January Alt Event [OPENish]

[blesstherains]

WHO: Any characters not specifically being used for the Hellfire Club Event
WHAT: Volunteering to help disadvantaged and underprivileged mutants in the cold harsh winter.
WHERE: District X (located in Alphabet City, Manhattan)
WHEN: Middle of the week
WARNING(S): With the FoH possibly jumping in, this could get rough.



At the very least, the snowfall wasn't blizzard strength today. But it was making the work of unloading the trucks at the community center difficult. But the kitchen was cooking, the fires were going, and up and down the block, families lined up to get blankets, to get food, and get some hope from a group many of them considered to be heroes for entirely different reasons than most did...

The X-Men.

Comments

[endurancepoint]

Alex notices that brief flare, and he can't decide if this guy is a showoff or if he just doesn't care. Either way, he isn't impressed.

"Save it for when the Friends of Humanity are trying to crack our skulls 'Hero'. Because it won't be just your hide then; it'll be the other students who can't fight and all the mutants who live here."

[gregorydeegan]

His face got serious and he crossed his arms. "I'm not going to let them down." then he smirked. "I might even cover your back."

[endurancepoint]

"I can cover my own back just fine."

Great, this guy was the cocky sort, too. Alex turned his attention fully back to the people out on the street. There were simply too many fluctuations for him to try tracing any of the probabilities. But as long as he was focused, he'd hopefully be able to give a warning, even if it was only a few seconds.

"You do realize they you're probably going to end up on TV looking like a clown?"

Posting from my ipad, please excuse typos and brevity

[gregorydeegan]

He grinned at him. "So you know my father then? We Deegen men are entertainers at heart, looking silly on tv is what we DO. So... Thank you," he said with a cheerful smile.

[endurancepoint]

Alex couldn't decide if this guy was actually serious or just obfuscating. Either way, it annoyed him. Of course, the FOH might focus on the clown in the spandex and cape and not spare any attention on him. That would be to his advantage. He was willing to risk getting caught on camera if it meant protecting the other students and the mutants of District X, but he'd still prefer not to get caught on camera at all.

"It's not about your image. It's about the school's and the X-men's image. It's about how the public perceives mutants."

[gregorydeegan]

"And how would the public see someone like me getting attacked? I don't look dangerous," he said seriously. I look like someone you either want to avoid, or you feel bad for. Or I am simply a person. What I am not, is scary. I get attacked, if I loose, they are bullies, if I'm attacked and win without becoming scary, I'm an underdog, someone people can root for and identify with. The big kid who just wants to be a superhero and got in a lucky punch," he grinned.

"So... How do you come across?"

[endurancepoint]

Was this guy seriously this clueless and naive? Alex shook his head. Whatever, some people were just that disgustingly optimistic, to the point of ignoring practicality. He'll see how this guy feels after a rumble with some FOH thugs.

As for how he comes across? The answer is simple.

"Like the English school boy that I am."

Innocuous and ordinary. It's a guise he knows how to use to his own advantage.

Heading home!

[gregorydeegan]

He leaned against a wall, grinning. At least this was distracting him from the cold. "Right, mate," he sais with a high end British accent. Not the sound of an American putting on a Brittish accent, but a genuine British accent,

[endurancepoint]

"No one under fifty talks like that anymore," Alex says with a small bark of laughter. His own accent shifts, from the semi-American one he's been working on the last few months to the London accent he'd used after starting at Brookland. "Except for rich ponces."

[gregorydeegan]

"No shame in sounding like my mum," he said with a shrug and a smile. There were times he wished he could be more like his mother, and like his brother. He so often wished her could just be... more.

But just because he thought he himself could be more... was no reason to let this guy say the same.

Odd thing? This actually wasn't bothering Greg all that much, taunts at him flared his self hatred then died when some other, brighter emotion took over. But nothing had flared yet. This was simply a good way to pass the time, and avoid the cold.

[endurancepoint]

Good job, Greg, you've succeeded in making Alex feel slightly like an arse. Not that his face shows it or that he'll admit it. A bit of the bite fades from his voice though.

"Nah, s'alright to sound like your mum. Just don't go talking like that if you ever decide to go to London."

If his shoulders hunch slightly, well, they always do when Alex thinks on the subject of mums. He didn't know what his sounded like, didn't know what she was like at all. And he envied all who did. Not that he'll ever admit to that; especially not to someone who--as far as first impressions went--seemed to be his complete polar opposite.

[gregorydeegan]

"Actually I did," he said, grinning as he slipped back into his more common accent. "Spent some time wandering England before coming to America. Well, more than just England, anywhere my feet could take me."

He considered, then sighed and for the first time looked less than amused. "Some people thought I was out looking for my brother... wont believe that I was really just looking for me," he said with a shrug, then a shudder that wasn't entirely from cold. He could almost feel Dominic glaring at him, an ocean away.

[endurancepoint]

"I can understand wanting to know more about where your mum is from, but good God. There are better places than England to do some soul searching."

Alex's expression is mildly horrified, to say the least.

[gregorydeegan]

He chuckled a bit. "Where do you think would have been better?" he asked. "Seoul?"

[endurancepoint]

"Frankly, anywhere but England. I've heard Paris is rather nice for that sort of thing, but I suppose Seoul could do in a pinch."

Nope, he wasn't going to comment on that terrible, terrible pun. Even if it was the sort he usually made himself.

[gregorydeegan]

It was so sad when a pun went unnoticed, but that was fine, there would be plenty more, he knew. "Paris is alright, my brother and I went there for a while, and his best friend lived there a while... but... It was not for me. But I didn't mind England that much. Hyde Park was pretty awesome, and there are some interesting places in Queensway to loose yourself int he crowd, and sometimes you have to loose yourself, to find yourself," he said, nodding.

[endurancepoint]

Oh sure, just as long as it doesn't get you dead, Alex thought to himself. But damn if those locations don't hit a bit close to home. Like five kilometers close to home.

"You know, I'm trying really hard not to feel homesick for a country that would happily use me as cannon fodder, and you are not helping."

[gregorydeegan]

He winced. "Sorry bout that then, we can talk about America if you prefer. I've been here before, but not since I was little, so it's almost like being here for the first time. What do I have to look forward to, aside from things like this being necessary?"

[endurancepoint]

"Sort of depends on what you're looking for," Alex replied. "If you like the outdoors, there's plenty of that. Nice hiking and camping here in New York. Beaches are better in Florida, California, and Hawaii. But NYC is a nice city. All sorts of great places to eat, nice museums, lots of live music."

[gregorydeegan]

Greg realized that maybe Dominic was right, if you could turn someone who was primed to hate you into someone who wanted to help, you could make some good friends that way. He nodded listening. "Live music sounds perfect. To perform or to attend, or both?"

[endurancepoint]

Don't count your chickens before they hatch Greg.

"Both. Pick a genre, there's probably a club somewhere that has it live. And if that's not your style, there are buskers everywhere. Broadway is practically in the middle of Manhattan, and there's an endless supply of hopefuls."

[gregorydeegan]

"Sounds good," he grinned. And yep, he totally just said that that sounded good. Some days he really loved being him. "I'll have to check that out, thanks. "Got a question then, We're here in case there is trouble, so I have to ask, what's the deal with American police?" He was not a fan of the so-called proper authorities back home, but then he had good reason to feel that way. The only one he ever met that he liked was Dex. Everyone else... Well, Sigfried had been the first time Greg had ever refused to do a healing. Not that Jayden let that stand... He sighed.

[endurancepoint]

"How do you mean? Not that I can really say much as I haven't fun afoul of the police here."

Implying he has run afoul of the ones in England.

"Do you mean how they don't really get involved whenever the FOH and MLF clash?"

[gregorydeegan]

"Well, the fact that we're here, not them, defending for one," he agreed, nodding. "Though just by keeping their noses out, they're a sight better than the pack back home..." he said.

[endurancepoint]

"I wouldn't be surprised if they've been told from the top to not get involved," Alex replied with a shrug. "And it's not like they're equipped to handle a bunch of questionable-technology-toting FOH."