10811/So You're a Biggun, Aren'tcha

So You're a Biggun, Aren'tcha
Date of Scene:	21 January 2020
Location:	Common Room, X-Factor Investigations, Williamsburg
Synopsis:	Strong Guy discovers the reason Hot Pockets have their name
Cast of Characters:	Vi, Strong Guy

---

Vi has posed:
It's evening. Jamie is off on a case. For a change, there aren't more than a half-dozen Duplicates about either. Three of them are down in the basement arguing over some renovation project they have going on. One is watching kitten videos on Youtube, while another just mumbled something and closed and locked a door behind himself.

So pretty much life as usual at X-factor, just in lower numbers.

Vi comes out, wearing a pair of boxers and a sweatshirt with the SHIELD logo on it. Her feet are clad in a pair of socks. "I should maybe get some of those soft shoes the girls at the school wear," she comments to herself as she heads for the kitchen. The place can be a little drafty, which is why the heat is often cranked. When the furnace is working.

Vi heads into the kitchen, going to the freezer and pulling out a Hot Pocket. She's learned how to work the microwave, the largest source of food for herself and the Madri, though sometimes one Jamie or another with an affinity for cooking will make a real meal. Not today though. Vi pulls out a pepperoni pizza one and tosses it into the microwave, starting it up and then tapping her foot in time to some song that's been stuck in her head since the trip to Birdland Jazz Club. Her back is to the entrance to the kitchen.

Strong Guy has posed:
"Hey, Madrox," a deep, rumbling voice calls from the hallway. Booming steps increase in volume and reverberation to the kitchen entrance. "I wuz gonna make a sandwich, and I swear to God, if you still have that trick mayo jar, I'm gonna--"

The voice stops suddenly, its owner--a large man with a massive upper body that nearly eclipses the doorway--cringing broadly, his eyes wide. "Aw, hell--I'm sorry, lady! Thought you mighta been Jamie. You know where he is? And, uh, who are you, exactly?" He scratches the bald top of his head with a finger, his cringe becoming a frown. "I really gotta start learnin' staff names before I make myself at home..."

Vi has posed:
Vi turns around as she hears the voice and the heavy footfalls. They get closer, and heavier-sounding, until by the time Guido makes the doorway, Vi's eyebrows are starting to creep a little higher at who, or what, exactly is coming.

When the immense man actually does make it through the doorway, practically needing a sideways turn to clear the door frame, Vi's eyebrows go the rest of the way up. Though she quickly pushes the surprised look from her face. She got used to seeing any number of unusual looking people at the school. Though even with the clientele having so many mutants, Strong Guy is definitely one who stands out enough it took her a second to hide her surprise.

The brunette is a small thing, not just shortish, but slender through the body, though one would put her at the tail end of her teenage years once they saw her face. "Hello," she offers, glancing about to see if any Madri have followed him in. Apparently not. "I'm Vi. One of the employees here at X-Factor. Or, the employee. I'm not sure if the other Jamie's count as more than one or not. Technically," she says, giving a little shoulder shrug. "He's out dealing with a case," she explains of Jamie's absence. "Can I... um, get you a Hot Pocket?" she asks.

Strong Guy has posed:
For a long moment, the large man stares down at vi, his frown excessive.

Then, he speaks. "...what flavor hot pocket?"

He steps into the kitchen slowly and delicately, maneuvering through the doorway as though it's something he's done a thousand times. "I'm Guido. Sometimes called 'Strong Guy.' Maybe you've heard'a me. I'm sure Jamie's told hundreds an' hundreds of stories about me."

His deep frown becomes a toothy grin, and he waves a hand back over the crest of his head, smoothing out the tuft of white hair sitting there. "Pleasedta meetcha."

Vi has posed:
Vi gives Guido a welcoming smile as he introduces himself, and she reaches over to offer him her hand to shake. "Nice to meet you as well. Oh, so you're THAT Guido," she says, not sure if she's heard a Guido story or not as Jamie kind of meanders in his story-telling, using references that usually fly over Vi's head.

After any handshake, she heads over to the freezer, opening it to reveal one whole half of it is filled with boxes of Hot Pockets. "There's pepperoni - those are really good - and cheese, and there's a steak one, and..." Vi pulls one out and looks at it. It kind of looks like she's sounding out the words on the box, before saying, "Meatballs and moz... moz... moz-ah-rella with... gar... lic." She looks bakc up to him to see if any of those sound appetizing. "And there's Dr. Pepper, and beer, and... there's a lot of alcohol here," she says, not trying to go through them all since she doesn't know what half of them are still. "If you want a drink."

Strong Guy has posed:
Guido's hand engulfs most of Vi's forearm, but he politely completes the shake motion regardless. "Yep, that's me, alright," he says with a hint of pride. "I'd ask ya yer favorite story, but why begin there? We got at least an entire hot pocket heat-up--oh, and pepperoni, of course--to learn about what you like most."

He folds his arms across his chest and looks around. "So how long you been involved in this whole operation? An' how many times've you had to deal with a line of dupes waitin' fer the bathroom? Or was that just a gag he ran on me?" Guido trails off, furrowing his brow in thought for a moment, but then he shakes his head. "Naw..."

Vi has posed:
The microwave chimes and Vi goes to retrieve the contents. One Hot Pocket, made according to instructions, which means the insides are probably super molten. Like taking a bite from a volcano. Or maybe the Sun. "Here, you can have this one, I'll start another," she says of the pepperoni pastry of intense heat. "Be really careful. They'll burn your mouth, lips and tongue if you don't let them breathe first," she warns, eyes a little wide as if Vi had recent experiences along this line.

The slight girl heads back over to the freezer to get another and place it in the microwave. "Oh, it's been, what. A month or two I guess. I'm not the best at keeping track of time. Every day seems like there's so much in it, they kind of run together," she admits. The young woman moves to the fridge to get a pair of drinks. "Well, the lines do happen. Though they usually let me through. Though sometimes they tell me I have to wait a few minutes for the fan to work before they'll let me in."

She pauses, then adds, "That happens a lot, actually."

Strong Guy has posed:
"Yeah, yeah, sure. I know the drill," Guido replies smugly. He then tosses the entire hot pocket into his mouth.

Maybe three seconds later, he starts coughing violently and pantomimes for a drink. Then, he begins pounding on the table. it cracks slightly, and he stops. "*KAFF* ... *KRFFLF* ... oh, crap, this is hot! *KRNFGLRF*"

Vi has posed:
As Vi sees Guido about to toss the whole Hot Pocket into his mouth, her eyes open a bit wide and she starts to open her mouth to repeat her warning. But then she stops herself, perhaps thinking immunity to molten lava is part of his mutant power.

Nope. Apparently not.

Vi rushes over with the drinks, two cans of soda, opening one and passing it to Guido. She'll be ready to open the other and let him have that too, if needed. "Kind of... warm," she confirms softly. "I try to tear the end off and let the steam out first," she says, giving a little waggle of her fingers, talking with her hands.

She heads back over to the fridge to get more drinks then, glancing back, and up, up, up to see if the immense Strong Guy is going to be ok. "You ok?" she asks. "Really got me good, the first time I made one," she says to make him feel better about it.

Strong Guy has posed:
Grabbing the one open soda with one hand, Guido chugs it and snatches the other, popping it open to fill his mouth even as the first can is emptied.

When he's able to breathe again, having swallowed all the soda, he exhales a long, deep breath accompanied by a sound: "Whhhhoooooooooooofffff."

Guido shakes his head, wiping tears from his cheeks, and he offers a weak smile to Vi. "Thanks for dat. Guess that shows me, huh? Get hungry enough and anybody can become a dummy, I guess. All the same, though, keep that from Madrox? Last thing I need's another reason fer him ta goof on me."

He sighs again, calmer. "So. Now dat dat's outta the way, how you like the business of bein' a detective? Ah, assumin' yer on the field team, I guess."

Vi has posed:
Vi gives Guido a soft, pretty smile. "I won't tell Jamie," she promises with a nod. "He finds enough ways to poke fun at people without feeding him extra, right?" she tells Guido with a small grin.

The petite girl hears the microwave's chime and heads over to it. "Do you want more to eat? There are other things besides Hot Pockets too. Just... those are easiest to make, I find," she says. "There might be some cold pizza though, now that I think about it. A woman that Jamie helped track down her old, old boyfriend, sent over six of them. Which, usually wouldn't be enough, but there aren't as many of Jamie about today."

She goes to peek in the fridge. "Yep, two slices left," she offers before straightening to look back to Guido. "Oh, I'm loving it. I don't do a whole lot of detective stuff. Just help around the office. I'm kind of new to... to here. The city and... and I didn't grow up somewhere like this so there's a lot of 'new' for me to take in," she explains. "What about you? Were you coming to get help? Or just to say hi, or something else?" she inquires.

Strong Guy has posed:
"You got that right," Guido says with a smirk. "If there's one person who don't need 'extra' anything, it's him."

As Vi deals with the microwave, the large man waves a hand. "No, no, no. Don't worry 'bout it. It wuz just there an' easy ta get. You--you wanted ta eat. You eat. I'll order somethin' if I need it." Even as he speaks, though, Guido casually steps to the fridge and retrieves the pizza slices.

"New to New York, huh? Well, what a place to live in, am I right?" Guido chuckles and bites into one of the cold slices. "Lucky fer you, Madrox 'n me are like two--or two dozen--fantastic tour guides. We'll getcha squared away."

He chews loudly and grins. "I'm an integral member of this here bizness. I'm, like, whaddaya call it. I'm yer huckleberry. Yessiree. You need muscle? You need intimidation? You need charisma out the wazoo?"

Vi has posed:
Huckleberry goes on Vi's mental list of words to look up later. "If we need muscle, you certainly seem to have a lot of it!" Vi says, taking a moment to look at Guido more openly now. She'd avoided staring too much when he first came in, as if figuring he probably gets that from other people and not wanting to add to it.

"So, you're a mutant I guess?" she asks. "Or... I guess there are people who aren't, too, just I know Jamie helps a lot of people who are," she tells him. She takes the plate with the hot pocket over to a chair, setting down at the table. She tears off a corner of the pastry and starts blowing into it, the hot steam billowing up out of it, enough to scald all on its own.

"Yeah, sort of new to everywhere," she admits. The nineteen year old's face lights up a bit though. "Thank you, that would be nice. Jamie has been showing me around a lot. One good thing is there's always one of him free when I've got the time to go exploring with," she tells him. "I didn't realize anyone else worked here. It's nice to have you here though, Guido," the girl offers in a friendly tone. "Do you do the detective work as well?"

Strong Guy has posed:
Nodding, Guido finishes the slice of pizza. "Yep, that's right. Mutant, out an' proud--not that it's real easy to hide a sweet bod like mine." He laughs, bits of pizza flying about.

"I do a bit. I also do some security work at my buddy Sam's club. So when you wanna meet people, we'll get you in the door there. He's a mutant, too." Guido pauses for a second. "Howzabout you? You got the gene? Or did Madrox just really take a shine to ya?"

Vi has posed:
When Guido makes the comment about hiding a sweet bod, Vi gives an exaggerated sigh of commiseration. "I know, right?" she asks, gesturing down to herself with an expression probably meant to be something that would fit in Housewives of Some City Or Another. If she knew those shows existed. Though her lips are quirked with a grin. There's not a lot special about her body, beyond her small size, and the normal feminine curves.

She flashes that grin to him though and then gives a little nod. "I do," she tells him. "It's how Jamie and I met, through some other mutants," she explains. "And he took me... it was my first real time seeing the city, from anything other than a car, mostly. We went up the... the State Building? The really tall one? And saw the city at night. All the lights," she says, her face lighting up quite a bit at the memory.

"And, maybe the shine part too," she adds more demurely.

Strong Guy has posed:
Guido chuckles and nods, wiping his mouth. "Sure, sure, that's one kinda tour you could take of the city. I'll have to get the both of ya out there--just so's I can show Jamie where he should /really/ be takin' people." He mutters, "Yeesh."

Clearing his throat and chewing on the other slice of cold pizza, Guido smiles. "Glad ta have another mutant colleague hereabouts. We gotta stick together, am I right?" He holds up a fist. "Speakin'a which, there any cases I need to get sicc'ed on?"

Vi has posed:
Vi sees the fist raised, and it takes her a second, but then she seems to recognize what he's doing with it, and she daps it appropriately. "Yes, it seems like it's safest and all," she says, her voice growing a little more somber. "I hadn't realized people react how they do, to mutants. I hadn't even known there were mutants, until, well, until me," she says quietly.

The pastry is cool enough now Vi takes a tentative bite. No scalding. She lets out a little sigh as if she's sating some serious hunger there. "Cases. Ah, there's a stolen car that had some stuff in it that they want back more than the car. And a man who swindled some people out of money that we're trying to find."

Vi pauses a moment, debating whether to bring up the rogue Dupe out there, but decides that should be Jamie's story to tell.

Strong Guy has posed:
"Awright," Guido says cheerfully. "I get my choice of two? Dat's music to my ears." He shoves the rest of the pizza in his mouth, chewing slowly.

"I'm gubbah ... go ... reeb ub ... om beez dazes," he manages to say, brushing his hands off on one another. "Mife doo meeb oo." With a wide smile full of pizza bits, Guido begins maneuvering his way back through the doorway. "Fangs agaim!"

Vi has posed:
Vi seems to understand talking with one's mouth full. But then she's been working with Jamie for awhile now. "Nice to meet you too, Guido," she tells him, giving the huge man a friendly smiles as he gets up and begins to head out.

She glances at him and then back to the refrigerators that already hold a lot of food given how many of Jamie there are. They might need to add another, she muses.