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xp_logsThe day after the commune fell apart, life... continued, more or less, aided by Arthur's ability to find catering.
Arranging the catering had been the trickiest part.
"Hello, yes, I'd like to take advantage of your friends and mutants discount on the best spread for folks suffering from discorporal backlash and who might also have gluten or nut allergies," was a tall order with only a day's worth of planning as opposed to a scramble to get legal documentation, pull in local Underground contacts, and materialize other options for a commune's worth of folks. The latter part was often what X-Factor did. Just not often on this scale.
Or, perhaps, Arthur was just focusing on the table of fruit and prepackaged options in the wake of this afternoon's dismantling of Haven. His friends who needed it were all back in New York, but there was still work to do and people to help.
"Will that work?"
Someone with a clipboard was talking to him, and Arthur turned distractedly to flash a stock smile and nod enthusiastically. A few of the commune leaders — not the ones that bailed spectacularly, obviously — were proving to be quite resourceful in terms of planning and people movement.
"Everyone gets a chance to decide their path," Arthur said to Clipboard and also himself. Clipboard frowned in confusion, slightly, but nodded before maneuvering away to check off lists and administrate.
When hunger finally drew Madin from their room after several hours of sleep and several hours of staring blankly into space wondering what was going to happen now, they'd headed to the hall. It was, after all, where the communal kitchens, the bathrooms, the life of the commune had been.
It was a flurry of activity, food laid out, urns of coffee and hot water and strangers bustling around. A lot of the food was prepackaged, the bright bottles of juice and soda standing out against the tables. Sidling in, Madin kept their head down, grabbing a Coke, box of sandwiches and a cup of fruit. They turned, leaving the table to crash into someone. "Uh. Sorry."
Arthur, lucid and what might be luck drunk, gave an extremely helpful, "Never apologize for the roll of the dice." Blinking, slowly, his gaze settled on the newcomer as something tickled the back of his brain. Purple. Familiar. A car ride into the city, matched with very unpleasant recent memories. The man's expression focused as he pulled more into himself.
"Madin! Perfect timing. You are exactly who I need."
Madin flinched, turning. "Uh. Hi." There was a beat. "I'm not in the mood for you to be hitting on me again."
"That's perfect," he agreed, waving that off without a first or second thought. "Everyone's very tense or angry, but this is a time for a sudden and unexpected pivot for many here. I don't know them, but you do." Arthur's thoughtful look bloomed into an honest smile. "Who might need some help but won't ask for it? Those who might be forgotten or won't take an offered hand."
"Uh. Yeah. I can.... There's a catering trolley in the kitchen." Madin shook their head. "You're talking about more than just food, though, right? Where are we going to go?" The realisation that they were stranded again was sickening. "I wonder if anyone else has cleared out Radha's and Abbey's places. I mean, Josie probably has plague dust everywhere but they might have something I can hock. Or ... The cars. I could -- fuck, I've never sold stolen cars here in the states. I don't know where to start. Last time we sold gear was in Cameroon."
"I appreciate your vision," the blonde man offered carefully. There was a brief second where it looked like Arthur was considering Madin like a puzzle, but one blink and it might have never happened. "Focus on individuals. That's why we're here: not for the Josies and the Abhays and the Radhas, but the Joses and Preetis and whoever else has been a victim. We're starting off well, I think, but is there anyone who might fall through the cracks? Quiet types? Those who came back and might have run away or hidden?"
"Ohhh. Smaller. I can do smaller." Madin nodded.
"What're we doin' smaller now?" asked Inez as she came into the room, clapping her hands together. "Got some more stuff moved an' ready to go out there," she noted with a nod. "Slowly but surely gettin' everything together... it'll take some more time but we'll get there," she said, looking to them both and putting her hands on her hips.
"Arthur said I should help and I thought he meant pack up the valuables and secure the cars. They've got like, fully, four wheel drives and trucks and shit, but he meant, uh, drop off dinner." They gave a rueful smile. "I guess the field operative training comes out occasionally." That part was offered nervously, because no matter what happened, if Madin had to still keep it all secret going back to the mansion was never going to be possible.
Behind Madin, Arthur was busy giving Inez extremely overexaggerated cues for 'Just go with it.' There were both hand signs and a wink.
She blinked but nodded slightly to let Arthur know she'd gotten the message, or so she'd thought anyway. "I see," she added to Madin. "Well, y'gotta eat too so that's just as important," Inez said with a grin. "That's right, ain't it, Arthur?" she asked, looking to him for more information on what was going on exactly.
"That's completely right," came in unsurprising affirmation, "Food and safety for everyone. Although I'm more concerned about..." And there were some shouts from nearby in the commune, as if on queue, matched with what smelled like smoke. Arthur's eyebrows knit in concern.
"Madin," and Arthur's tone had iced over a little at the sudden interruption, "What we're doing here is helping everyone get out and along with their lives. Everyone used by Radha. Angry, quiet, scared, those who might hide instead of eat snacks. Everyone. I could use your help with that, and hopefully before one of those angry ones burns this place to the ground."
He had the audacity to smile after that statement. "Then you can go do whatever you want. Come back to the mansion, make a life in DX, head to California. or whatever you want to do. That offer of help includes you too. What do you say?"
"I wasn't gonna set fire to it till I figured out where I was going next," Madin muttered. "I --- can I come back? Just till I figure out what I'm doing next?"
"Arson does require a solid get-away plan beforehand, or so I've been told," Inez said with a grin and a wink in Arthur's direction. "An' yeah, I don't see why we wouldn't have y'back with us," she said honestly.
"I know it has been rough," Arthur offered, "But the mansion is home for so many who came to clear our heads, find a safe spot, or rebuild lives. It is as permanent as you need. Plus, you have all of XFi on your side to help now. We're pretty awesome." He gestured widely, even if it was just him and Inez here. "Who else to help you find out what you want to do in the world other than a bunch of detectives?"
Arranging the catering had been the trickiest part.
"Hello, yes, I'd like to take advantage of your friends and mutants discount on the best spread for folks suffering from discorporal backlash and who might also have gluten or nut allergies," was a tall order with only a day's worth of planning as opposed to a scramble to get legal documentation, pull in local Underground contacts, and materialize other options for a commune's worth of folks. The latter part was often what X-Factor did. Just not often on this scale.
Or, perhaps, Arthur was just focusing on the table of fruit and prepackaged options in the wake of this afternoon's dismantling of Haven. His friends who needed it were all back in New York, but there was still work to do and people to help.
"Will that work?"
Someone with a clipboard was talking to him, and Arthur turned distractedly to flash a stock smile and nod enthusiastically. A few of the commune leaders — not the ones that bailed spectacularly, obviously — were proving to be quite resourceful in terms of planning and people movement.
"Everyone gets a chance to decide their path," Arthur said to Clipboard and also himself. Clipboard frowned in confusion, slightly, but nodded before maneuvering away to check off lists and administrate.
When hunger finally drew Madin from their room after several hours of sleep and several hours of staring blankly into space wondering what was going to happen now, they'd headed to the hall. It was, after all, where the communal kitchens, the bathrooms, the life of the commune had been.
It was a flurry of activity, food laid out, urns of coffee and hot water and strangers bustling around. A lot of the food was prepackaged, the bright bottles of juice and soda standing out against the tables. Sidling in, Madin kept their head down, grabbing a Coke, box of sandwiches and a cup of fruit. They turned, leaving the table to crash into someone. "Uh. Sorry."
Arthur, lucid and what might be luck drunk, gave an extremely helpful, "Never apologize for the roll of the dice." Blinking, slowly, his gaze settled on the newcomer as something tickled the back of his brain. Purple. Familiar. A car ride into the city, matched with very unpleasant recent memories. The man's expression focused as he pulled more into himself.
"Madin! Perfect timing. You are exactly who I need."
Madin flinched, turning. "Uh. Hi." There was a beat. "I'm not in the mood for you to be hitting on me again."
"That's perfect," he agreed, waving that off without a first or second thought. "Everyone's very tense or angry, but this is a time for a sudden and unexpected pivot for many here. I don't know them, but you do." Arthur's thoughtful look bloomed into an honest smile. "Who might need some help but won't ask for it? Those who might be forgotten or won't take an offered hand."
"Uh. Yeah. I can.... There's a catering trolley in the kitchen." Madin shook their head. "You're talking about more than just food, though, right? Where are we going to go?" The realisation that they were stranded again was sickening. "I wonder if anyone else has cleared out Radha's and Abbey's places. I mean, Josie probably has plague dust everywhere but they might have something I can hock. Or ... The cars. I could -- fuck, I've never sold stolen cars here in the states. I don't know where to start. Last time we sold gear was in Cameroon."
"I appreciate your vision," the blonde man offered carefully. There was a brief second where it looked like Arthur was considering Madin like a puzzle, but one blink and it might have never happened. "Focus on individuals. That's why we're here: not for the Josies and the Abhays and the Radhas, but the Joses and Preetis and whoever else has been a victim. We're starting off well, I think, but is there anyone who might fall through the cracks? Quiet types? Those who came back and might have run away or hidden?"
"Ohhh. Smaller. I can do smaller." Madin nodded.
"What're we doin' smaller now?" asked Inez as she came into the room, clapping her hands together. "Got some more stuff moved an' ready to go out there," she noted with a nod. "Slowly but surely gettin' everything together... it'll take some more time but we'll get there," she said, looking to them both and putting her hands on her hips.
"Arthur said I should help and I thought he meant pack up the valuables and secure the cars. They've got like, fully, four wheel drives and trucks and shit, but he meant, uh, drop off dinner." They gave a rueful smile. "I guess the field operative training comes out occasionally." That part was offered nervously, because no matter what happened, if Madin had to still keep it all secret going back to the mansion was never going to be possible.
Behind Madin, Arthur was busy giving Inez extremely overexaggerated cues for 'Just go with it.' There were both hand signs and a wink.
She blinked but nodded slightly to let Arthur know she'd gotten the message, or so she'd thought anyway. "I see," she added to Madin. "Well, y'gotta eat too so that's just as important," Inez said with a grin. "That's right, ain't it, Arthur?" she asked, looking to him for more information on what was going on exactly.
"That's completely right," came in unsurprising affirmation, "Food and safety for everyone. Although I'm more concerned about..." And there were some shouts from nearby in the commune, as if on queue, matched with what smelled like smoke. Arthur's eyebrows knit in concern.
"Madin," and Arthur's tone had iced over a little at the sudden interruption, "What we're doing here is helping everyone get out and along with their lives. Everyone used by Radha. Angry, quiet, scared, those who might hide instead of eat snacks. Everyone. I could use your help with that, and hopefully before one of those angry ones burns this place to the ground."
He had the audacity to smile after that statement. "Then you can go do whatever you want. Come back to the mansion, make a life in DX, head to California. or whatever you want to do. That offer of help includes you too. What do you say?"
"I wasn't gonna set fire to it till I figured out where I was going next," Madin muttered. "I --- can I come back? Just till I figure out what I'm doing next?"
"Arson does require a solid get-away plan beforehand, or so I've been told," Inez said with a grin and a wink in Arthur's direction. "An' yeah, I don't see why we wouldn't have y'back with us," she said honestly.
"I know it has been rough," Arthur offered, "But the mansion is home for so many who came to clear our heads, find a safe spot, or rebuild lives. It is as permanent as you need. Plus, you have all of XFi on your side to help now. We're pretty awesome." He gestured widely, even if it was just him and Inez here. "Who else to help you find out what you want to do in the world other than a bunch of detectives?"
