Usual disclaimer replies. IcedBlaze kicks ass with her help and Beta reading, PyroQueenofFire, thanks to you too! Hope you all enjoy this chapter, one more in the base and then we can move onto the fun stuff!
Chapter six: Past meets Presence (part three)…
The feeling of being under a microscope and a hot light never felt closer to home until then. Darcy took in their hopeful faces and heaved a heavy sigh. There was no way in hell that she could deny Logan and the others. Their need was too great. Turning back to the computer consoles, she watched the prisoners' movements, or rather, their lack thereof. Her eyes caught on one of the men. Bald, shirtless and a hideous scar that left him with no mouth, the man was still captivating. His body was in fine form, long, lean and muscular. Standing in a perfect ready position, his gaze never left the door, as if he was waiting for something to happen.
Rogue moved at her shoulder, her own gaze on another prisoner. He was suave, even in the red jumpsuit and paced quietly, muttering silently at the walls and door. Although there was no sound, both of them could only guess what he was saying. "Can you do it?" She asked, pushing a strand of white hair from her face, "Can you get them out of here?"
Darcy nodded, "Yeah, I think I can. My telepathy is screwing up, but I still know how to hotwire a few cars."
"One truck won't be enough," Logan said gruffly from behind them. "We need another driver."
"I'll do it," Colossus volunteered. "I'll be able to protect Darcy while getting them out of there." Darcy nodded in agreement. The metallic man was a force in and of himself when he had some momentum going. Scott agreed and started to talk to Logan about a battle plan.
"Darcy, you didn't pick up any talent that would make them believe that you're the good guy, did you?" Scott asked, "Cause it looks like these guys will attack anything that they see." Her thoughts shifted to her dreams. Was it possible that they offered her a hidden talent? She shook her head mentally, it was safer to do it a different way, there was a possibility that they were still just dreams, not memories.
"Not that I know of, but I think it would be best to talk to them before releasing them," Darcy stressed with a humorless smile. "As long as I have someone to watch my back, I should be fine."
"I'll go," Rogue volunteered. "If anyone threatens her, I can knock them out."
Scott thought for a moment then shook his head. "No, that's not wise, speed is of the essence as soon as we walk out that door," he pointed to the control room blast doors. "Colossus and Storm would be best; they both have offensive and defensive abilities. We'll wait at the door, take the first twelve guys that can take the hike to the jet and leave the rest for you three in the trucks." He looked at the cameras for a moment. "Go up those stairs, flip a right at the crossroad and follow it up. It looks pretty easy to get there." They nodded seriously. "Darcy, you need to do some fast talking, get them to trust you—by any means necessary."
**
Logan burst the lock with an angry snarl and an adamantium blade. The door snapped open to reveal a corridor of almost impenetrable prison cells. Darcy darted in quickly with Storm and Colossus. Her heart pounded with her footsteps, sweat poured from her neck and down her spine. Nothing had prepared her for this reality. Their noise stirred the prisoners and the symphony of cries, threats and screams hurt her ears through the plugs. A student's ability for a shrill cry floated to her mind and she let out a piercing whistle. Immediately the noise quieted. Taking in a deep breath, she started to talk.
"We're here to rescue you! Any signs of attack will be met with defensive measures! We're mutants and we're going to take you to a safe place where Stryker and his people can't harm you!" She was met with jeers. Darcy threw Ororo a helpless glance before continuing. "We have limited time. I'm going to let you out one at a time now. The first twelve go with men we've stationed outside and the rest with us to the trucks."
This was met with cautious agreements. Darcy moved to the cell door with Colossus.
Colossus went forward to grip the bars and perhaps rip them apart, but Darcy held up a hand, motioning him back. "It's alright. I've got it." Colossus stepped back to give her some room. Darcy touched the lock, focusing back on a student she had imprinted while privately tutoring. Her hands felt the cool surface of the lock under her fingers before the lock warmed.
Darcy's brow knit as she squinted in concentration, closing her eyes for the task. The lock under her fingers grew hotter, but it didn't burn her. Instead, Darcy felt the metal makeup of the lock give way under her touch as it melted to the ground and puddle on the floor. Darcy opened her eyes and glanced down, somewhat surprised to see that it had worked. A throbbing headache pounded at the insides of her mind, but she had little time to focus on that.
The prisoners who had been locked up for God-knew-how-long suddenly realized that they were free. They saw that Darcy hadn't been lying about letting them go. Hastily, the mutants all ignored her command for single file and rushed at the door at once, spotting their freedom within reach. It was like a massive wave tumbling on a small island.
"Everybody stay calm!" Darcy yelled desperately, trying to settle the mass of mutants. She was blatantly ignored as the door was pushed open against her and she fell back. She would have hit the ground, but instead thudded solidly into Colossus' metal chest. Her head throbbed where it had landed against Colossus' organic metal.
Mutants streamed out of the unlocked cell and rushed for the exit in a mad frenzy. Colossus righted her quickly and gave her a slight push so she wouldn't be in the way of the oncoming mutants. Frantic, one of the mutants shoved her aside as he made his way to the door behind Colossus. Darcy's back hit the cell harshly as her head jounced against the bars and made a loud clang noise. Darcy grimaced in pain.
"Enough!" Colossus roared, spreading his arms wide and catching two of the mutants who had progressed further than the rest. He hauled them back and threw them at the group, slowing the progression by causing several to trip and fall. Still, the mutants didn't stop.
Darcy fought to clear her thoughts; she shook her head to clear her somewhat fuzzy vision when an eerily familiar voice called out to her. "Darcy?"
Darcy lifted her head to the voice and her jaw dropped as her throat tightened with disbelief. Calmly stepping out of the cell, ignoring the mass of mutants around him as they streamed for the exit was none other than Zero, the sharpshooter from her dreams.
A shocked sob escaped her throat as he stopped in front of her. Anguished blue eyes stared into calm black ones. Her hand trembled as it reached up to his cheek. "Oh my God, you're real," she said breathlessly. He let out a smug laugh.
"What did you think I was? Just a dream?" Letting out a shaky laugh, Darcy shifted her eyes nervously.
"Darcy!" Colossus called out from the door. "Open the last few cells and we can get out of here!" the taller man's voice was sharp with impatience. Ororo stood at the door, the others already gone with their few men.
Darcy nodded and managed to trail off an, "Open the cells…"
Darcy found her legs unable to move as she stared at the man standing before her, staring at her with those troubled yet familiar eyes of his. Her hand slid off his cheek. The last time that Darcy had seen Zero had been in one of the dreams that Darcy would much rather forget. He couldn't possibly be real…not unless Xavier had been right all along about her thoughts being memories. Darcy had never wanted Xavier to delve further into the idea of her dreams being memories because she didn't want the images running through her mind to be real.
"Zero…" Darcy spoke softly as she tried the name on for size.
"You look a little lost, Darcy." Zero told her, raising an eyebrow and smiling at her ever so slightly. His familiar, self confident quirk of his lips had her spinning around like a globe off its axis.
Darcy swallowed back the confusion and pain she was feeling and flexed her fingers a little, taking a step forward slowly, relieved she could move. Maybe he was simply an illusion—a hallucination. One of the prisoners knocked her in the back, pushing her forward. Zero caught her smoothly, setting her straight. Blushing, she stood back, rubbing her neck self-consciously. "Um, wha-what about the others?"
He pointed over to the other cells. "They're all a bit different to what you remember and, well, Dukes and Bradley...they didn't survive Stryker's testing, I'm sorry," he sounded sincere. Her brow crinkled, his reaction was strange to the Zero she remembered. However, she had only dreamed him occasionally; it wasn't as though she knew him at all.
"Darcy!" Colossus' voice was sharp, breaking her out of her stunned stupor. Quickly, she darted around Zero and placed her hands onto the last few locks. Swallowing thickly, Darcy stared as the men from her dreams walked out, their auras making her feel like they owned the room they were in. In front of her stood John Wraith, his trademark cowboy hat missing, and Victor, who stared at her like a caged beast. With a vicious roar, he pushed past her, knocking down and injuring everyone in his path. Colossus was thrown against a wall as the wild man made his escape, not caring at all about his rescuers.
However, it was the last man that had her in a quandary. The monitor in the control room didn't do his physique justice. He was bald, the familiar sheen of adamantium glinting through the skin over one eye. Vaguely familiar brown eyes stared at her with agonizing sadness that had her aching to make the chocolate orbs smile. The muscular prowess that he oozed as he walked closer made her swallow. Surgical black lines covered his body as tattoos. A hand touched her shoulder, causing her to jump. Ororo stood there with a soft look. "We need to go, Darcy, time is short."