Unfamiliar surroundings

[Nightingale]

As consciousness returned to Angela Price, she felt like she'd forgotten something very important, and her face was confused as she finally awoke. It didn't improve when she looked around, and she wasn't in her normal bed, surrounded by her lace curtains and blue ceiling - but she wasn't in an empty building, or on a roof, or anything like that either. She was in a bed, but the room that she saw as she peered around in the dim light was not her own. The whole thing seemed to be metal - metal floors, metal walls, metal ceilings. Three metal doors, light coming in through the crack at the bottom of one. Metal desk, and - surprise, surprise - metal bed, that she was lying on. Someone had brought her backpack in and put it beside the bed, next to the short metal table on which a metal lamp sat, and Angie leaned over and flicked it on to get a better look at things.

"How long was I out?" The question seemed to shatter the silence in the room, which looked cold and loveless now that she'd turned on the light. They needed to get some decorations, and fast. Maybe some mood lighting or something. she threw off the blanket - wondering in the fleeting moment who had put it over her - and stood, opening the nearest of the doors. It led to a small bathroom - no bigger than a cupboard, with enough room for a shower and a toilet, and a sink in between. Closing that door, she moved onto the next one, which was a cupboard - blessed with an overabundance of coat hangers. Remembering sock theory - they entered wormholes at the back of the dryer and emerged as coathangers - she shrugged and went to the other door, the one that had the light coming in underneath it.

Emerging into a hallway, Angie blinked several times and cleared the last of the sleepy confusion from her system. Knocking quietly on the surrounding doors, she got no response. Pushing on open gently, she saw another room like the one she'd woken up in, but this one was empty. The room next to that held a sleeping Aurora, and Angie took off one mitten to stroke the woman's cheek for a moment, watching the bruising disappear and feeling her broken nose repair. She didn't wake up, though - Angie supposed that the other mutant needed the rest. With a shrug, she returned to the hallway, a little more tired than before but still cheerful and confident that she could finish her job and finish fixing everyone that needed it. First, though, she needed to find them.

A small map stuck on the metal wall by no obvious means pointed out where she was and several major spots in the base. The word 'Kitchen' drew her attention, her stomach rumbling in response to the thought of food. Her watch told her nothing, but the light filtering in through a window told her that it was getting dark - and that people would start thinking about dinner sometime soon.

Wandering into the kitchens, she spotted a pair of now-familiar faces. "Morn... er, evening." Smiling, Angie looked around, wondering what kind of food was in the place. "How long was I out?"

[Juggers]

The Juggernaut was leaning back in his chair again, the burnished metal groaning in protest. Python was sprawled untidily on one of the sofas that occupied the dining area attached to the kitchen. His eyes were half closed and he was nursing a huge mug of coffee.

"Evenin'!" Cain said as Angie wandered in, "reckon you been out since we left yesterday."

Despite the fact that the events in Baltimore had only happened a mere twenty four hours ago it had felt much, much longer during the mad dash back to Genosha. After that the Brotherhood had been satisfied simply with relaxing and licking their wounds. Whether they wanted to or not.

"Feelin' better?" He asked. Cain hadn't really had much to do with the girl since their meeting yesterday morning. Pyro had been so wound up by the job ahead there had been little time for formal introductions.

Most people knew the Juggernaut though.

He was hard to miss.

Python gulped some of his coffee and shifted his position. "Indeed, you have been out cold for the entire flight, so has your friend. Did you look in on her?"

There was a wet slapping sound and a smoking cigarette end entered the room, followed shortly after by a trout-like face.

"Yo," Gill said in his quasi-Caribbean accent, "you seen the boss-man?"

Python and the Juggernaut shook their heads.

"Bummer," Gill replied and retreated from the room, his slap-slap-slap footsteps echoing away down the corridors.

[Nightingale]

Before she could answer them, someone that she hadn't seen in Baltimore entered the room. Watching the exchange with wide eyes, Angie looked back to Juggernaut after the fish-man had left. "Are there any more stashed around here that I don't know about?" She'd seen some unusual mutations, but not many, and a guy who looked like a trout, sucking on a cigarette, had just made it to the top of her list.

"Uhm, yeah, I checked in on Aurora. She's better, but still sleeping, must need the rest. And I'm fine now that I've had some sleep, right as rain. Are you guys ok...?" Striding over to Python, she gently touched his cheek with one finger. Mostly just tiredness, but there was something in his system that didn't belong. She cleared up as much as she could before moving on to Cain.

"Didn't I see your face on fire before you passed out? I felt pain, but I didn't think I held on long enough to fix the burns." She frowned, squinting and moving her head around to look at him from slightly different angles, as if that would reveal something new. Puzzlement was written all over her face.

[Juggers]

"Around 'ere?" Cain replied, "nah, just Gill, 'e pretty much lives 'ere, keeps the place goin' while we're away."

Python had sat up after Angie touched him and blinked like he had just woken up from a deep sleep, "that's ... much better," he said with a thin smile, "thanks." He took another slug of coffee and sat himself up in the chair, gangly legs hooked over the arm-rest.

"And don't worry about the Juggernaut," he said, his smile turning into a grin, "setting him on fire probably just made him mad."

Cain frowned, "well yeah, it bloody 'urts!" He protested.

"You can shoot him, burn him, knock him down but the Juggernaut just keeps coming." Python chuckled.

Cain's frown lifted and he gave Angie a broad smile, "ain't nothin' can stop the Juggernaut," he said happily. "Cheers for wakin' us up though, coulda been lyin' in the sewer for bloody ages."

He removed one heavily booted foot from the table and used it to scoot a chair toward Angie, "pull up a seat, grab a coffee, Python's got lasagne in the oven an you ain't eaten nothin' for a day."

Some would have, rather unkindly, expected the Juggernaut not to be the welcoming sort, but thus far the new recruits were just fine in his eyes. One had fixed Pyro up right quick, another had pulled him out of sewer slumber and still a third had rushed him through Baltimore at incredible speeds. As far as he was concerned, they could stay.

It was the old hands that Cain mistrusted.

And their bimbo blonde assistants.

[Pyro]

A few moments later, the arrival of their leader temporarily stalled conversation in the kitchen. Pyro looked exhausted; the marks of the burns still showing clearly on his face and arms: more so now that he had washed off the dust and grime of the warehouse. He was walking with his head down, but looked up when he realised the kitchen was occupied.

He nodded to his team and managed a flash of a smile. "Everything OK guys?"

He didn't wait for an answer; headed to the coffee machine and got two mug fulls. He found the bottle of Black Velvet that Mystique had mentioned and tucked it under his arm. He wouldn't be drinking any of it himself, but if it made her feel better, it was the least he could do.

John made to head out of the kitchen again, but hesitated at the door. "Angie," he said, and his tone was hesitant, uncertain. Angie, will you ... if you get a second ... could you look in on Mystique? She's still beat up pretty bad. She said she didn't need you to help her, that she would be OK, but I'm kinda..worried." He glanced at the lasagne. "Feel free to eat first."

Then he sloped off out the kitchen again.

[Nightingale]

Surprised to hear that there really was almost nothing that could stop the Juggernaut, Angie thanked him and sat down. "Not a big coffee drinker, but I'll have some tea, if there's any around? You guys will have to show me where everything is in here." She wanted to enjoy sitting down, but she'd been out for a day and she was all wound up, ready to start exploring. Still, it was six pm here, according to Python, and as she set her watch to the proper time she thought that bouncing around the base might not be a good idea.

She'd been shown the teabags and was grabbing a mug as Pyro entered the kitchen, and the words she'd been about to say never came as she examined him. The burns were obvious, now, and she wanted to go and fix him up but remembered how he'd pushed her away in the truck. As he grabbed coffee and a bottle of something, she made the tea, taking a sip and nearly choking on it when he spoke to her. Graceful.

He was out the door before she could say anything, and she looked quickly to Python and Juggernaut. "I'll be back in a few - don't eat it all without me!" Putting the tea down so that she wouldn't spill it all over herself, Angie ran out the door and after Pyro.

"I'll come with you now, I don't know where Mystique's room is." She blushed when she realised that two coffee cups and the snippet of conversation meant that Pyro had been with her before, and was probably going back to her now. "And, uhm, you look like you could use seeing to yourself. I wish you'd let me fix you in the truck." Of course, that would have meant that she wouldn't have been able to help Mystique at all, but Angie's brain couldn't settle upon whether that was a bad thing or not.

[Continued in another thread - and I'll be back ]

[Nightingale]

[Continued from 'Repair and Resolve']

Still blushing slightly from the aftermath of her encounter with Pyro and Mystique, Angie returned to the kitchen grabbing her tea as she passed it, and sank down into a chair with a sigh. It was still warm, and she took a long sip, feeling the warmth permeate through her, making her feel much more relaxed.

"Mmmm, tea fixes everything." She looked more tired than she had been when she'd first joined them, didn't quite feel like bouncing around the base anymore, but she still doubted she'd get to sleep when everyone else did. Maybe she'd be able to find a computer somewhere, hook up to the 'net. She'd lost track of the timezones, but maybe she'd be able to catch Read on sometime and chat to him.

"So how's that lasagne coming along?" It smelled fantastic, and she wondered if it was a store bought or if someone had made it from scratch. Juggernaut didn't really strike her as being the culinary type, but you never could tell. "Did you guys make it yourselves?" Best way to satisfy curiosity was to ask. Although there were some things that she really didn't want her curiosity satisfied about. Like exactly what Pyro and Mystique were doing now that she was out of their hair. She took another long sip of her tea.

[Juggers]

The Juggernaut grinned, "Python made it, 'e's got some Italian in 'im somewhere," he turned to look at the smaller man, "ain't ya?"

Python finished his coffee and wandered over to the oven, opened the door and yanked out the tray. The powerful smells of cooked cheese, pasta and beef wafted across the room. "Maybe a little," Python agreed. He removed the dish and set it down on the table with a huge serving spoon.

"It's serve yourself boys and girls, but Cain has to go last or there won't be anything left for anyone else." He flashed the Juggernaut a cheeky smile that elicited a sour look in return.

The Juggernaut muttered something uncomplimentary under his breath before smiling brightly at Angie. "Grab yaself some food," he offered, accepting that Python wasn't going to allow him first dibs.

Gill materialised as is if summoned by the scent of pasta and grabbed himself a plate. "Lookin' good," he muttered, before scooping himself a slab, piling on some more cheese and wandering off again.

Cain pointed at his retreating back, a look of outrage written clearly across his face.

"Bloody fish gets to go first!" He grumbled and settled back into staring with knitted brows at the lasagne.

[Nightingale]

The smells emanating from the dish made Angie's mouth water, though she took a moment before she stood up. Food will help, go on. She didn't need any more prompting. "God, that smells good." If there was a heavenly being, they'd appreciate Python's lasagne as an offering.

She didn't get a chance to take the first bit, which was nabbed out from under her by the chain-smoking-fish-guy. Stepping up and grabbing a plate, still a little put out by the appearance of the now-gone mutant, Angie picked out a piece with nice crusty edges, cutting it off and putting it on a plate. Thinking that she might not get a chance for second helpings, she cut off another piece, though it was smaller.

Heading back to her seat, Angie started eating as she was walking. "Oh, mmmmm." She looked at Cain, who was still waiting, and grinned. "Sorry." The word was muffled by the mouthful of deliciousness. They didn't hear anything else from her for some time, except for the small noises of appreciation that sometimes punctuated a particularly good bite - one with a good lot of cheese, or a crusty pasta edge.

[Juggers]

Python scooped his own share out and returned to his sofa having refilled his coffee en route. He sat back and started contentedly devouring the portion, "not bad at all if I do say so myself," he commented between mouthfuls.

The Juggernaut stared forlornly at the lasagne left in the dish, though admittedly it was still nearly half full. He sighed and dragged the whole thing over to where he was sitting and started in on what remained. "Pyro'll 'ave to sort 'imself out when 'e gets round to realisin' 'e needs to eat," he said, and continued to demolish the food.

Several minutes passed filled only with the sounds of eating and it was no great surprise that Cain finished first. He sat back and folded his hands across his stomach.

"Not bad," he commented, "robbin' that bank sorted this place right out." The cupboards were still filled with pot-noodles, tins of beans and packets of cereal, but that didn't mean he had to eat them.

At least not yet.

"You fix 'em up?" He asked Angie, referring to Pyro and Mystique.

[Nightingale]

The comment about the bank made Angie think of the folded up newspapers still in her bag, the ones with the pictures of the Brotherhood stealing from someplace in England. She also thought back to the wad of bills in the little pouch in tht bottom of her bag, that she'd stolen from her mother. Yep, definately not a normal seventeen year old. Not that I've ever been normal anyway. The Juggernaut's question shook her out of her thoughts as to whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, though.

"Hmm?" She paused with the fork halfway to her mouth, somewhat astonished when she realised that he'd finished before Python and long before her - Angie's plate was still half full.

"Oh, yeah, they're all good now. I think everyone should be right, actually. Except, I haven't seen Jane - is she ok?" She hadn't seen Jane yet, but from memory the green-skinned woman was just tired, not injured, when they'd been fleeing the scene. Angie's mind ran through the group, passing over Dead Man with a wish that she'd gotten to him sooner - though she realised that she'd probably have gotten fried too, if that was the case - and not even thinking of Emma as a part of the team. The blonde telepath had just been sitting there in the back of the truck waiting for them, cool, calm and collected. Emma hadn't been forced into healing someone by a stupid guy with ice for hands - and Angie could still feel a slight burn where he'd touched her - nor had she, it seemed, been doing anything terribly strenuous - she'd been able to find a chair and a cooler to put in the truck, for god's sake. No, Angie's mind ran over the team and the condition they'd been in, and it completely forgot to add Emma to the equation.

[Juggers]

"Jane'll be fine I reckon, she just needs a bit of a lay down. Over-did it a bit with the man eatin' army. Looked good though," he grinned, "'er an Dead Man made a bloody good team, shame th-"

Whatever it was that was a shame was left unsaid as the sound of crashing glass echoed down the hall accompanied by a feminine shriek of rage.

Python was on his feet and at the door before the sound had even died away, and Cain reluctantly followed after.

"Ain't gonna be nothin'," he commented, "ain't 'eard no alarms."

He glanced back at Angie.

"Sounds like your mate don't like 'er new room," he said and followed Python down the corridor at a more leisurely pace.

[Nightingale]

Juggernaut's comments on Jane and Dead Man were interrupted by a crash and a scream, and Angie blinked for a moment, wondering what was going on. It sounded like Aurora, and Python was already out the door before she could say anything. Taking another bite of her lasagne before she stood, Angie wondered what had made the beautiful mutant want to redecorate so soon, before she remembered that it could well be... not Aurora, in there after all. Probably best to warn them, just in case - but it didn't seem like there was any danger of the other personality getting out and sticking herself with the cure, so Angie's promise to the woman didn't apply. What could she do, anyway?

"It might not be... Aurora in there." She was reluctant to share the beautiful Candian's secrets, but it could be dangerous for them. Not knowing what the other personality in Aurora's body was like, Angie couldn't say what they'd find. If they were indeed going to find her. Her powers were plenty dangerous, though, and if the other personality got a hold of them... "There's someone else in her head, too. Don't know her name but she's a real piece of work, apparently." She paused at the door, shouting after them.

"Come find me if she's hurt." Ducking back into the kitchen, Angie shrugged. If it was nothing, or if it was the other personality... There was nothing she'd be able to do to help. Besides, there was lasagne waiting to be eaten, and the boys could come and get her if she was needed. She smiled as she sank back down into the chair, taking another mouthful of the pasta dish with delight.

"Mmmm, Python. You'll make someone very happy one day." Not that he wasn't making people very happy already. She smiled as she came across another little crunchy bit of pasta, enjoying the second real meal she'd had in a long while with unrestrained delight.

[Juggers]

Exit Juggernaut and Python to [Red Sky at Morning] thread.

[Nightingale]

[OOC: Been working on a log with Katie for a week now, and now that it's done I figured I'd post it, even though we've moved on a little. Hope no-one minds!]

The kitchen door swung open, and Aurora shuffled in. She had wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, and had crossed her arms across her chest protectively. She still looked weary, but the pain was gone.

When she saw Angie sitting with a plate of lasagna in front of her, she smiled. She stopped by the counter and leaned against it. "Hey," she said warmly. "I don't suppose you happened to miss my little episode earlier, hmm?" She spoke of it wryly, and without any embarrassment.


Looking up, expecting to see Cain or Python returning, Angie beamed a bright smile at the obviously lucid Aurora.

"Hey, Aurora! I checked in on you before, fixed you up, but you were still sleeping. I assumed you needed the rest." Looking at the small piece of lasagne that she still had left, Angie offered the plate to her friend, guiltily hoping that she'd refuse. It was good lasagne.

"And we did hear it, the boys were checking in on you. In case, you know, it wasn't you... And she was violent. I told them to call me if you needed my help."


Aurora shook her head at the offer of lasagna, though she was hungry. There must be other food, Angie might still be hungry. At Angie's mention of the possibility of Jeanne-Marie being violent, Aurora scoffed.

"She is a reflection in a mirror," she said with emphasis. And despite the fact that this was the truth, Aurora couldn't deny that even the reflection terrified her. She hid this, though, except for the protective way she drew the blanket closer around her.


"You were afraid in Baltimore, though. We're far away from the cure, now, but I made a promise to you - that made me think that she could be violent." With a guilty pleasure, she went back to her lasagne, relishing the second piece - and extremely glad she'd decided to cut it off.

"Did you sleep well before the mirror, then?" So that had been the crash. Angie's room didn't have a mirror. She had a sudden horrible thought involving the metal walls and Mr Sheen.


"You were afraid in Baltimore, though. We're far away from the cure, now, but I made a promise to you - that made me think that she could be violent."

Aurora slid into a stool by the counter and shrugged. "She's too weak to be violent. But she could take over my body again...And thats the worst thing that she could possibly do." As Aurora ended her sentence, she took on a somber look in her eyes.

"Did you sleep well before the mirror, then?"

Aurora shook herself mentally and looked across at Angie. She nodded, a small smile appearing on her face again. "Yeah, thanks to you," she responded gratefully. She remembered back to the first time Angie had healed her, when they'd sat in front of the cafe in Baltimore. How Angie had apologized. Aurora saw Angie as having a great gift. "Thank you."


A blush rose in Angie's cheeks at Aurora's thanks. "Really, it's nothing. Not like what you did, getting us all back to the truck... I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner." She'd only had so much strength, thanks to a certain unnamed X-Man and his insistence that she heal her mother or be handed to the cops.


"You shouldn't be so modest. You saved lives. I didn't save anyone, just got them out of danger's way," Aurora said, tilting her head to the side and tapping the counter as she looked to Angie seriously and yet lightly.

"Is everyone else okay? Mystique? Pyro?"


You saved more lives than I did. If they hadn't gotten away from the Sentinels... well, they'd lost Dead Man, Cain had almost been left in a sewer, Pyro and Mystique had both been injured... It was a heavy price to pay. She hoped it had been worth it.

"Yeah, they're both fine, I haven't seen Jane but apparently that's normal..." She mentally ran through the list of injuries. Hadn't been so bad in the end - and she was still slightly ashamed that she hadn't been able to take care of them all sooner. "Oh, and there's a guy wandering around that you might see - Gill. He's... well, he's unusual looking." Aurora might be more used to seeing other mutants than Angie, for all the young Australian knew. She'd only known two other mutants before she'd left Australia, and neither of them was the kind that you'd know unless they told you.


"Yeah, they're both fine, I haven't seen Jane but apparently that's normal...Oh, and there's a guy wandering around that you might see - Gill. He's... well, he's unusual looking."

Aurora wondered to herself exactly what brand of unusual-looking he could be, but didn't ask. She couldn't shake the thought of how the Juggernaut and the other equally murderous-looking man had looked at her.

"And every one of them thinks I'm insane," she said heavily. There was a pause in which she tugged at the fray at the edge of her blanket. "Which...I might be..." She sounded as though she wondered the truth about that, and wasn't sure whether she even owned her own sanity anymore.


"Oh, no they don't. We're just worried about you is all." Well, for all Angie knew everyone else did think Aurora was insane, but she didn't. And as far as she could tell, she still counted as someone.

"You're not insane, and I'm sure someone can help. That Emma woman - the blonde one? I think she does head stuff. You know, if you wanted to talk to her anyway. Might be able to lock the other one inside so she stops bothering you." Angie was a little uncomfortable about Emma, and really didn't think of her as part of the team. But if she could help Aurora, stop the other woman from feeling scared of her own reflection (in a manner of speaking), then Nightingale would happily accept her.


You're not insane, and I'm sure someone can help. That Emma woman - the blonde one? I think she does head stuff. You know, if you wanted to talk to her anyway. Might be able to lock the other one inside so she stops bothering you."

Aurora perked up at this suggestion. A small smile tugged at her lips. "Yeah! Maybe she can help."

Picturing Emma in her mind, she commented, "She's gorgeous. And you can tell she's top bitch."

Emma certainly had a confidence about her that seemed...absolute. It was something that couldn't be shaken, couldn't be argued with. She was pretty, and probably a little vain. Like that man with wings that Aurora had fought and then tormented in Baltimore. Full, clear memory of that part of the fight came back to her, and a smirk danced on her lips.

"Did you see the guy with wings? In Baltimore? He was one of the X-Men."


"I don't think so. I was occupied with another one of them - some boy with icy hands." She stroked her neck, where there was a slight redness from ice burn. "My mum got shot, you know? He made me heal her, nearly passed out." Apparently, her adventures with the X-Men had been far less amusing than Aurora's.

"Tell me about the guy with the wings." Wings. Now that would be a nice mutation. Except, you know, when you didn't want people to think you were perpetually in costume. Or a freak.


"Well, first I acted like I was some poor innocent victim, and when he came to save me like a good little X-Hero, I kicked his ass. Except then I stopped to taunt him and he choked me." She sounded bitter as she recalled it.

A hand moved to her neck, rubbing the now bruise-free skin. "I passed out, but when I woke up I found him and I started dropping security guards from the sky and he got pretty mad." She smirked again, her hand laying on the counter once more.


"Mmmm." The noise was non-commital. Aurora had been dropping people from the sky? "I bet he got mad." The young Australian started to think that maybe she just wasn't cut out for the Brotherhood. Throwing cars, causing havoc... That was one thing. But dropping people from the sky? That was, Angie imagined, not a particularly nice way to die.

"Guess we have to learn our lessons. I need to learn to fight. And you shouldn't stop to taunt." She gave Aurora a small half smile.


"I can help you," Aurora offered. "I found I actually know some pretty good moves." She grinned, as though she were offering to go on shoe shopping rather than teach Angie to injure people. If she sensed Angie's reaction to her comment about launching people like water balloons through the sky, she didn't show it.

"So...Are we staying here? For good? Because we could decorate our rooms, if we're allowed." Again, that regular college-aged teenage girl grin.


"OK, that'd be good." The blonde mutant finished off the last of her lasagne with a contended sigh. "And I guess so. I mean... Well, I don't know. Where are we going to get stuff to decorate? Everything seems to follow a pretty standard theme around here - metal, metal, with a garnish of metal. And did I mention the metal?"


Aurora broke into a girlish laugh at Angie's observation of the design of the entire compound. "It's like a jail," she agreed passionately. "I've only been awake here ten minutes and I'm sick of it."

She wondered in the short silence that followed her words if Angie had noticed what was missing from her voice. She had been pleasantly surprised to realize after busting the mirror that even in her flurry of emotions, when she normally would have spoken French (having no reason to speak English to herself), that she had spoken English instead. And without an accent. And upon entering the kitchen and talking with Angie, she had been excited to hear that she continued to speak without a trace of a French accent.

If she was lucky, it was a sign that she was going to keep control of her body this time. At least it made her feel a bit safer in her own skin. Which she hadn't thought she would ever feel again.


"I think the boys will revolt if we redecorate too much, though. You know, complain about it not being a bad enough lair and all that." She grinned. They were, after all, being called the Brotherhood of evil mutants by some parts of the press. So they needed a sufficiently evil base. "You should have something to eat, I'm going to see if I can hunt out a computer or something."

Aurora nodded, her stomach growling as if on cue after Angie spoke of food. She hadn't eaten in a couple of days, she realized then. She stood and moved to the refridgerator, opening the door and peering inside. Her mind wasn't on food yet, though, and she paused leaning against the door lightly to look back to Angie.

"You know...I went looking for The Brotherhood to find a place to live. And a cause to fight for. But...I never thought I'd find a friend."

There was a pause as she thought of how to speak the rest of the thoughts tumbling in her mind. "You're the closest I've ever gotten to having a friend. I mean..." She smiled and laughed softly. "I've only lived a few days, I guess, so maybe thats not saying much. But..."

She grew serious again, though her eyes retained their sparkle. "Still. Thanks."


A smile appeared on Angie's face at the words. "Thanks Aurora." She was glad to know that the other mutant felt similarly to her - Angie had already come to feel that Aurora was one of her closest friends. Walking over to the door, she gave the tall one a gentle hug.

"I'm just down the hall from you, a couple of doors down. Right now I'm going to track down a computer, cause I have a feeling I'll have about fifty emails, but I'll see you soon." With another smile, the young Australian left.

[Exit Nightingale to continue in 'Someone's been sitting in my chair']