A/N: Greetings to all devoted readers, TheWritingGirl23 here with another chapter to all readers and reviewers. Okay, so I have a challenge for myself. I'm trying to get about five decent chapters into this story before New Year's, and I need your help to keep me motivated on this. So please, don't let me slack, and remember chapters come faster with more reviews. You know where the Review button is, use it wisely. Oh, and for Cajun Spice fans, I give you a bit of a reference since that episode won't be occurring in this fic.
Chapter 10 – The Figure
One week previously…
Sunlight poured into the expensive modern room. The room's windows opened to a sweeping view of mountains and forests far below, with misty clouds adding an abstract surreal appearance to the landscape.
A single, green clad woman stood by the windows, observing the surroundings of their new current base. Viper still seethed over the loss of so many of her mutants, who had taken years to obtain and condition. At least she had other work to turn to, a distraction to turn to after that great humiliation.
Her eyes sparked with reawakening as she heard shuffling footsteps approaching down the long corridor to her quarters. Turning, she gave her permission for entry. As always her hand calmly clasped the small, sleek gun hidden in the wraps of her clothing, just in case of unwanted visitors.
The doors swung open and two black-masked guards entered. Between them they ushered a small man with pale blonde hair and blue eyes. Viper let a sickly sweet smile cross her green lips as she stood to her full height, a good deal taller than the small man.
"What could it be that brings my faithful psychic to me at a time like this? I thought he would be groveling over the magnificence of our surroundings, or perhaps indulging himself in our wide selection of fine wines for the higher officials."
The man shrank slightly but didn't move. Viper waved her hand for the guards to leave. They did and she sat herself elegantly on one of the fine chairs. Despite the passage of time and her increasing age, she was just as impressive as she had been in her most youthful years. The green eyes glinted as she surveyed her precog. They narrowed when she saw the anxiety on his face. The man flinched as she quietly growled.
"What have you seen?" Her accent grew heavier in anger.
"M-ma'am, I have seen something that could place you and the entire organization of HYDRA at risk." He maintained his stillness as the tall woman rose to her feet. It reminded him of the deadly prowl of a lioness before she lunges in to take her prey.
"What did you see?" she hissed.
The man composed himself before continuing. "Not every mutant from the dead project was disposed of Lady Hydra. Four escaped, and these four could change events that could lead to the destruction of HYDRA and yourself."
He expected the woman to fly into a rage, but she remained absolutely silent for a good while. At last she moved to the phone resting upon the glass coffee table.
"Send Dr. Deborah Risman to me immediately." The psychic now knew her intent. He attempted to speak.
"Lady Hydra, perhaps you should consider sending agents to at least discover their whereabouts and actions before you proceed with this. It is dangerous to act on the predictions of the future without knowing the events that will trigger them. We don't know…"
Viper silenced him by seizing him around the throat and pulling him toward her. Her green eyes had become flames of poison.
"Four have survived. This cannot be allowed. If these live then there is a good chance Fury will know as well. I cannot allow these weapons to fall into the hands of our rivals, nor permit them to grow rogue. Do you not know how powerful they are? They must be destroyed before they can realize their full abilities, both mutant and human. And what better way," she said as she lowered him slightly, a new smile growing, "then to set upon them their equal. It is time X-23 showed her prowess. A real test of strength for HYDRA's greatest soldier."
xxxXXXxxx
Rogue gasped, fear closing her throat as she tugged violently against the restraints. The terror escalated even further when she found that her great strength seemed to have left her.
With frozen limbs the teenage girl watched as the ghostly image of Sinister drifted toward her out of the darkness, his sharp fangs gleaming in the sickly light. His eyes glowed fiercely as he brandished a wickedly long needle with a barbed tip. It entered her skin like a bolt of lightning. Her eyes rolled back in her head, remembering the cuts, burns, incisions, shocks, every physical pain that could be experienced in a lifetime. She opened her mouth to release a silent scream of agony. Now the room was shaking, rocking terribly...
"Rogue,wakeup.Rogue..."a voice was becoming clearer as the dreaded room around her faded.
With a jolt, Rogue's eyes snapped open to a barely lit box room. The shaking was now combined with a rattling, the light wavering as the dim lamp above her swayed with the movement.
With a grunt, she heaved herself up from a scrunched up jacket, uncurling from the fetal position she had been hunched in as she slept. Rogue rubbed the bleariness from her eyes, looking out of the darkened window to see the landscape rolling past their train like a black river. Brushing her still-short auburn hair, she turned back to meet sympathetic blue eyes. Archer, or Andrew as they were growing into the habit of calling him, was sitting on the opposite row of seats in their train compartment. A small laptop that they had 'borrowed' before boarding was seated on his lap. His eyes were drooping; dark circles and bloodshot sclera increased his appearance of weariness. His hand was slightly outstretched, clearly having shaken her awake from the nightmare.
"Thank you Archer," Rogue moaned as she fully raised herself into a sitting position. She could see the lumpy shapes of Gambit and Genesis sleeping splayed over the seats and floor. The newly dubbed Russell had yet to take off his coat, even as he slept. A pattering of light rain on the window was the only sound.
Rogue leaned back against the soft material of the seat, taking deep breaths as she shook off the last vestiges of her dream. There was no Sinister, no lab, and no imprisonment. A warm wave of relief flooded through her, dispelling the last of her cold chills. It was additionally comforting to have another person there that was awake.
The seat dipped slightly as Archer sat down beside her, moving silently so as not to wake the others.
"Are you alright Darcy?" His voice was soft, like he was trying not to startle her.
The owner of the alias sighed and leaned her head back, looking into his eyes. She felt glad he was here; he had always had a steady and accepting nature about him, and it was what she imagined a big brother would be. "I'm okay now Andrew. It's just...I can't escape those dreams. I'm beginning t' think I never will."
He nodded, allowing her to lean closer for comfort. "I know. That's kind of why I volunteered for this." He motioned to the laptop he had carried over with him. "A night without sleep is ecstasy compared to the nightmares," he grimaced.
Rogue shivered a bit, and leaned over to disguise it, peering at the screen. "What is it you're doin' anyway?"
He pulled the computer closer and set to work again as he explained. "We won't be able to just live off of lifted cash once we find a place to settle down, though I'm sure Gambit would give it a try. It might take us a while to get jobs and we'll need a home, so I'm creating a bank account."
"With what money?"
"Exactly," he said, pointing his index finger at her. "I'm trying to get into various accounts and siphon some money. With proper equipment I could make us millionaires in five minutes without arousing suspicion. With what I have though, I have to do it the long way. It's a matter of getting into accounts all over the country and transferring money into an account of our own, a little bit at a time. Sometimes all I take is ten dollars or so, so people won't get suspicious. It takes a long time though, so I volunteered."
Rogue watched him for several minutes before her eyes caught sight of the clock on the screen.
"4 am? I thought this train got into station at 11 pm."
"The last train did. You slept right through our transfer and Russell ended up having to carry you between trains. Then he and Theo grabbed some dinner before passing out. It's been nice and quiet for some hours now." Rogue fell silent as Archer continued with his work, the typing a soothing sound combined with the rain outside. It lasted for several minutes more before Rogue broke the quiet.
"Where's this train headed?" The black haired boy shrugged.
"I forgot. We bought the tickets randomly, since it would make us harder to trace."
With a faint sigh, Rogue leaned against him. Her mutation was a fearful one, but when she was around the three people who were the only family she had, it didn't seem to matter as much.
"I'm so tired Andrew. We haven't known home for years, an' I'm tired of knowin' I don't belong anywhere. I wanna find a place we can call our own, an' be like other people."
He nodded in agreement. In truth neither had ever really had a home, being orphans, and just thinking about what all they had missed, before and after HYDRA, made an emptiness known within them. Their conversation ceased and they sat beside each other in silence.
At 9 o' clock the train pulled into the station in Rutland Vermont. By this time, Gambit and Genesis had awakened. Now in new clothes, they blended easily into the large crowds of people piling from the train.
"C'mon." Gambit motioned them toward the station diner. There they could eat and plan their next move. None of them noticed the figure, perfectly blended in the crowd, watching them.
Upon entering the place, their sharp instincts turned on at full power. It was an automatic response they had learned to perfect throughout their lives. Like animals, they relied just as much on intuition as they did on skill. They must rely on what their senses told them to not only get them out of danger, but to keep it away from them in the first place. Over a decade of captivity had honed their ability to follow intuition so sharp that it was bordering on mind reading or an all-knowing awareness.
Rogue's green eyes swept the room discreetly under the rim of the hat she wore. She recorded how many people were here, where they were, what they were doing, and predicted their future movements in a matter of moments. There was a group of loud young men around the diner bar, about five, laughing at something one of them had said. Two of these men were casting glances at her and Genesis, their eyes appreciative and a little envious of the two teen boys beside them. Behind the counter was a petite black-haired waitress who was laughing along with the boys as she ignored the angered shouts from the cook in the back. There was also a couple sitting at a table by the window, but they were so immersed in each other that Rogue knew they would pose no threat. Again, the watcher outside stayed outside their sphere of awareness.
Their group took seats at the booth in the back, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible. They had yet to find better disguises other than the change of clothes from their uniforms. Genesis had tied her long white hair into a small bun and hidden it under a tacky baseball cap, and her clothes were slightly baggy to hide her unusual musculature. Rogue wore her still short hair in a tiny ponytail and a baret to hide the stripes. She wore dark wash jeans and a black long-sleeve shirt, her black gloves still on her hands. Gambit and Archer wore nondescript clothing and the former had sunglasses.
As soon as they were settled the waitress approached to take their orders. Rogue examined her from behind her menu, scanning for threats. The way the girl held herself in order to orient her figure showed that she was self-conscious and the cock of the hip showed she was trying to exude confidence. Her smile was a little too wide, so she was trying to impress. After Rogue had completed her analysis she turned back to her menu, having written this girl off as no threat. A quick glance around the table showed that her companions had come to the same conclusion.
"There anything I can get you all?" The waitress kept casting furtive glances around the group. Her eyes were a mixture of admiration and uneasiness. Their appearances were certainly appealing, but the seriousness of their attitudes made other people nervous. As soon as they had ordered she scurried away to the kitchen. She returned promptly with their food and hastened away once more.
Genesis reached for her drink, and Rogue noticed how haggard she looked.
"You all right Theo?" The Native American girl smiled wearily, but the encouraging look was obviously false.
"To tell you the truth, I'm exhausted Darcy. I didn't think being a fugitive would be anywhere near as hard as a HYDRA soldier, but I'm not sure how much more I can take." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and Rogue saw how much paler she looked. Genesis really did seem ill. Looking at the boys she found the same draining energy in their slumped shoulders and slack faces.
Rogue looked at her own reflection in the Formica surface of the table. Her face was thin and there were dark rings under her eyes. It seemed that they were all losing their drive to run. Even the wildest of creatures needs someplace to call home.
Gambit stirred his drink with a straw. This new food, so different from their standard issue meals in enslavement, had been a shock the first time they had tasted it. He recalled with a smirk the open-mouthed amazement on his friends' faces when they had first sampled the cheeseburger. He had no doubt he had looked the same. Now though, new food and open skies were no longer enough. Their primal barest instincts had been satisfied, but now the men and women inside were begging to regain their humanity.
He raised his cup to his lips to drink, when he noticed Archer stiffen suddenly. The girls noticed as well, and they allowed their intuitions to take over. They all froze. A spike of fear higher than anything they had felt since their escape blazed through their nerves and raised the hairs on the backs of their necks. Genesis whipped around to spot the nearest window.
"Down," cried her telepathic voice. Trusting the telepath and her excellent timing, they all dove just as a metal something flew through the window.
Smoke blew upward as a sleek black shape came crashing into the restaurant behind the smoke canister. The four could hear coughing and thumps as the other occupants inhaled the mist and collapsed.
Gambit growled. His strong hands ripped a strip of fabric from his shirt and tied it around his mouth and nose. Through the screen he could see the others following his example. Each was crouched defensively. Archer had drawn a metal object from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist it extended to form the half-moon shape of his longbow. He also withdrew a thin strip of wire and set it on the string. It blazed a ghostly blue as he pointed it into the cloud filling the diner. Rogue and Genesis stood back to back, Rogue with her gloves off and Genesis ready to fire a psychic blast. Gambit snatched a salt shaker from the table and held it at the ready.
The diner was silent apart from the hiss of smoke still emitting from the canister.
Rogue watched, keeping her ears wide for any noise. Then she heard it: the slight squeak of a combat boot moving towards them. Simultaneously, the attacker and Rogue lunged for each other.
The two went smashing over the tables and behind the counter. The thing attacking them tried to pin Rogue, but the Southern girl had the advantage of strength. She picked up the person, who was surprisingly small and lithe, and tossed it mercilessly across the room.
Rogue leapt over the counter again and scanned about. After a long time of silence, Carol rose to join her consciousness.
"Rogue,youhaveasixthsense.Listentoit."
Concentrating, she threw out her awareness. Her head snapped to the waver of movement in the corner. Suddenly an angry roar from Gambit echoed through the place and a blaze of magenta lit up the restaurant. She saw a figure being thrown across the room before the light went out. Focusing on the last place she had seen it, Rogue lunged. This thing had attacked them and now it would pay for its boldness.
The perpetrator met her mid-charge. Rogue gasped as something sharp and cold slashed across her granite skin, two points of pain. Glancing down momentarily she saw two shallow cuts on her abdomen; nothing more than scratches, but for something to penetrate her diamond-hard skin was as yet unheard of.
Two flashing blades zoomed from the smoke screen and tore at her arm. Again she was cut, but the massive force behind the attack still had only resulted in red scratches. It was the deepest the blades could penetrate her pale skin.
Rogue felt her anger growing to a berserker rage, and she attacked with a new frenzy. With the swiftness she had gained through agonizing training, she dropped to the ground and swept the legs from under her opponent. They fell and she moved in to finish the fight, but was deflected by two feet slamming into her ribcage.
As she stumbled backwards the figure in the mist flipped up and charged again. Before it could reach her an explosion of fuchsia sent it tumbling away with a high pitched scream of rage. Rogue was about to move when her arm was seized.
"C'mon chérie." Gambit pulled her away. She could see his red eyes glowing intensely in the gloom. He pulled her back through the dim kitchen and out the back doors onto the train platform. Behind them came Genesis and Archer. The young man turned, aiming his bow into the section of the restaurant where their opponent had fallen. He released it and the building split apart in a cloud of blue flames. The four bolted away as they heard cries welling up in the station and the wail of sirens.
Rogue threw her gaze back to the demolished diner. "Thepeopleinside…"
"Don'tworry;wewereabletogetthemoutwhileyouandGambitwerefightingthatthing." Rogue nodded at the reassurance from the other girl.
Gambit's eyes were still flaming with battle high and… fear. "We gotta get away, now."
"I'm way ahead of you there. Fast as you can." Archer picked up the pace until he was tearing through the station. The others followed him as fast as possible, moving so quickly the people they bumped into didn't have a chance to glimpse their faces.
Archer bounded deer-like through a large door leading to a train yard outside. A large cargo train was beginning to pull from the station. He leapt and managed to catch onto the back rail. He whirled and reached out to help the others.
"Come on Theo." Her hair, released from the hat, flew behind her as she hurtled into his arms. Both turned to drag Gambit onto the car before he crashed to the tracks below the fast moving train in his desperate leap. Rogue was last, pelting as fast as she could. With a boost from her flight powers she launched herself onto the car after them. Careening wildly, she bowled her friends over, knocking in the door to the freight car. They tumbled in an ungraceful pile to a stop. Below them they could feel the hard shaking that showed that the train had pulled from the station and was picking up speed, bearing them to where exactly they didn't know.
Rogue lay panting, tangled up with her friends. The cuts on her arm and belly stung, but it was nothing compared to some of the things she had endured. Turning her head she met Gambit's red eyes. They were gleaming with unmistakable fear as they had on the platform. She felt that it was the same in her green eyes. The look made her shiver. She broke their eye contact and struggled to free herself from their tangle. They were each able to retreat into their own separate corner and catch their breath, all except for Gambit. He moved toward Rogue, even though she shrank away. The blades had torn great rips in her clothes and her white skin was exposed dangerously. He knelt beside her despite this.
"You alright Rogue?" He reached to hold her arm, making sure only to touch the fabric of her sleeve as he examined the cuts. They were long, but shallow and clean and the blood had already stopped.
"I'm fine Gambit, they're just cuts. You know I've had much worse." He nodded, denying the memories that surfaced. He released her arm and sat next to her, making sure she had enough space to be comfortable with so much skin exposed. They both leaned back against the shaking wall of boxcar and tried to calm their heart rates.
"Did you see them?" Gambit turned his head at her question. "The attacker."
He shrugged. "Sorta. When I t'rew dat salt shaker at 'em I caught a glimpse." His eyes glowed, some of the fear returning as he looked at her again. "Dey had a mask on, but I recognized de uniform." He was reluctant to say it, but he couldn't keep her in the dark on this. "It was a HYDRA soldier."
He watched the terror flood her face. Then she reined it in and replaced it with defiance. Her fists clenched. Gambit saw Genesis and Archer with the same fright in their gazes, but they also were trying to put it aside.
"So they know we're alive then," Rogue murmured. "Well, they'll never find us, and they won't take us back or destroy us." In spite of her strong words, he saw her shoulders sagging with weariness. The protectiveness he felt for her grew again. Removing his long coat he placed it around her shoulders, and ignoring her squeak of protest he pulled her against him.
"You're always too cold fille. Stop bummin' an' relax."
Rogue continued to struggle for a minute more before she at last settled into the embrace. It triggered strange sensations. Her face felt hotter than normal, and she felt an odd clenching in her stomach. But overall was a warm contentment telling her she didn't want to be released from the hold, ignoring the fact that she rarely grew cold due to her indestructible skin. Her long previous night was catching up to her and her eyes began to drift close. She leaned close to her best friend and inhaled his familiar scent. It was always a comfort to her, lulling her into a warm sleep. No wonder Gambit liked this coat so much.
When her head was fuzzy and on the brink of a doze, she gently moved her head from where it rested on his chest. Her blurry eyes saw Theo and Andrew sleeping among the boxes.
"Russell, do y' know where we're goin'?"
He sighed sleepily. "No idea Darcy. Now hush an' go t' sleep." Rogue smirked and settled into sleep once more.
Meanwhile, back at train station, pandemonium still swelled through the station. The destruction of the diner baffled the authorities. The cause of the explosion left no trace of C4, gas, or any explanation on how it had occurred. The occupants of the restaurant could tell the police nothing. All they remembered was a crash, a cloud of sleeping gas going up, and when they had awoken they had been outside on the platform laid close together.
High above in the rafters of the station, a black-clad figure balanced expertly as it observed the chaos below. Staying to the shadows while clinging spider-like to the supports, the figure stripped from its black uniform, changing into a simple hunter-green shirt and jeans. It pulled away its mask, allowing long brown hair cut perfectly straight to flow out from beneath its covering. With silent bounds the figure leapt to the ground without being noticed. When at last the mysterious soldier stepped from the dark corners and into the crowd, it was replaced by a young girl. Her brown hair fell past her shoulders, her build thin but lithe. She couldn't have been over fifteen years old. Her hazel eyes narrowed as she scanned the crowds.
She knew her quarry wouldn't be found in this station. They would have escaped as soon as she was incapacitated. Project X-23 cursed herself in her head as she weaved expertly through the flocks of people. She had fallen victim to the very thing her trainers had warned her against: underestimating her enemies. She had known of their powers and capabilities, but she had doubted that the simple looking teens she had observed over the past two days could pose much threat to her.
X-23 discreetly raised her head and sniffed, trying to draw the four elusive scents to her. No matter; once she picked up their trail again, she would make sure to not make that mistake again. Her masters demanded it.
A/N: Okay, this one was completely unexpected. I didn't know this was going to happen until I wrote it. But I hope it was good.
Next chapter: our heroes find a new home.
P.S. Review, review, review, review, review, etc. I'll be very sad if you don't :'(