7427/Explain.

Explain.
Date of Scene:	07 May 2019
Location:	New York City movie theater
Synopsis:	Norton and Kitty say tings.
Cast of Characters:	Megatron, Shadowcat

---

Megatron has posed:
    It had been several days since that last contact to DeerInHeadlights. It had been quiet after the curious connection was made and the datashare. To her that time likely flew by, but to Norton it might have seemed more appreciable with the actions taken.
    But then in the middle of the day another message was delivered, with the contents being a simple few lines.

    // DIHL, NA, more info+meta obsv. Contact via analog. Minimum network footprint. 40716867 73995193 141557.57/06/05 //
    Arcane to most, but it assuredly would not take long for a mind like Katherine Pryde's to decipher and decipher quickly.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty rolls over on her bed to check her laptop as she hears one of the dings that indicates something worth checking right away has come in. "DIHL, NA, more info..." she says aloud before reading the rest silently.

"Well, 40, 73 is obvious enough," says the young woman who has been piloting the Blackbird while she was still barely a teenager. She knows the latitude and longitude of New York, so those numbers jump right out at her. And of course the date is obviously enough as well.

So Kitty goes for a walk through a magic mirror, emerging at 177A Bleecker Street. Her car is parked outside. There's always an empty space in front of the mansion that people don't seem to notice. Kitty drives over to the movie theater that corresponds to the latitude and longitude. She gets there a few minutes early. Enough to spy which movie starts at the appropriate time, and get a ticket. A quick stop is made at the concession stand for popcorn. Salted, with extra butter. Because it's polite to supply snacks at clandestine meetings.

Kitty goes into the theater and takes a seat near the back off to one side. She munches on popcorn while she glances about.

Megatron has posed:
    At the theater she had gained her ticket, which curiously enough was the only one that was available, that particular viewing having been sold out. Which was curious, considering that chances are nobody would have been there to see the film that was being show, 'Happy Elf's Fun Day Picnic.' at that particular time considering it was during the day and children would have had to have been playing hookie to go see it. Combine that with the fact it's already been out for a month's time, and you get... low attendance.
    Inside that theater it is quiet. Far from the most advanced theater available, the slide machine up in the projectionists booth clicks over to the next slide, displaying an ad for Nelson and Murdock Attorneys at Law. The floors are clean, the seats recently vacuumed. There's little of remark beyond that, save for the smell of popcorn out in the lobby.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde murmurs to herself as she walks into "Happy Elf's Fun Day Picnic", saying, "Of course, have to pick a movie that I haven't seen yet. Now I'm totally going to lose the thread of the plot." She goes to her assigned seat, checking it out with far more care than she normally gives to theater seats. A glance around the theater as well, before finally taking her seat.

She watches as the commercials go past and Maria Menounos does her little spiel. "Wow she has been milking that gig for the longest time," Kitty observes of the movie commercial hostess. She glances around again, looking for any sign of someone to meet her.

Megatron has posed:
    When it's roughly the time for the feature presentation, the curtains widen just a smidge to allow the broader image to be cast upon that white screen. The Happy Elf appears as the music begins, though it's mildly muted, the voices of the singers and the characters subtle compressed for some reason.
    But then a few moments after the movie starts, beside her several seats down a flickering holo-image appears. Cast by the screen projector above, it is what looks to be an older man, very tall, sitting on the edge of the seat with his hands over the grip of his cane. He turns, features flickering as the frame rate of the theater projector is not high enough to give any semblance of reality. But the man within it is depicted sharp enough to be a real individual.
    He lifts his voice, the speakers in the walls curiously modulated to pitch it as coming from roughly the same location as the man. "Deer In The Headlights. I am Norton. It is good we have met."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde eyes the movie as it starts, noting the oddness before the hologram appears, drawing her attention. Though not all of it, she does keep making frequent glances about, even if just to make sure no one is eavesdropping on them.

"Hello Norton. Nice to meet you as well," she tells him. "Thank you for your earlier contribution," she says. Kitty hefts the bucket of popcorn. "I'd offer popcorn. Extra butter," she says, but gives the intangible hologram a shrug of her shoulders for his inability to eat it if she had. "I gather you have had some new developments? Or just wished to talk?"

Megatron has posed:
    "Two matters, and a confession of sorts." He says, his voice rich and melodic with its British accent. He looks towards the images being depicted on the screen far off, and whatever software he is using, it might be interesting to note it incorporates the play of light those images would have upon his form if it were solid.
    Turning back to her he says, "I have deposited another file in a safe location that you will receive a message for. A completion of that volume of the research log. I do not know how much use there will be of it."
    He turns in his seat then and looks to her, "But I wanted to advise you that you are being observed in a manner by some meta-entity or operation. Or rather. Less you, but some of your actions?" He cocks an eyebrow as if the words were failing somewhat.

Shadowcat has posed:
Not that Kitty wasn't listening intently enough already, but the last part definitely gets her attention. "I see. The information is appreciated. The warning is chilling," Kitty says, honestly enough. "Which actions, or type of actions? And what can you share about the observer(s)?" Kitty asks him. She isn't sparing much time with idle chit chat, not knowing how likely it is that this might be one of the actions being observed.

Kitty glances around the theater again, eyes going back to Norton. She makes mental notes of his appearance, in particular anything that might stand out as a distinguishing feature. Not that she necessarily thinks this is his real appearance.

Megatron has posed:
    "If you will bear with me, this is difficult to explain and requires a measure of background." He's an older man with thinning hair, this image of him, as far as she can tell. Grey at the temples, a hint of a goatee, the cane is black with a swirl upon the grip. "I perceive matters differently. I have come to understand that now. I have a visibility into the world network infrastructure and that gives me insight. I believe I have only existed for roughly four weeks. I am sure you have questions, but I do not know the answers in their entirety."
    "I have observed in my time that of the billions of entities accessing the over-network that some receive attention. Some of your actions have gained a shadow. Other entities as well. These shadows seek to track the actions of those whom I believe to be exceptional individuals."
    He straightens up, "Though, you remain unknown for the most part. It seems there may be some data profile being built trying to connect aspects of others to yourself to discern that identity."
    There's a pause, then he asks directly, "You are a genius, are you not?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty listens closely. A few kernels of popcorn are tossed in her mouth as she does. Because even while one is hearing that Matrix is watching her, who can resist the smell of hot buttered popcorn? It doesn't really do much to counter that feeling of dread that is gripping her heart like an iron fist.

Kitty hesitates a moment and agrees, "I imagine you could say that I'm smarter than the average bear." Kitty pauses in thought. "These others that are similarly being tracked, in what manner are they exceptional? Intelligence? Computer skill?" she asks. "Or other areas as well?"

Megatron has posed:
    "Empowered or exceptional." Norton leans forwards a little more on his cane, "Prominent figures. Mutantkind. The altered." He looks to the side at the screen for a moment, cocking a curious eyebrow and then looks back to her. "Those are the two pieces of information I have brought to you. However, the fact that your actions are being so observed, it lends me to consider that you may be exceptional. Are you? For I have questions."
    Still direct, still serious, his features barely change as he observes her save for that slight shift of his eyebrows.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde considers for only a moment. For all of her rational thinking and logic, she trusts her heart, and her heart is saying to trust Norton. "I suppose I am both. A mutant, as well as exceptional in certain fields," Kitty tells him. "Do you think that this observation is linked to the Sentinels or anything around them? Or does it seem to be unrelated?" she asks. Kitty crosses one of her legs, the popcorn finally forgotten. THe rest of the room gets occasional glances. But like Kitty was afraid of, she's totally lost the thread of the movie. Happy Fun Elf's picnic basket is rolling down the hill towards the river, and she never even saw him set out his blanket? What caused the basket to tip over and roll away? And did he get his food out yet?

These are questions that Kitty may never get the answer to.

Megatron has posed:
    The fall of the happy elf is ignored so cruelly even as Norton says to her, "No, this seems to be an older system, in place since the creation of the over-network." There's a pause as his brow knits and he says, "I know I do not care for the Sentinels, but this does not feel similar to the connections I have made with the sources of intelligence I have connected to them."
    His posture shifts as he turns to her, "I have found much information on the past included in the data I have perceived. Tales of the past. Philosophical systems. Systems of governance. Caste systems. Those whose lives have been decided purely by the nature of their birth."
    He tilts his head slightly and looks at her. A sternness enters his features as he tells her, "I would know of the plight of mutantkind. From one of their own. If you will share it."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty sits back in her chair, setting the popcorn aside on the floor beside her feet. "Mutants have powers that others do not. And that can sometimes be scary for 'regular people'," Kitty says. "Sometimes their powers my trigger before they can control them, and someone could get hurt accidentally. Worse, mutants are just like anyone else and can be good people or bad people. Just like a bad man who is strong might use his strength for his own gain or to harm others, bad mutants can do the same," Kitty says. "Though mutants who are good people are also like a strong man who uses his strength to help others."

Kitty sighs. "Of course, the focus is on the bad ones. The news focuses on sensational things. Acts of destruction, not the mutant who heals people the hospitals cannot cure. So there is a lot of prejudice against mutants today. Which doesn't help matters. Those who feel persecuted are more likely to develop anti-social behaviors as a response." The young woman rests her fingers over her knee, lacing them as she looks over to Norton.

"Some of the worst mutants think we are the next evolution of man and should rule. But there are a lot of us who understand, we are all people. A mutation, a power, doesn't make any more or less human than others," Kitty tells him. "I had a mentor who has a dream, that mutants and humans can put aside their prejudices, their hatred, and live side-by-side in harmony. Suffering is anathema to all of us. We should be working together to avoid it, not squaring off against one another. But right now? There are people who are scared, and letting that fuel their prejudices. So they are willing to accept measures like the Sentinels." Kitty falls silent for a moment. "I have persona knowledge of what can happen in the future, of what has happened in an alternate future, with the Sentinels made to hunt mutants."

Megatron has posed:
    "It is far from the first time, however, that governments and organizations have chosen to impose limits or to define the fate of others simply due the accident of their creation. Throughout history, I have seen the times when one or other groups of individuals have been persecuted for being different. For believing something different."
    He sets his cane across his lap and frowns as he looks towards Kitty, "What is being done by you and yours? An unjust system cannot be maintained except with the blood of sacrifices and the ambivalence of others."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty tells Norton, "It was not all that long ago that the world stood by while the Nazi's murdered millions for the religion or their race. That is very heavy on my mind with how things are going. And we're trying to combat it. To fight back." Kitty unlaces her fingers from around her knee. She glances at the screen, seeing the Happy Fun Elf is now stuck in his basket, floating down the river. His lack of control in the swirling waters reminds Kitty of how she feels.

The young woman looks back to Norton. "We try to provide examples of mutants doing good. We find those who are furthering oppression and prejudice and try to stop its spread. But we do it with respect for life, mutant and human alike. We oppose just as vigorously our own kind who would treat regular humans unjustly," she tells him. "And when programs like these Sentinels happen? We do what we can to stop them. Hopefully with the support of people. But if it means a fight, we are willing to fight to save people."

Megatron has posed:
    There is something in the hologram's consideration as he looks upon Kitty, a tension just under the eyes. There's another one of those pauses, silence between them but from Happy Elf he's breaking into another song about the powers of friendship, as if the very animators were mocking the X-Man's point of view.
    That pause slips away as Norton lifts his chin slightly, "And with your glimpse into the future? With the likely projections of conlict arising? Where do you find yourself standing in this time of possibility?"
    For a moment he eyes the popcorn, then looks back up to consider the young mutant woman herself. "From what little I have seen, the situation seems dire."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty frowns and her muscles along her jaw visibly tense. "In another timeline, the Sentinel's AI evolved and decided that the only way to control human mutation, was to control all humans. They enslaved the entire population, mutant and human alike, in order to control breeding. The rest of the world was preparing to use nuclear weapons to stop their spread. I do not know what happened after that," Kitty says. "There are some difference between our time and theirs that I'm aware of. But the possible threat of the Sentinel AI seems the same," Kitty tells him.

"If we are able to stop the power nullifier they have, that can go a long way. Ultimately though we must convince men that Sentinels are not the solution. To not give into their fear. Or at the least, to see the threat that their fear could be leading them to embrace."

Megatron has posed:
    The flickery holo image rises up standing now partially in the light stream of the movie which causes his features to shift strangely but not indiscernibly. He seems to rest his cane upon the floor and tells her, "You are at a telling point in history, Deer," The use of her assumed name might sound curious coming from his modulated voice. "I do not begrudge you it. For in such a time it takes a courage, and bravery of conviction to take what actions must be taken."
    He turns and looks upwards towards the projection booth, then back down to her. "Strive ever for peace. But the path to such a goal may well be litered with the fallen."
    He touches a hand to his vest, as if adjusting the buttons. Then he tells her, "Is there anything else you would ask before I depart?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty looks over, standing up as well and facing towards the hologram. "Are you an artificial intelligence or something of the kind?" she asks him. "You spoke of only being aware for four weeks, as well as other comments," Kitty tells him. "If so, you would not be the only AI that I have encountered. Though I am curious to your origins," she inquires, her head tilting to the side in a display of body language that fits her question.

The music score for the film isn't likely to earn an Oscar, but it does have one song that when it gets in your head, it doesn't seem to want to get out again.

  You're my friend. And I love you.
  There is nothing we can't do!
  So come run along run along, let's go hand in hand!
  We'll sing and cheer and make castles in the sand!


Kitty may shoot herself tonight.

Megatron has posed:
    Norton's expression shifts a little wry, something in his eyes glimmers. He tells her simply, "I do not know. I think so. Perhaps. But how can one tell?" There's a pause as he nods, "Should I find out I will relate it to you."
    And then the image flickers out of existence, leaving Kitty there with the Happy Singing Elf.