8.20.09: Glowing Crystals

I have had

1. shower


2. food, not know what, is whatever Blackjack give


3. drag all blue unconscious Thunderstrike out of shower and drag down to medbay. But no go in.


4. go get sleep


5. breakfast! something French!

 
We go China. High in mountains. Prolly some elevation sickness.
 
Dunno what to think about Thunderstrike make things glow a centimeter away from body instead of be on body.
 
Here is "Kesang Jinpa" which is very old Buddhist temple. Agent May give us name to look for, a person who is maybe here. If he is, he prolly help us some.
 
SAFEGUARD drop us off and will check in every six to ten hours. They give beacon to Doc Reynolds, signal where to extract. I give verify message, what to ask our group to make sure really us, if no answer then lock "us" up until our boss can sort out. (Blackjack and I both know who was team lead before me. Newer members do not know or care. This way it is harder for enemy psionicist to get info from us.)
 
Flight team: Thunderstrike and Doc Reynolds do aerial scout, make it look like Thunderstrike is carrying Doc when actually Doc is the one who can steer.
 
Scout: Blackjack
 
Spokesman: Amythyst backed up by Captain America.
 
Mostly thug: me and Gravitar.
 
Grass is healthy like early autumn. Cold enough to notice. No snow here, but snow break line up above pretty close. Tracks of hooved animals prolly rams or goats.
 
But Flight team says no people, nothing moving.
I try to listen intently. Empathy picks up ... shock ... restrained anger ... fear ... but muted as if from someone who is dreaming ... then I feel this momentary strong sensation as I brush up against someone else with empathy. Then that last sensation seems to ... hide?
Is not David.
Is not Jessica.
Is not missing piece of me.
 
Send Flight Team to flank, meet us in middle.
They say temple glows red, pulses.
 
Feed was fresh this morning. Some bread still in the oven. But coats and boots are gone.
 

Welcome to the Village of Creepy

 
We find a ramp up to the 2nd terrace. I think that whoever is hiding from us, is up there. Also Thunderstrike drops info on us that he found all the people and animals up near the temple and they are in crystals. And he hears footsteps.
 
I hear a little girl. At the edge of my hearing, I hear a thin, young female voice say in a shocked low hoarse whisper ... 'mm... maman?? no...'
and as I head in that direction
I smell leopard.
 
Blackjack? You know how sometimes I talk to people, only they are not really there?
I think I hear Savannah.
I am going to go find out.
Maybe someone is making me hear things.
So maybe you are going to have to tell me that I am crazy.
 

---

 
Ohh boy.
It could really BE Savannah. From an alternate time line. Where her parents were killed in Sinister's missile barrage.
Now she is working for Evil Dr. Don Blake as a means to survive. So is Evil Scivias. Savannah calls Evil Dr. Blake "Death" and "Omega". She is afraid of being hunted by Scivias.
 
I am trying to coax her into coming with me, back to the team, where Blackjack can decide if I am crazy or not. And if I am not, I can share more info with the team about the crystals being a trap and the temple being a trap and Evil Blake going for something inside the Temple. I am doing a bad job of it because I am too much of a villain, too much anger, too much urge to hurt someone. My poor baby girl!
 
It sounds like the rest of the team has gotten into some kind of a fight and ... and if this is my baby, the one I lost ... I can't. But I can't lose Blackjack either. I don't know if she is real.
 
I do know that my Savannah died. That it was my fault. Everyone says it was not my fault, but I know better.
 
I can't abandon Blackjack for the chance that maybe I can save Savannah. I could abandon him to save definitely Savannah, he would want me to abandon him to save definitely-real Savannah, but I can't give him up for a wild maybe.
 
How much risk is Savannah willing to take that the Blackjack who dies is not real?
 
She rushes forward and hugs me, and we are together, and I know exactly where he is.
 
We disappear in a blast of brimstone. . . .
 
. . . . We appear beside Blackjack, who is in the middle of throwing a transformed card at one of Captain America's opponents.
 
Our girl gets out her escrima sticks as I start checking the field for hostile psionicists. One is over by that tree with the blue leaves. I tell Amythyst to put area of effect in the area between that tree and the fountain.
 
"Tree on fire" = area of effect! Not an effect Mister Mental expected!
 
We hit the big guns hard enough to make the minions want to leave, and people calling themselves "MAGI" show up. We have a lot to talk about....