BACK TO SCHOOL
CHAPTER 13: INVESTIGATION
Warren was impressed with how Callisto ran things down here, they had walked through to oversee the distribution of the supplies they had brought with them. Things seemed to be going smoothly as well which was good. Although he kept on getting looks from all the Morlocks, some looked at him with a sense of awe or something. It was kind of uncomfortable but he chose not to let it show, at least he thought he had until Callisto looked at him.
"Come on, let's get you away from the crowd," She smirked at him and wondered if he had been showing too much or she was just really perceptive.
He was led through the place, seeing a few of the others. Sam was getting along with a group of kids looking like he was entertaining them a bit. Bobby and Spyke were seen arguing about something, but it didn't look too bad. Besides he saw Alex go in and calm them down before it got too serious. He seemed to have a knack with people.
He followed the woman into small living quarters, it wasn't much but it looked like a bit better then the rest had to live in. It was more personal too and lived in. "These are my private chambers, not much but being leader has it's perks," she told him as she reached inside of a patched up cub board.
He looked and saw her walk to a small table and set down two cups and a bottle. "Not used to having people look at you like that I take it."
Warren sighed and sat down, "Not really, it's just weird how some people look at me like I'm the second coming some days."
She nodded her head and she pour something into the two glasses, "So why the mask? I've been wondering about that. Is it that your face is scarred up?"
"Huh? Oh no," He pulled if back showing his handsome face, "It's just that I wear it so less people know who I am in the field. My family…well…let's just say I'm trying not to put too much exposure on them."
Although he and his parents hadn't had the best talks the last time they met he didn't want to ruin everything their family built because of what he was doing. He could tell that when word got out that he was mutant things might go to well with the stocks. He knew it would come out sooner or later but the more he put it off the better.
Callisto looked at him he sure was a very handsome man. You didn't see many people up there like him and impossible down here. Oh yes he was very fine and to tell the truth it had been awhile for her. Warren took a little experimental sip with the cup just to be polite. Whatever it was had one hell of a kick, and he nearly coughed at what that was.
"We call if Morlock moonshine and it's also good for stripping paint," She grinned downing the whole thing in one go. She winced and let out a cough, "Takes some getting used to."
"Yeah so I see," He coughed once more. He put it aside not really wanting to taste it again.
Callisto got up and walked next to him, she gently stroked his wings. It was strange sensation for him since no one really had touched in like that. Caressing his wings like that, "You know they really are lovely. I bet there isn't a mutant down here that wouldn't mind having wings like yours. Even if they can't fly down here beauty like this is a rare thing."
Warren had no idea what to say to her about that, and then she surprised him by sitting on his lap. She noticed his reaction, "Tell me do you find me repulsive?"
"Uh…no not really," He did admit despite the single line scar on her face and the eye patch she wasn't that bad looking.
She smiled at him and it was crossed between a sweet smile and that of a predator, "Good."
The next thing he knew she kissed him, hard on the lips. He really didn't know what to do at this point, sure he was single but he really wasn't looking to get into anything here. Plus it was kind of an uncomfortable position and he knew that he had to make a choice to kiss back soon or offend her. Thankfully there came a knock on the door and he sighed in relief when that happened.
"What is it?" Callisto snapped at the door.
"The teams sent out have found something," Came a muffled voice from behind the door.
She got off him, "I'm coming, have them sent to the meeting room." Then she looked back to Angel with a strange small smile, "We'll have to take a rain check."
He sat there watching her leave and he made a mental note that he would ask not to be sent down here. His life was complicated enough as it was and Callisto would just make things even worst. Plus he really didn't feel much of anything for her and that would lead only to disaster. He sighed to himself getting up, 'It's never easy.' He thought.
The meeting hadn't taken so long as Scott and Rogue fill them in on what they found. Callisto was needless to say livid. "That damn bastard! I knew we should have taken care of him last time!" She said angrily punching the wooden table. "Last time he got off too easy now he's a dead man!"
"Hold it," Scott said sternly to her, "We just saw people in Spears' trucks dumping something. It could just be a coincidence. Mutants can't just go start attacking people at random for what looks like no good reason. It's bad enough out there for mutants and if you attack them like the factory it will only get worst."
"Coincidence?" Callisto scoffed at him, "I may only have one eye, but even I can see more clearly then you! He made that poison killing us last time, and there have already been a total of three deaths. No more of my people will die from that bastard."
"Look I know it seems like he's responsible and to tell the truth I think so too," Cyclops said to her in a calmer voice. He really didn't need things to get out of hand. "But we need both the evidence to put him away and also to know just what is it that he's using. We need a cure more then his hide pinned to the wall."
"Oh I think I can get him to talk," Marrow grinned at him, "Then I'll pin his hide to the wall after I make him spill his guts." No one asked if that last part was figurative or literal since with her it was hard to tell sometimes. Even for Evan although he had to admit he wouldn't lose any sleep if Spears ended up dead, he had known one of the Morlocks had had died recently.
Callisto looked at them and stood up, "I thank you for what you did, and if you get the cure I hope you share it with us…But we have our own ways of dealing with things and I can't promise you anything but I'll see what I can do. But I believe it's time for you all to leave."
Scott didn't want to leave it at that but it wasn't like he could give orders to her or tell them what to do. If he tried then this growing wedge would get even larger. The Morlocks weren't easy people to open a dialogue with since they were kind of isolationist. So far they had managed to open up a little trust between them but he could sense that it was at a point where all that would be gone if things went the wrong way.
"Come one guys let's pack up." Scott said as they left the room. He didn't like leaving it like this and sighed, "That…could have gone better."
Rogue gave him a sympathetic look, "Hey ya did you're best and ah can't see any way that could have gone better."
"Thanks," Scott nodded to her. He just knew this might not end well.
-The Next Day-
The next day wasn't too easy on them either, they still had to go to school and those that had gotten back from the Morlocks had gotten back late and didn't get that much sleep. Scott was thankful he only had afternoon classes that day and slept in.
The others weren't so lucky, with the exception of Wanda and Sarah since they were schooled at the mansion. The others though were tired and nearly fell asleep in glass. Thankfully the new Principle seemed to be giving them a little slack when a few got sent to the office for falling asleep. He didn't know what was going on but from how tired they look he did give them to option of going home.
None of them took it since they were also there to cover for those out sick. They were just lucky school was just starting up if this had happened in the middle of the school year they would never get caught up.
Amanda however even though she hadn't been with the team hadn't slept well either. With so many sick and seeing Kurt in that bed had really put a scare into her. The thought of losing Kurt to something like this was just horrifying and not to mention who else would they lose?
After being kidnapped by Trask, Kurt's father, the Hellions and all the training in the Danger Room had helped her gain a new found sense of courage. This was just too scary, this was something that she couldn't fight and she felt so helpless.
She hadn't felt like this since her parents place was burned down and Kurt had been there to help rescue her and her parents. Only now she couldn't do the same for him, it was maddening at times to have these powers and yet not being able to do anything at all. It was lunch and she was sitting in the cafeteria just on autopilot at the moment. She didn't even notice what she had picked up or where she sat down.
Her mind didn't even register the food when she put it into her mouth. "Hey Amanda!"
She jumped being brought out of her thoughts to see both Wendy and Carmen. She didn't even notice them sitting down let alone how long Carmen had been trying to get her attention. "Damn chica, what's going on? You look like hell and you're like a total zombie."
"Yeah this isn't like you," Wendy agreed with her. There were some dark circles under her eyes and her hair was a little unkempt.
Amanda sighed not sure how much to tell them honestly. "Kurt and a few of the others are really sick."
"Yeah we heard something about that," Wendy agreed she was still a little uneasy around Kurt in his true form but she did admit that he was a nice guy. Better then the last two jerks that Amanda had dated before him.
"It's worse then you think," Amanda paused and leaned forward to speak to them in a hushed tone. "You see…someone is poisoning the water supply it looks like with something deadly to just mutants."
Both girls' eyes got as wide as saucers at this revelation. Wendy looked a bit pale her mouth was slightly open as she looked at her friend wondering if she was sick as well with this. Carmen after the shook looked livid and started speaking in rapid fire Spanish. Amanda noticed a few words and not all of them kind ones.
"I can't believe this…I mean I've heard of this type of stuff in the Middle East and other third world regions…but this," Carmen clenched her hands tightly, "It's genocide for God's sake!"
"Carmen, keep it down," Wendy told her seeing a few faces looking towards them. "Look I hate this as much as you do," In fact she was getting sick to her stomach at the thought of this. "But we can't just case a panic."
Carmen took a few breaths and looked at Amanda, "So what's the plan with you guys?"
"We're going to stake out that water treatment plant and get a sample of what they're dumping. Hopefully Mr. McCoy things with a pure sample they can start working on an antidote to it."
"God this is just so scary," Carmen said looking at her closest friend. She couldn't imagine how she must be feeling at the moment. Amanda just nodded her head she saw a few of the others in the cafeteria as well looking just as sullen as she was. At one table she noticed Pam and Ray with her hand on his looking like she was giving him some support. Amanda guessed that Ray told her what was going on there were a few others with them as well.
She noticed Alex was talking with that Anne girl in one corner away from prying eyes. She noticed Rogue wasn't there most likely alone outside, as well as a few others the others might be as well. Amanda knew that moral was pretty low now, it wasn't the best time they were having that was for sure. She really honestly didn't know what would happen now but they just had to find a cure for this, because she didn't want to think of the consequences if they didn't.
Meanwhile at the Hellion mansion there was a current meeting with the heads of the little school. They were gathered in the meeting room in the heart of the mansion. It was shielded for any listening devices and sound, it looked like a fancy boardroom. But then again the Hellfire Club was all about putting on a pretty face to hide their true intensions.
They had been gathering all the information they could get in order to see what was going on. The Medical people had identified a certain element in the water supply but it was breaking down too fast to get a decent sampling when in the water.
This left the adults a little frustrated at that of course but they went on. Benedict wasn't in particular since he was in charge of the medical angle. Selene in her all black business suit however had a bit more to add to the meeting, "Well Shaw just send us some information on his spy network. It seems that one of the spies in the FOH had heard an unconfirmed rumour about Spears."
Reeva got interesting in that as she leaned forward a bit onto the oak wood table. "Spears? As in Guy Spears? The man that was responsible for that Power 8 thing that turned out to be harmful to mutants?"
"Now that is certainly interesting," Benedict nodded as he thought about it. "Is there any confirmation on this?"
"Unfortunately no, not at the moment but it is a place to start looking." Selene added.
"I'll get into looking into the company," Reeva said as she started to think about what she could do. "I'll have my people take a closer look at their funding, business associates, meetings that Spears has, tape his phone lines and record his actions. Maybe even dig up any skeletons he has in his past for leverage."
It never paid to go into a fight without knowing the enemy, and Reeva would make sure they knew more about him then even Spears knew about himself. If there was any link at all she and her people would find it. Even if it took anything from bribes to industrial espionage if there was a link to Spears and the FOH she'd find it.
"I think we should have Emma pay him a visit as well," Benedict offered an idea on the table. "Have her pose as a possible business investor and she can go into his mind and see first hand what's going on with his company."
Selene liked that idea, although she would prefer her own type of way of getting him to talk. But this would have to be more covert actions. At least for the time being, but she hoped she would get her to do her own brand of 'interrogation' with Spears at some point.
-Two Days Later-
They had set up shifts in small teams to stake out the water treatment centre. Over the past few days Hank and Forge had been doing their best, Forge had been trying to create a few new devices that would help in the analysis of the chemicals. Hank had sent all his research to Moira MacTaggert, a trusted friend of Xavier's and fellow scientist that specialized in mutants. Although sending samples to her would be useless because the half-life of the substance proved that by the time it got there nothing would most likely be left.
Thankfully since they learned it was the water, everyone was cutting back on water use. The mutants that had been sick thanks to Gale were starting to do better now. Although they were still weak but their bodies were fighting off illness better now. But the thing was without an antidote or stopping the supply of this they wouldn't be able to keep this up.
They had to use rain water that Storm managed to make to use when they did. It wasn't easy but it was safer to use that then tap water at the moment.
The current shift had Sam, Bobby, Kai, Jubilee and led by Rogue. Although at the moment she was doing a bit better since Kurt and Vincent had woken up. Thankfully things were going well at the moment as she looked around. She was back in that pumping room that she and Scott hid in while the others were elsewhere. Kai was…well truth was no one could tell where he was, when that boy went to hide he really hid.
Bobby was on a roof of a small building, Sam was across from him on a generator building that wasn't very big. He was in his New Mutant uniform what was all black except a brown jacket, gloves and boots. He also wore some goggles on his head that he found out helped him to see while in high speeds.
Jubilee had to hide behind one of the buildings because she didn't want to take off her yellow jacket. She said it was for luck so Rogue placed her there. Even though the rest of her uniform was black, the yellow jacket and gloves she wore would be too easily seen.
So far things were pretty boring, it was getting close to midnight and at this rate they may have to call it in early. That it until the same trucks that Rogue had seen earlier had arrived. They were the same silver tanker trucks as they just coasted into the place like they owned it.
Rogue was about to signal Xavier through a comm unit when the men in work clothes suddenly were attacked. It literally came out of no where as several forms came out of the darkness attacking the people there. Originally they were supposed to steal a sample of what they were dumping, Sam had been taking images with e digital camera for possible evidence but then when this happened she had to change it up.
From the looks of the ragged clothing and their appearance it was certain it was the Morlocks. 'Damn, looks like they had the same idea as us.'
"Everyone get in there, we got ta stop this!" Rogue ordered over her communicator.
"What side are we are?" Bobby asked her going into ice form. "I mean if they are poisoning mutants…"
"Just…Just try to keep each other from killing one another at the moment," Rogue told him as she broke her cover. She ran out a few steps and took to the air so to get there faster.
Marrow was one of the people in the Morlocks attacking the humans. Callisto had been thinking it over and had decided that at the moment the humans needed to be sent a message. So she, Spyke and a few others with combat experience went with her. They used a Morlock named Phantom for this, mainly because of the phantom of the opera style mask he wore over his face. His powers were also a shroud ability that could hide those in the dark.
She went on the offensive as soon as she had seen them trying to hook up the hoses all those that had died went though her mind in that moment that night. Callisto said to just scare them but she wanted to make an example of them. Marrow ran toward one man and duck under a sloppy punch and hammered her fist into his gut. He bent over with a grunt and so she took one arm and with a sickening snap broke it.
The man howled in pain and suddenly a pair of arms grabbed her from behind, she spun and lashed out with her fist with bones sticking out of the knuckles only to have them break against the body of someone. Marrow swore and was surprised to see that goth X-man with the white and brown hair. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"At tha moment stoppin' ya from making a big mistake." Rogue told her. Marrow only snarled and pounced onto the surprised girl.
Spyke had nailed one worked against the truck and brought out one of his fire tipped spears, "So you think you can just murder us and get away with it?" He asked the guy there.
"W-what are you talking about?"
"This crap you're putting into the water is poison, you've already killed several of us with this stuff!"
"I-I didn't know, I swear it! Please I got a family."
Spyke clenched his jaw remembering the faces of those that died. One of them had been a little girl they had found abandoned on the street. Another was of a boy crying over a dead parent, "So did some of those you murdered."
Before he had decided on what to do with this man his bone weapon was encased in ice. Evan looked to see Bobby in his X-Man uniform only all iced up you couldn't tell it was a blue and white mixed coloring. "I suggest you chill out Evan."
Evan threw the weapon aside and made a new one, "Man I can't believe they let you on the team."
Bobby just grinned at him, "Hey they let you on the team didn't they?"
Spyke charged forward to attack Iceman for that but was surprised by how Bobby dodged it. He rolled out of the way and came back up only to create a wall of ice blocking him off from both Bobby and the man he pinned. 'Damn it, I should have known if he was on the X-Men he'd have the better training then New Mutants.'
Elsewhere the X-Men had to try and keep the Morlocks and human from killing each other and of course the X-Men being in the middle didn't help matters for them. Jubilee pulled down some large and thick shades she got for her powers a week ago. This way her powers wouldn't blind her so much when she used it and it helped to increase her accuracy.
The managed to stun one man that was trying to hit a Morlock from behind with a tool then she had to stun the Morlock by blinding her with her powers right after when she tried to attack the human. 'This is just nuts, who am I trying to save and who am I trying to fight here?'
Thankfully the battle didn't last too much longer after that as the X-Men managed to separate the two groups. It wasn't easy though at the moment either since the Morlocks were ready to go through the X-Men to get at the humans that had been sending poison down into the tunnels.
Rogue walked over to Evan to hope and try to reason with him.
"Look we need ta get a sample of this crap so we can make an antidote ta this thing," Rogue said to Spyke with the kind of voice she had seen Scott and Jean used sometimes to carry authority. At least she hoped it sounded like that.
Marrow dug out one of her bone blades and threw it into the side of a tanker spilling the liquid contents, "There, get your sample then."
Rogue nodded to Jubilee since she had the gloves on and she carefully used a container to get as much as she could without touching it. She was nervous about touching this stuff given that in its pure form she bet it was even nastier stuff.
Then Spyke drew his bone spear and pointed it at the neck of one of the crew workers, "You tell Spears that we're on to him and we're not through with him either. And we'll be watching everywhere for his trucks now. If we so much as see you people in this town then you won't leave it. You got it?"
"S-sure, whatever you say." The man said going a bit pale. He had no idea what was going on but he wasn't being paid enough for this kind of crap. He looked at his co-workers and he could see them having the same thoughts. The few there were injured would most likely quit after this and he didn't blame them.
The X-Men made sure that the workers left and then it was just them and the Morlocks. Marrow stepped up to Rogue, "We don't like you interfering in our affairs X-Man. Our people are dying down there thanks to that man and we won't sit by and do nothing."
"Look, ah was down there. Ah know what's goin' on and none of us like Spears. Ah nearly lost mah brother and someone ah love. If ah had lost them…Well ah most likely would be with ya on this." That was a scary thought to her. Because she knew she was capable of murder, she had tried to kill what she had thought was Mystique with that statue. That even still haunted her, the others may have left it go but the fact she had just so easily done that was something she would never forget.
"Well almost isn't the same as actually losing someone," Spyke said to her in a dark tone. He had seen too much death already and he was sick of it. "You handle this your way…And the Morlocks will handle it our way."
With that the Morlocks left for the sewers. Rogue sighed to herself, she wasn't sure if this was a success or not but she just knew that things would most likely not get easier as time went on. She also dreaded telling Xavier about what happened.
NEXT UP CHAPTER 14: CALLING IN FAVORS