Pentagon Investigation

[Shadowcat]

Kitty lowered the ramp of the X-jet and the roar of the crowd grew louder. Lockheed was awaken by the yelling and he instinctly became defensive and growled. He did not like what he was sensing from the crowd as Kitty didn't like what she was hearing. The overall chattering of the crowd was nearly deafening, but every now and then Kitty caught a few anti-mutant slurs.

Shadowcat: *sighs* Great....

An armored and uniformed SWAT officer ran up to the ramp to meet Kitty near the bottom of the stairs to discuss the situation.

SWAT Officer: Ms. Pryde?

Shadowcat: Yes.

SWAT Officer: Ambassador McCoy called and told us you were coming. You have been granted access.

Shadowcat: How long has this mob been here?

SWAT Officer: Since the investigation started. We have officers set up a barrier to keep them out of the way.

Kitty checked her watch. It has been hours since the attack happened.

Shadowcat: It's nearly 2100 hours! Don't these people have homes to get to?!

SWAT Officer: I assure you, our officers will keep the public under control. You and your team will be safe.

Shadowcat: Give me a chance to talk to my teammates.

Kitty walked back into the jet and walked over to the controls. She could feel Keiy and Nala's eyes on her back as she closed the ramp. The angry words were instantly muffled. At least now Kitty could hear herself think. She turned around to face Keiy and Nala.

Shadowcat: There is another situation here.

[colossus]

Colossus sat listening to Iceman talk. <Its been a long road trip but at least we are almost there.> The Russian thought.
"Alright, Colossus, which is faster, the lion or the cheetah?" Iceman began.
Colossus let out a groan. "Must we do that joke again?"
"Aw come-on! Its a good joke!" Iceman responded, smiling.
The Russian let out a sigh and proceeded to look out the window.
A couple of minutes went by and then the traffic got really bad.
"I thinks we are close." Colossus said.
Iceman checked the GPS. "Yep, hey you wanna give Professor McCoy the heads up?" Iceman said while handing a cell phone to Colossus.
After a few minutes of ringing, Hank McCoy picked up the phone with a hello.
"Hello, Its Peter." Colossus said.
"Ah, Peter. I had just gotten off the phone with Miss Pryde not to long ago. I take it you are here for the same reason as her?"
"Katya is here?" Peter responded his voice showing piqued interest.
Hank let out a small chuckle under his breath. "Yes Peter, Kitty is here. But I have to warn you. There is a bit of a riot going on so be on your toes."
Colossus smiled. "Its ok, we are, how you say, inconspicuous."
"Heh. Alright. Well I have some paperwork to do, and as much as I would love to sit here and ignore it all, duty calls. Maybe you all can stop by before you leave, I do miss the old team." Hank said.
After quick goodbyes the phones went silent. Colossus passed his warning to Iceman and looked out at the scenery, his mind on Kitty Pryde.

[Shadowcat]

Shadowcat: It seems like the public is in a frenzy over the attack, and they are not too thrilled about mutants at the moment. I have dealt with this kind of situation before, and I don't want to alarm you guys, but it could get dangerous. If you two would prefer to stay in here while I investigate, you can. It's your choice. I won't force you guys to come with me. I just want to make sure you'll be safe.

Kitty looked both of the young adults in the eyes so that they could see just how serious the situation was and how concerned she was for their safety. But still the choice was theirs. Kitty wouldn't make it for them.

[M_a_K]

Keiy looked from Kitty to Nala. He was uncomfortable because he felt that he was on the spot but at the same time he had a courious urge to show off to Nala more. The most that Keiy could manage was "Its up to Nala. I am content with either."

[Shadowcat]

Kitty nodded her head at Keiy. He had already had some experience in the field, but this was still all fairly new to Nala. Kitty knew that the young girl was relatively shy, like Keiy, and the both of them didn't do well with strangers. Especially not with a anti-mutant riot that was happening outside. Kitty decided to make the safest option for the two young adults.

Shadowcat: Maybe you guys should stay in here. I'll keep the jet sealed up so that no one will come bother you guys.

She walked over to one of the lockers in the back of the jet and pulled out two com. pieces. She handed one to Keiy and placed the other piece in her ear.

Shadowcat: This is a commucations device. If there is a problem, anything at all, call me and I'll come right back.

Kitty showed the two of them quickly how to operate the device before preparing to leave.

Shadowcat: Okay, I'm going to go. Don't lower the ramp for anyone, and I mean anyone. Even if they look or sound like me. There are other mutants that mimic others so don't be fooled. Don't worry about me, I'll find my own way back in.

As to demonstrate, Kitty began to phase through the floor of the jet with Lockheed still perched on her shoulders. Soon, the roar of the crowd came to full life in Kitty's ears. Lockheed himself growled and lowered his head.

[colossus]

As the two mutants got closer to the Pentagon they began to notice heavy traffic and the loud noises of the riot. They parked about a mile down the road and began walking to the pentagon. As they approached the crowds got thicker and the noise louder till it was almost deafening.

"I think we are close." Iceman said. "What do you see?"

Colossus, being fairly taller than most people got a pleasant view of the back of the signs and glimpses of more rioters in front of them, but not much else. "Nothing." He responded.

Together the two of them waded through the crowds trying to reach the front and get to the building. Colossus kept an eye out for Kitty, seeing as he did not know what the other team mates looked like. A couple of times he thought he saw her and shouted "Katya!" but felt that it was lost over the roar of the crowd.

[Shadowcat]

When Kitty landed on the ground, immediately the same SWAT officer that she had talked to earlier ran over to her. Kitty gave the officer a stern look as he escorted her across the lot.

Shadowcat: My students are staying here. No one gets within 5 feet of this jet.

SWAT Officer: Yes ma'am.

The officer shouts out a few orders to his fellow officers. He then continued to lead Kitty through the premises. She looked over the riot as the voices grew louder. She could see various signs promoting the Friends of Humanity party or Graydon Creed for president and other anti-mutant campaigns. Just great... Many certain rioters began yelling at her in particular, recognizing heras a mutant. Kitty attempted to ignore, but Lockheed bared his fangs at them. Kitty held his snout to prevent him from attacking.

Shadowcat: No, Lockheed. Let's just investigate and get out of here as soon as possible.

Lockheed growled but remained still. He kept his eyes on the crowd, making sure no one turned violent towards Kitty. Once, Lockheed thought he heard a familiar voice in the crowd. He picked his head up and tried to find the person who was calling, but Kitty was holding him to keep him from flying away.

SWAT Officer: We set our base of operations here.

The officer led Kitty to a large pitched tent guarded by more officers. Kitty thanked him before entering in.

[colossus]

Colossus and Iceman struggled to get to the pentagon or at least to a security officer but found that the crowd was not letting them get anywhere. They turned back and got to a less crowded area.

"Well this is no good." Iceman sighed. "Any suggestions?"

At that moment a man in a business suit walked up. He was a rather short man with a lean but toned build that was somehow visible through his outfit. He had a crooked nose and a small scar under his right eye.
"Misters Robert Drake and Peter Rasputin, Please follow me." The man said, his tone obvious that he was not going to take no for an answer.

He led the two mutants around to the other side of the pentagon where there was less riots. As they approached security, he flashed a badge and the three of them easily walked into the pentagon. After walking the course of the building they got to the destroyed area.

"Thanks for taking us to hear. I think-" Iceman began but was cut off by the man leading them.
"I will give you the full briefing after we find Miss Katherine Pryde. She should be already be investigating the site." The man said.

[Shadowcat]

Kitty walked into the tent and already noticed that the area was secured. The tent covered over one of the entrances to the Pentagon. She could already see the effect of the explosion. The doors had been blown off the even the walls seemed to have been warped and scorched. Another section in the tent had a few tables stretched across filled with bits of evidence that have been found inside, items that they tried to save, and (the one thing Kitty was most grateful for) a series of computers and monitors. That told her that maybe some security footage survived. She decided to ask the officer who escorted her.

Shadowcat: Any security footage captured who did this on film?

SWAT officer: Possibly. They are reviewing it now. The commanding officer on scene will give you all the information you need in the briefing. He will be here soon.

Kitty thanked the officer again, as he exited the tent to return to his team in guarded the jet. As she waited for the commanding official, she walked over to the tables and began looking at the various items found and glancing at the monitors for any evidence.

[colossus]

The trio walked into the destroyed room where Kitty was reviewing the security tapes.
"Here she is now. Miss Katherine Pryde," The Agent said getting the mutant's attention. "I am Agent Anderson, the commanding officer on the scene. I believe you already know Mr. Peter Rasputin and Mr. Robert Drake."

"Katya." Peter exclaimed while Bobby waved and said, "Hey, long time no see." His voice had a hint of sarcasm.

[Shadowcat]

Kitty turned her head in the direction of the voices. She wasn't that surprised to see that others from the mansion had arrived as well. But she was a bit surprised to see Peter. It has been a while since she had last seen him. She probably would have smiled wide and have given him a hug when she saw him if it was a different circumstance, but at the moment they were being pressed for time. But she did give a small smile as she saw them both and walked to stand next to them before Agent Anderson.

Shadowcat: (To Bobby) I know, right? (To Piotr) Hey Pete. It really has been a while for you though.

[colossus]

Before either Peter or Bobby could reply Agent Anderson said, "As much as I know you would love to be chummy with your mutant friends, we have things to discuss." Agent Anderson Pushed a button and a hologram of what happened. The recording was on loop, and while it was playing the agent was talking over it. "As you have heard from the news or internet or what have you. The pentagon was attacked. Unfortunately they stole information from Shield." He paused for a moment to let it sink in. "We have discovered that the technology used to crack the code and the bomb that was used were both alien technology." He handed a baggy of what was left of the bomb to the mutants. "Shield traced the technology back to Shii'har but it was almost as if they made the technology out of scraps." He continued. "The higher ups of Shield know that they had to go through Sword, and as a liaison between Sword and Shield, I was the perfect candidate for being the commanding officer on this mission." He paused for the mutants, the hologram playing in its loop.

[Shadowcat]

Kitty looked at the pieces of the device. The technology was initially Shi'ar, but there were other components that she didn't recognize. But when she looked up at the hologram, she did see two people she recognized. The two beings she came across in L.A. were on the screen. She took a step closer to the hologram to be sure, but there was no mistaking it.

Shadowcat: I met these two before in Los Angeles. They are extraterrestrial siblings, but they are not Shi'ar. They're another race I haven't come across yet. They were curious. Asked about slavery laws on this world, said they were tourists, and yet they knew of the X-gene. They appear to have some form of supernatural abilities for they had managed to place some people in a trance. That may have been the work of the male. During our encounter I felt he was trying to read my mind, but was unsuccessful. Clearly he has some form of telepathy. As for the female, I am not sure.

[colossus]

"So you have come in contact with them." The agent said. His tone hinting at suspicion.

Bobby could tell that this agent was one of those "Doesn't trust anyone" agents. He let out a sigh and shot a look to Peter praying that he would not get defensive. Unfortunately Peter did just that. "We have contact with lots of people we don't know." He said.

"Which is exactly why Sword AND Shield have their eyes on you." Agent Anderson explained, "You super-hero-types come in contact with too many out of world, or out of legend, or out of normal human's league to be deemed non-dangerous." Agent Anderson paced as if marching in front of new recruits. "Since this incident, the higher ups have issued a careful watch on all who are above the normal level of power compared to the average human. This goes for the Avengers, for the Fantastic Four, and other similar groups. However the higher ups have not seen it fit to enforce a global registration." It was obvious that the man was not pleased by his superior's choices.

[Shadowcat]

Lockheed hissed at the agent and arched his back, tensing all of his muscles to prepare to attack at a moment's notice. He did not like this man threatening his master.

Kitty meanwhile glared at the agent. Here she was trying to be helpful by giving all the information she could on the two that they barely knew, and this guy goes ahead and turns it all around and verbally attacks them. She could already feel the tension in the atmosphere thicken drastically, so she forced her diplomatic side to try to reason with the agent.

Shadowcat: Agent Anderson, all feelings and opinions aside, we should focus on the incident at hand. Now that we all know who the culprits are, relatively, we should focus on their objective. What were they after?