Pete looked over at Allistaire thoughtfully as they walked up
the hallway together. Lisa had left go to change clothes before leaving
with the Excalibur team, and Pete planned to use the chance to ask his
former boss a few questions.
"How's Lady Crighton been?" Pete finally asked.
"The Weird Happenings Organization keeps an eye on her, like
most of the publicly known superbeings in Britain," Allistaire answered
him readily. A slight smile, "She's not terribly comfortable with being
inactive, I've noticed."
"That's good to hear," Pete smiled slightly , "we could use a
super speedster on the team. Do you think she'd be interested?"
"Possibly," Allistaire acknowledged, "but you are aware she
isn't a mutant?"
"Neither is Brittania," Pete shrugged. "Excalibur's always been
closer to being England's answer to the Avengers than a X-team anyway."
A short pause, "Not that the very idea of my being an Avenger isn't
pretty frightening."
"I'll second that," Lisa strode up the hallway dressed in slacks
and a oversized sweatshirt. The slim woman looked pretty classy in it,
if just a bit awkward.
"What's with the full body covering?" Pete blinked.
Lisa rolled up the sleeve of the sweatshirt, revealing the
Brittania costume underneath. "Just in case I need to change fast," she
explained.
"I thought that Captain Britain had a device that let him change
the costume into other forms, like street clothes?" Kate asked as she,
Rachel and Lockheed returned from quick bathroom run.
Allistaire smiled wryly, "The tech boys managed to bust it early
on. They're promising to have it fixed any day now..."
"Problem is they've been repeating that same line for the past
two weeks," Lisa remarked. The slim blonde smirked, "I'm not holding my
breath waiting."
"Where to next, boss?" Rachel asked Pete curiously.
"Scotland," Pete shrugged. He looked over at Widget, "You know
where Rhane is?"
"Approximately," Kate agreed.
Pete looked nervous, "Rachel, you want to do a mindlink between
me and Kate? That way I can give her the exact location."
"Got it," even as Rachel spoke her voice echoed in Pete's mind,
then she reached out to take Kate's hand. For a moment there was the
oddest look on the redhead's face, then she shook herself. "Done," she
said softly.
"Good luck," Allistaire waved as Kate's teleport gate began to
form.
Pete boldly went into the shining portal first, then Rachel
followed. Lisa hesitated a moment, then walked through, Lockheed flying
after. The portal began to close, and Kate slipped through before it
disappeared entirely.
In a blaze of rainbow light the Excalibur team arrived in the
Scottish highlands. Pete actually avoided falling down this time around,
though he did stagger a bit as the others appeared just behind him.
"Now what?" Lisa asked as she quickly scanned their
surroundings, taking in the small town alley that they had arrived in.
"Now we go take a visit to the Lady Moira Mctaggart Memorial
school," Pete said with a shrug. He took a step forward then stopped,
looking back at Kate, "Do you think you could make yourself a bit less
noticeable?"
Kate smiled slightly and the silver metal woman shimmered
slightly. Suddenly an older looking Katherine Pryde stood before them,
dressed casually with a bit of silver in her brown hair. "This better?"
she asked.
"You built an image inducer in?" Rachel asked with a smile.
Kate shrugged, "Never leave home without it."
"Remind me to ask her to build me one, too,"Lisa said to Pete
quietly.
"I'll do that," Pete smiled as they made their way through the
town.
They were drawing quite a few glances, and Pete could probably
understand why. One guy, three ladies, and a uncooperative dragon being
carried as secretly as possible do tend to draw the eye. It didn't help
that it looked like the sort of town where everybody's related, more or
less. They stood out like a sore thumb, something Pete wasn't too used
to.
"Trouble ahead," Kate noted.
The school was being picketed, mostly by a group of older men.
Signs were being waved, reading things like, "Evolution is the devil's
work!" and other stirring slogans. They were lead by a brown haired man
in priest's clothes, who occasionally shouted some of the more rousing
slogans at the one room school just beyond.
Pete scowled, recognizing the man. A hand rested on his arm, and
Lisa gave him a slight smile, "No powers. I know it's tempting, but.."
Pete nodded reluctantly, "Right. Thanks."
Pete lead them towards the picket, soon catching the eye of
their leader. The large man tried to be intimidating as he growled, "Are
you strangers with that spawn of Satan?"
"Rhane Sinclair's a friend of mine, Reverend Craig," Pete's eyes
narrowed, "and I don't care to hear people talk about her that way."
"Oh hell," Rachel muttered as the picketers began to move up
behind the priest. She exchanged a fast glance with Kate and Lisa, and
they moved up to back Pete.
"We will drive the spawn out of.." Reverend Craig started, only
to trail off.
Pete looked at him calmly, but it was as if something dark in
him had been released. For many years Pete Wisdom had done the dirty
work for Black Air, and that sort of thing marks a man. He had been a
killer, and at that moment was letting all those old instincts out.
"Get out of here," Pete said with a deadly coldness, "now."
"I'm impressed," Kate quietly admitted as the Reverend and his
merry band fled, shouting back curses at them as they went.
Soft clapping could be heard, and they turned to see a young
woman standing in the doorway of the school. Long black hair flowed down
her back, her skin just a bit darker than their own. She smiled, "I
recognize Rachel, and that looks a lot like Kitty, but I don't know the
rest of you."
"Kate," she corrected her with a smile.
"Pete Wisdom," he nodded and then waved, "and over here is Lisa
Garrison. Dani Moonstar, I presume?"
"Come on in," Dani smiled, "I'm sure Rhane will want to see
you."
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