Day Three: Allegiances

[Chickenman 9]

A torrent of rain pelting him from above, Silas glanced over his shoulder midstride, checking for the hundreth time to make sure he wasn't being followed. He heard the thunder of rotors spinning and turned his head just in time to catch a SWAT helicopter rising from behind the building he was running across. Silas stopped dead in his tracks.

A freaking helicopter???

"Silas Breckenridge," boomed a commanding voice from a microphone, "surrender immediately."

Silas debated maybe giving himself in. Then he gave the chopper's machine gun a second look and decided against it.

If they're training a machine gun on me, they're not going to make my prison stay very comfortable. He didn't much have a choice though. He knew that the instant he moved, the weapon would tear him to pieces. Unless...

"Silas Breckenridge!" the voice boomed again. Silas simply closed his eyes. Come on powers. You've been nothing but trouble in my life. Now's the time to prove your worth. He opened his eyes, accompanying the motion with an ear-splitting scream that cut a knife through the stormy weather and caught the helicopter crew by complete surprise.

The force of the scream was nearly concussive, and the gunner was certainly taken aback, tripping from his position at the same time that the pilot shrugged away from the sonic shriek. As he ducked away, he brought the helicopter with him, nearly crashing into the building next to him as he did so. The helicopter's sudden pitch to the side caused the gunner to slide out out of the vehicle, slapping the landing gear hard with his body as his safety tether ran out of line. By the time the pilot had regained control of his chopper, Silas was nowhere to be found.

[Andy 60]

"What was that?!" Chase exclaimed, although he guessed he had just seen the kid using his powers.

The problem with looking at Cerebro was that he couldn't tell what was happening. Perhaps Jean had a better idea as she was controlling it, but Chase couldn't even tell exactly who it was that were chasing this kid. It was obvious that he was in need of help, though.

* * *

Danny noticed Mystique's growing impatience, and pulled on his jacket and looked towards the door then back at the others. "Shall we get going then, guys?"

[Rogue 4]

Jean's eyelids fluttered and the image disappeared as Chase's exclamation startled her. She pulled the helmet off her head. It felt heavy. That had been a lot of exertion. She focussed her green eyes on Chase."He's in trouble. He probably doesn't understand his powers...and whoever's chasing him obviously doesn't understand them either."

She walked with Chase to the door, and it opened for her to reveal two impatient or excited looking men.

***

"Everyone in the car," Mystique said, stepping outside, past Sean and towards the car.

[Drake 53]

Scott raised an eyebrow expectantly. He thought they would be in there longer. That could mean one of two things, either they found a new mutant...or something had gone wrong. "What's up?" he asked.

***

Marcus got up and stretched then looked over at Neil, still sitting at the table. "You coming, Thunderbutt?"

[Rogue 4]

"There's a runaway mutant in Seattle." Jean told Scott. "He's a teenager, and he's being chased by the police. His powers have something to do with sound, and may be potentially dangerous."

***

"Thunderbutt? Wow, good insult." Neil shook his head, rising to his feet and heading towards the car. "Keep it up if you want your fur singed, Fluffy."

[Mara 29]

Luckily for him, neither of the Rangla brothers had seriously maimed each other, and Joseph's first-aid kit had all the necessary treatments. Well, for everything except their thick-headedness. That was something he didn't think anyone could treat. When they were patched up and he was satisfied that they wouldn't be at each others' throats again, Joseph packed up his supplies and walked slowly through the sand, back to his tower.

This Saturday was turning out to be more exciting than he had thought.

* * * *

He shrugged and followed everyone else outside, deciding not to mention that his Volvo probably had more room, wishing to keep Mystique's ire at a manageable level. If that was possible. Sean really believed if they had more females in the Brotherhood, she might be more tolerable. But it was a fleeting thought.

"So what kind of powers does the kid have?" Sean asked conversationally. "That is why you're leaving?"

Edited October 30, 2008 by Mara

[Rogue 4]

"The ability to silence our enemies." Mystique responded, backing up the car and pulling away. A few minutes later they were pulling into a federal hanger.

Neil smirked, knowing it was time to have some fun. Time to get out some of that pent up energy.

***

Natalie got to shore, holding her board in hand just in time to watch Joseph break up the fight. She figured that while she was on the shore she might as well stop over and say hello. She threw him a little wave as she approached his tower. "Having a fun afternoon Mr. Responsible Lifeguard?"

[Mara 29]

"Ah, sound properties... interesting..." Sean mused.

* * * * *

Joseph leaned forward and grinned. "Hey, Nat! Well, you could certainly say so. We haven't even gotten through a week yet, and," he nodded down the beach. "They're at it already."

He climbed down to join her on the sand. "Maybe I should have told Pete I wasn't free," Joseph chuckled.

Edited October 31, 2008 by Mara

[Rogue 4]

"Why, so you can go home and study?" Natalie teased good naturedly, favoring him with a smile. "You know, you do a lot Joseph. Every now and then you have to just kick back and have some fun. "

[Mara 29]

He laughed. "And you don't think getting paid for spending your Saturday at the beach is fun, Nat?" Joseph gave her a friendly poke in the shoulder.

[Rogue 4]

"Well, I can't argue with that logic." The blond girl chuckled. "Still stinks that you have to police the waters and don't get to enjoy the carnival though."

[Mara 29]

"Well, I'm not on all day. Shift ends at about 2:00, so..." Joseph shrugged. "I'll see what happens. Like a piece of driftwood in the ocean."

[Drake 53]

Scott nodded as they started down the hall to the elevator. "Alright. Me, you, Peter, Kurt and Hailey take the X-Jet to find this kid." He looked at Chase then back at Jean. "What do we do about the rest of the students?"

[Rogue 4]

"Well, I would say we could leave them here, but without a sitter...we both remember how that worked last time." Jean winced visibly. She distinctly remembered the Professor leaving them in charge for a weekend. A weekend where Kurt, Kitty, Evan and Rogue had decided to manipulate some jealousy problems going on between Scott and Jean to get them out of the house so that they could throw a party for the entirety of Bayville High's students.

And Mystique had manipulated her way inside Cerebro and turned the mansion against the X men.

"And I have a feeling that leaving them in the X-jet would be a bad idea."

[Drake 53]

Scott instantly agreed, remembering back on that fateful day. "Alright. We'll just need to be careful." They rode the elevator back up to the main floor and returned to the kitchen. "I hope no one had plans today," he said to the rest of the group, "Because we're going on a field trip. Everyone be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. Kurt and Hailey...suit up."

The two junior members of the X-Men team looked at one another then grinned.

Edited November 3, 2008 by Drake

[Mara 29]

August finally dragged herself out of bed when the sunlight pouring through her window was too unbearable. She yawned and schlepped downstairs, heading to the kitchen to find some breakfast.

A few minutes later, she was sitting crosslegged in her desk chair, a bowl of cereal in her lap, checking her e-mail on her laptop. The spoon was halfway to her mouth when her phone rang with its annoying show jingle. I really have to change that...

Setting down her bowl and untangling herself, she finally answered her cell on the fifth ring. "Hello?" August hadn't bothered checking the caller I.D. but wasn't surprised to hear Bridget's voice.

"Today? No, I was going to...

"Yes, I know, but--

"Bridget..." August sighed. Of course, the one day she wanted to spend at home just vegging, not doing anything, before all the schoolwork started up fiercely, Bridget had to bring up the carnival at the beach. Why did it have to be today?

"All right, but I can't stay too long. I promised my mom we'd hang out." She lied.

"Sure, I'll pick you up in about an hour," flipping her phone shut and sighing again, thinking she really needed some new friends. Friends with brains.

Friends whose brothers didn't borrow their cars without asking so she had to drive 15 minutes out of her way.

August quickly finished up her bowl of cereal and took on the task of staring at her huge closet full of clothes for something to wear.

[Rogue 4]

"Stay here." Mystique dropped them off a short distance away before driving up to the front gate. The cameras didn't catch her shapeshifting, but the guard at the gate stopped her, looking down at the blond woman in the authoritative suit in the front seat.

"I'm going to need to see ID."

"Of course," Mystique said, reaching into the glove compartment and handing him a paper.

"What's this?" He asked looking down at it in confusion. That wasn't an FBI ID card. A moment later he was too busy kissing the pavement to care. Mystique picked him up, hauling him back in the guard booth, then backed up to pick up the others. "Let's go."

****

Besides Chase, the other new recruits hadn't had the opportunity to see the secret, lower levels of the base. Jean was suited up now, and listening to the excited and sometimes confused whispers as they walked towards the hanger.

***

"Driftwood on the ocean, huh?" Natalie asked, eyes dancing in amusement. "Well, I'm going to go get some more waves. You know I can't stay away for long. I'll talk to you later Joseph."

[Andy 60]

Chase mumbled to the others, "wonder if there is anything else they conveniently forgot to tell us about," Although he could understand their hesitation in giving away trade secrets.

[Mara 29]

"Hey, no worries. I have to stop people from being idiots, which they can't stop for long either," he laughed.

"Maybe I'll see you later." Joseph waved to her before she walked off, and he climbed back up his ladder.

* * * * *

Sean watched the whole scene with mild amusement; it wasn't his first time seeing Mystique in action. But most of his thoughts were concentrated on the prospect of meeting someone with similar powers to his own.

[Drake 53]

Hailey grimaced at the sight of the X-Jet. Sure, she looked forward to this mission. Her first mission. It was just that she hated flying. Having no connection to the earth beneath her made her feel like she was lost at sea...or trapped in a barrel about to plummet over Niagara Falls. That was the X-Jet: a sleek, black, metal barrel about to shoot off into the vast airy nothingness.

Once aboard, she looked around for a seat. There were six chairs in the forward cockpit. Two columns of three with an aisle down the middle, which also lowered down as the boarding ramp. The front two seats were for the pilots, in this case Scott and Peter. Jean and Kurt sat in the two middle chairs. Hailey hunkered down in one of the rearmost seats and tried not to look too anxious. The remaining seat would have to be fought over by the three newer mutants. The two that lost would get to sit in the rear compartment. There were two benches back there to strap into.

[Andy 60]

Hesitating, and kind of intimidated by being stuck in the front with the 'adults', Calvin stepped back.

Chase just shrugged, not being bothered either way, and not wanting to fight over it.

[Chickenman 9]

Silas ducked into the manger's office of a modest grocery in a bad part of town.

"Aurelio, you have to help me," Silas said by way of greeting.

"Silas? You're all over the news!" the grocer exclaimed, turning a cheap portable television so Silas could see it.

"Authorites are on the lookout for a Silas Breckenridge, a mutant teenager. Breckenridge is considered very, very dangerous, and should not be approached for any reason. Any contact with the boy should be immediately reported to the police, who are offering a substantial award for any information leading to his arrest-"

Aurelio shut the television off and gave Silas a hard stare. "You must go, Silas. People know that you hang around here. Here-" he grabbed a Seattle Seahawks baseball cap and placed it on Silas's messy-haired head, "wear this."

"Thanks," Silas replied, pulling the cap's brim lower to hide his eyes.

"Now go Silas. Go. Find someplace to lay low for awhile. I will help you however I can, but you must leave now."

Silas opened the door halfway, looked back over his shoulder, and thanked Aurelio. "This means a lot. This and everything else you've done for me over the years. Thank you." With that, he closed the door and was on his way.

Aurelio waited an entire thirty seconds before seizing his phone and dialing. "Hello? I have information on the mutant boy. Yes. He's near the Sunnyside Grocery store. Yes. He'll be wearing a Seahawks cap. Seattle Seahawks, that's right. Now how much, exactly, is this reward?"

[Drake 53]

While everyone was finding a seat and getting themselves strapped in, Scott powered up the X-Jet's systems. He ran through a quick pre-flight checklist with Peter, both having done this before so it was almost unneccesary to do so. Once everyone had strapped in, Scott turned to those sitting behind him. "For the frequent fliers, enjoy the ride. For the new kids...hold on tight." He entered a command into the main flight console, sending a signal to open the flight bay doors. Concealed beneath the backyard basketball court, the doors rumbled apart above the jet. Scott activated the vertical thrust, bringing the craft up through the open doors.

Working in tandem, Peter raised the landing gear and activated the X-Jet's cloaking device, rendering it invisible to the naked eye and most sensors.

Scott looked over at Peter and asked, "Do you feel it, Pete?"

The big Russian looked back, smiling. "Oh yes. I feel it."

"Feel what?" Hailey groaned from the back seat.

"The need for speed!" both shouted at the same time as Scott throttled forward on the engines. The X-Jet lurched as it rapidly accelerated into the sky. Scott could feel Jean's colossal eye-roll as if she were transmitting it through her telepathy.

[Ayingel 24]

Lila held on to her seat for dear life as the X-Jet blasted forward. She closed her eyes tight and ground her teeth to keep from screaming.

[Rogue 4]

Ten minutes after Mystique had come back to retrieve them, Mystique was slipping into the front seat of an FBI helicopter. Neil had just finished off the last of the FBI on the platform, strangling him with an appendage made of pure energy. He, along with the other members of the Brotherhood were already clad in their stolen FBI uniforms.

This one was a present, for his old Acolyte friend, Sonic.

The man fell forward into Neil, limply. When Sonic approached the platform, Neil pushed the guy into his arms. "Ye better not thin' this means we're friends, Seanny boy."