[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/FKJKRczH/the-gifted-591b350cc9ba7.png[/img][/center][hr][center][@Nallore][@FantasyChic][@BlueSky44][@Achronum][@Trainerblue192][@KazAlkemi][@Framing A Moose][@MsMorningstar][/center][hr][center][color=f7941d][b]December 18th, 2020 - 1:40 PM[/b][/color][/center][hr][color=f7941d][b]The Hellfire Club Headquarters - [/b][/color]

	Reeva's phone call didn't take too long to conclude. [color=B1C1EB]"Honestly, you can't find good help these days,"[/color] she muttered angrily. She didn't like having to use the Purifiers, but they were a tool like any other. In order to build a nation, sacrifices were demanded. Mutants needed a homeland, a space where they were free to exist without being challenged for their gifts.  

	[color=A9F8C7]"Well, what are you gonna do?"[/color] Polaris said sarcastically. She continued looking out the window, spinning the dreidel over and over again. She didn't consider anyone here to be her friend. She didn't trust them to not kill her if it suited their agenda. The mistress of magnetism was loyal to Genosha, not to the Hellfire Club. Professor X had failed to find a solution for mutants. Polaris wasn't going to repeat his mistakes. 

	[color=11FCBC]"First responders have been dispatched,"[/color] Sage informed Reeva robotically. [color=11FCBC]"No news yet on whether or not the hit has been confirmed."[/color]

	Reeva nodded, her eyes seemingly watering for a second before her stoic facade resumed. [color=B1C1EB]"Let me know the second its confirmed - she's too dangerous to leave alone. If she doesn't join us, well..."[/color] 

	A few more moments passed in uncomfortable, tension filled silence. [color=11FCBC]"She's fleeing the scene. Jinx and Ice Queen are in the area. Should I activate them?"[/color]

	[color=B1C1EB]"...Do it."[/color]
	
[color=f7941d][b]Macy's - [/b][/color]

	Luck seemed to be on Leighton's side, as no one was really paying much attention to her. She would be able to spot Jinx as he entered the store - and Jinx would see her as well. It always is a little awkward running into your coworkers outside of the office, isn't it? The mall itself was decked out for the holidays. Macy's opened up into the mall entrance, giving them a clear line of sight to a mall Santa taking photos with little kids and annoyed slightly older kids. 

	A group of cheerleaders were shopping in the same area as Leighton. "Ugh, did you hear about Trevor?"

	"No, what happened?" one of them gasped.

	"He woke up covered in [i]scales[/i] - like a fucking fish! So gross. Honestly, they should just put people like him somewhere else, for their own good."

	The second cheerleader shook her head skeptically. "I don't think that's, like, right. Besides, Nate looked so [i]hot[/i] when he got those muscles."

	"...He's not a mutie, Kelli! He was just roiding!"

	Both Jinx and Leighton's phones would vibrate with a message. It had been sent from Sage. There was an image of a black girl with honey brown eyes and simple instructions. [i]APPREHEND - DEAD OR ALIVE.[/i]

[color=f7941d][b]Lotus Apartments - [/b][/color]

	In the rearview mirror, Desiree would see a [url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/X-Men_Movie_Pyro.jpg/200px-X-Men_Movie_Pyro.jpg]man[/url] standing outside of her apartment building. He was dressed in a leather jacket, ripped jeans, and combat boots. There was a thin scar on the side of his face and his hair was a pale, dusty blonde. In his hands, an orb of flames was floating above a lighter. He smirked, seeing her, and did a little bow, taking credit for his work. He had destroyed her apartment complex. But why?

	He didn't follow her however. She'll be able to pull into the Macy's parking lot this round without issue. [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=935DB8]Veil[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.postimg.cc/cJ9KkvcN/original.gif[/img][hr][hr][b][color=935DB8]Location:[/color][/b] Mutant Underground Hideout - First Floor: Training Room 
[b][color=935DB8]Skills:[/color][/b] Investigation, Invisible Energy Manipulation [hr][/center]	[color=935DB8]"You know my hair can't be tamed,"[/color] Veil told Spark Plug, rolling her eyes slightly. No matter what she tried, her hair was a wild beast - it had killed so many brushes that Veil wondered why she even bothered at this point. They regularly would [i]snap[/i] after just a few minutes. [color=935DB8]"No, I didn't send Havok anywhere. Sage sent a time sensitive message, so of [i]course[/i] she decided to encrypt it with an outdated cypher,"[/color] she murmured. 

	She kept switching back and forth between the cypher Sage had sent and the decoding guide she had found online for a pigpen cypher. [color=935DB8]"Lotus... Apartments... Eighteenth... Afternoon,"[/color] she read aloud as she finished. Goosebumps then crawled up and down her arms as the temperature in the room dropped, drawing her attention over to Sapphire. Sage's message was clear - they needed to hurry to the Lotus Apartments. Something was clearly wrong with her best friend, however. [color=935DB8]"Spark Plug, go see who's around and available - I want a team of about five. Tell them to be prepared for a fight and possible evac."[/color]

	Veil then quietly walked over to the wall, sliding down next to Sapphire. As easily as breathing, she turned Sapphire invisible, hoping it would give her some privacy. [color=935DB8]"Do you want to talk about it? Or would kicking someone's ass help?"[/color] she asked softly. 	[hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=DBA1DE]Casper Theriot[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.postimg.cc/vDFx7Ctg/image.gif[/img][hr][hr][b][color=DBA1DE]Location:[/color][/b] Mutant Underground Hideout - Aboveground -> the Entranceway -> the Second Floor Hallway
[b][color=DBA1DE]Skills:[/color][/b] Mediumship[hr][/center]	Casper spun around wildly, taken by surprise. He hadn't seen Cayden in over a week, as far as he could remember. Cayden hadn't been around in the House of M illusion that the Scarlet Witch had crafted. And while Moonwalker was his friend, he knew that his brother likely needed him - and Casper needed his boyfriend. He wanted to cuddle James and just pretend the entire ordeal had been a nightmare, where the only good thing had been that his father, Professor X, wasn't around. And Jack having been with his kid, he supposed that was a good thing too. [color=DBA1DE]"I just got back from Magneto's Palace, no time, sorry!"[/color] Casper blurted.

	[i]"That should make about zero sense,"[/i] Ben commented. 

	[color=DBA1DE]"I don't care, we don't have time to explain! Jackie is probably super depressed right now wondering where his daughter is!"[/color] he pointed out, before Casper stumbled and went off into the Underground at a run. He emerged into the entranceway and he then scrambled up the staircase, about to run to James' room when he spotted James in the hallway outside of Casper and Jack's room. [color=DBA1DE]"James!"[/color] he shouted, before barreling into his boyfriend and hugging him tightly. [color=DBA1DE]"We gotta find Jackie before he does something dumb! Also have I mentioned I love you and missed you?"[/color] he rambled. 

	[i]"Somehow, you seem even crazier now than when you were tripping on drugs."[/i]

	[color=DBA1DE]"Not the time, Ben!"[/color] Casper complained. [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=#DAF7A6]Sunshine[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.postimg.cc/fLzs6CB3/Sunshine-S2.gif[/img][hr][hr][b][color=#DAF7A6]Location:[/color][/b] Mutant Underground Hideout - Second Floor: Sunshine and Feedback's Room -> Entranceway -> First Floor: Dining Room
[b][color=#DAF7A6]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A [hr][/center]	Sunshine's stomach growled again and she decided to stop dawdling. She got up, out of the bed, and crept out into the hallway. She could see the clusterfuck of James and Casper - two people she also didn't really want to talk to. In that dream or whatever it had been, Casper had been her [i]uncle[/i]... Would that then make James her step-uncle then? She wasn't quite sure, but looking at them just made her stomach churn, so she crept down the stairs of the entranceway and went into the dining room. 

	She was a little bit surprised to not see anyone. She could hear voices in the training room, so maybe everyone was in there working on some annoying technique with Colossus. It allowed her uncontested access to the food though, so she wasn't about to start complaining. Her stomach continued to make a symphony of complaints, urging her more and more to dig into whatever scraps there were. Sunshine bit her lip, looking at the table with the lunch food set on it. There wasn't much left at all. 

	Picking up a granola bar and a Caprsi Sun pouch, she went and found a quiet spot in the corner, sitting down as she ripped open her meal. As much as she wished there was more food available, she knew that beggars couldn't be choosers. She was lucky that there was food here at all.