Kyle saw a lot of odd things in his life.

It was something that most people experienced, seeing things that made little to no sense at the time or were just so baffling that one could not comprehend what they were seeing. Some people were good at that, such as magicians or those who'd had a few too many in their system, encouraged by the loosened inhibitions and equally drunk friends. They would just baffle people with their skills or their willingness to do something utterly unbelievable.

It was the things or people you didn't expect in odd situations that always struck a better chord.

Which was what Kyle was looking at right now in the form of one women known as Evelyn. In the Sanctuary. Walking around like she belonged in the place. Now, a mutant in a place intended for them? Not so odd. Someone who'd recently joined the X-Men and when the place had been suggested before had almost but hissed her hate and/or disapproval of the place in that same place? Now that was odd. In fact, Kyle had to do a double take when he'd seen her to be sure he wasn't confusing her for someone else. Nope; it was most certainly her. From the look of it, she seemed to have finished whatever she was here for and was making for the exit.

Realizing he'd not had a proper chance to thank her for saving him earlier, a small little voice in Kyle's head thought of something. It was a terrible thought to be sure but at the same time, after recent events, it was far from the worse possible idea. Would she go for it? Probably not; her companion at the mansion didn't think too highly of him. But he/she wasn't here now...and it would give him a chance to do something he had been meaning to do for a while.

See what Evelyn could really do.

With that calmly put aside in favor of thanking her for her help, Kyle made his way over to her. He had to jog a bit to catch her in time, coming up to her only a few feet from the door. "You come to visit and don't even say hi? I think I might be slightly wounded at that Evelyn." Her echoes had probably heard him coming, but that didn't keep him from trying to surprise her.

"Can't say I'm not shocked to see you here; what brings you down here? Last I recall, you didn't say very nice things about this place."

Evelyn had come to the sanctuary with a mission: talk to Allison and hopefully resolve some of the tensions that had been created with the ink manipulator. She didn't expect it to go particularly well, but all things considered, she didn't think they went poorly. Whether or not it was successful in the long run... that would have to be seen. In the meantime, it was her intention not to linger long in the dreary hallways. While she was here by her own will, she was still technically an x-trainee, and these were, in many ways, enemy lines. Mirror snuck in here though: if she was going to get scolded, then that would see hypocritical.

There was only one thing she knew could seriously set Mirror off, however, and as the echoes caught the approaching footsteps, she could sense the trouble even before the echoes identified Forte.

Turning and forcing a slight smile, Evelyn rubbed the back of her neck with a sigh. "Sorry Kyle, I wasn't really planning on lingering long. Sort of just came to talk to someone, Mirror's probably freaking out already." Mentioning she ran into Forte here as well...well, that could go badly. she moved her hand away from the door and pushed her hair from her face.

"And I still don't have entirely positive thoughts about this place, but I do realize not everyone here is everything rumor makes them out to be." She was careful with her words, trying not to say anything that could be offensive. She was still in the lobby, after all, and that left time for some trap to spring out of nowhere and engulf her. Not that it would....right?

"I really should get going though..." She continued, slowly starting to turn back towards the door.

She was here to talk to someone? Last Kyle checked, he couldn't even count on one hand the number of people who could be here that Evelyn would come to visit, simply because there wasn't anyone. She had chosen to live and breathe at the mansion, with the X-Men, who weren't too pleased with this place themselves. And he already knew what her partner thought of him, something that he was sure would drive Maya to a fever pitch just to hear Evelyn had come to this place where he lived. Her being here was an oddity, something that one could have never predicted in years.

But he wasn't going to let the chance go to waste. Not when the simple act of her being here opened several roads and paths to answers that he needed to find.

"Fair enough. I just wanted to thank you, mostly, for finding me in Times Square and getting me to medical aid. I doubt I would have survived otherwise. For that, I thank you.

There's one other thing I could use your help with; something I need to confirm. It can be done elsewhere but here, just like the mansion, is a Danger Room we use. There's something I need to test but as you can imagine, finding someone here that will help with that is hard.

I won't keep you much longer than I need to, I promise. But I could really use your help with this; I fear I may need it in the coming future".

There. The words were said, the play was in motion. He wasn't lying when he said there was something he needed to test. He just wasn't saying yet exactly the full scope of who he was intending this for.

The echoes watched Kyle while he watched Evelyn. His facial expressions revealed the slight confusion her statement had drawn, and curiosity lingered under the surface. This wasn't entirely surprising. Evelyn wasn't really the sort you'd expect at the Sanctuary, considering her distaste for the place. As many people as she knew whole lived her, they weren't typically people she'd be calling to hang out with, especially not on their own turf. But the kid tended to make things difficult, and that whole drama wasn't something she wanted to go into with Forte. Helpful or not, she tried to keep a small amount of distance from him. There was always something lurking under the surface she wasn't quite certain of; other intentions she couldn't see. Mirror sometimes seemed a bit too paranoid, other times it seemed like she was the one who wasn't cautious enough.

As Forte spoke, Evelyn considered whether this was one of those times.

"I'm not sure... I really should be going. Mirror's going to freak out as it is that I came here. And you two didn't exactly get chummy last time you hung out..." The pale mutant considered. She didn't want to reject the offer, but something didn't feel right. He wasn't lying, but the echoes were buzzing with something in his words, his behavior. Was he hiding something? Was that curiosity under the surface, or something darker, more mischievous, almost? She couldn't tell, couldn't make out the signals. Maybe it was better to leave and let go of her curiosity.

The echoes tangled around her though, begging to solve it, to make light of the questions. How could they leave before knowing?

How indeed....

Evelyn was unique. No, Kyle wasn't just saying that due to her appearance or anything so outwardly simple. No, she was unique in the fact that, with her ability to read others, it was surprising how she sometimes revealed nothing and yet others revealed everything. Although Kyle's encounters with her had been brief and few inbetween compared to some others, Kyle had picked up a few things from her. Like knowing from her words that she genuinely believed the best course of action was to back out and head for the hills.

And knowing that glint in her eye when something had triggered the curiosity of her echoes, which in turn peeked her interest.It was a conflict of interest surely, raging within her mind. Stay and find out what Kyle meant, the consequences be damned? Or return now and avoid later conflict, leaving the question unanswered. If Kyle wanted her help and to succeed in his secret task, he had to do one simple thing.

Tip the balance.

"Well, you're here already and probably for a good reason I'm sure. At least I'm not asking you to come here when you're not.

As for Mirror, he...she...whichever they prefer to be...seems to have issue with me because of my words last time. Well, that's far from my intent here. You have clearly made your choice in that matter and I'd be making myself even less of a man to whine about it, so to speak.

I really do need your help here. The people that left me in the..condition you found me in were strong. Very strong. By all accounts, I should be dead." He hated admitting that he'd been outclassed in that battle by a wide margin but it was true. Besides, speaking the truth about that would likely help mask the hidden side of his intentions, simply because it was honestly a part of it. "Would be dead, if something hadn't happened. I can't quite explain what it was. I need to verify what it was before I or anyone I care about encounters these people again. Otherwise, next time you'll be finding a corpse."

Kyle motioned his head towards the hallways behind him, which led to the Danger Room deeper into the Sanctuary. "I won't keep you too long. I just need your help to work this out. Please, Evelyn?"

Kyle was cornering her with his words. It wasn't fair. The echoes flickered, listened, observed. He wasn't lying. He did need her help with something. She knew Mirror would be irritated, but she wavered, considered. Was it worth the arguing? Was it worth upsetting the mirror-walker? They seemed to butt heads on and off, and she normally tried adding fuel to the fire. But this was a friend, asking for help. She had been understanding about Kate after the gala fiasco. Maybe Mirror would understand about this now.

Slowly, she sighed. "So long as it's not too long...." She took a step forward. She should be heading backwards.

"It shouldn't be."

Got her. Whether it was by the curiosity of the echoes or Evelyn's own intrigued senses, Kyle had gotten her to agree to his request. It was an interesting thing to have, this way with words that would target her power, to tease them to the point of needing the answer and be damned what they had to go through to get it. Evelyn had a bit of that as well, but in the echoes lay her greatest strength. And weakness.

'Excellent. Follow me...oh, and stay close. Not everyone here is far off your...partner's thoughts. Most are safe though."

Kyle led her through the hallways of Sanctuary with ease, having traveled the route they were taking many a time before. It didn't take long to reach their destination and Kyle kept silent during the whole trip, playing out in his mind the theory behind his new abilities. He was indeed aiming to test them out, to learn their kinks and ponder how to fiddle them out to create an effective weapon. It had already saved him once. Who knows what else it could do for him?

Approaching the door to the danger room, Kyle walked through the doors as they slid open for him, waiting till Evelyn was inside before shutting them and making sure they wouldn't be disturbed. He took a few moments to put on all his gear...that outfit of his that hid his identity but fueled him inside for combat. Then he took center stage of the room and faced Evelyn.

"Alright...this is what you're going to do. I want you to attack me. Not half-hardheartedly, not pulling back at the last second. I want you to really attack me. That's the only way I'm going to be able to test this effectively. Besides...I'm curious to see how much you've learned from those X-Men. Come Evelyn...let's see what you can do." He lifted one hand up as he took a light stance...and mocked her to come at him, smiling.

Evelyn tried to ignore the twisting in her gut as she followed Kyle down the hall. Memories drifted through her mind in diluted playbacks, bringing images of the last time she wandered these halls. Most of the individuals she ran into from the sanctuary had treated her well enough, but she would hate to explain getting kidnapped again.

Eventually they came up to a somewhat similar looking set up to what the Danger Room looked like at the mansion, and Evelyn frowned slightly as she moved inside. What would he want here?

The combat gear only raised her concern.

"Attack you? I didn't exactly bring my sai with me for this little adventure..." She glanced at his gear and memories of training with Locke came back. Her powers were mostly in her head, physically powered mutants just seemed like unfair opponents.

Kyle raised an eyebrow at her, one of the few noticeable actions that could be seen on his face now that the face guard was covering half of it. Evelyn had been a lot of things, but a fool hadn't been one of them. To willingly come to Sanctuary, a place she hated, had been a surprise but Kyle chalked that up to there being a reason for being here. One serious enough to make her forget her distaste for the place in order to come here. Again, acceptable.

But to come to this dangerous place and not bring her sai? Well, that was just downright stupid. He'd have to learn her about that.

"You didn't? Well that wasn't a very wise move Evelyn. I thought you smarter then that."

Stalking over to a panel on the wall, Kyle hit a few buttons before closing the panel and turning back to Evelyn. As if on cue, the Danger Room suddenly materialized two sai for her, dropping into her hands as if they were real themselves. Of course, the danger room could MAKE them real, as dangerous as the real thing or harmless entirely. For the purpose of this exercise, he'd made them real by changing the room's setting's to the most dangerous. The room wouldn't change, not unless he wanted it to but for the moment, Evelyn's sai's could easily put a hole in him as if she were carrying the real thing.

He timed her catching the sai's with the little bolt of energy that he sent towards her face, little more then enough to feel like a light slap on the face. Enough to get her serious, hopefully.

"There. Now, if you're quite done shaking like a little school girl about why I dragged you down here, why don't you show me how well you've learned to use those little pokers, hmm?"

Evelyn frowned slightly, his remark hurting her pride. Not that she wanted to admit it to him, but any attack on her intelligence was rather personal. Without wanting to, the defense shot out of her mouth. "If I came armed, it wouldn't have gone as well as it did. Saying you come in peace means nothing if you're wielding a weapon." She remarked sullenly.

Still, her fingers itched for the weapons, and she tried not to jump as a pair appeared in her hands. It was nice to know this 'danger room' had the same capabilities as the other ones, at least. She was about to relax when the bolt of energy smacked her in the face, and she yelped and jumped backwards. She glared at him.

"I still don't see how this is supposed to help you..." She muttered grumpily, and circled around him, looking for an opportunity to strike. She moved much more confidently than last time they practiced, but she still doubted she was any match for him especially when he involved his powers. A stab, a parry and a quick backwards jump got her in to attack and out again before he could hopefully retaliate.

The echoes were flickering with warning in her head, and she wished she had listened to them earlier.

Kyle smiled just slightly beneath his mask as he loosened up his body, his torso hunching just slightly, his arms bending as he shifted his legs and bent them just a little. His taunt had worked. The energy bolt on top of it had sealed the deal and now Kyle could see it; Evelyn was committed to his request now. And even better, she was pissed off now too. She would try harder to actually pay him back.

When she moved, Kyle was momentarily stunned by the change in her. The last time he'd sparred with her, she had been awkward, nervous, slow. This time she was none of those; she was confident, determined and faster. The point of her sai actually nicked his shoulder when he parried it aside, his arm blow being deflected perfectly by her before she created distance once again.

"Well well...someone's been learning quickly. Let's see how quickly, hmm?"

Kyle dashed in just as the las syllable was leaving his mouth, his left hand flicking out his index and middle finger to send two little bolts of energy at her face and torso before he came in close and struck out with two, three quick jabs in succession, keeping aware of her sai and where his arms were in relation to them in case of a counterattack.

He'd test his new skills quick enough...but first he had to get a better measure for her new skills. Besides...it would be much more fun this way. "Your antsy boyfriend been teaching you good, has he?"

Her mouth twitched, and the irritation steamed from her as she tried to focus. She wanted to knock that arrogant smile off his face. It was times like these their friendship seemed questionable. Were they friends? Sometimes he just seemed like a cat batting around a mouse for his own entertainment. Not that she was a mouse anymore. She had claws of her own.

The echoes caught the movement and the sai flashed, catching the energy in a clock, but one of the jabs struck home. She sliced back with the weapon though, and threw out a kick for good measure.

"I've been training with him, yes. And some other x-men. You can mock me all you want, but I'm proud of what I've learned with them." She snapped defensively.

Kyle's bolts flew fast and true, little more then buzzes of purple light in the air for the flash of a moment...and Evelyn blocked them with no effort at all.

Kyle had to admit, that was impressive. What the smaller bolts lacked in power they made up for it in speed. Your average person usually wasn't able to respond fast enough to dodge them; skilled fighters were capable of it and even taking the hits on different areas rather than the intended target. Mutants were different entirely though; it wasn't to say they had been blocked before.

But this was Evelyn. The last time, she barely managed to evade a second one, even with her ability. This time she had blocked them effortlessly. It seemed she had learned a lot more than even Kyle expected. And that only made him smile more.

One of his jabs managed to get through, Kyle feeling tender flesh flinch as he made contact with it. There was a sharp pain on his arm then...Evelyn's counter attack with the sai had grazed him. He jumped back in time to dodge her kick, slapping it aside as he did to avoid it completely.

Smiling beneath his mask at her, Kyle cracked his neck before making a wiggle of his finger at her. "Mock? I was expressing how impressed I was. Considering our last encounter, you've grown in margins. They must know something if you've come this far."

"But...I still think you have plenty to learn." Kyle's expression changed then, if only in his eyes. Like he'd done in her training before, Kyle filled his head with random thoughts, masking his true intent behind a scene of distractions. Like setting off a firework in a dark corridor to draw the eye and cast everything into flashes. And then he moved in, his hand flashing as more bolts shot out at her, scattered from all five fingers to spread them out.

And when his fist came in this time, he missed on purpose...before opening his palm and releasing the stored energy in it towards her side, timing it to a jump away from her for the counter that would be coming. Her blood was up now...a little more and she'd be ready to do what he needed to truly test himself. Just a little more...