1Catching the Train

Disclaimer: Same as before…

---

The Library was a mess. That much was true. It was all Emily Kinnian could do not to throw up. Several dead Metroville policemen and soldiers lay amongst the shattered stacks. "Spetsnaz, a mean lot of blokes." Alan Fielder observed, "They're the ones responsible for this."

"Looks like the Metroville cops were trying to organize a defensive stronghold." Cover Girl remarked.

As they passed by another shattered door, Emily indicated that this lead towards the back way of the library.

Shipwreck angrily commented, "Bastards. Looks like the Russians hit this area, giving the doors all the same treatment...shotgun blast to the door, possibly hit it with a battering ram, tossed grenades inside and then fired bursts of gunfire inside. I don't know who's worse, Syndrome's troops or these Soviets that are fighting them."

"Let's keep going guys, before more Heartless around here rise." Roadblock commented.

"Roadblock's right." Xi remarked, "Both of them are our enemies."

Fielder burst through the door first, hooking right as Shipwreck crossed left. Both men aimed their weapons as they swept the room and from the ceiling a Neoshadow lept towards the doorway, towards Emily. Fielder opened fire with the shotgun as Shipwreck fired his twin Desert Eagles repeatedly, the buckshot and .50 caliber rounds nearly tore the Heartless into shreds, splattering Emily with its black blood.

For several seconds Emily stood there, horrified. Could that thing that Shipwreck and Alan just blew away have been Frank?

"Come on...lets go." Colossus said, giving Emily a nudge with a massive hand.

There was a closed door up ahead and Shipwreck tried the handle. Locked. Fielder positioned himself at the hinges, aiming the shotgun. Colossus rolled his eyes, armored up, and tore the door off its hinges. The group entered a battle amongst the stacks.

Gunfire echoed loudly as a trio of Russian soldiers were gunning down a pair of running Metroville Police Department officers who had barricaded themselves inside the library. From behind the Russians came a large Heartless, even more massive than Colossus in his armored form. The creature breathed in a breath of air and belched fire into the Russians.

Screams and the sudden odor of incinerated flesh filled the air as the trio of burning Soviet soldiers ran around the place. One of them rolled along the ground trying to extinguish the flames. The Heartless crushed his head with it's massive foot.

The other two leapt out the nearby window, falling, on fire, into the alley. The Heartless spotted the group just then and Colossus hurled himself in front of the creature as it belched fire. He walked forward, feeling the metal skin of his body start to heat up, as though it were being touched with an acetylene torch. He continued to advance despite the searing heat and flung himself into the monster, grappling with it.

The creature was strong, and powerful as it wrestled against Pitor and it took almost every ounce of his own considerable strength and his knowledge of sambo to try and defeat the thing. He rolled onto his back and rolled backwards, throwing the creature using his legs and hips and sending it flying out the window.

Pitor returned to his normal form, his skin sporting several burns. Immediately Emily ran to his side, trying to treat the wounds. "Wait. We have to get out of this library first..."

"There's the back exit..." Emily said, and was about to head over for it when the sound of a gun battle outside could be heard.

"Downstairs! To the basement!" Fielder shouted over the din.

"Right behind you!" Shipwreck shouted as they ran downstairs.

"Wait, what's down there?" Roadblock shouted.

"The sewer system. We can get out through there." Fielder replied.

The group ran downstairs, making it into the basement just as the Russians blew down another door with a breaching charge and burst inside, fanning out.

As they ran down the stairs, deeper into the basement of the building, Shipwreck found the manhole into the sewer system.

"Hey, what's this? " Xi asked, grabbing a few documents that were strewn near the manhole.

"We don't have time to read it now." Fielder replied, as he kept his shotgun aimed back the way they had come.

"He's right, you know. First thing we've got to do is go..." Roadblock replied.

Cover Girl went down first, followed by Shipwreck, then Emily, Xi, Fielder and then Roadblock. As soon as Fielder slid the manhole cover back over the top of the ladder and rejoined the group Shipwreck turned on a flashlight.

The file read:

Metroville Confidential Document FOR YOUR EYES ONLY -

This file contains the data for the different breeds of Heartless that exist. Although they have not been confirmed yet, there may be Heartless other than the ones listed below. The data for those will be filed when it is ready.

HEARTLESS FILE #1: Shadow - Humans who surrender to the darkness within their hearts, (the procedure can be chemically induced). As they have lost their hearts they wander around on their instinct to capture new Hearts. Useful for massive attacks against Soviet positions.

HEARTLESS FILE #2: Neo-shadow – Stronger and more agile than the Shadow, the Neoshadow is still relatively easy to kill, but harder to target due to their speed. They have been observed using stealth attacks, especially in dark alleys or heavily wooded areas and are generally more active at night than in the day time. Especially effective against spetsnaz infiltrations.

Heartless FILE #3: Soldier Heartless – Artificially created Heartless formed using chemical agent B-3. More resistant to battle damage than Shadows, but cheaper to produce than Neo-Shadows, thus using them for mass suicide attacks on Soviet positions is an option. They excel in close quarter battle situations where their armor allows them to take quite a few hits from small arms fire and shrapnel.

Heartless FILE #4: Search Ghost – Intelligence reveals that the Soviets will heavily utilize spetsnaz and other highly trained sabotage and terrorist formations before any major military actions. The highly tuned senses of the Search Ghost provide a sensory capability far superior to that of the dog's, in addition to the five basic senses, Search Ghosts seem to possess a sixth sense that allows them to detect human beings at far greater ranges than even the sharpest bloodhound.

Heartless FILE #5: Bandit - Fast and agile, the sword wielding bandit is quick enough to take advantage of the lull in reloading automatic weapons. Their jumping abilities are nearly unlimited and they are excellent at ambushes. It is best to leave them in the rear of Soviet occupied areas and allow them to cause havoc.

Heartless FILE #6: Large Body - One of the strongest forms of Heartless yet created. It can absorb massive quantities of small arms fire and even withstand direct hits from crew served weapons such as the Plamya belt fed grenade launchers. Only explosive artillery, such as the RPG-7, stands any chance of even disabling one with one shot. Experimental data in preliminary engagements with the Russians shows that a Large Body is about as hard to kill as a main battle tank.

Heartless FILE #7: Prototype – They are not yet complete, but logically speaking, we can create and mass produce more ferocious Heartless by adding certain materials during the process of cultivating Large Body genes. However; there is one problem... -

"What's all this?" Shipwreck replied.

"Characteristics of the different sorts of Heartless." Emily replied.

"So your saying these things are mass produced?" Shipwreck replied, feeling a slight chill.

"As far as we know, yes." Emily replied.

"There have been a few intelligence reports about something called the Serum, down in Mexico on our world." Cover Girl said.

"Apparently the process of making these other, stronger Heartless is a bit more involved." Emily replied.

---

From over the horizon came several small boats, fast boats. Aboard them was a detachment of Russian Marines, sent to reinforce the spetsnaz fighters that had already taken much of the island.

Their faces were blackened, and they clutched AK-74 rifles in their hands. Some carried the heavier RPK and PKM light machineguns and there was a smattering of SVD sniper rifles in the batch.

"Davai! Davai!" came the shout from their commander as they scrambled onto the beach, past the shot up compound and towards the town, reinforcing their comrades fighting their way through stiffening Metroville resistance.

---

Kurt groaned painfully as Kitty and Bobby supported him between them. Cyclops raised a hand, signalling them to stop. A pair of Russian soldiers were battering down a door before tossing grenades into the room and then firing bursts of fire from their Kalashnikov rifles before crashing inside it.

They had gotten into the hospital unseen not a moment too soon. The sounds of gunfire could be heard outside. A group of Metroville defenders were duking it out with another group of Soviet troops.

The hospital wasn't any safer. From upstairs and from the west wing Kitty could hear the sounds of doors being knocked down, grenades being flung inside, and bursts of gunfire being fired inside.

At that moment the two Russian soldiers burst out of the room they had just cleared. Bobby instantly turned the temperature of the room Arctic as he put up a barrier of ice. Bullets smacked against the ice.

Cyclops blew down a door just in time to come face to face with a terrified looking Metroville Policeman. "Get back! Don't come any closer!" He shouted.

"We don't want any trouble, we're just trying to find help for our friend." Cyclops replied, indicating Kurt.

"You're not gonna find any. The Russians are fucking killing us left and right." The policeman replied, his Glock aimed straight at the group.

The sound of a grenade exploding plus a hail of bullets filled the room. A strangled cry followed by a single bullet followed. Another explosion echoed with a roar that hurt even Kitty's bruised eardrums. Shouts in English and the sounds of more gunfire filled the area as a squad of Lt. Stewart's improvised militia jumped the attacking Russians with a grenade and automatic fire.

A long fusillade of automatic fire sounded as another squad of Russians burst into the room like sharks attacking bait fish.

"Traitors! Die!" The policeman replied, and began to squeeze the trigger on his Glock. Cyclops struck him full in the chest with a burst of laser energy.

For several long moments Cyclops stared at the corpse of the Metroville Policeman he had just killed.

"Scott. Come on." Kitty said, concern etching her delicate features as the sound of fighting got closer.

"Dude! We gotta run! The Russkies are getting close." Bobby added.

Kurt groaned painfully. Scott stood frozen. Another blast sounded, closer this time. A grenade had been thrown from upstairs right at the Russians attacking the hospital. The sound of helicopters flying overhead could be heard.

---

The helicopters flew through the night, before coming to a hover over Sheena Island. Squads of heavily armed troopers in black uniforms rappelled down. "The spetsnaz have taken over ninety percent of the island. Destroy them." came the command from their leader.

---

The sound of the helicopters and the sounds of landing troops finally jarred Scott out of his freeze. He hadn't intended to kill the Metroville cop, he just wanted to protect the others, he should have had more control...

Another gun battle sounded, snapping Scott out of his reverie. The Soviets were using an explosive charge to blast Iceman's ice wall down.

Kitty promptly grabbed a hold of Scott and shouted, "Follow me guys!"

She began to phase through walls, through rooms where she saw raw carnage. She passed into one room where three Russian Marines were firing single shots into the heads of bodies of Heartless and Metroville defenders alike.

One Russian saw the group phasing through the wall and turned to face them. Shadowcat promptly phased through him and the Russian soldier felt like he had jammed a finger into an electrical socket. He hit the ground, stunned for a few moments, but otherwise unharmed. Bullets smacked after the fleeing group, punching massive holes in the wall.

Kitty stopped when they went into an operating room. She and Bobby gently set Kurt down onto the table as they searched around for various medical supplies.

"Hang in there Kurt." Kitty said, as she heard him groan feebly. Despite the first aid training she had received at the Institute she knew that Kurt's best chance was to be evacuated, fast.

"What's this?" Bobby said.

"We don't have time to read right now, Bobby." Scott snapped impatiently before he looked closely at the document.

"What the hell?" Scott began as he read...

Medical charts of the patients -

Name: William J Smith

Sex: Male

Age: 17

Height: 181cm

Weight: 72kg

Physical condition: Good

Mental condition: Languid

Medicine: Tranquilizer 10mg in soup for every breakfast. Hallucinogen 5mg in bread for every dinner.

Name: Jennifer Campbell

Sex: Female

Age: 18

Height: 165cm

Weight: 47kg

Physical condition: Good

Mental condition: Unstable

Medicine: Since she has been confined for a long time, she has become very suspicious. Putting drugs in her meals is ineffective, as she rarely eats. It would be best to put the tranquilizer into her drinking water.

[This entry has a large REMOVED stamp over it

Name: Ryoji Yokota

Sex: Male

Age: 18

Height: 177cm

Weight: 50kg

Physical condition: According to the results of an MRI, a vein tumor was found at his cerebellum. Worthless as a product.

Name: Karelina Albachakov

Sex: Female

Age: 17

Height: 155cm

Weight: 43kg

Physical condition: Good

Mental condition: Good

Medicine: Tranquilizer 10mg in soup for every breakfast.

"These kids sounded like they were experimental subjects. But subjects for what?" Kitty replied.

"I don't know, but I'm sure it has something to do with all those Heartless running around the town..." Scott replied.

Another grenade exploded downstairs, with a roar that jarred the team's bruised eardrums. Kurt groaned painfully as Kitty began to use the first aid techniques they'd practiced under instruction at the Manor.

"We can't get out through the back way." Bobby said as he peeked out the nearest window for a brief instant. A burst of gunfire immediately shattered the glass as a Russian Marine in the street emptied a magazine from his AK-74 into the thing.

"The sewer system," Scott replied, "I think there was a manhole cover downstairs."

"You want us to go back through all that?" Bobby asked.

Another grenade exploded followed by a fusillade of gunfire as the Russians broke down yet another door and attacked the inside.

---

Elastigirl opened the door of the Arcade and promptly threw herself flat on the ground as a Russian soldier standing in the room fired a burst of fire from his AK-74. The Russian's body shook violently as burst of fire from a Steyr assault rile struck home.

Lance's eyes rolled into his head as he called upon the forces of the ground beneath his feet. Two soldiers dressed in gray and black BDUs, with ski masks and night vision goggles fell to the ground and both were crushed by a pipe that fell from the ceiling.

The group burst into the Arcade until they reached a back room. Dash announced, "I'm the fastest, I'll draw their fire..."

"Hah, you're so slow that you'll catch a bullet," Pietro replied.

"Will not!"

"Will to."

"Will not."

"Will to."

"Willnotwillnotwillnot...times a gazillion..." Dash replied.

"Willtowilltowilltowillto...time a double gazillion..." Pietro replied.

"Willnotwillnotwillnow...times infinity! Ha ha nothing beats infinity!"

"KNOCK IT OFF YOU MORONS!" Lance shouted, "You're starting to sound worst than those three coyotes!!!"

"Lance we don't have time for you to go psychotic! Pull yourself together!" Elastigirl shouted. The sounds of Russians and Metroville Shock Troopers having a firefight in the nearby alley echoed loudly.

Dash burst into the door, with Pietro a millisecond behind him.

"Kill them!" A Metroville Shock Trooper said.

"Woohoo! Woohoo! Woohoo!" Pietro said as he ran rings around several Metroville Shock Troops.

"What's under there?" Dash asked the team leader.

"Under where?" The confused man replied.

"Exactly." Dash replied and gave him a very painful wedgie.

Meanwhile Pietro was running faster and faster in circles around the group, generating tornado force winds. Dash joined in the circle and sent the Metroville troopers flying into each other and the nearest walls and game consoles like popcorn kernels in a popcorn machine.

"Come on guys, go go go go go!!!" Pietro shouted, as the Metroville shock troops all lay unconscious on the ground.

"Wow. Your super speed and annoying tendencies finally came in handy Quicksilver." Avalanche quipped, and glancing at one particularly hefty trooper's underwear he continued, "I didn't know they made lace thongs that size..."

"Lance, quit fantasizing about Kitty's underwear. I know she wears the same size underwear but...URK!!!" Pietro began as Lance grabbed him by the neck and started to shake the ground.

"Lance! We don't have time for you to go psychotic!" Multiple yelled.

"Will you two cut it out!!" Elastigirl said, "In case you haven't noticed, you've got Russians on one side and Syndrome's goons on the other. Now quit fighting and shaking the earth..."

As if to emphasize her point a Russian anti-tank rocket exploded just outside the back entrance of the Arcade.

"Mom, look." Dash said, "I think Lance's little fit got us a way out."

Dash pointed at a manhole cover that had been shaken free of its access. "Let's go, come on, before the Russians find us!" Dash shouted.

"Air..." Pietro gasped.

"Ahem, Lance..." Elastigirl began.

Lance let go of Pietro's throat and headed down the ladder.

"Last one in's a rotten egg." Dash shouted as he raced for the hole.

"Oh no you don't! That's not fair! Lance was choking me!!!" Pietro shouted as Dash beat him down the hole.

---

"Stop! Stop! For the love of God stop!" Frank half screamed half gagged as Lieutenant Stewart approached with another hypodermic needle.

Frank futilely tried to pull at his restraints, but there was no give. He couldn't budge an inch, and he saw another clump of his hair fall from his head onto his lap. One of his hands had already turned black, ending in a twisted claw.

"One more shot should do it, and when Emily finds you, she'll be utterly horrified by the state she finds you in." Stewart replied and injected it into him.

Frank let out another scream as two black antennea stood prominently from his head, amidst the areas where patches of his hair had fallen out of his head. It felt like two soldering irons had been shoved through his skull from the inside.

The sound of helicopters flying overhead could be heard. "Your fucked now." Frank half shouted, "That's the cavalry come to kick your asses!"

"Wrong, my friend, that's the Metroville Shock Troops going after those stinking Bolsheviks that hit this island." Stewart replied, "I believe this prison will turn into a battleground, so I must be going..."

Stewart left the chamber, with his two armed guards, leaving Frank alone as he coughed, and gasped, finally expelling a mix of bile, blood, and vomit onto the floor and onto his own clothing. He hoped to God Emily could find him, but wondered what she would think when she saw him...

---

"Were you able to find anything for Kurt?" Kitty asked.

"Not really, there weren't any doctors alive or willing to help out. We found a lot of Russians attacking the hospital." Scott replied.

"Same with the Library." Shipwreck replied.

"At least we came away with this handy field guide. Trying a journey without knowledge is suicide." Roadblock replied.

"And we also know Syndrome was up to some seriously immoral shit." Bobby replied, "Though what it is, I don't know."

Bobby handed Cover Girl the patient chart. "Oh my God. They were experimenting on children?"

All eyes turned to both Alan and Emily. Alan Fielder replied first, "There were rumors, but nothing confirmed."

"I saw a few ragged looking kids being escorted by some very nasty looking guards, but I couldn't confirm anything other than they were here against their will. They did look drugged." Emily replied, "Frank knew more about that. The prison and the commander of this island were his big projects."

Emily looked sad just then and Alan put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Hey, we'll find Frank, don't worry."

"I'm just so worried. I mean we haven't heard from him since the Russians attacked. What if the Russians got him, what if he got snatched by Metroville's security forces, what if he's..." Emily began, not even daring to finish.

"If he's alive I'll find him, I promise." Alan replied.

"You'll have our help as well." Shipwreck said, "We'll get your fiancé back. He's our key off this blasted world...no offense Elastigirl."

"Shipwreck, with Syndrome running our world I can't take offense to your statement." Elastigirl replied.

"Either way, we'll find nothing by yakking. So let's get cracking." Lance replied.

"This way." Fielder said, indicating the path down the tunnels, towards the prison.

Inwardly Emily felt the fear mounting. Would they find Frank? And if so, would they find him alive?

---

"Truscott..." Mr. Incredible began, "This is all your fault."

"My fault?" The Australian demanded, "How did you come to that preposterous conclusion!"

"Since you brought us onto this world," Bob said, "Nothing but chaos, destruction, pirates and Heartless have followed!"

"You can't blame this whole lot on me!" Truscott shouted back.

"My wife and my son are both missing and we have no clue where they are!" Bob shouted back.

"We're doing everything we can to find them. Even contacting some of our agents in the field on your world." Truscott countered, "At great risk to themselves. We lost contact with our three person team on Sheena Island just after Dash and Helen disappeared."

"Dad, come on." Violet said, "You can't blame them for this, they're trying everything to find Mom and Dash. I'm just as scared too."

Bob's hard look softened a little, and he put a steadying hand on Violet's shoulder, saying quietly, "Me too, sweetheart. Me too. I know your mother and brother are both strong people and can handle themselves wherever they are, but I can't help but worry..."

"Remind me to kill Ted when the rest of the team gets back." Low Light grumbled as he stomped into the kitchen.

"What? Why?" Truscott asked.

"It turns out that madcap Canadian Israeli and a certain Halliwell sister just released a certain coyote onto our world." Low Light groaned as he reached into the cupboard looking for some aspirin, "I just got off the phone with Piper, and she sounded like she was about to kill Mountaineer. Somehow I wouldn't blame her...Ow my aching head."

"How'd you hurt your head?" Violet asked, puzzled.

"Let's just say that the space shuttle taking off is quieter than an angry Piper and leave it at that..." Low Light groaned.

"Forget the aspirin, mate, I'd say go for a strong drink." Truscott replied, "I think I know where Shipwreck keeps his stash."

"Lead the way." Low Light replied.

"I'll take double..." Bob replied.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!!! DAD! WAIT TILL MOM GET'S BACK!!!!" Violet shouted as she followed the three adults into Shipwreck's room.

---

"Ist das nicht ein policeman this." The Coyote sang, wearing a German peasant girl dress complete with blonde pigtails, and pointing at Agent Sheridan, "Ja das nicht ein policeman this."

"Ist das nicht ein great big fish!" The Coyote sang swinging an enormous frozen fish, "Ja das nicht ein great big fish!"

The Coyote swung the fish and bashed Inspector Sheridan in the head with the fish. "Policeman this. Great big fish! Oh du Schone! Oh du Schone! Oh du Schone! Schnitzelbank!"

"Ist das nicht ein pair of pants!" The Coyote sang, "Ja das nicht ein pair of pants…"

The Coyote sang before yanking off Darryl's trousers. "Is das underwear from France?" The Coyote sang, "Ja das underwear from France."

"Pair of pants. Shorts from France. Oh du Schone! Oh du Schone! Oh du Schone! Schnitzelbank!" The Coyote sang, running around with Darryl's pants in his hands.

Ted and Paige ran inside the precinct to find a scene of absolute madness. "Ted, can you hit that thing?" Paige asked.

"I don't think so." Ted replied, "He keeps outrunning, outmaneuvering or dodging every dart I've fired. Aside from accidentally tranquilizing Phoebe's boss..."

"Do you think we're in over our heads?" Paige said, "I mean we could call Piper to freeze the coyote..."

"If she doesn't blow every capillary in her head first. I mean Klondike causing chaos around the house and now this..." Ted replied.

"Dance the can can can..." The Coyote sang, as he started can can dancing around the precinct with a line of handcuffed suspects.

Darryl Morris ran up to the two, wearing his shirt and tie, but minus his trousers. "Let me guess." Ted replied, "Coyote trouble."

"So you're a psychic now? " Darryl asked, and then turned to Paige, "How did he get on the loose?"

"Let's say that a spell backfired and leave it at that." Paige replied.

"So let me get this straight," Darryl began, "You summoned the most insane, most uncontrollable lunatic in creation to this world...why?"

"You see, it's kind of my fault." Ted replied.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa. Are you trying to tell me you turned into a witch or a wizard or..." Darryl replied.

"No no." Paige replied, "It's nothing of the sort. You see Lance and several people from Ted's unit went missing..."

"So why did you guys summon the Coyote of all people." Darryl replied as the Coyote began to start line dancing with several handcuffed felons.

"Well, it was sort of an attempt at interrogation..." Ted replied, "Maybe he could tell us where exactly Lance and everyone else is."

"Do you have any way of controlling it?" Darryl asked.

"Hang on...Gotcha!" Ted replied and fired a dart.

Inspector Sheridan stood up shakily, only to be struck in the rear end by another tranquilizer dart. "Wuh...wuh...wuh..." she said as she staggered and fell right into the nearby coffee pot.

Suddenly the room froze, with the exception of Paige. Standing in the doorway of the precinct was an extremely irate Piper.

"Paige...you have some explaining to do..." Piper began.

"Piper, how did you...?"

"Leo told me that a Guardian of Chaos had escaped. And Phoebe called saying that a silver furred coyote appeared in her office and duct taped Spencer Ricks to a chair and launched him by rocket motor out of a window..." Piper began, "And surprisingly I get a phone call from Low Light wondering where on Earth Ted wandered off to."

Piper unfroze Ted just then. "Damn it! I missed and...uh oh..."

"Uh oh is right, Mountaineer, what were you thinking." came the voice of an irate Flint.

"We thought we'd interrogate the coyote to see if he could tell us where Lance was." Ted replied, "Seeing how the coyote loves to bug Lance, who better than to figure out where he is, along with everyone else."

"OK, I see your reasoning, warped as it is." Flint replied, "Now let's interrogate the coyote, somewhere else."

The group promptly left the police station, leaving yet another scene of chaos behind. As soon as he felt the familiar sensation of being unfrozen by Piper, Darryl sense an extremely bad headache coming on as he surveyed the Coyote induced chaos surrounding him...

---

TBC.