Mission: Baptism By Fire | Beast and Animus
Today was the day that could make or break Aeron Pike’s career as a superhero. This was to be her baptism by fire and her inaugural mission as an official member of the X-Men. She sat in the co-pilot’s seat, wearing the tailored uniform that Hank had given her months prior. Beast himself was dressed in his black and yellow trunks as he piloted the Blackbird jet to their destination.
They had received information regarding some Hydra activity that had been passed along to them from SHIELD. Ever since the fall of HOPE, there had been a greater deal of communication and coordination between SHIELD, the Avengers, and the X-Men. There had needed to be, what with the uptick in crime and the re-emergence of Hydra as a threat. So it came to pass that the espionage organization had uncovered evidence of a remote facility in Mexico in which Hydra was engaging in mutant experimentation. Naturally, this was of the utmost interest to the X-Men.
Most of the flight had been silent as the two of them cruised above the clouds. The only sound was the dull roar of the engines and the wind rushing by them. Glancing slightly in Aeron’s direction, Hank broke the silence. “How are you feeling?” he inquired gently, his voice surprisingly soft and tender for a man of his size and physique. He was concerned about his protégé and her well-being. “It is perfectly understandable to be nervous.” @morphinemechanic
There was a ringing in her ears; the kind that made brows stitch closer and expressions sour. She kept her eyes out on the window with a cautious gaze at the open sky. Aeron had never flown before. Sure, she had been tossed through the air at incredible heights and distance, but never in a plane. Which made the mutant uncomfortable. This was only second to the uniform, the iconic black and yellow suits of the Xmen. If spandex could have an enemy it would be Aeron, who had spent the moment before the flight picking at the tight garb, wishing for the looser clothing that she preferred. Her only fortunes were in the lack of sleeves, which she covered up with her favorite leather jacket.
Aeron couldn’t recall how much time had passed when Hank had chimed in. She mustered up some kind of smile to her companion. “More annoyed than nervous.” She answered truthfully. “Wish I could have a smoke.” Months had gone by and Aeron had been staying the course on her sobriety and training to be an X-men. She knew the importance of this mission, if Aeron wanted a place on the Xmen roster she would have to prove herself here and now.
“What are we gonna do when we get there?”
@savagescholar
Beast nodded slowly, listening to her speak. His eyes faced forward, focused on the sky in front of them. He had flown the Blackbird from the time he was a teenager and as such it was now second nature to him, like riding a bicycle, swimming, or driving a car. “It is natural to be on edge,” the veteran hero said with a chuckle. “You should have seen me on my first mission. We flew down to Cape Canaveral in order to put a stop to Magneto’s plot to steal several missiles from the military. I would have been shaking in my boots, had I been wearing any at the time.” Hank wiggled the toes on his large blue feet to emphasis the last sentence.
He truly hoped that his story helped to alleviate some of Aeron’s stress. She had been showing a good deal of dedication and doing quite well falling into the role of an X-Man. Despite her struggles to stay sober, the young mutant had managed to remain clean, at least when it came to heroin, and was slowly weening herself off of other substances as well. Hank was frankly proud of her. She had come a long way in a little under a year.
“Reconnoissance and infiltration are the order of the day,” he explained. “Hence the small team. As the file we received from SHIELD suggested, there have been reports that vast quantities of mutant growth hormone or MGH have made their way to this region of Mexico. They believe that there is some sort of experimentation regarding mutants taking place at this remote facility. It is our objective to determine what exactly Hydra is engaging in here, and if possible, to retrieve any test subjects.” @morphinemechanic
Aeron attempted to laugh at his story, but a sudden dip of the plane made her grab on to her seat. She tried to focus on the plan at hand, their last mission together had shown how her skills could be applied beyond mere force. Her power allowed her to act as a sonar using the building itself to located within. It was how they were able to track down Tony with little trouble, which was no doubt the reason she was brought on this mission. They would have a much easier time navigating their surrounding, and hopefully they could save anyone they could.
What would Hydra be trying to accomplish with MGH? An army? The thought caused her hand to clench. Just the thought of what they could be doing made her stomach churn. “And what do we do if we encounter Hydra?” Aeron would want nothing more than to crush anyone going out of their way to harm mutants, but if it was not in the rules of engagement Aeron would have to abide.
@savagescholar
“Ideally, force will not become necessary,” Hank replied. “This is a stealth mission after all. However, should we encounter resistance, non-lethal means are encouraged.” The X-Men had never taken killing lightly. At times, their members had seen no other means of resolving a situation and resorted to taking a life. Even Wolverine was discouraged from using his claws to kill. Hank had seen such actions weigh heavily on his friends: Logan, Betsy, Piotr, Warren. He didn’t desire any of that for Aeron. Beast engaged the Blackbird’s autopilot landing sequence and rose from his chair. It would be safely nestled in some foothills a few miles outside the facility, awaiting the signal for pickup. “Prepare for infiltration,” he remarked as he went to the back of the plane. Shouldering a parachute, the veteran hero punched the button to open the belly hatch of the vehicle. “Geronimo!” With that the blue mutant dove down. The racing wind ruffled his fur and stung his eyes. He could see the target below him, rushing upward. Pulling his chute, Hank was enveloped in a Shi’ar cloaking field and descended onto the rooftop of the tallest building of the complex. @morphinemechanic
Aeron nodded acknowledging the rules that Hank had set, her attention trailed with her mentor as he made his way to the back of the plane. They hadn’t made any type of decent to the ground, so where was the Blue Man going? Aeron fumbled with her seat belt scrambling from her chair to follow. She took a pack off the rack, the same as him. Standing in horror she realized now, what Hank was about to do and before she could protest, he had already struck the button to open the hatch and dived head first out the opening.
Fucking animal She thought maliciously as she swiped the hair from her face. Aeron crept forward towards the open hatch and she tried to convince herself that she could do this. It’s like jumping into a pool Aeron, yeah a big ol’ pool. She took another step, closing her eyes and imagined a large Olympic size pool, the very one she would go to during the long summers of her youth. Her toes curled over the edge as she leap into the air.
The sudden rush of wind indicated her free fall as Aeron was wedged between gravity and the approaching building. Her chute deployed on it’s own, dumping the young muntant next to her mentor in a less than graceful manner. Aeron took a second before detaching her chute and getting to her feet.
@savagescholar
It took no more than a wave of Aeron’s hand to open the rooftop door, allowing them access to the Hydra facility. Slinking down the stairs, Beast sniffed around for any sign of guards. There didn’t seem to be anyone nearby. “The coast is clear. Now, Animus, if you would please be so kind as to survey the area as to ascertain the layout of the facility.” Once they had determined their heading, the two X-Men crept through the hallways. They made their way to a stairwell, going ever downward. Eventually, they hit the ground floor. Security was heavier here, primarily in the form of security cameras. However, Hank was confident that his young protege would be able to take care of those. The bestial mutant ascended to the ceiling, climbing along hanging pipes and support struts. Two security guards stood around the corner on either side of an elevator. He held one thick finger up to his lips to Aeron and snuck forward around the bend. Beast dropped down onto one guard, taking them to the ground and choking them out with his thighs. Pulling the other one down by the front of their kevlar vest, he slammed their head into the floor. There were the sounds of a struggle and bodies falling to the ground. A large blue hand motioned for the rookie X-Man. Hank plucked the key cards off of one of the guards, then handed the one of them to Aeron. “Here. In the unlikely event that we become separated, we shall both possess a security key card.” They stepped inside the elevator and with a swipe of the Hydra guard’s card, they were on their way down to the lowest subbasement. “Now, this particular situation produces a good deal of déja vu,” the veteran hero remarked. The metal doors opened up with a ding to a platform overlooking a laboratory bathed in green light. Guards turned to look at who was exiting the elevator, but each was soon greeted by a foot to the face as they were knocked backwards. Beast swung down from the ceiling and quickly surveyed the room below. There were scientists milling about or seated at their stations with more guards overseeing them. Various scientific instruments lined the walls and covered the tabletops. On the far wall was emblazoned a familiar symbol: a skull wreathed by tentacles. “I believe we are in the correct location,” Hank whispered to his comrade. @morphinemechanic
It only took them moments to locate a heading, thanks to Aeron. They traveled down halls; taking out guards and cameras at every turning descending to the lowest floor, gaining the card keys in case they were separated which the young mutant had tucked away in her back pocket. They worked as well as the first mission they went on to save Tony, fearless and efficient. They entered the elevator and began their next decent.
“Always a subbasement.” She muttered. Aeron clenched her fist and prepared for what would be on the other side of the door. Her mentor was too and as the doors folded open he delivered a solid kick incapacitating the two guards.She stepped out and was met with the overwhelming sight of the laboratory. Rows of stations with Scientist attached as they tended to their work. Men in hazmat suits pushing carts with large containers with MGH written along the side. Yet no mutants, just the looming symbol of skull and tentacles. In all the bustle no one had yet notice the two at the elevator.
Anger swelled in Areon but that had to wait, like the Blue Man said this was an infiltration and reconnaissance mission. She slapped her hand against the wall and read out the features of the subbasement. Those mutants had to be somewhere. “Follow me.” She finally spoke, hanging a right from the elevator.
Aeron pushed through service doors, down a long narrow hallway. Her fingers skimming along the wall to keep them on course. "I think the mutants are in this room, thing is they're this feild around the door. Whatever it is wont be good for us. What should we do?" Are in slowed door, peaking around the bend to see if the coast was clear.
@savagescholar
