Only three episodes remain this season! Don't miss a minute of "Mutant High: Revolutionary"!
Season Two, Episode Eleven: Lost
Recreation Room, Xavier Institute, Salem, New York
"It's been too long."
Piotr turned away from the table tennis game he was overseeing and towards the frowning Sid. "Da?"
"It's been—" Sid stopped, looking around at the younger mutants eyeing him with interest. Piotr smiled warmly at them, causing a few of the younger girls to twitter, before stepping aside to speak with his teammate more privately.
"What?" Piotr asked. "It has been what?"
"Too long," Sid whispered urgently. "Too long that they've been away, and we haven't heard anything. You know Jubilee, she should have called us a hundred times by now, just to say what color the water was, or how she found a new pair of water slippers."
Piotr smiled. "Do you think maybe you worry because you want so much to hear from your partner in crime, yes?"
"No, it's not—" Sid blushed, but continued. "It's not that. I mean, I do want to see her, but . . . it just doesn't make sense. I mean, she should have called, Remy should have checked in, Rogue should have checked in to check on what Remy was saying to us — Bobby would have called, to make sure we knew the "status" of the mission."
"Maybe it is simply a problem with communications systems," Piotr said, but his smile had slipped.
"Kitty would have found a way to get out to us," Sid countered, and watched Piotr's face pale. "If it was about getting out a message, communicating? Kitty would find it."
Piotr pursed his lips. "Then she will," he said firmly. "Katya — Kitty. Kitty will find a way."
Cell Block 3901, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
Hard, hard and cold . . . cement. It was hard, cold, cement under her head.
Boy that hurts. Hangover . . . hangover?
Kitty felt with her fingers, her eyelids still too heavy to open. The ground felt rough under her them, then slippery. She took in a deep breath, and a familiar, coppery smell hit her nostrils.
Blood. I'm bleeding?
Kitty winced hard, and forced one of her eyes open. Her vision was blurred, a mess of white and red. She groaned, pushing herself up slightly and waited for it to slowly clear. The white began to coalesce into shapes. Kitty blinked. Things became clearer. Her eyes widened.
"Bobby?" Kitty shot upright, stumbled, and then collapsed to her knees. Her eyes fixed on the immobile Bobby.
He lay across from her, feet away, encased in a clear plastic cage — unconscious, senseless. "Bobby!" she screamed. She heard her voice, muffled, reflected back on her, and looked up. Above her was a ceiling of cement; the same lay below. Around her on four sides were walls of the same material enclosing Bobby.
Kitty ran at the barrier, steeling herself to phase. She caught the hit from the wall on the side of her face and forehead, and shrieked in pain as she stumbled back. Shocked, she put her hand against the barrier and tried to phase. She felt resistance and shook her head in disbelief. She tried harder, and winced as something stung her neck. Reaching up she felt something cool and heavy and slim — a collar. Blinking, she stared at Bobby and realized he was fitted with one too.
"Bobby! BOBBY!" Kitty screamed, banging on the barrier, building up bruises.
Her words made no echo. Kitty's gaze shifted as she saw movement to her right, and recognized the colored hair. "Jubilee!"
The little mutant roused slowly, crawling to her feet. Kitty moved to her right side, waving and screaming uselessly. Kitty felt tears squeeze out of her eyes. "Please, please, please . . ."
Jubilee scanned her surroundings and found Kitty. Her eyes lit up and she screamed Kitty's name — Kitty could tell only by the shape her mouth made, as no sound was audible. She saw Jubilee recognize the same, and answered the other mutant's frightened gaze with a sad nod. Jubilee's lip trembled, but then she pointed behind her. Kitty turned to see Bobby slowly trying to stand. Kitty waved at him emphatically. His eyes widened and she smiled in recognition, but she slowly realized he was looking to her left. Kitty turned and gasped. Beside her in another cage, a young man with golden skin slapped at the barrier himself, his own mouth screaming noiselessly.
Kitty, Jubilee, and Bobby turned slowly, looking around them. On either side of each of them were cells like their own, with others in collars, banging noiselessly on the barriers.
Kitty caught Jubilee's eyes again. Oh God, she mouthed. Where are we?
Cell Block 3903, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
Where am I?
Rogue groaned, head aching, muscles protesting, as she slowly came around. Grunting with pain, she tried to gather her senses.
I'm on the ground. My face, is on the ground. Ow. God damn, my head.
Rogue flexed her hands and tried to push herself upright. She collapsed, gasping. Blinking rapidly through tearing eyes, she stared at her arms.
That shoulda been easy, Rogue realized, frowning. Before she could gather her thoughts, a flash of movement drew her attention upwards, and she gasped. "Remy!"
Rogue crawled towards the barrier that separated her from her soundlessly screaming boyfriend. She dragged her bruised hands upward to meet where his banged on the clear wall separating them.
"Remy!" she yelled, before coughing, throat sore. She reached up to grab her neck and hissed as she touched cold metal. "Rem' . . . Remy. It's okay, it's okay." Rogue's green-hazel eyes met Remy's frightened red ones. She tried to smile through her stinging lip.
"It's okay! It's okay, baby. I'll find a way out." Rogue ran her fingers over the barrier, staring down at the point where it connected to the concrete floor. "I'll get us out. We'll get out!"
"I'm afraid your touching gesture is quite futile, my dear."
Rogue froze, her spine stiffening. She clenched her fists and took a breath before swiftly turning around.
"You," she whispered, nails biting into her fists.
Seated on the floor, his old face even greyer, his voice dry, Magneto smiled sadly. "Welcome, young Rogue. Welcome to hell."
TITLE SEQUENCE:
TITLE SONG: "Evolutionary" Composed By Emilie Autumn
Cast:
Wolverine: Hugh Jackman
Storm: Halle Berry
Professor Xavier: Patrick Stewart
Jean Grey: Famke Janssen
Cyclops: James Marsden
Beast: Kelsey Grammar
Rogue: Anna Paquin
Gambit: Taylor Kitsch
Iceman: Shawn Ashmore
Shadowcat: Ellen Page
Colossus: Enver Gjokaj
Jubilee: Julia Ling
Forge: Rudy Youngblood
Guest Starring: Xander Berkeley
and
Sir Ian McKellen
Written By Maurissa Tancharoen
Directed By David Solomon
Created By Joss Whedon
War Room, Xavier Institute
"What the hell do you mean, you can't get through to them? What's wrong with Cerebro?" Logan demanded in his most feral voice.
"Nothing, Logan," Professor Xavier explained. "Cerebro seems to be working fine, but somehow when I search for them . . ."
"They're not dead," Logan growled, rising forward, hands nearly clawing into the table.
"I agree," Xavier said, in a pacifying tone. "I do not get the sense that they are gone, more that I am being blocked."
"Blocked by who? Who has that kind of power?" Logan questioned.
"I don't know," Xavier responded, his soft voice revealing frustration. "It doesn't feel like the work of another psychic, and the only one I know who has that kind of technology is Magneto —"
"Figures," Logan said, seething.
"But we cannot be sure," Xavier impressed. "Logan, we have no idea what is happening on Genosha. Any attempt at this point to rescue them would be a shot in the dark, a blind strike—"
"So what? We just wait and leave our people in there?" Logan shook his head. "Sorry, Chuck. I can't do that."
"Logan, we cannot afford to lose you too," Xavier stated. "I cannot send more of our people into harm's way. We need more information. We need help."
"Help from who?" Logan snapped. "We're mutants, Professor. We have to help ourselves."
Cell 424, 4000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"Specimen 782. It's a Level 4 mutant, with known abilities of Meteorokinesis."
"Known abilities. What, are you saying there may be unknown abilities?"
The words filtered slowly into Ororo's consciousness, taking long moments to register, and even longer to make sense.
"Well, we haven't had a chance to run any tests yet. As a level 4, and with powers linked to the atmosphere, we're a little stumped on how to actually test while controlling the subject."
The subject. Ororo tried to open her eyes, to move her hands.
"We've had to keep it basically immobile," the light, crisp male voice said again. "There's no telling how powerful we'll need to make the concoction in the collar to actually maintain control."
"Well, you had better learn how to maintain control, Moreau," said the other voice, deeper and more musical. "I want to put this new shipment on the block sooner rather than later. I need to know how many we can say are for sale, and how many may need to be liquidated."
"We're having the first test this afternoon," said the other man. "We'll know about the other ones after that. I told you, Cameron, these things take time to be done right."
"Not too much time, David. I have customers I have to keep happy."
Cell Block 3903, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"What the hell is goin' on here?" Rogue demanded, feet moving into a fighting stance as she glared at Magneto.
"Business, my dear," Magneto answered wryly. "The endless human pursuit of money off the backs of those who are different."
"Cut the fancy phrasin,' Magneto," Rogue snapped. "I don't have time for it. Speak nice and simple for a nice and simple Mississippi gal."
"Or what?" Magneto scoffed. "You'll take off your gloves and shake your fists at me? By now you've surely realized what these lovely dog collars do to our abilities."
Rogue swallowed. "Who is doing this to us?"
"A new version of an older species," Magneto said through gritted teeth. "One I'd hoped had gone extinct."
"Oh for the love of Jesus—" Rogue began.
"He's most certainly not here, my dear," Magneto said, cutting her off. "Though if you care to look behind you, you may catch a sight of one of his counterparts."
Magneto nodded over her shoulder, and Rogue turned. Three men were walking down the dark hall bisecting the cell block. Two appeared to be guards; dressed in a dark uniform with an insignia of a three headed serpent on the right lapel, they marched in step, their weapons over their left shoulders. The third man walked in the middle, like a dancer out of step, swishing his long, back overcoat with large, delicate, pale hands. His long back hair covered his face. Rogue squinted and moved forward, trying to get a better look.
She caught a glimpse of his face as he turned to look to his right, his hooked nose and proud jawline just visible. He smiled widely, his eyes on Remy's cell.
Rogue took in a sharp breath. Remy's hands were clenched into fists, his shoulders raised, his entire body taut. The look on his face was one of pure terror. Rogue's eyes flickered back and forth between the two men.
"Ah," Magneto breathed out behind her. "It seems your friend may know this devil."
Rogue's voice caught in her throat as the tall pale man and the guards walked on. When Remy turned, Rogue tried to catch his eye. He looked away.
Research Lab, Codename "Gemini," 4000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"Easy, easy, little brother. Just relax."
Scott blinked his eyes open, taking in the smile on his brother's face, before gasping and wincing them tightly shut.
He heard Alex laugh. "It's okay, Scott. You can open them."
Scott tried to move, and found his arms and legs bolted down. "What the hell have you done to me?"
"Made it possible for you to open your eyes, for one," Alex stated. "C'mon, if you're that angry at me, open your eyes and look at me."
Scott set his jaw and looked up at his brother from under his lashes.
"There you go," Alex said. "Isn't that better?"
"What the hell is stopping my powers?" Scott demanded.
"That," Alex said, tapping the collar on Scott's neck. "That's giving you a little cocktail that's holding your powers down."
"What, some kind of mutant cure?" Scott spat. Alex wiped it away.
"No," Alex said flatly. "You've got a heavy dose to keep you calm. But I've got—" Alex tapped the silver bracelet on his left wrist — "a nice little juice cocktail right here. Enough to let me control what I have." Alex leaned forward. "You could do that too. Wouldn't have to wear those lame-ass shades."
"No, just a slave collar," Scott shot back. Alex's face darkened, but then he worked a smile onto his sunburnt face.
"I told Essex you'd be like that," Alex said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "You don't get it, Scott. It was hell for me, before he fixed me. Now it's . . . easy to make it come and go. I want you to have that too."
"And what if I don't?" Scott said through gritted teeth.
Alex rested his elbows on the table and smiled down at his bound brother. "Then I'll convince you."
COMMERCIAL BREAK
South Garage, Xavier Institute
Logan was just about to rev up his motorcycle when a distinct scent hit his ultra-sensitive nostrils. "Oh, no. No, no, no." Logan growled and turned, crossing his arms. "Don't even think about it, Tin Man."
From behind Scott's car, Piotr arose, encased in metal, with the smaller Sid beside him. Piotr flexed, and the metal skin enveloping him and his friend receded.
"Damn," Sid grumbled. "I really thought that would work. How did you smell us through the metal?"
"I didn't," Logan answered. "I just know what Tin Man's rust smells like. And no. You're not coming."
"You need us," Sid argued immediately. "What do you think you're gonna do, just drive your bike over the ocean to Genosha?"
"I'll find a way," Logan stated flatly. "I don't need to be worried about protecting you two on this mission."
"And who worries about protecting you, Professor Logan?" Piotr questioned politely, but firmly. "We're X-Men. We're a team."
Logan narrowed his eyes. "I really don't need the school sales pitch right now, kids."
"No, what you need," Sid stressed, "is a way to get to the island unseen."
"They already took the Blackbird," Logan said, gesturing to the area of the empty hanger.
"But not the copter," Sid said, with a sly smile. "Piotr can fly it. And I made some modifications that'll get us there without being detected."
"You want me to fly with two unlicensed kids to a south African island probably full of mutant haters?" Logan snorted.
"No," Piotr said calmly. "We want you to take a team of well trained X-Men with you to mount an aerial rescue mission."
Logan growled. "God damn it."
"Let's hope not," Sid said brightly. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."
Cell Block 3901, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"Damn, damn, damn!"
Kitty ground her teeth as ran her hands down the barrier between her and freedom. "God, it's frustrating to not be able to go through things!" she murmured. "This must be what normal people feel like."
Across from her, Bobby was also clearly struggling with his lack of powers. Kitty gestured to the collar, but Bobby frowned, crossing his hands back and forth to signal 'no.' He cast his gaze up to the sides of the room significantly, and Kitty followed.
"Right. Cameras," she muttered dejectedly. "Damn! How do we talk?"
Kitty searched out Jubilee, who was staring at the slim Polynesian boy in the cell beside her. He was clapping his hands together, staring at Jubilee as if trying to communicate something.
"Does he not get that we can't hear him?" Kitty wondered aloud. She waved her arms to catch his attention. After a moment the boy noticed her. He then turned to her, and with eyes wide and pleading, clapped again.
I can't hear you! Kitty mouthed, pointing to her ears. The boy just shook his head and continued clapping.
What? Kitty mouthed.
The boy lifted boy his hands up slowly. Kitty nodded. Yeah, I get it.
The boy clapped three times, quickly. He then clapped slowly . . . one, two, three. Then three times quickly again. He raised an eyebrow.
I don't— Kitty started to mouth then stopped. Wait. One, two, three, slowly, one two three fast . . . Kitty's agile mind ran swiftly through all the codes she knew. The boy clapped again; one, two, three, one . . . two . . . three . . . one, two three.
One two three . . . one . . . two . . . Kitty's eyes widened. Oh! Oh! S.O.S. Save our ship. Morse! Kitty mouthed, jumping, and then covering his mouth with her hand. The boy's eyes lit up, and he nodded.
Kitty smiled at him, before turning to the others and clapping, raising her hands so they could see them. Bobby narrowed his eyes, pointing to his ears, but Kitty shook her head and continued, showing him her hands. It took him only a moment to catch on. They had all been taught morse code by Logan for just such a situation as this.
Can you get it off? Kitty clapped out.
Bobby narrowed his eyes and cast his gaze up to the corners of the room, before taking a visibly deep breath and closing his eyes. Kitty bit her lip, drawing blood. Bobby winced, his face working.
"Come on, come on, come on . . ." Kitty whispered.
Bobby scowled, clenched his fists, and then gave a scream Kitty couldn't hear as he reached up and tugged on the collar. Kitty let out a deep sad sigh, and was about to sink to her knees, when Bobby's eyes widened. She pressed herself closer to the barrier. Bobby winked, and with one jerk, pulled the collar hard enough to snap it open.
Kitty leapt and clapped and then winced. Sorry! she mouthed to Bobby.
Bobby just waved it away as he pulled the collar completely off and placed his hands on the barrier. Ice fanned out across the walls of his cell, a maze of frozen latticework. Bobby tested it by pushing slightly, and then iced up his fist and smashed it into the barrier. It shattered.
Bobby jumped clear of the frozen debris and ran to Kitty to do the same. She backed away as he froze the barrier and slammed his way through.
"Oh thank God," Kitty said immediately, as soon as he was inside. "This not being able to talk thing was the total worst."
"Yeah, I bet," Bobby said, grinning, as he moved to work on her collar.
"How'd you get it off?" Kitty asked, as he placed both his hands on the cool metal.
"I lowered my core body temperature enough so that I think it registered me as dead," Bobby answered. "I think it's pumping us with some kind of serum to stop our powers. See?" Bobby jerked Kitty's collar off and she gasped in pain. He held it up for her to see — the inside was lined with what appeared to be tiny syringes.
"Gross," Kitty exclaimed. "Let's get our people out of this hellhole."
Bobby nodded, and the two X-Men ran to Jubilee. Kitty phased through the barrier to pull their friend out, and Bobby froze the collar off.
"I fiercely dislike this place," Jubilee said as soon as she was free. "Let's find the others and go."
"Agreed," Bobby said. "I think we can start by going through that door." He nodded to the door to their left.
Kitty's eyes caught the waving arms of the boy in the cell beside her former prison. "Wait!"
Kitty jogged over to his cell and phased quickly through the barrier. "Hi! I'm Kitty Pryde. I'll be your rescuer for the moment."
"That sounds like music to my ears," the boy stated, as Kitty phased her hands through his collar, feeling for the lock mechanism.
"Ah!" Kitty undid the lock from the inside and pulled the collar free of the boy gently. "That's better, right?"
"You can say that," the boy said, immediately rubbing his neck. "Any idea where we are?"
"I was gonna ask you the same," Kitty said dryly. "What's your name?"
"Jose," the boy said, offering his hand for Kitty to shake. "But you can call me Skylark, if I can call you Beautiful."
"Whoa now," Kitty said with a half-smile. "Let's get free of this freakshow before we start our own." Kitty offered the boy her hand, and together they phased through the barrier.
"We better run," Bobby said roughly, sizing up Skylark. "The cameras definitely caught us, and we have no idea what kinds of weapons these people have, or how willing they'll be to kill us for trying to get out."
"Easy, easy, my new friend," Skylark said, and whistled softly. Bobby's eyebrows popped up as he felt his body instantly relax at the sound. "We just busted out of their super fancy prison, eh? I think the four of us can take them, no problem. Four powerful, tough-ass mutants working together? This'll screw with all their plans."
Cell Block 3903, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"Remy. Remy!" Rogue banged on the barrier separating her from her boyfriend, who refused to look in her direction.
"I do believe he cannot hear you, my dear."
"You shut up!" Rogue snapped, refusing to look over her shoulder at the older mutant. "I swear to God, whoever put me in with you must have a damn vindictive streak."
"And isn't that the question you should truly be asking yourself?"
Rogue took in a deep, slow breath before turning to face the man who once tried to kill her to make the world a better place. "If you got somethin' to share with the peanut gallery, by all means, Mags, let's hear it."
Magneto smiled weakly. "My dear Rogue, you are several thousand feet under ground, wearing a collar that prevents you from accessing your natural abilities, held in a cell by men who clearly mean you ill. You should be preparing yourself for the very worst streak humankind is capable of, rather than idly calling for your . . . friend."
"Well see, that's how we're different," Rogue said sharply. "See, when I find myself in a bad situation, the first thing I do is worry about my friends. And I ain't your 'dear' anythin'."
"But you are a fellow mutant," Magneto responded calmly. "And as such you might want to consider what is in store for you as a lab rat. I can assure you that you will need all of your faculties present to make it through whatever they have planned."
"Oh? And what about your 'faculties'?" Rogue shot back. "What, you just gonna sit there and try to scare me? I'm supposed to be all fallin' down scared because you don't have the answer? If it's so bad, how come you're not up and fightin'? Are you just gonna send me out, again? Found another situation where you just can't take it?"
"I have taken it," Magneto boomed, and Rogue took a step back at the rise in the old man. "I have been in this position before. I know precisely what it means to be in a cage, the subject of experimentation and brutality, by the very worst breed of men. It is as I have always said — what men have tried once, they will try again. The times change, but their methods vary very little."
"Then why aren't you fightin' it?" Rogue questioned, quieter now.
Magneto smiled bitterly. "My dear. What do you think they are waiting for?"
Research Lab, Codename "Gemini," 4000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"I've really missed you."
"Somehow I'm not feeling the love," Scott said flatly to his brother.
Alex groaned. "I knew you'd be like this."
"You knew I wouldn't react well to having my people taken away and being strapped down to an iron table with my powers cut off? Oh, how you've grown in brilliance."
"Your people are fine," Alex assured. "Including your brother, who's right here. Oh, but am I not your 'people' anymore? Because I'm not an Xavier groupie?"
"You're somebody's people," Scott shot back. "Whoever gave you that pretty ice on your wrist."
"What they gave me," Alex said through gritted teeth, "is a new freakin' lease on life. Xavier couldn't do that. He couldn't help me control it. I almost killed you, Scott! You, you got your little glasses to protect you. I had to walk around as a ticking bomb, never knowing if I might kill someone, or burn myself up! And all he could do was tell me I had a gift. Well, for some of us it isn't a gift. Getting more power isn't always the lovely walk in the park with mutant friends Xavier tried to say it was."
"That wasn't your fault," Scott said softly. "What happened to Mary—"
"Don't." Alex spat. "I had it from Xavier, I don't need it from you. I caused it. It doesn't matter if I didn't mean it. If you kill someone, you kill them. You don't get to just wash it away because you're sorry. If you can't control yourself . . . you're no better than a dog with rabies."
"You can learn control," Scott argued, desperately. "Alex, if that's what you need you can choose to learn it. You don't have to sell your soul to — whatever this is."
"I didn't have much of a soul to sell," Alex said flatly. "Scott, I can't — I won't live my life afraid of what I have in me. It's not a gift, it's a curse, and I just wanted to be free of it. And now? I am."
"Free?" Scott snorted, significantly eyeing his brother's bracelet. "Sure. In exchange for controlling your powers, you get, what — a job as whoever runs this place's pimp? Maybe you're content to be a lap dog, but the collar just doesn't do it for me."
Alex sighed. "C'mon, bro'. Don't be so naive. You still buy Xavier's line about world peace, fighting for rights and equality? That's as much a lie as Magneto's bit about us ruling the world. One thing rules the world, and always has little brother. Money. The world is a business, and you got two choices; you can either be the product, or the one selling it."
"Product?" Scott squinted. "What the hell do you mean, product — what, you want me to build something?"
Alex shook his head, smiling with his tongue at the top of his mouth. "The product is all around us, Scott. The product is in us."
"Product? What're you—" Scott's reply caught in his throat as realization dawned. "No . . ." He tried to shake his head and felt the pull of the collar. "Mutants," he whispered in horror. "Mutants. You're selling mutants."
COMMERCIAL BREAK
East Block Corridor, The Compound, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
Kitty and Bobby phased through the door of their cell block. They immediately moved back-to-back and into fighting position as they emerged into a long, dark corridor.
"Clear enough," Bobby muttered. "Okay, go get the others."
"Got it, chief," Kitty snarked. Bobby frowned at her. Kitty rolled her eyes with a smile, before reaching a hand through the door and yanking Jubilee through. The youngest X-Men held Skylark's hand, and the new mutant shook his head and whistled.
"Now that is one weird-ass feeling," Skylark murmured.
"We have to try and locate Professor Scott, Professor Monroe, Remy and Rogue," Bobby said swiftly. "Now the question is whether we team off, or go together."
"I vote for together," Jubilee said instantly. "C'mon, guys, too many of us are missing already, and we have no way of getting in contact with each other even if we do find them."
"We should move fast, too," Kitty stated. "There's no way they missed our jailbreak."
"They?" Skylark questioned.
"Whoever is watching," Bobby said grimly, scanning the corridor. "Okay, three doors. Anybody got a preference which one we choose?"
"This one just has a number on it, plus this creepy symbol," Jubilee said, pointing out the three-headed serpent embossed into one of the three iron doors. "Can't go wrong with that, can we?"
"Let's see." Kitty grabbed Jubilee's hand, and together they phased through the door.
"Oh." Kitty felt her stomach drop. "We can. We can go so wrong."
Kitty stared, dumbfounded, body chilled, at the scene before her. She opened and closed her mouth, uselessly, once again robbed of speech. Jubilee touched her shoulder gently.
"Kitty . . . Bobby, Skylark . . ." the younger mutant said. Kitty nodded, and turned, reaching her arm through the door to offer her hand. Skylark came through the door first.
"Damn, I really gotta — whoa," he murmured, his voice faltering as he looked around. "What the hell?"
Kitty didn't answer, pulling Bobby through. "We have to move fast," Bobby stated as soon as he was inside. "The fact that we haven't seen any guards yet is making me uncomfortable, and—"
Kitty turned away without answering. "What?" he asked.
"Bobby." Jubilee nodded around the room.
"It's — oh." Bobby let out a long, slow breath. "Oh, God."
The room was smaller than the cell block, with barely enough room to move around for all the equipment that filled it. Large computers lined the walls, and what appeared to be a mammoth scanner took up much of the left half of the room. A table on the right supported a series of jars full of unmistakably human organs suspended in liquid. But the primary focus of the room were two ceiling high pods. In them, immersed in blue liquid, floated two immobile bodies.
"This is sick," Skylark whispered, as the other mutants moved slowly through the area.
"This is massively illegal," Bobby said, observing the jars of organs, freezing when he came upon one which supported a nearly to-term fetus. "I mean, not that we didn't know that already. But this is like, every Nuremberg law broken at once."
"Nuremberg," Kitty murmured, coming to stand in front of one of the pods. The hair of the perfectly preserved specimen within floated around its face. "That's exactly what this is."
"Well, I vote—" Jubilee's vote was cut off by the door at the east end of the room swinging open. Two guards barreled inside, guns raised.
"Hey!" Bobby shouted. One of the guards turned to fire at him. Bobby iced up both hands and grabbed the weapon. The guard pulled the trigger to no effect as the high-powered rifle froze over. He tried to jerk away, and Bobby pulled one heavy fist off to punch the guard in the face, dropping him.
"Bobby!" Kitty shouted, as Bobby heard the click of a safety being turned off. He whirled around to face down another gun barrel. He grabbed the gun and began to ice it up when a sweet, sharp melody hit the airwaves. The guard's eyes rolled up in his head. He collapsed, senseless, to the ground.
Bobby turned to Skylark, who winked. "Thanks," Bobby huffed.
"Don't mention it," Skylark responded. He smiled, and then his gaze moved behind Bobby. "Hey!"
A third man, dressed in a heavy lab coat and wearing thick gloves turned to run out of the room.
"Oh, no, no, no," Bobby stated, quickly grabbing the thin man by his left arm and twisting him around in a tight hold. Bobby turned the man to face the other mutants. "No, you're staying right here. You're gonna answer some questions, doc."
"Please, please, I am just a scientist," the thin, plai- faced man babbled in a reedy voice.
"And just exactly what is this place?" Kitty said, seething.
"This is my lab," the scientist said with a pathetic attempt at a smile. "You see? This is where I conduct my experiments, and —"
"We know what a lab is, idiot," Jubilee snapped. "We also know that this is about a hundred different kinds of illegal."
"Not on Genosha," the scientist answered. "On Genosha it is all perfectly legal."
"Well I'm sure the rest of the world will take all that into account at your trial," Kitty shot back.
The scientist just shrugged as best he could from within Bobby's hold. "And will you be bringing me all the way out of here for that trial? Past all the other guards? I think by that time I will have myself a very good lawyer."
"He's right," Bobby said. "We can't afford to take him with us, he'll slow us down."
"We can't just leave all this here!" Kitty exploded.
"No. We can't," Bobby agreed. "Jubilee, get ready. As soon as we're through this door you blow this place to bits." Jubilee nodded, rubbing her hands together to generate energy, sparks snapping in the air around her.
"You can't!" the scientist warned, finally looking scared. "Any kind of explosion, any change in temperature — this whole room could explode. The amount of energy being used to sustain the equipment and the computers cannot take any more, and in the containment pods is radioactive material. You can't blow it up, you'll kill us all!"
"And what about them?" Kitty snapped, jerking her head furiously towards the immobile bodies.
The scientist shrugged, a small sheepish grin stretching his plain face. "They are . . . past help."
"Really?" Kitty asked. The scientist nodded, one eyebrow raised. "Well then," Kitty whispered. "So are you."
The scientist frowned in confusion as Kitty grabbed him by the shoulders. Bobby helped her move him towards the pods. When Bobby let go of the thin man he tried to struggle away, but found the little mutant stronger than he had expected. Kitty shoved him into the pod, and the scientist gasped as he felt himself start to phase into it.
"Please—" he began.
"Save it." Kitty shoved the protesting man through the glass and into the pod. The scientist screamed as he bumped into the other inhabitant, a stream of bubbles issuing from his mouth. Kitty watched him struggle, chest heaving, the rest of the room silent. The scientist's eyes bugged, his body jerking and shaking as he drowned. Finally his struggling ceased. "C'mon," Kitty said, breaking the quiet. "Let's find the others and get the hell out of here."
Cell Block 3903, 3000 ft. Below Surface, Genosha
"So what the hell is this place then, if you're so all-knowin'?" Rogue questioned Magneto, pacing back and forth within her cell, casting glances over at Remy.
"Come, come," Magneto said infuriatingly. "Please don't tell me Xavier has so neglected your education that you lack understanding of recent history?" The old survivor raised one elegant eyebrow.
"Recent history — so you're saying this is what? A concentration camp?" Rogue continued pacing. "That what, this is a place to kill mutants?"
"No." Magneto chuckled. "Where would be the profit in that? No, this place—" He stared around the room in disgust — "This place is simply the latest advance in the oldest trade in the world."
Rogue swallowed. "You mean . . . prostitution?"
Magneto barked a laugh. "That too, I am sure."
"So this place is . . . headquarters for mutant trafficking?" Rogue pieced together.
Magneto made a disgusted sound. "Oh, the gentle play on words we use to disguise the truth. Call it what it is, my dear. Slavery. This is a mutant slave house. And we, the wares."
"They can't," Rogue muttered. "They can't. Slavery's been illegal for years—"
"Has Charles taught you nothing?" Magneto snapped. "There are more slaves in this era than in all of North America's sordid past. Around the world, in third world countries and in your beloved United States, there are hundreds of thousands of humans in bondage. The trade has never stopped. It has simply grown more adept at hiding itself. And now, it has evolved, evolved beyond enslaving humans — to try to enslave us."
"They can't," Rogue said through gritted teeth. "We won't let them. They can't."
Magneto smiled. "Against what do you think I have been fighting all my life?"
Rogue bit her lower lip. "Then why ain't you fightin' now? Why—"
The sound of the door blasting off its hinges interrupted their conversation. Bobby, Kitty, Jubilee and a boy Rogue didn't recognize strode inside the cell block.
Rogue! Kitty yelled, her voice inaudible from outside. Rogue pointed to her ears. Oh, Kitty responded. She ran at the barrier, quickly phasing through. "Rogue, oh my God, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I guess," Rogue supplied. "How'd you—"
"We broke out, it's the collars," Kitty said quickly, all business as she reached up to undo Rogue's. "They keep your powers down."
"Yeah, I figured," Rogue stated. "Slave collars. I — wait!" She pulled back. "Once you take 'em off, I . . ."
"Oh." Kitty pulled back. "But, we have to. We have to get out. Okay, come outside, we'll have Bobby freeze it off. Then you can get rid of it yourself."
Rogue nodded, and moved to go. "Wait." She turned to Magneto, who remained seated. Kitty scowled. "We should leave him here."
"We can't. Kitty, this place —" Rogue began.
"I know. I saw," Kitty said shortly. "It's like Mengele's wet dream."
"So we can't just—" Rogue attempted, but Magneto let out a laugh.
"If I wished to leave this place, no human slave collar would stop me," Magneto said proudly.
"Really?" Rogue crossed her arms. "You gonna let pride stop you from acceptin' our help?"
Magneto opened his mouth, but just then a loud alarm came blaring into the cell block. "Ah," Magneto breathed. "It seems our time has been cut short."
"Rogue, c'mon," Kitty said, grabbing her friend's arm. Rogue cast one last look back at the old mutant warrior, before letting Kitty pull her through the barrier. She let Bobby freeze the collar until it cracked, and then pulled it off herself. Her eyes never left Kitty as the little mutant phased into Remy's cell and pulled him out. "Remy," Rogue started as soon as he was out. "We—"
"We gotta run," Remy said swiftly. "I don't know how fast the reaction time is for the guards here, but I best it's faster'n most."
"The door. Quick, let's move," Bobby ordered. "Jubilee—"
Jubilee nodded. She blew on her hands, calling up snapping, high-energy plasmoids. She tossed them at the door, blasting it open. The others followed, streaming into another cell block. It held seven cells of mutants who immediately ran to the barriers and screamed, voiceless, to be let out.
"It'll take forever to free them all," Jubilee exclaimed.
"We can't just leave them!" Rogue burst out.
"We won't," Bobby said. "There's gotta be some kind of lock, or switch. Kitty, find whatever mechanism's locking the cells in place and do your hacker thing and—"
"Bobby." Kitty nodded over his shoulder. Bobby turned.
"No," he whispered. "John?"
John Allerdyce stood pressed against the barrier, his eyes on Bobby. The two former friends waited for a full moment in silence, until all of the barriers slid open.
"Found it!" Kitty shouted.
"Okay," Bobby said, his voice a little horse. He cleared his throat. "Okay, let's move!"
The stream of newly freed mutants ran towards the next door. Jubilee blasted it open, revealing another long corridor. The horde of newly freed mutants ran inside, jostling against one another.
"To the right, to the right!" Bobby shouted, pointing. "The door on the end!"
The crowd moved towards the door. Jubilee got ready to blast it. Suddenly it opened on its own, three guards in black forcing their way inside. The mutants with collars on screamed, trying to pull back.
"Back, back through the door!" Kitty shouted, urging them towards the cell block door. "Its—"
Kitty turned to find herself faced with more guards in black, carrying heavy weaponry. The mutants found themselves pushed back again. A guard aimed a gun at Kitty, and Bobby iced it over. "Push them back!" Bobby hollered. "Everyone make a circle, those of you without active powers—"
Bobby felt a hand grasp his shoulder desperately, and turned to watch one of the collared mutants collapse. "What, what's wrong?" he demanded. The mutant, a dark skinned girl with nostrils like a dog just choked and gasped as she fell, her hands clutching at the collars.
"The collars!" Bobby shouted, looking up. "Get them off! They—"
"They are not nearly as stable as we would have liked, clearly," said the elderly blonde man in an expensive suit who strode into the room from the exit door. "Improvements will have to be made."
"Take him out!" Bobby ordered. The man tsked, pointing to his side. "Ah, ah, ah." Bobby eyes followed where he indicated. Skylark and Jubilee were held by two guards, guns pressed to their temples. "Careful, now. We don't want anyone hurt in this exercise."
"Exercise?" Kitty's wide, furious gaze moved between the man in charge and the guards holding Skylark and Jubilee.
"Yes, we were worried about problem with our collars," the man said, looking around at the collared mutants who were collapsing, gasping, to the ground. "This exercise should help us very much in figuring out how to improve the design. Thank you."
"Who the hell are you?" Rogue demanded. "What is this place?"
The man made a motion as if to doff his hat. "My name is Cameron Hodge. This is Genosha. I apologize for the accommodations. We're expanding, you see."
"Expanding what?" Rogue asked again, loudly. Behind her back she made a fist and then held out three fingers for Remy to see. Remy glanced over at Bobby, tapping his thigh with two fingers. Bobby nodded, getting ready.
"Business," Hodge answered. "Just business. We don't want to have to hurt any of you—"
"Well, we do," Skylark said. He whistled loudly, causing the guards holding him and Jubilee to shriek and grab their ears. He whirled towards Hodge, hand raised. A gun shot sounded. Jubilee screamed as Skylark went down, red blossoming from his chest. Hodge grinned over at Bobby.
"We don't," he repeated, raising the small sidearm with which he had killed Skylark for effect. "But we will if we have to." Hodge snapped his fingers, and two more guards moved into the room to take the unconscious guards' places. "Now. Where were we? Oh, right. Business."
ENDING CREDITS
Promo For Next Week: No way out. No way in. As the X-Men face their cruelest foe yet, will they break under pressure, and give in to their darkest impulses . . . and their deepest desires? Don't miss the revelation laden two part finale.