Adult-FanFiction.org : Marvel 'Verse

The Circle And The Flame	By : KMac Category: X-men Comics > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 3163 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men comics, or any of the characters from it. I make no money from from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Becky � Objects In Motion
(Still without a beta, so sorry for any typos.)

Kurt refused to repeat what Jimmy
had said to get himself punched, and Becky was asked to help get the drunken
sot back to his rooms. Warren brought a
wheeled chair, and she and Mack hoisted the limp form into it. They wheeled him to his room and tried not
to bump him into too many walls on the way home. She poured Jimmy into his bed, and looked
over his shelves as the boys loosened his belt or whatever to make him
comfortable.
Up on an easel was a striking image
of a woman�s purple eyes, drying from an application of fixatives. Intrigued, Becky pulled out a hand-stitched
notebook from a shelf full of them nearby.
A world of obsession opened up in it; delicate, feminine hands laced
together, the curved of an elegant neck� she blushed and changed the page from
a woman in an explicitly sexual pose.
Gradually, Becky realized that all the works depicted the same woman.
�Later, Becky,� Warren said. She nodded absently. The next notebook was more of the same, and
the next, and the next� And the older the notebook got, the younger the girl
was. The oldest of them was a
collection of odd-sized pages carefully stitched between two wooden
plates. The artistry in this one was
talented but amateurish, the work of someone just learning his craft. The girl on these pages was a waif, almost
boyish in appearance, but still astonishingly beautiful.
She looked over at Jimmy, who hadn�t moved since the
boys had covered him up. She paged
through the books again, and noticed that they weren�t all studies or
pinups. In one the girl knelt by fuzzy
letters spelling out �d�, �i�, �o�, and �n�.
From that, it appeared that Jimmy named her. Other pages were� puzzles.
A few of the puzzles had small question marks in the corners, but in
many of them the question mark was struck out.
These pages were scattered through the notebooks, like the picture of
the girl next to an outline of America in an early one.
She put the notebooks away, in
order, and then saw a bigger one on the other side of the easel with a red
leather cover. Jimmy groaned as she
reached for it, and tried to get up, his contorted face a sickly shade. Becky sighed and helped him get to the bathroom
so he wouldn�t choke on his own vomit.
Mom said drinking was a bad idea, and now she understood exactly
why. Once he was safely back in bed,
and snoring once more, she took the red notebook, and left. She felt a little guilty about it, but her mother
taught her that sometimes breaking the rules was the only way to get to the
bottom of something important.

Young Pete was very useful in
making copies of the red notebook�s pages, but when Becky tried to sneak the
book back into his room in the morning, he was gone. It was clear that he�d noticed the loss. The room was a shambles; the contents of his
drawers and his bedclothes strewn across the floor. Only the area his artwork was kept remained relatively
undisturbed. She sighed, knowing she
was busted. Tucking the red book back
in its place, she quickly tracked down her mother.
�Mom! I�m in trouble, so� we need to go see Magnusson before they find
me, so I can explain.�
Raven looked up at her from her
reading. �Is that what they taught you
here?� she deadpanned.
Becky frowned. �Well, yeah. If you �fess up first, before you�re caught, the consequences
aren�t so bad.� She gave Raven a
smile. �It�s not so different from the
way you raise kids.� Her mother smiled
back briefly, and then looked deliberately over Becky�s shoulder. Slowly Becky turned around to see the Raider�s
leader frowning at her.
Raven rose to her feet. �Oh, Jon, how nice of you to stop by,� she
said as he came in. �Becky was just
looking for you.�
�I heard,� he said, still looking
at Becky. �Why did you steal from my
son?�
�I didn�t steal it, I borrowed it,�
she said. �I put it back first thing
this morning.� Jon still frowned. Becky sighed. �Did he even tell you what was missing?�
�Does it matter?� he said. �We don�t approve of theft on the Asteroid,
Becky. You took his art, and that�s
very important to him.�
�Of course it matters! Sir, I think there�s something wrong with
Jimmy, and he needs help.� Jon�s
expression altered slightly. �There�s
something eating at him, and it�s all documented in those notebooks. He�s obsessed with these puzzles, and the
red book I borrowed is where they�re collected.� She waved her hands, trying to find the words�
Raven put her hands on Becky�s
shoulders. �She may have a point. Your lady knows that last night wasn�t the
first time Jimmy�s reacted badly to Kurt and Kitty. Maybe we should find out why?�
Jon sighed and sat on the edge of
Raven�s desk. �What did you find,
Becky?�
�He draws this girl, and he named
her �Dion�,� she said. �He draws her
over and over and over, in every pose imaginable. I think that he thinks she�s real, and he�s desperately trying to
find her. But he can�t figure out all
the puzzles, and he�s cracking up about it.�
�Why were you looking at his art?�
Jon said. �Jimaine and Kurt both said
that he�s very private about it.�
�No one told me it was a big deal,
and I didn�t want watch the Raider-twins loosen his clothes, alright? So I started looking through the notebooks,
and I just couldn�t stop. Besides, I
helped him when he had to throw up last night, but I bet he doesn�t remember
that, does he?� She looked at her
mom. �If that�s what drinking does to
you, I�m swearing off in advance.
Raven gave her a crooked smile, and
then turned to her visitor. �I think
her heart was in the right place, Jon.
Maybe this does bear looking into.
A secret held that close to the chest would be a burden to anyone.�
Jon nodded reluctantly. �Then, I guess it�s time to hold an
intervention.�

�You bitch! How dare you!� were the first words Jimmy
had for her when he saw her in the meeting room.
�James Karl Szardos!� his mother
snapped. �Sit down and shut up. Now.�
He sat, and then blanched when he saw the whole array of his notebooks
on the table. Hard on the heels of that
reaction was a hot red flush of anger and betrayal.
Kurt picked up one of the notebooks
and looked through it. Jimmy clenched
his hands together as if to keep from snatching it away. �So, this Dion, she is your dream girl? The reason you are so jealous of K�tzchen
and I?�
�She�s real.� Jimmy hissed through his teeth. �Magali said so. And she�s out there� somewhere.�
�Where?� Jon said.
His son put his haggard face in his
hands. �I� don�t know. Dion can�t tell me. We can�t speak to each other, and she�s not
as lucid as I am in the dream state.�
He struggled through another surge of temper, and then sighed. �Here�s what I do know. She�s an American mutant, somewhere on the
East Coast. When I was in Maryland
helping to rescue the Captain, I felt her to the North of me. She was detected by Shield several years
ago, and sterilized. She doesn�t have a
useful power, so now she�s some Shield man�s private sexual pet.� He gave Raven a look. �You know what that�s like.�
Raven flinched, and then nodded,
expressionless.
A flicker of sympathy crossed
Jimmy�s face, before it was replaced by a grim hatred that wasn�t directed at
anyone present. �We�ve been in touch
pretty much nightly since I was young.
The night before the ceremony, she�d been roughly passed around like a
party favor.� Jimmy�s voice trembled as
he continued. �She was crying. I could see the marks they left on her, and
it just tore at my heart.� He smeared
the tears from his face. �Before you
found your Kitty, bruder, we were� well, even, because we both thought
our love lives were hopeless cases. It
hurt me so much to see the two of you together, that it overwhelmed my
happiness for you, sometimes. And
knowing that Dion is still being abused, everyday� I�m sorry, Kurt. I
shouldn�t have said that.�
Kurt clasped his arm. �I forgive you, but from now on, this is a
family problem. All of your family
wants to help you, and maybe, together we can solve your riddles. Ja?�
Jimmy looked around the table, from
face to concerned face, and slowly nodded.
�Ja.�

After lunch, Jimmy came to Becky in
the dining room where she sat with Kitty, toying with some papers. �Fraulein? I�m sorry. I thought� I
thought I could manage things� I didn�t want anyone else involved. Please, forgive me.� He gave a little bow, his face anxiously
sincere.
�I wasn�t trying to butt into your
business, Jimmy,� Becky said. �I just
wanted to help, can you see you see that?�
He nodded. �I know.
I shouldn�t have been so rude to you.�
She hugged him. �No problem, brother. Say, look what we have here!� She had a copy of one of Jimmy�s rebuses,
along with some maps. �This is from
Dion, right?� She held up a picture of
a large halved apple, lined with different colored worm tracks that meandered
in strikingly angular fashions, centered on a cartoony worm that had purple
eyes. �Kitty and I think we�ve figured
this one out.�
�Was? That is amazing� explain it please!� Jimmy sat down, his face eager. �She�s been frustrated that I haven�t
understood this one.�
Becky looked at Kitty, who took the
picture and put it back on the table.
�I guess it takes an American to know the nick-names we give our
cities,� Kitty said. �In this case, we
call New York City, �The Big Apple�.�
Becky grinned at the wide-eyed expression on his face as Kitty
continued. �Becky came up with the idea
that the tracks were landmarks��
Becky jumped in impatiently. �See, on this New York subway map, the brown
lines roughly matches this part of the map.
And the gray lines are pretty close to some of the surface streets in
the same region.�
�So,� Kitty said. �We think she�s
not only trying to tell you what city she�s in, but where in the city she�s at,
as indicated by the little worm.� Kitty
looked at the maps, �The detail isn�t very good, but assuming she conveyed it
right and you correctly portrayed that, I think it can be narrowed down to the
Upper East Side, a wealthy neighborhood of Manhattan. That�s still a pretty big territory to search, but it�s whole lot
better than �the north part of the U.S. East Coast�, right?�
He looked over the maps, finding
the correlations they�d mentioned, and nodding. �She�d tried to tell me in other ways, but it�s hard for her to
spell words in dream-state. The most I
understood was, �the new city� or �Apple City�. It never occurred to me she was giving a nick-name.� His eyes glittered with tears of
emotion. �Thank you so much, both of
you.�
�We�re family, Jimmy,� Kitty
said. �That�s what family does.� She looked at him shrewdly. �But you can tell me what you said to Kurt��
Jimmy flushed, and wouldn�t meet
her gaze. �I suggest you ask your
husband, Kitty.� She made a face. �Please?
It would humiliate me to repeat it.�
Kitty looked off. �That�s what he said.� She got a determined look on her face. �But I think it�s time I insisted. See ya later, guys.�
Becky and Jimmy watched her
leave. �It�s a good thing mein
bruder doesn�t show bruises very much,� Jimmy muttered. �She�s going to slap him.�
Becky was curious, but knew she�d
probably never find out what the mysterious insult was. �Shouldn�t she slap you? You�re the one who said it.�
�She very probably will,� he said
with a frown. He stood up hurriedly as
Jimaine Szardos walked up to them.
�I�m pleased that you have
remembered your manners, and made peace with your family, James.�
He ducked his head. �Yes, ma�am,� he said quietly.
She kissed his forehead. �Are you ready to see Ilyana with me?� Jimmy nodded.
Becky looked up from where she was
gathering the papers they�d been using.
�What about Ilyana?� She counted
the autistic Russian girl a friend.
�Young Mr. Munroe asked us to look
in on her,� Jimaine said. �Perhaps
Sorcery can accomplish what Science can�t.�
Becky followed them, concerned with
her friend. Even with Ilyana�s
disability, Becky felt close to her.
Along with the adults and most of the older teens, she helped to care
for the girl. In the medical bay, she
and Jon watched the mother and son use magic to scan both Ilyana and Mack. Becky didn�t object to the Gypsy rituals as
much as Kitty did, but they still struck her as being pretty creepy.
The scans showed powerful swirls of
darkness around Ilyana, and a hint of an odor of corruption that seemed to
concern both practitioners of the Winding Way.
The second scan showed mostly nascent sparks around Logan and Ororo�s
son, and a sense of something coming into being. �There�s a feeling of magic around you, Mack,� Jimmy said. �Or at least a sensitivity to the
supernatural. I think that�s part of
the reason you�re drawn to her, because of all the magic that�s around
her.� Mack cleared his throat and
looked away, flushing.
Jimaine nodded in agreement. �But the magic around her is all Dark, even
tainted. Someone hurt this girl badly
some time ago. What do you know of her
history?� Becky perked her ears up, she�d
never been told what happened to Ilyana.
Jon rubbed his chin. �Piotr Rasputin was a Raider and one of
Magneto�s guardians. During his service
he arranged for his little sisters to be smuggled out of Russia before she
could be caught by the Russian Shield command.
While the rescue operation was still ongoing, Piotr� died. She was at one of our bases on this odd
little island in the Atlantic when she went missing. We searched for her, and when she finally turned up she was in a
state of shock, and she�s just never really recovered. If anything she�s only gotten worse over the
years.� He sighed. �And nothing we could do has been able to
help her.�
�I don�t think it�s something your
medical technology is capable of mending, love,� Jimaine said.
�Her spirit�s weak, Mama. Maybe we can bolster it.� Jimmy set up his magical apparatus and the
two of them performed a ritual over the girl.
�This is only a stopgap, Jimmy,�
Jimaine said. �I�ll have to research
the matter with Mother.� She put a
protective charm around Ilyana�s neck, and watched as Mack eased her into a
better sitting position. The blonde
girl sighed and leaned her head on Mack�s shoulder.
He in turn stiffened, a hopeful
look on his face. �Ilyana?� He turned her to face him, and then his face
showed his disappointment as her eyes still wouldn�t meet his own. �I don�t see any change,� he said. Becky knew it was rare for him to show his
feelings so openly.
�We�ve bandaged a deep hurt that
can�t be seen,� Jimmy said. �We really
haven�t even begun to treat her yet, but we have a better idea of what is
wrong.� Jimmy gave Mack a searching
look and a rueful smile.
Mack returned the smile in
kind. �Liking someone who�s there but
not there? I can understand that. Just� make sure I�m there when you work with
her again, okay?�
�I�ll make sure of it,� the young
sorcerer said.

Becky walked to her mother�s rooms,
but before she turned the last corner she heard raised voices. ��won�t allow it!� It was Steve Rogers, and he sounded angry.
�How dare you? You�ve never been a part of her life, and
now you presume to dictate what she can do with it? This isn�t the �40�s anymore, Rogers.� Her mother sounded like coiled steel: cold and dangerous.
�Fighting is risky. She�s too young to be putting her life on
the line.� Is that what he really
thought?
�Who said she was in danger? The only missions she�s been on were with
trained people during our rescues.
And before you start that �weaker sex� line, you fought alongside
Spitfire and Miss America in World War II.�
�Against my better judgment, most
of the time,� he snapped.
�How chivalrous of you! Why didn�t you tell them to stay home and
have babies, if that�s how you felt?�
�Neither one of them was my
daughter, Raven. And I hesitate to
bring this up, but there�s a reason they don�t allow women in the Army.�
�Because War�s too clean to let the
girls play too? But when it comes to
fighting for one�s freedom and survival, we have just as much to lose as men,
and sometimes a lot more.� Her mother
paused, and Becky heard pages flipping.
�We can contribute just as much.
Let me put it in terms that you can understand, farm boy. When Deborah was Judging Israel, it took a
woman to defeat Sisera. After offering hospitality
to the enemy of her people, Jael came into the tent while he slept and nailed
his head to the ground with a tent peg.�
There was a long pause, as Becky
supposed that her father was just as surprised as she was that Mom could quote
scripture. In the back her mind she
warred between the thought that Kurt would probably be pleased, and the notion
that even the Devil could quote scripture.
�I still don�t want her to join the
Raiders,� her father said in a more persuasive tone. �I�ve only just met her, and I don�t want to lose her. I�d do anything to keep her from being
hurt.�
�But that isn�t up to you, and
ultimately it isn�t up to me, either.
She�s a mutant and this isn�t just a war on our kind, it�s
genocide. I want to tell her she can�t
fight, too, but I mostly want her to have what I never had: a choice. A choice to pursue whatever dreams she might
have. And if she chooses to fight and
you try to argue the point, I will fight you.�
She heard him give a frustrated
sigh. �Will you at least talk to her
about her dress?� Wait, what was wrong
with the way she dressed?
�What, are you upset that she
doesn�t dress more like me?� Well,
Mom did wear her clothes kinda tight.
�Raven, nice girls don�t dress like
you do. The only ones I knew of that
did were� for hire.�
�Well, at lot has changed since
then, Rogers, and in case you hadn�t noticed, I am not a nice girl.�
�Believe me, Miss
Darkholme,� her father said coldly, �I have noticed.�*
She heard a door slam, and she ducked
to peer around the corner as her father stomped away, thankfully in the other
direction, tension radiating from his retreating form. With the sound of objects being thrown in
her mother�s room, this wasn�t a good time to visit. Becky quietly left, thinking over what she�d heard.

Logan came in while Becky and her
peers were at their workout. �Alright
kids, you�ve had some time to cool down, so tell me� do you still want to work
with Kurt and Kitty?�
She answered first, �Sure. They understand what we�re really up
against.� Across the room, her father
frowned, but her mom nodded thoughtfully.
Mack nodded, putting his weights
down. �They know their stuff, Dad.�
Jimmy and Warren shared a
look. Jimmy said, �We� well,
separately, anyway, and for different reasons� have to apologize to them, but
I� need to be in this fight. Between my
advocacy for the Dead and� Dion� I have to.�
The gruff man frowned. �Spooks or no spooks, Jim, it�s your life,
don�t forget that.�
�I know, and this is the life I
choose,� Jimmy said with conviction.
�Red?� Logan said.
Warren hesitated, and then
nodded. �I don�t know if they told you,
but my folks apologized to me for shielding me so much from the realities we
live in. I should have known better
that not everyplace is as safe as here, years ago, when Dad was hurt so bad and
the others were killed. I didn�t mean
to make light of their suffering.�
Kitty stepped out from the doorway
behind Logan, and hugged the redhead.
�I forgive you, Warren,� she said.
�And I�m sorry to make you face our realities.� She walked up to Jimmy and shook her finger
at his face, the last shake lightly contacting his nose. �That wasn�t a nice thing to say, Jimmy, but
I understand. I understand that you
were a drunken, love-sick idiot.�
�Yes, ma�am,� he said. He took her still extended hand and bowed
over it, giving it a courtly kiss.
�See, Liebe? I told you he could do the contrite thing
well.� Becky saw her brother lounging
against the doorway.
�So, you guys good?� Logan
asked. �It�s important because we�re
gearing up for a major mission, and your teachers think it would benefit you to
watch us train, but only if you approach it with the right attitudes.�
Steve walked over to him. �Whatever the mission is, I want in.�
Logan cocked his head at the taller
man. �Yer face is a liability in a
mission against Shield. You look like a
young Dear Leader, which is to say you look like yourself. If you grew some whiskers and changed yer
fighting togs, then maybe. What about
you, Raven?�
�I want to,� she said. She looked at Becky and sighed. �But the fact is, seeing a Shield uniform
still makes me want to throw up� It�s
hard enough just looking Rogers in the face without seeing my rapist�� Raven shook her head, staring off, and
oblivious to the look of surprise and sickened understanding that Becky saw
cross her father�s face, followed by what might be concern. Her mother continued, finally, �I�m afraid
I�ll just be another liability.�
Becky wiped the threat of tears
from her eyes. She didn�t know that
Mom�s imprisonment had affected her so much.
�Yer doin� well in counseling, they
tell me,� Logan said gruffly. �Train
with us anyway, it�ll do you good, even if you can�t get back on the horse
yet.�
Raven gave a humorless chuckle,
�Even if what I fear the most is the �horse� getting back on me?�
�Raven?� Kitty came up to her, and
reached out to the older woman, understanding in her eyes.
Raven let herself be embraced and
kissed her daughter-in-law on the forehead.
�Thank you,� she whispered.
�Anytime,� Kitty said with a smile. �But I don�t think that�s what he meant.�
�Ya got that right! I meant get back in the fight, not� whatever
yer talking about.�
�You know exactly what I�m talking
about, Wolverine, and for me the two problems are one and the same.� Steve put a hand on her shoulder and she
turned on him like a viper. �Hands off,
boy scout!� she snapped.
He stepped back immediately,
holding up his hands. �Sorry.� But Becky was sure now, she could see a new
sympathy from him when he looked at Raven.
�So what�s the target,� she said,
desperate to change the subject.
Logan smiled grimly. �The Carrier.�
Kitty and Kurt looked at each other
in satisfaction, and Becky saw a long missing passion for the fight start to
blaze in Raven Darkholme�s eyes.

* * *

In the meeting room, Cyclops was
all business. �You four sit there and
keep quiet. If you must say something,
wait to be acknowledged.� Jimmy raised
his hand. �Yes, James?� the Raider�s
Mission Leader said.
�I want to go, if our instructors
judge me ready,� Jimmy said. �The
shades of a thousand Hounds are urging me to help end the torment.� He looked off, as if listening to
something... or someone. �Brother, Kitty? This may not be the best time, but Karla
wishes to congratulate you on both your union and your freedom.�
Kitty gasped, and buried her face
in her husband�s shoulder, clutching his shirt. Kurt just leaned his head against hers, and gave Jimmy a little
nod. Jimmy sat back, indicating he was
done. Cyclops acknowledged Becky.
�The same from me, if I�m
ready. My powers are fully developed,
and I�m trained in them,� she said.
�No!� Steve said. He stood up, frowning at his daughter and
ignoring Raven�s glare.
Cyclops turned to him. �It�s not your team, Rogers, and not your
decision, either.�
�Dad,� Becky said. �It could have been me up there, sterilized
and tortured for their amusement, instead of a girl I grew up with. If I can help stop that, then I�m more than
willing.�
Steve turned to Raven, as if for
support in his position. �She�s become
her own person,� Raven said with a shrug.
Cyclops looked at Mack and
Warren. �Well? You two have anything to say?�
Mack said, �Good luck?�
�Our powers aren�t active yet, so
we know we aren�t going,� Warren said.
His father nodded approvingly, and the meeting got underway.
�Herr Summers?� Kurt said,
as Kitty got back in her own seat, her equilibrium recovered. �We think that both Jimmy and Becky are fit
for a group mission. They performed
well with us previously.�
Cyclops nodded. �We were pretty sure you would give your
authorization, but we weren�t going to assume it.� He smiled a little, and nodded to Jon.
Jon laid out maps on the
table. �Kurt and Kitty have annotated
these charts of the carrier with every detail they can remember. I�ve noted some important targets; like the
Hound barracks, the Contra-Grav generator, and the main power plants.�
�Herr?� Kurt said. �Are we allowing time for personnel to
evacuate?�
�You want to give Shield that much
time to try and stop us?� Jon countered.
Kurt�s mouth tightened. �It�s just that there are regular people up
there, too. The trash supervisor, Joe,
is an innocent. He�s human, but he�s a
good and kind man who did much to make our stay bearable in many small
ways. If we take the Hounds out, we
must take him too, because I don�t trust Shield not to abandon the lesser
employees to their deaths.�
�Seriously?� Jon said, raising his
eyebrows.
�Absolutely,� Kitty said. �I know I couldn�t live with myself if he
were to get hurt, despite how much I want to see the Carrier downed.� She stood and flipped through the plans and
accompanying photos. �Are these
current?� Jon nodded. Kitty compared the pictures to the charts
and finally pointed out a spot on the charts and handed Kurt one of the
photos. �Love, that�s our
vent! They must have taken the baffles
off when they dropped down fully into the atmosphere.� She looked around at the Raiders. �If you�re looking for a weakness, or an
easy path through the hulls near the engines, that�s it. Even if they reinforced the back wall to our
quarters, we know that space so well, we can get through.�
Kurt smiled. �Ja, liebe, and besides, we want to
retrieve our treasures. The book of
prayers, and the journal we shared.�
�Were the pillows and cords left out?� she said.
�Nein, I took them down with
me when the baffles were placed.�
�What was this back wall made out
of?� Cyclops said.
�That�s just the thing,� Kurt
said. �Nothing more than two-by-fours
and sheetrock.�
Jon looked at Cyclops. �We have to expect some reinforcement of the structure they�re talking
about, but do you think it�s a valid approach?�
Scott nodded. �The main team that I�ll be leading will be
the main diversionary force, but this will be perfect for the explosives
group. Running on batteries, the
Carrier is as aerodynamic as a brick.
The Stealth team gets in there, places the explosives throughout the
engines, and your team takes out the flight drive.�
�We make sure the Hounds� and this
Joe guy gets out of there, and the rest falls down,� Jon said. �I want Jimmy with me, as a reinforcement to
my abilities.� He paused, looking at
Scott, �With Steve and Becky as our backup?�
Becky felt both scared and
excited. Her dad wasn�t complaining
anymore, but he still looked unhappy about the whole idea.
Summers rubbed at the deep scar
under his darkened glass lens. �That
would save the members of the main Raiders team for the forward assault which
would be helpful. You and Legacy stand
a good chance of matching up to the four of us, plus Wanda, so a couple of good
scrappers watching over you would work out nicely.�
�And we are the stealth team,� Kurt
said, inclining his head to Kitty. �Our
shuttle should let us off at the vent, and then fly under stealth to a point
off the Garbage bay so we can bundle Joe aboard. We plant the explosives and join the main team as you head for
the Hounds.�
Kitty nodded. �Anyone with us?�
�Me,� Raven said. �If I can�t handle it, I get off with the
trash man.�
Scott looked at her, noticing the
trembling hands she was pressing hard onto the table. �Okay, good thinking, Raven.
Jon, I think your team will start out with the main team, and we�ll
split up when we get to the middle levels, hopefully about when the stealth
team meets up with us.�
�That rendezvous point you�re
talking about,� Jon said, pointing at the charts. �Around here?� Cyclops
nodded. �Commit these charts to memory,
Jimmy. If for some reason I have a problem,�
Jon tapped his head with a slight grimace, �you�ll need to complete my mission.�
�Yes, Papa,� he said. �What about you, Mama?�
Jimaine shrugged.
�I�m willing, but I don�t know where I�d fit in.�
�If you don�t mind a suggestion,
Scott?� Jon said. �I have an idea for
that.�
�You�re the boss. I�m only the field commander,� Scott said.
�Very funny, old man,� Jon said. �Okay, Becky, you join up with the stealth
team, Wanda moves to mine, and Jimaine goes with the main. I know that having Jimaine in my team would
be a distraction to me. And if you were
honest with yourself, Steve, you�d be a little too worried about your daughter
to function.�
�You�re darned right I would,�
Steve said. His shoulders slumped. �I�m just� having a hard time coming to
terms with this whole idea.� Becky saw
her mother frown, but keep her peace.
�Get used to it,� Logan said. �I did, and so did Cyke about Jean.� He smiled at Ororo. �I couldn�t keep �Ro from fighting if she
wanted to, and I know she�s good at it.
And, Jon, if your ladylove is gonna distract you, you two need to train
enough so that isn�t an issue anymore.�
�You�re right, Logan,� Jon said. �Ultimately that sort of concern is a lack
of confidence in the one you�re worried about.� He gave Steve a significant look. �But with enough training, you four worked through that, just
like Kurt and Kitty did.� Steve
acknowledged the comment, but still frowned.
�I have a question,� Kurt
said. �Where is the Carrier going to
crash?�
�Good question,� Jon said. �It�s over Louisiana right now, and we know
they sometimes have trouble with their primitive flight computers. I�m planning on putting in a virus that will
direct them over the Gulf in the prelude to our attack. We�ll be using our whole fleet of shuttles,
to carry the assault teams and to provide cover against their support aircraft. The one with the main team will land on the
flight deck, blocking it from use, and one will be at the stealth team�s
disposal.�
Scott looked over the papers, and
those who surrounded the table, and nodded.
�That�s the plan, then. All that�s
left is the training.�

�I won�t hit a little girl,� Steve
growled. Logan had matched him up
against Kitty.
�Then prepare to get chalked, Cap,�
she said cheerily, holding up her boffer knives.
�I�m making a point, here, Rogers,�
Logan said. �Ya can�t always judge your
opponent on their size or appearance.
This opponent is definitely tougher than she seems.� Becky had watched Kitty go against Logan and
come out about even, so this was going to be a good fight� or a wake up call
for her dad.
Steve scowled, and held up his
shield. He gasped as she dove forward
and through him, sending him momentarily off balance. He got a chalk streak on his back when Kitty
solidified behind him, but not enough to indicate a �kill� before he reacted
and swung the shield at her head. Kitty
somersaulted out of the way and popped back on her feet, throwing dull knife
blanks at him. He deflected most of
them, but a few left marks on him.
Kitty held up her hand. �Femoral artery, Cap. If these were my real knives, you�d be
gouting blood and losing the use of that leg.�
He looked down at the chalk on his
thigh, and nodded. He dragged the leg
when they continued, and was sent staggering backwards from a tumbling run that
resulted in Kitty�s boots on his chest when his shield was out of position,
with all her weight and momentum behind her.
She leaped after him, jumping on his bent left arm and chalked him
across the throat. �You�re holding
back, Cap. Can�t you do better than
that?�
�You�re as good as he said,� Steve
told her, as he got back up and wiped the chalk away. Kitty rubbed out the smudge of chalk on his back.
�Shield taught me to use everything
I had to kill for them,� she answered.
�Becky!� Logan called. �Over here.� She came over to see Jimmy in a black outfit with a celtic cross
on the chest. She shivered, knowing
what he meant by the symbol; a gravestone, as part of his �advocacy for the
dead�. He was standing next to Kurt who
wore a pair of heavy leather gloves with metal studded knuckles. �Family time, kids. Kurt is going to give both of you some
fighting practice. He promised not to
rough you up too much.�
�You wouldn�t hit a girl, would you?� she teased her
brother. Jimmy snorted.
�Of course I would, if she was as
tough as you, Schwester,� Kurt said.
�I no longer have the option of being a gentleman on the
battlefield. Get ready��
She couldn�t dissect this fight as
well as she had between her dad and Kitty.
There was too much commotion, clouds of sulphur and Bamfs!, as
her brother seemed everywhere she looked for a moment. He tangled her and Jimmy together, and finally knocked her silly
with a punch to the head. Kurt
continued with Jimmy who was reacting faster and faster with his power swapping
as Becky rubbed her head.
�Try this,� Jon said through the
ringing in her ears. She looked up to
see him holding a round shield. It was
the same size as her dad�s, but its color was solid glossy black. �It�s made of adamantium, so it�s not
indestructible like his, but it�s pretty close. It�s an exact duplicate of the size, weight and aerodynamics of
the original.�
�Thanks,� she said. She slipped it on her arm, and it felt just
right, the same as the other that she�d carried before she�d returned it back
to its true owner. She looked over at Logan. �Am I �out�?�
�Stunned, I�d say,� Logan
answered. �Go surprise the elf.�
Grinning, she charged back into the
fray, where the two brothers were struggling to best each other despite their
flagging energies. She slunk along the
edge of the conflict, and threw the shield, hitting Kurt in the back and
knocking him down. Jimmy turned into a
big metal man and pounced on him, pinning him down. He grinned, and reverted to flesh, putting up a pulsing, shimmering
field around them both. Kurt tried to
port from under him, but failed.
�Give!� Kurt yelled. �What was that?� he asked as Jimmy
helped him up.
�A fluxing magnetic field,� Jimmy said. �Magnus thought that part of your powers
were electro-magnetically influenced, and I guess he was right. Pinned on your face, with your extra spatial
senses clouded, you weren�t going anywhere.�
Becky picked up the dark
shield. She didn�t quite have the knack
of getting it to return to her when she threw it, yet. She rubbed a hand over the silky finish on
the surface, and turned to see her father looking down at her, his own shield
on his arm. Looking into her eyes, he
saluted her. �Good work,� he said.
She burst into tears and wrapped
him in a bear hug. He returned the hug
awkwardly, patting her on the back. �What
did I do?� he asked softly.
�You made her very happy,� she
heard Kitty reply. Becky nodded against
his solid chest. He�d accepted her;
really accepted her, as a daughter and a fellow warrior, and it felt� wonderful!

* * *

Across the room, Raven
scowled. If that blonde Boy Scout
thought he was taking her daughter away from her, he had another thing coming�

* Kudos to anyone who foresaw that Cap and Raven would clash
on any number of issues, most notably about Becky. I dunno, I think they�re kinda cute together, and do a lot to
complement each other�s strengths and weaknesses.
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

The Circle And The Flame