Logs:Legacies

Legacies
Dramatis Personae Akihiro, Polaris	2020-01-27 “Probably should’ve opened with that, huh?”
Location <NYC> Chimaera Arts - DUMBO
This is one of the many converted warehouses in DUMBO, but unlike most of them, it does not have some corporate developer's sign out front promising transformation into luxury condominiums or a boutique shopping center or the latest concept restaurant. The entrance to its grounds is marked by a wildly colorful double helical arch with a steel scroll sign that reads "Chimaera Art Space!" above "chimaera.org" in smaller letters. The warehouse is moderately large and heavily decorated with graffiti art in various styles--some of it recognizable as the work of renowned local street artists. A pair of monstrous scrap metal sculptures, perhaps still works in progress, flank the entrance. The building itself has undergone significant renovation recently, complete with wiring, plumbing, and a modular partitioning system. The grounds, too, have been cleaned up, ramshackle fences torn down and rusting detritus removed in favor of reclaimed (and brilliantly repainted) outdoor furniture ringing an impressively engineered firepit. Akihiro hasn’t been around these parts since before the Nazi attack that grabbed headlines, as such he’s a little more incognito than he’d be otherwise. Pulled down atop his head is a light green trucker hat, a pair of wireframe glasses sit on his nose, and he’s wearing a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up below the elbows, and a pair of olive cargo pants. “Maybe I should throw my canvas out.” he muses quietly to himself, looking around like he’s trying to remember where to go. Dressed in a somewhat worn black car coat with a black-and-red striped scarf wrapped around her neck, Polaris has been chatting animatedly with a handful of crusty punks by the firepit. She's wearing gunmetal gray eyeliner, her nails painted in a rich, glimmery deep crimson, her leaf green hair flowing freely in the wind. Her eyes snap to Akihiro and track him unblinkingly as soon as he enters the grounds. She passes the hand-rolled cigarette she had been sharing with the tiny, perky girl with a chelsea beside her, flashes a bright smile with her thanks, and casually follows the newcomer inside. "Hey there, friend," she says brightly. "You looking for someone or something?" “Hrm ?” Akihiro half grunts, turning to face Polaris. “I’m just looking around, honestly. I have a piece back home I’m working on, but I guess I’m just lacking..” a short pause, “inspiration?” He lets out a huff and brings a hand up to scratch at the side of his jaw. “Maybe that’s not right.” An apologetic look flashes across his face and he offers a hand, “Being out of sorts isn’t an excuse for shit manners, sorry. I’m Akihiro.” Polaris's wide hazel eyes travel appreciatively down and back up as Akihiro turns around, her smile coming quick and friendly. "Think I know that feel. What medium is your piece in? Who knows, maybe I can help inspire you..." She grips the offered hand and shakes firmly. "Polaris. Nice to meet you and no worries--my manners are often shit, too, so I got no stones to throw." Akihiro shoots Polaris a small grin, giving her hand a surprisingly firm shake. “Ink. I’m sure you could, but maybe not this piece. It’s..” he looks for the right word, the claws inside his forearms flexing like they may pop, “personal.” Withdrawing his hand he takes the glasses he’s wearing off and hangs them from his breast pocket. “I’ve been meaning to ask Cap about it, but I’m sure he has his hands full with other things right now.” Polaris lifts her deep green eyebrows slightly, her smile skewing a bit to one side. "You have an impressive grip." Her eyes drop to his forearm and linger there. "I know from personal. I wish you luck with it, but I find there's plenty of ways to get past a creative block..." She tilts her head slightly to one side. "Cap as in Steve Rogers? Haven't seen him today." She frowns slightly, more thoughtful than bothered. "You a friend of his?" “Thank you.” Akihiro removes his hat finally, shaking out the hair on top of his head. “Maybe you’ll have to show me a few ways sometime, yeah?” “I’ve met him a few times. I’m not sure he considers me a friend though.” "It would be my pleasure." Polaris's smile goes a touch wider, her gaze a touch more intense. "I'm a sculptor, and when I get stuck I like to work through it with physical activity, you know?" She clasps her right elbow with her left hand. "That guy's a strange bird, alright. Not what I expected. Seems like a decent guy, though, he'd probably be down to help a fellow illustrator out. You could leave him a message?" “Meant to give him my number the other day, but I ended up getting my intestines pulled out by a skinhead.” Akihiro lifts his shoulders in a small shrug, clearly not as bothered by the thought of being disemboweled as he should. “I’ve been training for the last couple days, probably have two or three more in me before I need some sleep.” Polaris's eyebrows lift higher. "Yeah, I fucking hate it when that happens." Then, with a shake of her head, "I'm gonna stop being coy--I've seen the videos. You doing better now?" Her eyes drop to his midsection, as if to confirm there are no guts visible. “Maybe I need a better disguise then.” Akihiro chuckles to himself, patting his stomach. “I was fine before I ran away from the cops. Physically anyway.” The man lets out a small sigh before managing a smile. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if I was expecting them to try and kill us instead of just fighting.” “The worst part is having my face plastered around everywhere. There’s plenty of people that either want me dead or in a lab, and I’m not really feeling either of those options.” "The disguise is pretty hot, and probably fucks with digital facial recognition, but not the old fashioned kind. Besides, I have an extra sense or two." Polaris says this casually, her tone conciliatory, but her eyes have gone wider. "Labs," she echoes, her body language restless and agitated now. "Yeah no, fuck those guys. You think they might be coming after you now?" “I like to think that’s just me.” Akihiro says with a small grin, before quickly dropping it when Polaris reacts so negatively. “I’m not so sure about Prometheus, unless they’re working with Weapons Plus. They’re always looking for people that can survive having adamantium bonded to their skeleton.” After another short pause he adds, “Something else I can thank my father for. I’m sure they’ve had their eyes on New York since he helped stop Magneto, so me showing up was already pretty stupid. I’m just tired of hiding.” "You might be right, but I think I'd have to see more of you to be sure." Polaris manages a smile again, though she's clearly still uneasy. Though here she blinks rapidly. "Magneto? Wow, small fucking world... You know, obviously it's no surprise that there's more than one set of mutant torture labs out there, but these douchenozzles sure have stupid fucking names for themselves." She grinds her teeth quietly. "I hear you, and I'm sorry you went through that horror show, too--even if yours was a different production. If it makes you feel any better, I suspect that they have all kinds of reasons to be paying attention to New York. And there's all kinds of folks here who can back you up if they do try something." “It’s been going on for a while. They grabbed me in..” Akihiro takes his lower lip between his teeth as he does the math, “sixty, was it? I was about fourteen. From what I hear they’ve gotten more organized, hopefully they’ve gotten less brutal.” He reaches out to give Polaris’ shoulder a squeeze if she allows it. “I appreciate those people, and I’ll do everything in my power to keep other mutants safe too. They’ll regret thinking it was ever a good idea to raise killers.” Polaris outright stares this time, jaw dropping open slightly. "Wait, like 1960? You uh, look young for your age!" Her face twitches, but not apparently at that particular revelation. "I don't really know how to compare, but I just got out last year, and they were pretty damned brutal then." She does not, however, shy away from his hand. Seems a little steadier for the contact, if anything. "I feel safer already. You wanna see some my work in progress? Or come hang by the fire? There's tree and hooch--or booch, if that's your jam--and good company." “Probably should’ve opened with that, huh?” Akihiro offers a more honest grin now and and wraps that arm around Polaris to give her a side hug. “You are safe now. Safe as you can be out here anyway.” “I’ve got some time to kill, have a little wax on me you guys can have, unsurprisingly it didn’t do anything for me.” Polaris shrugs. "Probably kind of awkward to open every conversation with 'oh hey I'm like 73 years old'. Buuuuut now that your cards are on the table, I should probably mention that I control electricity and magnetism." She holds up a hand, the intricate wire wrap ring on her middle finger uncoiling itself sinuously and slithering around the other fingers like a slender steel snake. "I'm not interested in killing all the humans, though. And I'm still down to fuck if you are." She pulls away from him but takes hold of his hand to draw him along toward the fire pit. "But c'mon, let's chill first." “Small fucking world, eh?” Akihiro parrots, squeezing Polaris’ hand as she leads him away. “I’m down, long as you think you can handle it.” he teases, pulling a vape pen from his pocket and waving it towards the group, “You guys like Alaskan Thunder Fuck?”