1713/Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia, Here We Go Again
Date of Scene:	17 May 2020
Location:	Angelo's Pizza
Synopsis:	Alex and Emma meet Maxwell in a pizza joint in Brooklyn.
Cast of Characters:	Emma Frost, Maxwell Wave, Alex Summers

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Emma Frost has posed:
It's not often that Alex can convince Emma to 'slum it' by mingling with the normal folk, especially in places like Brooklyn (yuck), but it's not too far from his apartment and pizza is the universal equalizer. So, that's how Emma Frost is sitting at a table at some dive pizza place like, 2 blocks from Mutant Town, dressed in pair of actually blue-colored blue jeans, a tight baby tee and an open light blue button-down shirt that is way too big for her but looks like it probably fits the guy across from her pretty well.

A large pizza with a couple slices removed from it teeters on one of those silly metal U-racks these sorts of places use to serve the pizza, and yes, Emma is using a knife and fork to eat hers because //manners//. There is a plethora of loud noises coming from the arcade, and the TVs are all showing different stations, but the sound over the speakers is blaring some sort of news channel doing a 'deep dive' into the recent Sentinel incident in Mutant Town, with the requisite shock from the generic looking reporter as they breathlessly ask if and when more might arrive, and how safe it is to have a Mutant Town in NYC at all.

Emma blows out a breath of annoyance. "You think I should just 'convince' the manager to switch the sound to the Weather Channel?" she asks Alex with a roll of her eyes.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
A man of slightly above average height with brown hair suffering from a bad case of helmet head walks into the Angelo's wearing overalls and heavy boots. A hard hat hangs from a tool belt around his waist and his eyes are concealed by very dark goggles. He seems almost hesitant as he squeezes past a customer who is exiting with a pie. A slight frown tugs at his lips as he scans the interior. His body language is stiff and projects nervousness. If you are the sort who can read surface thoughts, he chants a mantra of 'Just ignore the goggles, please'.

When it's his turn to step up to the counter, he orders one of the pre-made pepperonis which are always ready for walk-ins. He slips a fiver into the tip jar. The employee behind the counter offers a "Thanks" and Maxwell responds with a barely audible, "Yea, don't mention it."

Next, he's looking for a place to sit. As fate would have it, he elects an empty table near Emma. Sliding the pizza box onto the surface, he opens it to waft the fresh scent of melted cheese and dough into the air before guiding himself into the booth with a scoot. He unclips the hardhat from his belt and sets it beside the box.

He raises his head toward the television screen and his frown deepens. He fist clinches a little bit. "Yea, I hope they turn that damn thing off. I've spent all day cleaning up that mess. I'd like a small break from it while I enjoy my pie."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex is watching bemusedly as Emma eats with knife and fork, having folded up his pizza to eat it properly. "You know, I thought it was only people joking about eating New York pizza with a knife and fork." he says playfully, then eyes the TV and shrugs. "It'll pass. it's the story, everyone's still scared after Genosha. People thought that was the end of it, I guess."

    He eyes Maxwell thoughfully as the other man sits then speaks up, then shrugs. "Weather is nonpolarizing, by comparison. I suppose." he adds bemusedly.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma gives Alex a wry look. "You get your hands greasy eating it that way," she points out. She looks at the guy in the goggles, catching his surface thoughts with some amusement. "Hard to miss 'em," she mutters to herself, reaching across the restaurant mentally to rather impolitely and unpleasantly mindwhammying the manager with access to the remote controlling the sound to change the selection to play the sound coming out of the TV playing mindless weather updates. The manager won't remember it why he decided to do so, but... you know.

"How kind of them, its like he could read my mind," Emma says dryly, cutting another bite of her pizza with her knife and fork. Pointedly. Manners.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"Trouble never really stops in Mutant Town." Maxwell offers solemnly as he folds his own pizza before taking a bite. His thoughts roam to the destroyed homes and businesses from the wild sentinel attack. A quick mental tally that he worries at like a dog with a bone. His brow furrows as he recalls a brief rumble and yet another business damaged by needless violence.

He blinks when the channel is abruptly changed and just writes it off initially as serendipity until he catches Emma's dry commentary. This draws a raised eyebrow. He stares through his goggles, as his jaw works through delicious dough, cheese, pepperoni, and sauce.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex raises a brow, giving Emma a look, but not commenting, other than to point out. "That's part of the pizza experience and what napkins were invented for. Are you going to put hardworking napkin manufacturers out of business, Emma?" he notes, taking a bite bite of his pizza as he waggles his brows at the blonde woman across from him.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma pulls one of the cheap brown rough paper napkins from the dispenser, staring at it with a rueful look for a moment, rubbing it with her fingers to verify the discomfort of it. "Yes. Yes, I would."

She glances to Maxwell. "Trouble seems to be the dish of the day pretty much everywhere outside of Midtown," she says with a sniff. "But yes. That Sentinel seems to be extra trouble." Unconsciously her hand moves to touch the choker at her throat for a moment, as she shakes her head. "At least it was put down. Eventually. Giant murderbots are a massive overreach, regardless of who they target."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"There's an understatement. A Li.. uh work down there. Only silver lining of that attack is that some of the rundown buildings it destroyed are going to get replaced by something up to code." He takes another bite of pizza, chews thoroughly before continues the idle chit-chatter. "All this unrest is making people.. really jumpy. Crime is going up... which is saying something for Mutant Town."

There's a brief mental image of steel drum launching at a very large woman, evidently from the goggle-wearing man eating his pizza. "Probably only going to get worse."

He makes a show of grabbing one of the brown napkins from a dispenser on his table and exaggerates the procedure for applying it to greasy hands. This draws a toothy if playful grin.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex glances over, raising a brow. "Well, yeah...giant killer robots that are supposed to be illegal and no longer exist showing up in numbers, that's got people a bit nervous too I'm sure though." he notes dryly. he snags another pizza. "I don't know that crime is going up so much as the indents involving powers are going up."

Emma Frost has posed:
"Lots of things are illegal. Doesn't stop the people with the right resources from doing it anyway," Emma points out idly. "But yes. And I doubt the murderbots will really make too much of a distinction between their targets and collateral damage," she notes. "But. I suppose it is good that some of the run-down buildings will get redone. Some slumlords are probably either really happy or really pissed off, depending." She muses. "Wouldn't rent control still apply? I'm not sure. I don't do real estate for a reason, too complicated."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Max offers Alex a shrug. "Maybe that's true. Either way, it feels like more crime. No idea what the actual numbers are.. But the way I see it, resources are scarce as it is. Start losing businesses and homes to giant murder bots, and yea, things are going to get worse in the aftermath."

More pizza is consumed, after a swallow, Max comments further because he happens to be an expert on the subject. "Rent control does still apply, since it's tied to the property. Though I wouldn't be surprised if a few lawsuits end up in court over it."

He offers a clipped laugh as he considers legality, "The police takes a -long- time to show up anywhere in Mutant Town in numbers, and a lot of crimes are ignored. It's hard to blame them though. It's bad enough thinking someone might have a handgun.. it's a lot worse considering what some of us can do." The -us- is a clear slip, but the man is wearing goggles for no reason. Not a huge leap of logic there.

Alex Summers has posed:
    "...oh yeah, that's a great mindset. Hey, they might be armed so why should we show up to help?" Alex says, a bit more sharply as he narrows his eyes. "No. You don't get to take an oath to protect the public, then decide that only applies to the people who are easy to protect. Fuck that." He shakes his head slightly, studying the other man. "I'll blame 'em just fine for making a decision like that, same way I would for people who refuse to go into a poor neighborhood because no one will care what happens anyway."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma purses her lips a bit, but doesn't say anything as the other two comment on the police force, or rather lack thereof.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Max offers a low whistle at Alex, "Hard for me to argue with you. I really get that feeling."

He gazes down for a moment, "But I've also seen what can happen to a normal police officer after a strong mutant is done with them. They've got families like everyone else. It's their job, and their duty, true.. but well, I guess not everyone is willing to risk life and limb, y'now?"

He finishes his slice and wipes his hands. "Blame them or not. Get angry or not. You can't count on them. We have to rely on the community. Those willing to stand up for order and common decency. There's a few. I've seen them."

Alex Summers has posed:
    "The problem with that is the community often has different ideas about who they want to support or how that's more personal preference than law applied to everyone." Alex shakes his head, pausing to take a drink. "It's why they have that superpowered unit for crimes like that in New York, used to be Code Blue or whatever. Trained for dealing with stuff like that."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma frowns. "I wonder why they don't have a unit of metas actually assigned over this way," she muses. "Somebody had to make that decision somewhere."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"Trade offs. If the government isn't going to fix it, the locals have to take charge. It's not ideal. A dozen things wrong with it, but you have to work with what you got." Max gazes between the pair and hums, offering a shrug. "I have no idea who makes that call... nor why the city government tolerates the conditions in Mutant Town. I'm just a boy from Illinois who found himself in the big Apple... in probably the worst ghetto in the nation."

Alex Summers has posed:
    "...maybe. Usually doesn't end well for things like that." Alex grumbles, then sighs. "Who knows. Probably people who don't want to really help mutants who make sure things like that get defunded." He shrugs a bit and sighs, taking another piece of pizza. "Depressing to think about."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"Yea, sorry about that. I didn't mean to get all political while you were enjoying your pie. Just hits really close to home for me." He offers a nod and picks up another slice of pizza from his box, folding it, and scarfing.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex mms. 'Suppose I'm a bit more sensitive about it than I need to be..." he grumbles, looking over to Emma, then reaching across the table to squeeze her hand fo ra moment. "Sorry, didn't mean to get all debater about it."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Max appears to feel a little sheepish about imposing on the couple and firing up the debate. He hunches a little bit and focuses on his pizza. His goggled gaze turns toward the weather channel to catch the latest report. Important details for someone in civil engineering. He chews and allows a moment of silence to form.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma squeezes his hand back. "It's fine, hon. It's cute when you get worked up." She gives him a half-grin, then releases his hand to sip at her Snapple. "Speaking of politics, I think that may be why we should be looking to Lex for leadership. He's been very clear on his thoughts on mutant rights. If he has his way, this sort of thing wouldn't happen anymore." she notes quietly. Not that she's biased or anything.

Alex Summers has posed:
    "Mmm. Man, I haven't even seriously looked at platforms or such for Luthor or Stark yet." Alex admits. "With everything else going on. Has Stark even commented on powered rights or such yet?" he wonders.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Maxwell continues his silence regarding Lex and his politics, but he does listen. His mind not really made up on the subject. After he finishes his current slice, he closes the box on his pizza and cleans his hands. Now clean fingers dip into his coveralls, he places a card on Emma's and Alex's table. "Pardon the shamelessly plug, but you seem to have a sympathetic ear for mutants. My name is Maxwell Wave, and I'm a civil engineer. I do contract work on the side if you need anything built, inspected, or permitted."

He lifts his goggles just a hair, revealing a cyan glow coming out from beneath them. "Thought with your politics, you might be willing to do business with someone like me."

Emma Frost has posed:
"It's possible," Emma says non-committedly. She isn't exactly publicly known as a mutant herself, and she keeps it that way outside of a small circle-- mostly the Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club and several of the folks she knows at Xavier's. For obvious reasons on the latter. Most the Xavier's types probably aren't happy with her choice to 'pass' as human, though they have seemed to be content to not argue that point. And reflexively she has no desire to out Alex, either, particularly given their relationship and some of the rather pointed conversations they've had of late regarding public perception. But it's still his call, regarding himself.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex on the other hand ist unexpectedly recently come to being a mutant...it's a long story. He raises a brow. "Well...I don't know a huge amount about contract work for that sort of thing, but if I stumble over someone who's looking for it...wait, so, do you have an ability that makes your job easier, then?" he wonders curiously, not looking overly bothered by the glow. I mean...his brother accidentally blows holes in walls when he takes his glasses off, so...

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"Just asking you consider me, if you've got a job, or if you know someone with similar sensibilities looking for a contractor." He grins, "At the very least, don't tear it up in front of me, so I can have the illusion, alright?"

He rises from his table holding his pizza box. He reaches down and picks up his hard hat, depositing it on his head. He looks curiously at Alex and then nods slowly. "I do."

He looks over his shoulder then cancels the gravitational pull on his pizza box. He taps it upwards and allows it to float slowly into the air, just a few inches, before he cancels the effect. "That's really just a small bit, and I can see how things interact.. like I know based on the applied force of that chair against your body in response to Earth's gravitational pull.. that you weigh approximately eighty-two point four kilograms including the weight of your clothes."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma lifts an eyebrow. "Interesting. I can see why that may be useful in building things." She takes one of the terrible rough napkins and lightly wipes her hands, before taking the business card and inspecting it.

Alex Summers has posed:
    "Huh. Handy. Are you one of those Damage Control people?" Alex wonders curiously. "I know they do a lot of repairs and fixes around town...I mean, I know they tend to employ a lot of powered types to help do things a bit more smoothly and quicker." He'd look at the card to see, but Emma has it! Instead, another bite of pizza!

Maxwell Wave has posed:
It was perhaps dangerous to showboat, but he was trying to take advantage of the situation. He didn't know many people outside mutant town, and if he could drum a little business by showing off to two mutant-sympathizers, well, it's a calculated risk.

Max shakes his head, "I'm not affiliated, but I saw an ad in the paper. I was considering reaching out.. and it's inevitable that we work together if I continue working Mutant Town."

He considers mentioning that he earned a dual degree at Stanford, but he feels he may be over playing his cards just a bit already. "Thank you for your consideration. Enjoy the rest of your meal." He starts walking toward the exit.