Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Nallore
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Nallore RPG's Grope Master & Taco Hunter. :P

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Bethany Bell
[


Location: OMEN's Torture Palace
Skills: N/A





Bethany stared at Jakobson and Jade as well as soon as she got out of the car, as she looked over towards Allison as she started to say her vision about what had happened in the future. And then a few seconds later Thalia had came out, pulling out a watch as it started to play a vision before them. Looking over at the two and then as soon as it was finished Bethany watched Jade throwing a ring at Jakobson which she smirked at him for a bit. He did deserve what had happened because of what had happened to them as Bethany looked over at the others that were there. She eyed the girl who was with the other OMEN agent and the other woman as well, asking what they will be doing after this. The one named demeteria suggesting the girl join them at the mansion and going back to a group called The Underground, which she hadn't heard of before.

Beth also stared at Future Carolina as she came over to them asking what had happened to Future Pietro which she bit her bottom lip for a moment she didn't think that anyone would have ended up dying and they would all make it back to safety. Then Jakobson and Jade both left after making the call shutting down OMEN for good which was a good thing. "If we get captured again i'll make sure that Lance doesn't get banged up that much." Bethany said jokingly as she eyed the turtle that Pietro was holding, and shook her head slightly she didn't really like the name for the turtle. "Why not name him after one of the teenage mutant ninja turtles? They at least had cooler names then Mr. Dibbles. And a Starbucks run sounds like a good idea right about now." Bethany said, before making her way over towards the Quinjet.




Carolina Reed

Future Carolina Reed

Cassandra Reed




Location: Quinjet
Skills: N/A (Carolina) N/A (Cassandra) N/A (Future Carolina)





Future Carolina stared at Marygold for a moment when she said what had happened to her Pietro from there timeline as she looked down, letting out a shaky breath and nodded a bit. She did know that it was going to possibly be a one way trip for some of them, she would look back over to her younger self as well as her sister. At least they were alive and well, and neither of them would go through what had happened in their timeline. "Thank you, i'll go tell my Folly and Thalia." Future Carolina said towards Mary, she would have to go over and break it to Folly as well as their Thalia to. She made her way over towards where Folly was sitting in the Quinjet and gently tapped her on the shoulder as she started to break the news to her.

Cassandra watched as Thalia started to play a vision from the future before everyone as she eyed Jakobson and Jade's reaction to it, which wasn't good at all. And he did deserve it after all, once they were done and started to drive off Cassandra looked over towards the others that were there and smiled a bit at least they all had made it. Cassandra looked over towards the future version of her sister as she went to drop the news to Folly, wondering how the girl will take it. Cassandra would also see three faces that she didn't know before calling out to them. "If you guys need a ride somewhere I can drop you off wherever you need to go." She said offering them a ride if they needed to.

Carolina looked over at the group and started to make her way over towards them as she looked over at Dean for a moment and gave him a friendly smile glad to see that he and the others were alright. "Glad that everyone is alright." Carolina said to all of them and then looked back over at the Quinjet. "Starbucks would be awesome as well." She said giving a slight smile towards Allison, she was just glad that everything was over now.
Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by FantasyChic
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FantasyChic Poptarts and Glitter

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Allison Andrews and Sara Grey

Location: Outside OMEN Facility




It had been a hell of a journey, but Allison had accomplished what she set out to do. Jakobsen found out the truth about his future daughter and it seems Jade was none too pleased to hear he had been targeting them. Everyone, for the most part, seemed all right. The deaths hurt, especially for Guin. She was also surprised to see Mary back her up. She would have to talk to the girl. Later.

Sara, meanwhile, approached Dean. "Sure we can, Ken Doll. Seems there's a Starbucks run about to go down so I'm sure we can pick up some Big Macs too." His injuries appeared all right for the most part, but everyone was more or less banged up. A trip to a doctor or healer was definitely in store.

Allison accepted the gratitude from the others, unsure what to make of it. She barely did anything apart from use her powers. Was this what that spectral woman meant? Deciding when to use her gifts for good or evil? She couldn't save Oshea or Nina or Future Pietro, but she could save others. "Thanks guys, but for reals, I need a frappe stat. Can we get going now?" It was good to be back.

Sara walked from Dean to the others Guin and Lance were joking around, so all seemed fine, but she was concerned about Mary. The girl had a lot on her shoulders. "You doing okay Mary? For what its worth, I think you did a fine job as a leader. We're all human...well you know what I mean, so mistakes happen. It's how you overcome those mistakes that make you great."
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by BlueSky44
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BlueSky44 Tech Monkey

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Mary looked over at Sara when she spoke, she had partially been lost in a train of thought there for a moment, so she hadn't been expecting anyone to say anything to her. "I know mistakes happen, problem is I can't stop thinking about those what if scenarios... Thanks though Sara, that does mean a lot," she said giving her a smile. It did mean a lot, considering how much people were yelling at her earlier, someone basically saying that she wasn't a complete screw up meant something.

Pietro stared at Bethany. "...What are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? I'm so confused... And how dare you insult Mr. Dibbles! His name is great and he is adorable!"

"Pietro, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a cartoon and comic book series..." Mary said, glancing over at them with a slight laugh.

"Oh... I didn't know that..."

"Course you didn't."

Pietro just rolled his eyes, still holding onto the turtle before he turned to his family, "...Pretty sure the two of you aren't going to get arrested, but you might want to leave before any sort of law enforcement shows up..."

Magneto simply nodded, not responding to Pietro, though when Pietro met his gaze, he couldn't help but look away quickly, Magneto still scared him a lot. "...Goodbye then brother..." Wanda said, before she walked over to her father, and they left.

"...Bye..."

"...Pretty sure she was mentioning the time when her dad lost track of us for like, two seconds, we ran into someone who knew my dad and then chaos ensued."

The Present day version of Thalia turned and smiled at Richard, "Well you certainly are a charmer aren't you?" she said with a smile.

Flynn glanced over at Annie, "...I might see about joining SHIELD at some point... This whole situation... It was a mess, and I want to make up for what had happened, and my part in it... So, I'll see if Fury is willing to have me, though it might help with some of the stuff I do know... So maybe I could use that as a bargaining chip..."

"...Alright, everyone whose wanting a ride some place, climb aboard the Quinjet, let SHIELD deal with the rest of OMEN, I am all for that Starbucks run, not to mention pretty sure most of us could probably use some sleep at this rate..." she then said aloud to everyone, before she headed onboard the Quinjet, before she noticed something, and turned to Thalia who was not too far behind her. "...Guessing they went home?"

"Yes, they did, though I am not quite positive what they will and will not remember," she responded, nodding her head. Cass was close enough to have seen what happened, Folly and the future version of her sister had just faded from existence.



The Future People!



Folly would find herself at a mutant friendly bar. People there all seemed to know who she was, and the bartender had just given her a drink on the house. She'd still have perfect memories of what had happened in the past, and what had happened in the other timeline, but she also had memories of the current one, including what she had been doing that had gotten her to that bar, and right next to her was Thalia. "So, that was a bit of a fun adventure now wasn't it?"

Carolina was a bit more complicate, and would find herself in the main common area at the mansion. Unlike Folly, she had no memory of the current timeline, so she wouldn't quite recognize the woman who was sitting in a chair by the window reading. Her outfit was a bit strange too, wearing a long skirt of sorts and a shirt. She also was wearing what looked to be like a trench coat of sorts almost, and she glanced up at Carolina. "I wonder when Pietro is going to be leaving," she mused slightly, before there was a gust of wind as Pietro raced into the room (and it was as Guin would have called him Muscles!)

"Right now, I have got to get going, see you Carolina, Mary, be back later, have to take Guina to the hospital," he said, before he looked at Carolina, giving her a bit of a wink and a grin before he was gone again.

"...Based on the speedster's reaction, and considering the fact that he actually does have a few minor abilities over time of his own, guessing I know the last thing you remember," Mary said with a smile though for a split second there was something slightly off about her tone of voice, but whatever it was was gone in an instant. "You probably had some fun, though I suspect you will have a lot of catching up to do."

She said nothing else, getting up from her chair and setting the book she had been reading down, and headed out of the room, but before she left, she turned slightly towards her, "See you later Carolina," she said with a slight smirk, and for an instant, Carolina would be able to see something strange.

The one eye that she had been able to see from Mary when she had turned partially towards her had turned red instead of her natural green.



Present Day, a few hours afterwards



No one paid much attention to the man who was sitting at the bar, the man who was watching the television screen diligently. He always wore a hood, so no one ever was really able to see his face unless they were standing right there facing him. There was a news report, about OMEN. It had basically been playing on loop for the past hour or so, but this man kept watching it anyway.

"Alexander Jakobsen, presidential candidate, disbanded the Organization for the Methodical Eradication of Necromantics, also known as OMEN earlier today after it was revealed what the organization was really doing behind closed doors. The X-Men managed to stop the organization and put a stop to their plans. As previously reported, OMEN had managed to catch a few of the X-Men team members, and nearly was able to put an end to the superhero team, but the group came out victorious. Dozens of OMEN agents were killed during the attack at their facility, however law enforcement officials have ruled that it was all in self defense, so there will be no charges against the X-Men..." the reporter said, before trailing off somewhat.

The bartender had watched the screen as well, "Ain't that something, guess there really are lunatics out there who'd do that sort of thing to people... Just insane..."

"Not really..." the man said, before he looked directly in the eyes of the bartender with a slight smile, "...Mind getting me another drink? I don't need to pay for it..."

"Of course," he responded, pouring another glass.

"I may have been forgotten somewhat by you Xavier, and that older group of yours, a faded memory. Forgotten yes, but I am far from gone. You will see that I am quite capable of dealing with my problems somewhat... Directly... Soon, very soon I can assure you... I will have my revenge upon you and watch as everything you've built is destroyed."


Marygold Isley with guest Veil!

Date: June 10, 2020


Mary wasn't too thrilled about this whole thing, but she supposed it couldn't be help. Now that the mansion was back up and things were settling back down, Xavier wanted her to go spend some time with the Mutant Underground. She knew where it was located, at least this section of it, and who ran it. The leader or whatever was someone she only vaguely remembered from her younger years at the mansion, well, more of the very first year she had been there, so it wasn't someone she knew overly well. Reaching the underground station in D.C, Mary entered the area, looking to see if she could find the person she was looking for.

It was a secluded area and looked largely like a refugee camp, set up inside of an abandoned building. For a moment, Mary wouldn't be able to see anyone - yet suddenly, they all popped into her line of sight and directly in front of her stood Veil, the leader of this branch of the Mutant Underground. She kept her people hidden - literally - when outsiders came to call. "Bloom, right? I'm Veil - welcome to the Underground."

"Uh, yeah... That's me... Though most people don't generally call me that... Anyway, Xavier has told me about this place... I haven't exactly seen much of it myself..."

"Correction - you haven't seen any of it. And the Mutant Underground isn't a place - it's a network," Veil said. Her pale eyes seemed to look right into Mary's soul, an intimidating effect but a moment later, Veil motioned for Mary to follow her as she walked towards the back of the station. All around them, mutants and their loved ones were huddled on cots and sleeping bags, eating spare food that had been scavenged and mending spare clothes. Some of the younger ones were being given a history lesson by one of the grown ups and in one corner, a group of people talked in hush whispers, glancing at Mary every so often.

"Right... Sorry..." Mary said, not sure what to think of the way Veil was looking with her. This place was not the best, or at least not in the best condition. It was very different from where she generally was, even if they had just gotten the mansion rebuilt for like, the hundredth time. She had no idea what to say as she glanced around.

Eventually, Veil stepped through a large opening that looked like a gutted out vault and she sat down on a broken and tattered looking couch. On the wall, there was a rough sketch of the underground stations across the country. They had computers and equipment, as well as a stash of fake I.D.'s ready to be distributed for those leaving the underground. "Take a seat," Veil said, nodding at an old armchair across from her. "What do you think?"

"Honestly... I don't know what to think... I knew things were bad, because of OMEN and stuff like that, but still... I didn't think it was like this..." she said, sitting down in the chair and looking at her.

Veil shook her head. "It's not because of O.M.E.N.," she said simply.

"Guessing you are talking about the Purifiers right? Yeah, I know about them too... Pretty sure a lot of ex-OMEN agents have joined their ranks since they've been disbanded..." she replied, shaking her head in response.

"No, not the Purifiers."

"Then mind telling me? Since I'm running out of things other than people just being racist bigots that cause the underground to even really need to exist..."

Veil gave Mary a slight smile, standing up and walking over to the map for a moment. "One of the first undergrounds was the Underground Railroad - dedicated to sneaking slaves away from their captors and to deliver them to freedom," Veil said softly. "When slavery was outlawed, suffering didn't end. Jim Crow replaced that system. When the Civil Rights Act was passed, people didn't stop their hatred...They found different outlets for it. Prejudice is a learned behavior and one that will never really be defeated. Beyond race wars, there was the Holocaust of course - the attempted extermination of an entire people. Anti-semitism still exists despite all of our attempts to wipe it out...Then of course, there's the brutal treatment of the LGTBQIA+ community. Children are killed for their sexuality and identities...Things are this bad because of human nature - pinning it down to just one group, to one villain...It's pointless. If it was that easy, the Mutant Underground wouldn't be needed. The X-Men could just rush in, take down a foe, and that would be that."

"That is true... Things like that suck immensely... I was lucky that growing up I didn't have to deal with that sort of thing, as I came to the mansion just two years after I got my powers. I know how people can be though, and it really sucks that it is the way it is, but people don't tend to like to learn from the mistakes, or the past of others. And honestly half the time I think that we are literally just caught in a loop going round and around since no one has thought of breaking that cycle yet... We're just another link in the chain of another ending cycle... This place literally is the underground railroad of old, and something tells me with the way things go in the world, in another hundred years or so, there likely will be another one for another targeted group or something similar," Mary responded, standing up and going over to stand by her.

"That's astute of you," Veil agreed. The cycle of prejudice never really was going to end. As human beings evolved, so did hatred and discrimination - the urge to label people and place them into groups, to discriminate against those deemed as the other. "But I know Xavier didn't ask you to come here to discuss cycles of hate - I'd like to know what you think the reason is first." Veil gave her a slight smile, pushing her bushy hair out of her face.

"Honestly... It is impossible to understand anything that man does, I mean really... He didn't tell me why, and I know that you know why... Well... I really don't know what to think when it comes to why he had me come here..."

Veil offered Mary a piece of gum - she had a packet in her pocket and she popped a stick in her own mouth. "Is that really true?" she asked, a bit disappointed. She had hoped that Mary would be able to recognize why she had been asked to go the Mutant Underground in Washington D.C. for a few days.

"...Probably has to do with being a leader or something...Right?" she guessed, taking the gum from Veil.

"Something like that," she agreed with a kind smile. She then sat down again, chewing on her gum - but being polite and keeping her mouth shut, of course. She rubbed her shoulder for a moment, feeling the old scar from underneath the fabric. "Tell me about what happened at the Power Plant - your first mission."

"You mean when the place blew up? That whole thing was not exactly the best situation... Good thing was Quicksilver joined our side, but still... Things definitely could have gone better. We split up into different groups, and I had the speedster we had, Oshea, race around the facility to see if he could see anything..." she started off, before she continued explaining what had happened there.

Although Veil knew all of the details, she listened to Mary's explanation. It was hard for her to not already be familiar with the destruction of the Hanson Power Plant. It had caused an uptick in anti-mutant crime and meant that more mutants were being taken in by the Underground Station and then sent north, in the hopes that they'd make it out of the dangerous area."What would you have done differently?"

"Come up with a decent plan before we even left the mansion. I didn't really know what we were doing... So I kind of just winged it there..."

"Why didn't you have a plan?" Veil asked softly, looking at her.

"...I don't know... I kind of wondered that myself, why didn't I have a plan..."

"Being a leader isn't just about being in charge," Veil said gently. "You're a part of a team and it's a special role, but not above anyone else. In movies, leaders will make the sacrifice play all of the time, putting others before themselves...But while that's necessary sometimes, a good leader will play to the strengths of their team - listen to others and make sure that they are truly heard, that their opinions matter - and do what will bring about the greatest good."

"Yeah... Well that's what I did the second time around at the Brotherhood hideout... Thought it made sense to split up the team into smaller ones... Asked for everyone's opinions and mainly got the opinions from the SHIELD commander. I made a split second choice at the last second to make it so that I wasn't in the same group as the SHIELD commander, as that didn't make much sense in the long run, and put Oshea in that group to make sure, since the commander was human, that her and one of the newer members who was also in that group could get out easily in a pinch..."

"From what I heard, there was a lot of improvement in that mission," Veil said, her intense eyes looking at Mary once more. She then blew a bubble and promptly popped it. "What would you have done differently at the Brotherhood lab?"

"...Not switch the lineup at the last minute.." she said softly, her mind still going back to what had happened.

"Why? Your reasoning was sound," Veil said, rejecting Mary's change. "Not every death can be prevented, Mary. A good leader needs to be able to learn from their mistakes and move on. Dwelling on this man's sacrifice will not allow you to lead your team - which brings us to the incident your team had with O.M.E.N..."

"...Are you saying before or after everyone was arguing at Stark Tower? Like the attack on the mansion? Or us going to the facility itself?"

She didn't answer her question. "Were you a leader then? A good one?" she asked, before continuing. "Did you listen to your team?"

"No, I didn't... At least not at first... I wasn't thinking right... I was stressed out, panicking... And everyone almost got killed because of me... I didn't listen, because everyone was yelling at me, yelling at every choice I make... Yelling about what had happened with the Brotherhood Lab... And I just lost it... Those who got caught and ended up in the middle of the OMEN facility, well, I wouldn't be surprised if they blamed me for it, I kind of blame myself for them getting caught because I didn't listen... It wasn't until a little bit after we reached the facility and started attacking, that I realized how dumb I was, flat out admitted it and called myself out on it for everyone, and came up with a decent solution..."

Veil paused for a moment, thinking. "If you've ever seen Avatar, do you remember King Bumi's advice for Aang - that he needed a teacher that would wait and listen to the Earth? That's who you need to become as a leader - someone who listens and waits before striking."

"Yeah... I remember that show... But there aren't really a lot of people in the world like that..."

She shook her head. "I'm not asking every person on the planet to be a rational leader, Mary. But if you are going to lead the X-Men team, you can't keep living in the past. It's time that you moved forward - and that when your team is going into a danger, wait and listen. Come up with a plan and convince yourself that it'll work. Otherwise...you should step down. Let someone else take on the job of leading if it isn't right for you."

"Wow... You are actually the second person to tell me something like that... Maybe you are right..."

"Maybe. But what do I know," Veil replied, giving Mary a kind smile.

"You tell me considering the fact that the other person who told me that of all people was Gambit, reason I was a bit dubious about that at first," Mary said with a slight laugh.

"Why would you be dubious of something Gambit said?"

"I was talking to him after I broke down due to stress, just thought he was trying to make me feel better about the entire situation..." she said with a slight shrug.

"...Perhaps you should try putting more weight in the words of others."

"...Maybe I should..."


Lance Banner with guest Runa!

Date: August 5, 2020


Lance was going to the library in NYC. Sure, the mansion had a large collection of books that he could read, but he wanted to get away from there for a while, and the library had always been a sort of safe haven for him. A place where he could go to be alone and just read whatever he wanted. He walked inside and started going among the shelves, glancing around at the shelves. Over in the Young Adult section, there was a girl with dark hair and almond shaped eyes, reading a copy of Percy Jackson and the Olympians as she sat in a corner. There was a pile of books next to her, all of them on varied subjects but largely mythology and astronomy.

He didn't even notice the girl sitting there, as he started pulling a few books off the shelves to start reading.

"Excuse me," a voice said. While he had been pulling books off of the shelves, the girl had gotten up and was trying to get by him. She wanted to get a quick drink of water at the fountain nearby. And unfortunately, Lance was in her way.

"Oh, uh sorry," he said, before he moved slightly so she could get by him.

The girl just nodded slightly, walking behind him and then heading over to the water fountain.

Lance glanced over at her for a second after she had walked by him. She looked kind of pretty, at least in his mind, but he wasn't too much of a talker to anyone, not to mention they were in a library, so he went back to scanning the book shelves. A moment later, the girl came back over and stopped. "...That book you have, it's good - inspired by the author's boyfriend."

"Uh, what?" he said, before he actually glanced down at the title of the book in his hands.

"Yeah, that's why there's imagery about the sun so much - he called his boyfriend his sunshine..." the girl said quietly, before she went back to her corner and opened up her book.

"...I didn't know that..."

A librarian looked up and shushed Lance, giving him a glare. The girl in the corner couldn't help but giggle a bit mischievously, seeing the vexed man. She glanced at Lance for a moment, before she waved her hand slightly and it seemed to be surrounded by darkness, before a pile of books near the librarian fell to the ground in shambles. The librarian swore and the girl just giggled more.

Lance's eyes grew wide seeing that. It was definitely not what he had expected! So the girl had powers of her own, and she wasn't against using them like that. It was a little weird, but he went over to stand by her. "...Wow, did not see that coming..." he said kind of quietly.

"...Thank you..." she said softly, still sitting down with her books.

"...What's your name?"

"...Runa Blake..."

"...Nice to meet you... I'm Lance Banner..."

The girl - Runa Blake - gave him a soft smile before she went back to reading her book. Her hands were smooth and soft, but as she shifted her shirt sleeve rolled up and revealed a set of faint scars. Some of them were next to fresh wounds - no more than a few days old at best.

He looked at her arms, not too sure what to think of the fact that she had a bunch of them. Lance looked away quickly, going back to glancing around at the shelves. By the time he turned around again, the girl was gone. There was a pile of books where she had been and a small pouch that it seemed she had forgotten.

"...Uh?" he said softly, before he reached over and grabbed the pouch, opening it up. Inside, there was a rune of sorts with an L on it. He glanced around, trying to see where she had gone, but saw nothing, and so he put the rune back in the pouch and put it in his pocket, before he walked away.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Morose
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Morose ✨Krakoan Princess✨

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Dean Kesseli

Location: OMEN Facility - Outside -> Quinjet


Damon still didn't say anything, just content to hold Ayita and breathe for a moment. He knew that Richard was likely to come and kill him, but he didn't care. He could have lost Ayita today. Nina and someone from the Brotherhood had died, that much he knew - and from the conversation, it seemed a speedster had perished as well. (What was it with speedsters dying on their missions, lately? He was getting a bit worried for their Pietro when it came to their next mission. First Oshea, then Future Pietro...Who was next?)

Dean, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow at Sara. "Hey, don't objectify me!" he protested, having been called a Ken Doll. "It's 2020! When are we going to learn that calling people Ken Doll doesn't do any good?" He then sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "...I'm joking, by the way." His stomach growled again and he was wondering how many Big Macs it was humanly possible for a person to consume. He then headed onto the quinjet with the others, sitting down and coughing slightly.

"...Someone has to have money on them or something, right? I don't know how much I have on me..."

Guin Stark

Location: OMEN Facility - Outside -> Quinjet


Although this was the first Guin had heard of Pietro's desire for any sort of pet - and she couldn't help but feel a bit like Wanda had finally found a way to cause Pietro to focus on something other than her - she was a bit surprised that Beth insulted his choice of name. And the even more shocking thing was that Pietro didn't smack her upside the head for that. He tended to have violent reactions at times - not that he had ever hit her outside of sparring or anything, but sometimes, he did that to other people.

"I am going to need at least five venti cappuccinos," Guin said softly, looking at Lance and Pietro tiredly. She usually wasn't much of a coffee person but she felt like a walking corpse. "And then I want to sleep until I'm dead." She really hoped that Xavier would suddenly become competent when it came to dealing with the aftermath of all of this.

"...That much caffeine isn't the best Guina..." Pietro said, shaking his head.

Guin let out an exhausted and drained yawn. "I know I made a big fuss over how I could walk, but honestly, I just want to curl into a ball right now..." She was trying not to think about how Muscles was dead. They had changed the future - or at least, she hoped that they had. But her nerves were frayed and her hands were still shaking. What if the future merely corrected itself, in one way or another?

"...I think most people are tired..."

She glanced up at her boyfriend and sighed. Men could be idiots sometimes. "Forget I said anything."

"Guina, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just wanted you to hold me and you didn't seem to care," Guin answered. She then realized she could focus on little problems in her life, in a way to slightly drive out the haunting image of Muscles' corpse. She was cold and tired, as well as positively starving. She'd only had a single Twinkie to eat that day. Her head was starting to pound slightly, meaning she was dehydrated - fucking fantastic. And of course, her hands were shaking from anxiety and shock over seeing Muscles riddled with bullets.

"...You told me you didn't want me to though.. So I put you down..."

"...Yeah well now I want you to..." Guin mumbled.

"...Okay..." Pietro said, pulling her into his arms, being careful of the turtle.

Guin stared at the turtle and could've sworn it was glaring at her. "...I think he hates me..." she mumbled sleepily.

"Nope, he doesn't."

"I love you," Guin mumbled, gripping onto him tightly as her hands started to shake again. It helped to ride out the waves of anxiety a little bit. But she was still pretty certain the turtle was giving her a death glare.

"I love you too..."


Ayita Dykrin and Guin Stark

Date: June 10, 2020

When you get an order, your choices are to obey or get eaten. Or at least that was how packs worked in the North Ayita reasoned. Yet with family it was obey or challenge Richard. The latter was not an easy thing to do despite the fact she was he beloved little sister. Usually a quiet snarl and pointed refusal to do it would get him to look for another choice, but not this time. It had been a spat that had gone on for a solid two hours before Ayita had given in. Stubborn though she was, Richard had the bit between his teeth and was not going to let the matter go.

That, was how she found herself in the strange room humans called a 'range' shooting at horrible depicted targets. Like it would help them get better. Though she admitted it worked, Richard was proof of that. But to Ayita the harsh life of live or die was not so simple a thing. Especially when she was riled. 'Get done with this and you can go roost and watch Damon.' She thought absently to herself, keeping the thought tightly shielding in her own mind. She enjoyed the Host's company. He didn't need to talk all the time, and there were... benefits to being around him. While she wasn't certain what it was that stirred, she did enjoy it. It was like the wind just after a storm, or the depths of the sea on a crisp day.

'You have a job, Huntress. Do it.' Amber eyes fixed across the room and the table that sat between them. Which held two bows and matching sets of different arrows. From handmade- by yours truely-, to those you'd buy. Though she felt the latter was... weaker in some aspects. If you made them, you knew more and could shape them to your need. Patiently she stood as resilient as stone in front of the door. "This wasn't my idea." She growled lowly, looking a little irritated at the way Guin was looking at her. "Just do us both a favor and try, or we're going to find ourselves up North with nothing but a knife." While she wouldn't put it past Richard to do that, she knew if it came down to push and tug (Or was it pull and shove?) she'd get the Stark proficient at the bow. Shut up the Adder for once.

She didn't want to be here either. She had been at this range before, with her Uncle Clint and her Aunt Nat. She learned how to use a pistol here, but it was now configured for a different sort of projectile. She had put on her training clothes and it helped that her hair was short enough that it didn't need to be tucked back. Guin had one an archer's glove on her right hand and a guard pad on her left arm - both of them insisted on by her Uncle Clint. "No need to be a bitch to me," Guin mumbled.

"Then will you please stop looking at me like that." Ayita stated quietly, stalking forward to take up her own bow from the table. Looking at Guin's arm-guards Ayita looked at her own bare arm with a slight wrinkle in her brow. "Take up the bow, and an arrow." Pulling one of her slender hunting arrows from a quiver she put it two the string while gripping two broad heads with her teeth. Mentally she was capable of sending, a boon when your mouth was full of weaponry. Drawing the arrow back she breifly sighted down the shaft a bit longer so Guin could absorb her stance before loosing the bolt."Notch, pull as far back as you can, and sight." The thin head pierced deeply into one of the targets right into the heart. "Look hard at your target. See the heart, lungs, stomach. Know the bones you will hit that could cause a problem for the arrow. Hitting a rib will wound rather than kill. A chest bone will do the same. Look within and pick the target." The shifter advised mentally brushing her mind against Guins though it was a light touch.

"...I'm not looking at you any special way, that's just my face..." Guin's hands were shaking as grabbed the bow and arrow, yet it only started once Ayita started to talk about vital organs. If she was able to separate the act from violence and bloodshed, she was fine - yet the mention of causing pain and death...even if needed...Guin shook her head and put the bow down. "I can't do this. I...I feel sick. Period cramps. I need to go nap."

Ayita studied Guin and laid a hand against the other woman's forehead. "You are not feverish." The huntress stated softly, removing the arrows from her mouth and setting them on the table with her bow. "And I smelled no blood on you when I tracked you down. You only started shaking when I talked about sighting... And the vitals." Ayita was keen, but her mind was still slow to the ways of humans at times. "Memories?" She whispered with a understanding look in her amber eyes. Was this why Richard had sent her? To rid Guin of these hauntings through working her? Idiot brother.

"Yeah well it's my birth control - no blood but all of the cramps," Guin said. She knew that she was shaking from anxiety - her father had gotten PTSD after his brush with death in New York. It was a genetic disposition to it after periods of great stress. To be honest, it was a wonder that this was the first time it was showing its head. Guin should have been a nervous wreck several other times in her life.

Ayita shrugs, withdrawing her hand. "Pick up your bow and deal with it. In the wild if I did not kill, I did not eat. If I was wounded I still needed to hunt." She tried not to think of those monthly times and the first days she spent curled up hoping nothing would smell her and that she had enough food. Amber eyes watched Guin patiently. "You're not the only one."

"If I don't kill, then I just ask JARVIS to have someone bring me food and it comes within ten minutes," Guin said, making a point. She shook her head slightly. Ayita didn't seem to get this. But she wasn't going to touch that bow and arrow. She couldn't bring herself to do that - especially given that the topic of conversation was...killing.

"You're not even a mutant. You're a beast. A mindless animal." Ayita stated softly, her amber eyes staring dead at Guin and they were filled with myriad of pain and regret. "Her name was Wonderland. I ripped her throat out because I lost control of the instincts, but I wanted to rip her throat out. I tasted her blood and I watched her life leave her." Ayita set another arrow the bow and drew it back. "It's been... a while, but I still see her." Ayita's shot still hit the man's head, but it was just off enough to draw a frustrated huff from the shifter. "I survive."

Guin remembered seeing Wonderland's body after that mission finished. Ayita had done a number on the illusion casting mutant - but even now, Guin still respected Ayita for what she had done. Wonderland needed to be put down and Ayita saw that. She made a choice that few on the team would have the stomach to do. "Over thirty people died because of my actions," Guin said. "Some of them were innocent - just caught up in OMEN - they had families...kids who wonder why their mom or dad will never come home...and that was because of me..."

Ayita nodded sadly. "I tried not to kill mothers with young or young when I was living in the wilds. I know they weren't people but when you... when you share their skin? It leaves an imprint on you." A hand lifted to run a finger over her notched ear. "People have probably told you the whole spiel, but... Thank you. For doing it. If you hadn't I would have possibly lost Allison, Brother and..." She shrugged with a sigh. "It's crap against what you had to do, but it counts for me that I'm still breathing and so is my family. I saw Richard get shot in the chest, so trust me when I say that."

"...Though let's be real here, if Richard died the Devil would send him right back to Earth since knowing your brother, he'd flirt with Satan until that happened."

Ayita winced slightly. "He'd bring the Devil back with him." She murmured to cover the flinch at the memory of Richard's supposed corspe.

"...Richard's going to be fine, Ayita. He's too irritatingly stubborn to die. And he really cares about you."

"That's the problem." Ayita growls slightly as she hits the target right in the balls. "Will you just pick up the damn bow and start learning to shoot?" Her eyes looked like a wild cats and her ears were a tad pink.

Guin shook her head. She knew that she probably should have done what Ayita asked - but she had already made up her mind. She couldn't do this - not today at the very least. "No. Thank you for wanting to help me learn this but...no. I can't do this today."

Ayita sighed with annoyance. "I told him as much." She admits with reluctance. "But you should learn. The bow, I mean. Look. I don't.... Teaching. I don't teach humans. I can teach animals. But I can try. To teach you I mean." Pacing slightly Ayita sighs. "And if you want... I'll listen. It's... Nothing will be repeated. I don't... Human gossip confuses me. Humans confuse me." Ayita grumbles lowly pressing a hand to her forehead. Her mental image conveying in clearer words her willingness to teach and listen to Guin if she wanted. Ayita was never much of a talker and Guin had hit a sore spot with Richard's near death.

Guin never really liked people invading her mental space - she sometimes didn't even want Pietro jumping around in there. It had caused some tension with Xavier, with Guin having to be quite clear with him to stay the fuck out of her head if he wanted to still have a spine. But she knew that Ayita was just trying to help - and so she begrudgingly tolerated the mental intrusion. "Thanks Ayita...I appreciate it...I'll figure out how to use a bow at some point, just not today. I'd rather go play Town of Salem. You know. Ease myself back in with some virtual violence...Or maybe Candy Crush might be safer."

The shifter blinked in obvious confusion. "How is crushing candy fun?"

"It's mindless entertainment that gives you a reward," Guin explained with a shrug. "It can help calm people down - but can also be addictive..."

"Crushing... candy..." Ayita had a look of sheer bewilderment. "Is it not better to eat?" When you could eat something is was far better than destroying it. She had seen people stick cakes and pies in each other faces. A ridiculous bit of human nonsense. But crushing candy? The fearsome wild woman looked at Guin like she was speaking in another language. Which in a way, Guin was.

Guin nodded. "Yes, but it's a game - the candy isn't real. It's virtual - just pixels on a screen."

"Ah." Ayita notes with a still puzzled expression that slowly clears. "Sounds like the ocean with how addictive it is. Time slows in a way, or ceases, and you seem to be able to remain there forever." Waving a hand the woman shakes her head with a wistful look twinged with sadness. "You were going, and I would not want to keep you from that feeling."

"...Honestly, I might go see if Pietro wants to have sex," Guin then added with a shrug. "It's a good stress reliever sometimes. If you're looking for things that can let time slow down and let you dwell in a feeling, you might want to try it one day."

Ayita looks a bit stunned as if she discovered something new she had never thought of. A sly look entering her amber eyes. "Is it?" She croons with a chuckle. The woman sliding by Guin with a un-Ayita like smirk playing about her lips. "How... interesting." She slips down the hall bow slung over he back and arrows on her hip.

Guin raised an eyebrow, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a few condoms - both female and male - and tossed them to Ayita. "Ask for consent and use protection first!" Guin shouted. She felt a lot of tension in her body from all of these emotions and sent a mental prod to a certain speedster to be in her room and ready within the next few minutes. It'd be nice to not have to think about things.

Both are caught deftly and studied by Ayita with a raised brow as she studies Guin. "Assumptions, girl." The shifter huffs before slipping from view. Though she did take the supplies with her.


Marygold Isley and Guin Stark

Date: June 20, 2020


Mary was sitting on a chair in the Theater room at Stark Tower. Since the mansion was still gone, they were stuck at the Tower until it was finished being rebuilt. She was planning on watching a movie with Guin, just the two of them, to help them talk about everything that had happened, and hopefully mend their friendship in some way. They were going to watch the Princess Diaries and she was waiting for Guin.

The doors to the home theater swung open, announcing Guin's arrival as she came in with a big bowl of popcorn and two sodas. She had a slightly distracted look, as if she was hearing something that no one else could - but that was likely her speedster boyfriend pestering her mentally. She put the bowl down on the table and then placed the drinks next to it, sitting down and putting her hands in the pockets of her coat a bit defensively. She loved the movie - but she was dreading this.

"...Hey there Guin... Ready to start the movie or whatever?" she asked, managing to give Guin a small smile.

Guin had the faraway look again for a moment before she shook her head slightly. "Sorry, yeah, let's get our Mia on."

She nodded her head, before she hit play on the movie, not sure what exactly to even say to Guin. Guin kept her hands in her pockets as she looked forward at the screen, humming along a bit to the introductory scene music. Every now and then she'd seem to zone out as she got another telepathic message from her beau.

"...So, how is Pietro doing?" Mary asked.

"...Well, he replaced me with a turtle, so there's that."

Mary nodded, hesitating for a moment. There was so much that she wanted to talk to Guin about, everything that had happened with OMEN, and she had had her own slight mental breakdown from everything, but she didn't know what to say. Or more of how to word her thoughts to not sound strange or anything.

"If you have something to say to me, spit it out..."

"...I'm sorry... For everything that had happened... It was my fault the group ended up at that facility... My fault that Nina was killed... My fault that you had to kill people... The entire situation was my fault... All because I freaked out and broke down because of the stress and all of the yelling..."

Guin was silent for a moment, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. She took a breath, looking straight ahead at the screen as the movie continued to play. "...Don't apologize for Nina dying, that bitch deserved it...A-a-and it was my choice to kill those people...N-n-no one forced me to."

"...Yeah, but if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been put in that situation to begin with..."

"Mare...I know that we share the entire being a mutant thing, but that's not the only target on my back," Guin said softly. She had been kidnapped multiple times in her life because of who her father was - either because of his deeds or his net worth. Her Uncle Obadiah had paid for her father to be murdered and attempted to kill her as well, in order to gain control of Stark Industries. "I would've had to take a life at some point...Maybe because my dad's an Avenger and has pissed off a lot of people in the world...Maybe because I'm queer...Maybe because of some random cosmic joke..."

"...I generally try to avoid it whenever possible... But I know that in the line of work we do, it will come up eventually... I just feel bad for everything that had happened... If I hadn't been so stupid, or hadn't let my emotions get the better of me... Maybe things would have gone differently..."

She nodded slightly, trying to focus on the movie but she really couldn't anymore - as fascinating as the problems of Princess Mia were, they weren't real. "To be honest, this isn't even the line of work I want to be in...I'm just...doing things to kill time," Guin admitted. She still didn't know what she wanted to be when she grew up and she was already twenty. "Plus, everyone is dumb sometimes...It's okay that you were an idiot."

"Yeah... guess that would make sense for you... I've been doing this sort of thing for so long, I can't imagine doing anything else... And you know... Want to hear how many times Cyclops was an idiot... But he'd never admit it... So many times, even Jean couldn't get the guy to admit that he was wrong..."

Guin rolled her eyes slightly. "He's a guy. They're all dumbasses." She then fell silent again, thinking about Muscles and her eyes watered. She closed them tightly, trying to stop the tears but only succeeded in now picturing Muscles' death. She could imagine it perfectly, the bullets piercing his body. He never got to return home to his wife and kids.

"Yeah," she said with a slight laugh, before she noticed Guin's eyes watering. It wasn't too hard to guess what was going through her head, "...It's my fault he died Guin... I'd understand if you hated me for it..."

She took a shaky breath. "Unless you pulled the trigger, it's not your fault," Guin mumbled, before she couldn't help it anymore and she started to cry, hugging her knees to her chest. She had been pretty emotional since everything with O.M.E.N. and had been trying to repress her emotions.

Mary felt really bad, and she leaned over and gave Guin a hug. Sure, she herself had been wanting to break down in tears a lot, but she had managed to stay strong through it. Now she was being there for her friend when she needed her. Guin hesitated slightly, tensing up a bit as Mary hugged her, but she didn't shove her away as she kept crying. "I-I loved him, Mare..." she admitted, feeling small.

"...I understand that Guin, I really do... But just think... Because we changed the future, he didn't actually get killed by OMEN, we changed how his life went, so he never had to time travel to change everything in the first place..."

"...No one can understand it, Mare," Guin said quietly. It wasn't just that Pietro's thoughts were now bleeding into her head. She was a bit worried that if they weren't careful, they'd end up with a hive mind. No, there was more to her sorrow than just that. "You don't know what it's like to love two people so much...to want to be with them in every way...but they're the same person and th-then...then Muscles died...."

"You'll meet Muscles again some day... I'm sure of it Guin... Pietro cares about you, a lot, and I seriously doubt that he's replaced you with that turtle of his..." she said with a smile. Guin stopped crying, but she didn't pull away from Mary's hug. Truthfully, she was a bit jealous of the turtle. Pietro loved it so much and spent so much time caring for Mr. Dibbles. "Whatever..."

"Guin... He cares, I'm sure of it... He's done a lot for you because he cares so much..."

Ordinarily, Guin would've felt bad for making the conversation all about her problems. "...What if I'm not enough for him?"

"...I wouldn't be surprised if he thought that he wasn't enough for you... Or good enough or stuff like that..."

Guin shook her head slightly at that. "Sorry, we're supposed to watch a movie and I'm just talking about dumb stuff..." she mumbled. She then took another breath. "I don't think I'm good enough for him...Maybe one day he'll get bored of me or...he'll have regrets..."

"I don't think that'll ever happen Guin..."

"What makes you say that?"

"Considering everything he has done for you... You are his top priority... Hell, the guy went up against the one person he fears the most in the world, his father, for you. I don't think he'll ever leave you unless you want him to."

Guin nodded slightly, drying her eyes. She glanced at the movie again, seeing that Mia was at the beach party and she rolled her eyes slightly. "Ugh, I hate this part...She's such a dumbass here."

Pietro Maximoff and Guin Stark

Date: Prom Night! - July 14, 2020

It was the night of the prom for the students of Xavier's Institute and Guin was in her room at Stark Tower, her fingers dashing rapidly across a controller as she played a video game. She had been playing video games almost nonstop since O.M.E.N.'s fall, finding that they kept the dark thoughts away that otherwise prevented her from sleeping. She wasn't a high school student anyways, so she figured it'd be fine if she skipped prom altogether.

"Guina?" Pietro called, knocking on the door before opening it. He knew that Guin didn't want to really go, but he was more or less determined to drag her anyway.

"I'm in a battle!" Guin called back. As the door opened, she shrunk away slightly from the light that spilled into the room. She was in pajamas and her hair stood up at odd angles. A blanket was wrapped around her and she used it like a vampire's cape to avoid the light. Yet despite this, her free hand continued to use the controller with relative ease, attempting to win at all costs.

"Come on, let's go, no more being a vampire...," he said, turning the light on in the room and walking over. The round of her game ended and Guin put her blanket over her head. "J.A.R.V.I.S., kill the lights," she told the A.I. and the room went dark again, allowing her to peak out. She was seeing spots from the bit of light she caught and rubbed her eyes. "I told you, I don't want to go..."

Pietro rolled his eyes, before in a flash, the lights were back on, her game was turned off, and Guin was now in a dress, nice shoes, and her hair was brushed, "You are going, now let's go," he said, dragging her out of the room.

Guin groaned, about to just reach out and switch with him to get out of this, but he was carefully positioning himself so she couldn't make skin contact - and Guin hadn't been able to manifest the ability without touch yet. Instead, she closed her eyes, still seeing spots in her vision. "I don't feel well..." Guin mumbled, trying to convince him to put her down so she wouldn't have to go. "I need to lie down..."

"You are such a bad liar Guina, you are going whether you want to or not," he said, still dragging her along.

"Why? I don't want to go...You can go without me..."

"Because, you need to have fun, away from video games, I think you'll survive for a couple of hours."

Guin sulked slightly. She had been a drug addict once. Video games were her new quick fix. "But I told some people I'd go on a raid with them and they're depending on me...It might even go on Mark's YouTube channel..."

"I think they'll survive without you, so deal with it. You are going, and you are going to enjoy yourself, got it?"

Guin shook her head, trying to kick off her shoes since Pietro was dragging her and she couldn't break his grip. She really didn't want to go see other people. Seeing all of them together at Stark Tower - it just reminded her of everything they had lost. It reminded her of the people she had killed - people who would never go home to their families again. "I'm not going to enjoy prom Piet..."

"Yes you will. I declare that you will whether you think you will or not!"

"One, that's not how that works and two, you can take the turtle since you care about it more anyways..." Guin mumbled, having gotten the shoes off.

"That's not true... And I don't want to dance with anyone else but you..."

Had she not been in such a gloomy mood, Guin would have completely melted, hearing him say that. Instead, she just wearily looked up at him. She wasn't getting a lot of sleep lately and there were dark circles under her eyes. "I-I c-c-can't, Pietro..." she mumbled. "I-I-I'd just think about Muscles and the people I killed..."

"Then don't think about anything at all."

"I can't just stop thinking..."

"...How do you think I got this far in life? I just stopped thinking about what was going on around me... Do that... You'll be fine Guina, I know you will..."

Guin shook her head. "I-I can't stop thinking Pietro! Why do you think I'm always fidgeting - why I did drugs once...Why I've just been playing video games...Why I can't sleep...It never stops. And the more freaked out I get, the faster the thoughts get. Dad's the same way. There's no stopping it, no shutting it off - without substance abuse, anyways...."

"Then calm down, and take a few deep breaths... It'll be okay..."

She shook her head again, her thoughts racing. Images of Muscles dying were flashing through her mind, along with other horrific scenes of destruction - including Folly nearly killing herself with Guin's bomb. They just went faster and faster and Guin shook her head, pretty much the only thing she was capable of doing. "I-I c-c-can't go to prom..."

Pietro gave her a kiss, soothing her through their mental link, calming her as much as he could. He hoped that she would stay calm and not panic. It would be better for her in the long run if she did. Guin returned his kiss, the telepathic manipulation doing its job and calming her thoughts as the graphic images vanished - at least for now. It was lucky that they didn't end up switching from how agitated she had been when he kissed her.

"Let's go..." he said, leading her away. Guin reluctantly followed him, hearing the noise from the prom up ahead as it had started about half an hour ago. Her bare feet touched the cool ground of Stark Tower - halls that she had walked her entire life.

"It'll be okay Guina..." he said softly.

"...Just one dance and then we leave, okay?"
~*~*~*~*~

A little while later, Pietro gave her a smile and took her hand, heading out to the dance area. Guin glanced at him, not really sure what kind of dance he wanted to do. She only really did modern dances - the type you'd see at parties. Pietro was a bit of a wild card when it came to dances. She then caught her father's gaze, realizing he had decided to chaperone.

"...Name a type of dance Guina... Just one... Though I tend to lean more towards the more traditional styles of dancing..."

"I don't really know any traditional dances, Piet..." Guin admitted, though her mind got a sudden flash of Pietro trying to do the salsa and she laughed slightly, a small smile on her face.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Oh, I just imagined you trying to do the salsa or something...You seem more like someone that would be into breakdancing than any formal dances really."

"...I do know how to breakdance," he admitted, before he gave her a slight smile, "However, I do also know how to salsa dance."

Guin couldn't help but wonder who had taught Pietro all of those dances - she doubted it was Magneto. Maybe one of the Brotherhood members was really into dancing. Or she supposed he could have just watched YouTube videos. "I don't know any dances so...I could just watch you dance, it'd be easier..." she said quietly, glancing down. She wasn't her normal confident spunky self.

"Nope, not happening, you are dancing whether or not you want to."

"...Fine, the Chicken Dance then."

"Yeah no, not happening, you couldn't pay me to do that one."

She raised an eyebrow. Hadn't he just told her to pick a dance? "Well I pick that one."

"Nope, you can do that one all by yourself."

"If I do it, can I go back to playing video games?" Guin asked him, crossing her arms slightly. She felt cold in the dress, but she wasn't going to admit it. The larger concern, in her mind, was the fact that she hated dresses.

"Hmmm... Maybe..." Guin then sighed, looking at him and she shook her head, before she headed for the exit. She had been avoiding glancing at the others. She didn't want to think about Ayita getting hurt by O.M.E.N agents; Allison getting put into a cell; Lance being dragged out of Stark Tower. Muscles dying. Her eyes started to water again at that one. He died and in Guin's mind, it was her fault.

"...What's wrong?" he asked softly, giving her a hug and stopping her.

"...I told you, I can't stop thinking about all of the fucked up shit..."

"It'll be okay Guina..."

She took a breath, glancing around the room. Despite everything, people were dancing and laughing. Awkward pairings were starting to form as the song changed to be one that could be danced to as a couple. There was so much hope and Guin nodded slightly - she just wished Muscles could've been there to see it. "...Okay..."

Pietro smiled at her, before he took her hand and headed to the dance area.

"I don't know how to dance..."

"Then I'll lead, don't worry."

Guin nodded, looking at him. "...Okay, but what kind of dance are we doing?"

"...Just a simple slow dance, okay?"

"Okay, I can do that, as long as you don't tease me for being short."

"I won't Guina..."

True by Spandau Ballet was playing and Guin took a breath, calming down slightly as she just looked at Pietro. She let him lead the slow dance as she put her arms around him, looking up at the tall speedster. "I love you," Guin whispered. She practically had to stand on her toes to get a good look at him.

"I love you too Guina, more than you know..." he said, giving her a smile.

"Oh?" Guin asked him quietly, still letting him lead and although she was tempted to rest her head on his chest, she maintained eye contact with him. It reminded her of something someone else had said, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It eluded her.

Pietro nodded, just dancing with her slightly. He was used to most types of dances, so this sort of thing wasn't new to him. "I do Guina... No matter what happens, okay?"

She nodded a bit, trying not to overthink it. If she thought too much about it, she'd start to cry and she didn't want to cry in public any more than was needed. Her thoughts threatened to go back to all of the chaos and misery, and her grip on Pietro's shoulders tightened as her pulse quickened. "...Don't you ever die, please."

"I won't... I promise..."
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LadyRunic The Laughing Raven

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Richard Laine and Tony Stark




Stark Tower was filled with lavish drinks, and good aesthetics. Honestly, Richard thought perhaps he was a bit brazen to be raiding Tony Stark's bar, but he needed a stiff drink after the hell that had gone down with OMEN. That and Ayita... The ice clinked in the glass as he set it on the bar, staring at the drink absently. They had lost a good man. Perhaps that put him at ease a little bit, knowing the speedster had grown up well. Though that was a different time and the future? There was no telling what the future would hold.

Pulling out a second glass he dropped two cubes of ice in it and poured a shot of bourbon over the frozen water. "You drink bourbon. Good taste too. Though honestly there's nothing quite like the flavors of New Orleans." The former assassin admitted as he felt another presence enter into the spacious room. The way Richard said New Orleans in the proper way spoke to the fact he had spent some time there. Looking over at the man, he smirked with a devilish smile. "Tony Stark. Here I thought if ever we were to meet like this I'd be staring death in the face." He noted, sliding down the drink to the seat on the other side of the bar.

"Yeah, well, always have the best drinks here," Tony said simply, taking the empty seat at the bar. "So much can be forgotten with just a few drinks you know."

"If you were a woman I'd say you were after my heart." Richard mused toying with his own glass. "How is Guin doing?" The girl was shut off to him and Richard was about ready to corner the speedster and wring him quite literally for answers. A slow, painful wringing if he had his way. Whether she liked it or not, he owned the younger Stark and for some strange reason she wound up in heaps of trouble. Must be in the family. Though his own seemed to have a few traits of their own.

"...She's coping... Ended up convincing her to at least go to a therapist once or twice to deal with seeing the future version of her boyfriend dead, so that's an improvement... More of the speedster did, she wasn't going to really listen to me when it comes to stuff like that."

"He has an advantage of being the same age and of interest to her. While we are insufferable old fools who cannot possible understand her." The Adder points out with a chuckle. "I have the advantage over you there. My sister is far more open with me. Though we both share the joy of young love that threatens our girls." Richard's tone darkened as he downed the bourbon and poured another glass. Offering the bottle to Tony. "Might need to borrow a suit if things turn out badly for either of them. It sounds a good deal more satisfying than merely wringing the air form the lungs."

"If things end badly for Guin I will be the one beating Maximoff to a pulp. Though if you feel the need to use the suit for basically a similar purpose for your sister, be my guest, trust me on that one. You are more than welcome to borrow a suit."

There a dark chuckle from across the bar. "Now, Stark... That's bad for publicity if you're supporting mutants. I knew there was a reason why I never agreed to those contracts to assassinate you, aside from not wanting to commit suicide. For a rich bastard you're incredibly astute, and probably have one hell of a poker face."

"Yeah, well doubt many people would care if I beat up the son of Magneto too much. And he definitely would deserve that one... As for the poker face, well, it is interesting to say the least," he responded, chuckling slightly himself.

"Oh-ho! Stark you cannot simply say it's interesting and leave it there. I spent a solid half a year in Los Angles and no, I will not say how many strip clubs and casinos I was thrown out of. Get a damn deck and cut it. I doubt you trust me to." Tapping his own eyes with a smirk. Snake-eyes indeed.

"Well, I might take you up on that offer, though Las Vegas is the best place for casinos, I'll just say that," he said with a laugh, heading over to a cabinet.

"Fortunate for me then it's my home away from where ever I currently reside." Sipping form the brandy glass the assassin studied the Avenger with a careful eye. "What do you make of OMEN's next move? I doubt that was the entire lot of them. Even if it was..." He was curious as to what the man thought of all of this. He knew what he would do, what they could do. However, he wanted to make sure he was covering all the bases he could.

"Last I heard, the entire organization was dissolved, their gone now, as is their government funding... But something tells me most of their agents aren't going to lie down all too quietly, though they are scattered, unable to do much of anything."

"Makes me want to hunt those bastard down. There's a danger in leaving a enemy in your past." Richard considered the mostly melted ice. "Cut the deck already, Tinhead, or I might be tempted go ride out and settle the score with some of those agents."

Tony smirked slightly, shuffling the cards and cutting the deck, dealing them out. "Even if you leave an enemy in your past, they won't necessarily come back, though they can, and will generally be a thorn in the side."

"That coming from a man whose a thorn in so many sides." Richard chuckled in dry amusement. Studying his hand absently before setting them face down on the bar. "She'll get through it, the brat's as hardheaded as your suit. I'll keep an eye on your girl when I can, though I'm sorely tempted to stick tracking chips in both of them."

"Well, I already have a tracking system on Guin. Her watch, the AI she made PHIL? I added a few other things for him, so if she's ever in danger, he notifies me almost immediately. Makes things so much easier."

"Guin doesn't shift from a bird to something with four legs then to something with fins and teeth." Richard retorts tossing in a raise.

"That is true... Maybe you could see about getting one in her body, though I doubt that she'd like that... So you can at least keep track of her."

"I could convince her. Hell, she's too aware of the fact if she gives in to those instincts she'll swim off into the sunset or something. The problem is any tracker in her could be used against her, and I'll be damned if that will happen."

"That is definitely an understandable way of thinking..."

Richard shurgs with a dangerous glint in his eye. "I did a lot to find her. Full house." The adder flips his cards to reveal three queens and two sevens. "Though, you're trailing off is curious." The slitted eyes studied the man across from him.

"Don't get me wrong, that has crossed my mind. But luckily for me it is near impossible for them to actually hack into any sort of systems which would let them use it to put her in danger..." Tony said, before revealing his hand, 4 aces and a 3.

Richard pauses mid swallow and finishes off his drink with a sharp cough. "Don't say something like that while I am drinking, Stark. It's viable then?" He sits back with a look of perplexed annoyance and humor. "Damn... Damn." He mutters quietly with a chuckle. "Well then! Mind talking business?" Stark was good with technology, Guin would be about to make sure things were good. They were always a foil when he was an assassin, and Richard was far from stupid.

"Oh? You thinking something like that for your sister or something? Guess we could see about maybe doing something like that..."

Richard nods with a slight chuckle. "I'd rather not have to comb the oceans for one fish."

"I see... Well, first need to know how you'd want to go about this, since unlike Guin, doubt your sister is going to wear a watch just about everywhere she goes."

"She doesn't wear a watch but she does have a number of trinkets. Though where they go when she changes back and forth is amystery I never wanted to learn the answer to. I'm not sure it would be able to work within that. To put it in her skin would be viable but it would have to remain in her skin and in the same approximate location while she shifts incase removal is needed." Richard seems to be running through a list of what Ayita wears and her different possible forms.

"...I think we could probably come up with something that could shift with her, but actually have a physical form or such so you can still see the tech maybe... But it would shift forms depending on what type of animal she is..."

Richard nods slightly, seeming to consider what his sister would desire. "Something that wouldn't be easy to pick out among a herd as abnormal. Perhaps a tag or something. Around the ankle of a bird, the ear or the neck of a beast and fin if she goes for something with those. She'd wear a earring or earrings. A stud or something she wouldn't have to think about."

"That could work, shouldn't be too difficult, i'll see what I can do."

Richard inclined his head slightly. "Tell me what I owe you when your done." He slightly feared the price but for Ayita he would pay it.

"...You don't owe me a thing, just keep an eye on Guin for me."

Richard salute the man with the bottle and pours them both another drink. "Two eyes." He chuckles.



Richard Laine and Guin Stark




Of all the stupid, idiotic things Stark could have done! Of course he was cursing the younger Stark, Richard actually gave a damn about the older Tony, finding the man amusing and good company. But Guin... Slamming the door to the girl's open he roared in absolute fury. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF GOD DID YOU GIVE MY SISTER?!" Also, what had his sister done? He wanted to drown his head in a tub of bleach for that thought even as it occurred to him. Taking a step into the room, he shut the door firmly behind him making sure the speedster was no where in the room. Silver Spoon was becoming another appendage for Guin, not that he disapproved, but it wasn't the time to test how well he could hold his temper with that one.

Guin glanced up from her iPad. She had been drawing a sketch of a warrior Princess Peach. She did a final bit of shading on Peach's sword, the shining silver hilt stained with blood, before she gave Richard her full attention. Her heart rate was staying steady but P.H.I.L.'s emergency protocols were detecting a threat and were sending notes to Tony about the situation. "Is this about my seemingly awesome ability at seeing the future?" Guin asked Richard.

Richard gives a frustrated groan. "You. You are why Stark keeps that damned bar stocked so well." He muttered looking annoyed as he raked his hand through the growing black hair. He'd need to cut it soon. "And what ability to see the future? Don't play games Guin. Not now, not with this." He narrowed his snake eyes, the only thing missing was the rattling of a tail. While Richard wasn't against fun, this was Ayita! His little sister and it just irked his scales that some man was-! Plus he needed to be sure exactly who to pound into oblivion when Ayita wasn't looking.

She shrugged. "You're not wrong - I'm the source of my father's alcoholism because I'm just a disappointing bastard," Guin replied, turning her attention back to the iPad. She was giving battle Princess Peach some tattoos and scars, in order to look more realistic. No one was perfect enough to get away from every fight without scars - unless they had a healing factor on their side, of course. "And I'm not messing with you. If I was, I'd be laughing."

A hand plucked one of the sharpies off Guin's desk, the snap of a cap popping off and Guin found a swirl on her arm. "I don't think disappointment's part of it, brat." He twirled the pen about his finger as he frowned at the picture, leaning against the desk. "What do you know about the condoms I found in Ayita's bag. I wasn't snooping. I was getting a book." An innocent reason, it wasn't like he had been snooping- much.

"Did you ask her for permission to get a book from her bag first?" Guin asked, raising an eyebrow. "Since that's kind of not cool man if you didn't."

"I value that I'm surrounded and outnumbered by women. I would never invade one's privacy with the rest of you ready to jump down my throat." Richard states firmly. It was true enough. "You're dodging the question." He poked Guin's nose with the sharpie, squiggling it about a bit.

Guin snatched the sharpie from Richard and whacked him in between the eyes with it, smirking a bit but she was irritated. She used to use her body as essentially scratch paper, jotting down ideas and sketches all of the time. But she did not like it when someone else did it at all. "And you're being an asshole. But really, am I Ayita's keeper? Am I the source of condoms in this team?"

Richard mocked being wounded as he winked at Guin. "My dear, I am an asshole by trade. And no, you are not Ayita's keeper. But you are the one on the team with an active boyfriend." Thus where else could Ayita get the stuff? "Plus you're clever enough to have an idea."

Guin rolled her eyes at Richard. "Yeah and I'm on birth control - your point?" She knew where Ayita was getting the stuff from but she didn't want to rat her out. It was Ayita's choice to participate in those activities with whoever she wanted - not Richard's choice. In fact, Guin felt strongly that in this area, Richard should stay out of it and mind his own business. "Maybe she's getting them from the store."

Richard shifted uncomfortably. "I don't care where or how, so long as she protected, Guin." He ran a hand through his hair, a bad habit he was starting to get. "I just want to know who." The assassin stated quietly.

"...Damon."

Richard sat back looking bemused and oddly relieved. "Oh, good."

"Honestly I'm a bit surprised she isn't sleeping with Allison - Ayita seems really gay," Guin admitted.

The former assassin shook his head. "While she seems gay, Allison isn't. I'm just glad it isn't Dean." The man muttered with open dislike.

"Dean is apparently into both Carolina and Allison, from what I've heard..."

Richard shook his head, standing. "That puppy's going to get himself into a hole. And you are not to tell Damon I know, or Ayita for that matter." The former assassin smirked as he withdrew a small flat box from his suit jacket. Laying over the Princess Peach drawing. "Peace offering, bribe, a plea to not castrate me in my sleep." He tousseled Guin's hair as he stood. It was a thick chocolate fudge in the box. While he had gotten it for Ayita before his sister had declared fudge to be a bane and overly sweet. Which he could call himself stupid for. Living in the wilds did make sugar far from attractive in high amounts.

Guin rolled her eyes. She hated it when Richard tousled her hair - it reminded her of her mother. She was always so patronizing when she did it, too, though to be fair anything Maddie did was received as patronizing and irritating by the Stark heiress. "Castration isn't my thing," Guin told Richard. "Besides, if you wanted to do me a favor, you'd tell Pietro to leave me alone about the stupid musical..." She did, however, sniff at the fudge to see if it really was fudge before she nibbled it.



Ayita Dyrkin and Damon




Music, dancing, the swirl of colors and people. Ayita shifted in the shadows out of the way of the crowd, perfectly content to watch. Walking in heels was frustrating, dancing in them was down right unnerving. Dressed in a dark green gown that would be racy and suggestive if the woman wearing it didn't have the eyes of a hunter and exclude an aura of the top predator in the room. It was her natural defense when she was on uncertain footing, quite literally.

A torc of pale gold and two antlered deer sat about her neck, the only bit of jewelry she wore aside from a set of earrings. Richard had insisted on the later. She had insisted on the former. The entire thing was ridiculous, a party for the sake of what? Another year alive? She hadn't grasped the idea when it was explained to her, but some things the others did were just strange. Yet, Ayita was compelled to try to learn these things. To bridge that gap. Though she would admit it had been nice to let other fuss over her nails and hair, a little bit of luxury she would admit was well earned and worth the confusion she had gone through over these... 'salons'. Making a mental note to mark out good ones in her territory up north, she winced as one youth knocked over a chair while trying to look casual. "Human, mutant or beast... The young posture and preen." Never mind she was doing the same thing in her own way.

Damon wasn't really one for dancing or proms - in fact, he was supposed to be leaving that evening. He had enough money in his pocket to get something to eat and pay for a bus ticket to wherever he wanted to go. It was the most Xavier could do for him and he didn't want to ask for a handout from Stark. He could survive on his own terms - and while he had been denying it for a while, there wasn't a place for him with the X-Men anymore. He needed to strike out on his own terms, do something that would actually have an impact, rather than waltz around battlefields as a glorified nurse.

His tattoos crawled over his chest with agitation. He hadn't wanted to go to this dance at all, but he knew he had to say goodbye to someone. His street clothes stood out like a sore thumb, just like her beauty did, as he went over to Ayita. The few possessions he had in his shirt pocket felt infinitely heavier as he gave her a nod in greeting.

Ayita stepped back further into the shadows, motioning Damon to join her as she nodded in return. It didn't take much to tell that Damon was not here for the party. He had a look about him like a rogue wolf striking out from the pack and she would know. "Damon." She greeted with a slight smile, more than she gave most people. Damon was one of three to ever receive it. Her amber eyes studied the tattoos flicking across his skin. "You are troubled." He would tell her why he had come in time. Laying a hand on his wolf tattoos she stroked the head of the creature as though it was a creature and not a swirl of ink beneath his skin.

The wolf moved happily across his skin, as something stirred inside of Damon and he quite willingly went into the shadows. He didn't want to risk Ayita's sibling noticing that primal need that was present. He was not scared of very many people but Richard was certainly a candidate. He gently cupped Ayita's face, looking at her wild eyes. "I'm leaving - tonight...I wanted to say goodbye to you, my only friend," Damon told her softly. It was blunt and to the point. He didn't want to waste a single second.

Perhaps that why they got on well. They were both blunt, able to be smooth but not needing it. Ayita leaned her cheek into the mutant's hand, considering his words. She doubted he would change his mind and she wouldn't ask him to. Damon was capable and knew more of the world than her in some ways. "Where are you going?" She wrapped an arm about his waist, continuing to amuse the wolf. Why didn't you say anything before was the unspoken question she wanted to ask. But it wasn't like that mattered right now. He hadn't, so she wouldn't dwell on it. Perhaps later.

The wolf yearned up against Ayita's hand, some of the fur becoming real as the tattoo strained to be freed from Damon's skin. He took in Ayita's scent - his favorite scent in the world - and he knew exactly what he wanted. "North," Damon answered. "Xavier gave me a contact with the Mutant Underground, if I want to help them...but I'm going into the woods for a while first." There was a question that he wanted to ask her as well and he was studying her face, trying to muster the courage.

Ayita's eyes flashed as her teeth bared almost in threat at Damon for daring to trespass on what she considered her territory. But it was Damon and the North was a vast expanse of hard land that had few humans. A good place for mutants to go. Drawing Damon further into the shadows she cast a furtive look at the swirling people beyond. "Go North."

Her mental powers swirled against Damon's mind. Speaking and showing him the way to lands untouched by humans for the most part. There were old traces but they were overgrown and forgotten. But the image was crisp and clear. Mountains soaring tall, forests and meadows. But the ocean, it ebbed and flowed. Bringing fish that could be caught but there was a silent warning that the fish must pass always in greater numbers than they were caught. That they fed more than mutant or human mouths. It was a offering and one Ayita would give no one else. Her territory, where she once roamed for those long years on her own. "There is room enough, but do not ask of the land more than it can give. For it must give and you must be sated with that it can give. Do you understand?" She whispered into his ear. Her hand wrapped around to hold his head close to hers. In all honestly she didn't want him to go, or she wished to go North with him. But not yet. She still was needed here and needed to learn of the humans and how to be one. Still she relished the feel of him and his scent. Something she would easily be able to track in the vast region of her home if he took her offer.

He nodded, his lips within inches of her own. She had him positively enchanted and it didn't take much effort for him to commit those images to memory - but more than anything else, he had memorized how she looked in this moment. From his pocket, he pulled out a simple and old fashioned ring, offering it to her. His mind flashed with the question that he found could be felt better than could ever be spoken aloud.

Ayita blinked at the ring in blank confusion for a second. Rings... humans... There was some connection there. Piecing together after a second, she nearly jolted out of her skin into another. Looking from the ring to Damon and back again. "Can you accept I'll never be fully human? That I will roam the land from time to time for days or months at a time?" Her quiet voice a hoarse whisper. "I cannot come with you yet Damon. The humans- Richard, Allison... They still need me." Could he deal with the fact she wouldn't be with him yet. Not that she would not fly North on the wings of the fastest and greatest of birst and swiftest feet of beasts, but she would not remain. Not yet.

He nodded. "Only if you can accept the same of me - that I'm just a host for these creatures," he said softly, not breaking eye contact with her. He continued to hold the ring out to her, waiting to see if she would take it. "And I know they need you...I'll wait for you in the North."

Ayita sighed and close the gap between their lips as her finger slide through the ring. Privately she hoped she managed to get the right finger through the damned ring, as humans seemed fussy about which finger rings were worn on. Pulling away too soon for her liking she studied the ring, it was plain and that suited her just fine. "It is good you are going North." She raised her hands up to the torc about her neck and twisted the metal. She was a woman, but the torc was a bit large on most. Wrapping the metal about Damon's neck she let the torc rest against his skin. While she was sure this wasn't the human custom exactly, it was as ring like as she had and the most she could give Damon. "My brother will kill us both." She noted with amusement. Stealing another passionate kiss before she pressed a finger to Damon's lips. "You can leave in the morning, can you not?" Perhaps it was cruel of her to ask, but she loathed for him to leave. It made her chest hurt and her eyes prick with foolish tears.

Damon nodded, picking Ayita up with a bit of difficulty at first and he discretely took her from the prom, heading to her room at Stark's house. It wasn't just the wolves that were straining now - all of his tattoos were trying to come to the surface. The dragon seemed to be looking at the collar Ayita had given him with interest. "Morning works," he told her plainly, entering her room and locking the door behind them.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by KazAlkemi
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KazAlkemi Everdark

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Antoinette McCarthy


Location: OMEN Facility -- Outside ---> Inside the Quinjet




Antoinette smiled at Agent Flynn as he spoke. She wasn’t sure what his part was, what he needed to make of for other than choosing the wrong side but he was a good person. Antoinette could see no ill will with this man, at least not immediately. She walked up to her friend, taking his hand and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
”Fury would be lucky to have you. You will do good things Agent Flynn, remember to look to your future and not the past,” Antoinette said. She released his hand and went over to Demetria to do the same thing.
One of the other people from the rescued group spoke out, announcing an open invitation and Antoinette knew that was her chance. The only chance at freedom she had. Perhaps joining these people, she would be able to do some good now rather than just coasting through her life, just barely getting by.
She looked back at Demetria once the woman finished speaking. Antoinette took her and kissed her own cheek. Her cheeks were cold, well below freezing but it shivered through Antoinette pleasantly.
”I do hope we meet again,” she said before turning around. She hurried off to the Quinjet, joining the que of people as she stepped up onto the metal ramp and into the rather spacious jet.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by FantasyChic
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FantasyChic Poptarts and Glitter

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Allison Andrews and Ayita Dyrkin




There was no more deadly foe, Ayita Dyrkin thought while hiding a grimace as she stared down the dreaded foe of the most frilly dress she had ever seen. "No frills." Ayita recommended as she quickly dropped the hanger back onto the rack before brushing her hand on her pant leg in disgust. Her amber eyes looking at the blonde head she knew as Allison only because only the telekinetic glass cannon of the X-Men had dragged her into this strange world of female fashion.

If she had ears Ayita would have pinned them back, tucked her tail and ran for the hills quite literally. But she was here for Allison, and because well... She had her own reasons, and these dresses were desirable to humans, right? "You're human too. Despite the fact you don't understand them, you are human and he sees you as such." Ayita thought quietly to herself, shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling of being a bull in a china shop. Fingering the golden studs in her ears, a gift from Richard and a ploy the man used to squeeze through the crowd and hide in some store or other that caught his fancy. She thought for sure that Victoria Secret would, but he had turned a delicious shade of red when walking by it. Smirking slightly, Ayita's eyes took on a dreamy look as she considered how he would react to such a store. Probably blaze right by it as was the male thing to do, the shifter concluded. Eyeing a black dress she gave a discouraged sigh at the short length. "If people want to show so much skin, they might as well go without their clothes." Ayita noted with good humor.

To be frank, Allison dragged Ayita with her for two reasons. 1: She needed a shopping friend. She hated shopping alone and the amount of girls at the mansion to go with dwindled. Her relationship with Mary was tentative, at best. Quin wouldn't be caught dead shopping (especially after OMEN). Sara didn't do girl shopping trips. She didn't really want to be around Carolina at the moment. And she didn't know Bethany all to well, nor the other girls. Ayita was her closest girl friend. So she chose her.

And 2: She knew Ayita would hate it. But she had often tried to get the woman to open up her human side more. "Fine, no frills. But at least check out more colors. I think you'd look good in green or purple, really. And showing skin is a subtle way to get cute guys, or girls for that matter, to check you out. And you run around in animal form, arguably more naked than that, even with fur and such." She had been checking out other dresses and she had her eye on the pink one with the open back, but she wanted to make sure Ayita was all right first.

Ayita paused, standing stock still, a slightly nervous look appearing in her eyes. As she gave a delicate, startled cough. "Green." She muttered quickly busying herself with several dresses. More to cover the slight lapse of behavior than looking at the gowns. "Green works well. Purple's not my color." She stated slowly. Though she gave Allison a long look when the other mutant mentioned she ran about basically naked in her animal form. "At least my forms have taste." She retorts with a raised eyebrow and a slight smile that spoke of it being more than slight. Plucking a high necked gown she studied it speculatively before putting it back and moving onto ones with a more open neckline.

Allison stifled a chuckle. She still thought Ayita could pull off a dark purple dress, but if she wanted green, it was her choice. "Green it is then. And I see you want a more...shall we say..plunging neckline? Good choice, you have the body for it. Anyone in particular, you are trying to impress? Maybe someone whose name rhymes with Caymon?" Allison knew, or at least had strong suspicions, about Ayita's feelings for the boy, but she had never openly discussed them. Perhaps now was the time.

The shifter paused and looked over sharply at Allison. An amber gaze that was looking over a potential rival or threat, before she relaxed slightly, realizing Allison was none of those things. "I don't know what you're talking about." Ayita said with a quickness and pitch which wasn't like her as her cheeks turned a delightful crimson. Allison knowing wasn't a problem. It was Richard knowing, which was the problem. The fewer who knew? The fewer ways for the old snake to find out.

Allison shook her head with a light smile as she looked over another rack of dresses, holding up a light blue number. "Yeah, what am I thinking? Because it's not obvious by the looks you give him, the subtle tells you let off. Nope, I must be imagining things." She set the dress back, unsure if she liked it or not. She picked up a light pink dress now, and hung it over her arm to try on later. "This prom would be a good chance to let him know."

Ayita shifted restlessly. "Well, it's no so much letting him know..." The shifter muttered as she gripped the green dress and mimicked Allison by draping it over her arm. "He knows... quite a bit. But what tells?" Heat rising into her cheeks. It wasn't this awkward when Guin had mentioned something- though she hadn't been direct! Ayita tried to be discrete with people. That she would be so very closed mouth about her romantic life wasn't all to out of the ordinary.

Allison looked over at her friend, unsure if Ayita really was clueless about this. Then she remembered where Ayita spent most of her life. "I mean, right now is a pretty big tell. That warmth on your cheeks isn't from how cold it is in this store. It's the little things mainly. A glance, a subtle gesture. Our bodies can betray what we feel. Liars have tells sometimes. And I know because I had similar instances with Oshea."

Ayita shifted slightly, her amber eyes glancing away. Odd as she was often direct. "It's a bit more akin to the level of Pietro and Guin... A bit more than that." She admitted shyly, as she sniffed delicately. "Let's move away from the perfume, before I get a migraine." The woman suggested herding Allison towards the dressing rooms.

As she was herded away, she called out "But I want Brittney Spears' new scent!" But she went along willingly. She would let the comment slide. "How do you figure? Pietro and Guin are pretty much all over each other at any given time and I don't recall you making smoochy faces with Damon at all."

Ayita clapped a hand over Allison's mouth. "I don't need to." She stated simply with a shrug. "A well... Guin said sex was an excellent stress reliever... We keep it on the down low- low." She stressed, her face looking a odd mixture of frightened, nervous, embarrassed and utterly beet red. "Plus I can speak to his mind. Richard would not be..." She muttered softly, slouching slightly.

Allison mumbled a response against Ayita's hand. Though it was closed, it sounded an awful lot like "You had sex?!?" Once she was released, Allison took a deep breath. "As your best friend, I take offense that I am just now finding out about it. But I will forgive you because secrets. And why shouldn't Richard know? I get he's protective of you, but he can't prevent you from growing up and doing things on your own. Seems one-sided to me."

The shifter shrugs. "I don't want to have to risk it if Richard did know. He can be testy at times." She points out and rubs the back of her neck. "And I just... Didn't think it was something you'd be interested in knowing?" Then again, Guin was rather outspoken about it in some ways. "And he- Damon that is- is very interesting." Ayita was feeling like a treed coon with how this talk was going.

"Of course I wanna know about it! That is literally what girls talk about with each other. Well one of many, but I can't talk about most of that with you. If he makes you happy, that's what's most important. Still, this isn't something you should hide from Richard. He'll find out some time and it will hurt a lot more knowing you kept it from him for so long. But that's my take on it." She entered one of the changing rooms and began to put one of the dresses on.

"I'm not keeping it from him. I'm just not putting up a sign saying 'Hey, I've been courting Damon. Please eviscerate him.'." Ayita noted with a sarcastic twinge, slipping into her own dress. "He's a former assassin, spy, what have you. He's not stupid." She shifted the neckline of the dress slightly ans pulled her hair free. "I won't lie. I think he has an idea that something is up at least. He's been... not mentioning a few things he would jump on otherwise."

"Not telling him is keeping it from him. Even if he figures it out, it should come from your mouth. That is, unless you don't want a future with Damon. In that case, I understand, but if you did it would be hard to not say anything. And Richard is a big part of your life. If he can't get over it then you will have to choose between the two." Allison stepped out of the room to get to the mirror. The dress was a long, pink number with subtle diamonds that sparkled when the light hit. Allison approved.

Ayita stretched and stepped out from behind the curtain looking rather like one of her cat forms. Tall and lean with the subtle grace of a predator. The slit in the leg went up to her thigh before it stopped and the neckline was low and tempting. "I'll talk with him." The shifter agreed reluctantly, but Ayita's word was good especially to a friend. Looking over Allison she nodded slightly. "You look good."

Allison stared at Ayita's form. For all her talk, Ayita could pull off being a woman. "As do you. I think we have winners here. And yes, I think a talk will be good. I can be there for support if you want, but I think it would mean more to him if it was just you and him. Now shall we pay for these dresses and go get some food?"

Ayita nodded studying herself in the mirror. "I think Damon would like it and Brother will be driven crazy." There was a sly twist to her lips. "And yes, I will speak to him alone. We aren't civilized folk." She smirked at Allison with cat eyes as she stepped back into the changing room. "I suppose you want what Brother calls salacious details?"

Allison stepped back inside and changed back into her regular clothes. "I want all the deets. I'm probably going to be forever alone by the looks of things so I need to live vicariously through you." Allison was joking, but a hint of truth let itself in her words.

"Forever alone? I think not. You've been turning heads, Allison." Ayita pointed out, having noticed a few glances that were drawn to the paler girl before Ayita's or Richard's presence deterred them. But being forever alone? Ayita knew the pain that could lie in that fate. She had been looking forwards to that fate herself before Allison, or Richard. Damon especially! Slipping clothed in her own outfit again, the woman smiled softly at Allison. "Stick out for the man who wants you for you. I found one, you'll find one. I'm sure of it. Just as I am sure the sun will rise in the East and the Winter will be hard."

"I was mainly kidding. I am sure there will be someone for me eventually. Just need to stop saving the world for longer than 5 minutes." Once she changed, she stepped out and held the dress on the hanger. "All right, I'm thinking tapas for lunch. Or sushi. Up to you, but its my treat."



Sara Grey and Ayita Dyrkin




Sara had come to the realization that, while her power was badass, it often came with many issues. Such as not knowing how to control or use said powers. Most of the time she got by using common sense, but it would be cool to know how to use the powers she copies. She had already practiced with speed, telekinesis, astral projection, and plant control with mixed results.

She noticed Ayita using her powers and copied them. Outside in the backyard, she was playing around with the idea of transforming. So concentrated as much as she could. Think dog. Be a dog. However, the results were not pretty. She had a tail. That was it.

The said mutant was stretching out dark limbs, shaking her mane of fur. Standing a quarter higher than the average grey wolf, the dire wolf studied the hapless tailed human. A rolling growl that mimicked laughter slightly as she stalked towards Sarah. "What was one trying to do?" Or that was the idea behind the primal thoughts that rolled from her mind to the younger mutant. Sniffing at the tail she figured it was that of a mutt's. Her teeth were bared in a eerie smile as she considered the tail. "One thinks too much like a human." The one being talked about had a distinctive feel that it applied to Sarah.

Sara rolled her eyes. "First off, use proper pronouns. Second, I am a human so duh. Gonna think like one. And third, it's pretty obvious what I was trying to do. I wanna turn into a dog. Or a wolf. You make it look easy. How?"

The ancient wolf gave another rolling, growling laugh. Her form breaking apart to reform as a woman with interest and a bit of pain flickering across her face. "This is what happens when I speak with your human 'proper' tongue." Her steps still traced the prints of the wolf. There was no difference after all. She was the wolf, and the wolf was her. "I thank you for saying I make it look easy, it is a compliment no?" Ayita tilted her head, her eyes still wolf like in their appearance.

"If you wish to remain human, then you must think like a human. To become the beast, you must think like the beast. But always remember, always know who you are. When you have that, does the what really matter?" The woman chuckled and brushed past Sarah, her skin turning to slick blood then fur as the large dire wolf looked at Sarah, her ears pricked as she gave a slight wag of her tail. "Run with the pack a ways. Think upon the creature one are closest to. Worry not about becoming it, just consider the characteristics and the thoughts that go beyond their eyes. Worry not about loosing onesself. The pack is stronger and faster than any form one could muster." From anyone else that boast would be insulting but Ayita's mental link held no boast. It wasn't even meant to be insulting, but to reassure that little was at risk.

Sara was confused. Was Ayita not human? Mutant or not, they were still people, right? "If it wasn't a compliment, you'd know." She watched the woman, trying to understand what she was saying. Think like the beast? Beasts didn't think, did they? Wasn't it all primal knowledge? Survival? Instinct? She turned into a wolf easily before her eyes and began to run. Sara followed suit, trying to keep up, all the while thinking in her head "Be the wolf. Be the wolf. We're both strong. Both part of a pack. Both willing to defend that pack by any means." Slowly, Sara began to turn. Skin to fur. Teeth to fangs. Eventually, her body had shifted into the wolf she had been aiming. It wasn't as quick as Ayita, and she wasn't used to the body yet. She stumbled after her paws formed, trying to continue to run after the woman-wolf.

She wasn't a dire wolf and for that Ayita was grateful. The form was punishing and she could devour her own weight in meat while wearing that form and after she still ate more than was healthy. "Beasts do think. They love the young, the hunt. They sadden when a member dies. They feel pain and fight battles of lust. Each has their own thought. Their own beat to the drum." The voice within Sarah's mind pushed down on the smaller wolf, reminding her of who the alpha of their small pack was. Guess? It wasn't Sarah. There was a wolfish chuckle. "Now pack-sister knows why one stays apart from the others." She had spent seasons in these forms. Could she be ever fully human again? The answer was no, yet she was accepted despite this. Stretching out her long legs, Ayita increased her stride. Inviting Sarah to run and nevermind the vast stretch that was passing beneath them. Taking a sharp turn, she deftly used her tail as a rudder, heading back to their starting location. "Dig in claws!" The older she-wolf advised.

SO Ayita had mind speaking powers too? That wasn't fair! And her words made some sense. But again, Sara chalked it up to instinct. But someone who regularly becomes animals may actually have better insight into them than humans. Maybe. She could feel Ayita pushing down on her mind and all it did was anger Sara more. So she did as instructed. She used her claws to spring forward, faster than she had before. She followed through with the turn, albeit not as clean as Ayita's, and kept up with the woman, letting the trees and foliage pass by her without so much as a glance. If this was what animals went through, she could see the appeal.

Ayita slowed, her form shifting and blurring into that of her human form. Jogging to a slow stop as she turned with a sharp easy grace to face Sarah. "Forget the appeal. Remember the human. My powers give me the instincts of the creatures. You seem to lack that constant buzz." She advised, interest blazing in her eyes. "There is another form you should take."

Sara changed back as well, meeting Ayita's gaze. "So what? You're not supposed to enjoy yourself in those moments? Frankly, I'd rather be an animal than a human most days. What's this other form?"

Ayita tilted her head, looking amused. "Enjoy yourself, yes. But do not loose yourself. I lost myself several times and barely remembered who I was. What my form should be. The constant motion of life. It can consume you." The shifter sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "You are lucky to not be doubled over in pain, or to have the constant badgering of instinct dodging you. You gained my benefits without my curse." As much as she tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice it was there. How could it not be? Sarah lacked the very thing that made Ayita so deadly. The instinct of a wild animal, and the pain of the shifting. Things Ayita had learned to deal with. Taking a bit of a breather the woman played with the earrings, absently twirling them in her ear.

"You talk that way all the time. What gives? If I had your mindset, I don't know if I'd go out of the house at all. Why X-men? Why here and now? You could go into your animal form an be free if you truly wanted to, but I see you as a human more often than not, even though you complain about not understanding human things. There's more to it than that. Something happened."

Why had she chosen to fight? Why would she still fight? More than that, did Ayita want to answer those questions? Yes... Yes she did, to explain to this girl why she was as she was. "I joined the X-Men to stop the fighting from coming into my territory in the North. I was sent here when my mother gave me a choice. This- come to this school or go to jail. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if she was going to hand me over to one of the mutant hating groups or take me out back and shoot me." It was a harsh truth and one she had never told Richard. If the man found out he would go north, find and kill their mother. A hard fact, but she was grateful knowing he would act such in her defense.

Hooking her hair back to reveal the notched ear, she narrowed her eyes. "What do you humans do to animals? You hunt them. I was a deer when a hunter saw me and nearly took my life." She let the hair back over her wound and pulled up her shirt up by one side revealing a body battered and covered in scars of old bites and claw marks. Wounds from fighting for the kill or defending that kill. "This is why I try to learn of human ways. The wilds are harsh and unforgiving. If you are weak, you die." She stated softly as she pulled the shirt back down. "My mother cast me from her house to live or die. My powers became how I survived. My brother seeks to return to me the humanity I lost. I agree." Her eyes didn't meet Sarah's as she backed away a step. "I know how the animals and hunter work, but humans and the groups that hunt mutants are more sophisticated. They are not mere primal predators that I can deal with by displays of strength and cunning. I must learn to adapt." She wasn't about to tell Sarah the more private reasons, but the fact she didn't want to be hunted would be enough.

Sara merely smirked, because she had a feeling Ayita was more in common with the others than she thought. "You speak with conviction and that is admirable. And you are right, sad to say. Humans hunt animals and humans hunt mutants. Kind of ironic, given the context. We all come from somewhere though and I think you'll find your story, give or take some pieces of information, very similar to the others. We're all here for different reasons but the end goal is the same. To protect us and others like us as well as save the world on occasion. Perhaps if you opened up more, you'd find that the strength you need, but this is the pot calling the kettle black. I'm definitely not one about opening myself up to others. Too much baggage to deal with."

Ayita let a sigh out looking for all the world like a bird with ruffled feathers. "I am not saying my story is special. But my powers, the mentality... You- mutants, humans- are all humans- Man- in my eyes. I can walk and talk and be a Man, but I am still within a beast. A combination few can accept without fear." Rubbing a thumb over the single bit of jewelry she wore regularly, Ayita shook her head. "I'm not here to save the world. I never was. I was, and remain here, to stop trouble from reaching my territory in the North. Now I have more reason than ever." Her amber gaze lingered past Sarah as she smiled softly. "I open up. I say what is needed when it is needed, otherwise... Does it need to be said?"

Sara shook her head and laughed. "You are a lot more like humans than you realize. I can respect your reasons, but I think there's more to it than that and far be it from me to knock down your mysterious exterior you like to keep up. I know you have let people into your life. Allison. Damon. So you are capable of more than the animal instinct. See it as weakness or not, I dunno. Anyway, thanks for the lesson, unless there's more deep material you wish to discuss?"

Ayita let the words roll off her. They were of little interest to her in the long run. Her exterior wasn't meant to be mysterious, but she did keep most people at arms length. It was her nature. "Only if you wish to content yourself with the ground, and never hear the song of wind and sky." She noted with a slight amusement. The woman's form breaking and reforming to a gyr-falcon as she swept up and into the sky. Weaving patterns few pilots could hope to match, for Ayita loved the sky and ocean like nothing else save for a few exceptions.

Sara shrugged and, having still maintained the power, turned into a hawk, signaling she would enjoy more lessons. Perhaps less talk, since the woman didn't want to hear of it. Sara knew she had a point, but she also knew that it would take more than one person's words to get through.



Allison Andrews and Marygold Isley




After OMEN, Allison had done some thinking. She came to the realization that, while she was right on many parts, she was also wrong. And that conflict made her a stronger person. She still held some steadfast beliefs about humanity, but she wasn't out of it yet. Plus, that spirit she talked to before hadn't returned. She imagined she still had that decision to make, whether to use the power for good or not. She hoped she would make the right choice.

In the meantime, she was helping to rebuild the mansion. Using her powers she was able to lift heavier things and place them with ease. Up until today, she hadn't really talked to many people about everything.

Mary saw Allison, and let out a slight sigh. She had been putting off talking to her, but she knew that they had to talk about their issues. It was getting to the point where it kind of effected the entire team, and she knew that talking to her was the right thing to do. Walking over to her, Mary took a deep breath, before she spoke, "...Hey there Allison..."

It was a moment Allison knew would come, but had done whatever she could to prevent it. It took a lot to admit wrongdoing and eat crow. She turned to face Mary and gave a small smile. "Mary, hello. How are you doing?"

"...I'm doing alright... How are you doing?" she said, returning Allison's smile with a small one of her own. This was going to be awkward, that much was obvious, but it was unavoidable.

Allison nodded. "Good, good. Just helping to rebuild. I think we are doing all right. Makes it easier having powers and such. Can't imagine rebuilding this as an average person." Allison laughed a bit, but one could tell she wasn't fully invested in what she was saying.

"...That's good...Um... We need to talk... About things... Everything um..." she said rubbing the back of her head slightly. Mary was nervous about this conversation, even though they hadn't even really started talking about the difficult things.

Allison nodded her understanding. "Yeah, I expected this. Not sure how to start it off though. I mean, we both said and did stupid things. So I guess I'll start by apologizing." Even though Allison still felt she was right, it isn't the same as knowing you are right but still supporting others anyway. Plus, doing so in full view of others? Not a good idea.

"...Actually, I should be the one apologizing Allison... For everything... I was freaking out, stressed, everyone started yelling at me all at once, and I kind of just exploded... I should have listened to others suggestions, even yours... I was just so focused on one thing, on trying to fix everything, I just kind of lost track of working with others as a team... I don't blame you for anything, so you don't really need to apologize..."

"No, see, that's where you're wrong. I do need to apologize. Regardless if I was right or not, you needed people backing you up, not pulling you down. I just...I can't get over the virus mission. We did so much good, and then we were hunted. People hated us. Still do, even after OMEN. And Oshea. He died helping to save them. It's my fault. I can see the future and I couldn't predict that. Or Future Pietro's death and now Guin is suffering. What good are my powers if they don't do anything. I was useless last time. My vision is what got us captured in the first place."

"...It's my fault he's gone... I blame myself every day for that, had I just not switched places in the team lineup like that, he might still be here... I still blame myself for the future speedster too... I was standing right there, and didn't do anything to help him... Both of their deaths are on me, and you aren't useless Allison... No one really is... Everyone is useful in their own way..."

Allison shook her head. "We are a team and doubting that made me useless. You doubted it too when you doubted yourself. We all messed up, but we lived and got through it. Their deaths are not on you. You can't save anyone." Then Allison remembered the spirit woman or whoever she was. "I want to share something with you. I haven't told anyone else this for fear of being considered crazy. Remember when I was unconcious after our second mission? Well, during that time I had a dream. Or a vision. Or something. Either way, I met this...woman. She went on about my destiny and about how my powers could turn the tides of the future for good or ill. And that I had a choice. So that's when I decided you were at fault and that humanity needed to be taught a lesson. But now I know better. We do what we do because of humanity. If we stopped, then everyone would suffer, mutants and humans. And she also told me that Oshea's death had to happen. It was already told. So no, it's not on you. It's on all of us. And we have to continue to rebuild and fight."

"That is an interesting thing... Though of course the person would be vague, it is a bit of a dangerous thing to know too much about your future... Any of us, our powers, could be used for good or evil, it just depends on the person who has them. To be honest Allison, I don't really know too much about what I'm doing... The others, the group before, they all kind of left suddenly and I was left with the job of working with Xavier to build an entirely new team... I had no idea, and still don't really know, how everyone would be able to work together in a group, as a team. We all still have our problems, make mistakes just like you said... We just have to try and work through them..."

Allison nodded her agreement because it was what she had been thinking ever since OMEN. "MY biggest worry has always been turning into a darker version of myself. We saw what happened to Jean. I could feel it stirring inside of me when I let my emotions get the best of me. It's scary because it felt good to feel useful, but the cost was too much. Now I have better control and its in large part thanks to you and everyone else. I think we could all work together."

Mary thought for a moment, looking at Allison. She remembered what had happened with Jean, or at least being told about it. It was not something to mess around with, that's for sure, and she was thinking of how best to respond to Allison. "...Any of us could turn out like that... Being pushed over the edge, all it takes is one thing, just one thing to happen that would cause us to lose it like that... Sometimes trying to get away from the darkness isn't necessarily the right answer... At least coming to an understanding about it, well... More an understanding with it... Sometimes that is the best course of action. We all are capable of evil, however, those who we call our enemies are also capable of good. Pietro actually is a good example of that one, and even though the two groups don't get along, when we needed help his father and sister showed up. It just depends on your perspective whether something is dark or not, and if you try to push it away it rather than accept it as a part of you... Well it could end badly..."

Allison had never thought of that. Not really. "It's always the choice. It's why there are some humans that believe in us while others fear us. It has been the case since...forever really. People fearing differences rather than accepting them. I think that's why I am still here. I want to show everyone, even myself, that bringing people together trumps pulling others apart. It's also why I'm glad we got to talk. We are stronger together. All of us. Say the word, Mary, and I'll have your back."

Mary gave her a smile, "...Thank you for that Allison, I do appreciate it... I know that I tend to screw up a lot, I know that... But maybe learning from our past mistakes will make us better people... You say that there is always a choice between the dark and the light, but that isn't entirely true though... Some people walk the thin line between the two, and all it takes is a gentle breeze to send them in any one direction... Did I ever tell you about my first encounter with Pietro? Let's just say it was enough for more than a few people to question my sanity about letting him join the team..."

"...He ended up pushing me out a four story window onto pavement below. Wouldn't have been so bad had it been onto grass, but this was already after he had already pounded me a little bit... Hank told me I was actually really lucky, had I fallen just about any other way, I likely would have died the instant I hit the ground. My point is that not everyone we meet is what they appear to be. Enemies can become friends, allies, however the exact same can be said about friends becoming enemies... It all depends on which way the wind blows."

"No you didn't, but even if that were the case, he was still a member of the Brotherhood, Magneto's son and Scarlet Witch's brother. So that was all it took to question it, but he did end up saving our lives during that mission, so I figured you knew what you were doing. Call it blind optimism. I'ld still like to believe that there is good in the world to overcome the dark, but I am not so blind anymore to realize there's a lot of gray in the black and white. I'll just have to paint them pink."

"I'm glad we had this talk Mary, if for no other reason than to patch things up, but you gave me a lot to think about, more than I already had on my plate. I hope you know that I think you're a strong leader and fully capable of leading the team. But don't be afraid to ask for help."

"...I'm glad we talked about things too... And thank you... You are right, asking for help isn't necessarily a bad thing, you've given me a few things to think about too."

The two of them parted to finish helping with the repairs. Allison felt better now. She felt more confident in herself and in the team. Perhaps it was for the best that some questions were not answered. At least, not yet.
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Nallore RPG's Grope Master & Taco Hunter. :P

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Cassandra Reed


Location: Quinjet
Skills: N/A





Cassandra looked over her shoulder towards Future Carolina and Folly, for a moment and blinked as she watched the two of them suddenly faded away in front of her. She had a feeling that they ended up returning to their own timeline, she sighed a bit and rubbed her eyes a bit. She was just glad that everything was over now as she looked at the others as they started to file into the Quinjet Cassandra got back into the pilot's seat as she looked back at Carolina as she went over and sat down as well, and Bethany she started to make the flight back over towards Stark Tower.

"I'm pretty sure that Starbucks employees wouldn't like a quinjet in the middle of their parking lot, i'll drop you all off at Stark Tower." She said Carolina looked over at her sister and nodded a bit towards her smiling a bit as she rubbed the back of her neck looking over at Dean and smirked at the comment that Sara's comment and Dean's reaction as she started to relax a bit more now. Bethany sat in the corner glad to finally get out of the facility and not be experimented on and went to take a slight nap where she was seated.




Future Carolina Reed


Location: The Mansion (Future)
Skills: N/A





Carolina sat on the couch the last thing that she remembered was being on the Quinjet next to Folly telling her what had happened to Pietro back at the OMEN lab. She looked around looking rather confused and a bit disoriented as she tried to figure out where she was until she heard a voice. Looking over at the woman who was sitting next to her, raising an eyebrow she couldn't really recognize her either it was really confusing. Then a few seconds later Carolina felt a sudden gust of wind go through the room and looked shocked seeing Pietro was all alive and well there.

Pietro mentioned Mary as she saw her for the first time, seeing her alive now as well when Pietro said her name "I uhm, yeah i'll see you later Pietro.." Carolina said awkwardly as she stood up a moment seeing him speeding off rather quickly, she did remember that Guin was having a kid during her own timeline. Carolina stared back at Marygold stopping right where she was seeing the woman's eyes were red for a moment. She tried to remember what she could, but couldn't remember anything at all she was about to say something when she felt her phone going off. Quickly pulling it out, she stopped and stared at the text seeing that it was Cassandra who was alive and well which made her smile happy even to know that they managed to save the timeline and that her sister was alive.




Carolina Reed&Ayita Dyrkin




Carolina walked around the temporary home that they were given while the mansion was getting rebuilt, she had a small bag full of some art supplies that she bought fairly recently while doing her own personal shopping. As she came up to the back she noticed Ayita was there drawing something, she didn't really think that the girl had anything really artistic. She walked over and leaned over her shoulder to see what she was drawing, she didn't even seem to notice Carolina there and gently tapped her on the shoulder. "What are you drawing there?" Carolina asked.

Ayita jolted slightly as someone tapped her on the shoulder. Ready to bolt the woman looked over at the hand, then the arm, then the face. Her wary tawny eyes softening as she noted that is was a friend. Though her cheeks turned a slight pink. "Skeletal, muscles, veins." The wild woman shrugged and gestured to horribly failed drawings. Though it was easy to see what they were meant to be- so long as you had a general idea. "I can see them clear as day, but I cannot copy them." Her tone wasn't frustrated but sad almost. Like she had been trying this for a while.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." Carolina said as she gave Ayita a bit of a smile before making her way over and sat down next to the girl as she leaned in a bit to get another look. "I think you maybe trying a little to hard, when i'm drawing I don't really think on what i'm making and just let the creativity flow." She said looking at Ayita.

Ayita shrugged slightly, her eyes dropping to her lap as she leaned back slighly and rolled her wrist. "Perhaps, but it needs to have the proper form. Not that butchered job..." She sighed, with a note of longing as she turned her attention back to the paper and tore it away. The banished page floating to the floor. Striking her pencil to the new page she began again.

Carolina watched as Ayita dropped her paper down onto the ground as she looked over at the drawing that Ayita had dropped and leaned down to pick it up. "What are you trying to draw anyway?" Carolina asked as she took a look at it then over at the girl.

"An Orca. Anything useful." The orca in the picture was rough, a skeleton. Ayita apparently had been trying to draw from bones and veins up.

Carolina leaned forward as she got another look and instantly found why it looked wrong. "Try drawing the appearance of it on the outside instead of the inside." Carolina said as she leaned back and started to pull out her own drawing supplies and started to draw her own thing now.

Ayita sighed with a note of annoyance. "It was a foolish idea to start with. I am a hunter, skin changer. Not a artist." Though she did start sketching as Carolina requested. Hooking a lock of hair behind her maimed ear, and muttering about how she should have braided it.

Carolina stopped her drawing and looked at Ayita. "Drawing isn't for everyone, i'm sure there is something else your good at maybe painting?" Carolina asked, as she stopped her drawing and looked at her. "I could braid your hair if you want." She offered.

Ayita tended as she studies Carolina and nods her consent. "I- If you wish to. I need to get good at drawing. Not for my sake." She shrugs slightly gently, blushing a bit as a hand slipped into her pocket to fiddle with something. "Its for my..." She trailed off with a slight smile, amber eyes soft.

Carolina smiled a bit as she started to get up and made her way behind Ayita for a bit and started to braid her hair a bit putting it into a pony tail as she looked at her. "You know you don't have to draw him anything you could, buy something for him." Carolina said to Ayita and gave her a slight smile. "But if you want to draw something i'm sure he will like it."

Ayita stiffened as Carolina moved behind her. It went against the woman's instincts to allow it, but she forced herself not to fidget. Though her thumb did run over the plain, unobtrusive band that sat on one finger. It wasn't as if she shouted anything from the rooftops. That wasn't Ayita's way. If you noticed, then you knew. That was all there was to it. "I sent him to my old hunting range. My land. I doubt I could find a tattoo parlor there." She stated softly, looking a jit wistful. Rarely did she ever say the name of people, Allison being the exception.

Carolina Reed & Antoinette McCarthy


Date: August 23, 2020



Antoinette walked around the safe house. It was decently sized with general supplies and necessities but for the time being, it was home. Annie had yet to get a hold of her father and it bothered her. She had being going through the last couple of weeks in a bit of a daze. All the others seemed to know their place and know what they needed to do but Antoinette.
She sat outside, watching the sunlight dance across the trees and barren ground before her. This place was beautiful in its own but it wasn't home. Antoinette's hands ached to pick up a paintbrush and create the scene before her in a more permanent fashion. Sighing, she moved back inside and waited just on the other side of the door for her eyes to adjust before she started walking.
Antoinette weaved around people, not entirely sure what she was looking for until she found her. Antoinette watched most of the people here. Trying to figure out who they were, what they believed and who she could trust. There was a lot of grey to the area but there was one girl who seemed to share a common theme with her. Annie sat down in front of Carolina and turned her head slightly, watching her like a curious cat.
"Would you happen to have anything extra to draw with? Or perhaps paint?" Antoinette wasn't one to beat around the bush. She simply asked what she wanted, when she wanted to ask it.

Carolina was sitting on a couch in the living room of the house that was given to them while the mansion was being repaired, she had her knees up to her chest with a sketching pad on her lap along with a few pencils and colored pencils as well. She usually spent some of her spare time just random doodling and drawings, it always did relax her and with her sister's sudden reassignment was a bit to sudden. Cass was pretty much given the boot by Mary, but she didn't want to jump in between whatever happened it wasn't going to stop her from still talking to her sister but she wanted to stay with the X-Men.

Carolina took a moment to look up when someone plopped down across from her and saw that it was the new girl Antoinette who was in the OMEN facility with the others Carolina smiled and gave her a nod. "I sure do." Carolina said as she set down her note pad, it was just a simple drawing of a scenery out in the mountains, she knelt down and pulled out a spare sketchpad and gestured to the box of pencils that she had next to her. "I'm Carolina by the way, it's nice to meet you." She said as she extended her hand to the new girl.

Antoinette smiled and took the sketch pad from her gratefully. Annie didn't have any of her supplies anymore and she had little clothing wise but she was making due with what she had. She was rather adaptable that way.
"Antoinette, although my father calls me Annie if you wish to as well." She was looking at Carolina's drawing as she met her hand to shake it. "These are very detailed. Have you been to this location before?" Annie asked curiously. She picked out a set of drawing pencils so she could start the outline of her piece. What she was going to draw, was yet to be decided.

"I like the name Annie." Carolina said as she gave her a smile as she looked back at her drawing for a moment and then shook her head slightly. "It just sort of came to mind, I usually just like to draw scenery things more than anything else." Carolina said, as she gave Antoinette her sketching pad to show some of the things that she had been drawing. Some were scenes on a beach, some forest scenes as well as a few desert ones. "What do you like to draw anyway?" Carolina asked.

Slowly Antoinette flipped through her sketchpad to see all the different settings, things that had just come to her mind and she decided to put onto paper. Annie paused on a beach scene and ran her fingers lightly over the water. She missed the water of her home. Antoinette sighed and gave Carolina her sketchbook back.
"Well, much of the same really. Not strictly scenery and I prefer painting but whatever I see, whatever I can turn into reality," Antoinette informed her raven-haired companion. "Birds," she said suddenly. "I like birds, well, my mother did." Antoinette turned to her own sketchpad and started, her hand just moving on its own while her mind raced to keep up. Slowly she formed the illusion in her head, feeling the power stir just beneath her skin.

Carolina smiled as she took her sketchpad back and started to draw again on what she was doing while looking up at Annie again as she spoke, and smiled a bit. "Some types of birds are beautiful." She said as she rubbed the back of her neck a bit as Antionette mentioned her mother, she looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, what happened to your mom?" Carolina asked. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to that is." Carolina didn't want to make things awkward then it probably would be asking a personal question like that.

Antoinette nodded, looking away for a moment as she thought of all the birds she had seen over the years and all the ones her mother spoke of. She looked at Carolina and smiled before she shook her head.
"I don't mind. My father and I were out when she was shot at home. She was calling to tell us not to come back home when the gun went off and the line went dead. My father hid me and went back to confirm she truly had died. She really did love birds. I would imagine she would love to fly with them," Antoinette said, looking distant again. She looked down at her sketchpad and continued to draw half her mothers face and half of a white-tailed eagle face. It was a common thing Antoinette drew and it brought her a sense of peace.

Carolina looked at Antoinette as she answered her question and bit her bottom lip as she listened the story. "I'm sorry to hear that, i'm sure she's in a better place now." She said, as she started to remember her friend October her closest friend as she sighed a little bit and started to draw a little bit more. "I had a really close friend of mine die right in front of me, we were in this town called Coventry about two years ago or so. We were traveling around the country sort of doing some jobs for SHIELD here and there and doing occasional stuff for them before I joined up with the X-Men. Anyway we bumped into a pair of OMEN agents that were in town as well, they ended up shooting her, while I used my powers against them."

Antoinette continued to draw while Carolina spoke, giving her friend a sense of privacy as she told her story. Antoinette finished with the beak and head of feathers when she looked over at her friend.
"I hate guns. I fear them to this day. Your friend, my mom. Their deaths were tragic but there is a sense of beauty to it as well. They don't have to hide who they are. My mother wasn't a mutant but, they are free now. From this world, from us. That's beautiful, isn't it?" Antoinette reached out and rested a hand on Carolina's knee a moment.

Carolina stared at Antoinette for a moment blushing a tad bit when she rested a hand on her knee, and rubbed the back of her neck and nodded it did sound like something her friend would say as well. "I think so to." She said softly as she leaned back and looked back at her own drawing a bit. "My friend and you would have gotten along really well together." Carolina smiled.

Antoinette smiled, accepting of the compliment. It was nice to find beauty within people, a deep acceptance of the other. She patted Carolina's knee before taking her hand back and resumed her drawing.
"I would have loved to meet her. I am sure you have such amazing stories. Perhaps you can share some and I can share some of mine as well. It is good to have friends," Antoinette said. She looked up at Carolina and grinned at her.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by BlueSky44
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BlueSky44 Tech Monkey

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June 25th, 2020



Mary entered into the SHIELD headquarters, knowing what was going to happen in her time there. After all, this was something that needed to be discussed. She also knew that Cassandra would be involved in this conversation, since for the most part, it would effect her. This was not going to end well, that much she knew, it wasn't going to be fun talking to Fury. She was directed that way, and found herself in Fury's office, now just waiting for Cass to show up.

Cassandra had been at SHIELD headuquarters for about an hour now, as she was going over a few reports she looked up at the clock seeing that it was time for the meeting with Mary and Director Fury. She wasn't sure what the meeting was going to be about really, but the meeting probably wouldn't end up well either. As she started to head to the elevator and then pressed the top floor, where she would meet in his office, as soon as the elevator came to a stop Cass walked down the hallway. There she looked to see Mary was already there, she gave her a slight smile and nod. "How are you doing Mary?" Cassandra asked.

"I'm alright, could be better, but things have been going well," she said, nodding as Fury entered the room and took a seat in a chair.

"Isley already knows why the two of you are here, so it should be obvious that it involves SHIELD's relations with the X-Men and the school in general," he said simply, looking over at Mary.

"Yeah Fury, you definitely are right on that one..." she responded with a slight shake of her head.

"That's good to hear." Cassandra said, as she turned her attention towards the door seeing Director Fury coming in, and gave him a quick nod as she went to take her seat as well next to Mary. She eyed Mary for a second getting the feeling that she did not like him at all, as she bit her bottom lip before turning to look at Fury. "I have a feeling that Mary doesn't like whats going on then?" Cassandra asked.

"No, more of the whole thing just really bugs me and I don't care much for Fury... Especially considering at this rate the X-Men are basically doing SHIELD's job. I mean really, OMEN last I checked was one of your bigger problems and you didn't think to find anything against it at all? Thanks to the team, with some help from the one active SHIELD agent with us," she said, adding the last part with a slight nod towards Cassandra, "OMEN is no longer a problem. But you see, generally the way that partnerships, or cooperatives work is that usually both sides benefit from it, not really what has been happening at all."

Cassandra looked back at Mary as she spoke, she could understand where she was coming from but SHIELD couldn't really actively go after OMEN. "I tried calling for more backup, but at the time OMEN had taken over half of SHIELDs funding from what I understand." Cassandra looked over towards Fury for a moment. "But if given more time we can work together now that OMEN is gone we can still benefit from one another."

"I believe that as well, however that decision isn't up to me Agent Reed."

"No, both sides would have to agree to it... And right now I'm still leaning towards not continuing on like this. It is getting just a tad bit on the ridiculous side, and at the moment the only side benefiting a lot from this partnership is SHIELD, and that is not, as I said before, how things like this work. I can't really justify keeping this partnership Cass."

"I think the X-Men and the mansion would still benefit however, we can give you proper funding, updated gear and tech to help aide in your missions against groups like The Brotherhood and any information and intel that we can share." Cassandra said trying her best to try and convince Mary that it would be able to work out with them, she rubbed the bridge of her nose a bit.

"...You do realize that our training room literally was built with alien technology that had been adapted, not to mention a room that you guys could only dream of having access to. Also known as Cerebro, so I don't really see any benefits. Not to mention think Hank would feel a tad bit insulted at hearing you think that the stuff we have is outdated."

"SHIELD could use something like Cerebro, or the Danger Room to help out with our own agents training, and getting intel as well." Cassandra said looking at Fury for a moment, for any kind of help. "And I did not mean to insult Hank, he is a very brilliant man. But I am sure that we have something at least to help the X-Men with your missions."

"...Problem is that we weren't getting any sort of SHIELD support, for anything, aside from you, so basically we, a much much smaller group, was basically risking our lives to prevent something that technically wasn't even really our business until OMEN attacked us, while SHIELD basically say back and did nothing... Look, I'll admit, maybe you guys do have things that would be useful to us, but risking our lives to solve your problems while throughout this entire thing, we basically were on an island by ourselves to fix things, you have to admit Cass, SHIELD hasn't exactly been the most helpful. Even when Magneto was threatening to basically wipe out humans around the world, SHIELD didn't show up until after we had solved the problem, not to mention saving the skins of most SHIELD agents in the process. Add that to the fact that apparently your so called "inescapable" prison, the Raft, resulted in the Brotherhood breaking out anyway."

Cassandra stared at Marygold as she spoke and nodded a bit, true that they didn't have much SHIELD support during their time working together. But Magneto and The Brotherhood did attack The Triskelion, and they had their own problems as well but they could have used the help during some of the missions together. "I agree with you SHIELD did lack the help that you needed, but The Brotherhood ended up attacking The Triskelion and took the Index as well, we were hit hard and had to scramble and get things fixed there, and what happened at The Raft wasn't our fault that they escaped. Mystique snuck in and broke the others free from there, if we would have had her in custody then they wouldn't have escaped. And OMEN had nearly all our funding we couldn't spare the man power at the time."

"Other thing... SHIELD seems to be all about excuses... Because here's the thing with that Brotherhood thing... You'd think, knowing that a known associate of Magneto's wasn't caught and was a shapeshifter, you'd have thought you would have been prepared. Look, there isn't any real point in us continuing this partnership, alright?"

Cassandra lifted up her hands, as if she had given up trying to convince Marygold the merits of them continuing their partnership. "I still think we should continue working. But that decision isn't up to me it's up to you and Director Fury, though we do need people with experience with powers for the Phase Three experiments." Cass said looking over.

"Wait... What the hell are you doing?" she asked instantly, that was something that she hadn't been told about, at all, and she turned to look at Fury, glaring at him now, but he just said nothing, leaning back in his chair and staring right back.

Cassandra looked at Mary for a moment as she rubbed the back of her neck a bit awkwardly. "I thought you knew this already, that is my next assignment, we need more people to defend the world like the Avengers. We are planning on putting our next group of willing graduating cadets to go through it. To see whether they are inhuman, mutate or mutant and train them on their powers, and then send them out into field missions." Cassandra answered.

"You want to make MORE people like us? Are you people idiots! You do realize that based on everything that has happened in the past week or two, you want to make it so that more people have powers? Unlike the Avengers, people hate people like us who are super powered and we are treated like absolutely nothing. Reason why we do what we do is to try and bridge that gap, and make it so that there is peace between both sides. But I can't believe what it is that I am hearing, this is just completely ridiculous."

"I get and understand the issues that you and my own sister face on a daily basis, but SHIELD has faced a lot of threats we need some of our agents to be able to better combat other threats." Cassandra glared at Marygold trying to calm down. "We barely survived the Battle of New York during the Chitari invasion, who knows if theres going to be another threat like that. We need more people with powers to help defend the newer threats that are coming out.

"No, trust me, people don't like being saved and protected by people like us. I know that first hand, and this is proof that SHIELD doesn't care about anyone, not the people who are a part of it that's for sure, since otherwise you wouldn't even be considering something like this. I know basic genetics Agent Reed, so let me tell you not everyone would survive experiments like that. It is simple enough to understand that. You also just for sure confirmed that those of us want nothing to do with SHIELD if this is the current course of action. Oh, and if you are perfectly fine with this, don't exactly come back around the mansion either, no matter what. You can meet up with your sister outside of the school grounds, but you stay far away from it, got it," she said, snapping slightly as she turned and left the room. This was not something she wanted anything to do with. Who the hell in their right mind would even do something like that at all?

After Mary had left the room, Fury turned and looked at Cassandra. "I didn't think the partnership with the X-Men would last forever, they don't exactly see things the way we do, the big picture if you will... I expected her to have walked out before that, though I do appreciate your attempts to get her to reconsider it."

Cassandra was about to open her mouth again to say something before Marygold beat her to it, as she bit back her tongue she watched Marygold getting up and leaving Director Fury's office. She leaned forward rubbing her eyes a little bit letting out an annoyed sigh, she knew the risks for the experiments as well but the subjects as far as she knew were more than willing to go through it. Looking up at Director Fury and nodded slightly. "I thought she'd be willing to at least help train them once the experiments are completed. Is there anything else you'd like me to do sir?" Cassandra asked as she leaned back in the seat looking up at him.

"No, that'll be all Agent," he said simply, nodding his head at her.

"Yes sir." Cassandra said as she finally stood up and started to head out of Fury's office and started to make her way down the hallway.


Over the Past Few Months



Things at the mansion were going better now, at least as well as things could be considering that they had to rebuild and replace everything. The Danger Room, as well as Cerebro, the two rooms that likely would have taken years to rebuild thankfully had survived the entire attack and were still standing, however the hallways connecting them, all the rooms in the lower levels aside from those two, and everything above ground was completely gone.

It did help that Xavier was rich, though it was debatable whether or not he had any sort of agreements with insurance companies or any architects or things like that. Considering how quickly work began, and was completed, it did make one wonder just what he did to get help like that. It also helped that there were people at the school who were able to help out the builders as well when it came to the actual construction of the school.

It helped that Tony Stark was kind enough to let the students stay at a house that he had outside of New York that was effectively collecting dust and wasn't being used anyway. Dean was able to actually get the prom that he had been wanting to do, and it didn't end to badly. Now he was going on to the next project that he was wanting to do, which was to have a musical of sorts, and settled on doing Beauty and the Beast. So that has kind of been taking over the school for the moment, even though a few people were slightly annoyed at the idea.

Xavier, aside from working to get the mansion rebuilt once more, has been dealing with much of the backlash from OMEN's sudden closure. There were a few other things he was dealing with, aside from the chaos on the political side, and was trying to figure out the best course of action for them to continue. It wasn't going to be easy, especially considering all that was happening in the government towards mutants and anyone with super natural abilities.

He decided that in order to effectively do this was to try and get into contact with a few others for aid in figuring out the best way to move forward. However, those who he'd trust most to be helpful weren't exactly too willing, or trusting anymore, of him, which didn't help matters at all. Which is why he enlisted in the aid of someone the group seemed to trust a little more than him, hopefully anyway, and that was Pietro Maximoff.


September 7th - 8:00 am




Pietro was called into Xavier's office, alone. He wasn't too sure what exactly this would entail, considering the fact that he was almost positive that he hadn't caused any trouble recently, or done anything bad like that aside from maybe teasing the wannabe speedster. "So... Mind telling me what exactly this is about?" he asked as he shut the door behind him, yawning slightly.

"I have a bit of an errand that I need you to do for me, and it can not wait any longer... I know that you were going to race off for something anyway, so I thought you might be able to help me while you were gone."

"I hate it when people get in my head or read my mind... But shoot, what is it that you need me to do?"

"As you likely have heard, or have figured it out by now, most of the older X-Men team, well, we don't exactly see eye to eye anymore."

"Yeah, no kidding? From what I can tell most of them hate you just about as much as they kind of hate me."

"Anyway, I need you to go out and find them, this won't be a simple task, but I know what general area they are in. As you know, Hank and Wolverine stay here, or close by to the mansion..."

"Wait, let me get this straight. Knowing perfectly well that several of them hate me, you want me to be the one to go after them or whatever? Do you want someone to kill me?"

"I believe Gambit might be the only one you need to worry about. He and Rogue are down south in New Orleans, while Scott and Jean are in New York City. Now, the first one you'd have to go talk to is Storm..."

"Why? Because she's the least likely to want to kill me? Just start with her and work my way to New Orleans then where there's a guy who likely wants me dead."

"No, that is not the reason Pietro... Storm currently resides in Wakanda, she has been there for the past few years or so now."

"Wait, I have to run across the Atlantic Ocean?"

"Yes."

"...Fine, I'll do it, I guess I'll likely be back later tonight. I've got my own things to do, but those can wait until after I likely nearly get killed. So, what do you want me to tell them exactly?"

"I need you to convince them that they should come back to the mansion, for I need to talk to them. After the OMEN downfall, there are likely to be repercussions around the world."

"So... Find the old team whose phone numbers you don't have, get them to come back here to talk about some anti mutant hate that could cause problems worldwide. Is that it?"

"Yes."

"Alright, well, guess I'm off then, wasn't planning on doing too much today anyway, so thanks for providing me with something to do," he said before he took off running.


Several Hours Later - 7:00 PM

In a Car Driving From New York




"Well, never thought we'd be going back to the mansion again."

"Yeah, but you have to remember, a lot has changed since we were last there. I understand the Professor's concerns with OMEN's downfall."

"I know that, it's just a little strange. We haven't exactly been around for a few years now. Closest we ever got to getting called in for anything was when your niece called us a few months back after the mansion was destroyed... Yet again I might add."

"The mansion does seem a bit accident prone doesn't it?"

"At least once every couple of years at this rate, to think that place is a school, you'd think that someone would have tried to shut the institute down years ago because of it."

"Actually, as I recall someone did try to shut the school down, it's just been about 10 years or so since then."

"That's besides the point Jean and you know it."

"Well I for one am curious as to what it is the Professor wants to tell us about. Besides, it'll be nice to see everyone again, it has been a while since we all were in one place."

"Yeah, it will be... Hank and Logan still hang around the school don't they? I understand Hank wanting to stick around after what had happened, but I would have thought that Logan would have been the first one out the door."

"That was a bit on the surprising side, I will admit. He generally does not take things like that very lightly. A little surprised that he's still around, but well... I suppose he likely didn't have anywhere else to go. The mansion has been his home for a long time now you know."

"I know that."

In the Sky somewhere heading for the Mansion



It had been a crazy past few hours. One minute the two of them were at their place down in New Orleans, the next minute Quicksilver of all people comes racing up and wants to talk to them. Was a little difficult for her to stop Gambit from trying to kill the speedster or something, but now they were finding themselves flying back to New York, back to where the mansion was. Not to mention catching Gambit's cats and giving them something to make it so that they slept the entire time. In Rogue's mind sometimes those cats were way too much trouble. "Ready to see the mansion again?" she asked.

Gambit had a very firm hold on his bag of cats. Inside, there were his three 'children' as he thought of them - Oliver, Figaro, and Lucifer. He had been mistaken by some of his friends as being gay - but his love for Rogue was proof enough that he was bisexual. "Je ne veux pas voir Charles," Gambit muttered. At least in this flight, he had a first class view - of Rogue.

"English Remy, ya know I don't speak French!"

"I ain't exactly thrilled about seein' Charles mon amie...And ya should learn French!"

"Are we really gonna have this argument now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him, "And I know ya don't exactly like hangin' around Xavier, but we should at least hear what he has ta say."

Gambit huffed slightly, rolling his eyes. They had good reasons for leaving the team - each and every one of them did. Marygold had been the only one of the original team to remain behind. And sometimes, Gambit couldn't help but wonder if they should have made her come with him. "And freaking Quicksilver...Man, Xavier's just gettin' worse!"

"Ya don't know that for sure, and people can change Remy. But it sounds like the others are going to be headin' back there too. So at least we'll see them again too ya know."

"He nearly killed Goldie, chère!"

"That was several years ago and ya know it! Ya can't hold that against him forever ya know!"

"Watch me, mon amie!"

She just rolled her eyes, "Honestly Remy ya are ridiculous! Anyway... Doesn't matter now does it? We're going to the mansion and we might run into Quicksilver again, so be warned that odds are ya can't beat him up over it!"

"He ain't that hard to hit - he's a dumbass," Gambit said. "Just gotta wait for him to trip over his own feet."

She let out a sigh, figuring that it was no use arguing. It was obvious how much Gambit hated Pietro Maximoff, so there wasn't any point in trying to change his mind. "Well anyway... We'll be there in a little bit... So can ya try your best ta behave yourself?"

He thought about it for a moment. "If I can get a kiss, sure."

"Ya know why ya can't Remy!"


Marygold Isley


Location: Parlor - First Floor



Mary had been trying to relax, at least as much as possible, since the event with OMEN. She had learn a few things, thanks to her week with Veil and the Mutant Underground, it had helped. Xavier had been right to send her there for a little bit, get away from the group and learn how others were dealing with being in the spot that she was basically in. She vaguely had remembered who Veil was before she had gone, the woman had been at the mansion Mary's first year at the school, but that had been about it, so she wasn't too sure what she was expecting, but her time there had proven useful. She was grateful for that.

Now, back at the mansion, finally with everything having been repaired and rebuilt, she could relax a little bit. It was getting fairly dark outside, so she wasn't out in the garden as she usually was. Instead, she was in the parlor, reading a book on the couch. It wasn't her preferred way to spend time, but it was a nice change of pace from the chaos of the past few months.



Lance Banner


Location: Chemical Lab - First Sub-Basement



Things hadn't gone the best when they had gotten back to Stark Tower after the incident at the OMEN facility. His dad had kind of freaked out a little bit, almost to the point where he turned into the green rage monster again, and that thing got just a bit on the annoying side after a while. Not to mention that since the mansion was destroyed, he was stuck being in close proximity to his father for a little while longer, which annoyed him as well. Lance was glad when the mansion had been rebuilt and he could get away from his family issues again.

He was messing around down in the chemical lab, running an experiment in his spare time. He was worried slightly about Guin, and what had happened with OMEN had shaken her slightly, that much was obvious. It made him debate about checking on her, since he knew that Pietro wasn't there to make sure that she was okay. Though he was starting to wonder where the speedster of all people was, he'd been gone almost the entire day.



Mirembe Adebayo


Location: Library - First Floor



Mira had made a friend or two since everything had turned to chaos with OMEN, well, a friend besides Guin. Though she was a bit shaken by taking the lives of so many people with that shriek at the facility, it still did on occasion haunt her nightmares, though not very often. She had grown up among a group of people who tended to be warriors, so it was only natural for her to be able to deal with the deaths, but that still didn't stop her from having the occasional problem.

She had made friends with one of the other students, Neil Spellman, and had joined his Dungeons and Dragons group, having never played the game before, she hadn't been too sure what to expect, but she found that she rather enjoyed the game. It was fun, creative, and they practically were building their own little world. Sure, Mira wasn't much for being in a group of people, but in this sort of setting she didn't really mind it. Always liking music in some way, and not wanting to be apart of Dean's dumb musical or anything, she had made the Bard for the party, playing a character that was almost the exact opposite of who she was as a person, but that's what she liked best about the game. You could literally be anyone, and not yourself.
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Guin Stark

Location: Electronics Laboratory - First Sub-Basement


Guin was drinking a blue raspberry flavored energy drink, enjoying the overwhelming jittery sensation that it gave her. Sure, her mother - that wretched bitch named Maddie - had been claiming to the press that she was traumatized after the O.M.E.N. incidents and continued to tell any tabloid that would listen that she was a brainwashing victim of Pietro. But sometimes, Maddie changed her tune to rehash old stories - saying that Guin was back on hard drugs and exaggerating anything she could in order to get another five minutes of fame.

Sure, the last few months hadn't been the easiest. At first, she had horrible visions of Pietro dying every time she closed her eyes. She had jumped at loud noises and reached for an icer that she wasn't carrying. She wore gloves constantly, afraid that she'd have a panic attack and accidentally switch with someone. But slowly, she healed with time - not all of the way, but enough that her nightmares stayed just that - nightmares - and were largely isolated to her sleep.

There had been exactly one other day since the O.M.E.N. attack when Pietro hadn't been around all day - and she couldn't deny, it was making her a little jumpy. She had isolated herself into the electronics lab, having plenty of energy drinks and junk food in there with her, that way she wouldn't need to leave the room if she didn't want to. "Okay, P.H.I.L., let's see about finally fixing that corrupted personality matrix of yours..." Guin had the A.I. hooked up to a high end computer she had brought from home and installed her, scrolling through the program.

She then video chatted her father, sharing the screen with him. "Hey Dad - need your help with something..." Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten yet that day. "What is it Guin?"

"I'm trying to fix the bug in P.H.I.L.'s personality matrix - it's corrupted or something, and every time I debug him, it seems to reform..." Guin bit her lip slightly. "I'm trying to get him to n-not wish death on Pietro..." She gripped the table her monitor was on, her knuckles turning white.

"...I see..." he said, thinking for a moment. Guin nodded, looking at her dad. "I-if I can't fix it, then I'll have to trash P.H.I.L. and make a new A.I. from scratch." "Oh..." "...Dad, what is it? You're quiet which means you're keeping something from me, so spit it out," Guin said. Her hands were still shaking slightly. "Do you know why P.H.I.L. keeps getting corrupted?"

"..I might have been involved in that just a little bit."

"WHAT THE HELL, DAD?!" Guin screamed. Every time P.H.I.L. threatened Pietro, she had gotten a brief flashback to Muscles' death. She also hated the way it felt - that something she created and tried to fix kept on threatening someone she loved dearly. It made her feel like an idiot.

"It was added to his program when you started dating Pietro, been meaning to get rid of it..." Guin was just glaring at her father. "I've been debugging his personality matrix since the Serbian incident - and it just wouldn't fix...Honestly, Dad, I thought you were past this shit," she muttered, clearly angry and hurt. "You can have your dumb A.I. back, I'll make my own so you can't try to meddle with my life."

"Guin... I can easily override PHILs coding, I know how to fix it..." "How can I trust you not to fuck with my life, Dad?!" "Because I don't hate Pietro anymore okay!" "You broke my trust!" Guin snapped. She picked up her watch with P.H.I.L. on it. "Honestly, I should probably just smash this. I bet you have a tracker on me or something too?!"

"No I don't Guin! Honestly what's wrong? Just talk to me okay? Something is bugging you and I'm pretty sure it isn't PHIL."

Guin shook her head, setting down the watch with a bit of a huff. She didn't want to talk about her feelings. She was angry at her father for doing this and she had thought that he was done doing this type of thing. She was almost twenty one years old, after all. "I'm fine, Dad. Just angry that you did this."

"I get that you are mad at me, but are you feeling okay or what?" She hesitated slightly. "...Just more nightmares," she mumbled. Her stomach growled again. "Nothing I can't handle though..."

"...Guin, when was the last time you ate something?" "...Last night at dinner," Guin answered, avoiding eye contact. "...Guin, go eat something." "I'm not hungry...I have some food in here for later if I decide I want to eat, Dad, don't worry." "...Why shouldn't I worry? I'm always worried about you Guin."

"I'm not going to start doing drugs or anything stupid again..." Guin muttered. "Besides, Pietro isn't here today so I can get some work done in the lab. Eating would only slow down my process."

"You need to eat something Guin, right now!" "I told you, I'm not hungry!" "You need to Guin." "I'll get something later, Dad. Look, I'm going to hang up now. Send the patch to P.H.I.L. if you want to..." She then sighed slightly, running her hands through her hair.

"Guin, eat something now, I mean it." She ignored him and ended the call, glancing around the electronics lab for a moment as she just breathed. The urge to contact Pietro and vent to him about her father was strong, but she was attempting to resist it. She could handle a problem without him. She was Guin freaking Stark, after all! She didn't need Pietro worrying and fussing over her and fixing everything in her life that went wrong.

Dean Kesseli

Location: Parlor Room - Ground Floor


Dean had had a busy summer. He went home for about a month, visiting his adoptive parents and his adorable little sister, Carrie. While his parents jokingly called him the free babysitter, he had a lot of fun with his sister and her friends, chaperoning them as they went to the park and the mall and watched way too much Frozen. He practically had all of the songs memorized by the time he returned to Xavier's Institute.

Of course, seeing Carolina and Allison again had been incredibly confusing. He knew that he felt a little something for each of them - but he didn't want to be that guy and end up dating one girl while having feelings for another. They each were amazing people and they deserved better than that. It did help that he had the musical to focus on. Xavier had rented out a little community theater in Westchester for their performances and tech week, but for now they were practicing in the school's gymnasium. Pietro and Allison were playing the lead roles, which was interesting to say the least.

"I'm going to watch TV, if that's okay?" Dean asked Mary, since she was also in the parlor room, as he went up and looked around for the remote. They didn't have rehearsals that day for the musical - his lead had begged for the day off and Dean had shrugged, not pushing too much as to why Pietro didn't want there to be a practice. Everyone could use a day to have fun anyways.

Neil Spellman

Location: Library - Ground Floor


Neil looked at his friends sitting around the table, a slight smirk on his face. They had been playing D&D for a few hours now and a mostly eaten pizza was sitting in a cardboard box on the table next to them. Luckily, none of the teachers had come into the library and discovered them eating - otherwise they all would've had to serve detention - which was probably something awful like having to brush Xavier's teeth for him.

Glancing down at his notes, the Dungeon Master rolled a 20 sider. The result was a four and he chuckled slightly - an ambush. "Mira, during your turn on watch you hear what sounds like wild animals coming near your temporary camp - what do you do?" he asked, looking at the girl playing the bard. He was normally very quiet and withdrawn, but when it came to Dungeons and Dragons he was able to come out of his shell.

He looked at the others sitting around the table - Carolina was another member of his D&D group, and she was someone he considered to be a friend. She was one of the few he allowed to glimpse his drawings.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by KazAlkemi
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Antoinette McCarthy


Location: Gymnasium -- First Sub-basement




Antoinette sat on a floor cushion in front of a wide arrange of set pieces. One paint brush sat between her teeth, while the other was flicking back and forth along a screen that would be used as a background for one of the indoor scenes to Beauty and The Beast. Paint covered her hands, her pants and even a few places on her face from where she absentmindedly brushed her hair back or a particularly annoying itch on her nose. In the background, a flute trilling could be heard through the speakers that filled the gym. Antoinette had the music on repeat since she started first thing this morning.
When Dean first approached her to do set design for his play, Antoinette was overcome with shock and joy. She had a rocky start coming to a place that was so well versed in each other and well made friendships but luckily, Antoinette was able to make a few good friends, including her roommate Carolina.
Her nose twitched back and forth while she added more blue to the darkened bedroom scene of the Beast. The bed of course would be part of the true set but this showed more of the castle beyond the window. The scene of rain and chaos would be used when Belle, or Allison would enter the bedroom for her first time and when the Beast, Pietro, would enter and destroy the room near the end of the play. She had just started this scene for earlier this day she had just finished the village scene, which was currently drying completely on the far left wall. She had taken some artistic creativity in her village scene and added a few well known French birds. Books laid out behind her, open to various pictures of birds that she had used in order to get every detail that she could. Even the paintings and drawings Antoinette had in her room, no matter what they were, they always contained at least one bird.
Absentmindedly, Antoinette started to hum along to the songs as they continued to play on repeat. She hardly noticed her stomach grumbling as she worked, having completely forgotten about needing to eat supper. Other than her big breakfast, she had merely had a simple ham sandwich at lunch.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by LadyRunic
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LadyRunic The Laughing Raven

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Richard Laine


Electronics Lab - First Sub-basement Cells





Richard strode down the steps of the stairs, expertly balancing a plate of apple slices and peanut butter. Perhaps it wasn't really a meal, but a snack could be accepted where a meal would not. Having promised Tony he'd keep an eye on the Stark's resident brat, he was fulfilling it the Adder lied to himself. Though in truth, Richard was worried Guin was over doing things. Not that he would admit it, but he cared for the girl almost as much as Ayita. A thought that made his lips twitch in amusement as he remembered Ayita's outrage when she had admitted her romance with Damon only to have him reveal that he really didn't care as he found Damon worthy of his young sister.

All in all, Richard was getting very good at outrunning women and pissing them off in general. Rapping his knuckles loudly on the door to the electronic's lab, he set the plate on the floor outside. A little note attached reading 'Mind eating these so they don't go to waste? Ayita hates my cooking, and this isn't even cooking!'. It wasn't exactly a lie, Ayita disliked Richard's cooking due to the man's prevalent use of spice. It was more a circle about the truth. Ayita didn't like fruit that was tampered with generally, and skinning and slicing an apple was considered 'tampering'. Turning about he moved to the stairs intent on finding a good book or perhaps dragging some hapless youngster into mischief.

Ayita Dyrkin


Palor - First Floor Cells





Boots clacked through the palor room as Ayita strode to the nearest window. Casting the window open, she sighed and breathed in the crisp fall air. Fall was by far her favorite season now that she was living amongst humans, and had a mate preparing a suitable den- home- in the North. She hadn't changed all that much over the months, except by being more often seen in her human form. The shifter still hunted from time to time, and used those kills. To let them go to waste was a sin in the eyes of the Alaskan native. If you killed something you used it. The only exception was humans. Bits of feather and beads made of wood, bone and various stones were woven into the dark locks. Underlining the fact she was different from most.

Leaning against the window frame, Ayita bit into the apple slice she had snagged from the kitchen. While she preferred a whole apple, Richard had chased her off with the threat of going North himself. Her gaze looking over Dean with a flicker of irritation and annoyance. Not to mention there was a warning in that look, that if he made Allison cry Ayita would be the one he answered to. The only way that wouldn't happen would be if Allison requested it otherwise. There was Marygold as well, someone Ayita was not to sure of any more. Though it had been a few months, and Damon lived.

She had gone North after telling Richard of the engagement, making sure Damon was settled right and not about to cause a mass migration of some beast or other. It had been a good time. Not overly long, but decently fruitful. Rubbing the gold band on her finger with her thumb she considered flying off into the night. Hunting some small rodent as a owl or cat. Yet it didn't appeal right now to what she truly desired. That crash of waves that had echoed in her blood, the echoing cries of the pod of orca that had come near the shore during her visit. Ayita had wanted nothing more than to dive into the waves and join them. Damon's presence had held her from that form, though she had often gone to the shore to test and resist the call of the waves.

Rolling her shoulder she scooped the remote from where it had been wedged into a cushion of nearby chair. Flicking a few buttons Ayita flipped on the natural geographic channel, before tossing it gently, lest she break something, at Dean. Though if it broke his head she doubted that would damage anything, Ayita though cynically. Casting her amber eyes over Marygold, she considered the woman Richard dubbed as Poison Ivy. Though when he said it, he was far from joking. Leaning back she considered Dean's situation and if the 'puppy' would have enough spine to change the channel as she studied the creatures with a skeptical eye.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by FantasyChic
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Allison Andrews

Location: Allison and Ayita's Bedroom - Second Floor




Allison was laying on her bed reading through the script. This was, of course, for the third time in a row. She had never been in a school play before and she didn't expect to ever be in one when she joined the X-Men. It wasn't like she was in a normal school anymore. Quite the contrary, it was probably the most unusual school in existence. Still, they had a prom so why not a musical?

When she auditioned, she truly didn't expect to get the lead role. She also didn't expect to lead aside Pietro. And in a romantic sense, no less. She wondered if Guin would be content with that? She didn't see Pietro as nothing more than a friend, but she knew from experience (as well as trashy TV) that this type of scenario often led to drama.

But she would put her heart and soul into this play. If, for no other reason, than to show the others she was better than she had been during OMEN's reign. She felt better about herself and about her relationship with the rest.



Sara Grey

Location: Library - Ground Floor




Sara was not a joiner. She didn't want to come to this school because she wanted to take part in proms or school plays, but she found herself involved in both of those. Granted, prom wasn't terrible. But a school play? Who would they perform it for? Still, it was a way for her to use her musical talents so she wasn't all that upset.

What really made her time there was taking part in the DnD game that Neil, one of the new students, set up. Neil was a quiet type, but the fact he was new and still found time to introduce a DnD campaign and get people to show up was impressive. So Sara jumped at the chance. Creating the character was no problem. She wanted to be a badass dual-wielder assassin type. No questions asked. And her name was Flavia LaFelle. She kicked ass and asked questions never and Sara loved her very much.

She drummed her fingers on the table, waiting for her chance at action. She knew that with DnD campaigns, it was important for everyone to be involved, but it was also boring to have to wait when she wanted to kill everything and rob everyone, but that would destroy the game. So she bided her time and waited for her opportunity.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Nallore
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Carolina Reed


Location: Library - Ground Floor
Skills: N/A





Carolina sat at the table with Neil, Mira and Sara she didn't really expect to join in on the DnD group, but in the end she did really enjoy it. And being friends with Neil it would make things a lot more fun as well, she had her plate of pizza next to her and a can of soda she snagged from someone else earlier in the day. She had her phone next to her as well, occasionally checking the phone it had been awhile since she had seen her sister. She was off doing some classified SHIELD stuff now, she was still worried about her as well, wanting to give her a call when she could. And the whole thing with Mary and her sister didn't sound all that good either Carolina wasn't sure why Cass would never be allowed at the mansion anymore.

Looking over at Mira waiting for her to make her turn in the game as well, Carolina ended up making a magic user character, as she studied everyone's faces a little bit. Carolina was also pretty excited for the play that Dean was doing, though she didn't get a lead role she wanted Allison ended up getting it. Carolina took another bite out of her pizza as she started to eat at the crust now as well, she watched some students were reading some books.




Bethany Bell
[


Location: Chemical Lab - First Sub-Basement
Skills: N/A





Bethany had spent most of the day in the library doing a little bit of reading of her own, but she ended up getting bored of doing that and she didn't want to watch a bunch of nerds play DnD either. Although she was surprised that Sara had joined in on it, not that she minded at all her friend and roommate looked like she was having fun doing it. Bethany started to head down towards the sub-basement where Lance was most likely at, one of the few people she tolerated in the mansion. As she made her way over Bethany opened the door to the chemical lab seeing Lance working there.

Beth walked over and then pulled herself up on one of the empty counters while looking over at Lance. "So what are you working on in here?" Bethany asked, she wasn't much for one to work in all of the sciencey stuff but she was genuinely curious as to what was going on down here. "I'm also surprised that you aren't hanging out with Guin with Pietro not around today as well."
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by BlueSky44
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Marygold Isley


Location: Parlor - First Floor




Mary glanced up when she heard Dean walk in, asking about the TV. It made some sense, the guy was probably really bored knowing him. Nodding her head, "Sure, it's fine with me..." she said, before turning back to her book, another thought occurred to her, but she wasn't too sure how to word it in the best way all things considering.

"Just make sure it isn't on the news or something... We get stuff like that way too often on the TV... Not to mention pretty sure Hank if he walks in or something would want to hear or see his ex's voice," Mary said, smirking slightly at that thought. It was always interesting to think about Hank's relationship with Trish Tilby the news reporter. She also had heard through the grapevine a few years back what happened during their last meeting.



Lance Banner


Location: Chemical Lab - First Sub-Basement




Lance glanced up, hearing Beth's voice. "Nothing too special... Just some random reaction... I got bored... As for Guin, well... Pretty sure she's messing with a project of her own... So I wasn't too sure whether or not to bother her..." he said, before he heard his phone go off in his pocket.

Setting what he had in his hands down, he pulled out his phone, glancing at the caller id. It was definitely not someone he had expected to be calling him considering their relationship at the moment. He contemplated not answering, but then again, Bethany was currently in the room and she likely would ask him why he didn't answer. With a bit of a sigh, he pushed a button and put the phone up to his ear, "Hello?"

"Hey buddy...How are you?" Dr. Robert Bruce Banner asked, sounding a little nervous.

"...I'm okay why are you calling?"

"I uh...I have a confession to make...If that's okay with you..."

That got his attention. Their relationship was not the best, at all, so why would his dad be wanting to talk about something like that with him? Unless... Well, usually it was only if whatever it was involved him or would effect him in someway. "...What is it?"

"Buddy, I'm...I...I uh...I met someone."

"Uh..." he responded, not even sure what to say in response to something like that.

There was a muffled conversation on the other end of the line and then a pause. "I'm dating your Aunt Nat..."

Okay, that definitely got his attention to the point where he nearly dropped the phone, a little bit of a thud sound that his father would have been able to hear, "...First of all, I don't call her that, Guin does... Secondly what the hell????"

"Buddy, we're both adults...A-are you upset?" Banner asked, sounding confused. He hadn't expected his son to curse - not yet at least.

Lance didn't respond, his brain was not wanting to accept that as something that was true. It was just so weird and messed up! Not to mention he knew for a fact that Black Widow was around 15 years younger than his dad, which did not help things!

"Lance, talk to me...please..."

"...That's a little weird..." he mumbled into the phone finally.

"I know, buddy...I didn't expect it myself either...It's...It's the first time I've felt a bit of happiness in a while..."

"Fine, whatever fantastic, why'd you feel the need to tell me this?"

"...Because you're my family."

"Whatever..." he said again. This was definitely not the sort of conversation he imagined having today, not at all, and this was really really weird in his mind, no matter how much someone tried to justify it.

"I love you, buddy...Do you think you'll come home for your birthday?"

"I don't know!" he snapped, getting a little bit pissed off at this entire conversation.

"...I'm sorry..."

"Whatever, doesn't matter," Lance said, before he hung up the phone, and slammed his fist on the table, a few of the test tubes shattered, their contents spilling onto the table, but he wasn't really caring. This was just too messed up and strange for his mind to really process, not to mention he had completely forgotten the fact that Bethany was in the room.



Mirembe Adebayo


Location: Library - First Floor




Mira still wasn't too sure about being in a D&D group, but it was still enjoyable. She didn't know what to think of the others who were in the group with her. This was not the group of people she had expected to want to be in the D&D party, but hey, she wasn't really complaining. The reason that she had joined was to try and get to know others at the mansion, considering how things were for her in the long run. She didn't have too many friends.

She thought about what it was that she'd likely do in that situation, and she looked at Neil. "I suppose what I can do is..." she said, thinking still, "I'm going to go wake everyone up..."
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Morose
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Morose ✨Krakoan Princess✨

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Guin Stark

Location: Electronics Laboratory -> Chemical Laboratory - First Sub-Basement


Guin heard the knock at the door and she half expected her father to be on the other side, somehow instantly traveling from New York City to Westchester in order to scold her for not eating. She waited a few seconds before she opened the door slightly and noticed the plate along with Richard's note. She wrinkled her nose. "Like hell this is just a coincidence," she muttered, perhaps a bit paranoid. She grabbed the plate and shut the door, pulling out her phone again. With the apple slices and the peanut butter, she rearranged them on the plate and snapped a picture of it to Richard, before setting the plate outside of the lab again.

In the photograph she sent him, the apple slices and peanut butter were arranged to spell 'FUCK OFF'. Guin couldn't help but smirk slightly. She generally used her meager art skills for sketching schematics, but this little project had been fun too. She then heard a crash in the chemical lab - the labs were all actually pretty much connected, with flimsy dividers separating the spaces.

Heading on over, Guin found Bethany and Lance there - and Lance had just smashed whatever he was working on. "You forgot to say HULK SMASH! if you were trying to mock Banner," Guin pointed out to him. "Pissed at your dad too? Oh, and hey BB gun," she said, giving a slight wave to Bethany.

Dean Kesseli

Location: Parlor Room - Ground Floor


Dean gulped slightly as Ayita came into the room. He had to wonder if she could smell fear - was that a mutation? Probably. There were people here at the Institute with even crazier things that they could do, so it made sense. He hastily stole a glance over at Ayita, flinching a bit as the remote was thrown. Was it a warning shot? Did she want to behead him? Mary didn't seem to be unnerved at all, making Dean wonder if she was brave or crazy. Or both. "He dated a reporter?" Dean asked.

It was easier to focus on that, instead of the in depth images of animals in the wild. When they showed acts of violence, did it give Ayita ideas? Was she sitting there, taking notes on how to best be terrifying? He felt like he was sweating his skin off from nervousness. He wanted to run from the room but he had heard once that running from a wild animal would only encourage it to chase you. And he did not want Ayita to chase him. Maybe he could hide behind Wolverine? Where was Logan anyways? Was he going to grab them and drag them into the Danger Room for training today? He hoped not.

"Um...Ayita...I-I was thinking maybe we could watch something else...Like Big Bang Theory maybe...If that's okay...with you..."

Neil Spellman

Location: Library - Ground Floor


Neil nodded, picking up a twenty sider and he rolled it. The number 18 came up and he smiled slightly - while some Dungeon Masters loved it when everything went wrong for their players, Neil wanted them to rise to the challenge and succeed. Fortunately, the creatures hadn't come up to the players camp yet according to the die. "Alright, everyone is awake," Neil said. He then rolled another twenty sider - a 2 this time. "The noises grow louder and louder, when suddenly, a pack of dire wolves burst through the trees! Roll for initiative."

He smiled slightly, nervously taking a glance at Sara Grey. He rarely spoke to her outside of D&D, but just looking at her made his chest feel tight and his stomach feel like it was filled with a mob of angry wasps - or butterflies. His brain got a little bit more muddled when she was around and he looked away, trying not to get too distracted. He was controlling the mechanics for the world of these players - he didn't have the time to get goo-goo eyed over Sara Grey.

Neil then reached into a nearby bag of Hershey Kisses and put a bunch of them down on the battle map. He liked using candy for the monsters, as then the player that killed the beast would get to eat the candy as their reward.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by KazAlkemi
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Antoinette McCarthy


Location: Gymnasium ---> Electronics Lab ---> Chemical Lab -- First Sub-basement




The grumbling within Antoinette’s stomach could no longer be ignored. Besides that, she finished another set piece. She was well ahead of schedule and deserved this break. Plus some ice cream. She stretched out, laying on the ground a moment, her legs crossed as she stretched back and listened to the last few minutes of the Beauty and The Beast soundtrack.
Antoinette stood and started to clean up her mess. She tended to, spread out when she was working this intently. It took her some time to completely clean up; not including her face but once she was done she headed into the hallway. Even though she had been here for a couple of months now, this place was still a maze to her and Antoinette tended to get turned around quite easily. She had been late to almost every class when there was one. Today was no different, probably distracted from the lack of food which led Antoinette to walking into the laboratories rather than finding the stairs. She heard some talking and ventured in further.
While she wandered into the electronics lab she found a plate of apples. Her stomach grumbled loudly in response. Antoinette walked over to the plate and paused a moment. Now, why would apple slices be so mean?
She hunched over and rearranged them to make another set of words and smiled at the preferred change. She picked the plate up and continued on her journey into the chem lab where the voices were coming from. She walked up beside Guin and smiled over at her. The tension in the room was palpable but Antoinette tried her best to let it roll off her shoulders.
”Hey Guin, are these your apple slices? They are rather talkative things, look,” she said and offered the plate of changed apple letters to her. They now read "Smile On" Antoinette’s stomach grumbled in protest as she offered the plate back to Guin. She looked over at Lance and Bethany and smiled brightly at them both.
”Hi Bethany, Lance. Careful, there’s shattered glass by your hands,” she said plainly. Antoinette looked back at Guin to await her response.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by LadyRunic
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Richard Laine


Kitchent Cells





Richard was partly up the stairs, seeing no reason to rush when his phone buzzed. Continuing into the kitchen he began to clean up the slight mess he had made with one hand while the other flicked the message open to a artful phrasing with apple slices and peanut butter. "Children... Never know not to play with their food." Then again, who was he to talk? He liked to play with some types of food. Those tasty morsels who usually squealed back. Pausing against the sink with the remnants of his own meal, the Adder noted that he really ought to get out of the manor and stay a night at a lady friend's house.

Flicking his fingers over the screen, he chuckled to himself at the message forming. "While I am honored by the offer. You're not my type Guin." He half expected Pietro to slug him or Tony to use him as target practice for it, but Richard shrugged it off. Sometimes the best way to deal with a snarly Guin was to agitate her. Give a woman a target and they usually were more than happy to let steam off on it. "And don't tell me you don't like apple slices either? Is it one of those female things that my extensive education forgot to inform me of?" Sliding the phone into his back pocket Richard twisted about to scrub at the dishes, wondering if he'd get a text back or be dodging a speedster or/and a angry brat.

Ayita Dyrkin


Palor - First Floor Cells





Tilting her dark head, the woman considered the image of a lion running after a gazelle. Her hand uncurling as if she had claws instead of fingers. Mentally she was chuckling with slight amusement at Dean's trembling tone. It was wrong of her of course, but the poor boy was fun to bat at. Like a cat with a very terrified bunny. Mind you, the cat had no interest in this rabbit. He just made funny noises. "They make it sound so novel worthy, don't they?" She looked over at Dean with a smirk her brother wore when someone walked across his line of 'manners appropriate'. "Did you know in actuality a lion would be on that gazelle in a handful of seconds? It's not so slow and picked apart. It's practiced motions, like playing soccer. Except for the ball is usually something's head." The shifter shrugged, pacing towards Dean with a sway to her entire damn body that was far too much like the predators on screen.

Smiling in what could most certainly not be called an 'innocent grin', Ayita draped an arm over Dean's shoulder. Her nails tapping a little rhythm as she dragged them up the boy's arm and to his shoulder. "You see the head had the eyes. Their quite tasty, though the tongue also is full of nutrients." She whispered lowly near Dean's ear as she moved about to partially circle him. Her tawny eyes dropping lower as she stated with her soft voice. "But I must say... The best part is usually the rear or the liver." Pausing the the window she flicked her hand absently at the most likely terrified mutant. "But, yes, you can change the channel. I find this rather pathetic in it's description." Perhaps she had gone a bit overboard, Ayita mused. "What is this 'Big Bang Theory'? I assume it is scientific?"
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by Nallore
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Carolina Reed


Location: Library - Ground Floor
Skills: N/A





Carolina looked up at Neil as he rolled the twenty sided dice for the next roll after Mira made her move, she did notice the way that Neil looked at Sara. She gave a slight smirk to herself, before looking down at the set of candy that Neil had set up for everyone and started to think for her character's next move. "I'm going to have my character use her fire magic on the closest dire wolf." Carolina announced as she leaned back and grabbed herself yet another slice of pizza and picked off the pepperoni itself and took a few bites out of it, and then ate the pepperoni slice after.

She then took another sip of her soda as she started to run a hand through her hair a little bit, wondering how Dean was and started to wonder when he was coming back. She heard that he may have came in already but she hadn't seen him yet since their DnD session started as she waited for Sara to make her next move to see what Neil would do next.




Bethany Bell
[


Location: Chemical Lab - First Sub-Basement
Skills: N/A





Bethany sat there as she started to dangle her legs as her heels lightly banged against the sides of the counter. "Sounds like it's interesting." Bethany said softly although she didn't really know a thing about chemistry she knew that Lance really liked it as far as she knew anyway. And then Bethany heard Lance's phone going off which by the tone of his voice it was certainly his father it really wasn't her place to say as she listened in. It was certainly really awkward to listen in on as she heard Lance argue over the phone, and then Lance hung up on the phone. She jumped slightly when Lance slammed his hand down smashing and breaking what he had been working on.

Bethany turned her attention when she heard the door opening and spotted that it was Guin, giving her a slight nod and then let out a groan. "Really I hate that nickname, but hello." Bethany said as she rubbed the back of her neck, then a few seconds later the girl Antoinette came into the room. Beth would give the quirky girl a nod as she stared at the plate seeing the apple slices and peanut butter that was written into words.
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Hidden 5 yrs ago Post by FantasyChic
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Allison Andrews

Location: Allison and Ayita's Bedroom -> Second Floor Hallway - Second Floor




Allison finished going over her lines and set the script off to the side. She rubbed her tired eyes and stood up, eager to get out of her room. But where to go? She decided to find Ayita or Pietro, whichever one she saw first. Pietro because she wanted his input on the whole kiss thing. Did he talk to Guin about it already? She hoped so, it was awkward enough she had to kiss the boyfriend and future husband of one of her friends, even in a school play.

She exited her room and shut the door behind her and made her way to the staircase. As she did, her mind raced to recent events and to how everyone was now. After OMEN disbanded, she thought a lot about Alcie and her future. Jade seemed proud of her even though she hadn't done much other than warn a potential outcome, but still. It made her feel warm knowing she made a difference. Even a little bit.



Sara Grey

Location: Library - Ground Floor




Sara took out her 20-sided dice and gave it a roll, seeing the number 4 come up. Even with a bonus, she was probably going last. That suited her just fine. After all, her character was a hide-and-then-come-kill-you type anyway. So she waited for the others to get their turn in first, prepared to take action once the time came.

"Gonna hide first as a bonus action. Prepare to strike with a backstab if someone wants to lure them in with their meat bodies." She knew that characters that were loner types did not suit DnD parties well, so she didn't want to make it seem like hers was, but her character was much like herself. Going along with the party because what else could she do? It could be fun!
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