2013.10.08- A Sinister Mind

It's late afternoon, and while the hospital always has some people in it, there aren't nearly as many people in it right now as the day shift has just changed over to the evening shift. Jocelyn is in her office, the blinds pulled, and had invited Rachel in. Nobody thought much of Jocelyn having a visitor at her office. She interviewed lots of people for various positions, so really, this wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The actual hospital itself was quite large, and would rival the largest hospitals in the United States in terms of number of beds and physical size. Jocelyn, for her part, was dressed in a suit, which was something that she was getting more and more used to doing these days. Spending nearly a month in the hospital and being in charge will do that to a person.

Once they're inside Jocelyn's office, she closes the door behind them and locks it before she looks up in the direction of Sinister's lab, looking to see if anyone other than the lab (and any patients he'd requested) was inside, using her energy sight to discern that information.

"We should be safe to work here. The office isn't huge, but it is nice and soundproof," Jocelyn assures Rachel. "I'm checking the lab now to see if anyone is inside, just in case Doctor Milton is still about".

To Rachel, it feels like she'd barely set foot back on Genosha before Jocelyn had recruited her for this sneaky little mission. Rachel's impressed anew with the other woman's drive, and is pleased she mentioned her in dispatches to Jean. Not that Rachel needed much convincing to tag along. Part of that is an honest desire to help Jocelyn in any way she can, part of it is honest curiosity, the desire to see inside the little empire that Jocelyn's carved out for herself in Bastion, and some of it... well, after Rachel's conversation with Jean, the mention of 'genetic experiments' just sealed the deal.

Following Jocelyn into her office, Rachel looks around appraisingly as the other woman locks the door. She'd had to scrounge up something interview appropriate at short notice, so her outfit of off-white blouse, sharply creased black trousers and heels isn't quite what she'd have picked, but she's not particularly bothered at having to make do. As Jocelyn turns back to her, Rachel smiles a bit and waves a hand at her surroundings. "Big enough." She says. She'll probably have more to say about Jocelyn's office later... if everything goes well.

For now, she concentrates on the reason she's been brought in here, and nods her understanding. "Got it. I'm ready to go as soon as we're clear." She looks to the locked door. "Are you going to be watching my back, or do you want to come along for the ride?"

Timing is everything it seems, and when you need to be in as many places as Milton does, it's not that hard to wait until he leaves. By the time Jocelyn gets a few energy readings off his lab, the patients, staff, and even the Doctor himself have been vacated for the evening. Whatever that... thing was that served as his base of operations in the hospital, it seems to be the only living thing up there... At least aside from the occasional lab rat. Heck, there weren't even any insects to speak of. Not so much as a fly. Seems the bio-lab has more uses than facilitating a creepy atmosphere.

"Is it possible for you to set up a way to pass the information to me while I keep watch here? Sort of like a persistant memory back-up? I suspect there may be a delay, but if you can, that'd give us both the memories to sift through" Jocelyn asks. She had no idea of Rachel could do such a thing. "While I think we're pretty safe, if I keep a lookout, I can tell if someone is arriving at the lab and pull you out of it in a hurry if I have to," the young woman says.

"Make sure when you're going in to keep your presence hidden. There are a lot of telepathic scans going through Genosha, if you hadn't noticed, and they're not hitting this lab. Might be that it registers as animal, or it might be something else, but keep an eye out," the teen suggests.

Rachel hesitates as Jocelyn makes her suggestion, pulling back from an instinctive 'no', and looking at her thoughtfully. The psi-link to Kitty she set up while she was back in the US gives her an idea. This'll be more temporary, and given Jocelyn's powers it'll be considerably more taxing... but it's worth a try. Her thoughtful look clears and she grins quickly to Jocelyn. "Don't make it too easy for me, will you?" She says, in a mock-aggrieved tone, and takes a couple of steps toward her. "Hold still and relax a minute."

Rachel reaches out with her hands towards Jocelyn's temples, pauses a moment to silently away permission, then touches her fingers to them, very lightly. A flicker of fire eclipses the green of her eyes for a second or two, as Rachel has to /push/ to get past Jocelyn's natural defences, but then there's a small corner at the back of the other woman's mind that's not just hers any more. << There shouldn't be any delay. >> Rachel says into her mind as she steps back. << But you won't get drawn in with me. But... >> She adds a little emphasis. << Linking with you is... well, tricky. You know why. I can't promise it won't drop out if I need to deal with something nasty. >> In addition, she's having to pull more power to shield herself from any watching telepaths, reducing her reserves. It's going to be a tricky balancing act.

Glancing around, Rachel locates a chair to sit in. She doesn't take Jocelyn's. She has that much courtesy. As Jocelyn speaks, Rachel firms up her shields. "Got it." She says, appreciating the reminder even though she's already felt the other telepaths and been shielding from them already. "Wish me luck." She adds with a bit of a smirk, and closes her eyes - as her mind reaches out toward the source of Jocelyn's concern an curiosity.

What Rachel, and subsequently Jocelyn, finds is altogether something alien. Whatever it is, it's alive and yet... Not. It needs no food, no water... Supposedly it doesn't need anything to continue to operate, but there's definitely a mind there. A mind that feels as an animal's might, but with an intelligence on par with a human, and an organized structure akin to a computer. A mind that recognizes a telepathic probe like anyone else might recognize a word, or a sound. Instantly barriers slam up around every corner of its mind, blocking any further progress. It's clear it won't give up its secrets without a fight, and yet... There seems to be some subroutine, briefly visible before the walls block it that suggests a lost fight would result in it wiping its memories like a harddrive.

Then, quite suddenly, it asks for a password.

Not a normal password, not even a word in fact, but a specific telepathic frequency that it might recognize Rachel as a friend. Hopefully someone's brushed up on their telepathic hacking abilities.

Jocelyn had taken a seat in her chair. Hey, it was a comfy chair, and it was Magneto's money she was spending. Her office wasn't huge, but it was at least reasonably-well furnished at this point. She had no problem spending the money of a dictator while she was undercover, thank you very much!

<> Jocelyn asks through their link as she scans the lab with her own sight. She's trying to see if she can find what frequency it is looking for with her vision, letting it narrow in on the psionic energy signature that they were looking at. If Rachel was to look mentally at Jocelyn, she'd get to witness Jocelyn filtering her mind to see only psionic energy. If she can find the energy signature, she'll relay that information, mentally of course, over to Rachel. Otherwise, she's just keeping an eye out for any problems.

Rachel's breathing becomes shallow, and although she remains upright in her chair there's the very real feeling that whatever makes Rachel Rachel is no longer in the room with Jocelyn.

Which is why Rachel's physical expression doesn't change when she mentally grimaces at her first brush with the object of her search. Something completely unfamiliar to her, as alien as the presence she touched back in the US not more than a couple of days ago - and typically, nothing like it in any way other than the fact that it just feels /wrong/ to her telepathic senses. Making sure the link to Jocelyn is stable, Rachel takes the psionic equivalent of a deep breath and delves deeper - and then recoils as the... creature's? Defences snap into place.

Back in Jocelyn's office, Rachel's body stiffens slightly, a mild echo of Rachel's mental reaction.

As soon as the thing's shields sprang into place, Rachel's came down hard as well, as if she's expecting an attack. When one doesn't come, and needled a little by Jocelyn's comment, she thins her shields once more. << I guess we're about to find out. >> She sends back, a touch sourly, and edges back towards the presence. At least the Darkness was more inviting... although Rachel's not really sure that was a good thing.

<< There's something. >> Rachel passes across the link after a moment's study. << It wants a key. >> Rachel reaches out again, with no more than a trickle of psionic power, modulating it carefully, all her concentration alert for any change in the composition of the shields. It's almost as if she's feeling for the tumblers in a lock.

The alien mind seems to respond well to Rachel's attempts at slowly modifying her telepathic contact to placate it -- by not outright responding hostily. For the most part, it just sits and waits for the correct signal to be conveyed so they can get on with their act of subterfuge. At one point, as Rachel strikes a particular chord, the walls seem to come down a small bit, but not nearly enough for any kind of access.

Jocelyn, however, seems to be having more luck. It seems Milton hadn't quite anticipated her abilities and made no attempt to cover up the residual psionic energies hovering about the lab. The actual commands have faded over time, but there's just enough of it left to potentially work backwards and replicate Milton's particular 'psionic frequency.'

<< Got it. Use this frequency.>> Jocelyn's confidence as she 'transmits' the frequency through her mind to Rachel's is pretty high as she waits for Rachel to open up the lock. Jocelyn wasn't a trained telepath by any stretch of the imagination, but frequencies were something she was very, very familiar with due to her own powers.

In the real world, so to speak, Jocelyn keeps an eye on things around them, and shifts her vision back to her full senses to keep an eye on anything that might be cropping up. She was the eyes, while Rachel did the hard work of finding the useful information.

Rachel's so intent on her careful tuning of her psionic probe - with even an edge of smug satisfaction bleeding from her psi-print when she feels the lab's defences lessen just a smidgen - that she's not expecting Jocelyn's chipper voice to sound suddenly in the back of her mind. At least she manages to keep her probe steady, a sudden frequency shift as she 'jumps' in surprise is the last thing they need. << As easy as that? >> Rachel says, and the slight edge of disbelief isn't a criticism of Jocelyn, just a reflection of her own surprise.

Since Jocelyn's so confident, though, Rachel barely hesitates once she's received Jocelyn's transmission. She does reinforce her shields once more before she makes use of it, though. << Here goes. >> Rachel attunes her telepathic probe carefully, then reaches out confidently.

The bio-lab accepts the frequency, and for a moment, nothing seems to happen... Then, with a seemingly similar reluctance, it lowers its defences and openly allows Rachel full access to its mind. Virtually devoid of resistance, the entirety of the lab's functions open up before her, and they are many. Some sort of self-defence instinct that plays out more like a security program than any actual response bred into the lab's mind through generations of evolution, a series of functions only helpful in the lab, and -- strangely considering the computer/animal layout of the rest of the mind -- a deep and thorough understanding of genetics and biology that would probably astound even the most well-trained and knowledgeable geneticist. Amongst a plethora of similar practical and program-like instincts, there exists a databank, not of genetic knowledge, but of memories. Recorded it seems, from camera-like eyes built into the lab, as well as memories that are almost certainly not the lab's own, placed there by a powerful telepath as if this section of its mind was simply a recording and playback device.

<< It's what I do. >> Jocelyn replies to Rachel as the frequency is accepted. << I'll let you take a look inside sometime and see what I see. >> It was the best way Jocelyn could explain things to Rachel, and it does speak of a certain level of trust that the woman has in the other woman.

As they enter the mind, and the databank, Jocelyn is slightly amazed at how much information is there. Most of it was going to be stuff she couldn't understand, but pass this information off to Jean or Hank or someone of that nature, and they could do a lot with it.

<< Okay. Extract what we can, dig through a bit of this, and get an idea of what is going on, Then we make our way out. I'll keep on guard for any attacks, but we're in a mind, so I won't see it coming until it starts coming. >> In other words, Jocelyn could simply react, and while she could react at literally the speed of her thought (as it was all mental), it would still be a reaction and not proactively disabling any safeguards. That'd be Rachel's job, as she was the mind expert.

Rachel's breath stills completely in the real world as she waits to see if the frequency Jocelyn supplied will be accepted by the lab's alien mind, her physical form mirroring Rachel's mixture of anticipation and anxiety. Rachel remains poised, utterly still - and then the lab's defences grudgingly fold themselves away, and the telepathic equivalent of a grin is shared with Jocelyn. << You do it pretty well. >> Rachel allows, deliberately - and obviously - understating how impressed she is with that little trick of Jocelyn's.

Aware of how long she's already been under, and that the longer they delay the greater the chances of detection are, Rachel's telepathic presence drifts forward, into what passes for the lab's mind. As Jocelyn reminds her of the plan, Rachel might be expected to tell her that she knows what she's doing - under other circumstances. Here, she's dealing with something so alien that she's not going to let overconfidence get the better of her. << And try not to set off any alarms while I do it. I know. >> Rachel thins her personal shields further, though after a moment she builds an additional layer of defences around the temporary psi-link she's forged with Jocelyn. Bad enough if something tags her, but the other woman's impressive defences aside, she doesn't want to risk the feedback putting her out, too.

As with Jocelyn, Rachel doesn't understand a lot of what she's discovering, but she casts her net wide, aiming to absorb what she can and let the experts pick through her memories later. The more she browses, though, the more the focus on genetics causes a horrible suspicion to rise within her mind. Jean warned her, and she may just have walked right into the centre of the spider's web.

The databank draws her attention. In truth, it had drawn her attention as soon as the lab's defences yielded to them, and Rachel has been restraining her urge to go straight for the prize, for the one thing that might answer the questions in her mind.

Now she has no more excuses left.

<< Look. >> The word's not appropriate, but Rachel's dealing with a non-telepath, and it serves to draw her attention to the databank. << This is all very interesting, and not a little disturbing, but that's what we need. >> Rachel speaks with conviction. << But I have this horrible feeling it's going to try to bite me when I lift the lid. I'm shielding you, but... watch out. >> Focusing, keeping a mental eye on the lab's other processes as she watches for any change, Rachel reaches out for the databank. Seeking to skim the memories held within.

Its quick, Rachel or Jocelyn may even miss it amongst the many thoughts swimming through the bio-lab's mind and the psionic residue of the lab itself, but its definitely there. As soon as Rachel dives into its memories, the lab sends out a psionic signal. Just a blip, and its destination is unknown. It doesn't even contain any useful information, more like... a terminal pinging a server. However, it doesn't block access to the vast cache of information...

...Patients, coming in. Leaving. Blood samples. Test results. Conversations trivial and mundane...

"Scalphunter, the next step is ready to progress. I have the first candidate, but I need you and your team to hunt down the rest. I have a plan..."

...Pain. Fear. Death...

"We lost Blockbuster and Vanisher, boss."

"No matter, I have what I need. The candidates all performed as I expected. I'll need you and the remaining Marauders to round them up. The clones won't be ready in time."

Success! Tests positive. Project: Hive Mind plausible. Backburner with Project: Extinction. More time needed.

"We've located them all, boss. We're ready to move in on your say so."

"Excellent. We'll begin immediately..."

Project: Armageddon in motion.

There's a blink from Jocelyn as she sees psionic energy leaving the area. No no no, that could not be a good thing. She instictively reaches out and attempts to absorb it. Her reaction time is fast, but the big question is if it'll be fast enough. She'll know if she grabs it or not, of course. She only has a split second to bring her energy absorption powers and reach out to grab at that little, tiny packet of psionic energy. If she didn't get it nearly immediately, it would be out of her effective range.

Her attention, regardless of it she catches it or not, goes to the memory if only by force. The memory is literally dumped into her mind, after all, since she's linked with Rachel at this point. Once that vision ends, Jocelyn transmits through the mind again.

<< It sent a psionic signal of sorts. Trying to pull it down... >> And Rachel will get a brief image of what looks like a tiny piece of silver-colored light that Jocelyn is trying to absorb.

Rachel's so sure that the databank, or the wider lab itself, is going to react to her intrusion that she can't fail to pick up on the psionic signal it emits.

Unfortunately, it's so /mundane/, so different than the violent response that she was expecting, that Rachel's caught flat-footed. She tries to react, to catch the signal and shield it from its intended recipient, but she never had a chance. << I know! Missed it! >> Rachel's telepathic voice is full of frustration with herself as she almost snaps back to Jocelyn. << Stay on it and keep your eyes open. I'm going to make sure we got everything and then we'd better cut our losses. >> The frustration is even thicker in Rachel's voice, but she knows that it's the right call. Getting what they've learned out of Bastion and into the hands of the X-Men is too important to risk discovery - or jeopardize Jocelyn's position, for that matter.

Trusting Jocelyn to do her damndest to absorb the signal, Rachel opens herself to the stream of data from the cache. When she first dipped inside, it swept over her like a wave, and through her into Jocelyn as well. Now she forces herself to watch slowly, absorb all she can, before she begins the careful process of extricating her mind from the lab's. Whether the alarm's been raised or not, she wants to leave as few tracks as possible.

The ping races away, just out of reach of Jocelyn's net, the element of surprise just barely managing to get it through unscathed. Despite this, the bio-lab stubbornly continues to feed Rachel all its information:

Some more flashes of Milton. Speaking with someone as he performs a few tests...

"Evolution, Scalphunter. That's what this is about. The time is drawing near when Earth can no longer afford to be weak. The mutants... They are the key. With their power, we could raise a fighting force to oppose... Him."

"Isn't He after the mutants, too?"

"He is, but He's been asleep far too long. Imagine the pool of candidates to choose from for my Marauders when the entire world has evolved. You could be a general with an army unlike anything the universe has seen before. It will be His end."

And what about Summers and Grey?"

"What of them? Do not worry, Scalphunter... The strong will survive, and I have no doubt they will come out on top."

As the remainder of information is dumped into Rachel's mind, a familiar energy seems to be rapidly approaching the lab. A teleporter.

Then another.

Then five more.

<< Just out of my reach. If we were a little closer to the office, I'd have had it. >> Jocelyn did have a range limit on her powers and, unfortunately for her, this little ping was just a little too far away for her to grab. That's when she senses teleportation energy.

<< Abort. He's teleporting in. >> Then there are more. << Feels more like 7 teleporters. Weird. And not good. >> Which is just what Jocelyn did NOT want to see cropping into the lab right about now. Fortunately, she was shielded by Rachel's powers, but they'd still need to make their way out of here fairly quickly. Jocelyn knew enough to know when to bail.

Rachel focuses all her attention on the information the lab is so generously imparting to her, forcing herself not to split her attention to take a mental look over Jocelyn's shoulder to see if she's managed to intercept the alarm pulse. She doesn't want to miss anything the databank has to tell her. She knows they're out of time, but this is the only chance she expects them to get, so she lingers long past the time she'd originally intended to break the link...

...and her blood turns to ice at the mention of 'Summers' and 'Grey'. Jean warned her. Jean warned her, and she /knew/, inside, long before the names were spoken, that she'd strayed into the lair of the Pale Man, but she hadn't wanted to admit it. Now she had no choice.

<< We've got to get out of here NOW. Damn! >> Rachel's words are spoken over the top of Jocelyn's, as the other X-Woman confirms the worst. At least they're in agreement on bugging out. << I'm pulling back. >> Rachel confirms hastily. << Covering our tracks, but anything you can do to help, do it. >> They mesh well, and as Rachel draws back she feels Jocelyn's powers at work, trying to absorb any traces of Rachel's psi-signature. At another time it'd be disturbing to watch yourself being rubbed out, but Rachel has enough to worry about right now.

Back in Jocelyn's office, Rachel's eyes snap open and she sucks in a deep breath, sitting up alertly in the chair. << SEVEN? >> She sticks with telepathic communication, just in case. She's on her feet a moment later. << Where? >> She asks, green eyes blotted out by fire as she draws on her powers, shielding their presence and ensuring she's ready to act. Her head swings around, eyes of fire fixing on Jocelyn. << Call it. I can get us out of here fast, but it'll be messy. >> And Jocelyn might want to keep her office, not to mention her position...

Muffled thuds repeatedly sound from above as multiple lifeforms appear out of thin air, then one final, absurdly loud thud as the last teleporter arrives. The energy off the last one... Woah. Like a sun.

Meanwhile up in the lab...

Milton scowls as he reaches out telepathically to the lab, investigating as he points out the door to the six Maruaders with him. "Go. Search the hospital. Vanisher, keep alert for anyone teleporting out. Lady Mastermind, plant illusions on the doors. Make them disappear. Blockbuster and Vertigo, this floor and above. Scalphunter and Arclight, the floors below. As Sinister scopes out the bio-lab, his scowl deepens. /Someone/ had been in its mind, but the traces of their presence were gone. Impossible... The power or finesse needed to do something like that so quickly, only a few mutants had it, and he was aware of all of them... Unless...

His mind instantly begins branching out, trying to locate any sign of his target, violently repelling all of Magneto's pet telepaths in the process.

<< You think I didn't plan an escape route? I had full design control over this place. >> Jocelyn walks over to a heavy bookcase and pulls half of it out, revealing a stairway. << Get moving. I'm behind you. >> Jocelyn can sense Sinister starting to use mental powers, and she focuses all of her own absorption powers, letting her absorption abilities try and cut off Sinister's. She's only going to do it long enough for her and Rachel to get away, through the secret route.

<< Keep moving. I'm cutting Milton's scan off, so he can't search the hospital while we're here. >> Which would only last as long as she's in the range of the lab, but it should be enough time to get away.

The secret tunnel, ultimately, will get them some safe distance away, and once they get in, Jocelyn will be able to fly more quickly through it, hopefully to a safe location.

The bookcase will close shut and seal behind them as well.

Rachel watches Jocelyn walk over to the bookcase. Surely she's not suggesting... Rachel has to stifle a laugh, despite the situation, when it becomes clear that she IS. Even /Rachel/ knows that trope. << The old ones are the best. >> She offers swiftly, though it looks for a second like she might argue when Jocelyn wants her to go first. It's only for a second, though. This is Jocelyn's turf, Rachel's going to play by her rules. She crosses quickly to the bookcase and moves onto the stairway, not willing to get too far ahead even so.

Unable to help herself, Rachel, too, has been keeping a mental 'eye' on the lab, though as she feels another powerful telepath go active she snatches that contact back behind her shields. << He's strong... >> She just gets out, before she feels the scan vanish like an X-Ray hitting lead. She looks over her shoulder at Jocelyn with a crooked smirk. << OK, so are you. I get it. >>

Rachel doesn't delay any longer, her own telekinesis lending her wings, too. There's only one more thing that needs to be said. << The others need to know about this. Fast. >>

As Jocelyn begins blocking his telepathy, Milton only grows angrier. "They're still here! Find them!" He keeps trying to force his way through the energy drain as he storms out of his office, his body shifting and morphing until he's wearing his true form. The form of Mister Sinister. His Marauders spread out through the hospital, but he can't even keep in contact with them thanks to the energy drain, incapable of coming to back them up if they find someone. Without any other options, he begins searching with them, doors nearly blasting off their hinges as he walks past them and inspects the rooms beyond.

Luckily for Rachel and Jocelyn, however, just as he arrives at their door and storms into the office, the bookcase seals, and he's none the wiser. With a quick glance around, he scowls and walks back out, closing the door behind him...