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Knife in the Dark: Scene 06"What?" Stifle and Blaze both exclaimed at once.
"Bobby Drake," The anchorwoman tried to explain. "Know also as The Iceman…"
"Iceman." Blaze interrupted distractedly, "Its just Iceman." Stifle glared at her.
"Was arrested last night trying to cross the border into Canada with a group of an undisclosed number of mutant teenagers and children. He is the fifth member of the terrorist group to have been arrested since the United States declared a state of national emergency and imposed martial law. Their leader, Charles Xavier, is currently under house arrest in New York State, but is refusing to respond to questioning."
"When exactly were you going to tell me about this?" Stifle snapped as she turned the sound off on the TV.
"No! Turn the sound back on! Who else have they got?" Blaze shouted, lurching for the remote.
"What kind of teammate are you? You've abandoned your colleagues, abandoned Xavier!"
"I have my reasons and I'm not about to explain them to you!" Blaze spat as firebrands flew around her, making the air noticeably hotter in the air-conditioned apartment. "Turn the sound back on!"
"Make me!" Stifle argued. Blaze started to do just that, whipping out a fist full of fire to snap across Stifle's wrist so liberating the remote. Suddenly the redhead gasped, choking, her fire extinguished. "Lets see you try that with your powers knocked out! Can you guess what my mutation is yet?"
"Fine! I don't need powers to beat you!" Blaze decreed, launching a roundhouse kick at Stifle's midriff. The brunette blocked the attack and went to punch Blaze. Blaze professionally ducked under the punch and kneed Stifle hard in the stomach. As Stifle bent involuntarily, winded, Blaze brought an elbow down on the back of the other woman's neck firmly. Stifle fell forwards as Blaze sidestepped her and picked up the fallen remote. The mute button pressed, she turned all her attention to the broadcast.
"…still on the run from the US authorities during this turmoil. Their images have been circulated through the media to warn the public to stay away from them. They are to be taken as armed and highly dangerous."
A gallery of images Blaze recognised as from the night they had fought Juggernaut in New York were pasted on the screen. Her own picture was there, though not very flattering as she had damp hair and a painful expression on her pale face. Jubilee, Cyclops and Shadowcat were also brought up, along with Senator Hawley's daughter Shockwave. Wolverine and Gambit made up the full compliment.
"So they've got Bobby, Ororo, Kurt, Ilehana and the Professor…" Blaze mused out loud. "At least that they've told the press. You'd better be okay Rem, or I'm going to kick your damn Cajun behind to Antarctica…"
"Sounds like a fair incentive for him to stay out of trouble to me…" Stifle offered, rubbing the back of her neck as she went to sit on the edge of the white leather sofa. "He your boyfriend?"
"No." Blaze answered a little too quickly. "We just go way back. Sorry if I hurt you."
"Only my pride is dented." Stifle replied. "What are you planning on doing about all this?"
"Me? I don't know. The Professor was kind of hoping it would blow over, or that he'd be able to talk them round. The X-Men scattered to get the kids away, and are supposed to be lying low. We're not supposed to contact each other, just in case. I don't even know where Remy and Logan are, much less anyone else…" Blaze shook her head sadly. "There's nothing I can do, except what the Professor asked me to. Help these kids to control their powers before someone gets killed."
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"Hank! Help!" Jubilee screamed gave up her fight against the incoming GRSO soldiers and pelted down the university corridor as fast as she could.
"Move Jubilation!" Hank McCoy instructed, for once getting to the point straight away. Jubilee ducked into a doorway as Beast charged, roaring. The GRSO soldiers didn't even bat an eyelid. They fired tazers at him, though it took five or six in the giant blue mutant's flesh to drop his charge. He skidded along the polished floor, finally coming to rest at the feet of the front soldiers. They ignored him, recalling the tazer wires and adjusting their armour as the moved forward to attack Jubilee.
"Beast! No!" Jubilee wailed, raising her hands. "Now you are so in trouble!" The blast of her power knocked the first few men back a little, but as all of them were wearing tinted visors, the blinding light didn't stop them for long. A gas canister was thrown. Jubilee tried to run but slammed straight into a doorframe as the gas clouded her vision. She slumped to the floor and knew nothing else.
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Shadowcat patrolled the safe house boundary quietly, looking over her shoulder often and listening intently to the quiet night that surrounded her. Somewhere a twig snapped, making her jump. Subconsciously she readied her power, backing up against the wall of the log cabin in case she needed to escape. Why was it so dark out here? Apart from there being no street lights in the forest obviously…
"Kitty?" A child's voice called out softly. "You out here?"
"Hey Nina you had me worried there for a moment…" Kitty stepped forwards towards her charge, then realised that something was very wrong. A soldier had his hand on Nina's scaly shoulder, a gun by her skull. The rest of his team were aiming their guns straight at Shadowcat. Kitty had no choice. She raised her hands in surrender.