âThink of it as charity. As in, you probably need it, Emilio.â She cracks her grin, and pats him on the cheek, patronizingly. She missed this, like a warm coat on a cold winterâs night that sheâd long thought was lost. No one else got this side of her. The vigilante. The harbinger. Even if she isnât out there with her on the roof, at least she can take solace in the fact that they can be a little comfortable around each other. Just a little.
Winning a cage match against a mutant? Oh, this she has to see. âIâm coming then,â she says, laughing despite herself. Emilioâs made some wild claims, but she knows that three to one sheâd still bet on him with his bare fists. Mutants learn to rely on their power; they donât learn how to use their physicality in a fight. âBesides, if those guys get someone from the audience to teach you a lesson, I might even volunteer.â
âJust the confessional? You know Iâm not good on my knees, Saint.â If it seems pointed, it is, a sharp eyebrow raised in response. âBesides, Godâs been dead since the twentiesâeveryone knows that. Or at least I do, and just assume. You gonna tell me heâs been listening all these years and I still havenât gotten enlightenment?â
âno matter how you square it,â grins emilio, his lips pursing as he feels jackieâs skin against his own, âfree is free.â he really feels how torn up his face is, slit open by vicious, inhuman claws. itâs something he shouldnât even think about, considering his profession (it pales in comparison to most of what he suffered), but still. itâs a new, odd sensation when itâs his face. itâs a message as it is the clothes he wears on his back.
âyou gotta pay a visit sometimeâyouâd like it there.â emilioâs eyes roamed over the crowd, taking in the unifying spectacle of humanity walking over the fairgroundsâ flattened grass. he teases her with a narrowing of his eyes, âi doubt you could take me on,â he says, âyouâre looking at the only non-mutant contender in that jointâ iâm kind of a big deal.â
his smile broadens then, âyour god, maybe. but not mine.â and though emilio knows better than to bloviate about religion with jackieâespecially as they are being a tad bit sacrilegiousâhe canât help himself sometimes. he knows he makes up for it, though. âwho said anything about you being on your knees?â emilio smirks, âwhatâve you got going on in that head of yours?â