Don't Close Your Eyes: Assembly

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Haller manages to contact Kurt, Crystal, and Doug. The four get together at a motel to discuss the situation and form a plan.




The telepath put down his phone and pinched the bridge of his nose. Qualities such as "spacious" and "comfortable" were only some of the many things this motel was not. The quality it did have in its favor was "close". Only about seven minutes from the mansion, it had been the best option on short notice. However, this still left them with a command post that consisted of twin beds, one table and two chairs, an old television, and a somewhat dated style of interior decoration. One of the beige bedspreads had a strange dark stain that didn't bear thinking about.

"Dammit," Jim sighed, pulling a frustrated hand down his face. "I don't know if they're just out of cell range or a wildfire down there knocked out a tower, but all I'm getting from anyone at the West Coast Annex is voicemail. Between camping trips and Hampton beach I think we've actually been vacationed out of available resources."

Kurt frowned. "We are on our own, then. Doug, can I assume Snow Valley are available should we need their help?"

Doug grimaced. "I'm about all you've got, since Jubilee's inside. We're...pretty thin on the ground right now." All of X-Force was recovering from the rescue mission, in Doug's case literally. The bruising around his eye from the cracked cheekbone he'd sustained lent him a rather ghoulish look. "Just about everyone is out of town right now." He'd come with a fair amount of resources just by himself, as he'd crammed as much electronic equipment as he could into a nondescript van that was kept for just this sort of purpose.

There was the sound of a key, and a red-haired woman entered the room quietly, carrying a bag of food and drink. While she'd never particularly gone into the idea of making sure people were fed when she was a student, she'd done it for Nathan from time to time, and at the moment it seemed it was up to her to make sure people kept up their strength for what was to come. So while Haller was attempting to reach other people, Crystal had left the room briefly. She wouldn't be too surprised if people weren't particularly hungry, but if there was something to eat right there, people were far more likely to consider it. Crystal spread out a plastic bag and napkins on the table before placing items on it. She didn't trust the hygeine of the table, and she also wasn't about to sit on any surface in that room.

"This makes no sense," Jim said, not for the first time. His eyes briefly tracked to register Crystal's enterance, but he made no comment. "Their demands, I mean. They want us to free Brotherhood members but they won't use Garrison, they said I couldn't call any official channels . . . but they're serious enough they're willing to invade a building full of mutants and put a bomb in Xavier's?"

"Then perhaps this is not what it seems", Kurt said quietly. "Is it possible they are just trying to calm us by making us think we can do something to end the situation peacefully?"

"It doesn't add up," Doug agreed with the two other men. "And I don't like it when things don't add up." Then again, institutional paranoia meant that he sometimes didn't trust when things -did- add up. And with good reason, considering what had happened to Remy. "If their objective isn't the actual release of Brotherhood members, then what is it?" he asked semi-rhetorically.

Jim's fists clenched against his thighs. "With a twelve-hour deadline, I doubt we'll have time to figure it out."

The telepath turned to look at Kurt, trying to maintain a reasonable level of calm. He knew the man wasn't comfortable making command decisions, but he was also the most senior teammember present. Right now, Kurt was the closest thing they had to authority. "We can't just wait for the clock to run down," Jim said. "Not all of the kids left for the weekend. What do we do?"

"I go in", Kurt said after a moment's thought. "I can take one passenger, although with so few of us perhaps it would be best if you three remained out here - and I am the only one with a chance of getting into the mansion unnoticed."

"What can I do to help?" Crystal asked from her seated position in the air near the others. This was a tricky situation, quite a dangerous one. A full powers assault couldn't help here. Going in and getting noticed wasn't going to help anyone. She was glad she'd already had a known reason for being around the city this weekend and had actually been nearby when she received Haller's call, not in Attilan or out on an X-Factor case.

"You can fly", Kurt said thoughtfully. "Do you think you could keep aerial surveillance on the mansion without being seen?"

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Jim put in. "There's definitely something telepathic going on there. I don't know the exact range, but it's at least the mansion's gate. If she's noticed and gets hit in mid-air . . ." He winced, as much at his memory of the experience as the possibility Crystal might find herself subjected to the same thing hundreds of feet above the ground. They all had training in psi-defense, but contact had sliced through his like a buzzsaw. And as near as he could tell, whatever had been lurking around Jean's mind hadn't even been trying.

"It is quite possible that I could keep myself from being noticed from a physical standpoint," Crystal replied, "but from what has been said, I doubt that I could keep my presence from remaining unknown. While I began training to shield myself from telepaths at an early age, I cannot imagine that there is anything I could do to withstand something which has prevented two powerful telepaths from being able to send or receive mental contact. I can create a distraction if needed, cover the grounds in fog to provide cover, but as the weather is not calling for that today, I am sure that whoever is behind this would realize that a mutant power was responsible." While she wished she could keep an eye on things, it wouldn't do anyone any good if she wound up being dropped out of the sky or possibly even had her mind taken over and controlled. Crystal did not like it when that happened and was fairly certain she'd rather die than have that happen to her again.

"Yes, perhaps not, then", Kurt agreed hastily. "I think we can all agree on no unnecessary risks, as everyone will ideally come out of this alive."

"Okay, it looks like whatever they've done with security has more holes in the basement," Doug told the impromptu team. "Probably because the systems down there are so much more complex than anything else in the mansion. So your odds are a little better in that regard." There were still too many unknowns for him to be entirely comfortable with the plan, but beggars couldn't be choosers with a twelve-hour deadline.

"I guess Kurt could teleport some of us . . ?" Jim said, though he sounded dubious.

"Only one at a time", Kurt reminded him. "Or perhaps, in a pinch, Crystal and one other - but I think I would rather leave you out here until I can assess the situation."

"What can you do alone? We don't know how many--" Jim paused, then frowned. "Wait. The professor?"

"It would be very hard for them to keep him contained", Kurt agreed. "And there are only a few likely places they would put him to do so. Perhaps if I bring him back out immediately, we can work on a better plan."

Jim traded a look with Crystal. "I suppose . . ." The idea of Kurt going in there alone made him nervous, but whoever was in the mansion already knew Jim was involved; he'd show up on a telepath's radar like a spotlight. It was probably better to keep Crystal and Doug back as assets -- and Doug didn't look like he'd be in shape to storm castles anytime soon.

"All right", Kurt said with determination that was as much to convince himself as the others. "Crystal, please have as much of a medical kit available as you can put together from drug stores on this notice. We do not know what they may have done to him."

Crystal nodded. They didn't know what had been done to anyone inside the mansion. It was possible that none of the three doctors living at the mansion would be capable of treating anyone right now, leaving her as the only one who had medical training. They could only hope that everyone inside remained unharmed, and even if people were as safe as possible at the moment, that could change at any time. And it was not at all impossible that Kurt's sudden appearance at the mansion would go unnoticed... Crystal kept a stash of various medical supplies at the place serving as her summer home this year, otherwise known as Jean-Paul's apartment. But that was in District X, and while it wouldn't take her too long to fly there, both Crystal Amaquelin and Riley Chase needed to stay out of sight right now, and being seen going into Jean-Paul's apartment while using her X-Men image inducer look didn't seem like a good idea. But she could certainly buy supplies using it.

Kurt nodded back, satisfied, as Crystal slipped out of the room on that mission, and turned to Doug. "As for you, Mr. Ramsey, I need you to see what they have done to our security, as far as you can. Especially if they have taken any of our files."

On Doug's distracted acknowledgment, he smiled slightly.

"Then here I go."