AN: Why am I so addicted? I'm such a junkie to things I do on a regular basis. I live in habits. I check my email every other minute, play video games near daily, watch House like it's a drug for my eyes and ears, and make myself physically sick by being around someone I KNOW is gonna make me physically sick. People complain about being in ruts all their lives, but I love my rut. I wish I didn't have to take a break from my rut and put up with people. Someone threw pennies at me today, people! What is wrong with you guys? Disclaimer: If I had any rights in Marvel or its properties, I'd give everyone a better theme song. Seriously. Why can't they have one as good as the dunanananananananana Batman!
Chapter 9
Curtain Calls
The small click sound she heard from the small phone pressed against her ear proved to her that the conversation had indeed ended. Pressing her head against the cool glass, she closed her eyes and gave herself a moment to reorganize her thoughts. Her head was killing her. Opening her eyes, she turned back to the room behind her, catching the eyes of every single one of her students.
Never once had she used her phone in class, nor had she ever shown a moment of any type of pain or been phased by a problem. Her students had every right to be worried about her strange actions. But the worry would be useless. None of the teenagers before her had the ability, or the potential ability, to change or affect any of the upcoming events she was seeing. Only one of her previous students had that chance. If only Xavier would do something to help him out.
If only Xavier would do something to help her out. She understood that there was nothing he could do to stop her pains, but he had provided her the only medication she had found for her problem. Her ability to see the future uses of mutant powers had been dulled down and become nearly recessive under the care of the telepath, but after a few years away, his work had come unraveled. She was beginning to see things again, her mind posting images she knew nothing about behind her eyes. And with more mutants emerging, there were more flashes than ever before.
Most of her precognitive flashes were quick, but some were reoccurring and steady. One set in particular stuck out to her. Mutants she had never foreseen before fighting, with Xavier and his students in the middle of it all. So many powers, with so many possible outcomes, all running through her head. It was driving her insane. Rebecca, or Mrs. Anderson as her students knew her, simply smiled to her class and began teaching, going over the work she had given her class before the call.
X-mansion
Charles Xavier placed his phone back in place on the receiver, starring at it for a while longer. He had heard troubling news on multiple levels from his old student. Luke, it seemed, was indeed in trouble. One of Xavier's old friends had reemerged from his isolation with a plan to set his views into motion. Another faction has appeared and seemingly has goals that conflict with both his own and the Brotherhood's. And then there was the surprising amount of advancement that had taken place in the science of studying mutations. More particularly, mutants.
Xavier had prepared since the day he had opened his school for when the world recognized the existence of mutants. But it seemed the closer he was too prepared, the more drastic the stance opposing forces took. This U-men corporation that had appeared out of the shadows it had created was threatening indeed. He had gleamed of how they were using what information they found, legally or not, for research that was as largely inaccurate as it was correct. So for things to have come so far without his knowing made Xavier question just how close the world's revelation really was.
Reaching out with his most exercised muscle, his mind, Xavier was about to call out to his staff and students, but held back after feeling an incoming presence. Turning to his door, the wheelchair-bound man waited. Three. Two. One.
The head of Katherine Pride grew, in the most disturbing bloom he had ever seen, out from the large wooden door that guarded his study. After the rest of her followed, the image shifted back to normal, but it left Xavier the greatest impression that his door was liquid. Ignoring the notion, he commented lightly before the girl could speak.
"I realize that intangibility makes it hard to knock, but it is still common courtesy to knock anyways, Kitty."
The girl ignored the comment and simply sped over to the man and thrust something forward into Xavier's view. It was a simple binder, black in covering, but Xavier knew it must've held some importance to something.
"What is this, Kitty?"
Instead of answering, she merely opened it up. The first page was merely a plastic sleeve that was commonly used to preserve paper and protect it from harm. But instead of paper, it was pictures. And oddly enough, the pictures weren't of Kitty or her family and friends. But rather, it was of his missing student, Luke. A younger Luke, with an even younger girl that Xavier didn't recognize immediately. But a quick comparison and a few faint memories from past sessions with Luke told Xavier that the girl was Luke's sister.
"Why do you have this, Kitty? And what are you showing me for?"
The girl simply grinned as if she had solved everything. "Luke would never just leave this behind. He cares about it; otherwise he would've never hid it away. So that has to mean he was taken by Terrence. Plus, now that I think about it, none of the Brotherhood was at school."
Xavier simply shut the book and pushed it back to the girl.
"You've violated whatever trust Luke has given us. Never do something like this again, Kitty. And I've received new news about a situation that may involve our wayward mutant. Go put this back and get prepped for a quick flight in the Blackbird. The X-men have a mission."
Kitty nodded, her head bobbing happily despite the lecture and orders. She was just glad something was being done about Luke. It felt wrong to her not to do something. She didn't know why, but it simply just didn't sit well with her. Xavier had made solid points about Luke, but it didn't matter. It must've been out of principle. And she was just sure her fellow X-men would've agreed if she would've asked them.
Upper New York - Underground Laboratory
True to his word, the scout had perfectly described the encounter planned in the entrance hallway. Two guards had been watching over the entrance, the only exits that they knew of. In less than two seconds, both guards were both fixed on watching the entrance, staring perfectly straight as death glazed over their eyes. And they continued their watch in silence. No alarm was set off at the entrance of the 5 mysterious figures.
The scouting member took the lead once again, walking around each corner without a care in the world of being spotted. No one would ever see him unless he wanted them to. His clothes stood out like an imploded rainbow, colors and stripes everywhere. Even his hair was dyed multiple colors. And it all helped him blend in even more. His short height and thin appearance did little to hide his lack of physical strength, but there was an aura around him that made people wary, as if the man could pull anything out of his sleeve.
Behind the brightly colored team member followed the mutant codenamed Fissure. Fissure constantly glared at the world with his dark colored eyes, standing a head above everyone else on the team. His unruly red hair jutted out from all angles as if it had never been combed. He dressed appropriately for his job, dark colors and form-fitting attire. It only helped his appearance of someone completely cut off from everyone around him.
The only female of the team skipped merrily down the hallway, circling around the group repeatedly as they made their way down the halls that the scout had cleared. Always abundant in energy, she smiled gleefully at all the possible collectables to be had in the labs the team was entering. So many medical items to find and hoard. She was making it her personal mission to find her very own stethoscope. Dressed in a light blue skirt, flip-flops, and a small pink t-shirt, the girl looked every bit of her age of a 9 year-old Barbie.
Snipe trudged alongside his boss, hands furrowed deep in the pockets of his black cargo pants. His begrudging expression showed how much he really cared to be here, but his silence proved his determination. His heavy boots thumped against the tiled floor, but it was a much more pleasing sound than that of flip-flops. A red and gray hoodie topped Snipe's frame, along with a pair of goggles that hung loose around his neck. A quick look over revealed to Snipe just how mysterious his boss really was.
Unlike the young men and even younger girl that he employed, the man beside him was in his late 40's. Or at least that was how he appeared. Rumors had been spread that the man didn't age at all, but they were only rumors. The man wore a dark cloak that concealed his body from the feet up, with a dark hood that shadowed his face. His hands were constantly inside the sleeves of the cloak he wore, giving no indication of race. The only way he was sure that the man was even a man was because of his voice. It was almost as if the person beside him was formless. And with as many unnatural things as Snipe had seen, it was actually possible.
The hallways ahead began to shift ever so subtly, with doors and signs beginning to blend in with the walls. The team proceeded on without a change in pace. The boss would've said something if there was any need to stop and search every room. The scouting member of the team was still strolling on ahead, not a care in the world about where he was going. Even as a door opened up on his left and a man garbed in a scientist coat and slacks stepped out, the scout remain as careless as ever.
The group behind him stopped and starred at the man, who oddly enough was oblivious to the strange group of people standing in the hallway. The man started walking down the hall, passing by the group that had divided to clear his path. Only when the little girl of the group snorted in her amusement did the man notice anything wrong. He stiffened, ready to turn and see what had made the sound, only to stop and fall forward, as lifeless as the guards that still guarded the entrance to this laboratory.
Snipe drew back his index finger and blew on the tip of it and watched in mild fascination as the flesh mended back over the tip. The group continued wordlessly, not even bothering to hide their presence in the laboratory by hiding their victims. By the time anyone knew what was up, everything would be falling down on their heads. The leader of the group let a chilling grin shine from beneath his hood, not that any of his minions noticed.
With DJ
DJ stood still and looked over what could only be the weirdest man he had ever seen in his life. The man was wearing an insanely ridiculous outfit of red metal plates and a purple cape. He had a helmet that covered his entire head with the exception of his face. He looked like a deranged knight from the Medieval Ages. But the worst part was that he was floating. The man was suspended in air without a single reason or cause, but it had to have been normal for him.
"Who are you? How are you doing that? What do you want from me? Where are we anyways?"
The series of questions slipped out of DJ, asking for information, but also telling just how confused the man was with his situation. The hovering man slowly eased out of the air and landed with a light clank of metal. Extending his arm slowly, the man held out his hand to shake DJ's.
"I've been called many things before, child. But you may simply know me as Magneto, the master of magnetism. This is how I was able to open that door and float, if that is what your second question was concerning. As for our location, we are somewhere in New York inside a facility run by men of science. You were brought here to further enlighten the humans below us just how little they truly know and to be their test subject. I am here to intervene and to offer you a way out of being a mere lab rat. Darius, you are a mutant with great abilities, and as such you will always be sought out after if your powers are ever revealed, and they will be, given time. For now I am offering you a place by my side to shelter you from people like the ones here that will try to use you for their own gains. Our race is much more than experiments to be caged in laboratories like this. So I am asking if you would like to join me."
Lost, DJ put his head in his hands, thinking deeply before crying out "I just wanna go home. I ain't got anything to do with all of this, so just leave me out. I'll stay quiet about my powers and live my life like I ought to. I don't wanna be some outcast or a freak they put on the evening news."
A gloved hand clapped down on DJ's shoulder, causing him to look up from his near panic attack. The man behind the helmet fixed him with a hard look.
"You will never be able to simply live your life, Darius. When the world discovers there are people like you and me, as they are quickly finding out, then there will be war. Everyone will turn upon one another and we must be ready. Mutants will not simply die out due to our gifts. I will not allow it. I am offering you asylum to live among your kind, away from the forthcoming bigotry and hatred that your neighbors will shower you with. There will be no hiding from this, nor should there. You have a gift and it would be spitting in the eyes of whatever gave you this gift to simply not use it."
Radio static echoed in the room, screeching and buzzing before being reigned in. DJ opened his mouth to talk, but couldn't find the words to say. Sounds began spilling out, random bursts of lines, quotes, and music that each chipped in pieces of how the man felt, all intermingled into one sound. Magneto reveled in the sound.
"You're sure you can protect me?"
DJ finally managed to silence his own sounds enough to talk. Magneto nodded before continuing on with his explanation.
"There are many others who are like you and have joined my cause. To protect mutant kind from the oncoming catastrophe that is bound to happen. But we need time. Places like this are an abomination both to science and nature. We must destroy this place and all of the research that is here, before information leaks any farther. This is your chance to protect mutants alongside me."
Never had it been said that Magneto was a bad public speaker. Persuasion was often considered one of his more subtle talents and it was abundantly clear why to any impartial observer. DJ fell for Magneto's cause hook, line, and sinker.
With a new Acolyte in hand, Magneto lifted himself up once more and began to float out of the room to retrieve his other followers, DJ following closely behind like a dog on his heels.
Room 49
Room 49 was the one room inside the entire building that was considered unimportant by the secretly hired staff of the laboratory hidden in New York. It was also the only room inside the building that was decorated. Room 49, for lack of better terms by the current occupants, was the break room.
The Brotherhood had been lounging around the sofas and chairs in the room for what felt like an entire day. None of them had left once, for fear of being caught breaking one of Mystique's orders. Terrence was the only exception to this rule, being that he was personally requested to go watch the head doctor over the labs. There was no TV in the room, no radio, no computers, or anything that could entertain the teens, but because of its furnishings compared to the other rooms, this room was like an arcade. Lance had taken roost in a chair he had reclined back and dozed off in, ignorant of the other two boys in the room, who were making a mess. Fred had already destroyed the vending machines in the room and was frequently checking the mini-fridge every other minute to see if any food had magically appeared in it since he had last checked. Todd had taken the time to explore every nook and cranny of the room, smearing and staining every surface he touched. The cabinets that had once upon a time been white were now an off color of green. How he had managed to smear that color was a mystery to Amanda, the only person in the room that was sane. Or at least in her opinion.
Amanda had been sitting on one end of a couch by herself the entire time she had been in the room. She hadn't said a word to anyone else in the room, keeping quiet as she thought of her last few hours. It was all so strange. Mystique had outlined such an obscure plan the girl never did understand, she had just nodded her pretty little head and did her part. But why? Mystique had set her up as bait for Luke, who the woman had known would fall for.
Mystique had used whatever friendship that Amanda and Luke had made for her own gain. But was it really even friendship? Was she really a friend to the guy if she simply encased him in crystal under orders from someone else? Even after he had given her that stupid little watch that disguised her now imperfect skin? She didn't put it back on after Luke was caught. She had left it on her nightstand and left with Mystique to finish out the shape shifter's plans. And now she was just sitting here while Luke was trapped getting dissected by some crazy scientist. Mystique didn't care. The other guys didn't care. So if she was on the Brotherhood side, why did she care?
Amanda had been wrestling those thoughts around in her head, never being able to lay them at rest. She felt exhausted, but she couldn't sleep. She could practically see the bags under her eyes, but even when she closed them, they never felt rested.
The sound of the door opening jerked all 4 teens in the room out of their stupors and focused their attention on the young man standing in the doorway. Terrence walked in the room, Mystique slipping in behind him.
"The other mutant we brought with us here, DJ, has escaped. We have been given orders to find him and properly restrain him this time. We will not do anything of the sort, but for now, we must make an attempt to play our parts. DJ is currently being handled by someone else and will be out of the picture. So search every room along the hallways and make it look like you gave an effort. Then report back here in an hour. By then we will be ready to move on to our next part of the plan."
Mystique then slipped right back out of the room, changing from her true blue form to the appearance of some faceless doctor. The Brotherhood all looked around at each other and grouped up. Awkwardly enough, Lance and Fred made their way down one end of the hallway from the break room, leaving Todd to pester Terrence and Amanda. In the short time Todd had meet the strong mutant, he had learned quickly not to mess with him. So he focused his attention on the only female of the group and began to muster up his impervious charm and swagger. Much to Amanda's displeasure, this also mustered up his B.O.
Blackbird - Upper New York Airspace
"You're saying that there's some kind of mutant battle that's gonna take place somewhere in the woods down here and you want us to be the peace brokers? I'm sorry Professor but that seems a little too much for us. We're not ready for this kind of thing."
Scott was many things. He was stubborn, loyal, obedient, and principled. He was an ideal X-man in Xavier's eyes. But Scott was also someone who would vehemently protest anything that he disagreed with. As leader of the X-men, it was a good thing for him to know how much his team could do. But now was not the time for the young man to doubt their capabilities.
"Scott, I'm well aware of the dangers that this situation presents to us, but it is vital that we do this. For so many mutant powers to be used all so closely to one another that Rebecca could sense it from Virginia is astounding. It could also be disastrous if left unhandled. I will personally promise that I will not ask you to step out and stop this fighting as it may very well be over your heads. But I am asking you to do your part, and that includes supporting me in my decisions."
"Yes, Professor."
Xavier never felt like he had at any point trained his students to be loyal dogs to his service, but the reply almost made him. Scott began to lower altitude, with Storm assisting him. They were aiming for a clearing not to far from where Xavier was beginning to feel several presences. None of them were discernable at this range.
He had told his team that new information had been brought to light about Luke's disappearance and current location in the forest below. Filling them in on the mutant activity he had been told about, he fed them his theory that Luke may be involved in the fighting, and if so, they would merely let him be. Kitty had looked ready to burst at that, with Kurt looking similarly outraged. The two weren't going to lose their newest teammate without a fight.
Xavier had also told them that there may be more going on down there than he had originally thought. After halfway explaining the situation with emerging scientists studying mutants and mutations, the telepath suggested the possibility that there were mutants down below that were being studied. This led to several unasked and unanswered questions. Was Luke down there by choice volunteering to help science or had he been kidnapped and experimented on? What kind of studies were they doing down there and how long would it take for them to go public?
Xavier did not attempt to explain what he planned to do with the research being done down in the woods. His students would never understand just why he had to erase all evidence and traces of mutants from the labs as well as the minds below.
The Blackbird finally landed smoothly in the clearing, opening its underbelly hatch to release the mutants inside. The younger mutant, led by Wolverine, sped off in the direction given to them by their Professor while Storm made sure the man himself made it to their destination safely in his wheelchair. The team arrived at what used to be a heavy door, now in even pieces, opening a white hallway before them.
Logan halted the group, taking whiffs of the air and calling out "There was a group of them to come through here, probably unannounced. Four, maybe five of them. Assume all of them are mutants and dangerous. Do not pick a fight with these guys unless they start it. They wouldn't be here if they weren't the real deal. Xavier wants to know what they want, so find out. See if you can find our missing masochist while you're at it."
After his short instructions, he ran off down the hallway, disappearing out of sight as the man rounded the corner. Scott stepped forward, leading the team of young mutants down the hallway opposite of the one Wolverine had taken. Kurt was prowling along the walls ahead of the group, checking out windows and scanning the rooms.
"Empty. Are we sure that the mutants came this way?"
"Hey! It's those losers up on the hill, the X-dorks!"
Scott and the two girls skidded to a halt alongside Kurt as the Brotherhood emerged from a side hall and blocked the hall.
"I think we found the mutants. What are you guys doing here? What could you possibly break, vandalize, or destroy around here."
Blob, the one who had spoken before, stepped out and thrust his chest out proudly with his arms crossed.
"I destroyed that vending machine back in thee break room pretty good. I folded it in half like a, um, a…"
"Can it, big guy. We don't need to tell them anything. Take care of these losers while I go inform Mystique of what's going on. She's gonna want to hear this."
Terrence took a step back and was already running down the hall when Lance shot over his shoulder "You're just scared to fight these guys!"
Terrence kept running, but the Brotherhood all laughed before charging forward to do their respective thing. Break stuff. Crystal hung back from the other three, catching Kurt's eye before he teleported over to confront her.
"You're that girl from school that Luke hangs around with, ja? Would you know why he's here? And what are you guys doing here? We shouldn't even be fighting."
Crystal ignored the blue elf and concentrated on growing crystals off of the wall Kurt was hanging off of. He leapt away before she could snag him, teleporting mid air and reappearing in a tackle that knocked her flat and let him pin her.
"You don't have to do this. We aren't trying to be your enemies. I just want to know if you know where Luke is!"
The barrage of questionings about the boy she was still so confused about just made Amanda angrier and desperate, so in response to the talking, she grew crystals from the floor that slammed Kurt off of her and put her back on the defensive.
The three guys of the Brotherhood were already attacking the other X-men, with Blob trying to boulder through everything, Toad tried to annoy everyone, and Lance shook things with his powers. Cyclops let Jean lift him telekinetically to prevent any damage from Lance's earthquake and took aim at the stubby legs that Fred had. Firing a steady shot, he tripped the large teen, who fell face-first and began to roll, aided by Lance causing tremors to boost him down the hall.
Kitty phased out of the way and grabbed Toad by surprise, turning him intangible until they were going full speed into a wall, leaving the twit moaning on the floor. Scott and Jean, on the other hand, had to deal with the mad wrecking ball that was now the Blob. Cyclops fired a high powered beam in a wide spread, catching the Blob full on but hardly slowing him. Jean began pressing against him with her mind, but it was to no avail. As the ball of flesh came closer, Cyclops frantically shouted "Up! Lift him up!"
Jean complied and picked the rolling form of Fred up, easier than expected due to his momentum. But once in the air, he lost that momentum and became all the more easily blasted back by Cyclops into Avalanche. The two teens were both out, Lance from the crushing weight, and Fred from the disorientation. Crystal heard her teammates go down and turned to run, making tracks down the hallway she had come from. Kitty took pursuit, hollering "Get her! She has to know where Luke is! If the Brotherhood is here then that means that they kidnapped him and brought him here too."
The other three X-men looked at each other and looked at the defeated mutants lying around the hallway before chasing after their teammates. After all, if they had beaten those guys, they would give up, right?
With Wolverine
The lone Canadian mutant had followed the scent left behind by the people at the door, oblivious to whether or not his students followed him. It was probably best they didn't. He had past two dead guards and a scientist in the halls. The kids would've been sick looking at it. Logan didn't have those qualms as he looked over the fatal wounds that each one had obtained. They were bleeding from a small hole in the head, the diameter the size of his pinky finger. It gave Wolverine the notion that the mutants were using guns. That was fine, as bullets practically bounced off of him and he had been shot many times in his life. He was all but used to the amount of pain that came with gun shot wounds. So when he finally caught the back end of the group, it surprised him when one member turned and cocked his hand back like a gun.
Instantly, the impact caused him to nearly spin completely in a circle as he started bleeding from his left arm. Wolverine glanced at it and watched as his healing factor pushed something white back out of his skin and it fell to the floor with a clatter. Looking up, he saw the grim expression on the shooter's face and the smoking tip of his finger.
"Hold on a second before you shoot more of those bones. I just want to ask a couple of questions."
Logan had held his hands up in the air at this, but internally he was ready to tear the group apart. A few guys in their early twenties, a little girl, and a mysteriously cloaked figure, obviously the leader. Nothing he couldn't handle. The figure in the cloak called out his order "Someone go deal with this fool since Snipe here is incapable of putting the beast down."
The largest of the group, a red head, stepped out but a scrawny Asian boy raced out in front of him, hollering "You guys go on without me. We're done being sneaky anyways. This guys all mine."
Logan snarled and was ready to make the punk in front of him eat his words when he saw the hallway in front of him go blank. Everyone disappeared.
"Get out of my head! You won't like what you'll find in there."
Still no one appeared back in his vision. In fact, nothing happed at all.
"I'm not in your head. I'm giving you a glimpse of mine."
Logan sprang away from the voice that had just whispered in his ear, claws out as a deterrent and to shish kebab the speaker. There wasn't a single person in the hallway, or at least one he could see. One strong sniff from his nose told him that someone was still there, but no location.
A twinkling in the corner of his peripherals caused the man to turn, prepared to strike, only to be kicked solidly in his back. Tumbling forward and crashing into the wall, Wolverine pushed himself off of it to lash out in the general area he was attacked from. Nothing was there.
"Where are you? Turning yourself invisible won't keep you safe forever! And when I find you…" Wolverine let his threat hang, his claws more than enough indication as to the fate of their victim. But unfortunately for the man, the threat wasn't enough.
A mocking laugh came from in front of him, indiscernible in origin. "You fool. By now you should realize that you'll only find what I want you to find. You'll see as I see fit. And for now, I think I'll leave you to wander in darkness."
Before Wolverine could act upon the last statement, darkness erupted and overtook his vision. He couldn't make out a single thing in front of him. There was simply nothing there. He closed his now useless eyes and began concentrating on his other two senses. He couldn't sniff the mutant out; there was no distinct smell to follow him with. And the brat must've been trained on how to move quietly, because Wolverine couldn't hear the slightest of ruffles from clothes or footsteps. How was he going to fight this guy if he couldn't locate him?
Looking at his now blind opponent made the antagonistic mutant want to laugh. Did this brute not realize how silly he looked with his eyes closed and a constipated look on his face? It was his life's greatest pleasure to make people look stupid or confused, but doing it to other mutants was his personal favorite. He enjoyed it so much that for a solid month he had maintained the illusion that Fissure was actually a woman the age of 74 and 400 pounds heavier. The looks on everyone's face after they figured it out was priceless. He hadn't come up with any elaborate schemes since then, but he had time. The boss would never disassemble a dream team like this. If only he could take one of the boys running around this base back into the fold. Either Terrence or Luke would be suitable, but neither had been offered a slot on the roster. How disappointing. Those two had the potential to tear guys like this apart. Whether or not they had the heart or the meddle to was the real question.
So now he was going to leave this clawed man, enraptured as he was by the optic illusions woven over him. When he finally does reopen his eyes, for he most certainly would, he would find himself without hope. 3 layers of trickery had been placed on the man, each one closer and closer to reality. The closer the illusion comes to reality, the harder it is for the mind to break. And for such a weak mind like this, it would take days, if not weeks. After all, he had caused a person to live the rest of their lives under his illusion's influence. This man would be so lost he could never pose a threat to any operations left to perform here.
So the scouting member of the infiltrating mutants left without a sound, trekking towards the place he was positive he could reconnect with his group.
Dr. Gage's Observatory Chambers
"Where are they? I sent them out to find a single escaped mutant nearly an hour ago! But not a single one of them have shown up on the cameras I have access to, not has a single guard responded to my messages. These Brotherhood characters are beginning to be more troublesome than they're worth."
"I'd agree to that any day."
From behind her glasses, the doctor's eyes focused back on her subject of science, as well as her subject of despise. He was awake again, after recuperating from the painful backlash his powers came with. Good. Now she could begin with the next phase of testing. Leaving her chair and entering the room her prisoner was in, she called out "Good to see you're awake, sleeping beauty. I thought you were going to sleep for another hour or so. You were snoring pretty hard in that rock."
"You wouldn't believe how bad this thing is for your neck. You've gotta to try it sometime. Maybe Crystal will slip up and leave you fully entombed to die like the monster you are!"
"Someone woke up a little cranky today. Is it because I didn't read you a bedtime story like mommy always did?"
"Bite me."
Her test subject was certainly acting up right now. Maybe the pain had rattled his cage a little. It didn't matter. She just needed to be cautious with him. Who knows what he would do to her if given the chance? Digging into her lab pocket, she pulled out her next test drug. Muscle relaxers. If Mystique wasn't lying, then this would render Luke all but useless. It was definitely worth looking into. The pharmacy here didn't have much in the form of medicine, but what she had found would be more than enough to prove her theory.
Standing in front of her 'patient', she popped the lid off of the dispenser and poured two out. Luke's eyes followed and a quick twitch of the nose caused the two pills to go flying out of her hands to the ground.
"Real mature. But if you catch an infection for taking pills off the floor, it's on your head."
Bending over two grab the two tablets, she was rewarded with an omnipresent push forward that sent her flat on her face.
"Great view from here, Doc. You should offer this course of treatment to all of you patients."
Her test subject was bleeding from both the nose and the mouth, but he didn't care. He was overjoyed with his petty revenge. Once she steadied herself once again on her own two feet, she pried open his mouth of force fed him the two pills. Pushing on his throat, she made sure he swallowed. Stepping back, she gave the medicine time to work and made her comeback recovery.
"Were you trying to suck my fingers just then? I know 15's a hard age to go through and in a way I'm flattered, but-"
"But you should stop before you say anything else. You know as well as I do that I would verbally butcher you in the conversation that would follow. So just scram on back to your creepy stalker room and take some more notes, nerd. You should be flattered too, because a woman as crazy as you will never, and I mean never, ever get hooked up. Capturing young boys in tombs of rock is the closest you'll get to a man for a long while, honey. Soak it up."
Tossing her hair over her shoulder and walking away from the verbal trouncing she had just received, she had almost made it out of the room when she noticed her test subject go loose. He was still held in place inside the crystal prison, but he was noticeably strung out. And at the same time, the door leading back to the observation room fell apart in two perfectly even pieces. Before she could question it, a man stepped out of the doorway, dressed in black pants and a red hoodie, pointed his finger at her, then everything stopped as her chest erupted in white hot pain. She collapsed on the floor, hand clutched around her new wound above the sternum.
From the floor, she watched as others moved into the room. One took a look at her and questioned "Should we finish her off, boss? It seems like Snipe isn't on his A-game today and didn't kill her in one."
She could no longer see who answered, but it sounded like a man. "No, let her suffer and bleed out. A scientist like her who's willing to cut us apart in search of an answer she will never understand does not deserve mercy."
Things were beginning to fade from her vision. The blood loss was taking its toll and she wouldn't live much longer at this rate. And in the face of pain like what she had, she was fine with that. They could have her test subject, her research, and her life's work. As long as the pain stopped and her files finished transferring to her benefactor's mainframe like they should be doing at that moment.
She watched as through a blurry haze as the pink hue of shape she knew to be crystal fall and shatter on the floor, along with the mutant she knew to be Luke fall with it. Two figures, probably male, picked the teen up and hoisted him off the ground. The group began to trudge on out, not saying a word as a woman was left dying on the floor.
Hallway outside Observatory Chamber
As boss of such an efficient and deadly team of mutants that listed among the top inside the Network, the man cloaked in black had to be a terribly powerful and unmoral person. Part of the rumors spread about him, some he leaked himself, told of how he would leave people just enough alive to use them as his own puppets. These rumors, along with the uncanny talent he had with directing teams and squads of underground mutants, led to his moniker of the Director. He was proud of it. But at moments like now, he had to seriously question why he was so proud of controlling the idiots he as surrounded by.
"You left him alone, without any harm done to him, and with no useful way to take him out later should the man ever wake up from your little spell. Oh, how you disappoint me, Genkaku. I left you behind with the assurance that you would either leave that man a pile of cooling flesh or crying in a corner hyperventilating. You have failed to meet either of those options. Next time, let Fissure handle it."
"Oh, don't sweat it boss. We got one of the targets, the crazy doctor lady is dead, and we know our other target is gonna come after us as long as we have that lump."
Genkaku played off his lecture, patting Luke on the head like a confused puppy. The brightly dressed mutant then continued on with "That man won't be a bother to us at all. Unless someone else knock him for a loop, he'll be thinking we're somewhere in Canada. Or maybe he'll take a left and walk himself right back outside the base. He's a goner by now, boss man."
"You'd better hope so."
The Director continued down the hallway, heading back towards the main entrance. There were bound to be other mutants pouring in and out of the place by now. He needed to keep an eye on that to make sure his second target didn't slip away.
With Xavier
After tracking his team telepathically, Xavier and Storm had found Wolverine, curled in a ball on the floor with his eyes closed. It was an odd sight, for sure, but the two knew just how serious the situation was. Storm used her communicator built into her suit to contact the others, while Xavier merely called out to his old friend telepathically.
'Logan, I'm here. What is going on?'
'There's something in my head, Charles. I can feel it. There was this mutant who was changing what I saw. He was showing me things that weren't real and hiding what was. I can't tell the truth anymore. You've got to fix me.'
'Give me a moment and stay calm.'
Xavier had cleared many minds before of clouded thoughts, insane ideas, and even of embarrassing facts about him, but illusions was something he had never had the experience of clearing out. It took an understanding of the illusion that often put the telepath at risk of falling under the same illusion if they weren't strong enough. Charles felt around in Logan's psyche, feeling the foreign presence tugging at his optic senses. It was washed away in seconds, a testament to the power behind Charles Xavier's mind.
Now that Wolverine was cured and the others were on their way, Xavier searched for other presences with his mind. He could feel the frantic thoughts of Amanda as she ran through the hallways. He could sense how badly Kitty still wanted to chase her. He was faintly aware of Mystique, as well as two other people with her. A group of six was felt heading towards them, and more importantly, the entrance. And at the tip of his psychic senses he could feel two minds departing at a rapid pace, both clouded heavily with interference to prevent telepaths from delving any further than he had. The interference that stopped him was familiar enough for the man to deduce just who he felt.
Magneto had left with another. That left Mystique and her Brotherhood, who were now recovering and making plans to head towards the entrance. Mystique was proud of herself. She had accomplished her goals of destroying the files on every computer in the building's system and setting up the perfect scenario for Magneto to recruit a new mutant from. DJ had been tricked, it seemed.
Xavier stopped his mental delving suddenly, feeling the presence of another mental body pressing against his own. Defensively, he pressed back, only to find himself unopposed. It was if the mind he had encountered was water. It had merely flowed around his mental push, as if there was nothing solid tying the mind down. As if the mind were truly separate from the body. Astounding. And then the mind vanished.
Xavier was brought out of his revelation by the arrival of his students. Scott reported on what they had done, even though Xavier had already learned of most of it. The victory over the Brotherhood was a highlight to just how disciplined and trained his students had become. It made him proud. But now they were going to fight again, against tougher adversaries. Mutant who had proven their power and their lack of morals to restrain such powers. Such people would be incredibly dangerous to his X-men in any form of combat, which Xavier was positive would occur if Logan's encounter was anything to go by. Unless…
Reaching out as far as he dared with another mental body out there, Xavier tapped onto Mystique's mind. Overcoming the woman's natural thought process, he ordered her to order the two with her to come with her and help. The trio caught up with Crystal as well, who followed along the orders too. Despite his distaste for things like that, Charles knew the risk that his team would be facing against the 6 mutants ahead of them. They would kill without hindrance, and Xavier could not simply let his team take that risk without the proper back-up. Mystique would've tried attacking these mutants anyway, it might as well of been synchronized with Xavier's attack, right?
Mystique would attack with her three from behind, letting Xavier's team attack a divided team. It had a much greater favor for everyone this way.
So when the group of Network mutants marched around the corner, Xavier already had his team prepared for war. Scott and Jean had been told telepathically who they would be concerned with. The illusionist. Storm would be taking the girl, who was probably very powerful is she was that young and still with a covert team. Mystique would deal with the one who had shot Logan. Terrence and Crystal would be ordered to attack the red head. Wolverine would be with him for protection as he took on the mentalist of the team, leaving Kitty and Kurt to take care of last mutant, who was no recognizable as Luke.
The mutant of mention didn't look to good at the moment, and the two men carrying him simply set him aside in the hallway. About that time, Mystique had arrived with his reinforcements, none the wiser of her decision being entirely Xavier's choice. Wordlessly, the mutants all squared off against their selected targets and the fighting began as soon as Xavier and the other mind clashed.
It was over quickly. The man in a black cloak simply stood there and began trying to constrict Xavier mentally while his team was divided around him. He didn't care. Nothing would ever hurt him himself. The two began to fight on a level higher than anyone around them understood. Neither side could gain leeway, as Xavier was much more powerful than the Director, but the Director was impossible to assault mentally it seemed. The two were tied as the others began fights of their own.
Fissure was being hard pressed by the barrage of fists and kicks thrown his way, each one with enough force to break his bones if the wind coming off of them was anything to go by. He avoided every one and couldn't dare try to counter and cut the limbs off, because he was constantly jumping around to avoid the spires of crystal formations growing around him that looked sharp enough to skewer him through. He was being boxed in and he knew it, but he didn't have the time to cut either the crystals or the teen attacking him. With every missed attack, Terrence would rebound off of the walls, floor, or even the crystal pillars to speed himself up. Hard pressed, he met his end when a crystal tripped him and a stomp to the head rendered the agent unconscious.
Snipe was firing his finger bullets wildly, unable to hit his target who changed for every time he got a clear shot. It was absurd how crafty the shape-shifter was. From a raven that shed many feathers, to a snake, to a person, Mystique proved impossible for him to hit, even with his enhanced vision. After dodging his last bullet with an acrobatic flip, she quickly went from her handspring to a sharp kick to his head, followed by repeated kicks that left the sniper knocked out on the floor.
Rift was having better luck, as nothing was reaching her. Lightning and rain all vanished into the abyss of her left hand, leaving behind a girl perfectly unharmed. Every weather element thrown at the child merely gravitated towards her open palm and vanished. But the weather witch in front of the child was also unhurt by anything that Rift projected back out with her right hand. A gale of wind protected the white-haired woman from all the things shot out of Rift's pocket dimension. Random items, like rocks, a hammer, lightning and hail from Storm's earlier attacks, and other little household things. The two were stuck in a stalemate. Storm couldn't use her wind anymore than she was without possibly hurting her friends and Rift couldn't shoot anything she had inside her pocket dimension hard enough that the wind wouldn't stop it.
Genkaku had been walloped by the astounding teamwork between the two red head X-men. Jean protected Scott from any illusions with her developing telepathy while he made the shot with his optic beam. Caught off guard by his failure to capture them both in an illusion, the mutant didn't dodge in time. The scrawny man was thrown into the wall and slide to the floor, completely incapacitated. Piece of cake.
Luke had been carried out of harm's way by Kitty, then teleported to the Blackbird by Kurt, who was preparing it for an emergency exit with Kitty. Nothing was left for Xavier except to leave. And he had the perfect way to do so.
"Rouge, if you would be so kind."
Rouge had been with Mystique the entire time they had been in the labs. She had followed the woman silently, staying out of the fighting she felt she had no part in. But when Xavier asked, she stepped in with her gloveless hand and tapped the cloaked man on the side of his face, causing him to fall over in a slump. She shivered from the contact, but otherwise seemed unaffected by the power she had just drained.
"Thank you. Now X-men, let's get out of here."
As Mystique left to gather her defeated boys before leaving herself and Rift began to tend to her fallen team, the X-men left the labs with their heads held high. They had succeeded in every way that mattered. No one they knew had died, the files were destroyed, and Luke had been found. Things were good.
As Xavier rolled back into the plane and strapped himself in, he looked over to Luke, who was laying flat on his back in the floor. The teen ignored the odd look and simply said "By the time this stuff wears off and I can walk again, I want at least an hour to myself to go visit McDonald's. I haven't eaten in what feels like forever!"
Smiling, Xavier nodded his consent and looked forward to going home with his X-men. He could sort out all the questions later. For now, the bald man just wanted to enjoy their success.
AN: What's there left to say, guys? No one reads these author's notes anyways. Maybe it's because I complain too much? Next chapter will be wrapping up this little side event and focus back in on the cannon plotline. From there, I doubt I'll stray too much from the plot until the second season starts. Here's hoping. I know I didn't feed you guys much info on my Network mutants, but until we hit a part where they become a constant relevancy with the story, I'm not gonna bog you guys down with remembering all the little things that make all of them cool. So in order to do that, I had to make the fights short and lame. I hated that. I'm sure you guys do too.
Chapter title goes to the greatest hits CD Eminem made after Encore. Characters are all mine, even if they are based loosely off of other things. My Beta might have fixed this chapter. I'm not sure yet because he doesn't have the time to help beta my work anymore. Apparently he's to busy being done with school and taking cat naps for several hours at a time. He's about as useful as a lighter is putting out fires. Either way, Big Willis, out.