September 3, 1974
Warren punched a soldier in the throat. He dropped and Warren kicked him in the head. When he was sure that he was down he picked him up and threw him in the nearest room. There were several other soldiers stacked there. He slammed the door shut and Magnetrix moved forwards. She waved her hand over the handle, welding the hinges and doorknob into the woodwork.
"Let's keep moving," she said.
They continued down the hall. Jean was walking on her own, but Warren knew that her powers were still shot. She was gaining her strength back enough to do some physical attacks, but they would need her power before the day was out. Warren wished that the X-men would hurry up.
They came to the end of the hall. Magnetrix put her hand up. Warren saw that the hallway ended in a balcony that overlooked the level below them. Only a glass wall stood between them and the room below. It would render them fully visible to anyone who casually looked at the ceiling.
"If we keep low, we might be able to see without them seeing us," Magnetrix said.
"Alright," Warren said, "I can keep low."
"I'm coming with you," Magnetrix said.
Warren raised his eyebrows and she shrugged.
"Two pairs of eyes are better than one," she said.
Warren nodded and got down to the ground. He knew that the woman next to him was the one that Alex had fought alongside against Black Tom. Alex had been tight-lipped about the subject, saying only that he thought that, of the Brotherhood, Magnetrix was somewhat trustworthy. He had to hope that his mentor wasn't mistaken. Her team outnumbered him and Jean, and he knew how ruthless the Brotherhood could be. He didn't want to be on the receiving end of their ire. All he wanted to do was figure out what was going on and get out.
It appeared that Magnetrix had similar goals. Together they crawled to the edge of the floor and peered down. He could see that a group of students had been gathered together in the corner of the room. Warren could see that something hazy and dark floated around them. A few were coughing and one or two were lying on the ground, only the occasional twitch showing that they were still alive.
"The hell?" Magnetrix hissed.
Warren continued to look. He saw a group of soldiers in the back, but he couldn't quite make out what they were guarding.
"Damn it!"
He glanced at Magnetrix. She pointed to a man in the middle of the room. Warren could see his pale skin reflected in the light.
"That's Sinister," he said.
"He has a name?" Magnetrix said.
"Old enemy of ours," Warren said, "He's some sort of scientist."
"Let me guess, he likes experimenting on mutants," Magnetrix said.
Her voice was venomous. Warren didn't blame her.
"Yeah, but Cyclops gave him a full blast of his powers in his face. I've seen metal melt underneath that," Warren said.
"Apparently Sinister's skull is stronger than metal," Magnetrix said.
Warren hesitated. He didn't know how much to tell her, but now that Sinister was in the mix, he had to be willing to take risks.
"Beast ripped his heart out once too," Warren said.
Magnetrix paused.
"Repeat that," she said.
"Beast ripped his heart out once too," Warren said, feeling silly.
Magnetrix shook her head.
"Alright, we've got an immortal," she said, "I suppose he's a mutant, although all of those things sound like a very strange mutation."
She continued to peer down at the crowd.
"And I believe he has Mrs. Xavier," she said.
Warren's eyes widened and his head whipped back down to the scene. Moira was sitting against the wall, her shoulders slumped and her hands limply beside her. Warren looked for any restraints, but couldn't find any. He frowned for a minute before looking closer. She looked almost like a rag doll.
"They've drugged her," he said, "It's not like her to be like that."
"I know. It's not what I expect of a former CIA agent," Magnetrix said.
She looked over her shoulder.
"We need to get down there," she said.
"I'm with you on that," Warren said.
He looked around the small balcony. He could see stairs leading downwards, but that couldn't be the only way. They would be too boxed in if they did that.
"Hey."
Warren looked over his shoulder. Jean was standing up and pointing to the ceiling. The glass wall didn't go up all the way, and there were several beams that lights hung off of. Warren turned to Magnetrix.
"How good is your upper body strength?" Warren asked.
Magnetrix frowned.
"Excuse me?" she asked.
"Push ups, pull ups, that kind of thing," he asked.
"I do one hundred before breakfast every morning," she said, "Why?"
Warren grinned.
"And the rest of your team?"
"The same," she said, "Unless they piss me off. Then they do more. Again, why?"
"Well, let's just say that I have a mutation that gets kind of useful in these situations," he said, flexing his wings.
"Can you make contact?" Alex asked, setting down the Blackbird.
"Almost," Charles said.
He could feel frustration creeping in. He hadn't heard anything else from Jean. Logically he knew that she couldn't contact him again. Her call for back-up had probably exhausted her powers and would leave her burned out for quite some time. He had hoped that he would be able to find Warren or Jean's minds once they got close though. Charles had prayed that he would be able to find Moira's.
Instead he could hear the anguished, painful thoughts of young telepaths. No matter what their skill level, the sheer level of fear and confusion was creating a cloud that prevented him from finding familiar minds. Charles had tried talking to them, but whatever was happening to them prevented them from talking back. It sounded like one long, drawn out, psychic wail of anguish.
It was worrying. It was like they had no control over their powers at all. All he knew was that Sinister was there, that he had done something to them. Charles had seen enough of his handiwork to know that that was bad. They had to get in there. He knew that he was just on the cusp of breaking through though, if only he tried harder.
He pressed through, reaching, grasping. He had to find her, to know that she was alright. Charles knew that he should be looking for his students as well, but as time passed all he wanted to do was know if Moira was safe. The other two had found safety. He had no idea if she was even still alive.
Charles forced the thought from his mind. She was alive. She was alive, and she was going to come back home. They would work things out, give their marriage and their love one more chance. He would make up his cold apathy to her, show her that he could change, that he was worth it after all.
He pushed further. Blood trickled down his nose, and he thought that he heard Alex call out to him. After another push he felt almost as though he could breathe again. Charles had gotten past the fear of the young telepaths. He grasped out, clasping onto the first familiar mind that he found.
Professor?
Charles took a deep breath. Warren. He had hoped for Moira, but perhaps Warren had something he could tell them. At least his students seemed to be safe.
We're here, Charles thought, I'm sorry that I couldn't contact you sooner. Some telepaths have lost control of their powers.
We've got bigger problems. Sinister is here, Warren thought.
I'm aware, Charles thought, Where are you?
In the main hall, Warren thought, We've got Magnetrix and a few other members of the Brotherhood with us. Apparently they were observing the conference.
Charles sighed.
As long as they're helping, then we'll work with them. Are you in combat?
No, but we're about to engage a group of soldiers and Sinister on the first level. If you could give us back-up that would be great. And…Professor?
Yes?
Mrs. Xavier's down there, Warren thought, I think she's been drugged or something. She doesn't look too good.
Charles gripped the armrests of his wheelchair. The thought of Moira in Sinister's hands sent him reeling. He fought to keep control of his mental conversation.
Keep an eye on her, make sure that everything's alright. I'll tell you when we're there, he thought.
Sure thing.
Charles opened his eyes. Alex was standing in front of him, looking worried.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Charles said, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket to stem the flow of blood from his nose, "And so are Warren and Jean. Moira…"
He took a deep breath.
"Sinister has her."
There was a collection of murmurs. Alex put his hand on Charles's shoulder.
"Then let's go get her back," he said.
Charles looked up and nodded.
"They're here," Warren said.
Lorna looked down from her perch in the roof's rafters. Warren had just finished flying Jean over. The girl was looking much stronger, ready for a fight.
"The Professor just told me that they're above us," he said, "Havok is suggesting that we go in as a first wave. They'll come in two minutes after we move in."
"Sounds right," Lorna said.
Senyaka glared at her, but Lorna shook her head.
"On my mark," she said.
She watched as the soldiers moved beneath them.
"Three…two…"
She targeted a group of soldiers near the door.
"…one."
They began crawling down the sides of the ceiling. Warren immediately flew down, knocking over two soldiers before taking to the air again. Lorna dropped onto a group of soldiers and took out her knives, slicing and moving as fast as she could. She could see that Jean and Tabby were working on a group of soldiers further down, and she saw that Toad, Lance, and Senyaka weren't staying idle either.
Lorna had to smile. They were a bickering mess outside of combat, although she knew she could shut them up, but in combat situations they moved as a team. They had paired off, Senyaka with Toad and Lance with Tabby, just like she'd taught them. At least there was that.
On the far side of the room she saw Xavier's wife, unmoved by all of the chaos. She had to be drugged. Lorna moved towards her as the roof shattered. She looked up and saw the X-men dropping in one after the other. At first they were a blur, but then she could make out individual members. Her eyes focused on Alex, sending down beams of radiation with Cyclops before he even touched the ground.
She turned, brushing aside her relief at seeing him, and saw that Sinister was striding towards Xavier's wife, his hands calmly in his pockets. Lorna snarled and began slicing her way towards him. When she was within tossing range she threw one of her knives at him. Without even turning his head he caught it, flicking it back in her direction.
Lorna summoned it to her hand and Sinister turned, his smile unsettling.
"The Brotherhood and the X-men yet again," he said, "I do believe I'm shaking."
"You should be," Lorna said.
"Not really," he said, "I've been planning this for quite some time. And I don't like people getting in the way of my plans."
From the corner of her eye Lorna saw that Alex was hurrying towards her, his brother behind him. Sinister noticed too.
"Not even a Summers."
Lorna saw Sinister reach inside his pocket for something. The floor began to rumble, the ground shifting beneath their feet. Lorna could interlocking panels give way, no metal anywhere in sight. She lunged for Sinister just as the floor beneath her completely gave way, sending her spiraling downwards.
As the light began to dwindle Lorna saw that she wasn't alone in her descent. Alex sent one last bolt of light towards Sinister before the panels closed up again and Lorna hit the ground.