Disclaimer: Marvel has the rights to the X- Men and S.H.E.I.L.D., I own the stories, and the rest of the characters.
Thanks: To my editor JL, Not only for the editing, but for putting up with me at two O'clock in the morning, when I've been up for more than 24 hours, and I'm more than a little hyper.
April 11, 1999. (Happy birthday Rags!)
Hope came up over the hill that led to the mansion just in time to see the others running towards the mansion. She had heard StarDust yell, and came as fast as possible to see what was wrong.
When she hit the top of the hill, she was shocked into place. Floating above the mansion was what appeared to be a gigantic space ship. It's metallic hull reflected what sun there was, making it seem bright and elegant. She shaded her eyes from the glare.
What is that thing, guys? Run or fight situation? She sent randomly over her link to her friends.
Trouble with a capital 'T' Hope. Get in here! She heard StarDust reply.
Even as the thought was out of her mind, Hope could see smaller ships deploying from the larger one. "Oh shit," she muttered, taking off for the mansion. Yeah. Definitely a run situation, She thought to herself, nodding dumbly. She knew that StarDust couldn't see her nod, but did it anyway, similar to how some people gesture with their hands when they're talking on the phone. I'm on my way. She stated.
Before she could reach the door though, some of the smaller ships had moved between her and the mansion. Three ships floated in the space above the direct line she would have to pass to get inside, less than twenty feet from her. From what she could tell, they were all facing her.
Mutant designate: Unknown. Engage target. She heard a computerized voice state.
Fight it is.
Unidentified mutant, come willingly and you will not be harmed.
"Yeah, right... And OZT was just an April Fools joke that got out of hand," She muttered.
Please comply.
Hope squinted, concentrating on the robot's energy source. Her dark green eyes swirled with liquid silver as she reached out and pulled the energy out of the first's craft's shields, and stored it in herself forcing the shields to go down. Then she pushed the electricity back at the metallic structure, causing it to explode. "Aw, and you had asked so nicely too."
The remaining two ships pulled back, apparently regrouping. Mutant threat apparent. Neutralize target. A light blue pulse appeared between them, creating a ball of energy in the centre. It stayed there for a moment, before firing off in Hope's direction. The energy struck her dead on, and for a moment, fear passed through her mind. She needn't have worried.
"Are you seriously trying to take me down with electricity?" She laughed at the absurdity of the thought, as she danced around in a circle, absorbing the power they were firing at her. When she looked back at them, the look of amusement on her face had been replaced by that of concentration.
The two unmanned vessels ceased firing upon her. "My turn now." Her eyes glowed fiercely. Energy surrounded her limbs and around her waist. In a wide range blast, she let go of the electricity and thrust it back at it's source. It hit with such a force that it took out the vessels' shields and was forced directly into their systems, overloading them, and sending them to the same fate that befell their companion.
"What a rush," she stated, observing her work.
Where the Hell are you Hope?!? We've got to close a shield around the school! Get in here!
Robots Donald. They're sending robots after me. Do you see the humour in that?
StarDust's voice cut into her thoughts. I don't care if they're sending little green men in purple- polka- dot pajamas! Get in here before they send something that CAN hurt you!!
Hope nodded and started again towards her friends. I'm comin-- Uh, maybe not. I've got about fifty incoming on the way to the mansion. I can't make it in. Just close your shield Star, I'll be fine.
You're sure?
Hope didn't answer, she was too busy concentrating on all of the targets, and trying to find a hiding place.
Inside the school, Jubilee stared at the monitors in shock. "What is she doing?!? She can't take them all on alone!"
"Non, she's doin' de right t'ing. Dey weren' here lookin' for her; Dey didn' even know who she was. Farther away she get, less she'll have t' face. She draw away, maybe five. She can handle dat, an' dat makes five less dat we have t' worry about. Once she done with dem, she come back an' get a few more."
"Remy's right. Hope can take care of herself. We gotta worry about our own butts before we get an instant replay of what happened at Xavier's," Bull stated.
Pix nodded in concurrence. "Right. So how exactly do we do that? I mean they were expecting that we'd use this place's defense, how do we throw something at them that they won't know how to handle?"
Jubilee sighed. She had no clue, and judging from the blank look on Husk's face, she didn't know much either.
Remy shook his head. "We jus' goin' have t' make do with what we got. Husk, bring up whatever weapons y' can. We need anyt'in' you c'n get us." She nodded and moved to a computer console, setting to work. "Jubilee, show Bull how t' get on any shield systems." He looked to Bull explaining himself farther, "We need t' work in a back up for Star, case somethin' happen an' she can' handle de load."
"Done," Jubilee stated.
Gambit nodded. "Good. Show Allegra an' Donald how t' make dem work, an' den you come with me. We gonna fire off from de roof." He looked at StarDust appraisingly, "C'n you handle it Star?"
"Haven't got much of a choice Remy."
Remy nodded and he and Jubilee left for the roof.
Hope was running as fast as her legs would take her. She passed through the tree line and came to a slow moving stream. It was just barely thawed in the late winter air, and the soft trickle probably would have brought a smile to her lips, had she not been in her current predicament.
She easily jumped the narrow stream, and skidded to a halt on the other side, turning to make her stand. The air craft had been slowed by the trees and were far enough behind her that she was able to stop and catch her breath. As she stood and waited, she could see the leaves on the trees start to blow in towards her, signaling that the craft were getting close, and would soon be there.
She balled her fists and made ready for confrontation. Her eyes shone in fierce determination as the sound of the ships cutting through the trees got closer. Her pulse rose with a seething rush of adrenaline. Then, just as they were about to break through the clearing, the sound stopped.
She stood there in the silence, wonder of what was happening with her friends and confusion of her own situation bursting and throbbing in her mind, much the same as how her heart pounded in her chest. She was ready for them, and wanted to get started, but they had stopped.
Finally, partially from curiosity, mostly from annoyance, she dropped her fists and rose from her fighting stance. What the fuck? She thought to herself in blatant irritation.
The sound of an engine pulsed in her ears, and she knew the small ships had to be close, but they weren't firing and they weren't attacking, and they weren't crashing through the small thicket towards her. This confused her.
Realization struck, almost as powerful as the blow that hit her square in the back, and knocked her forward through the thin layer of ice and into the shallow water. She sputtered and pushed herself up on her arms and knees, attempting to shake off the blow that had come from behind her.
The cold water dripped down her face and off the tip of her nose, headed back to where it had come from, causing rings that distorted Hope's reflection. She traced their path, and watched herself in the rings. A dark shadow appeared over her left shoulder, and she rolled in the opposite direction onto her back, just barely in time to avoid a crushing blow from a large robot.
The machine was different than the ones that Hope had originally encountered. It was shaped more like a human than a craft, only it was about the size of the Juggernaut. It's fist smashed into the water where she had been kneeling, splashing it into Hope, almost knocking her off balance. The android was more powerful than the small crafts, and appeared to want to kill her more than to put her out of the fight.
Before she had time to react to her newest disputant, it was moving from it's original strike and had it's hand around her throat. It crushed her backwards into the water and held her there.
From under the water she could look up at her opponent and see into it's unfeeling eyes, dead set on her destruction. She could see the surface of the stream, only feet from her face, and feel the way the water caught her hair and pulled it back along it's current.
Flailing in the pull of the water and the push of the giant hands which rested on her arm and throat, she tried, unsuccessfully, to rip the energy from the robot's form; Only to discover that it wasn't powered in the same way the first ones had been.
Reversing the flow of her powers, she pushed with everything she had left at the inhuman android, hoping it would be enough to short it's power. She could feel the electricity bounce harmlessly around the metallic structure, being released into the air and water around them.
Nothing. There was nothing she could do to counteract the robot's powers. She screamed under the water, both out loud, and in her mind. REMY!!! She released with all her might, and felt his mind reel in the backlash.
It was all she had left, and couldn't even bring herself to hear his response. Tears formed redundantly in her eyes in fear, as she felt her body go numb with a lack of oxygen.
Then, in a brilliant blue flash of light, the robot was torn from her, and she felt herself being lifted from the water. She jumped and fought when she realized that she was in someone's arms.
"It's okay... I have you... Hush now... You're safe..." His voice echoed gently into her ears, mirrored by Remy's voice in her thoughts.
She slowed her struggle when she heard Remy, and opened her eyes. She found herself in Iceman's arms, quickly moving away from the stream, as gunfire and lasers bounced off a blue force field which surrounded them. Shivering, she huddled more deeply into his cold embrace, seeking comfort from the mayhem outside the shields. "Thank you," she uttered.
He looked down at her. "Don't thank me yet." He gestured with his head to what they were headed into. "We're not done."
She turned in his arms to see hundreds of the small ships scattered above the mansion, all firing upon a light blue green swirling shield, and being fired upon by Remy, Jubilee and the mansion's defense systems. Hope's gaze traveled down to the ground, which was quickly retreating below a shimmering cascade of ice. "Don't drop me," she whispered.
Then she called upon her powers once again, and used them to take control of the tiny shuttles, causing them to use their weapons on each other. Those which didn't retreat back inside the larger vessel were destroyed. Hope heard the resulting cheers of joy from her teammates and allowed herself a small smile. Iceman ceased his movement, as he was joined by Angel.
Iceman carefully passed Hope off to Angel, recognizing that she was freezing. The trio was then joined by Joseph. "Is everyone alright?"
They all nodded. Hope felt Angel's wings wrap around her and wondered how they were staying afloat, but didn't care as long as it was warm. She nuzzled into the softness of the feathered and thought to herself that every man should come equipped with a set of wings just like his.
As the four stayed their position in mid air, a second wave of ships was deployed from the larger one. Hope sighed deeply in exasperation. "Oh, for fuck's sake," she stated. She could feel the reactions of her teammates which were similar to hers.
This time however the tiny ships ignored the mansion, and came straight for them. One fired at Iceman's ice slide, knocking him from his place in the sky. He was quickly caught up by Joseph and brought back to them. It occurred to Hope that this was how Angel was flying without the use of his wings.
Hope blinked, trying to focus on the multiple targets, and then shook her head. "There's too many of them this time," she whispered.
They all fired on Joseph's shields, and he strained to keep them in place. "Can you handle this?" Iceman asked him.
Joseph didn't respond, but let his actions speak for him. In a single pulse, their opponents broke through Joseph's shields, and struck him with a small projectile, presumably made of some sort of nonmetallic alloy. It opened and released an electric pulse into him.
Hope realized what was happening to him and reached out to help him, but couldn't get to him in time. Angel reached out for Iceman just as Joseph's shields went down, and barely missed him.
Bobby worked fast to try and prevent himself from falling. He created an ice slide as fast as he could, hoping that he would be able to reach the ground before it was blown out from under him.
At the same time, Angel dove for Joseph's quickly falling, prone form. Hope pushed out of his grasp and jumped on the top of a nearby craft. It spun and tried to push her off, but she held tight. "Look at it this way," She muttered weakly, knowing that the unmanned ship did not understand her. "I wouldn't take out my ride, now would I?"
Changing it's strategy, the ship released metallic tentacles, entrapping her limbs. She tried to pull away, but found she couldn't. One of those days... she thought in poor humour to herself.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Angel, Joseph and Bobby being snagged in the same manner. So much for the cavalry. She sighed. Remy, you hearin' me?
Oui. An' I see you too. I'm sendin' Pix out t' try an' help you four.
The robot released a surge of electricity, and she was forced to halt for a moment to absorb it. The others were no doubt unconscious by now. No, Remy, don't bother. Worry about yourselves. You're protected where you are now. Do-- Another surge cut her off, Don't sacrifice your safety. We ca--
Don' even tell me you c'n handle it Hope Darceneaux. I'm-- Remy was cut off, as a bolt similar to the one that penetrated Joseph's shields, broke through the mansion's defenses and hit the floor beside him.
Hope saw through Remy's mind's eye, three ships attack him and Jubilee on the roof. She heard him yell a warning to someone through his link, and then there was nothing. He was either unconscious or worse. Hope yelled through her link at him, but received no response.
She allowed herself to concentrate on her own situation, and found that she was headed into the massive aircraft. A third pulse was released into her, which she again absorbed, and she was thrown to the floor. She got to her feet and looked at her surroundings. Behind her was a large open bay door. The room was plain and metallic, nothing out of the ordinary, except for the fact that it was filled with soldiers dressed in helmets and goggles, looking like something out of an X- Files episode.
They all had weapons aimed on her, and appeared as if ready to fire on a moment's notice. She frowned at her situation, as she was joined by her three male companions, all sleeping soundly. She shrugged to herself, not knowing what to do, or say. "Ummm... Take me to your leader?" No one answered.
She frowned at them and attempted to make contact with her friends, only to discover that she couldn't. "Great," she muttered to herself. Having no other alternative, she brought her reserved energy to the surface, and released it on the soldiers, knocking more than two thirds of them to the floor.
They started to open fire on her, and she fell back. She continued her assault on them, doing her best to ignore the injuries they inflicted to her. Then one man stepped forward and held up his arm, halting the soldiers. He looked at Hope, and she returned the gesture by lowering her arms. "You know, it's rude to invite someone into your home and then fire at them."
"They were merely responding to your threat."
Hope got to her feet, fuming. "Well I wouldn't have BEEN threatening them if they hadn't attacked me in the first place!"
"My soldiers did not fire upon you until they were fired upon." He walked towards her.
"No, but your robots were doing a damn good job of trying to blow us to kingdom come!" She argued, stepping up to him so that they were right next to each other.
Two more aircraft entered behind Hope, and she whirled to face them. Remy and Jubilee were dropped unceremoniously to the floor with the three fliers.
As soon her attention was turned, the leader ended their debate by placing a rag over Hope's nose and mouth, knocking her out like the rest of her comrades.
As soon as she fell, he looked down at her and whispered low enough that no one could hear him, "I'm sorry, but you were dangerous to my men awake. Perhaps I will be able to explain it to you later." He then turned to the soldiers, and ordered "Number One, take all of them but LeBeau and put them in a maximum security cell. I want LeBeau taken to the NF quarters. Post three guards at the door and don't let it open until I get there."
The woman he had spoken to nodded, and the soldiers who were still standing jumped to action. The man turned to leave, "I want to know the INSTANT he wakes."
To Be Continued... Crimson.