Issue 1 Downtime

THere was a crisis at hand, a rather big one, from all indications. Which, naturally, had Cassiel pulling all kinds of crazy hours, doing normal duties, as well as not-so-normal duties trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

However, he and all the girls had done their fair share today. And, after looking things over and deciding that no, there wasn't anything more that could be done that day, he decided that yes, he and Jubilee had earned a little 'us' time.

Genosha was, all in all, not a bad place to be. The cities were modern and clean, the accomodations were comfortable, and entertainment was just like anywhere else. The people did try a bit too hard to be different and unique with their culture, often making things up on the spot to be labeled 'Genoshan,' but generally things that didn't deserve to be kept around were quietly ignored by the people at large, while things that turned out to actually be good were accepted and thrived.

Such as the restaurant that they had reservations at tonight. The atmosphere was dark, but still decently lit by bioluminescent paintings and sculptures throughout the room, as well as normal candles to balance out the odd lighting. Cassiel held out Jubilee's seat for her as they were shown to their table.

"Thank you." Jubilee said, smiling up at him as she sat down. "I'm glad that we get a bit of a break." she added, as she slid her chair in.

"So am I," he agreed. "It just hasn't seemed like a good time to take a night off, given how busy everyone's been with critical things. Still... you know what they say. All work, no play."

"And we've certainly earned a break." Jubilee agreed "You've put together a good team."

"I think so," he agreed. "They have their quirks, but I think each of them will be good for whatever the next few weeks throw at us."

"And after that?" Jubilee asked, quirking an eyebrow as she looked at her menu.

"I'm hoping that whatever is going on won't stretch out longer than the next few weeks."

"I was talking about the amount of hot water your girls are getting into." Jubilee replied.

He sighed. "Depends on the outcome. There are a few options," he admitted. "If this all goes up in flames, I can take the heat and make up some story about how I duped them all into it. Make it look like I was leading them on, make everything they do seem innocent, and get them latched onto people who's political careers won't be completely sunk."

"Actually, if everything goes well, I can probably still do something like that for them if they want. Ideally, though? They'll probably be facing a lot of hostility from whoever's behind this and whoever's supporting them. If it comes to that... well, I'm still writing up the plans for how to best do it, but thankfully we work at a school for mutants, so it shouldn't be too hard to pull them back to London with me, officially here as my personal aides still, officially there as students with diplomatic privileges. Keep them learning, keep them training, and by the time they're done with school, things will have cooled down enough and hopefully will have changed enough that they can actually capitalize on the same things that are going to get people pissed at them now."

"Sounds good." Jubilee replied "I figured you'd have a plan to take care of your people, but it never hurts to check."

"Well, I admit that I don't exactly like roping them in without giving them the full picture, but the sad fact is that I need them, and I can't afford to scare them off. The least I can do is make sure I'll keep them safe afterward."

"Frankly, all of them are so excited to be where they are, I think they'd do it even if they had the whole picture." Jubilee said "And I think that is enough shop-talk for one night."

"Definitely, there'll be enough time for that in the morning." He smirked. "I always thought that you'd cut quite a figure in an Accolyte uniform, I'm glad that I've at least had a chance to be proven right," he teased.

"I really want to have a word with the pervert who designed the Acolyte uniform." Jubilee said, blushing a little.

"Sorry, he's dead. Magneto sort of launched him into space after his fifth attempt at double-crossing."

"Besides, it's not like it's any worse than the X-Uniforms. Different color scheme and design is all."

"Except that the X-uniform isn't designed to draw attention to...certain regions nearly as much as the Acolyte uniform does." Jubilee pointed out.

Cassiel smirked. "The first Acolytes were all men. Since then, women who joined haven't wanted special treatment or different uniforms."

"Besides, you don't need a uniform design to draw attention like that," he added, winking at her.

"Flattery like that will get you many interesting places, my love." Jubilee said, winking back.

"I certainly hope so. I'd hate to let all this flattery go to waste," he teased.

"Was there any question in your mind?" Jubilee asked with a little smile.

"Not really, but verification is always nice."

"Well, verification will have to wait until after dinner." Jubilee teased, returning her attention to her menu.

"Hmmm, I think I can restrain myself for that long," he confirmed, chuckling a little. "So... honest opinion, how are you liking my quaint little country?"

"I'm enjoying myself a lot more than I thought I would. Its really beautiful, and what is going on here, its really something special."

"Thank you. I'm not going to pretend it's all sunshine and puppies and such, but we've tried."

"And you've been more successful than I'd expected, to be honest." Jubilee replied "I'm still not sure I'd want to live here, but I wouldn't mind visiting again."

"Careful, next thing you know, you'll be trying to take over the world," he said dryly.

"Pfft, I'm still an X-man, which means that my job is to thwart your world domination schemes." Jubilee replied with a smirk.

"And here I thought your goal was just to refocus them," he teased.

"That still counts as thwarting." Jubilee said, doing her best to look innocent.

"The sacrifices you make to keep the world safe, right?"

"Saving the world isn't easy." Jubilee said, doing her best to keep a straight face "But I'm not one to shirk my duty."

"Well, at least I know that I'm your 'duty,' it might be embarrassing if I misconstrued what was going on between us," he chuckled.

"Well, I'm not exactly here voluntarily." Jubilee teased, her tone making it clear that yes, this was a joke.

"Keep complaining like that and you'll get moved back to the dungeon," he teased, a malicious gleam in his eye that said that was only partly a joke.

"Oh, the horror. How ever would I endure such a thing." She said with a smirk.

"With the resolve befitting an X-Man, I'd assume," he teased.

"And the satisfaction that comes from knowing I'd distracted you from your evil plotting once again."

"Such dedication. Just imagine what we could accomplish if you'd just join forces with me," he joked with a completely straight face.

"Is this the part where you tell me what I get if I go over to the dark side?" Jubilee asked, amused.