Magneto's Headquaters
The large green frog known as Mortimer Toynbee laughed when Sabretooth came through the tunnel in the rock and into the laboratory. He was alone.
The lab was a massive space, with towering cliffs of rocks, trees and a giant meadow filled with the machine. Magneto's machine. It sat like a modern statue in the middle of the clearing, its polished metal thrusting toward the invisible roof above, and it gleamed a sparkling gold that it almost made it appear that it was priceless. Toynbee had been painting the bottom of the machine, carefully, so as not to miss even the slightest spot, which he knew he had, but Sabretooth's failure would make Scourge forget about the decorations of his machine.
"Wern't you supposed to bring somebody back with you?" He asked sarcastically. Toynbee was mote often called Toad, (or Froggie when Sabretooth was in a mocking mood.) due largely to his agility, his ability to leap great distances, his long tongue and his superhuman strength.
Sabretooth paused and turned his face Toad, who only sneered and went back to work. With a growl Sabretooth moved on into Magneto's personal study, through another tunnel in the rock. Magneto watched him come, shaking his head. Around him the walls of his large study were stark, made of polished stone and metal, just the way he liked it. The space had one time been a cave, but he had changed it for his own purposes, placing a giant desk under a simple light source, covering the floor with polished tiles.
"My instructions were simple" the green hedgehog said, keeping his voice low and level, not letting his anger seep into the words. "In fact, I made them that way especially for you. And you were unable to retrieve our friend! He is essential for half of the operation!"
Sabretooth moved across the room though the shadows and stopped in front of Scourge's desk. The smell if the hides he wore carried over to him, but he ignored it.
"So, what happened, brother?"
"Xavier's people," Sabretooth said, his voice low and almost a growl. "They knew"
Magneto nodded and sat back in his chair, musing. Miles Tails was going to be a little harder to beat than he had first thought, however, he had to admit that Sabretooth might have made it easier to get the next person vital for this operation as well as the friend that Sabretooth was supposed to bring.
"Good for you, Tails" Magneto said to himself "Good for you"
Then Magneto caught a glimpse of the metal dog tags hanging around Sabretooth's neck. He held out his hand, summoning the tags to him. They snapped off Sabretooth's neck and flew through the air, dropping into his hand. He inspected the tags, staring at the one word at the bottom that didn't seem to belong: Wolverine.
"Strange," Magneto said to himself. Then he looked up at Sabretooth. "Where is the mutant now?" "With Xavier's people," Sabretooth said. Magneto nodded, tossing the tags across the desk back to Sabretooth. Then he pushed himself away from the desk, stood, and headed around the desk.
"I have made the first move. That is all they know, because that is all you know." He headed for the door. "Come. We only have three days." Sabretooth shrugged, grabbed the tags off the desk, and turned to follow.
"Lucky for you, Fiona will enact the plan"
X Men Mansion – Westchester County, NY
Amy slowly came back to consciousness, like a swimmer twenty feet down, stroking for the surface of the lake. She was strongly reminded of something that happened a lifetime ago when she went to camp for the summer and a sneering councillor had challenged her to see if she can swim to the bottom. The light slowly got brighter and brighter as her scenes came back to her, and her memories.
Amy can tell that she was lying on her back on some sort of padded bed in a very sterile place. Some sort of hospital or lab, more than likely, and a nurse wearing too much perfume was leaving the room.
Curiosity is a curious thing. Sometimes people cower away from it, thinking that ignorance is bliss, sometimes people magically pull themselves together and know where and when to stop. Then there are those so determined to know absolutely everything they are wiling to risk everything and break goodness knows how many rules just to get the satisfaction that they deserve. Amy Jubilee Rose most defiantly belonged to the last example. If she sees one of her friends or teachers do something strange or odd, she will get into the bottom of it no matter what the consequence were. This of course got her into a lot of trouble.
One time, she hid in the recycling bin in her teachers' home after coming to the conclusion that he was having an affair but was actually giving his sister in law theory after she recently became a widow, and she was convinced that her neighbour had murdered her husband, but she was only rehearsing for a play. So naturally after she was rescued by someone who can shoot lasers out of his eyes and someone who can control the weather, and then wakes up in a strange, sterile place one does not simply sit and stick around especially one with a curiosity like Amy.
She had no idea where she was or for that matter where Shadow or Sonic was, and she was determined to find out. She jumped off the bed and ran like a ninja to the door that the woman had just went through. The sooner she found out what was going on, the better.
The hallway on the other side of the door was just like the lab that she had left, sterile, silver tiled and very quiet.
Deathly quiet.
Where the hell was, she?
She ran down the hall hoping to see some sort of sign that can point her to something that can tell her where she was and the location of her friend and new acquaintance. She did see other doors but something in her told he that it won't take her to them.
The walls were all soundproof, she couldn't heat anything at all. No sounds of people, machinery, distant traffic, not even the A/C or even a water pipe. Nothing.
The first door that she came to that wasn't closed, or didn't look locked, or had a key pad, she looked though.
It was a fairly large room, and very clean. One side of the room contained lockers, with a padded bench sitting in front of them, the other was full of spandex and leather uniforms hanging side by side, each tagged with a strange 'X' insignia, and on the other side…
Amy quickly realised that she was looking into the boys changing room and decided to look elsewhere. The next door intrigued Amy, she opened it cautiously thinking that someone was in it, but it was completely empty, except for a painting of the Statue of Liberty and a painting that seemed to have come out of a Jack London novel, and the doors of a lift.
Without thinking, Amy strolled to the lift button and pressed it. It opened with a deafening DING!
"Is that you Colossus?" A voice from the corridor yelled "I thought you were teaching history right now"
Amy, realising that she was about to be caught, leaped into the lift and frantically pressed the 'G' button and pressed the close button as if her life depended on it. Amy then realised that she had to deal with whatever was waiting when the lift doors opened, but she didn't care. 'At least I'll get the answers I need' she thought.
The lift seemed to be taking her into space and after a while, which was 45 seconds. The doors opened to a very empty hallway that couldn't make more of an opposite to the hallway below. In fact, Amy felt as if she time travelled to the 18th or 19th century. The hallway was wide and stately, with a high ceiling and furniture and paintings that looked to be worth a fortune lined the walls. Plush carpet softened her footsteps and the overwilling smell of well 'old' reeked her nose. From down the hall she can hear a voice, so she headed that way, staying to one side to hear what the voice was saying.
"The Roman empire, for centuries, persecuted and ostracized the Christians to the extent that they were fed for sport. Then almost overnight, their religion became the dominate faith in the empire after one of the emperors became one. Can anyone tell me which emperor it is?"
'What the…!?' Amy thought. From where she was standing, she can see a door that was slightly ajar and in the toom she can see what looked to be a giant armadillo, who's skin was made of metal! He was standing in front of a dozen or so thirteen to nineteen-year-old children, half of which looked strange, why one of them had no skin and she can see her…is it a her or a his? She can see it's skeleton as well as all of it's organs.
Amy turned back and moved away quickly, heading down the hallway toward a brighter area.
The hallway expanded into a sort of foyer, with a high ceiling and a massive antique chandelier. Beside the hall, which led off in both directions, the main way in and out of the foyer was a double oaken door.
Down the hall the lift that she had used dinged faintly again, warning her that someone was coming up, most likely after her. And from the other direction she could hear the sounds of two people's footsteps on the carpet. She clearly had no other choice. She sprang for the oaken door, opened it silently, and stepped inside, closing it just as silently behind herself.
"Good morning, Amy" A voice said.
Amy san around and came face to face with a yellow 2 tailed fox that both looked very old and very young at the same time, who was sitting behind a large mahogany desk. Sitting in front of him was Sonic who turned and smiled at her in relief, and (in some restraints) Shadow who looked as if he was about to kill someone. Behind the fox was a white bat that looked 'big' and a wolf girl that looked as if she had walked into something she was not supposed to be in, and not Amy.
"Sorry, Professor, I just forgot my book" The wolf said.
The fox nodded and the wolf grabbed a book that was on the floor, and she ran toward the wall. Amy tried to yell to see if she can stop her. But she didn't slow down, instead she simply ran through the door as if it weren't there.
Amy looked at the yellow wall where she had disappeared then back at the fox she had called "Professor"
The man held up a textbook as if it explained everything "Engineering" he said. Then, "Do you want some breakfast?"
Amy stared at him. "Where are we?" Amy said, setting herself down on a comfortable chair that seemed to be more expensive than her parent's home.
"Westchester, New York" The Fox said. "You three were attacked, my people brought you here for medical attention, in particular…."
"I don't need no medical attention!" Shadow suddenly spat. He sounded like an edgy teen rebelling against their parents.
"Indeed" The Fox said smiling, "but the other two are in shock and have minor bruises"
The fox turned and wheeled himself out from behind his desk. For the first time, Amy realised that the fox was on a wheelchair. "I'm sorry, but your two friends had arrived seconds before you arrived, and I hadn't had the time to properly introduce myself. I am Professor Miles Tails Xavier. You are in my school for gifted children. Mutants, as the press calls us. The bat behind me is one of my assistants, Rouge. You will be safe here from Scourge, or as he calls himself, Magneto."
The three hedgehogs all shook the foxes' hand, (Shadow somewhat reluctantly) while the bat stayed back as if afraid that touching them would kill them. Then Sonic said in a puzzled voice "What is a Magneto?"
The professor chuckled "A very powerful mutant who believes that there is a war brewing between us and the rest of the world."
"So?" Shadow asked "What has that got to do with me? Or these other two?"
"I don't know yet" The professor admitted "I wish I did. But I believe that he is planning something. The mutant who attacked you is a new associate of his called Mephiles, going by the nickname of…"
"Sabretooth" Shadow said completing his sentence. His voice dripping with venom. "Oh I know him alright."
"You knew he was bout to attack us?" Amy said, trying to take in everything that she had seen and heard.
The professor shook his head "No, I just tracked him, and he led my people to you. We need to keep the three of you out of Magneto's reach until we know what his interest his"
Shadow laughed "No can-do bub! I have got to get back to my…"
"Your camper was destroyed" The fox said calmly "Shadow, it has been almost 15 years hasn't it? Since you…woke up?"
Shadow stared at the professor as if he was about to answer a question he wanted answers to for a very long time.
"woke up." The professor said "with no knowledge of who you really are. Living day to day, trying to piece together what happened to you. You know how to fight, though. You always have known, haven't you? And your nightmares are vague clues to a past that isn't completely erased from your mind. But now that everything has been destroyed, where will you go?"
"How…" Shadow said stunned.
Then a voice rang in Amy, Sonic and Shadow's head "Your not the only one with gifts"
Then the two tails of the fox spun suddenly, slowly at first then rapidly and then the fox flew up, out of his chair and into the air where he hovered slightly, his legs hanging uselessly then came down back into the chair.
Behind them the door opened, and two people came in. One was a red echidna with strange looking sunglasses and the other was a green echidna who Amy realised was the nurse who wore too much perfume.
"Ah, thank you" The professor said aloud "Dr Grey, allow me to introduce Amy, Shadow and Sonic."
The green echidna smiled at the three, "Yes, call me Tikal" she said offering her hand to shake. Shadow looked into her eyes as he took her hand. In all his life he had neve seen a woman so beautiful. Or to whom he had been so attracted to. He hands were soft, yet strong in his. And he didn't want to let go.
Professor Xavier continued with the introduction "This is Knuckles Summers, also called Cyclops. Bunnie Munroe, also called Storm. They are the ones who saved your life"
"Thank you" Sonic and Amy said in unison. The red echidna looked pleased, but immediately frowned at the lack of gratitude from Shadow.
"Don't mention it" Cyclops mumbled at Shadow, looking at him as if every part of him had somehow offended him in some way, Tikal then put her arm around his arm, which was clearly the action of a girlfriend.
"What happens to us?" Amy said suddenly. The professor, the bat and the echidnas all smiled at the hedgehogs with warmth and understanding. "I know that you two have been though a lot together, searching for a home. A place to belong."
Amy and Sonic nodded in unison. They were beginning to like this place more and more.
"And I will give you that"
"So?" Shadow said, glancing at the others "Is this like a dog pound for unwanted mutants or what?"
"You will be talk politely to the professor." Cyclops said in a tone that sounded as if he was a father telling off a disobedient child. "You will use full body listening and you will address him as 'Professor'."
Shadow couldn't believe his ears, before he can fully process what the red echidna had said to him he punched him square in the jaw without even hesitating.
Cyclopes almost fell to the floor, with one hand blocking his fall and the other to make sure his sunglasses were in place.
'Vain dude' Shadow thought contemptuously. 'He thinks that he can boss someone around like that!'
"Knuckles!" Tikal cried, she ran to her boyfriend, but he raised up a hand.
Tikal turned to the hedgehogs "I know that you think none of this is your concern, but Magneto will find you. And a lot of lives can be in danger including your own"
"And I will make you a deal Shadow." He said "You give me three days to find out what Magneto wants with you, and I will give you my word that, even if he is interested in you or not, I will use all of my power to find out what you have lost, and find what you are looking for. And I will give you an RV free of charge"
Shadow paused for a moment, then he relaxed "Three days old man" He said "Cross me and I won't feel any guilt about what I do"