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xp_logsJosie tells X-Factor more about Radha Dastoor and her gift of healing, including victims of the supposed mutant plague. She gives Inez a souvenir to remember them by as they leave, case solved.
"I really appreciate you taking the time to ask us about the commune rather than making assumptions," Josie prattled as she led Inez and Arthur past the rows of cabins and towards the common area. "We've had so many people jump to conclusions. Totally understandable, of course, some places really are- oh, hi, Mark, is something wrong?"
A harried-looking man had just appeared from around the corner of a building, rubbing at his hands with a dirty rag. Upon hearing his name he fixed Josie with an unhappy look.
"The generator's shot again," Mark said, smearing the grease on his hands a little more thinly. There were only three fingers on either one, but otherwise he looked like a perfectly average man in his mid-40s. When he noticed Arthur and Inez his lips quirked. He glanced back to Josie with a weary expression. "Are these more people wanting to know if we're a cult?"
"I'm embarrassed to admit," and Arthur's prime strength here was that he was absolutely the worst at lying, "The thought had crossed my mind." The thought had been part of the mind links', likely Quentin's, but that seemed immaterial to mention. There were more important things. Such as...
Arthur waved to Mark, beaming, with his three-fingered hand. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't meant to be.
Back on track, though, "I am honestly sorry that people are quick to assume. Look at the community you've built here! So many happy people."
"Thank you!" exclaimed Josie. "You know, I think some of the rumors must be because people keep calling Radha a faith-healer. It's because she runs a commune. If she said the exact same thing from a penthouse they'd actually believe her when she says she's just another mutant." She flashed Inez a smile. "I would know. I'm a nurse."
"Well, she didn't 'pray away' my cystic fibrosis," Mark snorted. He eyed Arthur. "Don't suppose you have any experience with clogged fuel lines? I think someone used bad fuel in our generator."
"I have experience with a great many things! I once had to plug a fuel leak in the Arctic with my last remaining thermals or risk being stranded on the ice flows." This was all presented in a casual tone, like accounting yesterday's grocery store run. The silence that weighed in the air after that answer was enough to even clue Arthur into that maybe that wasn't what Mark meant.
"What I mean to say is that I would be delighted to help. I have a way of making sure things work out." He smiled more to break the tension, open and friendly, oblivious to how much of an understatement that last line was. "It must be hard getting supplies out there."
The other man grunted. "You have no idea. The disadvantage of building this remote. We have a teleporter to help, but they have trouble with inorganic material. C'mon, it's this way."
"Good luck!" Josie waved. As the two men departed she twirled back to the remaining woman, her big brown eyes sparkling. "So what's your verdict?" she asked Inez. "Do we pass?"
"Well he seemed happy enough, so yeah, I reckon," Inez admitted, though she still had her reservations. Without Theo's consent though they unfortunately couldn't really do much but take his word for it that he was fine and report back to his spouse. She didn't actually say 'for now' at the end of her sentence but it was likely visible on her face if Josie was even a tiny bit observant.
She slid her hands into her pockets, watching Arthur and Mark as they departed before turning back to Josie. "Y'said that you're a nurse?" she asked, switching to small talk even though that's not really her strong suit, but what else could she do once their target refused to cooperate?
"I was." The smaller woman's expression lost some of its shine. "The hospital turfed me when they found out I was a mutant. I mean, they said that wasn't it, but they said some family accused me of making their father sick, and that only started after it got out. I wasn't technically fired, just 'encouraged to leave'." Josie's mouth twisted. "I loved that job, but I couldn't find work after that. Then I ran into one of my ex-patients at the store and -- you know, it was amazing. I met him when he was in for pneumonia, you know, but at that time he'd been a quadripalegic for something like fifteen years because of a car accident. Lucky guy, his family had enough money that he didn't have to go into care, but it was tough on him. And he was a visible mutant, too. He had a pit organ, you know, he could sense infrared like a snake-" She seemed to realize she was rambling and broke off with a guilty laugh.
"Sorry, not important. Anyway, when I met him again he wasn't using his chair anymore. I asked him what had happened and he told me about Radha. He heard her speaking at an event and went to talk to her, and well -- she said she could heal him, and she did. I just couldn't believe it, you know? I thought: I have to meet this woman." The megawatt smile returned. "And it was true. I've seen her do it. Like Mark said, she helped him. There are a couple other people here with the same story. I don't want to oversell, she can't a hundred percent fix everything -- like, a demyelinating disease like multiple sclerosis or mental illness like depression will relapse if you don't come see her every couple months, but things like old injuries or that weird mutant disease she can fix for good."
"Huh," she said, trying to absorb the mile-a-minute dialogue Josie was throwing her way, but the last part stuck out for sure. "That's powerful impressive, curin' all kinds of things like that. And some permanently you said?" Inez let out a low whistle, genuinely impressed at least a little bit, but focusing on her task at hand she paused before continuing to the important part.
"Weird mutant disease... I think I've heard 'bout that, but refresh my memory, please? In case I know of someone who might be able t'avail of her services," she lied, hoping to get a bit more information from her.
Josie's face darkened. "We don't know what it is," she said, "but we keep hearing about it showing up in urban areas with a high concentration of mutants. You said you're from NYC? I don't think I've heard about it hitting the East Coast yet, but our first cases came out of California, and I know Kirsty caught it in Vancouver . . . anyway, it's scary. It seems to interact with the x-gene in some way. If someone's got an active power like energy projection they can start having power flares, but we've also seen people who demonstrate neurological symptoms or lose control of their nervous system. Malik, he has these flash-reflexes and some physiological enhancements, he spiked this insane fever and every joint swelled so severely he couldn't even close his hands. His case reminded me of lupus, but he had all kinds of testing and it wasn't. It looks so different in everyone. Radha says her power lets her cure it, but she doesn't understand it." The nurse hugged herself, her body language suddenly tight and angry. "We tried to tell the CDC, but either they don't take us seriously or they don't care. Some people would just prefer we all die out."
Inez shivered a little despite herself at hearing the description of the disease, specifically the fact that it attached the x-gene. And then she described very similar powers to her own, with horrific results, which definitely caught her attention. "Oh fuck," she muttered, not catching herself from swearing. "Sorry, but... yeah, that sounds horrible. And yeah, fuck those people," she added, not apologizing for that last curse.
The tiny woman nodded vigorously. "Definitely. We-- oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking. You're all mutants too, right?"
"I... yeah, we, uh," she stammered, remembering they weren't exactly hiding it or anything. The idea of the disease and that one specific, on-point example had Inez shook though. "We are, and we've got a huge interest in gettin' to the bottom of that too." They were focused on their assignment at the moment but she'd be damned if that threat wasn't sitting square in the back of her mind and bugging her like crazy now.
"M'sorry 'bout your job and all," she said, trying to refocus. "People do suck sometimes, mutants or not, y'didn't deserve that. I hope y'can find something else instead where that doesn't happen again."
The Colgate-worthy smile returned. "With Radha around my job is redundant, but that's okay. This place is better. Here . . . " Josie prized a bracelet from the collection on her arm; it was a woven affair of soft silk cord and beads of rose quartz. The brunette pressed it into Inez's hands.
"I don't have a business card, but here's a souvenir. We make them ourselves." Josie took the blonde's hand in both of hers and gave it a warm squeeze. "Remember us if you think of anyone who might need Radha's help. We have to stick together, right?"
Inez eyed the bracelet. It wasn't something she'd normally consider even taking, let alone wearing, but hearing the severity of that mutant disease and knowing that Radha might be able to cure it, well. She was spooked, to say the least, and she accepted it with a gentle nod of thanks, sliding it over her hand and up onto her wrist. At the very least it might hold some evidentiary value or at least something to connect them to the place if they had to come back, she reasoned.
"Thank you, I appreciate it," she said with a slight grin. "We do, that's for sure, and I'll keep that in mind."
"Nice bling, matches your outfit." Quentin sauntered down the path to rejoin his colleagues, though he only saw one. "Where's Arthur?" He sent a telepathic ping to Sue, too, to get an eye on her. "Mystery solved, we know where Mr. Turner is and where all his 'donations' have been going. It's up to him to be truthful with his wife. Marriage seems like such a hassle. Group living out here seems like a much better option, you know?"
"Totally, who doesn't want to live out in the middle of nowhere with no wifi, Starbucks or even a working generator." The blonde fell silent for a moment as she carefully stepped to the side to avoid a passerby from bumping into her as she slowly examined the area around them. Invisibility had its uses but it wasn't going to stop someone from noticing that they'd bumped into someone else. "I guess we can mark this one as wrapped up then."
Quentin did not actually roll his eyes, but the sentiment traveled down the psychic link with the others. "Firstly, no Starbucks is an argument in favor of this place. And second, who needs a generator when you have mutants whose mere existence violates the first law of thermodynamics? Although I have to admit I'm still getting some culty vibes. Something just isn't right. Thoughts?"
"Thank you again for your help and your hospitality," he said out loud to Josie. "We really appreciate your time helping us solve a domestic squabble."
"Anything we can do to help," Josie said earnestly. "I'm sorry for the confusion. I'm kind of annoyed with Theo, too, to be honest, When he mentioned his wife I just assumed he'd have told her where he was." She turned to Inez and gave her a playful eyeroll of assumed feminine solidarity. "I guess using us as an excuse to skip out on his wife isn't really helping the whole 'cult' rumors, either."
The generator is working now, if that changes anyone's opinions or snap judgements! came in a cheerful tone through the psychic link, and not far behind it their last missing team member emerged into full view of the assembled party. Arthur was definitely greasier than he had last been seen, but still the usual sunny side up.
"Josie! Theo asked me to let you know he'll be busy checking out the water lines and the workshop for the rest of the afternoon."
"Really?" Josie perked up. "What was wrong with it?"
"Oh, nothing! Actually the opposite. His exact words were something like," and here Arthur lowered his voice to best to mimic Theo's exact, grumbling cadence, "Things are working now that have been broken for weeks and I don't trust miracles."
"Better safe than sorry," Inez chimed in. "Even divine intervention requires regular preventative maintenance. I imagine, anyway," she conceded, not really knowing if that was the case but willing to defer to their wisdom. She playfully punched Arthur on the shoulder at his mimicry, grinning at Josie. "Thanks again for your time, we appreciate it."
Semi-precious stones clicked as the nurse waved a dismissive hand. "Thank you for keeping an open mind. You all be careful on the drive back, okay? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to talk to Theo."
Case closed, Quentin led the others back to the car. "He's going to get an earful from Josie and his wife, and probably also this Radha whenever she gets back. Not helping with the cultiness of it all by vanishing like that." He glanced over his shoulder, and smirked at Abhay who was watching them leave. "Still, I can see some perks to this place."
You and you only, Sue barely suppressed a shudder as she climbed into the back of the car, twisting her head around to let her blue eyes flick out over the little commune. I can see the attraction of dropping all the stress and getting away from it all, the "good life". It's just...a little stepford creepy. They're all so happy and...urh totally not for me. I'll stick with the city and a spa thank you. Too much nature out here.
"Mm," Inez hummed in quasi-agreement, looking down and fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist for a moment before lifting her head back up. "I'm usually not one for spas but that kinda sounds nice right about now," she said. "Though yeah, there may be some perks, 'specially if they're right about this disease and whether they can treat it."
I don't know if I'd call what I saw happy, Arthur added thoughtfully, as his face kept a serene smile. I got a lovely tour. Everyone was smiling, working, and clearly focused, but... He looked backward, letting his eyes scan the commune searchingly. Like they're all trying to please one or two people instead of living, laughing, loving. Does that make a 'good life'?
"I really appreciate you taking the time to ask us about the commune rather than making assumptions," Josie prattled as she led Inez and Arthur past the rows of cabins and towards the common area. "We've had so many people jump to conclusions. Totally understandable, of course, some places really are- oh, hi, Mark, is something wrong?"
A harried-looking man had just appeared from around the corner of a building, rubbing at his hands with a dirty rag. Upon hearing his name he fixed Josie with an unhappy look.
"The generator's shot again," Mark said, smearing the grease on his hands a little more thinly. There were only three fingers on either one, but otherwise he looked like a perfectly average man in his mid-40s. When he noticed Arthur and Inez his lips quirked. He glanced back to Josie with a weary expression. "Are these more people wanting to know if we're a cult?"
"I'm embarrassed to admit," and Arthur's prime strength here was that he was absolutely the worst at lying, "The thought had crossed my mind." The thought had been part of the mind links', likely Quentin's, but that seemed immaterial to mention. There were more important things. Such as...
Arthur waved to Mark, beaming, with his three-fingered hand. It wasn't subtle. It wasn't meant to be.
Back on track, though, "I am honestly sorry that people are quick to assume. Look at the community you've built here! So many happy people."
"Thank you!" exclaimed Josie. "You know, I think some of the rumors must be because people keep calling Radha a faith-healer. It's because she runs a commune. If she said the exact same thing from a penthouse they'd actually believe her when she says she's just another mutant." She flashed Inez a smile. "I would know. I'm a nurse."
"Well, she didn't 'pray away' my cystic fibrosis," Mark snorted. He eyed Arthur. "Don't suppose you have any experience with clogged fuel lines? I think someone used bad fuel in our generator."
"I have experience with a great many things! I once had to plug a fuel leak in the Arctic with my last remaining thermals or risk being stranded on the ice flows." This was all presented in a casual tone, like accounting yesterday's grocery store run. The silence that weighed in the air after that answer was enough to even clue Arthur into that maybe that wasn't what Mark meant.
"What I mean to say is that I would be delighted to help. I have a way of making sure things work out." He smiled more to break the tension, open and friendly, oblivious to how much of an understatement that last line was. "It must be hard getting supplies out there."
The other man grunted. "You have no idea. The disadvantage of building this remote. We have a teleporter to help, but they have trouble with inorganic material. C'mon, it's this way."
"Good luck!" Josie waved. As the two men departed she twirled back to the remaining woman, her big brown eyes sparkling. "So what's your verdict?" she asked Inez. "Do we pass?"
"Well he seemed happy enough, so yeah, I reckon," Inez admitted, though she still had her reservations. Without Theo's consent though they unfortunately couldn't really do much but take his word for it that he was fine and report back to his spouse. She didn't actually say 'for now' at the end of her sentence but it was likely visible on her face if Josie was even a tiny bit observant.
She slid her hands into her pockets, watching Arthur and Mark as they departed before turning back to Josie. "Y'said that you're a nurse?" she asked, switching to small talk even though that's not really her strong suit, but what else could she do once their target refused to cooperate?
"I was." The smaller woman's expression lost some of its shine. "The hospital turfed me when they found out I was a mutant. I mean, they said that wasn't it, but they said some family accused me of making their father sick, and that only started after it got out. I wasn't technically fired, just 'encouraged to leave'." Josie's mouth twisted. "I loved that job, but I couldn't find work after that. Then I ran into one of my ex-patients at the store and -- you know, it was amazing. I met him when he was in for pneumonia, you know, but at that time he'd been a quadripalegic for something like fifteen years because of a car accident. Lucky guy, his family had enough money that he didn't have to go into care, but it was tough on him. And he was a visible mutant, too. He had a pit organ, you know, he could sense infrared like a snake-" She seemed to realize she was rambling and broke off with a guilty laugh.
"Sorry, not important. Anyway, when I met him again he wasn't using his chair anymore. I asked him what had happened and he told me about Radha. He heard her speaking at an event and went to talk to her, and well -- she said she could heal him, and she did. I just couldn't believe it, you know? I thought: I have to meet this woman." The megawatt smile returned. "And it was true. I've seen her do it. Like Mark said, she helped him. There are a couple other people here with the same story. I don't want to oversell, she can't a hundred percent fix everything -- like, a demyelinating disease like multiple sclerosis or mental illness like depression will relapse if you don't come see her every couple months, but things like old injuries or that weird mutant disease she can fix for good."
"Huh," she said, trying to absorb the mile-a-minute dialogue Josie was throwing her way, but the last part stuck out for sure. "That's powerful impressive, curin' all kinds of things like that. And some permanently you said?" Inez let out a low whistle, genuinely impressed at least a little bit, but focusing on her task at hand she paused before continuing to the important part.
"Weird mutant disease... I think I've heard 'bout that, but refresh my memory, please? In case I know of someone who might be able t'avail of her services," she lied, hoping to get a bit more information from her.
Josie's face darkened. "We don't know what it is," she said, "but we keep hearing about it showing up in urban areas with a high concentration of mutants. You said you're from NYC? I don't think I've heard about it hitting the East Coast yet, but our first cases came out of California, and I know Kirsty caught it in Vancouver . . . anyway, it's scary. It seems to interact with the x-gene in some way. If someone's got an active power like energy projection they can start having power flares, but we've also seen people who demonstrate neurological symptoms or lose control of their nervous system. Malik, he has these flash-reflexes and some physiological enhancements, he spiked this insane fever and every joint swelled so severely he couldn't even close his hands. His case reminded me of lupus, but he had all kinds of testing and it wasn't. It looks so different in everyone. Radha says her power lets her cure it, but she doesn't understand it." The nurse hugged herself, her body language suddenly tight and angry. "We tried to tell the CDC, but either they don't take us seriously or they don't care. Some people would just prefer we all die out."
Inez shivered a little despite herself at hearing the description of the disease, specifically the fact that it attached the x-gene. And then she described very similar powers to her own, with horrific results, which definitely caught her attention. "Oh fuck," she muttered, not catching herself from swearing. "Sorry, but... yeah, that sounds horrible. And yeah, fuck those people," she added, not apologizing for that last curse.
The tiny woman nodded vigorously. "Definitely. We-- oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking. You're all mutants too, right?"
"I... yeah, we, uh," she stammered, remembering they weren't exactly hiding it or anything. The idea of the disease and that one specific, on-point example had Inez shook though. "We are, and we've got a huge interest in gettin' to the bottom of that too." They were focused on their assignment at the moment but she'd be damned if that threat wasn't sitting square in the back of her mind and bugging her like crazy now.
"M'sorry 'bout your job and all," she said, trying to refocus. "People do suck sometimes, mutants or not, y'didn't deserve that. I hope y'can find something else instead where that doesn't happen again."
The Colgate-worthy smile returned. "With Radha around my job is redundant, but that's okay. This place is better. Here . . . " Josie prized a bracelet from the collection on her arm; it was a woven affair of soft silk cord and beads of rose quartz. The brunette pressed it into Inez's hands.
"I don't have a business card, but here's a souvenir. We make them ourselves." Josie took the blonde's hand in both of hers and gave it a warm squeeze. "Remember us if you think of anyone who might need Radha's help. We have to stick together, right?"
Inez eyed the bracelet. It wasn't something she'd normally consider even taking, let alone wearing, but hearing the severity of that mutant disease and knowing that Radha might be able to cure it, well. She was spooked, to say the least, and she accepted it with a gentle nod of thanks, sliding it over her hand and up onto her wrist. At the very least it might hold some evidentiary value or at least something to connect them to the place if they had to come back, she reasoned.
"Thank you, I appreciate it," she said with a slight grin. "We do, that's for sure, and I'll keep that in mind."
"Nice bling, matches your outfit." Quentin sauntered down the path to rejoin his colleagues, though he only saw one. "Where's Arthur?" He sent a telepathic ping to Sue, too, to get an eye on her. "Mystery solved, we know where Mr. Turner is and where all his 'donations' have been going. It's up to him to be truthful with his wife. Marriage seems like such a hassle. Group living out here seems like a much better option, you know?"
"Totally, who doesn't want to live out in the middle of nowhere with no wifi, Starbucks or even a working generator." The blonde fell silent for a moment as she carefully stepped to the side to avoid a passerby from bumping into her as she slowly examined the area around them. Invisibility had its uses but it wasn't going to stop someone from noticing that they'd bumped into someone else. "I guess we can mark this one as wrapped up then."
Quentin did not actually roll his eyes, but the sentiment traveled down the psychic link with the others. "Firstly, no Starbucks is an argument in favor of this place. And second, who needs a generator when you have mutants whose mere existence violates the first law of thermodynamics? Although I have to admit I'm still getting some culty vibes. Something just isn't right. Thoughts?"
"Thank you again for your help and your hospitality," he said out loud to Josie. "We really appreciate your time helping us solve a domestic squabble."
"Anything we can do to help," Josie said earnestly. "I'm sorry for the confusion. I'm kind of annoyed with Theo, too, to be honest, When he mentioned his wife I just assumed he'd have told her where he was." She turned to Inez and gave her a playful eyeroll of assumed feminine solidarity. "I guess using us as an excuse to skip out on his wife isn't really helping the whole 'cult' rumors, either."
The generator is working now, if that changes anyone's opinions or snap judgements! came in a cheerful tone through the psychic link, and not far behind it their last missing team member emerged into full view of the assembled party. Arthur was definitely greasier than he had last been seen, but still the usual sunny side up.
"Josie! Theo asked me to let you know he'll be busy checking out the water lines and the workshop for the rest of the afternoon."
"Really?" Josie perked up. "What was wrong with it?"
"Oh, nothing! Actually the opposite. His exact words were something like," and here Arthur lowered his voice to best to mimic Theo's exact, grumbling cadence, "Things are working now that have been broken for weeks and I don't trust miracles."
"Better safe than sorry," Inez chimed in. "Even divine intervention requires regular preventative maintenance. I imagine, anyway," she conceded, not really knowing if that was the case but willing to defer to their wisdom. She playfully punched Arthur on the shoulder at his mimicry, grinning at Josie. "Thanks again for your time, we appreciate it."
Semi-precious stones clicked as the nurse waved a dismissive hand. "Thank you for keeping an open mind. You all be careful on the drive back, okay? Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to talk to Theo."
Case closed, Quentin led the others back to the car. "He's going to get an earful from Josie and his wife, and probably also this Radha whenever she gets back. Not helping with the cultiness of it all by vanishing like that." He glanced over his shoulder, and smirked at Abhay who was watching them leave. "Still, I can see some perks to this place."
You and you only, Sue barely suppressed a shudder as she climbed into the back of the car, twisting her head around to let her blue eyes flick out over the little commune. I can see the attraction of dropping all the stress and getting away from it all, the "good life". It's just...a little stepford creepy. They're all so happy and...urh totally not for me. I'll stick with the city and a spa thank you. Too much nature out here.
"Mm," Inez hummed in quasi-agreement, looking down and fidgeting with the bracelet on her wrist for a moment before lifting her head back up. "I'm usually not one for spas but that kinda sounds nice right about now," she said. "Though yeah, there may be some perks, 'specially if they're right about this disease and whether they can treat it."
I don't know if I'd call what I saw happy, Arthur added thoughtfully, as his face kept a serene smile. I got a lovely tour. Everyone was smiling, working, and clearly focused, but... He looked backward, letting his eyes scan the commune searchingly. Like they're all trying to please one or two people instead of living, laughing, loving. Does that make a 'good life'?
