Everything was... in ruins. The Mansion had been obliterated. Yes, they managed to subdue the evil mystics and banish whatever demon was leading them, and turn the portal into a... veil? Mirror was hazy on the details. The more immediate concern was that the place that had been his home for the past fourteen years - the home he shared with his wife and children, family and friends and students - was a hole in the ground, with basically all their possessions gone.

Gawain was too exhausted to even begin to process that.

SUPER picked up the apprehended mystics. The police was making barriers around the disaster zone. The injured were healed, or transferred to Haven. There was a whole lot to do, a lot to take care of. It was the early hours of the morning when Gawain and Becca could finally go to Haven, in desperate need of a few hours of sleep. But only after they made sure Kalos and Iris were alright.

Most kids were sleeping soundly in the makeshift nursery, but when they checked in, they were told Iris was still up, being fussy. Gawain looked over at Becca, looking equally worn and battered as him. "Shall we?"

Rebecca felt awful, because she was well aware of everything they lost in the night's grand battle. They lost their home, and that was always going to be a crushing blow, but she knew it would hit Gawain the hardest. They had been living in the Mansion since they were a teenager. That was their home. Rebecca had come and gone, but Mirror was as much a fixture of the Mansion as the Danger Room or the name on the gate.

The cost was great, but Rebecca was still conflicted because the ritual they performed saved the day. It saved magic. For all the damage and carnage, a guilty part of her still felt a thrill of being part of something big built on the back of a fallen demon. But it hardly felt appropriate to celebrate, especially when her partner was reeling.

They were going to need time to figure their lives out after this. But before that could happen, they needed to pick up their daughters. Rebecca gestured toward the Haven nursery and smiled weakly. "After ye. Ah hope Iris' power today is somethin' small. Ah'd love lavender scent," she admitted.

"Yeah" Gawain smiled a tired smile, pushing the nursery door open and walking in quietly. There were beds and cots everywhere. Through a side door, they could see light. He walked in there, finding a tired-looking woman sitting by a small bed where Iris sat, looking very sleepy and very grumpy. Gawain felt a sigh of relief rise from his chest as he saw her. Against all knowledge that things were alright, the battle had taken a toll on him. He needed to see it for himself.

"Hello there, little one" he smiled. Iris' eyes widened and he stood in the bed to reach out her arms. "Mimi!"

It was kind of Haven to take in the kids of the Mansion, alongside some of the babies of people who joined in the battle. Walking through the nursery, you could almost thing this was just a normal daycare and the rest of the terrible events never happened.

Rebecca smiled, reaching down to pick Iris up. She was prepared for some sensation to run through her as a power got passed over to her, but there was nothing. "Okay, dear, what secrets are ye hiding today...?" She cautiously looked over her daughter, but nothing seemed out of place?

Gawain felt so relieved to see his daughter. There had been moments in the fight where everything had seemed lost. He had been in many battles before, even been seriously injured... but this was different. Seeing the Mansion destroyed, having the fabric of reality altered... he just wanted to make sure Iris was alright.

Becca picked up the baby and Gawain wrapped his arms around both of them. He expected to feel something, one of Iris' many powers, but nothing obvious happened. He didn't care, for a moment. Iris clung to Becca, making snotty noises, and Gawain held them both.

Rebecca did not smell lavender, and there were no obvious signs of one of Iris' less visible mutations. It was possible their list of 39 powers was not complete, but for now, they would just have to wait for this one to reveal itself.

Exhaling a deep breath, Rebecca offered Iris to Gawain. She was sure he needed the feeling of home that came with holding his daughter. "Thank the heavens Haven kept the girls safe. As long as we have Iris and Kalos and each other, it's gonna be okay," she assured him, and to some degree, assured herself.

"Alright, come here." Gawain muttered, taking Iris from Becca's arms and wrapping her in another hug. The little one was still clinging, snuffling against his shoulder. "We're fine." He murmured, patting her back. As much to himself as to anyone else. "We're gonna be okay." He looked at Becca over Iris' shoulder. "She's not gonna go back into the bed, is she..."

Rebecca wrapped her arm around Gawain, offering her free hand to Iris so she could grab her finger and squeeze. It was a small moment, but this was the peace they needed after their crazy night.

Letting herself relax for the first time in hours, Rebecca rested her head on Gawain's shoulder. "Probably nae. But when we gie tae bed, maybe she'll calm down if we let her sleep in our bed." Or at least the bed they would be sleeping in for the next nights.

"Yeah, it's... hard to sleep in a strange place." Gawain muttered. "For her, I mean." For him too. As much as he had spent nights in worse places, this was different. They were, for the moment, homeless, until the rebuilding of the Mansion began. He held Iris for a moment, leaning against Becca, and then picked up the baby blanket from the bed, steeling himself. "Alright. Let's go find that bed, shall we?"

Rebecca placed her hand on Gawain's back, offering some comfort that things could start getting back to normal soon. "Ah'm sure in time, she'll adjust. We're together, and that's what matters." With Iris in tow and Kalos waiting for them, they could retreat to one of Haven's larger rooms for the night.



Unfortunately, things did not go back to normal right away. The next day was spent getting as much merciful sleep as they needed after expending all their energy the day before. Rebecca in particular needed time to recharge and manifest mystic energy after draining herself so heavily to complete the ritual and fight The Master.

It was the next day when something was undeniably amiss. Midnight came and went and Gawain turned to Maya, but Iris was just the same as the day before. Try as they might, there were no signs of their daughter's mutation manifesting. When the morning came, they reached out to DocProf so he could diagnose what might be going on with their daughter.

While they waited, Rebecca tried not to present her nervousness, but her arms were folded to keep her hands still. "Ye know, after all th' dangerous mutations, Ah never thought a secret, invisible one would be the most troubling alternative." Rebecca was also worried, just the tiniest bit in the back of her head, if this was the Ritual's fault.

Something was... off. Iris, while happy and content with snuggling in her parents' bed, was not manifesting a power that day. Or the next morning, when Gawain changed back to Maya. After sleeping off the physical exhaustion of the battle, Becca and Mirror grew worried, and took Iris to DocProf. It was strange for her to not have any of the powers on her mutation roulette.

"Maybe it's a new one" Maya muttered, putting a hand on Becca's leg in a soothing gesture, even though she was worried too. "Maybe we just haven't triggered it yet?"

There was going to be a logical explanation for what Iris was going through and they just had to wait for DocProf to clear up the confusion. Babies born with their mutations active were unlike most other manifestations; it was entirely possible her mutation could go dormant for periods of her childhood. "Exactly; there's a host of reasons. Ah'm nae worried," she lied.

It did not take long for DocProf to return to the anxious parents with Iris. Rebecca took the child as soon as she was in arms reach. "What's the news, Doc?"

"It's... unusual. I've run tests and diagnostics, and I'm coming to the conclusion that her mutation is no longer active."

Rebecca's heart sank, remembering her and Kalos' own experiences with losing their powers. "Like... it's gone?"

"What? Oh, no, heavens. Sorry, I should be more clear," he confessed, trying to calm down the panic in the Scot's eyes. "Iris is still a mutant. Her X-Gene is still present. It is just... inactive."

"Inactive? Does that really happen?"

"The X-Gene is a tricky thing. It's possible, but my preliminary belief is that something supressed her X-Gene."

Of course Becca was worried. Maya was worried too. Having a kid was basically Worry Central non-stop, especially a mutant kid, especially a very bright and active toddler. Maya trusted to Doc to figure out what was going on. She squeezed Becca's hand. As Doc finally emerged, Iris hugged Becca, and Maya put a hand on the little one's back.

>>"What's the news, Doc?"

>>"It's... unusual. I've run tests and diagnostics, and I'm coming to the conclusion that her mutation is no longer active."

It felt like the floor had fallen out from under Maya's feet. Becca paled too, but she felt like someone had punched her in the chest. Not again...

>>"Like... it's gone?"

>>"What? Oh, no, heavens. Sorry, I should be more clear. Iris is still a mutant. Her X-Gene is still present. It is just... inactive."

What?

>>"Inactive? Does that really happen?"

>>"The X-Gene is a tricky thing. It's possible, but my preliminary belief is that something supressed her X-Gene."

Iris' mutation was inactive. Not gone. Maya's brain was already making up various scenarios about how a mystic could have gotten to her to take her powers away permanently, like they had done with Becca and Kalos... but Iris still had hers. It was just inactive. Something, effectively, had turned off her mutation. But what? Maya had only ever encountered three things that could do that: adapteds, power suppressing tech... and magic.

There was a logical way to go about this, but for the moment, Maya was grappling with her own emotions. Which felt like crap, given that she was supposed to be the adult that took care of Iris...

A suppressed X-Gene. It wasn't outlandish to imagine; most people had an "inactive X-Gene" before they manifested their power. Iris was a unique case, like her other parent, where her X-Gene was active at birth. Still, Rebecca had never heard of an X-Gene being active, then just... turning off.

"Is it possible for an X-Gene tae gae innactive on it's own?"

"Well, anything is possible, but I would say it's more likely this was done by some outside force. Has she been exposed to anything or anyone with an unknown power or influence?"

Rebecca's heart sank. They left Iris with Haven, so there was a whole day where something could have happened to Iris and neither Becca nor Maya would be there to stop it. "We need to contact Sveta." Rebecca had to focus on solutions, because feeling scared or miserable was not going to help Iris, as much as she wanted to just feel her feelings for the first time in three days. "Thank you, Doc... this helps."

Maya was still grappling with the news. According to Doc... something... someone had turned Iris' powers off. She thought the same thing as Becca: they had left the children at Haven. Someone there must have done it. The though made her sick.

"I'll take her." she reached for Iris. It felt important in that moment to hold her. "Go talk to Sveta. I'll... stay." As much as every part of her wanted to go and fight something, she knew she was not thinking clearly. And, in the end, this was about Iris. She needed to feel safe too.