11102/House Call

House Call
Date of Scene:	20 February 2020
Location:	Main Foyer - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Doctor Banner makes a house call. Pleasant talk and coffee is shared, and a mentor is found.
Cast of Characters:	Nightingale, Cannonball, Pixie, Hulk, Gambit, Samuel Morgan

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Nightingale has posed:
     It had been some months since Bean had been brought home safely by the most unlikely prospect of all--the Hulk. It had been quite the day for all concerned, with a friend returned safely, preconceptions shattered, and a generally good evening had by all. It had seemed, perhaps, as if that was that, as few if any ever spoke of the occasion again.

     But it was never quite forgotten. And things have a way of turning up again when least expected.

     A familiar winged healer is perched on the bottom of the stairwell leading to the second floor, her laptop on her lap, a small MIDI keyboard controller off to one side, a paper plate with a couple slices of mushroom and onion pizza on it on the other, and headphones over her ears. She's dressed in a wine-colored tunic sweater, dark blue jeans, and is, for the moment, in her stocking feet. She's humming happily away and munching on the pizza, stopping on occasion to use the little MIDI controller to enter in a few notes, test the melody, and make a few changes.

     She had never quite forgotten that day, nor the surprising gentility of someone whose reputation as the big green guy was... well... intimidating. Sometimes, she wondered what he was like otherwise, but never counted on ever being able to find out.

     So when someone with Avengers clearance was allowed through the front gate, and admitted to school grounds, it was likely to be something of a surprise for all....

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking down the stairs and seeing Shannon on the stairs he will vault over the side kicking the blast in just a moment to land on the ground floor looking over to Shannon "So, you met his siblings yet?" He will ask her. The young man seems to playfully picking with her a bit

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn yawns and stretches as she climbs down the foyer steps, rubbing her eyes as she just got through some crazy long exam. She could do with some fresh air, maybe pizza!? "Ooooooh need help eating that?" She flutters the rest if the way down, peering  at Shannon"s foodie.

Hulk has posed:
It's probably not everyday a mobile home is brought into the Xavier's School parking lot.

It's almost certainly not everyday a man wearing what looks to be a modified Fantastic Four blue uniform comes out of said mobile home.

That all said, he had to announce himself as an Avenger to get in without complaint. Using a fake ID would probably be useless here after all, given that most people here probably know his face... and so Bruce Banner is here as himself.

For once.

Stepping up to the front of the building, one hand is in a pocket in the uniform, while another is waving sheepishly up to the cameras.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau is working the security Room today... So go figure this would be when Guests arive. He sighs a bit and flips the switch that he thinks will connect him to the Professors office...and is instead the School wide intercom. "'Ey dare. Jus' figured yah'd like ta know, De 'Ulk is outside de gates. Yah wan' me ta let 'im in'fore 'e goes on a rampage an' wrecks Storm's rose garden? Merdi, c'est le mauvais interrupteur!" then switches off.

Nightingale has posed:
     The message over the intercom got the attention of more than a few students, with rumors flying in a matter of minutes. Shannon eases her headphones off and lets them drape around her neck, listening to the crazy Cajun's voice ringing out with definite irritation. She snerks, understanding every single word, including the colorful metaphors. But then it hits her, laughter dying down, and brows furrowing.

     Rampage? Wait... the Hulk was back?

     Yeah, best not to keep this one waiting. She closes up her laptop, and sets her things aside in a neat pile down on the ground, tucked away under a half-moon table where it was unlikely anyone would step on it. She'd have to get to that later. The remaining pieces of pizza are held up to Megan and she chuckles. "Yeah, just save one of those for me, huh? That's some seriously good pie." Sam gets a dirty look, and a swat from her with one wing, the teen going very rosy in the face. "Haven't met them yet, but ummm, think we'd better tend to our guest first?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and is already heading towards the door, as he says "Shannon Megan both to the air, if I call for it I want a heavy dusting on green." He will hit his com as he is heading out "Prof, Jean, or someone who can handle this with a less violet bent able to get here, heading out the front door now."

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn ooooohs and instantly descends on said pizza! Like a vulture!! And eats a lot! But saves some for Shannon...Then there's that weird crazy announcement about the hulk and she nearly chokes, peering around. "Meeep! Hulk? Rampaging? Eep, where is he?" she blinks at Sam and nods, taking to the air, peering around, "Just Tell me where!"

Hulk has posed:
Well. He /was/ waving, until that announcement. Deep breaths. This is a school of unpredictable abilities. It'll be fine.

Everything is fine.

"I'm not here to go on a rampage! Stop with the theatrics!" Comes the now yelling voice of Bruce Banner, who can easily be heard inside the school now.

The Hulk, having a human voice.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau contacts the Professor correctly this time and then gets back on the school wide com. "Everyone De 'Ulk is not 'ere. Ah mean, de 'Ulk /is/ 'ere but dat's no reason ta panic. actually de 'Ulk being 'ere /is/ reason ta panic, but don' panic cuz de 'Ulk isn' being de 'Ulk at dis time. So don't. Dis time." He clicks off... then clicks on and adds "Dat is all."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just does a double facepalm, groaning lightly. "Remy... c'est de la merde!" Really, he had a way of stepping in it but good at times! She'd learned her lesson the hard way about following orders and follows close behind Sam, winging her way into the air--and trying not to hit her head on the ceiling. Or smack anything else around with her more than considerable wingspan.

     One vase does wobble on its table a bit, but then settles down. She breathes a sigh of relief, and then waits. This was going to be most interesting....

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie is outside pretty quick with the ladies following him. He hears the next anouncement and sighs a bit "Ok ladies stand down." Sam will slow from a run to a walk, and looks around to get an idea on whats up "Dr. Banner, welcome to the school, how can we help you." He says as he is getting closer to speaking range.

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn pouts, "Awwe, really? Nooo funnn..." she makes a face but lands on the floor again, waiting and smiling to Dr. Banner as he makes his appearance. "Oooh are you the big green guy? I mean you don't look so big or green or scary...Err, I mean...Hiii! Are you gonna be a teacher here?" she peeks at him curiously, wondering if he's at least slightly green...

Hulk has posed:
"YOU. ARE. NOT. HELPING!" The voice is even /louder/ now, if one can believe that. It can probably be heard throughout the entire school at tha volume.

Then, everyone is coming out to meet him, and another sheepish wave is given, "Hello. I'm Bruce Banner... and no, I'm not green. Green is The Other Guy." Bruce explains, "The Other Guy only comes out when I'm threatened... which is why he-" Bruce points a finger to the intercom, "- isn't helping anyone with that."

Bruce is completely pinkskinned, like a normal human.

Of course, Bruce Banner is very not normal... and he is publicly known as the man who transforms into the Hulk when he's angry.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    It had been a fairly quiet evening for Bean. Exams are things that happen mostly to other people, and his own work was currently being scrutinised by a panel somewhere else in the State. That left him with plenty of time to work on music and generally relax, which he has taken to doing in his room, in the company of Bear.

    It /was/ a quiet evening, until the PA system made its announcement.

    So down the staircase he comes, Bear by his side, shaking his head at the follow up message, heading towards the front door.

    "Doctor Banner, it's so good to see you again." It's said with a genuine smile. If it hadn't been for the good Doctor, he'd have been taken that day. So he advances with a hand held out, like a normal person.

    It's most peculiar.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau is sorry. :beats his head off of the desk in the coms room a few times and then stands, figuring he should at least go out and apologize for making himself an ass to the schools guest...

Nightingale has posed:
     This... was different. Shannon peers curiously at Doctor Banner from the air for a moment, close enough that the wind from her wings might be felt. It was a little difficult to reconcile two such vastly different images of the same person. Yet they were two sides of the same coin. She smiles, finally backwinging her way to a landing just to the right of Sam, tucking those large, snowy feathered wings in behind her. "Doctor Banner... a pleasure to see you again." While perhaps a little cautious, there had been surprising gentility from The Other Guy, that made fear a non-issue. Bean's arrival, too, is met with a smile, and a nod.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie steps forward offers his hand "Sam Guthrie, student, guidance counslor and teachers assistant. It is a pleasure to have you here, sorry seems your arrival caught the fellow running the monitors a bit off guard. So, how can I help you today Dr. Banner.'

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn giggles, still trying to see some green in his skin but nope! he's totally normal looking! Which is good right? she pouts, staring us at the intercom and makes a face, "Ooooh sorryyy! Ill try not to tick you off! Soooo are you gonna teach us physics or just dropping by to say hi? It's really cool to meet the Huu---Err you!"though the green guy is cooler and she wants to meet him!

Hulk has posed:
"It's fine. I get it everywhere I go as myself." Bruce notes, wearily, before he takes the hand from Samuel and shakes it. "I've heard recently that The Other Guy was involved in a fight where he brought someone here. From 'again' I assume that was you." Bruce frowns slightly, "I'm afraid I don't have many memories of my time when The Other Guy is in control."

Then, he's shaking Samuels hand, "I'm here to follow up... and no, I considered teaching once, but I'm far too volatile for that right now, and far too mobile."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "No problem Doctor." Bean smiles, giving that hand a healthy shake. "I know what that's like. My name is Sam, Sam Morgan, but my friends call me Bean." Whatever happened between Bean and the Hulk, it seems to have left the teenager at ease around Bruce. And he seems very willing to fill in the blanks.

    "Long story short, you rescued me from a terrorist group trying to abduct me. Normally I take care of those things myself, but they hit me with a car first, which caught your attention. They ehm... made some unwise decisions after that." And, it would seem, failed to complete whatever they were intending to do. "Shame you're not here to teach, I'd love to pick your brain about a few concepts of high energy physics."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Maybe not, sir, but that was a day I don't think many who were there would ever forget." There is no rancor or fear in Shannon's voice, and there is only a quirk of her brow, and a light smile. "You... or, as you put it, The Other Guy, brought a dear friend back safely. Thank you both for that." She flicks her wings ever so slightly, and reaches out to offer her hand. "Shannon Lance, sir. There wasn't much time for proper introductions that day."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks to Banner, and says "Bean here is the one who you helped. He would be the one your looking to talk to. If there is anything else you need let us know, care to come inside for some coffee or something?"

Pixie has posed:
Megan Gwynn flinches at Bean's words, "Wooow, you're lucky..Dr. Banner, thanks for helping him. Oh yeah, I'm Megan. nice to meet you!" She does peer at his suit curiously. "Hey that's a cool suit, are you part of fantastic four too?"

Hulk has posed:
"I'm happy to consult while I'm here, young man. Just don't expect me to be formally teaching here for a while." Bruce gives a nod to Samuel, "I'd love some coffee. Assuming faculty are willing, of course." Bruce demures on the last sentence, before he smirks to Megan, "Not at all. This suit was a gift so I wouldn't need to deal with clothing issues anymore."

He smiles a bit sheepishly, "as you might imagine, human clothing just doesn't fit on The Other Guy, and even the stretchiest of pants barely deal with it. So." He pats the shoulder, "This was a workaround."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    "That reminds me that I owe you a shirt and a jacket, Doctor." Bean remembers and motions towards the entrance hall. "And it's nothing terribly sophisticated that I wanted to ask, only a few problems I've been having with the consistency of material during the ignition phase of a self sustaining fusion reaction."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon stifles a chuckle, furling her wings around in front of herself to shield the lower portion of her face behind the top edges. "Well... 'barely' still worked, thankfully. That looks pretty sharp on you, sir." Her eyebrows loft, and she smiles somewhat, canting her head to the side. "It'd be pretty neat if you taught here."

With the call for coffee, she excuses herself long enough to go get a pot of the elixir of life started, and gather together the necessary accoutrements. It takes her several minutes to get everything together, but when she does, she comes out with her arms very full of a tray with a few mugs, a small jug of cream, a sugar bowl, spoons, and a carafe of coffee.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will actually invite Bruce and the others in and to the Rec room to talk so they are not standing out in the middle of the yard talking.

Hulk has posed:
Coming in, the blue suited Bruce Banner no doubt will take quite a few heads. It isn't often a member of the Avengers comes in a Fantastic Four suit, after all.

By the time they're in the rec room, Bruce is mostly keeping to himself from the attention, "been a while since I've been anywhere this public, but that's a lot of stares." Bruce mumbles as he moves to sit down in a chair, "This is an elementary and high based private school, correct?"

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Bean follows the procession, and occasionally glances at the spectators, possibly to discourage gawking. But then again some of those students had seen the Other Guy, and there would undoubtedly be some pictures that had been taken of the Hulk having what looked very much like a tea party in the back yard. "They're just curious to see you like this I think, Doctor. Especially after meeting the Other Guy."

    In the rec room, he finds himself a seat and stays out of conversation for a bit.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles and sets the tray down on a side table, keeping her wings tucked in tightly so nobody is gifted with a feathery coffee stirrer. A tea party this was not, but the company was just as nice now as it was then. "Out of curiosity, Doctor Banner, what is it you've got your degree in? I'm leaning strongly towards medical myself." To each present, she offers a cup, and if accepted, pours out some of the precious, bitter, life-giving brew.

Hulk has posed:
"Physics, Electrical and electronics engineering, Biology, biochemistry, medicine, astrophysics, and I make it a point to keep up with car repair." Bruce explains to Shannon, "Some of those I had to do online courses for, but I still have the diplomas." Bruce continues, before he takes some coffee, and sips.

"When you're forced to make self-sufficiency a necessity but still need to be able to do biology work, you tend to learn quickly."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie smiles a bit and says "Get Dr Banner here and Dr McCoy together in the same room, we all may just get smarter from osmossus."

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    For a moment, Bean looks either impressed or intimidated. That... that's a lot of learning in one person, and a lot of learning to catch up on. He's already making mental notes. To recover his mental balance, he accepts the cup of coffee and takes a sip, letting the heat and caffeine bring him some inspiration. "I wonder if you might get an intelligence criticality incident if you have Doctor Banner, Doctor McCoy, Mister Stark and Doctor Richards in the same room at the same time."

Nightingale has posed:
     Letting out a low whistle, Shannon just smiles, shaking her head. "Don't count yourself out of that mix either, Bean." She chuckles a bit, settling down cross-legged on one of the beanbags with her own cup, once everyone else has been served. "You mention a criticality incident. Just what would such an event entail, do you think?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie phone rings and says "I need to take this excuse me a moment." He steps aside.

Hulk has posed:
"I've had a long time and a necessity to learn most of my biology degrees." Bruce notes, "it isn't something a lot of people have the drive for. I've been trying to separate myself from The Other Guy for a very long time, and I keep trying everything human science can offer for it. The problem is my biology is so resistant to removal or separation that sheer necessity means I have to keep up my education... and invent new fields just to keep going."

Another sip of coffee later, and Shannon gets a glance, "Nothing says you can't do the same thing if you apply yourself." Bruce points out.

Samuel Morgan has posed:
    Over his cup, Bean gives Shannon a glance and shakes his head, slowly. No, he does not deserve to be in that particular lineup. Not yet, at any rate. Nearly having a singular Bachelor's degree didn't qualify him to be mentioned in even the same paragraph as multiple Doctors. But, in time, he remembers his manners.

    "I would like to thank you for what you did, Doctor Banner. You didn't know me, and yet you never hesitated. Without your help..." yeah, that would not have been pretty. "If there's anything I can do for you, at any time, please don't hesitate."

Nightingale has posed:
     Peering over the edge of her cup at Bean, Shannon gives him 'the look', and shakes her head ever so slightly. There was no way in heaven or hell that she was going to let him--a genius--think any less of himself for lack of a few degrees. Not that she has any room to talk herself, but hey, who's counting, right?

     Her cheeks take on a slightly rosy hue, and a smile is offered to Doctor Banner. "You're very kind. So was The Other Guy, in his own way. I'll apply myself with due diligence." She glances between him and Bean, dipping her head in an echo of the gratitude expressed by Bean. "The same for myself as well. Bean's one of the best friends anyone could ask for, and if it wasn't for you... let's not think of that."

Hulk has posed:
"The Other Guy is... friendly, when he wants to be." Bruce admits, "because he's such a loose cannon and gets wound up easily, people tend to see him as nothing but a raging brute... and to be fair, he usually is, since he comes out when I'm threatened a *lot*." Bruce points out as he sits down, his arms crossing over his chest, "I admit, when I was first on the run from the government, getting them to consider a truce was out of the question. They just saw the damage he did defending both of us from the army, and thought he was a menace to be contained."

He purses his lips, "The sheer amount of damage *they* did to try to fight him was... incredible. Then they just blamed The Other Guy for it when he was just defending himself, and it was just a vicious circle." He smiles, a bit sad, "as you can imagine, years of doing that just turned everywhere I went into a Hulk warzone."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon cracks a smile of understanding, dipping her head ever so slightly. "Even just defense can turn... messy, for both sides. I can't imagine either you or he go looking for trouble, but it finds you anyways." A pause is given, to enjoy a bit of the bitter, dark brew.

     "As for necessity being the mother of invention, too, well... perhaps most of us have sympathy for that at one point or another. You can imagine training a healing gift that's a potential danger to the healer is... difficult. Some don't see it as a gift, but something to be contained, its use avoided. But how can one learn to control a dangerous gift, if not by its use?"

     It did seem, each in their own way, they had something of a common point. The thought of it did bring a wry smile to the winged teen's face. Who would've thought it?

Hulk has posed:
"Yes, it can. Especially when The Other Guy has no regard for collateral damage. If it attacks him, he takes it down." Bruce smiles, "seeing some of the earlier videos of him just flattening tanks like they were paper... it was incredible, at the time." Bruce shrugs, "but the army just saw a massive threat to be destroyed... and as most people know, The Other Guy is one of the strongest creatures on this planet. I think Superman is the only one who could reliably fight him head on. I mean, sure... Thor is up there, but he has limits. I haven't heard anything about limits for The Other Guy."

Don't let Thor hear that one.

Then, he stands, moving to one of the windows, and looking outside, "He doesn't usually kill... but I know he's fine with it, if someone is annoying him. That's another bone the government had to pick."

Nightingale has posed:
     "Ooof. Wonder how high one would have to fly to escape being caught by him, if he decided to jump." Shannon chuckles a little bit, shaking her head, the little blue braid on the side of her face bobbing back and forth ever so slightly. "The Other Guy might be strong, but he's no brute. I hope someday for both of you that others can learn to see that."

     Of course, also hoping she was never placed in a position to put that to the test couldn't hurt!

     "I'm not sure if I could ever kill. Guess that's something you never really find out 'till it's time. Hell, it's even difficult to leave someone who needs healing, without doing anything to help." She turns her head slightly to glance out the same window as Doctor Banner, and smiles some. "All the more reason to keep up with my studies. Hopefully, there'll be more that can be done when needed, if the time comes."

Hulk has posed:
"In a perfect world, the only reason that anyone would need medical skills is to heal those injured in natural disasters." Bruce affirms as he watches the outside, "Unfortunately, we live in a world of war and superhuman conflict." Bruce nods slowly, "A world where I'm a raw nerve waiting to be tapped and sent into a rage as another personality takes control and sends me into limbo for days or weeks at a time."

He looks to Shannon, at a glance, "Right now, I'm just trying to do what I can to make The Other Guy a positive force in the world and keep the government from backing out of their deal while I work on separating myself from him... or at least suppress him."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly in understanding. "I know I'm just a kid, but is there anything I could do to help with that?" Surely the Other Guy deserved the same chance as anyone else to be understood and accepted, to become a positive force? Sure, it wasn't a perfect world, and probably never would be. But still, didn't both deserve the chance to do some good with the time they had on this earth?

Hulk has posed:
"Are you working on biology or medical degrees, young lady?" Bruce asks.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon smiles some. "A bit of both," she admits. "When my first mentor here left, I started picking up some extra biology classes hoping I could use them somehow to figure out my gift. But I wonder if that's the way to go. There's a lot I don't understand about it. Enough similarities to other gifts I've witnessed, but still... a lot I don't understand."

Hulk has posed:
"I'd be happy to help teach you and have you assist, if you're interested." Bruce offers, "I can't be around all the time, you understand... but when I'm around? I'd be glad to mentor you."

Nightingale has posed:
     At that, Shannon's jaw just drops. If it were possible, a dent would be left on the floor by her feet. "Oh... wow. Thank you!" The smile that lights up her face is positively priceless, and those glacier blue eyes twinkle. "Now I -definitely- have to keep up with my studies, if I'm to keep pace with you!"

     It seemed, however, a challenge the young woman relished.