xp_logs | Accusations (backdated)

The day after the attack, accusations fly amongst the teens.

Hope had been up for like two or three hours when she heard a click and the door unlocked. Luckily a clean outfit had been provided, so she didn't have to wear her gown and a search of the desk yielded some pen and paper to get a start on her next assignment: plan a one day visit for a friendly head of state. Of course there was an office that took care of it for real...

Stepping into the hallway, she spotted CJ coming from a door across from her and moved to walk next to her. "Any idea what is going to happen next?"

CJ- or was it Profiler now?- looked worse for wear. While Hope had been blissfully high throughout the confrontation at the gala, she'd not been so lucky. She had not slept since they'd been dropped back at the safe house and secured in their respective rooms- the question of 'what will happen next?' had been much on her mind. "I...do not know," a phrase CJ hated saying.

Nothing to do but wait and see..." Hope muttered almost ominously. "I think the others are over there..." They entered in some kind of common room where a breakfast table was set up and Ian and Gabe were already milling around. "Wait, we are still missing Eyespy and Mimic I think?"

Eyespy chose that exact moment run in, looking frazzled and rather cross. "What the hell is going on?!" She asked, looking from face to face, a suspicious gaze settling on Hope.

"Someone knows more than they're sharing." responded an angry Mimic, walking in behind Eyespy. She hadn't been part of the actual fight, her powers were unsuited to any combat, so she'd found a safe place to hide until Azazel could get her out. It was difficult to hear anything over the noise of the fight, but she could have sworn she heard Hope's name. And even if that wasn't what she heard, she was convinced that something was going on. She'd seen betrayal first hand in her life -- it wasn't hard to see it again.

"Anyone want to fill me in? Who were those people?"

"I bet Trance knows," Amy's voice barely more than a hiss. "Those were probably her friends out there! She comes from a school of those people!"

"What!?!" A sharp stroke of fury lashed through Hope as she glared at her friend, but a steely calm quickly asserted itself after that. "We have no idea who that were who attacked us... US... including me. Why don't we wait till His Grace clarifies the situation for us and start launching accusations!"

"Right, because I'm sure there are so many mutants running around playing super hero!" Amy shot back, her golden eyes flashing. Nothing was going to convince her that they weren't connected to Hope.

"You are sure of nothing. I do not think you do know the activity and roster of paramilitary mutant organizations that would be interested us." Ian's voice was even and in control, but much deeper and sharper than his usual tone. He was between Amy and Hope in an instant, "I have a slightly better idea: Magnetic North, The Mutant Liberation Front, The Brotherhood. These are three that are publicly known that there's little to no chance Trance is a part of, who could have easily been behind this. You are working off poor intel; half-known hearsay. And you're about to escalate a situation further out of control, when the smartest thing to do would be to try to figure this out as a group!" Despite his obvious desire to calm the situation, Forward had drawn up his posture and shoulders to stand over Amy, moving closer to her as his voiced raised in volume in an attempt to shout her down.

She glared at him, wholly unimpressed, but kept her lips pressed shut, backing off. He'd be eating those words when he found out she was right.

"Though some of the other options might not be that welcome." Hope muttered, still loud enough to hear and crossing her arms as she scanned the others teens.

"Shut. Up." Gabe's words were slowly drawn and ice cold as he sat nursing a drink. He looked worse for wear: pale-faced, bleary-eyed, twitchy. "I for one am tired of of this constant lie game we have without remorse. Of this constant murder we have with unknown each other. The lies. That group murdered Grace..." He stopped, scowling at his own words and took a long drink.

Eyespy just sat down, still looking rather cross as she looked around. Beyond her suspicions, she was worried about what would happen next, but now didn't seem like the best time to be posing questions nobody knew the answer to. Her eyes did, however, swivel around to Gabe, making a face at him. "What do you mean?" She kept her voice low -- he looked hungover.

His glare was murderous. "Words. No. Work. Good." This phrase was pronounced in a painfully slow and deliberate manner. Then, faster, "Commands turn loving living nectar of bees of pollen and butterflies run amok." Gabe shook his head sadly and made a gesture as if knocking back an inhaler. "Kick."

"Do you maybe mean the staff?" Came Hope's low voice. "The two staff members you have gotten fired..." She had learned that much during her wanderings in astral form and the reports she had to make to Scanner. "Because you asked them for certain things? Who knows who open they might be to compromise..." She caught a flash of herself in the mirror of the wall, but ignored as much as possible the hard look in her eyes. "To whom they might have sold their information? I am quite sure his Grace is not without enemies."

There was a moment of tense silence as Hope finished her words, the whole room was on a knife's edge. "Whatever group was behind it, I think they were surprised to see Hope there." CJ pushed off the spot on the wall she had settled against when the argument began, "I was with Hope all night, literally listening to everything she did and watching everything she did- she had nothing to do with the attack on the gala." She put a hand on Hope's shoulder, looking her in the eye, "Though you're not one to talk about drugs though, are you Hope. I don't think it was Kick you were on last night- but you were on something."

"Pure adrenaline perhaps?" Hope threw a glance at CJ. "We had a rather important assignment to complete, remember. I do not mix work and play. Unlike some of us perhaps... What was it, Gabe, what you asked from the staff members who had gotten fired. Alcohol or something a bit stronger?"

"Nice deflecting," Suki spat out, fierce look on her face. "Everything was going great until you joined. Now here we are, on the run, with no idea what's going on."She waved at the motley crew in front of her, all wearing various remnants of their evening clothes‎. "Gabe's proven his loyalty."

"Tell me, Suki?" Hope stepped close, still keeping her face completely bland. "Do you really like it here that much... do you really wish to stay here?"

Suki raised an eyebrow, her eyes flashing with anger. "Oh, is it my turn to be attacked now?‎ Anything so we don't question you too much. I chose to be here. I want to be here. I don't know if I can say the same thing about you."

"Suki Sato..." Hope tapped her chin in mock thoughtfulness. "Your parents own a technology company, right? I think I remember the name... something to do with connection to the Yazuka or the Chinese mob... I am not quite sure..."

Suki slammed her hand down on the table, anger exploding on her face. "We had no choice! My parents were ruined and forced into it, but we betrayed no one! The Satos are honorable people, who make the best of situations. We don't run away from our problems. We don't rely on anyone! Like I said before, I chose to be here, and I have shown my loyalty time and time again. If anyone thinks I had something to do with yesterday, then say it now!" She looked around the room, almost daring the others to comment.

"Now speaks windy hot mess."

Gabe scowled as the garble and gestured incomprehensibly at Hope. Sighing, he instead motioned to Profiler as if to underscore his comment.

"He says you're lying," CJ said, shutting her eyes and giving a slight sigh- a headache was developing, the sort she hadn't had since her abilities first developed and she was overwhelmed with sensory input. Gingerly rubbing her temples she continued, "She's not though- no one here had foreknowledge of the raid." Only after the words had left her mouth did she realize this left her open for accusation, since no one here would be able to tell if she were lying. "And it wasn't me either- stop it."

"I cannot think of any ground for Profiler and Forward." Hope responded. "Nor for Eyespy. I just know with you..." She glared at Gabe and Suki. "... there are things that are suspicious."

"So say she is part of a different organization." Ian looked at Hope before looking at the others, no real suspicion or accusation in his statement, "I want you all to think about this: is it really a bad thing? We may be in the wrong army. Think about it. In a critical situation, we're on our own. No back up. No orders coming from Command. The people we're told care about us? Want to see us shape the future? They're obviously not interested in the people in this room, or else they would be in this room. Someone. Anyone. But no. It's just a waste of time where we try to ferret out the loyalty of a fellow soldier, while other people fight around us. Does any of this seem exceptionally good to anyone...?"

CJ looked from person to person- the atmosphere of the room resting on a knife's edge as Ian had finally said what she was secretly thinking...what she was dreading to say, less she end up in the hands of Goose. Several of her compatriots were angry and trying to formulate a response to his statement, others were just as unsure, but all were experiencing some level of doubt. One wrong word could lead to peace, or an all out brawl between the interns. "I...we...." Taking a second, realizing all eyes were on her and that sledgehammers were mining ore from her brain, she closed her eyes, "Whatever is going on- Ian is right, it is not good. I know some of you doubt this- but think critically for a moment, why are we here? And why is His Grace not?"

"Recovery." Gabe didn't chance trying to articulate more, but paired the word with a shrug and a circular gesture over the side of his face with his free hand. "For. Us."

"He wouldn't betray us," Eyespy said, squaring her shoulders. "If we're here, there's a reason for that, and if He hasn't seen fit to share His reasoning, then who are we to question that?"

"Exactly.". Suki nodded in agreement, taping her fingers on the table. "He's never steered us wrong. He even saved us from those people. Got us to a safe place. He's always had us in mind. I say we wait it our until we get our next orders."

A brief glimpse of emotion shown through the placid mask CJ usually wore- there was no way out now. "Alright-" she said regaining her center and letting her face go blank, "we wait."

"We do not have choice." Hope agreed. "We wait." Even if they did not know what the future would bring...