CHAPTER EIGHTEEN : BATTLE OF JURISDICTION
saigon 1973
It was the fact that Evie was on an airplane going back to Vietnam that made her uneasy. That place had so many bad memories yet here she was, going back ... voluntarily. The agency didn't know about the mission, let alone approved of it. She had heard through some sources that some of Trask's men were going to apprehend a group of mutants in the Military. Of course like any sane person would, she hopped on the first plane out.
So as she placed her sunglasses on her face and walked out into the sandy area, a sense of nostalgia filled her body. The glasses were pitch black, hiding her eyes and shielding them from the sand and sun. As much as she hated everything that had happened when she was in the Military, this place was a second home.
Her eyes followed the group of strange men, watching them carefully as they walked into a tent, black briefcases in hand. In anger, her eyes narrowed, following them without hesitation. Her black suit made her stand out, the pure heat of the sun beating down on her which caused her to roll up her sleeves.
Evie's attention was drawn away when a solider coughed awkwardly from next to her. She stopped just before the tent entrance and looked at him. "Where'd the unknown men go?" She asked him, authority in her voice which made the man quiver.
"Inside the tent Ma'am." The solider stuttered out, pointing to the tent behind him. Before Evie could walk in the solider called out to her again. "I don't think you should go in, they're infected." He warned her in worry.
The brunette couldn't control the small smile that grew on her face. "I'll take my chances solider." She told him with a nod. The man visibly relaxed before Evie pushed the door open and walked in.
"We're authorised to remand these men." She heard Major Stryker state harshly. This made her roll her eyes from behind her glasses.
"Actually that order has been reinstated." She cut in, placing her hands behind her back, stopping just inside the tent. All the eyes turned to her in shock, not noticing her walking in.
It was Alex who first recognised her. His friend hadn't changed in the eleven years that had past. She still looked authoritative, still held the mischievous smirk she used to wear. The only change was that she seemed more confident, seemed more sure in herself. Then it was Raven, even though she was disguised as a Colonel, it was like Evie had figured her out straight away.
"These men are going home," Evie continued, walking forward, glancing to all the mutants in the room, eyes landing on the solutions in the human's hands. "Isn't that right Colonel?"
The Colonel cleared his throat, blinking out of his shocked state. "Yes, it is."
"I don't believe you have jurisdiction in this matter." Stryker snapped, making Evie's smirk grow even wider. "Who are you?"
Evie ripped off her glasses and looked to the Major, her red lips curling in amusement. "Agent Evie Dalton, DOD." She explained which caused his face to drop in shock. "These men are going back home and as former military myself, I understand how badly they'd want actual beds. Why stop them from getting that?"
At this point Evie was practically standing in front of Stryker, her eyes begging him to challenge her. Even though she was shorter then him, the intimidation she carried was bigger then anything in the world.
Stryker growled in anger, pulling his papers from his pocket. "This paperwork -"
"- Is void." Evie interrupted, pulling it from his hands and ripping it up. She dropped it to the floor like it was nothing, her eyes still on him. "The Senator threw it out, it seems your extinction of mutants will never happen. So I'll say this again. These men are going home." Her voice turned so cold it made her friend's shiver.
"I'd agree with Agent Dalton, she seems to have the higher authority here." The Colonel stated as he stood there. If Evie had her glasses still on then she would have rolled her eyes yet she couldn't. Did Raven have to be so obvious?
Stryker turned to the hidden mutant, his eyes full of annoyance. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"The question is, Major ..." The Colonel expressed as he grabbed the dog tags from his neck to read them. "Who are you?"
Without hesitation, Raven turned back into her natural blue form, ripping the dog tags from the Major. Her hand went to Stryker's throat as she began to fight other soldiers.
Joining in the fight, Evie turned and kick a solider holding a serum. She didn't know what the yellow liquid did and she didn't want to find out. The glass tube dropped to the floor and smashed into tiny pieces. Grabbing the gun from her hip, she smacked the handle into his head, knocking him out.
The gun was kicked out of her hand, making her wince. She quickly ducked under the fist that was coming at her, slamming her left fist into his nose. The man stumbled back while Evie gripped her arm in pain.
During this time, a soldier came from behind the brunette, locking her in a headlock. As she struggled to get out, they twisted around, seeing Raven flip someone over her shoulder. Evie paused in awe, staring in shock.
"Damn, I gotta learn that." She muttered to herself before slamming her elbow into the solider's stomach making him stumble backwards.
Turning on her leg, she slammed her foot into the man approaching her's crotch. He doubled over in pain. Someone kicked her legs from under her which made her hit the ground with a groan. A gun clicking made her turn in shock. Before a solider had time to fire at her, a long tongue grabbed his neck and slammed him to the floor.
Evie followed the direction of the tongue to see one of the quarantined soldiers sat looking at her. She nodded at him, clearly thankful of his rescue. A hand appeared in front of her which caused her to look at the figure.
Above her stood Alex, his blond hair slicked to the side, a smile on his face as he offered his hand. "Here." A smile over took Evie's as she grabbed his hand, helping herself up.
"Thanks." She smiled, wanting to hug him. However she knew this was not the time or place for it, even if she wanted to. Alex's eyes drifted to the scene behind the brunette and his expression dropped.
"Raven." Alex called out in warning, watching the blue women choke out the Major.
Evie watched as the man's face turned red, trying to gasp for air but there was none. Raven raised him above the ground, so he choked.
"That's not my name." Raven responded, her glaring eyes on Stryker in front of her.
Alex realised there was no talking the blue women out of what she was doing so quickly walked back to his bed. Out of his bag, he pulled out a grenade and placed it in Evie's hand, standing next to her. The brunette looked down at it, considering her options.
She decided pretty quickly to pull the pin, throwing it towards the blue women. As it exploded, Evie activated her powers, making the explosion push in one direction. This pushed Stryker out of Raven's hand and towards the wall, his clothing smoking slightly.
Over the past eleven years, Evie had perfected her powers. She could now explode most things with her mind, ranging from fruit to bullets. Of course, she kept it to small things, not having the chance to explore her powers like she had done on the beach in Cuba. Grenades were her favourite as she could change the trajectory of the explosion.
Raven's head snapped to the brunette in frustration. "I had that." She told her.
"We know," Evie responded in a knowing tone, picking her sunglasses back off the floor and putting back on her face. "But what kind of friend would we be if we let you do this by yourself?"
With one last look to where Stryker laid, Raven decided to leave him there. "Let's move out. Come on, let's go." She assured the soldiers, making them grab their stuff with Evie right behind them.
"Where's Erik?" Alex questioned her in confusion.
"I'm on my own now." Raven replied, her tone stern and cold. Evie and Alex shared a worried look, the Raven they knew was gone and that much was sure.
The minute that the group walked out of the tent, Raven was back being the Colonel which made Evie do a tiny double take. However, she walked behind the group, making sure no one followed them. She touched her hip, remembering that she had indeed picked up her gun.
They reached the tarmac, Raven's 'Colonel' facade getting the mutants onto the plane which made Evie let out a breath of relief. She hated that she was in Vietnam but she was glad she was.
"Wouldn't wanna leave these boys in this god forsaken country." The Colonel explained to the solider standing to the side. Alex and Evie stopped on the ramp, noticing their friend wasn't following them.
"You're not coming with us, are you?" Alex called over the sound of the plane engine.
"My war's not over." The Colonel shouted back. "The enemy is still out there." He turned to walk away. As Evie watched, her mind wandered to another friend.
"Raven." She called out making the Colonel stop and look over his shoulder. "Be careful, I don't want to have to arrest you. Not like I did with him."
Raven did nothing but nod, disappearing into the crowd. Evie sighed and walked into the plane, sitting next to Alex. She was tense and didn't want to be there, it was obvious. Alex didn't know much about her history but he knew she was ex-military so he figured being back here was bringing back bad memories. He was right.
"So ..." Alex started awkwardly, rubbing his thighs as Evie bounced her's. "How are you and Charles?" He asked.
"Haven't seen him in ten years." Evie answered, the image of Charles smiling was the last thing she remembered of him.
Alex's head snapped to her in disbelief. "You're kidding?" He had remembered their longing looks while training to fight Shaw, he would have thought they would have settled down. He distinctly recalled all the bets that they had bet on the two, Erik being the one who won all the money.
"He tried to wipe my memories of Cuba." Evie explained as she twiddled her thumbs, leaning on her knees. She noticed Alex's silence and quickly elaborated. "It didn't work but he tried."
For years Evie had thrown up ideas about why he had done it. Was it because he never actually liked her or for some other reason? "I don't think he wants to see me." The brunette admitted nervously, her voice quiet and her eyes drifting away.
"Well I know I definitely did. You look good Eves." Alex smiled, nudging her shoulder gently. This caused the brunette to chuckle lightly.
"You too Alex." She responded, a smile on her lips as she lent back in the seat. "So where are you going after this?" Her questioned made Alex consider for a moment.
"Probably somewhere warm and relaxing, maybe even home." He responded, running a hand through his waxed hair. "I need a break after this whole thing."
"Understandable." Evie nodded, completely understanding his point of view.
"What about you? You're DOD now, right?" He asked her, motioning to the gun on her hip.
"Indeed I am." She confirmed in a proud tone. Evie was proud of where she was, she had worked damn-hard to get here. "I was actually the head of the 'hunting mutant' in the CIA for a while but the DOD headhunted me and I joined. I don't go over seas anymore which I prefer." She elaborated for her friend.
Alex sighed, noticing how Evie was still tense from being where she was. "Sorry for dragging you out here."
"No, don't apologise." Evie answered immediately, her eyes showing that she wasn't that scared. "I heard Trask was finding mutants out here and came along anyway, finding out you were here was a bonus." She lent back in her seat, trying to relax. "But I'm back to work as soon as we touch down."
"You like it though, right?" Alex questioned her carefully, watching her body language and expression carefully.
Evie hummed in confirmation, her head rolling lazily to look at the blond. "It keeps me busy, keeps my mind off other things."
"Like Charles?" Alex raised his brows teasingly.
"Yeah, yeah. Keep rubbing it in." Evie grumbled in response, crossing her arms over her chest, ignoring the pain that shot through her shoulder. She opened her eyes, staring at the wall across from her.
The blond mutant watched as Evie's expression dropped, a sense of longing and loneliness filling her eyes. "You miss him." He observed in a sad tone.
"I do." Evie frowned sadly, blinking away any tears that may have been forming. "I miss everyone."
Not edited