Chapter 10: Can't Stop What's Coming

Disclaimer: I've been denying it long enough, so now I say to you that yes, I do in fact OWN the X-Men.

Shadowcat stood outside the Blackbird and looked to the sky, one hand resting on her hip, the other above her eyes to shield the sun. Her eyes traced along the horizon, noting its concentrated lack of…well…anything. Even without Wolverine's nose, she could smell the end of the harvest. So this is what November in farm country is like. It was a far cry even from Chicago or New York.

She felt the rest of the team come up behind her, Wolverine moving on ahead. Without turning around, she declared, "Welcome to 'da Ville."

Gambit cocked an eyebrow at her back. "'Da Ville?'"

Shadowcat turned and smiled. "Noblesville. You like it? I just came up with it. Not really sure if –"

"Come on, team. We've got a mission." Cyclops cut her off while moving to the forefront.

Gambit and Shadowcat rolled their eyes before falling in line behind Cyclops.

By now, Wolverine was far ahead of the rest of the group. His head moved from left to right, eyes squinted, nose picking up a myriad of scents.

Storm followed closely behind Gambit and Shadowcat with Beast silently bringing up the rear. Storm looked all around her, gathering a sense of her surroundings. She spotted what looked like a school across the street to her left. "Who would build a high school across the street from a prison?"

"It's abandoned," was Cyclops only reply.

"Well, yeah, but…Honestly."

"Maybe it helps with the transition." Shadowcat grinned at her own response.

"'ey now—"

"Guys. Seriously. Mission?"

"Sorry, homme. Jus' tryin' ta make light o' the situation…" Gambit grinned and elaborately held out both his hands.

All but Wolverine froze.

Beast popped his head up at Gambit's remark. "'Make light of the situation?' You've got to be kidding me."

"Oh…look, Beast. Gambit didn't –"

Beast pushed past him, catching up to Cyclops. "Right. Okay."

Shadowcat frowned at Gambit before smacking the back of his head. "You had to open your big mouth, didn't you?"

Storm held her hand up to quiet them. "Hey."

They all looked in time to see Wolverine coming toward them. "Ya guys just gonna stand there all day?"

Cyclops's eyes narrowed behind his visor. "Find anything?"

"Yeah. Took a little walk around the prison. Looked in a few windows. I'd say no more'n five guards at the door."

The smoldering lock fell from the door as soon as the red beam vanished. Cyclops's hand fell from his visor.

Shadowcat crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. Under her breath, she mumbled, "Could've just phased through the damn door. 'Too dangerous' he says. 'You could get caught' he says." Louder this time, "Way to be inconspicuous Cyclops!"

The leader ignored Shadowcat's comments, waving a hand in the air as if to send a silent signal.

Wolverine, Gambit, and Shadowcat stood with their backs pressed against the wall next to the entrance. Beast, Storm, and Cyclops mimicked their positions on the opposite side of the doorway.

Wolverine could smell the guards before they pounded the door, causing it to crash between the two groups.

Just as the first gun appeared outside, Storm broke away from the wall. She focused all of her attention on the five guards standing in surprise in the doorway. Before they could react, her right fist opened and her palm rose quickly in the air. As if tied to a string, the guards all slammed into the underside of the awning. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the men flying into the open.

All five bodies landed with a thud. None moved, the force of the blow knocking them out.

Gambit's eyes widened and his lips curled in approval. "'Dat was easy 'nough."

Storm replied with a quick "Says you" before falling in line behind Cyclops.

The smell of it nearly bowled Wolverine over. If suffering could be reduced to a scent, this would be it. Rancid. Musty. Raw. He knew this scent well.

Unfortunately, so did Beast. Too soon. It's too soon. Why'd I come back? It's too soon.

"...ake it?"

Beast shook his head to clear his thoughts. Gambit was looking him straight in the eyes. "What?"

"I said 'you gon' make it, homme?'"

"I don't really have much of a choice."

Gambit gave Beast a swift pat on the back before responding dryly, "'dat's de spirit, Blue."

In the front of the line, Cyclops looked to Storm on his right. "It's too quiet. Why would they let us get this far?"

"Scott, we did just take out five of their men…"

Wolverine came up on Cyclops's left. "There'll be plenty more. We gotta split up."

"Fine. Shadowcat, you go with Wolverine. Storm, you and Beast go right. Gambit and I'll go straight ahead. Keep your watches on. We need to remain in contact at all times. And Wolverine? Try to keep at least one alive. I expect answers from these guys."

"I ain't makin' ya any promises, one-eye."

"Wolverine…"

"Yeah, yeah. C'mon kid."

Shadowcat's voice could be heard echoing off the halls as she caught up to Wolverine. "I'm twenty-one, Wolverine. I hardly think…" Her voice trailed off when the pair turned another corner.

Cyclops walked slowly, knees bent slightly in battle position. His hand remained ever at his visor. Without speaking, every few moments he raised a hand to tell his partner which direction they would go next.

Gambit raised an eyebrow at what he deemed absurdity. In each hand he held a card which he passed gracefully through his fingers and back. De man acts like Buzz Lightyear. Gambit chuckled to himself about his lame comparison.

Nothing. There was absolutely nothing down this hall way. Or the one before that. Or before that.

"How long we gon' keep 'dis up, Cyke? Le's face it, dere's nothin' here."

Cyclops stopped and stood straight. Letting out a sigh, he dropped his arms to his side. "It doesn't add up Gambit. I spent hours looking at maps. I know this prison like the back of my hand."

"Maybe dey got wise and cleared—"

A sharp whistle interrupted Gambit's comment, followed by a bullet ricocheting off of a nearby wall. The two men hit the ground just in time to avoid being hit.

His face flush with the ground, Gambit mumbled "Me'be not" before pushing himself up off the ground.

Cyclops did the same and the two men stood side by side – Cyclops back in battle position and Gambit reaching for his bo-staff.

The silence was deadening. Neither of the two had said anything in the twenty minutes since the group disbanded.

This is sick. Why am I doing this? Beast found it increasingly difficult to accept the real reason for his wanting to come on this mission: he needed to be near her again. In the years since his supposed death, he had forgotten how it felt to follow behind her, to work beside her.

He watched her now, noticed her shivering slightly. He'd even missed her claustrophobia. Stop it. You're on a mission. Get with it. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

Beast looked up, shocked to see Storm staring right at him. "What?"

She strained to whisper louder. "What did you say?"

He shifted uncomfortably, looking everywhere but at her. Finally, he forced himself to make eye contact. "I said I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything. For hurting you."

Storm took an exasperated look down the hallway. She turned to walk away. "This really isn't the best time for—"

Beast grabbed her arm and turned her around, but gently. "No. I have to say this. Look, I had no right. I know. It's just that…I love you so much…"

Her heart softened at his declaration.

"…I'm sorry for what I said to Wolverine and to you in the Medlab. I never—"

The softness faded. "You what?"

"I said I'm sor—"

"No. What did you say to Logan? What did you tell him?"

Beast let go of her arm and looked to the broken-tile floor. "Oh…nothing really he hasn't—"

Without thinking, Storm grabbed Beast by the shoulders and pushed him into the nearby wall. "What. Did you say. To Logan?"

He breathed out heavily. "I called him a murderer."

A clap of thunder echoed off the prison walls. With a look of disgust, Storm backed away from him and continued down the hall.

"Storm, wait! Ororo—"

The use of her given name caused her to spin around. "Don't you ever call me that name. Ever. As far as I'm concerned, you're a teammate and that's it. You're not my boyfriend. You're not even my friend. The only time you are ever to speak to me again is on a mission. And then, you will call me Storm."

With a flash of lightning, she was once again walking away from a disgruntled Beast.

"Kid, what's goin' on!"

Wolverine pounded his fists against the door, his efforts doing nothing to get it opened. He heard another thud, this one louder than the last, and a high pitched screech.

"Shadowcat!" He backed up before slamming the weight of his body against the door again. Nothing.

He straightened himself and took another step back when he stopped suddenly. He heard a loud crack and then silence. He stood there, unable to move, as an unknown fear rippled through him.

Then, before his feral rage kicked in, the door swung open from the inside. Shadowcat used the back of her hand to wipe her sweat-drenched bangs out of her eyes. "You could've just waited you know. I told you I'd get the door opened."

Wolverine could feel every muscle in his body relax. "What happened? You okay, kid?"

Shadowcat rolled her eyes at the term 'kid,' but stepped aside for Wolverine to pass through the door. "See for yourself."

He walked in, stepping over one body at the threshold. He turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at his teammate.

She just shrugged. "I told you. I'm not a kid anymore."

"I'll say," was his only reply as his eyes fell on two more armed soldiers lying lifeless on the floor. He couldn't help but grin just a little. "And one-eye was worried about me."

Shadowcat cat responded dryly, "Speaking of our fearless leader, we've got a mission."

"Bossy."

"Drop 'em! Drop the weapon's NOW!"

Holding his bostaff readily in front of him, Gambit kept his eyes focused in front of him. "So, Remy figure he take de two on de left. You good fo' d'other three?"

"Done," was Cyclops' only reply before unleashing an energy beam up toward the ceiling and a flickering light. The fixture crashed to the ground, taking a soldier with it.

The remaining soldiers immediately opened fire. With bullets whipping by him, Gambit jumped forward, using his bostaff as an anchor while he spun his legs around, knocking another soldier against the wall behind him.

Another bullet whisked past, this time punching a small hole through Gambit's coat. Horrified, he held the corner up and poked a gloved finger through the singed hole. "'ey now! Why'd y'have to go and do that fo'?"

The second soldier took this moment to lunge at Gambit, attempting to crack his gun over his head. Gambit responded quickly, taking the soldier by the arm and flipping him to the ground. Grasping at his collar, he picked the soldier up off the ground. "It too much ta ask dat y'guys watch de coat?" Gambit asked before flinging his victim toward the wall next to his partner.

Just as he landed, Cyclops sent the other two flying in the same direction. Gambit threw a charged card up in the air. The explosion caused part of the ceiling to cave in, blocking the soldiers from escaping.

"Easy 'nuff."

"Come on. We've got—"

"I know, I know. A mission."

Storm stood at the end of a long tunnel, staring at the wall in front of her. Her eyes followed the ladder to the second level – an even narrower passageway that hopefully led to a bigger room. Resisting the urge to wrap her arms tightly around herself, she took several deep breaths to control her fear.

"Are you okay? We could find—"

"I'm fine, Beast," she spat out before trying to generate enough wind to lift her up. No such luck. Frustrated, she let out a disgusted grunt before wrapping her hands around one of the ladder rungs. She hoisted herself up and began the arduous climb.

Beast's ears perked. He heard the click of the trigger before the whistle of the bullet slicing through the air. He tried to warn her – called her name – but he was too late.

Storm let out a deafening scream muted only by the sharp clap of thunder.

Shadowcat and Wolverine jolted to attention at the resounding crack.

"It sounds like somebody's pissed off." Shadowcat added to herself, that's my girl.

Wolverine couldn't move. He closed his eyes, urging his stomach not to revolt against him. He'd never known a sharper pain than what he felt at that moment. "She's hurt."

Shadowcat snapped her head back to look at him. "What? How can you tell?"

He opened his eyes. "I just know."

It was like hitting a brick wall. Until then, it had all seemed routine to her. She was an X-Man. This was her job. But then there was Colossus, Beast, and now, maybe, Storm. Suddenly, it had become too real. It hit too close to home. Shaking, she brought her wrist up toward her face. All joking aside, her voice became thick with the gravity of the situation. "Shadowcat to Storm. What was that?"

Nothing.

"Shadowcat to Storm. Can you hear me?"

Again, silence.

"Storm!"

"Shadowcat, it's me. Beast."

Wolverine growled into his own watch. "What happened to her?"

"We're being attacked. They shot her."

The pain in his stomach growing stronger, Wolverine forced himself to respond "We're on our way."

Cyclops' voice interrupted the line. "No. We've got it handled here, Wolverine. We need you to keep looking for victims."

Cyclops knew Wolverine wouldn't like being kept away, but he also knew that a berserker Wolverine was no help at all.

While Beast and Gambit disposed of the attacking soldiers, Cyclops unzipped his uniform and ripped off a shred of his undershirt. He tied it tightly around Storm's upper arm in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

Storm winced in pain as she sat up, a wave of nausea threatening to overcome her. "I'm fine, Cyclops. Really."

"I know you will be. But for now, leave the hand-to-hand fighting to the rest of us." Cyclops stood and helped Storm to her feet. "Stay back. You're more useful to the team as rescuer, not combatant."

Beast and Gambit rejoined them, Gambit sauntering up as if no fighting had been done. "How's my Stormy?"

"I'm fine, Gambit. It just hurt a little, is all."

"Y'hear dat, mon ami?" Gambit spoke into his watch. "She gon' be jus' fine."

Wolverine didn't respond to Gambit. "Let's finish this," he said to Shadowcat, who had already ventured into the next room.

"Um…I think it is finished, Wolverine."

"Y'had us worried dere 'fo a li'l bit, padnat. Thought we mighta lost ya."

"Hmph. Pity," Storm responded quietly before pushing past the rest of the group and restarting her climb to the top.

The others remained silent, falling in line behind their – apparently – new leader.

By the time she reached the second level, Storm could barely contain the urge to scream. Her calm demeanor, however, betrayed none of her fear and exhaustion. She brought her right hand up to lightly touch her throbbing left arm.

She didn't wait for the others to catch up before entering a large room adjacent to the landing. However, her relief at finding an expansive room was short lived – the room was anything but empty.

The others came up behind her and stood motionless. Cells lined the perimeter of the room. Behind every set of steel bars, cots carried obvious mutants, each connected to a flat-lining monitor. Two eerily green fixtures were the only sources of light in the large room. An undetectable breeze seemed to blow through, rattling the screeching lights.

"Mon Dieu…" was all Gambit could say. No one else could have to put it better.

Beast stumbled backwards into a wall, teetering on the brink of consciousness. Memories flooded his mind – memories from before and during his captivity. He remembered the bar where he met Jean and the smell of fresh paint on his first day at the mansion.

He remembered roll call. When she admitted her code name – Storm – he couldn't help but think how appropriate the name was. Not because it described her powers, but because it described her. Wild and dangerous, yet refreshing and somehow…necessary.

Then there was panic. A Sentinel. An explosion. A crush. They abandoned him. They left him there on the steps, alone. They had to save the others. That's when the men took him. There was a truck and a gag, a jail cell, needles, probing, dull pains.

Finally, there were woods. Freedom. Her.

Storm stood by him now, holding tightly onto his arm, offering her support.

Beast's reverie was broken by a harsh whisper coming from the group's right. "Gambit!" Shadowcat's form could barely be seen in the dark.

"Shadowcat!" Cyclops responded, crossing the length of the room. "Where's Wolverine?"

"Right here." Wolverine came up behind Shadowcat, his six claws already extended.

The group of six spun around as the sound of clapping hands echoed in the room. A tall figure dressed in a sleek pin-stripe suit emerged from the shadows. He clapped his hands together while chuckling with sickening glee. "Well, well, well," the man spoke. "What have we here?"

"Who the hell're you?" Wolverine snapped as he pushed his way in front of his teammates. "You in charge of this?" He stopped in front of the elegant man and grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, his own claws still extended.

The man raised an eyebrow at him before looking over Wolverine's shoulder to Cyclops. "I suggest you control this subordinate."

"Wolverine," was all Cyclops said.

Wolverine sheathed his claws, shoving the man away from him but making no effort to move himself.

The man brushed the front of his suit as if sweeping off some disease left by Wolverine. "I must hand it to you, X-Men. I certainly thought it would take you longer than this."

"We're good." Cyclops crossed his arms over his chest, attempting to maintain a level of civility. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't give him the OK to rip you to shreds?"

"Because I have answers…Cyclops¸ is it?"

Gambit spoke up this time. "Start talkin' salaud."

The man rolled his eyes before responding. "Let's not resort to name calling, Gambit. My given name is Jacob Nast. I served under the man you know as Colonel Wraith for quite some time before becoming a Colonel myself."

Wolverine's veins nearly popped in his neck at the mention of Wraith.

"I learned a lot from Wraith. He was like a mentor to me. But, to be quite frank, his goal was not as lofty as my own. He tested on mutants for the sole sake of experimentation – just to see a reaction. I'm not nearly as cruel. I test on mutants for the benefit of all mankind – both mutants and baselines humans."

"Get to the point, Nast." Cyclops stood stoically.

"The point is, Mr. Summers, that valuable strides in medicine can be made from these experiments. Rather than fight each other, we should be working together."

Storm and Beast stepped forward simultaneously. "You're joking right?" Storm questioned. "You actually expect us to help you torture mutants?"

"Torture? Now, really, Miss Munroe. I hardly –"

"Storm," she corrected him flatly.

"Excuse me?"

Beast stepped in front of Storm protectively. "Call her Storm."

Nast's face seemed to brighten, a gaping smile spreading across his face. "Henry! Henry McCoy! Ah yes, I remember you quite well. I must say, though, you were not quite as impressive as we had hoped. To be honest, we learned nothing from you and I wouldn't do that if I were you, Miss Pryde." Nast turned around to face Shadowcat, frozen mid-way between jail cells.

After a brief moment she finished phasing, only to be met with five armed guards surrounding her. Within seconds, guards had been stationed to each X-Man.

All took their battle positions – Gambit tightened his grip on a deck of cards, Cyclops's hand rose to his visor, Beast crouched lower to the ground, and the faint rumbling of thunder could be heard in the distance.

Wolverine couldn't hold back any longer. He growled loudly, diving through the air and snapping his claws out. The sound of bullets ricocheted off the wall as the guards opened fire. In seconds, Wolverine was splayed on the ground, smoke from the heat of bullets rising off his body.

"LOGAN!" Storm flung herself in his direction, only to be restrained by more guards.

"Tha's it capo. You wan' fight, you git a fight." Gambit spun in a circle, slamming his bostaff into the stomachs of several guards.

Simultaneously, Cyclops unleashed his beams on the ground in front of him, uprooting four of the soldiers standing near him, causing them to topple to the ground.

Beast sprang into the air, grabbing hold of one of the fixtures, and using as it as an anchor to swing from. Getting just enough leverage, he was able to swing forward, crashing his feet into the chest of two soldiers.

Shadowcat made quick work of three men, phasing through one before spreading her arms out on either side and smash her fists into two noses.

The contents of the large room began to rattle as Storm conjured up her winds. Turning sharply to her left, she threw her arms forward. As if physical contact had been made, three soldiers slammed into the jail cell behind them before crumbling to the ground.

Unable to move, Wolverine could already feel his injuries starting to heal. He held back a cough, spitting blood out onto the floor. His eyes slowly blinked open as he raised his head slightly. Squinting to focus, the blurry image before him began to merge into one scene; he knew he'd be too late, but he had to try, "KITTY!"

Shadowcat delivered one final kick to her attacker and spun around upon hearing her name called. She hardly had time to react as she felt the barrel of a gun punch into her gut. She looked up to see Nast smiling down on her. The force of the shot caused her to double over as pain rippled through her body. She reached out, clinging to the front of Nast's suit, her eyes wide-opened, locked with his gleeful stare. The world suddenly went dark as she collapsed to the floor.

Note: Salaud 'Bastard' and capo 'coward.' Hope you enjoyed it. As always, R/R are appreciated.