Amanda and Artie - backdated to August 8
Aug. 8th, 2011 12:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xp_daytripper posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
xp_logsAs arranged after his post requesting help finding his true identity, Amanda and Artie meet for coffee.
Artie fiddled with his coffee, adding a precise spoon and a half of sugar and two serves of cream before looking over at Amanda.
"So. Thanks for you know. Things. Helping with the stuff." he offered awkwardly, the text down at the table. Amanda was funny - on the one hand, there was the slightly scary older girl who'd been in his and Miles' classes and, on the other, there was Amanda The Goddamn Spy. He usually didn't deal with that side of Doug or Sarah and Marie-Ange during powers training sessions. So this? This was weird and awkward.
"Hey, no worries, Artie." Trying to put the younger boy at his ease, Amanda's tone was casual and friendly, her posture similar. "I've been in the same boat, not knowing where I've come from, so I like to try and help others now I can. Did the same for Amara a while back too." She grinned. "And no magic required, so no need to worry about eye of newt or whatever."
"Yeah, I think I heard about that. I wasn't worried about like, eye of newt. More that you'd do your ... other stuff and I don't know. I don't usually have anything to do with you when you're doing ... that. Where're you going to start? I don't know a whole lot."
"We start with the basics, which means narrowing down your place and date of birth, that sort of thing. I've got a cover identity as a sort of social worker for the Snow Valley Centre, so I'll try the usual channels first, the whole Child Welfare lot. If they give me trouble, I'll ask Doug to take a peek at their computer records." Amanda had decided the best way to deal with the rebellious young man was to be up front, the same as she was with Nico. "Some of it's legal, some of it isn't. But either way, we'll start with a list of baby boys born around the right time, and then cross-check it against hospital records of babies born with visible mutations."
Artie nodded. "Okay. That works. We don't know my exact date of birth, though - Annalee was never that good at counting but she thought I was about six months or a year old when she got me and kind of guessed." He appreciated the honesty from her.
"Right. So maybe hospital records first, then Child Welfare," Amanda amended with a grin. "Good thing I know how to bribe Doug."
Artie had a suspicion that he shouldn't ask but he just couldn't resist. "How's he going to do that?"
She regarded him for a moment, and then replied, just as honestly as she had answered his other questions: "Doug's a hacker. His power means he's really good with computers and being really good with computers means he knows how to get into all sorts of information people normally wouldn't."
Yep, that was one of those things he probably shouldn't have asked. Somehow, though, it was harder with Amanda than it was with Marie-Ange during their powers training sessions, where it was easy to remember the rules about what you didn't talk about. Or look too closely at. But one piece of honesty deserved another and Artie said "That makes sense. Tell him thanks, because he was real good about not busting me, the time he caught me doing this," and projected a perfect $50 bill against the table for a moment before letting it vanish and grinned.
Amanda grinned in reply. "Nice trick," she said. "How are you with stuff like passports and the like?" She probably shouldn't encourage the kid, but then again, he'd already proven he wasn't an innocent.
He shrugged. "I've never tried." The text scrolling across the table shank significantly, Artie's concession to eavesdropping. "but i don't think its a good idea. i need line of sight still when i do things and since the tsa have this mad on for mutants and i can't pass," because his goddamn tongue always gave him away, "so you'd all be kind of fuxored once they drag me away to make sure i'm not trying to blow up the plane or anything. but i could probably do them - i can manage licenses and money and things."
"Hmm. Still a nifty skill." Amanda propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, looking at him contemplatively. "You've been training with Angie, yeah?"
"yeah. she works me till i get a migrane, stuffs me full of drugs then sends me home."
"That's our Angie all right." Amanda snorted. "Still, no pain, no gain and all that bollocks."
"something like that. still, I'm getting better at moving images, things like that, because of her." Artie shook his head slightly. "I wasn't getting any training for like, years - everyone figured i knew what i was doing and that was that, you know?"
She nodded. "They try hard, but with the leather brigade and the Drama of the Week, it's easy for kids to fall through the cracks sometimes." Giving him a sly look, she added: "And it's hard to manage us troublemakers."
"i'm not a trouble maker!" Artie replied indignantly and then paused. "or at least i try to be subtle about it. unlike some people, with their demons and things."
That earned him a burst of laughter. "Well, yeah, no-one ever said I was subtle," she retorted in kind. " You thought about what you want to do when you're done with Xavier's?"
Artie shrugged and projected an image of someone looking confused. "not really. a job'll be hard, considering the whole talking thing and i don't want to work for elpis and i don't know that i'm cut out for college. and i can't be in the leather brigade. making sure the old morlocks have enough money to not eat dumpster food? that's not a full time job or anything."
"You know, there's people who'll help you with the Morlocks. Like Callisto - I know she's involved in some places in District X, trying to make sure they're looked after," the witch suggested. "No sense carrying all the load yourself, yeah?"
"mmm. i guess." Artie shrugged and drank his coffee. It figured that she didn't get it.
She sensed she'd lost him, but there wasn't much to be done about it. The kid was stubborn, same as she'd been. It wouldn't hurt to let Callisto know what he was up to, tho'. "Any way, you've still got some time to work out plans, yeah? Another year at the school?"
"Yeah. Another year, 2 even, if I don't pass all my summer school." He made a face and let it float off his own face, looking crosser and crosser as it drifted down to the table, Artie's own eyes nearly crossed in concentration as he handled the moving image and the headache it was bringing on. "...ow."
"Hey, no breaking your brain before I've had the chance to drill you on anything you remember that might help us track down who you are," Amanda cautioned, sounding almost cheerful about the prospect. "Here, let me pay up and we can go back to the office. 'S quieter there."
Artie nodded and followed along behind her as she paid and headed out of the cafe.
Artie fiddled with his coffee, adding a precise spoon and a half of sugar and two serves of cream before looking over at Amanda.
"So. Thanks for you know. Things. Helping with the stuff." he offered awkwardly, the text down at the table. Amanda was funny - on the one hand, there was the slightly scary older girl who'd been in his and Miles' classes and, on the other, there was Amanda The Goddamn Spy. He usually didn't deal with that side of Doug or Sarah and Marie-Ange during powers training sessions. So this? This was weird and awkward.
"Hey, no worries, Artie." Trying to put the younger boy at his ease, Amanda's tone was casual and friendly, her posture similar. "I've been in the same boat, not knowing where I've come from, so I like to try and help others now I can. Did the same for Amara a while back too." She grinned. "And no magic required, so no need to worry about eye of newt or whatever."
"Yeah, I think I heard about that. I wasn't worried about like, eye of newt. More that you'd do your ... other stuff and I don't know. I don't usually have anything to do with you when you're doing ... that. Where're you going to start? I don't know a whole lot."
"We start with the basics, which means narrowing down your place and date of birth, that sort of thing. I've got a cover identity as a sort of social worker for the Snow Valley Centre, so I'll try the usual channels first, the whole Child Welfare lot. If they give me trouble, I'll ask Doug to take a peek at their computer records." Amanda had decided the best way to deal with the rebellious young man was to be up front, the same as she was with Nico. "Some of it's legal, some of it isn't. But either way, we'll start with a list of baby boys born around the right time, and then cross-check it against hospital records of babies born with visible mutations."
Artie nodded. "Okay. That works. We don't know my exact date of birth, though - Annalee was never that good at counting but she thought I was about six months or a year old when she got me and kind of guessed." He appreciated the honesty from her.
"Right. So maybe hospital records first, then Child Welfare," Amanda amended with a grin. "Good thing I know how to bribe Doug."
Artie had a suspicion that he shouldn't ask but he just couldn't resist. "How's he going to do that?"
She regarded him for a moment, and then replied, just as honestly as she had answered his other questions: "Doug's a hacker. His power means he's really good with computers and being really good with computers means he knows how to get into all sorts of information people normally wouldn't."
Yep, that was one of those things he probably shouldn't have asked. Somehow, though, it was harder with Amanda than it was with Marie-Ange during their powers training sessions, where it was easy to remember the rules about what you didn't talk about. Or look too closely at. But one piece of honesty deserved another and Artie said "That makes sense. Tell him thanks, because he was real good about not busting me, the time he caught me doing this," and projected a perfect $50 bill against the table for a moment before letting it vanish and grinned.
Amanda grinned in reply. "Nice trick," she said. "How are you with stuff like passports and the like?" She probably shouldn't encourage the kid, but then again, he'd already proven he wasn't an innocent.
He shrugged. "I've never tried." The text scrolling across the table shank significantly, Artie's concession to eavesdropping. "but i don't think its a good idea. i need line of sight still when i do things and since the tsa have this mad on for mutants and i can't pass," because his goddamn tongue always gave him away, "so you'd all be kind of fuxored once they drag me away to make sure i'm not trying to blow up the plane or anything. but i could probably do them - i can manage licenses and money and things."
"Hmm. Still a nifty skill." Amanda propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, looking at him contemplatively. "You've been training with Angie, yeah?"
"yeah. she works me till i get a migrane, stuffs me full of drugs then sends me home."
"That's our Angie all right." Amanda snorted. "Still, no pain, no gain and all that bollocks."
"something like that. still, I'm getting better at moving images, things like that, because of her." Artie shook his head slightly. "I wasn't getting any training for like, years - everyone figured i knew what i was doing and that was that, you know?"
She nodded. "They try hard, but with the leather brigade and the Drama of the Week, it's easy for kids to fall through the cracks sometimes." Giving him a sly look, she added: "And it's hard to manage us troublemakers."
"i'm not a trouble maker!" Artie replied indignantly and then paused. "or at least i try to be subtle about it. unlike some people, with their demons and things."
That earned him a burst of laughter. "Well, yeah, no-one ever said I was subtle," she retorted in kind. " You thought about what you want to do when you're done with Xavier's?"
Artie shrugged and projected an image of someone looking confused. "not really. a job'll be hard, considering the whole talking thing and i don't want to work for elpis and i don't know that i'm cut out for college. and i can't be in the leather brigade. making sure the old morlocks have enough money to not eat dumpster food? that's not a full time job or anything."
"You know, there's people who'll help you with the Morlocks. Like Callisto - I know she's involved in some places in District X, trying to make sure they're looked after," the witch suggested. "No sense carrying all the load yourself, yeah?"
"mmm. i guess." Artie shrugged and drank his coffee. It figured that she didn't get it.
She sensed she'd lost him, but there wasn't much to be done about it. The kid was stubborn, same as she'd been. It wouldn't hurt to let Callisto know what he was up to, tho'. "Any way, you've still got some time to work out plans, yeah? Another year at the school?"
"Yeah. Another year, 2 even, if I don't pass all my summer school." He made a face and let it float off his own face, looking crosser and crosser as it drifted down to the table, Artie's own eyes nearly crossed in concentration as he handled the moving image and the headache it was bringing on. "...ow."
"Hey, no breaking your brain before I've had the chance to drill you on anything you remember that might help us track down who you are," Amanda cautioned, sounding almost cheerful about the prospect. "Here, let me pay up and we can go back to the office. 'S quieter there."
Artie nodded and followed along behind her as she paid and headed out of the cafe.
