Query...?

d-cyphered:

Doug hadn’t expected to find the answer tucked away in a well-organized database, of course. SHIELD didn’t have much more than the X-Men did, and neither boasted the expansive database that he – well, that Warlock – maintained. But he wasn’t looking for a treasure map so much as sifting for puzzle pieces.

Black Womb knew all too well the abilities of mutants, especially those they had…tampered with. They were careful. They knew 2 and 2 made 4, so they erased 1 here, 1 there, split what remained into thirds, secreted it away and buried their signals, shredded their clues.

But they couldn’t control the weather. A record cold spell in New Mexico had sent electricity usage plummeting as everyone got a reprieve from the heat, all save for one isolated area. Comparing it with a map of ‘abandoned’ facilities and a few other rumors of activity in the SHIELD system, Doug soon had the answer.

“I think I’ve got it.” He sent the coordinates to Warlock, who immediately began overriding SHIELD drones in the area to conduct some transmode signal monitoring of his own. A moment later Warlock gave a nod, and Doug set about erasing all traces of his activity from Sally’s computer. “Five to transport.” He looked back to Sally. “You’re coming with us….right?”

skiddingagent

Sally nodded, standing up and grabbing her gun, putting it in the holster on her hip. “Of course I’m coming with. These people need to be taken down, and no offense, but I have more training than any of you when it comes to this sort of thing.” She paused. “Also, I can make sure we have immunity if we get caught during any of this. You guys don’t have that without me.” 

She turned to the rest of the group. “How are we getting there?”

(next up: landlocke)

Normally Dee-Ell would have beamed and wiggled his fingers but instead he simply held out both of his hands. “I need the exact co-ordinates or I might end up in a wall and we all die.” He said bluntly. 

“Just…Grab me and then onto each other.” He didn’t want to admit that he was more than a little nervous. 

Oh, he thought distantly, heightened propensity due to– extenuating circumstances– elevated stress–

It would take a lot out of Dee-Ell to teleport so many so far, and Warlock wanted to offer to do it instead, but...if it tired his grandson out, maybe he’d agree to stay somewhere safe for the rest of the mission. Warlock knew how important it was for him to help, but if anything happened to him... Even Doug was acting strange about it -- stranger than before -- and acting like he needed Dee-Ell, like they were a team and not......

....his heart rate was up. A lot.

Warlock had his fingers wrapped warmly around Doug’s wrist before he even realized he’d crossed the room. As Doug relaxed back against him, Warlock took the whole weight of that fear and worry on his shoulders, then raised his eyes to look at the others. He reached out to grab hold of each other them as if he’d planned it all along, roping them together so Dee-Ell would have no fear of dropping them, then gave his grandson the coordinates he’d need.

landlocke:

fireinmyfists:

Rusty was trying his best to keep himself under control. Freaking out and trying to run off and kill whoever did this himself wasn’t going to help anyone, least of all Lee. 

“Leeland’s missing. Apparently they got Esperanza too. We need SHIELD tech, now.” His voice was tense. Hopefully, she wasn’t going to end up taking that too personally. She knew what he was like when people he cared about were hurt or in danger. She would understand.

(up next: landlocke)

“We’re really sorry for just barging in but they didn’t take Locke and if Leeland doesn’t have Locke then… He’s dead.” It was happening all over again only this time it was in painful slow motion. 

“The people who took them are called Black Womb. I think they’re in New Mexico. Or at least they were in my old universe.” He mumbled before rubbing at his own arm and looking almost pleadingly at Sally. 

[ d-cyphered ]

Doug held up his hands, entreating her to listen to their please. “To clarify, we don’t need to take anything, we just need access to your systems for a few minutes. If Warlock and I could find them on our own, we would have. But they know our family and they know our strengths. We need a new vantage point.”

His words were solid, his arguments tangible. But his eyes begged her with all a father’s worry – don’t make the same mistake the others made with you.

Warlock didn’t argue, didn’t plead. His heart hurt and his head was lonely. As he watched the scene, he let roots grow from the soles of his feet and wind their way into the mechanics beneath the floor. Whether Skids gave them permission or not, Warlock would get the information they needed.

landlocke:

Dee-Ell let go of Chi-Chee and Doug’s hands and stared as Warlock wrestled with himself. Wrestled with Douglock.

“Douglock? Douglock!” He strode over to him, all of three steps and pulled him into a fierce hug. “I trust you.” He said. “We’re family, I trust you.” Still holding him, he turned to look at Chi-Chee sharply but there wasn’t any anger in his face just a small defiance. 

“You can trust him. Ok? He’ll help get Esperanza back, trust me.” 

[ technarchology ]

Chi-Chee looked back at Dee-Ell and the Prince with obvious suspicion. The Prince was speaking in yet another voice, but it was still him, wasn’t it? The one who’d left them? Left her?

But then Doug squeezed his hand and urged him on, and Dee-Ell was still staring at him with such hope and defiance all at once, and….

He wouldn’t accept the Prince’s apology, that he knew. But he walked over just the same.

Douglock hugged Dee-Ell back, distantly wondering at how much older he’d grown in another few short months. The room buzzed with such fear and worry and anger, but through it all -- through the very heart of him -- a bright, blazing hope had sparked.

He’d lost his heart. Years and years ago he’d given it away to save his team, let the enemy cut the hivemind components out of his chest and accepted the silence that settled within him. Disconnected. Alone. His friends never let him feel that way, Moira never let him feel that way, but the parts inside him never fit right again. He knew Warlock felt it too, ran from it even, desperate for companionship and connection.

And the whole time it had been waiting in this one little monkey. The moment Chi-Chee held out a hand, Douglock snatched it up in his, both of their circuits sparking with white light. Chi-Chee was Phalanx, but warm. Welcomed. Loved. The kind of Phalanx Douglock had never believed could exist. He hurled himself across their linked systems and spread himself thin around the monkey’s techno-heart, dropped every barrier, begged entry to their hive.

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technarchology