Railroad tracks run through these lands. Some of them never get used. But then, what would one expect? It's the 21st century. Hell, there are probably Lyft drivers who take the same routes as Greyhound buses...
Hauling Stone tied up in a cocoon of ropes, Eisenhardt and Avalanche cringe, while carrying him out to such a railroad. He's heavy...but not as heavy as Fred Dukes or Cain Marko...or Piotr Rasputin when he's Colossus.
Stone's body keeps spewing random powers, though. But of course, he's tied up, and about to be laid on a railroad track. And they have NO way of knowing if the railroad is still active.
Nonetheless, standing on either side of the track, they set him down between the metal rails. Here, he looks around continually.
"Better save your strength, Stone," Eisenhardt tells him. He now wears a purple sock over his head, trying to pass himself off as the Baron von Zemo. Alas, he might be too old to pass for Helmut. Too bad Heinrich's dead. "If a pronghorn herd tries to stampede here, you'll need most of your powers to slay them all...especially if the rest of the Brotherhood's powers can't get enough on their own."
"Can't imagine how," Stone scoffs. "Most of you are fucking flamethrowers, in contrast to me. Hell, you could even throw flames if you controlled magnesium!"
"Tempting... But for now, that's what we have Allerdyce for."
"Boss," Avalanche interrupts, "are you seriously trying to pass yourself off as Zemo? You do realize that if Susan Hatchi is out here, she can just do telepathy on you and find out who you are? Somehow, I doubt that sock is telepathy-proof. It's...not made of vibranium, is it?"
"I'm desperate, Constantine. If it increases my chances, even if only slightly, I must reach for it. I don't suppose YOUR helmet is telepathy-proof?"
He sighs. "It's better for protecting the head against PHYSICAL attacks, I'm afraid. You could test it...but you'd look like a fool, if you were wrong. And naturally, you're our leader. We're the Brotherhood; we would absolutely HATE to think that our leader is anything less than a god..."
"I KNOW, I KNOW!" Eisenhardt reels it in, and calms himself. "Sorry; it's been a long life. I have no intent of failing you. I'm just...not sure for how much longer this hunt can continue, depending on how much Ms. Manh attacks me. For now, we should just be more thankful that we don't know she's onto me yet."
"These ropes are a little tight," Stone complains. "Care to..."
"Rest easy, Master Stone," Eisenhardt tells him, "and those ropes won't likely ache as much. When a stampede comes, you'll hear the thunder of hooves. Allerdyce and Toynbee are abroad as we speak, scouting around for herds. When they find one, they'll work together to drove it in this direction."
"Why do we have to leave me here? Why not take me closer to where the herd is grazing?"
"The less chance we spook them, the better. Naturally, I didn't take us all the way out here so that we could fail."
Avalanche scoffs. "If YOU took us out here, then how come we all got to the hunting grounds before you?"
Eisenhardt stares at him. "You KNOW what I mean." Back to Stone. "Just lie tight, right here. We'll be nearby, arms cocked. If you need anything, signal to us with your powers. If it's truly life-threatening, then you'll be able to use them. But then, with that much power, you could just as easily untie yourself."
"Don't you think the pronghorns are more likely to avoid this spot, if they think there's a human here?"
Eisenhardt scoffs. "You look like you're in distress! They wouldn't see you as a threat." He looks around. "Speaking of what, we'd better go into hiding. Take care...and don't spook them, if they come."
With that, both mutants levitate away, leaving Random tied up on the railroad.
Tied up, Stone only shakes his head. "Take care," he mutters. "Don't spook them...' Why are we even trying to slaughter the whole herd, anyway? Don't they have bag limits in this county?" He looks around. "Which county is this, anyway? Brewster?"
Uphill and out of sight, Eisenhardt and Avalanche both take cover in separate hides. With luck, Pyro and Toad have found the herd by now, and they're droving it this way as they think. Alas, Texas is a very big state...and it's even bigger in the North and West. Hell, the Mighty Thor could have a lot of fun fighting bad guys here, if he ever got tired of space...or Scandinavia...
An hour passes. Much becomes still. A rattler crawls out of its hole.
Tied up, Stone struggles to stay calm...and sane. This seems like an extreme way to use his powers. But then, his powers must not be extreme enough. He'll never have any idea why Magneto recruited him for the Brotherhood...
Behind him, Sheev the armadillo scurries past. Stone doesn't see it. He can't. The armadillo is no threat to him; hence, he's not going to randomly grow eyes in the back of his head just for that.
From far away, Eisenhardt sees the armadillo's armor gleam. Alas, he isn't expecting to find relief from a varmint out here. Plus, he can't see the armadillo very well, from where he is. They're both too far away from one another. He dismisses it as a piece of quartz, or something...
Back on the tracks, Stone wiggles around in his ropes, and sings to himself. He sings a twisted version of Roseanne Cash's "my Baby Thinks He's a Train." It looks strange, I know; but at least he's not some teenage guy lip-syncing to Shania Twain's "Man I Feel Like a Woman."
It's 3PM in the Texas noon, he sings,
Charlie Telepath won't shut up
My boss done went off, and pissed her off
Pussied her off
She can't control her hate, and
She's gonna come after all of us
Boss had a simple job to do
Stay the fuck away from Karma's bitchy sister
He should've known to do so, if she owes her kisses to Mr. Sinister's ass
His big black, diamond-studded ass
I'm telling you, boys
My boss thinks he can do everything
From far away, a train whistle blows. Stone hesitates for a prolonged moment, and listens. Nothing else happens. He goes back to singing,
Lots of bush, that Charlie must have
If Boss Man Magneto can't keep his hands in his own pants
I'm telling you, folks, that metal-boy's insane...
The train whistle blows again. Stone stops, and listens. He hears nothing. He finishes the first chorus,
My boss has got the power to turn trains into scrap metal...
From afar, a train approaches. It's on the railroad Stone's tied up on. Avalanche sees it coming, via range-finders.
He sets them down, and sighs. "Great," he mutters. "Collateral damage. Now the game warden's REALLY going to have a lot of fun, rounding up the Reavers..."
The train's coming on fast. Most locals around here probably haven't seen anything like this since Edmund Davis.
By now, Stone's figured out his own predicament. He knows he should roll off the tracks...but he just can't resist the opportunity to see what he's going to do, right before the train runs over him. So, he moves around on the tracks, to where his feet face the approaching locomotive...
Again, it comes on fast. Whatever fear Stone feels, he lets it flow. The locomotive is so close, now, he can almost feel its engine heat on the tips of his toes...
Less than incredibly, he becomes intangible. The train runs right through him, without leaving a scratch...or a mark.
Far away, Eisenhardt heaves a sigh. Shit; he really wanted to see Random do something catastrophic to that train...
It doesn't take long for the train to pass. Once it has, Random becomes tangible again. He lifts his head, and watches the caboose open out...while upside-down. Random sighs, and moves around, to where he lies perpendicular to the tracks...which is how Magneto and Avalanche left him.
Avalanche sighs, and gets on a walkie-talkie. "The pronghorns aren't likely to come by if a train's just been by. Should we move him to another railroad?"
Magneto gets on his own walkie-talkie. "I agree. Let's move him."
They both abandon their hides, and collect their gear. Downhill, Random only sighs, and shakes his head.
Now, Sheev is at the bottom of a hill. He rolls up into a metal telepathy-proof ball, and takes a noon nap. He's liable to get very hot, in this sun. But then, maybe the Texas predators will avoid him for a little longer, that way...
He'd look a lot like Cannonball, if only he could generate thermo-chemical energy, and fly... West Texas seems to have a hilarious shortage of Guthries...and Phimisters...