Stalemate: En Passant (Wednesday afternoon)

[x-cyclops.livejournal.com]

On the Blackbird heading down to Peru, Scott and Sean have a quiet chat about strategy, Wisdom, and spoke-kicking.


Once they were out over the Gulf of Mexico, in clear air, Scott decided that Sam could probably manage to fly the Bird by himself for a little while while he did his usual wander back to check on the rest of the team. He'd picked carefully for this mission, but he hoped they weren't going to get down there and find out he should have brought along twice the manpower. I so much prefer the missions where we know precisely what we're getting into... Of course, this one involved Wisdom, so there was never much chance of that. Stopping to exchange a few quiet words with Piotr, Scott moved further back in the plane, to where Sean was sitting, apparently studying the view of the Gulf out one of the Bird's tiny windows.

"We've probably got another two hours of flight time," Scott said, sitting down next to him. "Charles made a few phone calls and got us cleared to land at the closest airstrip, no questions asked, but we'll have a bit of a hike afterwards."

"And yeh're probably going to tell me that we want to sneak up on them, so I'm not to fly anywhere, aren't yeh?" Sean smiled good naturedly, then frowned slightly. "I've just been sitting here, wishing I'd kept in better touch with Charles over the years. I might've been able to warn him about Wisdom..."

Scott sighed, absently rubbing at his hand. It was still bandaged, too thickly to wear a glove over top, and he was under strict orders from Jean not to hit anything with it. "Yes to the first," he said, his voice heavier as he went on. "And Charles... well, you know Charles. I imagine he probably knows more about Wisdom than either of us." Scott's eyes strayed to the window. "I don't know whether or not he considered... this a possibility. I know I didn't. Guess that makes me stupidly naive."

"Not at all. Making people trust him is what the wee shite does. I more or less fell for it myself, the first time I met him. Wasn't 'til I ran across him while he was on the tail of some poor bastard that turned up dead a year or so later that I saw what he's really like." Sean shook his head.

Scott looked back at Sean with a faint smile. "I still feel like I should have... well, not much point in playing 'should have' at this point, I suppose." Second-guessing himself about what had happened in his office back in March wasn't going to do anyone any good. "I can't believe Jake was couriering for him," Scott went on, aggravation slipping into his voice. "Idiot. If he hadn't turned around and come up with the information we needed for this little jaunt, I swear I would have drop-kicked him out of the mansion myself."

Sean scowled. "Aye well, I think this may be the one and only time you'll find LeBeau and me agreeing on anything. Of all the stupid..." He shook his head. "Still, maybe it's all worked out for the best. If he hadn't been so bloody stupid, then we wouldn't be on the way to stop whatever it is Wisdom's cookin' up."

"I hate going in like this with next to no clue as to what precisely we're going to find, but it's worth taking the chance," Scott said, hoping that he didn't sound like he was trying to convince himself. Not that Sean was liable to call him on it even if he did. "You know, even though all this time that I've been wishing we knew what he was up to, having all of this come out all at once makes me want to be careful what I wish for. Those training camps in Africa, and now bioweapons..."

"Aye, and they're not the worst things I've ever heard his name in connection with, either. I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise him turnin' out the way he has - how could yeh spend 15 years diggin' around all the worst secrets in the world if yeh weren't a fuck up to begin with?" Sean shrugged, then broke into an uncharacteristically vicious grin. "Still we can kick a few of the spokes out of his wheel, sure..."

"Judiciously," Scott said with a very small smile, "but yeah. Spoke-kicking. With lots of enthusiasm. And if we're lucky, it'll be more than that." His smile turned a bit wintry. "We'll strip the place for all that it's worth, and then turn it into rubble. Never let it be said that the X-Men don't have a grasp of the proper timing for their destructive urges."

"Sure, don't they say that timing is everything?" Sean grinned back.

---


During the hike from the airstrip to the lab, Scott and Sam talk strategy, and Sam discovers he doesn't like the jungle.


Sam did not like jungles. He especially didn't like hiking through jungles. He swatted at another mosquito and wiped a hand across his sweat-drenched brow. "Remind me again why we couldn't just fly in, Cyclops?" he asked wearily.

"I hope that was a rhetorical question," Scott murmured, pausing to let Sam catch up. Sean had taken point, and Wanda, Betsy, and Piotr were a short distance behind them. "We are trying to make a discreet entrance, remember. At least for now."

"Discreet, schmiscreet," Sam grumbled. He thought he'd grown up living with humidity in the South, but this took humidity to a whole other level. Not to mention the bugs. And the leeches in the streams they'd had to cross. Sam prided himself on being an outdoorsy sort of person, but this was pushing the limit, even for him.

"Settle down," Scott advised him. ~Banshee, all clear up there?~ he subvocalized, and got an answer back in the affirmative. "We've got to be within a couple of kilometers..."

"Kilometers?" Sam managed in a strangled voice, remembering at the last second to keep his voice relatively quiet. "Joy," he said shortly, saving his breath for the hiking.

~Good cardiovascular exercise,~ Scott subvocalized, more than a little amused by Sam's reaction.

~Blah blah blah,~ Sam subvocalized back. ~Ah'm in just as good a shape as you, Cyclops, just that Ah hate this jungle.~ He picked up the pace a bit, just to prove that he could.

~Don't rush,~ Scott warned him. ~Slow and steady wins the race, especially when we're not sure what we're walking into. Save your energy.~ The humidity was certainly sapping his.

The maddening part was, except for a bit of sweat rolling off of his brow, Cyclops looked just as crisp as when he'd walked into the ready room before the mission. Experience as his XO led Sam to guess that Scott had to be feeling the exertion just as much as he was, except that Scott just didn't show it. He frowned and shifted his uniform slightly before starting off again.

Scott checked his watch, noting that they were making good time, all things considered. Just about precisely the time I expected we'd be making... He hadn't had as much time as he wanted to pour over satellite maps of the area, but he had gotten a fairly good idea of the terrain.

"So, what's the plan for sizing up the place?" Sam asked as they walked. They only had the barest minimum of information about the complex they were headed towards. "If aerial recon is out because of the noise factor, Ah suppose we'll use Psylocke for a scan?"

"Best plan, to me," Scott said, hauling himself up a short incline with his good hand. "When we don't know enough about the layout it's critical we get as close a read on who all's in there as possible. I'm hoping they were relying in part on how remote the place is for security. Would make things easier."

"Easier, yeah. But we can't exactly plan on them being stupid and playing into our hands," Sam replied. He knew he wasn't saying anything Scott hadn't already considered, but this was part of his job as XO, to be the tactical alter ego, give his CO a sounding board to talk things out about.

"Nothing wrong with a little optimism. Hope for the best, expect the worst and all that," Scott said with a faint smile for how he sounded. "I just hope I'm not going to wish I'd brought twice the people along..." But they could always back off, if so. See what Betsy could get telepathically, and leave it at that...

---


When they get to the lab, things are too quiet. Wanda does her best to change that, but not in the good way.


They had split the team - Sam leading Piotr and Sean in through one entrance, him taking Wanda through another, while Betsy hung back waiting for their signal to move in. Scott had got the distinct impression that she hadn't been entirely happy with that, but she also hadn't been training with the team, so she stayed out of the takedown.

Scott eyed the lock on the door, wondering at the lack of guards on the perimeter. Sure, the place was deep in the jungle, but if the work being done here was significant... He gestured at Wanda to cross the open space and join him at the door, even as he raised his other hand to his visor and sliced through the lock with a carefully targetted, pencil-thin beam.

Keeping low to the ground, she was already a moving target, Wanda slid up to Scott. The place was more deserted than they had thought it was going to be and while that made it easier on them, it was also incredibly worrying.

Gesturing, she indicated that Scott take lead and she'd back him up.

Scott eyed her for a moment, assessingly, then proceeded slowly into the building. ~Cannonball, anything?~ He received a negative back and frowned, moving a bit more quickly down the hall. The first two rooms they came to were abandoned - more like stripped, Scott thought, frowning.

Watching their surroundings for any sign of security measures, Wanda bit her lip. This was more than strange. The place had gone dead, yes, it was the reason that they had been called in. But it was like a damned ghost town.

~Anything?~ she murmured.

~Some of the damned fixtures are missing,~ Scott muttered, perplexed. There were a few stray pieces of paper in the second room and he leafed through them, shaking his head. Garbage printouts, or at least that's what they looked like to him. Still, he piled them neatly on the edge of the spotless lab table, making a mental note to come back later.

Wanda ran her hand along a table and lifted it up to the light. ~Not much dust so it has not been all that long. But they seem to have worked very fast, yes?~

~Psylocke, is there anyone in this place?~ he asked, and got an answer back in the affirmative, as well as a few flashes of images to indicate to him as to where. Scott looked back at Wanda grimly. ~A pair of men down the hall to the left,~ he said, reviewing the image Betsy had given him. ~One armed, one disassembling lab equipment...~

~Then let us go say hello,~ she replied, quirking an eyebrow at him. ~It would be rude to do otherwise.~

Scott smiled faintly and took point again, leaving the room and moving down the hall much more slowly than before. He could hear the movement, now. And the guard was... inside the room, must be, he thought as he peered around the corner Betsy had indicated.

Keeping close, but not too close, she activated her powers for some added guidance. Frowning as she walked, there were some lines that were dark red already. ~Scott...~ she started.

Scott froze. ~What?~

~So much red, too red, in the lines,~ she whispered, studying them frantically.

Indicating to Wanda to stay back against the wall, Scott frowned and looked out around the corner again. Still no one in the hall, or appearing to be on their way out of the room...

Then he caught movement in his peripheral vision. Coming from the other direction.

Seeing Scott's head jerk around, she followed his gaze. Cursing in her mind, she allowed Scott to jerk her back into the room to their left. ~Well, that was unexpected...~

~Coming down from upstairs,~ Scott said, then eyed her for a moment. ~All right. You go right, I'll go left. Disarm them, but try not to knock anyone out if possible. We do want answers.~

~On the count of three then...~ The whispered three sent them both bolting out of the door and spliting up. The red around her hands blazed slightly brighter as if in anticipation of the upcoming maniuplation. Reaching out, she caressed the strings...and then cursed.

The strings attached suddenly went from light red to dark red. "Cyclops, get down!"

The man in front tripped and as he fell, his gun went off. Wanda hit the ground as bullets richoeted and she desperately tried to regain control of the situation. THERE. One embedded itself in some piping as she pushed her powers, feeling a nose bleed coming on.

The resulting explosion of high pressured air and gas sent the man and his companions flying against the walls and pieces of wall flying everywhere.

Scott had hit the floor at Wanda's warning, but the explosion came as a total surprise. He winced and shielded his head, the roar defeaning him for an moment. There was a buzzing in one ear - voices on the com, but he didn't answer them at first, being too busy scrambling back to his feet.

A man with a gun appeared out of the lab in front of him, and Scott downed him with an optic blast without thinking, and then turned, to see Wanda hauling herself back to her feet and the shapes of three unconscious men in the hall in front of her as the dust settled.

Reaching up, Wanda cupped her nose as the blood suddenly started to pour out of it. She'd...ow. She'd pulled strings to make sure those bullets hit something else other than them or the guards and it felt like a bulldozer had been dropped on her head. Glancing over at Scott, she winced. He had on his 'I can't believe you just did that' face.

"Don't know...everything went haywire and dark red after the first...he was only supposed to fall."

~We're fine,~ Scott said to Sam's agitated query, then reached out to give Wanda a hand-up. ~Stick to your side of the building for now, but send Piotr over when you've cleared it.~ "We can talk about it later," he muttered aloud to Wanda, then turned, hearing someone babbling at him in Spanish from behind him. The technician, if he had to guess. Offering to surrender, too. "~Sit down with your hands on your head until we get in there!~" Scott called back in the same language, and heard the terrified agreement.

"It has to be more enjoyable than what feels like a building falling upon my head," she muttered and then stopped, a chill running through her. "Cyclops. I am not familiar with guns but...take a look at these bullets."

Scott did, then leaned down to retrieve the gun, giving it a once-over. "Armor-piercing rounds," he said curtly, then moved to disarm the other two men as well. "Would've gone right through our kevlar."

Shaking her hand, she watched as the blood flew off. "On the record?" she muttered, kneeling next to the man who had been the one to fall. They were all alive, just knocked out. "That was disturbing."

"Stay focused," Scott said briefly. "Let's go check out this lab."

---


With the lab secured, it becomes obvious that the team has indeed missed the opportunity to kick the spokes out of a certain someone's wheel. Betsy tries to find something to make the trip worthwhile, but winds up with nothing for her efforts. Really.


Not secure. The building was bigger than expected and he simply didn't have enough manpower to check every single room. Dragging a protesting guard along with him back to the central lab, Scott spotted Betsy there, skimming files on one of the computers with a frown on her face.

"Psylocke, can you scan this place?" he asked, shoving the man in the direction of the other four prisoners being watched over by Colossus. "This can't be all the staff that's left, even when you add the ones the others are bringing in from the other side of the building."

Betsy looked up from the screen and turned toward Scott as he dropped down one guard in the center of the lab, his hands tied around his back. "I've already done a cursory scan and come up with these blokes." Betsy said, standing up and walking towards him. She looked up, casing the mass structure. "Except for what Sean, Sam and Wanda are dealing with..." She paused. "I'm not reading anything. But there's also another way."

Sidestepping passed Scott and Piotr, Betsy leaned down, grabbed the collar of one of the captive guards, and looked into the eyes. "Got any secrets you want to unload?"

Scott lingered right there, watchfully, and was therefore in a perfect position to do something when the man suddenly lunged up off the floor, throwing all his weight against Betsy and bearing them both to the ground. "Get off!" Scott growled, reaching down and hauling the guard off her one-handed, the surge of anger and adrenalin supplying him with more than enough strength to do so easily.

The man seemed to be having some kind of coughing fit. Scott slammed him back against the wall, all before Piotr could do more than begin to move. "Colossus, help Psylocke up," he snapped, his eyes locked on the guard. "~And you,~" he snapped in Spanish to the guard, "~settle the fuck down!~"

Taking Colossus' offered hand, Betsy pulled herself up and wiped the spit off her face with the back of her hand. "Thanks," she muttered, pushing past Piotr.

"It's all right, Cyclops," she said, placing her hand on Scott's arm, urging him without words to let the man go. "He doesn't know any better." Her voice was icily calm, almost too reserved for what she did next.

Betsy kicked the man's knees out from under him, pulled his head back by his hair, and within a blink slammed her psi-blade into his skull. With a groan, the man's body went limp and Betsy released her grip on him, allowing him to fall to the floor. "But he does know that the group here is all that is left. The powers that be proceeded with evac a few days ago, but left these men here to guard the structure." She wiped at her face self-consciously this time, making eye contact with Piotr and Scott.

"Evac... damn it," Scott muttered. Too late. They were too late. No wonder this place had gone quiet - they were pulling out. The anger faded into frustrated chagrin. So much for kicking out spokes... Unless there was more left here than some encrypted files and a couple of dead experimental subjects.

"Want me to go fishing with the rest of them?" Betsy said, tipping her head toward the accumulated mass of prisoners sitting on the floor. The group of men seemed to understand her meaning, as they tried to scoot away even while restrained.

"Whatever you can dig up," Scott said, and knew she'd know that the irritation in his voice wasn't directed at her. "I'm not keen on the idea of writing this off as a total wash."

Betsy felt a thrill of satisfaction run through her, as she walked over and picked up the next man. She felt Scott's need for this situation to have an upside, so unsurprisingly, Betsy searched longer and harder this time. No one would be able to put up mental walls against her psi-blade. It'd simply tear down each defense with continued ease, so she was slightly disappointed when she came up with nothing more than the info they already had.

She grimaced. Beads of sweat falling off her brow from slight over-exertion, she looked up at Scott and shook her head. #Nothing,# she sent, sounding slightly irritated.

Scott reminded himself that punching a prisoner was not an acceptable way to release tension. Really, it wasn't. "Go back to the files, then," he told her. "Once the others regroup back here we'll do a room-by-room search."

#Fun,# Betsy sent and headed back to the computer station. Perhaps, Scott's frustration was contagious because she tore through the files with a ruthlessness that wasn't necessary but felt wholly therapeutic.

---


As the team pulls out, Scott gives in to Betsy's urging and does in fact level the place.


The guards and technicians had been led away in the direction of the Blackbird - a couple of quick calls on the Professor's part had set up a handover to the local authorities, such as they were in this part of Peru - but Scott found himself lingering, eyeing the building. Everything they'd found in terms of files, plus a few pieces of unusual equipment, had been loaded on the plane already, Sean and Sam flying them back since there was no longer any need for discretion.

They'd left the bodies, although they'd taken pictures. Scott tilted his head, his eyes narrowing behind the visor as he regarded the lab.

Betsy sidled up to him, regarding the expression on his face before speaking. "Why not have a go? You know you want to, Scott."

Scott looked down at Betsy, raising an eyebrow. "What," he murmured, drawling out the word a little. "Are you implying that I want to level the building in a fit of pique?"

"Yes," Betsy grinned. "I know you better than most and so I believe I'm qualified to say this and to say it with love. Demolish the ruddy building. It'll make this whole excursion worth it and it'll keep you from sulking around Jean." She kept her face light at that. "Lord knows she has enough to deal with -- helping Haroun."

Scott didn't buy the tacked-on explanation for a minute. Trying not to grin at Betsy, he looked back at the building. "Get behind me," he murmured, reaching up for his visor.

"My hero," Betsy quipped, but did as she was told.

"Wouldn't want to blow you into a tree by accident," Scott said with a perfectly straight face, then thought to warn the others. ~Don't worry about the noise,~ he subvocalized over his com. ~Just going to bring the building down, here...~

Betsy cleared her throat, trying to keep herself from laughing in his face. Wouldn't do much for his masculinity, if she did so. Scott took off his visor and she quirked her head at that. It'd been a while since he'd trusted her enough to--- Bowing her head, she collected herself as he set himself to task. "Don't mind me, I'll just be standing out of the way, here. Taking in the scenery and avoiding the direct line of fire."

"Mmm," Scott said, and, ignoring the little shiver of fear/anxiety, opened his eyes.

Ruby light exploded outwards, an uncontrolled wave of light that smashed into the building with enough force not just to demolish, but almost disintegrate the walls of the sturdy-looking building. The roof caved inwards with a thunderous rumble, the ground itself giving way as Scott's optic blast carved into it.

There was a quick inhale of breath from Betsy, as the structure was decimated under Scott's concentrated gaze. It'd taken a moment for him to relax. The tightness in his shoulders to lessen. She always knew he was never comfortable with all that power, the ability to do so much harm by simply doing a natural act. Opening his eyes.

Betsy's eyes remained rapt on his face as the building turned into dust and rubble, her jovial mood struck dumb by complete awe and wonder.

It was a strange feeling, the blasts free of the ruby quartz. There were only a few times he'd ever let himself do this, only a few occasions where it had been a feasible option to remove the barrier and just cut loose.

Anxiety and a strange elation, followed swiftly by a weird lightheadedness... but the building was rubble, and Scott closed his eyes, shivering a bit as he slid the visor back on securely.

"That always makes me dizzy," he said conversationally.

"But you look beautiful while you're doing it." Betsy admitted. "Free." Clearing her throat, she felt sheepish. "Power like yours shouldn't be forced behind barriers."

Scott smiled a bit tightly, uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was flushing, and not sure why. "Not much to do with it except blow stuff up, Betsy," he pointed out, turning away from the ruins of the lab.

"Says you," Betsy said, disbelievingly. She was standing next to him now, shoulder to shoulder. "For one, it makes for a beautiful light show. Worthy enough to allow yourself a few more times like these." She nudged him, lightly, sensing his apprehension. "It's not uncalled for, you know."

"Well," Scott said more lightly than he really felt, "if I ever get tired of the X-Men I know I could have a good career in demolitions."

"Right," Betsy said, sadly. "Let's not dabble in the impossible, hmmm? We've got a trip ahead of us and I'd like to get back before it gets too late. Come on," she said, locking arms with him. "So, tell me about this imaginary life as a demolitions expert? Think you'd have a secret passion for pyrotechnics and enjoy trimming bonsai trees?"

Scott gave her a wry look. "You're very odd at times. Although I wouldn't mind the bonsai trees... some nice, sedate hobby..."

"And yet , you still let me hang about. That has to account for something?" She laughed at the look on his face. "I'll teach you how to tend to bonsai trees and you'll promise to give me another light show. Deal?"

Scott gazed at her for a moment, then cracked a smile. "Deal. I was serious about not minding the bonsai trees. Although you need to find some excuse for the light show... short of demolishing buildings they're few and far between."

"I'm sure I'll come up with something." Betsy said, thoughtfully. "Our work here is done." She looked over in the direction of the smoldering building and then toward the direction of the Blackbird beyond the jungle. "And the team is waiting ever so patiently for us to return."

"Yeah. Let's go get back in the right hemisphere."