Stryker's holding cell
Location unknown
"19 it has been far too long you don't call you don't write." Stryker said smugly as I made my way to a sitting position.
"What's a girl to think right." I joked as my senses began returning.
"You are a lot funnier than I remember." He said as he walked around me slowly making sure I was still restrained.
"I must not have gotten the concept of humor before, after growing up around a bunch of soldiers with sticks up their asses. Let me ask you something is that standard military procedure or is it that you enjoy it so much that you make everyone that works for you get one shoved up there." I smirked and his smile faded.
"We will see how you feel about joking once I am done with you." He said before he walked back to the door he came in. He opened the door and signaled for someone else to come in. A large man walked into the cell and I had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen.
"Tell me 19, what are your mutant pals planning?" Stryker asked calmly.
"What makes you think I would ever tell you anything? And I swear if you say something cliché like you have ways of making me talk I will spit in your face." I answered just before a large fist crashed into my jaw sending me falling onto my side once again. I slowly made my way back to a sitting position.
"This can go on all night 19." Stryker said just as calm as before.
"That's fine by me, seriously is that all you got princess? Try spreading your feet a little further apart giving yourself a wider base and lean into your punches, those sissy jabs are definitely not going to get the job done." I said to the large soldier proceeding over my interrogation. Another punch and I fell once again. I got back up again and smirked at the large soldier. "You know a chair for me to sit in would make this a lot easier, I wouldn't have to keep getting back up, we could cut this whole process in half."
"Seriously 19 what are they planning?" Stryker asked again before he jerked his head to the side as I spit blood right in his face. Another punch and I hit the ground again.
"Sorry I have been wanting to do that for a long time." I said through a bloody smile as I got up once again.
I continued getting asked and continued getting hit for another hour. I had blood leaking from my mouth, nose, a cut just below my left eye and one above my right. I was getting tired from continuing to get back up just so they could knock me back down.
"Make this easier on both of us 19 and tell me what I want to know." Stryker said as I leaned my head down to wipe my bloody mouth off on my shirt.
"Alright, alright, just don't hit me again. Ill tell you." I said as I blew air out of my nose blowing blood onto the ground.
"We are planning a bake sale in order to raise money to fund an army." I said before getting punched again. I got back up and flexed my jaw to pop it back into place. "Seriously cookies cupcakes and rice krispy treats for everyone." I said and smirked but stryker seemed unamused. "Ok its not a bake sale, its a car wash." I said and was punched once again. "Would you believe a raffle?" I asked from the ground and was kicked in the ribs. "Seriously you could win a new TV." I continued pushing my luck while struggling for air.
"I am growing tired of these games." Stryker asked angrily now.
"I am surprised you thought this would work. Did you forget that I have proceeded over interrogations? You are doing it all wrong. You have not tried bamboo chutes under my fingernails, or waterboarding I always wondered what that was like. Maybe you should take the pistol from your hip and put one in my knee, it really does not matter what you do I wont tell you anything." I said and he pulled his gun from his holster and put it to my forehead.
"Maybe I should just kill you now then." He said as his finger slowly began applying pressure on the trigger.
"Do it." I gritted through my teeth angrily. His hand began shaking unsurely and I smirked. "You wont, your too much of a coward, look at your fingernails, they are too clean you use other people to do your dirty work. How about your girl here, let her do it." I said looking to the man that has been punching me for over an hour.
"You are still to valuable and unafraid to die it seems. By the time I am done you will wish I had. There are things worse than death. We will see how cooperative you are after food and light depravation." He said and turned to walk out of my cell.
"Good I could use a nap see you tomorrow, oh before you go would it be possible for me to get a pillow?" I asked and he grunted before walking out and slamming my cell door behind him angrily and the satisfaction hit me knowing that I was getting under his skin.
"Geez I really need to learn to shut my mouth." I said to myself as I backed up against the wall to get some semblance of support. My body is sore and aching, I would kill everybody here for a bed right now. Hell I would kill everyone here for a Klondike bar I would do much worse for a bed. I just hope Rogue gets the note I placed on the nightstand.
Mutantville
Rogues POV
Ah woke up cold and alone this morning something ah am not used to and don't wish tah get used to. Ah shrug off the alone feeling and decide to get mah day started ah'm sure Jason is just running a little late or that's what ah am going to tell mahself anyway. Ah got up from the bed prepared to go wake up Robby and that's when Ah noticed the paper with Jason's perfect handwriting scrawled on it.
My dearest Marie
Last night will be the last time I will ever lie or hide anything from you. I had no intention of retrieving the adamantium meteorite. If everything goes according to plan I am being held prisoner by William Stryker as you read this. I recently discovered he has been keeping an extra close eye on mutantville and our family in particular. I knew that if I exited the barriers alone he would come for me. I will get a message to you soon, try not to worry about me. Keep a close eye on Robby as I don't know yet what Stryker is planning but we cannot continue to wait we must act now. I am sorry that I lied but it is for the greater good.
You and Robby are the best things to ever happen to me. Despite all of our arguing I am as in love with you today as I ever have been and in the event that this is the last time you ever hear from me I have something I need to get off my chest, something I should have told you a long time ago but couldn't bring myself to say. Marie I don't think you will ever be able to forgive me and I cant blame you if you don't, but your father is dead, has been for a long time. I know because I pulled the trigger. After you were discovered to be a mutant he became very involved in the anti mutant movement in Mississippi. He began speaking out often and gaining many followers. I received an offer from a wealthy mutant to put a stop to it. The moment I met you I knew immediately that you were his daughter from research I had done. I did not tell you sooner for the simple fact that when I first came to the X-mansion I did not want to ruffle any feathers and then we began to grow close and I couldn't bring myself to tell you for fear that you would hate me. I never cared much what others thought of me but you, you were different. Something about you brought out a side of me that I have never experienced. It was new and exciting and for the first time in my life I felt happiness I was no longer empty and cold. I know it was selfish of me but I couldn't let that go, so in the event that I don't survive this I want you to know that I moved on at peace with myself and who I am. Please let Robby know that I am very proud of him and that I love him. When he asks about me when he is older tell him the truth. I want him to know who his father really is. There is so much more that I want to say unfortunately I do not have the time. I must cut this letter short so In closing I would like to say that I am sorry for everything.
Love, Bullet
Ah dropped the tear stained letter in Fear and Anger and a bunch of other emotions. Mah father did disown meh but before I was a mutant he was a good man and ah never even got tah say goodbye. Ah never got tah go to the funeral. I never got to help mah momma through the grief. And now tah find out Ah have a child with the man behind all of it, the fact that he has been hiding all of it from meh, Ah feel hurt, ah feel betrayed but honestly the way I feel about him had I been in his shoes ah cant honestly say I woud have told meh.
"Mommy don't cry." Robby said as he walked into the bedroom. "Daddy will be home soon. He is a hero he is going to save the world just like Iron man." He said and I couldn't help but smile.
"Your right Robby he is a hero." Ah smiled and grabbed his hand as ah pulled him into a hug. Its strange that as confused as ah am that a child is able to hit the nail right on the head. Jason is a hero and as much wrong as he has done he also does a lot of right, and now he Is making a potential sacrifice play to save plenty of mutants many that he doesn't even know. "What do you say we go see uncle Charles?" I asked and he smiled up at me.
"Yeah uncle chuck can help daddy." He said excitedly. I got him a bowl of lucky charms and cleaned the house to try to get my mind off of the situation at hand. Once Robby finished eating breakfast we left for Charles' house.
Holding cell
Location unknown
I awoke to the sound of a voice in my ear and I smiled that my plan was beginning to take shape.
"Bullet, oh my god are you ok? You look terrible what did they do to you?" The voice asked worriedly.
"Wasp, damn am I glad to hear your voice. How's Hank?" I asked quietly.
"Is that really what you want to talk about right now? What have you gotten yourself into?" She asked still right in my ear.
"Stryker is planning an attack on Mutantville." I responded.
"Fury thinks so too." She said which threw me off guard.
"Then why hasn't he done anything?" I asked angrily.
"He has to be careful about how to go about it and he has no proof. Do you have any idea where you are at right now?" She asked me.
"I was unconscious when I was brought here." I answered.
"Your are underneath of the white house as we speak. Thankfully you snuck that tracker in. Speaking of which how did you get that in here without it being found?" She inquired.
"Wow the white house, this should be fun. I surgically implanted the tracker two weeks ago, long enough to remove the sutures and let the wound heal." I said and I could audibly hear her cringe.
"So what am I supposed to do? Why did you send me a message to find you today?" She asked before putting the pieces together. "Oh my god you planned this, even you cant kill the president." She said.
"I have no choice, Mutants are planning an all out war as we speak. If we can draw it here and away from the rest of the country then that is what I have to do. Stryker has to die or millions of others will. I need you to go to mutantville and fill Charles in on whats going on here, he has a flash drive for you with the proof fury needs.. Tel them we need a full scale assault in two days. Only the Strongest most indestructible are to come here. Wolverine Sabretooth Juggernaut Colossus and any others who are up to it. We need a defensive team back at mutantville protecting the civilians, manipulators and telekinetics, anyone who can fend off a sentinel attack. Now did you bring what I asked?" I asked her and she flew from my ear to my hand behind my back.
"You know that if a full scale war breaks out that The Avengers will have to step in." She said after flying back to my ear.
"Even the avengers wouldn't stand a chance against all of mutant kind. You heard about the damage I did to the helicarrier alone" I informed her.
"Your right, I will talk to the avengers see if we cant lend a hand but I doubt Fury will go for it." She offered.
"I appreciate it. Go now before Stryker comes and deliver my message to Charles." I said as I began formulating my plan of escape. "Oh and Wasp, Thanks."
"Be careful Bullet." She said before flying back into the vent making her exit.
Washington DC
Two days later
"How are you feeling 19?" Stryker asked as he walked into my cell and flipped on a light which hurt my eyes after being locked in the dark for two days without any light or food.
"Apart from having to listen o that smug voice of yours pretty well all things considered." I answered trying to keep some pep in my voice although I can hear myself, my voice is incredibly hoarse.
"I am very glad to hear that. As much as we have been through I hate that it has come to this." He said as he placed a bag on the small table in the corner of the cell.
"I can tell you are real broken up." I said as I sat up against the cold metal wall while my eyes adjusted.
"I see you still have that fire. That's one thing I always admired about you. That and as complex as you are you have a certain simplicity about you. However it seems in this case that was your downfall. You may have been able to take down the men I sent to capture you had you only packed a larger arsenal." He said as he began unloading the bag and pulling my weapons out of it.
"I don't need a bunch of fancy gadgets, its the tried and true weapons that I always found to get the job done." I responded and smiled knowing that he just helped me to escape.
"I am surprised that you kept this of all things. If memory serves this is the very first weapon I gave to you. Kind of touching, the life I led you on the one you hate so much all started with this blade and you kept it to remind yourself of me. I knew you always saw me as a father figure but I had no idea I meant that much to you." He said brandishing a combat knife he pulled from my bag.
"Your right, I tried many times but just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it. Not yet anyway." I said and grinned evilly at the man.
"I am a bit disappointed that you lost a step along the way however." He said as he sat the blade back down on the table.
"Ive lost nothing." I replied as I was almost out of the rope binding my wrists behind my back. "Do you honestly believe I had no idea you would come for me. You know me better than that, I had every little detail planned since the Area 51 invasion this has been a decade in the making. You must be stupider than you look if you think I didn't anticipate every last detail you miserable sack of shit." I spoke angrily. "You see I knew I would never be able to draw you out in the open you are too smart for that. I needed to make you think you had the upper hand. I am 5 steps ahead of you on this one. Any minute now my mutants pals as you called them-" I began before another guard came to the cell door.
"Mr. President we need to get you out of here. Marine one is prepped and ready to go as we speak." The guard said and I smirked.
"Right on schedule." I smirked.
"I am going nowhere, let them come." Stryker growled angrily.
"But Mr. President, protocol states-" The guard began.
"I am President damn the protocol. Keep an eye on weapon 19 here. I have a few preparations I need to make." He said to the man before exiting the cell.
"I have heard all about you, if you make one wrong move I wont hesitate to kill you." The guard said to me.
"You drew the short stick you know that right?" I asked the young recruit. He is a stickler for the rules which shows me just how green he is when dealing with Stryker.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked with his hand next to his holstered sidearm.
"You are going to be the first to die." I said and lifted my head to look him right in the eye.
"I'm serious if you try anything I will put a bullet in you." He said shakily I could practically hear the fear in his voice. He is right he has heard of me and my name carries fear with it.
"I will make you a deal, cut my restraints and turn your head and I will let you live." I said and he readied to draw his weapon.
"I cant do that." He responded and I shook my head.
"I'm sorry." I told him as I swung my right arm out catching his before he could even unsnap his holster. In one swift move I snapped his wrist and jumped to my feet putting my other hand over his mouth muffling his scream of pain. "Ill make this quick." I said before turning his body around so his back was to me. I grabbed both sides of his head and quickly snapped his neck. I lowered him the ground to avoid the loud thud that would follow a body dropping. I walked to the table and quickly strapped on my pistol holsters. I strapped the sheathe to the combat knife Stryker held moments ago to my right thigh and sheathed the blade. I grabbed my MP5 and slid a magazine in and grabbed the keys to the cell from the fallen guard. I unlocked my cell and made my exit.
I rounded a corner and saw two men at the end of the hall facing away from me prepared for any threat to come their way. I whistled loudly and as they turned around I fired two quick bursts dropping both guards. It has been quite a while since I have ended a life. Hell I haven't done it since Robby was learning to crawl and then it was only by absolute necessity. My aim is a little off due to my weakened state but not enough to severely alter my chances. I doubt I will be making any thousand yard precision shots with a scoped weapon but I am not in that situation at the moment. I made my way past the cellar taking out four more secret service agents on my way. I came to an elevator and I know it is a bad idea but also the only way to get to the next floor. I board the elevator and it begins to ascend to the ground floor.
The door began to open and I quickly tossed out a flashbang before hitting the door close button. I gave it a second and opened the door once again. I fired the remaining three bullets in my MP5 before tossing it aside and pulling out my pistol. I walked past the stunned agents calmly ending one life after another. As I was preparing to fight my way past the lobby a red flash blew the door open sending agents flying and wooden shrapnel all over the place. Logan and Sabretooth rushed in the front doors quickly incapacitating guard after guard. More and more agents began flooding in and I could hear the sound of military helicopters outside of the building. I used Wolverine and Sabretooth as a distraction and ran across the lobby to the hallway leading to the oval office. It is the most fortified room outside of the bunker in the basement itself. 6 guards rounded the corner at the end of the hallway and I emptied the last of my ammunition taking them out. I ripped off my blood stained shirt as the dried blood made it stiff and uncomfortable to move in.
"End of the road Stryker." I said as I kicked open the door and saw Stryker leaning against his desk. "You know not only was this the first weapon you gave me but also the first weapon I ever took a life with. It is kind of ironic." I said as I pulled the blade from the sheathe on my thigh.
"How so?" He asked calm in the face of certain death.
"The first blade you ever gave me is also the one that is going to end your life and this sick reign of yours, its almost poetic really." I smirked as he stood to his feet and we began circling each other. I tossed the knife and the blade dug into the wood floor in the middle of us. "It is your only chance, pick it up."
"Bad move." Stryker said and I began kicking chairs out of the way creating a makeshift arena for us to meet in a final conflict.
I took a fighting stance nearly two feet from him and he swung the blade at me with a slashing motion which I dodged. He quickly twisted his wrist and swung back hand which I avoided also. "Your getting slow old man." I said and he swung the blade again. I kicked the hilt of the knife knocking it from his hands. He shook the pain of my kick off and he began circling me again. muy thai stance and launched a front kick at me. I caught his foot and lifted it knocking him to his back.
"Get up." I yelled and he began scrambling for the knife. I walked over and kicked him in his stomach expelling the air from his lungs. He coughed up blood and still tried reaching for the knife. I walked towards it and kicked it closer to him. He struggled but after a few seconds got to his feet. "Do us both a favor and end it. Cut your own throat you cant beat me." I said and he lunged like an amateur in an attempting to stab me. I sidestepped and grabbed his arm. I held it outstretched and kicked in his elbow breaking his arm outward. The knife fell to the ground and I smirked as I picked it up. I walked behind Stryker and wrapped one arm around his throat and placed the tip of the blade in his back just behind his left rib.
"I have been waiting for this moment a long time. See you in hell Stryker." I said and began slowly pushing the blade in.
"Go ahead make me a martyr. Prove that mutants are as bad as I have been telling everyone." He ground out through the pain.
Damn it he is right. I cant kill him not now. If it was just me I would cut his heart out and walk outside with it in hand allowing the soldiers outside to take me down but what kind of future would that create for Marie, for Robby? I pulled Stryker to me and walked him to the entrance of the building.
I walked out onto the white house lawn with the president as a human shield. Speaking of shield Fury's helicopter landed and I have never been more excited to see him.
"Everybody stand down. This man is wanted on nearly every continent on the planet that makes him my property. Bullet release the president and put your hands above your head." Fury yelled into a megaphone before giving me a wink with his good eye.
I did as he was told. I released stryker and placed my hands above my head. Hawkeye placed his bow away and approached me with handcuffs I moved my hands behind my back and allowed him to cuff me. The rest of the mutants that came to assist me followed suit and we boarded the shield helicopter. Twenty minutes into our flight and the helicopter began to descend.
"What's the plan here fury?" I asked as we landed.
"You escaped. The president will be arrested given the information you presented us with, and you will walk into a meeting to discuss negotiations to prevent a war in two days." He said nonchalantly.
"You think they will just let me walk into a meeting?" I asked.
"They will once I convince them to hear you out. Now get the hell out of chopper." He joked as hawkeye took my cuffs off.
"No problem, and Nick, thanks."
Authors note: One chapter left. I would like to say thank you to all of you that have stuck with me. I am toying with a few ideas for Rediscovering what was lost and possibly another story so please stay tuned and I will try to keep you updated quickly.