ArchivedLogs:Freak Factor

Freak Factor
Dramatis Personae Anette, Dusk, Hailey
In Absentia	2014-03-19 '
Location <NYC> The Mendel Clinic - Lower East Side
With its sharp crystalline edges and sleek lines knifing up into the sky, this building is one of the most /distinctive/ new additions to the neighborhood. An angular structure in glass and steel, the tall tower has a deceptively slender look to it that is belied by the heavy security as soon as you enter the doors. The front doors are frosted with the Clinic's logo -- a rising sun over a rod of Asclepius -- a motif echoed in many places throughout the building. Visitors to the clinic must first pass through a small mantrap, guarded by some of the Clinic's security guards; once they make it through the metal detector and airlock's double doors they emerge into the much more hospitable lobby. With dark wood floors underneath and comfortable black and red couches at its edges, the high windows give the room an airy feel. A bank of elevators to one side carry visitors to the many destination floors, while the wide welcome desk at the other side is manned by a security guard ready to help point visitors in the right direction. The sun was setting and the clinic was still in a mix-up. Some people had been transferred, sent to other hospitals and discharged already. A few had to be kept for various possible reasons. Hailey for one has been kept for observation due to her attempts to flee, resistance to any questions and passing out. She hadn't allowed herself enough time to really build up stamina, being much to paranoid, begging people to help her escape. She wakes up on the second floor with a little groan, her head pounding hard as if a sledgehammer coated in cotton was being swung inside of her skull. Her wounds were treated pretty quickly and looked like they would make a full recovery if she kept up with treatment. Hailey was currently bandaged and sitting up in bed, head hanging between her knees sullenly. Dusk has found a pair of scrub pants to replace his burned and bloodstained jeans, but the enormous wings sprouting from his back means he hasn't found any /shirt/ to match -- there's not a plethora of available clothing that will accommodate those easily. There's an enormous /wealth/ of bandaging wrapped around his torso and even some decorating the dark fuzzy skin of his wings; they're currently drooped down against his back as he makes his way down the hallway of the Clinic. He has a large thermos held in one hand and he stops to rap knuckles against the door to Hailey's room, poking his head around the doorframe and then immediately pulling back with an apologetic duck of head. "Oh, crap, /sorry/. You're not -- shit. I thought this was -- have you seen a -- woman. Spikey. Kind of -- porcupine. Ish. Curses a lot." Anette took the last day to recover, mostly sleeping and continuing to hack up a lung. She didn't consider herself injured enough to warrant medical attention and out herself as a mutant to people she didn't need to. However, she did find herself concerned about those present, especially that girl she had just met minutes before the explosion. So here she is. Bundled in her usual jacket, covering her wings, she walks through the hallways, glancing in doorways until she notices Dusk hovering near one. She heads over, recognizing Hailey in the bed. "How's everyone coming along?" she asks, glancing back and forth between the two. Hailey lays in the bed with a little groan, her eyes closed tight as she sighs. Her eyes move to dusk. "I've been moving between unconscious and in pain." She flicks her eyes about. "These people try to keep me under observation and wrapped up. " She rolls her head about a bit before seeing Anette. "You! Before I saw you I was fine. Then that damned headache made me freak-out and that explosion happened!" She huffs loudly before wincing at the bandaged wounds twitching with a tick of pain. "Now I'm in here where I could get registered... and my jacket turned to freakin cinders." She shakes her head and looks at them. "They're not going to register you here," Dusk assures Hailey in a soft voice. "They actually couldn't if they wanted to. They don't take your name or anything. They anonymize /all/ their patients specifically so if anyone comes after them they can say they don't /have/ any information on anyone. It's -- pretty cool. All your information in here is just under a number, no name." He shrugs a wing, and immediately winces, grimacing -- though the grimace turns into a quick smile at the familiar voice. He turns to grin sharp and fanged at Anette. "Oh -- /hey/." There's still a bit of a hoarse edge to his words, scratchy and rough. "Man, /thank/ you. For yesterday. That was my building. My -- we needed all the help we could fucking /get/. --" His head shakes, slowly, and he turns to look back at Hailey. "Were you out there, too?" Pretty shitty." Anette allows Dusk to address Hailey's concerns. This is the first time she's been here so she has no clue either. Still...pretty awesome. "I could hear the people trapped. I wasn't about to walk away." She looks over to Hailey at her outburst and raises a brow. "I had nothing to do with it if that's what you're implying. If you'd behave yourself and stay put, you'll be just fine. You can buy yourself a new jacket." She turns back to Dusk with a somewhat concerned look, "You lived there? I assume you're out an apartment and belongings for a while then." Hailey huffs a little and winces. "It's the law! Of course they're gonna take my DNA that's why they keep asking what my name is and who my parents are!" She looks around a bit before rubbing her bandaged side slowly. "Man that sucks...yeah I managed to grab four people before I collapsed. Hard to...ya know....work it.." She mumbles a bit, a little nervous talking to other freaks, somewhat barely admitting she was one herself. "No, it's the law that /if/ they find out your information they have to report it. It's /not/ the law that they have to /try/ and /get/ your information. So they specifically don't take it. They're not going to take your DNA just to report you. They're probably asking who your parents are because," Dusk says with a flick of eyes over the apparent-teenager, "your parents are probably worried as fuck after a /building exploded/. And your parents are probably worried as fuck. S'good you helped, though, shit. Thank you, too. My -- roommates and I barely --" His wings shiver at his back, and he nods to Anette. "I lived there. Me and my roommates. And yeah, our shit's /toast/, but fuck, we're alive and that's something at least." "Of course, what would the world do without the Amazing BatBoy?" Anette teases, referring to a past conversation. She looks over Hailey thoughtfully, realizing that she is, in fact, a teenager. "Do you go to Xavier's?" she asks, midly confused by the flighty and odd girl in front of her. "Just relax and trust us, alright? Do we look like the type to get you in trouble for being a mutie?" Hailey snickers a little bit "Me, In that expensive ass school? Hell no." She laughs hard enough to make herself double over, wincing hard as she bites her lip. "Hnnnnn that hurt." she sighs and looks at them. "I don't trust doctors since that damned law came out. Noone can know what I am, I'm still hoping it can just go away!" She bites her lip, her muscles tensing firmly before looking down at the sheets with a little growl. "How can I trust anyone, I've been kicked around the states for years, living in poverty and the streets. That's not even the worst part, now the sun friggen beats the hell out of me, and I have this freak factor..." "Yeeeah," Dusk rolls his eyes quite noticeably at Hailey's words, spreading his bandaged wings wide in the doorway, "because nobody here would know anything about having a freak factor." He folds his wings back in against his back, tucking a shoulder up against the doorframe. There is at least a gentleness to his tone when he continues speaking, teasing gone from his voice. "It's rough. It is. But there /are/ good places. And this is one of them. -- Xavier's has scholarships," he adds offhand. "And I was homeless for quite a while. But it's not all bad, you know. You need more /fight/ in you. There's people to trust, if you can find 'em. And you should never wish for this to go away, the freak factor's freaking /awesome/. You just need to /use/ it." Anette shakes her head, stepping into the room slightly. "Don't be ashamed of your powers. Guard them, absolutely. I'll be damned before I register. But don't be ashamed. You have a gift. You have a power very few have. Use it to your advantage. And yes, Xavier's would rather let you in for free so they can help you with your powers than have a young mutant on the streets." She smiles slightly. "I may not agree with everything taught there but they're good to their students. And all mutants." Hailey blinks once....twice........then once more for good measure. "What about Xaviers and mutants? Wait a second....Are you saying?" She narrows her eyes then twitching. "Crazy! There was a whole school of them sitting here the whole tim!!! She sighs a little. "I'll stay here and get patched up...but no questions will be answered!" "You don't have to tell anyone anything," Dusk agrees easily. "Just let them take care of you, that explosion was /hell/." Again his wings flutter, a little agitated in their rapid jerky motion. "And whoever set it --" His head shakes, rapid-jerky as well. "She's right, though." This time his chin jerks towards Anette in indication. "What you have is a gift to be /proud/ of. To use. Like you did yesterday. To help people." His teeth bare in sharp fangy grin. "And yourself. And other -- freaks. Because you're right. The world does try to kick us around. But we sure as /fuck/ can kick the hell /back/." Calmer, now: "And when you get patched up, you may want to look up Xavier's. There's plenty of people here who can help hook you up. Try looking up Jackson Holland. Or Flicker. Both of them are guards on staff at this clinic. They can help you out, if you want a school that doesn't suck to people like us." Anette smiles. "I graduated from there myself about four years ago. Hell, they're the only reason I don't fly into buildings everytime I light breeze picks up. But he's right...stay here, relax, rest up, and then you can go do whatever you want." She turns back to Dusk and asks, "I suppose they don't know what or who was behind the explosion?" She crosses her arms across her chest, frowning slightly. Hailey looks at them "So what, I go knock on the front door of the place, Bring my totally *Non Existant* mutant record from here and say "Oh please please mister old guy teach ?" She snickers a bit more, she seems to be smiling at least a little bit, Lookss genuine though. At the mention of the explosion Hailey huffs and puts her arm down, sitting up and waving them actually into the room. "Get in here. When I figure out whowe doingnt this! I'm gonna personally beat the hell out of him! This sicked!!" "Well, sure, /or/ like I said /talk/ to the people I just suggested? Who are on staff /at/ this clinic -- where you happen to be sitting /right now/?" Dusk's brows raise, a lopsided smile on his lips. "There's other ways to prove you're a mutant who needs help than a medical record." His wing lifts in a shrug as well. "Anyway, they're friends of mine. /And/ lived in the building that just exploded -- you helped save people from there, I think they'll be pretty glad of that." He steps further into the room at the wave of Hailey's arm, leaning back against the wall rather than against the doorframe. "Personally?" His brows lift further. "Someone with the chops to bomb a whole building, you might want some backup on /that/. I mean, they sure as hell deserve whatever's coming to them, but --" His head shakes, a frown pulling his brows deeply together. Anette chuckles. "That might be a little easier than knocking on doors. And I think if you start teleporting through shadows...they're not going to need a medical record. But yeah, get yourself to that school and you'll be fine." She glances over to Dusk again as he begins discussion the explosion. "Well, if the authorities don't take care of it, and my money is on no, others will..." That's all she says as she looks up at the clock. "Oh! I need to be going. Take care, both of you." With that, she turns and heads out of the room. Hailey looks as the woman goes. "Yeah, going to the school to check things out is still a big maybe chick...I don't wanna go somewhere that's gonna mess up my life more than it is.." She clicks her tongue before sighing and looking around. A bell chimes and a nurse steps into the room. "Excuse me, it's time for medications.. Maxine, I see you're awake!" the girl grimaces at Dusk, almost silently pleading before lowering her head knowing it best to sit here for now. "I got a feeling /someone's/ going to take care of it," Dusk agrees with Anette, a thin smile on his lips. "You take care too, yeah?" He glances to the nurse, and then to Hailey, curling the top of his wing in a small wave. "Hey, look, I'll swing by to check on you later, okay? I promise, these people aren't gonna fuck with you." His smile is encouraging, despite the sharp fangs behind his lips. "See you 'round." He lifts the thermos in his hand in salute, before slipping out of the door, presumably to continue on his quest for whoever he was /originally/ searching for.