Sinister Secrets

Part Three

Scrambler remained apart from Threnody, touching her would be detrimental for the both of them. His fingertips tingled, eager to see what sort of powers he would have to mess around with. Threnody meanwhile began to charge up. She fed off of pain, taking that purely visceral sensation and turning it slowly into a plasma charge. There was certainly no shortage of it, being surrounded by Essex's experiments. Her hands began to glow faintly.

Oddly enough, they didn't break through the door. Instead, the trio of intruders simply walked straight through the wall. Threnody clapped her hands together, pointed her thumb and forefinger like a gun, and let fly with her first plasma charge. It exploded harmlessly in midair, shot down by a ruby blast.

Kitty had barely managed to let them go, before Cyclops and Wolverine were both on the offensive. Wolverine instantly went after the Asian, who dodged his first few blows like an old pro. Cyclops hit the dark-skinned lady with a few well aimed shots, causing her to spin around, and collapse over the chair. Scrambler feinted with a jab, and managed to somehow catch Wolverine with an uppercut. Bare skin contacted, and Wolverine felt like someone had poured Tabasco sauce under his flesh. Unleashing a howl of rage, Wolverine went into overdrive before anyone could stop him. In moments, Scrambler was lying bleeding on the floor.

Kitty managed to wedge herself between the unconscious Threnody and the bank of monitors. She found Jean and the others mopping up after their own little skirmish, while on another monitor, outside, Sabretooth calmly threw someone's body into the trees. The scream of metal against metal brought her attention back around to this current room. Wolverine was trying to claw his way past a set of shiny metal doors, without any luck.

"Kitty," Scott didn't have to say much more. Phasing her hands, Kitty passed them both through the console deck before her. The electronics popped and fizzled, and with a hiss of hydraulic pressure, the doors began to move. Cyclops readied his visor, his fingertips on the lever that would open the quartz shutter to unleash his devastating optic blasts. Wolverine crouched down low, teeth bared, and claws at the ready. The doors seemed to take an agonizingly long time to open.

No adversary rose to greet them; the only sign someone had been in the room was the crumpled white lab coat on the floor, spattered and stained with blood. Logan lunged forward, covering the distance to the operating slab in a single bound. His hand came down upon a cloud of charcoal-colored hair, while his other gripped the edge of the slab.

"No... no..." he whispered, unable to make a louder sound.

Kitty stepped up beside Scott, and both were reluctant to venture further. After a moment, Scott put his arm around her, and squeezed gently. Logan began to lower his head, his brow furrowing. The damage to Carnal's body was... beyond severe. She lay naked and humiliated, cut open from her sternum to her pelvis. She had been closed clumsily, the cut up parts of her flesh hastily pinched together. Bloody hand prints still lingered on the stainless equipment.

Vivisected. The word Hank used lingered loudly in his ears. Logan's fist tightened around her hair. But then, so softly, he believed at first that he was dreaming, he heard a tiny whimper of pain. The smooth lines of Carnal's face screwed up. His eyes widening, Logan looked abruptly at Scott and Kitty.

"Get someone! Get anyone!" he shouted, voice gone hoarse from stress.

Kitty jumped, phasing at the sudden noise. She grabbed Scott and dragged him away, running back through the corridors. Somewhere along the way, they joined back up with Ororo and the rest. One look at the panicked children, and Storm split off once more. Kitty forgot how mad she was at Avalanche for a moment, and threw her arms around him, in a tight hug. Confused, Lance hugged her gently.

"We need to get Beast," Scott urged them forward, bringing the students surging up into the sunlight finally.

Meanwhile, down below, Logan held tight to Carnal's hand as she whimpered softly. He'd broken the shackles holding her down, and wrapped her as gently as he could in the bloodied surgical sheets. When Storm swept into the room, he looked up, more stricken than she had ever seen. She brought with her a cool breath of air, stirring the stagnant coppery stench.

"She's trying to heal herself," Storm breathed quietly as she skated her fingertips over the girl's feverish brow. "Can we move her?"

"Do we have a choice?" Logan grunted. He felt like he was the bad guy suddenly. "Where's Hank?"

Ororo shook her head slightly. Hank was still topside, aboard the Blackbird. Grinding his teeth, Logan wrapped the supine girl tighter into the cloth, fighting to ignore her squeak of pain. Storm remained stroking her hair, and forehead, trying to keep Carnal calm. Her eyes opening once, golden orbs rolling around frantically in her head. In one motion, Logan scooped her up.

"Don't you give up on me, girl," he growled under his breath. "We still got things to do."

"They're bringing her," Jean murmured quietly. The X-Men, and Brotherhood were all gathered at the base of the boarding ramp. Hank was prepping another of the med-bays in the Blackbird. Inside, Sabretooth's broken jaw had already healed, along with his cracked ribs and fractured hand. He sat subdued, slumped forward with his elbows on his knees, and his hands clasped loosely. The world seemed to move around him, while he waited for the Prophet to open her eyes.

He barely looked up when Logan came in bearing a bloody-smelling bundle. He listened to the amazed utterances, and the quick work of the Beast, and only when he was sure they were all occupied, did he venture a hand to brush against Kylie's arm. The corners of her lips turned into a smile, but she never opened her eyes. Creed left his hand there, loosely on her arm.

"Let our truce continue," Xavier was saying close by. "The Brotherhood is welcome to ride home with us."

"Yeah," Lance murmured. "Yeah, we'd like that."

Creed became aware of another figure by his side. Glancing down, he saw Toad crouched by him. The teenager never raised his head or met his eyes, he only reached up and dared to pat Kylie's hair gently. With his eyes still averted, Todd Tolensky offered a pale smile, and hopped out of the way. Creed remained like a rock while around him the teenagers all got settled. At the med-bay berth beside Kylie's, Logan hung back from the scene.

"Runt." Creed knew how to get his attention. As the other feral turned to him, Creed made a small gesture with his chin, indicating the girl in the berth. "Didja get him?"

Logan waited a few moments, while Summers cruised by toward the cockpit. The kid would get them all home safely, he was sure of it. Finally, he shook his head. "Essex got away."

Creed grunted in reply, his hand automatically curling loosely around Kylie's wrist. He didn't bait Logan any further, choosing to keep the tenuous peace that existed in the jet. If Essex was still out there, Kylie still needed him. If Kylie still needed him, he still had a promise to keep. Reaching up with his other hand, he smoothed her thick curls away from her face.

Xavier paused beside him, on his way toward the cockpit. Creed paid him no attention, even after Xavier reached out to lay a hand upon his arm.

"You are welcome to stay, for as long as her recovery takes."

Sabretooth lowered his head, but didn't answer. Xavier wheeled a few feet further, and glanced back through the body of the jet. He wanted to soothe the worry, unravel the anxiety, but he knew that he shouldn't. With a soft sigh, he turned back into the cockpit, where Scott was firing up the jet's engine. Home seemed so far away.

Author's Note: Thanks for the patience! Revision 30 seems to be the one I'm most happy with, so... here it is! Separate epilogues to conclude each story, and then, it's whatever the muses say for the future! Enjoy, and thank you. ~S