It was a particularly peaceful day; Saph was enjoying the mid-afternoon lul as he lounged of the couch and watched the news. Nothing bad was happening, for once. It was a sunny spring news day filled with human interest stories and smiles. The lady was holding the mic and standing in front of the biggest cookie he had ever seen in his life. The thing was huge. King Kong wouldn't scoff at it.

A contented sigh escaped his mouth as he changed the channel to the morning cartoons. He hadn't watched cartoons since he was a kid, so he couldn't hope to follow the storyline, but something about having them on put him at rest. It was a good thing, because he had been spending day after day bussing(he had tried to avoid touching anyone Else's car ever since the whole scratch incident) it into the city and fighting crime where he could find it. Today was a day to relax; a day in which nothing exciting would happen... hopefully.

Hopefully.

Since he’d gotten back in the country most things seemed to settle back to normal, except for the fact that he hadn’t seen Lily or pretty much any of the other X’s since he got back. Unfortunately today wasn’t a day to relax. There was plenty to catch up on and he also wanted to take a drive. Streak walked out to his car, his car which has a mysterious scratch on it’s side, and got in. The silver eyed mutant sat in his seat and before starting the car paused. “Something’s not right.” He adjusted his seat, humming to himself and placing the key in the ignition. “Who moved my seat? Ehhh it might have been Lily when she drove my car the last time.” Putting his seat belt on it occurred to him.

Wait a minute there’s a scratch on my car!! Streak quickly got out of his car and looked at the scratch. “Ahhh!!” He closed his eyes and reopened them hoping the scratch would disappear if he did that. But that was all to no avail. The scratch was still there. It was still real. And it was still really on his car. “Who could have done such a thing?” he said petting his car. Streak then looked around and saw the security cameras. They didn’t move much so he would have a very high probability of catching whoever it was that did that.

Streak ran back inside and started looking at through the months of the tapes of the months when he’d been out of the country. It didn’t take him long for him to find out the time when it was stolen. Luckily he was able to see the person’s face. Saphirus and who? “Who is that other guy with him?” Streak was livid. There was blood to be had with this. Figuratively and maybe even a little bit literally. No one takes a car and no one scratches it and pretends nothing happened. He should have been told about this the second he got back to the states. With that in mind the hunt was now on for Saphirus. Shawn found him in the living room enjoying the TV. “Enjoying yourself?” Streak asked knowing that he was just about to ruin this guys day made him a little happier.

Saph had maybe closed his eyes for just a second on the comfy couch, when a voice chimed in, causing him to start a little, and then refocus on the TV. He replied in a relaxed tone. "Oh, yeah... haven't been this relaxed in forever."

Wait a minute, who was he talking to? He looked. Oh, it was just Streak. His eyes slowly drifted back to the TV. STREAK?! His attention snapped to the somewhat pissed looking man staring at him.

"eh... Streak... Buddy... I been meaning to speak with you about... something." He gulped visibly, standing slowly and facing the senior x-man.

There weren't exactly very many things this could be about... Did he know? Maybe he didn't. Maybe he could play it off like... No... He would have to fess up. The X-man would understand, right?

Probably not. He really wished, now that he had taken the time to find out what Streak's power was. He hoped this wouldn't lead to violence; he really didn't want to fight anyone here, but if Streak attacked him over this he would have to defend himself.

“Have you really? Cause from where I’m standing it sure looks like you were going to let me find out on my own.” Streak wasn’t in the mood for games here. This was something that needed to be resolved right away and no amount of back peddling or stammering was going to stop him. “Ya know it’s funny… there I was minding my own business, about to run some errands when I noticed this scratch on my car. Now I know that scratch wasn’t there when I left. So I asked myself, I said, ‘Self how did a scratch appear on your car?’ and ya know what the funny thing is? Self didn’t have an answer for me. All Self said was check the security cameras. So I checked the security cameras and guess who I saw taking my car… but judging from your reaction of seeing me I think you know what I found out…don’t you Saph?” Streak said walking slowly into the room.

Saph had stood up and was now facing him. That was fine; Shawn had no intention of beating the guy up… at least not right away. He wanted answers first, but more importantly he wanted his car fixed. If Saph could look any more nervous Streak didn’t think it was possible. The other mutant looked about as nervous as a bank robber surrounded by cops. Maybe he could make him squeal like a little piggy without even laying a finger on him.

Security cameras? Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it, then? If there were security camera's in the hallways, of course there would be some in the garage! He looked at Streak as he, his mind racing to follow the other man's words... Uh oh... What about Gawain? Did Streak already confront the young man? Did the camera even get a clear picture of the kid?

Saph's face went blank; the kind of face he used to get when he talked with cops. "I understand, and take full responsibility. I- alone- took your car, and used it in an emergency situation. I knew it was your car when I took it, and it was scratched under my watch." He knew he was taking a risk by stating that he did it alone, but on the off chance that he could Save Gawain some grief, it was worth it.

He wondered, now, if his thought process had been totally sound when he figured Streak wouldn't mind him taking the car... Thinking about it, the whole thing kinda angered him. "The way I figured it... You kinda owed me. You know, after sitting and watching as the security system kicked my unaware butt." He stared at the man in front of him, knowing that what he was saying wasn't exactly smart, considering Streak party in charge here, but not being in the mindset to stop himself from saying it.

“Wow, I’m impressed. How long have you been working on that little ‘Forgive me father for I have sinned’ speech? Nice try though. I’m sure if whoever you were with heard you say that they would feel some pride in calling you a friend for standing up for them and taking all the blame. However, I clearly saw someone else taking my car with you. And I also saw that same person bringing it back with you.” Streak paused for a second. “I’m glad you confessed it ‘cause that makes my life a whole lot simpler. What I don’t like is people thinking I wouldn’t notice something like a scratch on my car.” Streak couldn’t believe that this guy was talking to him like this. Didn’t he realize that Streak could have woken up a couple of the X-Men when Saph first showed up and thrown him out right then and there?

As far as he was concerned this was strike two in his book for this guy. Even though the strikes were a personal count it would still keep Streak aware of this one even after this had all blown over, which might not be for some time… it was his car after all. Just then Saph snapped at him like it was his fault for the whole thing, or like he had it coming. Now up to this point Streak’s temper had been relatively even keeled. He was mad the whole time but he tried to have as civil a conversation as possible. But this was just unbelievable. How could this guy say that Streak owed him for when he first came here? Shawn was livid now. What gave him the right to say such things to him? So much for a civil conversation, right.

Civility exit stage left. Anger, authority, and power enter stage right.

Streak took a few steps forward into the living room and closer to Saph. Shawn pointed his finger at the man and said, “Whoa! Whoa! Stop right there mother (insert colorful obvious expletive here). How dare you say that I owed you for watching my security system that I’d put in place do its job? Your lucky I didn’t throw your sorry butt back out into the street or beat the living daylights out of you for trespassing anyways. Besides I already apologized and explained my reasoning behind that and if that explanation wasn’t good enough then what would you have done if someone was breaking into your school filled with basically uncontrollable kids? And if you have a better answer for that then I would love to see how receptive you are to people trespassing after you have people attacking, capturing, and seriously injuring friends and children.”

Streak didn’t enjoy being accused. He especially didn’t like someone attacking his job, especially one that he’d almost literally built from the ground up. Streak could only hope that what he’d said made an impact with Saph and didn’t make this go any worse than it already was.

Of course this wasn't going to be that easy. Saph took a slight mental note that Streak didn't seem to know who Gawain was, which meant he could at least warn the kid before Streak got to him.

Saph could have stepped down when Streak confronted him. He could have let this guy be pissed about his car and leave it at that, but then he had to talk about having him thrown out from the start. The older mutant's fists slowly clenched. He stared Streak right in the eyes as he talked.

Right then and there he decided that as much as he probably deserved a good beating for stealing this guy's car, letting it get scratched, and then trying to hide it, Streak also needed to learn a few lessons as well. He wasn't going to shy away from teaching them, just as much as he wasn't going to shy away from his own punishment.

He started slowly.
"What kinda self centered sonofaB#$%@..." And then, instead of talking to Streak like he was the head of security, and an authority in this place, he talked to him like he was a 19 year old boy, and he needed a good scolding. "Do you even know what this place is to people?! You claim to be in charge here, but you don't even freakin know where you live! This place is hope. People like you and me, mutants, look at this place, and we feel it. We feel like we could be something great if we just believed in it. And you stand there and tell me that you coulda kicked my a@# out for TRESPASSING?! F&$^% you, kid. Right in your smug back side! What, is this hope reserved for pretty people? Is that it? Or people that can arrive in a timely matter, between nine and five? Oh, or just people that can get on your good side?"

He didn't back down as Streak came in. He didn't want to. It didn't matter what this kid did to him at this point, Saph knew that he had it coming anyways.

"So why don't you point that god damned finger at yourself. Do you know what you have done? Huh?! You took hope, and you put a goddam wall around it! You wrapped it up in a nice little bubble, viewed it from all angles with your security cameras and motion sensors, and sucked every last drop of trust from its aching bones! Yet you go on like you are protecting this place. You aren't. You're hurting it."

Saph was done berating the kid, but he wasn't done talking. "Do you know why I stole your car? To save someone's life. We saw the opportunity to do what the X-men would have done while you were gone, and we did it. If you don't believe me, look at the date from your shiny security tapes, and then read the news from that day. So am I sorry for getting a tiny scratch on your car? Sure. Would I do it ten times over if given the chance? You bet your smug a#$ I would." And that was it. He waited for what ever Streak had in rebuttal with the utmost patience, ignored a tap he felt on his forehead, and watched the head of security unblinking.

Streak was ready for the confrontation. He wasn’t about to bend over backwards for this guy. At this point he wasn’t even that mad about the car. The car could be fixed, the damage could be repaired and the whole thing would be forgotten once enough time had passed. But Saph seemed bent on turning this into a fight and Streak wasn’t one to back down from one. “Hope?! You talk about hope like you know what it is. Go ahead and talk about hope. Hope is great. Hope is something everyone has no matter where they live or how they live. All hope is, is an idea. It’s not tangible you can’t hold it. But I’ll tell you what is real, what is more than just an idea… Safety. No, they’re a set time when you have to arrive. People come in here at some of the most random times you can think of. But most people don’t jump over without even looking for a intercom.” Streak said and kept eye contact with him.

The younger mutant slowly shook his head side to side. No he hadn’t built the wall around hope. He’d created safety for people. “You accuse me of wrapping up hope and keeping it from the world? You couldn’t be more wrong. All that I’ve done here I’ve done to protect my friends and those mutants who can’t protect themselves or don’t want to protect themselves. I’ve seen things happen to this place that make you wonder…” Streak softened his voice from anger to a more normal tone, “It makes you wonder if anything you do will keep them safe. It makes you wonder if any place is safe enough for them. So ya, I’ve put up lots of security measure because I’ve learned from my history and the history of this building, and perhaps more importantly the city and its people. And what have you learned since you’ve been here? That stealing cars is still ok? Don’t get me wrong… I’m all about you saving people. But what I’m not about is having unnecessary risks brought on the kids of this school. Put yourself in all the danger you want, just don’t bring that danger back here. Got it?”

He didn’t really care what the reason was for stealing his car. But the fact was that he was just mostly mad about the undue risk that Saph had potentially brought in the mansion. Streak couldn’t help but let a little smirk cross his face. “Why don’t you just save me the trouble of finding the news and tell me what happened?” The suggestion was more of a way to calm the conversation down and for him to maybe even lull Saph into thinking that he’d gotten through to Streak. Shawn hadn’t tuned him out but he didn’t think that Saph was very insightful about all of this. All he knew about was what he’d done. He knew nothing about what the mansion had gone through to require as much security as it did.

Standing there, it dawned on Saph that he and Streak had come from two very different worlds.

"You're wrong. I can see you ain't ever been down in the gutter enough to know that at times hope is the only thing you've got. It keeps you going when the s$#@ gets heavy; when you can't stand, but you still crawl to were you're going because you still got hope." The older mutant frowned. "You ain't lost enough yet to see that hope is just as important as air. You will though... Sooner or later." He seemed to zone out a little bit at that.

"Safety is an illusion. These cameras you got placed around? Alla them motion sensors, shock traps, death pits... They just make you feel okay. They will prevent the random amateur, or maybe wake you up in time to know you are screwed... But you will never truly be safe... Not in this world." The older mutant seemed to have calmed down; he seemed more sad than angry at the moment.

Streak changed the subject... It was probably a good idea, so he rolled with it. "Heh... Funny story actually... This pop star was turning into a bug. She was gonna jump off a skyscraper, kill herself cause she wasn't pretty anymore, or somethin. Me and G..." He paused, smacking himself for almost saying Gawain's name. "Eh, We went to talk her outa it. By the time we got to the roof she was drunk outa her mind, and I ended up having to knock her off the roof and fall with her so's I could absorb the impact for both of us. Long story short, I got puked on, we got her signed over to the mansion, and then we went back to the car and... There was a scratch..." He shrugged.

"Eh... I know this is a little off topic, but... You ever find a job for me, here? I don't exactly got a method to pay for that paint job, but I could work it off, I guess."

“’I ain’t been down in the gutter enough?’” Streak parroted. “Why? ‘Cause I didn’t grown up in the slums somewhere, or because I didn’t have to steal food for a living. If that’s what you meant than your right… I haven’t been in the gutter enough to know what hope is. But if you think that’s the only way to know what hope is? Then you wrong and need to open your eyes to the places that other people have come from.” Streak paused and listed to the rest of the points that Saph was bringing up.

Once Saph was finished Streak threw his opinion in. “You’re right. You can’t be safe in this world; however, you can be prepared. And everyone here protects it and here all you need is enough of a warning to get people aware and they will be there to protect this place without regard to life or limb. I haven’t lived your life and you haven’t lived mine. So don’t come to me and try to play the ‘I grew up worse than you did’ card because you have no idea how I grew up and what I’ve been through even now.” Streak wasn’t about to tell him his whole life story and that wasn’t the point of him bringing that up. The point was for Saph to realize that his hard life wasn’t the only type of hard life around this world.

The older mutant took time to tell Shawn about the day and why he’d stolen the car. Although the description of the girl sounded very familiar…almost like he’d met her before. Streak smiled. He’d almost gotten him to slip up and spill who he’d been with. Streak was going to find out and Saph wouldn’t be able to stop him from having it out with that person either. “Bug lady? I think I met her a few years ago. And if it’s the person I’m thinking of she’s always been a little on the loopy side.” Streak wracked his brain trying think of the person’s name. He was drawing a blank on the name. Streak knew that he was still holding back information on what happened, particularly the name of his partner in crime. “Jobs… Actually I did find you one. It’s basically a glorified hall monitor for the kids, just to make sure that no one starts fights, and they all get where they’re supposed to be, ya know stuff like that. Do you want it?” Streak had a feeling that Saph wasn’t going to say no to any job that offered him money. It was a good thing that this conversation had strayed away from the fight and gotten into a more amiable area of talk.

Cause you prolly ain't seen everyone you know die before you self centered... He pushed the thought down quickly. "You an I... We are gonna disagree on a lot of stuff, ain't we?" Saph knew that he wasn't the worst off in the worth; he still had two hands, a heart, and a full head of hair. He didn't need to be informed that he was rather lucky. What he did need was.

"I dunno if you met this chick... She was the teen pop star, Candy... You know, the chick in the kid shows that lip syncs? Yeah... Freakin kid just started turning into a praying mantis outa nowhere... In fact, she should prolly be getting admitted here any day, now..." He nodded slowly, and then leaned in a little. "I warn you, though, she almost hacked my shoulder off when we last met... Sure, she was drunk, but she's freakin volatile."

Streak went over the job description, and Saph shrugged. "Sounds like something I could handle easily enough; keep the more brawly kids in line? Yeah... any opportunity for job advancement?"

“I’m sure we will disagree on things.” Streak said. this was probably the first thing Saph had said this whole time that they both agreed on. Agreeing to disagree, what a stupid cliché; but it works and it’s true. “The chick’s name doesn’t really sound familiar. I must be thinking of a different person. The girl I’m thinking about could only control bugs I think. I didn't spend too much time around her ‘cause she was a bit wacko also.” He commented on this one because as far as he knew they were talking about the same person. But then again it could be two completely different people. Streak guessed he’d just have to wait to see this girl when she came to the mansion.

“Not at the moment, but we’re just getting the job in place so we’re not exactly sure where it’s going to lead for people with that job in the future.” Streak wasn’t going to blow smoke up this guy’s rear about the job. Truth was he didn’t really know if it would ever turn into a job that offered advancement. All he knew was that it was something they were starting up and so far there was no real long term advancement put into place yet. "I'm sure we'll be creating advancement positions soon enough though."

Saph shrugged slowly. Well, it was a start. "Alright. So... You got an idea on a wage for now? I know i'm living here for free, so I ain't gonna ask much. You don't even gotta pay me minimum if you wanna go under the table... You see, the thing is, I'm trying to save up for a car... Nothing pretty, mind you, but something than can get me from a to be so I don't have to... eh... well... you know."

He scratched his head a bit, and then looked about a bit nervously... "Eh... Yeah... So... anything else?" Oh yeah. "So, I was thinking you and I should get something going in the danger room. You know, It might help to show you what I can do, and, maybe, iron out some kinks between us... you know..." Yes, he kinda wanted to fight Streak. Depending on how a fight between them went, It would end with Saph either respecting the guy more, or feeling the same way about him, so it was a win-tie situation anyways. Saph was confident enough in his own abilities to know that he might just impress the guy, which would go a long way toward advancing job-wise.

He reminded himself that there was also that other guy, CS, who he had heard about, but never really met. He would have to find out more about him.

"As far as I know it's gonna be a minimum wage job. But I'm not really the one that deals with the paychecks. That's someone else's department." Streak said honestly. Streak knew exactly what Saph was getting at. It wasn't exactly subtle but it was there and he wasn't exactly opposed to the idea of teaching this guy a lesson. "Maybe some other time. I've got some paperwork to catch up on." Shawn wasn't avoiding the fight; in fact he'd be more than willing to beat this guy up, but there was a lot of paperwork waiting for him.

Streak did have to admit, there were a lot of people that would beat around the bush about wanting to 'train' with him in the Danger Room. But Saph wasn't one of those people. He'd admitted to wanting to 'work out the kinks between them' as he put it and Shawn actually smiled at him. "Why don't you give me a few days to catch up on paperwork and then hit me up again and we'll see if I can spare some time to train with you." Streak said diplomatically. The paperwork always seemed to pile up after a major mission like Romania and he always seemed to spend the next week after returning by doing paperwork. The thought did occur to him that it might sound like he was trying to avoid or skip out of a fight; however, it was only the truth.

Saph nodded slowly returning Streak's smile in full. "I'm lookin forward to it." He stood for a moment, and then glanced to the TV, which was saying something about a rash of purse snatching in central park... Hmm.. Maybe he could try out that new costume he had been working on...

He looked back to Streak, and then to the exit behind him. "So, we're done here, right? I'll see you around, boss." He would stop by later and get all of his job paperwork, and find out exactly what it entailed, and paid, but until then he had some spare time, and since the thought of this being a calm day had already been dismissed, He might as well do some heroing, right? He gave a smart little salute to his new boss, and walked right on past him toward his room, careful not to bump shoulders or anything; little plays of power like that were for kids.

He was looking forward to their meeting in the danger room, if it was going to happen... He would have to find out what the guy's power was though, and prepare properly for it. Maybe he could do some training, get up to par... Yeah, that would be nice...

((We can leave it at that, or you can close it, either way, it was great threadin with you! ))