5442/Meeting the Parent(s)

Meeting the Parent(s)
Date of Scene:	26 September 2018
Location:	Unknown
Synopsis:	Wanda takes Nolan home to meet her father. It goes fairly well, all things considered.
Cast of Characters:	Scarlet Witch, Deadwatch, Magneto

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Scarlet Witch has posed:
It was, in reflecting upon it, well past time that this meeting should take place, and given her newfound status in Nolan's life, Wanda felt it maybe was time. Well, past time.. but like so many things in her life, it was all complicated, and.. she hadn't exactly told him about this part of her life.

"So, I do want you to know that.. oh, nevermind. You will see when we get there. Only, I think it better if you see, and then I explain, than if I explain and.. you do not mind if I take us somewhere? To meet my Papa?"

Deadwatch has posed:
Nolan Voight shakes his head, pulling on his old bomber jacket over his cheap business suit. The crippled mage exhales loudly and runs his fingers through his mop of red hair before grabbing the forearm crutch leaning against the wall. "No, love, I don't mind a bit." he says, leaning down to lock the knee of his legbrace before standing straighter and straightening his tie. "And I'm about as ready as I'll ever be.." he says as he makes a few hand gestures and temporarily brings down the ward around his 'sanctum', if thats the word you can use for an abandoned 1930's speakeasy. "So lets do this."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
It's as simple as that. One minute they are in Nolan's, and the next, they are elsewhere.

Of course, Wanda knows where they are; Nolan? Likely not so much. And the fact that where they are is distinctly oppulent might be a tipoff to Nolan that Wanda has left out a few bits and pieces about herself that probably explain her little bit about 'I'll explain once we get there'.

"So, my Papa, he is not so much expecting us, as he will know we are here now. But do not let him frighten you. He is all the gruff and none of the bite." Which isn't entirely true, but she's fairly confident she can wrangle her father for one father-boyfriend meeting. "Come. We will go meet him."

Deadwatch has posed:
Nolan Voight will probably never get used to that. The instant shift between point a and b. He's used to something more... flashy. Of course their location makes up for any lack of magical pizazz. The psychic slash mage looks around, blinking those mismatched eyes of his. "Your dad lives here?!?" he asks, then fixes a squint on his love. "Yes.. yes there will be some explaining.." he grumps.

"And why should I be afraid of you dad, except for the fact that he seems to live in a palace?!?" he asks as he limps along side her, then frowns as the shapes start resolving for him, as his Darksight focuses after having been temporarily scrambled by the transport spell... What start as whisps of shapes, barely shades, slowly fill out as his gift syncs with the environment.. And he inhales sharply.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda tries very hard not to look guilty when Nolan asks why he shouldn't be afraid of her father. "It is only that some people do find him.. well, intimidating? Perhaps a little bit.. frightening? He has.. how do you say, a reputation."

She nods. "And yes, I will explain. But, to be fair, you would not have looked at me the same if you knew all this about me."

Magneto has posed:
     The ornate structures of the Genoshan Royal Palace are for the most part, quiet. But the unexpected presence of the Princess and her guest bring up to the King himself.

  A large door opens, and in hovers in Magneto, dressed in a formal military uniform, adorned with medals and the like, and upon his head a black and silver helmet, embellished with crownlike adornments. This was the mutant known as Magneto, one of the most feared Mutants in the world. A baritone voice rings through the hall. "Wanda, Liebe." He comments, moving down to the floor, and smiling behind that helmet he wore quite often.

Deadwatch has posed:
Nolan Voight is only half listening to Wanda, his attention on things she cannot see.. like the many ghosts that are shambling by.. Some locked in their loops of the last moments of their lives, some sort of fight or revolt, others just aimlessly wandering... There is sadness and anger and fear and oh so many emotions emanating from them like steam off a boiling pot.

"A reputation...?" he asks, trying to understand what she means as one of the ghosts, a woman with a shaved head, bereft of any colour in The Dark, notices him looking at her. The ghost stops, then walks towards him, and the other ghosts seem to follow, all drawn to his gift... The cripple limps backwards suddenly and quickly raises his hands as if to ward them off and they start SPEAKING! All of them at once..

He gahs and clutches his head. not used to so many ghosts speaking at him at once. Their words, unhearable to the normal ear, flood over him.. more then words.. Emotions, images, experiences.. he clenches his eyes shut, trying to drown out the cacophony, unable to hear the doors behind him open.. unable to see the regal form float behind him as his back is to the door.. He stumbles backwards, and bumps heavily against.. something... And suddenly he realizes that all the voices have stopped.. He opens one eye, squinting, and sees the ghosts are retreating, going, gone, as if retreating from someone..

Nolan slowly lowers his hands and turns on the stirrup of is legbrace and faces the man whom he just bumped into.... He's not someone who keeps up on world affairs, really. he's just a Gotham boy, street level, who spent a better part of his life in prison.. But even he knows who this is.

"Oh... uhm.... Hello..."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda, of course, is used to Nolan's distractions. Not that she sees them (well, one supposes she could if she /really/ wanted to, but she hasn't thought about it all that much and there really is no need). However, she is a bit surprised when he doesn't react poorly to first sight of her father.

So far, it seems his largest distress is at the fact of being in a palace. This she can deal with.

"Papa!" Wanda says brightly, and with obvious fondness for the man, leaving Nolan's side to place a kiss upon Magneto's cheek. "You have been very bad in not coming to visit, no? I think it was in the park in summer when last we did spend time together." Of course, she should be visiting as well. "But look, I have brought someone to meet with you."

She turns to Nolan, and it's obvious how she feels about the man, and that she does not see his bent and broken body the way others might. "Papa, this is Nolan. He is the man that I do love. And Nolan, this is my Papa, Erik."

Magneto has posed:
     Magneto holds up his hands, playing a surrender. "Yes, my dear. I do apologize. There's some...nastiness brewing but never you mind that at the moment."

  The King looks to Nolan, looking the man over. His voice grows a bit of an eerie tone to it. "Ahh, this is the man who's managed to woo my daughter." He reaches out a hand to greet. "A pleasure to meet you." He comments, his baritone voice almost seems to command, even with no verbal commands given.

Deadwatch has posed:
Well.. /This/ is going to be /SWELL/. The psychic can't help but /stare/ at the floating mutant's hand as it is offered to him. How many people have that hand, guiding the power of magnetism, crushed over the years. How many nations has it, as an extention of the regal looking man it belongs to, almost toppled. Nolan steels himself, and thanks whatever powers that be that he had the foresight to wear /gloves/ before they bamfed over here. He would hate to go all 'Dead Zone' Ed GLosser on the Master of Magnetism.

"Uhm, yeah... That would be me." he says, giving a very slight smile as he shakes His lover's father's hand with his damaged one.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda gives her father a swat. "Papa, play nicely. Nolan is a good man, and you are making me look like the bad in front of him. He is going to do the running away all frightened and then I will be sad and cry."

She pouts at her father, making it very clear that he may not wish to have a sad Wanda moping around his palace.

Magneto has posed:
     The hand is shaken with the usual three shakes, then retracted. "Wanda, dear, you slay me. I thought I was being a near perfect host."

  "Come, sit, make yourselves comfortable as I give your beau the third degree." A slight attempt at humor, but an attempt nevertheless. Magneto takes a seat at one of several ornate chairs in the royal palace. "Welcome to Genosha, Nolan. As I'm sure Wanda had whisked you far away from wherever it was you were before."

Deadwatch has posed:
Third Degree... Peeeeeerfect. Where is a Demon or some Malovolent spirit when you needed one. He looks over hi shoulder and gives Wanda the BEST smile he can. Yep, a big 'ol grin, before he looks back to her father. "Thank you, sir." he says as he limps to the nearest chair, eyeing it with suspicion.. How much METAL is it made out of? Oh well, not like he as much choice. He carefully sits down, wincing as his braced leg bends at the knee, and sets his cane aside. "So we /are/ in Genosha, then..." he states. "I was wondering. Long way fro gotham, thats for sure. We should probably keep that on the down low.. I don't have a passport and my parole officer would..." he the suddenly stops, realizing that admiting he's a felon may NOT be the best thing...

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's cheeks flush a pretty little pink as her father casually drops where they are.

"I am sorry, Nolan. I did think if you knew that this was my father, and that technically I am a princess here, that you might be afraid to be with me?" She does allow, "I should have maybe said today, though, that we are in Genosha. But, yes, this is my home. Or has been a home I have known."

She comes and joins the two men.

"Only the little third degree, Papa," she warns. fingers held aloft and apart a mere half inch. Perhaps adding her own little bit of joking to the matter.

Magneto has posed:
     Magneto holds up two fingers, and a bottle from the wall gently lands next to a set of port glasses. "Care for a digestif?" He offers, pouring three small glasses of the port wine out.

  "Oh I dare say unless you are being tracked, no one will be the wiser." The comment on convicts doesn't garner much response. Magneto has done his fair share of what normal people would call 'crimes'.

Deadwatch has posed:
Nolan Voight sort of looks relieved that he doesn't have to explain that to him.. of course the man himself is a felon, but this /is/ his daughter here and he's probably going to want her.. paramours.. to be as LEAST like him as possible. Nolan knows if /he/ had a daughter he would want her boyfriend (or girlfriend, he isn't prejudiced) to be ANYTHING like him. "Thank you, sir. I would love one." he says as he watches the little display of power... It may intimidate some, but it doesn't intimidate him. Or at elast he doesn't show it.

He then turns to set those strangely mismatched eyes of his on her, and smiles a faint though sincere (and slightly roguish) smile. "Wanda... It is /fine/." he says softly and reaches over to take her hand. "Trust me, it's fine. I understand. I really do. Even though you were REALLY underselling it when you said he had 'a reputation'." he tells her, wryly, then gives erik a chuckle. "No offence, of course."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's blush remains, and Nolan is treated to a pretty little smile, taking Nolan's hand within her own. "Well, I do find it is much easier to explain after than to watch someone run away. I did think maybe you might be okay to stay and at least give Papa a *little* bit of a chance before deciding I was maybe too much trouble."

Oh, yes, she is most definitely being playful with Nolan. It's beyond obvious.

"He is not being tracked, Papa, and even if he were, I am much better than that." Her scolding for Magneto is gentle. "I would not leave it so that he did get in troubles." And she wouldn't. Somehow Nolan would be right where he was expected to be, and none would be the wiser... were he being tracked. However, he isn't.

She thanks her father for the drink, taking up one of the glasses. To her, it's not an actual display of power her father has made; it's merely him, as much as anything she does is merely her. However, she's no stranger to his powers. Nolan might have other opinions on what's commonplace. Then again, he's practically had Wanda living with him for some time now. Nolan should be getting very used to the commonplace of magic on the level with which it happens around Wanda.

Magneto has posed:
     "I had figured as much. I just wanted to emphasize the safety." Indeed, Magneto hadn't performed the small show of power as such. It was merely him going about his day. Erik's glass is raised and the nonagenarian offers a toast. "To pleasant futures."

  "So, Nolan. What is it that you do?" A simple question, though knowing this family, the answer is probably much more involved that it appears on face value.

Deadwatch has posed:
Nolan Voight would know that he is being tracked as well, if he were.. Or if he didn't one of the multitude of ghosts and spirits he has in his employ would tell him. That's one of the benefits of being what he is, after all. And some magic of his own doesn't help either. "Wanda, it's not like I could 'run' away.." he reminds her, motioning to his leg. "At least not TOO quickly. Besides, now that your father KNOWS who I am, if I ever did something o stupid he'd probably drop a stadium on me or something... No offense.." he says again to Erik and then picks up the small glass of port.

"Now for what I do.. That is sort of a loaded question, ain't it? I mean I could say I'm a private detective, which is more or less true even though I am unlicensed, but I have a feeling you meant this more as a 'I've shown you mine so you show me your's' sort of thing." he says and sips at the drink.. WHoa.. thats some GOOD stuff. He licks his lips and cradles the glass in his lap. He looks straight into Magnetos eyes, not wavering. "I see dead people." he tells him, matter of factly. "I see them. I hear them. I /talk/ to them. Oh, and yeah.. Some magic stuff too." he makes a frilly hand gesture which is COMPLETELY not in character for him. "I'm the Sorcercer of Gotham, for what that's worth."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda can only nod to Nolan's suggestion that he couldn't just run away. "I would let you get far ahead before I chased you down," she says with a very straight face - even if it'sstill quite possible she's teasing. "It would only be polite."

There's a sudden wicked little grin on the young woman's face that she doesn't explain; a fleeting thing that is here and gone in a flash.

"Papa likes to have the very best that he might of things," Wanda notes absently. Notably, she doesn't say the most expensive.

Tilting her head somewhat at her father, she wonders aloud, "It truly would not matter, Papa? If I did like him, it would not matter." Only she has to add, once Nolan begins divulging what he does. "Only a little magic, he says. A little."

He'd helped her create a bubble in reality. A little magic. A little.

Magneto has posed:
     The King takes a sip from the dessert wine. "Thank you. That bottle was a gift from the King of Spain on his visit. It apparently comes from one of his most favorite vineyards." The cost of which, Erik has no idea.

  Magneto's white eyebrows raise at the comment by Nolan. "I merely was asking about your occupation. But communing with the dead...now that's a stunning reveal. You must be awash with bother being here." He doesn't apologize, merely acknowledging the amount of spirits this man must be feeling.

  "It wouldn't matter to me, dear. You are more than capable of taking care of yourself. This isn't like when I was a boy, with women only expected to keep house and bear children while the man provided the money to put food on the table."

Deadwatch has posed:
Nolan Voight suuuuure... The King of Genosha was /only/ asking about his /occupation/. And Nolan has a few acres of bottom land under Gotham Bridge.. Just don't ask what it's at the bottom of. "You /could/ say that this place is a bit more.. populated then others." he says neutrally as he takes a sip of the port again and smacks his lips.. No, he's not exactly refined. "So.. yeah.. King of Spain. Thats sort of slumming it, isn't it? I mean spains Royalty isn't exactly.. you know.. really in power.. Not like /You/. Just some dude holding onto a title." he says, swirling the amber liquid around in his glass, then looking to Wanda.

"Well THAT makes me feel better, having a headstart and all." he tells her, then looks between the two, father and daughter. "Your daughter is /more/ then capable of taking care of herself, sir. I completely agree with that. I would never force her to play second to me.. Ever."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Magneto gets a fond look from her father, and something of a shrug. "It is true. I do not need you to protect me, Papa. But I do love that you would, anyway."

Then she titters a laugh at Nolan's words. "Only a little headstart."

It's a short-lived laugh, followed by a very serious look from the young woman for the bent and broken man. "You do know, Nolan, that I would not make you stay. If it were too much, I would let you be. Nobody should be made to stay with someone." Even if she could make it so that he only ever thought he wanted to be with her. A very sobering thought for the woman, that she has that power, should she ever want to employ it. But that would be as she has already said to him of her fears about herself, 'all would love me, and despair'.

"Nolan is a good man, Papa. He will say that he is a dark man. And has many evils on his conscience. But where he is written into all fabrics of reality, he is a good man. I could not love him so if it were not true."

Magneto has posed:
     "You are correct, but it was indeed a moment for Genosha, receiving their visit. There are still some that consider the new government of Genosha to be...illegitimate. Receiving heads of state are small steps to erasing that notion." Erik takes another sip from the glass, resting it on the table with the bottle. "Thank you, Nolan. I wish I could take all the credit, but alas." He says in regards to Wanda.

  "I believe you, my dear." He answers to Wanda. "One would be safe to guess that you wouldn't fall for someone less than worthy."

Deadwatch has posed:
Bent and Broken.. Gee thanks! He's not Quasimodo! Still, the lanky redhaired cripple only shakes his head with that enigmatic smile on his lip. "I stay because I WANT to, Wanda. because I love you. Not because I have to, or because I feel obligated for anything other then true reasons of the heart... which is WEIRD me actually saying, I gotta tell you." he says with a chuckle and then a sigh. He knows how powerful she is, but sometimes he thinks she doesn't realize how powerless she is.. That her reach doesn't go as far as she thinks.. That she does have limits, like all mortals.. Even him and Magneto and people like them. They all have limits.

He looks back to Erik and shakes his head. "Sir, lets be honest here. All governments are illegitimate.. until they aren't. Kings began as thieves and warlords.. They were just the last ones standing. President began as revolutionaries. That is the cycle of things. A cycle of conquest."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"I do know that," Wanda smiles, as Nolan says he stays with her because he loves her, and no other reason. "I did not so much wish to love you either. It was a bit of a surprise. I did have to think about it a time."

And it was true. She'd wanted to love another. Tried to, even, to no avail. Her thoughts had always drifted back to this one particular man for no reason that she understood other than she loved him, and that when she was with him, things felt *right*. And as someone who felt the push and pull of reality in a very real and visceral way, Wanda had eventually given into that feeling and let it define her.

She knew, too, that she was powerless - that was the secret, wasn't it? We are each and all as powerless as we are powerful. The two always balanced out so that the give in one was the take in the other. For all that she could do, there was so much else she couldn't. Not and be who she was. It was why she was utterly vulnerable to her father and her brother's machinations. She was aware of this, and didn't wish to be, she just couldn't help it. It was written into the fabric of her being to be so.

She lets her father and Nolan speak 'Of shoes... and ships... and sealing-wax... Of cabbages... and kings...'. Contentedly sitting back and sipping at her drink.

Magneto has posed:
     Magneto takes off that helmet of his, his white silver hair feathered underneath. The iconic headgear floats to the mantle, and rests. "Yes, Indeed. But my people wish, no, demand that they be recognized over their former slavemasters. Doing so on the world stage is a much more...subtle process than how we took the country from the old regime."

  Erik sighs, looking to the helmet on the mantle. "It makes me yearn for the old days."