Stolen
Chapter Fourteen
*****
The pendulum's swing was the only sound that echoed in the quiet room and even then its irritating noise bothered Magneto. It had been hours since Pyro had left with his six chosen team members and still he had not gotten word of whether or not they had succeeded in their plan to drum up more information concerning the mutant camps. Erik was worried and not necessarily for the physical safety of Pyro but he questioned whether or not John had abandoned all their careful planning and just left. Something had changed in him; both he and Mystique felt it the moment he stepped into the building. There was an air of apprehension in him and his steps were more cautious than normal. It seemed as if he was debating the moral ethics of their strategy and he knew where it stemmed from, that wretched ex-mutant of a girl.
He should have seen this coming of course when Mystique first told him about Pyro's residence during his probationary period; being around that girl had always tamed the fire manipulator and Magneto knew that, but he also knew John and his true nature. Pyro was a stubborn man who would never let something as simple as his regard to his personal bliss get in the way of the greater picture, which was why it was so easy to persuade the young mutant to begin with. Pyro thirsted for change, for self preservation and Magneto had fed on that the moment he saw him. But things were different now; he was different and it was because of Rogue.
Getting up to stop the swinging pendulum his mind twitched a little. He felt something odd, something powerful; he felt alamantium. "Wolverine, tell me do what do I owe to have your company?" The powerful mutant said not turning around to face him.
"Can the small talk, Magneto, you know why I'm here." He said gruffly, feeling the frustration set in of having to converse with someone who manipulated the woman he loved into her untimely death.
"I'm afraid you have me lost for words. I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about." He turned slowly, looking at the tall mutant and knew if it had been any other day when his powers were fully restored, he would have no problem subduing the angry man.
"Where's Pyro," he asked sternly with no real aggression at the mention of John's name.
"I'm afraid he is not here."
"I didn't ask if he was here, I asked where he was," Logan was getting impatient and Magneto knew that it would only be a matter of time before the animal in him would show its fierce color.
"Logan," the older mutant said as he turned around to meet his eyes, "Right now John is doing something that needs to be done, something that the X-Men refuse to do. He is ensuring the survival of mutants everywhere."
"I'm not in the mood for your riddles or lectures, just tell me where the kid is."
Magneto thought momentarily and wondered why wolverine who obviously hated anyone associated with the Brotherhood would be so concerned with the location of one of its leading members. He sensed that there was no hostility in his voice at the mention of Pyro's name and noticed that his claws have no made their appearance yet. Thinking it best for survival reasons, Magneto was about to share the broad location of where John was until a frantic young mutant entered the room, battered and dishevel, falling on the ground, trying to regain his breath.
*****
"Where do you want us to go?"
"What is the next direction?"
"Pyro, where do you need us to be?"
Their voices kept asking him, seeking guidance but he did not hear them. The words were lost on him as the echoing vision of the terror of the camp filled his mind with their traumatizing agony. He had a sense of what it would be like. He saw the pictures and prepared himself mentally as best as he can but no one can really prepare themselves to see such pure anguish.
On the dirt fields there were rows and rows of energy drained mutants walking a uniform line, doing uniform tasks. Their hands and feet cried for the relief of a days end while their eyes and mouth screamed for rest and hydration. Their thin bodies barely clung to the rags that hung loosely on them. There were woman and small children that labored as a handful of guards watched them, their hands clutching tightly to some remote. John knew what that remote was, had seen it a couple of times himself. The controller was the device that activated the immunity band that he himself had worn before and felt their identity draining effects.
"Pyro, what is the next course of action?" Lance Alver's voice pulled him from his alarming state of mind. Shaking his head slightly, John gave the area another once over and stopped at the giant building that situated itself under the dam, almost using the force of the water as a last means of protection should anything happen. That was where they needed to be; the answer to the uprising of this god forsaken place would be found there.
"We need a diversion," John stated, not taking his eyes away from the building. He brought his right hand and swiftly motioned it forward, signaling for Lance to step up. Without hesitation the lanky, tall, dark haired mutant lifted his hands and rolled his head back. His eyes turned serious as a concentrated wave of earthquakes ripped through the valley before them, startling all the captured mutants and guards alike.
"NOW," John yelled as he thrust his arm forward and watched as the six men went running towards the building, him following behind the flank to make sure they were safe. Mutant women held onto their young children, awaiting direction. Laborers took this opportunity to try to run, only to be subdued by the guards as the immunity band shocked them into a stop. The inhumanity of it all disgusted John and he felt his skin burning with fever as he made his way to the building.
The men before him stopped dead in their tracks upon entrance into the large building. The mistake of their hesitation was realized when out of the corner of his eyes, John noticed a guard communicating into his walkie talkie but he just brushed it off, deciding to deal with it later as soon as he pulled his men out of their stunned shock.
When he stepped inside the building his initial reaction was to yell at his subordinates but found himself in a state of fear that mirrored their own. The building housed wall to wall of sentinels that were being produced at an alarming rate. At the very center of the factory was the largest sentinel that had wires attached to his head and foot as the center of his body spat out more and more sentinels. His electronic voice spat out monotonous commands to the mutants that did the small assembling and sorting parts.
They were all so stunned that they did not hear the shouts of an approaching guard as he activated a handful of sentinels that charged at them. Breaking the men out of their daze they stood ready to attack the oncoming laser beams and ruthlessness of the robots.
IDENTIFYING ONE JOHN ALLERDYCE AKA PYRO, ONE LANCE ALVERS AKA AVALANCE, ONE MORTIMER TOYNBEE AKA TOAD, ONE FREDERICK J. DUKES AKA BLOB, ONE LOUIS HAMILTON AKA STONEWALL, ONE JASON WYNEGARDE AKA MASTERMIND, ONE PIETRO DJANGO MAXIMOFF AKA QUICKSILVER. PUT YOUR WEAPONS DOWN AND DISENGAGE NOW
The robot screamed at them but they refused to yield. John, seeing the building full of innocent powerless mutants and guards alike knew that this was not the place to be a martyr, at least not right now.
"Retreat now," John yelled to his teammates and signaled for them to follow him out. They did not hesitate to follow their leader out the door, hearing the thunderous footsteps of the machines on their trail. Trying to avoid the onslaught of lasers and gunfire they made their way close to the gated exit. He prepared himself by igniting a small flame, ready to blow the gate open with the force of his fire. His eyes caught the attention of a small boy struggling to get up as his underside was met by the boot of the angry and brutalizing guard.
"Pyro, do something," Lance yelled at him as they waited by the gate. His hesitation cost them as John saw the falling limbs of Lance Alvers whose fleeting body was damaged by the laser of the massive robot. Turning around he was met with the large robot, the robot that had once helped them from the Friends of Humanity back at the institution. His mind could not understand such drastic changes thinking about the idea that the robot that saved them in the past was made at the enemies' land. With an angry furry he sent a large blast of fire towards the sentinel with one hand and with the other told his men to find their way home without him.
*****
Rogue did not know why she was here in such a dark place waiting for a man she did not trust. She remembered curling up in a ball on her bed after telling Logan about John and the Brotherhood and his resounding authority for her to stay at the mansion regardless of how much she wanted to go with him to find John. She remembered Bobby and Storm checking on her and Marie waving them away, not really wanting to deal with trying to be strong in their presence. Then she remembered the call.
Is this Marie D'Ancanto?
Yes, who is this?
This is Tom Hartley, if you want to save your boyfriend meet me at 6th and Spring behind the Midtown building, come alone.
Wait, why are you…
Do you want to save your boyfriend?
Yes
Then do as I say
He hung up on her before she can even breathe her next question. She should have told someone where she was, she realized, but her mind kept wrapping itself around the danger that John could be in that she acted irrational, just like him. She stared at the traffic to the side of her and how quiet it recently became. Putting her hand in the pocket of her green trench coat she clutched the lighter in there to help calm her nerves and remind her that some part of him was there protecting her. Her ears caught the sound of quiet footsteps approaching her and she turned around to see the figure of a man with a briefcase in hand. As he came closer to her she can see the fear in his eyes as beads of sweat glistened off his forehead.
"Rogue" he more so asked her to verify who she was then stating his acknowledgement of her.
"Yes," she said simply as she examined the man, her judgment telling her to not trust him quite just yet.
"Walk with me, we have to keep moving," he told her not breaking his stride as he slowed down for her to step in sync with him.
"What is going on?"
"There's a lot going on, things you do not want to know nor should you know." He nervously looked behind him as if expecting someone to be following him.
"What's going on with John?"
"He's safe for now, but this is bigger than him. The Hellfire Club's extension and powers goes way beyond the point of some reckless mutant."
"What does the Hellfire Club want with John," she asked him harshly as she stopped and turned him to face her. "What does Sebastian Shaw want with John?" She finally said his name, the name of the man that was supposed to be helping them with John's trial.
"I'm surprised you don't already know, Kitty would have figured it out by now. This never was about John but about what he represents, about what his actions represent to both the mutant and human community."
"I don't understand," she said to him with wide curious eyes, the same eyes that his young daughter had every time she asked him a question.
"To the mutant community John represents everything they're not, someone willing to step up and fight the system, the bigotry. To the human community they see him as a terrorist but at the same time some see him as reformed extremist, as hope that there can be a peace between both kinds. To them he is proof that they do not have to be afraid anymore. Why do you think Sebastian Shaw always checks up on him and makes his good behavior public knowledge?"
"But that's his job; he's supposed to be helping John. It's what he does, he helped us before. Why are you helping us now?" She asked him the question that had been bothering her since she picked up the phone. Why was Tom Hartley helping her now when before he refused to get her involved?
"Because, things have gone too far, I cannot have someone else die because of my inability to act." He looked at her seeing part of his daughter in her and he was reminded of the type of government that he could be endorsing, the type of environment that his precious daughter would have to live in if he did not act.
"Tell me what you know, tell me what I need to do," Rogue asked him, feeling some of her defenses weakening at the sight of the concerned man.
Before he could speak a slender figure revealed herself from behind the dark shadows of the building.
"I think that's quite enough, Hartley," the smooth venomous voice of Emma Frost resonated from her as she held her left hand at her hips that was covered by a long white skirt, so white that her skin almost paled next to it.
"Miss Frost?" Rogue questioned, not hiding her surprise at seeing the viciously cold woman before her. She looked different than Rogue had seen her before. Her perfect body was no longer hidden behind her usual attire of a suit jacket and button downed blouse. The long white skirt clung to her lower half very tightly and her toned stomach was bare with only a small top covering her bosom. Her hair was down and flowing as it danced in the light wind.
"Emma," Tom Hartley's voice was laced with fear as the approaching woman circled him.
"You think I couldn't hear you Tom, sense your guilt? I would think you knew me better than that." Emma Frost's voice taunted him as he nervously tried not to meet her eyes. "Don't be too shocked Tom, we've been following you for days. We knew that you'd eventually turn rogue because you're weak, just like Pryde."
"You killed him," Marie demanded, "You killed Carmen and Kitty." She just laughed at Rogue's outburst.
"Oh please, I don't do the dirty work myself but they got what they deserved. They never would have contributed anything to the Hellfire anyway."
"Why are you here Emma?" Tom asked her, trying desperately not to let her know just how much she terrified him.
"I'm here, Tom," she hissed his name, "Because I knew you would do my work for me," she stared at Rogue as she said this and suddenly Tom realized his mistake. "I knew you would lead me straight to her," she said and quickly flicked her wrist.
Rogue saw both their eyes on her and saw the pleading look that Tom gave her as if for her to run but before she could move or even register what he was trying to tell her she felt a sharp pain hit her neck. She felt the poison enter her body and made her muscles limp. Her body collapsed onto the hard concrete as she tried powerlessly to fight the medication that was entering her blood stream. Her eyes felt heavier and heavier as she drifted off into a subconscious slumber hearing the last sentence echo into her dreams.
Now get out of here and do what you're suppose to you pathetic man before I have you taken care of too
*****
"Pietro," Magneto said as he hunched over to help the battered boy to his feet. Logan pulled a chair to help the wounded mutant rest and hopefully get some answers from him. "What happened boy?"
"It's…..they…." he stammered still in shock at his near death.
"Where's Pyro?" Logan asked the question for Erik as he watched the silver haired man trying desperately to catch his breath and make coherent sentences.
"They're….he's…they've got him." He choked as he put all the weight onto his hands that were leaned against the table in front of him.
"Who's got him?" Logan demanded, thinking about the heartbreak that would wash over Marie's innocent eyes as he had to tell her that he had failed her, that he could not protect her from the pain of heartbreak and loss.
"The Friends of Humanity," Pietro said and fell unconscious on the wooden table. Hearing that the wolverine marched to the door as images of train stations and running away and shattered hearts enter his mind. His psyche was so clouded with images of a crying and disappointed Rogue that he did not hear the warning from the metal manipulator behind.
Wolverine, there's more to this, don't be brash
*****
The tension and anger in the room reflected the flaming heat that sung on the skin of the bound and unconscious boy that lay on the floor. Graydon Creed had made a terrible miscalculation and the evidence of it was the battered young man in the room. His mistake could cost them everything and she was not about to let him forget that.
"You fool, you ungrateful fool," Emma Frost hissed as she bent down to examine the boy closer. He suffered severe laser burns across his upper torso and there were small bruises and cuts across his face but otherwise he was in a solid state, but still, this encounter had been to close a call for Emma.
"Relax, Frost, he's still alive," Creed tested her, not knowing the true end to her anger.
"It doesn't matter whether or not he's alive, the point is you nearly jeopardize our entire operation," Sebastian Shaw screamed at the man. "When we made this deal Creed, you were given careful instructions to not hurt the boy. You were supposed to go after his team but leave him in tact, let alone capture him!"
"I don't like your tone Shaw," Creed stood up from the table, letting his chair fly across the room from the sudden movement. "He's a mutant, he's lucky I let him live. He should be in the fields like the rest of his kind."
"His kind," The white queen hissed as she used her power of telekinesis to send the large man across the room, the strength of her mind pinning his arms to the wall. "I don't think you understand our arrangement, Creed, so let me reiterate it to you again." She said coyly as she walked towards him, moving her face just inches before his, taunting him, letting him know that she had control of the room. "The only reason your pathetic excuse for an organization is alive is because we find some use in it, therefore by proxy you're alive. But all it takes is one wrong move Creed and I won't hesitate." With her threat she spun him around and sent a chair to his back as she laughed at his painful grunts.
"Emma, that's enough," Sebastian Shaw coaxed her to stop. "We need to figure out what to do with the boy."
"Well, lucky for you two, I had alternative methods," she said and waltzed to the closet door and opened it, revealing to them the sleeping girl that she had captured earlier.
"What is your plan Emma?" Shaw asked her as he approached the sleeping girl and brushed her hair out of her face to see her distinct features.
"It's simple, we make sure to put him where he needs to go but not before leaving him a little present," she said as she looked at the girl and huffed at the pathetic limp body before her.
*****
Well, I've broken out of my writer's block a bit. I have not quite given all the information away in this chapter but it's coming. If not in the next one then definately the one after that. I'm attempting to make a video trailer for this story but I'm having trouble trying to find an instrumental piece to go with the tone of the story so if you guys have any suggestions let me know. Just so you guys know the next few chapters are going to be rather short because I just love cliffhangers....I know that's mean.
Previews for Chapter Fifteen
-A very important discovery is made about Magneto
-Tom Hartley makes a decisive move
-I wanna say that the entire conspiracy plot will reveal itself in the next chapter
-Oh, here's something to look forward to in chapter sixteen, I pay homage to two certain actors that influenced this story greatly
Don't forget to read and review