Logs:The Rookie

The Rookie
Dramatis Personae Jax, Katherine	2020-10-28 "It is truly horrible what some people are allowed to get away with."
Location <XAV> Command and Control Center - Xs Sub-Basement
Here is the heart of the Xavier Institute's true operations, the room most central to its purpose, where the Institute's most adventuresome and powerful individuals gather to receive exposition. The room is dominated by an oversized viewscreen on one wall, presently displaying an intricate diagram of the planet Earth, as well as a large central holographic projector and a handful of computer terminals along the periphery. Curiously, the whole place is rather dimly lit, as though its designers prioritized dramatic lighting over being able to find anything. Just at the moment, the X-Men's command post is looking a whole lot less Impressive than it often does. There are bright string lights (shaped like colourful little dragonflies) twinkling around the room's ceiling (a closer inspection will note that they are neither attached to nor plugged into anything), cheerfully rainbow doilies sprinkled about the central table, and a slightly greying one-eyed beagle eagerly chasing a squeaky rubber ball across the room. The man who just threw the rubber ball doesn't look particularly dressed for Action -- Jax is as bright-colored as ever in black kilt interspersed with rainbow panels, a brightly color-blocked button down, purple Doc Martens, his shaggy hair dyed an oddly iridescent purple-blue-green ombre. He's leaning back in one high-backed conference table chair as he waits for Katherine to arrive, a large plate of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies together with a heavily sticker-emblazoned thermos on the table in front of him. The dog races back with the ball but -- doesn't actually hand it over, eying Jax verrrry suspiciously when he tries to claim it. "Have it your way, then." There's amusement in his heavy Southern drawl. "Only but I can't throw it if I don't got it." As the elevator to the sub-basement slid open silently, an average height red-headed woman was seen exiting into the sleek hallways of the X-Men headquarters. Katherine couldn't help but gasp as she couldn't believe that all of this existed under her old high school and she was only recently stepping foot into this infamous place. The woman wore a white collared shirt that was tucked neatly into black slacks which was matched by a dark maroon color blazer and black heeled shoes. She walked up to to the sliding door to the debriefing room and when the door slid open her icy blue eyes registered confusion as she noticed the new decorations. Katherine slowly made her way inside of the room and looked around the room at Jax and the running beagle for a moment before speaking up after a while. "Definitely an amazing change of scenery. She'd say with a soft smile before getting herself ready for the information. "Oh, thanks!" Jax looks up with a brighter smile. The beagle, meanwhile, has settled down near his feet, grumbling very softly but still resolutely holding the ball in his mouth. On the wall the lights are shifting, growing; bigger, brighter, the dragonflies transform themselves into small still-glowing jewel-bright hummingbirds, wings noiselessly fluttering in place. "This place gets a little eerie when you're down here alone. -- Cookies? They're pumpkin chocolate chip." He sits up in his seat, nudging the plate slightly toward Katherine. "S'it gonna be your first real assignment, if you head out there?" Katherine was pleased that her compliment was accepted generously as she knew that some people shared her typical socially reserved nature and probably would have glanced over it. She didn't say a word as the lights manipulated around the room but her blue eyes were glued to them as if she were a kid in a candy store; Katherine found excitement in the diversity of mutant powers as when they are applied to good deeds and creativity, the unimaginable can happen. Her eyes quickly flickered over to Jax once his southern accent filled the room; Katherine couldn't deny the fact that she too felt that way when she found herself down here. She smile and nodded respectfully as he spoke, making sure that he was aware that she was actively listening to him. Katherine pondered his question for a moment as she normally stayed on base during mission but she was facing her first field mission and that made her slightly nervous. "Yes, sir. Normally I'm working in the background from here." She'd reply. "Oh, gosh, you can call me sir if that makes you more comfortable, but jus' Jax is fine by me." Jax shifts in his seat, pulling one leg up beneath him; a wince briefly crosses his face with the motion but it fades soon enough. "Just as important helping with support as hittin' the streets, only but --" For a moment his mouth pulls down into a grimace. "With how hectic things is getting, I guess we kinda in an all-hands-on-deck sorta place. Not sure if you been down by the protests at all, but the Lower East Side is getting the bulk of the heat right now, can't go hardly no time at all without some harassment -- or worse -- cropping up." His hand shifts as he speaks, a faintly glowing holographic display blossoming across the table -- this one likely not a result of his mutation, given that he actually needs to touch it to manipulate it. Currently, a map laid out of the city, the Lower East Side glowing deeper red. "S'where we're focusing the bulk of patrols just right now, but --" A number of neighborhoods light up in orange, as well, "to a lesser extent, the East Village and Greenwich, Chinatown, up in Harlem, all been seeing a lot of bigots." Only after this -- glancing to Katherine with a faintly concerned frown -- "You ain't gonna be alone out there, just so's we're clear. Paired patrols only, so -- hopefully some extra safety there." Katherine took a seat as well as she watched Jax painfully sliding in his chair while he explain the possible need for her transition from support to active positioning and it all started to sound rather familiar from what she had heard by word of mouth and from the news outlets. The woman couldn't help but frown as she found herself not surprised that the Lower East Side was the epicenter of this red-tape protected mutant hunt. She could tell that Jax was really fired up about what he was sharing with her as his hands emphasized his every other word. Her attention had shifted over to the hologram that depicted the city of New York, most specifically the Lower East Side. She found herself getting much more comfortable as she absorbed what he said while she looked upon the surrounding area with her arms folded. She could hear a shift in his voice which made her look over to him and his concerned frown which in turn made her slightly concerned but, when she realized that he was offering a peace of mind Katherine nodded and smiled in acknowledgement. "I'd appreciate the extra help most definitely. . . it is truly horrible what some people are allowed to get away with. . . who or what exactly would I be looking for? I already have my eye on the police force but I have a feeling that other groups could come into play as well." "The Guardians are among the biggest threat -- they been getting real violent, lately, and without a lotta pattern." As Jax speaks one of the newly-deployed police robots appears, standing tall and ominous beside him; a noticeable tension has entered his posture until the illusion changes. "Obviously the human cops are their own danger." The robot shifts, taking on the guise of an aggressively generic white man in an NYPD uniform. "Past them you got the Purifiers," the police uniform shifts to jeans and a plain white tee with a leather vest over top -- a bold white cross is emblazoned on the back of the leather, "an' a whole gamut of bigots who don't wear uniforms -- s'more important to just be alert, keep an eye out for who got weapons, who's getting rowdy." The illusory person beside him fades from view. "I been hearing some rumbles of trouble out in Jamaica an' Riverdale too --" The Queens and Bronx neighborhoods light up as well, "-- so if that continue on we'll be sending folks out there, too." Katherine listened silently as Jax answered her question, hoping that she could somehow get a more specialized scope on her search, but she found herself in the same position with threats coming from anyone and anywhere. She could note the tension that Jax had from the mere image of the Gladiator holograph which made her realize that these robots were definitely not something she'd want to have the upper hand on her. She liked to consider herself to be two separate people, Katherine, the professional and "human" side of her that she showed others and Amethyst, the social justice side of her that riled up inside of her when she found herself facing these situations. "This is unacceptable. . . the overwhelming hatred caused by ignorance seems to be endless. . " Katherine would say with a slight aggression behind her words before quickly channeling it into adrenaline. "When is the next patrol? If you happen to know." "Ain't rightly sure it's ignorance explains all this. Fascists choose to be that way 'cuz it serves them." Jax lets out a heavy breath as he sits back in his chair, uncapping his thermos to take a sip. "Wish it was as simple as educating people, but. Making sure we're keeping the community safe is an important step in fighting 'em. We're aiming for de-escalation as a priority, but if folks are bound and determined to do some violence, jus' -- make sure you keep their targets safe." He runs his hand restlessly through his hair, one leg starting to bounce before he evidently thinks better of this and forces himself to sit still. "Scott will set your schedule -- I ain't wholly sure what times people are running at. You can check in with him when he's through his last class, yeah? Shouldn't be too much longer." Katherine nodded her head to Jax's response to the current societal reasonings for their dislike for their kind. She was also aware of the people who merely participated for their own agendas and that just made the woman feel ever more upset about the issue. She could tell that she wasn't the only one feeling the same way but, she also realized that lamenting over it was just going to mess her up if she continued so she just shrugged off the philosophical dilemma and focused on the task at hand. She'd nod to him as he mention getting a hold of Scott which sent a nervous shiver down the woman's back as talking to the leader of the X-Men definitely made the newbie nervous but she covered that to the best of her ability. The woman walked over to the previously offered cookies and took one before taking a bite. It would seem that Jax also seemed to be a bit of baker as well which made the woman release a soft "mmm" sound as she chewed on the cookie. "I will be sure to get on that right away. Thank you for taking the time out to talk to me and even more for these amazing cookies."* "Absolutely." Jax's eye lowers to his hands, and then to the dog now contentedly chewing his ball on the ground. "I just really appreciate the support. It's been rough out there. Scott'll make sure you got a good partner, though. First time can be a little nerve-wracking." He looks back to Katherine with a smile, small but warm. "And -- never got around to sayin' before, but, welcome to the team."