[Plot] Meet the New Boss...

[Ballinger Lippincott]

A black luxury sedan rolled through the gates, coming up the long drive and stopping in front of the administration building.

From out the back, out strode Ballinger Lippincott, in a three-piece suit, tie clip, pocket square, the whole nine-yards.

Straightening his tie and removing his briefcase from the backseat, he took a moment to look over the grounds with a careful, measured eye.

((open))

[Nailah Weaver]

Nailah is standing on the steps of the dorm, looking over at the new arrival.

"Dang, he somehow looks even stuffier than the previous one..." she mumbles to no one in particular.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Descending the stairs next to her, Tosh all but glared at the newcomer.

"I can't believe they're replacing her already."

[Nailah Weaver]

"I mean... you gotta have someone in charge, I guess."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Well, yeah. But why someone from the British government and not X-Corp? The last thing we need is a political appointee running things."

[Nailah Weaver]

"Does it really matter who makes the dumb rules?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Yes. Miss Minamida deserves a better replacement. Not one that'll put politics between the X-Men and saving people," he said, unusually cynical about the whole thing.

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Oh, I don't know about that. I think you'll find the new headmaster to be quite fair."

The voice had come out of nowhere, and then suddenly, in a puff of smoke, one of the headmaster's new prefects stepped out of...well, nowhere, really. "A right upstanding chap."

[Toshiro Narumi]

Tosh jumped, but held his bad mood in check.

"And you are?"

[Nailah Weaver]

"Whoa, hey, teleporting guy!" Nailah blurts out in surprise.

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Quinn. Quinn Quartermain," he said, in a showy, sing-song voice. "Surely you've seen me around here or there -- I think we shared intro to English Lit, though you were somewhere near the back.

I admit, we do not always hang out in the same circles as I am not a member of the X-Teams, but I hope that doesn't squelch our burgeoning friendship," he smiled, with a flair of showmanship.

[Toshiro Narumi]

Tosh felt a little bad that he never noticed the guy before.

"Nice to meet you then," he answered. His mood didn't mean he forgot his manners. "Toshiro Narumi, but everyone calls me Tosh."

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Oh, I'm well aware of you, Tosh. I'm so sorry you had to go through that kidnapping mess; are you adapting back to regular life alright?"

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Mostly. But I'm still not quite myself. I'm not usually so pessimistic."

[Quinn Quartermain]

Quinn placed one hand on one of Tosh's shoulders. "Well, stay strong, my friend. Hopefully, the days of us getting picked off, one by one, shall be over."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"The X-Men haven't lost a student yet," he pointed out.

[Quinn Quartermain]

"They shouldn't have to find them so often, either!" Quinn laughed. "But you're right; I don't mean to knock our excellent response teams. Just wish they weren't as necessary as they have been to this point."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"We do more than protect our own. But yeah, it'd be great if we weren't needed."

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Yes, yes, of course we do. But safe houses first and foremost, hrm? Yes, quite."

[Nailah Weaver]

"You sound like my parents." Nailah says, shaking her head with a slight chuckle.

"I'm Nailah."

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Your parents must be very wise, then," Quinn laughed.

[Nailah Weaver]

"Cautious. The word you're looking for is cautious." Nailah jokes. Well, mostly.

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Well, if cautious is what prevents me from having my own, personalized super-villain, than cautious I shall be," he laughed.

[Nailah Weaver]

"Well you do you." Nailah says, doing awkward fingerguns at Quinn.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Caution doesn't always keep people like us from attracting villains. As it turned out, I got a personal supervillain when I was eight."

[Quinn Quartermain]

"As you say," Quinn nodded, conceding the point. "Still. I think things are going to be looking up from here on out."

[Toshiro Narumi]

"As long as he doesn't change up everything the second he gets here under the impression Miss Minamida did it all wrong."

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with a change or two from time to time, is there?" Quinn said, walking a circle around Tosh.

When he looped back around in front, his outfit had changed entirely, going from a shirt and jeans combo to a sweater vest over some slacks.

[Nailah Weaver]

"Okay, I don't know how you did that, but that was pretty smooth!" Nailah grins. She can appreciate a good sense of costume and dramatic timing.

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Oh, just a little magic, m'dear. Nothing too special."

[Nailah Weaver]

"Oh yeah, just magic. No biggie." she laughs. "What else can you do?"

[Quinn Quartermain]

"I'd be more than happy to arrange a demonstration, if you'd so desire," Quinn grinned.

[Nailah Weaver]

"Ooh, a whole presentation? Sure!"

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Everyone needs a lovely assistant, after all.

And I suppose if I can't have Tosh, I'll settle for you," he teased.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Well... I am curious now what your powers actually are," Tosh said with interest. Only scientific, of course. Real magic wasn't fun parlor tricks.

[Quinn Quartermain]

"I'm a magician, of course. I tame the powers of the Arcanum Ego, and use them to delight and mystify. I walk the Winding Way."

[Nailah Weaver]

"Would probably be easier if you just slid down the hill on your butt. Rather than... you know... winding road going..." Nailah mumbles her way through explaining her joke, which everyone knows makes it much funnier.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"Have you met Sean yet then? He's a legit wizard, supposedly."

[Quinn Quartermain]

"Supposedly, you say?" Quinn says, beginning to walk the other two into the dorms.

[Toshiro Narumi]

"I may have seen things that I have a hard time not calling magic but I'm still a science major. I have to keep some skepticism."