4170/Pilot Run - Coffee

Pilot Run - Coffee
Date of Scene:	30 March 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	Gorilla Grodd, Gambit, 1706

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Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd has been putting that new found money to good use. The stolen texts will take months if not years to put to practical effect but good old fashioned money? Oh all kinds of things to spend that on and one of them is a prototype psi circuit which could potentially unleash all kinds of psi tech for Gorilla City and himself. With some modifications on his part of course...the practical effect is a test, a live test that might be usable by his agents and other city inhabitants if it works. In theory, it would broadcast a 'perfectly normal human disguise' as a low level psionic illusion. It wouldn't work on anything but regular humans, but that was the point. A gorilla wanted to be seen by other gorillas. He walked into the coffee shop and so far so good. No one seemed to notice a thing. He got in line for coffee.

Gambit has posed:
Remy LeBeau makes a habit of NOT being up early, on time or in any form of predictable. He just simply shows up around the X-Men, Westchester and the Institute when it suits him. Most often when he is looking for some 'heroic' action, missing his three cats he has stashed away in the boathouse or feeling that odd and occasional need for human interaction that is somewhat close to friend or family.

The squint of Remy's black-on-red eyes beyond rounded glasses is a telltale sign hes suffering more sensitivity to light right now than usual, not because of some mutant flaw or after-combat woes but due to a hangover, a familiar ailment. The last time he showed at Xavier's smelling of booze he was lectured to some length making the next best option a steer off the direct and beaten path in to a coffee shop. A detour until full on fresh and suitable to make his presence at the school less possibly drama incurring.

No trenchcoat but he is wearing a long sleeved maroon shirt, sleeves rolled up sinewy forarms, a pair of black slacks, black pointed toe boots and that typical unruly mass of dark hair. Not inattentive, not usually just preoccupied past squinting to thumb through his cell phone and stare at the heels of the 'man' ahead of him, no man at all but Remy has not yet noticed this much.
A low chuckle escaping him as he reads a last string of incoming texts.

Sandra (1706) has posed:
Having been spending long days and nights at the General Hospital trauma ward in Brooklyn, followed by stints at her new part time gig working for Hank McCoy, Sandra is probably burning herself to the wick, which is why she needs coffee. Coming off a fourteen hour shift and two bus stops, she heads into the cafe with a rub of her eyes across her face. "Mmf." She murmurs to herself, dressed in blue scrubs with her hair pulled back behind her in a messy bun. As she heads for the line, she pauses for a moment, then tilts her head to the side as she looks past the two people in front of her at the large gorilla. She gives her face a hard slap, then squints again as she continues to stare at him. Finally, she reaches over and nudges the person in front of her, a young lady. ".. Hey, does that guy look like a huge gorilla to you?" She says in a soft voice as she points to Grodd.

"What the hell? Are you /racist/ or something? LIke, oh my Gawd!" The girl fires back at Sandy.

"Wh.. what? No! I'm not.. I mean.. you don't /see/ a huge gorilla standing there wearing clothes?"

"Lady, get off your drugs and go find a new coffee shop. I can't believe someone like you is a Doctor."

"Nurse."

"What the fuck ever, you're a racist!"

Sandy lets out a loud sigh as she slides her phone out to take a pic of him, then glances down at the device.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd grins widely since to most people he appears as a Caucasian Male in his mid forties wearing a suit and tie. He waves to Sandra and is quite curious. He notices Gambit's eyes and is quite sure that the invidivual can likely see thorugh his disguise. He speaks to Sandra, "It's all good. No hard feelings. Allow me to purchase her coffee." He smiles and poses for the camera. The phone, does, in fact, take a picture of a Gorilla though it is hazy since he has a privacy screen that he enabled for just this kind of occasion. The device is not yet refined enough to baffle cameras as well, but it can do what a pair of sunglasses with the right purple film on it can.

Gambit has posed:
Huge Gorilla? Remy overhears the exchange of dialogue between Sandra and the other customer, it causes him to pause in his thumb scroll and look up right at Grodd.

Blink. Blink.

"I uh, I see it." He manages, "HIM, oh, apologies, mon ami. It still early." The world as it is? A talking gorilla in a coffee shop? Crazier things have happened.

"Polite not to stare though." His Cajun accent thicker when hes tired, its heavy right now enough to be noticed.

The image being snapped and the pose gets a wordless open and close of his mouth. He isn't sure if Grodd should be offended or he should for him instead he cracks a smile.

"Calm down, girl. We all just in here to get some coffee." His warm words directed at the 'racist' accusing woman.

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"Well, like, it's still like .. /super/ rude to call people monkey's and take pictures of them, even if they're white. Pff." The young woman rolls her eyes upwards as she orders her latte with no whip and skinny milk and three shots of espresso with a caramel drizzle on the left, but not the right side of her cup.

Sandra lets out a loud sigh as she rubs a hand over her face in embarrassment as Grodd poses for the picture. She looks down at the camera, then back to him, eyes squinting and baffled. When Remy speaks up, she looks relieved. Oh thank the stars someone else can see him! "Wait, I know you.." She pauses for a moment at the cajun before she looks back to Grodd. ".. Err -- you don't have to do that.. um.. Mister... Gorilla.... I have a buy ten get one free card to redeem and I think I'm going to go big with it..." She looks back to Remy again, brows raising upwards curiously.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd grins widely, "and see this is why I like..." he isn't sure how undercover the two who can see him are so he simply says, "You...better than most. Much more open mind." He bows politely to Gambit and then looks at Sandra, "For the record, calling someone a monkey, unless they are one, is a VERY bad idea. Especially when they're more dangerous than anyone in the room." He smiles at her recognition. "Grodd. The name is Grodd." A few people around him seem to almost want to ask for autographs but don't know why. They do nothing. He orders his own coffee, easily paying for the other two, "Curious. Do I look human at all or is it purely gorilla? I'm testing something that lets me deal with humans....more easily.

Gambit has posed:
"You know me?" Remy asks, "Uh oh." His mind immediately trying to recognize Sandra's face and sort through any nights he might have been exercising his being free and single. Nothing comes to but that doesn't mean a thing. Hopefully she isn't a forgotten face, name or one night stand ! Those have been known to spring up.

"Hopefully it a good 'know' me." What the heck is her name? Should he know it? Bad form LeBeau.

With a cup of simple black coffee ordered up and paid for by the Gorilla-Man Remy givesa polite upnod, "Merci bien, Grodd. Name is Remy." A hand extended for a shake.

"You uh, this not a trick question, no?"

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"You .. ah .. look like a gorilla wearing pants ... thank god you're wearing pants.." Sandra mutters the last part to herself as if she is still bewildered by the entire experience. "New York just keeps getting more and more weird." She sighs as she orders a large quad shot white mocha with caramel drizzle on top. She just likes it sweet and full of energy. To Remy, she looks over at him and gives him a warm smile. "I am Dr Hank McCoy's new research assistant. I spent all night looking at staff profiles so I can familiarize myself with my fellow co workers when I happen to bump into them." She says as she adjusts her thin glasses on her nose.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd says, "I am a Gorilla wearing pants. Well and a shirt and tie. Interesting effect." He takes out a small pen and pad and makes some notes. "It was not a trick question at all. It's an experimental psi tech device and its designed to work on humans, homo sapiens sapiens." He looks at Sandra and beams, "Hank McCoy? Now that is impressive. I've studied his work for years, one of the few people on the planet that I'd consider a peer in any field. I'd love to meet him." Given what he knew about Dr McCoy, he was relatively certain Hank might not feel so amicable, but que sera sera."

Gambit has posed:
"Ah whew !" Remy grins a handsome and relieved display at Sandra, "Oh, well we sort of co-workers then. A pleasure to meet you... " The Cajun didn't catch her name. "Hank's Assistant. This mean you used to this kinda thing."

A curious stare settles on Grodd, "You a gorilla in pants, she ain't wrong." Confirmed.

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"Sandra Billings. You can call me Sandy if you want." She says to Remy with a smile to him, cheeks flushing for a moment at his grin. "But yes I am .. uh... just getting used to everything I suppose." Her head tilts to Mister Grodd. "I will let him know that you are interested in meeting and will let him decide from there. I don't know what his calendar looks like but I barely give five minutes with him for a touch base." The talk of psi tech catches her interest. ".. Oh.. /Oh/. I see.. So... you know that I'm not a human then." She says in a soft mumble as she practically shrinks into herself, which is hard to do for a woman of her stature. Reaching for her coffee, she warms her hands with it.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd nods, "Of course. But I have several very long term projects on the burner including some that might greatly benefit mutant kind. Some of our philosophies may differ but if he is willing to work together where there is synergy in spite of that, well...so much the better." He takes out a small card and offers it, "That is the encryption key to a VoIP protocol that can reach me from anywhere if he wants to get in touch." He grins at Remy, "Fascinating. I now have to wonder if ALL mutants don't see my shirt. I will have to test it more. I am correct in presuming you are both Homo Superior, and please forgive me if that is rude by asking. It will help me attune the results." He grins again, white perfectly maintained teeth being a bit odd normally for a Gorilla. "And yes. Well, I know you're probably not human. I'm not sure if there are edge cases of homo sapiens sapiens that might not be caught by it. The more refined I can make it, the better for everyone including Gorillas from Gorilla City, mutants, visiting aliens, merfolk. You name it. One of the most peaceful projects I've ever worked on.

Gambit has posed:
"Sandy and Grodd." Remy echoes like he is making sure to memorize their names. The coffee warm in his hand is lifted up as if he is toasting them then he drinks. That first sip always so wonderful. The mention from Sandra of not being human has the brunette with the red eyes winking, "Jus' means you extra special in all de good ways." His whiskey on smoke tones maybe added with some extra inflection, flirting never killed anyone, right?

Grodd's words have him taking another quick slug at the dark brew, "You an' Hank gonna get a long real good, I can tell." The grin from Grodd sort of unsettling, Remy does his best not to show as much

Sandra (1706) has posed:
Wha? I.. I'm um... nothing special." Sandra assures Remy as she nods her head. "Nor am I very superior. But, yes, I'm a mutant..." She trails off softly. "Super strength and increased invulernability and density." Taking a sip from her coffee, she relishes in the sweet flavor of it. Her cheeks are red as embers as Remy's words, obviously getting suckered in by that Southern charm, smokey words and his accent. She gives a small, nervous giggle as her foot stubs against the floor. "And I can se your shirt by the way. I was just.. ah .. excited you had pants on ... I figured most walking and talking .. animals? That they would probably not walk around with clothes on. The fact you're intelligent and speaking English would make my brain go off the record and see you as human, so I would be.. ah .. quite ... flustered... if you were naked. Out of respect of course. I think..." She pauses. "I am exhausted."

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd says, "Telepathy, Mind Switching, Hyper Intelligence and a pinache of Telekinesis, besides the wonderful natural gifts one has at being a Gorilla," he smiles. He touches his nose and nods to Remy, "In a perfect world, to be sure. He would, if I actually wrote it up and shared my research with the world, no doubt enjoy reading my theories on genetics. Wheras our approach to the application of said science is...well, shall we say somewhere between Magneto and the X-men. I have learned a few lessons since my youth, but am still willing to ...bend more rules than you might find 'good.' As it were." He looks at Sandra, and then smiles, "Well that's good and yet disappointing. It's good, in that it works. It's just disappointing in that I was going to greatly enjoy figuring out why that was happening. An educated ape is an anomoly, but if I have my way, earth will host more, soon. I don't actually usually wear clothing. I just felt a telepathic illusion would cause less disconnect if I were wearing clothing."

Gambit has posed:
Remy sucks on his teeth at the animals comment, glad for his coffee to be yet again covering his lips as he can't help but chuckle.
"Special always eye of the beholder."

"I actually be more worried if you were a bad dresser, Mister Grodd. " The thief goes silent when they list off their particular mutant or metahuman abilities, not saying a word on his behalf but taking note of their own. Storing that away for later. "I'm just bless with good opportunities and know when to seize them." He explains as if thats his particular power, can't be completely left out.

A squint once more at mention of Magneto and the X-Men.
"You know, if I had my way I would be on the side of less clothing for the world too." Joking partially but trying to keep things light and making small talk. He is not one for the science or the philosophy, Remy just does and is. He is also very content with his lot in life as a mutant.

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"So you want to create more .. um.. talking gorilas? Like Planet of the Apes?" Sandy asks curiously as she takes another long sip from her coffee. "... except hopefully with less violence and take overs of the world?" She hints. She takes another at Grodd, then says to Remy. "He's a good dresser. I do like the suit he wears. Nice color." See, she can be complimenting even in the face of weird moments like this. The rest of the conversation she quietly files away as she sips on her drink.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd says, "Well yes. Humans are, as a lot, gregarious to their own kind but if one is to believe that they killed the Neanderthals...and I do, then numbers could be a factor to our long term..." he looks a moment and considers Remy's tone and shifts with the flow. He is a telepath, after all, but one doesn't need to read minds to sense which way the wind blows. "You know I find your philosophy refreshing Remy. I think people might be a lot more relaxed about a lot less things if nude or less concerned about appearances. I assure you, I am an excellent dresser." He grins, "If I must wear them, why not have good taste?" He smiles and then nods appreciately to Sandra, "Well I do appreciate the compliment." He looks them both over and nods, "That is a lovely blouse Sandra and the duster does you credit sir. Clothes make the man after all."

Gambit has posed:
"My philosophy?" Remy questions loudly in his head then the telepathy gets a open glare towards Grodd, a mental image flashes of full frontal nudity of FRED J Dukes 'The Blob' clothing singed off, gut hanging down, say hello to everything the Stork Saw. Welcome to the Remy LeBeau patented (and canon) anti-telepathy security system. That coupled with years of being an X-Men and going through the conditioning. A word string of 'GetoutofmyheadsayhitoBlobstatershowGetoutofmyhead' in a mantra.

Despite the defensive employ of that technique Remy is still politely smiling and carrying on, "So uh, how about if you do plan on this whole take over the world and turn people in to Gorillas, I mean, this me up an assumin' its just a theory or hyperbole maybe make sure these people all volunteers, yeah?" Or else there will be trouble with the X-Men and their new friend.

"He ain't wrong, Sandy. A lovely blouse."
"This the year 2026 anyways, most of us be headed to space for colonization in a matter of time, maybe we find a whole new planet for folks that don't wanna rub elbows with humans." Flatscanes, baseliners, all manner of those names coined to 'homo sapien'.

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"This? It's just .. um.. something I threw on after work when ... um... I got puked on by a drunk man who .. tried to climb a barbed wire fence in his underwear." Sandy says as she looks down at her button up blouse of a soft blue color. "I had to put so many stitches into him." She fiddles with her cup of coffee again. "So... you want to rule the world then? But, why? Even if you decide to attempt it and let's say you are successful, what is stopping you from being overthrown by perhaps a stronger gorilla, or maybe a hyper intelligent bear that one of your intelligent gorilla friends decide to create? Then you'd have this bear on gorilla war." She has one of those imaginations. Optimistic and happy, but realistic at the same time.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd shrugs. "The impulse never leaves me. But as I look at alternate selves of me, and my own mistakes I've become convinced that there are forces in the world, and I mean more than just who can throw which bus at who, that make such an attempt...pointless." But...."Space is a place that I am getting more interested in is well. Over time. But its a lot more crowded up there than folks know. As far as rule the world? No. Do I think I'm qualified to? Yes. But I don't believe in spinning my wheels or wasting my time. Ensuring the survival of my species and the economic and political prosperity of myself and my kind is sufficient. I love the idea of uplifting all animals. I might do it some day but I fear the economic upheaval to the world's top economies would make us all too great a target. And yes..." he smiles, "I have never heard of the term Guerilla warfare." He sips his coffee amused.

To Remy's shielding, due to the sensetive nature of the psi emitter he has his telepathy tapped very low indeed, so even surface thoughts are the visual equivalence of peripheal vision. Still, while he's no Emma Frost, a thought spike of someone trying to block any kind of scan sticks out like a sore thumb but once he gets wind of what Remy is doing he puts an actual astral brick wall between them. Thankfully he was only exposed to the concept rather than the actual image.

Gambit has posed:
Remy lets out a low chuckle, the subject and the unease as Grodd and Sandy carry on starts to leave it's weight of tension off his shoulders, his psychic 'walls' as un-psi as Remy is are still present, discipline and stubborn can amount to a lot in some instances.
"Bear on Gorilla war Sandy? That your go to in this?" The rogue is teasing, he is absolutely amused and the smile he wears shows as much to that effect. "If it earns me any points I got a 'Hail Caesar' shirt for Planet of the Apes movie, one of my favorite actually." At least it appears his growing paranoia has been stifled for the moment. He almost felt like he was about to engage in a SuperVillain Tyrant monologue here but it turns out, maybe, just maybe Grodd isn't so horrible or they're just that ignorant. Who discusses the fate of humankind in a coffee shop after all?

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"What? You don't think that it could be possible? Super intelligent bears? I can see it. I bet they come right out of Russia. Huge, Serbian bears with bazookas." Sandy says with a nod of her head to Remy, followed by a bump of her shoulder against his ever so lightly so not to jostle him too much. "And I guess if Grodd decided to travel into space to create a colongy of Gorillas, he really could have his own planet of the apes. It works out pretty well there, but you'd miss Starbucks." She holds her cup up. "Unless you plan on introducing it to the rest of the solar system, and if you do, make sure that Pumpkin Spice is year round

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd says, "Oh, not only do I know its possible, I could explain to you explicit steps on how to do it with regular technology you could find at a high school science fair. That's easy. The problem is hyper intelligent agricultural livestock. Most people don't want to give up meat. Watch Bo-Jack Horseman sometime. Lovely work. And space is one option I've considered but I think we'll ALL be a lot better off if Earth is multi species, multi cultural and xenophile. That just needs to be....helped....along the way. But Gorilla kind will be there with humans every step of the way. Separating ourselves off from the rest of the world cost us about half of our technological edge. I don't intend for us to lose the rest."

Gambit has posed:
The shoulder bump gets a reflexive uptilt to one corner of Remy's lips, he sways with the impact intentionally, "Oh no, I'm a closet Trekkie, you be surprised what I am ready to believe in." A shake of his coffee cup, "You know uh, some crazies weaponized koala bears one time, called them drop bears, gave them metal teeth. A terrifying thing. All around. Bears with Bazookas, Sharks with Laser Eyes... this all stuff we should get insurance on."

"Dat awful altruistic and open minded sounding of you Mister Gorilla Grodd. That kinda talk will make people think there is more to your people than kidnapping blondes an' swatting planes outta the sky. You maybe should speak to Charles sometime, get in good with Hank. Maybe your message needs to be shared with the rest of the good voices out there."

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"It sounds pretty interesting. Earth has become a weird place over the last... hundred years I guess... maybe more..." Sandy says as she turns back to the counter to order a chocolate chip cookie and a bagel with cream cheese. The cookie gets tucked away into her purse for later while she waits for her bagel to warm up. She tilts her head to Remy as he brings the pair of names up, then nods her head in agreement.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd says, "It's been weird for thousands its just that before the industrial revolution humans rarely knew how crowded or amazing it really was. Well except a few. And to be clear, while I am a bit of a speciesist in favor of Gorillas, I am still very open to mutants, meta humans, aliens, uplifted beings of all kinds. It's just basic garden variety humans that seem to only have one in a hundred that is worth....anything...well really. But they have the numbers. As far as meeting Charles...I would feel a lot more comfortable with that meeting once...certain things have happened." He smiled, "Spoilers."

Gambit has posed:
"Certain things? Nevermind. Maybe I dun wanna know just yet." Remy says his cup empty apparently he had a few heavy gulps in there he didn't realize. That empty container launched to land easily in the furthest trash can. Hes showing off just a tad. There is several much closer.

"I should go. I got cats to feed an' a Simian Future War to Doomsday Prep for." Remy tosses out.
"Once again that coffee, thank you, mon ami. An' Sandra, you got your work cut out for you working wit Hank but maybe you make him smile a bit more an lighten up. He always so blue." A tip of his head and he gives a two fingered wave at both of them, a lingering look given to Sandra making sure there is eye contact, its like he wants to say 'becareful with this crazy ApeMAN!' in so many words but isn't a telepath. Unfortunately hes also forgetting his thoughts are loud right there. Oversight.
"Au revoir."

Sandra (1706) has posed:
"I have found that making Hank smile has been a real challenge, even with my book of terrible dad jokes that I picked up at Target." Sandy says as she gives a smile to Grodd and Remy, then takes her bagel once her name is called. "I should be on my way as well. I have to get to work and I don't want to keep Hank waiting. Early is the new on time after all. It was a pleasure to meet you Mister Grodd, and it was nice to finally meet you as well, Remy." She says to the cajun as she starts for the door, tukcing some hair behind her ear with a hot blush along her cheeks.

Gorilla Grodd has posed:
Gorilla Grodd has trained himself to hear deliberately projected thoughts from non telepaths right next to him. So he heard Remy's broadcast, but isn't offended. Crazy? Sure why not. That's kind of crazy. But if a man as experienced as Remy called him Monkey that would be a deliberate insult. Crazy Ape? Sure. Crazy like a fox. He nods respecfully as the man leaves.

He nods to Sandra, "Pleased to meet you. Let me know if Hank wants to get in touch."