7. Underground
On the Left part 3
A Deserted Alley near one of the Catacombs Entrances,
Seven people stood in an alleyway, four surrounding the other three in a loose circle. The who? Chamber asked as Clarice ranted to herself, Domino looked on angrily and the strangers looked faintly amused.
Domino turned to Chamber and answered, The Mutant Underground are a group of mutants who have taken it upon themselves to 'rid the world of criminal mutants' and fight the good fight and so on. Sort of like the X-men except with guns and knives and more bad guy death."
Clarice spun around and said, "Great plan, Domino! Fantastic plan! Get the mutant cops involved!"
Spinning suddenly, Domino landed a blow on Clarice's face with a fist, knocking her to the ground and stopping her furious ranting. "Shut up, Clarice. They're going to help us take down Sinister and that's all I'm interested in." Turning back to the man whose amused expression had faded with the blow, Domino said, "When, Bishop? I can't hold him out too much longer, they won't be able to hold him out at all."
The man looked at her sternly. "You've jeopardised this whole operation, Domino," he said sharply. "What were you thinking?" he demanded angrily.
Domino said precisely, "I was thinking that they found Red Lotus. Do you think bringing them here was justified now, Bishop?"
The purple-haired woman said in a British accent, "Enough. If they found Lotus, it was necessary. Where is he being kept?" she asked Clarice. Blink sneered up at the British woman from the ground.
Domino sighed. "Chamber?" she asked questioningly.
Huh? he asked. Oh, Sinister is keeping him in the back room of one of the labs, he sent, turning away from the shape shifters. Blink smacked her hand on his leg. OW! What the bloody hell did you do that for? he demanded angrily.
"That was our only leverage, you moron. Domino has probably bought her way out with her help but we've got nothing!" she snapped.
The black man cleared his throat. "Your independence was one of the conditions of Domino's working with us," he said clearly. "Now, is this argument really necessary? We have bigger fish to fry."
Domino turned to face him again sharply. "There's a problem. Sinister has one of his little missions for us next week. All of us, Nasty Boys and these two. There are some mutants and hobos, living in the tunnels near the catacombs. Sinister wants them gone, claims they are pressing in too close to the catacomb system. No survivors."
"Shit," Bishop swore quickly. He was about to continue but the British woman said, "This is perfect. The Nasty Boys can be taken out quickly and then we can follow up with the strike at Sinister."
Bishop turned to her. "Betsy…it's risky."
She looked at him, pensive. "It will also give us an opportunity to get her out," she said quietly.
Bishop sighed. "Ok. This isn't going anywhere and the longer she's down there the more he's getting out of her. So next week, we do this." Turning to Blink and Chamber, he said, "You two screw this up…."
Chamber wished he could gulp but Blink just laughed bitterly. "I've been living in those tunnels for as long as Domino, you think you're scary?"
Domino's Quarters
The Catacombs,
"What Bishop said is right. You two crack and you'll wish Sinister had you," Domino said harshly. "He probably won't keep probing you but if you feel anything, you know what I taught you."
Blink stared at Domino. "What was the rest of your price, Domino?" she asked quietly. "I'm not going to screw this up but I want to know what's at stake." Domino turned to Clarice, looking her squarely in the face. Then she unleashed a blow that knocked Clarice to the floor for the second time that night.. Blink sprang back up, about to launch herself at Domino when Chamber stepped between them.
What the hell are you two playing at? he demanded angrily. If you two want to kill each other that's fine, but you wait out the week here. I'm not getting killed because you two crazy broads have issues you need to work out. he sent angrily. Sort it out after this is over! Blink turned away, 'porting out after a second. Chamber hoped she went to her own quarters. Turning to Domino, he sent, What the hell was that? What's up with you lately, you knock people down or worse at the faintest provocation? Are you crazy?
Domino snarled at him, "Get out, Chamber. I'll see you next week." Physically forcing him out the door, Domino sat on her bed once more in the lotus position.
The Catacombs,
The next week passed filled with tension. The Nasty Boys continued to grow in speed and skill. It was obvious that something had been done to them by now. The Crew said nothing. Training continued with no change except that Domino refused to come out of her room. Sinister lost three more Strong Guy clones to her anger, her bedroom door was getting filled with holes. Blink rarely came out except to attend training, where she was unfocused and was often defeated by the Nasty Boys. Chamber had a hard time keeping up with them in the no-powers sessions and with powers was often even more dangerous. Vertigo in particular took great delight in flooring him, something he refused to acknowledge.
Six days after the meeting with the Mutant Underground, Sinister came to one of the training sessions. "Tomorrow we have a mission. Some repellent sewer dwelling creatures, mutant and human, have been encroaching on the Catacombs. I don't want them in here and I don't want word spreading. You are to eliminate them. No survivors." Turning, he strode out leaving Chamber and Blink staring after him.
Vertigo and the current Strong Guy simply resumed training, Shard looked sad but also returned to her work with Slipstream. Cecilia looked horrified, sitting out of the next session. The time was fast approaching and the tension in the atmosphere was as thick as fog.
The morning of the mission, Domino emerged from her room, cold-eyed as ever. Staring down everyone except the current Strong Guy, she began a slow warm up. Blink and Chamber joined her in silence. Sinister arrived and said, "Good. You leave in ten minutes." Everyone looked at each other, Vertigo yawning.
"Oh well, there goes my morning nap," she said petulantly. "I'm going to get some coffee first." Chamber stared at her. The woman was repulsive. Turning, Blink, Chamber and Domino strode off, walking directly to Slipstream's designated telepad. He was to do the 'porting for this mission, having been to the site before. The Nasty Boys arrived slowly, trickling in.
Vertigo was the last to arrive. "Shall we go?" she asked as she strode in.
Slipstream nodded impatiently. "Let' s go."
The Sewers,
The Edge of the Catacombs,
They materialised with a slight noise, almost the sloshing of a wave hitting shore. Splitting up immediately, Vertigo, Strong Guy, Slipstream and Shard headed in one direction and Domino, Blink, Chamber and Cecilia headed in the other. There was a lot of sewer to cover. Heading directly to the designated meeting point, Blink was glad they had Cecilia with them. She was both the most dangerous of the Nasty Boys and the most likely to crack under pressure.
Turning the corner, she noticed a larger than usual piece of debris caught in a grate near the rendezvous. She hoped the shape shifter was ready. Passing the next turn, they caught sight of Bishop and Betsy, the British woman.
Cecilia clicked on to what was happening in an instant; she wasn't stupid. Hurling a force field in front of her pushing the Crew and the Underground officers back, she turned to run before being caught by the woman with the white streak. "Please," she whimpered. "I don't want to. He….he…he has my daughter…" Turning back to Bishop, obviously the commander, she begged, "Get her away from him and I'll help you. Please."
Bishop said to woman with the white streak in her hair "Rogue. Check if she's telling the truth."
The woman said to Cecilia, "This will feel a bit strange. It won't cause permanent damage though." She reached out, grabbing the bare flesh of Cecilia's arm with her palm. Cecilia started to shake uncontrollably, while the woman shivered. "She's telling the truth, Lucas," she said. "She's terrified, she misses her daughter and with her power, I rather suspect she could just about take you down so we might want to do what she wants," she advised.
Cecilia had regained control and her self-confidence had begun to return. "Please," she begged, a note of pleading in her voice.
Bishop rubbed his face, thinking. "Ok. Deal. We get your daughter out after you assist in the prevention of the Nasty Boy's mission. You try anything and pretty much everyone on this squad will cut you into tiny pieces. Understand?" She nodded. "Good." Turning to Blink, Chamber and Domino, he said, "I think I need to let you know about our squad. This is Psylocke," he said, indicating the purple-haired woman. "Telekintetic. This is Rogue, she absorbs memories and powers. You passed Morph on the way in, shape shifter." Indicating the two new people behind him, he said, "This is Shadowcat, phasing, and Multiple Man. Duplicates." The indicated two nodded distantly. "Now move, people, we don't have a lot of time."
Blink said, "I can take you as far as the drop-off point."
Bishop said, "I know. Do it, now." A moment later, they were at the drop off point, the Mutant Underground instantly on alert.
The Sewers,
Near the Catacombs,
The Nasty Boys approached the sewer dwellers. "Who's there?" a voice called out warily. No-one replied. Peering into the corridor, the homeless man suddenly bowled back, slamming into the wall behind him. As Slipstream walked past, he shot the man in the chest. The Massacre had begun.
Hearing the blast, Bishop snapped out "Faster!" to the group and they began to jog. Hearing the shot, they began to run without an order. Passing the body, Shadowcat peeled off for a moment, checking for vital signs. She returned shaking her head. Growling, Bishop led the way deeper into the sewers. Running on, they passed bodies in increasing numbers. Stopping, Bishop said, "There are four people out here, killing people. There are ten of us but we can't just catch them one by one. We have to split up. Betsy, you and Domino are out that way. Rogue, you and Blink out that way. Morph, you and Multiple Man take the kid and head out that way. Kitty you and Cecilia are with me. Understood? Good." Each team left, heading out into the sewers following the trails of bodies.
Betsy and Domino,
The Sewers,
Heading down their designated path in silence, the telepath and the mercenary tracked the Nasty Boy down the corridor. It wasn't hard to guess which one was down here. There was a great deal of damage to the bodies. Rounding a corner, they suddenly came upon Strong Guy launching himself at the only living man in sight. Betsy instinctively lashed out with her telekinesis, sending Strong Guy flying against the wall. Absorbing the kinetic energy from impact, Strong Guy's size increased and he turned to charge at the two women with a roar.
Betsy threw herself off to the side but Domino stood her ground, pulling out two pistols. Opening fire, she shot Strong Guy four times before he had taken two steps and he dropped to the ground, two holes where his kneecaps had been. Two more damaging holes filled his chest. He groaned aloud as Betsy jumped up from where she had landed, walking slowly over. Next to Strong Guy she announced, "Guido Carrosella, you are under arrest for the crime of terrorism and crimes against humanity. You know your rights. You…" she began but was cut off as Domino unleashed a short burst of bullets directly into Strong Guy's forehead.
Jumping back managing to avoid most of the blood spray, Betsy demanded, "What the hell are you doing? We are not supposed to kill them except where necessary! You'd already made sure he wasn't getting away!"
Domino ignored the tirade, holstering her guns and walking on. "There are three more Nasty Boys out here," she said, not looking back. "I intend that they do not leave these sewers alive." Walking off, Domino vanished down the tunnel. Betsy sighed. She was hardly upset about the death of a piece of filth like Strong Guy but that had been murder. She would have to talk with Bishop. Something would have to be done about Domino. Following down the corridor past the remains of Strong Guy, Betsy thought that something would have to be done soon about Domino. Very soon.
Morph, Multiple Man and Chamber,
The Sewers,
The three guys jogged down the corridor, eyes alert. Suddenly, ahead they heard shots fired. Breaking into a run, they saw Vertigo in the distance using a rifle to finish off the people who lay retching on the ground.
Revolted, Chamber unleashed his pent up anger at Vertigo in a huge blast that blew towards the blond woman. She saw and bolted, running around a corner before she could get hit. The blast flew down the corridor, smashing into the supports at the end near the turn. Some small debris collapsed onto the guys but Multiple Man only created duplicates and Morph simply covered Chamber.
Running through the small amount of rubble, the three turned the corner where Vertigo mowed down two dupes and Morph in a vicious spray of bullets. Her second attack, a wave of nausea, doubled Chamber and the dupes up on the ground, desperately trying to focus. Chamber was wary of another blast after the last one but Morph flung the bullets that had been shot into him back, having managed to elasticise his skin in time. Vertigo was clipped in the side, concentration slipping as did the nausea afflicting Multiple Man and Chamber.
Multiple Man gasped out, "More dupes, help me." Jono sent, How? but Morph acted, punching Multiple Man in the shoulder over and over. Each time, a duplicate was produced and eventually, they could all stand up, dividing the vertigo between them. "We have to hurry," Morph said, urging them up. The three began to run after Vertigo once more.
Rogue and Blink
The Sewers
Rogue and Blink ran down the corridor. There were fewer bodies down their route; it looked like Slipstream had been 'porting out the mess he left behind. This meant his progress had been slower than the others, leaving more survivors.
Turning the corner, they saw Slipstream crouching over a body. With a small sound, it vanished and he stood up. Blink nudged Rogue indicating that she would go ahead and before Rogue had nodded, Blink had gone. Arriving behind and above Slipstream, she unleashed a vicious kick to the back of the head that only his enhanced reflexes allowed him to dodge. Spinning inhumanly fast, his leg whirled out but Blink had already moved on, reappearing around the side to jam in an elbow. 'Porting over and over, dodging nearly every blow, Blink and Slipstream whirled around each other in a flurry of motion, following the other's every 'port. Rogue arrived but was incapable of doing anything, they were simply moving too fast.
Blink whirled around, lashing a leg towards Slipstream's ankles, which he 'ported himself above, directly into Blink's other leg, spinning around in a kick that lifted her off the ground, slamming into his side like an axe. He shouted in pain as ribs snapped audibly and he hit the ground whimpering. He 'ported down the corridor but Blink followed, a foot to the ribs hurting him too much to let him even think of 'porting. Rogue chased them down shortly after, slamming a pair of inhibitor-cuffs onto him. "Davis Cameron, you are under arrest for murder, crimes against humanity and various other offences. You know your rights…"
Bishop, Cecilia and Shadowcat,
The Sewers,
Running down the tunnels, the three people passed an incredible amount of devastation. This made Cecilia truly understand how people could hate mutants. One person shouldn't be able to cause this much damage.
Turning a corner, they ran directly into Shard, standing calmly waiting for them. "You really need to be more careful, Lucas," Shard said in a strangely monotone voice. "I've been aware your little gang was following for some time." She said when suddenly a blast ripped out in front of her. Cecilia threw up her strongest shield in front of herself and Shadowcat but couldn't extend it to cover Bishop too.
Looking over expecting him to fly backwards, she was stunned to see him standing whole and unbudged. "You're slipping, Shard," he said sharply. "That was pathetic." His hand came up and a beam of energy blasted out hitting Shard in the chest, sending her flying backwards. Running over, Cecilia and Shadowcat began to check for vital signs when Shard's hands came up and Cecilia barely had a moment to think before the blast ripped out of them. Cecilia's instantaneous reaction shielded herself but she wasn't fast enough to protect Shadowcat from the blast, the woman flying backwards to slam into the wall with a sickening thunk. Cecilia whipped her shield forward, slamming it into Shard, knocking the woman back to the floor.
Shard rolled with the blow, coming to her feet hands out to unleash another furious blast. Cecilia shielded herself again, feeling the pressure. She couldn't stand up to much more of this. Forming a club, Cecilia slammed Shard in the stomach, winding the woman. Shard grunted and curled into a ball standing up, still lifting her hands and blasting again. Cecilia felt the impact on the shield, sending her flying back, unable to resist the movement. She landed, not hurt by the blast and only bruised by the landing. She tried to climb to her feet but Bishop moved past her, ignoring the blasts directed at him by Shard.
Throwing himself forward, he unleashed another energy blast, this one much brighter and hotter. Shard was slammed backward, head bouncing off the wall. She dropped to the ground and didn't move. Cecilia panted in the sudden silence of the corridor, looking over at Lucas. He had walked over to Shard and now smoothed her hair back tenderly. "You'll be ok kid, it's over now. You've done so much."
Climbing to her feet, she walked over to Shadowcat. The woman was unconscious but alive, nothing seemingly broken. Cecilia sat down, exhausted. She hoped the other teams had stopped them before too many died.
Morph, Multiple Man and Chamber,
The Sewers,
The three guys ran. News of the other teams' success coming ober their headsets only spurred the on. They had to catch Vertigo. Chamber pushed himself harder. They had to get her. He had to get her. Rounding a corner, Chamber suddenly realised they were on the edges of Sinister's laboratories.
Too late, he tried to stop and back out but a wave of vertigo hit him and the others, nausea dropping him to his knees. Retching, he desperately struggled for control, feeling rather than seeing Morph hit the ground beside him. Multiple Man split himself into dupe after dupe, spreading the sensation among them. He threw himself at Vertigo but she easily dodged the first, second and third dupes, backing away from the others. Suddenly, three of the dupes were picked up by a ruby energy blast that slammed them into the wall with sickening thunks. Chamber looked over to see Sinister standing on the other side of the lab.
Vertigo's concentration broken, Morph jumped up, growing spikes and blades everywhere. He flew at Sinister and hit him over and over, cutting holes in the bizarre armour the man wore and smashing him with enormous blows. Sinister just grinned and unleashed an energy blast that sent Morph flying back into some lab equipment which broke with a smash. Multiple Man was sending dupe after dupe towards Sinister but either he or Vertigo was taking them down as quickly as they were made. One of the dupes paused and radioed through the headsets, "Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" before being taken down by a well-placed shot from Vertigo. Chamber sent his largest blast towards the two, not caring about structural damage. The huge psionic fireball flew towards the pair but Sinister laughed out loud before catching it, shrinking it slightly and throwing it back at Chamber. Chamber dodged, pulling a dupe out of the way. He hoped someone got here soon because they couldn't hold out much longer.
Domino and Betsy,
The Sewers
"Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" Jaime's voice crackled over Betsy's headset. She and Domino immediately broke into a run directly towards the labs. She hoped they weren't too late.
Blink and Rogue
The Sewers
"Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" Blink and Rogue turned as one, Rogue immediately said, "Go, I'll look after this guy." Blink nodded and vanished. Rogue continued to carry Slipstream towards the labs.
Bishop, Cecilia and Shadowcat
The Sewers
"Backup needed at the labs, Sinister and Vertigo are trying to escape!" The call came across Bishop's radio, but he was too busy with Shard. Cecilia had Shadowcat but he cradled Shard's head and said, "You're ok now. You did good kid, real good."
The Lab,
The Catacombs,
Chamber threw himself aside, dodging another blast from Sinister. He sent a small blast towards Vertigo, hoping to at least burn her, but she just leant aside and sent a wave of disorientation towards him. He steeled himself, rolling desperately to escape the inevitable follow up from Sinister.
A ruby blast annihilated the table behind him, missing him by inches. Sinister chuckled out loud, blasting some more Multiple Man duplicates. Suddenly, Blink appeared in the lab and threw herself backwards instantly to escape Sinister's vicious reaction to her presence. She opened a portal, sending the blast into his back but his self-healing took care of that. She 'ported Chamber out to the corridor, grabbing as many Multiple Men as she could too. Sinister kept up a steady rain of blasts, holding them in the corridor.
Domino and Betsy skidded around the corner, running to reach the group outside the entry to the lab. Assessing the situation almost instantaneously, Domino threw herself through the door, miraculously evading every blast and opened fire on Sinister. Vertigo hid behind a table, already clipped with a shot and not wanting to get hit again. Sinister just laughed and laughed as Domino shot him over and over again.
In the corridor, Betsy turned to Blink and demanded, "Can you get me in there, just over that table?" Blink nodded and Betsy vanished, a pink glowing blade manifesting in her hands. Swiping, she cut through the table and hit Vertigo, sending her into convulsions. Turning, she rolled out of the path of another of Sinister's blasts, allowing Domino time to get in more shots. Letting the knife go, Psylocke simply flat out blasted the whole area in front of her, Sinister, Vertigo, table, everything and watched it fly back into the wall behind.
Sinister got up, grin gone. "Ahhh, Ms. Braddock. Such an exquisite specimen. It's almost a pity we have to go." With a brief smile and a wave for Domino, he reached inside his armour, pulling out a device. Domino opened fire on his hands with a scream of rage, recognizing the teleporter but Sinister flicked the switch and he and Vertigo disappeared, leaving the ruins of the lab and hundreds of dead duplicates. Betsy sighed. This had not gone perfectly.
The Lab,
Hours later
Bishop had emerged from the depths of the sewers some time ago. He had been carrying Shard in his arms, Cecilia helping a woozy Shadowcat along beside. Arriving at the lab, they were met with a medical team whom Bishop instructed to restrain Shard "as gently as possible." Much to Blink and Chamber's puzzlement. Cecilia joined them in the aftermath, the Mutant Underground medical teams tending Chamber for minor burns and Blink for a few bruises. Searching through the wreckage, she found the chamber where her daughter had been kept.
Bursting the door open with a field, she found the revolting pod that bastard had kept her daughter in. Finding the controls, she made a shield to pull an Underground tech worker over to her. "Get her out now!" she demanded. The man, after checking with Bishop, examined the panel for a few moments, before tapping a few buttons. The pod opened, the small girl inside opening her eyes. "M..m…mummy?" she asked weakly. With a cry Cecilia scooped her up, crying openly. "It's ok, baby, Mummy's here now," she whispered over and over again. She clutched her daughter and mouthed the words "Thank you" to Bishop over the crowd.
Bishop smiled quietly and turned back to the medical team attending as many duplicates as possible. Morph was being loaded onto a stretcher but with his physiology he would be back in no time. Domino sat off to one side, watching expressionlessly as Red Lotus was loaded onto a stretcher. What had been done to that boy….Bishop shuddered. That was one more mark against Sinister.
Looking back to Domino, he thought about what Betsy had whispered to him before. Domino was possessed of the kind of mental walls it took years and the help of a skilled telepath to construct. There was no way Sinister was getting in through those. One more problem.
Looking over, Bishop saw Blink watching Red Lotus, shivering, face twisted with grief. Chamber stood beside her, somehow communicating his grief without a face. Bishop hoped those two could get out of the business, for a number of reasons. It was a terrible thing for children to do but it was a terrible world. More dangerously, if they continued with Domino, they would no doubt sooner or later irritate the wrong people and the Underground would be hunting them down.
If it came to that though, Bishop was worried about how many people he would lose. They would go down and they would go down hard but they'd take a lot of people with them and that wasn't something that the MU could afford. Sighing, he watched as Slipstream was loaded into the prisoner truck, fitted with teleportation lock and as resistant a set of walls as possible to allow it to still move. He would be either rehabilitated with the aid of a psychic or jailed for the interim. Bishop didn't know and at the moment, he didn't care.
He looked over to the ambulance where Shard was resting. That girl had done a fantastic job. He wondered if anyone of The Crew or Cecilia had figured it out. She had been the MU's first attempt to penetrate Sinister's network, proving very successful at first. The information had been invaluable. In fact, it had been so useful that Sinister noticed and suspected. He caught Shard but instead of killing her, he'd brainwashed her. Near complete. Bishop sighed. The months of intensive and delicate psychic surgery ahead for Shard would not be pleasant. "Good luck, Sis," Bishop said quietly as the ambulances rolled away.
The Mercy Hospital
New York
"Patient Maria Callasantos?" a voice asked. Laverne looked up. "Yes, can I help you?" she asked politely. "I'm here with a transfer order for Maria Callasantos, coma patient with severe injuries," the man said patiently. "Very well," Laverne said quietly after looking over the order. "This way," she indicated, the man waving his team forward.
The Xavier Institute
Westchester,
Shortly afterwards, the private medical vehicle pulled up outside the Xavier Institute, where the patient Maria Callasantos was unloaded and taken to a room with a view. Inside, Domino watched the transfer emotionlessly and Bishop watched Domino.