Where are my ASS-KICKIN' boots?
By the time Storm, Wolverine, and Hartford reached the house, Bishop and Beast had already arrived. Bishop was steadily working at the computer and Beast was feverishly typing away at his laptop when the 3 walked in.
"What ya got Hank? Ya know where she's at yet?" Logan asked.
"No. The primary tracking device isn't responding."
"What? Why the hell not?"
"It's probably already been detected and removed."
"What kinda kidnapper looks fer bugs?"
"The kind doing medical experiments – they probably scanned her for synthetic medical devices like pacemakers and artificial organs."
"What about the backup…the one with that Shiar crap in it?"
"She's already out of range of my current search parameters. I am setting up new ones as we speak. Because of its material, it is not detectable by conventional means, so I'm sure they haven't located it yet. Unfortunately that also means I have to work twice as hard to pick up its signal."
"You get anything on Lojack?"
"No."
"Shit!"
"If they found the tracking device I planted on her, they most certainly checked for others – including her personal effects and vehicle."
"Shit!" Logan barked at Hank - immediately inducing him to speed up his work.
A few minutes later…
"There - I've got it!" he responded. "My stars and garters!"
"What?" everyone said in unison.
"I've narrowed it down to about a 20 square mile area. She's somewhere in the San Joaquin Valley between Merced and Livingston. That's where Logan and I were not too long ago when we visited Lisa."
"CASTLE AIR FORCE BASE!" Bishop yelled as he turned around to face the group.
"That abandoned base in Atwater?" Logan asked.
"Yeah – that's gotta be where Jubilee is. It's the only place in range where they could hide a facility; and this satellite photo shows activity where there shouldn't be."
"Satellite photos? How did you get access to a satellite?" Storm inquired.
"I have my ways. Take a look. These hangers by runway 34 on the southern side of the base show activity. So does this warehouse. That entire section is supposed to be empty."
"Why?"
"The base was purchased lock, stock and key but no permits have been filed – there shouldn't be anything going on there right now."
"Who purchased it?"
"Haven't found that out yet – I'm still sifting through corporations and subsidiaries; but I'm positive that whoever we find there will be able to give us more answers than I can find anywhere else."
"I'm with Bishop. Let's go! Who knows what they've done ta Jubilee by now." Logan yelled.
"I'll notify Scott, he can get a team here within 5 hours. Since we do not know what we're up against, we should have reinforcements."
"I ain't waitin' fer Cike ta get his sorry ass here. I can be down there in less than 2 hours!" Wolverine snapped.
**SNIKT**
"…and what WE'RE up against doesn't concern me. Whoever took Jubilee better think about what THEY'RE up against!"
"We can go now Logan, but listen to me; if we go in – I'm in command! Do you understand that?"
"Yah Ro, let's go."
"We can get there faster if we take my plane?" Hartford interrupted.
"What?" Storm inquired – a little surprised.
"Look - if someone's life is at stake, I want to help; and if Benson is involved and it relates to my research – which apparently you believe it does - I SHOULD do what I can right? I have a small plane here – it can seat all of us. I also have a pilot's license…I can…"
"We'll take his plane." Logan snapped. "But I'm flyin' it!"
"Do you know how to fly?" Hartford asked. The growl Logan gave him told Hartford that it was best not to press the issue.
Ten minutes later they were all loaded into Hartford's plane. It was a twin-engine Cessna designed for 6 people, but with Beast there, space was a little cramped. Even with that, Hartford sat as far away from Logan as possible. His comfort level however, hadn't diminished in the least by sitting next to Bishop and his inordinate amount of weapons.
"That…that's a rather large gun you have their Mr. um…"
"Bishop!" the 6'6, 275lb. mutant said without looking at him. He said nothing else to the tiny man and kept a very stern look on his face, prompting a very quick end to Hartford's desire to converse.
Logan scanned the checklist for the Cessna and quickly sped through the start-up procedures. Within minutes, they were in the air and headed for Atwater. Pushing the plane to the limit, they arrived in about 40 minutes later.
"Everybody strap in!" Logan yelled.
"Why?" Hartford inquired.
"You ever bring this thing in dead stick?" he responded.
"No…I would nev…"
"Well I'm about to!" Logan interrupted.
"But how? The runway isn't lit up – you can't see…you'll get us all killed!"
"I see plenty Bub, now strap in and shut yer trap." he said as he cut the power to the engines and began his dead stick approach. The other X-Men were also a little concerned but kept their mouths shut. They knew that Logan was a very experienced pilot, but there was a big difference between the Blackbird and a twin-engine Cessna; and Logan was a lot more "durable" than the others when it came to crash landings.
He wanted to set the plane down within minimum distance on the runway to minimize the chance of being seen, so he made his approach a bit steeper than normal. Had the runway's VASI (Visual Approach Slope Indicator) been on, they would have shown his angle of approach to be severely in the red – indicating a touchdown (if you can call it that) very short of the strip. Though the other passengers' eyesight wasn't nearly as good as Logan's, everybody in the plane saw the ground quickly approaching. Even Storm let out a gasp when she saw how short they were of the runway. At about 125 feet, Logan pulled back hard while giving the ailerons one final shift and landed the plane as smooth as he would have the Blackbird – much to everyone's surprise.
"Everybody out!" he yelled as he brought the plane to a quick stop.
"My stars and garters Logan, could you have made a more dramatic landing?" Beast asked. "I wasn't aware you were that knowledgeable of this type of aircraft.
"Neither was I Hank…"
"You never cease to amaze me Logan – the knowledge you have in that hard head of yours." Storm said with a wink. She then turned very serious and took command of the situation. "Logan, recon the northern area and report. Bishop, Beast – hide the plane and prepare for insertion. Hartford – stay close to the plane. If anyone approaches, hide. I'll take a look up top." With that, she and Wolverine were off. Storm took to the air to get a bird's eye view of the southern buildings and Logan began a cat-like inspection of the northern facilities. Hartford was the only one surprised to see Storm take to the air.
"She…she does this quite often?" he asked of the two remaining X-Men while looking at Storm disappear into the darkness of the sky.
"Yes Mr. Ballister…" Beast politely responded. "She's quite experienced in situations such as this." He said as he and Bishop quietly pushed the plane off the end of the runway behind the closest supply shack. "She's one of the best I've seen at thinking on her feet."
"Best field commander I've ever worked under…" Bishop interjected. "There, that should be sufficient for hiding the plane and any heat the engine generates" he said as he finished locking the wheels and gave his 2 pulse rifles a second inspection.
"It may adequately shield the plane from view, but I believe this thermal blanket will do a better job at shielding the heat from any sensors." Beast said as he pulled a thin blanket out of his backpack.
"What the hell DON'T you keep in that thing Beast?"
"Preparation for the unexpected is the key to survival my friend…it is indeed what Darwin had in mind when he devised the theory of 'survival of the fittest'."
"Whatever Beast! I'm just glad you're on our side."
Storm was the first to return. She reported no activity from the southern area then waited for Logan's report. He returned about 5 minutes later with plenty to report.
"There's a warehouse about 2 clicks northwest of here. The lights are out and it looks abandoned but there are 2 armed guards walkin' the perimeter and I picked up a mess o' scents around it: several vehicles - some of 'em heavy, lots of people, weapons, infrared security; even a couple mines."
"Anything else?"
Yeah, picked up a snoot full o' that crap in Harford's lab."
"What crap?" Hartford asked.
"That crap you put lab animals in when you wanna keep 'em alive in a fishbowl."
"Bio-fill?" But what would anyone possibly need with bio-fill? It's a patented substance strictly for use in my lab. I'm the…"
"I thought I told you ta shut it Bub. Next time you open yer pie hole, I'll shut it for ya - permanently." He said as he turned to Storm. "Everything points to that warehouse Storm. I say we knock at the door and see who answers, but it's yer call – howya wanna play it?"
"Did you pick up Jubilee's scent?"
"No."
"Let us proceed. Wolverine, you take point. We don't know what we're up against, so let's proceed with caution."
As they headed out, Hartford saw fit to question his role.
"What about…?
**SNIKT**
"Okay – I'll stay here and watch the plane."
"Because you're Ro's friend and she thinks yer innocent, I WON'T tie you down – but you get any ideas o' runnin' off; I'll hunt you down and finish what I started in yer office. Capish?"
"Umm…I capish."
It took less than 10 minutes for them to get to the warehouse. With Wolverine having already scouted ahead and Storm watching from above, they were able to quickly move past the unoccupied buildings.
"I thought you said there were mines out here." Bishop said to Logan as they crept through an open field leading up to the warehouse.
"There are – one's about 12 feet to yer right.
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah, whoever put 'em in was into surplus – they ain't all that advanced. Takes about 40lbs ta set 'em off and the primer is pretty heavily greased. I could smell 'em a half a click back…they're good for a bang, but ya get what ya pay fer and these mines were meant fer chowder heads like you…not fer someone with my snoot."
"Wolverine, there are rare occasions in which I really envy your unique abilities…" Beast interjected
**Sniff Sniff** "Watch yer step Beast…dog shit."
"Then there are times I really don't." Beast countered.
As they approached the building, they came across the second of the security hurdles – the cameras and security guards.
"Storm, how about some cover – we need ta get under these cameras and get to the guards."
"Will do Logan." Immediately after she said that, a mist of fog descended upon the base. That part of the valley normally saw its share of fog; so seeing it was nothing unexpected for the security team inside the building monitoring the cameras. That allowed the 3 X-Men to get closer to the building without suspicion. The security guards outside however could see far beyond the reach of the cameras and were a little on edge at how fast it crept up.
"So how should we proceed Gentleman? Who wants to take whom?" Beast asked.
"I can take out the radio from here – then we can take them both down easily." Bishop replied.
"You two stay here and discuss it…" Logan interrupted as he checked the camera position then tore into a mad dash toward the guards "I got my ass-kickin' boots on and um ready ta rumble!"
The crispness in the air hindered his silent approach, but that didn't stop him from reaching and attacking both guards at the same time. Just as they caught the sound of him running up behind them, he popped his claws out and flew into a dropkick - immediately knocking the guard with the radio out and putting himself in position to destroy the weapon of the other guard. The second guard tried to regain his composure but as soon as Wolverine landed, he spun around and hit him with a right cross. The guard stumbled back but was still on his feet. He stood 6'3 and didn't look too bright – which probably meant he was much better at fighting than thinking. He immediately tossed what was left of his gun down and took a swing at Logan. His right arm delivered a smashing blow to Wolverine's left jaw, which sent him spinning to the ground – or so the guard thought. As Logan spun toward the ground, he extended his leg and swept the guard off his feet with a roundhouse kick. Quick to respond, the guard gave Logan a surprising kick to the chest and jumped back on his feet. Just as he started to go after Logan again, Beast surprised him from behind with a large enough blow to knock him unconscious. The three of them then quickly pulled the two guards deeper into the fog before the security camera swung back into view.
Storm joined them and started planning the group's next move.
"There are 3 points of entry – all of 'em got cameras over 'em…the fog ain't gonna cover us. We can either knock on the door or continue with this cloak and dagger shit – what's it gonna be Ro?"
"The sewage system?"
"Covered…no way in this time."
"We still don't know what we're up against, so I'm opposed to a frontal assault."
"I have a suggestion." Beast interjected.
"What is it?
"This." He said as he pulled a gadget out of his pack.
"Whuzzat?"
"Something I thought might come in handy. I borrowed from Remy…who knows where he got it. It's a code cracker with a video interface. It allows one to tap into the camera's CPU and see what it is being viewed…I can then record it and put it on a feedback loop. Its effective range is about 90 ft, but that should be enough. Give me a minute to set it up."
"What if that gizmo doesn't work Hank? Will it alert them?"
"Yes indeed...and you will have the 'set-to' you apparently desire.
A few minutes later 2 green lights appeared on Beast's gadget signifying a successful break-through.
"There – it's working, we can proceed now."
"Are you sure?" Storm inquired.
"Absolutely – this LCD tells me what the camera is seeing right now – it's working perfectly."
"Very well, move out."
As they crept up to the closest door, they saw no signs that they had been detected. This eased Storm's mind somewhat, but she was still very concerned. Had there been time, she would have waited for the other X-Men to arrive; but seeing how every second meant valuable time for Jubilee's safety, she knew they had to move. At the door, they ran into their final security hurdle – the alarm.
**Snikt** "We gonna knock?" Logan asked.
"Hold on a sec…" Bishop said. "let me take a look. I've seen most of these old-timey alarms before…the ones you guys call 'state of the art'."
After carefully studying the door and all its features, he let out a breath of air.
"This security system – it's the Circa-2101. I used to break into them when I was…younger. They're tricky, but not impossible. It's very sensitive, but the relay switch has a flaw in it – if it loses energy, it doesn't send an alert back to the CPU. Besides that, it's pretty good. Some people put 2 relay switches on them to compensate, but they didn't figure that little trick out until years after it was in production. The relay switch should be located right here." He said as he made a small mark on the wall about 4 inches from the door. "Wolverine – you think you can make simultaneous clean slices on both sides of this mark?"
**SNIKT**
"You betcha"
"Good – Storm, lower the temperature of this wall to just below freezing. It will slow down the processor in the relay while Logan cuts it."
Storm laid her hand on the wall and after a few seconds, frost started forming around it.
"That should be enough Logan." She said when she thought the wall had reached the desired temperature. Almost as soon as she pulled her hand back, Logan popped his 2 outer claws on his right hand, grunted, and sliced through the wall. The only sound that followed Logan's incision was the silence of the night.
"Guess it worked…" Logan said as he pulled his claws out.
After that, slicing through the door latch was easy.
"Open says me!" Logan grunted – the first sign that his rage was subsiding and he was in control of his emotions again.
"Heads up team." Storm said. "We've made it this far, but that won't last long. Wolverine, you take point. Bishop, pull up the rear."
They entered the warehouse in a single file line. The door they entered lead to an indoor garage where there were several vans, three covered duece-and-halves, and a couple of cars. Nobody seemed to be around.
**Sniff Sniff**
"Got something?" Beast asked.
"Yeah – Jubes' was here. It's faint, but I'd know her scent anywhere." he said as he headed for the vehicles. While passing by the duece-and-halves, he got a good breath of the bio-fill Hartford mentioned. Since his mind was stuck on finding Jubilee, he didn't bother to look in their cargo holds. He kept going until he found the van that had Jubilee's scent. As the rest of the group crept past the duece-and-halves, Storm lifted one of the canvas covers and looked inside it. At first, curiosity got the better of her – then sheer terror at what she saw. Inside the deuce-and-half was a clear cylinder-shaped tank big enough to fit a human being. From it's size, configuration, and controls; It was pretty obvious it was designed for human experimentation. For three of the X-Men present, it wasn't a problem; but for the fourth - the one that had considerable experimentation forcibly done on him – it was a reminder of a past best forgotten. The last time Logan came across a reminder of his past, it sent him into an uncontrollable berserker rage. They couldn't afford to have that happen on this mission, and it was up to Storm to prevent it. In true form, she hid her thoughts behind her clear and placid face, but the thoughts going through her mind had definitely changed the parameters of the mission.
Her brief second of shock went unnoticed by Logan and Bishop, but Beast's curiosity had gotten the better of him and he was looking right at Storm when she peeked into the back of the truck. Her reaction when she looked at Logan told Beast that he best not alert the rest of the group to her discovery. He tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and when their eyes met, he knew she wanted him to look inside. '*Oh my dear lord*' he thought Once he saw what was there. He looked back at Storm who motioned her head toward Wolverine and gave him the indicator that she didn't' want Wolverine to know about their discovery.
With Bishop fast approaching, he quickly replaced the cover and caught up to Wolverine. Both hid their concern very well, but they both knew the mission was about to get very bad very quick.
"So what's up with the deuce-and-halves?"
"Nothing Bishop…" Beast said. "equipment mostly, crates and other sorted things."
Bishop started to question Beast's explanation but an angry howl followed by the unmistakable sound of 6 adamantium claws slicing through metal drew his attention away. Before anyone could even question what Logan had found, he had popped his claws out and sliced the rear doors off of a delivery van. Storm ran up immediately with Beast and Bishop close behind. Both of the male X-Men took up defensive positions: Bishop at the head of the van and Beast at the foot. Logan was completely inside sniffing it like a bloodhound when Storm looked in
"Wolverine what is it? Did you pick up Jubilee's…" He turned to face her and she saw the berserker rage stirring in his eyes. The low growl in his voice and the heavy breathing he had started was an obvious sign that he had lost all control and was in pure berserker mode.
"Wolverine! Stifle it – now!" she ordered. He looked right through her like she wasn't even there. "I said Stifle it Wolverine – we don't need this…not if we're going to find Jubilee!"
"She was here Ro!" he yelled – eyes wide with rage. "They grabbed her and threw her in here!"
"I know Wolverine, but we have to focus. We have to get back to the mission!"
"They took my little…they took Jubilee, Ro! It ain't so easy ta just 'follow orders' when she's out there somewhere with someone doin' who knows what to her!"
"We'll get her back Logan, but right now you need to calm down, check your rage and return to the mission."
"You wouldn't be so 'in control' if they kidnapped someone YOU were so close to - if they took…"
"KITTY?!" she yelled! A chill spread across the room, alerting Logan – and everyone else - to a definite change in the air – and Storm's attitude. Thunder could be heard roaring across the distant sky. "How dare you?!" she roared with well-deserved condescension. "Jubilee is as much my child as she is yours – just like Tasha, and just like KITTY! She....THEY are all part of our family. We cared for ALL of them all these years." The glow emanating from her eyes and the thunder roaring across the sky told Logan that he not only angered Storm - the love of his life - he also hurt her deeply. He had no right to say what he did and he knew it. With shame laying heavy on him, his eyes sunk. "God 'Ro, I..."
"Concentrate on the mission – that's an order!" she barked as she turned and scanned the room.
His rage persisted but the change in his demeanor told her that he had it under control - for now. However, the thing she feared had started to happen – his rage was starting to jeopardize the mission.
"Bishop – take point; Beast – take the rear. Be careful - with all this noise, they probably know we're here. Bishop, set your gun to MAXIMUM STUN – we still don't know what we're getting into and we don't want any innocent people killed."
"Copy." Bishop said as he moved into position. Logan didn't like his "demotion" from point but understood why Storm did it. Had it been One-eye, he would have ignored him and continued to lead; but Storm had earned more than his respect as a leader, she had earned his loyalty; and most important – his trust. When she made decisions, he knew there was a good reason for it. Instead of objecting, he merely pointed in the direction Jubilee's scent led and fell in line behind Storm.
They were half way to the door when Logan picked up the unmistakable sound of footsteps coming toward them. He barely had time to yell "INCOMING!" before 4 armed guards busted through a set of double doors and opened fire. Without hesitation, Logan pushed Storm out the way and ran directly at the guards. He was in full gallop when the guards let loose a barrage of bullets that tore into his flesh. Though it slowed him down considerably, the endless barrage did not stop him; nothing short of a grenade could have done that.
Even as blood spewed out his body, he continued his pursuit of his would-be killers. Because of his seemingly unstoppable quest, the 4 guards were completely surprised and distracted by him – giving Storm and Bishop a chance to take out two of them unchallenged. With only 2 left and the distance between them and Logan being less than 8 feet, an angry howl and a cat-like lunge was all it took to end the life of one guard and significantly cripple the other. A back-handed swipe with 3 extended claws quickly ended his suffering.
"Wolverine! Status?" Storm yelled during the interim silence.
"I'll live" he growled; his wounds healing even as he spoke. "Check Hank, he's hurt."
"What?" she asked.
"He's been shot – I can smell the blood from here."
"Beast?" Storm asked as she turned to her furry blue teammate.
"Though not…the desired…outcome, Wolverine's assessment is correct." he said with a painful breath. "Luckily…it's only a flesh wound. The bullet…passed right through."
Wolverine took the bulk of the bullet shower but some missed, and with Hank being such a large target; one easily found him. It passed right through the flesh of his torso, leaving the tiniest of marks on the fur of his chest and a much more serious exit wound on his back. Bishop quickly pulled a bandage from Beast's pack and started field wrapping the wound.
"Do you need immediate medical attention Beast?" Storm asked.
"Not…until our Jubilation…is found." He painfully said as he regained his composure.
"Cut the yap and let's go. I don't wanna be around when those dime store rejects send reinforcements." Logan grunted as he again headed for the doors.
Storm wanted to make sure Beast was okay, but before she could continue her questioning, he had already waved Bishop off and caught up with Logan. With Beast determined to see the mission through, she put her concern aside and continued with the mission.
"Bishop – take point, Beast take the rear."
"What the flamin'…" Logan said as he looked back at Storm. With the four of them having been detected, he thought he was the obvious choice for point.
"Do not question my decisions Logan."
He started to say something but figured it'd be best to refocus on the mission. He filed in behind Storm. Bishop took the lead, recocked his gun for a setting much more significant than stun, then proceeded through the doors.
They made their way deeper into the warehouse and passed through a supply room. Bishop and Storm alternated point – securing about 30 feet at a time in a see-saw pattern while bringing up Logan and Beast in between rotations. Bishop was about 20 feet ahead of the group and headed for the next point when Logan heard the motorized sound of a tracking camera.
"Storm – There's a…"
**BZZAP** Before he could finish his sentence, Storm had taken the camera out with an energy blast. "Incoming!" she yelled as she illuminated the room with two energy blasts that knocked out 2 guards and injured a third who had tried to sneak in and take shelter behind a storage crate. Three more followed them in – weapons cocked and raised to aim. A single blast from Bishop penetrated one, killing him instantly while knocking the one behind him unconscious. The third threw a percussion grenade that landed a few feet from him. It blew just as he jumped behind another crate. The first crate was decimated in the blast but the second shielded him effectively. As the blast pushed up against it, he absorbed its power and rechanneled it in the direction of the last remaining guard. When he looked up, the guard was gone. He had been knocked unconscious by another blast from Storm.
They were about to regroup when the doors swung open and a group of guards tossed in several grenades. None were close enough to cause any real injuries but the explosions kept them preoccupied while more guards snuck in. Except for Wolverine, the entire group was outflanked and quickly found themselves dodging bullets and debris. With the X-Men preoccupied by the guards already in the room, more filed in and the room quickly filled up. Bishop took out 3 before a fourth knocked him down with a flying tackle over the crate he was behind.
"You ain't so bad without that big-ass gun are ya!" the guard yelled when he squared off against Bishop and saw that his gun had slid out of reach.
"I hold my own!" he defiantly replied while looking at another approaching guard. They were too close to use guns with out exposing themselves to unnecessary risk, so one attacked with a club and the other with fists raised. Bishop effectively deflected the incoming club and took advantage of his offender's exposed rib cage by giving him a bone-crushing right hook that broke at least 2 ribs. With lightening speed, he gave the guard 2 more jabs – puncturing his lung in at least 3 places. Just as the guard collapsed, the other guard positioned himself to hit Bishop from behind with his club. He spun around in time to prevent himself from being hit in the head but wasn't able to dodge being hit in the chest. The hit winded him but didn't knock him down - much to the guard's surprise. Even more surprising was the intensity of the kick Bishop gave him in response. It knocked the guard head first over a crate into another – rendering him very much unconscious. He looked to the first guard who was still on the ground coughing up blood; then reconnoitered the area. Wolverine had engaged most of the guards, leaving the other 2 X-Men to those that had enough common sense not to attack a madman with 6 claws sticking out of his hands. Three had gone after Storm, but Bishop was more worried about Beast than he was about her. Seeing that he was wounded, 2 had already engaged him and 2 more were headed his way. No other guards had entered the room and he was the only one in position to help Beast so he headed for the injured mutant.
Beast was fairing as well as he could with one good arm, but his luck was running out and he knew it. The first of his four opponents had gone down with a smashing blow to the jaw; but the second capitalized on his injury with a baton to his wound. He let out a howling yell as he keeled over in pain.
The other 2 guards were fast approaching and the one that hit him was just about to give him a blow to the head when Bishop did a flying block from behind and knocked all 3 to the ground. The first guard took the grunt of the block and was semi-conscious when Bishop squared off against him. The other two guards forgot about Beast and refocused their attention on Bishop and were about to attack when Beast hit one with the baton the first guard dropped.
"Turnabout…is fair play" he retorted. With 2 guards against 1 futuristic cop, the odds were heavily stacked in Bishop's favor. They didn't put up much of a fight.
Storm squared off against 3 – surrounded in triangle fashion.
"She's cute!" one yelled.
"Yeah – we'll have ta save her for later!" another replied – stating what was on all three men's minds. They all gave the gorgeous weather goddess an evil grin as they came to agreement on their future plans for her and prepared to attack.
"Defiling this body may prove harder than you think!" she boldly yelled shortly before the first guard attacked. He dove at her – trying to take her down and pin her beneath him. She countered by crouching low and using his own momentum to flip him into one of the other guards. The remaining guard tried to grab her but a low sweeping kick knocked him off his feet.
"That's something my husband taught me!" she taunted. As he recovered from his embarrassing blunder, she energized her hand and hit him with a blast solid enough to knock him out. Without looking, she then did a backward high kick to the head of one of the recovering guards and sent him sailing backward – onto the remaining guard…again.
"Get the hell off me you idiot!" he yelled as he pushed the unconscious guard aside and stood to face Storm.
"Heed my warning – attack again and suffer a worse fate!" Storm said to him.
"Heed MY warning BITCH! You won't be so smug when I mount that fine ass o' yours!" He threw jab after jab – neither hitting his intended target. She gracefully blocked each one, and when he became frustrated; he overextended himself in an attempted jab - something she readily took advantage of. She blocked his punch with her left hook and used her right arm to break his left arm at the elbow. She then braced his broken arm and pulled him toward her while simultaneously giving him a knee to the groin. He immediately doubled over and she gave him another knee thrust to the head. He was out before he hit the ground.
Storm then reconnoitered from the rafters of the warehouse ceiling. Her position gave her perfect cover as the next wave of guards approached the door. She sent blast after blast at the entrance of the door preventing other guards from coming in. This however was unsatisfactory for Wolverine who had already gone through the guards that attacked him and was still itchin' to kick some ass. He took the fight directly to them and lunged for the entrance. As if Storm had read his mind, she paused just long enough for him to get through the doorway. As soon as he was through the door, she pursued him. Bishop was in a close third and Beast pulled up in a not-too-distant fourth.
They all heard screams of agony as they approached the doors and knew exactly who the screams were coming from. At this point, Wolverine was in pure fighting mode and easily went through one guard after another. They managed to get off a few rounds, which unfortunately for them made him madder.
His moves were so fluidic they seemed almost like a well-choreographed dance. Even Storm – the senior most X-Man there – hadn't seen him like this before. She wondered if he would be able to recover from this mental state. When his growls turned to pure animalistic howls, she really started to worry.
He steadily fought his way through, but started slowing down in the process. Even with his unique mutant ability and indestructible adamantium skeleton, he could only take so much. With the amount of healing required from the first barrage of bullets, he was quickly losing his energy. Storm knew this and knew that he would soon be running on pure adrenaline. To the average person, the way he engaged the enemy was unparalleled and one would have thought he was invincible. But to Storm – an active member of the Ro/Lo Combo – even the slightest change was noticeable and she had definitely seen signs he was approaching his limit.
Without hesitation, she picked up where he started falling behind. The guards were all focused on him and were steadily doing whatever they could to stop him - which gave her the perfect opportunity to deliver an unexpected strike. In rapid fire procession, she delivered a rash of energy blasts that all but decimated the 3 remaining guards engaged with Wolverine and the 9 guards approaching. Her fury was beginning to boil almost as much as Wolverine's and though she kept the intensity of her blasts below the lethal level, her desire to quickly secure the area had definitely been peaked. More guards approached and were met with fierce winds that easily swept them off their feet and threw them into one wall after another until they were unconscious.
Bishop popped off a few blasts, but with all the guards flying through the air, none of his shots found their mark. He saw another security camera at the far end of the hall and quickly disabled it. That, coupled with Storm's wind and Wolverine's rampage gave the group a few moments of peace. Storm saw that they had spread out over about 40 yards and took the lull in fighting as a time to regroup. With the security camera disabled, she quickly scanned the corridor for a rest area. What she spotted was a small vending area at a T-intersection where 2 corridors met. The other corridor looked like another route back to the garage area – further north than the one they came in on.
The vending area was open on 2 sides – giving a quick exit if they needed one. Both corridors could be monitored from it as well. She landed and quickly gave the signal for the rest of the team to join her. When all three were in, Storm stood guard at the intersection – carefully scanning the entire area for any signs of movement.
"Beast! What is your status?" she commanded with urgency.
"I'll live. Do not worry about me."
"Wolverine. What about you?"
"5 X 5."
"You took a lot of bullets – how is your energy level?"
"I said um flamin' fine! Stop wastin' time and let's find Jubilee."
"I will NOT have you collapse in combat. Grab some food from that vend…"
**SNIKT**
He knew what she was getting at before she said it and was already slicing through the glass of the machine. During her tenure with the X-Men, she'd seen him so depleted of protein that his healing factor couldn't work and knew he needed something fast. With one X-Man injured and another missing – she couldn't risk losing him in combat. He grabbed a couple sandwiches and quickly engulfed one. Even before he could spit out the plastic "Pastrami on Rye" label, he could feel the proteins being absorbed into his body. Bishop checked Beast's bandages while Logan finished off the second sandwich. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle and though his shoulder seriously hurt him, his arm was fully functional – if he needed to use it.
"Oh to have your regenerative capabilities Logan" Beast muttered. "To be able to use a pastrami on rye as a Band-Aid is truly a magnificent gift." he said with an air of humor.
"Needs mustard." Logan said as he swallowed the last bite of the second sandwich and again scanned the corridor.
**SNIFF SNIFF**
"Jubilee!" he growled as he focused on the unexplored part of the corridor.
"You picked up her scent Wolverine?" Storm asked.
"Straight ahead. She came through this corridor. But she was carried in – I can't pick up her footprints anywhere – just her scent in the air."
Just ahead of them lay 2 very large and very secure doors. Everyone figured it was the entrance to the main warehouse. What was beyond it was anybody's guess; but one thing was for sure – they were about to find out.
"Bishop – take point."
Logan shot Storm a vicious glare but was met with an already anticipated and much more vicious face. He again put his attitude in check and filed in behind her.
"The crap you get away with Ro! If you were Cike…"
"I'm not!" she snapped - cutting him off without looking back at him – his cue to refocus on the mission.
They reached the main warehouse door without any resistance – which meant 1 of 2 things: either they had already dealt with all the guards, or the guards were waiting for them on the inside.
"I don't like it!" Logan growled.
"Neither do I" Storm replied. "Do you detect anything?"
"Yeah – lots o' people been through here…and the scent o' gun oil is flamin' everywhere."
"I can probably take that door out with my gun" Bishop said.
"Keep moving" she responded as she motioned to Bishop to follow the corridor parallel with the entrance and look for another opening. They all filed down the corridor but after walking about 300 feet, the only thing they found was a wall and another corridor leading away from the main room.
"Interesting predicament" Beast said as he walked up and joined Bishop in the lead position.
"What now Storm? We gonna prance around this entire flamin' warehouse lookin' fer a way ta sneak in?" Logan asked as he looked down both corridors.
"No!" she growled. With a puma-like glare, she turned around and looked right through him.
He knew what was coming and quickly jumped out of her way. The time for strategizing was over, and every one knew it – it was time to kick ass. Just as he jumped out the way, she unleashed two mighty energy blasts that decimated the wall behind him and effectively created the alternate entrance she sought.
Before he could regain his composure, she was already headed inside the gaping hole.
"You and Hank stay here and stand guard. Bishop and I will check out the warehouse!"
"What the flamin'?!" he yelled as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back from the hole. "You ain't doin' this without me!" he yelled at her. "If Jubes is in there, um goin' in…" he said as he looked over her shoulder. "…and there's nuttin' you can do ta…WHAT THE HELL!!!" he said as he saw what was inside the warehouse.
At that point, Storm no longer existed to him – neither did the rest of the X-Men. Her fears had come true. Wolverine had come face to face with his past and was about to lose all control. The warehouse was filled with large human-sized cylinders – each with an unconscious mutant inside. As soon as he saw them his mind flashed back to that fateful day in Canada – the day he received his adamantium laced skeleton. He thought about the pain that seared through his body when the adamantium was bonded to his skeleton. He thought about the complete loss of control of his life and how it took years to overcome the psychological damage done to his mind. Then images of all the people he cared about flashed through his mind – Storm, Kitty, Tasha…Jubilee. He saw each one of them being experimented on - adamantium tearing through their skin. He saw the fear and pain in their faces while scientists played god with their bodies. Then he saw red – pure, unadulterated anger. The thought of them going through all that was too much for him to bear. **SNIKT** His eyes glossed over and the grinding in his teeth stopped.
"Logan. LOGAN! Snap out of it!" Storm commanded. He ignored her. The only thing he saw was the unconscious mutant in the tank in front of him. "Snap out of it I said!" she demanded. "We have to…"
"GET THEM! THEY'RE IN THE BACK!" a voice yelled.
**BADDAM BADDAM**
The unmistakable sound of AK-47's echoed through the room. The guards that were waiting for the X-Men by the main entrance had finally made it back to where they were. The sound of the first shot and the pain of flesh tearing open quickly pulled Wolverine out of his trance.
"JUBILEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" he yelled as he remembered why he was there. He lunged at the guards – catching them completely off guard. The guards thought the 4 X-Men would see how many soldiers there were in the warehouse and turn tail and run – they were wrong…dead wrong. With his berserker rage blaring, he viciously ripped through everybody that got in his way – then went after the ones that didn't. The soldiers were good but they weren't the best at what they did, and none of them could have predicted a foe as formidable as Wolverine.
"Use your grenade launchers!" the leader yelled. "TAKE HIM OUT!"
Before any of the guards could even lock and load a grenade, Wolverine focused his attention on the leader.
"You the head honcho? If you wanna take me out Bub, do it yerself!" The leader managed to get off a couple rounds, but in the end, his only claim to fame was that he didn't go down without a fight. After killing the C.O., Logan again refocused on the guards. Once he had engaged them, they couldn't use their grenades without killing their own men – they could only shoot and run.
"See if you can handle THIS ya lousy mutant! One guard yelled as he anchored a 20mm cannon and aimed it at Logan. The gun made a deafening sound as he shot Wolverine through the left side of his abdomen. Logan let out a blood-curdling yell as the bullet tore through his body and left a gaping exit wound.
"Wolverine!" Storm yelled when she saw his injury. The blast knocked him back about 9 feet before he fell to the ground in agony. She wanted to check on him but the guard turned his gun on her. She threw 4 energy blasts at him, forcing him to abandon his attack but he was too quick to be hit. Her counter attack did, however, draw him away from his gun. He tried to make it back but Storm prevented him by showering the area with energy blasts. She would have destroyed the gun but was concerned with where the stray bullets would hit so she continued shooting at him. It wasn't until he pulled his 9mm sidearm and fired at her that she relented.
"Stand still ya lousy mutant…" he yelled. "while I fill your ass fulla bullets!"
She dodged more of his 9mm shots as he made his way back to his weapon, then she took to the air so the mutants in the tanks wouldn't be hurt in the crossfire. It was her hope that once she was airborne, he would waste his ammunition in the rafters of the warehouse while one of the other X-Men took him out. He never got the chance though. Having thought Wolverine was dead, the guard focused all his attention on her. That proved fatal in the end as the down-but-not-out mutant recovered and attacked.
"That li'l pop gun may work well on airplanes Bub…but this here TOMCAT is tougher than the average Grumman!" He yelled as he dove claw first at the guard. Six razor sharp claws entered, exited, and ripped the guard AND his weapon apart.
Logan's wound was bleeding profusely but that didn't stop him. As if possessed, he engaged man after man. One by one they fell. A few got smart and realized that running was a much more viable option for such a formidable enemy; but many stayed behind thinking they could defeat the small band of mutants. Bishop also engaged the guards but with Wolverine the way he was, the fight wasn't going to last long.
"Find Jubilee. We'll take care of these guys!" Bishop yelled to Storm and Beast. Beast had entered the warehouse and assessed the situation when he heard Bishop. He looked at Storm to tell her that he was going look for Jubilee but she already knew what he was up to. She nodded her head in approval as she herself went to look for the leaders of the group – the scientists. She knew Wolverine and Bishop were more than capable of handling or distracting the guards. With the battle going the way it was, and their secret discovered; the leaders of these experiments were surely clearing out by now.
As Storm and Beast searched, the sounds of battle echoed in their ears: AK-47's, combat commands, blasts from Bishop's guns, animalistic howls, and the agonizing shrieks of those unfortunate enough to be caught in Wolverine's path echoed throughout the warehouse. Storm proceeded to what looked like a control room. After Beast saw how many tanks there were in the warehouse, he followed her. She found it a few minutes later.
The control room was an elevated deck filled with computer monitors, lab equipment, and other miscellaneous research items. Just like Storm thought, it had recently been vacated. She looked around for anything that might tell her who was in charge. Not seeing anything, she quickly took to the rafters to get a bird's eye view of the complex.
When she didn't see anything, she landed near the main doors and began a low-level search for anything suspicious. As she walked through row after row of captured mutants, she couldn't help but think of the senselessness of it all. One particular mutant caught her eye – a young black woman that reminded Storm of herself when she was younger. She stopped for a second to ponder who the unconscious mutant was and where she came from. Just then, a large man grabbed her from behind; covering her mouth and pinning her arms.
"I've got the woman!" the guard yelled. "If you don't wanna see her get hurt, you'll…" Before he could finish his sentence, she gave him a head butt to the face – shattering his lower lip. Though painful, he didn't let go. It wasn't until she dug her combat boot into his shin that he decided holding on to her wasn't in his best interest.
"You little bitch!" he yelled as he threw her headfirst into one of the tank walls. She recovered and turned around to face the angry man – who by now had a good taste of blood in his mouth. "I'll teach you to fuck with me!" he yelled before he gave her a right hook to her face - a blow that knocked her to her knees. She tried to recover but he followed up with a kick to the ribs. "Bet you'll feel THAT in the mornin' – provided you LIVE that long!" he yelled. His brief second of taunting was all she needed to recover though. She was in too much pain to accurately summon her power without killing him and every mutant around her, so she resorted back to her fighting skills. He didn't even see her slide a small knife out of her boot when she turned over on her hands and knees. Just as he tried to grab her again, she spun around and threw the knife. With pinpoint accuracy, it dug into his left thigh – stopping him instantly. As she jumped to her feet she gave him a high kick to the head – sending him reeling back about 8 feet. By the time he recovered, she was already on her feet facing him. She spat out a good amount of blood and felt the left side of her rib cage to assess the damage – at least 2 broken, but none life threatening.
He let out an angry yell as he pulled the knife out of his leg and threw it at her. His aim wasn't nearly as good as hers though; and he watched as the wayward knife sailed past her. "Be careful!" she yelled. "I'm heavily trained and carry more than one knife. I put that one in your leg because I didn't want to kill you – but if you persist, I WILL stop you." Running on pure adrenaline, he lunged at her – trying to get at the ribs she was favoring. As soon as he did, she gave him a quick kick to his knee – breaking it instantly. "I'm quite sure YOU will feel THAT in the morning." She said to him when he fell to the ground. "Your next move will determine your future…whether you HAVE one or not." she snapped. In a futile attempt to save face, he propped himself against one of the tanks and pulled a sidearm from under his jacket. Storm heard him chamber it just before she dove out of site. With the gun in his hand, she knew she couldn't hit him with an energy blast. She truly regretted his decision to continue fighting as she reached for a second knife in her boot. *I thought THIS part of my life was behind me* she said to herself as she positioned the knife for throwing.
"Show yourself bitch!" the guard yelled. "Or I'll kill one of these precious MUTANTS you're trying so hard to protect!" With cat-like speed she revealed her position for a split second – just long enough to throw the knife and silence the guard forever. She remained silent as she walked up to him and watched the blood poor out of his fatal knife wound. Her head hung low as she reflected on what she had done and confirmed the kill.
By then, Beast had reached the command center and was looking at the layout. He found the main terminal and started examining it. It was a complicated monitoring system that recorded all the vital information for each mutant in the lab. He was sure he wouldn't have a problem with it though – it had been methodically and logically laid out. With a few keystrokes, he was into the database that identified each mutant but unfortunately, they were all designated by an unknown code. He saw countless ID's such as CSUH-3, UCR-2, UOP-2, and UCD-9. He quickly identified the call letters as universities throughout California and surmised that the numbers were related to how many mutants had been kidnapped from each location. UCD and CSUS had the highest numbers, which made sense considering the suspected link at UC Davis. Thinking logically, he concluded that Jubilee would be in the last UCD one; but being the scientist he was, he needed confirmation. Upon opening UCD-14's file, all he saw were vital statistics being monitored…nothing useful when trying to identify someone.
*"Think outside the box Beast"* Hank said to himself. *"How can I find our Jubilee?"* He keyed in a search string that scanned the entire database for mutant characteristics. Once he found it, he cross-matched it to some of the things being monitored in the first database, and then reopened the UCD files. After pulling up UCD-14, he scanned it for anything useful. It listed a female mutant, approximately 18 years of age, with the ability to shoot energy globules from her hands and possibly control them at will. "That's our little firecracker!" he said as he looked for her tank number. "J-3" he shouted. "There are 12 rows, J would be row 10 so I imagine she would be in row 10 somewhere.
He then noticed a large-capacity data disk in the terminal. It seemed to be a back up the entire system. After popping it out and examining it, he began to smile. "This no doubt, will make for some interesting reading" he said while opening his backpack.
"NO!!!!!!!!!!" a voice yelled from behind. Beast turned around just as Benson kicked open the doors of a supply cabinet and tackled him – knocking him unconscious. "That's my life's work!" he yelled as he grabbed the disk out Beast's hand, remotely opened the main entrance to the warehouse, and ran down the stairs of the observation deck toward the exit.
"Benson!" Storm yelled when she saw him; unfortunately she was too far away to stop him from getting through the door in time. He was about 30 feet away from freedom when Bishop stepped out from behind a tank and gave him a left hook that sent him flying back about 6 feet.
"Going somewhere?" he asked.
"Get out of my way mutant!" Benson yelled as he climbed to his feet.
"Sorry – I don't do requests. You're pretty tough!" Bishop replied. "Most people would have been down for the count from a hit like that."
"I'm not most people, now get out of my way or you'll regret it!" he yelled as he rushed Bishop. Bishop – not wanting to shoot an unarmed man – decided a quick physical reaction would suffice in settling the situation. Benson tried to do the same flying tackle on Bishop that was so effective on Beast, but he was ready and easily dodged his attack while simultaneously flipping him – a basic judo move.
"You're a mutant!" Bishop yelled – noticing the amount of strength the 5'2, 140lb scientist had when he flipped him. "How the hell can you do research on mutants when you're a mutant yourself!"
"I'm not a mutant! I just know how to use mutant pow…"
**BLZZAP**
Just as he was finishing his sentence and preparing for another rush on Bishop, he was blindsided by yet another X-Man – the newly recovered Beast.
"Try using THAT power!" he said as he blasted Benson against the wall and knocked him unconscious with an overpowered stun-gun – obviously one used to control the mutants that got out of hand. "Like I said - 'turnabout is fair play.' Now, before I was so rudely interrupted, I started to EXAMINE that disk!" he said as he grabbed it out of Benson's hand.
"Check him for devices – I'm sure he has something that amplifies his strength." Storm told Beast as she landed.
"Diabolically clever!" Beast commented when he saw a computerized band strapped to Benson's forearm. "Undoubtedly the source of his strength." he said while pulling it off and examining it.
"What is it?" Bishop asked. The device had a hinged cover on it – something Beast promptly opened.
"I'm not sure how he did it, but it appears he has tapped into the mutant power of this skin graft. Ingenious! The computer applications alone must have taken…"
"Jubilee!!!!!!!!!!!!" Logan yelled as he blindly ran through the tanks looking for her. The last of the guards had already been taken care of and Logan was actively looking at every tank he could see – his rage still completely consuming him.
"We'll find her Logan!" Storm yelled in an attempt to pull him out of it. "I promise we'll find her!" She knew he hadn't heard her. The only thing that would bring him back was finding Jubilee.
"The tenth row!" Beast yelled.
Logan was too enraged to hear him, but Storm picked up on what he said and immediately took to the air to locate the tenth row. She located the row and landed between the first and second tank – neither of which contained Jubilee. She quickly proceeded to the third and looked into it. The mutant inside had her back facing Storm, preventing an easy identification. All she could see was a woman with long black hair suspended in the tank's fluid. She ran to the front of the tank and looked at the mutant's face. Event through the SCUBA gear was on, Storm knew it was Jubilee.
"Jubilee!" she yelled. "Over here! I've located her!" She stood in front of the tank wondering how to get Jubilee out of it. The monitor on the control panel spewed out a steady flow of Jubilee's vital signs but gave no clue how to free her.
"Beast! What do we do?" she asked as he and Bishop came running up.
"Let me see the controls." He looked at them and punched in a few keystrokes. "Hmmm…" he said as he scratched his head. "It may be possible to just…"
"JUBILEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Logan yelled as he ran up to the tank. Storm didn't think it was possible, but his rage was tripled when he saw Jubilee's nude, unconscious body with electrodes stuck all over her in the tank. He looked at her; his face in pure fear of what they had done to her. "What'd they do to you Jubilee?!" he yelled while staring helplessly at her – both of his hands flat against the tank walls.
**SNIKT**
"Wolverine don't!" Beast yelled. "Let me study the tanks design before you…"
"Graaaagh!" he yelled!
Before Beast could finish his sentence, Logan had already put two long slashes in the sides of the tank and was in the process of making cross section cuts. In mere seconds a huge hole had been ripped into the tank and bio-fill was spilling out all over the warehouse.
With no fluid left, the tiny restraints holding Jubilee in place snapped, causing her to fall to the bottom of the tank. Logan grabbed her and pulled her out. He then cradled her in his arms and started wiping the bio-fill off her face. Bishop and Beast stood by shocked – not believing that the man who just hacked and sliced through an entire army was now showing the care and compassion of…Ward Cleaver. The only one that wasn't surprised was Storm. Though she sometimes feared what might happen to him in his berserker rages, she always knew he had a heart of gold – especially when it came to the people he loved. He'd shown it time and time again throughout the years; and ever since they started dating, she'd really seen the softer side of him.
She'd also seen him put his own fears and problems aside many times to help those around him – that was something he was really good at. This was one of those times - instead of getting lost in his rage, Jubilee's needs came first.
"Let me take a look at her Wolverine." Beast said as he approached. It took a firm hand on his shoulder and another empathetic plea from Storm to get him to relinquish his father-like grip on her, but eventually he yielded.
"Here, put this on her…" Bishop said as he handed Logan a lab coat. "Got it off of Benson. He won't be needing it anymore." Logan wrapped her up in it but continued to hold her in his arms. Beast looked at her eyes and quickly took her pulse and other vital signs.
"Most peculiar." He said. "From what I can tell, her vital signs are all normal."
"How do we bring her out of it Hank?!" Logan asked.
"Let me try something" Beast replied while leaning over her. "WAKE UP!" he yelled into her ear, startling the other 3 X-Men.
Jubilee's body jumped and groggily started moving.
"Jubilee?" Logan said as she started to stir.
"Wolvie?" she sleepily said while trying to open her eyes.
"I'm here Jubilee. I'm right here. We're all here." After a couple seconds, she opened her eyes and saw him. She was still too tired to move, but she was aware of what was going on around her.
"I knew you'd come Wolvie. I knew you'd save me." she said while looking around at the rag-tag bunch of torn-up mutants. "I knew you all would…" she mumbled before she fell asleep again.
"Jubilee?" Logan pleaded.
"She'll be okay Logan. It'll take awhile for the drugs to wear off, but she'll be okay."
"Are you sure Beast?" Storm inquired. "There won't be any lasting side-effects?"
"Nothing a hot shower and a long nap won't cure."
"Good. Beast – go through the database, gather all the material you think you'll need to help us identify everybody. We need to know how long they've been here and where they came from."
"We're not going to revive them?"
"Not yet. We need more people here and I don't want the police brought in on this just yet. I don't want the identities of these mutants getting out. Bishop – check out the area and make sure it's secure. I'll call the mansion and get some help out here. We'll transport everybody back to Salem Center before reviving them."
Bishop and Beast took off in different directions. Logan stayed with Jubilee and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Storm followed Beast back to the control room. En route, she pulled out a cellular phone and called the mansion.
With the help of Cerebro, Professor Xavier was given a complete debriefing of the situation. He agreed with Storm – bringing everyone back to Salem Center was the best thing to do. He and Jean would also have the opportunity to communicate with all the mutants and explain everything that had happened to them before they were revived. Within minutes he had dispatched Cyclops and every other available X-Man to Atwater. Cyclops was bringing the Blackbird, the Blackbird II, and every minijet they had. It would be a tight squeeze, but they would be able to transfer everyone back to the mansion.
*****
Ten minutes later…
"Look who I found sneaking around outside!" Bishop yelled as he pulled Hartford in by his collar.
"Hartford? What were you doing outside? Storm inquired.
"I…I got worried. I thought I heard gunfire and I came looking for you. That's when HE grabbed me!" he said as he pointed a shaky finger at Bishop.
"Damn near shit in his pants!" Bishop said with a smirk.
"Well, I…I. How would YOU have reacted if someone grabbed you from behind and pointed a gun the size of Miami at you? I'm lucky I didn't have a heart attack!"
"Benson is still unconscious?" Storm asked.
"Yeah - out cold."
"Good. Bring him to the control room and secure him there.
Bishop brought Benson into the observation room. A few minutes later, he awoke to a very disturbed Hartford and angry Storm.
"How could you do it Benson?" Hartford said. "How could you experiment on innocent human beings?
"They're not human! They're mutants!"
"Mutants ARE humans Benson – with the same civil rights!" Storm replied to his bigoted remark.
"No they aren't. They're freaks – dangerous freaks and we need to protect ourselves from them."
Thunder roared across the sky. "It's people like you who have brought us to the brink of war Benson. Your bigotry has caused thousands of deaths over the years – to both mutants and non-mutants alike. You hate and fear what you don't understand, and for that reason you want to control it – to control other people. When will you realize that you're just hurting yourself?"
"That's not true Arowlyn. It's those mutants – mutants like Kim Lee and your blue friend there that are the dangerous ones."
"What have they done to you?!" she commanded in a voice full of anger and disgust.
"It's not what they HAVE done to me, it's what they WILL do to me if we don't stop them!"
"Anything they MIGHT do to you would be a response to what you've done to them. Look out there – look at all the people you kidnapped. Look at all the lives you destroyed! What would they do to you right now if they were awake? Perhaps we should find out! Or perhaps I should let Wolverine deal with you!" Her comment prompted Beast to turn around. The thunder outside was so loud it shook the walls, and he'd never heard Storm talk like that before. "When you kidnapped Kim, you kidnapped the wrong girl!"
"Wolverine? Who is he? Another dangerous mutant?"
"He's dangerous alright, but not because he's a mutant – because you kidnapped his…OUR little girl! If the parents of all those mutants were here, I doubt if even WE could stop them from killing you. I doubt if I would even try."
"Storm…calm down." Beast somewhat frightfully said. "We don't need a tornado…please restrain yourself."
"Is that thunder coming from you? Are you a mutant? I should have known! You're one of those freak mutants too! You should ALL be destroyed!" he yelled.
"That's the love of my life yer insultin' Bub...one of the FEW people on this planet I'm willin' ta die fer." Logan yelled as he walked up the stairs of the control center. "But the question is...ARE YOU? Cuz yer about to..."
"Wolverine – No!" Storm yelled. "The Justice System will decide his fate - not you, and not me!"
**SNIKT**
"NO! His fate's already been decided – by these!" Logan growled as he approached Benson and gave him a good view of things to come.
"Wolverine! NO!" Storm commanded.
"Outta my way Storm – this is between me and Mr. 'I like ta fuck with mutant's lives but now um gonna die a slow, painful death' Kidnapper there."
"There's been enough death tonight!"
"Not yet there hasn't!"
"I'm in command of this mission and I say it ends right here, right now! Stand down Wolverine!" she yelled with an authority that filled the room.
Her words stopped him dead in his tracks. He had come so close to losing one of the most important women in his life, now his actions threatened to hurt another. He knew how she felt about killing people and he knew his actions would really hurt her. As much as he wanted to end Benson's miserable life, his brand of justice would not be served that day.
**SLIKT**
"You don't know how lucky you are Bub!" he growled as he turned and walked back to Jubilee.
"You REALLY don't know how lucky you are!" Hartford told him. "That guy is an animal! And SHE isn't too far behind!" he said as he pointed to Storm.
"Her?" he laughed as she approached him. She wouldn't be so special if she didn't have those three big guys with her.
"REALIZE THIS BENSON!" the nearly 6' tall weather goddess growled as she picked him up by his collar and slammed him against the wall. "I've taken down mutants AND humans far more powerful than you could ever imagine. You do NOT pose a threat to me!" she said with an air of confidence that ensured Benson she knew exactly what she was talking about. "I just saved your miserable and pathetic life." She pinned him to the wall with her left hand and held her right hand out so he could see the energy emanating from it. "But no matter what the courts say, if I EVER hear of you experimenting on mutants again – or anybody for that matter – we WILL meet again, and you WILL die!" Energy started emanating from her left hand as well – not as much as her right, but definitely enough to burn the skin around his neck. He looked into her demon-like white eyes and realized exactly how finite his life had just become.
She gave him a very disgusted look and turned her back to him – leaving him to Beast. Bishop - who was now dragging 2 more guards behind him – looked up to see what he had missed.
"Is that it? Where are the rest?" Storm inquired.
"Except for the ones we took out earlier, the rest are either dead or hightailing it out of here."
"By the goddess…" she sighed as she realized the magnitude of the night's events. Sure it was a combat zone, and when someone points a gun at you, someone usually dies. But death and destruction always bothered her – the senselessness of it all.
She went back to check on Jubilee and Wolverine. Logan had taken off his BDU jacket (what was left of it) and buttoned it around her along with the lab coat Bishop gave her. She was still asleep and Logan was still holding her like she was his baby girl – despite the fact that she was 2 inches taller than him.
Storm could see the wound from the 20mm gun and immediately became worried that it wasn't healing as fast as it should have been. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, but it was still a pretty serious injury. She went back to the control room and located a first aid kit. Logan was still holding Jubilee when she came up behind him and started cleaning his injury. He didn't even flinch when she pressed an alcohol soaked pad against it. She knew he was so familiar with pain that he sometimes ignored it, but she also knew that if he had reached that point, his mental state was pretty far from normal. She wondered what the future repercussions of the night's events on him might be – the connection to his past, the fear of losing Jubilee, Tasha and Kitty, the many mutants around him in experimental tanks…everything. Surely if anything could push him over the edge it was this.
"Thanks Ro." he softly said to her without turning around.
"Logan?" she asked.
"Thanks for what you tried to do here?"
"What do you mean?"
"Tryin' ta keep me from seein' this place – from blowin' my top."
"You're welcome Logan."
"I ain't always good at followin' orders; and missions like this make it difficult when ya ain't got a team player on board. I didn't always understand your orders Ro, but I always trusted you."
"I know Logan, and had the situation been reversed; I would have trusted you my love."
"I don't know what would have happened if you weren't here Storm. Jubilee coulda disappeared forever."
"You would have found her – I have no doubt about that."
"What I said earlier – about Kitty. I didn't mean it. I know you care as much about Jubilee as I..."
"Shhh…" she said empathetically. "How is your wound?"
"I'll live."
"I have no doubt about that, but I still want to make sure you're okay. You may be tough, but that was a pretty big bullet you got hit with. How's your healing factor?"
"Slow, but functional. Don't worry 'bout me."
"Logan my love, if I don't worry about you…who WILL I worry about?"
"I'm okay…"
"You know, not everybody can say that after being shot with an anti-aircraft gun…Pastrami or egg salad?"
"Pastrami – with extra mustard."
"Put this on her." Storm said as she took off her BDU jacket. It's in better condition than yours…I'll see if Bishop can round up something else for her."
"Shit 'Ro – you okay?" he asked with an air of concern. He noticed how much she favored her left side when she took her jacket off. He also saw a small trickle of dried blood on the side of her mouth.
"Pastrami on rye won't fix it; but yes, I'm okay…nothing a month or two of relaxation with a certain someone and his guitar won't cure."
"That's my Snowflake…The perimeter's secured?"
"A few guards got away, but considering how illegal this operation was, I don't think they'll be running to the police. Cyclops and the rest of the X-Men should be here soon."
"Takin' everybody back to the mansion?"
"Yes, to protect their identities."
"Heh – Chuck'll love ya…fillin' up his house like that."
"You should have heard Scott's reaction when I told him to start collecting all the jeans and T-Shirts he could find. It'll only be for a short time though – until everyone is awake and physically evaluated. Why don't you bring Jubilee to the control room? I saw a table there that you can lay her on; and there are some chair pads you can use to make her more comfortable."
"Benson gone?"
"He will be…."
"Arowlyn?" a voice shyly said from behind her. She turned around to see Hartford standing there.
"Yes Hartford?"
"Um…I take it you aren't really a college professor?"
"No I'm not." she laughed. "What gave it away? My BDU's?"
"Um…that and the fact that you're in command of…of a small ARMY it seems like."
"What you call an 'army' I call family."
"I understand. Mutants stick together don't they?"
"We have to – in a world that hates and fears us, we have to protect ourselves."
"So you were undercover or something? Are you a cop?"
"No, not a cop. Just someone sent to investigate the disappearance of these mutants."
"Now that you've found them, will you be leaving?"
"Yes – probably after the quarter ends. It wouldn't be fair to the students to leave before then."
"Do you have to?"
"You don't mind me being a mutant?"
"Well, I didn't like almost being killed by your husband there, OR having the shit scared out of me by you and your friend with the guns, but no – I don't care about you being a mutant. I think you're the best thing to hit the university since…well since me."
"Watch it Bub – that's my WIFE you're hittin' on!" Logan said as he picked up Jubilee and headed for the control room.
"Oh no Logan. I didn't mean anything like that. I just meant…I really enjoy her friendship and think she's a wonderful faculty member."
"Really?" Storm inquired with a smile.
"Yes, and I really enjoy our conversations."
Logan growled at him as he walked by, but the smile Storm gave him told him he was safe.
"We'll talk more about this later Hartford. Right now, could you help Hank? I'm sure he could use a hand at figuring out exactly what Benson did here."
"Oh – sure!"
"But Hartford – this research cannot get out. Eventually we'll have to destroy the data – you realize that right?"
"Yes, I know that. No matter how far he progressed, I couldn't use his information – not knowing how he sacrificed mut…people's civil rights and destroyed lives to get it. It's wrong – so very wrong."
"You're a good scientist Hartford…AND a good friend."
"Thank you Arowlyn."
For the next 3 hours, Hartford and Beast scoured the computer database. They retrieved information on what experiments were done, how they were conducted, how each mutant responded, and detailed information on each mutant's powers. In a separate database they found a list of names and mutant powers. It took awhile, but Beast finally merged the two databases and matched mutants up with their abilities. There were a few that had similar powers, but he eventually worked it out.
He had just finished correlating all the information on disks when he heard the unmistakable sound of the Blackbird's engines flying overhead.
"What's that?" Hartford asked.
"A very welcome sound – friends from afar." Beast responded.
"There are more of you?"
"You might say that."
"I heard of phantom mutant groups but never thought I'd meet anybody from one."
"You haven't Hartford – we're just a group of friends that like to hang out together. We're attracted to each other by our common goals that's all."
"A group of friends eh? With your own jet?"
"It cuts down on the hassles we usually get at airports."
Next chapter and epilogue coming soon