HEAVY IS THE HEAD: Part One, SINISTER LEGACY Fallout

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WHO: The Students and Faculty of the Xavier Institute
WHAT: Charity work in District X, but things are getting bad again
WHERE: District X
WHEN: Thanksgiving Weekend
WARNING(S): Violence, language, etc

So this was Christmas, and War was Not Over. The soup lines, this time, were alongside official Vaccine Centers, cures to the Legacy Virus being handed out alongside plates of hot food for the needy. Once more, winter was bleak in the world of mutants living in forced squalor. Attitudes were not particularly bright. People were no longer dying in the streets from illness, but were conditions really any better? War with Genosha was imminent. The National Guard was already standing post around the community, enforcing curfews, treating the area now more than ever like an internment community. Xavier's students were allowed to move around freely, but only with special ID badges that marked them as such. It was the same all over the country.

This wasn't Mutant Registration... it somehow felt worse. And it didn't help that the Mutant Liberation Front was still very active in the area, and many of them entirely blamed the X-Men for Renko's apparent 'death'. There were antagonistic forces around them, and desperate faces looking at them for some kind of hope. And if they couldn't get it there...

There were whispers, a lot of them, about fleeing to Genosha. About joining the MLF and working alongside Genosha for 'true' mutant liberation. About kickstarting this war on local soil. And really...

... was there anything the X-Men could do to stop it? Should they stop it?

Comments

SOUP LINE

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Hungry are the desperate huddled masses. And cold, too. This was a regular thing, for Xavier's students to be handing out blankets, heating units, and hot meals. But this year felt so much worse than the years before then...

SECURITY

[astonishing_xmods]

The MLF was definitely there, and many of them were just itching for an excuse to fight, to start another riot, to rebel against the world that was forcing them into these ghettos simply because they MIGHT defect to Genosha, or aid Genosha in its war efforts. And quite frankly, they didn't seem to care if innocent mutants got hurt in the crossfire...

[friendofdorothy]

It wasn't long after he'd gone public that Liir was forced to use his name to defuse a tense situation by interposing himself between one of the locals and one of his fellow attendees.

"I'm Liir Thropp, the Son Of A Witch. Do you think I'd go to the school of the man who killed Renko?"

[totallystoned]

Reki was there of course, but seemingly going through the motions. She was looking at the grey, overcast sky as she ladled out soup. Yet she didn't have the circles around her eyes indicating she'd pulled a nighter on a project.

Her wings were uncovered, shivering in the cold. The tips of each feather were darker...

[princesstenko]

Uncovered, but not for long. A blanket quickly found its way over them, already warmed, and they were pat gently to try and put some circulation back into them.

"Goodness, what sense is there in working this line if you can't even care for yourself..." the voice was as warm as the blanket, in spite of its chiding.

[green_eyed]

It didn't seem to do much for their attitudes. Nor did the presence of known Morlocks. In their eyes, they were all traitors...

"Seems they've made up their minds..." though she could easily change them if she wished...

[long_live_the_queen]

Kaede took one look at the masses of people, the lines trailing around corners--and turned on her heel, making a straight line for the back of the building where they were unloading the trucks of food and supplies instead.

Headphones or not, she was not dealing with all the voices and colors and presences beating at her mind, not now.

...but she still wanted to help, even if crowds made her feel nauseous. These were mutants. People like her. Not people like them, the human soldiers--the prison guards. Whenever she caught a glimpse of one, she glared angrily at their backs, but didn't say anything.

She hadn't said a single word all day.

[totallystoned]

Reki practically jumped. The tense couple months had rubbed off on her. But when she saw who it was, her expression softened.

"Ran..."

[friendofdorothy]

"Well so have I."

Liir wasn't about to let a Morlock get attacked on his watch. As a mutie who passed pretty easily, he felt a mixture of guilt and admiration for them.

"You people are doing the Friends' work for them! Go read up on what 'unity' means."

Probably the wrong thing to say to them, schoolboy. Now it looks like you're looking down on them.

[friendofdorothy]

Liir had learned through bitter experience that you couldn't coax Kaede out of a sulk (he was almost as bad a sulker himself, too). You just had to stick nearby. If she really wanted you gone, she'd find a way to let you know.

Two quiet people worked quietly.

[jolie_aile]

Crumbling walls. Quiet desperation. Anger in the streets once more.

The only difference this time was the chill in the air and the faint promise of snow. It made Flandre's claws twitch uncomfortably, even where they were set against the sidewalk or folded neatly behind her back.

The same wingtip kept twitching, over and over again; the only bit of nervousness she'd allow herself to show. There were people that needed help, who needed directions, who needed protection--no good to have her voice waver.

Mostly she stood at parade rest, near enough to the lines for the soup kitchen and vaccination centers that her presence felt protective, but not overbearing. At least, she hoped.

"Please keep the line moving; there's enough food and medicine for everyone."

[long_live_the_queen]

The horned mutant turned her head back slightly, acknowledging Liir's presence before she jumped up into the truck. Her vectors grabbed onto one of the taller stacks, pulling a pallet of blankets down to pass it to him.

She stopped to glower at an armored vehicle passing by on the other end of the street, muttering.

[princesstenko]

"I suppose I should say 'surprise' or something like that, hmm?" Ran's tails swished about, wrapping up along Reki as Ran took position beside her, also helping spoon out some food with a smile that never seemed to fade, in spite of the dreary world around them.

[soundandfurry]

So it was up to Kagerou to speak for her.

"I don't get it... why are all of those soldiers here? No one seems to be very happy that the virus is being cured..."

[green_eyed]

That... definitely got a sour reaction and a few shouts about condescension. Parsee groaned and literally just shoved Liir aside.

"Let me handle this," she growled, turning deep green eyes to the crowd, as well as making sure her fangs and claws were very visible (her ears were well kept under a hat... what? it was fucking cold!)

"If you're pissed off about Renko, go do it somewhere else. Right now, the situation is shit and doing anything about it will just put you in jail, so why don't you start picking up the canned food and handing it out to your people! Do something instead of whining!" She sounded like an angry mom...

[long_live_the_queen]

Dammit.

Fine.

She supposed she could talk for a little bit. Though Kaede didn't stop what she was doing, bringing down a stack of boxes from the truck to a flatbed trolley.

"Humans still hate us. They don't trust us."

[totallystoned]

Reki tried not to look too pleased. Ran's leaving had stung her even if it wasn't her own fault. But her wings subconsciously twitched with happiness. She felt a little warmer.

"Maybe...It is a little early for a surprise this good."

She looked immediately back to her soup. That had been way too corny for the aloof yet amused image she projected.

[friendofdorothy]

Ah. A vocalization. It can speak.

He caught the pallet, paused with it braced on the lip of the truck bed.

"It seems like the time for waiting is almost over."

[friendofdorothy]

More specifically she sounded like his own angry mom. From the afterlife, Elphaba Thropp smiled at the shaming the mob was getting.

Liir accepted being literally put in his place. Let someone competent handle it.

[stardustreverie]

"It's warmer in there then it is out here. No need ta hang around."

Marisa's bundled up, if only because of how she was with colder weather. It also slightly allowed her to slip in and out of areas as is. But for now going to stand beside her teammate and friend, hands in her pockets.

"Had any trouble so far?"

[soundandfurry]

"But that's not true! I made an errand into town and no one threw a rock at me!" Of course that was Salem Centre, not exactly a good example of humanity at its worse...

[green_eyed]

"Bunch of worthless complainers wouldn't last a day in the underground," Parsee snorted and spat to the side, turning her attention back to Liir.

"The fuck are you smiling at?"

[princesstenko]

Ran giggled, batting at Reki with one of her tails.

"It took quite a bit to get Yukari to agree to taking care of Chen for awhile..." which meant she was there alone. No distractions. But it also ran rather completely contrary to Yukari's policy of neutrality...

[droppedbucket]

Some people didn't have the skills to do much. Kisume was one of them, being often underfoot due to how she moved and with her still being so small. She kept going back and forth, looking for things to do but for now had settled outside, keeping her attention on the boxes. Just in case something smelled weird..

But at one point she'll approach, a worried whine escaping her.

"...You okay? Quiet...Keep busy?"

[totallystoned]

She refrained from asking how long she was there. It was enough that she was for that moment. Besides...

Well, anyway, she could reach to surreptitiously pet her tails.

"I can't imagine."

Yukari was wild. A good parent, but probably not a good single one.