Chapter 5: Operating Room
When she opened her eyes next, something was different. The floor of the cell wasn't metal now; it was concrete. They must have moved her to a different cell while she slept. Something must have been in the food she had finally, reluctantly, eaten because the hunger cramps in her belly were so sharp they were a constant physical pain. Soon after eating, she had slipped into a dreamless sleep, and now she was—where? She explored the dimensions of the cell. Small, but not as small as the one she'd been in before. Cement, or some rough, cold substance. Thank god she had this jumpsuit, and the kneepads. Someone out there wanted her intact. "No prizes for guessing who," she muttered to herself.
The door opened again, and Jubilee looked up, expecting to see Daria, or Bastion. Instead, one of the red-and-purple Magneto knockoffs came in. Jubilee stared at him warily, tensing as he approached her, but all he did was move around behind her, and begin to unstrap the pack and the mindsifter from her head. It was a relief to have both bulky items off her; her chin was raw from the pressure of the strap, and her shoulders felt as though she'd been carrying around every schoolbook she had on her back for…how long now? Then the man exited, leaving her alone in the cell.
She arranged herself a bit more comfortably, relaxing as much as she could in the straitjacket. With the mindsifter off her head now, her thoughts were finally hers again, and she slipped into a quiet contemplation of her current situation. Feels like I've been here in the dark for days. She shifted position. Trouble is, I'm, like, totally clueless as to where 'here' is.
She sighed heavily, biting her lip. What I wouldn't give for the ol' canucklehead t'come slashin' through, braggin' 'I'm the best there is at what I do, bub—an' what I do ain't pretty!' But ever since Bastion kidnapped me he's done his best to convince me he's beaten the X-Men. I just gotta hang tough—I'll get outta this somehow…I hope.
For what seemed like an eternity, she stared straight ahead at nothing, at the darkness around her. Loneliness gripped her mind in its cold fist, and she had to fight the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. It was actually something of a relief when she heard the door open again, and Bastion's measured footsteps crossed the cell, coming to a stop somewhere behind her. "You there, Bastion?" she said coolly, not even bothering to turn around. Who else could it be? "How'm I supposed to scratch my nose if ya won't let me outta this stupid straitjacket?"
Behind her, Bastion grabbed his clenched fist, to keep from belting the arrogant, defiant, frustratingly uncooperative little girl. "A coy ruse, Jubilee," he said, his voice betraying none of his frustration, "but futile. Any attempt to escape would surely result in your termination. After all, what is the life of one mutant in the face of humankind's survival?"
Jubilee sniffed disdainfully. "I guess that's what your Zero Tolerance group is all about, huh? Survival. You or us. Humans or mutants. Guess you never gave thought to tryin' to live together?"
Again Bastion had to clench his fist to keep from hitting her. What was it about her that infuriated him so much? Was it her attitude? Her defiance? He didn't know, but he was going to do something about it, and soon. He needed that information, and he had lost patience with the mindsifter. Perhaps a different form of persuasion would work… "You simplify and belittle my mission, girl. Do we not have the right—no, the responsibility—to protect our future? Mutantkind, through the very laws of nature and evolution spells the gradual extinction of the human race. I cannot allow that to occur."
Jubilee looked up at him. "And what's gonna happen once your plan kicks into high gear...mutant registration? Relocation camps?"
Bastion turned away from her. He knew what he would do; put the child in the middle of her worst nightmare. Make her worst fears come true. She would be so desperate for home and friends that her guard would come down, and that would be his opportunity. "I wouldn't concern myself with that, if I were you, child, for it has already begun. All that's left for you and your genetic ilk to do is pray." He stalked out of the cell, a grim smile on his face.
All those images he'd gotten from her mind were of some use, after all. It gave him a window into her weaknesses, her worst nightmares, the worst things she could imagine happening to her in this place. Some of them weren't far off the mark from what actually happened. Not that Bastion had ever participated in those things; he had no need to, being an android; but just the threat could instill submission and obedience in the mutant cargo that had already passed though Processing and into his facility. And if the threat didn't do the trick, well…there was no shortage of his First Strike guards and other employees willing to actually carry out the threat. And of course, there were the doctors.
He had hired doctors as per the government's stipulations; they wanted to be sure the mutant prisoners weren't kept in unbearable, intolerable conditions. The government insisted that although they might be mutants, they were still humans, and were entitled to humane treatment per the Geneva Convention. Bastion thought this was nonsense; but he hired the doctors anyway, mostly those who had lost their practice through mismanagement, lackluster attitudes, or patient abuse, and were on the verge of losing their licenses. He'd made it clear that if the doctors did anything other than what they were told to do, he could ensure they did lose their licenses and livelihoods. As the holding facilities acquired more and more inmates, he'd found that a sort of prison hierarchy had sprung up; a hierarchy where the guards did what they wanted, when they wanted, even including abusing the mutants. Bastion had no problem with that; in fact, the prisoners' constant state of terror was beneficial to him; there were no uprisings. So the guards did what they wanted to do, and the doctors patched the mutant prisoners up and sent them back to the guards. He let them do what they wanted, except when a guard went too far and killed one of the prisoners, causing the government to ask questions. When that happened, the guard would be 'killed' in a prison riot. Since most of them had personalities that didn't endear them to anyone, no one would notice him missing.
The doctors weren't as easy to dispose of. Someone would look for them, and questions would rise. So Bastion had left orders that certain activities the guards favored were not to be practiced by the doctors; but there were other things doctors could do, that wouldn't leave a mark but would break the prisoners…he decided to give the arrogant young X-Man a taste of what life here would be like without his protection. After that, she would be more inclined to cooperate, in exchange for having the guards leave her alone.
He strode into the guards' mess, his mere presence instantly capturing the attention of those assembled there to eat. The room lapsed into silence before he even had to ask for it. "There is a girl in cell 233," he said, his voice carefully modulated to filter to all corners of the room. "She has information I want, but so far my efforts have been unproductive. You may try your methods of persuasion. But no permanent visible damage, and I want her still able to talk." He left the room, hearing the men begin to talk as he left.
He returned to the monitor room, where Daria was busy with the tasks he'd assigned her. "Sir…" she asked, "Shouldn't I go see if Jubilee needs help? It's been a while…" her voice trailed off as she took in Bastion's cold countenance.
She was getting too attached to the girl. Bastion hadn't counted on that. He knew she was loyal, but this business with Jubilee… "Not just yet, Daria," he said quietly. "A lesson needs to be learned here." He strode on past her workstation, ignoring her startled gaze, and as he sat down at his workstation, he heard her murmur, "Yes, sir." He smiled grimly. After what the guards would put her through, Jubilee would welcome Daria's sympathy. Perhaps enough that she would break.
Down in her cell, Jubilee looked up as the door opened. "About time you got here, Daria, I, like, really need…" she trailed off as she realized it wasn't Daria. Two of those red-and-purple armored clowns were walking in toward her. Jubilee could sense they didn't have good intentions. They each seized one of her arms. "Don't even think about it!" she yelled furiously. "Bastion's gonna have your hide if you hurt me! I'm his 'special' prisoner!"
"Yeah, we know," one of them snickered. "Don't worry about it, little girl, he gave you to us. We're not going to rough you up. Not too much, anyway."
Jubilee started yelling, struggling. "Get your hands off, me, you are sooo busted!" she yelled, kicking out with her feet, trying to impede their progress down the hall. "I swear, when Wolvie gets hereto rescue me he's gonna be so pissed you'll be lucky if he just breaks a leg or something!"
The guards dragged her down a narrow hallway that terminated in a heavy steel door, which they opened with a swipe of a passcard. Beyond that door was a room fitted out with a table and chair, both equipped with straps. And beside them, a doctor pulling on gloves, and trays full of shiny, sharp instruments. Jubilee didn't like the looks of this one damn bit.
She tried to lash out at them when they unbuckled the straitjacket, but before she'd gotten her hands free one of the guards brought a massive, armored fist down against the side of her head so hard she saw stars. Dazed, she was unable to fight as they locked metal mitts over her hands and wrists, curling her hands into tight fists in order to do so. Unable to use her powers, she was helpless to resist as they yanked off her jumpsuit and strapped her body spread-eagle to the cold steel table, and when the doctor reached for her, terror took over and she started to scream…
Outside the operating room, one guard sighed at the agonized screaming that had been going on for the last two hours. "Damn doctors. I hope he leaves some for us!"
Xavier raised an eyebrow as the door to his cell opened, and Bastion came in. "Here to taunt me again?" he said calmly, continuing to eat the dinner a guard had brought in moments before.
Bastion watched Xavier eat for a few moments. Then, "She hasn't eaten in three days."
Xavier didn't even look up. "Really. What 'she' would that be? Your assistant?"
"No. Your student."
Finally Xavier did look up, his deep brown eyes unreadable. Bastion took that as assign of interest and pulled the remote control to the viewscreen on one wall of Xavier's cell, and turned it on. "This student. Jubilation Lee."
The screen switched to a real time image of Jubilee, strapped to the table in the operating room. Bastion had been watching, off and on, for the last day or so, being careful that Daria didn't see it. No need to try her loyalty to him.
Jubilee's muscles spasmed as another current of electricity tore through her body. Strangled cries struggled to escape her suddenly-constricted throat, and she writhed in agony for what must have seemed an eternity to her before the doctor turned off the current. Then she slumped weakly in her bonds, sobbing. "Please!" she cried, her eyes streaming with tears. "Please, for God's sake, stop it, I'm just a kid! Please—" and any further words were drowned out by the crackle of electricity. This time the doctor kept the current on until she passed out…
Bastion switched off the viewscreen and turned to Xavier. "As you can see, I have your youngest student," he said triumphantly. "Tell me what I want to know, Xavier. Tell me, and I'll spare her this torture."
Xavier blinked once, then reached for the spoon he'd been eating with. "How many more of those simulations are you going to throw at me until you realize how futile an exercise this is? You've tried everything; I haven't given in. I won't give in, Bastion. You will never convince me that you have Jubilee, because I know you couldn't possibly have her. She's safe, and your efforts are all for nothing." He resumed eating.
Bastion stared at Xavier, completely dumbfounded. Of all the reactions he could have gotten from Xavier, this wasn't one he'd expected. "I really do have her, Charles," he insisted, sounding like a child trying to convince a grownup of its veracity. "I ran across her in Massachusetts, and brought her here. She's down in the operating rooms this very minute. You can end her suffering, Xavier, with just a simple word. Tell me what I want to know!"
Xavier put down his spoon and leaned back in his wheelchair. "Yes. You have Jubilee. Like you had Cyclops, and Jean, and Wolverine. I do not believe you, Bastion. Not until I see them with my own eyes. Or touch them with my mind, to ascertain they are who you say they are. You tried to get me with these simulations before, Bastion. You've cried wolf too many times. I'm not listening anymore."
Bastion stared. He could bring Jubilee down here, show Xavier that he really did have the child…but no, if he did that somehow, someway, Xavier would be able to figure a way out. Xavier's cell was equipped with psi-screens that prevented telepathic thought from leaving, but the introduction of Jubilee's receptive mind might give a telepath as powerful as the X-Men's founder a way around that. He had to keep Xavier confined, isolated, and alone.
Jubilee. He would have to get his information out of Jubilee. Xavier was hopeless. His faith in his X-Men was unshakable.
Bastion's mouth curved in an ugly smile. What a shock it would be to Xavier when Bastion had them all, and he found out that the child he had dismissed as being far from here had broken and given Bastion the information he wanted. It would be a shock to Xavier to know that his faith in Emma Frost as a guardian was sadly mistaken.
Bastion was looking forward to that day.
End notes:
The material for the beginning of this chapter comes from X-Men #64. Right after Bastion leaves is where my imagination took over, and ran away with me! Please don't hold the issue's creators responsible for anything after that point.
There are two versions of this chapter. What you just read is the PG13 version. There is an alternate chapter 5 with an expanded middle section, where Jubilee is worked over in the operating room. The altchap is rated R/NC-17; for those of you familiar with my writing, you know what that means. The altchap is on my 'request only' list; if you want to read it, please send me an email and ask for it. And please, make sure you're of legal age where you live to view R rated materials; I don't want to corrupt any minors!
One of the questions my coauthor and I were tossing around…and probably many other comic readers…is this: if Bastion had Xavier and Jubilee, why didn't he try to use Jubilee as leverage against Xavier? It would have made sense; 'Xavier, tell me where to find the X-Men or Jubilee gets it.' Xavier would have given up the location; sacrificing Jubilee to keep his Dream intact wouldn't have crossed his mind. She's too young, too vulnerable. The X-Men themselves, if they'd known, would have given themselves up before allowing Bastion to harm Jubilee. So why didn't it happen?
It took a couple of days before I came up with the answer. Bastion is an android, a 'machine with an ego' as Megalictis put it. He would have tried everything at his disposal to convince Xavier to give up the location. Bastion has so many redundancies in place, so many angles covered, it was impossible he had missed this. The answer occurred to me as I was reading a story to my kids; the boy who cried 'wolf'. Jubilee can't have been the only one he tried the whole simulation thing on; and Xavier knows his X-Men too well to miss the little details that Bastion didn't know about. Bastion has all the subtlety of a rampaging rhinoceros. So Bastion probably showed Xavier simulations of the other X-Men being tortured, like he showed Jubilee the simulation of Wolverine, and Xavier did the same thing; scoffed and refused to believe. And when Bastion really had Jubilee, and was showing him actual events instead of a simulation, he couldn't believe it either. Bastion, like the boy in the story, cried wolf too many times, and ultimately defeated his own purpose. Things might have turned out differently if he had been able to convince Xavier he really had Jubilee. Since he didn't…funny how one small event can change an entire outcome.
