1901/I'm Sailing Away

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I'm Sailing Away
Date of Scene: 30 May 2020
Location: Atlantic Ocean
Synopsis: The sailing trip continues. Max shows how his power works, and he learns more about Kitty's tie to Genosha.
Cast of Characters: Kitty Pryde, Maxwell Wave




Kitty Pryde has posed:
After a lengthy sail, the small sailboat belonging to Kitty's friend that she and Max have taken out for the day, pulls into a shallow enough area that they can drop the sail and put down the anchor.

Kitty moves around the deck, making sure the sails are down and secured. "Looks like we're good to go. Fancy a swim?" she asks, as she heads back to the boat's stern. "And after, I've got some sandwiches and fruit and all for a late lunch," she tells him.

Lockheed zooms back over the water, a fish held in his mouth. He lands up on the bow to begin eating it there away from the humans. Kitty calls over, "Ah, you caught something, huh?" The purple dragon lifts his head to gaze back at her as if in silent answer before returning to his eating.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Maxwell does his best to be helpful with his extremely limited nautical knowledge. This manifests as a polite nudge to the wind where it's helpful, more towards diverting it while the pair work with the sails and secure them. He offers Kitty a smile and nod, "Sounds great! Be a crime to be surrounded by all this water and not jump in."

"Lunch sounds good too. It's hard to think of something more satisfying than to eat after a long swim. Thanks again for the invitation, this is a pretty sweet break from the hustle." He beams at her and then observes Lockheed for a moment, imagining Lockheed as mini-Smaug terrorising both denizens of air and sea. He then steps over to the side of the boat and peaks over, following the chain of the anchor. "You do this often? or is this as much of a treat for you as it is for me?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty slips her t-shirt off, revealing a matching bikini top to the bottoms that she is wearing. "Oh, this is definitely a treat," Kitty tells him. "I have sailed a fair amount just on a little lake, but it's nice to get out on the open water like this," she says.

She makes one last check around the boat, and then tosses down a little a little rope ladder with wood rungs at the back to make it easier to get back up into the boat. "Alright, we're good," she says with a warm grin. "Lockheed, you have the deck," she calls to the little dragon before moving over and doing a graceful looking dive off the side and into the aqua-blue water. She comes back to the surface a few moments later, tipping her head back to get her wet hair to lay flat. "Oh, the water's pretty nice. Was afraid it might be a bit cool, but perfect with the warm day."

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Maxwell observes Kitty's perfectly executed dive and then steps up to the railing. He watches to make sure Kitty surfaces, confirms that no sea monsters have consumed his new friend, and then follows suit. Just a dab of force amplification gives him a little extra air as he performs a forward backflip then splashes into the water with a 'whoop'. The water above him glows with illumination from his eyes as if some bio-illuminated creature was emerging from the depths. He surfaces and treads water with a broad grin. "Oh this is nice. I was getting a little toasty on deck."

He transitions into a backstroke and gazes upwards at the blue sky for a moment, letting the cares of his day job and politics ebb away as he savours a moment of paradise.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
The young woman slowly swims over, doing a breaststroke to keep her head above water as she draws near. "I really can't tell you how neat your eyes are. When you were coming up out of the water? It looked so sweet!" she says with a warm laugh.

Once she's alongside of Max, she turns over to float on her back as well. "The salt water makes the water more dense, which makes it easier to float than in the lake, or a pool," she comments. "See, wasn't kidding about the loving science stuff," she says, turning her head to look over to him and flash another little grin over.

"So do you get many comments about the goggles? Did you go to them right away or try it where people could see them, at first?" she asks. She makes little motions with her hands and feet, keeping herself alongside Max. The waves are gentle enough to not really disturb them much as they float, maybe just needing to lift a head now or then for a larger one.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
His smile becomes warm, and if wasn't the coolness of the water, his skin might have betrayed a blush. "Ah, thanks."

He grins at her comment regarding science. "I could tell from minute one you had an appreciation for science... Also hard to imagine someone like Doctor McCoy keeping the company of a luddite." He splashes her playfully.

He hums at the question and thinks back. "At first, I tried to act like nothing was different... but I was in middle school. It was... very distracting for the class. The teacher spoke with my parents, and I started wearing goggles. I kept the habit as anti-mutant behaviours became more rampant. They don't really fool anyone though. They just help me keep a lower profile, if I need to, sometimes I can play off wearing them as a medical condition. Most people when they see my eyes are... apathetic. They try to ignore them. Then there are the haters. It's rare someone actually comments positively about them... So thanks again for that, it feels good."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty floats beside Max, listening to him and giving little nods at appropriate moments. She flashes a grin about people around Hank likely loving science. "Well, not all of his friends do. But Hank... is about the most well-read person you could hope to come across, I think. His interests are myriad. I just wish I could download his brain into mine some day," Kitty says with a soft laugh.

She gives a small nod, expression sympathetic as she listens to what it was like for Max when his mutation happened. "It's not easy, when a mutation is visible. I haven't had to deal with that myself, but seen it enough amongst others. That is one good thing about Bushwick at least. You can be more open there. I mean there's still the bigots but they don't tend to settle there at least," she says with a sigh.

She hesitates and then comments, "I've gotten in a few fights down there, protecting people. Don't tell Hank. He'd be duty bound to chide me," she says.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
He nods as he learns a little more about Hank. His brow furrows a little bit, "You know. I had my suspicions, but I don't think you ever came out directly about having a mutation. Though, it's obvious to me. You are too empathetic. Mind if I ask what it is? My curiosity is going to burn through my brain if I don't find out."

He swims in a circle around the boat, "A few fights, huh? Whatever your mutation is, you must be handy with it, or you are hiding some serious martial arts skills. Maybe both. There's nothing gentle about Bushwick. I've had my share of fights as well. I even.. patrol a little bit in my downtime. I wear a motorcycle helmet to conceal my identity. Just can't stand by and do nothing. You know?"

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty follows along as Maxwell begins swimming around to the other side of the boat. "Yep, mutant. Since I was thirteen," she confirms to Max. "Well, didn't know who you were at first. Um, well, beyond looking you up online. And in this environment, someone reaches out to someone like Hank, just need to be careful, you know?" she tells him.

Kitty glances around the open expanse of water. "Ok, admittedly, out on the ocean is about the least cool place for me to show my mutation," she tells him. She gives a little movement of her head towards the boat, and then swims over to it.

Kitty turns back to face Max and then knocks on the side of the boat a couple of times, resulting in the normal, hollow sound one might expect from the hull. Then she holds up her hand as if to keep his focus, and does it again except this time her hand passes right through the hull.

"I can go out of phase with the rest of the world," she tells him. "Which, has its advantages at times." She then turns and swims towards the boat, and then passes right through the hull. She's gone for about 20 seconds before emerging from the stairs back up to the deck. Kitty carries over a pair of bottles of iced tea, passing one down to Max, before she jumps in the water again. Once she surfaces, she opens her own and takes a sip.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"That makes sense. I'm not really surprised that you googled me. Heck, I was expecting a background check, which is why I was being as forthright as possible. I was really shocked that Hank agreed to meet me in person to be honest especially with everything that is happening." He follows with his gaze, which is glowing green, casting the hue over the water in front of him. His eyebrow raises then his mouth gapes as she pushes her hand through the side of the hull. The gape continues with her disappearing into the boat proper until she returns with the ice tea. He catches the bottle and uncaps it, taking a sip.

"Well, that's very handy. No wonder you hold your own in Bushwick, I can't imagine how someone could even lay a finger on you. That is very cool. Did it come easy for you, or did it require a lot of practice?" He sips a little more from his bottle, slicking his hair back over his scalp.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty takes a sip of her iced tea, treading water with her feet mostly and keeping her hand above water to not get seawater into the bottle. "Sometimes they manage, but not usually if I see it coming," she tells him. "Did take a brick to the noggin a little while back," she says with a small frown.

"Well, I had no idea about it until it started happening. Had some ferocious headaches at first. And then I'd wake up on the living room floor when I went to sleep upstairs in my room. You know, figured it was sleep walking," she says. "But, once I realized... I was able to figure it out pretty well. Have to be careful about not materializing into solid objects. That's not good for the body," she says with a grimace. "But I can do some pretty cool stuff with it," she admits.

"How comfortable are you with using your power? I mean can you use it around people safely, have detailed control over it?" she asks.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
He lets out a whistle, "Yikes. That's a scary way to discover your powers. That must have been just a little terrifying as a kid."

He frowns as the 'brick to the noggin', eyes narrowing into green glowing slits. "Geez, who throws a brick at someone like you? What kind of monster?" He murmurs something along the lines of throwing them like a brick if he ever witnessed it.

He drains his tea bottle then swims over to the ladder. He climbs it enough to set the bottle on the deck then falls back into the water. Treading, he reengages to the conversation to answer her question. "I'm comfortable with quite a few applications. It's a very precise thing. Multi-tasking is the hardest part. I tend to play it safe, especially when others are involved. If I can't guarantee safety by controlling two or one forces. I won't try it. Lately, I've been practicing trying to look like my mutation is really strength. Big leaps instead of floating. I figure people associate super strength with toughness and that might intimidate them into behaving. I'm kinda like you.. if I'm not paying attention, a brick is pretty dangerous, a bullet lethal."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty gives a little shrug of her shoulders as she treads water. "Some guys who were out looking to cause mutants trouble. It was in the wake of Genosha," she says to him. "I was... ah... well, I heard there was a group in the area beating up mutants. So I kind of put myself out there as bait," she admits. "Again, don't tell Hank."

Kitty finishes off her iced tea and also swims it over to put it up on the boat. "Well, I thought I spotted the group and was trying to bait them into an alley to come after me. Lockheed was watching and going to warn me when they were coming. Only... they weren't the group. They were already in the alley and... wham, first I knew they were there, was the brick," she says.

Kitty hops back into the water, swimming over to Max. "So, can you just lift me into the air? Or do you need me to go swim down and then upwards quickly?" she asks.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Max offers a slight growl as he hears the story. "Yea, I won't tell him, and I'll try not to scold you myself. Using yourself as a bait.. Pretty stupid. Sounds like something I would do." He winks at her, causing a moment where only one glowing orb is visible.

He looks her up and down in the water and sucks on the inside of cheek for a moment. "Depends on the effect you want, right now there are two very distinct forces working on you: buoyancy and gravity. Your buoyancy is direct proportional to the gravitation pull on your body which is causing you to displace water if I..." He focuses for a moment and reduces the pull of gravity on Kitty, his eyes flaring a brighter green for a moment. Without the counter force, the force of buoyancy pops Kitty into the air, and when she lands back on the water, it feels almost like sitting on a water bed, her body unable to displace very much liquid in the altered state.

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty seems comfortable enough with what happens, as she feels herself becoming lighter and the first little flutter kick of her feet sends her upwards easily enough. She keeps a smile on her face as her body settles back down and she ends up sitting on top of the water.

The girl flashes a beautiful smile at Max. "This is sort of a little like what I do. I mean, the physics of it. Except, you counter gravity. While I'd take all of my body out of phase except a few molecules that are light enough to sit on top of the water," she says. "Can walk on air like that too," she explains.

She gives a little giggle. "You're a perfect companion to have then for swimming and diving. And probably other things too. Falling?" she grins over at him. "What interesting ways have you found for using it?"

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Max nods in interest as she describes some of her personal physics tricks. He applies the same effect to himself and sits on the water with her. He hums regarding her companion comment, "I've spent a lot of time working with gravity, since it's one of the most constant forces in our lives. As for interesting tricks, well, I have a really mean fastball. Really mean. Give enough time to focus, it's like firing a cannon."

He rocks back and forth on the waves, his hands on his knees. "I'm still working out flight. I can do straight lines easily enough, but being agile in the air is another story. Lot of variables to track. Really good for travel, not so much for trying to fly circles around a Wild Sentinel. If I'm close enough to something, increasing gravitational force is pretty damn effect. Guns suddenly weigh more and really big things collapse under their own weight. If I had to fight something crazy like a Sentinel, it'd probably use that and the aforementioned fastball."

His mind is clearly on fighting given the recent unrest. "Friction is something else I've toyed around with. It's fun, but often impractical. Stabilising forces are usually my friends. I will completely deny ever having made a bully named Brandon slip and bust his ass in the 8th grade. Totally never happened. Ever."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty breaks out in soft laughter, though there might have been a bit of emotion in her eyes at the talk of Sentinels. "So... those Sentinels... some of them have nullifier rays, and nullifier fields that turn off your power if you even get close," Kitty says. "I imagine if one had it, your power wouldn't work on him directly. But doesn't mean you can't shoot a Volvo at him and accelerate it before it gets close," she says.

One's mind might venture towards how Kitty would know that much about fighting Sentinels, though her comments move on to other things. "By the way, my phasing really wreaks havocs with electronics. Not like, wires, but digital storage and circuits. I've ruined many a cell phone accidentally," she admits. "But for some reason if I phase the phone and it passes through normal matter, nothing happens." She shrugs. "I still don't fully get that."

Kitty turns on her side laying on the water and giving a soft giggle at being able to do so without phasing. "Did... ah... did you know anyone on Genosha? Or... I don't know if you really have run in mutant circles that much until recently?" she asks.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
Maxwell seems fairly interested in the intel on Sentinels. His brow furrows, nodding as he considers what his tactics might be, with a hint of suspicion about her knowledge on the subject, then again, she's intelligent and Sentinels were a threat for all mutant kind. "Noted, guess I'll stick to range then if it ever comes to it."

He tilts his regarding her effect on electronics and shrugs. "I may have mentioned it before, but electrons are really weird. Maybe you are affecting their quantum randomness, or maybe they just don't like it. I met someone who says they can talk."

He gives her a meaningful scan as she lays on her side upon the water. "Well that's a pretty picture. Wish I could snap shot that." He shakes his head regarding Genosha. "I only started running in mutant circles meaningfully in the last year. Before that, I was heads down in my studies at Stanford. Now... I wonder if I should be getting more involved. I mean... I do what I can in Bushwick. However, with individuals like Doctor McCoy as a examples, I wonder if I could do something greater and wider impacting."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
Kitty folds an arm on the water's surface and rests her head on it. At the comment about how she appears, she gets a soft and pleased smile. "Flattery gets you everywhere, Max," she tells him warmly.

"I'm glad most of those things are gone now," she says of the Sentinels. "Though now there's always going to be the fear of those giant Wild ones popping up. So far I only know of the three that hit Genosha," she says with a sigh. "And two of those destroyed. But the other? And where they were made?"

She gives a little shake of her head. Kitty pauses for a few moments, eyes just staring off past Max across the water. "My father was on Genosha," she says quietly. "He wasn't a mutant. He was just living there. Moved there because of... ah, it's a long story. I can tell you sometime. He was in witness protection, and decided to move there. With his daughter's people," she says. There's a little tremble to her lip at those last few words, as if he wouldn't have been there but for her.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
He grins a little bit, but it fades as he considers more regarding the sentinels. The grin becomes a frown at the mystery of it all. "I hope someone is finding those answers. I wouldn't no where to begin or have the resources to find out myself."

His eyes widen, green transitioning to cyan. He swims, though it looks more like a crawl, to her side. He rests a hand on the side of her head and looks into her eyes. "Oh, Kitty. I am so sorry... Don't, uh, play the blame game though. I've yet to meet a true prophet. We don't know the future. Genosha. Car wrecks. Illness. We are all playing the odds."

He shakes his head, "Have you ever heard of the blade-of-grass paradox?" He raises a finger into the air and then touches the ocean. "I just touched a few million molecules of water in an ocean of trillions of trillions. The chance that I touched that specific portion of water is astronomical, but I did. If someone hits a golf ball, it's going to land on a blade of grass. It is not the blade's fault nor is it the blades who weren't landed upon." He takes a deep breath. "My point is.. We are all doing our best, but no one is truly in control. All we can do is treat people well, spread love, and hope for the best. Terrible things will happen. People die. The only people at fault are those who intentionally cause bad things to happen to good people. You are not responsible for Genosha. That means you were not responsible for what happened to your father... but I'm sure it hurts all the same."

Kitty Pryde has posed:
When Max reaches over to cup her cheek, the girl gently rests her head against the touch. Kitty's eyes close, letting that gentle caress of his hand center her as she listens. Without opening her eyes yet, she says softly, "I know. The logic part of my head knows it. But the heart, it doesn't listen to any of that," she says softly.

Her eyelids flutter open and she looks over into Max's glowing eyes, but doesn't move her cheek from his touch. "It was... I didn't handle it well at first," she says quietly. "I didn't want to bring down those around me, so I kind of... hid it away. I hid away, even. Except... for my trips to Bushwick. It wasn't just chance, the run in with those who were attacking mutants. I was seeking them out. Courting the encounters like it could... maybe it better somehow," she whispers.

Maxwell Wave has posed:
"Logic rarely trumps emotion, does it? Not like we are Vulcans or something." He sighs and holds her head. "Well, Kitty... if you ever feel like you need to do something like that again, call me in. I'll be your wingman. At the very least, I can keep a brick off your pretty head."

He grows serious, "And since we are friends now, that's not optional, got it? If you want to go vigilante around Bushwick, its you, me, and Lockheed. I'm sure Lockheed would appreciate the help keeping you safe."

He casts a little salute in the dragon's direction. "And if the goal is to honor your father's memory, I bet he could think of at least a few hundred things for you to do that didn't involve a brick to the head. If he was anything like my father, I'm sure he'd deliver that scolding with a very bad dad joke."

His stomach growls audibly. Taking the initiative, he scoops Kitty into his arms and hops/leaps them onto the boat deck before allowing gravity to have its usual sway over them. "Time for that lunch you promised me."