"Shit," I muttered to myself.
I heard Pietro chuckle and move toward the door. "Come on in, kid. Join the fun."
"Scott." Alex's voice wavered slightly. I felt a pang of guilt straight in the heart. My little brother was going to get messed up again. I rose my head toward his voice and gave him a weak smile.
"It's all right," I told him. "Just comply."
Alex snorted, "Like that's going to happen. I'm not going to give up." Oh, so now Alex gets his independence back.
Pietro charged. Even without my sight, I could tell what he was doing. I waited for a crack from Alex's bones but never heard one. I did hear a muffled moan of pain. I heard a pair of feet scuffling towards me.
"Alex?" I asked, moving my shoulders slightly to see if the rope would loosen. It didn't.
"Everything's fine, Summers," Pietro shot back. "I'm just securing your brother's safety."
"Safe with you?" I scoffed. "Like that's going to happen." I expected Pietro to retaliate, but nothing happened. I paused. "Can I have my shades back?
There was silence. I figured Pietro was going to shoot me down, but he said, "I don't see why not. Now what's the magic word?"
I scowled at myself. I should've known that Pietro would want me to beg for them. I put my pride aside and sighed, "Please, Pietro."
I could practically see his smirk. I wanted to wipe it off his face so badly, but I stayed calm. Pietro picked my shades up off the desk. He came up to me and slid them on my face. As soon as they were on, I opened my eyes and turned to Alex. He was tied to a chair similar to mine. The binding was messy but seemed to be secure enough to hold him.
"You okay?" I asked.
He nodded, "I'm peachy."
I smiled faintly. That was the same thing I'd told Jean a while back. I turned to Pietro, wondering what was going to happen next. He was sitting on the desk with an amused look on his face. I felt a sudden pang of helplessness.
Scott, Magneto's sending out the next group. Blob's in charge and taking Sunspot, Cannonball, and Magma.
Thanks, Jean and Alex is with me now. Any ideas what he's having the groups do?
Your guess are as good as mine. I'm going to go talk to Rogue now. Stay safe.
I will for you. I locked eyes with Pietro for a moment. He smirked and rose to his feet. I watched him come toward me. Pietro stopped and backhanded me. My head snapped aside.
"Don't say anything, Alex," I muttered to him. Alex was too much like me. I knew he'd shout out something and then Pietro would have a reason to mess him up really bad. I turned back to face Pietro. He was smiling. "What was that for?"
"Because I can," he replied.
And you want to bait Alex, I thought bitterly. Pietro grabbed my chin and tipped my head up to see him. My head exploded with pain, but I kept quiet. Suddenly Pietro swung his free arm around and hit me in the injury he'd made last week. I yelped and literally crumpled. Pietro smiled and released my chin.
"That's low," Alex flared.
Pietro's face lit up, "Oh really?"
"Dammit, Alex," I said, lifting up my injured head. "I told you not to say anything."
Pietro laughed and approached my brother. "You should've listen to your brother, kid, because now you've made me mad." He stopped in front of Alex and threw a punch. I looked down and squeezed my eyes shut as I heard the crack and yelp. "What's the matter, Summers?"
I didn't reply. The door opened ,but I didn't look up.
"Wanna have some fun?" Pietro asked. The other person moved toward me. I had a pretty good idea who it was. The person grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled my head up. I glared at Lance. He smiled in return and turned my head toward Alex. This was a very bad place to be. Pietro smirked at me before hitting Alex again. I flinched at contact. The move just caused Lance to rip at my hair.
"Do you want to know what your little X-men did for me last night?" Lance asked the rhetorical question in a cocky sort of way. "I had them all doing anything I said. We looted a couple of banks to celebrate."
I stared at Alex without actually seeing him. Lance used his free hand to punch me hard in the gut. The pain was horrible and I wondered how much more abuse my internal organs could take. I glanced at Lance with my eyes for a second. I looked back at Alex. He was swaying slightly and barely conscious again.
Pietro threw a punch to Alex's temple. Alex slumped over. Pietro turned to Lance. There was a slight degree of fear in his eyes. "The kid passed out."
"He was probably in too much pain," I lashed out angrily. Pietro bashed my nose with his fist.
I fell silent. Lance released his hold on me and Pietro took a step back. The door opened with an eerie creak. I just concentrated on breathing.
"How are we doing in here?" Magneto's voice boomed from behind me.
My anger dominated all of my common sense. "Alex is taking a nap and I'm being the piƱata. How do you think it's going?"
Lance punched me so fast that I didn't even have time to move. His fist hit just below my rib cage. All the air rushed out of my lungs. I struggled for air; then I started coughing. I couldn't breathe! The boys moved back and Magneto came in front of me. My head dropped slightly and I began to cough up blood. I struggled for oxygen, but it couldn't get past the blood coming out. The floor was red now and I felt myself getting lightheaded. My eyes started to roll back.
Why haven't they helped me, I wondered angrily. Then I came to the vain truth: there was nothing they could do for me. I felt myself slipping out of it until I felt oxygen. I wheezed the bit in, but continued to cough. I began to slip unconscious again. I wasn't going to give up though. I managed to come up with a bit more oxygen and my coughing began to slow enough for a little air in between coughs. I fought to get a decent-sized gulp of air.
Finally my coughs slowed enough for my breathing to regulate. Magneto took a step away from me. I coughed one last time before completely dropping my head in pain. I looked at the once spotless floor that was now cover in a horrendous amount of blood, my blood. I felt a sting on the inside of my left arm. I let the person, probably Magneto, inject me. I kept breathing.
Jean?
Yeah, baby. What's the matter? she responded immediately.
Not much. I lied, stealing an inconspicuous glance at Alex. I'm just wondering if you'll be able to grab some painkillers at any point.
I think they're going to have me check on Ororo in a while. I'll try to grab some then. Are you two in that bad of shape?
I hesitated. We've seen better days.
Just stay alive for me.
I smirked. She'd hit the nail on the head and didn't even know that I had just had a brush with death. I grimaced as my lungs hit my ribs. I glanced at the feet around me. No one was terribly close.
Suddenly the door opened. I flinched slightly but visibly. So far things had only gotten worse when the door opened.
"What are you doing here?" Magneto demanded, moving forward and stopping at my side.
"Mystique said she could handle Xavier," the voice growled. I grimaced. Did it have to be Sabretooth? "She seemed to think I'd be of more help as a baby-sitter."
"Funny," Magneto stated. "The only one we're missing is Wolverine."
Sabretooth snorted; I held my breath. "I caught his scent in the city as I neared this place. I followed it to an old building, one with that's one's car and scent all over it.
I knew I was in trouble now.
"I lost the runt's scent because of the rain but- "
I felt Magneto grip my hair and jerk my head up to face his angry one. I yelped as he ripped some hair out of my throbbing head. He didn't show that he noticed. Spots danced in front of my eyes and I struggled to stay upright. Magneto leaned in close to me and punctuated three word:
"Where is Wolverine?"
TBC
