Volunteers Only

Posted on Sun Mar 6th, 2022 @ 6:02pm by Charles Xavier & Connor Bruin & Cameron Hood & Jade Farwynd & Elias Buckley & Margo Stone & Tammy Thompson & Bliss Hawkins & Levi Rousseau & Elizabeth Villar

3,992 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 2: Northern X-Posure
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: August 2nd, 1990

After Special Agent Fred Duncan left the Mansion, there was no time to waste. Professor Xavier immediately summoned the team.

~X-Men~ he telepathically projected, not without some grief for the missing First Class. ~To the War Room~

The uploaded recording from the cassette tape which Fred left behind was already underway. By the time Xavier reached the War Room in the second subbasement, it should be ready for display in the main computer. This would sort of story was always a hard one to tell. Some of his new class of students were little more than children, but they were training to be more. If they were to make a difference in this world, Xavier would have to treat them like young adults sooner or later. It seemed sooner had come.

Rather than take the hidden high-speed transit tube in his office, Professor Xavier opted to exit the traditional way through the double oaken doors. The main elevator in the front hall would suffice, and give him time to collect his composure and find the words to share the information at hand.

When the professor arrived he , of course found Surge already there. With her powers she could move at the speed of light so she was almost always the first to arrive. "Hi Professor. You rang?" she said.

A blue and white blur shot past the two already there and Katy appeared in a chair . She blinked at the student already there, one she hadn't met before. One that had gotten there before her. Was she another speedster or like Levi? She didn't know. "Reporting as requested, Prof," she said and gave a little wave.

Levi had been at the mansion just over a week and was already growing more confident with his powers. He could now hover and maneuver in mid-air with much more precision and without having to conjur a literal wind storm. He'd found himself on the far end of the lawn when he'd heard the professor's summons and immediately flew off toward the nearest access door. He joined the assembling group in the war room a few minutes later and met everyone's gazes with a nervous "Hello..." before moving in and finding a spot.

Having the means to travel relatively instantaneously didn't always mean you moved faster than the rest, and Elias was in no particular rush to leap to the instructions of the man putting orders directly into his head. So, without any use of his powers whatsover, the teen ambled leisurely through the mansion and took up a position leaning on the war room's doorframe. He cast his gaze sourly over the others gathered, lingering a little on Surge then meeting Katy's eyes. "You know this one?" He asked her, thumb jabbed in Surge's direction.

Katy shook her head. "No clue, but we didn't know each other until I helped rescue you not long ago," she pointed out. "We're all new to each other."

A not unfriendly smirk graced the boy's features and Elias nodded. "Helped rescue you a little bit too," he noted, then shrugged. She had a fair point. They were all newbies here.

"Hey folks." Cameron greeted as he walked in. "Professor." The Englishman nodded to the leader before walking to his customary chair.

"Ahem! 'This one' has a name. You can call me Surge. I can turn into energy!" She said feeling a little offended by the 'This one' remark.

"Cool," Elias noted, his tone steady and sounding mildly intrigued as he gave 'Surge' a slow visual twice-over. He looked about to say something else, but then his head turned and he stepped out of the way as someone else approached.

Bliss walked through the door and headed towards a seat next to Cameron. She had not been the same since the last mission. The loss of her friend had weighed heavily on her. She had devoted herself to training tirelessly since what she considered a failure on the part of the team. Yes they had rescued someone, but it had come at a price. That kind of price they couldn't afford to pay. The young woman code named Escapade was looking to get some payback, even if it wasn't on the organization that had caused her grief. Whoever it was, it would be a good start.

She ignored the nonsense with the annoyed banter. She sat next to Cameron and nodded towards him and the professor.
She felt like she was a weapon, and all she needed was a target.

Jade walked in next, a cup of coffee in hand, "g'day all. Sorry I'm late." She said, giving everyone a nod as she passed and took a seat next to Bliss and Cameron.

Leaning against the wall and taking in the everchanging room as everyone gathered, Elias simply noted the way the teens and elders interacted and kept his own counsel for the moment. It was interesting to see how they all played off each other, or didn't, and he didn't feel like doing the meet-and-greet when others were better at it. They gave away a lot of information as far as he was concerned, though that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Got an actual name, Surge?" Katy asked. "I'm Katy, aka Leadfoot."

"Hi Jade!" Tammy said. "Ok Katy, I'm Tammy. Tammy Dolly Thompson is my full name. Late of Corrales new Mexico."

"Hi, Tammy. Hi Katy." Jade returned.

"Nice to meetcha, Tammy," Katy said and gave Jade a smile. "I'm from New York City," she said, her accent strong.

"You too Katy" she gladly shook Katy's hand.

Katy shook the offered hand and then pulled out a newer model CD player and untangled some headphones from a fanny pack. "These things need speakers," she muttered. "Anyone got a talent for making music louder?"

Bliss cleared her throat before speaking.
"Let's worry about your speaker quality after the professor tells us why he's called us here. If you're not interested, please step out."

As the other students filed into the room, Myfawny slowly entered, keeping her eyes mostly downward to avoid making eye contact. The recent malfunction of her 'powers' had been very concerning to her. Her Astral self was always what she escaped to when life became too stressful. Now she was possibly in danger when she used it. She felt broken. Her hands inside her faded hoodie, she moved to the side of the room and leaned against the wall.

She had no idea why the professor had wanted her here, at least it wasnt another trip into the MRI machine. The other students looked so much more together than she felt, they were strong and confident. She was a thin wiry skeleton of a girl with badly bleached hair and too much mascara around her eyes. What was she doing here? she thought.

At that moment, Connor flipped into the room in a series of handsprings which ended in a roundoff from the center table and allowed him to bounce into the wall. He clung there from a sconce and hawkishly stared at the rest of the room as if they were the weird ones.

Elias looked up to the boy on the wall and gave him a round of muted applause.

The last to walk in was Margo Stone wearing a pair of short shorts, a sports bra, and running shoes. Her breathing was heavy as she had clearly been working out, yet her shapely and toned form moved smoothly and seamlessly toward the table. She took up position next to Katy and offered a grin.

"Thank you all for coming," the Professor said at last. He had kept his peace while everyone bantered with one another, forgoing even simple greetings. "Connor, you need not sit, but please join the others at the table."

Connor jumped down and took a place at the table as requested, but he pressed his fingers against the corners of his eyes as his crooked stare fell to Xavier alone. Elias followed suit, not waiting to be asked, and took a seat alongside Katy.

"As explained in the tours given to most of you, this is the War Room," began the Professor. "It is here that we review sensitive material and determine a course of action with regards to disaster relief, search and rescue, and other such noble deeds such as only the X-Men can perform." Looking around at them all, he said emphatically, "We are not the Army. We have no mandate to execute the law or bring anyone to justice. We are but free men and women who uphold that cause of freedom and ensure its flame burns brighter for our efforts."

Xavier took a breath and decided to get on with it. Most of these young adults were teenagers. Gilding the lily would be counterproductive.

"With that being said, I have something to show you. Please watch carefully."

The large War Room display screen began to play the same video which Xavier had uploaded to the server moments ago--the video Special Agent Fred Duncan had delivered to him.

Highlights from the video showed a young man walking through a rainy urban environment. He was accosted by armed thugs, though they soon proved to be mutants. A brutal fight ensued whose victor was uncertain.

"What you have witnessed," Xavier said once the video clip had ended, "was the latest in a string of abductions spanning the past several months. Beginning in the New England area, mutant youths have been abducted or reported missing clear to the Pacific Northwest which is where this video was taken. Our one and only lead is the Maggia, a syndicate of organized crime which spans half the world, is likely involved in some way."

Responding to Xavier's input, the display changed to entries from Cerebro. "The X-Men last had dealings with the Nefaria Family in New York City. After its head, Count Nefaria, had our Stratojet shot down, we were able to bring him to justice. It is unknown who the new capo is at this time, but they remain the dominant Maggia element along the eastern seaboard and North America itself."

At that, the display clicked off, leaving Professor Xavier's solemn face as the center of attention.

"The authorities have hit dead ends, but we have means they do not." Looking around at them, Xavier felt his stomach tighten at what he was about to ask them to do. "If the Maggia are abducting mutant youths, then the X-Men can infiltrate their trafficking ring and ascertain the whereabouts of their victims. Make no mistake: this is an incredibly dangerous assignment. Anyone who goes undercover will do so voluntarily and under the watchful eye of myself and shadow teams who will stand by to render aid at a moment's notice."

Pausing for effect, the Professor asked, "I will accept volunteers at this time."

Escapade barely hesitated to lift her hand with a grim expression. She had survived worse in her time. If you put herself on the line for this mission, that meant somebody else didn't have to risk not coming back. Push comes to shove, she reasoned, she would ruin the plans of anybody who thought they could use her without paying a price.
"Hopefully we don't need more than me."

"Well, whoever we rescue will need medical attention." Jade said with a sigh, "so me too."

Katy watched the video and frowned at the scene of mutant fighting mutant; there seemed to be a lot of that and by the scenes being played out, someone was hunting them. "I'm in," she said.

"You gals have a lot of guts to volunteer. I admire that! Professor, I can help keep an eye on them. I can be invisible and intangible. They won't know I'm there. I hope. No guarantees but I figure I'm the best bet to keep tabs on them besides you of course." Tammy said.

The Professor said nothing at first. He simply sat there and took in the bravery of his students. It felt too much to ask for anyone else to step up, and yet he waited for just that. The more volunteers there were--the larger the risk--the greater their chance for success.

Levi watched quietly. Though he'd physically recovered from his own abduction, the memories were still fresh and raw. Memories and complicated feelings of fear and guilt were pushed aside. "I'll... I'll do whatever you need, wherever the team thinks is best," he offered, breaking the moment of silence.

Dark brown eyes regarded those around the table in turn as the idiots volunteered keenly to be lambs for the slaughter. With, Elias considered, not much information on the meat grinder they were willing throwing themselves into. He gave Katy's shoulder a light punch and shook his head, then turned his gaze on the Professor. "We have no idea what's happening to these mutants, right?" He asked. "No one's tuned up dead yet?" There followed a lazy shrug, but his hand remained on Katy's shoulder. "Much as I'm real keen to get experimented on... I think some of us would be more useful on the shadow side..."

Cameron turned to look at Levi and shook his head. "You're staying with the outside team." Cameron turned his eyes to the Professor, almost challenging him on the decision of Levi's assignment. After a moment he said, "I'll join the kidnap team too, my powers should help make escape a lot easier."

"What outside?" Katy asked Cameron. "There isn't an inside or outside on this and it doesn't look like a rescue mission where we can just waltz in and out like our last one. This is a trafficking ring for mutants and we'll be undercover."

"There's the team that gets kidnapped. Then there's a shadow team that isn't getting kidnapped. We both," Cameron gestured at Katy, "Are volunteering for the former, while Levi will be on the latter."

“My abilities would make me a great fit for this mission, Professor.” Margo said, leaning in on the table. “I want in on team one.”

Levi's ears burned red as Cameron pointed him out specifically. He didn't disagree, though. He was just slightly embarrassed by all of it. Nevertheless, he spoke up again, "We have to assume they have some way to neutralize mutant powers, otherwise how would they be able to move so many? Maybe we shouldn't put the most powerful on the... uh.. 'inside'.. and probably safe to assume they won't be able to exit without help."

"I. DO. NOT. VOLUNTEER. TO. BE. TRAFFICKED," interjected Connor via his speech-generating device.

"Yes, you have already expressed as much to me, Connor," said Professor Xavier with a sigh. Evidently, they had maintained a silent telepathic exchange which he did not wish to become verbal. "While I appreciate everyone's bravery, I must point out that there is no guarantee of anything. All we can do is place volunteers into the last known whereabouts of known or suspected abductions and see who gets taken. Anyone who is not taken will join the backup team by default." The look he gave Connor conveyed a mutual agreement where he would assist where possible. "It is that level of unknown, I will confess, which concerns me most." Looking around at his students with bittersweet pride and remorse, the Professor said, "Should anyone wish to change their mind, I ask that you speak up now. Past this point, your friends will be depending on you to stay the course, whether as a victim or a rescuer."

Myfawny silently watched and listened as the other students expressed their interests or reservations. She looked up at the Professor and silently mouthed 'send me'. She was not sure of anything with tactics or missions or whatever they were talking about. She knew she was as easy of a target for abduction as anyone could get. She considered if her Astral self might be able to be abducted leaving her safely in a locked room somewhere, but she didn't have control to stay manifest for more than a couple hours. Most importantly, she had nothing to lose. She had no family to go home to, no friends that would miss her. She didn't really matter to anyone, so shy shouldn't she be the bait to catch kidnappers. "... I can go... of like do... whatever you need me to," she spoke out softly.

"I don't think you lot understand the gravity of the situation if you get captured." Jade said with a sigh as she took another sip. "If they have the ability to cut off our powers, we're stuffed if we don't work together and if we don't have any street/combat skills. Not to mention the fact that we might get tortured. You don't just recover from stuff like that. Be sure you understand that this will change you, me and all of us, not to mention anyone we find. This isn't a bashup with Magneto's lot. This is next level."

"How do you plan to track whoever gets grabbed?" Elias asked, indirectly supporting Jade's sentiment that this was a serious situation to be wandering blindly into. He looked to the Professor. "Have you been able to track anyone who's already been taken?"

"Professor X is the world's greatest telepath," Katy said before she looked at the bald man. "Right?"

"But he's asking for volunteers to test his limits?" Countered Elias with an even tone.

That made Tammy mad! She stood up, hands on her hips and spoke her mind. "Listen Buddy boy! That sounded downright disrespectful~ This ain't about the Professor testing his limits! It's about saving lives. We are trying to find and rescue all the innocent people who have been abducted and stopping them from taking any more! That's what this is about! I support Professor Xavier 100%! Now if you don't want to volunteer, that's fine but don't go thinking this is something it's not!"

"We know the risks! and everyone who volunteered did so because they want to help. I say god bless them! They all have guts out the wazoo as we say in New Mexico! This aunt about the professor testing his limits! This is about saving lives! Period! End of story!" He said what eh said in an even tone but the words still seem accusatory!

Jade visibly rolled her eyes, at Tammy's words. She also wondered if she was every that young and idealistic or if it was beaten out of her by treatment of the normals.

"Let's keep our focus on the matter at hand, eh?" She said to everyone. "It's not the Prof's reach it's how we are going to do this."

He didn't miss that overt eye-roll from the stunning redhead, but for once Elias wasn't after picking a fight with his fellow muties. There were plenty of those in their immediate futures. So, with a calm voice refreshingly devoid of sarcasm, he regarded Tammy with a steady gaze and spoke back to her outburst.

"I ain't your buddy-boy, Radio Ga-Ga," Elias clarified for starters, then added, with a direct brevity. "And this absolutely is about testing his limits," the teen said. "We have no idea how they're keeping mutants captive. If you lose your powers how brave will your gusty team be? How will you be located? How will you get out?" His gaze had shifted now to the Professor. "I'll do whatever I can to exfil your band of idiots," Elias clarified. "But if none of us have our powers, what's Plan B?"

This wasn't the Professor's first rodeo, and he knew better than to suppress the robust debate of spirited adolescents. Nary a mission got executed that wasn't preceded by harsh words and passionate exchanges that were soon mended in the act of teamwork. Still, without any seasoned members of the team intimate with the X-Men's way of doing things, it was incumbent upon Xavier to fill in the gaps.

"Elias does pose relevant questions," the Professor conceded, "though I appreciate Tammy's confidence. So far as we know, the evidence suggests the abductions have been performed by conventional means of traditional kidnappings. Should you not put up too much of a fight, it's unlikely any immediate harm will come to you. It's further unlikely that a Maggia family group has any means to nullify mutant abilities, which means some form of restraints or sedatives are to be expected. This is why this mission is volunteers only."

At that, Xavier depressed a switch. A helmet descended from the ceiling overhead, suspended by a metallic coil or hose with overlapping segments that would allow for ease of motion as well as extension. Holding it up to all, he said, "Allow me to show you Cerebro. It is through this interface that I can access a supercomputer which contains my private database for observing world events and tracking individuals. With few exceptions, I can monitor virtually anybody in the world in real-time. Even if someone manages to shield you from my sight, I can still track them and direct rescuers to your location should the need arise."

Placing it upon his head, Xavier smiled at his students and projected a thought into each of their minds.

~I will be proud of each of you no matter what you choose~

"I'm with you all the way, Professor!! I figure I can zip to any location ASAP! If they have any tech that can suppress powers, I feel pretty confident I can short circuit it and fee everybody! Be nice if we had some honest to goodness muscle though!" tammy said

"I'm still going. I do appreciate Elias being on stand-by to grabbing us out." Cameron nodded to the young man. "I'm trained for these kinds of missions, and half of my powerset is my memory. That can't be suppressed. I'll try my best to keep any of you still going with us alive if it comes to that."

He winced at Tammy's naive (in his opinion) viewpoint and words, but Elias didn't bother to counter it. He'd said his piece, rest was up to the grown-ups now. Cameron got a 'universal okay' via a circle of thumb and index finger, and Elias offered a silent nod. He'd be their rescue, no issue, but unless the bad guys chose him, Elias had no plans to volunteer for the 'helpless victim' role.

Jade nodded, "like I said before, there will be a need for medical attention, so that counts me in."

"I'm in," Katy said. She didn't want to be one of the ones captured, but she felt the need to help out.

"Then it is settled." The Professor looked very solemn, speaking with a voice fraught with repressed emotion. "I will review the last known whereabouts of the missing cases and determine--"

"I. WILL. HELP."

Xavier closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes, Connor, as agreed." When opening his eyes, the Professor looked as though he had aged a few years in mere seconds. "With the assistance of Connor, the last known whereabouts of the missing mutants will be reviewed in order to determine where the most likely areas with the highest probability of abduction will be. Everyone who has volunteered should go now and prepare: take upon traveling attire you do not wish to keep, secure your valuables and personal effects in your personal lockers down here in the training area, and do not wash yourselves. Vagabonds and runaways are generally unkempt."

While it was standard fare for investigative teams going undercover, Xavier nonetheless felt a little unusual giving such instructions to children. But they weren't children. The moment he had elected to treat them as young adults, that is precisely what they were.

"Any questions?"

There were none.

"Then I bid you Godspeed, my X-Men."

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