2013.10.01 - Time Enough

Early on a Tuesday morning, Jean sits at her desk in her office, a cup of coffee near to hand and a small plate with the remains of a couple of pieces of toast. Her first period of the day, remarkably, isn't until after lunch, so that gives her some time to prep. Though, truth be told, she's not looking at classroom work, currently. She's sifting through an aggregate newsfeed, as she often does, this hour of the day.

It's not a bad morning. Sun is shining and it's a fall day that is to be envied. While the foliage isn't yet turning, it's beginning to hint at the deep reds and oranges that strike the New England countryside. And with Westchester and its trees? It's a lovely sight in a convertible. Particularly in an 'arrest me red', 1971 Targa.. and who was able to wrest the wheel from the other? Well, bruises do tell... (Not to mention that the driver's seat simply doesn't go far enough BACK for proper legroom!)

Regardless!

It's no secret, no surprise, then, when the red sports car pulls into the Institute drive. No doubt all sorts of security systems go off regarding the albino merc's and large Summers' presence on ground. While both of them are known entities, their arrival undoubtedly doesn't go unremarked, if only by camera.

Monet St. Croix has been fitting into life at the Xavier Institute as well as any consortium student. Her classes at ESU seem to be more of a formality; by all accounts she is very intelligent and the classes do not take up much of her time. Left to her own devices, she has taken up to augmenting her education. Doug Ramsey is still complaining to people about accommodating her interest in digital security.

There's also the fact that she doesn't sleep. Well, that's not true, she does sleep for a bit every other night. More often than not, she is busy twenty four hours a day.

Monet lets herself in after knocking politely at the office door. "Dr. Grey? I am here for my appointment. May I ask what this is about?"

One of the benefits of being a not-quite-student is that she can wear whatever she likes. She is still a fair picture of studiousness: a dark crewneck sweater with a white collared shirt underneath, paired with ankle boots and a short floral-patterned skirt.

There's a time for being inconspicuous... This isn't one of those times. It's a classic Porsche, driven by a woman that's colored like an Oreo cookie with a passenger that's nearly brushing seven feet with snowy white hair. One might even guess that she -meant- to draw so much attention to them both, showing up unannounced and all. Maybe it's the least she could do for not phoning in ahead first. Security of all shapes and sizes will see them coming well before pulling up to the front gates. On the upside, Domino's a familiar face to many of the staff here. She had even taught some classes here not even a year ago. Maybe they aren't the happiest to see her again but she does still have some modicum of access to the grounds.

Especially when she mentions "Business with Jean."

Because that won't raise any red flags at all!

The collector car rolls up to the front doors and rumbles to a standstill, the trench-covered albino stepping out and moving straight for the front doors to the Institute. Cable can catch up. Longer stride, and all. She knows where they need to go, she'll get them both there.

Jean glances up almost before Monet finishes knocking. She smiles as the young woman lets herself into the office. "Monet," she greets, her smile fairly warm. "Partly, I just wanted to see how you're settling into life at the Institute, and inquire after your sisters." The other part, she doesn't quite broach, just yet. "Won't you have a seat?" She gestures to one of the two chairs in front of desk.

Just then, however, her extension rings with the code for the security office. "I'm sorry," she says now. "Excuse me just a moment." She picks up the receiver. "Hello?" A bit of a pause as she listens. A red brow arches somewhat. "I don't suppose there's any chance they can wait in the cafeteria for a half hour?" she replies. "I'm in a meeting, at the moment."

As the car pulls to a stop, Cable looks to the guard at the gate, and the message that is conveyed. He looks nonplussed- not too terribly worried. "It'll take us about that long to park the car and such. But, cafeteria might not be good," he offers over the shoulder of the driver to the guard. "Besides, I really need to get out of this car. My legs are losing their feeling." To underscore that, he shifts in his seat to show how cramped he truly is. At least the knees aren't at his chin!

Monet does not return the smile. Instead, she pauses, considering Jean's stated motive.

She saw inside this woman's mind. She saw the fire and the--was it intelligence? Not quite. The urge.

The phone kindly eliminates the necessity of responding. Monet closes the door soundlessly behind her, slipping into one of the other chairs in the room.

Domino..is not in the greatest of moods. Just the other day she had Deadpool with a fake eyepatch getting way too friendly with her in a future where only a thousand mutants were left alive. -Globally.- Can they wait? No, in fact, they cannot wait. Even if they could wait? No, she is not -going- to wait.

"Priority call, kiddo," she curtly replies while continuing a brisk march forward.

Of course, this is Xavier's, and this is Jean Grey she's trying to interrupt. In her own office. It's never that easy.

"Look, if you'd like us to take critical measures to prevent a mutant genocide from occurring, now's the time to do this."

Pause.

"Right."

And away they go.

"It's handy that some of the staff around here are still afraid of me," she mutters to Cable on the side. "How fortunate for us." The albino pauses outside of the office door and motions Nate onward. Like -Dom- wants to be the one to storm in on Jean..? Her job was getting them here, the rest is up to Cable!

Jean scowls faintly as she listens again to the person on the other end of the phone. Finally, she sighs, pressing a pair of fingers to her forehead. "I see. Thank you."

As she lowers the receiver, she glances to Monet. "I'm sorry," she says then. "I had wanted to ask you a little more about your encounter with the Pale Man; I'm having difficulty tracking him down. But, it seems we're about to have company." She can, after all, sense Domino's approach, even if she can't sense Cable's.

And, of course, no sooner has she said those words when there's a knock at the door and it swings open to reveal the nearly seven-foot-tall man from the future and his far more diminutive albino companion. Again, that red brow arches. "Do come in," she says dryly, gesturing to the single chair that's left unoccupied in the room. "I'm sorry I don't have enough chairs. Miss St.Croix and I were in the middle of a conversation." Ok. A slight overstatement.

"Afraid? Of you?" Cable looks down and to the side of his partner, his companion, brows rising theatrically. "I had nothing to do with it then." Not the near seven foot, half bionic guy, thankyouverymuch. "What? Did you beat some kids up for their sodas again?"

The Institute is familiar ground. It really is. He knows his way around as in 'his' past, he'd helped set up the initial computer system. Still, in the depths, in the core of the place is tech that simply doesn't exist anywhere else in this world. In this time.

Taking the stairs two by two, Nate slows as they reach the office. The merc earns another stare from the large Summers, called 'Dayspring', though again, it holds nothing but amusement and a certain amount of affection. "Really. The terror of Xavier's.."

(Sigh.)

A quick rap sounds upon the door, and for those telepaths within, there is obviously two people without, but there is an obvious shield up. Trained. Practiced. Strong. No thoughts bleed out, nothing allowed in.

Once the 'come in' is sounded, the door opens, and the behemoth crosses the threshold of the office. Here, however, he slows to a stop before he reaches the chair. All that bravado is gone for a moment, the easiness as he sees the woman who raised him, who would raise him.. who spent 12 years as his mother. But, apparently, not yet. (And yeah.. not getting into that one!)

"I'm willing to bet that introductions are in order. Nathan Dayspring." No sense getting into familial issues.

Now, however, he looks around, and Nate offers an apologetic smile to Monet, "Sorry," is followed up to the younger woman. "Student?"

"Grab the chair, Dom. I'll stand."

Monet visibly tenses. It is not a flinch, but for her it may as well be one. Whatever good humor she had in her expression is quickly gone.

She stares off into the space beyond Dr. Grey's left shoulder, becoming a non-entity as the second party enters. When Nathan speaks to her, however, the young woman turns around with an appraising look.

"Something like it. I would offer you this chair, Mr. Dayspring, but I do not think it would do you any good. Will your conference require privacy?"

"If you're comparing me to that pink girl that cost you two-fifty in Mutant Town..." Dom warns in a low voice.

Yes. Really. "Maybe if someone didn't make me want to start shooting every telepath I come across," she oh so helpfully suggests.

And here she is, standing in a room full of telepaths. Powerful telepaths. Lucky her, indeed.

Then he's instructing her to take the chair. -Instructing.- It wasn't an offer. She knows a commanding voice when she hears it. The guy did sort of lead most every team whenever she had worked with him in the past. A black brow surrounded by pale flesh hooks upward as she glances sidelong to the bigger mutant. "Afraid you might break it?"

She'd much rather be standing guard at the door. Free range of motion. Full visibility. -It's a room full of telepaths,- not to mention the X-Gene formerly known as Phoenix! A lot of good three hundred bullets and a couple pounds of Semtex are going to do her here!

Sigh...

She takes a seat.

"I'm sure you know all about time-critical material, Jean. In case you aren't familiar with me yet, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't important."

That's it. All she's going to say in their defense. Though she does pass Monet a lingering glance, without an apology. She's not the sort to drop the 'I'm sorry' card, but the rudeness of their interruption hasn't missed her notice.

"Miss St. Croix isn't an Institute student, as she attends ESU. However, she is a resident here. And under my protection," Jean replies, probably saying a whole lot more to Cable about what that means than even she realizes.

She regards the white-haired intruder with cool green eyes. Finally, as she considers the 'time critical' notion they suggest, she lets out a soft breath. "Time critical. Are we talking imminent Armageddon, scramble the fighter jets like now, or do we have a few minutes to get up to speed, first?" A wry smile. She doesn't want to ask Monet to leave -- partly because she's simply irked at the intrusion -- but she does want to know what this is about.

"Nope. Not really. Not yet. I'm pretty much checking in at the moment." Though if not gained by thoughts, there is the tenor in Nate's voice that 'checking in' will lead to a great deal more in the immediate future. As in, in the next couple of hours even.

The immediate shift of the young woman's expression at their entrance gains, and a single brow rises in brief interest. Curiosity. If he's noticed the appraising look that follows, he's not too terribly concerned, so there is no specific reaction to it. Instead, the half-cybernetic mutant shrugs lightly and grimaces good naturedly, "I figure that Jean's," Beat. "I figure that the chairs are probably up to the task, considering the school. But I was sitting in a cramped car for the ride. Standing is good."

See? Method to madness! Ha!

A smirk is given to Domino after his little bit of reasoning, and the fact that she's taking the seat. No escaping!

"Miss St. Croix." That's said as if consigning it to memory, checking his memory to see if the name brings up anything, good or bad. At the moment, however? Nope. Particularly when Jean mentions that the girl is under Jean's specific protection. Nate pauses for a long moment thoughtfully before, "If this is a bad time," Nate begins again, "I can come back last week? That'd give us a little wiggle room."

"But," and Cable sobers as he stands behind Domino's chair. "It is a little important, and it has something vaguely to do with the survival of mutantkind as we know it?"

It is not easy for Domino to get Monet's attention to deliver her any kind of look. The young woman continues to stare at Nathan as he speaks, though she seems more interested in his clothed arm than what he is saying. She does not disguise her interest.

In another time and place:

Monet St. Croix floats over a ruined city of adoring subjects. They cheer and call out to her, begging for salvation with the expectation that it is already assured. The entire world is burned and broken, but things are beginning to look better.

Here:

Monet St. Croix returns to face forward, crossing her arms. She looks expectantly at Dr. Grey, waiting for her decision. There was only thirty minutes blocked out for their meeting, in any case.

'Checking in'..? Domino turns to give Nate a blank stare. She doesn't need to say anything for, like, everyone in the room to know what she's thinking. (

(Jeebus, Cable! 'Just checking in' could have waited ten minutes!)

Maybe if she didn't drive so fast...

Which one of the two is being the most inconsiderate today? Answer: Yes. At least when Dom slumps back into the chair she refrains from tossing her boots onto Jean's desk. (We're off to a wonderful start, here...)

Alright, what could help the situation? Looking back to Monet, she offers "We're all mutants here and we're all on the same side. Unless it's personal there's no need to worry about us."

Who knows, maybe they can help? Cable identifies the targets years before they become problems and she's real good at putting holes in things, so..!

Glance from one psychic to another. ..To another. "Okay, seriously. I know y'all are leaving me out of something, here."

Jean arches a brow at Cable's crack about 'last week'. This, in fact, causes her to sigh and pinch her nose lightly. "Let me guess," she says wearily, now. "You're another time-traveller." She looks up at Cable, now, and her eyes narrow some. "Dayspring? Not Summers or Grey? Colour me impressed." But, maybe not relieved.

At the very least, given his casual familiarity with her name, she can deduce they probably know each other in whatever future this man comes from. She doesn't bother to ask which particular timeline he calls his own. It just doesn't matter to her, because she still refuses to concede that any of them are hers. Her future isn't written, yet.

(Damn it!)

Domino's thoughts are only mildly intrusive. It doesn't take a mind-reader to figure out the albino merc is mouthing off because she's nervous. And who can blame her? Sitting in a room full of high-level teeps is always disconcerting for non-teeps -- when they're actually aware they are, that is. "We are, none of us, using our telepathy," she says to Domino in response to her quip. "It would be rude, and it's unnecessary." For the moment.

"We may need to reschedule this, Monet," she tells the girl. "As much as I'd like more information about what you shared," that's the polite, strangers-don't-need-to-know-the-details way of describing the way she discovered the girl's connection to the 'Pale Man' and his threat against her family, "I'm not certain it's something we need to air in public."

Nate really is used to stares, he really is. Small children are pulled from his path on a regular basis in the streets. When he does take to the streets, that is. Though now, that expression is easy enough to read; has he seen her before? Does he know the name? -This- will really have to be gotten to the bottom of.. and soon. Particularly in that Jean finds it important enough to put her under her protection.

~ Yes, checking in. I'm not going to come barreling up the stairs, ~ is sent to Domino, ~ and drop everything into her lap like she's getting a data dump. 'Hi, I'm your clone's son and relative to Hope and Nate and I bring bad tidings. Now, let's get down to business' doesn't play well. Gotta ease things in. ~ There's a smile that rises, however, at the albino's words, and he shakes his head slowly, "I swear, Dom. Not a whisper."

Then, however, it's back to business as such. "But really. I do need to let you know I'm here. And I need you to understand." One of the the joys of telepathy, however, is that complete understanding. It's complete- knowledge and emotion that lies behind it. When two minds share and know exactly what the other does in a span of a thought. "I have been here before. Years ago. I helped set the computer system up for the Professor. But it has been many, many years. So, unless I am far off my guess, we do share the same beliefs."

Nate has the grace to chuckle at Jean's dry comment regarding 'Summers' and 'Grey', and he shrugs a large shoulder. "Would you believe name change? Break out of the pack." But he's not telling. "And yes. Another time traveller from about two thousand years in the future, thanks to my father having the foresight to know that I'd have died if I stayed in my own. But.. I stick sticks to the main line. Our time. Our Earth. Our dimension. Hard to explain, but in a nutshell.. Divergent timestreams is right. It assumes one main timestream. A baseline in medicine. And I travel that main timestream, and can also see those divergent." Cable glances to Monet again, and his gaze remains there for a long moment more as he seems.. distracted for a moment. Lifting his head in quiet.. acknowledgment(?) he turns his head slowly towards Jean once again. "It may not mean much, but if there's anything that I can help with?"

"I would hope so, miss," Monet coolly responds to Domino.

She opens her mouth to respond to Jean, but politely refrains from speaking as Mr. Dayspring begins to lay it all out on the table. She sits quietly with her hands folded, watching Dr. Grey as the monologue unfolds. Now, Monet is smiling. It is a faint smile, one more in appreciation of the situation than of embarrassment for Jean.

Weeks ago, Jean had categorically denied the more fantastic assumptions about what the Xavier Institute was involved in. My, how these things unfold.

"I agree, Dr. Grey. Thank you for your concern."

The young woman stands, nodding politely to Domino and then to Nate. She exits the room simply, leaving the revelations of time travel and divergent worlds behind her as if their conversation had been about late enrollment periods.

That's reassuring. Somewhat. Doesn't stop Dom from rolling her eyes at Nate's thoughts directed her way, however.

There the albino sits, slowly rubbing her forehead (not all that different from Jean's own physical reaction, in fact.) "There he goes talking about the timestream stuff again..." she mutters under her breath. (I remember when the biggest complication was figuring out how long to set the charges for.)

The motions of her hand suddenly ceases as pale blue eyes pop back open.

-Room full of psychics.-

Like turning off a light her thoughts cut out to their usual featureless black void. She's not trained in mental defense so much as having years of practice forgetting about her own memories. It just makes things easier across the board.

When Monet starts making her way out Dom passes her a lazy looking salute from her lazy looking posture, waiting a moment for her to depart before offhandedly remarking "That was awkward."

Nothing gets past this merc.

Jean gives Monet a wry smile. Yeah. She's gonna have some 'splainin' to do. But, she'll survive. "Thank you, Monet. I'm sorry about the interruption. I'll reschedule with you later."

She returns her attention to Cable as the uncanny young woman takes her leave. Absorbing what he says, she gets something of a wry, cautious expression on her face. So, yes. He is, effectively, claiming to be yet another part of the extended Clan. Grand. However, his comment about there being a 'main timeline' in amongst all the divergent one makes a certain amount of sense. But, as to whether or not he's truly surfing that particular river in the midst of all the tributaries? She'll reserve her judgment on that, for now.

As the door closes, Jean gives Dom a look that eloquently says, 'Ya think?' in response to her quip. Then, however, she looks at Cable and gestures to the now-vacated seat. "I'm listening."

The Institute is a place where the strange and the fantastic seem to form a nexus point. It's true. It's only a matter of time that time travellers converge upon the one place where all things can be, and are welcomed. As far as mutants are concerned, anyway. And as long as the full overthrow of the human race isn't the ultimate goal.

Turning his body to face Monet, Cable's attention lingers and it's a genuine sentiment, even if it is couched in curiosity once again, "I look forward to seeing you again, Miss St. Croix."

Once the young woman has departed, Nate turns his attention around, and can't help but grin at Domino's words and rising thoughts on the matter. It's as natural to him as breathing, it is. There are just some things that conjure up thoughts in the albino, and the discussion of time is one of them.

And for as much as Domino complains about time, Nate appreciates that she's been his staunch ally through it all.

"Awkward?" Nate faces front once again and faces the pair, "I didn't think so. Not when I found out a little more about her." It's an easy shrug, and a hint of a knowing smile that creases his face.

"I hold what you would consider PhDs in Math and Science, from my time. The only problem I had with coming back to this time was learning english." Nate knows, can feel, the reservations, and he's willing to offer, "You see, I have an AI. He's the one that tracks the main time stream. With 2,000 years of experience behind him. I have to specifically tell him that I want off the main line." Looking down at Dom, he offers a hint of a smile, "Dom's met him. More than once." Graymalkin. His ship. "But, I tell you that because I know I can trust you."

Shaking his head, Nate declines the offer to sit again. "Really, Dom's car is small. I was really cramped. My healing ability only goes so far." Or rather, he'd rather poke at Dom some more about the vehicle chosen for the ride.

"But, it's about Genosha. I -know- you don't want to hear that word. I've been watching all the news, reading all the papers, and have spoken with Graymalkin... and I'm coming up with a conclusion that I don't particularly like simply because I have a feeling that it'll put me at odds with, well, most of the world."

"Well I'm happy you gained something useful out of our interruption, Nate," Domino says with no lack of sarcasm tainting her tone.

"Making productive uses of our time, that's how we roll."

And again he complains about her car! "Look, either your feet didn't have enough room or your head would have had to go. A compromise was made."

Then the discussion changes to the topic at hand, why they're here and invading Jean's schedule and personal space in one fell swoop. Nate isn't exactly sugar-coating the start of their message, either. The way she hears it he's openly referring to himself as a future terrorist. That may not reflect upon her all that well, either.

Not that she really minds, but let's wait to be branded as bad guys until after doing something worthy of the title, yeah?

"Today's lesson is the focus on the lesser of two evils."

"Genosha?" Jean's voice is as cautious as her expression. Oh, this ought to be good. She looks between Cable and Domino. She knows Domino has been an X-Man. She knows the woman left the team. She doesn't know why. In that respect, she's just another name on that long list of former X-Men. Regardless, Jean doesn't remember her well, because it was the Phoenix Entity that got to know the merc, not herself. Still, she has hazy memories. Those memories suggest the merc can be trusted.

This Cable fellow, however... is a conundrum. She knows how easy it is for a telepath to manipulate a non-telepath. So, even if Domino is on the level, there's no easy telling whether or not Cable is.

And Jean's getting really, really tired of time travellers popping up in her world and demanding she pay attention to the latest temporal crisis. Add Genosha, the bane of her existence, into the mix, and...

She shoots Dom a flat look. And then returns that same look to Cable just for good measure. Leaning back in her chair, she places her hands loosely on the arms of the chair and adopts a deceptively casual pose. "Please," she says with a tight smile and a dry tone, "don't keep me in suspense."

"Look," and Cable is nothing if not politic too. He has run teams, and has dealt with politicians and leaders. There are times when diplomacy needs to happen, and there are times when flat out honesty is required. He knows his mother, and her moods. And her body language.

Never lie to a telepath. (Unless you're another telepath with really good shields.)

"See, there are points in history that are pivotal. Some say that 'great men' push it along. From those pivotal points, there are a myriad of timelines that can happen."

"In terms of Genosha, right now, it's coming to a point where I have to step in. See, that's the problem with time. You never know when to step in until it's time to. And that time is coming. There is a world where there will be no more than a thousand mutants, and their savior is .. Deadpool. That is one of the possibilities if Genosha falls. If Magneto is allowed to remain, there is the chance where mutants will live side by side with humans, and will be recognized enough that they will openly hold public service." Of course, what happens in the centuries beyond, well, Genosha doesn't play that much of a pivotal part. "Think of it as.. what had once been a terrorist organization turning into a viable political entity."

This all seemed like such a good idea at the time, didn't it. Now, sitting across the desk from one progressively irked looking redhead, Domino's starting to have second (and third) thoughts.

~ You sure this was the right plan of attack, Nate? ~

Of course, Dom's defense, and solution, to most everything comes down to a three step flowchart. Can it be drunk? Drink it. Can it be shot? Shoot it. Neither A or B? Apply liberal use of sarcasm.

"Just trying to liven up your day a little," she offers back with a casual smirk. "We know how boring it can be around the place." Not.

When Nate starts to explain the whole situation Dom's icy stare falls back on Jean once more, her expression completely vacant as she mouths the single word 'Deadpool' for emphasis. For real..!

"Yes, I've been there. I've seen it. No, I'm not thrilled with the idea." And now Nate won't let her shoot Wade anymore. Steal all her fun, why doesn't he. "The odds of Xavier's dream having a chance of coming true with Magneto overseeing Genosha are one in seven. Remove him from the picture and the odds of that dream are one in forty-eight thousand two hundred nineteen."

Go go X-Gene.

"What, so now you're telling me the Brotherhood is the mutant equivalent of the Sinn Féin?" Forgive Jean if she doesn't quite buy what he's selling... yet. She's had a lot of timeline crap dumped on her, lately.

And the idea that Deadpool is the saviour of mutant kind? Oh, c'mon! Is this man even remotely aware of how ludicrous this all sounds?

She looks at Dom as the albino offers odds. She remembers, somehow, that the woman's x-gene does indeed give her a sense of accurate probabilities. So... one in seven. Yes, that's a fair sight better than 1:48,219. It lends Cable's theories a certain level of credence -- Providing Dom's talent isn't being skewed by Cable's abilities. And Jean doesn't really know what all his abilities are, save that he's a telepath and has a metal shell over part of his body.

She looks between the two of them. "Magneto has killed thousands of people. Maybe not all of them were innocent -- he claims most of them were Humanity First or some Genoshan equivalent thereto -- but, even so. We can't sit back and do nothing when that sort of thing happens."

She shakes her head, now. "Look. Mr. Dayspring?" Her expression sobers as she tries to push sarcasm aside in favour of something that at least sounds more reasonable. "I appreciate that, being from the future, you may have access to information beyond what we in the here-and-now do. And I appreciate that you believe you and your AI have a handle on what you believe is the main timeline. But, I can't tell you how many other time travellers I've had drop into my lap the past several weeks -- every single one of them preaching dire consequences for mutant kind if we don't listen to them. Most of them claim some relationship to me or to Scott Summers. Or to both of us. And most of their views are entirely contradictory... Further, most of their futures, to be quite frank... suck. And I just don't believe the only inevitable futures before us are so dark. So, while I concede it's something of a switch that you're offering at least one version of the future that suggests the mutant apocalypse that has consumed most of the timelines I've been told about can be avoided, perhaps you can forgive me if I have a hard time buying that you actually are the Timelord in charge of this particular timeline on this particular Earth." After all, where's his sonic screwdriver and bow tie?

She inhales a deep breath. "I can't speak for others, but, as far as I'm concerned, my future hasn't been written, yet. And, while I'll concede that there may, indeed, be one 'primary timeline', it seems to me that timeline would forge ahead and become exactly what it's meant to become without outside interference. But, if that's so, then what's the point of free will?" She believes very, very strongly in free will and self-determinism. It keeps her from going nuts... though, ironically, if she didn't, it would probably alleviate some of the guilt she feels about some of the things she -- or at least a small part of her -- has done.

"I can't keep second guessing every decision we make based on possibilities. And Magneto can't be allowed to continue like this."

~ This is the woman that raised me, Dom. She doesn't know it yet, and I'm not going to toss that grenade. She left her time to come forward because I couldn't go back or the virus would have completely taken over. She helped me with it. She -gets- it. She knows that the right way isn't the easiest. ~

Of course that could be said for any that follow Xavier's dream. (Mind, Nate diverges a little in the body count, but!)

When Dom spouts off the odds, however, Nate looks down at the albino whose side he really hasn't left. "Really? First time you've mentioned that. Good to know we're still on the right track."

Cable stands now and quietly listens to Jean, and he nods his head slowly, understanding every last word she says.

"Free will," Nate begins slowly, and he begins to pace in the small confines of the room. (Small to him, anyway.) "We have free will, yes. Our actions determine how we live our lives. Will we be good people, or will we work for our own ends, which isn't necessarily -bad-, but it's not necessarily desirable when one has such gifts. But our free will doesn't necessarily work for the future. It's not bleak, it's not dark, no. It simply is. It doesn't 'suck'. If it did, I wouldn't be standing before you and able to hold a scourge dormant. But, it's our work that makes it not suck. It's our decisions in life, or lack of action, that determines what happens. That, too, is free will. The decision not to act. But ultimately, things will happen. Genosha will rise or fall, or several permutations. But, it won't affect my timeline unless it happens the way it 'should'. I won't disappear into nothingness. But I won't be in the 'right' place."

Cable pauses and a hint of a smile creases his face at Jean's proclamation that her future has not yet been written, and he nods as he paces, dropping his hands into his pockets as he does. "Free will. You can choose an action when it comes, and one of those choices? Has been." Nate just happens to know what her choices are for the main timestream. "I am from the future where the last 2,000 years has already happened."

Stopping at the edge of the desk, Nate doesn't want to seem like he's crowding her, but he does want to be sure he's got her attention. "Yes. Like the PLO. Like Humanity First almost had a political arm. Magneto killed, yes. But if he is stopped, we're talking about the extermination of mutant kind. He is one of the 'great men', and I use that term lightly, that stays the hand of the powers that be. He's been demonstrative enough that they don't dare go against mutants. I mean, I ask you this. What has Scott done to dissuade the government from attacking and rounding up mutants? We NEED Magneto. We need to show that we have those powerful enough that will fight. Our brick.. while we show a velvet side." But Cable is far from velveteen. "And if Magneto falls, there will be no other. It will be a guerilla war, and we will lose."

~ This is -not- the woman that raised you, Nate. None of that has happened yet in this timeline, -here,- the one we need to be focusing on. I know you think that you know her but you -don't.- Keep your emotions out of this or you're going to compromise the mission. ~

Yep, it is the first time she mentioned the odds. With a glance back, and up, she curtly replies "You didn't seem too caught up with the specifics." That, and he never asked.

"We're not trying to influence -your- future, Jean," Domino offers in turn. "If anything we're trying to influence Magneto's. Your future is your own but we all play in the same sandbox. You can live out your life in a nicer setting or in a crappier setting, it has nothing to do with free will--damnit, I've been spending too much time around you, Nate."

With a drawn-out breath, she cuts back in. "Look," she says with irritation as she tries to sum up everything that Cable has to share in a point-blank 'take it or leave it' conclusion. "The world is one big malleable shade of grey, and it -does- suck, but it's the truth, and the X-Men are not in charge of sentencing that man for his actions. Starting a war is not the way to see Xavier's dream become a reality. Life is all about balance, you can't have the good without the bad, halle-frickin-luyah, nobody's ever happy."

And that's why there's alcohol, to which Dom's now pulling a stainless flask out of a trench pocket. She should have started this minutes ago.

With the first mouthful burning its way down her throat she glances back to Nate and offers "If you're going to be soapboxing for the rest of this discussion then I'm gonna go wait in the car."

Jean looks back and forth between the pair, listening to what they say. And, in fact, she really is listening. She may not agree with them, but she's willing to give them the opportunity to present their case.

"Give me specifics," she tells them, now. "Not what-am-I-going-to-have-for-lunch-tomorrow specifics, but specifics about how this situation is supposed to unfold." Note the air quotes. "I want to understand the logical progression that leads to everything you're talking about. Because, if you expect me to trust you on this, I want to go in with a full map, for once, instead of constantly flying blind. We have people on the ground in Genosha. They're there to make sure the elections stay fair and equitable, not to overthrow Magneto in Bastion itself. But, to give everyone else a fighting chance."

So, perhaps, already, it might be seen that they're not trying to fight an open war. Indeed, they don't have the numbers to be able to do that.

~ This timeline is the timeline. She is the same woman, ~ Nate reminds gently.

"We're trying to be sure that it's right." Cable watches Jean as the opening comes a little wider. She's listening, and the knee-jerk seems to be dissipating. He's got her attention, and for that, he's grateful.

Here, Nate takes a deep breath and takes a step back, his hands pulled from his pockets. "He has to win. 'Everyone else' won't keep the wolves at bay." The news regarding people on the ground in Genosha comes as no surprise to the large mutant, and he chuckles softly. "Good. I'm on my way there soon to meet with Magneto."

As for all the information? Cable glances quickly at Domino. He's always so very careful about his information because, well, things are a delicate balancing act. No one person ever knows everything, and that bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

"I did tell you. Magneto is the hold out. If he goes down, SHIELD will attempt to arrest him for the murder of those in Humanity First. His people will fight for him, and the round-up will begin of mutants, assuming all will be in support of the Master of Magnetism. And you can't stand there," Cable crosses to stand behind Domino again, his hands on the back of the chair, "and tell me that they won't. 'For their own good,' they'll say. Just like the camps you'll find all over Europe."

Now as he stands behind Dom, Nate's face softens, and he exhales in a soft breath. "Dom.. I'd rather you stay. But, you don't have to." That's all he'll say.

"Jean.. it'll begin in the first year after the step down. They won't be able to get at Magneto, but they'll get at the weak with Sentinels. Mutant Town will be razed." And it's not supposed to be that way.

"If you'd like, I can show you Graymalkin, so you will at least believe that I'm telling you the truth. You can ask him."

It's not like Jean likes to have to ask for credentials, but... well, she really feels the need to ask for credentials. His shields are to strong. And she's trying to be polite and not go mashing through Domino's head without her permission. (Isn't that nice of her?)

So...

"I'd like that," she tells him directly. "I want to see exactly what I'm dealing with, before I go making any decisions one way or the other." She also wants time to get a sitrep from her teams in Genosha.

~ Damnit Nate, you're not listening to me. She has yet to become the person you remember her as! ~

Of course he'd rather she stayed. She wouldn't be here if he didn't want her here. It's all fine and good to threaten to walk out but when it might come down to taking action on that threat?

Stalemate. Nate knows it, too. The only issue is that she's running out of things to say in their defense. She's not so good at the politics and discussions, doesn't want to be. She also is a far cry away from having all of the answers. What little she has left is her own experiences with that future, which she's not all that certain Jean wants to hear about. That, and they had only been out that way for all of half an hour, give or take.

With Jean's confirmation Domino simply puts the flask away (after taking another long drink from it,) and idly states "I'll be sure to put away the toys."