Sep 18áµ—Ê°, 2015: It has been three years since UN Embassy bombing in Vienna resulting in the deaths of several delegates including then-king of Wakanda T'Chaka; The Sokovia Accords have since been ratified. The Avengers who refuse to sign the Accords have been forced into "retirement" or declared "Persons of Interest" and warrants have been issued for their arrests. And keepign with the Accords, any known super-powered persons exceeding category tl-5 have been re-classified as WMDs and relocated to restricted campus for their protection.
Nick Fury retains control of S.H.I.E.L.D. following his skill handling of the attempted Hydra uprising which was quietly contained within the hangers of the Tiskeleon. Tony Stark continues to fund the Avengers and has relocated them to a renovated Stark facility in upperstate New York, Natasha Romanoff has assumed the mantle of leadership of the current Avengers lineup. Together they have begun begun the work in keeping with the Accords of making the world a safer place for all peoples of Earth as directed by the Accords; The primary duty of the Avengers, now known as the Innitiative, has become handling of WMD resistant to the Accords; The United States has begun discussions of a second, more specific national registration which would require a mandatory genetic screening at age birth and manual complaince with all people who have not so been tested.
However, not everyone has agreement with these proceedings, most noteably Steve Rogers who retiring from the Avengers has since become a very vocal descenter and activist protesting the the Accords. There have been rumors that he leads a team of super-powered "activists" who run interference when possible to prevent families from being split up by the actions of the Accords and the Innitiative. This group has been covertly with an as yet unidentified sympathier within the initiative from various Wakandan Embassies and a network of numerous underground safehouses (provided by an unknown sympathizer to their cause) to identify and find superpowered humans before S.H.I.E.L.D./The WATCH is able to too usher those found into "protective custody".
From the sidelines, various groups and people of possible interest watch with growing interest ranging from academics like Professor Charles Xavier and the reclusive Doctor Henry McCoy to noted researchers like as Moira MacTaggert and Karl Lycos, revered evangelists such as the good Reverend William Stryker, to industrialists like Emma Frost and Boliar Trask and rising political stars such as Donald J. Trump.
Meanwhile, Asgard has relocated to the oceanside village of Tønsberg now renamed "New Asgard" in Norway in homage to their Asgardian heritage. They have begun the great task of building their great former realm now here on Earth, but the work goes slow as they have become distracted at times with their daliences with mortal Terrains.
DATE
Sep 18áµ—Ê°, 2015
CLIME
snowy
TEMP
30 °
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AFTERNOON;;
Cyclops had given them strict orders when splitting the team into smaller search parties with Scot and Lorna starting from the south end of Castle Rock's historic downtown, Alex and Jean starting from the the middle west side, and Piotr and Bobby starting from the northland. Once they arrived in their areas, they were all to split up further into groups of one and the part of tourist while they conduct their search for the new mutant manifestation which had been recorded by Cerebro.
They were all equipped with xPhones, smartphones that would make even those who owned the latest STARK sX smartphone envious. In addition to advanced computer processing capabilities, app stability, extended range, and superior battery life, the phones also were equipped with health monitoring capabilities, emergency homing beacon, and a small-ranged cerebra which could detect a single mutant if it were given a pre-determined mutant which theirs had been. They were all to spread out so the phones could from a cerebra-net and start searching for scanning for their target. They were to occupy their general ping points and play tourists while the search was being conducted. So, play sight-seers until further notice.
Piotr was driving the jeep, and they'd reach ping-point for Bobby to deplane the SUV.
DETAILS
ic
MILIEU
TEMP: 28° snowy
LOCALE:
- - - - Castle Rock, Mn, north side - East Coast
Iceman:: The weather forecast was for snow later in the day and Bobby hoped it would snow, he wasn't called Iceman for nothing after all. With the SUV come to halt by the side of the road, Bobby took a quick look about, it was a bit foggy at the moment, but not so foggy that you couldn't make out their picturesque surroundings. Historic Downtown Castle Rock certainly lived up the definition of the word <em>quaint</em> by any person's standards. There didn't seem to be a single wooden or brick building standing more than two stories other then the Church steeple down the ways towards the center of town.
Bobby was planning to loolygage around the small boardwalk which ran along the towns coastline. There were a modest amount of activity on the boardwalk and it was clearly decorated to identify it to town locals and visitors passing by as being part of the towns winter festival which was start in a few days. From what they'd been told, the holiday festival was the towns major source of financial activity during the winter months and it was pretty clear that even though the festival wouldn't start until the coming weekend, they were all but finished with a few details for the yule-side event.
Bobby smiled.
He turned to Piotr as he balled up his fist and gave the Russian a light-hearted fist bump to the shoulder with an accompanying smile.
<em style="color: indianred">
Well Piotr, this is were I get off I guess.
</em>
Bobby said with a laugh.
<em style="color: indianred">
I wonder if they'll be anyone worth passing the time with while I wait to get a ping on the ol xFONE. Who knows maybe I'll find someone cute and can get my flirt on - great way to pass the time you know - you should try it sometime oh stoic one. Theres gotta be someone out there with a step stool capable of catching your eye.
</em>
With that said, Bobby reached for the door handle.
Colossus:: Piotr grinned as they were off. He paused as he gave him a fist bump on the shoulder and he grinned.
"I guess so." said Piotr.
He paused at the next words and sighed.
"Maybe. I'm not so good at the flirting thing. I wish I could be as good at as you are." said Piotr.
He paused for a moment thinking of Jean hoping she was keeping a mental reach on them.
"Jean not sure if you can hear me but do you or the Professor get any information on our target? What they look like? Any powers? Anything could be useful to narrow this down. Don't want to go after the wrong person and have someone get away. Or Stryker to use it as an excuse to come after us if he or his goons are in the area." said Piotr.
Iceman:: He tried not to laugh, but did. The laugh wasn't one at the meant to come at the cost of his teammate, it was one born out of genuine camaraderie for his teammate. Bobby was aware that Piotr's romantic inclinations ran in the same general paths as his own, if not for the nature of their relationship, one of brotherhood, Bobby would have easily made a play for the Russian. Doing so though would have been a stupid move though given the kinds of missions they went on - Scot might be able to main his stoic focus even with a hottie like Jean around, but Bobby knew he would never be able to keep things that narrow. He'd be constantly worrying about Piotr cause you know, all the Russian could do was benchpress a submarine in addition to being nearly <em>impervious</em>. Bobby knew, intellectually, he'd never have to worry about Piotr, but he couldn't say the same about himself. Besides that, Piotr was like his older much much much bigger brother, sexy as he was, their was something about that that just said no, keep it to <em>bro-land</em>.
Of course that didn't mean Bobby didn't take a moment from time to time to enjoy the scenery.
<em style="color: darkkhaki">Piotr, you just have to put yourself out there. You're a pretty handsome guy - there's gotta be a couple of fireman posters that would be happy to give you a home as any month you want</em>
Bobby laughed.
Piotr could easily be a whole set of calendars, were was a lot of Russian there.
<em style="color: darkkhaki">Seriousily though bro, you should let your eye wander a little, I bet you'll find their are some eyes wandering back. And flirting might not be your thing, but you can always say hello and see where hello goes right? Right? I'm right about this, you know I'm right about this. this is the kind of thing I'm right about and you know that...</em>
Bobby closed the door, but he kept prattling on about being right about the subject they were discussing. If you listened very carefully, you could here his thoughts, muted though they were, continuing on in a self-serving way coupled with images of Piotr in various fireman calender-esque picture shots.
Psyche:: she, Psyche of the X-Men, heard Piotr's thoughts, and to lesser degree Bobby's too for she was Pysche, formerly know as Marvel Girl for all of two minutes before Lorna had taken her aside after their first meeting and asked here what the hell was up with such a self-belittling little name; Jean wasn't exactly 8 years old anymore, you could tell that from the way Alex, and Hank, and Scott and a few the younger kids where were somewhere in mid-puberty all looked at the natural red head. She was no girl.
Now and forever more, she was Psyche of the X-Men.
And really amused by the conversation between her two "brothers"; Bobby was right, Piotr on a calendar would of been a whole lot of sweet.
She centered her mind.
<style="color:darkmagenta">:: Yes Piotr, I am here, and the Professor as well, as are our teammates, and through the mind-link they can hear you just as I can. We are good. ::</style> She gave a nod as she did this, the sensation of her body language passed through the mind-link for such was the nature of telepathy. <style="color:darkmagenta">::The Professor unfortunately had precious little information on the neo we are seeking as I recall. They flashed brilliantly, but very very momentarily on Cerebra. This is their last known location - we're hoping that they are still in this general area which is wide we are setting up such a wide triangulation network. The watches are running checks, but we need our neo to do something - an emotional spike, something that helps them to stand out from the background of so many - Stryker's gathering this week had populated the area more than we anticipated."
In the background Cyclops and Havoc could be heard concurring with Jeans sentiments, such was the nature of mind links.
Colossus:: Piotr watched amused as his comrade laughed. He had once had a crush on his icy friend but it was probably best to not date a teammate. He knew how hard it could be for Scott and Jean. Although not dating still had problems for he knew Logan had feelings for Jean as well. So sometimes your heart could still hurt you whether you pursue your feelings or not.
"Easy for you to say. People like you. Sometimes I think people are scared of me." said Piotr.
He blushed at the mention of fireman posters.
"I don't know if I'm ready for that yet." said Piotr.
Piotr nodded.
"I guess I could try saying hello." said Piotr.
Piotr paused hearing Jean's voice in his head.
"So we are working on very little information. Do you know if you could sense that pattern again if one of us was close enough? If Stryker is after the same person they may already know who they are. We may not have the time to explore everyone one by one. Besides some are better at hiding their powers so their families might not know about them. Or be afraid we're here to hurt them so could lie about it." said Piotr.
He hated having so little information to go on but he guessed they'd hopefully find this mutant before something happened. Or Stryker and his goons found him first.
Psyche:: Jean understood the Russian's frustrations at the moment, both those expressed and those left unsaid. Her heart went out to Piotr and she would have loved to give him some worldly advice that might help his love lorn heart that he wore on his sleeve, but to do so would have said she was listening more carefully then she cared to admit to her teammates - no one likes a nosey telepath.
No one, not even the telepath.
<style color="steel blue"><em> Given time, yes, but we need to let the CerebraNET get up and running. It's our best hope I think, at least at narrowing down the scope of where our mutant might be. In an hour, we should be able have it narrowed to a city block, and an hour after that, an area of maybe 100 yards radius. Till then its a pretty much sit put, try not to look to conspicuous as we all man our points while the network gets up and running I'm afraid. Until we get some pings, take a moment to enjoy the town.
It's a nice little place, a little foggy right now but nice. Theres a coffee shop not to far from you could go wait in. You could take a moment to yourself, enjoy some coffee, maybe a nice pastry, do some sketches on some napkins and be all artist like.</style>
She smiled to herself at the thought of Piotr doodling away in a coffee shop. It was a nice picture.
Colossus:: Piotr paused as if waiting for Jean to reply. When she didn't say anything else he was puzzled but guessed she was busy. Finding himself alone for the first time in the mission felt odd but he knew he wasn't really alone as Jean was only a thought away.
He began walking through town not sure where to start but searching blindly. He just hoped they found who they were looking for. If Stryker found them first, he'd probably end up blaming himself. He was deterimined to find this mutant and protect them.
It was cold out, foggy too. The weather, best described as raw, it could chill someone <i>"to the bone"</i> as they say. It was on a day like this
that a young man sat waiting on the long weathered wooden railing of the boardwalk which divided the historic district of Castle Rock from its coastal beachfront.
In the distance, he could see someone approaching. He smiled to himself, while it was foggy, anyone could tell that this was a very tall man, broad-shouldered too. In fact, he was so tall, and his build was so impressive that those two things alone made him easily identifiable from a great distance, even in this coastal fog.
He had been sitting on the long thick wooden railing of the boardwalk for hours waiting for this man, Russian if he recalled correctly. As he closed the distance between them, he nodded to himself, yes he was Russian. Handsome too.
The young man waiting, barely out of teens was what was known as a sensitive. A psychic. He wasn't a mutant, largely, he was human, but for whatever reasons he was able to utilize more of the dark matter with his brain. Most humans actively utilize less than 10% of their cranial matter, this young man was able to actively access a great deal more of the human potential. Because of this, he possessed a unique form of awareness, one which to a limited degree allowed him to see the past, present, and the possible which had yet to happen, with emphasis on possible
The future was a tricky thing, like a balloon you could alter its trajectory with a single exhale. You could pop it all together with a single prick. The future was a delicate thing and X as he was known on the cruise line circuit marked the spot.
Cruise line psychic, it wasn't as glamorous as it sounded.
He was good at it though, mostly providing sympathy and advice for people with troubled lives, he tried to help people as much as possible. He wanted to be worthy. He wanted to be a person of worth.
As mentioned, he was temporarily and spacially sensitive, possibly even to the multiverse depending on your interpretation of the future probabilities. And as prior suggested, was aware of things, how people felt, what they thought sometimes, where they had been, where they were going, and obviously where they were as he was usually with them as his perceptions pertained largely to his existence, not others; With training, this might be able to be expanded to others though. In some ways, his sensitivity was a form of precognition, in other ways it was post-cognitive. In its most direct form, it was like hybrid, falling somewhere between omniscience and clairvoyance, one focused directly on the present. He was primarily present-cognitive in that he was aware of that which was currently happening somewhere, and the closer he was to that something, the greater his awareness was of that moment; Unlike other psychics, precogs, and clairvoyants, proximity played a great part in his form of psychic phenomena.
As the Russian walked by he smiled widely, he was far larger and more handsome than he had thought, he hoped the other things he had glimpsed would prove to be true. He had been sitting on the railing waiting for him for some time now. The Russian was the reason he was here after all, and he had been thinking of how best to approach him without spoking him. He wasn't going to tell the Russian that of course, he didn't want to risk coming off like some kind of creepy stalker, especially with what might yet happen. Luckily for him, he had had time to prepare for his meeting with the Russian, and he planned to go in with a very straightforward, relatively simple plan of attack.
As the Russian walked by, he hopped off the railing where he was sitting and with a brisk pace, quickly caught up to the Russain and asked <em style="color:steelblue">"Hey! Don't I know you from somewhere?"</em>
Somewhere of course was a place if you included the future present and the now unfolding.
Colossus:: Piotr looked up seeing run up to him. He was quite gorgeous and he was surprised someone was running after him. Maybe he dropped something. Hearing the question he shook his head.
"I don't think so. I just got here. I'd have remembered you from New York or Russia." said Piotr.
X:: Having closed the distance between them between X came to a slow controlled halt.
Rasputin's words were no surprise to the young man standing before the gentle giant. His first response to the Russian's words was a slight tilt of his head to right followed by a hesitant, incompleted raise of his right hand as if he wanted to scratch his chin but had chosen to stay his hand. His eyes rolled upward as he looked at the man, his head bobbing slight as if lost momentarily in thought.
<em color="steelblue">First. Thank you, if it were colder I'm sure I would blush or maybe I already am given how cold it is."</em>. Given that it was cold and X had been outside for quite a while, his cheeks did have a healthy rose-colored tint to them.
<em color="steelblue">"But, I'm sure we've met somewhere."</em>
Here and now was somewhere.
Still looking up at the large man, he snapped the fingers of his slightly raised right hand. <em color="steelblue">Noooh. No, I'm sure that we've met... You're name, its... its.. Pete right? No..no Petrus? Piotr.. Yeah that's it, Piotr."</em> As he said that he had raised both hands, one covering the other with the outer hand rubbing itself over the hand he was clasping.
<em color="steelblue">Yeah, Piotr - How've you been? Finish up with that fancy school you were going to?</em>
X:: <span class="speech">"I think it was something with art... you're an artist right? A great big strapping artist"</span> he replied, pausing momentarily to smile. X had self-amused himself with that description, <span class="speech">"great big strapping artist</span>, surely that had to be one of the best short descriptions of the Russian before anyone had ever uttered. And Piotr was big, strapping, and an a great artist, hard combo to built thought X still smiling ever so slightly with possible thoughts to lingering futures.
<span class="speech">"I want to say it was at an art showing somewhere in Manhattan, but it could of been the art section of an old used bookstore or a maybe an art museum... I was standing in the crowd, you were standing with a friend, a guy I think, shorter than you, great description huh? And the two of you were talking about nothing in particular, but some words caught my ear, and you had caught my eye. I got the nerve up, said hello we talked for like half a moment and your freind then said you to that you had to go immediately... I took ifor your wingman saving you from being hit on for what was probably the twentieth time that night." </span> he replied with a gentle half-shrug. Did that exact series of events ever happen to Piotr Rasputin? Who knows, that would take some digging even for X, but all of those things had happened if he recalled correctly, and in many combinations, X could easily have been passing face in a momentary conversation.
It was plausible, and that all it needed to be.
Plausible.
<span class="speech">XXXX"... If you were sent to find me, it must be my lucky day."</span> His hands which he had been rubbing to gether in an effort to warm them unclasped and turning away from one another, he bared his wrists upwards towards the giant before him. <span class="speech"> Ok. Take me to your leader. "</span>XXXX he added with a self-amused smile.
He then returned to trying to warm his hands by rubbing them together as he continued his reply. <span class="speech"> Seriousily though, you're here looking for someone or is that just like a really cheesy pickup line? If its a pickup line, I'm not objecting to it cause it came from you. As to reading minds, I can tell you like me. As for seeing the future, if you asking me out, sure, I'd be happy to see that too. If your being serious... uhm.. No, I don't see the furture or read minds. I know that there are people out there who can do those sorts of things. There like amazing right? Hows that?</span> He closed his words with a smile; And he had told no lie, he didn't read minds or see the future, he simply knew things-maybe he'd change his name to Captain Semantics.
<span style="speech">"Oh wait.. I am pretty lucky with scratchers. Like if I buy some I always win like twenty bucks or more. Is that like what you mean?"</span>
<em>Easy</em> X told himself, he needed to go easy with this, he needed to be careful, this needed to feel coincidental, like a fortunate stroke of serendipity. He needed to draw the X-Men away from this moment, Stryker already had enough of a cause going without finding a name he could crucify that cause on. That was why he was here primarily, if he played his cards right, everyone would have a nice Christmas, some a little more toxic than others, still everyone would have a nice Christmas. And although he wasn't a mutant, or at least as far as he knew he wasn't a mutant, he could fake it pretty good with the coin trick - no one can guess a coun toss like X could.
Piotr looked in complete shock as he narrated something that had actually happened. He had chosen to display his art and actually got people interested in him and his art. But he'd become a little tongue tied and had to bail early.
"No. Just that you know things you shouldn't. We have never met and you know more about me than you should. Unless you've been spying on me." said Piotr.
He was curious but also wary. With their enemies like the Brotherhood and Sinister out there anything was possible. Unless this was all an ambush by Stryker. He paused looking around as if half expecting to see him pop up.
"Jean, Professor. I think I might have found him. I'm not sure but he knows more about me than he should. I worry if Stryker gets him or if this is a trap by Stryker then I'd be leading you all into it." thought Piotr silently.
He wasn't sure what to make of him. If was a set up it'd be safe for everyone for him to run now. But if he was indeed in danger Piotr couldn't leave him to Stryker to be killed or as a captive.
Cyclops:: Scott didn't need to be standing next to Jean at this moment to be aware of Piotr's situation anymore than did Lorna or Alex for that matter. Thanks to the mind link, they all knew. And where the others were curious and concerned for Piotr, Cyclops, the defect leader of the X-Men was several steps ahead of them as he processed all the incoming data.
He shared an observation.
:: <em style="color:steelblue"> Piotr, It seems neither Jean nor the Professor can detect anyone near you and given your report, I'm thinking you are currently in contact with someone. They could be some form of psychic construct, they may have a mutation which hides them on multiple levels, whatever the case, they are an unknown, more so than other Neo's we have approached in the past. Be careful, do what you can to learn more about them while we all close in on your location to observe from a slight distance. understood. Engage, but be careful.</em> ::
Scot indicated to the others to close quarters on Piotr, but for Jean to hold back should they need to be extracted or for the Blackbird to be resituated elsewhere.
X:: X was both aware, and unaware of the events taking place in Piotr's head at this moment, the present was suddenly coming into play, and by default so to was the future, which until it stabilized, meant that he had only possibilities on which to act on.
He knew that he would need to tread lightly.
He knew that he had to nudge the present carefully least things go pear-shaped.
He looked up, a slight smile still on his his lips.
"<em style=""> Are you sure about this? I'm sure that we met in brief passing, and given your size, the moment, and that you're kind of cute, it stayed with me. I'm sure we met.</em>
Again semantics. X was right. They had met. Moments ago. Still they had met. And there would be an art show and Piotr would be called away by Scot, just not now. X was conflating facts to <em>justify</em> his actions and assuage his feelings of guilt at the deception he had set into motion - but he felt he had no choice, who would believe, he wouldn't if not for the experiences of his past.
Knowing the future was right out of the writings of Assimov, Bradbury, Ellison, and King.
The X-Men needed to stay clear of Styker, the man was dangerous enough as is without a cause to rally his troops around, doing so would make him a powerful tool for the King in Red.
X:: His eyes, a mix of greens high-lighted by accents of gold seemed to dance about as Piotr spoke. If X were a mutant, those golds might be a sign of a mutant, possibly even a mutation in active use on some level, or, possibly the golden flecks were a simple trick of the cafe's incandescent lights; A single bulb hung low above each table suspended by a thick, black cord, part of the cafe's sea-shore meets industrial esthetic.
"Hmmm, well. I think we have, or perhaps I should say that I believe that we have, or better I would have liked it if we had met. But if we haven't and I am mistaken, I can accept that - perhaps it was just some found dream or manufactured memory? I don't know... but whatever it is, I'm glad I believed it or I might not have had the nerve to call out to you." he replied, his voice of nostalgia and wistful thinking; Make no mistake, if anyone had the never to approach someone, it was X.
" And If I am a puzzle, it'd be nice if you were at least a piece of it. Perhaps we can get together sometime over drinks and try to work it all out? " he responded with a restrained but hopeful tone. " And I can't imagine anyone ignoring you, you have too much of a presence. Perhaps that intimidates others? I don't know, but I find you intriguing and for whatever it's worth, very handsome... "
His head tilted slightly as he looked at Piotr, suggesting he was considering something, then he stated "I could see you on a battlefield somewhere, a great knight in grand steely armor decorated in red and gold standing up for king and country, protecting the poor and downtrodden. " He sighed softly. "It's a nice image to protect - the strong quiet hero, I can't see anyone ignoring someone with that kind of vibe. Or at least, I know I couldn't"
X glanced at the clock on the wall, then he looked for the waitress, and to one or two other spots within the cafe. To the uninitiated, this likely looked like someone taking in their surroundings or possibly playing coy, or looking for a safe spot to rest their eyes feeling slightly embarrassed by an admission; Of course, none of those possibilities was true where X was concerned. He was looking for his markers, little moments that confirmed something which was about to happen.
He turned his attention to look outside, then, with a raise of his eyebrows slightly signaling a sign of possible recognition, stated "Huh. I think that's that religious guy, what's his name? Stricter? Stalker? I'm not sure, but I read in the local paper that he would be in town."
Of course, when X stated this, Stryker was nowhere to be seen, or at least not for a moment; Turning the corner dressed in piousness, and venom, Stryker came into full view. His large, heavy white coat should have caused him to blend in slightly with the snow, but the men dressed in dark greys behind him caused him to pop visually - Styker would have it no other way.
"Very well. Just tread carefully. Stryker could be a diversion too if someone else is here. I wouldn't put it bast Sinister, or the Brotherhood or one of our enemies to set a trap either. See if you can at least make sure no other mutants we know about are nearby." thought Piotr.
Piotr glanced at the other and nodded again.
"Yes. We have not met. So you must have confused me for someone else. Even though you know more than you should. You're a puzzle." replied Piotr.
He felt himself blush as the other was flirting with him. He couldn't remember someone being this interested in him and it excited him but also scared him.
"Well thank you for the compliments. I think many people just ignore me." said Piotr.
He paused looking around as if expecting Stryker or someone else to pop up in any moment. But so far they appeared to be alone. But he knew apperances could be deceiving. Maybe he was a little paranoid but growing up in Russia, you had to be a little paranoid.
"You must be seeing the future somehow and not know it." replied Piotr.
He paused at his words and nearly froze.
"You want to have drinks with me? I appreciate you trying to be nice. But no one sees me like that." said Piotr.
He felt his cheeks redden as the compliments continued.
"Thank you." mentioned Piotr.
He paused at the mention of Striker. He froze seeing Piotr come. He was outside and visible to the man. He may not recognize him in his human form but best to not take chances.
"Come. We need to go. He is part of an anti mutant group. I'm sure you're the one we were went for. I don't want you to end up his prisoner or worse. They torture and kill mutants like us." replied Piotr.
Realizing they were running out he paused with a grin.
"Hop on my back and I'll get us out of here." said Piotr.
"Stryker's here. I'm trying to get our target out of here. But if Stryker spots us then we could be in trouble. He could have some of his goons nearby. And if they any way of detecting mutants they might be able to follow us." thought Piotr.
Psyche:: Jean had sensed Piotr's thoughts, but not those of the possible mutant the Russian was in the midst of befriending now turned extraction from a dangerous situation. By herself, she crossed her fingers that things wouldn't go sideways. Piotr was playing things safe, he was a seasoned member of the team who knew his priorities and aligned well with the team's objectives.
She continued to monitor Piotr's public thoughts and broadcast those thoughts out to the team who were now working their way into various positions to provide backup and support if needed, be it through direct intervention or distraction - whatever the need they would be there for Piotr. But, regardless of how much she attempted to respect Piotr's private thoughts, she still caught some of their flavors.
Her lips pursed.
She would not push further into the Russian's thoughts than she had been given permission to, but she would pay closer attention to what she saw and heard regarding the outcome of this situation.
"You must have psychic abilities of some kind." replied Piotr.
Or confusing him with someone else. At the moment he didn't even think he had the courage enough to ask someone on a date let alone their number. Fighting was something he was good at. But meeting new people he almost felt like a little nervous kid again. He shook himself from his thoughts as the other man practically shouted. Piotr looked around seeing some were looking at them and Piotr smiled weakly.
"Yes. We have to go." said Piotr.
HE paused at his words.
"You're probably right. If it's not then we may have to unlock it ourselves." replied Piotr.
If they had to break a door they would send money to replace it. But Stryker would likely do worse if he found them and a fight broke out. He didn't want the people here to get hurt or the building to get destroyed.
"Let's go then." said Piotr.
<i>"Jean, we're heading out the back door. Stryker's goons if they know we're here will likely come through the front door. Do you or the Professor think you could boost your powers maybe with Cerebro to cause some kind of distraction? Maybe some customers getting mad about waiting too long or something. Or get mad at Stryker because he's blocking them from leaving. Maybe a gentle nudge or suggestion. If Stryker and his goons follow us away at least the people inside won't get hurt. A battle may be inevitable but I will not let innocents get hurt or killed because of that mad man."</i> thought Piotr.
He turned back to the very attractive mutant he was trying to rescue. Piotr nearly blushed at the thought but had to focus.
"Come on. I'm not sure how many men Stryker has. If they're able to track mutants in the area they might be able to follow us. But I don't want anyone else to get hurt including you." said Piotr.
He turned and pushed him gently towards the door.
"Stay in front of me. If a fight breaks out my body will protect both of us." mentioned Piotr.
Professor Xavier:: Just as Jean had been in communication with the team, so to had she been in communication with the Professor. Piotr could likely feel the Professor nodding in agreement with the Russian's suggestion for telepathic interference. And loath though the professor was to do such things, his chief psychic ability was not that of telepathy even though he had become quite comfortable with allowing others to believe this. No, his predominate mutant gift was that of mind control, telepathy was but a means by which he executed his mental domination of others.
The Professor reached out through Jean, through Scott, and yes even through Piotr, he reached out psychically through all of his X-Men, using the mental rapport they were sharing as a sort of psychic chamber in which for means of simplicity he pushed a pause button causing everyone to halt in their actions to the best of their abilities while still respecting the safety and sanctity of others. Cars pulled over to the side of the road. Bicyclists came to a gentle stop where they were. Those crossing the road finished and then came to a standstill. People chewing or drinking finished their current bite, swallowed, and then set their utensils down and zoned out. Had there been a doctor in the town operating, he would have continued on but been unaware of anything happening beyond the scope of the operation, so to had there been ablaze being treated by firemen; The professor's abilities to dominate the minds of others, even on a subconscious level was a terrifying and wondrous thing to behold.
The town came to a complete albeit momentary halt.
X:: "<i style="color: darkkhaki;"> Are you sure it's me whom is psychic? Not maybe.. you? I mean, maybe I'm wrong but it seems to that...you.. your the one being psychic maybe? I mean, you are sort of.. talking to someone else besides... me... aren't you? </i> X noted as he rose, pausing only a moment to voice the observation of the psychic conversation Piotr was currently involved with.. "<i style="color: darkkhaki;"> And I don't mean that in a "you're sort of mental" sort of way... just that.. maybe like.. you're having a mental conversation with someone maybe? Sounds weird now that I say it out loud... never mind that - probably just the stress of the moment</i> he added before being shepherd off by the Russian.
He moved quickly towards the rear exit, something that wasn't hard given the Russian's strength. Yes, he was being gentle, still, he was large and relatively an irresistible force if you compared the two lads physically.
"<i style="color: darkkhaki;">We do</i> the young man replied as the moved forward to the exit which proved to be locked. Of course the lock would prove no match compared to the physical strength of the russian. All he need do is give the doorknob one good twist and the lock would buckle under the strain of such a giant as Piotr Rasputin.
"Not me. I wish. I have friends who are. But not me. My gifts are different." replied Piotr.
He chuckled.
"I suppose I am. They can hear my thoughts. Two of them are telepathic and keeping an eye on us. And trying to draw Stryker's attention. I don't want anyone else to get hurt if Stryker comes after us." said Piotr.
He saw the back door was locked. Piotr turned the lock breaking the doorknob.
"Professor. We might need to pay for any damages to this place. I had to break the lock on the back door to get out." mentioned Piotr.
Even if they couldn't admit fault maybe they could find a way to get some money donated to them to help fix the lock and any other damages that might happen. As they kept going he made it out to the alleyway with his new companion.
"We must hurry. I'm not sure how many of them there are." said Piotr.
As they made their way out of an alley he heard footsteps and Piotr pulled the other into a kiss pushing him against the wall. As people ran by them towards the back door. Piotr pulled back and blushed slightly.
"Sorry. I didn't have time to ask first. We should go before they double back." replied Piotr.
X:: It seemed to X that he was barely through the exit of the coffee shop than he suddenly found himself pressed firmly against the exterior wall of the shop by the man helping him to make an escape from a potentially dicey situation. Or, wait, was he who was helping the Russian and his friends to escape what might otherwise have become a very dicey situation? Whichever it was, X now found himself with his back literally with his back to the wall, further he found that his lips were now locked in a kiss with the Russian he had been escaping with.
It was odd, but then what wasn't odd about Castle Rock this day?
And it was wonderful too.
He leaned into the kiss as he tried to wrap as much of his arms as he cold around the Russain's massive frame.
Some people stumbled by, thier walks had a weird, haulting cadence to them.
Piotr broke the kiss.
He was blushing.
He was devastingly handsome thought X.
X deverited his eyes as Piotr apologized for the unexpected dalliance.
Looking up at him, X stated "<i style="color: darkkhaki;">Don't, please. I liked it. I like you and ... those people over there.. there sort of... staring at us I think... their not moving but their staring at us just the same... </i>"
He then looked around as he took in the effectiveness of Professor Xavier's telepathic prowse on the locals. Everyone within eyeshot was either in the process of slowing down to a stop or had come to a full and complete stop. It was like being in an old episode of the Twilight Zone.
Professor Xavier:: All those within eyeshot of the momentary dalliance seemed to if only slightly turn away even if it meant only that they looked slightly elsewhere, this was the immense power that the Professor held over Castle Rock, all of her townspeople were caught within the psychic sway of Xavier, the sole exceptions being those X-Men present and the young psychic currently in the hands of Piotr Rasputin.
A moment's pause later, all those within view of Colossus and X turned toward them and in a single voice spoke with the cadence and elocution hallmarks of Professor Charles Frances Xavier. "Piotr, Lorna will fly you and the young man back to the Blackbird. Scott, Bobby, and Alex will follow in the vehicles. I believe it is time to come home assuming the young man you are with is interested in joining us." The small loosely clustered crowd said in unison just as Lorna Dane, Polaris of the X-Men came to a landing a few scant feet from where Piotr and X were standing.
Polaris:: Lorna descended from the skies, a magnetic bubble about her kept the wind and snow at bay around her as she landed silently. Once landed, the slightly green-hued orb of magnetic pulses surrounding her faded away as she approached the pair in an outfit that seemed like she had taken straight from the pages of Landsend or possibly J.L. Bean and Co.
She offered a friendly smile as she approached, but she did not draw too close unsure of how the person with Piotr might take her sudden appearance. "Hello. I'm Lorna. Lorna Dane. I'm a good friend of Mr. Rasputin whom I believe you have recently had the pleasure of his...uhm... company. Per the Professor's instruction, I am to take you and Piotr to our jet with an invitation of safety and shelter if you are interested. Mr. Summers and Ms. Grey, associates of Mr. Rasputin and myself will explain more to you once we are at the plane and away from this area which the Professor is currently telepathic restraining..."
She paused to take a quick read of Piotr and the young man she took to be a mutant.
She then looked sharply to Piotr as she said with a light chuckle " I can't wait to see what Bobby has to say about this one..."
"Sorry I was trying to keep us safe. I should have asked first." replied Piotr.
He was surprised as the other said he liked him.
"Really?" asked Piotr.
He paused seeing others were frozen as he nodded.
"Must be a friend of mine. Doing the distraction I asked for to keep them safe." mentioned Piotr.
He heard the professor's voice in his head.
"A friend is here to fly us to safety. We have a jet nearby waiting. We have back up on the ground to cover us if we're pursued." replied Piotr.
He paused looking at him sadly.
"I'm sorry this is so sudden. I don't know if you have anything here you wish to keep. Maybe one of my friends could retrieve it for you while Stryker's busy with us." said Piotr.
He wasn't sure if he was a native here or visiting like them. He knew how bad it could be to suddenly be leaving your home. He saw Lorna join them and he smiled.
"Hello Lorna. Stryker and his goons are likely to come soon. I'm not sure if they know who they're looking for. But with so many of us here on the island if they have a way to detect mutants they may be after all of us. So we should hurry. And if my new friend here has anything of his at a hotel or a house we should retrieve it. We may not be able to return for awhlie." mentioned Piotr.
By <em>"That's very Stephen King</em>, X meant that the sudden chorus of slow-talking semi-paralyzed onlookers standing close by them was creepy. Seriously, creepy actually. This was the sort of thing you expected to see in a Stephen King movie or maybe something you might read in an H.P. Lovecraft story. It wasn't something that you expected to come across as you stepped out of a coffee shop regardless of who might or might not be following you. That they might have been being followed by a religious fanatic certainly didn't help to lessen the creep factor of the moment.
He looked past Piotr, past Lorna, his eyes jumped from person to person to person. Very creepy.
He gripped Piotr all the tighter.
And yes, X had a unique form of awareness. But just because you're hyper-aware of things doesn't mean that it lowered the creep factor of the moment.
He swallowed hard and reminded himself that this was the sort of thing that was more likely to start happening in his life now. For now on, he wasn't necessarily going to be the person who came across as vaguely odd, weird, or creepy if only by comparison to those around him.
Normalcy by proximity.
X laughed nervously to himself.
"<em style="color: darkkhaki">... Of course, you have a jet nearby...</em>" X replied with a wistful hint of sarcasm. He didn't mean to, it was a defensive mechanism, and he was still operating in the dark slightly as he waited for his awareness to realign itself to that of the new temporal current he now found himself in (of his own doing mind you). "<em style="color: darkkhaki">... So like... do we all climb up on you or something?</em>"
He looked Lorna, then to Piotr, then back to Lorna.
"<em style="color: darkkhaki">... I mean... He's kind of big - no offense Piotr, but seriously, the word small isn't likely used in comparisons to you much...</em>"
Looking at Piotr, he added in a half-shrug. Nervous habit. One which he felt he was likely going to start manifesting a whole lot more over the next few weeks.
"<em style="color: darkkhaki">... But uhm... Yeah, I'm game... and No... No. I don't really have anything I can't do without I suppose... I stowed my duffle bag and sleeping bag behind the dumpster behind the Sit & Spin Laundromat and coffee shop - I was gonna go back and do some laundry... try their Teriyaki... they have Teriyaki.. It smelt good... I'm rambling now incidentally... </em>"
He paused and looked at Lorna once more who had descended from the skies and was using a magnetic bubble to keep the falling snow at a slight distance -- the very way the snow fell around her helped you to see the magnetic bubble about her.
"<em style="color: darkkhaki">... What about her? Does <b>bold</b> she know Stephen King? One of you must know him right? </em>"
Polaris:: "<em style="color: darkseagreen">... Stephen King... ish?</em>"
Lorna did nothing to hide her sense of amusement at the young, confused, obviously spooked young man standing next to her Russian teammate. The way he kept a hand on Piotr, it was clear that an obvious trust had been established between the two, and perhaps a bit more.
Lorna raised her arms and expanded the magnetic bubble to surround all of them. The bubble kept the wind and snow at bay but did precious little to lessen the cold. She turned her outstretched palms upward as she used her magnetism to distort the gravitational lines surrounding them in preparation to carry them skyward. She could have gripped them magnetically, grasping the magnetic signatures of the various metals within them and on them, but grabbing someone by their 'blood' wasn't exactly pleasant. Distorting the gravitation fields about them would feel odd, to say the least to the uninitiated, but it wasn't unpleasant, just odd; Lorna's smile grew slightly, what was about to happen likely feed into the whole 'Stephen King-ness' of the moment.
Suddenly, they shot skyward and vanished into the snow that was lightly falling from above; To any who might look for them they were effectively invisible thanks to the current snow and fog of Castle Rock; Lorna quickly whisked them towards the X-Jet.
Psyche:: like you've found a very cute little dork there Piotr.</em>"
Jean spoke telepathically to Piotr through the psychic rapport she was maintaining with the entire team from where she was waiting in the cockpit of the blackbird. She widened her scope to address the entire team as she stood up and began to prepare the SR-71 for the team's return.
"<em style="color: indianred">... We still have precious little intel on this young man whom Piotr found. Normally this isn't a problem with first contacts as the Professor, Xi'an, or myself scan them to get a quick read on them, but so far, neither the Professor nor I can read this young man's mind suggesting that we have a likely psychic on our hands here. Given that we haven't vetted him yet, the Professor wants everyone to be careful of their thoughts around him... take the standard precautions, status yellow. </em>"
Yellow.
That meant the team was to take all precautions as they proceeded. They weren't assuming that X was a hostile, but they weren't giving him the benefit of the doubt that he was friendly either. The status was yellow, the remainder of this mission would be colored so until they could further vet this young man. Jena hoped that closer proximity might allow her to see into his mind.
"<em style="color: darkkhaki">... Scott. Lorna. I think that Piotr might be compromised given his rather forward action. That or he finally met someone he's got a real connection with and if it's a heart thing, good for him and I hope it goes well. Still, Let's keep an eye on him as well as our possible psychic neo. This wouldn't be the first time we've met someone who can influence the minds, hearts, and actions of others. </em>" Jean telepathed specifically to the team's leader Cyclops, and Polaris who had eyes directly on the prize and the Prize handler (Colossus).
"Stephen King? I'm not familiar with this king. I must look him up. See what country he ruled over." replied Piotr.
He knew the other was nervous but him holding him tighter like that made him feel pleased at the same time that a bond of trust had happened so quickly. At least he'd gained a new friend after all this. Although he wouldn't mind if something more happened. But he had never had a serious relationship before. Perhaps he was just seeing what others had like Scott and Jean. A romance just maybe not in the cards for him.
Piotr grinned at his words.
"Well I am tall and strong." answered Piotr.
Hearing he left some things behind.
"Then we go retrieve these things before we go. They may not be here or be mistaken for trash and thrown away. I didn't have much I was able to bring with me when I left Russia years ago. I wish I could have brought more. So we make an extra stop before the jet." said Piotr.
When they began to fly away he spotted that coffee shop on the dumpster near the coffee shop and laundromat.
"There Lorna. We need to retrieve his things first. Then we can leave." mentioned Piotr.
He heard Jean's words in his head and looked puzzled.
"What's a dork? Is that something like a fork?" thought Piotr.
The first X-Men, Cyclops possess the powerful mutant abilities, athletic prowse, and advanced close-quarters combat skills with exception leadership abilities equal to that of Captain America. He is visually distinctive in his dress due to his need to constantly wear ruby quartz lens to control his optic blasts. A born leader, he is the likely successor to the mantle of his mentor Professor X, and the chosen leader of the X-Men
An American Born mutant, Jean Grey is a mutant whose mutation first manifested in uncontrollable telekinetic abilities which brought her to the attention of the Xavier Institute. There, Professor Charles Xavier helped her not only to learn to control her considerable telekinetic abilities, but to also develop her latent telepathic abilities as well. She join the first class of X-Men know then as Marvel Girl and has since graduated the institute with a doctorate in psychology and has adopted the new codename of Psyche.
She has been a constant at the Xaviers, helping the school to grow into an institute and the professor to pursue his dream dream of a world where mutants and human beings can peaceful coexist; She is considered by many to be the heart of the institute
A Russian mutant, he came of age on the Ust-Ordynsky Collective near Lake Baikal in Siberia along side his older brother Mikhail and much young sister Illyana. Colossus's experienced first manifestion when he was 13; Several years later, the Xavier Institute offered him the opportunity to make the world a better place; Piotr accepted.
Colossus, capable of transforming himself into an organic steel is among the strongest members of the X-Men. Even when his powers are not engaged, he is still a physically imposing figure standing 6' 7" (200 cm) tall. He is known for his quiet, honest, and virtuous nature. He has had a fairly consistent presence with the X-Men since his arrival at the Xavier Institute. He is a talented artist who reluctantly agreed to join the X-Men to help the greater good; He is very much the moral compass of the X-Men, feeling it is their responsibility to use their abilities for the betterment of human/mutant-kind.
An omnipath thought to be a mutant, X appears to suffer from amnesia caused by his own psychic abilities, as such his origins are obscure at best. The Institute has endeavored to research his past, but X appears not to exist in any national or international databases making discovery difficult to impossible at this time. He accepted a scholarship to the Xavier Institute following his first meeting with Colossus.
X's abilities allow him to sense the past, present, and future of the people and area within a radius of several hundred yards from where he is standing. He can not read minds as a telepath might, but he can catch the geist of one's thoughts, intentions, and emotions.
He is known for his kind, caring, soft-spoken manner, and dry wit. Since joining the Institute, he has been a consistant presence in the lives of those at the Institute. And while he is not a hero, he does have heroic inclinations due to his association with Piotr Rasputin (Colossus).
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