Post by adrini on May 30, 2015 11:52:10 GMT -5
X-Factor
Chapter 10:
Sinister
“I said I was a friend!” Skye yelled as she was manhandled down an olive green hallway. “Friend, you know, nice! Sends presents! Looks after the kids!”
The calls fell on deaf ears as she was rushed into a room and handcuffed to the chair. Two people, “Scott” from outside and a woman she could only assume was Maria. Neither were happy. This is why she wanted to sneak in.
“I have to ask myself how a person just stumbles into a secret base in the mountain side.” The woman said and leaned in the chair. “Which also makes me wonder what to do with said person. Scott?”
“Jean said she was good, but that’s all I know.” The man said. “You’re not thinking of sending her are you? What if she is one of us?”
“It takes one slip to have this whole thing go south. You along have everything to loose.”Maria looked at him briefly before turning her attention back to the nervous teen.
“I can help! I swear! Look, if I wanted to hurt anyone I could have ages ago!” Skye didn’t know where they were talking about, but knew she didn’t like it. “Sub-Director Hill, Commander Summers, I swear. I wouldn’t hurt Jean or Alex, I’ve been out there to!”
The two looked at her surprised, sharing a look she liked even less.
“I’m a hacker, okay? I do this, but I’m a mutant to.” They sat down, Maria stern. Summers looked kinder. “Look, the read head, Jean right? She can…look, is that it? You’ll see I’m telling the truth, just do it, I just want to help!”
Standing up Scott nodded through the one sided glass, and waited.
On the other side Jean saw the signal and sighed, she really did feel like she was used a weapon some days. Wanda caught the sign.
“You don’t want to.” She said. “Why?”
“A person’s mind is so personal, and it’s state so powerful. Messing with it is just wrong in so many ways.” Jean admitted. “But orders are orders, follow my lead and I can teach you some as well. On three.”
The Jean focused first, Wanda following the path. Wanda could see that the older woman was not new to teaching, she was good at this. It was rough work, but she felt Jean grab her hand and help with that also.
They grazed over minds, finding the one they were looking for. Working alone it would have with faster but with a student she was taking her time a little. Maria was carefully glances over, she was “classified” as it were and Jean’s training kicked in to respect that. Scott was there the whole time and responded to his wife even being close.
Skye’s mind was excited, almost panicked. Wanda could tell that her teacher could be harsh, destructive even, the untapped power levels were obvious. Yet she was gentle, careful only to explore as much as she needed to. The girl was telling the truth, though not all of it. She also wanted to join them, be part of the team. Everyone was looking for friends here.
She’s telling the truth. Jean told her husband. If anything she sees us as heroes. And she may be useful, all Jubs can do is fry computers.
The interrogators went on with their work and Wanda was excited. She had never been able to control herself like this and didn’t want to stop.
Let’s see what the others are up to, just a little peaking. Wanda heard in her mind and Jean took her to the rooms and hallways of the base. Alex was wondering if Jubilee was free to play video games, to lieu of a real date. Jubs was in the training room. Everyone was busy.
Jean was suddenly distracted, some matter in the room, but Wanda kept looking. The two tech people were…not working. Not on what they were claiming to work on, they were replacing whole areas, advanced technology. Both of them focused on one thought, almost pounding, this time we save them.
The techs were working overtime to save the team, the only question was from who? And after that, who were they?
-X-Factor-
“What do you mean they’re SHIELD?” Emma asked, disbelieving. “They’re mutants, SHIELD is a baseline group!”
“Just as stubborn as I’ve been told.” The new man said, sitting nearby. “They have had a mutant team for some time, actually. Or did you think they’ve been evading you out of sheer luck?”
“SHIELD, I’ve been fighting SHIELD?” Emma was angry, enraged. Her seeming failures now understood in the proper context.
“Yes, with the full backing of congress, though they don’t know it.” The man, calling himself “Sinister” seemed to see this as old information. “They’re pets, really. Fury had a terrible affection for them. I would think here he still does. You’ve been fighting the best defenses money can buy, not to mention the strongest mutants Fury can find.”
Emma turned and glared at her employer, her struggles less unexplained now.
“I didn’t know.” Was all Shaw offered in apology. “Where are they? We can go direct with an army of our own.”
“Never did find out, that was kept from me. But I know who pays the bills, and they we can go after.” Shaw smiled, liking this plan. “SHIELD.”
-X-Factor-
There was sudden movement in the base. Nathan watched his sister updating the boards as the two watched the members scramble at a call in the front office. One they would be hearing themselves shortly.
“What do you think it is?” Rachel was splitting and reassigning several connections. “Friends? The tin men?”
“You weren’t old enough to remember friends or the tin men.” He said and sat down close by. “Doing homework?”
“Mom takes her coffee black with one sugar, it’s in her SHIELD file. She also gets frustrated when Dad forgets and adds milk.” Rachel was listing her discoveries. “But she drinks it anyway. Dad is already looking at kid’s names but knows it would freak Mom out so he isn’t saying anything, she knows but it’s an unspoken thing. You know? Nathan is at the top of the list, I think Mom comes up with Rachel.”
“You’re spying.” She didn’t argue. “Stop, they deserve privacy.”
“We’re their kids, it’s fine. Anyway, I’m in but there’s only one speaker. Give me a minute.” She settled in and listened. Her brother staying close. After a moment she looked worried. “Uncle Nick wants the leaders in DC. Some kind of security meeting. You remember that?”
“Ya, sure.” Nathan made a point to hide that he was lying. “But I’ll look into it. You stick around here and find out what Uncle Alex does on his days off.”
“He goes down to the waterpark and srufs.” She added without thinking. “But it’s not as good as the real thing.”
Nathan said nothing as he left, this was Sinister – he knew it. But she didn’t have to.
-X-Factor-
SHIELD had an official building. I was nice, built in the thirties under the WPA and was really a work of art it itself. That also made it highly visible. It was a museum of the program, and a nice gift shop – and a few admin people in charge of ordering paperclips.
Scott, Jean and Maria we’re at the real base. A non-descript turn of the century warehouse that was designed to be rundown on the outside. Fury was always paranoid.
“Good, follow.” The three had hardly walked into the building but the man was on the war path. “We got a problem.”
“You didn’t send information, Director.” Hill was stiff, worried. “What’s happening?”
“Someone is gunning after us, and whoever he is he’s smart. I've managed to hide almost everything, but I needed Jean here to help the last of it.” He was brisk. “And her controls.”
“The training is working, it's just incremental.” Jean was keeping up.
“Hey, you’ll be a beast once you get there. And I know it. For now all I need is some stuff moved around before the damn inspectors find out more then they need to.” Fury was relaxing a little. They got to a hanger.
It was dark, but they could see several covered vessels inside.
“Okay, there's a hanger under U.S. But I need the planes off the ground to open the floor without wreckin’ em. Think you can hold them up for a few?” They looked at the telepath, she had to have the control.
“It'll be done in a moment, sir.” Jean nodded and Maria looked at Scott, wanting him on this.
It took a few seconds, and Maria and Fury could see that Scott was running interference. But one by one the planes lifted off the ground and hovered soundly in place. This was a huge leap for the telepath, but she seemed to be fine. Whatever the trainers were doing was working.
Fury and Maria waited till they were all steady before pulling the lever. If Jean was aware she didn't show it, Scott however moved his wife a little farther away from separating floor. But Jean was fine.
The aircrafts fell gently on the lower floor and Fury pulled the level again the close the panels. Barely keeping it professional Agent Summers was beaming, relieved, and talking to Agent Grey-Summers about the feat.
“I don't think I have to worry about you so much, Kiddo.” Jean was beaming, control now known to be better. “Good job.”
“I did it!” Jean cheered, quickly held in her husbands arms. “Scott, I did it! I didn't spark out once!”
“Never doubted it for a second.” They walked out of the not empty hanger, their bosses ignoring the PDA.
They were halfway to the car when Jean froze, then began to panic.
“Nick, Maria. Go, just go.” The two took the hint and got in the car, but pulled the young mutants with them.
“Not without you, it would completely defeat the purpose.”Maria said, forcing the two in the car as Fury ran for the drivers seat. “Any time, Director.”
“I know my job, help them fight this!” The man drove like a crazy man through the traffic, but it was getting them distance.
If Jean wasn’t sweating before she was now, so was Scott. They pulled together, foreheads touching, and even the non-mutants in the car could feel the effort.
It was almost an hour later when the break came and the two collapsed into each other, weak. Maria helped them into the main building with Fury close behind. The Director yelling at the staff, they were taken to cots in a back room.
“Jean, comon’ sweetie.” Maria was helping the young woman drink, she was still out of breath. On the next cot Fury had pulled out a whisky flask and was trying to steady his protégée.
It took a few minutes, but the two caught their breath. They were shaken.
“Alright, son.” Fury was what he needed to be, and right now that was a father. “What happened? What were they after?”
“Us.” Jean said instead. “He was after us. He can't find the kids he's looking for, so he wants to kill the parents.”
“We only just got married.” Scott was lost in thought. “How can we be parents?”
-X-Factor-
Skye had been led to a room. It might not be the warm welcome she dreamed of but she had been cleared. It was a nice room, if undecorated, and she was on a military style cot with an egg crate nearby to hold her things. No expense had been spared.
She wasn’t confined, though.
Opening the door she peeked around the corner and heard movement, people were coming and going. Maybe they wouldn’t mind the company.
“And you’re the little hacker who found her way home.” It was a voice behind her, male. “I’m not going to lie, it’s impressive.”
He was younger, blonde and tan from time outside. And more than a little cute.
“Skye.” She said simply. “Look, I was just trying to find the good guys. I can help, okay?”
“Alex Summers. Relax, Jean says you’re okay, you’re okay. You know where you’re going yet?” He wasn’t angry, just curious.
“This isn’t the only team, you know. Just the only field one. You’re all techie, you could be a cyber crew. They give the FOH all kinds of hell.“
Following him she found herself in a kind of rec room, this wasn’t military. Yet it was. There was a bunch of decorations, sofas, a tv, a really nice kitchen – this wasn’t a base. It was a home.
“Ya, okay. This isn’t exactly a lifestyle choice. Once you’re a mutant, well, normal life is pretty much done.” Alex said as he saw her look at the room.
“I’ve noticed.” She was more sarcastic then she meant to be. Her companion only laughed.
“SHIELD is normally very by the book, and in the field that is absolutely the case. But we don’t get to go on R&R or take leave and go home. So home is here, within reason of course.” He fell into a lazyboy and lounged. “No disco balls or neon green paint. But I got my rock poster up.”
“Nothing wrong with ACDC, that’s for sure. This is actually nice.” It was the home she hoped for.
“And the goal is for it to keep getting better.” Others showed up, for what she assumed were evening activities. “We have a laptop in the corner, none of us are really computer nerds. But you can play my level sixty druid. I just got him the new crystal sword with agility boost to.”
She wanted to know more, she needed to know more. Taking the chance she looked at the profiles again, with the people here it was her chance to know enough to say the right things. Help her charm them.
Most of it made sense and she could see it better now that she was here. But she also noticed a really lazy hack job, the help didn’t exist. Unless they were extra special ops there would be some kind of trace. As techs and support they should be super documented.
“Hey, what do you know about-“ She began to speak, see what was going on with the techs, but instead the room got off. Weird, even.
Alex and Piotr were fine. But the others were holding their heads, like a rough migraine had just attacked the room. Jubilee began to panic, looking for someone. When they weren’t there she curled into a ball, she wasn’t well. She was saying something over and over. Rouge was staring into space, she almost looked lost. She almost seemed to be wondering where she was.
The others were worse. Coming out of the fog Wanda was just as upset only she was fun. Every free item in the room was flying. Pietro was trying to help, but also affected. It took a moment but they curled into each other.
“On it.” Alex said as Piotr went to the southern bell, trying to help. Skye followed.
“The hell! What do we do now!” The room was still flying.
“Jean, we need Jean.” He was in some kind of communication room. The console wasn’t warming up as fast as he liked.
“What, what does-“ She watched as he tried to rushed the machine.
“Jean fixes people.” He pulled her aside, looking for anyone else. “Look, when people get here they’re broken. The friends kill, and what they don’t kill they brake. Half the people in the hospital would be ruined for life in Jean didn’t block off the broken parts of themselves for a while. The people here are no exception. But they don’t know it, they can’t.”
“A SHIELD thing, right?” Skye asked and he nodded.
“Agents are treated as required to encourage field performance. One of the regs we can’t escape.” He got the alarm out.
“And she’s okay with that?” Skye asked, now scared and concerned. “She’s not like that.”
“Hah! No, she hates it. Would never do it again if she could. But it’s orders.” The alarm had been received. “If we aren’t in shape people like you don’t survive.”