“Strange – That's usually Zee's effect on people.” She gave a light giggle and ran her fingers through her colorful, yet mostly pink hair.
“I'm fine. I feel great. Just a few aches here and there. Little case of the jelly legs. But its normal. Give me another hour or so and I'll be right as rain.” She spoke nonchalantly, almost cheery as she swung her feet back and forth. While this had only happened once before, she remembered the “quick” recovery and didn't think too much of it. The first time had done it was an attempt to make it from her S.H.I.E.L.D. training to her Microbiology class on time. She had traveled at the speed of light and was there before anyone even noticed she had left. But she materialized naked in her dorm room and didn't wake up for a whole week.
“Ah, shit. I need to call daddy. Sorry, Ric! You can check my pulse and stuff later, kay?” She nearly punched herself in the face for not making a call to her dad her first priority. He was probably having a heart attack right about now! She slid down from the cot and gave Ulric a tight hug before moving to Caelan, leaning up on her tiptoes and kissing his nose before dashing out the door. She gave several smiles and waves on her way down the halls to her office.
Closing the door behind her, she pulled out her phone and called up her father. She sat in her “Big Boss” chair and spun around, waiting for him to pick up. She didn't bother putting him on speaker phone as she sat down her iPhone in her lap. It took three rings before he picked up the phone.
“Cat?! Is that you? Are you alright? Her father's voice was frantic – Jeez, he was worse than Tulio. She sighed and smiled softly.
“Yeah, daddy. I'm alright. Just a headache and the jelly legs. That's it. I just wanted to call and let you know that I'm doing fine.” She could hear her father sighing in relief, but knew that he was still worried.
“Good. I'm sorry I couldn't be there to watch over you – But I had some business to take care of. The others are with me. Sweetheart...A Bill is being pushed. One that will require every mutant, every super human, every single person that seems just a little bit more than human to register with the United States Government. They will have to give up their names, addresses, information on their family, their capabilities, occupation. Just...everything. There's talk of using them for testing and...God. But its against Constitutional Rights, so it won't pass. Though, I want you guys to be extra safe just in case – These guys don't plan on playing fair.”Cat had stopped spinning in her chair.
In the kitchen, Lina smiled as her friends filed in one after the other, offering waves and soft hellos. Seeing Tulio come in, she gave only a simple nod. There was absolutely nothing in her body language – not even a single, miniscule, out of place twitch – that would denote the secret she was harboring. She went about as she did every other time she saw him, though she admittedly had to force her heart not to race. It was then that her crappy phone finally received the text message that Benjamin had sent, a light smile crossing her lips as her thumbs moved slowly across the keys to reply.
\\Burn. Burn the house. On hands and knees. Coughing. Out we will crawl. Captured. Tagged and bagged. Chained. Pain. Thus marks the fall of all mutant kind. Our beacon of hope. Our light. Snuffed out. Taken away. Leaving us all alone. No hope. No life.//Lina was about to hit send, but her phone clattered to the floor and her eyes began to glow. Her tone was dark, her face contorting into a look of grim disdain. The vision she saw was not a pretty one. Everyone seemed happy at first, but then men in black suits came. They surrounded their home and set it to fire. They threw grenades and shot most people that tried to run away. Crosses were being put up. More people nailed to them. Tulio and....Why were Tulio, Julio, and Cat leaving? No. They weren't leaving. They were being taken away. By...Thor? And a woman. She didn't know the woman. And...Fen. He was leaving, too. A grey Lycan walking alongside Loki. Why were they being taken away?! They were needed here! Lina called out after them, running across the lawn. But she cried out in pain as she felt a sharp pain in her chest. Then sticky warmth...Everything went blurry. Fire, people running, screaming. Her father and Caelan running for her. Captured. Then it all went dark.
As the glow in her eyes receded, she crumpled to the floor.
“We have to go. Now...Before they come.” She had curled into the fetal position, shaking her head and grasping her hair as though she were about to pull it out. She could soon feel her brother's strong arms wrap around her. Caelan had left after speaking with Ulric, having asked him to check on Cat anyways. He didn't know what she saw, but he didn't like the way it sounded.
“Tulio, I need you to get the rest of the team and have everyone pack up in a calm and collected manner. Tell them that we're moving out soon. To get the children away from the freaks at the gate.” He gave the man a nod before heading towards Cat's office. It could take a while to figure out where they were going and how they would get there unnoticed, but surely Cat had a few tricks up her sleeves.
All Tulio had heard was the sound of something hit the floor, and instantly some off feelings started to brew - somewhat like his tea (bad time for jokes, but he has to make a few sometime). Tulio turned around, his eyes widening as he realized it was Orfy that had dropped the phone. She looked in pain for a few seconds, and then literally fell to the floor. Tulio dropped the tea bag instantly and nearly ran to her when he heard her speak in a low tone and Caelan suddenly appeared. Tulio hadn't a clue where the man had come from, but was actually quite relieved: while Tulio could merely put off that he was just running to a friend, he didn't want to take any chances with their secrets coming loose. Tulio blinked once more, his eyes falling back to their original position as Caelan told him to collect the rest of the team and get everyone out of the mansion.
While Tulio normally didn't like taking orders from Caelan, he instantly relented and nodded: right now wasn't the time for petty emotional values to get in the way. Tulio walked towards them as Caelan raced out the door with his sister, with Tulio noticing that nobody had grabbed her phone. Feeling the need to make sure he returned it, he bent down to pick it up, and as luck would have it the screen was still bright with life and facing up, allowing Tulio to read what she was about to text to Benjamin.
Burn the house? The.... fall of mutant kind? Tulio almost stopped reading right there, he was almost sick. Tulio, now having seen all of Orfy's memories and entirety, knew that she had this Chronovision mutation, which Tulio roughly guessed meant something to do with seeing into time. If that was the case, what was she talking about? Tulio's grip on the phone became taught, before shoving it into his pocket to stand.
He scanned the entire room, his dark eyes scanning each and every person in the room. Only instead of cloudy, distant thoughts that usually glittered his eyes, they were clear: still dark, but strict and a little authoritative. Now was the time for action, and Tulio was not going to let this place burn because some worthless humans were jealous.
"You heard the man. Begin preparations for mass evacuation of the students and staff - keep the younger children under the pretense that this is a drill to avoid having panic spread amongst them. That is the last thing we need now." It was as if Tulio had become an entirely different man.
Gone was the distant thoughts, the wispy soft voice, the quiet mannerisms: when it came to game day, Tulio became a hardened, disciplined man. Sure he was serious most of the time, but when it came to missions and possible attacks? Tulio became uncaring for nonsense and excuses.
"Julio, George, Alexandra, meet me in Cat's office in 5 minutes after establishing the protocol and procedures to the rest of the staff to execute. Any other X-Men you find, send them there." He scanned the rest, and without another word swiftly moved out the door towards where he had guessed where the rest of the team was: huddled around Ulric's office. He had a hunch that Caelan would be taking Orfy to see Cat, so he decided that it would be the most logical to send the X-men to the Head Mistresses office, as it would make things easier when everyone was together
Nearing the medical room where Ulric was usually found, Tulio spotted Zalika and Eric in some form of conversation. Hating to interrupt but knowing that he had to, Tulio spoke in the same straight, low voice and in Ulric's direction so he could hear it.
"Ulric, set in motion the evacuation protocol for the sick - drill today." Tulio knew that Ulric would understand what he meant by stating it was a drill. In a lower voice, he spoke to the married duo.
Probable attack on the Academy. Team's forming up in Cataleia's office in 5 - help Ulric if you so wish and inform him." Knowing that Zalika wasn't really one for being all soft and stuff, he made it at least sound optional to help out Ulric so that Tulio didn't get his head bitten off. Tulio knew of Zalika's powers - and Eric's mutation was seriously no laughing matter - so he didn't like offending an asset of the team. Besides, offending people wasn't what he did.
With that, Tulio continued on towards the classrooms, assisting in the evacuation wherever he could. When those 5 minutes are to be up, he would move back to Cat's office, but for now, he acts.
Ulric smiles warmly at Cat's jest, certainly glad that the headmistress is up and about once more. It will save him plenty of trouble, as Zee tends to do a little bit less damage when Cat is there to take care of students that might otherwise turn towards the more vicious woman. Perhaps the difference is not
too significant, but enough that he can expect to have a slightly more peaceful time than he has had for the past two weeks. Then again, with the escalating hostilities towards Mutants, something only increased within the past fortnight, this will be only a shred of respite from the tensions constantly weighing down on everyone.
Being a pacifist, he very much dislikes the idea of the pressure prompting actions which may lead to a full out war, and is optimistic enough to hope that such an outcome might be avoided. He was raised among humans just as much as mutants, after all, and knows that not all humans are as malicious as those who stand outside the institute gates, screaming dreadful profanities at frightened youths, who already have enough to deal with as they try to manage the development of their abilities.
Not all of them were born to mutant parents, as he was, or even to parents who are supportive of who they are. In fact, several of them have to keep their identities a secret from their own family members, or were cast out by those who they are bound to by blood, sneered at and viewed as freaks among their kin. The idea of such treatment mortifies Ulric, as though he is ashamed on behalf of a people that he doesn't actually belong to. That has always been his personality, though.
"I'm sure you will be, but I'm obligated to check over your vitals anyway. Humor me?" Ulric asks, turning towards his desk to get out a sphygmomanometer and a stethoscope. Of course, before he can so much as reach them, Cat releases a swear and a spoken realization of her need to call her father.
"Well, can I just-" but before he can finish the sentence, Cat has given him a quick embrace, kissed Caelan on the nose, and disappeared down the hallway. Although he releases a sigh in response to all of this, Ulric can not grudge her a call to her father, being one himself. But now is not the time for him to dwell on his own daughter- those thoughts he generally tries to reserve for when he is alone, and no one can see him worry.
"Can you follow her and make sure that she doesn't collapse on the way there, please?" the doctor turns towards Caelan, crossing his mind and offering a gentle smile to pair with the request, though he knows that the man is unlikely to have any problems with chasing after Cat--he seems to be constantly doing it, after all. As expected, the elder Howlett sibling takes off almost immediately, following the woman down the hallway. Watching him go, Ulric rubs the back of his neck and releases a small yawn. There doesn't seem to be any business for him to deal with, and thus the man sits down in his chair and leans back, staring through the window and up at the infinite blue sky. He is fortunate to have a view of the back of the institute, and therefore doesn't have even the slightest view of the protestors.
All the same, he is not allowed even the smallest moment of peace. Although neither had intended for it to happen, Orfelina's sudden vision, with its great strength, glimmers through Ulric's mind. Of course, given that it hadn't been intentional, he feels the vision rather than sees it, and is suddenly overcome with an immense pain that makes him visibly flinch.
What was that? he wonders, immediately concerned that someone near by is in pain. The doctor is already walking towards the door when Tulio comes into view and addresses him. Immediately understanding, Ulric nods and walks further into his office. There are two doors in his office; one door is to exit into the hallway, and the other is into the larger clinic. His own office has a cot for immediate treatment, but those who are terminally ill, don't want him to treat them (a case for some of the more stubborn patients), or have some other reason to stay longer than they otherwise would, are in the clinic through that door.
For the moment, there are only a few people in the room, and he is able to organize and evacuate them. One remains, a resting patient who had gone through a somewhat taxing treatment after being assualted and nearly killed by the mob. The patient has a mutation that is rather harmless, being a healer as Ulric is, though her mutation is peculiar in that she takes on the pain of other people, relieving others at her own cost. She is an empath on top of this, a skill that Ulric has always found to be rather lonely. The doctor goes and wakes her up instructing the young girl, for she is only ten years old, that there is a drill.
"Come on, there's an evacuation drill," he tells her, but the girl only blinks at him drowsily and turns back over to fall asleep once more. He simply scoops her up in his arms, then, and walks out to where Zee and Eric are.
--
Roll back a few minutes and switch the scene to the kitchen, where Alex is smiling, not minding the growing number of people inside the kitchen, for it is large enough to fit them all with ease. When she sees her friend take out her archaic phone, the young woman grins teasingly.
"You really should upgrade, Lina- that thing is practically a-" her sentence goes unfinished, for the light-hearted mood vanishes the moment that her friend drops the cellular device to the ground, causing it to slide away from her a few inches. The smile on her face fades until only a small remnant of it, forced into place, lingers.
"Lina-" she begins again, extending a hand towards her friend to grab her on the shoulder. The hand misses as Orfelina shrinks down into a fetal position, pulling desperately at her vividly red hair as though trying to pull something out of her mind.
Alex falls onto her right knee beside the girl, but it is Caelan that wraps an arm around his younger sister, seeming to appear out of absolutely nowhere. He speaks with a clear and authoritative voice, his serious expression removing memories of the man who had only a while ago stuck his middle finger out at her for joking about him being kicked out from the sickroom. Needless to say, Alex is frightened, and she can feel goosebumps rising on her arms. The young woman rubs her right forearm to make them go away before turning her attention to Tulio.
The tone in his voice is equally as startling as Caelan had been, for it shifts from quiet and vague to clear cut and forceful. Giving him her attention seems natural, as he immediately steps into the position of giving orders. Alex nods in response, the smiles from earlier having left completely in order to make room for an expression to better reflect the sudden gravity of the situation. After he has left the room, she turns towards George and Julio, trying to offer a slight smile, though it seems completely out of place in this situation.
"I'll get the kids from the younger classes," she informs them, knowing that she will be able to keep up the facade of a drill rather well. Besides, many of the younger students know her well, because she likes to tinker and make toys for them all. After speaking, she gives the reassuring smile once more before exiting the room as well.
It is a brisk walk to reach the younger wings, but feels like miles until she reaches the part of the school. The young woman stops in each class to inform the teachers of the situation and relay Tulio's instructions. Her next stop is the dormitories, in case any students are still in their rooms at the moment. Her thoughts dance between the children, Orfelina, and the situation in its entirety.
Five minutes. . .just one more dorm to check, though, Alex tells herself, having gathered a duck line of younger students that follow behind her, some complaining and some deathly silent. Finding no one in the last rooms, she leads the group that she has built up, composed of perhaps six children, towards the other classrooms so that they can regroup with their schoolmates before she goes to Cat's office.
As the Headmistress was informed in detail of her beloved friend's vision, she had waited for her team to gather. Things seemed to be going rather smoothly at first. They had plans to head for the Avengers' Tower because it was nearby and they were allies and family with government pull and popularity amongst American citizens that they might never achieve. Everyone had packed what was most important to them. All that was left was the clearing of the house. Cataleia had found herself in full uniform for the first time in a while, thinking that her colorful hair went quite well with it. She cleared her throat before addressing the school.
“I know that you've all been told that this is a drill, but its not. I'm not going to lie to you. There are people coming for us.” She paused and rolled her eyes at the shouts of lying and betrayal and false hope before closing her eyes and shouting loud enough that every window rattled.
“Enough! Not once did we ever say that our walls were impenetrable. Not once did we say that as long as you're here, nobody would ever bother you. We gave no false hope at all. What we gave was a promise. A promise that as long as a single one of us is breathing, we will still fight this war. A promise that as long as we can still fight, we will defend you. A promise that we would never abandon you.” Some had piped down while others grumbled. There were a few children crying and many people left. They simply pushed their way rudely past the crowd, elbowed the X-Men out of their way, and left. Cataleia didn't stop them. If they didn't want to stay, she wasn't going to hold them prisoner. As soon as the door closed behind them, Lina fell to the floor.
“They're here!” It was a blur of movement as the X-Men (plus one or two guests) put the house on lock down and stood their ground outside and watched as their exterminators rolled in. Tanks, SUVs, jets, and helicopters coming upon their lawn with men and women ready to gun them down.
That battle was their first since the war began.
But not their last.
The numbers have dwindled down to quite a pathetic number as compared to before. The battle was a short one, but hard fought. It was neither a win nor a loss that Cataleia lead to them, but perhaps a draw. Deadman would call it a win because none of their enemies walked away alive. But, the mutants that Xavier's once house...well. They were divided. As the battle began, many ran outside in hopes to help. They had no experience and were quickly gunned down. Then you had those who thought to escape from the back. They ran and nobody has heard from them. All in all, few mutants left Xavier's that morning. At least compared to the amount there was before.
Raver, Nexus, Prodigal, Hurricane, Tarot, Techna, Deadman, Red Son, Masquerade, Prism, Wonderland, Oz, Paragon, Wraith, Seraph, Fen, Druid, Rewind, Persuasion, Xerox, Yin, and Yang as well as about seven others. They were the ones that stuck together. They were the ones that made it out and had found themselves in the bayou country. Those without vehicles being shoved into the extras of Cataleia and Orfelina's. Cat thought they everyone who could drive should drive. She didn't want everyone piled into the “X-Calade” for fear of being caught. Everyone in their own individual vehicles would be easier for splitting up. They didn't travel completely together, everyone taking different routes so that they didn't appear suspicious.
The Avengers' Tower was out of the question. Nobody could know where they were. They played it safe and assumed that their lines were tapped as well as those of the Avengers and the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. It was presumed by the public that they were all dead. But Stryker knew better – He investigated the scene himself and he saw that there were few bodies, none of them being who he wanted them to be. He saw many cars missing and many things from the house. Sad part for him is that he had no idea where they would head.
“Uncle Remy! Look!” Lina hopped off of her Big Dog Pit Bull, pulling out of her pocket what looked to be a used .45 round.
“Can you believe it?!” The gypsy girl looked as though they had just arrived at the Carnival – Not once had she ever shown this much joy in front of anyone at Xavier's. Why was she so happy as she parked her motorcycle and put it up on its kickstand? Maybe because she saved the life of one of her best friends who happened to be her secret lover. Maybe because she got shot in the face for him. Maybe because she got shot in the face saving him and the bullet was simply pushed out of her body and not even a scar was left. She had a headache, which her brother assure her that getting shot in the head anywhere was something you never get used to, but other than that she was perfectly fine.
She threw her arms around the neck of a rugged-looking man who had the same eyes as one of Julio's.
“Lookit dat, cherie! You gon' be like yo' pop and big brother after all, eh? Good fo' you. I'ma gon' go 'head and find somethin' to put a real small hole in it and we gon' string it up into a necklace like yo' daddy and brother got.” The man wrapped her up in a large hug and spun her around before looking around some.
“Oh! Don't worry – Everyone else is coming. They're fine.”She had noticed the look of worry in his eyes and immediately knew he was looking to see where everyone else was. Fortunately, she would stop every now and again so that she could use her ability to check the present and check on her friends. They were all fine and on their way. She was still shivering with excitement, bouncing in her godfather's arms before noticing his house, her jaw dropping. Xavier's was larger, but she didn't think that he actually bought a mansion. She thought he was exaggerating.
“Holy shit. You really did buy a mansion.” Remy only laughed, though he had a bit of a prideful gleam in his eyes.
Lina, strangely, could not bring herself to be worried or even a bit depressed over the battle at Xavier's. She was still focusing on the fact that she took a shot to the face and lived and also the fact that those closest to her were still alive. Even her father was on his way to Gambit's! She had caught him on the road on the way there and he said he just needed to make a pit stop first. She felt invincible. Unstoppable. She vowed that with her new power, she would make sure that she would never give up the fight. No more sitting on the sidelines!
She pulled out a cigarette and her father's lighter, taking a deep drag and exhaling with a faint smile. The humans wanted war? They got it.
