3300/Family Dinner

Family Dinner
Date of Scene:	03 December 2017
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Alpha Flight meets for dinner. Current events are discussed disagreements are had.
Cast of Characters:	Guardian, Vindicator, Hyperion, Cannonball

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Guardian has posed:
It's evening at the Alpha Mansion, this late in the year the sun is already setting across the water, bathing the dining room in its final pale light. Dinners at the mansion were sort of an informal affair, a buffet of sorts being laid out and the members coming and going to pick at it, some stay, others go up to their rooms. For once Mac is part of the former rather than dragging his food down to the lab. Not that his work hasn't followed him. He's got a tablet beside his plate, showing some of he latest news from the US. Anti-mutant attacks, the whole business with the President and the hunt for the assassin. None of it had crossed the border yet, but it was only a matter of time.

Vindicator has posed:
Heather is more than pleased to see Mac at the table for once. Not that she hasn't resorted to dragging her dinner off to the labs to join him. She has. It's nice to see him surface once in a while, though, and for his reward, he gets a kiss to the cheek before she takes her seat.

Lasagna tonight, complete with garlic bread. Salad. Wine. The entire first floor of the mansion smells of it.

She takes her seat with her plate. "So, what's the bad news today? Or should I be afraid to ask?"

Hyperion has posed:
Whether or not he really needs to eat, Marcus is a rather huge man and in his heart of hearts he still enjoys eating. The first time he saw the Alpha Flight spread was perhaps the first time he really committed to the team. His eyes definitely not bigger than his stomach, and when he shows up in the dining room on this fine evening, he immediately begins loading up two plates, and carries them over to the table with one balanced precariously on his forearm.

"Guardian, you and yours had me with the paycheck and promise of a life fulfilled, but the buffet is worth all of that," he tells the man as he sets his plates out, and then settles down. The chair groaning only ever so slightly under his weight.

Dressed in civvies, he looks like a normal bloke, a muscular guy, sure, but relatively normal. His hair a bit messy, and his five o'clock shadow approaching a length that might be considered unkempt.

Hearing the question from Vindicator, he says, "Can we save bad news until after we eat? What good was done today?" he asks.

Cannonball has posed:
    Izzy is still out Christmas Shopping. Sam had enough of that a few hours back, which suited her just fine. She needed to get him something. Sam is a firm believer in on-line shopping. Her present has been bought since his first check hit the bank.
    That being said, the kid had never experienced a VAT tax before. Don't get him started. He has his headphones in until he steps in and actually sees people around. He plucks them out, and folks might here something about 'Pirates of the Sasketchewan' before he shuts them off. The headphones were plugged into his tablet, which actually has the US news on it.
    "Ah hope that isn't poutine." he drawls as he walks past the married folks and gives the big man a nod. He tries most of the stuff, but some bad poutine led to a stomach ache, and he's been gun shy ever since. "Ah cannot handle it." The mutant remarks as he sorts out a rather nutricious plate from the buffet. "And ah would kill for some cornbread." he playfully adds.

Guardian has posed:
Mac couldn't tell you what tonight's meal was if you asked, he just sort of shoveled it mechanically into his mouth occasionally washing it down with, hmm, oh, beer. Right, he'd indulged tonight. Though he looks up from the news when the others start talking. "Hmm, well, the good news is the new president seems reasonable, the bad, finding a shapeshifting assassin is as hard as one might think," he gives the matter a shrug. "No word if she's come this way either of course, but how would we know?" he sounds like he's giving that some serious mechanical thought, before he shakes it off. "Anyhow, I am terrible dinner companion. What was that about cornbread? And no, no poutine, at least, not every night." He looks down at his plate, and sounds surprised when he says, "Tonight's lasagna."

Vindicator has posed:
Heather gently corrects Marcus, "Mac and Heather, Marcus. We're all off duty and just friends here tonight." She smiles at him to remove any sting. It had been a mission of hers, of sorts, to make the mansion something of a place of respite for the team where they could kick off their shoes and just be 'normal' people as much as possible.

Dinnertime was one of those times she insisted upon it.

"Have we heard anything from our American connections yet?" She's frowning somewhat at the reminder of the assassination. Specifically the shapeshifter portion of that. "And you're always a terrible dinner companion when you're distracted."

He earns a smile from his wife for that. She was under no illusions about the man she'd married. He could be a little focused on his work, often needing a reminder to come up for air. Despite it all, she'd fallen for him.

"Very good lasagna, I'll have you know. I helped."

Hyperion has posed:
Marcus nods politely at Sam Guthrie.

Since the report of the news is shared, he mentions, "Mac and Heather. Magneto and his cohort's agenda seems to have been mostly motivated by the President killing that woman in the subway station. So unless the world's handsomest Prime Minister has been pushing mutant girls in front of subway cars, I imagine Magneto intends not to pick any more fights." Some might say that he is taking Magneto and whoever the shapeshifter a bit too much at face value, but what he said on the subject in the privacy of the Alpha Flight dining room was just his casual opinion.

Shoveling down food, he soaks up the stray sauce from the lasagna with garlic bread and then drinks whatever is on hand in copious volumes. Enjoying it with a smile on his face.

"I'm more concerned with how anti-mutant sentiment might spill over the border, and would like to hit any anti-mutant rallies by standing with counter-protesters. If possible," he suggests.

Cannonball has posed:
    "it ain't bad smell'n." Sam agrees as he moves over to sit down. "About the same food as Xavier's. Mom never made Italian." he just slowly goes quiet on the mutant thing. In fact, he lapses completely into silence as the conversation on mutants and protests continues.
    His frown begins small, and it only deepens as Sam silently thanks his creator for the food. Sam's napkin goes into lap and he watches people as he quietly and politely eats.
    He has a pretty full tray, as he is still apparently a growing boy. His blue-gray eyes have gone a little more gray than blue at the subject matter.

Guardian has posed:
Mac nods. "Bits and pieces, but they're busy with own problems at the moment. But I did hear from the Prime Minister, he's offered our assistance to the US government, but so far, no word on that." He takes a bite of his meal coming a bit alive with some food. "It's good," he says, though if that's what he really thinks or if that's because Heather said she helped, it's hard to say. He does give her a mock glare at the suggestion he was a less than stellar dinner companion.

The larger mutant issue and Sam's reaction to it is noted. "I agree," he says with a nod to Marcus. "We should be on hand to make sure things don't get out of hand."

He glances around the table for dissenting opinions.

Vindicator has posed:
Heather just shakes her head at her husband. "What am I going to do with you?" Though her smile perks up and she looks pleased he's liked the food. Even if it might only be because she said she'd helped make dinner tonight. She considered herself a fair hand in the kitchen, but Mac could be oblivious to such things.

"Well, mutant issues aren't only a south of the border thing. If it's there, we've got it brewing as well. And if not yet, the spillover could be ugly. I don't think we should let it get out of hand if we can do something now and nip it in the bud."

She, too, looks to the others to gauge their responses.

Cannonball has posed:
    "I'm of the mind we oughtta stick to our Gee-Dee mission." Sam says with a little bit of heat to it. "Ya got Aliens on Earth. Invasions. Portals made-a-tubes." Sam says it gently, but there is a certain steel to his tone. "Seems ta me everyone seems they know what mutants oughtta be do'in and act'n. 'Cept mutants. Maybe if'n people would just treat people like people. Also seems to me, that governments gett'n involved is the whole worst problem. Magneto has a government. He's got a whole rogue nation. Now his daughter, Lorna? She is in charge, I reckon? But we've got governments involved?" Sam shakes his head. "Don't go gett'n another government agency involved. The X-Men will sort this out, or something. Or they won't. The Avengers got involved and there is a dead president now. I ... guess what I am say'n is it speaks volumes about character that ya'll wanna help. Ah like people who wanna help. This isa matter for the courts now. Let them do the right thing. Governments gett'n involved ain't done noth'n but mess it all up. Good intentions? Well we all know where they lead." He looks back down at his plate. "But ah understand ah'm new hereabouts, and ah will do as ah am asked."

Hyperion has posed:
Eating slowly, Hyperion has slowed down a little and seems to be savoring his meal a bit more, but he doesn't say anything more about the food. Just sips and eats until his two plates are empty, and he neatly stacks them up. He also doesn't say anything more about his thoughts about protests, instead he seems to be thinking about other things he might do.

As becomes evident when after a long moment he finally says, "Perhaps we could set up some meetings with the JLA and others? A united voice from the community would," he pauses then when Sam starts to speak his mind, and he takes a moment to think of how to respond to that.

He spends along moment chewing on his words, thinking about what was best, but decided, after a whole lot of just pondering, that his actions as an individual were not necessarily what was being discussed.

Guardian has posed:
Mac for his part chews on Sam's words considering his response before speaking. "You're new, yes, but you can speak your mind here Sam," he says to begin. "Though what we're talking about here isn't so much government intervention in mutant affairs but peacekeeping in a few events. If you mean the national cooperation part, being loaned out to the US government, that-" he actually takes a second to think about it. "Yes, that might put us in a more problematic spot."

He ponders that for a moment too, while he says, "But ultimately you think this is a problem best handled by mutants?"

Vindicator has posed:
Looks between Mac and Sam, quietly eating her lasagna. She's keeepinng her opinions on this matter to herself for the time being, letting it play out a little while she weighs the sides and the opinions bandied about. Especially the bit about the problem being best handled by mutants.

Her features settle into something of a thoughtful frown as she reaches for her wine, sipping.

Cannonball has posed:
    "This is people be'in scared."Sam answers in a more reasonable tone. "This is gay marriage, or inter-racial marriage. This is about yer firstborn son becoming a human Cannonball." He slants a look at the table. 'This is about the fear of genetics, and the fear of whats different, and what is the very nature of humanity. People understand accidents or science, or technology. They do not understand how they can be normal, but their boy can become a live'n weapon." Sam gestures idly with his fork. "And maybe I betray a little Southern Conservatism. Governments intrude when laws are be'in violated. The United States needs the courts to handle mutancy like every other genetic difference, and magneto needs to shut his damn mouth about me be'in a different species from ya'll. Ah am mutant. Ah am not ashamed of that, but as shore as H-E-double hockey sticks do not want a bunch of well intentioned people making other people accept me. They gotta do that on their own." Sam looks down at his plate. "Like ah said. It is good of ya'll to wanna fix this. It really is. Simply put, ya can't. Ah mean no disrespect." Sam pushes his dinner around on his plate. "People gotta decide they don't hate other folks on their own."

Hyperion has posed:
"I don't intend to help mutants in trouble to help fix anything, I do it because the kid with unfixable purple hair who can't hide it, or the weird eyes, who can't blow things up, needs someone on their side, and needing to rely 'on their own kind' just further divides them from us. They need to know that I'm going to have their back, regardless, and I'm definitely not going to let things slide because I can't 'fix' anything," Marcus says to Sam, just keeping it short and simple. Making it clear that whatever the overall remedy might be, his main concern is being both a sign that people outside of the mutant community care, and to help when he can. Regardless of the eventual outcome.

Guardian has posed:
Mac eats while he listens to both sides. "I understand where you're coming from, Sam. I do and we agree on the role in government for mutants, which is to say, they shouldn't interfere any more or less in their lives as anyone else's. Though what we're talking about is keeping people from ripping each other a part at a demonstration, and being on hand to protect people, regardless of their genetic code whatever's happening."

Vindicator has posed:
Heather jabs her fork into a bite of lasagna. "Well, whether we like it or not, we do have certain ties. But the bigger picture still remains, our jobs are to protect people. This seems to scream like something we could offer our help with. And, if we're uncomfortable with being requested to join up with our American allies, nothing is stopping us from offering to help."

She eyes the others in turn. "That is, unless we don't feel that mutants deserve our help as much as anyone else?"

Her tones are deceptively calm, and she reaches for her wine again.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Ah admire the sentiment." Sam compliments Marcus in a genuine tone, even an approving one. "But what happens when you ain't there? Ah am pretty sure we both know that all ya did is postpone the beat'n."
    He nods at the others. "Unless ya'll mean to move into Mutant Town and do daily patrols, and somehow change people's attitudes, all ya'll are do'in is prolong'n the inevitable violence. People need to see mutants sort'n things out, otherwise, well, all mutants are Magneto or Mystique." Sam just nods at Heather. "I mean no disrespect at all. Ah'm say'in that this is all bandaids. Real solutions have to come from the community."

Hyperion has posed:
Getting up from his chair with an audible groan from the chair, Marcus walks around the table where the food is and ends up not seeing anything he likes. Considering his perceptive abilities, he probably just got up because he wanted to move around, and now moving, stands behind his chair with his hands in his pockets.

"Mainly, because while it could just be a bloody nose, it could be permanent, and I'm not about to let a kid get brain damage when I could step in, just because 'it could happen any day,' that isn't who I am, nor is it who I want to be," he says to Sam, not really hesitating, just speaking from the heart.

He seems to pause then and looks over them. As if wondering if he was acting correctly, and seeing as how nobody was looking at him too strangely, he concludes that he must be behaving normally. Even though there is a small disagreement on tactics.

Guardian has posed:
Mac says, "The solutions have to come from all of us, I think. As for saving people, well, like Marcus says, if there's something going on I am not going to sit idle because it might happen again at a later time. If I'm there I'll do something about it. Same goes for this team, if we have a chance to help, even if it is just a bandaid, then we need to do it. Otherwise, why suit up at all?"

Vindicator has posed:
Heather chuckles softly at Sam, raising a brow, "Sam, We are the bandaids. You'll learn that about us the longer you're here."

She nods faintly to Marcus. "Well, we hope it isn't as dire as that, but you're right. There's a difference between leaving a group to find its way, and leaving it at the mercy of attacks that keep it from finding its way. And keeping in the very fine tradition of Peacekeeping our nation has, I think this is something we could be proud to put under our belt so to speak."

The end of that slid over Sam's way, and she follows up with, "We're not suggesting we take away their rights in favour of our own, if that's what you're suggesting this smacks of? I doubt our government would suggest such a thing, and if they did, well, we're still the feet on the floor and we can employ some self-governing of our own."

Yes, yes she did just suggest that perhaps they didn't need to follow all directives to the letter of the law.

Cannonball has posed:
    "Now. Don't think that ah am say'n yer wrong." Sam points his fork at Marcus, but there is no accusation in it. "Ah think yer right; principle matters. That you be'in a man of principle, and stop'n violence is not at all a bad thing. I ain't. But you know that it's a band-aid, that is all. I will not ever put a man down who stops the weak from be'in preyed on by the strong. Yer a man of honor and principle. Ah'm gonna be proud to fight by yer side, and ah mean that."
    Sam pulls in a breath. His food looks a lot less appealing now. "Just don't think that Magneto thinks he is do'in anything less than what you are do'in. He's make'n a principled stand to protect a population that is otherwise undefended.
    Sam starts to move to bus his tray. "Ah wouldn't say that at all ma'am. Ah do not think ya'll would have hired a 19 year old mutant if'n ya'll were not good people. And maybe yer right, we are just band-aids. So long as well all know that." He is not eating much at all. Guilt must be a pretty horrible thing. "If'n ya'll will pardon me. All this talk about mutant rights, well, it makes me miss where I came from, and i don't mean mean Shi'ar space neither."

Hyperion has posed:
"Mostly a band-aid. But I think the right look, the right sense of how disappointed we are in a misspent youth when he attacks a boy who should be a friend, it can remind them of their flaws without making them an enemy," he says.

Hands in pockets, Marcus steps closer to the table, picks up his plates, and carries them towards where the staff has a 'bussing' tray, and makes a neat pile of his things. He then walks around and casually picks up the finished off trays of food and arranges them where they can be picked up as well. Trying to make things easier for the staff. He does this all at a rather sedate pace.

Hearing that Sam misses his home, he begins to offer, "If you ever need a ride--" and then realizes that Sam is definitely not needing such a trip. "Nevermind. I'm too used to talking with Agents in the Department," he adds, explaining himself.

Taking a breath then, he walks over to the balcony doors and says, "I'm going on patrol. Thank you for the meal."

Guardian has posed:
Mac finishes his last bite before nodding to Sam, "Well, I think we're going to have agree to disagree on some of the finer points, but in essence as long as we're able to help in some small way, then we should." He offers a shrug before he stands to help the other clear the table, offering to take Heather's plate if she's done. "And I understand, if you need time off to visit, let me know."

Marcus gets a nod too. "You're welcome," he says as he busies himself with the rest of the cleanup.

Vindicator has posed:
Heather has a final bite of meal and passes her plate to Mac. "Thank-you, dear." He gets a smile from her.

Sam she sighs softly at, still smiling, "I didn't say all we were was a bandaid. We're so much more than that, but in this situation, to use your phrasing, we are the bandaids. We have the ability to help and make things easier for the mutants in a time of trouble. Especially when our American friends are struggling with some internal matters, such as the Presidential assassination."

She nods to Marcus and his offer, giving him a smile of his own. As much as to say 'good job for offering'.