8093/Mutant Town Meet Up

Mutant Town Meet Up
Date of Scene:	28 June 2019
Location:	Mutant Town
Synopsis:	Josh Foley spots Wanda in Mutant Town and treats her to a meal and an interesting conversation
Cast of Characters:	Scarlet Witch, Elixir

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Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda is not a stranger to unusual moods that sometimes grip her. Normally troubling ones. She's never thought of them as being more than anyone else faces, if perhaps hers seem to affect her more than others. Never considered if there might be a cause beyond simple genetics, brain chemistry, or whatever else causes people to have to deal with inner demons sometimes.

Though the one she is facing now has been lingering for a time, and has only grown worse since Sebastion set out on his own. If they are linked, Wanda has written it off to being stress. One of her ways to combat her moods is to take long walks. Though she prefers more rural areas that remind her of Transia, she's taken of late to exploring New York during them.

Today her walk has taken her all the way to Mutant Town. Mutants are on her thoughts presently, and perhaps it is no surprise that she ended up here unconsciously. The shift from human faces to those with other genetic history is subtle at first, just an occasional face here or there. Though after awhile, at least a fourth of the people she passes seem to be mutants to visual inspection, and probably far more than that that just pass as human.

The heels of her knee-high click softly on the sidewalk, the tops visible beneath the dark skirt that hangs down as if to meet them. A purple blouse is visible beneath a light jacket thrown overtop. Auburn hair is left to hang loose down her back as the Transian woman wanders the sidewalks. She pauses and looks around the neighborhood she finds herself in. Seeing an older woman heading into a church, Wanda turns to follow, for no particular reason. She rarely worries much about reason on these walks.

Elixir has posed:
Josh is walking down the sidewalk with a coffee in one hand and a backpack over his shoulder. The cup is from Rebelle's Beans, an independent coffee shop just up the street where he spent a lot of time studying. Just now he is heading home to the prospect of his dingy little apartment, and so not in a hurry. His trendy jeans change subtly from black to a black/silver sheen, a fashion that struck the younger crowd in late spring. He wears a white NYU shirt and sneakers with it. His tousled blond hair is somewhat unruly as usual.

He notices the woman across the street near the church simply for being striking at first. It takes a second for the rest of his brain to catch up and realize he is looking at /the/ Wanda Maximoff. Josh slows to a near stop as Wanda turns to follow the older lady into the church. He grins, then looks thoughtful for a second, before shrugging and crossing the street after a bus passes by. He half-hustles to the far sidewalk, then strolls up the stairs to see where the Avenger went.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Though perhaps known at Xavier's for being Magneto's daughter and Lorna's sister, for most of the city, they would know Wanda as an Avenger. Though she's found one benefit of her often revealing costume is that most people don't seem to recognize her as readily when she's in normal clothing. Non-mutants don't, anyway. But here it's more likely someone might recognize her. The lack of the green hair that her sister has, plus her lower key connection to Genosha, seems to have let Wanda into the church without having stood out to anyone. Or so she thinks.

Once inside she watches the old woman move up to the altar before praying. Wanda isn't herself very devoutly religious. While she is half-Jewish, she never embraced that religion either, not even knowing of her ancestry until her adult years. Wanda moves up only about three rows along the pews, and the moves over to take a seat. The place is mostly empty, only a half dozen people, mostly up front praying. Wanda picks up one of the hymnals and slowly flips through it. She never really had a Christian upbringing, her number of trips to a church have been few.

Elixir has posed:
Josh walks into the church about the time Wanda sits down. He glances around almost guiltily, looking conspicuous and alien, so blandly pop-normal in a shrine to tolerance and peace for the minority, the different. His face colours somewhat and turns to go, but a tired-looking man with pronounced simian features is coming through the door behind him. Josh turns back and walks deeper into the building. His eyes are faraway and he turns and picks a pew without thinking. Only after he sits does he realize he actually dropped himself in the /Avengers/ pew. He grimaces slightly, turns redders, and then puts his backpack down at his feet. He pulls a Bible from the back of the pew in front of him just stares at the cover. Then he opens it and goes hunting for Luke.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda looks up from her book of hymns as she hears the person sit down beside her. Her eyes go past Josh at first, over to the older simian man as he ambles on past, before returning to the much younger and more human-looking mutant. Her eyes drop to the bible that Josh has open, her head tilting as she sees the verse at the top of the page.

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven," she reads aloud in a quiet voice. Her accent is noticeable, but gentle. Softening words that were already spoken softly. "That is a very good verse," she says quietly after giving it a few moments thought. "Especially in a time like now," the Avenger says, glancing up from the Bible and to Josh.

Elixir has posed:
Josh looks up at Wanda, wide-eyed. He looks at the Bible, swallows and seems to recover, forcing a smile.

"Yeah... Um..." Josh agrees and clears his throat quietly.

"No kidding. It's bad for people right now. Ah, you're... Wanda. Right? Like, the Wanda," he says, recovering his stride. The smile becomes natural, his shouders relax. "I'm Josh. This your regular church? I've never been inside here. It's... quiet," he says quietly.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
The smile that results from Wanda is soft and charmed, the kind of expression that is good at putting others at ease. "It is not my regular church," she says, speaking slowly, thoughtfully, as if each word should have its moment before the next word comes to replace. "I do not have a regular... anything like this, really," she tells him. "And, I suppose I am. Though I just think of myself as 'a' Wanda," she tells him. "And... would you be the Josh?" she asks, her tone and the smile that she gives likely enough to keep it from adding any embarrassment.

Wanda turns to cast her gaze across the church. "It is quiet. Quiet isn't a bad thing these days," she says, words kept soft to not break that sense of peace and quiet the room holds. Her smile slips just a bit as if her talk of these days brings troubled thoughts. But not enough to completely turn the corners of her lips back down at least.

Elixir has posed:
Josh snorts slightly at being called /the/ Josh. He puts the Bible down beside him and leans forward to rest his forearms against the back of the pew in front of him.

"I dunno, quiet is overrated," he muses in all of his 21 year-old wisdom. He runs a hand through his hair. "Busy's better. Less time for things to rattle around, you know? Idle brains, and all that. Anyway, sorry, you're trying to get quiet. You probably get people bugging you all the time. Didn't mean to..." he stops and frowns, belatedly realizing he did not intrude. "Yeah. You know," he settles on with a grin that speaks of someone who is used to smoothing over just about anything with it.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda replies with a little shake of her head, and a wave as if Josh's apology is not necessary. "I am just out wandering and thinking. And sometimes having someone to talk to is a nice thing to have when doing that," she tells him. "I am not even sure why I stopped inside. I do not go into churches very often. It just seemed the right thing to do today," she comments.

Wanda looks back over to Josh after he perusal of the rest of the room, her green eyes settling on him. "And do you live here in Mutant Town? Are you one of our many and varied mutant brethren? Not that there is anything wrong with it if you are not," she tells him with a gentle grin.

Elixir has posed:
"Yeah, yeah it is... " Josh says with a slow nod, then smiles.

"I am a mutant," he says. The word sticks slightly.

"But I got it easy. I mean," he says, sits up and spreads his hands. "Nobody would know."

"You got a little time? I mean, I don't wanna bother anyone here, but the Sailor's across the street. Buy you a drink? Food's good, too if you're hungry," he says quietly, and glances around a little self-consciously. Though it seems to be far more about talking in church than having just asked the Scarlet Witch across the road for a drink and a bite. "They're really good there, I live just over by Evolution, so I go in all the time. You know the place?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
"I have heard of it," Wanda says of Evolution. "And been past it, but only during the day," she adds. The woman flashes a smile over to the slightly younger man. "And thank you, I actually could use something to eat. And drink," she tells him.

Wanda glances down at her hymnal she had open, gently closing the book and returning it to the back of the pew where she'd found it.

She rises to her feet and will follow Josh out into the aisle. Once free of it, she'll slip her hands about his arm to let him lead her over to the unfamiliar establishment. "It is easier on us when we can blend in," she agrees. "And even for those who are known, I seem to have an easier time of it than some. Though it's no less cutting to me, seeing what is going on," she says, shaking her head. She lets Josh lead the way.

Elixir has posed:
Josh gets up, shoulders his backpack and slips over to the aisle. He turns to walk toward the exit and then feels her hand on his arm and does his level best not to react out of sheer surprise. He is mostly successful.

"Yeah, I hear you," Josh says as they step back outside. He seems to relax another notch as soon as they are out of the church. He leads the way down the stairs and in the direction of the Sailor, a local pub. "I kinda feel guilty, sometimes. Like, I some of the kids at 'The School' look like fish, or the guy across the street there... A hedgehog? Porcupine? Yeah...." Josh shakes his head. He crosses the street with Wanda towards the sign of a Fishman in a Popeye suit hanging over the pub.

"But it's been crazy. I haven't seen things like this... Ever. I mean, the Reavers were hurting people last year, but Sentinels?" he shakes his head, his tone is genuinely concerned. "You see the news about that thing last night?" Josh asks as he holds the door open for Wanda. He comes in behind her and waves to the green-skinned young woman with a half-shaved head and heavy piercings who walks by, clearly one of the servers. The woman grins, glances over Wanda and raises an eyebrow at Josh.

"Booth over there was just cleaned if you want it, Josh," the woman says.

"Thanks!" Josh replies and heads that way to sit down. "I probably come here too much," he confides.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda walks with a slow, but long strides, her boots clicking softly on the pavement as they cross over to the pub. "I did hear about that, yes," she says with a frown. Too late to be able to assist with it," she says, the depth of her frown telling as they pass inside the pub.

Wanda gives the waitress a friendly enough smile of greeting, moving over with Josh to the booth where she slides into it. "You mentioned a school. Would it be one that my sister Lorna attended?" she asks Josh with a little tilt of her head.

Once they are seated she looks around the place. "It's a nice atmosphere," she says. "Though I am not sure I understand the theme. That is an American cartoon? A super strong sailor is he?" the Transian woman who grew up with gypsies asks of Popeye.

Elixir has posed:
"Shame none of you were there, it was... " Josh says seriously, then looks sad. "Well, you saw the news. It was horrible."

Josh pushes his backpack aside and settles in. "Yeah!" he grins broadly when asked about the school. "I've met Lorna a couple times at things. She's really nice. I dunno if I would've guessed you were sisters though. Maybe just hard to picture someone I know being related to... You. Anyway, I help out there, but I'm doing pre-med at NYU and working at Stark Biolabs. So I don't get there as much as I should, you know? Busy. I'm trying to go more now."

"The theme... Oh, yeah," Josh says and looks around. There is a touch of a nautical theme to an otherwise pretty standard pub. Except for the pictures of various mutant visitors on one wall. And the people there. "About a sailor guy who ate spinach or something and got super strong and was always fighting about something. It was weird. And /old/. I think my parents probably watched it?"

"Josh, you dumbass!" a higher pitched young man's voice trumpets coming up from behind Wanda. "Where've you been, I.... Oh... Hey, sorry man." A young man about Josh's age in basketball shorts and jersey stops at the table. He has to be at least seven feet tall, but is so improbably thin that it looks like he should fold in half. His skin is grey-brown with a grain to it that looks like it might be smooth wood. "Uh. Wrong guy?" he says to Wanda with a goofy grin.

"You're such an ass, Twig," Josh says, reddening, but smiling. "Like, such an ass."

"I'll uh, just be over here, catch you later," Twig says, backing off. His grin says Josh is not going to hear the end of this any time soon.

"Sorry...." Josh says with a sigh. "Where did you grow up? I mean, I know it wasn't America, but I can't remember where. I know I read it in the news once though."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda smiles softly as Josh relates his knowledge of Lorna. "Well, we didn't even know we were sisters until late in life. And we haven't been together very much, at that. Something I have made an effort the last few weeks to try to remedy, actually. I have been out to the school... three times in the last few weeks, I believe. Once to visit Charles. I made a poultice to speed his recovery," Wanda tells Josh.

She glances up as Twig makes his arrival known. She just grins up to him and says, "From what I've seen so far," as she nods that he surely has the wrong guy if he's looking for a dumbass. She chuckles softly as Josh's friend walks away. "It is alright. You should see how my brother and I speak to each other sometimes," she tells him with a faint grin.

"We grew up in Transia. A small country in Eastern Europe. Very small. Only one city of much size, and.. oh, probably 90% of the country lives in it. It's by Serbia and Romania if you ever want to find it on a map," Wanda tells him. "Though I've been in America for a few years now. I don't know that I will ever manage to lose my accent," she says.

Elixir has posed:
"Oh man, I'd like to see it one day. Go to Europe, travel around, you know? And hey, if you never lose the accent that's not a bad thing. I think it's really...." Josh's grin turns to shock. "Wait, his what?! What the hell happened? Why didn't they call me? Is he okay?" Josh gets a grip on himself and glances around to make sure nobody notices.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
It takes Wanda a moment to realize which 'he' that Josh is referring to. Her expression softens as the woman's green eyes focus on him as if she's apologetic that she seems to have broken this news to Josh. "Yes, he is fully recovered, I believe," Wanda says. "He was giving a talk at... I'm not quite sure the location now. In any event, someone shot him during the talk. There was a group of people there with the shooter, if I heard correctly. He went into surgery and then was taken back to the school when he'd recovered sufficiently. I imagine he only has a small scar there, now," Wanda says.

Her head tilts to the side a little bit. "You mentioned you were in pre-med. Do your powers run towards the healing arts?" she asks him curiously.

Elixir has posed:
"Je... Thank..." Josh frowns but lets out a breath in relief. "Good. I can't believe they didn't call me."

He looks up and smiles when the server comes over. If Wanda knows what she wants yet, he orders a barbecue cheddar burger and fries, and a Guinness. If not, just the Guinness.

"Ah..." he says once the server is gone. "Yes. As long as you're not dead, I can handle it. Which is apparently not common, so, ah. Well. It's not something I tell everyone about?" Josh says. He looks somewhat ashamed and shifts in his seat. "Uh, don't want, ah, like people coming through the roof for Jesus," he says lamely. "But that's not a cool ability like you, or your brother," he says, pushing a smile back on. "The way you can just... And just let it all out and not give a shit about who sees? It's really cool."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda asks Josh's recommendation and goes with the barbecue cheddar burger as well, but an extra pickle and no fries, and the lager. Best to stick with what the people familiar with the place have found as the best meals after all. Wanda rests her arms along the edge of the table as she listens to Josh speak of his mutant power.

"Not a cool ability?" Wanda repeats. "I think that is a very great gift to have."

The Avenger leans back into the cushioned back of the booth, looking thoughtful. "Though I can understand the need to keep it quiet," she says. She doesn't speak her thoughts aloud. Every person in the world with cancer, or a serious disease, wanting his time. The sheer demand he would face if word got out. The feelings Wanda knows she would be faced with, knowing each moment she spent doing anything else could be a person who died but didn't need to.

Yes, she can see how it might be, and doesn't bring it up further than that. Instead she takes his change of subject. "The acceptance is nice. Though it just makes me sadder that more mutants are not treated that way. Most are good, honest people, and don't deserve the stigma that some people have," she says quietly. If her jaw shows small amounts of tension, then she's from a family that had something to do with why some people might fear mutants, too.

Elixir has posed:
"I know, like, I really know. I've sort of... Seen it from both sides," he says and shifts. "But people like you are making a huge difference, you know? They're seeing what the world is like with mutants. Imagine without. And the Professor, he's probably the bravest guy I've ever heard of."

Josh cocks his head a little bit and he really looks at Wanda for a moment, instead of the fleeting glances he had been giving to avoid staring at the superstar across from him.

"Uh, this is probably like, way out there, or none of my business, but um, can I ask you something? Are you... okay?" he asks carefully. "I mean, not that you don't look okay, you're.. Well, yeah.... You look great. But what I'm /trying/ to say is kind of look a little... sad?" Josh finishes with a bit of a wince at how that all came out.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's head nods slowly at the mention of Professor Xavier. "Charles is a very fine man," she agrees. "I have something in mind, to help the school. To protect it, actually. Do you make it back out there very often?" she asks Josh. "I'm very happy there is a place like that. I do not wish to see anything happen to it," she says in her typically slow, gentle cadence. Though there is a bit of determination that can be heard at the mention of anything happening to the school, and the mutants within.

At Josh's question to her, Wanda pauses a moment. The waitress chooses that moment to bring the food and drinks over, giving Wanda yet another moment to pick her answer. "I have been..." she says before trailing off. "I do not know a good way to say it in Transian, let alone English," she says, shaking her head. "Out of sorts? It happens sometimes. Just... something feels wrong. Or, no... nothing feels right?" she says, holding up her hands. As she said, she's unsure of the words to express it.

Elixir has posed:
"I'm their medic. Supposed to be. Wasn't up there much for a bit, but I'll be in the Wellness Centre a lot, studying. The nurses kind of help me out, it's cool," Josh says and cocks his head. "Hey, anything that protects that place, I'm onboard for. Sort of what I do. What're you planning?" he asks the sits back when the server arrives.

"Thanks Em!" he says with a grin.

"Uh, sounds like ennui. Not like, l'appelle du vide, but ennui. Anomie!" he says and snaps his fingers. "I mean, they're close, but not exactly the same. When did it hit you? I mean, if that's not too personal."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda smiles to Em gratefully for the food. She gets a knife and cuts her burger in half to make it easier to handle. "I am sure they will be glad to have you back there," Wanda tells the healer mutant. She waits to taste her burger as she says, "I am preparing a protection circle. A very large one, around the entire grounds," she says. Which spans acres, so indeed very large. "One that if anyone tries to spy inside, visually, listening, with satellites, whatever... they will just see a run of the mill human preparatory school. No mutants, nothing unusual inside."

Wanda picks up her burger but doesn't take a bite yet as Josh asks about what she's been feeling. "All of my life, to a lesser degree. But not really until after... my powers were developed, and I trained in magic. That is when it became the most acute, at times," she says. Wanda frowns and glances off across the bar. "It is just like... a feeling that I cannot shake," she says.

She finally takes a bite of her burger. "Mmmm," she manages once she has finished the bite. "Though... this helps," she says, smiling across the table at Josh.

Elixir has posed:
"The whole? Wow. That would be incredible. You can do that? Well, of course you can," Josh corrects himself and shakes his head. "That would be really cool. Huge. It's like the one safe place for those kids."

Josh digs into his burger while Wanda explains about her feeling.

"Doesn't it?" he agrees about the burger helping. "Good food is magic."

Josh blinks and then laughs at himself. "Oh man. Good thing you're really cool, really laid back," he says with a grin. "So when you're not literally /saving the world/, what do you do?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda takes another slow bite from her burger. She has a very gentle gradual way to most of what she does. Speaking. Eating. She takes bites and chews them thoughtfully, savoring the taste fully. "It will be tricky. Though I have others willing to assist. But the preparations for it, I am going to be asking for help getting what all we need," she tells him of the protection spell.

Wanda sets down her burger, sucking a bit of grease off the ball of her palm below the thumb and grinning before wiping at her hands with a napkin in a more ladylike fashion. "I like to play my guitar. And I enjoy swimming, when it is warm enough. I take a lot of walks. Even when I'm not feeling," she says, and makes a gesture towards her head to indicate the way she's felt of late. "And yourself, Josh?"

Elixir has posed:
"Hey if I can help, let me know. And hey, just getting to see what you do up close? That'd be pretty sweet. I know about.... Nothing about magic," he says. In contrast to Wanda, Josh tends to eat faster, but notices the Avenger's pace and slows to match hers.

"Me? Well, I'm out saving the world every day, so there's like hardly any time at all..." he jokes and grins. "Uh, honestly? I used to play football. Hang out with... Friends. But I don't have a lot of free time anymore. I'm studying, or working, or getting called to, ah, help people. Then all the normal stuff that's gotta get done," he says and sighs. "I sound like an adult or something. Um, I drop in here. Evolution, too. A friend owns Evolution, so that's fun when I get a chance. I broke up with my girlfriend a couple weeks ago, so we used to hang out a lot. But not now," he says and shrugs.

"Pretty normal stuff. Sometimes I wish someone could just, like, zap, put all this med school stuff in my head so I can get down to business. But apparently telepaths don't like to do that kind of thing. Or my ex didn't want to," he says jokingly and grins. "Is there a spell for that? Like, fast forward in place so I can skip the next million years of school before I get to really start helping people more?"

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda continues to eat while she listens to Josh. She seems fine digging into the greasy cheeseburger. There's a very down to earth feeling about the Scarlet Witch as Josh gets to know her out of uniform. "You are an adult, yes. It sneaks up on us, doesn't it?" she asks, though she's nearer to the end of her twenties while he is at the start. "Mainly I use my own powers, though I know magic as well. People call what I do magic, but it's a mutant ability. Even if I came by it a little differently," she says, and with just a hint of an expression that suggests there may be a story there to dig out on another occasion.

Wanda chuckles and says, "Yes, there are spells for time travel though I try not to touch them. I have a colleague who is skilled. But such things often come with a price. Far better to earn it honestly," she tells him.

They pass the rest of the meal in chitchat and conversation, and it's clear by the end of the meal that Wanda has enjoyed herself. "I should be heading back to the Mansion. If I give you my number, perhaps you'll show me Evolution one night?" she asks him.

Elixir has posed:
Josh relaxes more during the meal, chatting easily and just enjoying himself. A welcome break the events of the night before. At a couple of points, he shakes his head wondering how he ended up at a table with Wanda Maximoff.

"Great minds... That'd be great. VIP treatment, I promise," he grins and exchanges numbers after he covers the meal. "I'm really glad I ran into you. I'll call for sure."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda Maximoff gives Josh her number and thanks him for the meal. "Drinks at the club will be on me though," she says after he covers the bill for the food. She rises to her feet, and if he gets up too will loop her hands about his arm to let him walk her over to the door. Is it done for Twig's benefit? Partially perhaps. Is it done to let Josh know she enjoyed the time she spent with him? Also quite possible.

"Thank you, Josh. I'll look forward to talking to you," she says, green eyes shining to him as they part at the doorway. She gives him one last smile and then slips out the door, which closes behind her.

Elixir has posed:
"Same," Josh says with a smile. The door closes when Wanda leaves and Josh lets out a breath. "Wow."

When he turns around, Twig, Alan and Em are clustered around a table looking at him. Twig has a giant grin on his face. Josh groans and makes his way over to their table for the inevitable ribbing. He takes it gladly.