Hank had been kind enough to give her a ride. She ccould operate the Blackbird herself, but Hank was and would always be the expert on it. And since he technically wasn't a student anymore he could do whatever he pleased and it wouldn't interfere with any of his classes. He spent most of his time fiddling with technology; improving their suits or the plane. The last attack from the Brotherhood had left holes in Sean's uniform which he was duly repairing.
He was explaining the new details on the trip to her aunt's. Moira nodded along, although she wasn't following a word he said. A few times she had nearly fallen asleep, lulled into a doze by Hank's explanations. One day she decided she'd take some classes. Being married to Charles and constantly around people like Hank made her feel lost at times.
The Blackbird landed some ways away from the facility that she knew her aunt was staying in. Luckily she'd chosen a place that was on the very outskirts of Boston. The enclosed field that they were in would hide the plane nicely for a few hours. Moira could walk from there. Then, once everything was sorted, they could leave quietly.
She walked through the field and into the sparsely populated area. Only a handful of people were on the streets which made it easy to walk around. Every now and then she consulted a piece of paper with her aunt's address on it. With no difficulty she found her way to the squat, ugly building her aunt had rented. Tentatively she knocked on the door.
She waited for a while, and then she heard the scraping of a lock being pulled back. The sound was repeated eight times which increased her worry. When the door opened she was unceremoniously jerked inside. Moira stumbled into the entryway with her aunt doing the locks back up.
Rose turned to her and Moira took in the gaunt woman who had once been her cheerful aunt. She gave Moira a one-armed hug.
"Thank goodness you're here. It's been hell," she said, "I knew talking about pink chintz would get you over here. I'm sorry I couldn't speak frankly; I was afraid they have the phones tapped. They cut the electricity soon after I called you."
Moira was incredibly worried now.
"What's happening?" she asked.
Rose bit her lip.
"Let's go into the living room."
Without another word she followed her aunt. Upon entering the room in question Rose flopped down on the couch and threw her head back. Moira sat next to her.
"Now, I know I can trust you," Rose said, "And I heard…from people, that you've had dealings with people with the x-gene."
She shifted uncomfortably. How had her aunt got hold of that information? If she knew then how many others did?
"No need to say anything," continued Rose, "Like I said, I know."
Her aunt ran her hands through her hair.
"The first time I heard your husband's theories I was nearly overwhelmed," she said, "I was busy at the time, but I decided that I'd come back to it."
"Come back to it?" grinned Moira.
"I said nearly overwhelmed," said Rose, "I was working on a project for Stark Industries. But when I finished I decided to get going. For nearly a year I've been collecting data on the x-gene. I just wanted to see how it worked, help everyone see it as normal I guess."
Moira blinked, surprised.
"Why didn't you talk to my husband?" she asked, "He's the leader in that field."
"I was going to, but then things took off and you got pregnant so I figured he had bigger things to worry about," said Rose, "Congratulations by the way."
She shot her a quick smile.
"But I found two mutants that I was collecting data from. They both carry the gene and have manifested it."
Again Moira felt uncomfortable. It must have shown on her face.
"It was just things like taking their temperatures and a few MRIs," said Rose defensively, "See their powers, see which areas of brain activity manifested during use. That sort of thing."
Rose sighed.
"Susanna Dane, God rest her," she said, "was a concerned parent. That's how her daughter Lorna got involved. When I found Rahne she had been…abused. She was so little, just a sweet little girl who'd been hurt…"
She trailed off. Moira looked down; it was a common story at the institute.
"I adopted her to save her," said Rose, "and when Susanna died she left Lorna to me so I could help her. And I didn't. I didn't help either of them."
Trying not to show her shock that her aunt had decided to adopt at her age Moira put a hand on her shoulder.
"Thanks," said Rose, "It was going good but…I wanted to admit a third subject to the project. His name was Jason Stryker."
Moira froze.
"Colonel Stryker has a son?" asked Moira, "A mutant son?"
"Some form of a telepath," said Rose, "I assume you've met his father before. He mentioned your name. Said; 'Your niece had a soft spot for freaks too. You wouldn't believe the lengths she went to protect them; betraying her species and country. Truly women are the weaker sex.'"
"Asshole," Moira said.
Rose cocked her head in curiosity. She felt compelled to say something.
"The CIA commissioned a team of mutants to help resolve a situation," Moira said, "I was acting as their liaison. When they finished Stryker tried to take them out. I protested and helped hide them."
There was a pause. Her aunt nodded in approval.
"Good for you," she said, "Stryker always struck me as strange and derogatory but I wanted to help Jason. He hated himself for his condition so I kept him separate from the girls. They didn't need his negativity. But Stryker got angry when he realized I wasn't trying to cure him."
"Cure him," repeated Moira.
"That guy knows absolutely nothing about how genetics work," snorted Rose, "When he told me that I asked him if he wanted me to cure his son of his arm too, 'cause that was the equivalent of curing him of his telepathy."
Her voice took on a more somber cast.
"Then he got angry and…said that he wanted to take Lorna and Rahne in," Rose said, "He said 'the government has use of them'. God knew what would happen to them. They were right there at the table too and you should've seen their faces. They were terrified."
There was a bitter tone at the end of her words.
"And I'm guessing you told him to get lost," said Moira.
"My precise words were 'Over my dead body'," Rose replied, "But I'm starting to wonder if he took that as a suggestion instead of a warning."
"What?"
"Call me paranoid butnow the electricity's getting cut, odd people are showing up in the neighborhood, strange things are happening," Rose said, "I'm not worried about myself; people will raise questions if something happens to me. Not so much them. I don't think Stryker takes no for an answer and I'm afraid something's about to happen."
Moira bit her lip and looked was a tricky situation. Stryker was powerful. If he said that the girls were a threat and had to be removed, then he could probably get the go ahead. However, she doubted that there would be anything official about this. McCone was weak but she knew he wouldn't let children get dragged away from their homes. Her friends back at Langley told her he'd even opposed all extra efforts to track down Charles and the rest. No; Stryker would do this in secret.
If the girls were taken they would be hard pressed to prove that Stryker was responsible. He was a master cover-up artist. Rose was right to be worried.
"They'll be safe in Scotland. You know Muir Island? I could take them there," said Rose, "The only thing is I'd need fake passports. You were in the CIA, I was wondering if…?"
Her voice trailed off hopefully. Moira shook her head.
"I'll do you one better. Where are the girls now?" asked Moira.
"Upstairs," said Rose, confused.
"Call them."
Her aunt still looked confused but got up. Moira did so as well, cossing her arms.
"Lorna! Rahne!"
Two girls came downstairs. One was around sixteen, dressed in a knee-length sleeveless black dress. It flared out a little when it came to the skirt; like a ballerina. Her hair was tightly bound under black cloth. The other was hiding behind the first girl but she got a good look. She was perhaps eleven with thick braided hair.
"I'd like you to meet Lorna Dane," Rose said, gesturing to the older girl.
Lorna nodded, her expression wary.
"And Rahne Sinclair MacTaggert," said Rose with a motion towards the smaller girl.
"Just MacTaggert," came Rahne's muffled voice.
"We'll talk about that," said Rose before turning to Moira, "And both of you, this is my niece Moira Xavier."
"Hi," Lorna said.
There was a muffled noise from behind Lorna as Rahne peered out.
"Hi," she mumbled.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," said Moira, "Now, I heard about what happened with Stryker. But I think that all of us are more than enough to outmaneuver him."
Lorna smiled hopefully. Rahne peeped out a little more but stayed close to Lorna.
"Go upstairs and pack," she said, "You won't be coming back here, so you need to take as much as you need but not too much as to look suspicious."
Both girls looked at Rose who nodded. They hurried back up the stairs, their feet clomping behind them. Moira turned to Rose.
"You might want to pack too. I don't think you can come back here either, but I'll make sure to get you a flight to Scotland," she said, "Or you can stay. Depends."
"I won't be able to stay with them wherever they go, I know that," sighed Rose, "Too dangerous. But you have a safe place they can go?"
"Yes, I do," grinned Moira, "You see, there's something you should know about my husband. I'll tell you while you pack."