15378/Bushwick Blowback

Bushwick Blowback
Date of Scene:	18 July 2023
Location:	Bushwick <Mutant Town>
Synopsis:	Protests in Bushwick flare up as people for and against the 'mutant vaccine' spill over, and the locals have to help keep the peace.
Cast of Characters:	Monet St. Croix, Roberto da Costa, Noriko Ashida, Evan Sabahnur, Sally Pride, Iara Dos Santos, Bunny Macleod, Douglas Ramsey, Rogue, Illyana Rasputina, Lydia Dietrich
Tinyplot:	The Ohio Mutant Conspiracy

---

Monet St. Croix has posed:
It's in the middle of the afternoon in Bushwick, and there are hundreds of people carrying signs. Separated by lines of police. There are mutants who live in Bushwick, and make it their home that are yelling that they won't take it. Or want anyone else to. Mutants of every size, shape, and color. Everyone is dressed brightly, blatantly showing off who and what they are proudly.
    On the other side are humans. Giong on passionately and yelling back waving signs. THere are none of the usual 'Down wiht Mutants' signs. There are no people wearing the armbands of the Friends of Humanity or the paramilitary organizations that show up to these sorts of things. No one is carrying weapons that can be seen.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
X-Corporations has been working within the community for months and in these trying times they haven't deserted them. Roberto and his employees have been providing support, they are not taking part directly in the protests. They have been facilitating, providing food and water, setting a up a stage for speakers and entertainment, providing what information they can. They are celebrating mutant culture, showing the world that we are her and we won't be erased. But Berto has himself met with some in the community whom he knows would rather be done with their gift. Family's he has worked with to find solutions to troublesome mutations. He frowns and sighs, the protests have been going on for days and Roberto has been spending time here each day watching and listening providing an outlet to an oppressed people, a people who are more endanger than ever before.

    He frowns, as he leans closer to Doug, "Okay, so Blue eyes and green eyes and light skin are all mutations. Is this going to erase them too? People never seem to think these things through." He looks up to the buildings wondering if Mystique took his word.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
It's been years since Noriko has been to a protest, technically years, plural, maybe just barely.  Still.  For the speedster, it might as well feel like fifteen have passed.  She doesn't get her news from the news or facebook.  She doesn't even have a phone or laptop, so it's by chance, again, that Noriko finds herself stuck in the human traffic jam, nibbling on some pocky as she stares at the humans she's surrounded by.  She assumes.

Nori glances around to see if anyone brought a cooler or anything.  Foraging in the great urban wasteland.  Seems like a good way to generate some denial around what's actually going on right now.

The speedster has seen better days.  Her hair is a static mess and somehow a little greasy at the same time, she has bags under her eyes.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Evan has been working at Hope House the last few months, mostly helping unload trucks of supplies needed by the people who have taken shelter there. It's had an effect on the young man, as he's gotten a bit more muscular than when he arrived at Xavier's at the beginning of the school year. As the crowds gather in the streets he slips out the front doors, closes them and then leans against them with his arms crossed. There may be some question if he's trying to keep people in or out, but either way the doors are currently closed.

    He watches the gathering with a slightly sad expression, recognizing the great potential for trouble gathering in the streets. At the moment however, he's simply watching. And trying to figure out the best way to handle this without the emotionally charged crowd exploding into yet another violent riot.

Sally Pride has posed:
Not every mutant was directly in the protest lines. There was enough people to shout back and forth at each other. There was no question which side of the matter Sally stood on, but the humanoid lioness had kept to the back sidelines for the start. She did have a pair of binoculars out though, that she was using to look over the human side of the gathering. In the other hand was a small walky-talky that she was muttering into as she did so. "Lots of protestors... but no weapons. No slanderous signage. No designations or emblems of -haters-." The last part was partially snarled between clenched teeth. No love lost towards members of the anti-mutant groups that would normally be in the middle of this.

-Any potential Null inserts?- A gruff voice crackled from the walky-talky.
"None yet," Sally replied. "If there is, they're plainclothed."
-Copy. Keep an eye on them, Pride. Hobbs, out.-

Sally sighed as she tucked the unit back onto her belt. The rest of the Mutanimals had scattered across Mutant Town to keep a scope on things and make sure there were no sneaky shenanigans going on using the protest as a cover up. Sally got the job of monitoring the actual protest, mainly because she was the least likely in the group to flip out over something.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
Near the front of the Mutant side of the picket line is a six foot seven shark woman dressed in an oversized black and yellow hoodie with a giant, encircled black X on the back of it, the front with a zipper up it and a black hood and arms, a red X belt buckle and the short short-like bottoms of her unstable molecule one piece visible beneath the bottom of her hoodie. The hood would never fit over the dorsal fin on the back of her head.

     Today the muscular amazon bears the weight of responsibility with her back to her enemies, and her front towards her allies, arms outstretched to try to stop anyone from going past the picket line. The X practically puts a target on her back at that.

     Her mind races with the tense atmosphere. Could they fire the vaccine with a dart? Would the vaccine effect someone like her? Does an anti-vaccine exist she could take? Would her unstable molecule uniform protect her? What about the hoodie?

     She hates this. She keeps looking over her shoulder to see what the friends of humanity and other creeps are doing, but every time she does some COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED IN HER EYES asshole starts to get closer to the police line and she has to grab them to shove them back.

     Iara hates this. She briefly thinks of the witty signs she would have made if she hadn't been needed for muscle at the front. And she hopes she doesn't get hit with any vaccine-darts. She's already been Brood-infected, she doesn't need something WORSE than a brood infection in her veins.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    And there's a slip of bright pink and sky blue as someone skates through the protest. Bunny Macleod leans back on one foot as she skates on the 'flatscan human' side, and then turns and skates down the Mutant side. She seems anxious, antsy, not her usual outgoing self.

    Maybe it's because of the earbud she's got slipped over one ear as she hums lightly, monitoring any chatter. She didn't see any obvious arm bands, no one sporting the usual vitrol.

    And she really, really wanted to punch something after her lunch with her father went due South.

    "Uuuuuuuugh I wish Gabby or Tommy were here... this is already setting me on Edge..." she mutters crossly.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
Doug crosses his arms, and says, "What does genetics mean at all?" He says back to Beto. "What're the long-term ramifications of just turning a gene off? The body is a holistic machine." He's got his arms crossed, and he's wearing a pair of sunglasses, button-down shirt, and comfortable trousers, while he sits on a rail and watches the protest. He's studying the language of it, observing it for signs that things might turn violent, and where that violence might emerge from, so he can give a warning.
    "The part that frustrates me is, this has real necessary medical applications - but in order to KNOW, in so many cases the damage will have already been done. Does this cure turn off the painful physical alterations induced by mutancy?" He frowns. "There's too much up in the air right now and the people who've rushed this out haven't shown any interest in the ethics of the situation. Doctors are *supposed* to do that."
    He rubs the back of his neck, and sighs, "I wouldn't turn them off, Beto, but God knows I've struggled with my mutancy from time to time over the last few years. I can see both sides of this debate, but I worry this is going to end in tragedy, or that somebody's going to show up and accelerate this in order to push their own agenda. If not Magneto, then a-" He eyes Genesis, and clams up. "...Nevermind."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is here in the crowds, dressed mostly in black with a hood up over her head. She'd had a rough week in the public spotlight, and didn't feel like really exposing herself as being here. What with losing her role and job as Mighty Woman, becoming a poster child for the anti-Mutant push happening here-- and across the nation, Rogue was more interested in remaining anonymous.

She's got her X-Men team comm in her ear though and she's listening from her place amongst the crowds, though she's hanging back near one of the alleys.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
A man amongst the human crowd walks forwards and goes to speak out. The crowd splits away from him as he calls out to the people on the other line. "Not all of us hate mutants! We just want to be safe. We want people to not have to worry. Some of us have mutant friends and family.." He goes to trail off over, looking sad for a few moments - as if realizing how that came out. Then he goes to speak. He's a large man, with a gold bear turning grey,a nd a bald head.

"My son was a mutant. He had gills. When he was born he couldn't breathe. We didn't realize what had happened and he asphyxiated within minutes. He turned purple and.. I felt him die. If we'd have had this we could have saved him. I could be holding him in my arms."

There's some rumblings over amongst the humans as the man puts himself out. Then on the other side there's a mutant walking forwards.

The mutant has four arms, of which are rapidly twisting about in spindly motions, positioned over like an insect's might, covered in scales. "But where does it lead? Cops pick up a mutant, they give him the injection to make sure that he doesn't cause trouble. Someone looks different at school? They jab him. Kid acts up the way kids do and causes damage? They jab him. It will turn into an all sizes thing where every time people think a mutant is doing something, we get it."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Maybe if you'd put your son in a little bag of water he would have lasted longer."  By anyone's standards, the vitriol that spills out of Noriko Ashida's mouth is despicable.

"Kinda sounds like he was more underdeveloped than a mutant anyways."  Really, that's the nice end of the spectrum for the girl, and she clearly doesn't care that she's absolutely surrounded by people who are all pro-shot or whatever it is.

"How about we modify your genes too.  Would you like that?  Then you won't have anymore mutant kids."  Or any kids at all, Noriko thinks without a care for whatever telepathic individual might pick up her hatred.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
It might as well be a lifetime ago when Illyana made a fairly significant spectacle of herself recovering Bushwick from a bottle. She keeps a much lower profile in case anyone unimpressed by a woman with a terrifying flaming sword takes it out on the residents and buildings. Volunteering requires very few flaming swords. Patrolling the boundaries in case genius aliens or interdimensional problems try to prey on mutants doesn't call for a high profile. Doling out cases of bottled water from the back of a truck is an extremely inefficient use of her abilities, but a good stand-in for working out.

So there she is, slinging recyclable plastic and volumes of water for the people who lack potable stuff in their buildings or need something more particular. A few cases are surreptitiously marked though noticing this takes significant resources. The kind that tends to stick out--magical--and a blessing tied to the lunar cycle. Several stragglers get their cases with very nervous looks, but they don't have the liberty of ignoring a protest or coming back later. Food and other needs come first. They still look scared, edging into outright fear.

And not from her for once. Oh the irony.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara perks up at the mention of gills.

     She gives the protestors a push and then turns around, pointing a webbed, clawed finger at the man as she thumbs at her neck, shouting in her brazillian accent, "I've got gills! I ain't dead! You can't let one tragedy limit our potential! And you can't decide for your kids whether they wanna be a mutant or not! With ultrasounds that could've been spotted and he could've been born into water, a vaccine is NOT the answer! Your son's death could have been prevented with CURRENT technology!"

     She turns around and pushes back a crawfish-looking mutant with one pair of human arms under his crawfish claws, harshly whispering "Mudbug I will EAT you if you keep pushing forward! Go stand in the back with Glob!"

Sally Pride has posed:
Okay so a few are being a bit more spicy with their words. Guess it is to be expected not everyone would be willing to talk nicely. "There's one in every crowd."

At least it hasn't broken down into fighting. So far. There's still the potential of other problems occuring. But don't seem to be any here.

Sally folds the binocs up and stuffs them in a pocket of her leather jacket. "Let's keep it calm, people. And keep it sociable -on both sides-." She's as much hoping fellow mutants don't do something to make some of those slanderous stereotypes look true as she is hoping that the human people side can stay reasonable.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Cracking the door slightly, Evan speaks with someone inside, perhaps explaining the current situation. He's actually pretty happy with the way things are going, none of the usual hate groups have put in an appearance yet. That means they might actually get through this without violence.

    Of course, he could be wrong, especially with Noriko doing her best to make friends in the crowd. He's still not leaving his self-appointed post, however. He's found a lot of friends in the people Hope House helps, and he'll do his best to make sure none of them get hurt.

    Explanations finished, he lets the door close again and continues to scan the crowd for anyone who might be ready to use more than words to make their point. It's just about a miracle FoH or another anti-mutant group hasn't shown up at this yet.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue starts to make her way to the back of the pro-Mutant crowd, her eyes scanning faces and her ears taking in the shouting, unable to make most of it make any sense though. She does note some familiar faces though, knowing some of the X-Men are on-site to try and help keep things as safe as possible.

Up ahead of her, Rogue sees a little hand sneaking in to a pocket of someone not paying any attention, the hand coming from a young kid who was trying their best to be sly about it too.

Before the pick pocket can get the wallet, Rogue's gloved hand grasps hold of his wrist, causing the kid to look up at the hooded girl with a shocked expression. He tries to tug his hand away from Rogue's grasp but he can't. "Let me go, ya weirdo freak!" The boy shouts at the Belle.

She smirks as she releases his forearm. "Get your blessed ass outta here." She says back at him, causing the kid to turn and run toward a nearby alley where he meets up with some friends that seemingly were waiting for him.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "No fighting yet, couple of hot heads using past experience that can't be street-verified --" Bunny states to herself, skating backwards a little bit, the bright pink manic pixie haircut fluttering as she does so, blowning a puff of air out and billowing her cheeks out a little. Her helmet is on her side, her goggles around her neck as she looks over the crowds.

    "It would be nice if it was just a choice we could make, but there's gonna be a whole lot of people making the choice for us. Scared parents. Jilted exes. Teachers, you know?" she states, to no one in particular, rubbing the back of her head. "This'll be a mess just like every other time a 'chemical control' came out for someone."

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa nods laking in the sea of people, leaning back next to Doug, he lets a long sow breath. He stands next to Doug, knowing that his power makes hm the closest thing to an early warning system. Beto is dressed as he usally is in a custom tailored suit, grey linen, with a light yellow shirt and true black tie. "Tell me about it, I've had a dozen families approach me about the cure for their kids, not all mutations are gifts. I don't know what to tell them. And I've had just as many terrified about the weaponization of the cure, which I don't even know is possible. I mean, I haven't seen any real demonstration the cure even works. Those are all good question, question we need to get answered. Yeah, Doctors are but they're people. Come on Doug, we both know what's behind all this, money makes the world go round. And they can sense there is money to be made."

    Roberto turns to Doug and nods, "I know, you never asked for this life, and I know it hasn't been easy, dying never is, but... "he gives him a small smile and pats his arm, "I'm also pretty sure you wouldn't have changed it." He sighs and shakes his head, "Well, at least the first time I was attacked it wasn't for being a mutant. I would be the target of hate groups even if I got the cure, makes it less of a concern."

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    Doug frowns, and then says, "There's something else behind this, Beto. Maybe even the people responsible for it don't know about it, maybe their intentions are even *good* - but I've got this feeling in my guts that there's something nasty at work." He raises his eyebrows, and then looks over to Roberto. "If it HELPS, I only ever attacked you because I was jealous."
    "Also, because you were a big stupid vain jerkface idiot." He checks his nails, and then looks back up at the crowd.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Another flat of water bottles ends up in the arms of a skinny kid a head taller than the Russian blonde. She urges him quietly, "Go. Get going, and you too." The next person in line to receive their share isn't even paying attention, eyes on the swelling mass of people responding to the man sharing the troubled tale of his child and the response from the other side. The sudden weight of the bottles makes him startle, and the second man comes back to himself with a muttered curse. Behind him, the third person in line gives up, fleeing for general safety among the many.

Illyana is many things, patient when it comes to uncomfortably large and riled up crowds. Surveying the masses of people takes time, and convenient how standing on a bumper gives her a vantage. Good one at that, leaning casually like one does. Passing for human is advantageous.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's some counter-yells over at Noriko from the crowd, even as the man that had spoken looks pained for a moment. Then he goes to hold his hand out and over as people on the pro-human side would be increasing thier tones. "Hey, people! Simmer down. This is also their life and they have the right to be afraid. They're the ones that get looked at and blamed for everything when it goes wrong or it doesn't." At least in that section of the back and forth, there's some quiet.

There's some back and forth shoving in various sections - but it's not people going to slam over the line dividing them from the other protest. It's amongst their own. Several of the mutants near Noriko go to yell out over along with her and in agreement with Iara.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    The Bushwick Golem has been strangely lacking today during the protests. Usually its massive bulk can be seen to help quelch any trouble that might arise, tasked as it is to defend the citizens of Bushwick. But now, it comes walking up the street at it's steady pace that's faster than one would expect, and perched on its shoulder, back straight and looking like a queen, is Lydia.

    She's wearing jeans and a black protest t-shirt from the last protest she went to. The one that the Friends of Humanity had attacked. The one that sent her to the hospital There's a ragged hole in the side, and blood still stains the shirt. Gone is the visible mutation of her starfield, and gone is the otherworldly beauty that the mutant vampiress usually possesses, making her look like what she is: Someone who had died but the world had fogotten to tell her about it. In other words she fits right in.

    As the golem pulls up alongside Berto and Doug, Lydia offers her impression. "I don't think this 'cure' is necessarily a bad thing. Thank you, Baruch," she says, patting its giant head as it creaks to a stop. "It's the application of it that worries me. That and the creator's agnosticism of how it could be used. He very clearly has an opinion, but is very careful not to say what it is."

    The Golem offers a hand, and she steps into it, letting it take her to the ground. "If this had been around when my mutation had hit, my mother would have made me take it." A sour look passes across her face. "I would have hated it. Sure it made me stand out but it was one of the few things that was undeniably /mine/. Something my mother couldn't take away."

    She looks curiously at Doug. "So you've died?" She quirks a friendly smile at him, "Welcome to the club. I've always said that you've never really lived life until you've died at least once."

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Afraid.

     That's bait.

     There's going to be jokes later about a giant fish taking bait like that.

     "Afraid!?" Iara bellows, once again pointing at her face, but this time at her shark jaws, "This isn't FEAR, this is DEFIANCE! I was an orphan before I discovered I was a mutant, I was a powerless little girl on the streets, and now look at me! I have strength, I have purpose, and I've saved more lives than you'll ever ruin with your preachy emotional bait!"

     Now with the shark fully distracted, Mudbug once again tries to slip past her, getting shoved onto his ass by a riot shield and then followed by cursing in portugese from the shark, the brazillian losing her temper and pushing him back deeper into the crowd with a kick once he starts getting up.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa nod slowly, considering, "Honestly, I'm surprised it didn't happen more.... Stupid?" He looks pained, "Words hurt Douglas. No, I get what you're saying there is always movement under the surface. The good news is HYDRA is not involved in the company... though honestly that's almost more suspicious, HYDRA has their meaty little paws in everything. You would not believe the trends I'm seeing... " Berto considers, "Actually, you would. The other weird things is that it seems like whoever was backing Trask is has stopped activity, for the moment, might be a connection." He watches the blonde Russion, "You think we should give Yana a hand? Those look heavy." He is scanning the crowds and making notes, he steps closer to call over to the man, "Sir, I am sorry fr your loss, but there is no evidence the cure would have worked quickly enough t save him. We're working with Physician's to educate them on identifying mutants being able to make the special arrangements they need. Please, if you and your wife have another child, call us. I know of a lot of human parents raising mutant children and we have resources for them." Berto offers a friendly smile and sends the man a ping with X-Corporations information, cause sure he can.

    He looks over at Lydia and nods quietly, "Your the Golem's creator? Interesting bit of character for the neighborhood. "Not necessarily but Sentinels were an anti-alien technology and look how that worked out. Application is always the rub... Doug? He was at best mostly dead." He gives his friend a grin. " But he did look good in the holocaust cloak."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue ends up standing back near a group of protesting Mutants all dressed up in Avengers costumes, yet all of them are in some degree of out-of-shape. The Belle glances over at them, catching a few of their eyes, and offering them a soft smile in return before she puts her eyes back upon the crowds.

Specifically on Iara. She can hear the booming shark girl the best of everyone in the shouting, and she's most worried about Iara becoming a target because of it.

Rogue places a hand inside her hoodie pocket to draw out her phone, to check her messages and see if any of the other team on assignment here in Mutant Town are having any better nights of it. Or at least she was, until someone bumped her arm, causing her phone to clatter to the ground, and the southern gal to glare angrily at the person who rushed past her like that.

One of the Avengers is quick to snag Rogue's phone off the ground for her, and kind enough to offer it back, the one being the portley Captain America cosplayer.

"Thanks." rogue quietly says to him.

"You bet, Mighty Woman." The guy says back.

Uh oh... her disguise wasn't as good as she'd hoped!

Sally Pride has posed:
Sally Pride sighs, folding her arms across her chest as she leans back against the wall. They weren't fighting and rioting, but it was still mostly yelling back and forth than any real discussion. Which is probably what is to be expected, they may be non-violent about it right now but neither side wants to give an inch to the other. Even when both have some fairly relevant points, they're still being blind to what the other end has to say.

"I am so glad I'm not a mediator by profession," grumbles the lioness under her breath. Even her patience can only go so far.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    "...What is physical death?" Doug says, "What is memory but recorded data? What is the soul, but another form of data? These are questions for theologians, not me." He shrugs his shoulders at the girl and her golem, and then he hops down and walks over to help Illyana with the water bottles. He hoists one up, and hands it off to somebody, before he scans the crowd again. He frowns. "The whole place is a powder keg. We just need to spot the jerk with a match."

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Also hearing Iara over the crowd, Evan shakes his head. Passions are high on both sides, too much fear and anger and not enough thought. He's still leaning against the door, not that the people inside he's trying to keep out of trouble can't get out through the back, but he's at least slowing them down.

    Glancing to his right, he suddenly stretches out an arm (literally) and reels in a young boy who had been blending in with his surroundings. "Not today Kevin. Things can get ugly out there real quick, and what would I tell your mom if you got hurt? Do us both a favor and stay inside, ok?"

    He opens the door enough to let the boy go back into the house, then returns to his prior position.

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
The shoving and catcalling doesn't lure in Illyana. Happier on the sidelines until given just cause to wade in. Her gaze roves over the varied people shoving, crowing, or just doing what she does. Watching and waiting for the whole tinder-dry forest to go up because of a spark.

Happier to spot familiar faces. Or heads, as the golem is large enough for Lydia to ride and therefore something of a mobile landmark. Resting non-plussed face becomes a bit of a smile.

She tips her hand when Doug and Roberto single out her water donation efforts. The former approaching gets that nod. "Da. Mark him, her or them and act decisively. Seen anyone up high recording or directing this?" Carrying another flat of water isn't too unwieldy for her, but help is help. She'll take all she can get to hand out the rest to the few who wait.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
There's no violence so far. And there's minimal signs of the crowds surging at one another. Passions are high.

One of the mutants calls out, "And where's their data? Where's their tests? Where's their analysis given they certainly can't have done human trials with this stuff? How've they structured thier experiments with it to prove that it works and it's safe? There's gonna be huge consent issues with them poking at anyone!"

There's a look of confusiona mongst some folks who aren't sure on the 'clinical trials' aspect of things. The mutant goes on - him having three eyes and a face that looks like it's stone. He's also wearing a Star Trek insignia on his chest. "Who funded it? The government? Private industry? Who worked on it? This isn't a one person thing. What lab did it come out of?"

One of the human protestors loks over at hte crowd, then goes to jog over towards some of the mutants helping to hand out drinks. He gestures over at them for permission to approach and offers up.. "Need a hand there?" He looks fairly elderly - definitely in his late seventies, wearing a tie dye t-shirt that looks faded wiht age. "You gotta be completely exhausted. Okay to help you take those along?" Gesturing at the mutant side of the crowd. "I get if I'd escalate it but I want to try."

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "IS there even public information on this thing? We've been guniea pigs for long enough! Mutation isn't a DISEASE. It's an EVOLUTION, and it's not a dead end." the brightly-dressed bunny gives a small shrrruuuuug as she slowly skates sideways by some of the yellers, and then spots the Golem.

    "Oh hey --"

    And /Lydia/.
    "... OH HEY!"

    and the pink-haired Young Avenger skates on over.

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"Maybe you could stop blaming and pitying others!  That shit's so boomer!  Booooooooo!"  Noriko heckles with her hands around her mouth to give her some extra volume.  Suddenly she's eating a hoagie and the guy in front of her who was unwrapping one is looking around when he catch Noriko suspiciously licking her fingers.

Someone points out she might be on the wrong side ever so helpfully and she sighs.  Her presence and chaotic support seems to be generating some highly localized confusion, but it is more like an annoyance to the assembled body, a fly on a horse that quickly ignores it.

"God you guys are so boring," Noriko says with a roll of her eyes when she realizes her presence has probably been written off as some annoying teen, someone not worth paying attention to, someone who can't hurt their feelings or rouse them to action.

"I hate that I'm an adult now."

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Unassuming elderly fella. Going for the waters. Instant red flag.

     Iara parts the crowd like Moses at the Red Sea as she wades through the shorter mutant protestors of all genders and colors, putting a clawed, webbed hand in between the tie-die man and the waters, saying "Sorry." through gritted shark teeth, "We've had enough folks who say they're well-meaning try to kill us. If you truly want peace, head back to your side and encourage them to listen to those of us with experience being a mutant. We can handle passing out water on our own."

     Iara's words are civil, but her demeanor is hyper focused, those glossy black doll eyes centered on the old hippie, her body tense like an overwound wind-up car. She breathes deeply, slowly, like she could go into a frenzy at any second, but the responsibility to keep this civil and the danger of the situation has her absolutely focused on what could be a clear and present danger, since the man came from the other side.

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia pats the side of the Golem proudly. "Thank you," she laughs. "It was a harebrained scheme when I thought of it, but I think it's worked out in the end. I spent some time shoring up its enchantments in case things get ugly out here." She turns her gaze to the clashing crowds. "It looks like things have been peaceful so far, yes?"

    "Baruch," she says turning to the golem, the amber pinpoints of light that serve as its eyes turning towards her. "See those crates of water bottles? Carry a stack of them and make sure people can take one if they need it. Do you remember the signs of heat stroke I taught you?" The lumbering behemoth nods its head once. "Good. Your primary directive is to help any that you find get out of the crowd and into the shade. Don't cross the police line. Now go on. Scoot."

    The golem turns and lumbers over to a stack of crates containing water bottles and easily lifts the whole thing, and then it meanders into the crowd, carefully picking its way through the throng of people. How Lydia managed to get something so be to be so gentle is something of an amazement.

    She turns to Doug and gives him a delighted smile. "I actually have answers for some of those questions, which I would love to share when this is all said and done." Her expression turns serious when he mentions the powder keg. "Yeah. I've been to one too many of these. It's why I sent Baruch into the crowd. He'll protect any he can."

    Her eyes try to glitter in delight when Bunny shows up, but their milkiness makes it hard to do. "Hey, Bunny! Welcome to the revolution."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The old hippy gives Iara a nod, "Understand it. Can't promise I'll be any good." He goes to make a show of keeping his hands out, and goes to head back over towards the pro vaccine side at Iara's interception. Limping a bit - but definitely not being hostile in it. He doesn't seem -phased- by the big scary Street Shark-Girl or getting defensive. It's.. Probably best not to ask what drugs he did before he came to the demonstrations.

A small looking girl with a pair of large butterfly wings goes to float her way on over towards Lydia. She holds a copy of Lydia's book that she's barely capalbe of holding. "Can you sign it?" She would speak like a series of windchimes to Lydia and the Golem.

Evan Sabahnur has posed:
    Watching the golem move into the crowd and start carrying water makes Evan relax a little. It is a strong deterrent in situations like this. Most troublemakers see the thing and decide that, nah, maybe today isn't a good day to throw bottles at the mutants.

    There's a light knock on the door he leans against, so he cracks it again and has a quiet conversation, then looks over the crowd and moves away from the door. Several Hope House residents come out to watch what's happening, but don't move to join either crowd, simply watching the goings on with slightly worried expressions.

    One little girl toddles over to Evan and holds up her arms in the international symbol for 'up!'. He picks her up and seats her on his shoulders. She gives his head a hug, then looks at the crowd with wide eyes.

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "Oh, ah, this is the Revolution? It's..." she turns on her skates, hands to her hips, and looks out over the crowds.

    "Thankfully pretty quiet." she states, and then turns back around, slowly, and gives a bright smile. "Yeah, been a bit since we've seen each other. How's your cat? How's the Golem? He's super impressive, and even if it was just kind of a lark or desperation move --" Bunny's hands come up, and she bounces, on her roller skates "HE IS SO SUPER COOL and seriously the fact that you -- oh pardon me --" the girl comes up to Lydia asking for a signature, and Bunny blushes, rubbing the back of her head as she gives a soft 'aaaa' sound, and then turns bright red seeing the subject matter of the book.

    "... wonder if Gabatha has a copy of that -- OH! RIGHT!"

    She turns to the others in conversation that she's interrupted "Hi! Bunny Macleod, mutant, everyone seems to know my girlfriend, minor young superhero in the not-very-strong-but-very-legal manner!" she bouncily introduces herself to Douglas and Roberto.

Roberto da Costa has posed:
Roberto da Costa sighs and grabs two flats of water. He catches Yana's eyes as He hoists them effortlessly, even in his non powered form and moves past Iara and into the human side of the protest, he approaches and smiles tapping the elderly tie dyed man on the shoulder, "Sir, please, your people must be thirsty as well, pass this out to them. We appreciate your offer." Kindness for kindness, he nods and doesn't wait for a response before heading back towards his friend. He looks over at Bunny, "How is Gabby? How is her clothing business doing?" He chuckles a bit but goes back to the water, as a staffer comes over with sandwiches wrapped in butcher paper and lays them out on a tray. The sandwhiches disappear quickly and are replaced as the crowd gets fed. Fed crowds being demonstrably more peaceful.

Douglas Ramsey has posed:
    Doug looks up, while he's holding a 24 pack of water bottles. He tosses it to Roberto, who he presumes is going to catch it easily.
    His eyebrows creep up, and he extends his hand in an offer to Bunny to shake it. "...I'm afraid I don't know who you mean, but it's a pleasure to meet you? I'm Doug. This is my Frenemy, Beto. ...I just call him that. We're friends, except when we're playing chess or soccer. Because I *cannot beat him at either game*, the bum."

Monet St. Croix has posed:
As Noriko goes to dart along with her hoagie over there's someone doing a quick.. Maneuver. Mid-bite said hoagie vanishes from her. On the anti-vaccine side is an old man with an eyepatch and very, very grey hair leaning over on a cane with a fedora. "Thank you young lady, I was famished." There's no signs of him being a mutant at all - and the guy looks older than the dirt that Jubilee has to pack in her coffin!

And yet he managed to grab the hoagie right from the zooming speedster. Which might annoy Noriko or -really- intrigue her! Though the guy did look old enough if she made eye contact his hip would break.

Iara Dos Santos has posed:
     Iara sighs, calming down a little as the hippie walks back where he was, looking around quickly to make sure he didn't leave a bomb or anything.

     Way in the back, a pink blob with a visible skeleton and digestive system inside it is pushed to the front by some shadier looking individuals. "Go on!" one of them says, "Hold it up!" "You wanna be one of the cool mutants, right? Not one of those namby-pamby peace ones..." Wide-eyed, the pink blob mutant holds up a sign right in the front, seeming to shiver in nervousness or anxiousness before he holds up a white sign with "MAGNETO WAS RIGHT" written on it in Sharpie. Really, it's barely legible.

     Unless you're Shark-Girl and still decently near.

     "Nem fodendo..." she mutters under her breath at the sight of it, she points and then bellows "GLOB HERMAN I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR FUCKING ASS!" as she starts powering back towards where she was before like Darth Vader about to slaughter rebels in a corridor. At the sight of Iara storming towards him, Glob shrieks, drops the sign and starts running, with Iara picking up speed through the crowd after him!

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia looks surprised to find a fan asking her for an autograph. "Oh! I'd love to, it's always good to meet a fan. I don't have a pen, though. I don't keep sharp objects on me during protests," she explains. "It could be used as a weapon against me." Not that a pen or a pencil would actually //do// anything against her, its still the principle of the thing.

    "Thankfully," she says, turning her attention back to Bunny. "He... wasn't a lark. He was a harebrained scheme." She grins at Doug and explains, "She's talking about the esteemed Gabby Kinney, who I also consider to be a personal friend and colleague."

Illyana Rasputina has posed:
Illyana takes the last of the water not carried by the golem. Another mark of Baruch being rather excellent, though she saves admiring him for later. Lydia will have to wait to hear the compliment from the taciturn Russian woman.

"His expressions give away his moves," she asides for Doug. Apparently the secrets about Beto are known to the Chess Queen. She doesn't give much more than that for free. A smirk and the last batch will end up bestowed on someone who needs it or at least needs something to drink or carry.

"Hi," she adds to Bunny because otherwise that would be rude. "Your girlfriend. Gabby?"

Bunny Macleod has posed:
    "-hold up GABATHA C KINNINGTON HAS A CLOTHING BUSINESS? Did she *tell* me this?!" Bunny asks, and looks down at her shirt, then pulls her shirt forward and looks down the neck opening, and then she throws her hands up "DOES EVERYONE KNOW MY GIRLFRIEND?" she asks incredulously, and then slooowly slides back on her skates.

    "Nah it's all good, she's awesome. Seriously so cool. I can only hope to be like an eighth as cool as her on account of the 'pewpew'!" she finger-guns like the hopeless person she is.

    And she reaches into her backpack and offers Lydia a bright pink metallic marker.

    Brush tip.

    And then Iara is yelling. And she straightens up.

    And she's about to go over when Illyana comes over, and she looks to the blonde.

    And she points.

    "You must be the absolutely terrifying blonde one Gabby was talking about. Uh... look I've only met Royalty once before and a piece of art only recently -" she motions to Lydia, and then makes awkward motions with her hands, the 5'3 (really 5'1, but she's wearing roller skates) asks in a squeak of a voice:

     "Do I bow on my skates or just look on in terrible awe? Is there a preference?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"THAT OLD MAN STOLE MY SANDWICH THAT I STOLE FROM THAT GUY!" Noriko shouts to everyone near her as she points from one man to another (as if they would understand the impact of her statement beyond the burly guy who has now learned who stole his lunch).  If it weren't for the old man being at the end of the chain...somehow, why he might have something more to say to Noriko besides, "Thieving," something or other, it isn't a nice word.

The speedster is still pointing, slackjawed.  "HE STOLE MY SANDWICH!" She shouts again like a little boy yelling that the sky is falling.  Then suddenly she starts to try and track the old man, stick to him, /watch/ him ever so closely.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The small'ish fae mutant goes to aww. "It's fine! I'm sure someone else does!" And then Bunny is there to save the day. "Pretty!" Martha gushes. She goes to take it back to pass it over, it perked over in some very pink ink that's given to Lydia. "Make it out to Martha." She would hover while looking over at the golem of Bushwick. Clearly planning on sometime soon going over for a ride just due tot he scheming intent on her face.

the old man looks over at Noriko, and seems to not mind the attention while he leans on his cane, propping himself up on it. "Well, finders keepers young lady. Tell you what, if I get another one you can try to steal it from me then and if you pull it off we can call it even. Deal?"

Lydia Dietrich has posed:
    Lydia takes the pen with a nod of thanks, and quickly signs the book with her flowing script. "There you go," she says, handing the book back to Martha, presumably, and the pen back to Bunny. "Thanks," she says with a grin.

    Meanwhile the Golem shifts its posture, moving the crates of water bottles into one hand, and with another deftly plucking a woozy looking man from the crowd, gently cradling him in the crook of its free arm. It lumbers out of the crowd over to a tree with plenty of shade, and carefully lowers him down. "Thanks," the man says shakily, pulling himself up to lean against the tree.

    The then reaches into the crate of water bottles, pulling out a handful and holds it over the poor guys head, and then crushes them all, letting water pour all over his head. The man just laughs and says, "Yeah, thanks, buddy."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"No.  How about, if I steal it, then you teach me how you did that," Noriko barters like she's in some mythic market and the old man's tricks are for sale.  The speedster's eyes twinkle a little bit as she grins, apparently over the fact that the old pro has her/okay that other guy's sandwich, but also...not over it.

"I'm going to be your age one day and I'm going to need some tricks to keep up or I might break my hip.  Are you an expert faller?"  Between those sentences, Noriko left a bill with the vendor and skipped the line.  She offers one to the old man.  "I stole it first," she explains as if this were a normal way to end her side of the conversation.

"I can appreciate good taste."  This is clearly a preemptive bribe for the man's secrets or his company.

Monet St. Croix has posed:
The old man goes to laugh down at Noriko, "All right, you have a deal. But in turn you have to listen to me tell you how I learnt the thing." On one hand, there's food. On the other, Noriko is now stuck with OLD MAN STORY. She may or may not come to regret this.

"And I've learned it's not about the fall, it's about how bad the recovery is. The damned landing is always the worst part.." The old man takes the hoagie over. "And thank you. Come, I'll be your instructor in all the ways us old people learn how to hurt ourselves as we age."