The feeling was one that left her raw and hot and reeling. It was a quick kick with a steel boot. Even soaking wet and her body a distant sensation at best, the words in thought form were enough to awaken something deep down in the bright eyed mutant girl. [i]'Dumb ass.'[/i] Had Helena the strength to do so, it was entirely possible she would risen and move for Will...[i]and do what?[/i] For her own question, Helena found no good answer. She knew how Will had meant it, but the thought cut just as deep to Helena. By Will's logic, Helena was worse...and the greatest difficulty in her life quickly became not blowing up, and screaming at Will that she was doing the best she could, so was Helena, so was all of them.

It was defensive and angry, like anyone who'd felt struck. But it wasn't even possible right now, even as Helena looked up at Annelise, before everyone else began to bleed into the picture. Every comment seemed to upset her, about home, about when to leave, about where they might go. About the whole thing sucking. It all felt like acid dripping down into her throat, giving Helena the overwhelming sensation that she might follow Will next in giving up her lunch. But then the man came out nowhere, walking through the group like he was aimed at her.

[b]"UP! WE'RE LEAVING."[/b] Like she were a doll, the long haired Cell co-lead reached out, grabbed her, and suddenly she was standing. "I need you moving," was all he seemed to say directly to her before walking past her, only stopping when he saw a blood spattered X-23 walking up, tying her hair up behind her almost casually. There was a satisfaction in X's eyes that Helena thought might be sated blood lust. 

[i]But surely not...right?[/i]

There talk was tense, very short, and hushed as they were past the hearing of those present. But quickly, Helena didn't care, the realization she had near drowned blinding her with lungs that seared with each breath. Only now was her body coming into sharper focus, immediately wishing she could go back to that slow echo that had been her connection to her body just moments before. 

When 'the adults' were done, X looked their way; at each of them individually, before a quick sweep of them as a whole. There was nothing gentle about her features, and a worry that looked to Helena like a black hole that threatened to swallow them all with it's gravity. "Someone go find Noa--"

--the Earth moved in a strike of hellfire, an explosion rocketing fire into the sky that came not once, but twice. Rob disappeared immediately, going faster than any of them were going to register with their naked eyes. "Drones," lowly the word came from X-23's lips, lips pale save for a spot of drying blood at the bottom left corner of her mouth, her words cutting deep as her claws to Helena's heart. 

"They're firing at us?"

It was fear, like all the other anger she'd felt sense nearly drowning. All of it was driven by the same thing, the very reason she wanted to rage at Will, even, she had a suspicion, what made her suddenly feel like she wanted to throw up: it was fear. [i]Someone's trying to kill me[/i], her body trembled, as if someone held a blade to her throat just past the point of feeling. 

[i]My government is trying to kill me.[/i]

"Everybody look at me." Helena heard X-23 speak, but when she looked up it wasn't to look at her, it was to look at Annelise. Even without being able to read her, Helena had a sick feeling she knew how the girl felt. Just as suddenly as he'd gone, Rob was back, his hair wind swept and lupine, his face darkened by smoke and something far worse. 

"He's gone."

Had the very vabric of space and time not cut apart and flooded an already bright enough and hot enough late afternoon New Mexican day, Helena felt as if she would have fainted, wobbly and weak as she already felt, still dripping with water, every little bit of her clothing clinging as the heat pulled at it. It looked like how she imagined the light of heaven might; bright and pale blue and alive with sparkles of light acting as the cut in reality's border; a circular shaped cut in space/time, easily seven foot in diameter. 

[i]A circular shape that looked designed.[/i] It was in that heartbeat of thought that Helena realized this was no divine light. There was no heat from it, only light. Not even a gentle warmth. Nothing...except, just then, a silhoutte of black that quickly...waved? As confused as Helena was, X-23 sounded equally resolved. 

"Go! Now. More drones in the sky." When no one moved as soon as she said it, the feral woman growled...like no human growl Helena had ever heard. "[i]Go.[/i] Chase, move. Will," X jerked her thumb towards the circle of light, "Alex, Jack, Annelise, Helena, move your legs and go." 

What Helena felt was muted as the unknown and accompanying adrenaline rush of going through pure light overwhelmed her, her hand on Annelise's back as she went through, then suddenly not, then on that warm but just as wet back once again like it'd never felt. In fact, Helena wasn't even sure if her hand had left the girl's back. 

If that left Helena puzzled, looking up to her new surroundings...left her dumbfounded. 

"Welcome to the X-Mansion." 

The voice was rough edged and immaculantly controlled, the man it belonged to was only six foot, maybe an inch or two taller...but he was the thickest man Helena had ever seen outside of the super sized athletes that made millions. His eyes were so darkly brown they looked black. [i]Or maybe that was just his heart[/i], spooked at the prospect of digging into that mind, hollow as the man felt at a glance. 

Rob looked to speak, maybe to introduce the man to the group, but Helena's eyes narrowed and her pink lips loosed first. "You're the Punisher...where did you..." Then it hit Helena, her eyes widened at the sheer thought. A grin of guilt becoming the first emotion she'd seen on the muscular man's face, "how did you steal Reed Richard's machine?!"

But, true to her initial impression, Helena stopped there. "I don't want to know."

"Won't they think to look for a bunch of mutants...at the X-Mansion?"

X-23's metal edged tone forced Helena to turn and look, before looking back to 'the Punisher' guy for a response. As worried about it as X sounded, the Punisher sounded not worried in the least, motioning to the windows within the mansion's grand entrance. Everything was boarded up, if not for the electric lighting and air conditioning, it wouldn't have so welcome a sight. 

[i]In fact I don't see a spot of dust. Someone's been living here.[/i]

"Lady 'they' ain't got any idea where you people are now. Thank God." 

"Guys," Rob said it first, but X-23's eyes followed right after with the same message: "Leave us, go explore and find a place to settle in for the night." 

[b]"Go."[/b] 

Helena grumbled, and tugged on Annelise to go that-a-way, towards the back off the grand entrance way, towards the big hall way with the wood paneling and utterly sumptious crimson red carpet. If only after firing a death glare at Will with her last look at the great hall. But that anger was quickly overtaken by a new, colder, feeling in a creepy way. Really, the worst part was how it looked like Xavier and his X-Men had simply ghosted away a minute ago, instead of years before. She expected someone to jump out and yell boo at any moment.

Hopefully after she found something to eat. After all that, barely starting to dry, her body needed a refuel more than if she'd gone surfing or marathon running.