She'd squared it all with Scott and Emma. It came as no surprise to Ororo that Scott understood perfectly and that Emma radiated a certain satisfaction at Ororo's selfishness. Neither really mattered to her anymore, though. There were only three people in the world she might have changed her mind for. One of them was asking her to go even though she wouldn't be there, one of them was going with her and one of them wouldn't have the chance to do either.

( Letter to Friday. )

Of all the times he could possibly have been called home. He waits for years for this to happen, and the minute he does... I felt it coming, too. Storms like that will not be ignored, even from this kind of distance. The force of it draws air and moisture from across the entire country. It is all I could do these last few days to not stand facing south and just watch for it.

He emailed, though. He and his family have been evacuated. I should not worry like this; he is probably in his element, charming the life out of some poor hurricane refugee while they wait out the storm farther north. Still, it is a relief not to have classes right now. Staying up all night to try to bring it down a class or two from hundreds of miles away is nothing short of exhausting.

Whatever you are doing down there, Gambit, you had better not be earning this sort of weather.

I dearly wish I could understand what it is that gives people the unshakeable notion that their wants and needs are the only ones that matter. That they can take or give or do as they wish without regard for anyone around them as though they are endowed with some kind of indisputable power when in fact they are simply human beings.

Part of me feels hypocritical for thinking that. Goddess knows I have, often enough, acted with complete disregard for those around me, but only in the moment. I am have been a leader often enough to know that you must consider the needs of your team ahead of your own wants. I may not have always acted on that knowledge, but I have tried. Sometimes, I do not think Charles has ever even tried.

He needs her there. I find that remarkably hard to believe. If he needed her, he could have contacted her before she ever came back here. Before we had a chance to have her under this roof again, to make her part of this family again, before she and Scott fell in love. It cannot be some sudden thing, that he only just now discovered he needs her help. Genosha did not suddenly improve to a condition where he needs the world's most talented telekine.

Of course, he did not plan this maliciously. Part of me knows that--that is the part that feels hypocritical. It does not change the fact, however, that he gave no thought to what we needed here. Only himself. I doubt he even thought about what Jean needs. It is not as though she was languishing away somewhere not using her powers or contributing in some way. She was doing his work here and she was happy.

I could go. I have not spoken with Callisto in quite some time and it would do me good to see her. She is one of the only people, besides Remy, who is willing to grab me by the shoulders and tell me I am being selfish and childish and that I need to grow up. Something tells me this is something I could use right now. Charles could probably stand to have a little meteorological regulation on the island if what the girl Wicked says is true and it rains as often as that. I could spend a little more time with Jean, as well. Reason with Charles, perhaps, and convince him that she is more necessary here.

I would give it more consideration if I had not already committed myself here, that is. As much as there are few people capable of forcing me to face reality and act my age rather than behaving like a spoiled, tempermental little goddess, there are also few people, I believe, capable of even curbing Friday's independent streak. I am, I think, one of them, and if she hopes to get any of this resolved, she will need help. I know it would be good for her conscience and, most likely, her reputation as a detective to deal with the entire Mutant Mafia by herself. I also know the first is far more of a concern to her than the second. My primary concern is that if she insists on continuing to try to tackle all this alone, the only thing left of her will be her good intentions and her reputation, and I've come to care too much about her to let that happen. She is a smart woman, a brilliant investigator with a unique sense of humor and a good heart. We just have to work on her head a little bit until she realizes that we have been to space. We have fought entire empires. Most of us have already died once in our lives. We can help her with this, too. Even if it means having it come directly to us.

Apparently I am bound for Las Vegas. This is hardly how I would have expected recent events to play out, but I can't deny being pleased that the main goal of the tickets--to get Remy away from the mansion and all its entanglements for a few days--has at least been achieved.

Every time I feel lonely and begin to wonder if it may be time for the goddess to seek a proper consort, all I have to do is step out of my rooms and spend a few minutes watching the mansion. Or listening to it. Between the attacks, the infiltrations and the amount of hormones churning through here at any given moment, it is enough to make me not want to ever return from Vegas. Some things are simply better taken in small pieces. For example.

I killed him because he deserved it. In the same position, I would do the same thing.

The brig needs to be reinforced somehow. This should never have happened.

I still need to get in touch with Callisto, but have decided against telling her about Remy. That is quite high on the list of the Last Things Anyone Involved Needs Just Now.

Having Emma's voice in my mind makes me feel vaguely ill, but the only thing I can think of that might help is having it happen more often to desensitize myself. I cannot think of a single thing less appealing.

I have to find Kate and see how her progress in her fear of heights is coming. Rogue as well, to see if she's spoken with Wing lately regarding his lessons and practices.

Before any of this, however, I must check my email. X-Corp is probably on the verge of imploding at this point for lack of contact. After that I have to see Jean.

Ororo's relaxing in the television room, but she's not paying any actual attention to the TV--news reports of escalating world violence against mutants were just too depressing so she's turned the channel to the satellite all-day soap opera network. Rather than actual watching the overblown dramas because honestly, they are so unrealistic with their kidnappings and jealous lovers and people returning from the dead, she's on the couch in what ostensibly passes for adult pajamas with a seed catalogue and a big bowl with what might finally be the end of Remy's gumbo. Unless that other bowl in the freezer also contains gumbo. There are also several small stacks of papers on the floor beside her: current X-Corp office rosters, recent communications with them and member appointment listings and travel itineraries.

She might even be nice to Emma if she came in right now.

She was not entirely sure anyone else in the mansion would be taking Scott's theme overly literally, so her planned outfit had to walk a fine line between costume and typical day-to-day wear. The answer came in a relatively recent acquisition. The X-Corp team in Nairobi has insisted after she injured her shoulder that she take at least one day off, so Ororo had opted to visit the local marketplaces.

It hadn't taken her long to lose herself among the people but she was reluctant to actually make any purchases. She knew her appearance and the air she gave off of international money marked her as a tourist with funds to spare. Even if she could get the merchants to haggle, she was liable to pay too much.

Near the end of the day, though, she'd come to a dressmaker's shop. It had primarily simple things, affordable for local women, but the more formal section had several eyecatching pieces, and it is one of these that she pulled from her closet. Yes, that would be fine. If no one else had chosen to dress up, she would wear it with black shoes. Heels, but strappy. If they had--and she found herself deeply hoping they had--then barefoot.

ooc: Close-up and back. Mun <3's Dahlal.com. Also, no headpiece. Her own crown, if anything.

Is it wrong to feel triumphant at having, simply by a twist of fate, been more useful to the capture of the Brotherhood in five minutes than Emma has been in two weeks?

Probably. But that does not change what I am feeling. She helped herself to the Professor's and Henry's carefully crafted telepathic enhancer and was unable to locate them, and yet I may have provided the key to determining their whereabouts within Philadelphia simply by trying to get information about Callisto or Charles. Which, unfortunately, I failed to do. Still, I trust her. She would have returned immediately or contacted me if anything was wrong.

Charlotte called Jade who informed Scott and David traced the emails back to Philadelphia. This is hardly an individual victory, and I promise I will stop treating it as such before going back downstairs. For now, however... perhaps champagne?

This weekend was theraputic, but I hate this feeling. Trapped in my own home, and by an interloper who has more than once assaulted members of this faculty. I should have blown her back to Massachusetts. Scott would not have appreciated it, but it would have felt wonderful. She showed no inhibitions in her assault, after all--how can she possibly believe the burden of proof lay on me when she was so willing ot fall back on old habits? She proved herself to me then and there, as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps I should speak to Scott about that. Of course, he trusts her, and it would be ridiculous to assume he trusted me more than Emma, particularly as it relates to this school. If it were a team concern, perhaps, but the educational side of this Institute has never been my strongest suit.

Enough of that. I am here now. And what I truly need to speak to Scott about is Wing. Rogue mentioned him in our conversation and I think her idea was a sound one. I am far from above playing the "bad cop" to her "good cop" if it will help convince this young man that his powers must be used responsibly. He seems to have a certain sense of entitlement to them right now. I wonder how he would feel if he lost them.

I cannot say how good it feels to have Jean back in the mansion. I wish I would have been in a better state to welcome her back. I was surprised to hear about her split with Andrew. I would have expected more from him, but having seen his reaction--and in particular the way he abandoned her at the inauguration--I firmly believe she is better off without him, if only because I believe she would have been less likely to stay if their relationship had continued. We need her here. I need her here. She is my oldest friend in this house and with her here, I can withstand anything. Not to mention the fact that I can imagine no more loyal ally should Emma's new-found nobility prove to be less than permanent.

Why does it keep coming back around to her? Be gone, White Queen. The White Witch demands it be so.

And, once again, I find myself feeling foolishly ineffective.

I wonder if Kitty or David has removed Emma from the files of the Danger Room now that she is walking the straight and narrow. I cannot imagine Kitty would, but if Scott asked... Still, that sounds like something worth looking into, especially if Scott wants us training as a team again. The last thing I will allow is for the Ice Queen to see me in anything less that top condition again.

Who: Kate and Ororo
When: Late Sunday night/early Monday morning
What: Ororo needs a little convincing, then she's nosy

( Didn't you ever rough-house when you were young? Play Dodgeball and Elimination and Smearball and throw snowballs and stuff? )

I finally had a chance to meet one of the students the other day. It was delightful, though we got off on the wrong foot. I wish I had known she would be so upset that Scott had mentioned the attack. I cannot help feeling there is a piece that I have missed somewhere. Still, we were able to smooth things out, though she seemed very intimidated by my powers. Under normal circumstances, I would consider that wise, but I see no sense in frightening the children. They have enough to cope with without thinking their professors will bring lightning and tornadoes down on them. Luckily, though, I think I managed to save her being intimidated by me myself. All it took was an unwelcome moment of weakness. If I should be reborn as anything that will spend a part of its life in a refrigerator, I think I would prefer to simply not be.

I also had some time to catch up with the rest of the house. Scott seems unusually tense, which is certainly saying something considering it is Scott. I wish I knew just why everyone left when they did. It gave me the feeling of entering a haunted house, or a place where someone has died. As though there were bad energy or memories they needed to escape. Of course, considering Logan and Remy were among those who left, I predict a much less complicated reason. I just hope I am able to help. If he's worrying about his team, he cannot effectively lead the school, nor vice versa.

I think tonight will be a good night to see if the group MAMA are keeping a watch on the mansion. It would be foolish of them to intrude on the private property of those they see as so dangerous and fearsome, but some people never see the logic that should be right before their eyes. I am honestly hoping not to find anything. It will allow me to sleep easier knowing that at least within these walls we can be ourselves.

( Private. )

She drafted the welcome email three times before abandoning it. The school was large, yes, but not so large that a new face would be lost, particularly when it would soon be positioned at the front of a classroom. For now, though, Ororo stood from her computer and made her way downstairs to the kitchen, smiling at the smell of fresh coffee and the sounds of students moving in the hallways. She had a little time before classes began for the day.