The Great Raid
Posted on Sun Apr 30th, 2023 @ 11:51am by Charles Xavier & Connor Bruin & Iris Walker & Cameron Hood & Elias Buckley & Tammy Thompson & Levi Rousseau & Ethan Hale
3,491 words; about a 17 minute read
Mission:
Episode 2: Northern X-Posure
Location: Canadian wilderness
Timeline: August 6th, 1990
Twilight spliced the evening sky in brilliant hues as the setting sun slowly gave way to dusk. The Blackbird jetted through clouds as it dropped from its cruising altitude to below the radar. By the time the Blackbird made its final descent, visibility was all but gone.
"Remember," said the Professor through the onboard AV display as autopilot disengaged and control was returned to Iris in the pilot's seat. "No alarms have been raised, but Magneto or his Acolytes may still be in the area. The Blackbird will have to set down several miles away from the compound so as not to be spotted."
Xavier's face was replaced by a blinking dot on the GPS grid which indicated the landing zone was approximately 50 miles to the southwest. Evidently, the Blackbird had flown a long way west before cutting north.
"From there, Fable will teleport everyone into their various positions," the Professor continued, though the GPS grid was overlaid with satellite telemetry. A bird's eye view of the compound showed remarkably few structures. Much of it was underground. "On my signal, the intrusion will begin from multiple flanks. The first objective will be to access and disable the main broadcast tower." The overhead view shifted to a ground-level photograph of a multi-story building with a humongous satellite dish near the center of the compound. "Somehow they are jamming Cerebro. With the broadcast tower down, their communications will be disrupted along with the telepathic jamming and I should be able to pinpoint the exact location of our friends. Aerial teammates should provide air support for anyone on the ground, but I will leave the finer strategy for you all to determine once you have an assessment of the situation on the ground. Trust each other and work together. Above all, be careful, my X-Men."
Connor and Cameron had prepared a battle plan, but Connor gave a nonverbal nod for Cameron to give positional assignments.
"Infiltration team, Caveman, Hoodwink, Fable, Dustdevil, and Surge." Cameron's eyes turned to the last woman named. "You can create utter silence, use that to cover the team, but cut it when you can't avoid the fight. Coat them in silence so they can't communicate." His eyes then continued in reverse order. "Levi, you're the quick fighter. Instead of punching, try pulling the air they breathe away. It'll take anywhere from five to fifteen seconds to knock someone out. It's quiet and effective." His eyes turned to the team teleporter. "Elias, you're exfil first, fighter last in this mission, for both the team and our targets. Get the non-combatants out first if you have to do two trips. Hoodwink is the team scout, but if the team gets into a fight I want you to peel off and keep searching. Connor has the pleasure of being both brains and brawn. He'll kick ass, but his primary task is to get around any technological issues."
Two thumps against the cockpit were Connor's reply. He gave no other signal as if the two gestures were clear as crystal that no one could possibly mistake in meaning.
Cameron held his hand up when he saw the first questions starting to form and continued. "Surge, I also want you to try and monitor the radio channels. Connor and I both have radios for you to talk to us through. " He then gestured to Gryphon. "You'll be flying overhead as eyes in the sky. You'll have a radio too until we get telepathic comms. You're also my backup. Because I'll be cutting the tower down. Alright, now hit me with the questions."
"I can do that!" She said. and began monitoring the radio waves for whatever might be important! After the last incident well she wanted to be sure and do the best she can to keep up with any enemies.
Had the jet been any smaller, Gryphon would have been sweating and climbing the walls, if not literally certainly figuratively. He hated closed spaces and the Blackbird was just on the edge of his comfort level. Nevertheless, he had his eyes closed with all the commotion going on around him.
It took him a moment to respond. "I'm back up and eyes in the sky," he replied finally his tone flat. How soon before we get there?"
Levi sat next to Gryphon. He was listening to the instructions silently, trying to keep his mind and heart from racing away in the tension of the moment and the flurry of orders. "It won't be long now," he replied quietly, breaking his own silence.
At the back of the line of passenger seats, Fable sat awkwardly and listened. He wasn't a big fan of traveling in the Blackbird, but he'd been given the speech about team players and game plans so was quietly tolerating the journey and soaking up the information given. He didn't seem to be one of those chosen to have a radio, but that didn't greatly concern him. 'Deliver the team, then search and rescue/exfil.' Perfect. His question was more specific when he raised his hand to ask it. "What order do you want me to transport people into the area?" Elias asked.
"Gryphon and I will be first. If we give the all clear you bring the rest in." Cameron replied. His eyes slid over the entire team once last time. "We are getting everyone home."
The Blackbird found a discreet landing position that would have been a couple of hours of hiking were they to go in by foot. However, courtesy of Fable, there was no such need. The team was carefully positioned in order to allow for maximum effect. All they awaited was the go-signal which would be hard to miss.
Cameron had snuck his way the last few hundred meters. This is what the British Army had made him into. As quiet as a mouse in a cat-infested home, he climbed up the sheer concrete wall. Ever since he joined the X-Men he had found new ways to apply his powers, in this case, he was able to sink his fingers into the wall with little resistance. He molded them in such a way that they could serve as his footholds as he got further up.
Right at the edge of the roof, Cameron waited. He quietly keyed his radio, "Gryphon, is the roof clear?" he whispered into the microphone.
Gryphon was a mile and a half up in the sky, a bank of clouds just above his back. He could still see clearly with his superior vision but anyone looking up would have a tough time spotting him. "One guard on the southeast corner of the building."
Then he swept the surrounding buildings, "Oh, hold, hold. There are two more on the buildings on each side. Should I take any of them out?"
A harsh screech alerted Gryphon to an incoming target. It was an impossibly large snow owl, at least the size of a person, descending on him with talons outstretched at breakneck speed.
Gryphon acted purely on instinct, he turned sharply to the left and began to climb as fast as he could hoping to avoid the attack, before countering with one of his own. He was only partially successful. He managed to miss the full brunt of the attacks, but the razor-sharp talons raked along his left side, from the bottom of his ribcage down past his navel, dangerously close to areas he didn't want to lose.
His uniform was sliced open and the attack drew blood, but he wasn't badly hurt yet.
He reached out with his own claws trying to take out the eyes of the owl or at least hit some part of it.
The claws nearly connected, but the giant snow owl morphed into a swarm of a thousand biting insects. They covered Gryphon from face to wing to toe, seeking out any flesh they could.
He began swatting at the insects, which didn't bring him much relief. Then an idea came to him and he flew into a cloud to see if that would disrupt them.
The cloud swept downward as if possessed by an intelligence. Both Gryphon and the swarm-turned-human rushed toward the ground.
Gryphon was surprised by the sudden change of events and just managed to fight down the rising panic. As far as he knew he was being attacked on two fronts now. He furiously began to beat his wings, which slowed but didn't stop the descent.
With the all clear given, Cameron hoisted himself over the edge. The massive satellite dish looked even more imposing than before. Cameron shuddered at the thought of having to transform all that material. He ducked and approached the base of it. He walked around it before finding a large locked cupboard. Cabling from the dish went in and disappeared. "That's interesting." the Brit muttered before transforming the padlock into a small dagger and opening the door. Inside he found a large variety of high-energy wiring.
"Makes you wonder if the jamming will work if the circuitry is gone," Cameron whispered before reaching out and touching the green circuit boards. The materials sparked as short circuits formed and ended. The PCBs transformed themselves into a large collection of caltrops.
Lights began flickering as power became interrupted, rerouted, and overloaded. Soon the lights winked out completely, casting everything in darkness until the amber emergency lights flicked on.
"Well done, my X-Men," said the Professor's voice. "The broadcast tower is down, but alerts are raised. I am attempting to track the activity but there is simply too much mobilization for me to watch all at once. Tread swiftly but carefully."
"That's a good-to-go signal, right?" Fable asked in general.
“Near as I can tell,” replied Iris, now in the cabin with the rest of the group. She was surprisingly calm about this given that the last mission she’d gone on had seen her knocked unconscious with a concussion and memory fuzzy enough to get her good and lost. Oh, she was nervous- it would be a sign of high foolishness to be otherwise- but not any more nervous than she had been the last time.
From his back, Cameron pulled his own SA80. He had brought it over from his flight out of China. It hadn't been shot in months, but it was maintained religiously. The magazine clicked in with a familiar soft click. Cameron racked the bolt, the soundwave falling into a figurative groove so deeply worn it almost felt like home. He crawled carefully to the edge. The smell of the gun oil crawled into Cameron's nose, the distinct smell triggering a dozen memories that were pushed to the back again. Finally, he found himself in position at the edge of the platform. He sighted down the scope, scanning the entrance. "Extraction team, you're a go." was the thought Cameron sent through the shared telepathic space.
Tammy exited the jet. She was still monitoring any radio signal she could detect to make sure they were undetected. She was nervous after what happened with Leadfoot and the others. She wanted to make sure they all stayed safe and rescued the people held hostage.
Levi was on Tammy's heels when he hit the ground, moving out of the way for the others as they exited as well. He looked to find Fable for the ride in.
It took less than two minutes for Fable to move everyone from A to B. He was accomplished at this skill, and each members of the Professor's team was expecting his action and their transportation and delivery. Quiet, fast and straight to the point, pick up, drop off, repeat.
By the time the team was in position, though, the facility was on full alert.
~I do not believe they are aware of you," the Professor's voice said to them all. "There seems to be trouble deeper within the facility. I believe..." Though he trailed off, the Professor's voice was wrought with concern. "Yes! I have located our friends several floors down, but a thick layer of mystic energy lies between you and them that is preventing them from hearing me. Be on the highest alert, my X-Men. There are more than armored guards on the prowl. I have confirmed the presence of a Brotherhood member.~
"That sounds bad. Any idea who it is professor and what their power set is?" Tammy replied.
~I believe it to be Maestro, the leader of Magneto's Acolytes. His presence explains Magneto's interest as well. Be careful, my X-Men.~
~A thick layer of mystic energy~ Fable internally mused. ~Sounds fun~
“If I disappear, just keep going,” Hoodwink told the others. “If I come across anything fishy, I’ll double back and tell you about it.”
"You got it!" Tammy said as she reached out and tried to intercept any transmissions from the bad guys!
"In the name of the federal government of Canada, I order you to stand down and surrender immediately!"
The command came from a man in an armored suit, hovering overhead. Behind him were four teammates who were soon joined by a fifth who came crashing from above along with Gryphon.
Gryphon was no longer sure if he were with enemies or allies, so for the moment he waited to see what the next move was going to be. But, he didn't like the odds if those surrounding him were not allies.
Slowly, carefully, Iris sidestepped away from her teammates. Theoretically, since she had not addressed the newcomers, they should not be able to see her. Or smell her. Or hear her. Why was she being so quiet? Shaking her head, she simply turned and stalked off to try to slip undetected around them.
Tammy zeroed in on Aurora. Her instincts told her that she should be taken out first. As for Major Maple Leaf up there, well she might be able to get through his suit. She would leave that to her teammates.
His teammates had made the decision to fight it seemed, and that was good enough for Gryphon. He wasn't exactly the Hulk, far from it, but he was pretty tough when it came down to it. He could go toe to toe, with just about anyone and besides, he loved a challenge.
He chose Sasquatch.
Exfil first. Fighter last. Fable hadn't forgotten the instruction. They had however been kinda generous on the details of who to exfil. Teammates and targets. So he looked for opportunities to move aggressors out of the way and aimed his first teleport-in-grab-and-teleport-out-with-passenger move on the pretty Snowbird. Would likely draw out those who could cause him problems if he left her somewhere out of this world...
Cameron's rifle coughed more than it barked, but bullets came out of the muzzle all the same. Six targeted shots, aimed at the shortest of their interlopers, Puck. Not center-mass as Cameron was taught, but at the legs. He considered that he might cripple the short man, but better to cripple than to kill.
The battle had escalated to the point of open warfare. What was supposed to be a discreet rescue operation was now bifurcated between suppressive action and search and rescue. Little did anybody know that it was about to get worse.
Rifles were ripped out of the hands of the guards, summoned into the air by an unseen power. Security checkpoints were torn apart as the metal arms bent and distorted, wrapping around the guard booths like boa constrictors. The entire electrical grid began to surge as the transformers overloaded, sending out sparks and arc lightning to the nearest grounding points--some of which were running for their lives on two legs.
"X-Men! You insufferable fools!" A familiar booming voice carried on the air like an angel of death bringing a plague of biblical proportion. "I warned you not to interfere, yet here you are! You shall not be spared the vengeance my Brotherhood shall rain down upon this den of atrocities!"
Upon his dark heralding, sections of the security fence were blown to pieces as an army of mutants descended upon the compound. The Alpha Flight members turned to face the new hostiles who were threatening to surround them.
~Do not engage!~ the Professor ordered telepathically. ~Allow them to fight one another. The captive mutants are still our priority~
Gryphon had been about to pounce on Sasquatch when all hell broke loose and the situation changed on a dime. Magneto, it had to be him, was now the greater threat and he was about to join forces with Alpha Flight. But the professor's words stopped him.
"Well, Frack," he said half to himself.
He turned to move closer to their original target when he was hit by a piece of metal flying through the air that sliced a gash in his arm. It stung like hell and drew blood.
He flew high into the sky, to get a better idea of what was going on.
Not engaging was easy when nobody could observe you anyway. So, with a new direction in mind, Iris continued towards the compound, determined to find a way to release some of them.
"You heard the prof. Do not engage. Everybody can lay low." Surge sent through the communicators. Shifting to radio wave form so hopefully she will be undetected and would just watch the battle. Maybe they'd take each other out. That would be nice.
Magneto passed through the air, surrounded in a blinding sphere of electromagnetic plasma that deflected small weapons fire, allowing him to focus on the true threats. A machinegun turret imploded upon itself like an aluminum can smashed into the ground. The EM burst blasted Surge and forced her back into physical form. Her body rolled onto the ground between a Brotherhood member with dual wrist-mounted flamethrowers and a squad of masked Epsilon Flight guards.
Surge hoped nobody would notice her. Maybe if she tried real hard she could switch back to radio wave form. This did not look like a desirable position. Talk about between a rock and a hard place. ~oh boy! Maybe I shouldn't have gotten out of bed this morning!~ she thought to herself.
Cameron's own rifle had been pulled away by Magneto, it being compressed into a beautiful little metal ball. He had almost flown with it towards the Master of Magnetism out of sheer bullheadedness about wanting to keep his weapon. Instead he decided to quietly climb down the tall platform he had found himself on. With a few quick steps he found his way near Surge, behind the guards. Cameron's hand sank into the concrete, pulling out several razor thin throwing knives. Raising himself off the ground he sent the blades flying towards the exposed necks of the guards. The throw was as gracious as the circus performer he had seen as a teenager. Each blade found their target, digging in so deep into the neck that their spinal columns were severed.
With the enemies surrounding Surge incapacitated, Cameron took a moment to stand up and take stock. His team was scattered, skirmishing with non-powered military as Alpha Flight had considered Magneto's Mighty Mutant Menace the bigger threat. Through the shared mental space Cameron called to Fable, 'We need to get out of here fast. Find the prisoners and get out.' He then switched his concentration to the team at large. 'Everybody, disengage and retreat back to the Blackbird immediately. Move!'
Porting back into the same verse as his fellow X-Men, Fable took stock from a safe position on the periphery of the battlefield. Cameron's message hit his brain about the time he caught up on current events, and wiped the smug smile from the teen's face. He'd left Snowbird in a random dimension, but that paled in comparison to the clusterfuck that was happening in this one.
~Exfilling now~ Fable sent back to the group-what's-mind conversation.
It took seconds to port to and from the captives' location a couple of times, transporting them to the Blackbird a couple at a time. On the last trip, Fable called out to Iris, remembering her last trip to nowhere fun for a while. He didn't need to be going hunting for her once everyone else was safe, so he yelled her name with a loudly, irritated tone and grabbed Hoodwink when she showed herself.
Stepping back onto the Blackbird with a friendly nonchalance, Fable took a bow and checked to see if anyone was still unaccounted for.
~I sense mutants coming to the surface~ Xavier reported telepathically. ~They are in a secret elevator that wasn't activated until now~ A pause. ~It's Cyclops and the others! And...~ Shock came through the link as further recognition settled in. ~You can locate them here, Fable~ The Professor pinpointed the location inside Elias's mind. ~Bring them to the Blackbird and then get everyone out!~
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