Five
Silent as shadows they moved closer to the compound using all of Gambit's skill to avoid the numerous video cameras rigged to locate intruders. Of course no security planner had counted on a group mutants lead by the Prince of Thieves himself-that would have taken a Precog. Fortunately mutants usually didn't work in labs that treated their own like super charged guinea pigs. Everyone had standards.
The fence had been easy-Gambit used his bo-staff to pole vault over while Toad held Cypher in his arms and put his over developed leg muscles to use, hopping over the nine foot height easily. Now it was time to let the others into the compound.
Taking her position Cypher placed a hand on the security key pad and opened up her link to the computer system. After a few seconds she pulled away and punched in a five digit code-the gates slid open allowing full access to the waiting team. They avoided the circulating guards and made it to the next security point where Cypher again entered the code, gaining them further access.
With a wave Blob, Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch moved forward followed closely by Avalanche, Pyro and Rogue. Looking up Cypher pointed out a security camera to Gambit. Silently he saddled his hands and lifted the girl closer to the monitor-a touch of her hand left it unseeing and smoking.
The group took the second to last door with ease letting themselves into the main lab area, according to the blueprints the mutants were being held in a holding quarter to the left while the files were kept in a room to the right. Another camera met a quick end allowing a little more breathing space, Rogue shifted uncomfortably as Cypher neared the left hand door; "We're heading into the lab," she spoke into the communicator that liked her to Magneto then turned back to the team, "Alright Rogue do it…We'll move faster if you can short out the electronics as well. Gambit-you and Pyro get to junk the records."
Both men nodded looking forward to the wanton destruction they had planned for the records room and left the others to their task-getting the experiments out. "You sure about this?" Rogue asked one more time not liking the plan anymore now than she had then when Cypher had first suggested it, "I might take too much and you'll be too weak to finish…"
"Quit stalling and start touching yo," Toad grumbled looking around sheepishly-everyone had seen Area 51 and this installation seemed like a carbon copy, "This place is creepy."
Cypher picked up Rogue's hand and stripped the glove from it showing absolutely no fear, "A tap isn't going to kill me Rogue."
Slowly Cypher's eyes bled to black as she focused on opening her powers until she could literally feel all the information buzzing in the equipment then she brushed the Goth's exposed hand with her own. Within seconds Rogue sported a new set of black irises which widened as she looked at around, "Do you always feel that?"
"Only when I open up around a lot of computers," Cypher smiled knowing that the other girl was referring to the 'white noise' feeling, "Shall we?"
They moved to the twin key pads that locked the door to the holding cells and entered the codes needed to unlock them-making sure that they were the first into the large room just in case. The only illumination available came from the bare essential emergency lights running down the hallway. Both sides of the room were lined with cells-approximately fourteen-each faced with a clear but indestructible material so that you could see the single mutant within. Rogue took the right hand side tugging her glove back on while Cypher moved to the left-they would release the prisoners and the others would ferry them outside to safety.
Lifting her hand Rogue began to open her first cell; its inhabitant had risen and was watching her from the darkness. When the door slid back the male shape moved forward so that she could get a better look; he had a build similar to Gambit's tall and lanky, his hair had been cut into a bi-hawk but it had grown shaggy in captivity, sliver glinted in his lip and eyebrow and the army issue t-shirt he wore showed off his heavily tattooed arms-he couldn't have been much older than Rogue. "You the Calvary?" Rogue felt a shock of recognition for his gravely voice and she could have sworn she had seen him somewhere.
He lifted his
pierced eyebrow and shrugged, "They've got collars on us to short out our
powers…If you can get it off…"
Nothing more needed to be said; Rogue moved forward and placed a finger on the electronic device, summoning up Cypher's borrowed power she shorted it out. The young man sighed-ignoring the sparks-as his powers returned. He gave Rogue a wide smile-it transformed his stern face, "Thanks Hon, I needed that. I'm Shade, I've got friends in here…Let's get them out."
"Rogue," she replied pointing to herself and moved out to the corridor were the others waited, "Any of them badly hurt?"
Shade opened his mouth to answer her question but he stopped dead in his tracks to stare at Cypher who was shorting out the collar of the sixty year old woman released from the left hand cell before sending her out with Quicksilver. With a strangled sound Shade launched himself at Cypher before the others could react, for a moment Rogue feared for her friend-until it was obvious that he had caught the other girl up in a tight bear hug.
"My god Cypher," His deep voice sounded tear dampened and all the others could do was watch in amazement as he held on to Cypher's small body fiercely. It was the first time Rogue hadn't seen the other girl shy away from physical contact.
If Cypher's voice hadn't been muffled by his chest the others would have caught her tearful, "Curt?" But only Rogue was close enough.
The name brought all the pieces jamming together in Rogue's mind-he had seemed familiar because Cypher knew him. Shade or Curtis Allen Poe as his parents had named him had once been a member of the infamous Program-someone Cypher knew well. "None of us thought you got out." Shell shock tainted Shade's words; as if finding out an old friend was alive was more disturbing than spending time incarcerated in a government lab.
This place must feel like home to them, Rogue glanced around knowing that the Program had been housed in a similar generic looking building. The Goth started when a hand clamped on her arm; turning she faced Gambit returned from his errand in the records room. He was watching Cypher and Shade his face mirroring the caution on the faces of the Brotherhood, "Who he?"
"Ask Rogue-she brought him out, he saw Cypher and they've been like that since." Avalanche crossed his arms over his chest unaffected by the reunion before him, "We've got to get moving."
"Leave them," Rogue threw a quick glare at the boys and searched for a way to explain the relationship between Cypher and the young man, "He's another Program escapee."
One had to know Gambit to notice him pale; Rogue did and realized that Cypher must have told him at least something of her past. An unwelcome pang of jealously pricked the Goth-she hadn't realized that Gambit and Cypher were that close. The hugging mutants turned when Gambit cleared his throat, "Petite we gotta get the others hein. There be time for dis later."
"You care how you get out?" Shade asked Cypher softly ignoring Gambit completely-they seemed to be having a full conversation using only their eyes.
Cypher shrugged thinly, "Not really. We just need to get everyone out. Beyond that…You got a plan?"
From the corner of her eye Rogue could see Avalanche open his mouth to protest following a stranger but he never got the words out. "Surge is in the cell next to mine." Shade was grinning ear to ear.
A matching smile began to form on Cypher's face as she walked towards the cell in question, "Our second objective was to destroy the lab." She turned back to her team and didn't offer an explanation, "Continue getting the others out-this just got more interesting."
Cypher touched the key pad sending it to a quick and fiery death-she walked through the doors as they opened. A cry of joy sounded from the cell followed by the sound of a metal collar hitting the ground, Magneto's team didn't move while Shade observed them all detachedly, "This will just be a minute guys-once Surge is ready…you might want to back up." He nodded to the com units in Avalanche and Gambit's ears, "And take those out or they'll blow your head off."
"Surge?" Pyro scratched his unruly head in puzzlement.
Shade's smile grew even wider-Rogue noticed it didn't reach his eyes though, those remained cold; "Another friend of Cypher's, her mutation enables her to boost the powers of other mutants ten fold."
"Merde!" Gambit quickly divested himself of the com link-Rogue and Avalanche clued into Cypher's grand scheme just as swiftly and stripped themselves as well, "Ya'll get rid of anythin' electrical!"
Grumbling the Brotherhood complied just as Cypher came floating out of the cell followed by a short plumb East Indian girl who moved directly to Shade's side. As the hacker lifted her arms cell doors began to rocket open and those able to walk out stared at Cypher with interest. The hacker's eyes were glowing with black fire while her skin took on a silvery pale translucence making her look like an avenging angel.
A quirk of her fingers and the inhibitor collars sparked and fell away from ten bruised necks, Rogue could see looks of shocked recognition plastered on the faces of two young men as they too moved forward to join Shade. The taller had what looked like scales covering his arms; next to him the other looked very plain and harmless.
Snake boy was about to speak-his fangs clearly visible when a red laser beam dissected the room. "Stop right there all of you!"
Rogue cringed-she knew that voice, had heard it bark similar orders every single day in the Danger Room for three years. Low and behold the X-Men were fanned out and blocking the only exit from the room. Rogue didn't need light to see Cyclops' jaw tighten as he glared at Cypher. "We're not letting you get away with this…" he began using his best I-am-the-Leader voice.
"With what?" Shade barked eyeing Rogue's former team-mates with scorn, "Rescuing imprisoned mutants or destroying government property?"
The snake-like boy snorted, "Who died and made you hall monitor?"
"I don't know who these guys are, yo-but I like them," Toad interrupted talking to no one in particular.
The X-Man remained a silent wall between the Acolytes and freedom-a stalemate opened between the two groups of mutants. Rogue could see her adopted brother wiping tears from his blue furred face and she wished that she could erase the pain in Nightcrawler's yellow eyes. Jean stood next to Cyclops staring at the plain boy with prurient interest, while Shadowcat inched closer to the impassive form of Colossus-who was occupied with Cypher's levitating. Rogue noted that Storm and Wolverine were not present; probably keepin' Mags and 'Tooth busy. For once it looked like the odds were against the X-Men-if Cypher's friends were planning to help with the break out then Rogue's old team was out numbered two to one.
Deciding to take some initiative Rogue looked to Cypher only to be ignored as she glared at Colossus. "Is that everyone?" Rogue gave up on her friend and asked Shade as she tried to avoid being frozen by the look of pain on Kurt's face.
The dark skinned girl-Surge-answered, "The girl next to me is still in her cell…they broke her legs."
"Come on Blob," Rogue motioned to the door and grabbed the large boy's arm with her gloved hand, "Help me get her."
Surge pulled her eyes away from the Mexican standoff, "Her name is Carol…"
No one moved as Rogue and Blob walked to the cell door, the lump lying half-hazardly on the bed was evident from several feet away. "Carol? Hey girl we're gonna get ya out of here…Surge sent us."
Rogue inched to the bed, Freddy hard on her heels; "Hold on just one sec while we pick ya up…"
The lump whirled swiftly allowing Rogue a chance to catch a glimpse of blazing blue eyes and ratty tangled blonde hair but it was the inhumanly strong hands wrapping around her throat that really caught Rogue's attention. "You don't want…" but it was too late Carol's hands had found a patch of bare skin.
Rogue screamed and tried to pull away as the girl's consciousness slammed into her like a freight train. Carol Danvers had been a captive for two years-ever since her powers of flight, super strength and invulnerability had surfaced. In that time she had been beaten, starved, raped and used as a pin cushion-it had not done wonders for her sanity.
No mind Rogue had absorbed-even Cypher's mind wasn't as fractured or full of torment, Carol kept holding on trying to choke Rogue despite the fact that she was weakening with each second of contact. Memories swarmed Rogue driving her down to her knees-she could feel Carol's strength infusing her every molecule- but she could not break away.
Franticly, Rogue let out one last scream before falling blissfully into the darkness that was unconsciousness.
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A Note from Krac: Dundundun! Teehee! Am I evil? You think this will encourage reviewers? I'm glad you're enjoying it Ish. Come on get some others interested my friend I'm getting discouraged from lack of feedback. Thanks Athena Alpha…I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far.
Now for a chance to participate in the writing…I wanted to have Cypher get involved with a male in an attempt to ignore the Pitor/Kitty thing…who should it be? Anyone other than Remy is up for grabs.