Summary; Warning; Disclaimer: See First Chapter.

And here is an update! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I do. The fight scene was hard, with no dialogue, but I like challenging myself. Considering I can't write fight scenes anyway. XD

Please review!


Two weeks passed in relative peace for the mutants preparing for a mission, though some of the other mutants in the Institute noticed their mounting tension. Deitra, having been pressured to take an alternate name in battle, had picked Vaettir, a nature spirit in the Norse religion. It had taken her some time to become used to being called a different name, and it had made her rather cranky. Warren noticed it early, having apparently been apprenticed by Deitra for child rearing, and finally worked up the nerve to ask her about it two days before the team was scheduled to leave.

"What's bothering you?" he asked abruptly, as they walked down the hall to the kitchen. She looked at him in surprise, but quickly assumed a poker face.

"What're you talking about?" she replied, keeping her voice neutral. "I'm fine. A little tired from the kids, but –"

"It's not that," he interrupted, staring down at her, a little irritated that she was lying to him. "It's not just you – I can tell Piotr has something bothering him as well. What's going on?"

Deitra considered brushing the young man off again, but bit her lip to keep her words back. Sighing, she shook her head and stopped as they reached the door.

"I can't tell you," she said shortly, surprising him. "But it's just nervousness – nothing is bothering me, honestly," she continued, flashing him what she hoped was a sincere smile. It was a half-lie – she was nervous, yes, but as time went by, she and Piotr had become even more certain Kitty shouldn't go. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do about, and the possible consequences were haunting her.

"All right," Warren agreed, nodding briefly before striding into the kitchen and reaching into the fridge for a soda. Deitra sighed to herself, behind his back, and shook her head.


"Are you sure you know how to fly this thing?" Kitty asked nervously, squirming in her seat of the Blackbird as Piotr started the engine. Deitra was beside him at the controls she had displayed a startling adeptness at learning, while Ray was near Kitty.

"Kitty, be quiet and buckle up," Deitra snapped, seeing Piotr's jaw clench. The hanger began to open, and the second-in-command followed her own orders as the Blackbird lifted gracefully into the sky, before shooting away with speeds unknown to normal man.

The entire team was tense, and the last thing Deitra wanted was for their pilot to lose his already-strained temper in the middle of the flight. Sitting back slightly, the hotocultist stretched with a yawn and checked radar.

"Nothing?"

"Nope," she confirmed, and Piotr nodded.

"So, can you tell us where we're going yet?" Ray demanded, finger running along the length of his leather collar uncomfortably in an effort to loosen it.

"An island in the Adriatic Sea," Deitra informed them, pulling her hair back in a ponytail like Kitty's. "It's where Ororo said the squadron was. Apparently, they call themselves Stryker's Claws."

"Not very inventive, but I guess we can't ask much, considering we're dealing with a bunch of meatheads like these guys," Ray interrupted, and Deitra sighed.

"These 'meatheads' were smart enough to go missing after the massive investigation fueled by Stryker's death, and they were smart enough to set up a high-tech military-esque base, and remain hidden until now," Piotr said shortly, and Deitra rubbed her temples.

"Not to mention, I'm still not entirely sure this isn't a trap," she added under her breath, and Piotr glanced knowingly at her. He sent her a reassuring wink before returning to staring out the cockpit windshield.

"What, you mean they might know we're coming?" Kitty demanded.

"It's a possibility," Deitra admitted. "But if we all work together and fight, we'll make it through. All we have to do is sabotage."

"Sneaky, sneaky, ninja-like," Ray added, and the other three couldn't help cracking grins at his tone. It was accompanied by hand gestures Deitra assumed were supposed to be ninja-like, but came off as vaguely-Egyptian-dance-like instead.


"We're here," Colossus told them quietly, and Vaettir flipped on the infrared sensors calmly, while the pilot activated the stealth system just as easily. The silence fell like a blanket over the four X-Men as they approached the island.

Nothing appeared unusual about it – it was small, covered in jungle, typical little undiscovered slice-of-paradise. As they drew closer, however, Vaettir narrowed her eyes and stretched out her senses to the plants on the island.

"A quarter of a mile to our right," she ordered, and Colossus followed without hesitation. Upon drawing nearer, the faint outline of a metal door, almost like a cellar door, became visible amongst the foliage. Colossus shifted slightly, and the Blackbird dropped abruptly, hovering within inches of the ground.

"Could've warned us about that," Berzerker grumbled, pulling his gloves on and flexing his fingers anxiously. Vaettir shot him a look as Piotr strode past, and followed the commander out the Blackbird, making the small jump to the ground.

"Come on," Colossus ordered, lifting Shadowcat out with a somber expression. Berzerker was last, and jumped when the Blackbird suddenly disappeared from view. "Stealth unit," the giant explained shortly, before striding towards the entrance.

"Shadowcat, phase inside and disrupt the systems to open it up and bypass the security," Vaettir ordered. She nervously stepped forward, and blinked when Berzerker's hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Berzerker, what –"

"It's wired with electricity. Even a phase might electrocute her," he explained, and grinned. "Let the master handle it," he added, stepping forward. The others watched in fascination as he outstretched his hands and electricity flowed into the mutant.

It was over in less than a minute, and Berzerker shook his head to clear it.

"Whoa, head rush," he managed, and Vaettir rolled her eyes.

"Is it safe?" Colossus demanded. When Berzerker nodded, he gestured to Shadowcat, who phased through the door without a word. The three adults waited outside, and the door slid open in mere moments.

"Good job," Vaettir murmured, examining their surroundings carefully. Narrowing her eyes, she stretched her senses once more to feel the extent of the narrow, dirt tunnel they were in, and pulled back abruptly.

"What?" Berzerker asked.

"I don't know what they have in there, but it's toxic," she told them. "I don't think any of us have natural immunity to airborne toxins – but whatever they have has killed all plant life, and most likely animal life – underground."

"Wait here," Colossus ordered, and strode to the Blackbird. Shadowcat obligingly opened the door again for him, and held it there until he returned, holding mouthpieces in his hands.

"What are those?" Berzerker asked, inspecting the one he was handed.

"Filters. They'll fit in your mouth and over your nose like the underwater breathing devices we have," Colossus told them shortly, and promptly showed them how to fit it. A triangular piece attached over their nose, and a strip of tubing ran down to the mouthpiece, a small rectangular device that fitted like an oversized mouthguard. The entire contraption remained snugly on their faces despite any straps or clamps, and Vaettir decided not to think too hard about it.

"How're we gonna talk with these?" Shadowcat asked, removing the piece with a look of disgust on her face.

"We won't – it's better we don't anyway," Colossus replied. "We use hand signals when communication is necessary. Any doubts, retreat. Let's move." With that, he replaced his own piece and began to stride down the tunnel, metal forming over his skin in anticipation of battle.

Vaettir flashed Berzerker and Shadowcat a distorted smile through her own device, and added a thumbs-up for reassurance as they followed in alpha formation. Ray's hands were silently crackling with electricity, and their stances were those of mutants wading into battle, not sneaking.


"That way," Colossus signaled, and Vaettir nodded before slinking in the direction he pointed in. The commander directed the other two in the same way, and took his own route of sabotage. There weren't that many men that they had seen, and it was making the two commanders warier than usual.

Vaettir slunk along the south wall, carved out of rock and dirt, and resisted the urge to try to sense any flora. She wasn't sure if her connection would let the toxin through – she doubted it – but knew it was useless anyway. Keeping her senses alert, thankful for the extra training Ororo had insisted on, she made her way to a cache of computer software, which she assumed were built to hack into weapons systems.

She and Colossus both knew that the possibility of discovery would be almost certain once Berzerker or Shadowcat used their powers to disrupt electrical circuits, especially if this whole area was indeed a trap. Unable to use her powers, Vaettir frowned, and then grinned at seeing something nearby.

Several minutes later found the discs cracked open, gasoline flooding into each and every case, destroying the fragile information drives. Grinning to herself, she whirled around when she heard gunfire, and raced forward. She dived to the ground when an automatic machine gun went off in her direction, and winced when she felt shrapnel overhead. Rolling to the side, she blinked when a man went flying over her head. Sliding upright, she kicked the person firmly in the gut before he had a chance to recover, and rushed forward.

Kitty phased through several men, running from one chasing her, and causing the hunter to run right into his comrades. Berzerker knocked several out – as well as quite a lot of equipment – by firing electrical bolts in rapid succession. Vaettir slid and knocked a man off of his feet, judo-chopping in his jugular. Nodding in satisfaction, she gasped when she was picked up bodily, and realized it was Colossus.

"Trap."

"How many?"

"Unknown."

"Lure outside."

"Can do."

Signaling finished, the giant tossed her away. Landing lightly on her feet, Vaettir headed Berzerker's way, signaling as she went. Getting his attention and relaying the message, she took off down the tunnel. Wishing she had her powers, and looking forward to being outside, Vaettir froze in her tracks when she realized she wasn't able to get outside.

Turning tail, she ran smack into Berzerker, who realized the problem immediately. Several men held Kitty hostage, who in her panic at having a gun in her neck, didn't think to just phase.

They paused briefly, before Colossus strode towards and past them. When the shooting began, the bullets only bounced off of him. Berzerker glared their way, and a few well-placed shots disabled their guns. Their hands burned, the men yelped in pain, releasing Kitty in the process.

Vaettir signaled for her to go outside and hold the door, while Colossus was busy knocking heads together. She and Berzerker ran past and were almost through the door when they were forced to skid to yet another stop – the doors were sealed shut. Unable to swear vocally, Berzerker settled for jumping up and down in frustration, and Vaettir turned back to Colossus.

"They've got a weapon."

"Bomb?"

"I think so." His signaling said all they needed to know – if they didn't get out, they were going to die. "Can you electrocute it open?" This was at Berzerker, who shook his head.

"Shadowcat fried all circuits – anything I do won't work."

"Break it down?"

"I don't know." With this, Colossus rammed the door so hard dirt drifted down on them. The other two looked nervously up, not wanting the tunnel to collapse on them, and Berzerker pulled Vaettir to the side when a blast went off.


The next thing she knew, she was waking up with her hands in steel clamps behind her back, and her legs in clamps as well, underneath her. Looking groggily around, she saw Colossus next to her, while Berzerker and Shadowcat opposite them.

"Damn it…" she swore, and realized their mouthpieces had been taken away. Reaching out, she was relieved to find plant life close by, and realized they must have been taken somewhere else. She recognized the flora, and knew they were still on the island, at least.

"You awake?" she whispered, nudging Colossus.

"Yeah…almost," he groaned. "What happened?"

"Bomb exploded," Berzerker said shortly, unhappily crackling. "We survived, but they got us – even you, ironman. And Shadowcat, who took off," he added, a glare sent the girl's way. Vaettir was none-too-impressed by Shadowcat's actions, and it was easy enough to tell neither was their commander.

"What did you think you were doing?" he demanded quietly, trying to listen for any approaching footsteps. "You abandoned us in the middle of an enemy base!"

"I'm – I'm sorry," she whimpered, her eyes red from crying. They found it hard to spare any sympathy for her, however – they had enough problems without wasting energy.

"Are your powers back?" Colossus asked her, and she nodded slightly.

"Yeah, let me just…" She paused as she concentrated, and strained a bit as she managed to pull the clamps off her hands. Stretching, she felt the ones on her legs, and found a button to release embedded in the steel. They sprung loose, and she turned to Colossus. He and Berzerker were shortly freed, and as Vaettir released Shadowcat she leaned in close.

"If you do anything other than what we say, I will leave you here. Understand?" she whispered softly in the girl's ear. Shadowcat's eyes widened in shock, and she nodded mutely. "Good," Vaettir agreed, straightening and exchanging a glance with Colossus.

"We're still on the same island – I woke up as they were dragging us around," Berzerker told them, sounding disgruntled.

"Then my senses were right. Now what?" Vaettir mused, crossing her arms defensively.

"We bash a hole through this place, wrap up loose ends, and get the hell out of here," Colossus said grimly. "Playtime's over. Our cover's blown, might as well blow everything else."

"Oh boy!" Berzerker cheered, rubbing his gloved hands together in anticipation. Vaettir gave him a look, and he paused long enough to admire the brute force Colossus possessed, when their own man of steel walked right through the door, and bullets soon began to fly.

"Go!" Vaettir ordered, relishing in the return of her powers. She wrapped vines around several unlucky men, and winced when Berzerker grabbed hold of them. Using the vines as a conduit, he shot electricity through them, frying whoever was touching the 'vines of voltage'.

"You all right?" he checked, and she nodded. "All right, 'cause your hair looks like a poof-ball," he informed her. Reaching around, she winced when she felt her crackling hair, before shrugging.

"Oh well," she sighed, whirling around to land a high kick in one of the soldier's ribcage. "Who are you?" she demanded, her boot resting heavily on his throat. She was met with a glare, and she shrugged.

"Leave them to me – find a way out of here," Colossus ordered, striding towards her. She nodded and rushed off, using her powers to find the roots of plants. The shallower the dirt was, the closer they were to the surface, and Vaettir navigated the maze of rooms by sense alone before finding the door.

"Here!" she shouted, wedging vines in the cracks around the door before causing a growth explosion in the plants, forcing the door out of it's space. She breathed in the fresh air with relief, and turned to see her teammates running towards her.

"How'd we –"

"Not a problem," Colossus told her, and she nodded her understanding. Not worried about being followed any further, she began to stride up the path when she realized Berzerker wasn't there.

"What the hell?" she demanded, seeing him still at the complex's doorframe.

"Just a second," he called, impatiently waving her off. She rested her hands on her hips expectantly, and jumped into the air when an explosion rocked the ground beneath her feet. Before she had a chance to recover, Berzerker was already running past.

"Let's go!" Colossus shouted, revving the Blackbird's engines. The two remaining X-Men boarded with well-placed jumps, and Vaettir glanced out the window to see a chain reaction rock the island, sending small mushroom clouds clouding the sky.

"What the hell did you do?" she demanded, and the electricity-shooting punk only grinned.

"Got rid of the evidence."


"You did what?" Ororo demanded, her voice shriller than usual. The four had just stepped from the Blackbird when their teacher met them, an angry expression on her face. They winced, but Piotr stepped forward.

"We need to talk," he said shortly. Taking her by surprise, and exploiting his full advantage, the giant took Ororo by the arm and practically dragged her into an adjacent room. They winced when the door slammed, and Ray and Deitra exchanged glances.

"I'm taking a shower," Deitra told the other two, running her hands through her hair in dismay. "With lots of conditioner."

"I should take one too," Kitty agreed, following the young woman to the lockers. Ray debated on following, but decided he didn't want to be in any more pain, and stretched.

"Guess I get to wait to clean up," he grumbled, before remembered there were separate shower rooms. Grinning, he took off with maniacal glee, remembering just in time to turn off the electricity before touching the metal door.