knocking at the door [open]

[mightymorphin]

Who: Morph and you!
Where: The newly-spawned X-Mansion
What: Both closed and open prompts taking place in the X-Mansion this month! Feel free to use this space for your own closed threads in the mansion, just make sure to note that in the subject line.
Warnings: Nothing yet


A. DISCOVERY - CLOSED TO ROGUE, BACKDATED TO OCT 5TH
[Morph was in Archangel's winged form, on the search for the missing Peter by air, taking advantage of the good eyesight that came along with it to check out alleys and rooftops. That was when they first spotted it - something new just outside of Aldrip, a large building that looked achingly familiar the closer they came to it. It nagged at them, enough that once they finished checking that part of the city, Morph only briefly landed on a rooftop before winging it in that direction.

What they saw nearly made them forget to flap their wings. The mansion was unmistakable, looking for all the world like a someone had scooped it up and dropped it there. Morph circled around it once, then landed in the front yard, staring up at the building in sheer disbelief as they shifted back to their regular form. The last time they had seen the mansion, it was a demolished, scorched ruin. Morph had shared a beer with Logan right there on the lawn while waiting for the fires to die down. But this mansion wasn't damaged in the slightest - it could've come from the day before the Prime Sentinels attacked, or any of the more peaceful days before that point.

After a long moment, they finally fish out their tablet to write a quick text to Rogue.]

hey, leave the city and fly southeast, right now.
no one's dying but you NEED to see this.

B. OPEN HOUSE
[After the announcement made on the network, the mansion's been left open for the Chosen to wander into. For anyone interested a bright yellow sign has been posted with an arrow pointing towards the elevator, and another sign inside the elevator letting guests know which floor will leave them outside the Danger Room.

The rest of the mansion's doors are unlocked, left open for anyone to wander around as they wish. There's a few locations that might be of interest, including a pool and a basketball court outside. The first floor has a sizeable library and a living room with a big-screen CRT and a VCR, along with a shelf full of VHS tapes. The second basement, above the one containing the Danger Room, has its own gym and locker rooms, along with some laboratory space that's going unused.

The only places that are semi off-limits are the office on the first floor and the bedrooms on the second floor. Start rifling around in either area and chances are that one of the new residents will find you doing it, unless they're sufficiently distracted elsewhere. The mansion will also get locked back up around 10 PM each night, so no late night visits unless you ask about it!]


C. WILDCARD
[Morph can be found pretty much anywhere on the mansion grounds if you need to talk to them!]

Comments

a.

[southernchere]

It better be good, Morph. I was just about to get in the bath.

[mightymorphin]

skip the bath! don't worry about being smelly, this is way more important!

[southernchere]

You've must of lost your ever-lovin mind if you think I oughta go out there smellin like a sewer gator's ass.

Did you forget I've got wounds I got to clean? I'm not turnin into a zombie cuz of sum infected burns.

[mightymorphin]

[Really? At a time like this??]

look, there's better bathtubs over here! and probably better medical supplies, too. I haven't checked yet.

trust me, it's worth the wait.

[southernchere]

Fine. Let me drain the water and get dressed.

Where am I flyin to again?

[mightymorphin]

fly southeast. you'll know it when you see it. it's hard to miss.

[southernchere]

Southeast. Alright, Sug. I'll be there faster than a jackrabbit.

[mightymorphin]

[While Morph was waiting for Rogue to finish her bath, they took a quick look inside, but they hadn't gone very far. It was just enough to verify that the mansion was how they remembered it - and well, it was, down to the furniture and even the movie collection in the living room. It was a little eerie, after they had watched the destruction of their home with their own eyes. It warred with their sheer relief at just being home, even if home wasn't on the right world or with all the people that should've been there. It would be easier to pretend, but maybe that was the danger behind the mansion being here.

They ended up back out on the front lawn, mostly because they wanted to be easy to spot when Rogue flew in. Morph is sitting on the grass with their tablet in hand, periodically glancing up at the sky in between checking the network.]

[southernchere]

[ so she flies off in that direction and, in time, they will see something in coming from a distance. it starts as a speck, but grows larger and larger and forms into a person. but that person steadily comes into a halt and hovers in the air as she witnesses this surprise, morph had been rambling on about it.

given by the sudden pause and just... floating there, her body language is extremely telling. she is completely in shock, and maybe appearing a little skeptical that their home is really there. could this be system's doing? a trick? the entire school was destroyed! so there's no possible way it's down below her. rogue is still some distance away, so if morph wants to chat with her, they're going to have to fly to her. ]

b;

[laserguy]

[Scott, of course, had to see what the mansion was like. He's not sure what to fully expect, or more accurately, not sure how to really feel when he steps foot in there, but might as well get that anxiety and anticipation out now by visiting. Not like he can avoid it, nor does he want to, especially if the Danger Room exists and if the mansion is where Morph and Rogue are going to be staying for the foreseeable future.

Still, there's something a little curious, maybe even nervous, as Scott steps inside the mansion, closing the front door behind him before looking around. It's different, yet similar, to the mansion back home. However, seeing that he was only there for a couple of days, it doesn't fully give him a 'bizarro' type feeling, but Scott still makes sure that his hands are in his pockets as he takes everything in.

He probably should head to the Danger Room, but honestly, he's kind of curious about exploring the main parts of the building. Maybe seeing Scott's room...]

I'm here. [He calls out, figuring to at least let others know that he's here too.]

[mightymorphin]

[With so few people living in such a large space, the mansion is almost dead quiet... until Scott calls out, and then there's the distant sound of a door closing from somewhere on the second floor. That's followed by the increasingly louder sound of frantic flapping, until a seagull zooms right down the stairwell and makes an abrupt landing at the bottom of the stairs.

After briefly shaking out their feathers, Morph shifts back to their regular form, hands on their hips as they regard Scott.]

Hey, welcome to the mansion! Or well, the totally All-American version of the mansion. I swear, any tea you find in the kitchen is probably Ororo's.

[Okay, so knowing there was a British version of the Professor in Scott's world was still kinda funny, but...]

Is this place... anything like you remember it?

[laserguy]

[At least he's not at all jump scared when the seagull suddenly turns into the familiar form of his teammate. Scott just raises his hand in greeting, a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth because well, he is glad to see Morph and everything. It's nice that both them and Rogue managed to get a little something from home, especially if they're going to be stuck here for a bit longer.

He... he doesn't regret or feel guilty about asking for their help like that, but he knows it must be frustrating for them.]

Let me double check.

[He closes his eyes for a moment, before taking an exaggerated sniff around the foyer, as if trying to find a particular scent.] Well, it smells less like a museum. [...] Only getting a hint of that Britishness around here...

[But he'll give it a 'pass' on that American test.]

[mightymorphin]

[Okay, Morph can't help but start snickering at seeing Scott putting on a bloodhound act. So is that what Britishness smells like? About half the team was from other countries, but somehow there just weren't any Brits. Except for in Scott's timeline, of course.]

If it's being a museum that makes it smell British, be careful going into the library. That's where the Professor's put most of his travel kick-knacks.

[After all, it's still a mansion and there were a few things lying around that pointed at that ridiculous wealth, if the size of the property wasn't enough. The living areas were generally more practical, just big and well-furnished. However the mansion had looked before Xavier made it into his school, it was clearly built to handle all the people that it could house in its many bedrooms.]

If you wanna just look around, I'll go with you and make sure you don't get lost. I can't imagine the place will be wildly different, though.

[laserguy]

I think I can track the scent from here. There's a strong smell definitely coming from that direction.

[A scene that's definitely old and British. As he mentioned before, he's the expert.

But as Morph offers to give him a tour, some of that prior teenage attitude slips, making Scott look a little more serious. Yeah, he didn't just come here to make jokes, really. A lot of that was just a front to hide how awkward some of this feels.]

Yeah. I... I want to take a look around. [Compare the two buildings. He still has memories of his stay in the mansion at home and he can already note some differences, but he won't be satisfied until he tours the entire building. Even if it sort of reinforces that he and Morph really aren't from the same timeline, it's okay.

He's learned, especially last month, that they're still X-Men. That's what matters the most.]

Do you think I can see what your Scott's room looks like?

[mightymorphin]

Heheh, being able to sniff out the British is the most specific secondary mutation I've ever heard of. You're a regular bloodhound.

[Morph didn't expect him to get quite so serious after all of that joking around, though. Yeah, this place was probably different from what he was used to in his own timeline, but the mansion was home. What was so bad about being back home again? Even if it wasn't quite the way you remember?

It's not until he asks about the adult Scott's room that Morph starts to understand what that expression is for.]

Oh... well, sure you can. But I gotta warn you, he shares that room with his wife.

[Morph wondered if they really needed to say who Cyke's wife was. Considering how complicated the adult Scott's personal problems had been lately, they weren't too sure if Jean or her clone had actually gotten the ceremony, but presumably that part didn't matter as much.]

[laserguy]

[Oh... on second thought, maybe he should avoid going there for the time being. It's kind of an invasion of privacy-- he and Morph's Scott aren't entirely the same person, just similar, and it kind of makes it worse. Mostly, it's just the thought of going into a room that he shares with his wife that kind of stings, like almost solidifying that he and Kotone are only temporary. Which. They both know that, but it's just hard to see it in person.

He shifts where he stands, head tilting to look elsewhere for a moment, and it's clear he's not on board with this idea anymore.]

How about you show me the kitchen instead? If I'm gonna be stopping by all the time, that's like an essential area.

[mightymorphin]

[Morph isn't too surprised that Scott changed his mind. The Spider-kids had told them once that it shouldn't mess up anyone's timeline to tell the younger mutants what might be in their futures, but at the same time... Morph knew that some of that knowledge could be a burden. Why talk about some other Cyclops having personal problems that might not ever happen to the kid?]

Sure, it's right this way. It's a shame the garage didn't show up with the rest of the house, 'cause Cyke owns some pretty sweet sports cars.

[See, cool little facts like that were way better than treading into murky waters. The kitchen is just down the west hallway from the entrance, and Morph strolls on in, gesturing for Scott to follow. It's pretty big, clearly meant to let multiple people be cooking at once - there's a big fridge, double ovens, and a kitchen island with bar stools pushed underneath it.]

There's a dining room through that other door, but we used to just eat in here if not everyone was at home.

b, hopefully it's not too late

[nightwild]

[After getting the instructions from Morph, Fauna sets out. And, well. It's pretty hard to miss a mansion like that. She's looking around on the grounds, at first, but mostly she's just... Staring at the front door. Is she even allowed into a place like this?

Going in through the front door seems... weird. She's not allowed in these places. She should have to sneak in. Right? Maybe go in through a window?

She's just going to be staring at the front door without taking any action for a bit, if Morph wants to talk to her here.]

not late at all!

[mightymorphin]

[The front doors have been left open since people were expected to be coming and going, and after getting signs up for pointing the way to the Danger Room, Morph has had plenty of other things to keep them busy. As it turned out, there were a lot of tasks that came along with sudden home ownership, especially when it was a place as huge as a literal mansion.

In fact, when Morph opens the door, they have a plastic skeleton draped over one arm and rolls of orange and black crepe paper in their other hand. Though they're surprised to see someone lingering on the front porch, they soon break out into a smile.]

Fauna, there are are! Come on in. You want that primer on how to use the Danger Room, right?

[nightwild]

[She jumps a little, but... Okay, composure. Danger room. That sounds goo-]

What the hell are you carrying?

[.... wait, yeah, that seems important. thanks, mouth, you got there WAY ahead of the brain.]

[mightymorphin]

What, this? Just some Halloween decorations. I found 'em in storage in the top level basement.

[Morph leaves the doors open as they lead the way inside, where sure enough there are a couple of large plastic containers that have 'HALLOWEEN' written on them in faded marker on the side. Rather than dealing with it right now, they toss the decorations they were carrying back onto the boxes before turning to face her again.]

It's hard for two people to decorate this whole place, but I can put up a few things to make it look a little more festive.

[nightwild]

... Oh, right, Halloween. That thing.

[Not that it's very big in Japan to begin with, but she in particular never got to do anything with it, and didn't care that much.]

You, uh... want some help?

[She did come here for the Danger Room, true, but... well. Leaving the two people she fought before to do all the decorating feels... kind of rude. Maybe this can make up for it.]

[mightymorphin]

Where I'm from, it's a great excuse for a party. And it doesn't hurt that you can be a more obvious mutant on Halloween and not a whole lot of people will realize it. Or more obviously inhuman in general.

[After all, Fauna had the ears and tail going on, and they had no idea if that was normal in her world. Morph stops to consider her offer for a moment, rubbing their chin in thought.]

That would make it go a lot faster... if you want to help out, I won't say no. Just pick stuff out of the boxes and go from there. And let's keep all the decorations on the first floor, otherwise I'll still be finding rubber bats by Christmas.

[nightwild]

[She thinks... and something about that sits wrong with her.]

... And you're okay with that? Only letting that stuff show when people won't realize?

[She knows she shouldn't say that sort of thing. It's not her place to cast judgment, or argue about it. But that's always been one of the core problems she has- She chafes with the world around her because of it. She wants to scream into the world, 'this is who I am'. The idea of hiding who she is- It makes her skin crawl. It's unfair. Hiding who you are, only showing it as a 'costume', when it's 'safe'...

A world that won't accept the people in it isn't a world she wants any part of.

But regardless, she does go to pick up a box, and pulls out some tiny plastic pumpkins, looking for good spots to put them.]

[mightymorphin]

Well... no, I'm not. But in a lot of places, it's not safe to walk around looking like this.

[Morph picks the two crepe paper rolls back up, heading over to the stairs to start winding the alternating colors around the railing, something that takes a little work but won't look half bad once they're done.

Mostly, they're wondering how to explain the whole mutant situation without it taking a good half hour. Though they've done it before, most of what they had to say about it wasn't pleasant. Morph had already learned that a lot of these other worlds just didn't have an equivalent to mutants, or if they did, the situation was far different.]

Sometimes public opinion goes our way, but generally mutants aren't well-liked. A lot of regular humans are afraid of what we can do. But my team, the X-Men, were formed to prove that humans and mutants can live together peacefully. That we have the power to protect and help them. That's our mission statement when we're back home, anyway.