Owner	Pose
Donald Pierce	The Xavier School is a place of both routine and spur of the moment action. Classes, clubs and events march along the calendar with comforting regularity, keeping a steady rhythm to life. But almost in counterpoint, things inevitably seemed to happen that disrupted the regular flow and diverted attention. One thing that never failed to cut through a normal day was information from Cerebro that a new mutant had been detected and needed to be contacted. This evening was one of those times. Jubilee had been called to meet other staff and chosen to lead to the contact. It was deemed to be very low risk and something that could be used as a teaching point for students. Danielle O'Callaghan, 15, had come to the attention of the school that afternoon at 4:34 pm. A resident of a suburb of Newark, New Jersey, she was believed to be manifesting moderate telepathic and telekinetic powers. Initially calm, she had recently become quite distraught and it was not known why. Google Earth pictures were provided of her home. She lived on a beautiful acreage in community called Maple River, filled with similar homes. Her home was close enough that no jet was needed, and the assignment was to make contact and assess her needs.
Boris	Well, one should never pass up an oppertunity to learn and grow, and this was one such time! And compared to Josh this sounded relatively peaceful. As such Boris puts on a normal set of clothes, jeans, t-shirt, but no shoes. And complete the outfit with one of the schools holo-projecters in order to actually hide his mutant appearance (save for his height). And with that, Boris was set to go with the other. He murmers "Ah sure hope vis goes smoothly"
Jubilee	Jubilee has been busily explaining points of interest along the way. The world's largest woodchuck is rumored to be less than ten miles from the location of the new mutant, and so, driving a student van with three Xavier's students, Jubilee has the seat moved forward as far as it will go to reach the pedals as she cautions the students to watch closely for the giant woodchuck. "It's supposed to be right through here somewhere," she says, slowed to a crawl with some fifteen angry motorists lined up behind them. "Keep an eye out!"
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir is kind of useful for investigating things, and this seems like something that might potentially be useful for. Plus, this is, well.. basically exactly what SHE went through, so.. might have some insight that's useful. She is in her usual clothes - open button up shirt, band T-shirt (Paramore), black leather gloves, black jeggings, black converse with orange hashtag laced laces and mismatched socks, black over the shoulder bag. Currently, the bag is pretty much empty, because her attempts to gather souvenirs just hasn't gotten much speed yet at all. She's wearing one of Laura's socks even though the last time was as much of a liability as a boon, and she's not sure how much practice she got in. She watches the road and listens.
Tyler Grant	As one of the lucky students on this team Tyler is pretty happy. He takes a quick shower and changes out of the exercise clothes he's been wearing in favor of more normal attire: blue jeans, black t-shirt and black boots. Once he's gotten himself presentable, including putting a little product in his hair, Tyler meets with the rest of the team in the van. "I'm excited about the chance to help someone out without seeing cars blown up or buildings knocked down." Glancing at Boris the taller kid nods, "I bet it'll be fine. I'm sure she'll feel better knowing that people like her are out there looking out for her. I kind of wish Xavier's had found me when my powers first appeared." He leans back in his seat looking out the window, trying to find the woodland mammal, "Do you know where the turnoff is at? What mile marker?"
Donald Pierce	Approaching the address they were given, the home was easy enough to recognize. The large burning cross on the front lawn was a dead giveaway. Two dozen or so people are outside the home, yelling for the mutant to come out. They are dressed in a variety of street clothes and some are brandishing signs with various anti-mutant slogans. Others are waving around lit tiki torches. As the van draws closer, the graffiti can be seen. The two sedans parked in the driveway have been spray painted. The front of the house has also been spray painted.
Boris	"Ye und meh both Tyler...." but before Boris says. And watches for any sign of their would be address as per Jubilee orders. His eyes widen...and the van shakes a bit more "...Ah be vinking we hauf foond vee place the angry mob was nerve wracking. He takes a deep breath so he stops shaking the van. Riling up an angry racist crowd would do no one...especially Danielle, any good.     Boris glances to Erika wondering how she was handling this before asking Jubilee "Umm...Ms.Proffessor Lee...how should we...go aboot dis?" he asks, unable to hide the worry in his voice.
Jubilee	"Class," Jubilee begins, steering the van along the street and stopping it two doors down from the crowd, "discrimination is quite simply fear, manifesting as douchebaggery." She unfastens her seatbelt and pats her pockets, listing her possessions under her her breath as she finds them. "Gum, spare keys, army man, and..." She pauses for just a moment, taking out a silver ring from her pocket. With an expression more serious than most people have ever seen her wear, she slides the ring onto her thumb, then smiles. "Okay kids. You're gonna want to look away for just a few. It's showtime." She slides her brass goggles down into place and stands nonchalantly beside the van, watching the backs of the angry protesters in front of Danielle's house. With her hands down at her sides, palms facing forward, she begins to issue tiny sparks that fade in and out of existence, and shoot skyward as if pulled by invisible threads, gathering together in what becomes a glittering spectacle above the heads of the protesters. Once the little sparks have reached a critical mass within the view of the crowd, Jubilee narrows her eyes, using the tiniest movements of her fingers to seemingly guide them into the form of a Chinese dragon that dances and waggles its great head over the roof of the house in question. Then, with a mischievous smile, Jubilee quickly lifts her hands, and every spark within the dragon shines with the light of a welding arc. Several hundred sparks illuminate the lawn with light the equivalent of a handful of suns. Anyone seeing the spectacle probably isn't seeing /anything/ again for a while, as the raging plasma dragon dives into the crowd to herd them away.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir grinds her teeth. "What the hell. Bunch of bubbas." She looks at Jubilee. "I've got pretty close to jack for this. Maybe a little bit of sneaky, with some potholes in it. Laura doesn't really practice normally. Maybe next time I can get some help getting souvenirs. Anybody got some neat skills that might matter here? I'll trade you a sock." She glares at the bigots. It's not fair these people get to keep their talking in public without losing their jobs privileges. "The rumbling is going to light us up SO bad here." Then the dragon appears, and she covers her eyes with her arm to await the all clear. "We have a standard plan here?"
Tyler Grant	Tyler is taken aback by what he sees, shock being the first thing that appears on his face as he inhales swiftly and loudly. What an awful thing to have happen to someone. "God damn bigots." His hand hits the arm rest hard enough to make a noise before he starts moving around in his seat a lot more to get a better look at the crowd, "No wonder she's upset." After hearing what Jubilee has to say the teenager nods his head. Looking away when instructed to, Tyler shuts his eyes to allow the instructor to do her thing. As the bright lights fade he opens his eyes to see what's going on, ready to slam them shut again should there be need to.
Donald Pierce	The appearance of lights in the sky draws the attention of the protestors. They fall quiet as it brightens and grow still. Then as it brightens, changes into a dragon and charges them there are screams. They would scatter in all directions, but the vast of them cannot see. Those few who were facing the wrong way or ran early keep running, the rest stumble around blinded. A terrified looking middle-aged woman peeks out from behind the blinds.
Boris	Boris bristles and ducks down as Jubilee says to cover their eyes. After the screams die down, Boris peeks back up "...Well if yer need ta speak german or spanish...ah git yer covered Erika" thinking that might be useful "Or longboarding"     He looks from Erika to Tyler "...hit close ta home, thar fer sure. Well..guess we follow her cue und get oot thar" cause he had no clue how they would her Jubilee from in here. And with that Boris exits the fan to go over to Jubilee. He notices the woman peeking from the blinds and says to Jubilee "...ah vink yer git dere attention Ms.Proffesor Lee"
Jubilee	The dragon makes a few last swoops at the few people left who might be looking back, and then the sparks flicker and fade out as the plasmoids return to Jubilee. She opens the door of the van and peers inside, lifting her goggles back atop her head. She is wearing something almost militaristic. A yellow jacket with a black X on the sleeve, a black tanktop beneath, black cargo pants, and black leather boots. Her hair is piled in an array of curls and waves atop her head, and nestled now in the center of it are the brass goggles. "All right...I think this is a little more manageable," she calls into the van. "C'mon," she says to the students quietly. "And remember, you have -nothing- to fear, when fear is the enemy." With that, she walks through the few people still sitting bewildered on the lawn, and straight up to the front door. She looks into the window as she passes, and nods toward the teens with her. "We've come to help," she enunciates clearly to the woman through the glass, and she gently raps on the front door.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir frowns and studies the house, then blinks. Her demeanor and posture changes just a tiny bit. "I think I remember how to get into a second story window, now." She follows after Jubilee, waves at the door, and starts prowling around the house, doing a quick perimeter check. Tactics-combat-infiltration.. She sniffs at the air and frowns, momentarily confused why she can't smell anyone's trails. Ugh.. Eyes and ears are going to have to do.
Tyler Grant	When Jubilee gives them the word to exit the van Tyler does so, sliding out easily to join the instructor. His head is on a swivel the whole time he's outside of the vehicle and his expression is deadly serious as he looks over the few bigots still present. "Your way is a lot nicer than mine would have been," he tells Jubilee rather quietly, so that the people surrounding them don't hear. "I'm going to need to learn some non-violent way to disperse crowds like that." As Erika starts to move on her own Tyler begins looking curiously at her for a moment before he returns to watching his surroundings.
Donald Pierce	The front door opens a crack. The woman from the window peers out. She is in her mid-forties, classically pretty with large blue eyes and dark brown hair. Her face is tear stained and she looks distraught. "Did... Did you do that? Oh my goodness thank you, we called the police... but they wouldn't come! Oh!" She startles a bit seeing Boris. "I...Who, who are you?" she asks, opening the door a little wider. Behind her in the living room, a man of about 50 with silver-brown hair is leaning back on a couch. The room is beautifully decorated in a colonial style. A teenage girl is sitting beside him, her long dark hair pulled up in a pony tail. She is holding an ice pack to the side of the man's face. "If they chased those assholes away, I don't care who they are, let them in!" the man calls over. The woman looks uncertain, but acquieces and opens the door fully, stepping aside to let the group in. The man stands up, dressed in grey slacks and a polo shirt. He is instantly recognizable to anyone who watches local television. New York State Senator Harvey O'Callaghan. "Come on in then," he says, coming over. "Don't know what you did, but thank you. I'm Harvey, this is my wife Melinda, and over there is my daughter, Danielle."
Boris	Boris cheeks turn a bit red. If he startled her like this, than he can't imagine how much he would startle her if he wasn't hiding his other features! "Evenink mam. Ah be Boris Brietbarth, uh pleasuar ta meet sie" he tells her in his baritone.     He glances to the others and decides to introduce them "This hear be Ms.Proffesor Lee," he gestures to Jubilee, "Da lanky fella hear be Tyler...und" he looks around "Ummm, we got anothar wan, vink she makin sure da.." he glances inside to Harvey "Arseholez as yer call dem, are nit doink vee stickin arooned" he doesn't actually recognize him since he not big on telivision. But introductions aside, the stout man would stick to following Jubilee lead on weather or not to enter the home "Tis a pleasure ta meet ye Mr. and Mrs. O'Callaghan"
Jubilee	Jubilee smiles warmly to the woman who lets them in, and looks with concern at Harvey. She presses her lips together, and peers back out into the darkness behind the students. "If you will excuse me for one moment, we do have one more young woman, doing...something..." Jubilee trails off, and slips out to find Erika. "Young Lady," she begins once she catches up with the young mutant. "I apologize if any of the words that came out of my mouth indicated that I only wanted /you/ to come with me partway to the door, and then go play ninja assassin in the dark around the house. But it was -not- my intention. You have endangered yourself, your teammates, the family who lives here, AND the mission. You will take off that....whatever it is that is making you think you need to disobey orders, and join the others immediately," she continues, as she walks Erika back around to the front. As she enters the door, Jubilee's expression again takes on one of compassion, and she immediately looks to Harvey. "I apologize for my delay. Are you all right? You look as though you've been injured...Did the protesters do this to you?"
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir sighs. "Sorry." She droops and follows along, trying to sniff at the air frustratedly again. She pushes the paranoia back a bit further, but is hesitant to drop her only card, tagging along. She waves meekly and follows in, then stands at attention, very quiet. ready for orders.
Tyler Grant	Tyler doesn't watch local TV since he's got other things to do with his time and so has no idea he's dealing with a politician, only that there's a distraught family that might need his help. "Hey guys. Wish we could have met under nicer circumstances," the seventeen year old says softly. He offers his hand to shake to the O'Callaghan family members. "You all okay?" Then he looks towards Danielle and smiles at her, trying to think as calmly as he can, controlling his breath carefully to keep from being excited in case she'e getting vibes from him.
Donald Pierce	"Well, it's a pleasure," Harvey says and shakes hand. Melinda barely moves. "Thank you again... my God, they burnt a cross?!" he exclaims, looking past the group. His face turns a lovely shade of purple that matches the bruise on his left cheek. "I opened the door when they first showed up, I did. Yelled at 'em to get the hell off my lawn. Then they came right up here and were yelling for us to send out the mutant. There's no mutants here, I told 'em." Harvey shakes his head. Danielle comes over from the couch, pointedly avoiding looking at her parents. She gives Tyler a feeble smile in return, and wipes her cheeks. She stands by her father studying her socked feet intently. "That's when one of them punched Harvey," Melinda explains. "Can you believe that?" "Unbelievable," Harvey booms. "And where is the sherriff? We called and called!"
Boris	And Boris keeps right silent. did Danielle parents hate mutants as well? He wasn't sure. He would have even offered to...at least get rid of the cross, but yea, this seemed a good a time as any to let Jubilee do the talking. As it stands, some of the nearby plates and even the ground began to rumble as Boris grew nervous about the situation and what they have all been through. Though he does say "...actually, ah kin. Seen et happen beforez" he admits.     He glances to Danielle a moment and offers a wave. But otherwise stands with Erika.
Jubilee	Jubilee examines the bruise as best she can without invading Harvey's personal space. She grimaces. "It looks painful. If you need medical attention, we'd be glad to get you someplace that can help." Jubilee turns to the students and back to Mr. and Mrs. O'Callaghan. "My name is Jubilation Lee, I work at a school for gifted students, and these are some of my best and brightest. Erika, Boris, and Tyler," she nods to each of them in turn. Now...it's come to our attention that there is /indeed/ some mutant activity in or around your home, and we came to see if there's anything that we can do to help. Have you noticed anything at all suspicious, harmful, or otherwise troubling going on that you couldn't explain? Besides the pack of rats parked on your lawn?"
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir smiles meekly, and otherwise stands at attention. She sighs a little bit internally. Lots of issues to work through in this sock. She was worried about this happening with this souvenir in particular, but what can you do. Not.. saying.. anything.. She takes the time to look through her mind to check what contacts are there, just in case. She isn't sure if it applies to telepathy yet, but.. it's worth checking anyways.
Tyler Grant	As Jubilee speaks Tyler remains pretty quiet, letting the teacher take the lead. She seems to be covering things well and he intends to learn from what she does here. Mostly, he's curious, intrigued as to how things are going to go and what Jubilee is going to do or say next. There is no easy way to break the news that someone is a mutant.
Donald Pierce	"Mutant activity?" Harvey says, with a puzzled frown. "Well now, I don't know what you're talking about. But come over here Ms. Lee and tell me what's going on." He offers Jubilee one of the chairs in the living room and sits down on the couch with his wife. Danielle is left standing with the others. She bites her lip and watches her parents worriedly. "They don't /know/," she says quietly, on the verge of tears. "Nobody knows, how did they find out? I didn't tell anyone! What do I do?"
Boris	Boris looks to Danielle and speaks quietly in his thick german-dwarven accent "Donnea cry, yer didnea hauf ta....umm" he wasn't sure how much to say, but it seemed a good idea to be as honest as possible "Da school haz quiet ways ta find mutants like sie, so they kin git dem da help dey need und a safe place ta go witoot causin interuption ta dere lives...if dey agree ta et. Cannea force et" he explains, hoping this might help her feel calmer or at least not cry.
Jubilee	Jubilee watches the students' body language as Danielle mouths something to them. She smiles softly, knowing that she is where she needs to be. Then she turns back to the girl's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. O'Callaghan. I'm a little concerned about your daughter. There have been high concentrations of stress, anxiety, and anguish - high enough to register on our equipment - coming from your home. There is nothing wrong with your daughter. She is a vibrant, beautiful young woman of exceptional ability. It's these - the most talented among all -humans- who attend our school. It isn't something we force on anyone - far from it. But there is a place where children, and even some adults, come to help them cope with their amazing gifts. It's very hard to understand for a girl her age. It's....very hard to understand, even for someone your age, yeah? The world we're living in is changing - becoming more stressful, and more hateful. And what we offer is a refuge where children can learn, just like any other school. But also they can learn about themselves. How to use and control their gifts. How to function in a society that is sometimes hostile toward them." Jubilee smiles warmly. "What you saw out there? That was my gift. And when I first learned about it, it scared me so badly I wanted to die. I don't want that for anyone else. Especially not Danielle."
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir murmurs, very quiet. "my first time was to open a combination lock. I'm pretty subtle. But sometimes people just get a suspicion. they don't care if they're right." She hmms. "If you need to communicate with me silently, stand close so I can touch your clothes and say something about my hair. I think I can cover the connect up. I can read surface thoughts that way." She frowns. Is J outing her? She bites her lip a bit. Takes mental notes.
Tyler Grant	When Boris speaks Tyler nods his head, backing up his friend's words with the gesture. Then Erika offers a suggestion and gets a nod from the boy. "I know this is hard, Danielle, but we'll help you figure this out," Tyler tells the young lady, still focusing on his breathing and doing his best to remain calm. "I can't tell you how those assholes found out about you, but I will say that we are going to help you if you want us to." A glance is given to the people in the other area of the room and the young man swallows deep in his throat before speaking to Danielle again, "I can't tell you what to do. You're in a scary situation, but we'll do whatever it takes to get you through this, okay?" He takes a deep breath to steel himself, "I'm a mutant. My folks don't even know, but if you need anything you just let me know."
Donald Pierce	"Wait, wait, hold on now," Harvey says, gesturing with one hand. "What are you saying? That my angel is a mutant? I don't know who you think you are Ms. Lee, but...." Harvey is cut off by Melinda putting a hand on his thigh. "Harvey..." she says, tears in her eyes. "It... might be true. I, I can do things, Harvey. Move things without touching them." Her voice is quiet, her expression ashamed. "It started when I was just a girl, like Danni." Harvey's mouth fairly hits the floor. His face is a mixture of shock and hurt. "But... Mel, we've been married 23 years, you never..." "I didn't want to anyone to know, Harvey. Nobody, not even you, I was scared that if anyone knew, if you knew..." Melinda trails off and turns her head to face away from her huband. She wipes carefully at fresh tears with the thumb of her free hand. There is a long quiet while Harvey studies his wife's face. Then he reaches out for her hand on his thigh and interweaves his fingers with Melinda's. She looks at him almost pleadingly and he gives her a reassuring smile. Then he glances over at Danielle and finally back at Jubilee. "What does this mean?" he asks her. Danielle looks at turns encouraged, confused and uncertain. She looks at each of the youths in front of her when they speak. Their sincerity is plain enough even with her untrained abilities. Danielle chews her lip for a moment, then glances at her parents. "I... I think I need to tell them... after all this. They punched my dad," she says but looks uncertain, or unnerved. "Can you... Can you, come with me?" she asks.
Boris	Boris nods as the others explain themselves. He glances over to where Jubilee and Danielle parents were. Well they were not screaming, and looked worried....he turns back to the girl "Aye, we kin, we all kin." and he shuffles to the side, making sure he wasn't blocking the path. He would walk with Danielle, when she was good and ready.
Jubilee	Jubilee smiles at the O'Callaghans, and rises, reaching out a hand to Danielle, to bring her in toward her parents. "You guys have a lot of talking to do. If anything else goes bad, we'll probably know, and we'll make sure you're kept safe." She hands a card to the girl with Xavier's information printed on it. "You're the only one who can make the final decision. But..." She nods toward the parents. "I think they're gonna have some good input for ya, too. Call us, day or night, ok?" And so, leaving it in the girl's hands, showing her that Jubilee has faith in her, Jubilee moves to the door. "I'll be outside, kids, don't take too long." Jubilee walks out onto the lawn, and kicks over the charred cross, tilting her head and letting what anger she has left build until she creates a plume of blue plasma from her hands. With patience and compassion came love and understanding. But to every thing there is a season, and she stands alone in the darkness, charring the remainder of this symbol of hatred to nothing but ash, in her rage.
Erika Kristasdottir	Erika Kristasdottir nods. "Of course.. We're with you every step. Been here before." She looks at Jubilee's departure, looking visibly relieved by the destruction of the cross. "..Oh thank God THAT'S gone.." She looks to Danielle for her lead and stays close until she decides she's okay without her there.
Tyler Grant	Moving to stand near Danielle, Tyler very gently and slowly attempts to pat her on the shoulder, "We've got your back." Like his friends he's ready to stand by her as long as she needs him to.
Donald Pierce	Danielle tears up a little at the show of support from these people she has never met. "Thank you," she says quietly to them. Then when called over by Jubilee, she walks into the living room with her hands folded in front of her. She stands in front of her parents, looking down. She takes a breath, but finds no words. Then she looks over at Boris, Erika and Tyler, and takes another breath. "Mom, Dad, I... need to tell you something," she says. There is a moment more of silence before she tells her parents she is a mutant. Her mother bursts into tears and reaches for her, and her father draws her in as well. The O'Callaghans are still holding each other in that embrace when the students from Xavier's close the door behind them and step back out into the night.