Saw what he'd done? Really? Elliott eyed the Asian, red eyes judging him. What had he seen? More importantly, could he prove it?

He couldn't. Elliott shrugged one shoulder. "I don't know what you're talking about. Excuse me." He pushed open the door.

It wasn't like the Asian had stepped in front of him. He wasn't blocking his path. No one was blocking his path. He could just stroll out the door. Unless triangle eyes wanted to start something, nobody was going to stop him. Unfortunately, that might mean he couldn't come back to this specific bar. People tended to remember his face when he made a scene. Even if the scene involved no brutality at all.

Shin frowned. He wasn't going to make this easy. "I saw you mug those guys. Then you just waltzed in here."

Elliott glanced at him, then rolled his eyes. "You've really got the wrong idea. I wasn't the mugger."

This was stupid. He was getting drawn in. He could just leave. Why did he feel like leaving things as they were just wouldn't do?

Lee wanted him to have all the fractions, but he silently left her with 1/3 of them. She'd probably need them for pouring beer and other things. Or talking to people who were depressed, to let them know their glass was half full.

---

The guy said he wasn't the mugger. He was a step from walking out the door, and according to him, Shin had the wrong idea. He had heard that one before many times when he'd been a police officer. He let his jaw jut out, and glowered at red eyes.

"I know what I saw. You were taking their wallets while they were out cold on the floor of the alley." Shin said. His voice was adamant. As far as he was concerned, that could only mean one thing, no matter how it looked.

Elliott stared at him. Had he been SPYING on him? But he hadn't seen anyone in the alley. The hell kind of creepy voyeur mutation did triangle eyes have. "Are you going to try and pick a fight over a misunderstanding? I stopped those guys from mugging someone else. Call their wallets an idiot tax to teach them not to try weak ass bull crap like that again. Life lesson."

The two men peered at each other, neither one ready to cede to the others claim. You could almost feel energy crackling between them as egos dueled.

As Lee came up to the two men talking near the door, she heard what Shin was accusing the other mutant of, and her eyes widened slightly. Here was a mugger, and Shin had just casually followed him in and then chatted with her rather than calling the police.

Except that the other mutant was denying it, claiming to have stopped the muggers and took their wallets to teach them a lesson.

Lee’s eyes moved back and forth between the two men in front of her. ”You guys better not force me to call the cops,” Lee said. And she really wouldn’t want to, generally the cops didn’t look too kindly on mutants even still, and Shin was a friend.

Elliott was annoyed. Like, really annoyed.

He turned to smile at the woman. She was right in her desire to avoid a fight. Bar fights and messy and bad for business. All that potential loss of liquor or business. It just didn't pay.

"I'm not going to lay a single hand on him. I don't want a fight. Something I'm trying to make the kindly teacher know." Elliott said sweetly.

Why ever would they need to call the cops? It was a simple disagreement. The Asian thought he was a criminal for taking some criminals wallets. He disagreed. It was karmic justice. He wasn't going to cause a scene over it. That was so bad for good vibes. It would just completely ruin the mood! He honestly felt like they were spinning their wheels here.

How in the hell did the green man know he was a teacher? He guy was a complete stranger. Unless...

"Wait." Shin said. He held up one hand. "Just wait one minute. Are you a STUDENT at the mansion? Do I have to start an inquiry. That sort of behavior is most certainly NOT appropriate for a mansion resident. And it kind of makes me sick."

The green man said nothing. A vein twitched in his forehead. He looked annoyed. Elliott shot a glance at the woman, as if to say 'can you believe this guy?'

Shin looked to Lee. "If he tries to leave, I guess we should probably try and stop him. Cops, if needed?" He supposed. It might have been a bit extreme. If he got violent, though. "I need to call the mansion and ask about a green guy with red eyes and big antennae. When you stay at the mansion, you're expected to be better than this. I don't feel like the students are necessarily safe... do me a favor and watch him while I make the call?" He asked.

The green man made no move to get out. This was so stupid. He'd been stupid. A dumb slip up. It sure as hell better not lead to him being homeless.

Shin looked to green, cellphone up against his ear. "What's your name, green?"

Elliott sighed. "You're making a huge mistake..."

"Okay. I'll just give them your description." He sure stood out.

Focusing on his phone call, the Asian stepped away. That left the green man with the woman by the doors.

Elliott stared at her. "It really isn't what he thinks..." He frowned. "Honestly. Can't you explain it to him, because he won't believe it from me."

((OOC temporary exit from Shin to field phone call!))

Shin was even more upset at the idea that this mutant could be a Mansion Resident. Sure, it wasn’t the best, it wasn’t ideal behaviour, but it certainly could have been worse. Was it really that bad that Shin needed to start an investigation or something into this on top of a potential police investigation?

As much as she liked and cared about her friends at the Mansion, there was a reason Lee hadn’t stayed around there as much.

Then Shin asked her to watch the guy, who wasn’t willing to give his name, while he called the Mansion. Lee just nodded, her eyes moving between the two men.

Once Shin stepped away, Lee noticed that the green mutant was staring at her, and started explaining without explaining. Lee just looked back at him for a few moments. ”Then what is it?” Lee asked, raising an eyebrow. ”I won’t try explaining anything if you don’t convince me what you were doing. And a name would help with that.”

Elliott took a deep breath. Well. He was bound to have to explain it some time. Better to her than the police. Though if the police got involved, would they really mind? The damned Asian did the same basic thing. He just got a pass because he wore tight leather pants with a great big gold X stitched on the butt while doing it. Elliott wasn't sure if that was the real X-man dress code, but it seemed plausible.

He started slowly. "Have you heard about some guy going around, helping people out while wearing this crazy grinning motorcycle helmet?"

Surely, it had gotten mentioned in newspapers or on the news. He'd left enough thugs tied up or coherent to spread rumors (if they were dumb enough to confess their crimes). And the people he had saved... they sure needed to share their stories. He hadn't done every helmet man rescue. There was a copycat. But he'd done most of them. Hopefully, she had heard.

He was holding the helmet in question in the crook of one arm. He could spell it out, or she could do some addition herself. Secret identities are there to protect not just the hero, but the people around them. He was trying to be discrete, not shifty. They were taking it as shifty. All because he'd taken some unconscious criminal wallets after doing his evening's good deed.

The mutant seemed to be thinking about whether he should tell her about what he had been doing that night, even if he should tell her his name.

After a few moments, he seemed to finally realize that telling her was a good idea. Especially since the guy had asked her to speak to Shin about what was going on. So Lee listened, though he really didn’t tell her much of anything, he simply asked if she’d heard about a person going around in a motorcycle helmet.

And that was all that he said. Lee simply stood there looking at the green mutant, waiting to see if he was going to say anything else, explain more, possibly actually say his name as Lee had asked. But there was nothing.

”I have heard about that,” Lee said slowly after a minute of silence between them, though there was a lot of background noise in the bar. ”But that doesn’t explain who you are or why Shin saw you taking wallets.”

"Helping people out," Elliott repeated, stressing the words "helping" and "people." "I meant what I said when I told Shin they were on the receiving end of mugger karma. Maybe if they learn their prey can strike back... or maybe if they learn there's someone out there making business unprofitable for them, they'll stop."

Did she get it? He was going out on a limb here, explaining it. He was holding a bike helmet, too. He'd figured she'd connect the dots.

Elliott continued carefully. "Cities like this aren't easy to live in. People take advantage of others. I've been trying to, uh. Help thin out the predators in the city. Protect the herd?" Sort of? He felt like adjusting his shirt collar, but held the urge back. "So I guess what I'm trying to say is I am that guy. A vigilante. Kind of like the xmen but with worse fringe benefits and no healthcare." He smiled a smile at her that showed off his pearly white teeth. Jagged, sharp teeth in a zipperlike smile. "No dental, either." Elliott said.

If she brought up the wallets again, he would probably roll his eyes. What is it with these people and their obsessions with wallets?

Lee did not fail to notice that while the green mutant standing in front of her was very adamant that he was trying to help the people of the city, he still had yet to tell her his name. If he truly was trying to help, and if he was living at the mansion, why would he be trying to keep his name secret? Shin was calling the mansion right that very moment, they were going to know his name shortly if he was in fact staying at the mansion; this guy was far too noticable for them not to.

He was right about cities like this not being easy to live in. Lee had had problems in New York before, just as she had in Toronto. Fear of those problems, compounded by being a mutant, was what had caused her to leave the city five years earlier.

But there were some things that just did not make sense. ”If you’re living at the mansion,” Lee said, head tilting slightly as she looked at the green man in front of her. ”And you’re already doing the vigilante thing for some insane reason, why haven’t you just joined the X-Men? Wouldn’t that solve a number of problems?

“And a name would be nice,” Lee continued, giving the man a stern look. ”Hiding that is making me wonder if there’s more you’re hiding.”

"The X thing," Elliott said patiently. "Is more insane. I'm not doing this as a full time job." Or working with police. Or getting paid to do so. No healthcare or dental. He'd been serious about that.

Personally, he thought being an X-man brought about more problems than it actually solved. He hadn't looked much into the X ... men... thingy... but it seemed absurd to him. They weren't even helping people. They weren't keeping the streets safe. They were running around in costumes, responding to police radios about crimes. Police already did that. "I'm more street level than them." Elliott added. "I'd rather patrol than respond to police scanners. Feels like that's more helpful than jumping whenever there's a bank robbery or a treed kitty cat. See a mugger, stop them." He smiled weakly, and emphasized the words "Neighborhood watch."

He didn't fly. He had no super speed. He didn't want a nice car or fancy jet. Those things draw attention wayyy too easily. Why would he be a part of a rich person team with a "feel good" mission to make mutants look good? Okay... maybe he'd looked into what it was more than he'd let on. It pays to know details that might bite you later on. Just like the Asian was trying to do, now. They worked with the police. How soon before the police turned on them, too?

The name thing... was all about protecting himself and others from people turning on him. Or attacking him. She still wanted that little detail? Fine. If she just wanted to beat the dead horse, the least he could do was help her move on and bury it. "Cheshire is the alias I've been considering," He noted carefully. "On account of the crazy smile on the helmet that sticks to other you long after I'm gone. If you want a real name." He paused. The Asian was going to dig it up anyways. What the hell? A touch of wry humor crept into his voice. "Elliott Thomas. E.T. Because my parents watched too many damn movies."

"Better?" He asked. "If you want to turn me in now, or stab me in the back or make life hell for me and anyone I care about, now you've got the full package deal. All The ammunition. The criminal underworld would love to know who has been taking down their street level thugs and disrupting their dealer's trades."

He didn't even care now if he was being snarky about it. He needed her to trust him. If anyone in the bar were listening, he'd be dead before the week was up. Place of living, full name, alias, personal description, description of what he'd been doing, and MO. Felt like grade school with all this show and tell! And the mean teacher wanted to give him detention. Or put him in the bad boy corner to make him think about what he'd done.

Lee nodded when the mutant said that the ‘X thing’ was more insane than what he was doing. Well, she had thought a number of times that Sam was crazy to do what he was doing, especially with how little sleep he had had as a result a few times that she’d seen him. She was able to run without sleep for a number of days, Sam, and she was guessing this guy, weren’t.

And, the mutant standing in front of her did have a good point about the effectiveness of what he was doing compared to the X-Men. Obviously, there were times when their help with situations the police were already dealing with was necessary, but most of the time? If the police were already on their way, what good was it really for a bunch of mutants to show up, too?

”That seems like a good fit,” Lee said when the green guy in front of her gave his idea for an alias. Though, aliases like that probably worked better when you didn’t try to hide them so much. But at least he finally gave her a name to call him by, though she had to wince a bit at what his parents had done. ”That’s just terrible,” she replied with a shake of her head. ”Parents can be the worst sometimes.” Hers certainly had been, though they had gotten somewhat better over the years. But at the same time, had she and Tarin been much better than Elliott’s considering they’d given him the middle name ‘Patrick’ when he’d been born on March 17th.

But then Elliott went on, and Lee frowned at his little tirade. ”And why would I do any of that?” she asked, her head tilted slightly in confusion. Then she glanced over to where Shin was, still on the phone. Though Lee honestly wasn’t sure how he was hearing the person on the other end that well with the noise of the place. Or maybe that was what was taking him so long.

”Give me the wallets,” Lee said as she turned back to look at Elliott. ”I’ll say security found them on the ground outside. But I’d stay out of trouble, and probably out of sight, for a while. Shin’s probably going to be keeping his eye out for you for the next little bit.”

His alias received approval. His parents choice of names? Disapproval. Which was in line with his own opinion, which was good. He wasn’t out of the woods yet, but the fact they were talking and agreeing was a positive sign. Yet still, he had to let his mouth run and let her know his cards were all on the table. He didn’t have anything else he was holding back. It was all on what she was holding. That would determine the outcome.

She frowned, and asked why she’d do anything like that. Elliott frowned too. He pointedly did not say ‘because it’s the right thing.’

“Some people are like that,” Elliott said far more mildly than when he’d given his little speech. He almost sounded wounded, like Lee had dismissed his entire world view. “You’d be surprised.”

She looked to where the Asian was, and Elliott glanced that way too. The guy had been on the phone for an awful long time. He could only guess the things the Asian had in store for him. Maybe some of them were even in line with that questionable world view.

The wallets. The woman wanted the wallets. Now, usually he would have disposed of the wallets after pocketing the cash. Pickpocketing 101. You don’t keep other people’s personal property, like IDs and credit cards. Things that can be traced back to the victim. Identity theft is far too blatant a crime. It leaves a trail paper money just does not. He’d been sloppy and had come straight from the scene to the bar. In this event, it hadn’t hurt him. He’d have to be more careful in the future.

The green man fished in a pocket and pulled out two wallets. He pressed them down in front of the woman grimly. There was no cash in them. He’d already used what they’d had to pay the barkeeper. It hadn’t been a huge sum. They were trying to rob people, after all. Money management was not their strong suit.

“ID and cards are all in there,” Elliott said. He glanced at the Asian. “Please.”

Elliott almost seemed offended that she was confused about why she wouldn’t turn him in. She’d be surprised at how some people were? Lee shook her head slightly. ”I doubt that,” she told the other mutant. ”To be honest, there’s not a whole lot that really surprises me anymore. But not everyone in this world is a scared bigot.” Even if unfortunately there far too many of them in the world.

At least he wasn’t fighting about giving her the wallets so that she could turn them in. The wallets, not him. Taking them, Lee nodded as she heard what the man said. ID and cards, but not the money, was still in the wallets. ”Find yourself an actual job,” Lee advised, though she intended it more as friendly advice than a warning. ”There are places that actually are mutant friendly, and it’s likely safer than all this.” Lee finished with a slight wave toward Elliott, indicating his vigilantism and the activities he’d participated in that night.

Another glance at Shin, and Lee looked back at Elliott, nodding toward the door. ”Go. But stay out of trouble. You want to be on my bad side less than you want to be on Shin’s.”

He thanked her gravely, and then Elliott left the bar. It was unlikely he’d find a new job. A new, non-vigilante job. He needed the good karma to make up for the bad. And he needed the bad to make up for the good, too, if he was being honest with himself. Vigilantism costs loads but pays in bruises and dirt. He’d make an effort to stay off the woman’s bad side, however. It’s bad business to repay kindness with crap. Crap is far too plentiful, and kindness, too rare.

The mansion was an okay place. He would want to find another place, one that wasn’t just his dive hideout hole in the wall. Maybe he would find a real job and find an apartment. Maybe even a roommate. But that was a problem for another Elliott on another day.

He vanished as quickly as he could into the night, and felt thankful for the kindness of strangers... even if the vanishing act probably made him look guilty as hell to the Asian X-man. Knowing his luck, after the guy evicted him, he’d call the cops.