[Debut Post]

Wandering around the exterior of the large mansion, Clarice wasn't certain she understood what was where she should have been able to find the X-Men in her home reality; alongside the gate it had said that this place was a school for the gifted but in what way? Was this a place for mutant children to be free from either the breeding pens or the Core, or was it for human children who were exceptionally smart and talented in any manner of things? Either way, the concept of a school was beyond her understanding, as Blink had been yanked out of hers soon after starting and after Apocalypse took over, there was no education. Erik had been more than willing to impart information upon the younger mutants within the protection of his organization, Blink included, but it was no school. Nothing formal, nothing housed them but the hidden base that also acted as a training place for the X-Men and those who were trusted enough to be granted access to the hidden areas. Things had to be different here, there seemed to be no overbearing tyrant attempting to rid this world of its human population in the name of Charles Darwin, and people were very capable of moving around without fear of being seen.

Rereading the giant sign, the place was named Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, and an idea began to formulate within the lilac mutant's mind; Charles Xavier was the name of Magneto's friend who had passed away and had caused the creation of the X-Men, no doubt this was this world's version of the tribute made for the fallen friend of Erik's, and that means she should be in the right place. Where better to hide the X-Men than within something that acts as a school for children, no one would search for a team of mutant protectors where learning was supposed to be taking place. Stepping into one of the cerise portal, Blink was hoping to find some answers within these academic halls, and maybe even be reunited with those with whom she had fought alongside. This place may have been a blessing in disguise, giving her the opportunity to start anew with people who were never exposed to the horrors of Apocalypse's reign. Several theories ran through her mind about what could have caused her arrival within this world. Possibly she had tapped into the same energies that had sent Bishop back to fix the broken timeline or it was even possible that she had somehow sidestepped reincarnation and was granted this boon for the good karma accumulated

Stepping outside of the portal, Clarice found herself within a large restroom, much more advanced than what she was used to, and a row of funny look porcelain toilets that hung off the wall rather than being connected to the floors. "Hello, I must speak with whoever is in charge about the whereabouts of Magneto." Calling out, there had to be someone within the men's restroom who could assist the reality-lost mutant in her search for answers. "I do not mean any harm with my presence, I ensure you of such, although I am more than willing to defend myself if you feel the necessity to attack." With her intentions out for the listening male or males, she kept her hands at her side to show that she meant them no harm, hopefully those sharing the area would be willing to listen.

[[C.F: Big Mansion, Small World]]

Two Minutes Earlier…

Eddie’s mouth was always going to get him in trouble; whatever filter he should have possessed between brain and tongue to stop those little things that were always better left unsaid from escaping seemed to be fixed permanently in hindsight mode. But when it came to Julian Keller though, he didn’t regret a thing; not one solitary word. The guy was an ass that needed taking down a peg or two because he saw himself as what? The top dog? They simply didn’t need one and he only hope that when it came to split them up into training teams as he’d been told was likely during his own orientation, that he was placed as far apart from his as possible.

Managing to score a point in the verbal sparring before he beat a tactical withdrawal it was time to take care of some other business, because nature had decided to call him and her shouts were only getting louder. Blame this one then on his fondness for spicy food and the gastro-intestinal aftermath that came as part of the deal as he flew straight in to the Boys’ bathroom and into a waiting cubicle.

Underwear safely around ankles, he began yet another round of Solo Battleshits… which we’ll choose to censor from here on out for the sake of somewhat squeamish and those eating … but as he settled back on the seat after the first wave of the assault, his moment of respite was about to be rudely interrupted as a voice called out "Hello, I must speak with whoever is in charge about the whereabouts of Magneto."

Several things occurred to Eddie in quick succession. Firstly that he hadn’t heard anyone come in – blink in to tear a hole in reality causing far less disruption than a ‘Bamf’ through dimensions – secondly, that it was a girl’s voice inside the boy’s toilets, which was enough to give cause to some degree of unnecessary ‘shrinkage’ in most teenage boys. And lastly… she was looking for Magneto, and that was enough to make it shrink completely back inside him.

Lifting his feet up off the floor, he hovered ever so slightly up off the seat before listing ever so slightly forward to look back out from the thin crack left between door and cubicle on the hinge side. It was a girl, and she was… very, very pink. In a pretty way of course, but after her opening address, he figured it was far safer to keep quiet and let he just leave him in peace. And her second did little to change that "I do not mean any harm with my presence, I ensure you of such, although I am more than willing to defend myself if you feel the necessity to attack."

And he was most definitely in no position or inclination to attack, and given his current state of disrobement, would have preferred anything but being literally caught with his pants down. That at least he could rectify, as he manoeuvred himself subtly in the tiny cubicle to at least pull his underwear up to hide little Eddie away again… and he almost managed it, until an unfortunately placed elbow triggered the flush.

”Fuck.“ He muttered under his breath, as he screwed up his face in anticipation of his swiftly to follow death

There was a bit of silence in the room, but not true silence; the dripping of the water from the faucets, the hum of the ventilation system pulling out the air of the restroom, and even the subtle hints of movement. Someone was trying to hide from her, although Blink had reason to believe nothing ill of the one who hid outside of her vantage, it was curious that after informing this unknown person of her intentions they hadn't emerged. Was there something more sinister going on within the room in which she had stepped into, could this hidden face be an enemy that Blink had accidentally stumbled upon and had, sadly, given away her position by attempting to maintain peace. Oh, what treacheries that could be growing behind the concealed walls of this very strange room with the oddly shaped porcelain wall seats. Putting her hand out to the side, Clarice allowed the glowing pink energy to form in her hand and harden, as she would need to be on alert if she was to fight with the mysterious stranger. "I say once more time, that I mean no harm so please show yourself" She asked before slowly moving her back towards a wall, in her world there were few would be able to take an advantage from behind in such a situation, so it came naturally to ensure that at least she would protected from one direction.

With the first javelin finished, Blink began to form another to ensure that whatever she attacked she was capable of moving more than one target, just in case this hidden thing had backup. Then, something happened, the sound of rushing water gave away the position of the bathroom occupant, and in an instant Blink threw her first javelin at the bathroom stall door in which the boy had attempted to push himself into the corner. The door, after being blinked away and shattered into pieces that rained down on the tiled floor making all sorts of noise, had been the only barrier between the two mutants; Blink could tell the other was such due to the fact that he was no longer touching anything upon the ground and was floating within the confined area. Green orbs locked upon the boy's appearance, only to find him improperly dressed with his pants around his ankles and his hand covering his crotch. "Had you have answered, you would have not been such in such a compromising position. I will allow you to compose yourself, but I will not turn, your unwillingness to be open about your presence had made your intentions questionable at best." Allowing the floating boy to get himself together, Clarice kept the shimmering javelin in one hand as her eyes dared not move away from the boy's hurried movements to dress, "Now, who would I speak about contacting Magneto and his X-Men? I have many questions about this place, and no doubt they would be able to answer them." Adding coldly, she waiting in silence for an answer.

He was right to be worried about giving his position away, as the door vanished from in front of him in a pink flash, whilst what little of it that remained could only fall noisily upon the floor. Eddie, watching from a barely open eye – holding on to that hope from his childhood that when he closes his eyes, the monsters under his bed can’t see him - was confronted with his worst fears and offered what protection he could to himself, and dropped both hand to shield his crotch – well if it worked for Soccer players during a free kick, why not?

This was an awkward position for him to be in to say the least and as he looked over at the door on the other side of the room that marked his only exit, she was almost stood in his direct route to it. Despite his slightly unfit body image, his powers did lend to his being able to move fast, but he was hardly Quicksilver, and no doubt she would pick him off with that somewhat ominous pink javelin in her hand before he even reached her. Not that the awkwardness did anything to stop his mouth though; just the opposite in fact, as it ran away with the first words that his tongue could find, as he grinned an inane ”He-llo! “, before following on was a quizzical ”You know this is the boy’s room, right?“

"Had you have answered, you would have not been such in such a compromising position. I will allow you to compose yourself, but I will not turn, your unwilling to be open about your presence had made your intentions questionable at best."

”Er… thank you?“ He replied, slightly confused. It didn’t feel like a threat, more like a telling off from a teacher, despite the fact that how she looked, she couldn’t have been much older than him. ”Do I get a little privacy?... “ he asked, somewhat optimistically in the hopes that she’d turn around and he might be up to a 60% chance of making the door before she nailed him, but as her demeanour refused to crack, he added on a sighing, resigned ” okayyy“ as he reached down to pull his pants back up again

"Now, who would I speak about contacting Magneto and his X-Men? I have many questions about this place, and no doubt they would be able to answer them."

”Magneto’s X-Men“ Eddie scoffed as he pulled the zipper up to secure his pants back into place againand adding a chuckled ”What the hell have you been smoking?“ Who didn’t know about Magneto though, and given the interest he’d always had in the affairs of the heroes and villains documented by the news, he was fairly up to date with every time one of his many schemes had been brought to a grinding halt and the world saved by the better half of mutant-kind. Okay, so there had been a brief period where he willingly stood trial for his crimes before the world court and then he disappeared off the radar for quite a while… but that hadn’t lasted and from what he was told after he joined the mansion, they’d recently taken down his Space Station and where waiting to see what his next move was going to be ”Sure he reformed for a while, but we’re the X-Men and he’s the bad guy… like try to take over the world bad.“ The last part he’d added in his best impression of the Brain – sans Pinky, of course – but given that her home reality had been at war since she was little, it was highly unlikely she would have gotten the reference.

[CF: Mansion, Main Level Living Area: "Touring Greatness Pt. 1"]

After Laurie had ascended the stairs, floating an inch or two off the ground, she began slowly gliding through the hallways to see what she could find. An unplanned survey of the area in case this Xavier had something to hide. Johnny and Gabriel could handle the official overview. She wasn't worried about missing anything on that front; all she'd have to do was sit in front of Johnny when he answered truthfully and turn her breasts away when he lost focus. The man seemed exceptionally taken with staring at breasts, so using them in a positive reward manner made sense. Just no touching.

Not that letting him stare at her body would be the first choice. Be nice if the man just repeated the highlights of whatever that woman downstairs said when Laurie asked.

She paused at a door and lightly rapped on it. When no sound came she slowly turned the knob and pushed the door inward. A quick peek revealed it was just a standard bedroom. Well... good. Not at all interesting, but it was better than giant tubes full of color coded, unidentified liquid with muta-- twisted bodies in them.

After she'd closed the door as quietly as she'd opened it, Laurie resumed her skate down the hallway. The black cloak still wrapped about her body, and even the cowl had been brought up to conceal her identity. You know, in case she did find a room full of inhumane science experiments and someone tried fingering her later.

Along the way, however, raised voices behind a door could be heard. This caused the blue woman to slow down and creep up on the one room that seemed to have something exciting to tell her. Floating off to one side of the doorway, Laurie listened to what had sounded like a woman's voice get answered by a young man's voice.

X-Men?, Laurie thought as Wing scoffed at the idea of a 'bad guy' leading them. This would normally be a good thing, except it was another teenage boy saying the X-Men weren't bad. Oh, and the X-Men were here. Well if that were true... Laurie was more inclined to believe that than a random, albeit well intentioned, letter as to the quality of this estate. X-Men weren't criminals. Well, alright, they kind of were if you listened to the Media. Kind of hard listening to them any more though; now Laurie found herself more often targeted than not along side those "dangerous muties."

After a quick look around, Laurie stretched out a hand to push the door open just a bit to try and peek inside at whoever was in there and what it was they were working on--if anything. Probably a conference room or... uh, actually why would someone be conducting a meeting up here on the second floor? Not like they didn't have enough space downstairs for a conversation.

***CMF: Looking for something***

Bishop didn't take long to finish his current rounds, but he was still as thorough even during whether it was quiet or there was a looming threat. Granted there were other things to occupy his time in the second instance. It was a nice day out bug given the number of recent arrivals it made him think that maybe it was time to head inside too. When he passed through he managed to not find anyone really but he figured that maybe he'd change into the clothing that he might normally wear and as he went through the halls he thought about what had been said outside. Teaching. This was something he knew had been done at this place, and he figured it would be done again but he himself had never really considered it. Yes, Bishop had a lot of knowledge, granted some of it wouldn't be as useful to anyone else and he didn't know many people he would trust it with. He could recite history, strengths, weaknesses, and other things about a lot of mutants, given his knowledge may only be partially true now since he wasn't sure how the future had been changed since he had arrived in this timeline. Thinking of altering timelines he found himself drifting back through some thoughts of the Age of Apocalypse.

Part of him wanted to turn away such thoughts but he found himself reliving things a bit, and he remembered that though things had been turned on their heads in a lot of instances they weren't necessarily bad. He had met some mutants he hadn't seen in this reality to date, some he didn't remember from his own history books, and then of course there was the seemingly altered perceptions that it seemed a lot of people had. When he turned a corner he saw someone enveloped in an outfit that seemed to cover their entire body that gave him the impression they were either scared or looking for something. The way they were moving caused him to pause for a moment as he tried to think of how best to deal with it. He could approach the person and ask them what they were doing in a straightforward manner, but he didn't want to appear in a threatening way. Looking over he noticed that he was still a bit armed to the teeth as far as some people might think and he wasn't sure that was the best first impression.

He didn't have long to debate on how to approach the situation when he heard something that caught his attention. Only part of it was able to be heard from this distance but by the fact someone said Magneto's X-men his mind instantly went to the conclusion of wondering what was being discussed. He was more intrigued as he turned to where he heard and found the other person he had seen starting to push the door to the restroom. Clearing his throat he said, "Excuse me a moment please. I want to make sure that there isn't any trouble in there." He felt a bit odd talking so lightly, but he didn't want to hinder this person from the bathroom if that was where they were heading. But he was interested in what was going on for one, and a second thing that he was interested in was why the voice had the hint of fear in it. Yes, it might have been because he was talking about Magneto, but that didn't seem likely and Bishop saw why a moment later. The young woman in the room looked a lot more intimidating and the boy looked scared to death. Another word was initially his thought but he simply cleared his throat again and said, "I would like to ask you to take this discussion to another location since this isn't an appropriate location for any discussion with a female student."

He was a little more surprised upon further looking at the young woman because she was one who he hadn't remembered in this timeline before the Age of Apocalypse. Not saying she didn't have a variation in this timeline, it was more of the fact that he just hadn't seen her. Also she wasn't someone that had been highly involved in his history as well so she was a bit of an unknown outside of what he'd seen in the Age of Apocalypse. But that didn't really excuse the fact that she was in the restroom with another potential student, and worse, he looked more scared than he did anything else so it wasn't as if he was enjoying this though she wasn't wearing a whole lot. She definitely gave him a stronger impression of being ready for battle rather than any more innocent interactions. He shook his head and said, "But the young man is correct, Magneto is not currently aligned with the X-men. But I would be more than happy to discuss this further if we bring it to a more appropriate place."

Green orbs dared not move from the floating man, despite his questions of privacy, and her face dared not crack. Her presence within this reality, however different from her own, was staggering to her mental facilities and Clarice was not one to idly let the time pass before gaining answers as to what had happened. Were there those who would be able to discuss such matters with, some who could theorize what had brought the lavender mutant to a strange world where everything seemed much happier. Something had changed, but what exactly couldn't be discovered on her own, there had to be others who could help her in this search for answers, or Blink would forever be a displaced person in a world that would continuously confuse her. "The restroom doesn't belong to one gender, as both should be more than capable of using it to do their business." She answered without meeting a beat; the boy's question was an odd one. Were there enough people for separate bathrooms to be a necessity within the world, were they not being culled by some malevolent self-appointed mutant god? This world was strange.

As the boy continued dressing himself, he said something quite strange about Magneto, calling him evil and wanting to take over the world; that was not the Erik she had known and served. Erik had sought after a coexistent world between mutants and humans, at least that had been the plan before the hostile take over of North America by the tyrant Apocalypse, how different was this reality from her own? "I do not smoke things, nor do I understand what you mean by Erik being a bad guy. He is the leader of the X-Men, he fought valiantly alongside my adoptive father Sabretooth to ensure peace amongst the humans and the mutants, we fought for the right to survive alongside the humans..." Her world was quickly spinning out of control but this was not the place for her to be vulnerable. There was still the fact that the unknown was all around her, and the unknown was a dangerous thing for a warrior. "And you are not an X-Man, those are warriors crafted through training, meeting others with honor, and do not fear the presence of another person." Coldly she added, as if insulting him would give her the time to place things back together in her mind, but it seemed that peace wasn't meant to happen.

With the door creaking, Blink turned her face towards the barrier between the bathroom and whatever existed outside of it, no doubt a hallway within this school, but her hands and sense of survival kicked in before thoughts could truly be made. Unleashing the second javelin, she threw it at the wooden barrier and blinking away the majority of the door and having it crash next to bathroom stall door now laid in pieces. "I do not appreciate your unwillingness to face me head on, are you all cowards here?" She inquired without anger, emotions were a dangerous thing to have run rampant especially when dealing with the unknown, therefore Clarice did her best to remain as emotionally neutral as possible A girl, strangely beautiful like herself, was on the other side of the door alongside someone with whom Clarice had met a handful of times in order to restore the broken reality that she had been raised in. "You, you have done this. How did you bring me here, and where am I?" She asked, dropping her hands to her sides to show that she had no need to attack another helpless door. "I had helped send you here to fix the broken world, and the fixed world is having the leader of the X-Men targeted as a villain?" The world seemed to be moving around her so quickly; it was as if everything she had ever learned about the world was suddenly invalidated. "Where else would be a better place to discuss such things, I may know you Bishop but these others who hide behind doors I cannot just yet. They are much too shifty."

"The restroom doesn't belong to one gender, as both should be more than capable of using it to do their business." A unisex bathroom… what a terrifying idea! It was bad enough back at high school when he was forced to have to shower with the other boys, given his own body confidence issues, but sometime after his meeting with blink, he’d dwell on the thought of having to go and take care of ‘business’ with a lady in the room and it would fill him with dread. Ally MacBeal was still a long way off yet…

"I do not smoke things, nor do I understand what you mean by Erik being a bad guy. He is the leader of the X-Men, he fought valiantly alongside my adoptive father Sabretooth to ensure peace amongst the humans and the mutants, we fought for the right to survive alongside the humans..."

He spluttered heavily at the mention of the closest thing she’d had to a father being Sabretooth, as presumably this was the same one from his orientation pack who’d come attached with a warning of the highest severity that literally read that if you didn’t have some degree of healing ability run the hell away as fast as you can. OR better yet, go up, because he can’t fly (Eddie had decided this would be his default strategy from there on out, but being side did put a small wrinkle in that plan)

"And you are not an X-Man, those are warriors crafted through training, meeting others with honor, and do not fear the presence of another person."

There were many ways to defuse the situation with calm soothing words. Unfortunately Eddie didn’t know any of them. ”Are you serious, The X-Man have ALWAYS been led by Professor X – this is his mansion, by the way – whereas Magneto is a bad guy with bad dress sense who flies around with a big bad bucket on his bonce.. and as for not being an X-Man, hell I’ve only been here three weeks, give me a chance!“ Still hovering a little way off the ground, he added an awkward, chuckled ”I have enough trouble just landing.“

In any event, his words did little to soothe the savage beast, as a creaking door behind them was treated to a Javelin which caused it to be explosively added to the pile of remains the door to his cubicle had become. It revealed the man called Bishop – who he knew of to be one of their heavier hitters, but had never had the chance to be introduced to yet – and another girl who seemed to be coloured a metallic blue and with a mane of vibrant violet hair. He’d ponder that one later, but did look upwards and offer an ”Oh thank you, God.“ under his breath to the big guy upstairs. Good to know that having been forced to attend Sunday school all throughout his formative years had paid off.

"I do not appreciate your unwillingness to face me head on, are you all cowards here? You, you have done this. How did you bring me here, and where am I? I had helped send you here to fix the broken world, and the fixed world is having the leader of the X-Men targeted as a villain?"

"I would like to ask you to take this discussion to another location since this isn't an appropriate location for any discussion with a female student. But the young man is correct, Magneto is not currently aligned with the X-men. But I would be more than happy to discuss this further if we bring it to a more appropriate place."

"Where else would be a better place to discuss such things, I may know you Bishop but these others who hide behind doors I cannot just yet. They are much too shifty."

”If it helps, my names Wing.“ Eddie couldn’t help but to interject, raising his hand like asking a question in class. The next part though, was pretty much all bravado for the sake of blue-girl ”And I wasn’t hiding in their… I was having some, y’know, ‘personal’ time. “

Laurie gasped quietly as she spun in place to look at the tall, black man looming before her now. She didn't get a chance to respond as someone inside decided to disintegrate--or move--the door; again she spun, feet still hovering off the carpeted floor, with wide eyes at those inside. Not good, she thought.

"I do not appreciate your unwillingness to face me head on, are you all cowards here?"

At least the pink girl knew how to keep a situation from getting awkward. "Leaping before you look has worked out for you hasn't it?" Like checking a situation before blindly throwing herself in to it was a bad thing. Obviously Blink thought she could take on the world; well Laurie wasn't a Superhero or a Superhero-in-training, she was a young woman invited by some enigmatic Professor across the country--how he knew where she had been was yet explained--to a secluded mansion for mutants. Whether that was to train mutants or cook them for dinner, Laurie hadn't confirmed yet.

Biting her lip, the blue woman drifted a bit to the side to let Bishop step forward seeing how he had something to say. Getting vocal hadn't been her intention either. So much for the sneak-and-recon idea. Well, this was her first time. Okay, not really, people did it all the time, but rarely, uh, 'professionally.'

A conference room? Laurie hadn't vocalized it, but Blink asking where they should talk was a bit weird. Because all important meetings happened in the bathroom? And what was she talking about broken worlds, fixing things, and whatever?

Then Eddie tried changing the topic, or finding a topic that was more familiar with someone less hostile than Blink. Laurie, however, couldn't help but stare at the young man for a long moment after his 'introduction.' He was in the bathroom... for "personal time?" What did that mean? He could have just said he was in the bathroom. Perfectly natural biological function. You know, if you were Human.

Seeing how her cover was blown and these people barely acknowledged her existence as a person, rather than a potential enemy, there didn't seem to be any harm lingering and responding to Eddie. "My name's Laurie. I just got here. I was... just looking around." One hundred percent, completely true. Aside from omitting she'd been looking around for evidence this place was far more dangerous than the letter and the big exterior let on.

"And as far as I'm concerned," Laurie fixed Blink with her white eyes once more, "everyone here is shifty; but you have to start somewhere."

As much as Bishop was thinking about how peace might have helped dull his senses he wasn't about to get out of this situation while it looked as if it could only heat up. He thought back to the last time he had seen Clarice, she had been one of the X-men during the Age of Apocalypse which was similar to his own time in a way, though it wasn't a maniacal mutant who had been in control with his time. Didn't mean they weren't around, but they just weren't the main power, either way both had been far from peaceful, especially compared to the restored timeline. The difference between the young boy, the young cloaked girl, and Blink were amazingly different. Partially he wondered how he must have looked if he had been found by a group other than the X-men when he came back in time since he was used to such a violent time. He could imagine what it could be like from the outside looking in mostly because he had seen it from the viewpoint of the inside looking out. It had been a very hard transition. While he was letting some of these thoughts flow through his mind along with a few memories that went along with the memories he was still able to pay a good deal of attention to the situation.

Having trained himself to try catching as much going around him as possible was useful in a large number of situations, he almost chuckled at the thought of him being a counselor. That would be the last thing he could ever imagine and he refused to dwell on such a foolish notion, it was a good thing he was able to also keep his face straight. Listening to what the said he shook his head as he moved the javelin with his foot and said, "This is a haven for mutants, and there is talk of it being a school once again, so I don't think cowards is the best way to describe anyone. Though some aren't meant for battle please hold your judgement for another time." You couldn't judge a book by it's cover was one of the last things he wanted to say, and the young man definitely proved the point that not all mutants were built for combat. He didn't look like he'd seen the inside of a gym before, but he wasn't about to simply write him off though because he didn't believe in that policy, he had seen people do surprising things when they needed to. After a brief pause he spoke again, "I would probably have something to say about the spear, but I truly understand what it's like to be dropped into a world that is so alien to your own all to well."

He hadn't been the most reasonable person in the world when he had first come back from his present with what he thought had to be the best way to avoid his future. Obviously he hadn't managed on the first try but with the more time spent he managed to learn so much more and had grown a good deal though in different ways than constantly fighting for survival. When she addressed him he let her discuss things to completion before he shook his head and said, "You are at the school for the gifted that was founded by Charles Xavier, whom in the time that you remember had passed away, and in turn been opened by his old friend." He didn't pause for long before he continued, "Unfortunately one of the downsides of this more peaceful time is that with the survival of Xavier, Magneto chose to pursue his own vision which is much more violent, and focuses more on mutant supremacy... Sabertooth is also with him, and I an assure you he isn't anything like the one from the time that you remember." The last bit he threw in mostly because he remembered all to well the difference in personalities between people in the Age of Apocalypse versus the current world. Speaking more firmly he said, "As one bonus there isn't a maniacal mutant who controls the world, and instead this world is much more at peace. Though mutants aren't accepted, which is why this school isn't as publicly known as a school for mutants."

Peace and acceptance unfortunately didn't go hand in hand, as much as he wished that the realization of Xavier's dream would come much quicker. Magneto's actions didn't really help but that wasn't something he had to reveal but before it got any further he said, "Not being as straightforward as to confront everyone boldly isn't necessarily a weakness. A lot of the people that are moving into, have recently moved into, or are just visiting have come here to learn how to control their abilities. But please, could we re-convene, because also different than where you were from, this is the boys restroom, so generally people would get the wrong impression." It was around this time he got the mental message about Logan and he clenched a fist as he said, "It sounds as if things are getting interested, not sure if it'll be to late to join them in the hunt but keeping the peace here is also an important task if I'm unable to go with them."

He wasn't to sure how convinced he was of that, but he knew it was true, and he just hoped that they were able to all come back in one piece though they normally managed that well enough to do that in the past. It wasn't as if he could leave himself any room for doubt, and he didn't want to leave the current situation as it was either.

Pure green eyes moved from one person to another, the information in which she was receiving wasn't doing much to restore her faith in these strangers, the boy seemed to need to argue about everything, the blue girl was as paranoid about everything as Clarice was, and the black man from the future seemed to understand where Clarice stood in the midst of the chaos. "You cannot say that the X-Men have always been led by Charles Xavier, for some of us that isn't a truthful statement." Maybe it was how everything was falling down around her, how it seemed that the world has lost all of its sense and that there was something much different to the world than what she had known to be true. Clarice was like that Alice character from the Wonderland books she had read as a child, before the horrible take over, who had stumbled into a reality that had been nothing more than nonsense and wonderment, a familiar feeling for the pink-hued woman. "And I didn't insinuate that you were an X-Man, you said so yourself by saying we're the X-Men, therefore I was treating as something you had claimed to have been."

Turning to the blue woman, whose words seemed much more deadly than anything she could do so herself, it took a lot of personal strength from teleporting the smart-mouthed woman away, to deal with her in another setting where words would do little good for this strange woman's survival. Clenching her teeth, taking whatever bait the devious child had set out would do nothing for getting answers, and therefore Clarice continued on without acknowledging the paranoid girl. "I do apologize for making assumptions Bishop, it is not as if I'm used to knowing a time of peace let alone understanding it." There was much to be learned about this world, about the differences that were bound to be numerous, and Clarice was certain she wasn't going to like them at all. "So, it is safe to assume that Magneto has followed the path of Apocalypse in hopes of Darwin's ideals. That is sickening, to think that the survival of one man could have altered someone so bent on peaceful coexistence in the opposite direction." She was repeating what had been said for her own understanding, and to show the time-traveller that she was listening, "And I can understand about the sentiment about not being accepted, I was moved as a child in order to find a more accepting community. This school, then, seems like more of a symbol for people like us, Bishop. We have nowhere to turn but to a community who understands being an exile." Biting her tongue, Blink would need to understand her surroundings more before allowing her mind to openly process information like that again. Allowing herself to open up to such vulnerability, especially by those with whom she could give no trust to, was a weakness her adoptive father would have been angry to have seen. She was a soldier, a good one at that, and needed to live by that relentlessly.

Nodding at the time-traveller's suggestion, the cerise mutant agreed to move the location to somewhere more appropriate for this conversation, although she still didn't understand how the perception of using such a location could so heavily influence the elder man's desire to relocate. "Well Wing and Laurie, it has been an interesting meeting... I am known as Blink." Taking a soft step towards where the young blue woman and the time-travler stood, she turned her back slightly before proceeding towards the exit. Although the damage she had caused would make anyone's use of the "boys' restroom" an awkward experience as it lacked privacy in two different locations. "And Bishop, if you have more important matters to attend to, you know well enough that you are excused from keeping an eye on me. I am certain the fidgety boy would be more than helpful when it comes to finding answers about this strange world. A soldier's duty is never convenient." She added as she continued into the hallway, wondering where this strange world held in store for her, and what path laid ahead for an alien like herself.

"You cannot say that the X-Men have always been led by Charles Xavier, for some of us that isn't a truthful statement. And I didn't insinuate that you were an X-Man, you said so yourself by saying we're the X-Men, therefore I was treating as something you had claimed to have been."

Eddie wanted to say something … but for once his brain overruled his mouth and kept him quiet – mostly because it didn’t have a clue what to say. He’d spoken the truth – often because he never gave himself a chance to lie – but she had shouted at him at every turn and yet Xavier had always led the X-Men and Magneto & Sabretooth both had only sought redemption for little more than a couple of months between them, so why was she talking about them like they were some great pair of saviours of Mutant kind? It was enough to leave the boy with a severely puzzled look on his face as he scratched the mop of auburn hair on his head.

"I do apologize for making assumptions Bishop, it is not as if I'm used to knowing a time of peace let alone understanding it. So, it is safe to assume that Magneto has followed the path of Apocalypse in hopes of Darwin's ideals. That is sickening, to think that the survival of one man could have altered someone so bent on peaceful coexistence in the opposite direction."

Ah! Apocalypse! He knew that name at least, because he’d featured a few pages earlier in the ‘People to fly away from’ (N.B: Not its actual title) guide than Sabretooth. From what he remembered; Fish lips, morphing powers … and a SERIOUS world domination complex. It hadn’t said anything about Magento following him though although their aims had been somewhat similar.

"And I can understand about the sentiment about not being accepted, I was moved as a child in order to find a more accepting community. This school, then, seems like more of a symbol for people like us, Bishop. We have nowhere to turn but to a community who understands being an exile."

"Not being as straightforward as to confront everyone boldly isn't necessarily a weakness. A lot of the people that are moving into, have recently moved into, or are just visiting have come here to learn how to control their abilities. But please, could we re-convene, because also different than where you were from, this is the boys restroom, so generally people would get the wrong impression. It sounds as if things are getting interested, not sure if it'll be to late to join them in the hunt but keeping the peace here is also an important task if I'm unable to go with them."

Walking slowly, Eddie had followed a little way behind as the conversation started to head back out into the hallway – considering the lack of doors made regaining any sort of privacy somewhat problematic (and he was still very aware that he still needed to wipe)

"Well Wing and Laurie, it has been an interesting meeting... I am known as Blink.”

Blink. And people though his name was odd.

Well, unless you knew his surname, then Wing Walker was actually quite witty he had thought when he came up with it several months ago, but Blink? Not ‘Javelin’ or ‘Spear’ then, but just shutting your eyes for a fraction of a second? How did that make any sense with blowing things up!

”And Bishop, if you have more important matters to attend to, you know well enough that you are excused from keeping an eye on me. I am certain the fidgety boy would be more than helpful when it comes to finding answers about this strange world. A soldier's duty is never convenient."

Wait… what? Bishop was leaving this somewhat destructive happy girl in the care of the fidgety boy… but the fidgety boy was HIM! This was the last thing he wanted – actually scratch that, the last thing he wanted was to be forced to share a room with Julian Keller and then someone to lock them inside – this was almost the last thing he wanted.

” A…. uh, are you sure?“ He looked over at Bishop nervously, before conceding his submission with a shrug of his shoulders. ”Okay… I’ll try. Don’t know what answers I can give you though?“ Given that he’d already told her he’d only been there for a couple of weeks, his experience was limited to what he had picked up in orientation, whereas his global geo-political outlook was limited by having grown up on a farm and preferring almost any other channel on the television to the news; beyond any super-heroic headlines. ”I think there’s a tour going on for the newest students, If you’d prefer to speak to Mrs Grey-Summers instead? “ He looked over to Laurie hpeful of a little confirmation to back him up; operating under the assumption that despite her somewhat ‘unique’ look, she was simply another being added under the Helix Initiative like he was

True to form though, once the mouth had started, it was difficult to stop… ”I gotta ask though, why ‘Blink’ and you’re really not from around here, are you?“ Which was the nicest way he could ask for a little more explanation, as to how exactly how world view seemed to be of a completely different world to the one they were all in now.

Laurie had paid close attention to Bishop and Blink as they spoke. Most of what they said sounded like nonsense, but not gibberish. They weren't trying very hard to hide what they were talking about. Was it that normal? Were they insane? Sounded like... parallel worlds or timelines. Something Science Fiction. Like Blink was from there; maybe Bishop as well? Hopefully not from another one. Laurie wasn't really into the aliens and starships thing, but she did like to read. Course or two included some novels from the genre. Maybe she'd seen some television shows about it. It was also a scientific curiosity real people were investigating, though Science overall was ill-equipped to tackle such a complex issue. How did you detect another universe that was effectively sharing the same physical space? Wasn't like you looked out the window.

Topic turned to more immediate matters, however, and Laurie's gears shifted to compensate. Bishop looked interest in events elsewhere in the mansion. Blink offered to let Eddie show her around. Yeah, so that left Laurie; and the young man looked to her as he suggested a place Blink could find her answers. "The tour's downstairs."

Hunt. X-Men. Soldier. Students.

As the group started to move venues, however, the blue woman drifted to a stop. "Nice meeting you," she echoed, "but I got to go... somewhere. I'll be fine." Still hovering over the carpet, she spun slowly in place in the opposite direction. Her thoughts were a mess as she slowly began to move away, a single word quietly breathed between her lips faced with the empty corridor ahead, "Alone." And even softer to herself, "As usual."

Laurie wrapped the cloak close about her body as she focused on the empty hallway so she didn't think about the people behind her. If she thought about them... she might be tempted to stay. She'd been on the road so long sticking out in every crowd she could possibly find that Laurie wanted to stay; and at the same time she desperately wanted to leave. Strangers gawking at her reminded the young woman she didn't belong, but she could ignore them; but if she actually found a place how could she ignore their looks or what they thought about her?

And who said she wanted to be a student of the X-Men anyway? She didn't want to find in some 'war' with 'soldiers' and cross-dimensional whatever. Laurie just wanted to go home and pretend all of this never happened. Instead of turning into a blue girl of some sort of pliable crystal, Laurie was just on extended Academic leave. Wake up tomorrow and go back to classes. Just a bad dream caused by the stress of Final Exams or something. She'd have all her friends, family, and a future to look forward to and not... not a bunch of people she didn't know anything about in some giant mansion.

Laurie squeezed her eyes shut. Turn around, join the tour, maybe blend in with a bunch of random people... or get out of here and just keep moving. She'd always looked for a place like Xavier's, but now that she was here it was just so strange, so foreign. Wing said "students" and Bishop talked about people learning to "control their abilities;" but she didn't really care about any of that. She just wanted to be "normal" again and how could she possibly fit in here wanting that instead of soaring in the sky or shooting through a lake? As... interesting as it was to do those things Laurie just wasn't sure if that was what she wanted; and she hated feeling like she really didn't have any real alternative. There was always a choice, they said. Problem was sometimes all the choices really sucked.

She found herself hovering stationary in the hallway, lost in thought not long after feigning having somewhere to be--like she knew where the hell she was going. After she reached up with her right hand to slowly and discretely wipe away a tear, Laurie chanced a look over her shoulder to see if the others were still there or had left her to better things.

Listening to the younger mutants made him see just how sharp of a contrast it seemed to be when he was growing up, and yet there were still like his childhood. He wondered how the Witness would have reacted to such a thought but as odd as it felt for him to be trying to break this up it was going to be one of the expectations going forward since he was one of the more seasoned members of the Staff as it was. Even if he wasn't meant to be a teacher, it didn't mean that he couldn't try to teach the younger generation something. Granted he couldn't really tell them what he had seen since A it would have sounded more than a little crazy, and b though he had come back to the past to try changing it he did have some respect for the order of things. It seemed as if the young man was a little less scared to death of the other mutant, but not by much from what he could tell. Hiding his fear didn’t seem something he had practiced very well, at least to someone who was used to trying to look beyond the obvious. He nodded at her response about making assumptions without commenting because he didn’t want to cut into the conversation needlessly at that point.

In the respite he found himself glancing a little more at the other mutant, and he realized just how little her covering actually hid. She seemed to be a bit less open about her mutation, granted that was something that happened a lot depending on how they grew up. Bishop had seen mutants of all kinds, whether they were visible or not so he wasn’t about to judge anyone based on their physical mutations. Nodding a bit as she finished he said, ”It is a safe haven, and normally even those who don’t believe in Xavier’s dream of mutant and human cooperation don’t really strike out. Even though they don’t see eye to eye Magneto does have a level of respect for his old friend.” As an afterthought he finished his line of thinking, ”Though one life can alter things drastically not everything is based on that one event.” Turning from his thoughts he looked at the other two as he turned to more positive things in a sort and he spoke once more this time to all three, though the boy knew this surely, ”This is no exile. It’s a community, we help each other grow, and those of us that are able to help defend the others when needed.”

Luckily for him in a way he didn’t really see himself needing the help spoken of as much as others, well physically at least, but he wouldn’t put it past happening. He had seen some things that would make anyone wonder such a thing. Thinking on what Blink said next it was nice to see her introduce herself and it seemed she had designated the young man to accompany her. He didn’t let it show but he really wasn’t sure how the young man would take it given their first interaction, then again maybe this was the most he’d talked to a woman regularly. No offense to him, but some people were late bloomers or to shy and this boy definitely seemed to at least be the latter of the two and Bishop wasn’t going to try saving him from that predicament unless he appeared to dislike or fear the idea to much. Though he didn’t like the idea, which was obvious, the boy didn’t back down and only looked to the older man for a moment before he agreed to do it. So he was either just not bothering to fight it or giving in and Bishop found that since that situation seemed to be resolving itself it left the other young woman.

He watched her somewhat and noted that she seemed to turn slowly in place without seeming to touch the ground, or doing it so minimally that it seemed that way. Figuring that out would require time, and Bishop was willing to put in the time for a lot of things, besides the way she seemed to dismiss herself seemed unconvincing. So he watched her for a moment as he said, ”You two enjoy the tour. I shall leave you to it. By the way, hope you were finished with your other, and if so you might want to before heading to the tour.” He wasn’t trying to embarrass the boy anymore but now that they had left the bathroom the reason for him being there seemed to disappear and he simply nodded to Blink and said, ”I wish you luck, and I will be around in case you’d like to fill in more of the holes.”

With that he left the other two as he observed the young woman in the shroud quietly for a few moments, definitely thinking of how things could have been for him and it surely was for many others. This was why Charles Xavier dreamed of a world, well one of the reasons, and it was a good reason for the school to be here. She seemed alone and though her body language didn’t show that she hated it there was also the hint that she wasn’t enjoying her peace and quiet either. With that in mind he cleared his throat as he said ”Excuse me Miss Laurie. But it didn’t seem that you were too eager to have a tour of the mansion. Is there somewhere else or someone I can introduce you to?”[b] Motioning back to the broken door which he figured he’d try to help fix if not done so later on he said, [b]”Not every interaction will be like that one I can promise you, but there might be a few more. As you know I’m sure people aren’t of the same temperament, and are very unique. Which is one of the beauties of this school; you could see it, and all in an environment that is beneficial for a lot of people.”

He stopped at that to see what the young woman had to say for the moment before he continued, not wanting to scare her away from the place, or make her to uncomfortable. Also there was the aspect of leaving someone alone lost in the place that didn’t seem like a good idea in the least.

The world had, in one quick hop into her portal, shifted around her and Clarice had a lot to learn about the differences that now existed; Charles Xavier had survived the horrible assassination against his life, stopped by the time-traveller, and had taken the role of Magneto in this world by seeking out a harmonious co-existence between mutants and humans. That much was clear, although what Bishop had meant by that Charles' survival hadn't been the true catalyst for Magneto's change in moral trajectory. What more would she need to learn in order to understand what had caused such a drastic change in the world she had come to know so effortless? A question for another time, with the time-travelling Bishop, in order to break down whatever confusion would exist when it came to living within a different timeline. Would that have meant her timeline was no longer in existence, since Bishop had fixed the broken nature of it all? That would have been horrible, especially after having just destroyed the tyrant whose handiwork had created a massive distinction between humans and mutants, as those who had been foolish enough to have fallen from the moral path and believed in his ideals had pitted the two species against each other. If there was a way of knowing what had happened to her friends and family back home..."Call it what you will Bishop, but I believe myself an eXile for the time being as I am not meant to be here." Maybe it was a harsh term to refer to herself as, but as an outsider in a strange world, Blink couldn't think of a better way to describe how she felt.

"It was nice meeting you too Laurie, hopefully I hadn't disrupted your time schedule too much. Also, the next time we meet, I do hope that it is on more sane terms, at least from your point of view." Blink added, giving the blue girl a soft smile before turning back to face the Ohioan who she had nominated for a better understanding. "I am certain that you will do fine, since you seemingly understand more about this world than I, you shouldn't' doubt your ability to influence another. It's a sign of weakness, and exploiting them is how one is able to take you on the battlefield. Also, insecurities aren't attractive." Maybe there was much to be learned about curbing her ideas but there had never been time to filter her thoughts before, so naturally expressing her thoughts had never come across as potentially wrong before. Much was to be learned. Taking a few steps forward, her green orbs locked intensly upon the boy, "I am called Blink because of the sound my portals make when one goes through them, like this." Without giving much thought to asking for permission, the foreign mutant opened a portal behind Wing, grabbing hold of the younger male as she ran towards the portal which began disassembling them on a molecular level.

[Blink and Wing Exit
TBC: Have a Siwrne dda!]

Laurie's white eye looked back at the pink woman as she addressed the blue woman with a softer tone than before. Maybe it'd just been Laurie's interpretation of Blink's attitude earlier. It was... kind of nice to hear the other woman would like to talk later. Why Laurie cared was a good question if she didn't feel like she belonged here, but perhaps, if Blink really meant it, it wouldn't be so bad to meet her again later. Being pink she was the only one Laurie had met that might understand how she felt; but Blink might also not understand seeing how she came from a less peaceful, uh, 'world.' That really was weird, even thinking about it.

But then Blink was gone. Just her and the imposing man that seemed to take alternate worlds or something in stride.

She turned her eyes forward when Bishop addressed her, aware the man wasn't just going to saunter off and leave her to 'exile' by herself. Muscles contorted on her face while she had her back to Bishop for a moment. With a quick shrug of her shoulders, however, she turned in place as she continued to hover. "Just Laurie. 'Miss Laurie' sounds so formal." Stuffy. Old. She just wanted to be Laurie. No one 'special.' Blend in, be part of the crowd, be liked.

"Look," her white eyes fixed themselves on Bishop's dark face, "I appreciate that things are... complicated around here. Everyone has different...abilities and backgrounds." Normally she was much more eloquent, but while she tried remaining graceful the entire topic was still too new to know what words to use so she didn't offend someone or something. "But," and now she drew on her boldness as the strength returned to her voice, "I don't know any of you. I don't even know how you found me, out of all the mutants in the country, state, or city I was in; or why I was picked out of everyone else out there probably suffering what I did. I don't know anything about this place, and I've heard rumors of government programs experimenting on mutants. So I have to be sure I'm not getting the candy coated brochure look at the place."

Slowly Laurie crossed her arms over her chest, everything but her head covered by the cloak as she floated just off the floor. "Sorry if that sounds paranoid, but I just don't know who to trust or what I'm even doing." No one knew she was even there; well a few in Washington, but what would they do if this was all a trap? And she didn't have a clue what she was doing. The letter had sounded like just what she'd wanted, but the old adage "if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is" came to bear. This wasn't the time to take everything at face value. Not in her opinion, anyway.

[OOC: Posted out of turn since Wing is moving on with Blink]

Part of Bishops mindset was to try and stop the other two mutants from leaving on such a note, the way Blink talked of being an exile seemed a bit much but he couldn't really disagree with her. It would take time for her to get used to what was different in this timeline and he would be there if she needed. But at the same time he didn't think that he would be able to offer her everything that would help make a transition into the present easier since everyone was different to put it simply. He refused to simply assume that what had worked for him would work for her, and also there were so many other younger mutants around that may be able to help her out so he hoped that would be enough for most of the transition. He didn’t have long to think about that before he heard the sound of her teleporting, so he was alone with Laurie.

This young woman had surely been through a lot and that was easy to tell without the obvious mutation, he had been branded along with others in his timeline but that was nothing compared to this. He could walk among others relatively easily without standing out as much as anyone who had a visible mutation. It didn't make him think any more or less of anyone, but at the same time he got the feeling that it would take some convincing to prove that this was a place worthy of staying. That seemed even more so given what he figured was one of her first experiences with other residences. Blink had managed to do a bit of damage to the building, and make it seem as if they were more of a military organization from what he could imagine. He wasn't sure if this is what the young woman before him believed but though there was a good deal of fighting that wasn't the main purpose of the X-men or this school. This wasn't the Age of Apocalypse where the powerful mutant had taken over and completely decimated the world as most people would know it, or his own timeline which was much harsher for mutants than the current time. He had to try thinking along the lines of a more peaceful teacher since that is what he was trying to portray here which was a bit of a stretch for him.

When she mentioned something about it being formal he simply nodded and said, ”I apologize, we truly do want everyone to be comfortable here. My name is Lucas Bishop; I go by either name accordingly.” He listened to her as she looked directly at him and he wasn’t sure what she was thinking. He only had a single tattoo compared to herself so not sure how she took that but he didn’t have to think about that for very long since she continued. He didn’t interrupt her at all until she mentioned about the brochure and he said, ”Well for starters I can promise you we don’t work for the government, and we don’t allow any testing on mutants. This is a place where we allow mutants to explore and get more comfortable with their abilities. It isn’t a prison, or anything along those lines.” How to clarify the way she found her was somewhat more challenging without it sounding a bit odd but he said, ”The professor and others help us find mutants so that we can offer them a safe haven at all ages, there isn’t really any specific place that we promote the school directly or target looking for mutants.”

For the most part he was being completely honest yet he wasn’t sure how she would take the fact that they were using a highly advanced machine that could locate mutants with the assistance of a telepath to find mutants. Shaking his head at her last thought he shrugged and said, ”Paranoia isn’t a bad thing; it is a natural instinct that helps to preserve us and many others. Also, trust is something that is earned.” He wasn’t going to keep going too much longer before letting her discuss anything else but he continued, ”But I do say that you are welcome to stay or go, it would be an honor for us to have you stay but only if that is your choice, and it can be revoked at any time. If you wanted I could help show you around the mansion more, or we could try finding some others who may be able to keep you company if you’d prefer others to me. As you saw we have younger men and women as well as other teachers. If the professor is back then we could also try going to visit him so you could discuss with the founder of the school.”

He left the thought process there for her to consider, not trying to alter her decision in any way shape or form, it was entirely her decision to make. It wasn’t as if he would be very kind if he said all of this about being accepting and then he turned around and forced her to do something. This wasn’t a battle situation, she wasn’t a threat so he wasn’t going to try treating her as such in any way shape or form at the moment and he wasn’t going to assume he was wrong.

"Abilities, huh?" Laurie said as she lifted a blue hand to gaze down at it as Bishop tried assuaging her concerns about this strange place off the beaten path as it were. Under her breath, the young woman mulled to herself aloud, "Wonder if this is an ability." That she could turn off. Extremely unlikely, of course, but a girl could dream. If it weren't for her "abilities" being so blatantly obvious Laurie probably wouldn't be so upset every day she got up and looked in the mirror as a mutant. How could she "blend in" as "one of the guys" looking blue though?

Even other mutants stared at one another if there was a physical difference. At first even she had shied away from others less fortunate like herself--or more so. That was until a short time before the letter arrived when Laurie started approaching those physically different. Even if they weren't all pretty to look at it was nice having someone that could relate. Maybe it even helped knowing her turmoil wasn't even that bad. Yeah, so she was blue. It could have been worse. A lot worse. Focusing on the plight of others that simply wanted to talk or sit with someone helped her forget her own selfish concerns.

Now she was here, in a mansion full of normal looking mutants. Except Blink. Maybe there were others like her...?

When Bishop said 'honor' it caused Laurie to look up, her expression all askew. "Honored? I'm no one special." Sure, she was a mutant, but how did that make her special? There had to be lots of special people here; people that frolicked about merrily mutant with resumes of heroism and stuff, right? Here comes the dual citizenship Canadian/American, all blue, and they were honored? The awkward expression was all that kept her from smiling at how awkward that sounded.

When the tall, black man finished, Laurie stared at him with her white eyes for a moment. Someone else? What, like a counselor or teacher that was more "personable" or something? She didn't need to calm down and relax. Well, maybe she did, but that didn't mean she was anxious to get away from Bishop. "So you're saying my personal tour of the mansion for secret areas is over, and I should stay with someone official? You seem pretty official," Laurie tried putting on a brief smile, "unless you're busy. Something always going on, right?"

Ability. It was more powerful of a word than what people gave it credit for considering just how much it contained within it. Not a long word but considering all the things that were classified as abilities whether for mutants or humans and he could think of a lot of things that would be classified as such. After her second comment he couldn't help but nod and say, "Abilities aren't defined or easy to see from our own perspective. I have no doubt you have wonderful abilities. Part of what we do is help find out exactly what they may be in a more safe environment so that." Well, safe was a matter of perspective, it wasn't that the mansion wasn't safe, but given the history of the X-men there were a multitude of dangers that they had been exposed to, or had exposed themselves to. He didn't know what else he could say really so he simply ended the thought process, ”We try to give the opportunity to as many as we can to learn what they will. The professor has helped a lot of people, and there have been a lot of new arrivals in the recent months.”

That was putting it lightly, especially considering he had seen the Age in which Xavier had been killed, and had caused the domino effect that led up to the age of Apocalypse. The dreams may have slowed down a bit, but seeing Blink definitely was causing him to think on it more than he had in a while. He shrugged after he listened to her mention she wasn’t special before saying, ”Everyone is special in their own way, and it’s especially true of the younger generation.” That was the truth, he wanted to toss in what a benefit it was to grow up in this generation where there was at least some semblance of peace for mutants but that didn’t need to be said. Leaving that be for a moment he thought of the benefits of this school. He also remembered the impact that Xavier’s dream had on his life, at first from when he was in the XSE, and now when he was with the X-men. Luckily he had long since passed any tests that proved he was more an X-man than a member of XSE. Maybe he had gone soft since he wouldn’t kill someone, but that didn’t matter. He broke up his line of thought as he said, ”It’s always an honor to meet others, whether they are mutant or not. But I’ve been used to the company of mutants most of my life.”

He himself hadn’t just met mutants, but he had studied them in depth over the years as well, and could have written a profile of several at least. Granted he had found that not all the characterizations had been correct he would only slightly alter them to keep true to his source since he hadn’t disproved everything. As she mentioned her personal tour he was a little surprised but he managed to hide it and figured he’d take that as a bit of a compliment. Her words made him think of the brief message he had thought he’d heard muttered by Cyclops a little bit ago. But he had twisted so it was muted so as not to disturb the children as they had tried to settle whatever was going on. He righted it now as he shook his head and said, [b]”I wouldn’t imply or say such a thing, there are always things going on I’m sure but I can definitely provide you with a tour if you’d like. You can lead where you’d like to go and I can let you know as many details as possible about it.”[b]

Laurie listened to what Bishop had to say, but her white eyes weren't exactly wide and overflowing with eagerness. Maybe the man hadn't heard her or knew what she was talking about, but everything he just said had nothing to do with her turning off her blue skin 'ability.' Nope, she was blue. Looked like she had to pretend to be a fan of obscure Anime or Manga no one on the planet ever heard of, or someday she'd just have to live with it. Of course she'd end up figuring out how to live with it. Apparently wasn't able to die with it anyway, right? Probably best not to tell anyone she tried that.

Then he moved on to the 'everyone is special' speech. Not that she had a problem with the content; it was just she kind of saw it coming and hadn't really meant to drawn it out of him from one of her off hand comments. He probably just meant to bolster her self-confidence. Laurie was defensive right now, but that didn't mean she was oblivious. For someone what Bishop was doing would probably mean all the difference. For Laurie it wasn't what she was looking for. She just wanted to be 'normal.' She didn't want to learn how to be a mutant or about 'abilities.' She just wanted to be.

Probably didn't have a choice in the matter. Not because they'd force it on her, but because walking around clueless just to pretend like she wasn't blue was a pretty stupid way to go through life.

"I don't know where to go. I just wanted to look for signs there was more to this than you were prepared to tell new people. The 'catch,' however well meaning," Laurie explained before shifting her weight in the air and reaching up unclasp the cloak so it hung freely about her shoulders. "This is just a school?" Being an adult this whole exchange was probably different than most people the mansion took in. Alright, so she only just entered college a year or two ago, but she still felt like she had a responsibility to ensure the respectability of the establishment and the safety of those blindly coming here--including herself. "Are you... accredited?" Laurie's face pinched a bit, finding it hard to believe you'd put "Xavier's Mansion University" on a resume.

She slowly lowered herself to the floor and crossed over to the stair railing nearby to look down at the lobby. "What do people do around here, besides learn about their 'abilities?'" Well if the man was going to offer, he'd get all the questions she could think of before the opportunity passed her by. Questions like, "What do you," she turned her white gaze back to the tall, dark man, "do here?"

From her reaction Bishop found himself mentally groaning at what he was saying and he had a feeling that was her reaction. She didn't say a word and that helped to speak volumes, he wasn't really hitting a chord with her which wasn't too surprising but it was a sign that he was trying too hard. Not all students were of the fiber that he had initially taken her as, which wasn't a bad thing since not many who knew Lucas Bishop, especially those who knew him before he had been with the X-men would have pinned him down as a teacher type. He could almost imagine how his sister, or any of his comrades in the XSE would have reacted to hearing him ramble on like this, it wouldn't be a good reaction though that much he was sure of. Even looking at himself from that time he would probably have probably given him a good punch across the jaw at the least to try snapping him out of it. Teacher material he might not be, but he was still going to try assisting with Xavier's recent venture and attempt to bring the mansion back to being more of a school. He could apologize but luckily he was able to avoid such a thing as she started to talk about what she'd like to see.

Her point was loaded and yet Bishop could respect what she was asking, being careful especially for a young blue mutant, he could only imagine some of the things she might have been through. He wasn't the person to try to simply visualize what he thought someone had been through and simply assume things so he shrugged as he said, "Understandable. There always seems to be something underneath every offer in the world. Some are easier to see than others, and though I want you to make your own mind. I don't have any problem showing you all the levels, though a couple of the rooms are currently under maintenance if I remember." If he remembered right there was some scheduled maintenance to the danger room, but other than that he figured that she wasn't a spy who was simply trying to learn everything the X-men had to offer. Before getting too far he had to try and make sure of a few things, so he would try to do a brief screening of her based on reactions. If he had his way he would provide a physical as well as mental test before he determined she wasn't a spy but he really couldn't afford to be that careful with all of the new arrivals. At her second question of it being just a school he replied calmly, "That is the current intention. Over the years it's mostly been a safe haven while giving the opportunity to help mutants learn to control their abilities as stated before. As evasive as that may sound it is the true intention.”

That was the truth overall, but he wasn’t going to really stop there because he could tell she was trying to make an intellectual and wise decision instead of simply trusting things at face value. Also she threw out the question of what others do, and then what he did. That was a loaded question from his point of view, but that was coming from someone that knew himself. If he was an outsider looking in obviously they couldn’t infer much, or at least he liked to believe that at least. There were certain aspects that only those who had been around longer and telepaths may be able to get about him though, but that wouldn’t come out unless needed. Once she had finished he started a response, ”As you probably know, the professor dreams of a world where mutants and humans can coexist peacefully. So as much as I’d like to say that this is just a school I would be lying. We train in the normal academia, expanding to things that deal more with mutants as a whole instead of just the common Universities.”

He stopped there for a moment before he continued, ”But also we have to expand to more of a combat setting to an extent because of the danger from humans, as well as other mutants. I can show you some of the areas that are used for training that may not be included in the tour, but not all since our main training facility is under maintenance.” He had gone a bit out of order but that really didn’t matter he figured, if she wanted a tour he felt he was probably boring her and it felt odd to have to do all the talking. Normally he would leave the teaching to some of the much more charismatic X-men but he was here, and he wasn’t simply going to blow someone off. He opened his hands gesturing to the building as he said, ”But we can discuss these things during the tour of this building. As far as legitimacy for teaching, Professor Xavier is a very well educated man, as are the majority of the teachers, which is why we’ve been asked mostly to teach what we have the most experience in. Where would you like to go first? Of course this is the wing for residence so we can explore further here or go elsewhere. I shall leave that up to you.”

Laurie's white eyes stared at him when he invited her on a tour, but noted some places were under "maintenance." Okay, now Laurie knew she was being a hardass mentally here, but that really didn't sound the way Bishop thought it did. Oh, sure, you can see all these safe "classified" rooms, but the ones with all the incrimination material? Yeah those are under "construction." The man was trying though, but all the young woman could was shake her head a little. Guess as long as she didn't hear moans or weird mechanical noises...?

She let the man talk without interrupting him even as she folded her arms over her breasts. When he was done, the blue woman closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh. When the bright pools slid open once more, Laurie's arms dropped and she stepped closer to Bishop to look into his eyes. The reserve of confidence she'd launched her questions from showed no signs of abating as she replied simply, "Places not normally on the tour." Why show her the kitchen or the garage? Sure she'd find them eventually, but secrets interested her more. She was missing out on meeting the rest, which ate at her, but Laurie needed to know more about this place and getting distracted wouldn't help.

"And tell me what you mean about 'combat training' against the 'dangers of Humans' and 'Mutants.' You don't need to mince words with me. I started college already; and from what I think you're trying not to say I'm going to find out sooner or later," Laurie pitched straight down the line again not going easy on the large man that could obviously handle himself; even if he did find this setting awkward or atypical. Not that she really knew what was up, or that she'd be comfortable talking about it necessarily, but she had to forge ahead. Make them think she was one of them, learn the truth, and... figure out what to do then. At least she'd have information to work off of; up until now she'd just been drifting and hoping for the best. It was hard to plan for a future as a blue woman when you no longer understood the world around you.

"Lead the way. I won't float off," like she had with Jean, unless she suspected there was something Bishop didn't want her to see--then she might drift off without a word for a peek. Seemed best not to add that condition vocally. Better to ask forgiveness than permission, after all. So thought the Operative-in-training; sleuthing about the mansion looking for secrets. Better mental self-portrait than aimless woman strolling through strange mansion full of Mutants potentially members of a secret militia anyway.

Bishop thought about where to show her first, he figured that based on what she said she wasn’t really interested in the dorms, as they were far from the most interesting place in the mansion. Also, there were things in some of the rooms, his for instance, that may lead to believe that not all the X-men were peace loving. He tried to read her reactions but her eyes made it a bit hard since they didn’t seem to give anywhere near as much away as most. Her eyes weren’t as easy to read to him at least, who knew what time would tell but that was also if she would stick around, but they were interesting in their own right given the disc that was in place of the pupils. Part of him was surprised that she didn’t seem to speak up right away but it wasn’t as if there were that long of a silence since she started with a simple statement, but it was straight to the point. Part of him wanted to smirk since it was something that definitely intrigued him due to the curious nature, but he shrugged and said, ”Well most of the places are eventually on the tour, but it just isn’t the first day. Unfortunately to get to those rooms we do have to pass through some of the more public places.”

Though part of him debated on the intelligence behind the move he didn’t see any downside to really let her at least see some of the areas in the basement, there wasn’t really a lot that they had to hide. Obviously going into Cerebro wasn’t’ going to happen, and the danger room was under maintenance so he wasn’t going to be able to show her that room. If it hadn’t been scheduled he might have tried to get in a training session himself, but that could wait, and he got the impression that this might sway the young woman one way or the other. Well that wasn’t really it, more along the lines of he could imagine her going where she wanted one way or the other, and unsupervised she might hurt herself without thinking about it. Hopefully that wasn’t the case but you never knew what could happen on any given day, that much at least was true. With her next question he thought about what to say or where to begin because there was so much to say so he simply said, ”Well, we can start looking around, and I can discuss on the way more in detail. There are several points that I could start in regards to your questions, to put it simply there are at least two threats as you mentioned, humans who fear or hate us, and other mutants.”

Well to him this was ancient history, granted he was living history as far as he was concerned, though he had found that as expected history books didn’t cover quite everything. That didn’t mean it didn’t cover a lot, the in depth analysis that he had done on a lot of the people had proven to be true, and many of the events had truly happened. He had seen unlikely allies, enemies, and of course met many that hadn’t been covered as in depth in the history books. Part of him wondered if that was because he had interfered in the time stream, and other parts of him wondered if maybe they just hadn’t been as key of players so they had been missed by the major events. Hopefully it wasn’t a sign that the massacre was going to be coming sooner rather than later and to stop that train of thought he began again, ”Magneto and Professor Xavier are a prime example of two ends of the spectrum. While the professor wishes for peaceful coexistence Magneto feels that we should take our place as the superior species it seems most of the time. At that point there have been other mutants who have also had similar viewpoints so though there are peaceful mutants and humans out there we have almost as many if not more humans that hate us or violent mutants to worry about.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, ”Which is why the X-men were formed. Not every person here is asked to be an X-man, and this isn’t just a school for training future combatants. We are first and foremost a safe haven, with the intention of teaching mutants how to control their abilities.” This was getting to be a bit much for him so he figured he would stop there as he started down the hall and said, ”Now before I get to the point of boring you though we should head out of this wing to another location. I don’t think you want to see more bathrooms and bedrooms since that is what the rest of this wing contains for the most part. There are a few offices, but the rooms not normally on the tour aren’t up here.”
With her assurance she would follow him he started down the hall, not getting to far ahead since he wasn’t trying to lose her, and if she had any other questions he wanted to be able to answer them. He was going to offer her as much information as he could to a certain extent, and he wasn’t even sure what that extent would be of course until she asked the question. After a brief pause he waived his hand in the direction of the stairs as he said, "I think it's about time we got started with the tour.

***Exit Bishop, TBC: Med Lab***

Laurie lingered for a moment. Her blue face turned aside before her blue hands rose to peel the cloak away from her shoulders. Just as carefully she folded it up and stuffed it into her bag along with the other assorted items for the road. The young woman turned back to Bishop as he'd started down the hall. Difficult to say if he hadn't noticed yet or simply didn't care. Equally difficult for Laurie to decide which was better--no reaction at all, or the attention given to a naked woman (albeit with the more sexual parts smoothed over like a censored drawing). It didn't take an overactive imagination to draw up any mental fantasies given Laurie's figure was on public display.

"I'm not afraid of being seen," she replied to Bishop's earlier comment they'd have to pass through public places. It was a half lie--both true and not true. Laurie didn't want to be seen as a freak, which is what she expected any "normal" person would do. Then again she did like the attention... and everyone here was a mutant, right? "As long as no one is afraid of seeing me." More in reference to her not wearing any clothes. They'd been more trouble than they were worth on the road. She didn't have time to stop and wash them, or money to buy new ones. Wasn't like she needed them anyway, right?

Might be nice to get a few sets though. If she decided to stay that is. Being "naked" might draw too much attention; at least of the kind she wasn't desperate for. Especially from Johnny.

She moved quickly to catch up to and walk along side Bishop as they conversed. "I really don't see being a 'hero,' and I think I can control my 'abilities,' but," Laurie looked up at the tower of a man, "I could use a haven. And so far you make it sound like this is the right one." She'd taken Xavier over 'Magneto' any day. Superior species? Really? She didn't need to tout herself as some next step in evolution. As for 'hate' well that just wasn't her. Not that Laurie always knew who she was anymore, but the transformation hadn't turned her into a crazed killer--so, she guessed it hadn't been a total galactic screw up. Even if it had driven her to try killing herself...and subsequently denied her even that. Coincidence? Or was there more to her 'abilities' these people could discover?

Did she want to discover 'more?' Flying was, you know, pretty cool... she could probably out swim any Olympic swimmer too. That was neat. She'd just never felt comfortable being a mutant though. What was the point of flying if you were only using it to get away from people? Wasn't like she could enjoy it before surrounded by strangers that'd sooner call the police than let a girl fly around.

"So let's see these secret rooms you don't show on the 'first day.' And there better not be any other secrets around here." There was a mix of genuine and fake confidence in her words. Laurie still had no idea what she was doing, but she knew what she wanted--to make sure this place was what it seemed. She wanted to know she could relax; and that people she met would still be there tomorrow and not hauled away in black vans or something. Then maybe she'd find a room and curl up on a bed for a while knowing when she woke up she wouldn't need to hit the road again.

[TBC: TBD]