Epic X-Men #23: One Man Army
*Newly Built Xavier School Greenhouse; A month since Juggernaut’s attack*
“Enjoying yourself, dear?”, Emma says walking in with Scott in tow.
Standing among the flowers and plants was Orroro. Everyone in the mansion had known how much Orroro loved gardening for quite a while. As Orroro would sing her troubles away, she would take care of her plants in whatever way she chose to. Whether it was by hand with a watering can and trowel in hand or with her incredible ability to control the very atmosphere, Storm thrived in an environment filled with life.
”Yes, quite. I still feel spoiled with this greenhouse you built in place of the attic Emma, but I am grateful nonetheless“, Orroro said happily before going back to humming a tune while she picked at some weeds.
“I may not understand the enjoyment of this kind of labor, but the results say you do beautiful work, darling”, Emma said as she eyed a group of snowdrops in a corner that Orroro had closed off for colder weather plants.
“How are you coping by the way, Orroro?”, Scott asked.
”Coping? I am well, all things considered. Juggernaut did more damage to my sense of safety than he did to the garden outside the mansion, but I am pretty okay after talking with the Professor a bit”, Orroro says.
”That’s good to hear. You just spend more time up here than you had in the garden before. I was worried you were possibly holding in something”, Scott explained.
”I told him it was absurd, but why would anyone ever believe the telepath, right?”, Emma says sarcastically.
“Really, Scott, I am doing well. I have been up here for some time, though..... I guess the free space and the new kinds of plants I keep finding have been preoccupying my time. Add the fact that it’s quiet here, it makes a good escape, especially with a skylight to literally escape with”, Orroro says as she gestures to said window in the roof.
“Then I suppose Emma was right about her taste in architects for the remodeling of the place”, Scott said thoughtfully.
”Um, was that ever in doubt?”, Emma asked rhetorically.
“X-Men, I’d like you all to come to the library. We have a new student I’d like to introduce to you”, Xavier says suddenly in a telepathic message to his students (and Moira) across the mansion.
“New student?”, Orroro questioned as she looked to the two.
”Beats me.....”, Scott says, which prompts the two to look to Emma.
”....strange....”
”What is it, Em?”, Scott asks concerned.
”I can’t get a good view of the student beyond what I see through the Professor‘s eyes on a surface level”, Emma says with a perplexed look.
”Well, we gotta meet them physically anyways”, Scott said as he started towards the door. And true to Orroro’s own word after the Juggernaut incident, she didn’t feel comfortable at the moment....
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The residence of the mansion gathered into the library together in different groups, talking among each other before catching sight of the young ordinary looking brunette standing beside Xavier.
”Greetings to you all. Hope you all were having a lovely day. I’d like to introduce to you Mr. Calvin Rankin, a mutant who had just agreed to become a student of our school”, Xavier said gesturing to the young man.
“Greetings and salutations, Henry McCoy. You may refer to me as Hank though”, Hank says holding out a hand to Calvin. The man gives a smile and shakes McCoy's hand. One would think that as a normal gesture, which is why everyone becomes perplexed at Hank's next words. "What the-?.... You got quite the grip. Might I surmise that your power is of the superhuman strength variety?"
"It is now", the man smirks as he shows his hand begin to shift to the size of Beasts own hand.
"Mr. Rankin is a mimic, if you couldn't already tell. Anyone, mutant or not, within a certain radius of this young man is liable of transferring their gifts and knowledge to him", Charles explains as Rankin reverts his hand back to normal.
"Fascinating. Sir, you have become the subject of my envy", Hank says jokingly, though on some level there was truth to it.
"Ah, its no biggie. I had a bit of practice with my abilities prior to coming here, so I am a little more put together than most. Still, I figured I could maybe get some more pointers on it from this school I have heard about", Rankin says nonchalantly.
"You have been advertising your school, Professor?", Orroro asks with alarm thinly veiled in her voice.
"No more than usual, Orroro. Safety is of great issue to me since the very beginning. It is why I only extend invitations personally. Its not just for the benefit of your privacy, but to stay discreet from those that would seek to harm us for what we are", Xavier assures the young mutant goddess.
"Then", Orroro turns to Calvin with suspicion. "How did find out about this school?"
"I have a friend who knows Xavier, personally. From his war days", Rankin explains.
"War days? Charles, ya been in contact with some of the ol' war veterans?", Moira asks curiously.
"No, I have not. But I won't be surprised if any have kept tabs on me and my ventures as a scientific mind of our generation", Xavier thinks.
"Yeah, this one was keeping up with what ya got. He wasn't to keen on me saying who he is though because he basically just quickly explained before moving on", Rankin says.
"Why such haste?", Hank asks with curiosity.
"Well, I had been outed as a mutant at the time and things were....pretty bad. So, I had been lying low until this guy recognized me. He didn't want to be seen with me, so he told me to seek out Charles Xavier. Never got the name, but I kind of had very few options", Rankin explains further.
"You don't have any family you can turn to?", Jean asks with concern.
"You will find it more rare for family to be any sort of supportive these days, Jean", Hank says sadly.
"I here that, man", Calvin agrees.
"Well, on the brightside, new blood! Come on, cheer up, you two! You got a new family now and they think you guys are incredible", Bobby says putting an arm around Hank while smiling at Rankin.
"I agree with Robert. We will all do our best to ensure that our new friend here is right at home. Everyone agree?", Moira asks the students.
"YES!!!", Leech shouts happily while Artie quietly projects an image of a thumbs up to show his agreement.
"Just know that I won't be going easy on ya for when we go over training your powers". Scott smirks.
"Scott, don't go scaring him like that", Jean laughs.
"Wait, you aren't gonna train me, Professor?", Calvin asks confusedly.
"He does", Polaris confirms. "He is also headmaster of our school, so he isn't always available. That is where Scott, Moira, and Hank come in."
"Are you able to mimic energy based abilities to dear? Or is it only physical?", Emma asks suddenly.
"I....am not sure", Calvin shrugs.
"What are ya thinkin', Em'?", Bobby asks.
"If Calvin here can mimic both physical and energy based abilities, then there is also a chance-",
"-that he can mimic psychic abilities. That is correct Emma. But we must also remember that the knowledge of the psychic would also be at his disposal once he mimics their powers", Xavier explains.
"That implies his abilities may also be psionic in nature if they are also able to gain such information", Moira says thoughtfully. "We may run some tests around this new information, Hank?"
"Tests?", Calvin says alarmed.
"Nothing to worry about. The tests we conduct are to understand your powers more. No Frankenstein experiments here. All we will be doing is seeing the process and the limits. Nothing to intrusive and all will totally be with your permission", Hank reassures.
"Well, then. Why don't we start getting Mr. Rankin settled in. Leech, Artie, would the two of ya like to help me show Calvin his new room?", Moira asks the two mutant children.
"Leech help real good!", Leech says as he hops up and down towards the door. Artie takes Moira's hand and leads her to the door with him.
"I guess I am going with them", Calvin says as he takes his bag with him.
"We can see about getting you more stuff. Warren's the name, by the way. You won't need to worry about money, I got ya covered", Warren says to Calvin as they walk out.
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*Danger Room; a week later*
"That was a good workout", Calvin says as he walks from the Danger Room with Polaris and Iceman.
"Heck yeah, it was! We were incredible!", Bobby says.
"You guys kept up with me thistime, so I would call it a success", Lorna boasts playfully.
"Hey, not all of us have the power to control metal in an all metal room", Bobby says. It was then that Scott walks to them from the Danger Room control room.
"It wasn't a bad run, people. Iceman, you really need to form your ice shields. Your team almost got fried back there", Scott says pointing to Bobby.
"That flamethrower snuck up on us!", Iceman complained.
"Always expect the unexpected. Its not just a cliched phrase. Literally anything can happen on the field", Scott replies sternly. "Polaris, good hustle on turning the turrets on each other. Now, I know how you feel about the subject of Magneto."
It was then that she crosses her arms and with an annoyed look plainly seen.
"What about him!", Polaris asks challengingly.
"I'm sorry to say this, but the Professor and I have been talking. We think its about time we start working with you on mastering your powers further, in which-"
"Magneto has shown to be the best at. I get where you are coming from, Cyke, but I am not Magneto. I will never be Magneto", Polaris says exxhaustedly.
"We know you aren't, but you have his DNA. His powers are your own to control at your very fingertips. We remember what happened at he intersection. You formed your own magnetic shield as you did the equivalent of a localized emp for that entire block. You have the potential to possibly match or surpass Magneto by being younger in age alone. We need to take advantage of that", Scott implores. She looks uncertain, but after a minute, she nods her head defeatedly. "And you, Mimic......"
"Bring it, Cyke! I can take whatever you got", Calvin says confidently.
"......Calvin, you do well in the use of your powers, and ours for that matter, but....", Scott says with a pause before looking at the electronic tablet where he was reviewing the footage of their training.
"What?! Don't keep me in suspense!", Calvin exclaims.
"You use way too lethal force", Scott says as he shows the footage where the Calvin uses Iceman's powers to produce sharp projectiles that pierce the dummies and Polaris' electromagnetic control to point turrets at the dummies.
"Didn't you tell us in the beginning that this training is to keep us alive in the field when I first joined this team?", Calvin asked perplexed at Scott's critique.
"We aren't a kill squad. We aren't there to judge on who will live and die", Scott responds calmly, but firmly.
"But that's what they will be doing, only their judgement is always gonna be on kill 24/7! We will be fighting for survival out there or die and fail at our mission!", Calvin argues back.
"I understand the concern, Mimic. That is why we train. Yet, we want to be an example for both sides of this conflict. We can't exactly convince the people about peace between of us if we kill their people, right?" Scott asks.
Calvin then mumbles something incoherent to the listeners.
"Fine. I suppose I will have to just put up ice shields like, Bobby?", Calvin asks with an annoyed expression.
"Possibly in some cases. Honestly, because of the nature of your powers, we will probably take your powers on a case-by-case basis with whatever plans we have on missions", Scott says thoughtfully. "Overall, dude, you and the rest of your team did real well for rookies."
So, the four mutants head back to the ground level to finish the rest of their day.
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*Mimics Room; that same night*
That night in his room, Calvin was doing work assigned by Xavier in effort to keep his place at the mansion for the short time he would be there. Little would he know that the end would come sooner than expected.
"Mimic....."
"Huh? Emma? Jean?", Calvin called out. Everyone was downstairs lounging when he left for some alone time. It was strange though to find Jean or Emma call to him unless it was important. Emma usually understood the need for some alone time and Jean was one to respect another persons wishes. If it were anything urgent, the voice would ring louder than this female voice in his head. So, he turned back to his work, now on alert.
"Mimic", the voice said louder. Mimic turned again and in the middle of the room was a purplish-blue hued silhouette of a slim feminine figure, holding a blade in one hand. Though her features were clouded in shadow, this woman was clearly the psychic ninja assassin known simply as Kwannon.
"So, you guys finally call after so long. Not even a text. What gives?!", Calvin says exasperatedly.
"We have everything prepared now. I cannot stay connected long with Xavier and his two other psychics around. We gotta do this right. You know what to do, right?", Kwannon asks.
"Yeah, I got it. Am I gonna get any help in this?", he asks.
"We have Rogue, Quicksilver, and Scarlet Witch on standby once you do your job", Kwannon says. With the plan clear, Mimic slips away down the hall of the Mansion.
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*Morning at the Xavier School for Higher Learning*
"Hey, Orroro!", Warren says as he walks into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Warren. What do you plan to do today?", Orroro asks to make conversation.
"Thinkin' about watching Jean and Lorna go out to try and fly. I want them to succeed, but I also will be anticipating when they crash and burn", Warren says as he grabs some breakfast.
"You mean like they are doing now?", Orroro asks as she points outside where Lorna watches as Jean attempts to lift herself up in a less stiffer manner than she usualy does when she levitates.
"You're doing great, Jean!", Lorna said as she watched Jean rise up smoothly.
"This is the easy part. The hard part is when I attempt to move. Okay, so I just gotta turn my body this w-AH!", Jean exclaims as she tries to horizontally position her body, but leans too far. Panic ensues for Jean as she tries to keep hold of her body in her concentration, which left her dangling upside-down. Eventually, Jean's concentration is ruined and she falls to the ground. "Ow. I think I am gonna take five, then we will try with you."
"I saw that from afar! That was amazing to watch!", Warren said as flapped closer to them while laughing.
"Buzz off, Worthington! She tried her best!", Lorna said crossedly.
"Jean is amazing, period! You don't get many moments where she fails like that!", Warren says.
"Oh gee, I feel so much better after that compliment", Jean says sarcastically. "I think I am good now, Lorna. Let's try with you", Jean says as she gets up.
"I don't know about this. My powers don't work like yours", Lorna says uncertainly.
"Yeah, but I will be your safety net if you happen to fail. If what I got from Beast and Moira are correct, you should theoretically be able to take lift off by repelling against the magnetic lines of the Earth", Jean says thoughtfully.
"And what the hell does that mean mean for me to do?", Lorna asks with annoyance.
"Lorna", Orroro says as she walks up to the two women.
"You want to watch me fail too, 'Ro?", Lorna asks with an exasperated expression.
"I want to lend a hand in figuring out getting you to fly", Orroro answers seriously.
"You use the winds to gain lift off, Orroro. What can you do to help me?", Lorna asks.
"It is true that I fly with the winds of mother Earth, but my powers isn't limited to simpe control of the atmosphere. I have a literal connection to the planet itself. It is how I can measure what is cold enough without freezing you all solid or how I can direct the nvisble rushing air that surrounds me to begin with. Along the same line of thought, I can see the electromagnetic fields as well", Orroro reveals.
"What?", Lorna asks surprised.
"It's science...well, somewhat. How else could she naturally generate lightning?", Jean says with a shrug.
"Lightning is rapidly moving electrical currents, Lorna. I can see these currents, which is how I can tap into them with my very fingertips. And there is always much of it at my disposal", Orroro says before pointing her hand up and allowing streaks of lightning to flow from her fingertips.
"Okay, so you can see a lot. What do you suggest I do to be up there and not right here", Lorna asks impatiently.
"You know how magnets work, Lorna?", Orroro asks.
"Two opposing poles attract to each other, which causes the objects to pull towards each other. Basically metal like iron will be attracted to wherever I direct", Lorna answers simply.
"Yes. The same can be said with repulsion, Lorna", Orroro says. "By emulating the same charges that match the poles, you will will get a repulsion affect. Your magnetic field will be going against the magnetic field of the planet."
"Okay", Polaris says before taking a deep breath. "Let's give it a go."
Closing her eyes, Lorna feels the currents of the planet, looking for the different reactions to the fields she produces. Finding that sweet spot, Lorna begins to lift off the ground slowly as she increases the fields range. Her hands began to glow green as did her eyes when she opened them. Looking around, she felt how much more natural it was for her to manipulate this invisible force than she had thought. It did not take long before she slowly began to move forward and every way she could turn her body, so long as she made sure to emanate the field beow her against the Earth, she stayed aloft.
"Wow, this is.....amazing!", she laughed as she began to increase the speed of her travel through the air.
"Welcome to skies, fellow flyer", Warren said as he flew beside her.
As the two were enjoying sailing across the air with Jean and Orroro watching them intently, Lorna is hit by a reddish energy blast from seemingly nowhere. It was at that moment that Lorna's powers disappered and she fell as gravity began to take hold of her again.
"I got ya, Lorna", Warren said before she could hit the ground beneath them.
"Thanks. What was that?", Lorna asks as she looked around. "Look over there!"
Orroro and Jean look over to see a brunette young woman with white streaks in her hair flying across the sky towards Warren. Behind her was Scarlet Witch who was shooting hexes into the sky at the winged-man.
"I can't get a lock onto their minds. Someone is blocking me. I can't get in contact with Emma or the Professor either. Whoever it is responsible for blocking me, they are powerful enough to hold me off. I can probably punch through, but it will take too much time. More time than we have", Jean says as she concentrates a shield around herself and Orroro.
"Perhaps we will alert our friends with mother natures call", Orroro says as dark clouds begin to cover the sky where lightning flashes and thunder booms loudly. Aiming for Wanda, Orroro sends a lightning bolt from the sky down to Scarlet Witch. Before it can hit its target, a green streak rushes by, taking Scarlet Witch with it.
"Quicksilver, too?!", Warren says as he lands beside Jean and Orroro to set Lorna down.
"Polaris, find Cyclops or Emma to help you alert the rest of the mansion and check on the Professor! Also, get them to find out why our security did not alert us of intruders. Angel, you will serve for a distraction while Jean and I deal with these invaders!", Orroro says as she takes off to the sky. Lorna does just that, not looking back after hearing a crash of thunder and sonic booms behind her.
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*inside the mansion*
"Lorna! What in dear lord is goin' on out there?!", Moira asks urgently with Leech and Artie behind her.
"We are under attack by the Brotherhood! Where is Cyclops and the others?", Lorna asks hastily.
"Moira! What happened?!", Scott came running in with Emma, Iceman, and Beast in tow.
"The Brotherhood is here, lad. Lorna came to warn us all", Moira explains.
"Why didn't the security alert us? Why didn't Jean alert us telepathically?", Scott asks with no visible panic on his face, but some understandable confusion.
"Jean said she was blocked telepathically", Lorna explains.
"I can confirm her claim, Scott. Someone is blocking our psionics. I doubt Jean would waste time on it while under attack", Emma says as she feels the walls of psychic energy trying to stunt her range.
"Beast, you are the fastest among us. Go check on the Professor and alert him of what is going on. Storm and the others can probably handle themselves well enough out there, but I am sending you just in case Iceman", Scott tells the two men. "Emma, Lorna, you two will come with me. Emma, continue to punch at the psychic blocks, as we go check on the lower floors where the security is controlled from. Moira-"
"No need to waste time on me. I will get the children to safety, as per the usual routine", Moira says. "Be careful you all."
So the group splits up in their respective directions as the battle rages on outside.
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*Subbasement*
The three X-Men run across the halls to the War Room as they hear different booms distantly from above. As the door opens to the War Room, they find Mimic fully dressed in a wholly different outfit from the standard X-Men suit. His suit was orange with a red 'M' going across the crest. He went bare handed and footed with Beasts mutation enlargening his hands and feet. His back had giant, white wings that bore resemblance to Angel. To top off his orange and red outfit, he ruby red glasses to tie it altogether.
"Surprise, X-Morons", Mimic says before flying forward and grabbing Cyclops.
"Lorna, stop Mimic! I will deal with this security system", Emma says before runing into the room.
Without hesitation, Lorna quickly began to fly after Rankin as Scott tried to swipe at the man from the awkward position he was grabbed from. Mimic raises a hand to tear a hole into the roof with Lorna's magnetic powers on the subbasement and used Scott's optic blast to punch a hole as he moved upwards.
Finally, he broke the surface and kept flying up until he flew out through the top of the mansion with Lorna flying near in anticipation of Calvin dropping Scott.
"Hang on, Cyclops! I am almost there!", Polaris yells as she propels forward.
"Do ya?", Calvin says before shooting an optic blast at Lorna. She maneuvers to the side in time for the optic beam to miss and continues forward. He then raises his hand up to call down lightning to strike Polaris. This time, it hits and Lorna falls to Earth below.
"NO!", Scott yelled as he saw the green-haired maiden fall unconscious.
"Guess who's next, four-eyes!", Calvin says before dropping Scott.
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Jean keeps her shield up as Rogue pounds away at it without mercy. As she does, she gets a sudden feeling of shock and anger that she quickly realizes to be not her own.
"Scott?", Jean utters before blasting Rogue with a psi-bolt. She then looks around just in time to see in the distance a giant orange man-bird kind of thing carrying a man dressed in yellow and blue. Focusing on her connection, she realizes that it is Scott over there. The man drops Scott as Jean cements the connection. "SCOTT!!!"
Before Jean can make any move, she is hit from behind by a blast of magical energy from Scarlet Witch.
"Warren, check on Jean! I will cover you!", Storm commands as she calls down multiple bolts of lightning near Scarlet Witch to draw her attention off Jean and Warren.
As Storm briefly distracts Scarlet Witch, Iceman is busy chasing after Quicksilver, who continues to taunt Iceman with every shot Bobby takes.
"Almost had me! Come on, take another shot!", Quicksilver says as Iceman shoots and ice beam that Quicksilver runs the other way from. As Iceman becomes more frustrated, the more powerful the beam. Each time the beam hits its target, it is encased in more ice spreading over the different surfaces.
"Why don't you tell that to my face and see how fast you can run after that?", Iceman says as he keeps shooting different walls and ice on the ground.
"I could. I will tell you what. If you're still bad after a couple more minutes of this, I will try to go slower", Quicksilver says in a patronizing tone you would say to a child.
"Forget this!", Iceman says before jumping off his ice slide and hitting the ground, causing it to quickly freeze over the lawn of the mansion. As Quicksilver runs another lap, he suddenly starts slipping on the icy surface and falls and slides into a nearby tree.
"Pietro!", Scarlet Witch cries out before letting out an aoe attack that causes lightning bolts to change direction and combust different things on fire.
"Jean?! Jean, wake up!", Angel shakes Jean as the chaos reigns on the battlefield.
"War...ren?", she utters as she regains her bearings. "Scott! We need to find Scott!"
"Let's help our people before we go running off, Jeannie. Things will only get worse if we run off", Angel tells Jean.
"Better run, X-Men! Mimic is here in the name of Magneto! Surrender and you guys will live", Mimic yells as he demonstrates the abilities he has mimicked, ranging from Storm's weather manipulation, Iceman's ice sliding, and Scott's optic blast.
Feeling the anger course through her, she instinctively begins to levitate up faster and faster until she is leaning forward in full flight motion. Dodging the lightning and the ice shards falling downwards by Mimics gesture. She then hovers in Mimics way with glowing angry pink eyes.
"Calvin! What is the meaning of this?! Why did you drop Scott?! What did he ever do to deserve this?!", Jean yells above the booms of thunder around her.
"I think I made it all clear on my grand entrance. Stay out of this or get hurt, probably worse than your friends!", Calvin threatened.
"They could have been your friends too, Calvin! We all wanted to be friends with you!", Jean shouted above the thunder as lightning streaked around her.
"Touching, but clearly not the case! You all don't get that the real world doesn't work with your fantasies. Soon, when Magneto confronts Xavier, he will undrstand. I just hope you do before you get yourself hurt. I liked you the most of the rest of them, Jean", Calvin yells.
"You all aren't getting away with this! We will stop you all, one way or another!", Jean yells out to him.
"That's just too bad", he mumbles before gesturing to Jean. Out comes streaks of lightning from his fingertips that hit Jean's shield. Jean finds herself wobbling as she tries to keep herself aloft whille Mimic pounds at her shield. She was too impulsive in this decision to go after Calvin after jsut waking up from being ko'd. Not giving Angel a chance to assess her wounds and her mind, but she wouldn't let Calvin get away so easily.
Remembering the image of Scott falling from two perspectives, Jean begins to push back. Jean unleashes a wave of telekinetic energy at Calvin, which he recovers from using his wings. She then shoots an array of telekinetic bolts while maintaining her shield and flight path. Her aim is slightily off, flight slow and wobbly, but her determination has her moving towards her target.
"Face it, Rankin! You may have our powers, but you don't have my potential! Storm's potential! You want true power, feel it!", Jean says before shoving Calvin to the ground with a telekinetic push downwards. The impact is so great that Calvin falls unconscious after trying to get back up.
"Looks like I am gon' have ta take a crack at this multiple powah's deal. Huh, sugah?", the woman Jean learned to be Rogue said before taking off her glove and setting it on Rankins hand. It was then Jean noticed Calvin's color begin to drain as his features like his wings and giant appendages disappear. Looking to Rogue, she suddenly gains her own set of wings, with glowing red eyes, and enlarged hands and feet. "Now that is what ahm talkin' about! All the power with just two minds flying around in mah' head. Good luck takin' me on because ah won't go down as easily."
Suddenly, an optic beam from above shoots past Jean near Rogue's position as Polaris lowers down with Scott.
"Scott, you're okay!", Jean says happily as she flies up to the two.
"Nearly wasn't. Polaris woke up after getting struck by lightning and caught me. Her landing needs work. Knocked us out cold for a few minutes", Scott says with a blush.
"I guess I can be empowered by electricity", Lorna shrugs when Jean looks at her.
"Point is that I am here still and I won't be going anytime soon", Scott says with a smile.
"Okay, well, keep on your guard and distance. This one is called Rogue and she not only has super fast flight and strength, but she can absorb others powers", Jean explains quickly as she turns to Rogue.
"And life-force and memories", Rogue adds before rushing down at Jean, who still has a shield up. She dodges Scott's optic blast and Polaris throwing scrap metal at Rogue. Her speed is incredible as she can make it across the lawn of the mansion and back in faster time than Jean or Polaris could manage.
"Good news is that Mimic couldn't mimic our exact DNA. Just our powers and knowledge. I would guess Rogue could, but we don't need to worry if we keep our distance", Jean explains further as she keeps shield up against different attacks that Rogue throws at her shield.
The battle goes on for a little while longer with neither side relenting to the other. Suddenly, Rogue stops her onslaught and turns around to disappear away from the school.
"They....retreated??", Polaris pants with a questioning look.
"Scott!"
What is it, Emma, Scott thinks.
"I have got things up and running and contacted S.H.I.E.L.D. No signs of the Brotherhood further", Emma says in his head.
"Now, to find out what the Brotherhood was planning", Scott said as he turned to the unconscious Mimic. "Jean."
Without further word from Cyclops, Jean gives a telepathic jolt to Mimic's brain, waking him from unconciousness. Before Mimic can regain his bearings, Jean wraps him in a near unbreakable telekinetic grip.
"What is-"
"Alright, Calvin, its time you explain yourself to us", Scott says with a stern voice.
"What's there to explain?", Calvin said nonchalantly. This earned a punch from Bobby.
"Bobby, stand down!", Scott said as he stepped in Bobby's way.
"Why should I?! This bastard turned on us and let them in to attack our home!", Bobby snarled.
"Honestly, if Bobby didn't do it, I would have certainly. I wouldn't have stopped at one though", Lorna says as she glared at Calvin.
"We all are pissed as hell at him, but we can't go losing our heads. We need to get information first", Scott said firmly.
"Why would he say thing to us?!", Bobby exclaimed.
"I wouldn't", Calvin said smugly.
"See! He isn't gonna cooperate, just like a traitor would act!", Bobby accused.
"It is true, Robert, but Scott wants to give him the chance to keep his privacy by explaining to us what we want to know", Orroro chimes in.
"Why would we trust a damn thing he would tell us?! He will just lie to us like he has from the start!", Lorna shouts.
"That is why Jean is here", Scott says. "He won't be lying further and getting away with it. If he refuses to cooperate, we will rip it from his head."
"Th-that isn't something the Professor had taught you guys to do", Calvin said with a slight worry now showing.
"I am not the Professor and you are out of options. Talk! What was the Brotherhood planning?!", Scott said more forcefully.
Calvin looks down with an angry expression before his face displayed a look of defeat. He then began to murmur incoherently his confession.
"Speak up, Rankin!", Scott said with a commanding tone.
"They were a distraction. We were trying to distract you guys", Calvin said begrudgingly.
"Of course it was a distraction. The Brotherhood always employ distractions", Jean said with exasperation.
"Wait a minute, Jean", Scott said with sudden confusion. "A distraction? From what?"
"SCOTT!"
"Ow, Emma, you are psychically shouting in my head and I really don't appre-"
"Scott, they took him! Xavier has been kidnapped by the Brotherhood!"
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