Magic shows are meant to have surprises, right?

[fuzzybluegecko]

[Los Angeles was everything Kurt Wagner could have hoped for and then some. True, most of the touristy stuff he had seen and celebrity sightings so far were spotted in the course of work (which in this case involved checking out a potential new student for the institute) so he couldn't exactly spend a lot of time drinking them in. But that didn't make it any less awesome. And now that the work was done, it was going to get even cooler!]

[The others didn't know what they were missing. How could anyone choose to spend the night at some famous restaurant or a traveling production of a play that was better on Broadway (practically in their own backyard!) when they could be here with him instead, watching a teenage magician who was already being billed as one of the best in the business?]

[That was fine. Kurt was having plenty of fun on his own. The magician more than lived up to the hype. And after a show that incredible, you can bet Kurt was going to jump at the chance to volunteer for her final trick of the evening. He probably didn't have much of a chance, given how...height challenged he was compared to the rest of the people clambering for attention around him. But what he lacked in height he made up for with enthusiasm! (And the judicious use of his seat as a step stool.)] Hier! Hier!

Comments

[sleightadvantage]

"Ohhh. Yeah, that makes sense! European food is great, too. And burgers and dogs whatever a garbage plate is, probably, but Eldoon's will always have a top spot in my heart and in my stomach." She reached across the table, snatched up one of the mushrooms from his bowl, and popped it in her mouth with a smile.

[fuzzybluegecko]

"I can see why." With some confidence built up, he decided to take on a next level challenge: his half of that soft boiled egg in his bowl. It was slippery and awkwardly shaped, but if he tried enough times he was sure to get it eventually.

"If you ever do a show in New York, you'll have to take a detour through Bayville! I'll make sure you sample all the best burgers and garbage plates." He paused in his egg-nabbing attempts to give her a toothy smile. "And you can meet all my friends from The Institute!"

[sleightadvantage]

"Ooh, that sounds like fun! When I'm big enough to get a gig there, you can bet I'll make an extended trip of it!" She nudged her chopsticks under the egg half he'd been after, offering him a steadier target. "Speaking of the Institute... Did you talk to your professor?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Thanks." He smiled in appreciation, but the expression was considerably more muted after that question. It had been a difficult and long conversation, and he felt tired just thinking about it.

"I did, yeah." Slowly his smile faded as he stared into his bowl for a while, maneuvering his chopsticks in tandem with hers to finally snag the slice of egg. He leaned in close to the bowl so it wouldn't have far to travel. Even then, it almost slipped from his grip, but he caught it between his fangs at the last second. Chewing thoughtfully, he considered what to say.

"The Prof wasn't exactly happy with me for spilling the beans." He gave her a wan smile. "But it could have gone worse. I think he got that I didn't have a lot of options in the moment."

[sleightadvantage]

As soon as she saw the look on his face, she knew the conversation could have gone better. She met his sad smile with a frown. "Aw... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble."

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Nah, if anything you kept me out of even more trouble! Things might have been a lot hairier if anyone else had seen me. I got real lucky." His smile broadened, warming his eyes. He propped his elbow on the table and rested his cheek on his hand, looking over at her with undisguised adoration.

[sleightadvantage]

Something about the way he looked at her then reminded her of the way people (including herself, sometimes) looked at Klavier Gavin, except... there was no reason for him to be star-struck, right?

Her cheeks reddened slightly, but she smiled all the same. "Well... We Wrights are nothing if not lucky!" Which direction that luck went in was up to chance, but it did tend to veer positive more often than not. "Sometimes it rubs off on other people."

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Then I guess I owe you, big time!" He winked at her then lowered his gaze to his bowl again as he pushed his food around with the chopsticks. "Anyway, I'm grounded and have to take on a bunch of other chores for the next month. The good news is my punishment doesn't start until I get home! That's why I can be here now instead of stuck back at the hotel being babysat by Logan."

[sleightadvantage]

She was still thinking about that look when he lowered his gaze but eventually shrugged it off as nothing more than an expression of happiness at being lucky, like he said. From what she gathered the night before, people didn't usually react favorably to his true appearance, so it made sense that he'd be appreciative... even if he shouldn't have to be.

She plucked another mushroom from his bowl. "It stinks that you're grounded at all, though. It's not your fault your inducer went all wonky."

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Yeah, but it probably wasn't very responsible of me to put myself in a position like that in the first place. Out in front of such a big crowd." He shrugged, then raised his eyes to meet hers. "I don't regret it, though. If I hadn't done it, we never would have met!"

[sleightadvantage]

"Well, I'm partly to blame for pulling you up on stage in the first place... But I don't regret it, either." She lifted the mushroom in an approximation of a toast. "To an exciting friendship with no regrets!"

[fuzzybluegecko]

"I'll eat to that!" he crowed, retrieving another mushroom from the bowl. This one he managed to hold on to long enough to tap it against hers then popped it in his mouth. Juices flooded his mouth as he chomped down on it, and he closed his eyes momentarily in ecstasy.

"Oh, hey! Speaking of making friends, I have other news. I talked to the Prof about your friend."

[sleightadvantage]

She grinned proudly at him before chomping down on her own mushroom, savoring it with equal delight. Her bowl of curry sat off to the side, all but forgotten.

"Oh, that was gonna be my next question!" She leaned forward eagerly. "What'd he say!?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

Kurt leaned in too, and lowered his voice to a near whisper. "I told him what you said about her, and he checked her out with his powers. The verdict is in: Athena is a mutant!"

[sleightadvantage]

She slammed her hands on the table with a ferocity that would make her daddy proud. "Yes! I told you!" Her voice was a harsh whisper. "So what do we do? How do you tell someone they're a mutant!?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

The pounding startled him, making him flinch back instinctively. However, he recovered quickly and leaned in close again. He wasn't whispering any more, but his voice was still low enough for close quarters to be a requirement in the busy park.

"Well, I've done this a few times. Each case is as different as the person we're trying to talk to. Usually two of us would approach her, sometimes even the Prof himself would help. But since I've got you, he agreed I should be able to handle it on my own this time."

[sleightadvantage]

Trucy nodded determinedly. "Great! I'll do whatever you need me to! When do we do it? Tonight? Right now!?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Whoa there, hold your horses," Kurt replied, chuckling. "This isn't an emergency case, so we should take however long we need to make sure we do this right. That's where I really need your help." He pointed at her with the chopsticks then used them to pop another mushroom into his mouth. He chewed the small bite on one side while he continued. "The more you can tell me about her, the better we can figure out what approach might work best for her."

[sleightadvantage]

Trucy tried not to look too disappointed as she settled back down in her seat. She was really eager to know what Athena would think of all this!

The hesitation she'd shown the night before surfaced again, however. "Well... what do you need to know?" Hopefully not anything too personal... She didn't want to accidentally share something Athena wouldn't want her to.

[fuzzybluegecko]

"Hmm." Kurt cast his gaze to the perfectly blue, cloudless sky as he chewed thoughtfully. "For starters, you said she works with your father, ja? Do you know how old she is? It doesn't have to be her exact age, just an estimate is fine."

[sleightadvantage]

Oh, well, that was easy enough to answer. Trucy nodded. "She just turned 19 a little while ago. I'm pretty sure she studied abroad to fast-track her legal career, so she's a fully fledged defense attorney at my dad's agency! Pretty impressive, huh?"

[fuzzybluegecko]

"She's a lawyer at 19? Holy cow..." He stared at her for a long beat, eyes so wide it was almost painful. "'Impressive' doesn't even begin to cover it. And you said you've seen her using her powers before. Do you know how long she's had them?"

[sleightadvantage]

"There are a lot of prodigies in the legal world! Trust me, I could name a few more. It's a whole thing. But anyway, I'm pretty sure she's had them since she was a kid." That in itself shouldn't be saying too much. To deter further digging in that direction, though, she added, "If you want more details about that, you'll have to ask her. It was... a tough time, I think." Though, if what Kurt implied was any indication, he probably had some idea.

[fuzzybluegecko]

The answer caused him to perk up, leaning in closer and focusing intently on Trucy. However, the rest of what she had to say dampened his enthusiasm somewhat. His eager expression slowly fell, his mouth turning down in a frown and his eyes narrowing. Finally, he averted his gaze and sat silently for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.

When he spoke again, his tone was subdued. "A lot of mutants, like most of my friends, don't develop their powers until they're teenagers. It's not exactly an easy transition at that age, you know? It's hard enough to be a normal teen, let alone one who could accidentally blow the roof off the gym if things went wrong in just the right way." He was well aware that this was the first time he had implicitly referenced the darker, potentially dangerous side of their powers. He glanced up at her, almost guiltily, gauging her reaction to that little bombshell for a moment before he continued.

"Mutants like me, who know what they are from such a young age, are a lot rarer. The challenges then are different. There's basically no period of your life where you're allowed to think you might be...normal. On top of that, your powers require the kind of control that a little kid or even a baby just isn't capable of. I have no trouble believing it was very difficult for her."

[sleightadvantage]

As soon as his expression fell, she was certain he had some idea of what Athena had gone through. Her own smile faded as she waited for him to speak again, listening intently when he finally did.

The idea that mutant powers might be dangerous hadn't occurred to her, and surprise made itself known in the slight widening of her eyes. Kurt's powers seemed more cool than anything, as did the few she remembered him mentioning the night before. And Athena's... Well, they weren't as cool by comparison, but they certainly weren't anything dangerous...

Her surprise lasted only a few moments, though. Soon she was frowning, her fingers curling over her chest as she tried to imagine what it would be like to have powers like that, worrying you might hurt someone or, worse, actually hurting them... The thought alone was overwhelming.

As he went on, she realized he was only scratching the surface of the sorts of things mutants went through. Though his and Athena's powers didn't seem to pose a risk, she could only imagine what it was like to be a little kid and have abilities you don't understand. To think that she'd compared it to high school jerks being bullies last night... She really had no clue, did she?

"Oh, Kurt... I didn't think..." She lowered her gaze for a moment, ashamed by her ignorance. When she looked at him again, her eyes were full of sympathy. "I knew it was tough for her, but I didn't really think about what that meant before now..." And it must have been especially bad for him, knowing how some people treat kids who are even a little different.