're safe along the way, but that much doesn't need to be said.
"I know you're all gung-ho about doing this on your own, but you don't have to. Don't let personal emotion overrule rational thought." Gods know Dom does enough of that for everyone in this freaking city.
Jocelyn considers that for a moment. She's at least come out of pure rabbit mode, and is willing to listen. She continues to work on her meal. It was nice to have a meal that didn't rely on certain other means to acquire it. "You make sense," Jocelyn says after a moment of considering her words. "I don't know if you'll want to. Not everything in that article was false. A lot of it was complete shit, but some wasn't. When I...". There's a pause as she considers her words. "...When I learned my current skills, I didn't have control the first time it happened. When that happens, I tend to explode. Don't have any control over it. Only adult who ever gave a crap about me left me that day".
The girl frowns as she takes another drink of her soda. She's got her emotions pretty well in check. She'd mostly come to terms with it emotionally awhile ago. "Most of that other stuff, I didn't have anything to do with though. That's just trumped up stuff for the cops to pin on to look good when they solve the case".
Domino figured this would be the case. Even then, it's apparently not that big of a deal to her. "Yeah, and..?" she inquires with an expectant look. "Look, I've been around the block a few times. Seen a lot of real ugly things. Kids with gifts like ours and no instruction manual, stuff like that is going to happen. It sucks, but it's the truth. You're not the first one to have gone through something like this. Now I don't care if you're looking for forgiveness or acceptance, with me you're only going to find indifference. You're a good kid, 'Veronica.' Something tells me you didn't mean for any of that to happen. I'm not about to judge you over old news."
Some kill by accident, some for money.
"Come back to the present and consider for a moment that you're living in an environment where people care about you and understand what you're going through. No one there threw you out on the curb because of this. I get the need to clear your name, completely. It's part of why I'm here. It's your life so you make the final call, but there's people who are worried about you. The last few days I haven't seen a whole lot of progress made on your end, either. Commit or come home and wait for your window, no one wins when you rush forward half-cocked."
Jocelyn doesn't argue the point as she continues to drink and eat. She recognizes when the point being made is true. There isn't any sense in arguing against the truth, and she figured that Domino wasn't going to be the one to judge her. Some of the others might; she knew that much. She could name a few who had probably rushed to conclusions well before it was known she was even missing anyway, though. But, that was human nature, wasn't it?
"Going home is akin to going back to a prison cell. A very nice, well equipped prison cell, but one just the same. Think I'd have a chance to go take a walk in the city once I was back there?" Jocelyn knew the answer to that question, at least in her mind she thought she did, so she continues on. "Pressing on is what I have to do. I'm just trying to figure out the next move. If you're serious about coming with, then I'll fill you in on what I know". It's the first indication that she was willing to accept some sort of help on this.
It's easy for Dom to see this as not being a mistake on her part. She's helped much shadier people with much shadier problems than this one. That they might end up having to dodge the police is of no consequence, either. She's already exchanged gunfire with the men and women in blue, it's an occupational hazard.
What could possibly turn out to be a bad idea with this run?
"Only if you're willing to take the offer. I try not to make a habit of drugging children and throwing them into the trunk. Once they get at the interior things get ugly real quick." The comment ends with a thin smirk before she utterly destroys another pair of fries. Cooked to perfection.
"Been getting way too restless, anyway." Her injuries will heal just as well on the road as they will lying around in a bed watching reruns.
"You got a trunk that'll hold me, do you?" Jocelyn replies. She would be rather tricky to stuff into a trunk, though someone who was really determined might manage to do it. She didn't actually want to think too hard about that.
"I'll take it," the teen says after a few moments. She just hoped she could keep Domino from getting hurt, a thought that she figured Domino would find both amusing and possibly insulting. She takes another bite of her chicken. "I'll fill you in a bit after the meal. I've been spoiled the last month". A month. Was it really only a month she'd been at Xavier's? It felt like a lifetime, in certain regards.
"It's all in the technique," Domino easily replies as though she's done this very thing several times already.
The matter of getting caught up to speed is waved off, "Don't worry about it. We'll be freeway-bound for several hours, plenty of time for detail digestion. Relax, enjoy lunch, and we'll get this ball rolling good and proper."
"Alright, works for me. Oh. And I did tell Laura some of my plans, when she tracked me down". Yes, someone else from the school tracked her arse down. Granted, she got on it before Domino, and had supernatural senses of cheating. Laura was supposed to let some people know she was alright, at least at the time.
"So, how did your campfire date go the other night?" the teenager adds with a hint of levity, but with a hint of seriousness behind it. She couldn't really ask how things went with the really crazy dude on the mountain after she left. Not in a diner.
Well, at least you let -some- people know what was going down, though it still took someone else finding you in a city of eight bazillion people first. Little steps, right?
"Why am I not surprised," she mutters to herself. No, of -course- Laura would have already found you. There's another student that should learn to not run off on her own like that. Darned kids.
"Unexpected," Domino replies honestly. "It's always unsettling when someone knows more about you than you do about them. Shouldn't complain too much though, he seemed to have his head on straight. Decent cook. Though for the record, I'm not a big fan of being left hanging by a thread from the side of a mountain." Yeah, she's looking at you.
Jocelyn couldn't have left a note. See the whole thing about effectively being in a prison for details. Or at least in Joce's mind. Jocelyn shakes her head. "Well, hey. She is my roommate. Has some idea what I might do". There's a match made in heaven for ya. Just imagine how...spartan that room must look.
"I know that feeling all too well," Jocelyn says with regards to him knowing that sort of thing. "He seemed a rather clever sort, from the conversation I had with him. And yeah. Sorry. I got spooked. Doesn't happen often, but...". She trails off and disappears into her drink. She did feel bad about that, but then again, it wasn't like she was going to fly Domino down the mountain. Not with Slade right there. She was perfectly content letting him think it was all graceful hopping.
Category:Log