Post by adrini on Oct 30, 2014 22:08:50 GMT -5
"It's not possible!" Emma Frost was not happy and in fact was almost in shock. "I felt the crack, you saw the plane take off."
Sebastian Shaw said nothing but listened to the woman and her excuses, they weren't very interesting. Emma got out of the chair and started pacing the room.
"She went blank, no one survives getting blank. There is no way that she's coming out of this." He would have agreed if not for the conflicting information.
"Except that she did, Miss Frost. How might that be?" The coffee was ready and he sat down to prepare a cup. "Unless you have no idea."
"No, there would have to be a way. Some kind of means of repair that we didn't think of." She, now having something to focus on, sat down again. "Some means of providing mental stabilizing."
"Quite the feat, whatever it is." He agreed. Her mind was racing, looking at variables.
"They don't have much, and she's the only telepath there. There isn't any mental center, and none of the other abilities compliment. I'd say that the director was behind it but I don't see how." She worked through the list.
"Never underestimate that man." Shaw said, but even he didn't see how Fury could have had anything to do with it. "Though it does seem unlikely."
"So it has to be Maria, she's the next best, some trick maybe. A form of tech we haven't figured out yet." Emma was getting excited, hopeful that this was the right idea.
"Maybe." He said, thinking. But something bugged him and he didn't think Maria was the reason. To heal from an attack like that would take some kind of internal balm, a means of belief that even the deepest wound can heal. He just didn't know what would be such a force.
"Maria!" A loud, thundering voice yelled in the compound, heavy boots pounding on the floor. "Get your ass out here!"
Jubilee instinctively scooted against the back of the sofa at the sound, terrified. Rouge, next to her as they were playing video games, dunked out of sight. Thankfully they weren't the focus of the mans attention. He was bald, black and thickly built, wearing a long black trench coat. Mostly he was very, very angry.
"Now, Hill!" He yelled again. Looking into the kitchen she saw Piotr hurry behind the wall and our of sight himself. The young man had been part of the team for years, if he was scared this was bad.
"The meeting room is open, sir." Maria finally appeared, even Jubilee could see she was fighting to keep composure. "After you, Director."
"Like hell, Hill." He said, walking to her. "You were on the intel, that intel had one focus. So tell me what the hell Agent Grey is doing at the hospital. You said you were on this."
"I was, I swear, I have all the paperwork-" Rogue had never seen Maria stammer.
"Damn the paperwork, what the hell happened?" He demanded again, this time the force in the voice was tinted with worry. "She was almost gone, Maria. He barely brought her back."
Jubilee felt her eyes go wide, she hadn't heard before now how Jean had been. She just knew that Scott pushed the plane beyond safe limits to get her there and had been there since. The thought that her mentor and friend had almost been lost was shocking and terrifying. Rogue saw her and pulled her close, also upset at the update. There was a noise of something falling in the kitchen, Piotr hadn't known either.
"I hadn't told them, director. Didn't know how." Maria said quietly, Jubilee had begun crying, and Rogue was trying to calm her down. The Director sighed.
"Everyone out." He was kinder now and motioned to the sofa where he could debrief them. Poitr walked over, Alex was with his brother at the hospital. He and Maria looked at the three on the sofa and looked for words. "Maria?"
"Jean was badly hurt." She said simply. "She's going to be a few weeks before she gets back, and when she does she'll have to retrain to some extent. But she made it. That what's important here."
"That and this isn't going to happen again." Director Fury added. "I know it's jarring to come so close to loosing a teammate, but it happens. It just shouldn't happen at the home base. I need each of you to tell me everything that happened, even something little might help."
"Orange juice, she needs orange juice." Alex hurried to the tray the nurse was putting together. The nurse, an older woman, laughed lightly. "And the eggs aren't overdone, are they? She only likes easy over, no rubber parts."
"You're very devoted, Mr. Summers." The Nurse said, lifting the tray. "She's very special to you."
"Well, ya." Alex shrugged, following and keeping an eye on the tray. "She's Jean, she's family, always has been."
The nurse smiled as he eagerly opened the door for her. Inside Jean, still very pale and weak, was propped up on a mess of pillows as Scott sat by the bed, the two talking. Jean beamed through the weakness at the company but it was Scott who was visibly shaken. She waved at him as they walked in.
"Good, thank you." Scott took the tray from the nurse and put it in place. "The eggs are right. Whatever you can eat, don't push it."
"Thank you." Jean said, albeit softly, as the nurse left the three alone. "Thank you Alex."
"Ya, sure." He said, she was slowly eating her breakfast. She had just been cleared for solid food again. "Feeling better?"
Jean, devouring her bacon, only nodded. The food quickly disappeared from the plate and she looked far happier. She looked at his brother and he could tell they were talking again, whatever the subject was she started nodding excitedly. She motioned for Scott to speak.
"Jean wants you to know before anyone, you should be the first." She nodded in agreement. Still hooked up to IV's she had to be careful not to pull them out of her hands as she reached into her bag, and pulled out a small case and handed it over. "What do you think?"
"Congrats!" He knew what the diamond solitaire meant, and he couldn't be happier for them. It explained all the private conversations, and meant that they would be the finally be the family the brothers had wanted for so long. "That's incredible! When is the wedding?"
"Soon." Scott said. "Nothing fancy, there's no telling what will happen and we'd rather not tempt anything."
"In here, Director." The door opened again and the dark skinned man came in. "Agent Grey, a visitor for you."
"Jean." He said, and looked at the others. Director Fury smiled at his growing rescues. "And the brothers Summers, of course."
"Fury?" Jean asked, and he walked closer to her to hear. "What are you doing in the next few weeks?"
Recognized. Hill. Maria. Level 5 Clearance. Enter.
Maria walked into the intelligence lab and activated the program. The polished walls and high tech programs ran in the background, as she walked into the center of the room the floor rose and carried her to center of the tall, dramatic room. The room went white as she reached the core of the space.
"Frost, Emma. Code name White Queen." She said and the rooms scenes went dark and green coding briefly filled the area. "Complete file. Top level clearance. Initiate."
The room exploded in light and sound, images and videos streaming between swatches of text streaming between more colorful screens. After a few minutes the walls flashed into a large portrait. A tall, thin woman with porcelain skin and long near bleach blonde hair. She wore white the vast majority of the time, even when off duty it was her favorite option. She was very calm, the woman who worried more about wrinkles then enjoying life.
Now that they had a name there was a full file just put together. The files were coming fast, and what they told her was more then a little unsettling. Contacts with senators, congressmen, major CEO's, even head military leaders. There were ties for the group called the Hellfire Club. She was connected, very connected and life had just gotten even more terrifying then ever for the small team.
"Very well, Miss Frost." She said as the pictures flashed, including dated footage of her casing Professor Grey as he walked to and from the university. "Lets do this, but SHIELD has friends to."
For once Scott's anger would come in handy, albeit with slightly edited information to keep that word to Maven.
"You're enemies." Fury said to the assembled group, within the training room the small group was complete with the exception of the injured team member. "Know them, study them, memorize them. They are your focus. Every waking moment, every spare thought is to be given to their defeat. Every wish is to be directed to their surrender. Give no quarter, for you shall receive none. Offer no mercy, for you will not be given any. You've already seen what they are willing to do."
In a close line and standing at attention the young people nodded, the near loss of a teammate made this information more important to them then Fury could have been able to make clear on his own. He was going to use that.
"They are the ones behind the majority of the rescues you've been sent after. They are the reason parents have been lost, sibling have been taken away, and lives had had to be on the run. You can set your sites on them in good faith, and know you are in the right." Scanning the faces they were all taking in every word he said. Piotr's already pale skin was even paler, the years of separation from his sister on this mind. Rouge's years on the lam and constant fear were still fresh to her. Young Jubilee was only just discovering life without running from cops or swiping food from stalls.
But the Summers brothers, perhaps, understood most of all. After years of grief over the family so quickly taken away from them, the long wanted chance for a new one had almost been destroyed. He didn't release their tempers lightly, but for this he was willing. It was time to take the teathers off.
"First, Frost, Emma. Known as the White Witch or the Ice Queen." The first hologram appeared. "The target is directly responsible and devised Agent Grey's attack, and is likely upset that the effect wasn't fully fatal. As a mark she's easily noticed, she wears white almost always. She's highly connected and very powerful and well trained telepath, never to be taken lightly, or given an inch."
"Senator Shaw you all know, but what you didn't know is he's both an anti-mutant, an ally to the Friends, and head of a mutant group that hunts their own." Letting the information sink in he pulled up the senator's voting record, the new hologram had appeared. "He cannot be attacked directly, and I want you to steer clear until a clear shot can be laid out. He's for the leadership, but in time you'll get your chance."
"Bolivar Trask, CEO. Another one we get a clean shot for." He said, as the man appeared. "He's the kind man who gives us all the tin soldiers to play with. We'll have to work on the inside. Play nice, keep eyes open. But taking his tim men out was just put on the roster. Questions?"
"Ya, just one." A gruff voice said as the team looked to the entrance. "Where do I fit in?"
Now in most of a SHIELD uniform Logan, or Wolverine as he was called, was leaning on a nearby wall and looking disinterestedly at the group. He was in the blue pants and shirt, but still wore his heavy mountain boots and the shirt was loose and left open to reveal the white undershirt. Clearly his arrival here hadn't changed him too much.
"Agents, You've met Logan. He's a sign on until he decides he isn't." Fury said briskly. "He knows Miss Frost. We're making use of that. Wolverine is the lead on this one, make it count."
"How can chess be part of X-Factor training?" Pietro asked as he fought to defend his queen for the third game in a row. Wanda was watching. "Isn't it drills or working out?"
"That's part of it." Now well enough to speak, albeit softly, Jean was enjoying the company of the two. "Doing is easy, given time anyone can learn that. But to think, that's hard. In six months you could be a weapon, but a brainless one. There's no use for that, your move."
"Right, think." He tried to force his mind to form a plan, to counter the four that he could predict from the layout. Finding a rather sneaky in he moved a pawn.
"Checkmate." The Agent said, leaning back on the pillows. "But you're getting better. It actually took me a minute to see that. Keep it up."
He would be frustrated by the forth straight loss if not for the kindness he knew she was showing. Wanda was flipping through an X-Factor procedure handbook that Agent Grey had said was bland enough it was likely safe. His sister found it to be fascinating. Once she had recovered, mentally, she had promised Wanda lessons in mental control so long as she was here and when she visited. He she had recommended to speak to her fiancee, who would have more to offer. Even confined to a hospital bed she was keeping her word.
"Who hurt you?" Wanda asked suddenly, something in the book having jogged a question. "You're an alpha level mutant, isn't that the highest there is? Who could have gotten though?"
"Almost the highest." The Agent corrected. "There's always a bigger fish, and if not you're in real trouble. Power is not to be taken lightly. I was hurt by the same woman who has been trying to take me out for the last 10 years at least, a telepath like us. From what I can tell she hunts her own kind."
"That's insane." Pietro said, the thought alone grotesque.
"That's the world sometimes. It can get very dark, very dismal. We just do what we can." The woman said from the bed. "If there is no light then we must become one."
"That's our Phoenix." A woman entered, she was tall with dark hair and neither of them had seen her before. "Corny but somehow still true. Can I have a moment kids?"
Jean nodded and the two left, Raven closed the door after them.
"What news?" Jean settled in. "Is there to be a recourse?"
"After this?" Raven laughed. "Of course. You should have seen them. Fury read them the intel and they haven't stopped training yet, had to tell Scott I was visiting you before I got clearance to go. They're planning a hit soon."
"At least we know who we're dealing with." Jean sighed, glad they were training first. "We can start making real plans."
"I did come for a reason." Raven said, haltingly, unsure of her next words. "I need, no I wanted to apologize. I was with Maria when we picked up the kids you wanted to get first. I don't want to think about how close we came to not saving some of them. I was so focused on seeing my daughter again I didn't really hear what you were saying, that was wrong of me. It caused a lot of suffering."
Jean didn't say anything, thinking about how to respond for a time before she did.
"When I was a kid, before the attack of course, there was this test in school one day. I totally forgot to study for it. In a panic I started feeling sick, stomach ache, headache." She smiled at the memory. "The school called my Mom and she somehow got there from the other side of town in ten minutes. Rushed me home, got me in my pjs, everything. Got us set up with movies and cookies. Not dropping everything wasn't an option, her child was sick and she was needed. All there was to it." She paused for a moment. "I didn't like making you wait. I can't know how hard that was for you, but I'm sorry to. I'm sorry I didn't make it happen sooner."
"We live in rough times. Maybe they'll be better if we don't feud half the time as well." Raven said, offering an olive branch. Looking back calling the young woman 'girl scout' might have been a bit much, they all had jobs. "Be more of this light you talk about."
"Looking forward to it." Jean said before the conversations and games took effect and Raven saw her fade back into sleep.
The door exploded suddenly, spraying shrapnel into the area. Whatever the cause the explosion sparks and dust followed soon after and it took a few minutes for the dust to settle. The assaulting group didn't wait that long.
Walking though the dust the outlines of seven figures appeared and quickly moved into the premises. They didn't waste much time.
"Jubulee, fry the circuits and destroy the records. The rest of us get to work." A somewhat short man said as he walked out of the mist. The girl hurried to the nearby counsels and within moments had the hardware and software fried, meaning the alarms and records from the cameras were gone. "Good. Beyond that door are the chips that make those tin men tick. You know what to do,"
The elder and younger Agents Summers went first, and through waves and beams broke the thick steel door blocking access to the chips. Once the door was out the rest of the team rushed in.
"Pile them up, I feel like marshmallows." Logan said as Rogue found a trashcan and the others began grabbing the carefully stored technology. The building, with 'unhackable' tech defense was guard less. It was with single minded focus that the chips filled the container.
"Agent, she's your girl." Logan said, stepping aside to let the known pool shark take this shot. "Go."
Cyclops turned his vizer to kill and the can of chips were quickly in flames, melting and breaking in the intense heat. The can itself also melted but the mission was done.
"This put us on the map." Jubulee said as they walked back to the Quinjet. "It has to."
None of the others responded, except for Piotr.
"Yes, admittedly it did." He confirmed. "But each chip we destroyed back there is one Sentinel that won't hurt or kill someone. Many people are safer now."
Jubilee nodded, understanding. They were going to have to cover rescues and retcons. It was time to change the world.
Sebastian Shaw said nothing but listened to the woman and her excuses, they weren't very interesting. Emma got out of the chair and started pacing the room.
"She went blank, no one survives getting blank. There is no way that she's coming out of this." He would have agreed if not for the conflicting information.
"Except that she did, Miss Frost. How might that be?" The coffee was ready and he sat down to prepare a cup. "Unless you have no idea."
"No, there would have to be a way. Some kind of means of repair that we didn't think of." She, now having something to focus on, sat down again. "Some means of providing mental stabilizing."
"Quite the feat, whatever it is." He agreed. Her mind was racing, looking at variables.
"They don't have much, and she's the only telepath there. There isn't any mental center, and none of the other abilities compliment. I'd say that the director was behind it but I don't see how." She worked through the list.
"Never underestimate that man." Shaw said, but even he didn't see how Fury could have had anything to do with it. "Though it does seem unlikely."
"So it has to be Maria, she's the next best, some trick maybe. A form of tech we haven't figured out yet." Emma was getting excited, hopeful that this was the right idea.
"Maybe." He said, thinking. But something bugged him and he didn't think Maria was the reason. To heal from an attack like that would take some kind of internal balm, a means of belief that even the deepest wound can heal. He just didn't know what would be such a force.
-X-Xactor-
"Maria!" A loud, thundering voice yelled in the compound, heavy boots pounding on the floor. "Get your ass out here!"
Jubilee instinctively scooted against the back of the sofa at the sound, terrified. Rouge, next to her as they were playing video games, dunked out of sight. Thankfully they weren't the focus of the mans attention. He was bald, black and thickly built, wearing a long black trench coat. Mostly he was very, very angry.
"Now, Hill!" He yelled again. Looking into the kitchen she saw Piotr hurry behind the wall and our of sight himself. The young man had been part of the team for years, if he was scared this was bad.
"The meeting room is open, sir." Maria finally appeared, even Jubilee could see she was fighting to keep composure. "After you, Director."
"Like hell, Hill." He said, walking to her. "You were on the intel, that intel had one focus. So tell me what the hell Agent Grey is doing at the hospital. You said you were on this."
"I was, I swear, I have all the paperwork-" Rogue had never seen Maria stammer.
"Damn the paperwork, what the hell happened?" He demanded again, this time the force in the voice was tinted with worry. "She was almost gone, Maria. He barely brought her back."
Jubilee felt her eyes go wide, she hadn't heard before now how Jean had been. She just knew that Scott pushed the plane beyond safe limits to get her there and had been there since. The thought that her mentor and friend had almost been lost was shocking and terrifying. Rogue saw her and pulled her close, also upset at the update. There was a noise of something falling in the kitchen, Piotr hadn't known either.
"I hadn't told them, director. Didn't know how." Maria said quietly, Jubilee had begun crying, and Rogue was trying to calm her down. The Director sighed.
"Everyone out." He was kinder now and motioned to the sofa where he could debrief them. Poitr walked over, Alex was with his brother at the hospital. He and Maria looked at the three on the sofa and looked for words. "Maria?"
"Jean was badly hurt." She said simply. "She's going to be a few weeks before she gets back, and when she does she'll have to retrain to some extent. But she made it. That what's important here."
"That and this isn't going to happen again." Director Fury added. "I know it's jarring to come so close to loosing a teammate, but it happens. It just shouldn't happen at the home base. I need each of you to tell me everything that happened, even something little might help."
-X-Factor-
"Orange juice, she needs orange juice." Alex hurried to the tray the nurse was putting together. The nurse, an older woman, laughed lightly. "And the eggs aren't overdone, are they? She only likes easy over, no rubber parts."
"You're very devoted, Mr. Summers." The Nurse said, lifting the tray. "She's very special to you."
"Well, ya." Alex shrugged, following and keeping an eye on the tray. "She's Jean, she's family, always has been."
The nurse smiled as he eagerly opened the door for her. Inside Jean, still very pale and weak, was propped up on a mess of pillows as Scott sat by the bed, the two talking. Jean beamed through the weakness at the company but it was Scott who was visibly shaken. She waved at him as they walked in.
"Good, thank you." Scott took the tray from the nurse and put it in place. "The eggs are right. Whatever you can eat, don't push it."
"Thank you." Jean said, albeit softly, as the nurse left the three alone. "Thank you Alex."
"Ya, sure." He said, she was slowly eating her breakfast. She had just been cleared for solid food again. "Feeling better?"
Jean, devouring her bacon, only nodded. The food quickly disappeared from the plate and she looked far happier. She looked at his brother and he could tell they were talking again, whatever the subject was she started nodding excitedly. She motioned for Scott to speak.
"Jean wants you to know before anyone, you should be the first." She nodded in agreement. Still hooked up to IV's she had to be careful not to pull them out of her hands as she reached into her bag, and pulled out a small case and handed it over. "What do you think?"
"Congrats!" He knew what the diamond solitaire meant, and he couldn't be happier for them. It explained all the private conversations, and meant that they would be the finally be the family the brothers had wanted for so long. "That's incredible! When is the wedding?"
"Soon." Scott said. "Nothing fancy, there's no telling what will happen and we'd rather not tempt anything."
"In here, Director." The door opened again and the dark skinned man came in. "Agent Grey, a visitor for you."
"Jean." He said, and looked at the others. Director Fury smiled at his growing rescues. "And the brothers Summers, of course."
"Fury?" Jean asked, and he walked closer to her to hear. "What are you doing in the next few weeks?"
-X-Factor-
Recognized. Hill. Maria. Level 5 Clearance. Enter.
Maria walked into the intelligence lab and activated the program. The polished walls and high tech programs ran in the background, as she walked into the center of the room the floor rose and carried her to center of the tall, dramatic room. The room went white as she reached the core of the space.
"Frost, Emma. Code name White Queen." She said and the rooms scenes went dark and green coding briefly filled the area. "Complete file. Top level clearance. Initiate."
The room exploded in light and sound, images and videos streaming between swatches of text streaming between more colorful screens. After a few minutes the walls flashed into a large portrait. A tall, thin woman with porcelain skin and long near bleach blonde hair. She wore white the vast majority of the time, even when off duty it was her favorite option. She was very calm, the woman who worried more about wrinkles then enjoying life.
Now that they had a name there was a full file just put together. The files were coming fast, and what they told her was more then a little unsettling. Contacts with senators, congressmen, major CEO's, even head military leaders. There were ties for the group called the Hellfire Club. She was connected, very connected and life had just gotten even more terrifying then ever for the small team.
"Very well, Miss Frost." She said as the pictures flashed, including dated footage of her casing Professor Grey as he walked to and from the university. "Lets do this, but SHIELD has friends to."
For once Scott's anger would come in handy, albeit with slightly edited information to keep that word to Maven.
-X-Factor-
"You're enemies." Fury said to the assembled group, within the training room the small group was complete with the exception of the injured team member. "Know them, study them, memorize them. They are your focus. Every waking moment, every spare thought is to be given to their defeat. Every wish is to be directed to their surrender. Give no quarter, for you shall receive none. Offer no mercy, for you will not be given any. You've already seen what they are willing to do."
In a close line and standing at attention the young people nodded, the near loss of a teammate made this information more important to them then Fury could have been able to make clear on his own. He was going to use that.
"They are the ones behind the majority of the rescues you've been sent after. They are the reason parents have been lost, sibling have been taken away, and lives had had to be on the run. You can set your sites on them in good faith, and know you are in the right." Scanning the faces they were all taking in every word he said. Piotr's already pale skin was even paler, the years of separation from his sister on this mind. Rouge's years on the lam and constant fear were still fresh to her. Young Jubilee was only just discovering life without running from cops or swiping food from stalls.
But the Summers brothers, perhaps, understood most of all. After years of grief over the family so quickly taken away from them, the long wanted chance for a new one had almost been destroyed. He didn't release their tempers lightly, but for this he was willing. It was time to take the teathers off.
"First, Frost, Emma. Known as the White Witch or the Ice Queen." The first hologram appeared. "The target is directly responsible and devised Agent Grey's attack, and is likely upset that the effect wasn't fully fatal. As a mark she's easily noticed, she wears white almost always. She's highly connected and very powerful and well trained telepath, never to be taken lightly, or given an inch."
"Senator Shaw you all know, but what you didn't know is he's both an anti-mutant, an ally to the Friends, and head of a mutant group that hunts their own." Letting the information sink in he pulled up the senator's voting record, the new hologram had appeared. "He cannot be attacked directly, and I want you to steer clear until a clear shot can be laid out. He's for the leadership, but in time you'll get your chance."
"Bolivar Trask, CEO. Another one we get a clean shot for." He said, as the man appeared. "He's the kind man who gives us all the tin soldiers to play with. We'll have to work on the inside. Play nice, keep eyes open. But taking his tim men out was just put on the roster. Questions?"
"Ya, just one." A gruff voice said as the team looked to the entrance. "Where do I fit in?"
Now in most of a SHIELD uniform Logan, or Wolverine as he was called, was leaning on a nearby wall and looking disinterestedly at the group. He was in the blue pants and shirt, but still wore his heavy mountain boots and the shirt was loose and left open to reveal the white undershirt. Clearly his arrival here hadn't changed him too much.
"Agents, You've met Logan. He's a sign on until he decides he isn't." Fury said briskly. "He knows Miss Frost. We're making use of that. Wolverine is the lead on this one, make it count."
-X-Factor-
"How can chess be part of X-Factor training?" Pietro asked as he fought to defend his queen for the third game in a row. Wanda was watching. "Isn't it drills or working out?"
"That's part of it." Now well enough to speak, albeit softly, Jean was enjoying the company of the two. "Doing is easy, given time anyone can learn that. But to think, that's hard. In six months you could be a weapon, but a brainless one. There's no use for that, your move."
"Right, think." He tried to force his mind to form a plan, to counter the four that he could predict from the layout. Finding a rather sneaky in he moved a pawn.
"Checkmate." The Agent said, leaning back on the pillows. "But you're getting better. It actually took me a minute to see that. Keep it up."
He would be frustrated by the forth straight loss if not for the kindness he knew she was showing. Wanda was flipping through an X-Factor procedure handbook that Agent Grey had said was bland enough it was likely safe. His sister found it to be fascinating. Once she had recovered, mentally, she had promised Wanda lessons in mental control so long as she was here and when she visited. He she had recommended to speak to her fiancee, who would have more to offer. Even confined to a hospital bed she was keeping her word.
"Who hurt you?" Wanda asked suddenly, something in the book having jogged a question. "You're an alpha level mutant, isn't that the highest there is? Who could have gotten though?"
"Almost the highest." The Agent corrected. "There's always a bigger fish, and if not you're in real trouble. Power is not to be taken lightly. I was hurt by the same woman who has been trying to take me out for the last 10 years at least, a telepath like us. From what I can tell she hunts her own kind."
"That's insane." Pietro said, the thought alone grotesque.
"That's the world sometimes. It can get very dark, very dismal. We just do what we can." The woman said from the bed. "If there is no light then we must become one."
"That's our Phoenix." A woman entered, she was tall with dark hair and neither of them had seen her before. "Corny but somehow still true. Can I have a moment kids?"
Jean nodded and the two left, Raven closed the door after them.
"What news?" Jean settled in. "Is there to be a recourse?"
"After this?" Raven laughed. "Of course. You should have seen them. Fury read them the intel and they haven't stopped training yet, had to tell Scott I was visiting you before I got clearance to go. They're planning a hit soon."
"At least we know who we're dealing with." Jean sighed, glad they were training first. "We can start making real plans."
"I did come for a reason." Raven said, haltingly, unsure of her next words. "I need, no I wanted to apologize. I was with Maria when we picked up the kids you wanted to get first. I don't want to think about how close we came to not saving some of them. I was so focused on seeing my daughter again I didn't really hear what you were saying, that was wrong of me. It caused a lot of suffering."
Jean didn't say anything, thinking about how to respond for a time before she did.
"When I was a kid, before the attack of course, there was this test in school one day. I totally forgot to study for it. In a panic I started feeling sick, stomach ache, headache." She smiled at the memory. "The school called my Mom and she somehow got there from the other side of town in ten minutes. Rushed me home, got me in my pjs, everything. Got us set up with movies and cookies. Not dropping everything wasn't an option, her child was sick and she was needed. All there was to it." She paused for a moment. "I didn't like making you wait. I can't know how hard that was for you, but I'm sorry to. I'm sorry I didn't make it happen sooner."
"We live in rough times. Maybe they'll be better if we don't feud half the time as well." Raven said, offering an olive branch. Looking back calling the young woman 'girl scout' might have been a bit much, they all had jobs. "Be more of this light you talk about."
"Looking forward to it." Jean said before the conversations and games took effect and Raven saw her fade back into sleep.
-X-Factor-
The door exploded suddenly, spraying shrapnel into the area. Whatever the cause the explosion sparks and dust followed soon after and it took a few minutes for the dust to settle. The assaulting group didn't wait that long.
Walking though the dust the outlines of seven figures appeared and quickly moved into the premises. They didn't waste much time.
"Jubulee, fry the circuits and destroy the records. The rest of us get to work." A somewhat short man said as he walked out of the mist. The girl hurried to the nearby counsels and within moments had the hardware and software fried, meaning the alarms and records from the cameras were gone. "Good. Beyond that door are the chips that make those tin men tick. You know what to do,"
The elder and younger Agents Summers went first, and through waves and beams broke the thick steel door blocking access to the chips. Once the door was out the rest of the team rushed in.
"Pile them up, I feel like marshmallows." Logan said as Rogue found a trashcan and the others began grabbing the carefully stored technology. The building, with 'unhackable' tech defense was guard less. It was with single minded focus that the chips filled the container.
"Agent, she's your girl." Logan said, stepping aside to let the known pool shark take this shot. "Go."
Cyclops turned his vizer to kill and the can of chips were quickly in flames, melting and breaking in the intense heat. The can itself also melted but the mission was done.
"This put us on the map." Jubulee said as they walked back to the Quinjet. "It has to."
None of the others responded, except for Piotr.
"Yes, admittedly it did." He confirmed. "But each chip we destroyed back there is one Sentinel that won't hurt or kill someone. Many people are safer now."
Jubilee nodded, understanding. They were going to have to cover rescues and retcons. It was time to change the world.