Logs:Resting And Recharging

Resting And Recharging
In which a young mutant is lent a hand.
Dramatis Personae Colin, Polaris, Gino
In Absentia Jax	2024-11-10 '
Location <NYC> Evolve Coffeeshop - Lower East Side
'<NYC> Evolve Cafe - Lower East Side' Spacious and open, this coffeeshop has a somewhat industrial feel to it, grey resin floors below and exposed-beam ceilings that have been painted up in a dancing swirl of abstract whorls and starbursts, a riot of colour splashed against a white background. The walls alternate between brick and cheerfully lime-green painted wood that extends to the paneling beneath the brushed-steel countertops. There's an abundance of light, though rather than windows (which are scarce) it comes from plentiful hanging steel lamps. The walls here are home to artwork available for sale; though the roster of prints and paintings and drawings and photographs changes on a regular basis it has one thing in common -- all the artists displayed are mutants. The seating spaced around the room is spread out enough to keep the room from feeling cluttered. Black chairs, square black tables that mostly seat two or four though they're frequently pushed around and rearranged to make space for larger parties. In the back corner of the room is more comfortable seating, a few large black-corduroy sofas and armchairs with wide tables between them. There's a shelf of card and board games back here available for customers to sit and play. The chalkboard menus hanging behind the counter change frequently, always home to a wide variety of drinks (with an impressive roster of fair-trade coffees and teas largely featured) though their sandwiches and wraps and soups and snacks of the day change often. An often-changing variety of baked goods sit behind the display case at the counter halfway back in the room, and the opposite side of the counter holds a small selection of homemade ice creams. A pair of single-user bathrooms flanks the stairway in back of the cafe; at night, the thump of music can be heard from above, coming from the adjoining nightclub of the same name that sits up the stairs above the coffeehouse. Ducking into an alleyway Colin adjusted the hood over his head, pulling it a bit further forward to serve the dual purpose of shielding him from the blistering November winds of New York City's streets, and hiding his face from any passers-by. He was exhausted, not to mention on-edge from being in the biggest city he'd ever seen in his life, and he needed to double check where he was going. The Xavier Institute, some hoity-toity muckety-muck private school that was apparently highbrow enough to hire a mutant professor. He needed to get there, that much was clear. Pulling up the Maps app on his phone, he was instead met with a pop-up warning: Low Battery. "Crap..." He muttered under his breath, shivering as he switched apps to try and find somewhere nearby he could charge his phone and laptop, and warm up a bit. Grocery stores were off limits, and public libraries were closed at this hour, making them useless for his needs. Fast food restaurants were good for quick wifi access but he couldn't stay for long, having been chased out too many times for loitering without buying food. So instead he typed in 'Hipster Coffee Shop' and began swiping through the results until one caught his eye. 'Evolve Cafe', on the lower east side, not too far from where he was now. Setting off in that direction he kept his head down, buried in his phone like so many others around him as he began swiping through reviews. His eyes widened behind the dark glasses he wore habitually, reading the description as 'Mutant Owned', and began to pick up the pace. Thankfully he was small enough to shift through the crowded streets without rousing much suspicion, not slowing down until he saw the sign. But he hesitated outside, heart pounding in his chest as he stared at the door handle. He'd never met another mutant before, at least not as far as he knew. This felt like the end of his previous life, the point of no return. But he'd come too far to turn back now, so Colin took a breath and stepped-- -into the cafe, shivering off the chill of the outside as he looked around the cafe. It was comfortably eclectic, cramped in a way that spoke of kindness rather than clutter. He stepped up to the counter, not taking his hood down or removing his black mirrored sunglasses as he began looking over the menu, biting the inside of his cheek from the concentration of figuring out what he could afford. There are not one but two baristas with brightly colored hair behind the counter. The one with long purple hair is reloading the big coffee machines, which makes the warm toasty aroma of the place that much more intense. The one with short green hair straightens up from where she's wiping down the pastry case and beams a bright smile at their latest customer. Polaris is in a black t-shirt over a long sleeve shirt with black and green stripes, black jeans, and a black apron with more D-rings than it really needs. She's also wearing what looks like at least half a pound of metallic accessories, from fine woven wire jewelry to the thick steel cuffs around her wrists. "Hey," she says, perhaps reading something into Colin's expression. She leans forward and lowers her voice almost conspiratorially, though her smile robs it of any seriousness. "Somebody's already paid for whatever you want." Standing by the pick-up counter is another mutant -- tall and bony -- bone-white skin and strange, bony protrusions spiking out from his joints, on his face, through the worn-through runs in the fabric of a heavily patched Hawaiian shirt, patterned with a variety of vivid green and purple frondy plants. (This is hanging open over a very tattered undershirt.) This man is wearing sunglasses too, on top of his head -- it's anybody's guess how he wears them normally, for his eyes are surrounded by still more of these jagged, shelly ridges. Gino already has a pastry on a little plate -- is still waiting on his coffee -- and was staring contemplatively at the other baked goods on display, but when Polaris speaks he glances over at the newcomer. "Oh, yeah," he chimes in cheerfully, "this place has a sweet pay-it-forward thing going." Looking between the two Colin hesitated, trying to keep some level of composure. His clothes were tattered and patchworked, a backpack slung over his shoulder that had both straps held on with staples. But he didn't want to look like the helpless runaway teenager that he absolutely was, shaking his head and reaching into his pocket. The handful that he pulled out was almost embarrassing, loose change and a couple of crumpled dollar bills, as he looked up at Polaris and Gino. "Hot chocolate, please." Colin said, holding the money out towards the barista as casually as he could. If he was going to spend the money on something for himself he wasn't going to waste it on coffee, the bitter beverage unpalatable to the teenager. From the corner of his eye he kept glancing at Gino, not out of fear or discomfort, but fascination. That didn't make it any less appropriate, gawking was still rude, but he had never seen anyone like him before and the realization that no, he wasn't actually alone, was finally sinking in. "Friend," Polaris says gently, "it's not pity, and you wouldn't owe us, or anyone else. Back me up here," she pleads with Gino. "It's just how we do business here. Anyway, hold onto that for a sec, I'll ring you up after I make this." She is, notably, picking up the largest mug they have. "We have a whole bunch of milk substitutes--oat, almond, coconut, you name it." She reaches out her hand toward the sink as if expecting someone to hand her something, but one of the steel mixing cups just levitates into her waiting grasp. "I know. We went and made hot chocolate complicated. Trust me, it's worth it." "Yeah, these people are serious bleeding hearts," Gino backs Polaris up as requested (though perhaps not as desired.) He is in fact giving Colin's sad handful of money an amused/sympathetic side-eye, reaching one hand into his Hawaiian shirt as if there are pockets there, then producing a ten dollar bill, which he brandishes at Colin (just dangling from the tip of his index finger, like it's stuck there, though it looks like a perfectly normal ten dollars.) "Gettum a snack too, being new in New York New York is hungry work." "No, I really, I--" He stopped, taking a moment to compose himself. These were mutants, he didn't want to look like a goober in front of them. Instead he took a breath, pulling his hood back and taking his sunglasses off. He'd never admit it, but that was another reason he had to lean against the counter to read the menu. Dark glasses at night were always a mistake. He looked back at Polaris and reluctantly nodded. "Regular milk is fine, please." "And it's not that I don't appreciate it but really, I just needed a place to charge my phone. I wasn't gonna come in here and use your electricity without buying something." Looking between the two without the protective filter now it was clear the fifteen-year-old was certainly other than human, eyes glinting with an iridescent oil-slick sheen as he took in the sight of the cafe a second time. He avoided making eye contact with either of them, no longer able to hide his nervous expression without his hood or sunglasses. And that's when the realization hit him: What was the best way to trap mutants for ill intent? Lull them into a false sense of security with a cozy cafe and a roofied beverage. A flicker of suspicion crossed his features but he did his best to hide it, hands resting on the straps of his backpack. "So... How long has this place been around? It's got pretty good reviews online, I just wasn't expecting it to be so... Open." "You say 'bleeding heart' like it's a bad thing." Polaris doesn't sound very insulted, though. "Anyway, you don't have to buy anything to use the the outlets and the bathrooms. Our drinks are pretty awesome, though." She floats a steel spoon over as well, as she's steaming the milk. Does she really need to magnet everything around? Neither her co-worker nor the other patrons seem to find this unusual at all. "Hoo boy, but this place has got some history. I guess technically it's been around 20 years, except it got bombed like ten years ago. Our..." She struggles for a moment before finally going with, "...boss, of blessed memory, bought what was left and built it back better than before. More than just a place where you can get coffee without getting hate crimed." Her smile had faded somewhere in the middle here, but it returns now. "And we're not looking to go anywhere anytime soon. You like empanadas?" She supplements the whiplash question with, "Like got chicken, tofu, beef..." She peers over her shoulder at the warming case, and the purple-haired barista supplies in a helpful monotone, "squash." She turns back to Colin and Gino. "Squash. It's actually really good." Gino swaps his ten dollars over to his other hand (this one only has three fingers) so he can kiss his thumb and glance up at the sky. At least he didn't actually cross himself? "He was a real one," he tells Colin, then, this uncharacteristic sincerity vanishing again, he pokes the bill over the display case for Polaris to take instead (this one can't be magnetted around, sorry!) "I'm... Sorry for your loss." He frowned, shifting uneasily. Death was a sensitive topic, but one that Colin himself had very little experience with. It was clear that both Gino and Polaris held this man in very high esteem, and the last thing Colin wanted to do was make them regret their hospitality. Glancing back to the warming case he perked up slightly, trying not to actively salivate at the sight of the pastry-wrapped crescents. Soup kitchens were a lifesaver in even smaller cities, but it was rare to get anything this luxurious. A chunk of fresh bread could last two days with careful nibbling after the soup broth was gone, and had gotten him through the long trek between cities up in the mountains on his way to New York. "May I have a chicken empanada, please? Or whichever one you've got the most of, I'm not picky." He was doing his best to be polite, just in case this place was on the up-and-up. If these two mutants were really just out here trying to take care of other people, the last thing Colin wanted was to take advantage of their hospitality. "I'm Colin, by the way." He gave them a small, tight-lipped smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Thanks." Polaris smiles again, but kind of soft and wistful. "I think the best way to remember him is to work harder to take care of and protect each other, you know?" She takes the bill from Gino (non-magnetically), rings up the sale, and matter-of-factly hands Colin the change. "Even if sometimes that's just a really freaking great hot chocolate. Speaking of which..." She sets a plate with a chicken empanada and a large, bowl-shaped mug of hot chocolate on the counter. "Here you go, Colin. I'm Polaris. You new in town?" Gino dismisses this expression of sympathy with a small shrug; when his shoulders go back down, his shirt is bunched up on the spikes on his back and shoulders. A little uncomfortably, maybe -- as soon as Polaris takes the money Gino readjusts the shirt with a soft jinglerustleclack of whatever the hell else he has hidden inside it. "Gino," he introduces himself, with a little wave, the corners of his mouth turning down with amusement. "Vagabond shoes just longing to stray?" Taking the plate Colin just dumped the change into the tip jar (it wasn't his money anyway) before tearing into the empanada, his actions betraying his hunger. It was moments before it was gone, washed down with a few gulps of the hot chocolate. The combination was... Questionable, but by no means inedible. "I just got here, I was... I had to get away." He shivered, moving to sit down in one of the cafe's overstuffed chairs, groaning softly at finally being able to get off his feet. "I didn't think I was safe where I was, and--" Colin took another swallow of cocoa, wiping his mouth on the back of his arm. "There's a mutant I'm looking for, I think he might be able to help me. Have either of you heard of the Xavier Institute? Apparently one of the teachers there is a mutant, and I wanted to try and meet with him." Polaris leans over the pickup counter, both hands braced against the countertop, nodding lightly in gentle sympathy until "one of the teachers there is a mutant" blindsides her with a puff of laughter. "Sorry, I'm not laughing at you it's just..." This attempt at an explanation dissolves into a giggle before she finally gets hold of herself. "Yeah, I know some folks up that way. There's a commuter train, or I can probably get you a ride. Which...teacher are you looking for?" "The Xavier whaaat?" this probably did not need to come in such a crackly vocal fry, whatever Gino is trying to convey with that. He seems surprised that Polaris knows anything about this, shooting her a quizzical look; without eyebrows to raise, the rippled carapace over his eyes just twitches with an audible, chalky crrrrk. He frowned slightly at their reaction, studying their faces closely. Were they mocking him? Or had he just said something truly that stupid? "The mutant one." Colin repeated, certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that there could only possibly be one there. "He was on the news recently, umm... Jackson something. Jackson Henderson, maybe?" His face reddens slightly, flustered by both Polaris' laugh and Gino's almost sarcastic incredulity. "No, it wasn't Henderson, it was... Holland! Jackson Holland, the news said he was a teacher at the school there. I gotta find him and talk with him." He began plugging in his phone and laptop chargers, the numbers for both having gotten into the single digits. "Holland," Polaris supplies immediately, as if she had been expecting this. "Jackson Holland. He's our boss's father. In fact he technically is our boss now, but I wouldn't want to put it to him like that. He's been through enough." This last part is kind of an aside that she shakes off quickly. "I'm not sure he's back at school just yet, but it's a safe place to stay until then. Free food, free housing, free...I don't know, world-class education, I guess." "Ohhhmygod you're talking about Jackson Holland!" This comes in slight, confident overlap over both of the other two, Gino finally taking his coffee and pastry off the counter and tilting a perplexed frown at Polaris, with another scraaaape of grinding shells. "-- oh, is he out of jail, good for him," this has the same vaguely congratulatory tone one might use to discuss somebody's return to the dating scene after a divorce. In spite of having his food now he slouches his posture conversationally back at Polaris with an amused, "I always totally forget he has a day job outside of, like, mutant crap." "Hold up, you both know him?" That would make things either easier, or far, far more difficult. "Is it rude to ask how much you know about his mutation? I mean they showed it on the news, at least kinda, and I think mine is similar to his? That's why I made the trip, to see about..." Colin hunkered down slightly in his seat, trying to hide behind his mug of cocoa as he just now realizes how insane he sounds. "I just wanted to be around other mutants, like me. I've been trying to figure it out on my own, but I had to hide it from everyone, and then I ran away, I just..." He trailed off, 'radiating' embarrassment as he sat there. "This was a bad idea. I should go home, I'd probably make it back by the end of the year." Polaris's knowing nod compliments Gino's "good for him". "I don't think he really needs one, but some people are just teachers, wherever they happen to do that." She blinks at Colin, but keeps a friendly--and firmly neutral--smile this time. "A lot of folks around here know him, between the teaching and the activism and the breaking people out of government labs." After a very brief consideration. "I guess that's also activism. I'm pretty familiar, and it's generally rude to blab about other people's powers, but he is not subtle about his. Illusions, forcefields, lasers. All that jazz. Hey." Her voice softens. "It's alright. A lot of us have trouble with powers, a lot of us run away, and a lot of us come here to find other mutants. If you didn't feel safe where you were, there are alternatives to going back." "Ooh, you got some light-show magic?" Gino says with new interest, just as Polaris deems blabbing about other people's powers rude. He is zero parts abashed by this as he sips his coffee. He might be trying for a sage, serious tone, but it's trending closer to stoner-being-profound. "What she said. I mean, feel free to lone-wolf it all you want, I guess, but the nice thing about having a whole mutant community out here is you don't have to figure everything out all by yourself. Every one of us was once a brand-new freaked-out mutant too." Colin sips at his hot cocoa, appreciating Polaris' words. "That's why I'm here, I... Rural east Tennessee isn't really a safe place for people that are different, as I'm sure you can imagine. If I didn't get away and someone found out, I might not have another opportunity to, if you catch my meaning." He grimaced like there was a bitter taste in his mouth, despite the sweet beverage. "Light show is... Generous. I can make holograms, at least that's what I think they are. I can manipulate light that's there, but I can't make it from scratch." He nodded to Gino before looking up, making the lights in the cafe shift through a spectrum of colors before returning to their warm, neutral yellow. "Force-fields and lasers are a bit beyond me, but at least that makes it easy enough to hide. I've been trying to avoid every cop between here and Oak Ridge." "I'm sorry, that sounds scary." Polaris lowers her voice a little, quietly sympathetic. "And you were really brave, that's a long way to come all by yourself." She smiles when the lights change. A few of the patrons look up, but nobody seems very bothered or anxious to discover who did it. "Avoiding every cop is best practice no matter where you are, but there are unfortunately a crapton of cops in the city. Do you have anywhere to stay?" Gino tilts his head back, maybe to take in this (tiny) light show, just as likely out of awkwardness. "Oof," is all he says to most of this, "Long way to come." He shoots a glance at one of the building's windows, pulling an exaggerated grimace at -- not much of the outdoors are actually currently visible from his obstructed view, but he seems fairly confident in saying, "Yyyeah, you're not getting great 'walk back to Tennessee' weather." "You're telling me, it was bad enough getting up here, the last thing I want to do is turn around and walk back empty handed." Looking at Polaris he shook his head, almost bitterly. "I know, I had to dodge a couple on the way here. And I'm sure I'll find a place, honestly there's enough places to hunker down for the night in a city I'm not too worried, better than trying to bed down in the woods." He shivered at the memory of his first night in the woods, alone and terrified, jumping at every rogue noise. "It's getting late, I'll head out once my stuff is charged and try to get to the school in the morning. I don't want to roll up to their gate that late in the evening." Polaris pulls in a deep breath and slowly straightens back up. "I know you've been sleeping rough and you know how to handle yourself, but this is a whole new city, and not just any city. There are bigots who roam the city looking for unhoused mutants to beat up, and I don't even just mean the cops. Though I wasn't kidding about them, this city is overpoliced as heck." She worries at her lower lip. "I really don't think the school will mind no matter what time of day you turn up, but it is a long way. I know a safe place you can stay for the night. Get a nice meal, a warm shower, a real bed. Just--please, I don't want you out there alone tonight." Gino is just nodding along, through another looong sip of coffee, eyes in their weird crater-like carapace just darting between the other two. He seems quite content to let Polaris extend these offers, definitely isn't making any offers of his own, surely if he just keeps his trap shut this won't come across rude or uncharitable. Shaking his head quickly Colin scrunched down in the chair, checking his phone and cracking open the lid of his laptop to make sure they were, in fact, charging. A free snack and beverage was one thing, and incredibly kind of Polaris to offer and Gino to pay for, but a place to sleep was a different matter entirely. "I can't, really, it's fine. It's not that I don't appreciate what you're offering, but... I've only just met you. I don't want to impose." Which was much kinder than what he wanted to say, but he was raised in the South which meant hiding behind roughly seventeen layers of niceties. "Besides, there's steam vents here. I'll find one of those and bed down for the night, nobody'll even know I'm there." "You wouldn't be imposing," Polaris insists, "the place has a whole entire guest house and large communal meals. It is a religious community, but you don't have to convert or go to church or anything." She opens a bin behind the counter and puts a bagel into a brown paper bag. "I don't live there, but I go to church there, and they're good people. They'll be generous and solicitous and probably invite you to sing cheesy songs about God, but you won't own them anything." One of her wrist cuffs unspools itself into single long chain which winds around and around the paper bag with the bagel, carrying it over to deposit it in front of Colin before returning to her wrist. "I have no idea what you've been through and I understand if it's difficult to trust total strangers." She darts a worried glance at Gino. "But it really isn't safe out there." "Coming on pret-ty strong," Gino says to Polaris, not quite sotto voce. His voice returns to normal to address the teenager: "Oookay then, sleep in a box, that'll show us. I just think that if you want to be around other mutants, you might as well wrap your mind around this kinda thing now 'cause, lemme tell you, there are so many weird, earnest, annoying people out here who are gonna be nice to you, and feed you, and worry whether you got a roof over your head tonight, and eventually you may even grow to find it moderately tolerable. That's all I'm saying byeee!" He's leaving the pastry plate behind, just sticking his cheese danish between his teeth to give Colin a cheerful waggly-fingered wave as he departs. "I wouldn't be sleeping in a box--" His clumsy excuse was cut off by Gino leaving, exhaling slowly as he returned to the paper bag Polaris prepared for him. "I really appreciate the offer but I'm really more comfortable like this. Does this group have a name? Or like a website or something? Depending on what happens tomorrow I might look into them. I wouldn't mind crashing there for a day before I have to go back to Tennessee." Polaris lifts her hands slowly enough to not count as throwing them up, but she nods with deep approval as Gino speaks. "Weird, earnest, and annoying--represent." She allows a crooked and only mildly sheepish smile. "But yeah, I feel you. Seriously though, consider giving the school a call." She scribbles on a notepad. "The place I'm talking about is called the Refuge, and I'm just gonna warn you the website looks real culty. It's down in Staten Island, and the ferry ride is free. If you decide to go, tell them Polaris sent you." She peels off the note, sticks a paperclip on it, and floats it over to Colin. "I put my number in there, too, just in case. Welcome to New York, man." "Thanks, I'm sure you'll see me around." He nodded with a smile as he stood, unplugging his devices and stowing them back in his backpack before taking the note and slipping it into his pocket with the bagged bagel. "For real, thanks a lot. This is the first time I've been able to sit down somewhere warm without being afraid in, like... Two and a half weeks. If there's anything I can do, just let me know. I'll text you my number so you'll have it." With a slightly nervous smile he half-bowed to Polaris before pulling his hood up and returning his sunglasses over his eyes, heading back into the cold night air in search of a place to bed down.