xp_logs | Garrison and Sooraya: Flight from Attilan

Garrison comes to escort Sooraya home...

Attilan was warmer than Kane had expected. Granted, it was a lot closer to the equator and almost tropical, but after a chilling week in New York, it was like stepping into a balmy resort. The Canadian adjusted his light jacket and continued to read his paper, waiting for the bus from the Attilan school to arrive. The Professor had specifically requested an X-Man to fly over and collect Sooraya, after she'd announced her plans to return to the mansion. Xavier didn't give him any details, but there was that brief shadow in his tone that always hid something worth worrying about. Whatever it might be, the Professor wanted a representative from the school there, and Kane had beaten the others to steal at least a morning in some warm weather.

He had just started on the rest of the hockey box scores when he caught sight of the bus pulling up; a 2011 model, showing that the royal family had no intentions of stinting on the school. Sometimes, it was good to have a real princess on staff, he reflected, as he folded his paper under his arm and got up to meet them in the terminal parking.

Sooraya looked around anxiously, fingering the bandage on her temple. She hardly noticed the green surroundings or the blue sky, all her attention focused on the possible appearance of the blue glow that preceded Mahad’s teleportation. One kidnapping and a sneak attack on her room had been enough.

Things had all happened so fast… Only two days ago she had been happily going about her life, with Achmed and his friends only a niggling, annoying afterthought in her mind. Sure, they had been irritating and she had been seriously considering talking with someone at the school about it, but she had never expected they would simply shove her in a car and kidnap her and the idea they would attack the school had been unthinkable…

But things were as they were… And she couldn't change them now... The first buildings of the airport whizzed by and she took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. The bus quickly pulled into terminal parking and Sooraya gathered her things.

Once outside, she quickly thanked the bus driver and turned the teacher who had escorted her here. “Thank you, Mr. Tavares. I’ll miss Attilan.”

The man nodded back, a small smile on this face. “You’re welcome, Sooraya. Good luck in New York. And know we will do what we can here to make sure they will leave you alone.”

Sooraya smiled briefly and nodded, before turning around and approaching Mr. Kane. She had known she would have and escort, but she had not known who it would be before she spotted him as they turned onto the parking lot. She bit her lip, not knowing quite what to say. Finally she decided on simple politeness. “Thank you, Mr. Kane, for coming to pick me up.”

"Technically, that's the plane's job. I'm just here as a loyal porter and charming seatmate." Kane said with a nod. He had been momentarily taken aback, forgetting that Sooraya was no longer a young teenaged girl. She'd grown up during her time in Attilan, much like her friends in the school had. The difference was that Kane had been there to watch their change evolve, and with Sooraya, it was all at once. "That all of your luggage?"

“Thanks anyway.” Sooraya rubbed the bandage thoughtlessly once more and hefted her bag with her other hand. “This is all. Leyu promised she would pack up the rest of my stuff for me and the school said they would ship it. They thought it would better if I left as soon as possible…When is the plane leaving?” she asked, as she scanned the area around them anxiously. The last thing she wanted was to get her teacher involved into a fight, while he was so kind to come all this way to pick her up.

“Here, let me grab that." The Canadian hoisted the bag easily, and in the process, caught sight of her nervous glances around. Attilan was a relatively safe place; small community, little crime, and an effective police force. The security at the school was top notch, so why was Sooraya looking around like a squirrel walking into a coyote convention? "The flight leaves in about forty-five minutes. Some reason you want to be in the air as soon as possible?"

“I rather not have a third visit of Achmed and his friends. Two times was enough.” She stared at Mr. Kane, her eyes widening as something occurred to her. “They did tell you what happened with Achmed and Sayyid, didn’t they?” Her hand started to finger the bandage again, but caught herself, lacing her hands together to keep from fidgeting as she stared at him.

"No, that part they left out." Obviously Charles and the Attilan school were trying to figure the situation out, which explained the need for an escort for Sooraya. "Who are Achmed and Sayyid?"

“Long story…” Sooraya ordered her thoughts for a moment. “According to Sayyid, Achmed is supposed to be my husband. And we’re supposed to have powerful mutant babies together. Achmed is part of a youth group I was a part of before Sayyid came the leader.” She glanced around once more. “Is there any way we could wait inside? They have a friend who is a teleporter… I think it was more difficult for him to teleport himself and others if he couldn't see us...”

"And I thought high school was weird for me..." Kane shook his head. "Look, Sooraya, no one is going to try and grab you from here. I'm faster than any teleporter and strong enough to drop kick him to the coast of Portugal if they try. That's why the Professor sent one of us in the first place; so that kind of thing can't happen." Regardless, Kane started moving for the doors of the terminal. He was more than a match for any student, but hopefully the walls around her would help reassure Sooraya. "More importantly, now that the Professor knows, anyone trying to grab you will have the X-Men on their doorstop inside of an hour."

“I know… But I already dragged Leyu into this when they teleported into our room and they hurt her... And they won’t come alone… I don’t want them to hurt anyone else.” She followed him inside and let out a little sigh as the air conditioning blasted down on them on full strength. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to relax a little. “I know I should have left the moment I recognized Sayyid’s ideas…” she muttered softly.

"No, you should have talked to one of the teachers at the school or called the Professor. It's our job to provide you a safe place, Sooraya, so long as you let us know what's happening." This would definitely require a discussion with the Professor when they got back. Whoever this Achmed and Sayyid were, they needed a lesson in just what happens when you try and kidnap someone. A couple of X-Men explaining what twenty-five to life along with getting the crap kicked out of them first might prove an effective deterrent.

“Hey…” She protested, a faint tinge of anger and indignation in her voice. “I might have recognized Sayyid’s ideas, but the others in the group… I thought they were my friends once… I never expected them to do something like this! Would you have thought that?” She glared at him, her fists on her hips. “I know it’s my fault that Leyu got hurt, that the school was attacked. They were annoying, but I did not think they would go this far.” She hissed at him.

"And yet, you just said that you should have left once you recognized Sayyid's ideas. Who are you angry at, Sooraya? Me or yourself?" Kane set the bag down next to a bench and took a seat. "No one has blamed you for Leyu getting hurt except you. Which means somewhere along the way, you recognized that something wasn't right. Of course I don't think that you should have made the leap from something not feeling right to 'my friends are about to kidnap me for the purpose of rape'."

Sooraya deflated almost immediately. “I am sorry, Mr. Kane. I just… I didn’t want to see it… They were my friends and… I wanted to think they were just attracted to the glitter and glamour of ideas that Sayyid had and that they would return to ‘normal’. That’s why I stayed at first and why I didn’t go to anyone once they started pressuring me…” She rubbed her eyes tiredly. “I am sorry.” She repeated. “I should have gone to someone sooner…”

"Sooraya, if I had a nickel for every time I've had to say 'I should have done something sooner', I'd have... well- I'd have a shitload of nickels." Garrison said gently. "Friends make the lines even harder to see. I just want you to know that you can trust to come to us, even if it turns out to be nothing in the end. You're the last person who needs me to tell you that it can be dangerous out there, and if something doesn't feel right to you, that's good enough for us to take it seriously, eh?"

“I definitely will next time.” Sooraya looked up from the ground. “Mr, Kane, are the X-men going to get involved in this? Sayyids’s ideas… they are almost the same as the ideas of that man in Afghanistan… with the refugee camp… And now that he attacked the school in Attilan for something so small… he really scares me…There were others in the group... they left before me... What if he is going after them?”

"I don't know, Sooraya. We'll need to sit down with the people at the school and likely yourself and get all the information about this Sayyid. What I can promise is that he's not going to be allowed to try this again. Whether it’s us or Attilan's police or a helping hand to Interpol, he will face responsibility for his actions." He assured her. The kids had faced too much already; warzones, attacks on the school, threatened and used as pawns by people out to get the X-Men. They had to believe that the mansion was a safe place, otherwise, all their work was for nothing.

“Thanks. I want to help. I don’t want him to hurt anyone else. And I want him to stop spreading his ideas. I think some them… without Sayyid… they might change their minds…” She stated clearly, then quickly hiding a yawn behind her hand. A faint blush crept up her cheeks. “Sorry, it have been a few very long days.” She gazed at the gate with longing, hoping the plane would arrive quickly. She was exhausted and she wanted nothing more than a nap.

"It's alright. I'm used to women yawning at me when I'm talking." Kane joked as he checked the departure board. "Come on. Let's fumble through security and see if we can find a coffee the size of your head on the other side."

Sooraya hid another yawn behind her hand. “I like that idea. I can’t wait till I can sleep in a real bed…”

"Unfortunately, it's going to be a few hours wait for that. But I can offer you an uncomfortable seat and mediocre microwaved food in the meantime."

"I have had worse." Sooraya said dryly as she followed him to security. "Let's head home."