Party at the Palace-Buckingham Palace, March 5th

[Janice Gilbertson]

"That's Ryan, codename Seraph. They did a number on him. I hope he's alright, but we've got some of the best medics to help him."

[Mizuki Hino]

"That's good. About the medics, not the number doing." she quickly adds.

[Princess Louise]

Princess Louise had remained very calm and still when the terrorist had taken a hold of her. She had been instructed in how to deal with this sort of thing when she was very young as it was an unfortunate possibility which came with her fame and title. When Will forced himself between her and the terrorist she was more than eager to grab onto Captain Britain, clinging to her tightly before she was set down.

"Y-you have my deepest gratitude." She said with a forced formality and reservation. She did have an image of power to maintain and gushing or becoming upset would have looked poorly in the papers the next day. "I am sorry that these close-minded reprobates had to taint what should be a pleasant occasion. Thank you for your hel..." She paused for a moment and smiled. "Thank you for saving me. And for protecting the other guests. All of you."

[Janice Gilbertson]

"We did what we had to. That's all you can ask of anyone."

[Will Stanton]

"We're more than happy to help, you highness."

[Ryan Gabriel]

"I'll be ok." Ryan said, trying to reassure Lora, although he was still grimacing in pain as he said it.

[Rachel O'Brien]

Rachel and Bear, who'd been trying to work their way through the crowd during the attack, shoved forward once they saw Ryan go down and knelt down next to him, looking extremely worried.

[Janice Gilbertson]

"Has cast a shadow over the evening, though."

[Princess Louise]

"Perhaps I can think of something to bring a little more joy to the evening." The princess smiled.

The medical staff that was on standby were rushed into the ballroom. A few of the guests had fainted and were tended to but the majority of the paramedics made their way toward Ryan while the security staff escorted the terrorists away with considerable force.

[Will Stanton]

"Well, that certainly sounds interesting, your highness."

[Princess Louise]

"Very good. I will see that arrangements are made. Please excuse me for now."

Princess Louise stepped away before she was surrounded by a group of her security who quickly ushered the noblewoman out of the ballroom.

[Veronica Freud]

There wasn't a lot Ronnie could have done against the terrorists. It was far too crowded and there were too many fragile valuables for her to use her powers effectively. Also she would have torn her pretty new dress.

[Janice Gilbertson]

"Not too mysterious there, eh?"

[Gideon Rede]

"Thought that was the way nobility did things," Gideon said overhearing Captain Britain as he approached.

[Mizuki Hino]

"Only if 'the way' is being, like, totally lucky..." Mizuki mumbles to herself.

[Meg A Ohm]

Meg made her way over to the group gathered around Captain Britain. "Excuse me, Captain. There's something that's been bothering me about this whole thing, and it's got me worried. Would you be willing to hear me out?"

[Janice Gilbertson]

"I tell you what," Captain Britain said to Meg. "How about you pitch it to my team leader?"

She gestured to Will, a bit of a smile evident in her voice.

[Will Stanton]

"Hrm?


Oh, yes, right, quite. Um, what is it?"

[Meg A Ohm]

Taking a deep breath, she explained her concerns about the actions of the terrorists, as she had earlier to Aiden. When she finished that, she added "I can understand wanting to use a well-covered forum to make their point, but if you know that you're attacking a Royal and addition to all her other bodyguards you've got us, doesn't it seem like a hellva risk to just take? I'm just worried that this is only the iceberg tip."

[Will Stanton]

"We'll certainly keep an eye out.

You got to remember, though, a lot of them see us as lesser life forms; maybe they thought we'd be easy pickings or that we'd cause massive destruction and bad press."

[Meg A Ohm]

"Maybe," Meg said, shaking her head slightly. ""I just doesn't feel right to me. That doesn't mean that I hope I'm right, though."

[Janice Gilbertson]

"I don't think any of us thinks we're out of the woods yet. They probably were part of a larger organization."

[Kevin Gravis]

"Well you see, next we find out that the person behind this is someone we know, and after that I've scheduled a sword fight on a spiral staircase in a castle. It'll be awesome," Kev remarked as he rejoined Cap etc.

[Janice Gilbertson]

"Well, I'm sure that puts everyone at ease."

[Mizuki Hino]

"Well, I think I get what Mira meant now."

[Gideon Rede]

Gideon looked at Mizuki with one raised eyebrow.

[Janice Gilbertson]

"Beg pardon?"

[Mizuki Hino]

"Oh, nevermind. I just figured out what a friend of mine meant when she was talking about someone."

[Gideon Rede]

"Ah," Gideon said.

[Janice Gilbertson]

"Anyway, I suppose we'll get answers soon enough."

[Gideon Rede]

"Yeah, well hopefully we get them before it's too late," Gideon said.

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby helped Ryan up, giving comfort to Bear and Rachel that he would be fine. Afterward, he made his way back to the larger assembled group.

"So, the general consensus is to wait for the other shoe to drop, then?"

[Meg A Ohm]

"Sucks to have to look at it that way, Bobby, but it seems to be the case."

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby frowned, nodding.

"In that case, As I am now a man of the community, I'd like to suggest some increased patrols of the X-Men, especially where the royal family is concerned. I'll do what I can from my shop as well."

[Meg A Ohm]

"Shop? What shop?"

[Bobby Bowen]

"Oh? I opened an automotive shop. Just down the river a ways from the school."

Bobby smiled, passing Meg a business card reading 'Brassworks Automotive' and giving the address.

"Stop by when you get a chance, Meg."

[Meg A Ohm]

Her eyes went wide...followed almost immediately with a smile nearly as broad. "You wouldn't happen to need a mechanic part-time, would you?"

[Bobby Bowen]

Bobby smiled, taking her aside.

"I certainly do. things are a little slow right now, as I just opened. But I do have a couple projects to work on."

Leaning in, he lowered his voice.

"And I've been asking around. Everyone seems to think you are the best mechanic at the XU."

[Meg A Ohm]

"Well, to be honest, I'm a little out of touch with some of the newer cars, but I've been trying to play catchup on my readings. But I appreciate the fact that you might be willing to give me a shot at proving myself."

[Bobby Bowen]

"My pleasure. Just email me your school schedule, and I'll set up some hours for you."