2013.10.26 - Daytripper's Visit and a Game-Plan

Xavier Institute

The long, circular driveway leads from the front gates of the grounds to the various entry points of the Xavier Mansion. The outside of the building is impressive, obviously built with symmetry and aesthetics in mind. Grey stone blocks from the primary structure of the building, and its appointments include ornate fixtures at each corner and window, stone rain gutters and spouts, and high tile roofs crowned by cupola-style belvederes. Ivy has overgrown much of the building's exterior, lending the structure a more distinguished, well-aged air. A small plaza occupies the area between the circle drive and front door, partly enclosed and offering a gathering place and parking area.

The grounds are well kept, with several old growth trees dotted about the landscape. The central portion of the front grounds is taken up by a series of formal Japanese gardens, surrounded by a broad lawn enclosed by a hedge just inside the outer wall. The east grounds contain a hedge maze, while Breakstone Lake lies farther along in that direction. Greymalkin Lane runs north to south at the west edge of the grounds, connecting to the circle drive by a short private road.

The morning after the night before... for everyone. As the Xavier Institute recovers from its quarantine scare during Homecoming, Amanda Sefton finds herself at the end of a long night without much, if any sleep, and the end of her own decontamination process. She still wears her now battered mage armour, claw marks torn through the runic wards that are etched into its back and shoulders.

From the solitude of her own sanctum, instead of crashing and trying to catch up on her sleep, she pushes herself a little more, igniting a portal before her.

It's match appears just outside the gates to the Xavier Institute. As a courtesy, the sorceress rarely portals straight into the grounds when they don't know she's coming. And she's not sure they do know she's coming. She got voice mail, last evening, when she tried to call. Thus, mystical energies swirling about her, she steps through one side of the portal and out the other, appearing before the wrought iron gates.

A brief conversation with security, later, and she's striding purposefully up the driveway, towards the broad steps, in search of any of her erstwhile teammates.

Having only gotten back to the mansion just that morning, Bobby Drake is not in his usual cheerful joking mood. Shift filled him in on the situation and he's been in a worse mood than he arrived in since. Right now he's in his organic ice form as well as a t-shirt and jeans just to get more used to spending longer in it. He intends to be using the form more after all. He's just stepping outside and punching a number into his cellphone when he notices Amanda striding up the driveway. "And here I was just calling you," he calls, holding up the phone.

When Kwabena Odame had told Bobby he intended to get some sleep, he had no idea how hard that might be.

The Ghanaian mutant has simply too much on his mind. Far too many worries, concerns, and the burning need to take action. It's an instinct he's fought hard to master, and is far from attaining that goal. And so, with no shortage of irritation, he's sprung out of his cot in the X-Men bunker, zipped a lightly armored jumpsuit over his X-Men uniform, and is roaming the grounds with a cigarette in one hand and a large thermos filled with coffee in the other.

His X-Communicator alerts him to the new arrival, and the name listed is one he's only just become familiar with. It prompts him to take an abrupt diversion from the hole his boots have been wearing into the lawn, and goes jogging about toward the front entryway at a swift pace.

'It's a dance! It's suppose to be fun!' The other students told her.

'You dress up! Have a good time!' they told her.

Instead, last night was.... Something else. Something where as far as Laura Kinney knew, she was more than likely safe due to her abilities, but everyone else was in danger. And in any other situation she would of gone out of her way to help the others. To protect them. But against a threat like that... A disease? She was useless. And to be honest, the girl once known as 'Weapon X-23' does /NOT/ like feeling useless when it comes to anything where the lives of her friends and allies are involved.

But still, now that the worst is over, at least for now, the girl is once again in her old 'Weapon X' uniform, and slowly making her way through the school, room by room, tree by tree. It's almost as if she's somehow searching. Possibly trying to catch any scent of the person that caused this, if only to make sure they haven't been anywhere on the school grounds since the 'party' last night. Hence why as others are at the gate, she's not that far away, and moving towards it as she sniffs the air.

Mystically cured off all the diseases she'd been afflicted with, and STILL Rachel had to wait in a glass box on a chilly Scottish island until the quarantine period expired. Finally released, she thought she'd be on the next flight back to the Mansion.

Oh no. Muir's doctors hadn't liked the look of the deep burn on her shoulder, and had only been keeping their distance because they thought she might still be infectious. As soon as she walked out of the quarantine suite, Rachel discovered that they had no intention of letting her go until she'd gotten that particular wound properly treated. She wasn't a good patient, and only dire warnings of infection (ha!) and possible loss of movement kept her on Muir until they were satisfied.

All of which made her a day and change later getting back to the mansion than the rest of her team, and explains why she's sitting moodily in the back seat of a cab, being driven toward the Xavier Institute, when the driver suddenly swears and jams on the brakes. Her shoulder given /another/ reason to hurt by being jerked about by the sudden stop, Rachel grits her teeth to keep her yelp from being any more than a "Mmmmf!" and looks ahead, to see what caused the sudden panic.

A portal, and a sorceress stepping out of it. Rachel looks at the driver, who's looking at /her/ with wide eyes, and sighs. "Let me off here." She tells him. "And forget this bit." A flicker of telepathic power, and it's so. Paying the man, Rachel gets out of the cab and follows the striding Amanda at a slower pace, mind reaching out ahead of her to find out who's about.

Amanda turns her head as the cabbie screeches and swears. It crosses her mind to hypnotize him -- her one mutant power -- but, though the sorceress doesn't recognize the woman in back, she can tell by the red-head's body language and sigh that it's not quite so unexpected a sight to her. And when the man's eyes glaze over and he drives sedately away? Big tip-off the redhead is just as 'special' as anyone else at this school. Thus, the sorceress gives the other woman a tight smile, an apologetic cant of her head, and then continues her way down the drive.

As Bobby greets her, her footsteps slow. Usually, Amanda would smile warmly to her frosty friend. Today, however, the best she can muster is a weary grimace as she pushes her hood back from her blonde hair. "Yeah, I tried calling here, earlier," she admits, eyes reflecting her weariness. "Got voice mail." The grimace twists into something that's meant to approixmate a smile, but falls a little short. "Looks like it's all hands on deck, eh?" She knows Iceman's been away from the fold for a while. Like so many other.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the dark figures of both Kwabena and Laura approach -- albeit in vastly different manners. Thus, she turns her head and glances at them, to at least register their presences, before returning her attention to Bobby. He's the one she knows, and the one that's closest. "Bloody hell, Bobby," she swears, her extended time in England as a younger woman raising its ugly head, as she scrubs her face with one gloved hand, "it's right mess out there. I managed to help the authorities contain most of it, but... Scheiße!"

When in doubt, swear in German. It always sounds better.

"Yeah, me too. So I swung by in the flesh," Bobby replies to Amanda. Rachel's arrival gets a little nod but her trick to the cabbie prompts a frown. He's never liked when the telepaths did that. He glances as he sees Amanda looking towards Laura and Shift and shoots Shift a 'you should be in bed' look. Attention turns back to Amanda and he tenses when he gets a good look at her and hears what she's been up to. "Wait, what sort of mess did you run into?" the currently ice-man asks with concern.

As he comes around the Institute's gilded corner, Shift catches sight of Laura on patrol. He immediately understands what she is doing, and it's beyond appreciated. It also lets him slow his pace so that he isn't running toward their new arrival, which runs the risk of being alarming.

''Easy, Kwabena. Remember what happens every damned time you rush into things.''

Nevertheless, he spies Bobby and Amanda speaking, recognizing the latter from her security profile. That Bobby has assumed his organic ice form is not lost on Kwabena, and neither is the 'you should be in bed' look that he receives. In another time, he'd probably have scooped up some grass and thrown it Bobby's way, expecting the guy to ice that crap and chuck it back at him.

Not today.

His goal of approaching Bobby and Amanda, however, seems diverted when he notices the redhead coming up the road. He'd thought to ask her to the homecoming dance, show those kids a thing or two about how to dance respectably and show a lady what's up. Instead, she'd been maintained at Muir Island, and the dance? Well. It wouldn't have been an ideal first date.

Still, he doesn't quite expect the rush of relief at seeing her alive, intact, and coming home. So, for the moment, he disregards the new arrival (whom Bobby has well under guard), and diverts his path to headdown the driveway.

"Don't tell me dey made you fly coach, too!" It's a small effort at reminding himself, and Rachel, of what it's like when things are 'back to normal'.

As if.

It should be easy for Rachel to pick up on Laura. Heck, it should be easy to pick up on the thoughts Laura has, mainly due to how focuses she is on making sure that she she can't find any /recent/ traces of Kurt on the grounds.

There's no sign of how she feels about it. Mentally or externally. There's just the thought that it has to be done.

And yet, she still doesn't react to the portal. Or the thing with the Cabbie. Not even as she continues closer towards the others. All though as she notices Kwa he gets a nod in greeting. That is before she gets close enough to offer Bobby, Amanda, and Rachel one as well.

"Still checking. No recent scent found... Yet."

Rachel smirks a bit in response to the sorceress' acknowledgement, and sketches an ironic salute for taking care of the cabbie. With her bad arm. That wipes the smirk off her face and replaces it with a pained grimace as she trudges up the drive after the other woman. She might not recognise her, but she's clearly not about to attack the place, so Rachel doesn't feel the need to question her.

Bobby's frown is caught, and it makes Rachel's lips thin a bit, but by now she's caught the telepathic feel of the mansion, and she knows something is very wrong.

This is what she gets for not calling ahead.

Her steps slow even further and she frowns, and Bobby's disapproval or not she's about to skim some local minds for a heads-up - Laura's standing out clearly in her mental map of the area making it a prime target, for one. But then Shift comes into view, and she angles off to meet him, her steps quickening a bit more. The pulse of emotion she feels from his mind is a little surprising, but fortunately for her he's not a telepath to feel the answering relief in her own mind at seeing him. Given what she'd picked up so far...

"All the way." She replies to him, her voice light, but her eyes intent and watchful as they meet his. "I nearly went for a 'free upgrade'." She falls silent for a moment, looking at him, then straight out asks, "What the hell have I missed?"

Given that Pestilence hasn't come to the mansion, yet, and Kurt hasn't been there in a very, very long time... no, it's highly unlikely Laura will find anything. But, a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

Amanda recognizes Shift, to be sure. Kurt introduced the pair of them at a fancy charity gala, back when the African was still hunting the inhibitor. Though, to be fair, in combat leathers and looking like she's just crawled out of the trenches, it's perhaps no wonder he doesn't really recognize her. Her current appearance is a far cry from the sophisticated figure she cut that night so long ago.

"Kurt and Talia have been taken by... something. Someone, I'm guessing. Altered. He's..." Again, that grimace and she rakes her hand heavily through her hair. "He's turned into some sort of plague carrier. I don't know. He and TJ attacked a tourist bus in Midtown Center, last night. Turned the place into an apocalyptic warzone. It was like... Well, it was if Pestilence and Famine stepped out of the pages of the Bible and decided to use New York as their own personal playground. And the diseases?" She shudders faintly. "I can't tell you the number of healing potions I went through on myself, let alone others. I haven't even been to bed, yet. I worked all night. Decontaminated myself, and figured I'd better pop 'round here and find out if anyone here has any clue about what the hell is going on."

She raises weary eyes to her friend, leaving the others to do as they will. "You know Kurt almost as well as I do, Bobby. He'd never do anything like this willingly. And he's been missing for days. I didn't think much of it, at first... but when a week went by without word from him?" That's when she started to get worried.

"And, now, this..."

"You're not gonna find him. At least not here, Laura," Bobby remarks. He's pretty sure he'd have been told if there was a direct attack on the manor. He gives Rachel a quick sympathetic look, familiar with the feeling of not knowing what's going on. He's got a feeling things are about to be explained though so he keeps quiet. As Amanda explains what she went through, the air grows colder and a scowl forms on his face. When she finishes, he curses. "Dammit...you're pretty on the nose as to what happened, Amanda," he says, running a hand through his hair. "And it's worse than that," he says, glancing at Shift since he can explain it better.

After last night can /ANYONE/ blame Laura for doing this sort of check? Anyone at all?

And yet as other chorus in 'You won't find him here' there's a shrug.

"Still need to check. Need to do /something/." is said as the female 'clone' shrugs. Especially as she remembers certain.... Things that were said last night, and then how those things were changed.

"Not like we can do anything else anyways."

Now which 'we' might be open to interpretation, but let's not go there. All that needs to be said is that after what happened last night, Laura feels that the students should /not/ be kept out of this, no matter what others say or feel. And for the moment, that means that she's checking the grounds, and that others more than likely might end up doing other things on the grounds.

But if anyone tries to keep her (and potentially the other students) out of things off of the grounds regarding this, they might want to reconsider. Especially with how that dance was aimed at the students and went like it did... Because after that, she might not be the only one who feels that way, especially if they're forced to sit things out, or...

Never mind. That's an issue for later. Right now, she's checking the grounds.

And yet as she glances at Rachel, shaking her head at the bit about flying coach, she responds to Bobby.

"We will find him."

Slowing to meet Rachel, she's answered with a wry smirk. "Nothing's free," he quips, before her expression draws him back to reality. There is a touch of disappointment, but soon enough, it's all dutiful. A far cry from the thousand-yard-stare he'd adopted at Muir Island.

"We had to quarantine de Institute, de whole grounds," he explains to her. "Last night during de dance. Someone brought contaminants back aftah encountering Kurt and Talia in Metropolis. Near Central Pahk." A meaningful look is given to Rachel as he starts walking toward the others who have gathered near Amanda. "Talia is his daughtah. She's 'Famine'."

As if their transformations hadn't been gruesome enough.

As he and Rachel draw closer, Kwabena does in fact finally recognize Amanda. It takes a moment for it to set in, but he suddenly finds himself feeling more comfortable about her involvement with all of this. Picking up on the conversation between Bobby, Laura and Amanda has him frowning, but for the moment, he does not yet pipe in.

Rachel didn't really intend to spoil Kwabena's mood, and was /glad/ to see that he's in a better mental place than he was on Muir. But for a telepath, the feeling around the place is so oppressive that she couldn't /not/ ask what was going on. At least Bobby understands the need, if not the cause. A look of regret does ghost across her features, though, when Shift's expression becomes closed and businesslike again. "It is if you can make people see a first class ticket." Rachel offers, but she recognises the time for banter has passed.

She tenses at Kwabena's first words, her eyes moving instinctively over to Laura, even as Shift continues to speak. Her demeanour and her words make complete sense now, and Rachel fully understands her need to do something, anything about it. "Damn." She says quietly, the word complete inadequate. Pulling her gaze back to Kwabena, Rachel falls in beside him as they move to join the others and, of the many questions in her mind, asks the only one that matters right now. "Is everyone all right?"

After a lot of well-needed rest, Clarice was able to start a new day. Unfortunately, that involved a lot of debriefing between classes. Most of the staff know of her past in bits and pieces, but she had to divulge everything she could remember regarding the Horsemen.

When finally released, from both the debriefing and classwork, Clarice took a well-needed walk... far away from the Institute. In the midst of the woods somewhere, she meandered and explored for a time before her head felt clear enough. Returning to the intitute, she's chosen the lawns to reappear at. Not far from those that have been gathering.


 * BLINK*

And through that swirling purple vortex appears a Clarice that looks somewhat tired, but a bit less weighed upon. Her back is to the group at the moment- she appeared in a mildly unfortunate direction.

Amanda adjusts her stance, now, moving so that the conversation is open to all of those that have converged on the steps of the old colonial mansion. She looks over at Shift and Rachel, the latter of whom she really doesn't know, the former only in passing. A frown touches her lips. "Did I overhear that right?" she asks, now. "You had an outbreak hear, last night?" She glances down, thinking. A brow arches. "The swordsman. And the pink kid. With the portals? They were there, last night. Kurt nearly perforated them. Probably would've, if the guy hadn't been so quick with his blade."

And, then, of course, said pink kid with the portals appears. Amanda's brows rise. "Sheißa," she swears again. "I'll take that as a 'yes'. Damn, I'm sorry. If I'd known, I'd have come earlier. Brought healing potions. Is everyone alright?"

Her brows pull together in a tight scowl. "I'd really love to get up to speed on what the X-Men know. I haven't had a chance to check the X-Net, yet." A wry smile. "I haven't been home."

Bobby glances at Blink as she appears and then back to Amanda. He stays quiet to let the others speak for now, just being annoyed and keeping the air chilly. The organic-ice mutabt takes a deep breath and glances at the manor. "I should check too," he says. "How about we check the net then go on a little Elf-hunt?" he suggests to Amanda.

There is a delayed reaction between the time that Shift hears Rachel's response and the time it actually registers. There is a flash of a moment where he finds the joke bouncing around in his hastily organized thoughts, and comes close to bursting out in laughter over it. Unfortunately, the oppressive nature of what's happening? Snuffs it out right away.

"That's right," he answers, looking toward Amanda first. "One of our students was--"

And then, Clarice appears. "Dis would be much bettah served if you did just dat," he offers to Amanda. Good thing he'd looked up her profile to know that she checks out. "Follow me."

Kwabena leads them into the motor pool, down a side maintenance hallway, and into a secret entrance to the underground X-Men base. As he walks, he says to the gathered, "I agree, it's time we went hunting. But, we have to take precautions, or else we'll just end up loosing anodah outbreak. Or getting sick ourselves. We need a defense against both Kurt's plagues and Talia's..." He's not quite sure what to call it. "Talia's... what she does. If dat's even possible."

No, Laura doesn't even try to answer Amanda's question as Blink up and appears. Instead, there's a slight glance at Rachel, and then back at Amanda, before the female 'clone' nods at Shift as he heads off, before following along. After all, odds are he could explain it better than she ever could.

All though at the mention of what ever TJ does, she does tilt her head and listen, obviously curious.

Rachel's still only getting bits and pieces of the story, and no-one's really come out and said 'everyone's OK', but as tense as everyone is, she's pretty confident that the school had a close call, rather than anything terminal. That assumption, coupled with the bits of the story that she's been able to piece together so far, are all that's keeping her from rifling through Shift's brain to find out what really happened.

The flash of Clarice's arrival draws Rachel's gaze - it could hardly not - and she realises with far more sympathy than blame that she's probably just encountered the disease vector. She suddenly doesn't feel /quite/ so annoyed about having to remain in quarantine for the full time. Rachel lets Shift lead the way, dropping back alongside Laura, though she doesn't say anything for the time being, just listens. She's gone around this loop with Shift already, of the need to take action against the need for protection, and wants to know if they've gotten any further forward.

Thankfully, Blink is not a part of this elf-hunt. Purple elves need not apply! Or be targeted. It's a moment before she really realizes the others are there and what they're discussing.

A long breath is taken and Clarice tags along, listening for the time being. She's still tired enough to not be over-excitable.

In the silence of Shift's words as they make their way into the base (and with white eyes looking around as they do- she hasn't been in this way), Clarice clears her throat slightly. "I think Josh is still looking for someone willing to be a test subject... so he can try making the disease kill itself. Y'know, make us immune and all."

Amanda follows Shift easily enough. Not her first trip into the Sanctum Sanctorum of the X-Men's home. Her steps are light and quick, but no less purposeful for it. "I had a meet with a friend of mine, early this morning. He has ties to SHIELD. He showed me what they know. Said he got a lot of it from you. Is there much you haven't told them?" She knows how the cat-and-mouse government-vs-non-existent-mutant-activist-group is played. Sharing comes with strings attached. Pretty thick ones.

"I can likely tell you a little more about 'Famine's' powers. I know Nocturne about as well as anyone in this timeline, I think," given she's all but adopted the girl as her own, "and had a chance to see a few of her tricks, up close and personally, so to speak. And to see what their longer term effect was." She, after all, hung around ground zero a whole lot longer than Blink and Kaydin.

That said, she's not really familiar with Josh. Her associations with the students has been hit-and-miss. It's all depended on who's wanted Magic 101 training or not.

"By the way," she adds, mostly for the women's benefit, a brow arching. "I don't think we've been properly introduced. Amanda Sefton... Daytripper."

Following along, Bobby stays in his organic ice form but stops chilling the area. No need to freeze everyone. He glances Shift's way at the mention of SHIELD getting info from him but says nothing on it. "It's her new ones we need to know about. Her old ones are on file," Bobby remarks in regards to 'Famine's' powers. He frowns even deeper at the mention of someone being used as an experiment. "Did he get approval to try anything like that?"

To Amanda, Shift provides a lifted eyebrow and a knowing smirk. "You know I can't speak on dat," he quips, though there's a 'look' that is given to Amanda. "I'm resourceful." Another look is granted toward Bobby. The senior-most X-Man here gets a very soft smile, and one of those 'trust-me-on-this-one-but-we-can-talk-later' looks.

"We can use everything you can tell us about what Nocturne has become," he says to Amanda. "But first." Turning a corner, he leads them into one of the X-Men command centers, welcoming Clarice along with a pointed look and a gesture for her to come in as well. "Some few things."

Once they are inside, Kwabena begins to pace the room. "We do need to take immediate action. Every moment Kurt, Talia, and de oddahs are out dere, people are dying. But it's foolish for us to act without precautions. Anyone who makes effort to subdue de victims must be prepared for what they can throw at dem. With regard to Kurt? I have created a scenario in de Dangah Room dat can help prepare you for what he can do with regard to telportation. It's pretty severe. He'll zap you around so much, your brain loses consciousness and you're out. He can withstand it because he's got de experience. De simulation will give you one hell of a headache, but it will build up your tolerance. It's yours to use. Tantamount to dat, howevah, is de plague. Da diseases he is spreading."

Turning back to the table, he leans upon it, gloved fingers splayed upon the polished surface. One by one he meats each person's eyes. "Now, we have blood samples from Muir Island, but de infections were purged from dem when my associates cleaned house. Fortunately, we were able to take more blood samples from dose who were infected in de most recent outbreak here. Now, I have some few ideas on what to do with dem. Some contacts in de scientific community who may be able to work out an antidote." His eyes turn to Clarice. "And I wouldn't be opposed to letting Josh see what he can do with the contaminants. Howevah, it's simply unethical to let anyone volunteer for human testing. If we come across more victims, well, dat might be a little different. We're fortunate dat everyone infected here was able to be healed, but I am certain we can't handle any kind of global crisis, so we have to think larger."

"De real question is," he adds, "where do we -find- Kurt?"

And Laura just stays silent. Silent about Josh's potential experiment. Silent regarding where SHIELD is getting its information from. Silent about how close of a call it may have been at the dance last night. Heck, she doesn't even show any signs that she's reacting to the change in temperature as Bobby stops chilling the air.

And yet as that Danger Room scenario is described by Shift, the female 'clone' of Wolverine... Smiles?

On the other hand, as part of that sinks in...

"If you could make the disease last... Long enough?" is that the right choice of words? Laura isn't sure. "Wolverine or I could be experimented on by Josh. Or you could send him after Kurt."

Trooping into the command centre with the others, Rachel glances at one of the chairs for a second or two before perching on the edge of the table instead. She's spent a lot of hours sitting down lately, and she'll only forget about her arm when she wants to stand up again, anyway. The briefing that Shift delivers is short on positives. The Danger Room program is all very well, but fighting a teleporter isn't the real problem. Fighting someone who'll give you the Black Death the moment you get close is. Not that she won't give the program a run through anyway. "So without a vaccine... what? Go after him in space suits?" Rachel doesn't think much of that suggestion, clearly. She takes a breath. She doesn't like the next one much, either. "Or see if one of the telepaths can get a lock on him, and have Scott or one of the others take him from a distance?" She quiets down when Shift turns to what's being done to search for an antidote, again feeling acutely like she's come in halfway through the picture.

Rachel can't help but turn a startled look on Clarice when she mentions Josh's call for volunteers, but Bobby gets in first. Rachel shakes her head. She might have slept through the worst of the contagion but that doesn't mean she's keen to repeat the experience. "I think I'll have to pass on that one. Sorry. Quarantine was no fun the first time around." She shakes her head again, unwilling to believe they're at the point they need to use of their own as a guinea pig just yet.

All in all, she'd rather be reminded that none of them have done the whole introduction thing, so she looks up quickly when the sorceress gets around to it. "Rachel Summers." She replies, her tone light, but the faintest of smirks pulling at her lips as she holds Amanda's gaze for just a moment longer. The look a silent 'yes, really' added on to her introduction. She doesn't offer a code name. 'Marvel Girl' is seeming less and less appropriate, these days.

"If Josh figures out a way, there will need to be a volunteer for the first trial. It's not like he couldn't heal them if something went wrong... And it'd be best for everyone who may encounter Kurt to be immune." Clarice lifts a hand to push some hair back behind her ear.

"I can take people on jumps also to get them used to teleportation." If the scenario is in use by another or they don't want the full experience. The purple elf draws in a slow breath and toes at the ground, glancing to the others. There's a small nod to Amanda. "Clarice... Blink. I'm sorry I didn't get you out of there... I was afraid Kaydin didn't realize how far in over his head he was." Biting into her lip, she offers after a moment: "Give me a... a communicator. If we find Kurt, I can get us to wherever he is."

Amanda's lips pull wryly to one side at Shift's words. "I grew up with Kurt," she confesses, now. It's not something she usually admits to. "I've been combat bamfing with him since I was a girl." Which means she's probably got endurance very nearly as good as the formerly-blue elf's. "I also know how he thinks, better than most. And I can tell you: what I saw in Midtown? He's in fine fighting form. All of Kurt's personality, without those weighty morals to get in the way. A flamboyant demon who fancies himself an evil version of Captain Blood." A beat. "You know. Errol Flynn? 1930's?" An other beat. "Never mind. Find the movies. Watch them. I'll check out your scenario and tell you where you can tighten it. But, I can tell you right now: Our best chance with him is a baited trap, not an assault."

She moves to a console to pull up the briefing notes already there, speaking as she does. "As for Nocturne... I haven't seen new powers from her, as much as I've seen new tricks with those powers. Her hex bolts? They release some sort of toxin. It's highly caustic to organic material -- causes irritation, burning, and blindness. When she possesses people, she sucks the moisture, fat, and energy reserves out of a body, rendering them desiccated husks. All the rest of her powers are more or less in tact. But those are the primary threats we really have to worry about. The only other observation I have is that, for reasons I can't fathom, her toxins are marginally less toxic on mutants than they are on humans. I suspect it has something to do with Sinister's agenda. I don't have a broad enough sample, though, to know if that's true of the pestilence, as well."

Finally, she adds, turning back to the group, "I've been put in touch with several folks of a more mystical persuasion who are working on containment, healing, and immunity protocols. I suggest we pool our efforts. If your fellow can help with that, so much the better. I'm willing to act as the go-between on that, but if you go after Kurt and don't call me, I swear by Hecate I will curse you all." She's not actually kidding... though she might not really do it.

Oh yes. Introductions. "Kwabena Odame---'Shift.'"

As the conversation evolves, Shift is beginning to realize that, as much as he may want to hunt Kurt down himself, it may not be the smartest move strategically. They haven't even been discussing the other Harbingers. Utilizing Wolverine, Laura, and perhaps one of the two women present who bear teleportation abilities might be a much smarter move for hunting down Kurt and Talia.

Kwabena gives Rachel a knowing look.

"I can't speak for John Proudstar, who is now 'War'. Nor can I really speak for Monet St. Croix, dough I have a fleeting suspicion dat Doctah Grey is going to be intahrested in finding her. As for 'Conquest'?" He nods his head to Rachel. "Jackie Estacado. We know him."

Rachel gets a brief look of apology before Shift rises, scowling now somewhat as a certain acidity enters his tone. "He's de man responsible for painting my name on crime scenes all ovah de country. Rachel and I may be de only ones in dis room who can hunt him down or draw him out."

And yeah... it actually hurts Kwabena to even consider turning his back on Kurt for strategic reasons, only to track down a man who framed him. There's a smouldering fire in his mis-matched eyes at even saying it, but... duty was duty, and strategy wins over emotion. It has to, especially this time.

Like it or not, Kwabena has to admit that everyone in this room probably suspects that he was the one who leaked information to S.H.I.E.L.D. He won't admit it openly. Not even on the record. He trusted the agent, and the agent trusted him. Most importantly, the agent kept their secrets. "S.H.I.E.L.D. is aware of everything we know. Dey have direct lines to global govahnments, de CDC, first respondahs across de country and beyond. Plus? Dey have de plausibility to say dat dey dug up all of dis infahmation demselves."

Meaning, they won't need to implicate the X-Men, because the X-Men don't exist.

A nod is given to Amanda's suggestions. He also retrieves his X-Communicator and slides it across the table to Clarice in an effort that is more than symbolic. "We need to run dem down, take dem out, and get dem fixed. Set dem right."

Rising again, he walks around the room, his heavily accented voice adopting a commanding nature. "Here's how we'll work dis, since time is short. Everyone who wants to help? Put your name in de basket. If you don't have a profile on de X-Net? Get it done. De senior leadership will assign tasks... who goes aftah who. We take de rest of de day to rest, and prepare. Den? We move out."

He waits for a moment to see if there are any complaints. If not?

"Daytrippah... let's have a look at dat simulation."