12495/The best laid plans of Mice and Cats

The best laid plans of Mice and Cats
Date of Scene:	25 November 2020
Location:	Teacher's Lounge, Second Floor, Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jax brings a plan to Scott and Jean that might be slightly ill-advised.
Cast of Characters:	Jax Miller, Cyclops, Phoenix

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Jax Miller has posed:
    So, it happens a lot that ideas come to Jax when he's least expecting them. When he's shooting hoops, running laps, swimming laps, lapping runners... honestly, inspiration tends to strike when his mind isn't terribly busy. That could explain why he tends to have so many of them. But never, in his wildest imaginations, had he imagined that an idea would take form while visiting a friend who needed some cheering up. Cheering people up was Jax' second function in the school, after eating everything the kitchen produced in nearly industrial quantities. This time, however, the idea not only formed, it stuck. Grew overnight. Turned into a brainstorming session that turned into actual honest to goodness planning...

    Which lead him, after much preparation and self reflection, to send a note to staff about something he wanted to discuss. That in itself is unusual, the kid has been so far under the trouble radar that he might as well not exist, and despite his appearance still hasn't been caught for any mischief or shenanigans. Not even, it must be noted, the slightest of tomfoolery.

    Only two minutes late, he arrives at the door to the staff lounge, gripping a folder under his right arm as if it's a relic, lifts his hand, curses when the folder slips out from under the arm he just raised to knock, and knocks accidentally by smacking his head into the door while bending down to pick up the folder.

    Nervous?

    Nah.

Cyclops has posed:
Sipping on a coffee, Scott is standing in the staff lounge in a pair of slacks, a button down shirt and a tie. As usual, every detail about him is spotless and impeceable. He has to be the beacon of responsibility and the gold standard at all times.

"And once more, Booger Boy got himself stuck to the wall using his own powers. I can't wait for that kid to graduate and get out of here."

There is an obvious air of frustration in his voice as he takes another sip. "It took three hours to steam clean the room. I'm about to start billing his parents."

As he gives a glance to Jean, then over to the door at the sound of the thump, his brows raise upwards over his red glasses. He lets out a long sigh and heads over towards it to open it up. "Ah. Hello Mister Miller. You are late."

Detention is sure to come.

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey is a particular champ at hiding her emotions, both internally and externally. It comes with the territory of being who she is. It leaves the exact nature of the bland look that she has turned on Scott difficult to discern. Is she unhappy about the mess? Is she dismayed that ridiculous nickname stuck to that kid? Or did she actually just zone the conversation out entirely and is really thinking that now would be a fantastic time for a vacation to the beach?

Some things will forever be a mystery.

"Oh it's fine, don't worry about a few minutes." Jean says as Scott lets in Jax. She waves him over to take a seat at the table that she's already sitting at. "You're new, I wouldn't expect you to know exactly where the teachers hide. I'd have normally met you in my office, but there was a little incident earlier and I have a few things to clean up still."

Jax Miller has posed:
    When the door opens, Jax is still grabbing bits that have fallen out of the folder, so he's on his knees and grabbing bits of paper when Scott appears. Eyes swivel up from the immaculate shoes, to the immaculate slacks, the immaculate shirt and the immaculate, perfectly tied tie. Although they've never met, a name instantly appears into the cat teenager's mind, and as he grabs the last few pages, he springs up like a jax in the box, ears perked, a smile on his face. "Hi Mister Summers. Sorry, I got delayed by..."

    Whatever may have made him late, whatever excuse he was about to deploy, it never makes it. Jean comes to his rescue, and he steps in with an exaggerated motion, sidestepping Scott and heading for the table... although he continues to smile at Scott until his neck can't physically turn any further. A near 180 degrees too!

    In a moment, his head swivels back around to face Jean, treating her to the same friendly, megawatt smile as he sits. "Thank you for seeing me at all. I mean, it's break time and all, I guess the last person you want to be talking to is a student with an idea. So, thank you. Ehm..."

    Pause.

    "So, this might seem a bit... crazy." The folder is placed in front of him, four square with the edge of the table, and held there with the tips of his fingers.

Cyclops has posed:
There is a twitch of Scott's lips in amusement for a moment as he shuts the door behind the student once he makes his way inside. He gives a glance over to Jean, chuckling before he heads over and takes a seat at the table. His back is straight, like a broomstick, with a personality as entertaining as one.

"It may be break from classes, but as staff, we are never on vacation. We are here for you twenty-two hours a day." Just not between the hours of three and five in the morning. Those are Logan's open office hours. He can deal with the kids then.

"Most ideas start out crazy. What do you have to present for us?" He turns his attention towards the folder, reaching out to take it from him and open it up. He immediately begins to flip through the pages as he scans the contents in a swift manner. The type to pick out bullet points for topics.

Phoenix has posed:
"Tsk, crazy is a very hard word to quantify around here." Jean tuts gently towards Jax, though her easy smile suggests she's not concerned at all by the word choice. "Extra ideas are always welcome. Just because they may or may not work doesn't mean something good can't still come out of it. I'd be more concerned if students didn't come up with ideas. We'd be doing you all a disservice if we weren't encouraging you to think for yourselves."

She glances away from Jax and over towards Scott as he collects up the folder and begins reading it over. "So what's your idea, Jax?"

Jax Miller has posed:
    The folder, now less arranged than it once has been, contains a plethora of Jax' previous model work. Promo shots for a kid's basketball club, the fundraiser calendar for the cub scouts, and a little league baseball team at the youngest end of the range, going through to some fashion modeling throughout the years with occasional promo work for anti-bullying campaigns, and finally some actual promotional work for agencies that have worked and, it seems, still are working for the NBA, the NFL and even the NHL. He does groan a bit when the 'Furrocious' picture, which was taken about two years ago to promote a particular brand of luxury clothing, is excavated from the pile. Suspiciously, he seems to be wearing the exact same hoodie now as he was in that picture... minus the sunglasses, the gold neckchains and the b-boy cap. Or the quite frankly ridiculous 'look how cool I am' pose.

    Seem to still be working with those sport federations, it appeared. And this is evidenced by the other bits of paperwork in there. Names of photographers, studios and organisers, and recent print-outs of officially licensed photographers from two dozen different major sports brands.

    "Well ehmm... I've heard..." and he looks at both Jean and Scott, with an expression that seems to confirm that no information on source is going to be forthcoming on this. "... I've heard that there is a group going around, claiming they have a cure for mutants. I mean, a cure that stops mutants being mutants... you know what I mean. And I've also heard that, well..."

    Ears wilt for a moment until he rallies, taking a deep breath and taking the plunge. "I've heard that there's a lot of mutants, young mutants, that are confused right now. Thinking that this might not be a bad idea. An' I know what they're feeling. I really do. But I want to help them."

    "I want to tell them that it's okay to be a mutant. Publicly."

Cyclops has posed:
Reaching up to pinch his brow, Scott lets out a wince.

"Ow. Loud. Jean.. "

He leans back in the chair, giving a glance down at the multiple photos strewn out about the table, pressing his lips together tightly. He takes in a deep breath, then lets it out slowly.

"I see. You want to be the spokesperson for young mutants to let them know it's okay to be themselves?" He tilts his head slightly towards Jean, watching her carefully for a moment before he looks back to Jax.

"I do not blame some mutants, both children and adults, for wanting to feel like they can fit into society easier. It is obviously not a path I would consider being in the position that I am, though a younger me would have gave anything to get rid of my powers. I am not able to see color, or remove these glasses with my eyes open without tearing holes through steel walls and possibly killing people. I'd walk around with lasers shooting everywhere without any control. I would give anything to see the color of Jean's eyes, instead of seeing everything as shades of red. I'd give anything for Boog-- Robert to not cake the walls with snot every time he sneezes."

He lets out a breath. "But going public in such a manner also comes with a great cost. A cost of privacy that you can no longer take back. There is a reason why very few of us have done so. For example, Andrea Jackson and Mason Steele. The yin and yang of mutant popstars. Andrea went public and though while she is doing very well for herself, has been the target of multiple attacks that has involved other students. Mason kept his secret to himself and no one knows the wiser. He can move about society without someone trying to shoot him at a concert from five hundred yards out."

Phoenix has posed:
Slowly, with great deliberation and care, does Jean inhale. She leans back in her chair as Scott flinches and she lets out the breath she was holding with a silent, apologetic look cast his way.

There's a restless rubbing of her palm across the neck of her neck as she speaks. "The very act of calling it a cure is where the issue stems from. Is being a mutant a natural state, or is it some disease? I... I can never fault someone for not being comfortable in their powers. Some mutants end up unlucky. Some put out radiation or disease that hurts those around them. Others, their own powers kill them. I'd grieve for them, but I could never deny them the ability to live a better life."

"But, these treatments are never that simple. They can help those who truly need it, but they can easy be turned into a weapon. So think on this, Jax. If someone felt that it was necessary to 'cure' mutants, how will they feel about seeing an uprising against their efforts? And if this is not a philanthropic effort - and is it, if they're openly capturing mutants and firing on them? - then will they now see those mutants who say No as an enemy?"

She rests her hands on the table, though she can't seem to find a comfortable position for them. "Remember, too, that what you do now impacts everyone here. You're used to being in the public light and accepted, mostly. Some of these kids lived a very opposite life. But that's just the surface. If you go out there and make enemies, then what happens if those enemies follow you here? This school *must* remain secret. We do our best to make sure accidental leaks get covered, but we're not perfect. There are dangers out there, ones you don't and shouldn't need to know about, but know that they're there."

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Yeah, and the older you wouldn't." Jax begins, fidgeting slightly where he sits, unsure of where to put his hands. Or his feet. /Or/ his tail, he just wants to stand up and pace around. Needs to be vocal and animated. Sitting still is a challenge. Nervous energy is leaking into his argumentation. "You said yourself, Mister Summers, younger you would have considered it. Older you doesn't. And that's because you've come to terms with who you are, right? You've accepted that you're you."

    Quick breath.

    "Me, I've had the advantage of having had sixteen years to come to terms with myself. It didn't happen to me when I was thirteen, or fourteen, and quite frankly had a lot of other problems that suddenly turning into a cat would have made a whole lot worse. I was born like this, I can accept that this is me, because this has always /been/ me. Some of my friends, they're not that lucky. Life suddenly gets complicated and just when they're figuring it out, bam, extra pair of arms, or, or... I dunno, skin like a bronze statue. You can't hide that. You shouldn't have to hide that."

    A deeper breath.

    "Andrea Jackson, when she came out it was... man, it blew my mind. Everything just seemed a bit easier, y'know? But she can hide it. Others can hide it. Mister Summers, with your glasses, nobody would guess. Miss Grey... nobody would guess you're a mutant. Me, I walk down the street and no matter how deep the hood of my hoodie is, or how loose my jacket, people are gonna notice. You see? Mutants like me, we have no choice. And we're the most immediate, most visible targets."

    He reaches over and taps a few pictures. "See this? 'Tails aren't for pulling'. I was eight, kids didn't mean anything by it, but after that campaign, it stopped. Some kids even started wearing fake tails, because they were feeling bullied too, and /that/ bullying stopped too. My face on the poster, a hundred or more kids that were happier. But who do you think the bullies came after? Me. Who do you think stopped them? The other kids." Another picture. "'Be what you can be'. That's when the coach of a little league team noticed that there were like a hundred mutant kids hanging out in the stands, and none of them were signing up. A lot of them had mitts, and caps, and uniforms, but they weren't signing up. Because they were afraid. Did we have mutants on the team? Bobby always knew where the ball was going. Donny could throw a curve ball that bent back on itself. But they didn't look like mutants, y'see? So he asked me if I wanted to pose, make it clear that mutants were welcome, not just me, not just 'cause my dad's famous. Did we convince them all? He-..." Sudden pause. Even in the heat of argumentation, he's aware these are /teachers/ in front of him. Word choice is quickly altered. "Heck no. But we convinced some of them, and most of them were great players too. If you see Jarek Luciano play for the Sox in a few years, that's why."

    His ears tilt nervously, and just getting to this bit necessitates another deep breath. For a kid that's so impulsive, he can be surprisingly controlled. Especially once he's sunken his teeth into something.

    "I know it's dangerous. That's... that's why I brought the idea here first. I told you it was a bit crazy. But I'm getting messages on my Instagram asking me for my advice. Like you say, Miss Grey, I'm used to being in the spotlight, and a lot of people ... mutants... look to see what I'm gonna do, or say, about this whole cure thing. Some lunatic is already threatening my family, that's why I'm here, so I'm not... I'm not stupid. I know there's risks, and not just for me. But nobody knows where I am right now, that's the whole point of me being here. And nobody is going to find out if I'm careful. I never wear Xavier brand outside the school, I never carry anything with the school's name or address, and there's no way I'm telling anyone that doesn't go to school here. It's just..."

    Breath.

    "I can help people. I mean, I'm not a hero. I can't find these people and smack them a

Jax Miller has posed:
    "I can help people. I mean, I'm not a hero. I can't find these people and smack them around, that's not... that's not me. But I can rally some of the largest brands in this country for a good cause. I'm sure of that."

Cyclops has posed:
"Older me is the leader of the X-Men and has been through several hundred skirmishes and battles that has both protected our city, and the planet. If I was not an X-Man, if I was not in charge of people's lives, then yes, I would most likely want these powers to go away, so that I can look my family in the eyes and not worry about blowing their head's off. To know that my own face can hurt people and destroy property unchecked bothers me greatly, even if I do not wear those emotions on my face. Through Xavier's, I have come to live with myself, which unfortunately comes with a great level of self-control. I have a plan of action for when I get an eyelash stuck in my eye, or if I have an itch. Every single movement is pre-calculated to ensure I do not hurt someone. That is not a life I wish upon anyone."

"Also know that the world does not know what Andrea Jackson's powers are. If the world found out that she could turn into an unstoppable werewolf that can rip people into shreds, you can believe it would damage her career. I remember when she came out also. I also remember finding myself very worried for her well-being. I also remember when her parents applied for her residency at Xavier's that it came down to a vote that was not unanamious to bring her on. Yes, she is a role model for young mutants like you, but she was attacked in public by The Reavers. A cybernetic team of humans who turned their bodies into weapons. They shot at her in the middle of the afternoon in a Starbucks and put a sword through her chest. A few weeks later? She was shot in the head with a long range sniper rifle at a concert in front of The Hulk, Captain America and several other heroes in attendance. She was almost killed in front of The Avengers and they got away with it. That is the type of danger that is out there when a mutant goes public and demands change and equal rights. Not every young mutant is built like Andrea either."

There is a soft chuckle from the Field Leader. "It seemed to me the more times she got shot, hurt, ripped apart in the media, the louder she got and more determined she became. I can see why young mutants may admire her. Mason on the other hand, I'm sure until now you never knew he was a mutant. He can control rocks and the Earth in a psionic manner. Not the worst mutant power you can have I suppose, unless you accidently create volcanos in the backyard."

"And while no one knows you're here right now .. your family does. You are the son of a famous NFL player, but as hard as your father may hit someone on the field, he will be as useful as a cottonball in front of a force such as The Reavers. You run the risk of them killing your family to get to you. Because they would. It's about how loud the statement can be made. That you are not welcome here."

Phoenix has posed:
"No, people may not know what I can do, but it doesn't mean I can live a normal life. I've spent a lifetime of talking to one face of a person while knowing what their real emotions and words are saying. And if they knew that I could hear their secrets? That I could take away their memories? That I could undo them with a thought?" Jean asks, her voice quiet and heavy. "Could people trust me? Would parents feel safe having me watch over and teach their children? Can /you/ sit there, and trust without question that I'm not in your head right now, only on the promise that I'm not?"

It seems like it's a hypothetical question, because she continues without waiting for a response. "Scott's right. Enemies like this will bring out, they don't care that you have a family or that you're a kid. I can assure you that they didn't care when we were kids either, and some of those enemies we fought then we are still fighting and probably will our whole lives."

"You mean well, we're not trying to discourage you from that. What we want to make sure is that you understand - and I mean *truly* understand - that the best intention and the bravest action can come with terrible and permanent consequences. You don't need to stand at the head of an army to fight a battle. There are ways to make differences without painting a target on yourself. Brands may be a powerful ally in the short term, but they'll only stand with you so long as you serve their interest. Allies based on money are easily bought away."

Jax Miller has posed:
    There is a sudden look of generalised guilt on Jax's face when Jean reveals she can hear secrets. No specific, 'oh crap she's going to find out' guilt, just general guilt because despite everything else Jax is, he's also a teenager. And he's probably guilty of /something/. But the look passes soon enough. Not soon enough to warrant him ever playing poker mind you, but passes nevertheless.
        "It's a matter of trust, in the end."

    He turns to look at Scott, pausing a for a moment to marshal the thoughts pinging in every direction. "You're right. I didn't know about Mason. And my dad... on the field he does what he needs to do, but he's a goof as much as me. Mom's the brains, and we don't pretend like we don't know that, but she's always been in favor of me being out in public. To a point. They're in danger now, even my old school friends are in danger right now, and there's no security force that can help any of them if someone powerful or determined enough tries to get them. I mean, I'm worried about that now, every day. That just comes with being a mutant with fans. And I hope that maybe, some day, someone will find a way to just... I don't know, switch mutations off for a little while, for mutants that want to take a break from what's going on. But it has to be a choice."

    Turning to Jean, with a bright smile to show that he's really not terribly afraid of her, honest, ignore the slightly tilted ears and the nervously curling tail. "You say I don't need to stand at the head of an army to fight a battle. And you're right about that. But someone has to hold the flag. All I'm saying is... is that I don't mind that being me. Is that gonna cost me later on, when scouts decide I've taken too much of a stand on a really delicate issue? Yeah probably. But right now I've got that wonderful advantage of having so much of my life ahead of me that I don't mind a few doors closing to open a few for other people. I mean... if I could do this without running any risk, or without anyone I care about running any risk, I'd do it that way. But there isn't, is there?"

Cyclops has posed:
"I remember when we were your age, Jake. Jean and I were probably younger than you when we came to Xavier's. The major difference was, that we were brought to Xavier's to be soldiers and not students. Sure, we learned some stuff about English and History here and there, but we were put into costumes and trained to not only fight, but potentially kill, Magneto. Our head's were filled with thoughts of being heroic, going out there and making a difference. The Xavier standard of humans and mutants living in co-existence side by side, if only we remove the barriers through force. That didn't work out so well for us back then either."

Scott reaches for his mug and brings it up for a sip. "Magneto ended up defeating us and using his powers to murder a submarine filled with innocent sailors to gain access to nuclear weapons in an attempt to create a third world war. By luck, we were able to somehow come back from our wounds and take his weapons away. We saved the world in secret. We were seventeen at the time and even today, I still wake up screaming from the memories. It was really bad back then. I feel like as a society, I can't even be sure if we've taken steps forward or backward. As of last year, we had large metal robots shooting citizens in the street sent over to American soil from other countries and our government did the bare minimum to sanction them. I took that very personal. To the point that it has damaged relationships with other hero groups that I thought once stood at our side, but instead turned their attention away to let us deal with it on our own."

Staring down at the coffee, he gives it a few swishes to watch the ripples dance along the surface. "Now put yourself in our positions. We're in charge of your safety. You put yourself out there, give all those bigots the big fuzzy middle finger and then the next day we find you at the doorstep with a bullet in your head, or your family. Do you think that Miss Grey and myself could ever live with ourselves knowing that we failed to protect you?" He gives a glance to Jean for a moment, pressing his lips together. "We've lost students before and to this day, I still remember every single one of their names. I've lost friends of my own. Mister Proudstar's older brother died on a mission that I personally led." He takes in a slow, deep breath.

"I don't know what the right answer is to give you, Jake. I do not want to discourage you and your dreams. I admire your tenacity and courage to put yourself out there. I just don't want to make another painful phone call that makes me sick to my stomach to dial and give someone's mother the bad news."

Phoenix has posed:
For a fleeting second, the emotions in the room are tilted downward like a ship skirting the very edge of an event horizon where the black hole at the center was a terrible, churning pit of grief and rage. It's over almost before it can even be processed, but even as the sensation passed the darkness never quite leaves Jean's eyes. To just look at Jean, they'd see a woman who looked a lot older than the years she actually had.

"Yes, you have a whole life ahead of you. Live it." Says the headmistress in a voice that's not far removed from a whisper, but in this space she doesn't need to talk loudly. "We bring you all here to give you a safe place to learn and grow, while we are the ones out there bleeding and dying to help the world maybe be better by the time you're old enough to join it. For our students to go out there and turn themselves into soldiers... that's a failure to me. We failed them."

She pushes herself up out of her chair and walks a few paces away towards the door, her back to the other two in the room as she says, "This job is our's. Your job is to live for those who don't get to. Out there is a world that you're not ready to fight, even with the noblest intentions."

Jax Miller has posed:
    "I don't want to fight the world." If there's a change in Jax, if his emotional state is different from when this started, there's no way to detect it.

    "In fact, that's the last thing I want to do. I only found out about the X-men and the New Mutants a little while ago, and the first thing I wanted to know was if I could, y'know, not? No offense guys, I mean, it takes guts to do that kinda thing. I just don't have that kinda guts. When I see danger, I run away. Y'know, not to fight another day, but to run away another day. If I got cornered somewhere and couldn't run, I'd just say I was actually an alien. Most of the time that worked, but mostly 'cause I'm an outrageous liar when I need to be and a lot of people like cats. Fighting? Not my thing."

    For a moment, he turns over his right hand and unsheathes the claws that are hidden at the tip of each finger. "I'm terrified of what I might do to someone with these." The claws retract, and what remains is the perfectly inoffensive, innocent looking teenaged cat.

    "All I want to do, and if I do this I want you to know I'm gonna talk to my parents and everyone else involved first... all I want to do is tell young mutants it's okay to be a mutant. Surrounded by famous athletes, and sports stars and superbowl winners. To let young mutants know that they think it's okay for mutants to be mutants too. It's not just gonna be my face on those pictures, or in those TV ads. I'm... I'm too much of a coward for that."

Cyclops has posed:
"Focus on the mutants within these walls first, Jake. Some of them need help and peers to lean on. Trust me, Jean and I don't want to see anyone become an X-Man or a soldier if we can help it. But whether you fight with your fists, or you fight with your words, it's all the same war. Words can weigh as heavy as a gun in your hand."

Scott finishes his coffee and rises up, heading over to the sink to rinse it out. He furrows his brows as he takes a rage to dry it out.

"There is a reason why we do not actively talk about the X-Men here. It's not a secret, but it's not something we advertise either. We understand that a lot of young mutants look up to us. We're 'superheroes'. We wear colorful uniforms and we look good on camera taking down a badguy. But that's only after thousands of hours of training and trust and team building. I'd rather you a coward than .." He pauses. "Someone that has dreams to 'save the world' because they feel like they have some type of mission in their heart. There are days that I wish we were just a normal school."

"Either way, you are free to do as you wish as long as it is not a danger to the school. Just make sure to pass it by us whatever you decide so we can ensure the security side is intact."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey paces slowly as Scott speaks with her arms across her chest. She doesn't interrupt him, only echoing on the end as she says, "If it's likely to be publicly linked to you, then we need to know. Think of us like managers. We're damage control, but we need to know ahead of time. Just... be careful, and make sure that your parents are involved. You're our responsibility, yes, but they're still your parents. And trust that I'll be following up with them to make sure that they're informed. Not that I'm saying you wouldn't tell them, but I was a teenager."

She passes a glance over towards Scott with a corner of her mouth pulled back before looking towards Jax again. "And as a last warning, if you come upon information that's X-Men related from any source, that doesn't leave this building. Names, roles, mission information. Clear?"

Jax Miller has posed:
    "Clear as a really clear thing that's been buffed up to be clearer after being treated with a clear-coating to improve clarity." His ears never twitch. His tail doesn't move. Somehow Jax wasn't being sarcastic, just... very descriptive.

    He starts to gather up his pictures and data sheets, putting them all back into some semblance of order and putting them back in the folder, standing up as he does. "Thank you guys. I mean it. There's not a lot of people I could go to with this. And you've given me a lot to think about, and a lot to discuss with my parents." Who will, almost certainly, put up the same objections, so this was an excellent dry run.

    "Just... one thing. I know I've already asked a lot, and I've taken up a lot of time, but..." He picks up the folder and holds it in front of him, in both hands. Butter wouldn't melt... "Is there someone I could talk to about... y'know... claws? I can't ask another cat, 'cause they don't talk, and a lot of people think they know what it's like, but... as I said, I'm worried I might hurt someone some day, by accident. And if I'm going to ever learn to defend myself, I need to figure out a way not to claw someone during training. That would... y'know, suck."

Cyclops has posed:
Furrowing his brows, Scott thinks about the last question, rubbing a hand along his face. He gives a glance over towards Jean for a moment, then sighs.

".. Victor Creed maybe .. he's the only .. ah.. member of the X-Men that has natural claws. Besides him, perhaps even Logan. But just know that when it comes to combat training and self-defense, all of us are capable of teaching you. You are not the first, or will be the last student to have claws come through our school. We also have a holographic training simulator that we have called the 'Danger Room' lovingly for you to train in as well. It's a fully interactive hardlight gymnasium. You will get a kick out of it."

Phoenix has posed:
Jean Grey gives Scott a more narrowed eye squint before she says, "Victor doesn't have much interest in being around the kids. Logan is a, mm, more advanced course." One can just about see the air quotes around her words.

There's a soft snap of her fingers as she says, "Actually, Doctor McCoy would be a solid fit. He knows a thing or two about living with a public mutation as well as having natural weaponry. More, he can help not just in teaching how to use them but also to fight without needing them. Kurt as well, particularly for more defensive actions. I can send them both a message after to see about helping with some mentoring."

Jax Miller has posed:
    Blink. Look from one teacher to the other. Back again. Jax shrugs.

    "I'd like that, thanks. I mean, I wanna see the hardlight gym too, but you can't beat having someone with experience teaching you." That said, he beams his megawatt smile and starts heading for the door. "Thanks for everything, Mister Scott, Miss Grey. And if there's ever a student that needs cheering up, or y'know, a group of students wanna go to a Bills game or something, let me know. I like making people happy."

Cyclops has posed:
"You know, those two are the more obvious choices .. obviously .. I don't know why I didn't think of them." Scott says as he gives a side-eye glance towards Jean. "Maybe I was thinking 'cat' when I was thinking of Victor." He clears his throat. "It's been a long day and now I have a lot on my mind."

He gives a nod of his head towards the student. "That's good to hear. Also know that you should be happy as well. If you need anyone to talk to, I am sure there are plenty of students and staff far more qualified than myself to speak with." He's blunt.

Phoenix has posed:
"Eh, you've had to put up with them a lot lately." Jean says with a shrug of her shoulders towards Scott. He keeps her grounded and she reminds him to look up. It works.

"We do have our brand new guidance counselor settling in, who is *another* excellent choice for speaking to someone who's come from the public eye into being a mutant, come to think of it. You should talk to him if you get the chance, Jax. He'll have some perspective not a lot of the people here have, and was also with Scott and I in the first class. So he has the added insight of experience in being a position you may find yourself in in the future."

"Did you have any other questions for us while we're here?"

Jax Miller has posed:
    "None that can't wait until another time." Jax smiles over to Jean and sidles over to the door. It's that awkward moment where you've just had a chat with your teachers, and while the chat was pretty good, you now come to the realisation that the chat is over and you're somehow trespassing on their time. It's a bit different at Xavier's, of course, but habits die hard. There is one thing though...

    "And I wouldn't be so sure about that, Mister Scott. You've given me a perspective I don't think I'd have gotten from someone else. Thank you."

    With that, there's another nod, a smile, and a grasp of the door knob. Twist, sidle /backwards/, smile, close door.

    Turn around. Exhale...

    Get going while the going's good.