9/9 Game: Welcome to the X-Men, Kitty Pryde...

[Slarti]

Timelined Monday, August 29; after Cerebro.

Mayhem: Mayhem sniffed the air, smiling at his first real outing since the cancer had taken hold. The myriad of colours from the scents painted the world for him, the darkness barely muting them. He dropped into a crouch, tail ticking happily as his ear flicked.

Anna: Anna looked around, feeling a little wary. She wished it wasn't so late, "So... where we going?"

Cessily: Cessily strode down the sidewalk, her eyes fixed on the notepad in her hand. "Well, assuming the info Xavier gave me is more or less accurate, we should be in the right neighbourhood." She looked up and around, making sure everyone was still in sight. "Too bad telepathy doesn't give proper street names and house numbers."

J: J idly waited as he looked around. "Yeah... I could try to scan someone if you want... but I'm still new at finer control..." He offered aprehensively.

Cessily: "But we do know the name is Pryde. So, hopefully there'll be a sign on a letterbox or something like that."

Mayhem: Mayhem straightened, hands going into pockets as he loomed over the rest, trailing after them. "We're goin' into the house? Wouldn't us turning up out of the blue scare the bejesus outta them?"

Anna: "Maybe they'll think were scouts selling cookies?" Anna said hopefully.

Cessily: "That's right," Cessily said, turning to look at Mayhem. "So, we shouldn't all pile up in front of their door together when we find them."

Mayhem: "Yeah, because every neighborhood needs a seven-foot walkin' neko Cornishman posin' as a scout, right?" Mayhem grinned fangily at Anna.

Kitty: Kitty cornered around into her neighborhood as fast as she could. If she was late was dinner again, her mom would have her scalp. She hardly noticed the group of strangers as her mustang sped past them and turned into her driveway, the vanity plate read "KitKat".

Cessily: "I believe it would make the world a better place," Cessily commented, grinning in Mayhem's direction. She went on to check another letterbox. "No, still no joy."

Mayhem: "Though it goes into every sense of th' word 'wrong'-" Mayhem winced at the speed of the car that barrelled past them. "Who wants to call th' ambulance? Nutter."

Anna: Anna giggled at Mayhem, "I think that would be awesome, May."

Bobby: The jogging was paying off, and he hadn't even had to radio Cess to find them. Still... maybe they should make a practice of taking Jason on these missions. Those illusions were handy. "Hey, guys," he puffed as he caught up. "How goes the ninja?"

Mayhem: "Stealthy like, obviously." Mayhem rolled his eyes, hunching over.

Cessily: Cessily waved at Bobby. "We decided against hopping from bush to bush, seeing as that would probably be more suspicious," she said. "Found a large enough parking lot for the jet?"

Bobby: "Mmm, totally. Stealthy as her." Bobby nodded at the car that'd just buzzed by them. He gave Cess a bright grin. "Yeah! Funny thing about suburbs - they all have parks!"

Kitty: Slamming the car door her eyes were glued to her wrist watch as she raced for the kitchen door. Two minutes...I can totally make it...

Anna: "I don't envy the poor homeless drunk guy that accidentally stumbles on our jet." Anna grinned at Bobby.

Bobby: "Ha! No kidding. Maybe I should repaint the big pink butterfly on it to make it more hallucination-friendly."

Cessily: "Well, if that really happens, I hope he didn't forget to lock the doors," Cessily tossed in.

Mayhem: Mayhem shook his head with a lopsided smile. "So...any clue yet, guys?"

Bobby: "Nope! We even can has keyless entry." He patted his pocket and looked around.

Anna: Anna laughed, "Yeah, wow that'd be a helluva thing to get pulled over for. Drunk driving a jet."

Cessily: Cessily came by the house where the mustang had just parked. "Hey, now look at that," she said, looking down at the nameplate on the letterbox. "This one says Pryde."

Cessily: She turned back to the others, waving them over. "What's the chance of someone else in that suburb to have the same name? I'd say we have a winner."

J: "Yeah.... Liscenese plate says KitKat... Think this could be the one..." He agreed.

Mayhem: Mayhem blinked at the car. "Wasn't that the one tha' screamed past us just now?" He shook his head. "Uh...want me t' hang at the back?"

Bobby: "Dude, even if you hang I think you kind of stand out. I wouldn't worry about it." He looked over the car. Nice. Not as nice as Millie, of course...

Anna: "Ohh yay we found it?" Anna followed the group.

Cessily: "Do we expect her to run away," Cessily asked in return, contemplating Mayhem's suggestions. "Maybe spread out a little, while someone goes to knock on the door. We don't want them to see all of us standing on their lawn."

Mayhem: "Sure thing." Mayhem shrugged. He was the most obvious out of the group, next to the walking mirror that was Cess. "I'll just make like a gate, right?"

Cessily: "I vote Bobby goes first, unless there are other volunteers," Cessily added with a smile. "Simply because he looks non-suspicious."

J: "I... I'll be a look out... Let you guys do the talking...." He scooted to the back of the group.
Anna: Anna grinned at Cess, "Only to those that don't know him already." He poked her tongue out at Bobby.

Mayhem: Mayhem stopped by the gate and crouched, putting a hand to the ground to steady himself. Considering they were just picking up a mutant, this seemed very much like a kidnapping to him...

Cessily: "Well, he'll just have to use that to his advantage," Cessily said, stepping over to where the car was parked, making sure she wasn't directly visible from the door or any of the windows.

Bobby: Bobby grinned, miming taking something off his head, giving it a shine and placing it back. "See, perfect angel."

Anna: Anna laughed and followed bobby to the front door, but stopped a few feet away so as not to crowd.

Cessily: "If we manage to not scare the people, we'll already have done marvelously."

Bobby: "Just us perfectly normal people here..." He winked at Anna and headed for the door, then paused. They were totally going to think they were Jehovah's Witnesses or something... Running a hand through his hair, he took a deep breath and knocked.

Mayhem: Mayhem ran his tongue over his fangs, his ears forward, pulling his hair into a pony tail so that it was out of his face. Yeah. Normal. His tail flicked from side to side as he stayed absolutely motionless, green cat's eyes fixed on the door.

CaitlynPryde: Caitlyn was in the middle of blessing out her daughter for running right down to the wire when she knew dinner was 6:30 when there was a knock at the door. "Katherine, you did not invite friends over without telling me did you?"

J: J kept his eyes down the road, looking out for... whatever there was to look out for in the suburbs... I should have stayed at school...

Cessily: Cessily made sure to type in the proper address into the notepad, just in case they'd need it again sometime in the future. She then walked up the driveway and stood close by the wall, peeking around the corner to keep an eye on Bobby and the front door. "Maybe we should bring something along for future missions like that," she mused.

Cessily: "You know, to seem less suspicious. Like, a pizza box, or something."

Kitty: Kitty bit back a smart mouth remark as she her dad went to answer the door.

RichardPryde: Richard opened the door and frowned for a moment at the young man and girl standing at his door. Great, just what we need at dinner time - Jehovah's Witnesses..., "We're not interested," he frowned.

Anna: Anna managed not to laugh wondering how in the hell she'd been mistaken for a salesperson. She let Bobby field that one.

Bobby: "Well, good evening, sir." Bobby put on a big grin. "But you don't even know yet what it is you might not be interested in."

Anna: Maybe not such a good idea. She giggled.

CaitlynPryde: "Who is it, honey??" she called from the kitchen.

Cessily: Judging by the voices coming from the house, the whole family seemed to be present. That would make things easier in some ways, and more difficult in others. They could inform the parents right away about their daughter, but on the other hand, that also meant confronting them with a group of strange mutants.

RichardPryde: He looked Bobby up and down and rolled up his newspapers as if he might hit him over the head with it. "I'm not buying anything, I found religion already and I gave at the office."

Mayhem: Mayhem snorted from his position, before returning to stillness, the only thing moving his ticking tail.

Anna: Anna frowned, "We're not Jehoah's witnesses, sir. I am Catholic." She told him, her accent thick.

Bobby: "It's good you're not buying, because we're not selling. Is your daughter home? Katherine?" He glanced over at Anna.

RichardPryde: "You're friends of Kitty's?" He gave them a look that wasn't quite as unfriendly. Before they could answer he leaned over his shoulder and yelled for her, then motioned them in. "Well, come on in." He held the door open.

Anna: "Uh..." Anna looked at Bobby, taking a shifty glance to the side to see where the others were.

Cessily: "So far, so good," Cessily commented quietly from her spot on the driveway. She noticed Anna's glance and gave the girl the thumbs up.

Bobby: Bobby had actually been ready for more dad-hostility, so he blinked for a moment. "Well, thank you." He wanted to at least get a foot in before the guy got pissy again, but... "Actually, we're from a school, in New York. A very exclusive school."

Kitty: "Yeah daddy?" Kitty asked strolling into the hallway, putting her hair up in a pony tail. "What kind of school?" she asked catching the last part of Bobby's introduction.

Mayhem: Mayhem shifted, smiling as he picked up what Bobby was saying. Exclusive didn't cover it. Special was probably closer.

Bobby: "It's for those with, um, special abilities." Bobby worked to look confident about spilling the mutant beans in the most subtle fashion he could. What if her parents didn't know, after all?

Anna: Anna glanced around, feeling anxious. She hoped this wasn't a nosy neighbourhood.

Cessily: Seeing how the family seemed to be fully distracted by Bobby and Anna by now, Cessily decided to leave her spot by the driveway and slink over to the others waiting outside. "Looks like things aren't going so bad for now," she whispered.

Mayhem: Mayhem nodded, tail ticking, eyes still on the door. "Stick to where we are?" He purred back, claws clicking on the path.

Cessily: "We should wait until the others give us a sign that it's okay to show up," Cessily replied.

RichardPryde: "Special?" Richard's mouth tightened a bit as he stuck his head out the door to see what the dark haired girl kept staring at. Then it was his turn to stare as a mirror-shiney visage of a girl stepped up on the porch and a half cat-half man creature crouched on the on the path. "Oh dear lord..." He made quick motions for everyone to come in. "Everyone - inside."

J: J walked over to the others, "Yeah... let them handle that inside..."

Anna: Ooops.... Anna rolled her eyes.

Bobby: Well, so much for subtle. He did as dad suggested and gave the new girl a reassuring smile.

CaitlynPryde: "Richard who is - oh!" She stopped short at the group entering her home.

J: J headed inside as he was motioned by the father, wringing his hands as he did. "Looks like we've been found out..."

Mayhem: Mayhem raised an eyebrow, then stood, slowly, sliding the claws away and hoping to hell they didn't think he was as imposing as he looked. "Cover's blown." He grinned at Cess and started to lope to the door.

Anna: "My bad..." Anna pulled a face, "I did say I was too anxious for this kind of thing earlier...."

Cessily: Cessily blinked, taking a moment to realize that the dad had actually meant them. She exchanged looks with the other, before letting out a sigh and following them to the door. "Uhm... good evening," she greeted everyone, putting on a sheepish smile.

Cessily: "Don't worry about it," she told Anna under her breath. "they seem to be pretty cool about it, after all."

RichardPryde: "Caitlyn, go upstairs and check on Elizabeth." When she hesitated he turned her around and pointed her towards the stairs. "Go. I'm handling this." She went, but with a glare that promised he hadn't heard the last of this.

Anna: Anna nodded, "Thank goodness for small mercies..." Anna muttered back.

RichardPryde: Richard motioned them into the livingroom. "Please, have a seat..." He offered stiffly, trying to stare at Bobby, J, and Anna - instead of at Cess and Mayhem.

Anna: "Um... thank you..." Anna replied, doing as invited.

Bobby: "Thank you." Bobby let the girls go first, giving Cess a look. It was hard to tell how this one was going... and wasn't this her mission, miss team leader?

Mayhem: Mayhem ducked through the door, tail curling around his legs as he stood awkwardly. Did this mean they knew? "I'll uh...I'll stay standin', if that's alright." He smiled nervously, tail flicking. He could smell the tension, but he didn't know if that was a bad thing. In the end he settled for his customary crouch instead.

J: J had a seat on the couch. "Thanks." He looked around the room.

Cessily: "Thank you," Cessily said, following the dad into the living room. "We're sorry about showing up at your home like this, and at that time of day," she continued, sitting down in the offered seat. "As you can probably imagine, we try to not be seen by too many residents when we visit someone."

Cessily: Putting on a smile, she shrugged. "You know, simply to keep the attention and neighbourhood gossip to a minimum."

Bobby: "And we didn't want to startle you by just piling on your doorstep." He smiled again.

Kitty: Kitty grabbed her bag off the sofa and sat down herself, smiling at J and Anna in particular, then wide eyed at Mayhem. And downright open mouthed at Cess.

Mayhem: Mayhem nodded from his position. Being like this meant he was under everyone's eyeline, but at least he wasn't looming above them. He smiled at the girl as she stared at him, flicking an ear.

Cessily: "You must be Katherine, right?" Cessily looked at the girl sitting across from them.

Cessily: "I'm sorry if all of this is a little overwhelming for you."

Anna: Anna smiled back at the girl she assumed was the one they'd come to see.

Bobby: "Yeah, I suppose introductions would help..." Bobby named everyone in turn and then chewed his lip. Nope, not awkward at all.

Kitty: It took a moment for her to find her voice, but eventually, Kitty nodded. "Yeah, I mean, yes. I'm Katherine. But call me Kitty." She hated Katherine. She continued to stare, but at least with her mouth closed now.

J: J smiled a bit nervously, Yeah... definitely should have stayed home....

Kitty: She turned to each person as Bobby introduce them. Most seemed as nervous as her. That was good...maybe?

Cessily: "Okay, Kitty it is," Cessily said, trying to give the poor girl her most reassuring smile. "Nice to meet you. Say, do you have any idea why we're here?"

Mayhem: Mayhem shifted. At least he was at home with the staring. "Kitty's a good name." He purred, sniffing slightly, his tail curling. "We aren't gonna hurt ye." Not that he sounded dangerous, not with a Cornish accent.

Kitty: "You said you were from a school..." Kitty answered, blinking around and staring over at her dad for moral support.

RichardPryde: "A school for people with 'special abilities." He shifted a little uncomfortably as he looked around at them.

Anna: Anna nodded, "Yep, that's right."

Bobby: "Yeah, but there are all kinds of special abilities. As you can imagine by Cess and May here, we're not talking about the ability to play the oboe, yeah?"

Cessily: "That's right." Cessily nodded. She glanced over to the father, then back at Kitty. "I'm pretty sure you've already heard of mutants, haven't you?"

Kitty: "Mutants??" Kitty looked at J and Anna and Bobby in particular. "You mean you're..." She pointed at them.

Anna: Anna nodded, "Bingo."

J: J nodded.

Mayhem: "Well, this isn't good prosthetics or animatronics, lady." Mayhem offered a smile, tail flicking.

Bobby: "Last time I checked." He held out his hand and a small icy Japanese luck cat slowly swirled into shape.

Anna: Anna decided not to demonstrate her abilities. It would raise too many eyebrows.

Kitty: She found herself nodded with them and actually gave Mayhem a little smile. "Daddy, did you here that?" She turned to him getting a little excited then her eyes went wide in amazement at the ice sculpture Bobby was bringing into creation. "Wow..."

Cessily: "That's right," Cessily confirmed. "This is no body paint."

J: I am soo not demonstrating... No need to freak out the parentals.... He thought idly as they explained themselves.

RichardPryde: "So, you're students at this school?" He looked at Cess and Bobby. They seemed a bit old for students.

Bobby: "A kitty for Kitty." He winked at the girl and dissolved the sculpture. "We're from Xavier's. Well, I'm an instructor."

Mayhem: Mayhem flicked an ear. He had nothing to show off, really, but then, he was his mutation. Real-life walking cat boy. He smiled a little.

Kitty: "Can you teach me to do that?" She watched the sculpture dissolve with a little bit of disappointment.

Bobby: "Well, I dunno. It depends on what your abilities are." He leaned forward a little. "Do you have any idea?"

Mayhem: "Not all of us can do the same thing. World'd be boring if we could."

Cessily: "Everyone of us is different," Cessily explained, still maintaining her kind smile. "We're all pretty much unique in our abilities."

Cessily: "And one of the most important goals of out school is helping you find out what your special ability is, and how to use it safely."

Kitty: Kitty looked at her dad for a moment. When he nodded, she took a breath a swiped her hand through J who was sitting next to her. "I do that...mostly."

Anna: Anna blinked, "That is so cool!"

J: J's eyes went wide as her hand passed through him. "OhGodthatfelt weird..." he shivered a bit before calming himself quickly.

Bobby: "Sweet! I knew a girl... kinda similar. But that's a story for another day." He sat back. "Yes, we can teach you to develop that ability - and we have regular college-level courses as well."

Cessily: "Oh, wow, that's pretty cool," Cessily said, blinking at Kitty's demonstration. "Like a ghost, really. I bet that must have been pretty weird for you to find out you can do that." Now, at least she was already familiar with her nature.

Mayhem: Mayhem watched with wide eyes, then grinned fangily. "Why is it everyone else gets th' cool abilities?"

Kitty: "Sorry..." She apologized to J. Then got an excited look. "College? Like a real college?"

Cessily: "Absolutely," Cessily replied, giving a nod. "Aside from all we can teach you about being a mutant, there are also a full assortment of proper classes to choose from."

Kitty: "I found out I could do that by accident...and I ended up shorting out half the house in the process." She winced as she remembered the huge rewiring bill after she'd phased in a nightmare from her bed, through the ceiling all the way through the breaker box in the basement before she got herself stopped.

Bobby: "Yeah, most of us find out accidentally. Surprise! I froze the bathtub." He nodded.

Anna: "ohhh whoops...." Anna winced for the girl, "I healed a girl from fatal injuries in a car crash." She nodded.

Mayhem: "I was...uh...born this way. The healin' was recent though." He smiled at Anna.

Kitty: Kitty laughed, looking around and the looked at her dad hopefully. "Daddy?"

Anna: Anna grinned back at Mayhem.

J: I mentally controlled my mother into doing my homework for me.... He grinned at the thought.

RichardPryde: Richard crossed his arms, giving them his most serious look. "Proper classes...as in college accredited classes? Because I'm not paying for a master's degree in basket weaving."

Anna: "Proper college." Anna relied, her nose twitching slightly, she rubbed it a little. No sneezing. Sneezing bad.

Bobby: "Also, the best news about this is that it's free. Dr. Xavier is a mutant himself, and he's dedicated his life to helping people like him." Well... he wasn't sure how completely accredited things were, but Chuck always said so, and nobody was blinking at his degree. "Yep."

Mayhem: "Yeah...I'm from the UK and I don't have to pay. Good thing, I wouldn't have a hope of gettin' a job to get me through it." Mayhem smiled easily, showing off a fang.

Cessily: "Yep, everything is fully paid for," Cessily said. "Housing, classes, food, all the other ameneties the college has to offer. I doubt you could find a better deal anywhere else, really."

RichardPryde: He looked around the room and then back at his daughter and her gave a tight shrug. "If this place is on the level...it's your call baby."

Anna: Anna sneezed. Fortunately it was only a small sneeze. She managed to hold herself together. "'scuse me..." she mumbled.

Kitty: "And there's dorms and stuff to do and -" She stopped short of saying 'boys' in front of her dad. But, she looked around grinning. Of course there were boys...

Kitty: "Bless you," she said to Anna, offering her a box of tissue off the coffee table.

Anna: "Thank you...." Anna took a tissue and blew her nose.

J: "So... You in?" He asked finally.

Bobby: "Yep. Well, not so much dorms as we all live in a mansion..." He paused for Anna. "But believe me, there's stuff to do."

Cessily: "You don't have to decide right away, of course," Cessily was quick to toss in. "There's nothing wrong with visiting the place first and see how you like it there."

Mayhem: "Plenty of stuff." Mayhem grinned. "And we're all pretty cool there too. It's like a normal school, just...well, I'm not the weirdest thing you'll see."

J: Wonder if I'm supposed to change her mind if she says no.... He mused to himself as they chatted. "That's true... He's not even the only cat person at the school... As a Kitty... You should fit in nicely." He joked quietly.

Kitty: Kitty grinned, kids just like her. Somewhere she fit in. She looked around. "I am so totally in!"

Anna: Anna cheered.

Mayhem: Mayhem grinned with relief. He'd been worried, at the tenseness from her dad.

Bobby: "Cool. Well, you are welcome to come back with us, though it is kind of late and short notice, so we also can give you some information and we can be in touch. You can talk directly to Dr. Xavier to make arrangements. Whatever you'd like."

RichardPryde: "Now, wait...just because I said it was your call Kitty, that doesn't mean you can just off half cocked." He recrossed his arms. "We still have to explain to your mother and there are plans to make..." He wasn't quite willing to just let his little girl run off with this circus.

Cessily: "Wonderful," Cessily exclaimed, showing the new girl a cheerful grin. "If you want to, you can fly back to the school with us and already get a small tour. We can come back to let you pack your things another time. It would be no problem at all."

Kitty: "But, Daddy..." There was a definite whine in her voice.

Bobby: Oh, fun. Dad was really reminding him of someone. Like his dad.

Mayhem: Mayhem looked away, not wanting to witness an argument. He'd been lucky for a mutant, from what he'd seen, his parents perfectly accepting.

J: A small bolt of electricity seemed to go across J's eye, and then a small, almost unnoticable shock leaped across the room to Kitty's father. J's eyes blinked a few times as he worked and then it faded and he leaned back.

Cessily: Cessily bit her lower lip and shifted in her seat, hoping that things wouldn't get too awkward.

RichardPryde: The bolt hit like a small static shock. His eyes glazed over for a moment and then a smile appeared on his face "You know what baby, you're old enough to make your own decisions. If this is what you want - so be it."

Bobby: Bobby's eyebrows rose. Or, maybe dad wasn't so bad...

Cessily: Cessily exhaled silently. That was quick. Though, perhaps Kitty's father just didn't want to argue with his daughter in front of visitors.

Anna: Anna frowned a little at the sudden change in demeanor.

Kitty: Kitty practically lept out of her seat and threw her arms around her dad. "OH thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She turned back towards the group. "Ok, just let me grab my overnight bag and I'll be ready." She ran to the door and spun around. "Don't go anywhere!!" She grinned and raced up the stairs.

Cessily: Cessily held up a hand and waved her fingers at Kitty, smiling at the girl. "No worries, we'll be right here. Take your time."

J: J smiled as she ran off. Yeah... I'm the man...

Mayhem: "Uh...not moving. Promise." Mayhem looked quickly at her dad. His scents had done one hell of a turnabout there. So fast that the old colours still lingered...very strange.

Bobby: Wow. Well. He gave her father a small smile and Cess a brief puzzled look. "We'll leave some information on the school and the contact numbers..." Xavier could give the Prydes the confidentiality speech.

RichardPryde: Richard nodded, good naturedly. "I'm sure you'll take good care of my girl." He got a pad and pen to take the numbers.

Kitty: She reappeared in practically no time, bag in tow, phasing through the wall instead of coming back in through the doorway like a 'normal' person her mom would have said. She grinned at them all, the catman and silver girl included. "All right, I'm ready! To the airport?"

Mayhem: "Airport?" Mayhem grinned. The jet was, after all, way cool. "Not quite."

Kitty: She gave him a puzzled look. "But I thought you said we were flying to New York..."

Cessily: "That's right," Cessily said, grinning at Kitty. "Another thing we didn't mention about the perks of this school. It comes with its own jet."

Bobby: "We have a private jet. And a private pilot, which would be me. Don't worry, I'm licensed." Bobby smiled.

Mayhem: "And he's good."

Anna: "Yeah, we didn't crash at all." Anna grinned.

J: "Which is always a good thing." He agreed.

Kitty: "This is going to be so much better than flying coach!" She had already hugged her dumbfounded mother upstairs, waved bye to her baby sister and now threw her arms around her dad again. "Ok, I'll call you as soon as I get there."


[Edited on 10-9-2009 by Slarti]

[Elfdame]

Really well done, folks. I wondered how they could recruit if XU was underground, but that was addressed in the instance. And, forgive me for being stuuupid, but who is "J"? I thought Jason at 1st but he wasn't snarky., and it didn't seem like teke which leaves out Juilan. (I really don't keep up well...) Looked in Character Bios and really couldn't figure out.

[stjohn]

He is black swan one of Deadpools villains

[Raven Hare]

Glad you liked it! It's going to be a ton of fun to play Kitty I can already tellm.

Also, thanks to everyone who played and helped me intro her. I forgot to say thanks last night. And a special big thanks to our Scrawlers across the pond who stayed up WAY late to help out!