Author's Note: Thank you all again for your reviews. They are gratefully acknowledged.
Chapter Eight: Stand and Deliver
The fateful day dawned cloudy and crossly threatening rain. Thunder rumbled deep in the sky, as Sabretooth's growl rumbled deep in his chest, betraying his anticipation. Magneto was prepared well ahead of time, as were they all, and the time to embark upon their mission was at hand.
Mystique, seated next to Toad in the helicopter cockpit, glanced over at him with apprehension. He had his battle garb on, still stained with blood, and the expression in his eyes was unreadable. But he looked prepared for whatever was in store for them, and Mystique felt another shiver go up her spine.
If God exists, she thought, let him have mercy on those children's souls.
The flight continued in drifting silence.
* * *
It was no problem for Sabretooth to enter the meeting, despite heightened security. He merely used the patrolmen as bludgeons, slamming open the doors. A watchman in each hand, he failed at the people inside, laughing wildly in the midst of his attack.
Magneto's predictions were accurate. Within minutes the X-Men had caught wind of the assault, and were nearing the scene. Sabretooth could sense them, and he laughed louder, into the terrified faces of his victims. Soon.
The helicopter had landed a ways away from the academy, next to where Mystique had positioned the black car with the tinted windows days before. It carried them smoothly and almost noiselessly right up to the academy, undetected in the gloom, its headlamps off. The navigation in the darkness of the wooded night was undertaken by Toad, his night vision as reliable as the midday sun. Soon they would be inside. Soon.
Magneto shivered with a mixture of delight and anxiety, his helmet safely masking his thoughts, avoiding detection even in the midst of Charles's home. The place was vaguely familiar, yet changed since he had been last, but Mystique knew it well, having been there before only a year and a half previous.
Toad brought the vehicle to a smooth halt near the back entrance, and turned to share a glance with Mystique. His eyes, again, were unreadable, but there was a sense of purpose about them, different than his usual stoic resolve. She thought she caught the barest hint of a smile before he turned away again and they exited the car.
Mystique sighed to herself as they entered the back way, the X-Men gone and the children asleep, the halls dark. She did not agree with Eric's plan, hated it even, as she had hated no plan of his before. She thought it was a stupid, cruel, and fruitless idea, but the rage that corroded her leader's brain was far too strong to be admonished. She kept her mouth shut and her eyes ahead of her, feeling Toad's body by her side, adrift in its strange resolve. The dagger was cold against her thigh: a silent killer, to avoid detection as much as possible, and she shuddered at its icy efficiency.
She stopped suddenly in the darkness, her hand extended. The dormitories were just ahead, where the mutant children slept, unsuspecting. Children as she had been. Little lost things, safe in their sanctuary. Mystique loathed taking another step, the one that would carry her to many little fates.
Toad's hand to her back nudged her forward, and suddenly his voice was in her ear. As she listened, a smile spread across her features, and she nodded.