Proper tour? That sounded like he had one foot in the door now. Leo went back into high scrutiny mode. Every detail, no matter how small, was something he wanted to absorb. If this was to be his only time in the Mansion, he wanted to document it and let the guys on the board know what it was like and then they could all sigh and curse this Amazonian.

"That in the grass?" He pointed to what looked to be like some kind of turret, hidden under sod. "Part of the defense system?" Not that he was making metal notes or anything. He would never even think of breaking in to the mansion. Surprising a mutant was just so not high up on the to-do list of someone who wanted to survive.

"Cameras. Nice." He noticed some under the eaves of the roof now that he was looking. Atop the gate too. Hmm. Yeah. He didn't understand how anybody ever actually got in or out of here without permission.

"Infiltrated is an interesting choice of word." Like corporate espionage stuff? Someone needed to get in here and write all this down. Lifetime TV was being deprived. There was also pretty sweet novella potential.

Leo did not miss that Ms. T had said 'if.' IF he moved in. Sigh. Could she not do that to his hopes and dreams? He was really looking to hear when he moved in.

"Will I get to see any of the inside? I mean, the tulips and stuff are nice too." As were the overkill laser guns and crazy paranoid CCTV. Leo put a little De Valdenebro charm in his smile with the hope that would help.

>>"That in the grass? Part of the defense system?"

"Yup" Gemma allowed. Some of the defense mechanism - the less interesting ones - were purposefully half-visible to the keen observer, to discourage them from trying to break in. Apparently Leo was very keen. No news there.

>>"Infiltrated is an interesting choice of word."

"Some powers make it hard to keep someone out if they want to get in unnoticed" Gemma noted "Mirror was one of them, actually. He just decided to stick around."

>>"Will I get to see any of the inside? I mean, the tulips and stuff are nice too."

Gemma arched an eyebrow as the internationally known signal for 'smartass.'

"Yes" she said shortly, walking up the front door and into the foyer "You have already seen the living room and the kitchen, that way. Those are the common areas, you will meet people in there at pretty much all times. This way are the offices, including mine, and those of Sam Johnson, Mirror, and other staff. That way, up the stairs are the dorms - they are divided into girls' wing and a boys' wing. Let's go this way. Any questions so far?"

> "Yes."

"Yes!" Fist pump! Air guitar solooooOh geez, she glanced back. Leo trotted to keep up.

Okay. Yeah. Kitchen. Cool. He would meet people, eh? It was time to engage those puppy dog eyes. She was running through it all real quickly, but as big as this place was it wasn't THAT big. He wasn't about to get lost, not when things were so clearly defined as "boys go here" and "girls go here."

He wanted to ask about the x-men, but he felt like she was baiting him. Nope. Not gonna fall for it, Amazon! "Yeah, who cooks? There's enough people here that's gotta be a job, right? KP duty too for the students?"

>>"Yeah, who cooks? There's enough people here that's gotta be a job, right? KP duty too for the students?"

"Actually, most of our students feed themselves" Gemma chuckled "I am mostly in charge of the shopping and making sure they all have the necessary ingredients. For the younger ones, I cook regularly, and I usually make enough to feed whoever else happens to walk in. Other teachers and older students also cook sometimes."

Between them, everyone went fed. Or at least no one complained.

"This was down the hall is the Infirmary. Our resident doctor has healing powers. He can also tell how someone sustained an injury, so there is not much that stays hidden from him."

Shenanigans. DocProf knew all of them.

"Downstairs is the Danger Room. It is for practicing with powers in a safe environment" she glanced at Leo "Something you probably don't need to worry about. Students can use it under supervision."

"Oh." That was actually kinda cool. "My mom's always complaining that kids these days don't learn how to take care of themselves." She would actually like that part. He was gonna have to learn to cook. She would be so proud.

She would also really like that they had a mutant healer on call. "Uh. I guess he reports in on what he sees, huh?" Her tone implied as much. He didn't blame the guy. The doctor just had snitchy powers. Poor guy probably didn't have a choice because of policies this Amazon put in place. Yes. That sounded about right. Still, he had a feeling that he and the doctor might become well acquainted.

"As cool a name as Danger Room is, it doesn't exactly sound like a safe place for me." He would have to get permission to watch or something, but he knew the reality of the situation. He wasn't a mutant. He wasn't about to go where unstable mutants went to practice.

>>"Oh. My mom's always complaining that kids these days don't learn how to take care of themselves."

She was not wrong. In fact, the mother sounded like a very smart woman. That was a good sign, her having raised Leo. Maybe there was a chance for the kid in a boarding school.
Or maybe he would burn the kitchen down. But that was equally likely with any of the mutant kids, if Gemma wanted to be honest.

>>"Uh. I guess he reports in on what he sees, huh?"

"Only if he needs to" Gemma smirked "Most of our students learn quickly to come to us with their problems anyway."

And 'I made a mistake' was one of the most common problem among them.

>>"As cool a name as Danger Room is, it doesn't exactly sound like a safe place for me."

"It is safe, but wouldn't be particularly useful for you, no" Gemma agreed "Classrooms are down this way." talking about something that would be useful for him "Offices that way. That's... pretty much it."

Gemma turned to look at Leo.

"Are you still sure you would choose this school over another one? Now that you see that it's a lot like any other school?"

Somehow there was less to see than he'd originally thought. Rooms made up a big portion and those were private. There were only so many classrooms they could see. Classrooms all generally looked similar anyway. He was glad that he got to see as much as he did. At least he was here trying.

Ms. T grilled him again. What? Did she think he would change his mind? It'd been a long road to get there before he ever even got his rejection letter.

He gave her eye contact. Adults liked that kind of thing. Helped them know how serious he was.

"I want to go here." He was serious down to his toes. He would learn to cook for himself. He would try not to get maimed. He would go to bed before the lawn turrets got him. He would be a good little student as far as the schooling went because he could care less about the actual schooling part of the school here.

He was here for the people. Which were not a part of the tour and not a part of any other school in numbers like this one.

>>"I want to go here."

Gemma sighed. Deep down she already knew she was going to regret this. Not like Leo was not also deep down a good kid... But this situation was going get complicated, to say the very least.
Gemma had dealt with complicated before. Because of that, she was in no hurry to try it again.

"Well then" she concluded "Let's talk to your mother, shall we. If she agrees, I can sign you up for a semester, on condition that if things don't work out, you won't become a permanent student. I also have to talk to the rest of the staff. But you and your mother can get the paperwork started. If you want."

Of course he wanted. He had made it very clear.

Gemma wondered just what the heck she had gotten herself into.