Nathan walked into the Danger Room. He was looking for Neena. He had made his decision and he was ready to become and X-Man. Or at least attempt to become one. His date with Ali only solidified his intentions. It was only a couple of days after their date.

He looked around, unsure if she was there or not. He called out hesitantly. "Neena, are you there?"

Neena, are you there?"

"Hmm?" Neena glanced up from the computer console. Nathan had managed to find her in one of her rarest moments: She was awake. Not only that, she was typing!

Well, sort of.... She had her hands poised over a QWERTY keyboard, in an attempt to type properly. Her progress was.... slow. And that made the youth's appearance quite a welcome distraction.

"Hiya Nathan. How's it going?"

"I'm doing fine. How are you?"

Nathan noticed that Neena was at a computer console working on something. He hoped he wasn't interrupting anything. Nathan felt anxious about what he was going to say. He really didn't want to say the wrong thing.

"Sorry for barging in on you like this. I wanted to ask you about joining the X-Men."

"Sorry for barging in on you like this. I wanted to ask you about joining the X-Men."

"No worries, m'friend. Your interruption is most appreciated, actually." Neena smiled as she pushed her chair away from the keyboard. "Whoever said technology makes life easier, obviously never used a computer."

She tilted her head, preparing for her usual 'dancing' act that often drove new recruits a bit batty. "So, the Xmen, eh? Why would you want to join them?"

Ali Wanted to talk to Neena about something. After seeing some of the stuff Nathan could do she wanted to discuss the possibility of having him checked out to be an X-Man. She didn't know all his abilities but she was sure he would be a good one to help out.

It took some searching and asking a couple of the other residents if they had seen Neena, but she finally tracked the woman down to the Danger Room. Neena was always busy doing something. So who knows what she was doing in the Danger Room. Ali picked up the hint that Neena wasn't computer friendly so Ali could only imagine what Neena was doing.

"Hey Nee..."

What's Nathan doing here?

"Umm...hey Nathan. What's going on?"

Nathan was about to give an answer to Neena when Ali came into the Danger Room. He was surprised to see her to say the least. He had wanted to try and keep this quiet until he actually became an X-Man. That way if he didn't, it would save the embarrassment. He was then remind of the saying, the plans of mice and men often go awry.

"Hey, Ali. I was just down here talking to Neena about joining the X-Men."

Nathan then turned and addressed Neena. "I want to help out. And I think that I am able to. I think that I can make a difference."

Neena turned toward the door as Ali entered, apparently intending on asking her something. But she paused upon seeing Nathan. Neena watched the awkward exchange curiously. She'd seen the two together a couple of nights earlier, but not since then.

"Hey, Ali. I was just down here talking to Neena about joining the X-Men." He turned back to her. "I want to help out. And I think that I am able to. I think that I can make a difference."

Neena nodded. "I'm glad to hear you feel that way. I think we can do something about that."

Then she turned to Ali. "What about you, m'friend? Did you need something, too?" With Ali already on the team, Neena wondered what had brought her searching her way.

A look of shock practically slapped itself onto Ali's face. He's here to talk about joining the X-Men? When was he going to tell me? The woman quickly threw up a cheezy smile and scratched at an imaginary itch on the back of her head.

"Well, actually...I was gonna talk to you about the same thing Nathan just said. I don't know the extent of his abilities but he is a good guy."

Nathan caught the look that came across Ali's face. He instantly felt the guilt of not telling her what he was doing. He was glad she covered it up quickly. Nathan knew that he was going to have to talk to Ali after this was over and done with.

He caught Ali's stress on "is" when she spoke. Yeah, he was definitely going to have to talk to her and most likely apologize as well.

"So, what exactly are you going to have me do?"

"Well, actually...I was gonna talk to you about the same thing Nathan just said. I don't know the extent of his abilities but he is a good guy."

Neena chuckled. "Ah, so you're double-teaming me, eh? Well, I guess I can work with that."

"So, what exactly are you going to have me do?"

She leaned back in her chair. "Well, basically I just need to see what you can do. And to know a bit about you as a person." She hadn't been able to see much of how he fought at the breakout, due to her own agenda at the time. But after helping with young Tanya, she had to agree with Ali's assessment.

"What kind of combat experience do you have?" she asked for starters.

Leaning back against the edge of one of the control panels Ali just listened. She figured right now was time for Nathan and Neena to discuss things. If she were to be needed she was there to help.

Nathan smiled a bit when Neena said she wanted to know what kind of person he was. After all, hadn't he helped get Tanya out of the camps with Neena. And then he made sure that Tanya was safe with her before he went off on his errands.

And then Ali was here as well. She could certainly testify that he was a decent person. Well, most of the time anyway. That was before I ran off to do this without talking to her about it first.

"Not much. Only what I got from the duration of the camps. But I have been practiced in martial arts since I was young."

"Not much. Only what I got from the duration of the camps."

Neena made a face, as if she'd smelled something bad. "That wasn't combat training. That was a crash course in survival skills," she snorted.

"But I have been practiced in martial arts since I was young."

She nodded. "Any specific kinds?"

Then, after after that answer, she turned the subject toward his mutation. She stood up, turned her chair backwards, then sat down again with her chin on the chairback.

"Okay, pretend I'm a random stranger on the street. How would you describe your mutation to me, in detail. No show and tell yet," she added, in case he decided it would be easier. That would come next. "Just give it to me in a nutshell."

"No, just the basics really."

Nathan paused as Neena asked another question.

"I'm able to create and manipulate flame. But so far only when it's close to me. I've acquired a fancy for fire swords while using my mutation but as soon as the weapon leaves my hand it dissipates. I'm also able to grow six angelic wings from my back. I can use them for flight and my pyromancing gains power when I am transformed."

Neena listened to his description, trying to place it with any displays she'd seen on the grounds.

She decided to leave the question of other weaknesses until Ali wasn't around. She didn't want to assume that Nathan wouldn't mind her knowing, though she would eventually if they ended up on the same team. Plus, varied forms of pyromancing tended to have the same same general weaknesses, anyway.

When he finished, she nodded and leaned back.

"That's pretty explanatory. Let's take a look at the actual thing." Then she stood, and headed for the stairs that led down to the Danger Room Proper. She motioned for him to follow. At the base of the stairs, she stopped at the mini console and began typing.

"First off, I'd like to see how you fight without your mutation." A figure appeared out of the darkness, a robot that she enjoyed using for basic combat and that she had nicknamed 'Robbie'. The machine's programming allowed him to 'learn' his opponent's actions and reactions, and react accordingly.

"Basically, it a 'first-to-ten-hits-win' fight. Nothing special, really."

However, even as she spoke, Robbie's holoprojectors kicked in, and made itself over to look like Nathan. In essence, he'd be fighting himself.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I watched Star Wars way too much growing up. And now." She grinned, completely unabashed.