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"Hey guys you're just in time." Forge exclaimed, when Scott and Logan found him. "Behold, our new garage." He pushed a button on what looked like a garage door opener. A swirling vortex opened in the dessert. "I have one of these for everyone and there's a another opener on that post inside. I wouldn't want anyone getting trapped in there."
"Good thought." Scott said.
"And you're sure there's nothing living in this one?" Logan asked suspiciously.
"It's just a pocket dimension." Forge said. "Like the one I was stuck in for thirty years. Trust me, there's nothing in there."
"Ya better be right kid." Logan said. "Look, we've got a new project for you."
"What?" Forge asked.
"We want you to build something to block mutant powers." Scott said.
"How?" Forge asked. "I mean that's a little vague. I need a theory before my power kicks in."
"Talk to Cable." Scott said. "His team had a theory, but they couldn't make it work."
"Oh, okay, no problem." Forge replied with a shrug. "By the way, why do you want something like that?"
****** ****** ******
Lance glared at Logan and muttered curses under his breath as he flexed his fingers gingerly.
"I told you you were going to hurt yourself punching like that." Logan replied unrepentantly.
"You've got freakin' metal bones. Of course it hurts to hit you." Lance complained.
"The problem is you don't know how to throw a punch, not my bones." Logan replied matter-of-a-factly. "Ya didn't get the scars on your hands from hitting me."
"I know how to fight." Lance said sulkily.
"You know how to brawl." Logan corrected. "And believe me, I know that's got it's charms… if you're me. You figure you've won a fight as long as ya dish out more hurt than ya take. Ain't that about right?"
"What else would you call it?" Lance asked sarcastically.
"Setting yourself up to loose the next fight." Logan replied blandly. "You don't have a healing factor. Whatever damage you take you carry into your next fight. As humans measure things you're damn good at absorbing damage and going on fighting. No one's saying you aren't tough. But you try getting in a brawl with Sabretooth, me or anyone like us and you'll die. It's that simple."
"So why do you know this stuff?" Lance asked. "Doesn't sound like you need it."
For a moment Lance didn't think Logan was going to answer. He stared out across the sand. "You know what a berserker is, kid?" Logan asked.
"A walking battery who gets bleach all over the bathroom every couple of weeks?" Lance asked facetiously.
Logan frowned at him.
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Lance amended.
"You can't fight smart if you can't stay in control. I can walk into machine gun fire, kill the gunner with my bare hands and not even have a scar twenty-four hours later. It doesn't mean I like it when a fight gets out of hand and I find myself standing over a pile of corpses wondering who they were. I learned this stuff to keep control. From what I've seen a little disciple wouldn't hurt you either."
Lance rolled his eyes.
"Look Rocky, you keep going the way you have been and you're not going to live very long. I could point out what it'll do to the Half-pint and your friends when you die but you're smart enough to know when you're risking your life. You make choices about when you think something's worth dying for. I can respect that, but I want to make sure you've got as many other options as possible."
Logan paused for a moment. "From what I've seen you're pretty quick to decide you have to let yourself get killed to protect your friends. You don't bother putting much effort into keeping your own life when you think you're going lose something you value. Makes me wonder if you're being a teenager and think you can't die or if you just don't give a damn."
"I didn't have another way!" Lance shouted. "Ask Scott, the rescue mission would have failed without me."
"And with Nicky?" Logan asked. "I told you we'd get him back. I told you to trust us. Instead you ran off and tried to take care of it on your own; and you paid for that choice didn't you? Thing is, so did the rest of us. I get why you had to do it: Nicky's family, he's a helpless kid who only got into that mess 'cause he knew you and he thinks the world of you. What I don't get is why the hell didn't you show me that note?"
Lance shrugged. He honestly didn't know why he hadn't asked Logan or Kitty for help. He'd just known it was his fault Nicky had been put in danger. His family was being hurt just because they'd tried to make a place for him. He'd needed to make things right; beyond that he really hadn't though much at all.
"I don't have a problem with there being things you're willing to die for." Logan said. "But you don't have to be stupid about it. You need to know how to keep your head clear. That way you'll know better than to throw your life at a problem because you got excited and ran off half-cocked."
Lance grimaced. "I wasn't trying to get myself killed." He argued. "If I'd had my powers…"
"It ain't much of a trap if the other guy hasn't thought of way to deal with abilities he knows you've got." Logan pointed out dryly. "Okay, enough talking. Let's get back to work. This time try listening to me."
****** ****** *****
Callisto leaned up against a tree across the road from the mansion and waited. She knew the camera over the gate was taking her image inside. She could picture the flow of gossip inside those high, pristine walls.
It took about half an hour for Ray to make his appearance. "I told you not to bring her here." Callisto said.
"Torpid was miserable, what was I supposed to do?" Ray demanded. "Watch her suffer?"
"She doesn't belong here." Callisto stated.
"If you think it's so awful up here then why'd you send me to Xavier?" Ray asked.
Callisto glanced away. "It was different for you." She said. "You must have wondered why we took you in. During the years you were with us we killed more than one up-worlder who found their way into our tunnels. You knew we didn't waste sympathy or compassion on normals."
Ray waited.
"Caliban knew you'd be a mutant before he laid eyes on you for the first time. We thought you'd be one of us." Callisto shrugged. "Then your powers came and you were could still pass."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Ray demanded. "I mean look in the mirror Callisto, loosing an eye doesn't exactly mark you as a mutant."
"I made my choice." Callisto snapped. "I knew what I turned my back on and I am content with it. You would have gotten curious one day. You would have hated us if we'd decided for you. I sent you here so that if you did come back it would be your choice."
"Why not let Torpid see the options too?" Ray asked. "We're not even trying to hide what we are anymore. She won't face any worse of a stigma than the rest of us do."
"How naive." Callisto commented. "Of course it's worse if you don't match their standard of beauty. More than that Torpid's been hurt enough. How can I keep her safe if I let her go? I promised that no one would ever hurt her again."
"Could you at least trust me to look after her while she's sick?" Ray sighed. "I promise no one will hurt her and she'll be more comfortable at the Institute."
"I do trust you, Berserker." Callisto apologized reluctantly. "But I gave up something precious to rescue Torpid; I can't loose her too. I'll come for her when the tunnels are safe again."
****** ****** ******
Lance checked the ventilation system component against the diagram Cable had provided him with one last time and decided it was probably fixed.
Reluctantly he looked at the cramped access tunnel and sighed. It wasn't that he had a problem with small spaces; it was just working in small spaces that he didn't like. While he wasn't quite as tall as Scott he was more than tall enough to bang his head against any low hanging pipes. The tunnel was narrow too, reaching tools and finding the room to work was just going to be a pain. He wondered what sort of sadist had designed the lay out.
"Hey, what are ya doing? Can I help?" Tabby asked as she wandered down the hall popping bubblegum.
Lance glanced at the five foot three inch girl and grinned. "Actually I think you can." He said. "All you have to do is reinstall this in the vent system." He held up the filtration component he'd been working on.
Tabby stared at it dubiously. "What am I supposed to do with that?" She asked.
It's no big deal. I'll talk you through the whole thing." Lance promised. He handed her his tool kit and the component then pushed her toward the cramped hatchway.
"Okay, okay. I'm going." Tabby said.
Once she was inside Lance asked. "Do you see the open panel?"
"Sure."
"Now what you have to do is…"
Several hours later Lance sat in the corridor outside of the hatch cradling his head in his hands as if he had a headache.
"What tool do I need again?" Tabby called.
"Needlenose pliers." Lance signed with frustration.
"What are those?"
Kitty would have know what he meant Lance thought. Kitty wouldn't have cross-threaded the screws. Kitty would have asked interesting questions that were a challenge to answer and showed she'd been listening to him. Kitty would have been fun to work with, especially in tight quarters. "Needlenose pliers." Lance reiterated. "Pliers with a long narrow nose. Mine have blue paint on the handles."
"Okay, I think I found them. What do I do with them?"
"Remember the wire?" Lance asked as he resisted the urge to bang his head against the wall. "The one you couldn't get a hold of? Use the pliers to grab the end of the wire and pull it out enough for you to reach it… Gently! You don't want to yank it out."
"Um Lance, is it bad if I dropped my gum inside the filter thingy?" Tabby asked.
"Tabby, why don't you go help Logan or Forge or someone, anyone else?" Lance asked.
****** ****** ******
Jensen glanced around his new office wondering if he should thank Ms. Cooper for engineering his promotion or curse her for formalizing the fact he was stuck with responsibility for all mutant related problems.
A rookie officer knocked politely on his open door. "Sir, they're at it again down at the Power 8 factory. They seem to be in a real stand off this time."
"Good, maybe that will keep them there long enough for us to make some arrests." Jensen growled. "We've got to break this cycle. We can't hold the FoH morons since Spears claims he hired those thugs as guards. We can't catch the mutants, which means we can't get any sort of a story from them and I don't buy the FoH's 'They're mutants, what do you expect' bullshit. I want to know what the hell is going on here!"
****** ****** ******
"Come on Scott, we've been cooped up here forever." Tabby whined. "We're only a hundred miles or so from LA. We deserve a little fun."
Scott shook his head. "It's not a good idea."
"Lance hasn't even been out to the grocery store." Tabby pointed out. "It's not fair."
"Tabby," Scott wavered. "Lance is too identifiable. The trial, the Shadow King's mark…"
"So you're going to keep him locked up here forever?" Tabby asked. "Let me try something."
****** ****** ******
Torpid tugged on Ray's hand. The always-solemn little girl looked like she was on the verge of tears. Ray let her lead him to the TV room where Evan was staring fixedly at the news; the points of a few bones poking through his skin betrayed his agitation.
"What's happening?" Ray asked.
"The police got in the middle of some sort of show-down between the FoH and a group of mutants; I think it's those guys who helped you hide the other new recruits after the Sentinel attack." Evan said.
Ray glanced at Torpid. "Is it the Morlocks?" He asked and she nodded.
The cops are letting the FoH go!" Evan continued angrily. "Some sort of crap about the mutants trespassing."
Ray watched the broadcast for a few minutes before he realized that the Morlock had been well and truly cornered. "We've got to help!" He exclaimed.
Evan took in Ray's determined expression then nodded. "Let's suit up and go." He said.
"Actually I think it would probably be better if we weren't wearing any 'X's" Ray suggested.
Evan glanced back at the police cars all over the TV. "I see you're point." He said.
"Torpid, you stay here." Ray told the little girl as he knelt down to make eye contact. "I'll get them back safe. I promise."
****** ****** ******
Lance watched Tabby warily "What are you doing with those?" He demanded with a gesture toward the scissors in her hand.
"Don't you want to get out of here for a little bit?" She cajoled.
"Yeah, but…"
"A little hair cut…"
Lance looked distinctly unhappy at the suggestion. "Like that's going to disguise me."
"A little make-up."
"No! Absolutely not."
"It's just a disguise. Geeze Lance, it's not going to hurt you." Tabby exclaimed. "Scott won't go soft unless you're involved. You came awful close to dying, now you get to milk that."
"Tabby you're twisted." Lance said.
"It's a gift." Tabby replied with a shrug. "Until Scott gets used to the idea that you're not going to croak on him you're our key out of here. I'm not going to let you screw it up because of some silly hang up about make-up."
****** ****** ******
Quietly Evan and Ray worked their way through the crowd of gawkers outside of the factory. In their street clothes the two boys didn't draw attention much attention.
"So what now?" Evan hissed when they found themselves confronted with a police barricade.
Ray glanced around. The rest of the crowd appeared content to observe from what the police had deemed to be a safe distance. That being the case the cops' attention was focused almost solely on the building in front of them. Ray shrugged and stepped through the line of yellow sawhorses. Evan followed him into the no man's land separating the crowds from the line of police cars and the men crouched behind them pointing guns at the factory. According to the reporters the police had people covering exits into the sewers as well. Their last few clashes with the Morlocks had taught them to guard against the reclusive mutants' preferred method of escape.
A few murmurs from the crowd indicated that Ray and Evan's actions hadn't gone completely unnoticed but the gawkers were there for entertainment and the extended standoff was loosing its charm. Whatever the two teenage boys were up to, the crowd was happy to stand by and watch the fireworks rather than trying dissuading them.
Ray cracked his knuckles as he called on his powers. "I'll clear a path and provide a distraction. Make sure the Morlocks take advantage of it." He said. Berserker selected two abandoned cars a few feet behind the line of police cars and heavily armed officers then sent bolts of electricity into the gas tanks. Both cars went up with impressive booms. Next Berserker directed his power to seek out the metal in the officer's guns and uniforms, electrifying them. "This won't last long." He warned as Spyke darted through the police lines.
The police reformed to counter the attack from the rear. In the process they pulled back from several of the cruisers used in their barricade. Berserker lit those cars up as soon as the people were clear. Like dominos the police backed away from the latest explosion and gave Berserker two more inanimate targets for his abilities even as the charge on the police's guns began to fade. Berserker's strength lay in quick, violent bursts of power; forcing electricity to stay in one place was much harder. By it's very nature electricity was dynamic and fluid, water was staid and stodgy by comparison.
Ray gritted his teeth, keeping this confrontation non-lethal was going to be a pain in the butt, he thought.
****** ****** ******
Having his hair brushing against the tops of his ears made them itch Lance concluded sulkily. He liked having his bangs in his eyes. Tabby didn't have to cut it so short. And make-up, he wrinkled his nose. It was a pain. He didn't trust Tabby that close to his eye with a pencil. He didn't like her drawing on his face.
"Will you stop squirming?" Tabby ordered.
"What are you doing to me?" Lance demanded.
Tabby held up her pencil for him to see. "Cover-up pencil." She explained. "I use it to lighten up the tattoo then I find some foundation that matches your skin tone to make it blend in."
Lance looked at Tabby's garish eye shadow and winced. Tabby rolled her eyes. "This is for people to look at. I also know how to hide a zit."
"Why'd I agree to this?" Lance asked.
"Because you're going stir crazy just like the rest of us." Tabby said.
"I'm not." Lance argued. "I like staying out here, the flying car is all the entertainment I need. We have to drag Forge way from his projects to get him to eat. Scott doesn't doesn't like having fun…"
"Fred wants to get Penance a present." Tabby interjected. "I think he really likes her."
Lance sighed. Tabby took it as a sign of capitulation.
****** ****** ******
"I'm here to help!" Spyke yelled as he ran through the factory doors. The bones plates growing from his shoulders clearly displayed his mutation.
Scowling Callisto stepped out from the wall she'd taken cover behind. "What sort of help?"
"We're clearing a retreat." Spyke told her as he gestured in the direction from which he'd come. A piece of shrapnel flew through the open door and sliced through his outstretched hand. Pain triggered Spyke's fight or flight reflexes; bone spears erupted from his body.
Callisto evaded the spikes with a dancer's grace and an uncanny instinct for where they would fly. The storage tanks didn't fair so well. Spyke's bone-projectiles tore through the huge plastic vessels like they were tissue paper. Spouts of Power 8 gushed out of the holes.
The Morlocks dove for cover in the labyrinth of equipment used to make the drink.
Spyke was doused with gallons of the stuff. Evan had a moment to sputter and be annoyed at this turn of events then he doubled over to clutch his gut. Inside his body he felt his bones growing and shifting with an unprecedented violence. He screamed in agony as they erupted from his flesh to form a heavy carapace. The bones that ripped free of his skeleton were larger than any he'd created before. The friction as they forced their way through the carapace set them on fire as they flew from him. The strain on his system dropped Evan in his tracks a moment later.
"Hell!" Callisto swore as the factory began to burn. "Everyone out. Scatter. We'll meet below." She ordered as she grabbed Evan and shoved him toward Scaleface.
The woman shifted to her large, lizard form and easily scooped the teen up on her way out.
Berserker sagged with relief as the Morlocks burst out of the factory. The police were quickly regaining the advantage after his surprise attack. One enterprising officer had found a pair of rubber glove somewhere and had reclaimed his weapon. Ray didn't know how long he could have held that one off without electrocuting the man.
Berserker counted to ten after the last Morlock vanished into the alleys or over the roofs then made his own break for safety. He stampeded the crowd with a burst of electricity then lost himself in the chaos. Eight blocks from the factory he flipped up a manhole cover and vanished into the sewers.
