6244/Wonder Phoenix

Wonder Phoenix
Date of Scene:	16 May 2021
Location:	Headmistress' Office
Synopsis:	Diana goes to Xavier's School to meet with Jean and about some mutant children she needs help finding guardianship for. It's the first time that Wonder Woman has been to Xavier's too, so she is curious to get the full experience.
Cast of Characters:	Diana Prince, Jean Grey

---

Diana Prince has posed:
Last fall Diana Prince had come across a couple of young mutant sisters who'd lost their parents in a plane crash. Both of the girls were sharing the same abilities, and they required each other to be near by in order for their mutations to even manifest themselves. They could fly and project 'holo grams' around themselves of whatever they wanted to, but if the other 'twin' was too far away the abilities and visual fanciful displays would disappear.

Orphans, Diana had found a good home for them, but that home and its owner had run in to bad financial trouble and couldn't keep their large home any longer. Thus the 'twins' needed to find a new place to call home...

Thusly, Diana has come to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. She'd called to schedule an appointment for this weekend, but didn't know it was the graduation weekend for the Senior class. She'd initially said she would come back another time, not wanting to be a bother, but the conversation had turned to her not needing a /whole lot/ of time to get the business she had done, so the arrangements were made, with JEAN GREY.

Diana's silver sports car pulls up to the mansion in the morning and parks itself in a designated labled place where other visitor vehicles are parked. Shue steps out of her car wearing a white blazer and a white skirt. Her dark hair is tied back behind her head and she has a pair of thick wire framed glasses on. (If it works for Clark, it can work for her too?)

The Princess knew of what the school offered to mutants, but she had never been here before. She ends up walking to the front door and being shown in by some of the students who were going in ahead of her. They didn't recognize her, go glasses!

The Princess now stands in the main foyer, marveling at the beautiful building...

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean Grey is not precisely a 'nobody' in the heroing realm. Xavier's star pupil possesses one of the most powerful minds on the planet. She leads the X-Men, and with them has saved humanity, in the process journeying amidst the infinite dark of space. She has felt power unimaginable, the heat of a star, the essence of all life-

-and yet, she STILL can't help but feel a little fangirlish, as she goes to meet the one and only Wonder Woman! It's... it's just in the name, you know?

Despite any internal squealing, Jean puts on a professional face, a friendly smile as she strides forward to meet Diana in the mansion foyer. She is still dressed for graduation, albeit not actually still in her own cap and gown, but in a smart navy blue dress suit, the knee-length skirt and jacket appropriate to the after-ceremony festivities and parently hobnobbing that is such a large part of her job description. The whole manor is still rather buzzing with activity, from excited students to visiting parents and other family members, so people are running every which way, some students greeting her, others far too engrossed to even notice the MOMENTOUS meeting.

"Miss Prince?" she wonders, rhetorically, as glasses or no... Diana stands out! She offers a hand as she approaches. "I'm Jean Grey. It's so good to actually finally get to do this... well, properly, in person." Perhaps they've shared a room at certain VERY IMPORTANT superhero meetings in the past, but nothing quite like this.

"Would you like to come to my office, and we can talk? As you can see we're still kind of in chaos mode around here. You know, I should tell Charles you're here, I'm sure he'd feel terrible if he didn't get to say hello. I think he's still meeting with a couple of people from the alumni association, though, so we'll have time to get this settled."

With the efficiency of someone used to managing precisely the chaos she's referred to, she's quickly maneuvering them through the mansion, to the staff hall, and ultimately to her office. "Can I get you anything to drink?"

Diana Prince has posed:
Some of the 'looks' that Diana got from the people moving through the foyer gave the sense that they were pretty sure, but not entirely sure, who she was... but with there being so much comotion in the school this evening its actually benefitting Diana's desire not to make a show of her presence here today.

She wasn't looking for fanfare, she wasn't looking to make a hectic day any more hectic on the staff of the school.

Her back is to Jean when the redhead headmistress emerges from the hall to greet her, but she's turning to face her before she can reach her. The Princess instantly summons a smile upon her red lips and reaches her right hand out to shake the other woman's own. "Goodness, it is very lively here today." She says, her foreign accented voice elated in a way from feeling the energy in the air. "I really do apologize for seeing you on such a busy day, I am just very eager to help the two young women that I spoke about on the phone. They deserve a bit of peace of mind..."

Of course, Diana trails off there and refreshes her smile. "I would love to see Professor Xavier. It has been some time... but yes, if he is busy I will not push it..." Her eyes wander a bit again before they start to walk, side by side, Diana's heels making her go over six feet in height. "This is such a beautiful home..." She says before looking to Jean again.

"To have it as a school no less, the students must love it here." She gives a lighter smile to the other woman who leads onward. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you too, I have heard many great things. You are so young... it speaks a lot about your quality, I would say."

Jean Grey has posed:
"Oh no, don't think anything of it!" Jean readily deflects, unwilling to have Wonder Woman there APOLOGIZING to her. "We're used to chaos around here. Really, this is sort of a light day!" She laughs. "And it means you get to see the place all prettied up for guests, not like the usual awful, dreary and dusty mess it is."

The idea that the mansion could ever really look less than amazing is a bit of a joke.

"You're right, that we're very fortunate to have it, to be able to live here, teach here, just be together in such a wonderful place. Just one of the many things Charles has given us, really." And speaking of the namesake of the school, she offers a further quick update on the results of what would quickly become apparent is a mental conversation she's been holding with her mentor in parallel to the verbal one with Diana. Multitasking! This is how she manages to run this place and not go crazy. "He wouldn't miss the chance for the world. His words -- well thoughts, haha -- I told him you'll meet in the garden after we're done, if that's alright?"

--

Once they've made it to the office, and pending any more specific request, she puts some water on in the little electric kettle that sits on one of those side tables by the fireplace, while simultaneously pouring out a couple glasses of turns out to be homemade lemonade, a pitcher sitting there as well. With the former in hand, she gestures Diana toward the comfortable seat facing her desk, choosing the more businesslike of options as sorting out the potential students that the woman was here to speak to her about might require access to her computer, files, and other workplace-type accessories found therein.

"So, I looked at the basic information you sent over. Their abilities shouldn't be anything we can't handle," she begins, indeed tapping a key to bring up whatever she has on them. "They don't have any living relatives? It's an irony, but its the mundane part of a would-be student's life that usually gives us the most trouble." Obviously, as they now have the privacy to speak openly, she can be a bit more open about the typical troubles of a mutant school. "We have experience with all kinds of powers, and the troubles they can be for a young person to come to grips with. But when their parents get involved, or even if it's just the foster care system, that's where the trouble usually is, as we have to make a case for essentially taking over their care. Of course, we have resources."

Diana Prince has posed:
The quip about the school's general condition has the Princess showing a playful grin toward the Headmistress that she is walking alongside of. She doesn't comment on it, as she is pretty sure that that isn't possible,and that this place is always emaculate!

When Jean speaks of Charles' insistence to meet with her she just grins lightly and nods her head about meeting him in the gardens. "That would be very lovely." She softly says to it before they make it to the office.

Once inside, Diana finds herself looking around the interior of the room. "Waht a beautiful office." She has to say too, due to there being so many windows that look out on the yard, a large fireplace and so many other eye catching elements. "I am goign to become redundant quickly." She notes as she finds herself a seat.

"Tea or lemonade would be wonderful, yes." Diana says, using 'wonderful' might be a catchphrase for her? At the talk of the twins, the Princess inhales and releases it lightly as she sits back in the chair and crosses her legs at her knees. "Yes. It has been disheartening to see the bad luck that they have had in their natural parents and now the care giver that they were enjoying, but who can no longer have them within their new, smaller home."

She looks to Jean once more. "It has been tempting to take them in to my own home, but if I were to start doing that, well.. I might have to open a school." She shows a sly grin. "If there are any ways I can help make possibly bringing them here easier too, I would be happy to do them. They are absolutely delightful girls, well behaved and utterly adorable. So they should not be a burden, at all."

Jean Grey has posed:
"I know. Honestly, sometimes it feels like a little too much," Jean comments about the office, looking around in a way that seems not wholly disimilar from Diana, as if she was still just as impressed by the place as her guest. "People my age don't usually have rooms like this unless they're dot-com millionaires." And even then, one assumes it would be less classy. "If I was working anywhere else, I'd be jammed in a tiny room drowning in papers, or sharing the space with half a dozen coworkers." Ultimately, it goes to just how much she owes to Charles, since he's been large in the conversation. And then, suddenly, she laughs. "But listen to me go on? I guess for you it's pretty normal. Literal Princess and all of that. You probably remember when this sort of furnishing was newly in-vogue."

Maybe not exactly, but Jean isn't quite an expert on the secret history of WOnder Woman. And then she has to wonder. "Redundant?" How could she ever...

Turning to the case again, she echoes Diana's sympathy for the twins. "Unfortunately, we get a lot of stories like theirs. I could make some comment about fate balancing out their gifts with hardship, but the reality is a little more mundane and often more unfortunate. Some are just unlucky. But the fact is, just having abilities can tend to cause trouble, whether it's them going uncontrolled and causing harm or the way people react to them. These two, well, it's fortunate they had someone who wanted to care for them at all, for as long as they did."

She continues to check things on her computer here and there, yet on the whole, seems optimistic. "You have a whole island, don't you?" she wonders, grinning. "Seems like you'd have room to build one, if you wanted. It might be popular with the attention you've been getting." But this is also a joke! She's not trying to resist taking them. "I don't foresee any problems. We'll have to file a petition for foster guardianship, but it's something we have plenty of experience with and its likely we shouldn't have any problem."

Diana Prince has posed:
The talk of the island and the idea of starting a school there has the Princess cracking a wide smile before she laughs softly and shortly at it. "Yes, perhaps so. Though I am not sure that taking people's children to our 'secret island' will go so very well. For awhile, after becoming a public figure, I had to fight to even convince people that Themyscira was real and that I wasn't just... making it all up." She holds a softer smile then before adding. "Now I have to contend with grief toward how reclusive the island-- and our Queen --keep it. But, it is not so big a deal any more..."

Anotehr look is given around the office and diana grins at the talk of her age and the decor of the place. She doesn't comment on that though as she puts her eyes back upon Jean when the talk moves back to the twins.

"They are very talented young girls too." The Princess says. "They performed an aerial dance at the Justice League Halloween party, just this past Fall." She shows another quick smile. "I really believe that if they find a stability, like what you offer here, they will thrive. Having the interaction with others of their age, and of their... mm, similar situation, I do hope will really help them too."

Diana had brought a leather bound folder with her and she lifts it up and offers it over to Jean. "Here are some related papers on the both of them, that should help give a bit more insight in to all they have gone through, which I assume you will want to look over to... well, yes." She shows a light smile yet again. "To be fair, this is a bit new territory for me, I do not often serve as a go between for this type of thing. I generally have people who offer to help me with it, but this one? I don't know, I felt inclined to do it myself."

Jean Grey has posed:
"Hmm. I suppose I can see how that might draw a few raised eyebrows," Jean admits. "Mutants living on their own has certainly drawn it's own share of antagonism and controversy in the past." It's not the school she's talking about, of course, but places like their neighborhood in the city, or, presumably, the more tragic case of Genosha. "Still, I hope you'll shoot me an email if you ever start allowing visitors to your secluded paradise. Sounds like a great place for a vacation."

Reaching to take her glass of that nice fresh squeezed lemonade, she raises it for a sip while turning a bit at her desk to look out on the garden view. Since they don't face the back, all the leftover set up from the graduation isn't visible, but there's still people all over the grounds, and she spots a group walking together, a student, their parents and a younger sibling. "We get plenty of difficult cases, so by comparison? I think they'll do very well here, based on everything you're saying. Especially the fact that they've already embraced their abilities a little, use them for something like that, for self expression, art, fun? It speaks really well to their development. Plenty have a lot more trouble accepting their abilities as part of their identity."

Outside, the older sibling turns toward the younger while their parents are distracted, and makes a face, his skin changing color and pattern to create a 'scary' look, although it only causes his little brother to laugh uproariously. "Absolutely. Having people their own age they can share with freely helps with all of that. Makes you feel a little less alone." And on that topic, she can speak from experience, recalling meeting the other members of that first student class, and feeling suddenly like she wasn't something strange.

Breaking from that reverie, and from the wholesome sight out the window, Jean turns back to take the folder... although she 'cheats' and pulls it the small span of distance through the air, rather than straining to lean and reach over her big old desk. That piece of furniture is nearly as ancient as the house, from that era when the choice in furniture was about projecting grandeur and dominance over servants and business partners alike. So, unlike the mighty Amazon, the redhead is a little more dwarfed by it. In any case, she idly leafs through a few of the documents inside after getting her hands on it, then sets it on the flat of the tabletop. "You really didn't need to come all this way, although I'm glad we could get a chance to talk. But if you end up coming across more people like this, you can always feel free to drop us a note, and we'll set something up that's more convenient for your schedule."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is enjoying her own cup of lemonade while she listens to the Headmistress. She shows a quick smile before she too looks outside and witnesses the kids playing behind their parents' backs. It makes her smile again before she looks down and then back over toward Jean.

"We recently took a large number of young women to the island to give them a chance at a vacation there." She explains. "They were ... friends, and associates who helped in the ordeal related to the coma that I spent a month enduring. It seemed like a good chance to reward them for their valiant efforts, and start to open up the borders of Themyscira's shores a bit." She then summons a little grin for Jean. "Perhaps you will get a chance to do so too. I could see you being quite fond of it, just based on what litle time we've had together here so far."

She also noted Jean's little 'helpful tug' on the folder to draw it in to her hand, it wasn't obscure enough to go past Diana's notice and it made the Princess realize there's quite a lot more to Jean than you might initially think.

"To be honest--" Diana starts once more. "This school intrigues me,and I have wanted to come look at it for some time. I think the.. foundational idea of what this place stands for is very important and I am ... mingling with the idea of something similar perhaps being in vested in, but in the city itself. I am sure you are familiar with the Bushwick area being heavily populated by mutants, and I have recently heard of endeavors to try to make the neighborhood more friendly to the very same people. A larger... version... of this school, in that area, could be really beneficial to the people there. Of course, the complications of that would be tremendous, I am sure. It would need the right people overseeing it all. I am just... concerned for mutants, and the plights they still face in this world."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean does appear a little intrigued by the idea of this larger visit. There's just no denying the mystique (no pun intended) of a secret island of magical women warriors. "That must have been really exciting for them. The best I've been able to do for the students is a ski trip," she offers in thoughtful comparison, before laughing a bit at the large gap in... well, any kind of comparison between the two. "I do hope it's something you can succeed with, finding your way back into the world without giving up too much of what's made your home special. I can't even really imagine, what that must be like. I grew up just about an hour's drive upstate from here, myself, so I'm hardly what you'd call exotic."

At this Jean leans back a little into the large chair behind the desk, gaze lifted off in thought. "Though I guess I've traveled some interesting places." Space! Dinosaur land! Hershey Water Park!

As talk drifts back to the school, and to the larger meaning and philosophy behind it, it's not surprising this draws enthusiasm and agreement from the Headmistress, who's whole life has been defined by working to follow in Xavier's footsteps. "I couldn't agree more, although I suppose you could say I'm a little bit biased. But it wouldn't be a stretch to say that I don't know where I, or where so many others would be right now, if we didn't have this place. What could have become of us, without the guidance, not just in controlling what we have but in learning to think about the meaning behind our actions." Then she pauses to consider where Diana seems to be taking the idea. "You mean something more like a... mutant public high school? It would be helpful, though I imagine you'd run into a lot more obstacles, bureaucratically, politically. Xavier had the advantage of doing this on his family land, without a great deal of the oversight you'd have with a more typical institution... and in a place that is honestly a lot less in the spotlight. Anything inside the city, and there's just so many people who can push back from every possible direction."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is sipping from her cup when she hears Jean talk of being a 'local' to this area. She lowers the cup down to the front of her waist and she shows a little smile to the Headmistress. "Ah, yes, but this means that you are on your home turf, which means you are comfortable here. I have come to see that comfort in your surroundings can help focus your mind on the tasks at-hand. So it could be a bit of an advantage that you are from here, it means youare more prepared for what lies around every turn." She lets that thought lay there before she draws in a deep breath at the other matter, the subject ot that hint of an idea she was plucking at.

"Yes." Diana softly says about it all. Her eyes drift away as thoughts cross her mind, whether Jean READS THEM OR NOT is anyone's guess, but they are about inner doubt that she is the 'right person' for such a task.

The Princess' gaze goes back across the desk to the other woman. "The logistics of it are beyond me, I will admit that. I just have a strong desire to help the youth in this world, the ones out there..." She ndos toward one of the windows. "That don't have the support that is offered here, or even..." She notes the family which is still meandering around the grounds outside enjoying the lovely weather. She doesn't finisht that thought though.

Diana's brown eyes go back to Jean's greens. "The more I immerse myself in mutant affairs, the more my desire to help grows. But... additionally, the more I feel I am out of my element, perhaps even delving in to places, and topics, that do not want my involvement.." She shakes her head then and takes another sip of lemonade. When she lowers the cup she shows another soft smile to the redhead. "This is very good." She says of the drink.

Jean Grey has posed:
"It's definitely comfortable, in a way. Familiar. And unlike myself, a lot of people, probably the great majority if we're talking about the world as a whole, never travel too far from where they were born. Who knows how much of that is a lack of opportunity versus simply being comfortable enough where they are, though." All of this has gotten somewhat abstract, theoretical, mere musings really, and Jean's tone is appropriately contemplative. "Obviously it wasn't enough for you." She knows enough of the famous WONDER WOMAN story to at least know that much, of the one bold Amazon who defied custom to travel to the world beyond and become its hero!

Fangirling, remember?! Its lucky that Jean's the one who does the mind reading, or it might be a bit embarassing.

"And it isn't really for me either, being honest. I'm comfortable here because I do have other options, because I'm able to travel a lot for work." That is a way of putting it, and obviously she's not talking about being the Headmistress of a small school in Westchester, something that's not exactly what most would consider a job that requires a lot of travel.

"For the school, you might want to speak with Charles about it when you see him? I'll admit, while I've settled in to running the day to day stuff for him, I don't know... I can't really imagine doing it all from scratch, putting a place like this together, myself." And that's with whatever on the job experience she's picked up. "It's probably something that would need a lot of help from different angles. So I wouldn't say you'd be unwelcome, in that sense, but you'd probably want to work inside the community as much as you could, and you'd end up drawing different sorts of attention with the Wonder Woman... stamp?.. on it. Your brand is a bit larger, and broader."

"Do you want a little more?" By the time she asks, Jean has stood up to go back to the side table where the icy pitcher lingers.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana shows a quick grin that comes and fades from her face as a thought rolls through her mind at that initial topic. It takes her a second but she gets it out of her mind. "I think everyone has a desire for adventure, but we all vary in our ability to deal with the fears of taking chances. Some of us do not even slightly fear the notion, others will accept their entire life with as few chances taken as possible... which to me, is very unfortunate. But, I suppose I have a few unfair advantages over the average person's fears of unknown places and venturing in to them..."

The idea of needing to bring up a more public facing school to Charles is met with a soft smile. "You are right, I will talk to him on it. But... that being said, I imagine you would do just fine if you faced such a challenge. I can see it in you..." She smiles warmly to the woman who stands up to get some more lemonade.

Diana moves to stand up as well and she walks toward Jean to offer her the cup. "Yes, please. That would be great, and... I will get out of your hair, so to speak, and see if I cannot find my way to these gardens to meet with the Professor."

She brought the file folder off, delivered it, and got a chance to finally meet Jean Grey... it's been a productive meeting as far as the Princess is concerned!

Jean Grey has posed:
"We do have a few things that make it easier," Jean admits with a knowing smile. "And I suppose, that makes part of the mission... I don't know, changing the world so there's less in it for others to fear in the first place." One could probably make a grander speech on the notion, but Diana is due to speak with Charles anyway, so... she'll leave it to him! She does go to pour another glass, but thinks twice of it, and instead picks up the whole thing instead.

"You know what, why don't we just take the whole thing with us. I don't know what he has out there but maybe he'd appreciate a glass." There are times where mentor and student shows to be a little more like family, with Jean's instinct being to fuss over Xavier a bit. A cool drink on the back patio qualifies.

Then, for the second time, she's fending off apologies or the notion that Diana's visit could be any sort of inconvenience. "No, no, I should thank you again for bringing this by. It really hasn't been any trouble. I'll walk you out back. Easy to get lost in this giant house." It's not actually hard to find the back garden, but still. Wonder Woman as a guest probably warrants the full grandiose tour, but for the time being, this will have to do!