Things start to get a bit more exciting from here on out…. Alcatraz is coming up, among other things… Thanks for sticking with me so far!
Still don't own the X-Men, though I really wish I had their jet…
X X X X X
"We're doing all our training in one room?"
Scott bit back a grin at the question that came from Lieutenant Richard Mayfield, codenamed Redneck, commander of Delta Force team seven. Delta team seven and SEAL team two, commanded by Lieutenant (j.g.) Ian McAllister, codenamed Sushi, had arrived earlier that day. Once they'd gotten their bunking arrangements sorted out, Scott had introduced them to the X-Men.
He'd expected the skepticism and outright disbelief because some of the X-Men weren't even out of high school yet. When it came, he'd suggested they get right into a combat scenario and see what happened. So they were gathered outside the Danger Room.
"You've never seen a room like this," Scott assured Redneck. "Between cutting edge AI, holographic simulation, and real time monitoring and adjustment, we can create any environment you can think of."
Redneck clearly didn't believe him.
"Let's show 'em," Logan suggested. "How about that sweep program Kitty did?"
"Good idea," Scott said. He and Logan had agreed earlier that would be the first program the special operators ran in the Danger Room, but now the suggestion made it seem casual rather than planned.
"It's a standard scenario," Logan explained. "I don't know what you call it -- where you have innocents and hostiles both?"
Sushi nodded. "We call it a kill house."
"Who wants to go first?" Scott asked.
Sushi and Redneck exchanged a glance. "Flip a coin?" Redneck suggested.
Logan pulled a quarter from his pocket. "Heads, Delta. Tails, SEALS." He flipped the coin, showed the result to the others. "Heads."
"Pick two X-Men to run with you," Scott said. "Any two, commander's choice."
Redneck thought for a moment. "Wolverine and Colossus."
Scott wasn't surprised at the choices. They were, after all, the ones whose powers kept them closest to human normal -- aside from Peter's armored form -- and therefore the ones most comfortable for a commander not used to thinking in terms of mutant powers and abilities.
"What's the course record?" Redneck asked as he checked his guns. They'd provided the teams with blank rounds since the Danger Room couldn't stop real bullets.
"We haven't kept track," Scott said. "So you can set it."
"They can set it," Sushi grinned. "We'll break it."
"Care to put money on that?" Redneck shoved his gun back in its holster.
"Are we allowed to gamble? It's a school, remember?" Sushi looked at Scott. "Your call, Cyclops."
"As long as you don't involve the students -- X-Men excepted -- I have no problem with it. Ready, Redneck?"
Redneck didn't even glance at his team. "Ready."
"Kitty and I will monitor," Scott said. "Give us three minutes to get up there."
- - - - -
"Only warning you get," Logan said just before the doors to the Danger Room opened, "is this is a random scenario. The number and type of hostiles changes every time. Might have mutant hostiles, might have human, same for victims."
Redneck nodded, and the doors opened. Peter armored up and Logan followed him and the Delta team inside.
For all that he'd briefed Redneck, it was theoretical knowledge gained from the discussions the team had the night before. He'd never run this scenario, but as the team approached the wooden house sitting in the desert, he suddenly knew he'd done this exact thing before.
But there should be jungle, not desert.
Where had that certainty come from? He couldn't focus on those images, memories that teased at the edge of his awareness, not with Redneck barking orders and the team spreading out for insertion.
Redneck ordered Peter to take point. He and two others fell in behind Peter and Logan scowled to himself. It was taking body armor a little too seriously to use the armored man as a meat shield, he thought.
His scowl deepened when Redneck ordered him to take the six o'clock position, last in line. It could've been worse, he admitted. Redneck might've ordered him to be the meat shield instead of Peter.
Then they were inside, and Logan's certainty that he'd done this before grew with each step, each shot that echoed in the confined space. The echo sounded wrong, though. Moist jungle air should deaden the sound a little. And there should be screaming, women and children…
Three hostiles lay dead, two mutants and a human, and Logan administered the coup de grace to one that still twitched, as though he'd done that before. And he had…
Focus. The almost-memories were getting stronger, and he had to focus past them. He couldn't let his team down -- even though Redneck wasn't treating him and Peter as though they were on the same team.
More gunshots echoed in the house, and more hostiles fell. He frowned. The one at his feet didn't have a weapon, but bled from a gut shot.
Nasty way to die, especially when you weren't supposed to. He administered another coup de grace, with regret for the unlucky armadillo-skinned woman he killed. Looked like Redneck's team would need a bit of work on identifying mutant hostiles.
A hostile leapt from a concealed closet behind him, and Logan spun, slicing through his neck with one clean swipe.
The house dissolved around them, and Logan retracted his claws. The scenario might be over, but memories still teased at him.
And I can't have a beer until dinner.
- - - - -
Scott stood behind Kitty in the monitor room. He'd watched the X-Men train in this scenario in various combinations, but they tended to go for broke, whereas Redneck led his team as though he were an orchestra conductor. Everyone had his part, and came in on cue.
"Different," Kitty commented. "But they only killed two innocent mutants."
"Non-human looking ones, though," Scott said. "Too many scary alien movies, probably." Kitty rolled her eyes at him. "We'll break them of it, don't worry."
When the Delta team had finished its run, Kitty reset the program, randomizing the number of hostiles and innocents, as well as the setting. "We'll see how the SEALs do."
"Cyke?" Logan's voice came through the speaker on the control panel. "Sushi wants to know if he's stuck with Redneck's choices."
"I said commander's choice. Who does he want?"
"You and Storm."
That surprised him. "I'll be right there." He put a hand on Kitty's shoulder. "Record this run."
She nodded without looking up and Scott left the monitor room, fit his visor over his eyes. This should be interesting.
The doors opened and Scott followed the SEALs inside, Ororo at his side. The doors closed behind them and the simulation took over. They stood about a hundred yards from the kill house, concealed from view by a small copse of trees.
"Holy shit." The muttered exclamation came from the one introduced as Bandit. "Puts 3-D movies to shame."
"Can it," Sushi said. "Storm, can you localize subzero temperatures inside the house?"
"The smaller the area, the harder it is," Ororo said. "How about surrounding the house, ten feet out?"
"Works. How fast?"
"How fast do you need?" Ororo countered.
"When we get to the door."
Ororo nodded. "I can do that."
The SEALs hadn't seen the Delta team's run, so this was Sushi adapting on the fly. Scott had to admit he was impressed, even though he wasn't used to taking orders.
"I've got point," Sushi continued. "Cyclops, with me. Break off to engage anyone who doesn't drop from a shot."
Scott acknowledged the order with a nod. It was a reasonable enough plan, overall. The shock of cold would slow any hostiles' reactions, and Sushi had taken into account the unpredictability of mutant powers.
Sushi gave a signal, and they moved out. Scott relaxed into the routine, letting himself enjoy not having to give the orders for once. He probably should be evaluating their performance, but he could do that when he watched Kitty's recording.
Scott followed Sushi through the door, and in the second room he had to break off to blast a mutant with lizard-like skin. His right fist clenched and he tapped the first knuckle of his forefinger with his thumb. The contacts he and Hank had installed connected, and the ruby quartz lens of his visor raised about one quarter its depth. The beam caught the lizard-man in the chest and sent him flying back through a window.
Scott watched with satisfaction. He'd have to tell Hank the remote worked perfectly.
But there were still more hostiles, and he turned to rejoin the SEALs. In the few seconds he'd stood still, the chill in the air had seeped through the body armor he wore. Not for the first time he was glad he and Ororo were on the same team.
Scott caught up with Sushi just as he entered the last room of the house. Three hostages, two hostiles. Sushi fired on a mutant hostile and two others of his team took out the last hostile.
The simulation faded around them, and Ororo opened the door.
"So much for SEAL efficiency," Redneck said when all three teams were once again assembled in the hall outside the Danger Room. "Off our time by twenty seconds."
"So what did you think?" Scott asked casually, grinning.
Sushi grinned back. "You ever need extra cash, you could rent that room out for SEAL training."
"Impressive," Redneck said. "A little disturbing that you're training a private army."
Scott saw a frown flicker across Jean's face at Redneck's comment, but said only, "I've been in contact with the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Mutant Affairs. The X-Men fill a need that conventional military can't. Yet. Which is why you, gentlemen, are here."
"How do you know conventional military can't fill that need?" Sushi sounded curious. Redneck's stance expressed his disbelief.
Scott shrugged, deliberately nonchalant. It would challenge men like these more than any outburst he could make. "We'll give you a demonstration tomorrow. Your two teams going up against a situation we faced not long ago. Maybe I'm wrong and you can handle it."
"What if we do?" Sushi asked.
Logan snorted. "You beat that scenario, I'll buy you a year's worth of beer. Each."
That got their attention. "And if we don't?" Sushi asked.
"You admit that maybe there's a need for the X-Men after all," Logan said.
"Deal." Sushi held his hand out, and Logan shook it. After a moment, Redneck followed suit.
"Sleep well, gentlemen," Scott said. "You'll need it."
- - - - -
As it turned out, both Sushi and Redneck had to admit that there was a need for the X-Men, though Redneck did so grudgingly and only after losing all of his team. But that's what happened when you went up against Magneto with only metal weapons. Logan knew that from first-hand experience.
But by the end of the two week training session, both teams worked seamlessly with the X-Men, and even Logan had to admit that it could be helpful to have the military on their side if worse came to worst. Which it would. The only question was when.
The bus that would take the teams to the airport sat outside the mansion, and he'd joined Scott and Jean to bid the teams goodbye. Ororo and the younger X-Men had classes and had said their goodbyes that morning at breakfast. Scent told him that Ororo and Redneck had said a more private goodbye the night before, but that was nobody else's business. He'd learned long ago that there were few enough chances for happiness in this world, you should grab them when they happened by.
Now if only Scott and Jean would take back the happiness they'd had before.
It didn't look like that would happen today, though. Scott slapped the door of the van once it was full, then turned to go back into the mansion even before it had pulled away. Beside him, Jean gave a sigh inaudible to normal ears. But his ears weren't normal.
"Problem?" Logan asked, and she flicked a startled glance at him.
"Not really a problem, so much as a change."
"Getting things back to normal after the grunts have gone?"
Jean chuckled. "That's the easy part."
"What's the hard part?" Logan had to push. She was holding something back, and he needed to know what it was. That seemed to be another part of his nature, he noted, pushing to find answers.
"Deciding whether to take another position."
"You're leaving?" Shock made him blurt. Jean belonged here. How could she think of leaving?
"I'm thinking about it." Now that she'd admitted it, however reluctantly, she seemed to relax. "We're isolated here, Logan. We don't actually live in the real world and see what's going on with mutants in everyday life. How can we adequately represent the larger mutant population from an ivory tower?"
"You did a good job when you testified before the Senate." It was the only thing he could think to say.
"I was set up to fail." The barest hint of bitterness laced her tone. "And not just by Senator Kelly. I did the best I could with what I was allowed, but --" she stopped and took a breath. "Sorry."
"Sounds like you need to get it out of your system," Logan said. Maybe if she did, she'd stay. The team needed her, Scott needed her, he needed her. He was only now realizing exactly why he needed her.
"It's over and done. If I testify again, things will be different."
"I'm sure they will. Does leaving here get you closer to testifying again?"
"It might, it might not. But testifying before Senate committees isn't the only way to change the world." The van had disappeared beyond the horizon, and Jean turned back to the mansion. "Who was it who said to be the change you want to see in the world?"
"Gandhi."
"Thanks. But think about it -- if the change I want to see is mutants and non-mutants living and working together in reasonable harmony, shouldn't I be doing that? Or at least trying to?"
"Maybe." Logan fell into step with her. "And maybe you need to think about how you can best effect that change. Maybe it's living and working among non-mutants. Maybe it's staying here and testifying before Senate committees. And kicking Magneto's ass sometimes."
That made her chuckle, as he'd hoped it would. "Maybe so."
"Jeannie." He paused with his hand on the doorknob so she'd have to look at him. "You do what you need to do. But think long and hard about it before you do anything. This place won't be the same without you. None of the people, either."
"It's not something I'd choose lightly. Especially not after --" She broke off, shook her head. "I promise I'll think about it."
It was the most reassurance he was likely to get, and he opened the door for her. Instead of following her inside, he pulled the door closed again and turned toward the trail where the team did their morning runs. It was one way he and Scott were alike -- they did their best thinking while moving, and this particular problem would likely require a dozen or more laps of the trail.
Jean couldn't leave. It was that simple. Scott might be the team leader, the brains of the outfit, but Jean was its soul. The team wouldn't survive without her, and it had to survive. If the team fell apart, who would stand against Magneto and his brotherhood?
He'd been skeptical, even insulting, of the team when he'd first arrived, but their fights at Liberty Island and then Alkali Lake had convinced him the team was needed. That team needed head and soul -- as well as brute force -- to be useful.
So his job was to figure out how to make sure Jeannie stayed where she was most needed. And that, he concluded, meant figuring out what had happened between her and Scott and convincing the kid to fix whatever he'd messed up. Even if convincing him took a knock-down drag-out fight in the Danger Room.
- - - - -
"Scotty, it's Hank."
The agitation in the other man's voice explained his use of Scott's teenage nickname. "What is it, Hank?"
"The convoy carrying Mystique, Madrox, and Juggernaut was attacked two days ago. The report only now made it to my desk."
"Attacked? Magneto?"
"Yes. He destroyed four police cruisers, and set all three of them free. Ten men died."
"Jesus." Scott rose from his office chair and crossed to the window overlooking the basketball court. Seeing children at play reassured him that the whole world wasn't going to hell. "They all escaped, I take it?"
"Not all."
Even after all these years, he knew that tone. "What aren't you saying, Hank?"
"Magneto left Mystique behind."
"That makes no sense," Scott said. "She's his best asset."
"Not anymore."
"She's dead?"
Hank's voice was flat in the way a voice only got when it was delivering very bad news. "Not dead. The guards in the convoy had weapons loaded with darts. Those darts contained the cure."
Scott went cold. "They made it into a weapon." It wasn't really a question.
"I didn't know about it. Not until I got the report on the attack this morning."
"Logan's going to say he told us so." Scott knew the potential for turning the cure into a weapon had been present from the beginning. He had hoped that it wouldn't be realized so soon.
"I've got a meeting with the president tomorrow about it."
"Good," Scott said.
"I'm going to resign."
"Say again?" He couldn't have heard what he thought he'd heard. Could he?
"I said I'm resigning, Scott."
"Don't do that, Hank."
"I wasn't consulted on this, wasn't even informed. My position is a sham."
"Only if you let it be," Scott countered. "What time's your appointment?"
"Four. But I can't change the fact that I wasn't consulted."
"No, you can't. But we can change what happens from now on. If you resign, there's no one left to speak for us."
"Scott --"
"I'll be there by one. Let's talk before you do anything, okay?" It wasn't really a question, despite that Hank had been one of his earliest teachers when he'd first come to Xavier's, despite Hank's position as Secretary of Mutant Affairs. This was an X-Men issue, Hank had once been an X-Man, and he was the X-Men's commander.
Hank agreed, reluctantly, and Scott hung up just long enough to get a clear line and then dialed Logan's phone.
"Yo."
"My office."
"On the way."
Scott put the phone back in its cradle and stretched his arms behind his head. He didn't need news like that this late in the day. Ever, really. As he turned back to his desk, his gaze fell on a photo of him and Jean. He hadn't removed any of the pictures yet, hadn't been able to think of things as that completely finished between them. Her offer to walk and listen two weeks before had given him hope in that direction, but between training the special forces teams and a conference she'd gone to in Dallas in the middle of that training, they hadn't had any time alone since.
Ororo had taken the picture last Christmas, capturing a rare moment of public affection between him and Jean. They'd stood under mistletoe without realizing it, and Jubilee had badgered them until they'd finally kissed. Ororo caught the moment after the kiss, and he could see Jean's love for him in every line of her body, every nuance of her expression.
Maybe someday he'd see that love again.
"What's up?"
He turned at Logan's question, waved the other man inside. "They've made the cure into a weapon."
"You must've been in the Navy once," Scott observed when the stream of cursing ended.
Logan glared at him. "What're we doing about it?"
"I wanted your ideas before I decide."
That shocked the other man, Scott saw, though Logan hid the reaction almost instantly. To give Logan a moment to regain his composure, Scott added, "I'm going to fly down to D.C. to talk to Hank before he meets with the president in the morning. The first thing on the agenda is convincing him not to resign."
"Resigning would be a bad move," Logan agreed. "Wouldn't have thought the furball would run from a challenge."
"He was still in shock over the news when he said it." Scott summarized what Hank had told him about Magneto's attack on the prison convoy.
Logan listened, then said, "C'mon."
It was the last thing Scott had expected him to say. "Where?"
"Town."
"Why are we going to town?" Logan had already turned away, and Scott followed.
"Because if we're gonna think hard, I need a beer."