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xp_logsClarice runs into Artie in a bar. Where he is not supposed to be.
The boy who'd once been unable to convincingly pull off fake ID with Matt had gotten better at it. Artie sat perched on a stool at the window of a bar, half empty pint glass in one hand.
Most of his attention was directed at an old brownstone across the road and at the starscape that currently twinkled on it.
New York was Clarice's stomping ground of choice, partially because it was New York City and partially because she just liked it. Pushing through the cold streets, she ducked into a bar to see about something to eat as she finished her holiday shopping and general errands that she needed to get done. Spying a familiar face, she ignored the open tables and instead headed towards the windows. "Fancy finding you here," she said, letting go of her shopping bags and placing a hand on Artie's shoulder.
Artie jumped slightly before realizing just who it was and offering Clarice a smile and wave. "What are you doing here?" he signed.
The cafes, bars and boutiques around here were packed with tourists, many of whom were glancing at his lights as they passed. It didn't seem like what he imagined Clarice's usual haunt to be. He figured she'd either be more... mall-y or shop in Milan or someplace. "Do you want a drink?" he signed. Be blatantly confident when caught because how much worse could things ever get, right?
Yeah, she did, but so not the point right now. "You do realize that you're underage, right?" she pointed out. Clarice wasn't staff at Xavier's, but finding one of the students alone in a bar like this was not exactly something she could overlook either. "And that you need a very good reason to be here and drinking this?" she reached around him to grab his beer and see what was left of it.
He might be underage but he was also almost 19. Artie began to sign quickly, possibly faster than Clarice could manage. "I've had half of it over two hours, Clarice. I'm 19, okay? I'm entertaining the tourists and stuff." The starscape on the building outside began to wink out, stars replaced with glowing neon bands outlining the contours of the brownstone. Some of the tourists were pointing, which was kind of gratifying. "It's too cold to sit outside and I can't see what I'm doing in the coffee shop. And I can't sit in here without a drink."
"'Almost 19' isn't 21," she pointed out. Pretty much everyone drank underage at some point, but that didn't mean they didn't get caught and punished sometimes, too. "You're getting pretty good at that," Clarice agreed, watching him. "Too bad it's gonna end now. You know how this is going to go." And why run when she could catch him?
Artie let the lights go and sighed. "You know, I'm not a student any more. Is it really worth telling Mr Haller once you give me a lift back to the mansion? Besides, I could be 21. Between my not talking, being a real short ass and Annalee's terrible counting skills the doctors just guessed at how old I was and hoped they were correct since I was falling off the bottom of the growth charts." The tourists outside shook their heads in disappointment and kept walking.
"Not the point," Clarice replied, "Because see, you get caught, you get in trouble, but so does the bar and all that. Uncool. And using your powers to get beer, while I totally get, also not gonna endear you to the cops if you got caught. Make sense?" It was hard to get too mad at him since she had done the same things at his age, the difference was that she hadn't been caught. Well, not like this. She had partied more at homes and whatnot, not in public.
Spare him from overly moralistic twenty-somethings who seemed to believe that simply having graduated a few years ago meant they felt entitled to police his behaviour as though he was still a child whilst happily ignoring little details like the fact that the actual children living at the mansion drank more than he did on campus. Okay, fine, perhaps getting seen using fake ID to drink a single half a beer hadn't been the smartest move ever but was it really necessary to treat him like a disobedient child?
"Thank you for your concern for my and everyone else's welfare, Clarice. It's so very kind of you to be so caring like that," Artie signed, not particularly caring if she could understand him. He stood, shrugging on his coat and a hat. "Shall we go?" Everything Artie had been feeling about the school's claustrophobia when he'd left for the evening came with a vengeance and he found himself resolving to move out as soon as he reasonably could.
The issue wasn't that she felt particularly moral or anything, but she had to cover her own butt since she caught him. Really, she wasn't too thrilled with having to take him back. "Tell you what," she offered, "Carry my bags and come help me finish my holiday shopping and we'll call it even."
"So you won't be turning me in for graduate detention or whatever it is that they'd try to do? Thank you, Clarice." It was a lot more than he'd hoped for the given how things had started. The smile Artie gave was only partially forced, as he was still quite angry. He obediently picked up the bags and gestured towards the door, bowing slightly. He figured he should make it up some more. Just in case. He projected an image of a hot chocolate and little, fancy cakes into air with the text "Buy you one later?" underneath. The projection was small and transparent but positioned near enough to Clarice's eyeline that she alone could read it.
There was an idea. "I had stopped in for a drink," she agreed. "So what're you doing now that you graduated? Other than entertaining people with your images. They're pretty awesome, by the way."
"So, do you want the drink here or in a coffee shop?" Artie asked, sticking to projections for now as his hands were full. He shrugged in response to the rest of the questions.'I'm learning about forgery with one of Marie Anne's friends but I'm not committing crimes nor helping them do so, even if it is teaching me a lot about my powers through the way forgers look at things was hardly an acceptable answer. Especially right now. And it wasn't all he was doing. "Powers training. Making a portfolio. Maybe I'll go to Hollywood and work as a scene painter and special effects house."
That would be a good use of his powers and abilities, "No X-Manning for you?" Clarice asked lightly, teasing him. She couldn't see Artie doing that, he had no interest in it. "Anyways, coffee. Yes. I'm pretty sure if I started bleeding, I'd bleed coffee. That might be a sign that I should cut back, huh?"
He'd thought about it after Genosha and stuck to projected text as he replied. "No. I don't have offensive powers. I can confuse people, distract them and then? What? Carry a gun? Be a liability because I can't fight back?"
Clarice understood completely, "Makes sense to me," she agreed. "I'm great for the long distance stuff and I've trained in hand to hand, but...I'm no expert. If I get close up and offensive though, I almost have no choice except to kill and that's not something to do lightly. That you recognize that the X-Men isn't for you is awesome. But yeah, gotta do more than put on light shows for tourists," she grinned at him, "Even if it was pretty badass."
"Yeah. And I want to try to stop things before they happen, not just respond to them after, like the X-Men do. With this," Artie gestured at the building he'd lit up, "I just wanted to know if I could do it because large images are harder. I'm best with small stuff, see?" He held out his hand, a crumpled $50 appearing and flapping in the wind before green scales began to grow across his skin, starting at the fingernails. A moment later, they were all gone. "And this stuff is most effective if you don't know I'm doing it. Did you know people think things are real because they just don't look at them?"
She nodded, "Most people either don't pay attention or they assume that others are as honest as they are, therefore....." she shrugged a shoulder, "Most people are reasonably honest, yeah, but there's always that one. And in this case, he's apparently you," that wasn't a criticism. Maybe it would wake people up a little. As paranoid as people were about the economy and finances, they should be more aware!
Artie nodded. "That's right!"
Shaking her head, Clarice headed into a trendy boutique, "C'mon bag carrier. I've got a little more shopping left. But think of it like this - you don't have to wrap anything!"
The boy who'd once been unable to convincingly pull off fake ID with Matt had gotten better at it. Artie sat perched on a stool at the window of a bar, half empty pint glass in one hand.
Most of his attention was directed at an old brownstone across the road and at the starscape that currently twinkled on it.
New York was Clarice's stomping ground of choice, partially because it was New York City and partially because she just liked it. Pushing through the cold streets, she ducked into a bar to see about something to eat as she finished her holiday shopping and general errands that she needed to get done. Spying a familiar face, she ignored the open tables and instead headed towards the windows. "Fancy finding you here," she said, letting go of her shopping bags and placing a hand on Artie's shoulder.
Artie jumped slightly before realizing just who it was and offering Clarice a smile and wave. "What are you doing here?" he signed.
The cafes, bars and boutiques around here were packed with tourists, many of whom were glancing at his lights as they passed. It didn't seem like what he imagined Clarice's usual haunt to be. He figured she'd either be more... mall-y or shop in Milan or someplace. "Do you want a drink?" he signed. Be blatantly confident when caught because how much worse could things ever get, right?
Yeah, she did, but so not the point right now. "You do realize that you're underage, right?" she pointed out. Clarice wasn't staff at Xavier's, but finding one of the students alone in a bar like this was not exactly something she could overlook either. "And that you need a very good reason to be here and drinking this?" she reached around him to grab his beer and see what was left of it.
He might be underage but he was also almost 19. Artie began to sign quickly, possibly faster than Clarice could manage. "I've had half of it over two hours, Clarice. I'm 19, okay? I'm entertaining the tourists and stuff." The starscape on the building outside began to wink out, stars replaced with glowing neon bands outlining the contours of the brownstone. Some of the tourists were pointing, which was kind of gratifying. "It's too cold to sit outside and I can't see what I'm doing in the coffee shop. And I can't sit in here without a drink."
"'Almost 19' isn't 21," she pointed out. Pretty much everyone drank underage at some point, but that didn't mean they didn't get caught and punished sometimes, too. "You're getting pretty good at that," Clarice agreed, watching him. "Too bad it's gonna end now. You know how this is going to go." And why run when she could catch him?
Artie let the lights go and sighed. "You know, I'm not a student any more. Is it really worth telling Mr Haller once you give me a lift back to the mansion? Besides, I could be 21. Between my not talking, being a real short ass and Annalee's terrible counting skills the doctors just guessed at how old I was and hoped they were correct since I was falling off the bottom of the growth charts." The tourists outside shook their heads in disappointment and kept walking.
"Not the point," Clarice replied, "Because see, you get caught, you get in trouble, but so does the bar and all that. Uncool. And using your powers to get beer, while I totally get, also not gonna endear you to the cops if you got caught. Make sense?" It was hard to get too mad at him since she had done the same things at his age, the difference was that she hadn't been caught. Well, not like this. She had partied more at homes and whatnot, not in public.
Spare him from overly moralistic twenty-somethings who seemed to believe that simply having graduated a few years ago meant they felt entitled to police his behaviour as though he was still a child whilst happily ignoring little details like the fact that the actual children living at the mansion drank more than he did on campus. Okay, fine, perhaps getting seen using fake ID to drink a single half a beer hadn't been the smartest move ever but was it really necessary to treat him like a disobedient child?
"Thank you for your concern for my and everyone else's welfare, Clarice. It's so very kind of you to be so caring like that," Artie signed, not particularly caring if she could understand him. He stood, shrugging on his coat and a hat. "Shall we go?" Everything Artie had been feeling about the school's claustrophobia when he'd left for the evening came with a vengeance and he found himself resolving to move out as soon as he reasonably could.
The issue wasn't that she felt particularly moral or anything, but she had to cover her own butt since she caught him. Really, she wasn't too thrilled with having to take him back. "Tell you what," she offered, "Carry my bags and come help me finish my holiday shopping and we'll call it even."
"So you won't be turning me in for graduate detention or whatever it is that they'd try to do? Thank you, Clarice." It was a lot more than he'd hoped for the given how things had started. The smile Artie gave was only partially forced, as he was still quite angry. He obediently picked up the bags and gestured towards the door, bowing slightly. He figured he should make it up some more. Just in case. He projected an image of a hot chocolate and little, fancy cakes into air with the text "Buy you one later?" underneath. The projection was small and transparent but positioned near enough to Clarice's eyeline that she alone could read it.
There was an idea. "I had stopped in for a drink," she agreed. "So what're you doing now that you graduated? Other than entertaining people with your images. They're pretty awesome, by the way."
"So, do you want the drink here or in a coffee shop?" Artie asked, sticking to projections for now as his hands were full. He shrugged in response to the rest of the questions.'I'm learning about forgery with one of Marie Anne's friends but I'm not committing crimes nor helping them do so, even if it is teaching me a lot about my powers through the way forgers look at things was hardly an acceptable answer. Especially right now. And it wasn't all he was doing. "Powers training. Making a portfolio. Maybe I'll go to Hollywood and work as a scene painter and special effects house."
That would be a good use of his powers and abilities, "No X-Manning for you?" Clarice asked lightly, teasing him. She couldn't see Artie doing that, he had no interest in it. "Anyways, coffee. Yes. I'm pretty sure if I started bleeding, I'd bleed coffee. That might be a sign that I should cut back, huh?"
He'd thought about it after Genosha and stuck to projected text as he replied. "No. I don't have offensive powers. I can confuse people, distract them and then? What? Carry a gun? Be a liability because I can't fight back?"
Clarice understood completely, "Makes sense to me," she agreed. "I'm great for the long distance stuff and I've trained in hand to hand, but...I'm no expert. If I get close up and offensive though, I almost have no choice except to kill and that's not something to do lightly. That you recognize that the X-Men isn't for you is awesome. But yeah, gotta do more than put on light shows for tourists," she grinned at him, "Even if it was pretty badass."
"Yeah. And I want to try to stop things before they happen, not just respond to them after, like the X-Men do. With this," Artie gestured at the building he'd lit up, "I just wanted to know if I could do it because large images are harder. I'm best with small stuff, see?" He held out his hand, a crumpled $50 appearing and flapping in the wind before green scales began to grow across his skin, starting at the fingernails. A moment later, they were all gone. "And this stuff is most effective if you don't know I'm doing it. Did you know people think things are real because they just don't look at them?"
She nodded, "Most people either don't pay attention or they assume that others are as honest as they are, therefore....." she shrugged a shoulder, "Most people are reasonably honest, yeah, but there's always that one. And in this case, he's apparently you," that wasn't a criticism. Maybe it would wake people up a little. As paranoid as people were about the economy and finances, they should be more aware!
Artie nodded. "That's right!"
Shaking her head, Clarice headed into a trendy boutique, "C'mon bag carrier. I've got a little more shopping left. But think of it like this - you don't have to wrap anything!"
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