Chapter 14: Blue Security and Progression

(2 days later.)

Xavier's P.O.V

The creature still had not awoken, or moved from its position on its front in the middle of the containment field's floor. It had stirred certainly, but no real, conscious movement. And, once again for reasons unknown, I was worried.

"Although that could just be because of the newspaper report."

Yes, I nodded – that must be it. True, it was only a small side article, but slightly disturbing none the less.

There was still no sign of a boy called Peter Parker – he had disappeared months ago, but a few criminals had been found trapped in webbing. Even one of the more serious villains – the Shocker – had been found hanging from a lamppost, gibbering. He had to be placed in a psychiatric ward under police jurisdiction for close monitoring and treatment. It was thought that Spider-Man might have returned to crime-fighting in New York, and the Parker boy was always said to be constantly tracking him. It was theorised that he had disappeared because he was tracking Spider-Man, and the vigilante-come-hero had supposedly left the city.

"Well, there is nothing I, or the X-Men, can do about it. I wonder how Spider-Man is doing however. The last time we saw him, he helped us even though we could not give him the help he needed… There is no point in thinking about this right now, I must concentrate on the matter at hand."

Hank's shift was almost up. He and myself were taking turns to watch that creature, and I kept a mental link between us at all times. I made my way out of my study and to one of our elevators, and pressed the button for the ground floor.

I had recently had a new room constructed for Beast's more volatile experiments, but now it was being used for a new purpose. A rectangular containment field had been built on a platform in the middle of the room, with only one way in and out. A blue, cuboid, force-field if you will. Almost an entire wall of computer banks, monitors and more of Hank's scientific machinery all rolled into one accompanied this structure. A few bolted-down metal swivel chairs were placed in front of them. Other than that, it was a bare, reinforced metal room, situated at the back of the mansion, on the right side of the building.

I arrived on the ground floor and as I was halfway to the room, Hank contacted me, sounding urgent, "Professor, the creature is stirring. I believe it is about to awaken."

"All right Hank, I'm almost there."

"Finally."

I had to admit, I was looking forward to this. When the doors of the room slid open, I entered and joined Hank at the consoles. The initial reaction that the creature had when waking up was not what I expected.

It held its head.

"Such a…human…gesture."

Hank made a soft humming noise beside me, and the creature froze. It hesitantly turned its head in our direction. When it noticed that we were staring at it, it veered back and hit the back wall of the containment field. I hovered forward until I was in front of the blue screen, facing it. "Can you hear or understand me?" I asked with my expression carefully blank.

It twitched slightly. Though it did not move its right leg. The limb looked swollen. "I believe it can sense you, Professor, but cannot or will not answer," Hank informed me, coming to my side.

At the sight of him coming closer, the creature growled softly. Hank stopped just slightly behind me. "Why would it do that?" he asked.

"Probably because it sees you as more of a threat than me… There is no use in just staring at it." I hid the tiny amount of pain that never failed to arise when my physical being came into question.

I turned and returned to the computer banks. Hank followed my lead.

Spider-Man's P.O.V

Even though I was a boiling mass of emotional turmoil internally, I kept my exterior expression calm. I would wait for night to fall, then get out of here. I was naturally more active at night after all. They would also probably go to bed and leave me alone.

"Ugh, what are they doing?"

I absent-mindedly held my head again. I had quite the headache. Their chatting did nothing to help, even though it was a bit interesting. I shuddered. Fear, panic, and overall anger fought for dominance in my mind.

"Right, first of all, no panicking – I do not want any panic attacks and I have a somewhat sketchy plan. Fear – perfectly logical that I'm feeling that right now, what with me being trapped in enemy territory. As for anger, well, I don't want to lose my temper, and I was already angry at myself before so I just have to calm down."

I decided to focus on the Professor and blue-boy's conversation for now. My eyelids slid shut.

"Well, considering that this is the first time we have actually used this room, everything seems to be coming along nicely." (Professor.)

"Agreed, the regulators are all functioning well." (Beast.)

Silence (well, as silent as it can get when you're monstrous me) for a few seconds.

"It seems to be sleeping." (Beast.)

"Please, pay as much attention to me as you want! I'm obviously not doing anything." As if they could hear the sarcasm.

"Hmmm… Curious, I thought that it would not be comfortable sleeping in our company. Especially after just waking up." (Professor.)

"… It's probably still drowsy from the anaesthetic. Would it be unwise to leave it be?"

"I suppose not. Let's go and inform the others of this development."

They left, and I breathed a shallow sigh of relief. But I didn't open my eyes, or move. I could hear a small camera in the top-right corner of the room zooming in and out on me if I focused.

"Can't do anything about it… I'll just have to "wake up" later and carry out my plan as planned, never mind the camera."

Well, it was getting kinda boring, so I listened in on the mutants' conversation. They were in what I guessed to be a living room. "So it's awake. What'd we do now? Can I go in there and see if that gets a response outta it?" (Wolverine.)

"Temper, temper. Then again, I could say the same to myself."

"Negative Logan, I do not want you going into a confined space with a dangerous creature. We only wished to tell you that it had awoken and that we are now going to observe and study it until we either get a response that proves to us that it is a sentient being, or we can somehow train it." (Professor.)

"TRAIN me?! Oh for the love of peace and all things sane, do NOT go back to that topic ever again! … Hey wait, that rhymed. Huh."

"Okay so what are we gonna do now?" (Rogue.)

"You will go on with life as normal, maybe even figure out what that strange orange force was, while myself and Beast will be observing and studying that creature." (Professor.)

Apparently the discussion was over, because everyone began walking away and doing whatever they wanted. Suddenly my spider-sense tingled. Then a program on one of their televisions started blaring.

"Aah!"

Temporarily forgetting about the camera, my eyes shot open and I covered my ears. Quickly flexing my inner ear muscles, I warily removed my claws from the sides of my head. It was still loud, but I would be able to bear it relatively easily. I suddenly felt tired.

"I just woke up. Gah, I guess that that wasn't a normal sleep though, was it? Well, what better way to pass the time? Even though thatanaestheticdid make me rest longer than I ever usually do."

With that, I fell into a light doze. Not quite sleeping, not quite awake, but at a temporary uneasy acceptance.

(At night.)

Talking – that's what woke me. Well, that, and the fact that it was time to wake up anyway. I was careful not to move, or open my eyes, or to even breathe too deep, because my chest throbbed even when I was breathing this shallow. I realised that it was only Beast in the room with me this time. Then again, he and the Professor did say that it was only going to be them…watching…me.

"But why is he talking to himself?"

"Hmmm, good. The temperature is constantly at 15 degrees -"

"Then that's why it's so cold? Not deadly, but still cold."

"- and all the energy readings are stable, and the lighting is even, no fluctuations."

"… And bright. Don't they know that my eyes are red for a reason?"

The answer was a bit obvious – they were better suited for the dark. He had stopped talking. I focused on his heartbeat, it was close. He was close.

"Probably standing in front of this containment field. Well, I'm certainly not about to do anything for you, so leave me alone. More preferably, leave the room so I can get out of here."

Instead, I heard his joints give muted clicks as he sat down opposite me.

"Possibly in his late forties."

"You know, I'm not entirely sure everyone else is right about you. Even if you cannot understand me, or even hear me because you are asleep, I just wished to say that. Though I must say as well, you, my friend, have caused quite a bit of bother around here, -"

"Friend?! What makes you think that? And as for bother… I don't think so. If anything you guys were being melodramatic. I was quite happy as I was."

I succeeded in not rolling my eyes behind their lids.

"- although, you have never attacked us. Quite frankly, I find that perplexing, or, to be even more frank, strange. So I will bid you goodnight."

He left, leaving me with several more questions. Once he was far enough away, I gave the impression of just waking up, complete with a small yawning motion for good measure.

"Now, to get out of here."

Using the wall as a support so I wouldn't have to put any pressure on my sore leg, I stood up. Still managing to jostle my limb, I hissed in pain. Then I proceeded to fall forwards onto all sevens.

I closed the gap between me and the opposite wall in two small steps. This place was tiny! No wonder my feet almost touched the opposite wall even when they were curled (as much as possible) close to me. I shuddered.

"I absolutely hate enclosed spaces."

Don't get me wrong, I'm not claustrophobic. I just don't like feeling trapped. I swiped at the blue screen with my top-right claw. It glanced off.

"Great, maybe a more direct approach?"

This time I reared up until I was only resting on my bottom set of arms and my one good leg. Then I slammed my top four claws directly onto the screen. Bright streaks of white light spread from the points of contact, and a slight sparking noise sounded. I tried kicking it with my one good leg by spinning and using the momentum to further power my kick. Though I made sure that I wasn't using my full strength – I doubt I could anyway, what with my current condition. Next, I tried spitting a little acid on it – enough not to be noticed by the camera, but enough for me to see if it has any effect. My spider-sense suddenly started screaming at me.

An alarm started blaring.

I let out a half-startled, half-pained high-pitched whine, clapping my claws over my sensitive "ears". It didn't help. I fell unconscious.

Beast's P.O.V

When the alarm sounded, I literally bolted out of bed and out of my bedroom. "Beast what is going on?!" The Professor contacted me.

"It's coming from the room! I'm heading there now, can you tell the others to stay in their rooms?" I replied hastily, already running down the hall.

"Affirmative, just turn that alarm off as soon as you can, it's not good having that going on during the night."

"I will as soon as I can."

I saw a few doors begin to open, but the occupants did not venture out. The Professor was making sure everyone stayed inside. I arrived at the containment field room in under ten minutes.

"From the fourth floor to the bottom, on the other side of the building. It has to be some kind of record."

The door slid open and I hurried to the computer panels and turned the alarm off.

"But what set it off?" I said aloud after a deep breath.

I turned toward the box in the centre of the room. What I saw caused me to start, then almost sprint forward.

The creature was lying on the floor of the containment field, with its top set of legs lying limply beside its head. It was clearly unconscious. And there was a small sparking area just above it on the blue screen closest to me. "Professor?"

"Yes Hank?"

"It appears that the creature caused the alarm to go off, then it was apparently knocked out by said alarm."

"Curious, but is it alright? Is there any indication on how it caused the alarm to go off?"

"There appears to be a small damaged area just above where it's lying, no visible sign of what caused it now. The creature appears to be alright. In fact, it's coming round now."

"All right Hank, go back to bed. We will discuss this in the morning."

"Certainly Professor."

Despite telling the Professor that I was going back to bed however, I stayed a little longer and walked closer to the containment field. The creature was moving and growling slightly. Suddenly it scrambled back until it was sitting against the back wall again, then opened its eyes.

"He must have sensed me… Wait, he? Well it is a male… Alright, 'he' it is."

A low growl caught my attention. I must have been staring at it. I cleared my throat. "Well, I suppose you're not going to tell me what you did?"

Silence.

"Of course not. Well at least the screen is repairing itself… I can only wonder what happened."

It frowned at me. It frowned.

"How?"

Then its expression relaxed and became guarded once more. A few minutes of silence passed. "Well," I said, blinking and tapping my fingers against my thighs, "I must bid you goodbye until tomorrow."

I made my way back to my room. And I finally fell asleep.

(2 days later.)

Spider-Man's P.O.V

"Cages" – thud – "other people" – thud – "talking" – thud – "hunger" - thud - "boredom" – thud – "everything looking blue" – thud. Each of these thoughts was accompanied by my head hitting off of the wall I was resting against. The hits were small though as to prevent them being picked up by the camera and as a result, they didn't hurt at all – not that I planned for them to anyway. They were just mere movements that weren't even remotely successful in draining my energy levels. I was now in a slightly more comfortable sitting position than earlier as I listened to the Professor and Beast making their way to this accursed room again. With more food. I've been refusing to eat or drink anything.

"And to think I've been driven to this after only two days and a few hours of consciousness… I wish they would stop trying to feed me like some sort of wild animal. Unless of course it's meat – I could use some of that right now."

The door slid open. They were chatting again. I closed my eyes.

"I do not understand. Most animals would have eaten or drank something after this amount of time. If I'm honest though I am not that worried about it eating. The drinking however..." (Professor.)

"Well, him not eating could be from stress or some other emotion, but everything needs to drink and sleep regularly." (And obviously Beast.)

"It has not been sleeping?"

"Not a wink. I have been watching the video footage."

"Hmmm… Him?"

"Excuse me Professor?"

"You called it a 'him'."

"Oh, well he is a male, and I just did not feel fully comfortable with calling him 'it'. If he is sentient and just hiding it really well – I mean, he is wearing some form of clothing, no matter how ruined – then I know I would not appreciate it. And besides, people call their pets 'him' or 'her', so why not in this case?"

"True… I honestly cannot believe that I just disregarded that so carelessly."

"It was not intentional, so no harm done."

"Well, I suppose it is nice not to be called 'it' to my face… And here we go again."

The Professor went over to the computer banks on the opposite wall while Beast stood at the blue wall that was on my left side. Then the Professor tapped a few buttons on one of the many panels, making an average human-sized rectangular gap open up, allowing Beast to place the plate inside. He did so quickly, afraid to leave any spare time for me to escape. Whipping off the covering, he shot his hand back, and the wall closed up again.

The scent of bread, cheese and lettuce filled my six nostrils. I cracked open my bottom-left eye. A sandwich was sitting on a plate, next to a bowl of water. I closed my eye again and turned my head away.

"No thank you. Most certainly not going to drink from a bowl."

I heard them sigh. But seriously, a bowl? They had been trying that for the past day and it was so not going to happen. I had more pride than that. The duo began typing again. They probably planned to leave the food there for a couple of hours.

Jubilee's P.O.V

There was an uneasy peace throughout the mansion and its occupants. I didn't like that. I wanted life to go back to normal, a mutant family that occasionally saves the world. True, that's not really normal, but it was for us. I was in my room, lying on my back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. "Hey Jubilee! Want to come into the city and go shoppin' with us?" Rogue called from down the hall.

"Who's 'us'?" I called back.

"Me, Jean, Scott an' you if yer comin'!"

"Okay then!"

I clambered off my bed and shrugged on my trademark yellow coat. Joining up with Rogue, we went down to the garage and got into the car Cyclopes had chosen. We drove up through the garage tunnel and pulled out of the mansion grounds, onto the highway. I sat in the back with Rogue, a safe range away from the lovebirds up front, and stared out the window.

"Who knows? Maybe a shopping trip will help. There has been a pair of converse I've been wanting to try on."

3rd Person P.O.V

When Cyclopes staggered through the front doors of the mansion after the group of three females, looking bedraggled and overladen with bags of clothes, Wolverine choked on his crisps. Gambit was laughing too, while slapping Wolverine's back.