Initiative 2029

Murder Investigation

"To be honest, I thought the President had her sanctioned." Samuel Carter, aka Red Raven, noted as they drove into LA.

"If Richards had done it, it would be more subtle." Camilla Black, an Agent of SHIELD and the woman known as 'Scorpion' noted.

The two government operatives were on the west coast, chasing down a lead in Phobe Sublime's murder. The telepath working for the US had been shot through the head on a Washington street, with a note left to frame the Scourge of the Underworld.

"Are we there yet?" Liberteen asked from the back seat.

Frost Bite put her hand on the young woman's arm, "Soon, little one."

Camilla sighed, looking out the window as her 'escort' talked. They had a likely suspect, but the President had ordered her to take a superhuman escort along. Normally it would have been the Defenders team, but they were in Texas on a case. So here she was, stuck with three members of the Patriots, for whatever good that would do. All were in street clothes, though both Liberteen and Frost Bite looked odd in costume or out.

"So, we think the killer was Moonstone?" Sam asked as they drove.

"Karla Sofen's a suspect," Camilla corrected him calmly. "We know that Phoebe screwed with her head, which would be a motive. Plus she apparently can't account for where she was when the shooting actually happened."

"Which isn't proof," Liberteen noted mildly.

Camilla gave the teen a look, surprised that she was sassing her. "Which is why we're investigating her," she agreed.

"Wasn't she tied to the criminal Thunderbolts?" Frost Bite wondered.

"As Meteorite, yeah," Sam agreed, "but she said she renounced that role when she went to work for President Richards."

"And I'm sure we all believe that she just renounced all connections to her old comrades," Camilla said wryly.

"Heh," Sam nodded slightly.

"So what is the plan, my lady?" Frost Bite asked, addressing Camilla.

Camilla nodded, ignoring the archaic language the odd woman often used. "We're going to her office to ask about the missing time," she said calmly, "and if she can't account for it, we'll bring her in for questioning."

"Us?" Liberteen sounded dubious. "The stinger lady, the flyer, the cold woman and the super athlete?" she clarified.

"She's got a point," Sam noted mildly.

"Indeed," Frost Bite agreed.

"You three could be more confident as super heroes, you know!" Camilla said, mildly peeved off at all of them.

"She's a Captain Marvel level flying brick!" Sam shrugged, "Of COURSE we're going to be iffy of our chances."

"Mind you, we have a shot," Liberteen added as she considered their abilities, "but we'd have to be really lucky."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The group avoided the X-Men, of course. While Scott Summers was Governor, they couldn't really expect much support from local officials. They had even opposed the roll out of Iron Spiders and such in the State.

'Mind you, with all the X-teams here, they probably don't need them,' Camilla admitted, then visibly jerked in alarm.

"What?" Sam asked, alarmed.

"Telepathic message from Emma Frost," Camilla winced. "The X-Men know we're here, but won't interfere."

"Huh?" Liberteen blinked.

Camilla shrugged slightly, "Well, Emma viewed Phobe as a daughter, despite everything that happened. So she's willing to look the other way while we investigate."

"But will they back us up if it goes bad?" Sam had to ask.

"Probably not," Camilla admitted.

Karla Sofen had a office in a LA tower, about right in the middle of the huge building. If one wanted, you could take that as a metaphor for her success as a hero and villain. Mid-list, and never exactly making the big leagues.

"Elevator?" Frost Bite noted as they went inside the gleaming lobby.

"It's not like we can take the stairs," Camilla sighed.

"I could fly someone up," Sam suggested.

"Yeah, no. Flying while being carried is pretty rough," Liberteen noted. The four went inside the elevator as she wondered, "Does she know we're coming?"

"One would hope not," Frost Bite mused.

The elevator ascended quickly, then they all went out into the hallway. Somewhat warily they went down the hall, Liberteen taking the lead.

"Why is she leading?" Camilla murmured.

"Along with her physical boosts, she has enhanced senses. If there's a trap, she's more likely to spot it," Sam explained.

"Ah," Camilla started, when Liberteen raced back around the corner.

"HIT THE DECK!" the teen yelled.

Without really thinking about it, Sam extended his wings, using them as a shield for him and Camilla. As he did so Liberteen raced up to Frost Bite, the woman using her ice powers to create a thick wall of ice. Just then the floor rumbled, then around the corner a powerful blast wave hit them, along with smoke and fire.

There was a long burst of force washing over them, along with plenty of smoke and fire. All four huddled as they waited for the flames to pass by, then peered out warily.

"Well, fuck," Camilla muttered softly.

"I think she knew we were coming," Sam agreed.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The X-Men were willing to ignore a quiet investigation. A explosion blowing out the side of a building? No, not ignorable.

"Thankfully, the explosive was very directed. Whomever set it up just wanted to nail whomever was coming in," Kitty Pryde noted, the young woman leading the response team.

"Oh joy," Camilla deadpanned.

Rachel Summers came up the hall from the stairs, "We've finished evacuating the building as a precaution. We're not sure if the damage is enough to bring down part of the building."

"Thanks, love," Kitty smiled at her girlfriend.

As they talked, Lady Wolverine and Liberteen returned from the blast site. Almost at they same time, they started to say, "I found no..." Laura said.

"I didn't smell...," Liberteen started.

The two women exchanged glances, then Laura gestured her to continue. "I'm not as good as Laura at scenting," Liberteen said, "but I didn't pick up any traces of organic remains. There was no one in the office when the bomb went off."

"I can confirm that," Laura agreed.

"But why would she...?" Frost Bite wondered, looking confused.

Camilla sighed. "If there was any evidence there relating to the shooting, it's now atoms," she explained patiently.

Liberteen added, "And that also applies to any evidence about where she went, too."

"I'm sorry this ended up being a dead end for you," Kitty noted. She looked over the somewhat battered foursome, "Can we get you medical assistance...?"

Camilla looked over her allies, who all shook their heads. "NO, I think we'll just head back to Washington," she said.

As the group walked away Liberteen wondered "Before we go, can we visit Disney World? I've never been there..."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Cyclops always felt a little nervous when Wolverine asked to meet him and Emma. It usually meant something related to his murky past was coming to bite them on the ass. Tho oddly he was there with his clone daughter Laura, too.

"Laura picked up an odd scent in the office, called me in to check," Wolverine said as he puffed on a cigar, "turns out it's an old friend of mine."

Emma arched a eyebrow, "Who?"

"James 'Bucky' Barnes," Logan noted flatly, "the Winter Soldier."

Cyclops blinked, "Huh? I thought he was dead?"

"You know how hard it is to keep any of us down," Emma noted wryly. She looked at Logan, "How is he connected to all this?"

"Well, he ran an incarnation of the Thunderbolts with Karla Sofen as a member," Logan told them, "they parted on bad terms." He puffed his cigar, "We've been assuming Phoebe blocked Karla from asking friends for help, as well as the President's people."

"But Winter Soldier was an enemy, and therefore got around that," Cyclops realized.

"AND he's a pro sniper," Logan added flatly.

Emma realized instantly what he was getting at. "You think Barnes sniped Phoebe, then spirited away Karla."

"Looks like it," Logan agreed.

To be continued...

Notes: Hadn't used the 'Patriots' team much, so thought it'd be interesting to have them helping Camilla.