Chapter Twelve

After changing into the blue uniforms which basically covered their bodies, with the exception of their eyes, nose, and mouth, eXcalibur looked barely ready as the breath was taken from each and every one of them, even Kat, as they prepared to launch themselves into battle in order to help what would hopefully become a fellow teammate. Emma and Scott led the way, staying very close to each other, and eventually they ended up in the hangar for the jet known as the Blackbird. The girls looked in silent awe at the ebony machine that stood before them, obviously so far advanced in technology that the government hadn't been aware of its production. The walkway lowered, and they all walked into the large jet, sitting down in separate seats and fastening their seat belts. Scott and Emma were up front, checking to see that everything was in place, and they got ready to take off.

"So, uh...Anyone ever been in one of these things?" Cordy spoke, trying to lighten the air of tension that was surrounding them, the quiescence becoming suddenly overwhelming. The other girls could barely shake their heads as above them the basketball court split in two, the loud Klaxon being heard even from inside the jet, and they launched into the deep blue sky. The sun was just beginning to set on the first, exciting day, and they were heading North to Maine at alarming speeds. They landed in under ten minutes at a small clearing surrounded by trees, which would be good enough cover along with the stealth shielding of the Blackbird. The girls undid their seatbelts and went down the walkway, Scott and Emma picking up the lead again and leading them out of the forest.

"It's so quiet..." Kei acknowledged the silence of the forest immediately, absent of chirping birds or chattering squirrels.

"Too quiet." Eve looked around her darkly, sniffing the air lightly.

"Emma!" Just as Scott said it, his hand went to the knob on the side of his visor, turning it as a ruby red optic beam shot out, the raw energy causing the insides of the large snake above her to explode and scatter all over them.

"Ugh..." Kat was the one to complain first, wiping a bit of liquid from her cheek with her gloved hand. "Gross..."

"Who is it, Emma?" Scott continued to lead the girls, but all Emma could do was shake her head.

"I can't get a fix on them." She was obviously using her telepathy to scan the area, but she couldn't find any alert minds at the moment. Her pale blue eyes, like ice, narrowed into slits, hating walking into something blind like this.

As they approached an open rural area, even Emma's jaw dropped in shock. "Oh..."

"My..." Scott continued, the sight there shocking.

"God?" A beautiful woman almost as regal as Emma herself stepped down from the back porch of the Bailey house, snakes covering the entirety of the backyard. "There is none watching over you and your little girls right now."

"Who are you?" Emma demanded, frustrated by the prospect so much that she was gritting her white, perfectly aligned teeth.

"Oh, don't you know?" She gave a chuckle as she halted, her lime green eyes twinkling with ambiance. "Or can't you read my mind?"

"Give the lady an answer." Scott's fingers instinctively went up to the knob on his visor.

"Or what, Cyclops?" Her head full of snakes hissed lightly at the newcomers, each and every one of their fangs dripping with venom. "You'll move and that snake curled around your ankle will kill you?"

Scott looked down to realize he hadn't noticed a snake that matched the color of the woman's eyes was indeed curled there, fangs prepared to sink into his flesh. There was no movement for about half a minute before he gave a sudden twist of that knob, the snake almost biting him before it was massacred by the beam. Emma shifted to her diamond form, years of practice making it look easy to become crystal-clear as she had. She broke into a run, approaching the woman and ignoring the snakes snapping at her almost invulnerable ankles. Before she could get there, however, a dusty pink figure came down from the gutters of the house, tackling Emma to the ground with an impact even she felt.

"I'm sorry about my comrade here. I believe you two have already met. My name is Anna Conda, remember it well." She practically hissed through her teeth, daring to match the supermodel quality of Emma's. "And this...is Marrow."

Emma gave a cold smirk, her trademark. "Oh, yes. Marrow, who is dumb enough not to know that diamonds are stronger than bones." She stood, picking Marrow up and hurling her to the side, doing damage only to a few snakes in the surrounding area. Scott was ready to blast an energy beam from his visor, but a sharpened bone flew past his eyes, taking the brunt of the beam immediately. He looked to the right and Marrow was back on her feet immediately, cracking her neck.

"Hey, Cyke. Miss me?" She puckered her lips, her magenta hair cut close to her head and arranged in spikes, as if a head butt could break the skin. He turned the knob to full blast and it hit her hard, knocking her back into the trees. Next came the snakes in front of him, blasting through and forming a pathway as he ran to Emma's side to confront Anna.

"Why are you here?" Emma lurched forward and her hardened hand grasped Anna's throat enough to cut off her breath.

"I'm here to help a diligent new student of mine. You might get to meet her." Suddenly, she broke into a fit of laughter, causing Emma to squeeze harder on her throat. However, she felt herself weakening, nauseated, her mind barely protected against what was to come next. She fell to her knees, trying to contend with the force that was reckoning with her mind psionically, but the next moment, she heard what she was sure to be Scott falling to his knees as well. Anna laughed once more. "Meet Delirium."

Dee Bailey came from the back door of her house, the blue in her eyes taking over the entire pupil as well as the whites as she worked the magic of her power. As soon as Emma and Scott were both down, Anna looked to the group of girls, and they knew that this was their cue. Launching herself into the air above the snakes, Katina Braddock left the ground first, her psionic butterfly wings flittering lightly in the air. When she got close to Anna, darts shot out from the tips of those wings, but they just went right through Anna with no affect. "Can't you read my mind, little girl? Psionic attacks have no affect on me." However, she was powerless against the girl unless she was closer to the ground, where her snakes could reach.

The other four girls looked at each other, then Eve shifted from human form to wolf, though it took her a full minute to do so. Keeping the snakes off of her with blasts of ice, Cordy looked around her, trying to analyze the situation. Kei was just left in disbelief, not knowing anything that she could do in this situation. Suddenly, Marrow tackled her to the ground while she was deep in thought, but Primal leapt upon her in the nick of time. Marrow threw her off, but she regained her footing easily. Cordy shot a blast of raw ice at her, but Marrow had endured worse beatings on the Hill. She was blasted off of Kei, but remained ready to go, her advanced healing factor kicking in fast. She produced a bone from her wrist, missing Frost by nearly a centimeter, but she was tackled once more by Primal in her distraction. Kei, suddenly inspired by thought, shouted out to Kat. "Aim for Delirium!" Kat, ignoring her advice, shot more darts at Anna, getting frustrated. Cassie was nowhere to be seen, but the sudden fall of Dee brought everyone to a standstill. Jewel appeared behind her, irises glowing purple, but Nigh came up behind her, the size of an anaconda, and wrapped around her legs, binding them together and making her fall.

Anna Conda smirked. "Ah. Nigh. Such a good boy."