Chapter 11: "Gonna Need Another Castle Dungeon Rescue Party"
"I swear to God I saw this place on 'Great Vampire Hideaways'," Wade said at nearly a whisper.
Kate and Clint shared a smirk as they looked out over the castle where Wade's intel said they'd find another Department doctor. It was dark and cloudy, too, so they both had to admit that the description was pretty fitting as a light dusting of snow started to fall and they could see their breaths.
"I'm thinking we start in the basement — or the dungeon — or whatever," Clint said with a little nod. "That's usually where the sneaky stuff is hidden."
"You could have used that advice back at the beginning of this silly thing," Wade said as he tapped Kate's shoulder.
"What ... look in the basement?" Kate scrunched up her nose at him. "Yeah, but I love climbing in windows. And not all the houses in LA have basements — that was my start as a PI."
"And you gotta use trees too," Wade said. "I saw that issue too."
Kate shrugged at him, not sure what he was on about — and knowing it was easier not to try to make sense of it. "Okay, I know how to handle castles. Just clear the stairs with some splodeys and make sure there's no dragon."
"You're not wearing a dress; there won't be a dragon," Wade said confidently.
She had to chuckle a little bit. "You know, my life has gotten so weird lately that — that actually makes sense. X-Men are weird."
Clint snorted as the three of them slipped around to see if they could find an entrance — or make one, as the case might be. After a bit of searching, they found a small, barred window that, when Kate looked through it, definitely opened up into a dungeon, though it was several feet above the dungeon floor, and they would need to lower themselves down once they got in.
Clint shot Kate a little grin as he pulled a few acid arrows from his quiver, and once those ate through the bars, they were able to shoot a grappling arrow through the little window, and Kate lowered herself inside first, sliding down the rope until she found herself in a dungeon much like the one she'd been in when she met Bastion a few years ago. Though this time, at least, she wasn't locked in.
The other two slid in close after her, and the three of them split, keeping their comms open as they searched for anything that looked like it might be helpful. The castle was, frankly, huge, so they were fairly well spread out when Kate spotted the first sign of life — a huge guy who was, she realized with a sinking feeling, unmistakably a Marauder.
"Wade," she said quietly into her comm, trying hard to keep her cool and not sound as freaked out over the comms as she was in person.
"Yes my little songbird?" Wade half sang to her
"Wade... what's the name of this guy we're going after?"
"Windsor," he said. "Like the tunnel. And the really sleazy city that isn't Detroit. Why?"
Her heart skipped a beat, remembering what K had told her when they were looking into how to keep Sinister away from her during her pregnancy. "You know that's Mr. Sinister, right?" she said in a hoarse almost-whisper.
There was a pause for a moment before Wade replied in a much less hushed tone. "You know that makes a lot of sense now?"
"Well I'm looking at a Marauder right now so just… be careful," Kate said as she pulled out a few arrows and spread them out between her fingers to shoot the guy.
"Does this count as calling home for help material?" Wade asked. "Because this guy is a gigantic pain in the—"
"Yeah," Kate said. "Yeah… I think we're gonna want to have backup." With that, she let all three arrows fly, and the Marauder went down with a shout.
She flicked her hair over her shoulder with a satisfied smile and pulled another few arrows as she nosed cautiously down the path — when there was a furious little growl past her shoulder and around the corner. And that was how Kate realized that her little bamf buddy had been snatched.
Without really thinking about it, she reached back for another few arrows and raced around the corner, completely ready to tear apart whatever Marauder had been stupid enough to grab her little buddy — but she went to a skidding stop when she saw a huge, bulky Marauder handing Sinister a clear cage. She could see her little bamf inside it furiously teleporting around, but he just kept reappearing in the cage — unable to get out of it and chattering at top speed, little growls and snarls thrown in for good measure.
As for Sinister himself — she saw as she came to a stop that he… was in bad shape. Like, really bad. He was still pale as ever, but it wasn't the cold pale of the undead that it had been before. This was a pale like sickness, like a deathbed, with his eyes sunken in and obvious scars where his dramatic costume wasn't covering his skin.
He looked like he was dying.
Sinister looked up as she came skidding around the corner and tipped his head in greeting. "I don't suppose you brought any of your more useful friends along, Mrs. Wagner," he said in a rich, almost friendly tone.
"Just me and the bamfs," she said without hesitation.
He very nearly tutted at that. "If you're going to lie, at least do it convincingly."
"You're right. I didn't bring all of the bamfs. My bad," she said with a smirk, her bow still raised as she kept half an eye on the bamf in the cage.
"You didn't bring any mutants," Sinister said. "Not really."
"I do have other friends besides the X-Men," she said in a flippant tone. "And since none of us are mutants, you're not really interested, so I'll just take my friend and go, okay?"
"I didn't say that," Sinister replied. He took a step forward, never dropping her gaze, his expression one that sent shivers down Kate's spine. "Why don't you let your friends know where you are so they don't go wandering too far?"
"Hey guys," Kate said into her comm. "Book it out of here, would you? I'll be right behind you."
"Yeah, that's not happenin', Katie," Clint said in a totally unamused tone that told Kate he knew exactly what she was trying to pull and wasn't about to leave her behind.
"I said I'll be right behind you," Kate repeated as she let fly the two arrows she had strung and made a rush for the little bamf. To her surprise, rather than let the arrows hit him and then shrugging them off like he usually did, Sinister stepped aside and let a Marauder take the putty-explosive combo. He looked more annoyed than anything else — probably mad that Kate wasn't playing along when he wasn't telepathically controlling people.
"And I said that's not happening," Clint replied — though it was as he was bursting through the door with three arrows drawn.
Clint shot right through the Marauder who made a grab for Kate as she rushed for her bamf buddy, who was chattering his encouragement. She didn't get much further, though, because another one grabbed her hair and yanked hard, and when Clint swore at the guy, another three showed up to deal with him too.
Kate reached up with one hand to grab her hair closer to her head to alleviate some of the pain of having her hair pulled before she stepped in closer to the Marauder and kicked him between the knees to get her to let go, spinning back toward Sinister before she ran into a wall of muscle that was a second Marauder who hit her with a left jab that had her seeing stars. She went stumbling back a few steps into another one, who more or less trapped her in a bear hug and then pulled her arms down to her sides.
Clint, meanwhile, had stuck the first two Marauders full of arrows before the third managed to get a hand on his bow and break it in half. His little bamf buddy teleported over to his friend and frantically scrambled around the outside of the cage trying to figure out how to open it before he too got grabbed. One of the Marauders seized him by the tail and dangled him upside down — at about the same time one of the Marauders Clint had stuck full of arrows grabbed Clint around the ankle in retaliation and sent him sprawling to the ground alongside him. That gave the third guy enough of an opening to pound Clint hard enough that he was stunned, likely concussed, and easy to pin down after that.
As the Hawkeyes were being heavily restrained, with Sinister overseeing the entire event, Wade just casually strolled out of a room that looked as if there really was no other way in than the door he'd just walked out of.
"There is, like, a whole closet full of Mister Sinister bodies in there," he said as he thumbed over his shoulder. "A couple of Miss Sinisters too … that I wouldn't mind taking home with me ... any hooo … what's that all about?" He was half snorting, half chuckling to himself as he put his hands on his hips and assessed the situation. "Oh. Hawkeyes. Are we having a hugging party? Can I join in too?" He didn't wait for an answer before he walked right up to Sinister and wrapped his arms around him. "You're bonier than I remember."
With a tip of his head, Sinister signalled for his Marauders, who quickly made their way forward and peeled Wade off of him as he half smiled up at them.
"He had a run-in with my father-in-law," Kate said, and it was the first time in her life she'd ever looked smug about the family she'd married into. "Azazel won."
"What are you doing in my home?" Sinister asked, ignoring Kate's smug look and addressing the two men more than her.
"Well, you know how Katie is about swashbuckling adventures, and her anniversary's this weekend, so we're scouting spots," Clint said airily.
"I was under the impression that she didn't like looking for my kind of trouble — though I would like a fresh baseline," he said, finally looking toward Kate. Malice flashed in his gaze as well as a sneer that Kate knew only too well from weeks locked up with him. "How is the little demon-child so far? I'm sorry I haven't been able to stop in."
She glared openly. "She's gorgeous and none of your business. Isn't that how you ended up looking like a melting wax figure of yourself? Demon issues?"
"A temporary situation that I'm sure your gifted husband has been working hard to protect against," Sinister replied. "It's no secret that he tries to keep his father away. I have faith that he'll find a way to do just that, as I'm sure you do too."
"We'll make sure you two share a cell at Rikers Island," Kate said with a sneer.
"Yes, do that," Sinister said, his tone completely dismissive. "I know my way around and out of that prison well." He turned back to the other two with a far more businesslike expression. "Now. Why are you here?"
"Don't suppose you have any paperwork just… lying around from your time with the Weapon X program?" Clint asked, not expecting an answer.
Sinister frowned a bit and then nodded once. "Ah. Of course, the ridiculous legislation," he said easily. "As a matter of fact, I do. Though not just of my time there." He looked at Clint carefully. "Are you on the side for or against tracking?"
"Against. Obviously," Clint said, shaking his head.
"Obviously," Sinister almost purred with a little smirk. He tipped his head as he seemed to consider them — not just the fact that they had an Avenger actively working against anti-mutant legislation but the situation generally and its implications. Finally, he seemed to come to some kind of conclusion and nodded to himself, slowly. "I'll admit I had some curiosity on how long my ferals would live if left to their natural end."
"Not that you'll live to find out. You look like you're on your way out," Kate called out.
"A temporary problem that I've faced several times before," Sinister said with a wave. "Of course, I have all the research on Logan spanning back nearly a century. Though I don't know what good it might do you concerning the political climate."
"That's one pretty shiny carrot," Wade called out in almost a sing-song voice. "What's the stick?"
"Samples," Sinister said. "Without the fight."
"No way," Kate spat out, but she was surprised when Wade nodded thoughtfully.
"Whatd'ya need?" he asked as if this was completely reasonable.
Sinister looked at him for a moment, clearly considering him. "Your abilities are augmented, not natural. But they might be useful, seeing as getting near the source would be … difficult." He took a moment longer before he took a few steps closer to Wade. "Blood. Various tissues. Bone marrow."
Wade nodded along, his hand on his chin for emphasis with every listed demand. "Right. Right. Sounds good. But money where your mouth is first. Give my Hawk-friends here what you've got, and you can have your creepy, creepy way with little ol' me," he said in a sing-song voice that didn't have the usual carefree tone.
"Wade… no," Clint said as Kate gaped openly.
"It's no big deal," Wade said with a shrug. "They did stuff like this to us all the time."
"And it was wrong," Kate said at last, finally seeming to get hold of herself.
"Not if I'm giving my permission," Wade said, tutting her way.
Clint frowned for a long moment before he looked to Sinister. "I'm with Deadpool. Money where your mouth is first. How do we know you've got actual records?"
Sinister nodded his head and called over one of his Marauders, who left the room, only to return a short while later with several long legal file boxes as Sinister was gathering his instruments.
"The oldest files are all copies, of course," he explained. "The originals are in a vault in a non-existent facility." He looked up at them. "I have precious little on the female. Such a shame I didn't find her sooner."
"Her name's K," Kate grumbled, though without much of her bite as she stared at the boxes. That was a lot of information. And it could be so, so useful. It was just that the price tag...
"In a manner of speaking, yes," Sinister agreed.
Clint frowned over at the boxes for a moment. "Okay. Let the little demons take those records back to our place. We'll stay with Deadpool."
"To bring back Nightcrawler? I don't think so," Sinister said with a shake of his head. "No, you'll stay until I'm done. You're welcome to take that back with you when you go. I've got everything as digital files, but I'm sure to stop this desperate attempt to pause evolution, you'll need papers." He shook his head to himself. "I've no desire to see mutants halt their progression, as you well know."
But he didn't elaborate any further, turning his attention back to Wade — as the two Hawkeyes tried and failed for brace themselves for what was coming.
For the first little while after the Hawkeyes and Deadpool had gone, Krissy was completely content. She had her little face scrunched up in concentration as she watched Lucky's tail wagging back and forth, and Kurt had to laugh as he realized that she was trying to get her own tail to do the same thing — with limited success.
When she got tired of trying to copy Lucky, she had a couple bamfs perfectly willing to lie on their tummies next to her and giggle and cackle and make faces — and she rewarded them with wide grins as she tried to pinch their noses, tails, or whatever else she could reach.
But eventually, even that didn't seem to interest her, and as it came time for dinner, she seemed to get fussier. No matter what toys the bamfs brought her, no matter how cuddly Lucky tried to be, and no matter how much her dad pleaded with her to take the bottle, since she was obviously hungry, she wasn't having it.
So, finally, Kurt teleported them both back to the mansion, fussy baby in hand as he looked for any sign of either Logan or K. As he and Kate had discovered fairly early on, it was always easier to get Krissy to eat if she was distracted with her new best friend, after all. They really weren't surprised that she and Elin got along so well already, considering.
When he found K and Elin, they were upstairs in their room, perfectly snuggled in as Kurt and Krissy teleported in. Elin raised up to sit and stare at Krissy in her usual 'why are you crying' look when she heard the fussy little one, and Krissy actually started to calm down the slightest bit when she saw where they were.
"There you are," K said, her hand behind Elin's back as the little one sat upright. "I was starting to wonder where you might have disappeared to. It's Logan's night to cook, and he said he had something on deck for you."
Kurt had to grin at that. "I didn't mean to be gone so long — I was at the other Hawkeye's apartment," he explained. "He and Kate have been getting the team back together as of late — just on occasion."
"Is she hungry?" K asked, watching Krissy squirm in his arms. "I can go grab a bottle if you want to let them settle each other out a bit."
Kurt nodded gratefully. "Thank you. I can't seem to get her to eat right now, but if Elin can work her magic… maybe that will work."
K gave him a little smile before she kissed Elin on the top of her head and left the three of them to play. "Be back before you know it." With that, she slipped out of the room — and already, Elin was smiling mildly at Krissy.
Kurt let the two of them down to play for a while, with Krissy laid out and staring up at Elin as the older — but still somehow the same size — girl leaned the slightest bit to grin right back. He had to chuckle at the two of them and looked around to see if there was a spare toy or two he could use to play with them when he noticed the very official-looking document on the top of the dresser.
His head tipped to the side and obviously curious, Kurt checked the door once before he peeked over the paper — and fell into a deep frown when he realized what it was. These were official, legal instructions for what should happen should the worst befall his two friends — not quite a will, since this was more of a matter of 'if we are captured and lose our free will,' but the principle was the same.
He had gone completely still as he read it over — it was already signed and notarized. He wasn't sure quite what to think. They had named him as the legal guardian for Elin should the worst happen, and of course — of course — he was honored. Of course he would do anything for them and for her. But the fact that they felt this was even necessary, the fact that they had to even consider drawing up something like this… It left him fuming.
He carefully replaced the legal document on the dresser as he crouched down next to the two little girls, falling into a deep silence as he processed it.
"Alright, liten älva," K called out as she stepped through the door with the bottle in hand — entirely silent in her approach otherwise. "It's time to stop giving your father such a hard time." She was wearing a bit of a smile as she handed Kurt the bottle. "I have some lingonberries downstairs if she's going to keep being a pain about it. She loves them."
"And she loves you," Kurt said with a soft attempt at a teasing smile. "Because you spoil her so with things she shouldn't have."
K smiled a bit wider. "But she's old enough for a little fruit. Berries are fruit."
He shook his head at K, still with that same soft smile, as he gratefully took the bottle, which Krissy took as long as long as she could still see and stare at her best friend, meaning Kurt ended up more or less sitting on the floor as Elin helped him out with the little purple elfling.
K took a few steps to the side and slipped into the chair halfway across the room and watched the little ones. "They are in love," she said softly. "It's ridiculous."
"It's genetic," he teased lightly. "A Wagner and a Howlett. How could they not be the best of friends?"
"They had no choice in the matter," K agreed.
"Of course," he said, tipping his head to the side as he looked up at K for a moment. "My little princess is partial to your entire family."
"Again, genetic. Of course."
"Yes, Kate and I likely contributed to that," he said with a shameless grin now starting to spread over his face.
"Yeah, about that … Catholic boy. The rumors and teasing are just waiting for the official start," K told him. "The general news about this place is the only thing that's stopped the outright teasing over Elf Number Two. Be warned."
Kurt raised an eyebrow her way and laughed quietly. "I think if you mention that to Kate, even teasingly, she'll find those running shoes you gave her," he teased. "She really has been enjoying having her bow back and spending time with her old mentor."
"Has he learned how to clean yet?" K asked.
"Oh, ever since Gerry was born," Kurt said seriously, though with a twinkle in his eye. "The place has never been so clean — and it stays that way so the little ones can come over. He's completely smitten with all of them, you know."
"Well, birds of a feather, as they say," K teased.
"Perhaps it's Natasha you should be warning," he teased right back.
"She knows what she's getting into," K said with a smirk. "She's choosing it. Logan has a pool going, by the way."
"Logan has had a pool going for as long as I can remember about something or other. What is it this time?" he asked.
"Nat and Clint," she replied as the smirk stretched into a smile. "He says inside a year."
"It's hard to hazard a guess with them. It seems they dance around the idea of anything for ages and then simply decide in a moment," Kurt said thoughtfully.
"Inside a year — I'm not taking that bet."
"I think it depends on if Clint gets himself into anything like the trouble he was in before. That seemed to hurry her along."
K shook her head. "He's not betting on him — he's betting on her."
Kurt had to shake his head as well. "I have to agree with you, then. Barring another missing Hawk incident, I think she'll simply want to settle into this… new normalcy." He stretched out a bit with a smirk. "Besides, she's been gone for a while — an undercover mission, Clint said. It's hard to have children when you are on the opposite ends of the world from each other. Not everyone can teleport like I can," he teased.
"I think Nat's here more often than you realize," K said. "She just doesn't announce her presence all the time."
"Where's the fun in that?" he asked with a grin.
K leaned forward a bit. "I tend to agree with her," she told him quietly.
"Then you're missing out as well," he said with a light shrug.
"I don't know if you noticed, but when I make an entrance — it's usually a problem."
"Only if you are John Jonah Jameson," Kurt teased. "I think he's still recovering from your grand entrance on his show."
"Well, he's safe. That's not very likely to happen again."
"All things considered, I can't blame you," Kurt said, losing some of his teasing tone now as he leaned back with a sigh.
She watched the girls for a moment with her eyes narrowed slightly. "I can't believe they're sending out those jackasses as experts."
"Well, you do have the good Captain America running the circuits lately as your own counterpoint expert," Kurt said.
"He shouldn't have to do that," K said with a little shake of her head.
"He cares for his friends — and believe me, I don't think any of us could have stopped him once he saw the piece with Dr. Duncan," Kurt said, the frown pulling at the corners of his mouth.
"He's not a medical doctor, you know," K replied. "Or a psychologist. He's just a world class sadist."
Both of Kurt's eyebrows were raised, but he hardly sounded surprised. "That … sounds like them," he said, almost wearily, though he couldn't help but think of Kate out there with Clint and Deadpool actually searching out those 'doctors' that had been in the program.
They had fallen into a bit of silence when one of the bamfs teleported into the room, looking absolutely frazzled and wide-eyed. He was half hyperventilating as he broke into a string of fast and nearly disjointed 'bamfs', tugging on Kurt's arm and shaking the slightest bit.
"Go ... deal with … whatever that's all about," K said easily as she got up and made her way to sit on the floor across from Kurt. "I'll get the girls down to dinner so they can continue their love fest while we eat. I'm bringing you down anyhow."
Kurt nodded and very carefully handed Krissy to K before he teleported back to Clint's apartment with the little bamf, who was more or less attached to Kurt's arm in half a hug and still clearly upset. And when Kurt arrived, he could see why.
Wade was stretched out on the floor, obviously badly hurt, and both Hawkeyes were seated on either side of him looking pale and wide-eyed and, Kurt could see as Kate looked up to meet his gaze, simply furious.
But they were also surrounded by bankers boxes that looked to be full of files, and the other two bamfs were sitting on one of the boxes and all but holding onto each other.
"What happened?" Kurt asked, simply taking in the scene.
"That lead we got? Took us to Sinister," Kate said, her breath coming out in a hiss as she said the man's name.
Kurt froze for an instant as his heart skipped a beat before he got his steam back all in a rush of anger. "I thought you were going to 'port out if there was trouble," he said as he made his way closer, cautious of Wade, but concerned for Kate.
"Would've if we could've," Clint tried to assure Kurt. He was looking just as thunderous and pale, though his voice was heavy with obvious shock.
"Hey, I'm fine," Wade half rasped out. "Got what we came for, right?"
"You're not fine, you idiot," Clint said, a bit sharply. "That was just… that was... "
"First time he's seen Sinister… working," Kate explained to Kurt with half a glance over at Clint.
"Did he harm you?" Kurt asked.
"Not me," Kate assured him, before she gestured at Deadpool. "Wade, on the other hand, futzing volunteered, you moron."
"Hey!" Wade barked. "We got Logan's files. That's what we went for, right? The files? And the big … freaky big list of doctors."
Kate's sharp gaze softened a bit, and she let out a sigh before she leaned down to kiss Wade on the cheek. "Yeah, but you're still a moron," she told him with obvious affection before she looked up at Kurt to explain. "Wade made a deal with Sinister. Who, by the way, definitely came off worse from dealing with your dad's spell. He's trying to get his healing back ... so, he wanted some, um, samples from Wade."
"And he did this in exchange for files." Kurt looked a bit leery.
"Yeah, we weren't so sure about it either," Clint admitted. "But… way I read it, and this is just one Hawkeye's opinion, but ... way I read it, Windsor or Essex or whatever his name is ain't a big fan of the tracking idea either. Hard to snatch up samples when there's a big blinking neon light on your test subjects, not to mention the whole creepy, weird scientific angle of them getting in the way of 'progress' or whatever." He shrugged. "At least… the way he talked about the 'political climate' was interesting. But like I said. One Hawkeye's opinion."
"He probably just thinks it will make mutants less likely to continue to evolve," Kurt said. "Interferes with the natural order of things if the mutants are wary to go anywhere or do anything or live their lives." He looked toward the stack of boxes and then back to Clint. "But it's not like him to hand over any more than is necessary. At least, he's never given us more than bare bones in the past."
"Well, we'll go through and see what he gave us," Clint said. "And bring back Thor and Natasha to play with him if he skimped," he added with a bit of a glare.
"He said it was just copies anyway," Kate supplied. "He's still got the originals and digital files, so… he really hasn't lost anything giving us this. And he gained samples from Wade and… maybe…" She paused and bit her lip.
"Kate."
"I dunno, it seemed like he was trying to… ask us to get your dad taken care of for him," Kate admitted.
"Or he is under the impression that only samples freely given will do him any good," Kurt replied.
"I hate magic," Clint muttered, shaking his head. "And I hate that creepy guy. You guys've been dealing with him for how long?" He made a face. "Avengers don't have to put up with this crap."
"Some longer than others," Kurt replied. "He's been a thorn in Scott's side his entire life."
Clint let out a low whistle and shook his head. "I could use a beer. Could you use a beer? I could use one," he said as he headed for the fridge.
"I could," Kurt agreed. "But we should get back. You're welcome to join us, Clint. Logan's cooking tonight. K said it was something he had in mind for me." He couldn't help but smirk a bit at that.
"That ... is really tempting," Clint admitted. "But I think I might stay here and keep an eye on Deadpool."
"Pizza for your beer then?" Kurt asked.
"That's the plan," Clint agreed, already headed for the phone after he tossed Kurt a can from the fridge. "Whatcha want, Wade? The works?"
"I want whatever the heck they're having," Wade muttered with his eyes closed. "I didn't know Wolvie could cook."
"I can cook something — probably not what they're having, but I can cook," Clint said a bit defensively.
"He actually can," Kate whispered to Wade in a conspiratory tone. "I don't know where he learned. But if you can get him to make you dinner, it's actually amazing. He's just too lazy to do it very often."
"I don't want to wait that long," Wade admitted. "And he has like … half of a crappy six pack, two partly eaten containers of old Chinese food, and what I think … used to be a banana in the fridge."
"Like I said. Lazy," Kate said with a smirk Clint's way.
"Do I come to your house and insult you, Katie Kate? No. No I don't," he shot back, rolling his eyes before he dialed the number for pizza.
"We'll come back later and help sort through all those boxes, okay?" Kate offered. "And if there are any leftovers, we'll bring them. There's usually not, but if."
"I'll make sure you get something," Kurt promised.
Wade grinned at him crookedly from his spot on the floor. "Knew I could count on you, Bamfmaster."
