More Than the X Can See

Chapter 15

“I’d rather be catching more Z’s,” Bobby griped.

“Stop complaining, Bobby, we’re all tired. You’re here because Charles knows that none of us like being kept out of the loop,” Scott said.

“Hey, I’m all for the latest gossip,” Jubilation commented with a yawn, “but I’ve only gotten a couple of hours sleep. What could he have to tell us now that we couldn’t hear in a few more hours?”

“That you might be heading out again,” Scott said with a deadly serious look.

Everyone at the table sat up as Scott looked around the room. Bobby, Kurt, Jubilation, and Ororo were team leaders and had to be included in this meeting per Charles’ orders.

Jean was there to give her own report and, having taken over the administration duties for the educational side of the Institute from Charles, was also here to find out what was happening with Doctor Green.

“Oh, shit,” Kurt stated.

“It’s not that bad, is it?” Ororo asked with concern. She’d elected to stay behind at the Institute because her abilities may have been more detrimental than beneficial in the sewers. Her usual wind attacks would have picked up the debris in the tunnels and no one wanted to be splattered with sewage during a fight.

Charles walked into the conference room and sat on the opposite side of the table from Scott, creating the illusion of forming the head and foot of the circular table by their positioning. He looked as tired as they were or even more so having stayed up all night while some of them had been able to retire for a few hours before he’d called the meeting.

“I see we’re just waiting for Hank now,” he said as he activated the controls on the electronic conference table. He began typing ordintointo the table computer and those waiting for the meeting watched as the center of the table created the San Francisco Bay Area, the San Pedro Bay area including the Port of Los Angeles and the San Diego Bay.

Still in his lab coat, Hank walked into the room and sat down at one of the available chairs next to Ororo. “Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore, so do our minutes hasten to their end,” he said placing thick files and Doctor Green’s binder on the table.

“Each changing place with that which goes before, in sequent toil all forwards do contend,” Charles finished for him.

“What is it?” Bobby asked leaning back in his chair. “I’d swear I’ve heard you say that before.”

Charles and Hank exchanged amused looks and then Hank explained, “It’s a poem by Shakespeare. It could have several interpretations, but at this moment it essentially means … ‘time flies’.”

“Oh, yeah,” Bobby grunted and rolled his eyes. “THAT one
“N
“Now that we’re all here,” Charles looked across the table at Scott, “let’s hear the report on the White Plains sewers.”

Scott looked down at his computer tablet, “From the information we received from Doctor Green, there were at least six remaining werewolves at large and the possibility of another cache of munitions in a room approximately one thousand feet west of the Lobo Tech site. Doctor McCoy also requested we obtain specimen samples from the sewer area near the Lobo Tech site. One team, led by myself, was formed to investigate the possible cache and capture the remaining werewolves if they were located nearby. Another team, led by agent Phoenix, was formed as a backup to the first and to obtain the samples requested by Doctor McCoy.

“My team traveled to the location in the White Plains sewers that Doctor Green had specified on the map we provided,” Scott began his report. “The doorway into the room was concealed and while trying to locate the entrance we came across werewolf tracks. We followed these tracks to another set of rooms beneath a storage facility. We cornered the ‘wolves in their den and combat ensued. When it was apparent that they would be apprehended, the leader assassinated one of his own pack before he ordered another to execute him. A laptop was seized and agent Forge has already unencrypted the files. Preliminary inspection assures us that the files will disclose more information on The Pack, as their organization is known, as well as data on their activities in New York over the past year. Agent Sage and Juggernaut are going over the files now and have already identified two arms dealers that Juggernaut knows traffic in illegal munitions.

“Agent White Queen, Emma Frost, psychically probed one of the werewolves for information on the cache of munitions and we easily located the hidden entrance and disabled the alarms and security measures. We excavated the contents and transferred them to storage facility five under the Institute grounds. The munitions will be disseminated to the appropriate agencies once the items have been identified and cataloged.” At the end of his speech, Scott sat down and looked to Charles.

“How did you persuade Cain to cooperate?” Charles asked Scott.

“He wanted to come on the mission,” Scott replied. “I don’t know why. Possibly boredom. Since he’s been remanded to your custody he hasn’t left the Institute.”

“He’s tired of babysitting the kids,” Bobby cut in. When everyone looked at him he continued, “That’s all he’s been allowed to do since he arrived. Annie’s been so busy in the Infirmary, her son’s been glued to him.”

“That is true,” Charles murmured, “They both miss Sammy. I regret it was Cain’s presence that forced Alpha Flight to return him to his parents in Canada, I’ve sensed his increased frustration since the incident.”

“Allow him the use of the Simulation Room,” Ororo postulated. “Let him blow off some steam. He gave Sammy his helmet so the Juggernaut suit is compromised, itust ust glorified armor now.”

“I’ll consider it,” Charles replied.

“I almost objected to Cain joining the team on this mission,” Scott explained, getting back to Charles’ original question, “but he already proved himself cooperative on his previous trip to White Plains so I informed him of the situation and he said he might know who sold the werewolves the explosives if he saw some of the containers.”

“Did he?” Ororo asked.

“He wasn’t sure until he saw the files on the laptop and then he was able to give us the name of the dealers and their motis operandi.”

“Can we bring them to justice?” Kurt asked.

“We’ll have the lawyers look at the evidence and see if they can build a case in International Law,” Charles replied. “This … Pack is also International, they have bases throughout the America’s.”

“They’re that large?” Kurt exclaimed in astonishment.

“From what I was able to glean from the four we have in custody, they have numerous small scattered bases in Canada, the United States, Mexico and several Central and South American countries, but not all of their members are werewolves.”

“Damn!” Bobby exclaimed. “Why haven’t we heard about them before?”

“The werewolves are part of their soldier force. They’re a mercenary group that keeps a low profile. We may halrealready encountered members of the Pack, but assumed they were part of other organizations,” Charles explained. After letting the information sink in, he dropped his bomb, “It was their Pack Alpha and Victor Creed who chose the members assigned to Lobo Tech.”

“Creed?” Jubilation shuddered.

“Sabretooth?” Kurt asked, stunned.

“Oh, that’s gonna make Logan happy to know Creed’s still around,” Bobby joked.

“I don’t know if he’s still ‘around’,” Charles replied. “It’s been almost a year since the Lobo Tech werewolves have seen him. According to the four we have in custody, they began infiltrating the Lobo Tech facility two years ago. One year ago, their werewolf soldiers showed up and began setting up surveillance on the Institute.”

“Why haven’t we detected them?” Jean asked perplexed. “I would have noticed someone—”

“They specifically avoided following any of the psychics for that reason,” Charles interrupted. “They were following our team leaders including Warren and some of our other more investigative agents; Forge, Bishop and Sage.”

“Why?” Kurt asked.

“All four of them have theories as to why, but mostly twerewere following orders handed down to them by their commander, called a Beta,” Charles answered. “I’ve assigned the White Queen to get any remaining useful information from them before we turn them over to the local authorities.” He turned to Hank, “I know you haven’t completed all of your tests, but what information do you have on their physical make up?”

Hank flipped open a file folder that had a yellow legal tablet loose inside of it, “I’ve determined that they are not true Lycanthropes. Blood, saliva or scratches by their claws will not transfer the ability to change into a werewolf. They’re humans who have been mutated to mimic werewolves. They have the ability to change into a caninoid form complete with the hirsute appearance, elongatedut, ut, reversed lower leg structure and claws. I have not determined through direct questioning or indirect mental probing whether they can completely turn into a wolf or similar canine.” He pulled a pen from his lab coat and looked over at Charles, “In their werewolf form, does their eyesight and hearing follow human or canine norms?”

Charles thought for a moment and then said, “Their eyesight is a mixture of the two. The only thing I could compareto wto would be Logan and Victor Creed’s eyesight. The same with their hearing.”

Hank nodded and wrote some notes on his tablet, “That would be consistent with some of my initial test results. All four werewolves have DNA similar to Creed’s. Another hint at a possible connection to Sinister.”

“Sinister?” Scott asked with trepidation. “He’s involved?”

Jean looked at her husband with pain in her eyes, would they ever be rid of Sinister and his experiments?

“Possibly,” Hank affirmed, “The chemical cocktail in their blood is quite intriguing and complex. I haven’t finished all of my tests, but it reminds me of Sinister’s work. Considering that Victor Creed, one of his Marauders, is involved, I would not rule out the possibility that he created the mutagen. But,” Hank looked around the room, “I don’t know when he created it. Considering we have no concrete evidence of Creed’s age and we know Sinister has been active for more than a century, the Pack, or it’s founders, could be very old stock—a very old experiment.”

“Confirmation of Creed’s involvement in the Lobo Tech affair is proven,” Charles stated looking at Scott and Jean’s worried faces. “Until we receive further information, Sinister’s active participation is not.” He watched as all of his agents breathed a sigh of relief, but there was still worry on their faces. Sinister was devious and hichinchinations convoluted and far reaching. He also had time. There was no knowing if he was involved until he showed his physical presence and acknowledged their findings.

Charles changed the subject, “Were you able to correlate any of the werewolf tests with those you conducted on agent Halo?”

Everyone except Hank and Charles looked around in confusion. They had no idea who agent Halo was until Hank spoke again.

Hank took in a large breath and then let it out. ,” h,” he confirmed, “Doctor Angelique Green, recently designated agent Halo, has been infected with the werewolf mutagen.”

“Oh, no!” Jean cried and she reached out to her husband who grasped her hand in his, his face was a study of concern and dismay. They had been the ones responsible for Doctor Green’s approval for the Institute and through phone conversations in which they had answered most of her questions regarding the Institute, instrumental in Doctor Green’s decision to take their employment offer.

“What’s going to happen to her?” Kurt asked.

“What kinda codename ist?” t?” Jubilation was perplexed.

“Halo?” Bobby asked with a raised eyebrow. “Other than a heavenly body, I don’t see—Oh, don’t tell me it has something to do with her NAME!”

“How?” Ororo inquired, “You just said it doesn’t transfer like Lycanthropy.”

“Charles chose her name,” Hank replied to the easier question first, “you can ask him about it. The samplhat hat I requested from the White Plains sewers did indeed contain DNA from several werewolves, several humans, agents Wolverine, Archangel and Halo. I believe the samples from humans may have been from the sewage or the rescue teams—”

“I saw one of the cops throw up when she saw Warren and Angel,” Kurt commented.

Hank nodded in acknowledgement of his comment before he continued, “The werewolf DNA was also in the sewage. Since there was no bathroom in the rooms below Lobo Tech, I’m led to believe they used the sewers.”

“Ewww, gross!” Jubilation exclaimed. “Glad I was part of the other team!”

“You did have a shower when we got back, right?” Bobby asked mischievously, watching Jubilation’s face. “Because I didn’t see a bathroom anywhere near the other ‘wolf den either.”

Jubilation’s eyes narrowed, but before she could shoot back a retort, Hank stopped their verbal sparring by continuing his report, “The explosion dried and incineratedt oft of the sewage in the immediate area and the force of the blast would have picked up anything lightweight including this dust and would have blown it ahead of any other heavier debris. Considering her location and the open wounds Halo sustained at the time of the explosion, it is reasonable to confer that it was in this fashion that she became exposed.

“I would also postulate that the influx of regenerative blood she received from Archangel reacted as if the mutagenic contaminants in her body were normal and forced hestemstem to accept them and incorporate these new aspects into her DNA. It would explain the continuous error readings I was receiving in her earliest tests. Unfortunately, she is no longer at the Institute so I cannot monitor for any reactions, positive or negative, that she may be experiencing. As soon as Wolverine or Cable contact us, I will notify all three of them of my findings and ask them to observe her for symptoms or reactions.”

“How did the werewolves change form?” Ororo asked.

“The ones we have are currently sedated and they’re still in their werewolf form,” Charles replied. “They’ve had their forms long enough that all they have to do is will their change from one form to the other. Only the oldest werewolves have the ability to change into a canine form. It seems to be a matter of control and how long they’ve been infected with the mutagen.”

Hank made notes on his tablet and asked, “What about when they first changed forms?”

Charles shook his head, “They don’t know. Tho tho through an initiation ceremony and consume drugged drink and food. They wake up several days later in their werewolf forms.”

Hank looked up at him, “So we have no idea what will cause Angel—Halo to change into a werewolf.”

“Correct.”

“So, she could fuzz out on Cable and Wolverine at any time?” Bobby asked. “They better know that before they take her out in publ He He looked at his watch, “They’re three hours behind us so it’s six forty-five in the morning there. Whoever calls them better do it soon. Cable was in a hurry and I wouldn’t put it past him to get them going by seven.”

Everyone looked towards Charles and he said, “Cable was to call me before they left their hotel room, but you are correct, he may decide to call when he feels it’s appropriate.” He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes trying to reach and make contacth tth the other telepath.

Reaching and finding the familiar mind, Charles asked, *Nathan?*

*What the hell?* Nathan “Cable” Summers replied, *What’s so urgent you couldn’t wait until I called you?*

*You should know that Doctor Green has been infected with the mutagen that created the werewolves from Lobo Tech,* Charles was slightly chagrined to realize Nathan was in the shower. *I wanted to make sure you didn’t leave the hotel before you knew about it.*

*You think she could spontaneously turn into a werewolf?* Nathan allowed the warm spray to wash down his chest as he contemplated this new twist. *Damn!*

*It’s a possibility,* Charles said hesitantly. *Have Logan set up the video feed to the conference room and we’ll tie in a link to Warren’s office. Hank and I will need to talk to Angel also. What time should we expect your call?*

*Nine our time,* Nathan answered in disgust. *Logan’s taking your orders seriously about babying her.*

*She’s been pushed into becoming an X-man, Nathan,* Charles responded sternly, *She isn’t prepared for this and still considered on the injured list. Treat her gently. I haven’t had time to help her work things through so I’ve ordered Logan to watch over her.*

*More than watching,* Nathan thought with a touch of jealousy as an image of Angel following Logan into their bedroom crossed his mind.

Nathan wasn’t guarding his private thoughts from Charles so he picked up on what Nathan was thinking, *Logan and Angel were developing a relationship before they left. It will make it easier for him to control her if she’s trying to please him.*

*Manipulation? Good strategy as long as she likes him, but he’s not going to be around all the time,* Nathan replied.

*Their relationship only needs to last as long as this mission. Which reminds me, I contacted Bridge at S. H. I. E. L. D. on another matter and they want our help in investigating terrorist activities on the west coast. Are any of your informants S. H. I. E. L. D. agents?*

Nathan frowned as he thought about his contacts, *Not that I know of. And I wouldn’t put it past any of them to be dealing Intel to multiple parties.*

*If this mission was successful, I was thinking of having S. H. I. E. L. D. reap the rewards of accepting the accolades from the media and keep the X-Corporation out of the spotlight.*

*I’d prefer it plus we’d avoid retaliation,* Nathan answered understanding Charles’ reasoning.

*How much are you willing to work with S. H. I. E. L. D.?* Charles inquired tentatively.

Nathan began trying to weigh the pros and cons. *Let me think about it,* he said finally.

*I’ll have to send some of our other agents if you want to continue to work on your own, but n’t n’t want to double the work if they’re after the same people. I’ll need to give Bridge a reply soon and send a team out immediately after. Can you give me your answer during the conference call?*

Absently, Nathan nodded and replied, *Yeah, that should give me enough time to think about it and talk it over with Logan.*

*I’ll wait for your call,* Charles said and terminated their mental connection.