Rescuing Soha

June 06, 2014:

The X-Men rescue a young mutant girl from execution in Iran.

ARDESTAN - IRAN

Characters

NPCs: Soha

Mentions:

Mood Music: None.


Fade In…

The military drives in via tanks; overkill certainly for this small central Iranian town. The man in charge saunters towards the small hut with a look of determination mixed with fear. As we pan back, it's not just a handful of tanks; there are nearly 30 that barricade the roads going in and out of the town. There is no escape.

Two soldiers carry a battering ram and knock down the door with one swing. The Iranian General ducks in and at the far end, a small family of four-a mother, father, and two girls-are huddled together and crying.

As the youngest one, perhaps 12 years old, opens her eyes it is clear why the military is there. Perhaps the closest description is that they glow like the snowflakes of an out of tune television from the 1950s.

There are few words, all barked, and the girl is ripped from the hands of her mother at gunpoint. There's a struggle, three shots, and no more struggle. The girl is taken away and put in a guarded van and whisked away northward.

_ _ _ _

3 HOURS LATER

The cell smells but the girl is honestly more concerned about what happened to her parents. It's not clear to her whether she cares if she lives or dies, only that a day ago she began to be able to see through walls. Now her life has been ruined through the deaths of those who meant everything to her. When they come for her, she puts up no effort to try and stop them.

The call has come down; she's to be executed, but the government has been clear that they want it done miles from nowhere in the middle of the mountains, far away from cities and 'innocents' should something go catastrophically wrong. There is still a great amount of fear in Iran of mutants, and to say that the topic is treated akin to witchcraft of the 1600s is an understatement.

_ _ _

24 HOURS LATER

"We're coming in on the site," Cyclops says to Jean as he pulls the controls downward. "Everyone look alive when we get down there. Remember: Quick and no trace. We don't want to get caught up in any of that business going on with Druzia, and to be caught here as Americans would be very unfortunate. Discretion. We get in and get out." He'll go through the rest of the battle plans once they get on the ground.

Phoenix focuses on sweeping for mental signatures below, and hiding the plane from them if there are any. It's a simple Jedi mind trick, the old 'nothing to see here' bit, and they find no need to pay the Blackbird any attention. "Copy that, Scott," Jean mumurs, her eyes gone over white with the effort being exerted. "Is everyone ready?" she asks the others in the plane.

Kurt is strapped in, and watches as the scenery unfolds around the 'Bird. Desert with few trees, and fewer lights. This is supposed to be part of the Cradle of Civilization? Pretty.. sad.

The fuzzy blue elf grins in spite of the direness of the mission, and he shrugs lightly at Scotts words. "I won't have any problems being confused for an American, mein freund. I think that is the last thing they'd be concerned about to see me." It's easy to poke fun at himself, it is.

Nodding towards Jean, he's unstrapping himself from the seat and making to rise. "Ja. I am." Extraction team!

"We won't get caught." Cal says, peering out the window. They might be spotted. They might he attacked. But they won't be caught. Teleporting is fun that way. He or Clarice would have brought them except they weren't really sure where they needed to go and google doesn't work as well in Iran as it does in Manhattan. Without looking away from the window, he extends a hand and his beer floats into his graps for him to take a sip. For this, he's at full capacity. And he can always drop something if needed.

This time Lunair has her armor. It is small comfort in what lies ahead, but not having her spleen shot out is always a plus. She looks down, to catch what scenery she can before they land. Is she one of the only ones without teleport here? Gosh. She furrows her brows, in thought. Her visor hasn't folded in front of her face and sealed yet, so she wears her quizzical expression. She smiles faintly at Kurt's words and everything. But she nods and listens.

… so no Twerking here. She doesn't have any weapons on her for the moment. She is thinking, perhaps. Don't get caught. Be discrete. Which rules out a lot of her usual favorites. Hmmm… thinkthinkthinking. Happily, no smoke pours out her ears as she does.

"Ready as I'm gonna be," Blink says. This… will be an experience. She's only been in this reality 3 or 4 days, and she's still adjusting. But, hey, she's got a mountain of experience in What To Do When Things Go Sideways. That's gotta count for something, anyway?

But, this isn't her show. Not even really her team. And Cal's the only one here she really knows, brief introduction to Kurt notwithstanding. So, for now, she'll follow their lead and see what happens.

Jean will feel the minds of perhaps 50 soldiers, strewn about to protect the 12 marksman. It's apparent they're doing this by fire squad, but the X-men knew this already. They're lined up to guard both entrances to the clearing-a mini plateau almost-as well as provide support in case one the mysterious 'devilspawn' cracks open the world and tries to swallow them whole. Clearly they're not clear on what to expect.

As they're departing the craft, Cyclops begins going through the plans. "Two teams on both entrances. Mimic and Lunair on the far entrance, I'll take the close one. Blink, I need you as a go between darting back and forth, creating portals and doing your thing from both sides. Jean from above with recon and the killswitches." It should be noted, and would be recognized by everyone involved, that by kill switch he's referring to knocking folks out cold when need be. "Telepathic link as long as you can hold it."

"Kurt. Find the girl. Get her and get her back to the bird."

"Questions?"

Phoenix straightens and follows Cyclops out of the SR-71. She's in her new-ish costume, tight green bodysuit with the golden phoenix emblazoned on the chest, gold sash, and golden-hued boots and gloves. Not exactly practical armor or casual wear, but she isn't in need of those sorts of protections. Her long red hair is unbound and seems to move in an unseen wind as she accesses her power and reaches out to build a telepathic connection between the team members. "No questions here," she replies to Scott. Then she's launching into the air, pushing her telekinetic force against the molecules of the very air to fly. «I sense about 50 soldiers, besides the firing squad.» she reports.

"Nein," Kurt responds, and in the next second, the sound of the telltale bamf! comes, and he's gone from the interior of the 'Bird in search of the girl. Through the dark, clinging to walls, ceilings, he begins his searches.

"I'm good." Cal answers as he transforms into his armored form. The claws stay in since he's not looking to kill anyone. FOr now. Nodding once to Lunair, he and the girl BLINK to the far entrance as instructed. <Let's do this as quietly as possible.> he tells Lunair, his 'voice' soft in her mind. <Just think and I'll hear you. If we can sneak in without firing, do it.>

Kill switch isn't literal. Well, that averted a few murders on Lunair's end. At least. Thankfully no one has sent her to purchase light switches or any Killswitch Engage albums. Yet. She looks to Blink, curious. Headtilt. But Lunair has to pay attention. Follow Mimic. Noted! Lunair looks to Cal. She totally wishes she had an armored form. She seems a little cross-eyed by telepathy now and then. But she gets over it after a moment. Her mouth opens, then she closes it and tries to think back after he reminds her.

When you don't have telepathy, switching gears might take a moment. Still, soon her visor closes. Quiet weapons. Noted. She looks around them, getting a feel for the area. Signs of people that might become a problem. Like a cat, except less likely to flip out and attack the TV. A portal gun is slung over her back.

"Do my best," the purple mutant says to Cyclops, straining to get some idea of the lay of the land as she disembarks. Easier to port when she knows what she's looking at. Still, Blink slides a pair of javelins from her quiver and moves with Cyke, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Lemme port us over. Come out firing," she suggests. Then, *BLINK* they're off to the far end to start the party with a surprise bang.

Scott's gaze rises as Jean levitates up into the air and his right hand comes up to his visor. His fingers turn the dial several clicks in a counter-clockwise manner, bringing a normal width to his optic blast but with a lighter punch. A stun shot, not a kill shot.

He looks over at Blink and gives a nod, letting her know he's ready to begin.

As Kurt begins to bamf around, he's got a big job ahead of him. There's an encampment of all terrain vehicles set up at the center with many men strolling around, smoking cigarettes and waiting. The girl could be in any one of them. The good news is she's not up at the stake where they plan to tie her.

The entrance to Calvin and Lunair's side is filled with about 20 men. 10 who guard the entrance with a pair of vehicles and a handful of marksmen on the hills around.

When Blink ports then, Cyclops does as Blink recommends. The pair appear suddenly amid a purple poof and a hail of red optic blast. The heavier terrain of the other path meant less men, but more vehicles. Two men are knocked to the ground immediately before they can even yell, but another begins to yell out. Almost immediately, two gunners pull out atop the vehicles canopy with large mounted guns and begin firing at Scott and Blink!

It looks like keeping things on the down low will be a bit more difficult than everyone thought.

Phoenix circles high above, using cloud cover to hide herself from those below. When there is nowhere to hide, she masks herself from individuals much as she did the plane. She begins telepathically sending reports back to the team on where the various soldiers are, so they won't have unpleasant surprises. When the shots begin firing, she swoops down towards Scott and Blink's position to hover behind the pair and throw up a telekinetic shield between them and the oncoming bullets. «So much for in and out quietly,» she quips via telepathy.

Won't be too hard, as long as there is a shadow Kurt can hide in. Black and blue hues meld easily, and the elf moves around the trucks, climbing on top silently. Flipping into the first ATV, he's ready to take on anyone within the first vehicle. Feet grab the first soldier and flips him against a wall as his tail wraps about another and does pretty much the same. Of course, the result is that the ATV is shaking… just a little.

With no sign of the girl in the first vehicle checked, Kurt *bamfs* out and lands inside the next vehicle..

If nothing else? All the noise over -there- will provide some cover for him!

"Forget about being quiet." Cal says out loud once he sees what's ahead of them. No way to take them down without a fuss. Even with the other team providing a diversion. "Knock them out as best you can." he tells Lunair. "I'll provide a diversion." Diversion, attack, one or the other. With a BLINK Cal appears midway between the two vehicles. Stretching an arm out toward each, fire blasts at the tires and flickers at the sides. There's going to be time for the soldiers to get the hell away before the gas tanks ignite but they better be quick.

Well. So much for quiet indeed. Lunair's trying to keep her thoughts quiet, but she had her reservations about sneaking against such numbers. There's always SOMEONE who makes his perception check. There's quite a few of them, too. Place is probably rife with snipers. Funny how life sometimes mirrors games in the worst possible way? She doesn't have time to think on it for now.

At Cal's request to knock them out, she nods. It's time to get concussive! Wait. None of them have gas masks. Time to get PIXIELIKE. You may all thank Lunair as she refrains from donning tights, pulling that infamous cat staff out and what looks to be some sort of aerial dispenser. But so sparkly that Edward probably just exploded (and the peasants rejoiced). Weirdly, anyone who gets the dust on their skin or in their noses is gonna find themselves really sleepy without supernal resistance. It's even more effective than watching weird late night TV and having the strangest dreams about a man selling you towels.

Blink spins, hands flashing. A portal appears in front of one gun and then the other, the bullets from the pair angled to riddle the vehicles, though not the men inside. She's looking to disable, not kill. She blinks out of the TK shield for an instant, tosses off a fan of amethyst rods towards the men still on the ground, looking to port them a good twenty miles away — perhaps even so far back to the city. The javelins are released and she's back in behind that TK shield with a blink.

"Jean, see if you can help Nightcrawler out by finding our girl and lighting a pathway. This is going to get really ugly really quick." For not having previously worked together, Blink and Cyclops do a good job of porting and blasting from all angles, creating an innovative crossfire with only a pair of people, and nearly wiping out the foot-force.

Kurt bamfs directly into the back of one of the vans where there is a lone soldier who is apparently reading an inappropriate magazine; light emanating from a small cigarette lighter. His eyes go wide as the demon arrives. Surely Allah does punish those with unclean minds!

KABOOOOOOOOOM!

The large explosion sends men to the ground in a heap and the others of the fifty not already engaged, now begin running towards Calvin and Lunair. There's screaming and the call to arms as they move out towards that end of the plateau.

Lunair prances through, putting dust upon several of the soldiers and sending them into slumber with sweet dreams about the Shamwow and their need to get their fortune told by a Jamaican woman.

Blink sends two of the vehicles against each other, and each of them disable the other amid a lot of screaming by scared soldiers. Surely the devil himself has sent the mighty D'jinn from the gates of hell. Or something like that. A host of men get hit with the TK darts and look at each other as they suddenly reappear down in the valley some distance away. Slowly a free range goat 'baaahs' at them, apparently as confused as they are.

Jean holds her focus on shielding the diversionary group while adding to the diversion herself. She flares up the phoenix firebird around herself, very much the girl on fire. Eat your heart out Katniss Everdeen. «Right, Scott. Need to hurry this up, Fuzzy Elf, if you'd be so kind.» The firebird soars up into the air and heads towards the transport vehicles, her mind boring into each one, searching for the little girl, who no doubt would read differently than the soldiers around her. When she finds her, she paints the target vehicle for Nightcrawler, in his mind.

Kurt would be more than happy to explain the difference between a loving God and their perception of Allah. (As well as the value of intercessionary prayers, the God-hood of the Son of God… but now really, really isn't the time.) Instead, the elf makes sure that the soldier in question is put to sleep for a little while; the bump on the head will heal in a couple of days.

Kurt's out of the truck and on the roof, glowing yellow eyes searching the trucks as Jean lights the way, setting the location into his mind. «This is always so unnerving, but…»

BAMF!

Landing in the car, perched on the back seat of one of the many seats, Kurt puts out a three-fingered hand for the girl, his words gentle. "There is no time to explain, liebchen. My name is Nightcrawler, und I'm here to take you from here. Our friends are here und ready to bring you to safety."

Cal's fire continues spewing forth in all directions as he moves his arms around. But instead of blasting things, it falls walls that stay in place and fireballs that roll and need to be dodged. Bullets bounce off of him and he gives them no heed as he plays big, fat target to draw their fire away from Lunair and especially from Kurt and the girl they're here to rescue.

Lunair is grateful not to have the heat on her. Especially when she might have a small problem with getting a little lethal when startled. But she's trying. Dreams of shamwows, fortunes, and whatever the case may be are distributed freely. A swing or two of the cat staff might send a few flying if the 'pixie' dust doesn't get to them. The shockwaves might help disperse things a bit, too. Still, if things look too busy near Cal, the odd soldier will get knocked away or sent to latenight TV dreamland.

Blink isn't entirely unused to working with a mutant with Cyclops' optic blasts, thanks to early adventures with Cal. Sure, it's been ages since then but she remembers. And she trusts Cal, with his copy of her powers to be able to keep Lunair and him safe through the craziness. She *blinks* and throws out portals, redirecting the guards' fire harmlessly away from living bodies. At one point, she sends a fan of javelins into weapons, figuring on sending them in pieces all over the desert.

With Jean's help, Kurt finds the little girl with ease. Her appearance is striking; she's an obvious mutant. Her eyes seem to move in static-like black and white, which juxtapose severely with Kurt's own distinct eyes. She reaches out her hand slowly towards Kurt. Jean will feel that she's terrified, but she has nothing left to lose.

Almost all of the fire is drawn from Lunair towards Mimic as he brings the confusing attack upon his adversaries. Many are so confused they focus more on the mutant than on his attacks and several are not ready when the bouncy flames catch them. Stop, drop, and roll.

Since the attention is turned towards Mimic, Lunair is mostly free to just walk up near soldiers and place the dust upon them with little fanfare. Gradually, the bullets attacking Calvin begin to dissipate as the pair work in tandem to put most of the enemy to sleep.

As the remaining bullets come through, the soldiers are awestruck as their diverted up into the sky. Shots that should have hit fly away harmlessly and the sound around the battle field is disorienting with how it switches and shifts directions at a whim.

"Alright," Cyclops says after the girl is in with Kurt. "Let's make sure Kurt is out and then get back to the bird as quick as possible. He flips a couple of switches on his wrist and a few miles away the Blackbird comes to life.

Jean sends soothing thoughts to the little girl. «We are here to bring you someplace safe. Someplace where no one will hurt you, and where you can learn to use your new abilities.» She throws a few soldiers honing in on the vehicle away from it telekinetically, so Kurt can bamf in peace. «They'll be clear momentarily. Everyone rendezvous at the Blackbird.» she turns off her flames and soars up high, into the clouds, before turning towards the plane.

Evacuation is Blink's specialty. And, with three teleporters, really, no evacuation should take long with this crew. More javelins are thrown to distract and d

As the girl reaches out to grasp his hand, Kurt dips his head and offers an encouraging smile. "You are with friends, I promise." He doesn't need empathy or telepathy or anything of the sort to know that she's terrified, so he leans a little closer and offers his arm too. "I'm fuzzy.. like a lifesized teddybear. Hold on, und I'll take you from this place."

Looking up with those glowing, featureless yellow eyes, Kurt nods as he catches first Scott's instructions, and then Jeans. His attention falls back to the girl and he whispers, "Now, hold your breath und close your eyes."

BAMF!

Landing in the Blackbird now, Kurt's on his feet and he's still got the girl in hand, upon his arm. "You can open your eyes now," is instructed softly. "Welcome home, liebchen. We'll have a nice room for you with a clean bed, and more friends than you could imagine."

It feels strange not to give in to the niggling urge that creeps up like a snarling dog. She'd rather end this fight rather permanently. But Lunair's trying to nudge it away. She nods, at Cal's warning. At least she doesn't speak. « Okay. » And her weapons disappear, before she sprinkles Scott. Things might get kinda weird if he gets sparkly, too. « Thanks. » She offers. She appreciates the blinky thingy. But it still feels a bit odd.

Lunair smiles and waves politely to the newcomer and others. Although, something seems off about her. When not actively working on an expression, she has that lingering blankness. Friendly enough though.

Evacuation is Blink's specialty. And, with three teleporters, really, no evacuation should take long with this crew. More javelins are thrown to distract and disarm their opponents. She then finds herself back-to-back with Scott. "We're outta here," she tells him and BLINKs again, so the two appear at the bottom of the Blackbird's ramp, waiting the others.

The girl nods slowly to Kurt, not really understanding, but much calmer after Jean has entered her mind. There's nothing left here for her, obviously. She didn't really expect to be alive.

Scott's already moving when he gets out of the 'blink'. "Jean, will you sit by her on the way home?" he asks as he gets into the seat. He begins to flip some switches and go through the pre-flight. He also reminds himself to ask Jean if she can enhance any of the memories of her family. With no pictures, he's worried those images in her head might fade with time.

He knows from experience.

It doesn't take long but the Blackbird is airborne and heading west before everyone is even buckled in. Below they can see fire and the haze of the black smoke as they pull away. It's a long flight back home, but Cyclops is satisfied with the mission.

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