"I see why you have taken such an interest in this specimen," he said, gesturing to the cage in which Laura had been trapped. She now lay on the ground, her black hair all about her tanned face.
"What have you done to her?" shouted Claudine, her eyes glowing now with psychic energy. Her wound was still in the process of healing, but she felt pain in the way that Laura's limp body fell unto the bars.
Without thinking any longer, Claudine let all of her power flow out at one, breaking the windows and throwing Sinister to the ground once more, "You don't know how much I would love to kill you right now, Father."
He began to laugh in that way he did only when he knew the game of death would prove to be a bit more challenging, a bit more fun. The victim usually gave up after only such a short while, but this one seemed more driven. He knew she would have made a nice weapon if she would only cooperate. There seemed to be a flaw in his impeccable design.
Claudine began to feel Sinister's psychic energy push up against hers. Her energy began to ebb away. She couldn't exert this much power for much longer, yet she held on. She stepped backwards, slipping up on a piece or shattered glass. He had the upper hand once more. She felt his amusement for the game they played. He knew no one else who could rival his power in such similar ways. He half hoped that his creation would overtake him. It would be the sign of most excellent work.
Claudine let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the door jar open and the sound of footsteps on the tiled floor. Sinister forgot about her for the time being.
"Shield me," communicated Scott to her. Claudine nodded, not sure what exactly he was doing.
"Mr. Summers," he smiled devilishly, "I have expected you."
"What do you want from me?" he cried out.
"You don't know how special you are," Sinister replied, seizing up Scott like a show horse.
"I remember you; in the children's home in Nebraska and now here. Why are you following me?" he demanded narrowing his eyes beneath his glasses, trying to conceal his pain.
"Not you, boy. I simply want your DNA."
"And what about Jean?" he demanded, his fists clenched at his sides, "What about her?"
"I already have a sample from Miss Grey. She is collateral." He clasped his hands together.
Now
Scott quickly took off his ruby quartz visor, unleashing the full power of his blast. He yelled in agony of his loss and the power that he was emitting. Sinister held out a hand, shielding himself, but Claudine knocked him down to the ground.
Scott saw the flesh being ripped off of the bone and the bone being disintegrated, but still he couldn't stop. He thought of the pain that the man had caused him and the future he had planned with Jean. He had loved her. He still loved her. He scattered the ashes before him before falling to the ground.
Kitty slipped into the cage and phased out Laura while the others ran over to help Scott. He had told them to wait. They hadn't known what for.
Rogue crossed her arms over her chest, "Why didn't ya tell us?" she asked, "We coulda helped ya know!"
"I had to do it for Jean, myself," he groaned.
Her frown faded as she stooped down to sweep the broken glass away from his exhausted body.
Claudine smiled, knowingly and remained lying in the corner. Her problem was done and gone with, yet she still felt his mind tugging on the edge of her deepest memories, holding on for something. What? He wasn't supposed to be there anymore. He was dead. She suddenly felt a piercing pain go through her head. She put her head on her hands, shaking it back and forth as if she were trying to shake away all that had happened.
She ignored the cries of her teammates asking if she was alright. She instead listened to the cries inside her head.
"You have lost. It's over," she told Sinister, yelling it through her mind, "You are supposed to be gone by now."
"Then why am I still here?" the voice mocked her.
"It's not possible," she reiterated.
"Perhaps I have underestimated your intellect."
"Why? What have you possibly got to tell me."
"It's more of something to ask you; why do you think I have made you and kept you around for all of these years?"
"I suppose it wasn't out of love." She sneered.
His voice got louder in her head, sounding through her every thought. She could barely take it anymore. "You have failed as a weapon, yet your body still serves my purpose."
The outside world was now gone to her. She stood inside her own mind, facing her father and worse adversary. "I won't let you."
"I didn't suspect you would." He seemed to tower over her. "Do you know the very basics of evolutionary psychology?"
"Yes, but how does this apply?"
"An organism will do anything in its power to stay alive, acting in the most radical ways and right now I'm afraid I am fighting for my life."
Claudine felt the ground crumble from under her feet. She held onto the edge with her all of her remaining strength.
"This is my mind. You can't do this!"
She cringed as Sinister brought the heel of his boot down on her hand, removing her last remaining hold on consciousness. "Not any longer."