22
"So this man's name is Sinister?" the Professor asked.
"Oui," Gambit said, feeling very stiff as he flew the jet. Couldn't this thing go any faster?
He had been informed that Rogue had gone with the X-Men to free Joseph. He should have known better! His tante was right. He never should have left. Now, he was flying straight into dangerous territory and a place he never wanted to return back to except for one thing. To destroy it for good. But now, here he was, returning to try and free the girl he cared for deeply. He didn't even know if he'd make it out of their alive. What if the same thing as last time happened to him? No, he'd die before he let that happen!
His hands had been shaking since learning of Sinister's involvement with the X-Men and that sickness in the pit of his stomach hadn't budged one bit.
Gambit had finally opened up to the Professor about his true intentions of joining the X-Men. He gave a brief story about how he knew of Sinister and his island. How the MRD prisons had just been practice, basically, to prepare for Sinister, his Nasty Boys and his island while he also searched for Magneto. The Professor and Hank had found it all quite hard to take in, but they believed him none the less.
"And now he has my X-Men in his grasp, ready to experiment on them as if they were some science project." The Professor said darkly as he brought his hands together and before his face.
Yes, he was mad, but more so, he was disappointed in himself. Disappointed that he didn't know how his original team felt. That they felt that they couldn't trust him to do the right thing so kept him out of their plans for his own protection. Disgusted that he had forced them into this and now, they were facing being degraded to just a test subject rather than human beings.
"And you're saying that this island of Sinister's has a force field around it which disturbs all electronic signals that aren't controlled by Sinister? Not only that, but this shield stops all outside interference from mutations and shuts down any mutations that enter?" Hank asked.
"Pretty much sums it up. Wasn't there when I was, but dat man's capable of anything." Gambit said.
"If Sinister has created a shield that can do all of that then surely he has a way of tracking you and monitoring your entry into his island. Gambit, what are you planning to do once you arrive there? We will have no communication. You will have no powers. How will you free the X-Men?" the Professor asked.
That had been the question circling his mind since the moment he found out what had happened to the X-Men. He thought about it. That he should take the new team of mutants he'd been training with him as back up. But then, he thought about how they were just kids who would slow him down and if he was responsible for their capture too, the guilt would kill him. He could have took hank with him, but it was the same issues.
He didn't want to go alone. Hell, didn't even want to go at all. But once he knew she was there, it was like he had no control over himself. He had to go and get her out one way or another. After all, it wasn't like she hadn't done that for him. She came back to save him and his father that one time from the assassins without having any knowledge at the time of what could happen. Then, she'd stayed behind in that prison to make sure he could get out. That girl constantly put her neck on the line for him, trusting him, trying to save him, he couldn't just abandon her now. If he did, he'd never forgive himself.
So, he was going and he was going alone. He knew the island and knew where Sinister and the X-Men would be. He knew Sinister controlled the Nasty Boys and that he wouldn't have a chance in hell fighting them all off. He could maybe divide and conquer. Or maybe avoid them all together. But he honestly had no idea how he was going to do either of those things. The Professor was right, they'd pick his jet up right away. He guessed he would just have to go in and hope that his survival instincts were enough. There was one advantage he had though. Maybe.
"I doubt he be expectin' a second jet, 'least, not dis soon." Gambit said, grimacing.
He was terrified, but the fear of Rogue going through what he went through on that island was driving him on.
"Perhaps you will have the advantage of a surprise attack, but Gambit, how do you expect to fight all of Sinister's mutants?" the Professor asked.
"Honestly, I'm just gonna wing it and hope for de best. De X-Men, they're tough and I'm sure they be puttin' up one hell of a fight." Gambit said, hoping that was true. Hoping it wasn't too late. Hoping that Rogue was ok. "But they ain't gonna find der way outta der without someone who knows dat island. Give us twenty four hours Professor and if we still ain't out, well…" Gambit trailed off, thinking about the possibilities. If he got captured and couldn't save the X-Men, well… "don't send any more mutants you ain't willin' to lose to de island." Gambit said.
Gambit turned off the radio and lowered the jet. He slowed the jet down and made a safe water landing. The jet moved forwards and was washed up onto the beach which worked out perfectly for Gambit. The jet was still on line, sort off, which meant they might be able to use his jet to get back home.
But for now, he had other things to think about. Divide and conquer or sneak around without getting caught. He couldn't do either staying by the jet. He jumped out of the jet and started running into the forest, towards the castle as fast as he could before the Nasty Boys could track him down and attack him.
xxxxx
Logan's head was starting to hurt. He'd been running from that ape man for a while. He was trying to circle back to the X-Men, but he just couldn't seem to figure out his left from his right with the headache he was feeling.
Logan ended up stopping and grasping hold of a tree trunk to steady himself. Just as he took a short break, the ape man pounced.
Logan was tackled to the ground. They began to role, the ape man coming out on top. The ape man raised his hand to strike Logan and that was when a blur appeared, kicking the ape man square in the chest and sending him flying.
Logan sat up to see that Gambit had returned and had his bo staff out.
"Never figured you as a runner, Wolvie." Gambit said.
"Shut your yappin' and just help me butcher this guy already." Logan said as he ran at the ape man, tackling him.
Gambit smirked briefly at what Logan had said. As Logan went low, Gambit went high and high the ape man across the face with his bo staff and into a tree. Logan climbed up off the ape man who had become unconscious from knocking his head hard against the tree trunk.
"Never thought I'd hear you askin' for help neither." Gambit said as he came to stand besides Logan who was swaying a bit.
Gambit reached out a hand and steadied him. Logan noticed that Gambit was shaking. He could sense the fear radiating off him.
"Where are the others?" Gambit asked, glancing around anxiously. He thought that this would be perfect! He'd found Wolverine which meant there weren't that many more X-Men to go and it looked like Logan still had the use of his claws as a weapon. If the X-Men weren't in Sinister's grasp just yet then he could round them up and take them back to his jet. It'd be a struggle swimming it out to the point where they could get the power back up again, but once they did that, they'd be home free.
"They got caught. Been tryna double back to where they last were but this gorillia kept getting in the way." Logan said.
Gambit felt something sink in his chest. Logan watched Gambit seem to turn a different colour and freeze up as something dawned on him.
"Cajun?" Logan questioned, concerned.
"Then we ain't got no time to waste. Follow me." Gambit said, making his way towards the castle where he knew Sinister would be waiting.
Xxxxx
"What have you done to Magneto?" Scott demanded to know off Sinister after hearing a moan from the other side of the room and knowing it came from him.
"Arrr yes," Sinister said, glancing at the Master of Magnetism out of the corner of his eyes. "He was a fine specimen indeed. His abilities enable me to create the force field that surrounds my island."
"Wait, so you somehow copied Magneto's powers?" Jean asked, disturbed.
"Indeed," Sinster said, smiling a Jean as he turned to face her. Her telepathic and telekinesis abilities were something that interested him deeply. Her intelligence was also quite amusing.
"And this force field, it's turned off our abilities too, hasn't it? How?" Jean asked.
Sinister walked towards Jean, admiring her as his next specimen as he did.
"Do you really think those scientists at the MRD could conduct a mutant inhibitor? They lack the experience of working with mutants to even comprehend how to negate an ability." Sinister said.
"But you could?" Jean asked.
Sinister's smirk only grew as he began to walk away from Jean.
Jean glanced over at Scott who was looking a mix of annoyed and concerned at her. His eyes began to follow Sinister, wondering over to Joseph as Sinister pasted him.
"And how do you fall into all of this, Joseph? You just another one of Sinister's pawns?" Scott demanded to know.
Joseph removed his cool gaze off of Rogue to glance at Scott as if a dog had just barked at him. Joseph ignored Scott and his eyes soon landed on the weak Magneto chained up.
Jean and Rogue both followed Josesph's gaze. Both coming to the same idea at the same time, but Rogue was too horrified to say anything. Sinister's eyes. Joseph's powers. Magneto chained up. What was this monster? What had he done to the man she knew.
"Your powers," Jean muttered, glancing between Joseph and Magneto, "you have the same as him. What?" Jean asked, trailing off.
Joseph dropped his gaze, almost in shame, Rogue recognised. Rogue watched him. Watched the man she once cared for look… pained. Right from the start, he had said he wasn't Magneto. Said that he was good. Said that he just wanted to be good. Said he wanted to break away from what the man had made him. What that man had labelled him as… Had he really been talking about Magneto at that time?
Rogue spared a look at Sinister. She caught him glancing at Joseph, almost humoured by his pain. That sickened her and made her angry. Joseph looked almost like he'd been destroyed and that man he was, supposedly, working for was smiling at that? Smiling at him? What did he have over Joseph? Why was Joseph doing this? Seeing that smirk. That evil, evil spark in Sinister's eyes, she couldn't believe that this was Joseph. No, it couldn't be. He might have lost his temper with her back at the dance, but he was a good man. He wasn't one of Sinister's lacks. He wasn't going to hurt them or let them be hurt… was he?
"My experiments with Magneto's DNA also gave me another gift. As you all am aware, I'm sure, Magneto has a will of steal and does not bend easily. His clone, however, knows who his master is." Sinister said.
At the word clone, everyone's mouths dropped. Everyone just stared at Joseph, trying to come to the terms of what had been said. Joseph stood tall, but with his head down. He wasn't flinching nor denying anything. He was the clone of Magneto and the monster to Frankenstein. He looked ashamed of his existence.
Joseph's eyes burned with a look of heated passion as he finally glanced up and looked directly at Rogue. To anyone else, he just looked angry still, but Rogue could see past that. She knew this man well. That hatred she saw burning behind his steal cold eyes, she was sure, wasn't for her. It was for them. The two that had been responsible in making his existence possible.
Rogue felt herself becoming slightly more confident and straightened up as she meet Joseph with a fierce look herself. Now, everything was coming together for Rogue. This man, Sinister, was making Joseph belief he had to do this. Had to trap his friends because he saw Sinister as his creator. A father maybe. Rogue had no idea what the relationship between Sinister and Joseph really was, but if Magneto's limp body proved anything, it was that Sinister was a threat to be reckoned with.
But so were the X-Men. And Joseph, whether he understood this or not, was still an X-Men and Rogue was too. She knew what she had to do and she was going to try her very best to save Joseph and her friends from this mad man, Sinister.