The Hospital did their best to rid themselves of Gina covertly. Because of her internet infamy, a few reporter sorts were still swimming around outside the hospital in search of “the inside scoop” from the mutant who was brutalized by the police. Gina had effectively dodged them thus far, for which the gargoyle was grateful, as she’d been skirting any attempt made to discuss the topic quite well thus far. She was ashamed, and she didn’t want to talk about it.

Yet, when the doctor that had treated her ruled that she was fit to go home, Gina was a bit befuddled. Could she take the bus home? She most certainly was in no shape to fly, not with her injuries… no, the doctor insisted, she had to be given a ride by a teacher or staff person from the Mansion, or by a legal guardian. It was not safe for her to take a city bus home. Mildly miffed, Gina called the Mansion in search of a ride.

The secretary assured her that someone would be over to get her within a half-hour. Hopefully she’d be ready by then. Thus, the gargoyle packed what few things she had there, sat and stared out the window of the room, and killed time by maintaining a relatively empty mind. Soon, the clock announced that her ride would be there in five minutes. With the help of a male nurse, the gargoyle made her way downstairs, and was shown to the vehicle bay down below.

The bay was where ambulances were parked when not in-use, and it was where her ride would be directed to pick her up, when it got there. Gina rubbed the back of her head stiffly, letting a breath out. She wasn’t ready to go back to school—wasn’t ready for the loud throng of other kids, pressing in on her. She was “grounded” for at least a month because of injuries, and the idea of venturing out on-foot frightened her. The gargoyle shuddered.

For a month, she’d be land-bound and on house-arrest. At least. She let her eyes focus forward on the entry to the garage, and kept an eye out for a familiar face, and the sanctuary of a car. She was abnormally silent as she waited, not even starting-up small talk with the male nurse.

Maya hated driving.

S/he learned how to do it after the incident with Saph and Silver Streak's car, but if it had been up to her, she would have rather taken the jet. Low profile, however, did not allow either giant flying high-tech machines, nor mirrorhopping across the city. The only way left was to drive. As an X-team leader of duty, Maya was the one who was supposed to go pick Gina up from the hospital.

She was glad for that part at least. She had not had much contact with the gargoyle girl, but she was one of their own, and the whole scandal around her was just awful. She felt sorry for the girl to be in the middle of so much hatred and controversy.

Driving very carefully - last thing their PR needed was an accident - Maya pulled up to the vehicle bay at the hospital. Gina was not hard to spot, neither were the nurses who looked like they were ready to be rid of her.

"Hey girl" Maya smiled as she walked up to them. She was wearing her X-men uniform. She was on duty, and also, screw the police. "Ready to go?"

Gina folded her arms slightly, closing her eyes and tuning-out the world. She didn’t want to hear anything, didn’t want to see anything. She just wanted peace and quiet. A car rolled up, and the gargoyle opened her eyes. The driver wasn’t someone she knew. They stopped in front of her.

The gargoyle’s pulse quickened subconsciously. Not because of any secret attraction, but out of anxiety.

“Ma’am, what is your business in this neighborhood?

A shudder ran through the gargoyle, and she swallowed hard. Gina kept her gaze trained on the girl, closely watching her with her round, brown eyes. As she stepped around the car, Gina spied the insignia on her uniform. X-man. Her shoulders relaxed slightly.

>> "Hey girl, ready to go?"

“You bet,” Gina sighed, giving a weak excuse of a smile. She held out a hand, for a handshake, and said, “Gina. I don’t think I’ve seen you around much.”

>>“You bet. Gina. I don’t think I’ve seen you around much.”

Maya shook the gargoyle girl's hand. For a moment she had forgotten that they had not known each other personally. Gina was all over the news lately, and everyone at the school felt so strongly about her, she felt like she knew the girl. She reminded herself that she didn't, not really. Not yet.

"Maya. Nice to meet you. C'mon let's get ya outta here." she glanced at the nurses and other hospital personel watching from the background "Thank you, I'll take it from here."

Escorting Gina to the car she let her get in first to the passenger's seat. She might have noticed the archery gear thrown casually on the backseat - Maya was good at getting in and out of bad situations without trouble, but lately she preferred to not leave the house without her gear.

Getting into the driver's side she started the engine.

"Everything okay? Do you need to stop somewhere on the way?"

Gina gave a quiet wave to the male nurse who had escorted her out, as well as a few bystanders of the nursing staff. They were seeing off a local celebrity—and they didn’t seem particularly broken-up or overjoyed about it. They were just… passively spectating. Gina turned and uneasily eyed the front seat. She wasn’t exactly a “small creature”, and her wounded wings would get in the way of her sitting. Sure, they’d mended the bones, but the bumps and bruises were still there. It was going to hurt to sit. Gina eyed the back seat—maybe she could surreptitiously slide in there--? Nope, there was stuff back there. Sports gear of some sort. Drats.

Gina gingerly took her seat, and took an equal amount of caution in buckling her seatbelt, breathing a sigh when the restraint was in-place. She was almost home—she was almost to the point where she could quietly slip into obscurity and be forgotten about. Brown eyes focused sorrowfully on her lap. She just wanted to forget and be forgotten. That was all that she wanted. Nothing more.

>> "Everything okay? Do you need to stop somewhere on the way?"

Gina quirked a smile, but even the gargoyle didn’t believe in it. She quickly shook her head, and quietly replied, “N-no thank you. Unless you’ve got somewhere to go, I’d rather just go back to the Mansion.”

Her smile faltered. Hopefully that didn’t sound rude. The gargoyle cleared her throat, stealing a quick glance out the window before glancing back at Maya, “I’m sorry. It’s just… the outside doesn’t feel safe to me.”

What if someone attacked her in a store? Or the parking lot in front of a store? Gina felt like she had a huge, glaring target painted on the back of her head. She looked out the window again, trying to pick out people who might be taking aim. She was restless. For the first time ever, she felt unsettled in what she'd once claimed as her own domain.

“You know what I mean…?”

She needed some sort of affirmation. Some reassurance that she wasn't as crazy as she felt.

Maya noticed the hesitation in Gina's movements a she sat in the car. Reaching over she slid the seat back as far as she could to allow her more space, and tilted it back. It was all she could do under the circumstances. Good thing they were not terribly far from the Mansion.

"Sorry about that" she muttered.

>>“N-no thank you. Unless you’ve got somewhere to go, I’d rather just go back to the Mansion. I’m sorry. It’s just… the outside doesn’t feel safe to me.... You know what I mean…?”

"Yeah, gotcha" Maya nodded as the car pulled out of the hospital driveway "Straight home we go."

She could tell Gina was nervous. She would have been too. What the girl had to go through, Maya was pretty sure she was going to spend most of her time in Miss T's office for the next few weeks.

"We're gonna be fine" she said, glancing at the girl now and again "I mean, they sent an X-man for ya for a reason. Ya have no idea what Sam put me though to get this badge. I can handle pretty much anything that doesn't try to freeze my fingers off."

She was trying to cheer Gina up, at the same time, she was not far from the truth. Training had been super hard lately, with everything that happened. Sam could be proud of his team.

Gina smiled politely at Maya, shaking her head lightly, “It’s fine.”

Maya lightly assured Gina that her request was fine, and that they would go straight home. Gina nodded mutedly, her gaze still trained out the window as she watched the buildings flick by. She was uncomfortably quiet, her eyes roving in an unsettled fashion.

>> "We're gonna be fine. I mean, they sent an X-man for ya for a reason. Ya have no idea what Sam put me through to get this badge. I can handle pretty much anything that doesn't try to freeze my fingers off."

A smiled quirked upon her lips, and Gina pried her gaze away from the window, looking at the older girl in the seat beside her.

“Thank you,” the gargoyle said appreciatively, her tone wavering slightly, “I’m actually really glad that they sent you. I mean, even though I don’t know you—as an X. It makes me feel a lot better.”

Gina gingerly fixed her hair, glancing out the window, then glancing back at Maya. Even if she was reassured by Maya’s statement, she still couldn’t swallow her panic. She felt tense and on-edge, being out here on the streets. All that separated herself from potential attacks was an unlocked door and a thin sheet of glass. Gina hit the lock button with her elbow, and looked towards Maya again.

“What kind of stuff do you have to do to become an X-man?” Gina inquired, “Did you start young?”

>>“Thank you,. I’m actually really glad that they sent you. I mean, even though I don’t know you—as an X. It makes me feel a lot better.”

"Nothin' like a strong, intimidating independent woman, huh" Maya smirked, keeping her eyes on the road. She was still more used to mirrorhopping than driving, and for Gina's sake she definitely did not want to get into an accident.

>>“What kind of stuff do you have to do to become an X-man? Did you start young?”

Small talk. That was a good sign. It was a chance to keep Gina's mind off the things that worried her. Because she looked worried a lot.

"Well, if ya ask me..." she smirked "... steal booze from Sam's room and then get a shiner like no other. That was a pretty good in to the X-team."

Oh, the good old teenage days.

Gina nodded and gave a faint, “Yeah,” in response to Maya’s probably-rhetorical question.

Though Gina seemed to be making small-talk, her train of thought was still lingering on recent events, and events of not-too-long-ago. She kept getting attacked. And maybe it was because she wasn’t safe—but it certainly didn’t help that she couldn’t defend herself. She was making mental notes, expecting Maya to give her some step-by-step how-to, and Gina was listening readily.

Instead, Maya told Gina to steal booze from Sam. Sure, she’d get clocked in the eye, but it’d get his attention and get her onto the team. Gina chuckled, covering her mouth in feigned alarm. She didn’t even consider the fact that a teacher might have alcohol in their room, much less trying to steal it.

“That certainly would get anyone’s attention…” Gina agreed, her voice trailing off. So, find a way to get a leader’s attention—and then what? Get reprimanded by being stuck onto the superhero team?

“So, what—did it start as community service or something?” Gina inquired, “Or was it more of your mutation?”

It looked like Maya was succeeding at distracting Gina from her gloomy thoughts for the moment. She smiled a bit.

>>“That certainly would get anyone’s attention… So, what—did it start as community service or something? Or was it more of your mutation?”

"Both" Maya admitted "Sam decided that if I was stealing booze I probably had too much free time on my hands so he put me on a training schedule. My powers are kind of useful too, so I started going out on mission with the team when they needed me... and the rest is history."

A lot of history.

"But it mostly starts with the training. Nothing fancy either, not at first. Just slef defense, reflexes, basic stuff like that. The rest depends on the mutation."

Gina listened as she gazed out the window, smiling as Maya spoke. She gasped as the older girl admonished that she had originally stolen booze to get into the X-Men…. first came training, and then Maya had useful powers… thus, she started going out on missions.

“Cool,” Gina breathed, seeming truly intrigued by the brief retelling.

Maya then redirected her informational spiel back towards the general protocol. Gina glanced at Maya, a grey finger absently rubbing against pensively-pursed grey lips. She seemed quiet and contemplative.

“Self-defense,” the gargoyle reiterated, her voice trailing. She realized that this had been uttered aloud, and shyly glanced out the window again.

“This kind of thing keeps happening to me,” Gina sighed, “I just… I don’t know what to do to stop these things from happening… or at least defend myself when they do happen… if I can’t stop them.”

Gina glanced at Maya again, “You know?”

What the gargoyle was saying was pretty straightforward—if she was an X-man, is she could defend herself—maybe people wouldn’t attack her.

>>“Self-defense... This kind of thing keeps happening to me,” Gina sighed, “I just… I don’t know what to do to stop these things from happening… or at least defend myself when they do happen… if I can’t stop them. You know?”

"I hear ya" Maya nodded "At this point if it was up to me I'd make it mandatory for everyone in the school. It never hurts to stay in shape, and in the off chance ya get picked out of the crowd, it could save your life."

Harsh realities. Yay.

"Um, I mean. If you want to train, I've been training with a lot of other students lately, but I still have open times in my schedule. So if you wanna give it a shot, I can show you the basics."

She glanced at Gina.

"I mean, if you are up for it. If you wanna wait, that's completely understandable."

Gina listened, nodding her head lightly as Mirror offered to help her. Train her, even. The gargoyle smiled, even though her eyes were exhausted.

“I should probably recover first…” Gina murmured, “But I just might take you up on that… if that’s alright? I mean… yeah. Yes please.”

She was just sick of being so weak and unable to defend herself. The first time, she’d been attacked by a criminal. And now, she’d been attacked by the law. If only she could learn how to be human, and then these things wouldn’t always happen.