(Three)

They sat in the holding cell for two days, watching helplessly as more groups of humans were taken past them to be killed. The screaming was horrible. Beast figured that at least three other large shipments of people had been captured as they had been. He guessed that they must be on some kind of ship or large transport, but couldn't really tell from their location. He sincerely hoped they were still on Earth so that an escape might still be possible for them but he had no way of knowing for certain. No more alphas were added to their pen, though. Mutants were still pretty rare, thankfully.

The time passed slowly. Logan was angry about the collar when he woke, but didn't complain. He just moved off to sulk in a corner, his eyes blazing. The others knew better than to try and talk to him so they left him alone. The energy cuffs paralyzed Logan's arms so he couldn't pop his claws and hack them free from their prison. The Dognan seem to have thought of everything.

They were not fed and had only one bowl of water to share between the three of them. Logan passed on the water most of the time, giving his share to Remy. Remy had a large weeping cut on his forehead from being hit with the gun. There was nothing decent to clean it with and they couldn't spare the water so it soon grew infected and swollen. He became feverish and sick after only a few hours. Henry tried to comfort him, but he was in a lot of pain and there was nothing that could be done about it. Gambit tried to hide it by joking around, but his misery was obvious.

They were given a bucket to use as a toilet. Logan wasn't uncuffed so he had to rely on the others to help him out. The soldiers laughed at his predicament, taunting him with sexual jokes and insults. He was livid. It wasn't the limit of the torment they would endure – an endless supply of soldiers came to visit. They banged sticks on the bars of the cell and yelled insults at them. Garbage and moldy food scraps were tossed in as well. Logan stayed in his corner, pissed off and speaking to no one.

On the second day of their captivity, they were surprised when an automated voice chimed in from a speaker above them. "Jump sequence activated. Initializing in ten minutes."

A Dognan soldier looked in on them as he passed by. "You, there. Hold on. Bumpy ride, it comes," he laughed and walked away. The other cat men moved about, securing items and taking seats.

"What's this all about?" Henry demanded but no one answered.

He received an explanation of sorts when the ship was jolted violently and the world seemed to come apart. All sense of reality was gone as everything in the room bent and twisted, warping into a nightmare. There was no sense of up or down, front or back. The floor was a cresting tidal wave and they all toppled over. He heard Logan howl in confusion and rage, the man relied on his senses to orient himself and this wild acid trip was torture to him.

Henry slid across the traitorous floor and managed to grab a hold of Gambit before he went too far. Logan toppled and slammed into them, smashing them with his weight. All of that Adamantium added an extra hundred pounds or so to him and it wasn't much fun to those on the receiving end of it. The X-men crashed into the bars of their cage, bringing a tortured shout of pain from the already injured Gambit. They barely had time to duck as their toilet bucket flew over them and sprayed the soldiers outside. Logan managed a twisted laugh at the rude payback when he heard someone complain. The room settled down to normal after a minute. Reality came back, and they looked around disoriented.

Logan recovered quickly and staggered to his feet. Henry pulled Remy up and dusted him off. Gambit just sagged against him, trying not to heave. He was dizzy and sick and that little spin had done little to help him.

"Well, that's high on my list of things I never wanna do again," Logan complained. He looked at Henry. "What was that?"

"No idea. If I had to guess, I'd say whatever vehicle we're on was teleported as a whole to another location. The real question is, where are we now?"

They wouldn't get an answer for another couple of hours. Finally, a company of cat men came and collected them. They were dragged without mercy down winding halls. Henry did his best to try and follow where they were going but was soon lost in all the twists and turns. They eventually made their way to a shipping bay where several ships were parked. They were moved onto a loading platform and Beast realized to his horror that they had been on some kind of huge spacecraft all this time. He had no idea if the rest of the X folks back home even knew where they were. Any hopes he may have had for a quick rescue were shattered, they were on their own.

They were hauled up onto a smaller craft and chained to a bar in the main cabin. This new craft was small, it only had one large room with a viewing screen like a huge television in front. It was almost like being inside a small theater. A short row of seats ran along the back wall and faced the screen. There was no captain's chair or control panel in sight and Henry was confused. How was this ship flown?

In the center of the room was a strange looking wooden pole like a pogo stick with bars at foot and shoulder height. It was mounted floor to ceiling and resting on it comfortably was an odd looking creature. It was a woman, but not human...not anymore. She was naked, revealing just how alien she really was. She had alabaster skin and shock white hair like all the color had been bleached out of her. Her head and torso were that of a normal human, but that's where all the similarity stopped. She possessed the leathery wings of a bat but they were too small for any practical use, they were certainly too small for her to fly with them on their own. Her small white hands were clawed and her legs were bent like the hind legs of a cat as the Dognan's were. Her fore arms and calves were thick with white fur and her feet were paws with two large furred toes. In between those toes was a large retractable claw that glinted wickedly in the light and seemed dangerous. The whole combination of alterations made her look unnatural and unappealing to the human eye. She stood casually on the stick and gripped it like she was riding a bike. She stared sightlessly forward at the viewing screen mounted on the wall behind where the X-men were led to and chained.

The craft slowly filled with cat men and one of them approached the X-men, his lion's eyes gleaming with curiosity. His uniform was decorated with both gold and silver sashes, marking him as a high ranking officer. He looked down on them not unkindly and spoke. "You there, alphas. I am Frishnan, captain of this vessel. You are now privileged to see Cerise, a stronghold of the mighty Dognan. You will make good sport for the pens. It's been some time since we've had an alpha from your world, never mind three in one shipment. How very exciting!"

"Kiss my ass!" Logan snarled, diplomacy not being one of his strong suits.

Frishnan just smiled at him indulgently, his eyes merry. "I would do you better than that, my lovely, but we've no time for it."

He withdrew, barking an order to the white female and the ship made ready to depart.

"What is dis love fascination dey have for you, furball?" Gambit joked weakly with a sly grin. Pain was never a factor in limiting his ability to toss out one liners if given the chance.

"Must be his charming use of the language," Henry offered, smiling himself. One thing the X-men had learned over the course of a million missions was always to take advantage of a moment of levity. In all that time, they'd had few casualties. While they were on their own at the moment, Henry was confident they could still get out of this, all they needed was an opportunity.

"Take us out, pilot!" Frishnan ordered to the white bird woman. She nodded and there was a kind of humming as the craft slipped smoothly out of the bay. The X-men could feel the craft lift up and then pick up speed. When they had gone only a short distance, Frishnan gave another order. The X-men were next startled when blue flame, not unlike electricity, burst from the arms of the white pilot. It was absorbed into the stick she was riding and vanished. The ship surged powerfully forward and the X-men next had to grip the bar to keep from sliding across the floor. They realized that the strange female perched on that stick was using it to guide the ship. The screen projected a forward view of their travel, but she just stared blankly at it, not really watching it even as it marked their progress. It seemed as though she were guiding the ship simply by feel.

Henry with his well trained scientific eye didn't take long to figure out what was happening. This pilot's ability to produce those blue flames was the source of this ship's power. She also clearly possessed some telekinetic ability and was using it to control the direction of the ship's flight.

Telekinesis was one of the more fascinating mutant abilities because it presented itself in many different ways. Primarily, it was the ability to move objects by mental command. Most mutants who could fly, flew by this mental power. They simply moved themselves around just by thinking about it.

This ability wasn't limited to movement. Some telekinetics could produce shields of hardened air by mentally manipulating air particles and making them so dense, nothing could penetrate them. These shields were used to protect themselves or others. The X-men had one of these telekinetic mutants on their team, a woman named Jean Grey. She had been an asset to the team, getting them out of many scraps by using protective shields or flinging large objects at their enemies.

Telekinetics were always valuable on a fighting team. Most powerful fighters like Logan could be shut down quickly just by picking them up off of the ground and denying them their ability to maneuver. A powerful telekinetic could even crush his prey by creating a shield around their victim and using it to suffocate them. For this, there was almost no defense.

The most powerful telekinetics could make shields, break them into pieces and use those pieces as weapons. What could be more terrifying than a person who could conjure weapons out of thin air? These telekinetics were very rare and almost always snapped up by the most persuasive of mutant watched this pilot, fascinated. He was relaxed and calm as he did so –he couldn't fight this situation and so took the time to observe his surroundings and think instead. The scientist in him was always curious about the new places he was taken to and the people he saw there. It amazed him that the pilot appeared to be both telekinetic and a producer of the bio-kinetic energy that she was using to power the ship, back home she would be highly prized indeed for having such dual abilities. Henry wondered if she was born this way or forcibly mutated by the Dognan. Looking at her misshapen, unnatural appearance, Henry figured the latter.

They flew for about an hour or so. Frishnan was a gracious host. He came by and gave them some light traveling food and water, for which the X-men were grateful. They ate some sandwiches and crackers with cheese. The food appeared to be of Earth origin and was quite good. He had one of his men clean up Gambit's bloody face, but didn't dress the seeping wound. Even he could see there was no hope for it getting treated properly on this ship.

Frishnan appeared to be fascinated by Wolverine. He would stare at him with a curious, wistful smile, saying nothing. Once, while the X-men were being fed, he attempted to touch Logan but pulled back with a smile when he tried to bite. "Lovely..." Frishnan whispered.

Wolverine spat at him and he walked away. Logan wouldn't take his eyes off of him, untrusting.

Before long, the X-men felt the craft land and prepared themselves for anything. If an opportunity to escape presented itself, they would be ready. Frishnan led the group of men who hauled them outside.

They had landed on a tall platform which provided an open, panoramic view of this new world on which they now found themselves. The platform was quite large and several ships were parked there. They disembarked and Frishnan let them wander close to one of the railed edges. It was almost dawn, but no stars or moon could be seen through an impenetrable sky of dark brooding clouds. The only light came from large flood lights on the platform itself and from the huge Dognan complex close by. It didn't keep them from gasping with wonder and horror at where they found themselves now.

They looked out at what seemed to be the aftermath of some sort of cataclysmic holocaust. Below the platform was the ruins of a great city laid to waste. It stretched out for miles, they couldn't see the edges of it any direction. Shattered husks of tall skyscrapers crouched over lifeless streets strewn with the wreckage of mangled bombed out cars. If they didn't know any different, it looked like any earth city, only deserted and abandoned. The only signs of activity came from a steady stream of Dognan ships flying overhead. They were sleek and beautiful, clearly armed with huge guns and decorated with striking Dognan markings, not unlike Chinese symbols. They combed the rubbled, damaged streets with search lights but what they were looking for, the X-men could not guess. It didn't seem as though anything alive could possibly survive for long here.

Logan gagged as he breathed in the polluted air. All around was the horrible smell of burning fires and decay, a torment to his enhanced sense of smell. A slight breeze carried the dust from the ruins and brought with it, the reek of death. Frishnan took Logan's chain and led him off to one side where they could look down at the ruins. Frishnan spoke to him as he pointed out some sights.

"This was once a beautiful city. That was once a huge tower, there a fort. The Clan are rebels who are trying to take over this planet. So far, they have been very successful at destroying it so badly no one else will want it. This is all that remains of our last base. The Clan will take it soon as well. They think that to do so will bring an end to our rule, but they are wrong. We own many worlds such as this and they will never be rid of us. These Clan...pah! They are a disgusting race. The worst of the human scum we have harvested. They have no sense of social order. They are savage and live only to war on others. They destroy all that is beautiful. We Dognan at least try to integrate the best of the societies we encounter. The Clan just wreck everything and make a big stink in the air.

"See that?" Frishnan asked, pointing to a yellow glowing fenced off section of the city. It looked to be several blocks wide. "Those are the pens. We created them to dispose of the weak and unuseful. It is also where alphas like yourself are disposed of. Alphas are much too unruly for slaves so we have little choice. You could take your chances there and face the packs or you could stay with me. I would take good care of one such as you." He smiled at Logan and the feral mutant smelled his arousal.

Logan jerked away from him in disgust, baring his teeth with a revolted hiss.

Frishnan just smiled sadly, his disappointment obvious. "You may yet come to regret that decision, my friend."

"I doubt it," Wolverine snapped, yanking on his chain. He wanted to be as far away from Frishnan as possible, even if it meant the pens.

Frishnan didn't repeat his offer, he merely gathered up his charges and led them away. They went down a small staircase to the next level below the platform and were taken inside a nearby building. It was a detention center with many holding cells. They placed inside the first large cell they came to and released. Logan was still cuffed and they still wore the restraining collars, but were unchained from one another and could move around a little. They never saw Frishnan again.

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This holding cell was larger than the last, but was still a metal cage with two walls made of brick. The X-men moved towards the back as more prisoners came along and were tossed in with them. Gambit sagged against the back wall, the heels of his hands pressed into his eyes. His head was one huge agony and he was finding it harder and harder to maintain his sense of humor. The cut on his forehead burned with a heat he knew all too well. It was infected and not getting any better. His head pounded, a curse he couldn't escape. Beast stood close to him reassuringly, bumping his shoulder gently with his own, and Remy took some comfort in his kindness. Logan was a tense ball of white hot rage beside him. The man was really wired.

More people were being added to the cell. They were human, but white and washed out like the female pilot. That was it then, Henry thought to himself. The Dognan captured humans and forcibly mutated them to make them stronger or better somehow. It seemed the Dognan liked to mutate their slaves into shapes like themselves. Most of them had clawed hands and bent cat legs. Almost all of the new arrivals were injured or weak in some way. Some looked half starved and beaten. These were rejects, souls no longer suitable for work or anything else. None of them had restraining collars on or were cuffed. They merely shuffled in like zombies and stood quietly, resigned to their fates.

One of the last to be added was a small white female with wings, a pilot like the one in the ship that had brought them here. She was tiny and delicate, frail looking. She hopped feebly to the rear, not putting her weight on one of her feet. One of her legs had been crushed some time ago and it had healed poorly, she couldn't really walk on it. Henry was confused by this, she should have been able to fly if his assumption of telekinesis was true. Then he saw the reason --- they'd put a restraining collar on her so she couldn't fly or use her blue flame power. She made her way to the back awkwardly, fearful of all around her. She was very small and fragile looking compared to the other slaves.

She came close to Wolverine, but one look at his dark, scowling face made her steer clear so she ended up next to Henry. The cell was getting crowded and she bumped into him awkwardly. She looked up, startled, into his big blue face and expected him to lash out at her, but was greeted instead with a gentle smile.

"Pardon me," Beast apologized politely, even though it wasn't his mistake.

"It's a little crowded," she said in a quiet, trembling voice. She smiled at him shyly. She was lost in this room full of people much larger than herself.

Henry was surprised at her voice, the other pilot had been silent and he wasn't sure these pilots could even talk. He continued to smile at her warmly, trying to put her at ease. Perhaps she could tell him something of this place. "Hello there, I'm Henry."

"My name is Shayla. I'd shake hands, but you know..." Her hands were cuffed with the arm numbing bracelets. She responded to the warmth of his smile and seemed less afraid of him now. "You're an alpha."

"Why yes, I suppose I am. Don't be frightened. I won't hurt you." He glanced down to her bent and twisted leg. She was leaning on her gnarled foot. It was bent almost completely backwards and the toe claw was missing. "What happened to your leg?"

"I'm a pilot. I fly the ships. We got shot down by the Clan on one of their raids. I was injured and blamed for the crash of our ship even though it really wasn't my fault. Whoever flew the Clan ship was a much better pilot than I was. My leg didn't heal right and it looks ugly, so here I am. I can still make the Ristle, you know? I don't understand why they can't still use me," she protested, scared.

"What is Ristle?"

"That's the energy we use to power the ships."

Henry remembered the blue flame of the pilot who had brought them here. "Yes, I recall seeing another pilot using it. I didn't know what it was. Is it some kind of bio-kenetic energy?"

"I don't know what it is for sure, I know only pilots can make it. It's a privilege to be chosen as pilot," she said almost proudly, in denial of the horror of being forcibly mutated. "We're considered to be very valuable."

"Not so valuable if yer broken," Wolverine growled sarcastically from beside Gambit.

Shayla cowered down, fearful of him. He looked angry and mean like a cornered animal.

"He won't hurt you," Henry apologized in a soothing voice. "He's with me and my friend here. This is Gambit."

Remy gave her a small wave. His eyes were glassy and distant. He didn't look like he really saw her, he just acknowledged her politely from hearing Henry speak. He was dazed now and in pain, just trying to get by until the cavalry arrived. It was becoming difficult for him to think and he was so tired...so very tired.

Shayla gazed with wonder into Remy's blood red eyes and saw his suffering. "He's sick."

"Yes, but I am a doctor," Henry replied. "Hopefully when we get to where we're going, I can find something to help him."

"Then you'd better pray Death finds him quickly," she said in a whisper so Remy wouldn't hear. "The pens are where they send us to die."