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om_mainJean-Paul gets a call from his agent about Alpha Flight. Jeanne-Marie gets an earful.
The Beaubier early-warning system let Jeanne-Marie know that something was up with Jean-Paul a few minutes before he started drumming on her door. Though the fact that he hadn't tried to hide it (for once!) was a point in his favor, the intense emotion roiling in his eyes made it clear that whatever this was had him severely on edge.
"Let's walk," he said simply. Knowing Jean-Paul, that meant they were probably going to be flying before long.
Jeanne-Marie only nodded. She'd been about to come find him, but the very fact that he'd saved her the trouble made her worry even more. Not that there was no reason to worry right now, with everything going on, but still. She slipped out, not bothering to throw on a jacket over her DAZZLER t-shirt, jeans, and boots, and started down the hall. "First, tell me, is it something about you, or is something outside the school troubling you?"
"Both." The word was an alley-cat growl. He kept his silence after that, until they were outside. "I just got off the phone with my agent of all people. You know the guy they have leading Alpha Flight? This Hudson? He wants to talk to us. He did not leave word of what, but take three guesses."
Lips pursed, brow furrowed, Jeanne-Marie was silent for a moment apart from her boots crunching over the grass. "It could be an opportunity to find something more out," she finally said.
"The thought had crossed my mind. About half a second after I made up my mind to slug him for the 'us'."
"For wanting to talk to 'us' you mean?" She cocked an eyebrow, failing to see why they shouldn't.
"Of course. Like I'm going to let them get their hands on you!"
"Oh!" She made a face, eyes wide and bright, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips though she fought it valiantly. "It would be all right if they only wanted to talk to you?! You aren't the only famous Quebecois mutant, you know!"
Jean-Paul didn't answer the smile. "I'm serious, Jeanne-Marie. Better to risk one of us than both."
"You are being alarmist," she said primly, picking up her step a little. "We can arrange to meet with him how we like, when we like, and we will be there to help each other."
"Please. For all we know, we'll go back and be seized as property of the state." He shoved his hands into his pockets, scowling. "There's too much we don't know about how these people operate."
"So we don't agree to meet them somewhere we don't have several escape plans." Jeanne-Marie shrugged. She'd been trapped her entire life. She had, since coming to Xavier's, spent a great deal of time trying to imagine how she could avoid the scenario again. "If you don't want to at all, I will agree; I have no interest in leaving Westchester County now. But there is always the chance it may do some good, so I'm willing."
Jean-Paul sighed again. "I was...thinking I could take it as an opportunity to infiltrate, maybe. If he doesn't come off as a Mutant Youth recruiter right off the bat."
"The interview, or the offer that will inevitably come during the interview?" she asked, eyebrow cocking.
"The latter, I guess. Maybe both." He sighed and aimed a kick at a clump of frozen weeds the groundskeeping crew had somehow bypassed. "Punching would be easier."
"Well, we can always resort to that if necessary." Which sounded flippant, perhaps, but Jeanne-Marie was being entirely serious. "It is like coming out was: we control the meeting and the information. Then we can decide if that's a plausible plan."
Jean-Paul finally looked over at his sister. "I'd still feel better about this if you'd let me do the first meeting solo, go in as the advance guard. If they're going to pull anything, surely it will be when they just have one speedster to deal with."
"Even if you are going in to take their measure, the idea that they'd be more likely to 'pull anything' without me there just makes me want to be there more," Jeanne-Marie pointed out.
"Bijou..." He rumpled his hair, leaving it standing on end. "If it is dangerous, I don't want you associated with it, that's all."
She reached up to fix his hair. "Yes, I feel the same about you. That is precisely why I will be associated with it."
"They're already hiding something, you know. I talked to Tessa the other day, and she says their team leader isn't even a mutant."
Jeanne-Marie's brow furrowed. As much as she wanted mutants and non-mutants to work together for these sorts of things--well, there were just some things, especially at this juncture, that mutants really needed to be in charge of. Considering the questions Alpha Flight already raised... it didn't look good. "We really must go and find out what we can."
"Including more reasons why we should be kicking imposters in the teeth, non?"
She smiled slightly. "Quite possibly, brother."
Finally, her brother smiled in return, though it looked as if his face might crack when he did. "I guess we're both going to the interview, then."
"You guess right."
The Beaubier early-warning system let Jeanne-Marie know that something was up with Jean-Paul a few minutes before he started drumming on her door. Though the fact that he hadn't tried to hide it (for once!) was a point in his favor, the intense emotion roiling in his eyes made it clear that whatever this was had him severely on edge.
"Let's walk," he said simply. Knowing Jean-Paul, that meant they were probably going to be flying before long.
Jeanne-Marie only nodded. She'd been about to come find him, but the very fact that he'd saved her the trouble made her worry even more. Not that there was no reason to worry right now, with everything going on, but still. She slipped out, not bothering to throw on a jacket over her DAZZLER t-shirt, jeans, and boots, and started down the hall. "First, tell me, is it something about you, or is something outside the school troubling you?"
"Both." The word was an alley-cat growl. He kept his silence after that, until they were outside. "I just got off the phone with my agent of all people. You know the guy they have leading Alpha Flight? This Hudson? He wants to talk to us. He did not leave word of what, but take three guesses."
Lips pursed, brow furrowed, Jeanne-Marie was silent for a moment apart from her boots crunching over the grass. "It could be an opportunity to find something more out," she finally said.
"The thought had crossed my mind. About half a second after I made up my mind to slug him for the 'us'."
"For wanting to talk to 'us' you mean?" She cocked an eyebrow, failing to see why they shouldn't.
"Of course. Like I'm going to let them get their hands on you!"
"Oh!" She made a face, eyes wide and bright, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips though she fought it valiantly. "It would be all right if they only wanted to talk to you?! You aren't the only famous Quebecois mutant, you know!"
Jean-Paul didn't answer the smile. "I'm serious, Jeanne-Marie. Better to risk one of us than both."
"You are being alarmist," she said primly, picking up her step a little. "We can arrange to meet with him how we like, when we like, and we will be there to help each other."
"Please. For all we know, we'll go back and be seized as property of the state." He shoved his hands into his pockets, scowling. "There's too much we don't know about how these people operate."
"So we don't agree to meet them somewhere we don't have several escape plans." Jeanne-Marie shrugged. She'd been trapped her entire life. She had, since coming to Xavier's, spent a great deal of time trying to imagine how she could avoid the scenario again. "If you don't want to at all, I will agree; I have no interest in leaving Westchester County now. But there is always the chance it may do some good, so I'm willing."
Jean-Paul sighed again. "I was...thinking I could take it as an opportunity to infiltrate, maybe. If he doesn't come off as a Mutant Youth recruiter right off the bat."
"The interview, or the offer that will inevitably come during the interview?" she asked, eyebrow cocking.
"The latter, I guess. Maybe both." He sighed and aimed a kick at a clump of frozen weeds the groundskeeping crew had somehow bypassed. "Punching would be easier."
"Well, we can always resort to that if necessary." Which sounded flippant, perhaps, but Jeanne-Marie was being entirely serious. "It is like coming out was: we control the meeting and the information. Then we can decide if that's a plausible plan."
Jean-Paul finally looked over at his sister. "I'd still feel better about this if you'd let me do the first meeting solo, go in as the advance guard. If they're going to pull anything, surely it will be when they just have one speedster to deal with."
"Even if you are going in to take their measure, the idea that they'd be more likely to 'pull anything' without me there just makes me want to be there more," Jeanne-Marie pointed out.
"Bijou..." He rumpled his hair, leaving it standing on end. "If it is dangerous, I don't want you associated with it, that's all."
She reached up to fix his hair. "Yes, I feel the same about you. That is precisely why I will be associated with it."
"They're already hiding something, you know. I talked to Tessa the other day, and she says their team leader isn't even a mutant."
Jeanne-Marie's brow furrowed. As much as she wanted mutants and non-mutants to work together for these sorts of things--well, there were just some things, especially at this juncture, that mutants really needed to be in charge of. Considering the questions Alpha Flight already raised... it didn't look good. "We really must go and find out what we can."
"Including more reasons why we should be kicking imposters in the teeth, non?"
She smiled slightly. "Quite possibly, brother."
Finally, her brother smiled in return, though it looked as if his face might crack when he did. "I guess we're both going to the interview, then."
"You guess right."
