"Good evening"

The president carried her speech behind a podium, preferring to stand rather than sit as she carried out her speech.  Often compared to an ice-statue by her detractors, her appearance tonight did little to dispel that perception.  Her posture, and voice, were as hard as steel

"Today, we saw one of the largest disasters ever to strike America.  Half of Manhattan is devastated, buildings smashed, half a million people left homeless.  The full details on what exactly happened are still unclear at this point of time, but we can assure you that the crisis has passed, and it was an isolated incident.  I promise you that my administration will do whatever is necessary to protect American lives and make sure such an incident never repeats itself.  But in the meantime, our priority right now should be the relief and rescue efforts.

Brave men and women are working around the clock, risking their own lives to save the lives of others.  The magnitude of the crisis is so great that it strained the local and state capabilities.  Therefore, I’ve instructed the Federal government to do its part.     The Department of Defense will deploy active duty forces to the region to help with the evacuation, and we’re pushing for an emergency disaster aid bill through the house.

President Davis carried with specifying in greater detail the resources the government has allocated for the relief efforts – all from memory, assuring the people that she was doing everything in her power to manage the situation.
Only then, did she make her final statement, her voice carrying a softer tone than her trademarked somber one:

"These are trying times, for all of us.  The events that took place in New York today may cast a shadow on our faith in each other, but we must not let fear guide our actions.  We will face this internal crisis together, as one people, and come out stronger as a nation.

Thank you"

The pundits back at the studio began discussing the president’s address.  The speech was particularly lackluster with details on whom to blame for what happened, and what, exactly, was going to be done, skirting the issue and not mentioning ‘Mutants’ by name.

It was Senator Robert Kelly – an outspoken proponent of Mutant oversight, who finally broke the silence:

"Lets face it – the president has no clue how to handle this situation.  She can’t even name the culprits!

So I’m going to say it – there is a not an insignificant minority in our community that individually possess the firepower of an entire US division.  These so called ‘Mutants’ walk among us, without any sort of supervision.  We don’t know who they are, we don’t where they are, and we don’t know when they will strike next.  Homeland security are not monitoring these people – how are we expected to believe Davis' administration be able to stop something like this from ever happening again?  I proposed the ‘Mutant Registration Act’ years ago.  Had these measures been put in place at the time all of this could have been avoided.  I’m – "
This message was last edited by the player at 16:46, Thu 03 Dec 2020.

"That’s enough of that bullocks"
Brennan, who noticed how the vitriol was getting to the younger students, reached out for the remote and shut down the TV

"- Effin idiot"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:02, Thu 03 Dec 2020.

"Well, not the only reason," Zoey begins replying to Tabby. "I'd like to go all out too, but I worry about hurting-"

The by-now familiar icy tones of their sitting president come in and give Zoey's statement pause. She darts to the laptop to turn up the sound. Time to hear the official response.

Yep... uh-huh... boring... boring... sure, miss Davis. Sure. It was, for the most part, uncommitted platitudes meant to satisfy a mostly-placid public. Zoey approves for the plea to avoid fearmongering and call for unity. All things considered, that went pretty well...

... until fucking Senator Kelly came on the screen. Hooboy. The worst thing was, Zoey knew people were going to take his words to heart. Mutant Registration Act? Noble idea in theory, but she'd read enough historical accounts to know where that was going to lead. It was a flawed idea to start with when this country still doesn't even have proper registration of its own citizens.

When it becomes clear the senator clearly has nothing to say but a glorified I told you so Zoey closes her browser. She seats herself in her office chair, leans back, and lets out a hefty sigh.

"It is a disaster, all right," Zoey mutters. A disaster for mutant rights.

In reply to Zoey Fujino (msg # 39):

From her position on the bed Kate didn't react much, at least physically.  But the lack of real concern came through her thoughts clear enough.  'So just don't tell anyone if his stupid law gets passed.  You can't tell just by looking anyway.  Though it would be kind of hard on the ones who can't look normal... meh, it's way in the future anyway'
This message was last edited by the player at 15:43, Thu 03 Dec 2020.

Zoey gently spins her chair about to face Tabby again. "It's not that simple. If they can't tell be looking, they're stick needles in us to test our blood. They could open clinics for mass testing of the whole population. They might put anyone they find into camps, 'for our own safety.' They might start talking about a cure, like people talk about a cure for Asperger's, or a cure for homosexuality. I don't wanna be cured! There's nothing wrong with me! And that's if they don't get maximum lazy, line us up, and exercise the Second Amendment on the backs of our heads because it's marginally easier than trying to open a fucking dialogue!"

Zoey sinks into her chair, catching her breath and trying to restore some modicum of her usual passivity. "Sorry. I've always been a little different from everyone else. I might have some sort of persecution complex. Still, this is important to me."

"Oh", Tabby took that in, along with the fairly obviously considered nickname, one she liked a lot more than Gambit's Petite.  She was thinking about how you just don't got get tested or run away, but really thinking or voicing those solutions was washed out under the deluge of incised rant coming from fish giving girl.

Unfortunately Kate didn't have a solution to the problem.  Not if the simple one of just avoiding people didn't work.  "Maybe ask Professor Xavier to fix it?"  Not that she really knew how he might do that, but it was about as comprehensive a solution she could think of.  'Do you need a hug?' the offer came a little after the question, along with feelings of support, though physically Kate hadn't moved from her semi-curled spot.

Out at the common-room where Victor was still sitting, a young man with fiery hair stood up once Sean turned off the TV.  A wily smile on his face, he turned to face the others - seeking an audience to his antics:

"Yea, I'd like to go pay our Senator a visit and see how he likes telling it to my face.  'Cause if he does, I'll teleport his heart right out of his chest"

He puts on a surprised face as if he just indeed found a human-heart in his outstretched palm.  He raised his hand upward and makes a fist, crushing the pretended heart as if he was a Mortal-Kombat character
This message was last edited by the player at 15:52, Sat 05 Dec 2020.

"Hah!" Simon, better known as Simon-says, chuckled
"Or I convince him he's a chicken.  Imagine him on the evening news going like this - "

Simon proceeded to flap his arms, clucking like a chicken as he parades around the room to the ruckus laughter of the other students.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:47, Sat 05 Dec 2020.

Ying Yue bit her lip.  She didn't appreciate these kind of jokes (she hoped these were jokes!!). She gave Sean a silent pleading look before fading away, turning invisible like she always did when things got even a tiny bit inconvenient.

Entering the common room, Frank found an easy chair large enough for his bulk and *flumped* down into it. He was so drained, part of him just wanted to go to bed. But if he slept now, suspected he'd just be up at four AM.

"Hey," he said, greeting the room as a whole.

  Victor sat quietly listening to the last bit of inflammatory rhetoric before Sean turned the TV off.  Maybe he should've turned it off before the interview with Senator Kelley.  These kids didn't need to get so stirred up hearing crap like that.  He could tell what was coming as soon as the red-headed kid stood up.  True to course, it didn't take long before one of the other boys echoed a similar sentiment.
  You think targeting one man, even someone like Kelley, will solve the problem? Victor's voice cut through the banter of the crowd like a knife. Kelley is a symptom not a cause.  He's a mouthpiece for a whole lot of other racists...  Who do you think keeps putting Kelley and other people like him in power?  Killing or humiliating him only convinces them that they're right.

  Victor got up slowly from the chair and took a deep breath before continuing, This is all new to most of you, right?  Talk of persecution, prejudice and genocide for you started back in what, the 1980's?  My folk  have been dealing with this for the last 500 years or so...  Let me just tell you a few lessons we learned the hard way.  Killing the messenger doesn't kill the message, it makes it stronger.  Violence is a tool to be used as a last recourse, not the first, and you must be committed to seeing it through if that is your intent.  And the harshest lesson we learned was this: your actions reflect back on the least of us.  It's all fine for you to pull Kelley's heart out of his chest but doing that has repercussions that affect everyone.  You have strong mutant abilities and might, just might, be able to defend yourself but what about the other mutants here that can't or don't blend in with regular humanity? Victor walked deliberately towards the red-headed kid. What happens when the 'Friends of Humanity' decide to avenge Kelley's death, that you caused, on someone who can't defend themselves?  How would that momentary victory taste knowing it cost Barnell or John-John or someone else their life?  Killing always has a price and you'd better be willing to pay it if that's the oath you choose...

  Victor hadn't heard Frank walking in on the end of that conversation until the big man spoke up.

Frank sighed. They just had to be talking about killing someone. They couldn't be talking about sports or music or the freaking weather... they had to be talking about the pros and cons of violent resistance to anti-mutant prejudice.

"Killing should always be a last resort," he said, agreeing with Victor. Maybe between the two of them, they could set these kids straight. "We should never go looking for an excuse to commit violence of any kind. There are going to be too many times in our lives where violence will become necessary as it is.

"Besides: you kill a Senator, he becomes a martyr. "

"Alright, alright, relax" Simon raised his hands, offering a surrender "It was a joke, is all.  Don't be so uptight"  Simon was still wearing the stupid grin on his face which suggested there was more than a kernel of truth to that particular joke.

"Let me see if I can get that stick from up his butt" 'Matchstick' touched two of his fingers to his temple, pretending to concentrate
"Nope" he shook his head "It's wedged too deep.  I can't help them"

"Better I have a stick up my butt than to have my head up there," Frank grumbled. These idiots were making jokes about the willingness to kill other people? Part of him really wanted to smack them around a bit, shake some sense into them. But that was a bad idea on any number of levels. "What part of this is funny to you?"

Having sensed the change in fish-giving-girl's mood, Kate sloughed to her feet and, after some hesitation went ahead and gave her a hug anyway, even if it was a quick one.  That done she quickly scampered out of the room to go wandering.

As she moved along the noise from the common room echoed through the halls, surely it couldn't be that bad in there, could it?  Deciding to give it a try she nimbly stepped aside for an invisible ball of emotions passing in the hall.  While following it was tempting she decided instead to finish her original journey first.

Stepping into the common room at the end of Franks question Kate didn't hesitate in offering an opinion.  "They probably just like bullying and showing off how big and strong they are."  But it's said more with an air of unconcern and indifference than as though she found anything wrong with that opinion.  "So what's going on in here?  You all chased at least two people out is it a competition?"  Ah, so that's what scorn coming from a small teen voice sounded like.

"Chased out?" Frank had no idea what she was talking about, having only just arrived. But he couldn't say that he cared for this girl's tone of voice... whoever she was. He'd seen her on the field trip, but had absolutely no idea who she was. He thought that maybe he'd seen her turning into that cat he'd seen around campus, but that told him nothing. If someone was going to get all judgemental on him, he insisted on at least knowing her name. "What are you talking about? Who are you, even?"

Kate, who had been speaking to the room at large rather than Frank specifically shrugged.  "Fish giving girl and hiding emotions both left."  She rather unhelpfully explained.  Then the marginally five foot girl went on, "As for me I'm Kate."  For a moment she almost looked like she was going to offer a hand to shake before deciding against it.  "I'm just a stray Ms. Gray picked up."

"Uh huh." So she was the cat that'd been hanging around, and then got left in Manhattan when SHIELD picked up Frank and the other students. "I'm Frank."

He wasn't sure who she'd meant by 'fish-giving girl' or 'hiding emotions' but he was hoping to nip that nonsense in the bud before she nicknamed him something, if she hadn't already. The girl was clearly a bit of a weirdo, though.

"Bird-brained Senator Kelly was kinda funny, you've got to admit"
It has been amusing, but Frank's chiding has cost him his audience.  The joke has run its course, and he was ready to move on.

"Mmm-hmm.  Chicken Kelly would have felt right at home 'round these folks"
Simon offered one last snide remark before he, too, left the common room, following James back to the boy's dormitory.

Sean kept on looking at the two lads walking away until they were out of earshot.  He didn't like what they were saying either, and was happy to see Frank and Victor taking a stand

"- Those half-wits"

In reply to Sean Brennan (msg # 58):

Kate grins at Sean, "That's probably why they are traveling together." Then she turns her attention back to Frank. "As for their nonsense, don't listen to them, they don't know any better."

Then without even waiting for a response or even permission the young teen steps up and gives him a hug.  'You look like you needed one.' comes a telepathic message, along with the feeling of understanding and commiseration.  'Sorry you had to do that.'

At first Frank's arms went up in the air as the small teen girl hugged him, a look of helplessness crossing his face. What was this? It was unexpected to say the least. (And awkward — she could barely get her arms around him.) But then the telepathic message hit him and he understood what was going on. With a long, shuddering sigh, he lowered his arms and returned the hug in thanks.

He'd run out of things to say for the moment... but maybe that was fine.