"What guard?" I replied, walking past the spot the scanner once was, and the bare desk with nothing under it. Footsteps were followed quickly by gunfire, but despite my father's panic, no one was injured, apart from the two men holding firearms, who were now left slumped on the floor with a bloody smear from a broken nose painting the wall. Making our way into the prisoner detention zone, I let out a smile. "Time for some fresh meat."
~~
POV- Reed
Andy was definitely different, which I guess I couldn't blame him for. Though I wished he wouldn't joke about killing people just to help me focus my powers. In a manner of hours, he'd not only discovered what my ability was, but helped me summon it, and channel it in a way that would be safer for those around me…and myself.
Following my son down the short hallway while guided by signs to the temporary detention zone, I'm glad that despite everything that's happened, he still has the wisdom to select his new hires carefully, unlike the idiot Reeva, who was apparently alive, but 'of no threat anymore,' whatever that means. While he rejected the admittedly prejudiced systems that govern the country, he is smart enough to understand that not EVERY mutant in prison is innocent, and unleashing them all would be catastrophic. Andy's hand twitches and the large metal door blocking the way into the detention area is forced open, having been ripped from the concrete wall.
"Check their files while we're here, in case there's a new addition." I only nod, heading over to the computer that sat open on the desk. There weren't any new additions, unfortunately, but it did give me information on one of the other imprisoned mutants.
"Andy, the skinny-looking man in cell 13," I called out.
"The junkie?" The 'junkie,' flinched at Andy's rather accurate description, and glared despite the situation.
"He was promised a lighter sentence for providing information on his former boss. He's a snitch."
Andy turned to him and began to laugh softly, "A rat, huh?"
"He could reveal your identity," I said quietly, "give a description."
Andy shrugged casually, "So could the cameras up there that I won't be removing. I WANT them to know we are still here. Besides… traffic cams would have picked us up anyway. The entire time he says this he continues looking around the room slowly, observing each prisoner. A few of the caged mutants began clamouring for his attention and for freedom but were silenced by a telekinetic blast that pushed every noisy prisoner to their knees. Finally stopping in front of two cells near the end of the room, he draws his face into a smile, similar to those used in customer service, the mouth bright and happy but with eyes cold as death itself.
"So…I want to hire both of you," he said. "Joshua Fairbanks and Jennifer Saunders." Each were surprised by the offer, each probably wondering why he came specifically for them. "I am part of the Hellfire Club, and want the two of you to join me. Joshua, you can avoid the fighting and be safe for the first time in a while," turning his head slowly to the cryokinetic killer, Miss Saunders, he offers something else. "And for you, Jennifer, I can promise to stand opposed to the Purifiers, to kill those that would hurt us simply for existing."
Miss Saunders, however, was smarter than expected and called him out. "Were you responsible for the massacre at the bank?"
Andy only sighed, and a pained look of guilt and regret pierced the cold mask he wore. "Not me specifically, though I was there. The mutant who performed it is dead and the one who ordered the massacre has been dealt with."
"You don't agree with the attack?" she asked, slowly, her voice and expression each giving me the indication of surprise.
"If it were just the guards, I wouldn't care, but senseless murder is just that, senseless. I would give you plenty of time to consider, but really we only have another minute or three before we have to leave, so…?" The kid, Joshua, jumped at the chance, knowing full well that mutant children go to the same prisons as the adults, their X-gene scrapping any leniency their age may have had. 'And with his powers and body type, prison would be hell for the boy.' Jennifer stared into Andy's eyes for a moment more before nodding in acceptance, and with a casual flick both their cells and collars were shredded. Not opened, completely scrapped into pieces. "Welcome to the Hellfire Club."
The remaining prison mates were now screaming for freedom, but we moved on, ignoring their pleas and moving quickly back to the car. There was no doubt the building would be flooded with police in a few minutes, but despite it's location, or rather BECAUSE of it's location, there would be a rather long wait for assistance from the Sentinels, who were based on the other side of the city. If it took local police 17 minutes to get to a crime scene, it would take the Sentinels far longer to get here. The drive back from the temporary detention centre was quiet, both Jennifer and the kid staring out the window, flinching every time a police car passed or a siren sounded.
Looking back, using the rearview mirror to look at the new teammates Andy had collected, I try my best to comfort them, talking about the support we have from other mutant groups, and talking about my own experiences in helping mutants, giving them new identities and so on. Joshua was fascinated to hear about Andy, who was only a few years older, yet far more confident and powerful, so I discussed the time he spent training, playing guitar and some of the more acceptable missions, such as rescuing the phaser siblings. While Jennifer continued looking out the window, I caught her eyes occasionally flickering to Andy as I discussed the training he underwent, or our time on the run only months ago. 'So, she's the cautious observer type,' I figured, 'while the kid is relatively optimistic for a home if I'm reading him right. I feel somewhat bad taking in a severely malnourished-looking kid that doesn't look or act like he's gone through puberty yet, but I know his future is brighter, funnily enough, joining the group of mutant terrorists.'
The two were brought back to the tower, though that involved a car swap and the removal of a Sentinel Drone thanks to Andy, and neither had expected the level of comfort they were being invited to.
"Woah," Joshua exclaimed, looking at the view from the top floor. "This is amazing. Where's my room?"
"Both of your rooms are two floors down, though they haven't yet been decorated to your tastes. You can do that in your own time, based on your own tastes." I was fairly confident the two spare bedrooms weren't 'theirs,' but just empty ones, but it was still better than a prison cell.
"So when do we meet your boss?" Jennifer asked.
"You already have," I quietly chuckle, gesturing to Andy who had given up on touring his new associates and started making himself a coffee.
"You're kidding," she said stunned, her face as frozen as her powers. "How old are you?"
"16."
Joshua held only admiration in his eyes, practically glimmering as he looked at his new boss. "Two years older than me."
Andy took a sip of his coffee and handed Jennifer a cup, "yet I'm now the boss of this group and the cartel Joshua will be working closely with." Joshua froze, probably due to the treatment he had experienced in the old drug farm's ownership.
"You're using me to grow weed right?" Andy nodded in approval.
"As well as any other things we need. Though that depends on whether the police and Sentinels knew the truth of your powers."
"W-what do you mean?" Jennifer had remained silent, suspecting a similar reason for wanting the boy, but grew just as interested as me as Andy continued.
"Are your powers JUST the growth of a singular plant? Or can you grow large areas of vegetation? Can you control the plant life? The more you can do, the better the position I can give you." Thinking about the possibilities, I understood the kid's value if Andy was right about his powers. 'If he could grow entire fields of wheat in seconds, he could be used to supply crops for food or exporting, and if the kid could manipulate plant life as well as supersize it, he could be a weapon in and of himself, as well as a moneymaker.'
Joshua was nervous, and remained silent on the couch, which Andy let him do, instead turning to Jennifer. "I'd like you to remain with the Hellfire Club itself, particularly as we are about to perform a media, then physical assault on the Purifiers. You can kill as many as you deem a direct threat to mutants nearby."
Jennifer was a little confused, "media attacks? Like on twitter?"
Looking at me, he shrugs, "that's not a terrible idea, but I meant through more traditional forms of media. Benedict Ryan's show, for example." A low growl could be heard in her throat as she waved him on to continue. "We are going to use his own program to spread the information that he was the leader of the same dangerous local purifier chapters that caused so much destruction and death. Then, we are going to use Ryan to locate the other leaders, and wipe them from existence-"
"Leaving them leaderless," Jennifer finished. "And when new leaders take the position and use it to initiate a war?"
"We kill every last one of them. Don't worry, we will leave warnings about what will happen if they act out of line." I was a little out of my depth in such a dark conversation, but I understood the reality of the purifiers. They were originally protectors, defending their homes and families, but with fear, comes hate, then bigotry, then sheer fucking stupidity. They would use anything for an excuse, and would commit heinous actions towards innocents, 'in fact, they already had.'
The three of us continued discussing things such as living arrangements, rules and other members of the Club, which, really had only consisted of two families living together. It took almost 20 minutes for Joshua to finally feel comfortable enough to talk. 'No doubt thanks to the hot chocolate and pastry I brought him. Cait would probably have been proud.'
"Umm, Andy? You were right…about my powers. I can affect more than one plant at a time, and control them a little, but not anything major. Not enough to fight with, or even protect myself."
Andy stood, moving over to the downcast boy, "Were you always as good at growing plants as you are now?" When he shook his head, Andy's grin blazed again, "then your powers can be trained, and if I'm right, training will be very effective with you, unlike my dad over there," he laughed. "I can help you grow stronger, so long as you trust me." The boy held a contemplative pose, then accepted, heading to go explore the tower that would be his new home when he wasn't with the Guerras.
As he turned back to Jennifer, she held up her hand, "You've already won me over, but I'm more than happy to train with you all."
POV- Andy
Training the next morning, began with the testing of their abilities. "You can control ice, create ice even, but you can't freeze a balloon."
"IT'S AIR!" Jennifer shouted back, having grown frustrated from my comments at the side. With a snap of my fingers, the balloon explodes, leaving the burning remains.
"My ability is to pull things apart," I explained, "yet if I generate pressure and friction, I can create explosions, fire, shockwaves and whatever else I can think of. I know you haven't done a lot of work on freezing air itself, but everything freezes. You can work with my sister on the theory of freezing stuff."
Jennifer's eyebrow raised in query, "She controls ice too?"
"Hrmm? Oh, no. She pushes things together, but by pushing molecules together, theoretically, she could freeze things too. And besides, she could use the company." 'Lauren's going to be absolutely venomous when she hears I said that,' I chuckle.
Joseph, on the other hand, had very little to show. Taking a seed, he grew it to be a fully formed and bloomed flower, and while impressive, showed the amount of work he had to do. He'd started sweating after the plant, and when growing two, the speed dropped drastically, and he nearly collapsed from the effort afterwards. "You know what you need to do, don't you?" I asked.
"Train it?"
"And eat more, I want to see if you are somehow fuelling the growth with your own body, or just straining yourself somehow. You'll do fine.
The training for the new recruits was simplistic, and yet it gave me the opportunity to teach Dad at the same time, as he could destroy the ice constructs as quickly as he could, experimenting with control, while I continually provoked him and Jennifer. My own training had slowed to a crawl, so after the time spent teaching the newbies, I slinked back to my training room for some control practice of my own.
I had been able to purchase a huge batch of sand a few days ago but hadn't the time to properly train with it. Tipping the bags of sand onto the floor I was thankful my powers meant I wouldn't have to sweep the shit up afterwards, groaning as I watched it slide over the hard stone floors. Beginning with mass target control, I looked over the pile, gathering small, hand-sized batches of sand, held in spheres in the air. Until now, my training had been focused on big, bulk manipulation, or controlled, precision, but with this, I was forced to hold the perfect exact shape of dozens of targets in the air at the same time. Eventually, I would be able to pick apart each and every grain of sand, controlling them like a conductor. Until that time, my grind continued. Handling two dozen, spheres in the air was comfortable, but nearing three, my control slipped, and one of the spheres on the left dripped some sand. 'Fuck. All I want is absolute control, is that too much to ask for?' Picking up the dropped sand, I begin again. "One, Two, Three…34, good, that's progress. 35. Shit." For hours, I continued forming and maintaining multiple individual targets, managing to bring the number up to an even fifty before Lauren called out in my head.
*Andy, are you in the training room?*
*Yeah, why?*
*Because you've been in there for hours, and we need to deal with the transfer of the kid to Carmen and food.*
*WE HAVE CHEFS!*
*True, but that doesn't solve the first issue grumpy. Anyway, get your butt out here so we can pass him over to Carmen.*
Making my way over to the main hall, filled with everyone, minus Sophie, the room settles at my entrance, and I can see Phoebe's smirk as I sat down at the head of the stupidly long table. 'No doubt, I'm going to hear jokes about this from her eventually.' Taking the time to explain the cartel situation to the kid, who would be given far more vegetation to train with at the Guerras than inside a glass building, Joseph understood, promising to be helpful and to train himself to be strong.
*Brzzt*
"Excuse me a moment," I excused myself, answering the call from 'Mafia Mommy.' "Hey, Carmen, we are headed to yours in a few minutes."
"We couldn't find a mutant with tech abilities unfortunately, but we do have a few regular people with some level of skills if you wouldn't mind using them in the short term?"
Rubbing my eyelids, I let out a groan. 'I knew Sage's powers were rare, and technomancy is as well, so I'm not surprised she couldn't find anyone. "It's fine, Carmen. I found a kid that you will be taking care of for a short while."
"WH-Excuse me, what?"
"A 13-year-old kid with the power to make plant life grow REALLY quick. Make him comfortable would you, but nothing extravagant. Not until he starts showing progress in his training."
"Sir, we don't have the right environment for raising kids."
"Oh Carmen," I chuckle, "I'm not asking you to raise him. I'm asking you to take care of him while he uses his powers to grow our drugs really quickly and make us rich. You could even buy rare flowers or herbs like ginseng and he could age them in seconds."
There was a silence over the phone as she thought up some possibilities before she added one final message to their conversation. "I couldn't find a computer guy, but we did find someone you might want. In fact, she's already heard of you."