A/N 1: I might take Journey down at some point and re-load it as 20 or so longer chapters. Just so you know...

A/N 2: T'Girl: Hal/Zahra? Hmm...*exchanges a look with Ageless* That just might work...

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Chapter Seventy-Two: A Time for Planning

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Hal leaned back in the soft chair, stretching slowly, allowing tense muscles to loosen and letting her body rest for a moment. She could feel the lingering tiredness, the dull throbbing in the back of her head, caused by too much work and too little time to do it in, but despite of her current discomfort, she felt...good.

A faint smile graced her pale lips, lighting up her features, and Zach sent her a questioning look from his place on the couch, but received only a slight smirk as reply.

Yes, their situation was far from good. Yes, they were about to do something amazingly stupid and hazardous, and yes, their odds were probably so bad that not even Hal would be able to turn them into their favor, but still she couldn't help but feel good about herself. She would be the first to admit that she hadn't agreed with Blade's decision of putting her in control of the team - she was too young and too inexperienced, and she knew it. And still she'd managed to live up to her responsibility and get herself and the other four safely out of the internment camp, and much as she tried to suppress it, she couldn't help the feeling of smug satisfaction.

It wasn't a time for gloating, and Hal knew that, too, but still...she'd seen the way Ryan had looked at her at first, clearly doubting her ability to control herself, let alone her team. She didn't need to be a telepath to know that Ryan had been questioning the wisdom of making an eighteen-year-old girl responsible for the safety five people. She knew he'd doubted her, and to finally see a slow respect for her appearing in his eyes made her oddly proud. She didn't need his approval, never would, but he was a good leader, and his respect had to mean that she was doing something right.

Hal had been given a responsibility and handled it better than anyone had expected, and damnit, she had every right to pat herself on the back for it.

Another amused smile lingered on her lips, drawing curious look from Zach, and this time Hal allowed herself to send him a genuine smile in return. Zach raised an eyebrow, clearly wondering about her good mood, but didn't ask. If it were anything important she'd tell him later, he knew that.

Someone stepped into the room and Hal looked up, red eyes following Ryan as he crossed the room and sat down in a chair. He looked every bit as tired as Hal felt, and the girl couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for him. It was no secret that he and Kyle were good friends, and knowing what situation both Kyle and Suzuka were in could not be easy for him. At least Hal knew that Blade and Jordane had a fair chance of getting out alive. But the other two...they had their powers, but they had no experience to back it up. No wonder Ryan looked concerned.

Hal watched silently as the man sat down, waiting for him to begin. They had gathered in one of the bedrooms, making sure to have only the necessary people present - it wasn't because they wanted to exclude anyone, but it would be hard to make plans when a dozen people were talking at the same time.

A long moment of silence passed, then Ryan finally looked up, eyes resting on each of the other five people in the room. "I talked to Kyle," he began, the words slow and carefully measured. "So far they're okay, and they've decided to go through with the plan."

Hal nodded faintly. It was nothing she hadn't expected - after all, what other choice did the four have? The silence after Ryan's words drew out for an uncomfortably long moment, then Zach frowned.

"Do they know how they'll get inside the building?" he asked, drawing the attention of both Hal and Ryan.

"No. They haven't been told to figure something out, so that will most likely be handled by the military," Ryan replied. "They've been given the weapons they need, along with blueprints of the building, but so far they don't know how they're supposed to get there."

Hal frowned. "That means we can't get them out of there before Ross is supposed to make his speech. We'll have to be inside the building, then."

"But how?" Ben asked. "It'll be impossible to sneak inside with the kind of security that will surround the place. We'll need some valid reason to be there, otherwise we'll get kicked out before we can help them. There won't be an audience, we saw that on the news - if we just show up, we'll look too much out of place."

And that fact was something Hal had cursed more than once - had there been an audience, it would have been relatively easy to get inside. But that possibility had been efficiently shut off, much to everyone's dismay.

"But the reporters will be there," Diana remarked, a hint of eagerness entering her words. "I mean, Ryan, you're old enough to pass for a reporter. And Daryn...it'll be easy to convince the guards that you're with him."

Daryn looked at her and frowned slightly. "But...they won't fall for that. I'm too young to pass for a member of a news-crew."

"No...not if I convince the guards to believe me. If they think I'm supposed to be there, I'll be easy to convince them to let you in as well," Ryan disagreed. "So - Daryn and I and..." he trailed off. "Who else? I want as few people as possible inside - the rest of you can stay nearby in case something happens, but having too many people inside the building itself would only make it difficult to get away unnoticed."

"Zach and me can come along, then," Hal replied, and met Ryan's skeptical look without blinking. "I can make our odds a bit better, and in case anything does go wrong, we'll need Zach's powers as defense. You'll need us, Ryan, whether you like it or not."

Ryan nodded slowly, not entirely happy about the idea, but knowing too well that she had a point. They'd need all the help they could get. "You might have a point," he admitted, his eyes coming to rest on Zach. "You look older than you are...you should be able to get inside without too much trouble," he told the boy. "And Hal..." The albino looked at him, raising an eyebrow slightly. "You'll draw attention."

Hal shrugged. "Yes, and I'll draw it away from the rest of you. Albinos aren't considered real mutants - I'll draw attention, but nobody will do anything. And the more people that focus on me, the less people are likely to notice just how young the members of our so-called news-crew are."

"True," Ryan admitted. They wanted to avoid any unnecessary questions, and having Hal divert people's attention might just work. It wasn't the best solution they could have come up with, no, but it would have to work. "All right. Now we know how to get inside...what about the rest? Daryn?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at the boy questioningly.

Daryn sighed and took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I'll need to be close to the collars. I think I can open them without touching them, but...I'll need to be close."

"How close?" Ryan asked, his eyes never leaving the other.

"Three feet or less, I think. Any further and I doubt I'll be able to do it," Daryn admitted.

Ryan nodded, his mind quickly fitting this new piece of information into his mental puzzle. "We'll have to be on the first row, then, but that should be the least of our problems." He paused. "What about ID tags? A camera? Something to make us look like we belong in the crowd?"

"We can handle that," Hal offered, and smiled faintly. "We'll need Daryn to talk to an ATM again, but other than that, you can leave it to us." Ryan looked at her, suspicion clear in his eyes, and Hal smirked. "Don't worry - as I said, it's our own account. Quit being so distrustful about us."

Ryan smiled faintly, remembering his own words to her about trust. "All right. You'll get the necessary equipment, then." He looked at them, suddenly serious. "But no weapons - if any of you set of a metal detector or get caught because you're carrying a gun around, we'll attract too much attention for me to manipulate everyone."

Hal nodded and send Zach a brief look. "No weapons. We understand."

Ryan nodded slowly. "Good...I guess that's all for now. We'll tell the others what we decided, and then you people should get some rest. I think we'll need it."

Nobody said anything in reply, but Ryan could feel a general agreement as the small group got up and headed out the room. They were all tired, he could feel that, too, and he knew that everyone being well rested would be vital to their plan.

He waited a moment, then looked up as Hal was about to leave the room.

"Hal?"

The albino looked at him, red eyes watching him curiously. "Yes?"

"How good are you?" The question was simple, and the meaning behind it was clear.

Hal hesitated for a moment, considering how to answer the question, before she finally responded. "I can't turn the odds to our favor, if that's what you're asking. I'm not that good...I can only influence the immediate future, not events that are hours away. I can help on the odds, and give us an edge if needed be...but I can't counteract every little problem we might run into." She paused, then sighed. "I'm sorry."

Ryan smiled faintly, tiredly, and for a brief moment Hal saw the uncertainty he couldn't allow himself to show. Then Ryan nodded slightly, and the moment passed. "Thank you for being honest."

Hal shrugged uncomfortably, not sure how to respond. "We work together. You deserve to know."

Ryan frowned. "Maybe..." he trailed off, then shook his head to clear his mind a bit. "Make sure your team gets enough rest. As I said, they'll need it."

"We all will," Hal agreed, then sighed softly. "Take your own advice and get some sleep, Ryan. You need to, too."

And before he could ask her about the sudden gesture of concern, Hal had left the room, leaving Ryan alone in the silence to wonder.

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