(OOC: continued from Zodiac Strike! Shatter the Frozen Warrior)

It wasn't that late when he got the call. It was Shin. He answered immediately and listened as Shin explained everything that he knew of what happened to Sam to him. Streak was surprised that someone could get such a surprise on Sam. Streak waited until immediately went into his office and started arming the security systems. He was about to put the place on lock down for a while. At least until they could be sure that Sam and the kids were safe from whoever it was that attack the X-men's leader.

Once Shin and Sam were in the boundaries of the mansion Streak activated their security protocols behind them. The gates closed, traps were set for springing, panels were electrified and cameras were on full alert for anyone trying to break gain access to the grounds. Streak watched them walk in from the cameras and pushed a few more buttons as doors locked themselves and all entrances and exits were electronically monitored.

Shin found the silvermancer then and filled him in on the details that he left out in the phone call. They were going to meet in the War Room for an official debrief on the incident. Streak got there quickly. Pretty soon DocProf arrived and they just waited on Sam and Shin to arrive. Streak was on edge. It's not all the time, or even often, that someone tries to kill a member of the X-men. Everything in the room was dimmed, except for the large metal table in the middle of the room. That was lit up like a beacon and had Streak pacing back and forth on the far side of it, anxious.

Walking slowly into the war-room Sam was finally glad that there was actually a war-room. Any other meeting he had in here just didn’t really seem like it was for ‘war preparations’ now however. It seemed like he was going to war. He didn’t make the first move but he was sure as hell going to end it. He was attacked and left for dead or supposedly he was dead for a moment or two. Semantics really, it didn’t matter now. He was sore, but alive. Walking into the room Sam spotted Streak and Doc already waiting for him it seemed Shin was way ahead of him not there yet but he had no doubt Shin wouldn’t be much longer. Most likely talking to his escort that waited outside past the gates.

One hand a beer and the other a large glass of water. He was dehydrated and was almost killed. Each drink was going to help him recover. ”Glad you guys beat me here.” Sam said walking over to his chair where Doc was sitting next to. He looked to Streak and nodded before looking back to Doc and added, ”A friend of Shin’s started to heal me, said he brought me back from death, didn’t give him time to finish healing me though.” Sam shrugged, as Doc was about to yell at him then he stopped himself and put his hands on Sam’s arm then started to get to work.

Sam sipped his water first then waited till Shin was in the room before he started. Once Shin entered the room and was seated he looked to the pair and nodded. Starting with Streak he cleared his throat and asked, ”I’m sure security systems are online?” then he looked to Shin, ”and thanks for the rescue.” Doc moved onto Sam’s shoulder and with his other hand he grabbed the water and sipped it again pulling a bit more than the last one.

”I’m sure Shin filled you in with as much as he knew about what happened.” Sam stopped and set the water down and continued, ”I was attacked today by a pair of mutants, I don’t know who they were. I know you both are familiar with my history and are a little skeptical when it comes to things like this but I can assure you they weren’t with any group or organization I was ever apart of.” he looked to Shin who had experience with T.A.T.

”They weren’t agents that much I know they weren’t secretive or stealthy that much was apparent, they however knew who I was and what I was capable of. It was also apparent they knew exactly where I was and where I was going. Meaning the must have followed me for a while. I was on my way to meet Gawain and Evee when it happened.” Sam took another sip as Doc moved to Sam’s other arm, ”This much I’m sure of though, they think I’m dead.”

The Asian nodded at the 'thanks'. "You'd do the same for us," He commented mildly, in reply.

X-men looked out for each other. You didn't leave a man behind. They hadn't really had any situations like this since Romania, though the Riots had been a trying time for them all. If these people that had attacked Sam were setting up shop in town, it was up to them to stop them before they struck again. He didn't want to see anyone or their loved ones get hurt. Shin listened quietly as Sam went over the nitty gritty details for them all once more.

Not any organizations Sam knew, Shin noted. Okay. So not those crazy people that had manipulated Sam and made him kidnap kids. Well, that was a small favor. Though that still meant it was an unknown group of people (or organization) setting up shop in their city. The knuckles on his right hand grew white as he unconsciously clenched his fist.

"We can use that. Them thinking your dead. If they keep thinking it, when you strike, they won't see it coming." He looked to Sam seriously. "I am not happy if some unknown organization has decided to set up shop in our city. We may want to inform the police about the possibility... and definitely, we'll want to inform the rest of the team. Have them keep their guards up."

Streak listened to Sam and agreed with Shin. Sam didn't seem to worse for wear...now... even though Doc was working on him slowly. When Sam finished it was shin that spoke up. When his Asian friend finished Streak nodded. It was good that they think Sam was dead. They probably wouldn't look for him here, unless they were saw them bring Sam back to the mansion and he didn't show up with a toe tag.

"Shin's right. If these guys thing you're dead then that should put you and the mansion's students at a little more ease. Unless they followed y'all here somehow and didn't see a dead body come in the mansion..." Streak trailed off because he knew that his next words would probably not go over too well with their leader. Sam wanted revenge and that was completely understandable. Streak would feel the exact same way if the tables were reversed and he was the one who almost died.

In fact it wasn't even him and he wanted revenge on these guys for thinking that they could attack an X-men and get away scot free. "Sam. I know you don't want to hear this but I'm going to have to insist that you stay hidden at the mansion for a while. If we're right and they think you're dead you can't go advertising that they screwed up and flaunting their mistake...Not until we know who they are or who they're working for at least. I'm going to keep the mansion at a heightened security for a while, and you can't leave. If they think that we're being scared or paranoid because they killed you then good. It might just throw them off their game and they'll slip up."

Shawn waited for the rebuttal but he knew that he was right and this was all about timing. They had timing when they attacked Sam; and so the X-men needed timing when they retaliated.

Sam listened to what each one had to say respectively but when they both agreed that he stay hidden in the mansion he was tempted to yell some sort of protest however he didn’t. Mainly because Doc was right behind him healing him and wouldn’t hesitate to give him a slap upside the head, he did that on occasion. ”I don’t want any of the kids in the mansion knowing about this. The last thing we need is a panic to start spreading in the school. A majority of them already don’t trust me, we tell them I was attacked left for dead and somehow survived. You know how fast word can spread. Only bring more trouble down on the house.” Sam said sipping the water as Doc placed his hands on Sam’s head.

His head started to heat up and feel warm and he let out a low sigh, ”We can tell the rest of the team but that is it. I don’t want the cops knowing either, not exactly sure who we can trust.” Sam paused for a second and looked to Shin who was an officer of the law not like Sam or Streak but an actual officer, ”I mean to say is they obviously knew what I could do and where I was no telling who or what else they know. Try to keep me being alive a need to know basis.” Sam said the warmth calming him as Doc stepped away and backed up sticking around to listen. Sam didn’t mind Doc there; the guy knew pretty much everything anyways.

”I’m not entirely sure the mansion would be safe with me here.” Sam said looking to Streak knowing the guy was willing to argue about this for days. ”IF word does get out they wouldn’t hesitate to bring themselves to the front door. They attacked me in public, there is no telling what they are capable of.” Sam was about to argue more but again sighed. ”Maybe you’re right though. At least till we can figure out a bit more.” Sam could wait a little longer he guessed, he hated the idea of him hiding out though and putting the kids in jeopardy.

”I think I’d be a good bait for a trap though.” he said offhandedly before adding what little information he had on the guys who attacked him. ”Two attackers, one was called himself Leo, he was the one that presented himself to me before attacking, he roared and pretty much glass or my ice shattered.” Sam said trying to go into as much detail he could without actually knowing much to begin with. ”The other guy I didn’t see much of, stuck to the shadows I think till he thought I was dead. He was the one who didn’t miss. Knives, bullets whatever I was hit with he did it, I was a far off moving target and he still managed to cripple me.”

Sam looked to Doc and nodded a thanks before continuing on. ”I’ll stay in hiding and be presumed dead for now. However if they make another show and attack anyone else I can’t guarantee I’ll be sitting in the basement twiddling my thumbs.”

Streak agreed with him about the bad guys thinking Sam was dead. His head bobbled in agreement at the agreement. He stopped himself a moment later, realizing how stupid agreeing with someone who agreed with you about them agreeing with you was. It was practically patting yourself on the back.

The silver man suggested something Shin instantly knew Sam wouldn't like. It was something he would have suggested, too. It really went hand-in-hand with what he'd been saying. "I agree," Shin chimed in.

Sam made his reply. He started out tactful, and Shin agreed with what he was saying. He nodded slightly at the words. The nodding stopped when Sam said he didn't want to tell the police. He didn't like that. He let Sam finish, but this was putting a divider between the X-men and the police that Shin just didn't like. The Asian preferred not to have to bend the rules to be both X-man and police officer. Keeping crucial information like that a secret was one of those things that just didn't sit right with him. Sam's reasoning made sense, even if he hated to admit it, but... he hated to admit it.

The ice manipulator wasn't sure who he could trust. He wasn't sure where would be safe. And he didn't want to put anyone in danger, if it could be avoided. Shin got that. He didn't like lying to the police through lack of information, but he got it. His face didn't hide the dislike of the idea, either. He was frowning, to put it kindly. And to finish off, Sam was willing to come out of hiding if it was to save someone else.

Shin had only one thing to say, for the moment. His voice wavered slightly with the intensity of the emotion behind the words. "I don't want to have to lie or keep secrets from the police."

Shin's reply shocked Streak a little bit. But then again, Shin was much more into working with the police than Streak or Sam were. Streak had helped them out on plenty of occasions, but he certainly didn't work for them like Shin did. This comment required Streak answer. "Shin, I understand that... but how do we know that the information that those two got wasn't from some file or someone in the police department. I would caution you to tell only those that you think you can absolutely trust. If you feel that you need to tell someone, that is."

With that being said he turned to Sam and asked him something that had been bugging him. "I wasn't there when everything went down with the kidnappings, so I'm just wondering...Is there any way that we can know for sure that they didn't get that info from the T.A.T. whether they worked for them or not and whether stole the info...is it possible that they got there info from them? Was that place destroyed or was it just a snatch and grab mission?"

Those answers could determine how they got the information and if any of the other residents at the mansion could be a target in the same way or by the same people.

Shin and Streak spoke and then Doc patted Sam on the back before walking out of the room. Sam nodded again his thanks to Doc on the way out not worried that he’d mention his living to anyone else. As much of a hassle he was to Doc he still counted the man among his friends. Speaking of which, Sam turned his attention back to Streak and Shin who were helping him discuss what he was going to do next.

”….” Sam knew Shin wasn’t happy about keeping information from the police but he nodded when Streak mentioned he should only tell people he could trust. Including the guards the police sent for him Sam would like to keep the number of police officers who knew about his survival down to a minimum if fact in general the less who knew the better. Sam had a feeling he was about to piss off a lot of folks with this ‘I died stunt’ but if it meant keeping the kids and his friends in the mansion safe he would have to deal with it.

Streak’s next set of questions about the kidnappings was still a swore subject so it took him a second to respond. He looked down and reached for the beer which was sadly empty so he settled for water after shaking the empty can and setting it back down. ”…. It wasn’t T.A.T. I know that for sure.” Sam said reaching for the back of the head as he proceeded to scratch it. ”The hard copy files don’t exist I saw to that before I left them the first time and the ones they had on file were just incomplete estimations, they don’t like leaving a paper trail too easy to be tracked back to them.” Sam said trying not to show how upset he was about that situation still.

He shrugged, ”Like I said, they weren’t with T.A.T. they didn’t fight like they were trained to be special ops. They just attacked me in public, which is a big no-no. They wanted to make a scene and they knew that the loud mouth was a good counter to my ice.” Sam said shrugging. ” I don’t know who they are but I intend to find out.” Sam’s and clenched around his water.

Streak and Sam said some things, but it didn't change Shin's mind. He didn't want to have to lie or keep things from the people he worked with. The second one started keeping secrets was the second there was a problem. That much was true... but just because he didn't like it didn't mean he wouldn't. The Asian let Streak say his little thing without interrupting him, and let Sam have his say, but... he didn't like it, and he didn't agree. Apparently, this was a divisive situation.

T.A.T. was being brought up, and that was a bad memory. That, too, had been divisive, and had made Shin wary of the X-men. He was still wary, just a little. If they were going around behind peoples backs doing things... he didn't know what to say. It was like when some comic book hero or anime anti-hero did something drastic that they felt had to be done, and damn the consequences. It was practically out of a comic book. But this was the real world, not a comic book. He wasn't going to go Super Saiyan just because he got mad. He didn't even have a tail.

Sam finished talking about T.A.T., and Shin entered the conversation again, his resolve solidified. "I'll keep the number of people who know about your being alive low, Sam... but that doesn't mean I won't look into the recent assault and "Murder" of Cold Steel. If the police can do something, it is at least that. Keeping the mansion safe is important. The same is true for all of New York." He looked Sam dead in the eye. "If we can find out who they are without compromising your status," The "Dead" one. "We'll let you know what we find." He was silent for a few seconds, then he added weakly. "Of course, there is another way..." He'd heard of it, but he wasn't sure about it... he just knew what it could do. He ventured uncertainly. "Cerebra?"

They may not have been T.A.T. but Streak couldn't ignore the coincidence that they showed up shortly after the X-men infiltrated and released the kidnapped kids. Streak didn't think it was the T.A.T. It didn't feel like their style. Sam seemed to think that the information came from elsewhere and if he was certain that all they had were incomplete estimates on paper then Streak was inclined to believe him. The silver X-men listened to his partners discuss the situation at hand.

It was a bad situation that they were in and he wasn't all to inclined to think that they had gotten past it. If anything this was just the beginning. Streak nodded as Shin agreed to keep it to only a select few at the precinct. The silvermancer would not object to Shin looking into the death of a prominent X-men. It'd be weird if there wasn't an investigation by the police. Streak didn't like the police's corruptibility...he didn't think that they were all dirty...but they provided a good asset in their problems in the city.

He wasn't a police force. Neither were any of the other X-men at the mansion. They had other priorities to worry about also. Investigating wasn't one of them. Streak could at least think the police would be able to get them any and all info easily.

Shawn's eyes went wide for a second and he just stared at Shin for a minute. Did he really just say Cerebra? Streak blinked a few times and took a sip of some water to clear his throat. "Does anyone even know how to operate that thing?" Shawn was one of the few that actually knew where Cerebra was, but he couldn't use it so he didn't bother. "It could work...At least to find the mutants that we're looking for...But there are few that could use that thing without any repercussions." Streak was not opposed to using it. He just didn't think there was anyone at the mansion still that could operate it.

”We have a few files in the office on how to use it. Slate also described the process to me.” sipping his water he looked from Streak to Shin, ”Telepaths are needed from my understanding and Slate is visiting Kat last I heard.” Sam nodded his head towards Streak, ”Streak’s right though. Slate mentioned a killer headache after he looked for me.” still a sore subject but he was trying to think of the present and future, not the past.

”Even if we do have anyone capable of using it, there is no guarantee it will work. It only boosts power.” Sam said shrugging his shoulders, ”It might be best to just keep our ears to the ground and you looking into it from the police point of view.” Sam sipped his water again and waited to hear if they had a solution.

"We should use it." Shin stated, as if it were fact. "I should use it," He clarified, a moment later. "Slate isn't here. We don't have any other powerful psychics on the team. But we do have me. I'm not sure how exactly it'd work, in boosting my powers, but... maybe my measurement skills would somehow give us latitude and longitude for the creep."

In theory, it might work. The only way they'd know would be to test that theory. It was risky. It might hurt. Slate had had a headache after using it, and he was a much more powerful psychic than Shin. But Slate wasn't present, and it was one of their best options. If it could help, they needed to try it, and if he could help, he would. To him, it was as simple as that.

Streak was surprised. He certainly didn't think that Shin would volunteer to use the thing. No one had the training and Shin certainly wasn't an exception. he wiped the shocked look off his face and simply stated, "Look, I'm not for it. I think it's a bad idea. But if y'all both think it'll help then go for it." Shin certainly didn't seem like the kind of guy to throw himself at a possibly dangerous situation like using Cerebra without thinking things through.

Mostly Streak wanted to make sure that in the process of finding these guys they didn't count themselves down another X-men. He wasn't opposed to using it...if whoever was using it knew what they were doing. They were shooting in the dark here with the guess that Shin might be able to use it. It'd be almost like standing in a pitch black room and hoping to hit a target with a throwing knife, after spinning in circles until you were dizzy. It could be done but no one had ever tried it before. That was his main concern.

Shin was still all about it and Streak was reluctant however no one else had any other solutions so it looked like Sam was going to put Shin in a possible dangerous situation to help him find the @@@@s who tried to kill him. ”Right, Streak keep us posted and we will do the same to you. I want to find these guys before anyone else gets hurt.” that much was true, however Sam didn’t really plan on bringing either of them in alive, though if Shin or Streak knew what Sam was thinking he was pretty sure neither would be so egger to help him.

”Shin, shall we?” Sam stood up from his seat and gestured to the door.

Streak thought it was a bad idea. Shin disagreed. Sam had his back, though. He always seemed to (except when he was kidnapping kids). That last line had not been an attempt at diffusing tension with humor in any way. Nope.

The Asian rose and followed Sam out the door.

There was not a lot they could do without more information. Using that machine was a risk. It had its costs. But they wouldn't get any where without risking something. He was an X-man. He had people who cared about him and worries of his own, but the job description kind of involved risks. Streak's concerns had been noted, but as of that moment, they were of little concern to Shin.