CHAPTER SIX: THE ESCAPE
Storm sat at the large computer, her back straight and her face determined. Her fingers flew wildly over the keys, systematically disabling every firewall she encountered. The encrypted files of Alkali Lake finally appeared on the screen. Standing behind Storm was an impatient Logan and a calm Professor. Ororo could be heard muttering to herself.
"System files...weapons files...damn password prompts...strategic plans...ah ha!" she said outloud. "Experimental formulas and studies!" The computer screen turned black as row after row of white typing scrolled onto the screen. Ororo skimmed through it, listing off the code names of secret chemicals the base had been researching for use as weapons. She paused a moment, and began to read one section carefully. Logan tried to read over her shoulder, but all he got from the scientific jargon was something about 'expeimental subjects' and 'inconclusive results'. The professor waited paitently for Ororo to find what she was searching for.
"Here...it says that once the chemicals are removed from the mutant participating in the experiment, they can be made into a powerful mind control acid which has been found effective on many test subjects, both mutant and not." Logan turned away, a pained look on his face. People being treated like lab rats...but they weren't just using mutants anymore, they'd tested their substance on normal people too. It made him sick.
"The chemical compound has been found most effective when injected into the spinal cord located at the back of the subjects neck. An improved formula resulted with an acid which obtained the same properties, yet only had to be placed on the subjects skin to commence. Same body location as earlier formula obtained best results. Tests have shown that the subject is only effected for a maxium of 72 hours per doseage. Current formula is not yet ready for widespread use in military operations due to the following side effects: short duration of effects, memory loss, withdrawl, possible internal organ damage. All test subjects up to date have..." Storm stopped suddenly. Logan, who'd been staring at the wall as he listened, turned around to face her.
"All subjects have what?" he demanded. But Ororo sat frozen in her seat, her hands unmoving on the keyboard, her eyes wide. Professor Xavior turned to Logan with a grim look.
"It says..." he began slowly. "That every test subject had reacted to the chemical after a number of weeks. They all suffered personality changes, memory loss, organ faliure...every test, due to the side-effects of the drugs, resulted in the subject eventually dying."
Ororo's eyes filled with tears as she continued to stare at the screen in disbelief. "No..." she whispered, too quietly to hear. Logan clenched his fists and muttered a few obscenties, as the professor simply looked down at the floor. All of a sudden Logan swung around with a howl of anguish and punched his fist clear through the wall, causing both the professor and Storm to jump. Logan bit his lip fiercely, fighting down the lump in his throat.
"We lost Jean...I'm not gunna sit here and watch them die too." he managed to say in a strangled voice. The Professor took a deep breath and nodded.
"Nor will I, my friend. Ororo, is there anything else the files say?" he questioned. Storm scrolled down the screen, her eyes searching desperately for any other piece of information.
"...It says...it says that they had a scientist working on an antidote for side effects. He was employed to work out of his home. It has all of his personal information, but it says the project is currently incomplete. The last update of their files was 2 months ago..."
"Right before we blew 'em up" Logan interjected. Storm nodded saddly in agreement.
"We shall contact this scientist, and see what he knows. We'll leave tomorow, first thing. For now, I am going to check on Eric's condition. Logan, if you would check Scott, and Storm, if you would check Kurt. I'll inform the students of our trip this afternooon." The professor wheeled out of the room, leaving Logan and Storm alone and disgruntled.
"You've got a thing for that blue guy, don't you?" Logan said suddenly. Ororo snapped her head around in shock.
"What?" she demanded, shutting off the computer with a look of insult.
"You and Creepy Crawler...he's nuts about you, ya know. Or he was, before all this happened." Ororo's look of anger softened, and her gaze fell to the floor.
"You should've seen him in the church...he was so happy..." she said quietly.
"Yeah, he is a wierd one, alright" he answered gruffly. Storm ignored his comment.
"Then when he...when he started to lose it...god, I was just so scared for him. All I could think was 'I can't let him die. Not after Jean, I can't lose him too...." Logan realized with a shock that she was trying to hold back sobs, most unsucessfully. He'd never seen Ororo cry, not once over the past two months. He'd been so wrapped up in his own anguish, he never even noticed how much everyone else was suffering. But Storm had always been the strong one. Akwardly he placed an arm around her shoulder, before drawing her into a tight hug. She gripped his leather coat and fought to keep her tears at bay. After a moment he let her go, and she quickly wiped her eyes.
"We'll find this guy. I promise, we'll find 'em, and we'll save Kurt and Scott. Even Magneto, we'll save him too. Don't worry." he said. She gave him a small smile.
"Thank you, Logan. I'll go check on Kurt now." Logan nodded and headed out the door, leaving Ororo feeling a bit more hopeful than before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurt's eyes were glazed over, his face was clammy, his breathing irregular. Ororo wanted to cry out when she first saw him, he looked even worse than earlier. The room that Professor Xavior had set up with a physic shield was grey and windowless, with only a bed, a small nightstand, and a door leading to a tiny bathroom, which was also nearly bare. She sat in a chair next to his bed, a bowl of water and a cloth on her lap. Like Magneto, he'd been strapped to his cot, in case he should go into another rampage. Scott was in slightly better condition. He was strapped to a chair, and he didn't show much sign of illness. But Scott was acting like a raving lunatic, struggling with all his might to be free. Ororo assumed that Scott's body was stronger than Kurt or Magneto's, and would take longer to succumb to fatigue. She dampened the cloth and gingerly brushed the damp hair away from Kurt's face. At first he made no sign that he even knew she was there, but he struggled to focus his gaze and look into her concerned eyes.
"Goddess..." he whispered, his lips dry and cracked. She hushed him and placed the wet cloth to his mouth. His eyes closed for a moment, before he tried to speak again. "Ich bin traurig..." he said breathlessly. She reached out a tentive hand to brush his cheek. It was so hot she drew her fingers back quickly in pain.
He reached out a shaking, three fingered hand to gently hold her fingers. She looked at him saddly. She had a strange urge to scream and yell and kill the man who did this to him. Except he was already dead. He took her hand into both of his and tried to squeeze them comfortingly, but he didn't have the strength. Suddenly his half closed eyes snapped open, no longer glazed. There were bright burning red, like flames. Ororo quickly snapped her hand from his grasp and took a step away from the bed. The mutant who'd seemed so frail only a moment before was now filled with energy. He began to yank ruthlessley at his restraints, throwing all his weight upwards. Blue smoke was appearing around his form like a cloak as he tried to teleport. Ororo leaned foward a bit.
"Kurt, listen to me. You have to calm down. Remember where you are. You're at Xavior's school, you're safe here." His eyes flew wildly around the room, his fangs bared in an animal-like snarl. His tail was suddenly free from under his body, and it swung up faster than a whip. The sharp edge of his pointed tail lashed across Storm's face, causing her to cry out in pain and stumble back. Her hand came back red with blood as she clutched at her face. Kurt's violent struggle intensified, untill finally his bonds snapped. He leapt from the bed like a shot, hitting the door feet first and blowing it outwards in a blast of splinters. Ororo ran after him. As she reached the door, she heard a loud 'bamf', and all that was left in the hallway was a puff of blue smoke.
"Oh my god..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little girl was sitting next to her mother, watching the trees fly past the train's window. Her mother sat silently reading a magazine. The girl swung her short legs that didn't even reach the floor, clutching her flowered hat. She looked all around the car, at the other adults. Some were sipping styrofoam cups of coffee, some were reading newspapers, some just sat quietly looking out the window. The girl gasped a bit when she spotted a pair of red eyes peering at her from a dark shadow at the other end of the car. She blinked and rubbed her eyes clumsily, and when she looked again the eyes were gone.
"Mommy..." the little girl said in a high pitched voice.
"Not now honey, mommy's reading" her mother said distractedly.
"But mommy, I saw a monster..." she whinned, gripping her mother's blouse. The woman put down her magazine with a sigh.
"Now Jessy, what did I tell you..." At that moment, Nightcrawler appeared in a puff of blue smoke, perched on the back of the seat in front of the woman, hissing visciously, tail lashing.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" the woman screamed bloody murder, clutching her daughter and throwing herself away from the mutant. The other occupants of the car began to scream and rush for the exits, even though there was no where to go. He grinned wickedly, running his tounge over his razor sharp teeth. He couldn't think, all he knew was that he wanted chaos, he wanted to chase these humans and make them scream...
He teleported into every car on the train, causing panic and fear. By the time the conductor had heard that there was a mutant attacking people, he was already pulling into Grand Central Station.
The security guards were dispatched to the incomming train. They circled around the platform like a well trained pack of hunting dogs, guns ready and aimed at the exits. An announcement was made over the train's PA system.
"Attention please. Ladies and gentleman, we are going into a lockdown. This is not a dril. Please remain in your cars and do not go onto the unloading platform. Please remain calm."
The cops stood poised, as a strange hush came over the platform. Then in a puff of smoke, one cop was knocked uncoscious. In another puff, a cop was yanked off the ground and fell 15 feet to the concrete below. One man watching from his window yelled in a frightened voice "It's the mutant from the white house attack!" This caused even more people to panic and try to push their way off the train, unsure weither or not the mutant was inside the train or not.
Kurt knocked out every officer in a matter of minutes, teleporting from one spot to the next in the blink of an eye. He moved so fast, none of them were even able to shoot their guns. He appeared and disapeared with superhuman speed, throwing punches and kicks out everywhere. He stood amoung the fallen cops, breathing heavily. For a moment, he looked at the horrified passangers watching from the train, and a pang of some memory flashed through his mind. He felt...guilt. Sorrow. Saddness, confusion. But the memory blinked away, replaced again with the lust for blood. His eyes flashed and he grinned wickedly, turning his attention to the stairs that led up to the main area of Grand Central Station. He could hear thousands of feet overhead, busy people going about their lives. He was itching to attack, yearning to pounce on some helpless human...In a flash of smoke he disapeared.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~* I really didn't want to stop here, but I'm so so tired, and I need to go to bed. For some reason, it didn't come out quite as good as i'd hoped, but I hope you enjoyed it! What Kurt says in German is 'I'm sorry', I don't know if it's correct german or not, but I don't speak german, so please don't be mad if it's wrong. Please please please review, and I'll do my best to get chapter 7 out tomorow. Thanks to all my readers, your reviews absolutely make my day~~~~~!!
Storm sat at the large computer, her back straight and her face determined. Her fingers flew wildly over the keys, systematically disabling every firewall she encountered. The encrypted files of Alkali Lake finally appeared on the screen. Standing behind Storm was an impatient Logan and a calm Professor. Ororo could be heard muttering to herself.
"System files...weapons files...damn password prompts...strategic plans...ah ha!" she said outloud. "Experimental formulas and studies!" The computer screen turned black as row after row of white typing scrolled onto the screen. Ororo skimmed through it, listing off the code names of secret chemicals the base had been researching for use as weapons. She paused a moment, and began to read one section carefully. Logan tried to read over her shoulder, but all he got from the scientific jargon was something about 'expeimental subjects' and 'inconclusive results'. The professor waited paitently for Ororo to find what she was searching for.
"Here...it says that once the chemicals are removed from the mutant participating in the experiment, they can be made into a powerful mind control acid which has been found effective on many test subjects, both mutant and not." Logan turned away, a pained look on his face. People being treated like lab rats...but they weren't just using mutants anymore, they'd tested their substance on normal people too. It made him sick.
"The chemical compound has been found most effective when injected into the spinal cord located at the back of the subjects neck. An improved formula resulted with an acid which obtained the same properties, yet only had to be placed on the subjects skin to commence. Same body location as earlier formula obtained best results. Tests have shown that the subject is only effected for a maxium of 72 hours per doseage. Current formula is not yet ready for widespread use in military operations due to the following side effects: short duration of effects, memory loss, withdrawl, possible internal organ damage. All test subjects up to date have..." Storm stopped suddenly. Logan, who'd been staring at the wall as he listened, turned around to face her.
"All subjects have what?" he demanded. But Ororo sat frozen in her seat, her hands unmoving on the keyboard, her eyes wide. Professor Xavior turned to Logan with a grim look.
"It says..." he began slowly. "That every test subject had reacted to the chemical after a number of weeks. They all suffered personality changes, memory loss, organ faliure...every test, due to the side-effects of the drugs, resulted in the subject eventually dying."
Ororo's eyes filled with tears as she continued to stare at the screen in disbelief. "No..." she whispered, too quietly to hear. Logan clenched his fists and muttered a few obscenties, as the professor simply looked down at the floor. All of a sudden Logan swung around with a howl of anguish and punched his fist clear through the wall, causing both the professor and Storm to jump. Logan bit his lip fiercely, fighting down the lump in his throat.
"We lost Jean...I'm not gunna sit here and watch them die too." he managed to say in a strangled voice. The Professor took a deep breath and nodded.
"Nor will I, my friend. Ororo, is there anything else the files say?" he questioned. Storm scrolled down the screen, her eyes searching desperately for any other piece of information.
"...It says...it says that they had a scientist working on an antidote for side effects. He was employed to work out of his home. It has all of his personal information, but it says the project is currently incomplete. The last update of their files was 2 months ago..."
"Right before we blew 'em up" Logan interjected. Storm nodded saddly in agreement.
"We shall contact this scientist, and see what he knows. We'll leave tomorow, first thing. For now, I am going to check on Eric's condition. Logan, if you would check Scott, and Storm, if you would check Kurt. I'll inform the students of our trip this afternooon." The professor wheeled out of the room, leaving Logan and Storm alone and disgruntled.
"You've got a thing for that blue guy, don't you?" Logan said suddenly. Ororo snapped her head around in shock.
"What?" she demanded, shutting off the computer with a look of insult.
"You and Creepy Crawler...he's nuts about you, ya know. Or he was, before all this happened." Ororo's look of anger softened, and her gaze fell to the floor.
"You should've seen him in the church...he was so happy..." she said quietly.
"Yeah, he is a wierd one, alright" he answered gruffly. Storm ignored his comment.
"Then when he...when he started to lose it...god, I was just so scared for him. All I could think was 'I can't let him die. Not after Jean, I can't lose him too...." Logan realized with a shock that she was trying to hold back sobs, most unsucessfully. He'd never seen Ororo cry, not once over the past two months. He'd been so wrapped up in his own anguish, he never even noticed how much everyone else was suffering. But Storm had always been the strong one. Akwardly he placed an arm around her shoulder, before drawing her into a tight hug. She gripped his leather coat and fought to keep her tears at bay. After a moment he let her go, and she quickly wiped her eyes.
"We'll find this guy. I promise, we'll find 'em, and we'll save Kurt and Scott. Even Magneto, we'll save him too. Don't worry." he said. She gave him a small smile.
"Thank you, Logan. I'll go check on Kurt now." Logan nodded and headed out the door, leaving Ororo feeling a bit more hopeful than before.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kurt's eyes were glazed over, his face was clammy, his breathing irregular. Ororo wanted to cry out when she first saw him, he looked even worse than earlier. The room that Professor Xavior had set up with a physic shield was grey and windowless, with only a bed, a small nightstand, and a door leading to a tiny bathroom, which was also nearly bare. She sat in a chair next to his bed, a bowl of water and a cloth on her lap. Like Magneto, he'd been strapped to his cot, in case he should go into another rampage. Scott was in slightly better condition. He was strapped to a chair, and he didn't show much sign of illness. But Scott was acting like a raving lunatic, struggling with all his might to be free. Ororo assumed that Scott's body was stronger than Kurt or Magneto's, and would take longer to succumb to fatigue. She dampened the cloth and gingerly brushed the damp hair away from Kurt's face. At first he made no sign that he even knew she was there, but he struggled to focus his gaze and look into her concerned eyes.
"Goddess..." he whispered, his lips dry and cracked. She hushed him and placed the wet cloth to his mouth. His eyes closed for a moment, before he tried to speak again. "Ich bin traurig..." he said breathlessly. She reached out a tentive hand to brush his cheek. It was so hot she drew her fingers back quickly in pain.
He reached out a shaking, three fingered hand to gently hold her fingers. She looked at him saddly. She had a strange urge to scream and yell and kill the man who did this to him. Except he was already dead. He took her hand into both of his and tried to squeeze them comfortingly, but he didn't have the strength. Suddenly his half closed eyes snapped open, no longer glazed. There were bright burning red, like flames. Ororo quickly snapped her hand from his grasp and took a step away from the bed. The mutant who'd seemed so frail only a moment before was now filled with energy. He began to yank ruthlessley at his restraints, throwing all his weight upwards. Blue smoke was appearing around his form like a cloak as he tried to teleport. Ororo leaned foward a bit.
"Kurt, listen to me. You have to calm down. Remember where you are. You're at Xavior's school, you're safe here." His eyes flew wildly around the room, his fangs bared in an animal-like snarl. His tail was suddenly free from under his body, and it swung up faster than a whip. The sharp edge of his pointed tail lashed across Storm's face, causing her to cry out in pain and stumble back. Her hand came back red with blood as she clutched at her face. Kurt's violent struggle intensified, untill finally his bonds snapped. He leapt from the bed like a shot, hitting the door feet first and blowing it outwards in a blast of splinters. Ororo ran after him. As she reached the door, she heard a loud 'bamf', and all that was left in the hallway was a puff of blue smoke.
"Oh my god..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A little girl was sitting next to her mother, watching the trees fly past the train's window. Her mother sat silently reading a magazine. The girl swung her short legs that didn't even reach the floor, clutching her flowered hat. She looked all around the car, at the other adults. Some were sipping styrofoam cups of coffee, some were reading newspapers, some just sat quietly looking out the window. The girl gasped a bit when she spotted a pair of red eyes peering at her from a dark shadow at the other end of the car. She blinked and rubbed her eyes clumsily, and when she looked again the eyes were gone.
"Mommy..." the little girl said in a high pitched voice.
"Not now honey, mommy's reading" her mother said distractedly.
"But mommy, I saw a monster..." she whinned, gripping her mother's blouse. The woman put down her magazine with a sigh.
"Now Jessy, what did I tell you..." At that moment, Nightcrawler appeared in a puff of blue smoke, perched on the back of the seat in front of the woman, hissing visciously, tail lashing.
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" the woman screamed bloody murder, clutching her daughter and throwing herself away from the mutant. The other occupants of the car began to scream and rush for the exits, even though there was no where to go. He grinned wickedly, running his tounge over his razor sharp teeth. He couldn't think, all he knew was that he wanted chaos, he wanted to chase these humans and make them scream...
He teleported into every car on the train, causing panic and fear. By the time the conductor had heard that there was a mutant attacking people, he was already pulling into Grand Central Station.
The security guards were dispatched to the incomming train. They circled around the platform like a well trained pack of hunting dogs, guns ready and aimed at the exits. An announcement was made over the train's PA system.
"Attention please. Ladies and gentleman, we are going into a lockdown. This is not a dril. Please remain in your cars and do not go onto the unloading platform. Please remain calm."
The cops stood poised, as a strange hush came over the platform. Then in a puff of smoke, one cop was knocked uncoscious. In another puff, a cop was yanked off the ground and fell 15 feet to the concrete below. One man watching from his window yelled in a frightened voice "It's the mutant from the white house attack!" This caused even more people to panic and try to push their way off the train, unsure weither or not the mutant was inside the train or not.
Kurt knocked out every officer in a matter of minutes, teleporting from one spot to the next in the blink of an eye. He moved so fast, none of them were even able to shoot their guns. He appeared and disapeared with superhuman speed, throwing punches and kicks out everywhere. He stood amoung the fallen cops, breathing heavily. For a moment, he looked at the horrified passangers watching from the train, and a pang of some memory flashed through his mind. He felt...guilt. Sorrow. Saddness, confusion. But the memory blinked away, replaced again with the lust for blood. His eyes flashed and he grinned wickedly, turning his attention to the stairs that led up to the main area of Grand Central Station. He could hear thousands of feet overhead, busy people going about their lives. He was itching to attack, yearning to pounce on some helpless human...In a flash of smoke he disapeared.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~* I really didn't want to stop here, but I'm so so tired, and I need to go to bed. For some reason, it didn't come out quite as good as i'd hoped, but I hope you enjoyed it! What Kurt says in German is 'I'm sorry', I don't know if it's correct german or not, but I don't speak german, so please don't be mad if it's wrong. Please please please review, and I'll do my best to get chapter 7 out tomorow. Thanks to all my readers, your reviews absolutely make my day~~~~~!!