Author's Note: I own nothing here except a computer and a copy of Microsoft word.
In regards to possible romances, a certain Cajun keeps giving a certain southern girl the flirtatious eye, but he has to compete with an Iceman and a very protective (and clawed) Wolverine. So, who knows when that's gonna get sorted out.
Plus a certain Nightcrawler keeps flashing in and out, but hasn't really settled into the plot yet (he said he doesn't like to hang around one story for too long, something about crazy fan girls following him, but don't ask me I'm just the author here and have no control over these characters, though if you DO ask me I think he likes the attention, being a former circus star and all).
:-)
Chapter Twenty-Three:
Storm, Scott and Logan stood before a large monitor, watching the salvaged pieces of the lost video play again and again. There had only been a few minutes of actual, discernible footage that had survived the twenty or more years it had lie abandoned, and each clip only lasted a few seconds. Yet, those brief glimpses of the past left the three X-Men in a mix of awe and bewilderment.
"What the hell are we looking at?" Logan said, as the video flashed by in a confusing montage.
Storm shook her head, staring wide-eyed at the screen, "I wish I knew…"
As the grouping of clips began again, the image of a large white room reappeared before them. An older, slightly balding man was standing with his hands behind his back, speaking to the camera. The sounds were difficult to discern, but Logan was able to understand a few of the words.
"Ok, we're back to this guy again…" he grumbled and frowned as he listened.
"Can you make out anything else he's saying?" Scott asked.
Logan shook his head, "No…just what I heard before. He's talking about the Lot experiments, then some crap about amino acids…then its all just dead air..."
The scene flashed out and another image appeared. This time it was of the same white room, but it was lined with beds, each containing a young man or woman in their late teens and early twenties. By their hair and clothes, they had obviously been filmed at least forty years earlier, but the exact date on the bottom of the screen was illegible. Among them was the same balding man, talking to them with a pleasant smile as nurses and medical staff prepared hypodermic needles.
As the footage again turned hazy, the video clips with any kind of clarity began to flash by quickly...and became much more disturbing. The young men and woman in the hospital beds were in varying stages of chaos; some convulsing and shaking, some screaming, while other simply looked comatose or dead.
Storm looked away as the footage played, not wanting to view the horrible images again. Scott stared at the screen with a stony, grim frown and Logan was glaring angrily, a rage building as he stood witness to the suffering of so many people. People who were barely old enough to vote...many probably the same age as Rogue...
Finally, the last clip appeared again, and all three watched in quiet awe. The footage had obviously been taped by a higher quality camera than the previous film, but still looked very old. Looking out over a large, mostly empty room, the video showed a young girl, no more than eight or nine, standing with her hand clenched and her back to the camera. She was looking at a ten-foot cinderblock wall lined with wires. Her light blonde hair hung past her shoulders, and she was wearing a simple dress and small black shoes. She could have been heading to school or to the playground, but it was obvious that she had not seen the sun in a long time.
The little girl had not moved and did not seem to react at all as the cinderblock wall began to smoke. Flames grew, sprouting from each brick, and quickly consumed the wall until it collapsed into a fiery pile at her feet. The girl tilted her head slightly, and the camera followed her gaze to a tub filled with ice, which also burst into flames until the room was filled with steam.
Before the video ended, the girl spun and looked up at the camera. She was shouting something inaudible, but it was obvious from the look on her face that she was both angry and exhausted. There was such a great sadness about her that each X-Man wondered what torture had caused her eyes to look so old when she was still so young.
Storm stopped the footage before it could begin again, and Scott sighed heavily, sounding frustrated.
Poor kid, Logan thought, feeling a little pity amidst his fury.
"So," he said, "I ask again, what the hell are we looking at?"
"It must be the first experiments," Storm said softly, "I wonder if they were human or mutants...they never really tell you."
"Well, that kid was a mutant," Logan said, "Do you think that kid's the one the Professor and Magneto met?"
"Must be..." Scott replied, "From what the video shows, she's a pyrokinetic, just like the woman they met. That's an extremely rare gift..."
"Isn't that what Pyro is?" Logan asked, and Scott and Storm exchanged sad looks at the mention of their former student.
Scott shook his head, "No, John was different. He couldn't start fires, he could just control it. Fire manipulators are common among mutants, but there's never really been a documented 'firestarter' before."
Logan pointed to the screen, "There's your document, bub. I'd say some kid blowing up a concrete wall is pretty strong evidence..."
"It's not definite that there was no other source of fire in the room, though," Storm added thoughtfully, "We can't be sure she caused the fire herself."
"It's a shame we can't find her and ask her," Scott said, "And if the Professor was never able to find her again, she may be dead. What we should be really focusing on is finding out who may be trying to start these experiments again."
"I think you're right," Logan said and Scott nodded, surprised by the other man's support. Ever since Alkalai Lake, a strange truce had formed between them. Neither man could resist throwing the occasional insult, but when working as X-Men, there was no sarcasm or bitterness, which Storm suspected was primarily because of their continuing respect for Jean Grey.
"The papers you found, Logan, also talked about other test subjects," Storm said, "All children, but each with different abilities. The latest entry listed was for 'Lot 23,' in which six subjects survived. One says 'vocal sonic force,' which sounds a lot like Tracy. Another says telekinesis, another mental domination...the list goes on like that. Apparently the drug activated each mutant gene in a different way, just like the natural induction of mutation."
"So, it worked," Logan said, "And make each kid a different kind of weapon...making mutants...like Stryker..."
"But Stryker wasn't making mutants," Storm stressed, "He simply used your mutation to change you. His goal was destroying mutants...not making more."
Scott frowned, "Maybe we should do a search on modern chemical and drug companies. See if any of them have been expanding lately, maybe have Bobby hack into some of their fiscal information and see if any funds have been transferred to strange locations."
"So, Iceman's a hacker now?" Logan said with an amused grin, "What are you guys teachin' these kids?"
Storm smiled, "Modern technology survival skills. The more they know about how you can break into someone's computer, the more they'll know about the kind of electronic blockades we have up here."
Logan chuckled, "Maybe I'll have him buy my cigars on E-Bay. Rusty's place is getting a little crowded with the some new faces."
"I guess you met Gambit," Storm said, looking amused but annoyed at the same time. She guessed Remy had been out drinking again when she saw him acting like a walking hangover this morning.
"Is that the Cajun's name?" Logan asked, and when Storm nodded, he shook his head, "When did you guys start letting the guys like him in?"
"I think it was right after you joined up," Scott said quickly before heading out of the lab, garnering a glaring smirk from Logan.
Jean would have laughed at that, Storm thought sadly as Scott, then Logan left the room, leaving her alone with her thoughts of the past.