Logan looked rather pleased that the dark-haired girl spoke up, ready to give into his demands. He motioned her forward with a slightly more gentle approach than he had shown since they had all arrived at the building, his beady eyes doing a quick once-over on the girl's red cocktail dress before his attention snapped over to the homeless kid. His hardened expression seemed to melt away, if only slightly, as he thought over the boys words. His heart went out to the poor kid, Logan knew what it was like to feel famished, alone, dirty and scared. He had lived a few years homeless himself while traipsing around Canada after his blades met the warm, soft tissue of his girlfriend at the time. Shaking his head, Logan retracted his claws back into his fists and ran his large hand through his disheveled black hair, letting out a soft sigh.

"C'mere kid." Logan said after a while. "Whats your name?"

The girl in the dress would have to wait. Two of the mutants Xavier had rounded up had already left, and though he put up a front that he didn't care, he was terrified for them. There was a man out there, a man who had a personal vendetta against mutants and slaughtering them like livestock. His eyes moved from the kid to Yukiko, standing there amongst the others with somewhat of a smile on her face. God help the poor bastard that attempted to harm her in anyway. She was the only family Logan had left, figuratively. She trusted him to take care of her, but what if something went wrong, what if he couldn't be there when it really mattered most?

After the kid gave him his name, Logan looked back to him and nodded, patting him on the head a bit and then squatted down so that he was more level with the shortest one in the room.

"I'm here to help you. So is Charles and Erik. Mutation can be a funny thing, take mine for example." He said putting up his hand for him to see, but he kept the claws inside. "Mutations can change a person for their entire life, and we never asked for it did we? So we are here to help you all embrace your mutation, bring it out and learn to use it to your advantage. Keep you safe from those who wish to harm you..." Logan stood back up, seeming to now tower over the boy.

"Why don't we start with you first then. What has the X-gene done to you?"

Snark didn’t quite think that his words would be heeded so quickly, he thought he might end up being silenced instead of allowed his concerns to be answered. That was definitely not the case, by all means the guy actually looked a little gentler for a moment as he turned to face him. It was no lie that his heart jumped slightly as his nerves picked up, his mind struggling to correspond to such a look to someone like him. Quickly rubbing his chest to try and ease the pressure often associated with being watched, he watched his claws retract before ever so slowly moving towards Logan, his feet almost shuffling across the floor, “Uhhh…I-I go by Snark O’Bright. I have no given name”.

Blast his cowardice, he might as well have been quivering on the floor wetting himself if the guy had approached him aggressively. Luckily for him, the man had not and was approaching him as if he was a lost little kid. Gasping a little as he was actually touched with a quick pat on his head, his shoulders raised slightly in a nervous reaction before the man slowly lowered himself to his level. Snark was quick to hide his face behind his hair as if the very act would render him unnoticed by the others, but it was mainly his appearance that brought on that action. He didn’t like people looking at him or rather he wasn’t used to it.

Listening to Logan’s words, his eyes shifted slightly before focusing on Logan’s hand, looking for signs of the claws more than anything. There was nothing there; it was as if the claws never happened. Feeling a little confused over the matter, he eventually shifted his hands and lowered them shakily before he let out a sigh, contemplating over the man’s words. It was odd; his life had completely changed since he mysteriously arrived in New York and now he was meeting all these ‘mutants’, but he didn’t know whether he was one of them or not. Giving one final nod before Logan stood back up, it was as if he had done that just to deliver the most stressful question amongst all the possibilities he could had asked him instead, “Uhh, I-uhh…” he stuttered, his hand reaching for his hat as he slowly pulled it closer to his face, “…I-I don’t know. I don’t know how I got to New York and I don’t know what brought me to this place. What it has done to me is…lead me to a very foreign part of the country, brought me briefly before the man who you called Xavier before, uhh… leading me here…a number of nights later. It’s probably just coincidence, but I understand if you want to shank me and kick me out”.

The sound of shouting and the buzz of electricity filled the room as Kurt lay there on the floor, the Bamfs scurrying over his back and the surrounding area. The German managed a look towards the centre of the room, where he was just in time to watch one girl lift herself into the air. His weren’t the only pair of yellow eyes that widened at the sight. The majority of the Bamfs scattered instantly; some simply leaping away while others disappeared in puffs of purple smoke, only to reappear somewhere else around the room.

Then as quickly as the commotion started, it ended. This was due to a large burly man shouting. His face was covered in dark hair, with the tips of his hear going off into two points at the top of his head. He knew who this man was instantly. Logan. Sure he hadn’t met him before, but Mr Xavier had told him much about him previously. Logan smiled as he approached Kurt, before lifting the poor teen to his feet. The rest of the Bamfs scurried away from him as he brushed him down.

"Still no luck with them huh?"

Glumly he shook his head before watching as Logan returned to the rest of the people gathering in the room. He then proceeded to shout at one of them; the girl who had lifted herself into the air in an effort to help him. Honestly he didn’t understand the problem. She had simply been trying to help him! Regardless, she quickly turned on her heel and left, only to be followed by another boy who looked around his age.

Scratching his head in bewilderment, he proceeded to follow Wolverine and the others out of the room, not before swiping a sandwich from one of his Bamfs which he took a bite from before handing it back. The other blue critters were all either eating or drinking whatever they could get their hands on behind the bar. Kurt simply shook his head in frustration.

Down in the basement, Kurt leant against a wall and watched as one of the girl who introduced herself as Kimberly offered to put on a display of her abilities, only to be interrupted by another boy. This one was quite unlike the others. His face was fairly dirty and his clothes had certainly seen better days, however his face wore an expression of curiosity.

“You didn’t say what would happen if we can’t actually ‘show off’ what we can possibly do; would that count as wasting your time? What if it turns out there’s nothing at all? You know, just incase…”

Kurt felt for the guy! He too had been in the same situation that he was in only a few weeks ago. He opened his mouth to reassure him although before he could another girl spoke. Alison she called herself. Regardly, Kurt decided to say something anyway.

“Alison speaks the truth, uh… Snark” He said with a nodded and a smile. As he did so, the all so familiar smell of brimstone met his nose as one of his Bamfs appeared on his shoulder in a puff of smoke. After giving the creature a confused look he continued. “We’re all friends here… even these things” He said, pointing his finger at the tiny blue demon.

Check out was scheduled for noon, however Ari was up five hours before then. She spent the remainder of her time in the lounge area reading a newspaper. After having flipped all but a page, already Ari spotted her name printed as a header. Her father was looking for her. As were the police. General information had been given out to the media – her name, age, height, weight, and a picture of her from several months ago in the center of the article.

She cursed under her breath and pushed herself from the chair. Ari bolted for her room, hoisting a newly acquired backpack onto her shoulder, now equipped with a bit of nonperishable foods, two water bottles, and a printed out copy of directions to where Charles had advised her to go. The only thing she lacked was transportation, and with what little options she had, she was forced to steal an automobile. Something she wasn't even slightly comfortable with doing.

Not to mention Ari didn't even have a license or a permit. She'd never needed one on base being that everything was walking distance. She'd driven a few times of course, but it'd been years since her father had last taken her.

It doesn't matter, she hissed at herself, I have no other way of getting there.

Just as Ari had begun contemplating which car to take, a man emerged from the motel. He glanced over at her, but only for a brief moment, immediately dismissing her as his attention veered elsewhere. Fiddling with the pockets of her jeans, Ari paused, thinking back to the event that'd gotten her here in the first place. The alteration of her eye color wasn't the only thing that had occurred in that moment, for everything she'd been asking of the man, he'd been doing. Rather promptly, she might add.

What if she'd done something to him? Manipulated his mind?

It seemed unlikely, but as she pondered the thought, all such coincidences began to link. She'd controlled their minds somehow. No man in his right mind would have ceased moaning the way she'd made a patient do in such pain. His leg had been twisted that it was in no way natural. It'd been arched upward, and the color of his skin had taken on a crimson shade. She'd stopped him from wailing because she'd willed it so. He wouldn't have stopped otherwise.

Would he?

Her eyes darted across the parking lot, locating the man just as he was settling into his car. Ari was not at all convinced that this little trick of hers was to work, but she knew damn well that if she didn't at least try it, there was a good chance that she'd end up stranded here. She needed this to work.

Flailing her arms, Ari bellowed, “Excuse me, sir?”

Power. Show power, she advised.

At first, he hadn't so much as noticed her presence, but as he raised his keys to the ignition, his eyes locked on hers. She dashed toward his car, up to where he sat. He was an older man of fifty, disheveled hair, and raggedy clothes to match. He didn't appear trustworthy, nor friendly towards strangers, but as she'd gone hauling her ass across the street, he hadn't bothered to look elsewhere. It was almost as if he were caught in a trance.

“Hi,” she said hastily. Goddammit, Adriana, power! Her lip curled. “I was wondering if you could give me a ride?”

She tilted her head. The man gawked at her, his mouth agape. He didn't blink, much less breathe, and Ari worried that she'd done something to him that she hadn't intended on doing. Several seconds later, a smile crept on the man's face as he nodded eagerly.

“Not a problem,” he told her cheerfully. “Any particular place?”

She handed him the map. He trapped it between two fingers and studied it intently, his eyebrows furrowing as his icy blue eyes flicked across the page. “Hm, yes, I know where this is. Well, let's get going. We've got a long ride ahead of us.”

_

The two had not spoken since they'd left the motel.

She found herself peering over her shoulder at the man as he drove, paranoia running through her veins like acid. She'd begun falling asleep a mere half an hour ago, but hadn't allowed herself to drift off completely. She was entrusting this man with her very life, and for all she knew, he could be taking her elsewhere.

Ari had a feeling that they were headed in the right direction though, but she supposed that could just be her persuading herself that she would make it out of this mess alive. Ari hadn't even acknowledged the fact that this man could be taking her to a deserted area, planning how he was to kill her as he cruised along. The very idea of this caused Ari to sigh deeply. If they were not anywhere near the destination as the map suggested in the next hour, she'd order that he pull to the side of the road.

On the off chance that he did not oblige, she'd throw herself out of the vehicle and hope for the best.

A little less than an hour passed by, and the car rolled to a stop. Ari scanned what was ahead of her – hobbling ongoers, lights gleaming, buildings low, high, in between.

“Where are we?” she asked the man, easing her hand over to the door, preparing herself to escape by any means necessary. Luckily for her, there were witnesses.

The man indicated the map on the dashboard and pointed to the address Charles had given her. “Here,” he responded. “You told me to take you here and I did.”

Ari pursed her lips. After scrutinizing the reasoning behind Charles sending her here, where bustling people resided, she decided it was better to vacate the vehicle while she was still breathing than figure out if he was right. Nodding her head curtly, Ari mumbled a thank you, and thrust herself out of the car. The man waved farewell before turning into the other direction, heading to where he'd originally planned on going.

“Huh.” Referring back to the industry portion of New York, Ari trudged on. She'd forgotten to grab the map on the way out, but somehow, she knew the general area. She was to continue going straight until a familiar building came into view. Ari was welcome to enter whenever she so pleased, and leave accordingly.

She spotted the shade of a desolate place ahead, but did not proceed any further. There were voices. A man spoke, mentioning a cab of some sort. She did not have the opportunity to hide for she was already very visible. The young man, noticeably taller than the woman before him, smiled at the girl, a smile Ari had suddenly felt fortunate to have seen.

“I might have the wrong address,” she admitted to the two, intertwining her fingers directly below her waist. “Are either of you familiar with the name Charles Xavier?”

((Zach and Ruby Writings))

For some of the longest moments of her life, Estella said nothing after the Brit chased her down and expressed his interest in going with her. At least as far as she'd let him. She was used to people of all walks and colors following her. Why? She'd asked herself that since people started to gather around her.

At first, it was no more than her father's muscle: Antonio, Jesus, Edgar. Grown men falling in behind a girl out for revenge. As Edgar had put it, "It's our revenge, too." After Antonio and Jesus died, it was just she and Edger until she stopped some cops from beating a negro man. That negro man brought another negro man who wanted to see if his friend's tale of the girl that 'had the power of God" was true.

Soon friends of that friend brought to her a Japanese American in need of help. It led her to taking on an army unit. That led Government men after her. More people came to her, for help, for protection, just out of a sense of wonderment. To members of society at the bottom of the barrel, someone who could fire electricity and move cars with thoughts was scary...but far less scary than the G-men and the cops and the gangsters who only cared about keeping them down, and using them to meet some end they never wanted to begin with.

All they wanted was security, a little bit of happiness. Maybe some hope. One of them with special abilities? Why fear that? Her mutation became a beacon of hope, not fear. At least to the browns and the blacks and the slanty eyed and the impoverished and the castaways.

Now it was some mutant British guy. Was he the first of a new set of followers?...secretly, she hoped not. She was tired of leading. Tired of making choices that always seemed to end in bloodshed, even when they went right. When anything went right. She was just tired of the weight of it all on her shoulders. Tired of her war, tired of people following her.

For once, she'd hope to let someone else lead for a while. Foolish a hope as that seemed now. Magneto and Xavier and the Wolverine seemed to want followers that wouldn't think too loud or have their own past. Who the hell cared about a drink? About a smoke? It wasn't normal. Estella didn't know someone her age that didn't smoke or drink.

No, all that seemed to say to her was Xavier and his people believed in the kind of leadership that people like Mickey Cohen craved: absolute control of obedient followers. Estella knew where following that kind of leader would get her. And she wouldn't do it.

"Okay."

That was the totality of her response. When they got into the cab, Estella told the cabbie to head to the Wilkshire Hotel, one of New York City's elite hotels. It wasn't until they arrived and got out of the car that Estella looked at the British young man after he paid the cabbie.

"What's your name?"

He'd sat in silence, allowing her to think, or whatever it is she was doing, while they travelled. Henry didn't find it odd, he'd dealt with more eratic behaviour, and was content with watching the city out of the window. While he'd been living in America, he'd never been to the Big Apple before these last few days, it was an interesting sight, although not, he felt, the alternative to London that it had been claimed, although, he hadn't seen London after the bombing. The cities were too different, to be the trans-atlantic equivalent of eachother that bankers and the like spoke of.

Stepping out, momentarily looking up at the hotel, he turned to pay the cabbie, adding a small tip as the Americans seemed want to do, before the first words since they had got in the cab pased the Mexican girl's lips.

"Henry Warwick, I guess it's only fair, as I know yours." He spoke, for once, without a trace of humour as he regarded Estella. It hadn't neccesarily been his intention to stay any longer in her company, they just both happened to have walked out on Xavier's bar, but he didn't feel there was much else for him to be doing, not that he voiced anything else, standing in the cold New York breeze, if she wasn't the type for needless words, he'd no need to make up for it.

"Estella Rey. C'mon."

The doors of the Wilkshire were gold and flanked by doormen in dark green uniforms with silver thread and snow white gloves. She walked closely to Henry as she walked into the palacial lobby of the Wilkshire with it's marble and crystal chandeliers and red leather furniture.

The lobby counter was a darker marble than the pale grey of the rest of the lobby, behind it a thin man with a short crop of brown hair just a few inches taller than Henry in a suit. Estella walked past it, only meeting the man's gaze a moment, his welcoming smile and nod in her direction as full of shit as the lobby was grand.

"I think they make up stories about how a young brown girl dressed like me can afford a room here." Then her voice withdrew to a whisper, her lips cutting into a devilish grin. "Though I doubt they'd guess mutant with a load of stolen Mafia. Wait here, I'll be right down."

Then walked on to the elevator man, and disappeared into his lift. It was another ten minutes before she returned with a pale green seabag near full swung over her shoulder, walking quickly to the lobby counter with a key in her hand. When she turned from the counter after a minute, she was without the key.

Henry had waited patiently, although he had decided to look through a list of the hotel's prices, baulking somewhat at the establishment he found himself in. Maybe if he'd sold all his medals, he might have been able to stay a few weeks in the place, perhaps another sign of the 'good times' they were all supposed to be going through.

"C'mon, white boy. I'll pay for the taxi this time, and some lunch."

She even smiled at him as she walked by, walking out the doors and to another cab in the small line of them that stayed by the hotel at the ready for the guests and patrons of the Wilkshire. The bag was handed to the cabby, and Estella waited for him to get into the back of the cab first before she got in herself and closed the door.

"Grand Central, please." Then she scooted over to the middle of the backseat, close to him, to make the whisper coming more secure from the cabby's ears. "How much are you worth?"

At her question, the joker in Henry revealed itself once more, at least for the moment, "Now, I don't know what you've heard, but I've never been 'that' kind of escort." He smirked for a moment, enjoying his own childishness, before continuing on a more serious note, "Economically, I do alright, don't have much in the way of income at the moment, just savings. My mutation might be worth something to some people, but I haven't figured out a way to sell it yet." His smirk remained, but his tone was more business like.

"If you're asking if I can pay for lunch, I think I can manage that." Joking again, he made a note for himself to take things more seriously in general, but experience had made his current situation seem rather less 'real' and 'serious' than his past, that, and what could a man who could never die 'not' laugh about?

She was more careful with the volume of her voice. "I'm down to forty thousand. Even if I'd stayed with Xavier, I'd still not trust some favor his friends owed him. They obviously didn't think providing for their 'students' out in full, that's a failure of leadership. So however it went, I knew I'd need to fend for myself. I can handle steel doors, so if you have a way of handling human guards better than I can, without hurting them, than I'm thinking we could help each other out. Up to you."

The cab came to a halt, momentarily caught in traffic. Henry used the opportunity, reaching out with the blanket of his 'healing factor' in the following couple of seconds, their driver slumped forwards onto the wheel. He could feel the slight rush of energy coursing to him, at the basic level, stealing the man's energy to refresh himself, before releasing it. The man was awake, and rubbing his eyes, just in time to drive as the traffic eased.

"It takes more focus than my body just healing itself...but I can diasble people without hurting them. I take it we'd be hitting some place big? That's fine by me, people who proffited off the damned war while many survivors can't afford homes, well, they hold a special place in my heart." His smirk, becoming more of a slightly savage grin, remained in place. He had not quarrel with the people who worked in such places, hence why he would put them to sleep, rather than just kill them, which he was sure he could do if he tried, even if focusing his powers was taxing.

"Does this help you plan?"

After a curious perk of her eyebrows, there wasn't much emotion to the latina. "Sounds good. But we do this right. Carefully, and we make sure we get the right target. I don't want us getting hurt, and I don't want to steal from anyone but exactly the war profiteers you're talking about. We need to do home work, it sounds like. Agreed?"

"I always did think school was the best years of my life, seems like were in line with this." He nodded, his facial expression more deadpan, even if the trace of humour still remained. Not that he would have considered robbing a business this very morning, but he had no qualms about the idea, and even if he hadn't joined Xavier's group, it was nice to have some 'fellow' mutant company, even if he suspected it might be shortlived.

"New York should be full of those kind of places, we might even get the chance to pick and choose the worst."

That made Estella Rey chuckle a deep, darker, sort of chuckle. "The worst? That's the only kind I know."

It had been two weeks since Logan had paid a visit to my cabin in the mountains. Two weeks of considering my options even though I'd known immediately there was only one. He told me he'd been sent by a professor named Xavier, a man who'd studied people like me for years and could help me control my "gift". It wasn't a gift though. You could return a gift. Most gifts didn't put every single thing you looked at in danger of being vaporized, either. I'd almost lost it when he called it that. Almost blasted him into atoms on the spot. I'd turned away though, cut a ravine in the side of the mountain half a mile long before I closed my eyes and gained control again. "Can your professor fix THAT?" I'd asked, struggling to regain control so I could open my eyes again. Logan had just stood there for a while, watching the fires in the new ravine burn themselves out.

"He's the best chance you've got, kid."

Then he'd left a letter and walked off into the woods, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I knew before he'd even left that I'd be making the trip to New York, knew I had no choice in the matter. I suspect that he knew it too, after the display I put on for him. How could I not go? If I wanted any semblance of a normal life, this was my last shot at getting it. Sure, I could control it for almost eight hours now, but the headaches started after four and only got worse the longer I held it in. So here I was, in the middle of the most populated city in the world, looking for a bar that allegedly held all the answers to my problems. If only life were that easy.

"So then the lawyer says to the jockey, 'it's not a horse you idiot, it's a cab.'" It was an old joke, one my dad had told me years ago, but the pretty brunette who'd decided to tag along from the airport seemed to think it was the funniest thing in the world. She had a pretty laugh, that was for sure, and it made me smile to see someone so happy again. It had been a long time since I'd been able to genuinely smile. The young woman looped her arm through mine and almost ran into a girl a couple years younger than myself as she payed too much attention to me and too little to where she was going. I managed to pull her up short though and we avoided a head on collision, though she'd been fairly consistently absentminded ever since we'd met. Clearly not the brightest bulb on the street, but even so I didn't want her tagging along to Xavier's bar with me. Then my salvation came in the form of a question from the new girl with auburn hair.

"There you are, Emma!" It was the first name that popped into my head, so I ran with it. Besides, she kind of looked like an Emma. "I think I found Xavier's place. It's just back this way." I pointed back the way the young woman had come, acting all the while like I'd known her for years. The half-brained brunette latched onto my arm was clearly only interested in one thing, and I needed a way to get rid of her before actually finding Xavier's place. I pulled my arm free of the brunette's and stepped closer to "Emma", sliding an arm halfway around her waist, praying she'd just play along. Though if the brunette hadn't spotted the holes in my story already it would take a pretty big reaction to make her suspicious. "Emma, this is Vivienne. Vivienne, this is my girlfriend, Emma Frost." I guess if you spend enough time in the frozen mountains of Alaska, some words tend to stick in your mind more than others. At the mention of girlfriend, Vivienne's expression took on a half-startled look and she visibly had to compose herself.

"Oh... Well, I... uh. It was good to meet you." Then she turned on her heel and walked back down the street. I watched her until she turned a corner, then sighed audibly as she disappeared. Hopefully she'd just assume I had come from the airport to meet "Emma" at this Xavier's place, and we'd both just happened to be running late on the same street. Now that Vivienne had been taken care of, I slipped my arm off the new stranger's waist and took a step back.

"Sorry about all that. There's only so much brainless chitter a guy can take, you know?" I gave her an apologetic smile then held a hand out in greeting. "I'm Scott. Thanks for playing along. I actually haven't found Xavier's place yet, but it's gotta be close. It's a bit too much of a coincidence that we'd end up on the same street looking for the same guy otherwise. Shall we look together?"

The first thing that ran through Ari's mind as his arm looped around her frame, was to slap the bejesus out of this strange boy with the beautiful blue eyes. His hand was subtly nearing her ass and she so desperately wanted to kick him where the sun didn't shine.

Still, despite her face flushing a brilliant red and her blood reaching boiling point, she managed a tight smile towards the now lonesome girl in front of them. The girl's grin had fallen to a distinct frown and her eyes indicated genuine disappointment. Surely she'd longed to have some sort of sexual encounter with this man, but as Ari would have predicted, he wanted to flee this little potential fling, clearly not at all interested.

“Hey, baby, I missed you,” she cooed, puckering her lips up at the boy. “I was beginning to wonder where all you'd gone.”

To put a bit of depth into her character, she made an effort to ignore the other girl, narrowing her eyes at her at every mentioning of her presence. 'Emma' found no interest in her evidently, so to play the role, Ari rested her palm on the boy's chest and leaned in, huffing delightfully at the smell of his scent.

After the girl had gone and the boy had distanced himself, Ari laced her arms over her chest, giving him a halfhearted chance to explain what had just occurred. His name was Scott, and he claimed that ultimately, that'd been a misshapen. It was beneath her, and she wondered why'd she'd helped him in the first place, but as she simmered down, those raging thoughts settled, too.

At his proposal to look for Xavier's institute, Ari shrugged, a gesture that although it wasn't her first choice, it was better to be alongside another person who knew just as much as she did. “Ari, by the way,” she told him. “I'm pretty sure the institute is just up here. I was heading for it right before I met you and Barbie back there.”

Samuel had watched as the drama unfolded. Sure, it was spectacular. That guy, Logan, had an attitude, that was for certain. But so did the girl, the one with the lightning seem to have as well. Samuel decided to keep quite, and do as he was told, following Logan down into the bunker. Sam had never been in the bunker before. Last time he had 'trained' it had been in the backyard of some estate just outside of New York.

Charles had a frown on his face as the two mutants left. He couldn't force them to stay, but his heart went out for them, he prayed that they'd be safe. “Keep track of them, Charles. I'll talk to them once we're done here.” His friend, Erik had told Charles, whom nodded. Charles limped down the stairs, Erik walking behind him. The metallic door closed with the help of Erik's powers, leaving the bar unguarded, a “closed” sign in the window.

Logan's body stiffened, he didn't know how or why he was here? Stealing a glance over to Charles who had just made it downstairs with Erik, Logan tried to search his face for answers. What could Charles possibly want with a kid who didn't even know for sure if he was mutant or not? This kid...Snark...was definitely mutant though, Logan could smell it on him. Hell, he could smell it off of Snark more easily than all the others. There was something about this kid...something powerful...and he didn't even know it yet.

Charles looked at Logan and the boy. The boy being just about terrified of the whole situation. Charles approached Logan and Snark, nodding for Logan to tend to the others. “I don't know what happened to you, Snark. But I can help you find out. I am certain, Logan is too, that you're one of us. If you want to, we can talk about it now. Erik and Logan can keep things in check here.” Charles promised the boy.

**

Erik lead the other mutants into the biggest room which laid down another couple of flights of stairs, Logan following close behind issuing to the others to continue to follow them. The room being about the size of a football field and at least 10 meters to the roof. “This was all a bunker, in case the city would get bombed?” Samuel asked Erik as the younger mutant looked inside, Erik nodded. “Yeah. The government can make things when they decide to. We thought about re-purposing this area to a living-quarters. But that wouldn't give us any room at all to practice your abilities.” Erik said.

Erik turned to the others. “ Well. Aren't you curious to find out exactly what it is everyone else -who is willing- can do?” Erik asked the group, his voice holding a hint of anticipating in it. “You care to start, hotshot?” Erik asked Samuel, whom shrugged. “Sure.” Samuel said, removing his jacket, revealing the white wifebeater he wore under the jacket. He kneeled, and removed his shoes as well. He walked into the bunker, the metal being cool to the touch of his bare feet.

He cracked his neck, and looked back at Erik. “You're sure about this? You want me to just dash, right?” Samuel asked him, and Erik nodded. “ I would prefer if you didn't make a hole in the bunker, correct.”

“All right.” Samuel said, as he closed his eyes, and took a breath, before bending forward, and putting his feet in front of each other, as if he was gonna spring. His left foot hit the metal floor, and as the right one raised from the floor, a blue energy surrounded the boy's lower-body. With a loud 'boom' Samuel left a blue streak in the room as he dashed across the bunker a few feet off the ground, he hit the end of the bunker, by twirling in the air. Bouncing off the metal by putting his left arm down, he jerked his body around, slowing down, until he slid on the floor on his feet, now on the other side of the room. He had still a few feet left to the wall.

“That good enough for you?” Samuel asked Erik, whom had a confident smirk on his face. “Excellent. Even. So, who's next?” He asked the others.

Upon watching the spectacle, Logan had removed his leather jacket revealing his own white wife-beater, though his bore the stains of experience. Arms folded, Logan just scoffed.

"Cute light-show kid. Remind me next time to get the popcorn." Logan said turning his back, seemingly not impressed by the boy's skill. Walking now over to Kimberly, he put his hand on her shoulder delicately.

"Let's see what you got. Lunch is on me if it's better than his." Logan said gruffly, but a twinkle in his eye indicated that he was actually beginning to enjoy himself. He hadn't forgotten that she was the first to voulenteer.

Snark was so afraid he was going to get berated for all that he said, especially after Logan was so supportive towards him. It was such a strange thing to experience, he had never had such concern given to him; however, he could only disappoint the man by claiming he had no idea whether he was a mutant or not. Almost waiting for those claws to pop out and the threat to leave, he gasped a little when one of the girls stepped towards him, offering him her hand despite how filthy his own were. He had somewhat hoped that by mentioning Xavier that he might have some excuse for being here; if he had just said he had wandered in here accidentally might had ended up making things a lot worse.

Alison was a fairly normal sounding name; she must have had some nice life going on with some loving parents to give her such a soft sounding and gentle name. Just why was someone with such a name even talking to him, anyway? Staring down at her hand, he slowly reached out for it before he halted, looking at his own filthy calloused fingers and comparing them to hers, “Uhhh…close? Is that…so”, he spoke, his hand hovering over hers in a slight nervous shake, “I, uhh, guess that’s your…power?” Maybe it was all the bread he consumed that was making him such a coward right now, but as her palm slowly lowered he realised he shouldn’t straight out grab her hand just because it was moving away from his.

As his own cowardice caused Alison’s hand to slip away from his, he got a mild fright as the strange man from before spoke to him, his eyes looking at him up and down curiously before his reached out hand immediately went to his chest, clearing his throat a little. Looking up at Kurt at the moment of hesitation to his name, the sudden appearance of that strange creature made him jump a little as his eyes shifted from the creature to Kurt respectively a few times. Why were those things completely naked, anyway? He had seen many strange things and hallucinated much before, but those things were definitely something new, “Uhh, friends?” he questioned him, finding it oddly unbelievable that anybody would regard an almost complete stranger as a friend, “Even if it turns out I’m not one of you? Why do those things have no clothes…?”

Just as the thought of dressing those creatures up like little monkeys came into mind, that thought was soon abandoned to make room for the arrival of the Xavier man and hopefully saving him from this awkward moment. The other man was there too, the Erik guy who could make coins float around. Watching as Charles approached him, Snark stared up at the man as he spoke about his certainties, that he was completely positive that Snark had abilities that all these other kids had too. Looking to Kurt before to Alison, their words of reassurance had him feeling a lot more confident than he had been before. As his eyes moved back to Charles, he nodded, rubbing his arm slowly as if to give himself some reassurance, “Okay…okay, I’ll talk to you”, he spoke, his eyes going to Logan just before he was set to leave with Erik, “And, uhh…thanks, thanks a lot. I’ll remember that”.

Kimberly stepped forward and gulped. She had no idea what she got herself into but she knew she had to impress the group now. She knew how to use her power, she didn't realize Wolverine would take the bait. However, she was happy that there was something rewarding. She cleared her throat and yelled out a word of power. A scream suddenly filled out the room and shattered the glass in the room. The sound traveled all of the first floor everything then traveled back to Kimberly's ears. She then listed everything in the floor and who was in the room if applicable. She smiled and thought she did her job.

'"Who's next?" She asked as she smiled at her act of showing off.

He chuckled at Ari's mention of Barbie, a name traditionally reserved for the exceedingly pretty yet mentally challenged, and Vivienne definitely fit the bill. "Alright then, lead the way." He gestured for her to continue down the sidewalk, adding a half-bow as he did so. "I shall defer to your well-informed sense of direction." So they continued on until reaching the bar, which when they arrived had the closed sign hanging proudly in the window and the blinds drawn shut. It was to be expected, he supposed, given that it was not even four in the afternoon yet. This was definitely the address Xavier's letter had given him though, and he stepped up and tried the door. Locked. "Well... I guess we get creative then." He'd come thousands of miles already, and wasn't about to let a locked door stop him. Reaching inside his coat, he pulled out a long knife and slipped the blade between the door and the jamb, then forced it down at an angle until it pushed the latch back and the door popped open. "There we are. Now, let's see what this Xavier guy has in store, shall we?" He gave Ari another smile, hoping it was the comforting sort since most people found breaking and entering distasteful at best, then pushed on into the bar.

The scene that greeted them was typical of most drinking establishments, a pool table off to one side and some tables and chairs scattered about, with the bar on the other side with its line of stools standing proudly in front. The room was dark, owing to the half-closed blinds on the windows, and thin tendrils of light drew lines across the tables and chairs. "Nice place." Which it actually was. Clean and well kept, without the beer stains on the floor and counter you found in some other establishments or the rank smell of those who'd drunk too much and couldn't make it to the bathroom in time. Or maybe those things were unique to the redneck bars Scott had grown up around. Either way, this place was worlds apart from what he was used to.

"Hello! Charles Xavier? Logan? Anyone here?" His voice was raised to carry through the building, and he removed his tan trench coat and laid it across the bar while he waited. He honestly wasn't sure why he'd worn the coat in the first place though. New York was a lot warmer than the mountains in Alaska, and he'd been on the verge of breaking into a sweat ever since he'd gotten off his plane. Underneath the coat, he wore a white dress shirt and black slacks, complimented by a somewhat out-of-place pair of polished black army boots. It hadn't been his first choice of wardrobe, but when one was traveling to the big city, it was usually best to try and blend in as much as possible.

Atticus watched as Alison began comforting the boy, who had called himself Snark. Something struck him as odd about him. Clearly the boy had lived on the streets for some time, but he lacked any of the hardness most people he knew had after living like he had for awhile. He seemed withdrawn, which was typical, but he also seemed shy and uncertain. On the streets, indecisiveness could mean the difference between life and death. Atticus was reminded of a stray kitten. But there were occasional glimmers of a fierce streak, buried somewhere deep, as though he didn't even realize he had one.

Wolverine's first volunteer after he called for a demonstration was the broad in the evening dress, but it was not to be. He called Snark forward instead, and when the boy couldn't call upon whatever power he might have, the big man softened, crouching down so he was eye level with the boy, and spoke genuine words of encouragement. Atticus suspected this was a side of the man he rarely showed, and that made it seem all the more authentic. He doubted any of the others would receive that kind of sympathy. After this, Xavier asked Snark if he'd like to talk to him further, and Snark agreed.

Another boy stepped forward, more confident this time. He removed his jacket and his shoes, and dashed forward, becoming a blue blur as he moved faster than even Atticus's keen eyes could follow. He rebounded off the far wall and returned, skidding to a halt a few feet from the far wall. Clearly this boy had been practicing. Atticus's power may not be as flashy, but that tended to be an advantage as far as he was concerned. Logan offered to buy the girl in the red dress lunch if she could top that performance. She stepped forward, smiling confidently, almost smugly, and shrieked. All the glass in the room shattered, and she rattled off all the objects and people that were upstairs. Wait... People? That meant they would be meeting some newcomers soon, and given that the door had been locked, Atticus wasn't sure they would be friendly.

However, he stepped forward to take the next turn, removing his coat and slinging it over a chair, his newsboy cap following suit shortly after. He also took of his glasses, to avoid damaging them, and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt, then reaching back and loosening the belt on the back of his suit vest. The clothes made him look respectable, but they constricted his movement more often than not. Atticus crouched, almost squatting, and looked up, selecting a rafter. After lowering himself a few more inches, he uncoiled rapidly, overdeveloped leg muscles propelling him upward like a rocket. His claws came out reflexively, and he grabbed onto the rafter briefly, then used the momentum of his jump to swing forward to grab the next one. Because his bones were lighter, he had less to worry about from inertia or drag, and he swung himself to several more rafters before finally dropping from the ceiling, a good 20 feet, and landing in a similar crouch to his takeoff position. He sprang forward, somersaulting in the air twice before sticking the landing next to the chair he had left his coat and hat on, his gaze lingering for a second or two on the doorway in case their visitors had made their way down yet. As he turned back to face Wolverine, his eyes met Alison's briefly, issuing her a playful challenge.

"Well, I hope that was up to your standards." His words to the large man were direct, unfettered by sarcasm. Secretly hoping he had impressed the older mutant, Atticus reached down to pick up his glasses and noticed they were missing. Eyes darting around the room, he finally found them in the possession of one of the naked, blue... things that had arrived with the blue skinned boy. He pounced, but the thing disappeared in a puff of smoke just as his hand was closing around the glasses. He rounded on the blue boy, brows knitted in anger as he bore down on the hapless teleporter. "You tell your little blue demon thing to give those back."

Logan’s hand shot from Kimberly’s arm to his ears, covering them tightly as she let out a shriek, but his amplified hearing could still hear the shriek just as loud as if he hadn’t covered them. His head began to pound, his ears ringing. Small stars started to show up in his vision which had also began to go black. Just as soon as Logan was sure he was about to pass out, Kimberly stopped and started letting Logan know about the building. The study, the bar room which now had two new occupants, the lower bunker, and now the basement bunker. Rubbing his temples and walking away from Kimberly trying to get the ringing out of his ears he reached Yukiko. He bent his muscular neck down towards her a bit, whispering something in her ear. The Asian simply nodded and quietly excused herself from the group as she bounded upstairs, no doubt to check to see if Kimberly’s claim of two new people were upstairs or not. Had they been more mutants, Yukiko could lead them downstairs to join the group; if foe…well…Logan knew her background enough to know that she could take care of herself. Needless to say, however, he kept his senses honed in on her…just in case.

As soon as Atticus, the boy he now knew as Talon started to remove his jacket, Logan’s somewhat paled expression loosened up a bit as he crossed his wide, now exposed arms across his chest. Watching the boy’s display of acrobatics, Logan couldn’t help but to let the corner of his lip curl up into a smile. This Talon kid reminded him so much of himself, though now that his bones were made of solid metal he wouldn’t be able to move like that anymore, but there was much he could teach the boy, if he allowed it.

“You…I’m buying lunch.” Logan smirked but then his attention was quickly dissuaded as the confidence that he had once held melted away once one of the Bamf’s stole his glasses. Shaking his head a bit, his attention went back to Alison, that look of appreciation back in his eye as he examined her trying to focus. He half put up his hands by his ears…just in case…but then the light shot out from her fingertip, aimed for the Bamf trying on Talon’s glasses though missing and busting the light bulb directly overhead. The immediate area that were in had gone completely dark, but walking twenty feet forward would have put you in the light of the next light bulb.

Logan took advantage of the situation, however, and in the dark approached Alison following the twinkling lights that seemed to be coming from her. Placing his rough hand on her shoulder gently, he lowered his voice that only she could hear.

“You couldn’t hit one of them if you even tried. Don’t get discouraged, I’m not interested in you being perfect…well…in abilities anyway.” He smirked and then walked on past her into the light of the next light bulb over.

**

Upon reaching the upstairs, Yukiko found the two new persons inhabiting the bar room. A male and female, both white. The male let out a call for Charles Xavier, Erik, and Logan…names she was all familiar with, so they had to be mutants too. She couldn’t help but to shake the look of awe on her face, realizing just what sort of power that girl in the red dress held. She could think of many times when she was out in the field when she would have killed for an ability like that.

“H-herro.” Yukiko said to the pair of them, making herself known.

“Missah Charles, Erik’n’Logan san downstairs in the hold.” She said using her best English.

“Missah Charles is b-busy with Snark, but Missah Erik’n’Logan San be willing to help.”

Her bright brown eyes blinked at the two of them, a wave of self-consciousness washing over her as she pulled a lose strand of her dark brown hair behind her ear. She had never felt this out of place before, but then again in Japan Yukiko wasn’t exactly surrounded by white people either, and when she was…she was usually ordered to kill them.

“This a way.” Yukiko said waving her arm for the two of them to follow her back down into the bunker.

Mort was a busy gopher, go for this, go for that. He finished his regular exercises in the warehouse with the crates before the regular shifts arrived. if anyone asked, the 7'6" boy was just a night guard. After exercises, he went to one of the few remaining karate dojo's in the city after the second world war to train for an hour or so with a proper teacher in the arts and language since his father had him fluent in Chinese, Japanese would be the next language he studied beyond technical terms for the martial art.

Leaving the dojo sore in body as well as mind, he was supposed to get a copy of a book from one of the local bookstore. It was a long walk for most without his four foot strides but he made quick time of it at a brisk pace. Apparently it was already ordered but he wasn't told which one it was at so he had to navigate the city to look for it. Another few hours later he had The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Manchaa Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra in his hands. Next came the bar run where he had to travel to the local brewers and retrieve some crates for the legitimate business.

Finally, he got in the back door by the alley just in time for there to be an ear splitting screach that shattered every beer bottle he just bought. "所有神离弃妓女催生一个狒狒的, 我做了应得的什么神圣的地狱？!?" Clearly it was time for a smoke break before he did something stupid. He squatted down so low that he nearly folded in on himself before a single snap of his legs had him thirty feet in the air to land on the roof. With one hand he took out an altoid box and with the precision only a practiced hand was good at proceeded to pinch out three small balls of hashish to which he plugged into his peterson pipe one at a time to make sure it was evenly distributed. A 'taf-hiss' of a wood match soon had the boy relaxing as he smoked atop Xavier's office skylight as he tried to figure out what to do now while beer dripped off his soaking clothes like rainfall.

They brought him in and let him sleep in the warehouse behind a few small crates stacked into the corner. It was cold and dark and lonely but better than his mothers penthouse any day of the week. In exchange he was a helper for the bar and warehouse to keep some meager money rolling in and keep things looking good in case their new plan went south. He wasn't planing on meeting any of the new recruits until later anyways when they all got together for supper. Thats what he forgot to get! Now he had to go back out for more alcohol for the bar and some red wine for the spaghetti tonight.

Mort considered a few more things while on that roof while he finished his bowl before taking a deep breath to blow out the contents with enough force to knock a bird out of the sky with the pitch ball. "Oops."

Kimberly smiled at all the applause she got. She adored the attention that was starved from her at childhood. "Thank you Wolverine." She said as she looked at everybody mighty proud of herself. She wondered who was next in this game. She sat next in the center of the remaining people, awaiting to see their wonderous talents. Granted she already knew some of their powers such as the blue guy's teleportation power.

This boy was, to say the least, an interesting fellow. She'd never been acquainted with others her age aside from Tyler when she was but a child. It'd been rather difficult to communicate with him at first, being that he was far more socially adequate than she was, but she'd learned over a period of time. Now, however, she wasn't entirely convinced that she was able to hold a conversation with anyone who she was familiar with. Even so, she'd done exceptionally well all things considered, and a boost of confidence surged through her.

Scott was much taller than she, but Ari rushed beside him, indicating which direction they were to go as if she was some sort of a leader. In a sense, she supposed she was, as in this very moment, her word hung above his. It didn't last for much longer though, for as they approached a bar – at least, she assumed it was – Scott towed ahead. The front door had been locked, something that she'd suspected would occur. Better safe than sorry.

The boy made a comment about having to get creative with the locked door and began rummaging through his pockets, revealing a knife that was very much so dangerous and life-threatening. She thought to run, turn the other way and head for civilization, but before she managed to put said thought into action, the door clicked open. Scott then stowed away the knife deep within his pockets, never once raising it to Ari.

She swallowed. Proceeding into the building just behind Scott, she did her best to scan the perimeter, given that it was so terribly arranged. Up until now, she'd never once stepped foot into any sort of bar, only ever seeing them on her television screen. It wasn't much different from others, with pool tables, a bar table, various types of assorted beers and alcoholic beverages up against the wall. It was a typical bar. Or so she thought.

Ari all but winced when Scott hollered two names – Charles Xavier and Logan – slamming her fist into his arm. Clearly this boy had completely disregarded the possibility of them being with people who weren't expecting their company. There was a chance that this bar had been claimed by anyone, and while she admired Scott's lean physique, she knew better than to entrust him with her safety.

Materializing from the stairs that she'd just now addressed, a frail Japanese girl stepped forward. She was slightly taller than Ari herself, albeit remarkably petite. Ari did her best to form the sentences on her own, as the girl's English was not at all proper, and as timidly as she'd walked in, she left, asking that they follow her. So far, she'd risked her life more times than she could count on one hand – trusting absolute strangers in hopes that they won't kill her. Obviously none had, and being beside Scott reassured her to some extent. If this Japanese girl was to do anything, surely she and Scott could handle it.

“Let's uh...” she motioned forward. “Let's see what we're in for.”

"Yes, lets." He left his coat on the counter and followed the petite young Asian back the way she'd come. Some people would have been offended by her simple presence, but Scott himself had only even fought the Germans, and even then he knew better than to blame the actions of one's country on an individual. Especially one as obviously young as this girl was. He didn't see her as a potential threat either, didn't see much of anything that way anymore. Maybe he should have seen things more like Ari did, should have made a threat assessment of everyone he's met and kept his guard up, but when just opening your eyes has the potential to wipe out a mountainside, it starts to become more and more difficult to see anything as more dangerous than you are.

The temperature began to drop as they went lower and Scott found himself feeling more and more comfortable in spite of the fact that they were descending into a potential deathtrap should he lose control. Or maybe not. He began to wonder if his blasts would be able to penetrate so much bedrock, but before he could finish running the numbers in his head they were coming to a stop at the bottom of the stairs. The room was huge, and much darker than it likely should have been. There was also a group of people closer to the center, and one of them seemed to be... sparkling? That was... interesting.

It was hard to make out the faces from this distance and in the dark, but Logan still stood out like a sore thumb, what with shoulders even broader than Scott's own and the peaked hairstyle that no one else in the room seemed to be sporting. As he moved closer, his eyes shifted to each of the other people in turn, and it didn't take long to figure out that Logan was the only actual adult in the room. Apart from the stoic looking European guy, at least. That must be Erik. He started walking over to introduce himself, but only made it half a step before the migraine hit him like a jackhammer. His eyes snapped shut as his left hand came up to his temples and his right wrapped around the stairway railing in a white-knuckle grip, while he grit his teeth at the pain and his eyes glowed red behind the lids, his power threatening to tear through the thin veneer of flesh and wipe out everything he could see. He knew it wouldn't though, and as quickly as the pain had come it was gone again and he inhaled deeply to calm his nerves and help re-assert control over his wayward ability. A moment longer and he was able to safely open his eyes again and stand upright.

"Sorry about that. It happens if I don't rest my eyes for more than five hours at a stretch." He said, by way of explanation to anyone who noticed his little breakdown. Straightening himself, he released the railing and continued on to join Logan under one of the lights that actually worked, smiling at the pretty young woman's obviously flirtatious banter. A second glance told him she was more than pretty, and it was no small wonder that Logan's expression seemed to reciprocate the flirtatiousness. Because that's just what a bunch of kids with superpowers need, is more hormones. "Alright, I'm here." Another glance at the assembled teens before his gaze came back to wolverine. "Or I guess we're here would be more accurate. I'm guessing we missed the tour and 'how not to destroy the world' speech?" He wanted nothing more than to just cut all the crap and find out how to fix himself, but Logan wasn't the type to deal well with impatience and Scott clearly wasn't the only one in need of help. So he decided to keep playing along for now, even though all the niceties were really beginning to grate. To that end, he kept his face friendly even though he really didn't like having to socialize with people and to top it all off the ache had started up behind his eyes again.