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Luna followed Max’s attention when he looked at Waverly who was apparently getting a phone call. She frowned a little curious as to who could be on the other line but her attention was drawn back to Veil when she explained that she would be leading the bar mission and once again listened off the different tasks that needed to be completed for the day. ”I will go where you need me to Veil,” Luna offered. She thought it would be best if she didn’t participate in the medical raid with Sapphire’s crew but if that was where she was sent, Luna would do her best to remember Xavier’s words.
It wasn’t that Luna had a problem trusting or following other peoples’ words, she just had a hard time grasping why it was her that had to be the one to placate and make others happy. Why couldn’t they conform to her? Of course, that was Luna’s immaturity in working with others outside of her family coming through. Beyond school, Luna didn’t have much experience working with others. This was as much as a learning process for her as it was for anyone working with her. As her mother would say though, ’we meet people where they are at’. And in a world full of mistrust and misguided understanding, there was a lot of that.

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Cayden was near Waverley when she got her phone call. He tried to give her space without completely walking away but it was clear to him that the phone call was upsetting. She mentioned Shaw to the person on the other line and now Cayden wasn’t able to quite ignore her so easily. He finished his apple, setting the core aside to toss later when Waverley finished her phone call and proceeded to drop her phone and void what little she had in her stomach. Cayden stood still for a moment, making a serious effort to keep the food he just ate down when Max came over to help. That seemed to make him snap to and he shook his head before helping move Waverley away from the acidic smell. Fresh air would help her gain a bit more sense he figured. ”Who was on the phone Wave?” His tone was as gentle as it could be but there was some serious curiosity in the tone.
Max seemed to be taking care of her the best he could so Cayden afforded some space and looked at the rest of the group when Veil started handing out assignments. ”I can help out with scouting,” he volunteered. He looked over at the one called Blink and nodded to her. ”If you don’t mind that is.” Cayden wouldn’t have minded going on any one of the missions really but this one was helping everyone get a new home, a new location for them and other future members to lie low in. It was getting crazier out there and they needed a stable place.

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Waverley had never been one to need her hair to be held back. She was always the one holding other people's hair back. Whether it was her high school best friend who she went to a party with and who had a little too much to drink, or Riley home sick, already upset that she not only had to miss a day of school, but wasn't even well enough to work on her personal projects. When she felt a hand gently press against her back as she sat there retching, she flinched away from it at first. The flinch was more out of reflex than anything else, and once it was softly resting against her back, she no longer tried to pull away from it anymore. She let it delicately pull her hair back. It was a pleasant feeling, even if she wasn't exactly puking out anything other air at that point.

After a few moments, Waverley stopped gagging, left with her head tilted downwards and her jaw agape as if she were sitting in front of a toilet, waiting for more vomit to come out. But none came. Her eyes had stopped leaking not long after her stomach emptied, though her eyes still glistened and her cheeks were still damp. She didn't look behind her at her mystery sympathizer, mainly out of fear that it might be one of the people who witnessed her mother's death first hand, or worse, her killer himself. She was afraid that if she saw his face, she'd experience it again. As such, almost willfully, she didn't recognize his voice, and didn't try to place it either. When he asked his question, she slowly shook her head.

"The police chief..." Waverley responded to Cayden when she heard him speak. Waverley hadn't really talked much to anyone but the kids in her first few days in the Mutant Underground. Negasonic wasn't exactly approachable, and Colossus, while pleasant, was a teacher figure, and no one wants to be friends with a teacher. And while she wouldn't exactly call Cayden a friend yet, being that the only time she'd spent with him was looking after the kids the previous night, he was the first acquaintance she had made. And his presence soothed her. Her body, as if on autopilot, slowly stood up, and began to slowly follow where Cayden lead, away from the repulsive brown puddle she'd been sitting in. Her head was still dropped, eyes on he concrete, and lips apart, taking deep breaths.

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“God, couldn’t agree more with you.” James chuckled, beaming since his comment didn’t set anything off and Casper seemed to appreciate the gesture. He sipped at his own, instinctively making a face at it but scolded himself internally. This place was clearly not well funded and they had just been brutally attacked. This was something he would have to get accustomed too. He was just thankful they had something to hold back the eventual caffeine headache that would probably kick his ass up and down the curb later. He did turn his attention back to Veil for a few moments however.

“I’ll go with anyone. I’m pretty good at staying out of sight; people tend to look right over me. I can help scout out but I’m more than happy to head to the bar if you expect anyone to be critically injured. I can help in a pinch if you need it.” James offered, though he did turn back to Casper. “Are you going to head out now that you’ve rested? I know you mentioned you didn’t seem comfortable with the idea of hanging around here the other day. Not that I’m shooing you away. In fact, I might, maybe would like you to stay because maybe I could keep my promise from the other night and go out once the dust has settled?” James asked hopefully, not really sure what tonight would entail if things got messy with the bar but he really did hope he could do something semi-normal just to take his mind off the whirlwind of crazy that had happened.

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“If you wished for someone to solve your problem in less than 48 hours, you requested the wrong person, Mr. Shaw. You should be fully aware of my background and methods and thus my penchant for meticulousness. ” Requiem stated bluntly but sighed as he took off his glasses, tucking them neatly into his jacket. If Shaw wanted a scapegoat, then so be it. Requiem had things to share and none of them were going to be to the man’s liking. “However, if you care to hear my preliminary findings in front of two of the three people you believe may be culprits, I would be more than pleased to oblige. I emphasize that these are in no way my final conclusions so any of you may feel free to continue enjoying your little game. I only beg your patience during my discussion.” He adjusted the grip on his cane as he planted it in front of him as he addressed the table.

“As you are all aware, Mr. Shaw misplaced his prototype Sentinel some days ago. Despite the urgency of the matter, Mr. Shaw contacted Jinx and myself to investigate the missing prototype the afternoon before yesterday. When we went to investigate where the Sentinel was being held as per Mr. Shaw’s suggestion, Ms. Frost intercepted us and escorted us downstairs where we discovered scratch marks along the floor and video footage showing Ms. Frost and Mr. Shaw engaged in intense physical intimacy, Ms. Payge entered with the triplets and made a phone call, and Mr. Lensherr and Mystique use the medical facilities before the footage ended for an hour time period. Requiem tapped softly on his cane as his eyes flickered between the three, meeting Ms. Frost’s gaze, clearly amused with her interest in his discussion. Anastasia’s presence and her little slip up last night made him far more confident in his theory than he had been last night. “Looking at the footage alone, it creates quite a convoluted picture. We see Ms. Frost and Mr. Shaw using the room for private pleasure early on, entirely devoted to their pursuits and seemingly unconnected. We see Ms. Payge testing equipment and on the phone, perhaps revealing information on the function of the Sentinel. Finally, Mr. Lensherr and Mystique access the facility and then leave right before the footage ends. From that viewpoint, it seems they scouted the room to confirm no one was present before absconding with the prototype. If we only used this, and what physical evidence we found in the room, it would point to a connection between Ms. Payge and Mr. Lensherr as the likely culprits. Ms. Frost displayed a degree of irritation beyond what Jinx’s behavior encouraged. It supported the initial assumption that she was relatively removed from the situation, outside of the fact her lapse in security is what caused the technology to go missing.” He smiled pleasantly at her before continuing on.

“But I couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that it wasn’t quite true. So I continued to ponder the idea overnight. And when I appeared at our Headquarters the next night, I concluded I was correct not to throw out Ms.Frost after all. Ms. Reinhardt had been placed on the investigation. An interesting development since one of those you believed possibly responsible for suddenly inserted someone into the process. Then while someone interested in seeing you Mr. Shaw attempted to allow others to infiltrate our headquarters, Ms. Frost suffered an unfortunate head injury while she was busy infiltrating my mind despite the more logical option being simply to verbally communicate to me while in her defensible form. An odd thing coming from someone so calculating. So what does that mean?” Requiem frowned in mock consideration. “Previously I had managed to subject her to my own abilities, albeit it accidentally, and simple pride is the only reason I can imagine she made such a costly mistake. After all, I doubt we would have lost our asset if she had still been standing. Which brings me to conclude that her indisputably advanced logical capacities are easily swayed with strong emotional spikes. Such as in the throes of passion.” He made a pointed look at Shaw and Frost.

“In conclusion, I currently believe Mr. Lensherr is the only one can be considered absolved at this point. Ms. Payge is a wild card, with little time to observe or interact with her, and Ms. Frost and you, Mr. Shaw, are the primary suspects of my investigation.”

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Leighton bit her tongue when Sapphire began talking. Really, she was surprised anyone got to stay around in this group if they were continually insulted and looked down on just for being new. She waved it off. She had no intention of going with her anyway. She felt she would probably stab her with an ice shard before their mission was through, and no one needed to see that. No, she wanted to go with Veil. She felt she could be of more use there.

"I'd like to go to the bar." Leighton glanced at Max, wondering what he would do. She hated herself for thinking it, but her thoughts raced to the possibility of prisoners or hostages and more accidents happening, but it would also show Max wanted to prove he could help people. And she wanted to be there for him. Either way, it seemed they had a decent team going to the bar. Hopefully, it would pan out and help her in her ultimate decision of where she wanted to go when all was said and done.

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Ana had been enjoying the back and forth from some of the higher-ups. It was almost comical how easy it could be to manipulate everyone in the room and have them all out for blood while she continued to enjoy her pancakes. But that would not serve her overall purpose and it would just get messy (she WAS in all white, after all). No, she let it play out, even when Requiem was called out to deliver his findings as to the theft of the Sentinel. She wondered why he would ask him to do such in front of everyone, but she would listen.

"Oh breakfast AND a show. How marvelous." Ana listened with fake enthusiasm as Requiem went over what he had found. She even faked being surprised at hearing her own name in the mix. Really, how delicious was that? She took an interest in his words because she had been having some similar thoughts. In fact, she was able to put two and two together. This wasn't so much about the Sentinel as it was about the power dynamic. Shaw vs. Frost for the battle of supremacy. It was laughable, really. "Really, well done. It was like Hercule Poirot from Agatha Christie right in this very room. I always wanted to be part of a mystery. Do let me become your Irene Adler to your Sherlock please?"

Ana stood up and faced Shaw. She had made her decision as to allies and decided to move her first pawn. She latched on to his mind, which was no easy feat. In fact, he put up a fight so much she felt hungry again, like she hadn't eaten in days despite just enjoying a lovely spread. In the end, she won as she stared him down. He probably knew it too, which made it even more fun.

"Now Mr. Shaw, I believe Requiem had some solid points. But I have worked with Emma for a bit now, so you can imagine that I have been observing her behavior. As such, I do not believe she is the culprit. So let's just get it all out there, shall we? This was all a big ruse was it not? Aren't you the one who "stole" your own Sentinel?"

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New Outfit

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Max slowly stood along with Waverly as she made her way up, her head still facing the ground the whole way up. She mentioned she was speaking to the police, an odd thing considering what had just happened, and he hoped they couldn’t trace the location back to here even if they were about to change places of residence. A short sigh and wondering mind was all he had as he thanked the idea of potentially having Shaw be investigated by the proper authorities while he wondered if they would actually help them any. The matters at hand seemed like their forces would focus more on a mutant hunt than attempting to get the appropriate warrants to investigate Shaw, especially with no real pretenses that Max knew about. He watched as she made her way towards some long haired boy, friends perhaps? He was still too new here to quite know all the relationships that went on within these concrete walls.

As he made his way towards a free space along the wall, Max rested against it, letting his head drift back as he heard Sapphire give another roaring speech about the power of friendship and how she doesnt need it. It seemed quite clear cut that anyone who went with her would need to fall in line quickly and listen to her ideas lest we have another incident like the previous night. It appeared the option to help the kids go north was out of the question, leaving only the recon mission at the bar. Now Max knew a thing or two about reconnaissance, gather evidence in ways they could use and being somewhat subtle about it. Veil’s invisibility would help immensely with it. He didn’t, however, know if anyone here actually knew what that meant given the last days escapade. Max simply closed his eyes and made his own option after hearing what everyone had to say. ”I think I’m going to stay here. If there’s another attack like yesterday then i could be of help. You watched me fight and hold my own against the Hellfire Club so perhaps this may be the best place for me while you guys do what’s needed.” What he wasn’t saying however was how he wanted to stay behind because he was afraid of using his powers again. He was afraid of taking more lives than he already had, and even those few felt as if there was a weight on his shoulders, literal ghosts gripping him and holding him down as their blood ran over his hands.

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”Alright Alright, fine you win I wont give you a hug. It truly is a great pleasure to see you though Polaris, and I’m digging that new look oh so much, honestly.” Jinx backed up a few steps and sat down facing the kings and queens who graced the room. Now, a small part of him was insulted that they asked Requiem for his deductions and not him. Did they think he didn’t have thoughts on his own? Or simply their minds were too...small to follow the complexity that was the inner workings of Jinx’s mind maze. Regardless of the reasoning, for once he was glad not to be the center of attention because that seat was too hot and he did not envy Requiem one bit. He began to take a bite of his bagel once more as he waited and listened in to hear what Requiems thoughts on all of this mess was, hoping that they shared the same conclusions but that he wouldn’t be so dumb as to share them out loud.

As Jinx took a sip into his Grapefruit juice, Reqiuem was concluding his findings and he just spat it all out in a spit take. He could not believe that he just did that. He was sure that he was the dense one and yet here Req was, boldly telling the King and Queen that they are prime suspects numero uno. Not that he disagreed but still. Ana spoke up next and in a string of stupidity just blatantly asked Shaw to confess. He had no idea what would happen next but whatever it was he need the big players to be removed from the playing field and fast. Jinx tried to jinx Emma Frost, hoping her powers would fail and thus weakening any chance of her entering the fight. She did however resist his powers and so he moved on to the next subject, Shaw. Luckily this one stuck and rather easily, he could feel his power settling inside of the potential traitor and messing up his chances to get any of his abilities to work. Of the two mutants, Shaw was who he hoped the most to get.

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There was a hint of amusement in Emma's face, ruining her otherwise cool and collected façade. "Now that is an interesting theory, darling," she mused, not making any proclamations that he was crazy or that it was entirely false. There was a reason why she had inserted Anastasia into the investigative process and it was not for the ones that Requiem and Jinx had suspected. "Oh petal, you could do far better than playing Adler to his Sherlock - stand on your own merit," she advised her protégée. She would hate to see Anastasia define herself in relation to the men in her life.

Shaw laughed slightly, leaning back in his seat and crossing his legs at Anastasia's accusation. He ordinarily expected Emma and her girls to protect him from telepathic attacks - a costly error. "Why yes, of course I stole it!" he exclaimed, seemingly unaware of how he was implicating himself. "Things were getting far too chummy around here and what better way to divide the ranks and incite a civil war than to accuse them of thievery? I've been wanting new leadership in the Inner Circle anyways."

Magneto's eyes narrowed. "And just who did you have in mind, Sebastian?"

"Don't worry, I wasn't going to promote either Requiem or Jinx - they're just tools," Shaw shrugged. "There's a delightful woman named Selene that I had in mind however... I suppose I'll just leave you all to it then? Kill each other. Whoever is still alive can stay - and the rest of you, well, I suppose you'll go burn in hell."

Polaris crossed her arms. She figured that someone in the room had messed with Shaw's mind, as he didn't seem like the type to be this idiotic and bold. He was the leader of the Hellfire Club after all - he had to have at least two brain cells. Of course, watching all of this unfold felt like seeing Downtown Abbey live - she half expected the Dowager to come into the room at any moment with her cane and reveal something else equally horrible. "Jesus," she commented, shaking her head.

Emma hardly seemed surprised at Shaw's confession. She stared at him with an expression of pure ice. "Now what are we to do with you?"

"He's Caesar. We do what must be done," Magneto warned, raising his gloved hands and the knives he kept concealed on his person rose into the air.

"It's time to choose a side, boys," the Three-in-One said in unison, looking over at Jinx and Requiem. They already knew that Anastasia was - or at least had been - siding with Emma and the others. Magneto had chosen Emma's side and his daughter, Polaris, most likely would follow her father in these affairs. Reeva was gone with Fade and Sage, but the Three-in-One already knew of Reeva and Emma's alliance - the very thing Shaw had hoped to destroy with this little game of his.

Shaw couldn't help but laugh again. "You really think I can be killed? Der kleine Erik Lensherr... Ich war da, als du gemacht wurdest, und ich werde eines Tages da sein, um dich zu befreien."

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"Gee, thanks," Veil rolled her eyes slightly at Spark Plug. She had known her for a while, one of the reasons why she was comfortable with Spark Plug's teasing. There were somethings that friends could say to each other that if a stranger were to remark, it would be the start of a lifetime grudge. Along those lines, Havok looked a little bit weirded out as Sapphire called him Alex, but then he realized the point she was making and he shrugged it off, not wanting to hurt his pride by continuing an argument he would surely lose.

"You got a gift with words, Sapphire," he said with a smirk however.

Casper felt a slight inclination to go with Elsa's long lost daughter and get the medicine needed for the poor girl going through withdrawal. He knew from experience how horrible and cruel a process that was, the things that detoxing did to the psyche and the inevitable wreckage that followed. Of course, he never stayed sober very long. Casper only stopped abusing substances when he had no possible way of obtaining them - essentially, just when he was in rehab. "I can go with you, Frosty," Casper piped up. "I know all about detoxing, too."

Sunshine rolled her eyes slightly, seeing that the Sad Panda had decided to go to the bar. She hadn't known him very long, but he seemed to have this insane idea in his head that she needed someone to look out for her. She had been willing to let Erg step into that guardianship role, but then Nazis or the Purifiers or someone killed him. All she wanted was to avenge Erg, she didn't care about having a father figure or someone to look out for her wellbeing. Blink had already left with Negasonic through the portal, meaning that Cayden was sadly just a bit too slow to join up with them.

"Alright," Veil thought for a moment. "I'd like you to go to the bar with us, Glimpse." She had two reasons - the first was that she doubted Sapphire wanted to take Glimpse with her and the second was that she would rather keep those that could not yet be trusted fully near her than with the others in the Underground. If she was wrong about Glimpse, she didn't want her family to pay the price for it. "Moonwalker, go with Sapphire on the medical run."

"Feedback... If you need to stay behind, that's up to you. If not, I think you could help Sapphire out as well - monitor the waves and make sure no Purifiers or cops come their way. James, go with Sapphire as well if she needs you. Max, I appreciate you trying to self correct but I'd like you on the bar run."

Casper meanwhile bit his lip as James asked him to stay at the Mutant Underground. He sighed slightly, trying his best not to stare at the ghosts still hovering angrily around Max, but he figured there was only so long he could avoid sharing this information. "Look, I can't join this place... because my dad is the one who runs it - Charles Xavier, mutant geneticist and abusive dick extraordinaire." He was hardly quiet with his words and everyone in the room would be able to hear that juicy tidbit of information. Professor X's son was there with them. Of course, very few people knew that Charles Xavier had children - and the most famous one was Legion.

Even Colossus looked surprised. "Your father is Professor X, da?" he asked.

"Yuuuup," Casper sighed. "Trust me, he's a horrible father - I guess after loving all the mutants of the world, he didn't have any feelings left over for his kids. So yay for me."

Sunshine crossed her arms slightly. She couldn't help but be irritated with Casper. Some people just never realized how lucky they were, instead content to curse over the gifts that they had received. "How great for you - you have parents," she muttered under her breath. "Can we go already? The sooner we get there, the sooner the Walking Disaster can ruin everything again."

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Callie looked over at Veil and smirked slightly, they both happened to get shot the last few days but they were still standing now as well. Callie watched Waverly and Cayden for a moment, she thought about checking up on them to see if she was alright though she decided against it for right now. She thought it be best not to use her powers either on her to try and calm her down to, before turning her attention back over towards Veil. As some of the others made a choice to either stay here and help out with the detoxing or going to the bar, she was surprised that Veil wanted both Max and Glimpse on the scouting mission.

"I'll go and get the car started up then. Don't have to much fun while we are out now." Callie said, as she stood up, it was certainly going to be pretty interesting since last night's mission didn't really turn out to well. They had the tower from the computer that they managed to snag out of the Hellfire Club's HQ. She made her way towards one of the cars and climbed into it, and started the car up for everyone else who was going.

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"Look Casper, Xavier is your dad, so what, honestly just because he is doesn't mean you can't help out at least a little bit in order to be nice. Come on, it won't be so bad you know," Jack said to his brother with a slight shrug. His own father wasn't exactly the best person to hang around with, but at least in his mind it wasn't Charles Xavier. Though aside from the summer until they had moved away from the mansion he practically was being raised by Xavier. If it also hadn't been obvious before to everyone else, hopefully what he just said would shed light on the fact that Jack and Casper were only half-brothers, since in Jack's mind it was a great thing to not be related to Xavier.

"Oh shut up Havok," Sapphire said with an eye roll, shaking her head slightly at him. "Like I said, anyone whose coming along with me better not cause too many problems. Though for a medical supply run, a few extra hands to grab stuff wouldn't hurt. Glad to have you along, just try to keep up," she said, looking over at Casper. As he had been the only one who had actually volunteered to go along with her (aside from Colossus that is) so that alright put him slightly over just about every other new person she'd met so far.

"Casper, I know you know about detoxing and all, considering how many different times that has probably happened to you, just please try to stay out of trouble?" Jack added to his brother. Essentially sending a slight message of Please don't go off and start getting high off of the medical drugs. That was his main concern really with Casper helping out with medical supplies of any kind. Usually Jack would be around and stand by to essentially ensure that Casper didn't go off, get himself lost, or go score some drugs, looks like this time was going to be different. And possibly giving Casper the chance to show that he can show some restraint without someone there trying to stop him from using. He gave his brother a slight smile, before he followed after Callie towards the car.

"Look kid, trust me, having parents isn't all it's cracked up to be, I wish I never had them, would have been way better off without them," Sapphire said under her breath to Sunshine with a bit of a smile. The kid was definitely different then the others, and in a way was much like herself."Anyway, anyone who is going to stick around and help out, great, anyone who gets to go bar hopping, have fun with that," she said to everyone else, looking around the area. "I'm going to go see how Magik is doing, since this little pow wow seems about over anyway." With those last words, she went off.

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Luna nodded and rolled out her shoulders before she moved over to the group that was about to go on the bar raid. She was thankful to be chosen for this assignment as she had been leaning towards it as an option and going with Sapphire would have been a bad idea all together. She watched the others split off and listened to the one named Casper go on about his father who was Xavier as it turns out. Luna thought she recognized some things about him but it was hard to tell since there were clear signs of him being an addict as well. Luna figured he had his reasons for hating Xavier. He was a good teacher, frustrating as hell but good so she could imagine what having him as a parent may be like. Still, there were worse ones.
”What do you want us looking for?” Luna looked back at Veil, waiting for her further instruction. Luna knew what she would go looking for but that was not necessarily needed. Luna needed to knock herself down a bit. She may know Britain and the inner workings but she wasn’t proficient in America or D.C. like the locals. Back home she was given assignments and trusted to follow through with them and get the job done efficiently but here she wasn't the leader, her opinion wasn't even that vital. She would have to let her work speak for itself.

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Cayden saw the flash of the portal open and as he turned to take a step to follow, it was already gone. Taking Blink and Negasonic with it. He sighed, a bit sad he couldn’t help out with that but Veil shifted him over to the medical run. Better than doing nothing back here. Cayden looked back at Waverly and watched her carefully. She said it had been the police chief and he could kind of piece two and two together. ”Do you want to stay here? Take some time?” He knew Veil assigned her to go with them on the medical run but there was no shame is saying no. Waverly was in mourning, she should be allowed to mourn. After all they managed with out her before, they could do so again.
He watched as everyone started to split off. The leader of the medical run went to go check on Magik, one of the Purifiers so they had a couple of minutes. Cayden looked back at Waverley. They had just met only a short couple days ago but Cayden already considered her a friend, even if she may not but Cayden was always like that. He considered everyone a friend until given reason not to be. Besides that, Waverley was pretty cool and nice, even if she was a bit skittish to this world of fighting.

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“Sounds like a plan.” James used the socially appropriate acknowledgement of his assignment to mentally separate himself from the awkward situation he’d inadvertently created. He should probably be a little more clear moving forward. He hadn’t meant permanently, he just meant today or tomorrow so they could actually have that date but apparently he’d made it sound like Casper should just stay here even though the guy already said he wasn’t comfortable doing that. Damn it. Shooting himself in the foot from the get go.

“I’m sorry for pushing. I’ll shut up about it.” James apologized. He wanted to continue but his attention snapped around to Sunshine when she mentioned the Walking Disaster. He was 100% sure she meant Max and while yes, he was indeed a walking disaster, it wouldn’t help the situation any for her to rub his face in it. He needed to learn how to handle his abilities and reminding him that he had what seemed like zero control over incredibly dangerous powers was likely to do more harm than good in the long run. He knew she was lashing out more than she had because the place she finally found for herself was taken from her but he still had to stamp down a buzz of irritation and fight the urge to argue with her. So instead he made his way over to Max with a quick “I’ll be right back” to the table and clapped him on the shoulder with a smile.

“Good luck out there. Just remember no fire on the ceilings and you’ll be set.” James teased, clapping him on the shoulder one more time. It was a thing his own dad did when James was nervous. Clap on the shoulder, a weird remark to distract him, and another one just to seal the deal. How effective it would be coming from him rather than his dad, who the fuck knows, but Max could use all the good luck rituals he could get.

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Ms. Reinhardt earned an amused glance from Requiem as she went on with her shpiel. Alder to his Sherlock. It would probably be a cold day in hell when he respected her as the pinnacle of the female population but today proved she was at the very least amusing. He did respect her but like he told Jinx the other night, she would suffer the same flaws of her mentor if she wasn’t careful. But the conversation steered towards the inevitable conflict and Requiem barely suppressed a sigh.

It was always the person who ordered the investigation. These power players were all the same: injecting themselves into investigations to make themselves seem above it all or to have a hand in it because they were bored. He should have refused Shaw at the start or the very least told him to his face it was him. Maybe he could have avoided this entire mess. There are far more important things to do than indulge in the childish whims of these bickering infants. He leveled a flat look at the group.

“Since I am loyal to the organization and not its leaders, I’ll stand with the side still standing at the end of it all. In the meantime, I’ll excuse myself. I have other affairs to handle and bloodshed on the high was not on my list today. I’ll return with all haste when you contact me.” Requiem bowed to the room and turned to leave. He still had a computer to locate and getting a private detective under his thrall would be a good first starting point. Maybe he could condition a few of them and get a team started to handle the security breach while the rest of the club enjoyed their royal rumble.

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Max was resigned to staying at the base so he could be as little trouble as possible but it appeared the fates didnt want him doing so. Veil had ordered him to go on the reconnaissance mission and it felt as if all eyes were on him, everyone just standing thinking to themselves, wondering how he could fuck this one up. It wasn't fair, he didn't ask for these powers, he hadn't asked for any of it. Bit here he was, chaos in his hands and not an inkling on how to best control it. He let out a heavy and defeated sigh as he looked towards veil and then the ground. "You got it boss. Bar mission it is..." His voice was less then enthusiastic as he shrugged his shoulders.

Sunshines remark only further pushed him down, angry begin to seethe within him along with the pity party he was throwing himself. She wasn't particularly wrong about what she was saying, however he felt it didnt need to be said and he just wanted to burn that stupid face right of her. His hazel eyes bore holes into her skull as he glared at the small brat, only being shaken away when he felt someones hand on his shoulder. Max jumped slightly, not expecting someone to of been there in what seemed like a consulting way. Though the remark was a bitter taste in his mouth, even if it was meant in a playful manner. "Thanks. Don't worry though, I don't plan on using any of my powers while I'm out. I was trained in unarmed combat as well as with a staff. If trouble arises I'll just use that, or grab a bar stool to smash over someones head like in the movies. Besides, fire in a bar? That's just a bad idea."

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Jinx had expected things to get sloppy and go south as soon as Requiem had spoken out about his ideas on the investigation. What he hadn't considered however, was Shaw just blurting out his whole master plan and actually be caught monologuing. Very cliche move, but also a very stupid one. His eyes darted between Magneto, Emma, and Shaw, wondering what would happen next? Would they begin a fight amongst themselves? Would they dare try given Shaws powers? Not that they were of use to him at the moment thanks to that little Jinx he placed on him bit they weren't aware of any of that. Tensions began to rise, sides were beginning to form and his ex-boss/current-boss was now going against his current-boss turned traitor asshole who just called him a tool. That wouldn't fly. No one, and that means NO ONE made a mockery of Jinx. As Shaw said something in german (he'd seen enough movies with Nazi bad guys to hear the language) Jinx began to read the room and make sure he didn't make a fatal error.

The situation seemed clear, fight and pick your side. This decision was an absolute no brainer. He'd turn on the man who lied about ascending him. Turn on the one person who ridiculed and used him. Turn on the slimey skeething rat that dared to waste his time. Jinx held his palms towards each other, pink radiating energy glowing brighter and brighter as he slowly spread them apart to great a large ball of Psionic power. He had one shot to hopefully blast this man out of the window and falling to his death. With no power to absorb he couldn't possibly survive. The blast was released and shot out rapidly towards Shaw, missing him and crashing against the floor in a bright explosive display. "That was a warning Shaw. The next one won't miss."

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Waverley's head popped up from its hanging position when she heard her codename being called out by Veil. It caused a look of distaste to take residence on her face. The whole codename thing had seemed a fun idea a few days ago, but now...it just felt like it was making light of such a horrid situation. It felt so ridiculously out of face. And the way Veil had said it with a straight face, without a hint of a smirk or smile, made it all so absurd. The young woman said nothing at first, simply lowering her head once the leader was done talking to her. She didn't want to make a choice. A choice meant she had to think, and that meant she had to go back into her mind. There was nothing she wanted less.

Her eyes lightly glided up Max's legs, though she pulled her eyes away once she got to his torso. She managed to work out that he was the killer from his figure and what he was wearing. If he was staying, she knew she couldn't. And with that thought, the choice was out of her hands once again. She waited for Veil to get done talking so she could say she was going. But Veil's last comment, bringing the killer into her mission, stopped Waverley's words from leaving her mouth. She had to choose again. As such, she withdrew back into her mind.

She was brought back to reality when she heard someone make mention of a 'Walking Disaster'. She looked up to see the blonde mean girl talking, though when Waverley looked to try to figure out who she was referring to, she couldn't. Her eyes scanned the numerous members of the Mutant Underground, excluding the killer, and, if she was being honest, the description of Walking Disaster could fit any and every one of them. There was no doubt in her mind about that. They were all Walking Disasters.

She couldn't let herself become one too. She sniffled one last time, and turned back to Cayden, swallowing the lump in her throat and forcing a small smile.

"I can go. I...I can go," she said, managing to keep her voice from choking. Her smile, on the other hand, didn't quite succeed in seeming genuine.

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Leighton bit her tongue when Max said he wanted to stay behind. Since everyone was going on some type of mission, she didn't want to say it out loud that it was probably best he go somewhere. And he should not be with Sapphire or Waverley at this point. Before she could air this opinion, Veil spoke up and took charge. She should have figured Veil would have the same idea. Leighton walked over to Max, "Hey, at least we'll be working together. Show them what the new guys can do."

She would keep an eye on him, at the very least. Once matters seemed settled, she walked back to her spot near the others going on the bar mission. "So what's the game plan? I assume stealth is key since we don't want them tipped off so they harm the potential people they have? She was trying to show she had at least given all of this some thought. At least she was trying to make do with her situation. And if she could help others similar to her, it was a win/win.

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Ana rolled her eyes at Shaw's speech. This situation could have gone either way for her, but it was amusing to see a man completely break down. It never got old. It seemed everyone, for the most part, was against him too. She wondered if Requiem knew that it was due to her efforts he got a confession out of him anyway. Wouldn't it be a laugh had she wanted to be his Adler, but instead she was like Moriarty? Emma was right. She would own her own. But she also knew it was best sometimes let others have the spotlight.

"Now, let's see. I really was not in the mood for a scuffle today. Plus, you are very much outnumbered, so why not give up gracefully and we can all move on with our lives? I have plans later today, you see." She mentally chastised Requiem for leaving them to handle this, but at the same time perhaps it was for the best. She trusted no one in the room, mind you, but she knew they were capable. Even Jinx had his uses if used right.

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No one moved a muscle to prevent Requiem from leaving, but perhaps the implications of his course of action would give him pause. In regime changes, those who stood idly by were very rarely treated kindly - in fact, they tended to be lumped in with those who had opposed the new order. And to add to the concern, leaving the room now essentially ended his chances of being elevated to a higher status in the Hellfire Club. At least one member of the Inner Circle would be out by this time tomorrow. Shaw shook his head, clicking his tongue at Jinx. "I adore the bravado there, Jinx, but you and I both know that was only a warning shot on account of your poor aim. And to think, you thought you could be elevated above the rest of mutantdom?"

Unfortunately, Shaw was unable to clear his head from Anastasia's mental manipulations. "Quiet, little girl. The adults are talking," he chastised her. Emma's eyes darted over towards the Three-in-One and she nodded her head slightly. The triplets' eyes began to glow a strange, almost alien blue and the shade then appeared in Shaw's eyes as they fell under his control. Emma Frost rose to her feet, the same blue shade in her eyes as she joined in on the Three-in-One's hive mind.

"Sit down, Sebastian," the Three-in-One ordered in unison, their voices joined with Emma's. "And be quiet."

All four of them then looked at Anastasia and she would hear their combined voice in her mind, informing her that it was time. They had Shaw pinned mentally. Now, it was up to the melee players to take him out. It certainly wasn't how Emma had expected this day to go - she had imagined that the Mutant Underground would go and take out Shaw, having even seen Mystique to ensure they would be recruited.

"Sie haben uns unterschätzt - die Kraft der Mutanten, die als eine Einheit zusammenarbeiten. Was wirst du zuerst vergießen - Blut oder Ehre?" Magneto asked, a sinister edge to his voice as the metal in the room began to clammer and shake.

"Father, for those of us who didn't grow up in a concentration camp, translation?" Polaris asked. Her knives were hovering around her, ready to strike.

Magneto smirked slightly. "I think a demonstration would be more effective," he said, before clenching his fist and knives flew at Shaw. Thanks to the mental hold of Frost and her girls, combined with Jinx's jinx, the Nazi scientist couldn't defend himself. Magneto's knives pierced his chest and the man was unable to move a muscle, to even scream in pain.

"How Shakespearean," Polaris murmured, before her knives flew at Shaw as well. The man was bleeding horribly and would like die a slow but painful death. The mutant masters of magnetism were aiming for the most cruel injuries they could inflict, yet non-fatal ones.

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The Mutant Underground Old HQ...

The teams had been divided as evenly as they could. Magik was currently fast asleep, her forehead burning up and every so often, she would kick and twitch. It was probably for the best that she wasn't awake to be aware of what was happening - detoxing was a particularly nasty process. Withdrawal messed with the mind, turning friends into foes and destructive behaviors into enticing choices. "I'd say she's been on this stuff for about... four months," Casper mused, making this estimation just by looking at Magik. The skin around her eyes was red.

"No, she's closer to three," Ben corrected.

"Fair enough - Ben thinks three months," Casper announced. He knew that no one else here could see Ben and since Max was off with the other group, it was going a long way to helping him relax. He hated ghosts, having a childhood fear of them thanks to his father's idea of training him to use his powers. His carefree innocence had just been replaced with trauma.

"What do you need us to do?" Colossus asked Sapphire. This was her mission, after all. She was the one with the medical knowledge to help heal his baby sister. The Mutant Underground didn't really have what they needed, so their main options would be to either try to find natural remedies (which rarely worked), hope that the Purifiers hadn't surrounded the mutant friendly clinic, or find some way to smuggle the supplies from a hospital or pharmacy. Either way, there was an element of risk involved and they would need to work together to pull this off.

Casper took the little washcloth by Magik's side and dipped it in a bowl of water, before lying it on her forehead softly.

On Route to the Dive Bar...

Veil motioned for her group to follow her to the garage, where Callie would have already gotten a van ready to go for this mission. "I'm going to be honest - I'm not sure what we're going to find here. I can keep us invisible if needed, but the more I do it the more taxing it'll be. I'd rather we see if we can get away with just blending in with the crowd," Veil instructed, climbing into the shotgun seat. Havok took the seat directly behind her. "Whatever we're looking for, it'll probably be hidden and concealed - I'm imagining a secret basement or a side room or something. If we have to separate, everyone stays in pairs. No one gets left behind. If you need to defend yourself, do it - but try not to cause any unneeded casualties. We're doing this to try to rescue those poor souls being made into Hounds and hopefully get some answers about these attacks. Civilians don't need to get hurt."

"What to look for - again, basically things that strike you as odd, things that shouldn't be there. If you notice anyone that looks shifty in the bar, go and talk to them. Leighton's right - the stealthier we can be, the better... Which is why Spark Plug, park the van a few blocks away from the bar. We'll then split into pairs and head on inside, it won't be as alarming as the huge group of us going."

"If we find the Nazis behind this... We kill them, right?" Sunshine asked. She had been mostly listening to what Veil said, taking a seat next to Havok in the van. He seemed to be a little bit moody, but in a cute angry puppy sort of way. "Or do we capture them and torture them?" she then asked. Havok shook his head slightly.

"Kid... We aren't murderers. We're going to capture them."

Sunshine rolled her eyes slightly. "As long as they pay for what they did to Erg, then that's fine by me." Of course, she had no intention of letting them live without a great deal of suffering. Erg hadn't deserved to die - but whoever was responsible more than deserved the hell that was coming their way.

"Yeah, no killing. We take them alive if we can. And be careful, Purifiers and cops alike are going to be extra jumpy today... Anymore questions?" Veil asked. It wouldn't be too long of a drive to get to the Cherry Bomb.

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Callie leaned herself up against the van once she had gotten it started up, seeing that the group was starting to gather now she climbed herself up into the driver's seat as Veil called shotgun. She closed the car door, she waited until everyone was in and once they were Callie started up the van and drove out from the Underground's garage and then eventually onto the main road. She looked at those within the car as they started to ask questions and turned to look at Veil as she spoke. The kid asking about killing Nazis was a little bit troubling, as she tried to use her power to get a feeling on her and try to calm her down. But it didn't happen sadly when Havok spoke up and nodded towards him.

"Sounds good to me then i'll park us in an alleyway once we are a few blocks away." She said while looking at those in the car with her and thought for a moment on the pairings. "I can take the trigger happy Nazi killer, and Magic Mike with me into the bar if you'd like." Callie suggested, they were probably the more loose canons in the group and could try and calm them both down if things ended up getting a little to dicey.

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Jack was just sort of listening to the conversation around him once everyone had headed out to the car. They were talking about potential plans for once they reached the bar. This was going to be a long trip considering the fact that the kid was a bit on the trigger happy side and was wanting to kill people. He didn't really know what to say to stop Sunshine from constantly going on about killing people, considering the fact that she was going more of a little crazy almost. The sad thing was that he was used to people going crazy around him.

"So, we go in, look around, and hope that we don't get caught. Sounds like fun, I'm all for that," he said with a shrug, looking at the others. Hearing Callie's words, he thought for a moment, thinking about what else they could possibly do, however he couldn't come up with anything. They were essentially walking into the lion's den, and he wasn't too sure if things were going to end well. Jack was hoping that nothing would end too horribly for them, or be better then it.

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Sapphire glanced over at Magik, listening to what everyone else was saying, but she was thinking more of where they likely would need to go. There were a few options that they had to go on a medical supply run, and it likely would need to happen in general if they were truly going to help Magik. She glanced over at Colossus when he asked her what they were going to do revolving around it. There wasn't too much that they could do from where they were, and they had a risk no matter which of the options that they took.

"...We'll see about sneaking in to get the supplies from a hospital, that clinic that has helped us in the past, odds are that Purifiers are watching it, and odds are the people there would get caught in the crossfire if things go south much more easily. They would be expecting us to go there, there honestly seems to be less risk getting the medical supplies from a hospital then there, so that's what we'll do. We'll help Magik out Colossus, don't worry," Sapphire said, glancing over at Magik.

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There was a slight smile on his face when Leighton spoke to him. Hearing her try to comfort him and care made his heart warm up as he gently nudged her with his arm and managed to chuckle ever slightly. "You're right. We'll show them what we can do...and I'll show that I can be more than a mess up..." He listened in as she began to ask questions, trying to build a plan and cover bases. It was a solid idea and something he had tried on the previous mission, he just hoped this new team was more chatty than the last. He kept fairly quite as he followed them out to the car where another member was waiting for them, getting the engine warmed up.

His mood however, quickly began to sour as Sunshine, the perpetual brat, wouldnt stop talking about murder and killing. He didnt care what these people had done and to who, but murder was never the answer. How could she sos easily want to kill when it pained him so much to have accidentally done it. It was a constant reminder that she wasn't good enough and that all.he could do was cause problems. Not to mention he had robbed someone of a family, he had stolen lives thata were not his to take. He kept quite as the ride went on, only speaking up when teams were being announced. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to be paired with Leighton. We're the same age and it would seem less suspicious for us to go in together." His hands trembled as he thought of what to do next, he was reluctant to use his powers but he knew it needed to be done. He closed his eyes, took in a few deep breaths and the concentrated, creating two fake ids, one for him and the other for Leighton. "Here you go Veronica Briggs. You are now a 22 year old congrats. And I am your high school bff Matthew Larue." He handed Veronica's to Leighton, her image and everything that would be in a real license.

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Jimx began to fill with anger. It started seething inside of h as Shaw continued to mock the unlucky mutant. Shaw, however, was soon to be the most unlucky of them all. His eyes locked on to the traitor of his own kind and he tried to Jinx the bloodied mutant. He could feel that his power wasnt sticking and he tried and tried again. Each failure bringing in more and more frustration and hatred towards the man. One after another the jinxed failed to grip the man and he wished he could've held on to the previous one for longer. No matter, Magneto and Polaris seemed to be taking advantage of his weakened state and the Three in One as well as Emma had managed to gain hold of his mind and keep h still.

As a menacing grin slowly started to form, watching Shaw get impaled one by one with knives. It simply wouldn't do for Jinx to stand idly by, no he wanted to inflict as much pain as he could on the man and get back se semblance of dignity. "Its such a shame Shaw, you talk such a big game and all it took was a minor Jinx from me to help incapacitate you and you didn't even notice." His eyes glanced at Polaris as he held his hand out, clearly asking for a dagger before she floated one over to him and he began to run his finger alongside the blade. "What is it they say? An eye for an eye? I think that'll do just nicely, you don't deserve a quick painless death, you hardly deserve the effort to use my powers to throw you out this window. No, this will do just fine." Jinx walked over towards the coward, knife in hand, and then ran the blade straight into his right eye, slowly at first and then with more speed as his grin persisted.

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Waverley's eyes were drawn to a thin sketchy-looking man she'd seen before, but never really took into account. Her gaze was confused as the young man paused as if he was listening to someone else speak, but continued talking before anyone did. Waverley didn't know a Ben, but, given she was a stranger to most members of the Mutant Underground, she didn't make anything of it. It was more than likely it was simply someone she hadn't yet met. Her eyes glided over to Colossus, somewhat expecting him to say something inspiring, or cartoonishly lawful good, but he didn't. He simply stared at their mission leader, asking for a plan.

Waverley followed Colossus' gaze, her eyes landing on Sapphire. She listened to her thoughts, nodding along with them as she did. The choice seemed perfectly logical to Waverley. As Sapphire finished her thoughts, Waverley gathered her things, which consisted of her backpack and her rebar, before facing the older woman. "How exactly are we getting everything? I can see if I can find the blueprints of whichever hospital we end up deciding on online, so we can get an idea of where everything is ahead of time," she suggested, relieved to finally have something to pull her out of her own mind.

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Luna followed along behind Veil as she led them to the garage. Blending in would be a little easier said than done but Luna had a nice advantage of being a foreigner here. Most Americans seemed to love to poke fun at the British and try to talk like them. That could make her a good distraction for the others to poke around at least. As she passed her bike, Luna grabbed her leather riding jacket. That would help her blend into the bar scene a bit better. ”If you want I could try poking around into some of the patrons minds,” Luna offered to Veil. She wasn’t going to do it unless she had her okay.
Luna slid into the van and took a spot near the middle. She surveyed the group as they got in one by one. They were heavy with abilities but all of them seemed to have a bit of an anger or attitude thing going on. It would be interesting to see if they could all scrape by without getting into some sort of altercation. Luna ran a hand through her hair, sending the short locks in all sorts of directions but honestly, the look worked. They were going to a bar after all and it would be better to look the part.

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Cayden grinned at Waverley and nodded. ”That’s the spirit!” He walked over and stood with her while Sapphire, their leader for the mission, spoke to Colossus about his sister and the sort of things they would need to help detox. Cayden grabbed a water bottle and offered Waverley some water to help clean out the bad taste of puke from her mouth and settle her stomach some. Although, if they showed up to a hospital with someone puking that might give them a bit more lee way.
Cayden hadn’t been to too many hospitals in his life time but he had seen a few on TV. They could be quite large and very busy in the emergency wing. Having a blueprint might help but trying to walk through that place while looking normal would be interesting as well. ”I can drive us, or find a vehicle if we need a getaway after,” Cayden offered. He had driven the van back on his first mission here just the other day.

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Leighton beamed a bit upon Veil agreeing with her. She kind of felt like she had control now. She had managed herself in the fight before and now she was being taken to an actual mission where she could show her use. Show she wouldn't endanger anyone else again. When Max asked that the two of them be paired up, Leighton felt a surge of warmth inside of her. She had pretty much thought the exact same thing, she just didn't want to insinuate anything. It did make the most sense, being so close in age. Plus, she wanted to keep an eye on him.

"I agree with Max. It makes the most sense for us to be seen together. The only issue is..." before she could address the glaring hole of her age, Max had produced a fake I.D. She had used one before, but this looked legit. "Never mind. Way to be on top of things Max. And solid work. Love the name too. Always thought I looked like a Veronica," she joked. She put the I.D. away as they drove. Thoughts raced, but she was ready. Eager even. This was the big times and even little miss Nazi killer wouldn't put a damper on her mood. Though, that was something perhaps a professional needed to look at.

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Ana merely grinned at Shaw's attempt to rile her up. It was not the first time she had been looked down upon due to her age, it would not be the last. Plus, the Three-in-One had commanded him to sit, with Emma adding that he not talk either. She knew what would happen next. In fact, she relished it as Magneto did as he suggested, offering a demonstration. Each knife inserted into Shaw curved her smile more and more. And Shaw could do nothing but sit there. Couldn't move. Couldn't scream. It was like poetry.

Even Jinx got into the mix. Helping aid them by jinxing Shaw and inserting his own knife into his eye (sloppy technique, but Ana could appreciate the humor behind it). Requiem did not remain behind and she was not surprised. Let the man think he won. She eyed Emma, nodding at her as a way of non-verbally communicating that she knew what was truly happening here. She had chosen a side, for now. She expected to reap the benefits of such a decision later. For now, she allowed herself a moment to enjoy pain in all its glory.