It's All Relative
Chapter Two
Velocity crouched behind the bushes surrounding the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters. She was beginning to realize that Pyro and Toad had been right in that this was a bad idea. The sight of the huge estate kept telling her that the sister she knew was gone, and that she should go back to the Brotherhood - back to the family that she still had, and the place where she had always belonged.
But she was stubborn, as she had been as long as anyone who knew her could remember. She glanced to the east at the slowly rising sun peaking over the horizon, and realized she had been debating her decision for long enough. Quickly, she climbed the fence surrounding the estate.
As soon as she touched the ground on the other side, however, the sound of alarms filled the air, and the mansion's defense guns emerged from the ground.
"Shit," Velocity breathed as one of the guns pointed directly at her. She rolled to the side as it shot, got up and raced between them, trying to think clearly. An idea came to her, and she ran behind one of the guns. The opposite gun fired, and she sped behind that one before the laser beam reached its target. The first gun shot, and the two guns exploded as the beams made contact.
"Intruder alert! Intruder alert! All X-Men report in!"
"Jean! What's going on?" Cyclops shouted into his comm over Cerebro's alarms.
"Velocity is on the mansion grounds," Jean replied. "And she's neutralizing our defenses!"
"Hear that, everyone?" Cyclops broadcasted through to all the X-Men. "Let's move!"
Velocity looked up from the smoldering remains of the guns as the rest of them sank back into the ground. The mansion door flung open, and she clenched her teeth as she watched the X-Men run outside.
"Alright, Velocity," Cyclops aimed his ruby-quartz visor at her. "You're outnumbered, so why don't you just surrender nicely, before anyone has to get hurt?"
"I didn't come here to pick a fight," she replied bluntly.
"That's a shame," Wolverine growled as his adamantium claws burst from the back of his hands. "Cuz I'm in the mood for a real good fight."
Velocity narrowed her eyes and sized up each of her opponents. Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Morph, and a younger girl whom she did not recognize stood before her. Rogue, Gambit, and Jean Grey were nowhere to be seen (though she suspected that Jean was probably inside operating Cerebro). "Well, if you insist, tough guy," she taunted Wolverine. "Bring it on."
Wolverine snarled, and Cyclops put a hand on his shoulder, telling him not to attack...yet. "One last chance, Velocity," he warned her. "Either turn yourself over, or we do it for you."
"Not on your life, Cyke," she hissed back, and ran toward them.
Cyclops fired a beam of concentrated light from his visor, which Velocity easily dodged. Wolverine dove, claws out, at her form as she blew by, but he did not succeed in catching her, and ate dirt instead.
Velocity knew that her best bet was to keep moving. Nobody on their team could catch her, but they had their ways to beat her. There was no way that she could hide, because if Wolverine's nose didn't find her, Jean Grey with Cerebro would.
Another problem was the perimetre fence. Velocity couldn't get over it without stopping, and if she stopped, Cyclops would pick her off before she could get halfway over.
A quick glance ahead caught Beast swinging down from the nearest tree. Velocity cut a hard right to avoid the kick from his powerful legs.
She stopped abruptly and skidded on the slick grass as a ruby-red blast exploded a half-inch in front of her. She cast a nasty look at Cyclops, and as she prepared to run back the other way, another ruby-red blast exploded behind her, though the mutant she had been glaring at hadn't done it.
Velocity whipped her head around to see another Cyclops with a cocky grin on his face, and she knew it was Morph. The two of them had her blocked off from running either way, so she pivoted on the spot and ran straight up the middle, toward Morph.
Both X-Men got off a couple of blasts, but Velocity easily dodged them. As she came closer, Morph knew that there was no way he could get away fast enough if she had set her mind on hitting him.
"A little help here?" he asked frantically, morphing back into his true form.
"Storm! Take her out!" Cyclops shouted.
"With pleasure," Storm replied, and her eyes went white. "I summon the ferocious winds of the raging tornado!"
Velocity found herself slowing down, her legs straining to keep moving forward. She ducked down under the wind, and continued running, cutting through the rough air.
"Shit!" Morph cried, and tried to run, which proved quite difficult against the wind.
Velocity had Morph lined up, and suddenly heard a high-pitched whistling sound followed by an explosive pain in her chest. She was knocked off her feet, and the wind blew her back nearly forty feet. She plowed into the ground and lay still on the cool grass.
Storm allowed the winds to die down and Jubilee puffed out her chest. "The fearless Jubilee saves the day again," she smirked.
"Well done, Jubilation," Beast congratulated her.
"Quick thinkin', kid," Wolverine agreed.
Morph took a deep calming breath. "I owe ya one."
"All right everyone," Cyclops was relieved, but business-like as usual. "I want to know two things: Where are Rogue and Gambit, and is there anything you might have heard that would have been the reason for our little visitor?"
"Who is she, anyways?" Jubilee shrugged. "Quicksilver's long lost, er, triplet?"
"You're lucky he wasn't here to hear you say that," Wolverine mused.
"Her name is Nadia Molotova, better known as Velocity, and she is an old nemesis of ours," Storm explained. "We haven't heard from her in quite some time. It had been a possibility that she had been killed many years ago on a secret mission while working for Mystique. Personally, I had hoped that she had turned over a new leaf and was living a peaceful life."
"That's wishful thinking, Storm," Cyclops scoffed. "Old habits die hard for scum like her."
"She did mention that she did not come here for a fight," Beast reminded him.
"That's true, Hank," Jean agreed with him, walking up behind the group from the mansion. "And I believe her."
"Jean-"
"No, Scott," Jean shook her head, cutting him off. "During the night, Rogue took off, presumably to find Mystique after reacting very strangely to news of Velocity's reappearance, and Gambit followed her. I've been trying to put this all together, and Velocity's arrival here without trouble on her mind seems to be the piece of the puzzle I've been missing."
"I think I see where you are going with this, Jean," Beast rubbed his chin. "Do you believe that, just as Rogue had thought Velocity had met her demise, Velocity had been led to believe that Rogue had suffered the same fate?"
"Not only do I believe it," Jean nodded, "I have her own thoughts as confirmation. While she has many mental defenses, first and foremost - and unblocked - on her mind is her intention to speak to the sister she presumed dead."
"Curiouser and curiouser," Beast stated.
"Well, no matter what her intentions were," Cyclops began again, "a mission of peace doesn't make up for past crimes. She is a cold-cut terrorist, likely still working for Mystique, and someone who just endangered this team."
"I hate to say it, Jeanny," Wolverine commented, "but I agree with the guy."
"Yeah, come on, Jean," Morph nodded. "She's a prime suspect for a major massacre that happened two weeks ago!"
"She sounds like bad news," Jubilee concluded.
"Darn tootin', kid," Morph nodded. "And I suggest that we take advantage of the fact that she's down and not running circles around us, and lock her up right now." Cyclops nodded his approval and Morph started toward her still form.
Jean sensed Velocity's return to a conscious state at the same time that Wolverine smelled the danger that his friend was in.
"Morph, don't!" he exclaimed, but a moment too late as Velocity sprang to her feet, wrapped one arm around his chest, pulled his gun out of the holster on his hip, and held it to the side of his head.
"Velocity, calm down and think about this," Jean tried to reason with her.
"No, Jean, you think about this," she replied angrily, very near panic. "You all just tried to kill me, and you expect me to go along with whatever you say now?" She began to back up toward the gate.
"Nobody tried to kill you," Jean assured her.
"But if you hurt one hair on Morph's head," Wolverine snarled, "that'll change real quick."
Velocity clutched Morph tighter and Jean cast an exasperated look at Wolverine. The last thing she needed when trying to reason with a cornered and armed enemy in a hostage situation was for him to bait the captor.
"I'll tell you what'll change real quick," Velocity shot back. "The number of X-Men left alive if any of you try anything funny. And that includes you, Chuckles," she hissed in Morph's ear.
"Nadia, please," Jean opted to use her real name, trying to give the impression that there were no sides right now; that they were all equal. "Tell me what you came here for."
"Where's Rogue?" she demanded.
Cyclops and Wolverine exchanged a stupefied look as Jean continued. "She isn't here right now."
Velocity glanced nervously from Jean to Wolverine, who still looked like he wanted to rip her throat out, and back again. "W-where is she then?"
"You should be glad she ain't here," Wolverine couldn't keep his temper controlled. "Or you'da been laid out like yesterday's laundry."
"Logan!" Jean snapped at him, now fed up.
"Hey, um, could we maybe not tick off the nice lady with the gun to my head?" Morph called to him, feeling the gun's muzzle pressing harder into his temple.
"I would suggest listening to him," Velocity narrowed her eyes. "I'm the one who decides whether he lives or dies today. I think it's safe to say that I'm calling the shots here."
"Yes, you're right, so what is it you want?" Jean asked slowly.
"I need to talk to Rogue, Jean," Velocity insisted.
"You can't talk to me?"
"Ha!" Velocity spat. "I'm not having you try any little mind games on me, making me believe your little insignificant peace missions are for the greater good. Mutantkind is taking their lives back into their own hands, X-Men, and you can tell Xavier that there's nothing any of you can do about it."
"Xavier-" Cyclops's face fell momentarily.
"Charles Xavier is gone, Nadia," Jean explained. "Lilandra of the Shi'ar Empire took him across the galaxies for medical help."
"But the broadcast-"
Morph slowly raised his hand, not wanting to startle her. "That would have been me."
"It's the reason Magneto has disappeared," Jean continued. "And it's why mutants must stop this war and make peace in his memory."
"No, Jean," Velocity shook her head. "If they hurt Xavier enough for him to need the Shi'ar's help, then mutants must work together to take this world from the control of those who dared do such a thing to him."
"No, that's not what-"
"Open the gate," Velocity did not let her finish, and gripped the gun tighter in case she was defied. She pressed her back up against the main gate and waited.
"Over my dead body," Cyclops had had enough.
"No, over his dead body," she jerked her head toward Morph, "if you don't let me go."
"Let Morph go free first, Nadia," Jean tried to negotiate.
"Jean, terrorist negotiating is not an option!" Cyclops informed her.
"Well, what would you rather do then, Scott?" Jean replied bluntly. "Have the death of a teammate on your hands because you were too stubborn to listen?"
Cyclops had no reply for that, remembering vividly that he'd already had Morph's death on his hands once in the past. Jean turned back to Velocity.
"You should listen to her more often, Cyke, but it doesn't make a difference," she called to them. "Because there is no way that I'm getting rid of my shield here before I have an exit so that you or that girl can have an open target for blasting practice. Now open this gate!"
Wolverine's mind had drifted from the stalemate situation occurring next to him. He had caught a whiff of an all-to-familiar scent on the gentle breeze; a scent that made the hairs on his body stand on end. It was moving toward the spot where Velocity stood with Morph, on the other side of the gate. He looked up slowly and made eye contact with Morph. His mind raced, trying to think of a way to help his buddy before the situation went from bad to much, much worse.
Morph raised an eyebrow, trying to decipher what Wolverine was trying to tell him. His friend looked very worried, continually shifting his glance from him to the bushes outside the gate. If there was one thing Morph had learned from Wolverine over the years, it was to watch for signs of danger. He could see Wolverine subtly smelling the air, trying not to draw too much attention. Morph knew that there was something very wrong, and that if he didn't watch for Wolverine's signal to act, his life could be in very serious trouble.
Morph could feel Velocity's body trembling against his own. He momentarily wondered at the reason but then put it from his thoughts as he concentrated on waiting for Wolverine's signal.
Jean Grey knew the reason, for, at the moment, even while she continued to negotiate, she was inside Velocity's mind.
She had concealed herself to prevent detection, and had confirmed the earlier mental impression she had received that Velocity truly had come on a peaceful mission and had been lied to about Rogue's "death." The precarious situation in which she currently found herself with a gun to a hostage's head had never been the original goal. In fact, Jean learned she had never even considered it to be a possibility.
Digging further, Jean saw images of Mystique, Pyro, Toad, Avalanche, Blob, and Sabretooth. She sensed their team bond, but when she tried to find their plan, a door closed - Velocity's mental defenses had kicked in. Jean had been found out.
"You tried to trick me!" Velocity screamed, her body trembling with rage.
"I-I-"
"Morph!" Wolverine yelled, cutting Jean's stammering short, "now!" He charged at them.
Morph pushed Velocity's arm away and smashed his elbow into her chest, breaking her grip on him. She doubled over, winded, and heard the savage snarl behind her. There was an awful shrieking sound as the gate was torn from its hinges and swung over her, catching Morph on the shoulder and sending him sprawling on the grass.
"One more step, runt," Sabretooth's gravelly voice addressed Wolverine, "and I finish the job on this little pipsqueak." Wolverine stopped in his tracks, and Sabretooth pulled Velocity to her feet. Gripping the gun tightly and aiming it at the X-Men, Velocity went to retrieve her hostage, and then winced in pain. The compound effect from Morph's elbow and the girl's blast had heavily bruised her ribs.
Sabretooth stepped forward and lifted a dazed Morph off of the ground by his throat. "Need a lift, too, girly?" he smirked at Velocity, holding out a clawed hand.
She glared at him spitefully. "I'm fine-" Her voice cut off abruptly as one hand left the gun and clutched her ribs.
Sabretooth caught her before she fell to her knees and lifted her over his shoulder. "You and your moron are a real perfect pair now, sweetheart," he commented mockingly, still keeping his eyes on Wolverine and the other X-Men.
Velocity didn't reply; she wasn't sure that she wanted to know.
"Listen up, X-Men," Sabretooth snarled. "Any of you get the bright idea to follow us, and all you'll find is your buddy's corpse. Got that?"
"Let him go, coward! Your fight is and always has been with me!" Wolverine's anger was raging.
"I got my orders, runt," Sabretooth laughed evilly. "Just because you stopped followin' 'em doesn't mean the rest of us did. So I'm takin' my partner and our insurance, and we're leavin' with no problem."
"If you hurt him, I swear I'll-"
"Just do as you're told, and he'll stay livin'."
And the X-Men watched helplessly as Sabretooth backed out of the hole where the gate used to be and disappeared into the bushes.
"What in Tarnation happened here?" Rogue exclaimed as she and Gambit returned to the Institute.
They stared in wonder at the mangled remains of the front gate, which now lay in the grass eight feet away from the fence. Two totaled defense guns were still smoldering at one side, and there were signs of struggle in multiple areas of the grounds.
"We miss a major training session or somet'ing?" Gambit raised an eyebrow.
"Ah don' think so, Remy," Rogue shook her head. "Something terrible's happened here, and Ah have a feeling Ah know what."
"What are we gonna do?" Wolverine roared, pounding his fists down on the War Room's table. "We have to find Morph!"
"We can't do anything until Rogue and Gambit get back with information on the whereabouts of their hideout," Cyclops replied.
"Stuff that idea," Wolverine shot back. "I'm goin' out and trackin' 'em down!"
"And risk Morph's life in the process?" Cyclops threw his hands in the air. "I can't let you do that!"
"We can't trust Sabretooth to keep his word!"
"As of right now, we have no other choice!"
"Cyclops is correct, Wolverine," Beast tried to calm his teammate down. "We have to assume that Morph is still alive, and decipher a strategy to safely retrieve him."
"What are y'all talkin' about?" Rogue asked upon entering the room with Gambit.
"Did you find where those creeps are holdin' up?" Wolverine asked, almost shouting.
"Ah found 'em, but what the hell's goin' on?" she tried to get a straight answer.
"Velocity and Sabretooth showed up here today," Jean explained, her face grave. "They kidnapped Morph."
"And she was looking for you," Jubilee added. "Now that chick had some seriously messed up priorities."
Rogue's face fell, and her voice wavered slightly. "Y'all don' understand, kiddo," she shook her head. "She's my sister."
"That's it, I'm outta here. This is too weird," Jubilee declared, marching toward the door. Gambit put a hand on her shoulder and she stopped.
"Ah'm sorry, everyone," Rogue continued, a tear forming in her eye. "It's my fault Morph's gone. Ah-Ah shouldn't've taken off like that."
"There was no way you could have known, Rogue," Storm comforted her friend. "But we mustn't dwell on the past. We must keep out heads set on the task at hand."
"Indeed," Beast nodded. "Does anybody have a rational-" at this point he glanced at Wolverine, "-plan?"
"You give Gambit da word, and he show you where day be hiding out," Gambit's red eyes glowed as he shuffled a deck of cards.
"It's too risky in broad daylight," Cyclops shook his head. "We can't take any chances on endangering civilians."
"Then we shall strike at dusk," Storm concluded.
Cyclops nodded approvingly. "In the meantime, everyone get some sleep. It's going to be a long night, and I need everyone at full strength."
Wolverine stood in the doorway of his room, staring uncertainly at his bed. He'd almost forgotten what sleep was in these past two weeks; he'd gotten so little of it. And when he had dozed off, it had been a restless sleep, endlessly tossing and turning.
Morph's capture had almost driven him over the edge. He knew Cyclops was right; the guy was a natural-born leader, and he knew what was best for the team. But it made him crazy to feel so helpless, and the fact that Sabretooth was involved just made it worse.
Wolverine closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He had a deep respect for Storm, and today she'd once again reminded him why. She was right to say that everyone had to keep their minds on the task at hand, instead of dwelling on past mistakes.
He made his way over to a small mat on the floor in the corner of his room, thinking of the Professor. He'd taught - or tried to teach him how to keep his emotions under control in these situations. The best way to do that right now was something he'd learned during his years in Japan: meditation. He carefully lit a stick of incense, sat cross-legged on the mat, and began to clear his mind.
Avalanche, Blob, and Sabretooth stood in Mystique's office watching her pace. She was trying to sort out their dilemma: taking an X-Man for a hostage immediately pushed them out of the "non-threat" category where they'd hoped to hide out until the plan was set in motion.
"We're all ready, Mystique," Avalanche told her. "What's the problem with moving ahead of schedule?"
"It's not that, Lance," Mystique shook her head. "I'm worried about having those damn X-Men in our business now."
"There won't be anything that they can do to stop us once we get started," Sabretooth stated.
"But what if we can't get started?" Mystique stopped pacing and looked at the three before her.
"I don't get it," Blob frowned.
"They know where we are located. They will try to rescue Morph, and then they will find out what we're up to and they'll ruin everything!" Mystique was clearly distressed about the whole thing.
"So let's move faster than they do, then," Avalanche offered his opinion.
"Yes, but how?" Mystique's eyes narrowed. She was overworked and completely out of ideas. Any help at all would be extremely appreciated.
"I've got an idea," Sabretooth said. "I'll take a squad and the hostages up to the nuke base, and you keep a squad here to keep the X-jerks busy."
Mystique bit her bottom lip, thinking for a moment. "It could work," she slowly nodded. "Yes, it's perfect. Where is Nadia?"
"I dropped her off at her place. She's resting with the idiot," Sabretooth replied, grinning as he remembered the injuries Pyro had sustained. "She mighta cracked a couple of ribs, but she should be fine."
"And how is Pyro?"
"Pfft, who cares?"
Avalanche glared darkly at Sabretooth, and Mystique rolled her eyes. "Alright, now listen," she ordered. "I want you to take Velocity and Pyro with you." Sabretooth didn't look impressed. "They're no good with me here if they can't fight yet," she urged. "And you'll need their help. And Toad - he'll need to be there to activate the satellite equipment. The four of you are the field squad."
"I'm going to get everything ready, then," Sabretooth grumbled, obviously displeased about being stuck with both Pyro and Toad.
Mystique nodded, then resumed her orders. "Blob, Avalanche, I need you two to stay in New York with me. We have to divert the X-Men's attention to allow the others enough time to escape without leaving too much of a trail for Wolverine to pick up on. I've got an idea that will buy us some time, but we can't take them on the way we are. Everyone return home and we'll regroup back here an hour before nightfall. I'll contact the others and let them know."
"How are ya feeling?"
"Physically, or mentally?"
"Both, either, whichever, just talk to me."
Velocity slowly and painfully sat down on the bed beside Pyro. "It was a shock, and I still don't know what exactly to think. I just thought that somehow, if I could only see Rogue again, all of the stupid politics and mutant-haters would disappear, and everything would be okay again because she was alive. It sounds stupid, I know."
"It ain't stupid, Nadia my love," Pyro put his arm around her trying not to touch her ribs. "It's hope. And no matter what side we're on, we all gotta have a little hope that, one way or another, this'll all be over some day. Otherwise, what the hell are we fightin' for?"
She looked at him lovingly. "You're very philosophical when you're on painkillers, did you know that?" she grinned.
"Okay, fine then, be that way," he replied. "We'll see how understanding I can be with pain shooting throughout my bloody face, okay?"
She kissed him and he shut up. The phone rang before they could go any further. Velocity got up to answer and lowered her voice to speak to the person on the other end. When she hung up, Pyro sat up and looked at her quizzically.
"Who was it?"
"Mystique" she replied. "We're to rendezvous with the others at the base this evening before sunset. Which means," she smiled mischievously, "we've got the rest of the day all to ourselves."
"How will we pass the time?" Pyro grinned as he gathered her into his arms and kissed her again.
"You don' want to talk to Gambit?"
"Ah don' wanna talk ta anyone, Remy."
"Sometimes it be better when someone here to listen, chère," Gambit smiled his charming smile at her.
Rogue looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. "Ah don' really know what ta tell ya," she replied.
Gambit sat down on the bed beside her. "When Gambit got word dat his brother was in trouble, he got home as fast as he could, even though he knew he could lose what mattered to him most," he put his hand over Rogue's gloved hand. "Cuz he knows dat family is très important, even if day done stupid t'ings in da past."
Rogue looked at him as if she'd seen him for the first time. It was then that she realized that he knew exactly how she felt, and that she was not alone.
"Ah don' wanna lose her again, Remy," Rogue admitted. "Ah mean, Ah understand that her an' Ah ain't on the same side anymore, but if somethin' awful were ta happen ta her, Ah dunno if Ah could take it. Ah already had ta do it once. Not again."
"If it make you feel any better, chère," Gambit smiled at her. "She is not dat easy to take out, non? You see da proof of dat outside."
Rogue smiled slightly. "Ah know she ain't, but my gut still won't settle down."
"Gambit understands perfectly, chère."
She covered his mouth and kissed the back of her gloved hand. "Thank you."
"We were finally working together as a team again. It was the first time since-" Cyclops cut himself off.
"The Professor would have been proud," Storm said comfortingly, softening what Cyclops hadn't allowed himself to say.
"No, no he wouldn't," Cyclops shook his head. "Because we dropped our guard, and Velocity capitalized, and now Morph paid for my mistake."
Jean and Storm were with him in the War Room. As leader of the X-Men, there was far too much going on in Cyclops's head for him to rest, and the two women had agreed that he shouldn't be alone to think himself into a depression. Now, they exchanged a determined look. They had to get him back on the game plan.
"Then fix this," Jean replied simply.
Cyclops snapped his head around at her, eyebrow raised. "What?"
"If you think it was your fault, that it was your mistake, then you have to be the one to set it right," Jean explained. "We'll go wherever you lead us, but you have got to stay focused and take charge."
Cyclops nodded in understanding. All he'd needed was to be set on the right path. "You're right, Jean," he agreed. "We're going in there, and getting him back. Nothing can stop me from that this time."
Morph looked curiously across the cell at Graydon Creed, who sat huddled in the corner as far away as he could get from him. It had been this way for several hours – he couldn't be sure how long as he'd completely lost track of time. He'd heard voices shortly after being locked up, but had not heard anything since and assumed everybody had left. He could not be sure, however, and since there were no visible means of escape, he had opted for waiting until an opportunity was presented to him. Morph suddenly became very aware of how sore his butt had become and uncomfortably shifted his weight on the hard, cold floor. Then he jumped as Creed cried out for the first time that day.
"Don't come any closer, mutant!" he warned Morph. "Just leave me alone!"
Morph raised an eyebrow. "What the hell did they do to you, Creed?"
"M-my father...n-no! He is not my father!" Creed shrieked in reply.
"Your father? Oh, well, you wouldn't happen to be referring to-" Morph's features altered to become much larger and feline, "-a certain Mr. Sabretooth, would you?"
"N-no!" Creed screamed like a frightened child. "Get away! Don't hurt me! I beg you!"
"That's almost music to my ears," Morph chuckled, changing back to normal. "Such a shame that Wolverine couldn't be here to appreciate this."
"Somehow, I do not think he'd be so easily amused," said a voice from the shadows.
"Well, you know, Velocity," Morph replied coolly, instantly recognizing her Russian accent. "Normally I would have to take offence to a comment like that, implying that my case is one of 'small minds; small pleasures'. But in this case, I'd have to say that I agree with you." He was, as usual, taking everything with a grain of salt. One could go crazy if one didn't laugh. Morph had been to crazy and back, and he hadn't liked it.
Velocity stepped into the light, along with Pyro. "Good," she stated bluntly. "Things will be much easier for you if you just keep agreeing with me."
"Question," Morph raised his hand. "What time is it?"
"Nearly sunset."
"Wouldn't you know it – I've missed all my favourite programs!" His joke was rewarded with silence. "What's going on, you guys?" Morph decided to take a serious approach for a moment. "What could you possibly hope to accomplish by holding me here? Other than feeding off my natural charm, of course." He couldn't hold serious for long.
"I didn't plan to bring you with me, you know?" Velocity scowled. "But we're working around your inconvenience."
"Ouch, girl, ouch."
"Truth hurts."
"What is your plan, then?"
"Mind your own business, mate," Pyro narrowed his eyes at him. "All you need to know is that scum like him-" he kicked dirt at Creed, "-won't be causing us mutants trouble for much longer."
"And you'll find out why soon enough," Velocity added. "Because you will have the pleasure of accompanying us to our new base of operations."
"Only if you're gonna be there," Morph winked at her.
Velocity's expression did not change, but Pyro's teeth-grinding could have been heard back at the Institute.
"O-kay, tough crowd. Fine, what if I refuse?" Morph went the other way with a hypothetical question.
Velocity nodded to Pyro, who closed his eyes and raised his hands in the air. The lights attached to the walls began to quiver, then to shake violently as several light bulbs burst from the sudden increased heat and the newly freed fire exploded to quadruple the height. The orange flames licked at the ceiling, then eerily merged together, forming a towering, burning cobra.
The snake slipped between the bars of the cell, and surrounded Morph with its fiery body. Morph swallowed hard as its glowing red eyes transfixed him.
"N-new base of operations it is, then," Morph chuckled nervously.
"I knew you weren't stupid," Velocity replied, and Pyro allowed the fire cobra to evaporate. "Now, let's go."
She unlocked the cell door, and Morph carefully moved over beside them. Pyro entered the cell and swiftly approached Creed.
"No! NO! Get away, please!" Creed howled, backing away, crab-style, from Pyro. The blond mutant back-handed the man across the side of his head, knocking him flat. Without a word, he threw the silenced man over his shoulder, and then exited the cell and followed Velocity and Morph down the hallway.
Mystique was outside watching the last silver of the sun disappearing behind the city. Sabretooth, Velocity, Pyro and Toad had taken Morph and Creed and left quite some time ago on the military vessel the two had used to return home in the first place.
"Mystique?" It was Avalanche. "They'll be here soon."
"I know."
He waited a moment, shifting his weight uncomfortably. He cleared his throat, but still got no response. "Uh...Mystique? You've got to be in position when they show up."
"Yes, I know, Lance. We have plenty of time."
"It won't fool them, you know."
"It will for long enough for them to be thrown off track. They have no way of knowing what our next COA will be. Our mental defenses are strong enough to detect Jean if she tries to force her way into our minds."
"Oh, of course. Cerebro couldn't possibly help her strengthen her power or anything like that."
Mystique sighed deeply, folding her arms tightly across her body. Her mind was on other things besides his nervous pessimism. "This is exactly what I feared would happen," she said. Avalanche rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth. He knew what was coming but honestly didn't care about her issues about the past or any of that kind of crap right now. Lance Alvers was nothing if not an emotional man, but his emotions tended to manifest in anger and violent demonstrations of his seismic power. He was nervous enough that this plan wouldn't work, and letting weak, foolish emotions like the kind Mystique was talking about get in the way of things was unacceptable. He turned and re-entered the lair, leaving Mystique to talk to herself. "This is why I've tried to keep them apart. I thought someday I could win Rogue back and then I could tell them the truth. I didn't want them to have to be pit against each other, and-" she turned, saw that she was alone, and sighed, "-I'm scared of what will happen."