Red X: Jay, Clarice & a man [backdated]

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Clarice and Jay deal with a rather irate passenger.



After arranging for some key people to herd off two women with concussions to the ambulance, Jay drew his wings back as he headed towards the back of the train, careful to avoid people, though noticeably, people avoided him. His eyes scanned the surrounding area, looking specifically for one person.

"Clarice!" he called out, craning his head above some people.

"Yeah?" she called back, not turning her attention from a man with lacerations on his arm that she was bandaging. He'd go to the hospital for stitches and whatnot, but she could at least get the bleeding stopped and prevent any potential infection until then.

"We need ya at the front of the line. Some guy's freakin' out and he ain't listenin' to reason. Need yer attitude to take him down a notch. Ah can't deal with him and he's gettin' everyone riled up."

"Show me?" Clarice asked, leaving the guy she was working on and going over to Jay. He was done and waiting to be transported to the hospital anyways. "And are you saying I have an attitude problem?" she asked, feigning anger. She had enough attitude for several people when she wanted to and she knew it.

"You got plenty o' attitude to fill an ocean," Jay smirked. "Ya wanna fly or port? Don't matter to me, either way."

"Fly," she said. Let him use his energy, not hers. And anyways, flying was fun, "And you better smile when you say that Guthrie. Or you might find glitter all over your underoos," she'd wanted to glitter both him and Dani after they had come back, but she'd gotten the impression that not only would it not be appreciated, but it might get her throat slit. Never let it be said that Clarice was suicidal.

Jay mocked a playful glare before he slipped an arm around her waist and crouched, pushing off into immediate flight. "Best not do that," he said, his voice bordering shouting. "Don't wanna give Dani itchy crotch. She already havin' problems with the boys."

It took them very little time to get to the front of the train and no doubt, there was a man, spazzing in the circle of a crowd with visible mutants and a mix of humans trying to calm him down. Jay landed with Clarice and he let her go immediately, though she might have caught a slander of FOH beneath his breath.

"This is why I gave men up for Lent!" she shouted back. She was possibly the worst lesbian ever, but she was maintaining her hatred on boys still and professing her love for the girls. She didn't care what people thought, it worked for her. "What's with you two anyways? I thought you were strictly dickly?"

Jay didn't answer her, thinking it best not to even go there

Once they landed, Clarice stood off to one side for a moment, close enough to hear, but out of his vision. After she had a feel for the situation she began working through the crowd, instructing people to go find something else to do. She'd handle this. Somehow. "Jay, stay," she said, coming back to him..."Not too close though."

"Yeah, all right," he said, forcefully backing up a pace from where he was but his wings did not retract. In fact, he was visibly paying close attention to the man, watching him as Clarice approached, people moving back but not really. Three were trying to calm him, one woman was bitching back at him and others who were injured were very upset at the tension that continued to build.

"Sir," Clarice stated, her voice pitched to get his attention without being loud, "I'm Clarice with Red X. You need to come with me now," she didn't touch him, but her body language dismissed the three others trying to calm him down. Ganging up on him, causing a scene, it wouldn't make him cooperate. If he was going to at all.

The man's attention snapped to Clarice and his accent laced through his words. "Get away from me you bloody bitch. I don't need to go anywhere. I want to know who the hell is going to get my bags and pay for my ticket home. I don't want to be here another night! I don't think I'm being unreasonable because I'm not! I'm a well educate man who wants a human to talk to. Is that all we employ around here? Blood sucking mutants?!"

Oh, insults. Yawn. Because she hadn't heard those before. "Wow. Yup, I can tell you're educated," she smiled genially at him, "Insults are the mark of sophistication. As for blood sucking mutants, you have me confused with Marius. I haven't seen him around here though. I'm not a mutant either. I'm a pixie, you know, like Tinkerbell? I own and operate the Pixie Express. Fastest way home and away from blood sucking mutants, but you have to let an EMT check you out and make sure you don't have a concussion or a hangnail or something," while she spoke, her tone never changed. It just stayed even and soft, but it also brooked no argument.

"I know your types," the man shouted in a warning, backing up from Clarice, waving a finger at her. "They tell you one thing and promise the world. Next thing you know, they're taking over and shipping you away like slaves." He looked around, gathering what people he could to side with him. "I bloody well don't need an EMT or anything like that! I want a plane and I want out of here. Don't come near me pixie girl."

Jay hung back behind Clarice and raised his brows, standing on the sidelines, chewing a wade of gum. See? he seemed to say.

Yup, Clarice understood exactly. "Well, guess what?" she said, her tone and body language changing subtly, "I'm an EMT and I'm the one in charge of planes. And all other transportation away from here. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way, it's your choice, but either way, we're doing this. So you can shut up and take it like a man, or you can bitch and whine while I mock you and make it last longer and hurt more. Your call" She was very reasonable. This entire situation reminded her of Back to the Future 'the easy way or the hard way?' and then Marty gets knocked unconscious.

"Thanks, but I think I'll try my luck with someone who isn't a mutant. You might be qualified but I'm with in my bloody right to refuse your help, EMT or not. Touch me and I'll go straight to the press. I do not need a pink-purplish girl threatening me! Bloody American mutants."

Slowly, Clarice nodded. "Okay. So tell me, why? Why do you hate mutants so much? What happened? I'm curious. Because, see, I don't hate you. I don't even know you. All I've tried to do is help you, all any of us have done is try to help. And you refuse. What is so bad? If you give me an honest answer, I'll call for someone else to help you. No sweat."

"I don't hate mutants. I trust my instincts," he said, rubbing his hands together and looking for his briefcase. "I just want a ticket, thats what I want. I want to go home now and I don't want to stay here another night. I can't find my money and I'm not leaving without my stuff." Her tone had calmed him some to a more rational level, but now he seemed anxious just to leave, to get his stuff and leave.

Uh huh. That was not an answer. "Riiiight. Those aren't instincts, that's indigestion," but she reached for her radio, "I have a middle aged British male over here refusing treatment. Possible shock, elevated heart rate, won't let me touch him. Get someone less colorful over here. Out, " she purposefully didn't specify a human or that he wanted to go home. He hadn't answered her question. It was pretty simple really. "You do realize, sir, that this is a train wreck, right? And who knows where your stuff is? I can't promise you'll get it back now. Or ever."

"I'm not in shock!" he exclaimed. "I just want to get my stuff and go home. I don't think I'm being unreasonable here wanting my stuff and eager to go home. No one will help me, everyone tells me to calm down when I just want to get my things and Go!" His voice raised and he was clearly getting flustered again when a sudden rush of metal wings flew in, scaring him back ten paces. Jay landed with another EMT, a human one and the girl walked over easily, though fumbled with her head set. In low tones, she talked to him, placing a hand on his back and guiding him away from the scene. Jay hung back, falling into place next to Clarice.

He blew out his bangs away from his eyes. "Yeah, Ah reckon you handled that better than me."

"He's not my first," she said with a sigh. Stupid people were stupid. "I know you've been an obvious mutant with your wings...but I also know you could strap them down and stuff. It might've been uncomfortable, but you could have. Now...you can't do that. You gotta learn, eventually, how to handle these things...though I bet you could have done it if you made the effort. And it is effort not to get mad and just...guh. I hate stupid people so, so much," she smiled at Jay. "So, want to blink over to find some food?"