LEVIATHAN (Part Three)

I had to leave my sweet, sweet jet behind for the S.W.O.R.D troops to use, because Dr. McCoy had done one better and found a full-on space transport for us to use. There was a moon base in orbit around the planet that apparently housed the weapon that would destroy our planet. That was what the brains of our operation had determined, so that was what we needed to check out.

Our blue, furry main man met up with us and picked us all up. By all of us, not just me, Mister Summers, and Miss Frost, but everyone else too. Hisako, Mister Logan, Mister Rasputin, and Miss Pryde.

I was ecstatic to see my squad advisor again. She seemed much better off than she had back when we'd first been taken away from the Institute. I brought it up once I had the chance.

"Am I alright?" Miss Pryde seemed confused that I was saying such a thing to her instead of the other way around, "You're my student. Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

By now, I figured we were far past the point where any schooltime authority she had over me held sway here, "Hey, if you were going to, it should have been about two days ago," I said, talking to her like a regular person instead of my teacher, "I've just been trying to roll with the punches since we got here. Before we landed, you were the one that looked like you'd just heard that God was dead."

Miss Pryde frowned at my poignant description of her temperament while we'd been adjusting to getting taken by S.W.O.R.D., "It wasn't that bad," She said. I did my best impression of an Easter Island head staring back at her, "...Oh, wow. Was it really that bad?"

I nodded. While we may have been past it, I couldn't just pretend like it hadn't happened at all, "There was a reason me and Hisako didn't bother huddling around you this whole time. But you seem better now, and I'm glad. You don't have to tell me about whatever got into you."

Miss Pryde's eyes went wide for a split-second before she looked away, "That's... a particularly surgical choice of phrasing, Bellamy," She said, her face turning red.

I didn't know what the big deal was. I hadn't said anything strange, "Why? I don't know what that-," She took a step back against Mister Rasputin's chest, who also seemed a tad flustered. It was then that my train of thought pulled into the appropriate station, "Oh! Well, good for you two."

Nothing else I could say, or that I needed to say. Mister Rasputin had taken her to pound town... again. It had happened once before to my knowledge, right after he showed up at the Institute. Something about students catching Miss Pryde running upstairs naked after phasing through the floor. I had not been fortunate enough to be present for that.

Hey, if she could fit the time to get laid in between everything on Breakworld trying to murder us, more power to her. I wished I could figure out how to swing such a thing. We should all be so lucky to have that method of stress relief available.

Mister Summers, ever the consummate leader, needing to have his i's dotted and t's crossed, spent the flight time rifling through the intelligence that S.W.O.R.D. had collected on the Breakworld, "Brand, your files don't show any mention of the name, Aghanne."

Apparently, Miss Pryde and Mister Rasputin had been taken in by some splinter group against the current regime. Their leader was a woman who desired peace and thought Colossus could be the one to bring it. So we didn't have the entire Breakworld trying to cut our heads off.

Agent Brand frowned as Mister Summers kept checking the info, "Well, no, of course. If what Rasputin says about her is true, she'll have been expunged from the records," She said, "I'm amazed she's even alive at all."

"We'll we need to talk to her if we're going to figure this whole thing out," Mister Summers asserted, "If her interpretation of the prophecy is true, if Peter is somehow involved in saving this race..."

Then we could actually get through this without destroying the whole goddamn planet in order to protect ours. I was down for some hero shit.

"We're coming up on the moon," Dr. McCoy announced to the rest of us, "Hmm. Disturbing lack of security."

We trusted his ability to pilot, so the rest of us were focused on the fact that we could possibly get out of this without waging a war against a whole planet. Mister Logan wasn't necessarily onboard with that approach, "Saving this place? I don't know. The kid and I have been seeing this place at ground level. I kinda like the version where Pete blows it up."

The next time Dr. McCoy spoke, he wasn't just informing us of our status. He clearly needed our full attention, "Okay, people. We have more bad news."

Mister Rasputin moved to the front to look out over his shoulder, "What is it? We expected the moon to be fortified. You don't think we can land?"

"It's not quite that. It's..." Dr. McCoy trailed off before chuckling to himself. But it wasn't a laugh that someone gave when they were involved in something funny, "You know, I thought I'd have a lot more fun if I ever got to say this for real – That's no moon."

The Star Wars reference was apt, seeing as how we were flying to a veritable Death Star. A Death Star where instead of a planet-smashing super-laser, there was a gigantic missile loaded in the middle of it.

I had to take a second look. People actually made things like this? It was real? "They built this thing to fire one missile?" I asked.

"It's ten miles long," Mister Summers observed, which made it an even scarier thought that it was probably going to be fired at the Earth.

"Well, I didn't bring you here for nothing," Agent Brand said, but it was clear that even she hadn't expected to have to deal with a weapon of that consequence.

The hair stood up on the back of my neck, "This is..." For once, I didn't have the words to express how I felt, "How are we supposed to stop that thing?" I doubted there was an exhaust port the size of a womp rat for us to fire a photon torpedo into to take the whole thing out.

My question would have gone unanswered anyway, but the klaxon of impending doom alerted us to incoming ships pouring off of the space station.

Dr. McCoy grit his teeth, a bit of a true-blue growl rumbling from his throat, "We outrun these warships never."

Mister Logan gripped the back of Dr. McCoy's seat so tightly, I thought his claws were going to pop out, "So we got a plan here? I don't wanna play 'Man Who Fell to Earth' again."

Something about this attack didn't sit well with me. More than just the fact that we were going to be blown into the dark vacuum of space, "Wait. We're really close. Why'd they wait so long to attack? This thing isn't exactly stealthy. They had to have seen us coming before now."

Mister Summers' face was stony, until a flash of realization crossed it. Then he was all business again, "There's a repair craft in the back. Fits one. You go, I stay," He said, "Emma, help me."

"I, uh..." It was a vague enough request to leave Miss Frost stunned for a moment, but after making direct eye contact with him, she caught on, "Right. I'm linking you all psychically. There's surveillance on the ship. Try to keep talking like normal," She instructed to the lot of us, "Yes, he's right. It's best."

"Sure. Talking is one of the things I'm really good at," Seeing as how this was my move that I had us do with Blindfold all the time, I'd better have been good at double communication, "So your whole plan is to go out there and get popped by the space goons? Then what? You want me to take over or something?"

I thought I saw a look of acknowledgment from Mister Summers at how well I handled both the mental and verbal conversation simultaneously, "They'll come after me. It'll buy you time, and if anything happens, I'm the most..." He gave a quick pause to convey how difficult it was for him to say what was next. It was just a cover to detail the situation, "We need to get closer to Kruun. That won't happen unless he thinks we're helpless. So I'll take the repair ship and get myself captured," "...I'm the one with no powers."

"They're gaining..." Dr. McCoy didn't even have to try and double speak, under the guise of being focused on outrunning the enemy, "There's a good chance they'll kill you, boss."

"You're supposed to be the leader," Agent Brand argued without thinking to us, to buy time for Mister Summers.

"That's why I'm acting like one," Mister Summers said as he thought to us, "They brought Peter back to life. They'll do the same with me if they think I have information they need," It made sense, "The most important thing is to keep Kruun from finding out about our ace in the hole."

"Well they've got a big stinking gun. So why couldn't we have a big stinking gun? They're scared of us already, right?" I thought out loud to the group as I spoke, "Are you serious? I thought you said that was the kind of thing we can't just go around using."

Mister Summers liked my idea, "A secret weapon? That would work."

Dr. McCoy chimed in, "We need a name. Something imposing and ominous."

"Leviathan?" Emma tested out loud.

"Oh, honey, that's irresistible! Leviathan," Mister Summers took it and ran with it, "It's our best hope now. The rest of you keep low until Leviathan shows up. Pete, it's too dangerous for you to make contact with Aghanne. Emma will go instead," He continued giving us instructions, "Krunn'll work me over for a while, trying to get that out of me. The rest of you get to work. Emma, I'll need schematics of the prison. Logan and Hisako, get yourselves captured in a few hours so we've got a force inside."

"I object!" Miss Pryde basically stage yelled out loud at the entire party.

It was so off-kilter and stilted, it caught us all off-guard, even Mister Summers, "Kitty?" "What?"

None of us could believe how bad it was.

Miss Frost: "Bugger me, was that acting?"

Mister Rasputin: "Is not courtroom drama, Katya."

She turned red, but kept her embarrassment in her head, "To... all of this! You're not just gonna throw your life away after... all of this," She said out loud. In her head, she sounded just as humiliated, "Shut up! I'm not good at having two conversations at once, and I actually do hate Scott's plan!"

I couldn't help myself, "...You mean you object to it," I thought, focusing on Miss Pryde.

I'm a complete asshole.

"Shut up, Bellamy!" She snapped back at me in her mind. Truthfully, if she hadn't have done that, I would have just let it die. But since she didn't, I had to rub her face in it more.

You know... like a complete asshole. Which I was. Have we established that?

"If it matters, I'm not really a fan either. Of Cyclops being our decoy, or of calling that thing in to finish up in Breakworld," I said, flexing my conversational gymnastics, "I really don't get why this is so hard. See?" "But then again, nobody listens to me."

I really was trying to be a better person like I promised. It was hard. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had Hisako around to check me. As was tradition, "Your mouth has no filter. You don't have to think to talk. Most intelligent people actually do," It was literally the only contribution she gave to the mental or verbal string of comments.

Mister Logan smirked, "Guess Emma's running the show. That'll be interesting," His voice hitched once or twice, "Fucking Glowstick. I'm gonna crack up. I'm cracking up."

"Say something cynical," Agent Brand advised, giving him the opening to do so,"Excuse me, I'm the one who's gonna be-."

"Right. Right," Mister Logan thought as he cut her off out loud, "Don't even dream it. Good luck, Summers," "End this already before I lose it."

Mister Summers started walking away from us and gave his final marching orders, "Agent Brand. You and Hank work that prophecy out. Peter, go bring Aghanne into the fold if you can. Be outside the prison in a few hours. Bring everyone." He opened the door to the hold of the ship and stopped, "Stay away from Kruun, stay away from the prison, even if they take me alive," "Logan's right. I'd better go before Kitty tries to act again," "Emma."

"Darling?" The worried tone of her voice sounded legit. Her thoughts reflected that, "Scott, if Kruun has you at his mercy-."

"Don't worry, my love. 'Leviathan' will save me," Mister Summers didn't even turn back around,"They're all yours."

With that, he left for the back of the ship and the repair vessel that would serve as the start of his little plot/scheme. We weren't talking about it out loud for some reason, but even so, I felt the need to project a thought to everyone else around me, if only to lighten the mood.

"Goddamn it, that was awesome! If this works, I'm stealing the shit out of this when we get home!"

I just had to show my appreciation for such good use of psychic misdirection. That was outstanding.

With that, we watched Mister Summers head out in the repair craft. For a dinky little staff service thing, he made it move. He went straight through the enemy formation without taking a shot. He actually got a ship or two to destroy another of their own with friendly fire.

They all got angry and went at him, swarming his way. He never turned off, heading straight away from us as he weaved through the shots.

"What have we done?" Miss Pryde whispered, her eyes stuck on the sight of Mister Summers taking all of the heat off of us and onto himself.

Dr. McCoy turned our ship back around to Breakworld and left Mister Summers to do his thing, "Give 'em hell, boss."

The murderous concentration of fire was too much for him to fend off for long. One hit turned to two, turned to more. A repair craft wasn't meant to withstand any kind of barrage. There was absolutely no armor on it. The enemy pilots blew it wide open.

One could only hope his body survived the explosion, because he wouldn't survive space.

Miss Frost must have stayed connected in order to feel him out until the end, "He's going," She muttered to herself, "...And so are we. Henry?"

"Already on the way back to Breakworld," Dr. McCoy confirmed for her, "Hold on, people."