Mirror waited until a Gawain day to make things slightly less awkward. It was not going to help much, but at the current state of things, every little bit could count. He also skipped the mirrorwalking and marched up to the front door instead, checking his reflection to make sure his suit was all in order under the winter coat and the scarf.
Yeah, he was wearing a suit. That's how serious this **** was going to get.

Christmas was just around the corner, and instead of the usual holiday cheer, Mirror mostly just felt guilty. He was happy with Eve, and life in the Mansion, but he couldn't get it out of his head that Eve had family readily available in the city... they just didn't want any of her company, and it was, at least partially, his fault. Christmas was all about family and forgiveness, and making people you care about happy.

For all of those reasons, Mirror decided to take a first step, and try to mend fences.
Fences that had been, for lack of a better term, bombed into oblivion by nuclear weapons.

Sigh.

The man at the door looked at Gawain with mild disinterest.

"Gawain Morris" he said, trying to sound very confident "I am here to see Mr. and Mrs. Summer. I am... a friend of their daughter's."

He would have rather been in a lot of other places instead of visiting the hateful pseudo-in-laws alone. Like, a lot of other places.
Any, really.

Time for an Xmas miracle.

One of the benefits of being rich was you got to have other people deal with your problems. Door greeters kept out unwanted guests, so did other building security, and when all else failed, there was personal security. After years of dealing with nosy neighbors and other undesirables, the Summers were well prepared keeping out the riff raff. Although, the door guard was pretty certain this was one of the first times they tried showing up in a suit.

Giving Gawain a distasteful look, the guard buzzed to the flat of the wealthy residents. "Some punk kid is here to say you. Says he's a friend of your daughter's?"

There was a pause, then a gruff buzz from the other side of the speaker. "What daughter?"

The guard gave Gawain and knowing look and crossed his arms. Access denied.

>>"Some punk kid is here to say you. Says he's a friend of your daughter's?"

>>"What daughter?"

Oh well, this was going swimmingly already.

Gawain gave the door guard a look and leaned over, not sure if the channel was still open or not.

"The daughter that is an extremely talented mutant and works with the NYPD? She's not here, though. Doesn't even know that I came. I just wanted to make amends, holidays and all."

The fact that Evelyn's entire immediate family consisted of jerks was no excuse to be rude.

Yet.

The guard didn't do anything to stop Gawain from talking, although he stood there and looked gruff, ready to stop the teen from going any further inside. On the other end of the speaker, there was a scoff, and there was a silence that could have been filled by an eye roll if there was visual.

"You're wasting your breathe. I should have washed my hands of freaks like her years ago. And if you're like her, you can go disappear as well."

It was a polite way of saying get lost. Well, sort of polite. The guard she shrugged his shoulders again.

"I wouldn't push my luck if i were you." Rich people, security. Cops could be called. There was an unspoken warning not to mess with someone stuck in their ways.

>>"You're wasting your breathe. I should have washed my hands of freaks like her years ago. And if you're like her, you can go disappear as well."

Gawain swallowed, trying not to rattle off all the horrible, terrible things that popped into his mind at that moment. Some people really made him want to re-consider his commitment to the Good Guys.

>>"I wouldn't push my luck if i were you."

"What luck" Gawain growled, exasperated already with the whole situation, before leaning over again.

"Do you have the slightest idea how amazing a daughter you have? Because I don't think you do. And I hate to see her miss her family. And since the holidays are coming up, I took this crazy idea into my head that maybe, just maybe, you would be willing to talk like human beings."

OOps. Well.

"... I am giving you the benefit of the doubt here. In public" he glanced at the door guard "So, if you are not willing to do the same, that's on you. But I'm not moving until you hear what I have to say."

There was a dramatic pause on the other end of the line. Some faint talking and a rather sarcastic laugh that drifted through the speaker. Almost as if some private mocking was taking place. Maybe it was. Hard to tell through speaker static. The guard seemed torn between acting bored and trying to listen in. You could almost see him mentally munching popcorn as the whole thing commenced. The lady at the counter kept pausing unnecessarily to shuffle papers closer to the speaker. Drama was all they really had to entertain them anyway. Finally, a gruff voice answered Gawain's request.

"If you try any funny business, you're going to have more to worry about than some family tension." The man responded. ON cue, the guard gabbed a thumb at the elevator.

"Your call. Can still leave while you have the chance." He murmured with a knowing glance. At least it wasn't close to midnight yet. That eliminated some risk...for now.

>>"If you try any funny business, you're going to have more to worry about than some family tension."

Gawain didn't respond to that; it was clearly a threat, which made him kind of glad he was not here to try funny business. Although there was a whole Top 20 list that he kind of had filed away in his mind. For later.

>>"Your call. Can still leave while you have the chance."

"Wish me luck." he smirked as he walked past the guard and to the elevator "...um... which floor?"

Once he had the right floor number and the doors shut, Gawain sunk back against the wall and took a deep breath. One hurdle down. Now all he had to do was face the family, smile, be polite, and try to mend some fences.

Evelyn's gonna kill me for this.
If I fail.
Better not fail, then.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Gawain took another breath.
Here we go.

Once Gawain reached the Summers floor, he was quickly created by one of the household staff members. Directed into the foyer of the flat, a stern faced Mr. Summers stood waiting. The room would look a bit familiar now, considering Evelyn and Mirror had a recent booze jacking adventure in the home. Although, the parental figure glaring back was a bit new.

"You look familiar." Was the first phrase that drifted out of the man's mouth. He sized up Gawain, trying to pinpoint where he recognized the mirrorwalker from. Obviously, he hadn't quite remembered/connected Maya "gender-shifting girlfriend" to Gawain who was standing here now.

>>"You look familiar."

Gawain was so nervous it took him a few seconds to locate the disconnect in that sentence.

"Oh. Yeah." he offered a hand as politely as possible "Gawain Morris. I'm your daughter's boyfriend. We met at the wedding... you probably remember me as Maya. I shift genders."

Might as well get it all out in the open. There was no use trying to go around topics, not at this point anyway.

"I appreciate your time. I realize that all this... is difficult." he added sheepishly, trying to mitigate the impending disaster that the meeting could very well turn into any minute now. He would hold out as long as possible. He owed Evelyn that much.

Mr. Summers' mouth twitched slightly and he didn't take the offered hand. While he looked irritated before, the expression now was one with a different type of distaste. "Ah. The gender shifter. While I recognize you from the wedding, as I stated, I have no daughter. If I did, she wouldn't be dating the likes of you." The man was clearly biting his tongue to avoid throwing in additional comments. It didn't take a mind reader to see what he thought of Mirror.

"So you think since you've somehow twisted her into one of you freaks you can just come here and negotiate on her behalf? Evelyn was never perfect, but prancing around with you test tube rejects has brought nothing but problems to my family. We won't even bring up your own...condition." He spat. He wagged a finger at Mirror and hissed. "If you really wanted to help her, you'd get out of the picture. You're doing no one any favors by worsening her appearance. I don't need her associated with your circus act."

>>"Ah. The gender shifter. While I recognize you from the wedding, as I stated, I have no daughter. If I did, she wouldn't be dating the likes of you."

The handshake was not taken, and Gawain pulled his hand back to curl it into a fist by his side. All right, so he had kind of expected not to be accepted (let alone touched), but he had to make the gesture anyway.

>>"So you think since you've somehow twisted her into one of you freaks you can just come here and negotiate on her behalf? Evelyn was never perfect, but prancing around with you test tube rejects has brought nothing but problems to my family. We won't even bring up your own...condition." If you really wanted to help her, you'd get out of the picture. You're doing no one any favors by worsening her appearance. I don't need her associated with your circus act."

Gawain took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose before he said anything. He noted with quiet satisfaction that he was not punching the guy yet.

"All right, as I said, I am just here to clear some things up. It might or might not change anything you think, but I'll try anyway, not because of you, but because of her. Ad one: No one turned Evelyn into anything. She was born with a genetic mutation, probably inherited from your or your wife who carry an unmanifested X-gene. Ad two: She's not a freak. She has a gift that helps her save people and make the world a better place. Ad three: I'm not going anywhere. She needs someone in her life who loves her for what she is, and since her own parents are small-minded malicious bigots, that job is left to me."

Breathe, Gawain, breathe.

While physical punches weren't being thrown, the intensity of the conversation was certainly picking up. There was a slight reprieve though when a cough echoed in the doorway, and Mrs. Summers stepped forward. Mr. Summers nodded to his wife and she turned her empty gaze to Gawain.

"Listen young...man... I'd rather not have punches thrown in my foyer. The stains are terrible to clean up. So lets just clean up where we stand. Evelyn is different. But I think you've spent far too much time convincing her she is different like the rest of you mutants. We've had her tested on a number of occasions. Her abilities are unusual, but nothing beyond what the average genetics can explain. She is smart. She's not a super hero and she does not need to keep gallivanting around pretending to be one. If you wanted to help her, stop filling her head with these ideas that she can be something she isn't." Mrs. Summers insisted.

Mr. Summers picked up where she stopped. "With time perhaps Evelyn could earn back her place in this family. But it wouldn't be while you're in the picture." He snapped.

>>"Listen young...man... I'd rather not have punches thrown in my foyer. The stains are terrible to clean up. So lets just clean up where we stand. Evelyn is different. But I think you've spent far too much time convincing her she is different like the rest of you mutants. We've had her tested on a number of occasions. Her abilities are unusual, but nothing beyond what the average genetics can explain. She is smart. She's not a super hero and she does not need to keep gallivanting around pretending to be one. If you wanted to help her, stop filling her head with these ideas that she can be something she isn't."

Mrs. Summers made her appearance, and Gawain's expression of anger and frustration morphed into one of utter shock and disbelief. Angry dad was one thing, but mom so deep in denial she was practically in Egypt was quite another. Did she honestly believe Evelyn was not a mutant?!

>>"With time perhaps Evelyn could earn back her place in this family. But it wouldn't be while you're in the picture."

Annnd there went the final blow. Gawain rounded on Mr. Summers, noticing for the first time that he actually had a few inches of height on Evelyn's father.

"All right, let me make something abundantly clear: Evelyn. Does not need to earn anything back. From you." he frowned "I am here to offer you two sorry excuses for parents a chance to maybe, just maybe, earn back the trust that you broke, and a chance to apologize to your beautiful, kind-hearted, absolutely perfect only daughter for throwing her away."

He took a step back; he did not want to look threatening, although that ship had probably sailed a long time ago. He looked at Mrs. Summers over her husband's shoulder.

"You daughter is a mutant, and you have absolutely no clue about all the amazing things her powers make her capable of. And while on topic, you have no idea about mine either. I could have walked in here through the walls and you would not have been able to stop me. But I didn't, because I was showing you respect. You might want to learn what that word means."

Mrs. Summers managed to stay composed during the first portion of Gawain's retaliation. Her face was calm, save for the faint twitch of her mouth as his voice grew in volume. But at the word mutant, her brow furrowed, and finally she frowned, irritation showing through. Mr. Summers was already angry, but she finally cracked along with him.

"I don't care what powers you have, or who you think you are. I'm not going to grovel to anyone, especially not for that spoiled rotten brat. She needs to learn her place, and perhaps you should do the same. Respect? I don't need to respect your kind.

"You can mosey out whatever wall you want, perhaps you have the upper hand for now, but power comes in many forms, kid. You have no idea what I can do with just a phone call. Forget that little apartment of hers. I can get both of you banned from every decent restaurant in this city. Her job at the museum? I can make that disappear too. So next time you decide to push your weight around, consider what the consequences can be. People like you may control the streets, but money still rules this city. Not that you would know anything about that." He barked.

>>"I don't care what powers you have, or who you think you are. I'm not going to grovel to anyone, especially not for that spoiled rotten brat. She needs to learn her place, and perhaps you should do the same. Respect? I don't need to respect your kind."

Oh, things were now quickly regressing, passing the twenties with a swooshing sound of picking up speed, and about to get positively medieval. Gawain's eyes narrowed as he sized her up in all her righteous anger and blatant racism.

>>"You can mosey out whatever wall you want, perhaps you have the upper hand for now, but power comes in many forms, kid. You have no idea what I can do with just a phone call. Forget that little apartment of hers. I can get both of you banned from every decent restaurant in this city. Her job at the museum? I can make that disappear too. So next time you decide to push your weight around, consider what the consequences can be. People like you may control the streets, but money still rules this city. Not that you would know anything about that."

He turned back to Mr. Summers again, who was throwing his own weight around, making Gawain long for doing the same to him. He would make such a nice squishy sound.

"See, that's your problem right there" he folded his arms "You think it's all about fancy restaurants, and your jobs, and money. Believe it or not, neither Evelyn nor I give a sh*t about your money. I was just trying to behave like a human being and maybe have a conversation about, dunno, family. I'm not here to threaten you, and if you think that's what I'm doing, you're wrong. Then again, you are wrong about a lot of things."

He looked at the both of them, so set in something so wrong, and sighed.

"Seriously. Let's take a break here. Are you two telling me that neither of you, her own father and mother, that neither of you miss Evelyn as a person? At least a little, somewhere deep down? You really have no love left for your daughter just because she was born with an extra set of genes?"