Vigils and Vigilantes (Teachers only)

[Dragon]

The mansion, gymnasium, and other buildings that comprised Dr. Cullen's Institute for the Gifted was, in many respects, only the innocent tip of a very large, very secretive iceberg. Unknown to the public at large, the U.S. government, and even the students who who lived and studied at the Institute was the massive complex of tunnels and chambers buried beneath the mansion and its grounds, known collectively as the Sub-Basement.

Accessible only through a few key-coded elevators and hidden passageways, the Sub-Basement housed facilities rivaled by only a handful of installations around the world - scientific labs, medical facilities, a small armory, manufacturing equipment, stockpiles of non-perishable provisions, media rooms and broadcasting studios - all of them representing the peak of their respective technological progress. There was also a subterranean hangar that housed a modified stealth aircraft, a model that had never seen military production, and there was a large chamber in the shape of a truncated sphere with a sheltered control booth labeled simply, and enigmatically, "DANGER ROOM."

This was the headquarters and staging area of Dr. Cullen's best-kept secret and enduring legacy: a team of highly trained mutant operatives known as the X-Men.


***


One corner of the infirmary had been cut off with a curtained partition. Inside was a medical bed, a vast array of monitors and life support systems, and as many comforts and personal items as could be brought down from Francoise Dupont's quarters in the mansion proper. It was a makeshift arrangement, but clearly one created with phrases like "the foreseeable future" in mind.

It was silent except for the steady mechanical rhythms of a respirator and EKG. Francoise lay on the bed covered up to the chest, her arms lying flat at her sides, her face sallow and her eyes sunken, lost in a repose that all too closely resembled death.

John Rhee sat in a metal chair by her bedside with a stick of incense burning in his hand, his eyes closed and head bowed in meditation and prayer. He would have held her hand, but if she were still psychically aware on any level, he didn't want her dreams haunted by images of his past. All he could do was to call out to her, to make his spiritual presence known, to try to guide her back home.

There was a whisper of cloth as the curtain doorway drew back. Slowly, John opened his eyes to see Rainah Selvano tiptoeing in. The South American mutant smiled at John and briskly moved to the arrangement of flowers on the end table. "Poor thing," she said, "to be kept out of the sunlight all this time."

John cupped his hand around the incense stick and blew it out, letting the sweet-smelling blue smoke waft around the room. "You always manage to bring back their color," he observed.

"I meant Francoise," she replied, tenderly stroking the woman's shoulder. "I'm not sure she can ever fully heal keeping her underground like this."

Rainah turned and laid a hand on the flowers. Small, leafy tendrils grew from her olive-hued fingers and wrapped themselves around the flower stems; immediately the few heads that were drooping rose up and filled out, and the colors became so vibrant they seemed to glow.

"I wish I could do the same for you, dear," Rainah said to Francoise. "The students still miss you. And we miss you, too."

[Pan]

The unmistakeable sound of plodding hooves approached. The curtain screen was peeled back and Duncan peeked inside. He smiled at Rainah and spoke quietly, addressing John.

"I don't mean to rush you but it's about to start, mate."

[Veritas]

One good thing about a private institute is that you could avoid the sort of groupthink that shielded against litigation. One such faux pas that Henri enjoyed was the ability to smoke in his office. It was a dirty habit he'd lived with for decades on the Gendarmerie, and he wasn't going to give it up because it wasn't vogue or healthy. The cigarette was the only good thing the English hadn't managed to bungle up, and Henri squirreled away cases of Dunhills for his "office hours", that mainly involved him dabbling in his old trade.

He smoked down to the filter, watching the minute hand of his watch creep along. No time to further delay. He snuffed the Dunhill on the crystal ash tray and set aside a book, grabbing his cane as he headed to the faculty meeting he had to attend.

[Dragon]

Rainah returned Duncan's smile - it was no secret she was specially fond of her goat-footed colleague. Which was an interesting prospect coming from a woman who grew leaves and flowers in her hair.

"I'll keep Fran company," she said. "See you tomorrow, Duncan. John."

John rose and offered his chair to Rainah. Then he bid Francoise farewell and followed Duncan out into the sterile white glow of the infirmary, carrying a folder of student records under one arm.

"I wish Francoise were joining us," John said. "She was so close with so many students - I know she'd want to be here today."

They exited into the chrome and tile corridors, bound in the sleek, futuristic aesthetic that dominated the Sub-Basement. The chrome may have been gaudy, but under the bright fluorescent lights it was nearly impossible to hide from the sweep of the security cameras, and the chrome disguised a structure fashioned from such advanced alloys that the Sub-Basement would likely survive the epicenter of an earthquake or weather a nuclear strike. And if it were necessary, there was enough room to temporarily house the entire student body underground.

John hoped it would never have to come to that. But then, that was why Dr. Cullen had formed the X-Men. And today they were meeting to ensure their mission would be carried on.

[Maxine Flannery]

:: Max had held vigil for her friend since the incident happened, going so far as to drag in a futon so a dupe could watch over her around the clock. Curled up in a fetal postion, she opened her eyes as she heard talking ::

[Natalia Fedorov]

The mansion was quiet. It was past curfew time and all of the students were locked away in their dormitory rooms, blissfully unaware of what was about to transpire beneath them. Two lone figures stood in the dim-lit hallway outside the library. Anita Florence, the resident librarian, was finishing locking up whilst Natalia Fedorov stood waiting. Both were relatively new additions to the institute and both were about to join their colleagues for the first staff meeting of the semester.

There was a click, as the final bolt fell into place on the library door.

“Okay, let's go.”

Natalia turned and began to walk.

[Ethan Daniels]

"And you, Ethan. You need to get going too," chided Rainah. She turned around and looked directly at him. The Headmaster's attempts of hiding behind the windowed door had failed. He had adopted this spot once Max had one of her dupes move down here to be with Francoise around the clock.

"I know," he replied somberly and walked through awkwardly as if he was intruding, but only managing a few steps forward. "I just didn't want to crowd her."

From afar, he watched as the machines forcing Francoise to breath. The monitors continued to record her vitals and search for any changes in her EKG rhythm patterns. The psychic attack had penetrated her defenses so thoroughly that it knocked her into a living death. Her mind had detached itself from reality that what little brain activity was left kept her alive barely.

He didn't speak it, but Ethan's despondent state was a clear indication of how the Headmaster felt about Francoise's condition. It was his fault. He should have been able to protect her. As leader of the X-men, it was his responsibility to protect his team from harm, regardless of the risks involved.

His emotional state was far worse when this first occurred; Never leaving Francoise's side for days, it took a verbal sparring match with John for sense to be knocked into Ethan.

"Either way," Rainah smiled and pat Ethan on the chest, "You need to go to the meeting. Max is down here too. If anything changes, you'll be the first to know."

An eye twitch as if he had been slapped. The attack on Fran had reopened old feelings that Ethan had long thought were buried. Unintentionally, he had been keeping Max at arms length until he knew how to handle them.

He smiled weakly, "I know. Thank you."

[Anita Stern]

The last bolt done, Anita turned and followed her colleague, pocketing the keys, and kept both hands in her pockets. Her purse, which was dangling from her left shoulder, held mostly unimportant items. In her mind, that included the gloves she oft-times did wear, on the simple premise alone of giving the people around her some privacy of thought. She didn't particularily like wearing the gloves in any case, but sometimes it was nice to read a book slowly.

Until the beginning of the semester, Anita "Sage" Florence had been in Toronto for a couple weeks, visiting her mother. The woman had never been quite the same since her husband's death ten years previous. Fortunately for her own sanity and peace of mind, she never knew the details of what exactly had happened.

The thought always made Anita wrinkle her nose in disgust. Her own father...

"Another semester, another meeting. At least, it'll be nice to see everyone, regardless of the circumstances, don't you think?"

[Dragon]

The teachers began filtering into the conference room with a low level buzz of small-talk. At the center of the room was a sectioned conference table that could be easily expanded or condensed to meet the needs of the occasion; there was also a large plasma screen computer terminal on the wall as well as a small, spherical projector embedded in the ceiling which used technology similar to what was employed in the Danger Room.

John deposited his folder on the table, but, seeing Ethan wasn't in yet, didn't take his seat. He glanced around to see two relatively new faces coming in through the opposite door, and he crossed the room to meet them.

"Hello, Anita, Natalia. I hope you haven't had any trouble finding your way around? How are you settling in so far?"

[Natalia Fedorov]

Natalia smiled thinly – still pleasant – at Anita, though all she said in reply was: “Da.”

They arrived in the conference room, whose sleek polished surfaces were a stark contrast to the wood-panelling of the antiquated mansion. Natalia paced curiously around the central table, inspecting what was to be seen, admiring the high technology that the room was fitted with.

John Rhee spoke and she turned to reply.

“No trouble at all, Professor. Your staff and pupils have been very... accommodating.”

She eyed the folder on the table for a moment then spoke again.

“We are to begin soon, da?”

[Anita Stern]

Anita had smiled softly, returning the smile that Natalia had given.

The conference room was suitably furnished, and the electronic provisions were indeed impressive. Sage now had one hand wrapped around the strap of her purse, and the other hand ran along the surface of the table, feeling the smooth texture of one section. John posed a question or two, and that caused her to look up at him.

"No trouble at all. A walk around when I arrived here was all I seemed to need. And the students are... energetic...to say the least." She paused a moment, looking to have a thought, then smiled as if something had clicked.

"I'm happy with the library here. Plenty of good and useful resources...Yes, I'd say I'm settling in quite well, thank you."

Anita glanced at the folder herself, and was about to say something when Natalia voiced the very thought she was having. The fact that they were both relatively new to the Institute's staff gave both the women their own curious thoughts.

[Pan]

Being in no mood for small talk, Duncan seated himself and double-checked his schedule for the following day. He had butterflies in his stomach.

[Veritas]

Henri clacked his cane on the floor as he walked, pausing briefly to take the seat across from Duncan. While he waited for the business to begin in earnest, he removed his glasses, and cleaned them with a handkerchief.

[Ethan Daniels]

The doors slid open with a mechanical hiss and in walked Ethan "Ion" Daniels. He looked a bit winded from his jaunt from the medbay and straightened his jacket before addressing everyone. "Hello everyone. Sorry to keep you all waiting."

Taking a seat at the head of the table, he divided the stack of folders in front of him and handed them to the nearest teachers to pass down. "There's a lot we need to discuss in regards to this school term and the X-men."

Ethan leaned forward and laced his fingers together, resting them on the table. During the short walk here, he had put on his game face, determined to move things along with the Institute so everyone living here could be protected.

"But first I'd like to take a few moments for everyone to introduce themselves to one another. I've already had the pleasure of talking and working with all of you personally, but this is the first time Anita and Natalia have seen all of you face to face. As members of a team, it's essential that we get to know one another before any type of business is discussed." With that, Ethan sat back and looked to John to begin with a thin smile.

[Dragon]

John quickly slid into his seat, nodded, and gave a short, open-handed wave.

"I'm John Rhee. On missions my callsign is 'Dragon.' Here at the school I teach physical education, including self-defense and martial arts, and I'm also a mutation counselor. In the field I share duties with Ethan as point man."

He clasped his hands together and glanced to his left.

[Pan]

"I'm Duncan MacLaverty, also known as Pan. I've been with the institute for a year now. I teach geography to the seniors and am also starting to teach biology to grades nine and ten this semester. In the field, I have a support role and if needed, provide medical services."

[Veritas]

Henri rose as well, grasping his cane for support as he did.

"My name is Henri Bertrand. My alias is Veritas. This is my fifth year of tenure at the institute, and I lecture sophomore world history as well as senior government and ethics. I am also retained by the institute for investigation services."

[Natalia Fedorov]

Natalia noted each of her colleagues with a nod, committing their faces and voices to memory. When it was her turn to speak, she kept her contribution brief.

“I am Natalia Fedorov. This is my first term at school. I am to teach cultural studies and foreign languages.”

[Anita Stern]

After Natalia had finished, Anita stood - slowly - fidgeting with her hands a little, before folding them in front of herself.

"I'm...Anita Florence. My alias is Sage, and I'm the resident librarian. While I am extremely knowledgeable on a great number of subjects, for now I'll be teaching literature and psychology. Perhaps at another term, I may offer other subjects."

With that, she sat down rather quickly, smiling to herself. During her academic career, after attaining her credentials to work as a librarian, she had officially taken on various disciplines in the sciences, and had her hands in mathematics as well. Art was out of her league, considering her capabilities went only as far as stick-men. In any case, she was eternally studying. Her habits were...ambitious.

Not bad for a little woman of 26.

[Maxine Flannery]

:: Max came in last, stifling a yawn as she hurried to join the meeting.

"I'm Maxine Flannery. Codename Prodigy I'm the resident head techician of the mansion, and I'm teaching Computers and Japanese studies this year. I also do the cooking."

:: Looking at Ethan uneasily, she fought with a wild curl and took her seat ::

[Ethan Daniels]

He gave Max a curt nod. "Thank you Max." He then opened the folder in front of him and flipped to a specific page. "I'd like to open this discussion with possible candidates for specialized training in the Danger Room. With the recent attacks of the Brotherhood and their numbers gaining, we need to start preparing some of our qualified students for field positions as X-men members."

He stopped on the first candidate. "Jacinda Blake's name has been tossed around by me and John. All of you have worked with her in some form, and I'd like your feedback why she would be good or not. And if she is, what is our focus training assessments."

[Pan]

"Jacinda's great!"

Duncan had chimed in ethusiastically and now all eyes were upon him, he fumbled with his words until he knew what to say.

"Well, what I mean is she would make a good... candidate. An excellent candidate, actually. Her attitude towards all aspects of school life is commendable; hard-working, good grades, friendly, enthusiastic, and in the last year she has developed excellent control over her mutant abilities."

He stirred in his seat uncomfortably and continued.

"I'd also like to suggest a student: Carlos Calaveras. Despite the obvious problem area, he is a very positive young man who has a real sense of teamwork about him and again, excellent control of his powers. Yes? No?"

[Veritas]

"Miss Blake is competent academically, and I think she will adapt to X training sufficiently. She is adequate."

Henri shuffled through the dossiers in front of him, glancing down through bifocal lenses.

"Mr. Calveras has potential, but I do not recommend him at this time. I believe he will be a liability if put into a crisis situation."

[Dragon]

"That is a possibility," John granted. "Unfortunately, we really don't know much about this phenomenon of his... it sounds superstitious to call him bad luck, and yet it's hard to deny that strange things seem to happen when Carlos is around."

He pulled out Carlos's file from his folder and set it on top of the stack. "Still, it hasn't stopped him from gaining an impressive group of friends, becoming admired among his fellow students... even if he's had occasional authority problems, he did very nearly manage to break into the Sub-Basement last semester (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16645)." John gave a one-sided smile. "That takes some determination and ingenuity, one way or another."

[Locksmith]

John Parker had shed his blue polyesther work shirt only to find that grease and oil had seeped through to stain his white undershirt. Muttering under his breath, the large man had no time to change as his heavy, size sixteen boots thumped down the hallway as he made haste to the meeting. Being trapped under his van doing a major overhaul had made him lose his sense of time, and he hated to see the other teachers looking like he did. He was already scarcely considered to be one of them as he didn't actually have any classes that semester, but the fact that they all seemed to treat him as if he were the superintendant of school maintenence really got under his skin.

Oh, sure, he could have made it there in time, but, his power of speed didn't often mix well with his incredible weight on the hardwood school floors--even after his modifications. As it stood, he arrived five minutes late; not a good sign after he already looked like a burly, chop-shop grease monkey.

"Sorry I'm late," he pardoned himself as he entered while John Rhee was talking. "John Parker, Locksmith," he made the brief introduction, then canted his head toward the other John. "Carlos? You've got to be kidding me. That kid's a walking disaster area." He scowled, then muttered, "You guys ask me back on after how long, and then suggest that? I don't believe it..."

[Natalia Fedorov]

Natalia looked up for a moment at the new arrival. The boy that he and the others were discussing was not one of her students, though his reputation preceded him. Regardless, Natalia did not feel qualified to pass judgment just yet.

[Dragon]

John hid his silent laughter behind one hand. He'd witnessed Johnathan Parker and Carlos Calaveras crossing paths on multiple occasions. The results were usually dramatic and very loud, but not really terribly damaging.

Nothing a little spackle couldn't cure, anyway.

"Maybe," he said with a cough, "that's all the more reason to put him in advanced training. I'm not certain we can dismiss him as a liability without testing him. He really did a number on the security systems - if anything, I'd say his bad luck jinxed us trying to catch him more than him trying to escape." He glanced toward Ethan, who was listening pensively.

"With respect to John - Parker, that is - I think Carlos deserves a fair chance," the headmaster suggested. "After all, what we're talking about is additional training. We're not going to put him in the field on day one. And I don't think there's any question of his character as far as whether he can be trusted knowing what we've done down here."

Ethan glanced over the rest of the table. "Well... Jacinda, Carlos... anyone else?"

[Veritas]

"I move to open discussion on Martin Finklestein."

Henri looked down at a file, raising an eyebrow.

"He's completed his primary academics, and is highly intelligent. He also seems to have taken to his abilities competently. My reservations fall on his discipline record. He has numerous demerits and chafes at authority. I withold my judgment on him."

[Pan]

"I agree with Henri. However, I will also note that Marty has a penchant for playing the superhero. The desire to help others is there and after a good reality check, I think he has the potential to be a valuable team member."

[Dragon]

"He may have to learn that life isn't like comic books," John agreed, "but as Henri said, he is well tuned to his abilities, and he has a valuable skillset to bring to the table - we've had some missions where we could have used some stealthy aerial reconnaisance."

There were a few nods around the table, and John felt ready to add another name to the discussion. He pulled another sheet from his file folder. "There's another name I'd like to consider... Anja Drake."

As he'd expected, he caught several looks of reservation around the table. "I've been working with her over the past few months, and she's been making significant progress. She still has some control issues, and I don't think she's ready for the field yet, but I think think, at the point where she is, advanced training would only help her."

[Veritas]

"I think we should perhaps put Mademoiselle Drake on an accelerated training cycle to see if she adapts to it. A field exam, to say."

Henri flipped through her dossier, at last setting it down.

"I would be willing to reserve judgment for this. Otherwise, I must decline to support her."

[Anita Stern]

Anita popped in her two cents on Anja Drake, having at least some knowledge of the girl. Of course, she had read up on every student at the institute, and knew their files like the back of her own two hands. Things like this were sometimes a blessing or a curse, depending on the situation.

"From what i've gathered so far, Miss Drake seems to me a competent person. She has her 'compass' in the right place. The rest of her simply needs to follow suit. She doesn't seem drawn to the mischief that, as noted, some students have been. For now, that is about all I can say until more time has passed."

The librarian twiddled her thumbs a second, the hands rested on the student files before her. There had been no need for her to open them. She knew what was there.

"I defer to the judgement of those of you around me on this matter, for the time being."

[Pan]

At the mention of Anja Drake's name, Duncan stirred in his seat, clearly unsettled. He recalled the number of occassions he had been called to lend his gift to both Anja and John following their training sessions. He allowed others to speak first while he collected his thoughts and once he was ready, he cleared his throat.

"First of all, I think Anja is a remarkable young lady who is generous and kind. She is willing to contribute to the many aspects of life here at the institute and is a credit to the school. However-"

He hesitated, his voice took on a grave tone and he didn't like what he had to say next.

"I have seen what she is capable of doing, the damage she is capable of inflicting upon someone even as skilled as Dragon. The fact of the matter is that when her mutation takes effect, it is controlled by an alternate personality and a dark one at that. She is learning control, yes, but I believe that putting her through advanced training will only heighten the risk of her losing it to this, aptly named, Angel of Death. If we are thinking of enrolling students into our training programmes and, eventually, field work then I must express my concern by putting them in proximity to such a risk. I'm afraid I must decline my support for this candidate."

[Dragon]

Ethan gave John an apologetic smile. "I'm afraid I have to agree with Duncan and Henri on this one," he said. "But, as you said, she's making progress. I'd be happy to reconsider her if she can get this other side of her fully under control. Until then, by all means, let's do everything we can to help her. So..."

The headmaster scratched a few notes in his files and tapped his pencil on the top of the page. "Jacinda is unanimous. There were some reservations about Carlos, but I'm inclined to give him a chance. The same with Marty. I think we should make arrangements to bring them all up to speed on what we're doing down here."

"If you don't mind a brief sidelight," John interjected, "I think it might be time to reconsider our veil of ignorance policy where the students are concerned."

Many eyes shot John's way. This could be a sticky issue.

"I understand the reasoning, both from a security standpoint, and for the students' own protection, for keeping the X-Men under wraps. But we're facing new challenges we've never faced before. Both from vigilante groups of mutants like the Brotherhood and from human threats, like the Jericho Center just fifty miles north. They've been operating in the shadows until recently, just as we have, but they're becoming bolder. They're moving in the open now. We've seen evidence of this over the past year.

"I'm concerned about presenting our students an accurate portrayal of the threats they may face as mutants. I'm concerned that individuals like Saladin may prey on their ignorance in order to rally support to extreme causes. And I'm concerned about our own integrity. We're asking students to embody the ideals Dr. Cullen put forth about mutant rights and obligations, but we're not telling them what we're doing to back up those ideals."

[Anita Stern]

Anita saw the glances. Some hard, very few openly interested. The issue was indeed quite sticky, but seeing the outcomes if nothing continued to be said (as she had always been capable of seeing the many sides and avenues of a choice), the young librarian felt a foreshadowing shiver crawl up her spine. She crossed her arms tight and shook her head a little. That was a feeling she never liked. It was a nervous and discomforting one.

"I can see what John is saying. While I appreciate the simple benefits of such a policy, I cannot help but notice and consider the vibrant imaginations and wayward thoughts of those who are not in the know. And I know that while some would be understanding of the reasoning for this policy, there are many who would feel slighted if they were to find out by other means who we really are and that we are in fact more than we present. The threats outside the walls of this school are becoming increasingly apparent, and I cannot shake the feeling that it is having more impact than simply garnering the awareness of some students."

Anita uncrossed her arms, once again feeling warm, yet still not entirely comfortable. Here she was, sticking her nose in something so rigid in a place she barely knew.

"I am not saying that we simply sit everyone down and say what's what. Basic tenants such as up to what point it would really be proper to share anything, from a standpoint of age appropriateness would have to be considered. There are a great many students here that have been through much more than I have in my entire life so far. They are well aware of the other side of things from experience." She sternly emphasized that point.

"They will begin to ask questions."

Another smaller shiver tickled her spine and her arms were crossed once again. Anita looked around the table, with mild expectancy.