1963-07-15 - This Sousa Character
Summary: The X-men meet to talk about SHIELD.
Related: If there are no related logs, put 'None', — please don't leave blank!
Theme Song: None
alex bobby crystal xavier 


*

Since Crystal settled in at the institute, she's set up various systems of organization for the place. One of them, apparently, is setting up regular grocery runs that involve actual lists and a regular supply of the usual staples. At the moment, she's taking inventory in preparation for the weekly run, most of the cabinets and the pantry open and a list on the table. She's even got the refrigerator open, though there's a field of hardened air keeping the cold from escaping while she makes her list.

"Where do all the eggs go?" she asks, adding a few dozen more to the list. "At this rate, we may as well invest in chickens."

*

"I imagine that they go into the stomachs of our students. Mostly Sam," Xavier says as he closes the newspaper he's reading at one of the tables. He reaches to take a cup of coffee and bring it to his lips. "Good morning, Crystal."

*

Alex is in a black turtle neck, which is woefully inappropriate for the weather, but when you don't really notice things like heat, you dress for fashion. (Actually its really good at covering up his containment suit and Alex is feeling a little paranoid about being off-institute but unarmed). Still. As he strides in, he has a purpose to his step, and a deeply concerned expression on his face. He does hear the tail end of the conversation, "I make a positively wicked scramble egg which I admit I get cravings for at night." He smiles. But he's very tense.

*

Bobby's shirt is white silk and he's wearing one of his best pairs of jeans so they must have been out somewhere. "Prof, can we be secret agents and still teach here?" he asks as he follows Alex in. "Even though I don't like martinis?"

*

"I'm not entirely joking about the chickens," Crystal drawls to the professor, though she looks up from her list with a wry smile. "I'm sure Sam could show some of the other students how to properly take care of them."

Alex's entrance draws her attention, a flicker of concern in her features for his demeanor right up until Bobby speaks. "You…what?" she asks, looking curiously between them.

*

"First horses, now chickens. I do believe one of the students mentally shouted at me today that we should get a dog. Before long we will have to apply for a zoo license."

Xavier smirks at Bobby, "I saw the Dr. No film as well, Robert. Being Sean Connery would not be such a bad life."

*

"A SHIELD agent approached me, by name, at my office at NYU." explains Alex with a grave tone, "Wanting to know about me. About mutants. About a mutant research facility, and a school, located somewhere out of the city." He frowns, "Someone, some mutual aquaintenance, spilled the beans. Said I was a scientist and a mutant and that I had a bodyguard. I'm on the government's radar."

*

"That's not what the guy said." Bobby corrects Alex. "He didn't actually say you were a mutant, just that you had one as a bodyguard. You confirmed that on your own by telling him that you were the bodyguard. Prof, he claims to want to learn about mutants and see what we can do to help each other. Said he was the director of the supernatural and superhuman division or something like that. He also came alone. Something about a manpower shortage."

*

"We have a dog," Crystal says lightly. "He's just often otherwise occupied." She moves back to the pantry, adding a few more things to her list until Alex and Bobby clarify the situation. Then she goes very quiet, starting to close the doors to the cabinets, getting the fridge closed as well. There's almost something final about the way she does it, and the professor can likely feel the carefully controlled panic under the surface.

*

Despite the tension, Xavier seems calm. Focused, but calm. "What was the man's name? I want you to replay the interlude exactly as it happened, to the best of your memory." Xavier could look, but now isn't a time to roll roughshod over principles. His blue eyes look determined, but he doesn't seem agitated. At least not yet. He doesn't respond to Crystal's comment about the dog.

*

"No, he flat out said I was a member of the mutant community. After that point I decided being coy wasn't helping so I turned the tables and counter-threatened him. Mildly." Alex shakes his head to Bobby, counter-correcting, "Daniel Sousa. We were in my office, I was doing some quick paperwork before planning on going out to a club…" He gestures up to his head, like practically inviting Xavier to play through his memories like a movie, "He had his badge, for SHIELD— I've heard that name somewhere but don't know what part of the government they are, but apparently they have.. yeah, what Bobby said. A Supernatural and Superhuman Division. That this Sousa is Chief of… He wasn't joking."

*

"Did he?" Bobby asks, brow furrowing. "I don't remember that." But he shrugs. "He gave Alex his card." Walking over to a chair, he sits down and nods to the Prof. "Go ahead." Though he'll also pick up Sousa's accusation slash implication that he and Alex had a thing going. That's almost certainly not news to Xavier though.

*

Once everything is closed and put away, Crystal folds the grocery list precisely, busying her hands with something as she tries to work through the possible implication of the news. A faint frown furrows her brow, but she keeps her thoughts to herself for the moment.

*

Xavier closes his eyes and reaches up to touch the side of Bobby's head. He probably doesn't need to take the precaution, but there is no room for mistakes in this scenario. "Thank you, Bobby. And you are correct, that shirt does look fetching on Alex." The comment is made to let Bobby know that he knows, but is lighthearted to show that if the young men were worried what he'd think, there is no problem there.

"Alex, I want to be crystal clear. We cannot have anyone from SHIELD come here or know about this school. I would like you to set up a meeting with Sousa. I will attend myself, and if I am forced to do something to protect these children I will do so. I have taken on the Central Intelligence Agency in the past. I have no apprehension to doing the same to these men."

*

"Yeah, that much I knew, Professor." Alex nods his head firmly, "I told him very firmly we would NOT be giving them any lists and any attempt at getting lists of us would be interpreted as a threat, and that this was a Sanctuary, a safe haven. I don't remember if I said they had to keep the hell away, but I thought I implied it real clear like. I don't know if you want to cooperate on some lesser level, I said I didn't have the authortiy to decide anything like that. Like, if we want to in some fashion … educate them so they don't think mutants are a threat. Or something. I don't know. I was pretty freaked out this guy had my name. My name. Me. I'm not exactly the most visible person here. I still can't figure out who this 'mutual friend' is that told them about the school or me." He frowns deeply. Mutual friend indeed. The comment about his shirt? He doesn't even blink.

*

Bobby blinks and gives the Prof a nervous look but really, he figured he already knew anyway. "Pretty sure you told them to stay the hell away." he agrees. "But regardless of what we do about SHIELD, we need to know who's saying things they shouldn't."

*

Crystal lets out a faint breath at Xavier's decree, relieved. It's not like the government knows about Inhumans, as far as she's aware. It's just that sometimes maintaining a proper distance is a very good thing.

*

"In the future, Alex, and this is a comment I need to reiterate for everyone, when someone directly threatens us or the secrecy or safety of this place, the less said the better. You did what you had to, but I would have preferred that you did not confirm anything that this Daniel Sousa was saying. Can you set up a meeting?"

*

"Understood." Alex frowns though, slipping his hands into his pockets, "Just seemed a bunch of I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about would come off as stupid and make them dig more. But, you're he boss." That said he gives a quick nod, "Yeah, I'll drive into the City and find a payphone and make a call from there. Hmm. I'll set up the meeting for an underground club I know. Not likely he will be able to get any backup into the place. The regulars will scoot if too many strangers are around. Sound good?"

*

"Lace?" Bobby asks, giving Alex a surprised look. "I'll be coming with you, of course. To the meeting and the phone call. Just in case. We can't believe him that they don't have enough agents. It could be a trap." And blasting plasm in one direction isn't going to solve every problems if there's a dozen to deal with.

*

"Was he alone?" Crystal finally speaks up, looking between the trio. "Do you know if he had a psychic scanning you while he spoke to you?" Paranoid much? Then again, Attilan's been in hiding for centuries. Maybe there are reasons.

*

"I think that's an excellent plan, Alex," Xavier says regarding the underground club he knows. "I think we will know rather early whether or not it is a trap," Xavier says to Bobby. "But the danger is still there, of course. It will be us three. Crystal, I will leave you detailed notes about evacuation plans you are to undertake for the children should you receive my signal."

*

"Can you think of a better place to meet a fed?" asks Alex of Bobby with a sudden, wry grin, "Put him completely out of his element, and its a place he can't possibly sneak a bunch of manpower into. Even if he's able to scout out the area ahead of time, he won't know how to get in. Besides, I won't tell him the actual location until an hour before." Then he nods to Crystal, "We were in my office— and my office barely fits me. I don't know about a psychic remotely, unfortunately. I don't have any specific talents in that area." He purses his lips, "Do we have a set rendezvous or a safehouse to meet up at if something goes wrong? On the way back I think its a good idea if we don't return straight to the school."

*

Bobby looks at Crystal and shrugs. "Who can say. A skilled telepath won't make himself known." The Professor proves that point nicely. "We can take some back roads instead of the interstate, Alex. I'll make some roadblocks in case we're being followed."

*

Crystal nods once to the professor, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "We'll be ready. And if you require an extraction," she adds with a look to Bobby and Alex, "I can put Lockjaw on alert. But if the professor is with you, I'm sure he'll be able to tell if you're being followed." No doubt it wouldn't be the first time the dog got someone free of nosy authorities.

*

Xavier nods, "We have several safehouses, both in New York and in different regions of the nation. I would like to avoid moving the children if at all possible. It might make relations with their parents understandably tedious. Yet all of that is cart before the horse." Xavier takes another sip from his coffee. "I am intrigued to meet this Daniel Sousa. I hope, for his sake, he approaches in peace."

*

"For what its worth?" Alex shrugs slightly, "I'm inclined to think he was on the up and up. That doesn't mean I advise we… do anything specific. Or not do anything. But I don't think he was lying. He said he had a negro on his team, and who ever heard of that?" He shakes his head slowly. "That doesn't mean I trust him, just that I don't think he had hostile intentions… even if it wasn't exactly bright to make the approach by cornering me in my office. It makes me wonder… what if we could tap into government resources? They alreday have my name. I wonder if we can take advantage of that. Instead of having some SHIELD agents here— clearly unacceptable— what if I, who am already compromised, was there?" It's just a thought. But he nods over to Crystal, "Mostly I want to discourage him from trying more then I worry about a real ambush." Then a nod to Bobby with a quick grin, "Good idea."

*

"If he is telling the truth, a secret agency like SHIELD's gotta be able to help us out in different ways." Bobby says, looking at each person. "He's obviously interested in having our powers available to… do whatever it is they do. If it's not something bad, isn't that what we're here for? To try and make the world better? To build relations? If we can do that and have them help our people in turn, don't we need to try? And if he screws us over, then we can put him on ice." Perhaps literally.

*

"I feel like you may want to be more familiar with 'whatever it is they do' before you decide it's not so bad to help them with it," Crystal points out with a faint smile, leaving the side of the fridge to take a seat at the table as well. "The military is meant to be a group that does good things, as are the police. And yet we all know that these forces can be misused. Government agencies are only as good and reliable as the people in charge of them."

*

Xavier nods to Crystal, "And all of these questions are only going to be answered once we have met the man himself. Alex, please do set the meeting for as quick as possible." Xavier doesn't answer bobby's comment about putting people on ice, but he is extremely serious. Safety of the children is his number one concern in life.

*

Alex shakes his head quickly, "No one's suggesting we jump into bed with them on the first date, Crystal." Ahem. Don't look at Bobby Don't look at Bobby Don't look at Bobby. He glances at Bobby. Ahem. "Just that it might be an avenue to explore. After we learn about what they're wanting, what their mandate is, and what their methods are like. If they turn out to be up front." He nods then to Xavier, turning, "I'll go make arrangements now."

*

"Oh, definitely. If they're just another group that's going to lean on the uppity colored folk, they can go to hell." Bobby assures her. "But if they're actually doing something good, it's worth looking into." When Alex says he's going, Bobby stands up as well. "Till this is over, you're not going anywhere alone."

*

Crystal watches Alex and Bobby with a flicker of amusement, apparently not disturbed by the idea that they might be together. "Yes. For his safety," she echoes Bobby, smile tugging at one corner of her lips. "Speaking of keep people safe, when this is dealt with, perhaps you two would be interested in some training with me? I'd hate to let myself slip simply because I'm here and not with my family."

*

"All options are on the table at this point," Xavier says in concurrence with Summers. "Please do keep me posted, Alex." He chuckles for a moment as Bobby comes to Alex's defenses, but doesn't say anything regarding it. "Yes," Charles adds at Crystal's comments, "How are the preparations and training coming?"

*

"Absolutely, Crystal. I'm trying to organize some more group training, so that next time we jump into a situation we have a playbook going and don't all just… do our own thing." Alex pauses to explain this, turning and giving a quick smile and a nod to Bobby, and he's like, totally oblivious to anyone noticing anything about him being with anyone. Or he pretends to be, for Bobby's sake. "Have something planned with Jean and Logan already, and I'm going to evaluate where Sam is on the regular fighting thing, to see how best to work him into a team scenario. I think he'll need to work up a bit towards getting the idea of working together."

*

"Yeah, for his safety." Bobby agrees without looking at Crystal. "But sure, we can train whenever. Should be fun."

*

"Excellent," Crystal smiles swiftly to Alex. "I'll look forward to it. I suspect we could all benefit from being just a little bit more familiar with what we can all do." She actually does sound excited, too. Even if the reasons are grim. "And you might be surprised by Sam. He stopped long enough to make sure your suit was on properly, which suggests an awareness of the needs of others, at least."

*

Charles listens quietly to to the conversation about the training. It seems much more pertinent given the recent events with this SHIELD agent. Having Jean involved is dangerous, but necessary. Further developing her powers and helping her to control herself could be a powerful boon to protecting the students.

*

Alex pauses, thoughtful for a moment, a startled expression over at Crystal, "You know, you're right. I shouldn't have preconceived notions. Let me rephrase and say: I have yet to evaluate where Sam is at and am going to make it a priority to do so." That said, he inclines his head, then lifts a hand in a wave; since hte Professor wants this setup soon? He's off to go do so.

*

"Sam has potential." Bobby agrees. "And he practices diligently, from what I've seen. We still need to find out if you can absorb his energy fast enough to keep him from taking off." he notes to Alex as they head out.

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