Vertigo took off at a run for the parking lot. As he went, he scanned the area for any sign of the five children, but could not see them anywhere. Vertigo could not lie about it – he did care about the kids. He didn't care about the X-Men or their insane ideas or their stupid conference or the lives of humans, but he did care about the children.
"Guys?" he called as he stopped in the parking lot. "Where are you?"
He felt a sudden rush of air movement, and Accel appeared in a blur at his side, "Here! We were hiding! What's going on, what's wrong?"
"Everything, I think," he said. "Listen, we have to get out of here. Where are the others?"
"Behind me. They can't run as fast."
Within a few moments the other four children, frightened and excited at the same time, arrived beside Accel, all of them shouting and clamouring for attention and reassurance:
"Vertigo! What's happening?"
"Is everyone OK?"
"Where are the teachers?"
"Are we safe?"
He held up his hands impatiently, "Shut up, all of you – we don't have time for Twenty Questions! We are getting out of here – right now!"
"Where are we going?" said Accel.
"Somewhere safe."
"How?"
He thought hard. They'd flown over in one of the X-Jets that morning, but that was parked back at the hotel, which wasn't far away but between them and it was the ongoing battle between the X-Men, the unknown mutant attackers, and the enraged human crowd. Vertigo glanced over his shoulder to see how it was going. It was impossible to tell. There were too many humans. He couldn't recognise anyone he knew. For the children's sake he hoped the X-Men could hold their enemies at bay. Did he actually care whether the X-Men themselves survived? He wasn't sure. Did he care if the other teenagers survived? Well, Chronos was a bit lame, but he was probably Vertigo's best friend. Gemini and Atlas? So full of themselves it was unbearable. Maybe a beating at the hands of others would bring them down to earth a bit.
"Vertigo!" Accel snapped, punching his arm. "I said how are we getting out of here?"
He brought his attention back to the immediate problem, "We'll take a car."
"But none of these cars are ours! We checked!"
"We'll borrow one."
"Borrow? You mean steal?"
"Whatever! We'll take that one!"
The kids turned to look at the car he indicated: a big, powerful jeep, almost new. Hurrying towards it, Vertigo opened one of the many hidden compartments on the X-Man uniform he was wearing, and pulled out the small multi-tool he had discovered while exploring the uniform's gadgets the other day. Designed by Shapeshifter, it was supposed to be able to, among other things, pick almost any vehicle or building lock other than serious heavy-duty security gear. He flicked it open and quickly put it work forcing the lock on the jeep's door.
"Uh – Vertigo?" Phoebe said.
"What?" he snapped impatiently at the little girl.
"I, uh, I think the person who owns this car has just noticed you 'borrowing' it..."
"Hey!" an angry voice roared. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get away from my car!"
Vertigo looked up to see a tall man with a briefcase and very expensive suit storming towards him, pulling a cellphone from inside his jacket.
"Damn kids!" he spat. "I'm giving you three seconds to get away from there or I call the cops!"
Vertigo ignored him and returned to picking the lock. If it came down to it, he knew he could snap the guy in half without even breaking a sweat. The man was still approaching, "Are you deaf? Or are you just plain stupid? Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Get out of here!" Accel shouted at him.
"Shut up, you little piece of trash! Get away from my car!"
But she was pointing at something behind him, "I mean it! Get out of here if you want to live!"
The man turned, and as he did so his eyes bulged and his jaw dropped with horror as the enemy mutant with the two enormous swords came running towards him. Dropping his briefcase and diving for cover between a row of cars, he managed to get out of the attacker's way.
"Vertigo!" Accel screamed. "Incoming!"
Vertigo glanced up and swore as he saw the onrushing enemy. He called to the children, "OK, I've got it open! Get in! Quickly! Move!"
The terrified children piled inside the car. The only one who did not move was little Bibi, who stood, seemingly frozen with fear, until Vertigo grabbed her and shoved her as hard as he could towards the car. She fell over and cried out with pain as she hit the ground, but her panic spell was broken, and she ran towards the jeep, the others grabbing her hands and pulling her inside.
Vertigo turned to face the enemy, and was only just in time to duck beneath a sword swipe aimed directly at his throat. The man whirled round on the spot, and less than a second later the other sword came scything through the air towards Vertigo's chest. He hit the ground and rolled over, kicking out at the swordsman's legs, toppling him to the floor. At the same moment he was reaching inside another pocket of his uniform to retrieve one of the small flash-bangs that he and Chronos had discovered and agreed to store away secretly for prank purposes at school. Hurling it at the attacker's face, Vertigo turned and ran for the car.
Hearing the bang and then the enemy's yell as the flash temporarily blinded him, Vertigo knew he had bought a few seconds, enough time to start the car and get it moving. Yanking open the driver's door, he found Accel in the driver's seat. She'd managed to start the engine – without the keys, which was impressive, something she must have learned during an 'unofficial' lesson at school, most likely from Pyro – and was trying to reach the pedals with her feet.
"Move!" he yelled.
With a gymnast's grace, she rolled over into the passenger's seat and he got into the front, gunning the engine and pulling out of the space. The swordsman had recovered enough of his sight to dive out of the way, dropping both of his swords in the process. As the car accelerated out of the parking lot, the four children clustered in the back seat watched as the enemy mutant grabbed at his swords, and could see the previous owner of the jeep still running for his life in the opposite direction. The kids sagged with relief as they saw the attacker growing smaller and smaller in the rear window.
"Who was he?" Accel demanded.
"Don't know! Bad guy!"
"Yeah, but which bad guy?"
"Do I look as if I know?" Vertigo yelled at her.
She recoiled from the anger in his voice, and mumbled, "I'm sorry."
The kids were too frightened to speak for the next few minutes, and he was grateful for that. But it didn't last long.
"Vertigo?" said Phoebe nervously.
"What?" he snarled.
"He – he's still there!"
"Who's still there?"
"The guy with the swords! He's still coming after us!"
Vertigo glanced in the rear view mirror. Crap. She was right. Directly behind them was a guy on a motorbike. It was the same guy. He was getting closer with every second. How stupid am I, Vertigo cursed himself, if we can steal a vehicle, so can he! The kids in the back were terrified; he could hear one of the little girls crying.
"Stop it! Stop crying!" he yelled, losing his cool completely. "You stupid little waste of space, I said stop!"
Her frantic sobs only grew louder. He tried to stay cool. Shouting at the kids wouldn't do any good. It certainly wouldn't keep them calm. But he had enough to focus on with driving an unfamiliar car, and keeping his eye on the motorbike behind them. It was time to delegate.
"Accel," he said, trying to keep his voice as level as he could.
"Yeah?"
"Keep the others calm."
"Right, I – I'll try."
She turned in her seat, "Bibi, it's gonna be OK. Don't worry, we're gonna get through this, OK?"
Vertigo left her to it. Now he could give his full concentration to trying to lose their pursuer. It wasn't going to be easy. The bike was faster and far more manoeuvrable than the car. They weren't going to out-run him and they weren't going to find any gaps he couldn't get through. OK, it was time to stop focussing on their weaknesses and try to start focussing on their strengths. What advantages did the car have? Well, endurance. It would come off better in a collision. Right, he thought sarcastically. Crashing the car into the bike would certainly rid them of their pursuer, but it might also injure the kids.
He looked in the rear view mirror again. The bike was still there, staying just behind them. Traffic was light, and as long as they kept moving, there was little their pursuer could do to actually harm them. There was no way he could handle a sword while keeping control of his motorbike. But when traffic got heavier and they slowed down, Vertigo wasn't so sure they'd be safe. He had to find some way to get rid of their pursuer. One advantage the car had was a bigger gas tank, but he had no desire to keep on driving until the bike ran out of gas.
"Vertigo?" said Accel softly.
"What?"
"Can I – can I ask you a question?"
He tried to keep himself from yelling at her again. He needed her help to keep the younger kids in the back from panicking. Swallowing his impatience, he said, "Yeah, go ahead. I'm sorry I shouted at you."
"That's OK. Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe."
"Back to the school?"
"No – it won't be safe. These people, whoever they are, obviously know who the X-Men are. They might come after us there too."
"Then where?"
He sighed, "You remember the island we lived on when we were in the Brotherhood?"
"Yeah."
"Well, that wasn't our only place. Pyro kept a number of safe-houses in various parts of the United States. He made us memorise all of their locations. One of them isn't far away from here. That's where we're going. We can stay there until we figure out what to do next."
"OK."
She sat back, feeling a little better. At least they were going somewhere safe.
"Of course, we have to lose this guy first," Vertigo growled.
"Phoebe," said Accel. "Can you use your power to scare that guy off?"
"I wish," Phoebe said. "But I still can't just turn my power on and off like a light-bulb. Like, it comes and goes, and I just have to try and control it when it does."
"Man, I wish this car had weapons," said Icarus excitedly. "Like in James Bond!"
For a moment Vertigo wondered if the boy had any inkling of the danger they were actually in, but he guessed the kid was just trying to hide his fear, not wanting to show it in front of the girls.
"All cars should have weapons," he said, in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Dual machine gun turrets behind the lights, rocket launchers in the roof, and a smokescreen release system in the trunk."
"Yeah, totally! And all controlled from right back here!" one of the boys cried eagerly.
Vertigo got his attention back on their pursuer. The miles passed by underneath the car's wheels, with the motorbike staying just behind, the swordsman no doubt realising he couldn't do anything to harm the car or its occupants without harming himself more. He knew they would have to stop eventually, and then he would make his move. Or so Vertigo had first thought. Now he was more worried that the guy was simply keeping track of their position while calling for reinforcements. More enemies could show up at any moment with something more dangerous than a motorcycle. A truck. A tank. A helicopter. Vertigo tried not to let his imagination run out of control, but still, he knew something had to be done. He couldn't just let this guy follow them forever. But what could he do? Phoebe could only use her power when it came to her. He could order Icarus to fly out there and knock the guy off the bike, but he was supposed to be keeping the kids safe, not endangering their lives.
"OK, guys," he said finally. "This is what I want you to do – "
He was cut off by a sudden burst of sound from the right side of the car.
"He's got a gun!" Bibi shrieked.
Vertigo looked in his wing mirror. The motorcycle was alongside them now, the swordsman riding with one hand, while the other held an automatic weapon. He aimed at the car.
"Accel, get down! Turtle – shell, now!"
Accel hit the floor at the front of the car, just as Turtle took a deep breath and the bony growth on the back of his neck exploded outwards into a shell that covered his entire body from harm. Bullets riddled the side of the car and shattered the windows, but rebounded from the impenetrable shell that the four kids in the back were now huddled beneath.
"Hold on," Vertigo called to Accel.
He turned the wheel sharply to the right, but the attacker had anticipated it, and the bike swerved away to safety. He raised the gun again and fired once more. Accel screamed and hugged the floor. Vertigo snarled angrily and swerved the car towards the bike a second time. This time the swordsman was caught by surprise, and could do nothing to prevent the car smacking the bike full on, and sending the motorcycle skidding across the freeway into the path of an oncoming truck. The swordsman tried to leap to safety, but another truck obscured their view and they lost sight of him.
"Are you guys OK?" asked Vertigo. "Guys? Speak to me, is everyone all right?"
Five shaky voices assured him that they weren't hurt.
"Did we get him? Accel, did we get him?" asked Icarus.
"I dunno, I didn't see! Vertigo, did you see?"
"No, I couldn't see anything. But he isn't coming after us any more. I think we lost him."
"Are we all right?" asked Phoebe eagerly. "Are we safe?"
"I think so. Keep an eye out just in case he comes back."
As they drove on, the four children in the back kept looking through the back window to check that the swordsman had not caught up with them. They were terrified every time they saw a motorbike, but none of these bikers showed any interest in them, quickly accelerating past the car and disappearing into the distance.
"How long till we get there?" Accel asked.
"Not long," said Vertigo. "An hour, maybe more."
"Can the bad guys find us there?" asked Phoebe apprehensively.
"No. Nobody knows where these places are except Pyro and me and maybe one or two other people who used to be in the Brotherhood."
The kids seemed relieved. Then Accel turned back to him and said, "What about our friends? Back at the conference! Are they OK?"
Vertigo said nothing. He'd managed to get the kids to calm down and he didn't want to share with them his fears of what might have happened to the others. Gemini, Atlas and Chronos hadn't even been able to delay the swordsman, let alone stop him. Neither had the X-Men. With a growing sense of foreboding, Vertigo realised he was going to have to confront the possibility that some of them, maybe even all of them, were dead.