Backdraft: Down the Rabbit Hole

[Jacinda Blake]

The Mini-Mutants as Jacinda affectionately dubbed them, were not as large of a class as some of the older students. Not many of them came into their abilities before puberty. Those that did had to go through the same awful circumstances and periods of adjusment that they all did, but at a much more challenging time. Of course, in some cases being younger made the adjustment easier, it was different with each child, as Jacinda was finding out.

Jacinda was working as a teachers aid this semester, since she'd finished most of her courses early, and was seriously considering training to one day be a Professor herself.. Hanging out with the younger students was a blast for her. She got to wear her beat-up clothes, get finger-paint all over her and relive her childhood through the kids, it was great. It also helped relieve some of the hurt of missing her sister, Lucy.

She was just leaving them for the day, as they were heading off to lunch. She was stopping by Professor Daniels office to let him know she was done for the day and see where she might help out tomorrow, but there was a note on his door with her name on it.

Scanning the note quickly, she found that she was supposed to meet Professor Rhee in the faculty lounge, but oddly enough he'd requested that she find Carlos and bring him along.

She turned pink in the hall.. It couldn't possibly be because of that! She was almost nineteen years old, and it was just a kiss.....

Jacinda turned and ran up the stairs towards the boys dorm wing.. literally flying up the last half of the stairs since no one was around. She didn't stop until she was outside his door, then caught her breath, tucked her hair behind her ears and knocked..

[Carlos Calaveras]

There was a thump and the sound of what might have been someone swearing in Spanish. A few seconds later, the door opened. The room inside looked as if it had been hit by a bomb – a bomb full of socks and t shirts, to be precise. Carlos squeezed into the gap between the hallway and the bedlam, in a half-hearted attempt at blocking Jacinda's view of the chaos. Bleary-eyed and bed headed, he stifled a yawn.

“Uhhh... hi?”

[Jacinda Blake]

She grinned and shook her head. "You slug..."

Jacinda had caught a peek of his room, despite his obvious attempt at keeping her from doing just that very thing. Carlos would probably be shocked to know that right now her room looked quite similar, from her and Tess tearing through clothes the night before. She probably had a few bra's thrown around as well, to make things worse..

"Hey.. shake it off. Professor Rhee wants to see us." She handed over the note.

[Carlos Calaveras]

He squinted at the piece of paper; at Professor Rhee's tiny, immaculate hand-writing. Carlos was no stranger to receiving summons's from the teaching faculty, and so he couldn't help but groan a little as the words on the note came into focus. He pushed the scrap into his pocket and retreated into his room in search of sneakers and moments later, victorious, with a pair of beaten-up Chucks. The task of tying his laces, whilst still half asleep, proved too difficult. Carlos gave up and, pushing his hands into his pockets, shuffled off down the hall.

“So, what's this about?” he asked, glancing over to Jacinda.

[Jacinda Blake]

She turned pink again..

"I honestly don't know.."

Hooking her thumbs through the belt loops on her jeans, Jacinda walked along beside Carlos, playing out all the possible scenarios in her mind. It could be anything from getting in trouble for her impromptu party the other night, to being seen lip-locked with Carlos..

Or, she might just be worrying about nothing. The party technically had supervision, Professor Flannery and the pizza brigade.. and surely she wasn't the first of the older students to be busted for kissing.

Arriving at the lounge, Jacinda quickly peeked over at Carlos, who didn't seem too concerned, then opened the door and stepped inside..

[Dragon]

Professor Rhee was seated in one of the armchairs catching up on some paperwork, but as soon as the two students walked in, he folded it all up and popped up out of his seat with a smile. "Jacinda, Carlos, come in. Thanks for coming."

At once the students noticed he was clad in his white gi and sneakers rather than his normal classroom attire. At the same time John noticed that Jacinda was a little pinker than normal around the edges.

"The faculty has been discussing some, well, transitional issues lately, and both your names came up pretty quickly. You're both seniors, and you've both displayed great leadership skills in the student body as well as an impressive mastery of your mutant abilities. You've been exemplary students. And..."

There was a sound in the silence that could have been the other shoe dropping - John's smile had taken an almost conspiratorial flavor. "The other teachers and I would like to gauge your interest in assisting us with some of our non-academic duties."

[Carlos Calaveras]

The prospect of more extracurricular activities didn't exactly thrill Carlos, who had been cajoled into a number of pep-rallies and welcome committees in his time – but he got the distinct impression that John was hinting at something more than the usual after-school time-sinks.

That didn't change the fact, however, that Carlos had no idea what Profess Rhee was talking about.

“Huh?”

[Dragon]

"Let's walk as we talk - there are some things that'll be easier just to show you."

John beckoned them through the back entrance of the lounge and into a corridor that rarely saw any student traffic - there was nothing on it other than a few empty offices, storage closets, and, oddly, a service elevator that didn't work.

And that was precisely where John was taking them.

"When Dr. Cullen set out to ensure that humans and mutants could live in peace, he knew it would always be an uphill battle," the professor went on. "That's why he founded this school - a place where mutant youths can learn about their gifts, both how to control them and how to use them for the benefit of people around them. But the school was only part of his vision."

John punched a six-digit code into the keypad by the elevator, and, to the students's surprise, the keypad swung aside, revealing a flat, white, glowing panel with the outline of a hand. John pressed his hand against it, and a band of blue light scanned it from top to bottom. An indicator beside the panel flashed green, and the elevator doors ground open.

John led Jacinda and Carlos into the large, spartan elevator and pressed a button labeled SB. The car began to descend at a surprising speed.

"Dr. Cullen knew that as mutancy became more widespread, the mutant population would face a number of serious threats. Both from humans who would abuse them, and from other mutants who would use their abilities to harm others rather than to help them. And so he devised a way to respond to those threats."

The elevator kept plummeting - far beyond where the mansion's basement ended.

[Jacinda Blake]

In contrast to Carlos, Jacinda was in her element with the topics of exemplary grades, extra-curricular activities and being invited by the teachers to some new task. She was fairly glowing, hanging on every word, and definitely interested.. When Professor Rhee opened the elevator by means of the hidden control panel, she felt slightly giddy.

This was awesome.

She stepped inside and continued to listen about Dr. Cullen. She'd read about him and the school in a pamphlet that she'd seen on Professor Daniels desk one day, and had asked a million questions about him. She couldn't be more grateful for the safety and solace of the school he'd founded, but she had always wanted to know more about him. This was that moment, she just knew it..

Mutants that would use their abilities to harm others? She really hadn't given it much thought, though she knew they were out there. She did watch the news.. Personally, her first concern had been learning to control her abilities so that she wouldn't hurt anyone..

The elevator was still dropping, her stomach rolled over like she was on an amusment park ride. "Uhh.. Professor how far down are we going..?"

[Dragon]

"Just far enough," John replied.

The elevator decelerated and came to a smooth stop, and the doors opened again to reveal a sprawling complex of chrome, tile, and concrete which resembled a futurist's dream of some far-flung space station. They stood in a spacious chamber with two other elevator doors and several corridors branching off spiderlike at various angles, each of them marked with lighted signs bearing legends like "HANGAR ACCESS" or "BRIEFING ROOM." Around the walls of the main chamber were lockers, several of them standing open to reveal what appeared to be uniforms in blue, black, and gold.

"Welcome to the Sub-Basement: headquarters of the X-Men."

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos thumped the palm of one hand with the balled fist of the other. All of a sudden, he was very much awake. He grinned over at Jacinda, shaking his head.

“Damn, I knew it! I just knew it! I told them there was something down here.”

Carlos was, of course, referring to his previous attempted break-in of the mansion's less widely known facilities. Although he and Tess had not been able to gain access to anything of real interest, they had seen enough to know that there was something the teaching faculty weren't telling them. His eyes touched on everything – the signs, the uniforms – and his grin only grew.

“Damn. The X-Men? Holy hell, this is... maaaan.”

[Jacinda Blake]

Carlos and Tess had both brought their conspiracy theories to Jacinda. She'd listened, but without seeing some hard evidence for herself she was not about to start believing that there was a secret society of mutants, or whatever, lurking around Cullen's after dark..

She peeked over at Carlos to see that he was finally getting excited, and that he'd just proved he'd been right all along. She grinned back at him.

"Professor, this is way too cool.. So then, this is for advanced training. Like the training we do upstairs, but stepped up to be a defensive force?"

[Dragon]

John stepped out into the luminous chamber. "Training," he said, "equipping, planning, dispatching, supporting units in the field. This is the nerve center for all our operations. We're a highly mobile, highly versatile response team, and, thanks to Mr. Daniels's corporate connections, we enjoy some of the most advanced tactical and strategic amenities in the world. The entire faculty and most of the staff are involved. But lately we've been looking into expanding our ranks."

He turned to face his students and couldn't help smiling - their giddy excitement was infectious.

"So, would you like to see more?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“More?”

Carlos' imagination was getting the better of him. Already, he had wandered away from Professor Rhee and Jacinda, to get a closer look at the X-Men uniforms. In his head, he was pairing up each suit with its owner – and gaining a new found admiration for the teaching staff at Cullen's.

“Hell yes.”

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda skipped after Carlos, also examining the uniforms. She wanted one! Feeling slightly like a trespasser, she ran her fingers over the material of one blue sleeve. That would be so much more cozy to fly in. It sometimes got very cold with altitude...

She turned around to answer the professor, blonde hair whipping around her with her haste. "Oh yes, please.."

[Dragon]

What followed was a whirlwind tour of the complex - a full orientation might have taken days. As it was, Jacinda and Carlos were in for a deluge of information rivaling any lecture they'd heard yet at Cullen's.

"This is the War Room - we have access to over two hundred live media feeds around the world as well as a network of intelligence and law enforcement databases around the country...

"Here's the workshop - hi, Max - where we produce and test our customized gear. Very little of what we use is mass-produced, and none of it is traceable...

"That's the accessway to the hangar, which opens to the old quarry behind the school. I'd show you the Blackbird, but it's in use right now...

"There's the infirmary, but... you'll have time to see that later."

At last, John led them down a broad corridor that slanted downward, dropping another whole story. It opened into a massive cyllindrical chamber dominated by an only slightly smaller metallic sphere nested in the floor like some mythic egg. It was covered in a mesh of tubing, pipes, circuitry, and vents, and it was supported all around by a superstructure of girders, scaffolding, and buttresses. A pair of staircases snaked their way up to a platform labeled DANGER ROOM CONTROL which intruded into the sphere's surface. It gave the impression of a gigantic spaceship just waiting for its moorings to be cast away so it could lift off.

"This was just built at the beginning of the school year," John said, raising his voice over the general hum of computerized machinery. "It's taken us this long to debug it, but we've already managed to hold several solid training exercises in here. I have to admit I was skeptical at first - you know how I am with technology - but there are things we can do in here we just couldn't do in the field. Or anywhere else, for that matter."

He brought them to a heavily shielded circular hatch near the base of the sphere, where there was another handprint reader. John pressed his palm against the scanner, and the seals around the door hissed open.

"This is the only facility of its kind - as far as we know - anywhere."

The hatch rolled aside to reveal the interior. The vast, rounded walls were covered in hundreds of thousands of reflective diodes. It was dazzling.

"Jacinda, Carlos... say hello to the Danger Room."

[Carlos Calaveras]

“Danger Room,” Carlos echoed, with a whistle of approval. “Sounds like my kind of place!”

He strode forward, eyes turned upwards in awe. There was so much more to the Institute than he had ever imagined. A secret lair beneath the apparently innocent school - it was like stepping right into a comic book panel. Tearing his eyes away from the cieling, he looked back over his shoulder at John.

“How does it work?”

[Dragon]

They stood on a grating which cut off the bottom quarter or so of the sphere's volume, making a floor roughly the area of a pair of basketball courts. The diodes covering interior surface began to glow as the entered.

"It's easier to show you than just to tell," John said, sealing the hatch behind them. "Max, are you ready up there?"

He glanced up to a window about halfway up the sphere's height, a window that corresponded to the control platform they'd seen from the outside. Professor Flannery waved behind the window, and her voice echoed through the chamber. "All set, John. What's your pleasure?"

"I think we're all tired of winter in New York - how about Muir Island?"

"You got it!

There was a computerized chime and a low hum, and the diodes around them began to change color - those above them turned blue, the ones beneath them became brilliant green, while those around them became varying shades of blue-gray and earth tones. But they weren't just changing color - they were expanding and blurring together. Along the walls, darkened shapes seemed to emerge - ridges, humps, strange branching things like trees, while elsewhere the colors started to ripple and wave. And then there was a sudden sense of vertigo as the floor, impossibly, rose underneath them - Carlos, who was closer to the center of the room, was actually on a different level now from John and Jacinda.

The shapes around them began to crystalize and clarify - suddenly, it seemed there was far more space in the room than there had been before, and they could see a landscape fading into the distance, a horizon, a sky...

The branches became trees, and the ridges became rocky hills hanging with moss and reeds, and the ripples of color became the expanse of the North Atlantic. And by the time the two students had realized this, they were stading knee-deep in reeds and cattails overlooking a beach of sand and pebbles with a chain of rugged hills at their backs. A cool but invigorating breeze blew over the choppy water, and seagulls cried high above them.

John turned to his students, his hands clasped primly behind his back. "Well? What do you think?"

[Jacinda Blake]

"Holy... Sh.." She recalled that she was in fact with a teacher. "..shmokes.."

Jacinda couldn't believe her eyes. Was it real? It sure felt real..

"Professor, did we just teleport or something? Or is this an illusion?" She could definately feel the wind, hear the gulls, even her feet felt the change in the turf beneath her, and she was certain if she reached out... One hand lifted, and yes.. she could feel the abrasive exterior of the cattail beneath her questing fingertips. She looked up in pleasant surprise.

[Dragon]

"It's a force-feedback hologram," John replied. "We can create virtually any conceivable environment in here - if we move beyond the dimensions of the room, it can even scroll underneath us to maintain the illusion."

He stooped down, picked up a rock, and threw it as hard as he could toward the wall through which they'd just entered - it couldn't have been more than twenty feet away. But the rock flew off into the trees and landed with a rustle in the swaying grass.

"We use the Danger Room to conduct field exercises we can't do in the field," he said. "We can even create simulated enemies for combat maneuvers."

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos looked down to see the floor rushing up towards him, pushing him upwards into mid-air. The sensation of being pushed upwards, into nothing by nothing, was completely bizarre and made Carlos' stomach do a little back flip as a 'seagull' swooped nearby overhead. There were absolutely unlimited possibilities of what could be done with this room, and not all of them – in Carlos' mind – were for academic purposes. He looked back down to where Jacinda was stood with Professor Rhee and grinned.

“And now we're going to get trained in here. Sweet.”

[Dragon]

John paused, his smile faded somewhat. "Yes," he said. "If you choose to join. But I want to make sure you fully understand what it involves."

He walked a short distance and sat on a rocky outcopping. "What do you two know about the Brotherhood of Mutants?"

[Jacinda Blake]

Carlos grinning like that was too much temptation for Jacinda, it was infectious, she jogged up the hill after him for a better look around. She had the oddest desire to toss bread crumbs at the gulls, as if they were real..

Looking back down toward the Professor, she resumed paying attention.

The Brotherhood, hmmm.

"I caught a snippet on the News about something that sounded like that. It said they were responsible for some retaliation assaults against non-mutants. I think it was bombings, arson, something like that? I didn't know how much to believe. The News says a lot these days.. not all of it true."

[Dragon]

John nodded. "Especially where mutants are involved. Unfortunately, this is most likely a case where the reality is much worse than the news would have you believe."

He glanced from Jacinda to Carlos and back again. "Earlier I mentioned that there are mutants who use their abilities to harm others. Usually they're isolated cases, petty criminals who use their gifts for selfish gain. But there are also groups of mutants with militant agendas. Groups like the Brotherhood. They believe it is the destiny of mutants to supplant humanity. They oppose coexistence policies, and they reject the authority of human governments. And they are very willing to use terrorist tactics to advance their cause."

He stood and walked between the students. "Max, show us Yucca Mountain."

There was another hum, and the sky above them turned dark, and the idyllic coastal environment faded into a nocturnal desert landscape. There was a rush of air as a distant mountain ridge sped toward them - it seemed as though they would crash into the foot of the mountain, but instead they were swallowed by the mouth of a tunnel and rushing over a subterranean railroad, passing lurid green interior lights on either side.

At last the tunnel walls slowed, and they settled onto the concrete floor of a cavernous underground loading dock. Or at least that's what it once must have been. The platforms were demolished, and several massive steel support struts lay in a heap across the twisted remains of a crashed freight train. The long box cars were accordioned together, and most of them had ruptured, spilling bright yellow barrels oozing with poisonous-looking black sludge which was splattered from the floor to the ceiling.

"This is, or rather was the Yucca Mountain Repository in Nevada," John explained. "The largest disposal facility for radioactive waste in North America. The Brotherhood attacked this place because they were holding a known terrorist here - a mutant with lethal radioactive powers. They killed fifty-eight people and injured dozens more so they could release this man and add him to their organization. We attempted to stop them. Unfortunately, we were not successful.

"Despite the U.S. government's best efforts to apprehend them, the Brotherhood is still at large and still working to further their agenda at any cost. They are ruthless and without remorse when it comes to their cause. And that is why we are so determined to oppose them.

"This is just a simulation. A holographic recreation of the scene. But real people died here. This isn't some comic book fantasy. We are involved in a extremely dangerous business, and we take it very seriously."

[Carlos Calaveras]

The cold inside the 'mountain' made Carlos' skin prickle. He'd heard about various militant mutant groups – through news reports and the picket-parades that so often took place outside the school – but he had no idea of the scale on which they were working. To think that they could have some hollowed-out mountain base, full of deadly radioactive waste, was... difficult to process.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind and he turned back towards John, slowly.

“Professor Dupont... she didn't go on vacation, did she?”

[Dragon]

John sadly turned his eyes toward Carlos's. "No," he said gravely. "Francoise was the victim of a psychic attack by a member of the Brotherhood, a telepathically gifted mutant who calls herself Spectre. She's been in an unresponsive coma ever since. She's in the infirmary here in the Sub-Basement. I'm afraid we just don't know whether she'll ever come out of it."

[Jacinda Blake]

Paling, Jacinda moved closer to Professor Rhee and lay a hand on his arm. "I would like to visit with Professor Dupont, some time.. If I could? I've missed her a lot.."

Professor Dupont had been the one who had come to 'rescue' Jacinda and bring her to Cullen's. She and Professor Max, were the first two other mutants she'd met and they both held little corners of her heart.

The rest of the conversation hadn't been lost on Jacinda, she'd been paying attention. The visible evidence of what these other powerful mutants 'The Brotherhood' had done, haunted Jacinda. Not only had they done all of this damage, but they had done worse to their own kind, other mutants.. It was sickening.

[Dragon]

John nodded. "Max, end the program."

The cavern faded to a misty gray, and the three mutants sank slowly to the grating level as the illusion dissipated. The Danger Room lay dormant again.

John led Jacinda and Carlos back through the complex to the infirmary. A curtain partition had been drawn across one corner.

"I'm very sorry you weren't told before," he said. "It was decided that it might spread alarm among the students."

He slid the curtain door aside. "Hello, Francoise," he said. "It's the afternoon, and I've brought some visitors."

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos stepped into the room uncertainly. On the bed in front of them, Professor Dupont lay motionless. Under the infirmary's artificial lighting, her skin looked a sickly pale. There were tokens here and there, presumably left by other members of staff, including a bunch of flowers and a photograph frame, containing a picture of what looked like Francoise, Professor Flannery and Ethan Daniels, back in their own high-school days.

“Does she know we're here?” he asked, in a low voice. “I mean, can she hear us?”

[Dragon]

"I couldn't say for sure," John replied. "She's not responsive. But given her gifts, it's possible she's aware of us on some level. And I certainly think the support of her friends and students counts for something."

[Carlos Calaveras]

There was a distant frown curving the corners of Francoise's lips downwards, as if she might have been lost in some restless dream. Carlos wrapped an arm around Jacinda's shoulder, as they both stood over the Professor. He frowned too, but with more conviction.

“Don't worry, Professor Dupont... we're going to catch those Brotherhood punks.”

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda was beyond angry that someone had done this to Professor Dupont. She was all kindness and grace. That she was stuck in a bed now, lost inside her own mind somewhere.. that sealed the decision for Jacinda. Someone had to fight back against these guys, The Brotherhood. If they could learn to do such things with their abilities, she'd love to give it right back to them.

She nodded at Carlos' sum up of her own thoughts, then ran her fingers softly through Francoise's long brunette tresses, thinking to herself.

'We'll learn professor.. and we'll do something to make you proud.'

"Professor Rhee..?" she started quietly, not taking her eyes off Francoise.

"When do we start..?"

[Dragon]

Now that it had come to the point, John felt conflicted. On one hand, he was heartened by their enthusiasm. On the other, he couldn't escape the feeling he was leading these children into a pack of wolves.

But they wouldn't be children by the time he was through with them.

"You can start training as soon as possible," he said. "And the training will be intense. Much more so than any you've had so far. But there's something else I'd like you to do."

Quietly, he ushered them back out of Francoise's cubicle and out of the infirmary.

"There are a few other students we're also considering as candidates for X-Men recruits. But often students will have insights into their classmates that their teachers never could. We'd like both of you to carefully consider which other students might be ready to join the X-Men and give us your suggestions. Be sure you choose wisely. Because out there you will live or die on the trust of your comrades. Especially as team leaders."

[Jacinda Blake]

Jacinda folded her arms across her chest, in thought. She didn't even know who else was a candidate and already she felt icky about it. Jacinda, as a student wouldn't want to exclude any one of her friends. She'd feel as though they all deserved their chance to train and fight for the same ideals as everyone else, but...

.. she also knew what Professor Rhee was saying, this wasn't game with rules designed to make everyone feel included, this was life and death. Professor Dupont's still form in the infirmary proved that point very well, and she was a trained member of this team.

They would have to think on this...

"Who else has been considered, Professor?"

[Dragon]

"I'd rather not influence your choices just yet," John replied. "I'll only tell you this: we are only considering students who are eighteen or older. We might, and I emphasize might, consider training for seventeen-year-olds, but they cannot join the X-Men until they turn eighteen."

He walked them back out toward the lobby where the uniforms were stored.

"Another thing to consider will be your code-names. Every X-Man has one, for security and communications purposes. For example, Mr. Daniels is Ion. Mr. MacLaverty is Pan. Miss Dupont is Oracle. And I am Dragon."

He advanced toward a pair of closed lockers. "Then, there is the matter of uniforms. They are manufactured right here in the Sub-Basement with highly advanced fabrics developed by Mr. Daniels's corporation. The fibers naturally regulate temperature in heat and cold, are waterproof, and are resistant to chemical burns and fire. They can also be reinforced with lightweight, high-impact plastic inserts in the chest, abdomen, back, and thighs."

He reached and keyed in a numerical sequence in a pair of keypads, and the doors to both lockers shunted open to reveal two brand-new uniforms - one of them blue trimmed in gold, the other black and red.

"And I hope you don't mind our taking the liberty... you'll remember you were measured for graduation robes three weeks ago."

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos stepped forward, his eyes drawn to the black and red suit. The outfit was made up of a vest, gauntlets, trousers and biker boots – and it was, he knew in an instant, exactly his size. Embossed on the chest-piece, in dark material, was a bold 'X'. It looked, in a word, cool and far removed from the often goofy spandex disguises worn by the super heroes of popular culture.

This, Carlos realized, was a momentous occasion. This was the instant in which they would become heroes themselves, when they would first embrace their new identities, the faces that the whole world would come to know and respect. It was a lot to consider.

“I... got no idea what to call myself.”

[Jacinda Blake]

She couldn't help it. Jacinda was drawn forward instantly, lifting a blue and gold sleeve, rubbing her fingers over the surprisingly light material. Resistant to heat and fire would be perect working with Carlos.. She peeked over at him and smiled.

Resistance to cold would come in handy when she was at high altitudes. That had been her one big complaint with flying, particularly at night was the chilly temperatures.. It was a lot of information to process, sure.. but she couldn't help but be eager to get to it!

Jacinda wondered who else among their class would be an assest to the X-men team. She had a few thoughts, she'd wait to talk about it with Carlos before commiting to anything solid.

As for a name.. That too would require some thought, especially in her case. She cringed..

"Yeah.. the right name seems important, in a superficial way. If it's who we're going to be known as though, we should give it some thought.."

[Dragon]

"Certainly, it's important," John replied. "It'll be a part of your identity, in a way. And the rest of us are willing to help you find something that suits you. There's no hurry."

He couldn't suppress a smile as they gushed over their new uniforms.

"Would you like to try them on?"

[Carlos Calaveras]

“You know it. Maybe getting into costume will inspire some ideas for names, huh?”

Carlos picked out the uniform, one piece at a time. It felt so light. He tucked the boots under his arms and glanced expectantly around.

“Uh, where should we...?”

[Dragon]

"There are some prep rooms just down the hall. This way."

[Jacinda Blake]

Wow..

Jacinda shut the door behind her, uniform tucked over one arm, boots carried in the other. This was so much information to process. She sat down on a bench to kick off her shoes and change out of her 'street clothes' for lack of a better term.

Professor Rhee hadn't been kidding when he'd said the uniforms had been tailored to fit them. The blue and gold material was actually quite comfortable and she was surprisingly warm despite it's thin, lightweight appearance. She pulled her hair out from the back before zipping up. Then sat again to pull the boots on, which came up to her knees. Wiggling her toes, she found them cozy as well..

All she was missing now was a mask and a cape.. With a smirk, Jacinda put her hands on her hips and assumed what she decreed a fitting Super Hero stance, then burst into a giggle..

Yeah right..

Figuring she'd taken long enough, Jacinda peeked back out into the hall, then stepped out, shyly..

[Carlos Calaveras]

Carlos was waiting in the hallway. Shoulders rolled back and chest puffed out, there was a hint of a swagger in his stance. The suits material was well fitted and highlighted a surprising amount of muscle definition. His arms folded over his chest, Carlos had to admire the work they'd done. He looked like a total badass and Jacinda looked... hot. Fire twisted around his forearms.

“Shame we can't wear these all the time, huh.”

[Jacinda Blake]

One golden eyebrow arched upward, a smile hinted at her lips as Jacinda took in the full measure of Carlos in his uniform, clearly admiring what she was seeing. "Damn shame, yes..."

Horrified that she'd said that in front of Professor Rhee, she smacked a hand over her mouth and blushed. "I mean.. they are really cozy. Everything fits great."