Lambs to the Slaughter
Posted on Sun May 15th, 2022 @ 11:01pm by Charles Xavier & Scott Summers & Connor Bruin & Cameron Hood & Jade Farwynd & Elias Buckley & Tammy Thompson & Bliss Hawkins & Levi Rousseau & Elizabeth Villar
Mission:
Episode 2: Northern X-Posure
Location: New York City
Timeline: August 4th, 1990
Two days after their fateful team meeting in the War Room, the new X-Men were on mission in the Big Apple. It was not like any mission any student of Professor Xavier had ever conducted before. No team uniforms. No team tactics. Only a buddy system where students were dropped off at calculated abduction hotspots and left their fates to chance.
As always, Professor Xavier monitored his team from the X-Mansion through the aid of Cerebro. Closer to the area of operation was the Blackbird, stationed in Flushing Bay off the East River where it had blended in with domestic air traffic at LaGuardia Airport. From there it could provide air support to any of the students within minutes.
With Connor's assistance, Xavier had ruled out a few key areas of the city, whether due to police patrols or competing criminal elements that kept Maggia activity to a minimum. Hotspots with confirmed multiple abductions included the neighborhoods of Jamaica, Coney Island, Sunset Park, Belmont, Bainbridge, and, of course, Hell's Kitchen.
"This is it," Xavier said to the team through the Blackbird's display monitor. "We cannot allow for any communication devices, so I will maintain constant oversight with Cerebro which will connect all of your minds on a subliminal level. Whatever you think, I will hear, and with enough concentration so will the rest of the team. Even so, I want everyone to pair together and go to your zones with a partner. Watch out for one another, but do not give yourselves away either. If we fail to insert one of you into the trafficking ring, then we will simply somehow find another avenue of investigation. Do not take unnecessary risks." Realizing his advice was becoming contradictory, Xavier took a breath. "Cyclops will remain in the pilot's seat. Armoury will extract anyone who requires extraction. Bloodhound will render medical assistance where needed. Initiating radio silence now."
As the screen terminated, the Professor's voice nevertheless reverberated within everyone's minds. ~I will be with you all~
Katy looked at Bliss and gave her a thumbs up. Leadfoot and Bliss she tried to project to the Professor. Do we get choice of assigned area? I know Hell's Kitchen like the back of my hand.
~Very well~ Professor Xavier's mind was like a crashing wave, both a shout and a whisper, that acknowledged the pairing to the rest of the team. And he could not hide his regret for the situation. He layered confidence and pride in the team overtop of it.
Bliss returned Katy's thumbs up. She had left all her makeup behind, and it left her looking very much her age. She had figured that if she was going to look homeless she needed to be as plain as possible-- No fashion, no makeup, her hair hanging out of an old Chicago Cubs ball cap.
Bliss had spent a year on the road. She knew all too well there were few comforts ahead for them. And she was okay with that. She was worried about the mission. She had known kids who had disappeared and never been heard from again. That happened all the time in the system. But there was something special about this situation, one that burned hot enough to override her usual sense of enlightened self-interest. If she could help break apart these mutant child trafficking systems, this would go a long way towards that doing good works idea she had when she came to Xavier's. But that didn't mean she wasn't scared. She just did a good job of not showing it.
Levi put the hood down on his sweatshirt and glanced around the remainder of students, and nodded to Margo. He didn't know much about her aside from the mission briefings but she seemed to have a good vibe about her. "I don't know New York, so wherever you want to go?" he asked her. He'd spent the last few years in the jungles of Thailand, about as far from the city as one could get and that made him a little more nervous. He found the professor's thoughts in his head both a bit strange and a bit comforting. He wondered how deep the connection went, but pushed it out of his mind.
It gave him flashbacks to travelling with Chiaki as Elias took Elizabeth's hand and walked purposefully down the roadside of a sidewalk on a Belmont street. His clothes were worn, sneakers dirty, and hoody well lived-in, nothing expensive and all from his personal collection. Without a word or gesture in warning, Elias then stepped into a alleyway, wrinkled his nose at the scent of freshly rotting food waste and urine and stepped them neatly from Belmont to Sunset Park as if he was simply crossing the street. "You hungry?" He asked the 14 year old beside him, as he looked around for five finger discount options.
Myfanwy looked back at Elias. "Yeah sure." she replied. Food was usually an afterthought, what she needed was "Coffee. If you happen to spot any." said the frail pale girl in the oversized black hoodie. The frayed ends of her dyed hair poking out form the hood. She had run away from numerous homes during her time in the Foster care system, she knew how to walk down a street and not be noticed. She noticed the look in Elias' eyes and how he conducted himself. "You been on the streets before?"
Coffee was easy, when you had money. It was definitely more of a luxury item right now though. Unless.... a homeless shelter or a community centre maybe. Elias kept them walking for now, wanting them to be seen at least for a little bit and in case anyone was watching. He used his power a couple more times, out of curiosity and boredom, short distances this time tempting those fates. Alleyway to parkland. Basketball court to superstore parking lot. Parking lot to interior of truck. Hand in the glove compartment, grab some loose change. Back to Alleyway. Hot dog stand. Coffee and junk meat in a bun.
"Yeah," Elias finally answered Myfanwy. "Usual story. Lost kid. Group home. Streets." He wasn't sure real homes existed. "Nobody cares," he added with a terse smile. "You know that, right?"
Myfanwy accepted the coffee greedily... and the hotdog or whatever it was. She took a long draw from the steaming cup, the caffeine danced across her tongue and down her throat. She closed her eyes as the jolt of energy passed through her. What Elias had been saying was secondary to fighting off the growing fatigue in her joints. After a few moments she looked back to him with the sheepish eyes of a 14 year old out of her league. "I guess so." she responded to his statement. "The streets are better than being in the system. They said if I run away from here there will no place left for me. And here I am walking the streets hoping someone kidnaps me. Kinda screwed up."
She had no way to show off her abilities like Elias. She felt a little out of place that way. Amusingly if their expected antagonists knocked her out, she would only become more of a threat to them. Of course they didn't know that, she didn't even really know it herself. The professor has said she had tremendous untapped potential. She didnt know what that meant. She was on the streets with Elias, she felt about as safe as she could for someone wandering around as bait. "So what do we do now? Walk insecurely?" she asked.
Katy wore a black tank top and a pair of off white sweat pants that she had dragged through the dirty and scuffed the knees up. Her hair was in a ponytail and she had a pair of Salvation Army shoes on that had seen better days as she walked down Tenth and 49th Street. The wind blew garbage around and she stopped.
Across the street was the MedRite Urgent Care, a place she had visited more than once. Not willingly most of the time. She shuddered, then looked at Bliss. "This place used to be my second home."
Bliss adjusted her weathered Cubs ball cap over her mop of blonde hair. She was glad she hadn't burned her old clothes after all. The raggedy jeans had faded nearly to white, and the Six Flags t shirt had seen better days. Her keds had taken her from Vegas to the big city, and they showed it. A cheap pair of plastic sunglasses hid her eyes as she watched the street.
"Why is that? You don't seem to type to be shopping for meds."
"I wasn't," Katy said with a last shiver before she looked away from it. "I used to come here for free treatment after my father beat the shit out of me."
Bliss nodded with a sober expression, still keeping her eyes moving for dangers around them..
"So how long before somebody finally called children's services on Dad?"
The other woman gave a harsh laugh. "Right. In an overworked, underpaid environment and get the shit beat out of me the second they left for calling them in the first place? No. The last time he tried to hit me...I ran. Faster than I ever ran in my life."
The blonde nodded in understanding.
"I get it, kid. In this world all you can do is save yourself. Don't look to other people to rescue you. That way you'll never be disappointed."
Bliss offered a soft chuckle of self awareness.
"Why are we out here risking our lives again? Oh yeah, trying to save others like us. So much for that, Me first philosophy, huh? I just don't want other kids to have to go through what you and I have in order to have some kind of shot at a real normal life."
Katy gave a nod and started back down the street again. "The cameras at the next intersection doesn't work as far as I know," she said. "The street lights down the side street are iffy. Perfect place to get snatched."
Bliss paused for a moment.
"I don't like this. I don't like being scared. It makes me feel so weak and useless."
Just putting the words out left a bad taste in her mouth.
"But better me than somebody else."
"Come on. Let's get this over with."
She took a clearing breath and started walking down the street that Katy had suggested.
From the Blackbird, Cameron had his eyes closed as he listened to all the communication in his mind. He would've preferred a radio over the mind-to-mind link. He was clad in a thin black jacket, black t-shirt, black fatigues pants, and trusty combat boots. On his belt, hidden by his jacket were both a Sig Sauer pistol Cameron had used in his time as a soldier, and a L3A1 bayonet. He considered bringing a rifle, or even a sub-machine gun but figured that would be too visible.
With nothing else to do but wait, Scott leaned back in the pilot's chair and kicked up his feet. This whole operation was probably going to be a no-go. It just went to show how desperate the Professor was in order to resort to his longshot plan in the first place. Even in New York City, how likely was it to just get grabbed off the street?
Tammy sat down next to Scott in the co-pilot's seat. "So hope you don't mind that I join you. I'm kinda feeling like a fifth wheel here. I am hoping no one needs rescuing but if we can track down the missing people it'll be worth it. Gotta admit, I'm a little worried about the gang!"
In response, Scott swiveled his head to the right and gave Tammy a hard look through his crystal-quartz visor before turning back to the windshield. "They'll be fine," Scott said flatly. He was known for being stoic, but Tammy's inexhaustibly bubbly demeanor provoked him to being even more sullen than usual. "Begging the Professor's pardon, but this is probably a wild goose chase."
The other redhead in the Blackbird, Jade, sat in the back, trying to keep herself settled. Of late, she began hearing people in a different way. Aside from voices, she could 'hear their bodies', their blood flow to be specific and she found that she could tell people's mood to a degree from it. It could get very loud sometimes, which made other thought and communication a chore, so the Aussie looked for quiet moments to re-center herself, to tune out the bloodflows.
Her red hair was pulled back into a braided ponytail, covered with a baseball cap. She wore a green flannel shirt, with a black tank top underneath and faded bell jeans, with black Blundstone boots.
"Well maybe it is a wild goose chase but we have to try. I just wish we could talk to them but can't risk any communication equipment found on them. Can't go around with walkie talkies..." then it hit Tammy. WALKIE TALKIES! That's it! Why didn't I think of it before! OH MY Gosh! It's perfect!" she ran back to the professor. "Professor! Sorry to bother you but I have a solution to our communication problem! You don't need equipment! You have me! I can be a walkie talkie. I can direct sound-waves to wherever they need to go. From you to the others and back and between them. I can even make it so you hear what the bad guys are saying. They won't have a clue! It undetectable!"
The loud outburst made Connor yell and cover his ears.
Cameron opened his eyes, blocking out the sounds inside his head. "Surge, can please quiet down a bit. The Prof can hear your thoughts, but I'm struggling to concentrate on his right now." He then glanced at Jade behind him before turning back into his seat.
~That is a novel idea, but as it is untested I fear it is not an option for today~ the Professor said to Tammy's mind. ~But if you can safely monitor the team with your powers, then you may do so~
"Whatever you do, kid, for the love of God cool it." Jade stepped back into the cockpit, the whites of her eyes redder than normal but not quite echoing that she was using her abilities. "Tuning out everyone's bloodstreams is taxing enough, sudden surges throw it out of whack."
Stepping behind Jade, Cameron put his hand on her shoulder and nodded back to her seat. His face carried an expression of understanding, and maybe a little worry as he noticed the bloodshot eyes. He then dropped into the co-pilot seat and gave Scott a raised eyebrow.
Jade looked over her shoulder as Cam's hand touched her shoulder, understanding the quiet rescue in the form of a nod, and she nodded back, heading back to her seat without another word.
~Team, I am encouraging foot traffic away from your respective locations. If anyone approaches, they are doing so in resistance to my gentle persuasion~
Well, Tammy had had enough. Monitor, yeah she could do that! She could also keep them in touch with each other and that is what she was going to do! Not to mention there was too much of a fuss going on up here. With a though she became radio waves and zipped down. They would all hear her more or less simultaneously as she could travel at the speed of light. "Ok gang, station WSRG is now on the air. I will be keep all of you in touch with each other and the team up above," she said to all of them.
Unfortunately nobody could hear her as they were not in possession of anything that would receive radio signals. However, her vantage point did give Professor Xavier an additional window through which to view the situation. The split focus was taxing on the telepath, but this was his part to play and he would not give anything less than he asked of his students.
~Team, there is activity!~ Xavier's voice echoed within everyone's heads.
~Escapade, Leadfoot, there are six men in a van and they mean to take you~
A van screeched from out of an alley, its tires doing their best not to peel out at the sharp turn. The engine revved to the point of whining as it tach'ed out. Another screech from the tires brought the van to a halt. The side door slid open and four men jumped out. "Get them!"
"Oh sheet!" Katy exclaimed and it took everything in her power not to run at her top speed. "Run!" She yelled at Bliss even though it was their job to get caught. She looked undecided on which way not to run and screamed.
Bliss wanted to fight or run, anything else but surrender. It wasn't her nature to just give up. But this was the point of this exercise. She put out her hands in a defensive manner, making sure she kept her power in check. She could crumple the can around these jerks. But right now was not the time.
Guns came out, though they were of an unusual make and model. "You scream and you die," said the ski-masked leader as he dual-wielded the weapons into the girls' faces.
One of the other goons pulled out a pair of orange zip-ties.
~They have us, Professor~ Katy thought as hard as she could as she put her hands together and forward. P-please don't kill or rape us," she begged the gunmen.
The Professor was occupied, though, as the men stuffed bags over the girls' heads. "Do as you're told and nobody will hurt you," said one of the men. "Boss likes 'em pretty."
~Professor. If you can hear me, I'm with Bliss and Leadfoot! I'll follow along unless you say otherwise. I can switch between groups at light-speed. When you're ready, say the word and I'll take action.~ Surge mentally sent to the professor.
Katy willed herself not to turn the tables on the guys, but she restrained herself and let them put the bag over her head.
"Please don't hurt my friend...." Bliss pleaded with the men.
"Tranq'em if they get squirrelly," said one of the men in ski-masks.
~Two men are approaching Fable and Myfanwy on foot~ Xavier said. ~But they do not seem themselves~
Two men indeed approached the two mutants. Uniformed men. Police officers, even. Dressed in every inch like members of New York's Finest, they drew their weapons and trained them on Elias and Myfanwy. "Don't move! Put your hands behind your heads and interlock your fingers!"
~Those are not regular police officers~ Xavier warned. ~Their minds are difficult to penetrate, almost as if...~ Whatever the Professor was thinking, he kept the complete thought to himself.
No shit, Sherlock, thought Elias, realising afterwards with a smirk that the Professor would hear him regardless. But it was valuable information, particularly the fact that these cops seemed immune to the telepath's skills. Maybe they had other talents too?
Elias mustered up a shield about himself and Myfanwy and gave the uniformed bastards a good view of the middle digit on his right hand. "Go fuck yourselves," he offered with the smug nonchalance of teens everywhere.
Myfawny heard the professor's comments in her head. Still they looked like police, only wierder. She took Fable's cue and proceeded to flip off the two officers.
"ON YOUR KNEES!" one of the officers barked while the other one stepped aside for a flanking approach, both of them still armed.
~Cooperate~ Xavier ordered. ~Blackbird team, move in to assist in case I cannot telepathically neutralize the gunmen~ Not police officers. Gunmen. The nature of the threat was worse than the Professor had suggested.
Seriously? Elias thought back at Prof X. Won't that look too easy? He wanted to slide out stage left with Myfanwy, but they were, of course, supposed to be getting themselves captured. Not too eagerly, though, he'd figured.
~Help is on the way~ Xavier said. ~Cooperate but do not allow them to remove you until help arrives~
Myfawny followed directives of the Professor in her head and got down to her knees. She realized then how pathetically underequipped she was for something of this nature. If she could get away and find a secure place to sleep, she could do a lot to save them. Of course Elias could teleport them out of there. She closed her eyes and reminded herself that she had volunteered to be captured. She just didn't expect she would feel so hopeless.
Shield still up, Elias obeyed Xavier's demand and mirrored his partner in kneeling on the ground. His gaze never left the armed men before them, overt defiance in those dark eyes, and as he slowly moved his arms to consider placing his hands on his head, the shield around them blinked off.
The two police officers grabbed the students and placed cuffs around their wrists. "You're coming with us."
Cyclops fired up the already warm engines and initiated a vertical takeoff of the Blackbird. "We're on our way!" Looking back at Cameron, Jade, and Connor, he said, "Looks like you're up, newbies."
"WHERE. ARE. THEY?" The speech-generating device failed to express the adamancy on Connor's face.
In reply, Cyclops reached for a separate control panel and activated the necessary buttons by rote memory. The display screen in the middle of the Blackbird lit up and showed an overhead street map of the city.
"The Professor will have marked the team's positions through Cerebro," said Cyclops as he flew. "Plan quickly. We'll be overhead in 30 seconds."
"Jade, can you knock them out? Stop the bloodflow going to their brains for a few seconds?" His eyes met hers.
"I will try, never had to do that before." Jade said, "I need to see them."
"Meanwhile Connor and I will get the kids off the line of fire. Either Elias gets us to safety, or we leg it." Cameron then looked at Connor, then back to Jade. "Questions, concerns, objections?"
Connor was thumping his giant fingers against his speech-generating device. "IF. NOT. REAL. POLICE. THEN. WHO. WATCHES. THE. WATCHERS?"
"We're not the only ones with powers and the ability to manipulate. Humans do it all the time with medicinal products and just mental shit." Jade said. "Hmm...maybe." She trailed off for a moment, "if you can get me a visual I will try. But I can't guarantee it will work."
"Then you'll be a great distraction and me and the Big Man will hit them over the head," Cameron said. He had a wide grin, Cameron was looking forward to this.
Jade nodded, "alright, I'm good to give it a shot."
In truth she had no idea how this would work or if it would work at all.
By the time the Blackbird had come overhead, Elias and Myfanwy had been escorted off the street into the parking lot of condemned motel. With only one way in or out, there seemed like there would be few surprises. A handful of other people stood or sat idly by, though their distinct lack of chatter or movement betrayed something was amiss. Whenever Elias or Myfanwy failed to move as fast as desired, their armed escorts gave them a shove, leading them toward a moving truck parked at the closed end of the lot.
Lilac eyes broke their keen concentration on the approaching mutants in order to observe the arriving Blackbird.
"Let's go!" Cameron called as he jumped out the window, landing in a painful crouch, his knees reminding him that parachute training was not a pleasant experience. With a grimace the Brit pulled his pistol and looked around as his team dropped with him.
Levi walked down a street with his partner for what seemed like miles and miles and at some point all the streets started looking alike. He didn't care for the vibe of the city, the smell of the heat and humidity, or the people. "I'd never run away to the city," he said, making small talk. "You? If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"
"Anywhere but here," Margo groused.
A sketchy man with a dirty duster and several days of stubble on his chin walked up to the two of them. "Hey, kids," he said with a sleazy grin. "Wanna see something? Look at this!" He whipped open his coat and displayed over a dozen luxury wristwatches. "Top of the line quality as you can see. Top row retails at $5,000 but for a mere hundred spot you can take one home to Pops."
Levi, already on edge, almost stumbled backward when the man opens his coat. "Jeez... no... Come on, Margo," he said shakily as he pulled on her arm.
"Come on! This is just the beginning," the flimflammer said. "You want the good stuff? Come step into my office!"
"We-- we don't have any money anyway," Levi stammered as he started to walk away, not letting go of the girl he was with.
The scam artist placed an arm around each teenager and began ushering them down a narrow alley. No sooner did they step off the sidewalk than a black panel van rolled up to the curb. Six men in black suits and wired earpieces filed out with weapons drawn.
"Step away from the girl and put your hands behind your head!" called out the lead man. His high-and-tight haircut and reflective sunglasses practically screamed law enforcement despite his business attire. Once the suited men established a perimeter, it became clear their weapons were trained on Levi as well as the scammer.
"Oh, not again," Margo said with a roll of her eyes.
Levi immediately took a defensive stance, hands out in front of himself and aimed toward the suits. He could possibly take down one or two of them with a concussive pulse of air, but his odds against six guns were not good, he quickly realized. "Again?" he asked as he cast Margo a side eye glance and slowly moved his hands behind his head.
While Margo was stuffed into a black sedan that had rolled up, Levi was ushered toward the van with the main strike team.
"United States Secret Service." The high-and-tight agent flashed his ID with a shiny gold badge. "And you're under arrest."
