FAKE IDENTIFICATION
"Logan, I don't think we can get in here." Rogue stated reasonably.
With a diagonal swipe of one extended claw, Wolverine cleanly sliced the lock off the back door in a faded brick building. Teeth-jarring bass could be dimly heard from the outside of the trendy nightclub in Rochester, New York. It was called "The Bar", which made finding it easy enough. Although sneaking in, particularly when you had two teenage tag-alongs would be slightly more difficult.
"You aren't here to drink, kid. You're here to work."
Nightcrawler had been made to sit calmly and enviously in the front seat of the car. He'd also been instructed that should Wolverine and company need a clean getaway, he would not be the one driving. Nightcrawler had insisted that he could adapt well enough to driving on the 'wrong' side of the road, but Wolverine glowered at him and that was the end of the discussion.
"The guy I was talking to said they had an awesome deejay here."
Wolverine was growling under his breath. "Drake, you take one look at that dancefloor and your head will be so far up your ass you'll be able to see what you had for breakfast."
"Yes sir." Bobby muttered quietly.
"And don't call me 'sir'". Wolverine snapped.
"Yes…okay."
Wolverine opened the rusty steel door slowly and peered around it before motioning for the two teenagers to go inside. He closed the door to the outside, leaving the three in total darkness in a dusty and overused storage room. Rogue stifled a cough while Bobby fumbled around in the darkness, nearly knocking over an empty canister.
"Here's the deal. No fooling around and be on your guard. We're here to find mutants and what their business is. No funny stuff and no showing off. Got it?"
The two nodded, even though they weren't sure if he could actually see their heads bobbing up and down.
"Good." Apparently he could. "Lets go."
Despite the fact that they were on a fact-seeking mission to find mutants, Rogue couldn't help but feel a tad bit excited. This was her first bar. And she didn't even need fake id to get in either. She stood at the edges of the dancefloor watching as bodies swayed and bounced in rhythm to the thumping beat that seemed to come from every corner of the bar. She gawked at the breezy tops the women wore, their unbelievably short skirts and high strappy heels. She wondered absently if there was a dress code here; one that stipulated all women had to dress the same. She saw a couple in the corner, oblivious to all eyes watching, grinding and groping each other. The guy had one hand on her hip, the other was travelling up her bare arm to caress her cheek as he drew her face in to envelop her mouth in a lustful kiss.
Bobby was shouting something at her. She hesitantly took her eyes off the couple and faced her boyfriend who was yelling.
"What?"
"I said: Look!" He pointed to the far corner of the dancefloor where an odd looking couple danced distractedly with each other. The boy was a short and skinny Korean, and an unbelievably good dancer to boot. The woman seemed to have less ability, but what was striking about her was her white hair streaked with neon green. She wore long black pants and high-heeled boots and a white tank-top with a swirly design on it that made Rogue dizzy just looking at it.
Rogue shrugged. "What about 'em?" She hollered in Bobby's ear.
"Well they look kind of odd, don't you think?"
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Bobby, just 'cause she's wearing pants-"
"Did you not see her hair?"
Rogue threw her hands in the air. "So she did a very complicated dye job, that doesn't make her a mutant!"
Bobby had stopped arguing with her but was looking at the couple with a blank stare.
"What?" Rogue prompted.
Bobby replied very lowly, barely moving his lips. "They're looking right at us."
Rogue only had an instant to see that the boy and woman were indeed glaring at them, before a strong hand clamped on her shoulder painfully. Bobby and Rogue both looked up to see a very large and fierce bouncer behind them. "Do you two have a stamp?"
"A stamp?" Bobby repeated.
He was sizing both of them up, his already stern frown deepening. "You two don't look old enough to be in here."
Both their mouths dropped as they stammered for a good lie.
At least Xavier said nothing about drinking while on the job. Logan turned away from the bar while taking a long gulp on his bottle of beer. He leaned nonchalantly while scanning the crowd. A young man walked by him wearing black leather pants and a see-through black mesh top. Logan raised a questioning eyebrow at the ensemble. The man caught his eyebrow and gave Logan's scruffy jeans and tight white shirt a once-over. After receiving his drink, the man stopped in front of Logan.
"Yeah right, old man."
Logan was taken aback. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He shook his head and went back to downing his beer. He didn't understand kids these days.
His nostril twitched with a new scent. He turned his head in the direction of it, scanning the crowd to find it. It was familiar. He placed his empty bottle on the bar and began walking towards the faint smell, mentally placing the smell with a similar one he smelt at the crash-site a few days before.
Then he spotted it. A table with two oversized men at it. The smaller of the two had long black hair, a sculpted goatee and one gold earring. He sort of looked like a pirate. The other was huge, at least two feet taller than Logan. His enormous legs didn't even fit under the table; they were outstretched beside the table. For an intimidating sight, he had a ridiculous Beatles-like haircut.
But they were both facing Logan with smoldering glares. Instant realization sunk in and Logan whirled around to search for the kids.
The bouncer had them both by the neck collars, hauling them unwillingly from their spot where they were trying to remain cemented to. They began to draw onlookers, twenty-something club-hoppers that pointed and laughed at two underage kids being kicked out. Bobby was tempted to ice his feet to the floor, or better yet ice the entire dancefloor so that everyone who was laughing at them would fall on their asses, but knew that that would officially end his career as a spy for the X-Men.
"Let them go."
Bobby and Rogue stared in shock at the woman with white and green hair who was standing in front of them and glaring up at the bouncer.
"I'm sorry?" The bouncer smirked down at the woman, which only made her scowl more menacingly.
"I said: Let them go. They belong to us." The boy beside her cracked his knuckles.
The bouncer began to chuckle deeply. "Look lady, I don't know who you think you are, but-"
"I'm Vertigo. And I'm going to be the last sight you see." She held her arm out in front of her and with a startled gasp the bouncer let the two teenagers go. He stumbled backwards, with his hands covering his face, ramming into the bar and knocking over several patrons as he went. He fell to the ground and flopped around like a dead fish as he struggled to regain his footing. He slumped to the ground on all fours as if staggeringly drunk.
Bobby and Rogue stared in disbelief for a moment before popping into action. Bobby threw an ice chunk into Vertigo's stomach, creating a surprised grunt from the woman as she fell backwards. Rogue roundhoused the small Korean and followed with quick punches that the boy could barely block. He scrambled blindly, knocking over a table where a couple sat. The girl shrieked before the couple dived for cover, leaving Rogue to stand confidently over the boy with fists ready.
"Ya ain't as tough as ya look, are ya?"
The Korean got to his knees, wiping blood away that trickled from a swelling cut in his lip. He sneered up at her. "That's what you think."
Logan should have known that the dark man's overcoat was not just a coincidence. The table that was once in front of them was now flying across the bar as the two stood. The man flung off the overcoat revealing one of the weirdest costumes Wolverine had ever seen. It had small pieces of glinting metal covering its entirety.
Wolverine gave a small snort. "What are you, The Walking Magnet?"
A slow and controlled smile formed on the man's face. "Scalphunter."
"Right." His claws extended from his knuckles as he glanced at the other man. "Nice harpoon." He commented.
The huge man with the bad haircut clutched the weapon casually in his right hand. "Thanks."
Wolverine flexed his claws. "Think nothing of it." He lunged as the harpoon soared through the air in a beeline for his body. While it flew, the weapon morphed into pure energy and with a sizzle of electricity, impaled the spot of the floor where Wolverine had once been.
Wolverine took a moment to digest what Scalphunter was doing. The small pieces of metal were detaching on their own accord, assembling themselves onto Scalphunter's arm until it became clear to Wolverine what exactly was being built: a very large gun.
With the large-barreled gun firmly attached to his arm; more of an extension than a foreign weapon, Scalphunter turned and pushed a small button on the side of the gun. Wolverine heard a click and followed by a high-pitched whining that he guessed was the sound of the gun warming up. A second later he was diving off the railing and down a set of stairs as the concussion from the impact sent him flying.
The backdoor burst open and streams of panicked people ran out, screaming as they left. Nightcrawler sat up in the driver's side and looked for any signs of his companions. Realizing that they were probably the cause of the panic in the first place, Nightcrawler wrestled with his feelings of duty and loyalty. Logan said he wasn't to leave the vehicle. But if they were in trouble…
He kicked the passenger door open and bounded through, ignoring the wailing of terrified women as a blue demon jumped over their heads and into the club.
Bobby was going to throw up. The room was spinning uncontrollably until the point it was maddening. He was crouched on all floors, grimacing as he tried to fight wave after wave of nausea. It was that woman, Vertigo. He sent tendrils of ice onto the floor until they latched onto her feet, freezing her to the floor. She took a glance and laughed.
"You'll have to try better than that, honey."
Bobby took her words to heart. He summoned a square block of ice and sent it hurtling towards her head. She gasped before it hit her temple with a resounding thud, effectively knocking her out.
Bobby took a moment to recover before rising to his feet. He reached for the bar to help steady himself and looked for Rogue.
Rogue felt weak; she was lightheaded and was swaying on her feet.
"Not so fun, is it?" The scrawny guy was smiling at her. It infuriated her but she felt helpless. Every movement seemed to take all her energy, energy that she just didn't possess right now.
He was stalking towards her, seeming very sure of himself right now. Rogue turned away from him and clutched a tabletop. She held her head with one had and then it came to her.
As she turned back to him, she took off the long black glove on her right arm. "I don't know what ya are boy. But ah think yer a mutant."
The boy laughed. "What gave it away?"
Rogue reached for his arm and caught it in a vise-grip. "This."
The boy's eyes popped noticeably. His mouth opened as though struggling for a scream or just a breath. Although she knew her power was working, she suddenly felt worse. The two fell to the ground together, with Rogue still clutching his arm. He was audibly wheezing for air now, and she was close to tears.
She began to scream.
Bobby heard Rogue's wail. He staggered drunkenly towards her shriek, ignoring the high-pitched metallic squeal that came from his left.
Two powerful legs kicked him to the ground and knocked the wind out of him as something flew mere inches over his head and blew up the glass shelves behind the bar. Bobby carefully looked up into the smiling face of Nightcrawler.
"Thanks." He rasped.
"It was not a thing."
The high-pitched whining sounded again, but before Nightcrawler could haul Iceman to his feet, Scalphunter howled in pain. Wolverine had latched his claws into the man's right shoulder. The shot released did not hit its intended targets, instead it veered right, pounding into the wooden bar and sending splinters hurtling in every direction.
"Wolverine, look out!"
But Bobby's warning was a fraction too late. The giant man rose behind Wolverine like a looming monolith and before the feral human could unlatch himself from Scalphunter, Harpoon threw his namesake weapon at Logan's back.
Wolverine let out a pained groan as his body's muscles went into violent and painful spasms. He fell to the ground twitching and did not rise.
Before Harpoon could gloat or inflict further damage, a whiff of black cloud formed in front of his face, a millisecond before two clawed feet smashed his nose in. Scalphunter whirled around to find his teammate holding a broken nose, but no assailant. Nightcrawler appeared behind him, double kicking him in the back of the head before disappearing again. Scalphunter pivoted and fired blindly, hitting the wall and nothing more. Nightcrawler teleported once again, this time at Scalphunter's feet to sweep the legs out from under the large man.
Bobby used Nightcrawler's distraction to make his way over to Rogue. She had stopped screaming and Bobby knew that was not a good thing. He found Rogue curled in on herself, lying unconscious beside the small Korean who was also unmoving. Bobby shook her shoulder gently while calling her name to rouse her.
He looked up to see Nightcrawler literally kicking the crap out of Scalphunter, and Wolverine getting to his feet with a grouchy snarl on his face.
"Wolverine!"
Wolverine looked up to find his name being called by Bobby.
"We have to get Rogue out of here!"
Wolverine nodded and retracted his claws. But he took a moment to swing a vicious adamantium punch at Harpoon, who was still clutching his face. The giant man fell to the floor and did not get back up.
As cautiously as he could, Bobby lifted Rogue into his arms and moved to rejoin his comrades. A peculiar sounding crack caught his attention. He turned his head to the right and found himself faced with one of the scariest men he'd ever encountered.
He was tall and muscular, with head to toe blue metallic armour that seemed to be molded to his skin. His face was bone-white and his hair was black. In the middle of his forehead was a red diamond shape; whether it was a tattoo or naturally there, Bobby could not guess. But his eyes would haunt Bobby, for they were without pupils and completely red.
As a child, Bobby had a fear that the bogeyman was hiding in his closet. He could never picture what his fictional bogeyman had looked like, but now as the hair stood up on the back of his neck, he knew this must be it.
"I believe you have something that belongs to me." His voice was deep and threatening, yet somehow refined. It sounded intelligent.
Bobby fought for words, but could only find the effort to take a faltering step away from the man.
The man raised his head slightly, and if he had pupils Bobby would have known that he was looking over his shoulder. He smiled; and it hit Bobby that his lips were blue.
"Why Scrambler. How nice of you to reawaken."
After a split-second of confusion, Bobby realized that the man was talking to the Korean kid that he had so foolishly forgotten.
Something that was not physical hit Bobby. He dropped Rogue and clutched his head with both hands as he screamed.
Rogue's body did not hit the floor; her limp body levitated inches off the floor and floated into the man's awaiting arms. Before the man could disappear again, he took a moment to study the effects that Scrambler was having on the blonde-haired boy.
Iceman was writhing on the floor, grinding his teeth as he struggled to regain some sort of control over his body. He could feel the ice forming, but not in front of him. It was forming over him. Panic made adrenaline pump through his veins as the thought of freezing or even suffocating to death under his own ice creation flooded his mind.
Sinister watched the boy encase himself with ice, aided by the mutant powers of Scrambler. One eyebrow was raised and a slight grin formed on his face. "Interesting."
"Bobby!" Wolverine was running towards the disturbing spectacle, and Sinister took the interruption as his sign to leave. With a thunderous clap, the large mutant disappeared. Several smaller claps could be heard, and with stunned silence the X-Men looked around them to find themselves utterly alone.
Bobby was covered head to toe in ice. It took the shape of his body and facial features, even his hair. Wolverine didn't know if he should touch him or not.
"Is he alive?" Nightcrawler asked.
Wolverine shook his head and shrugged unknowingly.
The ice crackled, then shattered around Bobby's body. The boy was taking large shuddering breaths and trembling.
"Drake, you okay?" Wolverine asked slowly.
"C-c-cold." He stammered.
Nightcrawler took off his coat and wrapped it around Iceman's shivering chest. The two X-Men helped him to his feet where they surveyed the damage with awe. Sirens could be heard in the distance, growing closer.
"R-Rogue?" Bobby asked.
The trio made their way to the door, heading for the only car remaining behind the building. Tires screeched as several cars came to a halt outside the front of the building, signaling the advancing cops.
Wolverine stuffed Bobby in the back and took over the steering wheel. "She's gone."