Kaz stood before the gates to X-Mansion. "This place hasn't changed." For some reason he had expected it to, he wasn't sure why he thought it would have. The Sanctuary hadn't changed, neither had much of the city. Maybe he was just hoping, it was the last place he had called 'home' before is absence, though in his head he had never really considered it his Home. Kaz did, and probably always would, considered his Warehouse his Home, where he belonged. When he had spoke to Sam about joining with the X's and acting as a teacher, a gym teacher if he remembered correctly, much of his reasons for doing it had been a lack of direction, not knowing who he was at the time or what his place in life was. The Mansion was where Nicki had lived, it was where Kat lived as well. He had cared for both of them, and they had both been good, in a way he hadn't been, that he still wasn't.

He hadn't been with them long, and while he was there he had never felt quite...right around the rest of them. Kaz didn't think he was a good fit for the X's, he was too ready and willing to kill, to end things quickly and with brutal finality, not to mention his lack of 'team skills'.

Kaz let out a small laugh as he hopped over the gate and walls with lazy grace. He remembered when he had been paired up with Jewel and Circe in the Danger Room for some sort of 'Team Building Tryout' or whatever they had called it. The two girls had been green, neon green, and he had spent most of the time being a massive ass, treating it like it had been beneath him. He still did. It hadn't helped him, or the girls work together. But he could see, at least he could years later, what they had wanted to do. It just wasn't something that worked for him.

Kaz had started walking towards the Mansion as soon as his feet hit the ground. He had been putting this off for too long. He'd been back in the city for months, had visited just about everywhere else he use to haunt, except here. Even asking himself, he couldn't put a reason to why he had avoided the Mansion for so long. Once he finally decided to stop by, he made sure there would be no way he wouldn't be recognized by anyone who knew him.

His hair was short and spiked up exposing his extremely Elf-like ears, with his short hair his facial scars were very noticeable, though they had begun to heal and fade a bit over the years, softening the raged edges. The gray skin-tight sleeveless shirt made his pale skin seem more pale than normal, the many scars on his arms weren't as large or angry as the one on his face, but they stood out on his heavily muscled and toned arms. A black leather belt with a genuine silver buckle sat in the loops of his rather normal blue jeans, though on closer inspection a person would be able to see the silver thread within the cotton threads, making an intricate pattern in the material, a subtle touch that set them apart from the norm. Finishing off the outfit was a pair of heavy black leather boots with thin, decorative silver plates running along the sides of the rubber that clicked against the ground if he stepped just right, which meant only if he wanted to make noise.

He didn't move to the front doors fast, but he didn't linger on the path either. He did linger at the door though, a little unsure of what to do. Every other time he had gone to the Mansion, except that once when he dropped Maya off, he had just walked in as if he belonged, mostly because he always had a reason. Not this time though, he had no specific reason to be there, at least not one he was going to dwell on. If Maya was around, he was going to try and find out what had happened to the book store, but that was just an 'If'. After a minute or three just standing at the door, he took a deep breath, opened the door and stepped through.

Once through the door and in the entry way, Kaz felt a silly urge to say something stupid like, 'I'm home'. After a moment of short contemplation, he smirked and thought, 'Why the hell not?'

He took a breath and let it out along with a strong, somewhat loud voice that wasn't quite a yell yet wasn't a typical inside voice. ”Rejoice! The Elf is back!” And then he started laughing.

”Oh you want a cookie?” was his first response towards the elf when he heard the voice yelling down the hall. Sam was down in his office with a half empty fifth on his desk the entrance way was close enough where someone yelling to each other could carry a loud conversation. He wasn’t sure who exactly the elf was but he had only called one person that before.

It had to be Kaz. Kaz was well, difficult from what he remembered. He also made a pass at Alexandra when they were dating. Something it seemed Sam was still a little irritated with but lately he was always irritated and angry so from something that far back he didn’t dwell much on it. Not now at least. Sam also recalled he offered the elf a job at one point and a spot on the team both of which he didn’t take seriously.

Sam reached into his desk and pulled out another glass and set it across from him as he waited for the elf to enter his office. ”Well take your time then Elf!” Sam yelled back. So it might have been class hours but the voices of the two would be audible in some of the classrooms.

Hearing the voice calling out to him Kaz turned towards the source. He couldn't see who had said it, but he recognized the voice. ”Frosty?” He began moving towards who he was sure was Sam. ”Mr. Snowman himself. Didn't think you'd be the first one I'd run into.” When he and Sam had first met, it hadn't gone very well. If he remembered correctly, they had both tried to clobber each other for some stupid reason. More than tried, they both left that scuffle hurt, and at least in Kaz's mind, with some respect towards the other.

When he joined up with the X's Kaz had...issues taking orders and following some of the rules. There wasn't any hostility between the two of them, but there was some tension. Circe didn't help matters, not that she did anything with Kaz, but she didn't seem too uninterested either. That situation didn't last too long though, seeing as how Kaz got himself caught and neutralized in Romania. Kaz hadn't returned to the States after that all ended, hadn't seen fit to let anyone know he was even alive.

”Well take your time then Elf!”

”Oh don't worry, I will.” He replied in a blithe tone.

As he neared Sam's office, Kaz wondered if he would ask about that. 'Did he always have an office?' He couldn't remember, or at least he couldn't remember Sam ever being in there. 'Being all responsible now.'

Kaz leaned against the open office's door frame. ”Can't rush perfection Frosty.” He looked over the office. It was...not exactly what he had expected. He got the feeling either Sam spent a great deal of time in the room or not at all. It was a lot more put together and organized that he expected. ”I'm not sure what I expected of your office, but this isn't it.” He grinned at Sam as he moved towards him.

Seeing an empty glass across the desk from Sam, Kaz pulled out the chair and sat in it. ”It's been a while. The Mansion looks in good shape, almost like it hasn't taken a beating in some time. How've things been?”

Sam smirked when Kaz commented on his office. ”I try not to stay in here too long otherwise it gets way messier. It helps I have people to clean up after me though.” Sam’s eye glanced over to the secret entrance to the man cave before looking back to Kaz. That was where he spent most of his time in his office. No one can really bother him in there except for the people who have a code or know how to walk through walls or mirrors.

Some whiskey found its way into the glass Sam set out for Kaz while his refilled as well. ”Ice?” Sam asked as he formed two ice cubes in his. ”Been better, been worse.” Sam said with a shrug. While it was true the mansion hadn’t been attacked in a while there was no shortage of kids misusing their abilities or losing control.

”It helps the school is constantly growing, new kids, new powers, new ideas to fireproof a room, earthquake proof the bathrooms.” Sam nodded his head, ”Happened three times now.” Sam rolled his eye and took a sip of the glass, which shook slightly. ”Four times now.” he corrected himself.

”You? Haven’t seen you since you disappeared, or heard from you. Which is odd. You seem to like attention.” Sam made a gesture towards Kaz and noted his clothes, a little flasher than Sam normally wore but also it was more clothing than he wore sometimes as well. ”Been keeping out of trouble?”

'Someone cleans up after him huh? That does sound more like the Sam I envisioned.' Kaz smirked at the thought. Kaz followed Sam's gaze when he looked away. He didn't see anything remarkable in the area, but Sam's eyes and the way he glanced at the area made Kaz wonder what was in that direction, why he'd look over there. ”Something interesting over there?” He doubted Sam's room was there. If he remembered correctly, most, if not all of the dorms and faculty living quarters were on the second floor.

Kaz nodded, ”Sure.” He watched as Sam formed a few cubes in their glasses. The man's control over his element was excellent. Making small cubes of ice wasn't impressive by itself, it was the lack of waste, the fine control, the ease with which he did it. Elementals, even powerful ones, tended to be either big and flashy or small and controlled. Sam's abilities seemed to run the full spectrum.

Kaz laughed. ”Four huh. Damn, y'all never catch a break do you. Good thing you guys have a large budget.” Sipping his drink. ”If you hadn't mentioned it already, I was going to offer a few tips to help secure the place against acts of god.”

”Been keeping out of trouble?”

”Pfft! Hell no!” Kaz grinned wickedly, ”Just new types of trouble. I get plenty of attention that way.” His expression sobered and he looked at his glass on the desk. ”In Romania...after it was all over..after getting out of...” He looked at the man across from him. ”I couldn't come back. Seeing that made me realize that we've got it hard all over the world. I had to do something, but I didn't know what.”

He picked up his glass, fingers around the top of the rim, and moved it in a slow circle, watching the ice spin in the liquid. ”When I figured out what I could do, I went at it with everything I could. Eventually it brought me back here.”

He looked up at Sam, ”The Corydon Estates. Just one of the places I've built for mutants. Homes, jobs, security. I've got a number of others in other countries. I use to waste money on...everything, now,” He grinned, ”I still waste money on myself, but I also use it to help other mutants who just want to live normal lives. So yeah, different type of attention and trouble.”

Sam smirked and nodded his head, ”Still early, I still might ask you.” Sam took another swig of his drink then listened as Kaz explained what he had been up to or rather a broad definition of what he had been up to. Sam doubted that was all Kaz was up to. The words, ‘everything he could’ for some reason that didn’t sound like just throwing money at the problems. If he recalled Kaz could become rather violent but then so could he so he didn’t really think much on it.

”Just mutants?” Sam asked curiously wondering if that was his only focus. Not that Sam didn’t argue with the idea of only helping mutants sometimes but if he still really wanted a peaceful future you’d have to help both humans and mutants not just one. That would just lead to a bloody conflict in his opinion. ”Help them by flashy clothing and loud boots?” Sam asked with another smirk, ”I could use some loud boots.”

Another sip, ”How are the Corydon estates doing anyways? I haven’t heard much about the place in a while.” Sam waited a second before he raised his eyebrow, ”Any interest in coming to help out the staff anytime soon?” he was gonna ask it anyways.

Kaz nodded, ”Just mutants. If they have any immediate human family members, I allow them to live in the estates with the mutant, as long as they aren't in any way anti-mutant, though children are always accepted. I don't punish them for their parents' stupidity and bigotry.” He paused for a moment, thinking that was all he was going to say, but realizing it could be a good thing to say more, to get more information out he continued. ”I won't help the humans with getting jobs or educations or anything like that, they already have the world for that. Jobs turn mutants away just for being what they are, people will refuse to sell homes or rent apartments to mutants. Schools will ostracize mutants and the environments can be so bad the kids can't learn, colleges have a higher likelihood to not accept more qualified mutant applicants over less qualified human ones. So yeah. Just mutants.”

Kaz grinned, ”If they want flashy clothes and loud boots, I can help them with that too. Not nearly as fine and expensive as mine though. Can't have them showing me up, now can I?” Quirking a brow at Sam, ”You want some loud boots? Might I suggest clogs, they're quite loud, and I'm sure you can find clog boots if you look hard enough.”

”The Estates are doing well, all the currently planned buildings are up.” Kaz took a large sip, ”The school isn't fully staffed yet, but we're working on that, should be fully operational next year, hopefully sooner though. Medical is good to go too, no need to bring wounded or sick to human hospitals now. Going to mine allows us to keep them safe and healthy without stabbing them in their wallets. Single mutants and families continuing to come in, after they pass the background checks. Not as many as in some other countries, yet, but definitely faster. I'll probably have to begin building more housing and security points by next year so there's enough for all who come.”

The look he gave Sam was sober and sincere, ”If you know of anyone who needs help and you don't have the resources or can't, send them my way. I've been meaning to set up some sort of press conference...or something.. to make it all completely public and official-like, but...I'm not good with that stuff, so I keep putting it off.”

”I...” He looked at Sam, a little guiltily, ”don't know. If I did, it wouldn't be full time, too much stuff to do now, though I try to pawn as much of it off on others as I can. Probably wouldn't want to put my name down as any sort of official staff person, might not be good for your PR or the Estates'.”

Kaz turned away from Sam as he looked into the hallway, listening. When he turned back he downed the rest of his drink all at once, ice and all. ”What do you think of the new “META” bots,” Kaz made finger quotations as he said the word META, showing what he thought of it. ”Know anything about them?”

Kaz was speaking some sense. Sam listened into the glass without saying a word. It was true some human’s did turn away mutants and some were bigots. Though with the way Kaz was talking it could be argued he was doing to humans what human’s did to mutants. Then again that would be if they didn’t know Kaz. Kaz, from what Sam could remember witnessed a lot of cruelty at the expense of mutants he was there in Romania, something Sam was grateful for. Things could have been a lot worse without him.

”You talking about the wooden ones?” Sam smirked as he kicked his feet onto his desk. Ice formed around his feet into a pair of the Swedish clogs Sam remembered seeing when he was younger. ”I’m not sure I could pull these off.” Sam moved his feet back off of his desk as the clogs started to dissipate.

”I know.” Sam said knowing Kaz meant well. ”I’ll keep a look out and be sure to recommend some of the older kids who are sick of living with a bunch of teachers and kids. I might be looking for a place soon.” Sam partially joked. It did seem like the school was getting smaller and smaller sometimes.

”I do know a few people who are pretty decent with PR. We have a great team here. How else you think we keep getting more and more kids from around the world? The good press is spread the bad press not so much.” the bad press he was talking about was fires and raids on the mansion from the orderlings. Something that happened in a while, maybe Abyss had something to do with that. ”Heck if I’m a full time staff member you’d be fine.” Sam started to laugh as he took another swig.

The next question almost caused Sam to choke on his drink as he joined Kaz in downing it. Sam coughed and grabbed the bottle and poured some more of the whiskey into the glass. Sam slid the bottle towards Kaz if he was feeling thirsty. ”I don’t think much of them at all… unofficially. It was requested I don’t talk about them to the public.” Sam sighed and scratched the back of his head. ”We both have seen history repeat itself. They just remind me of the ones we used to keep a look out for.” Sam leaned back into his chair.

”The police are just tired of being too outgunned ya’ know?” Sam said already knowing what Kaz was going to say.

”If they are, I've got apartments available, from some studios up to four bedroom dorm style to make things easier for those with lower incomes. Depending on what skills they have, I may be able to help with job placement as well, if they need that.” Kaz smirked, ”But for you...I've got just the thing. There's this lovely shack near one of the walls, totally secluded by trees. I think you'd fit right in.” Of course there was no such shack anywhere on the Estate lands. If Sam was serious, and if Kaz remembered correctly, the man had money, it was possible that he could afford one of the nicer places, without help from Kaz. He eyed the man with more than a little disbelief, ”Are you actually thinking of leaving this place?”

”Yeah, I get that, but isn't that why you guys are working with the police now? To handle what they can't so they don't become squishy, red, pasty lumps anymore?” Kaz took the bottle and poured himself another glass. He was somewhat relieved that Sam didn't seem all that comfortable with the MetaBota. Kaz stood up and shut the office door, it wouldn't be a perfect solution, he was sure there were plenty of way the students could listen in if they felt like it, but it was something. He turned back to Sam, ”I get it Sam, or at least I think I do. Officially you X's have been informed and are in favor and support and yada-yada, right? Level with me, what's the real deal, what do you really think of them?”

Kaz paced a few steps. ”Cuz I gotta tell ya man, just knowing those things are out there...it's got me on edge. I don't know anything about'em, not what their capabilities are, what they're made of, who made'em and why, nothin'. And that really makes me twitchy Sam. I have a hard time believing the BS press conference, that some 'nice benefactor' made the things and 'gave' them to the NYPD out of the goodness of their heart.”

Sam smirked into his drink and took another sip, a shack surrounded by trees did sound good. A wood burning fire and a place for Cammie and Bruno in the sun would be the best outcome there. Sam wouldn’t leave them here even if this was all their home. ”Every time I wake up.” Sam said honestly the mansion was his home and will always be his home but ever since he kidnapped the kids when he was being controlled it felt like this place forgot who he was. It was so bad even Sam forgot why he was there in the first place. He felt like a stranger.

Waiting till the door closed and Sam saw how on edge Kaz was he set his drink down and then tried to calm the elf. ”Yeah, that was why we started with them and are still with them. We had the number of deaths reduced within the first few weeks of being with them but we can’t be everywhere. The police are scared, the humans and the mutants, still too many variables and they are trying their best to protect themselves.” Sam said as he leaned forward in his chair. The pacing Kaz was doing was making him a little on edge. He had fought with the elf before; he didn’t want to do that again. He wasn’t sure the outcome would turn into a draw like last time. ”Take a breath and sit down man, have a drink.” Sam picked his up trying to calm himself.

The air got a little cooler as a response to Sam trying to calm Kaz. Ever since Sam was a kid this was his natural response when he saw someone on edge or he himself was. It wasn’t cold cold just a few degrees cooler than it was a second before. Even Sam didn’t realize he was doing it at first. ”I personally can’t stand the fact that bots are back in use. Sure they are fun to break but you can’t reason with them. Too easy to manipulate via hack or whatever.” Sam waved his hand as he took another drink and continued, ”We all remember the stalker bots, and I have been promised things aren’t going to go like last time. They know how I feel about them and the camps.” Sam reached up to his eye patch and sighed slightly as he sat back in his chair.

”I know a little about them. Most of them are nothing like the old stalker bots most of them are set up for non-lethal takedowns. The move fast, tasers, heavy bodies what ever they can use to subdue. There is only one variation of them that are authorized for lethal but they aren’t even deployed unless necessary.” Sam didn’t like how he had to word any of this but Kaz wanted to know. ”The chief and mayor won’t tell me who donated them. I’m about as skeptical as you but I got a few eyes and ears looking into it for me. I’ll let you know when I find out anything else.” Sam then leaned forward back towards the desk, ”They wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for the people in the order.” Sam didn’t like placing the blame but they did have the highest police death count.

What Sam said made sense, and he was on the same page as Kaz, thought along the same lines, had many of the same feelings and misgivings about the situation. Kaz wasn't sure why, but he was surprised he and Sam thought so similarly. There was a lot about Sam Kaz didn't know, or more accurately, Kaz knew very little about Sam.

Closing his eyes, Kaz did what Sam suggested. It took a few breaths before he was able to stop his pacing and sit down again. He looked at his empty glass then looked at Sam. ”To be honest, a drink wouldn't do it. I can't get drunk, never could. I drink for the taste and the burn. I envy you Sam.” He let out a soft snort.

”You've got good points, I won't deny them, but there's more too it Sam. Even if you guys can't be everywhere, the cops could make more of an effort to recruit and train mutants to add to the force. From what I've seen, they don't, or haven't really tried. Humans don't want us around Sam, they don't trust us. Mutants don't trust Humans, with good reason. We're tolerated at best, use us when they can, but that's about as far as it goes.” It was obvious he was exaggerating and stretching it, he expected Sam to see that, but he was doing it to make a point. These were excuses to keep things the way they were.

Kaz hadn't noticed the drop in temperature at first, thinking the room felt a little cooler because his blood had been up a bit. Once he calmed a little, he realized that was not the case. Quirking a brow at Sam, ”If you make my hair brittle and snap, I'll take it out of your hide.” He said it with a smirk. It wasn't a real threat, Kaz was just letting Sam know he noticed and that he didn't care for it. ”The security at the Estates already has standing orders that any Bots are to be destroyed if they set foot on the property.” Kaz tried not to think of it, but there was no way he could separate the thought of the Bots falling under the control of a hacker from the image of Panu taking control of them. If he understood the boy's power, there was nothing that could stop him if he wanted to hijack the machines.

Kaz knew for a fact even non-lethal methods could kill, injure, or maim someone. How would a machine know when it was using excessive force? If a mutant struggled against it, would it keep putting more pressure on the mutant until someone happened? If one of the bots tried to take him down or subdue him, he knew he wouldn't allow it, he wouldn't go down without a fight. Like Sam said, '”We all remember the stalker bots.”' The machines could not be trusted. ”I doubt this will surprise you Sam, but if those bots start doing anything that makes me even suspect something like the Stalkers are coming back, I'm going to declare war on the NYPD. I won't stop there. I will not allow more camps. If it happens, and you,” Kaz waved his hand to indicate the Mansion, ”Aren't with me, I will plow you under.” Kaz's voice and posture were not threatening, he wasn't leveling a thread, nor was he trying to menace the man in front of him. He was stating a fact of his intentions, giving Sam fair warning, telling him he expected and wanted his help if it happened, but that he'd do it on his own if he had to, and to hell with everyone else.

”They wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for the people in the Order.”

Kaz's head jerked back as if he had been slapped, a dumbstruck expression on his face. Had he really heard that right? Did Sam seriously believe that? ”I misheard you Sam, I had to have. It sounded like you just blamed all this on the Order.” His tone was incredulous. He held up both hands, palms facing Sam, nails lengthening and sharpening. When he spoke his teeth had become more fang-like.

Kaz's voice rose a bit, he wasn't yelling, but in the setting they were in, he may as well have been. ”Humans did this Sam. The Order is no more responsible for what's going on any more than that boy from the bus! The one who got defended himself from the HUMAN who stabbed him! Are the kids who wake up one day to find they're Mutants responsible for the Stalkers? Are they responsible for how Humans treat us because they distrust us, hate us, fear us? We've been around for centuries Sam. Humans use every excuse they can to justify how they treat us. When we use what we have to defend ourselves, to make our lives better, we're treated like criminals, outcasts, we become scapegoats. This whole society is against us Sam.”

Kaz forced himself to take a deep breath, to calm himself reverting his hands and face to normal. When he spoke, it was in a much calmer, quieter voice, ”You can't oppress a group of people forever, eventually they fight back. That is the Order. I'm not going to say what the Order does or what the members do is right, but I won't blame it all on them. You're just as much to blame as they are. You're a public figure, a powerful mutant. Even if you've never hurt a human, even if you've always helped them, the fact that you can freeze the water in the air, freeze portions of city blocks, is enough to scare the crap out of the Humans. It's their fear that brought these Bots on us AGAIN.”

Yet another call from a little bit screwy META. It wasn't that often that the X-men got a call to help out a human, but this one was getting chased for jaywalking. Maybe their X-gene was just latent? Or they were lying? Lying was a possibility.

Ghost trotted down the hallway, still in her gray and white uniform and fresh from the fight. It hadn't been too much of a fight. Taser diodes went right through her incorporeal body. She'd mostly just drawn it away and then gotten it to stand down once she lured it into one of the precincts. Now, all she had to was pick up and fill out her paperwork. She debated the merits of stopping in the office to make sure there was not mail or anything when she heard Sam being loud. Sam and someone else, both being loud.

Ohhh boy. At least it was all contained in the Mansion.

"Uhh. Maybe this is a bad time then?" Ghost hesitated in the doorway. The raised voices had drawn her attention and she'd poked her head in to check if Sam was drunk (safe bet) and yelling at someone who didn't deserve it (50/50 on deservedness).

"Wait. Mister Corydon?" Amber eyes swept up and down as soon as she'd spotted the ears. Kaz! He looked different and yet at the same time completely the same. "I won't bother you guys. Carry on." She smiled. "Just wanted to say hello. Please, let's catch up, Kaz." Ghost dipped her head politely a couple times, several from the neck bows.

And in a completely serious tone, dropping all smiles, Ghost pointed at Sam as she backed out of the room, papers in hand. "Behave." She pointed at her eyes and then at Sam, her message clear. I'm watching you.

Sam smirked when Kaz said he envied the ice-mancer. Honestly there were a lot other people he could envy more than him. Maybe Kaz didn’t know his history or his current standing in the mansion. That had to be it. The grass was always greener. Though if he couldn’t get drunk… Sam took a sip of the whiskey as the pointy-eared mutant continued on. Claiming the police don’t train mutants to join the force. That wasn’t true. Sam helped train over a dozen not to mention Shin and all the ones he hadn’t trained in the MRC division. Sure it wasn’t a whole lot but they had only had mutants on the force for a short time. It took a while to build up momentum.

Sam also didn’t say anything that even if the estates were private property they didn’t have the right to keep out the police, which the bots were now. Sure they could be asked to leave but Sam didn’t want to see that conversation starting with Kaz and any of the bots. He would be sure he’d be getting a phone call or see it on the news at that point.

The room got colder again when Kaz spoke again, if he did declare war on the NYPD then Kaz would also declare war on him along with the X-Men and if that was the case then Kaz just threatened him in his own office, in his home. Sam reached down and grabbed his glass and let the Elf continue on his little rant. When he finished Sam took a sip of his whiskey again about to retaliate with his voice raised even more when a Ghost appeared to whish to catch up with Kaz. Sam raised an eyebrow as Ghost told him to behave and then gave the signal that she was watching him, ”Yes MOM!” Sam yelled back as she exited the room.

Another sip and Sam looked back to Kaz and his nostrils flared with irritation as he slammed the rest of his drink then started to fill it again. ”Sit, down please.” Sam said with a long sigh and more control on his powers causing the temperature again to go back to normal. ”Not all the Order. Just the few that think it’s okay to go around killing boosting up the human death rate causing the police to hate and fear us causing more trouble, injuring my friends when all they are trying to do is protect and help people. Mutants and humans.”

”We are trying to make a difference Kaz, it takes time though and you have to build some trust. It took a while before we could even work with the police on any official capacity. Now they well over a couple dozen mutants in their ranks working along with humans to try and protect everyone. Again, I’m not placing the blame on the Sanctuary or the order. Just those that feel it’s okay to take a life to prove a point. It doesn’t prove anything other than we are no different than those you claim oppress us.” Sam took a sip and raised a hand to stop Kaz before he could comment, ”It takes time, sure there are those that don’t want us around or for any of us to succeed but, I got to believe that we can eventually get to a point in life where we realize how stupid all this fighting is. I’m tired of it.” it was true but he knew he couldn’t stop.

”I understand you are upset but if you find yourself at odds with the police the bots or anything I want you to at least call me so I can try diffuse the situation. I’m actually fighting for a world where kids like Alex don’t get stabbed on the bus. I’m just trying to go about it differently.” Sam would of course kill if he had to, if it meant kids like Alex didn’t have to take a life but he’d do it if he didn’t have a choice. He recalled making a promise to a certain Ghost that he’d try not to kill anymore something he forgot for a while. ”I actually hired a team of lawyers for the kid, trust me. That kid isn’t going anywhere. He wants a home in the mansion and to be left alone. I can promise you that is what he is going to get.”

”Uhh. Maybe this is a bad time then?”

Of course it would happen that way. Kaz was all but yelling at Sam, his personal feelings getting the better of him. And that is when Vega popped into the room. He had been so intent on Sam that he hadn't noticed anyone nearing the room. Kaz felt his face heat up, the tops of his ears felt hot. Even though he was embarrassed and chagrined, he was good at not letting it show. He closed his eyes and looked away from Vega, looked at the floor.

”Mister Corydon?”

Kaz looked up at her, meeting her eyes even though he really didn't feel like it at the moment. She seemed to be looking him over. Apparently when she spoke he really hadn't been sure it was him. Part of him was a little shocked and miffed. What other excellent specimen of perfect physical physique was there? Of course that was a his pride growling from deep within. He couldn't really blame her for not being 100% sure of his identity in one glance. Kaz on the other hand had no problem recognizing her immediately, not just from her voice, but physically. Sure she had changed in the years since he had last seen her, but not that much. One thing that changed enough for him to focus on was her hair. When he had last seen her it had been short, in what, if Kaz remembered correctly, was called a 'Pixie Cut'. It seemed that she had decided to let it grow out long, and he approved. It was Kaz's standard opinion that 99% of women looked better with long hair.

Kaz opened his mouth to tell her she wasn't bothering them, but she was already extricating herself from the situation. In fact, Kaz hoped that her appearance would kill what had been happening before her arrival. As he was going to agree that they should talk soon, her baring changed. ”Behave.” Sure she had said it to Sam, but at the same time, he couldn't help but be affected by what she said.

Kaz watched as Vega left, didn't look back at Sam until he yelled, ”Yes MOM!” Kaz made sure the door was shut before he sat in the chair. Kaz felt the air in the room begin to return to normal and he rubbed his face. He had begun to speak, to apologize for his..outburst, but Sam spoke, and Kaz sat back to listen.

Sam had about as much to say to counter Kaz as Kaz had blurted out earlier. Sam was clarifying some of what he had said, and he had valid points.

He waited until Sam finished before he said anything else. Kaz's voice was soft, but firm, ”Sam, if you didn't know, or had forgotten, somehow, I was Order. While the X's and cops were standing around doing nothing, we were out there saving children, mutant children, from being experimented on. While the X's were trying to coexist with humans, the Order was focused on mutant rights and the wrongs being done to mutants. I don't agree with everything the Order did back then, but I know the motives.”

”One girl, a teenager, had been experimented on and tortured, since she was a child, just a few years old. We killed the humans who did that to her, who kept her there, who guarded the place. So yes, the human body count was up, but can you tell me you wouldn't have done the same to save that girl? And she's just one example Sam. While I was there, do you know how many children, 10 and under we saved from similar situations? At least 50.” He shook his head. ”It's fine to try and work together with them Sam, but what about those the humans won't help, who they're profiting from, experimenting on, turning into weapons? If someone doesn't help them, we've failed them. If that means humans have to die to save them...” Kaz put up his hands and shrugged his shoulders. ”Granted that was almost a decade ago, so...really I have reason to get so upset. I don't know what they've done since then.”

”Sorry Sam..it's just. I may have left the Order, but I agree with them that someone has to look out for mutants, without pandering to humans. And that's what I've been doing the past many years. So condemning the Order..I took it more personally than I should.”

”We're both working for a world that's better for mutants, we're just going about it different ways. You guys are going for acceptance, I'm going for exclusion. Either way it's to keep kids like Alex from getting hurt for no reason.” Kaz paused as he turned in the chair, looking in the direction of the dorms and classrooms. ”If there's anything I can do to help with that Sam, just let me know.” He glanced at Sam without turning his head, a toothy grin on his face, ”I could make it all disappear...eventually they'd just give up.” Of course that wouldn't work, it would only cause more problems, but it would be fun, for a while. Turning back to Sam, ”I haven't seen any of the official reports yet...Did the guy actually die? I saw the video, but you can't always be sure with a mutant's power.” Kaz could believe it were some sort of illusion.

”As far as I know he is. Alex said he killed him and well.” Sam shrugged, ”All the evidence supports it. No kid should have to go through that.” Sam took a sip of his glass and then added. ”Might use you for a security detail if you promise not to get out of hand. I know there are protesters that will be there and I’m goanna be there right next to Alex but it wouldn’t hurt to have you watching from a distance.” Sam said as he set his glass down. Sam’s nostrils flared at the thought of someone trying to attack Alex for defending himself and his stomach churned.

”I know the Order degraded steadily since I joined the X-Men. It’s less about mutant rights now and more about their own interests, if a mutant doesn’t side with them and start trying to eradicate humans then they are against them. You have no idea how many mutants we had to save from some of them. Kids, human and mutant in burning buildings, shootouts. It’s stupid. Abyss and his brothers wouldn’t stand for any of it. Same with Geo.” those were the only members of the order Sam respected and had an understanding of. They did some stupid things but he knew if it came down to it they’d rather surrender then put innocent bystanders lives at risk. Sure they’d care less if they were human but they did try to keep the death toll down.

”I agree with you on some of the things it’s just they didn’t work when I tried them so I’m trying something new.” Sam took a sip again, ”Experiment turned weapon.” Sam said as he pointed to himself. ”I have no problem killing those who wish to do the same to other kids but I’m trying to do that as a last resort. Trying.” Sam said as his nostrils flared again as he looked into his glass.