Disclaimer: I do not own the X-Men, Wolverine, or Jubilee. This story does not follow X-Men cannon; please treat this as an elseworld timeline. Any situations or scenarios presented in this story that resembles another story is completely coincidental.
Setting: This story takes place after the events in "Ravaged Souls".
The Cleansing Process: Ravaged Souls part two
Chapter 2: Conspiring
A beer bottle smashed across Logan's temple, glass fragments littering the bar room floor. He turned around to engage his assailant only to find a room full of angry patrons inching their way toward him and Jubilee.
"It's him!" Someone shouted. "That's the guy from the T.V."
"Somebody call the cops!"
"Let's get that BASTARD!"
The crowd at Auger's was making their way threatening toward Logan and Jubilee, half of them too drunk to even hold up a club. As Jubilee was about to give them a mouth full of plasma, Logan grabbed her by the collar and flung her out the door. She lost her footing and landed in a heap outside the bar. Not a moment later, Logan ran out the door and was on his motorcycle.
"What the hell was that for?" Jubilee shouted angrily. "We could have taken them."
"Shut up and get on!" He shouted.
Jubilee clung on to Logan as his bike roared to life, leaving the angry mob gasping in the dust. They sailed across the road back toward the mansion.
"What's going on, Wolvie?" She yelled into his ear.
"Wish I knew, Darlin'."
Elsewhere
The elevator moved swiftly down the shaft, coming to a stop at sublevel eighty-five. The doors slid open and a well-groomed man stepped forward and proceeded down the white corridor. Many doors with numbers lined the long hall, but there were no windows or markings to indicate that the facility had any character whatsoever.
As he reached an unmarked door at the end of the corridor, a laser beam traced his eyes, granting his entrance. The metal door slid open to reveal a dark office, illuminated only by a small lamp at the desk and more than fifty monitors lining the side of the wall. The office had a cold and sterile feeling, as though it had been scrubbed clean of any pathogens.
"Welcome, Graydon Creed." The feminine computer greeted.
He surveyed the monitors as he entered his office. The screens flickered to different parts of the facility every twenty seconds. Technicians could be seen working in a laboratory on one monitor, while another monitor observed the happenings down an empty corridor.
Graydon Creed sat at his desk and proceeded to read the daily operation report on the facility when a figure of a man materialized in the corner of the room. He did not acknowledge the new presence in the room, but continued to review his report.
"You look pleased." The figure finally said, his voice deep and clear.
"Just amused. If these figures are correct, we have the funding we need to continue this project." Graydon began. "People are so eager to donate to a worthy cause. Little do they know where the money is really going to."
The figure in the corner did not move.
"I see that you have improved on your teleporting device." Graydon continued.
"I no longer have to hold onto the mechanism to initiate teleportation." The figure said, sounding pleased with himself.
The figure held up what looked like a metallic chip about the size of a dog tag.
"This is programmed to my signature. Teleportation can only be initiated by me." The figure said. "I merely have to adhere it to the person's clothing or skin."
"That should be extremely useful." Graydon said calmly. "How many did you produce?"
"Only enough for the new units." The figure said.
"And the status on production?" Graydon asked."
"We have enough units to complete our agenda." The figure said. "The current model has demonstrated its controllability, unlike the first one."
"It sounds like we're ready to begin phase three." Graydon continued.
"I agree." The figure said with a gleam in his eye.
"Make it so, Bastion." Graydon said.
Bastion nodded his agreement and exited the office. He entered the elevator and descended lower into the facility. Sublevel one hundred was considerably darker. He paused by two metallic doors halfway down the corridor marked Gestation Chamber.
"Welcome, Bastion." The computer voiced
The chamber was the size of a gigantic warehouse. It was lit with wall lamps surrounding the perimeter, pointing toward the center. On the ceiling, a massive conveyer system could be seen. Attached to the conveyer, hanging twenty feet in the air, were hundreds of cylinders, ten feet in length. A handful of technicians would be seen observing the figures lying in stasis within the cylinders, writing down any abnormalities. The clear red liquid within the cylinders made the room glow with an eerie feeling.
Bastion took his position next to a technician seated at the monitoring station.
"Containment is stable, sir." The technician stated.
"Perfect. We are initiating phase three now." Bastion announced. "Prep the prototype."
"Yes, sir." The technician obliged as he keyed in a command on his console.
The conveyer system began to rotate and a single cylinder was lowered onto a girded platform at the center of the chamber.
"INITIATE Birthing Sequence." The computer voice rang out.
Fluid began to drain from the bottom of the cylinder. As the level of the liquid began to drop, a figure could be seen moving.
"Release mechanism engaged." The computer voice stated.
At once, the bottom of the container dropped and the figure splashed down on to the birthing pad. Its skin, covered with reddish mucus, twitched as technicians handled its slender form roughly as though it were an animal. One technician pulled a foot long breathing tube from the drone's mouth. It gasped and began to cough as fluid spurted from its mouth.
"How long will it take?" Bastion asked as he continued to watch the technicians clean up the drone.
"Not long, sir." The technician began. "The memory implants and programming will be set in half a day."
"Perfect." Bastion said as he began to type up the drones orders and coordinates on the console.
To Be Continued
Acknowledgements: A many thanks to those who wrote a review:
Tokyo Fox
Chylea3784
B. Oots
