Excelsior!

[Nephilim]

Thom, Piotr and Jamie led the three prisoners down to the holding cells under the mansion. The way there was not exactly free of debris, but at least the cells were still functioning. "A small favor from God," Thom said softly as Darkwing, Ashley and Niall were all placed in their cells. "If he did nothing wrong, I think this is a bit excessive," Thom added as he looked at Darkwing, "but it isn't my call."

Nephilim looked at his time-tossed cousin Niall and wanted to ram a sword in Champion's gut for what he had done to Thom's mother. "When this is all sorted out with our other guests, then we will have a nice long talk with the family, cousin. Your father in this world won't be too happy with these developments."

{{Uncle Branan, I need you in the holding cell right now. You too, Declan. We have a relative I think you need to meet}}

[Shadowmage]

Branan and Declan had met up with Kari on their way to the holding cells. Declan went inside immediately, but Branan stood outside and spoke to his twin for a moment.

"The Trill Council came and took Jadzia away. I knew they would, but it breaks my heart that I didn't get to say a final good bye and pay my respects to her family," Branan said softly as he thought about his love who had died on the second mission to find the infant savior of the mutant race. "I'm glad the child is safe. I just wish we had not lost Jadzia or Caliban in the fight to keep her safe."

"They will both be missed," Kari said as she hugged her brother. "And I know the whole situation with Praxus is not going to go away, Bran. You loved Jadzia as much as Praxus. If Praxus returns to us, I'll help you as much as I can. Being a friend to a Trill is much different than being a lover of one."

"And now Thom said that someone tried to gut you? And he is family?"

"He says he's your son. Your son and Enya's."

Branan looked quickly into the holding cell area and then saw who Declan and Thom were speaking to. "Goddess, he could be. Where did he come from?"

"He showed up with a group of Askani who joined us in the fight on Muir Island. Then Maddie Pryor showed up, and everything went to hell. Literally."

"I thought that woman was dead!" Branan shouted as he shook his head. "Then again, who are we to complain."

"I need to get to that command meeting, but I wanted to be here when you saw Niall. He had the Fiach Dubh. I still have no clue how he got it."

[Karenza]

As Kari spoke to her twin, she sent a message to Enya about what had happened.

{{And he says he's your son. You might want to get to the holding cells to see what is up with this one}} Kari finished as she hugged Branan again. "I guess we better speak to him before Logan comes down here. He wasn't on the rooftop when I got stabbed, but I know he felt it."

Kari's head was still pounding, and she was happy she had narrowed her link to Logan. He didn't need to be feeling this much pain from her at all. "So, Niall, care to fill us in on how you got that blade?"

"My father gave it to me," Niall said with a wicked grin from inside his cell. "Dad, not used to you with anything but white hair."

"No son of mine would stab my sister because I would never give the order for it to happen," Branan said as he walked up to the force field separating him from Champion.

"Bran, there is more to this than the boy is letting on," Kari said as she kept trying to shake off her headache. "I'm trying to find Amergin, but he seems to have dropped out of telepathic range."

[Enya Sun]

"Amergin? Dear Goddess, is he involved in this?" Enya asked as she ran into the room with Callan behind her. "Merlin will scream if he caused you to get stabbed."

"No, I was just saying I was trying to reach him to see if he still had the Fiach Dubh locked away," Kari replied as she hugged both Enya and Callan.

"He stabbed you with that?" the warrior priestess said as she shook her head and looked at the boy in the cell. "Are you mad?"

"No, I'm not mad. I was sent here on a specific mission, and I will see that mission through," Niall said as he stepped away from the force field that held him inside the cell. "You died after you had me. I never got to know you, Mum."

"Do not play on my sympathies, boy!" Enya snapped as she looked over at Kari and Branan. "This is madness."

"I know," Kari said as she rubbed her temples and then moved closer to the doorway. "I need to get upstairs for a command meeting. Please keep me in the loop," Kari said as she left the room.

"You can count on that," Enya replied as she then saw the other prisoners. "Looks like you had the bumper crop of insanity on this mission, Thom."

TBC Kari in Command Room thread

TBC everyone else here

[Callan Sun]

"Oh, I'm sure he did," Callan said as he walked over and hugged Thom. The two had grown up together, and Callan was not pleased to see how drained his best friend looked. "I can help down here if anyone else needs to go that meeting."

"Piotr, you and Jamie can head upstairs if you want," Thom said as Callan grabbed a chair and sat down near the cells. "I know Cyclops will likely want a report on what's going on down here."

"Know I would in his shoes," Callan said as he looked at Niall and shook his head. "The Fiach Dubh? How stupid are you? And why are you lying about who your family is?"

TBC Colossus and Multiple Man to the command room

TBC everyone else here

[Darkwing]

"Hrm...."

It was all Darkwing said to announce his consciousness as he sat up from the floor and looked around the holding cell. Truth be told, he could've gotten up any time during the flight back from New York but used the break as a chance to catch up on some rest, so he put himself in a meditative trance during the plane ride back. He was fully aware of what went on around him but opted against acting out.

Cable had his plane and causing a ruckus amongst the X-Men in an enclosed tube thousands of miles from home wasn't such a good idea.

Not to mention, he wanted inside the X-Men's network.

They had information that he wanted and hacking from outside would've been a huge red flag to the tech experts. If he came up with a way to compromise the system from inside of their own building, they probably wouldn't think anything of it--at least at first--buying him a few extra moments to get what he wanted. And if that didn't work, he'd break out of his cell and access their system manually.

"Ironic; the X-Men have a prison."

[Nephilim]

"Oh, you are awake," Thom said to Darkwing as he walked toward the man's cell. "And yes, we do. I just happen to think you don't belong here. But I don't run this outfit, so I have to do what Cyclops asked me to do."

Thom had been gifted with his father's ability as a detective, and the man he saw before him didn't add up at all. He was not the usual caped villain the X-Men would come across. Not that he would become drinking buddies with the gent by any means, but Thom could sense the man was here for other reasons. Perhaps he actually cared aobut the baby as much as the X-Men. Maybe he would become an ally one day.

"Are you hungry or injured? We were attacked here recently, but I should be able to get you something to eat or drink." Thom said as he looked at Darkwing and shook his head. "That outfit is terrifying in dark places, I bet."

Before he could say another word, Thom heard voices outside the holding cell doors. Callan Sun was at the door with his sword before Thom even asked.

[Amergin Gluingel]

A constant stream of bellowing could be heard just outside the holding cell doors.

"Keep your paws off me, you feral Avalonian buffoon!"

"Amergin, will you just shut up!"

"I have a mind to take the both of you to Kari's fella and have him pound some sense into you both!"

If truth be told, Amergin Gluingel was there to right a very serious wrong. Mage to the MacFeorais Clan since the time that Ronan married Kennis, Amergin had had enough interference from those associated with Merlin and the storied days of Camelot.

His appearance here at this time with Elric Bloodwynd and Lochlan Connery just seemed a bit poorly planned to most, but to Amergin, it made all the sense in the world.

"You and your parting the veil trickery! All Viviane ever did was break Kari's heart, and the woman kept going back for more because..." Amergin said as he walked into the holding cells and marched past everyone to Niall's cell. "You insipid little bottom feeder! Your father never asked you to do this, nor did anyone else related to the Keepers of the Tara Mount. I should take this sword," he said as he took the Fiach Dubh from Loch, "and cut off your head. I want to see the snakes crawl out of you! I want to see the ichor seep from your pores! You evil, bastard, demonic child!"

"Amergin, leave him alone!" Branan said as he grabbed the mage by the arm and pulled him back.

"Branan, I will not! The fool is trying to fix something he doesn't fully understand, but I do," the mage replied as he held the blade high and seemed to be summoning something or someone. "If you want your family fully restored, then you will not interfere. I have sat too long waiting for the Taliesin to fix what he broke, but he will not do it! Now I must, for all your sakes, but especially for Kari, Adaryn and Hayley. Half a life, a false life, and an unfufilled life. That is all Merlin gives you. I need the hunter. Where is the hunter!"

"Ruarc? He's not here," Branan replied as Amergin laughed.

"No, not the mascara-wearing bad boy. The Canadian with the ill temper and the love of cigars. I need him. No. I shall correct that. The Morrigan needs him."

[Shadowmage]

OOC: A tip of the cap to Cassandra Clare, author of the Mortal Instruments series who writes about the real Grand Wizard of Brooklyn, Magnus Bane.


IC:

"Did Melkir send you?" Branan asked Amergin as he glanced at Elric and Loch and shook his head. "We have more than enough to deal with at the moment, Amergin. We don't need to be wondering when Melkir is goign to drop in on us like a ton of magically-enhanced bricks."

"This is not some request of the Grand Wizard of Brooklyn or his All Star Wizard Rock Band!" Amergin howled as everyone kept their eyes on him and the sword. "I am fixing what Merlin broke. Your sisters, Branan. All of this mess is his fault! You wouldn't be in this mess if he had butted out long ago. Who gave him the power to upend your family?"

"Amergin, please, the X-Men do not need to be a part of this whole saga," Branan said as he watched Enya move back by Callan. Amergin's hatred of all things Avalonian had to be hurting Kari's sister-in-law and her son deeply. "And you do not need to rage on like a maniac. We all know your issues with Merlin. Now, put down the sword, and we can talk calmly about this."

"I will not! The veil! I still feel your sister crying about not being able to part that fog bank around Avalon. How she was looked over for the Beltane rites. How she could not pray to her own Goddess on that desolate little island and had to conform to what the mighty Viviane wanted. No more! Your sisters are Goddesses whether Merlin and the Lady of the Lake wish it or not. The charade ends now."

[Lochlan Connery]

"Enya, Callan, I'm sorry this idiot said all that garbage," Loch said as he moved toward his best friend's sister and her son. "He's got a complex because the history books don't mention him all the time. That's all."

Loch really didn't like having this played out in front of two prisoners that were not part of the mystic and immortal communities, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

"We'll go find Kari after that meeting they're having. I don't think the X-Men would enjoy you wandrering in there and acting like a maniac, Amergin. I know Elric is on some list of mystic teachers Kari wants coming here along with Severus Snape, but you might make them all a bit crazy."

"I don't need you to tell me my business," Amergin sniffed as he continued to hold the Fiach Dubh. "With the exception of a few souls here, the X-Men have no bloody clue how important this all is! It is time they were educated."

[Amergin Gluingel]

Amergin glared at everyone in the room, the Fiach Dubh still grasped in his hand. "I am going upstairs to that meeting, and I don't care who tries to stop me!"

"Will you just shut your yap for a minute, magic man," Loch said as he stood on one side of the mage and Elric on the other. "You are not going up there and making a scene. I won't stand for it."

"Like you run this establishment?" Amergin growled. "Next you'll say those loons the MacLeods are the true kings of Scotland and their friend Methos is the Easter Bunny! Now, out of my way!"

The mage left the holding cell area with Loch and Elric on his heels. "Enya, Branan, stay here," Loch yelled back as he hurried down the hallway. "I'll make sure Fancy Pants here behaves himself."

TBC Amergin, Loch and Elric to the Command Room thread

TBC everyone else here

[Darkwing]

Darkwing ignored the man and glanced around his cell, using the built-in computer in his suit to scan the various security systems and link that data back into his own network. Doing this with a weak signal and without tipping off the X-Men was a bit difficult, but his encryption was second to none. The X-Men wouldn't be able to pick up anything he was doing unless he tried a brute force method. All the while, he attempted to find a weak spot inside of the X-Men network in order to glean any information on the Hellfire Club and Weapon Plus they may have.

That part of his plan; which was largely the reason why he allowed the X-Men to take him "captive" in the first place (next to him needing a ride off of Muir Island since his plane was in Cable's care). He wanted in on their systems and knew they wouldn't allow the strange caped man inside of their databanks willingly. It was his hope that breaking in while inside of their own ruined building would disguise his attempts long enough for him to pull them off.

It wouldn't be something he could do from the inside of the cell of course, the signal was far too weak for that.

"Cable escaped, I take it?" Considering that the X-Man, or former X-Man based on the way his own teammates went after him, wasn't currently in the cell with him, Darkwing assumed that he escaped. Which also meant that he'd be able to track the man down once he broke himself out of the X-Men's prison.

[Niall Sun MacFeorais]

"Hey, Batty, they won't tell you that," Niall said as he seemed to light up a bit inside his cell. "But I will. He took the baby and ran. You'd think that was his baby, but she isn't. You know that, right?"

"Niall, just shut up!" Thom said as he banged on the force field that held his cousin back from the rest of the people in the cell area.

"He's grumpy because his Papa Essex didn't die at his hands. More Essex than O'Malley, that's what you are!" Niall shouted as he started to bounce off the wall and then off the force field. "Batty, won't you help a fella out? I need to get out of here. And I know you're just playing head games. Always the psyche out artist. Batty Buh...buh...bruh..."

Niall slapped his hands oiver his mouth and the laughed again. "Maybe I know more than you think. I do come from the future, you know."

"Don't drive the man insane, Niall," Thom replied as he looked at his cousin again.

"Batty. Batty. Goddess, how the majestrates enjoyed killing you."

[Darkwing]

Darkwing glanced over toward the obviously insane person, and then back to the one who spoke to moments prior. The connection between the two wasn't something that he particularly cared about or intended to exploit, but it was obvious that there was some history between the two. And that kind of information may prove to be useful sometime in the future.

The topics that the crazed man brought up were of some interest, however. The fact that Cable managed to get away was a plus, which meant tracking him in order to have a solid discussion about the mutant infant would be infinitely easier. Especially without the X-Men involved.

Other than that, the rambling wasn't important enough to pay attention to. Even the statement about him dying was ignored, even though that was something he really should've paid attention to. "Where's Summers?" Darkwing didn't particularly care where Cyclops was; he just wanted to know for convenience sake.

He still had data to steal.

[Nephilim]

"Which Summers? We have an entire batallion here it seems," Thom said as he checked his tablet and saw exactly where Scott was. "I believe you want to see Cyclops, correct? We can get him down here momentarily."

Thom hit the commlink on his uniform as he walked away from Darkwing. "Cyclops, Nephilim here. The gentleman in the cape is awake and asking for you," he said as he turned back to his cousin Niall. "And we have the family troublemaker under control, but he might drive everyone crazy with his ramblings. Shadowmage is here trying to make sense of it all."

As he closed the commlink, Thom looked back at Darkwing. "Cyclops should be here as soon as he is available. Until then I'll keep my cousin's ramblings to a minimum."