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xp_logsOn their way back from a field trip at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Gen X gang have a rude interruption to their trip.
It was a dull, dark afternoon's drive back from the Smithsonian. Traffic had held them up on the way out of Washington, and the short day was rapidly darkening into night as the Xavier's bus made its way down the freeway. A mixture of rain and snow had begun to fall, obscuring the road and making things even darker. And more slippery.
Nica turned her attention from the window - she couldn't see anything now, it was so dark - and focused instead on the rest of Generation X around her. It had been their first real outing as a group, the older members as well as the younger ones, and things had gone... reasonably smoothly, all things considered.
"Stephen," she said to the dark-haired Brit sitting near her. "What did you think of the nation's capital? The little bit of it you saw, anyway?"
"Hmm, I'd have to go with green," Stephen decided, "I mean I'm used to cities being all big skyscrapers and crowded streets, like London, like New York. But Washington was so green with a lot more space." the teenager gave her a grin, "I kinda like it, it's different but freaky too."
"I like the museum more. It was really different than the museum my mum works at. It is kind of interesting to see how different countries have different set up." Clea turning her attention to the occupants around her.
"I've always admired the British system, where nearly all galleries and museums are free to the public," Hank said eagerly, still buzzing a bit from the visit earlier that day. "It seems so obvious - why wouldn't the government want to invest in historical preservation and culture - but sadly we haven't extended that as far here. Still, the Smithsonian Institution is an excellent start, don't you think?"
"I wish we could've gone to the Spy Museum," Miles lamented, looking up from his phone once he finished sending off a text. "They've got a whole exhibit about James Bonds villains right now. Also, spies."
"Dude," Bobby said, holding a hand out to stop Miles as he looked around with a frown. "maybe this was the Spy Museum." he posited. "I mean, a museum that's all about spies would be undercover itself, right? Like, it doesn't look like it's about spies because it's all about spies and shit." He looked around for proof of his theory, turning one way and then the other.
The Smithsonian had been fantastically interesting for Meggan. The Spy Museum sounded fun now that they mentioned it. “Do they have an exhibit on James Bond’s gadgets, too?” She glanced out the window herself now, when she heard a sound. Was it her imagination, or was the sleet mix getting worse? "Then only the spies can learn about themselves if it's completely undercover," she joked. Nobody else could get in if that were the case.
Topaz was bundled up in the back of the bus with her ear buds popped into her ears, music playing as her eyes skimmed her book. She'd wanted to get out of the mansion for the day, and this had seemed like the best option - at least until she'd seen the weather. Now she just wanted to get back and make some tea.
Chin propped in her hand, Illyana was watching the scenery dispassionately with her feet pulled up on the empty seat beside her. Not only had this so-called "natural history" museum contained absolutely zero information that she cared about, but spending so much time with her so-called peers was giving her a headache. Plus DC was apparently not the Illuminati stronghold promised on the internet, unless there was something secret and magical about people who yelled when you walked up the stairs on the wrong side.
Behind her, Amadeus's head bounced to the rhythm of the wheels. He'd kept up a steady stream of "Um, Actually's," to be as annoying as humanly possible. It had gotten to the point that he was threatened with the prospect of no lunch, which shut him up. And, for being so Good, he'd eaten three whole meals by himself, which a nice xenophobic Representative from Arkansas paid for. Or, rather, her stolen credit card had.
Now pleasantly full, he dozed on the way back to Westchester.
The Smithsonian had been interesting, never having had the time before to visit, so she had taken the chance and tagged along with the kids. The look of the weather... that one Sharon was not liking as much. During winter in Rapid City when she had still worked as an EMT... she had seen too many accidents. "Is it me or is it getting worse outside?"
Leaning against a window, Alison continued to snore softly. It had been a long trip, and she was putting her skill of being able to sleep anywhere to good use. Even in her dreams, the rhythmic thrum of the engine brought her a sense of peace. Her hair shimmered, and her body glowed a soft yellow even in the afternoon light. It had been a good day.
Maya was curled into as small a ball as possible in her seat - glaring out the window as they travelled. She could feel the anxiety pinging through her body but at least this was a large enough vehicle that it didn't set her off completely.
"It was okay, wish we'd had time to go to the American Indian museum though."
"I would have liked to see that as well," Amara replied, glancing in from her examination of the passing scenery. "I feel like there was a lot we weren't able to see. Perhaps next time a longer trip can be arranged."
Listening to everything going on around him without commenting for most of the bus ride, Matt had a one ear bud in an ear as he checked his work email on his tablet. "Udvar Hazy is my favourite," he commented randomly, "It's the overflow for the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. Our dad's took us when I was 9th grade, I think? It has the space shuttle and Amelia Earhart's planes." being blind, he couldn't really appreciate some of the exhibits the way they were intended, but he'd been able to touch quite a few exhibits there and his powers had been growing back then too. The Smithsonian was good about accommodating his needs.
"That one's pretty good," Kitty said absently. She didn't care much for the natural history museum--she preferred museums about stories. However, she reflected, what interested her wouldn't necessarily feel the same to a bunch of teenagers. Dinosaurs, on the other hand, were always a safe bet. "Anybody have a favorite exhibit? I always like looking at trilobites."
Kitty kicked a leg up on the seat, slouching her back against the window.
"I liked the giant sloth," Maya said after a long moment, her voice almost non-existent it was so soft. "It's cool that there were once giant mammals roaming around."
Mostly ignoring the rest of the passengers, Ty concentrated on the third of his half-dozen foot-long sub sandwiches. It had been a busy day.
"The sloth was pretty cool," Darcy agreed, "but my favorite was the Iceland exhibit, especially since the area is so beautiful."
From the front, Julian allowed himself to absorb the snippets of conversation from his students, but stayed out of it- not wanting to interject and correct them on every little detail. He was happy that the trip had gone off without a snag; no killer robots, no super-storms annihilating the capital, not even a killer mutant intent on causing mayhem. Of course, the extra security he'd had posted around the museum had been a reassuring thought, though not one he had wanted to mention to the students.
The grey day passed outside, as their cheerful conversations made the interior bright. Traffic was light, though given what time it was, that was not too weird. Which made the sudden brake lights ahead of them all the more curious. Through the soundproofed cabin he could hear the sound of wrenching metal, and popped a shield around the mini-bus on instinct. Ahead of them a bit, a bridge swayed as a tanker rolled over, taking out part of the guard rail. Cars slid on the slick roads- often colliding, one coming to a precarious stop halfway over the edge. "Oh crap," Julian breathed as they rolled to a stop just beyond the last of the traffic accidents. "We need to help," he turned around to face the students, all of whom had noticed the sudden stop.
Silence hung for a moment, every face turned to Julian, shocked and surprised. Then, slowly, movement - putting on coats, collecting first aid kids, pulling scarves over faces as a temporary disguise…
Generation X went to work.
It was a dull, dark afternoon's drive back from the Smithsonian. Traffic had held them up on the way out of Washington, and the short day was rapidly darkening into night as the Xavier's bus made its way down the freeway. A mixture of rain and snow had begun to fall, obscuring the road and making things even darker. And more slippery.
Nica turned her attention from the window - she couldn't see anything now, it was so dark - and focused instead on the rest of Generation X around her. It had been their first real outing as a group, the older members as well as the younger ones, and things had gone... reasonably smoothly, all things considered.
"Stephen," she said to the dark-haired Brit sitting near her. "What did you think of the nation's capital? The little bit of it you saw, anyway?"
"Hmm, I'd have to go with green," Stephen decided, "I mean I'm used to cities being all big skyscrapers and crowded streets, like London, like New York. But Washington was so green with a lot more space." the teenager gave her a grin, "I kinda like it, it's different but freaky too."
"I like the museum more. It was really different than the museum my mum works at. It is kind of interesting to see how different countries have different set up." Clea turning her attention to the occupants around her.
"I've always admired the British system, where nearly all galleries and museums are free to the public," Hank said eagerly, still buzzing a bit from the visit earlier that day. "It seems so obvious - why wouldn't the government want to invest in historical preservation and culture - but sadly we haven't extended that as far here. Still, the Smithsonian Institution is an excellent start, don't you think?"
"I wish we could've gone to the Spy Museum," Miles lamented, looking up from his phone once he finished sending off a text. "They've got a whole exhibit about James Bonds villains right now. Also, spies."
"Dude," Bobby said, holding a hand out to stop Miles as he looked around with a frown. "maybe this was the Spy Museum." he posited. "I mean, a museum that's all about spies would be undercover itself, right? Like, it doesn't look like it's about spies because it's all about spies and shit." He looked around for proof of his theory, turning one way and then the other.
The Smithsonian had been fantastically interesting for Meggan. The Spy Museum sounded fun now that they mentioned it. “Do they have an exhibit on James Bond’s gadgets, too?” She glanced out the window herself now, when she heard a sound. Was it her imagination, or was the sleet mix getting worse? "Then only the spies can learn about themselves if it's completely undercover," she joked. Nobody else could get in if that were the case.
Topaz was bundled up in the back of the bus with her ear buds popped into her ears, music playing as her eyes skimmed her book. She'd wanted to get out of the mansion for the day, and this had seemed like the best option - at least until she'd seen the weather. Now she just wanted to get back and make some tea.
Chin propped in her hand, Illyana was watching the scenery dispassionately with her feet pulled up on the empty seat beside her. Not only had this so-called "natural history" museum contained absolutely zero information that she cared about, but spending so much time with her so-called peers was giving her a headache. Plus DC was apparently not the Illuminati stronghold promised on the internet, unless there was something secret and magical about people who yelled when you walked up the stairs on the wrong side.
Behind her, Amadeus's head bounced to the rhythm of the wheels. He'd kept up a steady stream of "Um, Actually's," to be as annoying as humanly possible. It had gotten to the point that he was threatened with the prospect of no lunch, which shut him up. And, for being so Good, he'd eaten three whole meals by himself, which a nice xenophobic Representative from Arkansas paid for. Or, rather, her stolen credit card had.
Now pleasantly full, he dozed on the way back to Westchester.
The Smithsonian had been interesting, never having had the time before to visit, so she had taken the chance and tagged along with the kids. The look of the weather... that one Sharon was not liking as much. During winter in Rapid City when she had still worked as an EMT... she had seen too many accidents. "Is it me or is it getting worse outside?"
Leaning against a window, Alison continued to snore softly. It had been a long trip, and she was putting her skill of being able to sleep anywhere to good use. Even in her dreams, the rhythmic thrum of the engine brought her a sense of peace. Her hair shimmered, and her body glowed a soft yellow even in the afternoon light. It had been a good day.
Maya was curled into as small a ball as possible in her seat - glaring out the window as they travelled. She could feel the anxiety pinging through her body but at least this was a large enough vehicle that it didn't set her off completely.
"It was okay, wish we'd had time to go to the American Indian museum though."
"I would have liked to see that as well," Amara replied, glancing in from her examination of the passing scenery. "I feel like there was a lot we weren't able to see. Perhaps next time a longer trip can be arranged."
Listening to everything going on around him without commenting for most of the bus ride, Matt had a one ear bud in an ear as he checked his work email on his tablet. "Udvar Hazy is my favourite," he commented randomly, "It's the overflow for the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. Our dad's took us when I was 9th grade, I think? It has the space shuttle and Amelia Earhart's planes." being blind, he couldn't really appreciate some of the exhibits the way they were intended, but he'd been able to touch quite a few exhibits there and his powers had been growing back then too. The Smithsonian was good about accommodating his needs.
"That one's pretty good," Kitty said absently. She didn't care much for the natural history museum--she preferred museums about stories. However, she reflected, what interested her wouldn't necessarily feel the same to a bunch of teenagers. Dinosaurs, on the other hand, were always a safe bet. "Anybody have a favorite exhibit? I always like looking at trilobites."
Kitty kicked a leg up on the seat, slouching her back against the window.
"I liked the giant sloth," Maya said after a long moment, her voice almost non-existent it was so soft. "It's cool that there were once giant mammals roaming around."
Mostly ignoring the rest of the passengers, Ty concentrated on the third of his half-dozen foot-long sub sandwiches. It had been a busy day.
"The sloth was pretty cool," Darcy agreed, "but my favorite was the Iceland exhibit, especially since the area is so beautiful."
From the front, Julian allowed himself to absorb the snippets of conversation from his students, but stayed out of it- not wanting to interject and correct them on every little detail. He was happy that the trip had gone off without a snag; no killer robots, no super-storms annihilating the capital, not even a killer mutant intent on causing mayhem. Of course, the extra security he'd had posted around the museum had been a reassuring thought, though not one he had wanted to mention to the students.
The grey day passed outside, as their cheerful conversations made the interior bright. Traffic was light, though given what time it was, that was not too weird. Which made the sudden brake lights ahead of them all the more curious. Through the soundproofed cabin he could hear the sound of wrenching metal, and popped a shield around the mini-bus on instinct. Ahead of them a bit, a bridge swayed as a tanker rolled over, taking out part of the guard rail. Cars slid on the slick roads- often colliding, one coming to a precarious stop halfway over the edge. "Oh crap," Julian breathed as they rolled to a stop just beyond the last of the traffic accidents. "We need to help," he turned around to face the students, all of whom had noticed the sudden stop.
Silence hung for a moment, every face turned to Julian, shocked and surprised. Then, slowly, movement - putting on coats, collecting first aid kids, pulling scarves over faces as a temporary disguise…
Generation X went to work.
