Time of Day: Ten o'clock at night
Place in the Time-line: May 1st, a little over two weeks from "First to Fall".

---

It was the first of May, and there was still very little progress on the anti-ShadowX front. Hank McCoy pulled his jacket closer around his broad shoulders and sighed, mildly annoyed at the rain that was drenching the street around him. Of course, there were children being rescued from the mansion all the time, but despite that it seemed as though the power of ShadowX was growing.

Hence, the meeting tonight. Hank had organized the meeting, hopefully under the radar of ShadowX, to discuss what was going on...and what still had to be done. The halfway house had to be the best possible location for it.

His mind still on the situation, Hank nearly walked right past the X-Factor Halfway House, but at the last moment he looked up and realized where he was going. Honestly, he felt like a criminal: with his image inducer switched on to project a fairly normal, but still massive man wearing a trenchcoat and hat, Hank was surprised that no one stopped him as he ducked into the side street.

The inducer flickered just as he reached the side doorway, and Hank had to hurry the last few steps in order to get inside before anyone spotted his blue fur or fangs. As the big man slipped inside the foyer, dripping water everywhere, he couldn't help but wonder how long they would be there. While Alex had provided them all with a wonderful shelter from the evils of the silent war, it was still a far cry from the facilities at the Xavier school. Namely, his lab.

Scolding himself for being so negative, Hank swiped his identification card and entered the lounge, shedding his coat and hanging it neatly. "Sorry I'm late." He rumbled, soaking in the light from the lit fireplace happily. "I thought someone was following me. Apparently not, but it never hurts to be cautious."

Hank looked around at those gathered there, worried for every single one of them. Silently, he sank into one of the deep armchairs, stretching out just a little. "Has there been any progress at the school?"

Madison Jeffries had been waiting at the door, making sure it was he who answered it and nobody else. Security was his responsibility, and he'd trust it to only himself. The Beast was a man he could respect. Highly intelligent, and of his own merit too, not thanks to a mutation like Madison himself. He wondered sometimes if he'd be of any use at all if he were cut off from his skills. He knew that a man like Beast wouldn't have to worry about that. Whether or not he had his physical attributes, he'd always have his brain power.

He pointed to Hank's image inducer and it reshaped slightly, repairing the glitch and waterproofing it.
"Not a problem," Madison said. "Need a towel?"

As far as someone following him, Madison didn't know what to think about that, so he peeked out the window, seeing nobody of interest outside. Didn't mean nobody was out there, but still. "I wouldn't write the possibility out. Keep on your guard, people."

He pulled out a small handheld device and flipped it open, beginning to read off the screen.
"They've gotten sixteen kids out of there and deprogrammed. I've got written reports from Havok as to what the enemy has been up to, and as of now, neither of them are under any suspicion of being double agents. So far, things are going as well as they could be expected to."

Sitting on one of the rooms many chairs, Shane looked over the small table of snacks that he had prepared. There was many different types of food from chicken korma with complimentry naan bread to homemade tortilla chips with dips including salsa, sour cream and guacomole. They were food for the halfway houses inhabitants, prepared by Mr Jones himself, but hadn't been touched by the rest of the people, so when he had recivied the news that there was to be a meeting, he had heated up the grub ready to be served. After all, an army marched on their stomachs. Not that they were an army or even vaguely militaristic, but you get what he was saying. They had a purpose and to achieve that purpose they needed fuel. And that was an area that Shane could do. Lacking in the stratergy department and while he was good in the fighting aspect, he wasn't the powerhouse. Shane sometimes saw himself more as the motivator, a very indestructible motivator at times, and a hot one at that. Scooping up some of the curry with a piece of Naan bread, he watched as the large blue furry man converesed with Madison. Wow, Shanes IQ must of looked miniscule to these two.

"Children who have been brought here seem to be generally happy, if a little confused and scared at times. News from Mutant Town seems no-one is aware of us at the minute which is a good thing. Also there has been sightings of some people being followed, but these tend to be from being paranoid rather than actual people" Shane statd, recalling the facts from the notes that he had worked on earlier from the inhabitants of the half-way house. Looking at the rooms other meeting members, he waited for someone else to say something.

Hank took a deep breath, falling into step with Box as they moved into the room. He was happy to see both Box and Shane; both were, in his opinion, strong, honorable fellows, not to mention intelligent. Hank was mildly surprised when the image inducer around his wrist twitched, the mechanics shifting, but grinned toothily.

"I ought to hire you as a lab assistant." Hank murmured, reaching for a tortilla and some sour cream. "I cannot tell you how many times the x-ray machine has broken down, or any other number of machines in my lab." Briefly, Hank felt a pang of loss for his lab, but shook it aside. "But yes, a towel would sounds wonderful."

As Shane and Jeffries spoke of the efforts being made, and the results, Hank leaned back in his chair idly, thinking as he crunched noisily into the handful of tortillas. "The children are in bed now, correct?" He asked absently once he had swallowed the last bite. "I shall have to talk to them in the morning, then."

Too many lives were being destroyed, Hank reflected. No matter the effort made by X-Factor, all of the children would be at least a little homesick, and it was his goal to ease the transition as much as possible. But what of those still at the school?

"Can I have hard copies of these reports?" He finally asked, looking up. "I want to reevaluate the methods that we are using to get in and out, but also I would like to look more at the actions of the Grey-Summers. Has there been any contact with mutants beyond the school? How far does the influence of Shadow X go?"

It was one thought that had been troubling him for a while. The way he saw it, containment was essential. If X-Factor and their allies could keep in the influence of Shadow X contained within the area, the damage would be minimal. However, he had a good feeling that sooner or later, the decision would be made to spread outwards, and when that day came, they were all in for a lot of trouble.

"What do you think?" Hank asked, looking from face to face in genuine interest of their opinions. "You have provided great support so far."

"That's tough to say," Madison answered as he headed over to the supply closet and grabbed a beach towel, tossing it to the good doctor. "Summers and LeBeau have been so deep undercover that they haven't had much contact outside the school, and the evidence seems to point to the conclusion that whatever influence this "Shadow X" has, it has not stretched beyond the walls of the institute. In fact, based on what we've seen so far, I'd say that the origin point of the spreading of influence was the meeting the Summers' called towards the end of March. I seriously doubt that as far as people outside the school go, anyone who wasn't there is completely unaffected."

Madison simply took a cup of coffee, nothing more, and took a sip. "As far as hard copies, help yourself. Main computer is in Summers' office, I'll get you an access code later on. As far as being your assistant, I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. We need to know everything we can about the people who are affected. It will come to blows with them and for those of us going out to take them down, we need every single advantage we can get, because I guarantee that they know your weaknesses and will exploit them as much as possible. Then we'll see about any help I can provide in your lab once this blows over."

He leaned up against the wall, and took a deep breath. Depending on who they chose to go to the mansion, things would be well-covered. If they decided the Box's power was needed, he could trust Beast with the command center. The plan so far was for Madison to stay back and direct the strike team from home base, but it was good to know there were options.

Place in Time Line: Almost one month since joining X-Factor and 5 weeks since she broke her ankle.

---

Jet grabbed her guitar and strummed a few notes. Looking down at her cast seeing she only had one more week with it. The blonde figited in her seat, she knew this would be yet another restless night. She stood up and paced for a moment before decided to see if she was needed at the halfway house. The mutant walked through the door and tried to dash as fast as she could to the halfway house. She forgot that an identification card was needed, and remembered she had left her’s in her night stand.

Jet sighed and ran back to get it. Shivering along the way she didn’t rush as fast as she did before. The blonde was already drenched from the rain. She made it back to the entrance and swiped her card. Her brown eyes gazed to the ceiling and with a sigh she looked down to see the she had inturrupted a conversation that Madison Jefferies, Hank McCoy, and Shane Jones were having.

“Sorry, am I inturrupting?” She asked as she tried to warm her arms with her hands. Jet went over to the halfway house to see if anything needed to be done, she found on some night one or two of the kids had a hard time sleeping. There was also some smaller things that could wait until morning, but when you can’t sleep at night there really is no better time. The blonde thought for a moment and wondered if she should just head back to headquarters.

She took in a deep breath and shivered her exhale. In hinsight, Jet felt she should have brought her jacket. To the blonde it looked like Hank had just gotten there right before her. She thought that most likely he came right after she went back in to get her id card. The brown eyed woman was standing in the presence of the smartest people around, and she didn’t have much sense to come in out of the rain. True she had a college degree, but her bachelor’s pailed in comparison to the other three men.

“What tha hell kid, yer tellin me they were headin off with their army of seven ter try and infiltrate tha mansion?” Logan’s voice drifted from the doorway between the lounge room and hallway, the underlying displeasure and irritation towards the entire ShadowX problem still more than clear in his tone.

“Yeah Logan, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I had to use a fire cage to stop them long enough to make them see the only thing they were going to succeed in doing was getting themselves either coerced, or worse, killed. They haven’t been the only ones either,” and by this point, Pyro appeared at the doorway, the Wolverine right behind him. “We’ve stopped several mobs like that, and not all of them wanting to head to liberate Xavier’s either. Some have had…” he paused, nodding in greeting to those within the lounge room, “…more sinister intentions.”

“Evenin Hank,” Logan said, moving to lean up against the wall behind the blue furred doctor, gaze taking in each and every person, including Box, someone he wasn’t quite sure how to take, even now, almost two weeks since meeting the guy properly for the first time. “Least yer’ve been able ter stop em.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” John asked, the answer to that really quite obvious... at least, to him. The fire bug reached for some tortilla chips, deeply raking one through the guacamole dip, the smirk spreading even as he chewed. Despite the entire situation, the food still tasted really good, this reiterated when he repeated the same process, three more times.

“John,” Logan suddenly said, motioning to Jet with a slight lean of his head. Pyro frowned, looking at the newest member of X-Factor, soon clicking as to what it was the Canadian feral was getting at. Wiping off his hands with a supplied serviette, John removed his brown leather jacket, handing it towards someone who was clearly feeling the cold right now. “Here,” he said, “And don’t worry, I have other ways of warming myself,” he assured her, that same smirk returning once again.

Place in Time Line: One month since Warren was fired and turned up at X-Factor.

---

Paying little attention to the rain, Warren made his way wearily from his car to the X-Factor Halfway House. He was a little damp by the time he reached the door, blinking water out of his eyes and running a hand through his dark blonde hair as he paused for a moment in the shelter of the porch. Reaching into the pocket of his pants he pulled out his wallet, finding the identification card that would allow him access to the building. He took longer than usual, taking a few, brief moments to collect himself. It had been a long day, and he doubted he would get to sleep any time soon a thought which made him feel both tired and relieved at the same time. Sleep didn't come easily to him these days, snatched between the time he spent helping X-Factor and trying to keep his failing business afloat. When it did come, it was filled with disturbing dreams and constant worry. He desperately wanted to do something more proactive, to do something that would pull his best friends back from their madness and free everyone at the Mansion.

Taking a deep breath and then expelling it, Warren lifted the card and swiped it, pushing open the door and entering. In the corridor, he pulled off his coat and hung it up, absently rubbing a hand over his face, fingers rasping on the dark stubble of his jaw and chin as he walked towards the lounge. The other hand rose up to tug at his tie, loosening it and undoing the top button of his shirt. Stepping into the room, his blue eyes flicked around quickly to take in who was there and gave them a general, faint smile of greeting. "Hey. Sorry I'm a little late. What's going on?" He asked as he moved further into the room and choosing a spot at the side of the room, leaning against the back of one of the chairs, not in the mood for sitting down. Across the room, he gave Hank a friendly nod, immensely glad that his friend had escaped and the reassurance the older man's presence always brought.

They had heard the message and it had been replied. The Morlocks, those who dwelled beneath the city streets in the sewers had answered. The fact that their leaders had agreed to be allies had meant the groups now had a shared interest. The protection of Mutants was a dream of both of them and this latest threat meant that they needed to work together. So a small batch of them had come along to the meeting, diplomats to the surface. However, this didn't mean that they had to walk through the streets. No, thanks to Nina they had a much more direct way.

Linking hands with her two fellow mutants, Nina breathed in and pushed her body upwards, the stone swallowing her whole, the other two mutants following behind. Nina loved the feel of phasing, her whole body passing through the stone like it was air. Of course with anything that Nina went through there was side effects. If it was peolple. she absorbed some DNA, their traits and character etched onto her body, floating around in a wierd sort of soup. If you tried hard enough, you could pull some things up. However, when there was something that wasn't human or mutant, well a whole different story. So when the trio of mutants came up through the middle of the floor, just missing the table laden with snacks and food, something looked different about them. Nina's normally pale white skin was a concrete gray, her short dark hair the same. Now a living statue, Nina was made out of stone. Her companions, one being Callisto, leader of the Morlocks, had the same effect. For them, it would pass painlessly in minutes. For Nina, she would stay like that naturally for around twenty minutes to half an hour. If she focused, it could last a whole lot longer. To her the stone wasn't something new, it was her most common changed form. It felt normal to her, her skin the same to her touch. Anyone else who touched her, she would be cold. If she ever turned herself into some people for experiments, they would spend years analysing how she managed to achieve a living version of materials that never lived or breathed. But why would she do that.

Breathing out, Nina let the hands of the others go. Suddenly a wave of nervousness swept through her. On the side of the chair was a man so beautiful, her breath caught in her stone throat, the sound slightly rasping. Piercing blue eyes and wet dark blonde hair fell from his face that looked like it had been made sculpted rather than born. There was others in the room, none she recognized. Some seemed friendly, some were eating and others were staring at their sudden appearence. Nina, normally shy when she met people she didn't know, was even more shy. She raised a hand in welcome and a very raspy "Hello". Her face would of blushed if it could have.

Madison couldn't help but wonder what province of Canada the Wolverine came from, to have picked up such a bizarre accent. It was nothing he was familiar with, and in fact, confused him, with the "tha"s and the "ter"s especially. He'd have to look up dialects later to determine just where it came from or it would eat at his mind endlessly.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Strange accent or not, the man was here and was an ally. Hopefully he'd be as up to the task as his Department H profile suggested. They'd need as much combat prowess as possible when the time came.

Upon the sudden entry of the Morlocks, an alarm began blaring and red emergency lights started strobing. With a furious, frenetic barking, Ilsa charged into the room, making a beeline for the intruders, eyes glowing a bright, angry red.

"Ilsa! Stand down, girl!" Madison yelled, and held his hand out in front of her. "Security override beta six!"

The lights went back to normal and the sirens halted. Ilsa skidded to a stop, but still looked upon the Morlocks in confusion, as if to say "did they not just break in?"

"Sorry about that," Madison explained. "Security's tight right now, considering what's going on. I'm going to have to request that in the future, you go through proper entrance protocols to avoid this again. I wouldn't want her to hurt you, but if she sees you as an intruder and not an invited guest, she will."

Despite what's normally shown in movies and other mediums of mass media being a spy is really not all that exciting. Most of it is just sitting there listening to useless conversation that doesn't help you at all. And when they do say something that pertains to the topic that was the reason for spying in the first place they normally say something you already know or else something totally unimportant. Over the past few days Alex had had to endure countless conversations about family, sexual preferences, religion, politics, cars, celebrities and the occasional game of twenty questions for every bit of actually useful information he managed to gleam from the S.H.E.I.L.D agents' radio communications.

After spending days lurking on the streets of Mutant town and in the sewers below without detection he felt he was ready for a real challenge, something dangerous. The obvious choice had been the Sentinels. Despite being state of the art war machines designed specifically to combat mutants they were really pretty easy to infiltrate. The first few times he snuk inside one he'd done it at night, flying up high into the air and coming straight down behind its back. From there it was easy to slip in through the numerous holes in the metal behemoth's armor. Alex had long ago discovered that nothing is really air tight. From there he normally just stayed smoky until he started having problems holding himself together, although his threshold for remaining gaseous had greatly increased in the last few days. But eventually even that got boring so Legard had decided to try the same thing during the day, except a lot more carefully. He was sure they'd eventually notice him and maybe try to catch him unsuccessfully but remarkably he'd been able to avoid detection every time.

But learning information was about as hard as getting into a sentinel was easy. When ever something potentially useful did come up it was always November Foxtrot this and Hector Charlie that. He'd only been able to get bits and pieces of S.H.E.I.L.D's plan from the conversation's he'd overheard. Although his real object wasn't to find information about S.H.E.I.L.D's plan, it was to find out what they knew about the situation at the school. And after a few days of pretty careful observation Alex was pretty confident that the answer was "not a whole lot". Sure they noticed how surprisingly hostile the institute had behaved at their latest showdown but they still hadn't figured out that there was something more sinister behind it. Maybe if S.H.E.I.L.D did know they'd be able to do something to counteract the effects and get the kids back to normal. But of course someone would have to tell them or else they wouldn't figure it out until after the next battle at the soonest, a battle that would be costly to both sides undoubtedly. And Alex was nearly sure that no one else in X-factor wanted to extend the olive branch.

It was after another of these fruitless attempts at finding information that Alex found himself making his way to the Halfway house. He wasn't sure if he presence was really needed but he'd been doing his best to keep the rest of X-factor up to date with his occasional and small discoveries. Besides, after being absent from X-factor for a while it was nice to be back in the loop. Alex trudged through the rain stalwartly, bravely facing the drops of water. Of course most of them were repelled by a strong current of wind before they reached his person. Alex got to the door and rattled it once or twice before remembering the whole pass card situation. Unfortunately he had no such card on his person. Fortunately he didn't really need one. Alex sublimed through the door and reformed before turning into the room designated for the meeting place. He eyed the numerous assembled mutants with a grin, he was glad to see familiar faces. And it was always nice to meet new people, even if they seemed to be of the stone persuasion. "Hope I'm not late" Alex said as he shook water out of his hair and perched on the arm of a chair.

Blake had been spending more and more time on Wall Street. When he was not needed at the Boarding House he was often seen around the Financial District. Since the Will had arrived he had investigated his family's business in Austria. Apparently their influence spread somewhat to the States, although moreso in a cause and effect system. He had sold his business soon after acquiring the Will and just as soon realized that may have been a relatively dumb decision considering that it resold for nearly double what he had initially sold for. Since then Blake found the comforts of the busy life on the big Wall exhilarating. He had a natural niche in business, especially stocks. He was still getting adjusted to the ups and downs of the system but managed to make at least partial profit so far. Things were looking up.

His black umbrella caught a gust of wind which wrenched it violently to his left and evidently exposed his body to the stormy conditions in the City that evening. Blake quickly composed himself and continued on. He was not like most members of X-Factor and the X-Men. The only attention he got were from excited viewers from the Today show and recognized him as the former weatherman. He proudly walked into Mutant Town every day but word, he guessed, failed to spread; proof that the journalists were not doing their jobs properly. As a result Blake was able to roam New York freely without fierce looks of opposition at least for the time being.

His loafers slopped and slushed on the soaked pavement of the sidewalk. After a seemingly short journey across town he approached the lower east side of Manhattan. Hulking purple beats towered over the buildings just inside the Town entrance and Blake could barely make out a distinct scorch mark on the farthest's metallic back. He grinned as he walked past them. "I love trophy scars. But just on my enemies." The man said this aloud and past them both. He made his way just a bit more up the stretch of deserted and relatively flooded walk through the Town before noticing a trio entering the Boarding House. With suspicion mounting and a faster gait, Blake hurried for the door.

However it closed just as he stepped a sopping foot onto the front stoop. His wet hand plunged into his pocket to find his ID while the other help up the struggling umbrella against the storm winds. He managed to pull the plastic card out and swiped it through the slot inside the mail drop. The door gave a small click, signaling that it had unlocked itself using one of Box's ingenious security contraptions. Blake stepped through the door and closed his umbrella but his eyes scanned for the strangers who turned out not to be strangers at all. One of them was the stoic expression of Callisto and the other two he assumed were also Morlocks though he was unfamiliar with them.

"Just to let everyone know, this mess outside is not me." Blake directed behind him to the door with a thumb. "What's going on here? We have a hell of a full house." His eyes caught those of Jet, Box, Hank, Logan, Alex, and John also. He was curious now. "Has something happened? How come no one called me?"

As people began trickling in from outside, Hank abandoned his chair by the fire -- he was quite warm now, his fur dry and fluffy as was normal -- in order to let the others near it.

"Hello, Logan, John." Hank rumbled in greeting, handing them both plates as he circled the room, making sure that everything was set and ready -- though with Shane's preparation, nothing was wrong. He had to thank the young man soon. He caught Jet's eye and grinned, but the arrival of more folks to the meeting meant that he was soon busy again.

He hadn't quite expected this many of course, but Hank had to smile at the courage of all to attend. In particular, the Morlocks' appearance made his heart leap. To have allies such as the Morlocks was a large step in the direction of peace.

Hank's heart also leapt, however, when the alarm bells quite suddenly activated. "My stars and garters...!" Clamping both of his paw-like hands over his sensitive ears, the massive man squinted around for Box. There was no need of course, because Box was already handling the situation. Well, at least they knew the security worked.

As more rain-soaked mutants arrived, most visibly lost in their own thoughts, Hank set about collecting his own thoughts. It was quite strange to be addressing a crowd of mutants himself -- while he speaking experience from his time in Washington, D.C, it was Professor Xavier or Scott who addressed mutants. Not Hank, not ever.

Well, the time had come to change. Unsure how to start, Hank cleared his throat, looking from face to face. "No one's late." He assured Alex, and Blake as well as the other man entered the room. "We're just having a meeting, is all. If I could have everyone's attention, please?"

This last Hank called over everyone's head, although thankfully he had no need to stand on a chair. "I believe it time to start the meeting. I ask you though to keep relatively quiet, as there are children sleeping upstairs and it would be best not to wake them." Hank glanced around into each face, conveying just how serious the meeting was going to be.

Serious?

There likely wasn't one jovial, light-hearted expression to be had in recent times.

To look your mentor in the eye and see everything that made him different from the rest ... gone and dead. That does something to a mind.

So sue the young gravity manipulator if he was a slight bit sullen and quiet.

The sarcasm quieted, the cynic rose. A bitter time simply called for a bitter personality to cope.

Amidst the crowd that gathered in the common room ... was Roy. Sitting in the corner, on a turned-backwards chair, muscled arms folded along that backrest, kohl eyes peering between the group that had gathered around them all.

The turnout certainly wasn't anything to scoff at, for sure -- and if anyone could dictate a round-table of superpowered individuals, it would be Hank McCoy.

"I believe it time to start the meeting. I ask you though to keep relatively quiet, as there are children sleeping upstairs and it would be best not to wake them."

His eyes dropped downwards, glancing at the details of his arms ... following the lines of his veins.

And all the while, part of him, part of his ... powers just needed him to use his abilities. Just ... pick up something, manipulate it.

Maybe he was developing a complex. Maybe the stress was making him a bit of a basket-case -- Roy didn't know.

But his mind begged for it.

A glance passed to the ground ... and to two stuffed animals, likely left their earlier that evening from some of the sleeping children, laying in disarray against the floor.

Slowly, they would lift from the ground in a silent drift, as if afloat ... and began to rotate around one another on an ever-shifting axis, right in front of Roy's eyes.

"Forgive me for being a bit too 'cut-to-the-chase', but these sorts of meetings never really start poignantly," The young gravity manipulator softly uttered, glancing to Hank, and then to the others in the room.

"So, Dr. McCoy, to start us off ... what exactly are we dealing with, in regards to Sco-" A pause. He stopped himself cold before saying it, and flatly uttered the rest.

" - ShadowX?"

If it was to the extent Orbital knew both Scott Summers and Jean Grey-Summers could attain ... to put it plainly, they were in a world of pig-shit.

And that meant they needed every last bit of support they could get.

Out there ... was a free radical. One that could maybe help their cause ... he didn't know. He didn't exactly get to know where the other mutant student at the school stood, in his views, before he unceremoniously left.

Volatile? Yes. Moody and tempermental? Quite.

But in a game of numbers like this, inches count ... and the balance often lied in the most unlikely of places.

Jet looked at the man who was called John and took his jacket. “Here, and don’t worry, I have other ways of warming myself,” She smiled and said, “Thanks,” as she put on his jacket. She appreciated him doing so and had started to feel the warm from the jacket when another man with wings came in. She shrugged at his question, not really knowing for sure what was going on. When the woman, who looked like a statue due to the stone-like appearance, came in and the alarm went off the blonde covered her ears.

The blaring alarm rang out in her ears even after it was turned of. After a moment of rubbing her ear she noticed Ilsa, the robotic dog, she smiled. Even though she was a tin dog, Isla was still a “cute little doggie” to the blonde. As Box explained Ilsa to the girl that had just entered, Jet patted her leg to get Ilsa to go to her so she could pet her or throw a ball. She stopped when she noticed Alex and Blake came in. The crowd had certainly gotten bigger.

The silver mutant made her way to the food when Hank spoke, "If I could have everyone's attention, please?" His voice projected over everyone’s head. "I believe it time to start the meeting. I ask you though to keep relatively quiet, as there are children sleeping upstairs and it would be best not to wake them." Jet took a few bites from the different assortments of food and thought to herself, “If the alarm didn’t already wake them up.” She wondered what the good Doctor had to say. But before he could continue she heard another man, whom she hadn’t met yet, speak up, “So, Dr. McCoy, to start us off ... what exactly are we dealing with, in regards to Sco- ShadowX?"

The blonde looked back to Hank and started to think bed thoughts. Thoughts that their cover was blown or the cover of their fearless leader and Gambit. Her concerns for the children in the halfway house, her team, and every other innocent being made her speak up, “Did something happen?” Jet didn’t necessarily feel like she was left out of the loop, but she certainly wasn’t the first to know everything.

“Oh, that really is just freaking wonderful for the hearing!” Pyro cried, knowing that if the alarm was hurting his ears, it’d be wreaking havoc with Logan’s, the pyrokinetic glancing at the Wolverine and noting a certain look of both pain and… was that anger? Oh boy. Here was hoping no one said anything that caused that anger to snap, because John already knew just how close to losing it the Canadian mutant was. It’d been over two weeks, and still, they were talking about action, yet, not taking it, aside from the undercover work Havok and Gambit were currently undertaking. Logan felt like a third wheel, like he should be there with Alex and Remy doing his part to get the kids out of the school.

Doing damn well anything would be better than just leaning up against a wall waiting for yet another damn meeting to begin!

Fortunately for Logan, sensory overload simulations had been a part of his Danger Room training for over five years now, so, although he flinched, he reacted in no other way, simply shook his head when the noise was finally over, waiting for the ringing in his ears to stop before focusing on taking in the new scents now appearing in the room. His gaze fell upon Callisto and the rest of her Morlocks. Interesting entrance, and it only served to remind him that Kitty was one of those back at the mansion, dealing with the new regime, and possibly among those telepathically coerced into following ShadowX’s every move.

He listened as Hank announced the meeting was about to begin, turned his attention to Orbital when he asked what they already knew about ShadowX, then heard Jet ask if something had happened, eventually, unable to stand it anymore. “What tha hell are we all gathered here talkin about it for when we should be out there doin somethin’?” it was a statement more than a question, and now that he’d finally started, he wasn’t about to just stop there. “Yeah, Havok and Gambit are undercover and some of tha kids have been freed, but why tha hell have we been waitin so long to liberate tha damn mansion. We have the manpower, we have the knowledge of the place, an of the ones currently runnin it? It’s Cyclops and Phoenix, telepathically connected, all bar one person plain and simple. What else do we need to know?

They’re talking in unison, actin in unison, and running Xavier’s school like it’s tha trainin ground for some damn mutant army. I’m sick of talkin about doin somethin and not takin it,” his gaze was resting solely on Hank then, realizing the blue furred doctor probably did have something very important to announce, but, not really caring at all right now.

Announcements weren’t going to fix this situation. Standing here waiting for a damn meeting to begin was getting them nowhere. Logan pushed himself off the wall. “I’m goin to start what should’ve been started ages ago. Anyone wanna join me, follow. Anyone got a good damn reason why I shouldn’t be goin, yer better have it out in the open before I reach that door,” heading towards it, intent on freeing everyone at Xavier’s by himself if it came to that!

Warren watched impassively as more people arrived, X-Factor, X-Men and eventually Morlocks. He was unimpressed by the general lack of organisation that seemed to have taken hold of the whole meeting, with the Morlock arriving through a slightly unorthodox manner which seemed to set off the apparent ‘security’ system, which currently seemed to be in the form of a robotic dog. The dog seemed utterly superfluous to the whole thing as he recalled the security systems at the Mansion. Scott and Jean were under some kind of outside influence, causing them to endanger and corrupt the lives of everyone in the the school and severely damage the mutant cause and the only people capable of stopping it seemed to be involved in some kind of three ring circus. It was beyond frustrating. Shaking his head slightly, Warren bent his head, lifting a hand to briefly massage his temples. He was highly unimpressed, even more so by the apparent absence of Mina, she was supposedly the headmistress, she should be here, leading.

He lifted his head to give Pyro an annoyed look as the former X-Man began complaining about the alarms set off by the Morlock’s arrival. Was he serious? His dark look transferred to Logan as he launched into some kind of tirade. Warren could relate in some ways, the lack of action and organisation was deeply frustrating, however, he understood that they needed to wait and find out exactly what they were dealing with before they went rushing in. Warren’s jaw tightened in anger at the sheer stupidity of what Logan was suggesting and he pushed himself quickly off the chair and crossed the room, blocking Logan’s exit.

“I suggest you sit the hell down right now, Logan.” He said tightly, his voice low and angry, pitched just for the Canadian mutant to hear. “Do you really think that if rushing in there, all guns blazing, was going to help, we would have done it before? You will be endangering the lives of everyone in the Mansion as well as anyone who goes with you and I am not going to stand here and let you do that.” He looked up at everyone else in the room, taking them in before speaking. “Shadow X....this is not Jean and Scott, something has happened to them and they are as much a victim as everyone else in that Mansion but together, as Shadow X, they are formidable adversaries. They no longer have any qualms about killing people if they perceive them as getting in the way of ‘the Dream’.”

He took a breath, searching for something more to say, getting his thoughts in order. ‘I don’t have any answers on how we’re going to ultimately break their hold over the Mansion, but I do know that for now, Alex and Gambit are our best chance of finding out those answers.” He gave Logan a pointed look at this pause. “Anyone who goes there looking for a fight at this point will only be provoking unnecessary bloodshed and possibly revealing Havok and Gambit to Scott and Jean. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am not going to let that happen.”

Madison glanced over at Wolverine in well-contained irritation, with an expression that said nothing more than blase indifference. This couldn't have been the deadly weapon he was sent to secure. This was a loose cannon at best, not the precise, efficient killing machine he was led to believe posed a threat to anyone in its proximity.

"Right now, the enemy outnumbers and outpowers us significantly. Couple that with the fact that we'd be invading their home turf and the disadvantage is enormous." he said calmly, rationally, his eyes blinking slowly. He would not allow any of his emotion to show, which would probably serve to exacerbate the man's childish behavior.

"The enemy is treating this like a military operation and that's how we're going to win the day - covert ops. I have in production a small set of stealth uniforms, which should, if they work correctly, render the wearer functionally invisible. Couple that with the psionic shields I've already made, and that could make a team of five nearly impossible to detect."

He pulled out a small remote, and clicked a green button. In response, small orb slid out between Ilsa's shoulder blades and projected into the air amongst them a holographic projection of the Institute at multiple levels, each floor displayed individually.

"According to the data I've been receiving from Havok, they've got sentries stationed at the red markers, heavy-weapon based security outdoors noted by the black skull marks, and the entire facility is under constant surveillance of some sort, be it electronic or telepathic. Sometimes both. I think the best plan of entry is to split into groups - one group will mount a full frontal assault, make it big, loud, and destructive. This will allow the second team to take advantage of the distraction to slip in and disable security. From what I understand, with both Summers and Grey exerting high levels of power almost constantly, there has to be a time when they are weakened from exhaustion. That's going to be our moment. Havok will signal when that is - and until then we should be on alert, ready to move at a moment's notice. Anything I missed?"

Death stare. It was the only way to really explain the look Logan was now giving the Angel, eyes locked with his, clearly not about to back down anytime soon. “Get tha hell out of my way Bub!” he said, the threat there in the words, but nowhere in his actions, as he simply stood there, holding his ground, staring in the blue eyes of a man who had to be going through hell on more levels than just the obvious right now.

His words made sense, even to a mutant who believed he could solve all their problems on his own, yet, nothing Warren said was enough to convince him to stay, wasting time in a meeting while others continued to suffer back at the mansion, including two of his closest friends.

Then… Box spoke up, the calmness he exuded rather impressed the Wolverine, even though it was more than clear by the subtleness in his body language he too was not happy with what the Canadian had just proposed.

Gaze breaking from Warren’s to look upon the mechanical genius, Logan's head leaned slightly to the side as he listened to the man speak, the smirk soon replacing the anger on his face. Logan turned right away from Angel, abandoning his goal of making it out the door, crossing the space between him and where Ilsa was standing. Examining the holographic layout, Wolverine looked straight at Jeffries, “About damn time someone knew what they were doin around here,” was all he said, straightening and crossing his arms over his chest.

Mina had been upstairs trying to get Meghan and Rosie settled in to bed when she’d gotten the word that Hank was calling a meeting. The two little girls were still having a bit of a hard time adjusting to their new surroundings; Rosie was quite obviously homesick and Meghan seemed listless and tired almost all the time. Mina blamed the stress of their new lifestyle and only hoped that they would find a way to get things back to normal soon enough.

They had been given a room at the boarding house next door to the main X-factor headquarters and Mina had done her best to make it comfortable for the two girls. She’d given up the double bed to them and slept on the couch at night – those nights she was able to actually get to sleep, that is. It might have been unapparent to anyone else, but she was having a little bit of an identity crisis.

She had always questioned her decisions regarding her role as Headmistress at the school and had always wondered if she really was doing what Xavier would have wanted, and what was best for the children. There had been few that she voiced those thoughts to, and now two of those few had taken them and turned them back on her. Jean and Scott had played on her fear like it was a guitar and they were some freakish combination of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton. Her entire foundation had been shaken, and for the first time in nearly fifteen years she wasn’t quite sure what her place was in the scheme of things.

It was a good thing she wasn’t telepathic and hadn’t picked up Warren’s thought regarding her supposed leadership as she finally managed to pry herself away from the girls and came downstairs, entering the room just in time to catch Logan’s declaration of intent. She hadn’t known that Hank was calling a meeting, and it wasn’t as if people were chomping at the bit to involve her in whatever was going on. They weren’t shutting her out but then again it was like pulling teeth for her to find out what was going on.

Mina lingered in the doorway and observed the exchange going on between Logan, Warren, and Jeffries, her face a perfectly controlled mask to hide her emotions. In the space of just a few seconds she had gathered that most were just as lost as she; they were disorganized and leaderless, faced with a challenge none of them had even thought or knew how to train for, and Mina knew she had to step up because it seemed that either no one else was going to, or that they all expected her to.

Clearing her throat quietly she stepped into the room. “Sorry I’m late, I got word of this last minute and the girls are having a hard time adjusting. Madison, could you do me a favor and have Ilsa keep an ear on my room in the boarding house and let me know if Meghan and Rosie wake up? I really appreciate it.” She didn’t really give a crap at that point if people thought she was making an excuse for being tardy – if they wanted her to be a leader they could damn well wait until she was finished being a mother first.

Stepping towards the center of the room she glanced to Dr. McCoy briefly, nonverbally asking him for the go-ahead to take over, before beginning to speak. “Warren and Madison are both right,” she said, inclining her head towards the two. “I’ll admit that I was the first that wanted to march into the mansion ‘guns blazing’, as the expression may be, after the five of us were left at the battlefield and my daughter was kept at the school. I was ready to level that school to get her back, but the cost would have been too high. If we go in now we risk the lives of every single one of our students, and I think we can all agree that their safety should be our number one priority. No matter how we have been wronged by Jean and Scott, ShadowX as we’re calling them, the children are the real victims in this situation. They are in that transitory period we all experienced when we were first learning to control our powers, and they need our guidance.”

Her gaze swept over the assembled group. “If we go by the information Havok has been giving us, and we have reason not to, then we can assume that ShadowX is operating at a power level we’ve never seen from them before. Even with all our abilities combined there is a serious possibility that we won’t be able to take them down no matter how much planning and preparation we’ve completed. We cannot lose sight of the fact that these are two people most of us have known for years. They know our strengths, our weaknesses, our fears like the back of their hands. They have not and will not hesitate to use them against us.”

“When the time comes for us to make our stand we are going to need every last bit of help we can get.” Her gaze turned towards the Morlocks. “Any that you are willing to lend to our cause would be greatly appreciated.” She didn’t say what else she was thinking, that if ShadowX was left to continue unchecked at the school, then it would eventually spread. “For the rest of us…we have to be at our best, and then better. Train but don’t over-exert yourself. Test your limits but don’t risk putting yourself out of commission. Madison has a good idea as far as splitting into two teams goes. I’ll take care of the distraction, if no one has any objections. My powers are better suited for being big, loud, and destructive rather than stealthy. Warren, what do you think?” she asked the winged mutant. She might have been Headmistress, but he had been second-in-command of the team after Scott.

She was quiet for a few moments. There were other things she had left unsaid, choices they were going to have to make individually and then as a team. How far were they willing to go with this? If it came to it, if they had no other choice, could they take down two people they considered friends, almost family? Stubbornly, she shoved those thoughts aside. They were going to save Scott and Jean, too, not just the children at the school. There was no other option.

Mina took a step back, a physical motion meant to silently invite the others to give their opinions. “Anyone have any ideas, suggestions, some sort of bloody brilliant plan that will blow us all out of the water?” she queried with a small, tight smile. “I’m open to hearing anything and everything you can come up with. Lay it all out on the table, because God knows what we have now is far from perfect.”

---

((There, Warren. Leader enough for you? :lol:))

As all thoughts turned to Shadow X, and the effects on the school, Hank fought the urge to rub at his temples. He was not the slightest bit empathic, but it was impossible to ignore the conflict that was already brewing in just the small space of time.

"Stop." He snapped when Logan decided to enlighten the room on his rash ideas. "Everyone, halt!" There was already too much confusion without the added tension of leaping without looking. "This is no time to be rash, because that sort of thinking will get us killed. Understand?"

Hank's tone was sharper than he meant it to be, but there was no other way to be heard over the commotion. He stood at the doorway, arms crossed. "The reason I called this meeting," He bellowed, hoping to God that the walls were as soundproofed as he'd been infomred, and that the children wouldn't wake up. "Was to get straight what we should NOT do when dealing with Shadow X. We are NOT going to storm into the school half-assed and expect results. This new threat is greater than ANY of us realize, and we cannot do a damn thing about the problem until we realize that fact!"

He looked into every face there, Morlock and X-men and X-Factor alike, conveying just how imperative it was for them to listen. Fortunately, before he could launch into another tirade, Mina made her entrance into the room. Sighing deeply, Hank let himself sink into a chair.

"The meeting was a bit spontaneous." He admitted quietly once Mina had finished. "Our communications are sadly lacking, due to anonymity issues, and the word did not get out quickly enough I'm afraid." Hank shook his head. "But thank you, Mina.'

"And this is the state of the great X-Men in times of adversity," came a voice at the door, a burst of wind and rain announcing the arrival of the speedster, Quicksilver, who had amused himself on his patrol by running between raindrops. He was wet yes, but a spin at the door beneath the eaves preventing him from appearing as if he had been drowned. "Petty squabbling, and stomping about pointing fingers and power playing each other like children in a school yard."

He crossed the room, to where his sister sat, unnoticed by all, so quiet was she, even the scarlet of her outfit seeming to fade strangely into the background, there was so much red rage and fury. He took her hand in his and said, "They have never lived beneath an oppressor, my love, they have never run a rebellion. Poor American Superheroes to think that everything is a democracy and everyone deserves a say."

Pietro turned to the assembled crowd and said, "We are a small power against a great one. The Grey-Summerses outclass you all, not because of power level, for there are those here who may challenge them, but in terms of organization. I have spoken to Havok, as briefly as I have been able to, and he speaks of their unity, their connection. They will strike and they will strike with everyone who has been affected, a single attack, a single body to kill us all for standing between them and their Dream. We cannot be a fractured mess when they come for us, but nor can we be an immovable wall to be toppled. Three teams we have here, each with it's own talent, each with it's own specialty. We must adapt, we must evolve as they have. We must all stand, as separate individuals beneath one banner, and leave the squabbling to the children."

He turned his gaze across the room until they landed on the Angel. "You are who my leader told me to obey. You are Cyclops's second in command. You are the highest ranking warrior here, if such things are to be given weight. I defer to you, as does my sister. X-Factor has its orders to follow you, I take this arrogance to speak for them all and say we are yours to command."

Warren watched Logan for a sign the man might carry through his threat of leaving, but he turned away and the winged mutant moved his attention to Box as he started the speaking. The X-Factor member proposed a solution for dealing with the final confrontation and Warren was grateful for it, because at that point he really couldn’t see a way forward. Warren kept his expression neutral at Logan’s comment, fighting the rising tide of irritation and instead took in the distraction of Mina coming into the room. He listened silently, arms folded across his chest, head bent, taking in what Mina was saying but finding nothing new or ground breaking, nothing that really offered solutions, though he took her points on board.

Next, Hank stepped in, and Warren frowned as the blue furred scientist snapped at the already placated Logan and proceeded to repeat the points already laid out. He had hoped Hank would bring some new to the table but he was disappointed. To justify this disappointment though, he knew he had to come up with something himself. He’d never really been that great at strategy’s, he had been never one for any great planning or thinking ahead, that had always been Charles and Scott’s department and to some extent Jean but they no longer had the luxury of those three to come up with a plan and then lead it’s execution. They couldn’t rely on anything they knew before because Jean and Scott would be able to anticipate and counter it. Looking around the room, Warren considered what he been said before, the plans Box had proposed and began to try and formulate something approaching a defined plan.

He tensed slightly at the sudden rush of wind that announced Quicksilver’s arrival, Warren’s attention diverting as Peitro stepped into the room, bringing his own slant to the meeting. He had to admit the silver haired mutant had a few good points, the sheer level of organisation was going to destroy them if they couldn’t pull it together. Lifting his gaze finally, Warren was surprised when Pietro deferred to him, claiming Alex had given orders to follow him. He raised his eyebrows at the speedster and then gave a small nod. He had to think fast, capitalise on the ideas already forming in his mind, though he wasn’t going to assume this placed him in the position of leader, if just gave him a chance to speak.

“I’m just going to throw some suggestions out here. The way I see it, Pietro is right, we can’t be divided, we can’t let ego or allegiance get in the way of this fight. In the end, we have to look at it the same way Shadow X do; we’re either with them or against them. That’s it. Mina is right about Jean and Scott knowing out weaknesses, that’s true and because of that we have to abandon our normal reactions and battle plans because they destroy us before we have a chance to do anything.” He looked towards the Institutes Headmistress. “Mina, can you gather everyone we’ve got from the Mansion and start working on battle plans? You need to go with the assumption that everyone, everyone, at the Institute will be fighting against us and take that into account. The plans need to be quick, they need to be tight and they need to be creative. We need back up plans on back up plans as well.”

He turned his attention to Logan and Quicksilver, then onto the Morlocks, Callisto in particular. “If we’re going with Box’s idea of a small stealth team, we need a way onto the Grounds. Logan, you and the Morlock’s are best suited to this. Study the floor plans, the security systems that Havok and Gambit have got and then see if you can get in using the tunnels. This would strictly re-con only, no unnecessary risks, no engagement of any kind and that’s where Pietro comes in.”

His focus then turned to Hank and Box, the two geniuses, one with the human body, one with robotics, hopefully they could merge the two. “Finally, we need to deal with the biggest threat, which is Jean and Scott themselves. I think that if we can get to them, severe the bond, then the rest will fall into place, but we need to know exactly what we’re up against. Box, is there some kind of device you can use to scan them, analyse what’s going on, what’s making them act this way? Is there some kind of outside influence or is it something internal? It would have to be long range, or something that could be given to Alex or Remy. Hank...if Box can work this out, is there someway you could take that data and produce something...a kind of antidote or tranquilliser or something that would shut them down? Alternatively maybe we can work with power dampeners, perhaps the technology in that can be adapted into something that would work on a long range. Kraven, when he was fighting Lorna and you at the museum, he had some kind of potion that knocked out her powers, is there some way you could look into that?”

He ran a hand through his hair, pausing to think if he was missing anything. “I think we need to hit them from all angles and in waves, and keep going until we succeed, which is where the idea of the two teams works.” he said with a slight nod of acknowledgement towards Box. “So we’re going to need to work on how to divide people up, who is best suited to which team and so on. Is there anything else anyone can think of? Something I’ve missed or you want to elaborate on” He questioned, looking steadily around the room. “This is going to be hard and fast when it starts but if we’re prepared, we can come through in tact, with everyone restored to their former selves. I fully believe that.” He said, before falling silent and waiting for comments. I have to believe that. He added silently.

Callisto arrived at the Halfway house, a stoic expression on her face as she felt her limbs turn to stone. Nina's abilities were incredibly impressive, and Callisto was inwardly very pleased to have the black-haired young woman in her family of Morlocks.

Anything she might have said was promptly cut off as the blaring alarms sounded. Her enhanced hearing accepted the blaring, feeling as though her skull was rattling. But her face only looked angry.

Her gaze turned on the robotic dog and she felt the strong urge to give it a quick, hard kick to the junkyard. Lucky for Ilsa that Box stopped her from attacking.

Gritting her teeth, she looked at Box, her raspy tone sounding dangerous, "Were we not expected? I received word that we were invited."

Bad way to start off really. And it only got worse with the passing minutes. There was general dissent among the mutants, an obvious lack of a unified front. Callisto wondered why she was wasting her time here.

Standing near the wall, she crossed her arms over her chest, her blue-eyed gaze moving from face to face.

Callisto was not a stupid woman. She didn't truly know the extent of ShadowX, but the fact that they had a hold over an entire school spoke ill for the rest of them. It was because of this, and because of her understanding with X-Factor, that she was willing to assist.

Angel looked towards her, and she met his gaze as he spoke. So incredibly handsome, chiseled, strong...and a worthy leader at that... Callisto's mind ran away from her for a vague moment before she gave a sharp nod. "We will do what we must to eliminate the thread that is known as ShadowX. If it is below ground, then I will lend use of my tunnels to aid you." Her pale hands moved so that her fingertips were touching, her legs sprawled out in front of her in a very unladylike manner. "Should you require aid and warriors, I offer my Morlocks and myself." She did not look at Nina, for this wasn't open for discussion of any sort. Callisto had made a decision and she was going to stick with it.

They had worked together once, to save their people from a cruel auction. Now they would have to work together again to eliminate a threat far greater.

"I'm sorry, but considering the threat that Xavier's proposes and the fact that we're sheltering children here, I cannot afford to slack on security," Madison speaks slowly, evenly, to avoid provoking the woman further. "If you don't already have an access card for the front door, I can get you one, no problem."

He tapped a few more keys on his remote and the holographic displays coming from Ilsa's back began to rotate slowly so all could see them. "I'll be staying behind, so I can monitor all of you at once, keep you in communication, troubleshoot any problems and... This is the most important part - I'm going to need whoever's on the stealth team to insert override modules that I'll have ready by morning into their security centers - they'll allow me direct access to their security so we can use it against them."

He looks over the assemblage - ragtag, disorganized, more than a little confused - but they were trying, and that counted for something. What he and Summers had set in place already would help significantly, but it wouldn't be enough. He'd have to get these people into proper superhero shape fast. Because as they were right now, they stood no chance against the organization they were up against.

"So to see if I have it straight, you want me to build something that'll scan them biologically? I've already got that. It's in the dog. Gimme some time to adapt it to handheld. It'll be ready before morning."

People walked in, phased in and generally started a very disjointed argument had started from various points. Shane just decided to listen to it and slowly munch his way through the large pot of curry that was on the table. Only when Mina came down and started talking some sense into the hairy man who Shane vaguely recognized from somewhere. On a brighter note, Hank seemed to be enjoying the nanchos before he threw his hat into the ring as it was kind of his meeting. The Morlocks seemed rather annoyed ever since the alarm had gone off, but at least they were here and they were willing to help, which was good as they needed all the help they could get. Callisto seemed to pretty much run them as a close knit group and they had useful skills, yet the fact that they all seemed to be made out of stone. What was that all about?

However Pietro and Wanda's (silent but definite unaminous) desicion to back Warren, the pretty guy who when this was all over and he wasn't yet another stupidly hot straight man, like they always were, seemed a good one and Shane slowly got up and walked over to stand near them, showing his solidarity for the meetings desicion. The plan seemed good enough. Shane was never really subtle though, so stealth was out of the window. However, in terms of a distraction, Shane could definetly do that. Even when he wasn't a mutant, he always had been the one to act like he had some big news to distract the parents while his siblings sneaked in and stole a big chunk of sweets from the kitchen. The fact that they always got caught and punished never dettered them, Shane still helped them get the goodies. Only now the stakes was a lot higher than being grounded for a while. They did kind of rank on life or death (well as close as).

In a time of crisis people were supposed to develop a superhuman level of cooperation, ignoring differences in the past and working together for the good of the group. Strange then that a group of people who already had superhuman skills couldn't seem to put aside their own superhuman egos for one single meeting. So far it seemed about three people had each gone for the leadership position of the meeting practically simultaneously. None of them had any real clam to it. Dr.McCoy might have been one of Alex's favorite teachers not to mention the smartest person in the room but the next Napoleon he wasn't. The meeting was chaotic from the get go, everyone seeming to want to out cool each other with stupid gestures they didn't act upon that didn't help anything. Now the doc was trying to keep the peace but it took a certain skill to manage so many ridiculous personalities all in one room. He managed to start the meeting and a question got asked but that was the end of that. Then Wolverine choose that time to decide to attack the institute.

Alex didn't really know the guy but trying to start a movement against the main idea of a assembly during the assembly seemed like a jerk move. Then Warren exchanged some soft words with Logan and that seemed to do the trick. It boded very very badly for the resistance that one of its most dangerous killers could be swayed by the suggestion of a yuppy. Alex had a pretty good feeling that Jean might be able to work up something a little more powerful than a few sentences and a cold stare. Warren then took the moment in the spotlight to make a warning about pulling a Wolverine and the possible repercussions that would be involved. The question from earlier wasn't answered.

Then the former headmistress did her whole spiel, hijacking the meeting from who ever was in control of it. Why she thought she should be in charge Alex didn't know, evidently she thought her skill at detecting Jean and Scott's defection early made her qualified. Or maybe her ability to protect her students made her the right one for job. But that's right, she hadn't done either of those things. Alex didn't realize how quickly his disposition was souring as the meeting continued. Perhaps it was stress from all his excess workload or maybe his disappointment at how the meeting was going as a whole. Either way Alex continued watching cynically as the train wreck they called a meeting continued to drift into anarchy. He was glad Alix wasn't around to pick up his stray snarky mental comments.

The arrival of the overly dramatic gypsy brought a smile to Alex's lips. Well more like a sneer. What's one more over the top personality joining the current collection? At least Alex was keeping his comments to himself, knowing they would in no way help the situation. Quicksilver saw things differently apparently. He gave the same little speech the others had given, thankfully it was abridged. Alex was very close to speaking out in protest at Quicksilver's pledge of allegiance to Angel on behalf of everyone. The last thing Alex wanted was a former murdering gypsy who worked with a genocidal maniac speaking for him. Besides, wasn't the whole morale of this story not to put unfounded trust in other people?

Alex's interest was perked with the mention of a stealth team. He was pretty confident he'd be on it, not only do to his sublimation but his respectable mental defenses in that form. Although Jean could probably wreck anything he put in her way in the form of a mental block in about four seconds. Still, four seconds longer than most people. He wasn't sure who else would be on it, but he could only guess as he looked around the room.

Callisto threw in her support to the cause next, making the meeting seem shockingly similar to the beginning of Lord of the rings. Callisto would of course was playing the role of Gimli. Although to give her credit she didn't look half bad for living in the sewers. She was no angel, but still. Alex wasn't sure if the floor was still open to questions but regardlessly he causally tossed his hand up before asking his questions. This time he couldn't contain his smile at the reaction he expected.

"So I know everyone loves the non homicidal Jean and Scott as much as the next mutant, but this is way bigger than them. If we try this neat little plan but it doesn't work and we all become drones or worse what then? No doubt they'd be stopped eventually but they could really do terrible damage to the world before then. While I'm not suggesting we assassinate the two of them right now" well honestly he might have suggested that if people didn't seem to like the two so much "But I think a backup plan if we fail seems like a good idea. I for one suggest giving the location of the school to someone who could stop them if things go sour and we all end up mind thralls" Someone like S.H.I.E.L.D.

Jet stared as the man called Logan started to shout. She stared as the mass of people started to disassemble. Her brown eyes gazed to the ceiling above them all. On the other side were sleeping children. Children that were scared and confused. The last thing they needed was a bunch of “adults” yelling about their impatience. Her concern was for the children. The Silver mutant didn’t want any of the kids to hear what was being said. They already knew something was wrong. She had no doubt in her mind that even the youngest child that was with them knew something was wrong.

She hadn’t been on the team long, whatever they decided she would back up. Her thoughts were muffled when she heard, “…I for one suggest giving the location of the school to someone who could stop them if things go sour and we all end up mind thralls" Jet shook her head, “Not an option.” The blonde cleared her throat realizing she had spoken out loud and continued. “Those kids would get hurt. And anything we can be done to stop ShadowX shouldn’t be in someone else’s hands. It would make things worse I’d imagine.” Her voice kept a calm tone while she talked.

Jet sighed when she finished talking. Bringing in outside help, like the type Alex was hinting to, would give SHIELD the perfect excuse to create more sentinels, or something much worse. The blonde didn’t doubt for a minute that some hot shot senator would press Nick Fury’s buttons and pressure him to do something. She folded her arms for extra warmth, not being as cold as she was before but wanting just a little extra heat. Her thought wondered for a moment joking to herself in her head that she should just use the heated argument in the room as a source of warmth. The brown eyed woman focused back on the subject at hand.

Pietro listened to Warren's speech and was not surprised that the Angel seemed to have a plan and a strategy. Interesting how someone who gave the impression of being little more than a pretty faced gadabout was able to take a stand. But then, Pietro had learned quite a bit about the influence of Charles Xavier and his school during his time there. It was a strange thing to see, even though the man was no longer with them, how his teachings changed those who dwelt within the confines of the school. He saw how Alexander had found his place there, how those like Avery Doyle and Ari Boyd had grown to be generous and caring women. He had experienced himself how maddened miscreants like his sister and himself and Summers had been taken in and were not treated like monsters, but like the damaged children they truly were. Indeed, had they not even attempted to rehabilitate Longshot, a known incorrigible madman?

It was clear to him that Cyclops had not chosen his second in command lightly, not out of any sense of camaraderie without ability to back it up. Jeffries might have his difficulties accepting orders from anyone but Havok, and Legard might turn to the extreme suggestions of assassination, but the Angel would rise to the occasion as long as he was forced to where this ill fitting mantle of leadership.

"I will run the device to Havok on my next rescue," Quicksilver said, "Callisto, I appreciate the use of your tunnels. I have found it necessary to change my approach each time I meet with him. Your permission to travel through your domain has saved many lives."

Blake had walked in perhaps just at the right moment. Unconsciously similar to poor Jet, Blake too felt relatively out of the loop. Hell, an entire society had been brought into council, though many seemingly knew about it's purpose or even it's scheduling. Most seemed to simply stumble upon it as he had. But Blake crossed his arms as Logan spoke. The hasty feral began to suggest a very brash siege of the Institute. All in all, Logan did not seem down to earth and far from it. But he did make a point. Alex and Remy had infiltrated the school rather briskly after the events on the rooftop and after it had become clear that an outside force was indeed responsible tainting Remy's mind, they assumed the same force was behind the disturbing actions of Jean and Scott. But the only operation Blake was aware of was the job of smuggling out students. Never once had any information been given that remotely hinted at a possible invasion. Insane.

Blake tried to hide his annoyance at the fact that the Boarding House had become the new Base of Ops of sorts for this 'underground movement.' If they wanted to do this, then it could be taken next door to the X-Factor Headquarters. He did not fund this project for it to be turned into any sort of war room. Before he could speak his peace though, a few quickly pounced on Logan for his plan. Warren was the first to attack and Blake was interested to hear what he had to say. Worthington was a pretty established man- in business. Could that success translate into a rousing speech to move the masses? Unfortunately, no. Nothing more was said that anyone with a rational mind didn't know already.

Mina was next to take her turn at an a heart-stopping sermon and it was anything but original. Again, nothing else that was not already said or known and it left the group back where they began: square one. Blake had no excellent plan either, but the fact was that they were just sitting there with their thumbs up their asses. If he had been gifted with the ability to read minds instead he would have agreed with Legard. Mina Harker had done nothing before to even prove herself remotely helpful to even the Institute, as far as Blake knew, and she still failed to provide any sort of relief for them now. The only thing she had helped lead was the conversation and that was back to the now infamous Square One.

In a more flamboyant manner and in a questionably rehearsed fashion, Quicksilver sped into the room. For a moment he was the one who made the most sense. Blake nodded when he spoke about unity and commented about this pointless bickering. The nods though soon stopped and Pietro had declared to Warren something that Blake was disturbed by. He stepped forward, ready to retort, but as had become custom, his voice was overrun. Warren seemed ready to accept his helm as 'leader' and even had at the hand a nice speech. Blake agreed with his words but still was bothered to the core with his teammate.

Callisto now vowed her allegiance to the cause and Blake, who found himself standing next to her, place a thankful hand on her shoulder. "We appreciate it." He said to her quietly with a smile. The Morlocks proved to be valuable assets to X-Factor in the past and the man knew they would continue to do so in the future.

But the room had quieted, after Alex's own suggestions, and Blake took his oppertunity. God knew when the chance would be open again. He tried to subdue his growing aggravation at them. "Now let's just hold the fuck up." His voice was not his own; filled with impatience and exhaustion. "I have never once been an advocate for anything but unity, but I've just got to say something here. Hank, screw communications. Not only am I pissed because this whole fiasco wasn't even brought to half of these people's attention, but also because you feel that it had to be held in the Boarding House. I won't allow this sort of gathering to be held here anymore. We have kids upstairs right now! Probably all of them listening to us heckle at eachother; saying the same damned things over and over again. I did not intend for this to be used as your base of operations, Doctor McCoy. You'll find X-Factor's facilities better suited for something like this." Outside of the walls of the Boarding House, thunder roared in agreement with him and the already heavy rain became a downright torrential pour with response to his annoyance. The warmth of the fireplace became null as it's flames flickered out; choked off by the chilly breeze that brushed by through the chimney.

"Now I fully agree with Warren. Finally after all of this redundant bullshit, we finally have a formulated plan. I've just got to express mild disgust though." He was on a role now. "In all of you. 'great X-Men in times of adversity.'"He scoffed at the quote. "Shame on you all. Never before have I ever thought the day would come when I have seen a more disunified group of people. No less between X-Factor and the X-Men. We can preach about unity 'till the cows come home but right now I see nothing of it. I refuse to bow down, Pietro, to this man simply because of what position Summers may have mantled him with. Not only is it disturbing, it's wrong to talk about team work judging by anything that you just said."

He shook his head at Quicksilver. "Speak for yourself dude. You can take your own arrogance and shove it through your Nike-clad foot. I won't follow Warren. I'll follow this team as a whole and whatever decision it chooses to do. Worthington's or not. Just to make that clear."

Sitting silently to one side of the room, Wanda felt as though she were the audience to a play. One by one they made their entrances and the action began. Although the blue-furred doctor began the little get-together, it was really Logan who got things moving and gave people something more than the cheese dip to talk about.

To her, it was obvious that his out-burst had been merely a ploy. In their hearts, many of the people present simply wanted to storm the gates of the school but they held back, unsure and worried. By forcing them to give him reasons not to do that, he was swiftly closing the door on that option. He was a man of action; if it had really been his intention to go there, this very moment and alone, surely he would’ve simply stormed out and not announced his intentions. She hid a smile, secretly thinking that was clever of him, even if it did make him look foolish on the surface. She gave an inward shrug and wondered why the others can’t see his actions for what they were.

She watched the personalities in the room play out – the confused, the fiery tempers, and the lost. They were all used to acting in certain ways and with two, no – four, she corrected herself, people absent, their usually smooth running machine was choking and shaking itself apart.

Although they squabbled, she had no doubt that in the time of pressure they would come together as they had always done.

Her pleasant expression faded when Blake spoke up. Up until that point, it had been either respectful disagreements or snarling at long-time friends and colleagues, people who no doubt knew that it meant nothing, and after you’ve saved their lives a few times and you’ve saved yours, a certain amount of leeway was generally permissible. As far as she knew, Blake hadn’t saved anyone. He snapped at the doctor. He snapped at Pietro. And although he agreed with everything the Angel had said, he refused him as a leader. Perhaps his actions were understandable to someone whose brain was not as broken as hers, but his actions and reasons made no sense.

But comprehensible or not, when he starting using personal abuse, Wanda had had enough. She got to her feet and walked across the room. Although Blake had been personally insulting to Pietro during his tirade, she knew her beloved brother could give it back with the same vigor and with immeasurably more grace, but she felt badly for the blue-furred doctor who, in her opinion, had been treated shamefully. Surely, Blake could have waited and spoken with him privately, if he needed to flex his authority concerning this Halfway House so badly.

With silent grace, she walked across the room with her eyes solely on Hank and extended her hand. “Thank you for all you have done and will do. Your efforts to restore our sister… and the others from what plagues them are very much appreciated.”

And with that, she departed. As far as she was concern, the meeting was over.