Sorry for the false alarm! I realized I had been uploading it without checking over it so I quickly deleted it. It should be good now. Sorry about that :(
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Chapter 7:
If they really thought he would stay with them when they got in, then they were dumber than they thought he was. As soon as he got a reading on where Stryker was, he left, leaving his communicator behind on the desk. They'd find it, he was sure.
It was difficult to smell anything in there over the dank sewer odor that permeated the air, so he wasn't able to use his nose to search out Stryker. He tried to recall the blueprints as best he could, and used the rest of his senses to get him where he needed to go. His boots made loud noises as they slapped against the floor. He made no effort to silence his approach.
Claw marks on the doorway to his left caught his attention and his feet came to a stop right beside it. Slowly, he walked towards the opening, and the sight that greeted him nearly sent him to his knees.
It was his nightmare.
There was the tank, right in front of him, that he had drowned in every night since he had woken up with no memory. The machines next to it were filled with a bubbling grey liquid substance and had needles protruding towards the water; it gave him chills as he remembered the feeling of them penetrating his skin.
This was the room.
He hesitantly stepped forward, his eyes taking in the rest of the room as he came to a halt near the machine. Swallowing, he turned to study the tank in closer detail, his hand trembling as it lifted up to ghost over the claw marks imbedded in the cement.
Flashes suddenly seized him and he clamped his eyes shut as they washed over him in erratic waves.
He burst out of the water, claws ablaze, and roared up at the men in the higher level. Agent Zero whirled around in an arc and shots were fired. Logan felt the impact against his forehead, but he merely brushed it off as the bullets were pushed out of his flesh and fell to the water. He let out a low growl and could smell the fear and shock on every person in the room. He bared his teeth in a snarl.
He darted out of the tank, not caring about his nudity in the least. He swiped at everyone in his way, tearing a path to the door. He sliced through the giant metal door like it was butter, kicking it open and running outside. They were too far away to do anything as he took a flying leap down the nearby waterfall.
He crashed into the waves at the bottom and floated for God knew how long, barely keeping his head above water. All he knew was that he had to survive. Whether that decision was a conscious one or instinctual, he couldn't determine. Time passed and before he knew it he was being pushed near a bank and he grabbed fistfuls of the grass to pull himself up. Dragging his body across the ground, he finally felt the agony lacing through his arms where his claws resided. Slowly he let them emerge and finally got a good look at what they had done to him. What he had agreed to be done to him.
Long metal claws coated the bones that resided in his arms. The skin at his knuckles were bleeding and healing at a rapid pace and the pain that coursed through his veins made him throw his head back and howl-
Logan jerked back into the present. A distant throbbing in his hands caused him to clench them. His chest heaved as he tried to regain his breath and his composure.
He almost missed the sound of two pairs of footsteps coming towards him. Even over the stench of the room, he would recognize that scent anywhere.
Stryker.
-x-
Rogue fumed in her chair as John continued to click his lighter. It felt like they had been waiting forever and she was growing even more pissed off by the second. Not to mention the way that Logan had acted continued to frustrate her. She turned over their recent interactions in her mind, trying to figure out what was wrong, but she couldn't think of anything. She let out another angry sigh and saw Bobby turn to her out of the corner of her eye.
The final click of the Zippo caught her attention. "That's it," John proclaimed, standing up.
He leaned over them to reach the console, flicking the ramp down. Spinning, he grabbed his coat on his way out.
"Whoa! Where do you think you're you going?" Bobby demanded. He and Rogue were hot on John's heels, mimicking him when he stopped in front of the ramp.
He shrugged on his coat, "I'm done with this kid's table shit. I'm going after them."
"They told us to stay here," Rogue pointed out. Because as much as she hated staying behind, she knew when to follow orders. And that was definitely an order.
John smirked over his shoulder at her, "You always do what you're told?" Rogue paused at that, unable to form a response. For a moment, she contemplated following him. It was better than staying here, but…
What if they were already on their way? It might be doing more harm than good to leave now. They might be needed. These thoughts held Rogue in her place but she knew they weren't enough to make John stay. She hurried to find a reason.
"What about Kitty?" she implored to his retreating back. He stiffened, and for a moment she thought he'd actually stay.
But then, "Tell her…I'm sorry that I'm breaking my promise."
And then he was gone.
-x-
"Charles?"
"Stop."
Silence.
"Charles."
"Stop. Please…stop."
A soft hand touched his cheek, but he refused to open his eyes.
"Charles…please."
He barricaded his mind. He wouldn't go through that again. He couldn't look at her.
"Charles."
The hand disappeared. He relaxed minutely. That was a mistake. He felt a siege on his brain, like a hand gripping it fiercely, and despite his already closed eyes he felt darkness claim him.
-x-
Jason sat calmly in his seat. If it wasn't for the occasional blink of the eyes, one would think he was dead. No movement was made on his part as he sat in his chair, nothing that would indicate what was actually going on in his mind.
The Professor was a strong-willed man, very difficult to break compared to his previous opponents. His mental walls were held up well and Jason expected nothing less. However his daddy needed this done and he would see it through no matter what.
The girl with the blue skin and the blonde disguise was the perfect illusion. Even though the Professor had already seen through it, the girl's image had the ability to sneak past his guard every time. No matter how hard he tried, the Professor couldn't let her go and Jason used that to his advantage.
With a sudden seize of strength Jason managed to wrench the control away from the Professor, opening the older man's mind to his influence. It was like a floodgate, and Jason immediately grabbed onto the closest and strongest thought buried deep within-
-x-
"Charles? What are you doing?"
He glanced up from his desk where papers were scattered about to where his best friend stood in the doorway.
"Well, Erik, someone has to take care of this school and its finances, and it's obviously not going to be you or Raven." He hid his smile as he shuffled the stack in front of him.
Erik scoffed and walked farther into the room, "As I recall you were the one who claimed he was the best candidate for the job, so everything after that you only have yourself to blame, my friend," he smirked.
"Ha ha," Charles deadpanned. He picked his pen up again and turned back down to write.
"Charles you are needed somewhere else at the moment, actually," Erik said, crossing his arms across his chest.
Glancing through his hair, Charles gave him a curious look, "Where? Why?"
Erik just stared back at him, not moving an inch. After a few moments of nothing, Charles let out a giant sigh, and flopped backwards into his seat. Running a hand through his hair he forced himself onto his feet, knowing Erik wouldn't tell him.
"Alright, what is it that needs my 'undivided' attention?" He followed his friend out of his office door and almost ran into a familiar blonde.
"I believe that would be me," Raven teased. As she pivoted on her heel, she hooked her arm through his, proceeding to drag him through the hallways with Erik trailing behind them leisurely, hands in his pockets and a smirk once again in place.
"Raven, where are we going?" Charles laughed as he allowed her to continue to pull him along. She merely giggled and tugged on his arm some more, kissing him quickly on the cheek.
"It's a surprise," she whispered in his ear. After that he followed without a word, only a stupid grin adorned his face. He didn't need to look back to see Erik shaking his head in amusement.
After a few more turns he found himself standing in front of Cerebro's entrance.
'I always thought it'd be beneath the school,' he thought absentmindedly. Instead, he said, "Why are we here, love?" He turned to look down at her; without her heels she was a few inches shorter than him.
"We've been looking for this mutant for awhile now, and we think we've narrowed it down," she started as he leaned down to open the door via eye scan. The doors swished open and all three were walking down the ramp to the console in the middle of the room. "We just want to make sure we've got the right one," she finished up as she smiled sweetly at him. He returned it as he picked up the helmet.
"Need my help, yea?" he teased.
"Always," she murmured as she took the helmet from his hands and placed it gently on him herself. She kissed him gently before moving away from him.
"So where am I looking?" he asked, getting ready to begin.
Erik took a step forward and Charles waited patiently.
A beat. And then:
"Everywhere," Erik muttered lowly.
Seeing nothing wrong with that, Charles nodded his head and focused-
-x-
Jason sat behind the Professor a few paces back on the ramp. He watched silently as the Professor picked up the helmet for Cerebro and placed it over his head. He watched as the machine seemed to come alive beneath the Professor's powers and he knew he had done his father proud. It would happen; this was working.
The plan was working.
-x-
Rogue continued to pace inside the jet, wondering furiously what her next move should be. John had left only a few minutes ago and he couldn't have gotten far. Should they go after him? She was sure she could track him down and forcibly drag him back if need be.
She paused near the windshield before rotating on her heel to begin the process again. Only-
A sudden pain washed over her, her mind blaring with alarms and panic. She struggled to breathe as it claimed her and felt her knees buckle and the ground rushed up to her. She gripped her hair in her gloved hands, trying to alleviate the agony but nothing seemed to be working. The wailing in her head blocked out the rest of the voices and she couldn't even find it within herself to look at Bobby to see whether or not he was okay. The pain was so much, too much, it was just like Liberty Island-!
She opened her mouth and screamed.
-x-
John writhed on the snow, clutching his head in a desperate attempt to lessen the pounding in his skull. He felt like he was dying, what was this? He tossed and turned, but was unable to stop everything from hurting. He gasped for breath, but nothing seemed forthcoming.
Thoughts of Kitty pushed themselves to the forefront of his mind then and he idly wondered if she'd even miss him when he was gone. Would she even care? Would anyone care?
It was more than a little ironic that if he really was dying that it was out in the wilderness, alone. Looks like he was never meant to be loved. That was fine with him. The less people around, the less people to see him show any weakness.
He bit his tongue to hold back the scream that crept up his throat.
-x-
Kitty was sure she was breaking Jubes's skin but at the moment she was too busy trying to keep her head from exploding to care.
The children were all on the ground, some crying and some silent and curled in a ball. Kitty couldn't do anything to help them; she was as helpless as they were in this situation and she could only manage to continue ripping into Jubilee's arm.
Her friend was hunched over, her fingers raked through her hair and digging into her scalp. Kitty worried for a brief moment that her friend would accidentally rip her hair out if she wasn't careful but then the pain seemed to strengthen and she couldn't think anything after that.
-x-
Raven couldn't control her mutation as the screaming continued to lace through her head and her skin rippled quickly in succession. She waited impatiently for Erik to finally break down the door and once he did it took everything in her to not slump to the ground. Charles was always strong, but she had never had his mutation turned against her like that. She took a few breaths to regain her composure before wearily standing up.
Erik was doing his part, and now it was time for hers. She sauntered over, her appearance changing into Stryker seamlessly. She leaned down next to Jason and whispered her words softly about the change in plans.
She looked up at Erik and felt a pang of satisfaction and something else when she saw his pleased expression. She couldn't help but turn her gaze to beyond him and the pang turned into something ugly and twisting when she caught sight of the familiar jacket shoulder.
She forced herself to keep calm and stuffed her emotions far, far down below. Fluidly standing tall, she turned on her heel and marched out the door as herself, her expression as blank as she could make it.
It was time to leave.
-x-
Okay, I'm gonna leave it there for now so it looks like I've been updating at a semi-decent pace ahaha (I'm so sorry) anyway, I hope you liked it, please let me know. I have been a bit busy but just know that this fic is definitely on my To Do List. I'll probably be updating a lot more around when DOFP comes out but for now bear with me :) Thanks for sticking with me so far. I'm trying to add bits that deviate from the movie a little, but trying to still keep with the events that did occur. Does that make sense? I hope it's alright.