Iris made her way back to Miss Tipper's room. She passed young man in the hall coming from that direction, and smiled. When she reached Tricity's room, she knocked again, then poked her head inside.

"Um, sorry to bother you again, but I just spoke with my guardians. They're taking care of things back home, so I can stay for awhile. My Tia Carol told me to let you know that they'll be sending some packages for me in the next couple of days." She paused briefly. "I was also just wondering if, maybe, you allow pets here? Like cats? And birds?"

Iris knew that Tia Carol and Tio Max would take care of them for her, but having her animals with her would make her feel more comfortable. Not to mention Ebony would destroy Iris' house as revenge if she didn't see her for a month. That Siamese had more attitude than any teenager ever could.

Tricity turned her head as the never ending people came in with their concerns and questions. She listened as Iris explained her situation and waited for her to finish. "Yes, of course you can have pets," Tricity replied as she thought of Orion's pet wolf that went trotting into the nearby woods a few days ago.

"Oh, thank you." Iris smiled and nodded her thanks, then left again. She put in a call to her Tio even as she returned to her room. He was very happy to hear about it, since he and the cat didn't get along at all.

-----------------------

Later that day Iris decided she'd better make a trip into the city to pick up a few supplies to prepare. Eb was going to be irritable as it was. It was in everyone's best interest to find a few things to placate the fussy feline. Otherwise the first few nights were going to be a bit.....noisy.....

Iris cringed at the thought of the Siamese's 'fingernails-on-the-chalkboard' howl. She was glad she'd brought her credit card.

There was a familiar knock on Tricity's door. Mike, now walking under his own power, was wearing his uniform, apparently outfitted for a Danger Room session he hadn't made it to just yet. "I can come back if this is a bad time," he teased, "I know I've been bothering you too much lately, after all."

"Oh yea, imagine that," she said jokingly, opening the door and seeing him all dressed in uniform. "You aren't actually thinking of training now, are you? Shouldn't you be taking it a little easy?" She placed her hands on her hips, waiting for his answer. "The baby suddenly coo-ed and she went over to introduce the two. "Mike, meet... well, I actually haven't decided on a name yet. I've been tossing a lot of them around."

Mike smiled and, after getting an 'ok' nod from Tricity, picked the baby up. His eyes glowed a soft gold as he looked at it. "Beautiful," he said, smiling. Then, in a teasing voice, he winked at Tricity and added, "I guess he takes after his mother."

He lay the happy baby back down, sighing. "Well, the Doc gave me the clean bill of health the day I woke up. THank God, too, because... well, there was an altercation. Emmy's in the infirmary."

Tricity gave a little laugh when he mentioned the baby's good looks. "Damn straight!" She busied herself by cleaning up the desk, but spun around at his mention of Emerald in the infirmary. "Wait... What? What happened??"

He sighed, slumping down in a chair. "Got jumped after her race... or rather, she got run down, grabbed, and tortured. The Church of Humanity, yet another bunch of bigots thinking they're God's Chosen. There's... video. It got confiscated when i sent a few of the team back to clear the building out. On the upside, we got a decent amount of equipment, and I tore the shit out of them enough that they probably won't be trying anything soon. On the downside..." He sighed, looking at his boot, "Emmy got beaten pretty badly, a few broken ribs, a *crushed* knuckle, some acid burns, and some very, very nasty flame burns. Nothing the Doc can't fix, but he says there'll probably be scarring."

"Have things been like this since I fell asleep, or did the drama wait for me to wake up to start going again?"

Tricity's stomach lurched at his mentioning of Emerald's injuries and the cause for them. More people hating mutants. She stared off in anger and then toward her baby, thinking he may have to go through the same thing one day. The lights suddenly dimmed in the room a bit. "Goddamn, ignorant bastards," she cursed, noticing the lights were now starting to flicker. She calmed herself down and sat in a chair opposite Mike. "Where's the equipment? You should get it to Daria or Johnathon to have a look-see."

"Already a step ahead of you, boss-lady. I didn't get promoted by good looks alone," he smirked, a bottle of water floating out of the mini-fridge by Tricity's desk an over to him. He looked back at her, suddenly. "I didn't, did I?" Grinning, he took a drink. He looked over at the baby and sighed in a sad sort of understanding. "It is difficult to think about, isn't it?" he asked, quietly. "Only bright spot I usually ever see is that at least nature arms us before we're born."

Tricity nodded to his last statement. "I like that... I'll have to tell him uncle Mike said that." She stood up and grabbed the baby, along with the baby bag she kept near by. "Come on. I want to see Emerald. Let's head up to the infirmary."

Mike nodded, lifting the bag from her shoulder with his mind. "After, y'know, you finally decide what his name will be. 'Cause, y'know, it'll get confusing for his teachers otherwise," he teased, following her out.