| PopPop FizzFizz: Kurt Wagner and Other Headaches | |||||
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| What: Scott and Amanda touch base about Kurt's "death", old antagonisms, and an aborted thought of a vacation. | |||||
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Scott tears open the plastic package slowly and pulls out two of the white disks found inside.
Plop Plop
Fizz Fizz
He brings the drink up to his mouth and sips at it gingerly, making a face. The costs of victory are clear.
He's sitting behind his desk as we pull back. He has the desire to get down to work, grading papers, reading the news, making plans, that sort of thing, but it's not clear if he's got the willpower. The man isn't Green Lantern after all.
Instead, he sits quietly, rubbing his temples.
No. He's not Green Lantern. He's Cyclops. Similar breed, though, depending on which Lantern you compare him to.
Amanda's walking by his door and happens to spy it partially open -- and the hang-dog look the man has as he tries to down his drink. Her low chuckle sounds as she nudges the door open.
"So," she asks with a lopsided grin. "Was it worth it?"
Scott sighs as he appears to look up at Amanda. A faint chuckle comes out, but not too much, as it sends a piercing shot of electric pain through his head. "I'm a win at all costs sort of guy, Amanda."
He props his head up with one of his hands and adds more words in a hushed tone, "I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I? Don't tell me I tried to hit on you. Or worse, Kitty."
"Oh, I know you are," the witch laughs, leaning on the doorframe. "I've fought alongside you before now, remember?"
At his question, however, her blue eyes dance. She considers the stories she could create, but, in the end, takes pity on him. "Nothing worth worrying about, no," she concedes. "Not that you didn't give us all a hard time about not keeping up."
She pushes off the doorframe, digging into her pocket and pulling out a set of keys. "Here." She extends her hand to him, crossing to the desk to lay them down on the surface. "Nice ride."
Scott reaches his hand up slowly to grab the keys and pull them just as slowly towards him. "Thanks. It's my pride and joy. Bout as much as I could afford on my salary." After a pause, he pulls the glass to his lips again. "Did Doug and Alex get home safe?"
After her reply, he's down to business. "What was it that Kitty showed you?"
"Yeah, they got home okay," Amanda nods, smiling lightly. "Though, I think Doug was grumpy at me for making him wrestle Alex into his car on his own." She doesn't sound too concerned.
At the second question, however, the witch frowns slightly. She lets out a soft sigh and snags a seat to settle into. "It was a video. I'm not exactly sure where it came from, but it showed a bad angle on a gambit Domino and I played against Mystique to keep her from getting Kurt killed. Not our best plan, perhaps, but it worked." Her body language suggests that, despite the success, she's not really comfortable with it. "Neither one of us can be identified in it; I'm sure of that. I was wearing an illusion at the time, and Domino was at least half a mile away." Probably a little further, actually.
Scott nods slowly as the words come out of her mouth. "May I see the video?" As she goes into more detail he nods stoically. It's not clear if it's just his normal self, or if the headache is preventing him from putting much more effort into it. "What's the background on these events, and what is the status of everything now?"
Amanda actually isn't prepared to let Scott see the video. But, then, it could be a moot point, in any case. "Kitty and Doug have had enough time to pull it down," she notes. "And I don't have a copy." Seriously, she doesn't want any souvenirs.
She grimaces. "Honestly, Scott? I don't have all the details. All I know is that Kurt was in the wrong place at the wrong time and, as a result, Mystique decided to use him as bait for whatever she was after. She put a hit out him. Domino and I decided that needed to go away. So, we made it look like a hit succeeded."
"Ah. Kurt." Wherever trouble goes, Kurt is never far away. The man has been on Scott's list for quite some time, now, despite their rich friendship. Questioning one's leadership and stealing a girlfriend will do that to a guy. "So, you set up his death to satisfy what Mystique was after." He nods to himself, satisfied somewhat. Amanda may get the feeling he's going to bring this up with Kitty and Doug afterword to get everyone's story. "How sure are we that we got every copy down off the internet?"
"On a scale of 1-10."
Amanda would be surprised if Scott didn't touch base with Doug and Kitty. He's nothing, if not thorough. "Pretty much," she concedes to the first part with a mild shrug. As for the rating? "I have no idea. I haven't had a chance to speak with either Kitty or Doug since last night. Given their skills? I'll go with an 8 or 9. But technology is to me what magic is to most other people -- complete and utter hoodoo."
She's really hoping the video is gone, that's for sure. Margali's less computer literate than her daughter is, but you can never be too sure.
Scott rubs his head as he ponders. This is what he gets for getting hammered the night before. He tries to push himself past the fog with little luck. "Alright, I'll speak to them about the matter in the next few days." And with that, the case is as good as closed for the time being. He moves on. "Where's Kurt now?"
Amanda shrugs. "I don't actually know. The last I saw him was the night before last. I thought he'd come back here, but he could be out with Domino, somewhere." Those two are pretty tight. There's no sense of jealousy from Amanda about it, however. But, then, to be fair, the woman has always been pretty sanguine about such things. She doesn't get ruffled that easily.
And, really, she's beginning to like Domino.
"Could be at Gloria's," Scott says. Though he wants to spit it, he delivers the offering with at least some semblance of integrity. "As long as he's safe, I suppose that's all that matters. If you do run into him, please let him know I'd like to speak with him, if only to touch base and ensure he's alright. The guy's been avoiding me for months now, but I still want to be sure he's alright."
Scott sighs and downs the rest of his seltzer-water medley, before wincing at the after taste. "You think after almost 100 years of making this stuff, it could taste a bit better."
"I got that impression from when I first arrived back," Amanda notes, her head canting lightly. "Neither of you seemed all that happy with each other -- and that's unusual for Kurt." Whom she knows better than Scott, simply because of years. Kurt's not one to hold a grudge, however, so the witch does find it odd that the pair still have any sort of tension between them.
She chuckles dryly about the seltzer. "Remind me to bring you some of my hangover tea. It's not nearly so unsettling." A beat. "Doesn't taste quite so bad, either."
Scott nods, "I'm not sure when it began, but Kurt and I are just not seeing eye to eye. And I think it'll be a long time before we do, sadly. If it were just lone issues, that'd be one thing, but there's been some water under the bridge since the island."
He looks to his glass and wrinkles his nose, "I'm pretty sure anything in the world tastes better than this, right now."
"You never did tell me what happened on that island," Amanda notes. "And Kurt tends to live in the Now, whenever he can. So, he hasn't said much, either. But, I do know a lot of people were pissed off with you when I came back."
She leans forward in her chair, her brows dipping some. "What happened, Scott? What have I missed?"
"Lots of people pissed at me? They can get in line. Been that way since I've been 16 years old. I've grown used to it." Scott sighs and pulls out another plastic package, ripping it open, and plopping it into a glass. He reaches for a bottle of water and fills the glass. "You want the truth? The whole truth? I'll give you one more chance before I tell you everything."
Amanda arches a brow. "Scott. I know I've been away from a couple of years, but I do remember this team. There's a difference between the general feeling that you needed to lighten up I remember most people sporting, and the open disgruntlement I saw when I got here. It's not nearly so bad now..." Time and all that. "But, seriously. Something happened." Her head cants. "So, lay it on me. What was it?"
Scott shrugs his shoulders and takes a big drink before setting it back down upon his desk. "Alright. Here's everything. A few months back we followed a lead on a professor from Berkley who was kidnapped from a conference in Paris. Just so happened that he was a leading expert on computers and the nation of Mureybet wanted to him to exploit their mutant gene-new wave-janissary program. When we got there, and we saw what damage had been done to the people, some of us decided to stay and help the resistance. It came to a head in the capitol, and I sanctioned Domino to take the shot that killed Munqid, their leader. The son of one of our contacts was also killed in the melee." Another sigh, another swig. "A few weeks later I had hoped to get some rest and relaxation for the team and the students so we parked on an island in the Pacific. In revenge for what happened, we were attacked by what were called Sentinels. Students here at the mansion died. I was put on leave by the Professor while a group of others investigated and were ultimately captured. Myself, Logan, Doug, and a group of teens went in and rescued the captives and destroyed the Sentinel program, leaving its leader, Bolivar Trask, with SHIELD to do with what they would. Kurt, specifically, took issue with me putting teenagers in harms way. He did not agree with my point that they were not any younger than we were when we first started. I was upset because he chose to ask Domino to tell me. I found it cowardly. Add into that mess that my girlfriend left me for him, and it's a sort of whirlwind angst fest." Another sigh, another swig.
"Good times."
"Your girlfriend left you for him?" That's what Amanda takes away from all this? "Who the hell were you dating?" She's more curious about that because Kurt didn't mention anyone other than Domino to her. But, then, it's not like she and Kurt are going out, either, so it doesn't really matter.
Thus, she inhales slowly and lets it out equally slowly to allow her to refocus. "I think I was in Budapest about that time," she remarks. "I remember hearing something about a kidnapping in Paris, but I didn't really pay it much mind." She had her hands full with other problems. "As for your decision to bring students in..." She raises her blue eyes to meet his red-screened ones, "I can't really fault you for it. Especially not if the rest of the main team wasn't around. I don't know of a single mutant who doesn't start fighting young. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it happens." She gives a wry smile. "Of course, I know Kurt. He believes staunchly that it doesn't have to be that way, that we should protect the younger kids from going through what we went through. And when he gets something like that stuck in his craw." She nods sympathetically. "Yeah. I see the conflict." Now, she shrugs ruefully. "I've always been more practical about such things than he has, I think."
"Gloria Munoz and I were dating. I mean, it was pretty short lived, obviously, but it still kind of burned. In any event, I'm past that now. Goes to show how dumb dating in the team is. That's two crash and burns within a year. I think that's a record." Scott shrugs his shoulders, "I made the decisions I made for the reasons I made them. I've been willing to tell that to anyone who walks through that door. But what I won't do is answer to Domino when Kurt sends her calling because he's afraid to do it himself."
Amanda nods to that. "I don't blame you," she agrees. "I don't answer Kurt by proxy, either." Which sometimes leads to some rip roaring arguments between them. But, somehow, they're always resolved by morning.
In any case, she shakes her head slowly at the tangled mess. It's certainly not something she's going to get involved in, by any means. But, at least, now she understands what's behind it. "Well, thank you for telling me, at least. But, what were the Sentinels?"
In her experience, anything with the word 'program' attached to it, tends to like to come back and bite them in the ass again and again -- even when it's not supposed to exist any longer.
Scott shrugs, "So that's why everyone is mad at me. Or was mad at me. At the end of the day I thought it was a lot of whining and gnashing of teeth, mixed with handwringing and protectionism. People are entitled to their own opinions, but the world is going to keep spinning." He follows her change of topic, "The Sentinels were high tech mutant trackers and mutant murderers, to put it bluntly." Scott pauses a while, thinking before he adds. "And they were highly effective."
"A high tech group of operatives?" Amanda asks. She's not really the sort to immediately think 'robot'. Magical golems, sure... but they don't jive with the term high tech. Again, she shakes her head. "Sounds like you seriously need a vacation, Scott."
"Well, I seriously needed a drink and look where that got me? And the last time I took a vacation, three of my students ended up dead. So," Scott sighs and runs his hand through his hair, "I'm not exactly sure what I needed. Gloria told me what I needed was her, but..." He smiles faintly, "You know how that ended up."
"Mm." Amanda nods sympathetically. Gloria isn't really someone she knows all that well. "Well... I don't know what else to suggest. Personally? Since the day that video thing went down?" I.e. the so-called-hit. "I've tried repeatedly to snag some downtime. Hasn't happened, yet. There's magic afoot in New York City, and not all of it is friendly." She gives another rueful shake of her head and a light laugh. "A house haunted by the ghost of Alice-in-Wonderland turned up in the Bronx. A psychotic sorcerer with designs on becoming the next Mr. Fantastic tried to take out that crazy renaissance fair/amusement park that opened a while back, all so he could get his hands on some dark artefact that has since been confiscated by someone from that super Justice group..." A beat. "Oh, and last week Nate, Domino, Mercury, and I tangled with a bunch elemental imps gone wild downtown. Got to meet a whole bunch of new powered types in the process, though."
"You don't know what to suggest because there's nothing to suggest," Scott says as he raises an eyebrow. "The answer is to put the shoulder to the wheel and carry on. The answer is always the same." The other eyebrow comes up in mild surprise as Amanda goes over everything that's been going on for her lately, "Between you and Illyana, you've got enough dealings with demons and magic this month for the rest of my life. I'm impressed you ladies handle it so well. Sounds like you need to take your own advice."
Amanda laughs, now. "Oh, I won't disagree. I was thinking about hiding in a cottage in the wood, but the last time I went camping a Wendigo tried to eat me for lunch." Her and half a dozen students. "I'd offer to teleport us somewhere warm and sunny, but since the Wyrd Sisters seem to have painted us all with cosmic bullseyes that turn us into walking trouble magnets? Yeah. Easier to stay here and just keep going."
Scott chuckles and shakes his head, "I'm a vulnerable man, right now. Don't tease." He finishes the second glass of fizzy water and then adds, "Where would you go? If you could go anywhere on Earth to relax for a few days? I have the keys to the Blackbird. Maybe I should listen to you. It's not like I listen to anyone else."
Amanda leans back in her chair and considers the question. "Me? If I could go anywhere? Hm." After a moment or two of contemplation, she shrugs. "I really don't know. I'm really not the vacation-in-the-countryside type of girl. I like cities. And cities like me. It would be nice to go back to Europe." Despite the fact she's been there for the past two years. "I'm most at home there." She flashes a grin. "Maybe we should go down to Australia, instead. The other side of the world, hm? Sydney. Melbourne, maybe?"
"Perth?" Scott says, imagining himself seated firmly on a beach with a smartphone in one hand to check up on the news, and a cold beverage in the other. "That'd be something wouldn't it? That'd definitely get some of the folks in the institute to start gossiping."
Amanda laughs. "Yeah. It would." Gossip's never much bothered her, however. She's always had a somewhat carefree attitude toward relationships. Loyal to a fault, she can be, but neither foolish nor possessive. Nor, for that matter, particularly inclined to exclusivity -- unless things get really serious. But she's usually up for fun. "Nice thought, anyway. I don't suppose we've really got the time -- between the team and the school. Which reminds me: I was thinking a couple of Magic 101 workshops might be in order for some of these kids. Something along the lines of how to recognize and avoid the stuff."
"Yeah," Scott says and nods, "You're right of course. It's a silly thought." He nods, "Magic 101 workshops? I think that's a pretty good idea. How long do you think it would take you to put something together?"
Amanda shrugs, now. "A week or two," she suggestions. "Barring any unforeseen interruptions, of course." But those never happen, right? (Don't they wish?) "It might be an idea, too, to start scheduling some 'mystery challenge' danger room scenarios, too. And I'm not just talking about the situations; I'm talking about the participants, too. Learning to work with unexpected team mates in unexpected situations."
She's had a bit too much experience with that, lately.
Scott coughs and nods, "Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Go ahead and start putting out some feelers and general plans and let me know when you've firmed things up. We can go ahead and move on it whenever you're ready."
Again, Amanda nods. "Will do, chief," she winks at him. She pushes out her chair, now. "I suppose, since we're not going to take a vacation, I might as well get to it." She turns toward the door and then pauses. "I'll be around, Scott, if you ever need to chat." She flashes a light smile. "Catch you later." And heads out.