MEDLAB 8:50 p.m.
Tara walked in and looked around, squinting slightly against the bright lights. The room was lit like a movie set except there was no camera equiptment or actors, just Logan and Hank going over something on the computer screen.
"Logan..? Hank..?"she asked as she came up behind them. The computer was immediately clicked off; at least, the monitor.
Logan turned toward her and pasted a scowling smile across his face. "Yeah, kid?"
"We found the mutant disturbance you were talking about..." Her words trailed off into silence. She waited a moment still wondering what they were hiding on the computer screen. Hank had never hidden anything from her, at least.
"Oh? Did you bring them back with you?"Logan asked without looking away from her.
She shook her head, slowly and fidgeted from one foot to the other. "He's dead, Logan."
It was the first time she'd seen him with nothing to seen. His expression just shifted into one of blank emotions. There was nothing not even that smirk. "How and when?"
"They hung him. It was a couple of hours ago...we watched it. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry,"Tara said with honesty in her voice. She hadn't wanted to believe there was nothing they could do for him. "He was about your age. It was horrible, Logan. They paraded him before this crowd that cheered, they cheered, for his death...he died on stage for everyone to see. It was horrible."
Hank nodded, standing. "Many things of this world are horrible, Tara. You have to get beyond them...I'll be in my office, Logan." Logan nodded and he made his exit into the inner office.
"I remember something else....I think it was a held back memory." He studied her without comment. His expression didn't change nor did he say anything. She continued on, staring down at her Trainers with a look of intense interest. "Have you ever been to a circus?" He shrugged in response. "Tell me. Don't shrug...please."
"Fine, yes. It's only been once. I hate the things."
"Why?"she persisted while still staring at her shoes.
"Bad experience once. I don't want to talk about it..." Logan brushed past her on his way out, stopping briefly to click off several of the large lights. He continued toward the door without another word to her.
"Were you the one that got me out of the circus as a child, Logan?!"she yelled at his back. The first thing she noticed was his stiffening then the halt in movement. He didn't turn back but didn't leave her. She waited.
His answer when it came wasn't what she'd expected. She'd known he would deny it or realize it was just an image she created. He proved otherwise. "Yeah, kid. I was the one that got you out then left you..."he answered before walking out the door and pulling it shut behind her.
Tara closed her eyes at the words but simply slumped into a chair, resting her head against her hands. She didn't cry even though she wanted to. Anyone could tell she wanted to. from the look on her face. Sounds echoed around her but none affected her.
Logan had saved her. When she was a kid, he'd saved her from the circus and taken care of her for a little while. Tara knew she had to make it up to him; somehow, she would thank him for what he'd done. Somehow.
LIVING ROOM 8:47 p.m.
"Nanaki!" Angel threw her arms around the neck of the adult sitting on the couch. Her arms automatically came around the over-excited girl and caught her before she could do any real damage.
"Breathe, Angel,"Nanaki instructed in a level tone. 'Nanaki' was tall and obviously irish from her bright red hair and green eyes. She was dressed in almost complete black beyond her jeans and wore a trenchcoat that was similar to Julius'. A pair of black boots were on her feet and she wore a ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
Nanaki. The name hadn't been spoken by anyone in a few years. Nanaki had stopped being a topic shortly into her training. Once Vel and Jax took over she hadn't seen her 'aunt' again until that moment. Angel wasn't even sure if Aunt Kristal talked to Nanaki anymore but that was almost anyone's guess. There was always something going on that would stop anything normal like making phone calls.
Rogue clear her throat. "Would you like to introduce your friend to the others, Angel?"she asked with more a command then a question. The way it was spoken reminded her of Velicion.
"Oh." She removed her arms from around Nanaki's neck and motioned for her to stand. Nanaki did. "Nananki, this is Corey Desmonds, Kellie Senthesis, and Rogue. This is Nanaki Celeste Lu...Nanaki. Yeah, her name's Nanaki."
"Nice to meet you, Nanaki,"Rogue said, shaking her hand. She nodded briefly then looked down at her wrist; the watch on her wrist beeped and began to glow. "I guess you two want to talk. I need to go check on another one of the kids...will you be alright?"
Nanaki smiled. It was more a smirk. "We'll fine. Won't we, Angel?"
She nodded with a smile then waited until the others had left. Rogue went to the medlab and the other two vanished upstairs, claiming a little rest and relaxation. After a few moments the only ones remaining were the two of them.
"This place as bad as your uncle made it sound or was he being over dramatic?"Nanaki asked once they'd sat back down. She stretched her legs out and propped them on top the tabletop with a yawn.
"Depends. What's Vel say?"
"That you're running around with some radical group of mutants that's only plot is to assasinate the senator. They're really big on mutant riots, break out criminals mutants, and house several fugitives...how much is true?"
Angel laughed. "It is a group of mutants. We're not plotting to assasinate the senator-yet. There's only been one mutant riot which was earlier today and we did break Jax out...Jax works for Vel. You remember him, right?"
She nodded. "He's an asshole."
"Uh-huh. I'm not sure about the fugitive thing except that Julius is in the wrong country; he's Canadian. As far as I know, they're all legite except Russ but he's safe...no one here would hurt me, Nanaki,"she replied with as much truth and courage as she could muster.
She didn't mention Juilus or the fact of their many 'run-ins'. Or that they'd discussed her getting pregnant or his broken nose or anything else. It was up to her to share everything with this person she hadn't seen in near to three years.
"You actually enjoy this place then?"
"Yeah, Nanaki, I do,"Angel said with a genuine smile. Even she knew it was rare for such a thing among herself. Smiles that were genuine were usually nonexsistence; sarcasm covered more.
"I'll only stay for a few weeks. After that...you're free to do whatever you want." A nod from Angel then she continued. "But there's one more thing. I agree with your uncle on a few things."
"What?!" She jumped up to glare down at her. "You agree with him?!"
"Angel, listen to me. This is dangerous. The first time someone dies or your life gets in danger, drop it. You mean a lot to me and I'd like to keep you around, okay?" Nanaki stood, too, but placed one hand on Angel's shoulder. "We got a deal?"
"Fine. Will you be reporting my every move back to Vel?"
"Not unless I see something that he should be told; then I'll confront you before him. Deal or not, Angel?" She held her hand out then waited. Angel shook it, hesitating a fracture of a minute too long. "I trust you. Don't screw that up..."
JANUARY 23, 2005 5:03 a.m.
"Rise and shine, kiddies!" Logan banged his fist against the doors as he walked down the hall. He stopped only long enough to make sure they were getting up before moving on to the next bedroom. He banged on that door, as well. "Rise and shine, kiddies! It's a brand new day."
There came a muffled groan from the room then something hit the door. He noticed the barest glimpse of something like a knife blade in the door. Silence for a moment then a 'shriek' echoed from the bedroom.
"What are you doing in my room?!" Angel's voice was suprisingly more angry then before but there was a sound to it he didn't recognize. He banged on the door a moment then tried the knob; it didn't turn. "Get out!"
Something hit the floor. A few moments later there was the sound of walking toward the door. It came open when he went to knock again. The sight that greeted him could have suprised anyone, especially him.
"Good Morning, Logan,"Julius greeted with a smirk as he made his way out, pulling his trenchcoat on over his clothes. His expression was much too smug while behind him Angel simply looked...worried. "See you in a few, Angel."
"Bye, Julius,"she mumbled but she hadn't looked up from staring at the bedspread. She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin there. "You can go away, Logan. Everything's fine."
"You sure, kid?"he asked without looking away from her. She nodded then pushed the door shut in his face with a hand motion. The lock clicked after a moment.
He knew she was making a mistake but what was he suppoused to do about it? He couldn't stop her from being involved with Julius but it wasn't good for her. He didn't want any of them to grow attached to one another since he wasn't even sure this group would work. It way more play by ear then anything.
Logan was still thinking about that when Rogue met him in the hallway. "Is something wrong, Logan? You look pissed."
"It's just thinking. Will you watch the training sessions today?"he asked, beginning to make his way toward the stairs. He waited until she fell into step beside him before making his way down the stairs.
"I don't know the order, Wolvie."
"It's written in the control room. I want them to learn to fight all of their teammates...the new list will mix their pairs up. Kellie and Tara need to seperate but don't put Tara and Angel together. I don't think that would turn out well. Seperate Angel and Russ; they're too comfortable,"he explained, ticking off his reports on one hand as they descended the staircase. "Russ might do good against Julius but that could get serious. As a test put those two together-at the first sign of trouble or too serious, seperate them."
"Right, why can't Tara and Angel face each other?" Rogue steadied a vase when her hand hit it. She walked through the mansion to the kitchen then poured a mug of coffee, taking a drink. "Someone makes good coffee."
The kids pointed at Kellie. "Kellie."
Logan poured his own mug then answered her previous question. "I don't want to see them together considering their history. It is pretty good...nice job, kid. I need to go speak with Hank. You know what about, Rogue?" He raised his eyebrows until she nodded.
"Go on, Logan. I can take care of them for a few hours."
Rogue waited until he was gone before surveying Them. She wanted to set them off in pairs according to their fighting ability but also which ones weren't too comfortable around one another.
Angel and Julius sat at opposite ends of the table, munching away on toast with more jelly and butter than toast. Russ was still fiddling with those damn cars of Logan's while Kellie and Tara were simply going through the motions of eating and playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Corey wasn't present.
She began to mentally create pairs.
Tara and Corey. They'd compliment each other with their quickness and powers.
Kellie and Angel. Their combination of skills would do good, considering.
Julius and Russ. They were stuck with one another.
"Get up, y'all. It's time for training,"she commanded after a moment. She picked up her coffee, waited for their attention, then walked to the door. "Be ready and meet me in the control in thirteen minutes."
"Yes, Rogue!"
THIRTEEN MINUTES LATER
"First, Corey and Tara. You two have tweleve minutes." Rogue waited for the two to get inside then locked down the simulation and room. She pressed several buttons then returned to her chair, drinking from her mug.
Unlike her, the others gathered around the over-looking window to watch their teammates. The fight was exactly as she had figured; they both fought well but in the end Tara won by default. When your opponent couldn't bring himself to stand, you kind of won, right?
Angel cheered then smacked Julius for rolling his eyes at her. He responded by kicking her under the desk, hard. She glared at him but was saved from retaliation by Rogue's voice.
"Kellie, Angel, you're next. Keep it clean and no powers, alright? Again, tweleve minutes."
"Yes, Rogue."
"Alright, Rogue."
Their match was better only in the gesture that it lasted longer and had fewer injuries. Fighting was more difficult between them since they had to avoid skin contact while still getting in some form of damage. After tweleve minutes, neither had won and the alarm rang off. Angel rubbed one of her arms where a large purplish-gray bruise had formed from just below the shoulder to the elbow. Kellie touched her swollen eye and tested three of her fingers that were hurt.
"You two did good."
"Thanks, Rogue."
"Russ, Julius, your turn. Same rules. Tweleve minutes,"Rogue said, emphasizing the words 'same rules'. It wouldn't take much to set those two into a real fight and she really didn't want to have to referee; her powers only went so far and she didn't relish giving either a head injury.
Maybe they'll be alright for once. It's just practice. How much damage could they cause with tweleve minutes? It shouldn't be much, it couldn't be much.
Her theory turned out wrong.
Russ and Julius went from bad to worse to the worst. In under seven minutes things were serious and out of control. Their powers were involved, though, not as strong as they could be. Small miracle. The others weren't sure how to handle it, not even Corey.
Rogue called down to Hank and Logan. "Problem. Julius and Russ are out of control...I'm going down there but I might need your help. Get up here, now. The control room will be locked until we get this broken up...I want the others to stay out of it..."
MEDLAB (same time as above events)
Logan stared at the computer screen then shook his head. "It can't be right, Hank. If it is then Juiluis would be right,"he said, glaring at the screen then watching the doctor's hands fly.
Hank shook his head and clicked on a few scrambled letters. "No, he's still wrong. You and Rogue are completely real except for the fact that for some reason neither of you can age beyond...this. If I'm correct all of these names." He indicated the list of print outs with its many highlights. He pointed out the first name he recognize-Mystique. "They are within this time period but they are not the originals. Someone went through the trouble of recreating them and planting the original people's memories into their minds....it's basically mutant cloning."
"Are you one, Hank?"
He nodded. "I believe so, my friend. Gambit, too."
Logan cursed, a quiet sound. "I don't want to have to inform Rogue. You mean anyone with a higlight is a clone...but thinks they're real McCoy? No pun."
"I understand. Of that I'm quite sure, Logan. To them it's reality when they are honestly...clones."
"Isn't there a law against cloning humans, Hank? I thought there was one..."
Hank shook his head and pulled up another screen. "I've looked at that, too. Apparantly we are not counted as human beings. In this century, we are simply genetics mistakes....we all in all cases nothing."
The screen of the computer beeped then an alarm went off as Rogue's face appeared. She wasn't smiling nor was she into idle chit-chat for the moment.
"Problem. Julius and Russ are out of control...I'm going down there but I might need your help. Get up here, now. The control room will be locked until we get this broken up...I want the others to stay out of it..."
"Give us ten, Rogue. We're in the middle of discussing something...try to break it up. If neccessary, use force but try not to hurt too serious." The message ended with one last yell from behind Rogue.
Hank saved the information then signed off the computer.
"Wait until the children are either on their next mission or sleeping then we'll discuss this...after that we will needs to find them."
"What do we do when we find them, Hank?"Logan asked on their way out of the medlab.
"I won't lie. We find them and get rid of them, including Remy and myself...."
Tara walked in and looked around, squinting slightly against the bright lights. The room was lit like a movie set except there was no camera equiptment or actors, just Logan and Hank going over something on the computer screen.
"Logan..? Hank..?"she asked as she came up behind them. The computer was immediately clicked off; at least, the monitor.
Logan turned toward her and pasted a scowling smile across his face. "Yeah, kid?"
"We found the mutant disturbance you were talking about..." Her words trailed off into silence. She waited a moment still wondering what they were hiding on the computer screen. Hank had never hidden anything from her, at least.
"Oh? Did you bring them back with you?"Logan asked without looking away from her.
She shook her head, slowly and fidgeted from one foot to the other. "He's dead, Logan."
It was the first time she'd seen him with nothing to seen. His expression just shifted into one of blank emotions. There was nothing not even that smirk. "How and when?"
"They hung him. It was a couple of hours ago...we watched it. There was nothing we could do. I'm sorry,"Tara said with honesty in her voice. She hadn't wanted to believe there was nothing they could do for him. "He was about your age. It was horrible, Logan. They paraded him before this crowd that cheered, they cheered, for his death...he died on stage for everyone to see. It was horrible."
Hank nodded, standing. "Many things of this world are horrible, Tara. You have to get beyond them...I'll be in my office, Logan." Logan nodded and he made his exit into the inner office.
"I remember something else....I think it was a held back memory." He studied her without comment. His expression didn't change nor did he say anything. She continued on, staring down at her Trainers with a look of intense interest. "Have you ever been to a circus?" He shrugged in response. "Tell me. Don't shrug...please."
"Fine, yes. It's only been once. I hate the things."
"Why?"she persisted while still staring at her shoes.
"Bad experience once. I don't want to talk about it..." Logan brushed past her on his way out, stopping briefly to click off several of the large lights. He continued toward the door without another word to her.
"Were you the one that got me out of the circus as a child, Logan?!"she yelled at his back. The first thing she noticed was his stiffening then the halt in movement. He didn't turn back but didn't leave her. She waited.
His answer when it came wasn't what she'd expected. She'd known he would deny it or realize it was just an image she created. He proved otherwise. "Yeah, kid. I was the one that got you out then left you..."he answered before walking out the door and pulling it shut behind her.
Tara closed her eyes at the words but simply slumped into a chair, resting her head against her hands. She didn't cry even though she wanted to. Anyone could tell she wanted to. from the look on her face. Sounds echoed around her but none affected her.
Logan had saved her. When she was a kid, he'd saved her from the circus and taken care of her for a little while. Tara knew she had to make it up to him; somehow, she would thank him for what he'd done. Somehow.
LIVING ROOM 8:47 p.m.
"Nanaki!" Angel threw her arms around the neck of the adult sitting on the couch. Her arms automatically came around the over-excited girl and caught her before she could do any real damage.
"Breathe, Angel,"Nanaki instructed in a level tone. 'Nanaki' was tall and obviously irish from her bright red hair and green eyes. She was dressed in almost complete black beyond her jeans and wore a trenchcoat that was similar to Julius'. A pair of black boots were on her feet and she wore a ring on the ring finger of her left hand.
Nanaki. The name hadn't been spoken by anyone in a few years. Nanaki had stopped being a topic shortly into her training. Once Vel and Jax took over she hadn't seen her 'aunt' again until that moment. Angel wasn't even sure if Aunt Kristal talked to Nanaki anymore but that was almost anyone's guess. There was always something going on that would stop anything normal like making phone calls.
Rogue clear her throat. "Would you like to introduce your friend to the others, Angel?"she asked with more a command then a question. The way it was spoken reminded her of Velicion.
"Oh." She removed her arms from around Nanaki's neck and motioned for her to stand. Nanaki did. "Nananki, this is Corey Desmonds, Kellie Senthesis, and Rogue. This is Nanaki Celeste Lu...Nanaki. Yeah, her name's Nanaki."
"Nice to meet you, Nanaki,"Rogue said, shaking her hand. She nodded briefly then looked down at her wrist; the watch on her wrist beeped and began to glow. "I guess you two want to talk. I need to go check on another one of the kids...will you be alright?"
Nanaki smiled. It was more a smirk. "We'll fine. Won't we, Angel?"
She nodded with a smile then waited until the others had left. Rogue went to the medlab and the other two vanished upstairs, claiming a little rest and relaxation. After a few moments the only ones remaining were the two of them.
"This place as bad as your uncle made it sound or was he being over dramatic?"Nanaki asked once they'd sat back down. She stretched her legs out and propped them on top the tabletop with a yawn.
"Depends. What's Vel say?"
"That you're running around with some radical group of mutants that's only plot is to assasinate the senator. They're really big on mutant riots, break out criminals mutants, and house several fugitives...how much is true?"
Angel laughed. "It is a group of mutants. We're not plotting to assasinate the senator-yet. There's only been one mutant riot which was earlier today and we did break Jax out...Jax works for Vel. You remember him, right?"
She nodded. "He's an asshole."
"Uh-huh. I'm not sure about the fugitive thing except that Julius is in the wrong country; he's Canadian. As far as I know, they're all legite except Russ but he's safe...no one here would hurt me, Nanaki,"she replied with as much truth and courage as she could muster.
She didn't mention Juilus or the fact of their many 'run-ins'. Or that they'd discussed her getting pregnant or his broken nose or anything else. It was up to her to share everything with this person she hadn't seen in near to three years.
"You actually enjoy this place then?"
"Yeah, Nanaki, I do,"Angel said with a genuine smile. Even she knew it was rare for such a thing among herself. Smiles that were genuine were usually nonexsistence; sarcasm covered more.
"I'll only stay for a few weeks. After that...you're free to do whatever you want." A nod from Angel then she continued. "But there's one more thing. I agree with your uncle on a few things."
"What?!" She jumped up to glare down at her. "You agree with him?!"
"Angel, listen to me. This is dangerous. The first time someone dies or your life gets in danger, drop it. You mean a lot to me and I'd like to keep you around, okay?" Nanaki stood, too, but placed one hand on Angel's shoulder. "We got a deal?"
"Fine. Will you be reporting my every move back to Vel?"
"Not unless I see something that he should be told; then I'll confront you before him. Deal or not, Angel?" She held her hand out then waited. Angel shook it, hesitating a fracture of a minute too long. "I trust you. Don't screw that up..."
JANUARY 23, 2005 5:03 a.m.
"Rise and shine, kiddies!" Logan banged his fist against the doors as he walked down the hall. He stopped only long enough to make sure they were getting up before moving on to the next bedroom. He banged on that door, as well. "Rise and shine, kiddies! It's a brand new day."
There came a muffled groan from the room then something hit the door. He noticed the barest glimpse of something like a knife blade in the door. Silence for a moment then a 'shriek' echoed from the bedroom.
"What are you doing in my room?!" Angel's voice was suprisingly more angry then before but there was a sound to it he didn't recognize. He banged on the door a moment then tried the knob; it didn't turn. "Get out!"
Something hit the floor. A few moments later there was the sound of walking toward the door. It came open when he went to knock again. The sight that greeted him could have suprised anyone, especially him.
"Good Morning, Logan,"Julius greeted with a smirk as he made his way out, pulling his trenchcoat on over his clothes. His expression was much too smug while behind him Angel simply looked...worried. "See you in a few, Angel."
"Bye, Julius,"she mumbled but she hadn't looked up from staring at the bedspread. She drew her legs up and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin there. "You can go away, Logan. Everything's fine."
"You sure, kid?"he asked without looking away from her. She nodded then pushed the door shut in his face with a hand motion. The lock clicked after a moment.
He knew she was making a mistake but what was he suppoused to do about it? He couldn't stop her from being involved with Julius but it wasn't good for her. He didn't want any of them to grow attached to one another since he wasn't even sure this group would work. It way more play by ear then anything.
Logan was still thinking about that when Rogue met him in the hallway. "Is something wrong, Logan? You look pissed."
"It's just thinking. Will you watch the training sessions today?"he asked, beginning to make his way toward the stairs. He waited until she fell into step beside him before making his way down the stairs.
"I don't know the order, Wolvie."
"It's written in the control room. I want them to learn to fight all of their teammates...the new list will mix their pairs up. Kellie and Tara need to seperate but don't put Tara and Angel together. I don't think that would turn out well. Seperate Angel and Russ; they're too comfortable,"he explained, ticking off his reports on one hand as they descended the staircase. "Russ might do good against Julius but that could get serious. As a test put those two together-at the first sign of trouble or too serious, seperate them."
"Right, why can't Tara and Angel face each other?" Rogue steadied a vase when her hand hit it. She walked through the mansion to the kitchen then poured a mug of coffee, taking a drink. "Someone makes good coffee."
The kids pointed at Kellie. "Kellie."
Logan poured his own mug then answered her previous question. "I don't want to see them together considering their history. It is pretty good...nice job, kid. I need to go speak with Hank. You know what about, Rogue?" He raised his eyebrows until she nodded.
"Go on, Logan. I can take care of them for a few hours."
Rogue waited until he was gone before surveying Them. She wanted to set them off in pairs according to their fighting ability but also which ones weren't too comfortable around one another.
Angel and Julius sat at opposite ends of the table, munching away on toast with more jelly and butter than toast. Russ was still fiddling with those damn cars of Logan's while Kellie and Tara were simply going through the motions of eating and playing Rock, Paper, Scissors. Corey wasn't present.
She began to mentally create pairs.
Tara and Corey. They'd compliment each other with their quickness and powers.
Kellie and Angel. Their combination of skills would do good, considering.
Julius and Russ. They were stuck with one another.
"Get up, y'all. It's time for training,"she commanded after a moment. She picked up her coffee, waited for their attention, then walked to the door. "Be ready and meet me in the control in thirteen minutes."
"Yes, Rogue!"
THIRTEEN MINUTES LATER
"First, Corey and Tara. You two have tweleve minutes." Rogue waited for the two to get inside then locked down the simulation and room. She pressed several buttons then returned to her chair, drinking from her mug.
Unlike her, the others gathered around the over-looking window to watch their teammates. The fight was exactly as she had figured; they both fought well but in the end Tara won by default. When your opponent couldn't bring himself to stand, you kind of won, right?
Angel cheered then smacked Julius for rolling his eyes at her. He responded by kicking her under the desk, hard. She glared at him but was saved from retaliation by Rogue's voice.
"Kellie, Angel, you're next. Keep it clean and no powers, alright? Again, tweleve minutes."
"Yes, Rogue."
"Alright, Rogue."
Their match was better only in the gesture that it lasted longer and had fewer injuries. Fighting was more difficult between them since they had to avoid skin contact while still getting in some form of damage. After tweleve minutes, neither had won and the alarm rang off. Angel rubbed one of her arms where a large purplish-gray bruise had formed from just below the shoulder to the elbow. Kellie touched her swollen eye and tested three of her fingers that were hurt.
"You two did good."
"Thanks, Rogue."
"Russ, Julius, your turn. Same rules. Tweleve minutes,"Rogue said, emphasizing the words 'same rules'. It wouldn't take much to set those two into a real fight and she really didn't want to have to referee; her powers only went so far and she didn't relish giving either a head injury.
Maybe they'll be alright for once. It's just practice. How much damage could they cause with tweleve minutes? It shouldn't be much, it couldn't be much.
Her theory turned out wrong.
Russ and Julius went from bad to worse to the worst. In under seven minutes things were serious and out of control. Their powers were involved, though, not as strong as they could be. Small miracle. The others weren't sure how to handle it, not even Corey.
Rogue called down to Hank and Logan. "Problem. Julius and Russ are out of control...I'm going down there but I might need your help. Get up here, now. The control room will be locked until we get this broken up...I want the others to stay out of it..."
MEDLAB (same time as above events)
Logan stared at the computer screen then shook his head. "It can't be right, Hank. If it is then Juiluis would be right,"he said, glaring at the screen then watching the doctor's hands fly.
Hank shook his head and clicked on a few scrambled letters. "No, he's still wrong. You and Rogue are completely real except for the fact that for some reason neither of you can age beyond...this. If I'm correct all of these names." He indicated the list of print outs with its many highlights. He pointed out the first name he recognize-Mystique. "They are within this time period but they are not the originals. Someone went through the trouble of recreating them and planting the original people's memories into their minds....it's basically mutant cloning."
"Are you one, Hank?"
He nodded. "I believe so, my friend. Gambit, too."
Logan cursed, a quiet sound. "I don't want to have to inform Rogue. You mean anyone with a higlight is a clone...but thinks they're real McCoy? No pun."
"I understand. Of that I'm quite sure, Logan. To them it's reality when they are honestly...clones."
"Isn't there a law against cloning humans, Hank? I thought there was one..."
Hank shook his head and pulled up another screen. "I've looked at that, too. Apparantly we are not counted as human beings. In this century, we are simply genetics mistakes....we all in all cases nothing."
The screen of the computer beeped then an alarm went off as Rogue's face appeared. She wasn't smiling nor was she into idle chit-chat for the moment.
"Problem. Julius and Russ are out of control...I'm going down there but I might need your help. Get up here, now. The control room will be locked until we get this broken up...I want the others to stay out of it..."
"Give us ten, Rogue. We're in the middle of discussing something...try to break it up. If neccessary, use force but try not to hurt too serious." The message ended with one last yell from behind Rogue.
Hank saved the information then signed off the computer.
"Wait until the children are either on their next mission or sleeping then we'll discuss this...after that we will needs to find them."
"What do we do when we find them, Hank?"Logan asked on their way out of the medlab.
"I won't lie. We find them and get rid of them, including Remy and myself...."