As the guards made their way back through the parking lot and the younger man climbed into the back of the car, Kealey frowned thoughtfully. Surely those guards weren’t working willingly for the Mystic they were there to stop. That complicated things significantly. ”We’re going to have to be careful not to injure those guards.” she said softly. ”Or any other museum employees.” The blonde shook her head as she thought…she wasn’t much use as far as long term incapacitation was concerned, it took much concentration.

William spoke and Kealey looked up, pulled from her thoughts by a figure…a person, sliding down a rope and falling to the ground on the side of the car. William asked if this was another of the people Shin had sent to help and Kealey shook her head, ”I don’t think so…but if they can help…”

The man in the back was talking again, pretty much confirming what Kealey had thought about the guards and Kealey rolled down her own window.

”Did Shin send you?” Kealey asked, focusing on the newcomer’s emotions for a moment. They were…interesting. If she’d had to put a word to them she’d have called them…chaotic? They were something, but the person outside the car seemed happy to be there.

”If not, are you here to help or hinder. We really don’t need any of the second kind.”

Zek swallowed the rest of the donut like a python swallowed a beaver. There was a very loud GULP and then he smacked his lips. That was so much better!

Zek stood up and brushed himself off. Fortunately his black trenchcoat wiped off easily. He flashed the inhabitants of the vehicle (which now numbered three, including Mr. Sweary) a huge smile, which stretched just an inch or so wider than a typical human's could've.

Then a couple of windows rolled down and the woman addressed him. "I have no idea who 'Shin' is!" Zek said with a happy shrug. "Did Shin send you?" he queried. Because why not? A golden orb appeared in his hand and he touched it to the hanging rope. Both vanished in a flash of light and he closed the white portal that was floating way up high.

Then he got hit with an epic-level moral quandary. It made him stop and think for a full half-second, which was about half a second longer than normal. You could practically see rusty gears turning in his head.

"Lady, I'm just here to have fun!" he beamed as he took it upon himself to open the remaining door and clamber inside the vehicle, shutting the door behind him.

"So. Weird museum guards with creepy smiles," Zek said, his own smile still exposing way too many teeth when he talked. "What's the game plan? Are we gonna pants them? Sneak into the museum and have a dance party? Throw paint balloons? I've got some of those," he added.

He reached into a coat pocket and fumbled around a bit. "Nevermind, it was jerky. Hey, anyone want some?" he asked as he offered it around. "And it looks like the other three guards who were talking to Mr. Sweary here..." He jerked a thumb at the guy he'd sat beside in the back seat, "are starting to head this way. I can pants them all real easy if that's what we're doing."

And then Tarin offered her more energy. By now, that wasn't a surprise. If she needed energy, he was always more than willing to offer her some. It didn't matter the time or situation.

But other than what she was taking through the hand she was holding at her normal level, Lee had no intentions of taking more from Tarin that day. Not unless absolutely necessary. Lee was sure that she could manage to get the energy she needed elsewhere, and Tarin could very well end up needing all of the energy he had as well. But he would be unable to replenish that energy in the middle of what was to come. She could.

The spirits could relay what they'd discovered while they walked. That was good. Then came the grin and Tarin poking a bit of fun. "That would be impressive," Lee said, playfully teasing him. "I've seen you try to use your mouth while walking."

Despite the teasing, Lee's attitude returned to being serious as the spirits, including Tony, popped into existence.

And then they were walking as Tony and the spirits were explaining what they had discovered. Which really wasn't much, but it was still a hell of a lot more than they had known a minute ago.

"That will definitely solve the energy problem," Lee agreed as she felt Quin and Will catching up behind them. "As long as there's not too many. One or two in the first group we come across would be best. Three max. If we're lucky enough to actually have any control of that."

Then Lee turned to look over her shoulder at the two younger mutants. "And yes, they are spirits," she confirmed. "Yesterday was just the start, apparently. Michael's dealing with the bigger threat, but asked us to go deal with what's happening at the museum. So Tarin sent some spirits to see what we're dealing with so we can hopefully have some sort of plan going into this."

Lee didn’t answer again when Tarin more overtly offered more energy. That was fine, now she knew beyond a shadow of doubt that he was fine with it if the need arose. Besides doing what he’d just done and helping set up a bit of a perimeter like he had the night before, Tarin didn’t really understand how he was going to be of much use. He’d just help Lee as much as possible, Tarin decided with a little nod to himself.

It hadn’t been and really still wasn’t the time to be teasing, but Tarin couldn’t help but laugh when Lee quipped right back at him about walking and using his mouth. There were several ways that could be interpreted…

“Sounds like I need more practice.” he said with a quick wink, thinking that breaking the tension couldn’t possibly be a bad thing.

They were walking now though and the spirits were back and they had to be serious again because they needed information and they needed to know what they were walking into.

Tony and that other guy and the other other guy had some information but it sounded like the whole ‘anti-spirit barrier’ was still firmly in place. There were museum employees, there were roving patrols, and there was a whole wing of the museum that was currently inaccessible.

Great.

“Maybe when we’re closer and I can get a better look at what we’re dealing with I’ll be able to figure something out…this far away I only have what they say to go on….” he said with a shake of his head as they walked. That ‘lobotomized’ spirit had been scary as hell, Tarin needed to see what he was working with up close before he tried anything new.

It looked like the two younger mutants were coming along. The more the merrier Tarin supposed, and despite the fact that he’d prefaced his use of his powers with an explanation, they reacted in the standard way.

Lee filled in some of the blanks and answered the initial questions and Tarin nodded, “It sounds like the Mystic succeeded with what she was trying to do. The big guns are out in the bay dealing with the King and called in all the help they could get.” Tarin clarified, adding all the context he could remember to what Lee had said. It was also excellent news

“Oh.” The little weasley informant guy said “I almost forgot. There’s a car full of people in the parking lot and a guy with riot gear and a shotgun waiting to go in.”

“Great…at least we’re not on our own…” Tarin said, “Once we’re close enough let them know we’re there.”

They still had a little ways to walk, but were making good time now that they were actually moving.

“So we get there, meet up with these other folks and then…”

Ghosts. Will wanted to feel bad for reacting the way he did. The guy had given Quin and Will a warning even, but something just rang so strange about the floating people to his senses that his skin crawled. It hadn't helped that they'd just -popped- into existence. The ghosts looked like people, but tiny details just drove it into uncanny valley. They didn't move quite right, as they floated. He couldn't see or hear them breathe. Even their clothing didn't seem to react to the wind quite properly, and didn't sound exactly like it should when it rubbed together. Maybe some of it was just his imagination, but it utterly skeeved him out. 

Will nodded at Quin as she caught up, asking him if she'd been hallucinating, if those were really ghosts that they'd seen. "Seems like..." Will answered, trying to shake the creepy feelings off. "Lee said somethin' when I met her about knowing someone who could see 'em... Guess this is the guy?" 

Unfortunately, as Lee and Tarin continued to explain why they were headed to the Museum, ghosts seemed like they'd be the least of his worries. 

Yesterday was just a start. Or else a distraction, like Michael had said. Michael had asked Lee and Tarin (so that was the guy's name) to help out with the situation unfolding today. Michael was with others, "the big guns", dealing with a larger threat, while they were dealing with the trouble that was happening this way. Ghosts were out for information. The ancient witch lady had gotten what she'd been after and summoned her King.

But... Will still didn't see gods, goddess or sphinxes (The Spinx? He'd meant to look that up...) on the horizon, or whatever else Michael had said the Mystic had been after, so... maybe things weren't set in stone yet? But dang if this wasn't a -lot- to deal with at the start of the day. 

Luckily, there was time to to think, untangle the knots of the problems, as conversations continued and the group walked towards the Museum at a brisk pace. Will still hadn't -agreed- to anything just yet. He and Quin were just walking this way, so, they couldn't be blamed if they just decided to... keep walking and go do what they'd set out for at the start, right? Fetch the laptop, or not, maybe grab something to eat and go back to pretending like the world wasn't in peril?

"I'd thought when things'd started dyin' down last night, Michael or one of their associates had gotten things under control." Will admitted aloud, both in response to Tarin's information as well as to Quin in disbelief that things were not in fact better than yesterday. "If the King's out with Michael, who's makin' trouble at the Museum?" Will said after a brief pause, this time directed towards Lee. 

He hoped he'd get some answers, to help him figure out if he wanted to stay or to just run. Lee and Tarin hadn't set a slow pace, and it wouldn't be long at this rate before the four of them were thrust into the thick of things and the decision might be made for him. 

They absolutely were spirits. Quin suppressed a little shudder at the idea that there were somehow actual spirits hanging out with them right that moment, just walking…floating…down the street. She had about a billion questions, but none of them were related to what they were currently trying to accomplish. Maybe they’d get wherever they were going, things will have already been taken care of, and she could ask.

“She just told me he doesn’t like it when she comes home from training beaten to a pulp, so you’ve got a leg up on me there…” Quin said, curious when and how Will had met Lee.

”He’s right here.” Tarin said without looking back, ”And she was right.”

Quin shrugged in response even though there was no way that Tarin could see it. Anyone who thought this whole thing wasn’t weird was just wrong and she and Will were just trying to get caught up on the particulars.

To that end, Will had questions. He was right, things had looked like they were calming down the night before. If they were going to help, they needed to know what and who they were going up against.

Maybe they could just split off at the museum…go and find the laptop. If they couldn’t find the laptop maybe Will would still be willing to help her get on her call that afternoon via phone.

Surely her job was more important than being wrapped into…saving the city from a threat big enough that the semi-secret government agent was asking for help from anywhere they could get it….

They were walking quickly and Quin’s bruised ribs were starting to protest a bit at the pace. ”I wish I had more plastic on me…” she said, remembering Lee’s advice from when they’d trained together. ”Surely there’ll be lots there….” but how much of it was attached to priceless artifacts? How heavy were the pieces? What were they going to do?

In the distance, Quin could see the museum now. Glancing at Will to see what he was going to do, Quin decided she’d follow his lead. The day before, he’d been the logical one, surely that went for today too.

Guards talking in unison. That was not creepy in the least. Extra creepy when the mention of hieroglyphics was made. So a group all acting like NPCs with ancient writing on their nametags. William could tell the day would get more bizarre before it made sense.

Kealey made a point to be careful not to injure the guards. William nodded. He could run his power low enough to not cause permanent injuries. Temporary debilitating injuries were possible, assuming none of them had heart conditions.

To William’s question Kealey didn’t think the newcomer, the one who dropped from the sky on a rope was sent as help. This was later confirmed by the the man. He was just there to have, ‘fun.’ Which William decided did not sound good. It was too late to do much about it though as the man had already climbed into the XUV.

No more people falling from the sky, William took the opportunity to lift his foot from the brake. The XUV rolled back away from the museum and the creepy employees outside of it.

Kealey was doing an excellent job as leader, which William appreciated. She was working to manage the two people that they had picked up. One of them was… Confusing? Talking about dance parties, paint balloons, and pantsing the employees. Not to mention the ball of light he had used on the rope to vanish it. William did not envy Kealey running this X-mission.

William noticed the guards moving and gave the XUV a little gas to expedite their movement to the far edge of the parking lot. The backup camera showed a clear path,

>>> ”We’re going to have to be careful not to injure those guards.” Kealey said.

Ashton nodded. ”Yeah.” That was why he had lead them on like he was going to leave. And they’d left… it had worked. For a while. He hoped they had figured his motives out, but he wasn’t going to blatantly point them out for a gold star or anything.

The kid brought their attention back to the guy, and he did not really trust the guy, from the brief interaction Kealey had with him. With the way he turned it back on her, and—

“Have fun”? He was there to have fun?

Yeah, Ashton got bad vibes from that. It really weirded him out. And he was making things vanish and—

Wait, had he called him Mr. Sweary? Nobody else had sworn outside the car, but he had sure and hell said what the hell.

The new comer drew their attention to returning guards, and the driver backed away. As if leaving. Deeper into the lot.

”Smart, kid.” He said to the driver. Then he turned towards new guy. ”and No, new guy. I don’t think any pantsing will be required. I’m Ashton, by the way. Not Sweary guy or Mr Swear. Maybe we should all introduce ourselves so we don’t call each other new guy or driver. And maybe share powers, if you’re suddenly committed to helping strangers break into a museum…”

he looked at his back seat buddy. Closely.

The strange new person who seemed to be able to materialize things out of thin air was just there to have…fun? They also didn’t know who Shin was, and seemed to have some interesting ideas about how things here could be managed.

Kealey frowned at that as the younger man made his way into the car. They were here to have fun. Kealey had interacted with people like this before and they tended to want to increase the chaos of a situation instead of making things more organized.

”We’d very much appreciate your help.” Kealey said, ”What’s going on inside the Egyptian wing is dangerous for everyone in the city and people are risking their lives to try and handle other parts of this threat.”

Her Husband was one of them, Kealey thought, glancing down at her ring…still firmly in place. “And while I understand that there’s something to be said about not taking things too seriously….this is not one of those times.” she was going to try to do this the diplomatic way first, without powers being involved, but if she needed….hopefully it wouldn’t be necessary.

The guards were approaching again and William backed the car up more as Kealey narrowed her eyes slightly in their direction and did the same thing she’d done the first time. Just like the last time, these three wandered off back towards the museum.

The man that Shin had sent was Ashton. He was also overwhelmed, annoyed, and distrustful. It made Kealey want to fidget and she took a deep breath, ”I’m Kealey, an empath. I’m currently making sure those guards stay away from us.”

She didn’t know what else to say currently, until the rest of the people Shin had mentioned arrived, there wasn’t much to do.

Suddenly, there was someone else in the car and Kealey nearly jumped out of her skin as the man appeared in the back seat between Ashton and the other newcomer.

“Oh…uh, hey.” The person said. They didn’t look quite right and the strangest thing of all was that Kealey couldn’t feel any emotions from him. He also look like he’d stepped right out of a gangster film.

“Tarin and Lee and two other kids are gonna be here in a minute. They sent me ahead to let you know.”

Tarin and Lee? Kealey’s eyes got a bit wide and a smile spread across her features, ”That’s very good news.”

Taking a deep breath, Kealey addressed the car, ”Alright…so once they get here….” she said.

Nobody seemed to want any jerky so Zek shrugged and popped a piece in his mouth. More for him anyways. Nobody could say he hadn't offered!

He munched on his treat as Mr. Sweary...oh wait he said his name or something...Ashton declared there would be no pantsing of anyone. Zek didn't quite believe him - there was always a potential chance to pants a person - but then he said magical words.

"Break into a museum!?" Zek said as the whites of his eye literally began glowing with white light. "Oh man this is way better than..." he broke off and the eye-lights blinked out. Huh? Why a museum? Museums were boring. "Huh? Why a museum? Museums are boring," Zek said with a mystified expression. That's why he napped on their roofs. Nothing would wake him up there.

The lights came back in one eye though when Blondie spoke up. She was talking in that boring way a lot of buzzkills did when they threatened to suck the fun out of things, but then she said magical words too.

"Dangerous? City? Threat? Wing?" Now he was interested and paying attention. "Don't toy with my heart - what are you guys into? Nevermind, I want in. Y'all need snacks? Disguises? Guns?" Maybe this would be fun after all! "I'm Zek! Some people call me Fred. But you can call me to dinner."

And then another person appeared beside Zek. He blinked and smiled. When the guy finished saying even more partiers were gonna arrive, Zek handed offered a piece of jerky to the guy. "Love the outfit. Is that from the store on Fifth and Main?" he asked. He could use some new threads.

And all the people at the far end of the parking lot, the guards had regrouped at the front door still smiling with that forced customer-service expression, as if nothing they felt mattered, only that they were doing their job and the people were finally leaving.

"Oh, you definitely need more practice," Lee replied, grinning when he winked at her. "A lot more practice."

But this really wasn't the time for this, at all, and Lee still had a plan to come up with.

And Will and Quin were still trying to make sense of what was going on. Not surprising considering they hadn't been called to join in this fight by Michael afterall. "It's that mystic," Lee explained over her shoulder. "She's brought her king, but she's still got the ankh and it sounds like bringing more people. The main goal is to get the ankh away from her, and keep it secure. Secondarily is to take her down, if we can."

Easier said than done, Lee was sure. Even without the ankh, the woman was still a mystic with magic at her disposal.

They were approaching the museum now and Lee could feel her heartrate speed up slightly.

"We'll meet up with the others, pick a way in with only a few people guarding the door and I'll put them down for a nice long sleep," Lee said in response to Tarin's trailed off question. The problem was, beyond that, Lee still really didn't know.

And yet, even after the previous day, Quin didn't have much plastic on her. Lee frowned slightly. She wasn't sure what would actually be available in there that the woman would be able to use. And if there was some, but was part of an exhibit, it wouldn't be right to use it. Who knew what damage that might cause to an artifact.

"The gift shop," Lee said after a few moments as they stepped into the museum's parking lot. "There's probably plenty of things made of plastic on there, Quin."

That's when Lee noticed the markings on the vehicle; X-Men. Not at all surprising given what was happening in the city.

What was surprising to Lee was the fact that Lee sensed that they were still in the vehicle despite the time that had passed since the spirits had gathered the information.

"Looks like we're meeting four others," Lee told the group.

Squeezing Tarin's hand as they stepped up to the vehicle, Lee breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the blonde in the passenger seat.

Then she saw the person in the back with the riot gear and shotgun. "I do not want to be shot today," she told him firmly. "So if you shoot that with me anywhere around, I swear to God, Ashton, it will no longer be functional."

The great temptation was to tell Lee that personal growth absolutely superceded anything they could do at the museum and that the obviously correct course of action at this point was to simply go home.

It absolutely would have been better than the quickly building sense of doom welling up in Tarin the closer they got to the museum. For now he’d done everything he could do and that left Tarin with far too much time to think.

Time to think about the fact that he’d never done anything like this.

Time to think about the fact that suddenly they were going to take on the the mystic that Michael had been cautious to approach when the other man had come into Tarin’s shop that day.

Time to think about what his part in this whole thing was going to be and realize that he really might have done everything he could do already. The field around that mystic had essentially lobotomized a spirit and just linking up with that thing had nearly sucked Tarin deep enough in that if Lee hadn’t been there to shake him into breaking the bond he didn’t know what would have happened.

Time to think and wonder if he was going to be more of a liability than an asset as they did this. If the spirits coudln’t help, what good was he going to be?

Lee was explaining to the others, Tarin needed to get their names, what they were getting into and how they were going to get into the museum. It was a good plan and it would enable Lee to get more energy so she could use the other side of her powers. Hopefully she’d be able to do what she’d done the night before and not hurt herself…maybe he could help hold the guards still.

The girl was saying she needed more plastic for some reason and Lee was suggesting the gift shop? It was probably power related. They both had some idea who he wasn and Tarin thought maybe these were people that Lee had mentioned recently. People she’d run into or met up with…he couldn’t think about it now.

They were really close now and Tarin could feel the spirit he’d sent on its errand heading to the car it had mentioned earlier. Through the telepathic link, he noted a familiar face. He opened his mouth to tell Lee, but they were close enough that she’d be figuring it out on her own soon enough.

Tarin had known there were four others too, but hadn’t thought to say anything…this was already going poorly.

As they approached Lee squeezed his hand and Tarin squeezed hers back, it didn’t help though. He was trying so hard not to spiral but it was getting more and more difficult and Shin’s wife was there and would almost instantly know what was going on. He was being careful though and Lee was focused enough on the rest of what was happening that she hadn’t seemed to notice.

Lee spoke and Tarin’s eyes immediately darted over to her as she mentioned being shot and addressed one of the occupants of the car by name. Nobody was getting shot today, right? That wasn’t a thing that was going to happen. ”Is there anyone you don’t know?” he asked, atttempting to keep his tone light.

Nodding to the spirit and breaking the link, Tarin took a deep breath as the the man in the back of the car disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. “I don’t know what kind of recon you were able to get…” he said, addressing Kealey in the front of the car, ”But besides the guards out here, there’s a few patrols that seem to not be employees inside the museum. They’ve got some kind of dogs with them. I couldn’t get anyone into the Egyptian wing, but we were outside my range…once we’re within about a hundred and fifty feet I can figure out more.” There. He’d said his piece…before even introducing himself to the people he didn’t know. Suddenly he felt wildly exposed and uncomfortable, having word vomited everywhere. Couldn’t they just go home?

”I’m Tarin, by the way. I do creepy ghost stuff.”

Things were both moving too fast and too slow. The walk to the museum was far enough that Will had time to get stuck in his head, but the situation was piling up too fast and becoming way too wild for him to do any sort of useful thinking or planning. There were still piles of unprocessed bits from yesterday and now they were getting dragged back into something far over their heads.  

Exactly how crazy of a situation they were getting dragged into was brought further into light as Lee explained the situation. The King had been brought. The Mystic (Akh, right?) had the Ankh, and there was additional help she'd been able to procure. Or was procuring. Like yesterday? Meatheads and mutants coerced? Or was this more magic, timey stuff that the Akh-Ankh combo could do?

But, even if his brain was scrabbling to get a grip, it seemed like Quin had her head on straight, or at least was thinking productively. Lamenting the lack of plastic on hand and clearly planning ahead. And Lee chimed in with a solid suggestion, using the gift shop. The souvenir laden tourist trap would no doubt be stocked to the gills with overpriced plastic junk. Probably? Unless plastic trinkets had gone the way of the plastic straw? Hopefully not...

Will could hear voices coming from ahead as the Museum came into view. A few different ones, not close enough to hear distinct words, but enough to tell there were different voices. Jeez, was he really doing this?

The building came into view. Parking lot. People. Vehicles. One in particular that loomed large. Was that thing bigger than the behemoth of a truck he'd been in yesterday? Either way, with the person plastered with riot gear and his heart rate rising, it all seemed like a twisted sort of deja-vu. This vehicle though, was branded with the X-Men insignia. Will wasn't used to seeing that logo in person, especially not when it meant he'd be in the same place as the group it was associated with. This really was a situation that was happening, if they'd been called. 

But, it looked like there was a good amount of people? Well, if they were all X-men, anyway...  Will's eyes jumped from person to person. The people already at the museum looked serious, focused, ready to go. Well, mostly. There was one person who looked like they were about to start bouncing in their seat with excitement. Will watched as Tarin stepped forward, giving everyone there information and stating he could do more. Ghost stuff, scouting the inside of the museum. 

More people inside. Dogs. Something stopping Tarin from scouting the Egyptian wing. There were people outside too. But everyone here seemed ready for the situation. Plus now they had Lee, and Tarin and his ghosts on their side. Maybe it was enough they didn't need his help, or Quin's? Out of their league, right? 

So just say it. Say Hey, I'm Will, and I'm not supposed to be here. Walk away. 

Besides, end result was either everything was fine, or everything was awful. There was no chance he'd be enough to make enough of a wave to change it all the way from one result to the other. But... there was always the chance that things -did- work out, but not everyone made it back... Ah hell, he'd talked himself into it.

Will raised a hand just over his head in greeting, taking a step towards the group. "Uh, Will here. These two said," he indicated Lee and Tarin with a gesture as he dropped his hand from over his head, "you all needed all the help y'could get. I can manipulate people's senses. Gotta be grabbin' them though. Can't just turn off everyone's eyes from here." It was very, very weird talking openly about what he could do, but, a world ending event seemed like a bad time to be too caught up in his insecurities, but it didn't make him any less nervous.   

They were going after the mystic herself? The five-thousand year old magic user that Michael had talked about like she was a serious threat? Michael, the same person who seemed completely invincible, drove a car that was more like a tank and full of military-grade weapons. Michael, who had told Quin and Will to stay inside and safe last night so they didn’t get mixed up in anything else.

Lee was explaining more. They needed to get the ankh away from this mystic and then do everything they could to take her down. Quin’s head was spinning from that information. Who was Lee anyway? Quin had known that the woman could fight, but Lee was talking about this whole thing like this was just a Thursday.

They were getting closer to the museum all the time though and Quin kept stealing glances at Will to see if he was going to peel off or say something or….what? It was starting to look like Will wasn’t going to do any of those things though. They were way in over the heads though, right? This was insane, right? She should say something, she should do something before she ended up hurt worse than she already was.

Lee pointed out that there was sure to be plastic in the gift shop and Quin nodded. The gift shop was a much better option than trashing priceless artifacts just to access any plastic in their vicinity.

Realizing she was thinking about this as if it was a thing that was actually going to happen, Quin blinked a few times and shook her head. There were four others in the car. Four others who were actually qualified to be in this fight, or four others that were like her?

Apparently Lee knew these people too though and Quin stood in slightly mute shock as everyone started to make plans to get inside the museum. Surely this was when she and Will would split off.

They weren’t supposed to be here.

The woman and man in the front of the car in their obvious X-Men uniforms…they were clearly supposed to be here. The man in the back in the riot gear with the shotgun that made Lee uncomfortable…he was clearly right where he should be.

Quin couldn’t tell enough about the other guy in the back of the car to decide, but he was in the car so clearly he at least wanted to be there.

Tarin and Lee clearly wanted to be there too since they’d hiked all the way here from Haven…

This was it. This was the moment Quin said something and excused herself from the group.

Then Will stepped up with a wave, introduced himself, and declared what he could do. This was a far cry from the day before when he’d seemed wildly uncomfortable to even talk about his powers in a one on one setting. It was kind of like when he’d jumped on that metal guy’s back or when he’d been fighting with the guy in the cafe and had used his powers. Will had stepped up when he needed to step up even if it was uncomfortable.

“I’m Quin. I got here the same way Will did. I can do stuff with plastic. Move it around, change it’s shape…” there was more, but this was enough for now.

”Are we really going to do this? If so, where’s the gift shop?”

William made a face when the man who later identified himself as Ashton called him kid. It was a small annoyance, not worth mentioning. Besides, Ashton’s focus was directed at his back seat buddy. The same person Kealey was directing her attention towards. The same person who was far too excited about… well, anything but danger in specific.

Ashton had introduced himself. Kealey had introduced herself. William looked at the rearview mirror so he could see the back seat and opened his mouth just in time to clamp it snack shut as someone else materialized in the back seat. The XUV went from a slow, controlled reverse under minimal brake to a sudden stop as William jumped and his foot slammed all the way down on the pedal. Thankfully the vehicle was slow so while it was abrupt it was not of a significant force.

At the same time, a glow started around William as his power kicked on for a moment. William suppressed his surprise and the glow faded away as the small burst of charge William had generated bled off.

The new man was dressed like he was in some old film and he jumped into speaking about a Tarin and Lee and how they were going to be there in a minute. William wondered if those were who they were waiting on? Kealey’s reaction all but confirmed it,

Before their backup arrived Kealey lept into a preparatory speech as William put the XUV in park.

Before long, William could see a group approaching in the mirrors. William rolled down a few windows as they approached. The first to speak seemed to know Ashton and immediately distrusted the man with a firearm.

From there the man, who later identified himself as Tarin, gave a brief rundown of what was ahead. Then Will introduced himself and described his power, followed by Quin doing the same.

Will opened the car door and stepped out before he chimed in, ”I’m William Faraday. I’m an electrical generator.” now out of the vehicle and having taken a step away from it and its electronics William turned on his power. Corona discharge flared to life around him. A purplish glow with various flickering points around him. It was both a show of his power and the first step in his ability to use his power offensively if necessary. As for when and where to go. William would leave that to Kealey. She was the X-Leader in charge. He was nervous and excited but working to keep a neutral face.