In the lab

[Iceman]

Bobby purposefully looked anywhere but in Ororo or Forge's directions as Forge was chewed out. He felt empathy for the guy; he'd been in those shoes many times over the years. He remembered when he'd frozen the swimming pool trying to see how much he could freeze at one time. The fact that he'd successfully frozen the entire thing straight down to the bottom was the only thing that had made his scolding easier to bear.

Then he felt a hand pull on his shirt. He looked down and followed the arm attached to the hand all the way up to the face at the top.

"I wanna take a nap."

"Let's go take a nap then," Bobby said with a smile. When Forge finished speaking--Bobby was tempted to agree with his idea about the communicator things, they'd be pretty sweet, but he didn't say anything about it--he interrupted. He spoke to Ororo, managing it without the timidity he felt at directing her attention on him in her current state. "Do you need to look her over? She's tired. I thought maybe she could sleep in my room...Until we find her somewhere better, you know, for the long-term..."

Bobby began to second-guess himself even as he spoke. Not wanting to be told his idea wouldn't work, he continued. "Or, I mean...She could stay in Kitty's room too..."

Bobby cast his eyes sideways, in Kitty's direction, but he couldn't see her clearly without turning his head. He never, in a million years, would have voiced his next thought in front of all those present. 'But that's Rogue's...' he thought to himself. He'd asked Kitty to hold off on getting a new roommate for a little while longer, in hopes that Rogue would still come back.

[Storm]

[OOC: You guys make me laugh way too much. Don't cook me? Freezing the swimming pool? Heeheehee oh man. Unfortunately Storm doesn't quite see it that way.]


Storm knew she could disturb the younger people around her, particularly the little girl whose first impression of her would be negative, and she managed to get the external indications of her anger under control. The air in the lab became a little warmer and her hair descended slowly to fall down her back.

But she wasn't finished with Forge. Something in his tone suggested to her that he didn't really understand the gravity of the situation. She didn't want him to be afraid of her; she wanted him to understand that tragedy was a very real possibility in this place, even though it looked peaceful, and alarms were not to be taken lightly.

She shook her head at him and furrowed her brown, concerned. "It's not about doing whatever I want. It's not about punishment." She exhaled and shut her eyes for a moment as the adrenaline subsided, and when she opened them she stepped towards Forge and nodded him to the side so that the younger students couldn't hear what they were saying.

"People have died in this lab, Bandero. People have tried to kill each other, destroyed equipment, injured themselves. I've watched patients melt right off the tables in here." She winced at the memory.

"A message like the one you sent - " Her shoulders slumped a little bit and she pulled them back upright again with a supreme effort - "Please understand. It could have been anything.

"And it roused a lot of people when only one or two would do. I wonder -" her eyes went wearily to the door. "- Who else will show up."

Brow still furrowed, she listened to Forge's proposition. "Perhaps. But first I need to know what..." Her eyes now shifted to the strange-looking weapon he had placed to the side. "... you have been doing. Surprises are not a good idea in this place." She thought of a few different mutants and their involuntary expressions of surprise, and pursed her lips.

Bobby's words made her turn; she had forgotten about the little girl and realized she should be the priority. "Yes, I'm sorry. I would like to look her over, and say hello." She smiled again, this time more gently and authentically.

[Shadowcat]

Kitty winced as Storm's expression grew more and more... well, stormy. She thanked goodness, somewhat selfishly, that it wasn't her under the terrifying blue (or worse, white) gaze.

Maybe she'd better clue Forge into some of the basic rules of the house. One being, of course, don't wake Storm-backslash-the entire mansion up for a minor problem.

"I wanna take a nap."

Thank goodness. Escape!

Bobby offered his room and Kitty opened her mouth, unsure how well the Headmistress (or anyone else, really) would take that, but Bobby corrected himself, shooting her a sidelong glance, and she suddenly realized his uncertainty about her room.

"You can sleep in my bed," she told Hannah. "The other one doesn't have sheets."

And belongs to someone else, besides.

"We wouldn't want to wake up the kids' dormitory to set her up there, would we?" she asked. "They might already be back to sleep, if they even woke up."

Kids were so weird. Nuclear holocaust could occur right under their noses and they'd sleep through it, but G-d forbid you turned off their night-lights.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I would like to look her over, and say hello."

Thank goodness. Nice!Storm was back.

"Should I take her up to my room when you're done?" Kitty asked, tugging at the bottom of her shorts, having slid off the table to avoid the direct Wrath of Storm.

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt had tensed visibly as Ororo entered the room, power rising and making the medical lab feel much smaller. He knew of the devastation she could cause if she chose to, and such power was not something he wished unleashed on anyone.

It wasn't until she spoke and closed her eyes, calming subtly, that the teleporter exhaled the breath he had been holding unconsciously. It was always oddly electrifying watching her in such a state, even without the possibility of lightning; he was already ready to dodge if he had to, someplace in mind to where he could teleport.

Remaining quiet as Ororo and Bandero moved to one side, Kurt grinned at Hannah and tickled her side with his tail. "Looks like somebody got in trouble, Leibchen. He's lucky you're here."

Rising as Bobby spoke, Kurt took the few steps to Ororo's side, placed a hand on her shoulder, and, facing away from everyone else in the room, leaned in to whisper to her. "Are you all right?"

[Storm]

Ororo took a deep breath as Kurt's whisper reached her ear. She lowered her head and said quietly and quickly, "As long as everyone else is, I will be."

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt smiled and gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. "Everyone is fine, Göttin." Stepping back, he glanced around before looking back at Ororo. "I am going to the dormitories to make sure eneryone knows the alarm was false." His head tilted up unconsciously the way it always did when he fixed a location in his mind, and he was gone in a puff of smoke.

[phase]

Hannah looked to Forge. He was just trying to help.

She looked back at Storm, noting how her emotions pulled back a bit.

Bobby and Kitty exchanged some sort of sadness like a game of emotional ping-pong.

Forge just ate his donut.

It was all a bit much. Hannah slipped her small hands between her knees, and stayed quiet.

[forge]

Forge thought about it a moment longer, noting gladly that he wasn’t the only one in the room that seemed to tremble at the idea of an outraged Storm. He could finally feel the hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand down.

He cleared his throat. “I read you, Storm, and I fully understand. I actually had a backup emergency message that was much more severe, and I thought the one I used – I thought – was placid enough. I do understand that being an X-Man is a dangerous profession, and I can understand, and fully empathize with the losses this place must take… I’ll work on a more timid yellow-alert message too. Probably should take the word ‘immediately’ out of there. Maybe add ‘at your convenience.’…”

He wasn’t sass talking, the man was legitimately thinking the idea over out loud. He mumbled something about creating a varying levels of alert, like yellow, blue, and red, and then realized he was rambling. He looked up somewhat apologetically.

“Alright everyone, I’m sorry. Lesson learned.” He looked around, back held straight, and the fear now vanished from his eyes as business was back into his brain. It seemed as if the man could be completely fearless or re-hinged if there was tech to think about.

“As for any suprises, don’t worry, I’ve only currently installed protection protocols superior to the fire-wall security the mainframe currently has. Other than that, I’ve been working on a few personal items” – he nodded at the gun over his shoulder, “And some basic supplies useful for the team. Like the communicators… I’ve actually got a great design on them. First I went with-” He stopped, realizing she was likely in no mood to discuss this right now. “I’ll have a report on your desk today.”

He offered her a genuine smile, though through it a tinge of nervousness was still present.

Hmmm… wasn’t much of an alarm, really, don’t know what the fuss was all about. It only said X-Men report to the Medical Lab.

[Storm]

Storm could see that Forge was actually invested in the mansion, and actually sorry, and she calmed down even more.

Her eyebrows returned to their normal positions and she took a couple of nice quiet breaths. She shook her head at him and muttered with a note of exasperation, "...the break of DAWN."

Now he was discussing business, and that was something she could deal with, to take her mind off the images of dying children stretched out on lab tables. "Good," she said when he was finished. "I would be very interested in communicators, for a start on upgrading our team technology.

"Oh, before I forget - would you mind a personal project for a new student? Her powers are electrical and I wonder if you could do something to protect the wiring in her room."

She placed a hand on the table next to her and spread her fingers as if to give herself further stability, although she still looked stock-straight. "You're right about the news being important. We should have a meeting later today after gathering all the facts. If you could send the taped report up to my office and any other information you have - by this afternoon I would like to know how NovaTeX will be affecting us."

Kitty, Bobby and Hannah were asking her questions, and she would turn her attention to them in a moment. "Please excuse me for just a moment, everyone. Hannah -" she smiled. "Just a moment."

[forge]

Forge nodded with her statements, sharing her sentiment. He could see she was visibly calmed – which was a very important aspect of keeping the situation under control.

“I can definitely take care of more team technology, that’s not a problem at all.” He said, and then, brows furrowing, added: “Is there any chance I can talk to you outside for a moment?”

[Iceman]

Bobby decided to preoccupy Hannah, who no doubt was bored amidst all of the tech talk that even made Bobby tap the medical table and search around for something else to do. He watched her for a moment, thinking for something to say. "Hey, Hannah, whats your favorite animal?"

He wasn't just asking a random question. If she was going to be there a while, he wanted to make her comfy. Kids like stuffed animals, and toys...And, well, dolls? Bobby glanced at Kitty, mentally making a note to ask her to help him with the girly stuff.

[phase]

Hannah smiled softly up at Bobby, patting her palms together.

"I like kitties, and frogs, and zebras, and snates. But I like foxes best. They're cute, and have white paint on their tails."

Hannah coughed into her hand, tilting her head a bit. "What's yours?"

[Storm]

[OOC: SNATES! *squeezes Hannah until she pops* As for the other animals... she's going to like Cal, I hope : ).]


Storm cocked her head to one side and nodded, trying to quell the little voice of concern inside her once again.

She backtracked out of the door to hear what Forge had to say, and shut it quietly behind them.

[Con't in "Just Outside the Lab"]

[Iceman]

Cats. Maybe he could get her a cat. That'd be cute. It'd give her something to look after, and in case she didn't feel like she fit in right away...Animals were always there for their owners. But if not, a cat stuffed animal would do.

"I like doggi--dogs," he said with a nod, deciding against the childish word for it. He'd never really felt like kids ought to be talked down to; you wouldn't catch him cooing at a baby. 'Oh, aren't you just a cwute yiddle baby-boo-boo?' wasn't his thing.

"And polar bears. Have you ever seen an arctic fox? They live in really cold places, and they're all white."

He heard the door shut and looked up. He'd stopped paying attention to what Storm and Forge were saying, and suddenly they were leaving. "Uh...Bye?" he said to the door, clearly confused.

[phase]

"Artit foxes?" She shakes her head. "They're all WHITE? That's the best. I like them better then." She watches Storm leave, and slides off the counter.

As she lands on her feet, she whimpers, leaning over to rub her knees.

[Iceman]

Bobby watched Hannah jump down from the table. "She'll be back in just a minute to look you over, then we'll get you a place to sleep."

"We should go to the zoo sometime," he said aloud as the idea popped into his head. He looked to Kitty for her opinion. "That'd be fun."

He glanced again to the door. She would be back in a minute, right? Where was she going, anyway? Bobby made a mental note to pay more attention.

[Shadowcat]

Kitty had missed something.

She'd got the part where she was supposed to shut up so the grownups could talk, and Storm and Forge had disappeared into the hallway to talk. Then Bobby and Hannah had talked for a little bit about animals -

"Kitties are the best animals," she said firmly. "Dogs are gross."

They were. They slobbered.

Then Hannah got up off the table, presumably to follow Storm, who hadn't come back - but weren't sick people supposed to be in the lab...? (It being a medical lab and all.)

"We should go to the zoo sometime. That'd be fun."

Kitty nodded as Bobby glanced at her. Hopefully no one would assume she'd been a teen pregnancy. Or a preteen pregnancy, for Hannah's age. "They've got penguins now," she said, almost more to Bobby than to Hannah.

She still couldn't figure out why Hannah was leaving now. "Are you all right?" she asked, seeing the girl rub her knees. "Does it hurt still? Here, we can find you a chair if you want, but it might be a little big - "

She glanced around the room for one, finding a rolling doctor's stool made of blue plastic padding, which was close enough. "We really need to get an actual doctor for this doctor's office," Kitty said to Bobby, her voice low.

[phase]

Hannah pushed the stool back and forth with her hands, purely playing with it.

"Do we hafta wait? That lady is very angry." She looked up at Bobby, who she had obviously decided was the only one she was willing to take directions from.

Then she looked to Kitty. "What's the zoo?"

[Nightcrawler]

There was a bamf! and Kurt reappeared in the medlab, running one hand through his curly hair. "Ororo, the studenten-"

He stopped short, glancing around and realizing she wasn't in the lab anymore. "Ah... Herr Drake, where did Ms. Munroe get to?"

[Storm]

[Con't from "Just Outside the Lab"]

Storm opened the lab door and stepped inside, taking a deep breath. What a morning this had been already. She was on the verge of shaking from the adrenaline letdown, and the realization that another battle was on the horizon.

"Kurt!" She held out a hand to him, glad to see a more peaceful face, even if it was blue. "This is going to be a long day. We're going to need the team in for a meeting soon..."