SHADOWCAT REBORN 21
For the first time Kitty felt liberated. Although she hadn't wanted to fight, the result had gone her way. There were no casualties and only minor injuries to both sides. Domina had given up leadership of the Neo to Kitty. The Neo couldn't attack her friends because she was now in command. She had asked Rachel and Magik to stay with her that night, feeling a strong bond between the women. They had caught up on missing time and lost memories. Rosie had told Kitty she wanted to give them time to catch up so she was going to hang out with Bobby that night. Lockheed had been given bodyguard duty on Rosie for the duration of the fight and he was still taking his job seriously.
The teams were exhausted from the battle. Their eyes barely staying open long enough to see their way to bed. Logan and Victor had already healed what wounds they had acquired, not wanting to sleep yet with the surge of adrenaline still pumping through them. Kitty and the two women crashed after a few hours of catching up. It wasn't until they had all hit a deep sleep that the man with the computer triggered his work. Victor and Logan's eyes turned black as the chip in their necks were externally activated. Stalking off into the darkness of the facility, they visited each room, silencing its inhabitants. As they neared Kitty's quarters, their claws dripped with fresh blood.
Kitty's eyes fluttered open as she awoke from a dream. The visions Rachel had shown her were haunting. She couldn't allow their world to fall into that dystopian future. Perhaps some of her aspirations were selfish but she knew that her choice was to save lives and gain back her memories. She wanted to know everyone who had fought so hard for her that day. With the two women at her side she would be able to go back and fix things. She saw her door knob turning silently, feet shadowing under the door. Her heart beat faster as she saw the door opening wide. Outside was Logan and Victor, murderous looks upon their faces as they stepped into the room. Kitty violently shook the two women beside her in hopes of waking them. In an instant the feral mutants were upon them, their claws piercing the flesh of Rachel and Magik. Kitty phased them away from the feral mutants, their legs trying to catch up to Kitty as they passed through walls. The women fell to their knees, their wounds bleeding profusely. Kitty screamed as she saw Hank's entrails ripped from his body and sprawled across the kitchen floor. She ran to each room, trying to find someone to help her. Every door she opened she found another dead friend. Without thinking she bolted for Bobby's room, praying that they had not been harmed. His door was open revealing their bodies on the floor in a bloody massacre. Falling to the ground she wept, her screams uncontrollable. She had to go back, back before everyone fell asleep. Concentrating hard she closed her eyes, waiting for the familiar pull of time.
As she opened her eyes the light of her bedside lamp shone brightly. Looking to her right she saw Rachel staring at her blankly.
"Everything alright Kit?"
"No." Kitty shook her head, projecting the images of what just happened at Rachel.
"Whoa, whoa! What did you just send me?" Rachel cringed at the images.
"It's going to happen tonight. They are going to kill everyone tonight!" Kitty started to cry.
"Easy, easy. It's okay Kit. We'll make sure it doesn't happen." Rachel held her close in an embrace, rocking back and forth.
"Who's going to kill everyone?" Magik look confused.
Rachel touched her temple and transferred the frightening images to Magik.
"That's a lot of gore Rachel, didn't know you were into that."
"I'm not, that's what Kitty projected."
"Why would Logan and Victor do that? Well I can understand Victor doing it, but Logan? Why?" Magik asked.
"It's because of those chips! The Neo must have figured out how to fix the programming problem. That's what Domina meant by having a plan. We need to make sure the Neo are still in custody."
"Slow down Kit. What chips are you talking about?" Rachel inquired.
"I helped the Neo develop implantable microchips that allows a mutant to control their powers. The Neo used my work to control not only the mutant's powers but the person themselves. The host is self-aware through the whole thing though. I've got to remove the chips." Kitty rushed out of her room in search of the two feral mutants.
Finding them in the kitchen she rambled on about what had happened.
"Slow down pun'kin, I can't understand a thing you are saying cause you talkin' so fast. What's this about chips and blood?"
"I said; you have chips implanted in your brain stem that are going to make you kill everyone tonight in their sleep!" Kitty was out of breath as she explained.
"The ones the Neo put in? I thought you took those things out?" Victor asked as he checked the back of his neck.
"I kinda forgot about them. I changed the programming so that you would only recognize my voice but I think the Neo found a way around it."
"Wait a minute. You knew about these chips and what they can do and never said anything to us?" Logan pointed a fork in her direction.
"It didn't seem important at the time. Besides, I would never make you do anything against your will. I'm the only one who can activate them... Or so I thought." Kitty looked ashamed as she talked.
"That ain't right pun'kin. Explains a lot, but it ain't right. You can't treat people like slaves."
"I was never intending to do that. I just honestly forgot."
"Is that why I'm actually getting along with the runt here? Cause you told us to play nice with each other?" Victor eyed Logan and Kitty.
"That makes a lot of sense." Logan nodded at Victor.
"I'm sorry, I really am sorry. I never meant any harm by it. I just thought... I don't know what I was thinking. But I need to get those things out of your necks before the Neo can activate them and make you murder everyone."
"I could care less." Victor shrugged.
"Of course you wouldn't care either way. You'd enjoy ripping everyone's throat out." Logan glared at Victor.
"Come on, you can't tell me that you're not tempted to slice Boy Scout's throat and that Frost bitch. I can smell your distain for him every time he's in the room."
"That's not the point Victor. Innocent people are going to lose their lives cause some maniac wants to use us as killing machines. I've had my fill of people using me." Logan slammed a fist on the kitchen table.
"I never did like being told what to do." Victor agreed. "How you gunna get these things out of our necks?"
"I'll have to reach in and pull it out."
"Can you do that?" Victor asked.
"I could rip your heart out of your chest if I wanted to." Kitty pressed on Victor's chest lightly.
"Interesting. You should have tested that out on Domina." Victor looked at Kitty slightly impressed.
"Please let me try. The sooner I do this the safer we'll all be. Please trust me."
"I trust you with my life pun'kin, I'm just disappointed is all." Logan got up from the table and walked over to her.
"You should take mine out first. Logan can probably resist the urge to kill people easier then I can. I'd enjoy it too much to stop." Victor stood beside Kitty, looking down at her.
"It's going to feel weird at first. I might have to dig around for a bit, I don't exactly remember where it's located." Kitty took a deep breath as Victor laid on his stomach on the floor.
"Take all the time you need, just don't put anything in the wrong place. Dislocated spine might take me a while to repair." Victor joked.
"I'll try not to paralyze you." Kitty retorted as she fished around in Victor's neck. "Found it, now you may experience some disorientation after I pull this from your brain stem. Your brain will essentially reboot itself. Fingers crossed this doesn't leave any permanent..." Kitty stopped talking as Logan's claws pierced her chest.
Her head turned to look over her shoulder at Logan, who's eyes had turned black. With what strength she had left she concentrated on the moment before she told them about the chip. Opening her eyes after the darkness, she came to realize that she would have to either go back to before the chip was placed in their necks or command them to obey her wishes. The two were looking at her curiously as she blinked several times.
"Everything okay pun'kin?" Logan asked with concern in his voice.
"Please forgive me for this." Kitty looked at both of them apologetically. "Command; obey only me. Search out the intruder and eliminate them before they can activate your chips remotely."
Victor and Logan both stared blankly at first before their eyes turned black, their movements were robotic as they exited the Weapon X facility in search of the intruder. She only hoped that she had made the right decision.