Will missed the days when you could channel surf. 

Sure, you could find just about anything you wanted to watch, at any time, starting from wherever you wanted these days. Wouldn't even cost anything, if you were willing to risk venturing into some sketchy looking websites and deal with fuzzy looking video and questionable audio quality. But scrolling aimlessly through lists of shows on some quasi-legal streaming website, or past the various categories of shows on Binge and the like just wasn't the same. You weren't hit with the second or two of whatever was playing on the channel out of the blue. You didn't wind up getting caught up in something you would have never started watching, except some small bit of it caught your eye. You couldn't wind up cycling through the whole bank of channels 2 or 3 times, watching nothing while your brain just processed things in the background. 

With a defeated sigh he gave up on trying to find anything that would be actively interesting and clicked over to a stream on Fidgit.tv, some streamer he had followed some months on a whim was playing a game Will was halfway interested in and he let the noise of the game and commentary try and distract him while the rest of his brain whirled. 

Will was bored. Well, not exactly. He -was- bored, but more he was... listless? Anxious? Not anxious, but... something, anyway. 

How did one be involved in stopping a world ending threat and then just go back to day-to-day life, anyway? It had been weeks, and the whole thing sometimes felt like a half remembered dream, but there was absolutely no denying that it had happened. Since then, he had found himself oscillating between exhausted gratitude that he'd somehow made it out of the whole crazy situations and restless, directionless boredom. 

Kind of soured him on museums too. Hopefully that wouldn't last, he'd rather liked strolling through places like that.

Will turned the volume up a few notches on his laptop, hoping to drown out the half formed thoughts in his head as well as the sounds of footsteps in the apartments above him. Maybe he was just cranky because it was getting colder, made it harder to get a good run in without being uncomfortable. Which meant he tending to slack on it. Which meant he tended to be a bit more sensitive to his lead footed upstairs neighbours. 

Bah. He could probably use some fresh air regardless. It was already late afternoon and Will had been cooped up the entire time. A day off was nice, but he'd barely dragged himself out of bed in the hours that he'd been up. Too restless to focus, too directionless to do anything with it. 

He took a few minutes to get himself together. Put on some socks, a sweater. Comb his fingers through his hair so it looked a little less like he'd been laying about for the last couple hours. Will was just about to grab his wallet when the cellphone on his bed chirped out a blatantly electronic little bleep. A text. Scooping up the phone, he noticed right away it was an unrecognized number. Alright, what dumb scam was it this time?

Unlocking the phone with a few quick thumb taps, he pulled up the message, the expression of exasperated irritation at having to deal with yet another random spam text fading to one of contemplation and surprise as he started reading. 

If one thing had become clear to Kealey as the events at the Museum had unfolded, it was the fact that she needed to take on a more active role in the X-Men. She’d been informally retired from active duty for years now as she got her fashion line off the ground, but it was pretty much self-sustaining now and she’d already been taking on more work at the Mansion when she’d found out she was pregnant.

That whole thing had put a hold on her taking back a more active role and once Michael had been born Kealey hadn’t one much of anything other than wander around in a haze of baby emotions for four months. Now, with Michael passing the six month mark, things were getting much easier. The attack on the city had been a wake-up call and Kealey was once again getting back in the proverbial saddle. The X-Trainees were rough and mentorship was not what it should be.

Numbers weren’t exactly what they should be either and a thought had occurred to the blond one day as she was at the Mansion, waiting to work with a young empath who had moved in several days prior.

Kealey had been surprised when two newcomers had shown up at the Museum with Lee and Tarin. They’d both shown themselves to be more than capable in a tense situation and even if they weren’t ready to sign up for the X-Team, having them somehow connected to The Mansion could only be a good thing.

To that end, Kealey had spent the next little while searching out their information. Lee had been a dead end. Despite the fact that the two had shown up with her and Tarin, Lee had either not had or had not been willing to share either persons information. That had left Kealey no choice but to use other means. Luckily the resources of the X-Men and the Mansion were nearly limitless and after a significant amount of work, the blonde had found herself writing a text. A phone call seemed somehow weird in this scenario, but a text seemed far less threatening.

Hello Will. My name is Kealey Shinbo. We met at the museum a few weeks ago. I’m reaching out on behalf of the Mansion and would love to arrange a time to sit down and talk. I’d be happy to host you at the Mansion, or you’re welcome to choose another location. Please reach back out via text or feel free to call this number if you’re amenable.

Kealey Shinbo?

Will puzzled over the name for a few seconds as he thought back to the blur of a day that had been his experience at the museum. Lee and Quin, he knew by name for certain, but most of the rest he'd mostly filled in in his head with nicknames or vague descriptions. This definitely wasn't "Fred". The texting mannerisms alone told him that much, and Will doubted a polite invitation was that person's style. It wasn't Other Will either, because... well, he remembered that name. 

Who did that leave? The guy all up in riot gear. The ghost summoning person that had been with Lee. And the X-Lady. Ah. Right, that was probably the ticket, considering the contents of the text. 

Will read the text a second time. Now that he could put a face to the words and actually focus on what was being asked, rather than just skimming them while the rest of his brain tried to scramble for details. 

Met at the museum. Reaching out on behalf of the mansion. (No, wait "The Mansion". Capitals. Definitive article.)  Sit down and talk. Reach back out.

Will was suddenly glad he'd spent the last few hours in a lazy daze, as the aimless anxiety suddenly had something to focus on. What could someone from The Mansion even want to talk to him about? And how had she managed to get his number anyway? Will was positive he hadn't given it out, and he'd come away from the day with his phone. Maybe Kealey knew Quin? Not likely. Lee then? That... Seemed possible? Will would have thought Lee wouldn't be the type to give out information like that, but maybe this was something serious? Or did Other Will hack his phone with some kind of electricity shenanigans? 

Had he broken some kind of rule, or law, or some sort of weird mutant etiquette thing that he wasn't aware of? Some sort of behavior during the whole... event? Event sounded about right for a PG title of the day. Will would choose other words, mostly. 

Wait. Why was he going immediately to something he'd done wrong? Will read the words a third time. Nothing sounded accusatory. And if it had really been an issue, something would have been said at the time, right? Or much sooner than this. Probably just some kind of legal type stuff that had to be done because he'd gotten all tangled up in things. Right? That made... sense? Something about vigilantism and civilian endangerment... He thought he could half-remember some things he'd asked Quin about how that all worked sometime in between the trouble that had gone down at the museum and now. 

His worries under control, though not completely squashed, Will started to craft a reply, got a few words in, cursed and threw his phone down onto his bed with a noiseless thump. 

A few minutes later, armed with a coffee and a stack of cheap, store-brand shortbread cookies, he was sat on the edge of his bed, typing out a response with the assistance of sugar and caffeine. 

>> Oh hey yeah. The one with the other will right? Dont really know what you need but cant say i dont owe you one. Mansion sounds fine and im free evenings except on weekends. This urgent?

Alright. So maybe it was less for assistance and more just an excuse to snack.

A response didn’t come immediately. Kealey hadn’t really expected it to and she was more than happy to be patient. Kealey was also prepared to never get an answer. Unsolicited, personal texts from the paramilitary organization based in your town weren’t often met with much excitement. This had been a proverbial shot in the dark and Kealey was fine setting the pieces into motion and leaving the rest for Heaven to sort.

Looking back to the laptop where Kealey was meticulously researching childcare that could work around the schedule that Mansion would require if she took on a more active role again had been the prevalent task on her mind. Shin was good at many many wide and varied things, detailed research into the seemingly thousands of childcare options in the city was not one of those things. A Nanny situation would probably be the easiest, Kealey knew, but that involved bringing yet another person into their sphere and she was already overwhelmed often enough as it was.

The text notification on the blonde’s phone pinged and she picked up the phone to see that the return text had come quite a bit faster than she had thought it might and a wide smile spread across the blonde’s features as she read the words on the screen.

It seemed that Will was amenable to meeting. He was open in the evenings unless it was a weekend and that suited Kealey just fine. Barring an emergency, coordinating with Shin so she didn’t have to bring the baby would be as simple as sending him a text when she was done here.

That decided, the blond started tapping away with her thumbs.

Yes, that’s the one. It’s not an urgent matter but I most definitely think it’s the other way around as far as owing one is concerned. We greatly appreciated your help in that situation. Thursday around 6:00? I will let security at the gate know to expect you then and I will meet you at the doors.

Pleased with herself for her successful communication and glancing at the clock to see that her practice session with the student empath was about to start, Kealey pocketed her phone and headed towards the library where they’d chosen to meet.

Will had managed to crunch his way through the stack of cookies (being careful to lean forward to avoid crumbs in the bed), and most of the coffee in the short time between sending his text and getting one back in response. It probably didn't help Will's nerves to be slugging back caffeine like it was water, but he also wasn't about to stop drinking coffee. 

Apparently it wasn't urgent. But he noted she was also pretty quick to offer a time. Maybe she was just organized though. Would make sense for someone who had to take charge of things to be a bit meticulous. Or maybe she had people that did that? IT's not like he knew her exact... What, rank? Standing? Title? For all he knew, he'd been risking his life along side one of the people at the top of the charts in the X Organization. Then again, it wasn't like she'd swept in with an army.

He was getting distracted again. Focus Will. Not urgent, but a time and place had been set. She was also politely deflecting the thanks back to him as well. No open talk about what had happened either. Well, the inner details of everything that had gone down were probably some amount of a secret. Probably what this was all about. Paperwork to make sure he didn't say anything, or maybe giving him the details on what he could say. Though honestly, it seemed a bit late for all that? Will could have blanketed social media with eye-witness details by now. Gotten 15 minutes of fame. Maybe. 

Well, whatever it was, he'd know more Thursday. Little point in trying to figure out what -might- be. If it was that important, they wouldn't have waited this long. Pondering the date briefly, Will didn't think he had anything on his calendar for the next while, so quickly tapped back a reply.

>> sounds good. Be there thursday. chheers.

He sent it before he could talk himself out of it. Or proof read it. Will looked at the short message, made a face and dropped the phone back atop the comforter beside him. Raising the mug, he realized he'd already powered through the contents without realizing it. 

So then. That was that. His already tepid desire to go out had been extinguished by the distraction... but at least it gave his nerves something new to gnaw at while he set a reminder and alarm on his phone for Thursday. Be awkward to miss an invitation like that, for sure. 

It was a while before Kealey had the time to check the response to her message. When she did, Kealey desperately wished she could read emotions over text. There was a typo and some improper capitalizations, but in this day and age that didn’t mean much.

Kealey hadn’t responded. The date was set and too much communication was pretty much as bad as too little. Besides, Kealey vastly preferred in-person interactions where she could gauge the situation as it progressed. There would be plenty of time for conversation on Thursday.

Still…Kealey wished she knew how Will had felt about her reaching out. Was he eager? Apprehensive? Absolutely freaked out that she’d managed to get ahold of his number? All of those things were possible, but would not be clear until Thursday so Kealey did her best to put it out of her mind.

The week had passed as most weeks did and when Thursday rolled around, Kealey had found herself eager to formally meet this new person. Kealey had assumed that, like most, Will would be excited or at the least curious to get to see the Mansion. For safety reasons, it was closed to the public and most people went their whole lives without seeing inside. Going off of rumors tended to exaggerate the place, but it was still impressive at first sight.

Kealey’s goal tonight was to make a connection and find out more about Will. The fact that he’d been willing, if not necessarily eager, to help that day in the Museum boded well, as did his association with Lee. That association had turned out to be rather brief, and when it had become obvious she was curious in an X-Man capacity, Kealey’s friend had become rather tight-lipped on the subject. That was a problem for another day though. Lee’s faith in the X-team was rather non-existent despite the fact that her son was studying at the Mansion.

It was Thursday evening, as arranged though, and as Kealey noted the time she made her way from the Library and through the school to the entryway of the Mansion. For a Thursday night, the Mansion was rather subdued. The feelings of children and teenagers were always chaotic though and it brought Kealey back to a time where some days it had been hard to come out of her room for all the swirling and surging emotions that had been present. Things were easier now, but Kealey also spent less time in environments like this and realized that if she was going to become more active again, she needed to reacclimate herself to busy environments.

A few moments before the appointed time, Kealey pulled the large front door open and made her way outside to wait. The weather was starting to turn and it was chilly, but the blonde didn’t mind, she was focused on looking for a new set of emotions so she could set the proper tone for this meeting.

The rest of Will's week had passed in a bit of a blur, the lingering restlessness from the events of the museum combining with the gnawing anxiety of the upcoming meeting making it impossible to focus on much more than getting through the day-by-day. In the first week or two following the events at the museum, he'd fallen back into some bad habits. Sleeping little. Obsessing over the attacks that had occurred beforehand, scouring the internet for clips and footage and fixating on all the different accounts from people, real and fake both. It was a lot like he'd been following the riots back when he was in high school. As though knowing more would somehow make it make sense, or help him process, even if he knew it was more like picking at a scab.

Luckily, unlike back then, he wasn't alone in it this time. Some talks with friends and people who could relate got him out of his own head and gave him an outlet. Still, Will was hardly at 100% and adding another thing to worry about had set him back to trawling the internet for what might be in store for him. Searches for vigilant law, temporary deputizing and all sorts of emergency response type things had brought up either unsatisfying answers or documents hundreds of pages thick and written in legal wording so intensely it may as well have been an entirely different language. 

Probably wasn't something that exactly fit the situation they'd be in anyway. 

As such, Thursday was here and Will had no answers and only a vague idea of questions beyond the obvious "Why am I here?". 

Stepping out of a well kept compact car, Will thanked his Ryde driver and tugged his jacket a bit more snugly around him, the cool air a sharp contrast to the temperature controlled vehicle he'd just been in. The man took a few moments to peer at the building ahead. The Mansion. It was something that showed up on a lot of pamphlets, pictures, splashed across headlines and the like, but not something he'd seen in person, short of maybe a half second glimpse through a car window. He could feel nervousness bubbling in the pit of his stomach. Felt a little like a job interview, though if that was the case he was a bit underdressed, sticking to a comfortable outfit of jeans, t-shirt and a hoodie, with a jacket thrown atop it all to cut the November wind. 

There was excitement too, at getting the chance to see inside this place. There were rumors abound about it, of course, and it was hard to know what was true and what wasn't. Though that was contrasted with a of trepidation, of vulnerability, Will feeling as though by crossing the threshold of the grounds here he'd somehow by announcing to the world he was a mutant, painting a target on his back. He had to stop himself from looking over his shoulder, seeing if anyone was watching him. 

Right then, customer service face. 

Striding up to the front, Will approached the manned booth with one hand stuffed in the pocket of his jacket to protect his fingers from the cold. "Hey there," he called once he caught the eye of the person who was sitting inside. "I've got an appointment with a Kealey Shinbo? Should be Will on there, maybe William? Six a'clock?" 

The guards at the gate had been given explicit instructions that when Will arrived he was to be let in with no questions asked. There was absolutely no reason to overwhelm the poor man and make things needlessly difficult.

It was nearly six o’clock now and Kealey stayed right where she was, waiting for the arrival.

It wasn’t a terribly long time before Kealey could feel a jumble of emotions approaching from the direction of the gate. Unless there were multiple people approaching, Will was feeling lots of things and Kealey suddenly felt bad for not saying more when she had sent the initial text.

As soon as Kealey could see her guest, she made her way down the stairs, curls bouncing around her shoulders to meet her guest as much of halfway as possible. The intention here hadn’t been to intimidate or impress, simply to provide an open invitation to a place that didn’t necessarily hand them out with candy. That had backfired a bit though and it made Kealey positively itch to make things a little easier.

She didn’t though. Kealey had learned a very long time ago that playing with the emotions of others when not invited or necessary could have unintended consequences. It was also a terrible way to earn trust.

”Hello Will!” Kealey said on approach, ”It is just Will, right?” She said, Irish accent lilting slightly here and there. Hopefully she’d gotten Will’s name right, that was how everyone had referred to him on the day, so Kealey had assumed.

Because Kealey had worn flats today, Will was taller than she was (as was almost everyone) and dressed casually. Good, Kealey was dressed down too in a simple sweater from her fall line and jeans.

”I don’t think we were ever properly introduced. I’m Kealey, welcome to the Mansion.” she said, offering a hand to shake before pausing for a moment, her head tilted slightly as she studied the younger man in front of her, ”I’m sorry if my invitation made you nervous or uncomfortable. It wasn’t my intention at all. I was impressed by you at the Museum and simply wondered if you’d like to know more about the Mansion.”

Seeing Kealey stride down to meet him in casual clothes, as opposed to the X-Uniform the other day made Will mentally falter for a half second. Certainly the day he'd met Kealey, she was the second scariest person on the scene... At least the second scariest on their side. But without the uniform and the serious situation, Kealey seemed a lot less... Scary? Threatening? Imposing. That was the word. (What was it with short, intimidating women showing up in his life lately?)

It wasn't so shocking that Will stumbled or lost his stride, but it did help smooth the raw edge of his nerves. He supposed he didn't expect her to be in the uniform 24/7 - but he also didn't have another mental image to work off of. And meeting up with short, professionally cheerful woman in a sweater and jeans, rather than a uniformed member of the X-Men was certainly less stressful, even if it didn't change the facts of who he was meeting. Brains were funny like that. 

"Yeah, just Will." The man confirmed with a nod and a smile, listening intently as Kealey introduced herself and apologized if she had made him uncomfortable at all with the invitation. She had, but, Will didn't think he was showing it. He was pretty good at keeping that sort of thing off of his face. Good guess maybe? Or just something that got said, most people would probably be a bit nervous here. Kealey went on to explain that Will had impressed her at the Museum and that he'd been invited to see if he wanted to know more about The Mansion. 

Will could feel conflicting pride and incredulousness at the praise. He'd only been following other people's orders or acting on blind instinct at the Museum. Part of him was still wondering how he'd made it out in tact, so to hear someone telling him he'd done well was difficult to digest. And, this was just a... friendly invitation? Will was suspicious about that. The tone on the texts had been awfully professional. But she -was- representing the place as a whole, and maybe she just a bit prim and proper?

"And nah, didn't bother me any with the invite." Will lied, accepting Kealey's outstretched hand in a quick handshake, pulling back to stuff both hands now into his jacket, trying to present his body language as casual and relaxed as he could. "Just a surprise, yeah?" Will paused, peering past Kealey a moment to take a look around, curious and admittedly a bit excited, but also using the moment to collect his thoughts. "Can't say I'm not curious, at least. Lotta rumors, be neat to know which ones are true."

Coming down the steps had been the right move, Kealey decided as some of the previous nerves seemed to be calming as proper introductions were made. There was security in knowing who you were dealing with and just because they were meeting at the Mansion didn’t mean that they had to keep things formal.

No, in fact, Kealey much preferred that things say casual and relaxed. Despite the fact that she hadn’t had too much trouble with her power over the last few years, it still helped her think and keep things straight when the people around her were calm and regulated.

Calm wasn’t quite the word that Kealey would have used to describe Will at this point, but he definitely wasn’t panicked. A point in his favor.

When she complimented his actions at the Museum, Will appreciated the sentiment and Kealey couldn’t help but smile. It was good to know that he wasn’t too aloof to acknowledge his own accomplishments.

He was also a very good liar.

Most people probably would have missed it, but the easy smile and easy handshake and casual posture were hiding far more complicated emotions that Will didn’t want to show. He also must not have remembered what she could do and Kealey wondered for a moment if she should reveal it or not.

Maybe not right away, she decided as Will acknowledged that he had been surprised by her text. ”I’d imagine so. It isn’t every day an almost complete stranger texts you out of the blue on a number you didn’t give out. I apologize for that as well. I tried more conventional means of getting ahold of you, but my only options were not very forthcoming with your contact information.”

And Will was curious about the Mansion. Turning to survey it and letting Will’s emotions wash over her as she looked, it was kind of like seeing it for the first time so many years ago. Kealey could still remember it like it was yesterday, floating down into the gardens on a pink tortilla chip the day after Shin had saved her from that psychopath Roland.

Now was not the time to reminisce though and as Will pointed out that there were lots of rumors, Kealey could help but laugh a little. ”A fair number of them are probably true.” she said, moving back towards the stairs and indicating that Will should follow.

It wasn’t long before they were standing in the entryway. It looked like any old Mansion would be expected to look. There was a chandelier and two sweeping staircases on either side of the entrance facing wall. There were hallways adjacent and a lot of wood tones.

”More than anything though, we’re a school, and a safe place for children and adults who are learning how to exist in a world that isn’t always ready for what they can do.” she explained. ”Do you have any questions to start? Is there anything you’ve heard about that you’d want to see? Or should I start to pry?” she asked directly as they stood there.

As Kealey empathized with and apologized to Will about texting him out of the blue, part of what she said cut through his curiosity as he was peering about The Mansion's grounds and the exterior of the building. She said that she'd tried conventional methods and that they hadn't worked. That the options she'd initially tried weren't very forthcoming with the information. What that meant didn't click fully in his head right away, but there was a nagging suspicion that started to creep up in the back of his mind, feeding the trepidation from earlier. 

It wasn't enough though, to make him worry, just wonder, as he was guided forward into The Mansion proper. Impressive looking foyer. (This -was- a foyer, right?) It felt vaguely familiar, though he wasn't sure if that was because he'd seen a shot of it from some headline or somewhere online, or if it was just because it looked like your run-of-the-mill entrance to a place this fancy. Double staircase. Lots of warm wood. Even to his enhanced senses, it all seemed positively mundane at first glance. Fancy, sure, but if he hadn't known this place by reputation, there would be nothing that would tip him off. 

Kealey continued, and the next bit sounded a bit more like a practiced line. Something that would be said to nervous people walking through the doors the first time. People like him, or maybe to parents of younger mutants. That this place was a school first, meant to help people exist in a world that might be hard for them to navigate, or a world that might not be ready for them. 

Yeah, the world had a tendency to dig it's heels in and resist anything that wasn't exactly like the way it was before, didn't it? 

Still, it eased the tension of the 'interview' vibe he'd gotten earlier. Kealey's casual dress helping with that too. It was a lot harder to feel too uptight when everyone was in sweaters and casual denim. "Honestly, wouldn't know much of where to start askin'." Will admitted with a shrug, curiously peering about the room before settling back on the shorter woman. Well, he -could- ask how often the X-Men needed to pull in civilians to help with threats, but... that seemed rude. "I mean, I've read the pamphlets and the pitch on the website and all... Stuff people post on Seenit, though, y'know. Grain of salt with that." 

Will nerves were easing, bit by bit, or at least being pushed down in favor of curiosity and excitement. It wasn't as though he hadn't thought about running off here when he was younger in hopes of getting help, but his anxieties and paranoia kept him from doing so. "So, y'can assume I know the general vibe. And y'can pry, I'll answer what I can." It didn't meant to be said aloud that the 'can' in that sentence really meant 'want'.

As time went on, Will seemed to be relaxing a bit. That was excellent news and Kealey decided to give herself a bit of leniency towards her earlier faux pas. In the future when she reached out, unsolicited, to try and speak to folks she would be more forthcoming with why she wanted to meet. It wouldn’t do to make people an absolute wreck before they’d ever set foot in the Mansion.

Inside now, Kealey once again found herself nostalgic at the excitement and curiosity that the entryway was inspiring. At one point all of this had been new and exciting to her too. At another point it had become work. Now…now it was getting exciting again. A new opportunity, with new recruits and trainees that needed mentoring.

Will spoke and Kealey blinked slightly as she looked over at him, slowly pulling from her train of thought and back to the conversation at hand. She was going to have to pay more attention and stop being so easily distractible or this meeting was going to go as poorly as the invitation had.

”Oh my gosh, I don’t even know the last time anyone edited the website. I can only imagine the things it says…” Kealey said with a small smile and a shake of her head.

Social media? The blonde stayed away from it as much as humanly possible, but she couldn’t only imagine the things they said.

”You’ll have to fill me in on the newest social media rumors. My husband and I had a baby about 8 months ago and I’m only just starting to catch up with the world.”

It seemed that Will was happy enough for her to begin asking questions, even if he seemed cautious to do so.

Kealey nodded, “We can talk in my office.” she said, turning and leading the way down one of the corridors. This direction led to the more administrative side of the Mansion and “Kealey’s office” was actually a shared space that various people in the Mansion used when they were doing administrative duties. Gone was the time when Kealey had held the official position of librarian and had a real office to call her own.

Once they were in the room, Kealey gestured at one of the chairs on the front side of the desk. ”Can I offer you some water…or soda…or hours old terrible coffee?” she asked as her fist set of questions.

"Homepage does look a lil' web 2.0, honestly." Will chuckled as Kealey commented on the website that provided some information on The Mansion. Will hadn't gotten a lot from it, little more than what you'd expect an out of date school website. Suppose keeping a webpage polished and up-to-date wasn't quite as much of a priority as stopping world ending threats. Who would have thought?

Some of the tension Will had been carrying ebbed further as he was led through the surprisingly ordinary halls, and he could feel the bunched muscles in his shoulders finally allowed to relax. It made sense, this place -was-, in the end, just a school after all, but with all the rumors about this place and the aura of mystique and grandeur about it, he'd almost have expected the walls and doors to be made of polished chrome, like some high tech, futuristic space station. Or else see kids and teachers flying about, wild displays of mutant powers thrown everywhere. Instead, it was like being given a tour of a nice, but mundane building. Haven had seemed a lot more impressive when he'd been there for his brief stay. 

Maybe Kealey had arranged for things to be a bit more subdued for his coming here? Or maybe a lot of the stories were wildly overblown. Could be a bit of both, too. 

"Eh, social media says an awful lot of nonsense. Mostly people sayin' they go here or did go here is what I was readin'. Get everythin' from obvious lies that you're kidnappin' or buildin' a secret army, to some crazy stuff like fightin' holograms, to people just ventin' about juggling exams and power trainin'."  Will took the offered seat, only having to consider Kealey's offers of drinks for a moment. He could smell how burnt the coffee was from here, and he doubted it had been a particularly great batch to begin with.

Will was a little surprised to hear Kealey offhanded mention her family. On some level he knew that every member of the X-Men and The Mansion was just a regular person under it all, but it was still odd to think about the person behind the uniform. Humanizing. (Or would it be mutantizing? Hm. Shame he wasn't a linguist.) She had a husband and a baby. The kid less than a year old too. And even so, she was out on the front lines, risking her life? Jeez, her partner must wind up half crazy with worry every time she had to suit up on X business.

"Water'd be great." He answered, shrugging his way out of his jacket and leaving it to hang over the back of the chair he was sat in, tugging at and smoothing out the sleeves of his hoodie that had gotten bunched up beneath the outerwear. "How long y'been doin' this then, if y'don't mind me askin'?" Will said, leaning forward a bit in his seat, evidently finding a question to ask in spite of what he'd said earlier.

Will seemed amenable to sharing the stories from social media and Kealey listened intently. Enrollment at the school was relatively small, so the chances of A LOT of people sharing stories online were probably wildly exaggerated.

Still. Some of the things Will said did ring true and Kealey laughed, ”Things would be much easier if we could build a secret army…I can tell you that much. We are honestly stretched a bit thin at the moment as I’m sure you realized at the Museum. My husband and the other active full members of the team were dealing with the summoned King while we were at the Museum.” the laugh had faded from her voice by the end of that admission and she shook her head slightly before she smiled again.

“The holograms are true though, as are the more mundane things you mentioned.” They didn’t really keep the danger room a secret. It was a useful tool for students to train their powers. It was hard to hurt a hologram and the room itself could handle a lot before things were truly dangerous.

As Will relaxed, Kealey took a deep breath herself and nodded as he asked for water. That was the simplest of the options and she moved to grab a bottle from the small fridge in the office and offer it to Will as she sat in the other seat on this side of the desk as opposed to the one on the other side.

Will had a question of his own and it was only fair that she be willing to answer, even if the question was a bit of a shot to the ego. “I came to stay in the Mansion in twenty-ten.” she admitted, ”I’d come to the States a couple of years before…” That was a long story.

”I got mixed up in some trouble and a friend of mine here at the Mansion helped me and then helped me get set up to live here for a while.”

Kealey paused for a moment, making sure that the facts were straight in her head before she continued, ”I’m not sure exactly when I officially joined the X-Team, but it was probably around twenty-twelve. I’ve never been a terribly active field member. My powers don’t lend themselves very well to active combat, but I’ve led teams off and on in the time between and mentored a fair number of students and team members. I retired from active duty a few years ago after I graduated from fashion school and started up my own line. I was just getting ready to step back into duty when we found out about Michael so I put those plans on hold until now. The Museum was my first day back on the job.”

Kealey didn’t mind sharing, especially not when it helped dispel the misconception that somehow the X-Men were untouchable. They were just people with lives and, sometimes, other jobs who were just doing their best to keep everyone safe.

“What else do you want to know?”

Her husband had been part of the team that had been fighting the King? Dang. Will had to quickly mentally adjust his earlier thoughts on the dynamic Kealey and her partner had. Maybe it was less one sitting at home fretting, and closer to the family that saves the world together, stays together. 'Other full members' implied that Kealey's husband was a costume wearing full fledged X as well. 

Will couldn't linger too long on that information though, as Kealey explained that the holograms were real. Will was taken a bit by surprise on that one. While there had been a lot of rumors about that particular bit, it had sounded a bit far fetched. Must be some pretty cutting edge tech. He did have to wonder why it hadn't made it's way outside of The Mansion, but... maybe it had and he just hadn't noticed? Or else be prohibitively complex. Must be a heck of a patent on that thing. 

Happily, he had a bottle of water to fidget with as he stewed on that, and listened as Kealey answered his question. She'd ended up at The Mansion over a decade ago, 2010. She'd been in the States a few years before that. Trouble happened (when didn't it?) and she wound up here. Will had to wonder how many other people at The Mansion had a story like that. It was tough getting a straight story from rumors. Half of what Will had heard seemed to say that The Mansion was some kind of highly exclusive, hyper selective organization, while the other half seemed to talk about the place like it was scooping up every lost and lonely mutant like an overzealous foster home. Likely, the truth was somewhere in the middle, but, if he was really interested, this would be the time to ask.

Will waited though, seeing Kealey was still sharing, opting instead to take a drink from the bottle of water he'd been offered. Kept his hands and mind busy without blatantly fidgeting with the bottle or cap. Shame he couldn't turn it into a stress ball like someone else he knew. 

Kealey had ended up being a uniformed member of the team in 2012? Two years after landing on the front step of The Mansion? That seemed... quick. Maybe? Will's sense of time and urgency might be skewed, given his predisposition towards caution and shying away from danger, but still. Two years from unaffiliated to slugging it on the front lines. And she'd been doing it for over a decade now? It reminded him of something Lee had told him the first time they'd run into each other. That The Mansion would happily help kids, but with older mutants, there might be certain suggestions, some amount of pressure to join up with the X-Team proper. 

She did though, say she wasn't very active on the front lines. Powers didn't line up well for that sort of thing. What -did- she do again? Will had either missed that part at the Museum, or had forgotten entirely. He didn't remember her doing anything flashy, or any sort of super strength or speed type thing. Something more subtle then? 

Will listened as best he could while his mind fussed at the details of what was being said, matching against the rumors and bits of information he already knew, his curiosity and vague suspicions causing him to fidget as much mentally as physically, and it took him a moment to realize the last thing that Kealey had said was a question directed at him. 

"Oh? Well," Will tried to buy a few fractions of a second to get his feet back under him. He -did- have questions, at the very least he wonder what it was Kealey could do, but that seemed a bit direct. Probably rude, right? Here he had the chance to ask about the inner workings of a place like this, and all that came to mind was gossip and personal inquiries. Or snippy jabs that weren't fair. He should have prepared notes. "Is there like any one big head honcho in charge here, or like... funding the place?"