Chapter 16 Dangerous Flights
Bodies were tense as they all filed into the room for a debriefing. The bright lighting lit up the sub-basement and holograms of a map was already up ready to be shown. The Professor knew very well what had come boiling to the surface but now was not the time for personal matters.
"Ok professor what is it?" Scott asked already suited up for the mission and ready to go.
"Well I detected Mystique not too long ago. She is moving at a rapid pace. I fear she may have found our missing friends. She also is not moving alone however. She split up the brotherhood into three groups to go after the remaining two archeologists. One group is headed for Brazil, Egypt, and India."
"But we thoroughly checked out the museum and the local area. There is nothing there in Egypt!" Nicole stated sharing a look with Remy as he nodded in confirmation.
Rogue humped and crossed her arms. "Yeah… more like fooled around."
"Ugh…" Nicole shook her head not even bothering to respond to Rogue's childish behavior.
"But it can't be in Egypt. We all checked out the area." Storm professed, several times after Remy and Nicole's investigation.
"Exactly right, Storm. A group is headed to Egypt I believe as a stationary objective or precaution. "Toad luckily isn't very good at securing his thoughts and mental information. That is why Mystique sent him to Egypt to watch one of the tombs she will return to. I used Cerebro to gather all information in his thoughts. Mystique unfortunately told him very little information because she knew we would confiscate his mind. So far all I could get from Toads thoughts were that a few of their team members are going to Brazil and the other group is traveling to India. Toad's objective is to stay in Egypt to guard a tomb in the Valley of the Kings."
"But why guard a tomb?" Jean asked leaning forward and looking at the virtual map the Professor had created.
"Well it is believed based on the information received by Mr. Chang that in order for the amulet to work, you must first activate it in one of the pyramids. There it will act as a button if you will to trigger the power inside. Mystique must recite the words on the wall and the power will be unleashed. But, he believes it to all be false and that there isn't any power. With Mystique and what we have seen I have to say anything is possible these days." The Professor rolled to the very front and looked at them all sternly. "X-men. I will be going with Hank to find extra research on the power of this amulet and how to stop it if we are unsuccessful at retrieving it." He looked around slowly at his team of X-men which in actuality were like his children and close relatives. "I believe we are dealing with a threat far more menacing than we planned. With that being said we need to stop this and fast."
Scott nodded his head and looked around as everyone waited to hear his commands. "Psyfire, Wolverine, Kitty, and Rogue you guys go to India. Jean, Jacob, Nightcrawler, and Nicole go to South America. Gambit, Storm, Iceman and I will guard the tomb." Scott stated moving towards the wall to exit and prepare the jet. "Any questions?"
No one said anything but chose to quickly leave and suit up. Their footsteps rang loudly against the platform. Scott nodded to himself in affirmation before looking back at the Professor catching his solemn expression. He knew instantly that this mission was not one to take likely. Not by a long shot.
India - Psyfire, Wolverine, Kitty, and Rogue
Psyfire sat flying the jet with a steady calm. She always felt nervous when operating the machine. Her nerves were a little bad at the turbulence they encountered but Wolverine was there giving her encouragement. Wolverine sat to her side switching on buttons as they came closer to approaching their destination. Kitty was anxious as she wiggled and sighed in her seat due to the long journey. Rogue didn't say much of anything the whole flight over. She sat in the back with her legs and arms crossed looking out of the window.
Chantel's looked at the radar and saw that they would be approaching their destination soon enough. The craft began to shake and she tightened her fists around the handle.
"Breath Darlin. Wolverine stated and reached over to hit her knuckles lightly on the control. Chantel loosened up a bit but she still had a strong grip. His hand stopped on hers and suddenly his nose head turned to look behind him. Chantel was getting nervous and he quickly told her to switch with him. Chantel unbuckled herself immediately and did as she was told. She put on the headset and sat down in his chair and he took control of the aircraft. Chantel looked at his radar and saw what had him riled. Three red dots appeared on the radar moving quickly right behind them. Immediately she switched frequencies to contact air control to speak to the ones following them at a rapid speed.
"Hello, this is registered jet Alpha32 calling requesting immediate fallback." Static came back to her and she tried again. "Again, this is Alpha32 calling. You're too close to atmospheric pressure and to out aircraft. Requesting immediate fallback."
Suddenly the screen flashed red in warning as one of the jets unleashed a rocket aimed right for them. Wolverine detached his seatbelt and growled as he began to flip on buttons. The jet went into immediate defense and was switched into fragment mode. This allowed the jet to camouflage and go undetected. "Psyf
"Disengage!" Psyfire commanded as he maneuvered the jet away from fire.
The rocket didn't make it all the way and blew up behind them. Psyfire accelerated as she analyzed the type of ammo they were using. Short range missiles.
"What's going on?" asked Kitty as she held onto the armrest chairs. Her chest was rising rapidly while her face was pale from the scare.
"Are you that dense!" Rogue asked looking towards the cockpit. "Who's attacking us?"
The jet did a twist in the air and went a little higher. Another flash of red light lit across the screen. Chantel quickly looked to see the grid rise and give them a visual of their tale end. "There shooting more at us!" Kitty exclaimed able to see the flashing light from where she was seated. She gripped her seat feeling dizzy at the sudden roll that took them upside down in a twist.
"Disengage! Abort or we will be forced to take action!" Psyfire yelled holding onto the seat while looking to Wolverine.
"Kitty, phase the jet?" Wolverine gruffed getting angrier and angrier by the second. His control of the vessel was jerky and his flying scared the shit out of everyone.
"I'll take care of them!" Rogue said unbuckling her seatbelt. Wolverine did another sharp turn causing Rogue to fall a little. She gripped the handles attached to the roof and made her way to the exit. She went in back where the docking board and put in the code to prepare for entry. The platform descended from the top and she stepped on it. Her feet hooked in the locks to keep her steady until she was ready to fly. The platform began to rise and take her up on top of the X-jet.
"Oh oh…" Psyfire muttered. She turned around and screamed. "No Rogue!"
But it was too late. Rogue had already flown out and was headed towards the enemy's fighter jets.
"What!" Wolverine yelled as the jet did another 360 degree turn.
Psyfire's face went grave while she held onto the seat to keep her in it. "Long range heat seeking missiles!" She yelled out immediately while undoing her seatbelt. Her body flew to the side from Wolverine's movements. "I'm going to help her!"
Wolverine looked in the grid and he cursed to himself. Psyfire flew out of her spot and was immediately headed for the back of the jet. Kitty held on tightly to her seat unable to move without being tossed angrily to the side and hitting herself on something painful.
Rogue was outside flying toward the enemy, using the X-Jet's jet stream as a boost for speed. The enemy jets had unleashed rockets but they had flown pass her. Some exploded way before they even made it close to the X-jet's position. She immediately went after the closest jet which was coming up to her right. It wasn't able to unleash more in the time that it took Rogue to reach it. She immediately flew to the side of the little jet and forcefully pulled open the door. The pilot looked startled as he quickly hit his helmet and pressed a button. He had then ejected himself from the tiny fighter jet and was airborne. Confused she watched as he flew high up into the atmosphere leaving his jet to run by itself. She turned her attention down to see the jet was on autopilot.
Why would he put the jet on autopilot?She thought looking at the controls while holding on to the craft to avoid being killed. The air was whipping painfully fast and the weight of the air pressure pushed her body on the machine tightly.
Suddenly she heard a loud shrill noise coming from behind her. She turned around to see a missile coming directly at her. She waited till the missile got close and then at the last minute moved causing the missile to run into the jet. The two collided creating a massive explosion in the air that pushed Rogue slightly off course from the force. She turned and flew ahead to go after the other craft but she felt something was amiss. Suddenly she could see Psyfire flying towards her at a quick speed. She seemed to be yelling something and pointing towards her. Rogue frowned and looked behind her to see a missile gaining speed on her tail. She panicked and tried to out fly it but her attempt seemed futile as it slowly crept up. It almost touched her until a red light zoomed inches pass her face and blew up the missile. Rogue was pushed forward from the force. She pushed herself to a halt to making sure nothing else was following her.
Wolverine was doing the best he could to maneuver the jet but it was hard to concentrate with Kitty panicking.
"Logan!" Kitty screamed.
Logan caught sight of Psyfire's flare and immediately spun the jet to the side. One of the missiles blew up from her flare creating a loud explosion.
Kitty gripped unto her chair tightly with a force that could rival Rogue's brute strength. "Get rid of them!"
"I'm tryin!" He bellowed as his claws came out. He pulled the handles and switched on more buttons as they climbed in altitude. They were practically in India now and would soon reach their destination.
"Go the other way!" Kitty screamed as she closed her eyes and held onto the jet.
Now she was a back seat driver too!"Do you want to fly this thing?" Logan growled at Kitty. Kitty didn't respond but the fear was too much and she phased through the chair onto the floor. She scrambled quickly using anything solid around her to pull her up. She managed to crawl towards to controls where he sat and she looked around for the weapons control.
"Tell me what to do!" Kitty yelled knowing only the basics. Logan nodded and walked her through it while trying to keep them out of range of the missiles.
Psyfire destroyed the few targeting her and she headed back towards the X-Jet which was trying to shake off the two remaining enemy jets. Shots fired from its tail end at the jets but they maneuvered out of the way to avoid its shots. She was almost there when she saw another missile from the corner of her eyes suddenly just fall towards the earth. "OMG!" Psyfire shouted as she flew toward the falling explosive. She immediately started to descend to get a good lock on it hoping to blow it before it caused damage.
Psyfire dove toward the missile and was right on it. She reached out her hands and the missile began to shake thus slowing it down. Her eyes glowed red as her hot rays shot out and hit the missile causing it to explode. The impact was infectious as it hit her in the front of her body. The wind knocked her back and she spun out of control a little. She stopped herself from spiraling. Her stomach quivered and she felt nauseous. She looked down at the civilian cities below them. She made sure to destroy all leftover matter from the enemy jets so no one would get hurt.
Rogue flew right by her and was headed to one of the other jets. Two more were in pursuit of the X-Jet. The pilot in the jet she was able to reach also ejected leaving his jet to fall on civilian soil. Quickly she grabbed onto the jet and lifted it slowly to a stop. Once in her grasp she carried it above her and flew after the second jet that was circling the X-jet.
"They are going to kill us Logan!" Kitty screamed no longer able shooting towards the enemy. The guns were hot having not been in in use for quite some time. Her hands were holding onto anything she could touch.
Logan growled though his teeth. "I know. Kitty." He moved the jet over to the side and the enemy jet kept firing.
Logan frowned knowing that the last attack should have hit them however nothing happened. He looked around quickly until he saw Kitty gripping onto the jet tightly while crawling up her seat. The jet had phased through the bullets thanks to Kitty's powers. Way to go kid! He approved before focusing on his driving. Suddenly, the phone rang attached to the jet which added to the distractions.
"Whatever you do Kitty! Don't let go of the Jet!" He yelled at her. Kitty nodded her head and swallowed hard doing exactly as she was told. The phone kept ringing going unanswered.
In South America
"Dey are not answering." A worried Kurt said as the South American heat bore down on him. He looked up at Jacob who just shrugged his shoulders and hung up.
India - Psyfire, Wolverine, Kitty, and Rogue
Rogue got closer to the other flying jet but the one she was carrying was weighing her down. The X-Jet managed to avoid head-on fire and she watched as all the enemy's attacks went right through the jet. With all the power she could muster, she flew towards the other jet and was able to catch up to it.
"Slow down why don't cha!" Rogue yelled.
Psyfire turned around just in time to see Rogue pull her arm back ready to throw the jet. Two missles were released from the other occupied jet and was shot back in her direction. "Rogue! Watch out!" she yelled feeling the fear grip her.
Rogue looked over and saw the problem. Immediately she threw the jet which collided with the missiles blowing them up. Chantel flew immediately to get the pilot and the other jet but the jet backed off and began to fly off to the side out of range to escape.
"Should we go after him?" Rogue asked stopping next to Psyfire who shook her head knowing they were already behind schedule and knew who was after them. Both girl's hovered in the air before making their way back to the jet.
"And thanks fer watching out fer me." Rogue stated landing with Chantel onto the pad that would take them back inside the X-Jet.
Psyfire smiled and nodded. "Don't sweat it. We may have some problems but we still family. A big dysfunctional one." She added before the platform lowered. Both girls landed in the X-Jet and immediately walked to the front.
Wolverine was still piloting this time bringing the Jet down to a leisurely pace. Kitty sat in Psyfire's chair, still gripped to the jet with white knuckles. Psyfire walked over her to Kitty and had to peel her hands from the jet. "You did good, Kat!" She said gently as Kitty returned to normal. Somewhat… She nodded frantically with her chest rising and falling visibly.
"Breath Kitty!" Rogue shouted as she went to find a bottle of water for the poor girl.
Wolverine put the jet in autopilot put paid attention to the radars in case anything else tried to attack them. "Did we figure it out who the assholes riding us were?"
"Sorry, but no." Psyfire said as she tried to lock in coordinates and make sure the jet didn't sustain heavy damage. Rogue came over with a bottle of water and gave it to Kitty. "We were a little bit busy stopping missiles to get out free falling friends." She explained handing the bottle to Kitty.
"So I'm going to radio in the Professor and let him know our situation." Psyfire said as she put back on the headset while standing. Kitty looked about ready to throw up now that the jet was no longer shaking and doing aerial summersaults.
Kitty was able to slowly pry her hands off the jet. "Ch..Ch…Chantel?" She called shakily.
Psyfire looked down to her in concern while holding headset off her ears so she could hear her. "Yes?"
Kitty looked at Wolverine and pointed. "Please don't let Logan drive ever again. He almost killed us."
Psyfire looked concerned at first. Finally she laughed and turned around punching in the number for the Professor. Wolverine smirked. "Scary Kat" He stated feeling smug.