Do not go gentle into that good night
So this was the Xavier Institute, was it? George had to admit he was impressed. These poor misunderstood little mutants weren’t exactly slumming it. Not in a stonking great mansion like this with all mod cons and no doubt hot and cold running compassion. No, from where he was standing they didn’t have a lot to whine about. Not until now that was. Now it was true things were going to change, and not for the better. Ah well, that was life, wasn’t it? @#%$ happened. The trick was to make sure you were the one shovelling it out, not the one being dumped on.
Which was definitely the case with him here today! George watched as the first waves of the assault force or ‘cannon fodder’, as he liked to call them, moved in. Minor demons! Super soldiers! Robots! All the usual suspects, ready and willing to lay down their lives if someone told them too. George shook his head cynically. How stupid could you be? Taking all of the risk and getting nothing out of it in return. Still, it was just as well that there were people like that around. Otherwise people like him couldn’t function.
Not that the Scot was averse to taking chances when he had too. After all merely frequenting those in the higher echelons of Agememnon was as dangerous as anything he had ever done. The difference was he wasn’t doing it for the good of any supposed cause. He was in this for himself and himself alone. There was power to be had here and he was sure as hell going to get his hands on it. No matter how dirty he had to get those hands in the process.
Just getting on this mission had been a step in the right direction. George smiled again. Right about now those inside should be discovering that their state of the art communications system wasn’t as fool proof as they all thought. Getting his new employers the means to bring it down had earned him his ticket to this particular party. It was remarkable how much damage could be done if you just found the right spanner to throw into the works. And George was a specialist in causing damage.
They had wanted a com badge and he had got them one. What’s more he had done it without anyone being any the wiser. Plans put forward to kidnap or kill one of the students had been way too melodramatic and would surely have tipped off this weird doctor who was in charge of security that something was up. Or so George had argued when he had presented his own plan to his superiors. A few dates with a nurse though… that was neat and painless and in the end achieved the same results.
It hadn’t been difficult for him to get close to the girl, after all he did have the physique of a boxer and a rough charm that he could turn on and off when he pleased. Besides, God, she had been so stupidly grateful for the attention, like a puppy, all innocent and eager to please. Georges grin widened. Well she had pleased him all right. Several times! And she’d been anything but innocent when he had finished with her. Somewhere in the procedure, after the sex of course, no point in ruining the fun, he had slipped her a sleeping pill, removed the com badge and passed it to those waiting at Agamemnon.
Ready as they were for its arrival, it hadn’t taken the scientists long to get the information they needed from it or to modify it to act as a communications time bomb, ready to figuratively blow apart the com badge relay when the attack began. He had been back before she woke up and she had left him none the wiser for his little betrayal. It had been a sweet plan and it had worked to perfection. Sex, drugs, all that was missing was the rock and roll” George thought to himself smugly. And then of course there had been the little added bonus that fate had kindly chucked his way.
“ I like your accent” Andrea, the nurse had told him “Glaswegian isn’t it. I know because you sound just like a patient of ours.” Of course this had been the logical place for his dear little brother to end up after the fiasco at the auctions. But still to have it confirmed like that had been the icing on this particular cake. Poor Michael! Finally getting away to what must have felt like safety and now all this! He never did get a break, did he? George laughed quietly. Unless you counted his legs that was.
Of course it wasn’t as though Michael was high on George’s list of priorities, at this precise moment in time. Oh, they would meet up soon enough no doubt and have one hell of a memorable family reunion. With Hell being the operative word! Here and now though George had to keep his wits about him. This was where opportunities occurred, on the battle field, if you stood back, stayed calm and waited for them to happen. Which was precisely what he intended to do!
Bringing down the odd escaping student wouldn’t make a big enough splash to get him noticed that much he knew. Besides he had to admit that he wasn’t too keen on finding himself nose to nose with someone who could maybe turn him into dust with one wave of their hand. Let the others take that sort of risk. He had bigger fish to fry.
It took a while to find what he was after. A while in which those on both sides of this messy conflict bled and fell! To George though it was just a show put on for his benefit, one destructive game of chess that he watched being played out, ready to intervene only when fate put the winning piece in his hand. There! Red light flashed out against the night sky. Bingo the scot whispered quietly.
George had done his research well. After all you didn’t come this far just to let everything slip away through lack of preparation. So he had studied the all the files concerning this most strange of schools, memorising what was useful to him, dismissing the rest. And Agamamnon’s most wanted list had been the first thing he had stored away for further reference.
Maybe there were lots of mutants capable of producing a ray like that but somehow George didn’t think so. Still he edged a little closer just to make sure. This wasn’t something you wanted to get wrong after all. Not when it could make or break your entire future. And there it was.. the telltale visor he had been looking for. George grinned widely. Scott Summers in person.That was a prize they wouldn’t want getting away. And now, thanks to him the leader of the X men would be delivered up on a plate. Life didn’t get much better than this.
George was already off and running , heading for the main door and those waiting just beyond it. The leaders of this little operation. The ones he had to impress if he was ever to get to where he wanted to be. And with a bit of luck this would be one big step towards getting there. Quickly George looked round the assembled gathering trying to see if there was anyone here who could be useful to him and hardly believing his eyes when he saw who was standing in front of him.
He had asked for a bit of luck but this was the jackpot. Cole Turner. The number one man! Make or break indeed! ‘Mr Turner ‘ he said respectfully. I wouldn’t normally be this forward but… I thought you should be informed that Scott Summer’s is fighting his way towards the main gate. And neither the robots or the soldiers seem to be able to stop him.
"Mr Turner" Slowly Cole came to a still, ceasing his climb up the stairs and staring at the human who called him, nothing about this mortal alarmed Cole, if anything, had the mans voice not sounded so eager, Cole just might have continued on, walking by ignorant of the other’s existence. Then again, this was a joint operation, Cole had to get used to humans talking to him, even though… this guy didn’t look like one of Walsh’s… something about the face rang familiar, come to think of it, but where had he seen it? "I wouldn’t normally be this forward but… I thought you should be informed that Scott Summer’s is fighting his way towards the main gate. And neither the robots or the soldiers seem to be able to stop him." Plans to head to the office and make himself at home seemed suddenly cast aside and unimportant.
"Summers…" The half demand repeated thoughtfully, turning his body to face the front doors, this was a moment he could revenge his pride, the day Summer’s wife had come up to him and taken from him the subjects for which Cole had been both studying and experimenting on. For all the times Scott had gotten in his way just by existing and helping run this meddlesome school. "Good, you lot," The new head of A. Corp threw a glare at some of the soldiers and droids just making their way to the top of the stairs, "Find me outside, I want to be able to focus on Cyclops, you all take care of whatever little herd he happens to be leading." With that order given, Cole wasted no more time in leaving, his body seeming to break away into black swirl of ash and tiny black shimmering particles that both engulfed him and vanished within moments.
On the outside, when Cole reappeared, all he saw at first was the mass chaos of mutants, man and machines of both sides firing and combating at each other in desperation for survival, the sight made Turner wonder just how much Karl must be enjoying himself right now. All the pain and misery and fear that soaked the area… it might help make up for all that time in stasis… well, no not really, but maybe at least give him a breath of fresh air. A red beam shot out, caught only with the side glance, causing Cole to turn his head, watching a moment to assess what was gong on, moving towards the scene Scott Summers was immersed within and just wondering how would the best approach be as far as introductions went. Raising a hand, Cole though over summoning a ball of hellfire, and yet, that seemed so mundane… this was one of the X-men who aided in getting in Cole’s way for years now.
"Honestly Mr. Summers, you’re causing quite the fuss," Maybe being all powerful had its perks, but Cole didn’t climb the ladder of success by being stupid, granted he allowed himself a few selfish moves here and there, but if he could delay any sudden confrontation, then a team should be closing in to help deal with the rest of the swarm in the area, or least keep them off him as he deal with Summers alone. "You know, you’re government has given me full rights to legally contain this school, what you’re doing right now is resisting and thus breaking the law," As a youth, Cole had been a lawyer himself, and thrived off it, watching the innocent burn at the stakes, so to speak, was a pleasure indeed if they had the nerve to get in his way. Being the boss was great and all, but there were times Cole severely missed the days where he could do as he wished and not worry about what it did to the company, or worry that his absence would be missed. A. Corp had many hands, but fewer heads, and this was one of the first breaks he’s had from A. Corp and Obsidians Tech’s demands… he definitely wanted to make the most of this moment.
Re: Do not go gentle into that good night
The sheer size of the attack launched so unexpectedly against them was staggering. This was no flamboyantly dangerous but badly organised incursion by some rival band of mutants out to see who’s powers were ‘better’ . Nor was it a cold and incisive strike such as Scott himself might have come up with if his aim had been to take and hold the institute. Instead this enemy simply hurled soldiers against them with little or no regard as to their troops safety, until sheer numbers wore down the mutants trying not even to defend but simply to flee this sanctuary which had now been transformed into a war zone.
Not that the soldiers in question weren’t well trained Scott had to admit. The human ones at least! These young men and women carried themselves well, doing what they could to counteract the vast and varied array of powers that were in play at Xavier’s institute. And they had technology to help them do it.
That alone was interesting. Scott sighed. Interesting? It was at times like this that the long time leader of the X men realised all to well why Logan got so angry at him. Even as he fought for his life and the life of his students, even as his heart was torn apart by what was happening to this school that had been his home for the greater part of his life, even as his ailing body begged him to stop and give it rest, still there was a part of his brain that simply stood apart and analysed the situation. That was how he was. That was who he was.
And now that relentless logic was narrowing down the list of organisations capable of launching an enterprise like this where humans and demons fought side by side, both armed with the latest technology. In the end only one name really stood out as a usual suspect as far as the demonic side of things was concerned.
Agamemnon Corporation! The X men had locked horns before with that particular bag of worms and they were the leading source of demon based trouble in his eyes at least. Although until now Scott hadn’t heard of them training humans to any great degree.
Damn! Cyclops turned his beam upon a new enemy , striving to keep them away from the children he and Trade had so far managed to keep safe , if scared, in the middle of this chaos. Know your enemy had been a principle he had drummed into every student who had passed through his hands over the years. It gave you an edge. Let you find their weaknesses. Unless of course they were all around you in such force that all you could really do was breathe and try to stay alive, not even for yourself, but for those who were depending on you.
These children were doing just that. And without Trade at his side Scott knew that they would never have made it this far. She protected the youngsters with a ruthlessness that would usually have caused Scott concern but which under the present circumstances he could only be sadly grateful for.
He himself had had years of training in which to hone his beam’s power to his will. That it could kill was more than apparent. It could tear mountains apart if he let it. That it could also only stun was a gift he was eternally grateful for. And so those humans and demons that crossed his path lost consciousness for a few hours.
Those who crossed Trade’s path however met someone untrained in the ways of the X men and who had known too much violence in their short life to be kind to those who sought to harm either them or those in their charge. Wounds both he and she should have taken flew back to her adversaries with devastating results.
Scott had thought that perhaps these under age mutants might have slipped past their enemy’s radar. Or rather that had been what he had hoped. Because if they didn’t then that meant that they would be specifically targeted. It was all or nothing with the younger students. And so far things had been going his way.
Certainly they had encountered opposition. Active opposition to say the least, but nothing to make him believe that they had been singled out for particular attention! Which was just as well because all this fighting was taking its toll on his strength!
“ I can try to control the pain “ Hank had told him. “I can even try to hold back the progress of whatever is attacking your system. But…. Your powers…. “ It had been the overriding reason he had made him quit active duty. The fact that any extended use of his beam seemed to somehow feed this thing that was killing him. He could feel it now, despite the drugs, pulling him down.
But that was all right. Because they were almost there! Already the gate was in sight and thank god no special forces were moving in to stop them reaching it. Scott nodded in encouragement at his young team mate as they made the final push towards freedom. And then…
"Honestly Mr. Summers, you’re causing quite the fuss," The voice was calm in the face of so much chaos, as was the man it came from. Scott may never have met him before but that didn’t stop the X man from recognising him for what he was. You didn’t walk out into a battlefield dressed only in a business suit unless you were so much more than you appeared to be. Nor did you address someone who had just taken down fifteen soldiers with a mere glance as if they were a minor annoyance unless you had the power to back up your words. "You know, you’re government has given me full rights to legally contain this school, what you’re doing right now is resisting and thus breaking the law,"
This time the logical part of Scott’s brain played out all the possible permutations of this particular encounter and came up with nothing that was entirely satisfactory. There were however some that he could live with. Or rather…
Reinforcements were already falling in behind their leader, because that was obviously who he was, before Scott even answered. ”Trade” he whispered to the girl by his side “get ready to take the kids and run. I’ll hold till you get free. ”
Then he turned to face his adversary and smiled “ I’m more about ethics rather than law” he said calmly “Right and wrong! And this” he glanced round at the battlefield that had erupted on the school’s peaceful grounds “however you try to justify it is wrong. So why don’t we just cut to the chase and get down to business “
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Re: Do not go gentle into that good night
Over the years Cole had faced many different warriors, some had been formidable, others… had been nothing more then a bug on the wind screen, so to speak. To be honest, Cole Turner may be powerful, but he wasn’t willing to be overly arrogant, he toyed with people only once their skills were known fully to him, because there was nothing that could be worse then being taken by surprise by what work associates would consider an ‘inferior’ species. It was hard enough for a half blood to work his way up the ladder of power, but it was harder still to stay at the top, dignity, pride and arrogance all had to be kept on a tight leash.
"I’m more about ethics rather than law" The mix blood’s counterpart said, with an odd calm that would come usually only from a warrior… or a strongly religious man has been known to also act so calm in these moments. In fact most recently the monks up in Tibet had spoken with the same calm, the same strength, the knowing that there was no telling faced and endured till their final breaths. There had been women in Cole’s past who had felt the same, women who had the power to change the ways of the demon in control if the impure soul, women who had helped reach the humanity within and been able to see the broken child, the loneliness and neglect, the fear and insecurity! But that time was gone, or so it seemed, the time his loyalty towards the dark ones had been in question was now over, betrayal and rivalry had made sure of that. The only thing Cole could trust was the law, the rules, and the more power Cole had the more ability he had to both control and oversee the laws that had made him the high ranking official he was today. Ethics, as this mutant before him called it, were one of the things that had derailed Cole’s life… ethically demons did not socialize with humans, it was their way, and ethically for a demon, a mix blood was nothing, less then that, ethically a good witch had no right to be in love with a demon in service for he dark lords, ethically an angel of the light had no right to be the lover of their mortal enemies! All the ethics of all the people on this world seemed to at some point burn Cole, just when everything had seemed right for once, it was torn apart each and every time because of peoples ‘ethics’!
"Right and wrong! And this" The mutant declared, motioning towards the chaos around them, "however you try to justify it is wrong. So why don’t we just cut to the chase and get down to business" Movement behind Cole alerted him to at least the team he had called for approaching, but to keep them with him or send them off after the group Summers was attempting to protect… a tough call yet for now Cole motioned for them to stand their ground.
"You have no idea how merciful I am being," Cole retorted, a wave of his arms motioned across the outer grounds, "All this," The half breed began, "Is nothing to what we could have done… though I have found a few people whom you have annoyed, and they’ve been quite supportive of this event, making it easier for us to deal with your forces, at a cost might I add, for your people anyway," Perhaps Cole had become too use to talking his way in and out of situations, brute force was one thing, but he had learned a long time ago that it was not the only thing and did not always work as effectively as another method. "Tell your students to stand down, tell them to stop making us fight them by resisting, and I’ll order my men to stand down," If all else fails, and an order from their leader wasn’t able to be procured, then maybe his death would weaken them enough… but even Cole knew it would be easier to get them to stand down, it was worth a try… what was the worst that could happen? So far the only threats Cole had faced were the witches with the ability to vanquish him, it was worth the risk for an easy end to this night.
Re: Do not go gentle into that good night
Diplomacy! It was something Scott had taught most of his adult life! The subtle art of negotiation! Of knowing when to bluff and when to back down. And now, unexpectedly, this enemy was offering him a chance to be diplomatic even on this field of battle with reinforcements falling in behind him, held off from attack only by that casual movement of his hand.
It was almost a reasonable request. If you actually believed what was being said, that was. The part about people the X men had ‘annoyed’ in the past banding together to make this possible Cyclops had no difficulty accepting. Nor did he doubt that these assailants could have killed far more of his students than they actually had. But that this in any way amounted to mercy…. That he doubted with all his might.
“Where there’s life there’s hope”, was an adage he had always held to be true, and one that, in this particular case, should perhaps have argued in favour of surrender. But it was equally true that there were fates worse than death! And falling into this man’s hands might just be one of them Scott realised as they locked gazes. Besides, he was damned if he was going to simply tell his students to lay down their arms and give up. Not when he was so proud of them for continuing to fight.
Mutants were always going to be targeted one way or another. Sometimes it was true that turning the other cheek could make people stop and think again, and when that was the case then Scott was all for doing it with dignity. Here though, there was nothing to be proved. These adversaries weren’t uninformed people scared of the unknown. They weren’t even troops sent in to take out a target, though many of them no doubt considered themselves to be just that. They were merely pawns on a chessboard, and Scott thought he might just be looking at the opposing king.
The fact was though, that no matter how sure of himself this adversary seemed to be , he didn’t have Jean as his queen. Nor did he have at his disposition an army of free thinking individuals! Because in the end that’s what Xavier’s Institute was. This school wasn’t designed to stamp out peoples personalities and make them conform to some ideal image of perfection. Instead the teachers worked to bring out the best in each student, building up their self confidence as well as their sense of moral values until hopefully they knew when to fight and when to back down.
It was what Scott had always done. And he was damned if here and now he was going to ask them to betray everything they had ever learned. Diplomacy taught you that. It wasn’t about simply lying down and rolling over, even if that was how it appeared to many. It was about saving what you could when you could. And there was always a limit as to how far you would go.
Right now students were getting out of this battlefield, and each one that did was a victory. So surrender: that simply wasn’t an option. Especially not to people like this. “Sorry” Scott said with a smile “We don’t make deals with the devil. And we certainly don’t stand down when we’re in the right ” .
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