Sandy signs something and the others nod, contemplative looks on their faces. North helpfully translates for Jack, "He thinks we should stay here. Take some time to gather our strength and then go after Pitch."
Jack nods, "That sounds like a good idea. But how are we going to find him? How're we going to get the others back?"
"Whoa, wait a minute there, Jack," Bunny says, taking a couple of steps forward, "you aren't a Guardian, there is no we; there is us and there is you. We'll be the ones fighting, the ones rescuing and the ones bringing the kids back safe. You come with us, you could get hurt or worse. I won't allow it."
Jack opens his mouth to protest indignantly, when Tooth quickly interjects, "No, think about it, Bunny. North said Jack has to be at least a Level Three- at 17 that's pretty impressive. We could use his help! He survived Pitch's attack and saved one of my students. There's so much we don't know right now."
"Exactly, Tooth. We don't know anything at this point. Nothing of Pitch's plan, nothing of how this might turn out when we catch up to Pitch- we know absolutely nothing."
"And when have we ever been afraid of that? When have we ever backed down in the face of an enemy? Even when we weren't sure of their plans or the outcome? Never."
"This is Pitch Black we're talking about. He and Manny go back further than you have ever been alive!"
"If we all look after one another, there shouldn't be anything to worry about-!"
"That doesn't mean anything! Don't you remember when-?"
North's face takes on a stern set and he begins to speak, "This should not be our decision. It is something that Jack-."
And Sandy takes the crystal bell from Manny's desk once again, trying to get the others' attention.
The room becomes a cacophony of raised voices and a ringing bell, none of which are particularly conducive to working out their next move.
Jack looks to Baby Tooth, as if silently asking what to do. Her reply is a shrug and quirk of her mouth as if to say, 'I'm just as lost as you!'
Jack watches the others argue for only a few seconds before gripping his staff tight, power crackling through his veins, and slamming the end of it to the floor heavily, discharging a sudden burst of cold. The force of his power is like shockwave- a wind, hard enough to ruffle Tooth's feathers and blow North's long beard into his face.
The moment after is quiet, fraught with surprised silence. The overhead light flickers a bit and a thin layer of ice covers every available surface- up to and including Baby Tooth's tiny wings, which she flutters rapidly to rid herself of the frost.
"Arguing about this isn't going to solve anything. I'm old enough to make my own decisions about my well-being, aren't I? I'm more than aware that I could get hurt. I ran away from home, knowing damn well what risks were involved. I'm pretty certain I can figure out the danger in this. And I know we all just met maybe two days ago, but if you're all going to insist on treating me like a fragile child, this isn't going to work out." Jack's tone is fierce, his jaw set and his eyes narrowed. The ice crystals in the room sparkle in the light from the overhead fixture. The room is at a stand-still, the Guardians realizing the weight of their actions.
"Now, why don't we get back to trying to figure out our next move instead of arguing over whether or not I'm responsible enough to make my own choices?" Jack snaps, using the curved end of the staff to point at each of the Guardians. He sees the guilt in their postures, the near-reluctance in the way they unwind as if unwilling to admit to a lapse in adult judgment.
Jack leans his weight against the staff, the long end digging into the carpet and establishing a half-way stable base.
"Let's think. What's so important about the kids that Pitch would need to take them?"
"It gives him leverage over us," Tooth says, straightening her feathers, "the children are our purpose. We're here to protect them, to keep them safe."
"But if he takes them away, I suppose we've technically failed them, haven't we?" Bunny chimes in, brows pushing together, shoulders tensing.
The room grows dismal and Jack breaks the heavy atmosphere by saying, "So, the point of taking the kids was what? To weaken us?" He stands up straight, swinging the staff up and twirling it over his head, very nearly hitting the light above.
"Maybe he thinks that if he gets us down, gets us faithless enough, we won't be able to stop what he's got planned...?" Jack suggests. No one says anything about the sudden reappearance of the word 'us'.
"That sounds really thin. He took the children to make us too sad to stop him? That doesn't sound like Pitch." Bunny replies.
"Well, I haven't exactly met the guy, have I?" Jack shrugs, no sarcasm or malice to his words.
"What do the kids represent that could be challenged by kidnapping them?"
Sandy signs something and Tooth translates it as, "Power."
"Metaphorical or literal?"
"Maybe both. Metaphorically, by taking the children he has power over us, knows we'll do anything to get them back. In a literal sense, the children are untapped potential, uncontrolled chaos if they're young enough." Tooth crosses her arms over her chest and buzzes her wings nervously.
"So, what, he might be using them as a... power source?" Jack paces, fidgeting with the staff.
"Is possible. Some mutations are very dangerous. When children cannot control them, they come here. We teach them the best ways to keep themselves in check. This place... is like bomb, sometimes. We get three years old child who can burst to flames, is hard to help them understand. They will be like- how should I say?... walking batteries... with such potential energy and no way to cope with keeping it inside themselves. If this makes sense?" North's mouth purses with slight frustration at his inability to find the words he needs.
"You're saying that this whole place is essentially like a supermarket for the most powerful mutants with the least control?" Bunny asks.
"Yes. Exactly."
"Could Pitch really be using the kids as a power source?"
Sandy's face is grim as he signs, eyes alight on Jack's, "He says that it's a possibility."
"A very real one at that."
Jack halts his anxious track, "If he is using them as a power source, what is it that needs mutant batteries?"
"That is what we are needing to find out." North rumbles ominously