lucetilogs | They call it Than-X-Giving here

Who: Ororo Munroe, Rogue, Kurt Wagner, Jubilation Lee, Remy LeBeau, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, ~~Dick Grayson~~ Robin, and Melanie Walker
What: TURKEY DAY
When: Evening of the 24th
Where: House 16
Summary: The X-Men have decided to invite some of their buddies and pals (who all coincidentally have costumed alteregos) for some Turkey Day shenanigans.
Rating: H for HEARTWARMING

Over the past week, the X-Men have invited a variety of their friends and contacts who they knew would celebrate Thanksgiving, but wouldn't have anyone to spend it with here in Luceti ~~because they're all jaded loners~~. They were all instructed to try and bring a dish with them, but it was no requirement. Nevertheless, all the traditional foods would be present, along with some delicious extras.

ooc: Characters can interact out at the table eating, over on the couches, in the one of the two spare bedrooms, or preparing food in the kitchen. Or maybe catching some cool air outside on the porch. Whatever your fancy is! Also, prose or action brackets are cool. Pick your poison.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That comment earns a laugh from Melanie, but it's not a happy one. It's bitter. Very, very bitter.

"Picked my side? What makes you think that the life of crime was the one I picked? I was born into that life. The Royal Flush Gang had me listed as a future member as soon as they found out my mother was expecting another kid!" Melanie's starting to raise her voice, but that's because she's getting angry. And in her opinion, it's fairly justified.

"You know what I thought when I was a little girl? I thought I actually was a princess, because I didn't realize where my family was getting all that money or how things worked until I was older. Then I was taught what to do, became a member of the Gang, and did whatever my father said because that was just how things went, because what's the point of having a daughter when you can have an accomplice?

That wasn't the life I picked for myself. The only choice I made was when I chose to get out."

He crosses his arms and puffs himself up in an attempt to look bigger than he is. For a stranger, she's certainly asking for a whole mess of trust she hasn't even begun to earn.

"That unfortunately means you start at a disadvantage. You've gotten yourself involved with a person under my protection. That means that I'm going to keep watching you. I'll know what you have for breakfast in the morning and how long you gargle your mouthwash at night. If you slip up, you'll be dealt with. Do we have an understanding?"

At least he's thoughtful enough to give her the short speech.

Short speech or not, Melanie still doesn't care for it. But whatever - if she can deal with Batman hounding her, she can deal with this twip.

"Kurt doesn't need your protection. He can take care of himself, and he can make his own choices. He already knows about me, and we're both fine with that. So you know what? Go ahead and stalk me - it's not like you weren't already doing that. I've got nothing to hide, and I've got no reason to go back to my old life. I'm happy here, and I'm not about to go and risk that for some life I never wanted to begin with."

Why does everyone call it stalking? Robin's just keeping tabs on things. It's for everyone's best interests. People really do need to appreciate that.

"Is that what you said to Batman in your time? I'm sure that arrangement went over well."

You know what? Melanie's actually starting to think that her Batman is less annoying than this guy, which is definitely something she hadn't expected, but there you have it.

"Does it even matter what I said to Batman? Somehow I doubt you'd let that stop you from invading my personal life."

It wouldn't stop him at all, but knowing what strategies Batman used against her would have given him a decent idea of how big a threat she actually was in her time. She's not giving him enough information to make a solid judgment.

"It might. Answer the question."

"Or what? You'll puff out your chest some more and try your best to look threatening?"

Yeah, no. Melanie's not going to be intimidated by someone that spent most of his time in the old days getting kidnapped and looking like a walking target. She may not have liked Batman, but she definitely had respect for him. Robin? He's just an annoyance, and he'll be treated as such.

Oh that's cold. It's not right to judge an eight-year-old for not being all that effective against murderous sociopaths. He had to take a lot of bullets in a lot of weird places before he learned the right way to go about things. That stereotype is exactly what he left Gotham to avoid in the first place. Hmph.

"If that's all you think I can do, then your history isn't very reliable."

Hey, if he's judging her then she'll judge right back.

"I don't care what you can do, Boy Wonder. You can't scare me, and I'm not going to be intimidated by some twip that thinks he's serving some kind of greater purpose. I can handle Batman just fine, and you aren't even close to being like him. You're just a pest."

So not the same thing.

"Batman's not the type to be easily 'handled'." And to be honest, it's kind of offensive that she'd consider anyone under the cowl to be a minor threat. "And neither am I. You'll find that out the moment you step out of line."

Batman isn't a minor threat - he's the one responsible for her and her family originally being put behind bars, after all. But since she's gone straight things have been... less antagonistic. He only ever came to find her when her family was up to something.

"Then you're going to be disappointed. I haven't done anything wrong, and it's going to stay that way. But if you want to play you're little game, go right ahead. It's not going to change anything."

"We'll see about that" is all he'll leave her with, as he focuses on her body language instead.

Should she look away sometime after now, he'll be gone by the time she looks back. Getting the last word is important.

Melanie does end up looking away eventually, but she doesn't expect Robin to still be there when she looks back. It's something she's come to expect with people like him.

Whatever, she's just glad she can at least spend her remaining time out here in peace.

They call it Than-X-Giving here

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