The next day a group of students were called to meet with their headmaster.
Professor Xavier frequently engaged with his pupils.   He had an open-door policy as well.  But after the events that transpired in Manhattan the other day, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that this wasn’t going to be anything like one of his regular classes.  And sure enough, it wasn’t.

The sunlit classroom they were ushered to would have normally been occupied this time of the morning if it wasn’t for the summer vacation.  Like every other part of the mansion, it too was lavishly furnished: solid mahogany school desks, a giant blackboard covering the entirety of the wall, and cool teaching aids like the giant, man sized globe, or the projector that could descend from the trap door at the ceiling.

Inside, the aging Professor was already waiting for them, together with a few of his teachers, and … others.

Mr. Summers, smartly dressed in a brown jacket, a pair of jeans, and his ever-present fashion accessory: a pair of ruby tinted sunglasses, was standing next to a breathtaking woman in a yellow summer dress.   Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you couldn’t not recognize Jean Grey, whose face graced every top fashion magazine in the last couple of years.

Another young woman, the one going by the alias of ‘Rogue’, didn’t need to dress as provocatively as she did to get noticed – but she did so anyways.  Her little black tube dress and knee-high boots were hardly appropriate attire to be wearing around teenage boys, so it was probably a good thing she wasn’t a member of the staff.  With so much skin showing, she still bothered with the pair of gloves that went up to her elbows.

But if there was one man who outdid all the others in the ‘notice me!!’ category, it was sure to be the one leaning against the wall at the far end of the room.  His outfit was so patently ridiculous that it was cool by virtue that if someone did wear it, it meant he gave exactly zero fucks about what other people thought about him.  The black, face-open Zentai spandex suit, the short sleeved pink muscle shirt, the leather gloves with some of the fingers cut off, and the knee-length brown trench coat were all individually cringeworthy. Doubly so put together.   The crooked smile he wore was the only thing that tied it all together, giving it all an ‘don’t take things too seriously, because I sure don’t’ vibe.

Once all the students followed her in, Miss Munroe closed the door behind them.  The regal woman swept past them and took her place to the right of the Professor, laying her hand over the back of his wheelchair.

Also present with the rest of the PCs is Barnell
Keep in mind that the only teacher known to be a member of the X-Men is Hank McCoy (who is still debilitated). Scot Summers being Cyclops, or Munroe being Storm, is only something your character could suspect if they've been watching bootlegged videos of the X-Men in action.

This message was last edited by the GM at 21:23, Tue 08 Dec 2020.

Kate had been herded in along with the rest, grumbling silently yet leaking some or all of her thoughts to those sensitive or who might brush near her.  This is stupid, what is the point of summer break if you have special classes for it anyway, even if it is a school living here shouldn't mean everyday is for classes.

However once inside she is quick to pick a desk that is currently fully illuminated by the sun.  Those who are particularly clever or calculating will notice it is also the desk situated such that it will continue to get the most sun even as the day passes.  This more than anything else is how the young teen inexplicably ends up in the front row despite her apparent disregard for the classroom environment.

She's also still wearing, or wearing again the cloths she had from yesterday afternoon.  The nice blouse, fashionable skit, and tights combination, completed with a continuing lack of shoes.

Zoey, too, looked as though she might not have changed out of last night's clothes. There were two exceptions: she had ditched her work boots for flip-flops, and (less obviously) changed her bra. The Manhattan Mutant was responsible for both of these changes. The steel toes of her boots had been liquefied and Zoey only noticed the day after when she noticed they didn't fit her anymore. And her bra, well... removing what was left of that was certainly an... experience. She was glad Kate had shown herself out when she had because that had taken a long time and Zoey's composure had broken more than a few times. Even after a night of accelerated healing the red, raw flesh chafed uncomfortably against her t-shirt.

Go to the doctor? *Her?* It had seemed nonsense to pass up an opportunity to practice self-treatment at the time. Plus she secretly enjoyed the pain. She was regretting it now, though. Ow.

Zoey had no particular thoughts about the morning's meeting, wishing only that it would be over quick so she could finish rationing the day's energy. She was at her strongest in the morning, before the contrivances of the day had worn down her reserves, but it wasn't standard procedure to leave her room before she had finished crossing her Is and dotting her... Ts... dammit.

At least Kate's still looking cute today. Zoey takes her seat beside the tarted-up teen and offers a shy aside smile. "Unless I very much miss my estimate," she says, "I should still have my old wedges that would look charming with that outfit. Little pastel stripes on the heels." Zoey did not think for a second Kate would be caught dead in four-inch wedges. If one had asked a younger Zoey she herself might have said the same, but The Cute is a powerful compulsion...
This message was last edited by the player at 01:57, Wed 09 Dec 2020.

Frank entered the room and took a seat somewhere in the middle of the class. He didn't want to seem to eager by sitting right up front, nor did he want to seem too noncommittal by planting himself in the back.

It looked to him that the class was going to be made up of the older students, such as those who'd been chaperones to the ill-fated field trip. Except Barnell, who he thought was younger than the others. Either way, Frank didn't want to be too disparaging of the guy, but he didn't seem like superhero material. It wasn't any judgement against him as a person; he just barely had any powers. He could fly a little bit, and that was apparently it. But if the Professor thought otherwise, who was he to second-guess?

He looked at the faculty members, and suppressed a smile. Knowing that the X-Men had a connection to the school, it was pretty easy to guess who might be whom on that team. Ms. Munroe's white hair, for example, was a dead giveaway for Storm.

He settled in. Today was definitely going to be an interesting day.

In reply to Zoey Fujino (msg # 3):

Seeing the wedges in Zoey's mind brings a slightly distasteful expression across Kates face.  "No, I'll keep my wiggly free toes thank you very much."  The words said help, but the image said tripping hazard, though the accompanying thoughts made Kate blush and look away.  How could she be cute?  Though she couldn't really argue the thought seeing as she was the one who had picked it up.

Zoey chuckles, her emotions running the gamut of playful-tease-friendly-helpful. She decides not to mention her six-inch stiletto Pleasers buried in the back of her closet. "Maybe some flippy flops then," she ventures. Zoey had the misfortune of having wide feet *and* the right foot being half a size larger than the left, so she knew all about the difficulty of finding shoes that fit. "I need to order some new boots anyways. Sketchers usually has a variety of unusual shoe sizes, if we order together we could save a few dollars' shipping."

One student who could never be described as 'cute' was Barnell.  His huge beak and feathered body had him on the receiving end of an endless string of jokes and ridicule - even by fellow mutants.  Despite it all, he never allowed it to get to him, the petty insults rolling off him like water off a duck's back.

Being the last student in, he stopped at the doorway, his beak cracking wide as he looked upon the teachers and the rest of the students.  He too, was wondering what the hell he was called for that morning, but once he noticed one of his classmates sitting at one the table by the window held his head up high and parked himself right next to her:

"Hi Kate!!" reading Barnell was difficult as his facial expressions were rather limited, but judging by the creases forming around the corners of his eyes and the small crack of his beak, she could assume he was offering her a smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:58, Wed 09 Dec 2020.

Ana Sofía doesn't say anything as she walks in the room, carrying her coffee mug closely like it's the most precious thing in the world. She is dressed casually: only socks on her feet, tights showing off her legs, and a thin sweater with a wide neck draping over her body without looking like a big sack. She doesn't look anyone in the eyes, glancing more around their feet to find a spot. She walks past the wall that is Frank and plops down in the seat behind him, her short body mostly disappearing from view behind him. Once there she stares into her mug and sips at it regularly.

Zoey flinches as Barnell practically chirps the announcement of his presence. He was one of the few other students Zoey actually knew a little bit about, precisely because his somewhat (okay, very) strange appearance undermined a lot of the assumptions about mutants that Zoey had been taking for granted. Mutants were generally significantly stronger, smarter, more capable, and just prettier than their genetypical peers, but here comes Barnell to wreck that hypothesis. She didn't know him very well personally but knew he was subject of a lot of discrimination and ridicule even by his fellows. Because of that, Zoey was willing to go a little further out of her way to give him a fair shake than she would for most people.

Also, Tabby-cat's real name was apparently Kate. Zoey would have to try and remember that. Had she ever shared her name? What did her catlike friend call Zoey in the privacy of her own thoughts?

Well, Kate's thoughts weren't as private as most...

In any event, Zoey directs her attentions elsewhere in the classroom while Barnell and Kate talk. She wondered at the significance of these particular instructors, and took in the appearances of the other students as they arrived, trying to divine some significance from their presence here. The students so far were all those who had played a major role in the Melting of Manhattan... and Professor McCoy was a known X-Man... it wasn't a lot to go on, but some sensible hypotheses could be drawn.

Zoey tried to imagine herself as an X-Man. What would her persona's name be? Reaper? Heartbreak? Deathstroke? No, no, less 'edgy teen' than that... Shinigami? Really, brain; that's what you think of when we ask for less edgy? You're fired! Okay then, how about... Peach... Lemon... Bread. Lemon Bread; because she's bitter.

It's no good. She just really likes being called Zoey. It's cute, even if it is a bit common.

  Victor had slipped in just behind Ana Sofia.  He looked around the room blowing into his re-used tall paper cup of coffee.  Black and steaming hot, he squeaked the plastic lid down over the morning beverage as he found a desk to lean against instead of sitting in.
  It didn't take a genius to figure why everyone was gathered in the room.  Everyone here was either at ground zero for 'the incident' yesterday or a faculty member of the school.  That generally meant a lecture, and interrogation or a...what had his public defender called it?...a deposition.  All the school's heavy-hitters were there including the head of the school himself, Charles Xavier.  He wasn't familiar with the pair that weren't teachers and he had to admit he wasn't too familiar with the ones that were.

  He leaned back on a desk off to the side, out of the shadow of Frank's shielding bulk, as he drank an exploratory sip of the nearly scalding drink.  His dark eyes counted the other students assembled, wondering what was about to happen.

In reply to Zoey Fujino (msg # 6):

"Ah.. I don't really have money for that sort of thing." Kate told Zoey, even as she wondered, 'How would you know if they even fit without trying them on?  Online shoes seems sketchy.' Though that came through with a bit of confusion before she just gave a little shrug.  At which point Barnell blew in.

The boy had so far been in the one and only class Kate had grudgingly shown up for.  Her quest to avoid schooling thus far aided both by her very recent arrival combined with the summer break.  This looked to her like it was going to be another lesson during what was supposed to be school free time.  Still she guessed it was the price for living in a warm school building to have classes.  Oh, right, "Hi ah Barnell" She answered, it took a moment to figure out his name.  She obviously remembered him, who wouldn't but even she wasn't going to call him bird boy out loud.  That would just have been mean.

She looked from him to the Professor trying to read from his thoughts if class was about to start or not, but like the few other occasions she just couldn't tell a thing, but since he wasn't immediately opening his mouth she guessed talking was still okay.  Turning back she asked him, "So what have you been doing since orienteering?"  She meant Orientation where she and everyone else in her class year had been introduced after she arrived, but the word had escaped her.

Barnell opened his beak to answer Kate, but closed it quickly under Miss Munroe's stern gaze.  The Professor might have been patiently waiting on them to finish their ideal chatter before he would start talking, but she would make sure he wouldn’t be waiting long
This message was last updated by the player at 19:55, Thu 10 Dec 2020.

“I wanted to talk with all of you about what happened in Manhattan the other day”

The Professor started his speech without any cordial greeting, mostly because he didn’t feel like it was a ‘good morning’ considering how many have been left homeless, or still trapped in the wreckage.

“ - Fiona McKenna, a Mutant, manifested her powers for the very first time.  The results were catastrophic; half of Manhattan leveled.  Nearly a dozen dead” he closed his eyes for a brief second, a momentary lapse of his usual stoicism as he reflected on the loss of life  “As terrible as it was, had you not been there to intervene a far greater tragedy would have occurred, the long-term consequences of which would have been the stuff nightmares are made of”


He waited for a moment, allowing them to think for themselves about the chain of events which would have followed. Not only the huge loss of life, but the riots in the streets.  The martial law.  Government action, and the resulting conflagration

“If something like this happens again, humanity may very well reach the conclusion that their fears of us are justified.  Some, as you may know, already have” and he wasn’t referring only to Senator Kelly.  The man was the leader of a much wider political movement, one that gained traction with every footage of a rampaging mutant on CNN.

“I’ve dedicated my life to heal the rift between mutants and humans, to foster peace and understanding.  But now, despite our best efforts, we find ourselves teetering on the brink of open conflict, and I can’t stop what’s to come”

.
.
.
.
He looked at each of the present in the room before adding the last bit, which offered a glimmer of hope to the otherwise pessimistic statement

“-on my own”

Zoey groaned. I knew it, I fucking knew it, Xavier -- presumably the 'X' in X-men -- is asking us to join his superhero troupe. How anime can you get? ... and how anime is it of me that I've been considering what she would say if this moment ever came ever since I was nine?

"Do we have to call ourselves X-men?" Zoey blurts, not raising her hand or anything. She'd always hated the term. Not just because it was mildly sexist, but also because the 'X' made it sound like they considered themselves above genetypicals, even if it really was just Xavier's initial. Their abilities were certainly impressive, but she'd not seen much evidence that they were necessarily better people. They kept themselves pretty secluded from scrutiny. Professor McCoy was pretty awesome, but what of the others? How much did she really know of them?

In reply to Zoey Fujino (msg # 14):

Xavier certainly drew attention when he spoke.  She hadn't quite figured out where he was going with that statement when Zoey's question sort of short circuited the rest of her thought process.  Another one distracting her briefly as her mind wandered, 'isn't X the chromosome for women so are X-men, women men?'  but she pushed that weird idle thought aside more interested in the answer, and just what else he had to say.  She could certainly understand his making some of the people here X-men but she and Barnell didn't really fit, did they?

"There's a lot of history to that name," Frank replied before the Professor had a chance to respond. It was a proud and noble name, and anyone offered the chance should feel honored to wear it. Why wouldn't they? "What's wrong with it?"

Frank had already known that this meeting was to offer him and some of the others a position among the X-Men. He had already agreed, too. For him, this meeting was simply perfunctory. He hadn't imagined that the others might turn the role down, much less would argue over the name itself.

"This isn't a gender thing, is it? X-Persons...?"

While mostly keeping her eyes on her coffee, sometimes with a slightly pained expression hidden, behind Frank's much greater size, Ana Sofía does smile and wince at as some of the funnier unblocked thoughts are broadcast around the room. She isn't really shielding her own thoughts well right now, but she's not broadcasting thoughts so much feelings of mild pain like headache, sensitivity to light, sound, and loud thoughts, etc.

For the Professor, how they should call themselves was inconsequential. More important was to clarify what he had in mind:
"Joining the X-Men is something we will discuss when the time comes; I can not in good conscious put you in harm's way until you have properly trained in the use of your powers"

"I just never liked it," Zoey replies to Frank. "Numerous reasons." She didn't want to elaborate, not with an entire room full of people waiting on them to be quiet so they could think about it themselves.

Instead, she simply says without hesitation that "As long as I don't have to wear the label, I'll do all that I can to help."

Ok, that made a lot more sense Kate thought.  It even went along with what Jean had said when she was picked up, brought in, whatever.  Besides if fish giving girl would be there then, "I'm in too." She said with a grin.  The X thing didn't really matter to her though.  Maybe they would be the Y-men, or if it took too long to train the Z-men.

"Well, you know my answer, Professor," Frank said resolutely. He had already wanted to be an X-Man, even before the incident. Now it felt more like an imperative. "I'm in."

“Good.  Summer vacation would be an ideal time to start your training.  Both you, and your teachers, are not occupied with your regular classes”

He hinted with his head at Scott, and Ororo

“Scot – once they are briefed bring them all down to the Danger Room.
Jean – You’re running the simulation today; I have other matters to attend to which cannot be delayed”

The somber teacher waited for Professor Xavier to leave the room before stepping forward to stand at the center of class. Mr. Summers was always known to be deadpan serious; it would not be too hard to imagine him as a marine drill sergeant, if it wasn’t for the fact that he never used profanities

”Alright.  We are going to start your first training exercise today in the Danger Room.  It is a holographic virtual reality facility; holo-projections beamed on top of powerful force fields.  Those can’t harm you, but your own powers may jeopardize one another.   People HAVE been hurt before, so you must always be mindful of where all your teammates are.  Your safety is more important than completing the exercise successfully”

Ana Sofía sips away quietly. She perks up a little at Prof. Xavier's comments about more training, but Mr. Summers put a damper on that quickly. She starts drinking her coffee faster, emptying the mug and then looking for the best opportunity to return to the kitchen for a refill.

"Will we be getting uniforms and code-names?" Frank asked, belatedly raising his hand when he realized he'd spoken out of turn. "Sorry."