Chapter Thirteen:
Cyclops stood about thirty feet from Pyro, and was closing the distance with slow, cautious steps. Pyro was still grinning, holding out the burning lighter in front of him threateningly.
"Pyro," Cyclops said, "This is not why we're here. We didn't come here to stop Magneto or the Brotherhood from interfering with the people who created that machine. It's destructive, and dangerous to mutants. We want to stop it as much as Magneto does..."
Pyro's eyes were narrow and suspicious as Cyclops spoke, but the X-Man did have the boy's attention.
"Have you found any sign of the prisoners?" Cyclops asked, trying to placate the boy's anger.
Pyro wavered slightly at the unexpected civility from his enemy.
"No," he admitted and Cyclops nodded.
"Ok," he replied to Pyro, "Fighting like this isn't going to help us get to them any faster. You saw what that machine could do. In order to capture mutants, it injects them with a heavy sedative. We don't know if it is toxic or not...but Bobby and Storm were hit with it too. We haven't heard what their condition is yet..."
Pyro felt the smug grin slip from his face a little. He knew what Cyclops was trying to do. Negotiate...make him feel bad for his former friends so that he would drop his guard. Magneto had warned him about these kinds of tactics, and instructed him on how to counter them.
"What the hell do I care?" Pyro asked bitterly.
This was not John Allerdyce, friend and student. This was Pyro, and he had no loyalty or Xavier or his people anymore, a product of his time with the Brotherhood.
"John..." Cyclops said, taking another step forward. From behind Pyro, he noticed Nightcrawler step out of the shadows. Under the din of Wolverine and Sabertooth, Pyro had not heard the soft noise of Nightcrawler's teleportation.
"Sorry, man," Pyro said and the fire in his palm began to grow, "…School's out…"
"Now, Kurt!" Cyclops shouted and Nightcrawler jumped toward the boy. Pyro's eyes widened and he spun to face the new attacker, hands blazing with orange light.
Suddenly, an unexpected impact hit the blue mutant just before he was able to reach Pyro. The boy staggered, and watched as Nightcrawler was thrown across the hall and fell to the ground hard. The new attacker leapt agilely from the floor and clung to the wall above Nightcrawler's head. Pyro grinned as he heard Toad laugh.
Nightcrawler gasped in breath and opened his eyes to see the green mutant's strangely colored eyes glaring down at him.
"Not so fun to be snuck up on, is it?" Toad sneered wickedly, and then glanced at Pyro, "Light it up, mate. Let's end this quick and find Magneto."
Nightcrawler was on his feet quickly, and Toad jumped down and crouched on the ground. He tilted his head, almost curiously, as he regarded the blue-skinned, yellow-eyed mutant.
"You look kind of familiar…" he said mockingly, "You change into other people, too, do you?"
"No," Nightcrawler said angrily, and disappeared.
Toad blinked in surprise and hardly had a minute to react before Nightcrawler lunged at him from out of nowhere. He was knocked to the side and landed on his back. Nightcrawler appeared in front of him again, and Toad kicked the blue mutant hard. Nightcrawler flew across the hall again and disappeared just before he would have impacted the wall.
Pyro turned on Cyclops with a wide grin. Fire curled around his hands but Cyclops stood resolutely. A hand strayed to his visor. He did not want to hurt the boy, but if he was going to attack, Cyclops would have to incapacitate Pyro with force.
A line of fire shot towards the X-Man and Cyclops evaded it easily. A second stream of flame followed quickly, and Cyclops lowered himself underneath Pyro's attack. He adjusted his visor to a low setting and took a shot at the raging boy.
Pyro yelped in surprise as the red beam missed him by inches. For a panicked moment, he was not sure if Cyclops had meant to be off target or if he was really aiming for him.
Their battle was interrupted as the heavy bodies of Wolverine and Sabertooth entered the space between them. They slammed into the wall, and Sabertooth roared as Wolverine sunk his claws into his arm. Wolverine was shoved away and Cyclops had to take a few quick steps backward as his teammate hit the ground.
Pyro took the moment to glance back at Toad and Nightcrawler.
They were moving further and further out of the hall as they fought. Nightcrawler was able to avoid most of Toad's lunges, and Toad was fast enough to fend off Nightcrawler's acrobatic attacks. The battle was erratic and almost dizzying, as the pair fought as easily on the ceiling as they did on the floor.
Finally, the blue mutant appeared behind Toad and knocked him to the ground. Pyro stepped toward him and Toad growled in frustration, before getting to his feet. He turned his head quickly and glared at Pyro.
"The target in down the hall!" he shouted, "With another of Xavier's! Get to her…kill the other if you have to…"
Pyro hesitated only a moment before nodding. He looked toward the battling pair of Wolverine and Sabertooth. Cyclops was trying to make his way past. Pyro focused his power and formed a wall of fire, cutting the hall in half.
The heat from the flames drove the dueling enemies out of the corridor. Pyro watched as Toad and Nightcrawler began to leap along the walls, chasing each other further away, and Pyro ran after them.
***
Between the flames and fighters, Cyclops was unable to follow Nightcrawler, who was now cornered alone with two members of the Brotherhood. Sabertooth was also now trapped among two enemies, but Cyclops doubted the large mutant minded the challenge.
He was still exchanging heavy blows with Wolverine, and Cyclops tried in vain to get a lock on the large mutant to make a strike with his visor.
"Logan!" he called, "Give me a clear shot!"
Wolverine glanced at Cyclops, struggling to regain his composure during the battle. He acknowledged his teammate's words, but so did Sabertooth. The large mutant turned his rage on the other X-Man with a roar.
Cyclops braced himself for a blow. He tried to reach for his visor, but realized suddenly that he could not move. He jerked his arm with an effort, but felt as if someone was holding him in place.
Fortunately, Sabertooth also seemed to be trapped in mid-stride.
From the end of the hall, two voices rose in malicious laughter.
Cyclops saw Logan frowning past him at the new arrivals, and Scott was able to turn his head far enough to see two men he did not recognize standing before them. Sabertooth was growling and struggling, and then managed to take a step.
The unrecognized pair exchanged very amused glances, and then returned their gaze to the others.
"Who the hell are…" Wolverine began, but was thrown towards the flames by an unseen force. With a roar of pain, Wolverine brushed out the fire as his uniform began to burn. He tried to move away, but the invisible hold kept part of him inside the fiery wall.
Cyclops fought to move, but did not possess the same strength as Sabertooth. A moment later, he felt his body shoved across the hall and he hit a far wall roughly, causing stars to flash painfully before his eyes.
Sabertooth stepped toward his new enemies again, ready to rip them to shreds for interrupting the battle. Unbeknownst to him, the two men were telekinetic and now both of them were focused on him. Their minds were very powerful, and they looked at him with childlike curiosity.
"Feline-like characteristics…" one said pacing around the growling mutant to the left.
"Super-human strength…" the other agreed, pacing around in the opposite direction.
"Possible hyper-regenerative…" the first continued.
"…healing and immunative qualities," the second agreed.
They moved with eerie similarity, and despite the fact they did not look much alive, they were obviously twins. Sharing the same powers…and the same interests…
The expression on the first man's face changed to a vicious sneer, watching Sabertooth struggle with glee.
"Muscle structure must be much more developed than most mutants," his tone spoke to more sinister intentions than simple curiosity.
"Perhaps we should examine the subject and make positive note of said muscle structure," the second said, with the same enjoyment.
From one pocket, the first drew a very sharp scalpel and held it lovingly in his hand. The second nodded, holding the struggling mutant with his mind. Sabertooth was very aware of what the two men were intending to do, and he bared his teeth in a menacing sneer, daring them to take a closer step toward him.
"Hyper-regenerative healing capabilities should make this very interesting," the first said, and then glared at the second, "Hold him…"
The second raised one hand to focus, and the cried out in surprise as a thin red beam struck him in the wrist.
Cyclops was struggling to his feet, and took a shot at the mutant with the scalpel quickly. He hit the surgical tool dead on, and it flew from the mutant's grasp.
Sabertooth was able to break free of their hold in the moment of distraction and swung at the first mutant with one clenched fist. The formerly arrogant twins suddenly panicked and ran from him.
"Stop it!" the second man shouted, his voice sounding much younger than his appearance, and he tried to get a lock on the large mutant again, but in his terror was not able to focus.
Wolverine was also freed of the telekinetic hold and rolled away from the fire in pain, feeling his skin heal slowly from the deep burns. Cyclops moved toward him but Logan waved him away.
"I'm fine…" he said, standing with an effort. Logan could see the new skin forming through the holes burned in his uniform.
Sabertooth was now stalking after the strange pair. Logan could hear their quick footsteps as they ran off. Cyclops took a step away from the heat of the fire and turned his head back and forth.
"I'm going to try to contact the Professor," he said.
Logan nodded and then frowned, "Who the hell are those guys?"
Cyclops shook his head, "I don't know. Not the Brotherhood. Nightcrawler's on his own over there with the rest of them."
"Cajun's around," Logan said, keeping his gaze fixed on the direction Sabertooth went, "Caught scent of him before the fire. He and Blue are gonna have to fend for themselves. I'm goin' after the big guy…"
Logan began to run quickly and Cyclops followed. Their enemy in this compound had finally shown themselves. They were mutants, or mutants being used. Cyclops knew from personal experience that was possible. However, he wanted to question the pair, and that meant getting to them before Sabertooth tore them to shreds.