388/Westchester Boat Race

Westchester Boat Race
Date of Scene:	13 May 2017
Location:	Westchester
Synopsis:	A diplomatic event in the form of a boat race between American and Genoshan kids goes awry, heroes respond.
Cast of Characters:	Emma Frost, Raven, Polaris, Magneto, Rogue, Captain Marvel (Danvers), Professor X

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Emma Frost has posed:
Metropolis Harbor is where the catamaran races are taking place today. Anyone who's anyone in the luxurious life style is here.

Elon Musk is on his solar powered yacht.

Emma Frost is on her own black and gold yacht not far off and is sitting on one of the many leather bench seats over looking the harbor with a glass of champagne in her hand.

Stark is now where to be seen, and neither is Lex, Rand or Wayne for that matter.

"Oh well. Guess they're missing out." Emma says looking over towards the cabin, where she assumes Rachel is doing her own thing.

Across the harbor bouys have been set up indicating the path the catamarans are to navigate through while several police and fire boats float out near the perimeter for safety reasons. The crowds have gathered around the harbor and docks. Many in their own yachts and liners, some of the less well off fans and some families of the racers are relegated to the warm metal bleachers overly looking the bay.

The race is about to start and the breeze is comfortable today with just a few clouds in the sky. This is a great friday to lounge around and enjoy yourself.

Raven has posed:
    Rachel is doing her own thing in the cabin, where 'doing her own thing' is understood to mean 'hanging back in the shadows away from the sunlight and any people.' She's here AS Rachel, of course--as a teenage girl going for a punk-goth combo about twenty years past its prime--but her pale skin still doesn't take well to sunlight, nor her eyes. But she is trying to do the things Emma taught her; she's conversing not too unpleasantly with the crew, making idle chit-chat about ships and how they work (for instance, this is a ship because ships contain boats).

Polaris has posed:
Walking along on the land with Rogue in tow, Lorna is doing her best to look wholly respectable. Dressed in a long black skirt and a black sheer top with silver threading worked into the actual blouse. Metal beads decorate her hair and bracelets jingle on her wrists. She smiles to the student with her, looking up from her phone. "This will be nice. Get out of the school so things aren't so hum-drum hmmm?" She asks Rogue. She'd asked the student along as a thank you for all her help with grading. She glances at a text and smiles broadly as they walk.

Magneto has posed:
A relatively late entrant to the races, and one which took many by surprise, is the boat from Genosha. It's as if nobody on Genosha received an invitation, but decided to show up at the last minute anyway.

That's a cynical way of looking at it, at least. But the boat that they've entered certainly looks like it belongs. It looks as if someone found the world's biggest block of solid chrome, and melted it into a futuristic, vaguely yacht-shaped vessel. It 'technically' qualifies as a yacht, but it could just as easily be mistaken for a spaceship. Oversized, overpowered, and made from one seamless piece of metal? We'll give you three guesses who built the boat...

The Anya III might have been constructed on a whim by Magneto, but what's truly surprising is the fact that the Master of Magnetism himself decided to take a break from pacifying the resistance on Genosha in order to participate in a boat race. Up on the deck, he stands near the very front of the yacht, like a purple and red hood ornament. Or like a slightly more pensieve Leonardo DiCaprio. He appears to be one of the only crew members, in addition to being the captain, and the designer, and the builder.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is walking along the docks with a pair of aviator sunglasses on over her eyes and a light yellow hoodie on that is zipped up to the middle of her stomach with a black tanktop on beneath that, short jean shorts and black sheer stockings on her legs that go down into a pair of heeled leather boots that end beneath her knees.

Rogue walks alongside her friend and teacher, Lorna-loo, and she sighs wistfully. "I just don't get it though. I mean, ya can afford a big shiney boat like that and this... is what you do with it?" She glanced over at Lorna then. "Why....!" She groaned that word out. "I'd be down in the Bahamas, loadin' the boat fulla sexy people and partyin' the day away. I mean, this just seems like a bad idea. What happens if they're boats run inta each othe'ah? Do they board the othe'ahs boat an' start punchin each othe'ah? Cause then, I'm all for this." She grinned then at the other.

Emma Frost has posed:
The crews on the boats begin to move around, it's getting close to time to set off and start this race when the nearly all metal boat splashes into the competition and causes a stir. There's murmuring among the crowds as one of the officials steps up with a mega phone to call out to Magneto's ship. "Sir! I don't know what you're doing, but open entrants were required to sign up two months ago!" The man's voice echoes off the water and surriounding yachts. "You can certainly spectate, but this race is for kids 17 and younger!"

Emma stands up and puts one knee on the couch as she leans against the back to watch the events with -"Huh... Magneto." She squints and waits to see what happens.

Raven has posed:
    A Genoshan sailboat? With Magneto on the deck? Now that is interesting enough to make Rachel turn away from the discussion (rudely, but she doesn't care) to pay closer attention. Hm. What on Earth is Magneto doing, slumming with the cro-magnons? Is he a good guy again, or just looking to show humans that mutants are better even at decadence? Eh, it doesn't matter. What matters is paying attention. She squares her shoulders and comes out of the cabin onto the deck, to look more carefully. There's an army of Genoshans on that ship, and that's definitely worth keeping an eye on. She nods briefly at Emma and leans on the deck's railing, partially because she can feel her feet wanting to lift up off the deck and it helps remind her to stay grounded.

Polaris has posed:
Genoshan sailboat, the stir revolving around that gets Lorna's attention and she pauses. She tucks her phone into her clutch and walks to the end of the docks towing Rogue along, the poor thing. "Wait right here. I have to go give my respects." She tells Rogue with a look at the student before the green haired woman flies lightly to the Genoshan yacht and lands on the deck. "My father, I wasn't expecting Genosha to join in the fun today." She says lightly, bowing her head before walking over to him.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue looked at the commkotion on the water and she saw the silver dildo boat out there floating around. It amde her lower her aviator glasses and give it a longer gaze as the mega-phone guy shouted out at the owner. She recognized him, from her past. "Aw shit." She muttered right around the time Lorna went off to go say hi. "Right.." Rogue sighed then.

Turning, the Southern Belle walked over to a food stand to order some nachos and a hotdog and a Unicorn Frappucino.

Magneto has posed:
Metal columns raise up from the center of the boat, and it becomes clear that it isn't actually finished being built yet. The liquidlike metal forms into masts, complete with traditional rigging. All of this without Magneto really paying much attention to it.

From below, a couple of kids come scrambling up. As far as crews go, they're a pretty mismatched group. One looks like he's made of rocks. Another is covered in hair. One has an actual fish head. They start attaching the sails emblazoned with the Genoshan colors (purple and red, if you hadn't guessed...) and get ready to race regardless of the unfolding drama over near the dock.

"Good to see you, my dear. But hold on just a moment while I deal with this."

The megaphone flies out of the race official's hand, and into the hand of Magneto. Holding the megaphone up to his helmeted face, he answers. "Check your records again, human. I believe you'll find everything is in order."

Below deck, Scanner hurriedly taps away at her laptop to update the race roster.

Emma Frost has posed:
With a yelp the man's speaking device is ripped from his hand and then he blinks at the words from Max and then turns to his fellow official, "Becky, double check, now!"

Becky scurries into her purse to pull out her phone and checks the registrations. "Oh- oh it's there." She says with a frown up to Zebra #1.

"Okay okay, you're entered in the race, get over at the starting line quickly, but I have to ask you to get off the boat if you're not younger than seventeen." This whole situation just went nuts.

Emma watches intently with her icey blue gaze and smirks when she realizes something she was always curious about. The blond leans over to Raven and whispers something into her ear. "Do you see that helmet he's wearing. It's special." Emma takes a quick sip of her drink and continues, "I can't read his mind, so it must be that goofy looking dome."

Raven has posed:
    'Check your records again, human.' Okay, so scratch him being a good guy now. Rachel will not be useful here. Raven might be. Rachel slips back from the railing, back across the deck, toward the shadows where she can let Raven out; Rachel's ripped, deliberately ratty clothes slip into her skin even as Raven's outfit, a cross between a Cthulhu cultist's robe and a prom dress, comes out. Her hood pulls over her face, casting her eyes in blessed, beak-shaped shadow, and now that she's ready to act...she doesn't. She's young, but she understands the difference between escalation and de-escalation, thank you very much.
    As she returns to Emma's general vicinity, she nods. "Makes sense." She's thinking now about how she could remove that helmet if she needed to; her telekinesis is powerful, but no match for the Master of Magnetism in a tug of war. Likewise, splitting the helmet or even shredding it would probably be useless. Teleporting it? She might be able to get away with that, if it came to it...

Polaris has posed:
"Of course." Lorna nods and clasps her hands before her. She looks to the dock and quickly looks for Rogue, clicking her tongue. "I will leave you to the last minute adjustments. See you on shore father." She tells him lightly, a fond, bright smile before looking to the Zebra shirted man and waving as she returns to the dock and fishes out her phone walking to Rogue. "Oh, you could have said you needed to eat. I was saving room for dinner, but I'd have bought." She tells the girl and shoots off a text as she talks.

Rogue has posed:
While waiting for her food, Rogue has been approached by two teenage boys who have pastel colored sweaters tied over their shoulders and their hands stuffed into the pcokets of their fancy white slacks. They're both oogling the Rogue while they have a conversation with her, or at least try to.

Rogue is laughing a little and shaking her head. "Nah nah, I don't dye my hair this color... its just... well, its complicated." She then heard another question from another of the two. "Mmm? Oh, no. I go t'school at Xavier's, near Salem Cente'ah." The guy asks about it being a school for filthy mutants like the rumors suggest and Rogue's eyes narrow...

...Lorna returns to Rogue to find her standing by the water railing at the dock's edge with a basket of nachos and a hotdog. She offers them to Lorna and smiles. "Don't worry about it, sugah." She says in a happy voice to her. "Wants some?" She asked.

... a couple of swaters are floating in the water away from the docks.

Magneto has posed:
"Gladly."

Magneto keeps the megaphone, for he does not return property that he has taken by right of power. Instead, he hands it to one of the kids as a souvenir.

He does, however, comply with the race official's requests, elevating himself off of the deck as elegantly as Polaris did. He lands amongst the humans, who immediately start taking pictures of him with their phones. After all, he's probably the most famous mutant on the planet who isn't named Dazzler.

Or at least his helmet is famous...

When he lands and sees who his daughter is hanging out with, Magneto looks... slightly awkward. Maybe 'awkward' isn't the right term, but he definitely seems to be a bit more rigid than usual.

"I was... unaware the two of you were acquainted. What a nice surprise." By the sound of his voice, it's neither nice, nor a surprise.

Emma Frost has posed:
"Keep an eye on him. This seems awfully fishy." Emma says towards Raven as she pushes herself off the railing to move to the backside of the boat so she can rest against the railing over there. Able to see into the crowds and out to the race from a single vantage point.

The race official just sighs at the whole thing while waiting for the Genoshian racers to get situated.

Once they are, the man steps forward with a starter pistol and fires the gun!

Suddenly sails are unfurled and the race has begun!

Raven has posed:
    Raven draws her cloak closed around herself and nods again at Emma. "You got it, boss," she creaks, then grimaces. That line was definitely not her. Never again.
    Part of her wants to try to reach out with her empathy to feel Magneto's thoughts--empathy in general works on different principles than telepathy does, and hers in particular--but that's a waste of time. Instead, Raven asks, before Emma can leave, "Do you know those women he's talking with? The ones with the cool hair?"

Polaris has posed:
"Ah, this is my teacher's assistant at the school, Anne-Marie. It must have slipped my mind she might know you." Lorna admits bright an friendly, the sort of smiling face a young princess should have at a youth's boat race considering she teaches children. "I thought I might ask her along for the company, a thank you for all her help grading for me." She tells her father, small talk as the race starts and she looks to the boats. "I am so happy you came, showing an interest in the future is a wonderful thing, isn't it?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue looked between father and daughter as they spoke, while she stood there holding the food containers and then she started grinning. She still had those aviator sunglasses on that were reflecting everything she stared at right back at itself, but that two-toned hair was a pretty solid dead-giveaway for whom she was, even if Max hadn't seen her in several years.

Rogue looked at Magneto and she gave him a big flirtatious smile and a lean forward. "Cest un plaisir de vous revoir!" She said to him in a thickly husky-hued tone of flaweless French, she was a tease at her very nature and she liked it. At Lorna she looked then and smiled at her. "Lorna and I are BFFs. I'm startin' t'really enjoy the teachin' stuff too!" She said with a smile for her green haired pal.

Magneto has posed:
"Yes. We've met." It's all that Magneto has to say about the matter, apparently. But he's certainly not about to spill any of Rogue's secrets, or his own. He's perfectly content to let people try to guess them on their own.

"When you mentioned the race, my initial reaction was to mock the frivolity. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized what a unique opportunity it might present to some of Genosha's children. So I decided to bring a few of our brightest students..."

He looks over his shoulder at the boat, as it starts gradually turning to the left and threatens to crash into the other boats.

"They're not very good sailors though." He says with a frown.

Emma Frost has posed:
As the boats near each other, the sound of raised voices can be heard, and many of the parents in the stands begin to stand up and gasp or scream as well. But thankfully, at the last minute the boats avoid collision.

Near the middle of the pack there is a rising mist coming from one of the boats. And the distance muffled screams of terror and fear. Many of the kids on the boat are forced to dive off and into the water, left with no resort but to abandon their ship. This is not good.

Emma smiles over to Raven, with a hidden emotion only the student would catch before she responds, "One, the green one... she's his daughter, the other... I'm not sur- I met her in front of the school. She's a troubled girl, don't let her demeanor fool you." Frost says before turning her attention back out towards the race and lifts her hand to her mouth and drops her champagne glass, shattering the flute on the hard wood surface.

Raven has posed:
    Sudden mist on the ocean. That's never a good sign; literally never. The best you can hope for is a rotting ship full of zombie pirates, and sometimes you get monsters of R'lyeh. Fortunately, those are both things Raven knows how to deal with. "Keep in touch with me," she snaps at her headmistress and fires off the deck of the ship like a rocket, ankles tightly together, soaring about eighty feet above the water toward the afflicted ship. Initial flights of fancy aside, that mist seems more likely to be some kind of poison cloud, and she's already formulating the spell to seal the entire ship in a bubble.

Polaris has posed:
Looking up at the race, Lorna tucks her phone into her bag and hurries to the edge of the dock. "Well this looks all bad." She says and knits her brows together. The green haired mutant extends her hands, to try and maneuver the green fog emitting boat off to one side so it's out of the way of the other racers. "Rogue? Got anything for getting the kids out of the water?" She calls out. She looks over her shoulder at her father, knowing better than to make any suggestions for the ruler of Genosha.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue glances over her shoulder at the two water-logged rich boys that are dragging themselves out of the lake and she waves at them, but soon there-after and there's a disturbance out on the lake causing most eyes to go that way, eventually evening Rogue's own sunglasses-covered green eyes.

"Fire?" Rogue asks in-general to those around her. At Lorna she then looked. "I can fly ove'ah there an' start pluckin' folks up outta the drink, if thats what ya think is best?" She wasn't sure what to do, this was her first rich white people event... maybe it was part of the 'show'?

Magneto has posed:
Those who aren't paying close attention probably won't notice Magneto's left hand tensed as if he were grabbing an invisible object and turning it to the right.

What? You thought Magneto was going to let the kids sail on their own? They've never been on a boat before in their lives.

Apparently, however, fate has more interesting things in mind than a simple boat race. It can never just be easy, can it? We all know that Magneto isn't going to let a hair on any of the mutant kids' heads be harmed. But does he give two figs whether or not the humans die?

"I can easily save their lives, my dear. But this is your opportunity to play the heroine. Perhaps you can simply send the boat that's producing the mysterious cloud into space? It's better not to take any chances."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma watches Raven take off into the skies after the boat and a volley of horrified thoughts from everyone around stream into her consciousness, the wave of it is almost too much for Emma, but the practiced telepath takes it in stride and focuses on helping Raven do her thing. <<The mist... it's coming from a child. It- It's killing him.>> Emma projects to not only Raven, but to those she can quickly tell are able to do something. Lorna, maybe Rogue if you'd like. Frost lifts her hand to her temple, trying to pin point the kid and find a quick solution to help the boy.

The 14 other boats continue sailing, the half in front of the incident continue forward, the half behind all start to veer off course and out of the path of the greenish fog.

There's at eleven kids per boat and in the water is nine from the boat that's having the incident.

Lorna might be having some issues as most of the boats (Other than Magneto's) have very little metal as the bulk of the craft is made from carbon fiber, with just the rigging being metal and not much more.

The few kids that have breached the water are screaming and crying for help. The two on the boat, one's passed out and the other is litterally having patches of his skin eaten away by the gas.

Raven has posed:
    Raven is cold. She has to be, to stay in control of her powers. In her coldness, she quickly assesses the situation and determines that kid who's dying inside can't be her priority right now: there are more kids dying in the water, and the math is on their side, not the kid's. Tough break. She forgets the bubble spell and instead goes for a more familiar one, focusing her power like an ax. A tendril of black anti-light lashes out viciously in a triangle cut: up, down, and horizonally, severing the crossbeams on the mast that hold the sail up, then cutting the mast from its base. It topples toward the water, but she catches it in a sizzling black aura and lowers it carefully into the water, toward the kid who's being eaten alive first. "Grab hold!" she yells.

Polaris has posed:
"You don't think space is too flashy?" Lorna asks Magneto and grits her teeth. Shaking her head, she flies to the water. The kid on the deck with poison boy is her first priority. Picking him up, she covers her mouth to be safe and flies to the dock again with a nod to Rogue, leaving her to help with the kids in the water. She considers the problem of the kid emitting gas. "Get him in the water! Try to neutralize it until we can get some X-Men here!" Lorna yells out. They have jack all to stop the poor kid's mutation from killing him, but Beast might-or that's her hope.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue set her nachos and hotdog down on a table next to a fat kid (oh god) and then she zipped up her hoodie to hide as much skin as possible and took to the sky over the railing, banging a knee on the metal which made her wince even if she didn't feel pain too easily!

Its only a matter of moments before Rogue is picking up her first person out of the water while she watches Raven and her mysterious powers. "Who the hell is that?" Rogue said aloud and the little kid with glasses she's holding shakes his head. "I don't know!" He says back at Rogue. "Who the heck are you?!" He asks further.

"I'm a guardian angel'a course." She smiled at the kid and set him down on the side of a dock where people were taking photos.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
While she wasn't at the event, the moment the accident with the mist happens, Captain Marvel is well on her way. With the speed she's capable of it's really not that long before she appears in the form of a golden streak in the sky, fast approaching the water, where she slows down considerably to assist Rogue in pulling kids out of the water and bringing them to the shower. "Rogue...I saw you're keeping your promise. I'm proud of you."

Emma Frost has posed:
With several people now out above the water, Emma does the thing she can do the best, she connects everyone, basically acting as an open comm channel for the four heroines. <<I can shut down the kid's mutation, but it'll have to be quick and permenant most likely.>> Emma reports mentally to the rag tag team, waiting for input.

Yes, putting him in the drink is going to slow the mist but who knows the impact he'll have on the environment, also, the water wont heal the small circles of raw skin.

Raven has posed:
    The bleeding boy is less than certain about clinging to a mast emitting a black aura, but it's that or continue to get consumed by the poison cloud. Not much choice there. He flings his arms over it, awkwardly but with some determination, and then the mast is cutting through the water like a canoe, away from the cloud and toward the nearest flailing child. He's probably okay, if he's not an idiot and has a life vest on, but it's better to collect the children and get them away from the ship and its poison cloud. She has time to collect two more children before everyone else has caught their limit, and then she sends the mast through the water toward the nearest ship to be rescued by the child crew.

Polaris has posed:
Unconscious boy left on the docks, Lorna goes back to the water. She floats over the surface as her eyes flare white. "Handle the kids and the boat, yeah? I'll help stall the ones behind it!" or they're bound to have some collisions. While the boats are largely fiberglass, that doesn't stop Lorna from stripping the metal from her bracelets and hair decoration to the available metal from cans and the lower dock railing and the like to bring the boats to a stop. The gas, the kid, the boat, the crew are all still a problem, but Polaris can help hold the line so the other boats don't hit the children.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue turned around after setting the boy down just in time to see Carol suddenly there in the air a few meters away... which was surprising, but hey, there's way worse things to have Captain Marvel catch you doing than saving a kid!

Rogue shot a nice sharp crisp salute to Carol and then flashed her a smile and went back toward Lorna, coming up near to her friend and watching Lorna do her metal magic. "Need any help?" She asked tentatively.

Magneto has posed:
For a minute there, it looks as if Magneto is going to be content to leave everyone to their fates. Aside from his kids, obviously.

The Anya III raises up into the air slowly, getting well out of the way of the mist that's occuring. The kids onboard manage not to freak out. After all, they're used to these dramatic displays of power.

Keeping the Genoshan kids safe is pretty much to be expected. But the onlookers and rescuers might not expect what comes next. Little pieces start to break off of the Anya III, like chunks separating inside a lava lamp. The little globules of metal turn into rings in mid-air, lowering toward the ocean right next to all the kids who are left. It might seem counterintuitive for people to reach for a lifeguard floatie that's made of metal, but these seem to be floating slightly better than your average foam ring. They're actually 'hovering' a few inches over the water's surface...

"Scanner, this is Magnus. Are you monitoring the situation? Indeed... Tell me what's going on inside that boat."

A hologram appears in front of Magneto, and he looks at the rapidly-scrolling information, reading it as quickly as it displays. "Fascinating..."

Suddenly, holographic projections of Magneto appear in front of most of the active rescuers. He's far too paranoid to let himself be tapped into a psychic network, but he doesn't seem to have a problem allowing Scanner to project his image all over the place. The image is mimicking Magneto's words and actions exactly, although he's pretty much just chilling on the dock.

"Attention, everyone. This is now a matter of mutant interest. As the leader of the mutant race, I demand that you allow me to assume control of the rescue attempt."

He starts to frown behind his helmet, as if he'd rather not be doing any of this. However, he's kind of left with no other good options.

"I will require the assistance of my daughter, and..." Now he REALLY doesn't seem to want to finish the sentence. "... Rogue. Everyone else is advised to stay out of my way."

Raven has posed:
    Once the children have been saved, Raven can release the mast from her mind's grip on it and finally spare the concentration to talk. "I'm Raven," she calls out to Rogue, in answer to a question asked minutes ago. She nods in response to Captain Marvel. "I'm going to deal with the source of this," she informs everyone who is currently above the water, ignoring Magneto's edict as irrelevant. "I don't know if I can save him, but I can contain him, at least." She zips over the water toward the now-abandoned death boat, or at least as close as she dares, given the lethal mist surrounding it. She takes a deep breath, focuses, and cries out her mantra: "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A black light explodes from her chest in the shape of a titanic raven made of black energy; her soul-self, which, among other benefits, does not need to breathe. It screeches down toward the deck, looking for the boy...ah, there he is, gagging on his own poison.
    Sorry, kid.
    Raven's talons seize him in a tight grip, and the bird tosses the boy into the water. If she's lucky, the water will muffle the gas he's emitting, or even drown it.

Polaris has posed:
"Yeah, see what my dad wants." Lorna nods back to Magneto. As soon as he's taking command she defers to him. She doesn't seem to be straining much nod that she has the boats stopped. "Maybe you can take a hit of me and help me direct these boats to the sides her so we can off load the kids." She suggests, already guiding the nearest to her with graceful gestures to the shore.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue regarded Raven when she heard the introduction and she saw, at least some of, what the girl was capable of. "You're hardcore." She told with her light grin. Rogue could hear Magneto calling her name and she turned and flew back over to him with a worried look now on her face. "Whats up, Doc?" She asked him in a fashion that would likely annoy him as much anything she ever said directed at him.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Captain Marvel entirely ignores Magneto's tirade until she's personally seen to it there are no children left helplessly in the water. She does nod in Raven's direction when she proposes handling the poor child who is emitting the mist uncontrollably, frankly, because mutant stuff is not her forte and she really isn't set on how to help that kid. It's only after she personally saw to it no child is left in the water, that Captain Marvel flies towards Magneto, and hovering just a little above him, she asserts, "when lives are in danger, I will assist, whether told to or not...I respect you as the soverign of Genosha, but I will not accept a request or order not to help those in danger."

Magneto has posed:
"Do I really need to explain this to you? I thought you were enrolled in school..."

Magneto's response to Rogue is only slightly less snarky than hers to him, but there's not even a trace of a smile on his face. His holographic forms look all manner of menacing, but the actual Magneto is posing over near the hot dog cart while people take selfies with him.

"You're the only one who can contain this threat satisfactorily and survive, Rogue. Absorb his powers, and then fly into the stratosphere. Polaris will contain the excess fumes within a forcefield." It's not a terrible plan, but it's not quite as simple as he makes it sound. Of course, Magneto looks as if he's explaining ketchup to kindergartners. His face is all tensed up and everything.

Meanwhile, the actual Magneto has started hovering in the air, and is actually heading toward the kid who got unceremoniously dunked in the water. He appears to mean what he originally said, though he hasn't exactly started lashing out irrationally yet.

"As of now, this boy is considered a citizen of Genosha. If anyone else touches this child again, Genosha will consider it a declaration of war!"

Raven has posed:
    Raven doesn't answer. Her body is not currently occupied and her bird-self is not equipped for speech. Her soul just perches on the deck, head cocked to the side in a pose that reminds you birds are the descendants of dinosaurs, one eye focused tightly on the poison boy...who isn't swimming. Crap. The bird hops off the deck and spreads its wings, drifting down to the boy and seizing him again by the upper arms, lifting his head and shoulders out of the water. At least now he can breathe.

Polaris has posed:
Sighing, Lorna shifts all the boats she stopped onto the shore and flies over to Raven and poison boy. "Ok, I'm ready for Rogue." Polaris says and looks to the raven Raven. "One of our mutants is going to drain him temporarily, please don't let him drown." She asks and looks for Captain Marvel. "Want to fly assist in case something goes wrong with Rogue?" She asks with a glance to her father to ensure that's sound by his book.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue had grinned at Carol's speech to Magneto but that grin soon faded when she heard what he wanted her to do. She then heard POLARIS going along with it and Rogue's mouth fell open. She still had those sunglasses on over her eyes though, but the expression on her mouth was probably similar to wide-eyes beneath them.

"Oh come on!" She said at them all. "I don't wanna absorb the Livin' Fart Boy!" She pointed at where he was with Raven's assistance keeping him from drowning.

Rogue sighed then and swept her body around as she knew this was going to mean she'd have to fly into the forest for awhile and isolate herself afterward. "Damnit." She muttered (along with several other curse words) while she flew at the boy while removing a glove.

When she reached him she started to reach her hand out to touch the side of his face. "Sleepy time... Ah guess..." She said at the kid "Hope ya wake up an' figure this out someday, kiddo.".

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Seeing how there's the issue of actual sovereignity involved, Captain Marvel doesn't persist in arguing with Magneto. She saved the kids that needed saving, and she can't do much about the mutant boy who is experiencing control issues. She just nods solemnly, and turns to look at Lorna when she offers her to accompany Rogue into space, "I believe I was just asked by your soverign to stand down or he considers it an act of war between the United States and Genosha, I'm afraid my hands are tied at this moment in time. I will not start a war."

Magneto has posed:
Another piece of metal separates from the Anya III, and floats over to Magneto as he floats over toward the kid. Scanner is still projecting his holographic image all over the place, so the crowd is getting a pretty up close and personal look at the entire thing.

The piece of metal stretches out like metallic silly putty, until it's roughly the shape of a mattress. It actually looks... really comfortable for something that's made entirely of steel. Maybe he should give up his dreams of world domination and just try to put the Tempur-Pedic guys out of business?

"I appreciate your discretion, Captain Marvel." So Magneto knows who she is. Either he keeps up with his North American superheroes (likely), or they've had a run-in or two in the past (also likely). Either way, his ego seems to be at least partially appeased, but that doesn't completely solve the practical issue of rescuing a potential mutant before he can be made into the poster boy for 'Dangerous Mutants Whose Powers Kill People.' It's the narrative the media will no doubt run with, not to mention certain United States Senators... unless he keeps anyone from dying.

Hovering near Raven, with his arms folded, Magneto nods toward the floating metal raft he's brought to cart the boy away with. But he doesn't say anything. He just stares through the narrow slits in his helmet.

Raven has posed:
    That raft seems likely to be the kid's funeral bier, but there's nothing Raven can do about it now. Her soul-self lifts the unconscious boy from the water and lays him gently down, dragging his ankles against the raft as it lowers him so his legs are more or less in a seating position, so his back will be basically straight as she finishes lowering him down. Task completed, her soul returns to her body, in time to return the mute staring contest.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Captain Marvel nods solemnly at Magneto, respecting his sovereignity over Genosha and the role she plays as a United States representative simply by being an Avenger. Turning to Rogue, she smiles encouragingly at her, "we don't always do what we want in the line of duty, but we always save lives, remember the creed...you have the power, you can do it." She gives Rogue a salute, before acknowledging the other heroes who did work to save the children. Then she clears the air, per Magneto's request, leaving it to Polaris and Rogue to handle.

Polaris has posed:
"Look Rogue, it's our best bet. Besides, I'll be right there the whole time." Lorna says soothingly to Rogue. She needs to be to contain the poison gas. "Then you can just borrow from me and we'll go home, alright?" She asks, raising her hands to be ready. She looks up at her father and nods slightly. "Nice mattress." She manages to joke. The X-Men are obviously a bad influence here!

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's hand laid on the boy's face for about five seconds in totality before she pulled it back. She heard the others talking but she was a little pre-occupied with the information 'download' that just hit her. The power transfer was easy enough, but the boy wasn't breathing because of water issues now. Rogue's eyes opened, she had control of the gas... the boy himself knew how to control it, he lost control becasue of an unrelated medical issue (he hadn't taken his medication this morning and Rogue just saw the memory of it, the memory of running right past the medication set out by his mother and instead just going right out into the back yard to play with the family dog instead).

Rogue's eyes open and she looked at the bow, put her hands upon his chest and started to give him basic chest compressions. (Mouth to Mouth had been phased-out of the process years ago by the powers-that-be).

Magneto has posed:
Through the narrow slits of his helmet, Magneto continues to participate in a staring contest with a woman he clearly isn't planning to invite over to Genosha for quiche anytime soon. However, he's not especially demonstrative with his disdain. At least not yet.

Truth be told, he's not entirely certain he wouldn't have done the exact same thing. If he hadn't known in advance that the kid was a mutant, that is.

"If he dies..." The sentence isn't finished, but the threat is pretty obvious. The question is less what Magneto could possibly do in retaliation, and more whether or not there's anyone around who could talk him out of it.

Let's hope there's a negotiator onsight if things go south.

Professor X has posed:
Charles Xavier is but a bystandar; a man in a chair. Of course, his chair has wheels so he can always move to a better position if he needs to. As things start to escalate he casually manipulates a few people's thoughts that they want to shift their weight so that he might roll forward a little bit. Not by any means to be prominent, but certainly to be closer if push comes to shove....his hands resting gently on his knees after his re-settling at a more opportune location within the crowd.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma said she was feeling faint near the beginning of this catastrophy, or she was upset about the expensive ass flute she broke in her shock. But now she's feeling better, or recovered after ordering more on amazon, we'll never know what the blonde was doing but she shows up now stepping up towards Magneto.

"...he dies." Emma says, and as if having to remember the fact she looks solemn after the words she frowns gently and looks over towards the child.

"Let's make sure he lives before making ultimatums." The white queen says, her ice blue eyes lingering on Max's without hesitation or fear of one of the most powerful mutants on the planet.

Raven has posed:
    Raven's mouth is open to explain exactly what she thinks of that threat, but Emma beats her to the punch; and upon reflection, maybe that's for the best. She just floats there, looking calmly at Magneto for as long as he wants to keep up a staring contest with a teenage girl.

Polaris has posed:
On hand, Polaris seems to relax a little once she realizes that Rogue seems to be in control and is helping to revive the boy. She runs her hands in her hair and looks from Raven and Emma to Rogue and Magneto with a nervous swallow. Less fights is best fights after all.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue struggled with the chest compressions due to her super strength... which was surprisingly challenging because she didn't want to break the boy's ribs, but at the same time she had to do the job, so it might be a foregone conclusion that some of the young kid's ribs might be suffered with hairline fractures.

"Come on, Max." Rogue muttered, she'd learned the boy's name when she'd stolen his memories, his name was Max... what are the ODDS.

Eventually, however, the boy sprang to life and started to cough up water and rolled over onto his side, but he wasn't exactly out of the woods... he was breathing! but Rogue's life draining powers meant he wasn't exactly conscious.

"He needs medics!" Rogue said then as she backed off and suddenly started to fly away toward the docks, needing to get away from this... chaos.

Magneto has posed:
Whatever might have happened in the past to give Magneto a negative impression of Rogue, it's clear that her actions today have gained her some favor with him. It's clear because Scanner is still projecting images of the entire thing in glorious 3D High Definition, which lets all the unwashed masses get a close-up look at the look of relief on Magneto's face, followed by an attempt to look less obviously impressed by Rogue.

"Yes. Well. Ahem." His attention has effectively been pulled away, and he no longer seems to feel compelled to look menacing. Thank goodness for up to date CPR training.

But the close call isn't the only thing that pulls his focus. He seems slightly flummoxed by the sudden arrival of an extremely attractive blonde woman. An extremely attractive blonde woman that he appears to recognize.

It's not unusual that he should recognize her, right? Emma is kind of famous, isn't she?

"We have gifted healers on Genosha. The boy will be fine, but we must be on our way."

The metal raft starts to raise up into the air, drifting in the direction of the Anya III. Apparently Magneto plans to get away with his prize before anyone can question the validity of his kidnapping an American citizen in full view of his parents.

Professor X has posed:
Charles Xavier clears his throat, though as he speaks many, many people can hear his voice, whether it's because it carries well, or because he has a rather...unique...way of projecting it. Of course, he's going to have to count on the fact that Magneto can hear him from where he sits, as a few folks in front of him suddenly stand aside to form almost an honor guard of sorts as Charles roles towards the front, though not too far out.

"Erik...I would have thought we would have learned long ago that there's a difference between recruiting followers and appropriating them. The United States is not so far in the past that we don't also have gifted healers, my friend. It would serve everyone well if you helped this boy back to his family so that he can seek medical attention. I'm sure a man of your talents will find a way to reach out to the family later and discuss his...education and recruitment...if that's your goal." Charles is careful not to level any accusations but instead phrases Mangeto's actions as magnanimous though unecessary...at least that's the goal.

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma moves to stand beside Raven and then looks towards the boy and frowns. <<I don't think I can stop him.>> The blonde says to Raven mentally, not sure where to go from here. <<The boy needs help, but I'm not sure if we have the means to help.>>
    Then charles speaks and now she is also forced into inaction lest she seem like a villainous monster, but unlike Magneto, she can instantly get to work finding the child's parents and starts to not only figure out who they are, but more. She's going to try and get this boy some real help.

Raven has posed:
    Raven is not a telepath, so she can't send. She can only think, which means Professor X might catch half the conversation going on as Raven thinks back, <<If I have to, I can teleport him. I don't care what anyone thinks of me; I'm not mugging for the cameras like Magneto is. It might make things worse, though.>>

Polaris has posed:
Looking tense, Lorna looks from group to group. She moves to check on Rogue. "Charles is here, lets get you home to rest and leave the old men to it." She tells Rogue quietly, their part in the rescues passed at least. She looks concerned for her student having taken on the poison gas powers. "Give ya a flight home?" She asks softly.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue was moving past Polaris when she spoke out to her and it made Anna-Marie halt her flight and halt her retreat. She could hear Charles' voice through the telepathic statements he made and she looked between him and then Magneto. "I wanna run off'n hide somewhere." She said to Lorna. "But... I feel like we should stick with the Professor... I didn't even know he was here..." She said to Lorna, a look of concern on her face. Having absorbed that boy's memories, powers and personality, she'd ended up in a scared place, feeling terrified enough to actually be shaking right now, but she was trying to control it.

Magneto has posed:
"Charles..."

Magneto's voice is normally low and sharp. But when he says the name of his nemesis/BFF, his voice takes on an almost Rickman-esque quality. It's almost as if Professor Snape were saying 'Potter...'

In retrospect, it seems obvious to him that Charles would be there, and he betrays not even a hint of surprise when he looks across the water at his old friend. Indeed, he feels no surprise. It's written somewhere that they must clash about everything.

"Is it possible that you're growing more naive with age, Charles? You know as well as I do that this boy won't be able to go home after what has happened here today. There's no place for him anymore."

He looks at all the frightened masses who've been recording the whole thing on their cellphones. Sure enough, they've already made a YouTube sensation out of the poor boy.

"And he's clearly not in full control of his abilities yet, which makes him a risk to your precious humans. One more slip-up, and he'll poison his entire neighborhood. Are you really prepared to guarantee this boy's safety if I hand him back over to his parents? Do you really want THIS to be the child who kicks off the war between man and mutant?"

Professor X has posed:
"Not naive old friend...just remembering that what was old is new again. Ruling by fear...following the slippery slope argument as to what could happen and making that a reason to take the wrong action instead of talking through the right one...setting the stage just so...." he says, with a sweeping gesture. "You've done well for yourself today friend - reminding everyone that we're different...that we're not the same as humanity. Yet it seems like it's that very human part of everyone hear you're counting on to let you slip off with the young lad here. An interesting play all around - you've got the pieces nicely laid out on the board."

He holds hands palms out. "This is your show. If you want the boy, I'm not seeing anyone around here that can stop you...at least not today. You can leave, with him, and everyone will know taht we can take what we want, and the discussions and the fear and the accords and all the registrations will all be on tomorrow's news. Or...you can be the savior and help contain the lad in a way that he can be worked with until he can control his power and make the choice himself on where he wants to live. You have infinite resources and choices."

Charles just looks, to the mutants about, to those with the cameras, to his friend with the mask, to the ship, and the boy. "The world is waiting, Erik. Does Genosha gain another citizen? Or does it gain the grateful appreciation of a child, his family, and the citizens of a country who will be able to help this young man control himself and emmigrate later, on his own. You're a ruler now. What is Genosha's rule today?"

Raven has posed:
    Raven thinks something at Emma, a specific thought, and then leaves this issue in the hands of the elders. She walks over to Polaris and Rogue, and greets, "Hi. Thanks for saving all those kids. I appreciate it."

Emma Frost has posed:
Emma remains standing where she was when Raven walked off but turning towards Charles and Erik, the white queen begins. "Max is a mutant, but not only that, he is young and very dangerous to those around him, and obviously himself. The longer you two bicker and argue about where he should go, the closer he gets to killing himself." Emma says, looking back and forth between the two elder mutants.

With a exaggerated huff, turning around and walking towards the child and the young women helping him. "Come, let us take him to a hospital. A-S-A-P."

Polaris has posed:
"Hi. I work in a school, it'd be callous if I didn't." Lorna shrugs and looks at Raven with a small grin. She keeps a hand on Rogue's trembling shoulder before looking to her father. "He would be safe at Xavier's. While the politics are sorted out. Safe and with other mutants who won't persecute him or his family." She suggests quietly, looking between the men and back to Emma. "But we need to move fast."

Rogue has posed:
By the time that Raven had approached them, Rogue was just standing there clutching herself around the wais tand just generally trying to make her way through this kid's mutation that was inside of her now. She was having to focus to contain it, it was knew to her and the memories that the kid gave her gave a rudamentary-at-best explanation on how to control it... he had had no training afterall and now subseqnetly neither did Rogue.

"Hey." Rogue said at Raven after Lorna's words, but she was having trouble concentrating. "Thanks, for helpin'." She said further, but was visibly shivering while the telepaths and the guy with the Mutant Country battle it out over the boy's fate.

Magneto has posed:
The stern grimace on Magneto's face starts to melt, though it's clear that he'd prefer to hold onto his anger. Anyone who was looking above Magneto would have known what his decision would be before his frown started to disappear though, as the Anya III has been slowly descending toward the pier since the Professor finished talking.

And so has the raft with the young mutant on it...

"Dammit Charles..." He mutters under his breath. But out loud he says this:

"Genosha is a safe haven for all mutants, but we do not conscript the unwilling. We will, of course, see that the child receives appropriate medical care before we take any further action."

Charles has effectively limited the number of options available to the man who would be called Magnus, especially if he wants to avoid looking like the tyrannical despot that the media loves to portray him as. He must walk a fine line between projecting strength, and projecting the sort of gravitas expected from a head of state.

"If the relevant authorities are able to guarantee the child's safety, then Genosha will allow him to remain, and we will provide whatever assistance the family requires during this difficult transition."

Magneto is almost certain that the relevant authorities would much rather Magneto had just flown away with the child. But Charles has also placed the Americans in a tough PR spot. Maybe this will work out for everyone?

The Anya III lands near the pier, and the raft lands directly on it. The kids from the boat peer over the side of the chrome yacht, as if expecting orders from Magneto. And orders are exactly what they receive.

"It looks like the good professor has invited us to stay for a few days, young ones." Magneto lands on the pier near... just about everyone else. But as he walks toward Charles, he does something that might be a bit unexpected. He pauses, and removes his dramatic oversized cape. Draping it over Rogue's shoulders without a word, he watches as the EMTs finally show up and begin assessing the child's condition.

Raven has posed:
    Raven looks at Rogue's trembles, eyes flicking randomly from place to place kind of like...well, like a bird, and offers, "If you're worried about exploding, I can send you somewhere outside of physical reality for a while. No living beings there to poison."

Professor X has posed:
Charles is content. He does look to Emma, nodding his head at her words. Though he slips out of everyone' shead, at that point...well almost everyone. Certain people are so thick-headed he can't...I mean have a helmet on that he can't get through! That's it. Still though, sitting back in his chair, one can see Charles take a deep breath, and then exhale. He may be the epitome of patient tutelage but it doesn't mean that the pressure of a situation escapes him. He just acts with it.

"And the thanks of an old friend...." adds Charles, to the list of things Magneto has earned today, hopefully. It's true though, ever the pacifist, Charles is pleased with the way that folks are nicely locked in. They're free to take any action they want, but he's framed any action other than taking care of the child as one that's only in their own best interest. And yet now everyone gets to come out smelling like a rose by coming to terms, or so it would be. He lets the authorities and medical parties take care of things, while he rolls towards Magneto, and holds out his hand when close enough. "A stalemate today, it would seem. But I am sure we will play again before too long."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue looked up when she heard Raven's offer and she stared at the girl for a moment. "N-Nah... that sounds... I mean... maybe if I had like a lotta drugs in me, but... I don't do drugs, drugs are bad." She glanced around at the others, and thats when the looming presence of Magneto befell her and hat cape came down over her shivering self. She was cold for some reason, something to do with the boy's mutation, it seemed the longer he held the gas in the colder he got... she wasn't certain and neither were the members that came with touching him.

Rogue looked over at the cape that was draped over her and she eyeballed it fiercely with her green eyes, then looked up at Magneto and eyeballed HIM too. "Where do you even b-buy capes?" She asked him. "Is there a cape st-store on Genosha?" She asked, her breath was actually cloudy chilled vapor as she spoke.

Magneto has posed:
For most people, a handshake is just a friendly greeting. For Magneto and Professor X, each handshake is a renewal of a temporary truce. The Cold War continues, but no hostilities have been declared today.

"Why Charles... I'm surprised that you would reduce a young boy's life to a silly game. I assure you, I was motivated purely by altruism." The smile on Magneto's face is probably scarier than most of his frowns. Fortunately, it's mostly covered up by that helmet he wears.

He chuckles as he listens to Rogue's protestations behind him. It's true what they say 'No good deed goes without snark.' But that's the way these post-Millenials are.

As he releases Charles hand, he walks past the wheelchair and into the crowd, having apparently left the children with the Professor and his X-Men for the time being. He'll probably turn up to retrieve them soon. Hopefully his visit to the school will be less eventful than the last one was...