<div class="floatleft">(http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae316/kckolbe/ewan-mcgregor-23299.jpg)</div><hr/><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>  Name:</strong>       Sean Cassidy<br/>  <strong>Title:</strong>          Banshee<br/>  <strong>Affiliation:</strong>  Resistance<br/>  <strong>Location:</strong>   Los Angeles, near the museum.<br/>  <strong>Tags:</strong>          Mid Knight<br/><br/></span></span><hr/><br/>It didn't take long for Banshee to find the escaping Jake.  At the moment, only one person was running from the compound, and with Banshee's minor bird's eye view, he was easy to spot.  He gained some ground on him easily enough, as only one of them was able to fly, which meant they'd be traveling at basic foot speed, far from ideal when running from a sizable group of mutants.<em>They have people fast enough</em>he thought, and swooped up to check for pursuers, but didn't see anyone making a real attempt to catch up, which confused him for a moment.  He figured that anyone able to teleport, fly or just cover ground faster than most could run the fugitive down with little problem.  He also knew that they didn't let go that easy, based on the squad that had been mobilized to stop him while still on the grounds.<em>They're scared.  They saw one of their veterans go down and another possibly die.</em><br/><br/>He had to shake his head at his own use of the word "veteran."  The man had acted as though he'd never fought another mutant.  Maybe he hadn't, or maybe only brand new mutants that didn't know how to use their powers.  He hadn't fought like a veteran.  As Banshee, Sean had known a large number of teenagers that had really known how to fight, to master their powers, to work as a team.  Cyclops had led a team larger than the one he just fought countless times, and always without complaint.  He'd made up for experience with aggressive training and discipline, and once he had some field time, he'd been exactly the leader Charles had needed, even if he hadn't been the one Charles had wanted.<br/><br/>Sean remembered sitting in an office with Charles after his first mission with the "new X-Men," rescuing the previous team.<br/><br/><em>Charles was sitting at his desk, his elbows resting on the surface and his head in his hands.  "He failed" was all he said, not looking up at Sean.<br/><br/>"He didn't fail, Charles.  The job got done.  He needed some extra help to get there, but it got done."  He smiled reassuringly at Charles.<br/><br/>"His entire team got captured...everyone but him.  He failed."  A combination of irritation showed on Charles' face.<br/><br/>"Charles, as someone who has experienced real failure, Cyclops didn't fail.  He ended up not losing a single person, and everything got done.  Trust me, I know failure.  I'm the one that got fired from INTERPOL, after all.  You are being too hard on him, Charles.  X-Man or not, he's still a kid, and he's got a lot on his plate.  You can't expect him not to make mistakes."<br/><br/>Charles looked up, smiling sadly.  "I'm not the one being this hard on him.  He is.  I'm just telling you what he's thinking about this.  He's not taking it well, and you are right.  He is young, and not as used to dealing with things.  Being a leader is not easy."<br/><br/>Sean nodded, not sure what to say.  He'd thought Charles stayed out of their minds unless in danger or training.  "I'll talk to him, see if...I dunno.  Maybe I can convince him that he's doing well, that you couldn't ask for more."<br/><br/>Charles' jaw clenched, and he let loose a sigh.  "No, I couldn't.  If there's one thing I've learned, it's that some things can't be asked for.  Some have to happen on their own or not at all."</em><br/><br/>It had taken Sean damn almost half a decade to figure out what Charles had meant by that.  He'd wanted Sean to lead the team, but didn't want to force it on him.  Maybe it was for the best, anyways.  Banshee had ceased to exist for years while his powers were gone, and Cyclops would have had to step in as leader again, only that time it would have been with the lack of confidence from having been replaced.  Still, it had been a chance to spare a young man a lot of stress, and Sean hadn't even thought to do anything other than tell him to "keep it up."<br/><br/>He hadn't heard Jake call up to him, distracted by his search for pursuers and his daydream.  He saw that Jake had stopped, and swooped down, landing next to him.  "I didn't see anyone following us.  There will be a hunt, but they aren't going to risk leaving themselves unprepared right away."<em>In other words, we're still fucked, just not immediately.</em><br/><br/>"So where are you headed?"