[Plot] Any Moment 'Till the Day Breaks

[Will Stanton]

"What happened seems pretty self-explanatory. Sam's dime-store duplicate wasn't kept as well under-wraps as the fine staff here at Muir would have tended to believe; they clearly underestimated her. She went wild, and set a bunch of people free.

Not everyone, mind you -- there's still a couple stragglers back thataways, and then you have the body of a long-time nuisance over there, but that's the gist of it."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"She could have had help. We should check the security footage. But first, we must secure these stragglers so they can't hurt or be hurt by the guards."

[Samantha McManus]

"Rather looks like that ship has sailed," she says, glancing around.

[Will Stanton]

"Yeah; I'll be sure to have a word or two with the guys in charge."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Our task is still clear," he said with righteous stubbornness, eyes beginning to turn red, "We go onward so no more can escape."

He moved for the hole Char had made.

[Will Stanton]

"I'm pretty sure if I go that way, one of the inmates is going to have a complete mental breakdown, and I doubt the rest of you enjoy being roasted and toasted. I vote we get you guys the hell out of here."

[Narrator]

Will seems to be correct, nobody through the blasted hole seems particularly up to fight, especially now that the heroes showed up. Or, if Char is to be believed, a horrible nightmare of clay.

And sooner rather than later, more people show up to assess the situation and get the prison back under their control. The security footage is pretty much useless, Conduit having overwritten it with static that seems to flicker in synch with the continuous sound of her blowing a raspberry. Some poor soul is probably going to have to scrub through hours and hours of that, just in case. In the end doing a headcount of the remaining prisoners is the most reliable way to produce a list of the escapees.

Cailleach, Conduit, Thresher, Reach, Doctor Evo and Taurus. 'Only' six people though they certainly caused plenty of destruction on their way out.

[Will Stanton]

In the middle of the headcount, two more orderlies came to escort Will to his accommodations. It was...probable that these two weren't, yet again, supervillains in disguise, but Muir Island Security was having a bad day.

[Samantha McManus]

"There's not much we can do here right now, Tosh."

[Toshiro Narumi]

Now human again, Tosh turned away from the bustle of activity and sighed.

"What's even the point of catching these people if they just walk right back out?" he asked defeatedly.

[Samantha McManus]

"Because we know they'll hurt people."

"This isn't you, Tosh."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Maybe you don't know me as well as you think," he said, echoing Will from earlier. Only, he didn't sound as convinced.

[Samantha McManus]

"Think of it this way, Tosh."

"This time you get to fight him."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I don't enjoy the idea of punching my grandpa, Sam. Even if he deserves it," he said, "I was fooling myself by thinking I was a warrior. Maybe I'm just a scared little boy playing hero."

[Samantha McManus]

"You're not a warrior. The X-Men aren't warriors. Would you even want them to be?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

He sighed heavily. "No... I just feel so powerless and I hate it. I thought becoming an X-Man would change that but even though less afraid I'm right back there."

[Samantha McManus]

"You've done some bloody incredible things. Sure you're not Tony Stark, but was Tony Stark even Tony Stark at your age?"

"I mean... yes, yes he was, but Tony Stark didn't mean what it means now."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I'm not sure where you're going with this, Sam."

[Samantha McManus]

"Don't try to measure yourself by someone who's already succeeded."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"But I'm... shit. I am, aren't I? Not necessarily people like McCoy and Stark, but people I wish I was more like."

[Samantha McManus]

"And they were just as clueless as any of us at some point."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Well, cousin Sho is still pretty clueless," he joked with a weak smirk, "But what would you expect from who Bruce is imitating?"

[Samantha McManus]

"Your cousin ever had to deal with all this?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Not remotely," he smirked. "My dad has but I'm not him either., right?"

[Samantha McManus]

"Well that just means your dad knows what it's like."

"But it sounds like you haven't talked to your cousin much about your grandfather."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I haven't talked to anyone much about my grandfather. I... probably should, it's just never been something my family talks about. They never wanted me to relive what he did to me. A cruel irony that I did anyway and in the most literal sense."