[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/FKJKRczH/the-gifted-591b350cc9ba7.png[/img][hr][img]https://i.postimg.cc/zf1StRbS/giphy.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 - 9:20 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]

	Nothing really here to note again - mostly since only one of you three has managed to post at this moment in time. As you get to the bottom floor and leave the building, it's pitch black outside. There are storm clouds up above and it's raining, but the rain in Washington D.C. either is gone in a few moments or it turns into a full blown storm. There's not really an in between. Like always, they can go around to the garage and take one of the cars - or go grab a driver to take them around in a limo. Across the street, a gigantic television screen is displaying an interview between Dr. Moira McTaggert and MSNBC news, discussing the mutant gene and its potential. Moira is a noted human scientist and close ally of the X-Men - and according to the gossip network, a former lover of Charles Xavier.[hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/5yqyXQGW/image.png[/img][/center][hr][color=f7941d][b][i]Outside...[/i][/b][/color]

	Both Havok and Negasonic had gone inside with Sapphire, leaving the brothers and Glimpse outside for the time being. Glimpse has Xavier's number, so if she wants to call him, she's fully capable of doing so. There's even a chance that he's anticipating her call if he's currently connected to Cerebro and probing the D.C. area with his fantastic psychic abilities. The rain is coming down here as well, hard enough to leave the young mutant drenched within seconds. If she does call the big man, she might want to do it somewhere with a bit more protection from the elements. 

	Casper had managed to catch his breath, his hands still shaking and his pupils were wide. There wasn't anything he craved more than a shot of heroin in that moment. He hadn't always been like this, but drugs were just about the only thing that could keep the ghosts out. The poor departed souls had stuck inside with Max thankfully, not following the son of X outside. [color=DBA1DE]"J-Jackie... I-I think he's a murderer,"[/color] Casper whispered. [color=DBA1DE]"Sh-should we do something?"[/color] He was conflicted about it. While he happily broke the law in order to get high, he was strongly opposed to murder. Being a mutant didn't give someone a free pass to go around and do whatever they wanted. 

	He wasn't really sure on the timeline of Max's killings either. Those ghosts hadn't been there earlier, but sometimes his powers didn't really make much sense. They could have a bit of a time delay and he desperately hoped that more ghosts wouldn't start to pop up all around them. He just couldn't deal with that. Ben seemingly had sensed this as well, vanishing to give Casper some space for the moment. Sure, Ben didn't scare Casper but at the moment, Casper needed [i]less[/i] sensory input and not more. 

	He let go of his brother, running his hands through his hair. He pulled out a strand and had a horrifying realization - he'd probably go bald one day. [color=DBA1DE]"Freaking Nazis, Jackie... We gotta do something about that too. If there's one thing I learned from Steve Rogers, it's that you punch Nazis in the face."[/color] Casper didn't really mind the pouring rain too much, though it was making him look a bit like a wet dog. 

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

	[color=FAFD95]"You got it,"[/color] Havok told Sapphire, before running off to the little supply area where they kept their medical items. James must have not heard Spark Plug ask him to help out with Veil, as he just stayed where he was on the stairs. Maybe it was the exhaustion taking its toll on him. At any rate, Havok came back a few minutes later with the very best the Mutant Underground had to offer. There was an assortment of items - gauze, tweezers, knives, duct tape, a sewing kit, pliers, bandages, alcohol wipes, latex gloves, a flashlight, and a small little bag of stickers that they gave to the little kids to calm them down. Some people arrived at the Mutant Underground for the first time in bad shape - and sadly, it was usually the little ones. [color=FAFD95]"This work?"[/color] he asked her. [color=FAFD95]"It better, it's all I could find, Doc..."[/color]

	[color=D48FFF]"Okay, but what can a politician do?"[/color] Blink countered. Maybe she had a point, maybe she just had a lack of faith in the human justice system. [color=D48FFF]"They don't have the authority to arrest people. That's the job of the police. And last I checked, the police hardly are enamored with mutants..."[/color] She crossed her arms, unaware of how her words may hit a mark for some - Max. Colossus was busy speaking with his sister quietly in Russian, the two of them exchanging news rapidly back and forth. Illyana looked a bit clammy and overheated, but it wasn't anything to be concerned about just yet. And besides, Sapphire had a more pressing patient on her hands. Waverley would recognize who was on the couch - Veil, the leader of this section of the Mutant Underground. 

	[color=E33B19]"Guys, look at this,"[/color] Negasonic interrupted, pulling up a video on her phone. It was a live news broadcast from a local network in D.C. And while those at the Hellfire Club HQ were seeing the interview with Moira, the Mutant Underground members saw something different - it was traffic cam footage of Max's assault on the police car. 

	[i]"This act of terrorism, coming on the wake of 7/15, is no less than an act of war on the part of the mutants says Reverend William Stryker,"[/i] the anchor said with a solemn expression. [i]"The Reverend is calling for a demonstration tomorrow against mutant violence. Those interested in joining Stryker's Crusade can find him on his website or at his Church on Maple, the Hope of Humanity."[/i]

	[i]"Joining me to comment is a true American patriot, you know him from our sister network, Benedict Ryan."[/i]

	[url=https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fox-thegifted/images/b/b8/Benedict-Ryan.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20181126063710]Ryan[/url] smiled at the anchor, shaking her hand. [i]"It's a pleasure to be here, Rita. Now, I know that I'm going to get a lot of hate for this, but enough is enough... I'm calling on Congress to deputize the Purifiers in order to keep the peace here in D.C. The police have been out there, fighting the good fight, and it's about time we got them back up against these menaces!"[/i]

	Sunshine's face fell, recognizing the man on the television. She didn't watch [i]the Ryan Hour[/i]. She couldn't read so why would she try to keep up with the news? No, she had met that man a long time ago - he had been there at her trial. He had testified that he saw her set fire to the apartment complex, that she had been a mutant extremist bent on killing innocent people. Her face twisted into a glare at the screen. The liar was the reason her friends, her real family, had been locked away in Mutant Super-Max - a prison that [i]no one[/i] ever came back from alive. 

	[color=#DAF7A6]"Καλό, καλύτερα να προετοιμαστεί για έναν πόλεμο - πρόκειται να σπάσω το κεφάλι του!"[/color]
	
	Negasonic's eyes flickered over towards Max, Sapphire, and Havok. [color=E33B19]"Is there anything you three'd care to share with the class?"[/color]