Scott and Jean awoke late in the next day to silence. And in that silence, both knew something was wrong. Jean rose and immediately picked up the phone to call the Professor, even as Scott used a mini-scanner to check all the monitors. There was nothing obviously amiss on the grounds, but as he put it down and glanced at Jean , he heard her voice catch and her stangled "what" and saw her eyes glaze as she continued the conversation and he knew something bad had happenned. She talked for a few more minutes and then put the phone down and faced him, crying.
"Sam's dead, Scott."
The words fell on him like bricks. Their weight made him wheez as he fought against pain and denial to snap out, "what? How?"
"There's more. Piotr and kitty have been taken as well."
Her telekinesis brought their clothes flying to them. His head whirled as he tried to listen as she filled him in with a choked voice. They tried to get dressed quickly, and he went to her and just held her for a few short minutes. Then they went downstairs, leaving their bags, and locked the place up, exiting the way they had come. He glanced back in as they left and sighed. Then the mask of Cyclops slipped over his face and he drove the car faster.
* * *
They arrived at Cair Xavier, as some of the kids called it, a brownstone owned by Warren's dad and loaned out to them temporarily. Warren had had to go out of country on business but has left them to recover there as the mansion was slowlyy rebuilt over six months time.
The atmosphere was gloomy and dark, somehow repressed as they parked and got out of the car. As they passed through the halls, the kids called out questions to them and they exchanged glances. Obviously, information wasnt being handed out and that didnt sound good. They quickly made their way to the Professor's office where they were ushered in to see the Professor immediately. A morose Doctor McCoy, crying Storm, shocked-looking Rogue, and grim-faced Wolverine were already there, and Scott turned to the Professor and immediately began asking questions without even sitting down.
"There was an attack on the students while they visited Monroe Park. During the attack Piotr and Kitty were abducted and Samuel was killed... by Sabretooth. The Professor went on to explain what they now knew before gesturing to Logan to talk.
"I identified a lot of scents as being unfamiliar. And over where Colossus and Kitty were taken, were more of em, but I did recognize two scents other than Sabretooth's."
He hit a control on the Professor's desk and a wall monitor opened up, a picture flickering to life showing a man in piecemeal, punk-ish metal armor, wielding a glowing harpoon.
"This here's Harpoon, a punk mutant with the ability to generate and throw energy harpoons that screw up the nervous system."
He hit another control, and the picture changed, revealing a woman wuith green hair in a military style outfit.
" Another of the scents was this woman, Polariswhich doesnt make sense because she just recently started working for a Government backed mutant force. I checked quickly with a contact and she has been missing for two weeks. Dont know why she was there but something smelled off about her."
"And finally", and he hit one more control, changing the picture once more. "this is Pierce, A real piece of work who was once part of the Hellfire club." At those words Scott's blood ran cold. Their encounter with those maniacs had caused him no end of nightmares and he had hoped that they were behind the X-men.
Logan continued,"I encountered Pierce during my latest foray out and this time he was different. I reckon he survived the last time he and I met up by becoming a cyborg. And he's a mercenary now, as is Harpoon. Dont know why Polaris was working with them, but something tells me this was a merc job of some sort."
Jean spoke up hesitantly, "Why would mercs be after Colossus and kitty? And why attack the others?"
Logan began to answer her,"A Merc only ever does anything for profit, so someone was paying them to snatch the kids, and as for attacking the others-"
Scott broke in,"It was probably to keep them busy. Sheer good tactical sense."
Logan nodded.
The Professor frowned, thinking as he steepled his fingers.
"So what we now must do, is put an ear tyo the ground and find them. Logan already tried to track them and failed so we will ahve to find another way. Logan will check with his contacts as will Storm and Myself. Meanwhile I want you two to reassure the others and prepare them for what might have to be a fairly hard fight."
* * *
First thing they did was go see the body... and Scott winced at thinking of Sam in that way. but his body was already cold. Hank had performed an autopsy and was running multiple tests with the blood and after effects. Scott rubbed his eyes as the skin seemed to twinkle for a second, but it went away as he looked again and he dismissed it as tiredness and the tears that threatened to slip free. Hank sat at his chair, seeming lost for words and in himself, his tests done and his eyes seeming to be far away, his face expressing the pain they all felt.
"Hank. Henry!"
Hank started the second time Scott said his name and his eyes forcussed, suspiciously bright. he straightened in his chair then abandoned it and came to stand with them. He seemed startled by Scott's embrace and maybe before Apocalypse, Scott would have not done it but he had learned not to let moments slip by and Hank was an old friend. Scott smiled and Hank smiled back instinctively.
"Maybe you should get some sleep, Hank. You have to have been up since the examination, if I'm right?"
Hank blinked and sighed.
"Yes you are right. Nothing more I can do until the test results come back. And even then...", his voice trailed off, and Scott nodded. Nothing could be done for Sam Guthrie now. he trailed them out of the makeshift Medbay and headed off to his room upstairs.
Scott and Jean spent the large portion of the day reassuring the others about things and trying to feel them out as far as their feelings were. There was mostly anger and fear and disbelief at Sam's death. The small group who had been nicknamed the New Mutants was the most shellshocked of the 50-plus students currently in residence. They had formed a tight bond, even including Dominic Vigorelli, the only non-mutant student there, who had a non-mutant gift for machinery and weaponry. Now they all wanted vengeance and wanted somehow for it all to not be true. Scott felt the same way and no matter what he said to the others he silently vowed that he would bring Piotr and Kitty back and he would avenge Sam.
No Matter What.
Scott spent more time on phone calls, speaking to several others he knew, thanklful for Jean's silent and sometimes not silent support and ideas. Dinner even was off, a kind of wholesome stew that had turnips in it, making Scott shudder, for he hated turnips. His reaction made Jean and a few others laugh, then looked startled at their own laughter. Scott and the Professor shared a smile.
When the day was done, they collapsed together in his bed, and were asleep almost instantly, curled around one another for comfort. At one point during the night, they awoke and in need of confort and touch and love, they made passiopnate, gentle love, both of them crying even as they came, and holding each other until they slept again.Scott woke again soon after and spent the night in thought.
When morning came he had made up his mind, and as she woke, he began to speak. He was surprised to see that she had no objections and instead kissed him softly and said, "Whenever you are ready." He smiled and kissed her softly back and then they rose to get dressed. Before they descended he had her seal both of their minds behind a mask of grief, so that noone else could figure out what was going on. For today would begin a plan... and noone would stop it. Noone.
* * *
In the Night, noone saw a lone figure appear next to Sam's body and run a scanner over it. The darkness was lit by the scanner's light and by a glow around his eyes. The figure grunted and made notations, then spoke.
"It's just as I suspected, Professor. It has begun. Get me out of here. Body slide by one to Greymalkin."
And just like that he vanished into a disk of light, leaving the room dark once more.
* * *
They spent most of the day working on reorganizing the teams into groups to practice and train. They saw to arrangements for Sam's funeral and also talked to Forge, who had been recruited by the goverment mutant task force called Freedom Force. He confirmed what they knew and promised to give a heads up if he found anything. They left him talking to Kurt about girls and tech.
They had lunch with the senior team and thje new recruits to it, Gene and Ellen, were invited as well. The New Mutants were withdrawn when Scott visited them, and didnt seem to be ready to talk about it, and He managed to sneak in time to prepare a van and talk to Kurt in private. Kurt's quick agreement and the glint in his eye assurred Scott that he wouldnt betray them either. The day seemed to crawl by with so many duties that Scott found himself taking a nap late in the afternoon then rising just in time for dinner.
Night was the hardest part, waiting for all to sleep then sneaking the three of them out with all the equipment they wanted. Scott noted Idly that the van was also gone but banished it from his mind as they took the SUV. With relief they were away and miles from Caer Xavier. They had manged to narrow down the location of their prey by use of a special scanner that Forge had sent Kurt and Scott and Scott had 'forgotten' to tell the Professor about. Scott and the others knew they would get a scolding but they were willing to take it. This was too important to wait. When they reached their target they cased it then settled back for an hour to watch, hidden by a large patch up cactus. Finally deciding to go, they set out.
Scott and Jean made quick work out of the door they were using and slipped inside. They crept down the hall into a computer room and Jean sat down there and began to slide thorugh cyberspace.
Kurt's ability to fade into shadows made him the best guard a job he had relished and also hated. He sat in the darkness and watched waiting and hoping that all would be right. But the night was against them. Suddenly, tramping and stomping came from the hall and he called a warning to Scott. Troops rushed by him led by a oriental-looking man in a scruffy trenchcoat. Kurt teleported to Scott and found him and Jean already under attack, Scott firing steadily at their enemies and Jean flinging the heavy equipment at them. Kurt took out the taser pistol and fired off a few shots but then cried out as he was hit by some sort of energy weapon, and cried out again as he saw Jean go down as well. Scott charged them but yelled at him to go and get help and warn the others. Kurt hesitated until he saw Scott fall and they came for him, then teleported out of there, his heart in ruins.
* * *
In the darkness he awoke, his body aching, his breath seeming hard to get and his chest burning. His memory was fuzzy and he couldnt remember where he was or why he was laying down.His eyes stared into dark fabric mere inches from his face. The burning spread all over him, like his explosive field but different, and he suddenly felt he had to escape. He was in some kind of bag and he struggled and beat at it and screamed...
* * *
In the quiet darkness of the Brownstone, there was a booming sound, then an explosion that bloomed into the basement area. hank hurled out of his nearby apartment and beheld the chaos in confusion, but responded quickly slapping the alarm and grabbing the fire extinguishing unit he had created. He charged into the area affected and put out most of the flames only to stop as he saw a figure stagger out of the fire and darkness...
"Doc McCoy? what happenned? Where am I?"
"Oh My stars and garters! Sam...?"
"Doc? What's wrong? Doc?"
Hank fainted.
* * *
"Sam's dead, Scott."
The words fell on him like bricks. Their weight made him wheez as he fought against pain and denial to snap out, "what? How?"
"There's more. Piotr and kitty have been taken as well."
Her telekinesis brought their clothes flying to them. His head whirled as he tried to listen as she filled him in with a choked voice. They tried to get dressed quickly, and he went to her and just held her for a few short minutes. Then they went downstairs, leaving their bags, and locked the place up, exiting the way they had come. He glanced back in as they left and sighed. Then the mask of Cyclops slipped over his face and he drove the car faster.
* * *
They arrived at Cair Xavier, as some of the kids called it, a brownstone owned by Warren's dad and loaned out to them temporarily. Warren had had to go out of country on business but has left them to recover there as the mansion was slowlyy rebuilt over six months time.
The atmosphere was gloomy and dark, somehow repressed as they parked and got out of the car. As they passed through the halls, the kids called out questions to them and they exchanged glances. Obviously, information wasnt being handed out and that didnt sound good. They quickly made their way to the Professor's office where they were ushered in to see the Professor immediately. A morose Doctor McCoy, crying Storm, shocked-looking Rogue, and grim-faced Wolverine were already there, and Scott turned to the Professor and immediately began asking questions without even sitting down.
"There was an attack on the students while they visited Monroe Park. During the attack Piotr and Kitty were abducted and Samuel was killed... by Sabretooth. The Professor went on to explain what they now knew before gesturing to Logan to talk.
"I identified a lot of scents as being unfamiliar. And over where Colossus and Kitty were taken, were more of em, but I did recognize two scents other than Sabretooth's."
He hit a control on the Professor's desk and a wall monitor opened up, a picture flickering to life showing a man in piecemeal, punk-ish metal armor, wielding a glowing harpoon.
"This here's Harpoon, a punk mutant with the ability to generate and throw energy harpoons that screw up the nervous system."
He hit another control, and the picture changed, revealing a woman wuith green hair in a military style outfit.
" Another of the scents was this woman, Polariswhich doesnt make sense because she just recently started working for a Government backed mutant force. I checked quickly with a contact and she has been missing for two weeks. Dont know why she was there but something smelled off about her."
"And finally", and he hit one more control, changing the picture once more. "this is Pierce, A real piece of work who was once part of the Hellfire club." At those words Scott's blood ran cold. Their encounter with those maniacs had caused him no end of nightmares and he had hoped that they were behind the X-men.
Logan continued,"I encountered Pierce during my latest foray out and this time he was different. I reckon he survived the last time he and I met up by becoming a cyborg. And he's a mercenary now, as is Harpoon. Dont know why Polaris was working with them, but something tells me this was a merc job of some sort."
Jean spoke up hesitantly, "Why would mercs be after Colossus and kitty? And why attack the others?"
Logan began to answer her,"A Merc only ever does anything for profit, so someone was paying them to snatch the kids, and as for attacking the others-"
Scott broke in,"It was probably to keep them busy. Sheer good tactical sense."
Logan nodded.
The Professor frowned, thinking as he steepled his fingers.
"So what we now must do, is put an ear tyo the ground and find them. Logan already tried to track them and failed so we will ahve to find another way. Logan will check with his contacts as will Storm and Myself. Meanwhile I want you two to reassure the others and prepare them for what might have to be a fairly hard fight."
* * *
First thing they did was go see the body... and Scott winced at thinking of Sam in that way. but his body was already cold. Hank had performed an autopsy and was running multiple tests with the blood and after effects. Scott rubbed his eyes as the skin seemed to twinkle for a second, but it went away as he looked again and he dismissed it as tiredness and the tears that threatened to slip free. Hank sat at his chair, seeming lost for words and in himself, his tests done and his eyes seeming to be far away, his face expressing the pain they all felt.
"Hank. Henry!"
Hank started the second time Scott said his name and his eyes forcussed, suspiciously bright. he straightened in his chair then abandoned it and came to stand with them. He seemed startled by Scott's embrace and maybe before Apocalypse, Scott would have not done it but he had learned not to let moments slip by and Hank was an old friend. Scott smiled and Hank smiled back instinctively.
"Maybe you should get some sleep, Hank. You have to have been up since the examination, if I'm right?"
Hank blinked and sighed.
"Yes you are right. Nothing more I can do until the test results come back. And even then...", his voice trailed off, and Scott nodded. Nothing could be done for Sam Guthrie now. he trailed them out of the makeshift Medbay and headed off to his room upstairs.
Scott and Jean spent the large portion of the day reassuring the others about things and trying to feel them out as far as their feelings were. There was mostly anger and fear and disbelief at Sam's death. The small group who had been nicknamed the New Mutants was the most shellshocked of the 50-plus students currently in residence. They had formed a tight bond, even including Dominic Vigorelli, the only non-mutant student there, who had a non-mutant gift for machinery and weaponry. Now they all wanted vengeance and wanted somehow for it all to not be true. Scott felt the same way and no matter what he said to the others he silently vowed that he would bring Piotr and Kitty back and he would avenge Sam.
No Matter What.
Scott spent more time on phone calls, speaking to several others he knew, thanklful for Jean's silent and sometimes not silent support and ideas. Dinner even was off, a kind of wholesome stew that had turnips in it, making Scott shudder, for he hated turnips. His reaction made Jean and a few others laugh, then looked startled at their own laughter. Scott and the Professor shared a smile.
When the day was done, they collapsed together in his bed, and were asleep almost instantly, curled around one another for comfort. At one point during the night, they awoke and in need of confort and touch and love, they made passiopnate, gentle love, both of them crying even as they came, and holding each other until they slept again.Scott woke again soon after and spent the night in thought.
When morning came he had made up his mind, and as she woke, he began to speak. He was surprised to see that she had no objections and instead kissed him softly and said, "Whenever you are ready." He smiled and kissed her softly back and then they rose to get dressed. Before they descended he had her seal both of their minds behind a mask of grief, so that noone else could figure out what was going on. For today would begin a plan... and noone would stop it. Noone.
* * *
In the Night, noone saw a lone figure appear next to Sam's body and run a scanner over it. The darkness was lit by the scanner's light and by a glow around his eyes. The figure grunted and made notations, then spoke.
"It's just as I suspected, Professor. It has begun. Get me out of here. Body slide by one to Greymalkin."
And just like that he vanished into a disk of light, leaving the room dark once more.
* * *
They spent most of the day working on reorganizing the teams into groups to practice and train. They saw to arrangements for Sam's funeral and also talked to Forge, who had been recruited by the goverment mutant task force called Freedom Force. He confirmed what they knew and promised to give a heads up if he found anything. They left him talking to Kurt about girls and tech.
They had lunch with the senior team and thje new recruits to it, Gene and Ellen, were invited as well. The New Mutants were withdrawn when Scott visited them, and didnt seem to be ready to talk about it, and He managed to sneak in time to prepare a van and talk to Kurt in private. Kurt's quick agreement and the glint in his eye assurred Scott that he wouldnt betray them either. The day seemed to crawl by with so many duties that Scott found himself taking a nap late in the afternoon then rising just in time for dinner.
Night was the hardest part, waiting for all to sleep then sneaking the three of them out with all the equipment they wanted. Scott noted Idly that the van was also gone but banished it from his mind as they took the SUV. With relief they were away and miles from Caer Xavier. They had manged to narrow down the location of their prey by use of a special scanner that Forge had sent Kurt and Scott and Scott had 'forgotten' to tell the Professor about. Scott and the others knew they would get a scolding but they were willing to take it. This was too important to wait. When they reached their target they cased it then settled back for an hour to watch, hidden by a large patch up cactus. Finally deciding to go, they set out.
Scott and Jean made quick work out of the door they were using and slipped inside. They crept down the hall into a computer room and Jean sat down there and began to slide thorugh cyberspace.
Kurt's ability to fade into shadows made him the best guard a job he had relished and also hated. He sat in the darkness and watched waiting and hoping that all would be right. But the night was against them. Suddenly, tramping and stomping came from the hall and he called a warning to Scott. Troops rushed by him led by a oriental-looking man in a scruffy trenchcoat. Kurt teleported to Scott and found him and Jean already under attack, Scott firing steadily at their enemies and Jean flinging the heavy equipment at them. Kurt took out the taser pistol and fired off a few shots but then cried out as he was hit by some sort of energy weapon, and cried out again as he saw Jean go down as well. Scott charged them but yelled at him to go and get help and warn the others. Kurt hesitated until he saw Scott fall and they came for him, then teleported out of there, his heart in ruins.
* * *
In the darkness he awoke, his body aching, his breath seeming hard to get and his chest burning. His memory was fuzzy and he couldnt remember where he was or why he was laying down.His eyes stared into dark fabric mere inches from his face. The burning spread all over him, like his explosive field but different, and he suddenly felt he had to escape. He was in some kind of bag and he struggled and beat at it and screamed...
* * *
In the quiet darkness of the Brownstone, there was a booming sound, then an explosion that bloomed into the basement area. hank hurled out of his nearby apartment and beheld the chaos in confusion, but responded quickly slapping the alarm and grabbing the fire extinguishing unit he had created. He charged into the area affected and put out most of the flames only to stop as he saw a figure stagger out of the fire and darkness...
"Doc McCoy? what happenned? Where am I?"
"Oh My stars and garters! Sam...?"
"Doc? What's wrong? Doc?"
Hank fainted.
* * *