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xp_logs2008-10-26 06:08 pm
x-forge.livejournal.com) wrote in xp_logs2008-10-26 06:08 pm
Day Zero - Drafted
Another volunteer joins the effort.
Forge rechecked his PDA, continually downloading civil engineering documents from every source he could find. All the servers in Manhattan were down, and he couldn't ping Doug to hack into the New York State records, so he was forced to keep trolling the public archives for municipal plans and records.
Without paying attention, he almost collided with someone as they were going down the stairs at a high rate of speed.
Julio, having lived at the mansion long enough now, didn't even blink before he caught the shorter boy to prevent him from falling over. He was just on his way to get another status check on the city. "How is it?" he said, since Forge had his PDA almost to his nose. "Any word yet? On anyone?" He tried not to sound too anxious. Other than last night, there had been no word on anyone else trapped in the city.
Forge's eyes were uncharacteristically blank. "Jennie was on the George Washington Bridge," he said in a shaking voice. "There's a group of students still unaccounted for, and most of the Snow Valley personnel. Laurie hasn't checked in, either. We're staging an operation, though. We're going in and getting the city back."
Julio sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know about Jennie. So nothing about the students? About Nori?" Nori could take care of herself, or so he hoped... Oh, who was he kidding? Her crisis management skills left something to be desired. All he hoped was that she was with other people who could keep her safe and out of trouble.
Shaking his head, Forge looked back down to his PDA. "Nothing. Whatever's jamming communications in and out of the city is also playing havoc with GPS signals. Can't ping the phones, all we can do is hope that they've got enough training to stay alive. Not as if the English Dope's going to be any help there."
"Is there anything we can do? Or anything I can do? I don't have the X-Men's level of training, but I can hold my own in a fight if need be." Anything was better than waiting during a crisis again. He wasn't stupid enough to run off on his own, but he was an able bodied adult and to be left out again out of concerns for his 'safety' was something of a moot point now. They were up against something big and would need everyone they could. Jennie's death proved that.
Forge restrained his first instinctive answer, but then his PDA buzzed, distracting him. A series of tunnel maps blinked rapidly on his screen, all marked years out of date. He swore under his breath, holding back the urge to throw the small device into a wall. "Dammit! We're going to need Sarah to navigate us through, and... we're... going..."
He turned and looked at Julio. "How well do your powers work underground?" he asked quickly.
Julio blinked. "Better than above ground, actually," he said quickly. "We've figured out that I can use them to see in the dark." Not that he was any particularly good at that aspect of his power, leaving him with bruised shins more often than not. But it was sink or swim time, and if he could be of any used at all...
Forge nodded, then holstered his PDA and grabbed Julio by the shoulder. "Come on," he said as he headed for the stairs. "Time to get you some gear. Congratulations, you're being drafted."
"O-okay," Julio said, following the shorter man.
Flipping his X-Men communicator out of his pocket, Forge tapped one of the quick-call buttons. "Forge to Cyclops. Team Charlie's got our ace in the hole. On my way to explain." He looked back at Julio and nodded. "Time to man up, dude. Forget all the bullshit sports metaphors and big speeches. We've got two choices here: go out and save the world, or stay home and watch it on TV. You want door number two, hey, no one's going to blame you. Otherwise? Follow me."
"Lead on," Julio said. His tone was even and his expression calm. Now that he was doing something other than waiting, his anxiety vanished completely.
Forge rechecked his PDA, continually downloading civil engineering documents from every source he could find. All the servers in Manhattan were down, and he couldn't ping Doug to hack into the New York State records, so he was forced to keep trolling the public archives for municipal plans and records.
Without paying attention, he almost collided with someone as they were going down the stairs at a high rate of speed.
Julio, having lived at the mansion long enough now, didn't even blink before he caught the shorter boy to prevent him from falling over. He was just on his way to get another status check on the city. "How is it?" he said, since Forge had his PDA almost to his nose. "Any word yet? On anyone?" He tried not to sound too anxious. Other than last night, there had been no word on anyone else trapped in the city.
Forge's eyes were uncharacteristically blank. "Jennie was on the George Washington Bridge," he said in a shaking voice. "There's a group of students still unaccounted for, and most of the Snow Valley personnel. Laurie hasn't checked in, either. We're staging an operation, though. We're going in and getting the city back."
Julio sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know about Jennie. So nothing about the students? About Nori?" Nori could take care of herself, or so he hoped... Oh, who was he kidding? Her crisis management skills left something to be desired. All he hoped was that she was with other people who could keep her safe and out of trouble.
Shaking his head, Forge looked back down to his PDA. "Nothing. Whatever's jamming communications in and out of the city is also playing havoc with GPS signals. Can't ping the phones, all we can do is hope that they've got enough training to stay alive. Not as if the English Dope's going to be any help there."
"Is there anything we can do? Or anything I can do? I don't have the X-Men's level of training, but I can hold my own in a fight if need be." Anything was better than waiting during a crisis again. He wasn't stupid enough to run off on his own, but he was an able bodied adult and to be left out again out of concerns for his 'safety' was something of a moot point now. They were up against something big and would need everyone they could. Jennie's death proved that.
Forge restrained his first instinctive answer, but then his PDA buzzed, distracting him. A series of tunnel maps blinked rapidly on his screen, all marked years out of date. He swore under his breath, holding back the urge to throw the small device into a wall. "Dammit! We're going to need Sarah to navigate us through, and... we're... going..."
He turned and looked at Julio. "How well do your powers work underground?" he asked quickly.
Julio blinked. "Better than above ground, actually," he said quickly. "We've figured out that I can use them to see in the dark." Not that he was any particularly good at that aspect of his power, leaving him with bruised shins more often than not. But it was sink or swim time, and if he could be of any used at all...
Forge nodded, then holstered his PDA and grabbed Julio by the shoulder. "Come on," he said as he headed for the stairs. "Time to get you some gear. Congratulations, you're being drafted."
"O-okay," Julio said, following the shorter man.
Flipping his X-Men communicator out of his pocket, Forge tapped one of the quick-call buttons. "Forge to Cyclops. Team Charlie's got our ace in the hole. On my way to explain." He looked back at Julio and nodded. "Time to man up, dude. Forget all the bullshit sports metaphors and big speeches. We've got two choices here: go out and save the world, or stay home and watch it on TV. You want door number two, hey, no one's going to blame you. Otherwise? Follow me."
"Lead on," Julio said. His tone was even and his expression calm. Now that he was doing something other than waiting, his anxiety vanished completely.