M.a.w.

M.a.w.; Chapter One
Topic Started: Aug 16 2010, 10:06 AM (160 Views)
LoganActor	Aug 16 2010, 10:06 AM Post #1
Plays Logan on TV! Posts: 1,110 Group: Members Member #96 Joined: October 23, 2009	Chapter One Slane Castle, County Meath, Ireland February 16, 0700 hours (local time) After spending all of Valentine’s Day in the airport, and then a seven hour flight over the Atlantic, plus an hour in customs, it felt good to be out on the open road. Granted, Emma had gotten him a first class ticket into Dublin, but six hours in a plane to anywhere was a long time, no matter how nice the accommodations. Liam sat in the driver seat of a black Audi Q7. He’d wanted a truck of some sort, but the closest the rental company had been able to get him was a luxury SUV. As he sped along the highway towards his new home, he was thankful for the car’s heater. The car’s digital dashboard told him that the outside temperature was near thirty degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind chill was down into the twenties. Liam almost regretted nearing his destination, since it meant that he’d have to leave his cocoon of warmth and soft Pogues music. He made a left onto his new drive, and had to smile a little when the tires of the SUV threw gravel into the undercarriage. There was something about skidding across the ground in a luxury vehicle that was perversely pleasing. He slowed to a stop at the heavy iron gates that were set into the tall stone wall that surrounded the castle, and pulled out his cell phone. “Pope.” came the answer to his call. “Hey. It’s Kynde. I’m at the gate.” “Wait one, Sarge.” Pope said, hanging up without saying goodbye. A few seconds later, the gate rumbled open, and Liam drove down the sloping drive towards the castle’s front door. As he pulled up and shut off the SUV’s engine, Thomas Pope opened the door, and smiled. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a thick thermal shirt with heavy boots. Strapped to his left thigh was a tactical holster, holding a matte black Colt 1911, and an M4 carbine hung off of his shoulder. “Goddamned good to see you, Sarge.” Pope said, coming down the front steps as Liam stepped out of the car into the biting cold wind. “What the fuck, Specialist?” Liam asked, gesturing to Pope’s medium length hair. “What? Are you a fuckin’ hippie now?” “That’s fuckin’ Sergeant to you, Sarge. Got my buck stripes just before I got out.” Pope said, opening his arms wide and letting his weapon swing free. Liam wrapped his arms around Pope, clapping him on the back. “Congratu –fuckin’-lations, Fuckin’ Sarge Junior. I always knew you’d wind up taking my spot one day, but you’ll always be a Speck to me.” Pope snorted and pulled back, both men heading for the rear of the vehicle to unload Liam’s bags. “At ease that fuckin’ noise. Take your job and have to put up with snot nosed Privates and Specks like me all fuckin’ day? Fuck that shit.” Pope chuckled. Liam opened the rear of the Audi and reached inside, grabbing one bag, and handed it to Pope. He grabbed the other bag and the wooden box that Emma had left him. He closed the back of the vehicle, and followed Pope up the steps to the large oak front doors. “Well, we’re pretty much set up here, Sarge. All the construction you wanted is done. Gym, firing range, fully stocked armory, war room, dorms. The works.” Pope said. “Wireless is set, and covers the whole structure. Tech room is insane. You’ve gotta see it. Only thing we’re waiting on is transport.” Liam followed the younger Ranger into the castle, and took a look around. He stood in a grand hall, which had been partially demolished and refinished. Where the ground floor of the castle had once housed only a grand hall, ballroom, and feast hall, it now held an indoor gym, with weight and cardio machines of every kind. On the other side of the gym was a floor to ceiling concrete wall, on the other side of which was an indoor firing range. Four towers cornered the building, holding a kitchen, dining room, research center, and armory. The second and third floors had been converted into dorms, with eight rooms each, and each room was designed for permanent occupancy of eight people, though each room was large enough to sleep well over double that number. “Place looks good, Pope. Really good.” Pope smirked at him. “You expected less?” Liam shook his head. “Not really.” “Come on. I’ll show you to your room. Sorry, it isn’t much. I wasn’t expecting you for another month, but it should do for what you need.” Pope said, heading left, towards a thick set of stone stairs. “I’d imagine you’re looking forward to a nap.” Liam nodded. “Jet lag’s a bitch.” Slane Castle, County Meath, Ireland February 16, 1826 hours Liam and Pope sat in the war room, each eating an MRE. Pope had yet to stock the kitchen fully, and so they’d decided to share a meal of MREs for the evening, rather than driving back into town for food. Both men held their plastic spoons in one hand and their pack of spaghetti with meat sauce in the other, eating in silence. Neither one used the chemical warmer for their food, preferring it cold. One of the things trained into them in Ranger School had been light, noise, and head discipline, and so most Rangers, even when given the option, chose to eat their MREs cold, often stating that the heated entrées tasted funny when warmed. Both men sat on the edge of the, hunched over the world map projected onto the table. They had a map of Buenos Aires, Argentina zoomed in, and were considering entry and exit strategies for the team’s first potential mission. They were going to attack an old Purifier stronghold that had been taken over by a relatively small local mutant hating group. Of course, this would happen sometime in the next month, since Cessily and Megan still had to receive their instructions and travel to the castle. “So what do you think, Sarge? We’ve only got one squad. It’s gonna be tough getting in without any coverage.” Pope said, finishing his spaghetti and placing the empty pack back into the larger MRE bag. “Divide and conquer? Hit them from multiple angles simultaneously?” Liam smiled and shook his head, setting his empty packet aside and taking a drink of water. “We’ve got some of the best students I’ve ever trained coming in. This’ll be child’s play. You’ll see.” he said. “As far as insertion, I’ve got something a little more fun in mind. How are your airborne skills holding up, now that you’re out?” “Airborne’s kinda hard to screw up. Like falling off of a bike, right?” Pope said, grinning. “Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door. Jump right out and count to four.” Liam opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a female voice echoing down the hallway towards them. “Hello?” Both men’s hands automatically went to their sidearms, which was one of the things that Liam had insisted on, now that he was away from the school. It was nice to be armed at all times again. Before the echo faded, Liam had pulled one of the two brand new Colt 1911 pistols that Emma had sent him off with from its holster, and Pope held a Beretta 92F. They both moved quickly across the room, towards the gym, which the front door opened onto. Moving one at a time, they crept down the hallway towards the gym, weapons raised and ready. Just before he stepped into the gym, Liam saw a young blonde woman step into the gym area, looking around with a slightly annoyed expression on her face. “Stop. Don’t move.” Liam called, aiming carefully down the top rail of his weapon. She froze, but turned her head slowly to look at him. From beneath the low pulled brim of her battered black cowboy hat her blue eyes fixed him with a disinterested stare. She wore a light brown coat, jeans, and a long sleeved shirt. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Nice to meet ya too.” she said, raising one hand. “Ya don’t want to shoot those.” “What are you doing here, girl? I won’t ask again.” Liam said. She sighed and slid her bag off of her shoulder with her free hand. She let it drop to the floor, and then reached behind herself. Liam heard the report of Pope’s Beretta just before he felt the shockwave hit him in the chest. It knocked the wind out of him, but he managed to keep his feet. Pope wasn’t so lucky. He was thrown off his feet, and several yards back down the hallway. Liam glanced at him for half a second, and then back at the woman, who hadn’t moved. She still stood there with her left hand raised towards them, though the flesh and clothing around her right shoulder was ripped away, revealing a dull metallic surface. There was also a dull ringing sound coming from her. Liam stood there for several moments, before he slowly lowered the hammer on his 1911. He removed his left hand from the weapon, and raised it gently into the air. He slowly lowered the weapon, and smiled. “You must be Paige.” She nodded, lowering her hand. “And you’re Liam.” He nodded, holstering his weapon. “Who’s the idiot?” she asked, slowly moving close, and pointing at Pope, who had just regained his fee. “Pope.” the younger man said. “Ouch.” Paige shrugged. “Sorry, but in all fairness, I did warn ya. Vibranium, ya know?” she asked, knocking on her chest, which thudded metallically. “Bullet hits me and I direct all the kinetic energy back as a shockwave. Not a bad way ta be bulletproof.” Liam nodded approvingly, and Pope slid his weapon back into his holster. “Point of interest? It’s not a good idea to look like you’re pulling a weapon when two Rangers have their sidearms trained on you. Just for future reference.” Pope said. Paige nodded, a hint of a smile crossing her face, the skin around her mouth and nose cracking, revealing the metal underneath. “I’ll keep that in mind.” she said. “Is there someplace I can finish this?” She pointed at her shoulder with a hand that was showing metal at every joint and crack. “Yeah. Sure. Stairs are right over there, elevator’s on the other side.” Pope said, pointing. “You’ve pretty much got your choice of rooms. Liam and I are the second and third floors, respectively. End of the hall on your left. You’ve got a private bathroom with a tub in each room, and the showers are in the long room on the back wall, so you should be good to go. If you need anything, just hit the intercom.” She nodded, and bent down to pick up her bag. “Thanks.” she said, heading off for the stairs, bits of skin flaking away as she moved. After she’d disappeared up the staircase, Pope moved closer to Liam. “I’m not sure whether that was really repulsive, or really arousing.” Liam chuckled and turned back to the War Room. “How about we settle on arousingly repulsive? Come on, Speck. Let’s finish our dinner and get back to planning.” Liam said, clapping the younger man on the shoulder. “The other members of our team will be here soon. We need to be ready to go. We’ve got a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it in.”



Gorvar	Aug 18 2010, 01:52 PM Post #2
Self claimed fanfic critic. Posts: 4,041 Group: Members Member #38 Joined: February 8, 2009	Is that Outlaw i just saw?! Excellent issue dude, i do like the idea of this new X-force kinda team.



LoganActor	Aug 18 2010, 05:34 PM Post #3
Plays Logan on TV! Posts: 1,110 Group: Members Member #96 Joined: October 23, 2009	Outlaw? As in Inez Temple? Nope. That was Paige Guthrie (AKA Husk). In this world she's lost not only Jay, but also Elizabeth, Melody, Jeb, Lewis, and Joelle. She's the only Guthrie left in Kentucky, as her parents have passed away, and Sam's off "finding himself again", as she'll say. She's a lonely girl, and misses the family she found with Gen-X and the X-Men, but seeing as her family's involvement with the X-Men always seems to take another sibling from her, she's got a love hate relationship with them. Liam's team is the perfect way to work that aspect of her life out. She can be a part of a team, a family, again and also do good works for her more extended family of mutantkind, without having to stick to the X-Men's rules, or see their uniforms, or see the people that remind her so much of what she's lost.



Gorvar	Aug 19 2010, 07:30 AM Post #4
Self claimed fanfic critic. Posts: 4,041 Group: Members Member #38 Joined: February 8, 2009	I dont know much about the Guthrie family other then Canonball and icarus.



LoganActor	Aug 19 2010, 03:41 PM Post #5
Plays Logan on TV! Posts: 1,110 Group: Members Member #96 Joined: October 23, 2009	Yup. Paige is the second oldest. She looks up to Sam, and as a younger kid wanted nothing more than to be one of the X-Men, which drove her to be an overachiever of some sorts during her time in Generation X.



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