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om_mainThe Senior Team goes into the field. Their mission: save a newly manifested mutant from... well, mostly just unneeded publicity.
Sometimes it's hard to tell when a day went wrong. For Santo Vaccarro, that was somewhere between six and six-thirty PM. Minute-to-minute, Santo hadn't been keeping the score. But what had started off as a tense situation had escalated rapidly. Waving at news cameras and shouting “Hi mom!” seemed to have struck a bad chord with the police. One gunshot led to another, and led to Santo running.
“I just wanna see my dad,” Santo breathed, as he hopped over the guardrail from the Interstate heading out of Boston, onto the snow-covered grass below, landing with a heavy impact. His new stone body didn't seem to want to quit, though, and he was glad for that as he just kept on running. He could still hear sirens in the distance, though they were fading. Maybe the cops weren't going to chase him outside of Boston.
Maybe it was the fact that he'd tossed aside a police cruiser like it was made of paper just before. Nobody had been in it, or even in the path of where he'd thrown it, but still. That's bound to shake some people up. Kind of like getting shot at a lot by scared cops. Which is what started this mess in the first place.
Ignorant of the news chopper flying overhead and recording the whole thing, Santo was bolting towards the wilderness, aware only of the fact that a giant spotlight was on him, and that it wasn't the kind of spotlight he'd been dreaming about. Only thing to do was just to keep on running.
By the time the teenager on screen was deep in the tree line, Cyclops had already messaged Agent, Captain, and Panax. A quick mental calculation on timing led him to add Nightcrawler to his list. It would be too far to drive there fast enough; they needed people on the ground now. He wasn't on the team, but Kurt was a helpful guy, and it kept Cyclops from having to dip into the under-18s.
Given that the teenager in question was currently a sentient rock formation, the people on the ground needed to be heavy hitters. That said, Nightcrawler had limits, so he couldn't take every heavy hitter he had. Another quick calculation, and Cyclops messaged Northstar and Aurora. The three of them could contain the situation long enough for an extraction.
The Senior Team was going into the field.
Once he'd messaged everybody, instructing them to meet him in the War Room, Cyclops went to one of the room's cabinets, where he kept some gear, and began suiting up and assembling comm links for the four of them. He left two out on the table for Agent and Captain, if they needed them.
Hopefully Captain would be able to keep his mouth shut unless necessary, for everyone's safety.
The Beaubier twins arrived within seconds of each other, walking in unintended synch. Even without Scott's message, it wasn't hard to guess what they were being gathered for.
"This should be fun," Northstar remarked, false grin bright on his face. "At last, the first road test for Les X-quis. I assume we're off to handle the small issue of that runaway statuary in Boston?"
"I'm not calling us that," Scott said once again. He tossed each Beaubier an ear piece.
"So come up with something better," Jean-Paul challenged him, moving to get his armor on.
Kurt appeared in the War Room with a characteristic BAMF and swirl of purple-black smoke. “Is this about that boy on the news?” he asked. Scott had said he needed his help and to come to the War Room, but he hadn’t gone into any detail.
Cyclops nodded. "How do you feel about teleporting to near Boston?"
“It should be doable,” Kurt answered as he dug out his phone so he could text Blaine and let him know what was up. “How many people would I be carrying?”
"On the way up? The four of us. Back? It depends." Scott glanced at one of the screens. "If I had to guess his weight, I'd put him at just under 1000 lbs. Could you bring him back from there?"
That was... a lot. “It might take more than one ‘port,” and he’d be exhausted afterwards, “but ja.” There was no question; the boy on the news needed help.
"We'll be there to scoop you up off the ground after, if you need it," Jeanne-Marie reassured him with a smile, once the ear-piece was settled. The 1000 lb boy... possibly not so much. But this mission needed an injection of light--metaphorically speaking for now--and she could do that.
"You wouldn't need to take the three of us back. We can figure out our own way, and I'll have Agent on stand-by for when the two of you arrive," Cyclops assured him. He handed a comm to Nightcrawler. "This should reach you no matter where you have your layovers with him, so we will definitely be in touch. If you need anything on the way back, just say something."
Kurt nodded, “Alright,” and fitted the comm into his ear. There was a thrill of excitement mingled in with the knots of nervousness in his stomach. “For those of you that have never flown Air Nightcrawler before, remember to hold onto your stomachs, ja?” He grinned.
------------
"Oh man," groaned Santo, looking around. He was pretty deep in the woods, but it wouldn't take long for the authorities to find him, if they were really dead set on it. He looked down at his rocky hands, and shook his head. "I don't know if this is really awesome or really awful," he groaned. "Man, where am I gonna go now?" His stony brow twisted in a scowl.
"I just wanted to see my dad!" Santo was used to being able to thump large, inanimate objects when he was angry, and not have them move. The small tree he decided to thump wasn't so lucky, because when he hit it, he knocked it over, its small root clump tearing up from the soil. He hopped back, startled at his own strength.
"Whoa, okay... definitely leaning more towards awesome." He grunted, needlessly, as he set about the task of trying to fix the damage he'd done. Of course, Santo was by no means quiet, and the team, which undoubtedly arrived nearby via teleportation, would likely find him with ease, even in the dark. While Santo could hear the new helicopter overhead, it seemed to be fading into the distance, likely given up since they had lost sight of him.
"Well, at least he made himself easy to track." The comment was light enough to take most of the sting out as Jean-Paul stepped unhurriedly out of the trees, all sleek blue body armor and sharp edges. When making contact with the unknown, best to put the person most adept at getting out of the way up front as a target, right? "So who might you be when you're not prompting manhunts?"
Obviously, Santo had been incredibly surprised by the newcomer, and the tree was swiftly forgotten. His stony visage creased into a frown, but not as sever as one might expect. "Depends on who's asking," Santo said, trying to sound tough and probably failing just a little. And why did that voice sound familiar? If it wasn't so freaking dark, he could get a better look at this guy...
"Jean-Paul Beaubier." The speedster folded his arms over his chest. "And, if you are not planning on uprooting any more of the scenery, my friends and I would like to have a word with you about your...predicament."
"Oh!" Santo's expression lit up, rather than just returning to neutral though. "Oh! Oh shit! Oooohhh shit!" He clapped his hands together in an almost comical, excited fashion. "Jean-Paul?! Seriously?! In the flesh?! Dude! You're like, so awesome!" He began to pat his tattered pants around the pockets. "Can I get your autograph?!" Santo asked.
Helicopters passing overhead underscored the urgency of the moment, so Cyclops was forced to interrupt Jean-Paul's impromptu love-fest. "I'm sure he can give it to you later. We're here to offer you a ride out of here," he told the teen.
Santo's head swiveled toward the other newcomer. "Whoa, funky headpiece," Santo mumbled, before mustering up a proper response. "Well I don't really know who you guys are, even," Santo said, taking a step back. Jean-Paul or no Jean-Paul, Santo didn't exactly trust them. "I mean, what if you guys are like, the bad guys, or something. Or maybe you're with the cops." Though the last part was unlikely.
"We aren't cops," Cyclops promised. "We're mutants, like you. We go to a school for mutants, and we just wanna help you get there. Totally voluntary. If you hate it, you can leave."
"But what about my parents? What about all my stuff?" Santo asked. "I mean, this day's been going like utter crap, and it's also been really freakin' awesome. I just wanted to talk to my dad after... after this awesome thing happened to me! I mean, I'm super strong now, I'm super tough! It's great! I mean, I always wanted to be like Andre the Giant, and now I'm just as big as he is! I think. I'm like his size, right?" he asked, looking to Jean-Paul for confirmation, as if maybe he'd know.
"I think the matter of your dimensions and your belongings can wait until after we're past the point of pursuit, non?" Jean-Paul glanced up. The helicopter hadn't caught sight of them through the tree cover yet, but the sound of it was enough to make him uneasy. "We can contact your parents once you're safe." He glanced over his shoulder to Jeanne-Marie in hopeful appeal. Maybe she could make the whole businesses sound more attractive?
She stepped up beside her brother, rather than lingering behind him and Scott for the moment. "I know it isn't easy to trust us right now, but you know we're like you. We'll take you to safety, and I promise, things will be sorted out from there.
"Something--similar happened to me, once, and I needed a--ah, a lift out, too." She smiled sweetly. Admittedly, she was rescued from the actual police station, but it still counted as a rescue.
Santo raised one rocky eyebrow, and then cracked a grin. "Well, I never could say no to a pretty lady," he said, not nearly as suave as he thought he was being, but it was whatever. "Well, unless you guys are like, super strong and can fly, or like, can turn me invisible or something, they're probably going to spot us on our way to... wherever," Santo said, for once actually using half his brain.
Kurt raised a hand. It was hard to see him in the dark of nighttime, more so with the trees blocking out the stars and the moon, so he stepped forward into a small shaft of light that had managed to slip through the leaves. “You forgot teleporting. It is not as flashy as flight, or invisibility, but it gets you where you are going.”
"Oh dude!" Santo exclaimed, excitedly, upon seeing Kurt, a face he again recognized. "I saw you on Anderson Cooper! Is he really as nice as he sounds on TV? 'Cause he sounds like a really nice guy, and my mom likes to watch his show and talk about how nice he seems and stuff," Santo said, once again taking everyone off track, including himself. Which he realized, when he heard the helicopter again. "B-but yeah, teleporting. Sounds fun. As long as I can eventually talk to my folks. And get all my stuff. Or most of it. My Andre the Giant poster is number one priority. Just sayin'. And maybe I should get some bigger clothes or something." Considering he was dressed in tatters...
"You'll be able to talk to your family as soon as is practicable," Cyclops said. Turning to the resident teleporter, he instructed, "Nightcrawler, your comm is equipped with geo-location. If you need us, just say so, and we will get there."
He turned to Northstar and Aurora and managed to avoid smirking as he said, "We will leave once we are certain the two of them are off, and the house is secure. For once, you can carry me without complaint."
Jeanne-Marie's huge smile for Santo--who seemed quite adorable and should fit in extremely well at the school, she thought--was turned on Scott then. And shifted into a smirk. "That's too bad; it's funnier when you complain."
Jean-Paul's smirk was, unsurprisingly, the mirror image of his twin's. "He's just trying to cover up his deep and persistent attraction to me. But that is fine -- save our fellow mutants, be abused by our fearless leader. All in a day's work for Les X-Quis." And oh, yes, that had been quite deliberate.
"Lay ex what?" Santo grunted, raising an eyebrow. He had no idea what Jean-Paul had just said. He knew enough about Jean-Paul to know it was likely French, though, so at least there was that. "Well, as long as I can talk to my folks and get my stuff, and soon, then we're square, and we can get my rocky butt out of here," Santo said, nodding to Kurt.
“Is that what you are calling yourselves now?” Kurt asked Jean-Paul with an amused arch of an eyebrow. He looked back to Santo, offering out a hand and the warning, “It can be a bumpy ride if you are not used to it.”
"I can handle bumpy, man." Almost as if it were a handshake, Santo reached out, taking the blue guy's hand, and being very careful, considering what he'd just done to a tree just moment before. "And on the way, you should tell me about Anderson Cooper, and if he's as cool as he looks on TV."
Sometimes it's hard to tell when a day went wrong. For Santo Vaccarro, that was somewhere between six and six-thirty PM. Minute-to-minute, Santo hadn't been keeping the score. But what had started off as a tense situation had escalated rapidly. Waving at news cameras and shouting “Hi mom!” seemed to have struck a bad chord with the police. One gunshot led to another, and led to Santo running.
“I just wanna see my dad,” Santo breathed, as he hopped over the guardrail from the Interstate heading out of Boston, onto the snow-covered grass below, landing with a heavy impact. His new stone body didn't seem to want to quit, though, and he was glad for that as he just kept on running. He could still hear sirens in the distance, though they were fading. Maybe the cops weren't going to chase him outside of Boston.
Maybe it was the fact that he'd tossed aside a police cruiser like it was made of paper just before. Nobody had been in it, or even in the path of where he'd thrown it, but still. That's bound to shake some people up. Kind of like getting shot at a lot by scared cops. Which is what started this mess in the first place.
Ignorant of the news chopper flying overhead and recording the whole thing, Santo was bolting towards the wilderness, aware only of the fact that a giant spotlight was on him, and that it wasn't the kind of spotlight he'd been dreaming about. Only thing to do was just to keep on running.
By the time the teenager on screen was deep in the tree line, Cyclops had already messaged Agent, Captain, and Panax. A quick mental calculation on timing led him to add Nightcrawler to his list. It would be too far to drive there fast enough; they needed people on the ground now. He wasn't on the team, but Kurt was a helpful guy, and it kept Cyclops from having to dip into the under-18s.
Given that the teenager in question was currently a sentient rock formation, the people on the ground needed to be heavy hitters. That said, Nightcrawler had limits, so he couldn't take every heavy hitter he had. Another quick calculation, and Cyclops messaged Northstar and Aurora. The three of them could contain the situation long enough for an extraction.
The Senior Team was going into the field.
Once he'd messaged everybody, instructing them to meet him in the War Room, Cyclops went to one of the room's cabinets, where he kept some gear, and began suiting up and assembling comm links for the four of them. He left two out on the table for Agent and Captain, if they needed them.
Hopefully Captain would be able to keep his mouth shut unless necessary, for everyone's safety.
The Beaubier twins arrived within seconds of each other, walking in unintended synch. Even without Scott's message, it wasn't hard to guess what they were being gathered for.
"This should be fun," Northstar remarked, false grin bright on his face. "At last, the first road test for Les X-quis. I assume we're off to handle the small issue of that runaway statuary in Boston?"
"I'm not calling us that," Scott said once again. He tossed each Beaubier an ear piece.
"So come up with something better," Jean-Paul challenged him, moving to get his armor on.
Kurt appeared in the War Room with a characteristic BAMF and swirl of purple-black smoke. “Is this about that boy on the news?” he asked. Scott had said he needed his help and to come to the War Room, but he hadn’t gone into any detail.
Cyclops nodded. "How do you feel about teleporting to near Boston?"
“It should be doable,” Kurt answered as he dug out his phone so he could text Blaine and let him know what was up. “How many people would I be carrying?”
"On the way up? The four of us. Back? It depends." Scott glanced at one of the screens. "If I had to guess his weight, I'd put him at just under 1000 lbs. Could you bring him back from there?"
That was... a lot. “It might take more than one ‘port,” and he’d be exhausted afterwards, “but ja.” There was no question; the boy on the news needed help.
"We'll be there to scoop you up off the ground after, if you need it," Jeanne-Marie reassured him with a smile, once the ear-piece was settled. The 1000 lb boy... possibly not so much. But this mission needed an injection of light--metaphorically speaking for now--and she could do that.
"You wouldn't need to take the three of us back. We can figure out our own way, and I'll have Agent on stand-by for when the two of you arrive," Cyclops assured him. He handed a comm to Nightcrawler. "This should reach you no matter where you have your layovers with him, so we will definitely be in touch. If you need anything on the way back, just say something."
Kurt nodded, “Alright,” and fitted the comm into his ear. There was a thrill of excitement mingled in with the knots of nervousness in his stomach. “For those of you that have never flown Air Nightcrawler before, remember to hold onto your stomachs, ja?” He grinned.
"Oh man," groaned Santo, looking around. He was pretty deep in the woods, but it wouldn't take long for the authorities to find him, if they were really dead set on it. He looked down at his rocky hands, and shook his head. "I don't know if this is really awesome or really awful," he groaned. "Man, where am I gonna go now?" His stony brow twisted in a scowl.
"I just wanted to see my dad!" Santo was used to being able to thump large, inanimate objects when he was angry, and not have them move. The small tree he decided to thump wasn't so lucky, because when he hit it, he knocked it over, its small root clump tearing up from the soil. He hopped back, startled at his own strength.
"Whoa, okay... definitely leaning more towards awesome." He grunted, needlessly, as he set about the task of trying to fix the damage he'd done. Of course, Santo was by no means quiet, and the team, which undoubtedly arrived nearby via teleportation, would likely find him with ease, even in the dark. While Santo could hear the new helicopter overhead, it seemed to be fading into the distance, likely given up since they had lost sight of him.
"Well, at least he made himself easy to track." The comment was light enough to take most of the sting out as Jean-Paul stepped unhurriedly out of the trees, all sleek blue body armor and sharp edges. When making contact with the unknown, best to put the person most adept at getting out of the way up front as a target, right? "So who might you be when you're not prompting manhunts?"
Obviously, Santo had been incredibly surprised by the newcomer, and the tree was swiftly forgotten. His stony visage creased into a frown, but not as sever as one might expect. "Depends on who's asking," Santo said, trying to sound tough and probably failing just a little. And why did that voice sound familiar? If it wasn't so freaking dark, he could get a better look at this guy...
"Jean-Paul Beaubier." The speedster folded his arms over his chest. "And, if you are not planning on uprooting any more of the scenery, my friends and I would like to have a word with you about your...predicament."
"Oh!" Santo's expression lit up, rather than just returning to neutral though. "Oh! Oh shit! Oooohhh shit!" He clapped his hands together in an almost comical, excited fashion. "Jean-Paul?! Seriously?! In the flesh?! Dude! You're like, so awesome!" He began to pat his tattered pants around the pockets. "Can I get your autograph?!" Santo asked.
Helicopters passing overhead underscored the urgency of the moment, so Cyclops was forced to interrupt Jean-Paul's impromptu love-fest. "I'm sure he can give it to you later. We're here to offer you a ride out of here," he told the teen.
Santo's head swiveled toward the other newcomer. "Whoa, funky headpiece," Santo mumbled, before mustering up a proper response. "Well I don't really know who you guys are, even," Santo said, taking a step back. Jean-Paul or no Jean-Paul, Santo didn't exactly trust them. "I mean, what if you guys are like, the bad guys, or something. Or maybe you're with the cops." Though the last part was unlikely.
"We aren't cops," Cyclops promised. "We're mutants, like you. We go to a school for mutants, and we just wanna help you get there. Totally voluntary. If you hate it, you can leave."
"But what about my parents? What about all my stuff?" Santo asked. "I mean, this day's been going like utter crap, and it's also been really freakin' awesome. I just wanted to talk to my dad after... after this awesome thing happened to me! I mean, I'm super strong now, I'm super tough! It's great! I mean, I always wanted to be like Andre the Giant, and now I'm just as big as he is! I think. I'm like his size, right?" he asked, looking to Jean-Paul for confirmation, as if maybe he'd know.
"I think the matter of your dimensions and your belongings can wait until after we're past the point of pursuit, non?" Jean-Paul glanced up. The helicopter hadn't caught sight of them through the tree cover yet, but the sound of it was enough to make him uneasy. "We can contact your parents once you're safe." He glanced over his shoulder to Jeanne-Marie in hopeful appeal. Maybe she could make the whole businesses sound more attractive?
She stepped up beside her brother, rather than lingering behind him and Scott for the moment. "I know it isn't easy to trust us right now, but you know we're like you. We'll take you to safety, and I promise, things will be sorted out from there.
"Something--similar happened to me, once, and I needed a--ah, a lift out, too." She smiled sweetly. Admittedly, she was rescued from the actual police station, but it still counted as a rescue.
Santo raised one rocky eyebrow, and then cracked a grin. "Well, I never could say no to a pretty lady," he said, not nearly as suave as he thought he was being, but it was whatever. "Well, unless you guys are like, super strong and can fly, or like, can turn me invisible or something, they're probably going to spot us on our way to... wherever," Santo said, for once actually using half his brain.
Kurt raised a hand. It was hard to see him in the dark of nighttime, more so with the trees blocking out the stars and the moon, so he stepped forward into a small shaft of light that had managed to slip through the leaves. “You forgot teleporting. It is not as flashy as flight, or invisibility, but it gets you where you are going.”
"Oh dude!" Santo exclaimed, excitedly, upon seeing Kurt, a face he again recognized. "I saw you on Anderson Cooper! Is he really as nice as he sounds on TV? 'Cause he sounds like a really nice guy, and my mom likes to watch his show and talk about how nice he seems and stuff," Santo said, once again taking everyone off track, including himself. Which he realized, when he heard the helicopter again. "B-but yeah, teleporting. Sounds fun. As long as I can eventually talk to my folks. And get all my stuff. Or most of it. My Andre the Giant poster is number one priority. Just sayin'. And maybe I should get some bigger clothes or something." Considering he was dressed in tatters...
"You'll be able to talk to your family as soon as is practicable," Cyclops said. Turning to the resident teleporter, he instructed, "Nightcrawler, your comm is equipped with geo-location. If you need us, just say so, and we will get there."
He turned to Northstar and Aurora and managed to avoid smirking as he said, "We will leave once we are certain the two of them are off, and the house is secure. For once, you can carry me without complaint."
Jeanne-Marie's huge smile for Santo--who seemed quite adorable and should fit in extremely well at the school, she thought--was turned on Scott then. And shifted into a smirk. "That's too bad; it's funnier when you complain."
Jean-Paul's smirk was, unsurprisingly, the mirror image of his twin's. "He's just trying to cover up his deep and persistent attraction to me. But that is fine -- save our fellow mutants, be abused by our fearless leader. All in a day's work for Les X-Quis." And oh, yes, that had been quite deliberate.
"Lay ex what?" Santo grunted, raising an eyebrow. He had no idea what Jean-Paul had just said. He knew enough about Jean-Paul to know it was likely French, though, so at least there was that. "Well, as long as I can talk to my folks and get my stuff, and soon, then we're square, and we can get my rocky butt out of here," Santo said, nodding to Kurt.
“Is that what you are calling yourselves now?” Kurt asked Jean-Paul with an amused arch of an eyebrow. He looked back to Santo, offering out a hand and the warning, “It can be a bumpy ride if you are not used to it.”
"I can handle bumpy, man." Almost as if it were a handshake, Santo reached out, taking the blue guy's hand, and being very careful, considering what he'd just done to a tree just moment before. "And on the way, you should tell me about Anderson Cooper, and if he's as cool as he looks on TV."
