8237/The Canuck and the Siren Discuss the Merc

The Canuck and the Siren Discuss the Merc
Date of Scene:	14 October 2021
Location:	Back Yard
Synopsis:	Logan and Laxmi chat over tea and cigars - discussing Deadpool, and Logan's unfortunate past.
Cast of Characters:	Laxmi Mallick, Logan Howlett

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Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    An Uber drops Laxmi off at the Mansion after an evening's gig, and after fetching herself a fresh up of chai and a snack, the woman makes her way out to the back porch to sit, and enjoy the silent night air. She has a lot to think about and - besides. Part of her wonders if she might not catch Logan on one of his evening rounds.
    After propping her sarod up on a chair, she takes a seat - taking a sip of her tea. Maybe it's decaf? Regardless, she doesn't seem worried about it keeping her up.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Half way through his patrol, Logan was preparing for his usual midway break of a beer and a cigar. Stepping out of the back door he pauses for a moment, noting Laxmi sitting quietly. He considered a moment, whether he should move on to another location or take his usual seat, then decided he's spit the difference. Rather than sit too close to her, he moved to a chair a short distance off and sat down.

"Evening Laxmi," he offered, so as not to be rude, but his body language made it clear that if she didn't want to talk, she didn't have to.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "Logan. I'd hoped to catch you, actually," Laxmi greets the man - flashing him a smile. If she's skipping the 'namaste' she really is starting to feel rather casual and relaxed around the man.
    She takes another sip of her tea and then - with no attempt to beat around the bush - she remarks, "I met a man named Deadpool. He mentioned that he was acquainted with a man named Logan, who could heal..." She leaves the question implied as her gaze lingers on the man, her tea still lightly clasped in both hands.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Laxmi can see every muscle in Logan's body go stiff, and the bottle of beer looks like it's straining under his grip, so he puts it down on the table beside him. Locking the cigar between his teeth he leans forward, resting elbows on his knees, then takes a puff from the cigar and just looks at her.

"Yeah, I know the Merc with the Mouth," he grumbles, breathing out the smoke from his mouth as he does. "Can't stand the son of a bitch, mouth never stops. Did he do anything to you? I'll kick his ass across the state of New York if he did."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "He asked me to go on the swings with him at the park," Laxmi remarks. There was a bit more to it than that - but she can read the tension coming off the man across from her easily enough, and she doesn't see the need to further provoke him. "I never got within ten feet of him. He was rather well armed and seemed- well, to be frank, he seemed unbalanced. Talking to people that weren't there, ranting that we're just characters in a story that's being written out by people on keyboards. Should he just be wondering free? I was concerned for him."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan lifts a brow. The cigar wasn't burning enough to completely block his scent yet, so he picked up change in her and hated every minute of it. Picking up the bottle, he walks over and sits himself in a chair a little closer, but not too close as he is smoking.

"Listen, you don't need to start concealing things from me regarding Wa... Deapool," oops, almost gave something away. "I don't like the guy, but... despite the fact that he's bat shit crazy, he gets the job done."

Taking a drink of his beer, another puff of the cigar it taken in hopes of drowning out more scents. "He's.. how do I put it. He got fucked up by mutant experimentalists, but he's dedicated to doing what's right, even if it's in a seriously violent way... I've worked with him, a few times by choice, other times..." he leaves that hanging.

"You're a pretty lady, he'd never hurt you, I just don't like the idea of him being around you, not that I got any right to feel that way."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "You mean Wade?" Laxmi counters with a brief smile of amusement. "He gave that name, along with the others." Her smile goes a bit apologetic as she adds, "I don't mean to be deceptive - I simply didn't want to get him into your bad graces anymore than necessary. I encountered him on my way back from gig, and he was perfectly polite - other than blatantly voicing his... intentions, while looking off to the side and speaking to people who weren't there. But he never tried anything. And when he mentioned you - well. There was a little implied bad blood there, so I wondered if he might not be one of those dangerous people from your past you mentioned - and if letting on that I knew you might be ill advised..." she admits.

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan sits back, watching her face and body language, since the smoke was starting to do what it was meant to do, keep his nose from smelling every little thing. She was a beautiful woman, such a pacifist, with the voice of a Goddess... meeting Wade had to have shaken a few things in her world, as the man was dangerous, more so than she could possibility imagine.

"He's not an enemy," he finally says with another puff from the cigar. "I don't like em, but he's an ally. Those people he was talkin to? Their called, at least by him, the '4th Wall'. Never understood it myself, but after a man puts himself in the line of fire at your side, takes a bullet for you, even if I can heal it faster than him, you learn to tolerate the crazy. Deep in his soul, he's a good man done wrong."

He'd like to tell her more, about Weapon X, about the team, the combat they'd seen together, but that wasn't her world and he wouldn't be one to destroy her world.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I felt badly for him," Laxmi admits. "I mean - I felt like he needed help, but I wasn't sure how to provide it. He's- well. You make it sound like he can certainly look after himself, though. And you're sure he's not a threat to innocents?" She'll pause long enough for him to confirm that fact, taking another sip from her tea before continuing.
    "He also spoke of having a room on an 'asteroid' - I'd wondered if that was more of his madness. Or- do you suppose he meant Magneto's asteroid?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan looks up into the sky as if he could see the Asteroid, but knows full well he wouldn't be able to. Too far away and over Genosha. "Yeah, that's the place," he says, then looks back to her. "He'd fit in real well with them, and that'd explain why he was in China. No, he wouldn't deliberately hurt an innocent, he's a good guy like I said, just fucked up in the head, and even that's not his fault."

Taking a huge drink of his beer, a brief flash in his head of things he had already remembered and wished he hadn't. That lead to another puff off the cigar as well. "Glad he's got a place to go, to be," he finally says more quietly, less anger, less bitterness, almost like he cares but surely not. "There's things that happened to him, to others... it changed him." Another drink of the beer. "There's nothing that could really help him I'm afraid, just like there's nothing that can help me. What they did, there's no going back."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I see," Laxmi answers quietly - and Logan doesn't have to smell it, to see the concern in her eyes. To know that she'd connected the dots - after all, he'd all but said it. "I wish there wasn't such cruelty in the world." Cruelty only possible because people fail to see the humanity and divinity in one another. "But that does nothing to change things, or undo the harm that's been done." She's silent a moment before adding, "You know. Maybe you don't need to hide things from me, either?" Her tone is soft, and gentle. "But I wouldn't dream of prying."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Turning his eyes back to the sky, the beer remains resting on the arm of the chair as Logan takes another puff, letting the smoke linger before blowing it away.

"There's a lot I don't remember," he states, not entirely certain of what he would or wouldn't say. "I don't keep it locked up for myself, some times talking about it is worse when you don't remember all the details." He finally glances over at her. "My heads been messed with a lot, there's more things I've forgotten then you've seen in your life. I get flashes, sometimes, of things that were a part of my life, and then there gone."

Stretching his legs out he looks up at the stars. "Makes it real hard sometimes, to trust someone when I can't even trust my own memories."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I bet," Laxmi agrees with sympathy. "That can't be easy. I can't really entirely imagine it myself." She takes another sip of her tea, then offers, "I just don't want you to feel like you have to conceal things from me. But of course, like I said - anything you want to keep to yourself - that's your business, and I respect that. I just know that none of us can make it through life alone, and I've lead a relatively easy life."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan lifts a brow. "And easy life I don't want to complicate," he offers. "That's what my life is, a complication."

Slowly, his head turns to look at her, weighing what she said. He knew she was right, hell Charles has been telling him the same thing... you can't do it alone, but so many people had been hurt because of him. He couldn't remember them all, but he could feel in his metal laced bones that there had been a lot.

"You've seen my healing," he starts, shifting a little in the chair. "It's why I was targeted, that and I'm a natural predator." He has no idea why he's telling her this, honestly she'd be better off not knowing. "The metal was infused to my bones, every one in my body, because they knew I could survive it. Adamantium, one of the rarest metals in the world. That's when they took my DNA, they used it on Wade, they used it to make the clones..." he trails off there and looks back up at the stairs.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "But what am I doing with my life - if I'm not using it in service of others?" Laxmi counters, when Logan says he doesn't wish to complicate her life. "I can't go out and protect others, as you can." This is what she can do. She nibbles at the snack she's chosen - a cashew sweet one of her aunties had sent to her, as she listens to his explination with solemn attention.
    "I don't know the others - only Gabby. She's such a lovely girl, I think we're blessed to have her. I'm only sorry that she was created through so much pain." For her and for Logan. "They used your DNA on Wade, though? They used it to try to alter his?" That's possible?

Logan Howlett has posed:
"You do for the kids, thats way more important, Laxmi." He offers with a hint of a smile. "You gotta live your life for you though, not for others. You can do good while living for yourself, remember that... get out of life what you can, be happy, and don't fear the things you want to try."

Closing his eyes a moment, Logan then has to push at his brain pretty damn hard to try and remember what happened to Wade, but the details are just not there. "I don't know all they did to Wade," he says as he opens his eyes. "I know he was dying, don't know why, and they promised him some kinda cure... and well, it was a cure alright, that destroyed his body and woke up X-Gene." He pauses there, then looks over at her. "He was wearing his hood, right?"

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I don't see things that way," Laxmi muses quietly. "That any one person is more important than another. I do what I can, when I can, where I can. And right now I'm here," she remarks, flashing Logan a smile. "And I am happy. Helping others makes me happy. Seeing the students improving their talents, seeing them grow in their appreciation of the arts... I enjoy that. It spreads more beauty in this world, and makes the world a better place."
    As the talk goes back to Wade, though, she falls silent, sipping her tea again as she watches the man talk. "I didn't see his face, no - but he showed me his arm. It looked strange - mottled and scarred. He said the rest of him was like that as well."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan nods slowly, another puff from the cigar then he watches the smoke drift upwards.

"It is," he states. "Thinks it makes him ugly, hideous, unacceptable, inhuman... another of their gifts, leaving him to die in a fire." At least he thinks it was a fire. "Was the healing that saved him," he then adds, before another drink from the bottle.

"Only reason I stay here is the kids, even though I'm pretty sure I'm a risk to them too. Professor X says I'm not, but he sugar coats pretty much everything." He shakes his head a little. "Another thing, the reason I smoke... it ain't for the nicotine, only thing I've found that helps block my sense of smell. I can normally smell pretty much everything, before it even gets to me physically. Hell, I can smell the chemical changes when a person lies, or is happy, or excited, well you get the point."

He considers for a moment commenting about the things that make him happy, watching her and hearing what makes her happy, but realizes as he thinks about it, there isn't really much that does.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "It doesn't help things that our society is so driven by beauty, driving people to unhealthy actions with messaging about appearances," Laxmi remarks with regret. "That's not how we should be judging people in our society." It may be a strange complaint for someone with her allure - but she has suffered years of biggotry for her skin tone, so she could at least sympathize.
    As he continues, her brow furrows slightly. "You can smell people's emotions?" Even with this information, she still instinctively hides her embarrassment by taking another sip of her tea, as she tries to play back over her various emotions over the time she's known him. And that almost certainly meant that he was aware of it anytime she felt he was at all... charming. Great.
    "I hadn't realized that," she remarks.
    Rather than dwelling on it, she asks, "Why do you think you're a threat to them? Because your enemies might follow you here?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Finishing off the beer, Logan set the bottle on the ground by the chair. He didn't think he was ever charming, so she was save and applied whatever it was to something else. "It's not intentional," he admits. "I do everything I can not to, including smoke."

With the cigar almost gone, he takes the last puff and blows it out through his nose to ensure he's killed it just for a little while. It'll pass, his nose will heal away the smoke soon enough. "My enemies follow me everywhere," he then adds, sitting forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "I don't remember them all, but they seem to always remember me. School may be a big secret, but that doesn't mean it's a perfect one. So yeah, I worry.. it's another reason I don't usually stick around."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "No, I didn't think that you'd- I mean, I used my gift many times on people unintentionally, before I realized what I was doing. I still do sometimes, when I'm practicing and don't realize others are near, or if I simply- Honestly, it's more natural to me to use my power when I'm singing, than it is to stop myself. Reining it in takes a conscious effort."
    She takes another sip of her tea, though the cup is almost empty, before she remarks, "The children have a lot to protect him here - don't they? I mean, they have their own gifts and training, but also that of all the teachers and staff... I would think it would take an awful lot to really endanger them."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan looks toward the mansion, thinking about the number of kids in there, sleeping through the night or sneaking around, thinking they can get past him and into the kitchen. He let's them by, pretends he didn't see or smell them, nothing like a midnight snack stolen in good faith.

"Doesn't mean I gotta add to the risk," he finally says. "Jean should of left the minute she knew they were after her, she shouldn't of been anywhere near this school, but she stayed and risked everyone here. Still don't know why, don't know why Professor X let her." Realizing that was something of a rant, he clears his throat and looks back to her.

"Kids're way more important than me, Laxmi. More important than Jean, Ororo, Scott, you... sure, not much could likely hurt them, except apparently aliens."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "They have more life ahead of them, and they're - on the whole - less prepared to defend themselves. Not to mention that their families have entrusted us to care for them and protect them. It only makes sense that their safety be paramount," Laxmi points out reasonably. She frowns slightly as she adds, "And honestly, it sounds like maybe she should have." There must be more to the story than she knows?
    "I have little doubt that if you were aware of a concrete threat, you'd try to lead it away from here, and the people here. Though I do hope you'd at least tell your friends, before you go?" she suggests.

Logan Howlett has posed:
For a moment Logan just looks at her, trying to determine in his own mind if he would, and who he would actually tell that could be considered a friend. Even among the X-Men, he was at the outer edges, didn't really think of them as friends, just... the team. Laxmi... well she was certain trying to be a friend, and he still couldn't remotely understand why.

"I'd try," he finally admit. "Means you'd likely be the only one to get told, if I could."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "There's no one else here you'd consider a friend?" That seems to concern Laxmi more than the thought of someone potentially being after him. Living his life //that// isolated... "Not Kurt, or Henry, or Ororo - or any of the others?" she asks pointedly. Had none of them managed to reach out to the man? Sometimes, it just made you want to kick people. She finishes off her cashew sweet as she ponders this dilemma - but there was little she could do about it. You can't alter the behavior of others - only your own...

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan shrugs slightly. "Not their thing. We work together, that's what matters."

Using the heel of his boot to make sure the cigar is out, no fired needed in this beautiful part of the country. "Side, I'm not an easy person to know, remember? They're all far better people than me, why would I risk them with my enemies out there? I keep my distance, so no, wouldn't really call any of em friends."

Might sound cold to say it that way, but in his mind it really was about protecting them, the school, the kids. He couldn't be killed, but all of them could be, so better to stay at the edges.

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I think you underestimate your value," Laxmi counters. "You may not always have the most social graces of everyone here, and I have little doubt you're capable of great violence when it's warranted - but you strike me as an unquestionably //good// man, Logan," she points out calmly, and simply. "And if I were to judge people by any sort of criteria - why would I use any other?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Still leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, Logan focuses his eyes fully on her. There is a hint of a smile that plays on his lips, not a full or even really partial smile, just a tinge at the corner of his mouth.

"Never said I wasn't," he offers, those baby blues watching her closely. "But even good men know when to walk away for the sake of others, so that's what I do. You want to know why I keep people at arms length Laxmi, the real reason? Cause the last three people I let get close, let in, know me... were killed by those enemies. I don't think I can take it happening again."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "You mentioned that risk before - or at least hinted at it." Laxmi lets out a sigh. "There are too many cruel people in this world. I am deeply sorry for your losses," she offers. "I don't know what I would do in your place. We aren't meant to be alone, but..." We're not meant to live with the guilt that loved ones have died because of you, either.
    "There's a part of me, though, that wonders if you aren't playing into their hands by isolating yourself."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Another shrug is offered before Logan smirks. "I can't be killed Laxmi, they keep trying and will keep trying, but I can't be killed." His eyes shift back up to the stares and the briefest of moment his face sort of freezes, eyes narrowing very lightly, then it returns to normal. "Nope, even that didn't kill me," he mutters, then blinks and looks back to her. "Sorry... just a flash of memory in Nagasaki."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "So you're essentially immortal?" Laxmi asks. Her is neutral - curious if anything, as if she's simply trying to understand.
    "Eventually, you'll outlast these enemies of yours - won't you? But in the mean time - you really intend to simply continue living without any real emotional ties? I just can't imagine living like that and- well, and ever feeling happy." And what sort of existance is that?

Logan Howlett has posed:
This time Logan pulls what looks like a joint from his pocket, but it's wrapped in a brown leaf. When he lights it, the scene is immediately obvious to Laxmi... clove. There was a hint of tobacco to it as well, but mostly clove.

"I won't outlast em," is his answer. "They're the sort that pass down the hatreds from generation to generation, lucky me, right?" He snorts. "You got another suggestion, more than willing to listen. You think this is really what I want, to be alone? It's not, but I'm not risking another life. I'd rather face another Nagasaki."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "Why? Why pursue you through generations?" Laxmi asks, shaking her head. "It simply doesn't make sense. Eventually... it has to be forgotten." Doesn't it? She lets out a sigh before adding, "You know I can't really come up with any real solutions, though - all I have are platitudes. I just - I don't have enough information."

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan once again shrugs, "Even I don't know all of it Laxmi, I don't remember it, I don't know why they keep coming and coming. I know something happened in Japan, cause one group is ninjas, and you know how they are... they don't stop until they achieve their goals."

Standing up to stretch out his legs and backs, he takes another puff off the clove. "They'll never give up, wish they would, could maybe, just once, have a normal life," he glances over to her. "What other information would you want? Don't got much else you don't know about at this point."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "I don't, infact, know how they are," Laxmi answers in a wry tone - even allowing a little amusement in her voice. "I don't have a great deal of experience with ninjas. This is probably going to sound entirely naive, but... There's nothing to be gained by simply asking them why? Or might there be another way to gain that information?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Logan blinks once, stares at her a moment, then blinks again and start chuckling, which is a deep sound from his chest. "Okay, you got me on that one. Ninjas are like Samurai in their loyalty to their clan, once the clan takes a contract, nothing will stop them from completing it, even if it takes the clan hundreds of years."

Walking over by her, he pauses, but makes sure to keep that same certain distance he always keeps, so there's no way he can accidently touch her. "I can't exactly walk up and ask, they'd attack, all that assuming I even knew which clan it was. Like I said, major holes in my memory Laxmi, couldn't even tell you when or where I was born. Professer X said something about 'letting it come back on it's own', so I'm S.O.L.."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "So short of destroying an entire clan..." Laxmi breathes quietly. And that seems a little extreme, doesn't? She frowns, shaking her head. It was all so senseless. "But why go after the people you care about? That feels so... honorless. Aren't the Japanese obsessed with honor?" she asks. "Or am I simply drawing to much from popular fiction?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Taking another puff of the clove, Logan takes a few steps more back. He's never really sure where to stand or sit when talking to, never wanting to push a line or step over it. "They..." he closes his eyes and cracks his neck once. "wheren't the ones that killed them."

Opening his eyes he looks back to the stars, something soothing about them, always had been. "The Winter Soldier killed one, Sabertooth killed another, don't remember who killed the third in Japan... that memory screw came from the atomic bomb in Nagasaki." His back stiffens slightly. "Yeah, I lived through that."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "You make a lot of enemies," Laxmi says quietly. Ninjas, the Winter Soldier, and Sabretooth... and were any of those the ones who'd taken his DNA and given him the metal on his bones? "Are they still trying to harm you? The Winter Soldier, and Sabretooth?" she asks.
    Her smile suddenly turns apologetic as she adds, "I'm not being tiresome, am I?"

Logan Howlett has posed:
Turning his blue eyes back to Laxmi, he offers a real smile that almost softens his face. "If you were tiresome Laxmi, I'd of walked away along time ago. You said you wanted to know, and since I ain't really got anyone else to talk to, why not answer. Maybe then you'll understand why being a friend is dangerous."

Finishing off the small clove, it gets crushed under his heel. "Winter Soldier isn't the same," he states, but there is a bitterness to his tone. "He's... partly deprogrammed. Sabertooth, like myself, was manipulated... we have a very uneasy truce. So no, neither of them are out there locking to fuck my life over, or kill me, right now. I've been alive for something like a hundred and twenty years... maybe longer," he shrugs. "Lots of time for people to hate me for one reason or another, just wish I remembered why."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    "But also plenty of time for those people to pass away," Laxmi offers. "I can understand being afraid of history repeating itself - especially when it's happened this often, and when it's this painful - but the two threats to the people you care for that you know of, you say they're not threats anymore, Logan," she points out reasonably.
    "As for retrieving your memories - I wish I knew how to help. They say that smell can be a powerful memory trigger. I just wish I knew a helpful way to put that to use."

Logan Howlett has posed:
For a moment Logan just studies her, there was partial logic in what she says, but there was still one killed he didn't remember how, or who, what if it was the ninjas?

"Some smells do that, give me flashes, but never enough to really work with. Took me nearly thirty years to remember Nagasaki, and that's gotta be the most physically painful thing I've experienced." He half chuckles, half snorts "I'll think about what you said Laxmi, don't think I won't. Not sure beyond that, but I do gotta bet back to the patrol." He takes a couple of steps, like he's just going to walk off but he stops, then glances back, "Thanks."

Laxmi Mallick has posed:
    Laxmi nods, offering the man a smile. "Take care, Logan. I'm sure I'll find more opportunities to not be tiresome in the future," she offers. She sips the last of her tea, by now cold, and retrieves her dishes along with her instrument case. It really was getting late - and she should be in bed. There were classes in the morning.