The X-Project

Amanda and Betsy retrieve a drained Dr. Strange from a jail cell in a remote town in India. The three plot a course of action that takes them to Wanda and her new friends.



The town was remote, not much more than a border point between India and Nepal. Betsy and Amanda arrived as night was falling, the air even at this time of year cooling rapidly in the altitude. They'd rented a jeep to drive from the small landing strip in the next largest town and Amanda's butt was sore from the jouncing. The roads weren't exactly paved out here.

"Why couldn't Strange be like normal people and get himself arrested somewhere civilised?" she grumbled under her breath. She and Betsy had really only exchanged necessary words during the trip, but there were limits.

"That would make it easy," Betsy muttered darkly under her breath. The tenuous silence between them had lasted longer than she expected. But her main concern was ensuring Amanda's safety and with Pete as a very thorough motivator, Betsy hadn't really paid any attention to much else until now. She could've alleviated the younger girl's concern with the nature of their relationship before, but Betsy didn't feel the compulsion to be that generous yet though with the constant contact these days. Ah, sod it. "And when are things ever easy when we're concerned." The road winded downwards and out of precaution, kept both hands on the wheels. The road conditions worsen, if that was even possible.

At the base of the road, there were lights visible under the canopy of night. Civilization. Another hour and they'd be there. Betsy exhaled quietly, sending her thanks for small miracles. "You see it?"

"Yep." Amanda chewed her thumbnail in thought as she considered the distant specks. The clarity of the air made distance hard to judge. "From the little bit I pulled up on the database, this place isn't much. I'd say a one-horse town, only it probably didn't rate that much. Maybe it's a one chicken town." She allowed herself a small snort and then continued: "Getting Strange out won't be difficult. Getting clear without the locals turning us in, that'll be hard. Three foreigners will stick out like sore thumbs."

Betsy exhaled. She'd already thought of the unending lists of complications and right now, she didn't want either of them thinking on it until it was time. "We'll deal with that when the time comes." If it all went south....well, perhaps it was time to make the effort. Betsy leaned back against her seat and reached for her rucksack behind Amanda. Pulling the grey pack up and dumping it on Amanda's lap, she tipped her head towards the girl. "Open it." Noticing Amanda's hesitation, she scoffed. "Go 'head. It won't bite. I picked it up last time I was in London. I thought it'd suit you."

Puzzled, Amanda did so, uncovering a small tissue-wrapped parcel. Both eyebrows raised to somewhere about her hairline, she glanced at Betsy, but her face didn't give away any hints of what the older woman might be thinking. "What's all this about?" she asked, unwrapping the parcel and uncovering a wristlets, beaten silver with various charms etched into it. "Wow. This is gorgeous. Is it for... um, why?"

"Birthday, of course." Betsy stated matter-of-factly, her eyes still on the road. "I'm glad you like it."

"I do, but... Not wanting to sound rude, but why?" Amanda persisted. "You have to talk to me because we work together, but that doesn't extend to birthday presents. I don't think," she added dubiously, having not really worked before beyond pubs.

"It did, once," Betsy said quietly and remained quiet for the remainder of the trip. She pulled up on the outskirts of the small town and exited the jeep. Moving to the back, she retrieved her kit and walked back up toward the front of the car. Betsy regarded Amanda a moment and then tipped her head to the ramshackle homes. "So, what do you think?"

Amanda, for her part, had been cursing her tactlessness. Open mouth, insert one Doc Marten boot. But there wasn't anything to be said, and once they hit town she made herself focus on the task ahead. "Police station'll be the best-kept one. There," she replied quietly, glancing around to make sure no-one was hanging around listening. "We don't really want to make a fuss - the cops probably are just doing their jobs."

Betsy raised a skeptical brow at that. "Of course, they are." They reached the building and Betsy eyed the foundation dubiously. "It'd be a terrible way to go. A building falling down on you, I mean." She opened the door, leading inside and motioned for Amanda to go ahead. "Though I'm sure there are much worse ways to go. Like choking while fire-eating? Or getting trapped in a pit of vipers?"

"Well, let's give 'em the benefit of the doubt? Cop bashing tends to attract a lot of attention." Amanda ghosted inside, sticking to the shadows along the wall. She'd never felt as vulnerable as she did right now. Even in Lancashire. "And I dunno, my idea of hell was to be drowned in a vat of the X-geezer's Earl Grey tea."

Betsy smiled at that and pushed past Amanda taking point. She walked purposefully down the hall and came to the main space that resembled anything but a reception hall. Sharing a looking with Amanda, Betsy made her way over to the desk in the center of the room. "Hello," she greeted solemnly. The man at the desk was asleep, slumped over it with his head in his hands. She shivered. Her skin felt cold, goosed, as if someone had just walked over her grave. Betsy grimaced. She was sure the tingling sensation was her awareness of Strange projecting into the room yet he was no where in sight. Betsy eyed the space behind the guard, then to the hallway leading to holding cells. "Do you feel that?"

Amanda shook her head. "Not a thing." She glanced down at the officer on the desk. "But I've got a good idea what it is you can. Strange has been practicing - sleep spells are a bastard out of line of sight." She sounded impressed. "Means he should be close by." A ring of keys was dangling from the man's belt and she unhooked them with somewhat suspicious ease. She'd never been one for picking pockets, but shoplifting took a certain degree of sleight of hand all its own. Needs must. "He should be out for an hour, less if Strange is stretching."

"It..." Betsy shivered again. Oddly enough with all her years living with Amanda, she hadn't witness the girl exhibit much magic. Hell, she hadn't recalled seeing any before her life at Xaviers. And though she often had felt it with Amanda nearby, she was rarely near any one while they exuded their presence. Unlike now. She couldn't bring herself to move just yet. The sensation was simply too jarring. Betsy shook her head and forcibly brought herself out of it. "It's different."

Standing by the doorway as look out. Betsy kept track of Amanda as she moved stealthily toward the back room and Strange's cell.

'Must be a 'path thing,' Amanda thought to herself as she slipped down a rather unremarkable hallway. Manuel had never seemed to notice when she was casting, but he'd been particularly self-absorbed most of the time. Nathan had commented on it once or twice, though, mainly with the telekinetic spell. And this was probably the worst time to be pondering the issue. 'Concentrate, moron.'

About half-way down the hall was a barred gate, another police officer lying on the floor at the base of it, happily in dreamland. "Don't strain your brain, Doc," she muttered, stepping over the man and pulling out the keys. She had to try three before she found the right one, always conscious of the time slipping away. Fortunately, Strange was in the first cell beyond the gate.

Amanda was about to make some sort of smart-alec remark, possibly a quote from that Star Wars movie Doug was so fond of and had made Marie-Ange and herself watch, but the sight of him made the words die in her throat. When she'd known him, Strange had always been impeccably dressed, a suit and tie man, never a hair out of place. The man half-slumped against the wall of the bare concrete cell was battered and dishevelled, simple clothes dusty and torn, several grazes visible, but more than that he looked drained, face hollowed out and lined with effort. "Hey, Doc," she said softly, not wanting to startle him. "Cavalry's here."

"Amanda?" He opened his eyes and looked at her through the barred window, obviously surprised. "When I contacted you I thought you'd send someone, the X-Men. I never thought when I sensed presences that... How did you get here?"

"Things have changed a bit in the last six months," she told him briskly, turning her attention to the key ring and finding the right key for the door. "Don't worry, I'm not here on my own doing something dumb - Betsy's with me." Finally she found the right one and turned the key in the heavy lock. "I'll explain later. Right now we should be away on our toes."

"But you're just..." Pulling himself together at the sight of Amanda's frown, Strange hauled himself upright laboriously. "They took Wanda. We have to find her before they do something terrible."

"Don't worry, we'll get her back." He really was a mess, she realised, and took his arm to steady him. Ahead of them there was a groan as the sleeping police officer started to rouse. "Oh, bollocks. How long was that spell supposed to last?"

"Another ten minutes." He looked a little embarrassed. "I may have miscalculated."

"And then some," she muttered. The man saw them and stiffened, climbing to his feet and waving his baton at them. Amanda couldn't understand what he was saying, but obviously the gig was up. No point in being sneaky now. "BETS! LITTLE HELP!"

"For once, I was hoping things would be a little less predictable...." Betsy muttered, already moving toward the desk guard, rousing from his sleep. She gave him a nice right uppercut. Her hand would definitely ache in the morning. "And a lot more fun." She ran past him and down the hallway to see the other guard with his baton swiping dangerously close to Amanda's head. This time when she pulled back her right hand, there was with a deep sizzle of energy running down her spine and through her body. The psi-blade went effortlessly into the man's temple and a second later, his body fell sickeningly to the floor. "So much for giving the benefit of doubt...." Betsy commented sarcastically, as she reached for Strange's other hand and brought it around her neck for support. "Come on, let's get moving before we run into any more guards doing their jobs."

Amanda blinked at the guard now lying rather comatose on the floor. "What did you..." No, no time for that, no matter how creepy whatever it was Betsy had done. And yay to not being hit with a baton. "Join Pete's team, see the world, rescue your old magic tutor," she muttered, urging Strange forward with Betsy doing the same on the other side. "Life's never dull, that's for sure." Mind you, she had something of a grin on her face as she said it.

They left the building with little to none problems, pausing only to collect the satchel with Wanda's belongings. Betsy realized they had reached the outskirts of town, still not shaking the feeling that this had gone far too easily. Longer than expected with Strange having trouble carrying much of his own weight but still easy. She managed a sidelong look at the man, who looked completely run through.

A few times through their walk, he tried to alleviate the strain on Amanda and herself by placing more weight on his legs. But then he'd stumble and it'd be an awkward mess of limbs before they all righted themselves. "Someone mind telling me," Betsy huffed as they reached a large boulder far away into the hills. A perfect spot to rest and allow for Strange to gather his strength. "Where is Wanda? I canvased the entire town while I was waiting and came up empty."

Strange's face twisted. "She was taken," he managed at last when he'd caught his breath. "She was helping me and we were caught by the cult, the ones that want the mantra that frees evil from imprisonment. I don't... I don't know where she is."

"Wait a minute, you've got the Tsang mantra? On you?" Amanda sounded impressed. "No wonder you've got cults chasing you."

"Whoa, wait!" Betsy interrupted, shaking her head tiredly. She didn't have to try and feel out of sorts with these two, they made it seem easy. "What's this mantra business? And who's after it?"

Amanda rolled her eyes at Betsy's tone, but explained. "It's a chant that basically releases evil from mystic imprisonment. It's sort of a holy grail of magic, since a lot of people are after it but no-one's ever been sure it even existed. Your average evil cult usually has a dark god or demon or whatever they worship, but can't actually bring into the world. This mantra would do that." A look of alarm crossed her face. "Fuck, we didn't forget to grab it, did we?"

Strange shook his head. "No, it's been imprinted on my skin for safekeeping, along with a protection spell. It's safe." He bit his lip. "It's why Wanda pushed me out of the car when we were taken, to save the mantra. I don't know which particular cult is after it, but really, it's not so crucial - they're fairly interchangeable."

"Typical hero thing," Amanda said, but not without sympathy. She knew how much of a torch her old tutor carried for Wanda. "We'll find her... somehow." Looking at Betsy, she asked: "Can you scan, see if you can find them that way?"

Betsy sighed. Her attention already locked onto the mountains to the east of them, she had half drowned out Strange and Amanda's explanation. Giving up on knowing the how's,whys, and simply focusing on what was tangible in her scope of understanding. "I already have." This ruddy trip is getting more and more surreal by the moment. She felt wisps of Wanda mind across the expanse through the astral plane and the distorted state of her thoughts made her weary. Fragmented. "Something's wrong. I'm having trouble locking onto her thoughts."

"They drugged her," Strange supplied helpfully. "In the car. I don't think they knew she was a mutant, but it was something fairly strong."

"Do you think you can manage to get up there?" Betsy asked, her eyes intent on Strange. "We need to do this faster than usual. If we wait any longer, word may get to your friends up there."

"I'll go get the jeep," Amanda said. "We can drive part-way, then walk the rest. Should be there in an hour or so and Strange can rest on the way." At a nod from Betsy, she headed back the way they'd come, taking care to walk quietly - there was no telling whether the alarm had been raised yet.

Betsy regarded Amanda's receeding figure and looked down at Strange. His eyes also on the young woman. "Amanda's something, isn't she?" The telepath said with a small smile. Not waiting for a response, she gave his shoulder a squeeze for support. "We'll get Wanda back, I promise."

"She always was." Strange's expression was slightly sad. "And thank you, Ms. Braddock. For coming here, for freeing me... I'm afraid I've been a frightful bother to all of you and I only hope Wanda doesn't suffer for it."