21:00 hours
Nothing strange has been picked up on scanners save for a strange alteration in the waters currents in the Caribbean. Geological incident and no need for further investigation…

23:00 hours
Unusually high waves have been recorded buffeting the shores from the British Virgin Islands all the way down to Barbados. Incident flagged for possible investigation. Keep an eye on…

01:00 hours
Locals have begun posting strange videos on ViewTube, videos that show a series of strange, stationing lights in the distance off the coast of the Caribbean Islands. Most are claiming these to be little more than distant stars or distant freighter ships.

02:00 hours
Navy has confirmed that contacts with shipping companies have revealed that there are no ships currently on route anywhere near the Caribbean islands. Investigation is eminent…

05:00 hours
Reports have begun to pour in from local individuals how have been identified as mutants. They claim that a voice spoke to them in the night; a voice promising them freedom from persecution…a chance at “paradise”. Incident has been red flagged.

06:00 hours
The first shaky video has appeared on ViewTube of a mutant riding on a speedboat with other unidentified mutants. Boat is pointed towards a large landmass that has seemingly risen from a part of the ocean where there has been no island before. Circular with towering walls made of stone and coral. The structure looks wet as it glistens in the early morning light. As the boat comes to a stop, a single individual is seen on the island. A beautiful woman of physical perfectly, dressed in sewn together seaweed with a shark-tooth necklace around her neck. She holds her hand out to the camera man, smiling, and says “Welcome…” Video suddenly ends after that.

06:30 hours
More boats has been seen exiting the Caribbean Islands headed on a direct course towards the mysterious landmass. Social Media has exploding with mutants saying they are going where the voice has led them, even though no one has been able to confirm arriving at the island sans that one ViewTube video.

07:00 hours
The term #Atlantis is currently trending on all internet and social media platforms, beating out #GreyIsDrama from the top slot since the WC show premiered three weeks ago.

---

The X-Men had decided that they would be the first to make a move. Considering that this was a mutant related issue, that mutants were being targeted by what they could only assume was some kind of powerful telepath, it didn’t take them long to come to a decision to intervene. The call went out and the first to respond were drafted and dubbed Blue Team. With a small but powerful group gathered, they were on the way.

In the wee morning hours, Jorge Cervantes sat in the back of the plane, buckled in as the jet flew from New York, down South at towards the Caribbean at high speeds. It had been awhile since Jorge had donned his X-uniform but he was surprised (and pleased) to find that it still fit. Black fabric, etched with blue and spots of silver, Jorge’s uniform appeared more like a biker’s outside but it was specially designed for his abilities. It was porous in some areas, allowing the man to shift in and out of water with ease. Thankfully there wouldn’t be need of a mask this time.

As the jet traveled at a distance that military and aeronautic engineers could only dream of, Jorge looked over the gathered reports on the mission briefing he had been provided with thanks to Ghost. As he flipped through the tablet, he looked at intelligence reports that had been hacked and downloaded from military servers, including a satellite image that was breathtaking to look over.

The land mass was huge. Out in the middle of the ocean, it was about the size of Manhattan but it was surprisingly circular in nature. Though the distance didn’t allow for details as close as registering any populace on the island, what could be seen was that the landmass was entirely covered by a structure – maybe even going so far as to say the structure was the landmass. From above it looked like a disc-shaped labyrinth, with canals and streets cutting through the structure in intricate patterns and designs. The walls were tall, the buildings within were solid, it seemed, but the weirdest thing was how familiar it looked.

Jorge remembered reading a plethora of tales and stories when he was in college and one that he kept going back to was the story of Atlantis. Just a passing mention in a play but it was enough to spur the creative imagination of governments, novelists, and playwrights for many years to come. He would remember watching documents about treasure hunters who wasted their lives looking all over the world for this fabled city. Their imaginations wild with the notion of futuristic technologies and divine magic. But was this actually Atlantis? Jorge had to wonder.

He shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. There was still a bit of time before they got to Atlantis but they would be there before he knew it. Setting the tablet down, he glanced over to the rest of those who had been gathered and nodded. They could probably do with an update.

”Ten minutes away…” he said. What else was there to say in this instance?

This was Gawain's first X-mission since his return, and he found that he was more than a little nervous. It all felt familiar - the jet, the uniforms, the team - and yet it was not quite the same. For one, Jorge was back from the dead (Gawain was not kidding when he told Max that being dead at least once was part of the X-team requirements) - on the other hand, Evelyn was gone, and the team was smaller this time than it should have been. Gawain was also worried about the voices the mutants heading for Atlantis claimed to hear. Was it a siren song type of situation? He went over the briefings on the way down, but now as they neared the island, he ran out of things to read.

>>"Ten minutes away..."

"Let's hope it's not amazons this time..." Gawain muttered, mostly to himself. The last time he and Sam landed on an abandoned island, things did not work out very great...

Finally, a real mission. Not some diplomatic PR stunt, but an honest to goodness mysterious happening in the middle of the Caribbean. There was a new island people were calling Atlantis and it was calling out to mutants. They had to investigate the cause and figure out if there was a threat at the center of this island they had to reach before someone else could. Real, genuine X-Men stuff. She was excited, feeling like this was her first real major mission since the last island the X-Men sent her to. (Hopefully this one had no plans on trying to kill her with lava like last time.)

Trying not to get too anxious on the X-Jet, Becca had a laptop on her lap (where it logically belonged) as she sat cross-legged on one of the seats. Her gauntlets were off; they were useful for lifting herself off the ground, but lousy for typing. Looking over her social media accounts, she sighed in relief. ”At leest thes knocked 'at shaw it ay th' top spot fur noo.” Becca actually liked the “Grey,” the new show on WC, as one of her overly dramatic guilty pleasure shows. What had been difficult since its rise to prevalence was sharing a last name with the titular main character, who was even a redhead. The whole thing had inundated her with jokes and references from her fan base, her friends, and her pain in the butt girlfriend. Hopefully a literal mythical island emerging from the ocean would help the hype die down.

She chose her seat carefully when she boarded; Becca was at least two seats away from Gawain, and as far as she could be from the medical bed in the back of the jet designed for injured teammates. Gawain was her friend, and certainly a man she trusted, but there were a lot of… memories on the X-Jet that a girl with a girlfriend need not have on her mind. Instead, she smirked and replied to his comment, ”Ah mean, thaur ur worse things than amazons...” An island of strong, muscular women…

More thoughts a girl with a girlfriend need not be having right now. Mission thoughts. Yes, mission thoughts were the best choice. ”Atlantis, thocht.” It’s what everyone was calling it on social media and the news. ”Ye dornt hink it coods actually be The Atlantis, reit?” The thought of Atlantis emerging and joining the real world now was just so comic booky to her. Then again, the girl who could move metal had little to say about what was realistic and what was sci fi nonsense.

KKSHHHHHH FLABLLABLLLAPOSHKUUUUUUSH. The door of the lavatory opened, and Saphirus walked on out into the main cabin in time to hear detective Cervantes say they were ten minutes away. "Aww, man, I coulda waited until we landed... Figure they got bathrooms down there, right?" He mostly muttered to himself. The Veteran X-Man shrugged, and walked on over to lean against a row of seats, looking down at the row of people strapped in.

He never really sat in the blackbird anymore. His ability made sudden changes in force applied to him a lot more manageable, and it made him look just a little bit like a bad ass, so, you know, why not?

The Masochist was still dressed in his signature spandex, though he'd clearly beefed up a bit over the last two years. His uniform had marks of the more recent redesign as well. The X across his chest, and metal reinforcements in his gloves, joints, and chest. As always, he had his crowbar at his side.

They got to talking about amazons. Rebecca chimed in, and he understood it; ”Ah mean, thaur ur worse things than amazons...”

"Yeah... Zombies. Remember the island full of zombies?" One of the worst moments of his life, that one... Not so bad, looking back.

Rebecca asked if they thought it might actually be Atlantis, and all he could offer was a shrug.

They were landing soon enough, so they would find out. He knew at this point that no one really knew what to expect. He had some energy saved up just in case, though... Never hurt to play it safe.

Ghost had done her best to help with the intelligence gathering, but when it came down to it, she literally could not read what was written on screen or on paper. It was easier to defer to Jorge on the matter. This seemed to be in his wheelhouse anyway.

It had been a while since the team had suited up, but here they were keeping Spandex™ in business. (Nobody else made a cloth as durable, yet breathable...) Maya wished that Cafas had been able to make it, but it was really better if someone was home to get the kids in bed. Since there was a potential for drowning, an aeromancer made a little more sense than someone with Cafas' power.

So she'd stuffed her legs into her skin tight suit before the sun had even crested the horizon. Ghost dozed off and on for the majority of the flight dreaming of an underwater vacation home. How lovely would it be to go? She really had to go. She should bring the kids. Why hadn't she brought the kids?

A flush startled Ghost awake and the energy and focus of her teammates made her realize that they must have been close. She stretched and caught a hint of a little someone she hadn't realized was there before.

"Would now be a bad time to mention that we have a stowaway?" Ghost stretched out to tap her high heeled boot against one of the cargo spaces. She wasn't sure which kid it was, but there was someone alive in there. "You may as well come out now where we can keep an eye on you. It's too late to turn back." She was both hoping and dreading that it was Jude.

As soon as she'd caught wind from her dad about his little mission and where it was, she knew she wanted to go. She'd pestered him about it relentlessly, but he had been stern in denying her every single time.

So, like any normal seventeen year old, she'd hatched a plan to get up absurdly early, break into the sub levels of the school, and then the plane itself. It had taken her a lot of effort, and she may or may not have had to bribe another student who could walk though physical walls in order to do so.

... She'd miss that laptop.

Anyway, the teen was quite proud of herself. By the time the others had started to show up she'd long since wedged herself into a cargo slot. She'd even managed to take a nap for a bit too.

One agonizingly boring trip later attempting to decipher what the hell all of the adults were talking about, she got ratted out.

Muffled cursing might have been heard from inside, before Elke reluctantly pushed the door open and crawled out. She was red in the face from being crammed in there for so long, and mildly disheveled. Looking around she realized she was sorely under-dressed... but whatever. Spandex was lame anyway. She hurried to wedge herself into one of the fold down seats, before she fell over and embarrassed herself.

Moodily she tucked her hands in the pockets of her cargo shorts and huffed, "...How'd you even know, anyway?"

She didn't even bother looking at her surrogate father. She still hadn't forgiven him for that last training course he'd put her through.

It was a strange feeling that settled into Jorge’s stomach. It wasn’t nerves or fear but more a feeling of confused anticipation. The last that he had looked out the window, the land was gradually disappearing to give way to more and more churning blue waves. They were leaving land behind soon and would find himself out in the middle of the ocean. The ocean. The thought along made the feeling in the pit of his stomach all that heavier. He tried not to focus on it, but it was difficult. The last time he had actually seen the ocean was, well, when he had come ashore a year ago – and now he was back.

Jorge didn’t like to admit that he was scared, but anyone would be having to go back to the prison that they had spent the majority of their lives drifting aimlessly in. Jorge had been formless consciousness, drifting along the waves for four long years. No sense of time, touch, or even of self. He was everywhere and nowhere. Trying to think back on those moments, trying to remember what he had suffered was a headache inducing mess; the last thing he needed was a reminder – but that was surely what he was getting now.

The Blackbird flew at high speeds passed the last scattered bits of land. Down below in the early morning sun all that could be seen were the twinkling dots of sunlight sprinkling over the expanse of crystalline water. Jorge could feel the tightness starting in his chest, the unknown pit in his stomach growing. Deep down something wanted to make him turn back around but he knew it was impossible – he had a job to do.

Duty. Honor. Those were the things that kept Jorge Cervantes going in these tough times. The reminder that he was both a police officer and an X-Men, swore to protect the innocent. Whatever this “Atlantis” was, it needed to be checked out. People were going to that island that they weren’t be heard from again. If innocent mutants being lured by the promise of peace and prosperity were being lured there for something more malicious, then they needed to act. And, considering it was in the middle of the ocean, it seemed that Jorge was indeed one of the best options for the job.

He looked back to see his teammates: Mirror, Lodestone, Masochist, and Ghost, each of them strong in their own right and the first to respond to the summons. They would all prove to be useful here should things go awry. But he hoped, dearly, that it wouldn’t come to that and that all of this was only a mistake of sorts and nothing more.

As they chatted about past missions and the validity of whether or not this was really Atlantis, Jorge smirked a little. It was odd but these weren’t the kinds of interactions he was expecting when he joined the X-Men. He didn’t know what he was expecting but all of this just seemed so…normal. When he worked S.W.A.T. he remembered having conversations just like this with his own team mates. In an odd way, it was comforting.

He nodded to Lodestone, the redheaded Rebecca Grey, and answered her question. ”No idea if it’s Plato’s Atlantis. If it is…well…I can only imagine how it existed all this time. But either way, we need to investigate.” He glanced back to the window. ”I dunno what it is…” he said a bit mysterious. ”Something just feels…off…”

The man lifted his head when Ghost turned and started to speak. It was a little strange to look at her, or rather what was left of her. But Jorge didn’t let his eyes stray too hard on her transparent form and instead perked up when she had mentioned that they had a stowaway. Jorge turned his attention to the cargo holds and narrowed his eyes. Why didn’t he sense it before. As he zeroed in on his watery senses, he could see the mass of water hidden safely inside. They were small, and older child or young teenager only. The cop rolled his eyes as the cargo hold open and the stowaway climbed out.

>> ”…How’d you even know, anyway?”

The man sighed as he turned away. Ghost would handle this, and the young woman’s question, but the man grumbled under his breath. They were possibly going somewhere dangerous and the last thing that they needed was to watch for another possible liability. But the man said nothing. Instead he merely looked down at the ETA that flashed on his tablet. They were getting clos—

He stopped. He could feel something strange. Something worming into his head. The man grunted, holding his breath as he felt something project deeper and deeper into his mind, like the dull buzz of a drill bit digging into his gray matter. It didn’t hurt but he was more than aware of it – and it was a feeling that each member aboard this plan would feel. Jorge winced, leaning against the interior of the cabin. It was only as he breathed through the alien sensation that he began to decipher a voice that echoed like water drops in a deep cavern.

Lost children…Come to Atlantis. Find peace. Find salvation. Find home.

Jorge looked amongst the rest of his team. He couldn’t see all of them but those he did see he knew they were hearing it as well. Was this the mysterious voice that the mutants along the Caribbean isles were claiming to have heard? The voice that promised them paradise? Obviously because what else could this have possibly been?

He looked amongst the others. ”I’m…not the only one hearing this, right?” As the plane pressed on, the closer they approached the island city, the louder the voice became. At this point they didn’t need the plane’s instruments to find Atlantis, they could just follow the siren-like voice that echoed in their heads, repeating itself over and over again endlessly.

There was a ding on the console and Jorge stood up, moving back to the window. At first he saw nothing but, in the distance, he could see something, a circular shape on the horizon. It was tall, taller than he had expected it to be. Satellite imagery didn’t do the city justice. It floated there, on top of the water, like a giant lily pad. The high walls were pressed directly to the edge of the crag-like landmass it sat atop, but the city was a beauty to behold. Tall with glistening walls still moist from the ocean spray and with dried kelp hanging from the battlements, it sure as hell looked like a city that came from beneath the waves.

Though the voice repeated itself over and over again, as the plane crossed a kind of invisible threshold, the automated message suddenly altered. It no longer lured them to paradise…it greeted them.

Welcome to you all…Welcome to Atlantis…

>>”Ah mean, thaur ur worse things than amazons...”

>>"Yeah... Zombies. Remember the island full of zombies?"

Gawain huffed as he sunk deeper into his seat. Sam was not on board, so there was no one to back him up on the argument of why an island full on Amazons would not be the fun vacation everyone made it out to be. Then again, zombies were no better either. He knew that from experience.

Becca kept her distance from him, and he could not blame her. The Jet was kind of full of memories for the two of them. There was no tension, though - Gawain was happy to be back with the team, and he trusted everyone on board with having his back for the mission.

Or almost everyone...

>>"Would now be a bad time to mention that we have a stowaway?"

Gawain turned to look at the girl that Ghost called out of her hiding place. Oh, great. A student decided to tag along for an X-men mission... Not that Gawain was in any place to blame them for it. He had seen worse.

"Well, at least we've got someone to watch the Jet..."

Before they could investigate any further what exactly she was doing on board, a voice spoke. Directly into their heads.

Lost children…Come to Atlantis. Find peace. Find salvation. Find home.

"Yeah well that's totally not creepy at all" Gawain muttered, crunching up his nose. Telepaths. Not a good sign.

>>”I’m…not the only one hearing this, right?”

"Nope." Gawain leaned forward to look out the window, watching as the mystical island appeared in the distance. It would have been magical, had it not been so... incredibly... fishy. Pun not intended.

Welcome to you all…Welcome to Atlantis…

Gawain huffed, looking at the others.

"Should I do a recon trip once we are in range? They gotta have some reflecting surfaces down there..."

It was refreshing how the whole Mission Team was acting so casually on the X-Jet as they flew to the mission, making it almost feel like they were not on their way to potentially throw themselves into danger. They all understood the premise of what they were doing and the basis of “the plan,” but with so many variables to anticipate, there was no reason to spend the whole flight in their own heads thinking about what came next. Becca was understanding that being an X-Man meant being fine with improvisation in a pinch.

She was familiar with most of the team, with Jorge helping her and Agnes out several times when they were younger, and Mirror as the teammate she saw the most as a personal friend, (not that it would affect how she treated Gawain on the mission.) She had been on a mission with Saph in the “Living Tower,” and it was good to know a team veteran would have her back out there if need be.

Maya, codename Ghost, was the one teammate she only knew in passing. Maya’s situation had been explained privately to Rebecca, which she was thankful for, because if she had met the partially-transparent woman without prior preparation, she might have risked putting her foot in her mouth.

It was Maya that pointed out there was a sixth person tagging along on their mission, which was unexpected. She would have believed any of the kids at the school might have known better than to hide away when the X-Men were going on a dangerous mission.

Of course, that belief did not accurately accommodate for the brat that was Elke. Back when Becca had first met the girl, she was very young and a total brat, going by her nickname, Moose. Now that she was back in the states and teaching at the Mansion, Becca had to deal with Elke as a student, and as it turned out? Still a total brat. ”Ah swear, Ah’m nae sure if ‘Ah should know better’ is e’en in yer vocabulary,” she said, accepting that this kind of acting out was probably inevitable and not worth getting worked up over.

Bigger problems were on the horizon, which was clear when Jorge made it clear he was hearing things.

In fact, it was not just Jorge; Gawain seemed clearly uncomfortable as he admitted to hearing whatever it was the elder X-Man was talking about. This was enough to worry Rebecca, because as far as she could tell, she was hearing nothing but the standard sounds you’d expect in a jet flying over the ocean. ”Okay, Ah’m nae hearin' it.” She paused for a second before looking at the other mutants aboard the jet, trying not to sound concerned. ”Am Ah th' only one nae hearin' it?” At first, she was worried for Jorge and Mirror, but now it was occurring to her that she might have been the odd woman out.

Which was annoying, because she would love to know what was going on that was so creepy. ”...Also, Eh'd loove if someain coods at leest teel me whit ‘it’ is.” A Mirror recon mission sounded like a good idea, because they clearly had a lack of intel coming into things.

Improvisation. The X-Mission spice of life.

Saph just stood there, enjoying the atmosphere as Jorge mused more on Atlantis, leaning in a bit to glance out of the small windows out at the sea before looking casually over to ghost as she chimed in.

He stood straight and shook his head when he heard about their stowaway. "Jesus, can't people control their kids these d-" It was Elke, wasn't it?

#@$%, it was Elke.

"MOOSE, WHAT THE @#$^!" His face went from relaxed and decidedly normal in hue to a bright red as he stormed over to her in her new seat, "I Can't believe you would do something this stupid! I mean, You do a lot of stupid things, but this takes the cake! I mean, you're 17 years old! Act like it!" Oh crap, she was already grounded... what could he do now? "You... Are past grounded. You are in so much trouble i'm gonna hafta invent a new #%^&in word for how in trouble you- son of a- someone turn off the damned comms! I'm tryna tell my daughter how she'll never see the light of day ag-"

A glance told him the onboard comms systems were off. Very off. The voice... It was inside his head. It was loud. For him, louder than most; telepaths had an easy time reading him, and he heard them louder than most.

Rebecca didn't seem to hear it. That was strange. "Its.. Jesus, it's a telepath. Gotta be powerful, too... Telling us to go there..." He his hand wandered to his head as they hit a tag bit of turbulence, and he had to steady himself against Elke's seat.

His face screwed up unpleasantly a bit... He didn't like hearing someone else's voice in his head.

Gawain mentioned doing some recon, he could hardly hear it... He grunted. "I got a bad feeling, here, man... Maybe we should play this one close to the chest." His hand strayed slowly to his holstered crowbar for security's sake.

They got closer, and the message changed. It wasn't as loud, at least, or maybe he was getting used to it. As they neared the landing zone, he looked over to Elke.

"You're staying here. Safe. And when we get back... Oh man, we are having words, young woman. @#$&in can't believe this..." He mumbled the last part.

> "...How'd you even know, anyway?"

"I don't see normally." Maya tapped her temple next to her eyes. She didn't look normal either. Ghost shrugged half-see-through shoulders. It came with the territory.

>"Well, at least we've got someone to watch the Jet..."

"Have you actually met anyone who goes to school at the Mansion, Mirror?" She was teasing, as evident by her tone. "I wouldn't trust her to stay put." Ghost certainly wouldn't have stayed. The temptation was just too much.

And speaking of too much... Saph was out of line. Ghost had some experience parenting. Not good parenting, but at least she felt she had enough authority to step in as a voice of reason and advocate for the girl. She stood, ready to put herself between Saph's crowbar and his... daughter? She'd never quite realized those two went together despite hearing about Elke from Jude.

"16 is the youngest we allow on the team, Masochist." She did NOT care for his tone. "And you need to calm down before you say another word." Her own tone had dropped to near ColdSteel levels of icicle.

Lost children…Come to Atlantis. Find peace. Find salvation. Find home.

Yes. That sounded right. They were all a bit lost—

>"Its.. Jesus, it's a telepath."

Ghost shook her head to try to shake the feeling that something was still sticking in her skull. Telepath?

"Jesus isn't a telepath, he did reincarnation. Welcome to you all…Welcome to Atlantis…" It just sort of... came out. Ghost slapped her hand over her mouth. She didn't do well against telepaths either...

Barring how much Miss Elke was affected, they might actually need her if it was this bad.

"I hate to pull rank, but as the most senior X-man on this flight, I would rather Miss Elke come with us for safety reasons. If there's a telepath" —which seemed pretty evident at this point— "I'd rather we not separate." And Miss Elke could stay with Ghost if she had to because Saph was on Maya's I don't care for your attitude list, now.

She turned to Elke next. "Uhm. Moose? That's your codename, right? Whether you stay or go, I'm going to leave that decision to you." Because she was clearly going to do what she wanted either way, Ghost wanted her to declare her intentions so that they could work with them or around them as neccessary. And Ghost raised her voice for the next part so Masochist wouldn't miss it. "Anyone who has an issue with Moose's decision can take it up with me. Later. After we all return safely from this mission."

And that. was. that.

All eyes were on her for a moment. Instead of basking in the attention, she nervously shifted her gaze between the lot of them. Some were faces she knew... some were faces she had yet to meet. 

Some dude commented that she could stay with the jet when they got wherever ever they were going. Elke pulled the ugliest face she could muster and stuck her tongue out at him. They could try and get her to stay put, but as soon as they were out of eyesight she was booking it. Or maybe she'd follow after them at a distance. 

The see-though woman chimed in with her own thoughts on the matter, which eerily echoed what Elke had just been thinking. The Native cast a nervous sidelong glance at her. Was she psychic too?

She mentally shrugged, as her attention was snagged by another. A much more annoying other. 

”Ah swear, Ah’m nae sure if ‘Ah should know better’ is e’en in yer vocabulary,”

The grump dropped from her face and was momentarily replaced by confusion as she stared at one of her teachers. She hadn't known she would have been on the mission... was she gonna get assigned more freakin' homework for this? "Sorry to say Miss G, I still haven't found a translator to help me understand what the he-.... ck... you are saying."

There. She'd censored herself for once. She was being a good girl!

And then Saph started yelling, and her attention finally swung his way. Had she not been seated and buckled into her nice little wall chair already, she would have been up on her feet and equally in his face. Instead, her face turned a nice red shade to match his.


"I Can't believe you would do something this stupid! I mean, You do a lot of stupid things, but this takes the cake! I mean, you're 17 years old! Act like it!"

"Maybe I wouldn't have felt the need to resort to such drastic measures if SOMEONE would have taken my training seriously!"

She opened her mouth to defend herself some more, and also probably ruin her short streak of semi-good behavior, when someone else interjected. Another woman, the one who'd figured out she was a stowaway... and BOY did she lay in on Saph. Elke sat back a little and simply smiled smugly at her adoptive father, knowing there wasn't much he could do surrounded by a bunch of other X's.

A moment later it seemed like everyone was talking about hearing voices of some kind. Elke frowned, brows furrowing as she tried to figure out what the hell they were all talking about. All she could heard was some kinda bland static... there might have been voices in the background, but she couldn't make sure what they were saying. It was all muddled together like a channel not coming in.

"I hear jack s-... quat." She glanced at Becca, squinting slightly. Saph aimed words at her, which earned him the stink eye of the highest degree.... But, ghost started talking again and pulled the teen's attention back before she could start another altercation with her father.

"Uhm. Moose? That's your codename, right?"

Code name? She glanced at Saph again, remembering all of those ridiculous hero names he'd been trying to give her. "Sure!"

"Whether you stay or go, I'm going to leave that decision to you. Anyone who has an issue with Moose's decision can take it up with me. Later. After we all return safely from this mission."


... Elke wasn't entirely sure, but there was a distinct possibility she was beginning to like this woman. The grin that shifted onto the Native's face was nothing short of triumphant, and she had to physically restrain herself from hooting with joy.

"Heck YES i'm commin' along! I wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this even if it killed me."

It was an odd sensation, to feel someone speaking into your head. There was such an sense of invasion as his mind tried to toss up defenses to repel the voice, to cast it out like an exorcist expelling a demon from an innocent host. However, for every mental barrier that Jorge tried to force out, it merely collapsed under the thunderous sound of the voice that was welcoming them to Atlantis. Though the voice wasn’t really as loud as when he first heard the sound, it was nonetheless a bit of an annoying sensation and caused the man to worry. If thoughts were being projected, could they also be read? As whoever this person was invading his mental space right now?

He tried to shake it off as he looked towards his comrades. Mirror seemed to hear it as well, but it was Masochist and Ghost who seemed to be taking the brunt of it. The vigilante looked almost deafened by the voice and the transparent mutant was practically repeating the phrase verbatim. The only person who seemed to be truly unaffected was Rebecca, who whipped around, looking at them in a confused manner. Somehow she wasn’t picking any of this up.

>> ”...Also, Eh'd loove if someain coods at leest teel me whit ‘it’ is.”

”It’s a welcoming,” he said, wincing as the voice slowly turned into the only sound he heard. He then gestured to Ghost. ”Like she said. It just says…’Welcome to Atlantis’…over and over again, like…um…song a voice caught on a loop.”

Jorge took a deep breath. The plan e was getting closer and, thankfully, it seemed that the voice was started to dissipate now. It was still discernable from the rest of his thoughts, but it was still persistent in relaying the message to them. After a steadying breath, Jorge looked back out the window to see the island city of Atlantis glistening down below. At glance it truly did look like paradise.

>> "Should I do a recon trip once we are in range? They gotta have some reflecting surfaces down there..."

He turned back just as Mirror suggested that maybe he should take a look around. He knew some of Mirror’s ability. S/He could walk through mirrors, transport anywhere that there was a shiny surface. That would be good to at least get a hint at what was to come. He nodded.

”Go when we’re close. Stay hidden and safe.”

As they drew nearer, Jorge could feel the voice beginning to wane – just in time to listen as Ghost ripped into Masochist concerning his daughter (did Ghost call her Moose). It was kind of not the place to be having this kind of discussion but after Ghost ultimatum about seeking her out for disagreement, Jorge was going to keep his mouth shut. Really he didn’t want to risk there being a young, untrained kid out on that island if they could help it, but what else was he supposed to do? Ghost had a point, if there was a telepath that powerful on the island, then it was better they all stick together. Separation would not help them at this point.

>> "Heck YES i'm commin' along! I wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this even if it killed me."

He sighed. He wished she wasn't so peppy about it. With a nod to Moose, he said, ”Well, kid, I guess you’re part of this troupe now.”

He turned as he headed back to the cockpit. Taking the jet off autopilot, Jorge took manual controls so that he could keep a safe distance from the island while he looked for a place to land. Of course he wouldn’t really land until he heard back from Mirror if it was safe. Until then, there was no harm in scoping out the rest of the island from a safe distance.

---

Distance did little justice to the beauty and majesty of the fabled city. Unlike those driven fantasies of treasure hunters, Atlantis was not made by aliens or advanced technology. No, the city itself looked quite classic, reminiscent of those ancient cities depicted in Greek pottery. Towering buildings of white marble glistened in the light while a bevy of statues inlaid with precious metals and stones dotted every street corner. The streets themselves were deception, rounding around the city in seeming unknown patterns but, in case, were all connected and formed circles around the ancient metropolis. Streets were made of cobblestones and others were simply canals of churning water where boatmen pushed passengers from one end of the city to another.

Atlantis was made to be a place where everyone felt equal, where people could get to anywhere from any street or land marker. Already there was a bevy of mutants there, people from the Caribbean Islands who had been drawn in by the siren song. They wandered about, dumbstruck by the opulence and the beauty that was everywhere – and this included the Atlanteans themselves.

Those residents of this fabled city were beauties to behold. No stricken by volumes of pollution or feasting upon mass processed foods, they were physical perfection. Strong, healthy bodies of all ages. The majority seemed to be hold but there was a healthy group of younger adults and even a few kids running around. Each of them were dressed in the classic garments one would expect for Greek descent. Most wore chiton’s of flowing white and robes dyed in individual colors. The jewelry would be the most eye-catching though. Made of deeply mined precious metals and coral, they shined with such luster they could rival most mirrors. However it wouldn’t be just their finery and physical perfection that people would find memorable – it would be other aspects.

The people of Atlantis, much like the mutants of today, fled tyranny. They founded this home where they could flourish and use their abilities with ease. It could be seen today, as Atlanteans display all manner of abilities, ranging from speeding through the streets, to walking on water, light hearths with but a glance, and any range of powers.

Truly this was a paradise on the waves – or so it seemed. As these Adonises walked the streets barefoot, smiling and waving to those people who were recently emigrating, they carried with them deeper and darker secrets. Secrets new arrivals would have no knowledge of. Secrets that were already beginning to unfold in the dark and damp corners, unseen by passing eyes.

Deep in the central capital, a bulbous dome of a building that was honeycombed with various halls and rooms, there sat a centralized room where a single throne was placed. Upon this throne sat a single man, one of who looked old and pressed down by the weight of time. He was dressed in a similar fashion to the rest of his citizens, but his wore items that was decidedly more geared towards combat and war. A shiny brass chest plate was worn over his chiton and depicted the seal of an aged man with a swirling beard and fierce eyes. Upon his grayed head sat a crown of coral, perfect fitted to him. His hand resting upon a sword on his lap, the elderly man with the strong body looked down as a single individual with flowing white hair approached.

“My lord. Strangers approach. Not by boat but in a bird of sheer metal.”

The man nodded. “A plane, my dear. Took them long enough.” He sighed a shaky sigh as he stood up. “Go and greet them. Instruct them as to a safe place to land.” He touched his hand to his temple and closed his steel-gray eyes. “I sense…they are like us. So we shall treat them as the others.”

The female nodded. Slowly she shifted, changing into a wisp of white smoke. “And if they bring war?”

The man turned and scoffed at the wisp of a woman. “Then they bring death to themselves. Go. Now.”

The lord and master of this domain turned and headed out of the door via the nearest door. As he left the wispy woman tilted her head, watching him for a moment, before she turned and floated upwards towards a lone skylight in the roof above. She would greet them as all newcomers have been greeted – as a friend…

>> ”Okay, Ah’m nae hearin' it. Am Ah th' only one nae hearin' it?...Also, Eh'd loove if someain coods at leest teel me whit ‘it’ is.”

>>"Its.. Jesus, it's a telepath. Gotta be powerful, too... Telling us to go there... I got a bad feeling, here, man... Maybe we should play this one close to the chest."

"I hate telepaths." Gawain muttered with a frown. Having someone in your head was never comfortable, and if someone could project all the way to the jet and to multiple people, they had to be hella powerful. They were not only walking into a legendary sunken city... but they also had mutants to be reckoned with. This mission was already getting annoying. And that was before Saph went ballistic on the stowaway. Was he her father or something? Geez.
Ghost stepped up to stop the family feud, and Gawain gave a look to Becca shaking his head.

>>"I hate to pull rank, but as the most senior X-man on this flight, I would rather Miss Elke come with us for safety reasons. If there's a telepath, I'd rather we not separate. Uhm. Moose? That's your codename, right? Whether you stay or go, I'm going to leave that decision to you. Anyone who has an issue with Moose's decision can take it up with me. Later. After we all return safely from this mission."

>>"Heck YES i'm commin' along! I wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this even if it killed me."

Gawain sighed as he unbuckled his belt. X-teens. So annoying, he thought as he gracefully side-stepped the fact that he had probably been much worse than the girl named... Moose. Even though, Ghost was probably right - leaving her on the jet, and possibly open to a psychic attack or manipulation, was probably a bad idea. Mirror was not going to argue with the team leader.

>>”Go when we’re close. Stay hidden and safe.”

There was an open space beneath them, some sort of a landing pad or square maybe, and Gawain could see people gathering, looking up at them. They did not plan on making a stealthy entrance anyway; this mission was going to be diplomacy... well, that, and a little stealth.

"I'll hop down there and take a look from ground level" he nodded "I won't go off unless you want me to."

There were enough reflective surfaces in the shining city to make it an easy jump. Gawain stepped through the mirror set up in the back of the jet, and the next moment, he was at the edge of the landing pace, looking out at the gathering Atlanteans. Some of them looked just like regular people, or regular people with visible mutations - Gawain assumed they were also recent arrivals - while some were... whoa. Becca's idea of an island full of tall and muscular women might not have been very far off. Gawain shifted around in the reflecting surfaces nearby, trying to get close enough to a group of them to hear what they were saying. He took on the reflection of someone nearby, to mask his own presence.

It was hard to deny that the nudge of nature occasionally filled Rebecca with envy toward those who had children to light up their lives. Watching Masochist losing his mind on Elke, this was definitely not one of those times.

Rebecca was not about to be an advocate for Elke’s decision to tag along with their mission because it was reckless and truthfully, the teen was a pain in the butt. Still, the foreign exchange student had only been a few years older than the native American young woman when she joined the team, albeit through more official channels. It was hard not to think her chastisement was on the extreme side, and Lodestone was not the only lady X to have that feeling. Ghost ripped into Masochist with such cold efficiency, Lodestone could have sworn a chill was cast through the cabin of the jet.

So she would roll her eyes at the dismissal of her accent, but answer Moose, (which she supposed was the girl’s codename,) with a smirk, shifting into the American accent she usually saved for voice acting gigs. ”Long story short, I called you a giant pain. But really, stay close to the team and don’t actually get killed.” Lodestone was not superstitious, but she was not a fan of tossing around jokes about getting killed right before a mission.

Moose was the least of their concerns, as it quickly became apparent she was the only one on the jet not hearing the telepathic call of Atlantis, with Masochist and Ghost more notably susceptible to the summons, the latter even unintentionally becoming a voice-piece. A shiver ran up Rebecca’s spine at how unsettling it was to see one of her teammates lose herself, if just for a moment.) She still questioned why she was the only one not hearing the call, but now she was seeing this immunity as a benefit more than a detriment.

They were approaching the island when Mirror volunteered for a recon mission in his Mirror World. With how little they information they had going in to this situation, Lodestone was thankful for a teammate who could operate so stealthily. Rebecca started equipping and fastening her gauntlets, boots, and chestpiece, because she was decidedly not part of their stealth team.

The jet touched down on the strip of beach outside of the cities walls, and a screen almost immediately alerted them to a one-woman welcome party arriving on the sand to wait for them. The woman with the long white hair had appeared from a wisp of smoke that had floated onto the scene, making it clear she was a fellow mutant. (If she was not, Rebecca had greater questions about what they were walking into, as magic and ghosts both sounded unappealing to the Scot.)

The woman was standing patiently, and expectantly watching the jet. If they were calling, it only made sense that they knew to be ready for guests. ”Weel, thes is a diplomacy mission ideally, reit?” She sighed, getting up from her seat. ”We hae tae make first contact. Ah’m gonnae greit uir greeter.”

On paper, this mission could go off without a hitch, but Lodestone still had a looming feeling that trouble was imminent. Looking to their team leader, she asked, ”Then again, gonnae aloyn micht be a bad idea if thes is an islain ay cannibals. Ghost, safety in numbers?” The leader agreed to come along, as well as anyone else on the team who had intentions of making a good first impression. She trusted Ghost… normally. Knowing how quickly Atlantis worked its way into her head though… she was cautious.

Stepping off the jet as a cabin door opened, Rebecca approached the lovely “Atlantean,” feeling like she was crossing over into another time or another world. The white-haired woman was dressed in a chiton and gauze, adorned with coral as a reminder of the submarine nature of her home days earlier. ”Hello,” she greeted nervously, keeping some initial distance between herself and the woman. ”We come tae ye as friends. We… heard yer call.” It occurred to Lodestone that it might behoove her to keep her telepathic immunity close to the chest for the time being.

The Atlantean only smiled warmly and held her arms out. “We have been expecting you… welcome to Atlantis.”