Thanks Aunni, Time and Fate and rogue1984 for the reviews and comments!
kmf's stuff: Enjoy! Thanks for reviewing!
curt's crap: The X-Men won't really make an appearance, as a whole, but one of them just might.
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Chapter Seven
The target was nothing more than an old dress-shop manequin in Dumpster-scavenged clothes. There was a ring of men surrounding it, playing the part of human security. There was another group, hiding amongst the scattered items within the wide empty space of the dilapitated warehouse.
This was a drill they had practised over and over. They had it down to almost an artform.
Remy LaBeau was in the rafters, his glowing eyes looking down upon the squad. He was proud of them. These mutants who had come with nothing but pride and determination had honed themselves into warriors, not just fighters. They had their street-smarts. But they had lacked knowledge of a true group mentality, lacked stealth though they were slick...but in the last month about, they had become a force to be reckoned with. They worked together pretty well, utilising each others gifts and strengths. They knew their jobs: Take down the opposition --the security. Make sure that the target didn't get away.
The target was Worthington, and he was St John Allerdyce's prize.
The ambush began, sudden and unexpected. "The element a surprise is de best friend you gonna ever have in a situation like dis," Remy had drilled into them. "You gotta sneak -- which I know y'all can do. But you gotta take down the ones that don' matter quiet. Your power ain't everything. Dere's a time for de big stuff, and a time for subtlety." He had paced before them, producing a card. "When all hell breaks out, you let out your all."
They were doing just that. One of them -- Dyna was her name -- fired a plasma burst over the "security" -- not a misfire, a distraction. And as the majority reacted as the mortals would, the rest of the mutant attack group moved in, and then they gave it their all.
In the end, the "security" subdued, the two groups switched, and ran it through once more. Remy watched for a while longer -- there were still some upstarts that did not comprehend subtlety. He'd deal with that later, if he could.
Remy jumped from his perch and headed to see if any breakthroughs had been made.
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John stood around the table with the ten men he considered his council. Remy had just waltzed in from the training house. Papers lay out everywhere, maps of cities and towns, notes sent from places where other mutant armies were gathering -- notes asking him what they were expected to do. The TV was playing in the background, some kind of soap opera playing on it or something. One of the men, Ian, was briefing him on everything happening around the country when the news came on for the day. They paid it no attention, however, until they heard the name Worthington.
"... In other news, Warren Worthington II has announced a press conference he is holding in Washington tomorrow. What this conference is about, he will not yet say, but he is inviting anyone who wants to come to show up..."
"I think we just got an invitation boys. Get everyone ready. We're going on a field trip to Washington," John said, smirking, as he turned and left the room.
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Worthington stood behind the curtain with a young man, speaking softly with him. The crowds were gathered and everyone had taken their seats. Someone found the two standing half in shadow speaking and directed them onto the stage. Worthington walked out, the young man behind him. In the light, the other man was in his mid to late twenties. Worthington stepped up to the podium and faced the crowd.
"I know I am not in the most favoured of light with some of you. But I know more of you see the truth of what I have been saying recently. Look upon me. Tell me that I have been exaggerating, that the laws I have helped speed into action are too stringent. They are not, I assure. They are as they should be. We offered these people a cure, and they reacted with violent opposition. If they wish to remain among us, they need to be known, so we can take the proper precautions. There are amazing reprecussions to consider on the subject of the just 'being like everyone else'. The truth is, ladies and gentlemen, they are not. They are quite different. We just want to be safe.
"Today, I am bringing to light a genius, a revolutionary amongst our ranks. His name is Mr Adam Gearson, head of the Iridescent Corporation. I am proud to call him my partner, and the man that will most assuredly help lead us into that brighter, safer day on the horizon." Worthington smiled broadly and nodded to the massive crowd.
Before he could begin to speak again, the man beside him -- Adam Gearson -- tapped his arm and whispered to him, nodding out into the crowd. Worthington's eyes scanned, and noticed several people seemed to be moving determinedly forward through the crowd, towards him. That certainly didn't bode well. But Worthington smiled to himself, realizing what it must be.
"Ah," he said, almost to himself. "So Mr Allerdyce got my invitation and decided to bring an army with him." He nodded at Gearson, who went to relay the message that Worthington had given him before the elder man had even gone onstage. Worthington would continue his talking, feigning blissful ignorace.
"Sergeant," Gearson said to the military guard off the side of the stage. "There's mutants coming this way. Looks to be a good deal of them. Their in the crowd, amongst the supporters, but I don't doubt they will make an announcement of their arrival soon. Get your cure guns ready. Take out enough of them to incapacitate them -- no need to get them all;we have places that will teach them better than death will. And look for Pyro. If he's with them, he is to be taken down immediately. With the cure," Gearson reiterated Worthington's words, cruel emphasis upon the last, his hazel eyes glinting.
(The lyric in the page break is from "Image of the Invisible" by Thrice.)