Greg cursed the bitter logic that held him here. He was the distraction. He had to be. He had been the only one who could be at all convincing as Wolverine. They had very different body types but they'd counted on the Magsitrates seeing what they expected to see. His field blocked most of the signature the mutant-detectors picked up, but enough would get through for them to be sure to spot him.
And now the Genoshans knew where he was. He couldn't make a break for the Genegineer's lab, it would just bring forces down on the rest of the X-Men headed there. His job was to draw the fire in his direction.
{On the bright side, the best way to keep these schmucks occupied is to take out my frustrations on them. I can deal with that.} Fortress sliced another huge chunk of roof free, dropping it onto Punchout. It crushed two APC's in the process. He had already done millions of dollars in property damage, and as far as he was concerned, this was just the warmup. {God help this whole damned island if they don't make it in time to save Rogue,} he thought grimly.
Clearly, Wolverine had done his job. The opposition Greg faced was chaotic and disorganized. Fortress could move faster than they could redeploy, so as long as he kept them off-balance and on the defensive, he was fairly safe despite being outnumbered.
He yelped as he awoke. Logan was tightening down the straps that held him to a chair. Hardishane quickly took stock - his right arm and his left shin were broken, and he was pretty sure he was going to lose some teeth. But he wasn't dead, and that scared him a great deal.
Swiftly, he glanced around. The techs and command crew were bandaged and stacked in one corner. The Chief, hogtied, was glaring at both him and Wolverine with equal fury. Hardishane looked at the armored door, and groaned inwardly. The control panel next to it was intact, of course. Destroying those only worked in the movies; there was a perfectly good one on the outside. But the clawmarks in the wall next to the door were leaking hydraulic fluid. It would not be opening under its own power anytime soon.
He glared at Wolverine, mustering a brave front. "Okay, freak, how the hell did you get in here? That door was sealed, I figured you'd have to cut through it."
Logan was sitting next to him, tapping at the keyboard of the only intact console in the room. "Through the service conduit."
Hardishane got genuinely angry. "Bullshit. You couldn't fit, nobody could. It was designed that way."
Wolverine didn't even look up from what he was doing. "Ever see Lethal Weapon, bub?"
Hardishane couldn't tell if it was despair or his injuries that made him feel so sick. "You dislocated your shoulder," he muttered quietly. "Maybe both of 'em. Why not? Thirty seconds after you'd popped 'em back, a doctor couldn't tell it'd ever happened." He looked at the readout on Logan's screen. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"
Wolverine grinned again. "Just watch. This should be entertaining."
"You present an interesting challenge," the Genegineer mused. "I'd love to study your biology further, but I'm afraid the military wing is pressuring me to convert you as quickly as possible."
"Don't rush on my account," Rogue spat.
"As it stands, once you've been 'reset', you would make a good temporary replacement for mutates that are damaged or fail for some reason." Rogue felt a chill from the casual way he talked about people 'failing' like auto parts, and spared a glance at Storm. "But really, we always need more of every classification."
"Not so easy to make 'replacement parts' out of people, huh?" Rogue said contemptuously.
Her sarcasm was lost on Moreau. "No, it's not. Cloning has turned out to be rather more difficult than we had hoped. Most of the embryos fail, and even the few successes we've had won't be useful for years."
Moreau looked up. "To return to the subject at hand, I'm reasonably certain I can amplify your own internal power generation, and minimize the amount of energy you draw from others. This way you will more duplicate the abilities of others rather than stealing them." He grew thoughtful, again. "That will take a bit more work, however. I'm afraid this will not be pleasant for you, miss."
"Doesn't really matter what Ah feel, though, does it?" Rogue asked sarcastically. "It's not like Ah volunteered."
He began to work his controls. "Fortunately, we don't need you conscious for the initial steps. Just relax." Rogue suddenly felt unbearably weary, as the machines worked to set up a strong alpha rythm in her brain. The last image she saw before she blacked out was of Moreau studying a schematic of her body.
The members of Tango Company weren't prone to introspection, and most especially weren't prone to despair or even self-doubt. So, when the situation got difficult, their usual response was to get angry. Right now they were livid.
Command wasn't answering any calls; they hadn't heard from anyone higher than Captain since the mess started. Policy in that case was to hold position. Unlike a few other companies, they had stayed put, reluctantly, despite the disturbingly intense rumblings from the battle on the other side of the Citadel.
Then, two obvious muties had appeared at the end of the hall, headed toward them. A couple of girls in garish costumes, strolling hand-in-hand like they were best friends on their way home from school. Of course they'd opened fire. But it didn't do any good; blasts, slugs, and rays just seemed to go through the genejokes. That only made the Magistrates redouble their efforts, but the corridor was suffering a lot more than the girls.
With all the noise from the weapons, it was hardly suprising that they didn't notice the soft BAMF behind them, or pick up on the smell of sulfur over the gunsmoke. Of course, Tango Company did notice when Nightcrawler and Colossus tore into them. But there wasn't anyone left for Shadowcat and Phoenix to fight when they reached the end of hall.
Fortress was feeling pretty confident by this point. He was being careful not to cut out too much of the actual building structure, so it wouldn't collapse - only because the other X-Men and, hopefully, Rogue were inside, not out of any concern for what happened to the Magistrates. He'd taken a few shots from various weapons but nothing particularly nasty.
Then an orange flash narrowly missed him. {Uh oh, that's that blaster chick!} He ducked and shot over horizontally a bit, searching for her location. His eyes found her just as she fired again. WHOOM, he was punched up through the ceiling above.
A few seconds later, the ceiling started dropping down into the hangar, right where Radian was standing. Skybreaker swooped down and pulled her out of the way just before she would have been crushed. Greg, panting a bit, peeked down and saw the pair flying up to him.
He charged around and past them, landing and hurling some wreckage their way. As he grasped an APC axle and lifted it, by sheer luck he saw someone raising their hands out of the corner of his eye. He turned, his blood ran cold, and he forced himself down through the floor just as fast as he possibly could.
A terrifyingly familiar flash of light shone above. {That was Wipeout!} Greg was shaking. {But Kitty said he'd be out for days...} Radian, riding Skybreaker, shot down through the hole Fortress had made, and Greg was off, flying down halls, dodging orange rays.
{Duh,} Greg thought, {they've got mutant healers. Of course he'd be up and around.} In these confined quarters he couldn't get anywhere near his top speed, so he wasn't able to shake Skybreaker. He didn't want to flee; every bit of fire he pulled his way increased the chances of saving Rogue.
Hardishane smiled, watching the flashing screens. "That punk isn't gonna get away a second time." He glanced at Logan. "And how do you think you're gonna get out of here?"
"We got a girl who can walk through walls, a telporter, and I wouldn't count the kid out yet. I'll get out just fine." He tapped at some controls. "The other team's gettin' close. Time to start the show."
Skybreaker was pushing himself just as fast as he could, calling out position every so often to the main force by the hangar. "We're trying to herd him your way! Have Wipeout ready!" The kid was just as fast as they remembered, but Radian was zapping around with abandon, cutting him off as best she could.
They followed him through a hole he'd just made up to the next level. "He's headed your way! Be ready!" Just then the punk put on a serious burst of speed and rounded the next corner.
"Affirmative, he's in sight now..." came the crackling voice over the comlink.
Then Skybreaker and Radian swooped back into the hangar. None of the other forces were in sight, but the kid was cowering in the middle of the floor, just staring at them. "We've got him now! Radian, blast him!"
"Negative!" he barely heard over the comlink. "Do not..." Radian blasted with everything she had. WHOOM!
But the kid wasn't there anymore. There was some kind of ripple in the air just as she fired, and then the blast of orange radiance slammed into a full company of Magistrates. Skybreaker saw Wipeout thrown the length of the hangar into a wall with sickening force.
{A mirror...} Skybreaker had time to think. {On an angle... he was to our right...} Then Fortress slammed into them. Hard.
Moreau was so wrapped up in what he was doing that he didn't notice the sound of gunfire outside the lab. 4705 was not so distracted, and the winds stirred as she tensed up. "Sir, please, get behind me!"
The Genegineer looked up, but before he could answer the door to the lab bent inward with a resounding crash. He was suddenly swept up in a wind and thrown behind some equipment as two more titanic blows by Colosssus burst the door assunder.
The big Russian was instantly struck by lightning. Nightcrawler appeared next to 4705 with a BAMF, but she had expected that and swept him away with a gust of wind.
Shadowcat and Phoenix had phased into the lab from behind her. A few Magistrate guards were present and opened fire, although they were as disappointed as Tango Company had been. Protected, Phoenix went to work on Storm. Dampers couldn't block her when she was in line-of-sight.
Mutate 4705 had a very passionate, intense personality, but not a terribly sophisticated one. The emotional and mental discipline that Storm possessed had been deliberately blunted to produce someone who would follow orders without question. Rachel took ruthless advantage of this, snaking deep into 4705's mind, convincing her that Moreau had ordered her to go to sleep.
4705 was utterly incapable of questioning orders, or even, less than a day after her 'birth', rationally evaluating them. She collapsed, unconscious, without further resistance. Phoenix began the difficult work of reintegrating Storm's personality as Kitty raced to phase Rogue out of the machines and the collar that held her.
Kurt and Peter finished taking care of the Magistrate guards and moved the few terrified techs to a corner of the lab. Peter kept watch for any company at the door while Kurt guarded the prisoners. Rogue, freed from the grip of the machines, was waking up.
"Ohh... Hey!" She sat up quickly, taking stock. A big relieved grin spread across her face. "Oh, man, am Ah glad to see you guys! An' man oh man am Ah glad that Ah'm glad!"
"How do you feel?" Kitty asked, concerned.
"Great. Lemme check somethin'..." she levitated off the ground for a moment. "Still got mah powers!" {An Carol, too, Ah see. Sorry, honey, guess we're stuck with each other for a while longer.} She looked around. "Where's Fortress?"
"He's keeping the rest of these jerks busy. I'll call him now." Shadowcat hit the signal to let Greg know they'd found Rogue. She looked up to see Rogue marching over to Moreau.
"Okay, sugar, you an' me are gonna have a little talk," she said, murder in her eyes. "I've half a mind to stuff you in those machines an' hit the 'go' button. Wonder how you'd like bein' brainwashed?"
Moreau looked back bravely. "You wouldn't have the first idea how to operate that equipment."
"Soon as Ah touch you Ah will," she said with an evil grin, ripping off a glove. The Genegineer went pale.
"Rogue, stand down!" Nightcrawler called. "You keep an eye on them," he motioned to the cowering techs, "I want to talk to him myself." Rogue glared at him for a moment, but reluctantly switched places. "Phoenix, how are you coming with Storm?" he asked as he approached the Genegineer.
She didn't look up; a bit of sweat had gathered on her brow. "This is going to take a while, but I think we made it in time. Please don't interrupt me unless you have to."
Nightcrawler turned to Moreau. "So, you're responsible for all this? Imprisoning and brainwashing mutants, putting them to work in your factories and farms? Building the entire Genoshan economy on the backs of mutant prisoner labor?" he asked forcefully.
"Those 'prisoners' are well cared for. Plenty of food, medical care, and the work they do is well within their capabilities. Millions of starving people would trade places with them in a moment." The Genegineer was supremely confident of his own position.
"So why are you keeping 'Genosha's miracle' a secret? If this system is so wonderful, why not tell the world? If your 'mutates' are so happy, why the armed guards, the brainwashing?"
"Of course we keep it secret. The bleeding hearts would be all over us if everyone knew we were exploiting our mutant resources... and then every government in the world would go after our techniques covertly so they could do it themselves."
"But you treat mutants like machines! You arrest them, tamper with their bodies, forbid them from having children, brainwash them, and if anyone's lucky enough to escape, you invade other countries to get them back!"
"We have no choice!" The Genegineer said, angry and defensive. He'd been prepared for a physical threat, not a debate. "This island would be an inhospitable rock without their powers! They have a duty to their country!"
Fortress swooped in, looking a bit strange in Wolverine's ragged costume. The mask didn't really fit his face, but Rogue was still glad to see the grin he flashed her. He was thrilled to see her up and unharmed. He slapped a forcefield across the doorway and called out, "I'm no Genoshan citizen. What gave you the right to try kidnap me?"
"You!" the Genegineer glowered. "You nearly killed some of our best mutates!"
"You people knocked me out, messed with my powers, and started to brainwash me. So far as I'm concerned, it was self-defense, schmuck."
"Fortress, maintain your position, if you please. I'll handle this." Nightcrawler turned to face the Genegineer. "So, Dr. David Moreau, you admit to it? And to the genetic tampering, and cloning research?"
"Of course I 'admit to it'," Moreau said, defiant. "You're standing in my laboratory. My work has made Genosha the envy of every country in the region," he said proudly.
"And if some people need to be sacrificed for the greater good, so be it, right? What if your son was a mutant, would you 'sacrifice' him? Why not 'genetically modify' any normal people?"
"It wouldn't work. Two weeks ago, a girl died when someone tampered with the records. We thought she was a mutant, and the modification process failed."
"What's the saying? Can't make an omelette without breaking eggs?" Kurt looked just as fierce as the demon he resembled.
"That's right, despite your sarcasm! Go ahead, kill me! My work will continue!"
"We don't need to kill you. We've gotten what we need." Kurt smiled. All the other X-Men joined him with the exception of Rogue, who looked back, confused.
"What? What the devil do you mean by that?" Moreau demanded.
"You'll find out soon enough." He glanced at Phoenix, who was still busy with Storm, though she seemed marginally less tense. "Rogue, if you'll do the honors..." and he waved toward the equipment in the lab.
"With pleasure," she replied, cracking her knuckles.
Hardishane and the Chief stared helplessly at the screens showing the auburn-haired mutant joyously and thoroughly trashing the Genegineer's lab, despair welling up inside them. "You bastards," Hardishane said quietly, to Wolverine. "You set him up."
Logan looked as content as a cat that had just eaten a particularly tasty canary. "Yup, and he walked right into it. I just sent that feed to every news satellite in this hemisphere. Moreau's little speech is gonna be running every hour on CNN inside of half a day."
"You know he's right. Every government on Earth will be after us, and they'll just do what we're doing," the Chief said, trying to wipe the grin off of Wolverine's face.
She succeeded. Wolverine looked philosophical now. "You might be right. Then again, people tend to protest things like this if their noses are rubbed in it, if they can't claim ignorance, eh? Personally, I bet you're in for a change of government, 'Chief'. You didn't see me put that on Genosha's Emergency Broadcast System, did you?" Her jaw dropped.
"Anyway, time for me to get going," Logan said, engaging his comlink to summon the other X-Men. "But, before I take off..." He tapped at the console one last time.
The screens filled with a shot of the restrained Hardishane and the Chief, still being sent out to the world. The mercenary grunted in horror. "No, wait! Stop!" He could see it now; he was wanted by half the intelligence agencies on the planet... and now they'd know right where he was, and what shape he was in.
The Chief was equally apalled. {Now we'll be associated with Hardishane! Even if we could paper over the rest of this mess somehow, what other country would trust us now?}