Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze owns me
Scene 07
"I don't believe this," Angel protested the following morning at an emergency X-Men meeting. Once again the youngsters had departed for school, so only the adults were present. This time, whatever sedative Vertigo had injected Angel with had utterly rendered him unconscious, and he remembered nothing of what Blaze had reported seeing. Gambit was saying nothing of his own experience, as he was not supposed to have been there in the first place.
"What do you think they were doing to me? What do they mean by transformation?" Warren demanded to know, voice sick with worry.
"Angel please calm down," Xavier insisted. "We will take a look at you and see if we can't work it out."
"You can sleep at the Institute tonight, they won't find you here," reassured Storm.
"I doubt I'll sleep at all," replied Angel with a coarse humourless laugh.
"There's one was we can find out what's goin' on," pointed out Logan. "We bring in Ruckus and Vertigo, see what they have to say for themselves."
"I agree," admitted the Professor. Blaze pressed her lips together, and then raised her hand to get everyone's attention.
"If you're going to go down that route," suggested the redhead. "Why not go the whole way? We could programme a couple of image inducers and take their places. We'd find out more going through the portal than we would in a week of interrogating a couple of lackeys."
"What you're suggesting is inordinately dangerous," cautioned Hank. "We have no clue what is on the other side of that portal, or what is controlling it. You could theoretically be transported to anywhere on Earth, or even beyond."
"So I'll wear a tracker, and take a satellite phone," Blaze shrugged off the concerns. "It won't be the first time I've not known where I was first thing in the morning. If I need help, I'll lay low and call the Institute."
"They may have a telepath, or someone else who will see past the inducer. Worse, the portal itself may shut down the technology. You could be stranded without a disguise," Beast insisted on pointing out more pitfalls.
"I can defend myself Beast," Blaze insisted. "I really think its worth the risks, and I know that if nothing goes wrong I can pull it off. With a little bit of luck, I'll be able to use the portal to hop back to Warren's with no one any the wiser."
"Besides, she ain't goin' alone," Gambit piped up. "There two lackeys, so two X-Men gotta take their places. I'm goin' too."
"If the two of you feel you have assessed all the risks," Xavier conceded. "I will allow this. Remember though the moment either of you gets into difficulties, you must call for reinforcements. You are not lone thieves any longer. You are both part of a team."
Blaze and Gambit nodded sombrely to the Professor, before turning and leaving the room to prepare for the mission. Angel spoke up just before the two thieves vanished to wish them, "Good luck." The door closed behind the pair, and they risked a sideways glance at each other. Nerves and adrenaline combined to give them both giddy grins. Finally some action they could get their teeth into. This was going to be fun.
By sunset Blaze and Gambit were in their uniforms and ready with various equipment to shift their base of operations to Angel's house. They made their way to the Institute's front door, only to find Logan blocking their exit. Wolverine was also clad in his black and orange uniform, mask pulled over his face and his arms folded broodingly across his chest. Gambit met Logan's scowl and matched it, saying, "What are you doing, mon Ami?"
"You think you two were gonna get an evenin' alone without a chaperone?" Logan teased flatly. "Lets get moving, we got a small window of opportunity here." He twirled the keys to the X-Van round his finger, and turned to lead the way to the garage.
"Alright," Blaze agreed, "But I call shotgun. You can ride in the back Remy."
"Merci beaucoup," Remy thanked her sarcastically. "You so kind, non?"
"Non," Blaze chirruped happily. "And don't go pretending that you'd want me to change."
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Back in Warren's bedroom as the evening descended into true night, the X-Men started to set up for the mission. The equipment Gambit and Blaze had thought they might need had been supplemented heavily at the Professor and Hank's request. It had taken the three X-Men over an hour just to load the van at the Institute, and another hour to unload it at their destination. Taking on the mantle of responsibility, Logan was being uncharacteristically thorough in their preparations. It's probably because he's not actually going on the mission himself, thought Blaze, it's making him downright nervous.
"Have you checked the image inducers are both working?" Logan asked Blaze as the three of them moved around the room, unfastening metal cases and setting up tripods.
"Yes Sir," Blaze confirmed with a sigh.
"Hey Gambit, mind whatcha doing with that kit. You don't want Beast on your back if you break it, do you?"
"No Sir," Gambit admitted, rolling his eyes at Blaze across the room.
"Blaze how much more cable have we got lying around here?"
"Three bags full," Blaze sniggered, tossing a reel of wire across the bed to Wolverine.
"Very funny," Logan grouched. "Nursery rhymes, very mature. We've gotta mission to organise and you start behaving like kids. You wanna end up dead, I guess its no skin off my nose."
"We don't want to end up dead Logan," Blaze informed him patiently. "Please just chill out. This would go a whole lot more smoothly if you would tell us what we are trying to do."
Logan half-sighed, half growled, "Hank wants us to take readings of the portal, and what's on the other side. All this kit is to register measurement in space, temperature, electromagnetism and stuff. You want the full physics lesson go see Beast. Long an' short of it is, we're gonna try and work out where you end up. That way we gotta idea what to do if you need rescuing."
"I'm touched Wolverine," drawled Gambit ironically. "Don't you forget t'ough, Blaze an' I professionals. Dis'll be a piece o' pie."
"Umm, pie…" Blaze drooled. "I'm starved, who wants to get take–out while we wait?"
"You two go ahead," Logan dismissed them. "This'll go a whole lot smoother if I just do it myself."
"Now you gettin' the idea," chipped in Remy, patting Logan on the back as the Cajun followed Blaze out of the door. Logan shook his head and said nothing.