[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/FKJKRczH/the-gifted-591b350cc9ba7.png[/img][hr][img]https://i.postimg.cc/Dzzr3Ykt/tumblr-oz5zfjyv-Wa1uwl6nzo1-540.gif[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][@Nallore][@FantasyChic][@BlueSky44][@Achronum][@Trainerblue192][@KazAlkemi][/center][hr][center][h3][color=f7941d][b]Washington D.C.: September 8th, 2020 - 2:20 PM[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr][hr][b][i]Frost International HQ - Downtown Washington D.C.:[/i][/b]

	Emma was beginning to regret allowing Jinx into her facility. He had a talent for giving her a headache and she sighed slightly as the childish mutant came out of the theater, using the sexual lingo of the day and going on about some metal shards. [color=E0F6FD]"Hardly surprising,"[/color] she said simply. She took the shard once Requiem offered it to her and she turned it over in her hand. [color=E0F6FD]"This belongs to the White King,"[/color] she explained. She didn't refer to Magneto by name, but everyone in the room would know she was speaking about the master of magnetism. 

	She gave Requiem her full attention as he attempted to be diplomatic, but his words neither won her favor or ensured her fury. The boiling anger underneath her calm and collected complexion was not directed at the two in front of her. They were systemic of a greater issue, a betrayal that she would need to sort out. [color=E0F6FD]"Oh, sweetheart, that's kind of you to offer - if you learn anything, do send it my way. I'll do the same."[/color] Emma gave Requiem a slight smile, as well as Jinx, and seemed to be perfectly honest with her promise to help them. 

[b][i]The Scrap Yard - Washington D.C. Mutant Underground:[/i][/b]

	Havok and Sapphire were outside in an area referred to as the scrap yard. Broken down cars and other scraps of metal were scattered across the yellowing grass. There was a bees nest a few feet away from them, but with it pouring down rain, the honeybees wouldn't be an issue. The combination of the rain with the intense humidity makes it feel like they're walking through water, as if the Mutant Underground had relocated to the lost city of Atlantis. 

	As Spark Plug and Glimpse exit the Mutant Underground, they'll be able to see Havok and Sapphire about fifteen feet to their right. To their left, there is a chain link fence with danger signs on it, claiming that the area is filled with hazardous waste and shouldn't be entered - just one of the ways the Mutant Underground attempts to keep people from stumbling upon them. As for the bike, Spark Plug will instantly think of the garage area in the building - they keep their cars and store other things there. A motorcycle would easily be kept safe there.

	[color=FAFD95]"Let's go inside, I feel like I'm taking a bath in my clothes,"[/color] Havok complained, though he spotted Spark Plug and gave her a slight smile. Sure, she had been mean to Sapphire but Spark Plug had nearly died the day before and she was his friend. He was happy that she was okay and able to get up and walk around. However, he wasn't too thrilled to see her with Glimpse - he didn't trust the mutant at all.[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=935DB8]Veil[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://i.postimg.cc/HsdF0xx3/giphy.gif[/img][hr][hr][b][color=935DB8]Location:[/color][/b] Main Area - Washington D.C. Mutant Underground 
[b][color=935DB8]Skills:[/color][/b] Perception[hr][/center]	The portal opened and a well dressed - if not slightly overdressed - man came on through. Veil arched an eyebrow, wondering just who the Morlocks had sent their way. She got a bit hopeful that perhaps Erg had finally decided to come back into the fold, but it was unlikely. He had made a clean break with the Mutant Underground - this little bit of contact did not prelude a comeback. However, when the kid opened his mouth, Veil tried her very best to keep an even expression and not choke. [i]A gay disaster?[/i] And of course, his introduction involved details of his powers - an odd trend started by the Ice Queen. 	

	[color=B0B4B0]"Is pleasure to meet you, Tome,"[/color] Colossus greeted, giving Max a firm handshake. His hand would be a little sore after Colossus released his grip. 

	[color=935DB8]"I'd stick the bike in the garage, we have a few cars stashed away there for our runs,"[/color] Veil told Glimpse. That at least was an easy question and didn't require her to consider the mission of the Mutant Underground, as well as the safety of their little dysfunctional family. She knew that Mutant Underground cells had been exposed and destroyed before, making the threat to them all the more real and apparent. These people trusted her to lead them, to keep them safe, and she wanted to do the best she could to be worthy of that trust. 	

	Feeling a bit frazzled and desperately in the need of some caffeine and perhaps a vacation, Veil then gave Moonwalker a slight smile. It would have been easy to snap at him, but she knew that he was just genuinely trying to help. Part of being a leader was delegating, but also mentoring and nurturing. [color=935DB8]"I could use you to make some calls. See if Xavier's Institute or Massachusetts Academy can take in the kids. If they can't, then we'll smuggle them up to some of our contacts in Canada. They'll be able to help them find good homes."[/color]

	She had barely finished her sentence before the portal opened up again. Another man came on through - this one definitely more rugged and [i]real[/i] than the last one had. With the kids and the other newcomers, they definitely were nearing the capacity of this station. They'd need to do a transportation trip in the next few days or the supplies would run out. [color=935DB8]"Whatever name you feel most comfortable with,"[/color] she told James, extending her hand. She was pretty battered up and looked like she had been given the beating of her lifetime recently (which she had). [color=935DB8]"My name is Veil. Welcome to the Underground."[/color]

	Lastly, she was taken aback to hear that Sapphire had discretely manipulated the air around the Ice Queen to try to freeze the girl. She didn't believe that Sapphire would intentionally hurt someone like that, but she could tell that Leighton was telling the truth about the temperature drop. There was also a misconception in her words. [color=935DB8]"We aren't a school,"[/color] she told Leighton bluntly. [color=935DB8]"I will deal with Sapphire - I'm the leader, so that's on me. But everyone here is a volunteer aimed at getting mutants to safety. We don't normally take in - how'd you put it? - trainees. Our M.O. is smuggling mutants across the border to Canada or giving them temporary shelter and protection."[/color]

	Veil didn't want to give the Ice Queen the impression that she was entitled to being taught how to control her powers. The mission of the Mutant Underground may have just been expanded to stop Shaw and the Hound program, but it didn't include training mutants to deal with their powers. If anyone trained Leighton, it would be out of the kindness of their hearts and not any sense of duty. She was lucky that Colossus was a softy on the inside.

	[color=B0B4B0]"Come, let us find place to sleep,"[/color] Colossus said, before taking with him those on the tour up the staircase and over to a corner. He grabbed a few old and frayed sleeping bags and placed the three items down on the ground. He then fetched a few pillows, most of them hardly fluffy at all, and added them to the mix. By Mutant Underground standards, the new trio didn't have the best sleeping arrangements but it was by no means the worst ones. [hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=DBA1DE]Spirit Box[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://i.postimg.cc/NfkvVv6R/original.gif[/img][hr][hr][b][color=DBA1DE]Location:[/color][/b] the Morlock Tunnels 
[b][color=DBA1DE]Skills:[/color][/b] Mediumship[hr][/center]	Casper shook his head slightly. [color=DBA1DE]"No, not just anyone would,"[/color] he said, a bit smitten with Caduceus. Ben was looking like he was about to barf with Casper acting a little bit like a lovesick puppy, though he was too pleased that Tome had left and couldn't compete for Jack's affections to really be upset at the moment. Ben hadn't perceived Leighton to be too big of a threat, despite her obvious crush on the elongating mutant. [color=DBA1DE]"If you never find that phone, you can find Jackie's place in the Yellow Pages - you can't miss it, someone wrote [i]Private Dick[/i] on his front door and he hasn't cleaned it yet."[/color]

	[i]"Wow, your crush really is going for the entire Knight thing,"[/i] Ben commented, after James kissed Casper's hand and then left through the portal.

	Casper sighed a bit sadly. [color=DBA1DE]"Yeah, it just sucks that he's going to inevitably end up being one of Dad's pawns..."[/color] he lamented to his friend. Casper's father was one of the founders of the Mutant Underground. It was hard to escape his shadow, one of the reasons he was thankful that most people mistook his first surname as just a middle name - otherwise, [i]everyone[/i] would know he was the son of the most powerful telepath on the planet. And in Casper's opinion, his father was also the world's most talented sociopath.

	[i]"You could've warned him,"[/i] Ben pointed out.

	[color=DBA1DE]"And say what? [i]Hey, you're cute and your eyes pop when you're excited, but FYI, my father is Professor X and he's a cunt, so maybe don't join his back up X-Men?[/i]"[/color] Casper asked, kicking at the ground slightly.

	[i]"Maybe don't say it exactly like that - but you could've told him that your father runs that organization and has a habit of using people until they either go insane or die..."[/i]

	He shook his head slightly. [color=DBA1DE]"Do you really think he'd still want to get coffee if he knew that?"[/color] he laughed a bit, mostly in self pity. [color=DBA1DE]"I wouldn't want to get coffee with me, if I were him."[/color]