MUSES: Dr. McCoy & Dr. Mr. Proudstar. TOPIC: Science Shit. DATE/TIME: Wednesday, April 11th, 2018. @ 9:45am. LOCATION: Mutant Underground. RATING: Awesome for Jimmy.
Dr. McCoy's Laboratory: Dr. Frankenstein's castle it certainly was not. Beast's research space was clean, organized, and inviting. Located underground, not far from the magistrate's chambers, the entrance to the lab was adorned with living vegetation. The plant life was sustained by a combination of Dr. McCoy's technology and Mr. Redshaw's ability to grow life nearly anywhere.
Hank welcomed the small parade of visitors that walked single file from the underground hallway into his main laboratory. Every month or so Beast hosted a modest gathering of scientific leaders from other mutant areas. He considered it a very loose think tank, nothing official or mandatory, just a friendly meeting to help insure mutant-kind were all on the same page.
When the line dwindled to only a few, Beast smiled fondly toward the familiar man who'd brought up the rear. "Good afternoon, James." Hank nodded to Warpath, who cut a dashing silhouette in his government supplied suit. The black fabric only paled in comparison to the Native's own jet-black locks, which draped perfectly on the man's shoulders. "I believe we're missing a few this month."
Jimmy set aside the few bags he'd carried for the caravan of eggheads before he noticed Hank's observation had been correct. These meetings usually happened while Eva was busy in session - and not necessarily in need of his one-on-one style of protection. This assignment (ensure Hank's science bros [and bras]) was one of Jimmy's many side-hustles. "Yeah," he responded eloquently. "Guess not everyone could make it."
"Yes, but more cancel every month. I fear the atmosphere of open sharing between mutant-kind might be waning," Hank confided when he was sure nobody who'd enter the lab could hear his frets.
"Yeah, I don't get paid to think about all that," Warpath volleyed in return. Whether or not Hank filled out his tables for his science hall bingo didn't really feel like a pressing matter. "Maybe you're boring," he added with a shrug. No actual offense being meant.
"Perhaps." Hank smiled at Proudstar's blunt retort. "But the idea of mutants isolating themselves is troubling to me." Dr. McCoy shared. "We are already so isolated, I often wonder if maybe it isn't time we shed our veil of secrets." He'd understood the reasoning behind it, but surely in the year 2018, humans and mutants could co-exist.
Jimmy used one finger to pull his sunglasses down and expose his eyes to Dr. McCoy. "Probably shouldn't say that to just anybody." But Hank was cool with Jimmy, and the doc knew it. "But I know what you're saying."
"You do?" Hank was momentarily surprised, considering James' position within the government. "Enlighten me, James." Beast practically begged for clarification.
"I just mean, I understand. All this cloak and dagger bullshit." The Native pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "But people are dumb... present company excluded. And they don't like things they don't understand and can't control. Plus, I'm already part of a near-extinct population... I kind of want to keep it at that." He smiled, despite the tone his sentence ended on.
"Very true, James." Hank nodded and chose that moment to bow out of his argument gracefully. "Thank you again, sir." Dr. McCoy parted ways with James after a friendly handshake.
"No problem, doc. Have fun with your science shit," Jimmy added, again, no offense meant. Warpath watched Hank disappear into the lab and sighed through his nose. He wondered if he needed to report this conversation to Zap... probably. But Jimmy hated to narc, especially on such a cool guy like Hank. Besides, that probably wasn't anything Beast hadn't voiced in countless meetings with Zap. "Yeah." Jimmy agreed with himself out loud, which even he thought was weird. Hank got a pass, he decided, then moved on to find his next bit of assigned busy work.