xp_logs | Scott and Ororo | Tuesday night (Reply)

In the Sit Room Scott and Ororo assess the newest addition to the Brotherhood and discuss how to deal with him. 'Ignore him' doesn't seem to be an option.

"Jean and Nathan are going to be cranky when I make them sit down and write up full assessments of Saidullayev as a telekinetic, and all his strengths and weaknesses," Scott said, leaning back in his chair with a sigh. He'd propped his bad leg on another chair, necessitated a rather awkward sprawl. "We need the detail, though. It's the only way we can plan."

Ororo nodded, tapping a pen against the paper in front of her more as a time-occupying gesture than anything else. "I am sure they will understand the necessity of it, especially as it is all but guaranteed they will have to go up against this new threat in the future."

"I don't know. Maybe he'll turn out not to have a taste for Magneto's way of doing thing?" It was a pretty vain sort of hope, really. Magneto was entirely too damned charismatic, after all. "At least we can count on him not being operational for a while. Jim said he'd had a schizophrenic break."

"Somehow," she said dryly, lifting her gaze to Scott's face, "that is not entirely reassuring."

Scott snorted softly. "Well, I don't think Erik's stooped to putting the non-functioning crazies into the field yet. I mean, from what Veres did in Berlin you can't really call him sane, but at least he wasn't gibbering."

"Yes, but it is only a matter of time until Saidullayev is rehabilitated - he would not have taken him if he did not have some greater plan in mind." As 'kind' a gesture as it was, they both knew Magneto wasn't so great a humanitarian as to rescue one mutant from a near-war zone with no ulterior motive.

"I know. Although at least we probably have that time." Scott folded his arms across his chest, sighing. "You think he's gearing up for something? Recruiting these heavy hitters..."

"I would be shocked if he was not. Though goddess only knows what that could be..." Sighing, Ororo gave a shrug. "Besides giving us all migraine headaches the size of Siberia."

"Speaking of headaches, I left it to Charles to call Val Cooper. I'm such a buck-passer." Maybe this wasn't the best time to be flippant, but gloom and doom could be awfully tiring.

"There is a reason he gets paid the big bucks," 'Ro quipped. "And wears the really nice suits." Setting down her pen, she laid her palms on her legs and sat back in her chair. "It is best coming from him, anyway. This is not the sort of news that will be welcomed with open arms. Especially if they think we could have done anything to stop it."

"Gah, I hope we don't get any second-guessing." It was a possibility, though, Ororo was right. If nothing else, there'd been a certain expectation that the X-Men would do something about Magneto for some time now.

"If we do, we do. If it not as if they can truly understand, no matter how we might try to explain it. Of course, the man was destroying a city... I do not see how they could delude themselves into thinking they could have done a better job."

"Best way to meet it is with strategies for the inevitable repeat performance. Cain said something interesting," Scott said, warming to the subject. "I'll spare you the metaphor, but basically, we meet force with subtlety."

After nodding slowly, Ororo tipped her head to one side thoughtfully. "Although coming from Cain, it is an amusing observation."

"He has hidden depths," Scott said with a perfectly straight face. "Well, seriously, I think it's the military experience. That was the nature of the metaphor, and it's a good point... "

"Yes, it is. We face problems that cannot be solved merely by throwing buckets of bullets at them. Traditional weapons and tactics have no place in a battle against a man like Saidullayev. Or Magneto."

"Unconventional thinking, again. We've got such a powers mix these days, it shouldn't be that much of a challenge." Scott smiled slightly. "I say we try various scenarios, with Jean or Nate playing Saidullayev, until we get a range of options established."

"I agree. I think it would not go amiss to have the trainees observe and perhaps write their own scenarios as well - who knows what they may come up with? And they need to know how serious this job may be." Ororo's expression was sober, but not defeated.

"Excellent idea. We can call it a complementary training exercise." Scott rubbed at the back of his neck, but did in fact feel like he was relaxing slightly. Bouncing ideas back and forth with Ororo always did that. "Now we just look at scheduling. Nate won't be cleared for the Danger Room for at least a week. Jean's at our disposal, though."

"Then let us call up a roster and see what sort of complementary teams we can put together." Ororo's posture seemed to ease a little, and she even hazarded a small smile. "And tell your wife to brush up on her Chechen."

"Oh, just what I need. A new language for her to call me fond but heartfelt names in." Scott called up the rosters, shaking his head. "She thinks he's stronger because he's not a telepath too, you know. We need to ask Charles if that's even possible, although I'd be inclined to trust Jean's impression."

"As would I. Jim and Nathan are bound to have theories, too. I will ask them when they are out of the infirmary."

"The more we plan, the better off we'll be," Scott muttered almost distractedly, his attention on the rosters now. "So... let's be unconventional."