Don't own. So sad.

Chapter Four: Escape from Mutant Manor

Sasha's heart beat so loudly in her chest she feared that the storm troopers would hear. She tried to calm her erratic breathing, but her efforts were counterproductive. What should she do? Run screaming through the mansion to alert her fellow students that were so painfully venerable in their beds? Creep away and attempt a more subtle approach of going door to door? Fight?

That last option was so ridiculous that Sasha couldn't help but laugh aloud, but then muffled it at last minute so it came out as more of a near silent whimper. Whatever she was going to do, she needed to do it fast.

One soldier made a series of hand motions to the rest of them and the team split in two, one quietly heading in her direction. Sasha whipped her head back out of view, all possible plans of action suddenly forgotten. She was a deer stuck in the headlights and her hands started to tremble in fear.

Wait, fear was good! Her powers would a hell of a lot better when she was scared.

And though Sasha didn't particularly enjoy the feeling of shitting bricks, she tried her best to let that particular sensation fill her. She wasn't too far off as it was, so she concentrated, eyes clenched shut. However, she could only waste so much time on preparation, for the soft padding of boots on carpet was drawing nearer like a bad horror flick.

Taking a deep breath, she plunged, jerking her torso around the corner and waving her hand with more effort than she probably needed to. Sure enough, every single one of her gun wielding foes froze in mid step. Inside, she allowed a quick happy dance of accomplishment and on the outside, she stepped out from behind the wall completely. She didn't know how long the freeze would last, so she sprinted from one soldier to another, taking their weapons. When her arms were full (with only a pitiful four guns), she dumped them into one of the rooms off to the side that looked to be an office.

Then she looked back and saw that the soldiers were no longer frozen but hadn't broken completely free from the hold of her power either. They were moving in slow motion. It was an interesting sight that Sasha had never seen before. Never had her powers been used on such a scale (if you didn't count when she first cam into her mutation) and she had to admit, she felt…well bad ass, for a lack of a better term.

However, it wouldn't be wise to dwell on that. Think fast now and bask in her moment of awesomeness later. The majority of the soldiers still had their guns and they could break from the freeze any moment now. Then they would be free to go on to kill Sam, Piotr, and all the rest of her mutant family.

So Sasha did the only thing a defenseless young female could do in a situation where she was being threatened by a person of the male variety. She reared back her leg and brought it as hard as she could to a particularly tender spot in between a soldier's legs. Goal!

One by one, she kicked the men who had guns as they started moving faster and faster. She started kicking more frantically, wanting to harm as many as she possibly could for invading the sanctuary that the professor had provided for them. Sure enough, they all broke from the freeze around the seventh kick.

If it was a different situation, Sasha would have found it hilarious to see a bunch of guys either look at their hands in confusion or drop to the ground clutching their family jewels simultaneously.

But with a great possibility of loosing her life at the moment, she chose to make a run for it. The ones who she had not tampered with were facing away from her fortunately. No sooner than she had mentally decided her next course of action, she felt arms grab her. She was roughly pulled against the soldier, her back against his front, and her arms were pulled above her head in one quick action. Another arm wrapped around her stomach, holding her in place.

Sasha squirmed in vain, amazed at her own stupidity. Why didn't she just go with one of the first two options? Why did a streak of heroism have to emerge now? She started struggling more violently, but the soldier wouldn't have any of it.

"Hey," the soldier hissed and one of the untouched storm troopers turned around.

He looked in shock for about a millisecond, but then raised gun and shot.

Taken completely off guard by the sudden attack, Sasha screamed and flung her arms out of their hold and in front of her face. So it was shoot and ask questions later? Even if the subject was a teenage girl obviously already restrained? Where were these people's morals? Though she had to admit, this wasn't exactly how she expected to die, but it was probably the most exciting way it could have happened. Still, she had hoped she'd be at least legal drinking age when she bit the dust.

When nothing happened, Sasha slowly lowered her arms and tried her best to start her heart back up again. No less than half a foot from her face were two darts.

Darts? Not bullets? So they were tranquilizer guns? Confusion mixed in with panic. She pried herself out of the soldier's stiff arms and saw that the entire hallway was frozen again. Wow, she was really making some progress with her powers.

Then, there was an ear splitting scream that echoed throughout the mansion. The soldiers broke from the freeze and held their hands over their ears, stumbling over themselves just as Sasha was.

However, she had a slight advantage of knowing that it was thirteen year old Siryn making the deafening noise and had her fight or flight instinct in full swing. Right about then, flight was winning by a long shot. Sasha forced herself to move and run down the hall with the motivation of over a dozen armed men out for her blood. Well, most likely not her in particular, but she was sure they wouldn't hesitate to shoot again.

When the screaming stopped, it seemed as if the signal for all hell to break loose was triggered. Gunshots went off like multiple machine guns followed by the screaming of children.

Sasha followed the stream of students, tearing past dozens of familiar, terrified faces. She recognized a boy that usually passes her on the way to lunch, another who sits by Kitty in math, and even a twelve year old who accidentally set fire to the kitchen last month, but not the one she was looking for. An apocalyptic feeling set in and now, she needed no coaxing to feel completely and utterly petrified. "Sam!" Sasha called. "Sam!"

"SASHA!"

Sasha spun around, hopeful.

But it wasn't Sam. It was Piotr. She was relieved to see him, of course, but the pressure that had settled on her chest only wavered slightly. Piotr was still dressed as he was at the party and had obviously not gone to bed. "Piotr! Have you seen Sam?"

"No, but everyone's headed for the tunnels. He's probably there. Go!" he urged and gave her a little push. His jaw was clenched with determination and his hands were balled into fists, ready to take on the soldiers.

"But what about you?" Sasha blurted. After all, he might be able to turn into metal…and have super strength…and become completely impenetrable…and she was running out of excuses. He was their best option of defense and he knew it.

Piotr face softened at Sasha concern and he reached a hand towards her to cup it on her neck. For that second everything faded and Sasha desperately prayed he couldn't feel her pulse speed up exponentially at his touch. "I'm indestructible," he smirked, transforming into pure metal in front of her and taking off down the hall.

As soon as her brain caught up with her a second later she narrowed her eyes in the direction he went. "That is so…unfair!" God, just two words had turned her into complete mush! She had a sneaking suspicion he knew it too.

Deciding to deal with it later, Sasha followed the flow of the crowd, unable to remember where the secret passages were. Vaguely, she recalled safety drills and emergency exits. At the time, she had thought they were a waste of time. After all, who in their right minds would attack the institute with all the powerful mutants residing there? Apparently, she was wrong. It wouldn't be a problem now with so many taking an escape route, but before she entered the tunnels, she wanted to find her cousin so they could escape together. It might be sappy, but she wanted to make sure he was ok with her own eyes. He wasn't in the best of states the last time she had seen him. After about a minute of running up and down different hallways, population had dwindled down until it was just her.

"Sam!" she called for the umpteenth time. Suddenly, she was more scared than she was when the tranquilizer darts were coming after her. Not only had she not found her cousin, but there was no one to follow to the tunnels and she didn't happen to see where they were. Why hadn't she'd paid attention? What was she going to do now? Roam the halls and wait for the bad guys to capture her? Who were these people anyway? This was supposed to be a safe haven for mutants and here they were being hunted down and tranquilized like wild animals.

"SAMMY!"

Sasha saw a blur out of the corner of her eye. Sam?

"Sasha?" Bobby said, skidding to a stop, John Allerdyce nearly cashing into him from behind. "Have you seen Rouge?"

She briefly thought over the faces she had seen. "No. Have you seen Sam?"

He shook his head frantically and beckoned Sasha to follow him. Not knowing what else to do, she joined the duo. She felt better not being alone in search of a loved one and less foolish for not just going with the crowd to the passage and meeting up with Sam there.

"Rouge!"

"Bobby!"

The dream team is reunited once again. Yippee-freaking-do-da. "This way!" Rouge said and we were running again. Sasha had to settle for the fact that Sam was either safe with the other escapees or out cold, captured. She cringed at the thought of the later and just hoped that Sam had made it out ok. That scream would have gotten him up and running like it had everyone else right? Drunk or sober?

Of course it did. If Sam had anything to boast about, it would be his unwavering value of self preservation (as well as his near perfect GPA).

All four of the mutants came to a halting stop when they saw beams of light through one of the windows. Before they could even turn in the other direction, it exploded and Sasha flung her hands out towards the window, closing her eyes. She trusted her power would work like before.

"Whoa," came an awed reply from John Allerdyce. Opening her eyes, Sasha saw that the fragments of glass had frozen in midair and even a still boot could be seen a little further outside. Rouge and Bobby were staring as well until Sasha shouted "MOVE IT!".

It felt surprisingly good to have the mutant elite think her powers were at least somewhat impressive, but there would be time to soak it all in later when there wasn't a threat on their lives. They about faced and sprinted the way they had come from. Sasha let the relief spread over her briefly when they made it to the front doors, but were met with multiple beams of flashlights.

Oh shit. They'd never stand a chance. These people were everywhere! Sasha glanced briefly over the dream team who looked as frightened as she felt. If they wanted to get out, they'd have to fight their way out. She bent her knees, prepared to spring into any particular direction like they had been taught and raised her hands.

Before Sasha could actually do anything, there was a war cry and a body flying from the top of the open stair case. Logan's claws were out, slashing the kids' potential captures and stabbing two more, flinging them behind him with extraordinary strength.

Wow. I'm definitely sticking with him. Forget trying to fight.

"Come on," he said, much calmer than Sasha had anticipated from a man who just attacked four armed men like an animal. Now with Wolverine and Sasha feeling a great deal safer with the group's addition, they sprinted the remained distance to the front doors. However, they were blasted open upon arrival and a helicopter spotlight hovered on them. Sasha imagined this was what a criminal escaping from prison felt like. "Come on," Logan repeated, "this way."

What ever the kick ass guy with the killer claws says goes as far as Sasha was concerned. They took off in another direction, headed towards the corridor that led to Professor X's office. "This is it," Bobby announced and slid up a wood panel in the wall.

Another secret passage. Sasha was going to be all ears the next time there was a safety drill. They all dove in except for Wolverine. Rouge called out his name, but he shut the panel in her face. She moved to open it again, surely to retrieve their savior, but Bobby pushed her from her lower back to get her moving down the tunnel. It worked, but Rouge stopped in her tracks as soon as Bobby's hand left her.

"We have to go back and help him!"

"Um, Rouge, it looked like he had it under control," Sasha tried, but the girl was hysterical. Sasha had just gained a hell of a lot of respect for the guy when he saved all their asses, and she trusted his judgment. If wanted to play hero and keeping fighting the good fight, who was she to protest? She didn't even know him.

Also, part of Sasha wanted to leave quickly for the pure selfish reason of seeing Sam again and making sure he made it out ok. She was fairly certain Piotr escaped, and Kitty and Jubilee…well, they probably got away.

"They'll kill him!" Rouge said, not the least bit phased by Sasha's excellent point.

"They're only tranquilizer guns," Sasha said, exasperated. She would have slapped Rouge if the physical contact wouldn't suck the life out of her.

"Bobby!" She cried dramatically. "Please!"

She just had to play the girlfriend card. Bobby looked reluctant but nodded none the less. So there they were, heading back to their ultimate doom.

When they arrived at the panel, Bobby, Rouge, and John all crouched down quietly and slid open the secret door, but Sasha remained standing. She nervously shifted her weight, anxious to get out of there already. There were muffled voiced and Rouge convinced Logan to leave with them.

They were off again and Sasha found that the other end was in the garage. Funny, that's where she was trying to get to not even twenty minutes ago. How time flies when you're running for your life. Logan made a bee line for Mr. Summer's car and pushed John aside when he said he was driving. Sasha held in a laugh as she slid into the back seat and felt John follow her.

"This is Cyclops's car," Bobby said.

"Oh yeah?" Logan challenged, unsheathing a single metal claw and stabbing it into the ignition. Sasha didn't think that would work, but to her surprise, the engine purred to life and Logan floored it. If Sasha thought Jubilee had a heavy foot, she was Driving Ms. Daisy compared to Logan. They were practically flying down the road. Now Sasha was a girl who liked roller coasters and going fast as much as any other reckless teenager, but now she was fighting not to grip the seats for dear life.

Sam would mock her for the rest of the year he saw her now. The "speed demon" not being able to handle a little speed.

"Who was that back there?" John asked.

"Striker," Logan answered. Ok, an old friend perhaps? One intent on destroying the lives of countless teenage mutants?

"Who's that?" Rouge asked in a meaningful tone. She was looking at Logan with such intensity, there was no way the girl just thought of him as an X-Man. Sasha looked to Bobby to see if he noticed what she did, but was just staring out the window with a frown deep set in his face.

"I can't remember." Logan hissed and the car sped up about another ten miles per hour.

So, not an old friend? Sasha looked back at Bobby, the living angst statue.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked him. He looked startled for a second, but just nodded.

No one said anything after that and the only noise was the engine growling. Sasha fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to find at least semi-comfortable position and let go of the feeling of not belonging. John was friends with Bobby who was going out with Rouge who had a close relationship with Logan. She was just randomly thrown in with the bunch. Friends with Bobby, sure, but they were casual 'hey, how's it going' when walking down the halls kind of friends. Not the kind that would swoop off into an adventure with the X-Men to save humanity as they know it together. She just didn't belong here with them. The leather seats beneath her made a noise as she moved that made her stop and settle for the position she was currently in.

"I don't like uncomfortable silences," John said abruptly and reached over Sasha to turn on the radio. Never mind that his posterior end was shoved into her face. Oh no, don't mind her. Sasha turned her face to the side, disgusted, and saw Bobby crack a smile despite whatever was eating at him. At least some good came from her discomfort.

BYE BYE BYE!

Everyone winced in unison as John flicked the music off. What was Mr. Summers doing listening to N'SYNC? Oh, he was getting a big prank when all this was over. He was her and Jubilee's main target when he wasn't going here and there to save the day, and he had just given her an excellent starting point for their next genius plot. She couldn't wait to tell her partner in crime.

"I don't think that's a CD player," John said, though Sasha could tell what he was talking about with his big butt in the way.

"Sit back," Logan said and John did so. Sasha sighed in relief as she was able to breathe the free air again.

"Where are we going anyway?" John asked. Sasha looked out the window, hoping to see some familiar scenery, but all there was were indistinguishable blurs flying by. Maybe they would meet up with the ones who escaped and the x-men. Maybe they'd work on a conter attack to take their hime back.

"Storm and Jean are in Boston," Logan said, not taking his eyes from the road. Or maybe not. Boston? What about Piotr and all the others?

"My parents live in Boston," Bobby said to the window.

"Good," Logan replied.

"Wait," Sasha said, not being able to stop herself, "What about the other kids? The ones who escaped?"

"They'll be on their own for a while," Logan shrugged.

But what about Sam?

--

The Pac-Man jingle was what woke Sasha when she hadn't even noticed she had fallen asleep. Drowsily, she cracked open her eyes, met with a bright sun singing hello to the world and a painful headache that made her want to bury herself under multiple covers. Just great, she had a hangover. Not the worst she's had, but one that made it impossible not to groan at consciousness. She turned away from the insufferably vivid sunlight and deeper it her pillow.

With a disgruntled murmur, her pillow shifted below her head. Quickly remembering she was not in her bed, Sasha sprung away from John's shoulder.

"Oh sorry," Sasha slurred, still half asleep, "I didn't drool on you did I?"

He looked at her uncertainly and then pointed to her hips. "Your phone's ringing," he said and faced the window, content to ignore her.

Phone? But her phone was is Jubilee's Jeep. Sasha rubbed the side of her face, trying to bring some of the feeling back from when it was pressed into John's shoulder. The Pac Man jingle started all over again.

That was her ring tone and it was coming from her back pocket. How had she missed that last night?

Torn between relief and marveling at her own idiocy, she lifted herself off the seat and plucked her phone out of her pocket. She hadn't noticed before, but the seats were quite nice. Not that cheap, standard leather, but custom made. Rouge and Bobby were knocked out, but Logan was driving, not looking a least bit tired. Sasha wanted some of whatever he was on.

She shook her head to wake herself up and out of these random thoughts, but that only caused her head to pound. The sun seemed keen to not let her forget its presence as well. Sasha vowed never to open Sam's blinds again. Suppressing another groan, she flipped open her phone and put it to her ear. "Hello?" she muttered, her voice groggy.

"Sasha? Are you ok?"

"Piotr?" Sasha exclaimed happily, suddenly jolted awake and smiling. At least he was ok. "Where are you?"

"With the rest of the mutants."

"Who's that, kid?" asked Logan from the front seat.

Sasha found herself a little startled that he addressed her directly. After all, they had never spoken to each other before. He just some guy at the mansion that all the kids gossiped about from time to time. Logan was more of an untouchable, mysterious, celebrity-like figure to her. "A friend." She said hastily, "He escaped with a bunch of other mutants."

Logan nodded and said nothing else. Figuring it was safe to return to her conversation, she looked away.

"Sasha? Are you still there?" As she heard Piotr's voice, she was able to focus on him again. She had to admit, the sound comforted her and she was able to relax and melt into the seat. How could she had not realized her feeling before?

"Damn, it's good to hear from you," Sasha sighed and leaned her head back, placing an arm over her eyes. "I'm with Bobby, Rouge, John, and Logan…um...Mr. Logan? Wolverine?" she continued, raising her voice at the end to address the driver. It wasn't a big car and they could probably hear every word, but he and John had enough courtesy (or just outright didn't care) to look away to give her at least that much privacy.

"Logan's fine," Logan grunted, blinking heavily. Maybe he was more tired than what he looked.

"I'm glad you're ok. I thought you were going to the tunnels? What happened?"

"I, uh, I went to find Sam, but then when I couldn't find the…well you know I don't pay attention." Sasha said, hoping Piotr would catch her drift and she wouldn't have to suffer the embarrassment of saying it out loud. She shudder to think of what had happened if she hadn't met up with Bobby and John because of her belief that drawing on her hand was more important than listening to Dr. Grey drone on about safety drills.

Piotr boomed a laugh the way only people his size could. "Sasha, Sasha, Sasha," he tsked, "What am I going to do with you?"

She blushed again pitifully. "I don't know. Maybe pinch me next time?" she teased and received another laugh for her efforts.

"So, who made it out?" Sasha asked, changing the topic drastically and sobering the light mood.

There was silence and Sasha brought the phone away from her ear to see if they had got disconnected, but the seconds were still ticking. "Piotr?"

"All the mutants that escaped are here." He sounded reluctant to say the rest and Sasha waited patiently, wanting reassurance that her cousin was safe. "Kitty's here. We're looking after everyone…they took Jubilee."

Sasha felt dread. Her best friend was in mortal peril and Piotr was purposely stalling from giving news on who she wanted to hear about most. He had helped with pranks every now and then, but he was always serious when the occasion called for it and he wouldn't joke about something like this.

"And Sam?" she asked.

"I'm sorry."

Sasha stared at her knees, not quite comprehending what Piotr had just told her. He called her name, but she didn't answer. "Are you sure? I mean, there could be another group or something. He might have his phone. Did you try calling him? How can you be sure?"

"Sasha, I'm sorry." Sasha concentrated on her breathing. In. Out. In. Out. A simple enough process, however she was finding it extremely difficult to complete the cycle.

"Um, Piotr…I got to go. Thank you." Sasha said trying her best not to cry like a sissy.

"I understand. Bye Sasha." There was a click and then a long tone. Sasha shut her phone and slipped it into her pocket. She met Logan's gaze in the review mirror.

"You alright, kid?" he asked, sounding somewhat uneasy and Sasha didn't fault him for it. She wasn't all too comfortable with weeping women either.

"Dandy," she replied, "Do you know what happened to the ones that were…taken away?" Almost afraid to hear the answer yet eager at the same time, she kept eye contact with him in the mirror.

"No, sorry." He answered and looked back at the road. Sasha nodded, though it was pointless because he was staring strait ahead of him. John remained silent next to her, probably hoping to evade being a shoulder to cry on.

Sasha sniffled pathetically and rubbed her temples with her forefingers. Her head felt like it had been ran over with a steam roller and they were driving towards the ever luminous sun. She was in the middle seat with no sort of barrier to give her shade. "John switch with me."

"Why?" he questioned automatically.

Sasha sighed. She didn't know if Logan "The Babysitter" would care, but at this point, she really just didn't have it in her to give a damn. "Because," she said through gritted teeth, "I have a hangover and the sun won't turn off. Unless you have some pain killers, I'd really appreciate some cover."

"I thought there wasn't any alcohol at the school," said Logan, surprising Sasha. She was expecting a chastising or a lecture, but he sounded irritated as if he was upset that he had missed out.

"I wasn't drinking at the school. There was a party and well…I'm a teenager." She finished lamely as if that explained it all. "You're not going to chew me out, are you? That would be really cruel right now."

Hey, if she was going to be a mopey sob, mine as well take advantage of it. "I'm not your teacher, kid," he said. She gave him a small smile of thanks, though not sure really sure if he saw it, and switched with John.

There, she folded her upper body so it would be parallel to her thighs, let the tears flow, and wanted nothing more but to fall back asleep.

Well, nothing excluding having Sammy safe and perhaps with her.

"Who's Sammy? Your Boyfriend?" John asked in that smart ass tone. As if it was funny that she was getting worked up over a meaningless high school romance like a love sick, naïve little girl. Maybe he meant nothing by it, and the way he dealt with uncomfortable situations was to crack a joke. Even if it was, the thought did nothing to calm the anger towards the boy.

"No," Sasha answered, her voice muffled by the kaki cotton of her shorts. She sniffled again and looked up at him, not caring that he saw her tears and blood shot eyes. No, she was far too angry for that. "My cousin."

Suddenly, she laughed imagining the look on Sam's face if someone had suggested they were significant others and referred to him as Sammy. His eyes would go wide with panic and disgust. His eyebrows would shoot up to his hair line and his mouth would open to form a perfect 'O' in horror. Then, he'd stutter, blush in embarrassment, and try to put as much distance between him and Sasha as possible.

After that he'd turn back and inform whoever the Neanderthal was that his name was Sam not Sammy. Sammy was reserved for insufferable members of the family and close friends who wouldn't have it any other way.

"And his name is Sam."

--

AN: Ok, so I debated for some time on what path Sasha should take (go with the XMen, escape with Piotr, or to get captured), but eventually, I said "F it" and just started typing to just let it play out. So with no real planning (shame on me), I got on a roll and put out the longest chapter yet. Also, I couldn't remember exactly what happened in the movie (my copy has mysteriously disappeared). I think I got all the major points but copied some of the dialogue. Oh well.

And a HUGE thank you to those who have reviewed and to Certh for the Callisto mistake. I smacked myself on that one.

Reviews would be nice. :D If you made it so far and especially through that first chapter, which I have to admit is a hard one to get through, there has to be something you like.