Gambit twirled his adamantium staff in his hand as he walked down the
hall, keeping an eye out for some unknowing students who might just
seriously hurt themselves if they hadn't seen him. He had almost hit three
kids on the way down here, and he decided it was probably a good idea to
cease the unnecessary twirling.
As he walked, his hand travelled up to his hair. He touched the black sweatband he wore, and he realised that there was no reason to wear it at this point.
Stopping next to a mirror, he removed the band, and allowed his brown hair to fall from its unnatural position, but it basically remained in the same shape as when he had had the sweatband on.
Staring at the figure that looked back at him from the mirror, he realised just who and what he was.
Replacing the sweatband, he carried on his way, continuing to twirl the adamantium staff in his gloved hand.
* * *
Logan sped along the deserted road on the black motorcycle. He thought back to what the professor had told them. He had contacted his 'government contacts' and given them a description of Sabretooth and Magneto. Obviously there was no point in giving them a description of Mystique, and they had told him -off the record of course- that they had seen the big beast hanging around a supply depot of theirs while another man bought food several times. Logan had taken it upon himself to go and investigate. It was an ordinary army supply dump with a small shop, which sold to civilians. Situated not quite ten miles from Staten Island and less than a mile from the coast, it was perfect for Magneto's purposes.
The badge pinned to the chest of the private on duty behind the counter identified him as Norbert. He stood up straight, and there was a strong aroma of boot polish around him. There wasn't a very oppressive atmosphere of military around the place, but one that was enough to make Wolverine tetchy as mostly forgotten memories of camo pants and training drifted below the surface of his mind.
"So, Norbert, do you see them very often, these mutants?"
"Well, it's a bit of a break of protocol to be telling you this, but as they're goddamn freaks, I'm wiling to bend the rules."
Wolverine nodded once, inhaled slowly and breathed out, calming his blood.
"I see 'em maybe every three weeks. They buy basic food stuff, pay and leave."
"How do they get to and from here? By car?" Wolverine asked.
"No, that's the strange thing. I followed them once, and they got into a little dinghy and motored off. They must live on the coast somewhere."
"Well, thanks a lot, Norbert, you've been a lot of help." Logan turned to leave, but Norbert caught sight of the dog tag around his neck.
"Hey, you military?"
Unconsciously he looked down at his tag bearing only the name 'Wolverine' and some numbers.
"No, my father left it to me," he lied quickly.
"Okay," replied Norbert and bustled off, no longer interested.
At least it hasn't been a loss riding sixty miles, thought Wolverine as he sped back to relay the news to the X-Men.
* * *
As he glanced through the tree line at the large luxurious mansion, he realised just how strange it felt to be there. They had entered the grounds easily, as he knew all of the entrances and exits as well as the kids that used them sometimes.
A sound some few feet away made him start, but when he realised it was only some of the students taking a walk, he signalled to the others to lay low. They didn't want to call any attention to themselves unnecessarily at this point. Not after Mystique's last visit.
The students passed at a slow pace, and Mystique had crawled up close to him. "That's the girl who messed me about, that one in the bright yellow anorak."
He smiled at the young girl's ridiculous choice in fashion, and wondered if she knew how plainly stupid she appeared. Shaking his head to remind himself of why they had come in the first place, he turned quietly to face Juggernaut.
"Now I know you're not the smallest person in existence, and you have the tendency to smash things, so I'm gonna make sure you understand now that we have to keep a low profile. We don't wanna get caught. Magneto wouldn't be very happy if he had to break us out would he?"
With a subtle nod, and a hard glare, Juggernaut agreed.
"Good. We're gonna go round the side of the boundaries, so we don't get noticed. If we get spotted, Mystique will give us some cover. Anything drastic happens... well, then you get to smash things, create a diversion. Okay?" He had boiled it down to its simplest form, so the big mutant couldn't have gotten too confused over the plan.
Obviously, he hadn't, as he nodded once more, then added in a low deep voice, "Where's the runt? Where's Xavier?"
Scott rolled his eyes, and closed them briefly. "How the hell am I supposed to know? He's the psychic one, not me."
Juggernaut again looked displeased, but Scott just shrugged it off and glanced back towards the mansion. It felt strange, being here, and having to hide, but that didn't matter now. He was on the winning side of a dangerous war, and that pleased him.
"Okay," he muttered with a nod, "let's go. That way." He pointed off to his right, and obediently, the other two moved in that direction immediately, without question.
They moved as quietly as possible along the surrounding tree line, hoping they wouldn't get noticed. Not that a little bit of violence wouldn't have been fun, but Scott wore the belt, which remained activated unless Magneto ordered otherwise, so it was unwise to start a fight at this point in time.
He heard Juggernaut grunt from the back of the line, and he wondered what possibly could have been wrong with him, so he stopped and turned to him. "Now what?"
The larger, more powerful mutant cast a glance down at him, then towards the children that could be seen off in the distance, "Look at them," he grumbled, his voice no more than a throaty growl, "they're all so happy, and they don't even realise how much the world hates them. Stupid kids, they don't know anything about the world they live in. This is what the runt's been teaching them; basketball and games." He gave another disgusted sound, and then looked back down at Scott, his eyes thin and full of so much hatred.
Scott shrugged, his own eyes travelling off to the crowds of students playing on the grounds, "Well, if they don't know about their own world... then they'll die." Looking back up at Juggernaut, he smiled, hoping that that last comment had pleased the man. Clearly, it had.
They continued on towards the mansion, treading carefully on the soil and grass, and kept a watchful eye on the students that would come dangerously close to their position.
Stupid kids, Scott thought, deep in his subconscious, they don't even realise we're here.
But then he realised he had thought too soon, as a kid called out, "Hey, who's there?" at the top of their voice, clearly meaning the three of them.
Wincing, Scott turned his head to Mystique. "Some cover, please?"
As discreetly as was possible, she stood to her full height, transforming herself into a perfect replica of the blue-haired student named Gregg.
"Hey!" the child called again, but this time he received a reply.
"What?" Mystique called back, emerging from her hiding place, leaving Scott and Juggernaut behind in cover. "What do you want?"
"What were you doing in there, Gregg?" The boy couldn't have been more than twelve years old, thirteen at the most. He looked at Mystique through thick glasses, and in his hands he held a basketball, which he bounced on the ground at regular intervals. Scott recognised him as Billy, a young boy who was able to disappear and reappear at will.
Mystique took on a convincing posture typical of a boy Gregg's age. She replied, "I was looking for someone. I thought they might have been hiding out in there."
But the boy would not let the conversation drop, "Who were you looking for?" The young boy's brow furrowed slightly, and he cast a quick glance towards Scott and Juggernaut, still unaware of their presence.
"I was looking for Bobby. He likes to go in there sometimes, just to think. I thought he might have been in there now, but he's not. You seen him?"
Young Billy shook his little head. "Not since he went off with Jubilee to find Rogue. Look in the mansion, you might find him there." Then he lifted up the basketball. "Wanna play?"
"Nah, I gotta go. Got things to do. See ya' later."
Waiting until the young boy had walked away to continue his innocent fun, Mystique walked back over to the trees, changing back to her natural form as she entered the area.
"Nice cover," Scott said as they moved on.
Before long, they were at one of the long large walls of the mansion, looking up to the top of the grand building.
"So," Mystique began, looking to Scott for her answers, "how are we gonna get inside?"
Scott wondered if anyone would see them standing there, Juggernaut being too large to miss unless you were visually challenged, and Mystique's body being so eye-catching. Surely someone should have noticed them by now, but as of yet, they had remained undetected.
Security's a bit slack, Scott thought as they walked alongside the wall, careful to keep low at the windows.
Suddenly, Juggernaut exclaimed, "There he is!"
Whirling, Scott scowled at him. He had most probably just blown their cover; all because he had spotted a certain person through the window they had just passed.
Keeping his own voice low, Scott asked, "Who?"
"Xavier," Juggernaut growled.
Then he slammed both of his fists into the wall, smashing it inwards in a great mess of brick and plaster.
That had definitely blown their cover.
"Juggernaut!" Scott shouted as the huge mutant clambered into the building even as parts of the wall fell on top of him.
Risking a glance inside, Scott saw Juggernaut moving towards Professor Xavier, who looked as startled as a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
Damn!
Grabbing hold of Mystique's blue arm, he pulled her along and moved as far away from their previous position as possible. They had no other choice but to leave Juggernaut behind. He was perfectly able to break out if need be. He had broken in, hadn't he?
But if he was unable to escape, Scott and Mystique were going to be in a lot of trouble.
Magneto wasn't going to like this.
* * *
Magneto paced in front of Scott and Mystique, running through his mind what they had just told him... which didn't please him in the slightest. The news they had brought him of Juggernaut's obvious capture angered him, and he intended to let them know it.
"I don't believe you went! Mystique, you should have known it was not wise after your last experience, but you insisted on going anyway! Why?" he boomed, shocking the blue mutant.
She looked to him with her yellow eyes, and she made a sad little sound that she often used to play on his emotions. "I was bored. I wanted to do something fun, and-"
"Enough. You should have been patient. Now we have one more problem to deal with on top of everything else," he groaned. "Leave."
She opened her mouth to protest.
"Leave!" he thundered, and she obeyed.
He whirled on Scott, who stared back at him with blue eyes that were filled with so many new emotions and expressions that for a moment, Magneto forgot his anger. But then it resurfaced, and his grey eyes narrowed.
"And you..." he mumbled, still ensuring that the young mutant could hear, "you encouraged her. I did not make you who you are now to defy me... you are supposed to be the leader of my team, but now all you've done is manage to get Juggernaut captured. He was an important part of the team, Scott, a strong member."
"What about the rest of us, huh?" Scott retorted, moving forwards, not intimidated by Magneto's hard glare. "What's wrong? Don't you think we can manage without that big dumb asshole?" His eyes were filled with anger as his voice increased in volume. "Well, let me tell you something... we're more powerful than you know. Give us the opportunity and we'll prove it to you. But, keep us cooped up in here, and I don't think we'll last much longer without going crazy.
"Warp is acting strange enough as it is, and I don't think he likes being here too much. Toad is bouncing all over the place, going completely nuts, over-eager. Serena is itchy for a fight, and even started on Sabretooth this morning. Luckily Mystique warned her away from it. And as for the big guy himself, well, let me tell ya' something... the tree that used to be in that big room down the corridor... it ain't there no more. All he left were a few matchsticks worth of wood.
"Me and Mystique, well, we're about the only sane ones around here at the moment, but we know we're ready, and you won't give us a chance! We won't stand for it much longer, Magneto, you know that!"
Magneto backhanded him, mainly to show him who was still in charge around the lair. Scott looked back at him, and although the anger was still present on his young features, it had withdrawn a little. He was fully aware of the fact that starting on Magneto would be stupid to say the least, for the belt was still active, and Magneto could take care of him quickly with his powers. There was enough iron in Scott's blood to lift him off the floor some few feet at least... enough to make him inadequate anyway.
But he did not wish to fight either. He chose instead to attempt to calm the situation between the two of them.
"Scott, it is not that I do not think you are ready... it is just that we have to be patient, and wait for Charles to send his people to us. We are more powerful here, in our own domain, where we know we will not be separated, or lost. The last time I sent a team up against his people," he smiled at that comment, as did Scott, "it all went terribly wrong. Here, we can use the terrain to our advantage."
Scott nodded, allowing his eyes to travel around the room for a moment. "I know, but how long do we have to wait?"
Magneto smiled. "All we need do now, is to send a message to Charles' precious X-Men, telling them of our location, and wait. We have to be patient."
Scott smiled like an eager child. He was full of enthusiasm, and Magneto was pleased with this.
He too was anxious for the fight.
As he walked, his hand travelled up to his hair. He touched the black sweatband he wore, and he realised that there was no reason to wear it at this point.
Stopping next to a mirror, he removed the band, and allowed his brown hair to fall from its unnatural position, but it basically remained in the same shape as when he had had the sweatband on.
Staring at the figure that looked back at him from the mirror, he realised just who and what he was.
Replacing the sweatband, he carried on his way, continuing to twirl the adamantium staff in his gloved hand.
* * *
Logan sped along the deserted road on the black motorcycle. He thought back to what the professor had told them. He had contacted his 'government contacts' and given them a description of Sabretooth and Magneto. Obviously there was no point in giving them a description of Mystique, and they had told him -off the record of course- that they had seen the big beast hanging around a supply depot of theirs while another man bought food several times. Logan had taken it upon himself to go and investigate. It was an ordinary army supply dump with a small shop, which sold to civilians. Situated not quite ten miles from Staten Island and less than a mile from the coast, it was perfect for Magneto's purposes.
The badge pinned to the chest of the private on duty behind the counter identified him as Norbert. He stood up straight, and there was a strong aroma of boot polish around him. There wasn't a very oppressive atmosphere of military around the place, but one that was enough to make Wolverine tetchy as mostly forgotten memories of camo pants and training drifted below the surface of his mind.
"So, Norbert, do you see them very often, these mutants?"
"Well, it's a bit of a break of protocol to be telling you this, but as they're goddamn freaks, I'm wiling to bend the rules."
Wolverine nodded once, inhaled slowly and breathed out, calming his blood.
"I see 'em maybe every three weeks. They buy basic food stuff, pay and leave."
"How do they get to and from here? By car?" Wolverine asked.
"No, that's the strange thing. I followed them once, and they got into a little dinghy and motored off. They must live on the coast somewhere."
"Well, thanks a lot, Norbert, you've been a lot of help." Logan turned to leave, but Norbert caught sight of the dog tag around his neck.
"Hey, you military?"
Unconsciously he looked down at his tag bearing only the name 'Wolverine' and some numbers.
"No, my father left it to me," he lied quickly.
"Okay," replied Norbert and bustled off, no longer interested.
At least it hasn't been a loss riding sixty miles, thought Wolverine as he sped back to relay the news to the X-Men.
* * *
As he glanced through the tree line at the large luxurious mansion, he realised just how strange it felt to be there. They had entered the grounds easily, as he knew all of the entrances and exits as well as the kids that used them sometimes.
A sound some few feet away made him start, but when he realised it was only some of the students taking a walk, he signalled to the others to lay low. They didn't want to call any attention to themselves unnecessarily at this point. Not after Mystique's last visit.
The students passed at a slow pace, and Mystique had crawled up close to him. "That's the girl who messed me about, that one in the bright yellow anorak."
He smiled at the young girl's ridiculous choice in fashion, and wondered if she knew how plainly stupid she appeared. Shaking his head to remind himself of why they had come in the first place, he turned quietly to face Juggernaut.
"Now I know you're not the smallest person in existence, and you have the tendency to smash things, so I'm gonna make sure you understand now that we have to keep a low profile. We don't wanna get caught. Magneto wouldn't be very happy if he had to break us out would he?"
With a subtle nod, and a hard glare, Juggernaut agreed.
"Good. We're gonna go round the side of the boundaries, so we don't get noticed. If we get spotted, Mystique will give us some cover. Anything drastic happens... well, then you get to smash things, create a diversion. Okay?" He had boiled it down to its simplest form, so the big mutant couldn't have gotten too confused over the plan.
Obviously, he hadn't, as he nodded once more, then added in a low deep voice, "Where's the runt? Where's Xavier?"
Scott rolled his eyes, and closed them briefly. "How the hell am I supposed to know? He's the psychic one, not me."
Juggernaut again looked displeased, but Scott just shrugged it off and glanced back towards the mansion. It felt strange, being here, and having to hide, but that didn't matter now. He was on the winning side of a dangerous war, and that pleased him.
"Okay," he muttered with a nod, "let's go. That way." He pointed off to his right, and obediently, the other two moved in that direction immediately, without question.
They moved as quietly as possible along the surrounding tree line, hoping they wouldn't get noticed. Not that a little bit of violence wouldn't have been fun, but Scott wore the belt, which remained activated unless Magneto ordered otherwise, so it was unwise to start a fight at this point in time.
He heard Juggernaut grunt from the back of the line, and he wondered what possibly could have been wrong with him, so he stopped and turned to him. "Now what?"
The larger, more powerful mutant cast a glance down at him, then towards the children that could be seen off in the distance, "Look at them," he grumbled, his voice no more than a throaty growl, "they're all so happy, and they don't even realise how much the world hates them. Stupid kids, they don't know anything about the world they live in. This is what the runt's been teaching them; basketball and games." He gave another disgusted sound, and then looked back down at Scott, his eyes thin and full of so much hatred.
Scott shrugged, his own eyes travelling off to the crowds of students playing on the grounds, "Well, if they don't know about their own world... then they'll die." Looking back up at Juggernaut, he smiled, hoping that that last comment had pleased the man. Clearly, it had.
They continued on towards the mansion, treading carefully on the soil and grass, and kept a watchful eye on the students that would come dangerously close to their position.
Stupid kids, Scott thought, deep in his subconscious, they don't even realise we're here.
But then he realised he had thought too soon, as a kid called out, "Hey, who's there?" at the top of their voice, clearly meaning the three of them.
Wincing, Scott turned his head to Mystique. "Some cover, please?"
As discreetly as was possible, she stood to her full height, transforming herself into a perfect replica of the blue-haired student named Gregg.
"Hey!" the child called again, but this time he received a reply.
"What?" Mystique called back, emerging from her hiding place, leaving Scott and Juggernaut behind in cover. "What do you want?"
"What were you doing in there, Gregg?" The boy couldn't have been more than twelve years old, thirteen at the most. He looked at Mystique through thick glasses, and in his hands he held a basketball, which he bounced on the ground at regular intervals. Scott recognised him as Billy, a young boy who was able to disappear and reappear at will.
Mystique took on a convincing posture typical of a boy Gregg's age. She replied, "I was looking for someone. I thought they might have been hiding out in there."
But the boy would not let the conversation drop, "Who were you looking for?" The young boy's brow furrowed slightly, and he cast a quick glance towards Scott and Juggernaut, still unaware of their presence.
"I was looking for Bobby. He likes to go in there sometimes, just to think. I thought he might have been in there now, but he's not. You seen him?"
Young Billy shook his little head. "Not since he went off with Jubilee to find Rogue. Look in the mansion, you might find him there." Then he lifted up the basketball. "Wanna play?"
"Nah, I gotta go. Got things to do. See ya' later."
Waiting until the young boy had walked away to continue his innocent fun, Mystique walked back over to the trees, changing back to her natural form as she entered the area.
"Nice cover," Scott said as they moved on.
Before long, they were at one of the long large walls of the mansion, looking up to the top of the grand building.
"So," Mystique began, looking to Scott for her answers, "how are we gonna get inside?"
Scott wondered if anyone would see them standing there, Juggernaut being too large to miss unless you were visually challenged, and Mystique's body being so eye-catching. Surely someone should have noticed them by now, but as of yet, they had remained undetected.
Security's a bit slack, Scott thought as they walked alongside the wall, careful to keep low at the windows.
Suddenly, Juggernaut exclaimed, "There he is!"
Whirling, Scott scowled at him. He had most probably just blown their cover; all because he had spotted a certain person through the window they had just passed.
Keeping his own voice low, Scott asked, "Who?"
"Xavier," Juggernaut growled.
Then he slammed both of his fists into the wall, smashing it inwards in a great mess of brick and plaster.
That had definitely blown their cover.
"Juggernaut!" Scott shouted as the huge mutant clambered into the building even as parts of the wall fell on top of him.
Risking a glance inside, Scott saw Juggernaut moving towards Professor Xavier, who looked as startled as a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming car.
Damn!
Grabbing hold of Mystique's blue arm, he pulled her along and moved as far away from their previous position as possible. They had no other choice but to leave Juggernaut behind. He was perfectly able to break out if need be. He had broken in, hadn't he?
But if he was unable to escape, Scott and Mystique were going to be in a lot of trouble.
Magneto wasn't going to like this.
* * *
Magneto paced in front of Scott and Mystique, running through his mind what they had just told him... which didn't please him in the slightest. The news they had brought him of Juggernaut's obvious capture angered him, and he intended to let them know it.
"I don't believe you went! Mystique, you should have known it was not wise after your last experience, but you insisted on going anyway! Why?" he boomed, shocking the blue mutant.
She looked to him with her yellow eyes, and she made a sad little sound that she often used to play on his emotions. "I was bored. I wanted to do something fun, and-"
"Enough. You should have been patient. Now we have one more problem to deal with on top of everything else," he groaned. "Leave."
She opened her mouth to protest.
"Leave!" he thundered, and she obeyed.
He whirled on Scott, who stared back at him with blue eyes that were filled with so many new emotions and expressions that for a moment, Magneto forgot his anger. But then it resurfaced, and his grey eyes narrowed.
"And you..." he mumbled, still ensuring that the young mutant could hear, "you encouraged her. I did not make you who you are now to defy me... you are supposed to be the leader of my team, but now all you've done is manage to get Juggernaut captured. He was an important part of the team, Scott, a strong member."
"What about the rest of us, huh?" Scott retorted, moving forwards, not intimidated by Magneto's hard glare. "What's wrong? Don't you think we can manage without that big dumb asshole?" His eyes were filled with anger as his voice increased in volume. "Well, let me tell you something... we're more powerful than you know. Give us the opportunity and we'll prove it to you. But, keep us cooped up in here, and I don't think we'll last much longer without going crazy.
"Warp is acting strange enough as it is, and I don't think he likes being here too much. Toad is bouncing all over the place, going completely nuts, over-eager. Serena is itchy for a fight, and even started on Sabretooth this morning. Luckily Mystique warned her away from it. And as for the big guy himself, well, let me tell ya' something... the tree that used to be in that big room down the corridor... it ain't there no more. All he left were a few matchsticks worth of wood.
"Me and Mystique, well, we're about the only sane ones around here at the moment, but we know we're ready, and you won't give us a chance! We won't stand for it much longer, Magneto, you know that!"
Magneto backhanded him, mainly to show him who was still in charge around the lair. Scott looked back at him, and although the anger was still present on his young features, it had withdrawn a little. He was fully aware of the fact that starting on Magneto would be stupid to say the least, for the belt was still active, and Magneto could take care of him quickly with his powers. There was enough iron in Scott's blood to lift him off the floor some few feet at least... enough to make him inadequate anyway.
But he did not wish to fight either. He chose instead to attempt to calm the situation between the two of them.
"Scott, it is not that I do not think you are ready... it is just that we have to be patient, and wait for Charles to send his people to us. We are more powerful here, in our own domain, where we know we will not be separated, or lost. The last time I sent a team up against his people," he smiled at that comment, as did Scott, "it all went terribly wrong. Here, we can use the terrain to our advantage."
Scott nodded, allowing his eyes to travel around the room for a moment. "I know, but how long do we have to wait?"
Magneto smiled. "All we need do now, is to send a message to Charles' precious X-Men, telling them of our location, and wait. We have to be patient."
Scott smiled like an eager child. He was full of enthusiasm, and Magneto was pleased with this.
He too was anxious for the fight.
