Xaviers!

Natalie crosses her arms while she watches a hard light construct start burrowing into one of the walls of her cave. The 'robot', basically a massive drill on legs, is slowly working its way into the wall. Next to Natalie, Caretaker holds up a hand with a glowing 3D projection emanating from it. The projection shows a map of the proposed new addition along with the surrounding Point systems. The crystal matrix has been reconfigured to leave a path from the entrance of the room to the wall. Natalie swipes her hand under the projection, taking it from Caretaker who nods and turns to start installing a large monitor on one wall.

((Open))

Will stood in the doorway, looking in at the construction going on.

Natalie glances around a catches site of Will. She waves her free hand and the drill slows to a stop. "Will! Clarion said you might come visit. Pardon the dust."

"Far be it from me to criticize one for trying on new hats," Will smiled.

"Glad to see you're alright, Natalie; I was a bit worried about you there. Big changes going on, I see?"

"Well, yeah. Having to excavate some new space." she says. There seems to be two rooms off the crystal cave on the map in her hand. "I need a couple of new rooms down here, one for me, one for a transportation pad in case the X-Men need to go to the Citadel. Not sure which of these will be which."

"Huh. See, I was picturing you having some kind of...digital space to reside in, but I guess creature comforts still count," Will nodded, looking at Natalie's map. "Probably best not to have the teams all up in your private space."

"That's why I'm thinking the first room will be the transport pad. The digital space is nice, but Shari does come to visit and it is nice to have a real space location for... entertaining."

"Ah, yes. You foolish people in the past and your notions of 'privacy'," Will said, adopting a pseudo-serious snobby voice. "Such antiquated customs.

No, seriously, I'm happy for you. This is kind of what you always wanted, yeah? I mean, maybe not to this extent, but..."

"I'll be honest, this wasn't even on the bucket list because it was a bit more than I thought was possible. But it's... very 'just right'. Me not being able to leave campus bothered Shari a bit though."

"Well, no spoilers, but one would imagine that remote holographic technology will improve one day. You might be able to see the world from Shari's wristwatch, eventually."

"It is definitely worth exploring, but we may be able to occasionally take a look at the multiverse, so, you know, that'll have to do."

"I suppose that's a heck of a consolation prize," Will admitted.

"We'll just have to cope somehow," she smirks, "How are you doing?"

"I'm fi..." he started, then paused.

"I'm hanging in there," he said, after considering things for a moment. "Taking it day by day."

"Some days, that's all you can get," she says, moving a bit in his direction, "But if you want to talk about it..."

"Eh, I don't want to unload everything on you; you've got enough to keep your mind going now, even if that mind is now overclocked and running on multiple CPUs," he joked, (obviously deflecting through humor).

"I can manage quite a lot, capable of storing and processing vast amounts of information. I can manage lending an ear to someone I hope is still a friend in spite of my own ridiculousness."

"Oh, of course we're friends. No need to worry about that," Will said, sincerely.

"Besides, if I exiled everyone who annoyed me ever, I'd have kicked out everyone on campus, including myself on multiple occasions. I don't know why my fuse has become shorter, but it has."

"Things have been things," Natalie says with a nod. "Everyone was on edge for a while there."

Will nodded. "Yeah. And even if I've burned some bridges, you can rebuild those, with time.

I'll keep, I'm sure."

"Of course you can, but you're here now and I can and will listen," she says, waving at Caretaker, who sets the monitor down and fades away. "So talk to me, Will."

"Well, the IMMEDIATE problem was me being an idiot and trusting a Bell. Historically, that's never worked out well for me," Will joked.

"I don't know if you're wired in to the security around here or anything, but that's why I was gone the last four days. Spent it driving around the coast, getting my head straight."

"For the most part, I am the security around here. I try not to keep tabs on specific people though," she says, "I do remember seeing Miriam leave in a pretty amazing car."

"I assume she came back in an Uber later that night. I probably owe her the cash for that," Will sighed. "Though whether she's in 'hold a massive grudge' mode or 'it doesn't involve me, thus it does not matter' mode is yet to be determined."

In the back of her mind, she hands off a request to Guardian to see if Miriam's on campus... without being invasive if she can. "What happened?"

"Eh, I took her out for a night on the town. A way of saying thank you for helping me realize a few things, and a way of helping her with some of her issues. Within half an hour, however, she'd fallen down her worst impulses, and wouldn't even acknowledge it when I tried to express discomfort or concern. Give a mouse a cookie...

And, you know me. I don't give cookies; I give the whole damn bakery. I don't mind playing second fiddle, especially on what was supposed to be her night out, but even still, a little bit of consideration wouldn't be out of place." Will sighed. "Guess it just goes to show I can't have nice things, is all.

And on top of all the other stuff that I've got lying around unresolved...I just needed to get away for a while."

"Everyone does and not everyone has crystal computer matrix to hide in when they need the time," she says, pondering a moment and then holding out a hand. "And everyone needs consideration now and again. What else do you have lying around?"

"Well, there's Miriam," Will said, pointing to his thumb. "Then there's the trio on my last mission -- Sam, ASHLIE and Tosh, who stuck me in Muir," he said, counting off two, three, four fingers. "There's the awkwardness with the wolves. There's Nailah, coming to visit me in Muir to say that I'm freaky."

He looked down at his hand, which now had seven fingers on it. "I'm not saying I'm innocent in any of this, by the by. So put that one up for eight. My own grumpy, old-man irritability pissing everyone else off. Probably got to fix that before tackling the other ones."

"Possibly not a bad place to start, but someone once did counsel me to tell people what I want. I wasn't prepared to listen at the time, but I do remember."

Will gave a half chortle at that. "I suppose I can't argue with that.

I really thought helping Miriam could be my 'thing'. My raison d'être. Well, I've been wrong before, and I probably'll be wrong again. Age does not necessarily bring with it wisdom."

"And you may not be wrong yet. It was one night. Change sometimes takes time."

"Oh, perhaps. Don't get me wrong, I don't think she's a lost cause or anything. I just...

Well, a reason to be here, other than killing time, would be lovely. That's all. A bit selfish of me, I know," he sighed.

"But, as I said. I will keep, and I don't want to burden you with my troubles."

"And if I'm asking you to let me share that burden, even if all I can actually do is listen?"

"Then I am thankful, and I appreciate it," Will smiled. "But if I start bringing my drama into everyone else's life, then I won't be the only one who's sick of me before long," he joked.

"That's fair and it's ultimately your choice, all I can do is offer, I can't make you tell me."

"Well, brutally honest opinion needed here -- am I being an ass right now? I just don't want something to become an airing of grievances. And the last time I opened up to someone, they took advantage of me."

Natalie considers the question for a bit, hand on chin. "Right this minute? No. Other things I think there's maybe a failure to understand on both sides, possibly assumptions being made, but I can't say without knowing more. Like you mentioned awkwardness with the wolves, but I watched Tereza and Vivienne go to bat for you... but against you too... okay, bad example."

"No, no, it's a good example," Will nodded. "And it's partially me being an ass there, too.

Look, Tereza and I are friends. Sam and I are friends. I don't know Vivienne as well, but our interactions have always been fine. We're all friends; there's no fault there. The fight...doesn't really count, because I was on both sides thereof, but I mean, like, in general.

Except I'm not a wolf. Right? They want me part of their pack, but...I've never really understood what that means. And they have a place with Sam, obviously -- they're both her girlfriends and her mythological aides. That's not me; not here. And when I've tried to find a place, it's...well, both Tereza and Viv have blanched, a couple times, at my suggestions, shall I say, and Sam was clearly not comfortable when my powers mutated. There's no mean-spiritedness coming from any of us, it's just...a puzzle that doesn't fit together, or hasn't been pieced together, or what have you.

It's the opposite problem with Miriam. It's a puzzle that fits together too well there, to the point where...my puzzle piece gets lost? I lost the thread of the metaphor somewhere in there; puzzles don't work that way. Erm... let's see, you're techy...

OK, Miriam's Chrome. We're in the right era for Google Chrome, right? She just gobbles up all the RAM, and then nothing runs anymore. The wolves are...internet explorer. It still will get the job done, it's just...slow and not everything you want to do will work properly.

And I'm Flash, I guess, because I'm very rapidly going out of style."



Will took a deep breath, his face turning a faint shade of crimson. "Look, Natalie, I'm really sorry; I really did come down here to check on how you were doing, not to dump on you. We've all got our own problems."

Natalie just listens to him, responding to his concerns with only a simple question, "May I give you a hug?"

"I didn't think you did that sort of thing.

Yes. Yes you can, " he added, after a pause