xp_logs | Mission: Baltimore

Ororo, Logan, and Kurt leave for Baltimore at 1:30pm. They arrive at Stanley's house at 4pm and face a bit of a surprise. This pickup won't be as easy as they'd thought.

It's been a long drive. A long, long drive. They're here now, though. Ororo pulls into the driveway of a small suburban house just outside Baltimore, Maryland, and Logan groans his relief. His body /aches/ and he's grumpy. But, then, he's always grumpy. None of them notice the sleek, black limo until after they've climbed from the car.

Despite the tension in the car, Kurt is in a good mood. He had a good Saturday, a bunch of people went to church with him, and it was a good mass, everyone at the mansion is seeming more laid back, and he's on his first mission. So he's mostly relaxed, but a little nervous. Following Logan's lead, he gets out of the car and stretches.

Ororo slides out of the car and stretches, standing up on tiptoe and leaning backward, popping her back. "The boy we're meeting is named Stanley. The Professor says his power is rather-- hey."

"What on earth..." She frowns, spotting the limo. "... apparently we have company."

She frowns and glances at Logan. "... anyone we know?"

Kurt looks nervously at the limo and between Logan and Storm and realizes this isn't quite normal.

Logan takes a deep breath, his nose wrinkling. "Magneto." He blinks. "And Mystique." Another deep breath. "And the Prodigal Son." He raises an eyebrow.

He only met them once, but the subsequent action of Magneto and Mystique left a bad first impression. Kurt tenses up.

There's movement at the battered wire door, and John comes out, carrying a bag, calling something out to the people already in the car. He freezes, and immediately takes out his lighter with his free hand, flicking it open, his eyes looking over the X-Men, and narrowing on Logan. "Long time no see. If you'll excuse me, both Stanley and I have rides."

'I have a bad feeling about this...' Kurt thinks.

Storm grits her teeth a little, but merely arches up an eyebrow. "You, yes. As for Stanley, I'd like to see that for myself."

Kurt begins scanning the yard. To Logan he says softly, "Was Stanley's family here? Or just the boy?"

Logan leans back against the car, shrugging at John's narrowed gaze. He answers Kurt without taking his eyes off the boys. "They're here. No blood or fear, though. Looks like they're staying inside."

Kurt nods. He has no idea what to do.

John steps carefully down the porch, bag still in one hand, lighter in the other, and he flicks it lit with a thumb, chucking the bag into the open door of the limo, still wary. "Hey, Mr. Erik, sir, we got visitors."

Holding up one hand up behind her, Storm signals Kurt and Logan to /keep quiet/, keeping her own eyes locked on John. "Please. I'd rather not have this turn into a confrontation."

Logan nods, glancing at Kurt to be sure he saw the signal, too, then turning his gaze back to John. He's tense and ready, but he knows that a fight is no way to get Stanley to come with them.

Kurt stays still, but his tail is nervously flicking.

Erik raises an elegant eyebrow at John, then rises from the back of the limo in one smooth motion. The metallic frame of the car shimmers with the force of his power being drawn to him. "So we do."

Kurt tenses up, and wills himself not to give away his nerves. He makes his tail be still.

Logan's only response to Erik's rise from the limo is to roll his head over his shoulders, cracking his neck.

Storm turns around to face the limo, a faint scent of ozone stirring in the air as she marshalls her own forces. A display like /that/ is fairly unmistakable. "Mister Lehnsherr. What a /pleasant/ suprise."

John flashes them a taunting grin, and steps back, allowing Magneto space. "So. I guess we'll be doing this the easy way, then?"

Erik tips his head toward Ororo. "Storm," he murmurs with his too-smooth voice curling the single syllable over his lips. "So nice to see you again. I do hope you are well." His gaze flicks to Logan. "Hm, you've brought the Wolverine. Of course you are well." He shrugs one elegant shoulder. "And...Nightcrawler." His lips curl.

Kurt straightens up, a certain fierceness coming into his eyes. He quickly mouths a hail mary.

The irises of Storm's eyes start to whiten over, but she doesn't make any more moves otherwise. "Stanley. Show him to us, Lehnsherr. Now."

Erik's grin broadens. "But of course." He glances down into the car, waving his hand slightly in invitation. "Stanley, do come out, please. Some...former companions of mine would like to meet you." (more)

A short, chubby boy of about fifteen crawls from the back of the limo, eyes wide with awe and a little bit of fear. He smiles timidly at Ororo, Kurt, and Logan, then looks to Erik for further instructions.

Kurt wonders if the boy knows what's going on at all, and feels a stab of pity for him, not knowing which side is the right one. He gives the boy and encouragang smile.

Storm's eyes clear, and she smiles very faintly. "Hello, Stanley. Has Erik explained what's going on to you?"

Stanley murmurs a quiet "Hello" before looking to Erik, uncertain if he should answer. Already, Erik has him wrapped around his little finger. "I...yes?" he says, whispering.

Storm looks from Stanley to Erik to John to Erik to Logan, then finally back to Stanley. "I'm afraid, Stanley, that he /hasn't/. He isn't your only option, you know..."

"He's the only game that's worth it," John interjects. "Me and Stan had a little talk about why he shouldn't join the X-Men."

Kurt is beginning to get slightly irate. "What, you told him how they tried to kill all the non-mutants? How they betrayed *us*?"

Logan growls quietly in response, thinking that John's reasons for leaving the X-Men were childish, to say the least. He cracks his neck again, then his knuckles, releasing tension.

John shrugs, considering his words. "There's a war coming, your Saintliness. Stan here wants to be on the winning side." He grins. "Doncha Stan?"

"In a war like the one you are bringing, John..." Storm murmurs, very quietly, "there /is/ no winning side."

Kurt sends a grateful look to Ororo.

John bites his thumb and looks at her. "Well. Those who'll be left standing. Close enough, right?"

Stanley's wide, awe-filled eyes tell all they need to about his reasons for standing with Erik. "Yes. The Winning Side." He's never been on the winning side of anything before. The idea appeals to him. He doesn't even hear the rest of the conversation about 'those left standing'.

"Left standing on the bones of some five and three-quarters BILLION people, John, standing in the midst of a second Dark Ages."

"Well, I'll keep an eye on those I give a fuck about and try to save them from oblivion, Miss Munroe. How about that? Now, if you don't mind, I think we gotta be going. Right, Chief?"

Looking at Stanley, "It would be a holocaust, a cowardly murderous slaughter. There's nothing noble in that."

Nobility doesn't seem to concern the boy. He's still beaming happily at the thought of /winning/. "The Winning Side," he murmurs again.

Erik looks at John, then Stanley. "Yes, I'm afraid we must be going." He smiles pleasantly at Ororo. "Thank you for the lovely conversation. I do hope to see you again soon..." He waves a hand to usher the boys into the car.

"... Hell with this." Storm whirls and takes a step towards John. "You want to get going? Fine. But before you do, I have something for you."

John steps back, suddenly afraid, and swallows. "Yeah?"

Unfortunately for him, she's been training with Logan, and closes the gap between them /much/ quicker than John would have thought possible. "/This/." And suddenly, she's /hugging/ him. Very tightly.

Kurt's eyes open really wide, trying to figure out what she's doing.

John flinches sharply, and then groans. "Oh, geez....Hugging?" He looks back at Erik briefly and doesn't respond to the hug before trying to wriggle free.

"Hugging." Storm affirms, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. "From Alison, and Piotr, and Kitty, and Terry, and Marie, and Charles, and Bobby. And me. Because, John, just because you aren't with us, doesn't make us any less your family."

Another groan. "Oh, Christ." He does step back, running fingers through his hair. "Look. Thanks and all, but I got me a new family now."

Kurt is relieved and mentally appluads Ororo's appeal to love, but worried at John's reluctance to be anything but tough.

She just shrugs in response. "Fine. But families aren't opt-out. They're the ones who have to take you back when you have nowhere else to go. You can disown us, if you want, but we won't do the same to you."

There's a tight smile on his face. "Yeah, cause you're all about sharing the love. Tell me about it." Of course, that's directed to Logan, as anyone with a clue would know.

Logan raises an eyebrow at John. He suspects this is aimed at him and it takes him a moment to formulate a response that Storm won't kill him over, later. "He misses you, y'know."

John's eyes blaze with a sudden fury and it seems as if he's almost ready to hurl fire at Logan, before he relents. "Fuck. You." he spits out, and stalks back to the car, clambering inside.

Kurt blinks, trying to figure out what /that/ was about.

Logan shrugs casually and eyes Stanley, who's still standing beside Erik, awestruck.

Storm spares a moment to glare at Logan, but just shakes it off. "Good luck, Stanley. I think you are going to need it."

Kurt looks between John and Stanley. "I'll be praying for you."

Erik, on the other hand, is smiling peacefully, completely at ease with the situation. "Come now, Stanley. We mustn't waste time. Do get in the limo." (more)
esmesprout: Stanley blinks, then waves timidly at Storm and crawls into the car.

Erik waves one elegant hand, then slips in beside the boys, closing the door behind himself.

"Logan?"

Logan looks at Ororo. "Yeah?"

*WHAM*. A fist straight into Logan's stomach is the only answer. "Kurt, do you know how to drive?"

Kurt feels even more out of the loop. He looks at Logan, who is cussing under his breath (or outloud, whatever), and then at Ororo and nods.

Logan grunts with the force of her punch, swearing, then straightens again. He should've expected that.
myyahel: "Good. Don't get pulled over." She digs the keys out of her back pocket and tosses them at Kurt, then heads for the back seat.

Risking another glimpse at Ororo, Kurt readjusts the driver's seat to his specifications, putting tail between the front seats, so that the tip is on the back floor, and starts the car.

Logan squares his shoulders and crawls into the passenger seat, not bothering with the seatbelt, as usual. He stares out the window silently.