7880/A Day At The X-Pool

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A Day At The X-Pool
Date of Scene: 14 June 2019
Location: Swimming Pool - Xavier's School
Synopsis: Kitty, Colt, Blinkdog, Lorna, Doug, J'onn and X-23 get some sun by the pool as news of the Sentinels breaks. Jason Todd comes by and gets thanked by the kidnapped students.
Cast of Characters: Shadowcat, Martian Manhunter, X-23, Cypher, Colt Cassidy, Polaris, Blinkdog, Red Hood
Tinyplot: Sentinels


Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty heads outside and over to the pool. She has the day off from work in the city, and it's the kind of hot day that just calls for a dip in the water. She's wearing a bikini and has a large towel draped over her shoulder. A big water bottle and some tanning lotion are in the other hand. No sign of Lockheed at the moment.

Kitty moves over to a lounge chair, setting her things down on a little table next to it and then sitting down and removing her hair from its ponytail. She slips off her sandals and begins applying some of the sunscreen to her legs. She glances up at the blue skies and sun beating down on her. "What a gorgeous day!" she says.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn is shapeshifted, as always when on school grounds, in the shape of the science teacher, alias John Green, the tall and athletic human with black hair and blue eyes. His usual elegant clothes however are nowhere to be seen, leaving him indeed wearing just a pair of black swimming trunks. And that choice of attire makes perfect sense, since he's sitting on a chair on the edge of a pool, in a quite relaxed posture, with a datapad in hand reading something.
"It is, good day Kitty!" he exclaims, without however looking in the woman's direction. So recognizing her was not by sight for sure.

X-23 has posed:
    Laura has come out to join the others. Her swimsuit is (big surprise) black, and is a standard one-piece. Nothing overly showy for the girl, as she comes out, seeing the other two there. "Hello." she says, simply, as she starts towards the pool. "Are you planning to exercise as well?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde looks up from where she's applying sunscreen. She has gotten a bit of sun already this summer and has a nice light tan going as a result. "Afternoon, John. So you've been with us, what, a couple of weeks maybe? How are you liking it so far? Getting used to things?" she asks him. Kitty finishes with the sunblock, putting it back on the little table by her lounge chair and then rises to her feet.

As Kitty moves over towards the pool, she smiles towards Laura as the other girl emerges. "Hello Laura. A mix of exercise, and relaxation," she says. "Helps to relieve some of the stress from work," she adds. Kitty reaches down with a foot to dip a few toes in the water. "Perfect," she says of the temperature, which is not tough to keep right with the kind of mutant powers available in the school. Kitty walks over the diving board, stepping up onto it and going out to the end to give it a few test bounces to see how springy it is before she walks back to the end again. She takes a few steps forward and bounces off the board. She springs way up into the air, doing a perfect 1/2 back flip before straightening out to sink into the water head first with such little splash that a competitive diver would have been happy with it.

Cypher has posed:
Doug is busy. Busy busy busy busy busy. He's so busy that he's even working while he's out taking a walk, headed past the garden path with a tablet computer in his hand, his attention fixed on it. "Borrowing DoD satellites to track sentinel units indicates the probable locations of Molds here, here, here... no, that's not right..."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn raises his right hand in a greeting gesture towards Laura as well, and actually lowers his padd to look at Kitty's dive "not bad!" he exclaims, placing the tablet on a nearby table to fully focus on the people, yes, the ones whom with he's supposed to socialize, not be a cold alien with... "I like the place so far, I admit. The students are nice enough, and, well, I look forward to the lessons to start again to actually do my part!" then he turns his focus on Laura as well, smiling a bit at her "I don't, really need to exercise... Just, here to relax" well, hardly needed to make some muscle tone if he can just shapeshift them, and endurance or strenght are surely not things he needs, unless they have a 100 tons weight machine at hand, at least...

X-23 has posed:
Laura doesn't dive. The girl steps carefully into the shallow end of the pool, and then dunks herself under a moment, getting her hair wet, so she can slick it back and get it out of her face. She looks over to Doug. "Be careful you do not step into the water." It would wreck his computer. She lifts an eyebrow at J'onn's statement about exercise. "That must be a pleasant advantage."

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Oh hey one of the courtyard statues is moving again. And also wearing clothes. A pair of gym shorts and one of those tight work-out shirts. Colt has decided to stay out of the water today but saw activity and figured he'd at least come check it out.

He spots Doug, but he seems to be very into..Something, Colt's not sure what, so he opts to leave him alone for the moment, instead finding a nice lounge chair to lay in, keeping his tail out of the way so he can soak up some sun, "Weather here sure is nicer than back home. Doesn't get up to 110 by lunch time."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde emerges from beneath the water after one of the best dives she's probably made in her life. She ducks her head back to get her hair to lay flat and then spots Doug wandering past, lost in thought. "Doug! Come get thrown in- Er... come for a dip in the pool and cool off!" she calls over to him, grinning. Kitty's lips quirk at the corner at J'onn's mention of not needing exercise, but she doesn't make a comment as she sees Colt arrive poolside.

"Hello Colt," Kitty calls over to him from the deep end. "Sorry we didn't get a chance to talk more at the cookout. How are you doing today?" she asks.

Kitty does a slow breaststroke over to the side of the pool near where Colt sat so she can carry on the conversation with him easier, resting her arms on the coping around the pool edge as they speak.

Cypher has posed:
"Hmmm?" Doug looks up, his pupils dilated. "Oh. I'm sorry Kitty, I really shouldn't - I'm so busy. I'm collating data from all these different satellites and trying to run some data testing on these memetic maladaptation protocols... I wish I had an actual Sentinel OS to test them on." He shakes his head, lightly, and continues running numbers.

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn pays actual attention to what is being said about sentinels, probably comparing what he ears with the knowledge that he will probably intervene soon as part of the league. And indeed that is what he admits, standing up "the league will soon help with that matter..." and, simply walking, he moves to the pool's edge. It is from there that he simply bends his knees, propels himself upwards by a couple of meters, and just flips in an arch to land feet first in the center of the pool. "well, there's some advantages in being me, Laura" he admits with a soft smile

Polaris has posed:
Lorna stepped outside, the magnokinetic preoccupied with reading through something on her glass thin tablet. (Likely Tony's messages) And missed the gathering of people poolside so absorbed as she was. Her green hair was pulled back into a high ponytail, and she wore a solid black one piece suit, little mesh cut outs slashed the suit in different places, carefully keeping some idea of modesty.

Lorna stopped before she reached the pool, green eyed gaze lifting to angle toward Kitty and then Doug in turn. "Is this right? When was this sent out? Kitty have you seen this? I have to get back to Genosha. I have to get back now." She bit her lower lip, practically vibrating with barely restrained magnetics that buzzed and hummed with the new frenetic energy that coiled down her spine and into her stomach like some vile poison.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Hello Miss Pryde." Colt says, "It's okay you were trying to wrangle a ton of folks and celebrities and who knows what else all at once, I ain't mad." He watches the impressive dive by J'onn and whistles a bit, "Damn."

X-23 has posed:
Laura starts to swim, doing laps in the pool. Back, forth. Working hard, rather than particularly efficiently. She stops at some of the conversations. "What is it that people are concerned about?" she asks.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde puts her hands on the pavement to pull herself up out of the water, her legs doing a little flutter kick to help propel her up so she can step up onto the concrete in a graceful enough way. "I have, Lorna," Kitty agrees of the Sentinel news. "Was going over everything from work. Figured things may get interesting soon, so last chance to get mind and body into a good state."

"I realize the desire to prepare Genosha. But I think this is one of those situations that heading off the problem before it can grow is probably what is in Genosha's best interest, isn't it? By which I mean... it would be really good to have you here. Your father too," she says.

Kitty looks over to Colt and says, "I'm glad you made it to the school. I heard a bit about what you went through, but not all of the details. You weren't hurt, when you were shot at?"

Cypher has posed:
"So there's too much to do and no time for downtime." Doug affirms. "At least, not for me. If other people are going to be boots on the ground, I need to contribute in the best way that I can." He glances up at Lorna, and says, "They calculate success ratios for their attacks to pick optimal targets, so I would assume Hammer Bay and other heavily-defended areas won't be their first choices. Farmsteads and any outlying settlements would be at more immediate risk."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn floats to the edge of the pool, moving through the water a bit too easily for the lazy arm movements he's making, just to better take part in a conversation where however he plans to be more the listener, absorbing details like a sponge, and looking at Dana when she arrives, identifying her probably from the last time she met her in Blink's company. Even if he waves in her direction, he doesn't comment, just floathing there next to Kitty and just ready to answer eventual questions about the league's involvement should there be any, since he made his affiliation with them known in his last sentence...

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Boots on the ground for what?" Colt asks, overhearing Doug talking about heavily defended areas and success ratios. He's curious what the heck Doug is worried about. He caught the mention of the League but assumes that Mr. Green meant it in a more overall sense, not that he was literally going to take the intel to the League.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna skimmed through the contents of the message again, her lips pursing into a thin line as she shook her head once at Kitty's words. "No, I can't. My father can choose differently if he wants. But I won't leave Genosha sitting there undefended. I met Sebastian, the hate, the power he holds--" She cut off and swallowed back bile that threatened to rise in the back of her throat.

"Genosha has the highest concentration of mutants in the world, and you just expect me to leave them sitting there for an attack? The report said he is killing mutants. I can't risk it that he might attack there.."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde tells Colt, "There's some activity with the Sentinels. Attacking some mutants openly. This time it isn't Trask necessarily, but something else controlling some of the Sentinels from what we know." Kitty picks her words carefully, knowing the students don't know the details that the X-men and New mutants do. And maybe Colt is becoming a New Mutant for all she knows, but until she's sure she tries to pick her words carefully.

Kitty looks back to Lorna and Doug, but especially to the green-haired mutant. "He's upgrading them and gathering them. So which is better, stop him before he can increase his numbers? Or wait for him to show up with even more advanced Sentinels? I get your duty, and I'll apologize up front if it sounds like I'm trying to tell you how to do it. Just it sounds like the smart play is to focus on stopping Sebastion here and now, and not wait for it to reach Genosha's shores. I mean, you have people who can prepare in your absence who aren't as effective as you are against giant metal men?"

Polaris has posed:
Lorna's frown deepened and her grip on the tablet in her hands tightened. She was on edge, she had been on edge, and this was very near to a tipping point for the young woman emotionally speaking. "I understand your reasoning Kitty, really I do. It's sound. But what if he hits Genosha while I'm taking out molds or something? What if I'm on the other side of the planet and he attacks or sends Sentinels to attack Genosha? What then? Most of the people that live there are helpless, low level mutants. And you want both me and my father on the front lines to handle this?" She flapped her hand outward, a pinched look on her face. It was clear that Lorna was scared, openly frightened even, and her desire to protect those she felt responsible for was grinding against every word that left her.

"They need me."

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Well I wanna help." Colt says, getting up to his feet from where he was sitting, "Ya'll came and saved me when nobody else would, least I can do is the same for somebody else, 'specially if one of them big robots is after 'em."

He knows he'll probably get shot down for safety reasons or something but he has to at least try to offer his assistance, "I'm not doin' anybody any good sittin by the pool."

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up from his tablet. "You're only one person -- a powerful person -- but you can only do as much as you can do. You have to choose where you are and what you're doing, so if that's where you feel you're most needed, then that's where you should be. But--" He says, "You also have to work with others, and trust other people to take up the slack and be where you *can't* be. But I will also say, there's something to be said for striking out at the enemy proactively, not just castling up."

X-23 has posed:
Laura comes up out of the pool, finally. "If they are attacking tactically, target density is the primary factor. Since the troops cannot feel fear, and cannot be wounded, only destroyed, the optimum route is to go after the highest concentration of targets. Genosha, then places like Mutant Town, then the school."

Martian Manhunter has posed:
J'onn pulls himself out of the water, walking again towards his chair to retrieve a towel to wrap around himself, he'll shift on some clothes once out of sight probably. "I probably am noone to say that" he lies, on the noone part at least "but I can partially agree with Kitty on that matter... And with, him" he glances at Doug "both are saying true things... But then, well, the league and the avengers will probably cooperate as well on that matter, as far as I know... Or, at least, that's what I hope and will work for as well... So,Lorna, you are really not fighting alone, and wherever you will not be, there will be someone else." that said he offers a polite bow "and now I am afraid I must retire, there's some, urgent matters I am supposed to attend to before the day ends..." he smiles or attempts to "feel free to get in touch should you ever need anything" and he glances briefly at Kitty while saying that. Then it's time for him to leave, after earing eventual answers of course.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde smiles over to John Green for the encouraging words. Kitty glances to Colt, and were there a telepath in the room they might hear Kitty making a mental note to talk to Samuel Guthrie about seeing how suitable Colt would be for the New Mutants. Plenty of students have powers that are useful. But not all of them have the drive that it takes for that kind of life. Maybe Colt does. Kitty tells him, "Helping the other students prepare would be a big help. Hopefully nothing comes of this here at the school, but if we need to evacuate? Making sure everyone pairs up, works together, knows where we'll go to," she says. There are definitely contingency plans for such events.

Kitty looks back to Lorna and X-23. "There's a distance to consider. The Sentinels that are a threat are here in North America. Genosha is halfway around the world. Sentinels are not the fastest of fliers. Maybe, Lorna, you and Doug can work together to assure yourself that you'll have notice of any major force traveling to the Indian Ocean, or Africa, where Genosha would start to be at risk? And in the meantime, keep them from developing the numbers to be a real risk? It isn't like you don't have mutants in Genosha who can fight as well, even if you are here. And you can always teleport home same as you guys went to the beach there?"

Cypher has posed:
"I'm happy to help." Doug says, "That's practically my middle name -- actually it's Aaron, but if I had a longer middle name it'd be 'Happy to help'. Like I said, they also calculate probability of success and odds of destruction. A sentinel you can't recover is a loss, and they have to algorithmically weigh that against probablity of success. There are acceptable loss thresholds. They aren't just blindly marching to their own destruction unless they're malfunctioning. And they might be... I have to account for that."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna fidgeted upon her bare feet, her polished toe nails flashing green in the sunlight that should've been part of a relaxing day pool side. But the green haired woman was anything but relaxed. As Laura spoke, Lorna nodded toward X-23. "Genosha and Mutant Town are the highest shot per mutant they can get. That they know how to find and is well known. We don't know everything, how can we? I said that we should have ended this threat before it posed a problem. It was my recommendation!" The green haired woman turned pink in her cheeks as she fumed, the 'I-told-you-so' apparent in her expression as her fingers curled around the glass thin tablet of Genoshan make in her grip.

"And now mutants everywhere are at risk of being slaughtered wholesale. He can reach out and --" She held her hand out and snapped her fingers as she spoke. "Stop someone's powers without touching them. What good am I, what good are any of us without metahuman or machine backup at tacking this guy out? He's a threat." She calmed some of her heated argument as Doug spoke and she swallowed down the next long tangent that came to her lips.

"Doug, what are the chances that he'll strike Genosha?"

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Since Colt is a senior, and honestly is pretty hard to miss in a crowd, he nods in response to Kitty, "I can do that, yeah." He'll at least feel like he's doing something, "I'll gladly help out around here as best I can." The fact that any of those giant machines might show up at any moment is frightening, for sure. But he already has a lot of people that want him dead just for existing, what's a few more?

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde goes to get her towel, drying off and doing that thing to shake a bit of water out of one of her ears. That's so annoying when water gets in there. She dries her hair a bit as the others talk. "If nothing else, Lorna? You could always teleport home, do what you need... but if and when something is happening here? Come back and lend a hand with it. The more time Sebastion has, the tougher he will be to defeat," she says.

Kitty wraps the towel about her midsection, tucking it in to hold it in place. "And there are others who are going to be on our side in this," she says, glancing to Colt so the reassuring words are meant for him. "Janet is a good friend, and I don't know Captain America as well, but I'd call him a friend. Having them here was great for everyone. But I also had a hope to keep fresh in their mind the impact on mutants should something like this happen. Not that I think they /needed/ that, mind you. But it never hurts to have."

X-23 has posed:
"I will help fight wherever I am needed. The robot was not too hard to fight before. And it is what I do." Laura looks to Lorna. "If you need help, get me. I will kill things for you."

Cypher has posed:
Doug thinks about that. "Hmmm. Hm. On a long enough time line if allowed to continue? One hundred percent. But likely not until he had a sufficient number of Sentinels of sufficient power that he felt that the odds for victory were acceptable. If he has that force amassed, then high. If he doesn't, then he'll likely be more selective in his targets. I mean, I'm honestly surprised someone hasn't tried to smother Bolivar Trask with a pillow at this point. Really, the man's like an overgrown child, building toys and then looking for people to turn them against. It's ridiculous to condone that kind of lunacy--" He pauses. "Sorry, externalizing my internalizations. As I said, they'd probably try to pick off outliers first. Isolated homesteads, smaller settlements. Honestly the usual Sentinel logic would probably be to try and eradicate as many mutants as possible as quickly as possible, so they'd probably resort to WMDs, not an invasion--" He looks over to Kitty. "She's right to be concerned, to tell you the truth. The decision isn't so much action or inaction as defense vs. offense. I suggest playing offense. But make the choice that seems right to you."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna exhaled a breath, tension leaking from her shoulders as she inhaled and exhaled slowly, and steadily. It was clear the woman was struggling with her emotions, torn between one direction or the other. The reassurances from the others managed to retract the tension that had been building in her shoulders, in her frame and in the magnetic fields around her. She nodded once, tucking the tablet back against her side.

"Okay.. Okay.. Thank you...I'll help with any pointed strikes against the Sentinels here or abroad. But I'll be focusing mostly on making sure Genosha is prepared and on the defensive. If there's anything in particular, I'll be here, or where ever. But I'm going to move back home. Just in case. I.. I just feel guilty for wasting even a second on anything else now.." She whispered, wincing briefly.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog steps quietly out from the part of the back yard he was exploring following the noise. He pauses as soon as he steps into sight and blinks. .oO((A crowd, you really need to get over your thing with crowds lately)) He glances down at his hands and frowns but realizes that it shouldnt matter anymore.

His ears perk up at the mention of Sentinels. What an odd place to be holding a meeting about them... or maybe there's something going on? Now he feels stuck somewhere between timidity and curiocity. Well he isnt exactly dressed for swimming anyway.... He still stands there, twitching slightly and his eyes lock on one of the empty chairs near one of the tables around the poolside. Again it takes him a moment but somehow he manages to make his way to a seat.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"I'll tell you what. I know I ain't had the kinda experiences a lot of you have but you know, I don't think sitting around waiting for people to attack you is the best plan just 'cause if they attack somewhere you don't expect, then you're scrambling to respond. My coach used to always tell me 'Dictate the fight on your terms.'

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde smiles over to X-23. "And happy to have you in the fight, we'll be," Kitty says. She glances to Colt, and also Bobby as she sees the latter arrive. "Well, if it comes to fighting. But hopefully it will be far away from the school, yes," Kitty says towards Colt. "Still, a good idea if everyone brushes up on their defense and mutant power training. Even though it's summer session. We can see if Nate can fit in a few extra sessions for power training maybe?" she suggests.

Kitty looks back to Lorna and gives her a smile. "Thank you. Having your help means the world in this," she says. Her gaze goes over to Doug to include him in that. "We definitely need all the intel we can get," she tells Doug, without going into too much more detail.

Kitty smiles as Blinkdog comes over. "Hello Bobby. You should grab a suit and hop in. The water is excellent."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna exhaled a breath, her brows pinched as her body coiled and uncoiled in tension as she exhaled through her nose and out her mouth. Her green hair haloing her figure in a framing image of magnetic energy. "I want it on the record that I was right about him and my assessments." She angled to wave the tablet in Kitty's direction and swallowed anything else for the moment as other arrived and she pursed her lips into a thin line.

"I want it on my gravestone if this all goes south."

Cypher has posed:
Doug nods, once. "Right. In the meantime, I have to get back to work. Time is the one thing we don't have." He glances back to Kitty. "Another time." He says. "Besides, if I keep going swimming in my underwear," He says, "People will start to think I'm a weirdo!" Then he turns, to walk off and get back to work.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog holds up a paw, "Wet fur, canine, isn't very pleasnt to be around. Another time." he says as he clenches his jaw trying to shift back, but with the ever present tension in the air everywhere lately his body just wont cooperate.

He licks his lip, "So um, the Sentinel thing is getting worse?" he asks.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"They were just telling me about some of what's been going on." Colt says to Bobby, "It's..I mean it's not good. So they wanted me to help with getting other students prepared around here in case something happens at the school." He hmms, "You're a Senior too, right? Maybe you can help me out with it."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde sighs and nods towards Lorna. "You and me both. Would have been turned to scrap before you met him, if I'd been calling it. Tony too for that matter," she says, sighing. "But, I got the why even if I didn't agree with it." Kitty grins to Doug. "You mean, keep thinking you're a weirdo. But if they say something, just remind them you're Jeff Carmichael, Salem's Bowler of the Year, 2009."

Kitty looks over to Blinkdog and she nods to him. "There are Sentinels that are attacking mutants. I don't mean, being aggressive where law breaking was going on. But attacking just to attack. There's an outside influence we've heard of. While Trask is against mutants, he's not the cause of the attacks. And that's where we're hoping the heroes will focus their efforts, is stopping that other influence."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna glanced toward Blinkdog, a green eyebrow shooting upward as she considered the young mutant in question. She was a known element around the school and beyond, whether he knew her or not was irrelevant to her either way. Her arms crossed as she rolled her shoulders back, "It's become apparent that the machines designed to hunt and kill us all are starting what my father feared all along. A mutant genocide, if we don't stop it, is imminent. Regardless if Trask meant for it happen now or in the future. It's what the man has been selling since day one." She grit out, her teeth grinding together.

"My father was //right// once again. I'll never hear the end of it." She muttered the last part mostly to herself.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog shakes his head, "Technically I'm not even a freshman. I mean I'm 17, but... um.... my time in school has been a little... um lacking." he shrugs his ears folding to the side with embarrassment. "But, survival, that I'm good at. I know places to scatter to, places to hide. Maybe even places to meet at that would be kinda safe. I don't know. I guess it depends on how many of the things show up, and where. I know I can help evacuate people if I can carry them." he says answering Colt's question.

He blinks again at Kitty, thats a lot to take in, "Outside influence..." he huhs. "Genocide. Like we don't have enough problems." He thinks .oO((I knew it, a place like this... somewhere safe... it couldn't last. It never lasts.)) But he keeps this to himself.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"Isn't mutation, you know, part of the natural evolution of people? I mean if they want to genocide mutants won't they need to keep doing it forever?" Colt asks. Though he realizes he probably knows the answer to that already. His own father did try to kill him after all, "I guess it's important to stop what's happening now but also stop it from happening again in the future."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna snorted a dry laugh without any actual humor in it. "Oh yes, I pointed that out to the Sentinel in question and he certainly couldn't answer my question as to where it might end. There's no answer to that very logical point, because the answer means the destruction of most of the planet." She muttered, standing in her swimsuit and with her arms crossed, her tablet held in a tight and unrelenting grip. Her expression was grim.

"Logic can't be applied to these Sentinels, this isn't logic. This is hate. And hate is rarely, if ever logical."

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog sighs, "There's always someone who think they're perfection walking and everyone else is scum. If you're a mutant, you're scum. If you're poor, you're scum. If your skin isn't like theirs, you're scum. We're just the newest target. One guy said we stole our power from the angels. Well if that's what it would take to live in peace, I'd give it back gladly. But crap floats and makes a big stink. We may be trash and scum, but at least we're not the crap making the world stink." he says dejectedly

He shakes his head, "People like us, can't ever have anything good. At least not from what I've seen." his voice is way too bitter for a kid his age. "Peace is just asking for too much."

Polaris has posed:
Lorna sent her tablet floating over to the nearest table and approached Blinkdog, her expression pinched with some heavy sort of emotion that was difficult to distinguish. "Hey, no. That's wrong." She whispered, coming to a stop before the younger mutant and reaching out toward him.

"Hate is illogical, and it will always be there. My family has faced it for decades before I was born and we survived. My father survived the Holocaust. He survived to go on to have love, to live, to have freedom and peace. You are not asking for too much, we are //not// scum. We are gifted. We are special. //You// are special. Just because there are people out there that hate you.. doesn't make you what they think you are. You're more than that. We all are." She whispered gently, her expression softening.

"And I'll fight for that ideal. That dream of freedom. That's what Genosha means to me. What that country represents. That ideal."

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"I'm just glad there's people out there fighting for our right to exist, to be who we are.." Colt says, "It took me a while to get used to...All of this.." He kinda motions generally at himself, "But damnit this is who I am and I ain't gonna let anyone take that away from me, not my dad, not the Presidet, and sure as hell not some guy who makes a bunch of killer robots." He clenches one of his fists, "And it's good there's a place like that, ma'am," He says, looking to Lorna, "But we need to try to make it so folks don't have to travel halfway around the world to have it."

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog 's eyes just kind of go blank, staring off into nothing a thousand yards away. In his head there is a woman screaming at him that he made a mess. "I'm just saying thats how they see us. The ones that made those things." Its his fault he thinks reflexively at the memories. "I don't know anything about Genosha. I've never been past this far from Manhatten before." he shrugs, "Nothing ever good happens to me without a price. Usually a painful one. Its always been that way. I can't speak for any of you. Just... what I know. But hey, right now we've got it good. Right? Eat drink and be merry and all that? Enjoy it before the crap hits the fan." his eyes still refuse to focus on anything nearby.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty's phone chimes and she checks it. "Oh good!" she says, without elaborating further other than to say, "Be right back, have a guest. People don't need to hide their mutations, he's been here before," she says.

And then Kitty heads off into the school. Before she's made her return, three other students come out to join the group at the pool. Lorna would recognize them without a doubt, as the three students that were trapped in the magic sphere in the woods, and then teleported away and kidnapped. Though they are wearing swim clothing, they lounge about on chairs for now as if waiting for something.

And that something is Kitty and the guest. She returns with Jason Todd. Kitty's got on a bikini but has her towel wrapped about her hips. No sign of Lockheed at present. Her hair is out of her ponytail, and is drying but was wet recently as if she'd been in the water. "I think they wanted to say something to you and didn't get a chance before we left Gotham," Kitty is telling Jason as they walk towards the pool.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna nodded to Colt, "I wish that Genosha could show the world what it means for mutants and humans to work together. To think of all the problems that could be solved if we stopped hating each other for our differences and started to value each other for our strengths instead." She smiled sadly, and reached out a tentative hand toward the young mutant in front of her as she tried to catch his gaze with her own and draw him back to the present. If allowed, she'd gentle touch his shoulder.

"I don't typically advertise this, because most people know. But my father is Magneto, and I am Princess of Genosha. It's a small island off the coast of Africa. And it's filled with mutants and their families from all over. Everyone there is valued for who they are, and what they choose to do. Not judged on their skin, their powers, or anything else. I love Genosha dearly, and I will fight to protect it and everyone here at this school. It means a lot to me. Hate... never really goes away. It just changes from generation to generation. My father faced the Nazis. He saw everyone he knew and loved die in front of him because of hate.." She paused and exhaled a breath, withdrawing her hand.

"But they didn't build killer robots to attack me for my religion, so that's progress, right?" She offered softly, and glanced up as other students entered and then Jason and Kitty did as well.

"Hey."

Red Hood has posed:
"They don't need to tell me anything. You all did all the work. I just played tour guide." Jason comments dryly. Nope, not a mutant. Unless, you know, being a ward of Bruce Wayne counts as a mutant. It might, considering what happens to them. As he hears Bobby's response, there's a lift of his brow and a smirk. "Shit's always in the fan - just need to make sure you're upwind of it." he points out.

"No, they built killer robots because they're racist genetic cleansing a-- oh, hey." he notes the kids, and finally remembers to cut the language. Or at least curse less.

He's currently dressed in a pair of black board shorts, a red polo style pullover, waiting to be poolside to be removed, and a pair of flip-flops.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Not having to hide mutations is good, because Colt's options would have been to bail into the woods or dive into the deep end and hold his breath. Or he could have climbed on top of a pillar and tried to hold REALLY STILL. That last part makes him chuckle a bit to himself.

"Hey." He replies back to Jason. He's not one of the rescued kids, but he's still one of the kids out at the pool...Though whatever Jason was about to say, he's sure he's heard much worse from his dad on a drunken tirade against whoever he hated that particular day.

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog lets Lorna touch his shoulder and nods. "Sorry if Genocia and Magneto don't mean much to me. I mean yeah I heard of them... but..." he cuts himself off looking at the kids. Even he finds it hard to stay bitter at the sight like that. They're all happy about something. Best not rain on the parade. He looks to Jason, "Yeah I guess thats the point. There's always... in the fan. Just be sure to duck when it flies."

He gives an empty smile, a little forced, it looks like he is bearing his teeth again and then he remebers to let his jaw drop open and smile like a dog would bringing his ears forward, though it isnt in his eyes. "I'm sure the heroes will handle it before it comes here."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty smiles over to everyone as she and Jason arrive at the pool. Her expression looks a little serious at the conversation, and her fingers move to grasp her Star of David necklace, though she's removed it for swimming so it is not around her neck at present. She says to Jason, "You figured out which board game it was. And the connection to the Riddler. And knew the location in Gotham of the factory which is where they were. We'd not have known where to go without you." She reaches over, resting a hand on Jason's back in a familiar way.

The three students pop up and come over, led by Billy. "Thank you for rescuing us," Billy says. "Yeah," one of the other kids says. "We were in bad shape, if you hadn't got to us when you di...? So, thanks, thanks a lot," the girl in the group tells Jason.

Kitty smiles at the student's expressions of gratitude. "Do you want to hop in for a swim?" she asks the students, and turning her attention to Jason to include him in the offer. "Jason, have you met Lorna? And this is Bobby, and Colt," she says, including Blinkdog and Colt in the introduction. "This is my better half, Jason Todd," she says. "Security consultant extraordinaire."

Red Hood has posed:
"Well, you all did the heavy lifting." When the offer is made to swim, Jason removes his shirt - and there's several scars that mar his skin. A lot of them are old and healed - but there's a couple of them that are fresh and new. Probably from that job Kitty just stated. Setting the shirt to the side, when the kids approach, Jason squats down for a moment. "Long as you kids don't mess with games that are locked away for a reason anymore, we'll call it even." There's a smirk at that as he raises back up to feel Kitty's familiar touch.

"Yeah, I met Lorna briefly. Hey." he greets the other two with a lift of his hand. "How is? Not a mutant, just in love with one. But you know, before I found out she was one. I think it was the Jewish part I knew first." he says in a slight tease.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna turned away from the young mutant to watch the other students crowd around Jason. Her tension was there, but better masked now that there were more students about. She stood with her hip cocked to the side and as Kitty reintroduced Jason she smile and nodded, "Jason Wayne, right? We met at the picnic." She smiled, flashing a look to Kitty with a raise brow as she edged over toward her friend.

"So does that mean he'll convert if he ever proposes to you?" She teased right back, making to slink her arm through with Kitty's as she eyed Jason with a grin.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
Colt offers a clawed hand to Jason for a greeting, "Well you're not running away in terror at looking at me so that always at least gets a good resonse from me." He's not dressed for the pool himself, he just likes hanging out near it because they never had one within fifty miles of where he grew up and he thinks it's neat.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty removes her towel, revealing she's in one of her bikinis. A different one than Jason has seen before. "Yes, it was," Kitty agrees of Jason having found out her religion, before her mutation was revealed to him. Which leads Kitty to grin over to Lorna. "Convert?" she asks her friend. "I'm not sure what his mutation would be though," she kids, intentionally misinterpreting the question.

Kitty grins to Jason and then moves over nearer to the pool. "I don't know, we've never discussed it. Not something I'd ask anyone to do for me," she says, as if she hadn't really thought about it before. Kitty smiles to Colt and says, "That's one great thing about the school here. Realizing we all belong, it's just other people that need to adjust still, I think." Of course, Kitty has it easy, fitting in. She tells Jason, "Colt's mutation revealed itself not too long ago. He's new to the school. Off to a good start though. So is Bobby," she says, looking about for Blinkdog. Where did he sneak away to?

Red Hood has posed:
Shaking Colt's hand, Jason gives a nod. "Nice to meet you, Colt. Any friend of Kitty's." And then Lorna asks about converting, and when Kitty responds first, he has to roll his eyes. "Does putting up with her humor count as a power?" he asks in more than a little amusement. Though he's also caught admiring his girlfriend for a moment before his attention snaps back to the here and now, his hand settling on the small of Kitty's back in that same familiar motion she used earlier.

Of course, that's also to wait for her to be closer to the edge of the pool - just to give her a little itty bitty /nudge/.

Polaris has posed:
Lorna's tablet ding'ed with a tell tale response that she had clearly been waiting for. Anything further, smile and all, drained from her face as she flicked it on and read whatever was written there. "Sorry, to cut the good ol' roasting of my dear friend's boy short, but I gotta head to Genosha. My ride's here and I've got to get everyone on the island prepared as they're gonna be. Here's hoping my father doesn't decide to declare war." She muttered, shaking her head as she made to go inside.

"It was nice to see you again Jason."

Blinkdog has posed:
Blinkdog sits for a moment waiting till there are absolutely no eyes on him.... and then he is gone. No sound, no bamf, no nothing. Just gone. Back in his room he packs a few things into his bookbag and raids the kitchen down stairs for as many granola bars and the like as he can squeeze into it. Just in case.... just in case. He tells himself. Who knows maybe they'll show him how to deal with those sentinel things himself. Hah! Thats a laugh. Still they're great people. It makes him wonder for a moment where they'd been his whole life. If things work out, there are a lot of others that could use a place like this too... Later that night he decides to leave it on that positive note before he goes to bed.

Colt Cassidy has posed:
"It was good to meet you, Jason." Colt says to the other man as he takes a moment to look over the pool, "You two have fun." He grins, before he heads back for the mansion proper to leave the two alone at the pool.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty laughs and flashes a look back to him. "Yes, that surely DOES count as a power," she assures him. She flashes a brown-eyed grin to the man before turning to see what Lorna's futuristic tablet is complaining about. "Bye Lorna. Best of luck to everyone there. I know you'll do well by them," she says with noticeable confidence in the green-haired mutant in her tone.

Kitty turns back towards Blinkdog and Colt. Only Blinkdog is gone. "He always just poofs around I guess," she says of Bobby. Kitty waves towards Colt as he heads out. "Take care Colt. Talk to you later," She offers to him.

Kitty looks back to Jason just as he gives her that push. She windmills her arms in the air, trying to keep her balance, but then slowly falls over sideways. Sploosh!

Oh, you're going to get it now, Todd.