Noise & Confusion... Jail Birds

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Angelica, Catseye, Nico and Yvette in a holding cell...nuff' said.


"We've been arrested." The words were said quietly and in obvious shock as Angel sat on the bench with Yvette, Catseye and Nico. They had been showed into a cell with strict instructions that they weren't to use any sort of powers; Julian, however, had been led into a different cell with the clipped explanation that they separated everyone going in by gender. Not that they would have, not with someone watching from just a few feet away, clearly looking for any outward sign of powers usage.

Angel, as good a goodie two shoes as one could get with a penchant for mischief, X-Men trainee and practically a full volunteer fire fighter, couldn't get over it.

"We're never going to be full team now," she moaned, voice still quiet as she let her head thunk back against the wall.

Yvette, a picture of spiky misery with her hair standing out on end, nodded. She was sitting a little away from her friends, not wanting to injure them - the whole idea of being in custody was terrifying to her. "What do you think will happen?" she asked softly. "These police, they do not like mutants very much. Remember when Inez was being arrested?"

Catseye hadn't stopped pacing since being brought to the cell, the picturesque caged cat- anxious and extremely pissed off. "We did nothing wrong," she growled at Angel and Yvette, tail lashing as she made it to the end of the cell and started back in the other direction. "The team will understand. We just have to be patient and wait and they will let us out." She wished she felt as confident and as nonchalant as she sounded.

Nico was far more relaxed than the trio; she had had a tiny bit of experience with being at jail -not that she would ever mention it-, and most importantly..."Well, I'm not even a trainee, which in a way could be even worse for me?" She trusted Xavier enough to know this was temporary. "And you girls are not out of the team or anything; I'm sure than half the current team has some shameful act in their past...and this was self defense. So relax and wait." She was certainly trying.

"It will not be worse for you, you were only helping," Catseye growled. "We were all just helping. We need to wait and they will let us out."

"And you would not be the only student who has been in the jail," Yvette pointed out to Nico. "I just hope the it is not like it was for Laurie, where it went to the trial." The idea of being dragged up in front of a judge was even scarier than being locked up. "Perhaps Mr. Kane will come for us, like he did for Inez."

"Patient, I can do patient," Angel muttered. But she was better at being freaked out - never in a million years had she thought she'd wind up in a jail. At least not in the inside of one. She took a deep breath, hands clenched tightly on the knees of her pants. "We'll be okay, we have to be. Cats is right, we didn't do a thing wrong."

The small Albanian girl bit her lip. This wasn't like her home country, she had to remind herself, or any of the war-torn countries surrounding it. The police in America were fair and not corrupt. They had rules. But still her hands twisted in her lap, shredding and reshredding the self-repairing cloth of her gloves. "That boy," she said, trying to focus on something else. "He was the boy who was fighting with Julian in Malibu."

"Why was he so angry with Julian? He threw a bike through the window!" Catseye mused in disbelief. "What did Julian do to make him so angry?"

"I think there's a long list," Angel replied, shifting again. Simon had manhandled her a little more than she would have liked and she wondered vaguely if she'd bruise in a day or two. "But on the top of that list? Jerk McJerkface."

"I think it was in the past, when Julian was in the gang?" Yvette suggested. "But he did not understand then why his friend was trying to kill him. At least no-one was badly hurt, yes?"

"Because we helped get the people to safety," Catseye pointed out, loudly, glaring outside the cell. She stopped pacing for a moment and turned to Angel. "Jerk McJerkface? What does that mean for a reason to be angry?"

"Oh, it's not a reason but it's now my new, personal name for that guy," Angel clarified, leaning forward so she could rest her arms on her knees. She frowned but didn't mention that the officer watching at them had noted that movement. "Well, we've called the mansion and I've called my mom who is bringing the wrath of lawyers down on everything if this goes much further, so..."

Nico kept her feelings on the subject -and about Julian- to herself. "We wait", muttered as she slid down the wall she was leaning against, eyes closing.


***

Bobby & Hank wait to get the kids once they're released, puns are exchanged.


Hank paced the short length of the waiting room, his lab-coat still on over his suit since he'd been in the lab when the call came in. "What is taking so long?" he grumbled, turning back and walking the length of the room again.

Bobby Drake was handling the wait much better than his roommate, sitting in the corner of the room with his legs crossed and reading through the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated. "Well when you have hardened criminals like ours, you have to make sure that they throw the book at them before they let them out." He looked over the top of the magazine and raised an eyebrow at Hank. "Seriously, with all the worrying you do with the kids and in the medical bay you're going to be the one on the hospital bed with an aneurysm."

Hank stopped and took a seat next to Bobby, "You know what the Salem Center Police are like- half-of-them are Friends of Humanity and the other half will probably be joining up with the Purifiers as soon as they get here." Suppressing the shutter from the thought of the newly emerging zealous organization, he pressed on. "The only reason they've even been arrested is because they're mutants."

Bobby put down the magazine and uncrossed his legs to get a better look at the big-blue guy next to him. "It's true." He put his hand up on Hank's shoulder. "But I remember a long time ago when I was a student, a very wise bald man told me that no matter what others do to us, we have to prove to them that we're different through the example we set." Picking up the magazine and recrossing his lets, Bobby let out one last statement. "But depending on what we found out the kids did, will determine if I have to make one of them or the police car out back into a giant Popsicle."

"Quoting Charles to me? Really, Bobby?" Hank scoffed and shook his head, "Julian said that it had something to do with an old friend coming into town. It didn't make a lot of sense."

Bobby couldn't help but laugh. "Well after you've quoted him to me so many times, I couldn't help but to take the opportunity, ya know?" Bobby's smile slowly subsided as he fell into trying to piece exactly what was going on with the kids together with Hank. Despite his sarcasm, Bobby still considered all of the minors at the school like his own personal kids, and wouldn't let any unnecessary harm come to them. "Did he get out what the charges were to you?"

"Wanton destruction of property, reckless endangerment, disturbing the peace, take your pick. I have a feeling the cafe we drove by on our way here has something to do with all of this." Hank sighed and ran a hand across the fur on-top of his head.

Bobby shook his head for a second before lowering his voice. "Whatever happened to just making it snow indoors or throwing ice water into someone's shower." Straightening up, he ran his fingers over his chin. "It looked like something our guys could do, but I doubt that even our little group of delinquents would destroy a cafe all on their own. Do you think this old friend had something to do with it?"

"Of course," Hank sunk into the seat and thought for a moment, "I'm sure we'll know soon enough, right?"

"I'll tell ya one thing. Despite if they were provoked or not, these kids are gonna be cleaning my classroom for a month as punishment regardless of if they were provoked or not." He smiled again. "At least I can get some free labor out of this whole mess, right?"

William was on his mind at the moment and the thought of having his son in this situation just put another knot in his stomach. "Hrmm? Oh, yes, at least they can clap some erasers for you." Hank smiled, weakly.

Noticing the uneasiness on the big blue lugs face, Bobby patted him on the shoulder. "Hey big guy, we'll get to the bottom of this one way or another. You don't have to worry about that."

Hank smiled a little stronger and clapped his hand over Bobby's, "I think we've got our roles backwards here. Shouldn't I be the one keeping you on an even keel?"

"You don't teach them. So you're not in charge of keeping them in their seats every five seconds." Bobby smiled. "After trying to keep a group of mutants honest during an hour long class, not much that they do can give you a hot head." He let out a chuckle. "And that's hard to do to me anyway."

"Puns, Bobby? Really now, I thought I'd taught you better than that," Hank chuckled as well.