218/Kitchen Control

Kitchen Control
Date of Scene:	01 March 2020
Location:	Kitchen
Synopsis:	Kitchen fun times with cupcakes and awkward conversations
Cast of Characters:	Lorna Dane, Scott Summers, Megan Gwynn, Jean Grey, Alex Summers

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Lorna Dane has posed:
It was a quiet afternoon in the Mansion's kitchen, between lunch and dinner as it was, no one was currently lingering in the kitchen area. Which is when Lorna finally ventured forth from her room in the former Master Suite to seek food. She had been avoiding people since her rescue in the ruins of Genosha. She hadn't spoken to anyone beyond Jean, and Kitty, so much so that the red haired woman had even slept in Lorna's room out of concern for her mental stability.

Suffice to say, people gave her space, fragile as she was mentally.. it couldn't last long, not with the world thinking she and her father both dead and an island nation in ruins.. But for now, it was a delicate pause.

Lorna walked, barefooted to the kitchen, wearing a pair of ripped jeans and black turtleneck. Her once long green hair was shorn short, into a bob with a shaggy set of bangs that were trimmed shorter than were necessarily fashionable.. but it was a home-cut. She made her way to the fridge, opening it silently, and picking at some left over sliced meats.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott has been waiting for a chance to talk with Lorna about Genosha. Only to be told she was not ready. So he pursued other options. There are other survivors. Someone should have seen those huge machines flying towards Genosha.

So he is reading reports on a tablet as he gets into the kitchen for an energy drink and spots the green mop of the woman he should really leave alone. "Oh, Lorna. Good afternoon," he manages, lowering the tablet and giving the young lady an appraising glance. At least she doesn't seem injured.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shrugged, holding the fridge open with a hand while the other rolled up a mess of turkey and shoved it into her mouth. She leaned back, shutting the door behind her as she arched a brow in Scott's direction. Her gaze fell to the tablet, and then back to the older Summer's brother. "Hey." She swallowed another bite of turkey sandwich meat.

"I was wondering where you and everyone else got to." She mused, and finished off the slice of sandwich meat in her grip.

"I guess Jean told you that I've lost my mind?"

Scott Summers has posed:
"It is Sunday, most everyone is resting or enjoying the day outside," replies Scott, tilting his head. "Your mind? No, but she told me to give you time to recover before, er... X-Men business. Nothing strange there." Each of them is coping as they can. In Scott case it involves brooding and guilt.

"I am glad to see you up and hungry, though," he adds. "Oh, and I like the haircut. Sleek."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna exhaled a breath, her head tilting to the side. "I spent a few weeks in a wasteland, or so I was told. I don't really remember, which is a blessing. I guess." She shrugged and turned back to the fridge to open it up again and snag whatever leftovers she could to shove into her mouth. A slice of pizza came away. The reports had clearly stated that Lorna had been very dehydrated medically, but otherwise.. healthy, all things considered.

The comment about the haircut had her lips curving into a flat recreation of a smile as she reached up to twist the shorn locks between her free hand. "Thanks. I wanted something different." She winced and took another bite of her cold pizza. Whoever had left it behind had better not miss it, it hadn't been labelled after all.

"Is everything... okay else where?" A strange question, but Lorna didn't want to go on the internet. Didn't want to see the news reporting over and over again what she'd survived.

Scott Summers has posed:
"No, of course we are not okay," comments Scott, wandering by the fridge to get his power drink in the form of a can. "Almost everyone has lost someone dear," he sits down on the table, inviting Lorna to join him. "If you want, I can get you some real food," he also offers. "On other news Tony Stark is running for President. I am not sure what to make out of THAT."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna trailed after Scott as he wandered by the fridge and headed for the table, she sat on a nearby chair, pulling it out and folding her legs beneath her as she munched on the cold pizza. "It's fine." It tasted like ashes in her mouth, and she swallowed it mechanically. She knew on some level that she was hungry, and needed to eat. So she was.

Scott's words earned a mental and physical flinch, and her mind shied away from the first comment to latch onto the second one.

"Wait, Tony is running... seriously?" She snorted and shook her head. "That man has to be the most arrogant person I've ever met," And she'd met him all of a handful of times. "President?" She whistled and rolled her eyes.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn yawns and stretches, heading into the kitchen, humming lightly to herself. With everyone in low spirits, she's trying her best to remain her usual chipper herself, trying to cheer up the other students. But sometimes it takes a lot of energy, and she's pretty hungry when lunch rolls by. So Megs raids the fridge, searching for the rest of the big sub she made yesterday..Oooh and she's not alone, either. She smiles and waves to the others. "Ooh, afternoon Mr. Summers, Miss Dane.." oh wait, that's Magneto's..She bites her lip, concern in her voice. "Umm how are you doing?"

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott offers a lopsided smile. "I know. Still might be better for us than the usual politicians," the ones that paid for a Sentinel army they claim they don't have anymore.

Megan's arrival makes him glance to the winged girl, "Miss Gwynn. Good and..." he is about to remind her she shouldn't eat between meals, but it is a Sunday and it really feels not important right now. "And yesterday Lex Luthor announced the same. It is going to be interesting. Just the glass of egos," he tsks.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna glanced at Megan as the young woman entered, her head tilting to the side as she mentally filed away who the woman was and seemed satisfied at what she saw. She nodded, and took another bite of the cold pizza in her grip. "I'm here." She offered in answer to 'how she was'. She needed a soda or something.. hmm. She glanced back at Scott as he mentioned Lex Luthor running for president and she blinked.

"No kidding. Huh. Strange." She murmured, and shrugged once.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn bites her lip as she focuses on Lorna a bit, pondering how to cheer her up. Maybe she should save the sandwich for later, but.. "Ooh that's right, I made these little cupcakes for baking class and I made too many. Would you like one?" she giggles as she pulls out a tray if colorful cupcakes and sets them on the table. "Yeaah, Mr. Luthor vs. Mr. Stark. I wonder who would make a better president? Sounds kinda nuts to me, either way. I mean do they even know anything about politics?"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna considered Megan again as she spoke and offered her a cupcake. A wry smile tugged at her lips, "Yeah, sure. Want to grab me a soda too while you're up?" She wiped her hands on her pant-leg, smearing pizza grease against the jean fabric. She didn't seem to care too much, and given that her hair was a shorn mess, that might have been done on purpose.

"Well, they're both too rich to actually care.. so." She shrugged, "Welcome to the US, where you can vote for one rich arrogant white guy, or another rich arrogant white guy." She barely held back the urge to roll her eyes again.

"I suppose it's a good thing I likely can't vote these days."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn smiles, reaching for a can of soda or two, returning a moment later. "Sure, here you are!" she hands it to the green haired woman, arching a curious brow at her hair. "Ooh new haircut?" poor woman, she seems Soo..so worn out. So sad. "Um...Well at least Mr. Stark I think seems sympathetic to people like us, maybe? Not sure about Mr. Luthor. I've never been big in politics, you're right. It's all about money and power, isn't it?" Megan starts working on her cupcake, it's colorful with little flower themed decorations, a little funky but it tastes pretty food. She sure worked hard on these!

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shrugged once as she picked up the soda and popped the top with a careful motion. Her fingernails were worn down to nubs, and scabbed over. The only real signs of damage to her physically after everything she'd been through. "Thanks..Yeah, Jean helped me cut it yesterday. I wanted something different." She quirked her lips together into another faint twitch of a smile.

"Must be a big deal, Scott even noticed." She mused, and exhaled a breath.

"I don't know what their politics are these days. Tony works with Wanda though, so I could try to call my sister and ask her what she thinks of it. But frankly, that sounds like work. And it doesn't really matter. Congress is where the real power is. President is just a face to stick with who's got power..." She mused.

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott has been back to his tablet, and he was looking for the few bits of real plans of the two candidates. But Lorna commenting he noticed the haircut, bring his eyes back to the woman. "Sometimes I do notice the obvious," he remarks, deadpan. "And I agree Stark seems more friendly. But Stark has a track record of making really dumb decisions almost as long as his record of brilliant inventions."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn oohs as she looks at her haircut more closely. "Well, I like it. It's fresh and fun. Why not?" she nods, "Oh that's right isn't it? Well if I did vote, Id vote for Mr. Stark.." she smirks, "Well maybe he can be impulsive but what about Lex Luthor? Doesn't he have a bad history even if he's trying to be good now?" she shrugs holding the tray out to him, "Cup cake?"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna picked up the soda, sipping at it and then leaning forward to pick up a cupcake that Megan held out to offer Scott. She immediately took a bite of the frosting, and seemed content to fall silent for a bit as she inhaled the sugar. After a beat, she reached up to drag her hands through her shorn hair. "Who cares? At the end of the day they're all still humans hoping to play a game of popularity and will throw a bunch of money at things. Sure they're 'smart', but eh.." She shrugged and sighed.

"Won't matter anyways.." She muttered, and grimaced as she took another gulp of her soda. It still didn't help the dryness that had formed at the back of her throat, and she pursed her lips together.

"The cupcakes are good."

Scott Summers has posed:
"Luthor was linked to criminal enterprises a few years ago," mentions Scott. "I remember Lois Lane and... Kent? They did quite a bit of investigating, but at the end it didn't hold before the law."

Meanwhile Stark was being Iron Man, which certainly makes him far better from the X-Men viewpoint.

"Thank you, Miss Gwynn," he says for the cupcake. He isn't really hungry, so it is all for Lorna. "Maybe it won't matter," he agrees. "It might matter if any of them has the intention to confront the powers-that-be and change legislation on hate groups and crimes."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn hmms and nods slowly, "We'll they are both humans but I think Stark would at least be more sympathetic towards us.." she shrugs, nibbling on her cupcake. Oooh, sugar rush. "Thanks!" she beams at Lorna, "I made em for my cooking class but made too many. The recipe was actually pretty simple so I'm happy they turned out okay.."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna felt her stomach twist and she set the can of soda down on the table top. "The cupcake was good, you should keep baking. It's a talent. Not many people are good at it." She murmured, and she swallowed the dryness at the back of her throat away. She ducked her head, shifting on her seat and biting back a sigh.

"Any news of other people running yet?" She asked, politics was both safe and not, and the green haired woman was having a hell of a time focusing on the safer side of things. Every time she thought too deeply, her head pounded and she shied away from the painful topics those thoughts led to.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Just the usual boring, establishment candidates," replies Scott. "Unless Stark or Luthor make a major blunder one of them will be the next president. America has been crying for a change of the political climate for ten, fifteen years."

Despite his dislike for the human politicians Scott has been paying attention. He considers it part of his job. And mutants do have a few (few!) political allies, some of which are even decent human beings.

"I need to get going. Good work with the cupcakes, Miss Gwynn," he says, offering Megan a rare smile. "Lorna," he pats the woman's shoulder. "Stay as long as you need. Talk to Jean, please. We will be taking action soon, we will need you."

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn yawns a bit, rubbing her eyes, yeah, too much sugar, she's probably crashing now and her wings flutter rapidly, "Umm thanks Mr. Summers, see you later!" she grimaces, "I guess maybe I should add less sugar next time? Oooh I hear stevia is better.." she's not big on politics but with certain recent events, it certainly will affect them. "I haven't heard of any other contenders though I personally think Mr. T'challa would make a good president.." oh wait, he's probably not even an American citizen.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shrugged as she turned her gaze down to the table, heaving a sigh as Scott came up to settle a hand on her shoulder briefly and spoke of the team taking action... the last part in particular hurt. And she squeezed her eyes shut, flashes of fire, and screams blanketed the vision behind her eyes and she felt an overwhelming urge to get up and run.

A rough swallow followed and she reached for her soda, downing it and tasting ashes in her mouth. "No one should.." She muttered, and glanced back at Megan as she watched the winged woman yawn and perk up at the compliments again.

"He's King of another country, they don't get to run." She mused, with a faint smile, latching onto the conversation and dragging herself to the present again.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean's voice is at the doorway, "Megan, if you keep that up I'm going to relook at your history papers." She grins, looking wryly at the younger mutant, before her gaze flickers over towards Lorna.

Her smile grows a little more sympathetic as she regards the green haired mutant, "Hey, glad to see you up and about... Scott didn't give you too much guff, did he? I swear, guff is his secondary mutation." She says it good naturedly, but still has some concern for Lorna in her voice, and her thoughts.

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn awwes and pouts, "I'm sorry Miss Grey, Ill just stick to one a day!" she does offer her the tray if tasty cupcakes though, "Would you like one too? I made em myself!" she pouts a little, "Ooh that's right. That's too bad, he's really nice..He made me a pretty dress too!" she beams, though regards Lorna with concern as she sees her wily a bit. Reaching over, she gently pats her shoulder. "Maybe we can go shopping sometime?" hey that tends to cheer Megs right up. "I discovered this cool little thrift store that sells such unique and beautiful clothes!"

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna glanced up as Jean entered and her eyes flickered with emotion that went unsaid, but the red head would know it was one of self loathing mixed with guilt. "No. He was fine. I'm just.. heh.." She trailed off, and shook her head, and nodded to Megan instead.

"I've had my serving of sugar today with the soda and cupcakes alone." She murmured, forcing a smile that didn't really reach the rest of her expression.

"Shopping.. um.. yeah.." She didn't know if she had access to anything anymore. Didn't know if she had the ability to purchase anything. Not anymore. She was adrift. Basic questions drew up a tangled mess of emotions and she wasn't sure what to do think or do.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean steps in and walks over towards Lorna, placing a hand on the other woman's shoulder if allowed. "Hey, well, some shopping might not be a bad idea, when you're feeling up for it. No pressure at all." She gives Lorna a smile, and glances curiously at the offered cupcakes, "Well, I suppose I can take one."

Though, hopefully Jean doesn't get //too// much of a sugar high, as that could make things really interesting...

Megan Gwynn has posed:
Megan Gwynn awwes, puts the cupcakes away, assuming Jean doesn't want one and glances at her watch, "Ooh, I gotta go soon but let me know if you two wanna join me for shopping later or maybe tomorrow? It'll be lots of fun!" and with a wave she flutters off for class.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna squirmed in her seat under the gentle touches and she knew both of them meant well, but she wasn't entirely sure what to do about it. How to handle anyone outside of the mansion. What would happen when she went out in the world beyond? She'd be faced with life going on as usual. She'd have to face ..well, the world. It was a daunting prospect.

"I know. I just.. I don't know." She knew the answer didn't make much sense, but it was what she had.

Her stomach twisted, and she felt her throat constrict. "Jean, what am I going to do? I.. I.." Her voice shook and she squeezed her eyes shut.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, and gently hugs Lorna, "I know, Lorna, I know..." She nods absently to Megan, as she focuses more on Lorna since the green-haired woman needs her right now. She murmurs, "It'll be alright. It's really going to be all right." Though she can't say exactly when, she does know it will be.

Eventually...

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna struggled to not fall back into the sobs that had wracked her frame when she'd been found before. It was something she desperately wanted to avoid. It hurt. Everything hurt. But Jean's arms around her were warm and gentle and the hurt was so very big and very fresh. It stung her eye and throat and she blinked them away hard.

"How can anything be alright again?" She whispered, and reached up to dig the heels of her palms against her eyes.

"How can the sun still come up and people... can.. can just live?"

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean sighs and just keeps Lorna in that gentle embrace, "I don't know, Lorna... I wish I did. But the Earth keeps spinning and we do what we can." She looks at the other mutant, "We do what we can to try and make sure no one else goes through what you did."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna shook her head, "Humans have been doing this to each other for centuries. It's the same story over and over. My //father//," Her voice cracked and she felt tears wash over her gaze and no matter how much she blinked them back, they welled up and fell down her cheeks. "What he went through.. what I went through... They just keep doing it. Over and over again. That's what humans do. They destroy everything." She bit out, her hands curling to fist into her hair and she bit back the sob that choked the air from her throat.

A shiver ran up her spine and she struggled to push the thoughts that plagued her away.

Jean Grey has posed:
Sadly, Jean doesn't have an answer for that. I mean, she does... but they'd all ring hollow right now, for obvious reasons. So instead, she's just there for what Lorna needs. Which, right now, is emotional support. That, she can do, and if anyone tries to hurt Lorna when Jean's there...

Best not to dwell on it.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna exhaled a shuddering breath, closing her eyes as she sank into the magnetic fields and wrapped them around it. The fields were what helped her before, and had become her security blanket. She let her hands fall back to the table top and she released the tension in her shoulders. It was easier to not think about it, to not think about anything and just hold onto the magnetic fields and lose her mind to the force of the world around her.

It was a numbing sensation and it's what had allowed her to semi-function at least.

"Sorry for freaking out on you Jean.." She mumbled.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean smiles a little, "Hey, I understand, and no apologies necessary Lorna." She looks at the other woman, "You've been through a lot, and it's going to take time." Her head tilts a bit as she regards Lorna, "You have nothing to apologize for."

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna exhaled another slow, steady breath as she sat up and as Jean leaned back to consider her again. "Thank you Jean.." She swallowed another lump in the back of her throat. The amount of magnetic energy she wrapped around herself made her hair become static, and it crackled as she smoothed it back down with her hands.

"I don't think I'm going to be useful to anyone anytime soon.."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex is...well, new to the mansion, relatively. He doesn't actually live here. He only recently really even discovered he WAS a mutant, but after some intervention by the Professor and the revelation is long lost brother was here, he's got reasons to actually visit. Even if he's not sure if he wants to be picking out matching uniforms or such.

    FRee food, on the other hand, he's all about, which is why he's busy wandering into the kitchen in the hopes of seeing if some pizza or sandwich fixes may have survived the ravenous feasting of a house full of teenagers.

    Seeing the two women in the kitchen apparently in the midst of a conversation, he slows just inside the doorway, hesistating as he's unsure if he's intruding. "Uh...hey." he says after a moment, sort of looking for the context clues if he should perhaps come back for that snack a bit later.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean blinks, and turns around, "Oh, hello! You must be... Alex, right?" She heard a little bit about him, of course, from both Scott and the Professor. Flashing him a bit of a smile, she tilts her head towards the new arrival, "I'm Jean Grey, and this is Lorna Dane." She grins a bit wider, "Oh, and pizza is in the freezer, you'll probably want the second one down in the stack."

And if Alex looks, that's his favorite kind. Or at least, the most favorite one that they have in the freezer right now...

Lorna Dane has posed:
If Alex had paid attention the last few years to international news he would know about Magneto's take over of the island Genosha. He would have heard about his daughter, a green haired mutant with the same powers he had.. and recently, he would have heard about the island nation's destruction and the supposed death of most of the island. Including the ruler and former enemy, sometimes ally, Magneto.

The X-men had gone on several rescue missions on and off since the destruction and most recently, they had brought back a few survivors.

Lorna hadn't spent time in the Mansion often in the last year, most of her focus having been spent on Genosha.. as heir. So if she had missed Alex's presence, it wasn't unusual in the least. She turned her green eyed gaze up to consider the blonde man standing awkwardly in the doorway. "Hi." She offered, swallowing thickly. She wore a black turtleneck, and pair of ripped up jeans. A cumbled cupcake wrapper sat in front of her along with an empty soda can. She let Jean do the talking and introduction.

Alex Summers has posed:
    It would probably require Alex to be buried in a hole somewhere not to know about the tragedy in Genosha. And why he's not been part of the rescue missions to Genosha, it's not been for a lack of sympathy. Just...more a 'my power is blowing shit up and they don't need more of that there' sort of thing.

    He looks a bit suprised as Jean's offer then smiles a bit. "Uh...sure, thanks..." He looks between the two. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." he offers, walking over to the fridge.

    Cuz he's gettin' that pizza. He's just gonna be polite about it.

    He does glance back at Lorna, his brow furrowing. Not THAT many green haired women out there in public that look like that, after all. He knows Jean, in passing at least, though he's not really gotten a chance to talk to her before. "Yeah, that's me, Alex Summers. Nice to meet you both. I mean, I've seen you, Jean, but just sort of in passing. Nice to meet you Lorna...you're...the princess from Genosha, right?"

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean smiles a little bit, "Yes, that's me. I guess I should have mentioned I'm a telepath. Don't worry, I wasn't prying... but you //really// wanted that pizza." She chuckles, "Not that I blame you, that's a pretty good one there."

She glances over at Lorna, then looks back at Alex, letting the green-haired woman speak for herself there. She doesn't want to presume in this case.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna watched the blonde as he went over to the fridge and grabbed himself a slice of the same pizza that she herself had raided not too long ago. She wiped at her eyes, rubbing away the smears of mascara and eyeliner that stained her fingertips black as he moved. She had been crying, but that was hardly a surprise.

As he came back and introduced himself, her eyebrows shot upwards. "You're related to Scott?" She ventured, her voice surprised. But whatever else she was going to say faltered and came to a halt as Alex greeted her and asked if she was //the princess from Genosah//. Her chest constricted with pain and her the dull roar of her mind came to bear on her. She pulled the magnetic fields closer to her, and there was a faint pressure in the air around her. She crossed her arms, and legs, leaning back in her chair as she averted her gaze.

"Strictly speaking there's not much of Genosha left for ..for that.." She managed to get out without panic slicing her words in half.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex isn't always the most aware guy...but even he can tell when a woman has been crying and is wise enough to not draw attention to the affereffects. He doens't know her well enough to really offer more than generic sympathy, not knowing what the problem is...but hey, he at least develops a concerned look at Lorna's change in posture, realizing he said something wrong.

    "Oh. Uh. Yeah, sorry...." he says, frowning to himself. "I'm sorry, for what happened." He's at least genuine for that. It's horrific, no matter what country it happened to, mutant, human, alien, or purple people eater.

    "And, yeah, I'm Alex. Scott's younger brother. I'm...new to, uh, all of this." He makes a gesture that sort of takes in the rest of the mansion. "I'm more visiting, I guess? To, ah, get used to being...the new me, I guess."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean nods, "It's okay, Alex, we were all new here at one point... well, I mean, I wasn't, I think I was one of the first students here." And she does look about Alex's age, as she gives him a curious look, "And thanks... I was on the ground there shortly after, and..." She looks over at Lorna, and gives her a concerned look, before looking back to Alex.

"Anyway, yeah, the school is definitely interesting. I guess your powers just kicked in?" She gives him a sympathetic look at that.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna picked at the torn edges of her fingernails as she kept her gaze down and averted. She was trying very hard to not think of Genosha again. Trying so very hard to not think about her father, his death, all the deaths that she'd practically drowned in for the past few weeks. The memories choked at her mind and she shoved them down and boxed them away as much as she could.

Instead of crying, she shrugged, it was easier to accept his condolences than to put her thoughts to voice just then.

As he mentioned being new though she blinked, her gaze lifting upward to look first at Alex then to Jean and back. "Your powers just manifested? That's.. that's highly unusual. Most mutant powers manifest during the teen years. With some exceptions of course.. but the theory goes that it's tied to puberty. How fascinating.. you're what... twenty something?"

Alex Summers has posed:
    "Kicked in in this case shorthand for my archeology professor turning out to have similar abilities and a schzophrenic breakdown where he thought I was stealing it from him and attacked me, yeah." Alex says dryly, transfering pizza to a pan, then turning on an oven to heat it up. "First time they ever...did stuff. before this." He frowns. "Your professor guy, he's not sure why yet. I know Scott's had his for...a while, but...yeah. No idea." He shrugs his broad shoulders. "Not much I can do about it now but deal, right?"

    He gives the pair a smile. It's a nice smile, even if inwardly Jean can totally feel the roil of emotions under the casual act he's putting on about having his life completely upended like this. "And I'm twenty three." he confirms. "So waaaaay past puberty. Trust me, I remember those years vividly."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean smiles, "Definitely understandable... I think we all have that story. For me, well... I was ten." She coughs, and realizes that's something she doesn't really //want// to go into, just now anyway.

So she changes the subject slightly, "So yeah, I've been here pretty much since I was eleven. One of the Professor's first students. And still Marvel Girl, though... hrm, being 24 I guess I should think of a new alias." She looks a bit wry at the thought.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Lorna offered a sympathetic glance toward Alex, "Most mutants go through a pretty shitty time when they manifest." She murmured, her own past shrouded with false memories and false starts. She'd found out years ago that her father had had a hand in it, and even now.. well, the pain was distant, but only in comparison to the fog she walked in currently.

"Telling by the lack of head gear, your powers aren't like Scott's right? What can you do, if you don't mind me asking.." She murmured, and tilted her head curiously. Her gaze swung back to Jean and she grinned. "And I was lady number two. Really, one would think if it wasn't for both of us at the start that the Professor was gunning for an all boy's school."

Alex Summers has posed:
"Marvel Girl, huh? Maybe...Marvelous? Marvel Femme? Marvelette? Miss Marvel?" Alex pauses, thinking. "...or is that one taken? There's a Captain Marvel. Or go for a rebrand..." He studies Jean, looking her over. "The Scarlet Dream, maybe? Mindfire. Mind powers are hard without sounding vaguely '50s magician." He motions towards his own hair. "I mean, red and reading minds, seems like it would work? Maybe?" He looks rueful. "I dig things up in the ground, I'm not a PR guy."

    He turns his attention back to Lorna, blinking, then ahs "Right, red shades and all that. Cyclops works for him. But no, no blast gaze or whatever he's calling it. I don't have that kinda control yet." He frowns a bit. "...hell, if we're going by names, I guess mine right now would be something like...havoc." Another shrug of his shoulders., then he tugs at his henley collar a bit, showing a hint of black fabric underneat. "The professor gave me this suit thing that's supposed to help. Good things it's cold, can't imagine wearing it all the time under my clothes."

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins, "Havok, huh? I like that. Seems like a perfect opposite of Scott, to be honest." Because, look, Jean likes him, but let's be honest... chaos and mayhem isn't exactly his strong suit.

She then chuckles, "I dunno about any of those other names, I mean, I went by Phoenix for a while, but that just doesn't feel... right, anymore." Mainly because she's not exactly the host of the Phoenix Force anymore.

Lorna Dane has posed:
Talking about others and their powers? It was safe, as safe as anything could be. She felt like she was navigating a mine field of topics in conversation. As if she was hopping up and down on one foot through a field of broken glass, trying to not step on it and make everything worse.. Lorna arched a brow though at the various suggestions that Alex came up with and she couldn't help the snort of laughter that came from her.

"Ya know I went through so many code names at first, it took forever for me to settle on one." She grinned, and it lit up her face. Some semblance of who she was previous peaking through.

"Soo, you make things go boom, from... what all over?" She asked, lofting an eyebrow upward.

Alex Summers has posed:
    "Oh, what did you end up with, did you say?" Alex says, sliding in the pizza on a pan into the oven and setting the timer as he talks, before leaning back against the counter, folding his arms acdross his broad chest. "Hmm, well, I guess Havoc works as well as anything. Maybe I'll make it all fancy, someone probably uses that name somewhere. Put a k on the end. Bam with the spice weasel!"

    He flashes a grin and shrugs, turning more serious. "Ah, Professor Xavier says it's something like ambient energy collection that my body converts into energy that heats the air into plasma. I'm...not good at challenign it in any way but *boom* yet, yeah." he notes sheepishly.

    This may explain the small crater that appeared on the mansion grounds overnight, away from the house. Where someone might be attempting to practice some control.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins, "There you go. That's a good o..." She pauses, and hrms, "Actually, I need to go take care of something. Shouldn't be //too// dangerous, but well, I'll ring if I need you." With that, she makes her way out of the kitchen, giving Lorna a brief squeeze on the shoulder with her hand as she goes, "Nice to meet you Alex! See you soon Lorna!" And like that, she's gone, actually telekinetically flying out of the kitchen and into the hallway.