"Connections"
"Aren't you a little too young for the X-Men?" Warren Worthington,
III said to Danielle Moonstar as she hopped off of her Harley in the
driveway. He was the first to open the door, his proud feathery wings,
eight feet high, haloing sun kissed features that made him a cross between Brad
Pitt, Robert Redford and a Heaven sent angel. He was a man worth more
than her entire line, saving up for five hundred years, could have deposited in
a bank by his 18th birthday and his intelligence had multiplied it a dozen
times over since then. He was a veteran of not only the original X-Men
but the Champions, Defenders, X-Factor and even Apocalypse's Horsemen.
His tone and slightly dissatisfied stare suggested that he was both aware of
Charles Xavier's call to her and censorious of it. To him she was still
the rail thin teenager who had come up these stairs years ago to be a part of
the New Mutants, in his mind a necessary but questionable investment. |
| Archangel |
Dani took in his stare, helmet off to let free her waist length hair, held to
the sides by a headband woven by her thrice great grandmother and handed down
to each female child, against her worn leather pants that her mother had worn
through four years at Kent State, particularly the fateful day when the bullets
flew, and her dead grandfather's Korean war leather bomber jacket. She'd
graduated, not from this school but from the college of life in her own twenty
odd years and the eight thousand she could trace her bloodline back to being a
woman. Not the kind she was sure he was used to dealing with but in her
opinion the kind that would teach him that his people had been doing this
judgment crap to hers for so long that she was always ready, friend or foe to
lay down her resume.
"Archangel , right? Mutant powers:
wings that allow him to fly. Not even a high-powered sonic tweet.
You remember me? I'm Danielle Moonstar, Cheyenne tribe, psi mutant who
rips fears and pleasures from minds, created solid objects from thought, lethal
psi bow and arrow, burgeoning mystical energy battery, only human to be
consecrated into the Asgaardian Valkyries, see, identify and then
subsequently fight the cosmic force white men refer to as Death on a regular
basis, trained here and with SHIELD, fought in several Asgaardian wars, avid
Louise Erdrich fan, more woman than you'll ever have and probably more man than
you'll ever be. Oh, and all of mine is earned, not dolled out my mommy,
daddy and daddy surrogates," she tossed him her helmet and walked up the
stairs into the mansion. "I'll try to keep up with you, Wings.
Somehow. Someway."
 |
| Danielle Moonstar |
"Good to see you've gotten rid of that chip on your shoulder. I'll
just stand here and pay for all that every white man has done to your people
for hundreds of years," he snapped sarcastically.
"You do that. I'm sure thinking without Xavier or Cyclops is still
new enough to you to be occupying," Dani snickered.
Karma was waiting in the sitting room, she jumped up and hugged Dani before her
friend could even speak. "It has been so long! You look
wonderful!"
Dani stood back from her, taking a long gander, Karma was still wearing her
green New Mutants graduation costume with a predominant yin yang symbol on her
chest. "Don't you think it's a tad retro, Shan?" she laughed.
 |
| Cecilia Reyes |
"It's served me well over the past few years. I've made some
adjustments to it. I've been through some changes," she said and her
smile dimmed then she quickly changed the subject. "Have you heard
from the others?" Karma asked referring to the other New Mutants, changing
the topic that it was obvious Dani wanted to pursue. What
adjustments and changes?
"Occasionally, phone calls and letters. A little world saving.
I ran with X-Force for awhile," Dani glanced at a corner of the
room. "What's she doing here?!" she balked.
Allison Crestmere formerly Amara Juliana Olivians
Aquilla known as Magma in the New Mutants
turned around, resplendent as always in a white silk dress, her long blonde
tresses draping her shoulders as gold thick as magazines adorned her neck and
wrists, "I was invited."
"Allison, I thought you were out for a buck?" Dani asked
snidely. The last time they had seen each other Dani had been with
X-Force and Amara with Hellions, they were on opposite sides and Amara hadn't
seem at all coerced. Her biggest concern had been getting paid for her
villainous actions.
 |
| Emma Frost |
"I legally changed my name back to Amara, it was more fitting to my
taste. Though Nova Roma may not have ultimately been real, it was still
where I became someone of style and status that I find preferable to my
previous existence as Allison before Selene kidnapped me. And as you put
it, I was able to salvage some of my former worth so that I'm not as destitute
as I was when I foolishly associated myself with the Hellions. I also
made some mistakes. Charles and I have come to an agreement," she
answered in a slight British accent. "Selene's influence over my
people left me confused for awhile. I got better."
"Blaming Selene?" Dani asked snidely. "I'll bet it was
Selene. Or perhaps you're just more like her than you ever wanted to
admit."
"Come and find out, Danielle, one day I will take that woman's heart for
killing my mother but she is an excellent role model of how to handle the
lesser castes," Amara said roughly and her eyes flashed with flame for a
second. All was quiet in the room between the three former friends, each
waiting to see what the next move would be when a booming voice from behind
ended the stand off.
"Now this is what I call a maturity worth waiting for!" Bobby Drake
said as he came into the room in his new X-Men uniform, eyeing all three women
appreciatively. "Damn, you ladies are beautiful.
Gorgeous. Stylish. Sexy. Intelligent. Love the Easy
Rider look. And Princess Amara? Magnifique! Karma, as always
a total trooper ready for the good fight!"
 |
| Paulie Provenzano |
"Finally the Professor is coming out with some style," Dani murmured
looking Drakes new leather black and yellow uniform with trench coat then shot
a glance at Amara. "Not always taste, but style."
Nightcrawler appeared with a sulphurous bamf in the room, a tray with lemonade
and finger foods in his three fingered hands. "Ladies,
welcome. I took the liberty of preparing something for you all. You
must be famished!"
"Careful, Moonstar likes to bite hands," Warren snapped from the doorway.
"Go clean the bottom of your cage, Tweety. Come on, Kurt, no
brews?" Dani sighed.
"Are you legal?" Bobby asked. "How about we keep this chit
chat clean and sober and me and you head out later for those brews."
"I'm legal for brew and more, ice cube," she grudgingly took the
lemonade. That was Xavier's all over, lemonade while the world was ready
for a brew.
Northstar came in next to Prof. X and Dani fought the urge to stand up, to pay
him that honor. He was walking again but she refused to act
surprised, to show him too much emotion. They had parted, civilly. She
was here out of honor to her grandfather's word. Out of respect for what
the Professor had taught her years back. For the peace of mind of
learning to control her shifting powers. But she wasn't going to pretend
that there hadn't been reasons that the others in this room didn't know about,
things Xavier had done to her secretly, all in the name of his precious dream
that had made her stay away so long.
"Thank you for coming," he said, his eyes leveled on Dani for a
moment. She had grown and with a cock of his head he realized that
technically she was older than she should be by three years by his count.
She noticed where his observation was going, and gave him a psi reply to not
pry. He complied and without missing a beat anyone would notice went on
with his words. "You ladies hopefully remember Jean-Paul Beubier
known as Northstar, formerly of the Canadian Alpha Flight. He's agreed to
join the X-Men, our family as I like to think of it. I hope that your
presence here means I can persuade you to seriously consider a long term
commitment in my offer to be part of the Blue Team."
"Where's Storm?" Karma asked. "I thought she lead the Blue
Team?"
"She did. She and several of the others have left for parts
unknown. Psylocke, Rogue, Bishop, Thunderbird, Tessa, and
Gambit. On leave of absence."
"They quit?!" Amara blanched, her shock was an outcry from what all
the others were thinking. Those were some of the most loyal ones to
Xavier's dream.
"I prefer to think of it as a leave of absence," Charles said with a
slight smile. "In pursuit of other---matters."
"Hence, the call for others," Warren
interjected.
"Literally, the B Team," Dani snorted. "No offense to
anyone here, well, maybe you three who have been X-Men but we ex-New Mutants
were never ranked high enough to make the All Star X-Men."
 |
| Karma |
"Though I loathe too, I'm afraid I have to agree with Dani. I don't
take to being asked to join the 'B' Team," Amara sighed. "It's
painfully obvious that you're trying to swell the ranks without regard to how
it may feel to be called in now when you need us."
"I don't think we were ever considered second stringers, Danielle.
If I understand you correctly," Nightcrawler interjected.
"Kurt, I excluded you, Bobby and Warren, I never got the nod to the
X-Men," Dani said bitterly. "Only Cannonball did. A real
boys club, eh, Professor?"
"You weren't ready when you were a student. Several of you
weren't. You needed time to experience yourself and life and your
abilities without the expectation of becoming an X-Man. Ultimately, so
that you could make an informed, adult decision to become one. As all the
others have," Charles said smoothly, having expected this feeling to come
up and glad that it could be faced immediately, his voice still calm but it was
clear that his focus was on Dani, she was the center of the distrust, the
residual anger. "Now the time has come. You're needed by
me. By the world. My I suggest we enjoy Kurt's repast and then move
on to a session in the Danger Room to acquaint you all with each other's
capabilities and give me a chance to evaluate you as a team. It's
imperative that you be ready posthaste. Lives are depending on this team
going on a mission immediately."
Karma stood in the center of the Danger Room slowly moving through her warm up
exercises, mental and physical.
"The arm still hurting?" Cecilia Reyes asked from the elevated
control booth, they'd met last week when both had arrived at the mansion.
"Non. It was an accident, it could've happened to anyone,"
Karma said referring to their sparring session earlier. She had taken
Cecilia by surprise and gotten a rude force projectile to the arm. Karma
had forgiven Cecilia, silently upset more with herself at being caught so off-guard
but Cecilia, still new to the X-Men was awash with guilt.
"It happened to me," Cecilia said nervously. "My powers
worry me. I'm new to this game. Paulie and I are the newest and I'm
not exactly here by choice, Bastion ruined my life out there. I don't
like them, honestly, my powers, how they 'Spike'."
"It's a good code name," Karma said neutrally. She had also
learned from a few days with Cecilia that pity wasn't what the woman
wanted. She simply worried out loud.
"For a Little Rascal," Cecilia muttered as Archangel ,
Iceman, Northstar, Magma, Nightcrawler and Psyche filed into the Danger
Room. A moment later Prof. X and Paulie Provenzano came into the control
room with Cecilia.
"I trust all explanations are unnecessary?" the professor said over
the loudspeaker then the Danger Room walls shimmered and became a jungle.
"The object is simple, get to the other side of the valley in under five
minutes. All of you must make it for the session to end."
"If they're the 'B' Team what does that make Doc Cutie Pie and me?"
Paulie asked the professor. "I mean flipping through all them files
for days waiting everyone to show up, those pretty phillies down there have
more experience than both of us put together."
"Don't call me that," Cecilia snapped.
"Okay, Doctor Hotstuff," he grinned devilishly.
"I'm warning you, goomba," she pointed a finger at him, their
arguments already the stuff of legend around the mansion.
"At this point, I want you to be observers," Charles said calmly,
ignoring their constant bantering. "Because of your limited
experience with the X-Men I want you to see what I am asking you to voluntarily
follow. Should you accept, the others would help you learn the ropes as
you go along, as it were, the two of you will be risking your lives the most
starting out in such a fashion but trust that the need is there and your
potential more than attainable. For now, watch them, please."
Sentinels rocketed from out of the horizon and as Magma went hot and Iceman
cold, they landed a few meters away. Some remained three stories tall
while others separated into three ten-foot tall opponents.
"Cute," Psyche grunted as her psi bow and arrow appeared. She
let one shot go and two mini-Sentinels came at her.
"Form on me," Archangel instructed.
"I'm faster, I'll go for the other side," Northstar said and whisked
into the air, his words half lost to his speed.
"Northstar, no! You think the professor doesn't know that!" Archangel yelled but it was too late, treetops snapped
open and tracking lasers and machine guns filled the air. Archangel was forced to dive low as Iceman and Magma
tried to hold off two of the larger Sentinels with ice and lava blasts,
respectively.
"Ladies!" Nightcrawler said, grabbing Karma and Psyche and vanishing
in a burst of smoke as several Sentinels converged on their position. He
appeared a few meters away and Karma grinned then vanished.
"Shan!" Psyche yelled, a moment later a translucent man appeared,
wearing Karma's costume though now it was more masculine in design.
"Tran actually," he smirked and headed off into the jungle.
"Her brother? I thought she killed him---absorbed him?" Psyche
yelled, covering her back and Nightcrawler's with psi arrows as they ran
through the jungle. Her arrows were more for light sparkles into the
Sentinels faces, it required far more concentration for her to make them
compose of bio-electrical energy to harm inorganic matter.
"She did. He did. It's why she came back, she's become two
people occupying one body. Hers is real, his isn't. But he can only
remain for a short period and can't access the possession power,"
Nightcrawler explained as two mini Sentinels came crashing through trees at
them. Psyche dove out of the way as Nightcrawler simply vanished in a
burst of smoke, Tran kept going, no obstacles stopping him. Psyche rolled
back to her feet and grunted as the edge of a large Sentinel stun bolt clipped
her from above. She landed hard on her leg, it had been a awhile since
she'd been in such a confrontation and when she saw the Sentinel coming to
press the attack, she panicked. A moment later she was airborne, in
Northstar's arms.
"Wow, you're fast!" she gulped, embarrassed at not taking this as
seriously as he was, watching out for her teammates.
"And you're not," he snapped then unceremoniously dropped her to the
ground and continued zig zagging through the trees trying to avoid mini
Sentinels and lasers that seemed targeted to him.
"French son of a---!" Psyche grunted but didn't have time to finish
as Magma tumbled next to her, dazed, felled by a Sentinel blast.
"That must've hurt."
"Yes, it did," Magma said as Psyche helped her stand and they started
heading towards the far side, the gloves of the new X uniforms protecting her
from Magma's superheated body. Archangel
soared over them, closely followed by Iceman.
"You two okay?" Archangel asked.
"I am out of practice for mayhem but it's coming back," Magma laughed
and then fired a lava bolt over his shoulder, turning a Sentinel into slag that
sent it careening to the ground.
"Hop on, my pretties, we're
almost halfway there!" Iceman said as he formed a slide beneath their feet
and soon they were sliding behind him.
"You have to cool your
temperature!" Psyche yelled at Magma, "or you'll melt through!"
"I know, cow!" Magma
snapped then turned to cover their rear and by expelling more lava bolts but
her superheated body caused her to melt through the slide and fall to the
ground. She wanted to summon lava or earth from the ground to propel her
but didn't think Xavier would appreciate her destroyed the foundation of the
Danger Room to call it up. She was limited to her ability to generate
lava bolts and flame.
"Keep going, I've got her," Archangel
said to the others and swooped back. "Cool your body temperature,
Magma!"
"I'm trying," she said as he grabbed her arms, his insulated gloves
affording him protection from her radiating heat and began to move away from
the four Sentinels that were crashing through the jungle after them.
"Now!" Nightcrawler shouted and Tran changed back to Shan, a rope
materializing across an expanse to trip a Sentinel.
Psyche focused and fired half a dozen psi arrows to the fallen Sentinel causing
it to blow up, her psi arrows composed of bio electrical energy as well as
psionic. She let out a Cheyenne
war cry when she felt something at the nape of her neck. A buzzing, a
warning. Her Death sense had become fine tuned over the years, advancing
into something akin to a constant warning of danger. She heard Spiderman
had one. She turned and formed a bow stick in her hands in just enough
time to knock Wolverine to the ground with it. He was moving so
impossibly fast that he had rolled with the blow, a slight burn and glancing
psi shock from it and ducked back into the underbrush before she got a moment
to really understand what was going on.
Psyche realized that his feral nature had touched onto her ability to
psychically rapport with animals. It was the perfect way to not only
track him but give her an advantage against him. Focusing on an ability
she rarely used she was immediately caught by the awareness and then subsequent
connection to another.
"What is it?"
"Where is he?" Archangel asked of
Wolverine, having sorted through her empathic sharing and recognized what was
going on, what had happened. He'd been around telepaths all his life, it
was a part of the job, he wanted to concentrate on the professor's obvious
second test.
"Brush. Got a fix on him through my sense too. He's not
alone. A telepath protected him from my psi connection," Psyche put
her mental shields in place, blocking out the flutterings of Archangel ,
he thought like a bird. Lofty concepts, zeroing in on something he'd
deigned worthy of explanation, she was in his arms and in the air by mutual
silent agreement as they tried to spot the hidden Gold Team.
Karma felt her brother subsiding to the irritating voice in her head that he'd
been for years, she'd simply never told anyone.
Your friends are interesting. Especially Amara.
I like her---appreciation of the darker things in life, Tran laughed.
Be silent, Tran. You've done your part. Or I
might explore the professor's telepathic exorcism suggestion, Shan snapped.
Of course, sister, I don't want us to fail this
either. For our mutual goals.
Tran faded back to the buzzing mental presence Shan had put up with for years
and allowed her to focus, having reminded her that they were more against these
people than allied as they had a secret agenda.
She'd noticed Archangel and Psyche take to the
air and they weren't headed for the opposite side of the room. They were
too far away to communicate but Shan could tell from her old teammate's body
language that a new threat was about. She felt the push of air a moment
before she flattened her body and the optic blast slammed into a tree in front
of her. Karma instinctively rolled and fired small, nearly invisible needles
from her sleeves, each coated with a sedative that she sometimes used on
opponents difficult to possess, towards where she "guess-timated"
Cyclops to have been. They froze in mid-air, as she had expected, the
optic blast having been a distraction to the true threat to her. Karma
lashed out with all of her telepathic might to the telekinetic/telepath behind
the power.
"Very good," Phoenix
murmured, telekinetically tossing the needles to the ground and re-doubling her
mental walls against Karma's attempt to possess her. Phoenix had to let her mental illusion of
foliage lapse from herself and her husband Cyclops as she pushed mentally back
at Karma.
"To me, my teammates!" Karma shouted over her suit's comm. link, her
voice a harsh gurgling as she summoned her reserves to have a final mental
thrust at Phoenix .
She felt Tran mentally adding his will to her own, making their assault
seemingly building in strength while they both knew it was a distraction.
"BOO!" Nightcrawler shouted as he appeared only inches from
Cyclops grimly ignored his wife's harmless predicament and dove into the
foliage, several optic blasts covering his hasty retreat.
Northstar appeared where Cyclops had been a moment earlier and sucked his teeth.
"Who would've expected him to abandon his own wife?"
"Have a care, Northstar, Cyclops has been doing this for years,"
Karma said as she strolled over to him. Her eyes were flashing with
telepathic power, she finally had the stunned Phoenix successfully under her control.
"I wouldn't have thought you could hold her, all that's been made of the
legendary Phoenix ,"
Northstar said and Karma shook her head.
"I have her body. She was stunned, didn't want to give up so she
fled, left with her astral self. She's still a threat. Albeit
invisible and limited in her capabilities," Karma said as she caused the
red headed Phoenix
to stand and telekinetically destroy the ice off of her head.
"Do we have an extra body on our side or what?" Iceman asked as he
slid over. "I don't like taking out the hottest redhead in town like
that everyday."
"She's useless, it's not like a normal possession where I can access her
mind to aid in my control of her. I'm just running a nervous
system," Karma said and let her possession end. There was a moment
of confusion on Phoenix 's
face and then Northstar abruptly knocked her unconscious by speeding around her
so fast that the lack of oxygen made her body collapse. He was back to
his standing position an instant later.
"Hey!" Iceman protested as he caught his friend before she could fall
to the ground. "We don't have to be so rough."
"Take a look at the tree," Northstar snapped and Iceman glanced at
the pulverized tree that would've been Karma had she been hit by Cyclops's
optic blast. "Not a game like the old days, Drake. Your
friends are testing us for keeps. Perhaps your juvenile ways are to be
eradicated by being on this team and not one where you find comfort."
"I must agree with him, Iceman. Are you with the Blue Team in form
and spirit or not?" Karma asked.
"Both," Iceman said with a grin and laid Jean on the ground.
"Let's get the others, I've always wanted to freeze Wolverine a good
one."
"Is this wise, Charles?" Cecilia asked.
"Excuse me?" Charles was busy studying several video screens of the
action below as well as telepathically observing the emotions of the
participants. They were performing far better than he had expected. In
fact he could see accelerating the timeline to dispatching them.
"I know you're not used to being questioned by your students but the new
Blue Team isn't exactly ready to be tested against the older, far more
experienced Gold Team," she snapped. "That's freaking
Wolverine, Cyclops and Phoenix
in there! Haven't they liked saved the world a billion times over when
they weren't beating up Doctor Magneto Doom!"
"Doctor Doom and Magneto are two different guys, hon," Paulie
snickered. "You might wanna read those study files more
closely."
"Don't help me, Paulie. And don't call me 'hon'!"
"I'm quite used to being questioned by my students," Charles
murmured. "Answering all of their uninformed questions is not new to
me."
"Doc Hot Pants has a point," Paulie added. "It looks like
the gloves are off down there and someone's going to get hurt. I ain't
got no love for none of them but that's not how we get down in the
Marines."
"Then go help them," Charles said calmly, staring them both down,
daring them to face their fears of live combat. There was absolute
silence in the control booth and then Charles turned back around to the video
screens.
Cecilia looked at Paulie who merely shrugged. The question was whether or
not they were ready, in their own opinions. She muttered something and
Paulie thought to himself that perhaps her two words were better suited for Phoenix and her hubby, he
didn't really see Charlie as the get down and dirty boogie kind of guy.
Especially with him in quite the way Cecilia had intimated.
Cecilia grabbed up her uniform's jacket and stormed out followed by
Paulie. They were going in.
Charles smiled, pleased, he knew that they would go. Cecilia and Paulie
were rebels at heart, they needed to join the others as a way to flounce his
authority in determining them not ready. Their unique abilities, force
field projection and physical invulnerability respectively, made them the least
likely to be harmed but somewhere in their psyches it had made them the most
reticent about physical combat. Easy for him to telepathically remove but
he didn't work that way, unless absolutely necessary.
"My, my Charles, I would think that would be a thought closer to my own
heart than yours," she cooed behind him, resting her hands on his
shoulders. The physical touch was her way of showing respect, she knew
she was telepathically invisible to him if she wanted to be. She also
knew that announcing herself first was safer that simply sneaking up on
him. Though in a wheelchair, he was far from helpless.
"Emma," he said out loud though it was unnecessary with the White
Queen, a telepath of skill surpassed only by his and perhaps Phoenix 's.
"Perhaps?" she teased as she took a seat next to him. "I
faired well against the Phoenix
entity who later went on to consume a sun, Charles."
"You lost to It," he reminded.
"But in the end you lost her too, as I remember," she parried.
"I was thinking of the true Jean Grey," he replied, slightly confused
by her choice of words. "Not the Phoenix entity."
"As was I, losing Jean," Emma smirked and he got her meaning.
His love for Jean that went far beyond the paternal. He'd put those
feelings away long ago. Emma was good for picking at the edges of his
thoughts, keeping herself behind such formidable shields that he often barely perceived
her physical presence. "Curious, isn't it?" she switched topics
so fast sometimes that he wondered musingly if it could be another mutant
ability.
"What?" he enjoyed her games, her teasing; she rarely came out and
said anything until she was sure that her targets were wrapped up in her game.
"Jean chose Cyclops over both you and Wolverine."
"She never knew about my feelings," it was useless to reprimand the
woman on delving into privacies, it seemed to delight her to no end to constantly
mess with others.
"Charles," Emma clucked her tongue," she's a telepath. My
equal. And like me, a woman. Trust me, she knew."
Charles turned his attention away from the training session below and glanced
at Emma. Intrigued and pissed at the same time. "Point?"
"Wolverine is all physicality, ferocity, passion. You are intellect,
paternalistic power, a telepath that could show her things that would make her
forget you had no legs," she said teasingly, a light telepathic flash of
erotica crossing his thoughts at her insistence. He viewed it quickly and
secretly was surprised at her choice of imagery, it was close to his own
fantasies. A good guess or a telepathic plucking from his inner depths?
"And?"
"She chose him. Take away the optic blasts and what is he?"
"One of the best strategic minds living, I daresay," Charles answered
without hesitation.
"Yes. But without the optic blasts he wouldn't be here, hence he
would've never become such a strategist. The same thing that attracted her to
him, attracted you to him. Hopefully from different intentions---I
hope," she teased.
"Continue," Charles said, if nothing else he found her examinations
of those around her fascinating. Emma readily dealt with the dark sides
of psyches that he avoided dwelling upon. After the matter with
Onslaught, he had realized that it was important to have more around him who
had the dark bent that was present in Logan ,
he needed their counter balance.
"He was so easily influenced by the two of you, to become what you both
wanted. A noble husband, a stalwart leader. He's the only one of
your X-pack that hasn't walked away from you, Charles, isn't he?
Sabbaticals, yes. Rests, even. But even in his darkest days he
started X-Factor to continue your dream. Did the poor boy ever have a
chance to ever have his own dreams caught in the entangling web of two such
powerful telepaths?" she wondered aloud. "Or perhaps that was
your point all along? To give dear sweet Jean a soul mate whom she would
never feel inferior to, one she would never sense influencing her? I can
see why you submerged your erotic feelings, love can wither between student and
superior but between her and Scott? Never. Any prodding there,
Charles?" Emma asked, her tone all ice and conniving.
Charles shot her a withering glare, she was smiling like a Cheshire cat.
"It often surprised me how long you have survived with both your telepathy
and mouth. I always expected someone to shut one or the other down.
Sebastian Shaw, Selene, Magneto, Jean, me. Have a care, Emma; your days
are still being counted. A misspoken word at any moment could put you
into one of those pesky telepathic catatonias that only a few of us possess the
skill to bring you out of. If we cared to revive you at all."
Emma kept smiling, letting the threat sit where it was, not even bothering to
parry it. They both knew that she was more valuable awake. Simple
as that. "I brought the woman we've been looking for."
"Really?" Charles let his telepathy sweep the grounds in a
millisecond. She was in the formal sitting room. He could barely
sense her. It was only his years at discerning those who couldn't be
sensed by his telepathy that allowed him to recognize the negative space as a
being. A being of immense power. Of them all, perhaps next to the Phoenix entity, she would
be the most challenging student. "She's angry. Your doing, I
expect?"
"No, she merely dislikes her responsibilities to people like us. And
unlike the others we can't make our words make sense to her."
"I've never---!" he was about to defend.
"Oh, please, Charles, a telepath not subtlety influencing those around
him? Akin to being ambidextrous and writing with ones toes, wouldn't you
say? Isn't that what irks you about the others leaving? Their
experiences strengthened their wills, muddied their thoughts and allowed them
to willfully walk away from you. Who's next? Maybe even dear sweet,
fiery Jeannie one day? All birds must leave the nest, even with
telepathic tendrils trying to hold them firmly in place."
Charles shook his head with a dark mirth. The woman had no shame!
"What does it mean when I sit with a once sworn enemy assembling yet
another team to face the world's horrors?"
"That soon the Blob, Toad and Mystique will all be wearing those garish
uniforms you keep coming up with," she chuckled.
Charles laughed, a rare easy laugh with Emma. With her there were few
secrets and all the things he feared were both out in the open and accepted as
the norm. Emma, Jean, Magnus and Lilandra, the few beings amongst the
billions his mind had touched whom he felt the luxury of being completely
honest with. "Monitor the skirmish below, I'll go speak with our
guest."
"Yes, Charles," Emma purred, mockingly obedient and seductive at the
same time. The perfect Cheshire
cat. Or psychologist, it was often difficult discerning which she was and
when.
Spike and Paulie stood in front of the Danger Room access doorway, they just
had to press the red button and they would be let into a session already in
progress. Both of them were in their blue and yellow training uniforms
with the exception that Cecilia had added neck and wrist spikes and a waist
belt that contained emergency medical gear.
"Scared?' he asked her.
She was about to snap at him when she looked in his eyes. He was as
nervous as she was. She softened, Paulie was a jerk sometimes but she
knew that they both shared the same anxieties at being X-Men and the same
resentments of their mutant gifts throwing them into this life.
"All of them have major experience over us. Even the ex-New
Mutants. We're rookies. I don't want to hurt anyone or get
hurt," she admitted biting her lip. "And knowing that Cyclops
and his Gold Team are playing ambush games in there doesn't make me feel any
better."
"Yeah, that is fucked up," Paulie smiled.
Spike smiled, Paulie had a way with words. "Paulie, when are you
going to settle on a codename, I know it's bugging the Professor."
"He keeps offering the stupidest code names. "Taut"? What
a dumbass name. Sounds like something Northstar would suggest while
watching me walk. I'm leaning towards Cadaver myself."
"Cadaver?" Spike giggled. "That's silly!"
"Yeah, but it's what I'm hard like and what I feel like I might end
up." She waited expectantly and he looked back at her.
"What?"
"What?!" she said in mock awe. "The sleaziest X-Men not
going for the obvious twist on that? Could you actually be taking this
seriously?"
Yeah, I am. We're the newbies. I don't want to go in there and be
seen like assholes. My life is kinda shot too so I need this gig. I
need a place to belong and maybe even do some good. And if this next part
sounds wrong than so what: I wanna kick one of those X-Men's asses. Just
to represent Brooklyn , y'know? I'm tired
of being treated like a retarded stepchild."
"Wow, Paulie. That's really cool. I'm repping the Bronx , let's do this!"
"Besides between my
invulnerability and your force fields we're the least likely to get hurt,"
he grinned.
"I'm all over that,"
Spike mumbled then reached out and pressed the red button that would let them
into a session in progress.
Dani had to admit that being in Warren 's
arms afforded them a unique insight into the battlefield below. With
Rahne and other animals, Dani had always been the more mature one, the more
dominant personality but with Warren
there was a blending, a sharing. His keen eyesight, was now shared
between them and they made and dismissed plans at the speed of thought, his
experience tempering her zeal and her determination fortifying his lack of
focus.
"Shan, the Gold Team has got to be setting us up. I don't trust Phoenix wandering around
as an astral body and I can't spot her, which means she's actively hiding from
me," Dani said over the comm. Link.
"I concur. The Sentinels were obviously a distraction to soften us
up while the Gold team got positioned," Shan replied.
"Suggestions?"
"They'll go for our transports. Nightcrawler and Northstar," Archangel said aloud, more for Shan's benefit than Dani's
as their thoughts and instincts were so meshed.
"They set us up by letting us come in here without a full plan, a full
awareness of their intent. Prof. X is still sneaky," Dani muttered.
"Sneaky?" Warren
asked incredulously, their psychic rapport dulling as she clamped down tighter
on her thoughts. "I've never thought of Charles as exactly
sneaky."
"He didn't turn you over to SHIELD for additional 'training'," Dani
said darkly then her psi bow and arrows appeared and she opened fire on the
brush below. Optic blasts flew up in the same instance and Archangel realized that she could shut him out while
still reaping the benefits of his enhanced sight. He wasn't sure of how
he felt about that but he calmly fly higher, dodging the optic blasts.
"Distraction again," Dani said as she reached out with her psi talent
for animals, searching for Wolverine. He could hide from a telepath by
regressing himself mentally into a more animalistic state but to her he would
stick out even more. When he first sweep of the 'jungle' below showed no
signs of him, she started a scan for Phoenix .
Her abilities were so wildcard these days that she didn't know if she could
find an astral body so simply.
I'm sure you'll be able to one day, a psi voice whispered and then Phoenix 's
astral self appeared in from of Dani and Archangel .
Once Dani saw her, she realized that she'd been using her telepathic powers to
mask Wolverine below, he was only a few feet from her teammates below, poising
to attack. The alarm in her thoughts caused Archangel to reel back, aware
that Phoenix
was invisible to him but not Dani.
When they reappeared on the ground, Dani immediately felt Archangel sluggishly
landing, and then nothing as Phoenix
put him to sleep with a telepathic push.
"Looks like Jean has scored one against our erstwhile team,"
Nightcrawler whispered to Psyche.
"Looks that way. And Wolverine is closing in on the other
group. Can you teleport us over there as soon as he attacks?"
"Not a problem," Nightcrawler said as the two hurried on foot towards
their teammates.
Northstar was about to take to the air, to find out why Archangel and Psyche's
commlink had been disturbed when he heard a familiar feral growl and Wolverine
sprung at him from a tree. Without even a conscious thought, Northstar
was twenty feet away in the blink of an eye and almost pleased with himself
when he saw that he'd never been Wolverine's original target. Wolverine
slammed into Magma from behind then tossed her at Iceman, their opposite
physical states causing a huge cloud of steam as soon as they came into contact
with the other.
Without even a glance behind him, Wolverine was silently and swiftly moving in
for Karma who stood next to Phoenix 's
inert form. Northstar realized that his super speed allowed him to see
Wolverine moving at a normal pace while to the others he must be almost a
blur. With a fierce determination not to be outclassed, Northstar sped to
Karma and snatched her out of the way as he spotted Spike ad Paulie rushing
through the jungle bush.
"Spike! Wolverine is playing opposing side, a little help would be
appreciated!" Northstar shouted at her and watched as she reached out her
hand and golden energy flew at Wolverine encasing him in a bubble.
"Not good enough!" Wolverine growled, popped his claws and slashed
through the solid energy leaving shreds that quickly winked out of
existence. Paulie stepped in-between Spike and Wolverine and valiantly
decked the diminutive X-Man which stunned him for a moment. But only a
moment as Wolverine swiped his claws across Paulie's chest.
"NO!" Karma shouted and reached out with her possession power to save
Paulie from injury.
Paulie stumbled back, light scratches on his chest under his torn
uniform. "AHHHHHHH!"
Wolverine turned back to the hovering Karma and Northstar and leaped at them,
fighting her possession with all of his considerable willpower.
"I can't slow him down!" Karma gasped in frustration as Northstar
started flying backwards unbeknownst to him into Cyclops line of sight. A
short optic blast knocked both mutants out of the air but not unconscious as
Cyclops ran out from the brush.
"Always watch your back," Cyclops chided the two groggy mutants on
the ground.
"Take your own advice, mein freund!"
Nightcrawler said as he teleported onto Cyclops back, ripped off his visor then
vanished.
"Kurt!" Cyclops shouted in anger, his hands covering his
uncontrollable eye blasts.
Wolverine hesitated, Nightcrawler able to appear anywhere near him, he hadn't
heard the re-appearing bamf nearby
which meant that Nightcrawler had purposefully reappeared much further away.
"Ok, lets they that again!" Iceman said as he untangled himself from
a dazed Magma and fired two bolts of ice at Wolverine, freezing his claws and
forearms in chunks of ice almost as big as the X-Man himself.
Repositioning himself for leverage to use his claws to cut himself free,
Wolverine didn't see Psyche creep to Karma's side.
"Together," Psyche said to Karma as she helped her stand and they
linked hands. Psyche let her psi power reach for Wolverine at the same
time that Karma re-doubled her efforts to possess him. With Psyche
fighting for control of his feral side and Karma, his human, Wolverine roared
at the invasion then collapsed to the ground.
"Well done," Northstar said as he sped around Cyclops removing his
lungs oxygen and causing him to faint as he had Phoenix .
"Wow, we beat them," Paulie said in surprise as Spike looked at his
chest cuts.
"Glancing at best. Either he pulled back or Paulie is even harder
than expected," Spike reported to the others.
"Oh, baby, hardness is not a problem for me," Paulie grinned but
everyone could see that it was false bravado, he'd been genuinely terrified
when he'd thought Wolverine was seriously injuring him.
"I guess you should all hurry to the finish line, I'm in no shape to
continue this," Phoenix
said as she sat up, still physically and psychically worn out. Nightcrawler?
"Here," the German X-Man said in response to her telepathic call as
he reappeared next to her. He handed her Cyclops's visor and joined the
Blue Team as the headed towards the marker.
"I've hung up my hat, old white man! I am tired of the monsters, the
ghouls, the nightmares, the lost friends and loved ones. Good and evil
have existed for far longer than your precious mutant gene. I trust in
powers whose names you can't even conceive of that life will go on without my
wearing spandex to try and save it's current ungrateful, insect-like
infestation!" she spat at him as soon as he entered the room. She
stood before him, beautiful, hair swirling around her jeans and denim shirt and
hiking boots. She wore a bandanna around her head.
Of course she would, Charles thought to himself, knowing what lay under it.
"The Reckoning is coming and you'll need allies, one of my students is a
Valkyrie, another a priest and well, you've met Emma. Alpha Flight won't
be enough. You've learned about your mystical roots, I offer knowledge of
the flesh being, the mutant body, you inhabit," Charles said simply.
"You know of the Reckoning?" Elizabeth Twoyoungmen grinned
darkly. "A dangerous old white man, you are."
"I will stand with you. I bid my soul to you and those of my noble
students, Talisman," he added.
"I see you realize that not every one who crosses this thresh hold is
subservient to your simple harmony dream."
Charles nodded. "There are things bigger than even mutant and
humankind."
"Good. Don't forget that. I could use time away from Canada , time to
learn more about how my powers work and why they work the way they do."
"Then we're in agreement?"
"Ahh, yes, about him…", Charles started with a grin.
Anna Reese keyed into her apartment, tossing down her pocketbook in
disgust. It had seemed like a good idea to come to Japan to do her junior
year of school abroad but the bartending she did at a karaoke bar was starting
to wear on her. The expensive city and the language barrier no longer
seemed wild and exotic, it just seemed like constant work and feeling like an
outside all of the time. Her Japanese was better than most but not as
good as a native born and people weren't shy about letting her know that.
Anna flopped down onto her futon and raised her hand, sparkles dancing from it.
"Hi, Mom, what's up?"
"Nothing, honey, just figured I would check in, see how you were,"
her mother's flickering image said within the sparkles.
"Work and school, school and work."
 |
| Northstar |
"Well, your reception seems quite impressive, I can see what a mess your
place is," her mother chuckled.
Anna grinned. "Oooooh, Anan Reese able to create mutant
communication links with only genetic relatives. Yeah, I'm an applicant
for the Avengers any day now, Mom!"
"I think I prefer the International Lawyer track you're on," her
mother laughed. "You look tired and I don't want you getting worn
out by this call. Just wanted to say form me and Dad. Love
you!"
"My love to you guys too!" Anna said and with a flicker her mother
was gone. At least her mother and father weren't freaked out by her
passive mutant talent. Then again she could only create the holo-links
with them and her older brother; they didn't have to worry about her rushing
off to save the world in tights. Though Thor was a hottie, she wouldn't
mind meeting him.
She jumped up, startled as the door open and a man walked in.
"Don't be startled, Ms. Reese I am Camus and I'd like you to meet my
associate," he said casually as I f they knew one another and pulled a gun
and shot her.
A half an hour later she awoke standing on her window sill, twenty stories
up. She wanted to scream but she couldn't. She was in only a t
shirt and slacks and around her throat was a silk scarf, blowing in the wind, a
scarlet "c" monogrammed on it.
"Let's go together," a man whispered to her.
"Ohmigod!" Anna shrieked.
"See? I'm fair. I allow you to scream and I'll be with you the
entire time. Well, not the entire time…."
Anna's terror increased as she unwillingly stepped forward and began to
plummet.
The Xavier Institute:
"What in the hell are you thinking? Do you have any idea what that
woman is?!" Dani roared at Charles, she had burst in after a shower and an
introduction to Elizabeth .
Her hair was still wet and she was in sweatshirt and jeans, barefooted and
clearly upset.
"A mutant, like everyone under this roof," Charles said calmly, not
looking up from his writing tablet.
"She is more than that, Xavier! She is----," Dani fumbled for
the words her spirit-sight had shown her about the woman, "something that
you and your clever mental blasts have no concept of."
"Then it's a good thing that I have you, a Valkyrie, on hand to protect me
and the others should she get out of hand," he said.
Dani hesitated with her next words, for all of her bluster, she respected
Xavier though she was beginning to suspect that his mental powers made him feel
superior in a world that had long since grown far more dangerous than even he
could handle. "She has other goals besides being a good little
X-Man."
"Don't we all?" Charles smiled benignly and Dani knew that they
weren't getting anywhere. He was too stubborn and superior, had lead too
many wild mares from the fields to his pasture and assumed them tamed.
Her for one.
Dani left the office wondering if he had always been so manipulative, she'd
been so young and impressionable when they'd first met but now she'd seen some
of the world. Made her own way, lived her own life. Under this roof
had walked the omnipotent to the insipid and Dani wasn't sure if she felt
responsible to them, for them or a third, dark alliance, against them.
Xavier's dream of co-existent, harmony between mutants and humans was stupid
prattle, her own people were evidence of what happened when you let your guard
down around the majority.
She came around a corner and Warren
was standing there.
"Woah, even I haven't heard such a tone taken with the professor
since---," Warren
started but she raised a hand to cut him off. His fluttery tickling
psychic rapport thoughts trying to coax her out of her anger. She wasn't
sure if he was doing it on purpose but it was damn distracting.
"I am not some suck-up insipid little mutant flower in a tacky blue and
yellow obtuse sack trying to gain his approval!" she snapped, shoved him
to one side and went up the stairs.
"Okay, the first uniforms were a little hard on the eyes," Warren shrugged as he
went into the professor's office. "Charles, next time could you make
a limit on how many hotheads you recruit at once? The current class
looks like a street gang."
"Dani, you mean?" Charles said casually then looked closer at Warren , he was standing
with the same bearing Dani had at him only a few minutes ago. Their
rapport, as expected was influencing both. Charles was pleased, the two
needed the balance the other could provide.
|
| Talisman |
"Elizabeth
cursed out Northstar in two languages when she saw him which got Paulie to
suggesting several words that caused Northstar to rightfully go for his
throat. Emma put an end to the fight with one of her trademark icy barbs
but we can't count on that all the time."
"Tell me, Warren ,
what do you really think? Honestly, if I had a mission who would you lead
into the thick of it, right now. Say six of them?"
"Dani, Northstar, Bobby, Kurt, Magma and Shan or Elizabeth depending upon the power quotient
we were up against. Why?"
"It's time to move the Blue Team into it's headquarters and onto it's
first mission," Charles said calmly. "Though you may want to
make some revisions to that list initially upon further explanation."
 |
| Johanna Cargill |
Things
had changed.
Johanna Cargill alias Frenzy formerly Ambassador of Genosha, former member of
the Acolytes, personal servants to Magneto, had fallen on hard times.
After betraying Magneto by leading the X-Men into Genosha to oppose him, she'd
been persona non grata on the isle nation. Which had suited her
fine. Well, not fine, she assumed that her credentials would allow her to
parlay into a nice government position in the USA . Unfortunately she was
considered a rogue agent, in the best of times there and without Genoshan
national sponsorship, she was still wanted on questioning for several crimes
she had committed while a member of the Alliance of Evil, lead by Apocalypse.
Charles Xavier had extended an invitation to her to join his X-Men, his
teaching staff but Johanna had wanted some time to regroup her thoughts.
It hadn't escaped her notice that she was constantly jumping from mutant
patriarchal figure to another. With some money in both legal and illegal
savings she'd taken a taken a literal slow boat to China . She knew she'd end up
back in the mutant game somehow but she wanted some time to sort out who she
was---villain or hero?
Then while relaxing in her stateroom with the latest Walter Mosley novel, the
broadcasts of Genosha being razed had come onto her television. She
watched in horror as the entire island nation was obliterated and though she
cried for dozens of friends she knew surely perished, she was grateful to be
alive. Her past literally obliterated she'd wandered around the Orient
for months, spending money from Genoshan bank accounts that as one of the few
living ex-cabinet members she knew about. Millions were hers now, and
securely under her name and control, but she was both bored and scared.
Frightened foremost that some mutant hunting Sentinels would pop up for her and
bored at the prospect of living a life of leisure for the rest of her
days. Something about tangling, stretching her mutant muscles made her
feel alive. Reluctantly, she'd chosen the lesser of all the evils she'd
been beholden to and called Charles Xavier.
And that was how she'd ended up in the Australian outback at a ghost town his
X-Men had once used as a base half ass repairing it and getting the computer
systems up and running. He had cryptically promised her that he had plans
to annex the base. Fully stocked with food and living supplies, Joanna
had poured her frustrations and fears into repairing the town and sitting on
the porch of the storefront she'd converted into an apartment for herself, she
had to admit it had been good therapy. It was close to a hundred mile
drive to the nearest city and she'd spent the long days in silence except for
music she'd broadcast throughout the town's high end communication
system. Her mutant muscles were even tired from starting an irrigation
system off of a nearby underground stream.
Xavier had astrally visited her two weeks ago with the announcement that other
X-Men would be arriving soon. There was the unspoken suggestion that she
could stay or leave and so far Johanna had yet to pack. She liked the town
she'd dubbed Sanctuary and even the concept of maybe toying with being an X-Man
when the team arrived.
The sonic boom of an advanced aircraft above her startled her from her thoughts
and she shielded her eyes against the sun's unrelenting glare to watch as the
ship landed on the other side of the town. She debated just linking into
the comm system and greeting the X-Men that way but if she was going to eat
humble pie she would rather it happened sooner and in person, than later.
Xavier would've informed them of her being the town's caretaker though it
didn't make any sense why he hadn't at least phoned her to let her know that
his precious team would be arriving today.
Johanna went inside and quickly slipped on the backless and sleeveless bodysuit
she'd been wearing during her work. It was the traditional X uniform
without all the garish yellow parts and the unstable molecules were resistant
enough for the hard work she'd been doing. As an afterthought she put on
the X moniker belt so that they would know she came ready to be a part of their
group. How she felt about that, she wasn't sure yet. She'd been so
many different kinds of Frenzy in such a short time that she felt another
change coming on. Super villain, ambassador, Frenzy had them all covered.
It was a quick walk to where the sleek green air ship was landed and Frenzy
approached confidently, trying to remember to smile when meeting new people who
were going to be her teammates and "friends". The last time
they'd crossed paths, they'd parted as allies, hopefully that good will still
existed.
The side bay door slowly opened and as she approached it the first thing she
noticed was the cool rush of air, the town lacked central air conditioning so
she hadn't felt it in awhile. She smiled at the feeling until the rank
stench an instant later made her recoil.
"What the hell----?" she grunted and then her eyes adjusted to those
coming down the landing ramp.
They were most assuredly not X-Men and her life was now officially in peril.
"Next time you have a gripe, say it to my face," Elizabeth said to Dani as she rounded the
corner.
Dani paused, she wanted to curse the little twit out but she knew what the
woman was, represented and her spirit respected that. "My gripe
isn't you. I know you're not a bad person, it's the casualness with which
Charles messes with people, changes their lives. You have a purpose, a
destiny, some of it I see emanating off of you. I'm just not convinced
that being an X-Man is the best use for you," Dani explained calmly as the
two walked down the hallway to her room.
"My destiny? What would you know of that?" Elizabeth chuckled. "I don't even
know it. It's all myth and lore and superstition. I go with the
flow personally."
"I have the spirit sight of a Valkyrie. I can recognize you for what
you are. And though we're from different tribes, your people's legends
aren't unknown to me, "Dani explained, trying not to look directly at
Talisman. Her first gaze of her had revealed wisps of images of animals
and demons and Archangels in such a mish mash that she'd kept her mouth shut
until she calm herself down with a shower.
"Charles wants a strong Blue Team, I gather. He knows that there are
many storms coming both mystical and mutant related," Elizabeth said neutrally, she'd been unaware
that Dani had been a Valkyrie, which could definitely upset her plans.
Dani stopped at her bedroom door and looked directly at Elizabeth 's face, there was something in her
comment which made Dani nervous. As if she'd just moved a rock that a
rattlesnake was hiding under. And the woman's cool hazel eyes looking at
Dani now made her feel like she was being given a warning in some way.
"Fair enough," Dani mumbled. "Welcome,
Talisman." She quickly went into her room and closed the door
solidly behind her.
 |
| Magma |
"Feels like old times, eh?" Paulie said to Northstar as the two sat
in the kitchen.
"What do you mean?" Jean-Paul said.
"Me and you in costume? X-Men?" Paulie smirked.
"Hmm?" Jean-Paul smiled as with a burst of speed, in the blink of an
eye was in slacks and sweater. "Thank you for reminding me to
change."
"Woah," Paulie said impressed. "You ever considered a life
of crime? You'd make a great thief!"
"I have plenty of lucre from my ski career and endorsements. Though
being outted as both a mutant and gay has considerably lessened the personal
appearance requests."
"I bet they have. So what brought you back to this nuthouse?"
"I----I want to do more than I accomplished with Alpha Flight. There
were too many personal connections with them, too many things that made it a
chore to be a member there. Here, I am pointedly welcomed and
valued. It's a change I should've made years ago. I believe that
Xavier's will allow me to accomplish things," Jean-Paul said after a
moment's pause, he hadn't intended to speak so intimately to Paulie but he
could see that his fellow X-Man, though often brash, was genuinely trying to be
his friend. "And you?"
"On the lamb from the cops. What better place to disappear,
huh? Xavier says I make things right as an X-Man and he'll make things
right with the cops. He's got lawyers on it already. Besides plenty
of babes here to be tasted of. Not your kind of babes, my kind,"
Paulie winked as Amara came into the kitchen.
"Don't be so sure," Jean-Paul smiled and Paulie turned up his face in
disgust then refocused his attention on Amara as she opened one of the large
refrigerators.
"So tell me, pretty lady--------."
Amara calmly turned around, her eyes flashing flames. "Don't, little
man."
There was silence in the kitchen as she made herself a salad then left.
"That went well," Jean-Paul snickered.
"Yeah, I thought so too," Paulie laughed.
The eleven X-Men of the Blue Team sat around the conference room table in the
Situations room, Xavier at the head of the table, a schematic of the Sanctuary
town on the large screen behind him.
"…….as you can all see this will be quite the undertaking, which is why
your numbers are so much greater than the Gold Team or any other teams.
It will take several of you on revolving duty to maintain the town itself and
prepare it as a training facility for summer classes of the students here at
the Institute. A summer camp for the classes, if you will," Xavier
explained calmly.
"Does this Cargill woman know that's what she's been prepping the town
for?" Jean-Paul asked.
"She knows that it is to be an X-Men operating base but with the massive
influx of students here at the Institute, I feel it would be prudent to
establish a second base. The attack upon Genosha is evident that a large
residence for mutants is a prime target. The mutant known as Gateway will
act as transit along with the Blue Team Blackbird. This town also affords
a bit more privacy than the Institute as well as accommodations and ample room initially
for all eleven of you."
"So now we're in the construction business. This I am familiar
with!" Paulie smirked and the others laughed easily.
Dani looked at the schematics, including a highlighted stable section for her
steed. "How does the Australian government feel about this?"
Shan answered. "They aren't thrilled but they are starting to have a
burgeoning mutant presence on their continent and would appreciate our
unofficial assistance from time to time. It's a perfect space and the
Professor and Warren have been able to obtain ownership of the land. It's
advanced computer facilities make it comparable to the mansion."
Bobby piped. "On the other side of the planet! And the desert
isn't exactly a place where sexy icemen thrive."
Amara smiled. "I on the other hand will flourish there and be able
to use my terraforming abilities to their maximum without fear of harming
others."
Charles smiled, "Yes, Amara, that was one of our plans. Your
abilities will cut down the construction time ten fold for the facility we have
in mind."
"I do like the looks of this medical facility, though we won't be putting
it to much use, hopefully," Cecilia said looking at a schematic on her
data pad.
|
| Karma |
"This meeting is twofold. There's a mutant presence in Tokyo which the X-Men
should investigate. The Blue Team has the capacity to split itself
amongst many missions, and this will prove to be that time. Half of you
will stop off in Japan while
the rest continue on to Australia .
This brings us to the issue of field leaders. Kurt has been working on
the designs of Sanctuary for several weeks now so it's best that he lead the
initial group there and Warren, the group to Japan. I hate to leave you
all with this on such short notice but your pads have been up linked and I now
have a meeting with the Gold Team to attend to. Thank you all for
accepting my invitation to join the X-Men in this international endeavor and I
look forward to visiting Sanctuary at some point to see how you're coming
along."
With a polite nod, Charles calmly got up and left the room.
"Do you think this Sanctuary is a good idea, middle of the bleeding
desert?" Chamber asked.
"The way we X-Men trash the surrounding vicinity, I think it's the best
idea to come out of here in a long time," Dani said. "But I'm a
mountain girl myself, I think it's all of you raised in the city who will have
the most trouble adjusting."
"Well, I've been to Australia
several times and I enjoy it," Jean-Paul said, his flight making anywhere
in the world an easy transport for him.
"You'll be on my team for this mutant presence in Tokyo ,
Northstar," Warren
interjected. "Dani, Paulie, Amara and Bobby. The rest of you
will take the Blackbird and all of our stuff down there."
"Wings, any particular reason for the divvying up along those lines?"
Dani asked and Warren
grinned at her but a leak from him through their psychic rapport told her he
was irritated by the questioning of his authority.
Why yes, Psyche," he said sarcastically, the rest of us will be going to a
Hellfire Club party and I have membership but Nightcrawler and Chamber's
physical appearances won't pass butter, Cecilia and Shan have computer and
organization skills to get Sanctuary up and running and as there is no mystical
angle to this mutant, Talisman isn't as needed. Any other questions?"
"Ouch," Paulie muttered. "The tension between the two of
them can only be worked out in one wayyyyyyyyyy……."
"Shut up, Paulie," Cecilia snapped. "Thank goodness
you'll be a continent away."
"Yes, lucky for you, not the rest of us," Jean-Paul muttered.
"Why are we going to a Hellfire Club gala?" Amara asked, the thought
of running into the Club's Black Queen, Selene paramount in her mind.
They had a score to settle.
"Seems there's a mutant serial killer targeting them. Charles got
word of it through his network. As the Hellfire Club isn't officially
"out" as having mutants, we'll be providing pseudo-security for
them," Warren
explained.
"We're
helping the Hellfire Club?' Dani balked. "Is there anyone we're not
in bed with these
days?"
The whole
conference room went silent and Dani felt a mirthful feeling through her
rapport with Warren as she blushed uncontrollably realizing what a huge pun
she'd just tossed out into the room.
"Too easy," Paulie said. "I don't do the easy ones."
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