Meeting Room: Bobby's news

[Shadowcat]

"No, I don't want Hannah to live in a foster home."

"Well, she might not have to," Kitty said. "And they aren't all, like... six o'clock news-type places."

She thought. Her dad wasn't in favor of them on a general basis, mostly because he was a big fan of the nuclear family. That one worked out real well, Dad...

"Guten Tag, mein Freunden. Has anyone seen Jones?"

"I haven't. But if it's not urgent-- Well, you probably already know about Hannah, right?"

Kitty gave Bobby a weird look. What was he getting all snippy about? It wasn't like the senior - or at least older, since Forge counted, at least a little, maybe, she really needed to make a list or something - X-Men had big parties where they talked about all the stuff they weren't going to tell the Juniors and laughed about it. Trainees just weren't supposed to handle the most hardcore info because they'd only rush out and do something dumb. Taking Trainees on missions was a Bad Idea. They always ended up getting charged after by giants or joining up with Magneto.

Ugh. She didn't need to follow that train of thought.

"Look, I agree that something needs to be done to shut that place down, but there has to be some way we can legally keep Hannah--and maybe even take in the other kids."

Hadn't she said people could get background checks? Maybe it wasn't a good idea. Kitty decided not to say it again. Wouldn't want to be a bother, y'know.

"Kurt... I showed you the stuff on the computer today, but it didn't even register you hadn't fully been briefed on it [...] This Sombra Corp. is raising mutant kids as perfect soldiers."

Graydon Creed? Who was - oh. Ohhh. Creed.

She remembered the pirated bank footage the news had played of Victor Creed. It would be hard to forget.

That just had to be forty kinds of illegal. Unless they had a government mandate and parental release forms, of course - which Hannah would have, if her own father was so involved in Sombra, if not the other children.

Abuse. They had to go with abuse. Abuse was always solid. Except - were they harboring a runaway or abetting a kidnapping at this point?

"Are they tied to the government?" Kitty asked. "Funding or anything? Because otherwise, we can always just get CPA in, they usually come running for abuse cases, especially when the kids are Hannah's age. But we need to go to them first if we want any help. I don't think keeping Hannah here is exactly - I don't think it would look very good, even if she tells the court how great it is. A seven-year-old's testimony doesn't stand up in court unless they're talking about bad things happening, and Sombra could turn around and sue us for abetting a kidnapping or harboring a runaway at the very least."

What light at the end of the tunnel? Oh, that? No, that's a firefly. Here, look. I'll squish it for you.

[chamber]

Jonothan stepped in shortly after Kurt, quickly observed those in attendance, and nodded to Forge, who gestured him closer. Leaning over, Forge caught the sometime-XMan up on the current topic.

Chamber had a seat, frowning darkly. As was his habit, he said nothing at first, taking in what everyone had to say.

Kitty had her points, but she still apparently believed they lived in a concrete world. An irony for a girl who was the exception to that very rule. Chamber had lived outside the circuit of human events for many years, as had most of the mutants he knew. It was only now they were coming in contact with these legal issues; and while it was good to be wary, a child's welfare was far more important than abiding by any law.

Then again, that was precisely why he had never fully joined the X-Men. Crossing his arms, he kept quiet and listened.

[Iceman]

(ooc: Bobby's editor would like to say that if Bobby could hear/read Kitty's thoughts, he would say that Bobby is not a Junior X-Man, but is official, and has been for a while. Lol)

“…and B: Her father is Graydon Creed - infamous anti-mutant activist."

Bobby’s eyes widened, and he shook his head once, giving Forge a look that clearly showed his disbelief—in the information itself, and in that Bandero had forgotten to mention it.

It wasn’t until Kitty asked about him that Bobby’s memory was jogged. “Wasn’t that the guy…” He stopped, sure of the answer before he finished his question. He lifted his hand from the back of Paige’s chair where he’d rested it, and hit the chair in mild frustration. Didn’t hit it hard enough to alarm anyone, just to show his opinion of this Creed guy and, at the moment, the government as a whole.

“So we’ve got Stryker 2.0 on our hands. Either he gave Hannah to Sombra when she turned out to be a bad seed, with no government knowledge of it, or the governments in on it and we’re going to see the same thing we saw before with Stryker.”

[forge]

(ooc - waiting on Nightcrawler. Will post tommorow if he doesn't show by then)

[forge]

Forge nodded gravely to Bobby. “Perhaps. It looks more likely that he gave the kid up because it was a bad seed. He’s more the senator Kelly type, and doesn’t want mutants around at all – not likely to use them as weapons. Of course, I’ve been wrong before.”

He drummed his fingers on the table, looking around at the others. One thing was for sure, he needed to escalate the production of his leg. If he burned the midnight oil, he may even have a working prototype done within the next couple of days. Also, he should amp up the production on the plasma-cannon. You know… just in case. Oh come on! You know you want him to hit scientists with plasma blasts!

“Okay. If Kitty’s right, going the legal route could be dangerous. Fact is governments are corrupt, corporations are corrupt, and both are tied to each other in many circumstances. Who knows what kind of strings these guys have with Uncle Sam… so what I say is we at least go in and check it out.”

He looked over to Kitty.

“Shadowcat – if we put a ski mask on you, gave you a digital camcorder, and sent you in there – what are the odds anyone could hurt you, if they caught you? How long can you stay phased? Can’t you just walk through everyone’s bullets or grapples or whatever? Stay phased until you get what you need?”

[Shadowcat]

(If Kitty was aware of someone poking around in her head, she'd tell the aforementioned editor that Bobby will never, ever register in her mind as a senior X-Man until they're both about 40, and probably not even then.)

Kitty's eyes followed Jono as he took a seat in the room. She still wasn't exactly sure what his mutation was - well, she knew that he blasted junk out of his chest and everything and couldn't talk, but further than that... she just didn't get it. It seemed like if you were going to be an energy being, your skin would burn off completely.

As the conversation turned more and more dismal, Kitty shrank down in her chair, abandoning even the semblance of ballet seat she usually had. Slumping might not be tolerated, but it was sometimes necessary.

“Shadowcat – if we put a ski mask on you, gave you a digital camcorder, and sent you in there – what are the odds anyone could hurt you, if they caught you? How long can you stay phased? Can’t you just walk through everyone’s bullets or grapples or whatever? Stay phased until you get what you need?”

"I - sort of," Kitty said. "I can only stay phased for as long as I can go without breathing in. I can talk still and all, but... yeah. And they can't really catch me, not unless they sedate me, and they'd have to surprise me for that. There's almost always a way out, at least for me. But I think I could probably do it."

Ooer. Secret agent stuff. Maybe she wouldn't encounter any resistance at all. It could be as simple as it looked.

Yeah, right.

[forge]

For all the lack of monitoring equipment on the inside of the mansion, the place was a virtual cornucopia of external surveillance. All of which was, naturally, linked to the central computer core… and therefore, Forge.

So when the Giant chopper and the horde of policemen made it to the grounds, he knew immediately.

He was just about to reply to what Kitty said when it interrupted his concentration completely, and his eyes opened wide with surprise. He looked at the other X-Men present, and grimaced.

“We need to go.” He said, rolling his chair around the table. Then, realizing a picture is worth a thousand words, he sent his will into the computer, routing the images from outside into the monitor in the meeting room, via the wifi connection in the school.

The monitor blipped to life, seemingly on its own, and showed the Chinook, the cops, and the black sedan. It also showed the two approaching the door, and Jubilee approaching them.

“Can some one push me up there? It’ll be faster.”

(( ooc: Reineke and I won't be able to respond until tommorow, just shy of 24 hours from now, pleeeze try not to go to fast - thanks Ben for looking out for us too in that ooc message! ))

[Iceman]

When Forge suddenly declared that they needed to go, Bobby thought for a moment that he meant that they should act on the Sombra issue right then. To Bobby, it was going to take more extensive planning than to send Kitty in with a videocam and a bag over her head, and he started to protest.

Before he could protest, though, the monitor turned on, showing a mass of cop cars and a van, as well as two men knocking on the door. The scene immediately made him think of the Stryker incident. Though they had come to the front door. Maybe they planned to attempt to take them peacefully, so they would at least have a reason to unleash Hell on them when they refused. Bobby wondered if the President had okayed this again. Or maybe they were there for Hannah.

Bobby watched, eyes glued to the screen, as Jubes came up behind them. He half-expected the men to pull out guns and shoot her with darts, as they had before. They didn't, though, and Bobby saw that Warren opened the door. "Wait, maybe we should wait a second...We should know what they're here for; if they're here to attack us or something, we need to approach differently than if they're just here for...Something else," he said quickly, not moving his eyes off of the screen.

"Can you turn up the volume?" he asked Forge with a glance. There was volume, but it had to be nearly silent to hear it.

[husk]

(ooc: we're here- game on!!! this is a shorty, but i'm exhausted and i'll be catching up more tomorrow!)

Paige was shell-shocked enough as it was by the conversation, and had stayed quiet as the others debated a further course of action. But then Forge popped the footage on screen, her eyes opened wide. She squeezed Bobby's hand tight, then slowly got up from her seat.

[forge]

Forge looked over a Bobby, a look of respect on his face. It was good thinking on the kid's part, really good thinking. Forge had simply assumed that it was a legal matter, but he hadn't been involved with Stryker's little bullshit, so he wasn't even considering the possible bad-ness of it.

He nodded Bobby, and pulled out his pocket PC, turning it on with a thought. He handed to BObby and headed out the door.

"Good call, Iceman. I've turned the volume up, and it's now feeding through the side computer here - so we'll bring it with and observe... but we may need get up there as soon as possible. You keep tabs on what's going on."

[chamber]

I'll go.

It was all Jonothan said and he only said it to Forge. Pulling his leather jacket off as he stood, he hung it over the back of the chair.

With a few long strides he reached the door, one hand quickly unwrapping his chin and neck. The brilliant pulsing orange-white light of his inner cavern shone into the room for only a moment before the door shut behind him.

[continuing to grounds thread]

[Iceman]

"We are here to see Robert Drake miss, most kind of you to volunteer to fetch him."

Bobby had suddenly stopped reacting to everything around him. He knew before the word 'arrest' left the agent's mouth what they were there for. He felt his blood run chill, and he paled as he stared at the screen. Jubes said something...Then Warren...But he didn't hear any of it.

He still hadn't let go of Paige's hand, and suddenly he didn't want her or Kitty or Forge to leave. He looked up, to the three of them. He looked severely shaken. "I didn't do it," he said weakly, shaking his head. As his hold on Husk's hand grew tighter for the comfort of it, he looked right at Kitty. She knew what had happened. They'd both believed that no one knew.

[husk]

Paige had seen people she cared about arrested. It was always terrifying. But it -was- surviveable- for everyone.

But she wasn't filled with quite as much bravado when it came to Bobby as she had been with Hannah a few minutes before.

"Bobby honey," she murmured, her southern accent lapsing in for a moment. "If you didn't do it, they'll know that soon enough. Just get it done. Ya don't want to resist them with the kids here." Her thumb traced his, and she felt a slow knot of pain building in her chest.

[Shadowcat]

Kitty was suddenly, violently reminded of the time when, at 15, she'd finally got the chicken pox. Unable to sleep for two nights in a row, she'd sat up late watching a 72-hour C.O.P.S. marathon. She could barely look police officers in the eye without expecting them to shout at her frighteningly and then turn around and beat up a lady of the evening.

This, though, might just break that assumption. It was like something out of a nightmare; Bobbies just did not get arrested. Bobby was Bobby.

Everyone else had something to say, either about the TV or the cops or about how Bobby was going to be fine, but Kitty couldn't think of anything. What was there, even, to say? Well, that was a dumb question. There was plenty to say. There just wasn't a very good way to put it.

"I didn't do it."

Kitty turned her face away from the screens to find Bobby looking directly at her, his girl doing her best to make him feel better.

What was she supposed to say? More than that, what could she say?

"You're going to have to tell them about her," Kitty said. "About what she did. It isn't like they can convict a national icon who just got done saving the world."

She took a deep, shuddering breath.

"I'll testify with you," she said. "If you want. But I think you - we might need to go up before they hurt anyone."

[forge]

Forge frowned as he looked between Shadowcat and Iceman. Okay, he'd obviously missed something.

"Her? I take it you didn't do it, but someone else did? I apologize if I'm out of the loop here guys, but what the flying flipping frack are you wanted for murder for Bobby?"

He was talking as they were walking, and now they were right outside the elevator.

This could get really bad... but Forge doubted Bobby was actually a murderer. In fact, he pretty much assumed that Bobby was innocent - this was just going to be an inconvenience. If the law decided that he was guilty when he really wasn't, then they'd just go to war with the government. What was the big deal? Had Uncle Sam ever seen what Chamber could do?

[Iceman]

Bobby wasn't fully aware that he was walking, he was so disconerted by the fact that he was going to be arrested. He scrambled to explain himself to Forge. "John and I fought one of the Sentinels, in the warehouse. But one of the Brotherhood took over my mind, there's no other way to explain it. I don't know what I did on my own or what she made me do, but I know I'd never have killed him. But how am I ever going to tell them that? They'd never believe me in a million years."

He stopped, putting a hand on Forge's shoulder and looking to him for help. This was one of those times when he felt less like a soldier and more like a lost little boy. But there was no off switch to being an X-Man. He'd been standing on the edge of this danger for a long time, and he'd never even seen it. Now he was in trouble. Lots of it.

He heard Warren's voice on his comm button.
[glow=red,2,300]"Bobby? Where are you?"[/glow]

Automatically, and without feeling, Bobby pressed his comm. He sent the message to all the X-Men, and it echoed in Forge and Kitty's buttons as he said it, in the same dull tone.

[glow=red,2,300]"I'm on my way..."[/glow]

Bobby dropped his hand from Forge's shoulder as the elevator doors opened. "Is this it?" he asked in a low voice. He wanted to know if Forge thought there was a way out of this mess, he wanted to know now, before he went up there and faced it.

[forge]

Forge met Bobby's eyes with absolute confidence. He nodded his head a bit, and felt completely overwhelmed with emotion. For some reason Forge couldn't explain, Bobby had turned to him for guidance. This touched him immensely... in fact, it almost brought tears to his eyes. Almost. Bishop didn't cry, so Forge doesn't cry. It's the way of things.

He did smile, a very warm and nurturing smile. “Yes. This is the thing to do. You've done nothing wrong, Bobby. Just tell them that. Tell them about the telepath – they may not believe you at first, but they will soon. They know about telepathy, and how it works. We're not going to let anything happen to you, bud. This is going to be an inconvenience for a bit, okay? That's all.”

[Shadowcat]

"Her? I take it you didn't do it, but someone else did? I apologize if I'm out of the loop here guys, but what the flying flipping frack are you wanted for murder for Bobby?"

Kitty filtered it out. She was so not dealing with this right now. She couldn't. It wasn't going to work. Her head was too small for all of it.

She felt the familiar lump form at the back of her throat and tears fogged her vision. She bit the inside of her cheek to keep them from falling. Right now they needed to worry about Bobby, not why she was crying.

"John and I fought one of the Sentinels, in the warehouse. But one of the Brotherhood took over my mind, there's no other way to explain it. I don't know what I did on my own or what she made me do, but I know I'd never have killed him. But how am I ever going to tell them that? They'd never believe me in a million years."

Her lips contorted and she bit harder, tasting the tiniest tang of blood inside her mouth as she got too hard. She sucked in a deep breath instead and stood up as Bobby's words echoed through her pin, moving automatically behind Forge and pushing him so they could make better time to the elevator. She didn't have his resolve, and one of the tears finally made its way down her cheek.

Don't make noise. Don't make noise. No one will notice.

“Yes. This is the thing to do. You've done nothing wrong, Bobby. Just tell them that. Tell them about the telepath – they may not believe you at first, but they will soon. They know about telepathy, and how it works. We're not going to let anything happen to you, bud. This is going to be an inconvenience for a bit, okay? That's all.”

"You don't have a motive," she whispered to Bobby. "Mens rea. Self-defense doesn't count."

[husk]

Paige clung to Bobby's hand, staying quiet. A slow anger was building. It had always been her role, it had been just like this when her brother Jimmy had been taken away for robbing a liquor store. Her mother and sisters had cried, her brothers had patted him on the back and promised to help in whatever way they could...

...and she had stood on the porch slowly turning red, until she too was driven to County for screaming at an officer and trying to punch another in the face. Trying, because her brothers had been dragging her backwards.

Taking a slow breath, she looked at Bobby. They'd just begun to know each other. She cared about him so much already, but could she be the girlfriend of a convict? Her stomach lurched.

One step at a time, Paige. Just one.

Running her hand up and down his arm, she kissed his shoulder, and ground her teeth together.

Like hell they're taking him away.

[Iceman]

Bobby struggled to calm his nerves, trying to focus on what Forge said, hoping he was right. Then he heard Kitty. He knew before he even looked to her face that she was crying. Bobby had always cared for his friends; he could deal with his own problems as long as they could deal with theirs.

For the first time since he'd found out what was going on, he let go of Paige's hand. He enveloped Kitty in his arms, hugging his best friend because he wanted to comfort her just as much as he needed to be comforted himself. "You're right," he said, wishing he believed it as much as he claimed too. "You're right. I'll be back in no time. Nothing can keep me away from here." He tried to lighten the situation, but even he had a hard time of it.

He felt Paige's hand on his arm, and felt a pang of shame. 'She must think I'm a criminal,' he thought. He wanted to tell her that if it turned out that he'd be away longer than they hoped, that he wouldn't blame her for moving on. But he was trying to be optimistic, outwardly at least. He didn't let go of Kitty, wouldn't, until she was ready to let go.