18664/Keeping Mutant Town friend free

Keeping Mutant Town friend free
Date of Scene:	24 July 2024
Location:	Mutant Town Clinic
Synopsis:	Talia and Laura meet up in Mutant Town and go hunting a mutant hating mob.
Cast of Characters:	Talia Wagner, Laura Kinney

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Talia Wagner has posed:
Talia Wagner brought in the girl a little while ago, the victim of a mutant bashing at the edges of Mutant Town. Talia was working with the Brotherhood's general relief and support efforts - while she wasn't as stealthy as some other members, she blended in easily enough in mutant town and her abilities made her formidable enough to operate on her own.

The girl's arm was broken and she'd had a panic attack, the young teen having been suffering from being pelted by thrown trash before Nocturne intervened with a hex blast and a (now hidden) sword. She has a hood pulled up, golden eyes shining underneath the light cloak she wears - luckily the blue-black uniform, trimmed in red, she wears underneath is especially breathable even in the beatdown of the summer heat.

"I'm just glad she'll be okay," she says to the nurse who updates her.

Laura Kinney has posed:
X-23 doesn't really blend in as well in Mutant Town. Not without popping her claws anyway. And chances are if she's doing that... Well probably something bad is about to happen.

That being said she does spend a lot of time there. Because it's part of the city where she's pretty confident SHIELD and The Facility will struggle to remain hidden even more than her. And that counts for a lot when you're being hunted by various letter based agencies with acronyms for titles.

Her outfit is street camouflage, or that's what she tells everyone when they ask why she always dresses so blandly, consisting of yoga pants and a t-shirt with a hoodie over the top. She looks like she's out for a jog. A look which usually has most people ignoring her on first glance. Which is rather the point.

Why she's in the area today is something of a mystery. At least to anyone but Laura. Probably she left a message in a drop off point. Or collected one. She might even have a safehouse nearby. But her membership on a superhero team means when she hears about violent acts taking place against innocent people.. Well she can't really ignore it can she!

Keen hearing means she picks up on Talia's exchange with the nurse. Unintentionally so but you just can't help having super senses sometimes. And when Nocturne leaves. Well X-23 will be waiting outside. "You managed to deal with those responsible?"

Her conversational style sudden and direct. A bit like her fighting style really.

Talia Wagner has posed:
Talia Wagner doesn't mind direct interactions. She prefers it, in fact, over the beating around the bush and half-hearted politeness that she often gets. Even from fellow mutants, Nocturne's striking appearance can spook people, both because she's beautiful and because she's eerie. Her pointed ears stick out through her hair as she pulls back her hood to address the feral warrior.

"Most of them," she says. "In that I at least blasted them silly. A couple ran away - I thought it better to help the girl than chase them down," she says. "Maybe you can find them, if you're so inclined. I can show you the spot so you can find their scents, if you like," she says.

She does keep her voice pitched low, between the two of them. No need to advertise, not that the other people at the clinic are paying much attention. Too concerned with their own miseries.

Laura Kinney has posed:
Laura tilts her head. "Were they armed?" she wonders. "If so it might be worth ensuring they don't regroup for another attempt later."

There's a shrug. Sadly there is a seemingly endless supply of armed mooks in the world. It's more like a game of whack a mole than being a superhero some days!

"We may as well talk while we walk though?" she offers. "No sense wasting time if we /are/ going to follow them." There's a gesture for Talia to lead on. "X-23 by the way. I don't think we've been formally introduced."

She sniffs the air. Probably she can pick up the scent of the goons from Talia. And figure the direction herself. But it'd be rude to decline a team up!

Talia Wagner has posed:
Talia Wagner nods. Assured that the girl will be okay, Talia leaves the victim in the care of the counselors and nurses at the clinic. She isn't exactly the most reassuring figure herself. She's pretty sure the girl was a little afraid of her, too.

Out in the street, she leads Laura down towards the alley where the girl was attacked, "I don't think so. They were just throwing junk, debris from the dumpster, rocks, whatever they could find," she says. "I don't think it was planned, not an FoH attack or anything. Just evil little shits acting like evil little shits," she says.

"I"m Talia, by the way. Nocturne. Don't think we've been properly introduced," she says. She knew the Laura of her world - the inheritor of Wolverine's mantle - all too well, but this isn't her, as she reminds herself. For one, this Laura is significantly younger than the one she grew up around.

Laura Kinney has posed:
When you've crossed dimensions it's probably awfully hard keeping track of whom is whom. Laura doesn't really have that problem. She just doesn't really socialise. And it's best not to know people you work with on missions too well. When you get captured and they try extract information.. Well best not to have anything to reveal.

Not that X-23 is easy to torture. Or capture in the first place for that matter.

And then there's all the escaping she does too.

"So a low threat overall," she muses. "Probably don't need to engage with weapons. Keep lasting injury to a minimum." She doesn't bother to ask how many. Unarmed Humans throwing junk? There could be a hundred and it'd be okay!

"And hopefully scare them off trying again."

Talia Wagner has posed:
Talia Wagner nods, "Putting the fear of God into them, basically. Bad enough they do this shit to kids in the 'burbs. They should be scared to come to Mutant Town," she says.

Talia once had a gentler approach, more in line with her father's philosophy. She was raised among the X-men, after all, growing up to fulfill the Dream. But this world had more turmoil in her own and she'd seen too many atrocities in too many other worlds to allow the festering worm of hate and bigotry to take root here. She'd cull it out herself, even if it cost her a bit of her soul along the way.

"Here," she gestures, showing a dented dumpster. One boy left a shoe behind it seems, blasted right out of it by the chaos energy unleashed. "Between the blast and...well, my looks, I probably scared them pretty good. But I'm not opposed to hunting them down to make sure it sticks."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"Not /too/ scared," Laura cautions. "It's one thing to make someone think picking fights is a bad idea. Scaring them so much they join the Purifiers to get rid of Mutants for good..."

Never beat someone so badly they decide you're their nemesis. It causes way more hassle in the long run!

"How about we follow them," she suggests. Sniffing the air some more. Thankfully she does /not/ need to go near the shoe. Just being close to the incident is enough. Adrenaline and sweat from a confrontation make for an easy trail. "See how beat up they look. And if further action is needed we can just take care of them?"

It's not a complex plan. Find goons, see if goons matter, deal with as needed. But it's better than no plan at all. Kind of?

Talia Wagner has posed:
Talia Wagner smiles, "Sounds like a good afternoon's walk to me," she says.

The two of them start heading in the direction the boys fled, letting Laura pick up their trail as she can. The gait is easy and strideful, although Talia pulls her hood up more as they get out of mutant territory. The farther from mutant town, the more an obvious mutant like her his likely to stick out.

"Have you taken a codename yet?" she asks softly. "Magneto says they're our mutant names and I've always liked that, the ability to choose your own name. I like being Nocturne."

Laura Kinney has posed:
"I have a codename," Laura says with a shrug. "But it's not a /mutant/ name. It's what my lab designation was."

For her it's practically a saunter. You might not expect her to be so quick given her petite build. But what she lacks in height she makes up for in her healing factor. Superhuman strength, endurance, and agility. It's very much a cheat power.

"I don't really need names. Names mean people know who I am. And that means I've failed and let someone notice me. An ideal job no-one has any notion you were ever there."

Strike fast, strike hard, and strike without anyone seeing you.

"I've never met Magneto. His daughter seems reasonable. But you can't really judge what someone like that is like without meeting them in person."