Part Seven: A Sinister Meeting

Xander sat in pain as once again as Surgeon healed him. It had been the same routine for a week, the guards would beat him in the night, leave him, and have Surgeon heal him in the morning. Maybe he shouldn't have stabbed that one guy in the crotch.

"Thanks for keeping me alive last night," Xander said to the only other occupant in the room once the guards had left.

"Pleasure was all mine. 'Sides if you die, who will play cards wit after we all escape," returned Gambit, completing the routine that had developed over the last week.

Xander was about to reply when the door slid open, revealing the guard that had beaten him last night, and a man in a doctor's coat. Perhaps it was three years fighting vampires, but the chalk white skin and blood red eyes gave the doctor a truly sinister appearance.

"Get moving Ash, Dr. Essex here wants to talk with you," said the guard with a bit of fear in his voice.

Having his suspicions confirmed Xander decided to do his best to try to get under the doctors skin. If previous experiences with the doctors here were any indication this guy was worse than a vampire, and it was his job as a Scooby to annoy him until he could put a stake through his heart.

"What's up Doc?" asked Xander in his best Bugs Bunny voice.

"We are going to ascertain the extent of your telepathic powers. If they prove sufficient to my needs you will be transferred to one of my special projects groups," said Dr. Essex in a cold voice.

"Gee Doc, sounds great, just one question though. Why aren't you locked up with all us other mutants?"

This comment seemed to get a reaction out of the doctor. "What, exactly, do you mean?" said the doctor in a low dangerous tone.

"Oh I don't know, it may be because you look more like a vampire than a human. If you smile, I bet I could even spot your fangs," said Xander with a grin, even though the guard looked like he was about to start beating him again.

"A vampire, that's a first. To answer your question I'm an albino."

"And the difference between the genes making you a freak, and the genes making everyone else in here a freak would be?"

"The difference is, I'm the one standing out side of the cages," said Dr. Essex with a dark smile as they entered a room, a room where Xander would do a lot of screaming.


As Xander was once again guided to the land of sleep by the fists of a guard. As he slept, he dreamed his newly recurring dream.

There was the rock star made from flame, and the strange dog-soldiers. If this one was like the others the two dog-soldiers would keep the flame man away until the guards heal him in the morning.

Perhaps it was the monotony of the dream, or his day with Dr. Essex, but Xander wondered what would happen if the flaming rock star got past the dog-soldiers. As soon as he thought about it, the two guardians moved to the side, and let the man through.

"Thanks for letting me in," said the burning star of a man.

"Yeah well, I figure I should be kinder to my pain induced dreams," said Xander as he sat on a shadow.

"I'm not a bloody dream; I'm a mutant like you. My name is Jonothan Starsmore, I'm stuck in some bleeding chamber powering this place," said the irate mutant.

"Okay, makes about as much sense as everything else in my life lately," said Xander.

"Listen, you saw what they did to the poor bugger that could duplicate 'emself. That's what they do here, find a use for mutants, or kill them. They decided my use would be providing them with free power they couldn't be cut of from," said Jonothan.

"That doesn't explain why your visiting me," said Xander in an even tone.

"Out of everyone here you are the only one who can't have his mind read by the brain in a jar," said Jonothan, causing Xander to shudder as he remembered his first meeting with Martha. "Add to that the fact that you made it outside when you attempted to escape, and I think we have a lot to talk about."

"So your planning a prison break. Sorry to tell you this, but I haven't been able to come up with much of a plan to get myself out, forget about getting anyone else out as well."

"That's where I come in," said a woman who was made out of knowledge. "I can come up with a plan, but we need you to help."

"Why me?" asked Xander.

"Like I said, you are the only one who can't have his mind read. We need to store our memories, and the memories of the others in your head," said Jonothan.

"So you need to dump stuff into my empty noggin. You mind telling me what will happen if you dump too much in?" asked Xander.

"You suffer major brain damage, die, and we start over," said info woman.

"Is that all," said Xander, feeling less than assured about this particular plan. On the other hand if he didn't do it his friends could be in danger. "So long as you don't put anything major in there, like the question that goes to the answer 42, we should all be good."

"In that case, lets see who else would like to join in," said Jonothan.

In moments Xanders head was filled with thousands of wronged prisoners demanding to be able to dish back a fraction of the pain they had suffered.