As evening officially turned into night, three figures made their way through the woods north of Sunnydale. All three walked quietly, and when they spoke, they kept their voices low. All three also wore trenchcoats.
"We should be gettin' close, mes amis," said Remy.
"About another hundred yards or so," confirmed Nicholas.
Spike just walked behind the others, still somewhat disgusted with the idea that the chip that had been put into his head seemed to be part of a larger agenda. He'd never cared for government-supported genocide, and liked it even less when he was supposed to be part of it.
Remy suddenly stopped walking and held up his hand.
"Shhh…" he intoned, "We got company," he whispered.
All three faded quickly into the bushes at that, Nicholas thinking directly to the other three groups through the link that had been setup by Professor Xavier. One member of each group had been designated as a communicator. Nicholas watched what occurred next and updated Jean, Spencer and Alexis.
A bit west, Alexis received the information and updated the rest of her crew.
"Looks like there might be guards patrolling the area around the air-intake," she said. "Right now they've just barely missed being discovered by a female vampire."
"They okay?" asked Willow.
"They're fine…" started Alexis, "Oh no."
"Oh no, what?" asked Giles.
"She found Remy, though he's signled the others to stay hidden. She's got him by the lapel, and… oh…my…well, that's one way of doing it," Alexis replied with some admiration in her voice.
"Doing what?" asked Xander, exasperated.
"Remy's doing what?" asked Gunn incredulously.
"He's seducing her," repeated Spencer.
"The man is a charmer," said Ororo, smiling, "Is it working?"
"That's the scary part," continued Jean, "It's actually working."
"Only the Cajun," snickered Logan.
"I don't believe it," said Scott.
"I dunno, Scott," said Buffy, "He's awfully cute."
"What?" replied her cousin.
"Oh, yeah," said Jean, picking up on what Buffy was doing, "I mean, that tousled hair, those eyes, that grin, the body, it takes a girl's breath away."
"Oh, really?" said Scott, "When the opportunity next presents itself, remind me to drop a truck on him."
"Scott," said Jean.
"A big truck," said Scott.
"Scott!" said Buffy.
"A really big truck," said Scott.
"SCOTT!" yelled Jean and Buffy.
"I know!" replied Scott, reaching up to his visor and sending a small beam of force into the trees just above him. The vampire that had been lurking there fell to the ground and was quickly reduced to its component parts courtesy of Mr. Pointy.
"Just had to keep you guessing," smiled Scott.
Nicholas and Spike, meanwhile, and edged around the whole affair and gotten a look at their target.
"I see three vamps guardin' the place," murmured Spike quietly.
"Looks to me like they thought this the least likely access," whispered Nicholas, pulling his pistols out.
"Bullets don't do much against my kind," Spike reminded him.
"Head-shots with hollow points do," replied Nicholas. Then he stood and proved his point.
Remy heard the three pistol shots and knew that this would break whatever seductive mood he'd established. The following shout of "Yo, Remy! We're clear," from Nicholas cemented the point firmly. As the vampire regained her wits and started shifting into her demon form, he pushed her into the jagged branch that he'd spent the last five minutes maneuvering her in front of. As the wood pierced her heart, she collapsed into dust.
"Sorry, petite'" he said, "But Tante Matte warned me about your kind." He ran quickly to join the other two.
Ororo, Spencer, and Gunn had located the emergency exit, hidden in the side of the hill. Remarkably, it was completely unguarded.
"I don't like this," muttered Gunn.
"That makes two of us," said Ororo, as she plied her skill on the locking mechanism.
"I did take us twenty minutes just to find the damn lock," said Spencer, "Could be they thought we never would find this way in."
"You really think that?" asked Gunn.
"Hell no!" said Spencer, "But it sounds nice."
Ororo quietly finished her work, and the three of them pulled the door open. There wasn't the expected creak of old hinges, but nonetheless, they still felt wary. Ororo looked down the opened passageway, noticing how dark it was.
"We'll have to go slowly, and probably feel our way in," she said quietly. She had told very few people about her claustrophobia, and wasn't about to let it endanger Hank and Rogue.
"Not really," commented Spencer, pulling some goggles from his backpack. "Voila!"
"Night glasses!" exclaimed Gunn. "Good thinking."
"Gadgets are us," grinned Spencer, handing the goggles out. Ororo let a small sigh of relief out. At least she'd be able to see.
The trio started down the passageway.
Alexis watched the mouth of the cave that the lead group had entered. Another minute or so and they'd follow. She had a bad feeling about this whole thing. Something told her that this was just going way to smoothly. She held her voice and waited the two minutes that had been agreed on, then gestured to the others that they should proceed to the cave mouth.
So why did this still feel like a setup?
The demon looked on as the second group entered the cave.
"Oh, my Magnificence, should we not take them now?" he asked.
"Don't be stupid," Glory replied, "I'm hardly dressed for an outdoor adventure."
"But, Most Splendiferous," the demon countered, "One of them may know who the key is."
"Look, scabby," Glory stated flatly, "Chances are most of them know who the key is, and after Doctor Essex and his bodyguards get finished messing up their faces, they'll be a lot more likely to tell me. Holy Mother of Me, do I have to think of everything?"
"As always," the demon paused a moment, thinking, then continued, "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious One, you're strategy is brilliant!"
Glory said nothing, she just lowered her head and massaged the bridge of her nose.
Doctor Nathaniel Essex looked at the monitors in front of him as he rolled up his sleeve. So far, everything had gone almost exactly as planned. The secondary group entering the caves was unexpected, but had the benefit of allowing him to pull some of the resources he had placed at the ventilation shaft and the emergency exit. Glorificus, of course, had done nothing, as he'd expected. The true reward there would come after the combined forces of Xavier and the Slayer had failed in his lab.
He finished rolling up his sleeve, and picked up the syringe he'd prepared earlier. This was the last injection. He turned and looked at himself in the full-length mirror he'd earlier used to elucidate his point to McCoy. His skin was now completely devoid of any color, simply the dead white of a pure albino. His hair had shifted to an almost metallic blue black, and the red diamond on his forehead had come forth with a vengeance, now standing out in it's blood-colored magnificence against the pale tone of his skin.
"…carpe diem, life without end…" he whispered as he plunged the needle into his arm.
The pain was incredible, fire with acid. Torture that could not even begin to be imagined. For an unknown amount of time he lay writhing on the floor of the lab, screaming in ecstasy, laughing in pain. And then, suddenly, it was gone. He was whole again. Without a hint of concern, he rose to his feet and studied himself in the mirror again. Deciding that he needed a slightly more defined jaw line, he was satisfied to see it become so. His eyes were now a solid black mass, allowing no light to escape. He walked over to the computer console, and opened the casing. Then he withdrew a single chip from the interior workings of the system. He simply stared at it for a brief time, then a small pocket opened up in his chest, where he deposited the chip.
"Time for the grand finale," he muttered. With the press of a button, he prepared to eliminate the specimens that were no longer of use to him.
Dawn Summers looked up from the book she was supposed to be studying for the umpteenth time in the last half-hour, and looked at the Professor again.
"How does he do it," she thought, "He looks so unconcerned about it all."
"I assure you, Dawn," said the Professor, "I'm just as worried as you are." He turned his chair towards her and smiled, "But I do have a bit more experience in hiding the fact," he confessed.
Dawn lowered her eyes and asked, "Is it that obvious? My being worried, I mean."
"Well," said Xavier, "I am psychic you know." He smiled at her.
"Professor," she started, "I…can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"I hate to take your time…"
"Dawn," Xavier soothed, "I have over thirty students, right about your age, at my school. And I pride myself on being able to make time for each and every one of them when it's important." He wheeled his chair over to her side and took her hand, "How could I possibly do any less for someone who could very well be my own niece?"
Dawn smiled at the familial reference, and prepared herself for the answer she was dreading.
"Professor, am I real?"
"I beg your pardon?" Xavier asked.
"I mean," Dawn hesitated a moment, "You're a telepath, and you should be able to know if I'm real, right?"
"Dawn, if you're asking me to read your mind…"
"No, not that. I just…" she searched for the right way of saying it, "I just want to know if there's this big hole, where I oughta be. Does that make any sense?"
"More than you know," Xavier chuckled. "Let me tell you a little story. About ten years ago, I found a young man in the Midwest. He'd made his way cross-country, and was playing guitar for spare change. This young man had a terrible secret, and when I told him that I wanted to help him, he asked me, 'Am I real?' You see, he'd had his eyes taped shut for over two months, ever since he accidentally destroyed a wall at his high-school prom. He'd become convinced that his entire life was either a dream, or that he'd been sent to Hell for some unknown trespass."
"Scotty?" asked Dawn.
"Exactly," confirmed Xavier. "You see, Dawn, most people your age are trying to find the truth about themselves. And most of them start off that search with the simple question 'Am I real?'" he paused a moment, "Now then, most of them don't have to deal with the reality of reading minds, or having deadly beams of force come from their eyes, or knowing that they were once simply a ball of energy. But I'm convinced that the search is the same, nonetheless." He opened up his arms, invitingly, and Dawn crawled up into his lap without any hesitation. "But as to your question, yes. Dawn Summers, you are very real. And you are very loved."
And the fifteen-year-old girl, who in all reality started her life as a supernatural force, sat there, being held by the man whom she already considered a favored uncle. And the man of untold age and power, who had already seen both the best and the worst that the human race had to offer, held the newest addition to his family as though she were the greatest treasure ever discovered. And the two of them commiserated for some time on the singular wish to be like everyone else.
Remy LeBeau had just finished releasing the last catch on the grill.
"Okay," he whispered, "We in."
"So open the damn thing already," muttered Nicholas, pressing himself against the wall of the shaft. "It's tight in here."
Remy popped the grill out, holding on with his fingertips so that it wouldn't fall to the floor. Slowly, the three lowered themselves out of the opening into the atmosphere control center of the Initiative.
"Izit just me," asked Spike quietly, "Or did we just get in here way to easy?"
"It's not just you," confirmed Nicholas.
"Long time no see, LeBeau," came a rough voice from behind them.
"Creed!" hissed Remy, seeing Sabretooth standing in the corner. He'd been so quiet and still, that none of the three had detected him.
Nicholas was already pulling his weapons when Spike said "Anyone else in here?"
"Essex saw the three of you coming, thought I could handle it," Creed commented grinning.
Remy pulled a card from one of his pockets, and by the time it was withdrawn he'd already charged it to full capacity.
"We not so easy to take, m'sieu 'Tooth," he commented.
"You two go after Essex," said Spike, "Leave Shaggy here to me."
And with that he threw himself onto Creed. Nicholas saw the card in Remy's hand and pointed to the door into the main complex. Remy took the hint and flung the card.
As the door exploded outward, Creed said: "Second time today I've had to tell someone I'm not a demon," as he flipped Spike over his shoulder.
Spike spun himself around in mid-air and landed on his feet.
"Yeah, but anyone tell you that this chip in my head does squat if I'm beatin' up on a mutant?" he retorted, launching a kick into Creed's side.
Creed spun around and crouched into an attack position, regarding the vampire for the first time as a possible threat. A very dangerous threat, he realized.
"And that means this town's gonna see an absolutely glorious kicking of your ass," Spike informed his opponent, falling into a crouch of his own.
Neither of them noticed as Nick and Remy exited through the remains of the door into the main lab.
Gunn had taken point position as the three of them made their way down the passage. So it was only natural that he would be the one to be hit by the burst of sonic energy aimed at them.
Grey Crow stepped out from the curve behind which he'd been waiting, pointing the device he'd constructed at Spencer and Ororo.
"Behind me!" shouted Spencer, pulling a device of his own from his pack.
The two men activated their weapons at the same time. And absolutely nothing happened.
"Damn!" they both said simultaneously.
Ororo focused her ability, but they were too deep into the earth for her to pull the lightning down easily. Crow, meanwhile, had assembled a second device from the components in his belt, while Spencer had done the same with parts from his pack.
Once again, the two weapons canceled each other out.
"Shit!" both men shouted, and then they made eye contact for the first time. Each silently acknowledged the others skill. Then the moment passed, both men reaching for new components.
They both took slightly longer this time, adding another piece or two in order to ensure success. Simultaneously they activated their newly created weapons.
Simultaneously, both devices shattered into their component pieces.
"Son of a BITCH!" the two builders harmonized, somewhat awed.
Grey Crow once again grabbed some components from his pouches, Spencer however, simply reached into his pack, drew back his arm, and threw.
As the man sometimes called Scalphunter raised his newest creation, he had just enough time to realize what had happened before the fastball struck him in the forehead.
"YES!" shouted Spencer as Crow fell to the ground unconscious.
As Ororo revived Gunn, Spencer walked over and retrieved his lucky charm. Tossing the ball up in the air and catching it as he returned to his companions, he commented:
"Signed by Big Mac, no less."
Jean had been in a few battles in her time, but nothing to compare to this.
They were surrounded by demons. All kinds of demons. The vampires she could identify easily enough, but there were huge horned things with lumpy green skin, and a few that looked kind of like fish. And a couple that she could hardly bear to look at, they were so alien to her senses.
She had already sent the call to Alexis to bring the others, and knew they'd arrive in moments, but the battle raged on.
Buffy had just slain her fifth vampire of the night, while Angel was going hand-to-hand with one of the horned monstrosities. Scott simply blasted everything in sight with everything he had, but they seemed to keep coming. Logan, on the other hand, was doing remarkably well with his claws. It seemed that beheading worked on pretty much anything. Jean was having a hard time, though. She had staked a couple of vampires with her telekinesis, and thrown a few demons into the wall as hard as she could, but the strain was starting to take its toll. This wasn't the kind of fight she'd been trained for, and she knew it. In the back of her mind, she worried about Scott. His optic blasts were a result of his body's processing of sunlight. They'd never determined what the limits of his power would be after dark, and she was desperately afraid that they'd find out tonight.
"I wish I was stronger," she thought to herself.
And somewhere, deep in her mind, a spark awakened.
That's when the nausea hit.
Jean doubled over, fighting not to be sick as the dizziness consumed her. She was barely able to discern that the others were having the same problem. Remembering Cordelia's description of the fight at the Hyperion, she managed to catch a glance of a woman standing at the mouth of an opening several meters in front of them. If this woman could cause this sort of…wait, there might be one…
"Alexis, you better come a-running girl," she thought.
"Alexis, you better come a-running girl," she heard.
Alexis caught the gist of Jean's message and turned to the others.
"Gang, when we get there, be ready to fight," she said. She turned towards the two witches. "Will, Tara, as soon as we round that corner, you've got to clear me a way through to the other side."
"What's happening?" asked Xander.
"Look's like the Dizzy Bitch from LA has struck again," Alexis commented.
"Give her one for me," muttered Cordelia as the group rounded the corner, catching up to their comrades.
Immediately, all of them felt the effects of Vertigo's powers. All save one. Fighting the feeling for just a few moments, Willow and Tara linked hands, and uttered the word: "Passagae'"
Suddenly, demons were thrown in all directions, leaving a clear path from their location to the other end of the chamber. Pangor wasted no time, and began running through the pathway, with Alexis following behind him.
Vertigo saw the young woman running towards her, and focused all of her power on the oncoming threat. She was rather surprised when it had no affect whatsoever.
Alexis ran directly up to the mutant and stopped, looking at her with blind eyes.
"Cordelia sends her love," she said, launching a left hook towards her opponents chin.
Vertigo was never particularly good at physical combat, and in fact, had never been punched in her life. Anyone who knew this would not have been surprised that a single blow to the chin would knock her out. Alexis on the other hand, was expecting more of a struggle.
"Better get to the gym, girlfriend," she muttered. She turned to go back towards the battle when she heard Logan scream out in pain.
"EVERYONE! GET BACK!" yelled Jean, putting every ounce of energy she had into the warning.
Suddenly, in the middle of the battle, the true face of rage reared its head. Logan was gone. In his place was the man known only as Wolverine. No humanity could be seen in those eyes. Even the hardest of the demons sensed the change in him. And then all hell broke loose.
Xander Harris was, in his soul, a strong man. He saw what was happening, and his mind processed the information into pieces that he could handle. His favorite ladies were another matter. He tried his best to shield Anya, Willow, and Tara from the sight before them. Tara pressed her face into his chest as tightly as she could, desperately trying to forget the few brief images she'd seen. Willow stared on in open-mouthed horror. And Anya tried very hard not to think about the things she had done in her former life as a vengeance demon. Xander wrapped them all to him, pressing them deeper into the crevice he had found.
Some of the demons tried to escape the fury that they had caused, but they'd planned the ambush too well for their own good. Their opponents blocked the exits from this chamber, and in the time it took to turn and try another route, they rapidly found themselves cut down.
Buffy had seen some horrific fights in her time as the Slayer, and Angel had done some horrible deeds when he was known as Angelus, but neither had ever seen anything like this.
Wolverine was everywhere, and he showed absolutely no mercy to those in his way. His claws flashed in the light, and every time they flashed, a demon fell in pieces. Where the caverns had been filled with shouts and blows, now there were only screams. And blood.
Then, as suddenly as it had started, it was over. The demons all lay on the floor in pieces, and the ground could not be seen for the blood. And in the middle of it all, stood Logan, panting, recovering his humanity. As the rest of the gang started to come forward he looked up at them. His mutant healing factor already beginning to eradicate the multiple wounds he'd suffered in the last few minutes.
"Fifteen years," he said, "Fifteen years of psycho-training, of hypnotism, of drug-therapy. Fifteen years of prayin'," he looked around him. "An' I cut 'em all to pieces without a thought."
He stood up and looked at Scott.
"Nothin' changes, Slim," he continued. "I thought I'd learned to control myself. Guess I was wrong. An' y'want to know somethin' funny?"
The silence in the cave was deafening for a moment, and then shattered with the metal-on-metal shhhnkt of Logan's claws withdrawing into his arms.
"I'm glad," he said flatly.
As Remy and Nicholas came through the doorway, they both instinctively dropped and rolled away in opposite directions. Where they were standing a second before, two bone Shuriken had imbedded themselves into the floor.
Nicholas rolled to his feet directly in front of one of the Plexiglas cells, and saw their assailant perched on top of one of the massive computer consoles, his arm held behind him in preparation for another throw.
Remy on the other hand, ended up at the feet of an immense mountain of a man. The giant simply grunted, and reached to pick the Cajun up. LeBeau had other ideas, however, and sprang backwards, away from his opponent, reaching for another card as he did.
Nicholas watched the man in the satin jacket closely. Spencer had taught him a long time ago how to watch for the tell tale signs of an imminent pitch. So he waited, and when the slight flex of the muscles came, sprang out of the way of the deadly projectile. He felt it graze the back of his neck, and when he rolled to get back on his feet, saw that it had gone clear through the Plexiglas, leaving a large hole in it's wake, and almost imbedding itself in the skull of the young woman who lay on the floor inside. As he came to his feet, he drew his pistols and started firing in his assailants direction, forcing the mutant to dive off of his perch for cover.
Remy had thrown three cards at his opponent so far, and it seems that they did nothing more than make him aggravated. Time for a change in tactics, he thought.
Rogue, meanwhile, had started to revive due to the air coming into her cell. She groggily looked around, assessing her situation. Somehow, she could tell that she still had the powers of the X'noxx (K'thon, she said to herself, his name was K'thon). As the air continued to flow in through the hole in her cell, her head cleared quickly, and she could see that Remy was in trouble. She took one last look at K'thon.
"Y'haven't died in vain, sugah," she said. And then she hit the fractured wall of her cell with all her strength.
Nicholas managed to cover his face with his arm as the fragments of Plexiglas flew outward. As he looked towards the source of the explosion, he saw the young woman he'd noticed a little earlier come literally flying out of her cell, almost at supersonic speeds, headed directly at the giant that was facing Remy. As she impacted, she carried them both towards the far wall of the room, not slowing down in the slightest.
"I suspect that's Rogue," he murmured. He then spun and fired another round at his own opponent, seeing a flash of the satin jacket between two consoles.
The force of their combined mass left a huge crater in the cement of the wall, but the giant simply growled and drug his way back to his feet.
"That's for attackin' the school," Rogue coolly informed him, and then launched a full roundhouse right to his chin. The giant flew up into the celing, and when he came back down, she followed up with a haymaker left. The massive hulk stayed down after that.
"And that's for knockin' me out," she finished.
"Chere, you been workin' out?" Remy asked as he came over to her. "An' when you learn to fly?"
"Been a busy couple a' days, swamp rat," she replied. Then she turned to another cell and began pouding on the Plexiglas.
"Gimme a hand here, Cajun," she said, "Believe it or not, this one's McCoy!"
Remy stared at the large, blue furred man on the floor, unbelieving.
"You lost it, chere?" he asked.
"Nope, Essex did somethin' to 'im," she replied as the wall gave way under her attack, releasing the gas trapped inside. Remy followed her into the cell to help get Hank into the cleaner air.
Nicholas had just dodged another Shuriken, and he noticed blood running down his attackers arm. That's when it struck him, the boy must be making them from his own bone structure. He purposefully gave his opponent another opening, and this time saw that the boy was in pain, and his throw was off. Another feint, and he didn't even have to dodge the projectile.
He maneuvered his way through the complex, every so often leaving an opening that he knew his opponent would take. Each throw was more erratic than the last. Finally, the young mutant screamed and collapsed. As Nicholas approached him, he heard him whimpering.
"…can't make…any more…please…no more…" the young man looked at him, his face a mask of pain.
Nicholas pulled some handcuffs from one of his pockets. He cuffed his assailant, and then helped him into a sitting position.
"No more," he agreed. "Just tell me where Essex is."
Nicholas felt a cold hand on his neck, and then was lifted off his feet and held in place with a steel grip. He grabbed the hand with both of his, trying in vain to ease the pressure.
"Looking for me, detective?" said Essex.
"Nick!" shouted Remy. He had no idea where Essex had come from, but it was obvious that he'd done some serious work to himself. He drew a card and started charging it. Arclight stepped up behind Essex, preparing to engage the Cajun.
Right then the farthest wall exploded inwards, driven by a beam of scarlet force. As the combined X-Men, Angel Investigations, and Sunnydale irregulars came into the room, Essex stepped back, making sure that all could see the predicament he held one of their own in.
"Unless you want me to kill him, I'd advise you all to stand back," he said.
Then another opening appeared in the wall next to the cell Rogue had been held in. Spencer quickly ran into the room, drawing a pistol of his own and aiming it at Essex.
"That's my brother, asshole," he said, "You got one chance."
"Un-evolved imbecile," Essex muttered, "You have no chance at all."
"…head…" gasped Nicholas.
"Yeah, I know," Spencer replied, firing, "Go for the head-shot."
The bullet found it's mark, directly to the left of the red diamond on Essex' forehead. Everyone was surprised, however, when Essex turned and looked at them, the hole still visible. There was no blood from the wound at all.
"Now that we've gotten that little show of bravado out of the way," he said smoothly, "I repeat, I will kill this insect without any hesitation." The hole in his head simply closed up at this point.
"Okay, I made that shot, right?" Spencer whispered to Remy, who nodded in turn, unable to speak.
"What have you done?" asked Scott.
"Hear me well, X-Men. I bear you no ill-will at this point. However, my work must be completed. I will see the final result of our evolution. I warn you now, do not interfere with me again."
"What have you done to Hank?" demanded Jean.
"Doctor McCoy is quite well, my dear," Essex said, pointing with his free hand to Hank, as Rogue helped him sit up. "In fact, I'd say he's in better shape than ever."
Jean and Alexis ran over to them.
"Oh, God, Hank…" Jean whispered. "What did he do to you?" She ran over and began checking his vital signs. Pangor rubbed up against Hank's leg.
"I've encouraged his evolution," Essex answered, "It pained me to see such potential untapped." He turned and glared at the gathered assembly. "My work here is finished." And with that he simply threw Nicholas into the gathered assembly.
"Ms. Sontag, if you please," he said.
Arclight smiled at him, and then laced her hands together over her head. Bringing them down hard, the entire installation shook when her hands impacted the floor.
Smoke was forming around Essex' feet. It quickly snaked out and surrounded both him and Arclight, billowing up to cover them both.
"That was a precise blow," Essex said, "In exactly three seconds, this entire installation, and the cave structure it was built in, will begin to collapse."
As if punctuating his point, a large section of the ceiling fell in, separating them again into two groups. The Sunnydale and Los Angeles crew were on one side with Scott, Nick, and Logan. And Remy, Rogue, Ororo, Alexis, Pangor, Jean, Hank, Spencer and Gunn were on the other. Then the computer systems burst into flames.
It had been a long time since Victor Creed had a fight this good. He was actually enjoying himself. He managed to grab a hold of Spike's hair and flung him into the wall.
Spike rolled to his feet, game face on. Creed was good. He hadn't had this much fun in, well, Hell, long before he even heard of Sunnydale, that was for sure.
Both combatants circled each other. Both were beaten, bloody, tired, and grinning like lunatics.
"Yer good, blondie," said Creed.
"Not so bad y'self, shaggy," replied Spike.
About then a loud rumbled carried through the room, followed by a tremor.
"Uh oh," Creed said, "Arclight's bringin' down the house." He looked at Spike.
"Look," he said, "This ain't usually my style, but this whole damn place is about to come down and I don't want to be under it." With that he took off and started climbing up the ventilation shaft. "Thanks for the fun!" he hollered over his shoulder.
"Okay, something big enough to get him to run, I think I'd better pay attention," Spike said. He started into the main chamber to see about the others. Then the roof started coming in at the doorway, and he decided he'd better take the vent himself.
The smoke dissipated, and Essex and Arclight were gone. Quickly looking around, Remy realized that the Giant and the Shuriken thrower had vanished as well. He shouted over the rubble to Scott.
"We got to get outta here!"
"Jean, how's Hank?" Scott yelled.
"…Alive…" was all that Jean could answer. Rogue and Alexis held him up between the two of them, and he was starting to get his feet under him, but walking was difficult. The shock had obviously not worn off.
"Take the emergency exit," Scott shouted to the others behind the rubble, "We'll meet in front of the cave enterance.
"Understood!" Jean replied, as Remy and Gunn came over to help with Hank.
"Nicholas, will you survive?" shouted Alexis.
"Ask me when you fire me," he returned, joining the others in their retreat.
Spencer immediately grabbed the small cot from Rogue's cell, and in moments had it turned into a functional stretcher. Gunn grabbed the front, while Spencer and Remy grabbed the back.
"Get Hank on here," Gunn shouted, "And let's rip!"
Jean soothed Hank onto the makeshift gurney, and the three men started running up the corridor. Jean took one last look around the place, wishing that they had made it in early enough to save the demons Essex had abducted. They almost looked like they were sleeping. Suppressing a shudder, she followed the stretcher crew out, trailed closely by Ororo, Alexis and Rogue. Another rumble, and then the last of the computer banks exploded.
Adam understood what was happening, but had been unable to say a word throughout. He had been conserving his strength, waiting for this moment. As the main chamber started to collapse, he marshaled his last remaining effort into one arm, pulling it free from the wall. He then reached to the side of his head, triggering the mechanism that caused a small panel to slide to one side.
"Come to me, Death," he said, pulling the small battery that kept his mental processes active in the event of system failure. This time, it would be final. It almost surprised him to realize that was all he wanted now.
They could see the opening ahead, and redoubled their efforts to carry Hank out of there before they all became pancakes. The small tunnel that had been set up as an emergency exit was not as solid as could be hoped, and was already starting to collapse around them.
Suddenly, part of the ceiling broke loose, and on it's way to the floor, it impacted Alexis directly behind the left ear.
"Ah got 'er!" shouted Rogue, stopping to help Alexis to her feet, "Keep goin'!" Storm, however, hesitated. She turned to make sure that Rogue and Alexis were alright, and that's when trouble happened.
The entire ceiling started collapsing in, and they were too far from the exit to make it. Jean looked at the three men trying to get Hank to the opening, and focused her mind.
And the little spark grew, slightly.
It was no use, she couldn't shield them all from the rocks.
And the spark exploded.
And then she was pushing them, and herself, out of the passageway into the night. It was done so quickly that none of them even had a chance to realize what had happened. Jean turned around in time to see the entire passage collapse onto itself.
When the dust cleared, nothing but rock could be seen.
"ROGUE!" she screamed, "STORM!"
"Alexis…," whispered Spencer.
They weren't going to make it.
Buffy Summers realized that this was it, they were going to die. She wanted to tell everyone how sorry she was for dragging them into her life, for ruining theirs.
"Wouldn't have it any other way, Buffster," Xander said through his panting as he ran beside her. It was as though he had read her mind.
Then the opening to the caves was upon them, and the entire group pushed themselves to clear it before the entire structure came down. Logan and Nicholas were the last out, literally throwing themselves out of the mouth of the cave as the rocks fell around them.
As the group fell to the ground, exhausted, Scott did a quick head count and was relieved that everyone had made it.
Then a new voice was heard.
"'Scuse me, but if you're all finished panting like dogs, I really need to get some answers here."
Buffy looked up, unbelieving, at the source of the sound.
"Glory…"
