There was no denying that his injuries would prevent them from getting John down the stairs to the first level. So, the group agreed that Cassandra would take him and Bobby straight to the mansion and be back as fast as she could. If anyone was able to keep John in check, it was Bobby—and he'd more than proven it during their last altercation.
Cassandra took them to the halls beneath the mansion. The three of them appeared just outside the infirmary, her purple cloud placing them in Storm and Scott's path, on their way to the same place. It was startling, to say the least. However, it was more concerning than anything else. "Oh my god," Scott hurried forward as Cassandra's head turned to look in his direction. "What did you do?"
"Cass didn't do anything," Bobby replied, tone subtly venomous. Scott's words were not only confusing, but the accusation was unfounded and cruel. Though, Bobby still supported John, Cassandra only stepping away once he had a firm hold on the dish towel they pressed to John's largest wound.
Storm held back any words that came to mind to reprimand Scott's foolish, insensitive comment, and hurried to John's other side to help Bobby hold him up. The reprimand would come later. "Let's get him on a table," she told Bobby, with a quick nod. "I'll do the best I can."
"Thank you." Cassandra tipped her head, and Storm returned the gesture. Then, she and Bobby were entering the infirmary, shuffling John along against the half-lucid protests and complaints he mumbled. Cassandra glanced at Scott who stood three feet to her left, jaw clamped shut as he resigned himself from the conversation. "I'm going back to join the others," she told him, a sour taste on her tongue. "If you get in the way of John's treatment, or hinder this mission, I'll gut you. No powers needed."
"Don't worry, I'm not go-"
His words stopped mid-sentence as she disappeared before him. It had never been his intention to further distance himself from her, or to carry on as though she were some kind of dangerous weapon to be controlled. Still, somehow it always came to those conclusions. Scott truly did care for her. He'd known her since she was quite young.
However, something happened internally when Jean died. She was the love of his life, and she was far more attached to Cassandra than he had ever been, and he knew that something about the sight of her after that loss only forced him to shut his eyes. To look away, to turn his back, to emotionally separate himself. It was far too painful to hear her voice and see her face, and only remember the times they'd all spent together.
He'd locked himself in his room as he grieved and, in more ways than one, he'd also locked the door to his heart. It bred resentment within Cassandra that could not be quenched. She was equally as affected by Jean's death, yet she could not mourn with the one person just as in pain. Instead, there was Logan. He came to her room often, asked her how she was doing, listened to her replies.
Sometimes, there was no talking or listening to be done at all—only crying. Scott Summers had not been the same since the tragic loss of Jean Grey and neither had Cassandra Barton, though it seemed Scott only left an allowance for himself in that matter. Added to that, the events of the Alcatraz assault only worsened her image within the ranks of the X-Men. Especially with the likes of Scott.
It only worsened her mental state, the total sum of her shortcomings forcing her hand, pushing her to leave the mansion permanently. Though, it was unlikely Scott knew just how he had affected Cassandra and her choices following his departure from her emotionally. After all, the last thing you should do to a person with fears of abandonment is to, put rather simply, abandon them.
With their team down one member—and an important one, at that—they needed to tread carefully. Cassandra rejoined the others at Barney's house, and the group moved to the living room to deliberate. "I'm not sure how or why, but if Sabretooth is actually involved, we shouldn't keep going," Kitty said, primarily eyeing Cassandra.
"I know," Cassandra exhaled a heavy breath through her nostrils. "We have John, but who knows if he'll pull through or even give us real information. I'm going to have to cut my losses and go alone for the rest of this mission."
Jubilee swiftly protested, "Whoa, slow down. No one is ditching you. We're all in this, Cass. If you're going to take the fight straight to Magneto, we come with you."
"I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't take any of you. Sabretooth is working with Magneto and Magneto is clearly willing to use him to cut out the weak links. If he's with Magneto right now—I can't guarantee anyone's safety-"
"We can look out for ourselves," Peter reassured her. His voice drew her uncertain eyes, and he gave a firm nod. "Take us with you."
Leave it to the man with metal skin, she thought. With a heavy sigh, she glanced at each of them in turn, eyes searching for an agreement or an objection. Jubilee gave a nod of agreement the second she was within view. Kitty, however hesitant, nodded quickly upon her turn. Though Cassandra was the only objection, she was in fact the leader.
Every fiber of her being screamed, calling out to her, begging her to leave without them regardless. It was the smart thing to do, wasn't it? To cut out the middlemen, to limit casualties as much as possible? It was certainly what Logan would do. Although, she wasn't sure if she ever considered him necessarily smart in that respect.
Despite the indecision, she nodded as well, reaching out her hands for the others to take. It was only fitting that she embarked on this hazardous quest with almost all the members of her original friend group. They'd all gone through the same classes, shared the same highs and lows, raised together as mutants. Those who couldn't reach her skin, held onto those who could. Then, Cassandra jumped.
The five of them teleported to an empty, dimly lit corridor with walls and flooring carved straight out of rock. Cassandra had only been to this exact spot once before and hadn't wished to ever return. There was something inherently sinister about its construction that ran a shiver down her spine, the sensation accompanying the rush of adrenaline from the sudden course of action.
As the others let go of her, she spoke quietly. "There weren't cameras last time I was here, but just assume they already know we're here," she said, glancing around the small group. Then, her hand found the X emblem of her suit and twisted, dislodging it. "I want all of you to keep out of sight unless there's danger—no arguing. If I need you, I'll start screaming. Understand? I'm gonna try to get what we need before Sabretooth smells you out."
Peter and Jubilee exchanged concerned looks as Cassandra handed the silver X to Kitty. Kitty was hesitant, but she took it with a small nod. "What are you going to do?" Peter asked Cassandra.
Taking a step back, she gave a small shrug, "Find Magneto and ask him what the fuck he wants."
"Be careful," he told her. "And, tell us you need help before you have to scream."
Cassandra wasn't sure if she would be able to without giving them away. But, she nodded, and turned away from them. The last time she was here, she had taken Magneto's side for the sake of necessity, and she hadn't done much exploring. Her feet carried her to the end of the long hallway, inching close to the corner in order to sneak a peek around it, but her heart was beating so quickly within her chest she couldn't hear anything else.
The hall ended at a junction, a large and rounded room connecting the multiple hallways of Magneto's secret hideaway. She wasn't quite sure the villain even used this lair anymore. It appeared empty as she glanced around the corner, eyeing the hallway she knew lead to Magneto's study—if you could call it that. Still, she waited a moment longer. Waited for someone to show their face.
Surely it would be Mystique, maybe even that slimy Toad. However, no such person came. Her eyes darted up to the ceiling, the corners of the room, in search for cameras. There were none. Had Magneto truly abandoned this place? Cassandra couldn't afford to take any chances. So, she teleported across the room, into the other hallway, to eliminate any possibility of discovery.
Her fingers tugged off her other glove before shoving the leather into a pocket as she took light steps toward the study. Anticipation was building as she approached the open entrance, heat traveling to her palms and coursing through her fingers, veins in her wrists white hot. There was nothing to fear, she knew. After all, she had bested him before, and nothing was stopping her from doing it again. Still, she was cautious and careful with every placement of her feet.
When she reached the entrance, her back touched the rough surface of the corridor wall. Slowly, she leaned in, moving only far enough to get her eyes past the edge of the carved rock. Near the back of the room was a silver desk, bookcases lining the wall behind it. To the far left, a fireplace and a cushioned chair. There had been some additions since her last visit, which only prompted her belief that it was still in use.
Why would he make this place more livable as she'd suggested long ago if no one were to live here? It was when her eyes focused on the chair by the fireplace, the embers in the ash heap twinkling like faint stars, that she could see the top of a head poking above the backing.
"Come in, child."
The familiarity of Magneto's voice pierced through the jolt of surprise from the spoken words. There was a deep, hollow clap—the sound of a book closing as the old mutant eased himself up out of the chair and to his feet. He tucked the book beneath his arm as he took slow steps around the chair, walking toward the bookshelves.
Cassandra swallowed thickly as she moved out from the shadows, into the large and open space of his study. Magneto tucked the book away on one of the shelves and turned to face her. His age betrayed him—skin heavy beneath his eyes, spotted by the sun. If she didn't know any better, she could almost look at him and see nothing other than an old man in seclusion.
"Welcome back, Cassandra," he greeted her, as he walked to his desk. "I assume you're here because you received my message?"
"Loud and clear."
She took three more steps before stopping herself, keeping a safe distance. Magneto lowered himself into the rolling chair behind his desk and exhaled heavily. "Whatever you think is my reasoning—forget it. This goes much further beyond the two of us."
"Then, explain it to me," Cassandra's eyebrow raised, her nails digging half moons into the skin of her palms. "What was so important you had to beat my brother half to death and nearly kill John?"
Magneto pulled onto a drawer within the desk and reached inside, before pulling out a handful of manila folders, each filled with papers and photographs. He tossed them onto the desk's surface as he spoke. "Are you familiar with the name Bolivar Trask? He was the CEO of Trask Industries. Don't be shy, dear. Take a long look."
"'Was'?"
Cassandra walked forward, keeping an eye on Magneto as she approached the desk. Her hand reached out, fingers grasping the first folder on the stack, and she picked it up to better view its contents. "He's dead, as he deserved," Magneto clarified. Then, he continued, "He was working on a project before he died that has been in production ever since. He wanted to build Sentinels—robots with the abilities necessary to hunt us down and kill us."
"Sounds like a peach," she replied, half-heartedly.
Her focus was on what she was looking at, the pictures within the folder in her hands. They were autopsy photos. Various, unfamiliar faces belonging to dead mutants. "Thanks to Mystique—with no help from your friend Logan—we were able to obtain proof that the government has continued with the project, going so far as to begin weapons tests on newer models," Magneto told her. "They've built their first prototypes in a facility in California."
Cassandra's fingers carefully sifted through the photos within the folder—but it was then she noticed they'd begun to shake. It turned her stomach sour. The concept of the United States government illegally detaining and experimenting on mutant citizens was nothing new. She'd first heard of it from one of Scott's stories. He used it as a warning, an example of why they always needed to be alert.
Really, it only gave credence to Cassandra's already-present fear that nowhere was truly safe. Not a home. Not a business. Not a school. And it was only hammered in by the raid on the mansion years ago. Magneto sat up in his chair to reach out, sliding a finger into one of the remaining folders to nudge it open on the desk before her. The movement caught her attention and her eyes moved eagerly away from the gruesome images.
"The facility is owned by Stark Industries," he said, as an aerial photo of the building sat atop the paperwork it accompanied on the desk. "They have a contract with the government to produce these mutant-killers."
Carefully, Cassandra folded the file she held closed and placed it on the desk, before reaching for the aerial photo. "Stark? As in Tony Stark? The bastard billionaire that flies around in that god awful tin can?"
Magneto nodded. "I wasn't surprised either."
The building in the photo was rather large, with a proportionately-sized set of five letters on the side, visible from the camera angle. Stark. "So, Stark Industries is building government-commissioned, mutant-killing robots and you decided the best way to get in contact with me was to attack my brother?" Cassandra's eyes moved from the photo to Magneto's time-worn face.
"Can you truly stand there, look me in the eye, and tell me you would've listened to anything else?"
No. She couldn't. Magneto was right—any attempt at contact would have been dismissed, shunned, avoided at all costs. He was the last person she wanted to be conversing with after all the ruin he'd brought to her life, regardless of circumstance. Cassandra stared down at him with a sharp glare of defeat. He only smiled, the right corner of his mouth upturned knowingly.
"If we're going to put a stop to this, we'll need all the help we can get," Magneto sat back in his chair. "That is why I'm revealing all this to you. Your friends think we're causing senseless mayhem, as usual. But now you know the truth."
Cassandra tossed the photo back onto the desk as her eyebrows drew together, knitted in confusion. "What exactly do you expect me to do?"
"My dear, you're our dynamite. We'll handle entrance and extraction—your job is simply to destroy the facility."
"I'm not blowing up a fucking warehouse," Cassandra shook her head.
"It is either that, or allow them to continue production," Magneto countered her protest, features turned deathly serious. "Once they're complete, they will release them into the world to do their jobs. And they will start right in our backyards."
"Told you she wouldn't do it. She's a pussy—just like her old man."
A deep, male voice came from behind Cassandra. It was sinister but amused, a mixture she recognized instantly as belonging to Victor Creed. Sabretooth. She twisted in her stance to look over her shoulder as she exhaled deeply through her nostrils. The tall man stood hunched as he leaned against the wall near the entrance to the study.
His eyes lingered on Cassandra, stalking his prey with an amused, devilish grin. Her shoulder muscles shuddered as they tensed. "Coming from a man named after a big cat. You know Saber-tooth's are extinct, right?" she quipped dryly, turning enough to see both men. There was a small pang of confusion by his comment about her father. Though, he was not entirely wrong, so she ignored it.
Victor pushed off the wall and sauntered forward. "Ouch. That really stings."
"Sabretooth, don't you think your time is better spent elsewhere, as we discussed?" Magneto questioned, sighing heavily as he rubbed a finger against his temple. The immaturity was irritating, only making the interruption stressful. Sometimes he wondered why he partnered with such incompetant, wastes of his time.
"And miss catching up with my favorite niece?" Victor tilted his head, feigning emotion as he came to a stop just feet from Cassandra.
Her eyes narrowed up at him. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Did Jimmy not tell you? I guess I let that cat out of the bag."
It was a tactic to throw her off, she knew. The only way she could be in danger is if she was unfocused. How could she focus with a bombshell such as that? It was just a tactic, she told herself. Inhaling deeply, she forced her eyes back to Magneto's face, ignoring Sabretooth altogether. "You expect me to help you when you're working with people like him?" she questioned the elder mutant.
"Aw, Cassie, you're gonna hurt my feelings," Victor quipped, enjoying himself all too much.
Ignoring him as well, Magneto sighed once more. "If these robots are allowed to be put to use, it won't matter whose side you're on. You'll be dead regardless. We all will," he told Cassandra. "Think on it overnight if you must. You know where to find me."
He suggested she think it over with a tone of disgust, contempt for the very concept of needing to deliberate. The annihilation of the mutant population was being put into motion. It wasn't much of a decision to make, in his mind. What was one facility when compared to an entire species? But Cassandra wouldn't take the time to genuinely consider it. She would use it to warn Charles of the new Sentinels, of everything she'd just learned.
After that was uncertain. Though, her initial instinct was to downright refuse and go home. To go back to her apartment and pretend none of this information had ever entered her mind. It was easier that way. It was safer. Cassandra gave Magneto one last glare before turning on her heels. As she took steps to pass him, Victor reached out, his fingers clenching tightly around her neck.
The action stopped her suddenly, causing her to stumble on a half step. He dragged her in front of him and tightened his grip, hefting her up to be eye-level with him with only the hand on her neck, and she sputtered. Air was caught in her throat, the skin of her face tinged a light red as her nails dug into the exposed skin of his wrist, matching the action of his nails digging into her neck. "This should give you a nice parting gift," he sneered. "Make sure to tell Logan you got it from your Uncle Victor."
Heat surged to her palms, inflaming her veins as a sudden burst of energy exploded from each hand. It was close to her face—too close—her cheeks feeling singed as Victor bellowed, letting her go to stumble backward from the force of the shot. Cassandra's feet hit the ground first, soon followed by her knees, then her palms to brace herself as she rapidly inhaled.
It was then she heard stomping, felt the rumble against the sizzling skin of her hands as Peter moved quickly toward Victor. His skin rippled as it turned silver, covering his body in metal with a distinct clinking sound. Peter's fist connected with the side of Victor's head, the hit powerful enough to send the other mutant sprawling into the wall beside the fireplace. Victor's back hit the rock with a loud crack and Cassandra instinctively grimaced.
Bobby was not far behind the metallic giant, outstretching his hand as frost spewed from his fingertips toward the desk. Ice encased the hands Magneto had placed against it, trapping them there as Kitty materialized through the floor beside Cassandra, swiftly reaching for her. "Are you okay?" she asked, quickly.
All Cassandra could do was nod, fighting a fit of hoarse coughs that burned the raw back of her throat. She could feel the tickle of blood racing down each side of her neck from the claw wounds. "Come on, let's go," Bobby said, eyes trained on Magneto. Though, Magneto only watched. There was nothing inherently wrong with them escaping unharmed. After all, that was his original plan. Any more harm to Cassandra or her X-Men would simply turn her away from his proposition.
So, Magneto sat quietly behind his desk, hands frozen to the silver. Peter backed away from Victor, who was now slowly pushing himself off the floor. Kitty stood, carefully pulling Cassandra to her feet with her, and Jubilee rushed to them from the hall. "Everyone—hands!" she exclaimed, racing toward them in a panic.
Bobby and Peter were quick to move in, reaching out to join Kitty in touching one of Cassandra's arms. Jubilee arrived a second later and, the second she touched one of them, Cassandra took them all away. The huddled group disappeared from Magneto's study in a large haze of purple smoke and sizzling sparks.
They reappeared in the infirmary. It was the room heaviest on Cassandra's mind at the time—due partly to her brother, but also her own injuries. Storm was checking Barney's vitals as he slept. Logan had come in not long before to check in and get as far away from Scott as possible within the mansion. He knew if he wasn't careful, he would snap, and actually injure him.
All was quiet, save for the soft beeping of the heart monitor, when the others arrived in smoke near the entrance. Storm startled, and Logan turned quickly on his heels—but the apprehension melted into worry as his eyes found Cassandra. She was at the middle of the huddle, supported by Kitty.
As soon as they all were safe, Bobby and Peter both let go, but stayed close to help Cassandra if necessary. Jubilee, however, ran off—she darted through the doorway and down the silver hall to the elevator, sure to leave skid marks on the pristine flooring in her wake. Though, it went mostly unnoticed. She was not the concern. Cassandra was.
She still coughed terribly, only pausing a moment to breathe in deeply enough to continue the hysterics of her lungs. Logan rushed across the room and reached out, hands carefully grabbing for her upper arms as he hunched to find her eyes. "Look at me, kid. Are you okay?" he questioned, adrenaline forcing his heart to pump all too fast. When she couldn't respond with but a head shake, he immediately turned to the others, "Will somebody tell me what the hell happened?"
"It was Sabretooth—she didn't want us to get involved, but he was choking her," Kitty quickly explained, a hand absentmindedly against Cassandra's shoulder blade. Partly to reassure Cassandra, but also to reassure herself.
Logan stood upright as he twisted to see behind him. "Storm-"
"I've got her, Logan." Storm was already hurrying over. Bobby stepped back as she slid her way into the group, wrapping an arm around the backs of Cassandra's shoulders to guide her away. Kitty finally let go, stepping back beside Peter. Though Logan knew it was going to help, it took all his self-restraint to let her go, to step back.
Cassandra shuffled along beside Storm as her lungs burned, allowing herself to be lead to another room in the infirmary. There were other tables there—including one which held an unconscious John, sleeping off the anesthetic from the extensive stitches needed to mend his wounds. But she didn't notice his proximity as Storm guided her to a table near the far wall.
Storm instructed her to take slow breaths as she moved quickly to a set of metal drawers nearby. In the third drawer down was a salve she knew would help the irritated, damaged skin on the outside of her neck. To help the inside temporarily, she grabbed a water bottle from a cabinet near Cassandra's table. She brought the items back to her and held out the water. "Sip gently," Storm instructed. "We'll get you something better in a moment."
Cassandra nodded, taking the bottle from her with a trembling hand. All her muscles shook, heart pounding in her chest, as her lungs struggled to catch up. Her head felt dizzied as well. The combination was enough to throw her off, twisting her gut in the worst way. Carefully, she worked the cap off the water bottle and lifted it to her lips. The somewhat cold water seared down her throat and she startled.
"It's alright. It hurts but it will help you catch your breath. I'm going to put this salve on your neck, okay? You'll feel better."
Again, Cassandra nodded, eyes squeezed shut as she held the bottle away from her face. Storm twisted the lid off the container from the drawers and set it aside before stepping in front of Cassandra. Gingerly, she used two fingers to bring some of the salve to Cassandra's skin, careful in her application to ease the initial discomfort. Cassandra drank more water as Storm spread the salve on her neck, and she tried to take slow breaths, but her lungs begged for more oxygen.
Her pulse was too fast, demanding far too much of her other organs, and it was threatening to drain her remaining energy. The skin crushed beneath Victor's claws was inflamed, red and beginning to swell. There were small punctures where the tips of his claws had sunken in enough to draw blood at the back. Storm found them as she moved beside Cassandra to reach more of her neck.
A quick glance told her they weren't actually deep enough to need stitches, but they needed cared for to prevent infection. Only God knew what kind of disgusting bacteria was hidden beneath Sabretooth's nails. So, she wiped off the rest of the salve and stepped back to the draws to retrieve small bandages. It was then that Logan entered the room.
He walked straight to the back where Cassandra was still carefully sipping from the bottle, Bobby not far behind him. "What can I do?" Logan asked, looking over at Storm from where he stood beside the table.
"She needs tea, hot, with a spoonful of honey. It will soothe her throat," Storm answered. She walked back to the cabinet to find the antiseptic and cotton swabs.
Bobby spoke up then, stepping up beside Logan, "I'll go, you stay with her." Logan eyed Bobby a second but, ultimately, he conceded with a small nod. Bobby was then on a new mission, turning on his heels and racing from the room.
