Cain SMASH!!

[Juggers]

After no less than five flights and various uncomfortable vehicle journeys, Cain was in no mood at all to sit in his room and watch TV. Which was a change. He watched as Jane and Python ambled away into the building; Pyro would already be ensconced in the office doing whatever it was that he did. Probably net surfing.

He shrugged and stomped off to the practice yard. Nowhere near as advanced as the danger room, the Genosha training facilities served the Juggernaut just fine. The place looked like a bomb site; broken rubble, mangled cars and twisted wreckage littered every inch of the ground. That suited Cain just fine as well.

He jammed the helmet onto his head and started to run, gathering speed as he approached the first obstructing car. The wreck buckled obligingly under the impact and went flying into the air; it landed fifty yards away in a barely recognisable heap. The Juggernaut ran on, plowing through a building, three more cars and crushing several hardboard targets under-foot.

He stopped and looked back at his trail of destruction and grinned. All was well with the Juggernaut.

A concrete bust rumbled slowly from the ground, carved crudely in the image of a soldier. He whirled and shattered it to rubble with a massive right hook. Another rose to take its place and was as swiftly disposed of. Three more surrounded him and he swung, ripping one in half at the waist, tearing the head from the next and sending the last tumbling to the ground with a thump.

Cain stooped, picked up the concrete mannequin and lifted it above his head. Then, with a defiant roar he hurled the offending statue against the wall where it exploded into chunks.

Concrete dust rained down across the yard.

Three floors up a fish faced man threw open one of the armoured windows, "what the hell?!" He cried in indignation.

Cain grinned back, "jus' workin' off some energy!" He yelled back and went back to his play.

[Jane]

What Jane really needed at this point was to find someone to talk to who was not completely crazy, which ruled their fearless leader out immediately, even in his more lucid moments. Plus, he was probably still frantically researching, as he'd been when she left his office, or maybe rearranging his filing cabinets and bookshelves, the way it'd looked like he wanted to. Either way, Pyro was a big no.

The only other people she'd found in the complex didn't look much like they wanted to talk. Python, of course, was sorting out basic necessities, and therefore busy; the only other few mutants she found were apparently wiring something, and one was moving large boxes, neither of which were really her areas of specialty (or even ability), so she couldn't even stick around and help.

So she was back to wandering through the endless halls, all of which seemed to circle back on themselves. Until, eventually, she heard the unmistakable sounds of something being destroyed.

That had not been there the last time she checked. Maybe she'd accidentally got on the other side of the complex?

Jane opened a window in her hallway and peered down to find a huge junkyard, littered with broken this and that and with a path forming through it, like the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Except, of course, that this one had Juggernaut in the middle, not Bugs.

Someone a floor above her and considerably to the right threw open another window and Jane glanced up before ducking her head back in quickly, not wanting to be seen. She didn't know his actual name, but he seemed bent on being her guide whether she wanted one or not, and she wasn't keen on his picking up her trail again.

Juggernaut yelled back at him and the window closed, so Jane found a staircase and headed out to the practice yard, figuring that Cain was about as down-to-earth as you could really get. She found a way up onto one of the slightly-lower walls that surrounded the field and connected it to the complex, not really keen on getting caught in the crossfire of cars and chunks of cement.

"Havin' fun?" she yelled, hoping he could hear her over the crunch of scrap metal.

[Juggers]

Cain hoisted the chassis of what might once have been a Volvo above his head and with a violent wrench of tortured metal folded it almost double. He then proceeded to lob the mangled wreck out to sea where it vanished with a satisfying splash.

"Havin' fun?"

A voice filtered its way into his consciousness over the fading sounds of crumbling masonry. He glanced round and spotted Jane hunkered on the wall overlooking the practice field. He grinned at her hugely.

"'iya," he replied brightly, "yeah, didn't wanna go back inside after all that flyin'," he said, "thought I'd 'ave a knock about the yard."

He looked around, surveying his handiwork.

"S'what this place is for," Cain continued by way of explanation, "practicin' ya powers, workin' out what ya can do." He scooped up half of a concrete bust and tossed it from hand to hand.

"'Course it's been pretty quiet since Magneto went," he said with just a touch of sadness, "not many left 'ere to do the practicin'."

[Jane]

Her presence earned a big, toothy smile, which looked distinctly strange when paired with the bulletlike helmet on the Juggernaut's head. Jane waved anyway. Telling him he looked silly would probably result in thrown cars, after all.

"'Iya. Yeah, didn't wanna go back inside after all that flyin', thought I'd 'ave a knock about the yard."

"'S a bit more than a knock," Jane said, eyes roving over the carnage as she settled on the wall, seated with her legs dangling over the long drop to the ground and her arms braced behind her in case of a rogue gust of sea air.

"S'what this place is for, practicin' ya powers, workin' out what ya can do."

Jane watched the concrete head pass from hand to hand. She wondered, randomly, if Cain could juggle. "I think I'll stick with the jungle," she said. Though, presumably, she could throw a car if she was motivated enough; she'd just have to grow something really, really fast underneath it. Or maybe a fulcrum effect, with a bracer underneath?

Yeah, maybe she'd stick to big chomy things.

"'Course it's been pretty quiet since Magneto went. Not many left 'ere to do the practicin'."

Jane sighed. There was hardly anyone in the complex, which was depressing for her mostly because there was no one to talk to; she hadn't known any of those who'd been lost at Alcatraz, though she'd felt as much sadness as any other mutant when she watched the news footage. "They couldn't all have died," she said. "I mean, there were hundreds of y'all when you attacked Alcatraz, weren't there? Where'd they all go?"

[Juggers]

"Not so many," Cain replied, setting aside the broken hunk of concrete. "Alot got done in by that crazy Grey bitch, some good'uns they were, Arclight, Spike, we thought she did in Psylocke too, looks like she got away though."

He pulled off his helmet and held it under his arm, running a hand over his shaved head. "Madrox got caught by the military, Magneto got done in by the X Men an Pyro only got out 'cos I dragged 'im out." The memory of running full tilt across the sagging bridge still hadn't completely faded.

"Lots of others got done in by those curing needle guns the government whipped up. They're still out there I 'spose, tryin' to be normal." He paused for a long moment, "that must be shit," he eventually decided.

"That's why we gotta do so much recruitin', get back on our feet. An why we gotta sort this cure business out. We gotta make a stand for mutants who ain't ready to cosy up with humans."

It wasn't that Cain was particularly passionate about the cause, he wasn't particularly passionate about anything other than beer and football. He felt he still owed a debt to the man that had set him free, even if he was only a memory these days.

[Jane]

He rattled off names she didn't recognize - except Psylocke, of course, despite the fact that Jane thought she'd been introduced as Purple. And was missing, currently hanging around with Sekhmet, somewhere in Italy.

What had happened to them?

"Why'd you pick up Pyro?" she asked, genuinely curious. It seemed like a strange thing to do; despite the fact that she'd have done the same, when normal people run for their lives (or normal mutants, anyway), usually other lives become expendable.

It must be awful, though, to have been one of the Cured. If they'd joined the Brotherhood, they must've cared about the Cause - only to become human, the race that they'd fought against for so long. Jane didn't know how she'd function human. She'd been mutant too long, expected too much the stares and fear, and had cultivated too much the anger.

A human was okay, she thought. One - an individual. Maybe even several individuals, taken on their own merits, separated from the herd. But humans were dumb, panicky, violent, and terrified of change.

It was why they had to be subdued. "I hope we get through NovaTeX all right," she said. "You don't want to know what kind of security we're up against, and I don't think common sense is going to keep Mr. Fearless Leader from trying, regardless."

[Juggers]

"Why'd you pick up Pyro?"

Cain shrugged, "wasn't gonna leave 'im there to get dusted like the rest. Nobody 'ad that comin'. 'Sides, if I 'adn't we probbly wouldn't be 'ere right now keepin' the cause alive."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I'd be back out west somewhere robbin' banks or somethin'. Python'd be workin' in a garage some place an you'd still be livin' it up in Liverpool." It did kind of put things in perspective, even for one as usually short sighted as Cain.

"Magneto used to say 'e 'ad potential, wanted to give 'im a chance to prove it. I owed the old fella enough to give the lad a chance."

"I hope we get through NovaTeX all right," she said. "You don't want to know what kind of security we're up against, and I don't think common sense is going to keep Mr. Fearless Leader from trying, regardless."

"So long as it ain't more cure guns I reckon we'll do alright," Cain replied cheerfully, "course, we ain't exactly got an army but I reckon the kid has learned a thing or two from gettin' shot. Don't think 'e'll be goin' off half cocked again."

The Juggernaut also secretly hoped that any action they took would get the attention of the X Men. There was a reckoning to be had there and it was long overdue. There wouldn't be any Jean Grey to upset the balance this time, and hopefully no more cure guns what with the mutant rights bill.

"Few rent-a-cops ain't gonna stop the Juggernaut!"

[Jane]

Out West, of course, had different connotations for Jane, and while the image of the Juggernaut in a ten-gallon hat waving six-shooters was pretty damn funny, the statement itself actually did make her think.

It was strange, really, how little things - or, well, not little things, but random things could change lives. Cain's choice, or Pyro's, or any of the Brotherhood past or present's, had affected her pretty hugely a this point, with her half a world away the whole time.

"Magneto used to say 'e 'ad potential, wanted to give 'im a chance to prove it. I owed the old fella enough to give the lad a chance."

"He does," Jane said, "he's a smart kid. I just hope the strain isn't too much for him."

Which it so clearly was, but whatever.

"So long as it ain't more cure guns I reckon we'll do alright. Course, we ain't exactly got an army but I reckon the kid has learned a thing or two from gettin' shot. Don't think 'e'll be goin' off half cocked again. Few rent-a-cops ain't gonna stop the Juggernaut!"[/b]

"Few rent-a-cops in Sentinel death suits might," Jane said morosely. "But it's not really you I'm worried about, it's the rest of us. I don't hold up as well to laser cannons as I imagine you do. Or regular guns. Or anything, really."

[Juggers]

"Few rent-a-cops in Sentinel death suits might," Jane said morosely. "But it's not really you I'm worried about, it's the rest of us. I don't hold up as well to laser cannons as I imagine you do. Or regular guns. Or anything, really."

Cain pondered this for a moment before shrugging lightly, "Pyro'll 'ave a plan. Some sorta plan to take care of things anyway. 'Ain't nobody gonna get shot this time around so long as the kid keeps an eye on what 'e's doin'." The fact that Cain had no idea what a Sentinel was didn't seem to phase him.

The Juggernaut was gifted with the sort of ignorance that inspired boundless confidence. At least in himself.

"Anyways," he continued, "can't you sorta grow yourself some armour?" Cain was no botanist, but he knew a thing or two about self defence. "Surround yourself with a tree or somethin'? That'd stop a few bullets I reckon." He added thoughtfully.

"Pyro can sort 'imself out with his flame shield thing and Python, 'e's always been a sneaky bastard. Dunno about Gill," he indicated the recently closed window that fish-man had vacated. "He pretty much just stays 'ere an looks after the base."

"Don't clean it at all though," Cain added a second later as he reflected on exactly what it was Gill did around here.

[Jane]

"Pyro'll 'ave a plan. Some sorta plan to take care of things anyway. 'Ain't nobody gonna get shot this time around so long as the kid keeps an eye on what 'e's doin'."

Jane sighed and twisted her neck, trying to work out kinks from the long flight. She wished she had half of the Juggernaut's confidence. Of course, that might mean she had half a brain, too, which wouldn't be good.

"And no," she said, "I can't really make armor. Well, I mean, I could, but it's hard to actually do anything when you're stuck in a tree, and not moving leaves you open to different attacks. I wouldn't get shot, but I'd catch fire a lot easier. Plus, it's no good against anything bigger than bullets."

She glanced up at Gill's window when the Juggernaut pointed it out. Yeah, he was kind of screwed. "Well, if he's here, he certainly can't get shot in New England," she said optimistically.

"He pretty much just stays 'ere an looks after the base. Don't clean it at all though."

Jane paused. "Then what does he do?" she asked. What more was there to looking after a base than making sure it was clean and not falling to pieces? Not that she'd be charging into any battles if her special talent was having gills - after all, Aquaman was the least effective superhero for a reason - but still.

[Juggers]

"Then what does he do?"

Cain shrugged again, "answers the phone, surfs the net for information and tries to track down mutants for us to recruit." The fact that such information wasn't exactly easy to come by did not stop him from trying. Besides, it was better to be bored and alone in a base playing solitaire than it was out on the streets getting shot at.

"So, no tree armour," he said after some thought, "couldn't you, I dunno, call up a forest or somethin'? You'd still be able to move around then an they wouldn't be able to get a clear shot at ya."

For someone who had never had to worry much about anything since his teens the idea of being worried about personal safety was something of an alien concept to the Juggernaut.

"Anyways," Cain continued, warming to the subject, "can't you, y'know, change plants, make 'em different?" He remembered the abnormally huge poppies, "make 'em do what you want 'em to do?"

[Jane]

"Answers the phone, surfs the net for information and tries to track down mutants for us to recruit."

Well, hey, everyone needed a secretary. Or every major organization did. Jane didn't know what some people would do with a secretary - at least that was legal and allowed by company policy.

"You can still shoot between the trees," Jane said. "And it makes it hard for everyone else, trying to get around everything, especially if I move it around. I usually stick to trying to get rid of a threat rather than defense or anything - the best defense is a good offense. Or, no, wait, I've got that backwards..."

"Anyways, can't you, y'know, change plants, make 'em different? Make 'em do what you want 'em to do?"

"Well, yeah," she said reasonably, "but within certain bounds. I can do a lot, but no miracles. Plants are only capable of so much. Things that are tough aren't flexible, and things that are flexible break, no matter what kind of junk you splice in. I've just got a lot more options in a civilized environment or trying to solve a problem than I do trying to beat someone up."

[Juggers]

Cain looked thoughtful for a long time. Except that a long time for him was about twenty seconds. "So," he said finally, "you couldn't make a plant that could walk about an move?"

He had once seen a film, The Day of the Triffids, in which an army of ambulatory plants had almost conquered the earth even though they shuffled along very slowly. They had been deadly poisonous, Cain recalled and killed people really quickly.

That, he decided, would be awesome.

"Couldn't you make somethin' like a big fly trap that ate people but could move about too? Or was really poisonous, or put people to sleep?"

As with most things, once Cain had fastened onto an idea he tended to run with it to its ultimate conclusion.

[Jane]

Cain looked pensive and didn't stop for a while. Jane tried identifying car parts strewn about the practice yard below her while she waited, but thankfully, it didn't take long.

"So you couldn't make a plant that could walk about an move?"

"If I really wanted to, I guess," Jane said, thoughtful. "I mean, it'd still have to have roots. Making one that could swim would be easier - some plants don't need anything but water."

That would actually be pretty cool. She could be a pirate with zero effort.

"Couldn't you make somethin' like a big fly trap that ate people but could move about too? Or was really poisonous, or put people to sleep?"

"Sure. A lot of plants move, actually. Not most, but many. It's just moving distance that would be tough - I can make 'em react to stimuli fine. But it still doesn't keep me from getting shot, and if a plant's got to move, it'll have at least a few weak points where you can shoot it."

She wondered, though, if she actually could make something that walked if she took enough time to think about it. She could probably make an extremely unsafe glider if she wanted to, or a boat, or even go underground, but walking around would just be difficult because of the separation from nutrition. Hm.

[Juggers]

Cain grinned, "wouldn't need to worry about gettin' shot behind an army of man eatin' plants," he said cheerfully. "You just gotta wind 'em up an let 'em go. While the boys in blue are worryin' about gettin' eaten you can walk on by."

He liked the idea of an army of monsters marching on the NovaTeX centre.

"Or you could give 'em long arms like vines that could reach out an grab stuff, then they wouldn't need to move!"

Something else Jane had said suddenly struck him.

"Under ground?"

"If ya can go underground then ya wouldn't need to worry about bein' shot! Ain't much can shoot through dirt an maybe you could pull a few of them guards down too!"

Cain found he also liked this idea.

"An you could pull bits of the buildin' down from underneath ... "

[Jane]

"Wouldn't need to worry about gettin' shot behind an army of man eatin' plants. You just gotta wind 'em up an let 'em go. While the boys in blue are worryin' about gettin' eaten you can walk on by."

Maybe it was just her, but Jane would respond to man-eating plants (if she were a security guard with no other means of retaliation) by machine-gunning the source, but it was probably worth a shot. Plus, once she'd endowed something that huge and hungry with the power to move and stopped controlling it, it might just revert back to primal instincts, i.e. eat moving things - people, in the absence of massive flies.

"Or you could give 'em long arms like vines that could reach out an grab stuff, then they wouldn't need to move! [...] If ya can go underground then ya wouldn't need to worry about bein' shot! Ain't much can shoot through dirt an maybe you could pull a few of them guards down too! An you could pull bits of the buildin' down from underneath ... "

Hmm. Jane considered, head tilted to one side, staring up into the brilliantly blue tropical sky until the sunlight made her eyes hurt. "I could do that," she mused. "Might run it by Fearless Leader in a while, when he's less hopped up."

She didn't really want to go back now. Not if he was still crazy, anyway.

[Juggers]

Cain folded his arms in satisfaction. Sometimes, just sometimes, he came up with a good idea. This was most often the case when it involved something being smashed, broken or otherwise attacked but then everybody had their niche. The Juggernaut needed a big niche.

He too looked into the sky and noticed that the sun had started its decent towards the horizon. That meant it was around three or four o'clock. That meant the football was on. Wimbledon were playing Arsenal. It quite simply could not be missed.

Cain figured he probably had enough time to raid the kitchen for beer and something to eat before retiring to his room for some well earned R & R.

NovaTeX could wait until tomorrow.

He looked back at Jane. "Wanna come watch some footie?" He invited, "reckon I can dig up some beers an some peanuts if ya want?"

Granted the Juggernauts room wasn't exactly designed, or indeed ever intended for guests, but this was football; it was an experience best shared. And Jane HAD spent some time in Liverpool.

[Jane]

"Wanna come watch some footie? Reckon I can dig up some beers an some peanuts if ya want?"

Living in England, no matter for how short a stay, left an irreversible taint on all people - the taint of football madness. Though Jane's mark was relatively light, it was there still; though she didn't know when games were on and had attended no more than ten matches in her entire stay in the Land of Interminable Politness, she was the kind of fan who, when flipping past sports networks, always stopped and stayed on football, despite her protests that she wasn't a real fan.

"Sure," she said, standing back up on the wall and looking for the stairs again. Though somehow she knew that wherever they ended up watching it wasn't going to be clean - perhaps it was the filth that seemed to pervade the complex, or perhaps it was the fact that it was Cain - it still sounded good. "Just promise me you won't squish anything in a fit of ecstasy or whatever."

[exit thread etc.]