[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/FKJKRczH/the-gifted-591b350cc9ba7.png[/img][hr][img]https://i.postimg.cc/vTYLXJqK/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 10th, 2020 - 1:10 PM[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/WpKJC0mt/image.png[/img][/center][hr][color=f7941d][b]The Penthouse - Shaw Industries...[/b][/color]

	[color=B1C1EB]"Of course - please, have a seat,"[/color] Reeva beckoned, sitting next to Emma on one of the sofas. Glasses of water with lemon wedges levitated over from the bar and came to a rest on the coffee table - one for each person present (compliments of Emma, of course). [color=B1C1EB]"I am not sure what you have learned from Emma, but I am certain the two of us can help to illuminate things."[/color]

	[color=E0F6FD]"You are very perceptive, aren't you Maximillian?"[/color] Emma praised. [color=E0F6FD]"While it is true that we do not often use pseudonyms such as the X-Men and other mutant groups, this is not mandated. Each member is free to choose how they wish to present themselves. I prefer to use my human name as I spend a great deal of time in the public arena - but of course, the Black King or Lord Imperial are both suitable choices."[/color]

	[color=B1C1EB]"I use my human name for similar reasons - though I would respond to the Black Queen as well,"[/color] Reeva chimed in. [color=B1C1EB]"The irony is not lost on me."[/color] She chuckled slightly, picking up her glass and taking a sip of water. [color=B1C1EB]"The White King and Queen are in our training facility at the moment, I believe, with a few other members."[/color]

	Emma nodded in confirmation. [color=E0F6FD]"The others are currently indisposed,"[/color] she explained. [color=E0F6FD]"Yet as for next steps... Of course, I would be lying if I said we were without secrets. The establishment of a nation is not a task to take lightly and if information were to be leaked, it only becomes all the more difficult - I'm sure you can imagine that politicians around the globe would hardly be thrilled to find that us mutants have carved out a place of our own. They'll see us as a threat."[/color]

	[color=E0F6FD]"So please, understand that if you do decide to join our organization, I will then be able to discuss our plans with greater detail. And even if you do not wish to join us, I would like to provide room and board for the both of you - it is the least I can do for my true family, darling,"[/color] she looked at Leighton with a smile. [color=E0F6FD]"At the moment however, we have purchased an island near Madagascar and are in the process of construction. We wish to have housing and essential utilities prepared before the end of the year, if at all possible, but it is likely we will finish in the spring. Once the infrastructure is ready, we will seek out mutants and offer them a place on Genosha. There are many mutants with the ability to teleport - but for the moment, we are using my private jet and other aircraft to transport ourselves to and fro."[/color]

	[color=B1C1EB]"We're also in the process of cultivating relationships with key members of the United Nations, so that way when the time comes we can lobby for UN recognition of Genosha,"[/color] Reeva added. [color=B1C1EB]"I'm afraid it can be a boring job at times, but it's worth it. Our mutant brothers and sisters deserve a place to call home."[/color]	

[color=f7941d][b]The Training Room - Shaw Industries...[/b][/color]

	Magneto chuckled. [color=FF5733]"Very well. Sage, stay on the Raft - see if you can loosen those collars,"[/color] Magneto instructed, before turning his full attention to the women in front of him. His helmet blocked out telepathic influences, including Anastasia's morality manipulation. This fight would pit his magnetic prowess against that of Polaris, as well as Anastasia's telekinesis. Yet as a hardened warrior, Magneto also knew that the fight would be truly decided by wits, not brawn. 

	[color=FF5733]"No fatal shots,"[/color] he told them, setting the only rule for the match. [color=FF5733]"Begin,"[/color] he told them, yet he didn't make a move to attack. He was letting them take the first shot. 

	Lorna hardly needed permission to attack her father - she was working with him now, but it didn't change the hatred she felt towards him. Levitating herself up into the air thanks to the metal bands she wore, she then sent metal rods from the pile in the back of the room flying at her father, completely disregarding his rule about no fatal shots. Her eyes narrowed as the rods reversed direction once they came within five feet of Magneto, only to then be shot back towards her and Anastasia. 

	[color=A9F8C7]"What can you do?"[/color] she asked Anastasia, deflecting the majority of the rods, although a few hit Lorna in the shins. Her father's powers were stronger than her own. 

[color=f7941d][b]The Raft - Location Classified...[/b][/color]

	For a second, Wanda smiled slightly at seeing Jinx, since the two of them had been friends when he was back with the Brotherhood. Yet at his mention of Pietro, the smile vanished from her face. Wanda glared at Jinx, there was a slight hint of sadness in her eyes that quickly shifted to anger. [color=red]"How dare you mention him!"[/color] She snapped. Odds were if she could use her powers he would be dead.

	Luminous smirked at Jinx, looking very much like the cat that ate the canary. [color=silver]"I'm the final stage of humanity's evolution. Some gutter child such as yourself obviously would never have met me before,"[/color] she bragged. She definitely had the haughtiness of Quicksilver, just the general appearance of the Scarlet Witch. 

	[color=3D5DC3]"I hate it when villains talk like that - such a cliché,"[/color] Phoebe complained. 

	[color=3D5DC3]"You sound like that sometimes,"[/color] Esme pointed out and Sophie started snickering. 

	[color=3D5DC3]"Ooo, burn!"[/color] Sophie chimed in. 

	Unsurprisingly, Doom had to boast as well. [color=377E4B]"I know more about these collars than you'll ever know about any subject in your life, boy,"[/color] he snapped. In many ways, he was the villainous counterpart of Iron Man - intelligent, rich, and cunning, yet his mask hid the massive disfigurement of his face. [color=377E4B]"If you think one of your little shows of power will work to free yourself, then by all means, try - yet if I am still here, do you really expect your attempts will have any sort of different outcome?"[/color] he scoffed. 

	[color=3D5DC3]"Don't worry, Mum'll have Sage handle this,"[/color] Esme told Jinx. She tended to be the empathetic one of the triplets. 

	[color=3D5DC3]"We're not supposed to call her that around humans,"[/color] Sophie and Phoebe reminded her. [hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/5yqyXQGW/image.png[/img][/center][hr][color=f7941d][b]New Mutant Underground Hideout...[/b][/color]

	[color=935DB8]"Is it sad I honestly expected you to cheer or something that Max and Leighton aren't coming back?"[/color] Veil asked, releasing Sapphire from her embrace. She knew that Sapphire was hardly quick to trust. Her words did help to relieve her anxieties slightly, but it was really the fact that they didn't have time to sit there and panic. If they didn't act now, then the window of opportunity would vanish. They had Blink and Magik now to make transportation faster, a blessing with the large crowds filled with Purifiers taking over the streets. 

	Taking a breath, Veil glanced over towards where the others mostly were, gathered near Vulcan and Havok in the dining room. She didn't want to risk their lives. She couldn't ask them to do more than what they were capable of. [color=935DB8]"Okay, here's what I'm thinking. We contact your friend at S.H.I.E.L.D., let him know about Sinister and Shaw - and we go rescue the mutants in his lab. If we all go in as a group and stick together, we should be able to use Blink and Magik to get in and out pretty quickly, maybe before he even notices we're there..."[/color] Veil doubted they'd be able to stop Sinister permanently - that was where tipping off S.H.I.E.L.D. came into play, they were better equipped for a long fight, yet she doubted slightly that they would pursue it. [color=935DB8]"Do you think S.H.I.E.L.D. would go after Sinister and the rest?"[/color] she then asked Sapphire honestly. 

	On the staircase, Magik glanced at Spark Plug and nodded. [color=6B576F]"Remembering is not my problem,"[/color] she told her. Her life had been an endless tragedy even since she had been kidnapped by Shaw, worse than her experiences in Limbo at time. Magik hardly even felt human at the end of the day. 

	In the dining room, Havok turned his head and glanced over at Spark Plug, seeing her standing in the entranceway. [color=FAFD95]"It's all a blank,"[/color] he admitted, not having remembering anything when Malice had possessed him. He wished that he had more information, but he didn't. He didn't even recognize Vulcan as a part of his family, even though he apparently was his brother. His insides felt like they were twisting up inside and he knew that he ought to call his older brother, Scott, but something kept him from picking up the phone and dialing the former X-Man. 

	Colossus nodded at Moonwalker's question. [color=B0B4B0]"Da - it must."[/color] He didn't know what they'd do if it didn't. 

	Meanwhile in the entranceway on the couch, Casper's eyes widened as James snapped at him. It took him a moment to make sense of it. James must have talked to Jack about his drug problem. He sighed slightly, tugging on his hair as Casper shook his head. He really liked James and he had been comforted by him in the van... but he loved drugs. And he had just met James. His brother was nowhere to be seen. Casper figured that James must have given the drugs to Jack. Most likely, the drugs were in Jack's pocket then - so his prime opportunity to snatch them back would be once Jack went to sleep. He could wait that long. He had gotten a hit not too long ago in the car. And it was pointless to try to pickpocket Jack. 

	Back on the staircase, Sunshine turned and looked at Feedback. She didn't have too much of an opinion on her, but she recognized the pain she was feeling. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a granola bar and tossed it to Feedback wordlessly. 

	[color=E33B19]"You good?"[/color] Negasonic asked Waverley, playing on her phone.