Chapter Six: Coming of Age

Once again we met in the Professor's office. The four of us were present, with Bobby and Marie, plus Cyclops –reacquainted with his ruby-tinted sun-glasses – and Xavier himself.

"There are a number of things I would like to talk about," the Professor began. "First of all, I would like to thank all of you six, for bringing Scott and myself back safely from Magneto's sanctuary. You showed great courage and resourcefulness, and I am confident that you would – and indeed will – be able to do the same again."

Chris frowned, "What do you mean, Professor?"

"I'll come back to that in a moment," said Xavier. "Secondly, your friend Jacqueline. I've been speaking to her; I can use my power to block Mindstorm's control over her, but not indefinitely. The only way she can return to a normal life is if Mindstorm is permanently removed from inside of her. Unfortunately, I can't yet think of a way to do that."

"Is she still down in the infirmary?" asked Chloe.

"Yes. I've had her sedated, so she can't use her power against us. She shouldn't wake for several hours, so that should give us some time to plan what we are going to do next."

"So what do you have in mind?" Cyclops asked.

"I think our first priority is to find Wolverine and Storm," the Professor answered. "We know they've been captured by the military, but we don't know where they're being held. We also have no idea of the whereabouts of Nightcrawler. It seems he hasn't been captured, which suggests either he escaped, or he was killed and the military are covering it up."

"Can't you use Cerebro to find them?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, I have not yet fully recovered from the sedatives Magneto gave me. I can't use Cerebro in this condition. It is, however, imperative that we act as swiftly as possible. So I must ask the six of you if you would undergo another rescue mission."

"What about Cyclops? Is he coming with us?"

Scott shook his head, "Magneto destroyed my visor. Without it I can't be of any assistance. I can construct a new one, but it will take time. I will help on the planning side of things."

"I want to make one thing very clear – two, actually," said Xavier. "First, this mission will be on a volunteer basis. Due to the danger involved, and your relative inexperience, I can't order any of you to go. Those of you who wish to be part of this rescue, please raise your hand."

Chris' hand was first in the air, and Felicity followed his lead. Chloe and I both raised our hands together; I noticed hers was trembling slightly. Glancing to my right, I could see Bobby and Marie both had their hands up as well. Xavier smiled, "Thank you. The second point I would like to make is that this is a rescue mission. We are not setting out to kill or injure anybody. Magneto has already done enough damage; this must not be seen as an act of war. Avoid confrontations if you can, and only attack military personnel if you yourselves are in danger, and there is no other choice. I cannot stress how important it is that we are seen to be rescuing our friends, and nothing more."

"Professor, can we stop the war?" Marie asked.

"I honestly don't know," he sighed. "There are too many factors which could come into play. Magneto will be doing everything he can to keep the conflict going. The leader of this army unit, Colonel Lutowski – I've heard of him before, but never met him. I know he has no love for mutants, and will be very reluctant to accept a peaceful solution."

"Another General Stryker?" said Bobby.

"Perhaps not as extreme as Stryker, but potentially every bit as dangerous. Now, I said earlier that we don't know where Storm and Wolverine are being held. We do, however, have somewhere to start looking. The attack on Magneto's island leads me to believe that Lutowski's unit was – and hopefully still is – operating out of a small military base near the coast. I suggest you start your search there."

"We have downloaded schematics of the base, which you can study in detail later," said Cyclops. "We'll also give you a picture of Lutowski, so you know what he looks like. Rumour has it he and Stryker have worked together in the past, so there's a good chance they share the same attitude towards mutants. I'd recommend staying out of his way."

"When do we leave?" I said.

"As soon as you're ready," said the Professor. "I know this may seem like a huge responsibility, and you may be wondering if I am asking too much of you too soon, but I am confident you can do it. Sometimes youthful daring and guile can be more useful than the experience of old men like myself. You have already shown that you can manage on your own; you are coming of age, some of you more quickly than others. You will be adults soon, the next generation of the X-Men, and I'm certain our future is safe in your hands."

A little over an hour later, we were in the jet, prepping for take-off. I was adjusting the gloves of my uniform, when I sensed Chris coming over to sit next to me. He was uncomfortable, clearly wanting to get something off his chest.

"I assume you'll be taking command of the mission again," he said.

I shrugged, "Unless you want to."

"No, I think you're the better choice. Listen, Neil…"

"Mmm?"

"About what happened with Psyche…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "Forget about it. I was angry at the time, but it wasn't your fault. I won't hold it against you."

"Actually, it was my fault," I said. "I should have remembered that she'd be capable of controlling our minds. I didn't do anything to prevent it."

"Neither did any of us," he said. "It was a shared mistake; you can't blame yourself. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I don't have a problem, and we can be friends again."

"Good. I wanted to talk to you about the mission. How do you think we should go about it?"

"Dunno. I was having a look at the schematics Cyclops gave us – the best way in seems to be the south entrance. If Storm and Wolverine are being held at this base – and there's no guarantee they are – I reckon they'll be in one of the secure areas in the underground levels. Getting there won't be easy."

"It won't," I agreed. "After what the Professor said about trying to avoid fighting if at all possible, I was thinking we could split into two groups. One group causes a distraction and gets the attention of whatever guards might be present, and the second group sneaks in to grab our friends."

"How do we divide up?"

"I'm not exactly sure. The second group needs people with good intrusion skills. That's you – obviously, since you can change into liquid – and me; with my eyes and my telepathy I can keep us away from guards. The distraction group needs people with the more spectacular gifts: Chloe can do her usual thing with the animals; Felicity can fire bolts of lightning; Bobby can freeze any object he likes. And Marie should come with us; if either of us goes down, she can absorb our powers and go on in our place."

"Have you talked this over with them?"

"Not yet. Do you think it'll work?"

"Too early to say. When we land, you'll need to take a good look at the building, outside and in, and we can work our plan around what's there."

Bobby – Iceman, I reminded myself; we used call-signs instead of names when we were on a mission – had assured me that the jet's stealth technology would hide it from any military radar, but I was still prepared for an unfriendly welcome when we stepped off the boarding ramp. It seemed, however, that he'd been right. The spot where we had landed was devoid of anything but a few trees and rocks. The only noise I could hear was the distant sound of waves lapping against the shore.

"OK," I said to the rest. "I've outlined the plan to you, so now we split into two groups. We're approaching from the south side of the base, towards the least heavily guarded entrance. I've had a look at the inside and outside of the facility, and it looks as if this is where our army unit is based. I didn't have time to scan the whole building, so I couldn't see if Wolverine or Storm were there. When we get closer I'll hopefully be able to sense their location."

"If they're still alive," said Shapeshifter.

"I think they will be. There wouldn't be any point in capturing them if they were just going to be killed."

He shrugged. I continued, "Remember what the Professor said. Don't hurt or kill anybody unless you really, absolutely have no other choice. By that I mean if your own life is at risk. If everything goes according to plan, we'll find our friends and bring them back here. I'll telepath a message to you all when we've found them."

"What about our communicators?"

"Too risky. The military will intercept radio messages. OK, everybody ready? Let's go."

Shapeshifter and Rogue followed me as I took the easiest route to the building. I couldn't feel the presence of any humans close by, so there was no need for stealth yet. I sensed Gaia, Iceman and Shock moving off on a slightly different path, heading for the east side of the base. Staying out of sight and using their powers to cause a distraction, I hoped they'd be able to lure most, if not all, of the soldiers away from the south entrance. As Gaia moved out of my sight, I felt a sudden stab of fear, a sudden worry that I might never see her again. I pushed it down. It was the same panic I always had when we were on a mission. I sighed. We'd only been apart for five seconds and I was already missing her. I forced myself to concentrate on what I was doing, and stop worrying about Gaia. She knew how to take care of herself.

As we got closer to the facility, I could begin to sense humans. I put out my hand to stop the other two.

"Company?" said Rogue.

"Soldiers," I whispered. "Three of them, a few yards ahead."

"Must be a patrol," said Shapeshifter.

"Sshh! They'll hear you!"

He lowered his voice and said, "Do we go round them or knock them out?"

"Go round. Keep quiet and follow me."

Staying low, I picked a route that would lead us past the patrol. As we moved along, as quietly as possible, I stole a glance to the side, forcing my vision through a couple of trees, to get a look at the soldiers. One of them was looking alert, glancing around in all directions, checking for enemy presence. I assumed they were guarding against any mutants who might try to do exactly what we were doing now. The other two soldiers looked to be slightly less conscientious; one was yawning and leaning against a tree; the last was smoking a cigarette and reading a small pocket book by the light of the early evening sun.

We left them behind as we got closer to the base. I pushed out my senses to find out where the other three X-Men were. They were approaching the east door, looking for a hiding place; Iceman was leading; Gaia was worrying about me, hoping I was safe; Shock was thinking about Shapeshifter and wondering if he –

I cut off my power. I had no right to intrude into her private thoughts. I returned my attention to the matter at hand. Ahead of us was the south entrance to the base. I pushed my vision forward to zoom in on the door. A group of five or six soldiers stood on guard, their weapons held at waist height, clearly much more awake than the three we'd just passed in the trees. With them were three big Alsatian dogs, chained to a post, sniffing keenly at the air.

Damn. This hadn't occurred to me. I couldn't use my power to sense animals, so I'd been unaware of their presence. This made things more difficult. I wished I hadn't sent Gaia away with the other group. The dogs would sniff us out and I couldn't use my power against them.

Gaia? I telepathed, dogs. We need you over here.

I pushed out and read her mind for a reply. There was nothing.

Gaia?

Again no response. I frowned.

Iceman? Shock? Is Gaia all right?

I couldn't get a response from them either. I could sense their minds, but I couldn't seem to read their thoughts. What had happened to them?

"Something's gone wrong," I whispered. "I can't seem to communicate with the others."

"Is Iceman OK?" asked Rogue urgently.

"I can't tell. Let me try again."

Gaia? Iceman? Shock?

Once again there was nothing.

"I think they're unconscious," I said.

"You mean they've been found?"

"Must have been."

"Is Iceman all right?"

"I don't know."

"Do we go and help them?" Shapeshifter asked. "Or do we press on?"

"We can't get in without them doing their part. We can't attack the guards. We'd better go and see what's happened to our friends."

I tried to find a path that would lead round to the east side, without going too close to the guards. Picking our way through the undergrowth, we found the path our friends had taken.

"They came this way," Shapeshifter whispered. "Where are they now?"

"I can sense them up ahead. Don't move; I'm going to take a look."

I stretched forward with my vision, moving in to the spot where I could sense my three unconscious friends. It was getting dark, but I could still make them out. They were lying on the ground, unmoving, surrounded by armed soldiers and excited, barking dogs.

"They've been captured," I hissed to the others.

"How? What happened?"

"I don't know. Wait a minute…"

Two other figures had appeared at the edge of the group of soldiers. One of them prodded Shock's unmoving form with his toe, and the second spat down at Gaia's body. A cold lump began to form in my heart. I recognised both of these men. The first was Colonel Lutowski; I knew him from the picture Cyclops had shown us. The second was a face I'd never thought I would see again…

Rat.

What was he doing here, and why was he working with Lutowski? I realised now what must have happened. Rat, with his mutated sense of smell, must have known of the approach of my friends, who had been completely unprepared for the resulting attack. Which meant – which meant – Rat would be able to smell us too!

"Back to the jet!" I hissed. "Now!"

"What?!" Shapeshifter gasped. "What about Shock and Gaia and – "

"I don't have time to explain! Now!"

Grabbing his arm, I pulled his resisting form back in the direction of the aircraft. Rogue followed more willingly, but was still casting glances back in the direction our friends had gone; I could sense she was terribly afraid for Iceman's safety.

Once we were back in the clearing where we'd landed the jet, Shapeshifter pulled his arm away from me and snapped angrily, "Now suppose you tell me why you dragged us back here?!"

"Rat," I said. "Rat was there. He smelled the others and they were ambushed. If we'd stayed there a moment longer, he'd have smelt us, and they'd have been all over us."

"What's Rat doing here?" Rogue asked in surprise. "I thought he got left behind on Magneto's island!"

"And I thought this Colonel guy was supposed to hate mutants!" Shapeshifter added.

"I don't know, so don't ask me," I said. "Rat must have made some deal with him."

"Does that mean Magneto is here too?"

"I don't think so. From what Magneto said, I think he's left Rat to fend for himself. Hence why Rat's joined up with this army unit."

"So what's our plan?" asked Rogue.

"Same as before," I told her. "Get our friends back. Only now there are more of them to rescue, less of us to do it, and Rat has been thrown into the equation."

"Can't you control his mind?" Shapeshifter suggested. "Like – like Mindstorm did with you?"

"I don't know. I'm probably capable of it. I've never done it before."

"Now would be a good time to start."

"I've never learned how. And besides, I think I've got a better idea."

"Let's hear it."

I took a deep breath, "All right. Question: has Rat ever seen you change into liquid?"

"No, I don't think so."

"OK. That's how you're going to get in there. Chances are he'll still be able to smell you, but won't be able to find you. All he'll find is an innocent-looking puddle on the floor, and he won't know it's you."

"Right…what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find somewhere I can hide, and guide you through the building. I'll use my X-ray vision to look through the walls, and we'll communicate via my telepathy. Yes, I know I've got the safe, easy job, but that's the way it has to be. If I set foot in that building, he'll smell me at once."

Shapeshifter opened his mouth to make a smart remark to that, but Rogue spoke first, "What do you want me to do?"

"My plan was for you to borrow Shapeshifter's powers and go with him," I said. "I know you try not to use your power if you can avoid it – would that work?"

Rogue looked uncomfortable, "I can't really control my power the way I'd like. It's dangerous to the person I'm absorbing from. And it kind of messes with my mind as well; it leaves a – well, an imprint of the person in my brain, and sometimes it's hard for me to keep control."

"I see. In that case, I can't order you to use your power. You'll have to decide for yourself."

"I'll do it," she said firmly. "If it's going to help Bobby – I mean Iceman – I'll do anything."

"All right. Shapeshifter, are you happy with this?"

"I suppose so. Does it hurt?"

Rogue said, "As long as I don't touch you for too long, it shouldn't. OK, hold still. Here goes."

She tugged off one of her gloves, and touched her hand gently to Shapeshifter's face. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Shapeshifter gasped, and his body began to shake. As I watched, the texture of his face began to change, and his shaking became more violent. His mouth gaped open, and I could sense he was in pain. His face had changed even more drastically now; strange, cracked lines had begun to spread from the point where Rogue was touching him. He closed his eyes, screwing them up against the pain.

"Rogue," I warned. "It's killing him!"

"I know…" she said. "One second more…"

She removed her hand, and Shapeshifter gasped, losing his balance and falling forwards. I caught him, and helped him to stand upright. His face returned to normal, and the pain subsided.

"You OK?" I asked.

"Yeah, I'll live. Just the shock, you know?"

"Rogue, did it work?"

She nodded, "I've borrowed his powers. I don't know how long they'll remain, so we'd better get started."

"All right. I'll stay here with the jet and guard it. We can't fly it without Iceman or Storm. I'll send you telepathic messages to guide you. Rogue, if you want to say anything to me, just think it in your own mind, and I'll be able to read it. If you want to say anything to Shapeshifter, just do the same thing, and I'll forward it to him."

"OK," she said.

"Good luck," I replied.

Shapeshifter flashed me the cocky, arrogant grin he was well-known for, and changed. For a split second the shape of his body existed in watery form, then it splashed down on to the ground and he formed a puddle. Rogue watched apprehensively, uncertain about using this unfamiliar power, then she did the same. Although they were both still there, in liquid form, I felt strangely alone.

Can you both hear me? I sent.

Loud and clear, Shapeshifter responded.

Yeah. This is weird, said Rogue.

You get used to it, he told her, OK, Oculus, which way?

Straight ahead. I'll tell you when to change course.

See you later.

I walked backwards and crouched in the shadows underneath the jet's wing. I knew I had no chance of hiding if Rat happened to smell me, but hopefully I was far enough away that he wouldn't be able to. He must have known that there were more of us here somewhere, but with any luck he was searching somewhere else. I focused my eyes on the two liquid forms moving down the path away from me, and watched their progress. They moved in a straight line towards the building, flowing cleanly through shrubs and around rocks and trees that would have provided an obstacle had they been in solid form.

The entrance is dead ahead, I told them, but the guards will see you. I'm trying to find another entrance you can use; a ventilation duct or something. Hey, there's one. A grille in the wall, a bit to the left of the door. Do you see it?

No, said Rogue.

I see it, Shapeshifter answered, this way.

The two of them flowed silently across the ground, virtually invisible in the dim light, and through the grille. I pushed my eyes beyond the wall to see what was inside the base. At the same time I pushed out my telepathic senses, trying to find out where our friends were. I could sense one mutant, outside the east entrance – I assumed it was Rat. My senses stretched out further, until I could feel the presence of three more mutants. Two of them I couldn't identify – too far away – but the last was Gaia. I knew her mental profile well enough to be able to tell.

They're quite far away from you, I said, still unconscious, I think. Go down the corridor ahead until I tell you to turn off.

They moved off along the corridor. I forced my senses out further, trying to find Wolverine and Storm. Straining with the effort, I pushed until I could sense the interior of the entire facility. There! That had to be them! On the lowest underground floor, two mutants. I couldn't read their minds; obviously they weren't conscious. They were probably being kept sedated to prevent them from escaping; I didn't imagine this facility would have held the pair of them for very long.

Turn right, I said, then take a left, and keep going till you reach the elevator. I'll get back to you then.

OK.

I still wasn't sure how we were going to do this. If Shapeshifter and Rogue found our friends – how were they going to get them out? If they could be awoken, then their combined powers should make an escape fairly easy. If they couldn't…it would be extremely difficult, and I wasn't sure what our plan would be. I decided to worry about that when they had actually made contact with them.

Take the elevator to the 2nd underground level. That's where Gaia and the others are. I've also found Wolverine and Storm; they're on the 3rd underground level.

I'll need to change back to solid to operate the lift, came Shapeshifter's voice, anybody coming?

No. Do it quickly!

He changed back into his usual shape, hit the lift button, then transformed into a liquid once more. The elevator descended to the 2nd below-ground floor, and they flowed out through the door. I was about to give them further directions, when –

Pain.

One of my friends was suffering pain, pain so intense that I could almost feel it myself, along the telepathic link. I stretched out further with my mind, trying to find out where it had come from.

Hang on, you two, something's up, I said, as my senses homed in on the one who was suffering.

No. No!!

It was Chloe. It was Chloe who was in pain. I could almost hear her voice in my mind, screaming for mercy, as more agony was heaped upon her. She was screaming for mercy, screaming for rescue, screaming for me.

I severed the telepathic link between myself, Shapeshifter and Rogue. Getting to my feet, I began running towards the facility. I had to get to Chloe. She was my whole world, my everything. Nothing else mattered. I wasn't thinking straight; I wasn't thinking at all; I was being driven by an age-old animal instinct; the oldest of all; the instinct to protect the one I loved.

I knew Rogue and Shapeshifter were in there, and I was supposed to be helping them; I knew Iceman and Shock, and Storm and Wolverine were in there too, and they all needed my help, but those thoughts melted away as I heard Chloe's scream in my head once more. They were people I'd known in another time, another place, people who were no longer part of my world. My world was Chloe, and without her my life was meaningless, endless pain and suffering. I hurried towards the building to rescue the girl who was my life, my entire being.

I didn't even notice the guards as they stepped out of the trees in front of me. The first one hit me in the back of the knees with his weapon, knocking me on to the ground. The second pinned his knee in my shoulder blades, and the third brought his weapon down on the back of my head. As I fell into the void of unconsciousness, I heard Chloe screaming again.

Chloe………