Issue 1 Downtime

He'd spent much of the previous day helping with rescue operations, and by today, what with the crew that had worked through the night, it was pretty well done, at least to the point of what a lightweight non-super-strength person could do to help.

Ryan had been on Genosha many times, at least once a year, but hadn't ever been to the re-colonized areas. It wasn't bad, he had to admit, but he was glad to have the chance to fly so that, finally, he coudl get to other parts of the island. That was his main thought as he sat down by himself to eat breakfast at the cafeteria he and the other X-Men had been told they could use along with the Accolytes.

Kyra had also gone out to work with the relief effort, and had been working to shift rubble until she'd been ordered to go get some food and sleep. Not really caring where she sat, or noticing who was already in the cafeteria, she sat down at the same table Ryan was at.

"'Morning," Ryan said, neutrally, nodding toward her before taking another stab at his waffles.

"Good morning." Kyra said, glancing over at Ryan "How're you?"

He actually considered it. "Uncomfortable," he said, finally. "How about y-" He broke off, closing his eyes in embarassment. "That... was probably the start of the dumbest question I could ask, huh?"

"Yeah, about that well." Kyra replied.

Ryan ate in silence for a few moments. "I'm sorry," he finally said, and though Kyra could feel a slew of mixed emotions in him at the moment, his sympathy was, at least, sincere.

"Thanks." Kyra replied "I'm a little surprised you aren't gloating."

Aiden grunted in greeting as he sat down at the same table as the others juggling a few plates covered with food. He looked completely exhausted, but that's to be expected after a long night of clearing rubble and transporting people around.

"Well, I'll admit that part of this doesn't surprise me," he admitted, a little hesitantly. "But this?" He shook his head. "This isn't anything to gloat over. Why would I be happy that your family just... well..." He shrugged, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"You wouldn't be the only one to think that Livia got what was coming to her." Kyra said "I'm sorry...I'm just a little raw right now."

"Well sure she did, but that doesn't make me happy that she got other people killed," Ryan said, a little defensively.

He sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry. Look... you look like you could use getting out of here for a while, too. Want to go fly for a while? I was going to head down to the south part of the island.

"Sure." Kyra said, not sounding very enthused.

"Oh, come on," Ryan said, swirling his waffle around in the syrup. "The air'll do you good. Nothing says 'things aren't quite so bad' like the clouds."

"He has a point," Aiden said between bites of food.

"You're right." Kyra said, pushing her plate away "Lets go, then. I need to do something to clear my head."

"Eat up first," Ryan said. "Force a little down. We've got a long flight," he said.

"I don't think I'll be flying anytime soon," Aiden said using contractions since he was rather tired, "So you two enjoy yourselves."

"Where are we headed?" Kyra asked, starting to play with her food again.

"South," Ryan said. "I don't think anyone knows the south end better than I do, so we'll see the sights a little."

"Ok." Kyra said "Getting away from the city will be good."

"And there's nothing like lack of civilization for getting away from the city. I've got some stuff packed up for lunch, I'll just double it before we head out."

"Ok." Kyra said "But I doubt I'll be very hungry."

"Doesn't matter, you'll still need to, but we'll get to the 'force feeding you' later," Ryan said. He stretched his arms, then stood up. "Let's get going. The sun's not really going to be up for another half hour or so, and I want some good air under me when it comes up."

"Ok." Kyra said as she stood up "I'll catch you around, Aiden."

It was another ten minutes before they were in the sky, the sky pink across the eastern horizon as the sun started to peek its way up. "Sometimes, I wish my parents had decided to stick it out and raise me here," he mused as they passed from the city and over the thick forests to the south.

"Its a good place to grow up." Kyra said "It isn't perfect....but its good. Even with all the bullshit."

Ryan nodded. "Too many ghosts for them, I think," he admitted. "Too many for me sometimes, and I can't even remember... y'know. So... I can't even imagine what it was like for them."

"Yeah, it'd be hard." Kyra said "Especially since well, its just you guys."

"We were a bigger family than a lot of people that lived through it," Ryan pointed out. "Everyone managed, though."

"And managed to rebuild." Kyra said "Thats what makes it so hard to believe, that Livia would be willing to destroy so much, kill so many people......"she blinked, her eyes filling up with tears again.

Ryan had a reply for that, but wisely kept his mouth shut for a moment.

"And yes, I'm aware that I'm one of the few people who is surprised." Kyra said, picking up on what Ryan wasn't saying.

"I never would've thought that she'd do that to her own family," Ryan put in, quite honestly. "Everyone else? Well, she's sort of done it before."

"Yeah." Kyra said "I never believed those rumors, until now."

"Here... hang right a little. Line up between those hills, should take us to our first stop," Ryan said, changing the subject. "Might need to stop partway, though," he admitted. "Don't know about you, but I might've overdone it the past couple days... I'm feeling kind of wiped still."

"Yeah, me too." Kyra admitted "Its been a tough few days. If strong emotion didn't give my power a boost, I dunno if I'd still be in the air."

Ryan nodded. "There's a lagoon just past that section of forest. We'll park there for a while, then keep going."

"Sounds good." Kyra flew in silence for awhile, and then angled down towards the lagoon.