Jean and Angelo: Unglued (Backdated)

[x-jeangrey.livejournal.com]

Jean and Angelo have a DR session involving a kidnapped boy in Madripoor. The session is completed but not without some problems.



Night had fallen on Madripoor harbor as a tiny boat cut through the water, on its way toward a large, converted freighter in the distance. It slowed to a stop about halfway there.

"We can't go any further or they'll see us," Jean said, adjusting her scuba mask. "We'll have to swim from here."

The idea of it turned her stomach into knots, but that was why she was doing it, to get over that fear.

"You all right doing that?" Angelo said with a sideways glance at her. "I'm right here, if you need help."

Jean stared down at the black, ink-like sea. It caught the moon overhead, scattering the light. She didn't know if there would be a time where she would see the water and not remember, if only for a moment. But that didn't mean she had to be ruled by it. And so far she'd done okay when life decided that 'swallowed by a large body of water' would be a continuing occurrence. Perhaps it was fate's way of saying you can't run, you can only ride the tide and decide how you react to it: sink or swim?

"I'm good. Practice makes perfect," she said with a smile. She was going to swim.

"You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He shot her a crooked grin. "Still not a fan of cold water."

"You and me both," Jean said. Their wetsuits provided some help, though, so it was a small comfort.

"Alright. We find the boy and try to get him out without drawing too much attention. If they know his father isn't going to bargain with them then they'll kill him without a second thought."

"Let's hope for just one or two guards, then", he said, slipping into the water. "We might be able to take them out quietly."

"This is one of Scott or Garrison's scenarios...I don't think they'll make it that easy," Jean said, following in after him.

The scuba tank and gear weighed her down, making her have to work a little harder to stay afloat. She hadn't been swimming in a long time, since last summer, so it helped contribute to her sense of unease. Focusing on the mission, however, helped. Had she been doing it just for the simple act of it, she might not have done as well.

"There's...a maintenance hatch...starboard side. We can get in that way."

"True. Evil-minded, the pair of them." He was keeping a tactful eye on Jean as they swam, just in case. "I can be a lever if need be."

The water lapped at her as she swam. She imagined how far down the bottom was. The instinctive drowning response takes 20-60 seconds to kick in before a person goes under. The drowning victim, upon inhaling water, will try to cough to expel the water, inadvertently drawing more into the lungs. The larynx will then constrict and seal off the air tube, causing oxygen deprivation. Without oxygen the brain will start to die. From there, the chance of brain damage increases the longer a person remains underwater.

That's enough. She shut off the thoughts abruptly by staring at the freighter.

"That'd be great," Jean said. She could've used her telekinesis but she also wanted to utilize team building tactics.

"I like new applications", Angelo said with a grin. "I've picked locks before."

Jean smiled. "Then that will be your task, young rapscallion. Pick away," she said.

"We have to--" She glanced up.

~Someone's on deck. We need to dive.~

"~Diving now~", he sent back briskly, and did, trying not to lose sight of her in the process.

Jean put the respirator in her mouth as she slipped under the waves, losing sight of the shoreline. She could see the flashlights of the men on deck gliding across the water as they made their routine check, and told herself the boat was right in front of her. It had its anchor down so shouldn't have been moving. The blackness all around her momentarily disoriented her, and she sucked in gulps of oxygen from the tank but managed to slow her breathing as she focused on the lights above.

Soham Japalehe Manawa. Soham, soham, soham....

A Tibetan meditation mantra drifted through her mind, and she flowed through the water as the guards moved past toward the other side of the ship. The starboard side of the boat came up quickly, and they could see the hatch up ahead.

"Right", Angelo said quietly, surfacing and pulling his respirator free. "Shall we go in?"

Jean didn't answer at first, but then finally nodded, pleased with herself. "Copy," she said.

"Define what you mean by 'lever?'"

"Stretch up", he explained, beginning to do so, "wriggle in through the gap, pull it open."

"Huh," Jean cocked her head to the side with a light grin as she climbed up the ladder, hoisting herself from the water. "That never ceases to amaze. Carry on."

"I can get through the crack where the hinges are", he said cheerfully, pulling himself up the ladder as he worked. "No keeping me out if I want to get in."

"You're lucky I'm not like Hank," Jean mused. "I'd be asking to see if we could do experiments in the name of science."

Angelo laughed. "Experiments we can do later, if you want. Within reason."

Jean grinned. "Don't tempt me when it comes to science. I was a curious child. It made Charles very afraid." She nodded to the hatch.

"Anyway, we should probably get back to the kid saving. I don't want to know what surprises this simulation has up its sleeve."

"Whatever it's got, I'm sure the surprises are waiting for us. But it might be programmed to spring something if we waste time, you're right."

He focused on the hatch.

Jean kept her eyes and ears out for any type of approach. So far things seemed to be quiet. She was not going to add 'too quiet' because that would jinx it. And she couldn't use her telepathy in this scenario because the danger room constructs didn't have minds, per se. She was treating it like they had psionic blockers. Again. She had started to keep a tally of how many people dealt in them. Was there a wholesaler she didn't know about?

"The boy's name is Buzz McLaren. He's about 16. That's all we know."

"Buzz?" He glanced back at her, wryly amused. "And 16. Why do I think this might be complicated by him?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. All 16 year olds are perfect little angels who never cause any trouble, " Jean deadpanned with a light smirk.

"...you didn't see me at 16. But you do remember what I did in my first couple of years here, right?"

"Don't spoil my optimism, Skin. I have to have some hope."

"Then I think Hope", with acknowledgment of the pun, "is probably your best bet. Unless she decides to rebel."

"It's possible," Jean said, with a bit more serious consideration than perhaps Angelo was expecting. The young woman had a troubled home life. It was more than possible that being at the school might jump start some acts of revelry in her new-found freedom, pushing the rules to see just how far she could get since she had been so bogged down by them at home.

"It's always possible", he agreed. "But I'm not sure she'd know where to start. That said, I could see Maddie jumping to help her."

"That one's a given," Jean smiled. She nodded to the hatch.

"How's it coming? We need to stay focused."

"Almost - there." Angelo grinned in triumph as the hatch popped open above them.

The room he'd opened was pitch black, lovely.

"I don't hear footsteps. Hopefully no one's hiding in the dark. We'll find a place to stow the gear. There's an extraction team coming in an hour and a half to pick us up so we won't need it," Jean said.

"We might need a place to stow ourselves, then, if we've got the boy before that." He pulled himself up towards the gaping entrance of the hatch.

"The freighter has escape boats. There is a rendezvous point on the island we're supposed to meet them at," Jean said.

Angelo nodded. "See, I forget these things sometimes when I get going. But that's what a teammate's for."

"Precisely," Jean said with a smile.

"So, according to the plans for this type of freighter, unless they've made modifications, we should be entering near the boiler room area. From there we'll have to do some exploring. I imagine they wouldn't want to keep the boy close to the main deck."

"No", he agreed. "Too easy for him to escape. And I don't think they'll have made too many modifications - that takes time and money and if this is a realistic scenario..."

"Then he'll probably be in either the cargo area or the crew quarters, somewhere he can be closely watched," Jean said, nodding as she took out a flashlight, readying it to turn on once they were inside.

"The other thing is how they've got him restrained", he said quietly. "Just locked in somewhere, or tied up - or handcuffs or something."

"I can take care of restraints, provided they aren't prepared for mutant intervention," Jean said.

"If they are....we'll have to improvise."

"See, now you've said that, we will have to improvise. Good thing we're used to that."

Jean's face fell in realization of her mistake and let out a grunt of amused acquiescence. "Almost too used to it," she said. It was rarely too easy. And if it was, then it was a trap.

"Alright, we'll plan for both scenarios....the realistic one, and the cautiously optimistic one. I like to dream the impossible dream. "

"It's good to be optimistic!" he agreed cheerfully. "And between us, we can deal with most things."

"That's the spirit," Jean said, as she climbed in behind him, casting a light across the room. She found the door in the corner, pausing to listen for anything on the other side. Upon hearing nothing, she put her finger to her lips, then started counting down with her fingers before turning the latch.

Angelo had shifted to a tactical position on one side of the door, just in case, and looked to Jean for an indication of if anything was coming through.

Jean pulled open the door as quietly as she could. The smell of burning coal from the boiler room wafted through the area, and the heat coming from the fires, coupled with the humidity from being on the water was almost oppressive. Safety lights were on down the hallways, so they were able to turn off their flashlights. Waiting a couple of moments just in case, Jean finally nodded, then made a 'forward' gesture before slipping out into the corridor.

Angelo was watching the way they'd come as he followed her silently, wrinkling his nose at the smell.

The hallway wound around until they came to a T. It was easy to determine what lay to the right from the stifling heat and the smell of smoke. Jean nodded left.

~Let's check the cargo bay first. If there's nothing there we'll head for the crew quarters.~ she thought to Angelo, prepared to whisper but relieved when she was able to get the thought out that way. Better to use it while she still could if that possibility happened.

No dampers yet then, psionic or broad-ranging, and that was a relief. "~You think they'd risk him in their own quarters? All kinds of things he could get his hands on there.~"

~If he's drugged and unconscious they'll have no worries.~ Jean thought grimly as they reached the end of the hallway, where a large door with a porthole stood. The cargo bay. She tried to peek inside and found four men playing cards, surrounded by crates.

Angelo took a quick careful look himself, then nodded. "~Two on two?~"

Jean nodded. ~Divide and conquer. Don't let them get the word out to the others.~ She paused thoughtfully.

~Can you fit through the door without opening it?~ The door was big and metal. If they made any attempts to open it now it'd give away their position.

He shook his head. ~Not all of me. I could maybe smack them from a distance, but my bones are as solid as anybody's.~

~That's what I was thinking. Just enough to create a distraction for your two, perhaps.~ Jean thought.

~Let's keep one conscious, so we can get information.~

~Consider it done~, he sent back, and began working his skin under the door. ~What about your two?~

Jean kept an eye on the men on the other side. ~Let me know when you get ready to strike and I'll knock out mine at the same time. Hit them full force in one go.~

~Good plan. One knock-out blow and one wide awake coming up...~ He focused on what he was doing for a long few moments. ~...now.~

The men playing cards were sufficiently engrossed in trying to beat one another in poker so they didn't notice the two at the door in the first place. Momentary awareness only came, followed by fleeting unconsciousness, for two of them when they found their heads smashed into one another and collapsed in a heap that knocked over the table. The remaining two scrambled, nearly tripping over themselves, reaching for their guns.

"What the fuck!"

"Phoenix, you're up", Angelo said, and promptly invaded the room to distract them and let her work. One of the remaining two quickly found himself disarmed, his gun sent spinning off somewhere to one side, and himself being choked into unconsciousness.

The last man was going for his radio but found his hand pinned behind his back as he rose from the seat and floating off the ground, his arms and legs held steadfast against him.

"You know who you're dealing with, bitch?" he shouted, his face reddening from effort as he struggled to move but found it impossible. "My boss finds you two....You're dead! He's going to chop you up into little pieces and---"

Jean cocked her head to the side, taking a step forward as she spun him upside down with a wave of her hand. The man's bravado quickly evaporated and he let out a shriek.

"That's quite enough of that," she said. She studied him. "How many of you are there?"

The man lifted his chin. "A thousand. A million. All comin' for you."

Jean smiled and flipped him around a few times like a Ferris wheel. "This ship can't hold that many people. Try again. How many?"

The man, looking a little green, made a face. "15, includin' us four."

"Good. But I think you have one more than you aren't mentioning, a boy....where is he?" Jean said.

The man shut up rather quickly, shaking his head.

"I dunno what you're talkin about."

"We're not here about the piracy", Angelo said calmly, dropping the now limp drone he'd finished with and stepping over. "We want the boy and we're not leaving without him."

"You're gonna have to," the guy sneered. "You're part of the leather gang, aren't ya? I heard reports of you...takin down Sublime. You tryin to get in on our trade? Well, it ain't gonna work."

"No, we don't want your trade", Angelo said scornfully. "That boy's going home to his father. Tonight. With or without your help." He glanced at Jean. "We're wasting time."

Jean nodded. She spun the guy around again, and again.

"You feel what I'm doing to you? You know I'm a telekinetic. You know what else telekinetics can do? Make your heart stop beating." She could, but she wouldn't, but he didn't know that.

The guy shrieked again, cheeks puffing out. He started to wretch. "I'm gonna throw up! Stop Stop! Okay okay! He's--He's in the kitchen. In the deep freezer."

Jean's eyes widened. "The freezer? Why? The prolonged exposure could give him frost bite!" she said, shaking her head as she turned him right side up, nudging Skin backward by a few feet just in case he vomited.

"They don't do it for long. It's turned down low. Few minutes in, few minutes out. They gotta do it, though. Otherwise it gets....tricky," the man said.

"Something about his powers?" Angelo guessed. "What are they?"

Before he could speak, two more men wandered into the room. Spotting Jean and Angelo with their buddy floating high in the air, they readied their guns. But before one could get off a shot the gun flew out of his hand.

"Uh-uh", Angelo said, chiding, and a strand of skin flew out to wrap tightly around the other one's wrist, constricting ever tighter until he dropped his gun.

The man cried out in pain and tried to wave his arm, to get Angelo to let go. Meanwhile, his buddy, went to help him but collided with him and both were knocked out. Jean glanced to Angelo.

"We should move. The others are probably going to notice the missing ones soon," she said.

"Yeah. One, maybe we could get away with, but not six." He looked to the door. "To the kitchen, then."

They left the cargo bay, heading down another long corridor and up a flight of stairs until they reached the middle levels. Here, the likelihood of running into someone increased. For now, the hallway was empty, but Jean wasn't placing any bets on that remaining the case. Especially when she tried to communicate with Angelo telepathically and found a bunch of static.

"We must be close. I can't use my telepathy," she said softly.

"Oh, dampers." He made a face. "Lovely. And realistic, I don't know where people keep getting this stuff."

"Supply and demand," Jean said grimly. "They find a way." Beg, steal, or borrow.

Hearing footsteps from around the corner, she put her finger to her lips, then motioned to the door behind him. She opened up her own door, slipping inside what appeared to be a broom closet. Luckily the scenario's programmer hadn't gotten crazy enough with the details to program certain smells, as Angelo would discover when he found himself in the bathroom.

The appearance of it wasn't particularly nice, either, but he could put up with that. He could only guess that Jean's intention had been to wait until the person passed by, rather than start a potentially noisy fight.

"It wasn't my fault, y'know? I just had a few beers. I was drunk...I tripped. The waitress was in my way. So what if I grabbed her tit? It was an accident. So maybe it stayed there a little too long...I was drunk! I don't know why Jules got all mad," a man said as he passed by with one of his fellow goons.

"Because you're an asshole," the goon, who happened to be a woman, said impassively.

The man grunted. "Eh whatever. I need to go take a dump," he said, standing right in front of the door.

"This close to my bunk I don't fuckin' think so," the woman said as the man grabbed the door handle. "I hadn't heard back from Rally or Collins yet. They're probably down with the others losing half their wages. I'm finished watching that little asswipe. It's one of their turns. You go when you're down there."

"Fine," the man muttered. "But I ain't watching him either. And why isn't the boss killing him?"

"Did you fall asleep during the meeting? He's leverage. The deal falls through, maybe we can ask the boss to kill him ourselves."

"That'd be nice," the man replied with a grin.

"Come on," the woman said as the two disappeared down the hall.

Angelo gave it to the count of ten before slipping quietly out of the bathroom, thanking the programmer for that small piece of mercy even if they'd nearly given him a heart attack with the first part of the script. He went to tap lightly on Jean's door, but found it already opening.

"If they're headed toward the cargo bay that means we have about five minutes, tops," Jean said. That also meant there were still 7 people unaccounted for. How many did they need to guard one boy?

"Guess we'd better get a move on, then", he said with a quick grin. "On to the fun part, hopefully."

Jean paused. "Now I'm afraid we're jinxed, again," she said, smirking. The programmer, whomever they were, likely didn't have 'fun' in mind when they designed the scenario. They headed down the hallway, going around another corner to find another closed door to the kitchen. There were no guards outside of it, which likely meant they were inside. The air was also noticeably cooler as they got closer.

Angelo, it had to be said, had a slightly warped idea of fun. "Great", he said, disgusted. "If the air's this cold out here and they've put the poor kid in the freezer again..."

"But why take such measures?" Jean said. Something was off. But it also meant that the captors were likely all human and not mutant, making their biggest problem guns and power dampers. It seemed too easy. "Let's go in. But be careful."

"Careful, check." He reached over from some distance and pulled the door sharply open.

The kitchen was typical, covered in wall to wall metal with rows of industrial equipment that had seen better days judging by the layers of rust, grime, and peeling paint. Florescent lights cast everything in a dingy bluish green, including the men who had heard the door open and found the people on the other side not the ones who left. They immediately rushed them, careful not to use their guns in such close quarters this time. One man attempted to tackle Angelo with the force of a linebacker, while the other, equipped with a chain, swung it at Jean.

The good thing about force was that, if you knew what you were doing, you could turn it against the wielder. Mindful of the power dampers and not sure if Jean could use her telekinesis at the moment, Angelo snapped out the skin of one hand's fingers to catch and redirect the chain, while giving the rest of his focus to making the linebacker bounce off an outspread shield of skin.

"Oof!" the man who attempted to tackle Angelo grunted as he ricocheted off him and collided with a wall of pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils. Meanwhile the one who'd swung the chain found himself striking nothing as a result of Angelo's attack and he let out a growl of frustration, turning his attention to him. But as he poised to strike he discovered it was a bad idea to take his eyes off Jean, whom tapped him on the shoulder, then punched him in the face when he turned around. The man's nose gushed blood as he collapsed in a heap, and Jean flexed her fist, grimacing.

"Now I know why I don't do that very often." But it was good to know how to do in case one found themselves in a situation where it was necessary. She had been practicing for some time on her self defensive maneuvers with various teachers so she welcomed the chance to try it out when possible. She nodded to a young boy about 15 or 16 tied up in a chair next to the freezer. He had his hair shaved in a butch cut that left him almost completely bald and his body and clothes were dirty with caked on mud and what appeared to be other things like hair and bits of food. "Buzz?" she called as she slowly approached.

The boy lifted his head, eyes half open. "Mom?" he mumbled, dropping his head.

"Next guess", Angelo said wryly, already moving to untie him. "What've they done to you, kid?"

The boy's skin was cold to the touch, though gradually getting warmer, and his ropes seemed to be tacky and hard to untie, as if they were coated with some sort of residue. "They gave me something in a needle...and then the freezer. I'm like a popcicle. Not cool," he said, snorting.

"One of them said they had to." He frowned at the ropes, then fished a knife out of his pocket and started sawing at them instead. "You've got powers, right?"

"Yeah. Their machine messes up. It cuts in and out. So they gotta keep me in there when it doesn't," Buzz said. He glanced over to Jean, tilting his head. His mouth hung open like a fish. "Wow....You're pretty. I'm sorry I called you mom."

Jean, keeping watch, smirked. "Thanks," she said as she lingered near the door "Where's the machine?" If it was close by they could potentially shut it off. "Captain's quarters," Buzz said.

"Securest part of the ship", Angelo said, shaking his head. "Might be easier just to get out of its range."

"Most likely," Jean straightened as she heard footsteps and shouting. "They're coming. Is there another way out of here?"

Buzz blinked, closing one eye thoughtfully. "Uh...probably? Over there?" he said, nodding to a second entrance behind them.

"Skin, get him loose," Jean said as she rushed to close the door they had entered, just as the man and the woman's heads became visible in the porthole, joined by two others. They pushed on the door, even as Jean was closing it.

"'Skin?'" Buzz said, curling his nose. "Dude, your name is Skin? Why?"

"Watch and learn." He sent as much skin as he could spare to help Jean hold the door closed, without stopping his efforts with the knife.

"Oh..,uh.,OH...wha?" Buzz said, eyes bulging at the sight of the guy's skin stretched across the floor. "Yeah, that's...wow."

Jean struggled to keep the door closed, but it was an effort, even with Angelo's help, when she couldn't use her powers. The goons shoved against the door, and she could hear their grunts with each push. "How's it coming?" she said through gritted teeth, in a tone that clearly indicated that faster would be better.

"Almost done", he said hastily. "Buzz, if you pull against the ropes right here, I think they might start breaking now."

"Okay...okay..." Buzz said, puffing out his chest and tugging as hard as he could. "I don't think...." He felt the ropes start to slacken, and shoved them off of him. "Got it!"

Jean let out a breath. "Skin....can you...help me shove a table in front of the door? I can't hold...this much longer."

"Got it", he echoed, and abandoned Buzz for a moment to drag the table over to the door and get it blocked, then went back to help the boy stand in case he was still feeling the effects of whatever drug it was.

The table seemed to help keep the door closed, but it only bought them a few moments. Buzz pulled himself to his feet, then immediately started to fall right back down. "Headrush...." he said. He patted Angelo on the arm. "Thanks, man."

Jean had crossed over to the other side of the room, then quickly opened the door. "Let's move."

"Take point, Phoenix?" Angelo asked. "Buzz here isn't up to running right now, we'll go as fast as we can."

"On it," Jean said as she scanned the corridor, searching for signs of life. So far she found none, so she motioned them forward.

"Phoenix?" Buzz said with a laugh, squinting as Angelo dragged him along. "Badass. See, now I have to get me a codename too."

"When we get out of here, you do whatever you want." If he was real, but maybe being nice to the character was part of the mission.

"I'm thinking...Flycatcher," Buzz said. He seemed to be a bit more coherent and was walking a little better, which was a good sign.

Jean arched a brow but said nothing, more focused on scouting as they headed toward the upper decks. They needed to get to one of the boats. She opened up one of the doors and was about to head up a flight of stairs when two goons, roused by the call of the others, got the jump on them. "Up! Go up!" Jean shouted, shoving Angelo along as she spun around and kicked one of the men in the torso into the other man.

"Come on, Flycatcher", he said without wasting time, pulling Buzz more quickly up the stairs. "Don't worry, she can take care of herself."

"Dude...." he said, casting a glance over his shoulder as he saw Jean dodge a punch. "I can see that. Is she single? Like....I know I'm 15 but...in a few years maybe...." He tilted his head, peering down at his hands, which appeared to be coated in some sort of viscous goo. "Hey, I think my powers are working again."

"Sorry, she's married", Angelo said with wry amusement. "What are your powers, anyway? Can you throw that stuff?"

Buzz made a face, letting out a sigh. "Psh, just my luck," he said, then shrugged. "Yeah...." He paused, then suddenly grinned. "Yeah. It's sticky, like glue. I can stick to walls too."

Jean headed up the stairs, and was able to catch Angelo's thoughts again. "I'm guessing we're out of range of the power dampers."

"Looks like", Angelo said with relief. "And I found out why they put Buzz in the freezer. They didn't want to get gooped."

"Gooped?" Jean said curiously, though she was not too surprised, glancing down at the material coming from Buzz's hands. "And what exactly does that mean?"

"I'm sticky," Buzz proclaimed proudly. "Like the bottom of a taxicab."

Jean paused, slowly nodded. "Okay," she said, smiling. She tried very hard not to laugh as she gave Angelo a look, coupled with a bit of waggled eyebrows. It was not the boy himself but the entire scenario that she was amused at. "Well, we will definitely keep that in mind."

"Could come in useful if we run into any more trouble. He says he can throw it at them."

"That's true," Jean said, tilting her head thoughtfully. And it would be interesting to see. She nodded toward the upper level door.

"We need to find a boat. We'll come out near the front of the ship but we should get to the back."

"Every ship's got lifeboats - probably. Should be easy enough to borrow one of those. Buzz, you okay there?" Buzz flashed Angelo the thumbs up. "I'm getting rescued so I am stellar."

Jean nodded as they reached the top deck, getting caught by stiff, but welcome breeze of sea air. Taking a moment to get an idea of where they were, Jean pointed toward the back of the ship. She was able to spot the outline of one of the boats.

"There!" she shouted.

"Right", Angelo agreed, steering Buzz over towards the boat. "And with your powers back on, lowering it should be easy."

"Let's hope so," Jean said as she followed them. "Hop on." Once they were on she could set the pulleys to extend the boat out over the water.

Angelo helped their charge to get in and settled securely, then gave Jean the nod to carry on.

Jean climbed in as well, and got halfway out over the ocean when the doors from down below burst open and the remaining goons, headed by their captain, a tall, beefy looking Asian man covered in tattoos, swarmed the deck. "Save the boy if you can, but kill the others," he said.

The goon woman readied her gun, firing off a couple of impressive head shots that bounced off Jean's telekinetic shield. This left the three of them dangling over the water.

"Can you put them to sleep?" Angelo asked, safe behind the shield - unless the program had any more tricks up its sleeve.

"If they were real, absolutely," Jean said, continuing to try to lower the boats even as the men grew closer. Lifting her hand, she swatted the air, and three of the men flew backward, slamming against the boat deck. But her concentration was divided between lowering the boat and keeping up the shield so her momentary attack was limited.

"I can help! I can help! Let me throw stuff," Buzz said.

He tutted at the first part. "They should behave like real people do, or it's not fair. Buzz, knock yourself out."

"Unfortunately, real people are not often fair either," Jean said. Though she was a bit hesitant, she nodded.

"Okay, on my count. I'm going to drop the shield. Try to aim at their guns. And 3...2..."

Buzz lifted his hands, and a goop that looked like a thick pile of snot about the size of a softball started to form in both hands.

"1!" Jean shouted and the shield lowered as Buzz tossed it at the guys, surprisingly making his mark.

Angelo whooped. "That is... really disgusting, but good throw, Buzz."

The secretions splattered on impact, gumming up three of the guys, including the captain, instantly, and they struggled to get loose.

Buzz grinned broadly. "Thanks! I guess you'd call that sticky situation," he said, laughing at his own joke.

What he hadn't counted on was one who didn't get struck: the woman, which created a problem given her excellent marksmanship. Jean had been keeping an eye on the group, and started to throw up a shield when the woman fired her gun but found herself distracted when Buzz freaked out and the goop went everywhere but its intended target, including the three of them.

Jean barely managed to keep the bullet from hitting them, but wound up deflecting the bullet into the rubber hull of the raft. The hissing noise filled the air like an angry snake.

"Sorry," Buzz muttered.

"Crap", Angelo muttered under his breath. "Buzz! Goop that hole, see if you can stop any more air leaking."

Buzz groaned, attempting to lift his arm but finding it only able to extend a couple of inches before the goop snapped his arm back into place like a rubber band. "Can't...move. This is bad."

Jean scanned the skyline. "How far do you estimate to shore, Skin? 3 or 4 miles?"

"More like four", he said grimly, busy grabbing handfuls of the goop, despite how disgusting it was, and both trying to free Buzz's arm and cover the hole in the raft. "You got the juice to get us all back there?"

Jean watched the men trying to get out of the glue. "Yes," she said. It might create a bit of a strain but not enough to be debilitating when she was finished.

"Okay then." He nodded. "All in favour of getting out of here right now, I think."

"Hear hear. Hold on," Jean said as the raft started to float out of the water and the men on the deck were knocked to the ground, further getting stuck in the mess. The raft shot toward the shore, picking up enough speed to cover ground quickly. The shore started to come up, but by then Buzz was looking a little green.

"I'm going to throw up...I'm going to thr--" he started to gag, wildly launching for the edge of the raft to vomit over the side but the abrupt, jerky motion threatened to tip the already unstable raft and forced Jean to try to compensate. By then the shore was too close for comfort and they all tumbled out of it, skidding across the sand.

"Madre de Dios", Angelo muttered, using his powers to steady himself and Buzz as best he could. "Kid, get in the water and clean yourself up, we'll dry you off later."

Buzz, face down in the sand, awkwardly lifted his arm to give a thumbs up as Angelo helped him up.

Jean rolled over, completely covered in sand and even a couple of seashells. "I don't think I'm going to Boiler Beach for awhile," she muttered.

"Doesn't sound like much fun to me either right now. And whose idea was it to put real sand in here?"

"The devil," Jean deadpanned, spitting sand out of her mouth. She grabbed her communicator. "Extraction point location has moved. Submitting coordinates."

The communicator beeped and the sound of the X-Jet's engines were heard in the distance as a shadow gradually blocked the light of the moon. Eventually it landed and the loading bay doors opened as the simulation faded around them, but the sand and goop didn't.

Jean brushed some sand out of her eyes. "Well. That was fun."

"That's one word for it." Angelo hauled himself to his feet, then leaned down to do the same for her. "The showers are calling."

Angel was on the other side of the door with Kyle, stretching as they waited. "Who's in there anyways?" She asked as she went to examine the schedule. "Says Doctor Grey and Angelo, they should be done by now..."

Right on cue the door opened. Angel looked back, blinking when she saw the two in question. She opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a choked sound that had the suspicious overtones of a giggle. She looked away quickly, lips pressed thin. It wasn't nice to laugh at her former teacher and her friend, after all.

Kyle had to shove the heel of one hand into his mouth to stop from laughing - and then pulled his hand away, making a face. "Tape is not delicious." He declared.

"One word", Angelo warned them both. "One word, and I start sharing this stuff."

Jean walked past them, her expression almost serene. "The next scenario for the two of you is Logan's, if I recall. Good luck," she said.

Angel was still struggling not to laugh as she looked back at Kyle. "I would go through a scenario Kane, Summers, and Logan all designed together if it meant getting to see that again," she said solemnly.

"If we throw Paige in that, does that mean we can take pictures?" Kyle asked with a grin. "Because I would take a 4 star awful run if it meant I had pictures of this."

Kyle's answer, shortly delivered, was a faceful of sand and glue - although Angelo was careful to keep it below his eyes. Angel got the follow-up.

Angel shrieked as the goo hit her, but she was laughing too hard for it to mean much. Worth it. Totally. Worth it.