So...In previous imaginings of Lovelace I had been imagining her head completely bald, but then I was like to heck with it, let's say whatever mutagens she was injected with gave her a case on non-mammalian hair and she has a green up swept hair do so she further resembles the character she was inspired by Katie the Chameleon from the 90s Edutainment game I Can Be An Animal Doctor
The Turtles quickly interjected by pointing out they recognized Eleanor ripped off that speech from the film The Warriors but most of the wild mutants in that crowd were probably either too young or simply did not have enough access to TV to realize Eleanor had ripped off her speech from a movie character.
Of course Von Kaiser and Glass Joe were not exactly connoisseurs of American Pop Culture so this was a film they hadn't heard of...So being unfamiliar with that film hearing Eleanor's version...It certainly seemed like quite the inspiring speech and that Eleanor was indeed quite the charismatic leader...There was something incredibly chilling thinking if they had known about that moment back when the Mutant Riots started they would have known what they were dealing with were people derived from animals and not...Demons from Hell as many humans thought the Mutants were when they first attacked…
Taking out a notepad and a pen Von Kaiser said "I'm writing this down…" He said "...With this new information which first I will show my fellow Boxers, but then to some people I know at the museum (He didn't specify which museum) "This is incredibly important history and we need this to be part of the official records...For those who don't know they're history are doomed to repeat it…" As a German he felt more painfully aware of this fact more so than others…
The various other Mutant Students were having their own uneasy feelings as most of them had not been in New York during the time of Mutant Riots for various reasons For Stripes and Lovelace they had been too far out in the Western Part of North America at the time (Similar thing with Dana) and it seemed most of Eleanor's recruits were Mutants who were in the Eastern side of the Mississippi River at the time, Rover had been on the ride side of the continent at the time, but seemed he simply escaped too late, he had been mutated and raised on the border of New York State and Canada, but he escaped only the previous year before the Riots, and Eleanor's Mansion had already been built by then at the time of the Mutant Riots, Rover had chosen to move Northward towards Canada rather than stay in the States…
But that brings us to another thing...Dana, Stripes and Rover all knew at least after escaping of wandering Wild Tribes of Mutants, but all refused to join them all having an uneasy feeling about them...Despite knowing there could be safety and companionship in numbers...In whatever brief conversing they had with the Wild Mutants, Dana, Stripes and Rover all felt uneasy about the disdain for humans the wild Mutants had...Even though they had been hurt by humans they all also felt somewhat loyal to Humanity as a whole, just not to the specific humans who intended to use Mutants like them for evil purposes...So each of them felt they were better off on their own, thus Eleanor did not know about them, thus Eleanor could not summon them with the Gaia Emerald stolen from First Earth.
Lovelace felt if it weren't for where she was at the time, she would have fallen under Eleanor's cult-like sway, but fortunately Reptiles are a distinct minority of Mutant Animals compared to warm blooded mammals and birds, Lovelace found no wandering tribes of Snakes and most mammals and birds have an instinctual dislike of snakes so no warm-blooded mutant tribe would let Lovelace join, Lovelace felt she was able to take care of herself and thought she didn't mind the loneliness...She realized how much she was grateful that Scruffles didn't mind that she was a Snake…
However all this remembering of her past also reminded Lovelace of how she escaped the Lab she was Mutated in...Looking at her strong metal arms...Remembering the things she did with them…
Seeing Von Kaiser was still busy writing things down in his notepad, Lovelace slithered over to Glass Joe, she liked him more anyway…
"Um...Glass Joe…" Lovelace said trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible
"Oui?" Glass Joe smiled remembering to Young Garter Snake-Girl from before
"I just realized…" Lovelace said "...I'm not sure if I can do boxing because...My metal arms...They're very strong…"
She reached for Glass Joe's hands and gently squeezed them and even with just that Joe could feel the immense strength those mechanical arms held!
As she released his hands, Joe said quietly "Merci...It's good you brought this up Lovelace...We'll think of something for you…" As it seemed practicing punching living opponents might be too dangerous.
And looking at the shy expression on the Garter Snake's face...Joe was getting the distinct feeling that Lovelace knew more than she let on, that she actually knew a lot about throwing a punch as that may very well have been how she escaped!
Maybe it was the fatherly instincts already making themselves felt but Joe felt immense tenderness for the Little Snake-Girl, he didn't know how Aran Ryan could be terrified of such a sweet face, but then Joe wasn't particularly bothered by snakes, he remembered finding it mesmerizing watching them slither on class field trips to the zoo…
And as he watched Lovelace slither back to the other students, he turned and looked at the Mutant he had fallen in love with Dana...And mused about how to his with his French sense of aesthetics he could see the various Animal People could be ugly or beautiful or picturesque... More than picturesque...Romantic...And taking a brief glance of Von Kaiser still writing down what they had just heard, it became clear that this would have future implications for how Humanity treated the rest of the animal kingdom, knowing that in nearly every animal is a potential person just waiting to be unlocked with just a spill of mutagen…
So...Once again just having the Punch Out characters kind of being the 'Normie' human perspective on mutants and the implications thereof, throwing in some lines from the Cordwainer Smith story Alpha Ralpha Boulevard where in bringing back the Old Earth Cultures the Narrator becomes French so Glass Joe fits the line