Play Your Cards Right

Ch 1: Comic Con

      New York City hosts hundreds of fairs, concerts and events throughout the year. But nothing can compare to the one going on this week, Comic Con. The one week of the year mutants can walk around without getting looks of disgust and fear around every corner. For once you are complimented on your appearance and how realistic your "costume" looks.

Not that Eli couldn't go out into a crowd on normal days. She was lucky that her mutation, or enhancement as someone rebranded, it didn't really affect her physical features. But it was nice to see more people like her out enjoying life. For the longest time, she thought she was the only one. Then they started showing up on the news and aliens attacked New York. Let's just say, everything got weird real fast and Eli was starting to wish it hadn't.

"Eli Duncan, haven't seen you around in a while." Max Travis, an old friend you could say, smirked. Eli grinned back messing with her headphone's cord. "How have you been miss randomly-quits-job-and-loses-all-contact-with-her-friends?"

"My old phone...caught on fire." She replied looking down at the new one she was currently playing music from. "I got a new one now, but I lost all the numbers on my old phone."

"Alright." He chuckled adjusting the dark grey beanie he was wearing. "You doing okay? Like I mean honestly, is everything good?"

"Yep." She lied with a smile, nervously scratching her leg through her skinny jeans. Eli had become accustom to answering these types of questions. Where had she been? Was she doing alright? What happened? "I just needed sometime off, I was going through some things. I'm back working at that comic shop on 44th if you ever want to stop in though."

"I will, I will." Max replied, although from the look he gave her, she could tell he wanted to know more. But he was never the kind of person to pry so he let it be. "So what are you doing here?"

"My boss has a stand he is setting up and I'm helping watch it with another employee." She answered, happy to get away from that conversation. "I'm getting paid extra for it to, and I get to go to Comic Con for free."

"Nice, good for you, Dee." He grinned rubbing the back of his neck. "I got to go, work, but call me some time?"

"Kind of need your number to do that." Eli joked.

"Oh, right, forgot." They quickly exchanged numbers before going separate ways.

Noticing the time, Eli quickly packed up and hurried into the main building. Her satchel bounced on her hip as she moved through the crowd with her head down. The place was packed with vendors setting up their booths and general maintenance staff. She finally spotted her boss and Aria who were setting up already.

"How's it shaking, Ellie?" Aria asked, her hipster red hair up in a bun. She was wearing her thick black rimmed glasses again. One of the trends she was setting, her eye sight was 20/20.

"Your late." Their boss commented.

"People are starting to line up outside for tomorrow. The guards gave me a hard time." She lied partially, helping Aria hang up the cloth walls. The frame had already been set up and the wooden stands had been brought in the other day. All that they had left was doing a little cosmetics. They wouldn't put the actual merchandise, a collections of shirts, comic books and other memorabilia, until tomorrow.

"I want you two here early." Their Boss said after they had finished and we're standing back admiring there work. "And try to fit the part, alright. I don't know, dress up as one of the characters or something? Or wear one of the shirts we are selling. Got it."

"Yep." Eli replied even as Aria gave the most disgusted face at the prospect of wearing something they were selling.

"Good, I'm counting on you two. I won't be here to help, this isn't exactly my venue..." He answered. "And if you want to go look around yourselves, I'm not going to stop you. But no one leaves the both unattended."

"We got this, Mr. Gregorys." Aria replied smoothly. "Go home to your wife and manage the store. We got this, right Ellie?"

"Right." She nodded and smiled at their boss who look at them both suspiciously. He gave a nod of consent and said goodbye before departing. "See you tomorrow?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." She said back.

~*~

The Next Day around 4 a.m.

In part, their trip to NYC was a field trip. The students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngster were taking advantage of the opportunity to go out in public. But the teachers and chaperones had an alterier motive than just a field trip.

In some ways, Comic Con was a good time for mutants and enhanced people. They could go out in public with out douches making fun of them. And they got compliments more than insults. It was a good time to promote their equality since modern day heroes in real life and comic books all had super powers.

But of course with all the positive hype came people who wanted to destroy that good. In this case, it was the Brotherhood, who thought the event was a way of making fun of mutants. So they put out threats of attacking the event which would undo everything mutants had worked for and only create more fear towards them.

Remy Lebeau was one of the members that Professor X conned into pretend chaperoneing the kids. And yes, he means conned. Never play cards with a telepath. He said he wasn't cheating, but Remy was sure he was. Not that Remy wasn't cheating himself.

So now he was standing in a long line in the middle of the night outside a convention that wasnt opening until 8. It was just lovely. He didn't hear her or see her coming enough to step out of the way, when a girl in a green hoodie rammed into him. The coffee he had been holding hit the ground, the top cracking off and spilling everywhere as it fell.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry." Eli gasped looking up from her phone. She stared in horror at the coffee she had just knocked out of a random strangers hand. Some of which had spilled on his brown leather trench coat.

Remy sighed brushing off the droplets of coffee that had landed on his jacket. The girl with the weird green hat started rummaging through her satchel hurriedly before pulling a handful of napkins out. "I am so sorry."

"It's fine, chere" He mumbled accepting the napkins to dry his shirt off the best he could. The coffee just rolled of his jacket but his shirt was now stained in a few places.

"I really, really am sorry." Eli said hurriedly. Her phone going off, it was Aria looking for her. She needed help setting out all the merchandise about a half hour ago. About the same time, Eli was still sleeping in her studio apartment. "Here, I'll make you a deal. I work at a booth in section C. Stop by and I'll buy you another coffee. I have to go." She gave him an apologetic glance before hurriedly moving towards the doors. Flashing some ID card, they let her through.

"What was that?" Logan asked, as Remy turned around still attempting to wipe the stains off of his shirt. He shrugged giving up and shoving the rest of the napkins in his pocket. The students he was watching chatted quietly and his attention was suddenly drawn to the group of kids trying to set fire to a garbage can. Without another thought of the girl that ran into him, Remy went to stop an accident from happening.