Convergence

Posted on Sat Nov 19th, 2022 @ 1:53pm by Scott Summers & Patrick Manco & Elizabeth Villar & Shinobi Shaw

2,834 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 2: Northern X-Posure
Location: Black Site | Northern Hemisphere
Timeline: August 6th, 1990

The last thing Scott recalled, he had been fighting for the lives of himself and Myfanwy against seemingly sentient vines in a crater he'd formed with optic blasts in order to slow their freefall from a moving truck sent hurtling through the air by Magneto. All in all, it wasn't the weirdest day he had lived. Instinct taught him not to open his eyes until he had some sort of protective eyewear in place. It was his attempt to retrieve his visor or sunglasses that first alerted him to being restrained. He sighed.

"Myfanwy..." he whispered as loud as he dared. "Myfanwy, can you hear me?"

Floating nearby the consciousness of the young girl watched as her body slept, probably doing better than the others. Still she knew she should wake herself and respond. She lowered herself back onto her body when she noticed the bright glowing auras of other mutants in the room and just outside. She kept to floating for the moment.

"Ohhhhh," moaned Jace as he slowly woke up from the sleeping gas. "Stop screaming." He was just...there. He was still waking up and still trying to gather his senses. "This feels way too familiar." He blinked his eyes several times, but it still wasn't easy adjusting to lighting. Or lack thereof? He couldn't really tell. "Brain...still foggy. Brain...heh...brain. Wendigo brain." The thought of the squishy, bloody, tissue covered brain making a wet splat sound on the floor when he dropped it caused the same reaction as before. But this time he didn't hold back. Jace vomited all over the floor.

"What?" Cyclops asked, eyes still closed. "Who said that? What is a Wendigo?"

"You don't want to know," said Maestro as he started coming around. "X-Man."

Cyclops flinched at the double disadvantage of not being able to open his eyes or see who had just identified him. "X-Man?"

"Don't be coy," said Maestro with a playful sneer. "Everyone knows the X-Men. Figures you went and got yourself caught in here."

"Since you're so smart," Cyclops retorted, "maybe tell me where my visor is."

"Beats me," said Maestro. "Looks like you're at our mercy."

Rather than reply to him, Cyclops turned his attention back to the younger teammate who was in his care. "Myfanwy? Can you hear me? Are you here?"

"If you're talking to the girl, she's still asleep," Maestro said. "Has been for hours."

Myfawny's astral self mouthed back the words that she was listening to Professor Summers, but no sound came out. She could drop into a more solid form of her Astral self and likely communicate, but she knew . She drifted around the cell and the adjoining rooms looking for professor Summer's visor. IF she could find it, at least that might help somewhat when she became incarnate.

Cyclops grit his teeth and sighed in frustration. "Alright, then. Someone tell me where we are. Describe our surroundings and be specific. Where are we?"

Jace had come around as he was listening to the conversation. X-Men? Maestro was right, everyone knew who the X-Men were...even on the streets. Some considered them heroes for mutant-kind. But no X-Man had ever done anything herioc for Jace. "Well, I'd say it's a giant pickle. But you probably don't mean metaphorically. Um, a metal container best as I can tell. It's dark." Whether it was completely so or not, the X-Man in front of them had his eyes closed. Trust issues and all. Jace then phased out of his shackles, but stayed seated. "So I guess it kinda is a pickle. Go figure."

There was always a funny guy. Cyclops shook his head in frustration. Since his eyes were closed, he didn't see Jace phase out of his shackles. "Pickle. Got it. Anything else?"

"Like I said, dark. Lots of metal around...chains...shackles...oh, and a smell. A foul, dank-ass smell," said Jace. "Not sure if it's from people or pests using it as a toilet." Come to think of it, he couldn't remember a smell like this in the container he was being transported in. Not good. "Be careful where you step, I guess."

"I am restrained and I can't see," said Scott, "so the odds of waling around right now are slim."

Patrick let out a chuckle. "Then best of luck to you, X-Man." His own shackles fell loose. "Enjoy your deadweight."

While his eyes were closed, Scott's ears were not. He could hear the sounds of freedom. "You're free? Help us. We can work together."

"Ha! You can't see and your friend is dead to the world." Maestro's smugness turned malicious. "I think you're better served here where you can't slow us down."

"Hang on," said Jace as he stood and walked towards the other two. "We can't just leave 'em here like this," he said, gesturing towards them with his hand. "He's blind and she's...dead or something. Granted no X-Man ever did anything for me, living on the streets. But they're still mutants that need at least a little help. Set 'em free, get 'em out the door, then leave 'em."

Patrick sneered at him. "There's no telling how many mutants are here, and the people who run this place are not keen on letting any of us live. I got friends waiting for me. If you want to stick around and get killed, then it's your funeral."

Eyes closed and ears open, Scott visibly pricked as he heard Patrick's words. "Magneto will betray you one day," he said, taking a shot in the dark. "Leave you high and dry, just like you're doing to us now."

"Shut up, X-Man!" Maestro's eyes and nostrils flared in sudden anger. "You broke faith with Magneto on your last meeting, not him!"

That was technically true. Cyclops had heard part of Magneto's statement and believed it to be a confession of Jean and the rest of the First Class going missing. The misunderstanding had led to an ugly battle across the X-Mansion grounds. "I'm not proud of my every decision, but I am not a terrorist like he is."

"Terrorist!" Patrick scoffed at the word. "You sound like one of them. A human. Die with them for all I care." He looked at Jace. "Are you coming or not?"

Right...Magneto...Brotherhood, he thought to himself. He'd never had any 'allegiances' living on the street. And he wasn't sure if he wanted one now that was known by that word. But Maestro had helped him escape the container and the Wendigo. On the other hand, they'd never really escaped the container. And he was the one who'd pulled the Wendigo's brain from it's head.

"Alright!" he yelled. More to the debating voices in his head than to the others. "Alright. Go ahead Maestro, meet your friends. Do what you need to do and I'll do what I need to do. May not be able to save all the mutants here, but at least I can try to get Blind Guy and Dead Girl out of here."

"Fine. Die for nothing. It's your life. Or was." Patrick was borderline petulant, but he left the others to their fates all the same.

"Like mentor, like student," Scott said glibly. "Thanks... I didn't get your name."

"Don't thank me yet. I don't have any ideas for a way out of here. Name's Jason, go by Jace, people on the street call me Flux," he said. "I bet you're not Blind Guy, either."

Scott smiled blindly. "You know I'm an X-Man. My field name is Cyclops and my friend is Myfanwy. Good to meet you, Jace. How did you get free?"

"Ohhh, that X-Man. No wonder you keep your eyes closed," said Jace. "Anyway, I got out by just walking out of the shackles. That's where the name Flux came from, I can change my density. I decreased it and ghosted through them."

"That would do it," Cyclops said. "Do you see my visor anywhere? It's made of ruby-quartz. Same as my glasses if you see them."

"Well, I don't see any kind of a visor." Flux walked around and kicked at some of the debris, dirt, and...well...crap on the floor. "If there's red glasses in here, they're going to be covered in all kinds of crap." He stopped for a minute and turned to face Cyclops even though he knew he couldn't see him. "Sometimes I wonder how I get myself into these situations. Anyway, did you have the glasses on you?”

"Yep, I did," said Scott. "But if they aren't nearby, then you will need to be my eyes. Can you phase us out?"

A shimmering glow appeared around the figure of a young woman with flowing silver hair. "Geez, like I didnt think those guys would ever leave." Myfawny's astral projection stated. "Professor Summers, your visor is in the guard office about twenty five feet to the right out the main door. I could really use some help getting out of the bonds they have me secured in. Thanks." the projection stated.

Jace jumped at the sudden appearance of the ghost. A theme started playing in his head as he said, "Who ya gonna call?" Then directing his attention back to Cyclops, "Oh I'll find them. They probably fell out when you were tossed in here...right before they strung you up. Might be over by the door." He walked over and began kicking around the dirt and muck. "I can't phase you out, though. I'm not strong enough to phase other people...if it's even possible. I can't even hold the intangibility for long periods of time. I'm better at the high-density. Might be able to bust up the walls where the doors are attached and knock 'em over." He heard a slight crack and leaned down to pick them up. "Uh, I found your glasses. But I broke one of the arms."

"I'll tie them around my head," Scott said. "Just slide them on so I can see."

Jace picked up the glasses and carried them over to Cyclops. He gently put them on the X-Man's face. "There ya go."

With his glasses held in place, Scott opened his eyes at last to take in the sleeping Myfanwy, her walking ethereal counterpart, and Jace, all tinged in the familiar crimson hue with which he viewed the world. He realized he was lacking anything to affix his glasses to his head. So much for that plan. It looked like he would simply have to keep one hand up to hold them in place.

"I'm going to level with everyone," he said. "I have no idea where we are. But, if we can get to the guard station Myfanwy mentioned, then maybe we can get the lay of the land."

"We're probably underneath that arena they had me and Maestro in for show. Or somewhere close-by maybe. I bet they wanna show us off to the highest bidder or something," said Jace. "Would it help if I told you I could remember some names from when we first tried to escape after we were captured?"

Scott just shrugged. "Maybe? If we're going to get out of here, we need as much info as possible and there's no telling what could be important."

"Well, let's see. There was a Heather, a James - that's the one Heather screamed at for help - and some dude named Sherman...Seamus...Shaman! That was it."

The two first names were no help, but Shaman piqued Scott's interest. "Shaman? These people clearly have access to technology and resources on a grand scale, yet they're employing a magical person. That is unusual."

Jace shrugged. "This whole thing is unusual. Life on the streets was a helluva lot more simpler than this. And if I can get back to Seattle, it'll all be back to normal. So, technology and magicians, let's hope neither of them are anywhere near the outside of that cell."

At that moment, though, a woman's voice was heard outside the door. After a terse exchange that ended with a muted thud, the door opened to reveal a strawberry blonde woman in a white lab coat. Her bespectacled face widened in fear when she saw the mutants were free of their bonds.

"Oh, no!" she gasped, hand held out in a plea of desperation. "Don't hurt me! My name is Dr. Heather Hudson! I came to help you!"

Jace was about to jump at the one who'd entered, but stopped dead in his tracks. "Heather." There was no way...no way it could be. But there was only one way to find out. "The word 'help' has been loosely defined lately. Like you were there to 'help' when I first tried to escape? Ya know, when that flying suit of armor levitated me? 'Help' like that?"

"That was my husband," Heather said. "Believe it or not, he was trying to protect you. The program started small, but now they're bringing in people by the truckloads and... and I can't go along with it anymore. People are dying."

"What program?" asked Scott. "Who is stealing mutants?"

Taking a deep inhalation, Heather overcame her reluctance to speak. Her conscience demanded she end her silence. "What I'm about to say next is treason. Please understand that. Department H is a classified agency within my government. My husband and I were leaders of Alpha Flight, a secret team of extraordinary individuals dedicated to protecting Canadian interests. But... the guards you saw were from Epsilon Black and they answer only to the director--not even I know his name!"

"Okay, so this Director X is kidnapping humans for the Canadian government and... what? Experimenting on them?" Cyclops asked.

Heather shook her head. "No, battle testing. Department H wants to understand the mutant epidemic in order to better counteract it and--" She paused, realizing she was describing everyone in that room--people she was risking everything in order to save--as a disease. "Forgive me. Department H seeks to understand mutants in order to contain them for purposes of law enforcement. Those who survive testing are usually conscripted."

"A lot of governments seem to be doing that these days," Scott quipped. "Why help us?"

"Because it's wrong!" Heather exclaimed, her eyes afire with righteous indignation. "And I can't stand by any longer. Now do you want to get out of here or don't you?"

Scott gave a sidelong glance to the others, his question plain on his face. Could they trust her?

Jace looked at Scott. "Well Cy, I'm not big on trusting somebody that already captured me once and put me in a death match. But I do want out. Hostage?"

"We don't do hostages," Cyclops said with a firm shake of his head.

Jace shrugged. "Well, the cell door is open. I still don't trust her, but maybe she can get us by any more guards."

"That was my plan," Heather insisted. "It would be easier if I did not appear under compulsion."

"Well, let's roll," said Jace. He looked back at Cyclops. "Are we gonna have to carry her out or can she join us in the land of the living?"

The question made Cyclops grimace. Myfanwy was more useful in her current state, but she was also immobile. It was time for the doctor to show her true quality. "If you really want to help us, Doctor, then we need assistance with our friend here."

Heather assessed the sleeping girl and nodded. "That's just as well. I was going to fake a medical emergency with the stretcher down the hall. She can be the 'patient'."

Giving one last glance at everyone, Cyclops made an executive decision and nodded in return. "Go and get it. We'll get her on it."

As the doctor left, Cyclops turned to the other two. "We let this ride. If she leads us into a trap, we won't be any worse off than we are here. But if she is telling the truth, then we just might be able to walk out of here."

Jace nodded. "I'm game. Walking's good for the circulation. Or so they say."

Back with the stretcher at hand, Heather nodded toward Myfawny's unconscious form. "Load her up. We don't have much time."

Nodding toward Jace, it was a little awkward for Scott to lift Myfanwy with one hand while holding his broken glasses in place with the other. Working together, though, it was easily done.

"Here." Heather tossed Flux and Cyclops two white coats. "Won't hold up under scrutiny but hopefully it will keep anyone from looking twice." She gestured toward the gurney. "Take either end and follow me. Don't say anything, even when spoken to. I'm in charge, so let me do the talking. Let's go."

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