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Oregon coast winters were the bane of his existence Lance decided. He stood outside of the cannery and watched the clouds overpower the pale winter sun that had only been visible for few brief moments. He grimaced as the weather returned to what he'd come to think of as normal: Endless days of a melancholy drizzle that didn't even deserve the dignity of being called rain. The weather brought down everyone's spirits and once you got wet it was impossible to warm up again. Damp, icy clothes clung to your body and you felt like you were growing mold. The sun became a distant memory… Some days Lance wondered why he didn't just pack up and move on.
He'd been looking for a different job for two months without any luck and Lance was starting to run low on determination. As for optimism, he'd run out of that when he'd been ten years old. He had freedom and independence, but no future, no friends and he didn't see that changing any time soon. He avoided other mutants for fear of being dragged back into the cycle of manipulation and loss of control that had driven him out of Bayville. He avoided becoming too close to the humans he dealt with everyday for fear of being discovered. Anti-mutant sentiments were only getting stronger despite the X-Men's tireless efforts to become heroes in the public's eyes as well as in deed.
The ground shuttered violently. The tremors startled Lance and several of his co-workers from their break. "Earthquake?" One man yelled.
"No." Lance said with absolute certainty. He scanned the horizon.
Several more shocks hit the area. The old, corrugated aluminum buildings that populated the harbor area groaned ominously with each impact. Lance spotted a flash of light and flames. He heard the flat reverberation of heavy ordinance fire. "It's explosions, some kind of battle." He said.
"A battle? Here? Why?" A boy Lance guessed to be a year or two younger than himself asked.
"Mutants," one of the older men cursed. Lance didn't say anything. He didn't like it but the truth was that had been his first thought as well.
The little group heard a beastlike roar. A flash of something huge and green appeared over the roofs for a moment. It landed with an earthshaking crash. Several moments later they heard the whir of helicopter blades approaching. The helicopters swarmed around the spot where the large mutant had landed like mosquitoes and got swatted like the same. A damaged chopper rose unsteadily in an attempt to escape the battle zone. A moment later a chuck of concrete flew after it like a missile.
"Everyone, away from the building!" Lance yelled. As he'd predicted the chopper crashed into the side of the cannery and exploded in a ball of flames a moment later.
The little group of bystanders watched in horror as the side of the building caved in on top of their co-workers. Lance and several others ran to clear away the rubble from the door. They tried to create an escape route for those trapped inside. The battle raged on in the background as they tore the debris away. Each impact and explosion further compromised the structure. It lent an air of desperation to the rescue efforts. Lance was quickly swept up in the moment. The rush of adrenaline made him feel alive in a way he'd almost forgotten.
"Goddamn mutants!" a man swore.
"What about those idiots shooting at him!" Lance yelled back angrily as they entered the building.
Outside sirens were heard adding to the general chaos.
A man in firefighting gear grabbed Lance's shoulder. "You've got to get out of here." He ordered.
Lance shook his head. "We're still missing Lonny and Banks. They were working back this way."
"If one more shock hits this place it's going to go."
Lance's eyes blazed with determination. He commanded the earth. If he didn't want it to shake it would obey, bombs, tanks and the Hulk be damned! "There won't be another shock." He told the firefighter, his voice firm with conviction.
"You're one of those mutants." The man accused as he realized the implications of Lance's statement.
"You wanna make something of it?"
"Maybe later. If you can hold this place together we've got two people to save."
"I can hold it." Lance said. He reached out with his powers to still every vibration.
The firefighter nodded. "Bill! Jerry!" he yelled. "We've got two more back here."
Quickly the four of them resumed clearing the rubble. They found the last pair of Lance's co-workers huddled under the meager protection of a desk.
As soon as the six of them were outside Lance released his hold on the Earth. A moment later the Hulk made another earth-pounding leap and the resultant shockwaves totaled the damaged structure.
The firefighter gave Lance an appraising look. "How much territory can you cover?" He demanded.
"A building, maybe two." Lance guessed.
"I'll take anything I can get. We've got people trapped in eight other buildings so far. None of them are safe to enter as long as this keeps up. You willing to help out?"
"Yeah, sure." Lance stammered and found himself immediately being hustled toward the fire chief's car.
"This is Chief Jarol." The firefighter announced grabbing the handset on the car radio. "I want a report now: structural soundness and victim counts for each building."
For a minute or so clipped reports rolled in then Jarol hit the sirens and they were off.
"So you're the chief and you're going in buildings and stuff?" Lance asked awkwardly.
"Today everyone's on the front lines." Jarol said. "Your friend hit us too fast and too hard for anyone to be evacuated."
"Hey don't blame me for that guy! I never met him. I don't even know if he's a real mutant or some sort of freak accident. And it's not like you humans are making things any better with all those bombs. He's the only one not getting hurt by them!"
"Okay you made your point. Try to hold both those two buildings. Best estimate we've got five people between 'em. If you have to choose, keep the one on the right."
"I'm good." Lance said.
"Alright, back in the buildings make it quick. I don't know how much time we've bought." Jarol ordered leaping out of the car. "You stay here." He said to Lance.
Ten minutes later they were screaming toward the next sight.
Lance stood outside of the third building and tried to give the firefighters a chance to get everyone out despite the on-going battle. A burning car was hurtled from several blocks away and landed in the street. The flames endangered yet another building. Lance grabbed a heavy tarp and went to try to beat the flames out before they could spread. He was quickly joined by the professional firefighters. Even more quickly they sent him back to Jarol's car.
Four hours later the battle ended. Along with the battle the need for Lance's special talents ended. He was left fidgeting in the car and feeling useless. Every time he tried to help someone immediately ordered him back to the sidelines.
"Okay," Jarol said as he got back in the car, "they don't need me getting in their way anymore. How about I give you a ride home?"
"You going to tell everyone I'm a mutant?" Lance asked. His adrenaline rush had long since worn off and the cautious that had become customary for him had reasserted itself with a vengeance. Inside of his head Lance was calling himself twenty different kinds of a fool.
"Some of them will guess." Jarol said. "I'll encourage anyone who comes to me with questions to forget 'em. Don't worry I know my guys. They're good people. They won't come looking for trouble."
"Whatever. I live down on southwest ninth."
Lance stared out the window at the devastated city and wondered if he should move on.
"Directions?"
"Crescent Apartments, 3065."
As they turned the last corner a moment of silence descended. Lance got out of the car and took a few steps toward the fresh ruins. "Hell." he swore hopelessly.
"I don't know what to say." Jarol said. "We passed a bar a couple of blocks back. I'll buy the drinks."
Lance looked stunned as he got back in the car. Jarol took a closer look at him. "On second thought, you aren't even twenty-one are you kid?"
"According to my ID I am." Lance replied.
"Normally I'd have to say something about that, but under the circumstances…"
Once they'd settled in at the bar Jarol asked. "You ever think about going into fire fighting or search and rescue for real kid?"
"My apartment's flat... just like my crummy job. I'm pretty open to career advice today." Lance replied with a tinge of bitter amusement.
"You should think about it. I'm not exactly sure what it is your powers do, but forgetting about them, you've got good instincts for what to do in a crisis. I know we kept you out of the thick of things for the most part today. Instincts only take you so far then they leave you in over your head. If you're interested in a job I don't see a problem with you bunking at the station while you get some of the basic training. I'll expect you to do some classes at the community college on down the road. If you're interested?"
"Um, well, um, yeah." Stammered Lance.
As the evening wore on more people appeared in the bar. Quite a number of them came over to ask Jarol about the extent of the damage. Those who'd seen Lance with him during the day stared curiously at the young man. Uncomfortable with the attention Lance slid deeper into the shadows in the back of the booth. He wished he could risk getting totally wasted, but he'd decided a long time ago that with his powers losing control wasn't such a good idea.
The news came on the TV above the bar. As the full impact of the day's devastation sank in a somber silence filled the bar. In its wake came angry mutterings.
"In national news Coos Bay isn't the only city to be devastated by super powered beings today. As we speak Miami is caught in the cross-fires tonight as well…" As the announcer spoke footage of the X-Men fighting a group of mutants Lance didn't recognize played across the screen to the accompaniment of hostile muttering in the bar.
Quietly Lance got up to leave. He figured he could still walk back to his jeep and be somewhere else by morning. Well, assuming the jeep hadn't destroyed along with everything else. Then a familiar figure on the screen captured his attention. Frozen in his tracks Lance watched the battle unfold.
Jarol drew Lance back into his seat. "It's okay kid. No reason to be nervous." He said quietly.
Lance was too fixated by the danger surrounding Kitty on the TV screen to answer. As he watched he started noticing a pattern that brought a scowl to his face. "She turns intangible you big ox. Why don't you go hover over someone who needs it." He muttered under his breath. "You're just trying to impress her now. And aren't you supposed to be on Magneto's team anyway?"
Jarol watched Lance with surprise. He couldn't quite catch the words, just the tone. "I thought you'd like the X-Men, what with…"
"It's not them, it's him!" Lance hissed as the picture closed in on Colossus. "They're in the middle of a battle and he's trying to flirt!"
Jarol took in Lance's outraged tone with a snort of laughter. "Kid, ain't that the equivalent of me having a crush on Laren Bacall? Those X-Men ain't exactly regular joes. I hear their new member, Dazzler… blond thing, does something with light and sound… She was some sort of pop star before she got outed as a mutant, so she joined the X-Men."
For a moment Lance thought about telling Jarol he knew Kitty, knew all the older X-Men, then the moment passed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. She's out saving the world and I'm no hero."
Jarol's expression turned completely serious. "I wouldn't say that Lance. There are at least a dozen people who wouldn't have made it today if you hadn't been here. I wouldn't say that at all."
****** ****** ******
Several hours earlier and a continent away
//Cable's in Miami!// Jean projected as she pulled off Cerebro's head set and ran for the hanger.
Cyclops was already in the middle of running the pre-flight when she arrived. Shadowkat, Colossus, Storm, Iceman, Magma, Cannonball and Rogue were on the jet, ready and waiting.
"Rogue you don't…" Jean began.
"Shove it Jean." Rogue interrupted. "Ah've already heard it from all of them, I'm going. I want to give that Swamp Rat a piece of my mind."
****** ****** ******
"This is just like them!" Boom Boom exclaimed angrily. She tossed several cherry bombs at the X-Men. "Try and do things a little different and they act like you're the next Magneto in sheep's clothing."
"We don't have time for this. Cable is counting on us." The team's second in command, a dark haired woman with the facial markings of a panda, said. "Cyclops stop being obtuse. Just because we admit to being a paramilitary strike force doesn't mean we're the bad guys. Cable didn't try to assassinate Xavier!"
"I saw what happened Domino!" Cyclops yelled back. He fired an optic blast at her only to have it deflected by a piece of falling debris.
"Yo! Ain't you ever heard everyone has an evil twin?" Toad shouted.
"Only mine isn't identical." The Scarlet Witch muttered to herself. She tried to free a hand from Jean's telekinetic hold long enough to hex the redhead.
"Ah should've know a snake can't change its spots." Rogue spat then threw a punch at Gambit. Since the battle started he'd been steadily been working to isolate her from the group. "All yah did was change who's lackey yah are."
"I t'ink by now I'd have earned de benefit of de doubt chere." Gambit said in exasperation. "De attack on Xavier was a diversion! A way to get us fighting amongst ourselves and out of de way. Y're doing Stryfe's dirty work for him. Go home 'fore y' regret it."
"Ah thought yah'd be a good liar at least." Rogue accused.
"Y' don' believe me?" Gambit demanded. He stripped off one of the fingerless gloves he wore and stretched a hand out to her in invitation. "See for yourself if y've so little faith in me."
Rogue hesitated. She stared at his out stretched hand knowing a single touch would eliminate the need for trust and tell her exactly what he was thinking. Gambit cursed. He lunged forward and pulled her into a rough kiss. As their lips met they melted into each other. For a moment the attraction they couldn't deny overwhelmed the circumstances of the kiss. Then Rogue's powers came to life. She caught Gambit as he fell and gently laid him on the pavement. Then she turned to confront her fellow X-Men with demonic red-on-black eyes. "Cyke, listen to her! We're fighting the wrong people!" She yelled.
****** ****** ******
"So how'd you two end up with Cable?" Kitty asked Todd as they hurried toward the target. Domino had grudgingly agreed to work with the X-Men after a quick but nasty argument with Scott about how their help was neither needed nor wanted.
"We had to keep busy somehow." Todd said with a shrug. "What with Mags being presumed dead again and all. Wanda's sure it's just a matter of time before he pops up somewhere, but until then… We get along alright with these guys."
"I just figured she'd go after Quicksilver and those Acolytes." Kitty said. Colossus followed behind them. He frowned jealously at Todd. It bothered him that Kitty was even talking to one of Cable's less than reputable team members.
"Naw." Todd snorted. "Quickie's just a figurehead for those Magneto-loving culties. Fabien Cortez is the real power in that bunch. He's got Pietro so thoroughly under his thumb. We figured the worst thing we could do to Quickie was to leave him lying in the bed he made. Plus Wanda and I don't really want to kill him. We both liked him once."
The conversation died as they reached the outer perimeter of the base. All business now, Shadowkat held out her hands to her companions and phased them through the forbidding concrete wall surrounding the compound.
From all sides smaller units of X-Men and X-Force teams used their powers or skills to break into the base.
As Shadowkat, Toad and Colossus explored the compound they heard the sound of fighting. They followed the noise and found Cable crouched behind a makeshift barricade. He was holding off a half-dozen evil mutants. "What they hell took you so long!" He bellowed as they ambushed his opponents. "This place is another diversion. We've got to move out now!"
At a glance Toad took in the melted bit of slag that had been Cable's comm badge. He tapped his own. "We found Cable. He says fall back." He reported to his teammates.
"The docks, pier 83."
"New target: pier 83 at the docks. Toad out."
The various splinters of Cable's forces verified that they had their orders. Then the group made haste to withdraw.
When they exited the compound Stryfe's Dark Riders descended in full force.
"The X-Men will hold them." Cyclops told Cable. "Sabotage missions are more your people's forte anyway."
"Whatever gets the job done." Cable replied blandly. "X-Force, reform on me. We've got a job to do."
"X-Men, cover their retreat!" Cyclops ordered.
****** ****** ******
Exhausted the X-Men reclined on the ground in the shade of the X-Jet following the battle.
Rogue sat with Gambit's head in her lap as she waited for him to throw off the effects of her powers.
"You know he's going to be in a lousy mood when he wakes up." Kitty commented. She walked over to collapse on the grass beside Piotr.
"He was right. Ah should have trusted him more." Rogue sighed.
Cable and Domino walked up to the group. Cable dropped an empty canister on the ground at Cyclops' feet. "We wasted too much time." He said. "It was already done."
He walked over to Gambit and Rogue and slung the unconscious Cajun over his shoulder. "If I were you I'd get out of here fast and I wouldn't drink the water. I've got a feeling that whatever Stryfe left us as his legacy it's going to be unpleasant."
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