Michelle "MJ" Jones
The day of the meeting arrived.
The day was mostly a blur. I couldn't even remember what I had for breakfast. I was… somewhat sure I had lunch with Betty, Ned, and Cess during my break at Peter Pan. Other than that, the only thing I really remembered was that subway ride home with Cess accompanying me. When I got home, I talked with my parents. I told them that I was going to a get together with a friend of mine. Once again, it was another lie I had to tell my parents. In some ways, I envied Craig and Kitty because they can be open with their parents about the superhero-related stuff that they do. I didn't have that luxury. Being open with my folks about what was going on would open a can of worms that could get a lot of people in trouble.
What the fuck…
Anyway, after going inside of my room, I went looking through my clothes. I knew Beck said to dress in my best attire, but the thought of going in a dress to see this guy gave me the ick. That aside, I'd rather not have my parents question me about what kind of "get-together" I was going to. I almost wanted to dress in the kind of clothes I'd lounge around my home in, just to be petty. But, this was Beck we were talking about here. I didn't want to give him any reason to act on his threat – not that he needed much of a reason to begin with. So, instead, I decided to wear my suit, tie and all. I haven't worn this suit in a while – not since the day The American Idiots and Scott went with Peter to visit his aunt's grave. So, I couldn't help but feel a bit of disgust in my stomach as I checked myself in the mirror.
I heard my phone go off. I walked up my nightstand and picked up the device. Seeing that I got a text, I unlocked my phone and checked my messages. The text was from an unknown number. I frowned as I opened it up. I then raised an eyebrow as I read it aloud in a whisper.
"I got you an Uber. Be ready by six. Tell your parents I said hi –Uncle Erik."
I smiled slightly. I put the phone down. I then pulled open the nightstand's drawer. Inside of it were two silver bracelets. I stared down at them. I then grabbed them and put them on, putting one around each of my wrists.
Six o'clock rolled around. I made my way downstairs. Waiting outside was a midnight blue Scion xB – a second generation model, if I remembered correctly. Through the windshield, I could see the Uber light shining from the top of the dash. I walked up to it slowly, not sure that it was the Uber that "Uncle Erik" was talking about. The front passenger door window was down. I saw Craig in the driver's seat. I relaxed a little. He looked at me with a questioning look.
"Are you Michelle?" he asked. I was given pause. It took me a moment to realize that Craig was putting on a front. After swallowing, I nodded. "I'm Craig. I'll be your Uber driver for tonight. Hop in the back seat." I nodded once more before I walked up to the door to the backseat and opened it. I climbed into the backseat and closed the door. "How's your evening so far?"
"It could be better," I replied, continuing the charade. "I don't really want to step out."
"Why's that? I've been led to believe that I'm taking you to the 53 in Manhattan. A lot of people would be excited about that."
"Maybe on a different day I would be." I grabbed the seatbelt and buckled myself in. "Unfortunately, I'm going there for business. And the person I'm meeting is an asshole."
I looked at the rearview mirror to see Craig looking back at me. I could tell he was cringing. "Dang, that sucks. If you want, I can take you somewhere else."
I shook my head. "Tempting as that is, it's a meeting that needs to happen sooner than later."
"Okay. Well, hopefully, the food is worth it." Craig turned the car on before he drove off.
The ride was quiet, except for the couple of occasions when Craig asked if I wanted some water or a snack – I didn't realize he had a cooler on the floor in front of the front passenger seat. I turned him down both times. I knew his offer was semi-legit. I had no doubt he'd hand me some water and/or a snack and if I wanted either or both, but he was just playing a role of an Uber driver who was not even an acquaintance, let alone someone who was practically a brother to me. I wish we could have some semblance of our normal kind of conversation. Maybe then I wouldn't have these butterflies flying around in my stomach.
We arrived at the restaurant. I took in a breath.
"Thanks for the ride," I said.
"No problem," Craig replied. After I unbuckled the seatbelt, I reached for the door handle. "Hey, before you go…" I looked at Craig, who turned to look at me through the gap between the front seats. "I know it's none of my business or anything, but don't let this meeting bring you down. Maybe it'll turn out better than you expect."
I knew what he was really saying.
"Thanks," I said with a smile.
"No problem. You have a good night."
"You as well."
I got out of the car and closed the door behind me. I watched as Craig drove off. Once the car was out of sight, I looked at the front of the restaurant. I took in a breath before I walked up to the door and stepped inside. Once I was inside, I walked up to the host.
"Good evening," I greeted. "I have a reservation here. It should be under the name Michelle Jones."
"Okay, let's see," he said as he looked down at a list. As he did so, I took a quick look around. The place looked very fancy. It was the kind of place you would budget at least 300 bucks for if you wanted to eat good and leave a decent tip – even then, I had a feeling one would have be rather strategic with what was on the menu if they weren't a high roller. I almost scoffed. Of course the first time I step foot in here is to deal with Beck. I was taken out of my thoughts when the host spoke again. "Right, you're here to dine with Beck. Please, right this way."
As the host walked, I followed him. I was led to a private dining area. There was one circular table. Beck was there, already sitting. He wasn't alone, of course. Standing on both sides of the room were men wearing black suits, black gloves, and ski masks. I had no doubt they were armed. I almost laughed. Was I so dangerous that Beck needed to have people with guns in the room?
Then again…
Beck looked at me and smiled. It took me some willpower not to activate the bracelets I had on.
"Not only are you here, you're more than punctual," Beck complimented. "I respect that." He beckoned towards the seat across from him. "Please, sit." I slowly walked over to the chair. One of the guards walked over and grabbed the chair. I grabbed the chair and glared at the guard.
"I got it," I said, doing my very best to keep the irritation out of my voice.
"Let her get her own seat. She obviously doesn't want the help." The guard backed off. I let my glare linger on him for a few seconds I pulled out my chair and took a seat.
"Let's get this over with."
"We will in due time. I took the liberty of ordering some food for the both of us."
I narrowed my eyes. "I'm not hungry."
"Are you sure? I heard this restaurant cooks up a mean wagyu steak."
I tilted my head. "Did I stutter?"
Beck's expression became serious as he leaned forward. "Need I remind you of the position you're in? Everyone around you is a sanctioned agent of The United States Government, me included. At any moment, I can have you arrested, along with everyone close to you that has even a remote chance of knowing about your anti-Accords activities. So if I were you, I'd be a lot more mindful about my words and demeanor." I continued to glare at him as he leaned back in his seat. In my peripheral, I could see some of the guards stiffen up. Beck held his hand up and waved the guard away. His expression softened and continued to speak in a gentler tone, much to my disgust. "Look, I can see why you might find the position you're in to be rather… unfair. But you have to understand that we're living in rather dangerous times. Vigilantes are running more rampant than ever, and chief among them in New York are the X-Men, who Spider-Man decided to join forces with. I'm sure, deep down, they're good people. But when given the opportunity to actually work with the U.S. Government, they spurned them – rather rudely, might I add.
"So, we've had to do things the hard way. We've made inroads in arresting Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. And tomorrow, it will be announced that there will be huge focus on taking down Daredevil and The Punisher. Taking down the X-Men would make the world a much safer place." Beck put his hand to his chest. "We're not the bad guys here, Michelle. We're just trying to make this world safe from those who recklessly endanger many lives and justify it by calling themselves a hero."
I blinked. "Those who recklessly endanger the world and justify it by calling themselves a hero…" I scoffed. "Where have I seen that before?" Beck glared at me. I didn't waver. I knew Beck could have me arrested at any given moment. But if he thought I was going to sit here and let him play in my face, he had another thing coming. "Let's be clear. I'm not here to entertain your wannabe hero bullshit, especially when I was almost one of the many people who died because of it back in Europe. If you want to delude yourself into thinking you're the good guy here, then that's your prerogative. I'm only here because I wanted to keep my family, my friends, and myself out of prison and prevent our lives from being ruined – nothing more, nothing less."
I heard the door to the private area open as I kept my eyes locked in on Beck. Beck looked past me before he took in a breath. "Well, perhaps you'll be in a better mood after we eat." From my peripheral, I saw the cart roll up to the table. I then saw a glass placed in front of Beck. The glass was filled with a yellow-brown liquid with a foamy head. It looked like a beer. Beck looked down at it before he looked up at the waiter. "Um, not to be that guy, but I ordered a Pinot Grigio."
"Since you're our esteemed guest, I figured I get a drink befitting of your status," the waiter replied. Wait, why did he sound familiar? "I hope you like Citra Pale Ale – this one is made by Yellowbelly." Beck looked up, ready to protest. He was then given greeted with a punch across his jaw that knocked him off of the chair. My eyes went wide before I looked up at the waiter.
It was Kaine.
"Take cover!" Kaine ordered. Without hesitation, I dove down to the floor and crawled underneath the table. I covered my head when I heard gunshots, followed by the sound of furniture, glass, and possibly bone being broken. I was going to stay pat until I felt a hand around my ankle. Before I knew it, I was being pulled out from underneath the table.
Well, I guess it was time for a field test.
I quickly rolled onto my side and sent a kick into my captor's stomach. As he doubled over, I sent a kick into his head, knocking him onto his back. I quickly stood up then bent my hands back at the wrists. The bracelets quickly lit up before they transformed, turning them into wen shooters. I stood up before I aimed the web shooters at the masked guard and fired, letting loose two bursts of webbing that pinned and adhered him to the ground he was on. After that, I brought my foot up and slammed my foot down on his head. I cringed. I think I heard his nose breaking.
After taking a moment to gather myself, I looked around, seeing if anyone else wanted to try and take me down. However, Kaine already took care of the rest of them as they lay on the floor. I looked at Kaine and looked him up and down, seeing that he was dressed like a waiter. "Thanks," I said. "…How'd you sneak in here?"
"I have my ways," Kaine replied. "Let's get you out of here."
"What about the surveillance?" I was sure there was some kind of security system.
"That won't be a problem."
I followed Kaine as he led me out of the restaurant. There were patrons running out in a panic, along with restaurant staff. We exited amongst the chaos, narrowly avoiding the armed men that were rushing in. After that, he led me to the nearby parking garage. Waiting inside was a dark blue Scion – the same one Craig was driving. Craig was in the driver's seat. I quickly moved into the backseat. I closed the door before I looked to my right to see…
"Kitty?!" I exclaimed. Kitty smiled and waved back. There was a laptop on her lap.
"Whereto?" Craig asked.
"Back to The Bunker," Kitty ordered.
"Got it."
As Craig drove off, I sunk into my seat. I took in a deep breath before I let it loose. I was trying to calm down. On one hand, I was glad that Kaine was able to rescue me from that situation, because I don't if I could live with myself if I informed on the X-Men. Plus, seeing Beck getting punched in the face was going to be a memory I'd cherish until the day I die, I was sure. At the same time, I couldn't help but think about Beck's threat. Did I doom everyone?
"What did we just do?" I asked.
"We sent a message," Kitty replied.
I shook my head. "What about –?"
"It's handled." I looked at Kitty, who was tapping away at her laptop. "We have our eyes on everyone and their family. Right now, we're taking you're to the bunker to keep you safe while taking all of the surveillance systems along the way." She looked at me. "Something tells me we're going to get a lot of fireworks across the city tonight."
When we arrived at The Bunker, I immediately went over to the fridge, opened up, and went digging through it. My eyes landed on two Quest protein bars and a bottle of water. I grabbed all three of the items before I turned. Kitty, Craig, and Kaine were looking at me with looks of concern.
"What?" I remarked as I closed the fridge with my foot. "I wasn't going to eat off of Beck's dime." As much as I would've liked to try some of the food at the 53, I absolutely refuse to owe Beck anything – it was the principle of the matter. I walked over to the table, took a seat, and set all three of the items on the table. I picked up one of the bars and unwrapped. "You know what he had the audacity to do?" I turned in my seat and looked at them. "He really tried to make himself out to be the good guy, talking about how he wants to save lives from people trying to play hero as if he wasn't doing the same shit in Europe."
"Audacity's been back in style since The Accords were signed into law," Craig replied as he walked towards the fridge. I sighed as I took a bite from my protein bar.
"So what do we do now?" Kaine asked.
"We wait," Kitty ordered. "I have reason to believe that Beck will act on his threat tonight, so there'll likely be a lot of action. If that happens, we'll stick with the plan. Kaine, you'll stay here and look after MJ just in case. Craig, you'll head out and assist Cyclops and Frenzy in protecting Betty. You'll being taking the Black Alligator over. Razorback and Ursa Major are already nearby with Mercury to look after Ned. Which squad I help out will depend on how the situations are going. Understood?"
"I got it," Craig replied.
"Will do," Kaine added.
I merely nodded. I was worried about my folks and Peter, especially since all three of them were likely going to be targeted and all three of them were going to be in the same place. I wanted to be there, but what the hell was I going to do other than be a liability? I had to have faith in Peter and Carmilla to do protect my parents while looking after themselves.
Having superhero friends suck.