((OOC: For the sake of getting everone gathered I'm posting for Nika and Raven Fire in one post))

The day was beautiful, that is if you were laying infront of the window with the sun bathing you in it's warmth. This was Nika's favorite way to relax during her down time in her room or the living room. Her mission with Streak wasn't all that stressful, but what cat would pass up some good sunshine?

The mansion practically echoed with the announcement regarding the mandatory meeting with Tricity and Neena. Ali was just walking in the front door when she heard the news. She had spent part of her day walking the path she took with Nathan a few months ago. She missed him but he had things to take care of. Only time would tell if he came back or not, but she kept up hope that she would see him again. Until that time she would do what she could to keep herself busy.

Ali spotted Nika on the couch in the living room area. The catgirl looked like she was relaxing. She was fairly certain the girl heard the call.

"Let's go lazy tail. Tricity and Neena want us."

Lazy tail? What's with the name calling? Nika sat up and pushed off the couch to join the fire elemental in her route to the War Room.

"Since when are we calling people names Ali?"

"Since I didn't see you movin' your butt. It got your attention didn't it?"

Ali smiled to let Nika know she was only playing with the girl.

A short while later the pair reached the entrance tot he War Room. Nika leapt a half-step in front of Ali making her the first to enter. With a slight glance over her shoulder Nika smiled and stuck out her tongue.

"Slow poke."

Rolling her eyes but still giving a smirk Ali followed right behind Nika as the pair instantly became the current attraction. It was a mix of people known and unknown. Ali never really saw much of Tricity. She had heard about the woman but it's a different perspective in person.

"Sorry if we're late. I had to drag Nika off the couch."

The last statement got a quick look of shock from Nika, but she returned her attention to Tricity and the baby. She was already living in the mansion when the baby was born. Making her way over to Tricity after some brief 'hello's' Nika's attention fell fully on the child.

"He's adorable Tricity. He looks like a happy boy too."

Raina was taken aback a little by the amount of people who had entered the room so far, and even more surprised by the ones she hadn't met yet. As a mansion teacher and a welcome wagon lady she expected to know everyone- especially if they were to be x-men... but she had to admit to herself that she'd been too occupied latley with her own life and wasn't fufilling her proper duties.
She thought to herself that Neena had likely picked up the slack, and she hadn't seen Iris since.. well since what happened.
She started to feel a little overwhelmed and embaressed and mentally promised herself she'd do better especially with Tricity around.

She waved, smiled, said hello, and nodded to anyone she knew as they entered, slowly becoming lost in the sea of bodies.

After Streak's little bloopers arrival he watched the other people show up. Some he knew, some he didn't. Some better than others like Raina and Sam he knew better than Garret and Maya. Some he'd seen around the mansion a few times and others he'd never seen before. There did, however seem to be a good amount of people interested in joining the xmen. It was good that so many non xmen had shown up to join. Shawn noticed that there were still quite a few xmen missing from the meeting.

Ali and Nika had shown up and he'd only been on one mission so far since joining the xmen after the camps. He was glad to see that she'd come, though he figured she would seeing as how she was a full member of the xmen. When Sam showcased his powers Streak could only smile and wink at him. Since neither of them had told Neena about their little free for all in the Danger Room, which aside from being stupid and dangerous was really fun. He stood next to Raina while the young mutants steadily flowed into the War Room. He, of course, wanted to stay near Raina because, since the camps, he'd felt like he should be near her to protect her. Not that she needed protection here, or anywhere really. It was more of his own personal thing like a big brother taking care of a little sister, even though Raina was older than Streak.

Katrina was in her room practicing her oboe when the announcement about the X-men meeting blared over the loud speakers. After the announcement was abruptly cut off, Katrina set her oboe gently on the bed and started toward the door. She wanted to go to the meeting. From the sound of it, on the announcement, anyone was welcome to go who was interested in joining the X-men. Did she want to join? At the last X-men meeting, during which she had not officially been present, they had seemed okay. With the exception of Emerald, who had wanted to allow mutants to get their revenge on humans for the camps, she had mostly agreed with what they had said about protecting others who were weak. She definitely wanted to find out more about how they operated. The problem was that she was probably to young to be welcome at the “open call” meeting. She paused with her hand on the door knob, then went back to sit on her bed.

While she wasn't certain that she would be especially helpful in a fight, there were things she could do to help her friends on the team, she was sure of it. After all, she had helped with the training during the resistance, and that should count for something. Just because the resistance was over, it didn't mean that she had completely gone back to being a normal kid again. Not that any of the students at the mansion were normal kids. It seemed they were all forced to grow up faster than normal.

Growing up faster than normal. That gave Katrina an idea. She stood once more and planted her feet in front of the mirror. She tried to imagine what she'd look like if she were just a few years older. Her eyes would be a little higher up, her nose just a bit longer, and her face would lengthen and narrow. She'd probably grow another few inches, to about 5'4''. Her mother wasn't very tall and she wasn't expecting to outgrow her matriarch. She'd have a more grown up hairstyle, too. Perhaps with bangs.

Katrina surveyed her illusion, which she could see through, but knew that others would see as a solid image of an older Katrina. She frowned at herself through her hazy older self. She still looked too much like herself. Showing up looking miraculously five years older would be about as suspicious as a fake driver's license at a nightclub. Perhaps if she looked like someone new, rather than herself, she could go to the meeting.

She squinted at her reflection and imagined her hair to be brown instead of blonde and short and spiky instead of long. She switched her eye color to a vivid green that reminded her of goths and vampires for some reason. Perhaps she'd even add a few piercings, a beauty mark next to her eye, spiky jewelry to match her spiky hair.

Now she definitely looked like a totally new person. One that had never been at the mansion before that would randomly show up for a meeting out of the blue. That had to be at least as suspicious as an older version of herself, if not more. Katrina sighed. What she really needed was to be older and to be a normal resident of the mansion. It wasn't fair that Calley could go to the meeting if he wanted when he was five years older on the outside, but at least as immature as she was on the inside. Even her own mother could go if she wanted, not that she ever would, since she seemed totally uninterested in the comings and goings of the team that lived with them in the mansion, seemingly content to run the mansion kitchens, feed the troops, and worry over Katrina's well being.

Katrina furrowed her brow. Maybe, just maybe, she could make herself look like her mother in order to go to the meeting. That would be the least suspicious of all, since her mom was both old enough and an established resident of the mansion. In her reflection, the spiky haired girl faded into the willowy form of her Claire Dumonde. The light brown hair had just a few dark silver threads woven in with the rest into the bun on the back of her head and Katrina's own grey eyes felt right at home in her mother face. There were just a few wrinkles starting to form at the corners of her eyes and mouth. At 38 years old, there was no question that she was old enough to attend the meeting now. Sweet.

Katrina gracefully walked toward the door, and swept down the stairs. If she didn't hurry up, everyone would already have arrived. She glided through the hallway, and stopped briefly to examine her reflection in the hallway mirror. She's done a very convincing job. In fact, she could almost see her mother's disapproving and disappointed gaze looking back at her in the reflection. The nervous butterflies coalesced in her stomach to form a solid rock of guilt that weighed her down from the inside.

She couldn't go through with it. Her mom would be way too disappointed when she found out. And chances were, she'd find out soon enough, when random people would come to dinner and ask her what she thought about this or that aspect of the meeting. Katrina sighed, ducked behind the nearest pillar and let her mother's image fade back into nothingness until only a sulky thirteen-year-old remained.

Stupid meeting. Why did it have to be so difficult to go to? The War Room was just down the hall, but it would take her years to get there. The sullen tween shuffled the rest of the way down the hall and slumped against the wall outside the doorway. From her vantage point on the floor, she could see lots of cool people inside, not that she'd ever get to hear what they had to say. The best she'd get was a half description from Calley later, if he was even in there and if he bothered to tell her anything at all. Any moment now, they'd come and shut the door, leaving her alone in the hallway with only too-young-to-count self for company.

Ethan was having a bad couple of days, he still hadn't regained his glowing state but his powers were coming back slowly, he might as well have been called night light at the moment. His glow was unnoticable unless you shut off the lights so he appeared human. He was waxing his surf board in his room and wasn't quite sure what they had ment, being new and all, but decided that it was better then being bored and stuck his head out the door. He wasn't quite sure exactly where to go but decided to make his way where he saw a reasonable amount of people heading.

----------

He showed up inside the War Room trying to be subtle and looked around the room. He saw a few familiar faces like Neena and the ice teen who deactivated his powers and the baldy who caused him to freak in the first place. He walked over to the table and let out a muffled "Hey" Before walking over to stand next to Cold Steel.

'So many new faces,' Tricity thought as an overwhelming amount of people began to show up for the meeting. The saddest thing was, many of the verterans were no where to be seen. 'Lots of young ones... Need to learn everyone's mutations... Is he bowing to me?' Tricity's ears perked up to the familiar sounds of heavy boots. 'Not now... Pleeease, not now.' Too late. There he was, coming through the doorway. Her heart stopped and then her brain reminded her it was a necessay organ, making it start again with a couple of beats skipping and her breath catching in her chest. She was speechless. Her eyes moved from him to the baby and back to him as he leaned down for a kiss. God, he's cheating!! She couldn't let this affect her now, however. Tricity took a deep breath and sighed with a smile. She turned to everyone else in the room and without a hitch, motioned them all to sit down. She'd deal with Orion later...

"It's great to see so many more people willing to join the X-Men. I think it's important that you are all aware of what we do and what joining this team really means. First, we above all things, protect those that can not protect themselves. This includes mutants and humans alike. If this is something you can not agree with, the X-Men are not for you." Tricity took a sip of her coffee, still standing and continuing her speech. "Secondly, our job requires dangerous missions in which people have been hurt... and even killed." A memory flashed through her mind of a young man who sacrificed himself the first time the mansion was destroyed. She pushed it aside and continued. "There are standards and rules everyone must abide to, myself and Neena included. You must be there when called on. We are a team. We need each other's support. Some mutations might be great on a certain mission while others may not. Therefore, some of us may be on the field while others stay to protect the mansion. Our mansion is our home. We have to keep up its defense."

Tricity started walking slowly around the table now, continuing. "I don't know many of you and you don't know me. However, it's important that we trust one another. We'll need a crash course in getting our mutations to work together in greatest effectiveness. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses as individuals and as a unit. If we don't, we're nothing and that's how people are hurt or worse."

She'd made a lap around the group and was back at the head of the table now. "With that said, those that don't think this is the place for them, should leave as I introduce myself." Tricity finally sat down at the head of the table and leaned forward on its top. "Hey," she began casually with a smirk and a wave. "My name is Delilah Rose Tipper. I'm 25 years old and I'm a New York native. My mutation surfaced when I was quite young and has evolved since. I have the ability to control any source of electrical power. Cars... machinery... lights... appliances." The lights and computer screens flickered at that. "I've become lazy since and mentally use objects a lot."

"I always have some sort of electrical current running through my body since most of us can't walk very far without some form technologial piece of something or other close by. I can pull the energy of the current from my body and create a small electrical ball in my hands." Tricity extended her hand and brought the current out, creating a blue, spinning, and sparking energy mass in her palm. She let is dissipate back inside her once more. "Or..." The room instantly went completely black, making it impossible to see. Suddenly, a bit of blue light started emanating from Tricity until her entire body was brightly glowing. She started hovering from where she stood some five feet off the ground. "With enough of a current, I can make myself... fly, I suppose. Though, not for very long." Sevion started giggling. "My eyes will usually start to turn black with hints of the current sparking from my eyes."

Tricity released the massive current inside her. The computers restarted, the coffee maker and refrigerator came back on, and the lights finally flickered to life once more. "On rare occasions I've been able to produce lightning when outside." More flashbacks. "But that was under extreme conditions and I had practically no control." She leaned forward on the table. "Water and I don't get along too well if I'm using my mutation. As you can see, or smell I should say, I don't stink to high heaven and am able to take showers and swim like anyone else. I just have to release the current that is ever flowing inside me. I have the tendency to lose consciousness if I overuse my mutation. Such as the lightning experiences... I've always lost consciousness. I'll sometimes lose control of the electrical objects that are around me. Not always the best time to be around." She glanced at the Doc Prof and saw him give an internal sigh.

"As most of you I'm sure, I rarely use hand to hand combat and rely on my mutation, but I'm trained in a few arts. I'm best with a bo." Tricity leaned back and smiled. "SO, enough about me. Let's move around the table shall we? Who'd like to start?"

[[K a little note here, when the lights went out Ethan's glow should have been obvious, think glow in the dark stickers times ten]]

Jeramya took note of each voice he heard within the room and attempted to commit each to memory, though it wouldn't be until he looked up from the floor that he'd be able to match a voice to it's owner. He didn't have to wait long as Neena walked to him, introduced him and gave him a light push. He got the idea quickly. Standing he moved off toward the side of the room to be out of the way, but mostly so he'd be able to observe everyone easily.

A man unlike the others walked into the room as if he owned it. 'Perhaps he does.' Jeramya thought, but dismissed the thought quickly as he saw how he acted with Miss Tripper. He never once felt a bit of worry or fear, though a bit of curiosity, yes. Curiosity was something Jeramya had in abundance since 'waking up'. After a few moments of watching the large man, he turned his attention back to Miss Tripper and the room.

It was then that he saw a young girl sitting on the floor in the hallway just outside the door. As quietly as he could he moved toward Neena. Being crouched as he was, as was normal for him, he tapped on the woman's hand. He really hoped she wouldn't be offended. Without saying a word, after getting her attention, he motioned towards the girl.

Just before he moved back to his spot, Miss Tripper began to explain and show her abilities as well as introduce herself. The room went completely black, or nearly. There seemed to be a boy who gave off his own light, soft as it may be, it was enough for Jeramya to adjust his eyes to see. In the old world, working at night with just the stars, the moon and the occasional lamp as light, he had gotten use to seeing in the dark.

As the lights came back on and the appliances began to work once more, Miss Tripper invited those in the room to introduce themselves. Seeing no one standing up to do so, Jeramya stood up nearly to full height so he would be noticed. Giving a curt nod to Miss Tripper.

"My name is Jeramya Olax. My father was a stonecutter and sculptor, I learned much of the trade from him, though not nearly enough to be a master. A 'Journeyman' is what I believe you would refer to my skill as. As Neena," He turned slightly and gave the woman recognition, "Has said already, I'm a 'stone shifter' of sorts." At that he shifted to his burrow form, and then to the 'farmer'. "From what I've pieced together, I'm able to exactly copy any statue or sculpture I see."Taking the pipe from his mouth that always accompanied the farmer form, "Father helped me when I awoke in this land. Though a bit north of here to be accurate. Through our short years, he taught me as best he could about you and your time. As well as help me figure out where and when I was born." Biting down on the pipe with a solid stone on stone click, "As best as we figured, I was born somewhere in Greece roughly five centuries or so ago." Taking a breath. "The last I remember from my time was pulling a burning sword from my shoulder." He moved the farmer's loose shirt to show the scar that was visible even in this form, though it just seemed like a slight discoloration from the rest of his stony gray color.

Jeramya was silent for a few moments. He looked at each and every person in the room, including the young girl in the hall. "From what I've seen of you and your time. You have great and wondrous things here. You're kind and helpful, and most generous. I thank you greatly for allowing me to stay here. I will aid you to the best of my ability." He bowed slightly to the room with a sincere smile on his face before taking his natural form again and crouching on the ground, watching with the unblinking eyes of a Gargoyle.

A few thinks confused Sam as more and more people entered, one of them was the junior alcoholic he met in a New York alleyway when he first came to the city. He seemed to Sam to be okay which was a surprise seeing as from what he remembered he lost the kid when he was running from a few of the feds that were mutants. Those guys were nothing to what he was used to but they did seem to pose quite the problem seeing as one of them was a tracker. Sam tossed a small nod to the kid as he implied that he was glad to see the kid was okay.

Sam’s eyes fell upon the next person who entered the room. Sam smiled as he saw Ghost walk in seeming a little less confident than her normal self. Sam tried to focus on something important he was going to do but lost his train of thought as Ghost nudged him asking him a question.

"Is that yours?" "... he’s creepy."

Sam smiled as he nodded, “You should see the other ones…” Sam’s mind trailed off to the free for all he had with Streak and remembered one of the golems he had little control over. The one with the large sickle defiantly fit the bill as creepy. Sam turned his hand towards the golem as the giant ice statue disappeared with out a trace along with the coffin. He leaned over to ghost and whispered, “Bit nervous?”

Sam heard the sound of the door open as a man with a smoky hand entered and walked over to the head honcho and put his arms on her shoulders rubbing them and then spoke, "Is there a reason everyone is staring at me?" Sam was a little dumb struck, Sam had developed quite a confused look on his face as he looked around the war room trying to see if he was on a hidden camera show. ‘Who is this guy?’ thought Sam as he looked around to find an answer but with no luck, Well if he was important Sam wouldn’t have known because he lost focus of the man after he spoke. After all there were more and more people showing up.

His eyes fell upon the doc and immediately shifted trying not to keep eye contact. He knew that the streak wasn’t going to talk about the free for all but the doc might… he was the one that had to patch Sam up after all, three broken ribs, fractured wrist bruised bones and his favorite a little internal bleeding, Doc Prof was thrilled when he walked in asking to keep the injuries from Neena.

Other than Nika and Sunny, he didn’t really know any one else cause it was a shame when he glanced upon the girl that walked in with Nika, she was pretty cute. “Might have to work on some team work with her sometime,” Muttered Sam as he looked around trying not to seem obvious he was staring. He looked to Sunny he only met twice before and only one of them was a good friendly meeting. Sam patted the giant night light on than back and said, “Glad to see you up and about.”

Sam turned his head to Tricity as she started to speak a little about her self. ’Electricity? Damn’ thought Sam as he had a disappointed look on his face, ‘so she’ll be able to keep me in check to huh? Well as expected of the boss lady.’ As she was wrapping up her speech Sam’s speech dropped a little, there was no way in hell he was going to talk about his past here.

"SO, enough about me. Let's move around the table shall we? Who'd like to start?"

Sam listened to the gargoyle he met once before talk about his life, ‘Damn he mentioned his family, maybe I can get away with not saying anything bout them.’ Thought Sam, as he got ready for his.

Sam figured he’d get it out of the way as he cleared his throat so the attention would be drawn on him. As he was about to speak he decided all together that he wouldn’t mention anything specific about his past, the only thing worth mentioning was when his powers first appeared.

Sam raised his hand and waved to everyone as carefree as some one can be. “My name’s Sam Johnson, but I also go by Cold Steel, my power right now is creating and manipulating ice, usually just use it for defensive purposes but I have been getting a lot better at being offensive with my powers I have my own power radius which is about twenty feet and as far as I know the coldest I can go is -320 degrees. Ummm…” Sam thought for a second about what else he was going to say as his stomach churned as the butterflies started to flap about. Sam covered this with a carefree smile and spoke, “I found out I had these powers when I was about five and after that I have been using them to do what I can to help people,” his smile faded as he began to discuss his major weakness, “not that open bout my weaknesses but if I had to pick one it would probably be electricity,” Sam looked to Tricity smiled and shrugged saying “No offense.” Sam then decided he would end on a joke, “and I like long romantic walks on the beach.” Sam tried to hold back from laughing at his poorly placed joke in this extremely awkward situation hoping that someone would take over and start talking about themselves.

((OOC: So true, Sunshine.))

Tricity listened at the 'old style' Jeramya had when he spoke. Reminded her of Orion. 'Uuuugh...' She realized his voice was fading out as her mind wandered to other thoughts and quickly refocused her attention. 'His mutation is so interesting. Could come in handy for stealth purposes and scouting. Wonder how hard his defense is to break?'

The young man she'd met out on the front yard took the next spotlight. His mutation was obviously helpful in many ways. Tricity winked at Sam. "Well, you and I need to spend a little time together in the Danger Room." She nodded over at the Doc and then back to Sam. "I'll be sure to have him around when that goes down." With a grin Tricity looked around again at the many faces. "Ok, who's next?"

((ooc: There's slight editing on my last post to allow for Luke's entrance; just Calley's phone call and savin' the seat. )

>> "Ok, who's next?"

Calley raised his hand, easily standing from his seat in the same motion. Time for some delicate glossing. Neena was the only one who knew the full extent of his abilities--or the fullest extent he was willing to tell her, anyway. Which was, for the record, fairly full. The rest of the people in this room... most didn't really know him, but a few of them knew him as his old alias: a simple tiger shifter. Yeah.

Yeaaaah...

"Hiya. So, I would be Calley, with the codename of Milieu--which I don't actually answer to very well yet, since I kinda thought of it just on the way here." An awkward cough. The black kitten on his shoulder was grooming the back of one paw, with no trace of the nervousness the eighteen year old was displaying.

"Umm, I used to just introduce myself as a tiger shifter... but I got into a fun situation the other day, and ended up getting rather a large power growth. So, umm..." The teenager turned his eyes up towards the ceiling. Explanations were so... explanatory. A small demonstration, ala Tricity, might be in order. "Err, just a second." He stepped back clear of his chair, and casually let his hands drop loosely to his sides.

In the place where a black kitten and an Italian teen had once stood, there was quite suddenly a teenager whose right hand was burrowed lightly into the hair at the top of a large Bengal tiger's head. His left hand was scratching behind the ears of a tall gray Irish Wolfhound. The kitten was gone from his shoulders, replaced by a sparrow whose feathers brushed against his neck. The more observant members of the team would also notice the small snake curled on his ankle, sliding a few inches out of its hiding spot and onto his bare foot.

"Yeah," he said simply, with a modest shrug. In the next instant, the tiger, wolfhound, and sparrow were gone: the kitten was again on its perch on his shoulder, and the snake again hidden. He slid back into his seat while the kitten's large yellow eyes unblinkingly watched for their reactions. "So, as far as I can tell, I can copy any animal I meet, as long as I concentrate on it; once I've got a form, I can shift into it, though it sometimes takes a few hours to get it working right. And I can pretty much 'splinter' out as many of them as I want--but if I do too many, I'll be out of commission for a few days. And... really sulky. Bascially, it screws up my mind. Not pretty." He gave a shrug-grin towards Neena and out the door towards Kat: they knew. They'd seen him like that. "I can also self-heal, but it's not always... reliable. Umm, other weaknesses... Err, I guess this is the biggie."

He reached up a hand, picked up the kitten by the scruff of its neck, and set it on the table. He dropped his hand away from it, after a shift that would go unnoticed by the rest of the parties at the table, barring some very strange and insightful ability: it was just a bit of vocal chord shifting, and the re-absorption of a snake.

Approximately a half-second after his hand had left the kitten, the teenager's head face-planted against the table with a solid thrack! The kitten turned to address the group, bracing its legs against the table as it arced its small spine into a lazy stretch. "So far, I can only extend my consciousness to one form. The rest are just puppets--if I'm not touching them," the kitten spoke in Calley's voice, with a slight hiss to its words as they moved past its sharp teeth, "then they aren't even breathing. See?" It flicked an ear towards its human form, still face-down on the table. "Not breathing. ...Which probably isn't healthy, actually." A graceful leap landed it back on the shoulder of its human form. The body quite promptly sat back up, coughing slightly.

"So there you have it," the kitten continued, draping itself over the teenager's shoulders again. "...So who's next? Oh, and can we invite Kat in? It's not like this is a secret meeting. What with the loud announcement, and all. And hallway floors have shoddy views."

Luke's plans for the day had changed suddenly when he received a surprising phone call from Calley. While sitting in his condo listening to latest CD from Tim McGraw, the phone had begun to ring. Originally he had been intending a day of relaxing and probably napping at home but as soon as he spoke to Calley his nerves were on high alert and his adrenaline was beginning to pump. The X-Men were meeting... he had spoken with Neena about them several nights before but here was a chance to actually meet the team.

"Thanks for the call Calley." Luke had said quickly before hanging up and moving to get ready. Thankfully he was already dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt... a quick additions of socks, sneakers, black leather jacket, and sunglasses made the ensemble complete.

"Now as long as I don't get pulled over on the way there, I'll be just fine." The 'blind' man muttered to himself as he shoved his wallet in his hip pocket and grabbed the key to the motorcycle he had stored only a few blocks away.

***

Pulling up to the gate Luke pulled off his helmet and set it in his lap as he pressed the intercom button and waited for a response. Apparently someone was monitoring the gate because the response was almost immediate.

"Can I help you?"

"Luke Jacobs... Calley told you to be expecting me."

"You made fast time... super speed?"

Luke shook his head, feeling a little bit of annoyance that he was hear chatting at the gate instead of getting inside to the meeting that was going on. "No... if you pay attention I'm riding a motorcycle. A fast motorcycle. Any chance I can get in now?"

"Oh yeah... come on in." Johnny responded as the gate buzzed and began to swing open.

"Thanks." Luke replied as he twisted the throttle slightly and began to roll in through the gates. A few moments later he parked his motorcycle just to the side of the front stairs and left his helmet sitting on the bike's seat. "Ok... now if I can just find the war room I'll be doing really well." He muttered to himself as he jogged up the stairs and entered through the front door.

With the sunglasses still in place no one would even notice that he was different from anyone else so it was the work of only a minute to ask one of the students walking by where he could find the War Room. Though the young lady didn't know exactly where it was she gave him the general area and that was really all he needed. Moving with the smooth easy gate of an athlete Luke jogged through the hallways, coming to a stop as his radar suddenly picked up a young woman sitting on the floor near the room that he immediately determined must be the war room. For a few moments Luke stood there, listening to the meeting progress.

A young woman was passing the floor to someone else after having apparently already explained her abilities. "I had to miss something important... perfect." Luke thought with exasperation as he listened to someone describe their stone abilities, followed by a young man describing his freezing skills. "Kinda like Raina. Wonder if she's in there." For the moment the blind man was keeping his sonar range tightly in... only extending approximately eight to ten feet so that he wouldn't disturb anyone in the room.

When Calley spoke, Luke just had to smile. He could envision the young man switching back and forth between forms in order to show his abilities to their best use.

"...So who's next? Oh, and can we invite Kat in? It's not like this is a secret meeting. What with the loud announcement, and all. And hallway floors have shoddy views."

"I agree that hallways have bad views and she doesn't seem to be really happy out there." Luke said after he had walked forward with quick strides and appeared in the doorway to the war room. Allowing his sonar to pulse out for one brief second before immediately reining it back in to a range of only four feet, he swiftly identified the people here that he knew.

"Nice to see you again Neena... Ghost... Raina... Calley." The man offered with a smile as he reached up and removed his sunglasses, revealing his eyes to the whole room as he placed the accessory into the left pocket of his leather jacket.

"I'm Luke Jacobs and visually I'm blind. My mutation gives me a sonar that allows me to see in a completely different way than most of you do. I also have enhanced hearing but other than that strength wise and speed wise I'm as good as an advanced athlete or gymnast." He spoke firmly so that everyone in the room could hear as he walked over toward Calley and the open seat he had picked up. While a range of only four feet would be almost useless in combat it was more than enough to guide yourself around a room.

"I'm trained in the art of Bartitsu which gives me a knowledge of mixed martial arts as well as skill with the baton and staff." Taking his seat next to Calley, Luke realized he had to draw his sonar in even closer so that it wouldn't disturb Ghost who was sitting across from them. Concentrating briefly he drew in the sonar to a range of only a foot. "And I'm the new guy here... I live in New York City and help to run my family's security company, Jacobs & Jacobs Security. On most nights I range through the city helping people and taking down criminals. And please... no batman jokes." He finished with a smile that showed he was more than willing to poke fun at himself. "My apologies for being late."

Garrett watched all of the activity as it occurred around him. It was becoming apparent to him in a speedy and somewhat embarrassing fashion that his recovery and subsequent isolation had done nothing but isolate him further. He had alot of work to do. He smiled at Raina, glad to see that she was in better spirits since they had spoken on the steps. Streak came in in quite a fashion, sliding through the the wall and then returning. Garrett found himself envious of those kind of obvious and flashy mutations while still recognizing the quiet storm that were his own. Following Streak's entrance was another mutant whose gift was obvious. Not so flashy though. It was apparently, a gargoyle. A gargoyle.

Watching the man of stone bend to one knee and wait to be spoken to put a faint grin on Garrett's face. It reminded him of nobility and the classical age. He watched Sam come in, who introduced himself as Cold Steel, or Steel. He only briefly glanced at him. Garrett had wanted to be more personable, but the social ramifications of the incident still hung heavy on him like a cloak once the initial bravado wore off. He turned his head as he felt cold behind him, seeing the large ice creature walk from a coffin. an interesting ability to say the least.He was glad one of those hadn't grabbed him that night or he would still be in the Infirmary.A younger teen entered shortly after Sam did. Garrett wasn't sure about him, but could tell that the kid was nervous, which made him feel slightly better. At least he wasn't the only one.

His general unease finally leveled out once Maya entered the room. He actually beamed as much as he was able to in the situation, as he tried to put the past where it was. She wiggled her fingers to him and he looked back at her, firing a wink at her in return. He was glad to see her here, proud in fact. She had made the decision on her own, though he was honored to have helped her along as she had done for him so many times. Following her in was his good friend, the DocProf, who regarded him with a warm smile. Garrett merely nodded to him trying to reassure him that his quick departure from the Infirmary had been for the best. He watched as a large man, who seemed to remind him of something out of a comic book, walked in, seeming to demand the attention of the room itself, much less the people in it. Garrett watched as the man was apparently quite familiar with Tricity and judging from the looks he gave the small child on the table, guessed that he might be the father as well. He found the man's question of people's staring amusing. Why would someone make such a dramatic entrance and then ask such a thing? He assumed the guy needed attention. Garrett had his own mental fish to fry though, so he simply continued to watch the action.

Neena introduced those who had come in so far to the headmistress and in responded to the imposing man's question in a way that only Neena could. Garrett looked to the door as his former sparring partner, or pain target actually walked into the room. Calley. He didn't seem nearly as smug and imposing as he had seemed before, but Garrett had to remind himself that he was in a different state of mind then. So many things had changed and he wondered if he hadn't left the Infirmary too early after all. He avoided matching glances with the DocProf so he didn't get carted off back to bed. He was pleasantly surprised as the boy actually stopped and greeted him."Hey,thanks for that help, before. It... it came in useful." The kitten licked one paw, and slid it behind an ear. "You mind if I sit next to you?" Garrett smiled and pulled the seat out for him. "Glad to help. Doing what I can to." Having someone seated next to him, especially someone who seemed like a real ally and friend made Garrett a bit calmer.

Garrett's tension soon came back like a rollercoaster as two young women entered the room. One, the redhead, he didn't know at all. The other, well, he knew her too well. Having been catapulted out of Neena's window by her and then watching in horror as he threw her into the thicket, Garrett only lowered his eyes to the table, fumbling with a pen at the desk. The cat girl seemed unmarred by the event and she and the redhead mingled away. Looking away from the general group and out the door, he noticed little Katrina standing in the hallway. He hadn't seen her since his previous incarnation of the Nice Guy as opposed to the Pain Guy. Her own hesitance at the threshold reminded him further of the conundrum he was in, as if the entire room was a reflection of his own inner turmoil.

Up and down. Up and down. the glowing kid came in. Garrett could only see that bright light, so bright it was melting wallpaper. He slumped in his seat a little further. Seeing new people was nice, since at best, they only felt the shockwave of pain and heard rumors.. They weren't direct witnesses to the incident. He shuffled a bit in his seat, and actually held tightly to the arms of the chair to keep himself from bolting there and then. A small facial twitch appeared under his right eye, reminding him that being nervous in his condition wasn't the best idea right now. He closed his eyes and did his best to meditate the madness away.

Tricity finally began speaking, causing Garrett to snap out of his meditative trance. She took the reins of the meeting as a leader should. He was glad to have that kind of presence around to get things going. Neena had done a superb job, but she was only one woman so it was nice to see where she had gotten her training in the ..well, training department. The headmistress spoke of the essence of the team. Protecting those who couldn't protect themselves sounded easy enough. He felt that, if given a chance, he could show everyone how willing he was to sacrifice himself for others. She also moved on to the danger of missions and how everyone had their place in them. Garrett could only nod knowingly when she mentioned that people got hurt. He was determined to make sure that from then on he would be the one stopping people from getting hurt, not doing the hurting himself. Her mutation was another visible and amazing one, as the appliances flickered and ultimately the lights went out completely. She was quite potent and he was glad to have her on his side.

She asked that introductions continue around the table, which only increased the depth of the twitch in Garrett's face.The gargoyle rose and spoke first, only detailing the classic appeal that Garrett had felt previously from him. He saw him change into a farmer, or a statue of a farmer, and imagined the range that was present in the man's abilities. Sam spoke next, mentioning that he could go to -320? Garrett imagined how bad it really could have been, ice minions or not. He had been given the chance to live and redeem himself though and he wouldn't waste it. Calley rose and began talking about his abilities. Some of them Garrett was aware of already, but the depth and breadth of Calley's mutation was only that more illuminating and dumbfounding. He was even more sure that the boy had held back when they had worked together on the grounds. He watched in amazement as the kitten began speaking after the boy seemed to fall..dead? No that couldn't be right.. on the table. Consciousness in one form. How odd it had to be to be outside of yourself like that. Well, not so odd. Garrett had just forced his own altered consciousness back into his mind. Stuffed it in, kicked it around and told it to shut the hell up.

He felt the pressure to speak next, swallowed and started to open his mouth when a late arrival came in. He seemed to be quite friendly and familiar with many there."Nice to see you again Neena... Ghost... Raina... Calley." It wasn't lost on Garrett that he seemed familiar with Ghost while she had never mentioned him before. 'Shut up, Pain. Your time is over for now.' he thought to himself, doing his best not to summon up the jealousy that had crawled up his throat when he had met Kaz in the book store. Luke went on to explain that while blind, he had a sonar sense and was skilled in fighting, armed and unarmed. Something that Garrett needed to look into himself. Tai Chi wasn't cutting it anymore. He also found his interest piqued at the idea of going out into the city and fighting crime. Perhaps he and Luke could do that sort of thing together sometime. It might certainly give the demon its due and give Garrett some well deserved solace.

So, finally, it came time for him to speak. He tried to meld all of the things he had seen and felt into something good. He forced his legs to stand, though they wanted to buckle. He cleared his throat and stood quietly for a moment, the anxiety building in his head to an epic quality of static. He shook it off. This was the time to act, not to think about acting." I guess it would be me next. Garrett Wills."
Some smiled and waited, others seemed pensive. Think dammit, think!And speak while you are at it." In the spirit of code names, I gave myself Seizure. I believe it fits. It definitely sounds better than 'Pain Guy', which apparently most of the students know me as. I know many of you from the incident that occurred a few weeks ago. Any of you that were seriously hurt, I apologize. I have been doing my damnedest to recuperate, but am finding that the external wounds heal quickly. Much quicker than the ones in here." He tapped at his temple.

"That being said, I'll go on with the facts. My gift is that of neural manipulation. As you are all well aware, I can produce pain and seizures in others. However, there's a little more to it than that. I can also ..see... people by their neural patterns. Usually this is a precursor to setting up various attack modes, but sometimes, I can see things that may not be so obvious otherwise. Things that others might try to hide. I've decided to join the team, with Neena's blessing, to find even more useful uses of this gift and to find ways that I can help people as much as I can hurt people. I don't have any formal training in any fighting abilities, since I generally try to put people down quick." He realized the gravity of those words as they escaped his lips. He looked at Maya for support. Her eyes did more than an hour of talking could.

"Weaknesses. heh. Well, unfortunately, the trauma of my life as well as those of recent events tends to push my own neural system a bit too far, causing me pain and seizures myself. I have had alot of help in this from the DocProf and others, but it may never go away. Also..." His voice trailed off. He lowered his head for a moment. Best to get it all out right now. His head rose again." Also, I wish I could tell you that the thing that many of you encountered that night was gone. It is gone as far as the surface, but it is a permanent part of myself. That demon is still in my mind and may never leave. I 'm really not sure. Nonetheless, every day is a daily battle to suppress it and keep me sane. I know that may not sound like much in the way of reassurance, but I wll say that with all that has happened, I know one thing for sure." He paused one final time as he scanned the faces in the room." I would gladly give my life to protect each and every one of you, as well as anyone in this school, present or those we haven't met yet. Of course, I don't hope that happens anytime soon." The room was quiet.

He smiled and said, " Monologue over." He chuckled to himself nd sat back down, a great weight off of his shoulders. Those words had been a long ime coming and he meant every word.

Raina didn't like being put on the spot so much, she knew it wasn't Tricity's intention since if they were going to be a team it was important her team knew her abilities... but having only recently come to term with some of them she wasn't sure how much she wanted to talk.

After the last x-men meeting Raina was feeling uncomfortable. She stood next to some friends with her arms crossed at the table. She was hoping someone would ask Tricity for clarification on what Emerald had brought up before... and feared that if no one did she would have to do so herself. She wasn't sure if she could stay with the x-men if they acted out of revenge. That's not what x-men were.

She stiffened a bit when it was her turn- noticing that Luke had just entered the room. Was he at the mansion now? Had he taken her advice and come or was it Neena or someone else? She was rushed with confusion and questions and felt even more on the spot as it was now time to talk about her powers.

"My Name is Raina" she didn't give her last name. "In a week I'll be 23. I was a chanter in my native tribe in the northwest territories." she added. "Now I control ice through my chanting. I cant create it from nothing but I'm getting good at drawing moisture from the air but unfourtunantly when I get wet..." she hesitated hoping Tricity would understand. "Things get fishy."

She went silent. That was all Raina was going to say.

Listening to what was going on made Shawn happy that there were lots of people interested in joining the x-men. He was glad that people were open to sharing their powers and the weaknesses. Tricity had officially called the meeting to order by starting to explain what the job of the x-men required. He knew first hand what had the x-men were required to do. His mission with Nika had helped him understand that. He was also very aware of the sacrifice that was required of the members, having risked his life for at least one person in the room and knew that the probability of him being called on to do it again would not be a problem for Shawn.

He watched and listened to Gargoyle, Sam, Garret, Calley, and Luke. Streak hadn't seen Calley use his powers and had met Luke. He did think it was very cool that Luke could use sonar. Soon Raina piped up, describing her powers. He knew she wasn't explaining everything she could do. He knew her quite well and always tried to protect her like she was his little sister, even though she was older than him by a few years. After Raina finished speaking he figured he should say something and get over with it.

"Hi. Most of y'all know me. I'm Shawn but everyone calls me Streak." he thought for a second about what would be appropriate for him to say. "I can go through walls, fly a little, and create pretty much everything out of the silver in my body. I am good with weapons combat, but I'm a lot better with hand to hand combat." He said. Streak paused for a second before continuing. "Let's see weaknesses. Umm. I haven't figured out the flying thing to well yet and A lot of time I don't recognize the severity of a wound until it's almost to late. I am more than willing to risk my life for others on the team." He said placing a hind briefly on Raina's shoulder. Streak was talking about the being in the camps with her. It was shorter than what some of the others had said but he thought he'd gotten most of the details in. If they wanted more information they could ask and he would tell them, provided it wasn't to personal.