The ocean glitters like an oil spill beneath the moonless sky as our inflatable boat bobs toward the oil rig.
My legs are still slightly shaking. Not from fear, but from the lingering adrenaline of my first HALO jump. Ten minutes ago, I was strapped chest-to-chest with Scotty, freefalling through darkness so complete it felt like we'd jumped straight into the void.
Now I'm hunched in a black tactical dinghy with Emma Frost sitting across from me, her white outfit somehow gleaming in the black like she's got her own personal spotlight. Even on a covert infiltration mission, she refuses to wear standard X-Women gear. The woman's commitment to her aesthetic is admirable.
'I've linked our minds,' Emma's voice slides into my head like a cold finger tracing my brain stem. 'We can communicate telepathically now. Much safer than whispering.'
'A little warning next time?' I think back, hoping I'm doing this right. 'And maybe knock before entering?'
Emma's eyebrow arches. 'Afraid I'll find something embarrassing in there, Jack? Too late for that.'
'Smart move,' Scotty thinks, cutting off what was about to become an extremely awkward mental exchange.
The oil rig looms ahead of us, a towering monstrosity of steel and rust against the star-speckled sky. It's much bigger up close than it looked in the mission briefing hologram, with hundreds of blinking lights and the occasional security spotlight sweeping across the water.
Kitty sits beside me, her expression unreadable in the darkness. She hasn't said, or thought, a single word since we launched from the Blackbird. The tension between her and Emma is so thick I could cut it with Morgan's claws.
'There,' Scotty thinks, pointing toward a maintenance ladder that runs down the side of one massive support column, disappearing into the water. 'That's our entry point.'
Our little boat slides silently through the black water, approaching the ladder with agonizing slowness. Each tiny wave feels like it might betray us, each creak of the inflatable material sounds like a gunshot to my hypersensitive ears.
'I'll take point,' Scotty's voice cuts into my mind, her tone carrying that same authoritative edge as her spoken commands. 'Kitty, I want you right behind me. Then Emma, with Jack bringing up the rear.'
'No way. I'm not climbing that ladder with Frost right on my heels. She'll probably try to push me off.'
'For heaven's sake,' Emma interjects. 'If I wanted you dead, darling, there are far more elegant ways than a clumsy shove into shark-infested waters.'
'See?' Kitty fires back. 'She's already thinking about it!'
I shift uncomfortably, feeling like I'm eavesdropping on the world's most hostile group chat. The boat rocks gently beneath us as we drift closer to the ladder, each tiny wave threatening to smack us against the massive steel column.
'Fine, Kitty, you go first. But be prepared to find cover as soon as you reach the platform.'
The boat rocks precariously as Kitty stands, her silhouette graceful against the starlit sky. She reaches for the ladder, her movements fluid and confident as she begins her ascent. The metal rungs creak slightly under her weight, each sound making my heart stutter.
'Your turn, Cyclops,' Emma thinks, her mental voice carrying that signature smugness.
Even with the visor on, Scotty gives Emma a look that could melt steel beams before grabbing the ladder. She climbs with military precision, each movement economical and purposeful. I watch her disappear into the darkness above, leaving me alone in the boat with Emma.
'Well, Jack,' Emma purrs into my mind, 'looks like it's just us now.'
'Let's not flirt on an open telepathic line,' I think back.
Emma's projected laugh feels like champagne bubbles popping in my mind. 'Oh, but we can establish a private line if you'd prefer, darling. Just the two of us.'
'I'm up,' Scotty's authoritative thoughts cut through our exchange. 'Stop dilly-dallying and get moving.'
Emma gives me one last meaningful look before grabbing the ladder. I watch her ascend, trying not to focus on how perfectly her outfit clings to her ass as she moves. When she disappears over the edge, I take a deep breath and follow, the salt-crusted rungs cold and rough beneath my gloved hands.
The climb is shorter than it looks, and soon I'm hauling myself over the edge onto a narrow maintenance platform. Before I can even catch my breath, Scotty's hand clamps down on my shoulder, pushing me into a crouch behind a guard rail. Her finger presses against her lips in the universal sign for silence.
Two guards walk by just a few feet away, their heavy boots clanking against the metal grating. They're dressed in yellow hazmat-style uniforms with strange helmets that completely obscure their faces. The A.I.M. logo is emblazoned across their chests, looking like some bizarre corporate branding exercise.
'After they pass,' Scotty thinks to us, 'Kitty will phase us through that bulkhead into the main structure. We need to focus on finding the elevator to the underwater sections. That's where they're likely holding Angel.'
'Got it,' I respond.
'Oh please,' Kitty's thoughts suddenly intrude, sharp with contempt. 'Like we can trust the White Queen to stick to the mission? She probably has her own agenda here.'
'Must we do this now, Pryde? I'm here to rescue Angel just like the rest of you.'
'Right,' Kitty fires back. 'Because you've always been so concerned with other mutants' wellbeing. Is that why you tried to brainwash me when I was thirteen?'
'Ancient history,' Emma dismisses. 'I've changed.'
'Changed?' Kitty's thoughts are practically radioactive with anger. 'You've just changed your tactics!'
'Enough,' Scotty interjects, her mental voice sharp as a knife. 'The guards are gone. Let's move.'
But Kitty isn't done. 'She'll betray us the first chance she gets! She always does!'
'You insolent child,' Emma snaps back, her projected voice practically arctic. 'I've saved more mutant lives in the past year than you have in your entire career playing dress-up with the X-Women.'
I can feel the tension escalating like a pressure cooker about to blow. The guards are barely out of sight, and we're having a full-blown telepathic catfight.
Kitty suddenly lunges forward, grabbing Scotty's arm. 'Tell her, Scotty! Tell her she can't just waltz in and be trusted after everything she's done!'
Scotty, clearly at her wits' end, reaches out and grabs Emma's wrist. 'Both of you, stop this immediately!'
Emma's ice-blue eyes flash with fury as she latches onto my hand, her grip surprisingly strong. 'This petulant child is compromising the entire mission!'
Before I can even process what's happening, Kitty's powers activate. The world around us shimmers as she starts phasing our little human chain through the bulkhead. But something's wrong, instead of the smooth transition I expected, Kitty's face contorts with effort and rage.
'I was THIRTEEN!' Her mental scream is so loud it feels like my brain might explode.
I'm over halfway through the wall when I feel it. The phasing effect ends and my ankle is solid inside the metal bulkhead.
The pain is instantaneous and blinding. I bite down hard on my knuckle to keep from screaming, tasting copper as my teeth break skin. Every nerve ending in my foot feels like it's being crushed in a vice, ground between steel and bone.
'Jack!' Emma's voice cuts through my mind, urgent and genuinely alarmed. Her eyes lock onto mine, widening as she feels the pain radiating through our telepathic link.
Kitty whips around, the anger on her face instantly replaced with horror as she sees my predicament. "Oh my God," she whispers out loud, her voice small and shocked. "I'm... I'm so sorry..."
Scotty's face hardens as she looks at Kitty. "Just unphase him."
The panic on Kitty's face makes my stomach drop even more than the agony shooting up my leg. She looks like she's about to throw up.
"I can't," she whispers, her voice breaking.
"What do you mean you can't?" Scotty demands, her voice rising dangerously.
Emma's voice slices through my mind like a cool knife. 'Everyone, thought link only. We can't risk alerting the guards.'
Kitty's thoughts flood into our shared mind palace, chaotic and edged with panic. 'It's fused. The molecular structure... I lost concentration and... the only way to save him is to cut it off.'
'Damn,' I think back, trying to keep the rising tide of panic out of my mental voice. 'It should be fine though, right? Just use your beam, Scotty.'
Scotty stares at me, her expression grim behind that ruby quartz visor. Her thoughts are measured, clinical. 'It'd be a blunt force attack. The optic blast could shatter a lot more than just bone.'
Emma's cool fingers suddenly press against my temples. Her face is inches from mine, those ice-blue eyes locked onto mine with an intensity I've never seen before.
'I'm taking away your pain receptors for now.'
The relief is immediate and startling. One moment I'm biting through my own knuckle to keep from screaming, the next... nothing. The agony vanishes like someone flipped a switch.
'Thank you,' The gratitude genuine and overwhelming.
'Of course,' Emma replies. The usual smugness is gone, replaced by something that sounds almost like genuine concern.
Scotty's thoughts intrude, all business despite the situation. 'You two go ahead. I'll... take care of Jack's leg and stay with him while it grows back.'
'No.'
'The mission has a better chance if…' Scotty begins.
Emma cuts her off, her thoughts sharp enough to draw blood. 'NO. Jack is my patient. I will take care of him.'
I look over at Kitty, who's staring at my trapped leg with horror etched into every line of her face. Her hands trembling slightly at her sides. She looks utterly devastated, like she's just committed some unforgivable sin.
"I'm so sorry," she whispers out loud, forgetting the thought link in her distress. "I didn't mean to…"
'Kitty, it's fine,' I think at her, trying to push reassurance through the mental link. 'Since it's me, it's no harm no foul. I'll heal, remember?'
The look of calamity on her face eases slightly, though the guilt remains etched in her features.
'He's right, Kitty,' Scotty's thoughts cut in, firm but not unkind. 'I need you to focus now.'
She turns to Emma, her visor glinting in the dim light. 'We're going ahead. Do you think you'll be able to cut his ankle off?'
Emma glances around, taking in our surroundings for the first time. We've phased into what looks like some kind of maintenance area, industrial shelving loaded with tools, spare parts, and equipment. Almost like a big toolshed or janitor's closet for the entire rig.
'There's saws right there,' Emma nods toward a wall of hanging tools where several mean-looking blades catch the light.
'Extra suits too,' Kitty adds, motioning toward a stack of neatly folded yellow A.I.M. uniforms on a shelf. Must be dozens of them.
Scotty nods, already moving toward the uniforms. The two of them begin pulling the hazmat-style outfits over their X-Women gear.
'Stay here for now,' Scotty thinks, adjusting her helmet to hide her visor. 'I'll let you know if we need you.'
'Roger,' Emma replies, her mental voice all business now.
I watch as Scotty and Kitty disappear through the door, their borrowed A.I.M. uniforms making them look like evil beekeepers. The door clicks shut behind them, leaving Emma and me alone in the maintenance room with my ankle still firmly embedded in solid metal.
Silence falls between us, broken only by the distant hum of machinery and the occasional creak of metal as the rig shifts on its moorings.
Emma smiles, not her usual predatory grin, but something smaller, more genuine. She reaches up, cool fingers brushing against my cheek as she cups my face between her hands and whispers to me.
"I'm gonna take us somewhere far away, okay?"