Escape (Open to Any.)

[Terra Moonscar]

From her foster home in Michigan, Terra has stowed-away on many trains and aircrafts just to reach New York City, where she could get lost in the crowd as she attempted to hide from her crimes. It was pouring rain as the young girl sprinted through the lighted-street ways, her feet pattering against the wet sidewalks making the obnoxious sound of stepping into puddles only more constant. Finding her way to Central Park, Terra collapsed upon the nearby bench, tears streaming down her cheeks, mixing with the rain that had evaded her torn hood.

It had been a week since Terra had run away from her high school after causing so much destruction. She knew the police were after her, for every student that had lived in that terrible building collapse pointed fingers toward her. Ransoms were made for the young teens capture. Life was only getting worse for Terra Moonscar now. However, giving up was not an option, for in giving up lie death, and she was too afraid to die.

So she continued to sit in that same spot upon the moist overly-wet blue bench, staring down at her feet as she wept, wept for all the horrors and sorrows that she has had to face for many years.

"W-when....when will this all...e-end...?"

[Toni Craft]

Toni’s as big of a technology nut as the next allegedly-crazy mutant, but even the full functions of the Cerebro system are beyond her. Apparently the computer can pretty much operate on its own; searching through news reports, picking up on certain key words, and storing them or alerting one of the X-Men if it thinks necessary. Sometimes they turn out to be mistakes by the media — blaming some occurrence on mutant activity when it was really a raccoon in a power station. But sometimes they hit their mark.

Like this time! Cerebro had alerted Josh at some point about an incident where a school had been nearly all but ruined. After a bit of searching, the mutant responsible had been found. And that pretty much explains why Toni and Josh are out in the middle of a dark park, wondering around trying to find this mutant — whoever they are.

“Why does this stuff always have to happen at night? Would it be so hard for these dudes to just, you know, pop up in the middle of a sunny day? I feel like we’re in some cheap-ass horror flick and Jason’s going to pop out and stick and axe in my head. And then he’d impale you with a rusty lamp pole, and then maybe rape a deer.” Toni mutters, tugging at her jacket as she steps out of the Institute’s V12 Vanquish. She remotely locks the car and scratches her head, looking around at the trees. “So...how are we supposed to find the wee little dude? Can you do some sort of funky mind magic and find’em? Or did you pack a mutant dowsing rod in the trunk?” She asks, turning to look at her partner.

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

> “Why does this stuff always have to happen at night? Would it be so hard for these dudes to just, you know, pop up in the middle of a sunny day? I feel like we’re in some cheap-ass horror flick and Jason’s going to pop out and stick and axe in my head. And then he’d impale you with a rusty lamp pole, and then maybe rape a deer.”

“You know, that’s a really good question. Why does it always happen at night? On the other hand, I’m not missing class for this one, finally.” Josh mumbles to himself as he gets out of the car. “Or missing sleep.” One of the downsides about being a member of the X-Men that had responsibilities outside the Institute was that it wasn’t always easy to reconcile the two. The last time Storm had woken him up at 2am for an X-Men related emergency, he had gotten a C on his organic chemistry quiz. At that point he had put his foot down - if he was going to replace Jean and Hank in the med lab, he was going to have to get good grades. No midnight wakeups unless the building was burning down. Fortunately, this particular run was just around dusk. Being with Toni added to the surreal quality of the evening, though.

> “So...how are we supposed to find the wee little dude? Can you do some sort of funky mind magic and find’em? Or did you pack a mutant dowsing rod in the trunk?”

“No. It’s too hard for me to pinpoint someone besides Warren at this range, or possibly you or Bobby. I did pack a dowsing rod, though.” Josh puts a hand to his ear, activating the tiny earpiece there. “Jake… Toni and I are here. Where’s the girl?”

Over their earpieces, Josh hears the voice of his mentor, who’s back in the subbasement, connected to Cebrebo II. “She looks like she’s about… 200 meters down the path from you. When you come to a fork, take the left branch.”

Josh cocks a look over at Toni. “Got it? Let’s get going. Jake? If anything changes, let me know.” He zips up his leather jacket and crosses in front of the car to where Toni is standing. Josh grins slightly. “Ready for a walk in the park, darling?”

------------

As Terra cries on the park bench, a man approaches her. With her head down, she doesn’t even notice him until he’s standing right in front of her.

“Hey, darling. What’s the matter? Maybe you’d like Johnny to cheer you up?” He leers down at her. The man crosses his hands over his chest. “Johnny’s good with the ladies - maybe you want to come with me?” A hardness works its way into his voice at this point - maybe’s not really in his vocabulary. Behind him, on the path, two other rough-looking men materialize from the darkness.

[Terra Moonscar]

As Terra cries on the park bench, a man approaches her. With her head down, she doesn’t even notice him until he’s standing right in front of her.

>“Hey, darling. What’s the matter? Maybe you’d like Johnny to cheer you up?” He leers down at her. The man crosses his hands over his chest. “Johnny’s good with the ladies - maybe you want to come with me?” A hardness works its way into his voice at this point - maybe’s not really in his vocabulary. Behind him, on the path, two other rough-looking men materialize from the darkness.

Terra gazes up with fear upon the edgy-looking man and his subordinates. She shakes her head nervously at the man's suggestion and attempts moving off of the bench at the right and making a run for it. However, 'Johnny' grabs her by the collar of her raggy-looking jacket and throws her down on her back upon the bench. Pressing her tightly against it, scowling with rage.

"Listen Hun', if ya' don't come with us, we're going to have to harm this pretty little face of yours!"

Terra struggles under the man's grip and begins to cry, begging the man to release her. Once again she feels that tight compulsion in her stomach, the same one that occurred right before she harmed all of those high-school students. Instantly, the sidewalks crumble and explode, suckling itself to the girl's skin. Releasing his grip, Johnny yells out in terror.

"W-What the! She's a mutant! K-Kill her! Kill her now!"

The other two men pull out semi-automatic pistols as black as coal and begin firing at the girl. She screams as the bullet's ricochet off of the hardened rock. Leaping off of the bench, Terra begins to run in the opposite direction, and away from the thugs as they persist on firing their guns at her. The earth begins to crack and crumble off of her skin, collapsing uselessly to the ground. This now leaves her completely unprotected.

"P-Please, stop!"

[Toni Craft]

“No. It’s too hard for me to pinpoint someone besides Warren at this range, or possibly you or Bobby. I did pack a dowsing rod, though.”

“Does it work? I used one of those sticky things as a kid to try and find a spot for my parent’s well, but all I ended up finding was a dead cat and a pile of dog poop. It wasn’t a well, but it was fun for hours!”

“Jake… Toni and I are here. Where’s the girl?” Toni’s ear buzzes as Jake’s voice takes on a ting-y and nasal-y tone.

“She looks like she’s about…. 200 meters down the path from you. When you come to a fork, take the left branch.”

“Really Jake-ikins, don’t you mean tine? Last I checked forks don’t have branches, unless my experiment to finally create the perfect human-tree-kitchen utensil hybrid finally worked. I’d name it Sylvester.” There’s a long moment of silence over the earpiece before an awkward clearing of the throat.

“Right. Well, if I do see Sylvester I’ll let you know. But until then, it’s a branch.” Toni laughs at his awkward tone in Jake’s accent and turns to Josh.

“Ready for a walk in the park, darling?” She returns his grin and loops her arm in his.

“Ready to rock this park like it’s our freaking job?” Almost as if she had predicted it, the ground lurches and heaves as a loud rumbling resonates through the air. Toni stumbles, inadvertently pulling Josh with her, but manages to stay upright. “Okay, that’s not exactly what I meant…”

“Bullocks! Mutant activity! Something’s pushed the chap’s stress level through the bloody roof.” Holding back one of her inappropriate quips, Toni looks at Josh for a moment before bolting off down the path, dragging the poor boy behind her. “You two had better get to the tyke before they level the entire place.”

“Gee, Jake-ikins, I would have thought of that too, but I was too busy trying not to get motion sickness and puking all over poor little Josh. I doubt he would have enjoyed that very much.” Toni mumbles in irritation.

“Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Ms. Craft.”

“Oh yeah? Well I drink your mango juice every morning. Out of the carton.”

“I don’t even drink mango juice.”

“Oh…oops.”

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

“Right. Well, if I do see Sylvester I’ll let you know. But until then, it’s a branch.

Josh inhales just as he’s about to start laughing, which ends up with him coughing and laughing at the same time. Jake had a definite sense of humor, but Toni’s brand of humor always left him slightly puzzled. “If you guys are finished, we have a baby mutant to track down… alright?” He throws a mock glare in Toni’s direction. “Anyway, I have a date to go back to. And I’m sure Jake is more interesting in doing someone else - I mean, something else.” This results in a splutter across the line. He grins. Bringing up Ororo always shut Jake up quickly.

Quickly, however, the splutter turns into a gasp of surprise. Immediately, the ground begins shaking, and Toni’s death grip almost drags him onto his ass. “What’s going on? She’s still not in control of it, is she?” Josh rights himself and gets pulled forward by Toni.

> “You two had better get to the tyke before they level the entire place.”

“We’re on it… but we’re still a bit away. What’s happening?” Josh unlinks arms with Toni and starts pacing her. He was in good shape, but it was still going to take some time to reach the girl.

> “Gee, Jake-ikins, I would have thought of that too, but I was too busy trying not to get motion sickness and puking all over poor little Josh. I doubt he would have enjoyed that very much.”

“Little Josh? Why does everyone talk about me like I’m 14?” Josh grumbles under his breath. Jake chimes in over the headset. “It’s because you’ve got that baby face, and when you smile it’s all adorable and suchlike…” Josh shakes his head. This conversation was getting off-track.

> “Your sarcasm is not appreciated, Ms. Craft.”

“Guys… can we stick to the plan? Do we even have a plan? Jake, what’s going on up there?” Josh squints, but the combination of foliage and darkness shrouded whatever was occurring.

“Right-o, it looks like some men are hassling her. Pulling from her short-term memory, it looks like they’ve got some kind of rapid-fire pistols. Be careful.” Jake sounds relieved to not be on-site.

Josh pushes his body faster. “Gotcha. Toni, plans? I think I can get there faster than you - maybe you should armor up. See you there.” He concentrates briefly, and on the next step launches himself skyward with his telekinesis.

The air is wonderful, and the New York skyline is visible as soon as he clears the treeline. However, the two of them are so close to the girl’s position that his flight is more of a longjump. As soon as he’s up, he going back down, and Josh constructs a temporary shield around himself to ward off the tree branches.

With a crash of foliage, he hits the ground, and the scene is spread out of in front of him. The girl - on the ground - and the men are pointing guns at her. Why on earth do they have pistols?

Um…think fast! “Hey, what are you doing? Pick on someone your own size!” Josh shouts at them, hoping to distract them from Terra.

“Ah, did you hear that, Johnny? The pretty boy wants us to pick on someone our own size. That certainly wouldn’t be him - it looks like we could snap 'im in half over our thigh.” One of the men sneers at him, laughing. A clip drops to the ground, and he loads a fresh one. “I say we get rid of witnesses, then take the girl with us.” The man raises his weapon to fire, and his partners follow suit.

Crap. Josh bites his lip, looking around for options. There we go. Nearby, off the path, a maintenance shed stood - with a large metal door. With a metallic squeal, Josh telekinetically rips the door off its hinges, and maneuvers it into place to begin collecting the bullets. Shouts of surprise from the men reach his ears.

We’re not finished with the surprises.... wait until you meet my associate! For good measure, he dodges to the left with the door in front of him, and interposes himself between Terra and the hoods.

Anytime would be good now. I think I've distracted them...

[Sherridan Kaine]

As countless other times have proven before, taking nightly walks through the city is a very useful pastime. Sure, he's in the brotherhood, but since Primer has taken over, he has been given free reign, and the fact that Magneto is no longer around (a fact the cat-man finally managed to get over and accept) means that there is not much reason for him to spend time at the hideout. Therefore, he does not know whether they have figured out a system to locate new mutants or not.

For Sherridan, the two easiest ways to locate things have always been either to go through a few contacts and get the whole story on a piece of paper in a manila envelope, or to walk and wait for things to happen. The latter has proven to be the correct choice of the night.

He was walking idly in the usual black jeans and black tank top, fur assuming the same color as the darkness, and within the few seconds that it took to wander off mentally, the ground shook. He was running up to the scene just as the men opened fire on the girl.

Sherridan frowns and steps back into the darkness, moving without a single sound around, avoiding the line of fire, and approaching the men quietly. Just as he is about to plant a single surgical scratch on the neck of one of the men, however, he sees them change their target to one of the ever-so-irritating and unfortunately always present X-men.

He only vaguely connects the face to the institute until he sees the telekinesis acting. Ah...wonderful... he thinks, annoyed that he cannot kill in peace.

Instead, he goes back around, and runs in the direction the girl is, leaving the "good" mutants to deal with the humans. For him, the sprint is not half as hard, and Sherridan is running parallel to her within half a minute. "You know, running is not always going to solve it. It is only your luck that those guys have encountered some other trouble along the way." he speaks to her, moving a little in front and then slowing slowly down in an attempt to make her do so as well.

[Terra Moonscar]

Terra gazed in wonder as the man stepped in front of her, blocking the bullets with the door of a metal shed. Shifting her body around swiftly, she continues to run in the opposite direction. However, her advance is quickly halted when another man speaks to her and begins to block her path of escape.

>"You know, running is not always going to solve it. It is only your luck that those guys have encountered some other trouble along the way."

Terra's eyes widened as she fell back onto the ground, backing away slowly out of fright. He was much taller then herself, and resembled some kind of animal. Was this man like her? Did he contain special...gifts?

"W-Who are you!? Please...p-please don't hurt me!"

Tears still strained the girl's cheeks, as her heartbeat rose higher and her body shook nervously. She no longer felt that tightening grip in her stomach, and at the moment none of the earth that surrounded her gave her any aid. She was helpless against these people. From the man with guns, to this odd cat thing.

[Toni Craft]

“Gotcha. Toni, plans?”

“Just one. And it involves my fists, maybe a foot, and most definitely some pumpernickel bread.” Toni can already feel the stitching in her shoes ripping apart under her weight.

“I think I can get there faster than you - maybe you should armor up. See you there.” Josh bolts up into the sky, leaving Toni alone, running, and nearly shoeless.

“’Armour up,’ he says. ‘See you there,’ he says.” She mumbles, tugging off her leather X-Men jacket. “ All they ever think I care about is hitting stuff. No one ever stops to think that maybe I’m a bit sensitive too. Like these jeans! No one cares that I’m about to ruin them! And they’re my favourite jeans!” Toni tosses her jacket onto a nearby tree branch as her sneakers finally give way and she’s left kick them off awkwardly. “And I liked those shoes too!” Only 20 metres away she can here the pop pop pop of gun fire.

Anytime would be good now. I think I've distracted them… Toni comes rushing onto the scene and skids to a halt behind the three armed men. Raising her arms, she drapes them over the shoulders of the two closest men. Both jump slightly and immediately stop shooting to stare at her.

“Hiya, boys! Watcha’doin’?” The other finally forgets about Josh and his bullet sponge and joins his partners in staring at Toni, perplexed by her wide grin, casual nature, and shoeless feet. “You know, if you wanted to be a little more effective in this whole ‘Let’s shoot up the mutants!’ thing, might I suggest a set of bigger guns? These little guys,” She taps the closest 9mm with a finger, “Are just pitiful. Do you know how many kids I have to deal with on a daily basis that can melt my ass into a bloody iron toilet if they wanted to? Well...only one actually, but you catch my—”

“Shut up,” Toni sighs as the assumed leader of the group levels his automatic weapon at her temple. “Before I blow your brains all over Rich.” She smiles wide and looks between the leader and ‘Rich’.

“Oh please! Do try!”

“What’s wrong with this bitch? She suicidal or somethin’?” One of them men asks aloud. Toni unhooks her arms from their shoulders and places her hands on her hips.

“Oh no, darlin’! Not suicidal. This bitch is just lookin’ for a reason to pummel your noodles.” She smiles so wide she’s nearly squinting, and the men can only exchange looks between them.

Taking advantage of their stunned silence, Toni reaches out and grabs the hand holding the gun to her head. She hauls the man into her fist, sending him sprawling to the ground unconscious and bleeding profusely from the nose. One of his partners suffers a similar fate when she connects an open palm to his sternum and he slams into a nearby tree.

With two down, Toni moves to take on the last of the men, but stops when she hears the familiar sound of a cocking pistol.

“You move again and I’m gonna pop a cap in yo’ ass!”

“Just to be anatomically correct, my ass is about three feet down, darlin’. What you’re aimin’ at is my head. Apparently someone’s momma didn’t spend enough time reading him his ‘Big Book of Body Parts’ as a kid.” At the sound of an irritated growl and the feel of a pistol muzzle getting pressed into the side of her skull, Toni sighs again and triggers the solidification of her skin.

As the thick iron plates of her armour pierce through her tank top and the bottoms of her jeans, Toni can hear the startled yelp from the man with the gun. She turns to him and raises an iron ridge above her metal eye. The look is enough to make the weapon tumble from his hand before he wails and bolts away from her, screaming something about a crazy woman-monster.

“Hah! Scarier than an echidna overdosing Viagra, I am!” Toni pumps an armoured fist into the air before noting that her shirt has been torn rather severely. “Uh...Josh, you gotta another shirt on you? I kind of left my jacket down thataway.” She moves to point over her shoulder, but stops and looks around the area. “Wasn’t there supposed to be some terrified, earthquake-makin’ kid here that we were supposed to save?”

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

Josh tries not to burst out laughing as Toni appears and strikes up a conversation with the gunmen. As they'd previously been trying their best to kill him, it wasn't that difficult, but he had to suppress a snort nonetheless. Time spent with Toni often alternated between low-grade humor and terror.

He winces slightly as the men are efficiently taken care of. Toni tended to use more brutal force than he was comfortable with, but no one could say she wasn't effective. And, well, the men had tried to kill the girl. "Nice job, Toni. Maybe... less blood next time?" It was easy to say when he could just bash his own opponents into unconsciousness. Josh raises an eyebrow, and a wry look crosses his face.

> “Uh...Josh, you gotta another shirt on you? I kind of left my jacket down thataway. Wasn’t there supposed to be some terrified, earthquake-makin’ kid here that we were supposed to save?”

"Um... take mine." He slips off his team jacket, leaving himself in a pair of jeans and a button-down collared shirt. Because of his small frame, Toni might not even fit into it, but his mind was already working at another problem at the speed of light, and Toni's wardrobe malfunction had slipped into the periphery.

Sherridan. What the hell is the cat doing here? How? They'd barely made it in time with Cerebro. The Brotherhood had nothing like Cerebro, and they'd established his telepathic superiority the last time he'd crossed paths with Elliot. Doesn't matter now.

"Toni.... it's that cat, Sherridan." He closes his eyes, watching the cat pace the younger girl.

I don't know what your name is, but don't go. Yeah, I'm speaking into your mind, and it's impossible, but you shouldn't be able to cause earthquakes, either. We're both special... and I came to ask you to come to our school. We teach people like you to use their gifts responsibly. My name's Josh. He projects an image of himself into her mind.

Please answer me. The Brotherhood isn't ruining another kid's life. No more Johns. His fist tightens slightly, and starts trotting over to the pair.

[Sherridan Kaine]

>"W-Who are you!? Please...p-please don't hurt me!"

Sherridan smiles and immediately his fur shifts to a dull brown, a color that has proven itself time and again to be the one that calms the most people down. Somehow, brown cats make people calm, for an odd reason.

His smile is far away from the usual predatory grin, much more amicable and peace-inspiring. "Do not worry, I am not here to hurt you. We are of the same kind, you and I. I was planning of disabling those ruffians, but the...others...got in the way. I am here to make you an offer to come live with those who understand you." he says, his voice the epitome of helpful Samaritan.

He nods and offers a hand covered in soft fur and without the slightest of hints of claws present. "I am Sherridan Kaine. Sorry about my current attire, but it is the best for walks taken in the evening-- it provides for more maneuverability should I come in danger." he smiles a bit wider as his hands dart back, pull the golden mane into a pony tail and tie it with a ribbon produced from a pocket, and then his right returns to offering the handshake.

"What do you say we go to a restaurant or something such? I know few good places around, and they're always crowded, so you'll be safer." Sherridan offers, keeping the elegant, peaceful demeanor of a true gentleman, not quite befitting of his attire.

He notices the fight is over and spots that annoying wannabe-leader watching them. Fantastic.

"I do not mean to impose, honestly. Now, I am going to assume that you just got a very strange sensation within the confines of your mind and some strange voice just entered it. I do not intend to tell you what to do, but rather I will ask you a simple question. Whom would you trust more? A person who comes up and talks to you directly, or someone who intrudes upon your private thoughts, and probably can make you do what he wishes?" he says, his voice not revealing a single trace of the hurry he is in.

His mannerisms are just as they always are- befitting of a true gentleman. Sherridan's voice is friendly, smooth, and the smile is still present. Given, the slitted eyes might be a bit intimidating, but Sherridan finds the manners enough to overcome it usually. That, and who doesn't want a giant, fluffy, talking cat for a friend? That, and he's a rich bastard.

[Terra Moonscar]

>I don't know what your name is, but don't go. Yeah, I'm speaking into your mind, and it's impossible, but you shouldn't be able to cause earthquakes, either. We're both special... and I came to ask you to come to our school. We teach people like you to use their gifts responsibly. My name's Josh.

>Please answer me. The Brotherhood isn't ruining another kid's life. No more Johns.

Terra twitches as the man's voice entered into her mind and spoke in a state of panic. She visualized his figure, seeing him perfectly within her head. The young girl grasps her skull, shaking the voice from her head as the cat-man continued to talk to her.

>"I do not mean to impose, honestly. Now, I am going to assume that you just got a very strange sensation within the confines of your mind and some strange voice just entered it. I do not intend to tell you what to do, but rather I will ask you a simple question. Whom would you trust more? A person who comes up and talks to you directly, or someone who intrudes upon your private thoughts, and probably can make you do what he wishes?"

Terra gazes toward the cat-appearing man. He truly was a sight. Noticing his extended fluffy hand, Terra glanced behind her from where her attackers were just recently. Looking back toward Sherridan, she extends her own hand, grasping ahold of his tightly. Sherridan was after-all, the most friendly person Terra had ever experienced before. She needed to be in the presence of someone like him.

"I...I'll come with you!"

[Toni Craft]

"Nice job, Toni. Maybe... less blood next time?" She blinks at him, or rather, as well as a blinking expression can be managed in her armoured form. Toni looks down at the two men she had happily incapacitated only moments before.

“Blood? I don’t see much blood...broken bones, crushed egos, and bruises that even a psychotic, super evil genius leech couldn’t even deal with, yeah. But I don’t think that’s a lot of blood.” Never mind that one of the men was bleeding rather profusely from his severely broken nose…

Toni’s busy fumbling with the jacket that Josh has distractedly tossed her way, but quickly forgets about it when her partner speaks up again. “Toni.... it's that cat, Sherridan." Curious, she looks at the earthquake girl and her newfound companion.

“Not a problem, boss man. I’ll get rid of him.” Still armoured and still feeling the confident rush from taking out the armed thugs, Toni sticks her chin up and promptly marches her way over to Sherridan and the girl.

"I...I'll come with you!"

“Not so fast, my ground-shaking little compadre. You think Sherri’s makin’ ya a good deal? We’ve got a flipping jet at our place! These guys are lucky if they have indoor plumbing, and I’m pretty sure you aren’t too keen on sitting on a frozen pit toilet in the middle of a New York winter, are ya, darlin’.” Toni turns to Sherridan, taking a step forward and using her armoured form to add to her intimidation. “Now what d’you say you get lost before I try seein’ if my taxidermy lessons paid off and I make a fur coat out of your fuzzy little hide. Comprendez-vous?”

[Josh Dalton Worthington]

>Whom would you trust more? A person who comes up and talks to you directly, or someone who intrudes upon your private thoughts, and probably can make you do what he wishes?

>"I...I'll come with you!"

Josh groans internally - he catches the last bit of the cat-man's words to the young girl. Obviously, the telepathy had backfired. He's only wanted to be able to talk to her without Sherridan interfering, but apparently, that was going to happen nonetheless.

"Oh, I don't know. I think I might trust someone who speaks honestly to me rather than someone who tries to coerce me." He turns to Terra and sticks out his hand. "Josh Dalton Worthington. Just because I can project my thoughts into your mind doesn't mean I can control it. In fact, I can't, and I wouldn't, as it's horribly unethical." He narrows his eyes and turns to Sherridan. "However, Sherridan Kaine wouldn't know ethics if they came and smashed him over the head."

> “Now what d’you say you get lost before I try seein’ if my taxidermy lessons paid off and I make a fur coat out of your fuzzy little hide. Comprendez-vous?”

Josh suppresses a snort. He's not sure whether to laugh or cry at the situation. If they failed, the Brotherhood would have another child to ruin. "What my partner here means is that we're here to offer you a place at our school. We teach mutants how to control their abilities properly, as well as all the normal subjects. It's a place that's safe - and there's lots of kids your own age there. What's your name? I'm afraid I forgot to ask." Carefully, he maneuvers himself so he's standing in the girl's line of fire. Sherridan can't hit her without getting him first.

[Sherridan Kaine]

Just as he is about to offer her the way to the restaurant, the annoying pests come up to them and commence their own persuasions. He is grateful, however, for their order of appearance.

>“Not so fast, my ground-shaking little compadre. You think Sherri’s makin’ ya a good deal? We’ve got a flipping jet at our place! These guys are lucky if they have indoor plumbing, and I’m pretty sure you aren’t too keen on sitting on a frozen pit toilet in the middle of a New York winter, are ya, darlin’. Now what d’you say you get lost before I try seein’ if my taxidermy lessons paid off and I make a fur coat out of your fuzzy little hide. Comprendez-vous?”

Sherridan, even though rather unnerved by the combative attitude of the metallic mammoth in front of him, already begins forming his next words, and then the other one comes. While the woman approaches him with intimidation in mind, he steps to the side, closer to the girl, wanting to give off the impression of wishing to protect her.

And then the amazing Tele-lad prances in, translating for the girl what the woman said. But, in Sherridan's opinion, the damage is already done. The Thing's playmate has given the cat man quite a lot to work on.

He smiles, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture, open palms facing the boy.

"Now, I truly do not intend to ruin the speech, but I must poke a hole or two, albeit tiny, in these words. You speak of ethics, yet your first move is not open conversation but the use of your power. Your first actions, before even meeting the girl, are to send those men into the hospital for possibly a very long time, instead of just incapacitating them. And then your lovely partner comes up, trashing on the group of people I affiliate with, consequently directly threatening me with what could easily prove to be a painful torture leading to an untimely death. Not to mention the rather prejudiced remark regarding my fur, despite the fact that she herself is a mutant as well." he says, all the while keeping his hands up and his smile kind and gentle and apologetic, as if what he is presently doing were very rude and he intending to seek forgiveness.

He turns to Toni for a moment, and offers an oily smile. "Oui, je comprends, although I am under the impression that you do not need the extra "D" in your usage of the word." he answers her, and then returns to the girl and Tele-lad.

"And then you, I am afraid, immediately follow her steps in insulting me, claiming that I know naught of ethics. I assure you, sir, I have had a very well conducted upbringing. As for the state of the place we call home, well I have to acquiesce to your implication that it had been in a miserly state, but if you were to hack into my bank account, the substantial amounts of output of money would tell you that it has been greatly improved, although I am inclined to think that your opinion would be that our primary concern was to keep others out." he shrugs, blinking a little, the epitome of innocence. "The leader of the group I occasionally affiliate with has conducted vast improvements in the lifestyle offered by the group's home. Still," now he turns to the girl.

"As I recall, I merely asked you for a quiet, very pleasureful dinner in a restaurant, a public place where hardly any harm could come to you, whereas these kind persons invited you immediately to come to their own home, where everything would be alien to you and well known for them. The suspicion is purely yours, and you may direct it any way you wish." again he smiles the friendly, reassuring smile, one he has long since mastered in dealing with opposing politicians when in the same room.

"Let us not result to unnecessary violence twice in the same night, hm?" he adds in the end, glancing at the mangled men on the ground. The metallic mammoth can pack a punch, so he needs to be alert of her movements at all times. He doubts she could beat him in speed, but she only needs one punch, he suspects.