Storm: "Have they arrived?"
She's standing next to Xavier in Cerebro.
"It seems so. Of course my reception is still being affected," he removes the Cerebro helmet, "it's like a signal without a picture, and a dulled one at that. I had hoped by Jean being there we could break through to each other." (Oh well) "They seem to have made contact with locals, in any case. I perceived two signals moving alongside Cyclops. Jean is just a few yards away, no doubt assessing things herself...." ....if he only could know.
Blackness....except for a domed, grey web....in the near distance, shapeshifting flashes, like what goes on when you close your eyes after looking at light. The flashes move further away, begin to dissipate, until all what remains is a reddish fizzle.
Jean Grey wakes up. Her last memory is of holding Scott. As her regular senses return, she finds her arms draped over not him, but the root flare of a tree.
"Scott?" her first call doesn't go very far..
Her eyes squeeze shut again; she takes a moment to assess, then carefully pushes herself up. One arm seems injured, so she shifts most of the effort to her other.
"Scott?" This call has resonance,
but it isn't returned by even a stirring sound.
Closing her eyes once more, Jean concentrates on reaching him through their psychic link --and is disturbed to find she can't connect. Eyes searching, Jean calms her disturbance into unsettlement. She knows they passed through the point of the strange psychic interference, one of the reasons for their coming here; that has to be all this is. Resolutely she gets up the rest of the way.
To be on the safe side in case her memories are faulty, Jean checks the wreckage of the jet.
No Cyclops. She moves on.
As she does so, Jean pauses at intervals, squinting as though trying to read or understand something. Whatever it is seems to serve to direct her movements. . . .
We follow up with different movements, now, that of the transfer of arrested mutants from the NYPD's custody, to the Department of Mutant Affairs a.k.a. the Worthington building-turned-halfway-house. What that looks like in practice is Beast coming to take the mutants in a bus, with Storm along for the ride. As well as.... "So what're all these mutants arrested for, anyway?"
Beast almost flinches into the next lane: "Egads- the sudden announcement of a girl stowed away."
Storm: "Jubilee!"
"Sorry! I didn't want to delay the trip explaining why I thought I should come along-"
Storm: "-and didn't want to hear a 'no' following a request of permission."
Jubilee's expression says it all: guilty-as-charged.
Beast: "With an appearance timed at the perfect juncture of our trip to negate turning back."
"I'll stay out of the way, and in the bus while you guys are collecting everyone, I promise."
Arriving at their first destination.....the collars are removed from the detained mutants under the skeptical eyes of the police. No one seems of the mind to buck the help and make a scene, however; they're lead out to the bus without trouble.
Suddenly a woman approaches Storm: "You're the ones giving the mutants a second chance?"
"Yes, we are."
"Please, can you arrange to take my son, too? They're trying to charge him with arson!"
Officer: "Now listen- the agreement with your associates was to give you the supposed hard luck cases, but THIS one isn't." He gestures with a flat hand towards the mother, "they're a well-enough off family whose kid nearly burned down their condo complex."
Mother: "I've been trying to explain! His X-Gene just activated! We never knew--" she turns back to Storm, "he didn't know what he was doing or how to stop it!"
Officer: "So they say."
Storm addresses the officer: "We can't know how an X-Gene will manifest any more than we can be sure that it will. Control comes with time." She looks over to a young teen, obviously the boy in question by the collar he wears if not the singed sleeves; some foil can be seen sticking out of the pocket of his pants. "He is clearly of the average age X-Genes first activate. Why do you doubt it was an accident?"
Another officer sneers: "Maybe because of all the mutants citing lose of control like a-" laugh "-get outta' jail free card last month."
"Surely you were made aware of those cases' legitimacy, with the cause originating outside of the mutant community."
The sneering officer, arms folded across his chest, doesn't push the matter despite seeming unconvinced.
The initial officer somewhat pulls the boy out of the chair he was sitting in, and leads him over to Storm: "If you're so sure you can handle 'em, be my guest. That Worthington can stay a lawsuit if the kid proves you wrong, huh?"
The mother has her hands protectively on her boy already, waiting for the officer to let go.
Storm's face shows her disapproval. "We'll be fine. Remove the collar, please."
While he goes about doing so, the officer smirks at how the mother is now taking the foil from her son's pockets and replacing it on his hands; their makeshift protective gear, it seems.
Storm and the small family leave at once to join the bus.
Outside, the boy holds his hands together with further nerves.
Storm sets one of her own upon his, "you can breathe easier. I have powers of my own that can quench any wayward flames."
The boy looks into her eyes, finding some relief in the truth he sees there.
They climb into the bus.
Beast: "Oh, hello young man. Welcome aboard the mutant express."
The mother takes in the look of Beast -who smiles- before asking Storm: "Have you been to this facility already? Can it help my son?"
The doors to the bus close, but Beast waits beyond that; not everyone being seated and all.
Storm: "Actually, what would fit him better is a school I know of for youngsters just like him. He'll have to ride with us to the other facility first, but then he can come back with me."
Jubilee has come to meet them in the aisle: "With us, actually! I go there myself and it's great!"
The boy seems happy to see another young mutant face, and his Mom seems like a large load she's been carrying has been lightened. "Oh- thank you!" She turns to her son, who asks in a low voice: "Don't you have to get back to work?"
"Do you think you'll be alright with them?"
He rubs his foiled hands together a little, looks into Storm's eyes again, then at Jubilee -who gives a fresh smile- then answers: "Yeah, I think so."
Storm: "If he has a phone on him he can call as he likes. We'll at least make sure he does when we arrive."
The small family hug.
Jubilee takes over after that: "Sit with me, if you want. What's your name, anyway?"
Boy: "Branden."
"I'm Jubilee."
Arriving at the halfway house, Beast finds he must park early as their way is obstructed by an anti-mutant crowd.
"We don't want them here!"
"Let them stay in jail!"
Members of the Department of Mutant Affairs, meant to be there to assist in the checking in of everyone, are instead having to deal with this.
There is some news crew, as well.
"I'm not hirin' no mutant!" One from the crowd says to the camera. "Their plan's to assimilate them into society-" He turns back towards the Mutant Affairs people: "You can't get this to work!"
"This is a waste!"
"I'm not paying taxes for this!"
Apparently this one's grapevine was lacking in the financial details department.
Beast: "There's another entrance. If we disembark quietly, we should be able to circumvent this unpleasantness."
Mutant Detainee # 1: "No way! We should fight back against it!"
Mutant Detainee # 2: "You want to get collared again? They're just waiting for us to mess up."
Mutant Detainee # 3: "They're provoking us!"
Mutant Detainee # 4: "Probably for that reason! I bet it's all staged!"
Storm raises her hands and, just enough, her voice: "Let's not let our emotions grow heated as theirs. Focus on the purpose you are here, and leave the rest to us."
But they've hardly disembarked when more trouble comes down.
"Did you expect anything less on the first day of this...cooperation project of yours?"
Storm: "Magneto."
Maintaining a certain distance from the ground -for a statement, not from fear- Magneto turns his head as though he's taking in the look of the building. "Not a bad facility, despite its representation of the problem with Xavier's teachings: they only ever take you half way."
Branden: "Who's he?"
Jubilee: "Bad news!"
Magneto smiles: "I suppose that we can let them be judge of," he nods to the news people down below. Then grows serious as he directs attention back to the X-Men and launches in: "You try to engender sympathy from them by saying what choice did we have? That they, made us this way. No, child. We CAME this way. And WE have all the choices."
He turns his attention to the camera, the crowd: "To you inferior humans the first solution to a problem is always to remove it. Now across the globe you're dealing with the consequences as ecosystems crash from having had key species removed. Oh yes, you have learned you must live with US, but unsurprisingly you have learned the WRONG lesson, creating those collars." He nearly spits the word.
His attention then reverts to Storm: "Surely you must see how this projects? When else in history have people been looked at as animals? Animals to be owned."
Back to his audience at large: "The intent is transparent! Contain the mutants' powers and you contain the mutant! Instill what is and what isn't acceptable behaviour, remove what makes us what we are. Next comes dictation on where we can be. 'Mutant reserves'."
He gives that a moment. "I'm pleased to see you X-Men have it right in one respect: we will NOT be collared! Will NOT become society's domesticated pets; house cats to be declawed. We are TIGERS! And what they must learn is to RESPECT the power we hold in our hands!"
At that, Magneto raises his--
--nearby cars become airborne, parking metres are ripped from the pavement, pieces broken off and bent and soon welded onto others as another member of Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants, Pyro, wearing a flame-throwing suit, makes his appearance.
These objects are then sent the way of the non-mutants -protestors and Department personnel alike- becoming makeshift shackles and, yes, collars.
Magneto raises the bus a few inches: "Anyone who wants to live a full mutant life over hoping for sympathy come-too-late, get back on." He adds to his associate, "I believe you'll find a friend in the boy there."
Pyro turns his attention to Branden, who Magneto address now: "The fire in your hands is outside of your control. I'm sure they've told you of a school to help with that? Pyro here is a graduate of sorts."
Jubilee: "Try drop-out!"
Magneto smiles, unperturbed: "He found the environment lacking after a while which is when I approached him with an alternative. I now offer you the same. I happen to know no other at the school is like you, where as you and Pyro would compliment each other. He creates not his own fire, you see, but has full control of any in his vicinity."
Branden seems intrigued by this.
Storm: "Your mother entrusted you to us."
Magneto: "She didn't have all the facts."
Jubilee (to Branden): "Look at these facts!" She gestures to the bound non-mutants. "You don't wanna' go with the type of guys who do that!"
Magneto counters: "On the contrary, that represents the level of precise control you may attain with your own gift, my boy."
Branden seems uncertain -but more about how the others will react than about his own decision; he steps back towards the bus.
Magneto smiles.
Storm places her hand on Branden's shoulder, on the cusp of talking sense back into him when Magneto's voice rings out again: "I'm afraid you won't have time to argue with the capriciousness of youth."
Pyro makes quick work creating a literal fire wall around the captives, igniting what's left of the cars and starts to set fire to the buildings when Storm's powers rain now -- but soon it's her wind that's needed, to redirect the course of metal projectiles Magneto throws her way.
Jubilee tries to balance the match-up by getting in on it, but- "the X-Men can also throw fire!" -she doesn't get her trajectory right the first time, and now that Magneto is alerted to her, he deflects her following sparks with a piece of chainlink fence before sending it her way.
Aware of his audience, he's careful not to hurt her -- the fence is met by a rod of metal from behind Jubilee, which he bends through the fence in front of her to "tie" her in place; which is now on the ground as Jubilee loses balances.
With a growl, Beast turns his attention from the near-dozen detainees who seem poised to do something of their own, and launches himself onto the bus then towards the floating leader of the Brotherhood. But Magneto is ready for this as well and meets Beast with another section of fence the he uses to push and bind him back against the building.
Another growl from the now caged Beast: "You expound the fact we're human, then subject me to this?!"
Magneto corrects: "Superior to humans," then smirks, "some more than others."
Whether it be from his words, his show, or some other factor, he gets what he came for: new recruits. They file back onto the bus -including Brenden.
In the smokescreen caused by the meeting of water and fire, the Brotherhood makes their departure.