So there were many things Lenora expected, she expected to get a full blown explanation as soon as she sat down in the fine leather interior of the car. She expected questions of how she was feeling. She was even half expecting an offer of going to hospital in case her injuries were worse than they seemed.

The one thing she wasn't expecting was silence. Really awkward heavy silence. It was doing her head in, literally. She spent all day, every day in silence. Claudia was her only source of company really, well, company which actually talked to her like she mattered.

She sniffed and winced, her nose really hurt. She swore to God though it wasn't broken, she reached up and hesitantly patted her face. It was an action which was noticed by both the male sitting across from her, and beside her.

Her eye felt a little swollen, and from the reflection in the window, it was also bruised. She frowned, inhaling deeply she just let it out slowly. So she was going to walk around looking pretty beaten up for a while. On the grand scheme of things, that was pretty minor. She got freedom. Freedom never came easy. There was always a price to pay. Smashing through windows and destroying a building was the  price...well, maybe not, her price was more like looking like she'd been in a serious accident.

Her naturally bright orange copper hair was sticking up in odd directions. It did that anyway. It was cropped short to just below her ears, it was stubbornly curly. The curls stuck up anyway, but what with everything she'd gone through it probably looked like she had put her fingers in an electric socket and got shocked. Her eyes – from what she gathered from the reflection, again – were heavy looking, dark rings were under one while the other was definitely bruising up now; it hurt to blink and keep open, both were probably bloodshot as anything.

Her clothes, the white long sleeve shirt and trousers were caked in grime, mud, grass stains, blood...she really did look like the lunatic escaping the asylum. Which in some small way was quite apt. That place may have not have been an asylum, but it was keeping her locked away.

Not that she was overly keen with being out. By the looks of things had changed drastically since she was last out in public. She more or less pressed her face up against the glass of the window to try and get a better look of things.

So many people, hundreds seemed to flock to the streets. Buildings which towered above everything and everyone were literally everywhere. She leaned away, life seemed so busy, hectic, always on the move.

Scratching her head she winced when her fingers found a tangle. With a good yank she freed her hand, and smiled. "I feel awkward." She stated, what was the point of sugar coating this? She felt immensely awkward. She was still waiting for an explanation. She doubted she'd get one actually. Making a popping noise, she half turned in her seat. Getting fidgety she just decided to fully turn and curl up. Shutting her eyes she pulled her knees to her chest and placed her arm in between her chest and thighs. Curling her fingers over her knee she held onto the fabric of her trousers and traced lines before being jolted by a sudden turn.

"I am sorry you feel that way, it's just...honestly, I don't quite know what to say. I did not think we would meet like this." Charles said while turning and looking at her sympathetically.

Lenora raised an eyebrow at that. "I didn't think we'd meet at all. You know, what with me not knowing you two and all." She simply shrugged and shut her eyes again. Opening her eyes again she frowned. "Wait a minute...you two are generally needing help, right? You're not like...into human trafficking or something..." She figured the only reason to hunt someone like her out was for help in something.

Charles's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly. "I reassure you we are being genuine."

"Is he?" Lenora nodded to Erik, who for as long as they had been in the car had sat and looked out of the window in silence. Upon clearly being registered, or talked about, he turned his gaze away and looked at her blankly. "What? Silence is suspicious."

"He's genuine too." Charles said quickly noticing how Erik's eyes were slowly and dangerously narrowing. He thought it best to intervene before a possible argument broke out. It was way too soon to be creating enemies within. They had barely made it as a group so far. They couldn't crumble and self-destruct just yet, if at all. Charles was determined to make this work. Even if it was going to take a lot of time and patience. By the way Erik sent Lenora one more blunt look, Charles rethought that, it would take all the patience in the world and then some for this to work. It was already clear there were conflicting personalities back at the base. Hank and Alex for one were not a good match. Whereas Alex, Sean and Darwin...they all got along great. Raven and Angel were good too, fellow females together; it was good and a relief for Charles actually that his sister had another girl to talk to. He half thought that she'd distance herself from everyone or take up some of their bad habits. Not saying Raven was impressionable...but she definitely had a habit of sometimes following the crowd and jumping on the bandwagon.

"He kinda looks like he's going to flip out."

"He can hear you." Erik shot a look from the corner of his eyes.

Lenora pouted and shut her eyes again. Charles frowned and looked at Erik seriously, his serious expression dropped and was replaced with one of quiet confusion. He shrugged and even nodded his head slyly over to Lenora. It was all her fault that he was replying bluntly and looking like he was about to – as she said – flip out.

"Sorry, I guess if we're all going to be buddy buddies we should get along." Charles looked rather taken back by that moment of honesty. Lenora opened her eyes and looked dimly about. "That's what's going on here, right?"

"Yes," Charles actually wanted to wait to explain all when back at the base. Not that it made a difference really. Being driven in a car, sitting in an office with Moira present, it still had the same outcome: bringing Lenora up to date. She merely raised an eyebrow at him and waited to see if he would say anything else on the matter. With a sigh he ran a hand through his hair, "There is someone out there, Lenora, who we intend to stop. He intends to pull the whole world into another war, well, we believe he is aiming for this. Everything we know, and love will change if he succeeds. So," here Charles paused to see her thinking over this. She looked utterly puzzled yet waved her hand at him to continue. "We're putting a team together."

"Your team specifically asked for ex-institutionalised teenage girls?" Lenora asked with a smirk. She was only nineteen. Though what with all she went through, she probably looked older.

Charles laughed and shook his head, "No, that wasn't in the specifics," he said while still smiling widely. Lenora let out a quiet hum and nodded her head. She leaned it back against the headrest and looked out of the window on Erik's side with distant eyes. "Will you help us?"

"You're giving me a lift to possible safety. The way I see it, I need to repay you somehow. So going to war with a lunatic is my way of repaying you, some may say that's an escalation. But whatever...it's not like I've got anywhere else to go..." Lenora trailed off and looked downwards.

"Not a war," Charles said.

"A fight then." Lenora's amber coloured eyes looked up at him. He conceded at that, nodding slowly he too looked out of the window. With a sigh, Lenora shut her eyes. She had her own things she wanted to do, really, she did. With another sigh she sat up and stretched. She was getting really uncomfortable in here. "How much longer until we're there?"

"Another hour, or so, why?" Charles looked at her worriedly.

Lenora smiled, he seemed like the type to jump to conclusions and get concerned easily. "Okay...I'm a literal mess, right? But I really hurt..."

His eyes widened, it seemed for the first time he really looked at her. Like he only just realised what kind of state she was in. "I think she's hinting for painkillers." Erik said while looking quickly at Lenora and then at Charles. His oblivious moments were truly something sometimes.

"I was also hinting at a chance to go wash up somewhere. You know, before we get to where ever. What sort of impression am I going to make appearing like this?"

Erik frowned and looked at her. "Like where, exactly?" He would love to know, well, he wouldn't love to know. But he was curious to her answer for this one.

"How about public toilets? Why? How bad do I look?!" Lenora looked a little frantic then. From her reflection she didn't think she was too bad. Other than bruising and caked blood which really needed to come off.

Erik merely smirked, "Do you want the answer based on a scale rating?"

"What? No! Why would you even suggest that?" Erik just looked at her, Lenora frowned, "Oh I don't like you. You're rude." Erik raised an eyebrow at that, he had been called worse. And really, if she thought him just being like this was rude, she really didn't know anything yet, if at all.