Four
Sitting around the big table in the war room the Acolytes scanned the Intel prepared for their first mission since Cypher had returned with Rogue. Nervously the young mutant observed her former enemies with curiosity. Both Remy and Asli seemed to barely glance at it but the Goth knew they had every detail committed to memory-they had known about this mission for weeks as it was, while Sabertooth and Pyro ignored the info patently. Thus blatantly separating the leaders from the followers.
Her glazed eyes stared at the digital device in her hand while Rogue tried to rationalize why she was going to be a part of a raid on a Government lab. Her time with the X-Men had deeply ingrained her sense of moral right and wrong-and blowing up a research centre didn't sit well with the southern Goth. Sure, it was patently obvious that said lab was a hub for nefarious experiments on Mutants-Magneto's Intel photos were too good to have been faked-there really were cages of her fellow mutants lined up to be poked and prodded. The thought sent chills down her spine and Rogue could only imagine the turmoil Asli felt.
Rogue didn't think the Professor would mind that she had helped liberate the unfortunate mutants. It had only been a year since her own incarceration at the hands of the US government-there was no way Rogue could leave others in that position. Especially now that she also had Asli's horrific memories tucked safely into the back of her mind.
Scowling down as the installation's blueprints scrolled by Rogue couldn't help widening her eyes-there was no way they could secure it with only six people-even if two of them were Magneto and Sabertooth-it would be a suicide mission. There would be no one left to cover the escape route while they helped the possibly injured mutants to freedom. "There ain't a way to do this with just us." She muttered aloud not caring if Magneto didn't like her input-it would be out of character for her to start kowtowing to him now.
"Very good my girl," Magneto smiled icily at the newest addition to his flock making Rogue feel like a chimp with an especially bright idea-the girl was reminded why she hated him so much, "We won't be doing this alone. I'm pleased to see that you have a mind for tactics Rogue. Now as for your new team-mates…"
A flick of the master of magnetism's wrist and the door slid open; Pietro was the first to enter followed closely by the other members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants-Avalanche, Toad, the Blob and Scarlet Witch. All were dressed in full battle gear and while they seemed less than enthusiastic about bowing to Magneto's whim Rogue could sense in them her own resignation. There was no way the Brotherhood wouldn't help on this kind of mission-Freddy had occupied the cell next to hers in Area 51.
Magneto stood and beckoned Sabertooth forward-from the corner of her eye Rogue could see Asli holding back a snicker as the hacker mouthed 'decoupage' for Rogue and Remy to see. The object of Asli's mirth frowned at his minions unaware that he was being mocked, "You have two hours before we leave use it wisely."
The older mutants swept from the room leaving the young people to stare at each other warily. Rogue could feel her mouth drying out and her heartbeat speeding up; it had been so long since she had worked with her former team instead of fighting against them. Even though the original Brotherhood sister had remained friendly with the boys outside of battle situations it had been a strained friendship at best and now a part of Rogue cheered that she could repair the rifts in those old friendships. She had missed them.
"Long time no see Roguey," in a flash Quicksilver was sitting on the table in front of the Gothic mutant offering her a smug grin, "When we heard you had signed on we knew we had to help. Just in case working with the X-Geeks had dulled your reflexes. I guess anyone can be an Acolyte now."
"No worries Mate. Rogue's reflexes are tops-Cypher's too-and they are a sight to behold!" Pyro jumped in obviously remembering the sparring session he had witnessed earlier and ignoring the glares being shot at him from both Rogue and Cypher.
The other young men present weren't nearly as oblivious and were careful to avoid either girl's eyes. Pyro was about to continue but Gambit's hand on his shoulder halted the words, "Mon ami it might be better if you didn't. It might be best to use de time we got to plan hein?"
"You have any
ideas?" Avalanche a.k.a Lance Alvers, the defacto
leader of the Brotherhood asked looking to Gambit to share leadership, "It
doesn't look like we could all just blast our way in. There's too much security for that. Out in
the open they'd eat us alive."
Gambit leaned over Rogue and brought the blueprints up on the big screen on the wall for all to see. The Goth tried not to flinch as he purposefully dragged his arm across her chest. Despite her efforts to alienate him the Cajun was always finding ways to touch her casually-Rogue hadn't decided if she liked it or not-yet. "Gambit thinks it be best to use small teams with specialized skills for each leg of de attack. One to get in, de next to free de captives and one to cover everyone else's backs."
"If we're going into three man teams a mix of defensive and offensive powers would be most effective. It gives more flexibility for manoeuvring and keeps things balanced." Cypher added sizing up the odds of success-she and Gambit had already discussed the attack-it was just a matter of getting the teens to follow them, "Gambit and I will be a part of the advance team…"
Avalanche frowned-he wasn't ready to trust the smooth Acolyte and he didn't know this Cypher at all-even though Pietro had vouched for her. Like he had ever believed anything Pietro said; "Why so you can be sure to stab us in the backs? I don't think so. Give me a good reason why the pair of you should lead this."
"Gambit's a thief-it would be simple for him to get in without tripping alarms." Cypher met the boy's dark eyes with her blankest face-she had to admit Avalanche was impressing her simply by standing up for himself, "If he did by some chance set them off I could fry the computer system that runs them allowing us an undetected entry into the facility. For that I need to make contact with an outlet-which would mean I'd have to be with Gambit. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No." the boy gave her his own blank gaze proving that he too could be empty-Mystique had taught Avalanche well-and he wasn't about to bow down to anyone, "I would put either Toad or Rogue with some 'borrowed' abilities up front with you two for the infiltration-with the high fence I would think Toad. Blob, Pietro and Scarlet Witch would be best for freeing the captured mutants and that leaves myself, Pyro and whoever is left as escape support-while Magneto and Sabertooth take out any other resistance we find."
Rogue smiled; it was just like Lance to just take charge of the situation and order everyone about-but what he Remy and Asli were talking about sounded like it could actually work.
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Shifting from foot to foot Kitty Pryde lifted her hand to knock on Pitor's door for the tenth time since she had decided to visit the Russian mutant in the middle of the night. She had turned her fist away at the last second the first nine times, but now she felt ready to face him. She was just happy that he wasn't sharing a room with Scott any longer-she would have hated to wake her team leader so late. The normally perky teen ran a hand through her hair and hoped the bags under her eyes weren't too noticeable; she hadn't spent much time sleeping in the last few days.
She had been on a mission since Pitor had opened up to her about his sister. It was a great honour that he had trusted her enough to share-and she wanted to help him. If only to see his slow smile again. To that end Kitty had been using every spare minute of her time hacking computer systems trying to find Illyana for him; now she had a breakthrough for him. She had found the little girl.
"Katya?" Pitor's deep voice penetrated her thoughts he was standing at the end of the hallway-it looked like he had been crying but he had a wide, impossibly bright smile on his face.
Rushing to her friend Kitty lifted a hand to his face; she had been so worried about him, "Pitor are you okay?"
He nodded and blazed a hundred watt smile in her direction-the only time she had seen him smile like that was when he had told her about kissing Asli…no, Cypher-the enemy, "I was coming to find you, the Professor has given me wonderful news. He has found Illyana and Wolverine has rescued her. The Blackbird touches down in five minutes."
If it had been anyone else Kitty would have said he was dancing in place-but Pitor was too reserved for such a visible show of emotion. One had to know him to see the cloud of euphoria that encircled his large body. Without giving her a chance to respond he grasped her hand and pulled her along the hallway with him, "Come Katya…Meet my sister."
Kitty couldn't help the jaw cracking smile that lifted her lips, Pitor's happiness was infectious-but a small part of her wondered just how had the Professor found Illyana? To the best of her knowledge she had been the only one to know about Pitor's sister…Cypher…Kitty wanted to smack herself it was so clear. Kitty wasn't useless with computers-she was pretty darn good if she had anything to say about it. But Cypher was the kind of hacker that made everyone else look amateur it would have been child's play for her to use Magneto's system against him. Kitty would have done it herself if she had the opportunity.
Frowning Kitty ruthlessly pushed all thoughts of the departed Hacker from her mind-anyone who would throw a find like Pitor away with both hands didn't deserve the effort of thought. A quick glance at the tall Russian showed that he hadn't caught her moment of seriousness amongst his joy; Kitty kept smiling as he dragged her towards the airplane hangar in the basement.
The familiar humming of the Blackbird's landing gear could be heard even through the metal doors and the duo was forced to wait patiently for the engines to die down. As soon as silence descended Kitty phased herself and Pitor through the doors to avoid the extra five seconds punching the key code would involve. Pitor practically ripped her arm from the socket as he rushed forward but Kitty didn't mind-it was for a good cause.
Pitor let go of her hand and began to trot over to the Blackbird's door just as it began opening. There were a few agonizing seconds while he had to wait but soon a small, thin blur was rushing forward and latching onto his considerable midsection. Even with the obvious difference in size it only took a glance to realize the two were related-the same high cheek bones framed the same fathomless blue eyes, topped by short black hair-both faces were tear streaked.
Kitty's eyes teared up as she watched the giant hold his tiny sister in his arms, crooning softly to the girl in their mother tongue. She could feel her heart swelling with happiness. It seemed like the greatest gift that he had asked her to witness this event in his life. "Why is it that the big ones are always so soft eh, Half-Pint?"
Kitty jumped, she had been watching Pitor so closely that she hadn't noticed Logan walk to her side. She glared at her instructor for having the nerve to mock such a heartfelt moment, "He's not 'soft' Logan…I think it's totally sweet…he really loves his sister. Pitor's like the greatest guy I know."
"Better be careful Kid," Logan put a cigar to his lips and turned away to leave the Hallmark scene to those who would appreciate it, "That's a whole lot of praise for you to heap on a guy in love with someone else."
Bile rose in Kitty's throat as she thought of Cypher for the second time that night-she could understand that Logan still felt something for the girl, they had some shared history. But there was no need for the tone of admiration in his voice while he mentioned Cypher. Surely the professor had told him about the defection, why didn't Wolverine sound as hurt as the rest of them? Shaking her head Kitty decided it wasn't worth arguing about; no need to ruin Pitor's happiness, "Maybe Logan but it's not like she's coming back. She's a traitor. Pitor needs to move on…"
"It's not that easy Half-Pint." Logan muttered as he walked away but Kitty wasn't listening.
No amount of friendly advice would have pried her attention from Pitor-he was after all the man Kitty Pryde was falling in love with.
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A Note from Krac: Finally! Oh man did I have problems with writing this chapter…it just didn't want to come together. So I went back and made some minor adjustments to everything…Please re-read this there's more to it…more angst…more…detail…just more! I will admit to getting a little dismayed that Ish is my only loyal fan…thank you so much for reviewing EVERY chapter…Sorry this one took so long. I swear I'm writing this for you and only you.
The next chapter will be full of action…and maybe a face or two from Cypher's past…Dundundun.
So here we go…how'd I do? Did I mess everything up? Did you hate it? Did you love it? How was the little Kitty interlude? I didn't feel like writing her as a total airhead…was it too OOC???? What about the B-Hood? Let me know…review…it's the little button on the bottom left hand side of your screen. Press it…I dare you.