Chapter five! Five chapters! Cinco capitulos! Yeah. Oh, and excuse the grammar.
Chapter Five - Reunion and Viper's Ultimatum
"Okay, break it up!" Scott yelled. Dorian Leech and Jamie Madrox had gotten into a tussle over a small argument. Sam Guthrie and Amara Aquila went in to separate them. "What's the problem?"
"He thinks he's better than me because he looks normal!" Dorian said.
"Jamie, is this true?" Wanda asked with a tone of authority.
"No... I just said that the mutant hunters would probably go after him first... it's true you know!"
"So you think that makes you better than me?!"
"Enough!" Wanda yelled. "Dorian, as much as I hate to admit it, Jamie has a point. The mutant hunters go after the ones with the most obvious mutations." She saw the sadness in Dorian's face. "But that doesn't mean they won't hunt everyone else down, too. Once they see a mutant using his powers, they won't care what they look like."
"...Way to give them optimism," Danielle muttered. She was only a year younger than Wanda, and yet she was forced to take orders from her. She was often reminded that many of the X-Men were older than her, but they had no complaints. If they went by seniority, Beast would be the leader, and most of the X-Men had expressed their concerns with his absent-minded behavior.
"Whether you like it or not, Danielle, that's the real world. It's getting harder to be a mutant these days and it's even harder to stay optimistic when everyone is jealous of you and ready to hang you at the next traffic light just for being different." Scott saw the floor directly beneath Wanda was rippling under her suppressed rage. It stopped after a few moments. "Now, let's continue this training session." Dorian and Jamie shook hands and returned to opposite sides of the Danger Room. Dorian, Danielle, Rahne and Roberto, among others, were on one side, Jamie, Amara, and- deciding to join in on the fun- Scott on the other, with another group of mutants. A red rubber ball appeared from the floor and jumped into Wanda's hands. "Okay kids..." Scott grunted. "...And the big kid in the sunglasses... first lesson today is an exercise in restraint. It's getting harder and harder to be a mutant these days, but you'll need your cover, so we'll start off easy... dodgeball, with no powers." Four more balls appeared from the floor, right between the teams. Wanda set the fifth ball down in line with the others. "Remember the rules- if the ball touches you, you're out! Teams ready? Go!" Rahne attempted to morph herself to get to the ball first, but Wanda hexed her and she was forced to run. A vile grin appeared on Scott's face and he pegged Roberto. Rahne took the ball and nearly hit Amara, but it bounced against the wall and hit Scott in the back.
"DAMMIT!"
"You know the rules, Scott, your out!" Scott walked over to the "out" area with Roberto and Wanda. "Having fun playing with kids?"
"Eh, you're never too old for dodgeball." Dorian soon joined them. "Or young."
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Pyro sat impatiently and uncomfortably inside Magneto's metal sphere. The spheres moved quickly but were not practically made, and held little room inside. Pyro had to fold his legs and hug them just to fit properly, he couldn't imagine how Freddy could fit. There was, fortunately, a blue light inside and an electronic console off to the side, though he had no idea what it did, and if Magneto was going to yell at him, he would rather not find out.
Pyro felt the sphere slow down and begin to hover, then felt the sphere gently drop to the floor. The hatch of his sphere opened and he stepped out, stretching his arms and legs and cracking his neck. Beast, Jean and Freddy were already out, and once all four emerged, Magneto himself hovered out of his sphere.
In his eagerness to get out and stretch, Pyro hadn't noticed where they had landed, and in fact, he wasn't quite sure where they were. All he could see for miles was snow but he stood on concrete. He looked down and realized he was on top of a building, itself covered with some snow, but otherwise kept fairly clean.
"It's a little chilly here," Beast remarked. "Pyro, do you think you could help us out?"
"I got it covered!" Pyro used his flamethrowers to generate a fireball, but Magneto waved his hand and used his magnetic abilities to stop the flamethrower. "Aw, what gives?"
"We can't afford to attract attention, not yet." Magneto pointed to what appeared to be a manhole cover on the far side of the roof. "We will enter through there. I will go first, and the rest will follow. Beast, stay here and guard the spheres. Stay in contact and notify me if so much as a bird appears on this roof."
"Gotcha," Beast said. Magneto gently slid the manhole cover over and hovered down the access ladder. Immediately, the others heard the sound of gunfire, followed by faint screaming, a grunt, and then nothing. "Come, quickly," Magneto's voice resonated. Pyro hurried down the ladder, followed Freddy and Jean. The X-Men stood inside a poorly lit concrete hallway. Unconscious soldiers and broken guns littered the hall, and Magneto waited silently before issuing his command. Jean looked around carefully, uncomfortable with the poor lighting. Suddenly, a stream of fire flew by her head. Jean quickly jumped to Freddy, and both looked behind them as Pyro laughed. Quite angry to say the least, Jean stomped over to him and punched Pyro on the shoulder.
"Don't startle me like that. What are we waiting for?"
"Converse, scan the next room," Magneto said. "Tell me what you see."
"Alright," Jean closed her eyes and pressed her fingers against her temples. "There's... more guards... six of them... two just left the room... the door is closed."
"Stalwart, quickly." Freddy cracked his knuckles and broke right through the metal door into the next room. His massive arms collided with the heads of two guards as Jean threw one guard at another. Now they were faced with three doors.
"Well now what?" Pyro asked.
"...Thank you for volunteering, Pyro," Magneto said. He pointed to one of the beaten guards, who was reaching for a radio a few feet away from him. Pyro grinned and created a fireball that bounced off the radio and hovered over the guard, then spread into a fire cage that was slowly closing in on him.
"No... please don't hurt me!"
"You will tell us what we want to know," Magneto commanded. Jean and Freddy stood nearby, but none looked as imposing to the guard as Magneto, and none as downright scary as Pyro with his near-psychotic grin and streaming flames.
"I'm not talking!"
"I respect your decision. Pyro!" The fire cage closed in on the guard. Beads of sweat ran down his forehead and his uniform was getting unbearably hot, but he didn't dare betray his superiors, even at the cost of his own life.
"Wait! Stop! I'll... I'll talk..." The fire cage stopped moving, but remained in place.
"Which door leads to the cell block?"
"The one on the left... follow it and take the door on the right, you'll be in the cell block..."
"Your cooperation is appreciated." The flames disappeared and the guard stood up long enough for Beast to punch him in the face and knock him out. "Jean?"
"He was telling the truth... except the right door after this one would have led us right into the firing range. The center door is the cell block."
"His loyalty is admirable."
"There's four guards in the next hall... one just entered... now!" Freddy charged through the door and pummeled two of the guards into submission. Jean lifted the three remaining guards off the floor and slammed one of them against the wall. Pyro kept a ring of flame close enough to the second guard's face to cut off oxygen and knock him out, and Magneto used the third's rifle to knock him in the face. Once the dust had settled, they looked at the door on the left wall, an identical door at the right wall, and a larger door at the center wall at the end of the hallway.
"We wi-" Magneto was cut off by the explosion of the right door. The mutant called Gambit stepped out, dusting off his hands and walking up to them with a grin. "What is this?"
"So you're behind this!" Evan Daniels yelled. Bone-spikes appeared on his forearms. "I knew we couldn't trust you!"
"Evan? Ororo's boy. What are you doing here?"
"What are YOU doing here?"
"We don't have time for this. Converse and I will enter. Stalwart, Pyro, stay here and stand guard."
"I'm going in," Evan said.
"You will stay here."
"Toad, come with me."
"Toad?!" Jean said in disbelief. Toad hopped out of the smoking room, wearing an all-black outfit with a jacket. "Wha...?!"
"Hey, Jean. Heh... I heard. That's why I'm here!"
"Well... alright. We can trust them," she said to Magneto.
"Very well. Evan, Todd... you come with us. Whoever else is with you will stay here and cover us." Magneto pulled the door off and led Jean through, followed by Evan and Toad. A few guards attempted to stop them, but were dispatched quickly. The cell block was even dimmer than the rest of the base, but strangely, it wasn't as guarded as Magneto had anticipated. The circular cell doors were made of thick steel, preventing any ordinary prisoner from ever escaping... but the captives behind the doors weren't exactly ordinary. There were six doors, three on one side, two on the other, and one at the end of the hall.
"Con-"
"Each cell contains exactly one prisoner..." Jean said. Magneto was a little surprised. "Just staying a step ahead."
"Good work. Which cell contains Mastermind?" he asked her.
"...The one at the end... he's... he knows we're here!" Jean closed her eyes and concentrated. Magneto put his hand on her shoulder and nudged her out of her trance. "What?!"
"You will have a chance to speak with him soon enough." Magneto used both hands to pull out the steel door, but the hall wasn't wide enough to allow them access while the steel door stood in the way of the cell entrance. Magneto stopped the door halfway and created a hole in the center, pressing the door outward to create an opening wide enough for him to hover through.
"...Magnus!" Mastermind called. His shackles were torn apart by Magneto's power. He tried to stand up, but was too weak, and Toad caught him and helped him up. "Todd... Erik... Jean..." Jean embraced her father with tears in her eyes, but it was Mastermind whose tears were greatest. "I missed you both so much..."
"Me too dad... I'm so sorry..."
"Jean, it's alright... you have nothing to apologize for."
"But..."
"We don't have time for this," Magneto said, very annoyed with yet another setback. "It is good to see you alive, Jason, but we must hurry."
"Forge..."
"What?"
"Forge is here," Mastermind said. "They have another mutant, a hypnotist, he's forcing him to make... things for these people... we need to free him."
"We will. Converse, is Forge in any of these cells?"
"I'm not sensing him," she said to him. "There's two prisoners that I can't quite detect... I know they're there, but I can't see who they are."
"We'll just have to see for ourselves." Magneto opened the door Jean pointed to and found Forge sitting at a table inside a cell twice as large as Mastermind's... it appeared that the doors next to each other led into the same larger cell. Mesmero still stood with Forge as he worked on some large, cylindrical device that ended in a sphere with numerous holes in it. "Forge, it's time to go."
"..."
"Forge?"
"He is under the hypnotist's control," Mastermind said.
"That can be fixed," Evan said. He created a spike on each palm and aimed them both at Mesmero.
"Wait, you fool!" Magneto yelled. He pulled Evan's forearm down. "There are other ways. Converse." Jean stood behind Mesmero and put her hands a few inches from his head. "Be quick."
"Ah... uh..." Jean backed away, nervously.
"Well?!"
"There's nothing there..."
"Very well." Magneto let go of Evan's arm and nodded to him. Evan raised his spikes again and fired, pinning Mesmero to the wall by the shoulders of his prisoner garb. Stuck to the wall, Mesmero began to mumble and drool, but made no real attempt to escape. Forge suddenly sat up, startled.
"Holy... wha? What's going on? Erik... Jason? Wha? This..."
"We'll have time for explanations later!" Magneto yelled, now growing very frustrated. "Todd, take him. Now, we must move quickly." Magneto led the others back out, only to find that each step they took produced a vibration along the floor. "Oh, what NOW?!" The floor itself gave Magneto his answer.
"ACK!!" Toad yelled as he fell with the others. "WHERE DID THE FLOOR GO?!"
Back in the corridor, Freddy and one of Evan's team members, Colossus, were busy holding back a horde of soldiers pouring out of the firing range. Colossus was massive in his steel form, dressed in a black bodysuit with blue-green armor, though only his metal arms and head were exposed. Tabitha Smith, the last member of Evan's team, tossed her firecracker bombs into the soldiers, but their armor was strong enough to protect them. Tabitha was dressed in a skin-tight outfit, black, gray and purple. Gambit charged fragments of rubble from the previous explosion, but those didn't do much either. As for Pyro... the poor guy had run out of fuel for his flamethrowers.
"Pyro, how are they?" Freddy asked. Pyro looked into the cell block and frowned as he saw the floor had disappeared. "Well?"
"They've... kinda taken a little trip."
"I knew this would happen... I'm going in!"
"Are you mad, man?! Something grabs Magneto, you know you don't mess with it!"
"But it grabbed Jean, too, and I'm not letting them get away with that!"
"No time to play macho!" Tabitha yelled. "There's too many, we need to get out of here!"
"Someone's taking care of that for us!" Gambit yelled. A metal tentacle appeared through the floor and grabbed Colossus's leg, then used the metal mutant's own weight to create a hole in the floor. As Colossus was dragged down, a second tentacle appeared and grabbed Tabitha's leg. Gambit took her hands and tried to pull her out, but something pulled him away from her. A massive furry arm threw him against the wall. Freddy and Pyro were now facing their new enemy, and the guards had all disappeared. Gambit kicked off the wall and landed between them. Their new enemy roared and charged.
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Viper sat at a console in a well-lit and highly polished control room with a microphone headset and a glass of wine in her hand. Several of her special green guards were stationed at the door, and her guests sat in comfortable chairs near her console.
"There we are, right on time," Viper said. She rose from her seat and looked up to a large viewscreen that displayed three different scenes: the first was an arena-like room, much like the Xavier Institute's Danger Room, where Jean, Toad and Evan waited. They were fine, though shaken and quite obviously surprised. That tended to happen when the floor disappeared. They had entered from the room they had fallen into through a concrete door. Magneto, Mastermind and Forge were not with them.
"Yes, yes, our opportunity," said a skinny old man in green lab clothing and wearing a small pair of glasses. His name was unknown, but everyone knew him as the Professor. Years before his involvement with the Pure Blood Movement, the Professor was head of Project Weapon X. Though he had complete control of that body, technology in those days was limited. Viper allowed him access to greater technology, through which he could perfect his techniques. "I will show you just how successful our experiments really were..." The second scene was a smaller metal room where Colossus, Tabitha and Beast faced an opponent armed with twin metal tendrils.
"I doubt they will amount to anything," a distinct Irish voice said. Father Stryker sat at the other chair, with the X-Cutioner standing behind him like a sentry. "Only one of your little toys has ever amounted to anything."
"We will see, priest," the Professor told him, rather insulted. The third scene was the same concrete hallway where Pyro, Freddy and Gambit dodged the attacks of a furry monster.
"Gentlemen, we are not here to quarrel amongst ourselves," Viper said. "I have great confidence in the Professor's abilities, so let us relax and enjoy the show. Care for some wine, Father?"
"I don't drink," Stryker told her as if she should have known.
"Please, Father, I know you are not the saint you pretend to be."
"...Regardless of how I treat mutants, or how I present myself to the media, I am still a priest."
"Have it your way." The mutants in the hallway looked around, confused. Viper brought a microphone to her and spoke to them. "We have been expecting you, X-Men. In a few short moments, you will witness the extent of the power of the Pure Blood Movement... it is with great pleasure that I present to you your executioners..."
Pyro watched the tall monster covered in golden fur, with a shaggy mane hanging from his head. He roared and showed them his razor-sharp teeth to match the black claws on his hands. "For you, in the corridor, we present an advanced stage of the Weapon X project, we call this one Sabretooth." Pyro took cover behind Freddy and Gambit took a charged screw from his belt pouch and threw it right at Sabretooth's chest. The impact left a burnt mark on his fur, but soon the burnt fur shed and new hair grew in its place. Sabretooth grabbed Gambit by the head and threw him behind him.
"Tough guy, huh?" Freddy said. "Okay, come on!" Sabretooth roared and charged, but in one punch, he was at the other end of the hall. Freddy flexed his muscles and grinned.
"We do some good work," Gambit said, as if he had contributed to Freddy's blow. "Let's go regroup, shall we?"
"He's not down yet," Pyro reminded him. Sabretooth was back on his feet, shaking his head. "Shame my tanks are all out... wouldn't happen to have a lighter on you, would you?"
"But of course!" Gambit tossed Pyro a disposable lighter and the red-haired mutant grinned.
"Better stand back, he loses his mind when he has flames," Freddy warned him. Pyro held the lighter out, aimed at Sabretooth, and held his other hand behind it. Sabretooth stopped his advance and waited for Pyro to make his move. With a grin, Pyro was happy to oblige. The tiny flame generated by the lighter became a roaring blast. Gambit jumped behind Freddy. "I told you."
"GRRRAAARRGGGHH!" Sabretooth collapsed under the flames. The lighter ran out of juice and the room returned to normal, albeit singed. Sabretooth was still on fire, thrashing on the floor and rolling around, desperate to put out the flames. He stood up, still smoking, and tensed his body. The singed hair fell out and his burnt flesh began to regenerate itself.
"...Son of a bitch."
"And for you, in the training chamber," Viper continued over the intercom, "We have Arkady Rossovich..." A ghost-white man with long yellow hair stood in the metal room facing Colossus, Beast and Tabitha. He was dressed in red and silver armor and silver appendages twitched in his inner wrists. They extended as long, whip-like tendrils that coiled around him and snapped against the floor, leaving harsh dents in the concrete construction. "Another project from our friends at Weapon X, only this time, built for the Soviet Union. His codename was Omega Red." Omega Red wrapped his left tendril around Colossus and elbowed Beast with his right arm before throwing the right tendril along the floor and tripping Tabitha. Colossus struggled against the strength of the metal coiling around him while Beast jumped around the room avoiding the other. Tabitha threw a well-aimed bomb at the spot where Omega Red's left tendril entered his arm and triggered a reflex that retracted it, spinning Colossus and throwing him against the wall in the process, but nonetheless freeing him.
"He's more violent than he was last time I encountered him," Beast said to Tabitha.
"You know him?"
"Yes, and I ate his donut by mistake... those bullwhips on his arms are remarkable inventions, construction from carbonadium, which is much like adamantium, only it's flexible, like the organic steel on our friend here... what's your name again?"
"That's Colossus," Tabitha said.
"Right, Colossus, a fitting name. You know, there's been research into preserving adamantium in its original liquid state, though I don't know why anyone wou-" Omega Red grabbed Beast by the waist and threw him against the ceiling, then against the wall, then threw him back against the floor.
"Perhaps it would be best to leave the explanations for later," Colossus suggested.
"I concur," Beast coughed.
"And for you, in our special arena," Viper continued, "We have a special treat.. I am sure you have at least heard of him. After all, he is the half-brother of the late Charles Xavier. It seems his brother was wrong, and Cain Marko was indeed a mutant. We have found a way to trigger his mutation, and now, you will face the wrath of the unstoppable Juggernaut." Juggernaut had more mass than Jean, Evan and Toad combined, wearing distinct dark silver armor with rust dotting it. His head was enclosed in a rusted silver dome, and through it, his eyes were white and soulless. Toad jumped over Juggernaut's giant fist and leaped off his shoulder, and Evan launched a barrage of bone-spikes which did little more than irritate him. Jean concentrated and lifted him off the ground, but it was pointless if they couldn't find a way to hurt him.
"See if you can get into his head," Evan said.
"Who put you in charge?!" Jean yelled.
"You have a better idea?" Jean grimaced and focused. After a few seconds, she looked at Evan and shook her head.
"Something's blocking me."
"Then we're screwed," Toad muttered. He hurled a glob of slime at Juggernaut's face, but missed and just hit the domed helmet.
"That's it, the helmet! Toad, get to the helmet!"
"Eh... aaah... you sure about this?" Juggernaut slammed his fists into the ground and shook the entire arena. Jean lifted herself along with Evan and Toad to avoid the tremor. "Okay... lemme at him!" Jean released her brother and he jumped over Juggernaut's head and stuck to his back. While the mutant behemoth struggled to reach behind him and pull him off, Toad unhinged one of the latches of his helmet. He avoided a massive hand and finished the second latch. Now there were only two left... on the front. Toad jumped off and away.
"The others too, Toad!" Evan commanded.
"Eh... I got two, how about YOU do something?!"
"Because I'm not a slimy little speedball like you, now hurry up!" Toad gulped and watched Juggernaut carefully. He marched towards Evan and Jean, who weren't making any effort of any kind to stop him. Of course, they were distracting him! Toad grinned and let his green tongue slip out of his mouth and crawl along Juggernaut's helmet... what a horrible taste... and find its way to the left latch. Quickly, he unfastened it and let his tongue flew back into his mouth, but it stopped suddenly. Juggernaut hadn't missed it; he had taken hold of it when he noticed it working with the latch. He threw it forward and sent Toad right on Evan, leaving only Jean on her feet. While they struggled to get back up, she concentrated and slipped the last latch off, then threw Juggernaut's helmet off.
"Well why didn't you just do that in the first place?!" Evan yelled. Jean ignored him and focused on his mind, shutting out all outside distractions... the arena faded away and Evan's yells grew silent. As far as she was concerned, the only things that existed were herself and the giant mutant marching towards her. His mind seemed unusually complex for someone as strong as him, Jean had expected him to be quite stupid, but she saw that Juggernaut didn't have access to his mind... he had been brainwashed. Still, she had work to do.
Jean concentrated on Juggernaut's mind and forced her own consciousness against his, hoping to overpower his mind into a state of unconsciousness. She opened her eyes and saw Juggernaut moving backwards.
"Huh?" She realized that Toad had grabbed her and was jumping away from Juggernaut with Evan. "Toad, put me down!"
"You took too long, he was about to grab you!"
"Look, just put me down and let me work! Now I have to start over again, thanks a lot, asshole!" Jean closed her eyes, sighed in frustration, and concentrated again. Once more, the world around her disappeared and-
"AAARGGH!" Jean opened her eyes. Juggernaut was encased in metal, struggling to break free, but unable. Even his immense strength was no match for the master of magnetism. Magneto had created a hole in the ceiling using parts of a metal door.
"Well where have YOU been?!" Jean yelled at him.
"I was detained. I will explain later. Now let us find the others and get out of he- oh, not this again!" Several plastic spheres drifted down from the hole Magneto had created and surrounded them. They released clouds of red gas that enveloped the group. Jean created a telekinetic shield to keep the gas out.
"That won't help you," Viper said through the intercom. A plastic disc flew through the red smoke and penetrated Jean's psychic shield, attaching itself to her chest and zapping her with white energy. In a matter of moments, she disappeared. The red gas was drained out through a ventilation system. The X-Cutioner stood near the group, and his pose suggested that it was he who had thrown the strange teleportation disc. He attached one onto his own chest and disappeared.
"WHERE'S JEAN?!" Toad yelled. "YOU LET MY SISTER GO OR I'LL-"
"You'll do nothing, young man." Juggernaut had already left the room, but metal in his shape remained littered on the floor. A spherical device attached to an arm lowered from the ceiling as Magneto lifted the metal and hurled it at the wall. The metal dropped before it reached the concrete and Magneto realized that a nullification device had been activated. "We have the captives we need. You are free to go."
"We are not going anywhere," Magneto declared.
"Have it your way." The concrete door opened and dozens of soldiers rushed in, aiming their rifles at them. With the nullification device activated, they had no way of defending themselves.
"This isn't over," Magneto said. The soldiers parted and allowed him to pass with Evan and Toad. Once they had left the arena, the saw that a nullification device had been activated in every room, destroying Magneto's alternate planning of storming the base once they left the arena. Pyro waited near the ladder where they had entered with Colossus carrying an unconscious Gambit with Tabitha stroking his hair with a look of concern on her face. .
"Stalwart and Beast... captured?" Magneto asked.
"Captured," Pyro sighed. "And we can't do shit with those things on."
"We have no other option but to return home and plan a rescue attempt."
"Wanda might've been useful."
"Mmm." Magneto said, not completely agreeing but at least acknowledging what Pyro had said. If he had brought Wanda, then there was a chance she would have also been captured. Even if their chances for success increased, Magneto wasn't sure if it would have been worth that risk. "Evan, do you and your allies have transportation?"
"We stole a jet to get here, but we sort of crashed it. We were planning on stealing a jet here, too. Covering our tracks."
"I can widen the spheres and fit you, but it will be cramped. I will have a talk with Ororo about your little mission later."
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The younger students had been sent back to their dorms, leaving the two older kids to themselves (Danielle had made a comment about this, but it will not be repeated). To ease their responsibility, the students all took turns watching over the respective gender-segregated dorms, agreeing to call Wanda if anything happened. In the meantime, Wanda and Scott enjoyed a midnight snack in the cafeteria, though it was just leftover macaroni and cheese from lunch.
"Cheese... not the most romantic food," Wanda said.
"Good enough for m-"
"There's something under the bed!" Dorian screamed through the intercom. Wanda jumped.
"Dorian, we'll be right-"
"Wait, it's just Roberto... he's being a jerk!"
"Roberto, don't do that. it's not funny." Wanda released the button. "These kids, sometimes I wish they'd grow up. It's hard enough keeping mutants in line without pranks and tattling."
"Wanda, there's something in the hallway!"
"What? Dorian, hold on, we-"
"It's just Amara coming back from the bathroom," Danielle said through the intercom. "Tell that kid to quit being so paranoid."
"He's got a reason to be paranoid," Scott said to Wanda. "After what just happened, I'd be too."
"Yeah. It's going to get a lot more stressful after this. It's bad enough that we lost all those kids, now we're going to have to deal with lawsuits, press, anti-human groups, anti-mutant groups... it's going to be a nightmare."
"And your father's probably going to push you into the spotlight, being chief representative and all."
"Yeah... he means well, but sometimes I think he pushes us too hard..." Wanda put her head on Scott's shoulder. "I'm 17... I'm too young for all this. It's too much pressure..." Scott realized that nothing he said would make her feel better, so he said nothing at all. He let his actions speak for him by putting his arm around Wanda's shoulders and just letting her lean on him. Sometimes, actions were more effective than words.
"There's a noise on the roof!" Dorian screamed.
"Is it Roberto again?" Scott said, covering for Wanda.
"No, something's walking around on the roof..."
"C'mon, we'd better check it out..."
"Just us, no need to worry," Pyro said over the intercom. The hangar was right above the dorms, and so the sound of the metal spheres and their passengers walking around had scared poor Dorian. Magneto gathered what was left of his X-Men- Pyro, the Scarlet Witch, and Pietro- and everyone else- Scott, Toad, Evan, Colossus, Tabitha and Gambit- in the planning room.
"Three of our own have been captured. We were powerless to retaliate, and so we will form a new strategy to get them back."
"Mom's gonna have a fit when she finds out you were there," Scott said to Toad.
"Eh."
"Evan, I want to set up a meeting with your aunt. We will need all the resources we can muster in order to fight our common enemy, and Ororo's connections could be useful."
"Wait, what do you mean connections?" Evan asked defensively. "What are you-"
"Evan, she is not as good at hiding her business as she would have others believe. I am not her master, and how she runs her business is not my concern. We will need everyone we can find to fight. Scott, Todd, call Mystique, we will need the Darkholmes involved as well. I will contact Warren and Callisto. Wanda, you are in charge of public relations. I don't have time to deal with the press or the attorneys at the moments, not until we at least have Hank, Jean and Fred back."
"Yes, sir," Wanda said, hiding her frustration. Scott put his hand on her shoulder.
"Pietro, I want you to keep all systems running at full power. We will meet tomorrow morning at eight. This meeting is over. Wanda, Pyro, get some rest. I will see the rest of you tomorrow." Magneto turned and left the room. Evan and his team muttered quick goodbyes and left. Wanda sighed, kissed Scott, and left for the dorms with Pyro. Scott and Toad exchanged looks and followed Evan's team out the door. Pietro exchanged nods with Magneto, then ran off to the control room.
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Jean, Freddy and Beast were held in stasis chambers filled with a green fluid designed to keep them under control. None of them were conscious, as the fluid induced a sleep-like trance in anyone engulfed by it. The paralysis was strong enough to contain Juggernaut, who floated in his own chamber set aside from the prisoners, contained only because his brainwashing only last a short amount of time before it wore off and he would attack his own masters. Omega Red and Sabretooth watched the prisoners and saluted as Viper walked in with Father Stryker, the X-Cutioner, and Mastermind.
"Make this quick," Stryker said. "It's late, and I want to return to Donegal and get some sleep."
"Mr. Wyngarde, do you recognize these mutants?" Viper asked. Mastermind looked up and gasped at the sight. "Don't be so dramatic. Your daughter and her friends are alright, for now. If you want to keep it that way, then you will cooperate."
"No. You won't blackmail me into doing it. I know what you want, and I won't give in."
"Hmmph. Have it your way." Viper snapped her fingers and Omega Red extended his tendrils and slipped them into an opening at the top of the chamber where Jean floated. They coiled around her waist and neck and began to twist her in opposite directions.
"...What are you doing? Are you... are you crazy?! I... I won't give in! I can't! Not for anything! I won't do it!" And then the green fluid became red. Jean opened her eyes, startled to find herself being twisted inside the tank. She saw her father outside in chains.
"Dad... daddy, what..." Omega Red began to pull harder. Jean tried to force the tendrils off, but found that her telekinesis had been nullified. Somehow, in its red state, the fluid allowed consciousness but kept the subject paralyzed. "Ah! Stop it! No! Daddy, help me! He... AAARGH! PLEASE, STOP! STOP! I'M BEGGING YOU, STOP!"
"Stop it!" Mastermind yelled. "Stop! I'll do it! I'll do it!" Omega Red released Jean and retracted his tendrils. Mastermind broke down on the floor, tears running down his face. "...I'll do it..."
"That was cruel," Stryker said to Viper sarcastically.
"Thank you, father, I am quite proud of my success." Sabretooth escorted Mastermind back to his cell and Jean's chamber turned green again. "Now our little plan is underway."
"Good, at least we are getting results. I'll let you and the old man handle the details for now, I have service tomorrow morning. Perhaps you should attend sometime. You could benefit from the teachings of the Lord... and some modesty."
"Please, father, I am above such concepts." Stryker scowled. "You know as well as I do that God is a simple lie to keep the peasants in line, religion is a joke. But it is quite funny. I have seen your interviews, you are quite the comedian."
"Yes, funny indeed," Stryker said with every hint of anger in his voice. "You worry about your little science projects, and I will worry about the 'simple lies' and keeping the peasants in line."
"I would watch my tone, father," Viper snarled. "Remember that I know some of your little secrets." Stryker scowled and left the room with the X-Cutioner. They walked through several halls in silence until the reached a hangar where a small jet waited.
"Shall I punish her for her insolence?" the X-Cutioner asked in his raspy voice.
"No. We still need her to do her work behind the scenes. We will deal with her after this is done." They boarded the jet and were soon on their way back to Ireland.
What does Viper want Mastermind to do, and is it so horrible that he would actually consider allowing his own daughter to die if it meant not doing it? Is Stryker still a man of faith, or is it just a facade? And speaking of which, why is the X-Cutioner following him around? Who IS the X-Cutioner?