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With her debut record released earlier this month, Dazzler is a bit more famous than she used to be. While still very few people are even aware that Alison Blaire is Dazzler, some do find her familiar as she stands in central park with her guitar strapped over her shoulder, strumming away expertly. The music, however, is quite uncommon. In about a year or so it'll be called psychedelic rock, at the moment, it's Dazzler's unique style. The music is somewhat eerie, seeming to seek and pull the attention of its listeners, digging deeper inside them. She barely holds herself from performing the spectacular psychedelic light shows that she does on stage. She doesn't want to draw too much attention after all. She's dressed in a striped black and white top with a broad neck, slipping a bit off her right shoulder. A leather jacket on top of it, and some black slacks. Oh, and she's wearing flats, no heels for the park. Her blonde hair is set in her glamorous wavy style, and her blue eyes are hidden behind black catseye shades.
*
Dressed in her black wool longocat, with her hands stuffed in the side pockets, Psylocke is enjoying a stroll through the park… trying to find her center after dealing with her new job this day. Americans were annoying… especially those who worked with her on the modeling stages. They talked non-stop in irritating words and they babbled about nonsensical things that just proved to bewilder poor Betsy. She rarely replied to them except when she absolutely had to. Her makeup artist was the only person she somewhat liked, because they never spoke to one another, they just did their jobs in silence.
The sounds of Dazzler's music drew her attention and she walked toward those who would be listening to the street performer. Approaching as well, Psylocke stared at Dazzler, listening to the tunes and strangely admiring them. She was usually quite indifferent toward music, but this was pleasant.
*
Oh, he had an annoying habit of turning up, now didn't he? It was that damned French, English, whatever he was, the man in the white mask. Suddenly, silently, he appeared. Did he have a teleportation-like power, or was he just good at blending in, which was surprising, given most people aren't able to blend in while wearing what could be taken to be a ski mask. But there was Jean-Philippe Charles, known professionally as Fantomex, at Psylocke's side.
A bit of a crowd had formed, making it easier for him to make his approach. He wore black leather shoes, grey trousers, and a beige pea coat. His hands were neatly tucked into grey leather gloves, and around his neck, it could be seen that he wore a matching grey suit jacket, with a sky blue dress shirt, and a navy blue tie. Of course, there was also the white mask. There were some kind of plates in it, giving the back and sides of his head a somewhat blocky appearance. But most people just assumed it was a colorful ski mask. In this weather, it wasn't that out of the ordinary.
Listening to the music as one song ended, he began clapping his hands, and leaned forward to drop a hundred dollar bill into the open guitar case. "She really is quite good, isn't she." He said towards the woman beside him. He really did have to stop following her like this.
*
Alison was swinging and shifting with her music as she won herself a few listeners, but behind her shades she suddenly turns her attention on one very peculiar listener. Not everyday you'd run into a Japanese woman, and then this one had fabulous purple hair. Now Dazzler was so wholly invested into music, she really couldn't tell a model if she saw one, but there was certainly something about Psylocke's looks to draw attention. She grins at her, and for a moment, a weird effect seems to take place, every string she strums glows in a shifting psychedelic light for a few seconds, creating a bit of a display. It doesn't linger long, so most would have to wonder if they really saw what they thought they saw.
But as she focuses on Psylocke, Alison also spots the weird guy in the ski mask just seeming to appear next to her out of nowhere. That wasn't a good sign. Her first instinct is to jump to that woman's aid, but with nothing happening the first few seconds since Fantomex appeared, she lets her alert state remain present while diving back into thinking of her music. Good thing she's wearing her cool catseye shades, because at least nobody can tell the odd looks she's giving behind them. When her song ends and Fantomex does her the courtesy of giving her a surprisingly large tip, $100 being pretty serious money, she quips, "thanks…but I should be, I do have a record out."
*
The tall Psylocke was wearing black leather boots over her dark pants that were tucked into said boots. So she was standing at around 6'2 inches and when Fantomex appeared beside her she looked over, and down at him. "You are following me!" She hissed out in a whisper at him, annoyed by it. "I told you to stop that." She had specifically told him to stop researching her, but this was the first time that he had followed her… so she was somewhat wrong about that. She was going to say more, but Dazzler's display with the guitar drew her eyes away.
Psylocke looked to the performer when the guitar strings did this strange glow thing. She blinked her dark eyes and tilted her head in curiosity for a moment. She wondered if she had imagined that, but… no… she never imagined such things, why would she start now? Then the song stopped and the performer spoke to the tip Fantomex left her. Psylocke remained quietly, she looked between the two of them…. then regarded Dazzler. "You. are. good." She said in a way that seemed… almost angry?
*
Fantomex routinely robs from the rich, powerful, and corrupt. He couldn't hope to spend the money he's already stolen, and he still likes to steal more. It's a hobby for him at this point, something to do. After all, what else was he going to do, stay in and watch the Beverly Hillbillies, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, or Leave It to Beaver? So he didn't even blink at the thought of giving a hefty tip like that to someone who did good work. Trouble is, Jean-Philippe is an expert on reading body language and he knew Dazzler's intention. She wisely chose not to act against him.
When he spoke, it was with a thick French accent. Each and every word was perfectly understandable, but there was a definite French tilt to each of them. "I wish it were true, but alas, that's not the case. I simply happened to be in the right place, at the right time. As enchanting as you are, the world does not revolve around you." To Dazzler, he added, "don't mind the misses, she's like that with everyone." Yeah, he was on thin ice right about now. "Who have you signed with? I must get your first album when it comes out."
He'll offer a gloved hand, "my name is Jean-Philippe Charles, and this lovely," he looks up at her, "tall woman, is Elisabeth Braddock." He then uses his other hand to pretend to cover his mouth so that Betsy couldn't hear, but he speaks loud enough to ensure she does, "she's a little sensitive about her beauty. Doesn't think anyone could be interested in her for the woman inside. I've tried to be her friend, but I don't think it's going too well. Any help you could offer me would be greatly appreciated."
*
Alison was about to consider another song, but having heard Psylocke remark to Fantomex that he was following her, made her change her mind. Maybe she could be some kind of buffer and help the Japanese woman as she seems to be bothered by the guy in the ski mask. She slips her guitar to hang over her back, speaking briefly to the few who stayed to listen, thanking them for their time.
As Psylocke gives her a rather odd, somewhat angry compliment, Alison laughs and immediately responds with, "thanks, but I still don't have fabulous purple hair like you do, is it dye? Or is that your natural color? Sorry if the question's blunt, but I really love the look!"
Alison looks even more surprised when Fantomex relates to her that he is married to Psylocke, which makes the exchange between those two all the more confusing. "Are you saying you are married to her?" She peers towards Psylocke as if to ascertain the fact, as she murmurs, "you guys need some marriage counseling."
But Fantomex manages very quickly to shift Dazzler's attention back to music when he refers to her first album as not being out yet. "It came out early this month…," Dazzler is clearly thinking about punching a publicist or two. But then she realizes she never did give her stage name, so maybe that guy wasn't sure who she was, so as introductions are made, she gives her own, "Alison Blaire, but I go by the stagename Dazzler, my album's called: The Color of Sound."
Even more interesting development, however, as now Dazzler finds out that Fantomex isn't actually married to Psylocke, but rather looking to hit on her. In the most aggravatingly persistent manner possible, it seems, if she's to judge by what she had seen and heard so far. "You are tall!" She says to Psylocke, a bright smile on her face, as she points out the obvious, "you're the first Japanese woman I met who was taller than me, although I only met two, including you, so not sure if it says much." She doesn't quite commit to helping Fantomex, offering a cursory nod at best. She needs to get to the bottom of this. Her instincts tell her that poor Psylocke is used to Japanese guys, and lacks the experience of dealing with stubborn Western guys. She'd say it was a token American thing, but Fantomex sounds positively French.
*
Psylocke looked from one of them to the other. She listened to what they both said and a scowl formed on her pretty face. "He is not my husband." She said in a strange accent that was somewhere between British and Japanese, sometimes sounding like they were fighting for dominance over every syllable of every word she spoke. "I would sooner marry horse over him." She said in a very harsh and blunt way. She gave Fanto a hard stare and then looked to Allison. "If you are professional singer, why are you out here on streets?" She narrowed her eyes and looked around. "It must be rare for some fool to toss a hundred dollars at you. So it can't be for the money, is it? Are you… waiting for someone?" She asked then, motioning to Fantomex beside her. "You can have him, if you are waiting for someone. He never shuts up, so he is good company to… well… to someone who is lonely. I am not lonely, however. Even if he thinks I am."
*
Jean-Philippe chuckles at the marriage inquiry, and shakes his head in the negative, "no, no, she's made that quite clear to me. She's not looking for a relationship, or friendship, or human contact of any kind. And to that, I say I have never met anyone more in need of a friend." With Dazzler back peddling onto the music, he continues, "The Colour of Sound? Catchy title, Alison Blaire, Dazzler," he repeats them, as if to commit them to memory. In truth, with three brains, he remains every conversation he has ever had.
"A horse?" Jean-Philippe repeated incredulously, "Well, if I'm to believe the tele," that was curiously English term from a French accented man, "then horses can talk, or it might just be Mister Ed. But he's probably available." When he was given a hard stare, he smiled back in return. But listened for Dazzler's response about why she's out here. He ignores the jibe about how foolish he is. At the point where he is offered up to Dazzler, he winks through the mask, "I am house trained, and fluent in over six languages. But, alas, my heart belongs to another. Another who I no doubt would like to drive over it with some heavy machinery, chop it into little pieces, and feed it to stray animals, but c'est la vie."
*
When Psylocke got angry and her accent went haywire, Dazzler's attention shift towards her in a far more serious manner. Jean-Philippe was a wouldbe suave guy, albeit an incorrigible one, hitting on a breathtakingly beautiful and very much exotic woman. But Psylocke…she wasn't just a woman. Alison had a rough life, she recognizes the symptom immediately. For all her gifts, Psylocke hated herself. That was why she was so angry with Alison for playing so well, or so the young psychedelic rocker reads it. That woman needed real help, and she definitely didn't need the added stress from Jean-Philippe. "I had a feeling he was lying," Alison nods at Psylocke, turning to look quite unpleasantly at the man in the ski mask.
Alison does laugh when Psylocke raises the very important quesiton of why a signed artist with a record and gigs would be playing in Central Park. She actually answers, "one, because I love performing…even when I don't have a gig set. Two, I like to test the progress I make by how people respond to me…" she points her thumb at Fantomex, "he didn't even know I had a record, so, I can tell my publicists are lying to me…so there's that. Ain't it fab?"
She makes no comment about Psylocke and loneliness, she thinks there's something far deeper there, but she certainly won't dig for the answer without Psylocke's consent. She loses her smile as Fanto chuckles at her question of marriage, even when he was the one who referred to Psylocke as his missus. "I think she said it specifically to you, Sir, I don't mean to pry…but you're coming on very aggressive, did you consider her culture? I don't think they're used to such brutish come ons in Japan…"
Now Dazzler has had a rough childhood, she's known hardships, and she's not your typical subservient girl, but when Fantomex tells his gorey joke, she looks a bit pale, looking away in distaste, "oh dear me, are all French jokes so disgusting? I think I'm getting nauseous," she struggles a moment to stop herself from retching at that terrible image Jean-Philippe invoked in humor. Side effect? Perhaps pull away attention from poor Psylocke.
*
Psylocke tried to keep herself calm and collected. She had hoped to work with Charles Xavier to find this inner peace, but she was wondering if that was a fool's hope, perhaps coming to America all together had been a mistake. Alison had nailed it on the head with the culture difference between Fanto and Betsy, thats why it was so hard for her to be receptive to his come-ons… they were nothing like what she was used to. If this had been the pure form of Betsy Braddock it might be different, but it was not that form. That Betsy was dead and gone. The woman here today, was quite different from that one.
"You should not lower yourself to street performances, when you are as talented as you are. You deserve lots of money, to buy yourself wonderful gifts. You should be in one of these…" She motioned to the rich apartment buildings that encircled Central Park. "Ridiculous rock and glass castles, looking down on the rest of the world." She glanced to Fantomex then and stared at him a moment.
"Buy me her album too." She ordered him, curious to see his response to this.
*
Despite his mannerisms, his penchant for jocularity, his exaggerations, and his efforts, Jean-Philippe's heart was genuinely in the right place, even if he were the only one who could see it. In his own way, he was trying to help Psylocke. He had taken a genuine interest in her, and was trying to help her. "I wouldn't call it lying, but I have a long and complicated relationship with the truth. It's my upbringing, you see. I was raised in a world where nothing was true, and everything was permitted."
When he is singled out for not knowing about Dazzler's record, he explains, "I'm hardly your target audience. Most of my favorite composers have been dead for at least a century." He liked classical music, but didn't object to some of the modern things. Shifting at the comment about his aggressiveness, he takes a step back, and bows, "then I most sincerely and humbly offer my apologies. But I have considered her cultures. I love Japan, it is a lovely country…" and then he switches to Japanese, not knowing if Allison can speak the language, but he gives a haiku, <-love is but a wave, measure its height with your heart, wave it back again.-> And he will translate, repeating it in English.
Jean-Philippe didn't flinch when Elisabeth stared at him. He actually returned the gaze, making eye contact throughout. And only when she gave him an order did he break it. Turning his attention to Alison, he asked, "what would it take for me to get a signed copy of your album for Elisabeth?"
*
Having recovered from Fantomex' unusual choice of visuals in illustrating how he thinks Psylocke might act, she now turns to look at the woman in question, smiling because despite the criticism, the Japanese woman pretty much acknowledged her skill. "Music is life, Psylocke, I'm not lowering myself by offering it to everyone….and believe it or not, I used to be homeless for a while, so I know money isn't everything. Don't get me wrong, I love making it…but music is why I do what I do, not money."
Turning to Fantomex, Alison snorts, "yeah, yeah, yeah, call it whatever you want to call it, but I'm the wrong woman to play word games with. I don't appreciate how men treat women for the most part. I want to help change it with my music." At the sudden claim of knowledge of Japanese culture, Alison quirks a brow, looking even more perplexed when Fantomex recites something in the language. Or at least she thinks it is Japanese. Whatever it was, it certainly was foreign. Or made up. "Well, if you considered her culture, why are you hitting on her like she's a gal from Cafe Wha?"
When Fantomex translates his haiku for her, Alison considers, and then shakes her head, "can't perform with that. Besides, I disagree."
The request for a signed copy of her album catches Alison a bit off guard, but she's quick to shrug it off, "well, simple as buying it I guess? I'll gladly sign it for you."
Starting to wrap everything up on her end, Alison reaches into the pocket of her jacket, and then hands a card to Fantomex, "reach me at this number when you get the album." She then walks past him towards Psylocke, handing her a card as well, "I think I can help you, music soothes the savage beast, call me if you care to try."
*
Psylocke exhaled sharply after the cards were offered from Alison. She took the card that the singer offered her and then looked to Fantomex and she shoved him! "No!" She said sternly at him. "I ordered you! You just… do it like a dog?" She stepped after him agan assuming that the shove was successful. "Do not let me walk over you simply because you have 'crush' on me!" She scowled at him. "Be strong! Be tough! Tell me 'No, buy it yourself, dumb dumb!'" She continued to scowl while looking at Fantomex, who seemed to infuriate her to no-end.
But… she stopped and looked down to the card handed to her. She then looked to Alison. "How did you make the guitar glow like that?" She asked bluntly. "I saw the strings light up. That is not something any guitar should be able to do." She was a curious one, that much was obvious.
*
Jean-Philippe was very specific when he said cultures, plural, but he wasn't sure how much Elisabeth wanted revealed, so he decided to let that one slide. "You may have a point, Alison-san." Oh no, I think he's turning Japanese, I think he's turning Japanese, I really think so…
"It was a haiku," he explains, "Japanese poetry. As I said, a lovely country, and a remarkable culture." He gladly accepts the card, pocketing it, and will ring her in a timely fashion, just as soon as he manages to locate a couple of copies, and wait for Alison to return home. Somehow, he doubts she has someone at home to answer while she's out. Bowing his head, "domo arigato. You have my thanks," and given the time of year, "and compliments of the season."
He didn't expect the shove, but he did see it coming at the last minute. He allowed it. He was curious where she was going with this. This was an interesting turn of events. Jean-Philippe could be an asshole, but he was never abusive. "I am strong, and I am tough. But I will never call you dumb, nor would I ever disrespect you, or myself, by treating you like that." So he did have a backbone. Of course, she had seen his martial arts training, and he had talked about being a thief. Did she know he was an assassin too?
Jean-Philippe bowed politely to Psylocke, and then to Alison, "I will buy it for you, but not because you ordered me. I've already told you, I do not take orders. But," and he looks to Alison, "you are a wonderful artist, and I am certain that we would both enjoy a copy of your album. Ladies, if you will excuse me?" With that said, he decided to take his leave, beginning to turn his back on them, and head towards the nearest music store. But he wasn't in a rush.
*
Alison is awed when Psylocke snaps at Fantomex for doing as she ordered him to rather than be his own man. She could never understand the intricacies in play, but she knows Psylocke is different. Not just for her Japanese heritage. Sure, Fantomex may have some kind of super mojo that helps him know more about Psylocke, but a British part is the last thing she would ever guess about that obviously Japanese woman.
When Psylocke asks about the glowing psychedelic guitar string trick, "you're right, and if you want to know, you'll have to meet me again. I'm late for publicity event, so another time."
When Jean-Philippe adds the Japanese honorific to her name as he acknowledges her point, Alison laughs, "I'm nobody's son, Jean-Philippe, in case you hand't noticed." While Alison was great at noting different cultures may have different customs and habits, she's clearly not too knowledgeable about Japanese people in general. Partially nodding along, as she finishes setting up her guitar in its case and gets ready to go. "Thank you, good night," she speaks as if having concluded a show as she rushes away.
*
Psylocke listened to the singer's response and she looked down at the card, curious now. "I will likely do that." She said then, slipping the card into her coat pocket. She turned then to watch Fantomex as he started to leave. She actually snorted at what he said. "Nonsense!" She replied back to him as he left. "I could tell you right now to drop your pants and you would do it!"
The Japanese woman stopped shouting then and she glanced over at an elderly couple walking their dog beside her who were staring at the tall Japanese clothing model with rather confused expressions on their old-world faces. "He is dumb." She told them in a blunt, but soft, voice.
Psylocke would then turn and walk in the opposite direction to return to the garage where she had parked her car which she had purchased this past weekend, her hands going back into her coat pockets. "This whole country smells funny." She mumbled under her breath to herself in a grumpy mood.
*