500/Just another day for Mutant girls

Just another day for Mutant girls
Date of Scene:	13 March 2020
Location:	Front Yard (Xavier's School)
Synopsis:	More Summers reunions with a few others added in. Emotions flared, hijinx were had. Fun times for all.
Cast of Characters:	Rachel Summers, Nate Grey, Hope Summers, Gabby Kinney, Alex Summers, Andrea Marguiles

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Rachel Summers has posed:
    You might say that Rachel has cooled off. But you might only say that because the flames are missing from her body right now. But the fact that they are not actually fire is lost on most people.
    But she sits outside in her bluejeans with the biker jacket over her shoulders to ward off the chill. When I say she sits outside, I mean like.. on the roof of the mansion. She hasn't been back inside the place since she flew off in a meltdown moment... but has been in Genosha, pushing herself to exhaustion to try to help folks.. oh and napping here and there and eating due to volunteer supplies. But she's home... *laugh* home. What a thought. This doesn't -feel- like home to her. A run down prison camp feels more like home than this... safe place.

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey has floating behind him supermarket bags. The deal so far is that Nate does handyman and odds jobs, and the school gives him a place to sleep and a stipend. It's not a pittance - but Nate has no idea of c21st money values. As long as he has a roof over his head while the school figures out how they will sort him, it's good.
     once inside the grounds, his own telepathy picks up a massive spike in psychic power - there's someone powerful, here. He sends his bags ahead to the kitchen, while he rises up into the air, to investigate this new person. Floatng behind him is some food he got from the supermarket deli. Nate is always hungry.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope, meanwhile, has been doing what Cable trained her to do in an unfamiliar environment: reconnaissance. Research on this world, on its history, on who's in power. The local news. She managed to get herself a pair of military surplus cargo pants and some basic shirts to go with the school hoodie, which is enough to help her blend in.

Walking up the path from the road, she quirks a brow at the collection of Summers-Grey time-travelers taking place. "Hey," she calls over as she gets closer, raising a hand. "You know, there are other ways to get privacy in this place, if that's what you were going for."

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey smiles, as he floats down to join Hope. "Hey you. Good to see you. I just did my week's food gathering in the big distribution place that takes the plastic cards." She makes a head gesture over to the distant Rachel on the roof. "I was about to say hello, but she seemed like she didnt want to be bothered."

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Up on the roof, Rachel didn't initially -hear- Hope's greeting. But when she senses a mutant approaching, she turns her head and spots Nate. Her eyes narrow, the hound marks on her face kinda scrunching up as she tenses. She doesn't recognize this guy but.... he has a familiar look to him for some reason.
    She stands slowly up to her feet before Hope's words register belatedly. She looks down at Hope and then to Nate. Then she tilts her head to the left. "Let me guess." she mutters, "Time travel again?"

Hope Summers has posed:
"Reality," Hope answers Rachel, reaching up to rub a hand at the back of her neck. "I'm starting to think there's some sort of soft spot in the fabric of the universe here or something. Like maybe Nathan and I and other people jumped back and forth too many times to this place and it's made it all...squishy." Hope Summers, very technical reality scientist.

"Nate, this is Rachel. She's...like us. Rachel, this is Nate. He seems to come from an even weirder and worse place than us. Sort of. From the bits I got. Honestly, we're all a mess," she rolls her eyes, huffing a breath.

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey says, "Pleased to meet you. I prefer the term "reality refugee", but I think you know the thing. I've heard myself often compared to you. I hope we can keep this blue ball safe, no matter the dark futures. Pleased to meet you - Nate Grey, son of Forge." He extends his hand up towards Rachel."

Rachel Summers has posed:
    "Worse than my future?" asks Rachel. She shudders and shakes her head. "Mutants rounded up, put into pens, or killed like holocaust Jews?" she asks disgustedly. "A future I travelled back to prevent from happening, and apparently failed to prevent so.. yay." she says, lifting her hands in a muted sarcastic celebration gesture.
    "Cuz, the only way future me would have -these- marks.." she says, gesturing to the scars on her face that are somewhere between burns and nanotech implants... "Is if Ahab made me a hound to hunt and kill mutants, and if that happened, then the future I tried to prevent happens anyway."
    A pause, and then she looks to the male time traveler. "Nate you say?" she asks. "So, tell me, in -your- future.... did I fail also?"

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey says, "I never met you, and I would be an asshole to say which is 'worse' or 'better'." He telepathically forms up his overt memories of his life - the enslavement and breeding pens of Apocalypse, the fascist human government, he himself being created as a weapon, into a ball of thought. He tosses it to Rachel, who he presumes is an adept telepath, to catch. "Can we agree that neither of these futures should come to pass, here?""

Hope Summers has posed:
"I don't think that's how it works," Hope says slowly, tipping her head toward the front porch in invitation before heading that way herself. "Look, Rachel. I wanted to say something when you stormed off before, but...I mean, I get it, you're not really in a talking mood when the Phoenix steps in. But if changing the future made you forget all of your past, erased...everything you ever worked to become? I feel like it'd take something away from all those sacrifices too."

She drops down to sit on the front steps, looking between Nate and Rachel with steady eyes. "I'm pretty sure he," she points to Nate while looking at Rachel, "Is somewhere's version of the man who raised me. So. The weird just keeps coming."

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Look! Up in the sky! Clouds. Up on the roof? Rachel. She glowers a bit at Hope. But then as Nate summons up memories and power and launches it her way.. she flares with power, the Phoenix aura showing just for a moment as she swats it away before she thinks about it. Her reflex was to deflect a telepathic attack. But when she realizes what it -was-, she inclines her head, "Sorry. A little warning next time?" she asks as she steps off of the roof and drops to the stairs.

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey says, "I see you're still mourning. That was a simple communication that any telepath would recognize, so no warnings for the equivalents of hellos, and trying to take the suffering high ground. Objectively, you don't get to say that you've suffered more than me, because you don't know my home and what pain I've gone through. You're mourning, so I will leave you alone. When you want to have a proper introduction, get with me. See, I have no one here, except maybe for hope. Everyone and everything I ever loved is dead. SO, deal with the fact that there is someone here who is in as much pain as you and has suffered just as much as you. Your selfish heart might not like that - understandable, because I'll be happy to concede that you're life of shit was as shitty as mine, but you don't get to swat my attempt to reach out to you away, without consequence. And it's ok. I'm hurtng too." A pause - "you're lucky. I bet you have some people here who you love and will die to protect. I don't, right now. But this world was kind enough to take me in." He smiles at Hope. "So, since all debts are paid, I'll work to protect this world. If you have people here you love, you're luckier than me - Apocalypse took tha away from me, and he may have survived. I don't care much about the future or preventing one - I'm about protecting the present. So, I'm going to watch some TV. Hope, you coming with? I love this 'Cells At Work' thing. Ja Ne, Rachel, be well.""

Hope Summers has posed:
"Whoa, okay fellow future kids, let's all take a deep breath here," Hope says as things get heated, arching a brow and holding out her hands. "Nobody wins in a my life sucks off. Besides, none of us are in those lives anymore. We're here. With peanut butter, and private bedrooms, with //beds// in them. So yeah. We've got things to come to terms with. But I'm pretty sure this is what winning looks like."

She gestures to the lawn in front of them, where kids can play. With no Sentinels outside the walls. "I mean, obviously it's not perfect, with what happened to Genosha and with Reavers out there and all, but...we are //so// far ahead of the game right now, guys. Let's focus on that, yeah?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
As luck would have it Gabby was on her way around the side of the mansion when the Summerses start falling from the sky. That's enough to garner her attention even if she wasn't paying attention before. Which was good because she wasn't. The diminuative brunette pauses to glance at Rachel, and Hope, who were familiar. Before she can even do more than start to lift her hand to wave in greeting when Nate lets go with that emotional spiel.

Gabby pauses, clutching her hands to her chest momentarily before wailing out, "That's so sad!"

That's precisely about as much warning as Nate gets before he has a four foot five girl launching herself at him to throw her arms around him in a tackling hug. Of course he was quick, and a telepath, so maybe that might be enough time to dodge.

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Narrowing her eyes, Rachel Summers shakes her head, "Look here mister high and mighty. You summon up a jumble of memories of how shitty your life was and send them at me... that is not a courteous greeting. That's an unasked for attack. You want to tell me that it is the normal way to greet another telepath, I call bullshit." Rachel places hands on her hips. She inclines her head and transmits just the barest hello mentally, "That is how you greet another telepath. Not with an attempt at a memory dump that will likely cause a new round of PTSD in the target. So, before you go off calling mee out of line for deflecting that. Think about what it might have done in the first place. Think about how selfish it is to speak me that way and then you might realize that I am -not- being selfish. I am reacting like someone who has been attacked in such ways in the past."
    But then Hope speaks, and she looks to her, tuning out a lot of the followup of what Nate is saying now. She nods her head. "I do like you. I like your attitude." she tells Hope. "And I am sorry for flipping out the other day and running away. That was stupid of me." And then... there's Gabby. She turns to accept the hug before she realizes it's for Nate and not for her. Shit. She closes her eyes and nods, "I deserve that too." she mutters under her breath.

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey has turned his back to Rachel and snaps a finger - a shimmering plane in the air is merely a mirror, showing Rachel's angry face. "At least you have something like parents, Summers. I have shit, except for a cool ass almost-niece. Apology accepted." Just as he's about to remove himself from this won't-go-anywhere-good conversation and watch some streaming in the lounge, he takes an OOMPH from Gabby. He tenses up and is ready to counterattack, but one thing he has been training himself is *not to react his PTSD*, since he can kill entire towns with his powers. He gently places Gabby away from himself. "Um, excuse me? Hi, I'm Nate. Maybe you have me confused for someone else?"

Hope Summers has posed:
"Don't worry, I'm sure she's got one for you too," Hope murmurs at Rachel when Gabby goes barrelling past, lips twitching with an amused smile. "And don't worry about the other day," she shrugs. "I get it, I've been there. One time Logan tried to make me stay somewhere because he thought he knew better than I did what I ought to do and I sort of, uh..."

She clears her throat, glancing to Gabby before she shrugs again. "There was a lot of melting. Nate, this is Gabby," she provides a name, rather than relying on telepathy. "Gabby's also got the whole terrible childhood thing going on, so we can probably skip the measuring contest. Gabby, this is Nate. He also got dropped here from another time or world or something."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Nope, you're the right target after that tangent. I know what it's like to not have much of anyone... Well, other than my sisters at least, and now Logan, and everyone," Gabby adds in the way she always does: Rambling. Looking up toward Nate she flashes him a smile that dimples her cheeks and makes the scars on her face crinkle as well. "Wow, did you guys punch a hole in the dimensional fabric or something? Maybe we need a giant cork. Space-time cork."

With a solemn nod she steps back letting poor Nate go along with a cheery enough, "Hi!" As Hope introduces her. True enough to Hope's assumption she turns around to give Rachel a hug, too, also holding an arm out to Hope. Group hugs were also a thing.

"I'm glad you're back, too! I didn't mean to upset you last time."

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Shaking her head, Rachel says to Hope, "So, we have a passive aggressive living weapon who seems to think that I owe him an apology for his misjudged use of power?" She rolls her eyes and looks back to Nate, "I'm glad you accept my apology, because I also accept yours. You -received- just as much of one as you gave. So you decide how much that is." she adds. "And if you're trying to make me think worse of myself with that reflection thing, you can't make me think any less of myself than I already do. Trust me. As for loved ones, I've been here two months... I met my father who refused to acknowledge me, and my mother is freaking out. So... it's not like there's much going on there. The closest thing I have to a loved one is right here." she says, gesturing down at Gabby as she returns the hug with gusto.
    Her eyes don't leave Nate as she does that though, "Now, if we're both done with the self pity bullshit... hi, I'm Rachel." she says as she holds out a hand, "What say we just start over?"

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey smiles ashamedly. "I apologize for being an asshole. Hello, I'm Nate Grey. Pleased to meet you." He extends his hand to Rachel.

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey says, "And yes, starting over is a great idea. I'm sorry for being a jerk."

Hope Summers has posed:
"Right? That's what I said," Hope nods to Gabby, leaning back against the steps now that everyone seems to be a little more calm. "If we make it through another week without another arrival, I might have to revise the theory, but I'm not doing that until it happens." She looks the others over, speculative. "So, uh. How's the whole Genosha thing going?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Lovelovelovelovelove. Not only does Gabby hug but she tries to just sort of... Press all the feelings of love and acceptance and happiness she can onto Rachel. Or into? Or... she wasn't entirely sure how this whole telepath thing went, not being one herself, but she knew how it felt to need to feel that sort of connection. In spite of everything that had happened around her own arrival, Rachel had been involved in some manner or another. Just thinking of her as another sister of sorts was hardly a stretch for her. Now just to let Rachel feel that with the bestest hug ever before letting go to give her room to greet Nate.

She's still grinning rather broadly as it seems the tension that had been there when she arrived starts to ease just a bit. Glancing over toward Hope she shrugs. "I visited with Lorna to help look things over. It's a mess, but they're making progress." That happiness fades just a bit but before she can start to remember and think about the devestation there she starts to think of bunnies. Happy bunnies. Hopping everywhere. Chasing after butterflies. Oh now, now the butterflies have merged with the bunnies so they're bunnieflies.

Gabby stares off into space a long moment before shaking her head sharply. "Doing good."

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Taking Nate's hand, Rachel smirks and shrugs, "So, we are both feeling self-absorbed these days. I guess I can't blame you for that. But seriously, in the future... memory dumps are bad, eh?" she asks with a grin.
    She reaches a hand out and ruffles Gabby's hair, "Thanks kiddo. I never had a little sister before. Can I call -you- kid sis?" she asks as she moves towards the little one and crouches down to be on her level and to look her in the eye.
    You see, when someone tries really hard to projects when around a telepath, it can be hard to ignore the thoughts. But Rachel consciously avoids delving into the thoughts of others when she -can- avoid it. There are times when it overloads her. But for the most part, she stays in her own head unless she -chooses- to invade another's mind.. and that's what she considers it, invading. So she resists the urge most days.

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey says, "I apologize for violating telepathy protocol here. See, in the resistance, we'd toss telepathy bundles like this to each other all the time. We didn't have time for speak words or to not trust each other. What I tossed you was simply an object you could look at and that doesn't enter a subject's telepathi noosphere - it's as invading as a sign would be. However, you were absolutely justified in wanting to protect yourself. I'll work to be more considerate and stick to spoken language."
     He pauses, as he tries to bring together a whole bunch of bad memories. "It probably seems crazy to you, but a mutant called En Nabah Sur started a way where he convinced a majority of mutants that only the strong had the right to survive. The axis of the conflict where I came from wasn't really a human vs mutant one - sure, here was plenty of species hatred happening on both sides, but that wasn't really the crux. It was more about the weak versus the strong. *Do the weak have the right to survive?* But even that burned down the fact that EN NAbah Sur simply was terrified of everything and felt horrbly weak. This I can say with certainty because he and I have fought telepathically any number of times. I don't know if you know about En Nabah Sur, or Apocalypse, but he was an immensely old and powerful mutant who gained access to advanced technology and who began a holy war based on a horrible reductive social darwinism. Needless to say, he turned my world into a wasteland, and everyone in his empire, prisoners. There was a resistance in Europe which used the old US Sentinels technology - a number of times, Sentinels have saved my life from the Prelates of Apocalypse, mutant agents who would maintain order and hunt down both mutants and baselines. I don't know if this makes any sense. All I remember is that it was constant hell of being hunted, and constant pain, war, and losing loved ones. And no sunlight, poisoned winds, blasted terrain, nothing but armies, and the Pens." He sighs. "The pens. The gene branding.""

Hope Summers has posed:
"Yeah, there weren't enough people alive in most of my future for any of that to happen," Hope shrugs. "Like...a big percentage of the parts of my life that I can remember was just me and Nathan, surviving when nothing else could. It wasn't super exciting most of the time. Lots of training. Lots of preparing."

She grimaces, nose wrinkling. "And you know, I was pretty psyched about this world, Genosha notwithstanding, and then I heard there were Reavers here too. But if those jerks think they're going to have an easier time of things than they did in my world, they've got another thing coming."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney grins rather broadly at Rachel when she crouches down in front of her to ask that. The answer is simply reaching up to clasp her hands around Rachel's neck as she leans forward to boop her forehead to Rachel's. "Scar sisters for life!" With a chuckle she steps back again still wearing that broad grin. "I won't say I'm sorry you lived through all that stuff, because that doesn't help or change anything. I'm glad you're here though, and free to actually live your life your way now. Same as me!"

The more serious talk of futures does shift her attention back to the other two with a hint of worry. "I think there's enough going on in the here and now that worrying about potential futures isn't going to help anyone. I mean, unless something pops up that's like suuuuper the same and you go 'oh shit wait this is bad' and all. I mean, there's enough to stress about already, right?"

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Enjoying the forehead bop, Rachel smiles and lifts her chin to press her lips to Gabby's forehead. Then she stands up and looks to Nate, shaking her head before she shrugs, "I imagine your Sur dude might have had a difficult time if your timeline had Ahab in it. And his hounds. Of which I was one.. he would convert mutants into hounds that were genetically programmed and brainwashed to hunt down other mutants. We would do that, and they would either join Ahab's quest to rid the world of mutants... or die."
    She takes a breath and adds, "So that was me. I spent half of my -life- as a hound, and killed hundreds of mutants.... all because of my telepathic ability to -sense- other mutants. So where you fought your tyrant... I -served- my tyrant as a killer and hunter. I think I Was what, five when he took me in? When I watched him kill my parents at this very building." A pause and she chuckles, "An event that should happen in nine years. That is, if I exist in four." She shakes her head, "So you see, we never developed telepathic communication techniques because once I broke the brainwashing and programming... I had like 4 friends. I was the only telepath among them. They all died so that I could get back to the past to erase that timeline. And even that would have failed had the Phoenix not woke up and dragged me through time. So... can we agree that our futures just plain sucked, and that this is a chance to make up for all of that?" she asks everyone, before looking to Gabby, "So, want to go for a Phoenixback ride?" she asks with a grin.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope gives Rachel a brief, wary look at the idea of taking Gabby on a Phoenix-back ride, but it seems aimed more at the idea of the Phoenix than at Rachel herself. For all the confidence she projects, Hope...still hasn't had enough time to figure out how she really feels about the Phoenix yet. And while she's willing to talk about her past, she's not ready to burden anyone with her own fears about the future.

"Yeah," she says slowly. "Yeah, I'm all for making this place as good a place as it can be. It's starting off in a good place. Just a lot to figure out. Won't be the first time though."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"OmygoshyespleasecanI!?" Gabby's eyes go wide as saucers at that offer, and her gaze darts around at those present. Rachel, Hope, Nate, and back again. "Can I really!?" Already she's bouncing on the balls of her feet with hands clutched in fists beneath her chin as she practically vibrates with excitement. "That would be so awesome!" Forget the rest of the world: This was gonna be *cool*.

Rachel Summers has posed:
    "With your permission." offers Rachel as she gestures, and telekinetically begins to lift Gabby into the air. Then she turns around and says, "Grab on. Don't worry if you hold tight. I can handle it." she says as she force fields her neck. Just to be safe.
    She grins to Hope and is looking forward to demonstrating her degree of control. "And Gabby, the whole flaming thing.. it's not real fire. It's a visible manifestation of psionic energy." She pauses and then adds, "If that doesn't really make sense, think of it as a psychic illusion."
    Then the telekinesis draws Gabby up against Rachel's back... and she closes her eyes. When she opens them... flames lick at her face.. and then FWOOSH! She is covered with the Phoenix aura that doesn't burn. But it is definitely there, a flaming birdlike aura as she lifts off the ground a foot or so, "Got a good grip?" she asks Gabby.

Alex Summers has posed:
    It's getting to be better weather at night, at least, now that the chill of winter is finally receding, enough that it's actually worthwhile being out for an evening jog without risking catching a cold or flu. And with so much space on the grounds, it's more than enough to do a good couple laps of running in the evening.

    Which is why Alex is rounding the corner, dressed in a loose, sleeveless shirt and short, with running shoes as he slows to a walk, seeing the group ahead, panting slightly as he holds up a hand idly in greeting. "Huh, it's all the timetossed kidlets at once. And...ah..." He peers at Gabby. "Sorry, I saw you asleep with, uh...Laura, the other night by the fire, but...I don't know if I asked your name." he notes politely, resting his hands on his hips as he catches his breath, a few beads of sweat running down his neck to disappear under his shirt.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope tries to hide a flinch when Rachel flames on, hand fisting behind her back. There's a slight shift to her posture, even lounging against the front steps, to something a little more graceful and prepared. She's not one for showing fear or admitting weakness, but her memories of the Phoenix are still fresh and still unpleasant. And she has enough doubts in herself not to want to risk contact to confirm anything for herself.

"It's Gabby," she answers Alex when he comes out, grasping quickly for the distraction of another topic. "Rachel's going to take her for a ride. Good run?" she asks, looking past him toward the grounds.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Not only does she get a piggy back ride, a potential flight, but she's lifted up by telekinesis? Gabby's permission is granted by way of a single squealed, "Yee!" as she grins with open delight. She's quick to wrap her legs around Rachel's waist and hug on tight like a good backpack ought to. All the while her eyes are wide and her expression is one of pure delight.

"It's okay, I wouldn't feel it even if it was real fire," she assures without a hint of worry, fear, or concern for her safety in this situation. Then the flames emerge... And though it's bright enough to make most people flinch her eyes remain peeled wide open taking in every possible view of this moment. A soft, half gasped whisper of, "Flame on," is uttered even if it wasn't Rachel's catch phrase.

This is the situation she's in when Alex comes around to greet them and introduce himself which earns a quick wave in his direction. "THIS IS AWESOME!" she blurts out laughing.

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Smiling, Rachel -loves- kids. She loves making -them- smile. It is one of the few joys she ever had back where and when she came from. Dealing with kids in the internment camps. She adds, "I'm going to connect us mentally, so if you need to say something you can just think it, okay scar sis?" she asks aloud. "Because in the air, the wind can get pretty loud." And then she sets deed to word and transmits into Gabby's mind. <And here we go!> before she lifts off the ground. Not like a rocket as she did before. But with far more grace and control. "Hello again Uncle Alex!" she calls out as she lifts upwards, a hand coming up to wave at him before she turns and starts to slowly swoop over the front yard, back and forth.. never more than twenty or so feet off the ground. After all, she's got a passenger.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex waves cheerfully to Gabby, then blinks as Rachel catches on fire....relaxing a moment later when it doesn't seem to bother her rider any. "I'm guessing this isn't going to be the standard piggy back kinda ride." he notes dryly, walking over to join hope as he folds his arms over his chest. "And yeah, this place is nice. Quiet for running. You've got one hell of a weight room too, though I don't think I could hope to use some of the machines, it'd be like bench pressing a Buick."

    He waves again to Rachel as she greets him, smiling a bit as he watches the pair. "...this is more the kinda normal I was hoping for around here." he admits, more quietly, to Hope. "Kids being kids. That sorta thing."

Hope Summers has posed:
A faint smile flickers across Hope's features at Gabby's glee, though there's still an apprehensive tension as she watches the pair. "They both deserve a chance to enjoy something," she murmurs. "It's a good thing." She moves to sit up straighter, rubbing her hands together absently. "But hey, it hasn't been a whole week yet since the last person fell out of the sky, so don't give up hope on the end of the normal yet. How're you settling in?" she asks, glancing back to him. "Decide if you're staying yet?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
That was one thing about Gabby: While she could lie, she was terrible at it. Just as terrible as she was at hiding her real thoughts and emotions. In this case, it's a good thing, because right now her emotions were just pure abject GLEE at the experience. Even that little mind connection has her feeling thrilled in response. Something new, something not yet done, something really amazing! Flight, even a slow and low one, was entirely new experience and she reveled in it. Wind or not she lets out a wild, "WOOHOO!" during one swoop over the yard.

<<This is great Rachel! Thank you thank you! Omygosh!>>

Rachel Summers has posed:
    After a few minutes of low and slow, Rachel transmits, <Hold on. and then turns to rocket upwards at like... fifteen miles per hour. But she makes it seem dramatic, the Phoenix aura angling back like it was being pulled by the wind. She gets a couple hundred feet up and then turns, with the aura's wings flaring out before she goes into a dive. "HERE WE GO!" She yells out. Maybe doing thirty miles an hour on the way down... and pulling out to soar ten feet off the ground before slowing and landing at the base of the steps once more. "Ta-Da!" she exclaims. I mentioned she loves kids, right? The pure delight on -her- face is easy to see too.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex mmmms, exhaling in a huff. "...can't really go anywhere until I can learn not to blow shit up accidentally." he notes neutrally, with just a hiiint of bitter. Actually...is it warmer suddenly? Not melt your face off, but it's getting to be noticeably a few degrees higher now that younger Summers brother is here in the immediate area.

    "So...is her power flying while on fire? Or is this just a thing she does when she uses her abilities?" Alex wonders, glancing over at Hope.

Hope Summers has posed:
"She's a telepathic telekinetic," Hope answers Alex almost absently. "She can read minds, move things. The fire is...something else. In my world, we called it the Phoenix Force. It was huge, and powerful, and...pretty much beyond human comprehension. One of those primal forces of the universe thing. A force for rebirth, but also for destruction. A force with a lot of potential that seemed to have almost always ended badly for everyone involved."

Rubbing a hand at the back of her neck, she takes a deep breath, forcing it out slowly. "But, to be fair, I don't think anyone in my world actually...//held// it for very long without things going sideways. Then again, Rachel hasn't been here that long. Sorry, I'm rambling and it probably doesn't mean anything. Just baggage, right?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
The climb earns a tighter cling from Gabby at first, at least until they get up higher. It's the thinner air up there that causes her breath to quicken before that drop. Then the drop itself forces the air from her lungs completely as she clings onto Rachel ensuring she doesn't slip or fall. It doesn't stop her from reveling in the way the wind whips her hair back and pounds against her face. It might not be as fast as Rachel could go but it was certainly faster than Gabby had ever gone outside of a moving vehicle.

When the cruise comes to an end at the stairs she practically drops off of Rachel sucking in a gulp of air. Then she practically falls to the ground just laughing maniacally. "That was the *BEST*!"

Rachel Summers has posed:
    And Rachel's flames are still there, licking but outward in a faint aura but not burning anyone or anything. "From what I understand..." she says as she heard just a bit of Hope's comment. "The Phoenix Force of my timeline was... the collective energy of all psychics in the universe." She shrugs her shoulders, "Tapping into it for a bit of augmentation is easy and can be controlled with a simple effort. But the more I tap into it, the more power is available but also the harder it is to control. But it's not some force of destruction and rebirth. It is just pure psionic energy."
    She says this as she reaches to pull Gabby into a hug, "Any time you need to go for a fly, you let me know, okay?"

Alex Summers has posed:
    "As if being a mental powerhouse wasn't enough." Alex notes ruefully, glancing over at Hope. "...it's fine. I know you've got baggage from where you came from." He tilts his head. "You could look at it as lost baggage though, right? You're here now...not there. Sometimes traveling lets you leave behind a few things."

    He can't help but smile at Gabby's excitement as she hops off and falls over. "Someone's a speed demon in training...got the need to go fast, hmm?" he jokes slightly. Then nods at Rache as she explains. "Sounds...dangerous, yeah." he agrees. "And something like that is running around in this timeline too?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney hugs Rachel tight giving a quick nod. There's so much she could say there, so much. But right now she was a bit overwhelmed with adrenaline and so just utters, "You bet!" like some lame kid. Oh wait.

Now that she actually can turn her attention to Alex he's flashed a broad grin. "It's great! And yeah I'm Gabby nice to meet you," she rambles quickly barely pausing to catch her breath. "So what can you do again? I think I heard something about explosions?" Why does she sound hopeful?

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope nods slowly to Rachel's clarification. "Well, it's...an improvement, at least," she says with a faint, wry smile. "As long as I really did get rid of it before I got pulled here...yeah," she nods to Alex. "Lost baggage. Probably. Kind of wasn't anything else left for me there, so...in the same place here as I would have been, more or less. Except people here have a lot fewer expectations for me."

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey narrows his eyes. Phoenix Force? What that? "Combined energies of all psychics? I can't say that I've heared anything like that. I'm just simply a custom designed mutant whose mom was a test tube and dad was a syringe. Also - has anyone here heard of someone called Sinister? He's he lieutenant of Apocalyse who was responsible for, lack of a better word, bring my genetic donors together."

Rachel Summers has posed:
    Now that she has had some time to happy-up, thanks to Gabby, Rachel gives a smile to the others, "Okay. I guess it's time I actually -slept- in a room here." she states before she shrugs and turns towards the door, climbing the stairs by foot and opening the front door... holding it for someone to come out before she smiles and ducks inside. She's plum tuckered out. I mean she flew home from Genosha today, and then had a whole verbal smackdown with Nate. And then she made Gabby squeal like.. well like the little girl she is. Okay, that was fun. But it's bedtime for her. Even Phoenix hosts gotta sleep now and then.

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles is a senior and has been encouraged to participate in sports. So, above her black bodysuit, is a loose softball jersey, and equally loose pants. She comes around the building, throwing up a softball, and awkwardly catching it.. about half the time. Coming around the corner, she sees a crowd, and drops the ball again.

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex waves idly as Rachel heads inside. "Sleep tight!" He quirks his lips, glancing over to Nate. "...you have like the /worst/ guys where you come from. Apocalypse. Sinister. Stryfe. It's like the future of the edgelords or something." He shakes his head a bit, walking over to offer Gabby a hand up if she needs it. "Never heard of a Sinister, no." he offers. "But probably if he's around someone here has run into him."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney is the only 'kid' really among the remaing group loitering at the stairs to the mansion. A red-faced kid that was still beaming as if she'd gotten the best present in the world. Likely that would keep her hyped up for awhile more, and sleep would not be an easy thing. She reaches out to accept Alex's hand up from her spot rolling on the ground because... uh, who knows what she was doing there. As she stands though she catches sight of Andrea and lifts her free hand to wave at the unfamiliar girl cheerily. "Hey! Hi!" Then to Alex she nods. "Thanks. I'm a bit... man that was great. I want to do that again. Or! Or I heard Logan used to do this thing called the 'fastball special'..." oH noe.

Hope Summers has posed:
"The landing on that's the hard part," Hope points out to Gabby with another flicker of a smile, waving after Rachel. "I don't know anything about a Sinister here, sorry," she shakes her head to Nate. "I've been doing my research trying to get my feet under me here, but there's a lot of new stuff here to pick up."

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles picks up the ball, and looks across. "Uh.. hi..." she says, very startled at seeing a young Laura. She looks at the group, giving a wave, but her attention is focused on Gabby. "Hi.. I'm Andrea... What's going on?"

Gabby Kinney has posed:
"Oh, yeah. Good point," Gabby has to consider in regards to the Fastball Special with a thoughtful frown. She stares at the ground a moment deep in thought. "I wouldn't feel it, but that'd probably break some bones if I didn't get the angle right and missed a tuck and roll. I doubt Laura would let me do that." Sigh. Lifting her head again she gives Alex a confused look.

"How come you're warmer than Rachel was, and she had flames?" Thankfully she's as easily distracted as ever, and when Andrea introduces herself, she smiles broadly at her. Sure she looked like a mini-Laura, but she also had scards on her face. Something definitely not-Laura. "I'm Gabby! Nice to meet you. I just got a flying-back-ride!"

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex blinks, then looks annoyed with himself as he looks at his hand. "..dammit. I'm leaking power." he says, frowning a bit. He thought he could do without that bodysuit for just a bit to go for a run...meh. "It's fine, just a side effect. I need to vent some energy." He glances over to Andrea, blinking a bit. "Oh, hey. There's a baseball team here?" he says questioningly, folding his arms across his chest. "Oh, so that other girl, that's your sister? Laura?"

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope raises a hand to wave to Andrea. "Hope," she introduces herself, though she seems interested in the answer to Gabby's question as well. Always good to learn about and understand various powers before you risk picking them up and exploding yourself and everything around you. "Leaking power," she echoes, sympathetic. "Yeah, that sounds like a complication."

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles holds the large softball in her hands. "I think some boys play baseball, but this is a softball," she nods to Alex. "Hope, hi. Gabby. A flying back ride sounds very nice! Flying is great. Sometimes I wish I could fly." Looking around. "I was just going to practice some throws if it was empty here, but it's not safe."

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney rolls her shoulders in a wide shrug. "Oh well that's not too bad if leaking power is just heat. So long as it's not too hot. Maybe you need some kind of vent like a computer heat sink..." A quick shake of her head gets rid of those wandering thoughts. "Oh, no, I'm Laura's clone. One of her clones. Most of the rest of us died because of Alchemax putting something into our heads so we can't feel pain. That's why Bellona, my sister-clone, is getting looked over by medical staff here a lot. It's killing us."

That info dump sounds way too cheerfully said given the contents. "But I call Laura my sister anyway because it's close enough and family is good, right?" Grinning at Andrea she offers back, "OH yeah it was amazing! I'd do it all the time if I could!"

Alex Summers has posed:
"Nah, it doesn't hurt people at this level, just means I'm topped off and the excess is slopping out of the cup, sorta." Alex explains, nodding to Andrea. "Alex." he says, thumbing at himself, then raises a brow at Gabby. "...clones too? Huh." The other brow rises as Gabby cheerfully brings up that she's going to horribly die from whatever was put in her. "...right." He sighs, rubbing his face, and is starting to see why there are so many telepaths in this place. The psychiatrist bills would be murder otherwise.

    "Just...give me a sec..." Alex walks a ways away from the group, then inhales deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, before the air around him starts to shimmer slightly, rings of energy beginning to leak off his form, before he raises his arms pointing both skywards. The air around him starts to develop a heat haze as some of the water left over from earlier rain evaporates, rising in little swirling curls of steam around him. "Nnnnghh....YAAAH!" he lets out in a loud grunt, like a weightlifter doing that thirtieth benchpress.

    And for a moment the area lights up as a raging torrent of plasma energy blasts skywards in a roar, surrounding him entirely and a good five feet thick as it swirls around his arms, the shockwave from the blast sending a sharp gust of wind back over the group as well.

Hope Summers has posed:
"Deciding to block out pain seems like the sort of thing that someone who's never had to work through something decides would be a good idea," Hope grimaces. "Sure, no pain sounds great! But they never think about the purpose it serves. Not just the physical purpose even, but what it mentally teaches you." Of course, then she looks at Gabby, small smile returning. "But hey, you seem to be doing all right at least."

As Alex vents off the excess energy, Hope whistles low, shaking her head. "If I ever start shimmering like that, I give you full permission to fastball special me out of range of people. Just, you know. Maybe come back after so I don't stay broken." She slides a sidelong glance in Andrea's direction, curious. "Why would throwing a ball be dangerous?"

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles watches Alex as he puts on a show, her pigtails being whipped by the shockwave. Gripping the ball ightly, making sure it doesn't go anywhere. "Whoa...." Then looking to Hope. "Because I can throw it very fast if I do it right."

Nate Grey has posed:
Nate Grey is eating, shovelling down food, watching Sam and Alex work out.

Gabby Kinney has posed:
Gabby Kinney shrugs at Hope with a lopsided smile. "Well I really can't feel it, so... Plus I'm the youngest. The others have had it longer." There were other reasons she wasn't entirely worried about herself that go unsaid. Alex's draining off of power just gets gaped at with a simple, "Woah." Before she can do or say anything else her phone goes off in her pocket, and she yanks it out to stare at it. "Oh, crap. I'm late. I got to go. Great meeting you all and good seeing you again, Hope!" Hope gets a quick hug before she dashes off taking the stairs two at a time to disapear back into the mansion.

Alex Summers has posed:
    The blast of plasma cuts off the last swirls of concentric rings of energy shimmering around Alex as he visibly breaths in, trying to focus, before they slowly disappate around him, the ground steaming slightly as he rolls his shoulders. "...that should do it for a few hours..." he mutters, wincing as he rubs the back of his neck, then raise sa brow at Hope. "Yeah, good plan. It takes a lot of effort to not just..explode in all directions." he admits, walking back over, then waves to Gabby as she goes running past. "Later!"

Hope Summers has posed:
"I can see that," Hope nods to Alex, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, hands clasped loosely in front of herself. It's a carefully casual pose, but there's still something guarded about it, a reflection of the awkward attempt to control her own powers - powers she's only rarely actually used in a practiced way, no matter her raw power. And that now don't seem to be working the way they did either.

As Gabby runs off, she turns more of her attention to Andrea. "How's that work?" she asks with a small smile.

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles waves to the departing Gabby. Then looking to Hope. Well mostly, Alex keep sgetting her attention after that light show. But she tries to answer hope. "Well, my arms can really stretch, and so... it's like a sling shot."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex grunts a bit at Hope, shrugging as he rejoins the group, a bit quiet now as he waits for Andrea to answer the question, before commenting. "interesting power. So your bones are like rubber too?" he wonders. The area has noticeably cooled down a few degrees, now that he's not unconsciously radiating heat energy.

Hope Summers has posed:
"Huh. Interesting," Hope nods to Andrea, glancing over her shoulder toward the mansion as she rises. "Well, I'll leave you room for it, then," she grins, starting up the steps. "Good to meet you. Alex, good seeing you again."

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles looks to Alex, stretching her arms a bit. "Yeah. Basically... Im made of rubber in many practical aspects."

Alex Summers has posed:
    Alex nods. "...handy. Tricky, I'm sure." He tilts his head. "Well then...I'm gonna head in and grab a shower. Nice meeting you Andrea, you'll have to show me this slingshot trick sometime." He shoots Andrea a brief smile as he starts to head up to the stairs. "Sure I'll see you around again."

Andrea Marguiles has posed:
Andrea Marguiles waves "Yeah. Good luck with your... leak." Once it's clearing out, she can be seen starting to do a wind up of sorts, her arm lengthening, whipping around. Like a rubber band.