2013.07.15 - Which Team?

It was mid-morning on a Saturday. Jocelyn had slept in a little bit today, if only because she'd been out late working on some stuff last night. And by some stuff, what we really mean is hanging out at a club. But she had a reputation to maintain, and so she had gotten up early for her morning workout. Now, however, she was sleepily going over some websites on her laptop that compare different colleges. She really had to give a final decision this week for the late admittance, so Jocelyn was narrowing things down. It was really kind of her latest obsession, but it wasn't a bad one ot have. Somewhere along the lines, she had discovered the wonders of Spotify, and had slipped a pair of headphones on and plugged them into her laptop for her listening pleasure.

See, she was actually learning to use technology! Sort of!

Up bright and early, Doug is... well, skipping on his workout, simply because he had other things to work on! Like the latest computer hardware tech upgrade to his little project.

But he'd gotten antsy, after a few hours of relative silence. A desire to call up ... someone... was pushed aside, and replaced with a 'Let's camp out on the rear grounds and see what we can find."

And... aha!

Peering over Jocelyn's shoulders, making sure his shadow was not going to warn the tall redhead that he was there, Doug waits for just the right moment to surprise, judging by her body language before tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey Jo!"

Rachel has no reputation as an early riser to maintain, and despite the snoring purple dragon she was sharing a room with, she slept better last night than she had done in a long time. Being back under the roof of the Mansion must agree with her. With nothing in particular to do she was happy to let her new room-mate, who she's still not /entirely/ sure isn't crazy, vacate the area before she even thought about getting up.

So Rachel's quite a bit less chipper than Doug as she steps out into the grounds, having only just finished breakfast. She's dressed in the clothes she'd managed to scrounge up since arriving, for a change from what she arrived /in/, but it's not the height of fashion. An oversized red hoodie sporting the Institute's logo smothers her top half, while black leggings and sneakers complete the outfit. Squinting in the sunlight, she raises a hand to shield her eyes and catches sight of Doug - accosting another redhead. That makes her smile a bit to herself. How many do they have around the place, anyway? Rachel starts to wander in that direction.

There's a very brief jump from Jocelyn followed by an "Youch!" She turns to mock-glare at Doug. "You know, that totally isn't fair," the teenager points out casually. "How're you doing, Doug?" she adds after a moment to collect herself. People sneaking up on her...Jocelyn hated that. Made her very briefly twitchy. A product of her childhood and all that sort of thing. "Haven't seen much of you". She does notice, at this point, Rachel approaching. "We got another newcomer?" she asks Doug quietly, tilting her head towards Rachel.

Early mornings? That's Kitty. She gets up at the crack of dawn, does a full hour work-out, then goes jogging, usually just for fun. Though really, it's difficult to get out of old habits learned from when she was very young. It is this reason that her chipper, way to happy form even for this hour is idly making her way through the trees. She's talking. Now some might ponder this chattering going on, as surely she could be talking to herself - but no. No. There is a purple dragon flying next to her. "And we need to get that new Stark circuit board fixed up to snuff." She intones, the dragon letting out a faint 'YAWWWWWWWN' as Kitty speaks (according to him), nothing but 'geek'. "Also I want to ask Doug what that project he's got needs. I think I can help." Again - the dragon mehs out a response, though Kitty is utterly oblivious to his discontent. "The danger room programming is woefully out-dated, I need to alter a lot of the programs to fit more of the new students. And.. oh."

Yes, about that time, Kitty's walking through a tree, (dragon flying around) to catch sight of those nestled in the nice, cool morning air. Doug and Jocelyn - and Rachel a bit away. Kitty quirks her mouth from one side to the other, then just shrugs. Her steps lead her towards Doug as she offers a wave of her hand. "Morning!" She offers in a chipper tone.

"And a good morning to you too, Jo," Doug grins. "What're you trying to do with that laptop? Oh... spotify?" he comments, as he looks over Jo's shoulder. "Nice! You should try that Shazam! application, too. Handy for identifying songs... just hook it up and it'll identify anything and tag it for you for later reference. TV shows, music, anything else..."

As the shadows approaches, though, Doug glances up. "Oh hey, Ray! Kitty!" Flashing a wide grin, the young man moves to take a seat on the steps overlooking the rear grounds. "How's life being roomies?"

Rachel's steps are unhurried as she approaches Doug and his companion, and slow further as she hears someone approaching through the trees. It takes only a flicker of Rachel's telepathic talents to identify the jogging figure flitting between the trees as Kitty, and a clear glimpse of Lockheed just confirms it. At least her room-mate - and Rachel's still not quite sure how that happened - didn't feel the need to drag her along on her morning workout. Still, as her approach is pointed out to Doug, Rachel's now been seen by three pairs of eyes, so any thought of ducking back inside the mansion is right out.

Close enough to reply to Kitty without having to raise her voice much, Rachel's tone is amused. "It's still morning? I need to get better at sleeping in." She stuffs her hands into the pockets of her hoodie as she falls in beside Kitty and joins the others. "Hey Doug. I could get used to it." She says, before shooting an impish glance toward Kitty. "Oh? And Lockheed? Just so you know? He DOES snore." Extracting a hand, Rachel offers a quick wave to the other red-head. "Hey. I'm Rachel." She doesn't offer a last name, keeping things simple for now. And for those with the sight to see? She's leaking telepathic power. Just a trickle, enough to mask the marks on her face, but it's constant.

Letting Doug go on about his suggestions, Jocelyn offers a wave to Kitty before she stands to take Rachel's hand. "Hi there. Jocelyn," the woman offers politely. She does, of course, take note of the telepathic leak. There's just a touch of it, but the energy sight lets her see that she was doing something constantly. But as it was to herself and not to others, Jocelyn doesn't much care. "New here?" she asks Rachel politely.

Jocelyn doesn't really know Kitty terribly well either, though the phaser is noted. It was hard not to notice Lockheed either, to be honest. She just knew Kitty was all into technology like Doug. "Hey there," she greets the woman casually.

Finally, Jocelyn looks back to Doug. "Usually I know what songs I listen to. I don't have that many," she admits to the man with a laugh.

A faint 'heeheehee', echoes from the dragon, as he settles down next to Kitty, grinning his cheshire grin up towards Rachel at the comment. And as for Kitty..? Well, she just shakes her head with an amused expression. "I did warn!" She offers to Rachel first, before flopping down next to Doug on the steps. "Nice to see you again." Kitty offers then to Jocelyn. Leaning back on her hands, legs outstretched before her, Kitty lets out a soft, quite sigh - the wide grin on her features showing she's just enjoying the day, for the moment.

Grinning, Doug motions to Jocelyn. "One of the students being trained for field work. She'll be ready any day now. Just graduated, and... hey, have you settled on an university yet?"

As Kitty sits down, Doug reaches out to skritch Lockheed underneath the chin, before regarding Rachel with a smirk. "I've already known that. I've caught him sleeping in the toolbox. Or a purse. Or anything that even resembles a nest... geez, Kitty, what was the weirdest place we've found 'Heed sleeping in... kitchen sink? Hey, Rachel, make sure all your drawers are completely closed before you go to sleep."

Rachel hears Lockheed to his impression of Mutley and looks down at him with a mock-frown. "Don't laugh. You snore like a warthog crossed with a duck." She tells him, not really succeeding in putting on a stern voice. She looks back up at the far-too-innocent Kitty, "And you did not..." Rachel begins, but Jocelyn is standing up and, well, it's impolite to discuss a snoring dragon when someone's waiting to shake your hand. Rachel offers Jocelyn a proper handshake rather than a dead-fish grip, and grins a bit, as if her question amuses her a little bit, privately. "I've visited enough in the past to know my way around the place, but... I guess... pretty new, yeah." With the initial meet and greet done, Rachel steps back a bit, finding her own step to settle on, and experimentally reaches out to give Lockheed a scratch. She might only lose a couple of fingers, right? She looks up a bit distractedly at Doug's question, but shrugs easily. "Not much in them right now, but OK."

"Narrowed it down. Doing the final comparisons," Jocelyn tells Doug. "I've got to get it in this coming week, so you know, no pressure or anything". Because, well, yeah. It was chaotic. The worst case scenario, she supposed, was that she joined up the second term, but that would mean a few months of downtime, and that wasn't something Jocelyn was really looking to have happen.

A nod is given to Rachel when she mentions having been here in the past. "Ahh. Don't think I've seen you about, but welcome". The girl then retakes her seat. "So, what've you all been up to?" the teenager asks casually. "Any big, exciting summer plans? Weren't you working on some sort of crazy computer system, Doug? VR or something like that?"

The dragon lets out soft 'cooos' at Doug and Rachel's scritching. He even goes so far as to (once Rachel settles down) hop into Rachel's lap, roll over on his back, and proceed to offer his belly for scritching. The dragon's wings are tucked in close to his body, as he doesn't even -mind- being compared to a duck and warthog crossed. After all, /he/ doesn't get bothered with his snoring, everyone else does.

With a shake of her chestnut curls, Kitty lets out a laugh at Lockheed's antics, her gaze moving from him - towards Jocelyn, Rachel, and then to once again focus upon Doug. Ah. Doug. Poor Doug. Kitty's got sooo many questions for the blonde. Keen interest rests in her hazel eyes. Though Kitty's gems soon turn back to Jocelyn, as she shakes her head. "Here, not much. Might go see my father, and I've been wanting to take a trip to visit Japan again. On the whole though, relaxing, enjoying the summer."

Something about that -look- on Kitty's expression has Doug sighing inwardly, something he lets Kitty know with a look, and an arched eyebrow, before he nods in agreement with Rachel.

Answering Jocelyn's question, Doug grins. "Yeah. Got a lot of the parts together. Wanted to give it a spin... do a bit more -interaction- with the system in the field with someone who could handle field work while I see what I can do in VR. If it works right, I might be able to handle dealing with situations without worrying about having powers that, well..." He shrugs. "If I can get a way to interact with both the cyber world and the real world at the same time, it'd be fun. Hey Kitty, I'll need you to help - I got some hardware finally - I managed to hit a convention without that -girl- who keeps sniping all the hardware." Grumble. Grumble. Who did Harper Row think she was, anyway?

Turning his attention back to Jocelyn, Doug hrms. "You could always try attending school online only. There's a bunch of colleges that offers a full degree with correspondence courses. Less trouble, less fees, and you can work at your own pace. I survived that way, though I feel like I should go back and get, you know, the real world experience." He glances over at Rachel. "Maybe you should give it a shot too. I mean, if you're staying for a while."

Doug's look..? Kitty just offers an impish grin to the blonde. Oh yes. Many questions. Just like her name. So /full/ of curiosity. Rising upwards, Kitty offers an apologetic. "I need to head in and call my dad, now that I think about it!" Scampering back into the house, Kitty's hand waves towards the others. "Catch you later. Hey Rachel, don't let Lockheed get too bossy." The dragon, for his part, lifts his head, is far too happy, and just remains in Rachel's lap.

All of a sudden, Rachel's lap is full of Lockheed, much to her evident surprise. Looking down at the small purple dragon as he arranges himself to his satisfaction, she raises her eyebrows and says wryly, "Just make yourself comfortable, why don't you?" Kitty gets a quick, sideways glance to make sure that a) she's not worried about what Lockheed might do to Rachel and b) she's not worried about what Rachel might do to Lockheed! But Kitty's already getting up, and Rachel shoots her a faintly alarmed look when she realises she's about to be left with the dragon. "Hey..!" She starts, but Kitty's already gone. Letting out a put-upon sigh that doesn't sound all that displeased really, Rachel looks down at the basking dragon again. "Hear that? I'm in charge." She tells him, though she doesn't sound like she actually believes it. With another sigh, she recommences dragon-tickling.

Due to dragon-distraction, she missed most of Doug and the others tech-speak, but manages not to miss her cue. "Go back to school? Could be interesting." Rachel agrees, though it a bit of a non-committal tone, although she looks a bit more thoughtful as she adds, "I'd need to sort a few things out, first..." Like the small fact she has no legal existence in this world, for a start... "But maybe."

Oh, the whole idea of sorting things out like legal issues? That's so common, Jocelyn has found, that it's hardly worth mentioning. Jocelyn waves to Kitty as she takes off, then looks over at Rachel and Doug. "Will probably do some of it online, but I think I want to attend at least some of the classes. If nothing else, it'll be useful to have the experience," Jocelyn tells Doug. That's her take on it, at least. Jocelyn does give Lockheed a bit of a glance, however. She didn't often see the dragon hanging around, for whatever reason. "So, you're rooming with Kitty. I have to ask. What, exactly, does Lockheed eat?" Jocelyn really had no idea about the creature, really. She just knew of it's existance.

Giving Kitty a look as she departs, Doug lifts a hand in a quick wave, before looking back at Rachel and her dragon. "Huh, looks like Lockheed took to you pretty well. Then again, he's always been a sucker for the ladies, aren't you, Lockheed?" He starts to reach to skritch the dragon, before withdrawing his hand quickly for being impudent to his royal dragoness.

Shaking his head, Doug nods at Jocelyn. "Well, the experience's gonna be good for... I guess, all of us."

Bright blue eyes shift to Rachel's, as he smirks, knowing well enough what Rachel would have to answer about Lockheed's eating habits.

Rachel looks a bit quizzically at Doug. "I guess? So he's not...?" Ah, Doug's just answered the question she was about to ask. "Oh, I /see/." She says, shaking her head in amusement. On Rachel's lap, Lockheed makes a rumbly noise, exactly on cue with Doug reaching out his hand, and attracting Rachel's attention once more. "What?" She asks the dragon, who stretches his head back so his chin's on display. "That bit?" Rachel asks, resigned. "You're high maintenance." She tells him, before looking up when the topic of Lockheed's eating habits comes up. "Uh." Is Rachel's brilliant first answer to that one, as she runs her non-tickling hand back through her hair in a bit of an uncertain gesture. "Actually, I only met them both yesterday, but Kitty... kind of decided on the whole rooming together thing before telling me." Rachel looks like she's pondering that for a moment, then shrugs and carries on. "He was eating apples yesterday, and..." Rachel frowns. "There were some well-chewed shoes on Kitty's side of the room." She looks at the dragon accusingly. "I'm pretty sure the answer's really 'anything and everything'." She says, as much to the too-innocent looking dragon as the others, before looking up again and smirking a bit at Doug. "That advice about keeping the drawers closed is looking better and better, Doug."

"I'll keep my shoes away from him then," Jocelyn offers easily. Then again, she roomed with Laura. So she suspected that Lockheed wasn't showing up in that room anytime soon. Not if he didn't want to run into a cranky adamantium-clawed girl. "I suppose Kitty does make those decisions kind of quickly. I was kind of surprised she was still around, actually. I thought she was going to be living at college, given how much she's into technology and all that stuff". Because, well, Kitty was a tech geek, and they tended to love college quite a bit, Jocelyn had found.

"I'd be more worried if Lockheed was even in your room, considering your roommate," Doug observes to Jocelyn, grinning. "And don't mind Kitty... once she makes up her mind, she'll get it done quickly. Though I -was- wondering why she'd decide to room with you so quickly, Rachel... what did you say to her? Or do you know her from somewhere?"

Kitty's choice about being -here- and not living at college... well, Doug looks back at Jocelyn. "Have you seen the tech we have -here-? I'd stick around here too... a lot of that stuff, Kitty was the one who set up. We're Team Supreme, you know? She does the hardware, I do the software, and that's all she wrote."

"As well as everything else you want to keep in one piece." Rachel agrees, by now scritching the dragon on autopilot, even if she can't really forget the weighty lump on her lap. "She didn't say anything to me about moving out - while she was moving me in - so college?" Rachel shakes her head. "Who knows." She's not really able to add much, but to conversation is comfortable, at least until Doug asks his question. Rachel's response isn't quite so quick this time, as if she's not really sure how to reply.

"I didn't really /say/ anything to her." Rachel replies after a moment's thought. "But she..." Rachel shrugs, again, groping for the right words, before she shakes her head in annoyance. "I think... probably the best way I can describe it? I remind her of somebody she used to know." Rachel grimaces, it's not a clear or accurate explanation at all, but since even she isn't sure if she believes the real one, it'll have to do for now. "Seems to be working out so far, though."

"Well, that's good," Jocelyn says in response to what Rachel says regarding the living situation. Though she was glad Laura wasn't the type to bring pets back to the manor. Jocelyn wasn't sure she would want to deal with them, and really, with their life, would it be fair for the pet? Regardless, Jocelyn does laugh at Doug's comment. "Well, with the way I break technology, I'm sure I can keep you both busy. In fact, I was trying to do something on the library computer earlier today, and, well, smoke kind of started to rise out of the monitor. I'm not quite sure how that happened. They said they'd look at it, but I think that's a replacement sort of thing".

Speaking of that roommate...

Well, as various people stand around and talk, it's almost as if a shadow is moving around the grounds. Sort of. No, they're not really trying to be stealthy. They're not purposely trying to hide. But well, they just sort of blend in, between the way they are moving between the shadows, and how they are still sort of moving casually.

But either way, that shadow, one Laura Kinney, does end up moving close to the group, carrying an old duffle bag over her shoulder.

Giving Jocelyn a look of resignation, Doug only shakes his head. "Oh forget it. This time, -Kitty- can fix it. I'll let her know..."

Then Doug smirks at Rachel's answer to his question. "Oh... good. So long as you don't remind her of Logan, we're all set. I mean, it could've been worse. She could've..."

And then Doug's voice trails off, as he looks up towards Logan's clone 'daughter', before he chuckles. "Speak of the devil. Hey! Laura!"

Rachel shoots Doug a flat, though not unfriendly look, and raises her eyebrows at the comparison he suggests. "Not likely to be a problem." After all, Rachel and Logan? It's hard to imagine much more of a contrast in how they look, as far as Rachel can see. In her lap, Lockheed abruptly starts wriggling about, flipping himself the right way up and, before Rachel can do anything to stop him, has climbed up her hoodie and is curled around her neck, the better for looking interestedly at the latest arrival. "Gah! Lockheed!" Rachel protests, unwrapping the tail that's curled a little too tightly around her neck as the dragon clings on. Half-turning around, she looks back over her shoulder to find out what all the fuss is about. "Uh, hi. Excuse the dragon." She says, feeling more than vaguely ridiculous, and trusting Doug to sort out introductions while she tries to get Lockheed settled more comfortably.

"Hey there Laura," Jocelyn says to her roommate. Really, she hadn't seen much of Laura this summer. Schedules hadn't overlapped much, or something of that nature. "How're you doing?" she questions her friend. The comment about letting Kitty fix it gets a small smirk from Jocelyn. "So, how much of the stuff you have to fix is my fault with regards to electronics anyway, Doug?" Jocelyn asks out of sheer curiosity. Because Jocelyn was willing to bet it was quite a bit at this point.

The dragon does not spook Laura (not that much does). In fact, as it glances at her, the female 'clone' of Wolverine offers it an odd, almost curious tilt of her head for a moment or two. All though as Doug calls her name, she heads over towards that little group.

On the other hand, as she gets closer, the person that the dragon is with does get a slight reaction in that Laura sniffs the air slightly, as if checking to see if how the older woman looks matches up with her scent somehow, before looking right at Rachel and saying, "Grey." before she nods at Jocelyn and Doug.

"Normal." is said as she responds to a certain question before she shrugs off the bag. "And preparing for the trip."

"Too many to count, which is why I'm letting Kitty fix -that- one," Doug grins at Jocelyn, before looking towards Rachel. "You say that now, but..." Doug comments, as he motions towards Laura. "Rachel, this is Laura Kinney. She's Logan's... um... daughter, you could say. Laura, this is..."

Doug raises an eyebrow as Laura mentions Rachel's mother's name. Shaking his head, the young blonde sighs. "Like I said... Logan's daughter." He quirks an eyebrow at Laura. "Is this the trip for the Young X-Men you're talking about now?"

Lockheed seems mollified to have been acknowledged by the newcomer, and settles down as a heavy shoulder ornament. At least he's keeping reasonably still, which allows Rachel to turn the rest of the way around to face Laura - just as she pronounces her verdict on Rachel's lineage. Rachel's eyes widen, then narrow a bit, before she gives a mental shrug. "And Summers, too." She replies evenly, a little nonplussed by the clipped sentences Laura uses, and matching her own reply to it.

Of course, the revelation that Logan has a daughter makes her eyes widen again, and she darts a quick look toward Doug. No, he's definitely serious, she doesn't need to double check telepathically. For a moment it's like the sun's gone behind a cloud for Rachel, but she manages not to shiver in the warmth of the day. Every time she relaxes, she gets a reminder this isn't her world. "Good to meet you, Laura." She adds quickly.

"Which trip is this?" Jocelyn asks, now a little bit more curious as to what is going on. Nobody has told her about such things yet. "I hope this trip is a little more planned than my last trip," Jocelyn adds. There's a look between Laura and Rachel, and some gears start turning in her head. It's that look she gets, Doug might recognize, when she's starting to put some puzzle pieces together. Doug's comment about the number being too high to count, Jocelyn just smiles at. "I do try not to break them all, after all. I haven't broken this laptop yet. Or my phone recently".

"Daughter. Clone. Sister. Genetic twin." are all said after Doug /tries/ to explain just what Laura is and her connection to Logan. But well, it's odd. Odds are it'd take someone like beast to fully explain what Laura is, and even then there's probably no easy way to put it.

Then though there is a slight nod at Rachel as the shortest person here offers the Alt-U Summers a slight nod.

"Yes. It is." is then said towards Doug before Jocelyn gets an odd look.

"The Young X-Men are going to see my.... 'Home'." Pause. "The Facility." Then there's another momentary pause. "If they want."

"I see. Uh, see, Laura wanted to..."

Doug's phone rings, and the young man blinks. Checking the caller id, Doug's eyes light up. "Uh... I've got to take this... Laura, you explain to Jocelyn, please? Rachel, I'll see you later." Leaping up, Doug excuses himself, to answer the call.

Rachel blinks a bit at the bluntness with which Laura explains her kinship to Wolverine. It takes her aback, but she can't help but be a little impressed with Laura's forthrightness. Maybe if she didn't beat about the bush quite so much, she wouldn't be tying herself in knots when trying to explain - or not to explain - her relationship to Scott and Jean. "Got it." Rachel confirms after the list of options is given.

She has no idea what this trip is all about, and feels a little more of an interloper than before for being interested in finding out. And when Doug suddenly gets a call and rushes off, it's doubly so. "I guess you two have things to talk about." Rachel says as she gets to her feet, one hand steadying Lockheed on her shoulders as she does so. "I'll catch you later, I need to return a dragon to someone." Rachel grins. "Good to meet you." She nods to the other two, and then heads inside herself. "You /could/ fly." Can be heard as she walks away. "You're pretty heavy, y'know."

Waving to the departing two, Jocelyn looks over at Laura and nods. "Got it. Well, whenever it happens, let me know and I'll be there, in whatever capacity you need me there". Jocelyn wasn't sure to the purpose of the trip, or when, but she'd be there for Laura, whenever it happened. If Laura wanted to explain it, Jocelyn figured she would. Jocelyn has some idea of the relationship Laura has to Wolverine, so the statement made by her roommate doesn't phase her much.

And as Rachel and Doug take off, Laura offers them both slight nods, before she shifts her attention back to Jocelyn.

"/IF/ you and Cessily are staying with the team, and if you are remaining my roommate, then you, like the rest of the team should know. And see it for yourself. The Facility."

Yes. That's right, Laura is explaining. Only well, she looks very sheepish, even as she gets wordy.

"It was where I was created. And born. And trained. And modified. Where I returned too after my missions. Where my.... Mother... Where I..."

She just pauses and shakes her head, her usually emotionless exterior cracking slightly.

"I'm remaining here," Jocelyn says. "I'm still going to college, but I'll still live here and remain part of the team". Scott had told her she could, so that was Jocelyn's plan at current time. The teen offers a light smile to Laura as she stands and walks over towards the shorter girl. "I get it," she tells Laura softly. She'd probably get emotional trying to show people where she grew up. It wasn't something she relished the idea of. She wasn't going to push Laura emotionally with something as daring as a hug, but her presence says everything. "Did you believe I was intending on leaving the team?" she asks.

And there's a slight pause before Laura asks a single, loaded question.

"Which team?" is said before Laura takes a slight, deep breath, as her expression slowly shifts back to neutral, expressionless, and devoid of any and all emotion.

"You are over 18. You have graduated. You and Cessily both. As such, the only things keeping you 'Young' X-Men instead of full X-Men is probably either you not expressing an interesting in joining the main team, or being offered a chance to join it."

"Doug has been making noises about me being ready to join the full X-Man roster, but he's been honestly talking about that for months, so I don't actually know when that'll happen". Jocelyn shrugs a little. "But the way I see it, regardless of if I'm a 'full' X-Man or not, I'm still on the same team as you. We go out on missions with the regular team often enough that the only distinction I put between the two is a title. So if they tell me they'd like to promote me, then that's fine. But that doesn't keep us from being teammates as well, nor does it keep us from being friends". Jocelyn didn't seem all that fussed about the distinction, really. "Given I've jumped three years in age over the last few months, I have to admit that I put a little less stock in the age thing than most do," she adds.

In the past Laura didn't put much stock in the age thing. But she did get trained in regards to how to use it to her advantage, and her handlers had no qualms about using it and her gender to their advantage when it came to missions. And that was still before she ended up on her own, and eventually The Institute, where it became a whole new can of worms.

"Perhaps. But it will be different."

No, she doesn't spell out how it could be different. Odds are the 'older' girl can figure that out on her own.

"It will be. But it doesn't mean I'm going to stop being your friend, and it doesn't mean I'm going to discard your opinion or anything like that because of some crap about age," Jocelyn tells Laura. "And that is assuming that I am offered a spot as a full member of the X-Men. Honestly, aside from Doug, I haven't heard any of the others suggesting I should be made one". The teen shrugs. "I have this incredible tendency to get blindsided or just plain not perform as well when I'm with members of the team, but when I run into messes on my own out in the city, I do fine". It was really weird, but Jocelyn had noticed it. "Something I need to figure out how to fix. But I suspect that given I've only been at the mansion for six months, they figure I need some more seasoning as a whole".

And yes, Laura could point out more. But odds are Jocelyn either knows, or figured out, or will soon figure out the rest on her own.

As for the rest.

"You do not need more seasoning. They need to open their eyes."

And /THAT/ is all the young 'clone' will say about /that/.