Mutant Multiverse

The radio station was on high alert for the majority of the day, the notification that the Ice Queen was on her way in for the day.. Victoria would be met with a rather warm reception of all hands on deck enthusiasm and just general excitement for having such a notable figure in the office. An intern appeared shortly after her arrival and would inquire the lunch order for the afternoon.

And then there was D.K.

He hadn't thought that the dream had been real until he got a call from the station manager, the man full of piss and vinegar but hope for some good old fashioned information shake down. Cigarette between his lips in the radio booth, the college boy drank his bottled water quietly as he tried to process what little he even could remember of the night...

Control his powers? What was it he had to control? You couldn't control passive shit..
But he'd felt it surging in waves..

Putting it out of his mind, he'd stand the moment Victoria walked in and offered her the comfier of the office chairs, "Morning. So, off the record, I'm gonna ask you some questions and you're just gonna answer them. Easy peasy." In a hushed tone, he'd work his jaw, "I guess if there was a time to swing stuff in your favor... it'd be now."

The hopeful Mayor herself and current Councilwoman strode into the station, only bringing her assistance Janice with her whom she was engaged in a hushed conversation.

They both noticed the frenetic energy and Janice grinned at her boss, who slid her a confident smile. “Janice, why don’t you go ahead and take a long lunch. I’m sure I can manage the interview and the rest of my schedule on my own,” the older woman suggested with a polite smile, her employee jumping at the opportunity and exiting the station.

Today she was in a rich burgundy skirt suit combo, her blouse white with a wide collar, and her lipstick almost matching it but just a shade darker.

She approached D.K. and offered him her best politician’s smile, “This isn’t my first interview,” she said calmly, her smile switching to one of comfort. “Just do your job as well as you typically do. No softballs, all right? I can’t have anyone accusing you of nepotism. Off the record, of course,” and she winked at him.

The woman would take the seat graciously, sitting down with all the poise of a feline and crossing her legs demurely as she relaxed her arms along the sides of the chair.

“Shall we?”

The request for no low balls had DK nodding his head, rubbing his palms together before he turned in his chair slowly, "Alright then, sounds like a plan. I'm counting us in in 3, 2.."

Fingers flipped a button and, sitting back, DK started speaking smoothly into the mic for the radio show that everyone across the city had likely tuned into, "What's the word, baby birds? Today I got some news for ya'll and you can take it or leave it as it is, but I got with me the lovely, one of a kind and irreplaceable Victoria Demure. Aspiring Mayor and imposing Councilwoman right here, in my studio right across from me. Now folks, any other time I'd be all for having call ins but this day I'm gonna ask you to hold your burning questions from the phone lines because I've only got so long to talk to Ms. Demure. Now, Ms. Demure, how has your day been since you got in? If you dont' mind I'd like to just go into it because I- like the general public- don't wanna beat around the bush and waste anyone's time."

He'd give a lopsided smile that wasn't quite whole, the lad still dealing with the loss of his significant other in the apartment collapse, "So, let's put this up to the forefront right here and now. Things are hard lately with everything going on. I myself am an EDE and a mutant- and like many of my listeners who are one or the other or both- this is terrifying. So, would you say that the close- even borderline consecutive events- of the warehouse fire and this abrupt collapse of a newer apartment complex meant to house primarily EDE figures an act of terrorism against the community?"

Despite not being seen by the viewers, still allowed her body or fact as if there was a hidden camera. She turned on the charm immediately, offering a warm smile that wasn’t actually disingenuous as she was genuinely happy to be there. Not quite acting more so a necessary exaggeration of her mood.

“Busy, I’m afraid. I have been partnering with several shelters in the area and working around the clock to ensure that we are receiving enough donations for the affected victims, as well as enough for our volunteers,” she started off with, right away setting the tone for herself that she would not be shying away from this topic.

She listened very seriously and intently to his words and his question, taking a moment to gather thoughts so she could give the topic the attention and respect to deserved. The smile faded into a serious line upon her features, her expression somber yet still professionally distant.

“As a public figure, I am sure you will understand that I cannot truly speculate. However, the Chief of police is having Seattle PD take these theories into serious consideration. Two events can be a coincidence, but more belies a pattern. If they are acts of terrorism then I will publicly condemn them and the individuals who committed them,” she said rather carefully.

She paused, leaning forward into her seat and getting herself closer to the microphone.

“I want the people of Seattle to know that I am also an EDE, and even if I weren’t, any attack on you is an attack on all of us. I will dedicate all my time and resources to protecting us.”

And then she leaned back, satisfied her answer was complete.

That cigarette that had almost been forgotten about was picked up and puffed away at slowly while Victoria took her turn and time to answer his questions respectfully, slow nods of head given in time to each thing. She raised good points and was at least answering without sugar coating.. it would probably help in the long run.

"Right, yeah.. so now here is my question- aight? So.. for years its been humans versus mutants in a lot of ways.. I mean we had a whole mutant apprehension league and there are rumors that mutants are even taken by our own government for experimentation.. now, ignoring that last bit because that itself is just a speculation and conspiracy theory for now.. would you say that being both an EDE and a mutant would pose more of a danger for anyone that falls in that spot? And I don't mean as a whole I mean as a discriminated people." Putting the cigarette down, he'd exhale that grey cloud slowly, "Do you think that being an EDE is going to set people up to be even more biased against mutants is what I'm getting to. Because you of course got your EDE humans but you also got your EDE mutants. And even THEY are against mutant kind in some cases."

Stretching his legs out, he'd listen a moment or two more before lifting a hand, gesturing vaguely to the open air as he worked his words and thoughts together, "Now- I guess here is my question. What is our current Mayor even doing for us as a people? As a city? Because without totally going 'nah fuck that guy' I want you to break down the logistics and the facts of what you are doing or could bring in compared to who we got now."

If the questions were particularly rattling, it didn’t show on the Politician’s face. She merely nodded thoughtfully to the first question and started with, “that is an excellent question, D.K.”

“I would say that being both would undoubtedly make it harder. If you’re white, cis, heterosexual, Christian, as well as being a human I need not imagine the wealth of privilege that would bring you. As a marginalized person in my own right, I can say with the utmost certainty that being both a mutant and an EDE would definitely push that starting line even further back, than say myself who is a human EDE.”

She paused, her eyes flashing briefly with that last sentence. A brief hint of violet, that if you blinked you’d miss.

“The more differences a person has, the more they will unfortunately standout. Despite the fact America believes itself to be an individualistic country, it is the privileged who decide how different a person can truly be. We’re no different than the Asian countries that we criticize, wherein if you are an out of place nail, you will be hammered back into place and back into submission.”

Civil Rights had always been one of her cornerstones, making this topic easier to speak on than most might find. Her passion was evident in her firm and measured response, disallowing any misinterpretation of her words and intonation.

She couldn’t help but crack a smile as they slid into the next subject, her very vocal comments on the current Mayor from the beginning of her Seattle career coming to mind.

“Mayor Johnson is not equipped to handle the current state of affairs. This opinion of mine is no secret to the general public. If I supported him at all, I would not be running against him,” she lead into her response, her spine straight against the seat. She now sat with a regal pose, her chin tilted up as her lips morphed into a slight sneer.

“When I came over, it was immediate. The city was in chaos and needing quick and confident leadership. The Mayor dropped the ball. We saw deaths approaching the high hundreds, with no hope in sight. So many of our friends and family died when the Space Needle collapsed. And where was he?” She paused, lacing her fingers together that rest on top of her knee.

“He was slow to respond and slow to make a public declaration of support. He mismanaged the city’s budget to the point the city’s emergency funds were all but diminished. And where did those funds disappear to? He was helping out his rich friends and donors before he even thought to help those most affected by the disaster,” she continued on, hands unclasped now and gesturing passionately in the air.

“After I was brought in as a Councilwoman, it was i who had to pressure him to declare a state of emergency- five days after he already should have. It took him nearly two weeks to even broach the subject of reaching out to receive federal funds and aid, and it was I who had begun the process. As newly appointed Councilwoman, that was not in my job description. It was not my responsibility, in strict terms, to engage in such protocol,” she took a breath, ensuring that her breathing was calm and her voice steady. She continued.

“I saw it as my civic duty, and his party saw it as embarrassing a public figure. They said I was attempting to emasculate him. After the last smear campaign, it was then I decided that if I could do a better job at being Mayor then, then I most certainly could do it full time.”

Hand came up, tucking finger to crook against his lips while he sat back in chair and let the woman speak. There was a glimmer of something there and with enough effort... he found his mind starting to haze and drift. Not in the sense he was tuning her out, but his abilities were beginning to passively reach through those radiowaves. Anxiety, fear.. paranoia.

The more Victoria spoke, the more people across the city tuning in would begin to feel that their current mayor was just not the best choice for the job. Sowing the seeds of paranoia and hatred wasn't what DK intended but he had to wonder. What could be done?

People in the offices, outside that glass window, began to clap at the end of her speech and DK himself couldn't help the polite golf clap that was given, "Mmm mmm mmm... Spoken like a Sister of the People. And you're right, the current Mayor has been- as show by statistics at the Regional Reader go check out those graphs and editorials folks- that since Mayor Johnson has been in the reigns, things have been going steadily downhill for Seattle. Needs of the people aren't being met in the tiniest and that itself might be cause for alarm. You make many good points- and while many would say its a strike against the Mayor's manhood- they can't deny that statistics are there and the facts are on the table."

Leaning forward, he'd rub his hands and gestured faintly, "Now, I've been meaning to ask this and I know that a lot of the people listening in have been wanting to hear. As an EDE, you had to restart everything. You lost a lot.. but you've given so much more than just yourself to the people so far and I gotta say I'm apologetic of the call out. I let my anger get the better of me- and you heard me say it first folks. I'm sorry. But now, Ms. Demure I gotta ask because I'm curious and would love to hear- and I'm sure the others would love to hear- what was your career like in your timeline? I'd say that being from a timeline where you were a pre-established figure for the public should give you considerable leeway and advantage overall."

Victoria took another quiet breath, trained at this point on how to breathe without it being detected by mics. She kept her smile less than satisfied, reminding herself that the people’s approval of her is secondary to helping them.

But it was a bit nice to have supporters for once.

“I imagine fragile men often feel as if any criticism of them is a criticism of well, you said it. Not me,” and she released a small but still throaty laugh as she held her hands up. It would do well to humanize herself further while also playing mum.

“I did. I lost my husband, and my son. Not to mention my previous career,” she paused as he went to ask about that, smiling tersely but not towards him.

“Sure, I started out in politics as a high school student. I had grown up in the foster system and as such... I didn’t have much stability. A gracious teacher suggested I should apply for an internship at our Parks Department. It was there I found that stability and later on my purpose in life.”

She paused to lean back in her chair, pausing to ruminate in those memories as well as gather her thoughts.

“I went on to college with a full scholarship, and decided to study not only political science but also social work, and sociology. I graduated with full honors and valedictorian, just like high school. Like here, I started as a councilwoman. My platform has always been heavy in social work and justice, always always looking to the marginalized and poor first. I did not grow up being the privileged and wealthy woman I am. And I hav promised myself, and my constituents that I will never forget my roots,” she paused again, needing to get that promise out before continuing.

“From there I became Mayor, and from Mayor I became a state Senator. I was in talks to run for government before the... Collision happened. So here I am, working my way back up.”

Unlike her deadbeat husband who had come over and kept his Senate seat.

Thumb came to rest just under DK's chin, other fingers moving to idly run over the scruff that had begun to grow.. he'd been neglecting himself since the collapse and loss of his girl and it showed in those tired eyes. He seemed so much older in that small lapse of time than he actually was and it was unsettling.

The more that Victoria spoke of her plans and practices, how she'd held her seat as Senator his brows rose in fascination. He couldn't even fathom having to restart everything and work your way back up to where you were after a previous lifetime of doing that. Attention went to the phone lines, clearing his throat while leaning forward in the pause, "Alright folks, I see ya'll callin' in and I regret to inform those of you- because I think some came in toward the middle of it- that we will not be takin' calls for this interview. You guys understand yeah?" He didn't want to run the risk of someone with hateful words coming onto the air and derailing everything.

Hands rubbed together and he'd clear his throat, "Alright then gang, you heard it here and while I certainly don't intend to sway the flow of the votes for our mayoral election.. I think ya'll probably got a good idea of who I'm behind and who is trying to put their best notions forward for the good of the people. And with that, Ms. Demure I think you can close us out.. what would you like to play for the station today? Got a guilty pleasure in terms of musical choices?"

Victoria smiled as she allowed him a moment of thought, knowing exactly what was going on to some extent but... choosing not to delve any deeper.

“Yes, sorry to all you folks out there.I am sure I could be persuaded to come back at a later date, perhaps closer to the election, to answer all that your enquiring minds have to offer,” she said with a light chuckle, the sound rich and throaty.

“Remember, especially you younger lot, your votes matter the most in this election, but also in every election. You’re not just voting for tax increases on the 1% or a bigger spending budget for our infrastructure, you are voting for a new way of life,” she said as seriously as she could without derailing the flow of his closing statements.

Beaming at DK, she said without any hint of guilt, “Dancing Queen by ABBA is definitely one of my lesser known pleasures. Thank you so much for having me today, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to start proving to you, and your listeners, who I truly am.”