2013.03.21 - Changelings Among Us

The hour's approaching the noon rush. The sun shines bright without a cloud to get in the way, though a bitter chill remains in the air that circulates into the park through the artificial canyons created by the New York City streets. The trees in Central Park do a nice job of breaking up the wind, leaving small pockets of winter's beauty virtually isolated from the metropolis surrounding them. They've become popular for the more adventurous out of state visitors wanting to take their share of pictures before Spring descends in full swing.

One such individual is hunched inside of a worn brown leather bomber jacket, hiking boots easily tackling what snow and ice remains. Black hair falls to the middle of her back, currently done in a simple tail. Breaths mist out from around her as she searches the area with bright green eyes, tracking someone that the mutant underground has tagged for Mystique only yesterday. Finding another shapeshifter might be difficult, but she's been at this game for a lot longer than most of the mutants still alive.

Gabriel is standing at a hotdog cart near the great lawn. His leather bomber jacket looks brand new and its the only thing he's wearing that looks brand new. His jeans, his "Rawr means I love you in dinosaur" t-shirt, and his tennis shoes all look like they've seen better days; much better days. He seems to have bought enough hot-dogs for a whole army and is currently figuring out how to pay for them. He gives the vendor exact change then halfway through the man counting changes his mind and gives him a 20 then halfway through the vendor making change Gabriel change his mind again and gives him a ten and some ones then changes him mind again and gives him exact change then changes his mind again and gives him the 10 and loose bills. Finally, exasperated, the vendor gives him the change and Gabriel says, "I'm sorry, I think you short changed me, I'm sure I gave you a 20..."

Ah, to be young again... There stands Mystique's mark, trying so very hard to score a little extra change on top of a couple of hot dogs. Hardly the criminal mastermind. But, like all things in life, some careful nurturing and guidance is often all that is required for something to grow healthy and strong.

It's a good thing that she finds Gabriel when she does.

"Why am I not surprised that you're still here, darling?" she cuts in, coming up to the vendor to draw an arm around Gabriel's waist and momentarily rest her head against his shoulder in a sidelong hug. It took little effort to adjust her own appearance to mimic the very same age category of the other mutant.

With the apparent confusion between the two she's quick to sigh and give Gabe a curious expression. "You used the twenty that I gave you, right? Silly boy, I was sitting over there getting hungry."

Of course, it's going to cost Gabriel a hot dog. She's already claiming one for herself. "We're on a schedule, remember!"

A novice he might be by some standards but he's been working the streets long enough not to let something like the sudden appearance of a hitherto unkown girlfriend faze him for more than a second. With a smile he looks down at her and nods, "I did. Just like I promised I'm letting you pay from time to time." And he looks over at the vendor who, more confused than ever, just gives in and hands what would have been the proper change for a twenty. As they walk away Gabriel looks 'adoringly' at the girl at his side while hissing, "Who are you and what exactly do you think you're pulling?"

The mystery woman is quick to respond with a merry laugh as they walk away, saying "I would think the latter would have been quite obvious, darling! The man's standing out here in this dreadfully chilly weather selling hot dogs, he has an eye for just one thing. Making money. If you want to cheat him out of what feeds his family you're going to have to start doing much better than that." It's finished with a look that's one part disappointing and one part concerned.

It doesn't last for long. Not a bad 'dog, all things considered. The price had been right. Didn't cost her a cent. "Fortunately, today is your lucky day. You've been tagged as a changer some time ago. Subtlety really isn't your strong suit, is it? Never to worry, there is a support network just for charming fellows such as yourself."

Gabriel grumbles something about everyone being a critic before saying, "He's overcharging for those dogs. $8.00 for an Oscar Mayer wiener? Really? A whole pack of them costs less than that. He's just taking advantage of all the mucketymucks from 5th Ave. and the tourists." As he speaks he guides them towards a bench out of sight from the hot dog vendor and sits down. "And you never answered the question: Who are you? And what exactly are you talking about?"

She dismissively waves a hand at the cost, stating "This is Manhattan, dearest! One of the few places on the planet where a twelve dollar cup of coffee isn't robbery, but a privilege."

Taking a seat beside you, she asks "Tell me, if opportunity came rapping upon your door, would you allow it inside or would you attempt to keep it barred on the outside of your little world? It's a simple question, really." One which is apparently more important than proper introductions. "And don't worry about hiding your true self in front of me, I've seen them all."

Gabriel frowns a bit at this then grumbles, "Well, maybe its time we changed that. Some people, a /few/ people being able to afford $12 cups of coffee and other people, /lots/ of people being stuck living in shelters, under overpasses, and eating out of Dumpsters is not quite right." Taking a rather vicious bite out of one of the hot dogs and absentmindedly offering another to the woman next to him he thinks for a while. Once that first hot dog is gone he finally answers the question, "Well, I guess it would depend on what the opportunity was, or course. And this is the real me." Followed by an almost inaudible, "Kinda of..."

"Indeed, it is time for a change," the woman agrees while accepting another dog. "Which, as it turns out, is why I'm here. Change is in the air. Spring will soon come into bloom, another annual cycle will begin anew, and there are certain matters which need to be dealt with in order for the new crop to flourish."

She gently shakes her head before looking your way, "Not the kind of hiding I'm referring to, dearest. You're a mutant. As it turns out, so am I. The name's Tonya Harris, though today I will also accept 'Opportunity.' We happen to share a few things in common, though what I'm more interested in is if you would fancy accompanying myself and a few dear friends to sunnier locales across the globe long enough to right a few wrongs. Violence and hatred toward our kind. Very unsettling stuff, I assure you. They've been running rampant, building up speed. Now they're starting to throw their weight around. High time that someone came along to trim off some of the excess fat, wouldn't you agree? It's bad news for all of us if they are allowed to continue as they are."

Gabriel starts to eat his last hot dog, now in a more thoughtful frame of mind than before. Tilting his head a bit to et a good look at Tonya he considers her while he chews. And swallows hard. "Damn it, forgot to get drinks... Anyway, Tonya, I won't ask how you found out I'm a mutant. I've had a few on-the-spot moments lately so you or a friend of yours probably saw something I would have rather people not see. So be it." Taking another bite of his food he chews, longer this time to make sure t goes down a bit easier, then continues, "OK, so how much /do/ you know about me? Why invite me along on this little trip? And what are the details about what's happening?"

How much does Tonya know about you? "Not all that much, I will admit. Though given your current situation I think it safe to say that things aren't going entirely in your favor, mmh?" she teases while looking you over from top to bottom. "Going after a park vendor suggests that you aren't in it for the money, you're in it for survival. Because you went after a little fish, this tells me that you strike frequently with some manner of thought given to your targets. Or, perhaps you aren't very confident in your skills. Either way. However, and I speak from personal experience here," she continues while changing her hair color from black to blonde in a moment's time, "I'm also acutely aware of how useful it can be to have a few extra personas on hand."

Back to black with another bite of hot dog, she gives the thought a chance to marinate before pressing onward. "We're going to infiltrate a secret government-backed facility, uncover their plans to eradicate us all, then blow the lid off of the whole bloody works. Should be a smashing good time."

Gabriel looks a bit miffed at the way he's described. Never mind that its close enough to the truth even if its not exactly on the mark. But that miffed expression goes away once the 'job' is described. "That's a nifty trick, you'll have to show me how to do it one of these days. But anyway, about this mission. What if we inflitrate the facility you've targeted and don't discover any proof of them wanting to kill us all? Then what?" He's good at keeping his emotions in check but even them there's an undercurrent of excitement under his words, hard to notice but there.

One thing about Mystique, she never goes into the meat of the details with any other soul on the planet. Her own innermost emotions are kept completely hidden from the world beyond. Somehow she manages to look amused, of all things. "I assure you, dearest, I am not mistaken on this matter. Measure twice, cut once." The tone is merry to the point of being cheerful as she finishes off dog number two. "This operation will commence with or without you, I'm afraid. It's all down to the matter of whether you would fancy helping to become the engine of change, or if you would rather leave that within the capable hands of others. Either way, rest assured that we will come through for the good of our own kind.

Gabriel doesn't think about it for too long before nodding once in a rather decisive fashion. "OK, I can sign up for this job, see how it goes. What else do I need to know? And what kind of abilites do you think you're going to need on this trip? I can be... versatile in the right circumstances." See, she's not the only one that can be vague. Truth be told Gabriel seem to be enjoying this cloak-and-dagger kind of interaction.

"Splendid!" Tonya says with no shortage of enthusiasm. "You should know that this isn't expected to be a cakewalk. We will be in danger the entire time we are on the inside, so bring your A-game as far as your changing abilities go. I will get everyone inside, a task which you could no doubt assist with if you can be half as convincing in dialogue as you can be on a physical level. Beyond the obvious, what else do you have to bring to the festivities?"

Gabriel purses his lips off to one side in a thoughtful sort of expression as he balls up the bagfull of trash left over from the hotdogs and tosses unerringly into the trashcan across the path from where they're sitting. "Well, me being just me I can hold my own in a fist fight and a bit better than my own. Even if I prefer keeping things from getting physical. I'm really agile, a lot stronger than I look, and I'm a good... liberator of small items. Not that great getting into locked places but ho needs to be when you can be as small as you need to be to get in through just about any crack?" He stops to think about things a little more then continues with, "I can usually talk myself out of any trouble I get myself into and if I can have some time to watch them I can imitate most people well enough to convince anyone but their Momma..."

There's a thoughtful sound from Tonya here, looking your way with a sly little grin. "Looks like we have ourselves another infiltrator in the making!" And if her intel is good, which it almost always is, then she may have a special little task in mind, just for you.

"Given that we shall require some amount of proof for the Big Reveal, your skills in appropriation should benefit us most beautifully. We are rapidly gathering momentum, my dear. In another week or two we shall find ourselves on a most spectacular voyage, all expenses paid. Everyone deserves a break from the daily grind now and then, no?"

Gabriel grins at the idea of taking a working vacation but then his expression fades a bit as a thought pops up in his head, "I do have to mention something ahead of time... I'm not willing to hurt innocents and I won't appropriate, like you put it, anything that someone else might need to survive. Putting it plainly, I ain't stealing from the poor." Depending on Tonya's intel its probably quite clear that Gabriel has been doing a decent imitation of a small time. real life, modern day Robin Hood, especially around Harlem.

At least in this instance, the matter is of little consequence. "Oh sweetheart, I wouldn't dream of such a thing!" Tonya cheerfully replies. "Do recall, these people have it in for our kind. They have lost their collective innocence decades ago, none are more befitting of our intervention. Rather, by helping take care of this matter you will be assisting more mutants than you could possibly imagine. Simply put, if I wanted a thug I would have hired one."

Gabriel's smile comes back in full force. Espcially knowing that if need be he can just cut his losses and come back home if he sees something going on he doesn't like. He offers his hand to seal the deal, "OK then, it sounds like we have a deal. When is this little adventure taking place?"

Tonya meets your hand with her own, her smile warm and friendly. "Our current timetable places the operation somewhere within the next seven to fourteen days. You will be contacted in advance with travel plans. We're glad to have you onboard, Gabriel."

Gabriel holds the hand shake a little longer than usual but as soon as Tonya pulls away he lets go, then gives her a wink. Immediately after he gives a quick look around and seeing that for the moment they are along his body goes all, well, wobbly would be the best way to describe it. He looks like a giant, skin colored amoeba for about a second and a half then suddenly Tonya is sitting across from a copy of herself, "I'll see you soon then. Have a great day, 'Tonya'."