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xp_logsJean and Sooraya go holiday shopping for some of the children of the mutant underground.
Jean peered in a department store window decorated for Christmas. This one featured mannequins on a sled going down a "snow" covered hill while a dog chased them. She took a sip of her peppermint mocha, then smiled at all of the garlands and Christmas lights dripping from the lamp posts. It wasn't every street, but many had already become infused with holiday cheer.
"This is one of the reasons why I love living in New York City."
"All the lights do make it seem less dark." Sooraya easily agreed, eyeing one of the other decorations that featured a waving Santa Claus with his wife and a sled with reindeer moving across the dark sky behind them. She sipped from her hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream and added in a low voice. "I enjoy getting to play Santa Claus. Sirius looked so worried when he asked if Santa would be able to find where they were staying since they were hiding."
Jean's smile widened. "There have been arguments from some historians that Santa might have been a mutant," she said as the toy store came into view. "Or possibly a wizard. I find both options easily believable after the last few years."
She opened the door and stepped inside. The toy store was decked out with giant nutcracker soldiers, Christmas trees, and oversized ornaments. Children ran through the store, with harried parents chasing after them. There was a mixture of toy sounds and holiday music in the air.
"I enjoy it too. It's been so long since I've gotten to work with the Underground exclusively. I hear from some of the children we've helped sometimes. They've grown so much. I try to send them a gift card every year."
"I've seen similar thoughts with other legendary figures. I think I remember reading that Hercules had super-strength or something." Sooraya fell silent as she took in the very large and very busy toy store for a moment, then started digging through her purse. "So when I was tutoring, I secretly nicked the kids wishlists and took a picture of them. And made this 'master list of gifts'. Look like we've our work cut out for us." She handed Jean a copy of the list with a pen.
"And I finagled this from Warren." She held up a black credit card. "Should make shopping a lot easier."
Jean eyed Sooraya a moment as she took the list. "You are a mastermind, madam," she said, then grinned broadly. "I love it."
She grabbed a cart. "I'd suggest a field trip for the kids to Rockefeller Center to look at the lights but I don't want to jinx anything."
"Yeah, I wish we'd be able to do that as well, but it's asking for trouble." Sooraya replied in a low voice, then switched to projecting her thoughts. 'But we can do our best to bring Christmas to them... maybe we can recruit someone to play Santa and have Clarice teleport them in to avoid all.'
Jean tilted her head thoughtfully, her voice dropping quietly. "We have someone who can shapeshift, but I don't know know if he likes children. Other than that...perhaps...Kyle?" she said. "And barely that. Almost everyone's too young and spry. They'd definitely need a fake beard and bowl full of jelly."
"We can always ask. Especially if we got our hands on some very fine liquor as a thank you?" Sooraya patted her pocket that held the black Amex. "How about we get started on these first though?" She hefted the list. "Lisa wants a puppy... might be a little hard, but a Barbie doll we can do."
Nodding in agreement, Jean headed for the Barbie section. She could see the pink from across the store so it was easy to spot. "There's so many. I forgot about all the variety they had," she said, scanning the aisle with a hand to her forehead.
"Did she say what kind?" She was about to start buying three or four just to be safe.
Taking a peek at the list Sooraya shook her head. "No, but I know she happens to love ballet. So I don't think we can go wrong with a ballerina barbie or something like that." She scanned the various boxes, finally picking out one with long black hair and a sparkly purple tutu. "How about something like this?"
Jean grinned. "Perfect," she said, giving her a thumbs up.
"There's a dance store nearby. We could get her one her own size to match." She eyed her list. "Isla likes Batman. Shall we go to the action figure aisle next? I'm hoping there's a tiny utility belt there too."
"Maybe we should have a look at the costume sections as well. I think it is good for the kids to be their own superhero for a bit..." The 'with the circumstances they are living in' remained unspoken. "Besides, Joshua wants to be a cowboy."
"They have a costume section?" Jean said curiously. Maybe they had tutus as well. "It's been awhile since I've been in an actual store. I'm used to buying things online for the twins."
"I think I saw a sign when we came in." Sooraya clarified. "What do you think of this? It seems to have the whole Bat family. Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing, whoever that might be..." She held up the box with with four figurines inside.
Jean's eyebrows rose. "An actual Batgirl action figure. I'm impressed," she said. She smiled. "Nightwing used to be Robin, and now there's a new one." She paused after a moment. "Isla's been having me read her Batman comics."
Sooraya had to laugh as she dropped the box in their cart. "So you are the one who she got so far! She has been after me too and told me that someone was reading them with her. Still, I'm glad to hear she is finally settling in a bit." Her voice turned more serious at the last bit. "I was pretty worried about that for a while."
Jean nodded solemnly. "Me too," she said. "I think Liam's adjusting to the whole father thing pretty well too. It's got to be hard to go from uncle to parental figure." She shook her head. "He told me his brother still refuses to see her."
"Asshole." Sooraya growled in a low voice. "No matter how many times I've seen it by now, I still don't get how a parent can turn their back on a kid just because.... well, you know..."
"Self preservation," Jean said, clenching the shopping cart bar tightly. "What would his friends think? He doesn't want to be ostracized, I'm guessing."
She shook her head again. "I'm just glad Liam was there to take care of her. I hate having to take so many to a foster home." They weren't exactly legal foster homes but at least they had a roof over their head.
"It sucks." Sooraya agreed wholeheartedly. She glanced at their list and stirred them towards the departments with which held a huge variety of science kits. "And it's amazing the kids still manage to shine like this. Conner has been digging through everything related to chemistry on his level he can gets his hands on... makes a Christmas gift easy though. As long as we avoid the things that have a big chance to go boom."
Jean laughed. "He'll be very disappointed," she said with a grin. "Kid reminds me Hank and the rest of the science crew that hang out in the lower levels." She glanced around with a faint, cautious smile. "Hopefully they'll all have a bright future."
"I hope so too." Sooraya returned the smile, knowing she would do all she could to make that come through. "So which one of those..." She gestured at the wall of science kits. "... do you think come the closest to making things go boom?"
"Let's get a few," Jean said thoughtfully. "That way he learns a variety of skills." She picked up a box, glancing it over. It was fun helping to teach the boy what did what. She had to dig back to her old graduate and undergraduate classes to remember, but it was worth it to see the light in his eyes when it clicked.
"Those look pretty good to me." Sooraya nodded at the three kits Jean was holding. "And I think..." She bent down, picking out one of the junior kits. "... this is a good one for his little brother. I've seen him look enviously when his brother is working with his mini-lab."
Jean let out a laugh. "Oh God, he's so cute with his big brown eyes," she said. "Conner's been trying to teach Rafe how to tie his shoelaces but he keeps getting them bunched up in knots," she said, her eyes lit up by the memory. She smiled. "Kid's stubborn though. Keeps trying. That'll be perfect. Especially the one where you can grow rocks. He loves those."
Sooraya had to laugh at the picture it made in her mind. "Oh I can see his face right now. Hmm, maybe we should tell him patience is a thing every good chemist needs?"
Pausing for a moment, Jean tilted her head skeptically. "You're awfully braver than I," she mused, then chuckled. "Yeah, maybe we should. He's old enough, I think. It'll be a good lesson."
"Very much so." Sooraya eyed the list in her hand and steered back to it. "So we have about three more kids to go. How about we wrap those, visit the costume section and grab a bit to eat afterwards? I'm in the mood for Italian food."
Jean smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me," she said. "Are you up for splitting some tiramisu?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
Jean peered in a department store window decorated for Christmas. This one featured mannequins on a sled going down a "snow" covered hill while a dog chased them. She took a sip of her peppermint mocha, then smiled at all of the garlands and Christmas lights dripping from the lamp posts. It wasn't every street, but many had already become infused with holiday cheer.
"This is one of the reasons why I love living in New York City."
"All the lights do make it seem less dark." Sooraya easily agreed, eyeing one of the other decorations that featured a waving Santa Claus with his wife and a sled with reindeer moving across the dark sky behind them. She sipped from her hot chocolate with lots of whipped cream and added in a low voice. "I enjoy getting to play Santa Claus. Sirius looked so worried when he asked if Santa would be able to find where they were staying since they were hiding."
Jean's smile widened. "There have been arguments from some historians that Santa might have been a mutant," she said as the toy store came into view. "Or possibly a wizard. I find both options easily believable after the last few years."
She opened the door and stepped inside. The toy store was decked out with giant nutcracker soldiers, Christmas trees, and oversized ornaments. Children ran through the store, with harried parents chasing after them. There was a mixture of toy sounds and holiday music in the air.
"I enjoy it too. It's been so long since I've gotten to work with the Underground exclusively. I hear from some of the children we've helped sometimes. They've grown so much. I try to send them a gift card every year."
"I've seen similar thoughts with other legendary figures. I think I remember reading that Hercules had super-strength or something." Sooraya fell silent as she took in the very large and very busy toy store for a moment, then started digging through her purse. "So when I was tutoring, I secretly nicked the kids wishlists and took a picture of them. And made this 'master list of gifts'. Look like we've our work cut out for us." She handed Jean a copy of the list with a pen.
"And I finagled this from Warren." She held up a black credit card. "Should make shopping a lot easier."
Jean eyed Sooraya a moment as she took the list. "You are a mastermind, madam," she said, then grinned broadly. "I love it."
She grabbed a cart. "I'd suggest a field trip for the kids to Rockefeller Center to look at the lights but I don't want to jinx anything."
"Yeah, I wish we'd be able to do that as well, but it's asking for trouble." Sooraya replied in a low voice, then switched to projecting her thoughts. 'But we can do our best to bring Christmas to them... maybe we can recruit someone to play Santa and have Clarice teleport them in to avoid all.'
Jean tilted her head thoughtfully, her voice dropping quietly. "We have someone who can shapeshift, but I don't know know if he likes children. Other than that...perhaps...Kyle?" she said. "And barely that. Almost everyone's too young and spry. They'd definitely need a fake beard and bowl full of jelly."
"We can always ask. Especially if we got our hands on some very fine liquor as a thank you?" Sooraya patted her pocket that held the black Amex. "How about we get started on these first though?" She hefted the list. "Lisa wants a puppy... might be a little hard, but a Barbie doll we can do."
Nodding in agreement, Jean headed for the Barbie section. She could see the pink from across the store so it was easy to spot. "There's so many. I forgot about all the variety they had," she said, scanning the aisle with a hand to her forehead.
"Did she say what kind?" She was about to start buying three or four just to be safe.
Taking a peek at the list Sooraya shook her head. "No, but I know she happens to love ballet. So I don't think we can go wrong with a ballerina barbie or something like that." She scanned the various boxes, finally picking out one with long black hair and a sparkly purple tutu. "How about something like this?"
Jean grinned. "Perfect," she said, giving her a thumbs up.
"There's a dance store nearby. We could get her one her own size to match." She eyed her list. "Isla likes Batman. Shall we go to the action figure aisle next? I'm hoping there's a tiny utility belt there too."
"Maybe we should have a look at the costume sections as well. I think it is good for the kids to be their own superhero for a bit..." The 'with the circumstances they are living in' remained unspoken. "Besides, Joshua wants to be a cowboy."
"They have a costume section?" Jean said curiously. Maybe they had tutus as well. "It's been awhile since I've been in an actual store. I'm used to buying things online for the twins."
"I think I saw a sign when we came in." Sooraya clarified. "What do you think of this? It seems to have the whole Bat family. Batman, Robin, Batgirl and Nightwing, whoever that might be..." She held up the box with with four figurines inside.
Jean's eyebrows rose. "An actual Batgirl action figure. I'm impressed," she said. She smiled. "Nightwing used to be Robin, and now there's a new one." She paused after a moment. "Isla's been having me read her Batman comics."
Sooraya had to laugh as she dropped the box in their cart. "So you are the one who she got so far! She has been after me too and told me that someone was reading them with her. Still, I'm glad to hear she is finally settling in a bit." Her voice turned more serious at the last bit. "I was pretty worried about that for a while."
Jean nodded solemnly. "Me too," she said. "I think Liam's adjusting to the whole father thing pretty well too. It's got to be hard to go from uncle to parental figure." She shook her head. "He told me his brother still refuses to see her."
"Asshole." Sooraya growled in a low voice. "No matter how many times I've seen it by now, I still don't get how a parent can turn their back on a kid just because.... well, you know..."
"Self preservation," Jean said, clenching the shopping cart bar tightly. "What would his friends think? He doesn't want to be ostracized, I'm guessing."
She shook her head again. "I'm just glad Liam was there to take care of her. I hate having to take so many to a foster home." They weren't exactly legal foster homes but at least they had a roof over their head.
"It sucks." Sooraya agreed wholeheartedly. She glanced at their list and stirred them towards the departments with which held a huge variety of science kits. "And it's amazing the kids still manage to shine like this. Conner has been digging through everything related to chemistry on his level he can gets his hands on... makes a Christmas gift easy though. As long as we avoid the things that have a big chance to go boom."
Jean laughed. "He'll be very disappointed," she said with a grin. "Kid reminds me Hank and the rest of the science crew that hang out in the lower levels." She glanced around with a faint, cautious smile. "Hopefully they'll all have a bright future."
"I hope so too." Sooraya returned the smile, knowing she would do all she could to make that come through. "So which one of those..." She gestured at the wall of science kits. "... do you think come the closest to making things go boom?"
"Let's get a few," Jean said thoughtfully. "That way he learns a variety of skills." She picked up a box, glancing it over. It was fun helping to teach the boy what did what. She had to dig back to her old graduate and undergraduate classes to remember, but it was worth it to see the light in his eyes when it clicked.
"Those look pretty good to me." Sooraya nodded at the three kits Jean was holding. "And I think..." She bent down, picking out one of the junior kits. "... this is a good one for his little brother. I've seen him look enviously when his brother is working with his mini-lab."
Jean let out a laugh. "Oh God, he's so cute with his big brown eyes," she said. "Conner's been trying to teach Rafe how to tie his shoelaces but he keeps getting them bunched up in knots," she said, her eyes lit up by the memory. She smiled. "Kid's stubborn though. Keeps trying. That'll be perfect. Especially the one where you can grow rocks. He loves those."
Sooraya had to laugh at the picture it made in her mind. "Oh I can see his face right now. Hmm, maybe we should tell him patience is a thing every good chemist needs?"
Pausing for a moment, Jean tilted her head skeptically. "You're awfully braver than I," she mused, then chuckled. "Yeah, maybe we should. He's old enough, I think. It'll be a good lesson."
"Very much so." Sooraya eyed the list in her hand and steered back to it. "So we have about three more kids to go. How about we wrap those, visit the costume section and grab a bit to eat afterwards? I'm in the mood for Italian food."
Jean smiled. "Sounds like a plan to me," she said. "Are you up for splitting some tiramisu?"
"Do you even have to ask?"
