Chapter Sixteen

"Well, they're off." Brian watched Excalibur's jet vanish among the heavy clouds, then turned and rammed his thick fist into one of the elegant wrought-iron lampposts lining the Manor's front drive, mangling it beyond repair.

Alice winced at the damage. But her brown eyes burned with angry frustrations and fears that more than matched the Captain's.

"They say the waiting is the hardest part," she offered, knowing it wouldn't help. "But if your sister is out there—"

"I know!" Brian shouted, then took a slow breath and gave Alice a commiserate look. "I know, Alice. I'll just…"

The burly blond superhero ripped the ruined lamppost out of the ground, crumpled it into a tight ball of metal and wire, and stuffed it beside the garage. Then he tamped at the gaping divot with his foot, already pulling up one of Excalibur's go-to landscaping-repair sites on his phone.

"I'll order a new one."

Alice smirked a little and turned her gaze back to the clouds. As Captain Britain, Brian Braddock drew his powers from the British Isles themselves. Even with his special suit, which stored and channeled that energy, his powers tended to weaken whenever he left their shores. She had to admit, there had been times she'd felt that way during her years in America, first studying, then teaching at Xavier's school with Kurt. So far from the familiar sights and smells of home…

…like Marti, Suzie and Betsy, Tessa and Cessily were now.

If they really had been transported to that Transian base. If Betsy and the girls were still alive—

"Captain! Major!"

Alice and Brian turned to see one of the forensics scientists racing toward them from the east lawn, her yellow raincoat flapping in the wind.

Like Kurt and Kitty, Alice had earned her rank fighting with the X-Men during the war. Brian had also earned his reputation as a war hero but – though attached to IX-MO and, specifically, their Excalibur team – he was an agent of Otherworld. In their system, his rank of Captain was equivalent to Nightcrawler's rank of Colonel. Alice's rank of Major would be more equivalent to Lieutenant-Commander, while Kitty would be a Commander. Logan, like Scott, held the rank of an IX-MO General, but he acted more as a free agent, showing up where and when he pleased.

"What's happened?" Brian demanded as the flushed woman fought to catch her breath.

"The…the box, sir…" She gasped a few more times, holding her side. Then, she straightened and faced them both, her blue eyes intense behind her mist-speckled glasses. "We were running analyses…seeing if we could identify and reconstruct the contents in case they had some…some personal meaning or significance to the case…"

"And?" Alice prompted. "What did you find?"

"The box was stuffed with dolls," she said, holding up her padd so they could see the reconstructed image on the screen.. "They look like…well… They look like dolls of Colonel Wagner, ma'am. Nightcrawler."

"Bamf dolls!" Alice exclaimed. "Dear lord…they used to sell these at Kurt's old circus. But that was ages ago – before he left Germany to attend Xavier's school…!"

"There was a note, as well," the woman told them, swiping to the next image: ragged scraps of burned paper overlaid with fragments of digitized print. "The original was partially incinerated, as you can see. But the program we used was able to reconstruct the message to within a range of 47-53% accuracy."

Brian squinted at the patchy screed. "Reads like a damn riddle," he grunted. "Something about…'full circle'…? 'Like father like child'… …'each generation grows to supplant the one that gave it life'… …'despite your betrayal'… …'you, yourself, created a more perfect specimen when'… …'her enhanced powers will serve as key to my own glorious'…something... Can't make out the rest."

"Marti…!" Alice inhaled sharply, pressing both hands to her mouth. "He's talking about Marti! And, Kurt – Kurt and Logan, they knew! How could they know…!"

"You know what this message means?" the scientist asked, trying not to sound too eager.

"It's Sinister," she told them. "I...I didn't want to think, to believe... But, this leaves little doubt. Somehow… Somehow that traitor survived Alkali Lake. And now he's taunting my husband. Targeting us. Dear god, Brian—!" Alice looked from the forensic scientist to Captain Britain, her eyes wide with horror. "They're flying into a trap!"

To Be Continued...

Just a short chapter to get this story moving again. But, there's more to come! What do you think? Please review! :D