A Tale of Two Me's

[Iceman]

Since the big move to San Francisco Bobby has been having to remind himself what the mansion new name is. Graymalkin Industries the name alone makes Bobby feel like he should be selling life insurance.

But outside of the name Bobby likes the place he has a bigger and a great view. His nights goal was to have a decent night out with a statesman’s daughter. The statesman’s name was Thomas Hillford his daughter being Megan Hillford. The Hillford family had been amongst the gold rush of San Francisco and have a lot of history.

Sitting in his room in his stuffy black tux he could believe he was talked into doing this. He was starting to feel sick a blind date if she has to get a date like this she must be butt ugly. If he didn’t need to help with P.R. he would have said no. But since they are in a new city they need to start things off right yadda yadda yadda Scott get out of my head. What he would give for some one to attack about know Apocalypse, Sinister the Brood anyone he would take any of them it didn’t matter.

Getting up he looks at himself in the mirror and thinks a tux really what am I doing taking her to her prom. Taking a deep breath all he has to do is survive this date a dinner date Her father and mother will be there but they will be a table over so he will be one on one with is date at some kind of get together her father and his political group were having.

Again he asks why me. The limo pulls up and he does his walk of doom all the way to the front door. Along the way he hears some of the students wish him luck he manages a smile and a wave.

The driver lets him in the limo. After getting in he sees that there is another man in the limo with which he finds weird.

“Hello Mr. Drake I am Thomas Hillford and I know you might surprised my daughter is not in here but I wanted to say a few quick words to you since I wont be able once there!”

Bobby’s nervous levels start to rise thing like this generally rarely go well.

“Don’t worry young man I just want to say I hope you and your friends move goes smoothly, San Francisco is a great city hopefully you will feel welcome in due time!”

After that he Mr. Hillford’s phone rings and he is busy talking from that time till they make it there. They arrive and Mr. Hillford gives Bobby thumbs up just as being let out. His door opens and he steps out looking all over for his date he feels a pat on his shoulder and he turns and looks.

Standing in front of him is one of the hottest women he has ever seen. Long flowing red hair and hazel eyes. Her figure was nothing short of perfect coke bottle. Her sleek black dress was very form fitting and her diamond necklace sparkled just like her eyes. After looking at her diplomacy didn’t feel so bad anymore.

After he sees her smile he notice that his mouth was hanging open so he closes it. Taking a deep breath he remind himself just because she hot doesn’t mean there isn’t something else wrong with he like she could be crazy. They enter the building arm in arm and are escorted to there table.

Looking around Bobby has been in some interesting situations but this one was a whole different animal. He thought he saw someone who looked like Norman Osborn but shook it off.

“so Bobby were as nervous about this as I was”

“Yeah I would have to say so but you are very beautiful”

They smile at each other and he can’t find anything wrong with her at the moment. He notices her father looking over and at giving another thumbs up and he returns it.

He notices a lot of people were heading toward the dance floor. Getting up and holding out his hand to her bobby takes her out onto the floor.
As his thoughts start to melt away he hears someone scream.

Smoke starts filing the room and fast people are running and all over the place. His eyes water up and his vision blurs out of no where someone knocks him over.

Someone was attacking clearing his eyes out he looks for his date but doesn’t see her. An explosion burst his ear drums. Turning into his ice form knows he has to do something.

That’s when he sees there is ice all over the place. It wasn’t making in since to him at all he didn’t see anyone there but just people from the party running away some of them were now pointing at him.

He hears the gun click behinds his head as the cop prepares to pull the trigger.
“What have you done you mutie freak. Turn your freak powers off and put your hands behind your back or I‘ll blow your damn head off”

Not wanting to give a reason to do as he said he returns to his normal form. And put his hands behinds his back the cop handcuffs him.

“What happened officer what am I being arrested for”

The cop grabs a hand full of his hair and drags him over to a body that had been frozen. He could hide the shock on his face as he sees his date there with the look of shock and fright on her face. She was dead and the feeling of dread washes over him.

“No no no I dddiddn’t do this! I’m innocent!”

“Sure you are that girl was my god daughter and you did this to her I will make sure you pay for this you piece of trash!”

With that the cop spit in his face and pulls him by the hair and throws him in the back of his cop car. Bobby feels really numb inside he was kidding about what he was feeling earlier he would never want anyone to really get hurt Hopefully Scott and the others will be able to prove he was innocent.

[N.P.C.]

NPC is Nick Fury

Damn but San Fransisco can be cold this time of year.

Most people think of Cali like its paradise on Earth, with sun all the time, beautiful women on the beaches, and meticulously maintained beachfront properties.

Truth is, it ain't all quite that nice.

San Fran is a lot farther north than LA, and the weather isn't quite as perfect as people think...foggy and rainy quite a bit actually...Not that a boy from Hell's Kitchen has any right to complain about the weather.

Truth is, I'd take just about anything over havin to deal with the crap that shoved my way this mornin.

2 A.M. wakeup calls are never fun, particularly not when they come from the Secretary of Defense and concern a possible national security matter, that could very well escalate into a major FUBAR if not handled well.

Which is why I'm in Frisco, instead of hovering somewhere over the pacific. Truth be told I'd rather be dealin with a Skrull invasion than this crap...Politics annoy me, and it doesn't help with the matter in question involves one of the best and brightest hero teams on the map.

The real crock of it is I got called in cause Washington wants to know if the X-Men are engagin in Terrorism...when they've saved the world a few dozen times by my count. Complete bullshi, an annoying even to have to entertain...but there ya go.

We all gotta answer to someone.

I step out of a cab, payin the guy with cash before I make my way across to the police station, doing my best to ignore the press, stay under their radar...this kinda crap makes me wish I coulda just flown in with a chopper or one of the hover cars...but low profile was the order of the day, which is the same reason I'm out of uniform an wearin a black suit.

Look more like a lawyer than a federal agent dressed like this...not sure thats an improvement...

I make my way up the steps an inside, flashing credentials to those who need to know, and gettin the usual BS from the locals about jurisdiction. Eventually they cave, giving me what they've got so far in the way of a case file, and sitting me down in an interview room to wait on the kid.

While I'm waiting I flip through the file, readin through it, and using a coffee cup as an ashtray as I light up a stogie. City regs be damned, ain't nobody takin my cigars.

Evidence they got ain't good. Ice used to kill the girl has a distinct DNA match with our kid Mr Drake. Not too good...still, I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. Wouldn't be the first time some nutjob or another has tried to do a frameup on a leadin hero...even excusin possible mind control, or evil clones, or what have you...

When the kid enters I pull out a tape recorder, placing it on the table for him to see, and then clickin it on....Well it looks like a tape recorder anyway. Actually a bug scrambler. Makes vido and audio surveilnce go hay wire. Handy toy.

"Mornin kid, Names Nick Fury, I'm guessin you've heard of me? Good. Bigwigs in high places wanted me to take a look at this situation, assess whats goin on...officially of course, I was never here. This doohickey here'll make sure of that. You an me don't exist fare as the SFPD are concerned, long as its playin."
I take a puff on my cigar, tappin out some ash before I continue spekain, making no effort to take the gruff out of my voice.

"I'll make this simple. I know you, I know the crowd you run with...this country owes you guys alot, an if it were my call you wouldn't even be sittin here...but this is a local issue, and I can't be involved. All I can do is pull some strings on my end, make sure you get a fair shake with the system...an maybe make sure that your X-Pals know what we do. Thats what I got kid, now I want to know everything from you...how you met the girl, why you were dating...and why someone is tryin like hell to make sure you take the fall for this."

[Iceman]

The ride in the back of the cruiser was very long and quiet. The full weight of everything was hitting him like a ton of bricks his. He couldn’t think of much else he wanted to yell and scream and say with all his heart it wasn’t him but he had no strength.

He pulls to the front of the police station where he was meet with reporters being forced to put on bullet proof vest Bobby steps out the back of the car. Microphones are shoved in his face and all kinds of question are being asked of him.

They wanted to know if he was sending a message of a mutant revolution. They wanted to know if he was working alone or not. Some were calling him a monster that needed to be killed. Something hit him in the chest something heavy it knocked the wind out and made him dizzy.

Falling to one knee he felt it as people spat on and threw more things. He looks to see a half of brick . The vest had taken the biggest brunt of the force but he still felt the pain of the impact and the burning of the air as it reenters his lungs.

An arm reaches down and helps him up and he finally makes it inside. They remove his vest and take a look at where he was hit and he had a bruise but nothing more. After taking care of the bruise they book him in and take him to a cell.

He was alone in his cell they feared someone might try to make a name for themselves by killing the killer mutant. All there was in his cell was a metal toilet the sink beside it the bed chained to the wall and a shower in the opposed corner.

Wearing the prison orange and being in his cell he felt more alone now than he had ever felt. The cold air comes in through the window it would bother most his mutant powers it didn’t bother him at all.

The Graymalkin comes to mind all the student and fellow X-Men. Given time that place could have become his home and he could have become friends with students all of he feels are talented even though they might not have the most warmest of personalities.

A knock of his cell bars wakes him from the short sleep he was able to get. The guard tells him he has a visitor and he said it was a suit which is what he thought was code for a fed.

He is led into a room where he sees a man in a suit he didn’t recognize him till he was face to face with him. It was Nick Fury he had worked with the X-Men more than once and he has heard stories from Wolverine. He wants the who’s what’s and why’s to the night to last night.

“It was all suppose to be a way to get along with the officials of the city a good will type of thing, I had never met her before this night and I was scared to be honest but all seemed to go well for the most part!”

Taking a deep breath he resist the urge to cry it all was so demanding. After getting through the surreal moments he was left with the heavy unforgiving realness.

“I don’t know who would or even could all I know is that she didn’t deserve what happened!”

[N.P.C.]

NPC is Nick Fury

I've seen some fine acts in my time. Double agents, spies who could lie out both sides a' their mouth at once, memorialize someone they killed in cold blood. I know that kind of line, and I know the real thing when I see it.

This ain't no act. Bobby must have a heart a gold to be reactin like this to a skirt he just met, but that plays with what I know about his file. Young, impulsive, emotional.

The kid in the file could never have killed her, and thats definitely who's sitting in front of me now. That tells me a couple of things.

First, this has got to be a frameup. No other answer fits, even if we're a bit short on the hows and why's right now. That helps alot.

For one thing it means I'm on the side of the angels, and for another it gives me a lead to look into. Only so many guys with the tech to pull this kinda frameup. And that list gets even shorter when you think about the equipment needed for the job.

"Okay kid I believe you. Trick is, they've got DNA evidence that ties you in, based on stuff found in the ice. Now culturing cells for this kinda job is doable, but you need something to get it from. You donated blood revently, maybe gotten treated at a hospital or something? Any place where might have left something they coulda used to make the frameup?"

[Iceman]

Nick Fury is all business just like Wolverine once told him. Having him on my side would be a huge plus thinks Bobby to himself. Having one person outside of the X-Men believe that he is innocent means a lot.

Some of the stress leaves his body but he knows he can’t fully relax until he has made it out of that hell whole. Bobby mind his flooded as her tries to answer Nick’s question.

“Well the last time I saw a doctor was beast for my psychical. I don’t donate I hate needles only thing I can think of is the last fight the X-Men got into at our old base. We had a huge battle I can’t remember the entire thing but that is the last time I used my powers outside of the danger room!”

Not since Emma took over his body did he feel as bad as he did about some one doing something like this with is powers. He’s felt that he has been letting the team done Bobby even thought of leaving the team till he was able to hold his own weight.

He wonders why Scott hasn’t lectured him on it yet he and Emma had to have talked about at least once. Even though she is not around at the moment he had to think about it. Then He remembers how busy Scott has been lately.

He had bigger fish than him the new crop of X-Kids. He couldn’t leave them even though he wasn’t anyone favorite teacher he knew he had to help them. First things first though helping the man in front of him as much as he could then it hits him and he slaps himself on the forehead.

“Mr. Fury I had forgotten not to long ago Mr. Sinister had stolen the D.N.A of the first five students, he planned to make an army of super mutants. The sample he took were being transported via a plan we thought we that what we didn’t destroy the crash did!”

He leans back and feels for the first time rage toward himself for being stupid. How could that be forgotten something so important. Sitting back up he looks at Nick.

“I’m sorry Nick I should have thought of that first!”

[N.P.C.]

NPC is Nick Fury

Bobby manages to answer my questions easily enough, and I'm impressed by the cavilier way that he talks about multiple large scale baattles as if they were nothing. Not unlike a certain canadian I know, although doubtless Logan would sting a bit at such a comparison. Runt can have awful thin skin at times.

Still, the information he gives me ain't exactly drippin with useful intel. Way he talks means that any number of people might have gotten access to his DNA. Just a small sample would do. That Siniister creep would be a top pick, but this kinda crap seems a bit political for his tastes. What I've read indicated that he'd probably rather wipe out the population of Frisco than sow dislike of mutants in the population. Low return business that.

Definitely seems like another hands at work with this stuff...not that there's terribly much I can do about it. This is far and away not my business, and that means I gotta leave it in the hands of those whose buisness it is...like the fine and upstanding members of the SFPD. Still, I've got a couple of ideas that might improve the odds...with a few pulled strings.

"Okay kid, here's the deal. This whole business stinks to high heaven, and I hate that for you, but there ain't nothing I can do bout this kinda bullshit...at least not in an official capacity. SFPD is gonna want some blood on this, and you're their choice whipping boy, with a ton of evidence to back them up. All I can do for you on my end is stall out the paperwork for getting you charged by a few hours...claim it as a personal favor from the boys in blue...that'll give your X-friends a small window to get the real guilty party in this shit, and have him trad cells with you. Thats the best I got."

Reaching across the table, I pick up my scrambler, disabling it as I stow it away, and then fish in my other pocket, pulling out a quarter and sliding it across to him.

"I'd suggest you make a call...And I don't think a lawyer should be your first pick."

Leaving him witht he remark, I turn and walk out, aking a detour through the appropiate offices on my way out, citing the whole thing as a matter of interferin with a possible federal case, citing jurisdiction, basicly lying my ass off to give the kid all the time I can. With me runnin interference I buy him an extra day, but thats about it. He and his friends will need to make it pay off in a big way if he wants to see the outside of a set of bars anytime in the near future.

(OOC: And so ends Fury's involvement in this stage. I'd jggest calling Beast at the mansion next, get him and Storm involved with the investigation, CSI style )