5028/Kassandra's Offer

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Kassandra's Offer
Date of Scene: 04 February 2021
Location: Faculty Lounge
Synopsis: Scott has some words for Noriko on her judgement. Noriko talks back. Scott and Kassandra discuss her powers and more before Scott extends an invitation for a temporary stay at the school.
Cast of Characters: Jubilation Lee, Scott Summers, Kassandra Pagonis, Noriko Ashida




Jubilation Lee has posed:
    THEN:

    A phone call had been placed a while ago -- the origin was Jubilation Lee's cellphone connected to a cellular tower in Mutant Town, NYC. They had found a wayward mutant who seemed like she was in need of a helping hand, perhaps some instruction, or just a warm bed for the night. And so, Jubilation and Noriko brought Kassandra Pagonis, their new acquaintance, to their room at Xavier's. New clothes. A fresh shower. But then, it became clear that a teacher was needed, so Noriko hustled off to get one.

    NOW:

    Noriko Ashida, Jubilation Lee, and the newcomer Kassandra Pagonis have been summoned to the office of Scott Summers. He'll know what to do.

Scott Summers has posed:
So, two enterprising students brought someone to the mostly secretive mutant school. It is not the first time it happens (it is more like the 20th time in two years) but it always requires some investigation. Which is that when Noriko went looking for a teacher, and ended up finding Scott at the kitchen, he... frowned.

Which to be honest is his normal state of being. "Alright, lets meet in three hours in the office. Bring Jubilee too. Oh, and write a two thousands words essay explaining what you did and why. For next Saturday." Because of course he will make homework out of this.

Three hours should also be enough for this new person to get cleaned, fed and maybe take a nap. Also for Scott to try to find Jean or Kitty. But no luck, they are busy.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     Three hours was enough - not as much as was required, but certainly enough to get Kassandra scrubbed off, in clean clothes, and on her feet. Somewhat steadily, too, as adrenaline does an amazing job of keeping things tight.

     Dressed in a borrowed Xavier school sweatsuit that was several exponential times cleaner than the clothes she had arrived in, her feet covered in borrowed colorful socks with rainbow-colored toes, no shoes, the now clean Kassandra stood quietly in an office that, as far as she could tell, was a bone-stock, run of the mill teacher's office. She almost expected to see an apple on the desk and, if it weren't for the dour-looking man sitting there with a contraption of steel and glass strapped snugly over his eyes, she could imagine she was in front of her counselor back home.

     Her hands were clasped behind her back, a bit of cloth with something wrapped in it held tightly, waiting for the inevitable questioning...

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko certainly is a fickle one on which rules she respects and which ones she doesn't.  Some of it may be contextual but really, even with all the evidence that has mounted in this area of study, all theories on whether context really matters have ended inconclusively.

The speedster looks back to Scott at his reply with suddenly gravely neutral look.  "You got it.  Well, do you mean this upcoming Saturday?  Or is this a two week deal?"  After she gets clarification, she's off to support the effort.  When she the time comes, she comes to give him a heads up and confirm.

Now Noriko stands next to Kassandra, her gauntlets held behind her back.  Eyes flit down to Kass' shoeless feet.  "Excuse me," she spits out very quickly and appears stooping to set some abominable snowman slippers down next to Kassandra.

A clearing of the throat.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    "Two thousand words!" Jubilation whines as they move through the halls. She pulls out her smartphone and stares at it. "Hey Miri, how many pages is two thousand words?" An annoyingly electronic female voice chirps from the tiny rectangle, giving a very non-authoritative answer:

    *BEEP* "OH, I DON'T KNOW. EIGHT PAGES SOUNDS RIGHT, DOESN'T IT?"

    "She's the fucking worst!" Jubilation mutters to Noriko as they walk. Her smart assistant is not that smart. "I'll write the first four, you write the second four," Jubilee whispers.

    And so, Jubilation stands on the other side of Kassandra. Instead of standing heroically like Nori, her hand is on her hip like she's waiting to be rung out at the mall. A pink bubblegum bubble pops.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Please, sit down," offers Scott. There are three chairs in front of his desk instead the usual one. When Noriko does the vanishing-back trick with the slippers, he sighs. "What did we tell you about running at super-speed inside the school?"

Losing battle trying to get students not to use mutant powers on the school halls, but he is stubborn.

"Miss Pagonis, right?" He greets the newly arrived young woman. "Welcome to Xavier's School. I am Scott Summers, one of the teachers here." He leans back, "you have been brought here by two of our students. We have a policy to offer shelter to mutants in need, but I need to know your story."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     There aren't slippers, and then there are. Stuffing her feet into reasonable facimilies of Bumble's head from the old christmas show, Kassandra takes the middle seat, her toes just reaching the floor, the bundle behind her back brought forward, held in both hands. "I..." She looks to Jubilee and then to Noriko before looking at Scott Summers directly. "Y...yes. Kassandra Pagonis. with a K. You can call me Kassie." She worries at the little bundle in her hands, slipping into wordless thought, looking at the floor.

     "I suppose you want me to start at the beginning and go from there, or just what led me here? IF you need to know that?" She jerks a thumb towards Jubilee. "Guilty party felt bad for me getting kicked out of the nimbus of heat in front of Hajji's in Mutant Town. My ability..." She lets out a breath. "My ability has a way of freaking people out, if they're not ready for it."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"I wasn't just going to bail on this, but I'm not going to sit here while she has to be in this office sitting in front of a formal desk wearing socks without shoes after where we've come from."  The words come with a remorseless look. She pauses and there's an abrupt shift to a softer, more netral expression before she sits down, moving closer to her natural speed, but keeping it just at a blur's velocity.

After that, Noriko keeps to herself, only listening as she shifts to the side of her chair.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee takes the offered seat and crosses one leg over the other. The blur on the floor -- the sudden appearance of slippers -- gets a big smile from Jubilation. Otherwise, she remains quiet. Quiet, of course, except for the chewing of gum, the intermittent bubble popping, etc.

    Her eyes start to trace a path along the different decorations and furniture in the office as she chews her gum. POP

Scott Summers has posed:
"Hold on, you were already living in Mutant Town?" Scott glances back to Noriko. "I know there are hundreds of mutants living in problematic situations in Mutant Town. There is still much to rebuild after Brainiac's attack. But," he looks at Jubilee too. "Why did you bring her here?"

He looks back at Kassandra. "What is your ability? If it is dangerous enough to scare other mutant I better find out right now." It is a school full of kids, after all. If Kass is the kind of mutant that explodes periodically or something like that, he really wants to know!

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     Kassandra lets out a breath. "My ability shows the past, from what I can tell. Locations, objects, or whatever...just not of currently living things. I can get ideas of what happened and if it's intense enough, show it to people. Or if I research it enough." So there's a range to it, apparently, that she's discovered. "I just can't control it. Like...at all. In the city, when I fell asleep, I was projecting the 70's in Mutant Town during a summer day...." she chuckles softly. "Wish I had been awake to see it."

     Sitting back in her seat, Kassandra kicks her feet. "It all started about two years ago. Sophomore year in high school. There was a party...just the kids from my school getting together to have a little fun. Rick Sobeck stole two beers from his dad's fridge in the garage, and we all thought he was so cool for having it. Old miller...yuck." She makes a face at the memory of the taste. "So they passed around this drinking helmet....thing. You know, the one you put on your head with the straw that goes to your mouth? I know, hygenic, right?" She pauses, glancing to the listeners before continuing. "Anyway, it was built out of an old world war II surplus helmet and when I touched it....it all kind of went crazy."

     "Imagine, thirty high school students suddenly found themselves in the middle of the assault on SWORD beach during D-day. They panicked and ran and, since the walls were there, and furniture, lots of them knocked themselves out. The ones that made it outside of my zone of influence called the cops and, by the time they got there, it was all over. Was reported as a hallucenogen in the beer. Rick Sobeck got in /so/ much trouble." She smiles briefly before it vanishes.

     Kassandra continues. "The cops couldn't figure it out, but everyone else? They knew. They saw. And when that happened, it basically ostracized me from every group in school. They eventually kicked me out for 'student safety' or whatever reason they came up with." Bitter? Kassandra? Not at /all./ "I before I was everyone's friend, but after? I was the strange kid, the mutant. I lost all my friends...everyone, really. Even kicked out of Church. My family...they were okay with it. I mean...as okay as they could be, really. When I slept, it'd happen. Whatever muscle I kept clenched relaxed and suddenly the meory of the Slovaczecks was moving through, getting ready for their wedding or something. So to keep them sane, I moved out to the barn. And then....yeah, then it got bad."

     "Some group from Waco heard about me and thought a good Christian town like West didn't need someone like me around. They ended up threatening my family. Called them tainted. Called me an abomination. Even burned the barn down while I was in it. I got away without a scratch but...yeah...barn gone, mom and dad freaked out, wondering if my brothers were going to have the same thing happen to them. And I left. I mean...I couldn't stay there, right? My family started packing to move and when they left, I did too, going the other way. Not smart, I know, leaving in the middle of winter to head for parts unknown, but I had my savings, birth certificate and social security card, a credit card my parents kept topped up until recently, and my guitar. I actually got by pretty well. It really started to suck when I hit Tennessee with the cold, but I made it to New York and...well...that's where these two found me."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     She holds up her little bundle. "I can kind of do it on demand. It sucks, but it'll show you what I mean. Want to see?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"You're chastising us in front of her?  For wanting to fucking help someone and giving a heads up?" Noriko says with blatant incredulity and disgust.  It comes out fast but kept at a speed where it can be understood.  "Even if you need to ascertain whether she should be here, you could be less of a dick about it and more of a human being."

"She was making people think they are crazy.  People could think they see someone crossing the street and swerve thinking they have nowhere to go, hit something else or more in a panic.  People could trample each other.  Someone could feel threatened by a mugging and have a heart attack.  When she's sleeping.  That's why we brought her here."  Noriko shakes her head.  "She doesn't know how she got here.  What is she going to tell all the mutants there's a sanctuary but not know where?  Will we be exposed?  All of Salem Center already knows we're full of mutants."

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee opens her mouth to protest Scott's point about the abundance of mutants in Mutant Tow but she waits just a moment. She glances at Kassandra and then Noriko and then turns to frown a little at Scott. Jubilee remains quiet while Noriko says her peace.

    "...Scott," she says softly. "/Homeless/ in Mutant Town. Alone." Her eyebrows rise and she leans forward as she says it -- surely he must know the personal significance? All three of these girls have had this kind of life.

    "She said she can't control it..." Jubilee adds softly, expecting that this might just be enough to smooth things over. A hand is brought around, behind Kassandra's chair, to gently touch Noriko's shoulder.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott shakes his head. "Not in my office, please," plus it would be pretty bad if Kass latches in the rather intense memories of the school. Like Juggernaut rampaging through the walls or that one time a demon just showed up and attempted to eat them all.

"There are people in Mutant Town that can help..." start Scott. But Jubilee's words shut him up. It hits home. He was also seventeen and homeless in New York once. Although there was not even a Mutant Town then. If Xavier had not found him he would have ended up lynched by a mob, or perhaps with the Morlocks.

"Almost no one in Salem Center knows," he adds for Noriko. No, really. Because telepaths. They still manage to keep the nature of the school a secret from most government agencies. At least for now.

"We can help you control your powers," states Scott, looking at Kassandra. "If you want to stay here for a few weeks."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     It's not like she really has anywhere else to go, really. Kassandra can only nod, tucking her bit of cloth back into her pocket, sitting up straight again. "Sure. I mean, as long as you'll let me. Just getting a handle on things would be a big help." She tries to sound positive, but the truth is she really has no-where else to go. She tries to put a brave face on. REally, she does. "Thank you."

Noriko Ashida has posed:
"May I borrow a pen and some paper, and then we be excused please?" Noriko asks with sudden, trained composure when Jubilee touches her shoulder in reply to his instruction to cease and desist.  Though her tone is not a bright and cheery one, it is respectful.  Bright and cheery?  That might actually come across as threatening.  Some weird little ripple of sounds come out of Noriko under her breath.  What may have been a gentle shifting of her position is more punctuated, though that she is moving at higher speeds is probably reserved for those paying attention.

Noriko does look over to Kassandra with an apologetic look.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilation gives Noriko's shoulder a gentle squeeze and recalls her hand. She smiles suddenly as Scott declares that the mutant can stay for a few weeks. "Yes!" she exclaims before raising her eyebrows in mock embarrassment. Oops? Yeah right! But, yes, bright and cheery.

    Noriko's suggestion that they be excused gets an enthusiastic series of nods from Jubilee. After all, eight pages can easily become nine or ten.

Scott Summers has posed:
Well, it was not as if they would have kicked Kassandra out in any case. But it is also a painful fact Xavier's school cannot longer help all the mutants. Not even all the young mutants in the New York state. There are hundreds.

"Jubilee," Scott looks at the shorter Asian girl. "Please, find Ms. Pagonis a guest room in the girl's wing. I am going to need an evaluation from Doctor McCoy. And I will talk to Jean about the arrangement and do the due security updates."

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     It's all moving so fast. Kassandra looks to the two on either side of her, then to Mr. Summers. "Thank you, sir. I'll...I'll do my best to stay out of the way." Not like staying here would be somethign she could do. Yay cheerful devil on your shoulder whispering!

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko doesn't get any pen and paper, so she'll root some up later.  Whether she actually hands gives it to Scott later?  Time will tell.  For now, she just sits there, waiting for Scott to finish and dismiss them like someone who has jumped the gun before and paid for it.

Jubilation Lee has posed:
    Jubilee rolls her head to give Kassandra a grin, leaning back in her chair to get the right angle. "We'll find you a good one!" she declares with a nod. A room, that is. Xavier's has a whole area for guests to stay.

    Jubilee looks back at Scott, all smiles. Her eyebrows hike up again, another bubble is blown. This is all going to work out, isn't it! POP

Scott Summers has posed:
Right. Xavier has a lot of 'guests' staying at one time. Kass will soon learn the place is weirder than even the very concept of 'mutant school' would hint it to be. "Well, now. If none of you have any question, go get some rest." No pen and paper on sight. Students are supposed to write stuff in their tablets. Who uses pen and paper anymore? Oh right... people that shorts out computers by touching them. So, the Japanese girl gets an apologetic look from Scott. A brief one.

Kassandra Pagonis has posed:
     Without any scheduled classes, Kassandra is kind of left to her own devices which might be both good and bad, depending on which way things happen. "Do....do you want me to go with them or do you have anything else for me?"

Noriko Ashida has posed:
Noriko nods and leans toward Kassandra.  "Yeah.  Jubes is supposed to find you a room remember?" she says softly before rising up.  Then she bows to Scott before leaving to wait outside for the others.  Outside of the office she can be heard, "No speeding in the school?  I don't want to go around with a freaking headache all the time.  I keep squinting when I'm concentrating and it's giving me resting bitch face!"  No she just kinda has that.  Her voice trails off as they walk back toward the dorms.