It had been a while since he had been in his tuxedo, never a good opportunity to wear it, hard to fight in unless fitted right the shoulders and elbows and knees needed to be let out a bit, allowing for the quick movements and rotation of the arms. He sipped from his tumbler, which had some whiskey in it, and he spun the ice cubes in the glass as he raised it to Eve and Gawain. Not the first time he took Gawain to a non-mission like this but he was a she for that one and his date and they were in Germany. Now however it was in the rich part of New York City a place Eve would know well due to her interactions with the richer side of society. If Kate were in town he would have asked her to come along as well if only to help as a distraction instead he brought another plus one.

”So it’s pretty simple. Got a call from an old friend… Yes, I still have friends from my time before the X-men. Serge Kra…Krasn….” Sam paused and held the picture with the last name over to his date and looked to her pleadingly speaking in the limited Russian he knew, ”Help please.” he pointed to the surname name Kransoperov then looked back to Gawain and Eve before continuing, ”Old Russian guy specializes in intelligence and interrogations, nice guy good with kids. Telepath/Empath/Lie detector or what ever. He is being held captive after trying to get out of the whole intelligence thing. Stepped of the runway from a private jet and the guy whose party we are attending picked him up. Not sure how he knew but.” Sam shrugged. ”He did.” Sam took another swig of the whiskey then reached for the bottle after handing the picture to Eve.

”I have reason to believe he is in the sub basement, under the party we will be attending. Don’t ask how I know, another friend possibly” Sam shrugged again as he looked to Eve then Sveta. ”Pretty heavily fortified, you two need to be creative with how you get him out. Sure they will have gunmen.”

As he refilled his glass he set the bottle down and then started speaking again, ”The Russian crime boss is having a dinner party with a few other gang/crime bosses in the area a way to create some trust or peace or whatever you want to call it. We get in have dinner, be seen and then while that is going on you two lovely ladies go find my old friend Serge Kranspo and escort him out the back door.” Sam took a huge swig of the glass again butchering Serge’s last name once again. He never could get it right.

”Guy saved me when I was younger, I owe him. And since you two.” Sam pointed to Eve and Gawain, ”Were so upset about me not including you two in things.” Sam said making a vague hand gesture inferring to his ‘death’ ”I decided to bring you two along. Gawain, not the first time you have been included in my past life affairs but you’re going to have a different job entirely than last time.”

Sam took another sip of his drink noticing his glass frosted over slightly due to Sveta’s powers before snapping his fingers dissipating the ice then gesturing towards his date, ”Oh this is Sveta.” Sam said, then pointed towards the couple opposite them in the limo, ”This is Evee, and Gawain.” he looked back to Sveta and once again spoke poorly in Russian. ”Nice you be.” he looked back to the two and smirked, ”My date.” he nodded his head over to Sveta and pretended to whisper to Gawain, ”Smoking right? She's digging me.” Sam then finished his glass as they pulled up to a rather large building as someone opened the limo door where Sam was sitting. ”Shall we?” Sam said offering a hand to Sveta.

It was just like Sam, inviting her along for a mission with a bunch of X-men. A bunch of very young X-men, too. They were not what Sveta envisioned when she thought about the legendary team. Whatever.
She owed Sam for a lot of things, even though he had been kind of a jerk last time they met (and partly responsible, in Sveta's mind, for what followed after). That was the main reason why, when he called, she only asked when, where, and the dress code.

And now they were sitting in a limo, all made up for the party.

Sveta decided to wear a red dress. Sometimes blending in was better, but bending in had never been an option, not with her powers. She decided to stand out instead. Also, if it came to fighting, a gown worked a lot better than a tight cocktail dress. It could also hide more things.

Sam was already drinking. Very unprofessional. Sveta twisted her rouged lips into a little pout as she pronounced the Russian name for him. Of course it had to be the Russian mob. As if Sveta did not feel bad enough about her past already.

>>”Oh this is Sveta. This is Evee, and Gawain.”

"Nice to meet you" Sveta nodded, wondering how much those two knew about her and her vigilante alter-ego. Hopefully, not much.

>>”Nice you be.”

The power booster rolled her eyes. Seriously.

>>”My date. Smoking right? She's digging me.”

She did. She dug her elbow into Sam's side with a sharp little motion.

"More importantly, I boost powers on touch. Remember dat in case you need it."

The limo came to a slow halt in front of a building.

>>”Shall we?”

"We shall. And do us all a favor, Sam. Don't try to speak Russian."

Format events were the worst.

Evelyn grew up stuck in elite parties. Fancy dresses, powerful people, the whole 9 yards. And she hated every second of it. Rich and powerful people tended to fit pretty firmly into the whole "corrupt" stereotype. Plenty of cheating, plenty of blackmailing, and a whole lot of drama to go around. While discovering everyone's dirty little secrets could be fun, people tended to react badly if they realized it was happening. After getting yelled at enough times, she stopped enjoying the parties. She never thought leaving home and joining the x-men would drag her back to them though.

Evelyn was dressed in a longer black dress with a white sleeved jacket over top. The covering was transparent enough it wasn't too warm for the season, but at least it would keep her from randomly downloading echoes into someone's head if they bumped into her. She had gloves in her purse if she needed them, although there might be use for sharing the echoes sometime during this adventure. At least, it felt that way until she realized the other girl's abilities. Boosting powers by touch didn't seem to be good news when you were still stumbling through new abilities.

"Not to sound rude, but I'd rather not test what your powers would do at this point..." Evelyn remarked cautiously. She had someone suppress her powers once, and that did a number on her brain. Boosting them? That seemed potentially dangerous in other ways.

Nothing was okay about this.

Last time Sam took him to an undercover ball, Mirror was Maya, and she had to wear a dress. Nasty people hit on her, and the mission ended up being a hot mess. As usual.
And now Gawain was wearing a tuxedo, and they were all in it together. Just like old times.

Whoever the blonde was that Sam brought along - latest girlfirend or wishful thinking? - she did not seem amused either. Gawain adjusted his tie nervously as the limo pulled up to the building's entrance.

>>”Oh this is Sveta. This is Evee, and Gawain.”

Gawain nodded in greeting, before Sam had to go on and attempt a joke.

>>”My date. Smoking right? She's digging me.”

Gawain resisted the urge to facepalm, and then resisted another urge to grin as the blonde elbowed Sam in the ribs with an elegant, long-gloved arm. Maybe she was actually a fun person.

>>"More importantly, I boost powers on touch. Remember dat in case you need it."

Holy crap. Gawain couldn't even begin to imagine what his powers would look like if boosted. Would he instant-shift?...

>>"Not to sound rude, but I'd rather not test what your powers would do at this point..."

"God no, don't" Gawain said, slightly alarmed at the idea of Evelyn's powers getting boosted. Holy crap. Maybe this team-up was not as great an idea as Sam had undoubtedly thought.

"All right, let's go" he sighed. It was too late to back out now.

Once they were out of the limousine Sam looked to Sveta and raised an eyebrow, ”Thought you didn’t want to be used as a weapon?” he knew that wasn’t what she meant when she said she could boost powers but telling people didn’t help preventing it. Granted the two they were with were probably the two least manipulative people he knew. Gawain was well Gawain and Eve was terrified of her own powers.

Sam offered Sveta his arm and walked down the roped off area as two rather large thugs with a clipboard stared at the four of them. ”Invitation?” thing one asked as he looked to his clipboard then to Sam who was in front of them. Good two was shifting his glance from Eve to Sveta not really paying much mind to Sam or Gawain. ”****.” Sam cursed as he searched through his pockets pretending he didn’t have the invitation. Thing one puffed out his chest and took a step towards Sam. Snapping his fingers Sam produced a small envolope and pulled the invite and handed it to Thing one who took the invite looked to the clipboard then back to Sam. ”Yer the new cop? The transfer? Thought they said you were older.”

Sam shrugged and smirked, ”Older than I look but thanks.” Sam said as he shrugged and pointed to the door as the guards stepped aside and opened the door for them. Leaning over to Sveta and whispering in her ear so the other two wouldn’t hear, ”Crooked cop as they come, I’ll be giving you an address later.” Sam said looking back to Gawain and Eve, ”Shall we?”

It was your standard ‘We are rich ball’ fancy glass-wear, servers, expensive suits and dresses and guards positioned at every entrance and exit. Sam looked around and spotted the nearest server and grabbed three glasses and handed one to his date and one to Eve and kept one for himself. ”You’re here to work.” Sam said to Gawain as he took a sip of his glass and walked over to the nearest vacant table towards the bathrooms and the kitchen. Usually it wasn’t the best place to sit if you were trying to look like you belong but Sam knew the kitchen led to a stairwell where the girls could reach the basement and possibly the subbasement.

Once he reached the table Sam looked around and recognized a few face, mob and gang members and then there was the occasional cop and politician. Basically if Sveta was on her own this would be the best place to go on a shooting spree. Everyone here was dirty or was well connected. Meaning it wouldn’t be long till someone would recognize him. Lucky for Sam however, he was dead recently so his face might be forgotten. Either way he definitely was going to be part of the distraction. ”Now we mingle, and be seen for a bit then before dinner starts….” Sam looked to the two girls and snapped his fingers, ”You two disappear through the kitchen.”

>>”Thought you didn’t want to be used as a weapon?”

"I don't" Sveta murmured between her teeth, flashing a playful smile at the thugs as they walked down the red carpet "But teammates should know for safety."

Sveta adjusted the gloves that covered her arms up to abover her elbows. The last thing she wanted was for one of the X-muntants to accidentally touch her or grab her, or maybe just try to pull her out of harm's way in a fight, and get their powers overboosted. At the same time, she was also ready to smooch Sam on the lips to freeze an explosive situation if needed. Of course she did not tell him that. He might try to start a situation on purpose.

>>”Crooked cop as they come, I’ll be giving you an address later.”

"I love it when you organize my dates" Sveta chuckled as if he had just said something terribly funny. At times like this, she was grateful to the Matchmaker for teaching her how to be a desirable evening date.

>>”Now we mingle, and be seen for a bit then before dinner starts… You two disappear through the kitchen.”

Sveta looked around, taking in escape routes and the way to the kitchen.

"Way too obvious" she murmured, sipping her champagne "I've got an idea." she looked over at the girl called Evelyn. She looked like a newbie. She was probably a newbie.

Sveta stood and shook out her hair.

"Come on, sister, let's go make some friends."

As they made their way into the party, Evelyn was still processing the possibilities the power boosting presented. While Sam might have more predictable results, she was also slightly curious about what it would do to Mirror. Not that she wanted to test it, necessarily, but how would someone boost gender shifting? She shook it off and slipped her gloves on as they moved into the party.

Once inside, she could see Sveta considering her slightly. It was times like these she was glad she wasn't telepathic. While the echoes could tell someone was sizing her up, it was always better not to know exactly how they were doing that. She wondered how much Sam had told the girl. Clearly there was a slight level of trust between the two, but there was also the push/pull relationship of tension Sam seemed to create with all things female. For the sake of the mission, she would play nice, but she wasn't sure she was going to like this.

"Let's go make some friends."

"At this place? What's your pick: corrupt politician or snobby brat?" She rolled her eyes as she let Sveta lead though, taking a sip of the drink. Goodness knows she would want a better one by the end of the evening. "Or there are some cheating husbands if you feel like a gold digger..." The echoes skimmed the room, marking targets, sorting everyone into categories in case she had someone specific in mind.

The got past the thugs. Gawain was pretty sure they could take them if needed. It might be needed on the way out.
She held Eve close by the arm as they walked in and mingled with the crowd of rich and corrupt people. Gawain did not feel at ease at all, but he did his best to look like he belonged. Sam was faring better, eye patch or not.

>>”You’re here to work.”

"Are you kid... nevermind." the mirrorwalked sighed. Being sober was a better option anyway. They barely took their place close to the kitchen exit when the girls were already up again, and Gawain's eyes followed nervously as they joined the crowd. He obviously did not like Eve alone with a power booster in the middle of a mafia ball.

"Do we know of any mutant connections?" he asked Sam, fiddling with his tie since he had no drink to hold on to "I don't like surprises."

Sam watched as Sveta and Eve started to walk off talking about making some new friends. Sam looked to Gawain and shrugged sipping his glass, ”What do I know, not like I have ever did a rescue mission before.” Sam said slapping Gawain on the back and then waving a server over towards them. ”Two whiskey’s neat.” the server nodded and then walked off then Sam put his attention back on Gawain as he kept his single eye fixed on the two ladies that just departed their company. ”Good question.” Sam said shrugging as he activated his sixth sense feeling for body heat. Sometimes some mutants stood out other times…

”Well at least two I can feel.” Sam said nodding towards the front entrance before he got a little dizzy due to the amount of heat he was detecting. He dimmed the cold around them and finished his first glass. ”Other than that no, but with the amount of criminals here.” Sam shrugged, ”I’m sure we’ll be alright. Worst case I make an escape route and we all hop into the mirror world. Right?” Sam asked as the waiter appeared next to them and handed Sam and Gawain a drink.

”I’m gonna go talk to that group of girls.” Sam said as he pointed to four women who were all laughing about something. ”Join me if you want, not like our dates are around. Gotta blend in and all.” Sam said as he took a sip of the whiskey let out a satisfied gasp as he strutted over to the group of women and joined them in conversation. ”So which one of you lovely ladies is dates with my boss?”

>>"At this place? What's your pick: corrupt politician or snobby brat? Or there are some cheating husbands if you feel like a gold digger..."

Sveta's lips twisted at the mention of 'gold digger'... After all, she had been there herself, and not just for a pretend mission. Gold digging had a lot of reasons, and a lot of implied baggage. But it wasn't the girl's fault that she probably didn't realize that.

"Snobby brat" Sveta decided, looking around and scanning the crowd "Large ego, low strength. Someone that would believe that girls like us are interested in them, and would not think twice."

There were always enough of those around when needed. Especially at events like this.

"Moderately drunk, and with no girl attached."

Sveta swirled the champagne in her glass, and maintained a distant smile as they slowly walked through the crowd.

"So, what is your talent anyway?..."

As they walked, Evelyn took inventory of the other guests, sorting them and tracking at the same time. It was like playing cards. Different ranks, different categories, each combination bringing different results. Like a game, she was searching for the right combination that work give them what they needed. All it took was focus. Which was easy, so long as she didn't let herself get distracted by the girls Sam and Gawain were approaching. She forced herself not to look back and filtered Sveta's suggestions.

"Well, it looks like there are about 21 snobby brat candidates, 16 moderately drunk, but only about four with no girls attached. I'm pretty sure one of those is here with his boyfriend though..." She noted. She blinked and considered the other question. "Talent? Err... currently I think it's somewhere between being really smart and having contagious voices in my head...a bit of a long story." She chuckled, although there was an underlying seriousness to the second part.

>>”Good question. Well at least two I can feel. Other than that no, but with the amount of criminals here. I’m sure we’ll be alright. Worst case I make an escape route and we all hop into the mirror world. Right?”

Gawain held on to the whiskey glass, but didn't drink. Last thing he needed was get dizzy in the middle of the mission. He wasn't even sure how Sam was doing it.

"Yeah but I gotta do it one by one." he muttered "I'd rather it didn't come to that."

>>”I’m gonna go talk to that group of girls. Join me if you want, not like our dates are around. Gotta blend in and all... So which one of you lovely ladies is dates with my boss?”

"Sure." Gawain smirked, following Sam to 'mingle' (which was apparently his excuse for hitting on ladies). He still held the glass of whiskey, and glanced nervously in the direction where Sveta and Evelyn disappeared.

Sam seemed to have some magnetic aura around him. Girls giggled and surrounded them in no time, one brunette attaching herself to Gawain's arm without asking. Gawain tensed up, but forced a smile, and buried his nose in the whiskey glass.

Great idea, Sam. Thanks.

Things on their end were going well in practically no time at all a girl even attached herself to Gawain’s arm which would have been great if it wasn’t for the fact he occasionally saw one of the girls. Last thing he wanted was to have Evee even more upset at him because he might have nudge a girl in Gawain’s direction. This was however how Sam usually blended in. It was also ho it usually led to a distraction or two. Every time another girl decided to join their little group already around them he could see another guy look in their direction. Which was good and bad.

Sam put his arm behind a redhead who was being a little flirtatious as Sam leaned in to hear what she was about to say. Sam smirked and shrugged, ”In due time, I’m here for business. Maybe after dinner?” Sam jumped slightly when she pinched his rear and he took a swig of his glass. ”Well nothing wrong with a women who knows what she wants am I right Gawain?” Sam waved over another server and pointed to his drink then in turn asked what each lady was having and on occasion he made a dirty joke or two. They laughed and he pretended to enjoy himself as he eye shifted past one woman to the next.

Armed guards caught his attention as they were stationed around the room and by the doors, clearly they were trying to prevent anything from happening but that rarely worked. Sam’s sensing ability occasionally was forced outward in one direction then another as he felt around for any more mutants that could be trouble. The two at the door were his biggest concern even if it didn’t show. Nudging Gawain, ”Tell them about the one time we had the shootout in Vegas. Literally the scariest moment of my life!” Sam said adding a look of terror on his face before finishing his glass.

>>"Well, it looks like there are about 21 snobby brat candidates, 16 moderately drunk, but only about four with no girls attached. I'm pretty sure one of those is here with his boyfriend though..."

Sveta raised an eyebrow. Blondie was being surprisingly specific. Whatever her mutant skill was, it was working to their advantage. She grinned as she followed Evelyn's gaze to a group of potential candidates that stood around, laughing at some private joke. They'll have to do.

>>"Talent? Err... currently I think it's somewhere between being really smart and having contagious voices in my head...a bit of a long story."

"All right then" Sveta concluded "Good enough. Here's the plan. I'm a little drunk, and you worry about me. When you see me disappear with one of them, follow us out of worry. Sounds good?"

Once she had Eve's confirmation, Sveta put on her best, brightest seductive smile, and joined the little circle of young men.

"Hello there gentlemen" she cooed, tipping her champagne glass towards them "Anyone wants to tell me where I can get rid of this crap and get some real liquor?"

Evelyn wouldn't admit it, but she was relieved Sveta was taking the lead. She never was really great at flirting with people. She tended to have...unpredictable reactions to things the echoes pointed out. It was one thing to sort of guess what a guy was thinking, but having the echoes there pointing out exactly what they were staring at... Well, dates didn't always go well in the past. She sipped her drink and let Sveta get to work.

It didn't take long before the other girl got one of the guys attention, and it quickly developed while Evelyn tried to make small talk with a different guy. Then, after Sveta moved away, she waited for a second before looking that direction, and then played the concerned friend, quickly following them.

Although, to be truthful, the concern on her face was probably about being left alone with the drunk idiots than whether Sveta was really in trouble or not. She hadn't slapped anyone yet, but the night was young. There was still time.