Disclaimer: Xmen Evolution belongs to Warner/Marvel, and the Matrix series belongs to the Wachowski Brothers/ Warner Bros. They don't belong to me. Well, Eryn and Matt do, along with other minor OC's that occur. I'm a review junkie, so replies are much appreciated.

Key
*this* is emphasis
this is psychic convo
this is dreams/thoughts/journals/ship names

AN:  WHOO! Upload Three is here!  Kinda had trouble getting it posted – I was doing it in installments on 'Nutter's site, and when it went down, I couldn't copy-paste what I already had until it was back up.  Then we find out the board was…erm…nuked, so it was gone. Rewrite!  Drat.  Well, here it is…enjoy!




The Matrix: Rebirth – Upload Three


It was cold. He was tied down.

And he was alone.

That was the first thing that registered in his mind as he groggily grew closer to consciousness. That, and the fact that he hurt worse today than he had in a while, which was saying quite a bit.

What he was laying on was cold as well - it pressed against his bare back, and he could feel it through his thin cargo trousers and on the heels of his bare feet. His body felt like one huge bruise, but at least the cold helped numb it somewhat.

The second sensation was that of air across his face. Fresh air. Something he had not had in months. That alone made him open his eyes.

Kurt stayed absolutely still, unwilling to give away his current state of awareness, but his amber eyes roved the room, observing everything and leaving nothing unaccounted for in his line of sight. A small window near the ceiling was open, permitting cold air and watery early morning sunlight to filter through the bars and screen. A pity he was too weak to 'port - he hadn't had anything decent to eat in days, which was on purpose, he was certain.

"-know he's here."

Huh?

"Are you sure, Creed?"

He regulated his breathing and closed his eyes, for all appearances asleep. He could do this - he had gotten plenty of practice at meditation being trapped in a cell with nothing left to do with his time *but* think and survive.

"Kelly says so. Pack him up and board him - truck's in the cargo bay."

*Board* him? What in the hell are they talking about?

Several guards and Agent Matthews strode in, the guards pulling him off of the table roughly. Matthews leered. "C'mon, mutie. You're going for a ride."

"Do I get cement boots?"

The Agent's cold smile grew wider. He pulled a syringe out of his pocket. "No, just this." Jabbing it into Kurt's arm, he pushed down on the plunger and Kurt's surroundings turned decidedly hazy.

Fuck!

Everything became a blur as they dragged him through the labyrinth of laboratories, offices, cells, and storage rooms. He didn't realize where he was going exactly until his bare feet hit cold asphalt. That sensation alone drove the haziness from his mind, and he shivered in the cold Chicago weather. Hauling him into the truck, they threw him in unceremoniously and started to close the doors.

Kurt hit the wall with a curse and slumped to the floor of the carrier.

Matthews grinned. "Enjoy your trip mut-"

An explosion that rattled even the windows on the surrounding skyscrapers cut him off. "What the fuck was that?"

"Sir! Rebels in the complex - they detonated a bomb!"

Another soldier ran up. "Should we help the others?" They closed the doors, the shadows growing infinite and opaque. 

As the lock slid into place, Kurt heard Matthews reply. "No need - they are already dead."

Darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A soldier, standing at attention with his rifle in his arms, snapped to as a fellow soldier barreled down the hallway, stopping before him with a heaving chest, as his friend held the door open for him.  His face was lit by the red alarm light in the hallway, the siren now becoming background noise as their ears adapted to the shrill sound.

"We've got rebels in the complex," the soldier told the guard.  "Be careful – they could be anyone."

"Anyone?" the other guard answered dubiously, a spark of fear in his eyes.

"Yeah," suddenly the soldier grinned maliciously, and his appearance ran like molten wax, forming that of a Caucasian woman with auburn hair and amber eyes.  "Like me."  An open palm to the windpipe and the guard collapsed, airway crushed.  Breaking his neck for good measure, Mystique turned to her team and headed through the now open door.  "Let's go."

The cells in the hallway were oddly empty, save the last.  Colossus, in his full metal form, grabbed hold of the cell door and bodily ripped it from the wall with a horrid screeching noise.  Inside the cell was a woman with dark features and startling gold-green eyes, much like a cat.  "Who are you people?"  Her voice held a vague accent, of possible Middle-Eastern origin. 

Quicksilver, grinning sardonically, held out his hand, affecting a faux-Schwarzenegger accent. 

"Come with me if you want to live."

Scarlet pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.  So it was going to be one of *those* days…

The woman looked back and forth.  "I don't understand.  What's going on?"

Gambit grinned rakishly. "Chere, we're here to rescue you."

"How would you like to see what the world's *really* like?" Scarlet added, a bit terse, without missing a beat.   

"We have the power to show you that - if you'll come with us." Avalanche said.

She hesitated.  "Can...can we get Tracy and Kurt first?"

Mystique's head snapped around.  "What do you know about Kurt?"  Her voice was sharp enough to cut, eyes narrowed with a spark of something that promised absolute destruction to all that got in her way.

She was shaking in an aftermath of fear and adrenaline.  "They took us out of the cell this morning and separated us.  Tracy and Kurt went to the laboratory wing."

The Captain's face grew grim.  "What is your name, girl?"

She gulped.  "Isis.  I'm a feline metamorph."

Grinning, Quicksilver slung an arm across her shoulders.  "Well, come on - we're about to tear this place apart."

Scarlet glanced at her watch.  "Three more seconds before detonation."

"Deton-" Isis started but was cut off by another explosion, farther away than the first.

"Let's just hope Zap doesn't get himself almost killed this time," Gambit mumbled.

Mystique glared at the Cajun.  "Soulspark knows what he's doing.  Let's go."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Matt, also called Soulspark, grumbled as he brushed mortar, drywall, and dusted concrete from his black duster, tossing the bomb bag in a corner at the same time. Wincing at the siren's piercing wail, he took off down the corridor, dodging debris and dead guards as he went.

Ha. Hole in...

His mental comment was cut off as he was suddenly picked up by the back of his jacket and thrown through one of the glass laboratory walls, which shattered as his body impacted it. Still airborne, he flew through the window and onto the floor.

Shit!

Tucking his body around his head, he jarred through what felt like a mountain of equipment, sliding to a stop.

"Well, well - a renegade. How is Zion treating you Mr. Reynolds?" Kelly's voice slithered along the floor.

Touching one fist to a split lip and drawing his gun with the other hand, Matt calmly stood, volatile blue eyes impassive. He felt the familiar sting of his mutant power healing the cuts on his body, as well as the dull ache of bruises rapidly forming then shrinking into insignificance.

The Agent smirked. "Hm. Yes. It would take quite a bit to terminate you, wouldn't it?"

Matt grinned crookedly. "If you think Wolverine is a chore, you ain't seen nothin' yet." He lowered into a fighting crouch.

Kelly only smiled wider, and it was chilling to see emotion, even sadistic glee, on an Agent's face. "Then let's get started, shall we?"


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As they ran, everything was a blur. Cells. Cells. Storage. Cells. Laboratories. It was in one of these wings, with its odd glass and steel walls that they finally stopped, Wolverine sniffing the air suspiciously.

"No guards - don't smell the guns. Antiseptic is messing with the scent, but I smell a trail. They brought two who were not guards or Agents up here." Another sniff. "One's still up here - the other trail leads down the stairs."

Rogue looked up hopefully. "Kurt?"

Pausing, Kitty tilted her head. Somehow she just *knew* the Teutonic was the one that wasn't here.  She didn't know how (or perhaps she didn't want to admit Jimaine was right), but she felt it in the core of her soul, just as she felt when she was unplugged and told the truth.

And he was moving farther away.

They looked at her when she exhaled abruptly in exasperation. "What is it?" Phoenix asked. She looked to Lightwing for support, but the Empath wasn't paying attention, a furrow in her brow showing her increasing concern for her missing lifemate. Cyclops nodded instead.

Kitty growled in an impressive impression of their Captain. "He's not here."

They all snapped to look at her. "How do you know?" Storm asked gently.

"I..." she trailed off, frustrated. "I'm not sure. I just know."

Rogue snorted. "It's that soul-bond crap isn't it?"

Kitty fisted her hands. "I don't know."

"It is, you just won't admit it."

"Rogue, would you just-"

"Both of you, can it!" Both girls turned to stare surprised at Lightwing, the Empath looking distinctly distressed, rubbing her temples.

"What's wrong with you, Pixie?" Wolverine asked gruffly.

"Something's...off." She swallowed nauseously. The pattering of footfall heralded the return of the Fraternity crew plus one. Gambit glanced around.

"Where's Zap? Dat crazy healer better not be slackin' someplace."

An arc of what looked like lightning but was actually light raced over Eryn's hands. "Shut up, Cajun - we don't need this now." She grew tense. "Shadowcat's right - Kurt isn't here."

Isis glanced around. "Tracy might know where they took him - she was with him last."

Cyclops frowned. "Who are you?"

"No time," Mystique snapped. "Let's find this Tracy and move on." She started to walk, both Storm and Wolverine falling into step next to her.

"What about 'Spark?" Avalanche asked nervously.

Wolverine shook his head. "Zap'll find us if he needs to - we've got Pixie, so it should be no problem for him to meet up with us."

Despite the reassurance, Eryn still hugged herself tightly, uncertain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isis felt like she was in a whirlpool slowly going down the drain of sanity. A bunch of people, with weapons, leather, and a whole lot of grim attitude, just busted her out of a cell in a facility designed to experiment on mutants, and they were here for Kurt. Because of some prophecy of a demon-like mutant.

The same Kurt who *looked* like a demon less than twenty-four hours ago.

Next stop - complete, utter, insanity.

"Tracy!" she yelled down the hallway.

"In here!" came the voice, and they followed it until they saw the gamine-faced Irish girl peeking out of the bars in the slat on the door. She glanced at all the ones she could see, wide-eyed. "Who are they?"

"Explanations later - stand back," the Egyptian woman warned, as Colossus stepped up. Like before, he ripped the door bodily from the wall and set it gently aside. To the amusement of some of the crew, he seemed slightly spellbound by the Irish girl, but the expression vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

"Where's Kurt?" Isis asked without preamble.

Tracy shook her head. "Don't know - they talked about shipping him somewhere else. They came and got him not too long ago."

"Damn it!" Cyclops swore. "Too late."

"Not yet."

They swiveled to look at Kitty, whose eyes were unfocused. "He's...moving fast."

Tracy lit up. "They talked about a truck."

Now it was Mystique's turn to swear. "The cargo bay." A realization settled over the crews, making many of them turn pale.

"They're heading for the freeway," Scarlet whispered dubiously.

"Not good," Pietro murmured after his twin.

Kitty became animated. "Come on - we can still catch up with-"

And Murphy's Law decides to rear its ugly head, as the wall next to them exploded outward in a rain of stone, drywall, and mortar.

And a body.

Lightwing gave a small scream as Soulspark soared and slammed into the wall opposite and slumped to the floor of the corridor, eyes closed and blood running from his forehead, jacket nearly grey with powdered concrete.

Striding through the debris, Agent Kelly and some accompanying guards paused. The Agent glanced around. "Well, now - things just got interesting." He rolled his neck, cracking it. "Kill them. *All* of them."

Without preamble, Wolverine sprouted his adamantium claws and charged with a roar. Mystique grew her own, Storm's eyes turned white, and most of the others each readied their own weapons, mutant power or otherwise.

"Go!" Mystique yelled to Kitty. "You can still catch up to him if you hurry!"

The phaser wasted no time in turning and sprinting, and partially hating herself for it. Hearing footfall behind her, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Scarlet, Rogue, and Gambit.

"The parking garage!" Gambit managed to shout, and they turned toward that destination. Busting through the door, they ran down rows of sleek cars and vans, before finding something small and fast that would suit their purpose perfectly.

"A corvette?" Scarlet asked with a raised eyebrow, tugging her red leather trench coat into place.

"Fast, small, and compact - as well as easy to hotwire. For moi, anyway," Gambit answered with a crooked grin. As they piled in and tore out of the garage, Rogue turned to Shadowcat.

"Can you use that soul-bond thing to find him?"

Scarlet frowned at the other girls. "What 'soul-bond' th-"

"LEFT!" Kitty shouted, and Gambit cut the wheel, causing the tires to squeal as they made the turn at nearly thirty miles an hour.

Rogue looked wide-eyed at her crewmate.  "Guess so..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~`

It was the explosions and commotion that finally woke him up. And the fact that someone was repeatedly kicking him in his ribs, each kick more panicked and hurried than the last.

"Dammit, 'Spark! Get your lazy ass up! Now!"

Cracking open an eye, Matt glared at a panicked and harried Avalanche. "You get your ass grated on concrete and thrown through a brick wall and see how conscious you are for several minutes." A pause. "Assclown."

Phoenix dragged him up, while shooting a bolt of fire at an oncoming guard. Next to her, Lightwing reversed her sai and threw them, the weapons sailing toward an Agent, who nimbly dodged in the way manipulators of the Matrix only could. Snarl on her face, she charged, eyes glowing silver, the light encasing her body like armor. Mystique and Wolverine were fighting Agent Kelly, the Matrix construct easily fending off the two Captains.

"Why did 'Cat run off?" Pietro wailed overdramatically, shooting guards left and right. "We could really use a phaser right now."

Colossus clapped his metal hands together with a boom and bodily threw two guards through the wall as Lightwing screamed, shot in both shoulder and thigh.

"Dammit!" Phoenix cursed, "We need to end this now." Flaring up much like her namesake, her voice became terrible in it's power, the light flooding the hallway. "THIS ENDS NOW!"

Everyone paused, even the Agents, and Kelly looked at the young woman with scorn, a malicious smile on his face. "Too late. This has ended before it has even begun. You *humans* are nothing. Just garbage - use it and throw it away."

During Kelly's rant, 'Spark and Wolverine noticed the same thing. The fighting, explosions, and destructions had not only triggered the alarms, but also the sprinklers, which had flooded the floor.

Not only did they have Storm with them, but also there was a rather large power cord on the wall.

Slowly, at Wolverine's nod, 'Spark extracted a throwing star from his belt, and he saw Storm close her eyes in concentration.

"NOW!" The gruff Captain yelled, and Matt threw his missile, severing the cord, which landed on the flooded floor, sparking. There was a flash as the electricity raced through the element, but Storm was ready, directing the energy toward the Agents, who were not prepared for the unorthodox attack.

In the resulting flash, the Healer yanked his mate over his shoulder, ignoring screaming muscles as he did so, and followed everyone as they barreled down the hallway.

"FOLLOW THEM! FOLLOW, DAMN YOU!" he heard at his heels as they sped away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kitty winced as Gambit avoided yet another car, the tiny corvette speeding at breakneck speed down the freeway.

"Are we gettin' close, sugar?" Rogue drawled from the passenger seat, belying her taut demeanor.

"Yes. The truck should be straight ahead."

Wanda peeked over Remy's head, squinting her eyes, before they widened. "I see it," she said, tone laced with amazement.

Kitty glared. "What? Did you think I was completely nuts?"

"Among other things."

About to retort, she sighed. "Now is not the time, but when it is, I will *so* get you for that." Despite her tone, they could tell the phaser was glad for Wanda's attempt at lightening the tension.

There was a boom-crack, and Kitty flinched as glass from the rear window rained down on both her and Wanda as the bullet passed.

"Merde!", Gambit cursed, rapidly switching lanes. "De Agents sure be quick to catch up with me dis fast, non?"

Rogue grimaced, pulling her firearms out of their holsters. "Bite down on it, Cajun, and make this sonofabitch go faster." That said, she rolled down the window, leaned outward, sitting on the edge, and started firing.

Seeing the truck quickly approach, Kitty decided to take the initiative. Phasing through the roof, she drew her katana. "Scarlet! Rogue! Cover me!" she yelled over rushing wind, and as they drew alongside the truck, she leapt, burying her katana in it's side and hanging on, face determined.

That crazy bitch... Rogue thought with no small amount of admiration, still firing at the two cars of Agents closing in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kurt growled. He had a headache. He was cold. His eyes hurt, and he had a verdammt *tail* wrapping around his leg. And if his life couldn't get any weirder, as he stood up a blade came through the wall of the truck and nearly decapitated him.

It was really not his day.

Yet, as he watched, now in the darkest corner of the carrier, a leg appeared. Then an arm. Then a torso and a head that had an achingly familiar shock of chestnut colored hair, with a power he recognized. His eyes went wide as she stumbled into the carrier with a sword in her hand, and breathing hard, he gulped.

"Katzchen?"   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Kitty's head snapped up at the familiar voice and nickname, breathing hard, her heart slamming into her ribs, blue eyes scanning the dark, before they widened, seeing the two gold embers glowing in the dark of the carrier.

"Kurt?" she whispered, daring to hope. Her katana piercing the carrier had created an infinitesimal hole, allowing a shard of sunlight in, but her eyes had yet to adjust. When he stepped forward, expression amazed, she saw what she had in her dream, only with a few differences.

Instead of the near black his hair had been, it now really *was* indigo. His amber eyes glowed eerily in the dark, and seeing movement near his foot, she looked and saw a long serpentine and blue appendage that he most certainly *did not* have before.

It even had a spaded tip.

Everything else was the same. His expression, the way he held himself, the way he moved. Unbidden, a wave of giddiness overwhelmed her, and striding over the two meters between them, she hugged him hard enough to crack bone.

Funnily enough, he was doing the same. Finally, he held her at arm's length, eyebrow raised. "Why are you dressed like that, madchen?  Planning to be part of the biker brigade?" He nearly kicked himself. Out of all the things he could have said, he inquired about her *wardrobe*?

She laughed, scrubbing at her face, and was startled to realize she had been crying. "Long story. No time. Gotta get you out of here."

He grimaced, taking the silent agreement to talk about the weirdness of the past several hours at a later time. "How? We're currently moving at approximately eighty miles an hour."

She thought for a moment before looking up at him. "Trust me?"

No hesitation. "Of course."

Nodding, she walked to the door at the rear of the carrier, before kicking the door.

Off of its hinges, landing on a car he noticed had Agents in it.

Since when has she been able to do *that*?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rogue grinned as she saw the door fly and hit one of the pursuing vehicles. "Time to bring out the big guns." She reached for her duffel.

"Big guns, chere?" Gambit asked. Scarlet looked equally interested.

She pulled out what appeared to be an explosive of some kind. "One of Forge's new inventions," she said by way of explanation, before pulling some switch on it and tossing it out of the window.

"GUN IT, SWAMP RAT!"

Who was he to refuse a pretty lady?

The resulting explosion seemed to rock the entire freeway. When Scarlet looked back, she saw enough damage to block traffic, leaving the freeway empty, at least until the Agents used a different exit to enter.

Or the cars in *front* of them turned into them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grabbing Kurt close, Kitty did probably the most insane thing she had ever done, including fighting Agent Creed. Alone.

She leapt out of an eighteen-wheeler that was barreling down the freeway bordering ninety miles an hour. With someone who was still plugged in, and thus susceptible to more damage than she.

Luckily, he never landed on the bottom as they rolled. As they stopped, she drew her guns, not bothering to wipe away the blood running from the corner of her mouth, and scanned the area around them.

Kurt groaned, looking up at her, where she was still hunched protectively over him. "Anyone ever tell you that you were *completely* nuts?"

She smirked weakly. "About ten minutes ago." Struggling up, she helped him stand.

The sleek silver corvette, marred only with a bullet hole through the rear and front windows, stopped abruptly next to them, and Kurt was surprised when two people nearly bowled him over, one with auburn hair and a skunk streak, the other in a red leather trenchcoat.

Nope, this day *cannot* get any weirder.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was wrong, Kurt thought hazily a scant hour later. *How* is it possible for this day to slowly creep upward in the craziness factor?

It helped that during that hour Kitty seemed lax to let him go, sunglasses shading her eyes from view as they rode to what Rogue and that Gambit fellow were discussing as the Summit, where they were supposed to meet the "others," after receiving a phone call.

He was finding it increasingly hard to concentrate with his metabolism slowed down from lack of food, and with Wanda swabbing abrasions on his skin with alcohol - even if she did look frustrated, as if she didn't see the point of doing so.

The two in the front seat were watching his new twitching appendage with barely veiled interest, and he couldn't help the spark of temper that shot through him. He'd gone through too many shocks today, and it just seemed his temper didn't want to stay reigned in.

"Do you need something?" he asked, his voice bland, although amber eyes held a hint of a warning.

As the girls all looked at him, expressions surprised, Gambit simply smirked and shook his head. "Non - no problem here, homme."

"Mystique is going to tear your hide when she finds out what you did to the freeway," Kitty said gently to Rogue, who snorted.

"Like I care. It'll give the Agents somethin' to worry about."

The Teutonic sighed. "Is anyone going to explain anything to me? Sometime? In the next week?"

He frowned as the air in the car turned grim.

"The Matrix has you," Wanda whispered, as if afraid to say the words louder than necessary.

His brow furrowed in confusion. "The what? What is a "Matrix"?"

Kitty shook her head, glaring at Wanda due to the other woman's slightly melodramatic statement. "It is something you will have to see for yourself. You will be given a choice, and then it will be explained in due course."

As if on cue, as they turned on a street lined with rather condemned looking houses two motorcycles came to ride alongside. One rider had a familiar shock of silver hair that he recognized, Isis holding onto the speedster tightly so she didn't fall. The other bike had two riders as well, but he didn't recognize either - one was a male with light brown hair, grim looking and covered with dust and blood, clothing torn. The passenger was a black-haired female, cradled in the male's arms and appearing asleep, her pallor the only thing belying her health, despite her deathgrip on the driver.

Rogue swore. "Lightwing's been shot."

Putting a hand on the other woman's shoulder, Kitty squeezed. "'Spark will take care of her. She'll be fine once we're out."

Looking out the back window, he saw another car following them, a white haired woman and a red haired woman in the front seats, dressed in much the same fashion as Kitty and the others. They pulled into a large parking garage, and piled out.

"Let's get this over with," Wanda said, accepting her twin's help as she got out of the tiny car. Pietro grinned at Kurt and pounded him on the back.

"Hey 'Crawler - longtimenosee." He raised a silver eyebrow at Kurt's new appendage. "That's...odd."

Kurt let out a sigh that ended in a growl. "Great to see you too, Quicksilver." The sarcasm was thick enough to cut with a knife.

Pietro grinned easily. "Everyone always says the sweetest things..."

The male from the other bike stood, the woman held gently in his arms, and he glared at the speedster hotly. "If you all would - let's get this show on the road. We don't have much time."

As they trooped inside, Pietro crossed his arms sulkily. "Touchytouchy..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was sparse, with moldy rugs and chairs, and half-rotted wooden floors. Tobacco and water stains dotted the walls and ceilings. A rat squeaked somewhere in a wall.

"This is completely gross," Tracy deadpanned.

Kurt smirked at her. "I'd prefer this over our previous lodgings any day, madchen."

Tracy opened her mouth to argue, but Isis kicked her ankle.

"Will you two shut up? Colossus went to retrieve Mystique and that Wolverine fellow - can you at least be quiet for a moment?"

Whatever smart-assed remark Kurt had stored up - indicated by the wicked glint in his eyes - was cut off as someone interrupted.

"Kurti?"

Whirling around at the familiar voice, shock overriding other emotions in his features, his jaw dropped at the familiar face.

"Mama?"

His voice was deeper, he was taller and more filled out, but he was still her son. Striding forward much like Kitty had done earlier, Mystique held him tightly, amazed at how much he had grown. Seeing a twitch out of the corner of her eye, she looked and stared.

"You didn't have that before."

"As I am being reminded quite frequently."

When she had heard that he might be the demon-boy, part of her refused to believe it until she saw evidence of it. Now that she did have evidence, she hoped fervently he wouldn't hate her for this when and if he was unplugged. She smiled slightly and stepped back.

"Whycan'tshebethatnicetous?" Pietro whispered to Gambit.

"'Cause she don have to be," the Cajun whispered back out of the corner of his mouth.

"Awright, let's get this show on the road." Wolverine faced the three still plugged in and crossed his arms, glare on his face, his voice gruff. "Red pill or blue pill? Whatt'll it be?"

Storm pinched the bridge of her nose as everyone else groaned except the three, who just looked confused.

"Pills?" Tracy asked dubiously. "Is this some kind of drug deal?"

"No," Mystique growled out, glaring at Wolverine. "The best way to say this is, if you take the blue pill, it will be as if today never happened. You go back to living normal lives."

"And the red pill?" Isis asked quietly.

Suspiciously, everyone turned a little shifty, avoiding their collective gaze.

Lightwing, a pained grimace on her face, glared at her comerades from 'Spark's lap, holding her shoulder tightly. "If you take the red pill, you'll find out just how much of your world is a lie."

There was a pause. "The 'Matrix'?" Kurt breathed out.

A smirk. "Among other things."

Kitty, the redhead, and a boy with a visor held out their hands, said pills resting on their palms.

"So what do you choose?" Storm asked quietly.

Tracy was the first to stride forward. "Hell with all this bullshit," she snarled, snatching the red pill from the redhead and swallowing it without water. The redhead nodded and led Tracy down a hallway.

Isis shrugged. "I have nothing to forget, but nothing to live here for." Taking the red pill from the visored man, she swallowed it, and was led away as well.

Everyone else looked at Kurt. Kitty smiled, although it had a trembling edge, her eyes slightly sick with hope. "So what do you choose?"

He sighed, looking at his bare feet, feeling like he was standing at the edge of a cliff and looking endlessly down the edge, unable to see water. "Unlike Isis, I have much to forget. But like her, I have nothing here worth staying for." He plucked the red pill from Kitty's palm and swallowed it.

As if it was a cue, they walked with him down a narrow hallway as decrepit as the former room, entering another full of electronic equipment. There sat a Native American male, watching the screens intently.

"That's Forge," whispered Kitty. "He's our current electronic expert."

Kurt looked around, frowning. "Where are Tracy and Isis?"

"Just where you are about to go, bub," Wolverine said, watching him sharply.

Kitty looked at him, and unreadable emotion in her eyes. "The red pill disrupts your input/output signal so we can locate you out of everyone else."

Kurt looked up at her, from where he had been watching Forge and Pietro attach things to him and the monitors. "What does that mean?"

Pietro smirked. "Means you're about to feel like you're in one big acid trip."

"I don't-" He gasped as his insides twisted abruptly and vertigo overtook him, nearly making him black out. He had *never* experienced vertigo! Ever!  It was like a giant hand had grabbed his heart and was squeezing tighter with each second.  "What is happening?"

"We're close to him," Forge's voice overrode the nausea and pain swamping him, but not distracting him from his heart's frantic beating in his chest.

"Get closer," Mystique snarled.

A red haze covered his vision.

"He's going into cardiac arrest!" Wanda yelled somewhere over his ear. 

"Almost...found him!" Forge yelled triumphantly and something clacked on the keyboard.

Everything went black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

::dodges rotten tomatoes::  Well, seemed like a good place to stop, anyway.

Upload Four – Waking up in Wonderland aka Acid trip from Hell.  At least from Kurt's point of view.  Coming soon, stay tuned and all that…

I hope to be working on Chapter Four of "Awoken" in the next couple of weeks, but since exams are next week (WOOT!), after they're done, I'll have more time to work on everything, so hopefully Upload Four comes out quicker than this one.

Later!