NOVEL NEXT Chapter 065 – Intel
[2009 – July]
Walking through the corridor leading to Jean's room, I felt a throbbing pain in the back of my mind and realized that I had overtaxed my mind somewhat.
Using Adoptive Muscle Memory in conjunction with my shielding powers while in a highly intense combat situation had clearly taken its toll on my mind, though it was nothing severe. A few hours of rest were all that was needed to fully regain my mental prowess.
Stepping into Jean's room, I saw the intact barrier protecting her still form and one look at her lovely features, while she rested peacefully, was enough for even the last remnants of my anger to just dissipate.
Banishing the barrier, I couldn't help myself as I gently brushed aside a strand of her fiery hair, before pressing my forehead against hers and taking a deep breath, inhaling her wonderful scent. Leaving a tender kiss on her temple, I reemployed my barrier before I stepped into the bathroom of the suite.
Taking off the black hoodie, my jeans, shirt, and underwear, I stepped into the shower and let the hot water wash away the sweat and some of the tension still remaining in my muscles.
Drying myself with a soft towel and grabbing some new clothes through a portal, I went back to Jean's side before vanishing the barrier again and climbing into the bed, pulling her lithe and soft form into my embrace.
Using the Epsilon-level ability Program, I once again reemployed the barrier around us, the last time for this night, and finally let my mind drift into sleep, Jean's warmth and presence setting my heart at ease.
I knew that the aftermath of her awakening was not yet over, but for just this moment I wanted to be with her and let the 'me' of tomorrow take care of the rest.
It took only a few short moments to fall asleep, Jean's wonderful smell and gentle breathing caressing my senses.
…
"Are we sure it was them?", the dark-skinned spymaster questioned in a low voice, three of his most trusted subordinates present as he did so.
"The satellite did experience some interference but only for a few moments, and the images it took before and after the incident are an 83% match for the girl and 91% match for the boy, Sir.", Agent Hill answered, standing to the right of the trio currently in his office.
"Jean Grey and Elijah Frost. One a confirmed 'Severe Threat', the other a possible 'High-Level Threat' or higher. I hope I don't have to remind you that their appearance is anything but reassuring!", Fury stated, his tone loyal to his namesake, before he continued, "So do we have any idea what they actually did, besides raising alarm bells all over and frying half our sensors?"
"The analysts have not yet been able to come up with a reason for the disturbance. All we know is that a massive spike of energy appeared on our sensors, the most sensitive of which being destroyed by the sudden activity.", Coulson added, unfazed in the face of his superior's anger, as he was already used to the infamous temper of his boss, “The most likely origin of the energy spike is one of them using their mutant powers, though we aren't sure which one due to the interference.”
“What about their location? It's been hours since the incident, have they popped up on our radar since then?”, the director of SHIELD continued to question.
“Nothing as of yet, Sir.”, Agent Hill replied, “There was however a disturbance on the grounds of the Massachusetts Academy under the management of Emma Frost.”
"We started to heighten the surveillance around that area after the possible emergence of Elijah Frost as a mutant. And roughly an hour after the recorded energy spike on Liberty Island the X-Jet has been spotted as it landed on the mansion grounds. We don't really have any recorded data, but from what the agents in place reported it is highly likely that a fight broke out at the academy grounds. The jet has not been seen taking off since then.", the agent ended.
"Damn.", the spymaster cursed under his breath, his gaze focusing on the last and up till now, silent agent in the room, "Do we have any other intel on them? Especially the boy."
"Surveillance cameras and Field Agents had seen them randomly appear together throughout the city in the last few weeks. But we didn't detect any special activity, as they seemed to have just bought clothes and groceries before disappearing again.", the Black Widow answered, reporting the meager information she had managed to get hold of.
"Continue surveillance and make sure that none of this reaches the ears of the public. Dismissed.", realizing that they didn't have anything worthwhile on either of the two, Fury dismissed his agents with a brisk tone.
Sighing to himself after he was left alone in his office, Fury picked up his datapad, a black-haired male teen's picture taking up one side of the screen, while the other side was occupied by a young red-headed girl.
The veteran spymaster couldn't help but feel a tingling sensation on the back of his neck as he looked at the pictures, his instincts hinting at the enormous danger these two represented.
Fury didn't know why but when he looked at the calm green eyes of Elijah Frost, he felt a spike of fear erupting in his heart and warning him of something he could not yet see himself.
Moving to his desk, he set down the datapad and opened the bottommost drawer, a smooth metallic box greeting his vision as he opened it. Placing his thumb in a small indent at the side, Fury heard a small click before the top of the box split in the middle and slid to the sides, revealing the insides of the high-tech lockbox. Though besides a single flip phone nothing else was inside the box.
Taking the phone, Fury didn't waste time and immediately closed the lockbox again before leaving his office and the Headquarters, which was a SHIELD facility located in New York City.
Fury drove towards the town, ignoring any calls for the moment, and even left his car behind at some point, before finally diving through a few alleys and vanishing into the crowd, leaving behind any possible pursuers.
The aged spymaster didn't know if someone was following him, but he saw no use in taking any risks, and decades of training were likewise hard to ignore.
Finally reaching a parkside without cameras around, the director of SHIELD pulled out the flip phone and turned it on, before dialing one of the handful of numbers saved inside the phone.
It rang a few times before finally, a gruff voice answered: "What do you want?"
“A meeting.”, Fury stated, knowing that there was no need to introduce himself to the caller.
A derisive snort could be heard over the line as James Howlett, otherwise known as Wolverine, replied: "You never just want a meeting. You want to know about the boy, don't you?"
“I do.”, Fury admitted, knowing that this old friend of his preferred straightforwardness, his temper making lying to him a rather bad idea.
A short silence ensued before Logan continued.
“Tomorrow night, at the usual place.”, he agreed, but added, “Don't fight the boy, Nick. He is young and inexperienced, but I have never met someone like him in all my years. He is dangerous.”
The next moment the line went dead, and Fury was left with a heavy expression on his usually stern face. It wasn't the words that Logan spoke that made the old spy apprehensive, but the underlying emotion he had detected in the century-old mutant's tone of voice – nervousness.
To make a legend like Wolverine nervous, what kind of monster was Elijah Frost?