POV- Andy
Weeks had gone by and we were still waiting for the tower to be constructed. If my powers were even fractionally helpful with construction I would have offered to go and help just to get out for a bit. I'd spent most of my time training my subconscious control, now capable of holding the entire pool a foot above the bottom, while swimming in it. I'd even managed to be social, probably more social than I have for a long time, hanging out with Fade in the gym and sauna, relaxing with my family and even spending time with the blond triplets that are no doubt the fantasies of many.
When my phone buzzed, I practically leapt from the bed.
"Hey Andy, I really need you, Lorna and Marcos, to help protect a family. Their kids can phase through matter. They were seen using their powers to steal from a tech store a day ago, and are now on the run. Whether your sister wants to come is up to you."
Phasing through objects is a really cool power, like Kitty Pride from The X-men, but it never made sense to me. 'If they become ethereal themselves, why don't they sink through the earth, or are they somehow only able to pass through the object they focus on?' I suppose I can test when we find the family.
Sending a text to Sophie and Lauren, explaining where I was going, I grab my comfy pants and hoodie and head down to the garage, which also functions as an armoury, with flak jackets, weapons and ammunition lining the walls around the numerous vehicles. Donning the kinetic dispersion vest under my hoodie I grab a standard sidearm, not wanting anything too heavy or unwieldy. I'd gotten better with them but I was by no means a marksman, and in most cases, my powers were more effective.
"You got the text too?" The clicking of heels gave away the speaker, 'Unless Marcos has a thing for them, I guess?'
"Yeah, the family with the phasers."
"Are you wearing a vest?" she asked, sounding just like Mom does whenever I tell her I haven't eaten.
With a roll of my eyes, I lift the hoodie a little, revealing the gel-packed vest coloured lime green for some reason. "Yes, mother."
"Attitude aside, we should expect both police and Sentinel forces. With powers like that, the kids could be deemed a threat to national security."
"Did John send you a place to meet up or are we headed to the HQ?"
"We're meeting him where the family was last seen, then he'll track them."
Once Marcos pulled his ass into the car we headed off, meeting John and Trader at a gas station near the edge of the city.
"They filled up and headed out of the city. They were here about an hour-and-a-half ago, so we need to get moving."
"Any signs of police or Sentinels in the area?" Marcos asked.
"There was a car that came past here, but they didn't stay, probably hoping to locate them where they settle," Trader answered, eyes constantly watching our surroundings. 'Considering all of us are wanted fugitives that's probably a good habit to build.
"Soo we drive out the way they went and have John do his weird tracking thing at every intersection?" I ask, not entirely sure what they had planned.
"Unless you have a better option?"
"Did they only visit the gas station?"
"No, the kids were seen leaving the car and going that way," Trader replies, pointing towards a collection of shops."
"Did they come back to the car?"
"No, the car drove off from the gas station, why?"
"Because the parents would have known their kids weren't in the car, and speaking from my own experience, parents who are willing to become fugitives for their kids don't drive off without them, so they obviously picked them up right?" Seeing John's signal to continue I explain, "The kids probably used their powers to go grab supplies and got picked up by the car closer to the store, and because the goods weren't purchased or seen on camera…"
Lorna finishes my explanation, understanding the implied message, "We don't know what goods they took, which could change how they're moving." She whips out her phone, "I'm calling Sage."
"Hey Sage, can you check out if there are any recordings of two teenagers in the shopping strip off Travers Street, we're looking for two phasers, but we think they took supplies from there." A few minutes pass as we wait before Lorna receives information from our resident computer specialist. "Yeah, the kids had two trolleys full of camping gear which they grabbed from in there, they got spotted by a camera in the store room, pushing them out through the wall. Good call Andy."
And so we moved down the highway, moving out of town in the direction they went, John occasionally stopping to check they hadn't diverted off yet. After forty minutes sitting on the rather uncomfortable customised Humvee seats, listening to the radio, specifically the interview with Benedict Ryan as he spewed anti-mutant hate through the radio to an audience of tens of thousands.
"Why're you even listening to that shit?" Lorna asked.
"Because he's a potential enemy, and I need to know what he's doing."
"Enemy, he's a tv host," Marcos said incredulously.
"He's an anti-mutant tv host with one of the most popular tv programs in the country. There's not a bus top or billboard that hasn't had his face on it. If he wanted, he could build and influence an army. And he's NOT on our side."
"He's just doing it for fame and views, he's not attacking people in the streets like the Purifiers."
"Of course, he isn't, as you said fame and views. If he was a known Purifier, no one would listen to him because they're a nationally recognised hate group. That doesn't mean he doesn't share their views." Marcos was silent at this, rubbing his face with his hands.
"Johns signalling us into that park." Following Lorna's statement, we follow the tracker, veering off the road and over the slightly flattened grass leading into the tree line. 'They must have driven into the forest itself to hide the car better. Not a bad idea, and considering how old the car looked, there shouldn't be any way of tracking it through navigation signals.'
Grabbing a tablet and downloading a map of the park, I head over to the others. 'I'm not risking getting lost because I get separated or John is somehow incapacitated.' "I am so glad the triplets convinced me to start wearing combat boots rather than sneakers." I say mostly to myself before I look over at Lorna and chuckle slightly, "But at least I'm not going to have to hike in heels."
"You'll be hiking with my heels up your ass if you don't shut up," she quipped obviously as annoyed about her situation as I was amused. Then she stopped, smirked and lifted herself a few inches off the floor. "As long as I don't have to move quickly, this will do fine." She then flipped me off and floated away.
Theoretically, I could do something similar, but it would prevent me from responding quickly in situations, no matter how much practice I put into subconscious manipulation of my powers. 'Magneto could supposedly hurl himself around like a meteor, reaching ridiculous speeds, but I'm not entirely sure how much stronger he was than Lorna, or me even. The sheer power he held was incredible, and so wasted on him.'
The hike itself was boring, which was unsurprising. I'd never been a huge fan of the outdoors, and apart from skating, I didn't have much of a reason to go out. Dad had always talked about camping, fishing and stuff, but with his work, it just never happened. Shaking off the incoming negative feelings about my family, I focus on the trail. The sounds of birds in the trees around us, the wind rustling branches and shaking leaves. I could even smell the river somehow, and if I wasn't on a mission I would probably have stopped and enjoyed it. 'I'd love to just sit somewhere here and just sketch, maybe have a couch or inflatable bean bag, if that's a thing, brought out here.'
John signalled us to a halt, using hand signals he learnt in the military despite never bothering to explain what they mean. 'Good thing I play a heap of shooter games or I'd have been lost on the signals.' Then whispering he explains the reason for stopping, "The family is positioned just up there in that flatter section. All of them are together, but I'd like Lorna and Andy to go in first."
"Because we're non-threatening. The pregnant chick and the kid. Good idea," I say, for once not joking. Rubbing my face and stretching lightly I start walking to the campsite, Lorna having copied me in case of a hostile welcome. Walking up slowly but calmly, I try to give a friendly smile, not something I do well, and wave. "Hey, nice camp." The whole family had watched me approach as I'd made no effort to sneak up on them, worried about startling the parents. 'This is America after all, they're probably armed. And while the vest is good, copping a round of buckshot doesn't sound like a lot of fun.'
"Stop there." As I comply the father presses, eyeing me and Lorna, "Who are you and why are you here?"
"This is Andy, and I'm Lorna, we are…were part of the Mutant Underground, and we'd like to help you move somewhere safer, more permanent than a campsite."
"Realistically, you'll need to head back into town for supplies occasionally, and then you'll be tracked by the Sentinel drones. We found you quicker, but they WILL find you," I add, inciting fear in them. 'Scared people can be chaotic, reckless even, but they're also far more susceptible to manipulation. Controlling people through fear and hate has been the strategy of governments for millennia.'
"Prove it," a younger girl said, holding a fairly sharp-looking knife.
"Prove what?"
"That you're like us," the older brother finished, maybe a little younger than me, looking around 14. Lorna then lifted their car, spinning it before gently placing it down. They turn to me and I pull the gun, shovel and knife they all held from their slackened grips, rotating them in a pattern before holding them in front of their original owner pointed down.
"You've gotten a lot better at control," Lorna leaned over and said.
"Yeah well, it was either that or perform something hugely destructive my power isn't exactly subtle." Turning towards the family again I continue, "We were asked by the Atlanta station of the MU to help you, we were sent to talk to you to explain the situation. Is it okay if the other three come up here?" The family was nervous at being outnumbered but having seen us lift a car and disarm them so quickly there wasn't much of a difference.
"Sure." As Lorna grabs the boys I head over to the siblings.
"So what are your names, I wasn't actually told much about you other than you stole from a tech store." The comment about the theft made the siblings look to the ground, obviously ashamed and feeling guilty for causing their family's situation, something I understood well. "I'm not going to judge you for it. Was it stupid, maybe, but we've all done stupid stuff. I'm the bpy who accidently caved in my school's gymnasium a month back." The older brother quickly looked at my face, shocked by the reveal.
"Woah, you look way different to the photo they showed."
"Sweet, it should make it easier to blend in." The brother looked at my hair and looked away slightly, obviously trying not to say anything about the colour.
"What did you mean by accidentally?" the younger sister asked, "didn't you attack the school?"
"No, I was being beaten and held under a steaming hot shower by a group of bullies and between the pain and my panic I tried to push them off me, collapsing the entire building. Based on your faces that's not what was explained on the news."
"Uhh, no," she said. "Just that you and your sister are mutant terrorists."
I rub the back of my neck, "That may be the case now, but no, I wasn't then."
"You're admitting to it?" the brother asked, suddenly cautious.
"I don't attack civilians, but I'm not going to let others hurt me and those I care about, like Trask, who were performing experiments and drugging mutants like us, turning us on our own families."
The siblings' faces tightened, the sister looking at their parents who were now talking to John. "We heard about them on the news too, and the illegal experiments."
"That's because we broke into a government building and stole the information, then released it, and then removed the building where the program was being performed."
"That was you/You what?" The siblings exclaimed, drawing John's gaze.
"We don't just attack buildings and hospitals like the Purifiers, we only target those who would harm or enslave us. For me, I fight for myself and my sister, something I'm sure you both can relate to. Now that I've given you the promotional speech," I joke, causing a snicker from the siblings, "You now have 4 options. One, you hide out for as long as you can before you're caught and imprisoned. Two, you go with the MU and either join or simply get moved. Three, you abandon your family and live with the mutant-only group in the sewers, or four, you join the Hellfire Club, whom I'm currently working for, but I should warn you, the Club is full of killers and I don't think you should join. However, it is your decision to make." I head back to the others, reporting to John "I've explained their options and their situation. I'm gonna chill while you talk."
It took another half hour before they came and fetched me, John had promised to help move them in the next couple of days, the parents unwilling to let their children fight, despite Lorna's explanation about the children's "new normal." 'Some people are so fucking dumb.'
The family followed us back down the trail to where we parked when Thunderbird, a seriously ridiculous name, pivoted his head to look at the sky. "Shit, Sentinel Service drone probably followed us from the gas station. If the drones are here, so are the troops." Based on what I could see from the poor-quality binoculars the siblings had stolen on their way out, the agents had roughly seven cars parked in both the carpark, about 400 yards out, and a few covering the gated exit out onto the highway.
"I see nine to ten vehicles in front, 7 in the carpark and 2-3 near the exit, it's too hard to tell."
"Is there another way out?" the mother of the fugitive family asked.
"No, but theres one right there. I'll cause a distraction and you guys get them out of here," John said, yet again making me question his capacity as a leader as well as his mental faculties.
I spit out an "idiot," and just start walking towards the carpark, as it's both the closest target, and also the larger group. One of the agents spoke into his radio, then pulled out a speaker phone. 'Glad to know they aren't the shoot first and ask questions later type like Turner's partner.' "Hey kid, put your hands up behind your head and stay where you are."
Being now at approximately 200 yards I was still a little far so I ignored him, continuing to walk towards them, causing a few agents to draw their weapons. Once I reached around 140 yards I felt far more confident, bringing my hands that had been placed behind my head into a downward swing, creating a telekinetic blast that threw the agents back and flipped the front vehicle onto its side. Not intentionally seeking to harm them, I broke the sentinel attack drones, ripping them apart as well as the comms of the cars and agents, binding them against the concrete as I walked around throwing their guns out into the overgrown grass. Marcos drove the Humvee up to me for a pickup, the rest of our convoy following. Lorna blocked the incoming bullets while I leant out the window and threw out another blast, pushing the roadblock apart while Marcos burnt the drone out of the sky above us and drove through the gate and onto the road.
"They're gonna be looking for the Humvee." Marcos was right of course; it wasn't exactly subtle or inconspicuous.
"Tell John to get Clarisse to open a portal and we'll blink to the other side of the city, switch plates and we can head back to the club while the family gets portalled to the HQ. That's the only thing she seems to be able to do anyway."
"You really hate her, don't you?" he said, "I'll call John." My plan worked and not even 25 minutes later we were back at the club with a new, if stolen, numberplate and the family safe at the HQ.
As we said goodbye to the group headed for the MU, I leaned over to the kids. "What Lorna said about your new normal is right, you'll be a fugitive regardless, hunted regardless. Whether you fight or run is the only choice you get. Stay safe." As I climbed back into the car I realised the siblings had never given me their names.
~~~
Being accosted by Phoebe was a surprise but not an unpleasant one. She was always sarcastic and was prone to making quips about others which made me laugh. "How was your trip back to the MU, still as dilapidated as before?"
"Probably worse, but we didn't visit the HQ, just picking up some fugitive family of mutants."
"Any interesting abilities?"
"An 11-year-old girl and her 14-year-old brother, both capable of phasing through objects. Oh, and I would avoid using the Humvee in parking space 4 of the garage because those plates are stolen." Seeing her eyebrow raise in question I explain what happened earning a sigh.
"It could have been worse I suppose, it's a shame the children were so young, their powers are quite useful for infiltration. The tower should be done by the end of the week so when it becomes available for our use, we'd like you to meet our boss."
"The one that you said you'd investigate?"
"You didn't give us much to go on," she hissed.
"Give me a blank cheque favour, and I'll tell you the name of the Purifier leader she's been in contact with."
"You know who we work under specifically?"
"Huh? Yeah, Reeva right?"
Seeing her nod, she stops, "I have to ask my sisters about this, a favour from one of us will affect the others." I tell her to go ahead, watching as her eyes flash in that spooky yet gorgeously captivating blue. "We've agreed, tell us the name, and if you're telling the truth, you'll have not only our faith, but a favour from us."
"He's a tv host called Benedict Ryan, he operates most of the local purifier chapters." The horror on Phoebe's face was extreme.
"But, he's got such a large following, his words reach across America."
"Yes, and in flaming the war between mutants and humans, just like Reeva wants, he has a permanent position in tv and can build his social and political influence." Phoebe sent the information to Sophie and Esme, grabbing a coat, patting my arm and racing out the door.
'I get to screw over two enemies, build faith in my future subordinates and colleagues, and get owed a favour, for literally no effort. If John had the same memories as me he'd probably do something stupid like try to talk to Ryan, or have him arrested, perhaps wipe his memories. I give the MU 4-5 months before they collapse under his rule. Fine by me, I'll just pick up the pieces.'