[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/FKJKRczH/the-gifted-591b350cc9ba7.png[/img][hr][img]https://i.postimg.cc/0530KBvy/source.gif[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][@Nallore][@FantasyChic][@BlueSky44][@Achronum][@Trainerblue192][@KazAlkemi][@Framing A Moose][/center][hr][center][h3][color=f7941d][b]Washington D.C.: September 9th, 2020 - 9:10 PM[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/WpKJC0mt/image.png[/img][/center][hr][color=f7941d][b][i]The Penthouse...[/i][/b][/color]

	The train heist won't be happening until the next day, so it's more or less up to the trio to decide what they want to do that evening. Since they are members of the Hellfire Club, there is a limo they can take to travel in style to whatever destination they choose. No one else will try to get into the elevator (the staff are busy cleaning up the mess) and they won't run into anyone interesting on their way out. It's dark outside though, which means that the air is thankfully a lot cooler - Washington D.C.'s heat can be brutal in September. [hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/5yqyXQGW/image.png[/img][/center][hr][color=f7941d][b][i]Outside...[/i][/b][/color]

	Veil was naturally more durable than the average person, but she had been shot in the chest not too long ago. No matter what she said about being fine to walk on her own, it wasn't really the case. It didn't help that she had been injured pretty badly not too long ago and then spent a night being abused by the local police in prison. She stumbled slightly, one hand pressed firmly up against her chest, as Sapphire screamed at Glimpse over not alerting them that Emma Frost would be present. [color=935DB8]"Hey, hey,"[/color] Veil said weakly, trying to get Sapphire to snap out of it quickly. She knew her best friend - a light touch worked better than a scolding one. [color=935DB8]"That's enough - [i]both of you[/i],"[/color] she emphasized. She doubted Glimpse and Sapphire would ever be friends, but hopefully they'd eventually get to a point where they could coexist. 

	But while there were huge tensions between the two women, Veil was disappointed in Max most out of all of them. Some of her feeling was colored by the horror that he had committed - and she could already feel the change against mutants in the wind because of it. They weren't some high profile team like the X-Men, people who were adored despite their mutant status... No, they were the mutants that existed outside of the law, running a group all about smuggling people illegally out of the country. [color=935DB8]"Max!"[/color] Veil snapped, trying to get his attention. [color=935DB8]"We do [i]not[/i] talk to each other that way - I expect better from you. You should know better than anyone that we all make mistakes in battle."[/color]

	Havok hadn't really reacted much to Sapphire's apology, mostly giving her a shrug that communicated [i]it's cool.[/i] However, hearing Max yell at one of his long time friends and call her a [i]bitch[/i] in anger, rather than joking camaraderie? That crossed a line with him. [color=FAFD95]"Don't you fucking [i]ever[/i] call one of my friends a bitch again, got it?!"[/color] he snapped. 

	[color=935DB8]"Havok, ENOUGH!"[/color] Veil shouted. 

	Negasonic wasn't even on her phone for once, staring a bit in awe at the battle of wills unfolding in front of them. She wasn't shocked that Sapphire wasn't getting along well with the new additions - she knew it had something to do with Sapphire's past, but the two of them weren't close so the young mutant had about zero clue what it was. [color=E33B19]"Finally, my world is getting interesting..."[/color] Negasonic muttered under her breath. She wasn't stupid. 

	Havok hesitated for a moment, before he nodded slightly. 

	[color=935DB8]"Good,"[/color] Veil said, sounding out of breath. There was something else she needed to address though - [color=935DB8]"Leighton - good initiative,"[/color] she praised. She didn't know the girl very well, but at the very least she was able to read the incredibly tense situation. The news Leighton delivered about what had happened when they were gone didn't bring a smile to Veil's face. It only brought regret - maybe it had been a mistake to go off to vet Glimpse's information. Maybe they shouldn't have tried to play hero. 

	[color=935DB8]"Sapphire... Once we discuss everything with the others, I'll be your patient... But right now, I gotta be the leader,"[/color] she mumbled. Veil took a dizzy step forward, before collapsing to the ground. 

[color=f7941d][b][i]The First Floor...[/i][/b][/color]

	[color=#DAF7A6]"I dunno, killing Nazis seems like the patriotic thing to do,"[/color] Sunshine countered. [color=#DAF7A6]"Isn't that what got Captain America famous or something? I bet it makes him feel good."[/color]

	[color=B0B4B0]"Hmm... We could contact YouTube, ask them to come film?"[/color] Colossus asked. He didn't really quite understand the concept of YouTube - or really anything relating to social media or modern day technology. His knowledge on Chris Pratt (or severe lack thereof) was emblematic of his knowledge on just about [i]everything[/i] in pop culture. It drove his technology loving counterpart, Negasonic, crazy at times. 

	[color=D48FFF]"...You don't have to get someone down here to put it on YouTube, you just upload it,"[/color] Blink corrected Colossus awkwardly. She was a bit skeptical about whether or not Spark Plug's idea would work - the Hellfire Club seemed to be incredibly connected. She didn't doubt that their lawyers would be able to get a video thrown out of court. [color=D48FFF]"I don't know if a video would be enough to take down people like this,"[/color] she offered. [color=D48FFF]"They've got money, resources... Lawyers, probably even judges in their pocket..."[/color]

	Over to the side, not too far away from where the grownups and all were talking, the kids were hanging out with the quirky lesbian and the guy with awesome hair. A few of the kids raised their hands when Cayden asked them if they had ever gone camping. "I did once!" one of them offered, a bit more outgoing than the rest. "But then I burned down the tent and Daddy said I had to go away..." Cayden would most likely not really know who Max was, as Max had just arrived at the Mutant Underground the previous evening. They had so many mutants coming and going that it got hard to keep track of sometimes. 

	Now, back over where everyone is, Sunshine couldn't help but let out a surprised laugh seeing Max there. It made sense. He seemed to be a walking disaster magnet. He had showed up and Erg died. Now he was here, another target of this Hellfire Club - what if Max was somehow working for those people? Could he be a Nazi spy? [color=#DAF7A6]"... They killed Erg,"[/color] she informed him bluntly, her hands curling into fists. There was anger in her eyes and even a bit of water welling up in them as she said that. 

	Casper awkwardly gave Max a little bit of a wave. [color=DBA1DE]"You look like my old man just sent you to fight Krakoa - what happened with you, man?"[/color] he asked, before Casper's eyes widened in horror. While he wasn't telepathic, he was cursed with the ability to communicate with the dead. The ghosts of the officers Max had killed were standing on either side of the mutant, angrily shouting at their killer. 

	[i]"I HAD A FAMILY!!!!!!"[/i]

	[i]"MURDERER!!!! FUCKING MURDERER!!!"[/i]

	[i]"I WAS A SINGLE MOM! WHO'S GOING TO HOLD MY KIDS AND TELL THEM THEY'RE LOVED?!?!?!"[/i]

	If the ghosts' rage was not terrible enough, they were all mutilated and grotesque. Ghosts didn't look how people did when they were alive - they resembled how they were when they died. Some of them were missing limbs. Most of them were horribly bloody, bones sticking out of their skin at odd angles. [color=DBA1DE]"I-I... I c-c-can't..."[/color] Casper stammered, before he took off at a run out the front entrance, trying to put as much distance between him and the ghosts hovering around Max as he could. 

	That was hardly the only unusual thing that happened, though. Illyana's eyes fluttered open and she stared up into the face of her older brother. [color=6B576F]"Piotr...?"[/color] she cried softly. 

	[color=B0B4B0]"Да, Иллиана, это я ..."[/color]