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Callie stopped for a moment when Jack got his attention, she looked down at her phone with the text that Veil had sent and what she managed to translate. "Well the Hellfire Club sent some guy named Jinx, and our old friend Ice Queen after an innocent. That's about the gist of what I know, they are at the mall I think." She answered him, she didn't like the idea at all of seeing someone innocent being recruited by the Hellfire Club at all. She was about to head back up to the surface, when Sunshine turned around and made her way back into the training room. And started to make her way back figuring that it was probably some important information that she needed to know maybe about their mission and leaned herself up against the wall a little bit.

Hearing Veil's bit of information about Max establishing some kind of magical connection with her was a little bit disturbing to her, she wasn't sure the full extent of his powers really. And mentioning Scarlet Witch creating a completely different reality was also equally disturbing since she didn't even remember any of this at all. But she decided to focus more on the Max and Leighton issue right now, she didn't trust either of them at all.

"You should tell the Harry Potter wannabe and the Elsa Clone, totally not meaning you at all Sapphire. That they were the ones who jumped into bed with the enemy, WHO sent a juiced up hound version of Magik and Vulcan to attack and the hounds were Sinister's thing so kind of bad, also his lab was under a Hellfire Club owned place. Oh and you attacked Luna kind of before you left so pretty shady." Callie said, and looked over towards Sunshine she hadn't seen her cry before and went over towards her to see if she was okay. "Whats wrong Sunshine?" Callie asked her.

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Before they pulled up into the strip mall, Leighton's mind felt tingly as Max connected with her thoughts. She felt a bit stupid, not realizing that of course, they would keep tabs on her phone. Still, she didn't care at this point, so long as Desiree was safe. She didn't know if Veil was listening or not, but at least Max was. And yet, the question he asked threw her. What did he mean by "other reality"? "I'm afraid you lost me, Max. Don't know about this other reality Wanda created. Sounds like the inspiration for a sci-fi novel. But that's not why I wanted to connect with Veil."

"I don't know if she can hear me, but I have someone with me that the Hellfire Circle wanted me to pick up to bring to them. I don't trust them to have their best interests at heart with her and she's already scared and on the run. I wanted to bring her to the underground to have a safe place to stay before she decides what she wants to do. I know they moved from the old underground, but she needs to lay low. If Veil can hear me, we'll swing by the old underground and meet up and you can take her in if you want. If she can't hear me, Max, can you like...magic up a note in her hand or something? And you can meet us there too if you want, Max. I don't think we'll be welcomed at the Hellfire Circle for much longer if Jinx has anything to say."

With that sent, she turned to face Desiree. "I promised you a cup of coffee and I plan to deliver it. We can stop at Dunkin' and I can answer any question you have, but then we need to get going. I guarantee if they haven't already got someone else to try to find you, they'll have that other guy come back."

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Ana thought a bit. It sounded like Jinx and Ice Queen had separated and that Ice Queen had the target. Which more than likely meant that Jinx screwed up. And it showed that Ice Queen could be trusted, to an extent. Reeva didn't though as she instructed Pyro to tail them. What was the saying? If you can't get something done right, do it yourself? She didn't trust anyone to see this through and if they wanted the target here in one piece, she would see that done.

She stood up as Reeva began to leave. "I'll come with Pyro, to oversee things. Ensure they come back in one piece. Wouldn't want any damaged property." And, she had to admit, she was rather curious why this target was so important. They could pluck anyone off the street easily enough for their means. What did this one offer? Ana looked forward to finding out.

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Waverley's eyebrows furrowed as the group began down the hallway, leaving her question, which had been somewhat rhetorical in the first place, unanswered. She didn't need an answer, though, not really. As she stared down at the dead vermin before her, she knew what she'd heard, that it was sent by Max. And she knew what it meant: it meant war. Then another question came to mind: how had they known it was from Max? When she raised her head to ask the question, they were out of sight, leaving her alone in the hallway. Her gaze fell back down to the rat for a moment, then gave it a swift kick towards the wall, before continuing in the opposite direction of where the others were headed, towards her and Sunshine's room.

She didn't spend long in there. It took less than a minute for her to gather her rebar and backpack, and then she was out the door. Her frown from the mention of Max was gone, likely in large part due to her assault on his 'gift'. It returned, however, when she got to the top of the stairs, and Veil's words reached her ears. Her eyebrows popped up, an equal mix of worry and irritation written across her face.

"He did what? What does that mean?" Waverley asked, her voice shaking ever so slightly. It was difficult to tell if the shaking was an indication of anger or distress, but both seemed equally likely. At first, as she began to march down the stairs, she was directing herself towards Veil. But as she got nearer to the bottom, she caught sight of Sunshine, tears pouring out of her eyes. The worry on her face over took the irritation. Sunshine was emotional, yes, but that emotion tended to come out in the form of rage rather than tears. Waverley shifted her heels, changing direction to head towards Sunshine. Her pace slowed, however, as she passed Sapphire. Her eyes were puffy, like she'd been crying too. When Waverley looked a little closer, she came to the realization that she had, but her tears weren't falling; they were frozen in place, stuck to her pale skin. Frost clung to her eyelashes. She looked like she'd just come in from spending a night out in the snow. Waverley contemplated reaching out to comfort the woman, but ultimately decided against it. Sapphire and she didn't have a bad relationship, but it was far from a friendship. It was professional. Comforting your friend and roommate was one thing, but comforting an employer-figure? Waverley wasn't sure she had that kind of social prowess. So instead, she gave Sapphire an apologetic nod, before continuing towards Sunshine.

The girl was already in the arms of James, with Spark Plug lingering close in an attempt to comfort her as well. Waverley put a distance of a meter and a half or so between herself and Sunshine, not wanting to crowd the girl. She wasn't sure what was wrong, but too much attention can sometimes be worse than none at all. So, instead of joining in in hugging her, she wordlessly unzipped her backpack, pulling out a box of Cheez-Its. Waverley had had the box since joining the Underground, so, needless to say, they were stale, but with something as processed as Cheez-Its, it's hard to tell. She held the box out to Sunshine, hoping the offer might help the constantly hungry girl eat her feelings away.

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Max clenched his fist as silence filled the air for a moment before Leighton had Leighton to talk. He was certain his connection went through but there was no indication from Veils end that it had succeeded. He had many choice words that he wanted to say to her, how she failed as a leader, how her blatant favoritism and constant ability to push people away with more than just her sheilds were going to be the downfall of the Mutant Underground. He wanted to call her a hypocrite and yet Leightons words stopped him from doing that. Anything now said out of spite, malice, or hatred, would only cement him as the bad guy they all viewed him as. It was as she said long ago He was better than that, and they were going to prove it. "Veil, if you can hear me I'm going to be sending you a letter. A gesture of good faith to prove I'm not attempting to meddle into your mind. If you can't hear me...well...sorry for thr surprise." Max sat on his bed and closed his eyes, breaking the connection between Veil and them and focusing on conjuring the letter. An envelope would appear before her, sealed and with a parchment written letter inside. It read

"Veil, I am writing this to you in good faith. You once told us that if we ever needed help that we could come to you. I sincerely hope that that is still the case. A mutant has come across us that is currently wanted by the Hellfire Club. Their intentions with them is unknown, and its wished to give them to you guys, so they have a choice on if they wish to join or not. Please, meet us at the old Underground. We'll be waiting with her, oh and bring Casper will you?"

With that finished Max stood up and grabbed his signature yellow coat. Stepping out of his room for the first time today, he noticed Reeva on the phone and just waved her goodbye as he made his way downstairs to the garage. There was a pensive look about him, as if none of the vehicles met to his liking and he conjured up a Teal Vespa in front of him, taking a seat and setting off towards the location of the old Underground.

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Jinx noticed the names of the two now attending him. His heart ached and stomach wretched as he wondered just how cruel the universe could be. He gladly took the pills from Wanda, swallowing them dry and then taking the water to merely drink. The card on the other hand he simply stared at for a moment before taking it. There was a pleasant smile on his face as he pocketed the card and stood up from his seat. "Thank you both. I'll be sure to give a call if I remember anything later on. Toodles." he gave the pair a three fingered wave as he exited the room, Jinxing the guard and hearing him begin to choke on his spit as he walked away. There was a bit of satisfaction to it, knowing he alone couldnt storm Xaviers school and thus getting petty revenge on the closest thing this universe had to Pietro.

As Jinx stepped out of the Macys and into the mall, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed up Reeva. As soon as she picked up he began to talk in a low voice so others couldnt hear him. "R. Baby, so there was a but of an issue with the package you wanted me to pick up. Turns out it was heavier than anticipated and I got hurt in the process, so I had the other agent grab it for you. She has a better face for these things anyways and I'm sure that itll be better received. Anyways I'm gonna head for a bite to eat but rest assured your package is in good hands." Jinx was now waiting in lime at the Cinnabon, wanting something sweet to wash away the taste of bitterness today was handing him.

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Luna frowned slightly at the mention of Max. Their last encounter hadn’t gone well and Luna would love to repay the favour to him one day. ”I could push him out of your head if you would like,” Luna offered to Veil. It seemed that wouldn’t be necessary though as a sealed envelope appeared in Veil’s hands. Luna’s frown deepened. She didn’t remember Max being quite this strong before. Just what exactly had he been up to at the Hellfire Club.
Most of the others had now joined them within the training room, which now seemed small with all of them crowded inside. Luna shuffled over, allowing more space but she kept her eyes on Veil, intrigued by what she was hearing in her head and what was in that letter. She did glance over at Sunshine, hearing her cry as she offered a similar option to Veil to get Max out of her head but the girl seemed like she did not want to hurt their leader in any way. Luna had some sympathy for her, hurting your own was not an ideal situation but everyone in the Underground needed to be protected still.

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Cayden’s confusion didn’t seem to end when James mentioned that he only remembered up until the tenth of December. ”But you were here… I was helping you and Glimpse set up the generators and everything,” Cayden followed them into the training room and noticed Veil still on the ground but now Sapphire was beside her. It dawned on Cayden that Sapphire must have been there the entire time and that’s why the room had been so cold.
The room seemed tense and Cayden heard a few words from Veil that Max was inside her head, how was that even possible? Could he do that? Cayden just thought Max could conjure things and teleport. The confusion didn’t cease and then he heard Sunshine crying. James and Spark Plug moved forward to comfort the girl so Cayden hung back but his fingers were twitching at his side. He felt restless with the confused energy running through him as well as the energy of the room and started to fiddle with the leather throng tied around his wrist for his hair.

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Harry began pacing back and forth in his apartment building. His hand against his mouth and he began to think on what it is he should do. It had been 9 years since his time at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Children and he was beginning to wonder if perhaps his old mentor could give him some help. His pacing slowed down as he sat on his white couch and placed his face into his hands. His girlfriend had just been killed and all because of some racist bigots who saw her for what she was and not thr beautiful loving person she is...was....is...was. Harry looked back at a pack of smoke that sat on the counter, he hadnt touched them in 8 years, he had been clean for so long and all this stress was making him beg for a single drag. He stood up, opening the fridge and grabbing some cold pressed juice. From behind him another copy emerged, the stress creating his "twins" in a way to cope. "You gotta call her mate. You know she could help, you could help. Why wont you?"

"Its been how many years now? Besides what do I even say? How do I even approach this?" "Just tell her what happened. You cant run from this fight forever, today proved that." Harry swallowed down the glass of juice and slammed it onto the counter. He knew he was right, after all it was himself. His grip tightened onto the glass, its fragile composition threatening to give way. "You're right. I'll give her a call." Harry pulled out his cellphone and began to dial his sister. The phone rang once, twice, and finally an answer. "Hey, Sis...we need to talk. I'm ready to join the lines. The fight was finally brought to my doorstep, they murdered my girlfriend of 8 years, 8 years damn it! I...I want to help out, where can I find you?" His duplicate placed one hand on his shoulder as he made the call.

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As Desiree drove, her eyes continued to drift to her hand. The singular punch hadn’t done much damage on her end, but her knuckles were red. She pursed her lips, disappointed in herself. Harming that man hadn’t been her initial goal, but things had escalated quickly and she had lost herself in panic. She knew that if she ever saw the guy again, he’d gladly screw her over. Thinking about his last words to her, she had to fight back a shudder. If it hadn’t been for Leighton she probably would have gotten arrested, or worse, killed.

Speaking of Leighton…

Desiree glanced over at the girl, who seemed lost in thought. She wondered what the dark-haired young lady was thinking. Was she planning on misleading her? Had she already done so? Desiree sighed, unable to bring herself to care anymore. If push came to shove, she’d continue to pick herself up. That was her only option.

Looking back over at the road, Desiree jumped as she was addressed. She glanced at Leighton, nodding. A cup of coffee flavored cream sounded great at the moment, just what she needed for how drained she was. Desiree pulled crookedly into a snow coated parking space, quickly surveyed the area, and turned off the car.

”Alri--” She touched her throat, grinning broadly as she realized that she was able to speak again. Making sure it wasn’t just a fluke, she continued. ”Alright...I like my coffee with three pumps of caramel syrup.” She winked despite herself, stepping out of the car and waiting for Leighton to join her before heading toward the Dunkin’ Donuts.

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Sapphire instantly went rigid when Veil mentioned the whole connection with Leighton and Max. She really really really wanted to punch someone, especially considering the entire situation, and she really wanted to just strangle them. They left the Underground for people who had essentially tried to kill them and didn't seem to regret their actions. They just thought "Oh, I'll just talk to someone mentally!" Clearly they don't realize that most people despise telepaths in some way, namely since they tend to invade personal space.

"Don't trust a damn thing that they say, got it?" she said instantly, before she heard what Veil said about Wanda rewriting reality. "Yeah, hooray, Scarlet Witch rewrote reality, anyone else want to ask a bunch of random questions that clearly no one wants to talk about! No? Good, then shut the hell up about it!" Sapphire instantly snapped, standing up and leaning up against the wall, she really really did not want to talk about it anymore, and it sounded like a few others thought that way too.

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He wasn't too sure what to think at this point, regarding what everyone else was saying around him. Everything was going to hell it would seem like, so any issues he had he pushed to the back of his mind in order to sort through just what the hell was going on. So first of all it sounded like Max didn't have any idea what the concept of personal space was and had decided to talk to Veil mentally, that was just dumb in his mind. Since who ever thought that that was a good idea? No one with any sense of how things worked would ever think that was a good idea.

Jack's attention was quickly drawn away by Sunshine who started crying when Veil mentioned Scarlet Witch rewriting the world. That made him wonder if Sunshine remembered that world too. "Rookie, you okay?" he asked her, not too sure what was even going through her head regarding everything. He only really knew what had happened with those who all banded together to set reality right, and it seemed like everyone else didn't know anything. So that left the question, why did Sunshine seemingly remember?

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The Hellfire Club Headquarters -

Reeva and Sage weren't moving to leave at all. Sage sent Pyro's phone number quickly to Anastasia's phone, that way she could contact him and ideally rendez-vous with him as well for tailing Ice Queen and the target. Anastasia would have several choices available to her in order to get to her destination. Sage had a tracking device in the target's car and she forwarded the information on it to Anastasia, that way she could track the target as well. Anastasia could take the limo, she could hail a taxi, she could take the metro, she could even grab a bike and peddle her way on down.

"Best of luck, dear," Reeva said with a smile. She waved at Max as he walking on through and took the elevator as well. She didn't know what he was up to, though she highly suspected he was going to help Ice Queen as well. Max will reach the old Mutant Underground at the end of Trainer's post.

Reeva then took out her phone, answering Jinx's call. She frowned. "Jinx, I need you to shadow them. If the package is lost... then eliminate them both. Is that understood?"

Dunkin' Donuts -

There are a few people in the Dunkin', eating their pastries and drinking their coffee, but it isn't crowded really. Neither Leighton or Desiree will notice a familiar car pulling into the parking lot, tailing them.

The Mall -

Things were relatively calm at the Cinnabon for a moment. Of course, that was until the very next customer stepped up to the counter to be served. Now, you're probably expecting for me to have some sort of poor, everyone is racist against mutants incident to occur? No, instead a far more fearsome foe has arrived on the scene! The customer's hair was blonde, worn in the signature bob of the stay at home suburban mom. She had gigantic hoop earrings and large sunglasses. Standing next to her were two children that looked smothered in the formal wear they had been stuck in.

"ExCUSE ME?!" the wild Karen screeched. "Do you know WHO I am? I'll have you fucking fired for this, you incompetent twat!" she screamed at the poor cashier. The cashier looked to be about high school aged, with short green hair and a nose ring. Their name tag just said MORGAN and it was just about impossible to assume a gender for them. If you decided they looked male, suddenly they seemed more female - and vice versa.

"Ma'am, we're all out of the classic," they said with the patience of a saint.

"WHAT?!?!?!"

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"It's too bad the person literally named Magik with the magic canceling sword isn't here," Casper sighed. He wasn't exactly sure how Magik would be able to combat Max - maybe she just needed to run around the Mutant Underground with her sword in the air and it would somehow stop him. He was a fan of the old school things they did in movies and shows. "What if we made a salt line? Or put iron everywhere? Would that stop Max? Or is that just for Fairy Godparents?"

"...I'm pretty sure you mean the Fae. Fairy Godparents are like Cosmo and Wanda, the guys who helped abused kids with bad teeth," Ben interjected.

Casper returned James' squeeze, letting his boyfriend lead him from the entranceway and into the training room. Losing a week of time didn't startle him that much. It wasn't the first time it had happened before. Once, he had gotten a hit so pure that he could have sworn it was still July when it was, in fact, August. Calendars were just a social construct anyways. Time wasn't real. "Wait, Wanda? That can't be a coincidence!" he insisted.

"...Pretty sure it is. Unless you want to call Nickelodeon and ask if they're secretly bank rolling the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants?"

"I thought they dropped the Evil part of it," Casper whispered to Ben. "Now shush, people are crying." Ben threw his hands up in defeat.

Sunshine flinched a little bit as James wrapped her up into a hug. She wasn't entirely used to that level of physical contact. Ordinarily, she would have threatened him with the chicken pox - but instead, the mean spirited young mutant crumpled into his embrace, crying into James' chest. Sunshine didn't know whether or not to tell him what was wrong - that maybe her odd dream about living in New Orleans and Jack being her father had been real. If it was real, then she didn't know what to think. And if it wasn't real and she told them, she was certain that everyone there would laugh and jeer at her. She couldn't afford to be that vulnerable.

"I'm just really hungry," Sunshine fibbed. She didn't think she could confide in him, nor Spark Plug and least of all Jack about this. Maybe Max had done this to them and was blaming it on the Scarlet Witch. He was inside of Veil's head. Could he have messed with all of them? Would he be so cruel, dangling a possible identity for her dad in front of her, only to rip it away? Yes, he could, Sunshine decided. He had joined Erg's murderers. He was sleeping with Nazis. It was all just a mean trick. She lifted her head, seeing the Cheez-Its that Feedback had offered her. She reached into the bag and grabbed a handful, still crying as she shoved them into her face.

Veil really wanted to agree with Spark Plug, to rip Tome and Ice Queen a new one for their behavior. Yet she had promised Ice Queen when they left that she would be there for them if they needed it - sure, it was before Ice Queen and Tome became accomplices to murder, but she had given her word nonetheless. Her eyebrows furrowed, hearing from Ice Queen that she had the innocent Sage had wanted them to protect... and that she needed help getting her to the Mutant Underground. Maybe at least some part of Ice Queen was able to see the blood on her hands, the red in her ledger, and was trying to make amends.

"He's created some sort of magical connection, speaking into my mind," she explained to Feedback, trying to keep her voice calm and steady. She didn't want to freak out anyone else there. Veil's mutant powers were all about privacy - no one could see her if she didn't want them to, no one could touch her if she didn't permit it. To say that having Max reach into her mind terrified her was an understatement. Her pulse was elevated and it took all of her willpower to look neutral and calm, not shaking and unhinged. A letter appeared out of nowhere in her hands. Max's powers must have been maturing rapidly... She made a mental note to speak to Magik about wards for the Underground. "I don't know if you can break this connection. I don't know if it's truly telepathic in nature, Glimpse."

She took a deep, steadying breath, before speaking to Tome and Ice Queen: "We'll be there.... Things are hectic. It'll be as fast as we can. If you need a place to lie low from Jinx... I can find you one." Veil opened her eyes, quickly scanning the letter in front of her. She hardly had a chance to process it before her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID, surprised to see her brother. Everything was coming at her so fast, happening all at once without pause. Veil wanted to scream.

Instead, she put a hand to her mouth in horror, her eyes wide. "Echy... I'm so so so so sorry..." she whispered, turning invisible instinctively. "This day is such a clustofukopolis... I-I wish I could have done something to help you..." she took a steadying breath, wrapping some of her hair around one finger. "I have to go rescue some kids - they're young and stupid, don't know what they've got into, kinda like us back in the day... If you want, you can find me there at," she gave the address of the old Mutant Underground. "Or go to our current place and I'll be back as soon as I can," she then gave the address of the current hideout.

Veil forced herself to become visible again. She looked at everyone gathered. "Spark Plug, Glimpse, Feedback, Sapphire, we're leaving now. James, you're in charge. If a flamboyant Canadian named Echo shows up, let him in. He's my twin brother." She then headed up to where Spark Plug had prepped a vehicle for them, her phone still pressed to her ear.

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Max had deleted Leightons message off of his phone and left it behind. He didn't trust Reeva or Sage not to track him down when he left. H3 knew better than that now. A part of him wanted to try and open a rift, a portal like he had back in the other world. But there was a fear that it could go horribly wrong and tear reality as a whole. His hair was being tossed around by the strong winds created by the Vespa. The cold December air biting at his cheeks and drying the skin around his eyes. His eyes were focused on the road ahead of him, but his mind thought of someone else. He began to wonder if he could find Doctor Stephen Strange, have him teach him his ways and learn to sustainably open portals with the artifact he used. The thought of creating a sling ring had crossed his mind but he doubted it would function like the genuine article.

That however was for another time. As Max rode on he was glad to thought about Veils words, her offer to find them shelter from Jinx and he quickly worried about Leighton and this new mutant. She still had her phone, she used it while on the road and all they needed was three locations that were cleverly placed to locate her. He thought on a way to break the signal, jam their location and electronics so that they couldn't be spied on. Damn it why hadn't he asked for James to come as well. He was smart when it came to these things and he was a good ally. As he thought upon it Max had the idea that his magic would interfere with any Electronics around, he would need everyone here and hopefully they could jam them in time not to be followed. His Vespa came to a halt as he now sat before the old underground building, its roof blown off and the rubble left behind.

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Jinx

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Jinx rolled his eyes at the blonde woman's display. As if humans weren't disgusting enough, this thing had the audacity to hold him up in acquiring his sacred Cinnabon. He wanted nothing more than to get a snack and go now that Reeva was asking him to tail the two brats from earlier. "Fine. Consider it done, I'll ensure the package is delivered myself." with that he hung up the call and placed his phone into his pocket. Storming up last any patrons and now standing right next to enemy numero uno. His stance was strong as he crossed his arms and glared at the woman with a most unfortunate haircut. "Listen here and listen good Karen. I am not having a good day and my patience is wearing very thin right now. I just broke my nose and I have very little time before I need to head back into work." With that Karen's glasses would snap down the middle, falling off her face. "Now I suggest you go and take your business elsewhere and leave this poor worker alone, I could care less about those knock off glasses- Her bag then tore down the middle of the bottom threatening to spill its contents on the floor. "-or that cheap thing you call a purse. I don't want to see you in my sights and I just want A DAMN CINNABON IS THAT CLEAR?!"

Jinx was fuming as he spoke, blowing a puff of air to move a curly tuft away from his face so that his glare could continue uninterrupted. He looked passively at Morgan as if to say 'get me my damn bun so I can go' before turning his gaze back to Karen. Her voice would now be shot. Silencing any shrill, squeaky pitched thing she could possibly say back. If it wasn't for Reeva and the fact that he was in a mall, he would of blasted her until she had nothing left. Jinx pulled out 20 dollars and handed it to Morgan, not looking at her but expecting her to take it none the less. "The rest is a tip for dealing with this low life."

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Harry listened as his sister said her condolences. It appeared as though there would be others joining them on what he could only assume was now his first mission. His heart sank and the sounds of sniffling could be heard coming from his side of the line. There was silence and then a cocky and slightly melancholy tone now taking place. "Well then, I suppose we should put on a good show then! That is if I am to meet your good friends at the first location. No need to pick me up I'm already dressed and can be out in a jiffy. We'll have a little cœur en cœur later though. I wanna hear what my little Valery Hope has been up to!" It took him a second to hear the end of her sentence, a clear look of shock now riddling his face as an audible and flamboyant gasp escaped his lips. "Hey now! I resemble that! See you there Val." He chuckled out before hanging up the call.

Harry and his duplicate walked towards the door to his apartment. He turned to look himself in the mirror that hung on the wall beside it, tucked away in a little alcove meant for keys and shoes. He wiped away any tears and placed an eye drop in each eye to remove any redness. With a final look to make sure he appeared well put together, he tugged on his pink silk collar , grabbed his key, and made his way out the door to his Desert Beige Jeep Wrangler. Top down, air blasting, and music blaring, Harry made his way towards the first location given to him, Google maps doing all the work as he drove and sang along to the music on the radio. His duplicate would be keeping watch, making sure no car was following them or any suspicious vehicles tailing him. Once he appeared to be within 15 minutes of the location Harry turned off the radio and attempted to be inconspicuous. He didn't think anyone was tailing him, but he didn't know what to expect. He definitely didn't expect a blonde haired think to be waiting anxiously by a Vespa as he pulled in and the dirt ground crunched under the wheels of his tires.

Harry pulled the car to a halt and parked it, out of sight of the main road and taking a look at all the dust now kicked up into the air. There was a long exasperated sigh as he looked down at his pure white pants and wondered if he should've changed before hand. He tilted his sunglasses halfway down his face to reveal his eyes and look at the blonde boy. "Hey mate, you one of Vals friends? Come on over here and let's have a lil chat shall we? Don't quite wanna get dirty just yet." Max turned over startled and wondering who the flashy man was. "I'm fine thanks, I'll just wait for the others." "Suit yourself kid."

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He let her cry, automatically running his fingers through his hair like he did when Casper was in the same position. He knew Sunshine well enough that she wouldn’t cry in front of people just because she was hungry; she’d lived on the streets long enough to have developed a tough exterior but if that was her story, he wouldn’t push. He’d let her come to him if she wanted. He knew how stubborn she would get if he tried to pry. “Then we’ll see if we can get you more to eat once everythings settled down, how about that?” James suggested quietly as he listened to Veil.

“Good luck guys. Stay safe.” He said as Veil took the team. He was… more than a little worried about her choices. Luna and Callie would be fine but Sapphire and Waverly were emotionally compromised. He wanted to push for Veil to choose other people but she was stressed as it was. He just hoped and prayed to anyone that was listening that Max would keep his mouth… shut was pushing it so civil at the very least and Leighton wouldn’t escalate with Sapphire. This whole situation was a shit show and a half. Maybe he should get some medical supplies setup in a car in case the whole thing devolves into a fight.

“So now we’re on the lookout for a flamboyant Canadian? Let’s cross our fingers it isn’t Max 2.0.” James shook his head. “Maybe I’ll just write a report about the other world fiasco. That way she can read it when she isn’t as overwhelmed.” James frowned as he thought about it and something clicked in his head. “Hey Ben? Can you still do that whole… materialization thing you did when we fought Magneto and Polaris? That was really useful and we could use you in the whole getting this place put back together. Or was that you, babes? A combination? Though, uh, I’m sorry about the whole Eldritch Horror comment.” JAmes apologized sheepishly.

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Callie looked towards Sapphire for a moment when she made her outburst, she was really curious about what Wanda did and why she rewrote reality, but she wasn't going to prod her about it, though she would let her approach her about the subject if Sapphire did want to. Though she wasn't anywhere near as close as she is with Veil either. Seeing the letter appearing in Veil's hands really made her uncomfortable since Max could reach Veil's head somehow which as far as she knew he wasn't a telepath either. "We definitely do need to buff up security for any Max intrusions." Callie said, she did smile and shake her head slightly at Casper's comment about using salt and iron to stop Max it would be pretty funny if that actually did work.

Callie wasn't to sure when she mentioned who was going with her on the team to meet up with Max and the person who was running from the Hellfire Club. Waverly though she liked her, she had a lot of personal issues with Max after all more so than the others. Veil suddenly went invisible for some reason again and raised an eyebrow when she did, after a few seconds later she reappeared again mentioning her brother Echo. She knew of him while she was at Xavier's as well as Veil mentioning him a few times over the years when she joined the DC Cell.

"The car is all prepped and ready to go then." Callie said as she looked at the others and then over towards James for a moment, her usual sparring partner while working out on the training room floor. "Don't have to much fun or throw any parties while we are gone." Callie said while looking at Sunshine, when she mentioned being hungry. "I'll see about bringing back some food to." Callie said before leaving and making her way towards the van she already had started up, catching up to Veil. "Are you alright Veil? And whats the game plan when we do see them again?" Callie didn't like either Leighton or Max, but she would still speak her mind when she met them, but wouldn't attack the two of them either.

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Waverley's frown deepened in response to Veil's answer. She didn't know much about Max, other than the obvious: he was a monster. She didn't know what kind, or what he was capable of. She'd assumed it was just some sort of conjuration ability, but, according to Veil, they seemed to be so much more than that. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet. She was about to voice her distaste for this new development, and try to use it to convince the others that the threat of Max needed to be dealt with as fast as possible, but before she could, a rustling from the bag in her hand pulled her attention away from the topic. She looked over to see Sunshine pulling a handful of Cheez-Its out and shoving them into her mouth. It caused her expression, cold and aggressive from the topic of Max, to soften. Sunshine was always hungry, so she didn't buy the story Sunshine gave for her tears. But this wasn't the time to confront her about it. So instead, as Sunshine ate, Waverley took a few small steps closer.

"Here, why don't you take these," Waverley said, the edge in her voice replaced by soothing gentleness. She tenderly scooped the bag into the blonde's hand, before giving her shoulder a soft squeeze. "Have as many as you want. I'll try to talk Veil into grabbing McDonald's on our way back. And if you do wanna talk about what's...making you hungry, tell me when I get back. I'm all ears." With that, Waverley stepped back from Sunshine, her expression hardening again as she pulled her rebar up, leaning it against her shoulder. She looked to Casper with a smile, though this smile seemed less lighthearted than her usual dorky grin.

"I've got all the iron we need to ward against him right here," she said, bouncing the rebar against her shoulder. Did that sound as badass as it felt? Because it felt badass. She'd have to ask Cayden later, or maybe Veil. It'd be insensitive to ask Sunshine, given her emotional state. After a few seconds, she realized her dramatic exit was getting less and less dramatic the more she thought about whether it was badass or not, and so she quickly spun around and exited the Underground hideout.

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Sapphire’s outburst wasn’t much of a surprise to Luna and so she barely reacted. The woman had just gone through hell it seemed, although those who weren’t in the alternate reality wouldn’t have a clue about it but that was Sapphire. She didn’t have to indulge anyone in any details if she didn’t want to but it was counterproductive to continuously yell and be pissed at anyone who wasn’t Veil. Everyone in the room seemed to be suffering in their own way at the moment, so one person lashing out and telling them all to shut up about Wanda was expected.
Luna did smirk when Veil revealed she had a twin brother. It seemed she was keeping things hidden from them as well which Luna did find amusing but she didn’t comment on it. She walked over to James when he was done hugging Sunshine and placed a hand on his shoulder. ”If you get a chance, can you check on the pipes? They are starting to get cold and we don’t need them freezing or cracking. I have some ideas on how to insulate them but if you come up with a solution before I get back, I trust you to put it into place,” she said and squeezed James' shoulder before she let go and followed the group to the van Spark Plug had gotten ready.

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Cayden was still a bit twitchy with all the energy in the room, which didn’t help when Veil turned invisible briefly after getting a phone call. They could still hear her which was trippy, all things considered. When she reappeared she had more news about a sibling coming to join them and the people going out on the mission. Cayden didn’t mind not being a part of the away team. There were things he could do here to help and keep the Underground stable.
”Mmm, food. Of course, if you have time and aren’t being chased down,” Cayden said quickly. They really did need to go on a supply run again. He couldn’t help his stomach growling but he could ignore it. At least he had gotten a little something to eat this morning. ”Good luck guys. Stay together and stay safe!” Cayden waved goodbye as he spoke encouragingly, hoping it would give them a boost.

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Once the connection with Max was dropped, she followed Desiree into the Dunkin' Donuts where she stepped up to the counter. "Two medium coffees. One with three pumps of caramel syrup, one with mocha and cream only, please." Once the order was taken she waited for them to be made, whereupon she took them over to a table. Leighton didn't recognize anyone in the shop nor did she recognize any cars pulling up. She hadn't been followed, yet. But they would have to leave soon.

Leighton took her seat, allowing Desiree to sit as well before she started speaking. She kept her voice as quiet as she could so others nearby did not eavesdrop. "I can't speak openly about everything. You never know who is listening in. But I imagine you have questions. I can give you answers if I know, but I am in the dark about a lot of things also. We'll need to leave shortly though. I have a feeling we'll be tailed soon by either the guy at the mall or someone else."

She also wondered how the reunion would go. She was sure everyone at the Underground was mad at her, but for what purpose? She didn't know anyone there she considered a friend. James was close to one, Veil was cool, everyone else was more or less unknown to her or a straight out ass. But she knew Desiree had better options if she was with them. At least she'd have a choice, like her, as to what side she was on. Leighton was pro-peace. Erg instilled that in her however brief their time was. No, she didn't forget his death. No, she didn't forget any of the other crimes. She was where she needed to be to do the most good, even if it didn't seem like it to others.

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Ana received the phone number and left the room with no other word. She dialed it and spoke to Pyro. "Pyro, it's the White Queen. I will be joining you in tailing the target. I'm taking the limo. Feel free to join me in it or I will meet you there." Ana made her way down to where the limo was waiting, sending the coordinates to the driver as she noted the target had stopped at some strip mall, of all places.

Once inside the car, she plotted. This would be a simple matter. If Leighton kept the target there she could easily manipulate them into following her back to HQ. She would have to chide Jinx when she saw him. The boy had bad luck of his own or it was sheer incompetence. How does one lose a simple target in the mall? Sure, she could give that its crowded due to the holidays, but still.

This would be no simple matter. What task ever was?

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"I don't like this, I really don't like this, at all," Sapphire muttered as she heard the chaos or whatever that was going on around her regarding certain people. Namely the fact that Max and Leighton were trying to play the whole Oh we're actually good people and just want to help! card, and clearly thought that the Underground was just going to be perfectly fine with that. Those two were even bigger idiots then she thought if they thought that they'd just be perfectly fine going along with whatever they said.

Nope, Veil might seem to be partially okay with whatever the pair were saying to her, but she was not going to fall for it. Nope, she was going to keep her guard up no matter what. Whose to say that they weren't just walking into a trap? For all they knew, there could be a bunch of Hellfire Club goons just sitting there, waiting for them to arrive before they pounced. "Let's get this joke or whatever is going on with them going already," she muttered as she headed up to the cars as well. She wasn't really talking to anyone in particular, and didn't even want anyone to respond to what she said.

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Jack didn't really buy Sunshine's reason for why she was crying. There just had to be something else going on with her, and if he had to guess it probably had something to do with the reality that Wanda Maximoff had created. Did she remember that reality and was just mad about how everything had been shifted back? He could understand that sort of feeling, a part of him wondered whether or not he had truly been perfectly happy with reality shifting back. However he knew that it was better that they had, so he was fine with the consequences of it.

"Casper, stop trying to jump to conclusions or random stuff like that, and I really wish I could hear Ben's part of the conversation so that I could understand why you are saying what you are saying," Jack said towards his brother. He nodded his head slightly when Veil gave her directions, and now they were going to be sticking around the Underground. Maybe they could try and figure things out? Hearing what James was saying regarding Ben and what Casper had been capable of, Jack shrugged his shoulders slightly, "If I had to guess it might have been a combination of both or something."

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Dunkin' Donuts -

Inside, everything still seems calm - the coffees were made just as Leighton requested, no one was really coming or going at the moment. It was seemingly a safe and secure place for them to talk.

Outside, however, Anastasia's limo pulled into the Strip Mall. Pyro was leaning up against Desiree's car and he smirked, waving cheerfully over at Anastasia. He had a lighter in his hand, flicking it every now and then as to conjure the flame. "Took you long enough, lass," he teased once Anastasia approached him. "They've been in there a fair bit, just talkin'."

The Mall -

Morgan did their very best to stifle their laugh, looking at how incredulous and upset the wild Karen was. The annoying woman did her very best to scream, yet not a sound would come out. Instead, she hugged her bag to her chest to keep the contents from spilling out and then roughly grabbed her kids and stormed off in a huff. Morgan took the money from Jinx, with a Cheshire cat type smile on their face. They turned around and grabbed a classic Cinnabon and got it ready for Jinx, before turning and giving it to him.

They looked a bit like a mischievous imp, as they printed off a receipt for Jinx and then scribbled down their number. "Call me?" they asked, sliding him the piece of paper. "The classic is the best. If you didn't want this one, then there's something seriously wrong with you."

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To say that everything was imploding and exploding in Veil's life simultaneously would be a surprisingly adequate description. "Don't call me Valery Hope," she grumbled into the phone, right before Echo ended the call. It had been a while since she went by that name. She really preferred Veil - it suited her and it had an air of mystery to it that she appreciated. It also was the name she chose, rather than one that was given to her. She got into the shotgun seat, letting Spark Plug drive. The phone call with her twin was over, so she put her phone back into her pocket and took a moment to just breathe.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she reassured Spark Plug. "I'm going to cloak us the entire way there and back. Feedback, I want you jamming all electronic devices when we get there and do a thorough sweep for bugs in the car as we leave. Glimpse, you're on telepathic recon and defense. Sapphire and Spark Plug, if they make any funny moves, well, you're my tanks. Shut them down. I don't like how powerful Tome has become... He's the bigger threat of the two of them. But he's also just a kid. We can use that against him if we have to."

She tugged on her curly hair, staring out the window. She concentrated and they faded away, completely invisible. "Our priority is the safety of the Mutant Underground. If we can help this innocent, then that's great. If we can't..." she let her voice trail off.

The drive was a relatively short one. It wasn't easy, seeing the destruction of what had been her home for a long time. Unlike the X-Mansion, the Underground Hideout couldn't have just been rebuilt. Its existence required for it to be secret and hidden. It was here that the Hellfire Club had sent Magik and Vulcan to kill them. Her brother was there - her heart clenched, worried sick about Echo. Tome was there too. That sent a chill down her spine.

She exhaled and the van became visible again. She stepped on out of the van, her gaze a bit stormy. She didn't like this instantly. Leighton wasn't there and she didn't see the innocent victim of the Hellfire Club either. "Echo, you alright?" she asked, walking over to her brother and giving him a quick hug.

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Sunshine nodded slightly at James' suggestion that they see about getting her more to eat. Had he not believed her lie, she likely would have punched him or something. Growing up on the streets and then doing time in juvi did wonders for your emotional development, after all.

Ben smirked a little bit, amused to see that James was apologizing for calling him an Eldritch Horror. It was also just nice to be recognized. While people could talk to him, they had to rely generally on Casper to pass along his messages. Most just didn't bother with it. Jack was one of Ben's dearest friends while alive (and unrequited love) and yet Ben couldn't remember the last time Jack had tried to talk to him. "Okay fine, your boyfriend doesn't suck," Ben told Casper.

"Hey, he sucks when he wants to," Casper replied, wiggling his eyebrows a bit. "As for who did it... I think it was me? Or him? Or both of us? I could try..." He had managed to do it in the reality the Scarlet Witch made after all. His mind had been entirely clear there, able to project the ghosts so that way others could see them and interact with them - so that way Ben was corporeal again.

"You ready to try, Bennie Ben Ben?"

Ben nodded eagerly. "Yeah, I've been waiting to give all of these losers a piece of my mind," he quipped.

Casper took a deep breath, before he strained just about every fiber of his being. Had he not started to glow blue - largely concentrated around his hands and his eyes - it would have looked like he was just extremely constipated. The blue glowing apparition of Ben then appeared, allowing everyone to see and hear the dead Asian teenager.

"Hey, assholes," Ben said, though he looked positively thrilled, as happy as a little kid on Christmas morning.

Sunshine stopped mid-swallow, looking at Ben, entirely stunned. She had been about to finish off the rest of the Cheez-Its that Feedback had given her. Food was a form of love to her - and unfortunately she also had an eating disorder, unable to control herself when it was available, as for most of her life it just wasn't. "...You can bring back Erg," she blurted.

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James didn’t need to hear Ben’s side of the conversation to guess what that comment meant and he just sent Casper a fond eye roll but James had asked more out of curiosity than expectation. He expected a no or one of his boyfriend’s adorable attempts to sidestep that because he knew how Casper was about this. He expected maybe a later at best but he had definitely not been expecting an immediate demonstration. It took James a few moments to process what he was seeing, Casper glowing the same color as Ben and Ben looking so happy he would explode. He couldn’t hold back the little rush of pride at Casper but he did stop himself from wrapping him up in a hug. James wasn’t sure how much concentration, a lot from the look of it, and he didn’t want to run the risk of hurting Casper if he was interrupted. Instead, he decided to focus his attention on the now visible ghost.

“Shit, you guys can do it!” James walked up to Ben and poked his arm, letting out an impressed whistle when his finger made contact without passing through. “It’s nice to finally meet you face to face, battlefield meetings notwithstanding.” James shook his head with a laugh, socking Ben in the arm for the language. “So, does it feel any different or is it just the same but now you can chill with us?”

Then, James heard Sunshine’s comment. Oh shit. James really wasn’t sure how to handle that particular idea but he was sure Casper wouldn’t be down for summoning Erg back. God only knows what Erg would have to say about everything after he’d been murdered. James didn’t know him well but the man was… passionate about his cause and frankly, James thought that limiting an extremist influence right now was probably a good idea. James decided he’d let Casper field that one and back him up once Casper explained it. Was James a coward for hiding from a difficult situation behind him? Maybe. Probably…. Definitely but James would make it up to him somehow.

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Callie climbed into the driver seat of the van and waited until everyone was loaded up into the van before pulling out of the Mutant Underground HQ. She looked at Veil and nodded slightly, it was still bothering her obviously but she wasn't going to pry any further right now unless she wanted to talk about it. She had to agree with Sapphire, she really didn't like the idea of dealing with Max or Leighton again, as she listened to Veil give orders and nodded. "Sounds good to me." She said as Callie drove through the traffic, and eventually made it to their former HQ. Callie had to admit it she preferred their newer one over than their older one actually having a bed was really nice for once.

Callie spotted Max and who she remembered briefly as Veil's twin back at Xavier's school years ago, she didn't see Leighton or the person that the Hellfire Club was really interested in. Callie couldn't help but feel paranoid and that it was a trap of some kind, she climbed out of the van still keeping it on just in case they needed to get out as quickly as possible. She started to get a little bit of an idea in her head. If she used her new power she had gotten recently and closed her eyes for a moment and moved her hands slightly focusing around the former HQ.

A dense fog started to surround them and their former home, Callie opened her eyes again looking over towards Veil as she went over to hug her twin. "That should at least level the playing field if there are any unwanted visitors here." Callie said, figuring that if they couldn't see them they could get out of here as quickly as possible. Her attention turning straight towards Max, she didn't trust him at all right now before addressing him. "Where is your friend, and the person that your people are so interested in? Also if you do anything shady, or you have any of your Hellfire buddies around or show up uninvited I wont hold back." She warned him little bolts of lightening moving between her fingers.

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Max went back to his Vespa and leaned against its leather seat as he awaited for the others to show up. He looked over cautiously at the new arrival, stealing glances when he could as he wondered who he was and what it is that he was doing here. From the distance he could see curly dark brown hair that resembled Veils but nowhere near as wild. Had it not been for the fact that he spoke, he would've sworn that it was Veil with shorter hair awaiting the others as well. Max opened the compartment in his ride, focusing on what he wanted and conjuring up as much of a care package as he would be able to. He made microwave popcorn bags, cliff bars, yellow gatorades, 10 cheese pizza lunchables, and oddly 30 triple A batteries. Not exactly what he expected but it would have to do, the batteries could serve some use...hopefully.

He heard the sound of grinding gravel once more as a van pulled into the lot. It appeared to be one of the Undergrounds vehicles. His heart clenched as he felt the anxious nervousness swell up inside him. Leighton wasn't here yet and neither was the new mutant, he knew how this must look to them. Veil came out and immediately went towards the other man in the Jeep, hugging him as Callie followed suit. He stopped and turned to watch her, seeing her conjure up a desne fog before threatening him. Max took two steps forward towards her, care package in his hands. "I honestly couldn't tell you where they are. As I had told Veil in the message, I don't have any tech on me to keep in touch with them because I feared it may get tracked or hacked and any information they have could be used to put this innocents life in danger."

Max took a few more steps forward until he was in the middle of his Vespa and Callie, placing the package on the ground and then walking backwards until he felt the familiarity of the leather against his hands. "I got some supplies for you all, I'm not exactly certain the conditions of the Underground right now but I hope any of this can help. Listen I know how this may look, I'm here alone while Leighton and the new mutant are gods knows where but I swear to you that they are coming. I don't know alot of the details...I'm just the middle man right now and was coming for Leightons safety. It was meant to be a two on two meeting, me and her with Veil and Casper. From the looks of it I'm already being greeted by four people and only one of them was who I asked to see. I just needed some answers from him...you wouldn't understand."

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Jinx, pickpocketing

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Jinx couldn't help but smile as he watched her soundless screams take shape. The sheer amount of anger that was in her eyes as he clutched her purse and made her way out of his face was exhilarating. The day had only gotten better as the cute service worker handed him a classic cinnabon. His heart soared as the sweet treat was given to him and he wanted nothing more than to sit down and savor it. Along with his receipt he had gotten their number and, as with most people who worked at the front of an establishment, he seemed to grab their attention in a positive way. His went off as Sage sent him the location of Leighton and Des. Giving Morgan a cheeky smile "Well as they say, duty calls. Hopefully I'll be seeing you around." He shot off some finger guns as he skipped away and went back towards the Macy's department store.

Jinx scoured the store, looking for a singular male victim. It was easier to steal keys off of a man than a woman after all. There he spotted the perfect candidate. He sent a little jinx his way and caused for something to fly into his eye. The man immediately began to rub away at it as his eyes watered and his vision became impaired. Jinx quickly made his way to him, pilfering his pocket as he pulled out not keys but a metro pass. Well it wasn't exactly what he had wanted but his whole life he had taken the metro so it wouldn't be much different than any other time. With a number in his pocket, Cinnabon in a bag, and a grin on his face, Jinx made his way to the nearest metro stop and awaited to take the connection towards the Dunkin Donuts.

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Echo had tilted his sunglasses back up and was humming a tune to one of his songs as he awaited for his sister to arrive. He noticed the blonde boy was doing something within the trunk of his Vespa and he watched through tinted eyes with interest. Was this one of Veils companions? Was this an informant? It was hard to tell anything based off of nothing. As they waited for his duplicate continued to keep a look out for any other arrivals, Harry tilting his head back onto his seat as he groaned out "This is boooooring. How much longer do we have to wait." His duplicate tapped him on the shoulder as he nodded towards the side view mirror. He i think they're here More dust was kicked up as the van pulled around and Veil left, quickly approaching his car and hugging him through the window. "As right as rain my little Vallll...Veil. Thats gonna get some getting used to. Haven't used a code name since...anyways how are you? And who is that adorable little blonde boy with no social skills?"

Echo could see the sparks now flying out of Callies hands, he recalled seeing her before at Xaviers institute but they never interacted much. The lightning danced from finger to finger as she spoke to the blonde and Echo nodded for his Duplicate to go see what was happening. Both doors to the Jeep now opened, Harry stepping out of his to give his sister a proper hug, and his Duplicate stepping or to speak to Callie. Harry ran his hair lightly over Veils as he clicked his tongue. "Tsk tsk tsk. We are going to have to do something about that hair now aren't we?" Anything to avoid the pain that was welling in him. There wasn't much time to grieve in war after all. His duplicate however, simply made his way to Callie, now between her and Max, though slightly off to the side. "What seems to be the problem here Sparky? I wasn't aware I was being called into a fight already." "Everything's fine, right Callie?"