So You Wanna Be a Hero, Kid?

[Raven]

"If Jason doesn't get oxygen, he could suffocate even if he gets out of the smoke," Cassie pointed out, worried. "Why aren't we picking them up?"

[Gifted]

Xander sighed. "How many people are on this jet other than you, Cassie?" He pointed out. "How many guns can you see just from where you're sitting? If you had to kill all of us right now before we killed you, do you honestly think you could even if we only had the skill of civilians?" The pilot seemed to be ignoring their talking, while the man aiming his sniper rifle out the window glanced away from the scope for a moment to look back at Cassie thinking. The man in full riot gear across from her was watching her.

[Raven]

"So why did we bring them?" Cassie asked.

[Gifted]

"Always gotta go in prepared for any kind of battle." The man in the riot gear said. "You kids are in bad shape. Trying to evac you without cover is just asking to let her pick off your backs. If she's already got strings there we can thin out the herd and cover you."
The more cynical sniper chimed in. "Yeah, but you still gotta remember the most likely scenario when you bring humans to the puppeteer is they get stringed and turned against you. Xander lost his whole team to her in New York. I wasn't terribly keen on being chosen to accompany this mission."
Xander's eyes narrowed slightly when the sniper explicitly mentioned New York, but nodded. "Plus, he's a medic, he can shoot from up here, and we need him to get you lot home." Xander said, indicating the man in riot gear, the sniper and the pilot in turn. "But this is why I don't come with you on missions. Because if Danielle is following Ryan and Jason, she's doing it to get to the plane so she can string us all and kill all of you, and him being so flippant about that shows he does not understand the magnitude of what he's dealing with. And I won't let him take risks with everyone else's lives. At least this way if she kills us all we'll have already gotten Stephanie and Awhina to safety."

[Raven]

"Hang on, where are we taking them?" Cassie asked.

[Gifted]

"Back to base. We won't keep the boys waiting long."
"We're landing in five." The pilot told them.

[Raven]

"Even with the jet isn't that round trip like thirty minutes?" Cassie asked, frowning.

[Gifted]

"Hence, they have to find somewhere else to wait for an hour. We're loading the girls on the jet and we're leaving."
The sniper scoffed. "He says, glossing over the part where we abandon injured english speaking kids in a spanish speaking city for an hour to save our own skin."
"It's Madrid, it's a tourist trap. People will speak english."

[Raven]

Cassie frowned, her jaw clenching, but she didn't speak again

[Gifted]

Xander directed the plane to fly over the landing spot and touch down when it appeared that Danielle wasn't in the area. "Alright. Keep your eyes open." He growled to his back up and they got off the plane to meet Stephanie and Awhina.

Stephanie was slowly looking better now that she was in clear air, but she was still pale and coughing.

[Raven]

Awhina helped load Stephanie onto the plane as quickly as she could without hurting either of them. She, too, was pale, but she didn't seem to be suffering from smoke inhalation. Mainly, she seemed anxious.

[Gifted]

The medic immediately went to Stephanie's side first, getting her on oxygen and checking her for injuries.
"I'm... okay." Stephanie tried to reassure them. "Hey, Cassie."

[Raven]

"Hey," Cassie said, offering a strained smile.

[Gifted]

"You gonna live, Awhina?" Xander asked, trying to pretend he wasn't concerned.

[Raven]

Awhina's eyes flicked to him and she nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay," she said.