Alexandra woke up suddenly. Her body was propelled forward, like some invisible force had forced her to get up from her position. She blinked twice, trying to adjust to the light from the room. In a few seconds her eyes began to work at normal parameters and she succeeded to see her surroundings. From what it looked, it was something like a hospital room. She hated hospital rooms. Period.

Now, the question was: where the hell was she and how did she get there? She struggled to remember something, but the last thing she could remember was sitting in her apartment when her cell phone rang. She sighed and looked around confused. With a hand she pushed the covers from her legs and tried to get off from the bed. Unfortunately, without any success as her legs weren't exactly functioning like they were supposed to. They seemed to bend under her weight and she fell into her knees while swearing under her breath.

((ooc: This takes place after the Kabal takeover in Edit.))

A thin Italian boy watched from a bed across the room, one bare foot casually on the mattress in front of him as the other daggled towards the floor. His arms were propped over his knee. He was dressed comfortably well, in light khakis and a silver dress shirt. His baby blue eyes showed no particular reaction as he watched his fellow Kabal member collapse on the floor. He made no move to help her.

"Good afternoon, Miss Circe," he simply said. "You have been out for a long time."

"Good afternoon, Miss Circe, you have been out for a long time." she heard as soon as she realized that she had hit the floor. Her eyes looked up instantaneously, her eyes meeting a pair of blue eyes watching her in boredom.

"I bet." she growled starting to feel furious. She hated showing the others that she could be weak. Concentrating, she focused all of her energy on standing on her own two feet. With no ease, she succeeded to get on her feet but leaned on her bed for support.

"Tell me, please... where am I exactly? And how is it that you know my codename?" she asked, curiosity and suspicion in her eyes.

It wasn't truly boredom with which Slate watched the young woman; rather, it was a distinct lack of any displayed of interest. There was no particular purpose to showing interest. He was here: clearly, that was interest enough. After all, he had become rather busy for an eighteen year old, in the past few days.

>> "I bet."

She sounded frustrated, or possibly furious. There was force and a will behind her voice. Without any outside aid, she regained her feet.

A slight hint of approval came into the watching teenager's eyes.

>> "Tell me, please... where am I exactly? And how is it that you know my codename?"

He nodded. Reasonable questions, those. For a woman who had awoken in an unfamiliar setting to an unfamiliar face and a body in a severely weakened state, she was maintaining very good composure. He appreciated that, and his answer for her held nothing but respect.

"You are in the infirmary at Mondragon Labs. As I understand it, you had some manner of accident while on assignment; you have been out for quite some time. I would suggest taking things slowly, until you recover further; you are safe, here."

"As for how I know your codename," Slate continued, with a modest shrug; "I have read your file. My name is Slate. You really have been unconscious for quite some time. I am the one who leads here, now."

He remained where he was, casually seated on the bed across the room. He gave no particular sign of being acutely interested in her reaction to that news. Showing interest really was a curiously useless activity.

((ooc: PS--you're not insane, if you're staring at that new "Kabal Leader" title, and wondering how you missed it yesterday. I took over the Kabal while you were sleeping, both IC and OOC. ))

"You are in the infirmary at Mondragon Labs. As I understand it, you had some manner of accident while on assignment; you have been out for quite some time. I would suggest taking things slowly, until you recover further; you are safe, here."

Circe analyzed his answer, for few moments letting herself to be lost in memories. Yes, it came back to her. Hunter sent her in an assignment in Tibet and she caught in some kind of ambush. Although she couldn't remember how she escaped... she didn't really care.

"As for how I know your codename," Alexandra's eyes returned to the boy as she pulled herself back to reality. "I have read your file. My name is Slate. You really have been unconscious for quite some time. I am the one who leads here, now."
Her eyebrow rose at hearing the news. Well, she must have been out for some time. She simply shrugged.

"I'd shake hands with you... but right now I'm in no condition to get up." she spoke as she returned to her bed. She let herself to lay on the bed and turned her head to Slate. "So, is there anything else I should know?" she asked.

>> "I'd shake hands with you... but right now I'm in no condition to get up."

An eyebrow raise and a shrug; nothing more. She simply returned herself to her bed. Which was, the new Kabal leader noted, a wise decision on her part. In all: her reaction was as perfect a one as he could have hoped for. It had been his suspicion that the majority of Antonescu's employees had joined the man more out of their own interests than out of any particular sense of loyalty to the immortal. Circe seemed to confirm that, with her every move.

>> "So, is there anything else I should know?"

The teenager shook his head the slightest bit. "No," he answered, with some small trace of humor; "I believe that about covers things. I merely have a question for you; then I can leave you to rest. Are you interested in switching your loyalty over to me, rather than Antonescu? Your contract will remain the same, with the usual benefits." The trace of amusement spread to his eyes; really, it was an emotive moment for him. "The Mondragon Lab medical facilities will also remain at your disposal. Once you have recovered, I will begin sending you out on missions again; I will see to it that you are provided with adequate support, however, so that the incident that put you here is not repeated. All I ask is for you to complete my commands to the best of your ability. And, in the unlikely case that Antonescu returns, I simply ask for you to ignore any summons to fight at his side. You could fight with me against him if you so choose, but I will not ask for it. It would not bother me if the fight remained simply between he and I."

There was a certain understated competence with which the brown haired teenager spoke. No, he did not ask for her help, if that fight ever occurred--he only asked that she did not interfere. Slate had found the "Origin of Species" in the library, while he was resting the other day. Survival of the fittest. It held a certain ring.

The corner of her lips rose to form a small smile as she listened the boy. Her loyalty stood right where it was supposed to stand. To herself. She didn't care if the leader of the Kabal was Antonescu, or Slate, or anyone else. For a young mutant, coming from a foreign country, chased by the authorities to join an organization like the Kabal it seemed a good option. An opportunity.

"You have my loyalty." she said. She wasn't lying. "And in case a fight between you and Hunter occurs, right now I think I will remain neutral." Yeah, she could have easily said that she would fight for him but she couldn't see any reason for lying. She liked that this boy gave her a choice instead of forcing her to stand by his side. That's why she was being honest.

"So, do you happen to know how long it will take me to recover? Cause I hate sitting here doing nothing." she said changing the subject, feeling that it didn't require further discussions. Slate learned what he needed to know, so did she.

>> "You have my loyalty. And in case a fight between you and Hunter occurs, right now I think I will remain neutral."

He nodded the barest fraction. Her honesty was appreciated.

>> "So, do you happen to know how long it will take me to recover? Cause I hate sitting here doing nothing."

"That is good to hear," he answered, with a nod. "Your state of unconsciousness has provided ample time for your injuries to heal; all that remains is for you to become readjusted to being awake again, I believe. No doubt you have noticed that your muscles are somewhat unused to movement. It is nothing that will not quickly right itself once you become active again."

"To that effect," he continued, "I would like to arrange a training session for you. Would tomorrow be too early for you? I would hate to leave you sitting here doing nothing." His small smile returned as he returned her words to her. The training would be good for her; getting back on her feet really was the only step left in her recovery. It held another purpose, as well: he was quite intrigued by her powers. There was only so much a file could tell him.

"That is good to hear. Your state of unconsciousness has provided ample time for your injuries to heal; all that remains is for you to become readjusted to being awake again, I believe. No doubt you have noticed that your muscles are somewhat unused to movement. It is nothing that will not quickly right itself once you become active again."

Circe nodded. She was an impatient person. She always hated to wait.

"To that effect, I would like to arrange a training session for you. Would tomorrow be too early for you? I would hate to leave you sitting here doing nothing."

She smiled at hearing the reply. She looked at the ceiling and answered.

"Tomorrow is just fine." She turned her head back to watch Slate. "Now, I don't want to sound rude but I think I'm going back to sleep. I want to be ready for getting back in business." A smile appeared on her face. She was feeling a bit tired. Using her body after months of comatose state consumed a large amount of energy.

'Tomorrow.' she thought.

With that being said, Circe drifted off to a peaceful slumber. Yeah, tomorrow it would be the perfect time for what it seemed to be a new start. These months of absence left a sour taste in her mouth. With a small smile, just before she fell asleep she thought: "God, I swear, I'll never take missions in Tibet again."