The Blackbird landed on the airfield just outside of the city, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to themselves, the mutants therein decided to make the rest of the way into the city on foot.
Logan identified the building easily enough. Despite being labeled as a big-time corporation, he'd been here often enough to recognize a SHIELD installation when he saw one. The guards, of course, tried to detain them, but Logan shouldered them aside, saying in no uncertain terms he wanted to see Fury, now.
The mutants were ushered in by the guards, two on each side, though they neglected to search for weapons, as they were led into the interrogation room.
Fury was waiting for them.
"Well, Wolverine... I was wondering when you were going to drop by," stated his former commanding officer with an arrogant smirk.
"Cut the chatter, Patch, we haven't got time... we need info, now."
"So do we," replied Fury. "In less than forty-eight hours over half a dozen American citizens have been abducted from their homes, all mutants. And all without their powers. We can't figure out who's behind this, we were hoping you would have a better idea."
"Well I hate to disappoint you, but we don't," replied Logan gruffly, crossing his arms. "We haven't found out the 'cause of... arrrgh.."
Logan groaned in pain, dropping down to one knee as a particularly bad wave of agony washed over his body, barely able to stand. Dimly, he was aware of those around him showing concern, coming to his aid, but he couldn't focus, he couldn't see anything but blurs, couldn't hear anything but muffled voices and the occasional shout as someone, likely Fury, barked out orders.
Finally he shook his head as the pain faded to more manageable levels, and he found focus again on the face in front of him... blonde hair... brown eyes... Deborah.
Growling, Logan shook off her hands, as she'd been examining him, and stood on his feet, giving a look to the others that spoke volumes. I'm fine, stop worrying about me, it said. And don't you touch me, you child torturing bitch.
"What just happened?" asked Fury.
"Best guess... without his mutant healing factor, his body is rejecting the adamantium laced along his bones," replied Deborah, shrinking back from Logan fearfully. "Its killing him."
Logan growled.
"Hydra cannot be responsible for this, Agent Fury," she continued. "They would not risk their weapon being destroyed. X23 will be dying the same as Wolverine here is."
"We have to locate our fellows and rescue them," stated Eric, moving forward between Logan and Fury.
"Give me a good reason why we should help you in the first place. You're a wanted mutant terrorist 'Magneto'," replied Fury with a smirk, removing his toothpick and snapping it between his fingers, tossing the two halves into a nearby trashcan. "What's to stop me, right now, from locking you inside of a plastic prison for the rest of your life?"
"If you lock us up, the captives will die. Are you willing to sacrifice dozens of innocent American citizens? Children, no less?" Eric countered. He smirked when Fury made no reply. "I thought not."
"We will handle the rescue effort. We simply need to know where it is."
"Ain't gonna happen," replied Fury, turning to one of the guards. A red-headed female with a black snipers cap pulled low across her forehead. "Make sure no one leaves the room until I say. I have to go confer with my superiors," he stated, leaving the room, with Deborah following close behind.
"Well, you all seem to be in something of a jam... how ironic..." stated the redhead, as she lifted up her head to gaze at the room with very cold blue eyes. "Maybe I can help you."
"Oh? What could you possibly offer us, woman?" asked Eric angrily, turning to face her. She smirked, placing her sidearm aside, then swung out her leg in a circle and slammed her foot square into Eric's jaw, sending him reeling.
"I've been waiting a loooong time to do that," she said with a smirk, removing her black cap and shaking out her flaming red hair, gazing about the room. Logan and Remy were the first to identify her. And it certainly wasn't because of her skin tone. It was her eyes, cold and glinting with anger. It was the way she moved, fluidly, like a cat.
"Mystique?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside Trask and Wraith's fortress, the mutant captives were naturally growing restless in their tiny cages. They'd all seen Sabertooth dragged off, and all were privately thinking: who was next?
Rogue was the most annoyed, cursing her ill fortune as she sunk to her knees in the glass chamber and wrapping her arms around her legs as she quietly cried, thinking again how unfair life was. She'd been able to touch for a whole day, and apart from one kiss from an arrogant little speedster, nothing good had happened... and now she was a prisoner of some psycho mutant haters, who were going to do god knew what to all of them.
Kurt, in the cell beside her, was praying.
Suddenly the side doors slid open, and all of the captured mutants their attention to the newly arrived quartet of guards, dragging along a single prisoner among them.
Amanda Sefton.
Kurt was on his feet immediately, and Charles was ultimately grateful his curses couldn't be heard by the younger students as he flung himself against the glass, trying to break it. Ultimately, his efforts were in vain as he panted for breath, watching as Amanda was pushed into a chamber alongside theirs and sealed in as they were.
"What the hell is your problem, freak?" asked one of the guards, switching on Kurt's communicator once the boy had calmed down a little.
"Why is she in here? Your boss said you were only after mutants, she's done nothing wrong!" he shouted at the glass. To his surprise, the guards started to laugh among themselves.
"He doesn't know!"
"Should we tell him?"
"Ah what the hell... it'll be worth the look on his face..."
The original guard tapped Kurt's comm. link off, then smiled up at him wickedly, and Kurt shivered inwardly, glancing at Amanda. "Your girlfriend's a latent mutant, freak. Not one with powers, no... but just as bad as the rest of you. Even if she gave you up and settle for a normal human, like she should've, her kids would be freaks. So she's staying here with you all. Enjoy your time together."
In the respective cages, Amanda and Kurt paled, glancing at each other in surprise.
The guards left, leaving the mutants to themselves once again, alone in a room where they could see one another, but communication was impossible. The final to leave, the first, banged his fist against Kurt's cage one more time as he turned to leave.
"Quit prayin', freak. God don't love your kind."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the city of Bayville, people were huddled in their homes, afraid to go outside. All day there'd been strange rumors circulating. Mutants able to blend in among them, to look and seem normal. Then strange army men and machines capturing them. No, some said, working for them. The mutants were gathering an army to crush the normal people. That's why nobody has seen the Brotherhood in so long, they'd vacated their house and moved in with the Institute kids. The mutants were all gathering together to wipe them all out.
Thus, no one was paying attention when a manhole popped up out of the ground in a back alley and Callisto thrust her head up, glancing around before grabbing the sides and hauling her lithe, athletic body out of the sewers and into the reddish-purple sky of late sunset.
"Lucid?" she whispered.
"I'm here," he replied, coming out from behind a dumpster, giving her the safe signal. She relaxed marginally, as Evan climbed up alongside her. Calliban, Cybelle, Scaleface and Façade, the Morlock fighting squad, slipped out into the alley, all crouched down low so they wouldn't be noticed. Though even if they had been, it was doubtful any would have thought much of them. Just a gang of thugs, best avoided.
"Any sign of Stall?" asked Evan.
"The machines took her that way, past the docks," replied Façade. "The soldiers loaded her onto a small boat, we think it headed upstream..."
"We have to find out more... Callisto?" asked Evan, turning to the woman who was their leader. She nodded.
The Morlocks set off towards the docks, passing by a rather damaged building, little more than rubble. As they did, Evan skidded to a stop, raising his skateboard as he heard something. A faint cry for help. He made his way over the larger pieces of stone that had once been walls, searching.
"Help me..."
"Callisto! Toss me your staff, someone's trapped under these rocks!" shouted Evan, before he realized what he was doing and quickly shut up, forgetting that the Morlocks preferred to travel, whenever possible, in stealth. Grimacing, Callisto tossed him her iron weapon, and he used it as a lever to maneuver one of the stones out of the way so he could better see who was trapped underneath.
As he did get a glimpse, Evan gave a faint cry and fell backwards in shock.
It was the Juggernaut.
"Juggernaut?!" he shouted, scrambling to get away. The giant must've been waiting in hiding, preparing to crush the rocks and Evan's head for...
... wait...
... mutants had lost their powers. Hadn't the Prof once told the students that his brother was a mutant too, kinda? Evan made his way back, as the brown-haired giant opened his eyes and glanced up at Evan. He seemed positively horrible, like he'd been trapped like that for hours, and all of his reddish armor was gone. Especially his helmet. It couldn't be a trap. Juggernaut never let that helmet leave his head willingly.
"Oh great, you..." he grumbled.
"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Evan. "We may not be best of friends, Juggernaut, but you're still a mutant and you need our help..."
"You couldn't help me if you tried, kid... just leave me to die," replied Cain angrily.
Evan refused to. True, the Juggernaut was the X-Men's enemy, but he had no personal grudge against Evan or the Morlocks. And Evan was still a good guy at heart.
Organizing the other Morlocks, Evan used Callisto's iron staff and another discarded rock to form another lever, pushing the big stone block that held Cain's legs up with the aid of Calliban and Callisto. Lucid and Cybelle dragged Cain out, checking him for injuries.
"He should be fine now... just scrapes and bruises mostly," said Lucid.
Satisfied, the Morlocks turned to leave, but a large hand clamped down on Evan's shoulder. The other Morlocks tensed for a fight, as Evan turned back to face Cain, barely able to stand.
"Why... why did you help me, kid?" he asked, angrily.
"It was the right thing to do," replied Evan, shaking off the bigger man's hand as he and the other Morlocks headed towards the docks, to continue their search for the missing Stall. They left Cain their, dumbfounded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Authors Notes:
My oh my. SHIELD doesn't seem eager to help, you think? Pity. Looks like its up to the mutants after all. Anyone surprised by Mystique's appearance? Her shapeshifting isn't the only reason she's so damn good at being a spy. Amanda Sefton is, in my story, not a mutant per se, but she has the genetic potential. That is what is meant by the earlier term used 'latent.' Kurt's real father was such a person, since his dormant x-gene and Mystique's active one created such a, well... unusual... child. And of course Cain was eventually rescued, you all didn't think I was going to kill him, do ya? He and the Morlocks still have roles to play in my twisted chess game. Now I must get back to my pawns.
Oh and for the record, yesterday, September 16th... was my birthday. I just turned twenty-one.
Todd Fan: Thirty-six by a freak technicality maybe of being trapped in an inter-dimensional hell (what else would you call a place that stops just short of the girls locker room?) There will be more for you, Todd fan. And for your little inventor boy.
Tazmanian Devil: Glad you like the story. Wow, you like LotR and XME too? You should read my other stories.
Rain: Awwww, does Colonel Wraith scare you? Muwahahahahahaha! Its about to get scarier... in chapter XIX I might have to bump the rating up a little, even. Muwahahahahaha!!
Emerald Lightning Goddess: Mmmm, cookies. Hope you're enjoying the rapid updates, they come to an end this weekend when I'm taking a short vacation
Faith Darkholme: Mmmm... maybe. Perhaps as a not-so-subtle hint I'll say that my favorite movie of all-time is Terminator. ^_^
Illyana Rasputin: Wraith and Trask won't get along, but their goal isn't to enhance or control the mutants, except for Wraith's old team. Sabertooth, Wolverine, and the others. The rest, well, you'll see what's been planned for them. As for my secret well, this is it: I write several chapters at once, then post them one by one after a short period of time. That was if I suffer writer's block I still have a few more days I can update, giving me time to think up the rest.
Unknown Source: I don't recall anywhere that says Wolverine has enhanced strength, just that he's in good shape for a man his physical age because of regular training. As for why he and X23 aren't dead... it would ruin the story! So there! Adamantium isn't as poisonous as something like iron or lead for the purposes of my story. Besides, the two of them are still dying, just slowly darn it.
Gyuumajo: Of course more to come. A few more rapid updates, then I have a vacation break I need to take.
Rogue14: I always wondered what those two would do if they ever met, with their dysfunctional childhoods and all.
Elisabeth Braddock-Grey: I can't kill the villains! If I do, how can they come back again and again to be thwarted by our lovable (and not-so-lovable) heroes?
Mayra: Its okay. X23 is a partial clone of Wolverine, raised and trained by Hydra to be the ultimate weapon. For a full bio check out the Beyond Evolution website. Think of her as Wolverine crossed with Wanda. And yes, Jason Wyngarde is Mastermind... but he's not -that- short. He's about Magneto's height, I think.
Jenny08: Glad you like it. Of course more to come...
CrypticIdentity: I don't know, I got that info on Arcade from a website. Its interesting to see him as a geeky teen thought. Glad I'm keeping this IC for the Evo mutants though, I am trying my best. I love it when my work is appreciated