2013.03.09 - Mutant With a Friend

It's on of those lazy afternoons. Not quite dark yet, but not quite full daylight, most of the day's tours have begun to wind down and close. Letting their riders go, the area has also become much more dangerous. At night, some areas of the harbor gelong to 'gangs'. Right now, the later case is the one that happens to be the problem. Hoods of various ages and appearance, bearing dark purple colors in most of their clothing seem to be the order of the day. One of the tours having just let out has puttered away to find its proper berth, leaving a small crowd of obvious out-of-towners to wander their way. The response is predictable,"Hey, hey dude! I like your shoes!" This, yelled to an older gentleman wandering with what is presumably his family. They cringe and start to walk in a different direction.

Rogue had long wondered if Scott had a sense of humor, always so uptight and in control, but when he asked her to take one of the young X-cubs out, she knew he was laughing about it. Send Rogue out with the impressionable kid, she's such a great role model. Sure, that's what he was thinking. Granted, she's barely older than most of the young X-men, but she's been fighting alongside the Brotherhood for years.

But, no sense pouting about it. Making the most of things, she's brought Jocelyn to the big city to see the sights, and to window shop. At the end of the day, they find themselves at the harbor and Rogue remarks, "So, that's pretty much it, Detroit," she says picking up Scoot and Kwa's nickname for Joce, "There's some other stuff Ah could show you, but Ah reckon Mr. Scott was looking for the sunny side tour. . ." Her voice trails off as she catches sight of the developing scenario, "Sapiens. . .can't get along with us, can't get along with each other." She mutters under her breath.

Jocelyn actually had a code name, but a few people still called her Detroit, and she was fine with it. Well, still wasn't a far way to put it. She hadn't been there long. Maybe Scott sent her with Rogue because Jocelyn had a tendency to choose eighteen year old chaperones who were, shall we say, not as careful about watching their charges at all times. Jocelyn had paid attention and taken in the various sights, done a bit of window shopping, and all those lovely touristy things that everyone who visits the big city should do sometime. She does laugh a little at the sunny side suggestion. "Yeah, well, I've seen enough of the...". Then there's the little problem ahead. "Enough of that," Jocelyn tells Rogue, her voice dropping and her stance shifting a little bit.

"I might be able to get them to leave those people alone without this turning to a fight. I...know a few things about these types and who might be around here," the teenager suggests to Rogue. However, Rogue was in charge, and she wasn't going to jump in immediately unless it was necessary. Of course she does naturally just pull in a small bit of energy to tmake herself more resiliant to damage. Just in case some lovely stray bullets or knives started flying in their direction.

And of course, along comes Niah to help make things go from pretty serious to relatively ridiculous. Rolling her wheelchair along the roads (entirely too fast), she comes to a nearly screeching stop as she sees the gang members. What's she doing? Who knows. But she looks ridiculous. She has on her hands, a pair of yellow dish-cleaning gloves, with a purple towel tied about her neck serving as an impromptu cape. Her eyes are covered with big swim goggles, and she has her beanie pulled low over her her head.

One of the hoods begins to sort of hop sideways as he approaches the tourists,"Hey, wait up! I need to borrow a dollar! Gimme a dollar, man!" The others start to approach even as the man tries to wave them off. He and his family change directions again. Almost predictably, one of them pulls a pistol and points it,"Hey, he said he likes your shoes, man! Didn't you hear!" Like lightning, their hands go up in the air, which draws laughter from the hoods surrounding them,"Time to make a donation! We ain't too proud to take charity!"

Niah approaches, still looking all too ridiculous,"STOP! I'M A SUPERHERO! I'M TOTALLY GONNA POUND YOU IF YOU DON'T LEAVE THEM ALONE!" With her reedy voice, she sounds as ridiculous as she looks. The gang members take one look at her, blink in surprise, then burst out laughing.

The gang isn't the only one blinking in surprise, Rogue can hardly believe her eyes as the "superhero" rolls up to challenge the gang, "Gotta admit, the girl's got gumption. She your kid sister or something?" Rogue ask Jocelyn teasingly without expecting a reply as she quickly surveys the area. Good, not too many people and no obvious cameras.

"Alright, Channel, if y'all think you can handle it, we play it your way. Keep it clean. Protect the bystanders first, especially the little girl, and no permanent damage. These chumps ain't worth it," Rogue advises as she stays back in a support role for the moment, ready to jump in the way and play human shield if things go sour, and keeping an eye out for anyone pulling an iphone and thinking of making this YouTube's next big hit.

Jocelyn blinks. "Holy...well, kid's got a friend," Jocelyn says, looking right off to the right of the girl briefly. Jocelyn moves forward and attempts to get between the victims and the gang. The extremely tall redhead positively swaggers her way over there, as if she owned the place and knew exactly what she was talking about. It was probably because she knew enough about this place's seedier parts to know the rumors and what would make sense in this area. Niah may notice that Jocelyn clearly avoids stepping to Niah's right, even though it'd be more direct to the action.

"Hey, you guys. What the hell you thinkin', pulling this stuff? You're picking on a tourist family? You know that Stevie up in Metropolis is movin' his operation down this way, and he wants this area for his shippin' business, know what I mean? He hears you're makin' this place a target for the blue badges and he's not going to be offering you a deal to work with him. He's just goin' to be bringin' in his own guys and wipe you out, and he's got way more cash and people than you lot". She shrugs as if it didn't matter that much to her.

"Now, why don't you lot just do the smart thing and let these wanderers leave, and then we know he won't hear about this place gettin' any worse than it is. Just a bit of friendly advice from someone whose been workin' the deals a bit, ya know what I mean?"

Another glance is given at the girl, though the hardened look she has for the gang is quickly replaced with a reassuring and knowing smile, attempting to convey that she does believe the girl. "And seriously, what's he gonna do if he hears you're so tough that you're willin' to pull weapons in front of a kid in a wheelchair, huh? That's just gonna get all the badges down this way and he'll be forced to clean you lot out anyway. He's got a business, you know? Now take it somewhere else and go figure out how you're gonna operate in this new world that's comin' up real quick".

The girl raises her fist, opening her mouth to no doubt make some mouthy response. Then Jocelyn steps in and starts saying all kinds of things. Things that Niah doesn't really get. Or understand. Or... well... anything. She just stares at Jocelyn. What's this TALKING business about. She says to Jocelyn,"You're DOING it wrong. You're supposed to banter for a MINIMUM of a minute and a half. Then he attacks, and then me an Mugwump beat them up." She puts her hands on her hips, and unbuckles the little belt holding her in the chair. "PREPARE TO FACE THE WRATH OF TATZLWURM! See, THAT's how it works."

The guys laugh, meanwhile,"Yeah, yeah. We're so scared. You tell Stevie he can go eat his own ass!" 'Tatzlwurm's eyes get real big and she claps her hands over her mouth. Then she lowers them and points,"HE SAID A BAD WORD."

More laughing from the thugs. "Listen. Ain't cool beatin' up a little cripple, and a pair of hot girls. So you and your friends just get the hell out of here, and we won't tell your parents you was out past curfew." He makes a rude gesture which has Tatzlwurm's eyes nearly bugging out.

Thinks might still have been salvagable, but the guy speaking reaches out. Probably to give the kid a shove in the other direction... He promptly goes flying a good thirty feet and lands on some garbage bags with a groan. Suddenly, there's a good six or so VERY armed people with guns in their hand. "YOU MADE MUGWUMP MAD! NOW YOU'RE GOING TO GET IT! TATZLWURM TO THE RESCUE!" The girl FLOATS out of the chair.

Rogue shakes her head as a bemused smile dances across her lips and says, "The girl is. . .floating? Well ain't that a peach. Ah'm gonna murder Slim when we get back. Maybe twice."

She sizes up the situation. It's still under control, no one is in real danger, a good test for the kid, so she continues to hold back but offers a bit of advice, "Sounds like the boys ain't hearin' the sweet talk, Channel. Ah hate to be improper, but Ah think it's time for you to show them how they dance where you're from."

Jocelyn wasn't going to bust out any obvious mutant powers here. Jocelyn could totally operate in stealth mode here! "Lookin' that way. Can't say I didn't give them a chance, can ya?" Jocelyn responds, pulling in a bit more energy to fully charge herself up. She wasn't going to go all out on these guys, but in case things got hairy, she wanted to be ready. She sizes up the men with the guns and launches a quick roundhouse aimed at the pistol of the guy furthest to the left. The strike comes very quickly, clearly at the level of a trained martial artist. And really, how many people expect someone to walk right up to their pointed gun and kick it? Most people tend to not fire if someone walks right up to the gun, in reality. Something about seeing their target up close freezes people up.

Of course, if she strikes the gun, or even grazes it a little, she's letting off an invisible kinetic blast from her foot just at the moment of impact, intending to send the gun flying off at the other gang member's guns in an attempt to disarm them all at once. If you can't sweet talk them, then intimidating them might be the way to deal with things.

"Now. One more time. Leave". Jocelyn's voice has hardened now, and she's giving them a hard stare. Maybe the intimidation will be helped by the floating girl. Also, Jocelyn makes sure to pull at any electricity coming from the gang member's phones in an attempt to keep them from pulling any fun video tricks or calling their buddies.

Niah puts one fist up in the air. Bizarrely, she is reoriented in the air until she faces one of the thugs. It mostly appears that what happens next is that she flies forward and slams her extended fist into a thug, sending that one flying, roughly at the same time Jocelyn kicks another one, and sends his gun and the gun of one next to him flying. Of course, people paying closer attention will realize her fist never made contact. Like that, the six armed men are now two armed men, with at least two of them already unconscious. "WOOSH!" Yes. She just said 'woosh'.

All of the sudden, things look kind of weird. Loyal gits that they are, they help pick up their downed friends and flee, shouting. Much like the oh-so grateful tourist family who is now fleeing, almost as terrified of the apparent mutant as they are criminals. "JUSTICE TRIUMPHS!" Is this kid for real?

Rogue looks back and forth as aggressors and victims both take off running. The faint sound of sirens can be heard in the distance and smart money is on someone having called the cops. Without much of a pause the belle quips, "Nice work, Detroit. You got them as scared as sinners in a cyclone." She then looks to Niah and says, "And you wern't so bad, neither. 'Course, Ah reckon we should have ourselves a little chat someplace where the locals won't be bothering us none."

With those words, Rogue levitates off the ground, slow and easy, flying seeming as natural as walking to her, and glides over to a nearby rooftop.

"Thanks. So, I get at least a B+, right?" Jocelyn comments with a small smile. She looks up at Rogue taking off. "Bring your friend. Big guy, helpful to have around, isn't he?" Jocelyn says to Niah with a smile. Pause. "I assume he's a he. Kinda hard to tell the gender, I have to admit". She reaches down the back of her shirt and pulls up tight blue hood that wraps over her head, covering her hair and her entire face. She really didn't feel like being reocgnized tonight, and that was more likely if she was trying to fly. Badly. "Aw, geez. I haven't mastered that trick yet," she mutters as Rogue makes it to a building. She'd just been practicing her flight a little, and she could only go in short little spurts, like a weak bottle rocket that just didn't want to give up. She jumps up in the air and sputters upwards, stopping briefly on random outcroppings for a rest every ten or fifteen feet as she makes her way up to the same rooftop that Rogue heads to.

She'd probably offer Jocelyn a ride... but she hates it when people pick her up without being asked. Well, unless it's Mugwump! Her wheelchair 'lifts' into the air the air alongside her, and she floats up to the roof lazily. Then she is set back in the chair, where she buckles herself back in, and leans on an armrest, already looking bored,"They're supposed to thank us, you know. For our heroism. That's how it works. Oh, right... Forgot to say this... Woosh!" That done, she's already looking around, as if her concentration had been stretched thin (it has).

Then she's sort of bouncing,"OH EM GEE! That was so much fun! Wow! So you guys are superheroes too? Man, that is so cool!" Then she suddenly shakes her head as if to clear it,"Oh, right! Wow, so you can see Mugwump too!? Are you crazy? I thought I was supposed to be the only person who can see my imaginary friend! Isn't that how it works?" (re)

Rogue smiles over at Jocelyn warmly, not at all sorry about pushing her to practice flying, and remarks, "My mama used to tell me life's a pass or fail test, Sugah. The way ah reckon it, you keep breathin', you're passing. If you can go to bed with a clear conscience, Ah'd say you're golden."

Touching down lightly on the roof, Rogue chuckles at Niah's questions and then says to the girl, "Superheroes? Wouldn't that be a kick in the tail! Sorry, darlin', but we're just a couple of plain ol' mutants makin' do best we know how. Mah name's Rogue and my pal here is Channel. So, now you know who we are, maybe you can tell us about your 'friend' and what you were thinkin' back there goin' after a pack o' hounds by yourself?"

"Sounds good to me Rogue," Channel responds easily. "I like those kind of tests myself. Simple grading criteria". Though her flight was more like superjumps at this point, she was hoping to get the hang of it. Really, it was just mixing a pair of energy types and sustaining their blast well enough to...okay, so it was complicated for her. Not everything could be super simple!

"Good to meet you, and yes, I can see Mugwump. Big guy, I'd say seven and a half, eight feet tall? Strong guy with some blades and fur? Yep. I can see the energy that makes up his form, and the energy that all things have," Channel explains. "And all the energy that's swirling around you, for that matter. I think that's how you're linked". Channel glances over at Rogue. She was trying to avoid really technical terms the kid wouldn't understand, like kinetic and psionic. "My friend Rogue, she doesn't have that ability, so she can't see that you're not alone, and I didn't get a chance to explain. I was hoping we could avoid a fight, but some people aren't so bright, you know?"

Channel pauses. "Oh, and I tend to pull in energy, so Mugwump, if you'd avoid touching me, that's probably best for everyone. That part of my ability is automatic". Channel didn't want to eat Mugwump. That wouldn't be nice!

Laughing gently, she wiggles herself straight in her chair, them pumps her fist in the air,"Hooyah! Well, your friend there, what'd you call her? Channel! She fought like a superhero, and she's got a name like a superhero!" She peers carefully at them,"You sure you ain't no superhero?" She taps her chin in thought, then brightens.

With a wave of her hand, she indicates the space next to her,"I'm a superhero, we fight crime! We being me, Tatzlwurm and my sidekick, Mugwump! Mugwump is my imaginary friend. He's slightly less imaginary than other imaginary friends. That makes him ten times better. And the power that you see linking us? It's the power of friendship! BOOYAH!" Well, at least she's energetic. "Mugwump, introduce yourself!" Something like a lion grumbling sounds in the middle of the air. Then there's mure grumbly, growly noises,"Mugwump says that wouldn't actually hurt him. He says the power of friendship doesn't dry up. He'd just discorporate for a while." Well. That was coherent. "BUUUT... He also says that it would kind of hurt, so please don't. What's discorporate mean?"

"Well, ain't she as cute as a box of puppies," Rogue says in that might not be a compliment tone of voice of hers and looks over to Jocelyn and says, "She's a TK, right? We probably ought to give her 'the talk.' Just so it ain't on us if she gets in trouble."

Her cynical words might not be a true reflection of her intent as Rogue says to Niah with a hint of softness in her voice, "Ah get it, Sugah, you woke up one day and found you had some new ability and it seemed all exciting and like you can take on the world. Heck, ah think ah was your age when mah powers first surfaced. But, you gotta be careful. My mamas spent years trainin' me before they'd let me get in any kind of a real tussle. Used to drive me up a wall. Ah was ready to prove Ah was as tough as anyone. But, well, first time Ah got into it with someone as tough as Ah thought Ah was, things didn't work out like Ah planned and now we both gotta live with it for the rest of our lives."

Rogue takes a deep breath and glances out over the harbor, "Ah ain't tellin' you what to do, kid, but Ah will say if ya ain't got folks around you who can help you learn to use your gifts, you're asking for trouble."

A nod is given to Rogue before Channel turns to the girl again. "Well, I try to do good with my abilities, but I'm not perfect yet. I wouldn't quite call myself a hero. Just someone who doesn't like to see innocent people get hurt, you know?" That was Channel's take on the situation, at the very least.

"The power of friendship, yeah. I can see it, though a lot of us would call that psionic power. Links the pair of you together. Probably created by the power of friendship". Channel figured it made sense to talk in the kid's language, even when explaining more difficult concepts. "So if anyone ever calls it that, you know what it means".

A nod is given. "Rogue is right. When I first learned about my powers, I made a pretty bad mess of things, but I've been getting some help from people like Rogue, and it's made a lot of difference for me. You got anyone helping you out like that, aside from Mugwump of course?" Channel smiles at the girl easily.

Niah blinks at Rogue,"What's a TK! And why do you talk like a Mardi Gras commercial? Do you make gumbo and eat gator? That's so cool! I bet you make a mean stew!" She rubs at her forehead, then says,"Mugwump, I wanna fly!" The wheelchair is lifted in the air and wooshes around,"I ain't got no powers. Mugwump's just my friend. When the dogs tried to eat me, he saved me! Well... I suppose I've got gumption and the power of friendship."

"Mugwump is the only person I need! esides, even if I had powers, wouldn't my parents just teach me? Or, maybe they'd send me to super-secret superhero school! That would be badass! OH EM GEE! I wish I were a mutant! I would be a totally awesome mutant! Everyone would be, all, like, BEST MUTANT EVER." It's like she doesn't know the meaning of the phrase 'breathe'.

Rogue blinks again, "Did she just call me a cajun!?!" She seems at a loss for words for a moment and then shakes it off since it's a kid and the response in her head probably isn't suitable for anyone this side of Wolverine. She turns away from her view of the harbor and says, "Watch what you wish for, Sugah, it just might come true."

Rogue then asks Jocelyn, "Can you see a phone or somethin' on her? We can leave a number and see her home safe. Maybe send Kurt or someone to talk to her and her folks. Someone better, uh, equipped for the job." The fact that Rogue and Channel are not the most kid and parent friendly options at the school has not escaped her notice.

Channel is just too young. She could fake it...but maybe someone a bit more conversational for this task would be better suited to talk with the parents. Maybe even Professor X himself. Who knows? "You got a phone number we could get ahold of you at?" Channel asks. Every kid these days had a cell phone, so Channel figured it was likely. "If we ever need some help, or if you might need some help with something yourself. Superheroes team up fairly often, you know. I'm not really a hero, but if you need a hand, you can always give me a call. I know a couple others, too". Jocelyn didn't need to go into detail as to just who she had in her cell phone, but she figured it might help her out.

Niah pulls out a pink Smartphone that has Salutations Bunny and lightning bolts in sticker form all over it. "THIS IS THE TATZLWURM-PHONE! Also, it's my personal cell-phone, so you gotta promise not to peak at my name." She opens a 'Contacts' page as Mugwump sets her back down, and passes the phone over to Jocelyn. "Super-hero teamup! We total get a two-page spread, I know it! Tatzlwurm, Mugwump, and Channel team up! They fight crime! OMG. We're gonna save each others' lives and be besties! Just you watch! It's clear, because if you can see Mugwump, then you also have the power of friendship like us!" She looks at Rogue, blinks right back at her, and asks,"What's a cajun? That sounds like an armpit-disease. Are you sure you don't mean Canadian?"

Rogue begins to hover again, preparing for her departure, as she looks Niah over one last time, "The cajun Ah know best is kinda like a disease, Sugah. He gets under your skin and you can't shake him. But he's nothin' like the Canadian. Maybe, if you stay in touch, and stay good, Ah'll explain it when you're older."

Rogue waits for the exchange of numbers and for Jocelyn to be ready to depart, a mischevious curl tounging on the edge of her lips, "Up for stretching your wings, Detroit? Ah figure we can race to the train station and loser gets to do something fun like challenge you-know-who to a one on one spar for his last brew."

Channel gets the phone number, and punches her's in under 'Channel'. "Here you are," Channel says, inputting the phone number information into her phone. And no, she didn't look at the girl's actual name. "I gotta get back here. We'll see you later. It was good taking care of those bad guys with you". Channel goes to lightly slap the young girl on the back. "I'll give you a text later, see how things are going".

Channel then sputters on her takeoff. "Great, a spar with him? Well, maybe I can send him up against a few more rocks. Don't know if he told you about the time he asked me to hit him as hard as I could," Channel says as she takes off with Rogue, though it's clear exactly who is not going to win this race by the way she sputters in her flight.