X-Men Mission: Agents of SHIELD - Part 5
Mar. 10th, 2021 06:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsAfter splitting up, Dominion, Shadowcat and Psylocke make for the control room.
Splitting up was never ideal, but Coulson had been right. The base was too large, too secured, and unfortunately, too close to a mass evacuation for them to approach with their normal caution inserting a team. Instead, they had to rely on speed and surprise to take the advantage over AIM. They had a rough path to the control room, mapped out by Agent Ftiz' drones, but it lacked a lot of important info, like camera coverage and patrol routes, which they'd discovered as a dozen guards had emerged from a side door almost directly in front of them. They'd been able to conceal themselves behind an idling forklift, but it had been a close thing as they watched their backs march away towards the busy launch pads.
Kitty watched quietly as the guards moved toward the launch pad, her eyes following them for a moment before glancing across the rest of their surroundings. Twelve guards was a lot but she knew there could always be more waiting.
She tapped her head, wondering if she should speak or leave their communication unspoken. After a moment, she decided to take the chance, whispering to them both, "I could try to phase through the cameras and disable them but I'm not sure how much time that would give us. Anyone else got an idea?"
While she had not done it outside training, Betsy was confident enough to open up a telepathic communication channel between herself and her companions. ‘We don’t want to be heard by accident,’ she explained, accompanying the message with a simulated shrug. ~Presumably they’ll notice quickly if several cameras suddenly stopped working… Although I cannot think of a better option. Maybe we could take out the most inconvenient ones and sneak past the others? Can you take others with you when you phase?~ She admittedly only had a precursory understanding of the other woman’s powerset.
"I can, but... it's been a while and I don't know if I can manage more than one person." Kitty frowned. "I'd hate to leave just one of us behind. I think you're probably right about taking out just one camera. One looks like a simple malfunction and that would get us to where we need to go." She glanced at her two companions. Perhaps if she just stayed close to them both, her reflexes would be good enough to phase one of them quickly if danger headed that direction. I really need to spend more time in the Danger Room.
"Let's not risk any new power stunts unless we need to." Kane had taken point, scanning the hall. "Psylocke, there's a guard post between us and the accessway to the control room. Think you can psychically distract or takedown the person manning it? Be honest. I know we're throwing you in the deep end right now for a trainee."
Betsy sent a light probe in the direction Kane had indicated, then nodded. "I believe so, he is already on edge and… There. He thinks he saw something on the cameras down that corridor and has gone to investigate. We should be able to get past if we move quickly.”
"On it." Kitty edged forward, willing herself to phase so that she made no noise as she walked. Despite that, she knew there was every possibility of being spotted so she darted as quickly as she could down the hall. The control room wasn't far ahead but just then she heard a voice echoing down the corridor. No, two voices. Glancing over at Betsy and Kane, she moved close to the wall, ready to phase through it if required.
~Telepathic switchboard only.~ Kane thought, his mental voice carrying between the three of them via the telepathic switchboard that Betsy had setup. It was the first lesson that telepaths on the X-Men learned, and it was invaluable in the field. ~Shadowcat, phase around these two. Psylocke, can you take two?~
The telepath nodded and let her psychic dagger materialise in her hand. ~They haven’t noticed anything so should be simple enough. I will need to get closer though.~ She was already moving towards the voices with a surprising amount of grace for someone who frequently tripped on her own feet. The two guards were moving close together, close enough that a single sweeping movement of the blade could hit them both at once.
Kitty frowned at her own lack of caution. Kane had been right to call her out and her cheeks flamed for a moment as she nodded, following his lead. She slipped partly through the wall so that she could not be seen. It gave her the option of surprise if Betsy's move failed.
Although the blade made no sound and left no trace as it moved through the bodies of the two guards, they quickly fell down in a crumpled heap. Betsy shuddered lightly; after all the dagger was an extension of her consciousness and the thoughts flitting through the guards’ heads had not been pleasant. ~I can’t feel any others close by, but they could have defenses,~ she communicated. ~The control room is further down in this direction, if I recall correctly?~
~If our intel is right.~ Betsy's knife had cleared the path, and within minutes, they were outfront of where the control room was supposed to be. Kane snuck a look through one of the windows, and could only see one operator.
~Shadowcat, can you do a little recon? If there's only one guy in there, can you nullify him?~
Kitty nodded. It was better than taking the risk of accidentally slipping and speaking out loud. Steeling herself, she phased through the wall. When she was phased, she was a ghost in form and the man didn't hear her.
He was staring at a series of small screens but glancing at his phone every so often. The lack of focus was, she assumed, why they hadn't yet been noticed.
She was thankful for it as she swiftly brought her fists down on his head, channeling her body weight to bring him down. It wasn't elegant but it did the job. Her powers tended to short out tasers and guns were considerably more lethal.
~We're good. Until he wakes up.~
~That won’t be any time soon,~ Betsy confirmed. She tried the door that now separated them. ~I think this is locked from your side?~
While waiting for Kitty to let them in she let her awareness expand further down the narrow hallways. Then her eyes widened. ~We might have a problem. A group of at least five guards, moving this way. They’re still some way off but I’m quite certain they are coming to check up on our friend here. ~ She gestured at the unconscious guard. ~Apparently they were playing Among Us and he suddenly dropped off.~
~We need to divert them. Shadowcat, can you give us an alarm, preferably far enough away to draw them off?~ Kane moved to the heavy door and pulled it up, holding it for Betsy to slip in before he followed and closed it behind him. Kitty was at the main console as they got in.
~Just a sec.~ She frowned as her eyes scanned the console. She reminded herself that she needed to be careful not to phase - a slip and she'd short it out. Taking a deep breath, Kitty quickly tapped in a sequence of numbers and an alarm blared somewhere in the far distance. ~That should draw them for some time. Time to go.~
Splitting up was never ideal, but Coulson had been right. The base was too large, too secured, and unfortunately, too close to a mass evacuation for them to approach with their normal caution inserting a team. Instead, they had to rely on speed and surprise to take the advantage over AIM. They had a rough path to the control room, mapped out by Agent Ftiz' drones, but it lacked a lot of important info, like camera coverage and patrol routes, which they'd discovered as a dozen guards had emerged from a side door almost directly in front of them. They'd been able to conceal themselves behind an idling forklift, but it had been a close thing as they watched their backs march away towards the busy launch pads.
Kitty watched quietly as the guards moved toward the launch pad, her eyes following them for a moment before glancing across the rest of their surroundings. Twelve guards was a lot but she knew there could always be more waiting.
She tapped her head, wondering if she should speak or leave their communication unspoken. After a moment, she decided to take the chance, whispering to them both, "I could try to phase through the cameras and disable them but I'm not sure how much time that would give us. Anyone else got an idea?"
While she had not done it outside training, Betsy was confident enough to open up a telepathic communication channel between herself and her companions. ‘We don’t want to be heard by accident,’ she explained, accompanying the message with a simulated shrug. ~Presumably they’ll notice quickly if several cameras suddenly stopped working… Although I cannot think of a better option. Maybe we could take out the most inconvenient ones and sneak past the others? Can you take others with you when you phase?~ She admittedly only had a precursory understanding of the other woman’s powerset.
"I can, but... it's been a while and I don't know if I can manage more than one person." Kitty frowned. "I'd hate to leave just one of us behind. I think you're probably right about taking out just one camera. One looks like a simple malfunction and that would get us to where we need to go." She glanced at her two companions. Perhaps if she just stayed close to them both, her reflexes would be good enough to phase one of them quickly if danger headed that direction. I really need to spend more time in the Danger Room.
"Let's not risk any new power stunts unless we need to." Kane had taken point, scanning the hall. "Psylocke, there's a guard post between us and the accessway to the control room. Think you can psychically distract or takedown the person manning it? Be honest. I know we're throwing you in the deep end right now for a trainee."
Betsy sent a light probe in the direction Kane had indicated, then nodded. "I believe so, he is already on edge and… There. He thinks he saw something on the cameras down that corridor and has gone to investigate. We should be able to get past if we move quickly.”
"On it." Kitty edged forward, willing herself to phase so that she made no noise as she walked. Despite that, she knew there was every possibility of being spotted so she darted as quickly as she could down the hall. The control room wasn't far ahead but just then she heard a voice echoing down the corridor. No, two voices. Glancing over at Betsy and Kane, she moved close to the wall, ready to phase through it if required.
~Telepathic switchboard only.~ Kane thought, his mental voice carrying between the three of them via the telepathic switchboard that Betsy had setup. It was the first lesson that telepaths on the X-Men learned, and it was invaluable in the field. ~Shadowcat, phase around these two. Psylocke, can you take two?~
The telepath nodded and let her psychic dagger materialise in her hand. ~They haven’t noticed anything so should be simple enough. I will need to get closer though.~ She was already moving towards the voices with a surprising amount of grace for someone who frequently tripped on her own feet. The two guards were moving close together, close enough that a single sweeping movement of the blade could hit them both at once.
Kitty frowned at her own lack of caution. Kane had been right to call her out and her cheeks flamed for a moment as she nodded, following his lead. She slipped partly through the wall so that she could not be seen. It gave her the option of surprise if Betsy's move failed.
Although the blade made no sound and left no trace as it moved through the bodies of the two guards, they quickly fell down in a crumpled heap. Betsy shuddered lightly; after all the dagger was an extension of her consciousness and the thoughts flitting through the guards’ heads had not been pleasant. ~I can’t feel any others close by, but they could have defenses,~ she communicated. ~The control room is further down in this direction, if I recall correctly?~
~If our intel is right.~ Betsy's knife had cleared the path, and within minutes, they were outfront of where the control room was supposed to be. Kane snuck a look through one of the windows, and could only see one operator.
~Shadowcat, can you do a little recon? If there's only one guy in there, can you nullify him?~
Kitty nodded. It was better than taking the risk of accidentally slipping and speaking out loud. Steeling herself, she phased through the wall. When she was phased, she was a ghost in form and the man didn't hear her.
He was staring at a series of small screens but glancing at his phone every so often. The lack of focus was, she assumed, why they hadn't yet been noticed.
She was thankful for it as she swiftly brought her fists down on his head, channeling her body weight to bring him down. It wasn't elegant but it did the job. Her powers tended to short out tasers and guns were considerably more lethal.
~We're good. Until he wakes up.~
~That won’t be any time soon,~ Betsy confirmed. She tried the door that now separated them. ~I think this is locked from your side?~
While waiting for Kitty to let them in she let her awareness expand further down the narrow hallways. Then her eyes widened. ~We might have a problem. A group of at least five guards, moving this way. They’re still some way off but I’m quite certain they are coming to check up on our friend here. ~ She gestured at the unconscious guard. ~Apparently they were playing Among Us and he suddenly dropped off.~
~We need to divert them. Shadowcat, can you give us an alarm, preferably far enough away to draw them off?~ Kane moved to the heavy door and pulled it up, holding it for Betsy to slip in before he followed and closed it behind him. Kitty was at the main console as they got in.
~Just a sec.~ She frowned as her eyes scanned the console. She reminded herself that she needed to be careful not to phase - a slip and she'd short it out. Taking a deep breath, Kitty quickly tapped in a sequence of numbers and an alarm blared somewhere in the far distance. ~That should draw them for some time. Time to go.~
