New Orleans is Sinking: Into New Orleans

[x-gambit.livejournal.com]

X-Force arrives secretly in New Orleans ahead of the storm.



Only a fool would fly into a city waiting on a hurricane. They had received no less than five seperate warnings not to get any closer on route to the city, and only Emma's slightly illegal manipulations with the transponder kept her from being charged with an extremely reckless decision. The little airfield that Remy had pointed out was almost little more than a dirt path, until the flares ignited to let them land.

Smugglers from Central and South America needed ways into the country, and many of the Thieves Guild had contacts ready to look the other way. It hadn't taken more than a few words with LeBeau to see the plane safely stored in the small hanger that served as the only building in the area. A van had been waiting, and they had driven silently south, into New Orleans itself.

Their safehouse was a small affair not far inside the ward. It was really little more than a staging area, as they started to make seperate plans for their individual tasks.

One thing was obvious; this city was on the edge of something bad. The dark clouds that clumped overhead like an oppressive ceiling, the winds that snatched at the streets, and most importantly, the ghost town aspect of them. Only a handful of people could be seen, most skittering furtively between shelters, with the look of someone facing a future with no hope.

Ororo and Amanda take a moment to consider what's coming, and what they need to do.



This city is very, very ill. This was the first thing that Ororo thought upon arriving in New Orleans, and the opinion had only been strengthened with each passing minute. The skies were waterlogged, the humidity fluctuating wildly as the winds increased and stirred the bloated air around. Adding to the effect was the underlying sinister presence of something else - she could only assume this was an effect of the magic that would amplify the coming storm into something even greater and more destructive. It made her skin crawl.

Amanda had never been able to draw on New Orleans - it was Tante's city, and that was that - but she didn't need to absorb the energy to feel the tension in the air, the sense of impending doom. It weighed on her, like a blanket. Glancing over at Ororo, she caught the older woman's strained expression. "You all right there, 'Ro?" she asked, moving over to join her whilst the others made their preparations. A stupid question, really, in the face of what Ororo was proposing to do.

The smile she turned on Amanda was genuine enough, if a bit pinched. "Yes, I am fine, thank you." Well, perhaps 'fine' wasn't exactly the word for it, but it seemed less than futile to voice her own problems at a time like this. "It is good we arrived when we did. If we had waited any longer I do not know if we would have been able to gain entrance to the city."

"Yeah." Amanda frowned at that thought. Things were going to hell in a handbasket very, very quickly. "I just hope Tante's got a plan. Well, she probably does, I just hope it's a bloody good one."

"As do I." The silver-haired woman glanced over the rest of the group, who were busily preparing themselves and their equipment for the task ahead. "As strange as this may sound, I think I may need to step outside to clear my head. You are welcome to join me, if you wish."

"Sure," she replied readily. Waiting made her nervous, waiting about when everyone else got ready made her feel nervous and useless. She followed Ororo outside, exchanging a brief nod with Remy as she did. Outside, the sky was dark with clouds, the wind picking up and tossing bits of paper and leaves around. But somehow it felt better than inside. For a long moment the two of them just stood, taking it all in, and then Amanda spoke softly: "This place was home to me for a bit there. I had my first apartment, finished high school, had a job... I stuck out like a sore thumb but the people - Tante's people - never let me feel that way." A certain resolution tightened her jaw despite the fear she felt. "I won't see someone fuck them over."

Ororo nodded; this wasn't her city, or her home, but she knew how Amanda felt. She knew how it was to find welcome in an unlikely place, and the ties that grew from it. "I do not think any of us will allow that, not if we have any power to stop it," she murmured, reaching up to massage one of her temples lightly.

"We will." We have to. The alternative was something she didn't want to consider, not with so much in her life now. She almost envied Ororo, being able to face this, Remy if not at her side, then sharing the same risks. But then she saw the movement of Ororo's hand, and reminded herself that she had the easy job - she wasn't about to face a hurricane with only one other person as backup. "Ro', I... thanks. For coming." It sounded pretty lame, but there wasn't words for what she wanted to express. "With you, we've got a fighting chance. 'S appreciated."

"I could not let an opportunity like this pass - I have been wondering for years what it would be like to do something like this." Her words hid the fact that beyond the curiousity she was also absolutely terrified. Years of wondering had also led her to believe that 'something like this' would be a foolish and ultimately harmful thing to attempt. Nevertheless, here she was. She smiled and reached out to put a hand on Amanda's shoulder. "And I could not have stayed away knowing that the people I care about were here."


Amanda gave Ororo a grateful smile for the contact. "Remy's not wrong about you," she said, and she patted the hand on her shoulder with her own that shook a bit. "I've gotta admit, I'm bloody pissing myself scared right now. But it helps knowing people like you are here." She bit her lip a little. "It's weird, tho', not having Angie with us."


"It is always strange, leaving a member of the team behind. But you cannot let that distract you from the task ahead." She didn't comment on the other girl's unstable condition, as that was probably at the forefront of Amanda's mind and something that all the sage advice in the world wouldn't banish. A sudden shift in the air pressure overhead caused her to wince then, her hand tightening on Amanda's shoulder before she drew it away. "Somebody is impatient," she observed with a tight, wry smile.

"'S their big night and all." Contempt laced Amanda's words, and she held onto that, using it to balance the fear. Belladonna's face rose in her mind's eye, as she'd last seen the other woman, standing over her as she lay on a concrete floor with her back scorched by an energy blast. "Somebody's gunna be disappointed when it all comes crashing down on their head." She hoped she got to see what happened to the woman.

"One can hope..." The distraction that came with the rapidly-shifting weather was almost welcome, as it kept her from worrying about Remy, Amanda, and the rest of the Snow Valley team. Of course, it made focusing much more difficult to do, and Ororo realized belatedly that she hadn't spoken for some time when she finally cleared her head. "Perhaps we ought to head inside. It will be raining before too much longer."

"Yeah. 'S gunna be a wet old night for sure..." Amanda took a breath, trying to settle her nerves. "And it'll be time for Remy's big speech, no doubt." There was the barest lifting of the corner of her mouth as she looked up at Ororo.

The weatherworker managed to summon her own smile in response to Amanda's, and she nodded as she turned to go inside. "Let us not be late for the rallying of the troops." Because we sorely need it.