Jacqueline Crighton turned, the fiercely frowning young woman
leading them inside. "Take a seat," she waved when they entered a
comfortable sitting room, "I'm sure tea's on it's way."
"Thank you," Pete smiled, gesturing for Kate to sit first, then
sitting in one of the comfortable chairs himself. He leaned forward
slightly, "The reason I wanted to contact you..."
Jacqueline raised a hand, "Let's wait for the tea, shall we?"
'Trying to put me off balance,' Pete smiled to himself wryly, 'I
think I like her.' He gave Kate a cautious glance before asking, "Can
you drink tea?"
"Not a problem," Kate pushed her graying hair back from her
face. The hologram hid her robotic body perfectly, making her look just
like a fit older woman.
A young woman came in, dressed in casual clothing. "The tea,
ma'am," she smiled, carrying the tray steadily. She sat it down, then
poured the cups for all three of them. She looked at Jacqueline
curiously, "Would you like sandwiches?"
"Thank you," Jacqueline smiled up at her, "we should be fine,
Kathy. Take a break for a bit."
Kathy smiled back cheerfully, "You're welcome." With that, she
left them quietly.
Jacqueline picked up her cup, drinking a bit of tea before
giving Kate a thoughtful look. "You're hiding it fairly well," she
noted, "but you look confused. I take it your colleague didn't tell you
what you're doing here?"
"I'm willing to wait and see," Kate answered coolly.
"Play nice," Pete muttered to her softly. He smiled wryly as he
said a bit louder, "Kate Pryde, I'd like you to meet Jacqueline
Crighton, once Farnsworth, and she was the World War Two era
superspeedster heroine known as Spitfire."
"World War Two?" Kate raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"I thought everyone in the country had heard all about it by
now," Jacqueline smiled slightly. She tilted her head to the side, "I
became involved with a reunion with other WWII heroes a few years back,
including the android Human Torch. A blood transfusion from him was what
first triggered my powers, and when I was badly injured he gave me
another transfusion. It saved me from my wounds but it also seemed to
revert me to this age."
Kate leaned forward, her eyes narrowed slightly, "Fascinating."
She looked at her curiously, "I guess you've been tested to try to
determine..."
"No, android blood isn't a fountain of youth," Jacqueline
quickly cut her off, "it seems that I'm a special case."
"And part of why I'm here," Pete smiled wryly. He took a drink
of his tea, "A friend of mine over at WHO passed on a report that you've
been having some problems with your powers, that you were manifesting
thermal powers." He put the cup down, "We'd like to help."
"And in exchange I become a member of your team?" Jacqueline
fixed him with a intense gaze, one that she had lots of practice using
lately.
"No," Pete surprised her, "no strings attached."
Jacqueline sat back, her expression thoughtful. "I have some
pull with WHO as well, Mr. Wisdom," she finally said, "and after you
arranged to contact me I asked them to send me your file." She drank
some tea, "You're not living up to your reputation."
Pete hesitated, clearly considering his answer. "I did some
pretty questionable stuff working for Black Air," he said, "but I did it
for what I thought was Queen and country."
"Thermal powers?" Kate asked with a frown. She was begining to
get a bit irritated at always being one step behind today. 'Next time, I
get Pete to give me a full briefing,' she thought.
"Back during the war," Jacqueline smiled wryly at using that old
phrase, "I left a flaming trail behind me when I ran, but that was it."
A soft sigh, "But more recently, my entire body burst uncontrollably
into flames."
"Then let's get you to Muir Island and check it out," Kate
suggested.
Pete stood up, Kate following, but Jacqueline remained sitting
there, looking up at him thoughtfully. Finally she set her cup down and
rose, "Why not, it seems I have nothing to lose." She brushed off her
pants, "I didn't hear a vehicle when you arrived, so may I ask how we
are going to get to this island?"
"Kate will handle it," Pete nodded to her.
Jacqueline narrowed her eyes, "Then I had best let Kathy know
I'll be away." There was a blur of motion, then she reappeared, "Ready."
Kate shimmered, the hologram that normally disguised her falling
away to reveal the suilvery metal of her body. Jacqueline's eyes
widened, but other than that she didn't react.
'A tough lady,' Pete noted, even as the rainbow light flowed out
of Kate to create the gate that would transport them to the island. "If
you want," Pete said, "I can go first, Lady Crighton."
Jacqueline looked at the portal,, her whitwe hair blown back by
the displacement of air. "No, I'll go first," she paused to give Pete a
cautious glance, "and you can call me Jackie."
Pete blinked as she disapeared, then shrugged. He stepped
through, and Kate followed, the portal collapsing behind them. It was
raining again on the other side, and the wind was begining to pick up
once more.
"Well, aren't you three a mess," Dani blinked as they trooped in
from the storm. They quickly got some towels for Pete and Jackie, while
Kate dried herself.
"Next time," Pete gave Kate a look, "transport us inside of the
buildings, please."
"It's a bit hit and miss transporting inside of structures,"
Kate explained calmly, "I don't know if we could emerge inside of
something, but I wouldn't want to risk it."
"Pete," Rhane had her hand on Jackie's brow, the redheaded young
woman looking very concerned, "she's burning with fever."
It took a moment to register, then Pete jumped to his feet,
"Everybody get back!"
Smoke rose from Jackie's clothes, then suddenly she was engulfed
in flames, the fire quickly spreading outwards. She cried out, shock and
fear in her voice, her face still visible through the fire as she gazed
at them in horror.
"Get behind me," Lisa pulled her helmet on, putting herself
between them and the fire. She groaned as the fire hit, but oddly only
her outer clothes burned, the Britannia uniform protecting her. Softly
she managed, "I've got the suit's forcefield spread out as far as I can
to protect us, but it's barely holding this off."
"My psionic arrows might put her out," Dani offered, forming one
even as she spoke.
"We don't know if consciousness actually effects her powers
yet," Pete said dryly. He looked over at Rachel, "Can you mind link me
to her?"
"Right," the redhead concentrated, Rachel reaching out to Pete
with her mind, then she focused on connecting to Jackie. The white
haired woman's mind was in turmoil, but she managed to touch her, "Link
established."
Later on Pete couldn't really explain to the others what,
exactly, he had said to her. In some ways it wasn't really language he
was using at all, gently guiding her, calming her down, using his own
experience with his thermal powers to show her how to power down.
The heat flickered, then the flames were simply.. gone. "Thank
god," Jackie muttered softly in relief, even as she felt the presence in
her mind withdrawl. She looked down, realized she had burned her clothes
off and screamed, covering herself with her hands.
Pete whirled around, but not before taking in some of the major
details. With a slight flush to his cheeks he shrugged off his slightly
damp trenchcoat, handing it back to Jackie and muttering, "Here, this
should cover you for now."
"Thank you," Jackie's own face was red as she pulled it on,
buttoning up the front.
"Are you all right?" Rhane ventured forth to ask her softly.
"Yes, except for my dignity," Jackie answered with a smile and a
fierce blush. She met their eyes, the redheaded American, tall English
woman, Native American, mechanical lady, Scottish girl and all the
others. "I'm Jackie Crighton, it's nice to meet you," was the best thing
she could come up with to say at the moment.
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