driftfleet | (no subject)

So, anything else new?

. . . well, someone else from home showed up.

Not - a mutant. But she was - is a good friend.

[it's just complicated]

Oh? Tell me more about her?

[oh boy]

Her name's Moira. She's a field agent for the CIA - and really, the reason I ended up meeting everyone. She sought Charles out, and that eventually lead to my boss being involved, and - [he makes a gesture]

She was our go between as well, when . . . we were in Cuba. [he just manages to hold back a wince] She's incredibly kind and talented.

[and now he does wince] Unfortunately . . . everything that happened in Cuba is very recent for her. She's ten years behind us.

[ she knows it's a tough subject for him but ]

You didn't tell me about Cuba.

I do owe you that story, don't I.

Only if you're up for it.

[he's never up for it tbh]

. . . alright. But - uh, not here. Do you want to go for a walk?

Sure. I need to stretch my legs.

Mm, same. I've been at this for a few hours.

[it doesn't take long to clean up the books and notebooks he has, and in a matter of moments he makes a gesture for Kara to follow him out of the library] Where to?

The gardens, maybe?

Gardens sound good.

[and it would offer them a bit of privacy, at least, for this particular explanation. So, to the gardens they go]

I'm so thankful these are here.

Mm, me too. I don't come through here that often, but it's nice knowing it's here.

[ when they get there, she's comfortable walking quietly until he sorts out what he wants to say ]

[it takes a few moments, honestly, as he tries to figure out exactly how and where to start. There was so much]

How much have I told you so far? So I don't - repeat anything.

Honestly? Just about the stuff with the president, I think.

Right, I remember that. That was more recent.

Cuba . . . was our last chance to stop a mutant named Sebastian Shaw. To . . . put it all very simply, he wanted to start World War III, and he thought that in the chaos, mutants would rise above as the superior race - or some nonsense like that. [he scoffs, but a hand comes up to rub at the side of his neck] That's why we were all brought together - to stop him and the mutants working with him. His power was that he could absorb energy and use it himself, so . . . shooting him wasn't an option. They tried.

[oh, how they tried]

So that's why we were all brought together. To train our powers to do what the military couldn't. [he glances at her] The group Kitty's apart of - that's where it started for us. The X-Men.

He sounds like a difficult opponent.

[ an understatement though ]

Incredibly so.

[Hank hates Shaw so much, ugh]

I know I've told you about - the CIA being attacked, and what happened to my boss. That was him, trying to get to us. He wanted to recruit us to his side. Erik and Charles were out looking for him, and he took the opportunity. He killed most of the agents, and . . . one of us, and managed to convince another to take his side instead.

That's awful. I'm sorry...

Mmm. [he wants to say that it gets better after that, but it doesn't]

After that, we moved to Charles' mansion to start our training. Meanwhile, Shaw had manipulated the Russian military into moving their missiles to Cuba, and President Kennedy had issued a blockade - so our military was out there to stop them. So that's when we knew we - had to stop him before he really did start a war.

[he pauses, and finally sighs, rubbing at his neck again] The night before that is when I enhanced my mutation by accident. Which - I suppose is good timing, but -

[anyway] There isn't a lot to explain about the fighting - and the missiles. Erik and Charles handled going after Shaw, while we handled the other mutants. Moira was there trying to stop the military from firing on one another. We fought and won, and - Shaw was eventually killed.

[and this is where he hesitates]

Are you describing the... Cuban Missile Crisis?

. . . yes, I am.

I wasn't - sure if that happened in other worlds.

Fair enough.

It sounds like there's more to it, though.