Great, #$%^ing great. Rebecca spoke. Elke responded. "Elke, I told you not to make fun of Ms. Grey's accent."

Elke gave him lip back, and he replied in kind. "I am taking your training seriously! You need to learn better judgment, and this is a PERFECT example of that." It could be taken as harsh, but this was how they talked. This was how they communicated. They yelled until it worked, and it was the only thing that had ever worked for the teenager. At least a dozen foster parents could attest to that.

Ghost's cold gaze was met by a fiery stare. "16 is the youngest we allow on the team, Masochist. And you need to calm down before you say another word."

"Oh, for @#$^'s sake, Maya I thought you'd get it. That's my daughter. Now she's put herself in a place where she's in danger. Willingly... to spite me.. What, you reply with rainbows and lucky charm shapes whenever Jude pulls this @#$^? She ain't on the team because she ain't READY to be. This mission is in jeopardy. I ain't gonna be able to perform without worrying about her, now." He spoke through the loud echoing of the stranger's voice in his head, angry enough to try and ignore it as they went on.

Ghost didn't fare as well. The episode of stolen speech gave him a second to calm down as the voice started to fade into an annoying hum.

He clenched his fist as Maya treated his daughter like some sort of abused child. Moose wasn't her code name it was a stupid nickname! He'd always gotten along well enough with Ghost... for years, even. Sure, they didn't exactly hang out, but she sure was passing judgment pretty damned quick, and he didn't like it. She made a solid point about it being safer in numbers, and the team pretty much echoed her sentiment as well. When Maya spoke up about anyone objecting, he fixed a glare on her.

"Anyone who has an issue with Moose's decision can take it up with me. Later. After we all return safely from this mission." "You can bet on it." He replied. The talk they were going to have would have a lot more to do with her having no stake whatsoever on what a child's legal guardian decided was safest for her, especially in a situation like this.

Elke replied as well, and his heart sank at the death talk. The fact of the matter was, he had a complex. People he cared for had a tendency to end up in danger. At many key times, he'd failed to protect those people. Wounds like the wedding were still fresh in his heart even after all these years.

Gawain disappeared. They were close.

"Moose. You stay close to me. Don't do anything dangerous. We don't know what we're walking in to. Tell me you understand."

As they landed, the voice became much more manageable, and Rebecca took the lead in greeting their welcome envoy.

He clearly wasn't in a good mood. He stuck close to his daughter as they exited the bird. He would have to watch her to make sure she didn't try to leave a clone and run off on her own. She did things like that, and in a place as uncertain as this, typical Elke behaviors could spell disaster. A really pretty woman greeted them. He still looked grumpy, eyeing the area carefully, sure not to lose sight of the little native girl in front of him.

He felt sick. This whole place, this whole situation. It made him feel sick. The constant reassuring hum in his mind did nothing to help.

She very nearly put him in a silence bubble, but Ghost was too busy giving him the benefit of the doubt. She kept thinking that Masochist couldn't possibly fit his foot any deeper into his mouth, and he consistently surprised her.

"I do get it. Haven't you noticed lashback every time you tighten your grip?" Really! They needed to have this conversation later because they were already here. Ghost sighed because there was so, so much she wanted to say about this whole fiasco. "Put a pin in this. I'm not done with you." Ghost pointed at Masochist first. "Or you." And Elke second. The girl wasn't getting off free either.

Lodestone called Ghost over and the elemental tried to shake the yuck of that whole functionally-dysfunctional family dynamic off her shoulders. Cannibals, at this point, were almost preferred. They needed therapy. Or maybe their little family just needed a vacation together. Come to think of it, this mission and Atlantis... it could be kind of like a vacation. They could even stay afterward if-- Ghost shook her head realizing that the constant tug to be welcome was starting to affect her train of thought.

"Since we're about to engaged in diplomacy, I'd like to remind us all to engage our brain to mouth filters." Ghost turned to the X-jet bay door as it took its sweet time lowering itself into position. Even Moose had realized it was appropriate to censor herself. If Masochist said @)$% one more time, she really was putting him in a bubble of silence. No regrets.

Again Ghost had to shake the grumpiness that was trying so hard to set in. She stiffened her spine and folded her hands, a paragon of proper posture.

"That wasn't too much, was it?" She tried to ask where only Lodestone could hear.

Outside, a woman waited for them. There was no time left for cringing hesitation. Ghost kept pace with her teammate until they were face to face with a woman that looked relatively similar to Ghost if had Ghost grown into a Greek Goddess instead of a super heroine.

> ”Hello. We come tae ye as friends. We… heard yer call.”

Oh boy, did Ghost hear the call. She was trying to politely keep her focus here with the woman in front of her, but the ocean breeze was strong, playful, and uninhibited. She just wanted to kick off these heeled boots and go frolic along with it.

> “We have been expecting you… welcome to Atlantis.”

Ghost smiled. They'd been welcomed more than enough by now, surely.

"Would it be alright to take this from the beginning? I'm Ghost and this is my teammate, Lodestone. And your name is...?" She wouldn't bother offering a translucent hand. They were a cautious few paces apart and not knowing if this was the cannibalistic telepath didn't exactly inspire Ghost to reach out just yet.

”It’s a welcoming, Like she said. It just says…’Welcome to Atlantis’…over and over again, like…um…song a voice caught on a loop.”

She still had no idea what they were all talking about. Try as she might she couldn't decipher what the static was saying. Based on what everyone else was saying she wasn't too impressed, though."Sounds touristy. Like something you'd hear stepping off a plane in Hawaii. Bet they try and sell us a buncha gimmicky crap."

”Well, kid, I guess you’re part of this troupe now.”

The grin that settled on her face could have split her head in two if it got any wider. She saluted, but didn't comment in return. She was happy enough just being there and that one of them hadn't been able to wiggle their nose or blink her back to the school.

”Long story short, I called you a giant pain. But really, stay close to the team and don’t actually get killed.”

The smirk fell straight off her face the instant Becca adopted a different accent with such ease. The teen was not only dumbfounded... but also slight embarrassed. Had she been able to do that the hole time?! Was Elke the only one who didn't know?! What a witch. In fact, she didn't even try for a snarky comment back. And it totally wasn't because she was gonna get in trouble for picking on the teacher again!

See-though-lady laid in on Saph again, probably because he didn't know when to shut his gob and save his battles for later. Elke simply watched from the side with a tiny, carefully manufactured smile on her face. She didn't wanna rub this in too much...

"Put a pin in this. I'm not done with you. Or you."

The Native quickly turned her attention somewhere else when Ghost's attention swung her way, turning on her heel to gather the rest of the stuff she'd brought. She made herself busy getting her bow out from the compartment she'd been hiding in. 

Though she clearly wasn't dressed like any of them, she also hadn't dressed like a slob for the mission. In fact, she had on her most appropriate clothing, as well as a culturally important pieces that reflected her family and heritage. Her clan patch was fixed firmly to the dark canvas coat she had on, she'd washed and braided her hair in two plaits with very colorful feathers tucked into the elastic bands, and had a colorful, braided headband on with an angular pattern.

She stood, adjusting her bow and quiver on herself and glanced at Saph.

"Moose. You stay close to me. Don't do anything dangerous. We don't know what we're walking in to. Tell me you understand."

There were a lot of things she wanted to say. She wanted to throw his own words aback in his face about how X-men have to thin rationally and stay calm and collected in all situations, and how he was currently proving her point in the whole matter.... she also wanted to laugh and tell him to calm the @#$% down, because Jesus Christ, she was 17, not 7. She could function on her own without him holding her hand.

"Saph... I understand. Don't worry so much. I will be fine."

Ultimately she didn't say any of the things she wanted, though. She knew on some level what he was going through, and what he was thinking. She didn't need to rile him up any further. "I'm not plannin' on doing anything unless i'm told to."

Once they had landed she waited for the rest of them to do whatever it was that they were doing, and would simply follow along a bit behind. Out of the way, but close enough she could witness first hand how they all worked... as well as what the new environment looked like.

>> "I'll hop down there and take a look from ground level" he nodded "I won't go off unless you want me to."

Jorge nodded. Mirror would do what s/he needed to do to ensure that they were safe and to get them as much recon information as possible. That was all they needed, a chance for them to get some eyes on the ground that wouldn’t be watched by anyone else. It may have been sneaky, especially if the Atlanteans were being honest about offering a safe haven for mutants, but the cynic in the detective wasn’t going to put too much stock in their words.

Looking back to the window, the detective watched as the jet began to head down, finding an open landing area just outside the towering city walls for them to land. The closer they grew to the ground, the more that Jorge began to develop a sense of belonging and tranquility. It was subtle, though, nothing as overt as the message that bombarded their heads. Instead this was little more than a feeling of safety and comfort, like coming home from college for the first time and finding that your room hadn’t been touched the entire time that you were away. It was familiar and calming all at the same time.

He gulped. Part of him wanted to believe that these feelings weren’t real, that they were just stray thoughts or his imagination running away from him, but there was a tingling sensation at the back of his head that told him he was wrong. Still, he couldn’t judge until he saw and investigated this matter for himself. His strange thoughts and feelings, well, maybe he was just lacking some sleep.

As the plane touched done, and the civil matter concerning the kid and her father seemed to finally be shelved from discussion. He wasn’t going to get between Ghost and Masochist but he was going to ensure that the kid was safe for as long as he could as turning back around and dropping her off was clearly out of the question. They were committed now and they needed to see this through.

Lodestone was the first to take the reins, pulling Ghost along with her to be the first to step off. As the rest followed suit, Jorge took the rear to keep an eye on their backs. It may have been folly to leave the jet unprotected, but he certainly wasn’t going to be the only one left behind. Besides, he was sure that whatever security protocols were automatically enacted once they left the jet would ensure that it would be safe.

Following behind the troupe, Jorge was the last to step off the ramp, standing behind Masochist and Moose, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked over the expanse of land. It was just big enough for the jet as well as a strip of walkable earth that moved around the towering walls or stone and coral. But that was all that could be seen of the strange city – walls. High above, walking on the ramparts, there were several shadowy figures, each of them stopping to peer at the jet and the strange visitors, and others continuing to walk by on their business. It reminded Jorge of a fortress and they were an invading army being observed.

>> We come tae ye as friends. We… heard yer call.”

>> “We have been expecting you… welcome to Atlantis.”

>> "Would it be alright to take this from the beginning? I'm Ghost and this is my teammate, Lodestone. And your name is...?"

The woman who stood to greet them was by far one of the most beautiful women that Jorge had ever seen (his own fiancée being the top most on that list). She was physical perfection personified and carried herself with a classic elegance that was sorely missing in this day and age. She was very light skinned, almost white, with flowing white hair and brightly shaded eyes. Her chiton she wore was gauzing and hung in waves, yet did nothing to hide her voluptuous figure. It was also very clear that she wasn’t simply a human being. Though she was solid in appearance, a glance at the ends of her dress, and the tips of her hair and fingertips revealed that they slowly tapered off into wisps of evaporating mist.

Inquired after her name, she gaze a small, wistful smile of the purest innocent. “Achlus,” she said tenderly. “My name is Achlus. It is lovely to meet you both, Lodestone and Ghost.” Her eyes drifted to the rest of the team that was gathered. “And you are…?”

As the rest of the group introduced themselves, Jorge’s eyes drifted, looking over the rest of the island before settling on the young Atlantean herself. When it got to his turn, he nodded to her. ”Jorge.” It must have sounded funny. He was probably the only on here without a codename or a nickname to go by, though Lodestone attempted to name him numerous times, much to his chagrin.

Once all names had been uttered, Achlus smiled as she took a step back, turned, and elegantly gestured to the city walls. The gesture must have been seen by the shadowy individuals who were stationed at the top of the wall because as soon as she pointed to it, there was slit of light that appeared upon it. Looking closer the team would notice that the slit was actually just a split in the massive, hidden doors that were being slowly opened. It ran up nearly the entire length of the wall, allowing for some truly massive things to pass through.

“Please, come join me,” she said as gentle as the touch of mist upon skin. “My father, Lord Atlan, will be pleased to meet you. Atlantis welcomes all those who are the spawn of the gods, in much the same way as you.” It was clear from her tone that she already knew that they were mutants, thought that may have not been a term she was familiar with.

With that stepped among the group, moving between them as a fog, smiling as she caught each of their faces. It was clear that her curiosity has gotten the better for her for the moment. As she did, her eyes drifted over each on, smiling as she caught their gazes, almost as if she had never seen another person in her life. Her hand would drift out, touching the metal gauntlets of Lodestone’s arms, groping the strong arms of the Masochist, and gleefully toying at Moose’s hair, before she poked Jorge on his hardened chest. She was a curious animal or a child trying to make a new friend for the first time.

Finally, catching herself, she bowed her head to excuse her behavior before she turned and moved towards the open city gates. “Come, my fellow demigods,” she said with a smile in her eyes. “Atlantis awaits. If you have questions, feel free to ask. We have nothing to hide here.”

Jorge himself narrowed his eyes as he watched her but found that he was actually getting excited to see Atlantis, to see home. Wait…did he say home? Why did he think that? He shook the thought off and merely followed the group as they were led.

It was almost relaxing, stepping out of the jet where people were a little confused, a little nervous about the mission, and a little having a parenting crisis of some sort. Gawain moved easily from the mirror's surface down to earth level, and found a reflective spot on the shiny walls to watch the jet land. The X-men were greeted by a pale woman with white hair who seemed friendly, although Gawain could tell from his teammates' body language that they were still very guarded. Good.

As the gates opened, it looked like the X-men have been invited inside. With that done, Gawain slipped out of the reflecting surface and onto the other side of the walls. There was definitely more to work with on that side; Atlanteans appeared to like shiny things, which gave Gawain easy access to stay close to the team, but hidden from bystanders. He could hear some of them talking, mentioning 'demingods' and wondering who the newcomers were.

"It's tough to be a god" Gawain muttered to himself with a smirk as he followed along, keeping an eye on his teammates.

The team came out to join Ghost and Lodestone, which was for the best; there were too many things that could go wrong by splitting up, and if this truly was a diplomatic mission, splitting up the team could be construed as some attempt at subterfuge, even if it was not. (To be fair, Mirror was their attempt at subterfuge, but they could just hope no one looked to closely at any nearby reflective surfaces.)

Achlus asked for the names of their teammates, and despite the seriousness of their circumstances, Lodestone would have been remiss not to give some thought to her hydromancing teammate, Jorge. She understood he had a job with the NYPD alongside his role with the X-Men, but it felt out of place to have a member of the team without a codename. Maybe it was the comic book fan in her, but it felt blasphemous, (like when the superheroine formerly known as Firebird, formerly known as Miracle Lass, just never took on a new codename.) One day… she would fix that. Maybe today would be that day.

Tangent over, focus returning, Rebecca took a moment to look over their guide. Truthfully, she took several moments to look over their guide. Fortunate enough to be surrounded by beautiful women in her life, Becca knew each woman’s beauty came from different places and the differences and flaws made them unique. With Achlus, it was more like she was looking at the definition of beauty personified. She was happy with Nessa (she reminded herself,) but it was hard not to blush in the presence of the Atlantean shrouded in mist.

They were asked to follow Achlus to meet her father, and while Lodestone hesitantly accepted, it was apparent to her that much of the rest of her team seemed almost eager to comply with the request. As she nervously brushed her palm along the polished surface of her shield, the redhead took in the words of their hostess as she called them demigods. It made her wonder how long “Atlantis” had been hidden from the world. Without the science to explain details like the X-Gene, it might make sense for those with incredible powers to think of themselves as beings belonging in mythology.

Far be it for her to question a long-standing belief of divinity, particularly when the woman leading them did have a heavenly, ethereal quality to her. Instead, Lodestone asked about Achlus’s father. ”Sae… Lord Atlan, yer faither… Is he th' one in charge ay Atlantis? Yer leader?” With a nervous chuckle, she added, ”Shoods Ah be callin' ye Princess Achlus?” All jokes aside, if she was right, Rebecca could at least cross “meet royalty” off her X-Men Bucket List.

As they approached the walls of the great city, Rebecca could feel a sense of uncertainty, and that made her anxious. Her eyes darted to the other members of her party, wondering how they were feeling as they were led along.

Ghost told him to shut up, he squinted at her for a second, but let it go. They had bigger fish to fry. His heart was still pounding, and he needed to take a breath. The constant humming in his brain didn't help.

"Saph... I understand. Don't worry so much. I will be fine. I'm not plannin' on doing anything unless i'm told to."

Elke's words seemed to put his mind at ease. Still, by the time they made their way out of the plane he was still watching her like a hawk as the very pretty lady guided them toward the... gigantic doors... He remembered who he was. He was an X-Man, and they were walking into a potentially dangerous situation.

He took note of just how many figures were up on the walls. All Mutants? If that was the case, just that first group of gawkers had them outnumbered a several times over. Being honest, he could confidently take on five or so of your average mutants at once... Lodestone was pretty powerful, he'd never seen Officer Cervantes in action, Mirror was incredibly dependable, Elke was a liability, but one that he'd trained himself for some time now, and Ghost... From what he'd heard, she was a force to be reckoned with.

They were still right @#$&ed if they got into an open conflict with a nation of mutants, and here they were walking right into the belly of the beast.

The woman asked for introductions, he spoke plainly. "The Masochist." Saphirus wasn't sold. He had a headache. This lady was very attractive, but he had everything he wanted back home. She welcomed them again, and then started moving among them. Before he knew it, she was groping his arm. The Fu-. "Eh...". She moved on. His fists clenched as reached out to toy with Elke's hair, and a hand moved to rest on his Daughter's shoulder, steering her gently away from the handsy woman. Was this @#$% normal here? Did everyone go around touching people without permission? God save any young men who tried to say hi.

She called them demi gods. It took all of his will not to scoff at that. As far as he was concerned, people were people. Some had powers. He started tapping his side with his finger as they moved on. Another wave of anger rushed past him; It was enough to give him pause. It was getting kinda hard to settle down. He shook it off.

The X-Man counted every guard on the way in.

"How many eh... Demigods live here?" She volunteered information. He took her up on that offer.

He noted defensive positions, and the route they took to where ever they were headed. The nervous fidgeting didn't stop, and his hand never seemed to get too far away from his crowbar.

She faded into and out of mist, this Achlus. Or Princess Achlus, as Lodestone noted might be true.

It was the first time Ghost had seen the haze between corporeality and incorporeality properly. Her brother was an all or nothing sort of fellow and he seemed to hate their alternate form. That didn't leave a lot of time for inspection. This woman. however, embraced the element of air as playfully and fully as Ghost did.

The way she moved and phased partially between states had Ghost transfixed. The white-haired X wanted to join her. She also wanted to fend off the tickle of Achlus' fingers from her friends. But most of all, Ghost wanted to transform and race the mistling under doors and through the streets of this magnificent place. She wanted to ruffle hair and flips skirts and explore freely.

Ghost settled for wrangling an ocean breeze to help corral the woman back on task instead of touching everyone. When Achlus had touched her face, it'd been... odd. Like two interlocking bits of velcro, she could reach deeper into Ghost's face than the surface and it'd been an effort to allow that partially corporeal hand back out.

It wouldn't do to go absorbing the Princess before they'd met the king.

Since they were all asking questions where appropriate Ghost figured one more wouldn't hurt. She waited politely for a moment that made sense as they walked to chime in.

"Who is putting out the welcome call?" Maybe they didn't know what a powerful pull they were broadcasting?

While the rest of them attempted some kinda first contact diplomacy stuff, she spent her time scouring the outside of the building with skeptical eye. It was a spectacle, that much was for sure... but she was kinda a little more distracted by the ocean that surrounded them vs the new, mysterious city.

She'd never been outside of the the state before, much less this far out on the water. She found herself peering over at it when the city became boring. How may sharks were out there? What would it be like to tangle with one? What were the chances of encountering a giant squid?

She shook herself, forcing her attention back to the situation at hand. She needed to focus! Spacing out like a kid wasn't going to win her any favors in being taken more seriously. Seemed like she drew herself back in at just the right time, too, as people were introducing themselves. She regarded the white woman shrewdly. "Moose."

The woman was weird. Spoke weird, looked weird, weird all over. Did they all look like that? Was this some kinda island of mutant celebrities? Elke listened in as she spoke, squinting slightly as she deepened the weirdness.

“My father, Lord Atlan, will be pleased to meet you. Atlantis welcomes all those who are the spawn of the gods, in much the same way as you.”

Oh Jesus. Really? They were spawn of the gods now?

Elke's skeptical expression easily transitioned into a flat out glare the moment the woman started in among them like they were zoo animals, poking and petting as she saw fit. To her credit she did't attempt to punch the weird wispy woman for fondling her hair, but she did move to swat the hand away as Saph moved her out of the way.

Who did this lady think she was?! You could get stabbed for encroaching on a New Yorker's space like that with no warning.

“Come, my fellow demigods, Atlantis awaits. If you have questions, feel free to ask. We have nothing to hide here.”

She was calling it now... This was totally a cult full of loons.

She did actually have a question, and the floor had been opened to everyone so she waited her turn and then projected her voice at the woman.

"Why do you all live in a giant dome all the way out here?"

Seriously, if they thought they were Demi gods, why the hell had they gone to all the trouble of removing themselves from the rest of the world? Didn't it usually work the other way?

The sense of home and comfort that embodied his mind with every step closer to the gates was becoming damn near overwhelming. Never had he had a sense of belonging before. His whole life he had figured his mutation to be a curse, something that he needed to fear and learn to control. Because of that the man had never really had a sense of belonging, especially early one. With the internment camps and the general sense of fear in the air, it wasn’t safe to admit you were a mutant for a long time. Society had evolved a little sense then but still they were those people who were less than accepting. Never did he actually feel the sense of home that he should have felt…

That is until he landed on these shores. There was something about this place. The architecture? The friendly greeting? Whatever the case, there was such a sense of belonging that the man was having a hard time holding onto his suspicion. He knew that he needed to be taking all this in with a grain a salt. How many times did a long-lost civilization suddenly appear from underneath the waves? It should have been impossible and everything that they were selling should have been difficult to swallow. But there was something about this place, something that made the man almost accepting, almost willing to forget his concerns. Wait…he had concerns?

He shook the thoughts away as Achlus led the way to the city. It wasn’t long before they passed through the open city gates and were now standing on a road of finely cobbled stones. To standing in this citadel, well, it was breathtaking to say the least. The architecture on both sides of the road were of a classic, Greek design, mainly homes by the looks of it. Looking further up, they would see just how high the walls of Atlantis reached, standing several feet above the tallest structure. From the windows of the homes sat gossamer clad beauties and beaus, each of them cheering and waving as they look down at the newly arrived inhabitants. Just like the princess that greeted, they too had attained a form of physical perfection, sans those that were visibly mutated.

The sound of rushing water would filter into their ears. If they looked closely at the road they were on, each member of the intrepid team would notice that it wasn’t just a road, but a bridge. Canals which freely cut through the city ran underneath the main roads, filtering water to various parts of the city. The strange part was that it didn’t smell of seawater, but rather fresh, drinkable water. Those Atlanteans who stood outside their homes, some could be view kneeling down, filling clay jugs from the canals, while in others, men (and especially women) waded bare-chested through the cooling liquid, swimming up to the side of the bridge and smiling up at the gathering of heroes. They waved and smiled, but their eyes were alit with something far darker, far more predatory, but only seen if locking gazes with them for too long.

Moving down the street, Jorge tried to not get too distracted by vision that he stepped through. His eyes wanted to wander, wander to explore, but he kept his feet pointed forward, following the group from behind and trying to keep his head in the game. However, that sense of home was overwhelming the closer they stepped towards the center of this magnificence.

Achlus herself only smiled wistfully as the question began to pour in. She didn’t seem surprised by this, nor was she irritated or frustrated. She carried herself with the air of someone with dignity and yet was used to having to answer to the curious. After she had inspected each member of the group, her almost childlike curiosity was sated, for the time being, and it was time to bring them further into the city. Passing through the gates of Atlantis, just a quick glance around would show that she was definitely one of the inhabitants. Many of them dressed similarly, though some with varying colors of chitons, though the adornments of precious metals and coral were to be found on all.

The young woman was all smiles and generosity as she walked amongst her new companions, giving them the full benefit of her attention whenever a question was given to her. And boy did everyone had questions. Still, with a practiced elegance, she answered each one of them.

>> ”Sae… Lord Atlan, yer faither… Is he th' one in charge ay Atlantis? Yer leader? Shoods Ah be callin' ye Princess Achlus?”

Her head dipped gently as she nodded to Lodestone. ”Yes, My father is Lord Atlan, the our leader since he came of age sixty years ago.” A blush colored her pale cheeks at the redheads account of her title. ”I am not so strict with formal titles, however if you wish, I shall not deter you.”

She shared a shy look with the woman, grinning at her softly as she averted her eyes. Remembering herself she continued to lead on as the more masculine man guarding the braided girl spoke up.

>> "How many eh... Demigods live here?"

”Our current population stands around three-hundred. Mostly citizens, though we do have a military force of our own, as you can see,” she said with a small, albeit sad smile and gestured to the black dots of figures who stood on the walls. ”We are hoping that by opening our doors that more shall join. There is plenty of room and we are all blessed by the gods here so we offer sanctuary.”

Moving down another set of streets, in the distance there could be seen more people, only not all of these were dressed as the citizens of this foreign land. Many individuals could be seen wearing jeans or suits, clothing that showed them to be of the surface world, newly admitted members to the household of Atlantis. These were people from the Caribbean Islands, milling and looking about, meeting with other representatives like Achlus, almost as beautiful or handsome, showing them around the city. The look of appreciation in the eyes of these people was more than evident.

Mixed in with these individuals, it was plan to see the military force that Achlus spoke up more up close. They were scattered about, men and women in classic Greek soldier attire, which consisted of metal muscle cuirasses and Corinthian helmets. Sheathed xiphos sat at their hips, and shields adored with watery creatures and monster sat upon their arms. Their eyes were unreadable beneath the helmet, standing like sentinels, watching and observe all that occurred around them – even the X-Men as they passed through.

Taking a street that would lead to the citadel itself, in the distance there could be seen a gold-topped spire that jutted upwards, stabbing at the sky itself like a needle. It was here that would be their destination but there was still a ways to go by foot.

>> "Who is putting out the welcome call?"

Turning her gaze to the wispy one, the one with home Achlus felt the most connection, the smokey goddess turned and drifted backwards, smiling to her. ”That was my father you heard,” she said proudly. ”As a babe he was found to be gifted with the blessings of an oracle. He could hear the prayers of the surface people all these many years.” She sighed, almost sadly so. ”He weeps for the suffering of the demigods above…for your suffering,” she said. ”That is why he sent out the call, himself. He hopes you will make the decision to join us, but understand that time will be needed to adjust.”

At this point the smaller girl, Moose, called out, with a question of her own:

>> "Why do you all live in a giant dome all the way out here?"

Achlus smiled in an almost tragic way. A sigh fell from her lips as she responded, though without looking back at the younger girl.

”Many, many years ago, Atlantis was formed as a safe haven for the demigods. They were persecuted by world powers at the time.” she sniffled, shaking her head at the tragedy. ”When war fell upon the city, our ancestors sunk Atlantis to protect the people.” She gestured upwards towards the translucent dome above. ”This is their legacy. It protected us, kept us safe beneath the water, and allowed us to thrive. And now…it will help protect again.”

At the back of the train, Jorge arched his eyebrows as he watched her the wisp of a woman. He was trained to know when people were lying or just trying to sell him something. Whether it was the overwhelming sensation of belonging or she just fully believed what she was saying, Jorge couldn’t get anything disingenuous from her. However, there was a blatantly obvious question that he felt needed to be addressed.

”If I might ask…how long as ‘Atlantis’ been around?”

Achlus paused and tilted her head in though. Tapping her chin, she turned back to the gruff man and struggled to find the answer. When she did, it was enough to make the man’s jaw drop.

”Our writings show that Atlantis sunk beneath the waves eons ago. I believe by your current calendar, Lord Atlan places it at 500 B.C.…” She said it flatly, almost as if repeating from a textbook, before she turned and led on.

Jorge shook his head as he watched her go, doing the calculations in his head. His eyes drifted to the rest of the team before following. ”That’s…over…two thousand years…”

Gawain followed along as his teammates were led inside the city. He could tell that they were talking to the woman, but he couldn't hear exactly what they were saying, or what the answers were, having turned his comm to silent to be able to hear the people closer to him. He was sure that the rest of the X-men were busy coaxing information out of their host; it was Mirror's job to gleam information from other sources - mainly, the people of the streets.

And the streets were pretty spectacular. It was like a cross between Greek mythology and sword-and-sandal movies. People were wearing colorful, flowing clothes, and many of them were... severely underdressed, which was somewhat distracting. Even from a distance, Gawain chuckled at knowing Becca was probably struggling with the same problem.
There was something about the people, though...

It was like the Land of Eternal Youth. The more Gawain looked around, making a beeline as he followed his team to the citadel, the more reflections he took on to disguise himself in reflecting surfaces, the more one thing became apparent - everyone pretty much looked the same. Not the visitors, obviously - those were easy to pick out by their clothing and their staring - but the locals were all... gorgeous, and also... adults. Gawain kept an eye out, but he failed to see a single elderly person. Okay, so maybe these people were eternally young... but there were also no kids. That realization kept bugging Gawain in the back of his mind.

The city was decidedly amazing. Pristine, magical, colorful, and all-around perfect. A little... too perfect. Gawain still picked up chatter about demigods, and King Atlan, and apparently the girl leading the team was the king's daughter... Well, they did roll out the red carpet for the X-men, that was for sure.

As they got to the citadel, Gawain decided to make a loop, catching up to the team by the time they were inside. Diverging from the main road he circled farther out, slipping from one reflection to the next, noting how there were a lot fewer of them as he got away from the main road. In fact... people were a lot more scarce a few blocks from there. Most of what he saw were dressed as guards, and many houses he passed through appeared empty. Some were even losing their shine, ruining the perfect picture of the entryway. Gawain felt more and more uneasy as he moved in a wide circle, slowly tracking back to the citadel.

Something was definitely rotten in the state Atlantis.

It should have been illegal for someone to wear a blush so perfectly. Could Rebecca really be faulted for feeling smitten by a woman who had the beauty of a goddess and was actual, honest-to-goodness royalty? The Scot would behave herself, of course, but she did not see the harm in being friendly. Achlus was their host, after all. ”Weel, Ah wooldnae want tae be disrespectful... Princess,” she replied with a smile. Did Achlus give her a look? It was probably the Scot’s imagination.

Atlantis was a small population of mutants; more of their kind could be found in New York City. Of course, New York did not have its own order of mutant sentinels protecting the city. As a secret city, maybe protection and preservation were just a part of Atlantean culture, but to Rebecca, it almost felt like a paranoid move from such an otherwise welcoming society.

Wandering through the city proper, it became clear that Achlus, while unquestionably stunning, was not in the minority at Atlantis. The streets and canals were populated with Aphrodites and Adonises, many of whom were proudly enjoying the sun and the water on their bare skin. Humanities concepts of shame and humility never made it to the bottom of the ocean, clearly. ”A beautiful princess ay beautiful people in a beautiful city,” she spoke quietly to herself, though she was surely heard by Achlus. The princess was enjoying drifting from one X-Man to another, gently brushing her fingertips along Rebecca’s arm. Goosebumps ran across her skin at the feather-light touch.

They were making their approach toward the inner citadel, but along the way, they saw content modern mutants amidst Atlanteans and more ancient guardians. Beyond the metal of their armor and helmets, their eyes remained hidden. Even if the happy visitors were unfazed by their presence, Lodestone could not help but find them off-putting.

Lord Atlan was the one putting out the call to all the mutants as an escape from the struggles and the plight of mutant life in a human world. It sounded like a lovely idea in theory, though the idea of seclusion and segregation went against Rebecca’s belief in mutant-human coexistence. It was hard to blame the original Atlanteans to choosing a retreat; as much ignorance as mutants faced now, it had to be worse in ancient times. Her heart did go out for those who had to make the decision to submerge their city and leave the surface world.

Now, Atlantis seemed like a utopia, filled with beautiful, happy people. Everyone seemed so content with their lives, even after living under the waves for so long. Everyone seemed happy, in fact, including the visitors and some of her own teammates. Hell, Rebecca was having a hard time not seeing Atlantis as a prime vacation destination, (taking another look around at the impressive… sights of Atlantis,) but she felt in the minority with nagging doubts plaguing her.

”Ah dinnae mean tae be rude, Achlus, bit… thes place seems tay guid tae be true. Ah dornt mean, 'this is sae great.' Ah mean, it feels... impossible.” Far be it for Rebecca to be the wet blanket, but they were there for answers, and utopias did not exist. ”Thaur must be citizens ay Atlantis fa ur opposed tae yer faither invitin' newcomers tae their city? Is thaur crime in atlantis?” She looked back to the omnipresent sentinels, feeling the chilling impression of a police state. ”Free will is th' adversary ay perfection, efter aw.” Maybe she was just paranoid herself, but everything about Atlantis seemed too shiny and clean for there not to be something hiding under the surface…

They all asked questions. She answered all of their questions. Lodestone flirted. People kept staring at them. All of it pissed him off. He walked around that previously underwater paradise like he was looking for the p#$%k that pissed in his cheerios. Everywhere around him, there were beautiful people staring at him like he was a prime cut of meat.

God, he was really starting to want to punch all of those pretty faces. They all looked the same, too.

"What about the humans? How many humans?"

His grumpiness was reflected by a bit of an edge to his voice, and a slightly sour expression on his face at this point. He didn't know that anything was particularly wrong with this place... It all just... Irritated him. He wasn't sure why.

A hand moved to rest on his forehead for a moment as he grimaced. Headache was getting worse. "Moose, you bring any painkillers in that boyscout pack? Head's killin me." He spied the roman style equipment of the guards, and scoffed a bit.

Did you have to take a military officer seriously if his dress code demanded sandals?

He fell back a little bit, and muttered a bit. "Elke... What do you make of this place?" His eyes centered on the back of Maya's head for a second, and the side of his nose twitched a bit. He was still sore about the tongue lashing, but he brushed it off again.

Princess Achlus came to drift near to Ghost and the elemental was secretly pleased. She felt as if she'd found a sister, found home. She never knew she needed something like this, but she did. When Achlus reached out a hand to Ghost, Ghost reached back and tried not to bust out of her seams with all her overflowing joy. She wanted to dance and did kick up her heels a bit extra as well as kicking up the ambient breeze.

"There's so much suffering." She nodded along with Ms. Wisp as she acknowledged her answer. It was sad. So, so sad. Ghost wouldn't take too much time to adjust, she decided. It was so great here. The only thing she could imagine going wrong was if they were secret underwater cannibals, but... that was silly, wasn't it? Rowan would fit right...

Wait.

The air pressure increased in patches around some of the surrounding guard, invisible pressure like ghostly hands passed around them as Ghost actually took a moment to look closely with her power. Perfect specimens. Every one of them looked human. They could pass for a Spring Break party boat, in fact, with how little they wore and how toned they all were.

Rowan wouldn't fit in at all.

"Princess, are there no m—" Mutants? No. They called them demigods here. Maya adjusted on the fly. "Are there no demigods that have an inhuman appearance?" She held her tongue about children. Perhaps they just hid them away? Perhaps it would be seen as a threat if she asked? She didn't want to steal them, she wanted to bring them one more!

It was a good thing the spire was drawing closer with every step. The tension in Ghost's shoulders eased the closer they got. The king would have answers. He would have seen them and their questions and he would know just what to do. Ghost's smile eased from shy to more confidence. Yes. Everything was going to be juuuust fine.

Okay, to be fair the inside of the place was a lot more spectacular than the outside. She'd give them that. Particularly the inside waterworks. She gawked around openly for a bit as they approached the bridge, and then turned to stare pointedly at the many faces peering up at them from below as they passed. Her curiosity was sated quickly, however when she realized that they all kinda looked the same. There wasn't the same flare of variety you could spot while walking through New York. The last few faces she passed received a sneer and a curl of the lip back as she pulled a face and glared at them.

She wasn't sure she liked being stared at like a zoo animal.

The woman responded to her then, though Elke had already forgotten her name. ”Many, many years ago, Atlantis was formed as a safe haven for the demigods. They were persecuted by world powers at the time. When war fell upon the city, our ancestors sunk Atlantis to protect the people. This is their legacy. It protected us, kept us safe beneath the water, and allowed us to thrive. And now… it will help protect again.”

"So... you're telling me that a bunch of people with godlike powers fled from all of the normal human aggressors in order to hide in safety bubble at the bottom of the sea? You should realize that others have been up here on the surface fighting racism for basic rights for like... ages now, right? We've done pretty well for ourselves."

If there was one thing she really couldn't stand it was cowardice. Someone picks on you? Punch them in the throat. Make damn sure it hurts so bad that the next time they look in your direction they flinch from yards away. She especially hated it when people who had the ability to change things decided to try and take some sorta non-violent approach to resolve the situation. It was akin to rolling over and exposing your stomach to an aggressor.

There was more that she wanted to say, but she forced herself to try and keep civil... Or at least as civil as she was capable of being.

"That’s…over…two thousand years…"

"BS." The teen muttered under her breath. Unless there was someone within the community who'd managed to bubble the lot of them in immortality, there was no way so many people could have the same power trait. And it wasn't the freakin' ocean either. She sure as hell knew that scientists who submarined to the bottom of the sea didn't come back with perfect adonis bodies and looks.

"Moose, you bring any painkillers in that boy scout pack? Head's killin me."
Saph caught her attention before she could vocally scoff more.

She flushed red slightly instead. "It ain't a boy scout pack! It's a freakin' medkit!" Indignantly, she reached back and unzipped the little pack slung around her shoulders, before shoving a small packet of pills at him.

A boy scout pack. Pah!

Then he dropped a quiet question on her, and she glanced at him. Lifting her hands, she mimed playing a banjo and hummed a portion of a little diddy from a movie about rednecks and camping.