X-men: Outcasts Assembled #2
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Emergency broadcasts were sent across the city. Social media platforms offered their users in the New York area the opportunity to declare that they were safe. News providers ran with footage captured by store security cameras and phone recorded videos from civilians. Commentators offered theories, explanations and speculations regarding the sudden outburst of violence in the Big Apple. Three police officers had been killed in the line of duty and four more were treated for serious injuries. At least one bystander had come in harm's way. Footage of mourning families could be seen on the largest news networks. At the centre of it all: Mutants. Activists were organizing protests, politicians condemned the violence and the government promised a forceful response. The perpetrators were to be hunted down and the mutants were to be put in line.
The journey to the location had been one liberated of chatter, instead loud country music played in the car, only once interrupted by a European song about the wish for a Pina Colada. Upon having moved past the initial few barriers of the construction site and into the tunnel connecting to the subway line, the car passed through a long stretch of mostly finished tunnel with insulation and reinforced walls before reaching the damp and dusty final destination. Without electricity to power the industrial lamps, the only source of light stemmed from the car.
At the end of the rocky, brownish-grey tunnel, stood a massive technological and metallic construction. Every surface was covered by a thick layer of dust. Small pools of water had formed on the ground. The numerous cables leading to the construction had carefully been moved to avoid the water. The construction itself was a large drill used to pave the way for an expansion of the New York City subway system in the Bergen County of New Jersey. For 43 days, it had stood idle and mostly unattended following the bankruptcy of the company heading the construction efforts. Tracks had yet to be lain but the ground had been stabilized and two yellow excavators stood in a line on the left side. On the right stood a few containers, two full and one half-filled with various pieces of equipment gathered from the site. The luxurious car - contrasting heavily against the dust filled surroundings - was parked a bit further back.
The air in the tunnel hung heavy with the scent of damp earth, rock and metal, a tangible reminder of the site's abandonment. Shadows danced across the walls, cast by the white-blue light filtering in from the car's headlights. The silence was broken by the occasional drip of water echoing through the cavernous space.
Five people had gathered by a set of four cheap, white and foldable chairs with a matching table, all located by the containers. On top of the table laid two plastic bags with various hastily purchased vegetarian or vegan foods along with a couple of water bottles, a half empty bottle of whiskey and a flask of rum.
The lawyer hovered over the plastic bags with arms firmly planted on each side of the table. His gaze rose from the food to meet the others and his hand instinctively rose to brush a few strands of hair back, then he spoke with a low voice and matter-of-factly tone "This is all we've got and I don't know for how long we'll have to stay here. I'm not going to rent a truck on my name for you lot, but that's probably the best way to get out of the city once the worst of this shitstorm you've created has blown past. For now, I suggest that we wait - and if you think you'll ever have to rely on each other again, I suggest that you start taking that into consideration before you do or say anything further."
After throwing an eye towards his car, he continued "I'm only going to keep her running for a little bit longer, until then, we should find a good light source and a way to keep warm. Maybe this mutant affliction can finally be put to good, non-violent, use for a change."