xp_logs | Day Zero - Next of Kin

The call comes, and the first of the fallen is counted.

Forge moved from room to room in the mansion, manually checking security readouts. It was pointless and borderline obsessive, but until someone heard from the people in Manhattan, there was precious little that he could actually do. He'd already reconfigured all the emergency alerts to go straight to his phone the moment someone checked in - but it had been nearly twelve hours since what the news was just calling "the incident" or "the impact event", and there'd been no word. Not from the student trip, nor from any of the Snow Valley personnel.

From behind him, there was the rustle of movement as Wanda appeared in the doorway, looking just as restless as Forge. She was freshly showered but was wearing the same clothes as the day before since she hadn't expected to still be at the mansion longer than that morning, she hadn't brought extra clothing. "You look like I feel," she said after a moment of quiet, rubbing her eyes tiredly as she tossed her cell phone onto the nearest surface.

"Just making sure everything's secure," Forge mumbled, checking readouts on his PDA. "Mutant terrorism always tends to come back on us here, no harm in being extra vigilant. Besides, I--"

Suddenly, a disconcertingly cheerful indie-pop song began playing from Forge's pocket, and his eyes lit up. He immediately grabbed his phone and held it to his ear.

"Jennie! Are you okay? What's going on... wait, what? Who? Marnie? This is Forge. Yeah, yeah, you're one of Jennie's - where is she? Why have you got her phone? She what? Okay, you're coming here with her sister - no, it's okay - Marnie... Marnie, listen to me. Where is Jennie? No, calm down. Calm down, I can't -- she... what? What happened to the bridge? There was a what? No, I get that you're okay and -- Marnie, where is Jennie?"

He held the phone to his ear, as his face went totally slack. "Oh. I see. I see. You can - yes, you can come here. 1407 Greymalkin Lane, take the county road out of Salem Center. Call when you get to the gate. Yes. Yes, I know. Marnie, I need to keep this line free, just call when you're here. Okay. Okay. Bye."

Thumbing the button to end the call, Forge just stared down at the phone in his hand.

As soon as she had heard Jennie's name, Wanda had moved to hover by Forge's side; standing with her arms crossed tightly across her chest, she barely waited until the call was done before talking. "What is it? What has happened?" There'd been no news from anyone though Wanda's phone had barely stopped ringing - people she knew from around the world, friends and family, had been trying to get in touch with her to make sure she was all right. "Forge..."

"The George Washington Bridge was attacked during the evacuation," Forge responded flatly. "It was destroyed. Jennie... Jennie was on the bridge."

There was a sharp acidic taste in her mouth as a cold wave washed over Wanda and she took a minute to lean on the wall. Soft, rhythmic words flowed for a moment - prayers, pleas for a few favors - and it was a sharp contrast to the sizzle under her hand as wood warped and burned under a flare of muted red light.

Hand shaking, Forge fumbled to put his phone back in his pocket. "I have... I need to..." He took a deep breath, trying to pull himself together. "I've got to get to work. Cyclops and Storm need to know."

Wanda pulled herself up right, bits of wood and wall paper raining from her hand when she removed it. She didn't, couldn't, look at him at the moment but when she spoke, her voice was firm and hard. "We are going to find her. And the others." She could smell Mark's blood as it soaked into her clothing, could feel the hard pressure of the floor of the lobby under her knees as she protected his body with her own, when he had come back to them. "We will find them and bring them back home." No room for hesitation because there was no time for it.

"Right," Forge said, with no faith behind his words. "I've got... they need to know. I have to go. I... her family needs to... I have to go now."

With that, he practically bolted into the hallway. There was work to be done. Mourning could come later.