The battle downtown had been... a lot. It changed everything. It shifted the balance between mutant, humans, and mystics. It shifted people's perception of reality, their concept of magic, the entire future the world was looking at now. Xavier's was rebuilding from scratch, and mystics were here to stay. In New York, and in Haven and the Sanctuary that was still housing several people from the battle almost two months ago.

Also, Sveta personally had a lot to make up for. Travis was on the loose, having used magic on a mutant child, under her watch. She was not sure she'd ever forgive herself for being an idiot and trusting him. Or allowing Haven to be a place where that could happen. Now that putting out fires was not the main issue of the day 24/7, Haven also needed to adapt. Plan. Move forward.

The first step in that plan was calling a very important meeting.

She had told Zselyke and Devon about each other, but they had never actually met. That would change today. Sveta waited for both of them in the Inner Echelon's conference room. Zselyke was not an IE member, but for a venue, the room would do for now. They had important things to talk about. Sveta eyed the table with drinks in the corner, but refrained from filling a glass and downing it. It wasn't easy.

Devon was focusing his thoughts on the tasks at hand. A mindful, practiced approach was good for an individual to find success with what they wanted to achieve, but for Devon it was also important considering the weather was easily influenced by his emotions. Let his anger stray and the storm clouds would gather. Still, he was angry and was annoyed, but he rolled those thoughts into a consideration of what lay ahead rather than let those feelings overwhelm him.

He hoped this Detective Samuel Travis knew his days were numbered. Devon may have been gone some time, but he still had friends here. Even strained associates could agree using abilities on a child without consent was a great crime. Certainly other magic-users would never forgive such. Who could condone such an attack on a child? Let alone, no mutant or magic user would want such done upon them, again without consent. Devon knew well some feared or hated their abilities…

Dressed in solid black - shoes, socks, suit pants, button-down shirt, vest - Devon entered the conference room with a small but evident frown. He glanced not at Sveta first, but through the windows to see the overcast sky, the cloud a hazy gray. Sunshine wanted through but that was unlikely today.

“Good morning,” he said, looking to Sveta. His eyes softened and the frown a bit more evident, concerned. “How are you doing?”

Life became hectic after the chaos at the Mansion. There was always a push after any paranormal event for politicians to overreact, and some of Zselyke's colleagues were all too ready to jump to that response. This situation was unique because mutants were not the primary focus for political outrage. Sure, some politicians were trying to spin this as the fault of mutantkind, though the reasoning was flimsy. Some still refused to believe mystics were not just mutants parading around as magicians. Others were unnerved by the concept of magic in their world. Neither party was comfortable with settling on a unified narrative yet, but that would come with time.

The added stress on the horizon meant it was time to commit to her partnership with Svetlana and Haven. Her friend was on the same page, setting up an important meeting. Evidently, the original founder of Haven was back in the city. They were going to meet in a confidential room in Haven's Headquarters

She cleared her schedule for the meeting, but her early morning leading up to the appointment was still a full slate. By the time she had her private car drive her to the tall building housing Haven's facilities, she was on her second coffee and her color had dimmed. Not enough to be obvious, but she looked run down and her pinstriped blue pants and blazer were muted.

Someone Hadden clearly trusted escorted her to this "inner sanctum." Zselyke opened the door, finding she was the last to arrive. Fair enough; as far as she knew, Svetlana and Hadden probably lived on-site. "Good morning. Sorry if I kept you waiting." Zselyke also noticed the table of drinks in the corner and quickly made herself at home, pouring herself a glass of scotch. "Don't mind me; I have a Whoosh Call with 'The Recognized Gentleman from Kentucky' scheduled this afternoon, so I'm mentally preparing for a conservative grifter's opinions on New York liberal gun control."

"Holding up." Sveta answered Devon. She knew he cared, and would have listened to more, but she had nothing new to add to the circles her mind had been tracing for weeks, and she needed to focus on something else. Like this meeting. Zselyke made an appearance a few minutes later, and made a beeline for the booze, which made it a lot harder not to follow her example. Sveta smiled anyway. Zselyke was always fun to be around, even when heavy topics were involved.

>>"Don't mind me; I have a Whoosh Call with 'The Recognized Gentleman from Kentucky' scheduled this afternoon, so I'm mentally preparing for a conservative grifter's opinions on New York liberal gun control."

"Tell him we've got witches in the city now who can literally turn guns into flowers, see how that flies" Sveta smirked at her. "Zselyke, this is Devon Hadden, Haven's founder and CEO. Devon, this is Senator Zselyke Lányi. It's about time you two met."

Devon gave a simple nod as Sveta said she was holding up. His eyes stayed on Sveta as he moved to stand before the large windows, his back to the overcast sky and the struggling sunshine that urged through. It was only a few minutes later than one of the upper echelon was guiding the Senator in.

Senator Zselyke Lányi was a woman of mid-height, but presence. Her stature spoke of capability and frequent activity, even if it was not athletic. Fair skinned and hazel eyed, she had a warmth and fair glow about her. Her style was professional but modern. This was a person of practiced precision and charm; Devon had read up on her after Sveta’s mention. If ever there was a politician to invite into the Inner Echelon…

The immediate apology but rush for the scotch brought a smile to Devon’s face and he realized he hadn’t smiled in days. He wrinkled his nose at the mention of the call with the Kentucky senator. Devon had grown irritated with fighting the same policies and having the same conversations over the last decade: gun control, racism, homophobia, climate change, and now ableism and transphobia. This is why Haven had less lawful actions to take…

Sveta spoke up and a quick snicker left Devon’s lips as he then bit at the lower one. He looked to his peer with a very faint grin, but a slight concern in his eyes. She was right after all. His gaze turned back to the Senator as he was introduced and he gave a slight bow of his head.

“A pleasure, Senator. I thank you for your time, your support of Sveta, and your actions elsewhere,” he smiled. “And considering you’re a busy, hardworking individual I won’t waste your time. We not only want to count you amongst the membership of Haven but we want you to be part of the leadership at Haven that’s willing to work at what must be done, not only what we can try to do.” Stepping away from the windows, he gestured down at the floor.

“We’ve many volunteers, teachers, contributors, people of all walks of life within Haven. Still there are others we bring in closer, higher within our trust,” he raised a hand as he reached the far wall and turned to face Sveta and Zselyke. “Here they learn of activities and plans that frankly skirt the law or sometimes go around it. We can’t abide by every sovereign country’s laws, and won’t, and sometimes that means the laws here. Even at home, the people need support and I’m not sure that’s just minority individuals and mutants anymore considering… Frankly, there’s people from Kentucky who need more education than any whoosh call will provide. And that's just a hint of the trouble in our world.”

His lips, full as they were, drew into a line as he gestured now out toward the city, out the windows. “And that’s where the Inner Echelon comes in,” his tone deepend, eyes darkening as a few clouds outside did too. Almost immediately lightning danced within them. “There’s always a storm on the horizon, and we can’t stop every one. But we can fight, whether that be orchestrating the right meetings and investments of our resources, or directly,” Tempest finished the sentence with a gesture.

Thunder boomed as a line of lightning arced from the cloud and teasingly close to the building before spiraling back toward the cloud.

Devon breathed out as his azure blue returned to his eyes, “Long winded I can be, but that’s just part of my gift if you might excuse the dramatics.” He smiled, both charming and dangerous, as his eyes focused upon Zselyke’s. "Where does your heart lye?"

The image of turning guns into flowers would certainly send a message. Zselyke could make it happen as an illusion, but that would miss the real impact. "Do we really? I should look into hiring a couple. My fundraisers aren't nearly witchy enough."

Of course, Zselyke wasn't there for girl talk to complain about her Republican peers; not primarily, at least. She took a bracing sip of her drink and set it down to offer her hand to the man of the hour.

Zselyke had done her research; not as much as Devon might have pulled up on her, but the man behind Haven was impressive enough to warrant a dossier. He came from money, but Zselyke wouldn't hold that against him; he was using that money to exert influence and she approved of the direction he was pushing. She could be morally against the megarich while acknowledging the system she was stuck in. They had to throw good money at bad money sometimes, and in her opinion, Devon might be good money.

"An honor to finally meet the man behind it all, Mr. Hadden. And it was my pleasure to do my part. Sveta made it easy to help her; she's pretty damn impressive," she assured him, giving her friend a wink. Svetlana had a few rough months under her belt, like she attracted trouble. It was Zselyke's job as her friend to keep her spirits up.

Zselyke knew of the front end of Haven's affairs, working with their humanitarian efforts over the past year. She also knew, to some degree, the movements behind the curtain. Sveta kept her on a need-to-know basis, but it sounded like Devon was ready to pull the curtain back for her entirely. Zselyke was never above working outside the rules to get things done. If that was how Haven worked, she was ready to adjust her boundaries when necessary to see real change.

"I'm sure this sounds naive, but I understand where you're coming from. As one of the unfortunate souls who has seen how the sausage is made in our political system, the barriers to progress are... well, insurmountable by design. Real change isn't something for idealists, and there's only so much you can 'fix from within,' regardless of intent." Her young career had victories, but Zselyke understood she was set up to fail.

"I'm more than willing to lend my hand to a group hellbent on forcing change for the safety of our people. Not just mutants. The Other." Zselyke wasn't a mutant supremacist, and she even kept her powers a secret to the outside world for practicality's sake, but she was a mutant, an immigrant, and a queer woman.

Despite her willingness, Zselyke had to consider the practicality of joining the inner circles of Haven's organization. "I'm hoping you treat this Inner Echelon of yours with the secrecy it deserves, Mr. Hadden. There is a big difference between a Senator supporting a humanitarian organization versus a senator sitting on the board of a shadow council."

Devon could be damn impressive when he wanted to be. Which was most of the time. Sveta smirked at the display of his powers, and kept her distance. She had boosted Devon before, when they fought the wildfires, but she never wanted to the test the true limits of their combined powers. Zselyke, on her part, seemed impressed without being startled.

>>"An honor to finally meet the man behind it all, Mr. Hadden. And it was my pleasure to do my part. Sveta made it easy to help her; she's pretty damn impressive,"

Sveta smirked, and poured herself a glass after all.

>>"I'm more than willing to lend my hand to a group hellbent on forcing change for the safety of our people. Not just mutants. The Other."

These two people in one room... it was meant to happen. They were both powerful in more ways than one, their goals and values aligned, and they had the means to change the world. Sveta smiled as she watched them. It was good to feel like Haven had leadership again. Leadership that would accomplish things.

>>"I'm hoping you treat this Inner Echelon of yours with the secrecy it deserves, Mr. Hadden. There is a big difference between a Senator supporting a humanitarian organization versus a senator sitting on the board of a shadow council."

That was a fair point. "Well, our security measures obviously need an upgrade" she noted with a small frown. It was a sore point. "... now that magic is a free for all. But we're on it, and obviously the IE is the best guarded part of the whole operation..." She cleared her throat. "There used to be more of us, but life happened... It's good to have others up here again." Devon included.

>> "An honor to finally meet the man behind it all, Mr. Hadden. And it was my pleasure to do my part. Sveta made it easy to help her; she's pretty damn impressive,"

“The honor is mine, and Sveta is amazing,” Devon smiled gently with a glance to her as she poured herself a drink. “Agreed.”

It was troubling to hear the Senator could confirm the real corruption at the heart of the political system, but that was to be expected. Humanity was at the center of it, and people could be corrupted. Organized religion had the same issues. Too many influential and wealthy people, groups, corporations had found their way to make a business of all things including government. He gave a nod at Zselyke’s desire to do more.

Sveta was quick with the concerns of security, and that was understandable. He worried how much it was on her mind. They’d already taken some additional steps and Devon had a couple items in motion that for now he’d keep close to his chest. But there was an idea he had, silly as it might be…

“Yes, life happens quickly sometimes. Sveta, thankfully, has kept things operating even while I was away, a true queen amongst our operations. It is good to be meeting like this,” his blue eyes turned back to Zselyke. “And, I’m glad you already work for change,” Devon nodded once more, “And glad you agree. The Other is a very good way to put those that need help, need someone fighting for them in all the ways that can matter and have influence.”

“As for secrecy, yes. I often worry what backdoor organizations those with the opposite intent have formed,” he canted his head slightly in thought. “However, I have considered perhaps other steps might be taken, especially where increasingly anything is possible…” he frowned in a small way that matched Sveta’s.

“The late 19th century and into the early 20th saw some social clubs formed with the intent of change. Masks, similar robes, voice modulation…” he had to chuckle now. “For now, with we three, I’d rather avoid further theatrics. However, we do model our titles based on the Jungian archetypes. It allows for some anonymity in communication. Svetlana is our Rebel,” Devon smiled. “Are you familiar with them, Senator?”

Zselyke respected Devon as someone Sveta trusted and she knew him by reputation, but that was all for now. He was still someone she would learn more about in time and hopefully develop a relationship of trust with. For now, knowing Sveta trusted him and knowing they shared a vision was enough.

After everything that happened during the attack on the Mansion, it was nice seeing Sveta grin again. Zselyke clinked her glass with Sveta's when she passed by as an act of solidarity.

Security was a high-priority for a politician with grand aspirations. Sure, president was off the table, but until she got stricter term limits in place in the Senate, she intended to get re-elected as many times as possible. Theatrics, while impractical, could be amusing. "Are you saying I don't get to enjoy a whole skull and crossbones experience in torchlit chambers?"

The robes and cult-vibes were off the table, but they evidently kept codenames in the Inner Echelon. "Well, that does have some charm to it. I know of them; not to say I put much worth in them, but for names, they do suit a theme. Let's see... well, unless you plan on bringing one of these new mystics into the Inner Echelon, I think I'd make a fine Magician." Besides, that would be a terrible codename for an actual magician if the goal was anonymity.

"You're part of the Inner Echelon as well, right? Have you staked claim to a name yet?" She framed his face with her finger and thumb, smirking. "Let me guess; that looks like the jaw of a Ruler. Or maybe the Creator; you did bring us here, correct?"

Sveta rolled her eyes as they both praised her. Both of them had more power, more confidence, and better qualifications, so she was having a hard time finding her place in the room. But she did what she could, and she believed in both of them for all the right reasons.

The Jungian archetypes, though. Devon had told her about those before, since she had skipped out on... most of formal education, including any readings on Jungian psychology. But Rebel fit her, in more ways than one. She chuckled at Zselkye's choice. Magician. It did sound like a bad name for an actual mystic.

"I feel like Ruler might be taking it a bit too far" she admitted, smirking at Devon. "But he does need a name. And I am a firm no on matching robes."