"I do believe in this country," Tank said, countering what Zoey had said. "I believe it needs to be better, but that it has the ability to be better. And that it just needs the right push. Maybe this can be part of that.

"I'll admit, I'm tempted to say Yes."

He turned back to McCoy, who'd of course been saying No. He was one of Xavier's earliest students, and had maybe been drinking too much of the campus Kool-Aid. He'd wanted to leave hundreds of mutants incarcerated unfairly because they might have been dangerous to release. To Tank's ears, that didn't sound like what the X-Men should stand for. But he was one of the originals, so it appeared that that was what the X-Men stood for. Tank didn't like it one bit, but he still hadn't come up with a better solution, so he wasn't holding it against the blue guy.

"I won't negotiate with a gun to my head, though. Or anyone else's. I'll join, but you have to let the others go."

"Nonetheless" Beast's answer to Ana was uncharacteristically short.  He didn't want to open the discussion on what the Professor should, or should not have done under the circumstance in front of Valerie.

“I have no intentions of forcing you to join, either”  she agreed with Frank

"I will make some calls, but I already know Homeland Security will not release you until they find out exactly what happened on the Island, and how you were involved.  It shouldn’t take more then a day or two until they conclude their investigation.    In the meantime, I’ll pull some strings and have you transferred somewhere a bit more agreeable. Would that be alright?"

"I suppose they couldn't just ask us," Zoey mutters. This is just empty complaining; were she in their position she'd insist on investigating too.

In a more normal voice; "Thanks. Most places would be better than here."

She wants to have a talk with Tank when away from the breasts.

Not to anyone in particular Ana Sofía replies, "Being Native American and Mexican American, my family knows better than many just how poorly the US government can behave. And we are aware of such activity right now. I'm also from a military family that for the most part trusts in our government; and I do believe in our country strongly. While things need to change, they are best changed from within; and the government providing a platform may help the public come around. Meanwhile, recent events have made it very clear to me a more distinct chain of command and being answerable to an authority are necessary. So I'll join. I expect Professor Xavier will understand our decision. I hope the school and children will still welcome us back, as I'll miss them."

Ana Sofía closes her eyes again. Without opening them she adds as a nearly forgotten afterthought, "Yes, something a little more comfortable would be appreciated."

Valery nodded appreciatively at Ana:

“Thank you, Windtalker.  I know it is not an easy decision to make, and that there is much we need to do before we could earn your trust.  Let me go make that call now, and arrange for something for you to eat. We could talk some more later” 

And with that she left, the clicks from her high heels echoing from the corridor beyond their cell

Ana Sofía thinks to the others in the room with her, 'I wouldn't speak too freely. The room is surely bugged.'

With Valerie leaving them to their own devices, Zoey decides to scoot her way closer to Barnell and check on the state of his injuries. She's good, great even, but it's a rare occasion that she needs to so thoroughly fix someone up. It's not a skill she gets to practice as much as she'd like... not that she likes seeing people she likes get hurt, but- dammit Zoey you're talking circles around yourself again. In any event, she understands why Brave Bird didn't feel much up to talking about any of this. Let him have his rest for now.

Her initial response to Ana's warning is an eye-roll. 'Frankly I'd be insulted if the room isn't bugged!'

"If you do sign on with Missus Tits," Zoey says softly to no one in particular, "then I hope it works out for you. I mean that."

"Well, today has been a serious shitshow," Tank said. It was unlike him to so openly swear, but it was really the only expression he could think of that fit the bill. "If Ms. Cooper's offer turns out to be more of the same, I'm really not sure what I'll do next... but it'll involve a lot of property damage."

Barnel closed his eyes.  It has been a rough day.  Mauled by Sabretooth, watching all these mutants die, getting captured, and now the final nail in the coffin; the dissolution of their team.  The horrible thing about it all was that he was powerless to stop any of these things from happening.   Being brave counted for nothing when you did not have the power to back it up.

He didn’t feel much like a hero.  All he wanted now was to curl up beneath the covers in his soft bed, back in the mansion, and pretend this was all just a bad dream, but even that would have to wait until they finally let them go.  If they’ll ever.

"I hear you, Tank. While I still appreciate the school, today really ruined my view of the X-Men. I have no idea at all where I'm headed if Ms. Cooper's offer is no better. But it does seem like it has the potential to deal with many problems better than how the other groups approach things."

"I know what you mean," Tank said. He wondered if Ms. Cooper knew what his real name was. Probably. He didn't think the mask was really fooling anyone, given his size. Not a lot of six-foot-eight teens out there to begin with. "A few days ago, all I wanted was to be an X-Man. Now the moral ambiguity of it all is crushing me."

Zoey sighs. She starts curling back up into her Nap Ball Mode, fluffing up her hoodie-pillow as she does. "I think the old coot did the best he could against the threat with the resources he had available. He took a gamble on us. Sometimes gambles don't work out. I would not be so quick to judge. Especially since everyone else ever is doing precisely the same thing; the best they can, with what they have and what they know."

She snuggles her cheek into her hoodie, halfway burrowing her head into the fleece. She peers up at the Windtalker with her one unconcealed eye. Even with most her face concealed it is clear she is debating something internally... but whatever it is she was thinking about she keeps to herself.

I hope the others are okay... she sleepily thinks to herself as her eye closes and she begins the long and uneasy journey towards the fabled Nap.

Ana Sofía still has her eyes closed, sitting in lotus position.

She replies to Frank, "When we were there, I couldn't figure out which group was more in the right or wrong between all three. But I do feel like oversight is needed. I've got to try doing it the government way. Besides, so long as mutants are vigilantes, the public view will be a problem. But public heroic faces might help move things the other direction. It's well worth trying."

She also replies to Zoey, "He was in communication with Beast the whole time. He knew children were being sent into harm's way. He could have stopped it. He made an intentional choice not to, and one of them almost didn't make it back. I was already ready to pick a fight with Cyclops over the control codes. Then I heard what Beast said. If I go back right now, I'll probably end up in some big fights with all the faculty. I don't blame him for every one of our decisions, but if his best is child soldiers, he and I will never see eye to eye."

"Didn't Beast try to leave us behind?" Zoey points out. "He was so committed to not getting the kids involved that he was willing to leave us behind and go alone with Tank. And now look which of us are in the worst situation."

Zoey opens her eye and shifts her attention to Beast. "Sorry I told you to shut the fuck up, Big Blue." Not quite an admission of wrongdoing.

"Yes, Beast did. And if he were in charge, maybe I wouldn't be making the same decision. But others gave out real jet codes to kids. And the professor chose to let them go to join the fight."

McCoy shakes his head

”Professor Xavier is strong enough to compel obedience from any of us, at any time, controlling us like puppets on a string.  Stopping the children.  Turning the Brotherhood away from the Island.   Eliminating crime.  Ending wars.  But if he does any of these things, he sets himself to be a tyrant, albeit a benevolent one.  And once he finally succumbs to old age, humanity would quickly pick up where they’ve left off, having learned nothing”

Zoey sits up a little, propped up on her arms. "Is he really that powerful? That's... spooky, even for me. I can't even imagine how heavy the burden of that kind of power must be."

Her mind races with what the two of them could do together if they weren't so restrained. Aging isn't that hard to reverse with her powers. With any possible opposition suppressed they'd have all the time in the universe to make people better. To see a humanity she could actually be proud to be a part of spreading across the stars, to live to see all the beauty and wonder it held... the thought was almost enough to make her feel something resembling hope for the future.

It'd never happen. There is no way Xavier doesn't know her ambition or what she is theoretically capable of; it was hardly a secret. If he thought it had any merit he'd have approached her about it years ago.

The momentary spark of excitement that rose in her now defeated, Zoey flops back to the floor with her usual frustration and apathy. "I wonder if he's happy with his choice," she sighs, tracing abstract designs on the floor with her fingertip. "Or if he feels as frustrated and helpless as me."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:20, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

"Stopping a child from entering a life-threatening situation isn't normally called tyranny. It's normally called being a responsible parent or guardian. He didn't even have to do much, just delay them or hide the activation codes for a little bit; it's not like he had to rewrite anyone's mind nor enslave anyone. Would you consider a parent grounding a child to be unlawful imprisonment? Yanking a child to get him out of the street moments before he gets run over is felony assault, right? I'm not holding him responsible for decisions any of us made at the island. But he sure as hell didn't try to fix the problem someone created with the simulator and protect the children."

Beast nodded:

“Yes, you could make that analogy.  But if one believes, as he does, that a person’s mind is sacrosanct, and implementing thoughts, or overriding them, is akin to a violation, then it becomes a different sort of dilemma.  And if Xavier was to stop Barnell and Kate, why not save millions of other teenagers risking themselves needlessly on a daily basis? It is a slippery slope indeed.  Therefore; I do not presume to tell Xavier where he should draw the line, nor will I ever condemn him for putting a limit on his power”   

Beast’s shoulders sagged ever so slightly.  Despite making the argument for Xavier, he didn’t entirely disagree with Ana either.  The entire exchange was sapping his strength, and he could only begin to imagine how bad it would be once they returned to the mansion and reported their mission resulted in the deaths of all the inmates.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Tue 20 Apr 2021.

"What I don't appreciate is how the Professor allows himself the luxury of absolutism, but forces the rest of us to work in the moral gray areas he avoids." Tank found himself a seat and flopped down into it. It creaked under his weight. "He can say 'I'll never use my powers to blah blah blah, and you accept that... but then we have to use our powers to pick up his slack.

"He wouldn't dream of using his powers to override the Brotherhood's free will. So Windtalker had to do it. He would never stop Sabretooth from going on a rampage, so at least one of us nearly died trying. It's hypocritical, and it's just wrong. He needs to get his hands dirty sometimes, too."

"So what you're saying is you dislike people who have the power to fix things and don't and leave it up to its charges to do it for them," Zoey says, exaggeratedly hmm-hmming. "Interesting. Key point of distinction I think matters; no one gave Xavier that power or responsibility... well, I guess the magic space pixies did, but they've never deigned to make their wishes known. If he wants to be the wise old mentor preaching enlightenment from his mountain I don't think I have it in me to blame him for that."

"In any event, I think it's unfair to judge someone who isn't here. And this has been more words than I normally speak in a week. My brain hurts, so I'm just going to lay here and silently criticize everyone in my head okay? Great. Ni ni."

She closes her eyes again, and this time makes the resolution not to open them until she has either had her nap or the time comes to be relocated.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:16, Wed 21 Apr 2021.

McCoy finally set down as well and decided to remain silent, letting Frank's objections about the Professor remain unchallenged.

And speaking of the devil, the Professor’s voice echoed inside their minds just as the room grew silent:

“Kate and Serena have just arrived back to the Mansion, safe and sound.  The X-Men captured Sabretooth at Martha’s Vineyard, and are bringing him in as we speak.  In the meantime, I am trying to secure your release.  Will keep you updated on any further developments”

Zoey perks up a little, mentally if not physically. Really? Finally something today is going right.