Joseph's Room

[Joseph]

Joseph manipulated the lock with his powers and the door swung open. He didn't need a key. He tossed his bag on the bed, and draped his coat over the back of the metal chair. All the furniture in his room was metal. He'd made it himself, during the brief time he was here. Everything was simple and utilitarian, but elegant as well. Black wrought iron, shaped into classical curves.

He opened up the bag and began to unpack it's contents. A few changes of clothing, a passport, and most importantly, a very thick file folder. He needed to take that to Dr. Henry McCoy when he had a chance. Beast would likely find the research fascinating, plus it would reinforce his true identity to anyone skeptical.

Joseph sank heavily into the chair. He was looking forward to seeing everyone again, but dreading their reactions. Hostility was to be expected, especially if anyone still believed he was Magneto, or worse, believed him to be just like him. Even though he no longer had to bear the weight of the Master of Magnetism's past evils, there would likely be those who still viewed him in some way responsible for them. Or at least, use him as a convenient target for their hatred. In way, he would never be able to escape the stigma associated with his genetic template. Such was his fate and sitting around moping about it solved nothing.

He walked over to the closet and opened it. Concentrating, he watched as the floor of the closet levitated, revealing a large metal trunk that was hidden just beneath it. He smiled softly. Good, it was still where he left it. He lowered the box back into his hiding place. He would work on that later.

For now, he need to catch up on the current events of the world. He had wandered the desert for months, and was far behind on what was going on in the world. He decided to head to the recreation room. The noon news would be on soon.

[[Exit Joseph to Recreation Room]]

[Joseph]

Joseph let himself back into his room, glad to have that over with. Gambit had a agreed to help with minimal posturing. This was both encouraging, and disheartening. Maybe LeBeau did actually love Rogue as much as she thought he did. It didn't matter really. He wanted Rogue to be happy. And having the device at her disposal, even if only in one room of the mansion, and having the two of them work together to get her gift finished by Christmas should make her very happy.

He levitated out the box from it's hiding place, taking a seat on one of the metal chairs. The lid flipped open and he magnetically lifted each piece out. He carefully examined each part for any needed repairs. They seemed to still be in the condition they'd been in when he stored them away. Carefully returning them to the storage container, he levitated his tool kit out from closet as well, setting it down next to the device's trunk.

Joseph yawned. It had been a long trip and a trying morning. He decided to take a nap until Gambit arrived to help him start their little project. Besides, he'd need to be well-rested and have his wits about him when the rest of the X-Men got word of his presence here. He doubted everyone would take the news as well as Rogue and Gambit had.

Laying down on his bed, Joseph allowed himself to doze off.

[Joseph]

Joseph awoke, groggily looking around, not remembering where he was for a moment. He looked around the metal furnished room and smiled briefly. Ah yes, his room at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. He was home. Well, as close to home as he'd ever had in his brief existence.

He sat up and stretched, then rose. He wasn't certain how long he'd slept, but time was of the essence. Where was LeBeau? He sighed and started towards the door. He would have to go search out the Cajun, he supposed. He paused to straighten his long white hair and smooth his clothes, then his door swung open and he departed to his search.

[[Exit Joseph to the Rec Room]]

[Joseph]

Joseph stepped into his room, closing the door behind him with his powers. He opened the lid of the chest and began to levitate out the pieces of the machine. He could test the wiring and makes certain everything was in good working order while Gambit kept Rogue occupied. He tried not to think about what that entailed. As little as he wished to admit it to himself, he was jealous of the Cajun. He wondered if Rogue had met him before LeBeau, if she would favor him over Gambit. Letting out a heavy sigh, he decided it wasn't worth mulling over. She had met LeBeau first, become attracted to him first and it was pointless to ponder the 'What if's'.

He decided he would set up the machine in one of the rooms in the basement. Gambit was reputed to be a fine cook, perhaps he could prepare some sort of meal for Rogue to enjoy as well. Part of Joseph hoped the gesture would make her reconsider her feelings about both of them, and tell them both to leave her alone. He doubted that would happen. She was convinced she loved LeBeau. Only the Cajun's actions or inaction would change that. It was a depressing thought, but then Rogue and Gambit had a rocky relationship at best.

And in end, he was doing this not to get on Rogue's good side or to make her doubt her feelings for LeBeau. It was to make his friend happy when she had been having such a hard time of things and feeling so depressed. It just irked him that he would not be there to witness her truly enjoying the gift he had created to please her.

[Joseph]

Joseph decided everything seemed to be in good working order and levitated the pieces back into the metal trunk where he stored them. Closing the lid, he decided to go in search of a place to temporarily install the device until Rogue could tell him where she wanted it permanently.

Levitating the box and his toolbox, he opened the door and stepped out of his room. If anyone asked what he was doing, he would tell them he was looking for a private place to work on a project. It was entirely truthful.

Joseph headed down the hallway, the trunk and the toolbox floating behind him.

[[ Exit Joseph to the Sub-Basement ]]

[Ash]

Ash walked down the hall to Josephs room ( Don't ask me how she knew where it was, cause I don't know!) She knocked quietly on the door and waited in silence. Now that she was here, she wasn't quite sure what she was going to say. She'd only met the man the day before, but he had made such an impression on her it already felt like she'd known him for a while. Unlike some of the other residents of the mansion, take Storm for example, she'd seen storm all the time since she'd been here, but never had she spoken to her unless she was forced to.

She waited for a while and recieved no answer, wondering what to do now. She stood in confusion and then shrugged it off. It would work better this way, at least she wouldn't have to say anything. She set the small box down by his door. She wasn't sure why she had gotten him anything, she hadn't intended to. But she just happened to run across it in one of the shops and picked it up without even thinking about it. It felt strange to be giving people things, people she hardly knew, and especially when she hadn't known she would until that morning.

She thought about the gift, at least this one would be ok. It wasn't much , but Joseph had said he liked to tinker and this was a small set of metal that once put together would create a solar system that she figured he could manipulate to acutally rotate around like a real one would. But he had to put it together first.

She stood there looking at the tiny package and felt a little foolish, it looked strange just sitting there, perhaps she should take it and bring it back later. She picked it up and held it in her hands, still unsure of what to do.

[Joseph]

Joseph was still rubbing his temples as he approached his room. He was still feeling tired and a tiny bit dizzy from the seizure. Hopefully, this was merely a one time occurrence from over taxing his powers. He had never had this happen before and to be completely honest, it alarmed him. But he could not tell Rogue. She would feel guilty and it would upset her. Besides, it was nothing to worry her over.

He had almost convinced himself that the seizure was a freak thing as he approached his room. There was someone standing in front of his door. It was the girl he had met the afternoon before, Ash. He lowered his hand and offered her as much of a smile as the pain would allow. "Hello Ash," he greeted. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Joseph almost wished she had chosen another time to visit, as he had wanted to take her out onto the property where they could do no damage and help her practice with her powers, learn to revel in the power, to see the beauty in her gifts. But not today. He would do it, but Ash would likely panic if he had a relapse and that could have deadly repercussions. But he would invite her to such a lesson soon. She needed to learn that her powers did not make her a monster, but something special. Then she would begin to control them better.

[Ash]

Ash whirled around when Joseph spoke, blush creeping up her face. She really hadn't expected this. In fact, this was more akward than just leaving the present or coming back later. " Oh, um.. no..I mean." Her eyes flited around the hall way finally resting on his feet. The package still clutched in her hands. Yup, it definantly had to happen to her!

" It's nothing really. It's just that Aunt Besty took me shopping this morning, and well... I.. I got you this." She jerked her arm forward and held out the package, still not looking at him. " It's not much, I just saw it... it wasn't even my money... the proffessor... I just..." She stumbled over the words, not really sure what she was saying. She wasn't sure why but she was very uncomfortable now.

Finally she brought her eyes up to look at him, " Oh... Are you ok?" He looked very pale and she wasn't quite sure why.

[Joseph]

Joseph took the small package with a completely puzzled expression. "You bought me a gift?" he asked, surprise clear in his voice. "For Christmas?" He was stunned. No one had ever bought him a gift, for holidays or otherwise in his brief existence. He had no idea what to say or think, he just looked down at the box in his hand. "Thank..thank you."

He looked back up at her concerned question. "I will be fine," he assured her. "I merely over taxed my powers and gave myself a rather painful headache."

Joseph looked back down at the package in his hand, still completely at a loss over what he was supposed to do with it. "This is probably going to sound bizarre, but no one has ever given me a gift before. May I open it?"

[Rogue]

She was running through possible ways of starting a conversation in her mind, when she practically ran into Joseph and Ash. "Oh! Uh, Joseph... Ah was just comin' up here t' check on you. Ah'll stop back later if y'all are busy."

She took a step back, somewhat relieved that Joseph had something to occupy his time. The small package in his hands caught her attention, but she tried not to let it on. It was nice, too, to see Ash bonding with him. The two could probably do each other a great deal of good.

[Ash]

Ash stomach tightened into a knot as she heard the surprise in his voice, did she do something wrong? Had that much changed in how many years, two? three? Surely not, but maybe that's not how they did things where he came from, or perhaps it went against religous principles or something like that. Ash was almost ready to just melt into a puddle of nothingness when he said thank you. Her eyes flicked to his face before falling back down to his shoulders. That way she wouldn't actually have to look at him, but not seem totally rude either. She mumbled something that sounded vaguely like a 'your welcome'. She was definantly relieved to hear he was ok, she had been a bit worried. She wasn't any more, she knew about over taxing, it happened to her everytime she.. well she wouldn't think about that. He'd recover at least.

"This is probably going to sound bizarre, but no one has ever given me a gift before. May I open it?"

Ash's heart skipped a beat, open it? Now? here? In front of her? What if he didn't like it? She definantly needed to downplay it. She shrugged at his question, " It's not really a big deal..." She muttered, " I just got it, that's all..." She was blushing even deeper now, and it was very obvious, not like the blush that could be missed sometimes. It was right about then that Rogue decided to show up, and Ash wished she could turn invisible. Now THAT would be a useful mutation. Why couldn't Rogue have shown up five minutes later? Ash might have been gone, maybe not, but at least she wouldn't look like the 'Cool Aide' man.

[Joseph]

Joseph was almost regretted he'd asked about the custom of gift opening. She flushed brightly and began stumbling over her words. Perhaps she had misunderstood him. He'd told her he was Magneto's clone, but he was willing to bet that she had no idea what that meant. He only remembered the last two or three years of his existence, which was likely not much longer than that.

" It's not really a big deal..." She muttered, " I just got it, that's all..."

Ah, the cool nonchalant teenager act, to hide nervousness. He had observed this behavior amongst the students when he had been here. He still wondered what he'd said to upset her, but decided it would be best to play along. He turned the wrapped package over in his hands, finding the areas where it was taped.

"Oh! Uh, Joseph... Ah was just comin' up here t' check on you. Ah'll stop back later if y'all are busy."

Rogue's voice made him start and he nearly dropped the package. Ash turned a deeper color red and Joseph was truly surprised nothing had burst into flames at this point. He turned slightly to face Rogue and held up the package. "Ash bought me a Christmas present," he explained, wondering almost immediately why he'd said it. Partially, it was because he was still surprised she had done it, and partially because Rogue had startled him. "I was just about to open it." He stated, recovering some of his composure. Of course, he was still stating the obvious like a small child. "And I am feeling much better. Please do not worry, Rogue." His steely eyes met hrs for moment and then he purposely dragged his gaze back to the present.

He carefully unwrapped the gift, peeling back the tape and sliding off the paper. He knew whatever was in the package was metal. He could feel it. Opening it up, he could see a cartoon picture of the Milky Way galaxy on the front of the box. He turned it over, the metal pieces inside jangling as he did. He quickly scanned the description on the back and smiled softly. It was a tiny metal replica of their solar system. It would require time and probably a small amount of effort to put together, but with his powers, he was likely to be able to use it for a teaching tool and to entertain the younger students. Ash had seemed to consider his interests and his powers in the gift.

Joseph looked back at her and smiled gently. "Thank you again, Ash," he said softly. "This is a fine and well-thought out gift. I will enjoy piecing it together and seeing if I can get into some sort of workable model of the solar system." He glanced over his shoulder at Rogue. "With this and a few more pieces of my own creation, I could give a very interesting astronomy lesson."

He turned his attention back to Ash, now feeling embarrassed himself. He was working on Christmas gift for Rogue, but he had not even considered anyone would speak to him, let alone think of him in their holiday shopping. He would have to remedy that. Create something for her that would be useful, help her focus when she began to lose control of her powers. It would give him something to do after he had Rogue's gift installed, as the remainder of her holiday surprise would be in the hands of the Cajun.

[Rogue]

She smiled, trying to make it look like she hadn't noticed Ash's discomfort. When Joseph described what was happening as if she couldn't see it for herself, she held back laughter and instead nodded earnestly, urging him to open it. Now, she was curious as to what it was as well. Leaning against the wall, she watched him open it. She coudn't help but smile along at Joseph's reaction to the gift. The girl may not have known him for long, but she sure had been able to pick something out for him that he was going to get a lot of use out of. The kid was good. Maybe she'd have to cajole her into going shopping later. Rogue had a lot of gift-buying to catch up on.

Joseph's glance did not go unnoticed. His own creation? What creation... he didn't still have the power nullifyer, did he? That would just throw Remy over the edge. Sure, it had never really been given a proper workout when Joseph created it the last time around, but that didn't stop Remy from worrying that it did. And if Joseph re-created it now, things might go wrong. She blinked hard, trying to wipe the thoughts of what might happen from her mind. That couldn't be what he was talking about. Astronomy. What did that have to do with Astronomy?

Despite Joseph's assurance that he was fine, she wanted to make sure. What had happened seemed so sudden and so soon after he'd helped her that she didn't want to risk the possiblility that she was to blame.

[Ash]

Ash wanted to melt into the wall when Rogue encouraged Joseph to open the present. It had been bad enough that He had told her what Ash had done and now the entire world was going to be present for the 'opening ceremony'. At least at the prison they never had to deal with this sort of thing. Life was horrible to people sometimes. The irony that she would go through this much embarresment in life which was supposed to be great, and none (of the sort) in prison which was supposed to be horrible, was killing her. Ah well, what could she do about it? it's not like she was a telepath and could wipe their memories. Oh to be something your not!

Ash waited quitely arms crossed, the most comfortable and secure position she could come up with, leaning against the wall. Joseph took a moment to read the description and then thanked her quietly. She glanced up, quietly? That was weird, and well thought out, hadn't she told him she'd only got it this morning? It's not like she had known she had money before this morning. She just saw it and picked it up and how was she supposed to know he liked astronomy? Well, it turned out well at least. She kept her lips tightly shut, if he liked it then who was she to argue with him? " Your welcome" She mumbled.

Now what? It's ot like she was filled with topics of conversation and she hadn't come prepared for one. Her blush had begun to fade when Joseph had unwrapped it. She wasn't sure why, but the doing wasn't as bad as the talking about.

" I didn't know astronomy was taught at the school." She said not looking at Rogue but the womans present was on ASh's mind but there was absolutly no way she was going to bring it up. Not after all it had cost her for Josephs. She'd keep the rest and see what the other's did and do the same.

[Joseph]

Joseph wondered what he'd said to make Ash so uncomfortable. He genuinely liked her gift. He glanced over at Rogue again, almost hoping she know what he could have done or said to make the girl so embarrassed. She seemed stunned as well, blinking a few times, as if something had startled her.

"I didn't know astronomy was taught at the school." Ash stated, obviously trying to change the subject.

Joseph shrugged and nodded. "Most practical subjects are taught here," he told her. "I hope the professor will allow me to teach a lesson here or there. I am well studied in several subjects and would like to help out as much as possible."

He really wished he knew what he'd said or done to make everyone so nervous. "Thank you again for the gift, Ash," he said as he opened the door to his room. "Forgive me if I seem awkward about it. I was not expecting you to purchase me one. You are a very thoughtful girl."

Joseph turned to Rogue, and offered her another faint smile. "Really, I will be fine. It is merely a headache. I have just been over using my powers a bit. You should not worry about me."