611/We Just Keep Meeting Like This

We Just Keep Meeting Like This
Date of Scene:	18 March 2020
Location:	Upstate New York
Synopsis:	A Summers-Grey arrival and tactics discussion.
Cast of Characters:	Hope Summers, Cable, Jean Grey, Scott Summers

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Hope Summers has posed:
Hope was thrilled to show Cable the joys of the Hyperloop. But once they made it back to Westchester, she stopped him before they could actually reach the school. "So, since this makes you the //fourth// timeline refugee here in the last four weeks or so, we should probably try not to freak them out...too much. Like I said, they're a lot younger than they were in- You know, maybe just trust me on this one."

Reaching out with her powers, she borrows Nathan's for the purpose of reaching out to Jean. Sure, she's got a burner phone, but it's not like she's made a lot of //calls//.

<< UH, JEAN. WOW, SORRY, I'M REALLY->> The voice is like a shout at first, before she manages to dial things down a bit. << Sorry. That feels better. Is that better? I haven't done this a lot. Um. Anyhow. There's a, uh. You know that thing that keeps happening? >>

Cable has posed:
Of course, Cable being a time traveling know-it-all, he may or may not have been impressed as he watches the Hyperloop do its work. In fact, he's -almost- grinning the entire time because he's listening to Hope, a daughter to him, talk and nerd out about the technological achievement of the time.

Of course, Cable is rather nonchalant about Hope borrowing his abilities. Most of the time he can't REALLY use his powers unless he wants to piss off the techno-organic virus and thats always a bad idea where he's concerned.

He wears casual clothing to hide the fact that he's a rather obvious outsider, like a leather jacket and gloves to cover his metal arm and for fashionability. "This place must be popular for runaways." He tells Hope. "I'm prepared...I've met a few incarnations of the group, I won't be as surprised as you think I will." Cable smirks lightly at Hope and puts a hand on her shoulder when she's YELLING in brainspeak. He lets her go when she quiets on down.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean well, it was hard not for her to get the message from Hope. Fortunately she had finished her knifework with lunch so her jump wasn't too pronounced. Then she chuckles mentally, << Thing that keeps happening... yeah, I'm pretty aware of things that keep happening. >>

Considering that Jean's primary response has been to flee from all the alternate timeline relatives, 'aware' is probably a kind way of describing it, but she's trying to keep an open mind about things, << Did you need to talk in person, Hope? Seems like this isn't something you're comfortable with. >>

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope looks sheepishly up at Cable before she gets the volume issue under control, reaching out a little more carefully next. << So...remember how I said the man who raised me took me into the future to keep me safe? Well. It turns out that when I thought he died, he didn't. Which is definitely good. The less- I mean, not less good, it's- >> There's a leap of elation and love in her mind. It's the sort of thing you get when you refer to the only constant in a very inconstant life.

<< He found me. But his timeslider's busted, surprise, so he's also stuck here, but...Is it okay if he comes in? >>

Cable has posed:
Cable doesn't seem to be upset or mind when Hope looks up sheepishly at him in apology. Instead, he looks kind of proud actually. Hope has always had that knack for getting powers down quick. He does feel the elation and love in her voice and Cable seems to sigh like he's relaxed and at peace for the moment.

If its possible for someone as grizzled and tortured as he to feel a moment of peace.

But he doesn't talk, he simply waits with Hope. Of course, if Jean is able to identify such things with the technology that Xavier's possesses, she will know that Cable is armed to the literal teeth, not that he intends to use any such things.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean blinks, << Timeslid... okay, I'll be there in a few. >> She's pretty practiced with her telepathy, so she doesn't even bother asking //where// she's going. She knows.

She then sends a telepathic message over to Scott, << Um, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but we seem to have another child from an alternate timeline on the front doorstep. Should we go see? >> There's a bit of wry humor and a hint of resignation in her thoughts as she thinks that at him.

After a few minutes, Jean Grey walks out, looking... well, like Hope's older sister more than anything else, and barely older than that. She's wearing a modest green skirt and matching dark green blouse, a gold raptor pin on her collar. She glances between Cable and Hope, noting the weapons but not seeming too terribly concerned as she tilts her head, "'Sup?"

Hope Summers has posed:
It's a funny thing. Every minute she's been here, Hope's presented herself as older than she looks. A fully capable soldier and combatant, entirely capable of taking care of herself. But with Cable here, with everything seeming to be safe and normal and just //good//... There's a surprising vulnerability to the girl and the way she keeps glancing back at the grizzled soldier, like she's half afraid he's going to disappear any moment.

Still, she can't help a quirk of a smile at Jean's greeting. "Hey. So. I know this is weird, but maybe it's getting less weird at this point. This is Nathan. The man who- My dad, in all the ways that count. And I think you know Jean, but this is Jean here."

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott is upside at this time of the day. Despite Genosha someone has to impart the classes and try to keeps the students educated. And grade the homework. Some would consider boring work. For Scott it feels a nice break from his real job.

Which breaks in without mercy with Jean's innocent 'another child from an alternate timeline' message. He needs to figure out why this is happening precisely now. That or go slightly mad and consider them just 'reinforcements'. Which the X-Men needed.

So he goes to find this new time-jumping relative and spots Cable. Which makes him blink briefly. There is a moment of deja vu, as he tries to remember if he has seen the large man before. Maybe when he joined the school, almost ten years ago?

Cable has posed:
Cable notices that Hope keeps turning back to look at him. So he gives her a soothing thought that she can think of: <<Don't worry Hope, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.>> He then looks at Jean as she approaches. Its moments like this where Cable believes he grew up to be a bit too tall, but he shrugs. "Hello." He greets Jean.

Of course, he lets Hope do the talking because she's the actual person who talks when you want people to -like- you. "My name is Nathan Summers. For simplicity, you can just call me Cable." He extends his right hand to her for a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Jean."

She looks so much like his mother its unbearable, though he knows that part is...well, complicated. But then there's Scott...a face he hasn't seen in many years (or times, he should say). "Scott, if I remember right." No, Cable is not going to use the word 'dad' to describe Scott, because thats its own history that hasn't happened yet (or ever).

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean takes the offered hand, "Yes, likewise, Nathan." She tilts her head a little bit, then glances back at Scott, before looking over at Hope. "If you weren't adopted, I'd say you got your height from me. Or the lack of it." She smiles wryly, then arches a brow, "Timeslider broke? I'm guessing that's how you've been hopping around timelines and parallel universes in general then?" She's not //too// familiar with that, but well, she went to school with Hank McCoy. She picked up a FEW things, at least.

Hope Summers has posed:
"People always said we looked alike," Hope shrugs. "I don't see it." She puts her hands in her pockets, more to keep herself from fidgeting than anything else while she watches the introductions. "Turns out timesliders are kind of finicky machinery, though. I can fix most things most of the time, but..." Trailing off, she shrugs again. "Last time we couldn't fix it until we got the spare parts from Bishop and even then it didn't //quite// work the way it was supposed to."

She looks to Scott as he approaches, nodding once to him. "Nathan knows the school. He's the one who taught me where it was at in the first place. But given our conversation, I figured you guys might want to talk before he showed up and set the rumor mill off again."

Scott Summers has posed:
Scott hrms. Wasn't this Mr. Dayspring, the lawyer? He vaguely remembers him meeting the professor. Or someone like him. He seems to have changed little since all those years. Maybe it was 'last week' for him!

"I am Scott Summers," he manages, briefly glancing both redheads to compare. "Lets move this conversation to the second floor office, please," he decides, shaking his head. "It can't be just a case of a broken time machine. Too many travelers are arriving in a short interval of time."

Cable has posed:
Cable gives Jean's hand a firm shake before he lets her hand go, nodding softly to her. "And inaccurate. I got lucky with my last jump." He tells Jean. Though he looks to Scott and he gives a nod to him. "I'm aware that more than a few of us have arrived in a short span of time, but I'm the only one who tried to get here on purpose." He doesn't say why though, but its pretty self-explanatory: Hope.

He does seem to agree with Scott that this might be a conversation best had elsewhere in the event of wandering eyes, but then he looks over at Hope for a moment. "Good intuition." He compliments, a little pride that his little girl is making smart choices.

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean grins wryly at Hope, "It's the hair, I think. Plus, well..." She shrugs a bit, as apparently there's just something about the //name// more than anything else. She gives Scott a bit of a curious look at that, then nods, looking over at Cable.

"Well, I agree with Scott. Just because you got here intentionally of what //you// were trying doesn't mean the fact that it's an Alternate Reality Family Reunion isn't a bit much of a coincidence to swallow. Something has to be causing this." She doesn't say it, but her internal vote is probably revolving around a rather large Cosmic Birb Avatar doing this somehow.

Hope Summers has posed:
Hope is definitely on the same page as Jean on the bird-blaming front, nodding along. "Two out of three drops..." she says, trailing off with a tilt of her head. "Anyhow. Yeah. Upstairs sounds good. Maybe we can fill in some blanks about where we're from and figure out what we can help with. Without, you know. Breaking the timeline."

Important detail. Try not to break the world.

Scott Summers has posed:
As a matter of fact Scott heard Rachel say the Phoenix had sent her back this time. So the cosmic firebird is a suspect.

But he keeps his thoughts for himself. With Jean invited to peer at them, as usual. Once they are in an office in the second floor, out of sight of students, he does say. "The most important event going on right now for our people is Genosha's destruction. Millions of us dead. We still don't know who build those 'Wild Sentinels' or if there are more of them about to strike."

Cable has posed:
Cable nods softly to Jean for a moment before he seems to grunt in a 'hmm' kind of way. He does follow with the group as they move. "Breaking the timeline is much harder than you might think, Hope." He tells her without a tone of reprimanding.

Yet as soon as they are in the office, Cable nods to Scott. "Hope told me about that. It just happened suddenly? No warning? complete anonymisity?"

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean keeps a low line of contact with Scott during the conversation, just in case something comes up. She glances over towards Cable, "Rachel showed up first, then Hope came a few days later... and then, well." She shrugs, having heard about 'Nate Grey' but not having met him yet herself.

She sighs, "Definitely feels like something is going on, and probably relating to the Phoenix. Not entirely sure what... I don't have them with me at the moment." She looks a bit wry at that, as well... that level of cosmic power would come in handy right about now.

Hope Summers has posed:
"Lorna met with T'Challa recently," Hope offers on the subject of Genosha. "He offered a place for the refugees to settle, but I think Lorna's leaning toward starting to rebuild. The problem is, she's afraid she can't protect them after...Well, you know."

She moves to lean against the arm of a chair, though she does it so she can see the window and the door - and Cable's back. Habit. "I asked him to check any readings he might have for the area around Genosha, in case the Sentinel wasn't even //from// here. You know," she adds with a glance to Cable. "Like San Francisco. But if anyone has connections with Atlantis, it's probably worth asking if they picked it up moving along the sea floor at some point too."

Sure, the bird is a pain. But Hope's bigger focus is on the mutants here. The Phoenix at least seems to support mutants. Most of the time. In her experience.

Scott Summers has posed:
"Those huge Sentinels avoided Genosha's early warning systems," notes Scott. Systems that probably were designed by Magneto and therefore easily as advanced as American's detection systems.

"I am trying to find out if other agencies, like SHIELD for instance, detected them moving." He adds. "At this point we can't discard anything. It is possible they had inside help, perhaps disgruntled members of the previous regimen sabotaged the defense grid? Or we maybe the Sentinels were there, buried underground. Or hell... maybe they came from the future. Could you two check that out?"

Cable has posed:
Cable looks turns his head briefly in Jean's direction as she talks, nodding softly in agreement to her. "Its possible that they came from the future, but the scale of their arrival would have set everything off the charts unless its technology I'm generally unfamiliar with." Cable then looks at Hope.

"Atlantean? Doubtful but possible. I thought Namor wanted nothing to do with the rest of us? But...I think it might be wise to search for any inside operators. Are there any militant anti-human forces aside from the obvious ones like the Purifiers?"

He looks then at Scott. "But I'll do my research. Are there any Sentinels that are currently scrap metal that haven't been disposed of yet?"

Jean Grey has posed:
Jean hmmms, "There's some in Genosha, I know Lorna turned one into a statue, or monument. Not sure how much of its internal workings are still intact." She glances over at Cable, "Doesn't feel like Atlantean style, and I'm not sure the Purifiers or the like would have the resources to pull this off." She hmms, looking somewhat troubled about that.

Hope Summers has posed:
"I don't think Atlantis //did// it," Hope clarifies. "I'm saying if these things evaded warning systems and sensors, then they had to have come from around them somehow. Either through a portal of some sort, whether it was in time or space, or from an unconventional approach, like the ocean floor."

She shrugs, reaching up to ruffle a hand through her hair. "You know there had to be people monitoring Genosha thinking it would be a threat. If they picked up anything, it would be in their systems. It's just a matter of actually getting that information. Nathan and I should be able to recognize it if it was an incursion from the future."

Scott Summers has posed:
"No, no one we know had the resources," replies Scott. He has not bothered with a seat yet. "Except perhaps the US government itself. But in such case, I think they lack the ability to keep it a secret." They also supposedly scrapped the Sentinel program a couple years ago, when they attempted to use the robots against invading Asgardian giants with pretty bad results.

"Other possible suspects lack an anti-mutant agenda, and most often use very different technology," he sighs, "I am at loss. There must be something we are not seeing."

Cable has posed:
Cable looks at Scott as he speaks, giving a soft nod. "Because you are probably not lookingly closely enough. Take a step back and get a good look at it, it often helps me when I'm at the end of the trail." He shrugs though a moment before he starts to stand up. "Hope and I will sniff out the trail, see if we can find anything. It was good talking with all of you." And he starts to make his way out, though as he passes her, he says her name. "Hope." as if instructing her to follow.

Yep, doing it now and definitely not later.

As he passes Jean, he looks at her. "....Sorry for all the time distortion here. I'll see what I can do about that too, though I think we both know it has to do with high energy output." He keeps moving though...

The investigation was on!