Hank's Lab, Covert CIA Base

[tobenormal]

Hank had been thinking about his lunch (turkey and swiss on rye, a coke and macaroni salad as always; though maybe he'd get a Twinky today) when he heard the facility's Director enter his lab. "...Capable of super sonic flight!" The Director was saying proudly, making Hank guess they had some more Washington brass to impress. He stood, straightened his lab coat and adopted his casual yet serious stance.

"You should see the real thing if you want to be impressed," he said when the group finally turned around a corner and into view. The group was odd as only one person was in a suit. Washington Brass always wore suits and there were two woman with them. Agent Mactaggert he recognized, though he didn't know her name, but the blonde....she took his breath away. He stood frozen in awe and swallowed.

Comments

[balancingminds]

At the introduction, Charles looked over to Hank and beamed as there was quite a bit more to this young man then there seemed.

He started to walk over, gesturing the director to introduce them, but it was hard to hold his excitement.

Everything was starting to happen, Erik had stayed and they will understand each other in time and now this meeting.

[tobenormal]

Mr. Black takes a step forward to stand between the young man in the lab coat and everyone else. "And here is one of our top research scientists, Hank McCoy," he says gesturing to Hank proudly before turn to Charles, Erik, Raven and Moria. "And Hank, here are those special, new recruits I was telling you about."

Hank for his part stood there nervously with a half smile on his lips and a nod of greeting. He looked around at all of them but kept finding his eyes pulled to Raven before looking quickly away.

[balancingminds]

As soon as the introduction is over, Charles is at Hank and shaking his hand as he says,

"How wonderful, another mutant already here. Why didn't you say?"

Then he looks back over to Mr. Black as his smile falls away.

[tobenormal]

Hank is shaking Charles hand numbly as all the color drains from his face and his world falls out form beneath him. His worst fear has just been realized.

"Say what?" Mr. Black says suspiciously.

[balancingminds]

"You didn't know," He says to Mr. Black before returning to Hank, "I'm so terribly sorry."

This wasn't what he wanted to have happened as he can feel Hank tensing up.

[tobenormal]

Hank is breathing a little hard now and looking from side to side. He could be anger with Charles but how could Charles have known right?

"Hank?" Mr. Black says pulling Hank's attention to him.

"You didn't ask, so I didn't tell," he replies looking guilty and worried he's going to get fired.

[andproud]

"So your mutation is what? You're - super smart?"

She takes a few steps toward the others, but her gaze only rests on Hank, a curious smile slowly blossoming.

[balancingminds]

"I'll say. Hank here graduated Harvard at the age of fifteen,"

Charles smiles as Raven approaches, she's good at smoothing things and Hank is already interested in her.

[tobenormal]

Hank is still feeling like his world has fallen but he has nothing left to lose as he looks up...and then he sees her talking to him and he's saying, "I wish that's all it was," before he can think better of it.

[balancingminds]

He keeps his gaze on Hank, "You're among friends here, Hank, you can show off."

[tobenormal]

Hank had forgotten about anyone else until Charles' voice called him back. He looks around again, afraid, before realizing he really has nothing else to lose right? So he kicks off his shoes and pulls off his socks to flex his feet. He heart is pounding as no one has seen his feet since he was seven.

Oddly, as scared as he is, he's also a little excited. He looks up, checking for reactions and then heads towards the model of the Blackbird hanging ten feet above them, almost running into Charles.

"Sorry," he says stepping around him just as Charles sidesteps. Then Hank leaps and grasps the edges of the model in his feet, hanging upside down as naturally as anything.

[markedformore]

To this point, Erik has been told he's not alone, but Charles' mutation is invisible and unseen to the human eye. While Erik's is hidden as easily, he's had a great deal of experience being labelled as different and treated as such throughout his life. It's left him defiantly stubborn to be proud of such things. Here, faced with such a glorious and awe-striking mutation, he steps forward, casting his head skywards as he looks at the marvelous grip of the man's feet.

Wonderful, he thinks, and elegantly graceful, at that.

[andproud]

Charles' laughter is the loudest of all at her side; Raven can't fight her smile, watching Hank as he propels himself into the air and then hangs from the model, feet clutching as casually as a pair of hands might.

She crosses the room to stand below him, looking up slowly. It's the first time she's met anyone else with a mutation as visible as her own, and she says the first thing that pops into her head.

"You're amazing."

[balancingminds]

The laugh is loud because this is what he's wanted and has known is out there, more mutants. Four of them all in this room with completely different abilities and this is just the beginning.

He says, "Brilliant," as moves to stand beside Erik.

The way Hank and Raven are looking at each other is gratifying, he loves that smile of Raven's.

[tobenormal]

As Raven walks up, Hank knows this is a moment of truth. This is where she'll laugh at him and call him a freak and inside he braces for it. So lost in her he doesn't see Erik's awe or Charles laugh of joy or Mr. Black beaming liked a proud father. When she says "You're amazing" he's stunned and a nervous laugh escapes.

"Really?" He'd be crying at the acceptance if it wasn't so shocking.

[andproud]

She nods and smiles, her default response at this point, and she can't even think of mustering up any other kind of expression. Her gaze descends from his feet to his face, growing pink with the blood rush.

"Yes," she promises, at the sight of that shy smile.

[markedformore]

And to think, so many mutants like them had been in the woodwork as long as they had, hiding in plain sight. Erik throws Charles a somewhat impressed look, though he does make sure to send a frisson of displeasure in his direction as to his 'outing' of the poor young man. Still, if the show is over, Erik has other places to be in this base, especially if he's to add to his information on Shaw. "Is there another stop on our tour? Perhaps the next room has another mutant lying in secret wait?" he asks wryly.

[balancingminds]

Erik's look plus the feeling turn Charles away from Hank and Raven who look quite occupied. He sends back an clear sense of regret, he truly thought they knew about Hank.

Moira and Mr. Black seem to have lost their footing as well, "I'm sure we can find something and Raven will tell us whatever we've missed from here."

[tobenormal]

Their words finally register in Hank's mind and he looks up (down?) and says, "I'm sorry, did you want to see more of the lab? I...I could explain about the Blackbird if you'd like?"

Mr. Black smiles and shakes his head. Seeing Hank not tripping over himself put him in too good a mood to interrupt. "It's okay Hank, I'll take them onward. Why don't you show Ms. Darkhome around or maybe take her to the cafeteria for lunch?"

[andproud]

Raven sends Charles a look that fully implies she'll be fine for the moment; she probably doesn't even need to think that hard for him to pick up on the sense that she'll be just fine on her own.

"I'd like that," she replies, turning back to Hank with a smile. "Are you going to explain it all from up there?"

[markedformore]

Erik's already on his way towards the door. While his own teenage years had not been normal by any means, he knows well enough to give them temporary privacy. "What else have you got to impress?" he asks of Moira and the Director, ready to depart.

[balancingminds]

"I think you mentioned some of the information you've collected already,"

Moira nods and as they go into the hall the discussion turns to how little they know of Shaw and the resources at the facility.

[tobenormal]

Hank turns back to Raven with an awkward smile.

"I could explain from up here if you'd like," He says before realizing how silly it sounds. He clears his throat and grins awkwardly again. "Or if you could step back Ms. Darkholme, I could join you on the ground again." She is awful close and he'd hate to accidentally hit her.

[andproud]

"Oh. Of course," Raven murmurs, feeling rather sheepish as she moves to do just that.

She takes another step back, and then another, giving him a wide berth as the other voices disappear and fade into the background.

[tobenormal]

When she is only two steps away, he lets go and somersaults midair to land on his feet, his back to her. His smile of pride is hidden and vanishes as he turns. Yeah so he was showing off.

"So as you know Ms. Darkholme, this is the Blackbird. She is capable of passing Mach 1, that's just faster than the speed of sound in case you didn't know. Her thrust ratio is..." He says glowing at his baby and begins a long speech about the technical details of horizontal thrust, vertical thrust, how the plane can hover, it's maximum range and such. Unless Raven finds it interesting, she may want to stop his soon.