Envisionings (2nd Edition) Part 8 ⛓👁 | 💉🩸

The satellite was on the rim of a canyon. by the light of the setting sun, Jean found the next psi-blocking device at the construction's base. On disabling it, Jean felt her psychic connection shift like the needle of a compass; down. She looked out across the valley, then to the section immediately below, but no, that wasn't quite it. . .Bringing her focus back to her immediate ground, Jean found something else at the satellite's base; something you had to know -or have a sense- was there to find.

The trapdoor lead her into a metallic tunnel; into swallowing darkness.

She'd made an attempt to keep the hatch open though it wasn't designed to open far enough, and on its close, Jean discovered this was exclusively an entry point. Even employing her telekinesis, Jean couldn't unlock it.

If this was a trap it hardly mattered -he was in here somewhere. Jean focused ahead; the darkness holding the same insignificance as she felt her way telekinetically, granting herself a kind of neuro-physical "sight", like a blueprint; outlines of walls, where they turned-off to rooms, the shape of objects therein etc.

While Jean navigated by way of telekinesis, she also reached out telepathically. . . .Feeling lingerings of three, or was it four? mental signatures besides Scott's. His was the only one still present. . . .She checked out every room. One appeared to be a monitoring / computer room, though with the absence of all power it provided nothing to her. She went down several more hallways before -her breath caught- finally another room; an automated door left open. . .

. . .inside, the outline of a body; collapsed, yet suspended by chains.

The mental pattern confirms this is Scott--she wouldn't have recognized him by physicality; the form of his body off -thinner, with something unmistakably missing from over his eyes.

She perceived the shape of his visor nearby on the floor.

Bending down, Jean carefully slipped it back on. .Cyclops stirred as though somewhat roused; more noticeably drawing breath, though it wavered.

Jean removed one of her gloves for skin-to-skin contact as she supported his head. The feel of his skin and hair was altered, and he was cold. Opening her jacket, Jean aimed to share her own body heat by holding him close.

". .Jean. . ?"

It was a relief to hear him speak. "I'm right here with you."

". .I tried to escape. . tried to get to you. ."

"You did. I was able to find you through our connection."

Shifting some attention back to his restraints, Jean noticed with alarm miniature devices like Tesla coils in the cavities of the wall where his chains connected.

Jean concentrated her telekinesis on the shackles, seconds later unlocking and sliding them away. She then eased Cyclops into a position that allowed for stress to be taken off his muscles, careful to go gradually; her telekinetic touch turning to massage on certain muscles to ensure they wouldn't cramp as he stretched out. By the same means, Jean brought over what she identified to be Cyclops' discarded jacket, setting it open beneath him for more of a barrier between his upper body and the unforgiving metal floor.

Setting a hand underneath his head, Jean then -on conclusion of massage- took his wrist in her other hand, checking / monitoring his pulse rate. "We'll get out of here soon."

If her face could be seen in the darkness, however, resolve would be mixed with uncertainty.

Meanwhile

A book lay forgotten on Charles Xavier's lap as he, positioned by a window in his library, stared out as though the expanse of the night could grant some solace or answer to the unease he felt over everything. . .and indeed, as he did, a sudden cognizance fell over him; something having returned to his greater perception.

He went down to Cerebro at once.

Finally her mind was no longer obscured from him.

'Jean! It's good to be able to reach you.' He found Scott's mind with hers, though the signal wasn't as it should be. 'What has happened?'

'Someone brought the jet down and had kidnapped Scott. I just found him.

The condition he's in. . .'

'Are there medical facilities near you?'

'We can't trust they'd be accommodating to us. Besides, we'll be stuck in a valley once we get out of this facility.'

'Concentrate on your location, everything you've seen of it.'

Jean focuses on what she remembers of their surrounding terrain.

This input allows Xavier to hone in.

'There will be a clearing. Assuming your exit isn't far off-'

he describes the distance it would be from them.

'I can have someone collect you there.'

The message has been communicated to both Jean and Cyclops.

'We'll make our way when we can.'

Xavier understands. 'In any case we'll find you; take care of him.'

Jean returns her full attention to Cyclops. "I may be feeling residual effects from the psi-blockers, telepathic perception feels strange, here. . .Though I don't think there's anyone we'll encounter."

"There isn't. . .somehow they knew you were coming. ." Despite the weight of weakness and fatigue, Cyclops, under Jean's watchful, telekinetic eye, makes the effort to begin getting up; grabbing his jacket as he does so. "They accelerated their experiment. . . .left after depleting my optic blasts. ."

So that was why his visor-- and accelerated the experiment? The culpability crosses Jean's mind: was there somewhere she could've been more careful? Arrived here without detection and saved Scott the worst of his torment. . ?

No time for that now.

"Do you think you can walk?"

". .with help to start. ."

They get up together -"easy. ." though as he leans on her, Jean utters a sound of pain. "-hold on-"

"-Are you okay?"

"My arm was injured in the crash," she's shifted position so he's on her uninjured side. "It isn't too bad now, but still sensitive."

Cyclops finds an uneasy balance. ". .How long's it been since the crash?"

"About 36 hours."

So that's the time he's lost. He starts moving forward with her.

Since only Jean can technically see in this darkness, she explains as she guides him: "Careful at the door, here. The corridors are wide enough we'll be able to walk easily. . . hopefully it won't be too far. I can feel some ways ahead but right now I don't know."

Cyclops' concentration seems to be on keeping one foot in front of the other, grunts of discomfort accompanying every few steps.

"We can break if it is. . ." Jean adds, cognizant -and concerned- of how deliberately he's walking. "Once we are outside I can make a fire; we can get some rest before we head to the rendezvous point."

Cut back-to X Mansion - Cerebro

Decidedly, Xavier removes the device from his head, not requiring it for the next message he has to send: 'Ororo. I require your assistance. It's a matter of some urgency.'

Cut-to Manhatten - top of St. Patrick's Cathedral

In response to overheard police radio reports regarding more mutants they have the mind to apprehend, the crimson clad Master of Magnetism has found another stage to show his superiority.

Through no more effort than a child playing with matchbox cars, the officers soon find theirs operating not of their own command.

Alone this time, Magneto remarks to himself from atop his perch: "They've been wanting driverless cars."

Suddenly nimbus clouds form overhead, and as if from them, Storm appears -alighting on the cathedral's other spire.

Magneto had shifted his eyes towards the telling weather change, and presently clutches all the cars' breaks to grant him the pause to address the X-Man coming down to him. He takes in the lack of other X-Men present. "You appear short-staffed tonight."

Storm faces him squarely. "As do you. Though what one sees is seldom all there is." Her eyes flash. "Cease these actions, Magneto."

"Do you know who they're in pursuit of?" Magneto dips his head slightly in reference to the police down below.

"We X-Men will see if the mutants they are after are in fact deserving of apprehension, and from there take the correct course of action."

Unperturbed, Magneto quips, "well I will know where to find them whether they're imprisoned or to be rehabilitated."

At this, he let's go of the cars --which causes those with determined, lead-foot drivers to careen forward at the sudden absence of force acting against them; at least one minor collision heard in the following seconds.

Magneto then turns his hand over towards Storm, as if to say 'do what you came here for', while his self-assured expression says 'just try to'.

Storm: "For now what divides us must be set aside. I am here with a message from Charles."

Magneto's brows rise with curiosity. . .

. . .Meanwhile

From a passage in the base of the canyon wall, Cyclops and Jean Grey come out on an area of sparsely treed earth with a small lake, on the edge of the forest proper.

Coming off of the darkness of the facility, the glow of the moon is at once harsh and welcome.

Jean eyes the lake, thinking of what it can provide them, while Cyclops seems focused on what hangs above the water: a mist.

Through his visor it looks red. Still feeling the absence of his optic blasts, Cyclops is compelled to remove it for a clear look --though as the lens slips away from his visual field, he still sees red.

Jean can only gasp before it happens--

--and Cyclops is knocked into a stagger -affected in his weakened state by sudden optic release --his stagger bringing them both down; visor falling from his fingers.

Even as his body is jolted by the fall, Cyclops keeps his eyes fiercely shut, shakily shifting one hand from the job of supporting his weight to finding his vital piece of eyewear.

In a moment, he feels it reset over his eyes by Jean's telekinesis. "Are you okay?"

But Cyclops is decidedly not okay -everything from the last few moments serving to trigger the man who now looks back up, retraining his gaze on the mist. . . Shot Composition: ECU on Cyclops, seeing the reflection of the mist in his visor, and as we ease-in to it, so too do we go into a flashback--

X-Men Envisionings Storyline # 3 - Relations 💉🩸

Earlier in the Summer. . .

Standing against his motorcycle in a natural area, Scott speaks to someone via his cellphone: "I already looked over the area. What happened to you?"

Voice of Alex Summers: "Sorry, I got held up. Is it good?"

"It's tricky terrain up to the spot, heavily treed; not where most would venture to set up. Which makes it perfect for Summers Camp."

"Great. I'll be there in 5 to see for myself."

"Well call me later with your thoughts. I've gotta' be going."

"Sure."

Call disconnected, Scott pauses before putting away the cell; attention turning to his helmet. Ahead of donning it, he removes his ruby quartz glasses -eyes shut tight until he has the helmet on and slides his glasses back into place via the groove between the padding.

Straddling his motorcycle and starting it up, Scott's off. . .

. . .and we return to him as Cyclops, leading Iceman, Rogue, Colossus and Shadowcat through some underground construct.

Quite unlike the one we just witnessed in the storyline we're breaking from, these passages are made of newer steel, with small lights dotting the walls providing just enough illumination to see decently. . .

. . .and as Cyclops sets down another step, we both see and hear the sudden depression of a section of floor. "Stop- stop-" he holds his hand back towards the others in a halting position. "Pressure plate."

Shadowcat: "What -like a land mine?"

"Hold it. Listen."

A distinct countdown tone can be heard.

Colossus: "I'll be impervious--" he steps up in prep to replace Cyclops on the plate.

"No." Cyclops has spied something else a few feet down the tunnel -a safety fire extinguisher and hose on the wall behind glass -it's locked. "Shadowcat, phase that hose out. You'll drown the plate. Iceman, you'll freeze it."

The plate is depressed enough that there's a gap between it and the surrounding floor, allowing for the liquid to get down into the base mechanism.

It works; the tone ceases.

"Your plan would've worked too," Cyclops adds to Colossus, as he uses a very low powered optic blast to free his boot from the ice. "Except for the part where it would've given us away.

He steps off the plate no problem. "Now let's tread more carefully. We don't know what other security features they might have in place."

Before too long another is encountered, this one without any discernible trip wire or engagement mechanism -sections of the lights slide away, along with notches of wall, to uncover recessed jets dispensing some sort of noxious air.

Everyone begins to cough except Colossus--his organic metal form requiring no intake.

Iceman tries freezing the holes the gaseous compound is exuding from, but-- --"It's melting my ice!"

Throwing stealth to the wind, Colossus tries punching the holes in, except-- --"Too many -you'll be down before they are!"

No use trying to make a run through it, either -even if their visual field wasn't so reduced now they could see an end to run to.

So when the best way isn't through, you go around--

--While Iceman and Colossus do what they can to at least secure some breathing room,

the X-Men's leader prepares to discharge a blast about midway up the wall, except he pauses a moment, seeming to second-guess -or be caused to second-guess- his power adjustment.

In an instant's calculation, he shifts the dial on his visor that much more back up, then--

--VZHOOM-KHH KH KHZH!!!!--

--succeeds in blasting his own tunnel in the wall; carving it upwards. "Follow me in -Iceman last. Keep working 'til it's time." Still blasting, he commands: "Colossus, block us in."

They're still fighting with the need for oxygen as they proceed, but by sheer conditioning and determination, Cyclops brings them to the surface.

Once all are out, he collapses his tunnel, managing to choke-out over-comm: "Colossus, proceed from your position. We'll do the same from here."

He allows just long enough for everyone to catch their breaths, then: "Let's move."

They continue in their original direction, this time aboveground; the expanse of land revealing nothing of the facility beneath their feet.

Cyclops (over comm.): "Colossus, update."

"Air is clearing, I think, though it's become like a maze. I'm inclined towards ignoring walls."

"They're certain to know we're here now, so you could. . .(but)"

Rogue: "We gotta' get back down there."

Shadowcat: "I could try phasing us-"

Cyclops: "-Actually, we're fine where we are." Where they are is stopped in the middle of the field.

Iceman: "What are we waiting for?"

A sound like a mechanized door opening can be heard distinctly some distance on. Cyclops turns towards it with a satisfied look: "Our subject."

Out of a hidden hatch in the ground now emerges a being --winged like the X-Men's own comrade, Angel-- except there's something unhuman and fractious about them.

Presently they take off into the escape of the skies.

"Iceman intercept 'em."

Iceman instantly creates an ice bridge -a coaster, and rides it towards the beast.

The others close the distance on the ground.

Cyclops: "I'll stun it. Once it's down, Rogue, you make sure it stays that way for transport."

But Rogue's part never comes --He blasts, looking surprised even as he does so, and that's the end of the thing --Cyclops is stunned.

Iceman: "Whoa-!-what?" He pauses himself in mid-air-

-as their environment pixelates away, revealing our team to be in-

-The Danger Room.