8129/Back at It

Back at It
Date of Scene:	01 July 2019
Location:	Kitchen, Xavier's School
Synopsis:	A day in the life at Xavier's School
Cast of Characters:	Cyclops, Cypher, Wolverine, Buffy Summers, Shadowcat, Marvel Girl, Deadpool, Cannonball, Magik

---

Cyclops has posed:
Scott is sitting at the massive prep island in the kitchen. The morning rush is over so the kitchen staff are on break, leaving Scott alone. His bike jacket and helmet are sitting on a stool beside him. He sits with one boot up on his stool's bar, the other on the floor. Blue jeans and a black NYCFC T-shirt on, as well as his ubiquitous glasses. He is reading from a tablet while eating breakfast.

Cypher has posed:
It has been... a rough couple of days. Doug has found himself in the role of picking up the pieces after that difficult mission, and that resulted in a late night at Harry's bar, trying to distract Sam. Doug's stone-sober, but he is tired, as he picks his way into the kitchen, and pours himself a cup of coffee with some distraction. He's dressed in a pink button-down shirt and tan pants.

Cyclops has posed:
Scott watches the younger man for a moment as he finishes a mouthful of cereal.

"Good morning, Doug," Scott says once Doug has his coffee. "Out late?"

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up. "Yes, sir." He holds his mug in one hand, having forgotten about it.

"Sam is... being Sam, and treating that mission like a critical failure. I think I got him over the worst of it." He takes a sip of his coffee now, finally. "It was easier being up until four in the morning a few years ago."

Cyclops has posed:
"That is a late night. Thanks for helping him. How he handles this is a big test for a young team leader," Scott puts down his tablet and drinks from his coffee.

"If something happened right now, could I count on him?" Scott asks after taking swallowing his drink.

Cypher has posed:
Doug looks up at Scott, and says, "My judgment is subjective. I'd follow him anywhere, because *I* trust him. How much you value my judgment is up to you." His expression is keen, for a moment, despite his tiredness. "If you really want to know what I think, I think he needs to know when to step back and let other people take responsibility."

Cyclops has posed:
"You have an unusually good read on people, Doug," Scott says and clicks off his tablet so the screen goes dark. "I trust your judgement about this more than most about this kind of thing."

Scott thinks a moment on Doug's evaluation, turning it over in his mind.

"Do you mean delegating?"

Cypher has posed:
"Not infalliable though sir. I'm trying to avoid presenting myself as such."

Then Doug thinks about it. "It's more that out of our generation of students, *any* of the others have the potential to be great leaders, not just Sam. Bobby, Illyana, Rahne -- they could *all* lead. But they don't, in part because we all have a bad habit of looking to Sam. It's not healthy for him, and it's not healthy for us." He left himself off of that list.

Cyclops has posed:
"Hmm, depth," Scott says. He drinks from his mug again. "I have noticed that."

Scott picks up his tablet and makes a quick note with the stylus. "It is on the list. We are going to be drilling in the Danger Room. I am not really happy with the mission reports I am seeing," he admits. "I was listening to some mission audio and I do not hear the kind of coordination I expect. Looks like it is time for more drills."

"The others will still follow him though?"

Cypher has posed:
"Yes." Doug says. "...A point of order? While coordination on an assault is to be expected, you also need to be training people to work autonomously? Sentinels adapt quickly and people need to be ready to improvise."

Then he flattens his mouth into a line, and says "Yes, they will. But I have to ask, Scott -- what are we expected to be? I'm completely committed to the X-Men and what it stands for, but I'm not quite the silhouette of a soldier. As an example."

Cyclops has posed:
Scott puts his tablet and coffee down so he can turn to face Doug directly.

"We are a black ops security team," Scott says simply. "There is no point softening the point. We do everything we can here and in our own lives to bring mutants and humans together. But when talking does not work, there is us."

He takes a breath. "I do not expect you to be a soldier, Doug. That is not who you are. But I am trying to help you grow into a world class intelligence officer. The X-Men are useless if we do not know who is out there and what we are doing. I need you to help us make sense of the world around us. Build strategy. And in time, to read tactical situations as they develop so you inform the team leader. Or be one."

Wolverine has posed:
Having met Buffy Summers a few weeks ago, Logan has since come to know the youngest Summers. He understood she did not know much about the stick in the mud he hangs out with, and so when she expressed interest, Logan thought it funny to spring it on Scott unannounced. The man could use the influence of someone like her.

Today, he drove down to Bludhaven on his chopper and ferried her back up. It was a nice drive, sunny day, and certainly beat using public transit. Xavier's School made one hell of a first impression. It was beautiful, the gardens, the architecture, but it was 'home' to Logan, so he didn't get to appreciate it the way a new person might. Parking the motorcycle in the garage, he hung up her helmet... he'd lent her one. He didn't exactly need it, but she did.

Leading her into the mansion proper, he silently sniffed the air, "yer in luck, this way." Just as he pushed through the door to the kitchen, he asked, "Want something to drink, Buffy?" Still holding the door open for her to come through, he added, "Summers. This here is Doug Ramsey, great guy, a whiz with computers, sharp as a tac, oh... and the guy wearing sunglasses indoors is yer cousin, Scott." Yeah, rip it off like a bandaid.

Cypher has posed:
Doug thinks about that, his fingers curled around his coffee cup. "I decided to become a lawyer." He says. "My parents were lawyers. I already know computers and codebreaking -- I don't NEED to go to school to refine my skills with those things. So I made that choice to expand my toolbox, and my utility--"

He looks up at at the newcomers, and rubs the back of his neck, before he gives a faint grin. "Ah. Coffee?" He says, to Buffy. "It's a pleasure to meet you, miss."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers was only too eager to meet her cousin, and was elated to learn that Logan knew him personally (although he didn't seem terribly fond of him for some reason..). She had never seen this Xavier school before, although she'd heard mention of it here or there, knowing it was supposed to be for gifted students, whatever that means.

So when Logan brings her here for the first time, she draws a deep breath, taking in the beauty and majesty of the place. "Wow...That's quite the school!" she grins, "And you're a professor here? Must be nice." she follows him into the kitchen, peering curiously around, "Hmm, I could do with a soda water, if you have any."

When they intercept Doug and Scott, she smiles and nods to them. "Hey, nice to meet you. Doug, I'll bet you'd get along with my friend Willow. She's a computer genius too.." A double take at Scott and her eyes widen a bit. "Wow...Is that really you? Scott? I mean...It's been a really really Loooong time but..Wow! Look at you, you're all grown up!" she's not sure whether she should shake his hand or hug him. It's been a long time and she only met him once briefly as a very young kid. She offers him her hand instead, trying to be polite.

Cyclops has posed:
Scott opens his mouth to answer Doug, but closes it when Logan comes in with a young woman. He scowls slightly into his cup at the interruption. He chokes on his coffee when Logan introduces Buffy. Most of it goes into his cup. He wipes his mouth with the back of his off hand.

"Logan..." he starts, exasperated but then forces a smile. He stands up and is also caught in that awkward moment of not knowing whether to hug her or shake her hand.

"Yeah, it's me," he says and shakes Buffy's hand. "It's been forever. I wouldn't have recogized you. What are you doing here?"

He shoots Logan a quick glare after his question.

Cypher has posed:
Doug gets a quirky look on his face, and then says, "Oh, sure. We've got this great no-sugar berry-flavored syrup I ordered from--" He silences himself, and then obligingly fills a tall glass with seltzer, and a shot of the purple stuff, before he offers it to Buffy, obligingly. "...I can see the family resemblance," He says. Only a little cheekily.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan speaks matter of factly, as if it was the most normal thing in the world to say, "I teach History, Scotty here teaches maths, specialisin' in geometry," the way Logan says geometry suggests he doesn't hold it in the highest of regard, though that might just be because it's Scott, "and Dougie's, what are you, second year university? Though with a crackerjack brain like that, won't be long 'fore you come back and start runnin' the place, or become our lawyer."

Logan hands Scott a napkin as he passes by, and puts a hand on the man's back, meant to be intimidating. He loves to tease Scott. And with him in the seated position, Logan can actually look down at him for once. "Ya missed something, right there," and he gestures to it, before grabbing a beer for himself from the massive walk in fridge since Doug's got her soda water. Heading back once Scott's stood up, Logan casts a sideways glance at him.

He twists off the bottle cap, which wasn't a twist cap, and drinks straight from the neck. For a moment, he stands near Doug, letting the two of them sink in the moment. Logan whispers "how long do ya think it'll take Scott to try and turn her into one o' his recruits?" to Doug, being careful to say the word 'Scott' just a little bit louder, and the rest for Doug's ears only.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers grins at the term 'Scotty' and nods, "Wow, I guess you two are like two peas in a pea pod, huh." she shakes Scott's hand and nods, "Ditto! I mean, I was starting to think I'd never see you or Alex again. Speaking of, is he here too? I'd like to say hi to him, although he was even younger and probably doesn't remember me at *all.*" she chuckles.

"But hey, you're looking good, teaching here and all. I mean, math was never my strong point. I'm more into history and social studies so that's cool." as for what she's doing here, Buf just shrugs, "Well, aside from just visiting the neighborhood, I just wanted to check in and see how you're doing after all these years. It was a total coincidence when I ran into Logan and discovered that he's a friend of yours." okay 'friend' might be a strong word but she doesn't know better.

When Doug offers her a glass of purple stuff, she arches a brow, "Oooh, what's this? Smells nice. Didja invent it yourself?" she grins and nods to Doug. "Thanks!" a couple sips assures her that this stuff is as good as it looks. As for Logan, she just nods and smiles, "Yeah, second year at Gotham U. It's funny, memorizing stuff really comes easily to me. I'm really enjoying Philosophy and History the most."

Cypher has posed:
Doug asides to Logan, and says, quietly, "Where did you find this one? She acts like a cheerleader but I can tell by the way she moves and her muscle tone she's *at least* as good a fighter as Kitty is--" Then he says, "Ah, actually, I just started. After everything that's happened, I needed a couple of years to start to find myself. But..." He says, "I've realized that purpose isn't something we're given, it's something we choose."

Cyclops has posed:
Scott glowers and half-snatches the napkin from Logan. He wipes himself while Buffy talks and tries to ignore Logan baiting him.

"I am glad you dropped in, I lost track of you over the years," Scott says and puts down the napkin on the island. "Gotham U... Good for you. Alex is around, he would be excited to see you. We should try to all meet up sometime for something."

Shadowcat has posed:
Some things are relatively commonplace at Xavier's that you don't tend to see anywhere else. Like a girl's bare feet sticking through the kitchen ceiling, descending through the air as more of her body becomes visible. There isn't any hole, just the pair of legs appearing on this side of the plaster, soon revealing a pair of shorts and then a t-shirt, and finally the face of Kitty Pryde. She alights on the floor and glances around the room. She might be tired or something, as she is exhibiting a little less than her normal warmth.

Kitty avoids phasing through anyone on her way down. "Sorry, just came down for a refill," she says, holding up a coffee mug in her hand. It's then she notices Buffy there. "Oh, hello. New student?" she asks, glancing around the room at the others for confirmation, and bringing something closer to a normal smile to her face.

Wolverine has posed:
"Both good subjects," Logan said when Buffy described her love of history and social studies. "Anytime you need help wit' 'em, just let me know." He was leaning against the countertop of the kitchen island, and had an open bottle of Molson's in his right hand. Talking loud enough for others to hear, he answered Doug's question, "Sunnydale. And yeah, Buffy's stronger than she looks." Looking around, he notes that they are safe, everyone being sort of in the know, so he drops any pretense, "mutant eye blasts, mutant polyglot and technologist, mutant healin'," pointing to Scott, Doug, and himself with each utterance, and then when he points at Buffy, well, actually he gives her a full hand gesture, open palm, "Slayer. One girl in all the world chosen to fight the demons, yada yada yada, and mutant phasing. Kitty Pryde, this is Buffy Summers, Scott and Alex's cousin."

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers chuckles a bit at Doug's comments. "Well actually, I *was* a cheerleader back in highschool, but..I suppose I just 'moved on' from there.." she shrugs, "Actually I ran into Logan when I was fighting some..Err..Thugs? I was pretty surprised at his fighting ability and strength - not to mention ow, bones of steel or something.."

She visibly winces at the memory of their most recent (painful) sparring match. "I don't think I've had a good sparring match like that in a long time.." she grins and elbows Logan playfully as she says that. "I mean, all the..'thugs' I've fought before have been pretty small fry in comparison."

And then Kitty suddenly slips through the walls and Buffy blinks, "Woah..Where'd you come from?" she scratches her head, having thought Logan was the only one with special abilities. Not that she's a stranger to having powers of course. "Well cool! Nice to meet you Kitty!" she grins, offering her hand, but seems a little confused about something.

Cyclops has posed:
"Damn it, Logan, it's not your place to..." Scott starts, going red. He cuts himself off, gathers up his dishes and puts in them in the washer. Then he grabs his tablet.

"I've got work to do," he says gruffly, digging out a pen and paper from a drawer. "Good to see you, Buffy. Here's my number. Let's keep in touch."

Then Scott strides out of the kitchen.

Cypher has posed:
Doug watches Scott turn to walk out, and then he looks back to Buffy. "...It's a sensitive subject for many of us," He explains. "It can cost people a lot. Careers, family--but I think you understand that." His gaze flicks over to Kitty, and some of the joviality leaves his face, but he doesn't say anything. He merely, obligingly, pours her a cup of coffee and loads it up with milk and sugar cubes before handing it over.

Wolverine has posed:
Logan had been on his best behaviour, or at least better than usual behaviour, and probably brings the house down by pointing out, "Language Scott, there might be children within earshot." Yep, he'd been on the receiving end of that one on numerous occasions.

Logan pretends to be hurt by the elbow, returning the playfulness, but not so much that he might spill his beer. That'd be a crime against humanity, or mutancy, or whatever it is. "Yer a good fighter Buffy, with a bit o' extra training, might even be as good as Kitty over here." Yep, he was challenging them. Friendly competition can do wonders. He does nod to Doug, "right kid, though she's family." Scott's family becomes their family as far as he's concerned, even if he does rub Scott the wrong way at every opportunity.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Junk food run! Just how Rachel survives on what anyone actually sees her eat from the kitchen is a mystery for the ages. But at least she uses the door, giving the gathering of people a curious look as she heads for the pantry to retrieve a bag of Bugles and a bag of beef jerky. Hey, at least there's some protein involved. And enough sodium to preserve her for the next decade.

"So, day that ends in 'y'?" she says as she moves to the fridge for a soda and watches Scott huff at Logan. The mention of family gets a closer look though, and those with shields against psychic intrusion might feel the slightest brush of curiosity before she stops herself and pulls back again.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers bites her lip as she starts to realize just what makes this school special. "Oh. Wow. I didn't realize. So..When you say school for 'special students' you mean..." she bites her lip as Scott turns and takes off in a fury, but not before leaving his number. "Oh..Sure, it was nice seeing you again, Scott!" she draws a deep breath.

"Phew, I didn't mean to cause trouble, honestly. I mean..To be fair, I have a secret of my own. I'm not a mutant, at least I dont *think* so, but..I am a Vampire Slayer, with my own set of super powers and all." she smirks at the 'even as good as Kitty part'. "Oh yeah? that's the second time I've heard that now..I'd love to spar with you sometime, Kitty."

Turning back to the others she nods. "Don't worry, I'll keep your school a secret. My lips are sealed! I know how important a secret is.."

Deadpool has posed:
Some guy arrives in the kitchen doorway. Someone might say, 'that's Brad Pitt!' but they'd be wrong; Brad Pitt's older, lots older (or maybe dead? What year is it?). Maybe at a glance that mistake could be made, but this guy is more like somebody's memory of what Pitt looked like if they were having a fantasy about him from Fight Club and that's what's walking around. Sort of like his stunt double movie version.

"Hi!" The DeadPitt says with surprise and cheerfulness of the group in the kitchen. The one word alone will probably 'unmask' Wade to over half the room. He's made no effort whatsoever to do anything with his voice. Or the chattery thing that follows.

"Sparring? Such talk summons me. Particularly so with a magical circle on the floor made of tacos, DVDs, and maybe a few things I won't mention in a school. I'm watching 'saved by the bell' lately, so it should be those: staying topical," Deadpitt chatters, upbeat.

"Or you can be Logan. Hiiiiiii," DeadPitt stresses the last word heavily, and heads right for Logan. The mood would suggest he's going to hug the man warmly. Which may or may not happen. But Scott is headed at him instead, and DeadPitt orients on him instead. They can have a back and forth of trying to each walk past the other sequence that may or may not be intentional from DeadPitt's side of things. "Pardon. Oh, excuse me. Pardon."

Cypher has posed:
Doug turns, to open the fridge. He's not going to COOK, is he? Doug has many talents, but cooking is not one of them. He keeps getting distracted in the middle and whatever he's doing gets ruined, cosmically ruined, even if he just looks away for a split second. He's destined to be the guy with a million plastic takeout containers in his kitchcen cabinet.

"...Who keeps letting you in, Wade. Or are you climbing over the wall and coming in through the window?"

Cyclops has posed:
Scott does the awkward dance with Wade for a couple of steps, then stops.

"Not now, Wade," he says, annoyed. He catches enough of what Buffy was saying and shoots a look over his shoulder at her, but then sidesteps Wade and heads out.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde accepts the coffee from Doug, eyes going to him with something of a grateful look. She turns back to the others as she gets the introduction. "Hello Buffy. Really nice to meet family of Scott's," she says, a little more warmth making it back into her smile, getting her somewhere back closer to normal.

The mention of vampire slaying causes Kitty's eyes to widen a bit. "I'm kind of curious to hear more about the vampire thing," she tells Buffy. "Trade you a spar for a talk?" she asks. "I'm kind of curious to know more about what vampires are like," she says. Her eyes go to Logan for a moment, and he'd likely know she's thinking about the vampire they encountered fighting Lycans in the subways of Gotham a month or two ago.

Kitty glances up and smiles to Rachel. "Hey Rache," she says, but isn't able to get out more before Deadpool makes his arrival. "Ah.... hello Wade," she tells him, giving the man a little finger waggle.

Wolverine has posed:
Deadpool. This was turning out to be a great day. Scott was irate. Buffy got to meet him and oh so many others. So why did Deadpool have to come and spoil things? Looking around, the kitchen was starting to get crowded. And so Logan did what came naturally. He raided the pantry, getting out hot dogs buns, burger buns, then from the fridge came sausages, condiments, and the freezer some beef patties. He hefted them all onto a carrying plate, which he took out through a door, heading for outside, fully intent on turning this into a barbecue, he just didn't state it. He figured people would catch on. And if they didn't the smell of the food cooking would lure them out soon enough. It totally had nothing to do with any desire to put greater distance between himself and Deadpool, of course.

Buffy Summers has posed:
Buffy Summers arches a brow, giving Kitty the once-over. She's definitely less intimidating looking than Logan, and probably not quite a powerhouse. But she's betting Kitty has other 'talents' that are not so obvious. She grins and nods, "Sure, I'd like that, just don't expect me to go easy on you, and vice versa of course." She arches a brow as Deadpool makes an entrance and smirks a bit. "Hello.." phew it's getting pretty crowded in here and she starts heading for an exit. "Well, it's been nice meeting you all, I should probably head out.."

Deadpool has posed:
"I used the door this time. I didn't crash through a skylight or anything, even if that would have been more dramatic. Maybe next time, just for you," DeadPitt promises Doug with a jab of finger directly at him for em-PHA-sis.

"Aw. Headache? You're NEVER in the mood," the mercenary laments of Scott, rotating towards his escaping shape. He does seem to have forgotten about the whole ambushing Logan with a hug routine.

But then somebody mentions vampires. "Vampires? I love to stab things. I'd like to help. I offer myself as tribute. Or bait. Though a distraction is usually my thing in team situations, what is up with that? Not complaining, though I feel like often people put me in a position to get shot and/or maimed. Do you think it's personal?" Chatterbox, go. He turns a little, seeming to have forgotten about Logan, but there's vampires to be intrusive about.

Shadowcat has posed:
Other than being in the best shape of her life, there isn't a whole lot intimidating about Kitty. She doesn't look overly strong, or mean. Rather the opposite, even if she seems like she might be a bit tired and her normal warmth somewhat lacking compared to most days.

Kitty smiles to Buffy says, "Great, I'll look forward to it." She adds, "I guess it goes without saying, we don't let people know about the school's makeup. Just students and families know, for the safety of the students. So, you know, discretion," Kitty says, her tone suggesting she's saying it because it need be said rather than sounding like she thinks Buffy in particular needed to hear it spelled out. The opposite, Kitty has a soft smile for the other woman as she moves to head out.

Cypher has posed:
Doug makes what could best be described as 'Annoyed Kermit Face' at this. "...Eesh." He shakes his head, and then pushes himself up to sit on the counter. "As you can see," he explains to Buffy, "The environment here at the school is usually a sort of 'barely controlled chaos'. It can be a lot, but it really gets addictive... after..." He pauses, watching things transpire, and then says, "Huh. There and gone." He shrugs his shoulders.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel finds herself a seat at the counter, setting herself up in the peanut gallery, so to speak. She starts crunching on Bugles, popping them onto her fingertips as she goes. Once one hand is clear, she leans over enough to offer a hand over to DeadPitt. "Hey," she greets. "I'm Rachel. You're..." A pause, then a wry smirk. "Interesting."

Deadpool has posed:
DeadPitt points once MORE at Doug, grins, and nods. Skylight. He'll remember. Maybe. He also 'bows' when he's indicated as the controlled chaos. "Not really controlled," he stage whispers in a conspiratorial tone.

Rachel's compliment attracts DeadPitt. Second rule of DeadPitt: Don't Engage. She engaged. "Howdee," he says cheerfully, and moves to flip around and sit directly next to her on the counter, half of an ass-cheek on the edge of the sink. Whatever. "They said I'm Wade. They're not wrong. Let's be interesting together," he offers, entirely companionable and cheery. He also extends a hand with the clear intention of being handed Bugles.

"Wasn't Logan here? Or did I hallucinate him? I do that." It happens.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde adds a little sugar and a lot of milk to her coffee that Doug had refilled her cup with. She stirs it as she tells Rachel, "You really have no idea," after her comment about Wade being interesting. Kitty watches as Deadpool perches next to Rachel. This could be interesting, in the way a 30 car pile up on the highway can be interesting.

Where did Logan go? Kitty wanders over towards the open door to spy him out there at the grill. "What is it with men and grills anyway? Most won't bother cooking over a stove if it meant starving to death otherwise. But make it a fire, outside? Out of the way!" she says, making the last part an exclamation. She moves over near to Doug, leaning back against a counter as she sips her coffee with both hands.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Oh no, no Bugles were promised here! Rachel slowly slides the bag out of reach, though she does trade over five fingers worth of Bugles. Because if you're not going to eat them right, then you certainly shouldn't get to eat them!

"Based on the smell outside, I'd say he went to make meat happen," she answers his question about Logan, smile quirking at Kitty's observation. "Hey, whatever way food happens, I'm not going to complain if I don't have to do it." Which is for the best, really. Culinary skills: not a high priority for brainwashed mutant hunters or rebels.

Cypher has posed:
Doug rubs his chin. "Hey, Kitty." He says. "What does a ghost wear when it's snowing outside?" He holds onto his mug with both hands, and waits.

Deadpool has posed:
"This... might not work with my gloves on," WadePitt observes unhappily as she hands him the Bugles to his palm. Which probably makes no sense as a statement, since he doesn't appear to be wearing gloves. He starts to reach for his image inducer at his wrist, then pauses, and checks the room.

"Nobody's gonna throw me out if I turn off my image thingee, right," he says, in a rare moment of obvious mental clarity. "Unless it's Colossus. Then I might want it. Is HE around? What does his summoning ritual involve?"

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty sips her coffee, letting herself get lost in her thoughts while the others talk, until Doug draws her attentions back up from wherever they'd gone. She takes another sip before replying, "What? Oh... ghost, snowing... um... I don't know. Snow Boooooooo(ts)?" she offers back finally.

The mention of the Russian X-man draws Kitty's attention over to Deadpool. "He's been busy for awhile. Though pelmeni, or shashlik stand a good chance of getting his attention," she says. After she says it, Kitty's jaw gives a little tick and she looks back down at her cup again, about to be pulled back into her thoughts perhaps if Doug doesn't rescue her with a good punchline.

A GOOD punchline, Doug.

Cypher has posed:
Doug blinks at Kitty. Blink. Blink. Blink blink. He smiles.

"BOoOOOoOoooOOOOOooooOOoOoots!"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Pretty used to seeing strange things here," Rachel replies to Deadpool, letting her own illusions drop long enough to show the markings on her face before the psychic illusion is back in place. She crunches on a few more Bugles herself, glancing back toward Kitty and Doug with a faint narrowing of her eyes. It's directed more at Kitty than otherwise, picking up on those small indications of feelings with more than just her eyes.

Deadpool has posed:
"I was thinking lawn, lawn chair, boom box. But that's overdone. In fact, I think overdone by /me/. But that could just be another reality, and we don't talk about alternate realities. First rule of AU and shit," DeadPitt explains.

The illusion flutter on Rachel as she shows him draws a perk from Deadpitt. "Sexy scars. Love it. Unless you hate them, then booooooooooots."

When no Scott materializes out of the pantry to say 'don't scare the students', Deadpool flips off the image inducer, appearing in his full red and black leather gear, armed to the gills with guns, knives, the works. Doesn't fit in at a school, regardless. He pulls a knife from the knife block behind his ass without looking, and flips it around in the same hand.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty groans as Doug gives the punch line. She shakes her head, but his likely objective is still partially accomplished, as Kitty can't hear that kind of joke without coming back with one of her own. "Doug, why is it useless to push on an envelope?" she asks him.

The smell of cooking meat begins to be noticed coming in from outside. Kitty pushes off the counter she's leaning against and goes over to glance out the door. "Well, he's not managed to catch himself on fire," she says, trying to sound encouraging. "Yet." Kitty moves back over to resume her spot, watching as Rachel drops her illusion. The sight doesn't startle her, just causes a supportive look to be flashed from Kitty over to Rachel. Add an age line or two around the eyes and it's the kind of look of pride in Rachel having made it through what she has that Kate Pryde used to give her.

Cypher has posed:
Doug is plainly trying to elicit a smile, based on the idea that getting someone to crack a smile will, however precariously, create a fracture in the gloom they've built up around around themselves that will eventually cause the whole Gothic cathedral of angst they've built up to fall apart. He has his lips on the rim of his coffee cup.

"Gee pal, I don't know. Why IS it useless to push on an envelope?"

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel pauses mid-bite at Deadpool's reaction to the markings on her face. He's...not kidding. At least not any more than he's not kidding about anything, which appears to be a less than black and white area. Which is something to make //her// think. She starts chewing again, then when she's done, just nods. "Thanks." She even seems like she might mean it. Huh. Food for thought.

Crunch, crunch, peer. "That is a lot of firepower," she observes, leaning back enough to check back and front for blades and guns. Again, not automatically disapproving. This could be the beginning of a terrible friendship. "Planning on running tests on Logan's healing factor or something?"

She doesn't say anything out loud to Kitty, but the other woman gets a quiet nudge at her mind. << Talk later? >> Just an offer.

Deadpool has posed:
"I'm resisting the urge to throw a grenade into the grill. I'm being really well behaved," Deadpool comments across to Kitty. "Also I want a hamburger. Or hot dog. Logan's meat." Teehee.

"We're long past tests, he and I, it's just for enjoyment now," Deadpool explains, using the knife to cut off the tip of the glove on his left hand. "Ugh, dull. How do you cope in here," he complains, tossing the knife into the sink, and drawing one of his own mean, shiny hunting knives. He then cuts the tip of the glove off nicely, showing a weirdly tinted and scarred-to-shit thumb, before he puts a bugle on the tip there, just so. He proceeds to the next one.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty picks up the coffee pot, topping her cup off with the last of the pot. She goes through the choice of roasts and picks out another to start a new pot going, the machine whirring softly as it begins percolating the hot water through the ground coffee beans. She gets a little more milk and sugar to get the coffee back to the right taste.

The brunette looks up and over to Rachel, the stray hairs that she's left free of the ponytail swaying along the sides of her head with the motion. Kitty gives the tiniest of nods as she thinks an affirmative thought back towards the talented telepath.

Kitty looks back to Doug and she can't help but get her own soft smile as she gives him the punchline. "It's useless to push an envelope, because no matter how much you do, it stays stationary," she tells him.

Cypher has posed:
"Okay." Doug says. "What do you call a fish with no eyes?" He asks, querying Kitty. Then he looks up at Rachel, and when he's not looking at Kitty, his expression sobers. He's trying. His own emotional projection is that he's been fielding these kind of fly balls of gloom for the past few days. It's a tough job!

Marvel Girl has posed:
"I cheat," Rachel answers Deadpool with a faint smirk, levitating the bag of beef jerky and slicing across the top of it with her mind before floating it over to let him take a piece.

Her lips twitch against a broader grin at the mention of Logan's meat even. For Doug and Kitty, it's a rare enough sight. Rachel's not exactly prone to a lot of smiling. Apparently her sense of humor is just...twisted. "Throwing grenades on the grill, shockingly, does not speed the cooking process," she adds as if it was a perfectly reasonable suggestion. "What you save in cooking time, you lose in food retrieval time. And around here, paperwork."

Her glance to Doug comes with a faint nod, but she's keeping counsel on some of her own thoughts as well - she's seen the fielding for sure. She's got opinions.

Deadpool has posed:
Deadpool has a new problem, despite having now arranged the bugles on his fingertips and having made a little pile of trash - the bits from the tips of those fingers. He has a mask on, so that's going to prevent eating. At first. He addresses the jerky itself as if it chose to levitate over, telling it, "Hold on, I only got so many hands, jerky."

Deadpool then pulls his fingers to his neck and draws just the bottom of his mask up to the nose bridge. His skin and mouth is a horror movie come reality: a victim of scars upon scars and ropey veins of cancerous growth. Lips are devastated. He's really hard for even weathered people to stand looking at. And that's just the jaw. He then has a free hand to accept the jerky from the bag, since his other contains bugle-tipped fingers. He munches it happily and swings his feet. "My pap'work is me shred'n," Deadpool says through the jerky.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty holds her coffee cup in both hands, fingers covering up the worn logo on the ceramic which indicates it is from Katz's Deli in the city. "I don't know, what do you call a fish that has no eyes?" she replies to Doug.

She looks back to the table. "Yes, grenades require quite a lot of paperwork as I understand it," Kitty agrees with Rachel. She watches as the bottom of Deadpool's mask comes up. She doesn't show much on her face at the sight of his condition beneath, though the telepath in the room will catch feelings of sympathy. Memories of people Kitty has been around who had just suffered those kind of burns. A number of whom didn't survive.

Cypher has posed:
Doug... well. His thoughts on Deadpool are basically that the guy is crazy, and untrustworthy. It's not so much hate or even dislike as... well, it's complicated. But it does involve Uncle Phil throwing Jazzy Jeff out of the house. 'Aaaaaaaaa! *thud*'

But then he looks up to Kitty, and says, "'Fsh'. Eh? Eh? 'Fsh!'"

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel doesn't show much reaction when Deadpool lifts the mask. What she may //feel// about it is probably a little more complicated, but what she says, between finger-Bugles is: "Sexy scars. Unless you don't like them, in which case...Fsh." Along with a little smirk. Turnabout is fair play, right?

And of course, Doug gets a look for that joke, and she raises a hand as if conferring a blessing. "Doug, for that joke, we officially confer upon you the status of honorary Dad."

Deadpool has posed:
"I don't always peel my face up," Wade says, semi apologetic, or maybe guilty, or neither? He's a mess of emotional whiplash, halfway through his own sentence. His 'face' being mask, probably. "But there's jerky. And crunchie corns," he says, and munches each finger in order. Munch munch! He then extends the hand in a clear indication of getting a refill, while chewing, and smiling. With the distorted lips, his smile is uncomfortable, but also natural: it's a real smile, despite the physical awfulness displaying it. "I know I'm a sexy beast. Emphasis on beast. Happens to the best of us. Cancer, I mean. I'm the best at cancer."

"Honorary Dad!" Deadpool echoes suddenly, and pulls a sword in a clean motion, advancing on Doug. Maybe to knight him. Maybe.

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty Pryde covers up her face with her hand. What Wade's scars can't do, Doug's bad joke does. "You've been hanging around Scott way too much since you got back, haven't you?" she asks her old friend. "Though, you were like this even back when," Kitty says, sighing and shaking her head as if deciding poor Doug is probably hopelessly on a path that will lead him to sweater vests and minivans.

Kitty tenses just a bit as Wade pulls the sword. Without even thinking about it she's reached over to lay a hand on Doug's arm. Not that she actually thinks Deadpool will stab him or cut him. But why take a chance, right?

Cypher has posed:
Doug keeps his eyes on that sword, and then says, "...It made you laugh, didn't it? That makes it a good joke." Then he says, "I already shaved today, Wade," He says.

For the record, he already HAS some sweater vests, he rocks them.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel is reaching out to reload the Bugles when Deadpool goes for the sword instead, left holding a handful of salty treats. "Guess I'm gonna eat these myself," she sing-songs, sloooooowly bringing them toward her mouth.

She doesn't seem actually concerned about the sword - whether that's because she's convinced Deadpool doesn't mean it or just trusts Kitty and Doug to handle themselves is up in the air.

Deadpool has posed:
"You already /have/ the title?" asks the mercenary, as if he were actually crushed that his knighting ceremony won't come to pass. He stops in the middle of the kitchen, the murderous blade angled out with the tip down just a hair. It would be the worst vision to walk in on: the mercenary sliding into a combat pose with the sword out and at ready. Deadpool moves his other hand to drop his mask down into place. The level of assault probability just went from 2 to maybe 8.

"But was it with an officially self-nominated blesser of titles of shit jokes? Because that is me, and there are not many of us ordained," he clarifies. "Spider-Man being another. But he doesn't use swords." There's logic here! "So that leaves me. Prepare yourself for the honor," Wade says. He crosses the rest of the way, flips the sword over to the dull side, and attempts to lightly tap Doug's shoulders, with a verbal sound effect: "boop. and.... boop."

Shadowcat has posed:
Kitty watches what proceeds. She actually does trust Wade's heart, enough to not phase Doug even if her protective nature keeps her hand there on his arm. When the knighting is done, Kitty tells Doug, "Now I think you have an obligation to tell Rogue some of your jokes. That's like... part of the tradition," she makes up on the spot, and giving an extra nod to give the matter more authority.

"I'm going to head back up to my room," she says. "Wade, appreciate the lack of blood," she tells him sincerely. Kitty looks to Doug, her expression grateful for something, and her thoughts to Rachel are the same. Unless someone says something to keep her, Kitty will float up into the air, though those paying attention will note she's walking in the air more than flying, up towards the ceiling.

Cypher has posed:
Doug watches that sword, and then he huffs out a sigh. "...I'm honored. Wade. Really I am. Thank you for your... confidence in me in bestowing such an... important title." He watches Kitty back out, and then looks to Rachel, and then says, "I think... I will go try out some of these jokes on Rogue. Maybe she needs some cheering up?" He backs out of the kitchen. "Save me a hot dog."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"The booping does sound very official," Rachel adds from the peanut gallery, munching on more Bugles. "Take care, Kitty," she calls after the other woman as she floats on up, though there's a faint wrinkle of her nose once Kitty's gone. Someone's made Kitty unhappy, and Rachel does not approve.

"Seeya, Doug," she tips her chin after Doug as he departs as well, then looks back to Deadpool, speculative. "Think we should go make sure Logan's not burning stuff out there?"

Deadpool has posed:
"YES," Deadpool declares, and immediately turns and trots outside, sword still out. There might be more action or blood yet.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel watches Deadpool flee outside, then crunches a few more Bugles pensively. "You know," she muses to herself. "I think I'm just gonna let that one play out for a minute."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie comes walking into the kitchen, today the southerner is wearing a pair of sunglasses in the house, and looks heads for the fridge as he walks in looking about to see who is there.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel is sitting at the counter, a bag of Bugles and a bag of beef jerky in front of her, along with a can of soda. Her usual high nutritional content meals. She's looking out toward the backyard at the moment. There //might// be a TK field in front of the windows. Just in case.

"Heya, Sam," she greets as he comes in, taking a sip of her soda.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and says "How you doing?" He will ask Rachel. He will pull some eggs and ham out of the fridge and heads over to the stove. "Want some?" He will ask."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"It's okay, I'm good," Rachel waves off the offer with a gesture to her gourmet junk food spread. "Careful of the windows," she adds, inserting Bugles onto her fingertips in the traditional manner. "Deadpool just went out there to try to get Logan's BBQ. No promises on what may or may not go flying."

Magik has posed:
"Someone is trying to steal meat from Logan? Are they suicidal?" Illyana asks as she steps inside the kitchen pulling her long hair back into a ponytail. A nod is dipped toward the others in greeting and she smiles faintly. "What's going on?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over and says "Making some eggs and hand scramble sandwich, how about you?" Sam is wearing sunglasses inside. Unusual for him. He will look out the window a moment, and says "No blood on the windows yet." He starts frying up the food making sure even with Rachel not wanting any to make extra, there is always someone coming along who will take food here

Marvel Girl has posed:
"No, I think he's just not mentally stable. But to be entirely honest, I think I kind of like him," Rachel muses on the topic of Deadpool. "Crazy's honest, I guess." Looking away from the window, she watches Sam for a moment instead. "Hey, you okay, Sam? I didn't catch what all went down the other night at the factory. Came out with a lot of info, though."

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin glances away from the window toward Sam and Rachel. A little frown creeps over her thoughtfully. "What happened? I seem to miss so much these days." She moves to the fridge to open it up staring inside in that way people do when they have no idea what they want.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie will look over to them a moment and says "Ah will be." He will go back to cooking "Ah lead the mission on the Sentinel plant. Sent Rachel in with a stealth team, while Ah lead the Shock and Awe team outside. Things went south with shock and awe. Lot of protesters got hurt, and some guards killed, would have been worse but luckily there was a healer in the protesting mutants." Sam's shoulders show he blames himself for this. "Speaking of with Rachel, wanted to ask, why did you cut off on the 7 count, had to teleport early?"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Something was coming faster than anticipated," Rachel grimaces at the question. "I'd like to tell you what, but we decided it was better to get //out// than to find out. It got close enough for Rahne to pick up on it, so we figured better safe than sorry. And Alek didn't say he needed the full count, so." She shrugs, taking a sip of her soda. "Better to get the info and get out. I've been trapped in one of those places once already, I'm not goign to count of jumping time and space to escape another time."

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin turns away from the fridge to listen to the explanation of all that she'd missed. There's a moment of her staring at Sam before she steps closer to him. Perhaps uncomfortably close, eyes narrowing, and she takes a little sniff. Then another. She wasn't known for having a heightened sense of smell so she had to be sure. A half-step is taken backward and her arms cross canting her head at him. "Should I get the 'Guthrie Cure' ready for you, Sam?" She asks with a hint of amusement.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to Illyana, and says "Little late for that one, am already Sober, and got told Ah was trying to kill myself with my Uncle Luke's hang over cure. Either it or what Ororo gave me has it where bright lights only make me wince, not turn me to dust or anything." He jokes. He looks over to Illyana, and says hopefully, got the last bit of some bad decisions out of my system last night. Ah did have Doug making sure Ah did not do anything too stupid. " He does not mention that Doug showed up a few beers in.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel quirks a brow at the exchange between Sam and Illyana, taking a sip of her soda as she watches them. "I feel like 'too stupid' probably could have used some definition," she says slowly, though she keeps her nosy brain to itself. For now. "Although I'm suddenly a little bit sorry I missed it. Was there dancing, Sam? Was it really, really bad?"

Magik has posed:
Illyana Rasputin chuckles slightly as she moves away with a nod. "I believe Doug would agree on that being a very bad cure. Still, you shouldn't drink so much. I'm told it's bad." Speaking of drinks she grabs herself a soda from th fridge before sitting down and tipping her head toward Rachel. "If he dances anything like he used to, so very much bad."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to the ladies, and says "Please, Stevie drilled the whole don't step on the lady's feet into my school. Ah think Ah can dance pretty well, but no was no dancing. Just Doug and Me at Harry's. Josh joined in a bit later in the evening Was just trying to decide if Ah was going to drink myself into a stupor. Did not get that bad. Think Doug did try to hook me up with some random woman at the bar..." He says as if thats just coming back to him.

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel nods understandingly to Illyana, giving Sam a doubtful look. "Do you remember if it worked?" she asks, a hint of amusement in her voice. "I feel like that's a solid sign of if you made good choices. Whether or not you can remember them. I could go looking, if you want," she offers, grin flashing. "I mean, I'm sure it's somewhere in your head." Because that's surely what Sam wants, Rachel digging around in his memories of his drunken night on the town.

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie looks over to Rachel, and says "Probably not something you would want to do to be honest." He tells Rachel, as he finishes his food making it into sandwiches on toast, and gets some OJ. "So what have you been doing lately?

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Training," Rachel answers, waving to Illyana as she makes her escape. "A lot of training. And a lot of research. I'm trying to..." She takes a breath, letting it out on a huff. "A lot of stuff right around when I came back here is a little bit fuzzy. I'm guessing that traveling between realities is hard on the psyche. So I've been trying to pin things down, make sure the memories I do have a reclear. In case there's anything I can remember that can make a real difference."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods his head and says "Well if there is anything I can do to help just let me know." He does file away that Rachel did not seem bothered by him dating, for future info. He will sit down at the table, and says "Maybe concentrate on the differences like people who are here you never heard of?

Marvel Girl has posed:
"That's..." Rachel pauses, choosing her words as she loads Bugles up onto her fingertips. "That's helpful for making changes, but not for gathering information," she finally says. "It's nice and hopeful and all. The idea that there are more people than just us, that maybe the world might react differently, that we'd have more allies. But hopes and wishes don't win wars, Sam. And this is a war, I promise you that."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie nods, and looks to her, and says "Ah agree but it is not a war we win by taking others out. To really win this war we have to change minds. If we can take the support away from them, they maybe some sentinels, that we have to face at time, but they will not be able to build up the power base and support for taking over like they did.

Marvel Girl has posed:
"Yeah, that's a nice way to think about it, Sam." Rachel crunches a few Bugles, not sounding particularly like she believes what he's saying. "In the meantime, though, I'd like to avoid getting killed by giant robots while I'm waiting for people to decide my existence isn't a threat to them."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "Ah aint saying we stop fighting, against them and their creators, Ah am just saying taking out Trask for example would not fix the problem."

Marvel Girl has posed:
"I didn't suggest we take out Trask," Rachel shrugs, hopping off the stool to put her snack food back away in the pantry. "He's just an individual, Sam. He runs a company. If we killed Trask, then there'd be someone else to take over and keep doing his work. And they'd feel better about it. They wouldn't pause. They'd just keep destroying us."

Rachel paces a few steps, not inclined to sit down again. "I'm not putting all my faith in a bunch of strangers either though. There's no strategy in that, Sam."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "I aint saying putting our faith in them, I am saying look at it for possible places that can be used to our advantage, and someone keeping on his work is why I say we have to win hearts and minds, to keep them from being supported"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"There's only so far you can change people's minds, Sam," Rachel shakes her head. "They're afraid of us. You know why? Because they know we're stronger, that we can do things they can't. And you know why that makes some people afraid? It makes them afraid because they know what //they// would do if they had our powers, Sam. Because there are a whole lot of weak, evil people out there. Because yes, eventually, some of those people are going to be born with powers like ours. There's- You can't convince people that you're going to be "good" with your power," she grimaces, picking up her soda without drinking. "They're too caught up in the bad. They're just waiting for it."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "I still think there is more good people out there than bad. Heck even some of the bad people aint bad they are just going to take the easy way out instead of working for it and doing whats right?"

Marvel Girl has posed:
"And I'm glad you think that, Sam," Rachel sighs. "I am. Somebody should. But I don't. And I don't think we can run assaults and make plans based on that. Not if we want to survive." She reaches up to ruffle a hand through her hair, looking down at the floor as she does. "Sorry, Sam. I know it's been rough lately. Things didn't quite go as planned. And I'm glad Doug was there for you. I just...I think if we're going to survive this, if we're going to beat these Sentinels, then we have to be realistic with ourselves."

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie says, "I agree, but it seems we have different views on what realistic is. At least we can fight along side, towards the same goal just somewhat different paths and at times hopefully help one another"

Marvel Girl has posed:
Rachel smiles faintly, stepping over to set a hand to Sam's shoulder. "Something like that, Sam," she agrees, nodding once. "Something like that. I should get back to the training, though. You good?"

Cannonball has posed:
Samuel Guthrie makes a soso motion with his hand and answers "Getting there." He is honest with her, cause lets face it lying to a telepath is just dumb, and Momma Guthrie didn't raise no dummies, and if she did it was Jay.