A meeting of the X-minds

[Storm]

Storm had noticed Kitty's distress, but felt there was nothing she could do that would not embarrass the girl. Storm knew what was bothering her, and Bobby did now too; but they would both protect her rather than call her out in front of the team. Storm shot her a worried look or two, but Kitty's attention was elsewhere.

"I apologise for setting off such a heated debate, Storm," he said, politely.

"It's all right," she replied, looking proudly at Forge and then Peter, who seemed to be cooling things down. "It's good for everyone to express opinions, as long as it's polite. This particular group has never worked together before."

Now, however, there was the issue of Hannah's astral appearance.

"She, uh...Probably shouldn't be here, though?" he asked, giving Ororo a hopeful look.

"No," Storm shook her head, "she probably shouldn't."

She came over and knelt down next to the waiflike girl. "Hannah, since you weren't feeling well, you shouldn't be projecting right now, ok? It will make you feel worse.

"The adults are having a meeting, and we need Bobby as well. You can be a big help by going back to your room and trying to rest, ok?"

[phase]

Hannah looked at Bobby, and seemed to pout. Just a little. She could feel the tension in the room, and all the eyes on her. Miss Monroe was using the Teacher voice again. She looked around at all the new faces.

And light up with a bright smile.

"Slyentrists meeting. Okay." She nodded, and looked at Bobby and Kitty, then Storm. "Do I have to go to sleep? Kitty's room is boring."

[Storm]

Storm smiled and looked at Kitty. "Oh, boring?"

"No, you don't have to stay in her room, just don't leave your body. You can explore the house if you want, and we have nice gardens and stables with horses outside. If you go outside, make sure you can see the house from wherever you are.

"The important thing is to be calm and quiet so you don't make yourself more sick, ok?"

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt rubbed his forehead, embarrassed by his outburst, and he turned to Forge, his eyes downcast. "Entschuldigung, Herr Tandaka. I misunderstood, and I spoke out of place."

He could feel his headache slowly returning; the very reason for the meeting was distasteful, and he felt his stomach turn at the idea that he could have to kill. He certainly didn't feel up to what he considered such a malicious act, and he knew he'd be leaving his swords at home when they left.

"If it's all right with you, I think I will leave any killing that needs to be done to those better prepared for it."

[phase]

Hannah nodded obediently, and looked at everyone again. She waved a bit with her small fingers, and vanished, leaving behind a faint cold mist.

[Storm]

Storm smiled at Hannah as the little girl disappeared. "She's very talented, isn't she?"

And she stood up, putting a comforting hand on Kurt's shoulder as she returned to the front of the room.

"In my mind, the issue is not whether or not to destroy the Brotherhood, but how to save the innocent people who will be put in harm's way. Protestors will be demonstrating, and mutants will be lining up for the cure as they did at Worthington; they are defenseless if an attack should happen.

My important question to you is:" She scanned the room with her eyes. "Considering a probable Brotherhood attack, and the likelihood that these new Sentinel machines will strike back, is it worth it for us to go?

"I feel that it is, but I do not wish to drag anyone with me."

[Iceman]

"My important question to you is: Considering a probable Brotherhood attack, and the likelihood that these new Sentinel machines will strike back, is it worth it for us to go? I feel that it is, but I do not wish to drag anyone with me."

Bobby considered what Ororo said, frowning slightly as he settled back into his seat. He stared across the room as he thought, and when no one else jumped in right away, he spoke. "My thought would be that the cops there would be keeping crowds from forming. It just seems like such an obvious place for someone to attack. And, I mean, obviously they do expect an attack, because they have these...What are they? Sentinels?--ready. So why would they let crowds form, knowing how likely it is that they'll be in danger?"

Bobby was clearly frustrated with the way the cops, the government, and everyone involved with NovaTex was handling the situation. But that wasn't an answer to her question. Was it worth it for them to go?

"Well...Obviously, there are going to be innocent people caught in the crossfire if both the Brotherhood and these Cyborgs show up. And I think that we should go, to keep those innocent people safe."

[forge]

Forge regarded Nightcrawler, and nodded.

“Don’t apologize, man, I completely understand. It’s a serious ethical debate, and not one that can be resolved by a few minutes of discussion here – but I do look forward to having the conversation again at some point, when moods are calmer.”

Forge looked like he completely meant it, and did, wanting to safely discuss the ethical side later.

“As for the rest, I’m in complete agreement with Storm and Bobby. Our mission is to protect the bystanders, and let the Brotherhood see what they can do against the Sentinels. The ‘trap’ is obvious, and I’m sure the Brotherhood knows this too. So let’s assume they’ll be ready for it. – the question is: Will anyone try to attack us for being there?”

He pulled his hair back out of his face, and continued:

“That question is rather crucial: because I have something of a plan. What we need to do is eliminate some of the bystanders from being there. Give them a reason to go home, or at least leave… My suggestion? Annoyance. It’ll at least cut down the amount of people by a small fraction – it’ll get rid of the portion who are ‘weekend warriors’ to the cause, either way.”

He looked at Storm, curious.

“How long can you keep up a heavy rain? Maybe with beating winds, a little hail, perhaps? If you can keep it up, it may cut down on the pedestrian factor. If you can only do it in bursts, we can keep doing bursts periodically, they’ll get the message that it’ll keep going… of course, that may be cause enough for them to release the Sentinels on us. So that’s why the first question was important.”

[Storm]

Storm nodded at Bobby's words.

"If it is a trap, however, and the company is in with the Sentinel program, that means they will have some influence with the government. And NovaTeX will not want people driven away from its doors. They will want lineups, they will want the publicity of crowds."

When Forge began to speak, she listened in agreement. "We do need to eliminate bystanders, which was my next point. I welcome any plan you may have."

His words made a strange smile grow on her face. When he finished, she replied.

"I spent the last half hour trying to think of anything that would keep us undercover and allow us to lead people away from the building. And what I never thought of were the powers that were in my own body." She laughed lightly and looked guiltily at the rest of the group.

"My ability is not unknown. I believe I would be able to keep up a thunderstorm for a few hours, although it should affect the whole city, which would be tiring. And after a certain amount of time, someone would realize that it was an abnormal weather pattern, especially if I add hail.

"Also, would it discourage the most desperate of people? I do not think it would drive everyone away.

"For certain, we need to establish a base nearby, and keep a lookout for Brotherhood activity over the next few days. And we do need a plan to get civilians away from the building in case of emergency. A storm is a good start, but I don't think it will be one hundred percent enough.

"Are anyone else's powers subtle enough to create diversion without giving us away? For our own safety, it is best not to show ourselves unless we have to." She scanned the room thoughtfully.

[Iceman]

(ooc: I know I should wait for more people, but I'm leaving today and I want to have one last word! After this, just assume Bobby's listening nice and quietly)

"Are anyone else's powers subtle enough to create diversion without giving us away? For our own safety, it is best not to show ourselves unless we have to."

Bobby had a sudden idea, and he spoke up again. "What if there could be some kind of malfunction inside the building? Like, the fire alarm goes off, or an electrical short or something. That's something that would keep everyone out of the building for most of a day, and it would bring the fire department, which will probably be needed anyway. Then when they get it taken care of and people start to go back in...Pull the alarm again."

Bobby of course had two specific people in mind who could do those kinds of diversions. Forge and Rayen. He smirked at his simple idea, because it was so Bobby-like. Though he'd only pulled the fire alarm once, soon after he'd arrived at Xavier's. He half-expected someone to tell him not to get any ideas around school.

[Admin]

Pull the fire alarm? Send a storm? Sy was looking around the room in mild disgust at these hero-gods. He liked the idea of going in and killing the bad guys right off the bat personally, but appearantly they were having moral qualms over the issue. Sy did not suffer much from moral qualms himself.

"Why don't you just tell everyone to leave, or else?" he finally pipped up. "Threaten them if you have to; tell them what is going to happen, tell them to get out for their own good, and then force them out if needed." He leaned forward in his seat, looking from Storm to Forge, the both of them seeming to be the two leaders present. "If the whole point is to save their lives, it shouldn't matter how you go about it so long as they walk away breathing."

Granted, stealth was always the better option, but it just seemed sometimes that the way to get things done was to bite the bullet and go straight for it. Afterall, if they already knew the mutants knew it was a trap, perhaps they wouldn't bother with these Sentinal things.

[Loa]

Alani stopped whispering to Cal after Forge and Nightcrawler started arguing. She had never seen the senior X-Men act like this - maybe they usually did, but did it in private. The blatant talk of killing people disturbed her. It didn't matter what group the mutants belonged to, X-Men, Brotherhood, or whatever, they were still people. And now her teachers and fellow students were talking like this was the President's War Room, like they should be allowed to make decisions about life and death.

She liked Nightcrawler immensely, though he was at the school only sporadically. She had often wished that he was one of her teachers, and now she found herself immediately siding with him. She nodded her head in agreement at the points he made, and noticed other students doing the same.

Now she turned around at the sound of yet another new voice. Though she had only been at the school for a year, Alani was stunned by the amount of new people showing up all the time. The bald young man was a new student for sure, though by the way he was talking now, he sounded more like a Brotherhood recruit.

[Storm]

[OOC: Will it totally mess up everyone's preconcieved plans if we follow Bobby's plan? I kind of like it. : D]

"What if there could be some kind of malfunction inside the building? Like, the fire alarm goes off, or an electrical short or something. That's something that would keep everyone out of the building for most of a day, and it would bring the fire department, which will probably be needed anyway."

"At the first sign of Brotherhood activity, that might be an appropriate idea," Storm replied. "What do you think, Forge?"

And then the strange Poseidon spoke up. Storm had never been sure of him; she knew the feeling of being worshipped like a god, but it seemed that entering the real world had not humbled him at all, and this frustrated her. She listened with growing concern.

"Why don't you just tell everyone to leave, or else? Threaten them if you have to; tell them what is going to happen, tell them to get out for their own good, and then force them out if needed. If the whole point is to save their lives, it shouldn't matter how you go about it so long as they walk away breathing."

"Because the point is partly to save our own lives as well. We are expected to be there, and showing ourselves will almost certainly put us in danger; we do not hide well in crowds, some of us more than others." The corners of her mouth turned up at Nightcrawler. "We should come out and order people away only as a last resort, although it may well happen."

[Admin]

"I quite understand not blending well with crowds," Sy replied tartly, removing his hat to show the green fuzz of "hair" that he'd had no time to shave. He replaced it easily, and nodded to her in acceptance, "but I can appreciate a sense of self-preservation. It just seems that you're trying to find a rather long way of going about getting all the people away from the building." He shrugged and sat back in his chair, signaling the end of his input on the matter. They could do with it what they would.

Quite frankly, he knew that some of them wouldn't leave, even when threatened. He was also fairly sure they were expecting a fight, either against this John person or against the 'technology' things, and Sy wouldn't mind flexing his muscles a little against either. It had been a while since he'd extended his hands toward another human being with the intent to harm, and was fairly itching with desire to prove his status to these wimpy gods.

A drop of enzyme fell from his hand and he discretely rub them together to dissolve the remaining sweat away. He didn't want to appear to be threatening anyone in this room, he was just too excited to keep it from releasing.

[Nightcrawler]

Kurt's brow furrowed as he listened to the young man speak. Even if the intention was good, the discussion was taking a disturbing turn. Intimidating civilians? He cringed at the idea, glancing down at the floor sadly.

"I think that using our powers to force humans away would do very little to help mutant-human relations." His voice was quiet, and he looked up at the rest of the people in the room. "Isn't that why we're helping the humans at all? To learn to live together?"

[forge]

Forge thought for a minute about the idea of electrical interference, and then frowned as he listened to Sy and his conversation with the X-Men. He shook his head, and spoke up once more:

“Poseidon, your mutant powers are based around your stinging hair and your acidic sweat. No offense man, your sweat is a potent acid, but as you’ve seen in the halls beyond that door, it’s possible for technology to be resistant to it. That being said, if you’re acid won’t damage the sentinels, and your fur won’t, what will you do to an eight foot tall machine? I know you’re not much on technology, so I hope this translates. Let’s assume the Sentinel had a basic machine gun from an airplane on it, say the Vulcan 20mm chain gun. It will fire six thousand and six hundred rounds of lead per minute. That’s one hundred bullets per second. These bullets will fly at you at the speed of three thousand, four hundred and fifty feet each second. That gun can cut a building in half in a blink of an eye… tell me, do you have a power that will prevent that? Is your stinging fur going to repel those bullets?”

He let it sit for just a second before shrugging. “No offense man, again, I think you’ve got neat powers. Probably better than mine, actually…. But going toe to toe with what the Sentinels could be, well, that’s something you and I simply won’t live through – unless we had a hell of a plan or strategy.”

He looked around at the others.

“That being said, if we go in and try to ‘force the humans out’, the Sentinels WILL come after us. We will be outlaws, and we will be doing exactly what the Sentinels are built to stop. I don’t want that to happen. I do NOT want to fight a military vehicle. Never ever ever. I will, oh yeah, I definitely will, if innocent lives are on the line, but I won’t instigate that kind of fire power.”

He turned to Storm.

“That’s the problem with electrocuting the building, or trying to shock the place out. If we’re a perceived threat to the order of things, particularly in such a criminal manner, I have a feeling we’ll call out the Sentinels on our ass. Although, it’s still not a bad idea, we’d just have to find a way to get it done. Maybe if we snuck through the sewers? I have a feeling those will be guarded, too… the weather trick will help with the protesters and stuff, but I have a feeling there’s very little we can do to actually make the workers inside leave. Short of burning the place down, which I don’t think we’d want to do. We may be forced to just worry about the people on the outside.”

He didn't mention his earlier conversation with Rayen, but definately thought of it at that time. Her powers brought back serious traumatic memories, and with very good reason. He was unsure if she'd be willing, or able, to pull the power to get the job done... and he wouldn't want to put her through that at. Not at all. Maybe with time she could master her power, but right now? It was too much to ask. She'd only been here a day.

[angel]

All of the suggestions were interesting ones, and Angel couldn't help but think a few hundred years ago he'd have come in handy for getting people to leave. Not now, though - everyone knew he was just a mutant, not a messenger of god. Could have been interesting to live back then. Turning his attention back to things, and smiling at Bobby's wanting to prank the place to get people to leave, Warren pondered their options. The discussion between the guy with the green hair and the technology guy - must be the one Bobby had told him about earlier, who he hadn't met yet - gave him an idea.

"Ok, so it might not be the best idea for us to be standing around, especially for those of us who kind of stick out." He shifted his wings slightly, smiling ruefully. Even harnesses and coats weren't completely effective at concealing his mutation, and he wasn't the only one in the room who had trouble.

"But we've got technology, right? I mean, we have the technology for the Danger Room, what if we rigged up something for a diversion - to draw the attention of the guards, at least. The sentinels probably have some kind of sensors that would know it's not real, but if it was convincing..." He shrugged. "Or, I could talk to my dad, get him to make a call - he may not be helping with the cure anymore, but he's still got some clout in the industry, we could try the diplomatic way of asking the company to evacuate all but their most essential employees. Or take advantage of the media - maybe a press conference warning people to stay away because of a perceived terrorist threat, which is true." He may not have had his father's experience with the media, but Warren knew that it could be used to make or break a situation. Maybe they could get some help with this one.

[Storm]

"I think that using our powers to force humans away would do very little to help mutant-human relations. Isn't that why we're helping the humans at all? To learn to live together?"

"I agree that outward aggression towards them is not the way to go. If there is a less intimidating way to do it, I think that would be smart."

She turned towards Forge.

"Our knowledge of NovaTeX is limited from here, so I think we should go and investigate what can be done. Hopefully we will have some time. There may be no way to save the people inside the building should an attack happen, but the least we can do is try. If we must come out in the open..." She shrugged her shoulders slightly but kept her tall posture. Certain decisions might have to be made.

She listened also to Angel's suggestions, nodding. "If your father would help us from inside the industry, that would be very helpful. I worry about our approaching the company directly, again because of the danger to us as well as the Brotherhood. They will be expecting an attack, so our telling them there may be an attack would probably not help. But someone on their level, reasoning with them to evacuate employees - which they may not care enough to do - could have some effect." She looked Angel in the eye sincerely. "If you think there is something you can do, we would all be grateful for the insider help.

"A press conference, I am afraid, is not the best use of our energy. We need to be there as soon as possible and cannot spare anyone; and do we want to publicize our knowledge of what is going to happen? It seems too complicated.

"Normally I would encourage using the most peaceful means possible, but at this point..." She sighed, as if it were hard for her to admit. "Action may be the best option. If we are going to take matters into our own hands we should go through with it all the way."

[Storm]

[OOC: I know Storm is totally not doing this the proper way - they'd be planning for a lot longer, etc. - but yaknow, we've already decided they're going, and I'm off for the weekend. Sorry mates ; ).]

Storm saved a few files on the computer before shutting it down. As it blacked out, she turned back to the group.

"I am sorry to cut this short, but we need to get to work. Particularly flying to pick up the violent -" she looked at Forge with a wryly amused expression on her face- "'Wolverine.' I think his help might be necessary. And that will take some time."

She approached the X-Men and spread her hands. "I am not taking over and ordering you to come to Baltimore. But the more help we have, the better. Trainees, you are also welcome, although -" she chose her words carefully - "your authority will not be the same as full X-Men.

"If you want to be a part of this mission, please report to the hangar at 7:00 tomorrow morning."

She looked around the room and smiled a gentle, caring smile. Who knew if this would be the last time that all of these particular people were together? She knew what kind of danger they could encounter in Baltimore. She had seen what many mutants could do, and any weapons program that had the full force of the government behind it...

But they had to try to help if they could. Nothing would be worse than sitting home and watching the news.

Storm stepped away from the team, and the doors of the War Room opened automatically to let her through. She stood in the hallway for a moment, to hide from sight as the concern built up from the meeting washed over her face.

The instant someone came through the door, however, she was strong and proud again. She motioned to Forge to follow her as he exited the War Room, and stepped into the elevator to go up to her office.

[forge]

Forge stood, straightening his stupid lab coat, and doing the best to make himself presentable. He nodded at the last few things Storm said, and then addressed the crowd as she stepped out into the hallway.

“Sorry if I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself to some of you guys. My name’s Forge, I’m an X-Man, and basically a resource for all things technology. Let me know if there’s any help you need, and I’ll be glad to see what we can do…” He smiled and nodded at everyone, and turned to Rayen.

“Hey, I gotta go do boss stuff with Storm. Even though I’m not really a boss. Never know, though, maybe I’ll get a promotion after all this?” He sounded like he was joking, though it was somewhat obvious he was hopeful. “Stick with Iceman, he’s a good kid, and will show you the ropes.”

Forge squeezed his sister’s hand once more, and then just hugged her tightly. He knew she was having a rough day, and it was the least he could do before he had to leave her to her own devices.

He nodded to Bobby as he was leaving the room. “Hey Iceman, take care of my lil’ sister wouldya?” He said, nodding back to Rayen, and then followed Storm out of the War Room and into the elevator.