I was awoken by the sounds of gunfire and yelling. I woke up with jolt, causing me to smack my head on the metal cabinet which reminded me of where I was. So much for Cyclops' plan of getting in and out unnoticed. Did they have Kurt yet?
I struggled to my feet, ready to go out there, guns blazing. But then I remembered. I'm no mutant superhero or even human soldier, what help could I be? I didn't even have a gun!
But Kurt needed me…
I heard more gunfire than scream that sounded like Kitty. I grabbed the med kit and hurried out of the jet, only stopping to grab a bullet proof vest from the same closest the X-men kept their life jackets and parachutes.
When I was out in the open, I could see hell. A loud blaring siren echoed from all around the base, with red and blue lights glazing on people's sweating faces. Mutant's I never seen before gathered in a corner, all of them shaking with terror. I guess they were the mutants that were too new to have been brainwashed yet. But they looked beaten. Other mutants wearing the same military uniform as the humans with guns attacked the X-men. I could see that the superheroes were trying to not hurt them while also protecting themselves. Jean and Storm were leading a group of scared teenagers to the corner with the rest of captured non brainwashed mutants. I ducked behind turned over Jeeps and supply crates to get closer to where I could see Remy struggling.
"Merde, mon amis! We's trying to help you!" Gambit shouted at the ginormous mutant in an army uniform who was trying to stamp on him.
"Yah turned me into a freak yah dirty son of a bitch! You gave me your disease!" The giant roared, finally getting a hold of the Cajun. Holding Gambit in on hand, he began to squeeze. A sickening crack could be heard over Gambit's yells.
"Just calm down, bub! We didn't do nothing to yah" Wolverine yelled. He jumped onto the giant's back. He slashed at the arm that held Gambit, just deep enough to cause him pain but not enough to hit anything too vital. He dropped Gambit with a scream as Jean came over to use her powers to put the rogue mutant to sleep.
"Why do they all keep saying that?" Wolverine asked harshly as he helped Gambit to his feet.
"I've scanned their minds, it's the brainwashing." Jean said grimly, examining Gambit's ribs. "At least three of these are broken. Rogue! Get him to the jet!"
As Rogue flew the protesting Cajun to the jet, Jean and Wolverine went back into action.
"They convinced them all that," Jean said in between dodging bullets, "they are all humans, military guys. They think mutants kidnapped them before and gave them our "disease" to make them like us. They don't remember anything except the army. Logan, its like there's nothing in them except hatred for mutants."
"Damn, these people are sick." Wolverine growled, slashing a machine gun into pieces and kicking an attacking mutant in the face. "Has anyone found Nightcrawler yet?"
"No, and we're losing people fast. Kitty, Remy, and Scott are all down and Hank's too busy helping them. The captured mutants' are too scared to be any help, most of them are too weak or injured anyway. Watch it!" Jean interrupted herself to stop a wall from falling onto Hank and a teenage mutant who was bleeding badly from the chest. "Logan, if we don't find him fast, I think we're going to have to pull out."
"We can't leave him behind, who knows when we'll have another chance." Wolverine argued. He then held his hand to his ear, listening to the communication device in his ear. "Colossus thinks he found another bunker. He says there's a few more brainwashies there, so the elf might be there. Let's go help him, we're only getting one shot at this."
Jean nodded and followed Logan as he ran down a nearly collapsed hallway. Jean created a shield for the two of them so they didn't get shot. I followed, praying I wouldn't do something stupid and get shot before I could even find Kurt.
I stopped when they did about ten minutes later. We were in some sort of basement. I couldn't see much because of the flickering lights. Wolverine held up the signal to stop. I pressed myself up around the corner we just turned so they wouldn't see me.
"What is it? Do you smell hi-" Jean asked in a hushed voice, but stopped when Logan began sniffing again.
"I wish." He answered before his scowling face popped up from around the corner to meet mine. I almost screamed. "Damn it kid! What do you think you're doing?"
Jean came over to see who he was taking to. "Oh no, you've got to be kidding me! Katie, what the-ah!"
Jean was cut off as a bullet bit into her back. She slumped down, but I steadied her. Wolverine growled and went after the gun man. I quickly turned my head, but not fast enough to avoid seeing the soldier's blood splatter against the white cold walls. Logan retracted his claws with the man's blood still on them, then came back to us.
"Jeanie, you okay?"
"Ye-no." She answered through clenched teeth. I quickly got to work on her wound. It had just grazed her side, hitting just below the dermis. I applied direct pressure and checked her vitals. Her hands took over for holding the gauze on her laceration.
"Go, we can't let them get away. I'll be okay." Jean said sternly.
"We can't just-" Logan started.
"It didn't cut that deep, my vitals are stable and I can control the bleeding. I just sent a message to the rest of the team and Hank's coming to get me right now." Jean told us, making herself smile bravely. "You have to go."
Logan looked at me, silently asking about her condition. I nodded. She wasn't in the bad condition with the bleeding controlled. She could go into shock, but if McCoy was coming for her…
"Logan could stay with you and I-" I started.
"Don't be silly, you need him more than I do. This brain washing is worse than we thought. We need you to get through to Kurt and Logan is your protection." Jean said in a slightly impatient voice. "Go!"
"We'll be right back if you need us." Logan promised.
Jean gave him a slight push and we were off again. We dodged down corridors, following Logan's nose. He had to… take care of... some more soldiers, all of them humans but one. She was a mutant with thorns all over her, and she was in the same mindset as the others. Logan ended up having to knock her out and sent a message to Hank to come look after her once he took care of Jean.
"They really did a number on-!" Logan was cut off when a bullet lodged in his throat.
From the shadows emerged a large human soldier, smiling. He bent over Logan, talking into a walkie talkie on his jacket. He didn't see me, standing in the shadows.
"I took one of them bastards down, never got to the- oh shit, he's healing or something. You're supposed to cut healer's head off, right?" The soldier said into the device, pulling a large knife from his belt.
I reacted without thinking. I stepped out of the shadows and grabbed my stomach, screaming. The soldier gave a startled shout. He looked at me in confusion, which was understandable. A pregnant human teen bent over in agony in a top secret base was a little out of place.
"M-my water just broke! I'm going into labour!" I screamed, falling to my knees.
"Uh, okay, uh" The soldier wasn't able to say anything more because Logan had healed enough to be able to slice his throat. That I saw the whole thing and felt like I was going to throw up as I watched the blood run.
"That was…interesting." Logan commented.
"Only thing I could think of. And it worked didn't it?" I defended myself, getting up from the floor. "we'd better head on, I probably attracted- uh oh."
A new alarm sounded around us.
"Let's move."
We hurried on to where there were a bunch of cells and what looked like torture rooms. I walked into one of them slowly, feeling more nauseous as I saw the mysterious dark stains on the floor and walls. There was a cold metal table with straps on it. Evil looking instruments lay on a metal tray on a stand. I shuddered. Was Kurt in here? Is some of this his blood?
"Don't move!" I heard a voice from behind me. The voice wanted me want to both run and smile. It made my heart pound so hard, I'm sure he could have heard it.
"Kurt." I started to turn but once more he commanded. "I said don't move!"
I stayed still this time. "Kurt, it's me. Its Katie."
"Shut…up. And don't move." He sounded more uncertain now. I saw a red scanning light flow over me and then a beep sound. "You're human. Vhat, I mean, what are you doing here?"
He's missing his accent! I guess when they were brainwashing him, they decided he should be American. But he slipped up, he almost had it back. That gave me hope.
"Kurt, I'm here for you." I answered softly.
"Why do you keep saying 'Kurt'? I'm John."
"No, you're Kurt." I turned slowly, my hands on my head so I wouldn't startle him too much. When I looked at him, my breath caught in my chest. I've been fearing seeing him again for so long, while also needing to see him. He was the same handsome blue guy I remembered, but instead of wearing his X-men uniform, he was in the same army uniform as those who imprisoned him. He looked at me with a strange look on his face. He looked so confused and lost. He looked at my stomach with much more confusion. Then he raised his gun and pointed it at me.
"Come out slowly, with your hands up. Where are the mutants?"
"Right here, elf." Logan growled. He had snuck up on him from behind, and now had his claws to his throat. "Point that gun somewhere else, you're going to hurt someone."
"The only person I'm going to hurt, is mutant scum like you!" Kurt yelled. He teleported to behind Logan and threw him into a wall. "See that? I'm using the disease you gave me against you. How does that feel, freak?"
"Kurt, they're in yer head! We didn't do this to you!" Logan said, getting up.
"You turned me into one of you!" Kurt yelled. He went silent when we all heard footsteps echoing in the hallway. In a puff of smoke, Kurt was behind me, and in another we were both standing out in the hallway.
"General, one of them are in room 139. Wolverine. And we have a hostage." Kurt said to the same man I remembered from the day when they grabbed Kurt in the city.
"Good work Private John. Who is she? What are her powers?" The general asked, examining my face. I scowled with hatred at him.
"Its strange sir, she's completely human. I don't know how she connects to the freaks." Kurt answered like a good little soldier. "Sir, we have more mutants, do you think-"
"Private, our base is falling down around us and most of our men have been taken down. Once we set up at the new base we can work with the new freaks to find you your cure." The general answered.
Kurt nodded. "Thank you sir."
So that's how they're controlling them. Say they are military who caught "mutant disease" and everything is the mutant's fault, and the only way they can be cured is by the general and his scientist. But of course they have to help the general capture and control mutants, so they can find the cure. Sick.
"Let her go Kurt!" Wolverine stood at the other end of the hall, the rest of the X-men standing around him. Jean, Kitty and Remy were too injured to risk coming here, but Scott had decided that his two broken ribs weren't bad enough to keep him down.
The soldiers raised their guns and aimed them at the mutants, but the general held up the sign to hold fire.
"We lost most of our subjects today, and we need more to bring to the new base. Shoot only to injure, not kill." He ordered. "They won't make a move because we have a captive. Hold onto her, Private."
"Yes Sir." Kurt said obediently, readjusting his grip on me.
"Kurt," I whispered quietly so only he could hear me. "Kurt, listen to me. You have to help them, they're your friends."
"Shut up."
"See the girl with the white stripes in her hair? That's Rogue, your sister. The big metal guy is your best friend. The one with claws is Logan, the Wolverine, your mentor. He was the one who started calling you elf, remember?" I continued quietly.
"I said shut up!"
"I'm Katie, your Katie. Remember how you used to call me your Crazy Canuck? I told you it was lame but I actually thought it was kind of cute." I continued. Kurt shifted uneasily. "Remember when we ate peanut butter and chocolate ice cream on my silo, and I fell off and nearly died but you caught me? I was completely blamed you for that because I was laughing so hard at some stupid thing you said to concentrate on not falling off."
"Private, shut her up." The general barked at Kurt, his face a little scared.
"Remember that time when I ran out of shampoo and had to use my brother's old spice stuff, and you thought I was cheating on you because I smelled like a boy? You laughed really hard about that afterwards. Or the time when you were sick with the flu but you came and saw me on my birthday anyway? Remember our secret handshake we came up with when we were bored? Come on Kurt, remember!" I begged.
"Private Dwen, take her away!" The general ordered a human soldier. When he stepped forward to take me, Kurt pulled me back.
"Who, who are you? There's all these images in my head…" Kurt said, struggling to understand.
"Keep it up kid, its working!"
"I'm Katie, I'm-"
"SHUT THAT LITTLE HOE BAG UP!" The general roared, saliva flying from his mouth. The soldiers aimed their guns at me now, but Kurt's now pointed at their direction. In a puff of smoke, he teleported us to the catwalk a level above the others, what seemed to be an observation deck. I took this opportunity.
"I know everything is really confusing right now, but you have to trust me that those mutants down there are your friends. You were always a mutant and these army guys brainwashed you into believing you are one of them. They hurt innocents because of their hatred. You are part of the X-men, a superhero." I told him, our eyes never leaving each other's. "You have to help stop them."
"You need to tell me who you are to me." Kurt said. "Why should I trust you?"
I took a deep breath, then took his blue hand and held it to my stomach.
"I'm your Katie. We've been dating for a few years now." I felt like I was going to cry. Damn hormones. "I'm pregnant with your child."
Kurt's yellow eyes widened, staring at my swollen stomach. He only looked back at my face for a moment before teleporting away. I quickly went to look over the banister, where the X-men had engaged the soldiers now that I was out of the way. Puffs of smoke appeared all over the place, and each time one appeared, a soldier disappeared.
The battle ended relatively fast. The X-men got out the rest of the captive mutants before the whole base collapsed. Jean and the rest of the telepaths worked together to keep the brainwashed mutants unconscious until a SHEILD ship showed up to take them to an institute to help them get back to normal. Professor X flew the other X-men jet to help carry the mutants to the school where they would stay until they were able to go home. I stayed hidden in the MedBay of the Blackbird with Beast, helping him care for those injured.
Kurt was still under the influence of the brainwashing, but he was himself enough to help the X-men. Once everything was taken care of and we were about to take off, I heard him ask Wolverine where I was.
Logan answered that I was in one of the MedBays, and I heard him start to walk to the back of the plane where I was. I quickly walked over to Kitty work was nursing a bullet wounded shoulder.
"Kitty, I'll understand if you don't feel up to it but, could you phase me out of the plane, quickly?" I asked in a hushed voice. "I have to go to the other Bay and help Storm with an amputation case."
Kitty gave me a look that let me know she knew I was lying. But still she offered me her hand.
"You're going to have to face him sooner or later Kat." Was all she said before lowering me through the bottom of the plane.
I hurried to get on the smaller plane being flown by Xavier.
As I worked on Remy's fractured ribs, my mind wandered. Where would I go from here?
