xp_logs | Ev & Scott, Monday afternoon

Ev refamiliarizes himself with the mansion, and runs into an old friend.

A lot had changed in the mansion since Ev was a student there. For one, it was no longer formally a school itself. But even the actual structure of the mansion had changed over the years. Renovations were to be expected, though, to entice new students with up-to-date amenities, and just as a response to repeated invasions and abductions. Some things did not change, though, namely a certain ruby-eyed, brown-haired teacher's pet spending the precious few minutes he allowed himself in the garage, tinkering under one of the dozens of vehicles stashed there. Ev rapped on the doorframe to announce his entrance, but did not step past the first step until invited.

"Scott."

Scott pushed himself out from under the car, "Never a moment of quiet around here, please tell me that there isn't an emergency right now..." his voice trailed off as he saw the man standing in the doorway. "Ev..." Scott pushed himself to his feet, wiping his hands on a nearby rag, "I can honestly say you're the last person I expected to see. I thought that it was, well never mind. What're you doing here? Is everything ok?"

Ev folded his arms over his chest and offered Scott a small amused smile. "Nice to see you, too. And no, nothing is wrong" — it was easy to lie — "But I'm taking a little vacation, and thought I'd come by. And it's almost our 20-year reunion, so I have to make sure I'm in the running for the awards. I think I have a good shot at most improved odor."

"See, I dunno about that," Scott shot back with an easy smile, nodding at the car, "I think there's a lot to be said for the smell of diesel and oil as a fragrance. Taking a vacation to visit the old stomping grounds? You're not getting married and I missed that, are you?"

"Sorry, still haven't found that dainty hoof to take in marriage," Ev lamented but with good humor. "This is only a little bit of a nostalgic midlife crisis, I'll admit. At least I haven't traded in my car for some souped-up sportscar or a motorcycle." He paused and made a show of looking down the row of vehicles parked in the garage. "So I think I've one-upped a few people . . ."

Scott coughed, "American muscle car and a souped up sportscar and bike thank you very much," he informed Ev with a wry smile, "You know how it is out here, life's so peaceful we don't have much else to do but work on the cars all the time. I was thinking about installing a racing track out back."

Ev kept his expression even but shook his head. "I wish my world was as peaceful as yours." There was no bitterness is his tone, though, just good-natured mocking humor. He stepped down into the garage to get a better look at the car Scott had been working on. "Which other ones are yours, then?"

Peaceful, well it was a nice dream to have no matter how turbulent the mansion was, Scott thought to him self as he took a step back, "That bike, the Pontiac, and this Mustang here," he said tapping the hood of the car he'd been working on, "Somehow they just seem to add up on me."

Ev let out an impressed whistle. "There are worse problems to have. Expensive hobby, though. And on a teacher's salary? A colleague of mine at SHIELD, he'd be proud. Also a mechanic in his spare time. Still trying to get that hovercraft to work."

"If he wants the help I'm sure that the people from Junkyard Wars would be happy to give him a hand," Scott smiled, "I always wanted to compete on that show, that's what I'd call troubleshooting." Scott glanced at the garage and gave an easy shrug, "a teacher with no rent, food or utility bills to pay tends to have a lot of extra cash left over." he noted.

"Touche. You might've picked the right career track after all. Hey, whatever happened to your glasses?" Ev remembered clearly Scott's compulsion to keep the ruby-quartz glasses on at all times lest he bring the house down.

"Well, I kinda got into a little... fight and lost an eye, but hey silver lining it fixed whatever was wrong with my brain," Scott gave Ev a wry look, "Wasn't that long ago that we ran into someone with flesh manipulating powers. And I managed to get my eye back and keep my brain straight. Though," the X-Man fished a pair of glasses out of the nearby toolcase, "bright light makes things a little more difficult to control so I always keep them nearby, just in case."

Lost an eye and became a real cyclops, brain damage fixed, and then regrew eye. That story might have just been fantastical lunacy to most people, but Ev took it in stride. Was it really any weirder than being able to shoot crimson-colored force blasts from your eyes in the first place? "That sounds like quite a story," he said. "Or a series of stories, I guess."

"You know what this place is like," Scott replied, "given the things around here, a real life human cyclops wouldn't even make the front page. How about you, and new war wounds or stories to regale us with?"

Ev did not answer straight away. "Can't share matters of national security," he replied after a short delay. His tone and expression remained light, but a shadow had passed through his eyes before he spoke. "But . . . well, I do you owe the truth. You're in charge of everyone's security here. Is there a place we could speak in private?"

Scott arched an eyebrow and nodded slowly, "You've got my office or Charles' office, or if you want to be really secure we could always use the box."

"That won't be necessary. Your office." Ev would know if anyone passed by too closely. He followed the other man out of the garage and down the main hall to his office. A small chuckle escaped Ev as they closed the door behind them; the room looked exactly as he had pictured it. Taking a seat at the desk, he briefly extended his aura to ensure they were alone. Time manipulator and healer outside the office, walking down the hall. Precognitive going to meet them. Electrokinetic and cryokinetic one floor above, right at the edge of his senses. An amazing assortment of mutations, Ev thought with admiration.

Assured of their privacy, he sat up straight in his seat, his demeanor completely serious and professional. "This is classified info, but like I said, I owe it to you and Xavier. I've taken a sabbatical from SHIELD. Possibly more than just a sabbatical. I . . . had a team. We were set up to handle dangerous mutant issues. Like Magneto, if you didn't get your own hands on him first," he admitted wryly. "I lost them all in a bad mission."

"What happened? That you can tell me that is," Scott pushed gently, he knew the feeling of seeing your team hurt while on a mission. It was perhaps the worst feeling of guilt he could imagine and he hated that a friend was going through that too. The X-man stood up and made his way to the sideboard, "You want a drink? I have tea or whiskey...that's pretty much how conversations go around here these days."

"No thank you." Ev sighed. "We've been tracking this group that calls themselves Janus. The Roman god of transformation," although Scott likely knew that already. "We haven't been able to find much about their structure or leadership, but they've made their goal clear: empowerment of baseline humans with mutant abilities. They experiment on mutants and humans alike. They've had a few successes, including the man who took down my team. Gravity manipulator. Like Lehnsherr, but even less psychologically stable."

"Janus?" Scott settled himself into the seat across from Ev, "I think we may have heard a rumor or two, but they haven't really crossed our path yet though we're run into similar groups. It's never pretty though it sounds like Janus are a lot further along the path if they're able to produce and successes." Scott gave Ev an understanding look, "How bad was it? Erik is bad enough but facing someone with his power but without his code..."

"That's exactly it," Ev said, nodding. "At least Magneto has a goal to preserve life. Some life. In his own murderously violent way. But he does have a code. This guy, Franklin Hall, didn't. I'm lucky that even I was able to get out. So, that's that. I can give you some of what I have. SHIELD is presumably going to continue where I've left off," although the hint of spite in his tone suggested he did not have much faith in their success, "but you all should be prepared, too. Hall might have been an unusual success, but he's just the first."

"Anything you can give us on Hall or Janus," Scott nodded, "I get the feeling we'll run into him sooner or later. At the least I can ask some people to run down their contacts and see what they can turn up." The X-man wouldn't admit it but the fact that such a capable organization had been operating without his knowledge worried the X-man. Especially given how advanced their research appeared to be. "If we can shut them down so much the better," although maybe in this case it might be worth being a little proactive.

"Possibly you'll have luck where SHIELD didn't." Ev ran a hand down his face tiredly and relaxed his posture. "I'm sorry to dump this all on you, Scott. I don't mean to make my problems yours."

"What are friends for if not for dumping potentially world-ending disasters in their lap," Scott noted, "We can handle it Ev, and hopefully before he hurts anyone else. Our intelligence...isn't quite what it used to be but I'm sure we can track down Mr Hall and Janus. I think we almost have to."

"Hall is dead, of that much I'm certain. Put a bullet in his brain myself." An act from which Ev did not derive any pleasure or consolation. "But . . . thank you."

"Like I said, what are friends for," Scott tipped back his cup to finish the tea, "But now, since you're here why don't I give you the tour and show you how the place has changed while we reminisce. Warning, the food is much the same as ever. Then, if you want, I can have one of the guest rooms made up for you?"

"That would be very cromulent of you. Thank you."