Ask A Mutant
Disclaimer: All characters belong to Marvel Comics.
The Bayville Library
A teenage boy with brown hair hummed happily as he arranged some items on a table in front of the Bayville Library. The boy was wearing a pair of blue jeans, sneakers, and a blue-and-yellow polo shirt. He also was wearing a pair of stylish sunglasses with red-tinted lenses.
Cyclops. Real Name: Scott Summers. Birthplace: Anchorage, Alaska. Physiology: Mutant Human. Afilliation: X-Men. Powers: Eyes constantly emit red beams of concussive energy. Cyclops requires ruby quartz visor or glasses to control them.
He smiled as he looked over his work. Neatly sitting on the table were a trio of coffee dispensers, like the ones found in gas station convenience stores. Next to them were a box of teabags, and a pile of stacked cheap plastic cups. There was also a cooler with some milk and cream in it next to the table. On the other side of the items, there were a couple stacked boxes of plain donuts. In front of the table was a wastebasket, and on the other side of the front of the table, was a simple sign that had three words in front of it: "Ask A Mutant." He heard a car pull up to the library, and turned around.
The vehicle was a black SUV, and a young woman emerged from the driver's side. She was a stunning young lady, wearing a yellow sweater and blue jeans with green shoes. Her red hair cascaded down her back, and Scott's smile widened at the sight of her.
Marvel Girl. Real Name: Jean Grey. Birthplace: Red Hook, New York. Physiology: Mutant Human. Affiliation: X-Men. Powers: Telepathy, Telekinesis.
"Hey, Scott!" Jean smiled and waved at her boyfriend. Scott waved back. The redhead blinked at the display. "So this is what you have been working on lately."
"Yup." Scott smiled proudly. "What do you think?"
"I have to admit, it is interesting." Jean answered. "What brought this about?"
"An article I read in People." Scott explained. "It was about this Muslim woman in Massachusetts, I forget her name, but after she was thrown some mockery about her faith her way, she decided to start something like this called 'Ask a Muslim', where she invited people to ask her about her faith."
"I see." Jean nodded in understanding. "That sounds like a wonderful way of educating people."
"When I read the article, a light bulb went off in my head." Scott continued. "I figured we could do something like that for mutants. Let people just ask us about what we are, and here it is." He proudly gestured to his display. "And I even offer free coffee and donuts, just like that woman in Massachusetts."
"This is very clever, Scott." Jean complimented with a smile.
"Yup. I'm pretty proud of it." Scott smiled. "Although I will admit, I had another bit of inspiration." Jean blinked in curiosity.
"What?"
Scott rubbed his neck. "You know when we fought that crazy woman, Lady Firebrand?"
"How could I forget?" Jean winced. "She was insane. And quite powerful. Good thing those three SHIELD agents were there to help us out."
"Coulson, May, and Quake." Scott remembered. "After that fight, Wolverine asked what attracted nuts like her to us."
"She wanted to pick a fight with us for fun, Scott."
"Yeah. She did."
"Well, not long before that fight, I got to thinking." Scott explained. "We X-Men need to overhaul our image."
"Image?"
"Yeah." Scott nodded. "I had come to realize something recently. We X-Men haven't really been living up to the whole reason this group was formed."
"Really."
"Yeah. You see, we had an opportunity to give people a good first impression of mutants. But we didn't. We stayed hidden."
"Professor Xavier said that humanity wasn't quite ready for us yet." Jean explained.
"Yeah, the problem with that is...when would they be?" Scott countered. "We could've at the very least helped soften the blow. But we didn't, and then the Sentinel attack."
"...I see what you mean."
"So, I showed the article and talked about it with the Professor." Scott continued. "He thought it was a good idea, and here I am." He started to chuckle. "He actually wondered why we didn't come up with this before. It's not fancy, and not much, but it's better than what we used to do."
"To be fair, Scott, we have helped save the world."
"Look at the Misfits. They're linked with GI Joe, and they get a lot of positive PR as a result. And then there's the Superstars. They annoy the hell out of me, but I will admit, being the world's first all-mutant rock band, they do manage to make mutants look good."
"Doesn't hurt they are good musicians, too." Jean grinned.
"My point is, Jean, these others have been doing what we were formed to do but we really haven't. Win over hearts and minds." Scott gestured at his stand. "This is a step towards that. It's a small step, but every journey begins with a little step." Jean smiled.
"I hope it helps, Scott."
"So do I. I'm feeling optimistic today."
"Got any takers yet?"
"Nah, I just set it up. But I'm sure some people will come along soon. Who can resist free coffee and donuts?"
"Well, good luck to you, Scott." Jean smiled and patted the books under her arm. "Gotta return my books."
"Okay. I'll call if I need any help." Scott waved. Jean walked up to the return slot next to the door and then went inside, feeling the need to check out another one. Scott arranged the items again, whistling a jaunty little tune.
"Ask A Mutant, huh?" A voice asked. Scott turned around and saw a non-descript mustachioed man looking curiously at the sign.
"Yup."
"So how does that work?" The man's face had an expression of confusion and slight disbelief.
"It's simple, really." Scott explained to the man. "If you have any questions about mutants, I answer to the best of my ability."
"I...see..." The man blinked.
"Yup." Scott smiled.
The man rubbed the back of his head in awkwardness. "Okay, um...well, I have seen a lot of tweets about you guys being told to go back to where you came from. You guys have like your own country or something?"
"No, mutants come from all over the world." Scott explained. "I myself am from Alaska. I know mutants from Germany, Kenya, Russia, Canada, all over the United States, and I have met mutants from Japan, Ireland, all over the world. Like non-mutant humans, we come from all nations and come in all colors, creeds, sexual orientations, and religious faiths."
"Wow." The man blinked. He looked at the donuts. "How much for a donut?"
"They're free."
"Oh, thanks." The man took a donut. "You said you were from Alaska, huh?"
"Yeah."
"I have a cousin living in Juneau. You from there?" The man asked. Meanwhile, Jean was browsing a shelf looking for something good to read.
"Hmmm..." The redhead pulled a book off the shelf. "This book looks nice." She looked at the cover. "I'll have to tell Sam about this one. He's a big sci-fi fan." She noticed another book. "Ooh, a mystery." She pulled out the book and looked at the inside cover. "This'll be a nice read." She took the book to the front desk and checked it out. The redhead then walked out and saw that Scott had attracted a crowd. They were enjoying the coffee and donuts and talking to the optic blaster. "Huh."
"Do mutants eat?"
"Yeah, we eat. We like to eat."
"What do you like to eat?"
"I like mac 'n' cheese myself."
"Are you from space?"
"No, we're from Earth."
"Do you want to enslave humanity?"
"Nope."
"Why do different mutants have different powers?"
"Not sure, really."
"Do you know Captain America?"
"I met him. He's really nice."
"Do you like Castlevania?"
"Never played any of the games."
"Hey, you seen Transylvania 6-5000?"
"On Halloween. That film is hilarious." Scott answered with a laugh. "And I thought the twists with the 'monsters' were clever." Jean watched this with a smile.
Well, what do you know? The redhead chuckled to herself. Scott is on to something with this "Ask A Mutant" thing...
Thanks for Reading!