Lance Alvers lowered the newspaper, fists clenched together as he fought for control over his raging emotions. The steady "snap" open "snap" close" of his roommate's beloved Zippo had ceased while the rock tumbler read the article aloud to the others and had yet to start up again as the sandy haired man sat stone still, silently fuming over the situation.
Betty Braddock-Maddox hovered over her bedroll, eyes closed and limbs hanging loosely together as if they were merely connected by a piece of twine. Her mind was not there, in the same room as her body and the others. It was Elsewhere. Everywhere and Nowhere. She was mind surfing, as Jamie had affectionately named it, taking half a second to scan the thoughts of five or ten individuals, which meant by only mind surfing for twelve house, Betty jumped in and out of 800,000 minds every day. She was searching for others, ones who had escaped and those who were oblivious to the storm cloud hovering over the Xavier Institute like sweat hanging in the air of the locker room after a session with Logan. The number of survivors had more than tripled within the week she had sought refuge with the others, but still she searched on, in hopes of finding and protecting those who laid within the grasp of the perverted hand of American justice.
Jamie Maddox lowered his hands, bring the intercom-like link he had with his copies. The Jamies relayed the article's contents to their respective groups as Alvers had read it to the original. No doubt similar reactions were taking place this very moment. But Jamie didn't want to think about the other and what they undoubtedly had to say. It seemed like they always had something to say about everyone. The constant bickering, bitching, arguing, complaining, and suck was getting on Maddox's last nerve. He reasoned it was because he was having to endure the drama of four survival squadrons while the others only had to deal with the five or six individuals within their specific group. Jamie had to deal with them all. Jamie A reasoned Jamie C had the hardest group to content with, it did have Victor and Jubilee within its ranks, and there was little doubt in his mind, those two had the most mood swings than anyone he had ever met and when the two faced off, the result often involved the destruction of a rock wall or some other nature formation. Luckily there weren't too many people out in the country hill where the Charlie company stayed and camped out. A large cat-like creature, a blue devil, and a tin man were a bit difficult to hide within the cities after all.
Jamie A watched the brow of his wife knit in concentration, a slight frown in place gave away the feeling of trouble Betty was experiencing. When he inquired as to the cause, she told him of the thoughts she would catch mere glimpses of, thoughts she was certain she recognized but she couldn't investigate into them because of the unnatural, almost in-human speed at which they traveled.
"Could it be a mutant?" Betty shrugged and sighed, the sleepless nights were wearing down her defenses and her body.
"I just wish I could get him or her to slow down for the briefest moment." Betty was certain this person needed help and could later be of help to the cause, but first she had to know what and who he or she was. Closing her eyes again, Betty breathed in deep, ready to begin again the seemingly endless search. Before she had even composed herself, she could feel the thoughts trickling into her mind, as if this person, this mutant she knew now, was projecting them to her.
They were all traveling in fast blurs, the thoughts, and she had to grasp at them to slow them down to a decipherable speed. This man had spent the largest majority of his life traveling fast, running at god-like speeds. It seemed that's all he ever did was run and run faster, edged on by his father because of what had happened to his sister…
With a shriek, Betty landed on her bedroll soundly. As Jamie A helped her to her feet, she rubbed her sore back side. "What is it Bets? What did you see?" Jamie's concern touched the psychic and she patter his arm reassuredly once she had her balance.
"Erik, my god, it's Erik's son. He's alive and safe. In search of his sister so the two can forces and free them." The question of who the 'them' represented was unnecessary to ask. The Maximoff twins were out to rescue the captives.
"Do they know of others? Can we offer aid? We've waiting long enough, I'd said. It's time to do something before it's too late to save any of them." Jamie was surging with energy and he projected the news to the other Jamies excitedly.
"He has a group of his own, actually. Many of the others I've been searching for, in fact, and why they've been cloaked is now quite obvious. Within the ranks are a few of the forgotten X-Men, and a couple of our past foes. How ironic, no?"
"Just tel me Bets, who's been accounted for? The other ought to know of the other survivors." Jamie urged her and she waved her hand at him, a smile on her face nevertheless.
"All right, we've now got Evan, Rahne, Emma, Dani, and a young woman name Farren back on the mutant radar. Seems a floramancer has joined the ranks of the X-Men while I was in the Mother country," she commented, noting the young Maximoff's reserved feelings for the green haired plant manipulator.
Only a few of the names tripped in Maddox's memory, but nevertheless he passed on the data and names to the other Jamies to relay to their respective group members.
"His sister is actually relatively close to the Charlies, about a quarter mile south, mediating in a barn loft, of all places. I'll knock on her mind and invite her to join us for shelter and food. By the looks of it, she hasn't eaten in quite some time." With that Betty raised herself in the air and reached out to the recluse. The psychic noted the lack of surprise in the woman upon her knock. Betty explained briefly her in encounter with her fast paced brother and how she and the others wished to aid the twins in their mission as well as provide the two shelter, food, and protection in numbers.
Scarlet Witch, as she referred to herself as, accepted Betty's hand of generosity and even offered to be the Charlies halfway. Realizing time was of the essence, Betty insisted Kurt merely teleported to her in the secluded barn and port the two back. A reasonable mode of transportation, especially when high alerts for the renegade mutants were issued from coast to coast, claiming the lot of them as threats to national security.
Closing the link to the newest member, Betty sent Kurt's orders of pick and return to the blue haired acrobatic and in a poof of smoke, he was gone to carry them out.