Disclaimer: Goes without saying but I do not own any of the X-Men characters, nor any other Marvel character herein included. They're the properties of the original creators as dictated by official documents, whom you can find out more about in Wikipedia or something. Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, etc.

Rating: T for a bit of violence. I censor profanity like they would in a comic, if I ever use it.

(This story happens in the same timeline/universe as Spider-Man: Repulse, Bruce Banner: The Abysmal, Avengers: The Galaxy's Mightiest, and The Mighty Thor: Moxy. but it's self contained!)

PART 2: First Strike

The blackbird was flying fast, and Ororo was sitting straight, watching the skies rushing by at great speeds.

Ororo bit her lip, remembering how her marriage had come to an end. The rift had been caused by her putting the X-Men and her fellow mutants ahead of Wakanda and its people. She did not regret doing it, but she sure regretted that it had happened.

When she looked around the ship, she could mostly remember the battles she and the rest of her team had suffered together, and primarily the ones they had been in opposition. Amara had killed Sooraya in the past, and heavily damaged Xi'an, and Sooraya had hurt Amara in return. Rachel, too, had been through a lot. Bobby, who was an X-Men since the very beginning, when the name meant nothing, had seen the most. Been through the most. She had great respect for his attitude which so weathered all the tragedies and heartbreaks they suffered. All the betrayals.

It seemed like the X-Men spent more time fighting each other than anyone else, and more than anything, Ororo wanted that to change. She would make sure that it did.

"So we going in hard or what?" Bobby asked, punching fists with an excited grin. "Not every day I get to freeze some nukes."

Ororo looked over at him, trying not lot let his smile infect her. She closed her eyes and began to explain, figuring the timing was good.

"We will strike the first base together. It is our goal to accomplish the mission without alerting our enemies, but if we fail on that front, then we will have to split up and go after the other bases as fast as we can. In that situation, we shall be dropping all caution."

"So stealth at first," Amara repeated, calmly. "Do we have a plan?"

"Quite assuredly," Henry said, in all their earpieces. "Our first target lies at a location as hazardous as it is overlooked! The Karakum desert," he announced, as if that was some interesting piece of trivia. "We timed the operation to take place during the night. Storm shall kick up a sandstorm, and under its cover, Karma, Phoenix, and Dust will make their way into the base. In case there is a need, they will request for further diversionary tactics, which shall be provided by Iceman, Armor, and Magma. Otherwise, they shall be defending the blackbird with their lives!"

"Do we know where we're going?" Rachel asked, ignoring the silly dramatic tone that Beast had injected at the end.

"I'm afraid not, my dear." They couldn't see them, but Ororo knew he was adjusting the spectacles he wore even though he didn't need them. "You'll have to find out on site. I trust your abilities will come in handy."

"Storm, you will stay in the ship and work the storm?" Amara asked. "I would like you to be with us."

Ororo wasn't particularly happy about that either, but the plan was sound, and the best that they could implement. "As soon as our cover becomes worthless, I shall indeed join you. Without hesitation. Regardless of that, we'll be in contact."

"Don't worry, mom, I'm sure we'll be fine," Bobby said, trying to lighten up the mood. She sighed and eyed him judgingly, but she knew him too well to think he was taking the mission lightly.

"The more bases we can hit without the others finding out, the better. Keep your focus and do this right. Let us show everyone who doubts us that they are wrong," Ororo told them.

"People doubt us?" Asked Hisako, surprised.

"People always doubt you," Xi'an said, helpfully. "How else to know you have the potential to do great? Great's never expected."

Amara chuckled in agreement and held up a hand to Xi'an. Without putting much energy into it, she met it and they high-fived.

"No wonder they put you as a teacher, Shian. You know what to say!" Amara said proudly.

"Shee-ahn," Xi'an corrected.

"That is what I said," Amara said, happily. "Are we there yet?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," answered Henry. "I shall go silent so you girls can focus properly. Best of luck!"

"I'm here, too," Bobby pointed out, disheartened, and making Hisako and Amara giggle.

The blackbird started heading down, and Storm stood up, taking a deep breath. When she blew it out, her eyes shone with the power of the Earth. Ororo was Storm, the ultimate connection to nature's respiratory system. She could sense its every pulsing breath, and she could stimulate it.

Raising her hands, Storm opened her arms, and looked up. Her eyes were open, but she was not processing anything that they were seeing. All her senses were outside of the blackbird, in contact with everything that might be considered part of the weather.

"Let the winds rage," she said, feeling a jolt in her chest, and the blackbird shook with a sudden gust of wind.

"Whoah," complained someone.

"Here we go," said another, excited.

"Let the sands lift and blow across our foes. They will know we are coming, but not believe it." Ororo felt the blackbird landing, and its ramp opened up, lowering down onto the ground. "Go, X-Men. I will be listening."

Ororo was experienced enough that she could keep an ear out while still directing the whims of nature. Bobby took charge of his two, and Rachel of hers, and they all disembarked from the blackbird, stepping out onto the open air.

Only it wasn't open at all, it was drowned in whirl-winding sands. They were tumultuous and rampaging, just as they would be during a real sandstorm, one which would be very much like so many others that their enemies would have experienced. And yet, hers was not like them at all.

Storm's eyes shone, and she then noticed how her feet were not in contact with the ground. As usual, she had reflexively caused the winds to lift her up a foot or two, and hold her at a hover.

It would be hard to maintain that for what could be an hour, but at the same time, it was much harder to start a storm than it was to keep it stirred.

"We're just outside," said Bobby's voice in her ear. "We'll be standing by, alright? Just let us know if you need help."

"We'll be fine," said Rachel. "We can see their facility. We'll be at their gate in roughly twenty minutes. Storm, the sand's more concentrated where we are than where they are. Relocate it a little bit, if you can."

"Heading?" Ororo asked, masking the effort in her voice by speaking slowly.

"I don't - west?" Rachel tried.

"West," Sooraya confirmed.

"Very well," Ororo said, and instinctually moved her arms a little bit, and her body, floating in the air to turn to the side by a short angle. The winds protested, but obeyed, as they always did.

In the midst of her effort to stay concentrated and focused, the time flew.

"Alright," Rachel whispered. "Karma, you take the man on the left, I'll take the two on the right."

"I can take two as well," Karma said, a bit defensively.

"I'll remember that next time," Rachel argued. "On three. Two. One."

Silence, and Ororo wondered if she was about to hear gunshots and bullets, and requests for backup, but instead, Rachel's whisper came in leveled and a bit casual.

"Alright, I know where they're storing the bombs. Three different places, but one of them's being armed at a fourth location. I'll pass it on to everyone. Karma?"

"Ali is about to end his shift. I can stay with him and try and go for the fourth - no one will suspect him," Xi'an proposed.

"Can you move while doing that or do you need to stay here?" Rachel asked.

Karma's silence was telling. She didn't like that Rachel had to ask. "I can move just fine," she stated dryly.

Xi'an was the inferior telepath, when compared to Rachel, but she had the specific talent for possessing a person's mind. It was easier for her to do that than for any other telepath on Earth, but it came with the risk of her becoming like the person she possessed if she stayed in one mind for too long. The level of that risk had been heavily decreased by her many years of practice, but it was still not negligible.

"Okay, I'll erase the memories of my two. Stay with your guy, and when his replacement comes on, I'll make them all blind to us, and we'll go in. We'll go after the three locations while you guide your guy to the fourth."

"Sounds good," Xi'an agreed, with a bit of effort to her voice.

Ororo smiled, even amidst her heavy concentration. She was happy to see how well they were doing, and was starting to get a good feeling about the team.

"Going well so far," Hisako said, content.

"Never say that," Bobby and Amara said together, and then they chuckled at the same time, too. "No, but seriously, never say stuff that's going to jinx everything," Bobby added.

Ororo frowned, in agreement. Even though there was always a joviality to him, Bobby was often right with such warnings. She shouldn't let her guard down. Ororo took a breath and focused further, deciding to worsen the storm on the opposite side of the base. If there were any suspicions about the nature of the sandstorm, they might take them in that direction.

Other than that, she simply continued to listen.

Part End: Thank you for reading, please consider leaving a review if you have the time.

And so the mission is underway. I know the parts are short but I post them every day. Check back tomorrow for when things go awry :O