Scott and Wanda, late Monday morning

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

Wanda runs into Scott in New York, and they chat about recent events. Shiro comes up as a major topic of conversation.


It wasn't that crowded for New York on a summer day and that was the only reason that Wanda spotted Scott near a store. Well, that and she could see over many of the heads in her way. She started to call out and then smirked a little, ducking into a store front so she could fish out her mobile. It didn't take long for her to tell it to dial Scott's number.

"Hello, Scott," she said cheerfully. "Can I just say that those shorts in the window next to you are oh-so-you?"

"Are you stalking me, Maximoff?" was the amused reply. "And don't talk about shorts. No one wants to see my scarred, hacked-apart knee." Scott did eye the shirt one of the other mannequins was wearing thoughtfully for a moment, however. He wasn't much for clothes-shopping, but the color wasn't bad.

"You're in my city, Summers, I cannot help it if you find yourself flocking to my general area." She chuckled and moved out from the store to where they could both see each other, though she kept chatting on the phone as she moved to join him. "Though I simply cannot blame you, all things considered. You escape the mansion for a few hours and enjoy a sun filled New York Day."

"It's been a hell of a week or so," Scott said, and hung up the phone as she got close enough. "I felt like I needed some sun."

Wanda hummed in agreement - she still had reading access, at least. "Care for some food to go along with that sun?" she offered. "My treat."

"God forbid I ever pass up free food," Scott said, falling in beside her. Out in the bright light, he did look tired, as if the sun hadn't had quite enough time to recharge his batteries as of yet. "I need to bring Jean back something suitably carb- and sugar-laden. Her week's been rougher than mine."

"The babies," Wanda guessed, shuddering slightly. Not only for what she had read about what had been done to them but they were all, well, babies. She had never dealt well with anyone under the age of eight.

Wanda took Scott's elbow and steered him into the patio area of a bistro, having determined that sitting inside was the worst thing she could do. "It was quite the mess, though it sounds like everything is slowly being worked out?"

"Gradually, I suppose." Scott sighed as he lowered himself into the chair. "Nathan's in lousy shape and I've got a number of people shaken up in various ways and needing watching. And then, you know, my former XO chose last week to have some sort of psychotic episode."

She couldn't help, she rolled her eyes a little bit. "I was never that close to Sam even when I was at the school but that was, oh my, both funny, worrying and rather annoying considering he was screaming at us from our sidewalk." Wanda was actually planning on speaking to Sam about it - a number of things could have gone very badly if he had continued. "Is he ... better?"

"I couldn't tell you." He didn't say anything about the incident with Kyle. Some things were better kept in-house. "I dumped the problem in Charles's lap, effectively. Some problems I know I'm not equipped to solve."

Wanda tilted her glass of water in a sort of salute. "Smart man. That is why Charles is paid ... actually, wait, he has some sort of trust fund thing, so technically he is not paid, I suppose." They paused to give the waiter their orders and Wanda waited until he had moved away before continuing. "I know that Sam's whatever it was could not have helped the overall situation, so I am sorry."

Scott shrugged, although his lips twitched briefly. "Life is full of unexpected complications. If I hadn't learned to roll with the punches, I'd be the same twitchy ball of stress I was years ago, and that's not productive. As for Sam, since I've left Charles to see to him I've been more concerned with my other problem cases - most of whom are a little more subtle about it."

"What? The Mansion has other problem children? Never." Wanda couldn't keep the scandalize look on her face for very long. "Anyone I know? If, of course, you can talk about some of them."

Scott just raised an eyebrow at her. "Monet's been rattled lately, for various reasons. Angelo's decided he's taking time off the team, and I'm not sure it's just because he feels he has too much work to do with Elpis." But cowardice could be strategic, too, and he didn't really feel like asking Angelo if there was any resentment at work there over having been left out of the plan.

"It must be hard on him when things like this seem to always zero in on Nate," Wanda commented, sounding worried for Nathan on her own behalf. "He seems to have always taken it hard and sometimes things do not get easier with time."

"Mm. Anyhow, Lil's looking a little strung out, Garrison got flambed...although he seems to be taking it in stride, Marie had her nose rubbed in her powers issues again, Shiro caught some of the worst of it in Wyoming... I could go on."

Wanda was about to comment on Garrison getting himself flambed but paused at the last name. "Shiro?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. "How so? He was not hurt, was he?"

"Long story," Scott said, which was as good as an admission that he wasn't going to tell her all the details. "Suffice to say that not all the damage that happens when you have to deal with multiple homicidal children is physical. He made some choices that aren't sitting well with him."

Looking away from him, Wanda remembered Japan and dealing with the Hand on top of that building. She'd been worried about what he had said to her about killing that man but had simply put it aside, a heated moment in the middle of battle after his friend had almost been sacrificed. But now...

"Scott, you may want to keep a closer eye on him," she said slowly, working it over in her mind. "When we ran into the Hand a while ago, Shiro said something that seemed unusual, especially for an X-Man. But I thought it a one time thing, brought on by stress."

"... what did he say?" Scott asked slowly.

Flatly, she responded with "He told me to show them why I had been called a Witch. I suppose he could have meant in another way that did not involve a messy death but you know my abilities and what my power lends itself to when used on humans." Wanda looked concerned again, this time for Shiro. "I thought it was just stress and his history with the Hand, combined with everything we'd gone through to get there."

"I don't know that you're wrong," Scott said after a moment and then sighed, raising his water glass to take a sip. "But the question is how long has the stress been there, I think."

"He has always been a little on edge but that is how most of the fire powered mutants tend to be, I find. But this is more than normal. I take it Shiro is not one to normally share his inner thoughts and feelings?"

"No, Shiro has never been particularly touchy-feely," Scott said, not quite dryly. "Partly cultural, I think. Partly just his personality." He was frowning, though, eyeing the slice of lemon in his water as if he expected it to jump up and bite him.

Wanda eyed his lemon in return and raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you just perturbed in general about this or do you have a thought beyond frightening lifeless fruit?"

"The former. From individual incidents are larger self-destructive patterns born." Thinking back on his own history, he was as good an example as anyone of that. "Whether and how to intervene is the problem, though. Especially with someone as determined to be self-sufficient as Shiro."

"Maybe just keep an eye on him for now? I would say take out the stressors but, well, not only is he an X-Man but he is also a young man." Her tone turned wry. "Relationships alone could be a potential source of stress. I remember being that young."

Scott just nodded. "I'll let Charles know, too, if you don't mind," he said. "He's the one talking to Shiro about what happened in Wyoming. Although, knowing him, he's already well aware that there's maybe more to it than that."

She waved a hand in the air. "Tell away. I suspect you're right and he already knows something else is afoot. But it cannot hurt to let him know he is certainly correct."

"I do so love my job sometimes," Scott said, lifting his water glass again. "Mind you, I'd rather my job than Charles's."

"Is this the part in which you tell me to stop looking smug?"