[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][@Kirah][/center][hr][hr]	Jinx's body was on display at the funeral home in New York City on December 20th, 2020. He didn't have any living relatives. Pyro had been the honor guard of sorts for his body, sobbing along to Cyndi Lauper's [i]Time After Time[/i] as he drove Jinx's corpse from D.C. to New York City. The viewing hours started at 9 AM and concluded at 5 PM. Pyro had stayed there for an hour at the start, delivering an impassioned and thickly Australian eulogy for Jinx. He put a cinnabon on top of the coffin, as that was one of the few things he knew Jinx liked. 

	At noon, Emma Frost and her girls, the Three-in-One arrived fresh from vacation. They stared at Jinx's body in silence, before placing black roses on the coffin. The next visitor was Magneto at roughly 3 o'clock. He dropped the crumpled badges of the officers who had shot down Jinx inside of the coffin, blood staining the brass. 

	The last visitor for Jinx arrived at 4:50 P.M. Her hair was tucked underneath a baseball cap and she had sunglasses to hide her eyes. She wore a hoody and frayed jeans, looking like any American college student. [color=red]"Ti glupi dečko, kako si mogao biti tako neoprezan? Ti si mutant ... Trebao bi biti bolji od ovoga! Prokletstvo Jink! Zašto si morao umreti i napustiti me? Da li je to zato što sam bio zao? Uh, ako je ovo neka vrsta trika, poželećeš da te policajci ubiju!"[/color] the Scarlet Witch shouted. The pieces of furniture in the room went flying as she took a stick of gum and placed it inside of Jinx's cold, stiff fingers. [color=red]"Rest in power."[/color]

	He was buried next to his mother, his mother's ring inside the coffin along with the other trinkets left behind by his friends. 

	Leighton's body was taken to the morgue in Washington D.C. and held there for a week. The official report ruled her death as due to asphyxiation. Anastasia's crooked cops declared that Jinx had been the murderer. The report leaked to several news stations, with right-wing newscaster Benedict Ryan using Leighton's death to increase anti-mutant rage in the country. The medical examiner hadn't run a DNA test on her and Leighton's parents fed into the narrative, hiring lobbyists to push for another consideration of the MRA by Congress in Leighton's name. 

	She was cremated and then buried at her family's home in Boston. Her mother did not invite her sister, Emma Frost, to the funeral, blaming Emma for her daughter's death. 

	There were other personnel changes for the Hellfire Club. Warlock left to join the Mutant Underground. Sage was exposed as a spy, fleeing before Reeva and the others could capture her. In early February, Emma Frost invited Selene from the New York City Hellfire Club to come and work on the Genosha Project with the DC branch.  

	Of course, it wasn't the best time to be a mutant. A mysterious disease had emerged on February 11th, dubbed M-Pox by the media. The disease only afflicted mutants and the symptoms ranged from ordinary to bizarre. Hives, rashes, failing powers, headaches, vomit, internal bleeding, and more - all refusing to go away no matter what medicine was administered. The death toll continues to mount and while S.H.I.E.L.D. supposedly has a cure in progress, it has not been made available to the public. 

	Anti-mutant newscasters such as Benedict Ryan have been calling for the movement of mutants into controlled quarantine camps, worrying that M-Pox may mutate and be transmitted to humans. Hate crimes against mutants had spiked. The news reported on them hourly, showing horrifying footage of two young children in Arkansas hanged on a swingset, all because they were mutants. In D.C., mutants were vanishing and later found turned into stone, with an X carved into their forehead.[hr][center][color=f7941d][b]February 16th, 2021 - 4:20 PM[/b][/color][/center][hr][hider=M-Pox]Mutant Underground: [list][*]Casper - mild symptoms
[*]Spark Plug - moderate symptoms 
[*]Jack - severe symptoms
[*]Max - severe symptoms
[*]Glimpse - severe symptoms
[*]Magik - moderate symptoms [/list]

Hellfire Club/Misc.: [list][*]Anastasia - moderate symptoms
[*]Emma Frost - moderate symptoms
[*]Vulcan - mild symptoms
[*]Legion - severe symptoms
[*]Morgan - mild symptoms [/list]

Mild Symptoms: Headache, some splotchiness of the skin, fatigue and exhaustion 
Moderate Symptoms: Difficulty breathing, dizziness, vomiting, blood shot eyes, prominent veins
Severe Symptoms: Vomiting blood, trouble walking, bleeding from the ears, extreme skin discoloration, general looniness 
[/hider]
[color=f7941d][b]Shaw Industries Building: Penthouse Suite - [/b][/color]

	For once, Magneto was on site at the Hellfire Club Headquarters. He didn't show up very often, usually busy running the Brotherhood. However, the Hellfire Club was nearing completion with Genosha. The infrastructure had been set up, supplies were being transported to the island currently, leaving only a few tasks left. They needed to first establish the government of their new nation and who would be its leaders. They also needed to get international recognition of Genosha. So far, Reeva and Emma had been entertaining key members and officials, although creating relations with some of the more steadfast anti-mutant ones was difficult. 

	Selene, Reeva, Emma, and Magneto had taken over the main area of the penthouse. Emma wore dark shades to mask her eyes and she wore a rather modest outfit, rather than the usual revealing pieces she favored. [color=E0F6FD]"Thank you for coming, darlings. Magneto is in charge of this operation, so I'll let him take the floor,"[/color] Emma said. Her voice sounded a bit tired. 

	Magneto had the shapeshifter Mystique at his side. [color=FF5733]"Serval Industries invented a device in 2017 that could be used to artificially give the X-gene to a human. We need it. We can use it on political hold-outs to ensure their support for Genosha, as they themselves will become mutants,"[/color] Magneto explained shortly. [color=FF5733]"Dr. John Watts invented the device. Mystique believes that the device is currently owned by Advanced Idea Mechanics. Polaris will lead the White Queen and Pyro on this task - Dr. John Watts and an AIM scientist are at George Washington University. Bring them back here alive. Emma will then use her mutant abilities to have them build the device for us."[/color] Sinister wasn't present. He spent most of his time in his lab working and while he had a position within the Hellfire Club, he wasn't a mutant. No one fully trusted him. Magneto and the others would rather steal a device than ask Sinister to build one and be further indebted to him. 

	Polaris was standing near the door ready to go. She had on a leather jacket with metal cuffs, with boots that had metal toes. Her entire ensemble looked like it came out of Hot Topic, but with all of the metal on her, she could effectively fly. [color=A9F8C7]"And if something goes wrong?"[/color] Polaris asked.

	Pyro was chewing bubblegum as he lounged on the couch. He wasn't part of the Hellfire Club, since he was actually part of the Brotherhood. However Magneto had brought him to D.C. for this job, trusting him and Polaris to get things done. He didn't know Anastasia well enough. 

	[color=FF5733]"Cause a panic. Invoke my name - the humans will think that the Brotherhood has come for them,"[/color] Magneto explained. It was easy to forget that he wasn't all brute force and violence - he was calculating too. 

[color=f7941d][b]George Washington University: Streets - [/b][/color]

	With Mr. Jaws biting the earlobe of Mr. Stabby Stabberson, Stabberson's hood fell back. He was bald with an eagle tattoo on the top of his head. He was wearing some sort of mask and special goggles, the sort that Iron Man or one of the Avengers might have had. Horrifyingly, he only had [i]one ear[/i] - there was a vicious scar where the other one should have been, looking like it had either been cut off or [i]burned off[/i]. 

	Zarina had driven him back slightly, forcing the much larger and physically imposing man to take a few steps back. He tried to disarm her blade with his strange knives, but it was to no avail. Stabberson then ran backwards, causing Zarina's blade to fall down. He threw one of his knives at her, missing pathetically. He threw the other knife and hit the hilt of Zarina's sword, sending it clattering down to the ground. 

	Stabberson held his hands up and his knives flew back to him, as he advanced on her again silently. Sirens were wailing as the police arrived on the scene. A bystander must have called them after Stabberson started attacking Zarina. 

	[b]"DROP THE WEAPONS NOW, MUTIE!"[/b] the cops shouted at Stabberson. Six of them opened fire before Stabberson even had a chance, four bullets hitting him. They didn't phase him though. He must have been wearing kevlar or something. 
[hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=935DB8]Veil[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.postimg.cc/qB2G1nnk/image.png[/img][hr][hr][b][color=935DB8]Location:[/color][/b] George Washington University: Lisner Auditorium 
[b][color=935DB8]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A [hr][/center]	Life was never calm for the Mutant Underground. James and Sunshine had gone with those afflicted with M-Pox to the mutant friendly clinic in order to get them some medicine. Sapphire's skills and James' healing weren't enough for the disease. After each healing session with James, the disease would simply return with a vengeance. Their only hope was one of Sapphire's old friends from Serval Industries, an egotistical yet brilliant bioengineer named Dr. John Watts. S.H.I.E.L.D. continued to claim they had a cure in progress, but it could be months before it was available to the public... And Warlock, Glimpse, and Jack didn't have that long.

	The group with her consisted of Sapphire (as she was friends with Dr. Watts), Moonwalker, Havok, Feedback, and Echo. She was sitting near the back of the auditorium with the others, one hand tangled in her own hair as Veil listened to the Q&A panel. It was nice to see a woman in STEM, but Veil couldn't also help but be disappointed with Dr. Hansen. If a cure for the X-gene was ever created, it wouldn't be long until it was forced on mutants unwillingly. 

	[color=FAFD95]"Take a shot every time a human talks about mutant issues like they're some sort of authority,"[/color] Havok murmured under his breath to Sapphire. He leaned back in his seat and accidentally kicked the chair of the girl in front of him. [color=FAFD95]"Oops, my bad,"[/color] he apologized to Andy. 

	"I think we should move on and take another question," the moderator interjected, cutting off the brewing argument between Dr. Hansen and Dr. Watts.

	"Franklin Sykes, fourth year, public health," the next student introduced themselves. "With the M-Pox crisis killing hundreds of thousands of mutants across the globe, what solutions are there to prevent further loss of life?"

	Veil sat forward in her chair. She hadn't ever attended college. She hadn't particularly liked taking classes at Xavier's school, finding them boring, slow, or just filled with annoying people she didn't care for. She was a hands on learner, always doing better when she was moving and actually doing something rather than reading about it. However, as the conversation turned to M-Pox, she couldn't help but listen. Her people were suffering. That was the entire reason they had came here - to get help from Dr. Watts.

	"Honestly? The FDA needs to waive their usual procedures and allow Extremis to be given to patients now," Dr. Hansen said bluntly. "Extremis [i]works[/i]. It cures everything, from the common cold to cancer. It's the key to better, healthier living. Imagine, if you will, how much better the world would be if we could lace the water supply with Extremis... We could become effectively immortal."

	Dr. Watts chuckled. "Yes, let's just get rid of all precautions and start injecting people with your untested breakthrough. That's one way to save mutantkind - just kill them all with medical malpractice."

	Dr. Hansen glared at him. "Sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith - and my serum [i]works[/i]. The results from human trials are incredibly promising."

	"I'm sorry, are we here to talk science or religion? If it's the latter, then I'll leave you to your hokum." 

	"Dr. Watts, let's keep things civil," the moderator told him sternly. "We'll take another question now."

	Veil raised a bit of an eyebrow, before elbowing Sapphire slightly. She was sitting on Sapphire's left, whereas Havok was on Sapphire's right. [color=935DB8]"Your friend is a bit of an ass, isn't he?"[/color] she whispered to her. She hadn't really met Dr. Watts and she already knew that he thought he was the smartest person in the room - and that an idea someone else had was automatically horrible as it hadn't popped into his brain. [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=DBA1DE]Casper[/color] and [color=#DAF7A6]Sunshine[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.imgur.com/z40d6mB.png[/img][hr][hr][b]Location:[/b] Mutant Friendly Clinic 
[b]Skills:[/b] [color=DBA1DE]Mediumship[/color] [hr][/center]	Sunshine couldn't help but be skeptical of the mutant friendly clinic. Humans rarely had pure intentions when it came to mutant outreach. The building was relatively unassuming and as she stared at the doors, the van they had taken parked out front, she expected a trap. She had the bow Jack had gifted her for Christmas slung over her shoulder and her quiver of arrows was hooked onto the loop of her pants with a carabiner. The wild child actually had her hair braided back out of her face and while there was some dirt on her nose, she looked stronger and more confident. [color=#DAF7A6]"I still don't like this. Purifiers could be hiding here. And the nurses and doctors could call the cops on us,"[/color] Sunshine pointed out, turning around to face the group. 

	James was the only other person there who wasn't sick. Casper had a mild case of M-Pox which he continued to deny, insisting that it was just the common cold or the flu. He was actually clean at the moment, though Sunshine doubted his sobriety would last long. He was a bit of a fuck up. Spark Plug and Magik weren't too hot, but the bad cases were Jack, Max, and Glimpse. Sunshine figured Max was being punished by the universe for being a complete idiot. Glimpse likely was getting some karma for how privileged she was her entire life. Jack, maybe the universe was mad at him still for abandoning his only child. [color=#DAF7A6]"I say we send Max in first as a test - if he comes out alive, it's safe. If he doesn't, well, it was just Max,"[/color] she suggested with a shrug. 

	Casper stepped out of the van. He was wearing pink flip flops, a skirt covered with sequins that went down to his knees, a black fur coat, and a Betty White tank-top. His fashion sense was definitely hobo-chic. His nails were painted pink and he had applied a sparkly eyeshadow, claiming it made him look like one of the fae. On his cheek was a splotchy red mark that he had tried to cover with glitter to conceal it, only making it more noticeable. [color=DBA1DE]"Don't worry so much, Sunny-shine,"[/color] he said, shaking his head. He regretted it as it only aggravated his headache. 

	[color=DBA1DE]"I know everyone there - they're good people! Like Doctor Chan? She pulled a toy soldier out of my asshole once and didn't even ask how it got there,"[/color] Casper testified. He hesitated for a moment, leaning up against the van. [color=DBA1DE]"I don't even remember how it got there, actually..."[/color]

	Ben was sitting on the hood of the car. Only Casper could see him though - it was super taxing for Casper to be constantly channeling Ben. Ben had sulked and pouted for being yelled at by the others back in December for about a week. He only returned when Casper made him an offering of waffles with nutella, refusing to let anyone in the Underground touch it despite their low food supplies. (Sunshine had eaten the waffles later when Casper wasn't looking and said another ghost must have taken them). [i]"I do. I'm trying to forget, but ghosts can't have alcohol which makes it harder,"[/i] Ben grumbled. 
	
	[color=DBA1DE]"Anyways, come on, you guys are gonna love everyone here!"[/color] Casper gushed. His face looked a little bit gaunt as he opened the doors to the clinic and walked up to the receptionist. [color=DBA1DE]"Hiiiiii, Linda. Six M-Pox treatments, please?"[/color] 

	"Casper, we thought you had OD'd and died," Linda, an older woman with smile wrinkles and coarse hair said. "I'll see if Dr. Chan can come and see you all - you remember where the back room is, right?" 

	Casper nodded. [color=DBA1DE]"How could I forget the secret mutant only spa?"[/color] he quipped. He kissed Linda on each cheek. [color=DBA1DE]"Thank you for not being a Karen,"[/color] he told her earnestly. 

	[color=#DAF7A6]"Are you stupid on purpose?"[/color] Sunshine asked Casper. He must not have heard her though, as he headed to the back of the clinic. There was a large examination room back there with enough seats for everyone. Ordinarily, people would've been seen individually but the Mutant Underground weren't ordinary visitors. 

	Magik took a seat, her eyes bloodshot. She was resisting the urge to vomit, even as the room seemed to be spinning around her. Like Sunshine, she didn't trust this place at all. She hated institutions. It reminded her of the detainment center she had been kept in when she first came to the United States. [color=6B576F]"I don't like this,"[/color] she muttered. She shot a glare at James, as if her having M-Pox was somehow his fault.