Liberty & Justice for All

by Carrie Harris

  Chapter 7

  For the third time, Eva adjusted her headset, squirming in her seat with barely restrained excitement. She’d always loved to fly. Some kids had looked forward to vacations spent on beaches or on ski slopes, but she’d always had an irrational love of planes and airports. She even liked the uncomfortable seats and tray tables and the little bags of peanuts. She couldn’t believe she was in the cockpit of a state-of-the-art stealth helicopter now. It fired missiles, for heaven’s sake.

  Cyclops had pointed out during the pre-flight briefing that said missiles had been removed for the purposes of their first solo flight, but still. It had the capability, so it counted.

  Christopher sat in the pilot’s seat next to her. His poised stillness sat in stark contrast to her hyperactive fidgeting. She didn’t understand how he could be so calm, like he flew million-dollar machines every day. If they crashed, she wondered if Cyclops would make them pay for it. Once, she’d dropped an entire tray of dishes during a summer job at a cafe, and she’d had to work overtime to cover the cost. She wondered idly how many hours of dishwashing would pay for a helicopter, and if she’d be dead of old age before she finished.

  “You ready?” Christopher asked, cutting off her nervous woolgathering.

  “I think so.”

  “Call it in, then.” Before she could protest, he flapped his hands at her. “I know how psyched you are. You should do it.”

  “OK,” she replied, absurdly pleased. “Thanks.”

  She adjusted the headset again – four times now – and opened the private channel to the communications tower where Cyclops would monitor their progress and respond to their radio transmissions. They used a private channel, which he’d assured them would be undetectable by outsiders.

  Eva adjusted the mic in front of her lips and said, “Comm Tower, this is Copter X. Preparing for liftoff.”

  The speakers hissed in her ears for a moment, and then Cyclops replied: “Acknowledged, Copter X. This is Comm Tower. Liftoff imminent. Hangar bay area clear.”

  Her eyes went to the checklist that Christopher had set out between the control panels. His neat printing provided a simple reminder of the steps they needed to follow, and although they’d both drilled this process in the simulator until it had become boring, moving it to a real helicopter had made it alien and nerve-racking again. She worried that the novelty might make one of them miss something, and the list helped alleviate that fear.

  With each item they checked off the list, Eva grew increasingly more confident. Based on his widening grin, Christopher felt the same way. He flipped the switch to start the rotor, and it hummed to life above them. The cabin lifted imperceptibly as the helicopter hovered on the verge of takeoff. Eva’s stomach did a slow flip, and she whooped aloud with delight, forgetting that her comm channel remained open. Christopher snickered as she covered the mic with an expression of abject horror, her cheeks suffusing with red.

  “Comm Tower, this is Copter X, and I’m a moron,” she said finally.

  When Cyclops responded, it sounded like he was trying not to laugh, and that just made her feel more humiliated.

  “Copter X, this is Comm Tower. Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Looks like you’re ready for liftoff?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Christopher, when it became obvious that Eva was too stricken with embarrassment to respond. “Prepared for liftoff.”

  “Copter X, you are officially cleared for liftoff.” Cyclops’s smile came clearly through on the radio. “Remember to keep your mic on at all times. It’s the only way to reach us. Have a good flight and come back safe.”

  “Thank you, Comm Tower,” said Christopher. “We will. Copter X out.”

  He toggled off his mic and took the yoke. They’d agreed that he would take the lead on takeoff, but Eva would stick the landing. They’d work together on programming the in-flight navigation and telemetry. Otherwise, the flight should be a piece of cake. The autopilot would do most of the work once they got up in the air.

  The X-Copter rose with minimal bobbles out of the hangar and over the frozen woods that surrounded the school grounds. Cold winds buffeted the aircraft, but its top-of-the-line stabilizers protected them from much more than a gentle rocking sensation. More than anything, they felt a strong forward push as the copter tilted forward, rocketing through the air at terrific speeds, scattering startled birds and frightening small woodland creatures. They would remain at low altitudes to avoid crossing into protected airspace for the duration of their trip, which Eva thought would make for a beautiful and exhilarating ride. She’d worried that the sound would hurt her ears, but with her headset on, she found it quite bearable.

  “Hey,” Christopher said, the headset transmitting his voice to Eva without the need to shout, “you want to program in those coordinates?”

  Eva nodded, her cheeks still flushed. “Let’s get it done before I die of embarrassment.”

  “If you hadn’t shouted, I would have,” he said kindly. “I felt like my stomach was going to climb out my esophagus.”

  “That’s very… graphic. But thanks. Gimme the coordinates.”

  He read off the numbers as she typed them into the navigational computer. They triple checked them, neither of them wanting to get their ultimate destination incorrect. The newer nav computers would calculate the location based on the latitude and longitude provided, but these older models lacked that functionality. They only calculated the travel time – about two hours. They would just have to wait and see. It would be some significant building or location. If they ended up circling a tree in the middle of a random field somewhere, they’d know they had transposed a number somewhere.

  Once they’d programmed the nav computer, they had little to do but watch the scenery go by. According to the compass, they were heading roughly south-west, which could indicate a variety of potential destinations. For a while, she tried to guess, but she kept getting distracted by the gorgeous views. After spending so many days pent up in the awful confines of the cinder block monstrosity of the school, getting out was a relief that she decided to allow herself to enjoy.

  The enjoyment lasted for about an hour before boredom set in. They passed over some small towns, and abruptly the scenery became much less interesting. Cars and houses and the occasional swimming pool still closed for the season. Spring had just begun to rear its head, but in Canada the snow still clung to the lawns and the shady spots.

  “I hate snow,” muttered Christopher.

  “You can say that again,” replied Eva.

  “Do they have snow in Australia?”

  “In some parts, yeah. Not so much where I’m from, which is fine by me. I miss it, though. Home.” She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. It hurt to talk about home. That made her think about her mom. They’d butted heads when Eva had been younger, but now her mom was her best friend. After spending so much time dreaming of being somewhere else, Eva thought it was awfully ironic that she’d been overwhelmed with homesickness ever since she’d got here. She hurriedly changed the subject before she became overemotional. “Does it snow a lot where you’re from?”

  “Michigan? Yeah. It snows and then the snow ices over. The inside of your nose freezes when you go outside. I don’t recommend it,” said Christopher.

  “My feet have been damp ever since we got here. I had no idea this was a thing. My boots claim to be waterproof, but they were lying. By the time summer comes along, I expect my toes will have shriveled up into prunes,” Eva declared.

  “That’s… I’m sorry?” said Christopher.

  “You should be,” Eva declared.

  They grinned at each other.

  The nav system beeped, and Eva twisted in her seat to check it.

  “We’re a little over a half hour out,” she announced.

  “Great. I wouldn’t want to be late for dinner,” Christopher said. �
��I hear we’re having sandwiches.”

  Eva groaned.

  “You think they’d notice if we landed and got something to eat?” he continued, looking out the windows. “I think we’re closing in on Chicago.”

  She peered out her side. They flew over the deep, gray waters of what she assumed was one of the Great Lakes. A bustling metropolis hugged the distant shore. Although she wasn’t one of those people who could easily identify major cities by their skylines, she assumed that Christopher was right. Based on their approximate location and the size of the city, this would most likely be Chicago. The thought of deep-dish pizza and hot dogs made her mouth water.

  “It sure is tempting,” she admitted.

  “I bet they even have tacos.”

  She was looking for something to throw at him that wasn’t bolted down when the comms crackled to life once again. But instead of Cyclops, they heard an unexpected and unfamiliar voice. The speaker was male and difficult to hear due to the static crackling in the speakers.

  “You in the X-Copter! Who’s up there?” he said.

  Christopher and Eva exchanged a look.

  “Who is this?” Christopher finally asked.

  “Sabretooth. Who is this?” came the none-too-patient response.

  Sabretooth!? Eva could barely believe her ears. Like a lot of kids, she’d grown up half terrified of Sabretooth, the mutant terrorist who bombed human buildings and gutted people who stood in the way of what he wanted. That’s what the stories said, anyway. Although Cyclops had shown them over the past few weeks how many of the stories about mutants were exaggerated by people who feared what they didn’t understand, so now she took them with a grain of salt.

  Christopher seemed to feel the same, because he answered with obvious caution in his voice. “This is Triage,” he said.

  “One…” A hiss of static cut through the transmission. “…damned trainees.”

  “We’re on a–”

  “No time, kid. Tell whoever’s in charge…” More static. Eva swore, fiddling with the dials, but it did no good. “Status is critical. We need pickup immediately.”

  “Where?” Christopher demanded. “Tell us where.”

  “Grace Museum. We’ve got…” HISS. CRACKLE. HISS. “Send the cavalry.”

  The comms went silent.

  “Sabretooth?” Christopher said. “Sabretooth!? It’s just us, man. The other X-Men aren’t here; it’s just us!”

  But there was no answer. They’d lost their connection. Sabretooth was gone.

  Chapter 8

  The X-Copter rocketed towards the Chicago shore as Eva desperately punched buttons, trying to get Sabretooth back on the comms. If only someone at the school had taught her how, but her training had fallen short once again.

  Unfortunately, Christopher offered no help. He sat there, mumbling, “This is not happening. This is seriously not happening,” over and over until she thought she might snap.

  Finally, she said, “If you don’t stop that, I’m going to slap you right across the face.”

  He blinked. “Please don’t. That would hurt.”

  “Precisely. Now will you help me out here? I’m trying to find Sabretooth again.”

  The prospect of having something concrete to do knocked the remaining panic out of Christopher’s eyes. He nodded. The two of them worked through the comms channels with rapid efficiency, but unfortunately they came to the same conclusion: they had no way to reach Sabretooth again without going to the Grace Museum as he’d requested.

  “What do you want to do?” Eva asked.

  Christopher stared at her like she’d suddenly sprouted horns. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t ask that. It’s a no-brainer, Eva. Sabretooth wants the real X-Men, so we deliver them. We radio back to Cyclops. We’ll swing back and cart them out here to take care of Sabretooth and whatever mess he’s gotten himself into. Because, trust me, if it’s too much for him to handle, it’s definitely out of our department.”

  “I thought we were real X-Men,” she said, not unkindly.

  “In training, sure. But trainees do stupid things like get distracted by tacos, and then people die. We need to go by the book here.”

  Eva understood his logic, but so far the training they’d been offered had fallen short. The horrific experience with Dormammu in Limbo had more than proven that the entire team needed guidance they weren’t getting. Eva didn’t think it was intentional neglect. Cyclops and the rest of the instructors were trying to fight a war and found a school at the same time, and they were simply spread too thin. Meanwhile, it felt like the world was burning down around her. Maybe she just had to take the plunge and learn by doing. The idea both frightened and excited her by turns.

  Besides, if they called Cyclops, what would he do? She wasn’t sure he would even believe them if they told him about the distress call. If he decided to believe them, he’d have to cancel class to come all the way here and help. She didn’t see the sense in doing that when she and Christopher were perfectly capable of picking Sabretooth up and flying him back to the school. How hard could it be? She just had to make Christopher see things her way.

  “I hope you know that I respect you,” she said. “But I disagree.”

  “Oh yeah?” he asked.

  “We can do this. All we have to do is land the chopper, pick up Sabretooth, and get back into the air. Hauling Cyclops or any of the other instructors all the way out here to do something we’re fully capable of handling ourselves is silly.”

  “So why don’t we radio in and tell him that?”

  “Do you really think he’d listen? He’s overprotective. I’ve got to be honest, Christopher. Sometimes I feel like we’re spinning our wheels at that school. They’ve made a lot of improvements, but half the time I feel like we’ll never learn how to be real X-Men if we don’t figure it out ourselves.”

  “Yeah,” he said reluctantly. “I know what you mean. But he’d be really ticked off if we went off on a mission without saying anything.”

  “Not when he realizes what we did,” she said. “This could be an opportunity to broker peace between the X-Men and one of their most long-standing enemies. He’ll be grateful, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe…?”

  “Besides, what could go wrong? All we have to do is pick Sabretooth up and leave.”

  Christopher shifted his goggles on his forehead, a gesture she had begun to recognize as a nervous habit. “I’m not sure about that,” he said. “I’m getting pretty good with the healing thing, but I still need a lot of work with the staff, and I didn’t even bring one. In a fight, I’m practically useless. I know you’re pretty good with your time bubbles, but we’re talking about something that’s got Sabretooth’s panties in a bunch!” His voice dropped to an awed whisper. “It would probably kick our butts.”

  “What do you think I am, nuts? We don’t engage. We tell Cyclops that we’re hearing a rattling noise, and we’re going to touch down to check it out before we head back. The Grace is right near the harbor. We find somewhere to drop off and then set the X-Copter to stealth mode. If we park it on the water, nobody’ll even know it’s there. We head to the Grace, grab Sabretooth and head straight back to the chopper. That way, we don’t have to fight.”

  “And you think Sabretooth will go along with this? He hasn’t always been buddy-buddy with the X-Men. Maybe this is a trap.”

  “Before M-Day, I would have agreed with you, but now? We can’t afford to fight, like Magneto said. There aren’t enough of us left.”

  Christopher considered this. “I guess. Based on everything I’ve read, Sabretooth is a survivor. He won’t jeopardize his own skin if he doesn’t have to. So if we did pick him up, we’d have to make sure he needs us to get out of here. Hide the chopper so he can’t ditch us and take it. Keep the ignition codes to ourselves. That kind of thing.”

  “S
o you’ll do it then?” she asked.

  The navigation system beeped at them again before he could respond. They had arrived at their destination.

  The Grace Museum of Natural History. It sat on the shoreline, a large and imposing building fronted with pillars and a massive staircase, flanked by an ornamental garden. Rows of lights at the entrance gleamed, driving away the midday gloom. Banners hung over the museum entrance flapped in the wind, advertising the newest exhibit on the Evolution of Mutants.

  The two of them looked at each other as the helicopter drew closer. Christopher’s brows knitted in thought.

  “Do you think Cyclops knew that Sabretooth would be here?” he asked. “Or about that exhibit?”

  “If he did, he would have said something. Unless this is part of the test,” answered Eva.

  “We aren’t still in the Danger Room.” Christopher reached up and very deliberately pinched himself as if trying to shake himself out of it. “If we are, I want out.”

  “I think that only works for dreams. I’m fairly sure this is all real.”

  He nodded. “You want to radio Cyclops about the rattling sound, or should I?”

  She squealed aloud. “So you’ll do it?” Before he could answer, she shot across the control panel and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “You are the absolute best! I mean it. You’re a total rock star.”

  He smiled a little, wiping his cheek. “Just remember that later if something attacks us and I scream like a little kid, OK?”

  “Yeah, sure. I’ll radio Cyclops. You figure out somewhere for us to land that isn’t full of people, OK?”

  He gave her a cheesy thumbs-up and a wide grin that seemed to be an attempt to convince them both that he was incredibly excited about the prospect of rescuing one of the X-Men’s longstanding and most powerful enemies. Instead, it made him look borderline psychotic. Eva burst into giggles and sprayed the control board with spittle, which only made her laugh harder as she tried to wipe it clean with her sleeve.