WELCOME TO NEXUS.

[Someone]

(CF: Xavier Backyard => "Helix Camping Trip")
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(Listening Guide: "Quiet" by This Will Destroy You)

David Alleyne quickly reached the house and bypassed the kitchen, going straight to the elevator to head downstairs. Nobody was in the kitchen so there was no problem having to deal with people asking him how his day was or what was going on with Helix. The African-American student had talked quite a bit in the past hour and for now he didn't want to have to explain anything to anybody. There were enough of the teens around to take up that task, and they could fill in whatever details (true or imagined) of their heroic exploits in defeating Kierrok the evil mud-demon that sought to take out the kids while they were innocently camping.

Alleyne was a sole traveler in his walk back to the mansion. He was preceded by the escort groups of Talia Wagner and Xi'an Coy Manh. Jen hurried ahead to join Nocturne's escort of Nicholas Gleason, taking Eddie Walker out of the hands of the diminutive lycanthrope. Jen had comparable strength but her longer legs and a few wing-beats thanks to her gargoyle mutation allowed her to clear a lot more distance with each pump of her legs. Wing wasn't as injured as Quentin Quire was but a concussion was nothing to mess around with. The mutant from the Midwest had already passed out twice and that didn't bode well when head trauma was involved.

Heading down to the second sub-basement level, Alleyne took the left to the lab areas. No drips of blood along the way, no scuff marks from a rush of Helix members to attend to their comrades... it was all calm and clean. Quire was teleported into the medical lab by Nightcrawler earlier, but they brought Walker in with their hands... and yet the hallway seemed as untraversed as an empty hospital floor due to department reassignment. The air-conditioning kept a steady blast, cool temperatures to promote cool personalities.

The doors to the medical laboratory slid open as David stepped in front of them. It seemed as though the proximity sensors were also able to detect the placement and positioning of the body in front of the lab to recognize the intent to enter. With the separators parting to allow Alleyne to enter the room, he noticed that Northstar was on the other side of the room. A woman was there with him; they bore a resemblance to each other and their hair had the exact color and luminosity under the lab lights, even though the styles were different.

And another face he hadn't seen for a while... Anole. The two hadn't been in the same room since Victor Borkowski caused David to be injured in the parlor when Marrow attacked the teens. The chameleonic Victor was not high on Prodigy's list of esteemed acquaintances. But for now there was no need to interact with him, David concerned himself with the other Helixers who were closer to his side of the room. The medibots were already hard at work attending to the injured Quentin Quire. He'd been bitten by the demon; that was something to worry about.

"How is he?" Alleyne asked as he stepped into the room. Kurt Wagner, having watched over Quentin, answered that the jaws of the demon acted as a vice and squeezed Quire tightly. The bite was shallow; the young man passed out as a result of pain and shock. He'd make it with some rest; the medibots would repair the tissue damage but a transfusion wouldn't be necessary. That was good for him, though Alleyne noticed that the Helix focus was upon Eddie Walker.

An observational medibot floated freely around the room, monitoring everyone's vital signs. The machine attentive but a little slow, and brushed against David Alleyne's back. It was at that moment that he remembered that he wasn't wearing any shirt. The X-Factor shirt was covered in Quentin's blood, lying in a tray along with Mark Sheppard's sweater. The sleeveless tee that Jen provided him was still back at the campsite, so David was going without for the time being. Though he wouldn't stay that way for long; there was no reason to walk around topless. But first, there was one more person to check on. "And Eddie? What's his condition?"

[Karemagic]

((CF- Helix Camping trip. Elaborating slightly on Someone’s post for parts concerning my characters. Whee!))

T.J. Wagner, Helix kids in tow, proceeded to the mansion as quickly as possible. The young mutant who looked ‘normal’ by human standards was disoriented at best. The other two were stressed by his condition, and scared. Talia wouldn’t have been if she was their age, but she had been an X-Man since birth. These were kids who discovered their abilities recently. They didn’t expect the unexpected and they weren’t used to seeing people around them- their friends- getting hurt.

Partway to the mansion, one of the other kids caught up- a flyer, and the leader of this little ragtag band- apparently called Gargoyle. Talia couldn’t recall ever having seen (in any of the multitude of dimensions she’d passed through) a girl resembling this one.

“I can take him faster,” Jen said as she landed in front of the awkward quartet. “I’ll fly with him in my arms. I’ve done it before.” Jen gave a quick nod to both Pixie and Nick. “We got that thing guys,” Jen said to them with a weak smile. “Ms. Grey is taking care of the situation so it can’t happen again.”

“Sounds like a good to me,” Talia said, both referring to making sure whatever-that-had-been couldn’t come back, and to Jen taking Eddie. The red and white striped creature before her didn’t look much safer than the creature they had left behind in the clearing but her young companions weren’t freaking out at the sight of Jen. She gently placed Eddie in Jen’s arms. Jen took a few steps forward, running slightly, then leapt into the air, gliding gracefully over the trees and towards the mansion.

“That’s gotta be fun,” Talia said, gesturing at Pixie’s wings and looking at Jen. “That’s one ability I wouldn’t mind trying out.” Talia had ‘tried out’ quiet a few different powers thanks to her own, but somehow she never caught a flyer. Probably because they were always out of range.

“Come on you two,” Talia said to Pixie and Nick. “Not much further now.”

When the mansion came into view, Talia could imagine the relief of the two students besides her. The mansion was a comforting place- when it wasn’t a smoking crater, the scene of a battle, or the setting of a love spat between super-powered couples. The worst, Talia was convinced, were those between Ororo and Remy (speaking from her home dimension, of course). There was nothing quite like a combination of the world’s worst weather and explosives to make you want to duck and cover.

Obviously Jen had made it there before them; the front door was open, as the Gargoyle had her arms too full to close it. Talia did after the students entered. “We’re going to head to the infirmary too and make sure you don’t have any infected bites from those rodents,” she informed her young new friends. She’d always gotten along well with the students back at home. She had been one herself for a long time, and she was still learning.



Jen entered the infirmary and laid Eddie down on a cot. She waved an arm in an attempt to attract a nearby robot, but it ignored her. Jen growled and was about to physically wrestle the thing into attending to Eddie, but she heard beeping beside her. Looking over, Jen sheepishly realized that there were already four robots hovering over the boy. A fifth flew up to her and took a tissue sample from the burned section of her arm. She yelped, but in a second the machine had analyzed the tissue and was spraying a very soothing solution on the wound. Jen relaxed back into her human form and allowed the bot to wrap her arm up. Then Jen felt an electric shock go up her spine, followed by a chill.

“Oh, no, Quentin!”

She saw Nightcrawler and remembered him from the fight, but the blue mutant insisted she calm down. Quentin was going to be okay. She couldn’t do anything for him the robots weren’t already, so she should focus on making sure she was fit. Jen nodded and allowed herself to sit down on another cot. A robot fluttered up to her and tugged on her shirt.

“Hey! What the hell?” Jen exploded as the robot tugged her shirt over to expose her shoulder. She realized then that it was checking on the bandaged around her bullet wound. The robot gave the unstable molecules cloth a short jolt of something and it retreated, leaving Jen’s shoulder bare while it removed the old wrappings and prodded the wound. Satisfied with the way it had healed, the robot sprayed something on the spot, and left it exposed to the air. Slowly the shirt crept back into its regular form.

“Bizzare,” Jen said as she flexed her reformed sleeve. She had traded the bullet wound for a burn wound it seemed. She wondered if she should start measuring her time at the Mansion by the recovery times of her various ills.



Talia entered the infirmary with Pixie and Nick and looked over at her dad. He flashed her a thumbs up. She smiled and said, “Your friend with the glasses is okay. Dad’s got him taken care of.” It was better not to get in the way in the infirmary, she knew that from years of experience. She looked at Jen, who was patched up too. “How’s Mr. Bump-on-the-head?” Talia asked as she flipped easily into a crouching position balanced on the back of a chair.

“Good,” Jen said, absorbed by the spectacle of the blue mutant’s agility. “Still not talking coherently yet.”

“Eh, I’ve known mutants who never learn to talk coherently. You ever try to get a real conversation out of the Blob? Or Omega Red. . . it’s like he got his accent right out of a bad Russian mob movie.” Talia shook her head. “Hopefully a knock on the noggin won’t affect the boy too badly. He’s gonna get a lot of those being a student here.”

Talia couldn’t count how many wounds she’d received as part of the X-Men, ranging from minor annoyances to life-threatening. It was never anything that couldn’t eventually be fixed, but she’d come close to becoming a casualty more times than she’d care to remember. Every X-Man had times like that. As Uncle Logan and her father always said: it came with the uniform.

David entered the room and received much the same answer from Kurt as Talia and Jen, albeit the boy got a few more details about the situation. That was fine though, David was more inquisitive by degrees. Talia was satisfied with the thumbs-up, Jen was satisfied in knowing he would be okay. David then inquired about Eddie.

“Aside from the massive headache he’ll probably have, he’s looking good,” Talia answered the boy’s queries. “He should be coming ‘round soon, by my layman’s guess.”

Jen gave David a smile. “You’re probably to thank for that. You quick thinking saved the day back there. We’d have been a mess otherwise. Can you imagine if we just kept on attacking that thing and it drained our powers more and more? We’d be toast, and that thing would have been tearing up the countryside.” Jen eyes flicked up to the left as she imagined the carnage that would have been left behind. “So,” she said finally, “thanks David. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

[Stryke]

[[CF: Backyard - Helix Camping Trip]]

Hisako seemed to be moving at superhuman speed as she sped after David, and into the Xavier mansion. She still had quite a bit of adrenaline from the fight with the demonic Kierrok, and was eager to go check on her teammates , and how all of them were doing, specifically her newfound friend Eddie. She held her purple costume close to her body as she sped towards what she assumed was going to be the medical bay. David seemed like the type that would go assist his teammates as opposed to just leaving them all to their own resources, so Hisako could assume he was going to the medical bay. Watching as David weaved easily through the halls, Hisako imitated his every turn, until she reached the sub-basement levels, and she lost him. "Crap!" she muttered silently under her breath, as she glanced around, looking for footprints or something. She passed a few rooms until she heard some noises in another, entering to find a group of X-Men. Across the room she spotted three other X-Men, and what appeared to be a younger mutant, as Nightcrawler, his female look-alike, Jen, and David all gathered around the unconscious forms of Quentin and Eddie. Stepping towards them with a concerned look on her face, she watched the robots examine both Eddie and Quentin. Opening her lips to speak, David spoke for her.

"And Eddie? What's his condition?"

“Aside from the massive headache he’ll probably have, he’s looking good, He should be coming ‘round soon, by my layman’s guess.”

Hisako gave the woman a small smile, and a nod in thanks. Spotting a chair nearby, she grabbed and placed it next to where Eddie was sprawled out on one of the medical bay's beds. Taking a seat and placing her costume on her lap, she grabbed Eddie's hand with her own. She was genuinely concerned for the boy. Those squirrels had given him quite the beating, considering the fact that Hisako had thought him joking about it earlier that evening. In fact, they'd given her and Nick a pretty hard beating as well. She didn't know why Eddie made her feel so distressed compared to every other person on the team. Sure, the two were friends, but Quentin was much more severely injured than Eddie, yet Hisako was feeling much more worried about him. She'd known Eddie for all of a few hours or so, and here she was feeling like her world would be over if something happened. He just...had an effect on Hisako that was indescribable. He made her feel more normal here in America, feel so much more comfortable than she'd ever felt in her life...and Hisako loved him for it. She really, really liked him.

Taking a moment to glance around the room, she didn't realize the irony of the situation. Here she was, coming to this school hoping to become a strong, X-Woman, and now, surrounded by at least five X-Men...and she wasn't even wanting to ask them the questions she'd been thinking of her entire life. She wasn't trying to impress them with her determination and confidence. She was concerned about a guy she'd met...a teammate and friend. She realized what she should have been searching for was not justice, not the change to be an X-Man, a but a place to be amung friend and people like herself. Genuinely, nice people that she could come to trust, people unlike anyone she'd ever encountered in her life. And while some of them may get on her nerves on occasion, she felt she truely trusted all of her teammates now, to some degree.

Snapping back into reality, she realized that in the light of the room, she was starting to look more and more underdressed. She glanced at her costume in the corner, and once again decided not to don it. Turning around while still keeping one hand in Eddie's hand, she listened as Jen congradulated David, and thanked him. While Hisako was a little bit aggravated to admit it, David's controlling bossiness had helped them all come through in this battle. "Yeah, David. You and Jen both did a really nice job leading the team to a win. It really was you're brains that pulled us through to beat Kierrok." She also knew that David could get her something more...apporpriate to wear. "David, do you know if there is something that I could put on over my current clothes...to cover up a little bit?" she said, sounding awkward and not wanting to bring attention to her current lack of appropriate coverage.

[Sofia]

[CF: Helix Camping Trip + Limbo :] ]

The silver teen had taken it upon herself to change after obtaining her uniform. A small time out was necessary for her, she wasn’t needed at the time, the rest of Helix were enjoying the camping trip and she had only intended to leave for a moment. Just to call her mother to say she’d arrived safely and to see how she was doing, though the conversation was rushed, nothing that wasn’t expected. Cess would shrug it off and decide to move her bags out of the way while finding a room to change in. She’d feel bad after a while, kind of leaving without saying anything really, though she was sure she wouldn’t be missed for a moment, if she was quick she was sure they wouldn’t really notice or worry.

The costume was nice, something to call her own and that made her feel a little more individual than her powers did. Or maybe mutation was a better word. Though before she could change, as she’d looked out of the window she could see some of Helix entering the mansion once again. What had happened? Was it cancelled? Dropping the uniform on a nearby chair, Cess would quickly walk out of the room; she didn’t want to be left behind again, it was best to know what was going on anyway.

As Cess made her way towards the back door, she’d notice the young Asian girl from earlier rushing through the doors and towards, what looked like, someone else from the team. Cess stood still, bemused for a while, wondering what it was that brought Helix back inside after their planned event. Though it didn’t take long for her to quickly follow the girl to wherever she was going. It brought a sense of worry to her, she didn’t know what she’d missed, if there’d been an accident and she wasn’t there, was that going to be a problem?

Her trainers carried her down towards the Medical Wing, though she hadn’t been there before, it was almost what she was expecting. Robots gathered to attend to a few people that lay in separate beds, nothing at the moment surprised her, though it’d be a lie if she said she was expecting that. Cess would stand in the doorway for a moment to gather her thoughts together, there was an accident then, while she wasn’t there, even during that half hour or so, trouble had been caused.

Turning around swiftly, thinking she heard a noise, Cess would turn back with a subtle shrug and walk forward and towards the others, her eyes kept averting to the two males in the beds and awkwardly to Jen and the other male. She really needed to start picking up names.

“You’re probably to thank for that. You quick thinking saved the day back there. We’d have been a mess otherwise. Can you imagine if we just kept on attacking that thing and it drained our powers more and more? We’d be toast, and that thing would have been tearing up the countryside. So, thanks David. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

"Yeah, David. You and Jen both did a really nice job leading the team to victory. It really was you're brains that pulled us through to beat Kierrok."

Cess’ eyes narrowed as she looked at both of the teens in their beds and bit her lip gently, “Oh my...god.” she spoke to herself quietly and looked up towards Jen, “I wasn’t even...” her words trailed off as she tried to justify why her appearance wasn’t made, “What happened?!” she didn’t shout or raise her voice, but in all honesty she was shocked. They all spoke of attacking something and a name she couldn’t quite grasp, out of all the things that could have happened she wasn’t expecting people to come back with injuries like these.

[SS Jean Grey]

((CF: Helix Camping Trip))

Laying to rest what was left of Kierrok’s remains was a thing that Jean took much pleasure in. Now that the monster was at the bottom of the lake it could no longer bother any one at the mansion, or attack the students. Now all of them could rest easy since he would no longer be able to harm them, and now that the battle was over with she was going to do just that. Once she learned that Xavier went missing she had to do one thing after another while more things kept being added to the long list of objectives that she needed to get done. Not only did she have to continue her search for Xavier, but she had to make sure the rest of the world didn’t need saving while half of their team was out in Rome. Life just seeming to be getting wore in the life of the X-men, and things just kept getting worse for them. All she could do was hope that things would settle down for the time being so that they could pull their thoughts together to figure out what to do next. No one ever realized how hard it would be to run the X-men since they had always relied on Xavier to plan, and figure out what the best coarse of action was while the X-men acted it out. She had grown accustomed to it, but now that they had to rely on what Xavier had taught them worried the red psychic that the X-men may not be ready to deal with a threat as huge as Apocalypse on their own. As she finally made her way from Breakstone lake to the mansion she followed the halls of Xavier’s to where a elevator was located. Pushing her flaming red hair behind her ears, Jean entered the elevator while she reached out to press the down arrow on the side console. Watching as the door’s swooshed closed she heard the familiar ding as the elevator began its quick decent down to the sub level of the mansion. Closing her emerald eyes, she let her mind wander to the med lab where the children were currently being held. Sensing that all of the students were accounted for, she brought her attention back to her thoughts before she checked on the students.

After she was done checking with the students, Jean wanted to go to cerebro to see how the two teams currently out on a mission were doing. There was no telling what would happen to her team mates while they were fighting with Apocalypse, but one thing she did know was that the battle ahead of them wasn’t going to be easy. For the moment all she could do was pray that they would be alright, and that all of them would be back in the mansion safe. A part of her wished that she could be out on the field with them so that she could take part in the fight, but deep down she knew that her place was at the mansion. She needed to run the mansion until they found Xavier, and since there was no telling when he would come back she needed to keep everyone informed on what was currently going on. Even if her mind was on the teams out on battle their was one person who her mind was worried on more than the others, and that person was the Canadian feral known as Wolverine. Leaning up against the side of the elevator, Jean thought about the talk that the two of them needed to have when he got back. It was a talk that she personally wasn’t looking forward to since normally their conversations never really ended as well as she wanted them to. Jean hated getting into arguments with the people she cared about, especially when she argued with a person she had feelings for. She thought it was funny how no matter what man she went to talk the both of them always talked about the other instead of the relationship she shared with them. What they didn’t understand was that she wanted them to get past their male egos to let her see the person that was underneath their exterior. Brining her head up, the doors of the elevator swooshed open, and with a couple of quick steps found herself in the large metal hallways that made up the lower half of the mansion. Turning her way towards the medical bay, Jean quickened her pace so that she could check on the students before moving on to other important items on her agenda.

Before getting to the door herself she noticed another flaming red head enter the medical bay. As she continued to walk, Jean tried to think of a student who had red hair that wasn’t quite as red as hers, had there been a new addition to the team that she didn’t know about? Finally making it to the door, Jean pressed the open key on the side and quickly made her way into the medical lab. How funny it was that she was here almost a little bit earlier before she had gone to aid the children, and now she was back. Looking around she saw that almost all the students were there being checked on by the medical bots. Turning her emerald gaze towards David, “How is everyone doing?” she asked moving her head so that it was now gazing at the unconscious form of Quentin Quire the boy genius. Lucky for him the beat didn’t sink his teeth in deep enough to kill him, though there was sure to be a scares from the teeth marks entering his skin. The students were lucky to have made it out alive, even if they may have been hurt it was better to be hurt than dead. Placing her hands on her hips, “I just want to say that all of you did a great job out there. All of you have not only made the X-men proud, but you’ve shown that that even with very little training you guys could hold your own. Don’t be ashamed that the X-men came to help out since its are job to protect you all while you stay here at Xavier’s.” Rotating her head so that she could look at all the students, “You all should be very proud of yourselves.” Now if only Charles was at the mansion to see how well the children had done since he was the one who dealt with the children more than the other X-men had. Which meant that now that Xavier was missing she would have to take care of the children, and she didn’t know what she would be able to do with them while everything in the real world seemed to be falling apart. Brining her head down so that she was now facing the cold, steel floor she tried to think of a person that would be able to watch the children if she was to be called a way on a mission. She had sat out on the last one, but she didn’t think that she would be able to avoid going out on a mission for to much longer. The world was needing all the help it could get, and Jean would have to answer that call eventually, leaving the mansion alone with no one here to keep everything running smoothly.

“Talia, thank you for taking the injured children to the medical bay.” she said smiling at the blue furred woman. If it hadn’t been for her, and the other X-men, Jean wouldn’t have been able to handle the situation on her own. There was just to many students that needed to be cared for that she wouldn’t have been able to do since she was trying to defeat Kierrok. Later she would need to thank Rogue for her help in the battle, but for right now her main concern was the well being of the students.

[Mystic Frost]

[CF: Backyard: "Helix Camping Trip"]

Nioji had strode alongside Jennifer until they caught up with Talia, Eddie, Megan, and Nick. Looking over at their leader, he listened in as the two young woman discussed how to get the mildly injured young boy to the infirmary. Of course, Eddie would be the one carried away on a stretcher, so to say, being the more fragile of the group. It took a moment, but Nioji did acknowledge a head injury was pretty severe, even a small one, and should be examined to make sure there wasn't any lasting or spreading damage. Maybe it had done the kid some good. Tell him to stay away from demonic things, including Nioji.

When Jen-sama elected to take the kid by wing, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to flex his wings again. A shadowy mist rose from the void around them and solidified into the black, leathery wings he'd sported not long ago. Not wanting to be remiss of his appearance, still dressed in his black and red uniform with his ruby eyes, the arrow-tipped tail joined in for the complete set. If Talia happened to sport her tail at the moment, Nioji'd find that attribute attractive in how similar it was to his own; otherwise, and regardless, now wouldn't be the time to comment on it or explore the matter further.

Thrusting his wings, the Asian-raised Caucasian young man followed in Jennifer's wake. Even his wings felt sore; a nice massage, particularly around the base of each wing and between them, would be nice right about now. Still, better to give them a little stretch after all the excitement so they didn't feel too tense tomorrow, right? Actually, he wasn't entirely sure about that facet of his power, but they'd deal with that in the morning when, or if, he didn't feel like even rolling out of bed.

The lab wasn't really the first place he'd have chosen to go following the Battle of the Campsite. They were here too often. They really did need to go see a movie, or something; nothing bad ever happened at the movies, right? Worst that could happen was you choked on a popcorn kernel for a second or two. Putting aside the fact they always ended up here, Nioji really just didn't like how persistent and aggressive the cold, compassionless robots were. Cold, unfeeling, limited things that poked, prodded, and controlled you.

That was precisely why the moment he set foot in the Med Bay that Nioji knocked one offending mechanical appendage aside as it came too close for comfort. A soft hiss under his breath "warned" the clueless automaton not to try that again. Wrapping his dark wings about him, allowing them to settle over his shoulders like a cloak, he made sure the robots didn't sneak a little blood sample or add a little "medicine" to his life. He wasn't injured, he was just sore; the sooner the robots figured that out the less likely he'd have to get physical.

Speaking of demon-looking people, though, Nioji stared, only for a moment, at the blue man that stood at Quentin's side. Blinking he suddenly got the idea that there could be others out there with similar heritage or physical makeup. Actually, Nightcrawler was less your stereotypical Human-Demon hybrid, as Nioji assumed in likeness, and more...well, atypical, blue Demon. The slender tail at his back curled upward and pressed against the small of his back as he stood there trying not to make himself too obvious to the man. What would he say if asked? Ash always talk about how he was a real demon, whereas Seraph always preached about them merely being manifestations of their--his--inner psyche. Nioji'd never been convinced, completely, either way.

Sound of conversation drew his gaze. Jen was thanking David for his involvement not long after she received the unfortunate mercies of the robots. David? Nioji began to feel a bit defensive, wondering what the man had done that'd been so great. As his brow began to furrow with annoyance, Nioji forced in a deep breath before expelling the biological waste gases out along with a small amount of the negative energy, or tension, within. Yes, David had contributed to the fight. There were more roles than that of a fighter in a battle, he had to keep that in mind. It was difficult, though; rationally it made sense, but irrationally... he'd enjoyed letting loose on Kierrok. No one had been upset, either, since they all wanted Kierrok dead. Not just incapacitated, disabled, or in retreat, but dead. 'Some people won't give you any other option,' sure. How hard had anyone bothered to try the other options?

Watching Hisako at the periphery of his vision, Nioji slowly began to make his away around the room toward Quentin as he lay on the bed absolutely still. Gawking would be inappropriate, but a little, discrete attention? She was kind of advertising it, not that her clothes were tattered rags threatening to give off too much detail, but they had been approaching that level and would have gotten there after much longer.

Cess made an entrance and was shocked at talk of a fight. Seeing how infrequently people tended to associate with her, Nioji might be of the mind to explain except the rest of the team needed to get use to talking with her and he really needed to conserve his strength. Not that it was becoming easy to do that, what with Jean Grey following in Cess' wake. Perhaps he was being a bit, overly hostile toward her, but when had Nioji asked the "adult" X-Men for help with holding Kierrok still? It'd been an intrusion. A more feral, territorial sort might understand what he was thinking, but as things were all he had was himself.

Stopping on the other side of Quentin's bed from Nightcrawler, sparing only a brief, fleeting glance up at the blue man, not wanting to embarrass himself, Nioji evaluated the bandages the bots had placed over Quentin's body. There'd been little time on the battlefield to examine the wounds, and his focus hadn't been on healing at the time, but what he recalled and saw now made it apparent the young man was lucky to still be alive. Another dead mutant on his watch would not have settled well with him.

Reaching out, Nioji silently rested his hand atop the bandages, hovering it over the protective material while applying little weight that might aggravate the injuries hidden below. Another long, slow breath was drawn in as he stood there. Too much here to heal all at once. The crimson eyes fell shut as he sensed the extent of the injuries; sensed the pain and battered tissues from such a vicious assault. Some wounds were deeper than others; thankfully the deepest hadn't been any closer to more vital organs--such as the heart--that would have caused immediate, or prolonged but inevitable, death. Still, the organs were the most important part(s) of his body to mend if Quentin was to do more than lie in a bed for months on end.

Letting his wings unfurl further out to either side, having parted down the center just enough to allow his arm through moments earlier, Nioji tried to relax before drawing up even more of his own energy. A soft grunt preceded his hand slowly gliding over the bandages from one side to the next, moving slowly up and down Quire's abdomen. He could feel the urge--the need--to stop; the sort of burning, tingling, exhaustion as the power flowed into the other's body, speeding up, enhancing, and reinforcing the natural healing ability. Focusing on the task, he didn't stop until he could feel the boy's vital organs were repaired--liver, kidneys, lungs, and all the small ones most people wouldn't begin to care about outside the top five (including heart and colon).

Once he was finished Nioji tipped his head back and let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding at the end. Feeling light headed, he stumbled to the side, his hand finding the nearby stool and fastening to it before he unceremoniously dumped himself on the floor. Eddie would simply have to overcome his "bump on the head" on his own, unless it really was more severe than a minor headache when he woke. Scars? Yes, well, Quentin might end up with scars; Nioji could probably fix that, later, if the boy chose, but right now all that was necessary was done. It was more than most people on the planet got to experience; some died from the simplest things, including minor cuts that'd become infected with otherwise "weak" bacteria.

Yes, talk with the others, socialize. He'd got on that, really, but after he took a moment to rest.

A robot whirled up with a glass of water on a tray. Nioji eyed it cautiously before accepting it. He tried not to gulp it down too fast, but he could feel his throat on the edge of spitting it back up from a failure to truly restrain his urge for drink. Well, maybe the stupid robots were useful for something medical after all.

[Rd Wing]

[[C.F: The Camping Trip]]

The boy was out cold and being carried inside the arms of one of his older team-mates, but his mind desperately tried to cope with the concussion it suffered from head hitting ground at a decidedly painful velocity, a series of images flashed in front of his rapidly moving eyes…

In his head, he was flying through the sky, faster and faster than he had ever managed before as the ground just fell away behind him. He was happy and free, but he wasn’t alone, as he quickly realised – There was a spec, far below him, but as fast as he went, it was gaining on him, and getting larger with every fleeting moment. Panicked and afraid, he continued to push himself as the wind bit into the exposed flesh of his ace, but what once had been clear blue sky had now blackened into darkest night and with the beating of leathery wings pounding away just beyond his ankles, he turned in horror to see Kierrok’s gaping mouth lined with sharpened teeth closing down onto his ank…

“YAH!” He screamed as he sat bolt upright, awakening for the first time since passing out in the field, before the pain of the large lump just above his forehead caught up with him. “Uhhh, Headrush.” He muttered as he lay back down again. The pain eased a little, now that he was lying down again, but not by very much. At least he got to have a look at his surroundings though at least, because unless they had invested in some very expensive metallic tents, this had to be the medical bay… although this was the first time he had seen it from the flat of his back.

The only question was why was he here now? The last thing he remembered clearly was drinking with Julian and Mark, but then it all got fuzzy. Now his head was throbbing and he didn’t really know why? Had they played his kissing game and got beaten up from unwanted advance? He didn’t know, but as he leant his head over to the side, he could see that hand holding onto his was Hisako’s. What the hell had he missed!

“Okay, now either I drunk far too much of whatever it was Julian had in those bottles, or I did something really stupid.” He muttered groggily as he strained to get his voice very far above a whisper. ”Ugh my head hurts. The medibots were still milling around him, and the painkillers would kick in presently, but at least whilst his head pounded, he couldn’t feel the missing earlobe one of the demon squirrels had taken for a souvenir.

[Karemagic]

"Oh my...god. I wasn't even... What happened?!"

Jen shook her head. "Honestly? The campfire attacked. Or rather, the thing that used to live in the stones we used to ring the campfire attacked. The fire is all that was holding the thing back." She flexed her fingers. They were stiff, but luckily not very burned. Her arm had more taken the brunt of that. "Frankly, I'm glad you weren't there. We took a beating and had to call for help. I- I wish more of us were out of harm's way." She glanced to where Quentin lay, and Eddie as well. Most of the team had gotten away okay, and she knew she should be proud that she handled the situation as well as she had, but she still wished the outcome was better. Was that how the X-Men felt every time they had a mission? What a stressful life. . . and now she was a part of it.

Jean entered the room and began complimenting the team again. Jen smiled, "Thanks Ms. Grey. I'm just glad we're all okay." She was. That's really what this boiled down to-- everyone was okay. That made Jen relieved. She laid back on the cot. "Though I am a little worried. . . Is all our downtime going to turn out like this? Because if that's the case I'd rather be in constant training sessions. At least they're a controlled enviornment."



Talia snickered at Jen's comment. A sense of humor would serve the girl well with the X-Men. Her Mr. Summer's hardly had a sense of humor, and look where that had gotten him. In the face of someone threatening the world, with only you to stop them, chuckling rather than screaming was Talia's personal preference.

There was one thing more prominent in Talia's mind. Jean was thanking her for her gathering of the children that couldn't fight for themselves and running away. "Hey, Au-- Jean. Can we talk--? About the Arcade mission. . ." She'd said a lot of things, and some of them she felt were still true, but she'd much rather clear the air. "And, about this Apocalypse thing too. I want to help--" but, the thing was, she didn't know how.

Perhaps this would give her some direction. Since she'd spent so long listening to what the Tallus told her and the rest of the Exiles to do, she felt lost without it. Though the Tallus took a lot of the power away from the Exiles, it also provided a ready-made plan, no problems-- except for the occasional angry rebellion to find a better solution. How many times had that happened though? Once?

It was time to take some real action.



"Okay, now either I drunk far too much of whatever it was Julian had in those bottles, or I did something really stupid. Ugh my head hurts.

Jen was happy to hear Eddie coming around and breathed a sigh of relief. "You were attacked by rabid demons squirrels," Jen said flatly. "I kid you not." She sighed. "Do you remember the campfire going out and a demon emerging? He used you like a baseball. That would explain the bumps, bruises and cuts. But everyone's ok. . . Even Quentin. He's a little-- worse for wear. Demon was taken care of, Adults came to the rescue, and you weigh enough to make me think I need to start lifting weights if I'm going to be flying while carrying male team members all the time," she teased.

Jen couldn't help it, her eyes flickered towards Hisako. The young woman had showed extra concern over the young flyboy's condition both in and out of the fight. Jen wondered what Hisako's reaction would be to his recovery would be.

"You're quiet David. What's going through your head?" She asked.

[Fantasyotter]

[[CF: Backyard :: Helix Camping Trip]]

In the past hour or so Nick had been attacked by a demon squirrel, had accidentally crashed a group of teenage mutants’ camping trip, almost become a demon’s dinner, been attacked again by demon squirrels, and been puked on by a semi-conscious boy. It had been a terrifying, confusing, and disgusting series of events that would put the work of Lemony Snicket to shame. Nick was currently following a blue furred x-woman, Talia, to the extravagant mansion of some large group of mutants. Apparently the mansion was a school and apparently Nick had been invited to live there. Whether he really wanted to stay was something he was unsure about after the recent trauma he’d been put through.

“Come on you two,” Talia said to Pixie and Nick. “Not much further now.”

“Good,” Nick gagged. The puke drenching his fur was nauseating to say the least. The fumes of the other boy’s bile and last meal were assaulting his super powered nostrils on full power and causing the least desirable of reactions; nearly puking too. The mansion loomed over the mutants now and before Nick knew it he was inside the brick walls of the magnificent building. It had some aura of elegance and wealth about it and Nick felt bad for running through it smelling like the toilet of some man suffering from food poisoning. If anyone were to walk through the hall at that moment they would most cetainly be repulsed.

Nick and Pixie were lead into the lower levels of the mansion, where things took on a colder, more alien, atmosphere. They entered the medical bay and Nick realized immediately how right the Asian girl had been about there being alien technology in the school. Floating around the room was a bunch of little med-bots that were designed to treat and cater to the needs of the sick and injured. There didn’t seem to be any living doctors present and that didn’t seem to matter at all. Nick would have stood there and looked at the floating pieces of medical equipment all day if it weren’t for the impending emergency of Eddie’s life and the fact that he still couldn’t get over the smell of upchuck smeared in his fur.

“Your friend with the glasses is okay. Dad’s got him taken care of.” Talia said to Nick and Pixie.

Nick nodded politely but, had no real idea who the kid she was talking about was. All he knew was that he was the boy who had, had first hand experience with the demon’s mouth. Nick cringed, his eyes watering, and looked at Talia, not because of the boy’s predicament but, because of the smell. “I’m going to take a shower,” He said spreading his arms and was about to ask where the bathrooms were when a medical-bot nudged him into a far corner of the infirmary. The robot was joined by two more and they began to strip Nick of his tattered clothing as they closed a curtain around him. Nick looked down and spotted a drain at his feet and the realization that this would be his shower dawned on him.

The med-bots began to spray Nick with cold water that seemed to be laced with anti-septic because it stung like hell when it entered the shallow bites from the demonic squirrels. It was painful and refreshing at the same time. Nick hadn’t properly cleaned himself in about a month and now was as good a time as ever. After rinsing Nick clean of the puke with the anti-septic water the bots began to spray him with a warmer soapier solution. With the shower completed Nick had the overwhelming urge to shake himself dry.

The shake dry worked for the most part but, the bots’ job wouldn’t be complete without a proper drying and they blew Nick with warm air like super powered hair dryers. In a matter of minutes not one drop of water was left clinging to his fur and he smelt like a warm bubble bath. There was only one embarrassing side-effect of the whole shower and that was that the air dry had left him looking like a windblown fluff-ball. He didn’t look threatening in any way shape or form anymore.

Slipping back on his boxers (which were for the most part free of puke) and ditching his tattered, blood and puke stained tank-top; Nick exited the small shower area and padded over to the other mutants. He noticed that many more of the teens had arrived during his shower and he walked over to them as Eddie sat up in his bed.

“Okay, now either I drunk far too much of whatever it was Julian had in those bottles, or I did something really stupid,” Eddie said, apparently semi-recovered from his head trauma.

Nick gave a stupid, goofy, wolfish, smile as he approached the recently concussed boy, “Like puke on a certain furred mutant boy, perhaps?” Nick asked half-jokingly.

Looking ridiculous with his air-blown fur, Nick then looked to David, “Speaking of being puked on, is there anyway I could get some new clothes now?” He said motioning with his claws to his tattered boxers and lack of shirt.

[Sofia]

The metallic girl just looked around in silence, not really knowing what else to say, she was thankful that Jen spoke up and answered her questions, but was still a little confused about what she exactly meant. Still, it probably was as Jen described it, though Cess wished she was there; just maybe she could have been of little help. Even if it wasn’t much at all. Right now she was just feeling bad for leaving without much notice; apparently a lot more could happen in twenty minutes to half an hour than she’d first thought, Cess probably wouldn’t let herself make that mistake again. She hoped.

"Frankly, I'm glad you weren't there. We took a beating and had to call for help. I- I wish more of us were out of harm's way."

Cess bit her lip and looked towards where Jen’s eyes glanced. The people in the beds seemed pretty beaten up, it was just...

“Still...I should have been there. I’m sorry.” Cess could only shrug slightly and walk a little out of the way of the door when a new voice appeared. Another red head stepped through and addressed them all, congratulating them on the way they’d handled the situation. Cess would just have to get over this, try better next time and learn from her apparent, if not small mistake. She was sure if she were there things might have been different, if not only a little. But if the X Men were there also and it still turned out the way it did, then maybe Cess wouldn’t have been able to have done as much as she’d thought.

Noticing what she could only describe as a blue woman, and one she hadn’t even noticed before, speak up, Cess began to realise just how packed up this place was getting, crossing her arms over her body and letting them cling to her upper-arms, the silver teen just listened to what everyone was saying. The boy in one of the beds talking about what she could only assume was alcohol, the crazy squirrels and a new addition of a wolf boy. Still, Cess didn’t seem to be taking much in at all recently, he may have been there from the very start, she just wasn’t aware of anything right now. Too much to take in? Maybe her mind was just spinning from just trying to get used to the place, and perhaps that wouldn’t happen. She’d just have to take it as it came, because nothing that could happen here was to be expected, it was kind of exciting to know it wasn’t one big routine and she could be needed. Yeah, that was nice.

[Stryke]

Hisako remained seated, rather awkwardly, as Cessily Kincaid entered the room. Hisako couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the girl, though she made sure to do it while she wasn't looking. Hisako didn't really know the girl's name, nor her powers, but Hisako thought it was odd that she hadn't really been present during the fight. What had pulled her away from the action that was so important? After that redhead entered the room, Hisako watched as Jean Grey followed, and smiled at the woman. She was everything Hisako hoped to become, at least in the terms of her membership on the team. Confident, skilled with the use of her abilities, and someone who could really make a difference in a fight, like she had earlier that night. Hisako listened intently as the woman spoke to the group, smiling to herself once more as she was congradulated. They had done quite a fight, quite nearly defeating the beast on their own. Jean was the only X-Man who had actually assisted them in a major way, Rogue had just kind of gone crazy, and the blue woman, who was apparently named Talia, had help the evacuation process, which, while it was important, didn't directly lead to their victory.

Turning back to Eddie and the mess that was her clothing, she frowned. Sure, the clothes weren't too revealing, but Hisako was not one who was very comfortable with her body, so she was far from comfortable. Turning very slightly as Nioji entered the room, she gave the boy a small smile, before glancing back at Eddie. She watched the winged boy turn to Quentin and repeat the process he had on her shoulder to Quentin, though Quentin was far more injured. Somewhat concerned, she watched his facial features twist in pain, his breathing slowing. After a brief time in which Quentin looked at least somewhat healed, Nioji finally stopped the process. Hisako was once again amazed by the boy's abilities, and felt as if he had a power that could truely do some real good to the world. His healing powers could cure disease, and Hisako couldn't even imagine what it was like to heal others. She was much more of a physical person. As she contemplated what other mysterious powers her new friend had, she felt Eddie's slim form jolt upwards.

Keeping her hand in his, she jumped a little bit, as the red-haired boy screamed and awoke. While it didn't last, and he fell back down, Hisako was really just glad to see him awake. Watching him look around, Hisako helped him identify the place. "You're in the infirmary." Seeing him glance at their linked Hisako, she quickly removed her hand from his and nervously placed it on her side. Watching the med-bots surround them, Hisako stood out of her chair and instead moved to a place nearby his head that wasn't being occupied. Realizing that Eddie had no idea what was going on, she listened on as Jen informed him of the situation. "I know it sounds a little strange...but it's all true. Even the squirrels thing. But...it's nice to finally have you back in the world of the conscious." Smiling warmly at him, she noticed his missing ear and felt a little guilty. He'd taken a brunt of the attacks because of Hisako, and now he had a missing earlobe because of it.

Glancing at Jen who was staring at her, she realized how ridiculous she looked. Acting all love-struck over a boy she'd just met, from an outsiders point of view, she must look ridiculous. Bowing her head somewhat embarassingly, she turned a slight scarlet color. She didn't want to look foolish, so she walked away from Eddie a moment. David seemed to be busy with somethings, so she went to where Nick had taken his shower and found a cupboard with a change of clothes. Grabbing a black shirt with a small red 'X' on it and a pair of grey sweatpants, Hisako slid off her clothes and replaced them with the new set. Throwing her cherished pink top in the garbage along with her jeans, she grabbed another pair of clothes for Nick. Walking back in, she handed them to him with a smile, and returned to the seat next to Eddie. She'd shower later.

[Mystic Frost]

Can we kill them, now?

Nioji blinked and looked up and around at the rest of the team, absently aware of their existence or the look Kurt was giving him. The empty glass rested on the edge of the bed in his hand still as he half-sat, half-slouched on the stool. He'd almost thought his darker side would have gone silent, what with all that'd happened recently; obviously he was mistaken to even consider such an eventuality. It would have been... disturbing, anyway. With his angelic side missing, all he had was his demonic to keep him mentally company. When Leech had sapped him of both voices it had been disconcerting to say the least. Other people--lesser people--didn't have such open and rich communion with one's self. Their minds were one voice, if conflicted, jumbled, or simply a rotten mess; not that he knew first hand, not being telepathic, but he could imagine what it must be like. They didn't notice, of course, because it was "normal."

Who needs normal? Are we just going to sit here all night? We should go party. It's not every day we school a Pit Fiend!

That was true. A faint smile crept over his lips as his leathery wings hung about his shoulders. Still, he was tired. A little rest wouldn't--

Rest? We don't need rest.

He certainly felt like he could use rest. He'd healed a broken arm after being battered by a real demon--and we're any different?--and just now repaired massive internal injuries. That was tiring work.

Then stop wasting your energy on the weaker of our kind, Nioji! If they were worthy of surviving they wouldn't need your help.

Iie. No, he wouldn't just abandon other mutants like that. They deserved better. Others--the animals--degraded, beat, and killed enough of them. What did he have to prove to other mutants? We're more powerful, for one thing. Even so, randomly slaughtering people, including his friends--they're friends?--didn't make sense.

Because we can. You know they wouldn't stand a chance against us, if we took out the red headed whore.

Nioji's red eyes slipped to one side of the group as they clustered about the newly awakened Eddie. Yes, Jean Grey was stronger than everyone else in the room. She had powers that could pose a problem. And the girl! Hisako? Hai, her armor was very strong on the battlefield, she would be the next largest threat. It was difficult to say how effective in such a fight she would be, but get through her defenses would pose the most difficulty.

We'd need to catch both of them off guard. If they were standing near one another all we'd need is one stroke and both their lives--

A soft grunt and Nioji sat up a bit straighter. What..? Why was he planning how to... No! There was no purpose to doing such a thing. It didn't benefit them at all. It wasn't... right.

Right and wrong is what we make of it, Nioji. Who are they to object?

People. Other people. He didn't want to be alone in the world. He didn't want to kill them all, or rule the world, or anything like that. He didn't want people to loathe, fear, and hate him!

A near mirror image of Nioji, in his current form, appeared behind him and to his left. A wicked little smile tugged at the corners of his lips, his crimson eyes glistening with anticipation. But you do, Nioji-san. You know we do.

Pushing himself up from the stool, the young man left the glass in his wake where it was subsequently snatched up by a passing bot for safety. Reaching up with his left hand he pressed it over the left side of his face, burying it into his palm as he tried to understand what it was he wanted and who "he" was. Was it Nioji or was it The Other's desire? Was there a difference? Were these thoughts, really, "wrong?"

His breathing had quickened while he'd struggled to come to grips with himself once more. Once he let his hand drop back to his side it began to subside, becoming longer and drawn out for deep, rich breaths of oxygen. Sterile oxygen, unfortunately, that was drier than a bone, but 'pure' all the same.

Striding around the bed and moving back toward the rest of the group, Nioji supplied a wan smile as his energy slowly returned. Stopping near the others, their elevated mood helped calm the raging needs within, though it hardly suppressed them. Glancing over at Eddie, Nioji nodded slightly, seeing that he was, more or less, 'okay.' There was the matter of a missing earlobe--

Are you going to try regenerating that, too?

Iie. He was too tired, and he'd never tried regenerating a limb in such a fashion before. The body could heal from a wound, but it had surrounding tissue and vessels to build off of; regenerating missing chunks was different for the body and Nioji imagined it would be the same for himself. Then again, he'd never tried; maybe he could do it.

Tired? The devil at his back smiled coyly, Of course you are. Nothing to do with how he looked at you, right?

No, of course not. A dull rebuttal to the accusation that Nioji, himself, wasn't even sure he meant. He was tired though. Besides, they could do it tomorrow just as easily as they could today; Quentin had been different, his condition could have worsened as easily as improved given his wounds.

Looking at the others, again, Nioji noticed Hisako had changed clothes recently into something that actually resembled his uniform. It wasn't the same one Jennifer had given him, however; Ashmodai had taken liberties in changing the primary color to black with a red X cut cross the front of the leather jacket and the shirt beneath it. In Japan an Oni wearing white would be just as fitting, but in America it was always black that signified... trouble. Evil. It's okay, Nioji-san, I promise I won't bite if you call us what we truly are. Iie.

Strangely enough, Nioji wasn't in a hurry to change the attire back, either. It was... different. He'd never worn such fashion before. He'd always been modest, or conservative. Bo-o-ring. He'd never experimented. But you'd always wanted to. You know that, Nioji-san. Every time you saw the outcasts or the rebels flying around and how strangely they dressed compared to yourself and what others expected of you, you always wondered what it would be like to dress like that. To have what they had. To live as they lived. It excited you.

Why couldn't be respond back and tell his Other self none of that was true? A rebel? Him? But he'd always been--

Perfect. The prodigal son. Kind. Sweet. Adorable. Loving. Obedient.

Turning his head to the side, Nioji sought Jennifer's attention. Unfortunately, the leader had taken to making sure David, of all people, was fine.

Aw, poor guy's feeling left out. Maybe he shouldn't talk so much and get to the point!

But it was informat--

If we wanted a lesson we'd have the adults around here hold Community College courses. And I don't know about you, Nioji-san, but I know we could find more enjoyable things to do with our time. Ash's gaze--which could not be perceived by anyone other than Nioji or a telepath paying particular attention to Nioji--shift back toward Hisako.

Seeing Jennifer was busy, Nioji resumed observing the rest of Helix. Most of them were too busy tending Eddie's bruised ego; then there was Jean Grey to deal with, no doubt contemplating what she'd like to do with their personal squad of X-babies.

See, Nioji-san? Even you're getting restless to do something.

[Someone]

As the adults most-closely dealing with the infirmed Helix team members, it seemed that the designated nurse-medics to the medbots were both of the blue-and-furry variety. Nightcrawler was watching over Quentin Quire from the beginning, and so the question as to the boy's condition would go to him. Kurt Wagner made sure that the others weren't too worried about Quentin; he'd been banged up but would surely survive. Others were sitting with Eddie Walker, including Nocturne, who informed David that aside from a bad bump on the head, the self-named Wing would be fine and should wake up fully-healed at any moment.

David was relieved to hear that the two most injured teenagers of everyone there would be alright. Not as relieved as Ms. Ichiki; but that was only due to David not having any real emotional investment into anybody his age at the mansion. A possible exception would be Sooraya Qadir, whom Alleyne had taken under his wing to assist in her acclimation to the culture of the United States, made easier on her by his powers granting him familiarity with her own culture and language. He might get there with Jubilee, if they talked more. That would come to typify Alleyne's dealing with the other teens at the house: they would develop strong feelings about him, good or bad, before he would do the same.

Hisako came in after David, the state of her arm not seeming to be a problem now, even though the Cuckoos had stopped their telepathic dulling of the Japanese girl's pain centers. She could only have been healed by Nioji, that being one of the man's myriad abilities granted by the X-gene coded in his DNA. It was the most plausible solution. Indeed, Nioji had stepped in to assist with the tissue-regeneration process in the healing treatment of the 13-year-old telepath. The robots could only work so fast, and while Shi'ar technology allowed for limited reconstruction of damaged organs it lacked the capabilities and capacities of a mutant healer. Nevermind the fact that the sentient machines didn't bother wasting energy resources attempting to heal anybody whose chances of survival due to injury was less than 14%. Not that either Eddie or Quentin had to worry, they were nowhere near that low a rating by the machines. Soon the independently-operating medical robotic units would be finished with the boys and that would be that. A recommendation of bedrest and they'd be good to go in the morning.

Jen, in an addendum to the earlier thumbs-up she gave David in the moments immediately following the defeat of the supreme N'Garai Kierrok, thanked him more vocally for his help. While Hisako and Nioji were a credit to the physical restraint of the magically-derived demon golem, the Helix leader commended Alleyne on his speedy assessment of the situation, research on Kierrok through use of the special glasses provided to him, and most importantly his ability to quickly and effectively strategize and delegate tasks in a manner appropriate both in language and urgency. Even Hisako, who had disliked the African-American since meeting him, begrudingly admitted that his guidance in the proper method of attack against Kierrok was beneficial, essential to their overall victory.

A small nod, eyes closed, was all that David gave in return. Just the same as before. He relly didn't feel proud of himself; not in any special way. Had he vocalized this, the reply would likely be to taake the compliment and be done with it, and there would be a good point to it. These were teenagers, unskilled combatants, who went up against an opponent whom the X-Men themselves barely managed to beat the first time around, and they all came out alive. That was something to take pride in. Alleyne, though, couldn't bring himself to be impressed with himself... call it modesty or underestimation of his own talents.

At the same time, David even if Alleyne wanted to bask in his accomplishments, he never had the time to do so. Despite him being new to the mansion, people kept asking him to help them with something else. He was needed for extracting a message from the black box he was instrumental in finding in D.C. He was needed on a raid into Weapon X. He was needed to find camping supplies. There was always something that others required of him.

Most recently and immediately, Nick Gleason and Hisako Ichiki were asking the shirtless Alleyne, now to be stigmatized as *the smart guy*, for clothing. Were they expecting there to be a huge closet full of unclaimed coats and pants? Side-note: Nicholas could be forgiven because Alleyne was still new to him, but it could be viewed as selfish or disingenuous that Hisako was asking him instead of perhaps Jen. The newcomer clearly didn't like David; maybe there was a little impression made with the strategic leadership at the campsite but that was a one-time thing. As soon as the events of this night fell into the back of her (and everyone else's) mind, the 'Prodigy' would still be the same annoying, joyless, mean know-it-all who talked too much. And it was *that* David, still remaining as the predominant image in people's minds, who was constantly being asked to do things for everybody.

Be that true or not, David Alleyne didn't feel any personal frustration about it. Even if he was considering all that, which he wasn't, it would just remind him of Hyde Park High. Though it wasn't hard to tell that Hisako didn't like him; she wasn't really saying anything about it but whenever he was looking at her at the same time she saw him, she didn't hide her displeased facial expressions too well. Again, high school all over again. The African-American was a helper by nature. Even if he'd rather not do something for somebody, he'd end up doing it anyway.

Not holding that against her, having no personal problem with the girl, he still had to say "I haven't seen anything around, and I certainly don't have clothes that could fit you. Try the lockers." Short enough a response, especially for David. He wasn't thinking about clothing at all, rather other things were on his mind. For the time being, he was just thinking on his own, with Hisako going off to find herself something. Jen asked what he thought about... now reaching a catch-22 in which David was perceived not to shut up, but then when he was quiet he was asked what he was thinking. Perhaps Jen wasn't so averse to hearing him talk, but the others in the group would have to come to some sort of consensus as to what they wanted out of Alleyne. "Don't worry about it now, Jen. This isn't the time or place."

[XxWolverine]

OOC: Just a segway post. Needed the drones to speed up Logan’s healing process.

"Don't worry about it now, Jen. This isn't the time or place."

So true. The air crackled near the ceiling of the Medical Wing, a buzzing sound hissing and sizzling the moment a loud CRACK! snapped with an abrupt flash of flight. Logan’s body fell from the air once it materialized in the light, falling straight down and landing with a sickening thump on the ground. His abdomen still had a gaping hole, intestines still exposed with his eyes open and jaw locked shut. Blue eyes continued to stare up at nothing, the sparkle still gone as the body never twitched. The only thing Wolverine heard was the silence of death, until a ssssssssssss echoed in his hears. Like a snake, his intestines were sliding back into his stomach, rewrapping and condensing upon itself to once more make his digestive system. He wasn’t dead—never was and probably never will be anytime soon, again. However, his eyes still stared at nothing, unblinking.

Ssssssssss.

Tick.Tick.Tick.Tick.Tick.Tick.

Logan’s nerve endings began to spark to life, thousands of needles piercing his flesh as his brow slightly twinged. He could feel the pain as if it was weighing him down, but his mind wasn’t registering he should be reacting to the pain. At least, not yet. The flesh across his wound was curling upwards as more oxygen reached the hole in his stomach, the skin renewing itself to wrap back around once muscles and blood were rejuvenated. Finally the feral blinked once. Twice. Three times before the spark in his eyes returned. Unknown to the feral, Joseph had briefly controlled the iron in his blood to speed up the healing process, albeit for a short time. As the pain settled in before the puncture wound through his back healed, a mixture of a roar and cry of pain garbled in his throat as a stream of blood bubbled from his mouth. The familiar metallic taste of his blood coated his tongue and teeth before it trickled down the sides of his mouth. He finally tried to sit up from the floor, ignoring the small pool of blood around him as he lifted a burly hand and felt the wound.

God DAMNIT!

His brain registered the wound and full force of pain to go with it. He flinched again, eyes closed, until he literally felt needles plunge into his body. The drones in the Medical Wing were beginning to close in on the feral, caging him to the ground and forcing him not to move. He was alert and conscious, but he didn’t know where exactly he was. Aiming to lash out at a drone, not recognizing who or what they were, he managed to knock one back before another pinned his arm down to inject yet another needle. As the liquid streamed within his veins with his healing factor weakened thanks to his deadly wound, he calmed down for a mere few seconds before he finally tried to sit up again, the liquid speeding up his healing factor even more. The wound in his abdomen was healing, muscles and sinews recreating, but he leaned his head back down, staring at the ceiling.

He was at the mansion. The Medical Wing—a place he visited several times, but never had a decent use for. Ignoring the bright lights around him, he finally felt the foreign object in his mouth as he tried to move his tongue, his hand reaching beyond his lips and plucking the metallic object from his blood-ridden saliva. The drones, for now, were no longer touching him as he finally sat up, reeling from the pain as Logan concentrated on the bloody ankh in his palm. He didn’t understand what was going on, or where everyone else was. He only remembered…

“Creed,” Logan drawled out, the blood now free from his mouth. Glaring at no one in particular, Wolverine lifted himself to his feet, slipping on his own blood while catching a table for balance, his abdomen still not completely healed. Taking a look around him and noticing younger faces, Wolverine inwardly groaned the moment he saw Jen and Prodigy, and began to look around for the others. Nothing. Taking a sniff, nose free of blood, familiar scents entered the room, but none of them he was looking for. No Storm, no Sunpyre, no Shadowcat, no Magik, no new guy, no anybody from Rome. He was once again confused, clutching his stomach, but he grasped the ankh and slipped his way to the Med Wing’s entrance.

“God damn dead body,” he continued to mutter, seemingly incoherently. “Flamin’ metallic piece of shit.”

With the ankh in his hand, the other on his stomach, he continued to stumble out to find someone he could speak with. Jean was no longer in the room by the time he appeared. If he was in this bad of a condition, he’d hate to think how the others were fairing.

“God damn ankhs.”

TBC: Wolverine – Some where in the mansion.

[Rd Wing]

((Now did you mean Segway, as in the two wheeled gyroscopic transport… or segue, as in to continue seamlessly And is short ‘n’ grumpy in the same part of the wing as they are ? I’m guessing no… ))

"You're in the infirmary."

Well that cleared that mild concern up, but as lay on the flat of his back, his mind was still a blur, but pretty clear up until the first swig of the drink, whereupon it descended into swirling moments and flashes. He remembered Megan being chased up a tree by some sort of wolf and getting into his uniform to play the game, but it would all come back to him again. Unfortunately, that was guaranteed.

"You were attacked by rabid demons squirrels, I kid you not. Do you remember the campfire going out and a demon emerging? He used you like a baseball. That would explain the bumps, bruises and cuts. But everyone's ok. . . Even Quentin. He's a little-- worse for wear. Demon was taken care of, Adults came to the rescue, and you weigh enough to make me think I need to start lifting weights if I'm going to be flying while carrying male team members all the time,"

He was the baseball? He vaguely remembered picking up a log or a bat and shouting something as he flew off to hit something, but he was baseball… for a demon!?! Closing his eyes, the last image of his dream of the cycloptic demon’s face drawing close to him as its mouth lined with row after row of ravenous teeth closed down on him, forcing him to shudder as he snapped his eyes open again. If that was what attacked them, perhaps he got lucky with just being used in a game of fetch after all.

“Rea-Really?” He stammered “That would explain the bump on my head, I suppose”

"I know it sounds a little strange...but it's all true. Even the squirrels thing. But...it's nice to finally have you back in the world of the conscious."

“Well it’s nice to know someone would miss me at least.” He smiled weakly back up at her from his prone position. His mind was still stuck in ‘woe is me’ mode, but from just that angle, the bright, florescent lighting cast the young Asian mutant, in an exceedingly flattering light, and the picture would stick with him for some time to come.

”I can’t remember much of it though. Was there anything else I should know? He added, wondering if he’d actually managed to make any moves towards winning Julian’s game – If he’d made a move on Hisako and forgotten about it! He’d be kicking himself for months, but someone else was able to fill in one of the gaps at least.

“Like puke on a certain furred mutant boy, perhaps?”

Laying on the bed, Eddie’s body tensed as the hairy face loomed into view, as despite Nick saving him several times, Eddie had wiped him from memory. No-one else seemed to react to his presence though, so he carried on as normal, but boasting some very sharp teeth of his own, Eddie couldn’t help but stammer his confused apology: “S-Sorry? I d-don’t think I meant to do that?”

By now, the painkillers had kicked in, and a less pained Eddie brought his hands up to his face, as he stroked down the sides of his face and onto his ears though, he noticed something was slightly different. In a mild panic, he rolled around onto his front, looking down at his reflection in the stainless steel bed, and just as he feared, one ear was decidedly smaller than the other.

“What the hell?! WHERE’S MY EAR GONE!” Wing yelled, as he hopped off the bed and made his way to the nearest ’proper’ mirror; gazing at his reflection as the realisation dawned upon him that it was now too late to get the piercing his mom had always forbidden him to get. Turning to look at Hisako and the others, his face was a frown that needed turning upside down. “Something took my earlobe? Can we get it back and sow it on again? I feel so... incomplete”