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The world just lost its damn mind overnight.
Aliens are real and addressing the United Nations.
Aliens are wearing people suits and infiltrating society.
There's an outrageous sale at J.C. Penny's.
Life was on its ear.
The return to normalcy for Echo was nice. After last night even the 'man with no emotions' as some of the kids joke needed 'normalcy' which was just going to school even though he knew it wouldn't last. This was how things were now. Still if Kamala was looking for anything familiar it could easily be found in the exceptionally natty dressed Mutant in the the long coat that was Inhuman in design: Black leather trimmed up in white with some light repair on the 2 bullet holes in it, and the black 'bat-like' helmet that was in clear violation of human tech and was likewise Inhuman in design. In spite of this he was un-slinging his messenger bag and checking in in the front foyer for any moved classes on the board.
Penny's doesn't have anything on the sale at Macy's, though. Kamala is still getting used to the idea of the school - and everyone within it. Being around so many people that share in abilities and powers - even if they aren't Inhumans, it's making the Pakistani girl feel more at ease. She was just starting to come down the stairs when she notices the Mutant in Inhuman clothing and her eyes light up in delight. "Kaleb!" the young woman announces, and her next step stretches out her leg so that she's able to bound the stairs in one massively long stride as she nearly tackles the mutant in a hug. "What happened to you?" After all, there's a glare at the bullet holes in his jacket before she steps back. Yes, she's here now. No explanation given.
Kaleb had the helmet to protect affected senses from the momentary exclaim. His attention turned thus to Kamala. There was something he wasn't expecting: Non-Crystal Inhumans at the school nor anyone 'excited' to see him. That was a pleasant change. "I-" Oh there was contact going on. Awkwardly but not unwilling he gave her a pat-pat on the back because that's what's expected right? He was learning about this still. He flipped the visor in the helm up and gave Kalama a concerned once over. There was assessment made here and he did look around to see if there were more. "Are you- Yeah I'm… getting there. Wait the coat? Oh I went… There." He didn't discuss Attilan out in the open even here. "Someone mistook me for Maximus and took two shots trying to assassinte him. Don't worry he's alright." He took a deep breath and looked down at the coat and gave her shoulder a light squeeze as a thanks for the concern. "Now he- ya'll are going to have bigger concerns it seems after last night. Sooo …yeah. I was heading to the infirmary before class. you alright? Prof or Crystal bring you in?" He knew enough about the school and the Inhumans apparently. he was learning and taking notes. "You ok?"
Kamala grips Kaleb's shoulders. The urge to shake the stupid is strong. "Wait, you went there and someone tried to kill you?? You really need a 'I'm not him' shirt." she says with a frown that belies the concern, despite her humor. The pat-pat is accepted as a hug, because it just seems the Inhumans know nothing about human affection - especially that of the ultra-optimistic Ms. Marvel.
When the visor comes up, Kamala is checking the face for visible signs of injury, concern reflecting in her features. "Wait. Aliens in the news? It was all over the networks this morning.. those.. those were the same hammers we saw down there." she admits quietly, before adding in a soft voice. "Neither. Miss Frost recurited me when I was working in Mutant Town."
Kaleb was not human, even by human standards, and especially not by his own. Kaleb overall just wasn'ta tactile being but if she was he wasn't opposing. "I- no. They tried to kill Max. They jsutmistook me for him. It was, honestly… suboptimal." His eyes were almost entirely red with bloodshot hanging on her word. he was , well, tired but overall fine. He nodded for her to walk. He winced but the area aorund them ehoed slightly as the sound came back and didn't go out. Private conversations were his forte seems. "Yeah? I don't know baout hammers. Just that the Kree had interest in Penglai when Crystal and Max disappeared for like a week. The details weren't mine to know. When everyone disappeared again Karnak, Max and I went back to Attilan. They, um, they asked me to help fix it." He bit his lip thoughtfully and fought for words. This whole conversation thing wasn't his forte but he offered as an awkward olive branch to her, "Attilan was good to me when I got messed up here. I wanted to help give something back to your people." Okay so he didn't care for people, but the Inhumans got exemption seems.
"I don't even get invited up there." Kamala sighs and seems to slump a little. "I don't know if they just don't need me anymore now that I helped unlock their puzzle or what.. but it seems like I've been in flux since my powers developed. I mean. That was an accident." she gives a shrug of her shoulders. And while she's a very tactile person, perhaps at realizing that Kaleb doesn't appreciate the touch so much, she backs and gives space easily. "I haven't seen Crystal since I got here. I was hopeful. And then everyone went missing - but I saw the princess on the news last night." she quiets for a moment and when she looks back up to Kaleb, her question is honest, but scary in meaning.
"We're in pretty bad shape, aren't we?"
Kaleb walked slowly as his balance was wridly shot making him ocasionally drift and course correct subtly. He stopped at the questiona dn thought about that. He really, really thought about that questiona dn the mutant's jaw set hard adding up all the math. Finally he looked back to the (presently) small Pakistani woman, "Yeah. I think we are. Doesn't mean it has to stay that way but it's kinda scary as hell, isn't it?" There were subtle movements in anaalytical expresssion belaying real feeling under the facade of data dprocesing. "Hell of a thing isn't it? Finally find something we care about and the universe does everything it damn well can to take it away." His tongue ran thoughtfully over his bottom lip and he nodded for Kamala to follow.
Echo, on the other hand headed not to the infirmary but the library. Laid out on the floor was a handsome tree with lights and bows and hand made ornaments and a train running in a big circle with a village beneath it. "You know what this is?" He held up a hand to just halt the immediate answer and said drily, "This isn't me being a culturally insensitive asshole. I'm asking do you know why this is here? What this specifically in this room means?"
"Kaleb…" Kamala says gently, quietly. "You're talking to a girl that recognizes, but doesn't celebrate Christmas." she offers a smile at that, before she moves past him into the library proper. "For me, the holiday season is a time to reflect on the year before - and prepare for the year ahead. It is a time of brotherhood and charity. It is not that my faith does not believe in the story of Christ, but believe that Mary and Joseph's son was a prophet, not the son of Allah." she explains as she goes to trace her finger over some of the bindings on the books before she leans against the bookshelf and draws out a breath.
"And you're not a.. what you called yourself." Language, Kamala. "..I mean, I felt like a bit of a jerk because I didn't help with the decorating the other night, but that was because it wasn't really my place. And that's what I'm still trying to discover. I'm not one of them, I didn't grow up with them, I'm just a girl that got picked by a Sage and was told I'm one of them. Nor am I one of these. I'm.. somewhere between. And right now. That is scary. But alien invasion? That trumps all that. So. I have my burkini in my room, and I'm ready to go as soon as I'm needed."
Kaleb actually cracked a faint smile. "Kinda cool that you believe in something. I dunno if I believe in anything… this htough, this I can believe in. This tree, these tiny buildings and the train aren't because of religion- well… I guess the tree maybe, but the train isn't. It's there because someone saw our people in pain. Some of my people, these," he made a circle with his finger indicating the floor above where the dorms were, "people,? a lot of them don't have family. A home. Sometimes nothing. Society tells them they're different and that's bad. I think I like that about the Inhumans; differences are celebrated, not shuned. But someone put this here to remind people here to have hope that they belong somewhere…and that I can believe in."
Kaleb's head tilted not following and then caught on that she didn't cuss. There was a faint 'aaah'. There was an actual half grin and he assured, "Oh, I promise, I'm still a jerk. I just try to be our jerk." He slid bloodshot eyes over to her and there was an approving smile, while faint, but he did listen. Weirdly the boy billionare? Found this incredibly important. His messenger bag was set aside on the chair and of course, as an architect he went to investigate teh tiny buildings first. "They really did a h- great job. I mean they're not perfect, but it's really impressive." Did he just…censor himself? He was still thinking on what she said and offered, "Hard growing up in an environment one doesn't quite 'fit' into by their standards." As if he'd know anyhting about that. "I mean if my people knew I was what I was or kept the company I do? I'd be ostracized in a heartbeat It's not okay that that's a reality, but it's as real as anything else. The world is not lenient on minorities of any kind, and it just gets harder don't it when we start to fall in multiple boxes." He sighed and hung his head. "Some days I'm almost to the point of thinking maybe we would be better off on the Kree just blowing up the planet, but then there's no opportunity to save it left. We're not… too far gone yet. We can still change it."
"That's what we're supposed to stop, Kaleb." Kamala glances over her shoulder at all the books. "Because despite what the world may throw at us - we still have proof that we're not completely gone yet. The ring of a bell, the soft song of a choir. The Skrull.. they want to be us. Or at least, that seems to be what they want to do. I mean, it's invasion of the pod people. Who are we supposed to trust? Because if that which we're fighting is wearing our face - then we have to face what we are. I mean, deep down." she sighs softly. "I'm scared, Kaleb." she finally confesses quietly. "The world stands on the brink, and it seems that we have a week before we find ourselves in the abyss. We have to find the Skrull. We have to stop them. Because, it may not be perfect - but this is our home."
Kaleb blinked at har and arched an eyebrow, "Kamala, it's okay to be scared you know. We're all scared. Aside from passing out I've been too terrified to sleep. I get to go back and go "Oh hey Max, all that work you did to safeguard your people and Penglai just got thrown out the window, humans are going to try to seize and dissect ancient Kree tech to be used as a weapon, and everything he did is now entirely out the window. Yeah. That's going to be a fun talk." He ighed dreading that murmuring, "Maybe… we can have Corvus tell em?" He actually considered this. "I thought the worst thing I could be last year was a mutant." His jaw tightened and he scowled faintly and pressed his fingertips to the floor until his knuckles blanched. His balance was off and everythng about the political mood infuriated him. Finally he said to her, "You know I've had my abilities since I was like 7. Grown over the years and changed, but I only knew I had like people for a few months. We'll learn who we are. We'll find our place. Maybe it's me helping out and learning from your people. Maybe it's you learning from ours. We'll figure it out. We'll listen, we'll learn what they need from us. We'll be scared but we'll answer that need. I didn't set out to do any of this a year ago. Had you asked me I'd say I'd be on my boat off Cypress enjoying winter there and maybe hanging out with some ruins." It was still overwhelming. Echo sat back on his heels and switched the tiny train to 'on'. Awww it moved! Why was there a teeny tiny shoe on it? Weird. "You can be happy you know." As if the man that never smiled knew anything about that. "You do fit. Just don't… worry about being like everyoe else. I didn't thinkI'd ever be happy until someone taught me that and it's… important." There's a word for it. Belonging, though, was important to him. He hated that to be true but it was true. "It's our home and a week after a week from now it will still be." It had to be.
"Telling me not to smile is trying to tell the sun not to shine." Kamala gives Kaleb a small smile as she watches the train make the rounds. Why is it carrying a shoe? Things for her to ask later as she returns her attention back to the mutant in the room. "You'd probably be off on Cyprus with some girl you wouldn'y remember in the morning." she teases softly.
"When I first got my powers.. I had a dream. Captain Marvel asked me what I wanted to be. I said I wanted to be just like her. When I came out of the coccoon? Guess what - I /was/ her. I had the leotard, the boots, the blonde hair, the boobs, all of it. And it didn't work. The hair was in my face, the boots pinched.. and well, I really need to ask Captain Marvel why she doesn't get wedgies." Her cheeks flare slightly at that.
"The point I think my powers was trying to make is that I needed to learn to be comfortable as me. And now that I can be.. and change anything I want, the question has no longer become 'what or who do I want to be' or.. who am I really and what can I do to be the best me I can be.'
Kaleb considered that trip to cypress and offered with some amusement, "aaaaah, I don't think my other half would appreciate me running off to Greece with done nameless throw away gal. Great way to stay an Inhuman/ Mutant war. secondly, Cpt. Marvel?" He listened and shook his head, "She's the one that killed my phone lines to my apartment when wet douche off werewolves in Greenwich." Fingers folded and elbows rest on his elbows listening, "Well your more altruistic than me. ilk give you that. "
"..fair enough." Though that's the first time that she's heard that Kaleb's dating. That does bring a smile to Kamala's face - because she doubts that's in her card, though she smirks. "I'm sure she had good reason." comes the offer of defense of one Captain Marvel. Come on, notice her costume choice, and her codename, girl's a total CM fangirl. "Thank you for the compliment." There's a slight curtsey of skirts that show sock covered ankles for just a peek as Kamala pinches her skirt in a dip. "We have a week. Should we get started looking for Skrull strongholds around our old sites? Or see if we can get the others together first? Because that's sorta like herding cats."
Kaleblooked very confused for a moment before ardently nodding, "None of the nameless gals I've taken to France cared before. France is… different." He wasn't bragging, and in fact shrugged missing who she might be referring to. The courtesy got a half grin with a shake of his head, "Well…you're welcome. As for skills? I'm accusing no one of anything until I learn how to identify one and what to do and how to contain it. I work in information and support, I don't know…combat."
"Information and support is what's needed most right now. You heard what the Kree said - the Skrulls will be most easily found at locations where the former.. Inhuman cities were. Like Pangli." Kamala points out. "I mean, I wish they could have told us where those place were, but that'd be too easy, right?"
Kalebshook his head, "Not according to other Intel we have. I have to meet with Jean and Max and figure out where the authority that's done this before feels we should start. We can't go to Pe.glai with out being shot by battleships and foreign armies. Dunno how word got out but… man." There was a pause and a brief hint of a deeper emotion that pained him, "I don't want to come that close to losing that part of my family again. I can't…we're Not taking chances, Kamala. I'm not going through that again, no one should have top."
"Wasn't saying we should go back there.. the whole fact that it's right next to a huge hotspot of war.. that doesn't help." Kamala sighs and lets out a breath. "We'll figure it out. Well, someone smarter than me will." she winks at Kaleb, before stepping back to clutch her hands in front of her. "I should get going, classes to sign up for and all. And.. it's good to find a friend here. One that already knew me. And I'm glad you're safe. Just you know. Try not to get shot, it'd upset your girlfriend. Inhuman or no." she gives a wink to Kaleb as she starts her way out of the library.
Kaleb took out a business card (because of course he had one) and handed it to get. "You get stuck call me up. And yeah getting shout apparently upsets my loved ones. Trust me I'm really trying to cut back. If you, um, ever need math help? Feel free to look me up. Be seeing you."
Accepting the card, Kamala grins. "Quick tip - those that don't love you and just like you? It upsets them as well." With a wave cast over her shoulder, the young woman heads off.