9897/Ruining Someone's Day

Ruining Someone's Day
Date of Scene:	03 November 2019
Location:	Lorna's Room (North Halls); Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jamie reveals to Lorna some troubling information regarding her mother's plane crash
Cast of Characters:	Multiple Man, Polaris

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Multiple Man has posed:
How do you go about just really, really swinging for the fences in wrecking someone's day? Jamie Madrox had been wrestling with this for well over a week now. A week of having to hold something he'd rather not. A gnawing reality that he did -not- anticipate. So he disappeared into a bottle or twelve for a handful of days. He and himselves debating, arguing and at times flat out fighting over how to handle ghe inevitable.

Sunday came and he finally found the guts to get a shower. Some food. A bottle of water for a nice change of pace. With grim determination and a pit in his stomache, Jamie left the office for the estate. He could use a smoke. Or six. But he quit. Stalking through the halls, Madrox makes a direct path toward Lorna's room. A note in hand, something to slide under the door. He can't trust a text. A cell call. Not right now... Unshaven, disheveled but clean. He smells of smoke and fresh cut grass. Eyes distant as he rounds the corner for his final approach. Hoping she'd be out. Or just want the money back. That'd make this all so much easier...

Polaris has posed:
Lorna was on her way out, a woolen coat of some fine spun merino Italian in make and a soft grey in color. She had a purse slung over her shoulder and was visibly planning on leaving, as she swung the door open and spotted Jamie coming down the hallway in her general direction. Her expression changed from mildly distracted, thinking about other things in general. To a warm smile as she angled her steps toward the investigator.

"Jamie! Perfect timing, I was meaning to try to find you and have a chat. I was just going to head out to the local cafe for a bit, but that can wait." She waved her hand back, her bedroom door swinging open once more with a gentle push of her powers.

"If you've got a minute, come in. Please."

Multiple Man has posed:
Startled, Jamie's eyes widen briefly as he stalls a step. Caught like a deer in the high beams, the man freezes for a second. Run, Jamie. Quit the case. Turn around, forget it. Owe a powerful mutant a small fortune and maybe rob banks for a summer or two. Shoulders tense under his beat up overcoat. Same ole Jamie. Same shirt and slacks. Same boots. Different forced smile. "Lorna. Hey. Yeah. Cafe? Could kill a man for a double espresso." Chuckling wanly, he shakes his head and pulls a hand from his jacket pocket to wave ahead.

"Yeah." He says flatly before a cough to cleat the throat. An upnod to the now opened door as he continues his pace to the open invitation. "Heard about the party. Sent you a card for your birthday. Had a little green kitten on it. Real nice. Got it at Hallmark." He says with a light chuckle before turning aside to walk in. Shoulders sagged low. Hair a mess. Unstyled after a long, long shower.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna studied Jamie's appearance with a critical eye, but stepped back into her door and carefully shut it behind her as she shucked off her heavy wool coat and hung it up on the hook beside the door. She took the time to peel off her layers at the door before she followed back into her bedroom. She arched an eyebrow upward and she exhaled a breath. "Well after, we can head over there. You look like you could use the caffeine." She offered, and smiled at the comment about the birthday card with the kitten on it.

"Hallmark makes green kitten cards? Huh. Well, I'll have to take a look when I get back to Genosha. I haven't had a chance to actually open anything that was sent to the formal celebrations." She murmured, the appearance of a Nazi ghost had spooked Magneto enough to send her back to the Mansion and she hadn't been allowed to return to the island nation since.

The princess made to sit down on a wingback chair, crossing her legs and leaning back in her seat. "So.." She waited to see if he'd sit or pace. "What have you found?"

Multiple Man has posed:
Eyes bloodshot, dark and puffy rings. He hasn't slept in days. The hallucinations are mild at worst, he's been through this rodeo before. The sleep deprivation. The hangover that would kill a lesser man. Luckily, he's made of sterner stuff. Like a strong liver and a naturally self destructive curiousity... He wastes no time in throwing himself down heavily into one of the leather seats by the fireplace.

Slouching forward, Jamie takes a pack of smokes free and nods at the fireplace while waggling the soft pack of off brand cigarettes. "Mind?" He asks before letting out a long winded sigh.

Head hung low, Jamie begins. "I started the case from a point of elimination. Exclude the obvious and see where it leads. It led me through a lot of red tape. Ducked a federal charge or two. It's a tricky thing, digging into the past. A lot of dirt to sort through." Lifting his head, Jamie lofts a brow. "End up getting dirty no matter how hard you try to stay clean. You drink?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna's eyebrows furrowed as she sat on the edge of her chair, recrossing her legs as she watched Jamie settle in. As he gestured toward the fireplace, her nose wrinkled at the cigarette. "I would prefer you didn't. You already look like death Jamie. Maybe stay off the cancer sticks for a bit?" She tilted her head, her lips pursing together as he continued to speak of dirty and troubles. It was what she'd paid him for after all, she'd known it would be messy to dig into police files or any other organization's files regarding the plane crash. She had known it would be difficult. It was why she'd paid him after all.

"I drink sometimes, yeah, why? What did you find Jamie?" She felt anxiety prickle at the back of her neck, the need to know buzzing in her head.

Multiple Man has posed:
A chuckle leaves him, weak and mirthless. A shake of the head and he stows away the cigarettes. "Yeah. Yeah. Been a three pack a day kinda week. Probably right. Should quit again. Maybe try the gum. Or lock myself in a cellar for a month." Taking in a deep breath through his nose, Jamie centers himself. Slumps back into the wingback and lifts a hand to lazily gesture as he speaks. "You may want something stronger than coffee is all."

Staring at Lorna across the small table, Jamie considers lying. He's a glorious liar when need be... and when not needed. He considers leaving. Hell, maybe changing citizenships. "Magnetism is a tricky thing. It's not like... heat touch or psychic manipulation. They leave traces behind. Fingerprints, if you will. Now, these day? Could maybe even get down to the real nitty gritty of the spectrum and find variations. But that'd take some serious theory craft and a familiarity that borders on the obscene. But we're not talking about these days." Jamie says flatly. "We're talking about twenty years ago."

Licking dry lips, Madrox points to Lorna with a single digit. "I asker a man, a brilliant man if he could copy your abilities. Magneto's abilities. You know what he said?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna edged forward on her chair, leaning forward and folding her hands over her lap as she exhaled slowly through her nose. A knot forming slowly in the base of her stomach as she watched Jamie, listened and every comment left a ping of unease settle in the lines of her shoulders and her expression. Part of her wanted to demand that he get to the point, to just tell her.. but he looked rough, to put it lightly.

It was a small grace to bite her tongue and let him tell her at his own pace.

Clearly he was struggling with whatever he had found.

Her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes narrowing faintly, as she listened and waited. She didn't push for //why// she would want something stronger, but she had a sinking feeling it wasn't anything good. "Magnetism has a its spectrum yes, I could tell the bits and pieces with my powers. If my father did something, I would recognize it now. If it wasn't him.. I'd know it as different. I can sense all of this.." She waved her hand and leaned back in her chair.

"What did this brilliant man say, Jamie?"

Multiple Man has posed:
Lorna, at the edge of her seat both literally and figuratively while Jamie remains pressed back into his. Retreating from his own damn actions. Looking away would be a disservice, he keeps his focus on Lorna. Watching her shift. Restrain visibly. He takes a toothpick from his pocket after leaning to the left. Something to chew on and worry at.

He nods in understanding. Agreement even before continuing in that low, laconic tone. Patient. Careful. "Now that your powers have matured, yes. There's an art to it. Even in the heat of the moment, those little signatures remain. The twists of talent and skill." His tongue pushes the toothpick to the other corner of his mouth.

"He said he could. I believed him." Plucking the toothpicm free, he gestures absently with it in hand. "But then I started dialing back the clock. Technology disappears. Access and action get tricky. The numbers start falling away and the names with them. Thinning out suspects as the years fall away." Jamie's eyes narrow ever so slightly. Jaw set stern in a near grimace. "When asked if he could do it twenty years ago? He didn't know."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna inclined her head, refolding her hands on her lap again and forcing herself to sit still. To listen and let Jamie take charge of telling what he'd found. When all she desperately wanted to know was his end results. If anything could be found.. But the commentary on magnetism wasn't letting the pit in her stomach go. Her insides felt like they were twisting into knots the longer it took him to drag out what he had found. She wanted to pace.

After all, what did magnetism have to do with her mother's plane crash? She'd had nothing to go on before. Had nothing to assume that magnetism was anywhere involved in her mother's death. A plane can crash for a multitude of reasons after all.. But she'd always wondered. Wanda had tried to warn her away from this train of thought, and it seemed nearly prophetic in nature now that Jamie stalled on telling her the details.

"So, twenty years ago that leaves my father as a the most well known, powerful magnokinetic around this side of the planet, right?" She arched a brow, tilting her head as she pursed her lips. "Did my mother's plane crash have something to do with magnetics, Jamie? Because right now, I'm assuming that you found something related to that."

Multiple Man has posed:
You're bought and paid for, Jamie. No running away. No choices to make but the ones already made for him. Find what truth is to be found and present it accordingly. While he would normally bemoan his lack direction, now he hesitates because of it. Jamie nods in the affirmative. "What caused the incident was a combination of mechanical failure, electrical overload and catastrophic depressurization." He said it so coldly. So unappologetic. Honest and brutally so. A brow arches, that M etched into his face shifts with it. "Which points at Magneto as the obvious culprit. But... one without clear motive. There are reasons but they don't play out right. Not with the evidence. Not with the timeline."

Shifting in the chair, Jamie crosses his legs ankle over knee. Still using that toothpick like a pointer. Keeping his hands occupied. God, he wants a smoke. "The actual wreckage doesn't exist anymore. The site is overgrown and beyond helpful. Photos told me and others a different story. Magneto, enraged that his daughter is being taken by some schmuck? Of course he'd do it... but why kill your mother too?" Jamie muses with intent. "Betrayal can make a man do crazy things. Like rip a hole in a plane. But there's the rub of it all." Jamie takes out his smokes again, leaning forward to set the pack on the little table between them. An offering. "The timeline. The motive. The evidence. The end result all suggests the impossible."

Slumping back into the cushions, Jamie continues. "The technology didn't exist to fully mimic Magneto's abilities. The wreckage indicates an implosive force, as if the metal was pulled inward." Almost mercilessly, Jamie continues. "Magneto had far more control over magnetism at that time, even in a wild frame of mind, learned skill and natural ability still play a role and evidence does not coincide with a surgical strike of even an intelligent one."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna's lips thinned with the admittance that her mother's plane had been found to be... destroyed in a rather unique manner that was.. as she had feared. Pointed to her father ripping the plane apart midair.. But it did leave more questions than answers. Why leave her alive to be found later? Why save her and let her mother and stepfather die? Why attack a plane of all things?

She shook her head, frowning as her brain circled around possibilities.

"My mother was a married woman, I don't have anything about her beyond a single photograph my father sent me. I know so little about her or her husband.. I know that the lullaby my foster mother taught me was something she'd sang. I know that her husband flew planes. Maybe my father was enraged that she was cutting off ties to him. Maybe she resented having a baby with green hair, threatened to hurt me or something. I dunno. But I think you're right that there's more questions to be had.. That something isn't matching up."

Multiple Man has posed:
"Unfortunately, I can't just walk up to Ole Erik and just demand answers. I can't even get in the country legally because of my record but even if I did? I doubt I'd get a straight answer or a soft fist when my questions took a left turn. So I dealt in evidence. Facts as I had them. When I had them. Beats having a garbage truck crammed up my backside." While haggard and hungover, Jamie looks every bit the picture of calm. Control. Patience. Even if he's inwardly screaming profanities at himself. He simply nods. The toothpick returned to his lips and absently chewed at while she speaks.

"No. No, it doesn't. I approached the case counter to every other investigation. I ruled out the prime suspect and went from there. Fact of the matter is, even if you were the reason for Erik to attack the jet... he wouldn't endanger you or your mother. Past actions and behaviors point every direction but mindless murder. So crushing the cabin would have been foolish. Could have killed you. Reckless. Not his style."

Jamie lifts his chin, scritching at his newfound neckbeard. Itchy and annoying. Next to go. "So we rule out Magneto. We rule out technology and what we are left with, Lorna... "

Gently. Carefully, Jamie pushes onward. "Is you."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna blinked as Jamie spoke of getting into Genosha, "I could easily grant you access to the country that's hardly an issue." She offered waving her hands, "But you're right, confronting my father in such a way defeats the purpose of my hiring you to begin with. Which was to avoid drawing my father's attention. I needed to know what happened, it's bothered me since I found out about it." She murmured, crossing her arms, her eyebrows furrowing in thought.

But as Jamie continued on why Magneto couldn't have had the motive to murder her mother and step-father... and landed on //her// being suspect she blinked, her mouth falling open and a small snort of laughter escaped her.

"No. No. That's not possible. My powers didn't manifest until I was a teenager. I had no powers until the X-men found me, it was a whole big deal. I was sixteen? Seventeen? I was later than most mutants. All I'd had before that was my green hair." She reached up to pluck at it with her hand.

"I didn't grow up with my powers. I couldn't have taken out a plane. Much less when I was three."

Multiple Man has posed:
"And one day, I may just ask you to do that. Given the offer is still there in the future. Always wanted to see the place. Mutant Town is nice and all but..." Jamie trails off with a half hearted chuckle. It doesn't last. The conversational journey was taking a decidedly dangerous turn. The smile fades, weak as it was. Her laughter actually and visibly shocks him. Brows furrow, Jamie shifts in the high backed seat.

"I didn't know you had green hair that early. Always assumed it was either a style choice or a mutation... but that does make sense." Dark eyes stay vigilant, details matter. He's noting the knick-knacks. The smell in the air: The way she plucks at those green locks. The fear is settling in, he can see it. "When I was born, the doctor smacked my ass. Then there were two of me." He pauses before sitting forward, elbows on knees. "Kurt always had a tail. Scott, I assume, was born with a stick up his..." Clearing his throat, Jamie shook his head. "There were no other known electro-magnetic kineticists on the planet. Trauma can trigger explosive mutant maturation... and the photos did not show any signs of finesse. It was raw power, Lorna. Widespread electrical failure. Catastrophic decompression." Hands clasp together between his knees. "Lorna, I've seen Magneto pull a jet apart screw by screw with the wave of his hand."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shook her head, leaning back in her chair as she lifted her hands. "I've always had my green hair, my father's hair is tied to his mutation, as is Pietro's. We just have strange colored hair in my family lines.. But I wasn't born with powers. I know for a fact my powers manifested when I was a teenager, because the X-men were involved when they manifested. I mean, I met Bobby before I had my powers. I thought all I had was my green hair. I //wished// I had something beyond just my hair color when I was a kid." She muttered, her lips twisting together.

"The theory doesn't stack Jamie. I can remember when I first sensed the magnetic fields, my powers aren't on and off.. They're a constant. I would've known I had powers.." She muttered the last part, folding her arms over her chest as she spoke.

"So.. no, I couldn't have ripped apart a plane when I was three."

Multiple Man has posed:
"So you've always had signs of a mutation before your powers. Your mutation was evident at birth, Lorna. Plain and simple. It's not like Hank or... " Brows furtowed in frustration, Jamie shifts his weight again. Shoulders shift. He doesn't interrupt, instead he waits for Lorna to pause. He lets it linger. Let's her own words start to eat at the resolve she sounds so intent on clinging to. He sucks his teeth. Nods and lets out a forced sigh before continuing.

"No, my theory doesn't stack with your expectations. That I will agree with. But it stacks none the less." That ever expressive brow lifts again, the giant M inked into his face twists with the expression. "What else do you remember from when you were three? Four? Five even?" Carefully, he continues to delve these dangerous grounds.

"How many of the kids downstairs right now can name a loved one they hurt accidentally? How many lost someone close because of it?" Tilting his head aside ever so slightly, Jamie offers all he can. "I'm sorry, Lorna. I am. If it means anything, and I doubt it does in the light of my findings or.... accusations... but I'll be giving back what I didn't spend on bribes and travel. I don't want the money anymore."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna shook her head, rising to her feet as she paced. "No, I mean.. I'm assuming I was born with green hair. I don't know for a fact .. whether or not that's the case. My father wasn't there. And my mother is dead. My foster parents always had me dye my hair brown to hide it. Washed out every shampoo regardless.." She snorted and rolled her eyes.

"I don't remember anything from then, Jamie. That's twenty years ago. But I do know for a fact that powers don't shut down after they've been awakened. Either you have your powers, or you don't. My powers didn't exist before my teenage years. I couldn't have possibly torn apart a plane and then suddenly had my powers vanish. Mutant genes don't act that way. If that was the case, the kids downstairs that hurt someone when their powers first manifested, would've lost their powers again for however many years and had them remanifest at a later date. It doesn't stack Jamie." She paused, turning back to face him.

"I don't think it's right Jamie, there's something else going on. You can keep your money, something magnetic destroyed my mother's plane. I'll ...I'll just have to confront my father myself."

Multiple Man has posed:
"I had to wear a special padded suit to keep from duplicating constantly." Jamie recounts with a wistful smile. The old green and gold body suit. He doesn't miss looking like a weird pickle. "Dye was probably pretty expensive though. But brown? Can't picture you as a brunette." Hanging his head, Jamie listens to her pace. Vent. Deny.

He nods without looking up. Snaps his fingers and points to the pacing Polaris. "Exactly. You don't remember anything. Who even could? Too young. Shock tends to over write things... make them easier to handle. What the fog doesn't take, the brain will do the rest. It's defense." He sniffs hard, clearing his sinuses and unlacing his fingers to wipe at his right eye. Before lifting his head. Before standing up straight.

"Let me be clear, Lorna. I'm not saying you did this. I'm just saying that the evidence points... a certain way. Just so happens that neither of us particularly likes where it points." Leaning down to pick up his pack of cigarettes, Madrox pockets them. Both hands staying tucked away. "Do me a favor and give me text and a head start after you tell your Pops my hand in this. Going to make a suit of armor out of milk jugs."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna frowned, glancing back to Jamie. She stood tall, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other pressed against the bottom of her chin. Only a crack of a smile crossed her lips as Jamie made a comment about her hair color. "I started with the black in high school. Before I came here. It was a thing." She muttered, and she exhaled a long breath.

"Powers don't work like that, even with trauma. If that was the case, Jamie, my father's powers would've awakened when he was in the camps, right? But they didn't happen until later in life for him. No one has ever had their powers awaken and then dormant on their own. Not a single student has suffered that. Something else is going on and I'm going to have to speak with my father to get any answers. I won't tell him that you did any of the digging for me. The fact remains that someone or something with magnetism blasted my mother's plane apart, killed her and my stepfather.. and right now we have two suspects. My father or me." She pursed her lips together and it was clear the green haired woman was far more disturbed than she'd let on initially.

Multiple Man has posed:
While a goth leaning Lorna Dane springs briefly to mind, Jamie doesn't dwell on it. Feels too much like hammered garbage and the news as he seen it, has left him in a dour mood. Hands in his overcoat pockets, eyes cast in a flickering glance to the door. "I lived by myselves on a farm for a few years after my folks died. Tried to dye my hair once. Looked like Carrot Top on bath salts for a about a month."

Stepping around the table, Jamie doesn't go to her. He's got no hug or pat on the shoulder. Nothing left to do or say. He feels... empty. A slow blink and he nods. He doesn't agree but he nods none the less as a sign of acceptance. He wouldn't want to hear him either. Not with the words he offered. "I hope you find a different answer than I did, Lorna." A pause, Madrox lets his gaze linger on hers. There's a certain glimmer of understanding in his tired eyes. "I really do." He doesn't argue. Doesn't push his point. He didn't spread out the photos or the paperwork. He instead makes for the door. In dire, dire need of a cigarette... Maybe a preacher. Or a drink. Hard to tell these days.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna arched a brow as she glanced sidelong at Jamie upon his carrot top hair color misadventure. She shook her head, a faint trace of humor alive still in her gaze at the comment. She fell silent as Jamie continued, and made his way to the door, thoughtful even. "Send over a copy of anything you found please. I would like to see it for myself." She added as Jamie made to depart.

"And keep the money, Jamie. You deserve it." She continued, moving to pluck up her cell phone in a distracted manner.