X-Men Mission: Town Called Malice - Log 4
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xp_logsNica and Callisto start their own patrol.
Nica's glow was subdued, as was the young X-Man's mood as she and Callisto moved through the tunnels. From time to time she cast a glance at the Morlock, as if wanting to say something and then changing her mind or second guessing herself, before focussing again on the task at hand. But eventually she built up her courage enough and ventured to speak up, albeit lamely. "So, you're the expert on underground stuff too?"
Callisto could not have been surprised by the words. She must have heard the preparatory intake of breath. Hell, how good was her hearing? Maybe she'd even heard Nica's pulse skip as she plucked up the guts to speak. The extent of Callisto's senses had not, to Nica's knowledge, been officially logged.
Nevertheless, she cast a look Nica's way, fully turning her head to put the young woman in the line of sight of her solitary eye.
"Dunno about that," she said. "But I know tunnels as well as most, I guess. I've spent a lot of time underground."
"Still, I'm glad you're with me. Us. I meant us. The team." Nica's blush was visible through her glow. "You seem to know what you're doing."
"I do, huh?" A rusty chuckle. "I guess I had to get good at that. Looking like I know what I'm doing."
"Come on, remember that biker mission? You were amazing!" The girl's tone went from hesitant to excited. "When you jumped off your bike onto the back of the truck to take on those guys all on your own? I'd say you knew what you were doing then."
"I just about know how to punch people, sure. And I knew that if something went south, there were people at my back who'd bail me out. Situations like these, it's all about teamwork. You rely on me, I rely on you."
"On me?" Nica sounded honestly surprised. "I mean, yes, I'll watch your back and try to make sure nothing happens to you, but I wouldn't rely on me. I mess up too much."
"Bullshit." The retort was sharp - almost angry - and Nica jumped, startled. She'd never heard Callisto take that tone before. "I'm not your babysitter. You'll fuck up - we all do. But this isn't work experience. This is the work. You are here to keep me alive. Are you telling me you can't do that?"
"No!" The response was blurted out without hesitation. "Of course I'll do that! I wouldn't put you in danger!" Nica sounded almost defensive, but she knew now how her words had sounded. She'd been so caught up in her own self-doubt, she'd spoken without thinking. "It's just... well..." She stopped, before taking the plunge into confession. "I put Laurie in danger during a mission, because I didn't think and it's my fault she left the mansion. If I hadn't fried the machine she was hooked up to, she wouldn't have had the strokes, and then maybe someone would have been able to talk sense into her and stopped her from leaving the way she did."
There. It was all out now, the weight she'd been carrying for the past nine months, ever since Clarice had confirmed her actions had injured Laurie.
Callisto didn't respond immediately, the silence of the underground punctuated only with the hum of power, the occasional ticks and creaks of the structure around them shifting and settling, expanding and contracting like a body breathing. Somewhere, there was a drip - water? Or something else?
"You will fuck up," Callisto repeated finally. "We all do. But if you let yourself stew, you're doubling down on your mistakes, and you'll make more. You let that shit in your head, you will put yourself out of action completely. You want that?" She slowed her pace, turning to look properly at Nica, that single light eye boring into hers. "Do you want to be out of action? Or do you want to be here, right now?"
"I want to be here. It's all I've ever wanted, ever since..." Nica took a breath. "Ever since my mom died in action. I want to fight for others, defend the people who can't defend themselves and this is the best way of doing that." Under that one-eyed stare, it was impossible to be anything but truthful. "And I can't do that if I can't ever make mistakes." It was a hard admission from someone who had spent her life trying to be the best at everything she did.
A slow nod. "I trust you," Callisto said. "D'you think we'd be here right now if I didn't? I'm freelance, kid, nobody's forcing me to be here. We good?"
Nica nodded. "Yeah, we're good. Thanks." She gave Callisto an embarrassed half-grin. "Sorry for dumping all that on you. I guess I needed to talk and you wound up being the one I could talk to. The timing could have been bet-"
She cut off as Callisto raised a hand, eye narrowing suddenly. She tipped her head to the side. Her lips thinned to a line. At first, Nica heard nothing out of the ordinary - the tickings and drippings and creaks of the building were just wallpaper at this point. But then as the seconds passed she began to hear what Callisto's sharper ears must have picked up on moments before: the pad of careful footsteps up ahead, and getting nearer.
The realization must have shown on Nica's face because Callisto nodded then, finger to her lips, and sank backwards against the wall, half covered behind a pipe. It wasn't a hiding place, but it could provide an edge. The corridor was relatively wide here, a large, square passageway as wide as it was tall. For all that, it suddenly felt like nothing so much as a killzone.
Nica followed suit, switching wavelengths to x-rays and winking out of sight before moving to a spot opposite Callisto. The footsteps didn't sound like the magical cultists she'd seen in Africa - for a start, they didn't sneak, considering themselves superior enough to take on anyone and anything. So it was more likely to be whoever was responsible for the carnage they'd encountered on entering the tunnels. The thought made her fists clench.
After a long moment, a figure moved into the hallway. He was huge; close to seven feet tall and nearly as broad. He paused for a moment, tapping on something on his wrist for a moment before moving forward, towards them. He didn't seem to have noticed the X-Men, moving forward at a steady pace.
Callisto couldn't see Nica, but Nica could see her as she reached above her head, wrapping one hand around the pipe beside her, as high as she could grip it. The big guy drew closer - the corridor wasn't particularly well lit but it was only a matter of time. Callisto chose her moment carefully, waiting until he was just a couple of feet away before making her move. With impossible grace Callisto launched into the air, swinging the full weight of her body out and into the air, both boots connecting squarely with their opponent's midsection.
He barely staggered.
Nica's glow was subdued, as was the young X-Man's mood as she and Callisto moved through the tunnels. From time to time she cast a glance at the Morlock, as if wanting to say something and then changing her mind or second guessing herself, before focussing again on the task at hand. But eventually she built up her courage enough and ventured to speak up, albeit lamely. "So, you're the expert on underground stuff too?"
Callisto could not have been surprised by the words. She must have heard the preparatory intake of breath. Hell, how good was her hearing? Maybe she'd even heard Nica's pulse skip as she plucked up the guts to speak. The extent of Callisto's senses had not, to Nica's knowledge, been officially logged.
Nevertheless, she cast a look Nica's way, fully turning her head to put the young woman in the line of sight of her solitary eye.
"Dunno about that," she said. "But I know tunnels as well as most, I guess. I've spent a lot of time underground."
"Still, I'm glad you're with me. Us. I meant us. The team." Nica's blush was visible through her glow. "You seem to know what you're doing."
"I do, huh?" A rusty chuckle. "I guess I had to get good at that. Looking like I know what I'm doing."
"Come on, remember that biker mission? You were amazing!" The girl's tone went from hesitant to excited. "When you jumped off your bike onto the back of the truck to take on those guys all on your own? I'd say you knew what you were doing then."
"I just about know how to punch people, sure. And I knew that if something went south, there were people at my back who'd bail me out. Situations like these, it's all about teamwork. You rely on me, I rely on you."
"On me?" Nica sounded honestly surprised. "I mean, yes, I'll watch your back and try to make sure nothing happens to you, but I wouldn't rely on me. I mess up too much."
"Bullshit." The retort was sharp - almost angry - and Nica jumped, startled. She'd never heard Callisto take that tone before. "I'm not your babysitter. You'll fuck up - we all do. But this isn't work experience. This is the work. You are here to keep me alive. Are you telling me you can't do that?"
"No!" The response was blurted out without hesitation. "Of course I'll do that! I wouldn't put you in danger!" Nica sounded almost defensive, but she knew now how her words had sounded. She'd been so caught up in her own self-doubt, she'd spoken without thinking. "It's just... well..." She stopped, before taking the plunge into confession. "I put Laurie in danger during a mission, because I didn't think and it's my fault she left the mansion. If I hadn't fried the machine she was hooked up to, she wouldn't have had the strokes, and then maybe someone would have been able to talk sense into her and stopped her from leaving the way she did."
There. It was all out now, the weight she'd been carrying for the past nine months, ever since Clarice had confirmed her actions had injured Laurie.
Callisto didn't respond immediately, the silence of the underground punctuated only with the hum of power, the occasional ticks and creaks of the structure around them shifting and settling, expanding and contracting like a body breathing. Somewhere, there was a drip - water? Or something else?
"You will fuck up," Callisto repeated finally. "We all do. But if you let yourself stew, you're doubling down on your mistakes, and you'll make more. You let that shit in your head, you will put yourself out of action completely. You want that?" She slowed her pace, turning to look properly at Nica, that single light eye boring into hers. "Do you want to be out of action? Or do you want to be here, right now?"
"I want to be here. It's all I've ever wanted, ever since..." Nica took a breath. "Ever since my mom died in action. I want to fight for others, defend the people who can't defend themselves and this is the best way of doing that." Under that one-eyed stare, it was impossible to be anything but truthful. "And I can't do that if I can't ever make mistakes." It was a hard admission from someone who had spent her life trying to be the best at everything she did.
A slow nod. "I trust you," Callisto said. "D'you think we'd be here right now if I didn't? I'm freelance, kid, nobody's forcing me to be here. We good?"
Nica nodded. "Yeah, we're good. Thanks." She gave Callisto an embarrassed half-grin. "Sorry for dumping all that on you. I guess I needed to talk and you wound up being the one I could talk to. The timing could have been bet-"
She cut off as Callisto raised a hand, eye narrowing suddenly. She tipped her head to the side. Her lips thinned to a line. At first, Nica heard nothing out of the ordinary - the tickings and drippings and creaks of the building were just wallpaper at this point. But then as the seconds passed she began to hear what Callisto's sharper ears must have picked up on moments before: the pad of careful footsteps up ahead, and getting nearer.
The realization must have shown on Nica's face because Callisto nodded then, finger to her lips, and sank backwards against the wall, half covered behind a pipe. It wasn't a hiding place, but it could provide an edge. The corridor was relatively wide here, a large, square passageway as wide as it was tall. For all that, it suddenly felt like nothing so much as a killzone.
Nica followed suit, switching wavelengths to x-rays and winking out of sight before moving to a spot opposite Callisto. The footsteps didn't sound like the magical cultists she'd seen in Africa - for a start, they didn't sneak, considering themselves superior enough to take on anyone and anything. So it was more likely to be whoever was responsible for the carnage they'd encountered on entering the tunnels. The thought made her fists clench.
After a long moment, a figure moved into the hallway. He was huge; close to seven feet tall and nearly as broad. He paused for a moment, tapping on something on his wrist for a moment before moving forward, towards them. He didn't seem to have noticed the X-Men, moving forward at a steady pace.
Callisto couldn't see Nica, but Nica could see her as she reached above her head, wrapping one hand around the pipe beside her, as high as she could grip it. The big guy drew closer - the corridor wasn't particularly well lit but it was only a matter of time. Callisto chose her moment carefully, waiting until he was just a couple of feet away before making her move. With impossible grace Callisto launched into the air, swinging the full weight of her body out and into the air, both boots connecting squarely with their opponent's midsection.
He barely staggered.
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Date: 2022-10-22 10:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2022-10-23 02:04 am (UTC)