Participants:
| Scene Title | We Aren't All Monsters |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | During a talk with a complete stranger, Anna gets somewhat closer to accepting who she is. |
| Date | November 17, 2010 |
Central Park has been, and remains, a key attraction in New York City, both for tourists and local residents. Though slightly smaller, approximately 100 acres at its southern end scarred by and still recovering from the explosion, the vast northern regions of the park remain intact.
An array of paths and tracks wind their way through stands of trees and swathes of grass, frequented by joggers, bikers, dog-walkers, and horsemen alike. Flowerbeds, tended gardens, and sheltered conservatories provide a wide array of colorful plants; the sheer size of the park, along with a designated wildlife sanctuary add a wide variety of fauna to the park's visitor list. Several ponds and lakes, as well as the massive Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, break up the expanses of green and growing things. There are roads, for those who prefer to drive through; numerous playgrounds for children dot the landscape.
Many are the people who come to the Park - painters, birdwatchers, musicians, and rock climbers. Others come for the shows; the New York Shakespeare Festival at the Delacorte Theater, the annual outdoor concert of the New York Philharmonic on the Great Lawn, the summer performances of the Metropolitan Opera, and many other smaller performing groups besides. They come to ice-skate on the rink, to ride on the Central Park Carousel, to view the many, many statues scattered about the park.
Some of the southern end of the park remains buried beneath rubble. Some of it still looks worn and torn, struggling to come back from the edge of destruction despite everything the crews of landscapers can do. The Wollman Rink has not been rebuilt; the Central Park Wildlife Center remains very much a work in progress, but is not wholly a loss. Someday, this portion of Central Park just might be restored fully to its prior state..
The phonecall that came in was rather unexpected, and maybe that's why she'd had agreed to the meeting. She's not sure what to think of the caller either, whoever Anna is, and it shows as she makes her way toward an empty bench alongside the bike path. The events from the 8th still have a lot of people nervous, and even Gavyn Mitchell is more cautious these days. She walks, not in haste but her step is quick, and her eyes, though shaded by dark lensed glasses, move in constant consideration of each other park visitor she passes.
Gavyn is dressed this late afternoon in a black fleece jacket and cargo style pants, and as always with sunglasses perched upon her nose. She stops in front of the bench and withdraws her cell phone, toggling the screen to check for recent calls. And the time. Still a couple of minutes early it appears. The cell phone is returned to her pocket and she sinks onto the bench to wait, head swiveling to the left then right slowly to watch while she waits for Anna to arrive.
Soon after Gavyn, a teenager dressed in black arrives. It's purposefully not her usual style, and she has a hoodie up and partially covering her face. She, apparently, is not interested in getting recognised if she can avoid it. She's wearing a dark grey sweater dress over a pair of black jeans, with black leather boots going over those jeans. Her hands are in black woolen gloves, thin enough to give decent locomotion and control, thick enough to protect from the cold.
The teenager heads on to Gavyn, and compares her to a picture she has in her hand. Satisfied, Anna heads onwards, extending her hand to Gavyn as she approaches, "Good day, miss Mitchell… I am Anna." She introduces herself, faintly smiling. "I understand that this was… an unusual request, but I thank you for following up on it." She motions to the nearby bench, "I just want to talk, I have to talk to someone about this." She pauses, "Someone Evolved… and your ability didn't seem very threatening when I looked you up in the registry."
Without waiting for a response, Anna seats herself, she crosses her legs and pats the place on the bench besides her. They're in a very public place, and unless Anna has an unusual trick up her sleeve… there's nothing threatening around.
Standing again, as soon as Anna's begun her introduction, Gavyn looks over the girl as much as she's able. With one hand, she checks that her sunglasses are set properly upon her nose, the other accepts Anna's extended hand with a firm shake.
"Talk about what," Gavyn asks as she returns to her seat on the bench, striving for a casual tone. Likely she comes off with an edge of wariness. Arms fold across her chest and she glances over a shoulder. There isn't anyone terribly close by, but these days it's better to be safe.
Okay, now the really difficult part starts. "Some masked guy… The White Knight he called himself saved my ass a bit back." Anna starts, introducing the situation to the woman, "He's Evolved, and well… he convinced me to give you lot a chance, to try to see whether I could find a nice person amongst you lot… someone who could become a friend" Congratulations, Gavyn, you've been chosen to represent the Evolved for a bigoted teenage person.
"And since I don't really know any of your lot… I just.. picked someone, I guess?" Anna smiles faintly, "With the registry, it isn't hard to find someone, like… well, you." She sighs, "I know this probably sounds all kinds of crazy, but the guy saved my life." Twice, even, "I owe trying this out to him, you know?" A forced, uncomfortable smile, "So… could you tell me something about yourself?
Gavyn almost laughs at the irony, in fact she goes so far as to crack a rather amused grin. Well, Kershner did say she'd be representing the Evolved in a better light, working to make the public like them rather than dispise them. That's part of why Frontline was put together.
Schooling her expression to something a little more gentle and patient, Gavyn returns her attention to Anna. "No, not hard to find someone on the Registry," she agrees. "Something about myself? I'm no one special, just a regular person with a job who happens to have an ability." One she's not terribly comfortable with, but getting the truth from people isn't always pleasant.
A soft 'Ah' sound escapes Anna's mouth at that introduction. She has to think of something to say… "I'm just a regular teenager with an unhealthy hatred for a specific minority." Okay, that might not have been as funny as Anna meant it to be… but her soft chuckle indicated it was meant as a self-deprecating joke.
"So… what's it like to have an ability… to be Evolved?" She might as well get that question out of the way. "I understand if it's a difficult question, but… I feel it's an important one." Not to mention it's one of which the answer probably reaches closer to home than Anna would care to admit. "If you need some time to think about the answer.. feel free to take it."
The joke doesn't go amiss. It's even responded to with a smirk. Gavyn shakes her head and looks passed Anna, down the bike path. "Hatred brought on from ignorance is probably the worst kind," she begins in answer, eyes continuing to move, now covering the green spanse that lays before them. "But asking questions is a good thing."
Gavyn falls quiet to consider the question, though a wry crook to her lips implies that she'd planned to think over how she answers whether or not the girl would have allowed it. "It's like Spiderman," she decides after some thought. "With power comes responsibility. But you also can't get upset when people don't like you. It's going to happen. People don't understand and don't want to learn and that can make them stupid, mean, and violent at times."
"How about hatred born from grief?" Anna asks, looking down at the ground… "I miss my parents, I really do…" She sighs softly, "But I can't change the fact they died… so the best I feel I can get is revenge." The girl looks up again, "But I do not know who to take revenge upon, as the midtown man is dead… right?"
Another sigh before Anna goes to think about the answer, smirking at the - slightly butchered - Spiderman quote. "You forgot the great, both times." Anna murmers… she's a comic geek, alright…? Anna pauses at the last part, "And, well… I'm not sure I could handle that, could handle people not liking me.. how do you… how does anyone deal with that?"
With her brow furrowing, sympathy writing itself upon her features, Gavyn reaches toward Anna to offer a friendly and consoling pat on the shoulder. She understands, really she does. That day may be burned forever into everyone's minds, but she was amongst those trying to find survivors and victims immediately following the blast. "The best you can do is forgive and move forward," she says gently. "You think your parents would want you hating an entire group because of what one person did?" She pauses, eyes turning away from the girl and staring down the pathway.
The girl's correction breaks through some of the solemness, and Gavyn responds with a small grin. "Not much for comics; my brothers were." She leans back and her scan of the park resumes, seeming casual enough. "I deal with it because I have to. There's no use in getting upset over it. Even without letting people know I have an ability, for those that don't read the Registry, they'll either like me or not."
"I.. don't know what they would've wanted…" Anna responds, sighing again. The pat on her shoulder is accepted, and Anna … well, she pulls out her registry card and looks at it, brow furrowing as she does so. She purposefully holds it in a way so Gavyn can take a peek at it. To see what it says.
'Anna Mary James' is her full name, 'Evolved' is her status, and her ability is listed as 'Unmanifested.' This is probably the closest Anna can get to admitting what she is, right now anyway… Anna is silent, letting her Registry card speak where she herself is unable to, she's just not ready to truly admit it yet, not even to herself…
Gavyn's gaze returns to Anna as the girl speaks again. Slowly, her eyes tilt downward to look at the card. She studies it for what seems like a long time, partially in consideration for how next to proceed and also in remembrance for the day she'd gone in and gotten her own card.
"Most parents want what's best for their kids," Gavyn states, laying one hand over the card to conceal it. "And I don't think 'the best' would necessarily be vengeance." Her brows raise, questioning Anna's thoughts on her statement. Meanwhile, with her other hand she gathers one of the teen's own and places it under her first. "This isn't who you are, it's just something extra that you can do."
Anna sighs again, looking up at Gavyn with a thin mouth. "But it's not what I should be able to…" She responds, "I shouldn't be an Evo, I just… shouldn't be one of you. It's not fair!" Okay… seems denial has made way for anger. Next step in the phases of acceptance… "Why do I have to be the same as the man who killed my parents?!"
"Why do I have to be a monster, a freak?! It's not fucking fair!" She's so loud she's probably drawing some attention by now. "I don't want to be a bloody Evo. I don't want to have an ability. Being an Evo is gonna bring nothing, nothing but trouble."
Gavyn falls silent while Anna throws her tantrum. Life is never fair, and trying to contradict the girl will only make the situation worse. She instead becomes watchful of a pair that have been drawn by the yelling, shades reflecting their own curious stares back at them.
"Might want to tone it down," Gavyn says quietly, voice pitched to travel no farther than Anna's ears. "People are beginning to stare. And you aren't the same as him, kid. Not unless you're psychotic and only want to do as much harm as possible as well as an emo-teenager."
The girl sighs as she shuts up, realizing that she's been drawing attention to herself with that yelling. "Sorry.." The girl whispers before looking at her watch. "I should go, have to make sure I'm home before curfew." Okay, that's an excuse to get away, since it's still plenty of time till curfew starts.
"I'll call you again later, okay..?" She asks, "When I have more questions, and such…" Anna forces herself to smile, "If that's alright with you, anyway." A pause as the girl rises from the bench, "Thanks for talking to me…"
Gavyn's already nodding. It's a good idea to get moving again, before people come asking questions. Hands sink into coat pockets as she stands, turning back to face the girl. "If you need anything, Anna, you can give me a call then, too. Any time, alright?" She watches the girl to see that she understands her sincerety. "Not all of us are monsters."
Stepping toward the bike path, Gavyn looks back to offer a quick grin to Anna. "See you around," she calls as she turns away. Time to get out of here and go back to work, and back to the reality of things.
