1964-05-19 - Dazzler Goes To School
Summary: Alison decides to take Charles Xavier's invitation and go check out this school he mentioned. She meets Logan.
Related: The Eye In The Sky
Theme Song: "Too Cool For School" by Fountains of Wayne - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzbEtG6wElA
jean dazzler logan 


It's been a while since Alison got that card from Professor Charles Xavier. She's been debating with herself on whether she should even visit that place in Westchester, but eventually curiosity won her over, and she finally made the trip. She arrives in a taxi rather than a limo, and has catseye shades to hide her eyes. When she gets out of the cab, she immediately tells a lot of money was invested in this establishment. She lets out an impressed whistle, and heads towards the front door, using the bell or knocker, whatever is in place.

*

Logan is in the main hall, repairing a broken bit of banister. Unsurprisingly, even mutant teenagers like sliding down banisters instead of going down stairs like normal people. Logan blames movies, in part, where teenagers are always running around like maniacs in their hot rods.

He hears the door and sets his hammer and nails down. He's wearing a wife beater and khakis, heavy treaded boots clomping through the hall as he makes his way to the door, "Hold yer drawers, I'm comin'," he calls, finally opening the door. He has a cigar chomped in the corner of his mouth, his hair a bit tousled as he leans against the doorjam. He looks the girl over - pretty thing, young, city kid. "Afternoon, darlin'. Somethin' I can help ya wit'?"

*

After having met the Professor, Alison wasn't quite expecting to meet someone like Logan. She looks down at him through her shades, taking note of the cigar, looks like he's not a Parliament man. "I was told…this was a school…?" She asks, her voice telling how incredulous she is at the prospect, because Logan doesn't look like someone who would be employed at a school. And he seems just a tad too old to actually be attending it. As if to make sure she wasn't mistaken, she takes out Charles Xavier's business card with a scribbled address on it in Charles' handwriting. "Is this the place?" She shows the card to Logan, looking behind him at the vast space of the Mansion, still mighty impressed.

*

Logan peers at the card for a moment, drawing out his cheroot and blowing smoke through his nostrils, "You got the right place, dollface. Don't worry, I ain't tryin' to teach nobody nothin'. I just work around the place. C'mon in," he says. The card belongs to Charles, obviously, and carries his scent.

"Professor invited ya, huh? I don't think he's 'round right at the moment, but ya never know. Meantime, there's plenty o' chairs an' couches t'crash about on," he says. "You in any kinda trouble? You got anybody chasin' you we need to watch out for?"

*

"Oh, good," Alison mutters, certainly she'd be quite annoyed if she took a taxi out here for no reason whatsoever. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to pass judgement, if I came across like that I apologize," Alison says with slight embarrassment in her voice, hearing Logan's comment makes her realize the look she might have had on her face. There really was no reason for her to be rude towards the man who just opened the door for her.

"N-n-no…" Alison is starting to get worried again by the line of questions as she walks inside and moves towards the nearest chair, slipping into it and crossing her legs, right over left. "I met Professor Xavier, he…he said I had a gift, and I should consider coming here to learn more about it…" she puts it as broadly as she can manage. "Is this place dealing with the underworld?" She follows up shortly, simply having to ask the question after what Logan asked her.

*

Logan snorts, "The underworld? Well, maybe Illyana, but generally speakin', nah. But if you're gifted like the rest o' the folks around here are, means you got people that hate and fear ya fer nothin' more than breathin' air. Folks like the Friends o' Humanity. If you were in trouble with somethin' like that, or if yer family or someone tryin' to use ya, this is a safe place. Wouldn't be the first comin' here just tryin' to keep their head above water in this bad ol' world,' he says.

"Folks here can help teach you how to use what you got, how to help other people, how to make a place for yourself out there," he says. He crouches at the banister again as he's lead her further in as he talked, kneeling down and driving a nail almost thoughtlessly into the wood.

"Me? I'm just here to keep the hell out of anything or anybody that tries to mess with you kids."

*

Seeing how Logan looks like he means well, and knows what he's talking about, Alison figures he's not going to be someone who will rat her out. So she reaches to take off her shades. Now the question is whether being in a school also means Logan is aware of the trendy rockers in the area, because she is pretty much Dazzler. Then again, maybe he doesn't even give a damn about music. "I'm not really feeling any hate, because nobody knows my secret except your Professor. I couldn't fool him…and I know about these Friends of Humanity idiots, I wrote a song to encourage standing up to them."

*

Logan does give a damn about music, but his taste tends to run along the lines of Johnny Cash and B.B. King, hard country and old fashioned blues. He doesn't mind rock music, but mostly finds it too noisy for his taste and lacking a bit of soul.

"Yeah, Chuck's a smart cookie. Maybe a little bit soft, but he means well an' he usually knows what he's talkin' about," he says, giving a tug on the piece of wood he's set in place, "That outta hold it fer now, at least," he says, moving to stand up. "You want a beer, kid? I got a few in the icebox," he says, walking off towards the kitchen. "You thinkin' o' signin' up fer classes or just lookin' for other folks like you?"

*

"Honestly…I'm not sure, I thought maybe I'll try and talk to Charles again, I'm scared," Alison admits, "I'm scared that if I wind up coming here it will ruin my career." She nods at the offer of beer, the benefit of meeting someone who didn't need to see your card first. She doesn't have to correct him, and she gets free beer, pretty awesome deal all things considered. "But I am interested, in maybe, getting even better…it's actually a big component of my shows. But I tell everyone it's technology."

*

Logan grew up before having to be old enough to have a beer as a thing. The whole idea of it seems a little stupid and restrictive to him.

He retrieves a couple of bottles from the refrigerator, cracking them open with the bottle snap on the edge of the counter. "Shows, huh? Livin' dangerously," he says. "You don't have to worry about your secret here. Folks keep their lips zipped and things are pretty secret. One of the reasons the school's so far out in teh country, away from pryin' eyes. The Professor owns most of the land hereabouts, so no neighbors to stick their noses."

*

"Sounds like a clever setup," Alison admits as she gets up and follows Logan, so he doesn't have to also bring the beer all the way to her. "Music is my life, I ran away from home to do it. My father wanted me to go to school. I bet he's regretting it now…I got to meet Ed Sullivan, he only ever saw him on tv."

*

Logan grins, "I usually listen to Ed on the radio. I ain't much for this TV thing, I ain't sure it's gonna last,' he says. "But hey, you never know. I thought people would always prefer horses."

He grabs a seat at the table, leaning it back and gesturing for Allison to have a seat, "Chasin' yer passion's always the smart play. Better to spend yer life doin' somethin' ya love when ya can.'

*

"I hope it will…my shows are much better with visuals," Alison admits, and looks over at Logan waiting till she has his attention when she suddenly asks, "you tell me, what's more impressive, this?" She opens her mouth and holds a note, before pausing, "or this?" She repeats the same note, only this time, green light starts to climb out of thin air, before blooming into a colorful flower, dissipating when Alison stops singing.

She then joins Logan at the table and takes a sip of her beer, waiting for his assessment.

*

Logan watches and blinks for a moment, his beer frozen on his lips at the lightshow. "Well. Gotta say, I ain't never seen nothin' like that before,' he says. "I can see how that might attract attention for a good show. I can also see how it might get you noticed as bein' a little bit more'n human, if you work much of it into your actual show," he says.

"But who knows? Technology is a crazy thing. Hell, Tony Stark built a flyin' man suit."

*

"Exactly! I got some fans who don't even like my music just because of the light show," Alison admits, but only because Logan isn't media, or really interested in her music. Heck, he still doesn't know who she is. "What you said about Tony Stark, that's exactly the excuse I been using…high tech state of the art, and I even got a fancy mirror beaded dress that I claim is used to project those light displays. Charles Xavier was the first one to get on to me…"

*

Logan sits back and nods, "Well, Chuck can see into yer head. He usually don't, cause he's got manners and stuff, but even when he's not tryin', I think, he sees a little bit. Enough to tell when somebody's feedin' 'im bullshit anyway, pardon my French," he says. "But like I said, he'll keep yer secret."

*

Life was somewhat back to normal. Save for Jean's late night excursions. Late nights of her howling at the moon and catching bad guys as haphazardly as she could. It was her secret of course, though students would question as to why she has a shiner upon her eye even though there wasn't a need for her to have one. But, business as usual. Stack of papers in hand, needing a different place to sit instead of the stuffy office that Charles had given her. So to follow the soft hints of active minds (familiar and not) was somewhat of a godsend.

Time to be a bit nosy.

Catching the tail end of the conversation, Jean's nose wrinkle just a touch as she enters into view, her own stack of papers carefully placed down to not be rude, the chair kicked out and settled in as she lets out a huff of a sigh. "This place is a palace of secrets. Though, word tends to spread inside these walls quicker than mustard, but in these walls only." She pauses.. "Oh, sorry. I'm Jean."

*

"Oh…" Alison grins, "so he was pulling my chain, he was cheating! It wasn't -that- obvious, was it?" As if Logan attended that show to be able to tell. She just got carried away and forgot that fact. It's just about then that Jean walks in and distracts Alison, who turns to look her way, "hi…I'm Alison," she foregoes her stage name at this occasion. Doesn't seem to belong. "Good to know you guys know how to keep a secret, if mine ever gets out my career's over."

*

Jean's a grown-up and Logan had to accept that he didn't get to keep track of where she went at night. He knew she was going out, but, if something was going on, he figured she'd say something. In the meantime, he'll mind his beeswax.

"The Professor invited Alison here. Seems she's got a special talent with lights and he figured she might wanna come by and meet folks. Ain't ever easy bein' out in the world on yer own, after all,' he says."

*

"Nice to meet you, Dazzler." Yes, Jean knew who she was. She'd be a fool not to. Logan would be the only exception in this case, but there were times that Jean actually cleaned to her music. And maybe shaken her tail-feather a bit here and there while doing it. "I really like the name, it actually fits." She smiles a bit, then pushes the papers aside, feeling conversation more than actual work. But her head does swivel left and right, nodding her head a bit to agree with Logan's assessment.

"I think your career, oddly enough, would be fine. Maybe someday you could even be President."

(Insert groans here..)

"To be honest, you had me completely fooled. I thought it was just the lights reflecting off of glass that were hung from the ceilings. Bravo!" Jean would clap, but the joy in her voice was good enough for this conversation. "Are you looking for a safe haven to at least practice your craft away from prying eyes? We can provide that, once you're properly vetted, of course. Unless Charles had done it already and I'm years late.."

*

Alison takes another sip of the beer Logan gave her, and lowers it when Jean actually calls her by the far more famous name, which makes Alison point her beer at Logan, "told you I was on Ed Sullivan!" She then turns to look at Jean with a smile, "glad at least someone around here knows about me. Would have been embarrassing if only the Professor turned out to know who I was." Alison smiles warmly and nods, "see?" She tells Logan, "she gets it," and then looks back at Jean, "that's why I choose it. Well, to be fair, it was an early friend who helped, but yes, it really does fit perfectly. Makes for easy public relations with the posters announcing shows. The ol' "prepare to be dazzled" and all that."

What Alison didn't expect was such faith from Jean, "really? You think if I come out as a mutant, they wouldn't blame me of bias for having all those songs against blind hatred, and the power of unity? I don't know, it scares me when I think about it." The suggestion she might be President just makes Alison burst in laughter, "me!? Hahaha, I'm sorry, Jean, but being mutant aside…I'm also a rocker, and a woman, who would ever vote for me? I'd be a laughingstock if I even dare to run…" the idea is rather ludicrous at this point in time. But in the future…in the future…

When Jean says she was fooled, Alison actually puts down her beer and gets up to move over to Jean and embrace her, "oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I knew it was a good excuse…and the beaded dress with the mirror also helps. Though I guess reporters who took that bait may have just lost track staring at my body…"

She nods at the mention of Charles, "he invited me here, he knows I didn't do high school, and he knows I could use training in my abilities. I'm just too scared to commit to it. But I decided to come take a look."

*

Logan takes a sip of his beer as he sits back. He probably wouldn't vote for a dame President himself, but he isn't going to bring it up, he ain't that dumb. Luckily, he wasn't American so it didn't really matter much anyway.

"Maybe you should try one o' them outfits, Jeannie. I know some of the gang are always wantin' to put on fancy costumes an' stuff," he says. He's refused to play dress-up so far himself.

"Jean's a lot more in tune with the school stuff than me. Like I said, I mostly just hang out around the place, fix a few things and on occasion get in scraps when I gotta."

*

"I'm sure if most of the children were to see whom we were sitting with, there would be a tiny little riot. Most of them have heard of you and love your music. It resonates with them." She says honestly. Her head nods completely as she continues with the grin, enjoying the woman's jubilance at her craft. Even the laughter! The laughter causes Jean's hands to lift and clap just once, keeping her own laughter silence as she glances towards Logan, at least hoping for a smile on his end.

And once Jean was hugged, her hands unclasp from the other to place upon Alison's forearm, giving her a squeeze that way and releasing. "Your outfits are -really-, really beautiful! But if you didn't do high school.." Now her mind was set to wandering, her eyes glazing over as she tries to affix a decent schedule to go along with Alison's touring.

"Everything is done here at your leisure. Thankfully Charles has programs in place that would allow you flexibility when it comes to getting your high school diploma. Especially your training in your gifts. We don't want to push, only encourage. And you're possibly the busiest person we've ever met, so patience is something that we have to enact if you're to learn with us."

Jean nods seriously at that, then gives a slight glance towards Logan. Was he picking at her for being out? Even about her stupid black eye? "No.." She says quietly. "..everything she wears is too pretty for me." She looks like bubkiss, but she wouldn't admit it. "Though I wouldn't mind making the outfits for the rest, that's a really good idea. A stage play, from the kids to the school."

Thoughts!

"But Logan does a lot more for the school than he realizes, don't let him fool you into thinking he doesn't."

*

At Logan's suggestion, Alison looks over at Jean with a radiant smile, "oh I'd gladly let you borrow one of my stage dresses, they're glamorous! Not to mention bedazzling, I think they'll look great on a redhead. Especially one as pretty as you are."

Alison certainly understands the possibilities for a riot if the kids at school would know she was there, the majority of her fans range in the teens after all. "Best not to tell them quite yet then," she doesn't look as excited when high school is mentioned, "I had to run from home to become a rocker, and to do that I bailed on high school. Never bothered me…music is my life, but Charles seemed to think it wasn't wise…" Alison sighs, because unlike her father who got violent and abusive, Charles managed to get to her. He made a point, respectfully, and he spoke in such a manner that it was easy to listen to him and consider the wisdom of his words. Jean certainly helps ease Alison's mind when she mentions encouragement over pressure, and flexibility. "Really? The way you put it Jean, it almost doesn't sound terrible…it almost sounds like a good deal. Almost, studying is still involved, isn't it?"

She then turns to look at Logan, raising her beer in toast, "he got me a beer, I know that much!"

*

Logan grins, "They try an' make it easy on folks. An' don't listen ta Jean talkin' 'bad about herself, that's just part o' the package. She's as good as they come an' don't let her tell ya no different," he says.

He doesn't seem in the least guilty about handing over the beer, taking a sip of his own, "Hot day, body needs a bit o' refreshment,' he says. "I fixed the banister, by the way," he adds.

"They usually work to make it as easy as they can for folks. People come from all different kinda circumstances, after all. This ain't exactly a regular school, after all."

*

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