7765/So You Got Detention...

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So You Got Detention...
Date of Scene: 06 June 2019
Location: Backyard - Xavier's School
Synopsis: Steve, Janet and Tony visit Xavier's school and meet the students and staff for a cookout and then a motorcycle race against Cap. Doug Ramsey wins!
Cast of Characters: Shadowcat, Captain America, Cannonball, Wolfsbane, Marvel Girl, Rogue, Cyclops, Colt Cassidy, Nightcrawler, Blinkdog, Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Wasp (van Dyne), Cypher, Iron Man, Sunspot, X-23, Magik, Polaris




Title reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoxh_6TgUVY&feature=youtu.be&t=21

Shadowcat has posed:
Flyers went up at the school about two weeks ago to publicize that Captain America and the Wasp would be making a visit to the school to meet the students and faculty. A cookout would be held that day and an outdoor assembly to meet the famous Avengers. Students and staff would have a chance to interact and ask questions. Seeing as the Avengers are friends with the school, no Image Inducers need to be worn. And there were gentle reminders to please represent the school well.

Also, a motorcycle track was being set up, and Captain America was being invited to bring his motorcycle for a race. Students and staff are welcome to participate in the race. Those who haven't been rebuilding their own motorcycles, one can be provided for you.

And the day is here! The staff have multiple grills set up, with some of the mutants with fire powers helping keep them at the ideal temperatures for cooking. Hotdogs, hamburgers, brats, chicken, sausage, and ribs are available. Tables are set out with all the traditional side dishes one might expect. Students and staff are welcome to bring their own favorite dishes as well. A host of beverages are on hand, including water, lemonade, and soda.

Tables and chairs are set up so there is central area where Captain America and Wasp can talk from. There are speakers playing music, and people have begun to gather. Kitty is over checking on the food, ferrying a plate of hamburgers over to the table as she looks about to see if everything is ready. The motorcycle track makes a large loop around the area. There are even jumps and some intentionally muddy areas to make it more interesting.

Captain America has posed:
The day has come. The ride was pleasurable in its way, with the rolling scenery in summery green leaves and lawns, the architecture around them becoming less and less dense. It's a relief in its way to leave the confines of New York City with its hustle and bustle. The airflow's nice along the highway and the rumble of the Harley comfortable and familiar beneath him.

The bike will be heard long before it reaches the end of the drive of the Xavier Institute. Steve dressed not to impress, but to make the point that he's just another guy when he's not in the suit - his one concession to his title is the shirt beneath the motorcycle jacket, seen when unzipped: it's a stylized representation of his shield on the steel-blue fabric of the shirt. He parks the bike off to one side and after setting aside the paired helmet, glances over at Janet.

"No one's judging you, they know you're busy," he murmurs to her as she looks grumpily down at her phone. It is an important number with an important merger. The Captain kisses her temple and adds, "Go on and deal with it. I'll be fine fielding question. Won't be the first time." That being said, Janet shrinks to fly off to find some silence to take the call.

Steve follows the scent of the cooking and appears...pleasantly surprised by the amount of readiness put forth by the school. He lifts a hand in silent greeting towards the gathering as he approaches.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking out the back door with the last batch of chicken. The young man makes sure there is true Kentucky fried chicken. He will smack a hand or two playfully that are reaching for pieces before he gets to the table "Hey now, let me get it set down first." He chuckles, setting it down and then moves to get himself a glass of iced tea.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane has come to watch, curious to see the spectacle of a couple Avengers here and how others react to it as she is concerned about the attention it could potentially draw. After all, Sentinels are still out there in some form, and she's kept an eye on the skies for quite a while now with them remaining a threat. Perhaps they'll be a topic today, but only in discussion.

Given the nature of the visit, she makes no attempt to mask or hide what she is, dressed normally as well. That means visible mutant. It also means hungry mutant, for she's lingering near the meats that have been cooking. No drool.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel Grey is back at the school, though she's still holding herself a little bit apart from things. Clad in torn black jeans and a dark gray tank top, she looks slightly less dour than usual. It's her contribution to representing the school well. Especially since she's not exactly the most trusting person around. It's possible her goal in attending this event is less about hero worship and more about threat assessment. But hey, she's trying not to look like it!

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is seated upon the edge of a balcony on the second floor, she's up away from all the ruckuss wearing a straw cowgirl hat atop her head and some nice summer-time clothes to go with it. Big crowds like this don't go well with a girl who can't accidently bump into folks without draining their souls away, and its not exactly weather for heavy covering clothing.

She'd already claimed herself some food, having whistled down to some of the kids to grab her a plate and she dropped down to get it, then shot back up to her balcony, sipping on a big cup of tea.

Cyclops has posed:
Wolfsbane is not the only one with a concern over trouble, but then again, such an attitude is hardly unusual where Scott Summers is concerned. For the time being, he's holding himself just a bit apart from the festivities, leaning on a ground floor patio railing and keeping an eye (no codename-related puns intended) on the goings-on. He certainly doesn't hope for trouble, or even fully expect it, but like always he'll be prepared for it nevertheless. Given Rachel's own little bit of standoffishness, it just might run in the family.

He did give all the participating motorcycles a once-over in the last couple of days though, just to make sure everything was as safe as possible and nobody was likely to break down mid-race. That would just be disappointing.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
A chance to meet Captain America wasn't something that Colt was going to miss. Despite being a relatively new addition to the school, he'd been doing his best to try to integrate himself into the school. This should be a good way to do it. His first stop is the food, however.

He needs extra food to fuel himself these days, and he wasn't exactly a light eater before he ended up transformed. So he grabs several burgers and hot dogs, and wanders around a bit, taking in sights and sounds. Good music, nice people and free food, this is way better than anything he had before.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Clinging to the wall, above and behind Rogue while she watches, Kurt comments "Anna, you could hover, above them, part of the group an still with all safe, ja?" frowning a little as he watches, head lifting when he spies Rahne down below, but remaining with his step-sister for the moment. "There have to be ways to you can be involved." hopping onto the balcony ledge, sitting close enough to show his lack of fear, but with enough room for her to eat.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog is stuck, once again, in his hybrid form. You go to meet a celebrity and there you are all dogfaced. Typical. Oh well... Bellyaching in his head aside, its something to look forward to. Blinkdog takes a spot somewhere that isn't in the way after grabbing some food and something to drink. After a time he pulls up his hoodie from where he had it tied around his waist and puts it on, drawing the hood up he sort of hunkers down. He feels so out of place here!

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde goes over to meet Steve Rogers and Janet van Dyne after they have arrived and climbed off the motorcycle. "Thank you so much for coming out," she says warmly. Janet will of course be offered a big hug, and Steve given a warm handshake with both of Kitty's hands. "Everyone's been excited for today," she says to them.

Kitty turns to look about the crowd as Janet goes to take the call. "Rogue's watching from up above, doesn't want to bump into anyone," she says to Steve, motioning up towards Rogue. "I don't know if you know very many people out here at the moment? If you like we could say hi to a few people and then if you want to say a few words?" Kitty asks Steve. If that sounds agreeable to him, she'd wave people over to introduce themselves.

Captain America has posed:
Steve recognizes a few familiar faces in the bunching of students and faculty both. The abilities on display, the variations of physiology, all blend into the warm and honest interactions on display. It feels like a place of belonging -- it feels like a home to him, despite him calling his own home miles and miles away elsewhere.

Kitty is, of course, a familiar face. Steve is careful not to shake her hand too hard. Rogue gets a friendly, understanding wave from below; the Captain too knows the precious need for space, even if his is a different facet of need.

"Happy to meet some new faces. I don't want to seem unapproachable," he replies to Kitty as he falls into place beside her, his mein easy-going.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Standoffish is not a trademark Summer's activity.

Negasonic wanders out of the back door of the Garage and frankly she looks skeptical about this entire thing. Skeptical about the BBQ, skeptical about all the students gathered, skeptical about Avengers being on campus.

Then again maybe it is just sullen.

When she spots Rachel holding herself apart she starts to take a step, then catches herself and decides to just give things space for right now.

This doesn't help the sullen though.. with a sigh Ellie goes to find herself some shade, she is a bit gothy to be out in direct sunlight.

Wolfsbane has posed:
If Wolfsbane catches Rachel's eye she offers a brief wave and smile, but she hasn't seen the woman from the future a whole lot lately. Now might not be the best time to ask what's up. Besides, the Scot has a burger in her free hand, already wolfing it down. Others she knows - and there are many here - are noted, but right now it's eating time.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue lowers her cup down after sipping and she looks over to Kurt as he arrives and speaks. She flashes him a grin and looks away back down to the others. "I've found..." She starts. "That the more I hover above a buncha kids, the more they get a desire t'throw stuff at me. Which... well, tryin' t'avoid any distractions here t'day." She glances back to Kurt and smiles at him brightly, her straw hat casting a nice shadow over her eyes. "I appreciate ya lookin' out for me though, Kurty." With her eyes back on every down below, Rogue spots Kitty and Cap, and offers a conter-wave down to the man with America's as-.... assertive personality.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will fix a couple plates, starting to make the rounds to those who are being sullen and standoffish. He first brings Negasonic a plate, and offers her a soda from a six pack. He has another plate and is looking over towards Rachel, as seems she maybe his next stop.

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt Wagner nods, casually drawing one of his gloves from a pants pocket to slip on tight and then reach to give Rogue a squeeze on the shoulder. "I'm sorry Anna Marie..." lips in a tight line. "I'll be up to visit on the regular, and if they bring out the propper Mississipi grub, I'll get you a plate - especially if I see mud pie, ja?" giving a bright smile now, glowing eyes on her.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Hey Sam!" Colt says, between eating a burger and a hot dog, as he waves to one of the guys who saved him and brough him to the school. He hasn't had a chance to meet any of the folks that Sam is going to met with, so he heads after Sam to try to tag along and meet some new folks too.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde focuses in on Rachel and her face lights up. "Rachel, want to come here and meet Steve?" she asks. Assuming Rachel approaches, Kitty turns to tell Steve, "This is Rachel Grey." Kitty smiles and slips an arm about Rachel's shoulders if allowed, a warm expression on her face. "She's been a blessing to have at the school since she arrived. Rachel, this is Steve Rogers, Captain America. He's one of the heroes here that a lot of people look up to," she explains.

Kitty glances back to Steve to say, "Another day, we should maybe get together, the three of us and talk. She has familiarity with a place like where that Mr. Sebastion you know probably comes from," Kitty explains. She looks back to Rachel and gives her a warm smile.

Kitty looks over and starts waving other people over too. "Sam, Colt, Bobby, come on over and meet Captain America," she offers. She looks to Rahne too, waving her over.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel stiffens when Kitty calls her name, eyes darting from one side to another for half a second before she straightens up, clearing her throat. Right. Try not to //look// like you don't trust people. Her shoulders square, chin tipping upward with false bravado as she steps up to Kitty's side and offers out a hand to the Captain, gaze slightly more challenging than steady. (Hey, she's trying.)

"Captain," she greets, voice crisp. "I've heard of you." Because that's a totally normal thing to say, right? "It's a pleasure to meet you." That part, at least, is normal. Though it usually comes with a smile, instead of a testing grasp.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just grins at Kurt, looking back to him after he glove-squeezes her shoulder. "Mud pies. You're such a charme'ah, Kurt." She raises a hand up to blow a kiss to him. "Go down there and mingle." Rogue points at Negasonic specifically down by herself in the shade. "Go grab her a drink." She asks of her brother (Not biological, Emma!). The southern belle will just go on then to lightly swing her legs from the edge of the balcony and enjoy the show and the weather.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Ellie narrows her eyes when Sam approaches to hand her a plate or food, eyes drifting down to it then back up to make eye contact "You continue to fit the stereotype Kentucky." though she does accept the food he brought, with an air or doing it grudgingly.

Also the caffeine, less grudgingly.

"Be cool Kentucky." is all she says about his next destination.

Then she looks to Colt "Hey. New kid right?" pause "I'm Negasonic, or Negasonic Teenage Warhead if you want to be formal. I wouldn't be though at a BBQ."

Her attention drifts back to waiting Kitty, Captain AmeriAss, and Rachel interact now.

Wolfsbane has posed:
With all the people here, there's also the chance for a little sensory overload. Voices, scents, including the food, and while she's no empath Wolfsbane can still pick up on general body language and obvious moods. After Kitty's caught her attention, she quietly makes her way past a few people en route to her and a few others, but she has little to say so far aside from a quick, "Good afternoon." Others are speaking.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog takes a deep breath and tries to remember that for all practical purposes this is a 'normal' event around here. Nothing more than a school event with a celeb dropping by to speak to them. It isn't what he looks like right now that is the issue, its being around so many people in a communal activity. (Juuuust keep your head down. Don't make waves, and you'll be good.)Oo. he thinks to himself. He begins to bite into some of the chicken when he sees Kitty waving him over. He sighs to himself while trying not to let that show, and gets up walking over. Must be polite afterall.

"Uh... hi..." Blinkdog-Bobby manages to get out. Well its two words at least. Sorta.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Making a show of catching the kiss and clutching it to his heart, Kurt leaps up and disappears with the inrush BAMF of air replacing where was, with the cloud of smoke left behind. A split second later, in a clear spot downwind of Ellie, backflipping from the smoke to land in a performers pose, arms out and then slinking to his crouch, "Ellie if you look any more begruding to be here you're going to turn into one of those demotivational posters, no?"

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
There's a little buzzing noise and a petite brunette abruptly pops into existence next to Steve, accompanied by a little rush of displaced air. "God, I am /sorry/," Janet says, looking mortified and placing a hand to her sternum. "We're buying out this little clothing chain and it's just been this long, stupid back and forth." She sighs and waves it all away like so much smoke in her eyes.

"Anyway. Kitty!" Janet squeals and moves to hug the X-woman, arms held aloft. Janet's dressed in something relatively casual, though it still looks catalogue-ready. Tight-fitting jeans that ride lower on her hips, cavalry boots with a four-inch heel, and a loose-fitting cream blouse with tiny floral print that hangs off a shoulder and is tied off under her stomach, to reveal a daisy-yellow camisole underneath. A little pendant around her neck bears a similar appearance to the shield icon on Steve's t-shirt.

"I'm so glad you had us up. Is this the whole team?" she asks, surveying the area. Absently she wraps one hand around Cap's bicep, hugging herself against his arm. "It's such a lovely place, I had no idea this was tucked back up here."

Shadowcat has posed:
There are probably fifty-plus people in attendance. Most of them are teenage students who stayed at school rather than going home during the summer session. A number of the teens come up to introduce themselves. Kitty smiles as Blinkdog comes over, giving the skittish teen an encouraging look. "Bobby McFadden, this is Steve Rogers, and Janet van Dyne," she says. "Bobby's one of our newest students. He helped people during the earthquake that hit Empire Bay," she shares. "And this is Rahne," Kitty says of Wolfsbane. "Senses as sharp as Logan's. A real boon to have at the school," she shares.

Kitty glances about, then back to the two Avengers. "Do you want to go ahead and say a few words to the group?" she asks Steve and Janet. If that seems to work for them, Kitty goes over to grab a pair of microphones and the music cuts out and switches over to them so they can be heard better.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
With Kitty calling him over, Colt heads over that way. He looks at Captain America, and he realizes that you know, Captain America won't judge him for looking wierd. It's Captain America. He works along side people with all kinds of weird abiilities and looks.

So he steps up towards him, just in time for Janet to appear as well, "Uh, hello sir." He says as he offers a clawed hand to Captain America, "I've wanted to meet you for a very long time, it's such a massive honor to be able to actually meet you. My name is Colt Cassidy."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Today Ellie is more expecting sudden appearances unlike last night in the kitchen well past people's bedtimes.

This means Kurt doesn't get a leg of fried chicken hurled at his head when he backflips into view and sort of tadas like that.

Instead he gets a squint of a look then a nod. "This is painfully wholesome to the point of being cliche.. there is apple pie... it is way too sunny... I was up until five in the morning working on social media stuff...."

Working?

"Also I feel like someone is about to sell us warbonds."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane, having finished off her burger, comes to a top by Kitty and her head angles slightly at the way she's described. Aside from the compliment, maybe the comparison to Logan is one the visitors will understand. "Ah, thank ye Kitty, but I'm just doing whit I can." Not always the best at the whole social thing, she clasps her hands in front of her and offers a polite smile. "But..welcome tae Xavier's."

Captain America has posed:
It's not difficult to draw parallels after Kitty's comment about the potentially-fraught future of Mr. Sebastion and, as such, there's no quick or pushy gesture on his part. Rachel gets a small smile and a gentle shake of her offered hand. "Nice to meet you too, Rachel. Any information you can provide us would be appreciated, but on your own time. You let Kitty or any of the school faculty know. They know how to reach out to me."

Blinkdog's arrival has Steve giving the young man a smile as well. "Hi, nice to meet you too, Bobby." Rahne gets a nod. "And you, Miss Rahne." He returns the clawed handshake from Colt without a flinch at the mutant appearance on display. "You as well, Colt, and the honor's all mine."

Very used to the sound of sudden zipping arrival as well as shift in size, the Captain glances over at the appearance of Janet. His smile intensifies until dimples just about threaten to show. Her hand's curl around his arm is a normal thing; he flexes his arm against his side in a subtle insinuation of a hug back.

"Sure, figure we can speak for a bit," he replies to Kitty, giving Janet a glance to include her in the affair. He takes an offered microphone and taps it lightly with a fingertip. It makes the typical resonant sound, tump-tump. "Testing -- alright, speakers sound good. It'll be nice to not have to shout." Steve grins, that good-ol'-boy facade he used to wield on-stage like a weapon. "First of all, thank you to the Institute for having us out. We're thrilled and honored to be here. The Avengers have always had a history of connection with the Insitute and in recent times, this has been imperative. We're all concerned about the Sentinels. We," and he glances to Janet and then back out at the group again, " - want you know what we're working continuously on it. Our contacts at SHIELD are in the peripheral as well. If anyone has further information for us, don't hesitate to reach out. We'll take any little scrap we can get." And Steve nods firmly to accentuate his point.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Yes, well as long as noone makes the easy jokes about Germans and being around the Captain, I'll be ok ja?" He eyes the barbeque and looks out into the field of people.
    "You keep reminding me of Logan, if only with a crankier attitude and less violent." smirking a little as he drops into his crouch, looking up at her and then towards Wolfsbane, heaving a small sigh before Steve starts speaking, head canting to the side as the talk goes to sentinels, worrying his lower lip.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel's eye actually twitches when Janet mentions she had no idea this was tucked back up here. Twitch. Twitch. Thankfully, there's enough goodwill and excitement around that it's managed to seep into her by some healthy psychic osmosis - enough to keep her from commenting on it, at least.

As the Captain and the Wasp move on to the stage, she draws back away, heading over toward Ellie and her quiet sulking spot. Maybe it'll balance out all the excitement pounding at her temples.

She folds down to sit with her knees drawn up toward her chest a couple feet away, letting out a slow breath and ruffling a hand through her hair before she looks over with the faintest smile. "Hey," she greets simply.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Rahne, Bobby," Janet repeats, and beams at the two students. "It's so nice to meet you. Call me Janet, please," she says, and offers each a handshake in turn. Her handshake is a delicately feminine as Steve's is military and assertive. "Rahne, I love your outfit," she tells the girl. "Total RenFaire chique, I don't know who your dresser is but she's got some talent."

Janet accepts her microphone and waits for Steve to do his thing. Once he's done, she joins a smattering of applause, and steps up.

"Is this on?" she jokes, testing it with a gentle tap of fingers. "Hello! It's such a great pleasure to be here," Janet tells the crowd. "The Avengers are longtime allies of the Westchester Institute, but you know New Yorkers-- we're only up here when the leaves change," she says. A little joke for the native residents.

"I know better than to try and follow on the heels of Steve's speeches," she says with a grin at the Captain. "So I'll be quick. We're working on the Sentinels as Avengers, but individually we're committed to the cause of advancing metahuman rights. Some of us volunteered; some of us were born with great gifts and tremendous potential," Janet says. "But we're all in this together, using our unique talents to make the world a better place. And, make our own world better places," she adds. "Always be thinking about how you can use your gifts to help others and what you want to do to build the world around you up a little higher. JVD enterprises offers scholarships and tuition assistance to anyone looking into the liberal arts world. Trust me, if there's anywhere that wild costumes and outrageous personalities will blend in, it's in fashion and theater," she says with a dry voice.

"Anyway, thanks so much for having us, and we're looking forward to meeting all of you!" She beams and turns off the microphone before handing it back off to Kitty.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Ellie actually gets a little awkward when Rachel comes over and sits down by her, out of the way in the shady sulking spot.

She shoots Kurt a look "You haven't seen me blow up enough stuff then."

Finally her attention sort of drifts back to Rachel with all the pull of true north. "Hey." is offered back with a faint smile in return, not a cranky angry response, tentative maybe.

Alert. Smile. Negasonic.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde takes advantage of Steve and Janet speaking to step away and give them some room. A number of students nod, their concern about the Sentinels evident. A few maybe look a little better, hearing that the Avengers see them as a problem. Most of the general students there are not privy to the work that the X-men have been doing with the Avengers, so this is probably news to them.

Kitty gets herself a bottle of water to sip. She looks towards Rachel, giving her a supportive look. She drifts over to stand by Colt, giving him a soft smile. She tells him quietly, "Haven't had a chance to meet you yet. Maybe later we can sit down and chat. I'm Kitty, one of the guidance counselors," she offers to the new student.

Kitty claps as Janet finishes speaking then. "I've worked for Janet before. I highly recommend applying there!" she tells the students, some of whom have just graduated in the weeks before. Kitty takes the microphone and smiles to Steve and Janet. "Thank you for coming. It's really good to know we have the support of people like you," she says to the Avengers. "We've got some food if you want to eat. And we set up a motorcycle course, Steve, if you feel like taking on all-challengers," she says with a grin.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is still perched up high on the balcony's edge sipping on a glass of amber liquid that she may or may not of tipped a small silver flask of something to add a little extra zip to it when she figured everyone was busy with all eyes up on the microphone. Another sip is had, another heavy exhale is released and then once the claps for Janet die down, Rogue puts her fingers up to her lips and wolf-whistles suuuuuper loudly for her.

Cyclops has posed:
Well, so far, everything looks to be going relatively swimmingly. Scott Summers does listen to what Steve and Janet are saying. How he feels about any of it is hard to say, given his usually-stoic expression, which is pretty much in its' usual mode right at the moment. It doesn't really look like he's going to get the chance to share any thoughts on the matter right now, though. He plucks his phone from the back of his belt, studying it for a moment, and then turns to head back into the mansion. Not fast enough for it to be an emergency, but apparently something he deems important enough to take a break in his watching of the festivities.

Besides, Kurt, Kitty, and Rogue likely have everything under control.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"Ahh, I found it back home an' something just made me have tae have it," Wolfsbane explains to Janet. Even she's probably heard of the woman's fashion sense, even if they don't move in the same circles, and she looks appreciative. "Thanks for th' nice words, though. I think..in some ways, it's helped me feel less shut in about some things. Maybe we could talk more about it sometime," she offers, then stands by as some of the speech stuff gets going.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel seems relieved by Ellie's greeting, letting out another small breath as some of the tension bleeds from her shoulders. Space, sure. But just enough not to be completely alone. Besides, it's hard to ever really be alone when you're a telepath. "You're right," she adds, pitching her voice a little lower. "It's like they're here to sell war bonds. Hey, kids! It's all cool! Donate to your local Avengers chapter and the Sentinels will definitely not get you!"

She grimaces, shaking her head and rubbing a hand over her face. She can hide the scars there from everyone else, but not from herself. "Working, though," she murmurs, taking a quiet mental read of the students crowded around for the appearance.

Captain America has posed:
"Nicely-said," the Captain asides to Janet after he's certain that the microphones are turned off and out of his hands. Whew - no technological debacle. Those things have broken in his grip before, always awkward.

Kitty's offer of food brings another big grin to Steve's face. He eyes the spread on the tables. "Won't say no to a hamburger." Or two...or maybe three, that serum's a caloric hog. "Won't say no to a race either. Guess we'll see how the Harley holds up to those puddles." He rises onto the toes of his boots briefly to eye the muddy portions of the track. "Shouldn't be too much of a mess."

Maybe there was a reason he seems to be wearing more comfortable (dare we say broken-in) jeans and his combat boots rather than more refined garments.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has made the circuit, making sure people are fed. He will even have one of the younger students bring Rachel a plate of food. He is standing looking around to see if anyone needs anything or if all is good. Once he is sure, no one has been left out, he will make sure his hands are clean and walk over to meet the the two famous folks "Ma;am, Sir." He will nod greeting them.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog makes himself as inconspicuous as possible staying on the fringes of the crowd of people. Which in a way is to his advantage as it makes it easier to reach the food. He grabs more making sure that whenever anyone sees him or looks to approach him he is busily nibbling at something making him that much more inaccessible.

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt Wagner grins when Ellie interacts with Rachel, drifting back and away to let them have their privacy. As he moves and starts to weave and duck through the crowd, the Bavarian note Nadia and Steve's positions, interesting to meet, but his attention is elsewhere.
    Zeroing in, Nightcrawler finds his way over to Rahne, expecting her to have smelled him long before he'd gotten close, slipping up right nect to her, lail lifting to lightly rest at the small of her back.
    "Having a good time with all the noise und smells, Rahne?" tipping a wink at Wolfsbane now.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Of course, Rahne," Janet tells the Wolfen girl. She seems not to notice the stormcloud around Rachel as the redhead leaves, though does flicker a look at her back with the woman's departure. Her eyes focus back on Rahne and she smiles again. "But before we get out of here, I'll make sure you've got my phone number for a webchat or something," she promises.

Janet slips her hand around Steve's arm, though stands off a little so she can chat with people separately from him. "Hi, hello," she bids Sam Guthrie as he wanders past and greets them. "Thanks for coming out."

She overhears the bit about a race and boucnes excitedly on her toes. "Oh, yes! Definitely! A little bike race is just what these kids need."

She glances up, spotting Rogue, and waves at the girl on the balcony. "Oops, I need to say hi to Rogue. I'll be right back." She disappears with a *puft* of air and buzzes up to the balcony, landing and reapparing in a sitting position near the southern girl. "Rogue! How's the weather up here? Nice?" she inquires, and pats Rogue's clothed back with a careful but sincere affection. She eyes the drink in Rogue's hands and lifts a questioning eyebrow: enough for two in that?

Cypher has posed:
Doug makes his way out, struggling under the way of several bottles of soda. "I'm sorry I'm late! I'm sorry I'm late--" He struggles under them, juggling them and nearly dropping a bottle of diet Coke before he says, "I went on a run for some pop--oh look, Captain America came to our barbeque--little *help*?"

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Ellie gives the younger food delivering student a skeptical look but doesn't say nothing about it, just a look.

She just stays in her sulking shady spot with Rachel for the time being, quietly eating her fried chicken and watching the students buzz around the Avengers.

"If they can help with the Sentinels so we no longer have that stupid curfew I keep violating I am all for it. I wonder if they have like little friends of the Avengers cards you can give the cops when you get in trouble." thoughtful tones.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue's wearing a tank top, but over that she's got a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, but it does cover her shoulders and biceps, along with her back and such, so she's pretty safe to touch, but still trying to avoid the crowd down there cause she's got shorts on and well, they're not short-shorts, but may as well be. When Janet joins her, Rogue grins. "Thats the coolest tech ever, by the way. Like that Honey I Shrunk the Kids movie." And the famous clothing designer is offered a drink of her big glass of icy tea. There's a cooler behind her on the balcony with even more stuff too. She places he rhands on either sides of her, still swinging her booted feet dangling off of the balcony rail.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Colt puts his food down and moves over to help Doug out with all of those sodas. He holds open his arms to allow Doug to hand over as many of the sodas as he wants to. Colt should be able to carry all of them as needed.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel snorts back a laugh at Ellie's thought, though she tips her chin in Sam's direction when a younger student brings over a plate of food. Food is the unsung love language, after all.

"I feel like if you need a 'the Avengers said I could' card, you've made a horrible mistake somewhere." Just what the nature of that mistake is, she doesn't say. But some sort of mistake. Once she has her plate, though, she moves to stand up. "I gotta get some air," she says, gesturing around herself to the crowd. It's a lot. "Talk later?"

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane gives Janet a smile. "I think I'd like that, thank ye." She doesn't waste the woman's time any further, stepping back herself to seek out some more food before Kurt joins her. Some people are breaking off into their own groups, though there are others lining up to ask questions of the two Avengers.

"Hullo, Kurt," she starts with, aware of the tail touching a little above the tailbone, which has her shifting her weight in place for a moment. "It's a lot, but it's no' tha' bad compared tae th' cities. How are ye?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde grins to Steve and she and some of the other teachers facilitate setting him up with as much food as he wants. Kitty gets herself a brat while she's at it. The girl from Deerfield, Illinois made sure they were cooked right. Boiled in beer first and then just lightly finished off on the grill, with some grilled onions available too.

"Really appreciate you two coming out," Kitty tells Steve as he gets his food, and as Janet flies over to visit with the Southern belle who used to be an Avenger. "Oh, you haven't met Doug yet, have you?" she asks. "Hey Doug!?" she calls, waving at him to come over. "Doug is the best programmer I know of," Kitty tells Steve. "He's something special when you get him in front of a computer. Pretty special away from one too," she adds with a grin.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
A bit more of a smile from Ellie at the held back laugh from Rachel.

"Well.. I mean... if there is anyone on this lawn right now that is likely to make a horrible mistake and need an Avenger's said I could card. It may be me." she waves a chicken leg expansively and says softly "Booooom."

"Of course. I'm.. I'm glad your back Rachel. Talk soon." and she offers Rachel a hand up from her sitting.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet takes a big swig of the iced tea. "Ohh, yeah, that's the stuff," she agrees, and coughs twice. "God, what did you put in there? Pain thinner?" she says, teasing the girl.

She gives Rogue a carefully akward but loving hug. "I can't stay and play, gotta get down there and do the mingling thing. You, me, drinks at Harry's later?" she offers. "Love you!"

Janet falls off the balcony and disappears again, then lands near Steve again in time to meet Doug. "Doug! I haven't met. Nice to meet you. Here, lemme help," Janet says, and picks two of the bottles off the top of Doug's pile and sets them aside so he won't lose them. "So nice to meet you, how long have you been here?"

Captain America has posed:
Steve makes a point to greet Samuel. "Haven't heard 'sir' in a long time. Captain Rogers, if you'd like - or Mister Rogers...yes, like the show," he's sure to add with the faint sardonic grin. It's an old joke these days. "Thanks for coming out."

With food in-hand (almost piled on his plate), he pauses as Kitty calls out for another student to approach. Janet's in there with her helping hands regarding the soda in a heartbeat out of the blue; it makes Steve smile. Looking around, the Captain sets aside his plate and makes sure his hands are clean of burger char or accoutrements.

"Doug, was it? Nice to meet you." Janet's asking the pertinent questions at this point, so he recovers his plate and begins wondering about answering around a mouthful of burger in case anyone does have questions.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "Better now, it's a lot of people - not that I mind the crowd, but - well." Kurt grins, nudging his shoulder against Rahne's "I'm starving though - shall we attack the spread?" beaming at her, tail resting against Wolfsbane unless brushed off.
    "It's interesting being part of the crowd, rather than the one surrounded by it."

Cypher has posed:
Doug puffs out his cheeks and says, "That's a long story. I was actually one of the FIRST students here, ma'am, but I was injured... very badly in an accident, and it took me a long time to recover--and longer after that to recover psychologically, which I'm still working on." He begins to set the bottles down, carefully, lest they fizz over. "I just finished my GED, and I've decided I'm going to pursue a law degree."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Ugn.

With Rachel gone to get space from all the people Ellie considers what she should do now.

With an epic sigh she tosses her plate of chicken bones in the appropriate garbage and soda in hand makes her way over to Captain America.

The goth/punk girl just has this vibe of insolence and sullen sharp edges. I mean hell she stops in front of Steve and just gives him a look in the eye, then a look down and back up. "Well. I mean at least it isn't Iron Corpratist."

Pause a beat.

"Do we have a timeline on mothballing the Sentinels then?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and says "Sure thing Captain Rodgers." He will start to say something and sighs a moment as Negasonic speaks up. "And this young lady is Ellie." He may frustrate her but none are using code names today. She is our resident constant ray of sunshine and hope."

Iron Man has posed:
    Another vehicle arrives on the scene. While similar to the Lambo that was there recently, it isn't actually the same one, though the lines aren't too alien from it, and it's also mostly white. Because Stark owns a /lot/ of fancy cars. It isn't a motorcyle, but a sleek blue and white racecar. Normally they'd have advertisements all over them, and this one doesn't let anyone down. It's just branded to the gills with STARK INDUSTRIES on it. It is very much in theme with the gathering, and it doesn't approach the race track, but an area to the side near the tables, parking there instead, to allow students or visitors alike to come and examine the tripped out racecar.

    A few moments after it parks, after an unnecessary loud rev of some kind of intense engine that probably drowns almost all conversation for a moment, the engine adjusts into a more silent mode, and then cuts. Rock music, now able to be heard over that motor, flows out of the car.

The driver? It isn't a racecar driver (well, technically Tony is driving a race car which makes him a race car driver, but--)--- since it is Stark himself! He's in theme: his blue and white leather racing attire from other events, though the jacket is open casually.

Tony Stark grins and greets those near him immediately, with his usual showmanship and charisma, and then lifts a hand towards the other Avengers with a wave.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet didn't want any chips, so naturally she starts stealing all of Steve's while he's busy talking with Doug. She just smiles brightly up at him when he returns for his plate.

Janet gives Steve's shoulder a conciliatory pat and focuses on Doug. "Mm. God, first, don't 'ma'am' me," Janet tells Doug with a wry grin. "I'm not old enough for that. Miss van Dyne if you're formal, but Janet to my friends. I'm glad you're up on your feet again," she tells Doug. "And applying for law school! That's ambitious of you. I hope it goes well," she says fervently.

Ellie's comments about 'Iron Corporatist' earn her a flickering side-eye. The punky girl's blunt approach towards Steve is noted but Janet seemingly elects to keep up her end of the crowd handling. She glances over when Tony arrives and rolls her eyes around a tolerant smile. "Oh good, the fun's arrived," Janet says with a dry tone. "Think he tricked Happy into letting him drive?" she calls over to Steve.

Then, rather abruptly, she startles. "Oh! Kitty, the boxes! Let's hand the shirts out before the race starts," she says, giving the younger woman's arm a quick squeeze.

Wolfsbane has posed:
"It's still more people than I really like being around a' one time," Wolfsbane explains to Kurt, now that they're on their way for another round of food. Burgers are good, but there's more here than just that. She allows the tail to stay in contact with her as they go. "I saw Rachel back around. She seems like she's gone through something since th' last time I saw her."

Captain America has posed:
Ellie at first gets one of those casual flicks of Steve's brows. Blunt indeed. Then, a wry little grin shows on his face. "Iron Corpratist. I like that one, I'll have to lob it at Stark one time when he's walking his fenceline. As far as a timeline goes, it's sooner the better. As we mentioned before," he includes Janet flitting off in a little gesture of his hand. "We can use all the help we can get. We're all impacted, one way or another. If you want an exact timeline, you can speak to Doctor Strange. He's got a few things that help in things like that kind of scrying. Can't guarantee he'll tell you, but..." Steve shrugs. "It'd be an experience for you to meet him."

The racecar's arrival is noted. Steve squints and then laughs to himself upon recognizing the driver. A lift of his hand towards Tony identifies and greets the genius-inventor. "Probably bulled him over," he hollers back to Janet in regards to Happy's usual state of chauffeuring gone awry. And what's this about t-shirt? That has Steve craning his head to see what on earth that's about.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Kurt nods, "Well that happens to us all, one time or another." attention turning towards the Captain for a moment before he refocuses on Rahne. "She and Ellie are talking, so I can only imagine that will be good for both of them." his grin becomes all teeth now as he drives on, even as they near the food, "Doug sold me a cabin, other side of the country. Looks like it's already furnished. I was thinking of taking a trip out there soon, spend a few days."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde reaches a hand out to rest on the back of Ellie's shoulder for a moment. "Ellie's often to the point. But she's someone I trust to have my back any time," Kitty says, her words simple but expressing a healthy measure of respect for the goth teenager. She lets Ellie decide if she wants to mention having been to the Sanctum before. Kitty flashes her a smile and removes her hand after a quick pat and smile towards Ellie.

The arrival of Tony Stark causes Kitty to look over, hearing the revving engine. She gives a soft chuckle at his dramatic entrance. "Hey boss," she says, giving a wave towards her employer at the job that often keeps her away from the school during the day unless she's working from home.

Kitty's face lights up at the mention of shirts from Janet. "Absolutely!" Kitty replies to Janet. She goes over to where some boxes have been sitting beneath a cover. A few other teachers come over to help her bring them over into the open area. "Let's put the smaller sizes on this end, on up to the larger sizes on the right, so people can figure out which box to come to," she suggests. The teachers begin opening up the boxes as Kitty gives Janet a grin. "Want to announce them?" she asks. She'll get Janet the microphone if so.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
There is a soft smile from Ellie to Kitkat and then she looks back to Steve "He owns the spoopy house with all the glass cases full of dangerous crap right?" okay maybe Ellie has met Doctor Strange, or at least his crazy house. "Okay I can do that." she doesn't seem daunted about going to meet the sorcerer Supreme.

Then again this teenager may not be daunted meeting anyone.

"I can probably try to herd the Titans along if we need more help. I think they would leap at the opportunity to do good against evil robots. Not positive but probably."

Wait what, Kitty may be thrown off her game there.

When Tony arrives Ellie turns and just narrows her eyes. "Damn. That is just extra."

Iron Man has posed:
Another car does arrive, a black sedan, that parks next to the racecar. That would be the assistants that Tony outdistanced, definitely. It ends up being three people, professionally dressed, the get out quickly to rejoin their somewhat chaotic boss. They have to run a little, because Tony is already leaving the race-car, and headed over pretty directly towards Captain America and Wasp. There's greetings and selfies with students on the way over, though, so 'direct' is not exactly what happens.

Kitty gets clearly recognized (or Tony's just friendly to everybody), and gets an upnod and smile in return. Ellie gets a similar vague smile; Tony's immune to judgemental stares, shameless as he is. Tony's expression is relaxed and upbeat, even through his mirrored red sunglasses.

"Looks like your event's going well," Tony compliments Janet, on his arrival, looking over the sunglasses at the boxes. The microphone gets more attention than the boxes, really, though.

Sunspot has posed:
Also arriving fashionably late (or rather, when he could finally escape meetings and oh-so-important calls) comes Sunspot. He comes flying over the grounds of the school, and then landing a few yards from the gathering, and then powering down into normal. He is still wearing an expensive business suit, with a blazer jacket, but he lost his tie at some point between Salem Center and Xavier's. Stepping forward, he offers the gathered a thin smile, as he looks for familiar faces. And spots a few unfamiliar, yet very famous ones. "Sam, Doug... Rahne! My god, it has been years. You look great, girl."

"How is the party going?" He asks, addressing Sam. "I might need a few introductions," he admits. And he needs to go greet a few others he had not seen in what feels a lifetime. But he is not in a hurry, the dark-haired young man visibly relaxes now he is among his old friends.

Cypher has posed:
"Well, ma'am." Doug says, a slight flush coming to his cheeks, "My mutancy may be silly... but I make it work for me." He pours himself a solo cup full of coke, with plenty of ice. He raises it to Bobby. "Hey there, hot-shot. Have a hot dog, take a load off."

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
Janet beams at Tony and pops on her toes to hug his neck. "Hey! You made it. Nice entrance, very low-key," she remarks with a rueful expression. "I'm just glad you didn't land the Star-Spangled Iron Man Band here. I don't think there's enough room. Here, help hand out t-shirts," she tells Tony, and starts trying to budge him towards where Kitty's at.

"Folks, everyone, if I can have your attention," she says into the microphone. Her voice booms around the area. "First, everyone please welcome The Iron Man himself, Tony Stark!" she says, and breaks into applause. "Woo! Thanks for being here, Tony. Now, we brought you a treat from New York-- a little something to show our support for your school spirit." She reaches for one of the athletic jerseys and has Kitty hold it aloft. It bears the X-institute logo over the left breast and comes in several colors, including blue and white and black and yellow. "Colors and fits for everyone's preference and body shape, and for anyone on an athletic team needing to represent, we'll send one over with your name and team number on the back. Just a little way we want to help encourage you to get out in the world and show your school pride!"

Wolfsbane has posed:
After nodding about the others, Wolfsbane asks, "A cabin, Kurt? Where?" Before she's able to ask much more about it, her attention shifts over toward others she's starting to see for the first time this afternoon, including Tony Stark in an unexpected cameo, Doug, and.. "'Berto? Is tha' ye?" she asks, eyes widening at the sight. It might not have been years, but it's definitely been a good long while. Of course, there will be a hug. If it's just a long-term plan of Sunspot's to get a free one of those, mission accomplished. Soon there are more louder voices coming from the microphone, which she listens to. "Jerseys?"

Captain America has posed:
"Any port in a storm. If the Titans want in, we won't stop 'em." At least Steve replies to Ellie //after// he's finished his first burger. He glances over at the boxes and after realizing what they are, seconds before Janet announces the intensions, he nods to himself.

"Good call, Shortcakes," he says quietly to himself as he sets aside his plate in order to clap. He (and his retrieved plate, sans potato chips - THANKS JANET) wanders over to the boxes and over to Tony's side. "Figure it's going as well as it could be."

He glances over at Tony and smiles in a knowing way. "Y'know it's a motorcycle race though, right?" A nod back towards the sleek and sporty car. "Seems a bit much. You can borrow one of the school's bikes. I'll be borrowing one. The Harley's not made to handle the jumps they set up."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will smile and look to Sunspot "Glad you could make it, starting to look a bit like a class reunion." He will make introductions, "This is Colt Cassidy, no relation to Sean and Theresa, but good guy new student just getting the feel of the place. Our other new student." He will look around and point to a kid in a hoodie "That's Bobby McFadden." He will tell his friend, and says "You need a bike Captain Rogers? I have one you can use." He will tell the man "You know of Captain Rodgers, Miss Van Dyne, and Mr. Stark of course." He says to Sunspot.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde holds up the shirt for people to say. "Just remember, no powers in public while wearing the school logo," she adds with a small grin. She begins handing out shirts. And as it turns out, Kitty is not thrown off her game by Ellie as she mentions the Titans. "Yes, I received a... well, let's call it a reference check on you. And I whole-heartedly recommended you to them," Kitty shares with Ellie. "Really proud of you too," Kitty says.

She passes out a shirt and then looks to Doug. "Don't believe Doug about his ability being silly," Kitty says towards Doug but meant for Janet. Kitty motions with her head towards Janet. "Doug, when it comes to data analysis, Janet is more forward of a thinker with her fashion house than companies that consider themselves tech companies. And Janet... Doug could probably do by himself the same work as your entire staff devoted to trends analysis, and do it better and in less time, at that. Not that I'm criticizing your staff, either. Doug's just that good."

Kitty spots Kurt Wagner and motions to him to come get a shirt. "Kurt, have you met Captain Rogers and Janet yet?" she asks him. Kitty glances around and says, "We can start getting set up for motorcycle raise shortly if people are ready for it. We need some students and staff to give the Captain someone to race against. You in Roberto? Sam, how about you?"

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog 's eyes widen as his ears pick up the mention of his name by Samuel. There are just too many people around him and hiding in the crowd just isnt working for him. Still there is nowhere to run despite his 'deer in headlights' look on his face. If it could look like a hoodie ate heads, his does at this moment when he even resorts to tugging on the drawstrings while he makes himself busy dumping his plate in a can.

Sunspot has posed:
Roberto gives Rahne her due hug, which was expected if not exactly planned. "Where are Illy, Shan and Dani? I am sure I heard Illyana was around." He comments. Not that the blonde is the party kind. But still...

Ah, introductions. "Hello, I am Roberto Da Costa, I was a student here a while ago, and just got back to New York," he offers his hand to Colt and Bobby for a firm handshake. Then turns to Sam and the Avengers. "I seem to remember, ah, brief meetings during crisis moments with some of them. It is good to be able to see them in a more pleasant environment."

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Colt takes a shirt when offered, being very careful when putting it on to avoid the spines on his head. Once he has it on though, he hears his name, turning to spot Sam doing introductions, "Hello!" He waves one hand and moves closer, "I'm Colt, yeah. I'm hard to miss once you know what to look for." He hmms, "Are you gonna do the race, Sam? I don't know if my bike is in good enough shape yet btu I'd love to participate.."

Iron Man has posed:
"Too subtle?" Tony jokes back to Janet immediately. "I can still ramp up." A wink follows, though most of it is hidden in Tony's glasses. The announcement of him arriving by Janet through the microphone goes over very well with Tony: Janet knows how to handle the billionaire. He smiles out, offering a few waves and so on, smile sleek. It also means he gestures two fingers to his assistants and then aims them at the boxes of shirts. That's how Tony helps pass out shirts: he delegates other people to do it. He does bend to pull one from a box, to open it out and get a look at it.

"I'm not here to ride; better I cheer you on, I think," Tony answers Steve, with a soft laugh, jersey still in his hands. He holds it up in front of Steve as if deciding if it would fit. It wouldn't; not super-soldier-sized. "Just adding to the ambiance. Eating the burgers." One of Tony's helpers, who started to hand out a shirt, finishes handing out the shirt before being deployed on an important mission of fetching Tony a cheeseburger.

"Hey," Tony greets those he's being introduced to, offhandedly. Tony meets a lot of people, and it may feel somewhat impersonal, but Tony's friendly about it all. He's also distracted, pulling a mobile device out, and starts to fiddle with something after looking at the speakers.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Wait. The Titans called Kitty for a reference check about her.

God Damnit All. Does Kitty know everyone everywhere or something.

Ahrem. "Thanks." at the whole Kitty being proud of her, the teenager looks a bit unsure how to deal with praise like that.

Right Shirts. She steps away heading to look at the shirts. She snags a Black and Yellow one to look at. "Okay I definitely need a few of these with specific words on the back and numbers. Who do we email about specific names and numbers?"

Nightcrawler has posed:
    "It's in Washington, a few hops and rests for me, short flight for you." Kurt lets Wolfsbane get reacquainted when Kitty gets his attention. Hand raising to gently squeeze Rahne's shoulder as he steps away, towards Kitty, "I think in passing, once, I don't recall." he looks then at Steve again, brows raising, looking self conscious now.

X-23 has posed:
Laura has picked up plenty of scents that she doesn't recognize, and that's cause enough for her to make her way out here and see what she can see. New people. There's a slight frown on her face, but it's enough for her to set her course for the most relevant person to her in this situation. Kitty. The girl heads for the counselor, ignoring the shirts being handed out. "These people are meant to be here?" she asks, simply.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will look over to Colt, and says "Na, I don't think I am going to race, was just offering the Captain to use the bike figure he might find it something he knows how to handle." He hmms, and says "Think there is one of the quads that should be able to give ya a chance in the race if you want in on it." He will walk over to the garage area, and steps inside, first bringing out the quad for Colt, and then brining out a rebuilt WW2 bike done in black. It has been restored recently, and even has a place for a side car.

Captain America has posed:
Samuel's offer makes Steve glance over, second hamburger half-finished in his hand. He's quick to set aside the food again. "That's kind of you, Samuel, thanks. I'll be sure to get it back to you in one piece. You let me know if you find anything wrong with it after the race, even if it's weeks from now. I'll pay for any repairs and upkeep needed," the Captain promises.

Kurt's introductions by Kitty earn him a smile and nod from Steve. "Nice to meet you, Kurt -- again, if we've met before. I admit, things have been a tizzy lately. Hope you'll forgive me if I don't recall either. Make sure to grab a t-shirt if you'd like one."

While Tony heralds and directs affair, he steps to one side and rapidly finishes the food on his plate with a speed a la trench-warfare of long ago. Crumbs wiped away, he then strips of his motorcycle jacket to fully reveal the plain blue-grey t-shirt emblazoned with a stylized starred shield over his chest. "I'll go get my helmet," he tells Kitty in passing as he walks back to the front. The jacket is slung over his bike and he returns shortly with the glossy helmet tucked beneath his arm. By the grin on his face, the Captain's looking forwards to getting muddy.

The sight of the bike being brought out by Samuel makes a complicated smile appear on Steve's face. "Wow," he laughs as he walks over to the young man and the ride. "It's beautiful."

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane leaves the matter of the others up to someone else to explain. Some are around, some are apparently elsewhere. "Well, it's nice tae see ye again, 'Berto. Are ye just here for th' day, or..?" she wonders. As for Kurt, she asks, "We'll have tae see how it looks soon, aye?" Soon, conversations shift around again and she takes a few steps back for another round of food and to merely watch and listen.

Wasp (van Dyne) has posed:
"Well, I'm not riding," Janet says bluntly to Steve and Tony. "I only trust motorcycles when Steve's the one driving."

She continues handing t-shirts out to anyone who comes up, and glances at Ellie when the girl inquires about the numbers and letters. "JVD Enterprises will handle it," Janet assures Elli. "Get your informaiton to Kitty, then she'll get it to my people. We'll probably outsource it to a shop in Bedford Hills or Armonk, or something," she explains. "No point in schlepping it all the way to Midtown, right?" she asks with a good humor.

Iron Man has posed:
"Wow, restored from olden times. Is that still younger than you?" Tony asks Steve with a quick ribbing, nodding towards the WW2 bike. His grin is quick, though, because he's distracted: he's linked the music system into the one in the racecar, which means he's taken over the music of the event.

'Danger Zone' from Top Gun begins to play, as Tony gives a further shameless smile to Steve, and moves away a short distance to get the burger and chips being brought his way. The jersey in his hand gets passed off to a student nearby, who no doubt is thrilled to own the only one that Tony's probably going to personally handle.

Cypher has posed:
"I'd like to get a jersey with my name on the back, if I could." Doug says, before he looks over to Sam, "You're not joining in?" He murmurs, "...A bike race with Steve Rogers, huh?" Then he says, "...Probably better not." He glances over to Tony. "Kenny Loggins, classic. My work anthem right now is MC Hammer's 'This Is What We Do.'"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde smiles to X-23, picking out a shirt that should fit her nicely and offering it to her. "Yes, they are honored guests. This is Captain America, and Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, and Tony Stark, all from the Avengers. We invited them out to meet the students," Kitty says. She smiles to Kurt as he comes over and introduces both X-23 and Kurt at once. "And these are Kurt Wagner. Kurt is an old and dear friend. And this is Laura. One of our security staff, and very dedicated," Kitty says of X-23.

Kitty nods towards Negasonic. "Just let me know what to pass on," she says. "Ellie visited the Mansion with Rogue and I one day. Thor... has the most interesting footwears when he's not out Avenging," Kitty comments with a soft grin. She tells Doug, "You should race, Doug. How many people have a chance to say they were in a race like this?"

Kitty takes a moment to go catch Tony. "Great of you to make it. I hope it's going to mean a lot to some of the kids. They've been cooped up with a curfew since the Sentinel stuff started to look more dire. Nice to know there are people working on the problem," she says to him.

X-23 has posed:
Laura nods to the others. "I am familiar, by name, at least." Now that she's assured that the others are supposed to be here, her concerns seem lessened. She looks over at the visitors. "They were all noted as excellent combatants in the files. It would be interesting to see how effective they are."

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt Wagner extends a hand towards Steve as he is introduced, "Gutten tag, Herr Rogers." the accent, the three fingered hand, Kurt looks like he is expecting anything from hate to revulsion, instinctively looking to Kitty and then Rahne before back up to the taller man.

Sunspot has posed:
"I had no idea there was going to be a race," admits Roberto. And he is not really wearing the right outfit for a race. But... "of course I am in," he decides. Because he might be older and wiser and maybe even smarter, but Roberto will never pass a chance to compete at anything even mildly fun. "What are the rules? Ah, never mind, will figure out. Just give me a burger for the trip, I am famished."

And maybe that t-shirt, because the jacket and button up shirt are going to be a hindrance. And then he realizes. "You are not going to race?" He directs mock-disappointed looks to Sam, Doug and even Rahne. "Amigos, what will you tell your children in twenty years from now. I had a chance to race against Captain America and Iron Man but couldn't be bothered? Come on."

Captain America has posed:
Steve shoots Tony look over his shoulder at the music and ends up laughing, the sound heard interspersed between the rollicking chords of the song. As Ellie said so well earlier, it's so extra -- and perfect for jazzing folks up for the upcoming race.

Kurt's hand, however, is taken with the usual good-natured strength from the Captain and pumped without any sense of threat or disgust. "Gutten tag, Herr Wagner." Steve's still got a Brooklyn accent under all of that, but he knows enough German to pass muster. "Nice to meet you too, Laura. You're doing an excellent job of ensuring the safety here," he adds, certain to address X-23 as well.

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
"Check." about the shirts, this is said to both Kitty and Janet at the offer for the customized jerseys..

She walks over to look at the bikes.

"I really need to learn how to ride one of these and also I need to get one of these... no racing for me today because I am pretty sure it would be all crashing and not winning..." this is directed to Steve and Sam.

Wolfsbane has posed:
Wolfsbane flashes Roberto a bland look. "I've never even driven a motorcycle before." At that point, she grows more aware of Kurt over there with Steve, so she watches them for the time being while chewing on a hot dog. She must not care much about races.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "Well kitty found a really nice barn find and she and the side car was in there. It has taken some work, but was worth it." He will head back intot he garage and pull out another bike offering it to to Sunspot "No prowers, and fair play, I think are the main rules."

Iron Man has posed:
"I appreciate many classics. Don't let him intimidate you, ride if you like," Tony advises Doug grandly. "It's not a foot race, or a competition on who can scowl at me the most." Tony looks directly at Kurt as well, and will offer a full handshake to Kurt, after Steve veers away. "Kurt, was it? Hiya," There is some staring, because Kurt is pretty odd looking, but not revulsion. Maybe a thought about asking a bit more about Kurt, much like Tony often does with another green mutated hero, but the urge passes in favor of food.

Tony's attention has been drawn by food more completely now, though, so he steps aside to deal with his burger and some discussion over that he doesn't want the water bottle; isn't there something alcoholic?

Cypher has posed:
"Well, all right." Doug says. He proceeds to get his safety gear -- pads, a heavier jacket to protect him in case he goes off the bike, helmet, and earbuds. He goes through a preliminary stretch. "...My body, it's my body take it where I want to - pump it up party - my time, it's my time, the way that it usually comes out of my mind-" He picks out one of the bikes offered, and checks it over. "No time to sit and wait, we do what we do and what we do can't wait--"

X-23 has posed:
Laura watches, collecting one of the shirts that are being handed out all around. She's not prepared to handle a motorcycle race, so she stays on the sidelines as an observer rather than a participant.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Looking a clear combination of shocked and pleased by the treatment by Captain Rogers, Kurt offers "Danke, Herr Rogers." but he doesn't crowd much, "It's pleasent to meet you, and thank you for coming. Good luck in the race as well. Never ridden a bike before." he shrugs, "Tail." the spade of his tail popping up over his shoulder, waving. "Dangerous prospect."
    When Tony approaches and gives him the look over, Kurt's expression is clearly one of a man who is very used to it. He takes Tony's hand as offered, shaking firmly. "A pleasure, Herr Stark. Love the suit." his grin all pointed teeth now, tail flicking back and forth at the positive attention.

Captain America has posed:
"I can imagine," replies Steve to Kurt. "It'd be a bad accident getting the tail mixed up in the machinery or running over it -- and thanks. I'm not in it to win. It's fun." He gives a comfortable shrug, those dimples appearing again. "Looking forwards to getting muddy for a reason other than taking down goons."

The Captain glances to Ellie again. "Someone should be able to teach you. It's not too difficult, once you get past the clutch, and on a flat, dry surface, easy going."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde smiles over to Kurt and X-23 as they get to meet the Avengers. "Ok, so we have Doug and Roberto in the race!" she says. She heads over to the starting line, making sure there are bikes set there for them, plus Steve has the bike that WW2 bike that Sam restored from old motorcycles bought from where a neighboring farm had a ton of old bikes stored in a barn.

Kitty returns and says, "So the track runs a mile, but there are two jumps on it, and there's one rather muddy area that will probably be pretty slick handling for a motorcycle, so be careful!" She goes over to where some of the supplies for the cookout are, and pulls out a trophy. She carries it over and lets everyone see that it's a bowling trophy. "And the winner will be named Salem Center Bowler of the Year, 2007," she says. "Also, you can change your name to..." she reads off the trophy, "Jeff Carmichael." She grins and sets the trophy from the second hand store over on a table.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Thanks Sam. That looks perfect!" Colt moves over to the quad and mounts onto it. It sinks under his weight a bit, but it supports him. He looks at the trophy as it's brought out and shown off, "Wait did we find that at a thrist store?" He asks. He still wants it, of course. A trophy is a trophy.

Iron Man has posed:
"Matches your theme better than mine," Tony grins to Kurt, observing that his blue is so close to Kurt's natural blue. It's mild, Tony's light with the tease, there's no real barb to it.

That trophy, though. Tony swings a look towards Kitty. "Wow, you really spared no expense, there. You know, I have a /lot/ of trophies and awards stored, if you need some," Tony observes loudly from around his burger.

Sunspot has posed:
Roberto shakes his head at the lack of... motorcycle racers among the best of mutantkind. For shame. Kitty's return and trophy choice makes him laugh, however. "Aren't you competing, Pryde?" He offers. "Representing the old guard, because... where are Scott and Logan, they should be here." He spends a minute picking a bike that might even be somewhat useful in the race, drops the blazer somewhere and rolls up the shirt sleeves, declaring himself ready.

Cypher has posed:
Doug, who's not legendary at bike racing but appears to be up for anything, tightens his helmet, gives Roberto a grin, and then says, "I don't know if I'm going to beat Captain America, but I'm gonna kick your butt hot-shot. Kick your butt at dirtbikes." ...Who says they're not competitive anymore? You've just been called out, Roberto da Costa. And then he revs it up and puts his bike in gear, as he rides to the starting line. Vrrrrm vrrrrrrm!

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde shakes her head to Roberto and says, "No no. I'd probably run my bike into Steve and break his leg and then the entire Free World would hate me. Which I could live with. But not with what Janet would do to me." She gives him a grin and says, "Good luck!"

The young brunette woman walks over towards the starting line, grinning at Tony on her way there. "I'll keep that in mind next time. I'm curious whether it'll be an inventor of the year award, or your 'Judge No 2' badge from the beauty contest," she tells him. Kitty pulls a red bandana out of her pocket, apparently planning to start out the race like they start street races in the movies.

Cyclops has posed:
Speak of the devil (with all due respect to one Herr Wagner), and he shall appear! Whatever business Scott Summers had to attend to appears to be concluded, and so he once again makes his way outside to the festivities. Seeing that the Motorcycle Race is starting to gear up, he moves over to find a decent vantage point to watch, perhaps to Roberto's chagrin, seeming to have little interest in competing today. That said, his position does bring him over near Tony, an unexpected new arrival. "Mr. Stark." He offers in greeting to the man.

Captain America has posed:
The reveal of the trophy makes Steve's eyes twinkle. Everyone's got a lot of friendly jabs to throw for old Jeff's bowling award, so the Captain merely walks over to his bike and straddles it. Settling into the seat, he pulls his helmet over his head before flicking up the visor.

Kitty gets a sharp two-fingered salute from the helmet for her instructions. "Looking forwards to the mud pit, miss," he says, voice slightly muffled by the helmet, but boy can that grin be heard loud and clear. He gets the bike up and going. The engine comes to life with a familiar purr -- that particular throaty rumble he knew far in the past -- and despite himself, he laughs appreciatively under his breath. Of course, he revs the throttle once or twice and well for more sound.

Because, well, more sound.

The Captain appears more than ready to kick off the starting line by the subtle way he leans over the handlebars, watching Kitty and her red bandana like a hawk.

Iron Man has posed:
It does appear that despite Janet having a microphone, Tony brought his own: it's probably set into his tech sunglasses in some manner, or something like that. "Let's get this party going, racers," Tony announces through the loudspeakers, overruling other microphones, and flashing a shameless smile to Janet, and then Steve. "The kids are ready," Tony observes to Steve, teasing that he's 'taking his time'.

"Hey," Tony greets Scott evenly, offering a calm handshake and smile. "Join me; have a burger," he invites the other man with reddish themed eyewear, gesturing with a chip.

Sunspot has posed:
"In your dreams Ramsey!" Replies Roberto laughing, bringing in his motorcycle and donning the helmet. "That bowling award... will be mine," he adds, turning on the engine and glancing at Sam and Rahne. Who said they are not competitive anymore? Well, there was a time Roberto would have taking this seriously. Right now he is trying to remember how motorcycles work, it has been a while. But he intends to have fun anyway.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Colt brings the quad up to the starting line. He revs the engine a few times, getting ready to go as soon as the they get the green flag. That mud sounds like it's going to be a pain, because he's prettys ure he's going to dig into the mud. The jumps will be hard too, but he's not going to stop. He'll ride until the bike breaks down or he gets to the finish line one way or the other.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde walks out into the middle of the track so the racers can pass by either side of her after they start. "Alright, once around the track!" she calls out. "Mind the two jumps, and the mud pit. No kicking, biting, or gouging. And no picking up the bike and flying it around the course. Normal riding."

She flashes then grins. "Gentlemen, rev your engines like you're... like you're Tony Stark arriving at a barbecue!" she calls out.

After any revving, Kitty glances over to where Stark is going for more food. She points at him and calls over, "And someone, get that man a microphone!" she calls. "We need an MC."

She turns back and lifts the bandana into the air. "Ready!?" Kitty calls. She waits a few seconds to build the suspense, and then swings her arm down in the signal for the race to start!

Nightcrawler has posed:
Kurt Wagner doesn't take the joke poorly, only giving a laugh and a nod as the racers move on, turning and trying to track down Rahne again, waving trhough the crowds for her slipping up at her side if he can, brushing his shoulder against hers.

Captain America has posed:
Oh, Steve obliges Kitty. The sound of the refurbished WWII motorcycle fills the air alongside the others.

Checking his reflexes (and hence, his strength as not to crunch any mechanisms on the bike), Steve guns it the very second the red handkerchief swings into play.

WHOOOM! He's a blur past Kitty and -- poor Kitty -- there's some muck thrown up in the wake of his tire treads. Down the straight-away he goes, minding the balance of the bike on the subtle dampness of the track and he hits the first jump. The sensation of being airbourne is always a flutter of the heart and a slam of adrenaline, right alongside the impact of the bike landing again. He's nearing the first corner of the looped track now.

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin had avoided the commotion for awhile because her and large crowds weren't always a great thing. As time went on though her curiosity gets the best of her luring her out to mingle with the rest of the school just in time to see the start of an apparent race. She lingers at the fringes watching with a look of confused interest. Just what *was* going on here?

Cypher has posed:
...And they're off! Well, Doug is off anyway. Right in the middle of the pack. Steady hand on the tiller, don't showboat. Eye of the Tiger, Ramsey! Actually that's what's playing on his phone right now, echoing loud in his ears. Na-NA-na-na! Na-na-NA! Na-na-naaaaaaaaaa~. On the straightaway, he *guns* it, and as they approach the jump he goes full-out, catching more air than he probably *ought* to - when he hits Earth again he has to swing wide to rebalance himself on the bike.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna comes out from whatever it was that had kept her busy inside, harried in appearance, with her green hair a floating tangle of green curls about her face as she finally joined in the chaos of the gaggle of various observers. She exhaled a rough breath as she joined in watching the motorcycles racing along. Even if she could simply sense them and know what was going on. She joined Illyana on the fringe, her arms dangling at her sides as she lifted up onto her toes to peer about. She wore a pair of ripped up jeans, and a blazer, an odd combination for the Princess of Genosha, but somehow fitting for the chaos of the gathering. "I have a feeling I'd be called out for cheating regardless if I joined.." She mumbled.

Cyclops has posed:
There's a glimmer of amusement at being invited to partake of a party happening at his own home, but Scott does set to acquiring himself a burger, and keeping his attention on the impending race. Truth be told he's still not sure this was the best idea, but people seem to be having a good time, so he will, for the moment, inwardly admit he was probably too worried about it. It's not like nearly everyone involved doesn't get enmeshed in more dangerous things on a regular basis, right?

Wait...is that one of the new kids? Whoof...suddenly this burger doesn't taste so good. Even if the student in question is at least in theory a very resilient one.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony would invite anybody to anything. He's a wandering host! The feat of recognizing one racer from another at this distance isn't going to happen, but Tony can describe what he can see, at any rate. He declines being actually handed a microphone: he has his own tech, and has long since went ahead and asserted himself into the feed that the speakers are using. After all, he's clearly the surprise celebrity cameo emcee.

"Looks like we have a tight pack at the start here; they'll want to watch it, a tangle would be ugly on that first jump," comments Tony over the continued energetic music funneled into the sound system. He's not too concerned; this isn't his circus, nor his monkeys. Just one of them is one of 'his', and that one's very resilient to crash landings.

Sunspot has posed:
"There she is!" Proclaims Roberto, finally spotting the blonde head of the Russian witch. "Yana!" He calls. And of course he misses Kitty dropping the bandana. "Ah, maldi..." the rest of his sentence gets lost in the roar of motocycle engines. But his jumps forward and chases after Cap's old machine. Because he is clearly the one to beat!

Poor Kitty is likely going to end up covered in dirt. But hey, she should be racing!

The young man barely manages to control the bike after the jump, but thanks to some luck and raw stubbornness, he manages to keep on and maybe even gain a few feet.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde starts the race by pulling down the waving bandana. And then sputters as the passing bikes and ATV toss up mud from the course, spattering it all over the young X-woman. She wipes a few bits of dirt from her face, shaking her head and laughing. "Ok, this was karma for the mud part of the course, I think," she says as she moves over to join everyone else in watching the race. Two of the teacher string a little finish line across the way which the bikes will have no problem breaking through.

Kitty waves towards Lorna and Illyana. She's all splattered with mud. "Good thing Janet brought us shirts," she says, laughing. Indeed there are boxes of shirts in various sizes and colors from JVD fashion, but with the Xavier's School logo on them.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
As soon as the arm goes down, Colt guns his engine and the quad takes off. It's got a lot of kick to it, and the quad bike peels off down the dirt track.

He's gonna have to push it to try to get to where the first jump is. He has no idea if he'll be able to catch up with Captain America. That guy's probably been riding motorcycles longer that Colt has even been alive.

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin tips her head to the side when Lorna joins her loitering. "I often get the same when traveling is involved. I don't really need a vehicle after all. Though I don't think anyone is going to be calling anyone out on this race, given who is involved." Speaking ofw hich... When Roberto calls out to her she lifts a hand to wave toward him in greeting not even attempting to yell back over the din of noise. A glance to the side earns a smirk from her. "Oh, this must be an excellent party. Scott looks worried."

Negasonic Teenage Warhead has posed:
Ellie watches the race kick off, but really racing is not her thing.

This should surprise no one.

She accomplished what she wanted to this afternoon really. Food. Talking to a few people. Giving the Avengers some snark.

Mission accomplished.

She fades back and heads into the mansion.

Captain America has posed:
The corner poses no problem for Steve. He's grinning like mad as he turns himself and the bike into it. This is old hat, riding like a lunatic on questionable turf, and it makes his blood sing in his veins.

However, it's the mud puddle that's set to doom him. Coming around the wide curve of the track, the Captain can see it coming a mile away and he skirts the outside edge of the track, running the bike nearly horizontal in the process --

-- and man, fish-tailing the back tire's the pits. And it dumps him into the pit. There goes Steve in a spectacular splash of muddied water and muck, bike and all. Given he's on the outside of the track, he's easy to miss and everyone will be able to pass him with no risk of collision. Still, he's a sight as he gets up, laughing and covered nearly head-to-toe in reddish muck as he guns the bike and gets it going again, now at the back of the pack.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna nodded to Illyana with a faint grin pulling at her lips. "Me and anything motorized though... I'd say lets have a race in Genosha, but then Blink would win in an instant." She drawled and laughed softly as Kitty came up splattered in mud. She tsked under her breath, crossing her arms as she eyed the mud splatter.

"Well, at some point I would like to pester Cap.. but he's rather busy looking. And likely not the best time to pester him about politics, yeah?" She glanced toward Scott as Illyana mentioned him being worried in appearance.

"That's pretty standard."

Cypher has posed:
It's funny, how Doug seems to know exactly what moves people are making on the track, before they make them. He *obligingly* goes wide, avoiding catching Captain America with a splash of mud, though he winds up going through a deeper part of the pit and he *drenches* himself in muck before he comes out the other side. But taking the deep part of the mudhole slowed him down, and now Sunspot and Colt have a chance to get neck and neck with him. He kicks it into high gear--

Sunspot has posed:
Roberto winces when Cap goes down messily. Well, better you than me, old man... because he was about to do the same. Now he has a warning of the tricky pit he slows down some and crosses safely. Still, that means Doug is ahead now, and maybe Colt too. And not much time to catch up. Time to be more reckless. He accelerates. Mud goes everywhere.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde stops over beside Lorna and Illyana. She laughs as she looks down at herself. "Yes, maybe doing that from the middle of the track wasn't the best plan," she tells Lorna. Kitty grabs a soda, popping it open to sip from as she watches the race. "Go Doug!" she calls as he went over the first jump. When Captain America wipes out and falls into the mud, Kitty gives a gasp. It's like a part of America just fell into the mud.

Which part? Just part, ok?

Kitty cheers though as the other riders continue on and are in a close race towards the finish line.

Magik has posed:
"Yes, but it is a good indicator of when things are fun. If he is grumpy it is fun," Illyana reasons with a solemn nod only to grin further when Kitty heads their way. In spite of the mud she leans over to give her friend a one-armed hug before releasing her again with a cluck of her tongue. "Could you not just phase it off?" Maybe not.

Her attention moves back to the track watching her friends and teammates along with the others. "Everyone looks to be having a great time, Kitty. I'm glad this is turning out so well."

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Damn!" Colt is falling behind, though he's trying to keep up again. Doug is outpacing everybody. Could it be that pattern recognition stuff he was talking about? Colt will need to do something un expected.

He stands up, and puts his feet on the seat, digging in and pushing the back of the quad down, bringing the front up, doing a wheelie and trying to force more traction and speed up.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna offered a smile to Kitty, even as she kept her distance, not wanting to ruin the clothes she had on. She watched the chaos of the race, and whistled softly as people shifted positions here and there, as Cap spun out and rejoined and as the race continued. Her focus returned to Illyana and Kitty, and she flashed them both a grin. "That's fair enough. Fun is where Scott typically worries. Good indicator." She laughed softly, and whooped with Kitty in cheering, even if she didn't cheer for anyone in particular.

A glance back at her mud splattered friend, and Lorna grimaced. "I'll go grab you a towel, yeah? At least so you don't track that all inside."

Captain America has posed:
Muddied, but not down and out, Steve recklessly makes his way up into the pack again. The bike's still running strong beneath him, courtesy of care of manufacturing rarely seen in modern times, and he hangs in the middle of the pack as they all approach the second jump.

All around him, he can see the other riders in his peripheral and the flashbacks hit him:

All the Avengers in a line gunning for an enemy -- soldiers moving as a unit -- ghosts of motion as he comes down from the arcing of the jump, having taken a foolhardy speed at it. The bike jounces beneath him, but still --

Not enough to cross the finish line first!

Iron Man has posed:
Tony Stark continues to describe the race, and keeps it very clean: this /is/ a school, after all, and there's children everywhere. He doesn't even rag on Captain America too severely: "Aw, don't embarrass the Avengers, Captain; should I have raced after all?"

Otherwise, he encourages the others involved in the race. "Nice moves and spin there, whoever that was. Racer number three, who is now covered in the same mud color as everyone else..."

Cypher has posed:
...They used to compete at everything. They fought MERCILESSLY, up and down the halls--

But it's different now. There's a *joy* to this language, palpable to Doug, at least. Iron sharpens iron.

Doug and Berto are neck and neck, all the way to the finish line, when at the very end, Doug creeps ahead, just by a few inches -- and crosses first. He hits the brakes and swerves, coming to a halt, before he gets off the bike, waits for the others, and whips his helmet off. There's grime on his face and sweat in his hair.

Cyclops has posed:
Scott Summers would be a liar if he said his stomach didn't plummet when Captain America wipes out. At least for a brief moment visions of how to cover up the injury or death of the Living Legend flash through his head, and then Scott realizes how silly that is, right about the same time Cap is back in the race. He relaxes. A bit. No "Secret Mutant School Lures Captain America To His Death" headlines today, thanks! He even manages a smile and some applause when Doug crosses the finish line. And mostly manages to hide his relief that nobody got hurt. Except for those that know him well or those that are astute enough to note the draining of tension from the clenching of his jaw and the set of his shoulders. Which pretty much includes a lot of people here.

Nightcrawler has posed:
    Remaining next to Wolfsbane while the race goes on, Kurt dares to put an arm around Rahne while he watches, tail flipping back and forth, bouncing fractionally on the balls of his feet at the madness on the track.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde smiles to Lorna at the offer of a towel. "Oh thank you, that would be wonderful," Kitty tells her friend. When Lorna moves off then, Kitty glances around and says, "Scott's probably worried about the student on the ATV," she says. "Well, worried about everyone on the bikes. But it's a good bit of fun for everyone to blow off some steam," she tells Illyana. "I should see how he's doing though," Kitty says.

She heads over to Scott as she watches the end of the race. When Doug comes in first, Kitty jumps up in the air and whoops for him. "WAY TO GO DOUG!" she shouts. A bunch of the students and staff are clapping as well, and go over to congratulate him, and all the other riders as well.

"Scott, I think turned out pretty well, don't you?" she asks, trying to help key him towards happy thoughts. "With the curfew and all, a little levity will come in handy with the school's morale I think." She grins to Scott and says, "Want to award the trophy to Doug?"

Sunspot has posed:
Who taught Doug to handle the motorcycle anyway? Roberto just can't catch up with the blonde boy. Not that he is a master or anything, but it might be the first time Doug beats him at anything. Except video games. Okay, maybe not the first time!

That second jump was deadly. It is only a miracle Roberto is still going, but definitely not catching up Doug, he is losing ground. A wheel behind when they cross the finish line. He tsks, and the bike swerves and skids on the dirt, coming to a halt. "Ah well. At least a New Mutant won!" He proclaims happily.

Cyclops has posed:
Scott glances to Kitty, and while his smile tinges on a tiny bit weary, it doesn't seem less genuine for it, "All's well that ends well. But as for the Trophy, this is your show, and I think it'll mean more coming from you." He adds, "Or you can convince Mr. Stark to make the presentation. That ought to be entertaining enough for folks."

Colt Cassidy has posed:
He might be coming in last, but Colt doesn't seem to mind the fact that he is. He's covered in mud and has barely managed to make either of the jumps and hard to try to force extra traction to get through the mud. But he makes it, crossing the finish line and skidding to a stop, "That was awesome!"

Captain America has posed:
Just about nose and nose with Roberto, the mud-spattered Captain comes across the finish line. In order to avoid Doug, he swerves wide and drifts the bike sideways to a stop in the far-drier section of the track. With a grunt, he pops his helmet off his head and grins, his teeth white through the spattering of reddish muck that got through his open visor -- forgetting to close it before the race started was his own damn fault.

"Good race, gents," he calls out to the younger men and then picks at something on his tongue with muddy fingers. Pfffthhhht, there goes a small piece of bark. The comment's more to himself than anything else, "Helluva puddle."

Tony gets a muck-coated salute from the Captain in response for his commentary.

Iron Man has posed:
"Well done!" Tony proclaims through the microphone loudly and grandly, with an appropriate musical fanfare that took only a little bit of his attention with his mobile device and a few quick swipes through the holographic control that erupted from it at Tony's demand.

Tony asks someone near him for the names of the winners, and efficiently reads them out. "Coming in first, Doug Ramsey. Nice going, come up here, all of you, take a muddy bow," Tony invites.

"Maybe a towel before you hand over the trophy, Kitty," Tony teases through the loudspeakers.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty grins to Scott and says, "Good idea, let's see if Tony will do it." She starts to head over there but hears the industrialist over the loudspeaker before she makes it to him. "Alright, alright," she says, chuckling. She gets the towel and wipes her face, then goes over to get the trophy.

Kitty pauses by Janet. "Which is more fun, getting him dirty, or getting him clean?" she asks her friend as Kitty looks over to where a muddy Steve is congratulating the other riders. Kitty flashes Janet a wink and then continues on over to the finish line.

She holds up the trophy. "Well done Doug! Winner of the inaugural Xavier's School Summer Moto-rally!" she says. "I hereby proclaim you, Jeff Carmichael, to be Salem's 2007 Bowler of the Year!" She hands the trophy over towards Doug, grinning at her long-time friend with a huge smile.

Cypher has posed:
Doug comes trudging up to the stand, and then he says, "If it's all right, I'd like to get a picture of all four of us holding the trophy." He says, to Tony. He runs his hand through his hair, getting mud in it. Then he gives Kitty a beatific blink -- and at the moment of optimum distraction, he grabs her and smoosh-hugs her. He is *covered* in mud.

Captain America has posed:
Steve's a good sport. He directs the muddied bike to one side where it can sit and dry before it gets a hosing-off. He then joins the rest of the group on-stage to the entertainment factor of the audience, no doubt, bespattered in mud and grinning up a storm. Lingering long enough for a photograph, he laughs at the plight of Kitty.

"Read my mind," comments the Captain to Doug before he drops off the side of the stage. Wherever has he gone?

The growing feminine babble of "No -- NO -- STEVE -- STEVEN ROGERS, DON'T YOU -- EEEEEE -- THIS WAS MY NICEST SHIRT!!!" follows his successful attempt to hunt down Janet in the crowd. Hugging must have ensued.

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin claps her hands together hard enough to make them sting when Doug is announced the winner, and she lifts her voice to call out, "Way to go!" It was meant for all the racers, really, and she grins as she relaxes enough to start enjoying this event. It did seem as if everyone was in good spirits and that was much needed. To Lorna, she tips her head, "I think I'm going to grab a burger before they all disapear. I know how food happens to vanish with all these students."

She slips over toward the grill where Scott still loitered. "This seems to be good for everyone. I assume the burgers are as well?" Of course she was already fishing out a paper plate and burger for herself even if he said otherwise. It's the screams of people becoming dirtied through hugging that earn a laugh from her as somehow it was entirely TOO funny.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde gets surprise-hugged by muddy Doug and she acks as her already dirt and mud-spattered clothing now has great big smears of the stuff all over it. "Ack! Douglas Aaron Ramsey!" she exclaims loudly, though she's laughing as she does. She hugs him back and says, "Great race, Doug," before letting him go.

Kitty steps off the stage, trying to get a glimpse of Steve and Janet, cackling gleefully even if she can't spot them. "Whew. Ok. Now I get to find a comfy lawn chair and relax," she says. She glances around for Rogue, probably wondering if she still has any of whatever it was she was drinking before. "Thanks to everyone for coming out," she says, directing it at the staff and students as well as the three Avengers that she'll single out with smiles, assuming she's able to make eye contact with each.

Kitty finds a seat, and smiles over to Colt. "You did awesome out there, Colt. That was great that you jumped in the race like that. Really nice to have you here at the school."

Cyclops has posed:
"Everything in moderation." Scott replies to Illyana with a touch of a wry expression. "But yes...this was a good idea. Maybe we'll have to do something else along these lines before the summer is over. A field day or something along those lines." Scott gives Illyana a nod, and then steps away to start attending to the important business of...cleaning up. Or at least making sure obviously-emptied plates and cups make it to the proper trash receptacles, and any that are full or more get properly emptied and carted off to the trash collection point. Which actually entails loading them on a flatbed pickup parked nearby to be offloaded a ways up the road once they're all collected. Scott Summers, literal dirty-work man.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Colt offers a grin to Kitty, "It was fun. Plus I figure if I'm gonna get folks used to me, I need to jump in there, consequences be damned." He does need to go find a towel though since he's gotta clean himself off.

Captain America has posed:
It won't be hard to spot Steve and Janet -- not after a second and certainly NOT the second one listed. The fashionista's suddenly at least twelve feet tall and she's got Steve tucked away underneath her arm as neatly as a rolled rug.

"You know dirty men need a wash, Steven," she says, royally dignified in her passing despite the broad streakings of ruddy mud across her person and fine clothing. "And you're a terrible old man. Did you know how much this shirt cost me?! It's coming out of your paycheck." Steve's just laughing and half-heartedly kicking his feet.

"You think 'm not gonna take my medicine on this one, you got another thing coming, Shortcakes," he fires back, earning another 'hmph!!!' of ire from the fashionista-gone-Amazon. Off they go and no one will miss the amused whoop as Steve's gone airbourne again...

...to splash into the Institute's pool, fully-clothed and all. Janet, of course, dusts her hands of her beau and swans back to the gathering at her normal stature, ignoring the mud on her person.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie has been working on the clean up and making sure alll good as they went along so at least scott's job is not to bad. He comes walking up, seeing whats going on and who is still about.

Cypher has posed:
After snapping a picture with the other four racers, all of them holding the trophy, Doug gives Illyana a thoughtful look. "I wouldn't *dare*." He says, before he beams, and then he looks at Sam. "Sam. We have a problem. I am covered in mud. Bobby is covered in mud. But you, the Athos to our Aramis and Porthos--have no mud on you." He strokes his chin at Sam. And then he proceeds to, possibly with Bobby's help (since it's not fair to say if he would or he wouldn't) try to wrestle Sam toward the mud-pit and throw him in. Granted, since Doug is ALREADY soaked in it from head to toe...

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty breaks out in laughter as Janet carries her beau away to deposit him in the pool. "Oh, this one is going in people's yearbooks," she says with a grin. She gets up and goes over to Janet, giggling to her and saying, "Ok, the cleaning up was definitely more fun than the getting dirty." Kitty heads over to the pool area, still laughing. She goes to get some of the towels available there, setting them out for Steve when he gets out.

There is more food to be eaten, and the music starts back up. Kitty heads off to change out of her own muddy clothes and get a shower.

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin watches with amusement as everyone has their own unique methods of cleaning up. Shaking her head a little she watches Doug go after Sam with a chuckle. A bite is taken of her burger munching on it idly as she strides closer to the pool, but far enough away that she has time to escape if need be.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will look at Doug, and try to keep the other at arm's length at least at first, but seeing as it looks like he is going in the mud pit, he considers cheating for a moment, but at the last minute will go with the pull, and try to take who ever is wrestling with him into the mud with him, with himself on top.

Cypher has posed:
...This pretty predictably descends into a mud-fight. Doug at least, is laughing in a way he hasn't, since a literal lifetime ago.

Nightcrawler has posed:
Left to his own devices as the race and chaos wind down, Kurt sets to walking back towards the school with his hands folded behind his back, walking up the wall until out of arms reach of the others. Fine with not being mud-fought and hunkering like a gargoyle.

Iron Man has posed:
Tony Stark continues to be friendly with the students and faculty, with positive outward publicity as always. He also manages to stay entirely free of mud, on both his person and on the racecar he brought with him.

As the event winds down, Tony collects his assistants, and bids his goodbyes.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie is not the type to muddify folks that he is supposed to respect, he is the good example after all. He does look over and sees Rahne has gotten herself clear and seems Illyana is doing the same. He is soon as muddy as the others, and says "Looks like Ah am gonna have to hit the lake before going inside. " He will look over to Doug "Good job on the race."

Cypher has posed:
"...Don't forget your towel." Doug says, before he half-heartedly throws a glob of mud at Sam, and sits there, in the middle of the puddle, his eyes alight with happiness and mischief.

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin is perfectly clean other than a little spatter smudging her clothes from where she hugged Kitty. Either way she seems fine with it. It was just jeans and a t-shirt she was wearing after all. She shakes her head at Sam and Doug with a chuckle. "Boys."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to Illyana, and says "Hey, we all need to have a bit of relaxing time." He will stand and brush some of the mud off of him, and smiles over to Doug, and says "Should take a picture of ya, like that for ya law office when ya get it. "Ramsey Law, this is how hard we will fight for you." He will offer doug a hand up.

Cypher has posed:
"You better believe this is going on my wall." Doug says, as he lets Sam pull him up. Then he says, "I feel good, Sam. Tonight is a good night."