((OOC: Continued from Knight in Shining Armourer.))

“--Mutants are not a threat,” Jiri parroted, sitting stone still in the posh leather chair, his face a study in moral constipation. “We are your brothers, sons, third cousins. End your callus oppression, because in a world where puppies frolic and rainbows follow rain, what cause have we to fight?”

He clasped his hands to his chest, over his heart. And lo, did unshed tears come to torment his soul. “My mutant brethren, heed my words—do nothing, like seriously nothing, as you are curb-stomped. Look not at the fact I fled our nation, but at my artfully tousled pink hair. Wait patiently for the arms of your overlords to grow sore with the cane, and for benevolent smiles to spread across their faces. It may be many years, you may lose all, but to disrupt the social order would be to lower movie ticket sales. Hear me, brothers and sisters—prevail in your patience! Be the social apathy you can't be bothered to change in the world!”

With a soul-heaving flip of his hair, Jiri quieted. And promptly shifted gears. “Seriously, you needed to have been there. Actor gonna act, much? When he forks over the cash for my new camera, we're definitely buying HD next time.”

He grabbed his phone, and kept flipping through new webcam model reviews. He tilted the screen towards his comrades-in-arms. “What do you think about this one?”

It was a beautiful day at 38,000 feet. Below them, patches of fluffy cloud floated over an ocean far, far below. The Blackbird ambled along at a lovely Mach 3-point-something, swiftly bridging the gap between hemispheres and continents.

If Cafas really wanted to do something about his country's mutant situation? He'd get off his made-for-movies arse and take the X-Jet. The flight only took a few hours. Who couldn't fill a few hours with making protest posters and whimsically impersonating the responsible adult figures in their lives?

The plan was simple: go to Australia. Sit on capital steps (no wait parliament, Leo kept telling him the Aussies had a parliament) with signs while the cameras rolled. Get arrested by local bigot police, and absolutely don't resist said arrest. Cause peaceful international incident that would drag the X-Men and, with any luck, the US government, into addressing the outback's backwater human rights treatments.

Simple, elegant, easy to do on a high schooler's budget (if their school had extra poster paper and glitter paint in the art room, and an extra high-speed military jet in the basement).

“A half hour to Canberra,” Headmaster Kiperling cheerfully announced. He was wearing a tweed suit unbuttoned, and a bright red-and-gray koala patterned tie. He was a clone, but Jiri would never hold that against him. Ruddy's clones were, if anything, cooler than the original. “Get ready for some peaceful protest, kids!”

Jiri was unclear on whether the real Headmaster knew and/or approved of their impromptu applied social justice field trip. But if Koala Clone didn't care, then Jiri didn't. What was the worst that could happen? This wasn't some third world country—this was Australia. A night in jail, some international press, and they'd have already done more towards raising awareness about its mutant situation than Cafas-the-Movie-Star had ever bothered to do.

Jiri didn't know what he wanted to be when he was out of high school. An elementary teacher, maybe. Or a counselor--Ms. Taylor made it look epic. But he knew what he wasn't going to be: he wasn't going to grow up to be a pink-haired poser.

"I know that if you ever steal Cafabulous' body," Leo mimed his own hair flip, "you're gonna deal with her." The dreaded her.

Where Leo didn't understand or care for the Amazonian Ms. Taylor, Jiri had a hate-on for Cafas' side chick. "—But was it totally out of the question to borrow him for a little while?" Too far, maybe?

It might have been useful, though... if they'd had Cafas' body along for the ride. It might lend that last bit of legitimacy that a Kiperling clone lacked.

Heck, after he'd contacted Amnesty International, they'd launched a letter writing campaign. Seriously. What was wrong with adults these days?

Leo embellished his own letter writing campaign by making the letters on his poster thicker. Supposedly that made them read better on camera. He didn't expect his ma to see this so he didn't expect to get anything worse than detention afterward. That was a fine price to pay for starting an international human rights audit.

And, since he expected his internet privileges to be revoked, he'd asked a few of the other mods to step in pre-emptively. It wouldn't do to let the rowdy Bird Watching crowd go unmoderated when there was about to be an international incident.

>“What do you think about this one?”

Leo squinted at the screen from the jet floor.

"Why don't you upgrade to a full on camera and tripod? Or maybe there's some mutant shielding equipment that isn't bunk. You're not thinking big enough, Jiri. There's soooo much more to life than just HD."

> “Get ready for some peaceful protest, kids!”

Leo lay his poster and art materials aside, climbed into one of the seats, and buckled in for decent. He was ready. After the first hour of We Are the World playing on repeat, anyone would be ready.

"Didn't you bring anything else to listen to, Headmaster?"

Alex had faced a lot in his short stint of life, he's seen a vast amount of the United States on foot, places barely thought of by human beings, he's killed men and face dangerous wildlife out in the wilderness, he's even become something of an internet celeb, however short lived that had been. But planes, he had never been on a plane before. And he really, really wished he hadn't let Jiri and Leo drag him into this.

He sunk down in his seat, headphones firmly pressed against his ears, music blaring from the old ipod Sam bought him to get him up to date in pop culture and the like, in a useless attempt to block out the pressure. He felt sick the whole trip, though it had been significantly worse at the beginning that it had been through out. The one godsend in all of this.

So while the other two boys discussed politics, camera equipment, and worked on protest signs, Alex tried to nap, sleep through the trip rather than suffer it. Not that he got a wink of sleep.

He just barely heard the headmaster's clone announce that they were nearly there. "Thank god..."he murmured, pushing the headphones off and pausing the music. In the time following the trial, Alex had gotten a bit more into technology and learning how to use it properly, as well has coming up with a few more techniques on how to get more out of his creations.

While the others were prepared for a peaceful protest, Alex was prepared for a fight. He had some material in his bag to use in case things got violent. His face was known, his powers were known, he didn't know how the Australian police or government might react to him being there.

((ooc: This is a mixed Panu/Jiri post.))


Private Chat Room

Mårran: Ah, Takala. It is good to see you are making friends in Canada.

Joutsen: Just try selling me to the police, Groke. Can you do it or not?

Mårran: You wound me, little swan. What police would I even sell you to, the Germans? Of course I can do it. For twice the usual fee. Should I expect the wire through a Swiss bank, or a Caribbean one?

Joutsen: The usual fee will be in your account soon.

Mårran: Twist the knife, Takala, I do not bleed enough. Do you want to ensure quality? Expediency? What does money even mean to you? Four times the fee would be just as easy for you to gather. It's all 1's and 0's to you, but to me it's bread and meat on my table, and my children through college. Twice the fee or we'll all be out on the streets before I can complete your work.

Joutsen: You have children?

Mårran: Of course I have children. My eldest, she's in college in the United States. Are you there, as well? I could introduce you two. She'd be the best of friends.

Joutsen: One and one-half the fee. I want this in hand in five days.

Mårran: Five days! So you are in Scandinavia again. Otherwise you'd know that shipping will take at least three or four, and masterpieces are not created overnight.

Joutsen: It will be here in five days.

Mårran: Of course, of course. For three times the usual fee. And where is 'here'?

Joutsen: You'll send it to the target, not to me.

Mårran: Naturally. And who is the young man to you? A friend?

Joutsen: His trial entertained me. He seemed like someone who might need to leave the country on short notice, so I decided to help.

Mårran: So you are in the United States. What a charming place to vacation, little swan. So far from all the cares of the world.

Joutsen: Five times your fee will be in your bank by tonight. One for each day of work.

Mårran: I think of our dear Takala often, but I have not heard from him in nearly two years. Such a generous little bird he was. I hope he is doing well, wherever he flew. If trouble finds him, it will not be from me.

---

Jiri's passport scanned without effort. Customs barely even looked at him and his rolled-up tube of poster paper. Leo's wasn't much of a hassle, either.

He tried very, very hard not to stare at the line Alex was making his way through. Because seriously, who gets their passport five days after they put in the paperwork? When his father had been planning a family trip to Iran, they'd put in for Jiri's passport with months to spare, just to be on the safe side.

Whoever Leo's forum buddy was, he was either shady as all get out, or a really bored government paper pusher. Possibly both.

“Anything to declare?” A bored customs officer asked, giving a perfunctory rummage through his backpack. He'd packed lunch, his laptop, a camera, and some extra markers.

“Not really.”

“Purpose of visit?”

“School field trip,” the teen said.

The officer made him throw out the apple from his lunch. No flora or fauna that wasn't in sandwich form, apparently.

And then they were through. Somehow. Jiri pulled up a map on his phone.

“It's about three-ish kilometers to parliament. Want to just hoof it?” See the sights, and all that. They'd probably be on Australia's No Fly list after this, after all.

Kilometers?

"OK, Google. What is 3 kilometers in freedom units?"

3 kilometers is equal to 1.86411 miles.

So, like, no big deal. "Yeah, we can walk that easy." Though his poster was sticking suspiciously out of his backpack, it wouldn't be readable until he unfurled it majestically. At least, in his head it was going to unfurl majestically. Would posterboard unfurl?

"You- uh, you doin' okay back there buddy?" Leo had been super casual about the whole passport thing. There was, literally, nothing to worry about when his forum buddy did something it was done right.

It was just that Alex still looked a little green.

"We could stop for a kebab or something. Water bottle?" He didn't want to mother the guy, but he did seem like he could use a mother. Ruddy came through the security check last, slightly rumpled after his extra detailed security sweep. He swished his moustache in irritation and hustled the kids toward the outer doors like a mama duck.

"Don't forget that this is the other hemisphere! Jackets and scarves on if you have them. It's not always the sweltering Sahara you see on TV."

And he was right. There was the slightest nip in the air. The grass was green. There was even a little waterway that they'd take a footpath over.

And not a 'roo in sight.

"You think Cafabulous overreacted about the injustices happening around here?" Because Leo didn't immediately see any mutants being harassed either.

Customs was more than nerve-wracking for him, he could only hope it didn't show on his face. After all, he didn't want to be the one to hold up the group. He was given odd looks of course, perhaps he was still feeling a bit air sick. Actually he hoped it was that and not because someone recognized him from his very public trial six months earlier.

He may have been found innocent in the U.S. but in other countries they may still think he's guilty, regardless of circumstances. Thankfully, all the hassle he got was on the homemade 'treats' he had in his bag. The little round balls of food were in a baggie and he claimed that they were special snacks that he needed to keep from becoming ill. Or ill-er, he was still feeling and looking green around the gills.

He also had a bunch of protein and granola bars in his bag to back up his claim. He didn't plan to eat all that food, he didn't know what the matter availability would be like here. So he came prepared to use his powers. He had a small Swiss army knife as well that got questions, but he got away with saying that it was merely a preparedness thing. Never knew what kind of tool you might need.

He was told that he should have had this confiscated before he had gotten on the plane. To which he just shrugged, it hadn't, he was here, he just wanted to join his group on the other side. He was finally let through and he let out a breath of relief.

He remained a step or two behind, letting Leo and Jiri talk while he looked about, before picking up that Leo was talking to him, "You- uh, you doin' okay back there buddy? We could stop for a kebab or something. Water bottle?"

"Y-yeah, I'm okay, just tired. Jet-lagged? I've never been on a plane before so it was a weird sensation for me. I'm just glad to be on the ground again."he sighed, giving a small shrug, "Though maybe some food wouldn't be a bad idea?"

Ruddy was out of customs soon enough, guiding them out, making mention that the temperature might be low. Not that Alex minded, he still had his hoodie on since the jet was cold during the flight. He didn't think he would need anything more though.

"You think Cafabulous overreacted about the injustices happening around here?"

"A hornets nest may look peaceful on the surface but you wouldn't stick your hand in it, would you."he asked rhetorically. Calm surfaces never accounted for depth and dangers below. "No mutants being harassed in public might just mean that they were swept away, like the homeless on parade days. Out of sight, out of mind."

When Jiri had said “three kilometers” what he'd meant was “three kilometers as measured roughly by looking at the little distance bar on the bottom and measuring with my thumb, not by actually hitting the directions button to see how a pedestrian would actually walk this.”

11.4 kilometers and two and a half hours later, plus or minus a pit stop to get Alex a healthy shade again (and also to try out Koala Burgers, which was Australian for “McGrease King”), they stood in front of parliament.

Any and all teasing about the length of that foot trip could and would be retorted to by pulling on the scarf hanging out of Leo's backpack. Because Aussieland winters were, apparently, in the fifties and sixties. Jiri had googled that one. That's why he was wearing shorts and flip flops.

(On kilometer eight out of three, he may have started regretting the flops.)

Parliament was big.

Like, really big

Like it was the capital of a country, or something. This field trip was educational already.

“So. Ah. Set up the signs next to the Free Guided Tours?” Jiri asked, and not at all because that area had steps he could sit on, ie, and not be on his feet.

"Heck of a way to start your flying career." Not that Alex'd had a choice in the matter. The guy had sorta been conscripted since he was possibly the most useful out of all of them, mutation-wise. Leo hoisted his backpack up and lead the charge toward freedom.

"You're jealous 'cause it matches your eyes so pretty." Leo sniped at Jiri after he tugged again on the scarf. "And, yeah, it's nice now, but I'm gonna sit out there all night if that's what it takes to get noticed."

It was a valiant effort, but the charge that went from enthusiastic to bedraggled in less than 10km. (Or 6.2 freedom units.) The french fries weighed them down a bit.

It wasn't that Google had lied to them about the freedom units. (Google did not lie.) It was that three boys and one chaperone could not fly as the crow did. Only one boy's mutation could do that. Also anyone flying toward a nationally important building was likely to be shot down. Getting shot was definitely not the aim of this mission.

> “So. Ah. Set up the signs next to the Free Guided Tours?”

"Camera first." Leo was so relieved to have made it that he thought his legs might go out from sheer joy. "Then majestic peaceable protest, phase 1." Also, yeah. There was a nice spot of shade by the line of tourists. Leo spilled himself down the steps and prepared for the best reception ever.

Majestically his poster unfurled to the public.

MUTANTS = FRIENDS
It shouldn't be dangerous to be born different.
#RiseUpDownUnder

He had a backup sign that said WWOPD (What would Optimus Prime do?). You know. Just in case this one got lost.

They ignored his warning comments on things seeming to calm. Something about this didn't sit right with him. Even as they walked, getting food a long the way to settle his stomach, there was just something off. Maybe it was because he had spent so much time in New York but weren't major cities suppose to feel...busier than this. Sure there were people but something didn't feel right.

10 kilometers didn't matter much to him. He had walked longer at a faster pace before but it still tired him a little. Instead of helping them set up, he sat down on the steps and opened his backpack. He grabbed one of the granola bars and preemptively opened the baggies, just to be ready. He felt like he was on guard duty with these two. There were people around, some were tourists, others...probably not. Jiri and Leo didn't seem to notice.

Leo unfurled his sign and eyes were on them. This was ridiculous, they were going to get in trouble in a foreign country that treated mutants like shit. Alex touched his neck instinctively, remembering the sensation of drowning that came with being collared. God, he really didn't want that to happen again. The trial was bad enough, here they may not consider his safety.

Still, he tried to stay calm, focus on his breathing. He hadn't eaten the snack he had grabbed from his bag, he was feeling to nervous to bother with eating at the moment.

Jiri set up the camera as Leo got the signs going. Alex just kind of stood there and stared suspiciously at a granola bar and the world at large.

“You still feeling weird, man?” Jiri asked, kneeling as he tried to remember how to lock the tripod to keep it from sliding. He'd borrowed it from the art teacher. The thing was probably from the seventies and possibly whatever screw it needed to not keep slipping down was still on the plane. Whatever. He could just tilt the camera more, they were standing on the steps anyway. Next: computer! And phone. Leo's probably-a-little-sketchy internet friend had helped them get a phone that A) worked internationally and B) was a decent wifi hotspot. Why the network name was set to “SwanInAustralia” and the password to “ThankYouForFileHost” he did not know, and did not question.

If it worked, it worked.

And boy did it work.

Jiri adjusted the laptop with his foot, so they could see their own footage streaming. And they. Were. Live.

“Good evening, Americans, and good afternoon, Aussies. We're—oh crap, sign.”

The internet watched as Jiri dived off camera, and returned with a hot pink poster board.

Mutant Rights Around The World

NYC stands with Sydney

That was better.

“Hello, internet. InvasionOfTheBS here with your very own LionOfJustice and our friend,” whose internet name he was totally blanking on, did Alex even have a forum account? Whatever, he left space for his roommate to intro himself. “We're here all the way from Parliament House in Australia--”

It was on the laptop screen at their feet that he saw the officers approaching. And the hand on his shoulder.

“I'll need you to come with me, Sir.”

“But we didn't even get any good footage yet--”

So proud. Leo wiped an imaginary tear as Jiri did his best newscaster's impression. Their setup may have been crude, but they were gonna get results, dangit. The internet would triumph! The chair justice warriors would activate! Change would happen! High-fives would be gotten!

Leo nodded along with Invasion until the guy tripped over his own friend's internet handles.

"Dude, it's LionOf—"

"Excuse me, you're gonna have ta shut that down."

An official looking police man with a hefty crocodile-lover's accent had Leo sitting ramrod straight on the steps of parliament.

"We're just having a peaceful protest, sir. See the-?" Leo held up his sign and the officer slapped it down.

Oh. Uh. Okay.

"Cark it. Now."

"Th-the laptop? Or-?" He wasn't playing dumb, it was just really all very unexpected and so very happening now. The officer was helping Leo to his feet before Leo was really ready to be back on his feet. "Are you saying we can't be here?"

“Hello, internet. InvasionOfTheBS here with your very own LionOfJustice and our friend,”

Alex rolled his eyes, tempted to call out his barely used internet handle. One that he honestly should change to something more appropriate. At the time, before he had a clue about what internet culture was, it seemed like a good idea. Fitting for the idealism that were given to his face without at any idea who he was, namely all the girls who seemed to want to date him without actually knowing him. Now however, 'NotYourBoyfriend' seemed wrong for his identification.

Perhaps something to fix when they got back stateside. But that was an issue for another day, he was half listening to Jiri's introduction when they were suddenly approached by cops. He did a quick check behind him, no cops heading his way. Good thing too, he was probably going to do something very dumb in a second here. That being using his mutation if things got out of hand.

"Cark it. Now."

"Th-the laptop? Or-? Are you saying we can't be here?"

"We're not doing anything wrong. Are you familiar with the ICCPR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? Article 21 and 19 states we're allowed to peacefully assemble and express political views. Australia, as a signatory, is obliged to follow these articles as stated by the UN. Are you denying us those rights, officer?" He essentially bull rushed the two cops with all the legal info he had been able to look up before Jiri and Leo dragged him on this adventure.

He wasn't about to let himself or his friends caught without any backing. International law that Australia agreed to seemed like a good place to start and most sites agreed. But he didn't know if these cops cared or not, or if the fact that they were still streaming was enough to scare them off. It was all he had to go on aside from using his mutation as a screen to buy them enough time to get away.

“Dude you can't just hit, ah, poster boards--” Okay so probably there was no law against that, but it was certainly rude. Jiri puffed up appropriately, shoulders wide and arms crossed, making sure all of the internet could see how much he was standing up for this place's rights. “What does 'cark it' even mean?”

Okay, so he could probably figure that out from context, except that their accents were so thick that he wasn't sure how much of the context he was understanding. They were like angry Steve Irwin re-runs.

>> "We're not doing anything wrong. Are you familiar with the ICCPR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights? Article 21 and 19 states we're allowed to peacefully assemble and express political views. Australia, as a signatory, is obliged to follow these articles as stated by the UN. Are you denying us those rights, officer?"

“Yeah,” Jiri said, backing up his roommate's incredible law quoting, seriously, was that a real thing because if it was it was awesome but how the heck did Alex know about it, when had he even had time to research it what with all the poster making and camera shopping they'd had to do-- “Yeah! You can't deny us our--”

The officer's foot made a nice crunching sound as as he closed the laptop's lid with his foot. “That's what cark it means. Now you three better come along with us. Or did you need that one explained, too?”

Jiri made a sort of half-whine in the back of his throat.

Now, he decided, was not the time to point out that the camera was still shinning a little red 'on' light. The lap top's screen might be so much shrapnel, but that boot hadn't hurt the motherboard. They were still live.

Leo was on his feet now. Actually, they all were. He may have felt a bit weak in the knees and made a grand imitation of Evard Munch's The Scream when the laptop got booted down with a forceful boot, but he was still ambulatory.

Did he need something explained to him? "No, sir."

"I'll have no trouble from you."

"No trouble." Leo confirmed with his hands up in the universal motion of placating someone who was bat sh*t crazy.

A man with a very clunky looking phone (or small tablet?) nudged the man who'd murdered their laptop. He was showing something on the screen. Leo wasn't close enough to hear --InvasionOfTheBS was the closest-- but he did see a dossier. A dossier on Alex. And he did see their eyebrows pull down. And he did see a large pocket holster part of the men's belts that they both worked to unbutton.

He didn't stop to think. Leo just put himself between the policemen and his friends, hands still up and empty.

No trouble. But if for some reason it did come down to a fight, Leo had long ago decided that he wasn't the one who would be the hero. He would just make sure the people who mattered had their chance.

Alex gave a small jump when the cop's foot came crashing down on Jiri's computer. He stood there in disbelief that such an act, the destruction of private property basically unprovoked. He held down the need to use his powers, he was inherently illegal here after all. If they found out that he was a mutant worse thing might happen than just a destroyed laptop.

However, things went from scary to down right terrifying. First the cop's buddy came over with a tablet, one with a picture of him. They knew about him, they knew what he was, what he could do. One of them was even reaching for a pouch on his belt. He looked over at Jiri and then Leo, who had positioned himself between the cops and him. There was no waiting for this to come to a nice conclusion. The thundering in his heart told him it was time to go.

He grabbed Jiri and Leo by the shoulder and gave them a shove away from the police, "Run!" As soon as they start he went after. His friends were priority, he could handle abuse but Jiri and Leo weren't up to the task, it would break them. He wouldn't let that happen.

Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough, the second cop tackling him to the ground, "Hold it ya lil freak! You're under arrest!" Alex struggled, trying desperately to keep his hands out of the man's grip, "Get off of me!" He reached for his powers, this time not a repeat of the incident that sent him to court. No, that's what his backpack was for. He converted the food into a single cat, all claws and rage to attack the cop.

It worked for a moment, allowing him to scramble up and away from the officer. But again it was too little, too late. The cop was able to throw the cat off, then bull rush him with taser in hand. The pain of electricity arcing through his body was enough to cut the connection and allow the officer time to cuff him. Alex shook his head, struggling even as the officer placed one of those power controlling collars around his neck, "We didn't do anything wrong..."