Chapter 6

"All right," said Gambit as the teams gathered later that day in the war room. "Bad news first; I've been looking through the data I managed t' collect from the Purifier's base. Unfortunately, none of it gives me an address fo' their second base or wherever it is that they've been working on the delivery system or storing the missiles dey've been making. Anyone who wants t' can double-check me if they like, but it may not be necessary, on account o' the good news."

"Which is?" asked Skids.

"I've got a signal from the tracking device Betsy put on the last shipment o' missiles," Gambit said smugly as he tapped away at the computer so that everyone could see for themselves.

"What? When did this happen?" Marrow demanded. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'm telling yo' now, aren't I?"

"Florida Keys?" Bobby said. "The Purifiers are hanging out in the Florida Keys?"

"Well it makes a certain amount of sense," said Pietro. "It's about as close to Genosha as you're going to get from the States if you're travelling in a straight line."

"I think you both raise good points," said Jubilee. "Why isn't our base in Florida? And I'm not just asking that 'cause I'm sick of snow, either."

"Ahem," said Storm. "I assume you've been able to pin-point the exact island, Remy?"

"Oui," Gambit replied. "The other good news is dat it's tourist season in Florida right now –"

"Wouldn't summer be the tourist season?" asked Psylocke.

"It is, but their major one is during winter, where it's still warm and cosy, Tropical climate and all dat," Gambit replied.

"Makes sense," she conceded. "So we go in pretending to be tourists?"

"All right!" Bobby cheered.

"We won't be tourists," Storm said firmly.

"But we will have to pretend to be tourists in order to fit in," Jubilee said cheerfully.

"It does work well in our favour, though. I bet dat the Purifiers are used t' tourists dropping by their island. We could probably get by wit' doing all the snooping we want – initially anyway – wit'out getting caught," Gambit said smugly. "We should go in smaller groups and avoid being seen wit' each other, dat way if one group gets caught, we won't all get caught, and backup is still available."

"What teams? Brotherhood, X-men, and umm..." Domino looked at Marrow, "what do you call yourselves?"

"Gene Nation," Marrow replied.

"That might be best," said Rogue. "That way we're not going in cold with people we don't know."

"I'll go in with Gene Nation," Gambit said. "Anole should stay here, though."

"Got that right, bub," Logan said. "Storm, you've got –"

"No," said Storm. "If we all go, there will be no one to look after the students. I will stay."

"As will I," the Professor said.

"I will go if you particularly want me to," said Hank, "but I have some projects of which I would prefer not to abandon at this juncture."

"All right then," said Logan. "Rogue, Jubilee, Bobby, you'll be with me. Kitty and Pete, you'll be our fourth."

"What?" Kitty asked. "Just the two of us?"

"Don't think you can handle it, half-pint? I can always make Rogue and Bobby the 'young lovers'."

"You can handle it," Rogue said firmly.

"I didn't say we couldn't," Kitty replied. "I was just surprised."

"Why do you even need 'young lovers'?" Marrow asked scornfully.

"Variety," Logan replied. "Decrease the likelihood of us being connected with each other."

"Makes sense to me," said Skids, looking at Marrow.

Marrow just stared at her.

A few weeks later, after further developing their plans and organising accommodation for their stay, the teams finally moved out. While each team did their initial investigation of the island, the rest of the groups focused on playing their roles as tourists. The only ones who seemed to have problems with this concept were Logan (who ended up being ganged up on by the rest of his team) and Marrow. The only communication done between teams was over the internet at pre-arranged times, otherwise phone numbers had been exchanged in case of emergency.

The first team to investigate the Purifier's island was the Brotherhood. They were actually able to do a good deal of reconnaissance; there were no significant fences around the few buildings on the island, and the way those buildings were built implied lower levels. No one stopped them or told them to leave, nor did they try to enter any of those buildings.

A couple of days later, Gene Nation had their go. They confirmed what the Brotherhood had found and were also able to identify a number of security systems, including a psionic dampener in place.

When Kitty and Piotr did their investigation, they were lucky enough to spot the arrival of a seaplane. They did try to get closer, but were intercepted by a couple of guys wearing Purifier bands informing them that they were trespassing. They left soon after that.

Finally the four X-men made their surveillance, but they went about it slightly differently. Before they even reached the island, Rogue took off in flight for an aerial reconnaissance and Bobby took to the water. In his ice form it was quite easy for him to blend in with the water, and by icing the water around him and drawing it into him, he could breathe without having to surface if it came to it. This led to Jubilee calling him "Icefish". Logan and Jubilee went to the island together. Rogue teased them about being 'young lovers'.

Regardless, their investigations gained a good deal of additional information. Rogue was able to identify the above-land layout of the base, as well as an interesting clearing that reminded her of the basketball court back at Xaviers – although she couldn't be entirely certain that wasn't just wishful thinking. She also spotted a satellite in play, something she knew Gambit would be interested in. Bobby located the cove where the seaplane would have landed and found a neat, natural harbour under a cliff face, as well as an additional entrance into the base. Logan's feral instincts were also able to add some additional details to what the other teams had already determined.

That evening, they shared their findings with the group. It was decided that they would each take a couple of days to think about things and then confer about how to go about further investigations. Discreet inquiries with the locals revealed very little, which was frustrating to Psylocke, who would have loved to get a Purifier off base for mind-reading purposes.

Rogue lay back in her bed that night and sighed. It had been hard being separated from Gambit while he'd been with Marrow and the others initially and it felt like they hadn't been reunited very long before they'd been separated again. She wished he hadn't been so quick to join the Gene Nation team, although she understood why he had.

Rogue had never truly appreciated the phrase "absence makes the heart grown fonder" until now.

While Rogue was lying in her bed, Gambit was in his, in the room he was sharing with Erg. Only difference was that Rogue was safe. Gambit, on the other hand, never noticed the canister of sleeping gas that entered the room, nor was he aware of the men that carried himself and Erg out.

Gambit awoke hours later, strapped down to a table wearing nothing but the pair of boxers with a picture of a couple of playing cards on them that he had been wearing when he went to bed the night before. Naturally adverse to being strapped down at all, the first thing Gambit did was charge up thin lines across the straps binding his arms, legs, torso and hips to the table and let them blow. The leather sufficiently loosened, it was no problem to simply sit up.

He was in a lab, Gambit observed with bitter and sick resentment. There were three more tables by him with Erg, Marrow and Psylocke bound. Marrow and Psylocke were already awake and Marrow was attempting to grow a bone knife out of her wrist so she could cut the bindings. They were all in their sleepwear too: Marrow and Erg both in ratty pajamas and Psylocke in a fairly sexy night gown.

"Need a hand?" Gambit asked as he pushed off the table.

"Oh good, you're awake," said Psylocke. "I was beginning to worry someone would come in before Sarah could get free."

"Psionic dampener?" Gambit inquired as she began charging up the restraints.

"Yes. We must be on the Purifier base," Psylocke replied.

Erg gave a yelp as he was startled into wakefulness by his restraints exploding.

"Really?" Marrow said scornfully. "You figured that out all by yourself?"

"This is no time for your attitude, Sarah," Psylocke said primly. "We've been made. We need to get out of here and advise the others."

"Thank you Captain Obvious," Marrow retorted while Gambit freed her.

"You're welcome Sargent Sarcasm."

"Check the door for us, would yo' Erg?" said Gambit before the girls argument could go any further.

"Right," Erg replied as he pushed off the table.

Gambit charged up Psylocke's restrained and blew her free.

"Can't see anyone in the hall," Erg reported. "What's the plan? We're just going to walk out?"

Gambit looked over the room and finally shrugged. "Looks like that might be the best way out of this room. Betsy, if we run int' strife, teleport and tell the others."

"Will do," Psylocke replied.

The handle of the door was locked, but just because he was without his lock picks didn't mean much to Gambit, who could just blow up the lock instead as a good Plan B. The four walked out into the hallway and picked a direction, having no real idea of which way they should go. Gambit was just relieved to be out of the lab.

They heard the footsteps and Gambit immediately tried the nearest door. It was open and the group let themselves inside. Gambit stood guard, even going so far as to shove a chair under the handle. Psylocke and Erg checked that there was no one else in there. Marrow took Gambit's hands in hers.

"You might want these," she said quietly.

Before Gambit had a chance to question, a pile of small, flat pieces of bone, about the same size and thickness of guitar picks fell into each of his hands. He saw Marrow's face screw up in an obvious attempt to hide how much the process hurt her. He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Merci," he said softly.

They all stopped then as the door handle rattled. Gambit waved at everyone to find cover. The chair wasn't exactly the best height for shoving under the door handle – it was a little bit too tall and the angle it was at was too low. Gambit waited until the rattling stopped, then quickly pulled the chair away, slipped under the nearby desk and pulled the chair in front of him. It was just in time, as at that moment the door burst open and a pair of Purifiers came in.

Gambit frowned. The two did a cursory look around and then dropped a canister. The walked out again, shutting the door behind them. He swore as the canister started emitting gas and headed for the nearest wall. As quickly as he could, he traced a circle in the wall, charging it up, and letting it blow a hole into the next room.

"Hurry," he urged them.

Coughing and spluttering, the four managed to make it through the hole, only to be confronted by Purifiers on the other side, wearing gas masks. He charged up the bones Marrow gave him and let them fly the same time that Marrow let loose a flurry of much larger bones from her body and Erg lifted his eye patch, letting a stream of electricity arc across the room.

Psylocke faded into the nearest shadow and burst in from behind. The psionic dampener may have made it impossible for her to use her psionic blades, but she still had ninjutsu training at her disposal. She was more than fast enough to evade friendly fire.

Another gas canister was set off, even as Gambit ran out of bones and began on hand to hand.

"Betsy!" Gambit called as he coughed and spluttered from the gas. "Get out!"

Psylocke stepped into the nearest shadow. As she began to fade, however, another canister went off virtually in her face and she inhaled a lung full with no chance of evading it. She fought to stay awake – it wouldn't do to slip into unconsciousness mid teleport – and finally, sluggishly, appeared in Rogue and Jubilee's hotel room.

It wasn't until Rogue and Jubilee returned from breakfast with Logan and Bobby that they found Psylocke, lying unconscious in the shadow between Rogue's bed and the wall.

"What in the..." Rogue began, spotting something in the corner of her eye. "Betsy!"

"What?" Jubilee asked, and then peered over to where Rogue had raced to Psylocke's side. "She all right?"

Instead of testing for a pulse, Rogue cheated and turned her power on instead. She held her hand about a centimetre away from her skin and felt the crackle of life force before shutting it off again.

"She's alive and breathing," Rogue confirmed. "Go get Logan and Bobby. Ah'm gonna call Remy."

"Okay," Jubilee agreed.

She grabbed the door key and departed as Rogue picked out her mobile phone. When the phone rang went to voicemail, Rogue hung up without leaving a message and a sick feeling knotted in her stomach.

"Betsy?" Rogue said as she shook her gently. "Wakey, wakey. Betsy, wake up! C'mon, please wake up?"

Psylocke didn't respond and Jubilee re-entered with Logan and Bobby.

"She's been gassed," Logan said after only a glance. "In the face, and sleeping gas or I miss my guess. You'd better absorb her and find out what she knows. No telling when she'll wake up and time might be important."

"Right," Rogue agreed.

She placed her hand on Psylocke's forehead and turned on her powers.

.

She screamed, pouring all her rage and anguish into her cry. She placed her hands on the table and pushed everything off and yelled again. The sound of heavy footsteps running came towards her and the door was flung open.

"Betsy?" said Brian. "Betsy, are you all right?"

"No," she replied in a voice wrought with pain. "No I'm not! Thomas just dropped me."

"Tom? Your agent?" Brian asked, sounding puzzled. "Why would get do that?"

"You remember Prague?" she said tightly. "When I collapsed and then when I recovered, everyone else collapsed?"

"Yes..."

"Well, all the wrong people figured out I was a mutant. They've effectively blacklisted me from modelling again."

"Oh, Betsy –"

"Some of them even blame me for what happened!"

"That's ridiculous! It was universal. There was no way that was your fault."

She finally turned and met her twin bother in the eye.

"Tell that to the people who just ended my career."

.

Someone was intruding on her mind. She could feel it. There was a presence and a horrible wrenching, pulling feeling that came with it, like she was being dragged out of her own body.

"Now my dear, this will go a lot easier if you don't fight me."

"Get out of my head!"

"Silence child. Silence, and sleep."

.

"No!" she said as she banged on the window, watching as the previously brain-dead Kwannon walked away with her husband. "That's my body! Give me back my body!"

"Do sit down, Elizabeth," said the other passenger in the car in her accented English, "before you damage your new hands."

.

She rolled her eyes as the speaker at the rally rambled on about putting a committee together and talking to the Government. Right. Like that would accomplish anything.

"People listen," he said. "They won't take us seriously -"

"They want to exterminate us," she said, loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"This Cure is voluntary," the speaker said and she couldn't believe his naivety, "nobody's talking about extermination."

"No one ever talks about it," and she turned to see an older gentleman in a cape standing up at the back. "They just do it."

.

"Betsy!" Gambit called, his voice barely audible through the gas taking it effect on him. "Get out!"

She evaded one Purifier to step into the nearest shadow and tuned into the shadow world. She located a shadow in Rogue's room.

Abruptly there was a hiss as a burst of gas went off in her face. She had no choice but to breathe it in even as she committed to the teleport.

"Must stay awake... must... stay... awake..."

.

Rogue gasped for air as she let go.

"Rogue? Rogue?" Jubilee asked anxiously.

"Ah'm fine, Ah'm fine," Rogue replied as she shook off the dizziness. "Must have picked up some of the effects of the sleeping gas. Whoa. Okay. The Purifiers took the Gene Nation team from their hotel rooms last night. They woke up from the lab and were trying to escape when the Purifiers jumped them. Betsy has no idea why they're even still alive – Purifiers kill mutants, they don't take them prisoner. She also thinks they must have been spying on them the whole time, because they came down on them again pretty quickly after they left the lab, and they knew where to look for them."

"All right," Logan said. "We'll call the others and go after them. Everyone get ready."

"What about Betsy?" asked Rogue.

"Get her into bed and leave her a note. No telling how long it's going to take to sleep it off. She can teleport; she can join us when she wakes up if she's up to it."