12397/The Reavers: Not all Doom. Sometimes it's Milshakes and Heartbreaks.

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The Reavers: Not all Doom. Sometimes it's Milshakes and Heartbreaks.
Date of Scene: 11 August 2022
Location: Fred's Diner
Synopsis: Warren manipulates Bunny's messenger service to get Bunny to Fred's. The two talk about the attack on the Jackson Building, being mutants, and the guilt when not everyone can be saved.
Cast of Characters: Warren Worthington, Bunny Macleod
Tinyplot: Reavers


Warren Worthington has posed:
"Uh huh. Ten times the normal requests just this morning? Weird. But here's the thing," Warren says over the phone to Robert Sr. "The messenger service my private office has been using dropped the ball. I'm trying out a few to see who I'm going to use. Understand? I have papers at my lawyer, and they need to get me. Hmmm. Her ankle? I'll pay extra, just them here. You're welcome."

Warren ends the call on his cellphone and chuckles.

"That poor man," Aniyah says. Her British accent has softened with time spent in the States, but it was still pronounced. She looks out of place in the Bushwick diner. In her early 40's, Aniyah is tall, striking, with carefully managed tight curls and an impeccable blue suit. If you could bottle competence and wear it as a perfume, you would exude the kind of aura she does. "You have given him a month's worth of work in a day."

Warren is a frequent sight in Mutant's Town's most famous diner. He laughs and throws an arm across the back of the booth seat. In jeans, a polo shirt and flip-flops, designer to a piece, he presents very different. A public mutant, superhero and billionaire playboy, and a marginal industrialist, Warren relied on Aniyah's help to get anything done since he really took charge of Worthington Industries. Warren waves at a young man with two rows of fins on his head and deep green scales who passes their table.

"Hey, a bunch of jobs from a few different companies was the best way to make sure I got to see this kid," Warren says with a grin. "And the milkshakes here are amazing. You sure you don't want one? You can share mine if you want."

Thoroughly immune to every one of Warren's charms, Aniyah just levels a look at Warren. "No. What will Jalene think if her wife gets fat right after the wedding?" Aniyah folds her laptop closed. "I still do not see why this is more important than the diversity review meeting. Why are you meeting with the child?"

"You don't want to know," Warren assures Aniyah. When she raises an eyebrow he shakes his head. "No. Not like that. You just, it's the superhero side of things. Don't worry about it."

Aniyah purses her lips. She is not person who often gets or takes no for an answer. But she leaves it alone and gets up. "I will be at the other table so you may... Be heroic."

Warren laughs and shakes his head. He settles in to wait.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Easy job. Pick up packet at a Lawyer's office for Warren Worthington. The Warren Worthington. THAT Warren Worthington, who had nearly the same clout as Stark or Wayne, except around Mutants. He had a lot more clout with the young mutant crowd than either Stark or Wayne.

    In spite of the fact that her ankle was supposedly broken, about fifteen minutes after the packet was picked up at the Lawyer's office, the pink-haired mutant sporting curly hair in a low pair of pigtails, a bandage across her chin and wearing the colorful uniform of someone who might have stepped out of Rainbow Day at the derby skates into the shop, making sure to stop and wipe her wheels at the mat. Even with skates on she was short. She pulled her dollar-store sports shades off and hung them from the ring of a T-shirt advertising Macleod's Messenger Service in brown and lilac, with a blue skirt ablazed with neon unicorn shapes around it, and a lemon pair of roller skates.

    It's not hard to find Warren as he... sticks out a little bit, though it takes a couple heartbeats to build up the gumption to actually deliver the paperwork.

    "Good afternoon! Urgent package for Mr. W. Worthington?"

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren hits send on a text message, puts his phone down, and looks up with his broad, boyish grin.

"Record time," he says and accepts the sealed messenger packet from Bunny, emblazoned with his lawyer's firm name. Warren raises an eyebrow and his smile turns querying. "Your dispatcher said you had a broken ankle, what are you doing on skates? I was expecting crutches and a boot cast."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    The girl pauses a moment, and looks down after she's handed over her phone for a signature on it to confirm delivery.

    "JESUS CHRIST! It's a Miracle! Call the papers!" she exclaims, and raises her left foot, pointing to it.

    "Injuries can be overblown." she states. Not like anyone printed that her ankle was broken. Way different things happened like 'a tiktok dancing rhinocerous' and 'a large warthog with a mohawk attempted to chainsaw me'

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren blinks and then laughs. "Alright, glad to hear it's not so bad. Have a seat, this is going back, it'll take a few minutes," Warren says and gestures invitingly to the bench on the other side of the booth.

"Honey, I've /never/ seen anyone catch him off-guard," says someone approaching from behind Bunny. A very slim young man with a carefully trimmed goatee and a single horn coming out of his forehead is approaching. The red Fred's diner server's apron really brings out the brown in his eyes. "What can I get you? I promise, it's on him."

"I mean, he's not wrong," Warren says to Bunny with a laugh. "Get a milkshake. They're beyond amazing. Chocolate for me please, Tim. And the teriyaki burger. And some server repellant."

"Order everything, bankrupt him," Tim says with mock churlishness. "It's striking one for the working mutant."

Warren rolls his eyes good-naturedly. He has pulled out the papers and is rifling through them, and waits for Tim to leave the table to ring in their orders. He does not look up when he speaks. "So, Bunny. I'm glad they sent you today. Actually, I arranged it so they would send you today. I'm worried about what happened at the Jackson Building. With the people in the black uniforms."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Oh... uh... chocolate, an' can I have a slice of cherry pie too? And a cup of coffee, and a glass of water." Bunny replies, and gives the server with the horn a great big grin as she orders with a teenager's perfect disregard for calories, until Warren pulls out a question about the Jackson building.

    Bunny immediately claims up. She shifts her weight a moment, not taking a seat, and as her weight shifts her skates move back and forth a little bit. She eyeballs the exit.

    "Don't know what you mean. I'm not listed as being at the building. I mean, they would have reported that a minor was hurt, right?" she asks.

    ... Terry hadn't printed the information, had he?

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren looks up and his expression softens. "Hey, hey, it's okay," he says and smiles gently. "God, I'm sorry. I've been doing the superhero thing since I was your age, so like 10 years. I can barely remember what it's like when I first got caught up in something. It was terrifying, and surreal, and I didn't know who I could even talk to. It must be a lot for you right now."

Warren leans forward a little. His large, white feathered wings adjust themselves more comfortably.

"I know a few of the government people who investigate things like what happened," Warren explains. "And I heard a bit about a young woman, possibly a mutant herself, who ended up right in the middle of a crazy firefight with people in black military uniforms. Enhanced people. The same kind of people I've been investigating because they've been abducting mutants for the last month. Looking out for mutants is what I do; the ones being abducted and you, too. So I arranged for you to come deliver something today. Sneaky, I know. But if the milkshake is good, forgive me?" he asks with a hint of a smile.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny then breathes out, and moves to sit across from Warren Worthington. THE Warren Worthington.

    ". . . I don't know if I should talk about it." she admits quietly, drawing her fingers up as she takes off her winged skate helmet, and looks over to Warren. She's got cover up over her eyes to stop them from looking so sunken in.

    "I'm no hero. I'm just a highschool dropout who delivers stuff so her dad doesn't stroke out about money." she points out quietly, her shoulders rising up. And why?

    Because Robert Macleod used to be the Financial Technology head at GLobal Energy Consulting, had a seven figure salary, lived in a Manhattan flat and could afford to have eight kids in private school. It was a Big Deal in the financial world when that went down; he was accused of embezzlement. There was no proof, but there's no coming back from losing your job to that.

    "The rhino and the warthog were mutants too. Maybe track them down, and the lady that was with them, I... I didn't see much... lot happening at once..." she trails off.

    She could still see the young man through the window.

    I saved you!

Warren Worthington has posed:
"I know your dad, I met him once. He knew my father, actually," Warren says. "I'm sorry about what happened. Was that him on the phone, your dispatcher? That's... A big adjustment."

"Bunny, I'll be honest with you. I think those other mutants can take of themselves, and they're not the kind of people I can just talk with. They are usually the ones I have to stop," Warren explains delicately. "I'm not asking you to be a hero, but I am worried for you. I think you might have seen a lot these enhanced people did not want you to see, and they know it. You might be in danger, and other people sure are. What you know could help me protect them, and you. I know it's a lot to ask, but... Well, we don't get to choose when the world asks us to be heroic, you know?"

"Oh honey, if a first date is going that bad, you just leave," Tim says dryly as he approaches with milkshakes and food, seeing Bunny's expression and body posture. He places Bunny's and Warren's orders in front of them and considers the two. "If you need help though, he's usually good for it. He's helped a lot of us around here. So he's not bad. For a walking stereotype of wealthy white privilege."

"You know, I keep coming back here for the service," Warren deadpans at Tim with a smirk then waits for the man to leave again.

"Don't mind Tim, he's had... A rough go. He means well."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny pauses a moment as she looks to Warren, and she gives a nod. "Big adjustment," she whispers quietly "doesn't even begin to describe what happened to my family."

    All the more reason for her to just walk away. Say nothing. Let Terry handle it. He's a Titan. She takes the milkshake, and she looks empty for a moment, some curly pink fly-aways drifting into her face as she looks up at Warren.

    "I'm not a hero." she repeats quietly, "I left the kid in the lab there to die. A woman shot me in the stairway. I was just trying to deliver a package." she quietly comments as she looks up to Warren.

    "I'd never even used my powers in public before then, you know? He didn't know I... and if my dad found out I was..." she replies quietly. "He's fine with mutants who don't make a big deal about it. But he wishes we would all disappear."

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren nods, in complete understanding. He makes a face at Bunny's last comment and looks down at his milkshake. He stirs the thick creamy drink slowly.

"Can I tell you something? It's a little gross but..." Warren wrestles for a moment with whether he should. He sighs. "My dad was like yours. I think he cared about me, but... Having a mutant kid looked really bad for the family. I think he thought it was like a disease. Anyway, my x-gene activated when I was 14... I was terrified. All I knew is my dad would be so disappointed in me, I felt like it was my fault and I was going to screw up the family. But, can't really hide the wings."

"So I," Warren makes a face again. This is clearly not something he speaks about. "I cut them off. It was the most painful thing I've ever felt, but I was desperate... My dad found me doing in the bathroom right after. I can't remember it all, you know? I just remember, I was crying and the look on his face. He was disgusted and disappointed. Broke my heart."

"I'm just saying... I know, about the powers, it's the worst when it happens. A lot of what I do is actually finding new mutants when this happens, and helping out. Some get disowned, or attacked, or... All kinds of things. It helps to have people who have been through it and can give some help and space while they figure things out," Warren says after clearing his throat.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny listens carefully to Warren, and she takes a deep breath. Her situation wasn't nearly so bad. Robert Macloud Senior was too wrapped up in his own problems to have even noticed she wasn't on crutches this morning.

    "I can't imagine what it's like to have to cut the physical parts of you away to please someone else..." she trails off, and gives a shudder "... and I really hope I never have to."

    Bunny takes a deep breath, and taps her fingers on the table. "Well. I'm glad your wings are okay now. They suit you." she comments politely, and then her guard comes down; the loud, cursing Bunny wasn't the real one, but this tired looking teenager, afflicted with nightmares about a situation she could not control...

    "What do you want to know?"

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren smiles a bit at the compliment, the wings flare out just a bit for show and he winks.

"Just what you saw in the basement, as much as you can remember. Don't worry about the shooting in the stairwell," Warren says, more seriously. "Take your time."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny is put at ease a little bit more by Warren's casual demeaner, but she closes her eyes.

    "It was in a sub-basement of the Jackson building. We went down a couple of flights of stairs to get to it." The gunshots rang in her ears. She felt the boy's hand holding hers, squeezing it. They'd be okay.

    "We came into a vestibule, with the elevators there. I had heard one of them talk to the boy who lead me down stairs. Reavers, raiders, ravers, something like that." She sees Josh's expression, feels him tense and raise his gun to shoot at the warthog.

    "It was like walking into a hospital... but not a place that was meant for healing, if that makes sense." She skated in front of him in a panic.

    "There were labs behind us. Lots of rooms. Tech, better than I've seen at offices or hospitals -- and I'm five of eight. I've been to a lot of doctor's visits." She was still trying to process what happened in the stairwell, but she knew she had to protect this boy. She raised her hands and caught the chaimsaw Bebop was bearing down on her. She showed she was a mutant. It took every ounce of her strength to hold herself in place.

    "He was trying to get us into the tunnels underneath. The lab was going to be set on fire.. o-or some chemical cleanser? It's... it's hard to remember. He lifted a grate on the floor, but was also showing that it was only labs... when one was shown with two people in it. A woman with scales, and a guy with antlers. Obvious mutations, y'know?" The woman slid under her shield and snapped her ankle in the boot of her roller skate. She was terrified.

    "... they got freed, and the woman and the warthog locked the boy int he lab. We left him there."

    To die.

    I saved you!

Warren Worthington has posed:
"Oh god, Bunny," Warren says and sounds heartbroken for her. He looks concerned. His left wing twitches noticeably. "Hey, look at me... The others locked him in the lab. The ones that crushed a bunch of cyborg soldiers. Could you have fought those mutants?"

Warren's eyes a pure, bright blue. He looks like a different person without the playboy grin. Now there is just this earnest young man who is hearing her.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    Bunny stalls a moment.

    "No." she whispers, "I couldn't have. That's why I ran. That's why I allowed the Warthog to carry me out. I'm a messenger girl who happens to have a pretty party trick." she replies quietly.

Warren Worthington has posed:
"You are a messenger girl," Warren agrees, mirroring her volume. "Who have died if she stayed behind, even if she had a choice. But you used a powerful force field to protect someone you didn't even know against a gigantic mutant with a chainsaw. You risked your life for his."

"You /did/ save that kid," says softly. "You did more than anyone could ask. If you tried to fight those two... You'd both be dead, Bunny. What they did to him was wrong, but it wasn't your fault. Even if it feels like it is." Warren's expression becomes a little wry and pained. Years of survivor's guilt writ plain.

"That's part of being a hero," he points out, the implication plain. "I wish your dad could really see and understand. I'm sure he'd be really proud of you for using your gifts the way you did."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "I know." Bunny replies, and she looks at her hands, and then she seems to get more nervous. Her fingers tap against the table a moment. HEr hands shake as her breath becomes tight, chest feeling constricted. "Everyone I tell it to tells me that." she takes a breath, and she worries at a napkin a moment, her eyes tearing up. "I asked someone to try and find out his name. So that I could send.... I dunno. An apology card. Find out who he was. Maybe there's a memorial someplace. So I can... just... leave something. An apology. I know that there's nothing I could have done."

    Tears well up in her crystal blue eyes, and when she blinks, they fall down her cheeks, "I didn't like being helpless, when other people are dying, but not all of us have the same opportunities to help." she swallows, and then goes to stand "I'll ask one of the other messengers to swing by and pick up the packet, Mr. Worthington." she stumbles, and pulls a bunch of crumpled ones from her bag, followed by a couple business cards -- the brown-and-cream Macleod business cards, and one more colorful one -- a piano bar called Reign Bo Bright's coming out as she turns to flee.

Warren Worthington has posed:
Warren opens his mouth to say something, but thinks better of it. He gets up when Bunny does, starts to reach out when she stumbles but stops short.

"Sure," he says, standing aside with his back to the table so Bunny can make her get away. Warren deftly drops a card into Bunny's still open bag without touching it or her as she passes him. He had made it out before the meeting. This was not how he meant to give it to her, but he hoped the teenager would find it if she ever needed it.

On the back is hand-written '555-555-5555 if you're ever in danger -W'