"They weren't really terms, I was trying to be friendly. So... the database. Is that why you broke into the Mansion? I can't let you access that if you are not on the team, but if you tell me what you are looking, for, maybe I can help."

Instead of the accusing tone of voice he expected, he was pleasantly surprised to hear a touch of curiosity instead. So agreeing to the not-terms wouldn't get him access, but he could take advantage of a "friendship" like this. He couldn't get close, though - whenever he got close to somebody, they always died, and he was never going to.

"Look, I know I can't ask you to trust me or become besties right away. That's not what I am going for. But being a mutant out there alone sucks *ss, and I think you know that. I'm not trying to recruit you or use your powers. Just trying to start a conversation."

He'd only been so on edge because really, that was a strange thing to do. Randomly start a conversation with a lone mutant just to offer them a place to stay, and something to be part of? Unheard of in his books. Maybe he hadn't seen everything after all.

"First, yes, that was why I broke into the Mansion," he started to explain. "I overheard some talk about humans who could stop the powers of mutants. For obvious reasons, I'm a bit worried about that, so I tried to find out more information and, well, failed miserably." Understatement of the century. "Seriously, I just have a vague sense of self-preservation, so I did what I had to. Uh, apologize to your girlfriend for me, then? I think she may have the security systems out for me."

>>"First, yes, that was why I broke into the Mansion. I overheard some talk about humans who could stop the powers of mutants. For obvious reasons, I'm a bit worried about that, so I tried to find out more information and, well, failed miserably. Seriously, I just have a vague sense of self-preservation, so I did what I had to. Uh, apologize to your girlfriend for me, then? I think she may have the security systems out for me."

"I'm pretty sure she does" Maya grinned. As if Evelyn needed the security systems to keep an eye out. She had the echoes working for her, after all. "But you didn't set her on fire, which is lucky for you."

Had he hurt Evelyn, Mirror would make damn sure he would regret being immortal.

"Also, seriously? Adapteds? That's what you were looking for?" she chuckled, shaking her head "Dude, our school counselor is one of them. Miss Taylor. She uses her powers to help out when someone loses control of their mutation, or needs a break from them. I thought adapteds were common knowledge at this point... Anyhow. They are people who have an aura that dampens or flat out cancels mutant powers as long as you are in it. Which, now that you mention it, might get interesting if you were the one affected..."

How does one cancel immortality?

"I'm pretty sure she does. But you didn't set her on fire, which is lucky for you." He had noticed. And while he was relatively confident that he could take the woman from before, an enemy who could walk through almost any reflective surface was a bit too much even for him. He suspected that if he had attacked Mirror's girlfriend, the results for him may not have been too pleasant.

"Also, seriously? Adapteds? That's what you were looking for?" Adapteds. So they had a name. Why was she laughing, then?

"Dude, our school counselor is one of them. Miss Taylor. She uses her powers to help out when someone loses control of their mutation, or needs a break from them. I thought adapteds were common knowledge at this point... Anyhow. They are people who have an aura that dampens or flat out cancels mutant powers as long as you are in it. Which, now that you mention it, might get interesting if you were the one affected..."

First off, he had been rather lucky, then, that he had run into a regular mutant before the Adapted. Second, common knowledge. Uh huh. He sensed that it may have been at some point, but there must have been some sort of cover-up, considering how little information he could dig up about them on his own. And third...

"No. I'm not going for a little experiment to check. Neutralizing immortality? That's mortality, and we all know what happens to mere mortals." Sheesh. Didn't he sound like a videogame tyrant. But it wasn't like he wasn't being honest. To him, everybody else was slightly inferior, in a way, for their worst weakness - their ability to die. He didn't have that. So he naturally assumed that should his abilities be neutralized, he would be relegated to normal human status, which meant death. Possibly permanently. He didn't really want to find out.

...okay, maybe he did. All those years of being unable to die must've done something to his self-preservation skills, because he found himself speaking against his will. "Most likely, I'd die. Permanently or temporarily, I don't know. Personally, I was actually a bit curious to find out, which is why I tried to gather more information."

...damn his stupid mouth.

>>"No. I'm not going for a little experiment to check. Neutralizing immortality? That's mortality, and we all know what happens to mere mortals... Most likely, I'd die. Permanently or temporarily, I don't know. Personally, I was actually a bit curious to find out, which is why I tried to gather more information."

"That's an interesting question" Maya nodded, finding herself a sitting place on top of a few crates someone forgot on the roof. She set her bow across her knees and looked at Danny as she pondered the question.

"Worst case scenario, you replicate all the folktales, and turn into a pile of ash" she noted, probably way too lightly for such a serious possibility "Or you drop dead, and then blow up when she walks away. Or maybe you just keep living, unless you piss her off, in which case she will kill you." Maya pursed her lips "It feels like the odds are not in your favor. I mean, we have a healer in the Mansion, but even he can't bring someone back from the dead if they are really dead.

It was an interesting philosophical question, but probably not a very optimistic life reality.

"That's an interesting question." To Danny's faint amusement, he couldn't even pinpoint the exact moment where the conversation had turned from "who the hell are you?" to "hmm, let's have a philosophical discussion about not-entirely-metaphorical phoenixes." Not that he particularly minded. He liked this better than having a nocked arrow pointed at his face - he couldn't die, but he could still feel pain.

"Worst case scenario, you replicate all the folktales, and turn into a pile of ash." Jesus. She could sound less optimistic about this. "Or you drop dead, and then blow up when she walks away. Or maybe you just keep living, unless you piss her off, in which case she will kill you. It feels like the odds are not in your favor. I mean, we have a healer in the Mansion, but even he can't bring someone back from the dead if they are really dead."

Well.

That was depressing.

So his lifespan was pretty much until he ran into an Adapted, and then he was done for? He had kind of been hoping for a less bleak future, but judging by the rather blunt nature of the news, he wasn't going anywhere near an Adapted unless he had a death wish.

And that was a different kind of discussion for another day.

Danny straightened up from his former position leaning against a stairwell exit. "So, veering away from depressing questions on where my life may be going," he said. "What now? Like you said, I'd be dangerous living in a mansion full of kids. If you ever needed me, you wouldn't be able to find me - I've made sure of that. So do we just continue on?" He said the last part doubtfully, because that was how he felt - no sane person would just keep marching on after having met an immortal. To most people, it was akin to meeting a god or a mythical being, which he, in essence, was. While he wasn't entirely sure how Mirror would respond now, he hoped it was something logical enough to benefit them both.

>>"So, veering away from depressing questions on where my life may be going. What now? Like you said, I'd be dangerous living in a mansion full of kids. If you ever needed me, you wouldn't be able to find me - I've made sure of that. So do we just continue on?"

"Well, for one, you can allow me to find you if you want" Maya noted. She sensed that she might have gone too far with the philosophical discussion on Danny's probable mortality, and she tried to show him that she did not see him as a potential lab rat "You're right, you would be a liability at the Mansion, but that doesn't mean you can't visit. You'll find me there most of the time if you need anything... if you wanna talk, train, or, dunno, need hep with something. So, if you don't wanna give me a way to contact you, I can just let things open for you to contact me. How's that sound?"

[OOC: I am SO sorry. School is being a huge pain, so I haven't gotten a chance to post until now.]

"Well, for one, you can allow me to find you if you want. You're right, you would be a liability at the Mansion, but that doesn't mean you can't visit. You'll find me there most of the time if you need anything... if you wanna talk, train, or, dunno, need hep with something. So, if you don't wanna give me a way to contact you, I can just let things open for you to contact me. How's that sound?"

Finding him. He wasn't super out-of-date like movie immortals were - he had a phone, an address, and an Instagram. (He didn't use it too often, though, because one can only stay so hidden when their life consisted mostly of #blewupthebronx #oops #lol.) Visiting the Mansion sounded perfectly fine to him, though - for starters, he wouldn't have to worry about the house attacking him whenever he got into the general vicinity of it, thanks to his botched attempt at a break-in a while ago. And leaving things open for him to contact her sounded even better. He was unlikely to need help anytime soon, seeing as there was nothing really that you couldn't get out of with a little death and fire, but the offer was much appreciated.

"Sure," he said, giving what seemed like a nonchalant shrug. In reality, he was excited. Really, really excited. This was the first time he'd had a contingency plan of some sort that wasn't suicide. And feeling like he was somebody that others cared about was a new experience for him. Which he supposed made him slightly needy, but best not to dwell too much on that.

In a spur-of-the-moment decision, Danny suddenly reached inside his coat, pulling out a notebook and flipping it open. He scrawled a number on the first page - his number - before tearing it out, handing it to Mirror. "Actually, you know what, take this. It's my number. I figured that there’s no point in only one of us knowing how to contact the other, and I can always pop by the Mansion if I need help or something."

>>"Sure... Actually, you know what, take this. It's my number. I figured that there’s no point in only one of us knowing how to contact the other, and I can always pop by the Mansion if I need help or something."

Maya knew she had won at the seemingly indifferent shrug. She could see the moment of hesitation, and she wondered how many people had ever offered to help this guy. It had to be hard to reveal to anyone that you were immortal, old, and kind of prone to explosions - offering help was probably not the first (or the second) reaction such a revelation would earn. She smiled when he scribbled down his number, took the slip of paper and tucked it away.

"Deal" she grinned with a not "Make sure you come through the front door, and I'll make sure the security system doesn't mow you down. And really, I do mean it. I don't care if you need a play to lay low, or just a free smoothie. The Mansion is supposed to be a safe haven for mutants. As long as we know you are coming, you're welcome."

They'd have to make sure at least the Danger Room was explosion safe. But that was a question for the future.

Maya held out a hand to Danny.

"Nice meeting you, Danny. See you around."

"Deal."

That one word served to lift Danny's spirits a lot more than it should have. He wasn't used to kindness, or acceptance, for that matter - the usual mutant struggles, though sometimes worse for him. Living forever gets awfully dull at some point.

"Make sure you come through the front door, and I'll make sure the security system doesn't mow you down. And really, I do mean it. I don't care if you need a play to lay low, or just a free smoothie. The Mansion is supposed to be a safe haven for mutants. As long as we know you are coming, you're welcome."

She held out a hand, which he accepted graciously, shaking hands with her.

"Nice meeting you, Danny. See you around."

He smiled, just a little, and said, “Thanks.” He honestly, sincerely meant that, and he was legitimately grateful for the opportunity that Mirror had graciously given him. And with that, he gave a little wave, then slid down the fire escape they had both come up on. He started jogging, not looking back, to where his bike was parked. He wasn’t sure where to go next, but he knew that he’d be by the X-Mansion soon.