Asking your girlfriend to hire out your ninja assassin mother on a hit on her parent's credit card, to find out if your cousin has raped a girl and has a child?
Nothing could possibly go wrong with that.

It was not easy to get Evelyn on board. It involved re-visiting the infamous baby fight against Alli in order to tell her how she knew about the possible relatives; then involved even more explanations about where Mom was, what she was doing, and why they deeded the Summers credit card as an alternative to breaking into a facility full of deadly mutants.

Incidentally, it was also the first time Mirror decided to invite Evelyn along for a mission. It wasn't an official mission - Mirror was pretty sure they were about to cross several lines - but it was action, none the less. He briefly considered telling Sam, but he had enough in his plate lately. Evelyn was the only person to trust with this.

"So, what exactly did you tell them we need her for?" he asked Evelyn as they crouched on a fire escape for a high vantage point above the abandoned warehouses by the harbor. If everything went according to plan, Mom would be showing up any minute now, expecting to have a "job."

And then they would just have to find a way to talk.

Evelyn had done quite a few things in the past year that the voice of reason should have told her was a bad idea. But since she joined the x-men, she was expecting that number to increase. Ironically, the most recent chaos was Mirror's fault. Ninja assassins did seem up their ally though.

Revisiting the baby argument was definitely not something she enjoyed, but after their last fight, and the eventual date, she was more open to listening and working it out. Besides, she was somewhat relieved Mirror had come to her. Not only did that mean they trusted her with something this important, but it was as close to a mission as she could get at this point. She wanted to prove she was capable, and any opportunity to do that she couldn't resist. So she put on a more mission appropriate outfit, strapped on her sai under her jacket, and packed a few other supplies before heading out. She always wanted an excuse to wear a black leather jacket...

The credit card had been her idea. Needless to say, she was still a little miffed at her parents, but it also gave the good excuse for the eventual 'hit'. Her family didn't exactly make friends, and the confrontation between Evelyn and the mutants who jumped her during the riots had spread through her family grapevine. The 'target' was general enough she was pretty sure no one would get hunted down for real. She was careful about the details to be on the safe side though.

"I pretty much said there were some mutants that attacked me during the riots, and two of them got away. I was hoping to hire someone who could help settle the score." It sounded legit enough. She was a mutant, but she didn't have the offensive capabilities to take on someone who could light an alleyway on fire, and her connections with the x-men weren't public at this point.

Gawain was not wearing the X-men uniform. In the off (who were they kidding?) chance of something going wrong, he didn't want the entire organization to descend upon the X-men.
Evelyn, on the other had, looked badass in black.

>>"I pretty much said there were some mutants that attacked me during the riots, and two of them got away. I was hoping to hire someone who could help settle the score."

"Close enough" he nodded, glancing down at the street below. After requesting Mom specifically to be sent on the hit, they told them the possible location of the imaginary targets. It was the empty warehouse they were looking at.

"They are going to send her out with a new face she hasn't used before" Gawain said "That's what I would do anyway, with a human shifter. That will probably give her a tell, with a body she's not fully used to."

The echoes were a big part of this plan.

"She will also be monitored somehow so they can make sure they don't lose her. We gotta take care of that before we can talk."

Reaching into his backpack, he tossed a mask and a black hat to Evelyn.

"You hair" he noted. If anyone was monitoring Mom, it was best they never found out the identity of the people she talked to. The credit card already linked Eve to the whole deal, there was no need for a visual.

Evelyn nodded as Gawian spoke, the echoes already honed in on the building below. The nice thing about having voices in your head was that you could have your attention split, so it was easy enough to listen to Gawain while watching the building. She added the information about there being someone else observing the situation. The echoes were watching someone and also looking for someone else watching.

She caught the mask and the hat and set them on the ground. Her hair was already braided, so it just took a quick twist to get it into the hat before she put the mask on. ”Do I look like a super villain now?” She said, a halfhearted comment to relive some of the tension building as they waiting. ”Red lipstick could have looked nice.” She mused as an afterthought. She paused as the echoes caught movement, and glanced back over the edge of the building.

>>”Do I look like a super villain now? Red lipstick could have looked nice.”

"Positively evil" Gawain grinned, putting on his own mask. They were not the official X-men uniform masks, but they were close enough.

Something moved below them, and Gawain shifted to look down. A man walked into the alleyway. He was dressed causally in jeans, a shirt and a jacket, and had short-cropped hair. He was fairly tall. Gawain tilted his head, waiting for Evelyn's assessment.

Regardless of where she was now, Evelyn was still pretty sure she could have made a wicked super villain. Maybe it was the white hair. Or maybe it was the grey eyes...Today they were definitely more grey with her powers working overtime, and she frowned slightly as that work revealed some unfortunate information.

"There's more than one person." She remarked.

The first person was dressed simply enough. The tall stature and hair wasn't much to go off of, and body language was fairly comfortable. As they moved through the alleyway, she could read more into it though. While he acted comfortable there was certainly an awareness to his surroundings. He glanced up, which was an unusual direction for people to look unless they had at least some experience with fighting or were just paranoid. Most people looked behind them, some looked towards places like windows and dark corners. He was definitely more aware than that though.

The second figure was wearing a hat, and it was hard to read gender from where they were standing. It could be a fairly slim female, or a man. The jacket wasn't giving a tell one way or the other, and they were still close to the wall which made it hard to get a good look. The last thing Evelyn wanted to do at this point was crane her neck over the fire escape and draw attention to them. The fire escape at least had a solid bottom which wouldn't give them away, but amateur curiosity could undo that.

>>"There's more than one person."

Gawain swore under his breath and peered over the edge to get a look at the second person. It was hard to tell from up here if it was male or female, and even if it was a bystander, or here with a purpose. Either way, its presence was not good, really not good.

Gawain glanced back at Eve, waiting for her to call the shots. He had his bow and arrows, but unless he knew which one of the two to take out, they were useless. He settled back on his heels, waiting.

"Any others?..."

Being a tactician seemed all good in theory, but actually trying to make decisions on the spot took a lot more effort than it seemed. Glancing at the first individual, and then tracking the movements of the second, she started to digest what she was reading.

"First figure shows habits that seem to confirm at least some battle training or experience. Not likely to just be a bystander. He has a mission. Second figure is hanging back. It's hard to read body language from here, but I don't think there is as much confidence in their movement, which could mean a couple things... Could be trying to stay out of sight, stay out of the way, or keep an--"

She froze as the echoes picked up new movement, and yanked Gawain to the back of the fire escape, pushing his back into the wall. It wasn't a polite action, but all things considered it was better than the alternative. She followed the echoes feedback and looked up. Sure enough, she could make out the faint shadow of a figure before they appeared at the edge of the roof.

Please don't look down, don't look down... She mentally hissed. By some miracle the figure didn't, moving along the edge of the building, watching the figure as they drifted towards the warehouse. Now would be a good time to find a better place to stand... If the figure on the roof came to use the fire escape, they would all have a rather awkward encounter. But something about the third figure was gnawing at her echoes... the movements were certainly a bit more on the feminine side, but there were a few kinks in the gestures. It reminded her of someone who was trying to get used to a new pair of shoes. There was certainly a possibility...

"Gawain, maybe..." She whispered. Something still didn't feel right. She glanced back down. Person number two was gone.

Crap.

>>"First figure shows habits that seem to confirm at least some battle training or experience. Not likely to just be a bystander. He has a mission. Second figure is hanging back. It's hard to read body language from here, but I don't think there is as much confidence in their movement, which could mean a couple things... Could be trying to stay out of sight, stay out of the way, or keep an--"

"Umphf." Gawain's back hit the wall as Evelyn pushed him out of the line of sight, but he had the presence of mind not to question what she was doing. She was quickly becoming his eyes and ears in this situation. He leaned back against the wall and followed her gaze upwards to the roof, glimpsing a shadow above them.

>>"Gawain, maybe..."

The hell is going on?! The young knight bit his lips. They definitely did not pay for three assassins. Having one extra could have been reasonable - they would pair them up to watch each other and keep the other in line - but three was not worth it for the organization. What the heck was happening?...

Gawain glanced up again. If that one was Mom, what were the other two doing down there?...

"I'll go down. See if I can lure that one out. Let me know what it looks like from here" he said, tapping his comm in his ear before he pulled out a hand-sized mirror and set it down at his feet. The next moment, he was landing on his feet in a shadowy spot in the alley, out of a high window.

Evelyn wasn't particularly thrilled at the idea of splitting up, but the situation was definitely taking a more risky turn. Of the assassins, only one of their powers was known. These other two could do anything... And the echoes didn't have anything to read at this point.

She was hoping surprise was still on their side, but if they didn't move fast, tables could turn. This was supposed to just be a clever way to contact Gawain's mom. But they knew things might not go smoothly after all.

Gawain hit the ground, and her echoes tracked him. Meanwhile she tried keeping track of the two mutants she could still see. The first figure disappeared into the warehouse, where the would be target would not be. Meanwhile the figure on the roof had stopped and was training their attention to the ground.

"Roof is watching, keep close to the wall if you can." She murmured quietly into the com. Then the echoes started buzzing and picking up on movement.

[Smoke.]

"Left, by the dumpster." She remarked quickly, even as the vapor seemed to hone in on Gawain. Her fingers drifted to the pouch on her side, readying for a change in game plan.

The figure on the roof's mouth was moving. [Com? Communicating with other companion?] Careful... She mentally hissed.

>>"Roof is watching, keep close to the wall if you can."

Gawain leaned back against the wall, trying to melt into the shadows. It bothered him that there was only one person he could see, while two others were possibly watching him. As long as he was the one in their focus, this was workable. He didn't expect Mom to make a blatantly hostile move against the others right away. She was not going to risk that. Gawain needed to start the fight.

>>"Left, by the dumpster."

He could barely make out the movement in the shadows as something not quite solid moved towards him. There was no use shooting at it. Gawain backed away slowly, trying to find a position around the corner where he could keep an eye on both of the attackers on the ground.

The hit came from behind. Before he could see what was going on, the smoke had moved past him and morphed into a body that kicked him out into the light of the street lamp. Gawain stumbled but didn't fall.

"This is not who we're looking for" the tall man grumbled, looking down at him, a blue-green light cloaking his fists "But he saw us."

Evelyn decided she hated being a tactician. Watching as Gawain faced the smoke made her stomach turn in several circles, and part of her didn't enjoy watching. She knew being down there would do little good though. She needed to keep eyes up here if she really wanted to be helpful. If the figure on the roof made a move, she needed to be ready. But for now they seemed to be doing what she was. Apparently having eyes in the sky was part of the game today.

The smoke condensed in a split second, and before she could warn her partner they struck him from behind and knocked him into the light. Gawain was left between the two mutants, which wasn't a great place to be in.

There went stealth. Time for plan B.

Evelyn had already emptied her pouch into her hand metal touching her fingers as she started scurrying across the fire escape, staying close to the wall. At least this building had enough space to move, and places to dodge if needed. The figure on the roof was talking into the com still, but she hadn't been seen yet. If nothing else, Evelyn could handle this. Her sai pressed against her back, creating a form of comfort.

"How about an early Christmas present?" She remarked into the com, and training the echoes on the ground, she aimed for the second mutants shoulder. The throwing star whizzed through the air and struck deep into flesh. The growl of surprise resonated upwards, and the mutant reached up with a glowing fist, yanking the star free and throwing it to the ground.

The reflective surface glittered from where it fell. One down. There was plenty where that came from though. Polished metal flashed through the air, and one more star stuck the lamppost, ricochet and buried itself in the dirt at Gawain's feet. Evelyn was already moving the other direction, even as she caught the figure on the roof shifting.

The fire escape looked like it might get a bit more crowded...

>>"How about an early Christmas present?"

"Wh..." a flash of metal came out of thin air and hit the big guy in the shoulder. Gawain used the break to duck out of arm's reach; he stepped back, and another star landed at his feet with a clang. It took him a moment to realize what she meant, and then a grin spread across his face.

God I love this woman.

The smoke pulled itself together again, and this time it was Gawain that aimed a kick at it. His foot didn't hit anything very solid, but it made the smoke fly with a hiss in every direction. Good.

The big guy wretched the star free from his shoulder and snarled at Gawain. As an answer, the young knight grinned, and stepped back, straight into one of the stars. He came up behind the guy, taking a running leap onto his back.

This always seemed to work in the movies.

***

Back upstairs the figure vaulted over the edge of the roof and landed lightly on the fire escape. It was a young man, more wiry than strong, dressed all in black. He looked like someone no one would give a second glance at. But the way he carried himself showed that he knew what he was doing.

From the fire escape Evelyn could see Gawain take advantage of the throwing stars, now relieved she'd thought to bring them. Heck, she was relieved she bought them in the first place. Exchanging weapons as gifts had it's merits after all. Her attention had to shift, however, as the figure came jumping down onto the fire escape. Throwing stars went to the pouch for now, sai came out.

"One, two, three. Guess it's a party." She muttered under her breathe. Trying to track all the players took a lot of effort, but she could still see Gawain appear on the taller mutants back. She kept tracking that part of the fight. She had to use the stars effectively though. Trying to talk to anyone at this point would be risky for all of them. Better to eliminate the other mutants, and stall Gawain's....mom... Stalling assassins...that seemed smart.

"So what is this supposed to be, an amateur ambush? Cute." The figure darted forward, and Evelyn flipped one of the sai, deflecting the incoming punch, and swiping with the butt of the weapon. The figure was fast, faster than most people she trained with, and she barely rolled through his legs to avoid an elbow to the face.

Maybe knocking her out wouldn't be a bad plan.

The strong guy shook like a bull and Gawain decided to let go, dropping to the ground and rolling to avoid a fist charged with green-blue energy. This one definitely wasn't Mom, and neither was the smoke person. That left the figure on the roof, but Gawain was too busy keeping an eye on the two on the ground to look up and check. He couldn't reveal who he was anyway until these two were out of the picture. He ducked again and came up through another star, looking around for the smoke...

Up on the roof, the young man caught himself on the railing of the fire escape, and turned to sneer at Evelyn.

"So what, are you some kind of a superhero trying to stop the bad guys?" he tilted his head, pulling out a knife to match the sai "Believe me, sweetie, you have picked on the wrong villains this time. Scoot."