Oh give me a break. Jean thought as she listened to Kyran and Scott argue.
Scott didn't like the idea of the Brotherhood members going along. Kyran
insisted that they would need their help. The two team leaders were
practically nose-to-nose and it almost looked like a fight would break out.
"We need all the help we can get." Kyran snarled.
"They're our enemies, we can't trust them." Scott growled back.
"I used to be in the Brotherhood, does that mean you can't trust me?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I'm going to kick your ass if you don't back the fuck up." Kyran retorted.
Scott didn't budge an inch. "They're not going. You just want them to go so you can be with your boyfriend."
Kyran growled deep in his throat and gave Scott a fierce, murderous glare. "Don't you accuse me of putting my wants in front of my team's safety."
"Oh don't give me that. You'll be off making out with Pietro while the rest of us are trying to rescue Congressman Yale."
Erik rolled his eyes and looked toward Chailyn. "Mind cooling the fire?"
"My pleasure." Chailyn said. She raised both hands and aimed right at the team leaders before letting loose with a powerful stream of water. Both mutants were knocked to the ground.
Erik stepped up so that he was standing over both of them. "Y'know, I think we need some kind of second in command thing going on here or someone that can be a tie breaker." He glared down at both younger men. "Until then I'm making this decision. Scott the Brotherhood boys are coming with us. Kyran, Scott gets to decide which teams they get put on."
"Fine by me." Kyran said, glaring at Scott.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that." Scott agreed, returning the glare.
"This is going to be so much fun." Pietro groaned as everyone split between the Blackbird and the Velocity.
////
"I thought we agreed I would make the teams." Scott growled over the com links they were using.
"No, just that you'd decide where the Brotherhood boys were placed." Kyran replied.
"Are they always like this?" Lance asked.
Erik rolled his eyes. "It never ends." He growled as the two team leaders continued to argue. "Will the two egomaniacs please shut up?"
Kyran immediately silenced himself. He mumbled an apology to them and then he suggested he and Scott work together on forming the teams, but the younger man could still judge where to put the three Brotherhood members. Scott agreed, swallowing his own pride to work out the best teams possible. As they made five teams of four they tried to place one person who could lead, one who could get them inside, and two powerhouses who could properly defend the rest of the team.
"Okay, everyone be careful and report anything you find immediately." Scott said. The Velocity and Blackbird were stopping to drop off the first team of four; Chailyn, Jesse, Evan, and Kitty.
"And guys, don't kill anyone, okay? Just incapacitate them." Kyran said to his team. "Good luck."
////
Chailyn rolled her eyes as Kitty complained for the sixth time about the cold weather. The hydro mutant was dressed in a pure black suit that was identical to the rest of her teammates and offered no better protection against the cold than Kitty or Evan's did. She swore to herself if the valley girl opened her mouth to complain one more time she might just douse the girl in water and hope it freezes solid.
"We should have, like, gotten parkas or something." Kitty said, shivering.
"Does she always complain this much?" Jesse asked.
Evan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you kind of get used to it after a while man."
"Well, Mick and Jordan were two whinny bitches, so if I could put up with them for years I suppose I can get used to a valley girl. There's not much difference."
Chailyn rolled her eyes again and continued stealthily leading the group ahead. She wasn't exactly sure how they were supposed to spot a hidden base. A hidden base was, well, hidden. She couldn't figure out what the real point of the mission was. The Rockies was a huge mountain range, there was no way they could search the whole thing. Any base hidden there would be like a needle in a haystack, impossible to find.
"Ugh, the snow is getting in my shoe." Kitty said. "What the point of this anyway? How are we supposed to find this base?"
"Finally a complaint I can agree with." Chailyn said.
Jesse frowned and stopped walking. He looked around the sparse trees and snow that made up the landscape. "I don't like this. We should have stuck together."
"As one big group? Then we really never would have found whoever has the Congressman." Evan argued.
"Spyke, I have a feeling they've already found us."
////
Kyran stared hard into Adam's cold black eyes. "You're leading the team Tartarus and I expect you to act like a leader. Don't rush into anything just so you can say your team found where they're keeping Yale."
"Wouldn't dream of it Daddy." Adam sneered. He then hopped out of the Velocity followed by Todd. In the Blackbird Scott snagged Kurt before the younger mutant could join them.
"I don't trust that Tartarus character. Be careful with him, okay?" Scott said.
Kurt nodded. "Ja, don't worry Cyke, I'll be fine."
////
"I can already see the look on Kyran's face when he finds out we found the base first." Adam said with a distant look in his eyes.
"You never listen to Kyran, do you?" Taylon growled. "You're such an arrogant asshole. Doesn't the team mean anything to you?"
"Hey, I'm still here, aren't I?" Adam retorted. "That'll have to be enough for you."
"You have a fucked up way of showing you care." Taylon grumbled.
Adam shrugged, then smirked. "Chailyn would pull your horns out if she heard you swearing like that."
"I know."
Todd shook his head as he hopped along beside Kurt. "That guy sound like someone we know?"
"Ja, Tartarus and Quicksilver must have been made from the same mold or something." Kurt agreed.
"If you're talking about me it had better be good or you're going to be in Hell." Tartarus called back to the younger boys in a disgustingly casual voice.
"I don't know which one abuses his power more though." Kurt whispered.
"This guy, definitely, Pietro never REALLY terrorizes anyone."
"Ach, you don't even know the half of it."
////
Cold grey eyes watched a computer screen with a growing smirk. "Base to field agents, targets have arrived. Move in and neutralize."
"Dead or alive?" A deep, cold voice questions back.
"Alive preferably, but if you have to kill one of them to make an example, boss said that's okay."
"Oh yeah, it's party time."
////
Jean was a little unnerved by the silence she was surrounded by. Reece couldn't talk and he could only very rarely project mental images. Erik and Luke were both silently doing their part to find what ever it was they were supposed to find. She was used to a lot of chattering and though she thought the silence was nice at first, it was really starting to get to her.
Then she heard an odd, but vaguely familiar sound. It sounded like...wings. She looked up just in time to see a red fist flying at her face. She had no time to react, and neither did Reece who joined her in unconsciousness when a tail thumped him across his forehead.
Luke and Erik both turned at the sound of bodies hitting the ground and saw a red skinned goliath that looked very gargoyle like. It had twin horns that curved back over its head and four sharp looking talons on each hand. Murky yellow eyes gleamed evilly at the two smaller guys as they stared up at the creature that was easily 7'5''.
"Who the hell are you?" Luke demanded.
"I'm Minion and you're coming with me." The large mutant replied.
Luke rolled his eyes and formed a ball of energy in his closed fist. He then flung the energy at Minion, but the mutant leapt an incredible distance in the air and landed behind the two boys. Luke ducked and rolled as Minion swiped at them with his tail, while Erik liquefied himself and slithered away.
Erik went toward Jean to use her com link to warn the rest of the teams when he felt Minion jump over him and before he knew what was happening the large mutant had both Jean and Reece in his grasp. A talon was to each mutant's throat and an evil smirk adorned Minion's face.
"Surrender or I'll kill them both and I assure you I will do it." Minion ordered in a booming voice.
Erik glanced back at Luke and found the younger man had a fist full of energy ready to throw. "Firefight, don't. This guy means business."
"Smart boy. Now come with me and these two won't get hurt, too bad."
"You'll regret this." Luke snarled.
Minion smirked. "I doubt it."
////
Brody paused mid step and grunted as Cody smacked into his back. The black furred mutant steadied himself and shot an apologetic look toward his snake- like friend. He then lifted his head slightly and sniffed the air while straining his ears. Something felt wrong. Something felt very wrong to him.
"Guys--."
Kwapop.
"Guys, we've got company!" Brody called out.
Seconds later Mick and Jordan appeared from around the bend in front of them. Mick had his trademark Sledgehammer and Jordan his sword. Both wore smirks on their faces.
"Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. Come play with us." Mick sneered.
"You want to play, you get the full team." Scott replied.
"Isn't that sweet, the kitten has guard dogs." Jordan laughed. "Stay out of the way mutt, your turn will come."
"Mutt? I'll show you mutt." Scott growled and then let loose with an optic blast.
Jordan laughed, absorbed the energy in his sword and redirected it back at Cody. The snake mutant didn't even get a chance to gasp before the energy knocked him into the shield and unconscious. Jordan and Mick grinned at each other as one opponent was taken out.
"Who's next?"
Scott frowned and studied to two mutants. They were powerful sure, but they had to have a weakness. Beside him Pietro acted before Scott could plan anything. The speedster ran circles around Mick and Jordan creating a cyclone that carried them off the ground.
"Good idea Quicksilver, but now what do we do?" Scott grumbled. "Voltaic?"
Brody shrugged. "If I try and zap them they'll just use it."
"And the same goes for me." Scott said with a frown.
Suddenly two anchors hit the ground and Mick and Jordan stopped whirling, though they were still floating in the air. And then quite suddenly a hurdle appeared in front of Pietro who had only enough time for a hyper speed yelp before he hit it went tumbling. Brody winced as he saw the speed demon was out cold only an inch from the energy shield.
"Great, there goes the only advantage we had." Scott groaned as the twins dropped to the ground.
Suddenly the twins' com links buzzed to life. "Minion to base four targets have been neutralized. Request transport."
"This is base, well done Minion, Crisscross will be there shortly." Came the reply.
The com went quiet and the twins' grinned. "Hear that, four of your teammates have been captured. So why don't you just surrender and make it easy for yourselves?"
Mick created a whip, lashed it around Pietro's leg, and yanked the unconscious boy over to him. He reached down and grabbed Pietro by his throat and lifted him up with one hand while creating an energy knife in the other.
"Well, surrender or he dies."
"That doesn't leave us much of a choice." Scott said.
"I know."
Jordan activated his com link. "This is Carnage, four targets have been neutralized. Request transport."
"This is base. Well done you two. Drifter will be there as soon as he can."
////
Todd leapt straight up in the air and landed on a low branch of a tree and wrapped his long arms around the trunk as it shook with the impact. He looked down at the brown furred rhino that was trying to do him in. He then looked over to Adam's unconscious form and then to Taylon and Kurt who were just realizing something was happening.
"Hey yo, you two wanna do somethin' other than stand there?" Todd shouted.
Taylon morphed into his bull form and charged the rhino's side. The other horned creature swung around and Taylon slid to a stop a few feet away. The two animals stared each other down. Neither was going to back down. Taylon snorted, the rhino pawed the ground.
Kurt watched for a moment before he ported up to the tree, grabbed Todd and ported them both to the ground a little ways away from Taylon and the rhino. The German mutant then ported onto the rhino's back and then up to the top branches of a tree, where he left the rhino. The animal promptly turned into an angry looking girl with brown hair and brown eyes.
"You fucker, get back up here and teleport me down!" She roared.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I think not."
"Fine. It was really just a chance for you to earn some brownie points." She replied and then began swinging and hopping down the branches like an expert.
When she reached the last branch she swung out of it and landed flying kick to Todd's face. She watched as he went tumbling and flipped away from the horns of the angry bull. As soon as her feet were flat on the ground she morphed to the rhino and lifted one of her big powerful front legs and held the foot over Adam's head. Her message was a simple one to understand. She watched with an inner smirk as the bull transformed back into a boy. It was all too easy.
////
Kyran groaned as he watched the last team get led and dragged into holding cells. The cells were made so as to neutralize any mutant powers of the prisoners within. He frowned deeply and looked around. He didn't like any of this. Someone had been expecting them. Things just weren't looking good at all.
"We need all the help we can get." Kyran snarled.
"They're our enemies, we can't trust them." Scott growled back.
"I used to be in the Brotherhood, does that mean you can't trust me?"
"What do you think?"
"I think I'm going to kick your ass if you don't back the fuck up." Kyran retorted.
Scott didn't budge an inch. "They're not going. You just want them to go so you can be with your boyfriend."
Kyran growled deep in his throat and gave Scott a fierce, murderous glare. "Don't you accuse me of putting my wants in front of my team's safety."
"Oh don't give me that. You'll be off making out with Pietro while the rest of us are trying to rescue Congressman Yale."
Erik rolled his eyes and looked toward Chailyn. "Mind cooling the fire?"
"My pleasure." Chailyn said. She raised both hands and aimed right at the team leaders before letting loose with a powerful stream of water. Both mutants were knocked to the ground.
Erik stepped up so that he was standing over both of them. "Y'know, I think we need some kind of second in command thing going on here or someone that can be a tie breaker." He glared down at both younger men. "Until then I'm making this decision. Scott the Brotherhood boys are coming with us. Kyran, Scott gets to decide which teams they get put on."
"Fine by me." Kyran said, glaring at Scott.
"Yeah, I'm cool with that." Scott agreed, returning the glare.
"This is going to be so much fun." Pietro groaned as everyone split between the Blackbird and the Velocity.
////
"I thought we agreed I would make the teams." Scott growled over the com links they were using.
"No, just that you'd decide where the Brotherhood boys were placed." Kyran replied.
"Are they always like this?" Lance asked.
Erik rolled his eyes. "It never ends." He growled as the two team leaders continued to argue. "Will the two egomaniacs please shut up?"
Kyran immediately silenced himself. He mumbled an apology to them and then he suggested he and Scott work together on forming the teams, but the younger man could still judge where to put the three Brotherhood members. Scott agreed, swallowing his own pride to work out the best teams possible. As they made five teams of four they tried to place one person who could lead, one who could get them inside, and two powerhouses who could properly defend the rest of the team.
"Okay, everyone be careful and report anything you find immediately." Scott said. The Velocity and Blackbird were stopping to drop off the first team of four; Chailyn, Jesse, Evan, and Kitty.
"And guys, don't kill anyone, okay? Just incapacitate them." Kyran said to his team. "Good luck."
////
Chailyn rolled her eyes as Kitty complained for the sixth time about the cold weather. The hydro mutant was dressed in a pure black suit that was identical to the rest of her teammates and offered no better protection against the cold than Kitty or Evan's did. She swore to herself if the valley girl opened her mouth to complain one more time she might just douse the girl in water and hope it freezes solid.
"We should have, like, gotten parkas or something." Kitty said, shivering.
"Does she always complain this much?" Jesse asked.
Evan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but you kind of get used to it after a while man."
"Well, Mick and Jordan were two whinny bitches, so if I could put up with them for years I suppose I can get used to a valley girl. There's not much difference."
Chailyn rolled her eyes again and continued stealthily leading the group ahead. She wasn't exactly sure how they were supposed to spot a hidden base. A hidden base was, well, hidden. She couldn't figure out what the real point of the mission was. The Rockies was a huge mountain range, there was no way they could search the whole thing. Any base hidden there would be like a needle in a haystack, impossible to find.
"Ugh, the snow is getting in my shoe." Kitty said. "What the point of this anyway? How are we supposed to find this base?"
"Finally a complaint I can agree with." Chailyn said.
Jesse frowned and stopped walking. He looked around the sparse trees and snow that made up the landscape. "I don't like this. We should have stuck together."
"As one big group? Then we really never would have found whoever has the Congressman." Evan argued.
"Spyke, I have a feeling they've already found us."
////
Kyran stared hard into Adam's cold black eyes. "You're leading the team Tartarus and I expect you to act like a leader. Don't rush into anything just so you can say your team found where they're keeping Yale."
"Wouldn't dream of it Daddy." Adam sneered. He then hopped out of the Velocity followed by Todd. In the Blackbird Scott snagged Kurt before the younger mutant could join them.
"I don't trust that Tartarus character. Be careful with him, okay?" Scott said.
Kurt nodded. "Ja, don't worry Cyke, I'll be fine."
////
"I can already see the look on Kyran's face when he finds out we found the base first." Adam said with a distant look in his eyes.
"You never listen to Kyran, do you?" Taylon growled. "You're such an arrogant asshole. Doesn't the team mean anything to you?"
"Hey, I'm still here, aren't I?" Adam retorted. "That'll have to be enough for you."
"You have a fucked up way of showing you care." Taylon grumbled.
Adam shrugged, then smirked. "Chailyn would pull your horns out if she heard you swearing like that."
"I know."
Todd shook his head as he hopped along beside Kurt. "That guy sound like someone we know?"
"Ja, Tartarus and Quicksilver must have been made from the same mold or something." Kurt agreed.
"If you're talking about me it had better be good or you're going to be in Hell." Tartarus called back to the younger boys in a disgustingly casual voice.
"I don't know which one abuses his power more though." Kurt whispered.
"This guy, definitely, Pietro never REALLY terrorizes anyone."
"Ach, you don't even know the half of it."
////
Cold grey eyes watched a computer screen with a growing smirk. "Base to field agents, targets have arrived. Move in and neutralize."
"Dead or alive?" A deep, cold voice questions back.
"Alive preferably, but if you have to kill one of them to make an example, boss said that's okay."
"Oh yeah, it's party time."
////
Jean was a little unnerved by the silence she was surrounded by. Reece couldn't talk and he could only very rarely project mental images. Erik and Luke were both silently doing their part to find what ever it was they were supposed to find. She was used to a lot of chattering and though she thought the silence was nice at first, it was really starting to get to her.
Then she heard an odd, but vaguely familiar sound. It sounded like...wings. She looked up just in time to see a red fist flying at her face. She had no time to react, and neither did Reece who joined her in unconsciousness when a tail thumped him across his forehead.
Luke and Erik both turned at the sound of bodies hitting the ground and saw a red skinned goliath that looked very gargoyle like. It had twin horns that curved back over its head and four sharp looking talons on each hand. Murky yellow eyes gleamed evilly at the two smaller guys as they stared up at the creature that was easily 7'5''.
"Who the hell are you?" Luke demanded.
"I'm Minion and you're coming with me." The large mutant replied.
Luke rolled his eyes and formed a ball of energy in his closed fist. He then flung the energy at Minion, but the mutant leapt an incredible distance in the air and landed behind the two boys. Luke ducked and rolled as Minion swiped at them with his tail, while Erik liquefied himself and slithered away.
Erik went toward Jean to use her com link to warn the rest of the teams when he felt Minion jump over him and before he knew what was happening the large mutant had both Jean and Reece in his grasp. A talon was to each mutant's throat and an evil smirk adorned Minion's face.
"Surrender or I'll kill them both and I assure you I will do it." Minion ordered in a booming voice.
Erik glanced back at Luke and found the younger man had a fist full of energy ready to throw. "Firefight, don't. This guy means business."
"Smart boy. Now come with me and these two won't get hurt, too bad."
"You'll regret this." Luke snarled.
Minion smirked. "I doubt it."
////
Brody paused mid step and grunted as Cody smacked into his back. The black furred mutant steadied himself and shot an apologetic look toward his snake- like friend. He then lifted his head slightly and sniffed the air while straining his ears. Something felt wrong. Something felt very wrong to him.
"Guys--."
Kwapop.
"Guys, we've got company!" Brody called out.
Seconds later Mick and Jordan appeared from around the bend in front of them. Mick had his trademark Sledgehammer and Jordan his sword. Both wore smirks on their faces.
"Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty. Come play with us." Mick sneered.
"You want to play, you get the full team." Scott replied.
"Isn't that sweet, the kitten has guard dogs." Jordan laughed. "Stay out of the way mutt, your turn will come."
"Mutt? I'll show you mutt." Scott growled and then let loose with an optic blast.
Jordan laughed, absorbed the energy in his sword and redirected it back at Cody. The snake mutant didn't even get a chance to gasp before the energy knocked him into the shield and unconscious. Jordan and Mick grinned at each other as one opponent was taken out.
"Who's next?"
Scott frowned and studied to two mutants. They were powerful sure, but they had to have a weakness. Beside him Pietro acted before Scott could plan anything. The speedster ran circles around Mick and Jordan creating a cyclone that carried them off the ground.
"Good idea Quicksilver, but now what do we do?" Scott grumbled. "Voltaic?"
Brody shrugged. "If I try and zap them they'll just use it."
"And the same goes for me." Scott said with a frown.
Suddenly two anchors hit the ground and Mick and Jordan stopped whirling, though they were still floating in the air. And then quite suddenly a hurdle appeared in front of Pietro who had only enough time for a hyper speed yelp before he hit it went tumbling. Brody winced as he saw the speed demon was out cold only an inch from the energy shield.
"Great, there goes the only advantage we had." Scott groaned as the twins dropped to the ground.
Suddenly the twins' com links buzzed to life. "Minion to base four targets have been neutralized. Request transport."
"This is base, well done Minion, Crisscross will be there shortly." Came the reply.
The com went quiet and the twins' grinned. "Hear that, four of your teammates have been captured. So why don't you just surrender and make it easy for yourselves?"
Mick created a whip, lashed it around Pietro's leg, and yanked the unconscious boy over to him. He reached down and grabbed Pietro by his throat and lifted him up with one hand while creating an energy knife in the other.
"Well, surrender or he dies."
"That doesn't leave us much of a choice." Scott said.
"I know."
Jordan activated his com link. "This is Carnage, four targets have been neutralized. Request transport."
"This is base. Well done you two. Drifter will be there as soon as he can."
////
Todd leapt straight up in the air and landed on a low branch of a tree and wrapped his long arms around the trunk as it shook with the impact. He looked down at the brown furred rhino that was trying to do him in. He then looked over to Adam's unconscious form and then to Taylon and Kurt who were just realizing something was happening.
"Hey yo, you two wanna do somethin' other than stand there?" Todd shouted.
Taylon morphed into his bull form and charged the rhino's side. The other horned creature swung around and Taylon slid to a stop a few feet away. The two animals stared each other down. Neither was going to back down. Taylon snorted, the rhino pawed the ground.
Kurt watched for a moment before he ported up to the tree, grabbed Todd and ported them both to the ground a little ways away from Taylon and the rhino. The German mutant then ported onto the rhino's back and then up to the top branches of a tree, where he left the rhino. The animal promptly turned into an angry looking girl with brown hair and brown eyes.
"You fucker, get back up here and teleport me down!" She roared.
Kurt rolled his eyes. "I think not."
"Fine. It was really just a chance for you to earn some brownie points." She replied and then began swinging and hopping down the branches like an expert.
When she reached the last branch she swung out of it and landed flying kick to Todd's face. She watched as he went tumbling and flipped away from the horns of the angry bull. As soon as her feet were flat on the ground she morphed to the rhino and lifted one of her big powerful front legs and held the foot over Adam's head. Her message was a simple one to understand. She watched with an inner smirk as the bull transformed back into a boy. It was all too easy.
////
Kyran groaned as he watched the last team get led and dragged into holding cells. The cells were made so as to neutralize any mutant powers of the prisoners within. He frowned deeply and looked around. He didn't like any of this. Someone had been expecting them. Things just weren't looking good at all.