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So this Selene had figured it out. That was relieving in a way. If she was stuck here for an extended time at least it seemed like she'd have her mother. She exited the Manor. It was raining. That was even more relieving. Selene had known it was raining. She had warned her. And told her exactly how it could send her home. Back to her life. Back to her people.

She smiled and stepped into the rain.

---

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It was raining. And it felt good. Andy's head hurt and she felt dizzy. Like she hadn't eaten in a long time. Her body felt sore. She opened her eyes and saw the devastation that had been wrecked upon Genosha. And it caused her heart to ache. Andy didn't know what she had missed. She didn't understand why she was standing outside the wrecked Manor, or where Zari was. Last she remembered had been fighting the woman made of smoke.

She saw Elixir and smiled at him. She had a million questions trying to tumble out all at once, but she said none of them. Maybe she'd learn what happened later. Maybe someone would explain how she got from the school to the mansion. How she was alive even though it felt like her body was ready to collapse. "Hey, do you know where Zari is?" She finally asked. The only question out of all of them that she had that mattered.

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The island had taken a few days to rebuild. A nation of mutants, they were able to reconstruct most of the structures and heal the wounded. Telepaths were able to provide private therapy sessions to those in need, particularly those who had lost a loved one in the attack. In the southern portion of the island, not far from the Broken Baths, Genosha's first graveyard was established. The 198 were buried and memorialized. The mutant nation had survived its first tragedy, its first holocaust. Things were going to be different now.

To that end, the Quiet Council was restructured. Twelve mutants in total would sit at its table. The Winter table, for those mutants with more criminal and unorthodox pasts; the Spring table, for those would walked in both the human and mutant worlds; the Summer table, for the true heroes of Genosha; and the Autumn table, for the elders who blazed the trail.

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Veil had received a telepathic summons from Esme, the only surviving Cuckoo, to come to the Grove. She hadn't been the only one. Callie and James had received a call as well. They had eaten breakfast with the others, promising to meet up again afterwards. Veil didn't know what the Quiet Council wanted - they had already spent the last few days doing everything they could for Genosha. She kept thinking about how Jack had been resurrected and whether that was possible for Kristina, although she was aware Max was spearheading that project - an attempt that didn't involve Sinister was worth a shot, provided he didn't burn down the island.

Arriving at the Grove, Veil couldn't help but think it was more beautiful than any other government center she had seen. Seated at four tables, with a yellow X embossed in the carpet in the middle, were some of the most infamous mutants: Magneto, Selene, and Reeva; Esme, Polaris, and Moneta; Sinister, Mystique, and a woman Veil didn't recognize. She wore blue, alien-like robes, and a horrific golden mask. Veil could see her own face reflected in it. One of the tables, with its back to a gorgeous waterfall, stood vacant.

"...You wanted to see us?" Veil said tentatively. She stood in the center of the tables, looking directly at the 'head' table where Selene, Magneto, and Reeva sat.

Reeva rose to her feet. She was in the middle, with Selene and Magneto on either side of her. "Veil, Caduceus, Spark Plug... Take a seat," she said simply, gesturing at the vacant table. "After the tragedy... it is more important now than ever before that the heroes of Genosha have a place on this Quiet Council."

"I came up with the themes~!" Selene said giddily. "We're the Autumn Table, for those of us who are leaders of mutantkind. You'll be the Summer Table, for the heroes. They're the Winter Table, for the eeeevil ones, pfft. And then the Spring Table, for the mutants who haven't gotten bored of doing business with humans yet but don't quite fit into the entire hero brand. I tried to make them a little spicier, but I was outvoted," she finished with a sigh. "Think of it... Winter Sluts, Autumn Whores, Spring Hoes, and Summer Bitches..."

Mr. Sinister started to snicker. "Oh, I've missed you, Selene dearie. Your theme party in 1931 was to die for! You remember it, hmm, Raven, Irene? You two never missed a sapphic soiree."

Veil blinked, not really too sure what to make of all of this. They had just lot 198 people not that long ago and here, in the governing body of Genosha, a bunch of maniacs were... cracking jokes? Esme, Polaris, Magneto, and Reeva didn't seem to be amused in the slightest. Mystique had her feet up on the table in front of her and the mysterious Irene didn't move a muscle, and her mask hid any chance of a glimpse at a facial expression. If anything, Sinister and Selene's behavior was a motivation for Veil to accept the offer.

She wanted Genosha to work - she didn't even realize how much she needed it to work. "... Okay," Veil said. "If only to keep you under control," she added bluntly, looking at Sinister before taking a seat at the Summer Table.

"And you?" Magneto asked, looking at Spark Plug and Caduceus. "Will you join our number to help your fellow mutants?"

---

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At the Green Lagoon, the atmosphere was still heavy. Most of the mutants on the island had just been traumatized to varying degrees, and while the damage to the island had been repaired, the damage to the psyches of its inhabitants was another issue entirely. Dazzler and Lila Cheney were providing live music at the Green Lagoon, but not enough the musical-light show was enough to really cheer everyone up. People were still just going through the motions, trying to process everything.

"Thank you, that was Homo Superior, an original single by me!" Lila Cheney said into the microphone. "Up next is Dazzler's hit song Beautiful Dreamer!"

Alison Blaire, the Disco Dazzler, then began to sing:


Casper was sitting with some other ex-Mutant Underground members, picking at his waffles. He was a little upset that James had left to go deal with some sort of mysterious summons from the Quiet Council, but Casper also knew why he hadn't been asked to go. He didn't really ever do quiet. The loud music at the Green Lagoon, while not exactly his style, was much more his speed - as was the can of whipped cream that the bartender, the Blob, had lent him. Casper had already injected basically all of it into his mouth.

"Freddie, hit me again!" Casper called out.

"No, you're cut off, Theriot!" the Blob shouted back, manning the bar. He had been a major foe of the X-Men in years past - but here on Genosha, he had cultivated a real love for bartending.

Casper sighed, pushing around the waffles on his plate with his fork again. "I hate it here," he grumbled, whining under his breath.

"No you don't," a ghostly voice said behind him and Casper dramatically threw his plate into the air - the plate came crashing back down, hitting the table and shattering into pieces, but Casper didn't care. "BEN! YOU'RE BACK!!!!" he screamed ecstatically, tears pouring from his eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I'm back, wheee?" Ben said. "How long was I out for?"

"Uh, you know me and time, Ben, we aren't friends. Maybe a few days?" Casper guessed. He didn't exactly look at the calendar on Genosha.

Sunshine rolled her eyes at Casper, even though she was secretly happy to know that Ben was back. She couldn't see Ben unless Casper allowed her to, but he had been a constant in their lives - it had been weird to think that he wasn't there. Just knowing that he was back, albeit invisible, was comforting. Marrow, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow. "Is he talking to himself?" Marrow asked.

"He's talking to Ben, his dead boyfriend," Sunshine answered, before downing a shot of tequila. She coughed instinctively, the alcohol burning her throat. Day drinking had become common on Genosha in the last few days. Marrow couldn't help but chuckle at her wife.

"Someone's weak," she teased.

"Shut up," Sunshine groaned, but she couldn't help but smile slightly. She was ridiculously in love with Marrow. Marrow had one arm around her and Sunshine felt so incredibly safe and secure. She couldn't imagine her life without her - and if it hadn't been for Genosha, they might have never met.

"Make me," Marrow invited.

"Fine," Sunshine obliged, before pulling her wife in for a deep kiss.

---

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Max had spent the past few days obsessing over the idea of bringing their fallen friends back. He still felt that nagging pain in the back of his mind, Waverly's voice asking him when enough would be enough? How can he decide who can and cannot be brought back. He couldn't help but shake his leg in agitation as he sat down near Casper, hands laced together with his chin resting atop them. There was still so much he didn't know, so much he had to ask. But he couldn't fully trust Selene yet, and he wasn't sure how well Strange would react to this idea of tampering with life. He could almost hear his voice chastising him and explaining the unknown variables of how it could comically affect the world or something.

After a moment, Max had decided to sit back and pull out a deck of cards that were awaiting him in his room. He couldn't read the words on them, but the pictures spoke volumes to him. He pulled out the major ones, shuffling them several times before he finally stopped and placed the deck onto the table. His left hand reached for the first card and placed it in front of him on the left. The next card placed to its right, and then the final placed to its right. It was the only spread he'd ever seen, knowing from left to right it was past present and future. As far as he knew the cards were all up to interpretation.

He flipped the first card, his eyes immediately drawn first to the swirls of wind that drifted out of a well. It gave him a sense of creativity, of opportunistic hope as if the well itself was giving it onto him. The second card was one he'd seen before. The hanged man. The image was of a young blonde boy not unlike himself, holding a rope that hung over a branch and was tied around his ankles. The card felt as if it was telling him he was holding himself back. That he needed to let go of something now in order to create a better future. Max's stomach twisted, worried as to what it might mean at the moment, before turning the final card. His eyes didn't leave the image, almost as if the card itself was staring right back at him asking him a very important question. The judgemental look upon the horned creature's face staring blatantly at him asking him what is holding him back from achieving his goals?

For a moment there was a slight burn around his wrist. An illusion of fear reminding him of his mistakes as he now found himself looking at the place where his hand had been previously separated. Max cleared his throat, gathering the cards up once again and placing them back into a small leather pouch. He could hear his own voice asking him over and over. What's holding you back? Luckily for Max, Casper was an excellent distraction as his plate shattered on the table and Casper began to make a fool of himself. "Good to have you back Ben. It's been quiet without you." Sure he couldn't hear a response, but he figured it was polite to do so all the same.

---

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A part of Harry felt a bit insulted. Here he was, Genosha's Hero, and still they chose Dazzler over him as a performance. Granted, he wasn't particularly in the mood to be up on stage given the past few days. He'd gone to see one of the telepaths to try to get some help, Waverly's loss hitting him as if he'd lost his own child. A few times he'd thought about reaching out to David, see how he was doing after everything and potentially grab some lunch. But Harry didn't want David to see him this way, it wouldn't be fair to him. He had been locked up for who knows how long, and shortly after release there's a mass attack?

Harry poked a few blueberries around on his plate with his fork. Watching as they rolled about and stealing glances towards the performers. "They're trying too hard to lift the spirits. They should've gone with a ballad or something that could resonate with the mutants feelings. I'm sure at least Dazzler can feel it. The melancholy song that each mutant's heart is giving out right now. As if they're wanting so hard to move forward but the weights of the past and holding them down." Harry pressed his fork into one of the berries, watching as it squished under the pressure before plopping it into his mouth. When Caspers plate crashed, a spray of whipped cream had graced Harry's cheek. Quickly wiping it off with a smile as he heard Ben had finally come back. That was one of the biggest weights off his shoulders now. Too long had the number been 198 mutants. But to Harry it felt as if it was 199, the last having been all his fault. "Ask him how Ghost Hawaii is."

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Callie was finishing up her breakfast, some scrambled eggs, a piece of sausage and a biscuit as well as a cup of coffee when she had gotten the mental call from Esme to come to the Quiet Council. She wasnt sure what they actually wanted from her Veil or James, but she had a feeling that it was really important, and joined them there. It was the first time for her being in the grove where the Quiet Council was, and she had to admit that it was really impressive looking to her. Callie eyed each of the people there who sat at each of the tables, noting that one of the tables was rather empty when Reeva spoke up.

Callie couldnt help but be taken aback a bit when they offered the three of them a seat on the council, she was the co-leader for the mutant underground when it was a thing for awhile, and just leading their little family to help the mutants who were in need of help and getting to safety. She looked between Selene as well as Mr. Sinister the two people that rubbed her the wrong way, she decided to ignore what the two of them had said. And there was the other woman on the council who wore the strangest clothes as well as a face mask covering her entire face.

Veil took the offer, and then Magneto asked if she and James wanted to have a position which she nodded it felt like it was her duty to help however she could. "I honestly don't know much about politics, but if Veil is in then I am as well to." Callie said as she went over and took a seat down next to her friend.

---

Waking to Esme’s summons wasn’t exactly how he planned to spend his day but he wasn’t about to ignore the Quiet Council, especially after the tragedy the Children of the Vault inflicted on them. Healing, rebuilding, and burying the dead over the past few days took a toll on the island. Grief and sorrow still hung heavy in the once mirthful atmosphere despite the attempts to help everyone. This wouldn’t just blow over like a summer storm, James could attest to that. The number of full night’s rest since the attack has been exactly 0, the nightmares leaving him restless and sobbing and clinging to Casper in the middle of the night as he repeated who he was and where he was over and over and over again like a mantra. He’d considered reaching out to someone about it but when telepaths featured heavily in his nightmares, he couldn’t overcome the nausea that rolled in his stomach at the thought of someone in again.

When they’d arrived at The Grove, James couldn’t help the smile on his face as he looked around the room. It was a beautiful space but he turned his attention to each of the members seated as Reeva explained their summons. It was a strange combination, the callousness of Selene and Mr. Sinister versus the stately composition of Magneto and Reeva, not to mention the casual detachment of the others. But it must work to some degree, he supposed. Otherwise Genoshia probably wouldn’t have gotten this far.

“Of course I will.” James replied, following the others and taking a seat. “The Mutant Underground has always helped mutants in need. This is just a different kind of help. Hopefully, we’ll prove as helpful as you think we will.”

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Well things had been a bit hectic over the course of the past few days as everything that had happened resulted in the deaths of a lot of people. Of course, death was something he didn't really want to talk about with anyone. He still sort of was thinking of ways he might be able to tell someone, or really talk to anyone with regards it. With the group, he was friends and all with most of them, and Callie and Veil already knew everything, but he wasn't going to say anything more about it to anyone. Maybe Casper if he got the chance, but his brother typically was always with James (aside from now, but it was kind of crowded in the area) so that likely wasn't going to happen any time soon.

"Really Casper?" Jack asked his brother with a bit of an eye roll, before hearing him suddenly exclaim that Ben was back. That was a good thing, since as usual Ben hopefully could keep Casper out of trouble if James wasn't really around at all. "Glad to hear that you're okay Ben," he added towards the ghost. Even though he couldn't see him currently, he knew he was there, and he'd honestly gotten used to talking to Ben even without being able to really talk to him. Namely because of the fact that Casper tried to "translate" and play a really weird game of telephone or something like that which were always incredibly strange to him.

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Zari had no idea what it was that had messed with her powers and more or less turned them off in general. Luckily though, it had seemed to only be temporary, and right now, she was just sort of sitting cross-legged on the ground near where the others were, her bag nearby, a screwdriver in hand as she was messing with her robotic head, while Mr. Eyeball was floating around her just in general, sort of watching to see what she was doing in general almost. The robot was also just sort of wanting to keep an eye on her in general to make sure she doesn't miss anything and pays attention to everything. Of course for her, the music was a bit loud, but she thought nothing of it really.

"01011010 01100001 01110010 01101001 00101100 00100000 01110111 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01100101 01111000 01100001 01100011 01110100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01100001 01110010 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 01101001 01101110 01100111 00111111 00100000 01001111 01110010 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 00100000 01100101 01110110 01100101 01101110 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01101011 01101110 01101111 01110111?" the robot beeped at her, floating nearby her.

"Jeg prøver å se om jeg kan finne ut hvordan jeg kan gi Mr. Jaws muligheten til å skyte laser fra øynene hans," she responded to the robot with a shrug. She was messing with the robotic head, but every so often, there would be a spark of electricity that would jump out from her messing with it. Of course, she just thought that sort of thing would be cool for a robot to be able to do.

"01000100 01101111 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01101110 01101011 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100011 01100101 01110011 01110011 01100001 01110010 01111001?"

"Hva? Ikke som om du kan skyte laser eller noe sånt. Du kan like gjerne gi Mr. Jaws noe du tydeligvis ikke kan gjøre," she added, though that resulted in the robot beeping loudly at her and she smirked at the idea. Of course, Mr. Eyeball didn't need to be able to do that sort of thing. Honestly she liked him just the way that he was in general. "Du vet at jeg bare erter ikke sant?" This resulted in more beeping, and she just smiled hearing the robot's words back towards her.

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Miranda had been a bit surprised upon hearing that the Quiet Council was being expanded upon. She was even more surprised when she had been offered an invitation to sit with the council as a member. Honestly she hadn't been too sure what to think with that sort of invitation, however she accepted it, and that's how she found herself sitting at a table with Polaris and the last remaining of the Three-in-One Esme. Of course, she wasn't too sure how to feel about Selene or Sinister being on the council, since they weren't exactly people she'd normally deal with if she didn't have to. Even though Selene had helped massively with creating Genosha with both Magneto and Reeva, she still was a bit odd of a person in her opinion.

Her main thing, was wondering how the three members of the former Mutant Underground would feel about the offer to sit on the council as members and help govern the people of Genosha. She gave the group a slight smile when they spoke and accepted the invite, and she honestly felt a little better knowing that they had all decided to join the council. Especially considering who was currently sitting at a table off to the side next to Sinister, the council needed some balancing in her mind, so she was super glad that the group decided to join, and she remained somewhat quiet, to just listen to see what the others might over all say afterwards.

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Andy had been sleeping better since Magneto had given her a pillow. It had been specially crafted just for her, which gave her two whole possessions she actually cared about. The first being her jacket, a gift from Ash Drummond. It was weird in a way to have possessions. Bizzare to think about. But she liked it. She liked knowing they existed.

She sat at The Green Lagoon, nursing an iced coffee. She sort of was paying attention to the conversations around her but not in a serious way. Instead, she was thinking. Most of that thinking involved watching Zari, she had no idea what Zari or Mr. Eyeball were saying so it wasn't like she could join the conversation. She had jumped when Casper exclaimed that Ben was back. Andy was glad for Casper's sake he was, though it still gave her the willies to think that ghosts were real.

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Reeva smiled, pleased to see that the Quiet Council was now whole. "I am sure you will all serve Genosha well," she said, in an attempt to reassure Spark Plug in particular. With the Summer Table, the heroes of Genosha, now seated, Reeva commanded the attention of the room. "The Marauders have been dispatched to replenish our supplies and should return by sundown this evening. We've solved the physical problems from the attack... as much as they can be solved," Reeva paused, doubtlessly thinking of the 198. "But we still have a threat to Genosha that must be addressed - the emotional and spiritual trauma. Our people have lost their hope and we must restore it. I'm open to suggestions from any table on what we can do," Reeva finished, before taking her seat once more, her eyes sweeping over the rest of the Quiet Council.

At the Autumn Table, Magneto was silent - emotions were never very much his area of expertise. In the past when the Brotherhood members had a crisis of faith, he had used force and fear to 'inspire' them into action. Selene was twirling a strand of her hair around her left index finger, before reaching underneath the table and grabbing... a human skull? No one seemed to say anything, even as Veil's jaw dropped.

"His name is Nick Damiano, dear," Selene said, sensing Veil's confusion. "He's my emotional support skull."

Veil was fully convinced that Selene was insane - she reminded her of a popular DC Comics character, Harley Quinn. It baffled her that no one else here seemed to be concerned? She glanced at James and Callie, very clearly non-verbally asking them if they also found this weird as hell.

"How about we give them drugs?" Sinister suggested, completely serious. "We could even turn them all into Hounds. A mind-controlled citizen is a happy citizen after all."

Polaris' eyes flashed. "No!" she said firmly. "They're fucking people, we're going to treat them with dignity. It'll take time, but morale will bounce back, we just have to be patient and committed." Sinister smiled sickeningly at her.

"How's Havok, by the way?" Sinister asked.

"Perhaps we hold a gala," Esme Frost suggested, cutting off Sinister and Polaris' conversation. "Let everyone dress up, hire Saucier to cater, have dancing and fireworks and music," Esme said. "Jumbo Carnation's here, I'm sure he would design for us if we asked, Fashion Week isn't for a few months."

"Oh, I love a party!" Selene said, clapping her hands together. "A fetish ball will lift everyone's spirits. Perhaps we can even invite some of the humans, make a day of it," she suggested, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Irene directed her gaze directly at Selene, although she didn't say a word.

"... That's actually not half bad," Reeva said, looking a little surprised. "Shall we vote then on the proposal? All in favor of a Hellfire Gala, raise your hands..."

Veil hesitated for a moment. She didn't know if a party was going to really help things - but then again, maybe it would. Maybe a night of fun and dancing would boost the island's morale. It wasn't like it would be that very day anyways, it seemed like the sort of event that would need at least a week's worth of planning. Maybe the change of pace would do everyone good. And it was hard for her to see the harm in throwing a party.

Veil raised her hand, voting in favor.

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Shockingly, ghosts were capable of crying - everyone's kind remarks caused Ben to get teary eyed, as he wiped away his ghostly tears. "Tell Max thanks, I'm glad to see him too - and that he's looking cute today," Ben said. "Tell Echo for me that Ghost Hawaii is boring compared to Ghost Vegas. And tell Jack his butt is looking cute today."

Casper crinkled his nose, mostly at that last comment. "Eww, Ben, that's gross. I get why you think Max is cute, but Jackie? Really? He looks like someone put a hot dog through a taffy stretcher machine thingy and glued on some Mr Potato Head eyes!" Casper protested. "By the way, Max, Ben says you look cute today - and Echo, he says Ghost Hawaii sucks ass." Ben sighed slightly, more or less used to Casper's less than stellar translations - it was one of the worst parts of being a ghost. He could only really communicate directly to Casper, unless Casper had conjured him.

"Soooo anything fun in those cards?" Casper then asked, a little bit curious about Max's tarot cards. Casper had grown up in New Orleans and had gotten a few tarot readings done, as it was very much a French tradition and French magic had a home in that city, particularly in the French Quarter. "Can you do a reading for me?" Casper then pressed, easily distracted and now fixated on the subject of tarot.

Sunshine pulled away from the kiss with her wife, raising a bit of an eyebrow at Andy and Zarina. Those two were being awfully quiet - well, not really Zari, Zari seemed to be incapable of shutting up. But she wasn't saying anything that anyone else could understand. So Sunshine, feeling still a bit raw from everything that happened and eager for a distraction, decided maybe it was best to pry a little bit into those two. "So, are you two friends or...?" Sunshine trailed off.

"Babe, you can't just ask that," Marrow said, chuckling lightly.

"Well too late, I just did, so spill the tea you two," Sunshine requested. "I heard Magneto adopted you both basically, so you're sisters or...?" she trailed off again. It reminded her slightly of something one of her cellmates in juvi had been obsessed with - some show where two characters who were very much in love and dating were suddenly declared to be cousins.

---

James returned Veil’s look with a shrug. The best friend of the love of his life was a ghost and as much as he hated to admit it, Selene’s brand of crazy was just a little more intense than Casper’s. She definitely creeped him out after the whole eating ghosts thing in the mansion but the skull really was just another tuesday. Dr. Sinister’s suggestion barely got a reaction out of James because if that idea had gotten even a bit of traction, James knew the entire summer table would have revolted on the spot. He narrowed his eyes at the mischief in Selene’s excitement but it was dismissed when the proposal was officially put forward. James fiddled with the locket around his neck as he contemplated the idea.

“I lost my dad when I was 18. There wasn’t a reason for it, just a bad spat of luck. Electrical fire grew through the building, dad was stuck, and now he’s in the ground. My home was gone, my family was gone, my peace of mind was gone and if someone had the balls to suggest I attend a party barely even three days later, I would have introduced their face to the concrete as fast and painfully as I could.” James spoke softly, opening up that wound unpleasant. The sting in his eyes suggested he wasn’t nearly as over it as he thought he was but he tabled that thought for the time being. “I’m not outright opposing it. Something lighter than what we’ve been dealing with would be a nice change of pace but just throwing a designer party isn’t going to help. In the Underground, we saw people who’d had their entire lives turned upside down as the friends and family they’d loved and trusted all their lives turned on them, hurt them, and turned them into the authorities. It was a frustratingly common experience and it didn’t just strip them of hope, it stripped them of their sense of safety and security.” James explained, his fingers drumming on the table as he spoke.

“We should expand on the concept. The people of Genosha have had their sense of safety and security stripped from them and the best way to start healing is by fostering community support. Instead of just a gala, we should host a festival put together by various parts of the community for everyone to enjoy. It would give everyone a hands on distraction that lets them celebrate life and the best parts of those we lost. We can use the gala as a sort of tie off to the day but a fancy party planned by others isn’t enough to give back what people lost. They need a sense of ownership and pride in the face of despair.”

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Callie turned her attention towards Selene for a moment she couldnt help but be a little bit disturbed with her pulling out some random skull, and her claiming it as some sort of emotional support animal. She turned to Veil and Jack, and made the crazy gesture towards Selene, Callie didnt really care of Selene saw that or not. Sure the woman had helped found Genosha for sure, but even Callie had to agree that Selene had a few screws loose in that head of hers. Then Mr. Sinister made a suggestion turning the people who were emotionally, mentally and physically hurt during the attack. "Yeah, no the three of us had already encountered your hounds before hard pass on that suggestion." Callie said towards him as she turned her attention over towards Esma as she made her suggestion of throwing a gala to help with morale.

She didnt need to use her powers to really feel those around her that they were all hurt by the attack by the Children of the Vault, and they needed something to uplift everyone's spirits. Callie looked between Veil and James as they raised their hands in favor for the Hellfire Gala she raised her hand in favor of it as well to. "A gala I think would be perfect." Callie said looking over towards Esme and smiled towards her.

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Max blushed slightly when Casper offhandedly mentioned Ben thought he was cute. He'd never really had any guys express any interest in him before, so hearing that small bit of validation sent rose colored splashes against his cheeks. A part of him thought it was fitting that the first guy to display any interest would be dead, invisible, and intangible, but hey that was kind of his life now and Ben seemed like a cool guy from the brief glimpses he'd gotten of him. "Thanks Ben, you look cute everyday so that isn't fair." Max said, sticking his tongue out in a teasing manner. This was exactly the kind of distraction that he needed, until Casper brought his attention back towards the cards.

"Nothing I haven't heard before unfortunately. Just that I'm the only thing standing between me and my potential and that I need to figure out what part of me is holding myself back so that I can press forward. Heard the speech enough from my father but now I guess even fate is yelling it at me." Max sighed. Back in WandaWorld he had met Jack and Casper in New Orleans, both of which seemed very at home there. If Casper retained his memories of his past other life, he could see why he'd be interested in a reading. From what Max had heard there were shops all around the French District that practiced in magic. "Sure, uh...kinda new to all this but I think you need to shuffle the cards while asking your question out loud. Focus on what you're asking and nothing else." Max pulled the deck out once more and handed the cards to Casper to shuffle.

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Harry couldn't help but keep his smile going. How the appearance of one person could change a whole table's mood was outstanding. Everyone's spirits changed, getting more excited and energetic just by having him around. "Sorry to hear it sucked. With a name like Ghost Hawaii I'd hoped it'd be much more pleasant." Harry began to actually eat his food, not simply playing around with it as he felt a weight lifted. "Hey, that's not fair. Jack can literally shift himself to look how he wishes, who says that butt isn't fake?" He said playfully, pointing his fork where he believed Ben to be.

A blueberry hung at the edge of the tongs, just for a moment as Harry motioned towards Ben, before plopping it into his mouth. He looked over towards the others, Sunshine and Marrow seemed to be doing just fine while Zari and Andy looked to be getting interrogated by Sunshines bold questions. He never knew her to hold much back, and it appeared it extended to this as well. He rolled his eyes slightly as he continued to eat his food. Wondering what life was like for her as they were all frozen. Had anyone probed into her relationship? Would she have openly admitted it at first? Or simply challenged anyone who dared ask about it to a fight. He could only imagine the amount of kids with coughs and colds for daring to bring it up in the early honeymoon stages of love.

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Well, sounds like it was another round of a partially bad game of telephone with Casper reiterating what it was that Ben was supposedly saying. Jack couldn't help but roll his eyes with regards to what Casper and everyone else was more or less saying. At least most of the group or whatever seemed to be together, it made him a little bit curious as to what Callie, Veil and James were doing at the moment. Then again, they might be clearly enjoying some peace and quiet or whatever from the group. Right now though, he glanced over to see what it was that Max was messing with, and shook his head slightly at Casper asking for a reading.

"Casper, just be careful. You used to get tarot readings all the time back home whenever you got the chance... How many of those fortunes actually came true?" Jack asked his brother with a bit of an eye roll. Another thought crossed his mind, and he figured that maybe he could talk to Casper about the whole other thing on his mind with regards to everyone talking about attempting to bring people back from the dead. "Hey Casper, je me demandais si je pouvais te parler de quelque chose plus tard. Dans la mesure du possible, et de préférence sans personne d'autre, car ce n'est pas du tout quelque chose que je veux trop mentionner aux autres."

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Zari wasn't really paying much attention to the conversation around her, as usual afterall. She tended to tunnel vision on what it was that she was doing at any given time, especially when she was messing with her robots in any sort of capacity. So that's why she more or less was ignoring what it was that Sunshine and Marrow were saying, and she didn't even really pay attention to the fact that Andy was near her at this point. She was just more or less fiddling with Mr. Jaws, thinking nothing of it, until she started hearing a very loud angry beeping noise, and she looked to see that Mr. Eyeball was more or less yelling to get her attention and floated around and sort of pointed to the other people near her.

"Hva?" she asked, a bit confused, before looking to glance at the others near her, and that's when it finally dawned on her with regards to them talking to her, or having a conversation in general. "Uh... Sorry, but um... What was said or what was the question? I wasn't really paying attention..." Zari admitted sheepishly. There was loud beeping, and even though the robot wasn't saying any words, it was obvious that Mr. Eyeball was annoyed with Zari for ignoring literally everything going on around her, and he beeped in a bit of a disappointed tone.

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Well this discussion went down the rabbit hole rather quickly about how to make people feel better with regards to everything and lifting the spirit of everyone in Genosha. Her eyes went a bit wide at Sinister's suggestion, and she would have spoken up to say something about it, but Polaris beat her to the punch with it in general, and basically said the exact thing she was thinking. Though Miranda herself likely would have said it a bit nicer with her choice of words in general. Though if Esme hadn't jumped into the conversation, she would have too, since that was obviously leading to a fight between Polaris and Sinister.

The idea of a gala sounded more then a little bit interesting to her, but she wasn't entirely too sure how that really was going to fully help everyone trying to feel better or lift spirits in general. It just seemed like it might not be the best thing, at least in her mind. James' idea made the most sense to her personally. [color=C42B2]"I mean, having the gala in the evening and then perhaps other things to occur during the more daylight hours makes sense to me,"[/color] she commented, giving a slight smile towards James, acknowledging his suggestion, "Though I do think the idea of the gala could be fun in general as well," she added, before raising her hand in favor of it.

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"We're just friends." Andy said entirely too quickly as heat rushed into her cheeks. It wasn't something she had consciously put into words. But under the sudden pressure of Sunshine's question, Andy knew. She also knew that Zari had, up to this point, shown little interest in her back. But that was fine. Andy didn't mind. She just wanted to help her. Not that she knew how she was supposed to go about that.

"But yeah. He did. But Zari has actual parents so I don't think it counts for her." It was weird. The whole situation. Also, his form of parenting was very different than the Drummonds. And the countless foster families Andy had bounced through. She thought of the faces of the people she had believed were her parents as a kid. That first family got rid of her as soon as they had their own child. She didn't do attachment well.

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Everyone, with the exception of James, had cast their vote on the matter. No single table was united, with the votes tallying 7-4 in favor of the Hellfire Gala:

In favor...

• Selene: "Oh, this party will be to die for!"
• Mister Sinister: "I can't wait to wear my new cape and I may have a prior commitment for a date, hehehe~!"
• Reeva Payge: "Our people need hope - something to lift their spirits."
• Esme Frost: "Mum always adored the Hellfire Galas..."
• Veil
• Moneta
• Spark Plug

Opposed...

• Magneto: "Our people survived a holocaust. Dancing won't heal their bloody wounds. It is a time for strength and unity, not frivolity."
• Polaris: "A party right now feels fucked up."
• Destiny: "The gala will not heal this broken land."
• Mystique: "What can I say? Happy wife, happy life."

James' proposal was intriguing to Reeva, although Selene seemed to be captivated by thoughts of what she could wear to the event. "Caduceus, would you be willing to take the lead on coordinating the festival?" Reeva suggested. The vote on the gala would pass no matter what James voted in favor of and Reeva considered his proposal to be more or less looped into that entire event. "And Esme, would you attend to the gala itself? Plan it for a few weeks out, we want to give our people hope, not cruelty."

"How about the 22nd? The moon will be full, it'll be gorgeous out," Selene suggested. Destiny shook her head ever so slightly, the movement so subtle it was easy to miss.

"Whatever date you choose won't change how wretched an idea this is," Magneto grumbled, glaring at no one in particular.

The room, Veil had noticed, had more or less assembled into to camps - a) everyone is going through it right now, so something hopeful might be nice and b) everyone is going through it right now, so people need to feel their feelings for a while. She did like James' suggestion, finding a way to give everyone something physical to do, something to create, as its own form of therapy. The entire island was definitely doing a lot of grief counseling at the moment, as people struggled to really come to terms with such a gigantic loss. Veil didn't know whether there was really anything right for them to do - maybe some people would be helped with a gala and a festival, whereas others wouldn't.

She didn't particularly feel like dancing herself. She couldn't recall the last time she had just danced, without any worries or concerns. Ever since she had been attacked and gone to Xavier looking for new purpose, Veil had been part of the Mutant Underground, smuggling mutants towards... what? Another place where they were hated and feared? She had espoused Xavier's teachings, attempting to bring out his dream of mutants and humans living together in peace... of mutants assimilating into human culture. But they didn't need to assimilate. They didn't need to lose their identities to be peaceful.

"The 22nd I think sounds reasonable - should give everyone plenty of time to prepare and hopefully by then... well, hopefully things may not seem so grim," Reeva said. "The island's telepaths are continuing to provide private grief therapy sessions, kindly overseen by Esme. In the meantime, please do what you can for Genosha... and should you need anything, I am here for all of you."

"Lastly, Stacy X has volunteered to take care of the children orphaned in the attack. I am working closely with her to attempt to find permanent mutant families for them on the island, but if any of you wish to take a little one in, she's set up at the Hellfire Mansion."

"No thanks, Rogue was a handful," Mystique quipped.

"Caduceus," Destiny said, turning to look at him, although she was blind and he could not see her behind the mask. "Your son is waiting for you with Stacy X."

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"Well, yeah, of course I got readings all the time! Roberto and I had a deal. I would get a reading, and he would get a blowjob," Casper explained. To him, it was completely logical. Roberto had been INCREDIBLY attractive and extremely insightful. Roberto didn't even need to look at the cards in order to deduce that Casper had daddy issues and Casper couldn't fathom how he had come to that conclusion without genuine psychic powers! (Not the bad kind of psychic powers of course, like telepathy - the fun, sexy kind like being able to see the future).

"That girl, Nancy, she was better at it," Ben chimed in.

"She told you that you were going to die, Ben!"

"... Well, I did. So she wasn't wrong."

"... I guess that's fair. Huh," Casper paused for a moment, before suddenly lurching for Max's cards and beginning to shuffle them wildly. He wasn't amazing at shuffling, but he was careful not to bend any of Max's cards. "I... want... to know... if..." Casper paused, still shuffling as he struggled to come up with a question on the spot, "... James and I will live on this island forever," Casper then finished, before thinking about James and sand as hard as he could.

Casper then stopped shuffling and looked up at Jack. "Suuuure - after I get my tarot read, and then we need to ask Max to ask the cards when you're going to finally get a boyfriend!"

Meanwhile, Sunshine was bored with Zari's response - or lack thereof. However, with Andy, it seemed like her suspicions were proven correct. It was very rare for Sunshine to feel like the mature, older role model - but she saw an opportunity here to help this little queer mutant out. After all, Sunshine and Marrow considered themselves to be one of the queer power couples of Genosha. She had to assume that others saw them similarly. And with all of the horrific deaths, Sunshine was very much in the mood to focus on something silly and cute as Andy's crush. "You know, if Zari already has parents, then you're right, it doesn't count. You aren't sisters. You're friends... who could maybe make out sometimes and it wouldn't be weird or wrong or anything. It's an option."

Marrow rolled her eyes. "Leave them alone, babe."

"What? I'm just pointing out that you two have a lot of room for different relationships here since you aren't actually adopted siblings, so you could go for just friends... or spice it up a little bit and do something more. It's Genosha, you don't need to worry about people being homophobic here, and if they are, I'll kick their ass," Sunshine vowed. She had been about to threaten something much more serious, but she didn't want to think about death. She didn't want to think about Feedback and Kristina in the ground.

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Callie looked around the room, as those who voted yes seemed to outnumber the the ones who were opposed to it she wasnt sure if whatever option the other provided would have been a good option. Callie stared at Sinister for a moment and shook her head slightly, she really wasnt sure how he even got a place on the council in the first place. They needed to do something that would lift people's spirits up as Callie leaned back in her seat for a moment looking over towards Esme and Reeva as they set up a date for the event. "If you'd like some help i'm willing to." Callie said towards Esme, it would help with planning things easier having someone else to bounce ideas off of.

Callie thought for a moment about adopting a kid, but she didnt think she'd be a really good parent really either, she wasnt sure what to think of Destiny as she spoke to James mentioning him adopting a son from the Hellfire Manor. She couldn't really imagine Casper being a parent either, he seemed a little bit scatter brained to help raise a child, even though he was a friend of her's but it was up to them really though.

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Max's smile froze for a moment as Casper replied to Jack. He choked on his spit in a fit of shock, giving Casper a curious look. He didn't say anything at the moment, not daring to tempt Caspers horrid ADHD mind and getting him off track. He watched as Casper shuffled the cards, listening to what the reading would be about so that he could better interpret what he was seeing. Max still had no clue as to how this all worked fully, but there was rarely an easy way to tell Casper no. As Casper finished up, Max took the cards and placed them onto the table, giving the mutant a leveled look. "This doesn't mean you get to blow me. You can forward that payment to James if you'd like."

Max placed his left hand over the deck, hesitating for a moment as he wondered and feared as to what the cards might tell. He placed three cards down from the top of the deck from left to right. All the cards were faced down and Max took a deep breath to calm himself. He didn't know why, but the idea of telling the future for people he cared about terrified him. He flipped the first card, their past. Instantly he noticed the grim specter that hunched in the center of the card. There was an odd sense of serenity however in his face. He sat watching a flower that appeared to be blooming. The card signified change as best as Max could tell. The ending of an old life as they watched a new one bloom before them.

Max's shoulders relaxed as he looked on the first card, though their past was hardly a secret. He flipped the middle card to signify their present. Had the card been upright, he would've seen a confident young man, skillful in what he was doing. However the card's reversed image pushed Max to believe it meant the opposite. Unease and a lack of planning riddled the new image. As if they had been procrastinating having this very talk to each other. For a moment Max wondered if Casper was afraid of what James had to say on the matter, or vice versa. He flipped the final card, there was a woman sitting down with scales in her left hand and a sword on the right. An owl sat perched to her side staring straight at the reader.

Max believed he knew what it told him and that made him rest a little easier. There was equality and fairness to be had in their future. Wherever they were to end up, they would both be happy and accepting of the decision. "Still kinda new at this ok but here it goes. The first card we can kind of glance past. It's your past, it shows change and renewal but we already knew all that. The second is your present. There's a sense of unease or procrastination on this subject. Maybe you should talk to James about the future you want. Try to hear each other out and not put the subject off for too long. Finally we have the final card, your future. Now, know that the future is paved by your actions now. It can change at any moment to how you two wish it to be, but all things considered...you'll both be happy where you land. I see nothing but equality and fairness for you two, I can't say if you'll be here or back on the mainland or whatever. But what I can say is wherever you end up, you'll of made that decision together."

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Harry rolled his eyes slightly as Andy said they were just friends. He wasn't one to pry in others' lives, and if he was being honest he'd hardly paid much attention to the new kids at all. But if he had to wager just purely based on how they were sitting and spending their time together, he'd say they were in the early stages of romance. Now whether or not either of them realised it yet was a completely different story. Harry couldn't help but chuckle and smile at Sunshines remarks. She wasn't wrong of course, but her bluntness certainly helped to bring up others' walls he guessed. "Were you this open with your feelings when you first met Marrow? Or did you say you were just friends?" Harry teased.

He watched out of the periphery of his vision as Casper continued his antics. Full glad that Max was entertaining his ideas and allowing Casper to be concentrated on a singular task. It didn't however do anything to dampen the amount of sexual stories the boy told. But Casper was nothing if not a delight to be around. For the most part Harry was watching the four girls before him, but he kept glancing to his side, interested in seeing the reading. He'd only ever been to a psychic once before. Asking for what now seemed like such silly ideals as he sat there with a weird found family he could call home. He didn't care for what the psychic had said back then, bit now...it was beginning to make sense.

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Jack rolled his eyes slightly at Casper's comment about seeing when he'd end up with a boyfriend, not to mention the comments with regards to Casper getting his fortune told back in New Orleans. "Yeah, not really looking to find love or whatever any time soon Casper, so that isn't really a burning question in my mind," Jack eventually said. Yeah, he was perfectly fine being by himself and not really paying attention to love or romance or anything like that in his mind. So yeah, the question Casper thought he should ask for his fortune or whatever was not too pressing.

Of course, he found it amusing what Casper's own question was, and figured that in reality he probably shouldn't be too surprised by it for any reason. Casper clearly cared about James, so the question made perfect sense. Max seemed to be rambling a bit with the answer shown in the tarot cards, proof that he probably wasn't the best for it. Well, the guy hadn't had the cards for very long, so maybe he'll actually learn how to use them. Though personally, Jack didn't trust fortune tellers most of the time and unlike his brother tended to avoid them and not care too much about hearing predictions of the future.

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"...I'm confused now, you aren't exactly making sense..." Zari muttered, incredibly confused as to what the group was even talking about. She didn't tend to pay attention to anything like what Sunshine was talking about. Andy and her were just friends, so what exactly was Sunshine going on about? Zari was fairly naïve about most things, usually she didn't interact or socialize with a lot of people, mainly because of the fact that she spoke a lot with her robots. Personally that was all she really felt like she needed. In this time era, well it kind of was one of the first times she truly had friends who weren't machines or computers.

Well, the conversation was getting a bit weird to her, and incredibly awkward it seems. "We are friends. And I'm friends with a lot of people and a whole bunch of other stuff, and my robots too... So I am confused... Really confused..." Yeah, it would be plainly obvious to everyone else that Zari was naive when it came to anything like what they seemed to be implying. Mr. Eyeball was floating along next to her, and sort of just beeping a bit, and Zari just rolled her eyes at the robot, "So nice to me..."

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She wasn't entirely surprised that Magneto had voted against the gala, in truth it did seem to not really fit in with the idea of potentially helping everyone to heal and everything. That was the main reason why she agreed with what James' idea was, and how it would result in bringing people together as opposed to just doing one big fancy event in the evening, even though she seriously doubted that most people in Genosha weren't used to fancy parties or anything like that at all. So she wasn't entirely sure how everyone in Genosha would feel about just the gala, so the festival idea was a good one.

Miranda remained silent as she listened to the discussion about the date and everything with regards to that. However her attention turned towards what Reeva said, about their being a lot of children in need of parents or families to take them in, as they lost their parents in the attack. A part of her did contemplate whether or not she should see if she could take one in, but she was a bit worried about how she'd be as a mother, considering she never had gotten the chance to raise her own children, but she thought she likely wouldn't be a good mother at all.

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Andy shifted, uncomfortable under Sunshine's questioning. This wasn't a conversation she had planned on having. Andy didn't like being the center of attention either. She preferred to disappear into the crowd and be generally ignored. But now several people were having a very pointed conversation with her.

It did not help that Zari appeared to be totally clueless about anything close to smacking of relationship stuff. Andy was perfectly happy to just be there. She was pretty impulsive for most things. Usually, once she had made up her mind to do a thing she did it. She had not made up her mind yet. And since Zari was, well, her confusion about the conversation was clear enough that Zari hadn't thought about it made Andy want to ignore the whole thing. She looked hopelessly at Sunshine and Harry.

"Not a conversation we've had." She half mumbled out. "You can imagine I wasn't concerned about..." She trailed off and gestured to outside the lounge's confines. In reality, she hadn't even considered the potential for backlash from the community. She didn't know how Magento would take it since he was so much older. She had a feeling no one else would look twice though.

"More...I don't..." She looked at Zari, her face very warm at this point. How the heck was she supposed to say she didn't even know if Zari knew what kissing was, and if she did was it something she was interested in? The crush, as far as Andy had figured since she had even realized she had one, which hadn't been terribly long, was completely one-sided.

"I sort of figured you were Ace." She said to Zari, trying to not talk about her since she was right there, then looked at Sunshine and shrugged. She mentally begged Sunshine to explain what Ace was if Zari didn't know. Please do not make her explain the birds and bees to her. Andy would die right then if she had to. Expire from the sheer embarrassment of it all.

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“Absolutely.” James responded to Reeva’s request, eager to jump into a new project. It wasn’t that he couldn’t sympathize with those who opposed the idea but from personal experience, he didn’t handle shitty things well when he didn’t have something to occupy him in the aftermath and he was certain there were plenty of others who were the same way. He didn’t know how to help the others who needed support in other ways but hopefully this way he’d still reach them by showing them that the future could still be hopeful and bright even as disaster lingered on their heels. They needed to rebuild their sense of community and safety and he couldn’t think of a better idea than this at the moment so he would put everything he had into it.

However, James was startled out of his thoughts on the festival when Destiny called his name. It took a few moments for him to register what she said because he hadn’t realized she’d been aware of their interest in adopting one of the children from the disaster but he’d learned that unless he was directly involved in the situation, he should just assume Casper told everyone everything at all times. Though now that he thought about it, James wasn’t entirely certain they’d had a conversation about adoption beyond the brief moment before they went to sacrifice themselves in D.C. He stared at Destiny for a few moments, pondering the thought, before shrugging it off. They’d just been attacked by technologically advanced mutants from another dimension; someone knowing his interest in a family wasn’t really a problem in comparison. He gave her an appreciative smile.

“Oh, thank you very much!” He quickly amended, making up for the fact he wasn’t certain she could see in a mask with no eyes. He turned awkwardly back to the others at the Summer table. “I’m going to go get Casper and head over to the mansion. If you have ideas for the festival, let me know so I can plan them in. See you guys in a bit.” James waved as he left The Grove to go hunt down his boyfriend.

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Esme opened her mouth, about to harshly rebuke Spark Plug that she didn't need her aid, before it dawned on the telepath again - while she had her sisters and mother's consciousness alive inside of her mind, mentally keeping them from death, they couldn't aid her in the physical work of putting on a gala. "That would be... nice," Esme said, tasting the last word like it was foreign on her tongue. Her eyes flickered over to Mister Sinister. He had promises to her family that needed to be kept. "I have business to attend to, but I'll send for you when I'm ready to begin," Esme explained. She also needed to check in on the telepathic grief support team.

Veil nodded as James explained he was going to go off, find Casper, and adopt a child. She hoped James was ready to be a parent of two, rather than just one (namely, of his boyfriend). It was sweet though, watching them create a small little family. It brought a slight smile to her face. She then turned, seeing that Magneto and Polaris were in deep conversation, whereas Sinister and Selene seemed to be bickering over fashion choices. It was such a surreal feeling, seeing all of these mutants working together - people from different backgrounds and experiences, some cast as villains and others heroes, all just working to create something together.

It occurred to Veil that that was the failure of Xavier's dream - that his dream of assimilation into human society prevented the rise of mutant cultures, that it isolated mutants from one another, rather than allowing them to come together and see what they might create. "Do you... Do you ever feel like you woke up in a different era?" Veil asked Spark Plug, referring to their missing time. "When we went to fight the X-Cutioner, we were in a world that hated and feared us, one that kept us divided... But now... Mutants have a place to call home. One for all mutants." It wasn't lost on her that the X-Men had never once visited Genosha, that the team supposedly fighting for mutant rights had seemingly shunned the mutant nation. She wondered if they had made that choice themselves - or if Professor X had made it for them.

---

Mystique and Destiny had left the Grove, going to a hidden place on the island where they could not be seen or observed.

"Before, what did you see?" Mystique asked. She knew her wife had had a vision of some sorts, as she had voted against the Hellfire Gala, cryptically claiming that it would not heal the broken land. Mystique didn't particularly care about the survival of mutants at large - she mostly enjoyed Genosha because of the amnesty offered to her. Most other countries in the world wanted to put the shapeshifter in prison.

"The birth of a goddess," Destiny replied cryptically, "a goddess of death."

"Do we survive?" Mystique asked.

"No one does."

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Casper snorted when he saw the first card was Death. People usually thought the Death card would follow him around, but it was usually the Hanged Man that chased Casper through readings, signifying being stuck in time, an uncertainty, never moving forward nor moving backwards, just frozen. He guessed that had been quite literal with his entire experience as a popsicle (did that make him a runner up Captain America? He'd love to wear a slutty outfit and toss a shield around. It seemed like fun). He didn't know much about the middle card, which he thought was the Magician, and he knew even less about the final card, Justice?

Max's intepretation was interesting. Casper leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his hands clasped together as if in prayer. "What if all I want is to be near our family and see James smile?" Casper asked Max. He didn't care where in the world he lived (well, as long as it wasn't Westchester New York), as long as the people who mattered to them were there. He liked Genosha, but he would've been equally happy anywhere, it was the people who mattered, not the place. And James was the person who mattered most of all.

"And you sure you don't want a reading Jackie?"

Marrow smirked when Echo asked if Sunshine had been this open about her feelings. "We U-hauled it," Marrow explained, little hints of mischief and remembrance sparking in her eyes. She had first met Sunshine at a fight club the younger crowd on the island had set up, where mutants could blow off some steam and a healer or two stood on by, meaning things could get ugly without anyone dying. Sunshine and Marrow's passionate fight led to a passionate night and the beginning of a relationship, one that Sunshine didn't inform her 'goody two shoes' friends about.

"You started it," Sunshine said, rolling her eyes and punching her wife playfully in the arm, careful to avoid one of the shoulder spikes. She snickered though at Zarina's explanation that she was friends with lots of people... and things! At Andy's suggestion though that Zarina was asexual, Sunshine pouted slightly, but that didn't deter her - people could still be in relationships and be ace, but she wasn't going to press on the Zari of it all too much. Maybe Andy would vibe with that one girl, Pixie. "If you are ace, that's cool - and if you want us to set you up with a girlfriend, Andy, just let me know. Playing matchmaker sounds fun."