Day One: Introductions

[Vergere 1]

"Hey Danny." Kelly raised a hand in greeting as he sat down at the newcomer's table, even as she was busy working.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Tyche

[Andy 60]

"Hey Kelly," Danny said, "sorry we rushed off earlier. How's it going?"

[Vergere 1]

Kelly passed her items over to another server and came over. "Oh, it's no problem. Nat and I had a long talk anyways. But... things here are good. Just getting stuff done before the party."

[Drake 53]

Through a mouthful of food, Kurt suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! You thould come," he swallowed and pointed at Lila and Hailey. "You two should come up with code names! You know, like mine is Nightcrawler, Scott's is Cyclops, Peter's is Colossus, Jean's is...well, Jean doesn't have one."

"I was thinking about it on the plane ride but I couldn't come up with much," said Hailey. "I mean, I can move rocks and stuff so I could go with something earthy like that...or something like my parents' names; Guardian and Vindicator."

"How about 'Landslide'?" suggested Peter.

"Oh, I know!" said Kurt. "Rumblina! No...Shakerette!"

Everyone collectively sighed.

***

Marcus had walked back to the trailer park he called home. He didn't feel much like easing his passage through flight after everything that had happened during the day. He had thought back on the times when he was normal. When his only real friend actually enjoyed spending time with him and didn't fear him. When he fit in and had fun.

Now everything was different. It all started when he rescued Nat. He saved her life and how did she repay him? With fear of what he was. Weren't friends supposed to stand by you no matter what? Mystique was right. People fear what they don't understand and they'll lash out at what they fear. It was probably only a matter of time before Natalie betrayed him.

He figured that it would be good to have other people like him to have his back.

Marcus went into his trailer. His mom was passed out and his dad wasn't around. Probably at the bar again. He grabbed a bag and threw his clothes and a few other personal items in it. Before he left, he scribbled a note saying that he was moving out.

He walked out and started back to town to find the address on the card Mystique had given him.

[Rogue 4]

Natalie laughed at Chase. "You're probably right." She walked inside with him, smiling at Lance on the way in. It was clear that they were already making party preparations. She looked around and frowned. She didn't see Marcus anywhere. Instead she looked to Lance, hoping to keep occupied. "Hey buddy! Need any help setting up?"

[Vergere 1]

"Psh. Of course I need help setting up." Lance grinned wickedly, "But the better question is, are you prepared..." He made a 'dun dun dun' dramatic movement, "... to do the unimaginable? MUAHAHAHAHA!" Apparently, he was in an amazing mood.

Catalina just rolled her eyes as she passed by.

[Rogue 4]

Natalie chuckled, her eyes dancing as she looked up to him. "I think the unimaginable's done it's worst on me today. Whatcha got for me?" She clapped her hands together, rubbing them anxiously.

[Vergere 1]

"If you can make sure that the cooks and the orders and the servers are all working in sync and coordinated, with a bit of taking food to people randomly, that'd be wonderful. Then I'd be able to focus my attention on the finishing touches of this shindig." Lance looked at her seriously, "You in?"

[Rogue 4]

"As long as you don't make me wear one of those ridiculous blue aprons I'm in." Natalie grinned. "'Sides, I know this place better than I know myself after two years of hanging out here nonstop with you two fools. You just make sure this all goes on without a hitch Mister." She winked, before heading out to do as she was asked.

[Vergere 1]

Lance just grinned happily and jogged over to the stage where things looked like they weren't going so smoothly.

Catalina passed by Natalie again, food in hand once more. "Hey, Natalie?" She spoke in her typically soft, highly accented voice, but smiling as usual. "There's a remake back in the back right now for one of the burgers... when the cooks say it's done, could you send it to table ten? Thanks..." She kept moving before she dropped what she had.

[Andy 60]

"Yeah," Danny looked around, "looks like you guys have but a lot of effort in, should be great."

[Ayingel 24]

"I don't quite think that a name is my sort of thing." Lila looked at Kurt. "But, whatever floats your boat, I guess..."

[Mara 29]

A tinny version of the theme from "West Side High," the local TV teen sensation, came tumbling from the direction of August's book bag. She rolled off her bed and checked to see who it was.

Sighing she flipping it open. "Yes, Bridget? ... Well, I was just going too--Yes, I know.... All right, I'll be there. For a little while." August hung up and headed towards her closet to change into something else. She changed into a different pair of designer jeans and put on a sparkly top.

She wasn't looking forward to going to a party and spending her whole evening and night with Bridget and the girls, but she also wanted to get out of the house. As she came down the stairs, she could hear a muffled argument going on. August knew her mom and Paul loved each other but couldn't understand why they fought all the time.

Shrugging, she left the house and got into her car to drive down to the beach to meet Bridget and the rest.

* * * * * * * *

After quickly finishing off the leftovers, Joseph went back to sit with his mother on the couch. He flipped the TV onto the History Channel and kept the volume low to use as background noise. While he looked through his books, they chatted about their days.

Edited May 8, 2008 by Mara

[Rogue 4]

"Sure thing Cat." Natalie went into the kitchen, waiting for the refired burger to finish cooking before taking the plated food out to table ten. She appologized for the food being cooked wrong in the first place and told them to enjoy their meal. Then she headed back to see if there was any other food she could run to make Catalina and Kelly's job easier.

***

Neil stood, placing some cash on the table to cover the bill and looking across the table to Danny. "Hey Tough guy, whatever questions you got, think I can answer them in about an hour? I gotta go offload my bike before some jerkass decides to steal something off it."

Danny shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"Great." He headed for the exit, hopped on his motorcycle, and drove to the secluded part of town where the new Brotherhood house was located. He had to hand it to Mystique. This one didn't look half bad. Then again Toad and Blob hadn't gotten to it. He parked his bike in the driveway, heading up towards the house.

[Drake 53]

Marcus found the building easily enough. It was a fairly large boarding house, meant to accomadate a dozen people at the most. When he walked up the driveway, he spotted a motorcycle already parked and lights on inside.

He stepped up to the door and, after a pause and a final thought about if this was the right choice, knocked.

***

Sam sat in his Impala a little way down the street from the Brotherhood boarding house. He had tailed the boy Marcus Connor since he had left his trailer park home.

He would have rather talked to the youth about his powers and directed him to some place more helpful, such as the Xavier Institute or a SHIELD safehouse, but Mystique had gotten to him first thanks to the information she stole from his PDA. It would have been hard trying to get to the boy after having already been coerced by Mystique, not to mention Sam didn't have the greatest track record when it came to dealing with teenagers.

Sam touched the bandage wrapped around his head. A reminder of his last confrontation with Mystique. He almost had her in custody, imobilized by his powers, but a hawk had come out of nowhere and attacked him. Sam wouldn't have been surprised if that was Marcus, having come to the rescue of what he thought was a teenage girl, Kitty Pryde, being held a gunpoint by some 'old creepy guy'.

He brought his electro-binoculars up to his eyes, watching Marcus as he went up the driveway and knocked on the door. Sam had used the poor boy to determine Mystique's safehouse for her followers.

[Rogue 4]

Neil opened the door, wanting the incessant knocking to be gone. What he saw made him grin. "Well if it isn't cat-boy. I was wondering when you'd show your face here."

[Drake 53]

Marcus stepped inside. "I had to walk here. Unfortunately, carrying a bag full of stuff on my back or in my mouth as a mountain lion isn't the easiest thing in the world."

He looked around the interior of the house. "Much better than a trailer."

***

Sam snapped a picture of the man who answered the door. The data would immediately be sent to his car's built-in computer. A satellite tie-in to the central SHIELD database would run the face through a recognition program to find an identity. If it was another mutant or human, they would show up in the database within a few minutes. If it was another one of Mystique's disguises, it probably wouldn't return anything. Either way, he would get what he needed.

After the door had closed behind Marcus, Sam started up the car and drove away.

[Rogue 4]

"Yeah, and much better than a dirt alleyway in backwater Ireland." Neil agreed, grabbing his own bag from the living room floor and heading down the first story hall with it. "Though I have to say, the scenery was much nicer. A word of advice, the room to the left up the stairs is Mystique's. I wouldn't venture in there. Only bad things can come from it."

[Drake 53]

"I'll keep that in mind," said Marcus. He kicked off his shoes, grabbed his stuff and followed Neil down the hall to find a room. "What's your power anyway? Aside from making your hands glow, that is."

[Rogue 4]

Neil dropped his bag on a bed in one of the larger rooms. First come first serve. "My abilities deal with energy. My body absorbs kinetic energy, and stores it like the friggin Duracell Bunny."

He pulled out his belongings, some clothes, electronic equipment like a cell phone and a few other goodies. Anybody watching him though would be surprised by the fact that he had absolutely nothing of personal value. No photographs, or papers. No legal documents like a birth certificate. "Then I take that energy and friggin convert it into badass uses that lie beyond you're comprehension, Kitten."

[Drake 53]

Marcus morphed into a large and angry-looking silverback gorilla. He slammed his fist to the floor, shaking the room, and growled in reply, "Not Kitten, Laser Brain. Call me...Stampede."

He shifted back to his human form, smirked and tossed his stuff in the room across the hall.

[Rogue 4]

"Calm your monkey ass kid." Neil rolled his eyes, unimpressed. He had to resist the urge to singe the fur of the giant gorilla in the room. "And I thought Mystique had a strict no pets policy..." He muttered to himself, shaking his head in disappointment. Oh well, as long as he didn't start spitting goo like Tolansky, break furniture like Fred, or grow an ego the size of Pietro's he really didn't give a damn.

Or hex his pants like Wanda did. Geeze, he only hit on the girl once, and all of a sudden his own jeans are attacking him in his sleep. The world just wasn't fair.

He tossed off his leather jacket. It was way too hot for that, and switched it out for a wifebeater and a black button down shirt that he, no surprise, didn't button.

[Drake 53]

"I guess she changed her mind," Marcus said, blandly. He gave Neil a cocky grin and added, "Since she seems to be letting just about any lowlife into the club. Speaking of which, I don't recall seeing you plastered all over the news back when mutants got all the hype. You came from New York. That's where those...X-Men, I think...came from, yeah?"

[Rogue 4]

"Don't group me in with those pacifistic moronic X-freaks." Neil responded, glaring at him for a moment. "And she didn't let me in. I got an invite from the head honcho himself. And I wasn't on the news last year because I was in Russia at the time."

[Drake 53]

"Russia, huh?" Marcus said. "I take it your weren't just there for the vodka and bearded women."