13303/Talking about The New Mutants and the future of them

Talking about The New Mutants and the future of them
Date of Scene:	17 May 2021
Location:	War Room - X-Men Base
Synopsis:	Scott and Dani talk about The New Mutants and her new role.
Cast of Characters:	Cyclops, Moonstar

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Cyclops has posed:
Having sent word to Dani to meet him at the war room, Scott Summers is currently settled in his chair and tapping away at the glass in front of him. He hums to himself as he pulls up one file after the other in front of him on the holographic display. Each one is lined up one by one in a neat and organized manner. He isn't in uniform today, just a pair of slacks and a button down shirt, evne on the weekend.

He has some music on through a speaker, listening to some Foreigner from the 80's. It's his go-to music when he wants to focus and organize his thoughts.

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar doesn't actually often appear in the war room these days, except when the team as a whole is summoned and she's not hip deap in something else. Today... well. There's nothing hip deep to wade through, so here she is. She steps into the room, pauses when she hears the music, and chuckles. "Don't you listen to anything modern?" Her tone is amused as she walks across the room.

She pulls out a chair and sits down, across from Scott. Her brown eyes fall to whatever it is he's doing with the table, curious at what he's called her here for. Apparently, just her? "Am I early?"

Cyclops has posed:
"What are you talking about? Foreigner isn't modern? I thought all the kids were listening to them." Scott says as he reaches over to tap the radio off, then tilts his head over to her. "No, you're right on time. Just you and me." He says as he gives a motion up to the files that float in the air. "I wanted to talk about responsibility and I was curious if you were up for some. The New Mutants program we created a few years ago in tribute to your group has been hit or miss. I've had several people come and go in charge of it, with mostly Sam taking the reins, but I feel that new blood can be injected into it."

He leans back, scrolling his finger through the air. "Let's take a look at our current class. Shannon Lance, Jeremy Statton, Ted Gammage, Indira Bhandari, Edward Grayson, who goes only by Gray now for personal reasons .. Lucas Farmer, and Rosie McGowan. Technically only Shannon, Jeremy and Ted are on the New Mutants team, but the others are candidates, though there is some concerns clearly. This curent class appears to have quite a bit of trauma amongst them, as I will let you see through their files."

"Granted, Jeremy is to graduate this month and I believe has already reported that he has not only been accepted to several prestigious universities, but Tony Stark himself offered him a job in the technology division. So, he won't be here much longer at least as a student."

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar snorts a laugh. "No. Foreigner isn't modern," she says. "The kids all might have been listening to them when you were a teenager. Now it's new stuff." Dani doesn't specify, which means she probably doesn't listen to whatever the kids listen to these days. She waves a hand. "That wasn't a request to turn it off, you know. They have good music." The talk of responsibility is met with a blink. "Wait. What? What kind of responsibility are we talking about?"

Now, she listens to what is being said, and files the list of names away. She nods about Jeremy. "So he'll be moving on then, most likely? Bigger and better stuff, yeah?" There's a gentle smile with those words, though she knows the kid has done good in the school. "When are the others due to graduate?" She starts looking through the files.

Cyclops has posed:
"Well, Shannon is a Junior. Gray is technically a Junior but he's most likely being held back a few years because he was homeless and is dyslexic. He's well behind. Indira is also a Junior, so is Lucas. Rosie and Ted are sophomores." Scott says as he peers up at the files before him, then drags Jeremy off to the side with a finger.

"Rosie is a gravity based mutant, was born and raised in a religious cult small town in the rust belt. She needs therapy. Gray lost both of his parents and then had .. trauma involving his grandfather which caused him to run away and live on the streets. Got addicted to narcotics. Has powers of invisibility. He needs therapty. Lucas Farmer as you know we rescued him from a Mutant Farm, in which they were abducting and creating mutant children. He was raised there as an infant and doesn't even know what a TV is. He not only needs therapy but an introduction to the real world. Low level telekinetic."

Rubbing his chin, he sighs out. "Shannon Lance. Healer and wings. Wants to be an X-Man, a popstar, a designer, and I'm sure the next Gordon Ramsey. She wants to be great at everything, willing to lob herself into the fire headfirst into any situation. Has a hero complex and comes off as a cape chaser. She has big bright eyes. If her powers weren't such a liability, I'd honestly consider her to be a lock for the X-Men one day. I have other concerns that you can read in the file of course. Ted Gammage .. strong guy, invulnerability. Small town boy with big muscles. He's gentle, wouldn't harm a fly. Third strongest member in our school according to his physicals. Give him a few years and he'll be tossing Peter around the front yard easily."

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar nods slowly. "Right. So at least a year moe for Shannon, Gray, Indira, and Lucas, and two for Rosie and Ted." While she looks over the files, she listens to what Scott is saying too. Therapy. Therapy. Therapy and an introduction to modern stuff. Liability. Gentle. "Therapy is possible. I can even give some myself. A little. But Shannon, I'm worried about. How long has she been with the school?" Sure, she could read it in the file, but she'd rather get a Scott's eye view of things.

Cyclops has posed:
"Two years now. She's an exceptional student. Scores high on academics and physicals. She has a lot of great qualities about her. I think the main issue is that when she heals someone, she takes their wounds upon herself. It's hard for me to justify bringing her into a real field situation outside of using her for eyes in the sky and distance recon. She's gone on a few missions with the X-Men and faired decently." Scott says as he furrows his brows. "I think what worries me the most is that she's either built like a rock or she buries her trauma deep. She never seems phased when shit hits the fan. She gets up the same way every morning where most kids will be crying in their cereal, know what I mean? But, she's met Captain America a few times and looks at him like an icon."

Is that a scoff in Scott Summer's throat? Perhaps a bit. He looks up to the Flags and Stripes a well, and he even knows his own presence amongst the mutants. He's as close to Cap as one can be in his position. "She's getting 'better' at taking orders and authority, but there has been times she jumps ship and does her own thing which has caused problems. She's young so that's to be expected and it's on me for bringing her to some of these."

Moonstar has posed:
"And she hasn't gained any control at all over her healing abilities? In two years?" Dani looks surprised. She listens, nods, and chuckles. "Who /doesn't/ look at Captain America like he's an icon? That seems a fairly normal response. So, her healing is the only real issue? Has that been worked on?"

Dani raises a brow. "Scott, /I/ jump ship and do my own thing more often than I like or any of the rest of you like." Dani's impulsiveness is a well known thing. The only difference is, Dani usually manages to come out on top in such situations. "Sounds like she just needs practice to me. And what sorts of issues do you see from the others? So, what sort of responsibilities are you talking about here? 'cause I asked, and you didn't say." She grins at him, as there's not meant to be any sting to those words.

Cyclops has posed:
"It's just how her powers are. She's an empath healer, not a normal healer like Foley, or Triage. We've had her work with both of them, and it's just the way she's built." Scott says with a nod of his head. "Trust me, she's learned a lot in two years. Before it was touch someone and black out. Now it's more like she touches someone and she only gets about half of the injury back and she isn't as tired. She's put the work in. It's just a shit power in general in my opinion. It's how the DNA dice rolls sometimes." Scott says as he taps the side of his head where his visor is.

"You jump ship with years of training under your belt. You're also a warrior well before you became a New Mutant." He points out as he picks up a mug of coffee for a sip. "But at the end of the day, I don't want to create more X-Men out of these students. Jean and I decided awhile ago we aren't poaching kids to beef our roster. We're teaching young children and sending them to college. The days of stealing kid's youth to become mutant soldiers is over."

"As far as responsibilities go? I want someone who can work with Sam and evaluate them, run DR sessions for them, prepare them for the real world. I don't want more X-Men, but I want responsible adults who can go out and function in society and not become the next Magneto. They're all good kids, but they need love and affection that I can't give them, or Jean for that matter. They need someone to give them real attention outside of the classroom so they aren't bored." He presses his lips and taps a button on the control panel. "Just the other day, Ro' took them all to the bazaar for an adventure in shopping. They got attacked by a gang throwing rocks at them. Rosie created a builder and paralyzed a young girl, Jeremy EMP'd the entire city to erase the evidence and nearly killed himself doing it, and Gray went missing for two days which I need to follow up on. Rosie ran away and is currently missing, which terrifies me because she seems to be off the radar and I am praying she's not dead. See what I mean? These are good kids, they're just... kids ... "

Moonstar has posed:
"How much has she worked with them?" Dani pauses, and nods. "Well. That tells me she can learn to control it. Especially since she used to touch someone and black out. Sounds like she needs more practice to gain full control over her powers." She fixes Scott with a look. "No power is truly a shit power when properly trained and utilized. You know this. I'll get together with Henry and see if we can't come up with a lesson plan to help her get that power fully under her control."

Dani eyes that cup of coffee, and leans back, folding her arms across her chest. She peers at Scott. "Where's /mine/?" She looks serious. But the thread of amusement lacing her tone is anything but serious. About the coffee, she's just being an ass. "True. I do have years of training and being a warrior. My grandfather taught me well." She chuckles.

She sobers, and nods firmly. "I agree. We need diplomats and doctors and laywers and such far more than we need soldiers. I like that we're teaching these kids to lead lives that are as normal as possible now." She listens to what Scott says and thinks about that. "Hm. Are you looking for me to be doing this, or do you want suggestions on who would be good at it?" Her brow furrows at the results of the trip to the bazaar. "Yeah, I read about that. How's Jeremy? And how's Gray? Do we have any leads on Rosie?"

Cyclops has posed:
"It's a shit power if someone takes a gunshot to the chest and she tries to heal them and ends up opening herself up and bleeding all over. That's two people down instead of one in the field. It's a liability power. I'd have to use her as a backup healer and have her utilized as more of a recon type." Scott says with an amused noise in his throat. "Trust me, she has /put the work in/ on her powers. Like, to an obsessive level. You have no clue what type of tornado she is. She's a lot like you. Stubborn."

As he takes another sip of his coffee, he chuckles. "She is /so/ much like you. Natural leader also, or at least attempts to be. But out of the entire group, she's really the only one that has stepped up in an Alpha role. It's a good quality. I just have issues with taking a young girl who comes from a great family who love her to death, and a promising music career and putting her in a costume and telling her to fight bad guys. I'd rather see her pursue music. She's good at it, even has a hit single thanks to Andrea's label." He slides his mug of coffee over to her, half drank, giving her a grin.

He doesn't have an extra mug or pot, but it's still warm. Black.

"I am looking for you to lead it. I want to pull Sam off the New Mutants. He's been doing it going on three years and I want him back in the field as more of a full time X-Man. He's done a good job with the kids, but I know he misses the action and I've abandoned him a few times to babysit." He gives a thoughtful glance up at the monitor. "Jeremy is... okay, I think? He went right back to work the next day. He's autistic, very obsessive compulsive, sticks to routines. Gray? I don't know. All I know is that the log was triggered he came home a day later and I haven't sent anyone to reach out to him yet. I've been letting him have some time to himself. He is Jeremy's roommate." He furrows his brows, then shakes his head with a sigh.

"I'm not good at this, Dani. I can take us into war and not blink but when it comes to the kids, I find myself keeping a distance from them. It's why I need someone like you who can reach out to them. They need a big sister, a mentor. A guide."

Moonstar has posed:
"When you're a mutant, if you want to survive in this world, you have to be stubborn," she points out with a smile. She sobers again and considers. "Pursuing music might not be the safer option. Have you seen how many rocksters get hooked on drugs from the stress of that much fame?" Dani shakes her head. "She might be good at it, but will it be good for her is the question. Meh. Don't mind me. Does /she/ know what she wants to do yet? Or does she need an ear to talk to about that sort of thing?"

She grins back and lifts the mug, takes a single drink of it, and slides it back over to him. "What about the others? Anything that sticks out to you about them? Strengths? Weaknesses? Things they need to work on? Things they don't?"

Now Dani blinks again, completely taken aback. Despite being able to read emotions, she tries to tune that out as much as possible so as to not be reading things others might prefer be private. "I see how it is," she says, voice amused, but a little breathy with the tail end of the surprise his statement had given her. "Abandon /me/ to babysit." It's clear she's teasing, from the sparkle in her eyes.

There's a nod about Jeremy. "Sounds about right." She nods about Gray as well. The gears might be turning in there. She shakes her head. "A leader I can be. A leader and a mentor, sure. Even a guide. But all of those and a big sister or a friend? I dunno. I can try. Are you sure you want /me/?" Dani's had her fair share of problems through the years too. Right now she's stable, at least. So that's a good thing!

Cyclops has posed:
"Mmm. I know that she is working on an EMS certification currently so that she can attend college in the medical field. See what I mean? Jack of all trades. Either way, not every popstar goes off to do drugs. I'm more concerned about her being a mutant popstar. But, her single was a hit. Sure, it was boosted by her friend's label, but it was /really/ good. I'm not going to admit to having it on my phone of course." Scott says with a wink to her.

"The others? Jeremy is interesting. Barely passes most of his physical tests, but academics? He's off the charts. He is Hank smart. He retains data and spits it out as fast as a machine. He's not good at the social stuff but he's opening up. When he first came here, he wouldn't leave his room. He has an arrest record." He presses his lips together. ".. He was .. hurt .. really bad in juvenile hall. He's just now coming out of his shell, but the work he puts out? Jean uses him quite often for special projects. I haven't seen a technopath of this level before. He saved my brother's life the other day. But, Dani, my God.. you should read Hank's report." He taps his fingers along the table, giving a shake of his head.

"I don't think outside of Shannon, anyone wants to be a hero. Everyone just wants to be a kid. Gray though is going to need a lot of work. He has trust issues, currently working on sobering up, but he's so behind in academics. He has a few tutors and his grades aren't 'terrible', but he has a really wide curve also to pass. We're being generous."

"Ted just wants to be a normal kid at school. He was a promising football player in high school until his powers activated and he hurt someone really bad. It definitely affected him. He creeps around the school, scared to touch things now. I think he just wants to graduate and get a job. He's the one with the less issues."

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar snorts out a laugh. "Of course you're not going to admit it, even though you just did," she points out. "I'll talk to her. See where things stand." She pauses there, and blinks. "Well shit. I guess I just accepted your ... I'm not sure if I want to call it an offer, or an order." She chuckles and shakes her head at herself. As he speaks of Jeremy being Hank smart, her lips twitch once, but she doesn't say anything. "Give me the condensed version of Hank's report. I'll read the rest later."

She nods slowly about Gray. "If it needs to be done, he can always repeat a year of highschool. In these days, that's not that big a deal." She nods thoughtfully about Ted. "Maybe I'll see if Ted would like to toss a ball with me or something sometime." With her enhanced physique, she should be able to handle anything Ted can throw at her. Thank heavens for being a Valkyrie. "What about the others?"

Cyclops has posed:
"The condensed report?" Scott says with a furrow of his brow. "Jeremy threatened to murder the kidnapper's entire family and came with receipts including home address, pictures of the neighborhood and his prior arrest record, and then overrode the car's computer to lock them inside, blow the airbags and slam on the brakes." He gives a rub of his hand along his stubbled cheeks.

"The kid creeps around the school, barely saying a word, then goes online and talks shit like a professional gangster. I know that he leads a second life online, but .. there's dark, and then there is /dark/." He shifts his jaw. "They coughed Alex up though."

"Mmm. Rosie again, raised in a religious cult like small town, told that as a mutant she's evil and a product of sin. Her mother still lives there and is in need of extraction I believe. They 'marry' the women off to adult men at a young age. They really take the old testament seriously. She has become very close with Gray and Jeremy. The trio of trauma kids are sticking together. Lucas? I don't know much about him since we just picked him up from the Farm. He doesn't question authority, most likely is scared that we will hurt him if he disobeys. He was held by guards his entire life. I can tell he's wound up pretty tight. Spends a lot of time in the library. He is the one who will need the most work from the start."

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar blinks at that, and chuckles. "Well good," she says. "Sounds like he did what needed to be done. There are some people who live more online than they do in the real world. I know a few." She goes quiet again as she listens. "Hm. We'll need to find out for sure about her mother. I'm sure we can get an extraction team in there if she really is being held against her will." She nods. "Good. Kids need friends." She smiles. "And a kid who likes to read. I'll get along great with him." Wait. What? When has Dani ever actually been /seen/ in the library? Not very often!

Cyclops has posed:
"He could be learning how to read for all I know." Scott says with a sigh. "I'm working with SHIELD now to find the rest of the kids. Either way, this is an offer, not an order. Think about it for a day or two, go over the files, get a feel for them." Scott says as he rises upwards and taps the table off, clearing the files away.

"Got anything else for me? Otherwise, we can call it a night."

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar nods to that. "He could be. Or maybe he just really likes books. Hard to say until he's asked. Or observed." She chuckles, then nods. "Lot of good people in Shield. If you need someone to consult with them, I already have clearance." She takes a breath and nods. "Offer, not order. I'm tempted to say yes, but I'll think on it for a day or two and let you know for sure. Mean time..." Yeah. In the meantime, she has files to read. "Jeremy Statton. Shannon Lance. Lucas Farmer. Rosie McGowan. Indira Bhandari, who you didn't say anything about. Edward Grayson, who goes by Gray. Ted Gammage. Did I leave any of them out?" She shakes her head at the anything else. "Only your take on Indira, I think. Nothing beyond that."

Cyclops has posed:
"Indira? Vegan. MMA fighter. Has electrical powers, much like Storm. If Shannon is the Alpha of the group, Indi would be her rival. Reminds me a lot of a girl from last year's class." Scott says with a small grin on his face. "She seems pretty well put together. Fierce and determined, next to Ted, probably the most physical of the group. She is very close with Jeremy, protective of him. I would consider her for the X-Men if I felt she wanted to go that route, but I'm not sure what her plans are. She has kept a low profile. Works hard, social butterfly around campus, not much else to talk about. Zero drama with her." He picks up his coffee mug to finish off the last of it with one gulp.

Moonstar has posed:
Dani Moonstar wrinkles her nose. "I will do what I can to sideline any rivalries." It sounds almost like she's already made up her mind to take on the role Scott has requested of her. "Zero drama is good." Dani waves a hand at Scott, but her eyes stay on the files. "Later," she says. That's it. She has studying to do!