Operation: Dasavatharam , Extra security

[x-scarletwitch.livejournal.com]

After the call, Wanda and Amanda sit down to discuss what, exactly, comes next. It doesn't make Wanda very pleased.




The look on Wanda’s face could simply be summed up in one word: murderous.

“If they so much as touch those women again,” she seethed, slamming a heavy book down on the nearest surface, “I will personally skin them alive.” The phone call from Jane had been unexpected if only due to the fact that Wanda had no idea how she’d been tracked down. Then again, Jane was one of the luck mutants, so it wasn’t all that surprising. But the woman had sounded terrified beyond belief, worried about her safety and the safety of her family.



"They won't," Amanda replied, trying to keep her tone mild. "We've got them all covered as far as safehouses and the rest goes. And once we catch these bastards, they can go home."

There was that, though a few of the women had held out stating that they’d had their lives turned upside down by the Exemplars once and they wouldn’t allow that to happen again. It sounded, she thought with dark amusement, as if they were preparing to fight it out on their own terms. And that was why Sarah and Cammie were alternating keeping watch. Just in case. She slumped back in her chair. “I have called and warned Jennie, at least. Of all the people to come back like cockroaches, why this group?”

"That's what we need to work out - if we know why they're back, the sooner we can get them to fuck off out of it." Amanda looked pointedly at Wanda. "There's one more probability manipulator we need to make sure is safe, tho'."



Wanda suddenly felt the need to be very interested in the cracks in the ceiling but she was no longer four. Also, Amanda would call her out on it without question. "And what, exactly, is the plan for that?" she asked, obviously wary of the answer. Though she was hard pressed to admit it, however, the Exemplars return had her on edge.



"You get your own personal bodyguard," Amanda replied smoothly. "Everywhere you go, I go. If need be, I stick you in a bubble for your own protection."

“Considering the implications of the Exemplars, I had a sneaking suspicion that you would say that.” She rubbed her face, suddenly feeling quite tired. The very idea of having to stick close to someone grated. Of course Wanda trusted her friends and teammates with her life. Perhaps, considering the magical implications from time to time and if it came down to it, with her soul. But having to need someone to be around just in case her powers fritzed out on her went against her nature.

However, it didn’t go against her training and that, and common sense, was enough to get past the outrage of the idea. “No bubble needed,” she finally admitted, dropping her hand down into her lap. “Sometimes, I think the event in Africa – or should I say events? – changed the playing field for all of us.”



"No-one wants to admit they're vulnerable," Amanda agreed softly, her expression sympathetic. Wanda was like an injured caged wild, frustrated by her imprisonment, even if it was for her own good. "And between Africa and HYDRA, we're all vulnerable now."

“We really are and I sincerely wish we had never reached this point. But, then again, Remy and Pete never said it would be easy when we first started, did they? The job would not be worth it if it was easy. I doubt you could easily find one person here, now, that would take an easy, meaningless job over this.” She was rambling. Wanda mentally shook herself, drawing in a deep breath as she straightened. “Right. We both know how much I am going to chafe under this, so we might as well make the most of it. We need to start reaching out to our community about the Exemplars and see what we can dig up.”

Amanda grinned. That was her Boss Lady. She came over to the table, taking a seat and pulling a notepad towards her. "The way I see it," she said, grabbing a pen to start taking notes. "We're going to need to tap the clairvoyants and fortune tellers in the network. The Exemplars have a bee in their bonnet about changing reality, right?"

That was a good idea. "They really do. They believe themselves to be the guardians of the known reality and they do not take kindly to those with the ability to change that known quantity. I am not sure if clairvoyants and fortune tellers fall on their watch list but it certainly does not hurt to warn them and see if they can come up with anything solid for us to go on. I might as well put in a call to Stephen, as well. That man hasn't seen the light of day since he arrived at Agatha's museum."

"I've gotten the odd email from him, mostly about Nico, but it might be a good idea to get him in on this," Amanda agreed. "Do we know how exactly they cancel out your powers? Is it magic, or a mutation or what?"

"I am thinking mostly mutation, though there might be some magic users thrown in the mix. It appears that when they are gathered in a group, their abilities combine to - freeze, I suppose, those that can manipulate the natural order of things. I am not terribly certain what it is they can do if they are on their own, however, but I am not keen on finding out."

"So, best way to counter them is to separate them. Maybe." Amanda scribbled more notes. "A bit like that purple dragon the X-Men came up against that was made of lots of Chinese peasants." Tapping the pencil against her cheek, she pondered the situation. "I wonder how long these berks have been in the business - might be worth it to do a poke around the archives, see if there's any established encounters."

Well, at least they hadn't had to fight a purple dragon. Wanda made a note to tease Jean about that the next time they got together to play "How weird is your job compared to mine". "It might also do to see if there is a pattern of chaos and luck users," she said slowly, feeling out the idea. "I thought Jennie and my powers were rare but there were a fair number of women just in this area. It might not have anything to do with stopping the Exemplars but we might be able to trace their whereabouts if we had more information from that end. Perhaps we can recruit Doug for some numbers crunching."

"It could turn up a bigger picture, too," Amanda added. "Maybe they're not just concentrating on New York - could be they're trying to blind us to another operation elsewhere."

"Christ, Domino," Wanda breathed, realizing that there was something she'd been forgetting. "Another call I will need to make soon - where is she these days, anyway?"

The blonde shook her head. "No idea, but Ange will know. I can ask him." She looked down at the notepad. Lots of question marks, not a lot of answers. "Well, we should probably get going on this. The sooner we sort these bastards out, the sooner you lose me as your extra shadow."