Chapter 18: The Battle on Hana
"STRIPES!" Logan lunged at the guard taking out two others on his way. When he reached the guard that had taken out Rogue he took a swipe at him with his claws. The guard swung to the right and grabbed Logan's arm twisting it back. The guard then proceeded to jump up kicking Logan in his lower back. Logan howled in pain, "Ah! Wait a minute, I know these moves. Why'd you do it?"
They continued to wrestle. "I can't bring her in unmarked."
Logan took a swing at Mystique. "Why not? For all we know she has a bloody concussion because of you!" He retracted his claws to fight better hand to hand combat without killing their only means of entry.
"She's seen worse in her day Logan, believe me. Besides, what did you expect me to do?" She gave him a kick to the stomach. Logan grunted. "I can't just walk in looking like she…" Logan gave her a blow to the chest. Mystique stumbled back but caught her breath quicker than a normal person would. "Hadn't put up a fight? They would of caught on."
Logan saw another guard coming and looked at Mystique (or guard M. Rage) and said, "Fine, do what you have to and I'll get rid of the others. Make sure you try to wake her up though before you go down the stairs."
M. Rage rolled his eyes, "Really, I didn't know that." She gave Logan one last kick to the chest and then ran over to Rogue. She dragged her over to the side of the building and cuffed her hands behind her back. "Rogue, wake up!" Rogue didn't answer so Mystique went back to fighting the X-Men. She let her fighting skills be known so she was not slashed, iced or blown away.
Against the wall Rogue moaned. Her head was killing her. 'Damn it Mystique! Why the hell couldn't she of just kicked her in the gut or something?' Logan heard Rogue's moan and saw her eyes flutter open a little bit. "Any time now Rage, she's set to go!"
Mystique hit Bobby behind the knees and said, "I'm taking Rogue in." Bobby understood and stayed down letting M. Rage through to the building.
Once she got to the building she hauled Rogue to her feet. "I hope you can walk because we are going to head down the stairs."
Rogue groaned, "You couldn't have just knocked the wind out of me or something."
M. Rage opened the door. "Who says that isn't going to happen?" Rogue glared as she was led down the stairs. Mystique couldn't see it but she could sense it. 'Good, an angry face. All the better for this entry'
Rogue was trying to wrap her head around the mission. This was not so easy after being knocked out but she retrieved enough pieces to put it back together. 'Computer system, Kitty, Creed, drug, base.' When they had gotten to the bottom of the stairs she felt Mystique guide her to the right and they headed down a long hall. Rogue scanned the labels on the doors that they passed 'G1, G2, and G3.' Underground garages maybe? 'Door 4 & 5 unmarked' Rogue stopped moving and took a step back knocking purposely into Rage. Door six was labeled Power.
"Keep that in mind, now keep moving," Mystique whispered. Rogue kept walking down the hall until they came to a fork in the hall. They could either go left or right. They could hear voices coming from the left so Mystique yanked Rogue away from the centre.
"Sir, I am telling you that we have been receiving fewer and fewer orders. Mutants just aren't buying it any more. Maybe a new form of advertisement is needed." The voice was unknown to the two in the main hall.
"No, that add was perfect! They believed that we wanted to help them. Those stupid, sickening, plagued creatures! They need to be eliminated Jake." This voice however was very well known, Creed. 'Well shit!' Both Rogue and Mystique were thinking along the same line, for once. Neither one of them had expected to run into Creed so soon.
"I agree sir; they shouldn't be among 'normal' humans."
"They are not humans Jake, they are animals! Monsters! A disease and therefore must die!" Grayton Creed was on one of his anti-mutant rants and this Jake was getting to hear it all.
"Well sir, what do you suggest? I have over 50 packages in storage room A and 100 in storage room B. Each package, as you know contains 1000 boxes of them drug. That doesn't include the drugs being created in the labs as we speak. That is enough for 150,000 mutants' sir; and I don't even have 30,000 orders yet. If we don't sell it soon you are out hundreds of thousands of dollars, not to mention the drug will go to waste. We tried to tell you that it is only good for up to two years and then seems to have no effect."
"Shut up, just shut up. Tell me something, what caused our security system to shut off?"
Jake looked at Creed, "I don't know sir; I am a lab technician, not one of your guards or computer technicians."
As the men argued Mystique led Rogue back down the hall and then swiped a key card in door four. She shut the door and grabbed the communicator. "Shadowcat, down the stairs to the right, the sixth door, it is labeled Power. We can't see inside any of the doors. They are all metal. We hope that is the main system."
"Copy that!" Kitty yelled over to Logan, "I'm gone, door six." With that she phased through the main door and the stairs. When she came to the bottom she took the right and headed for the main power. She stuck her head through the door only to find back-up generators. 'Well like shoot, this is not it at all.' She phased all the way through and grabbed her communicator. "This isn't the room. I just have generators, no computer systems. Where are you?"
They sighed, "Door four," Mystique told her. "Stay there. Rogue and I are going to take a stroll. Creed is at the end of the hall on the left."
Rogue glared at her, "What are you insane?"
"No, but I would like to find the main computer system and Creed knows someone has broken in, so why don't we and greet him."
Rogue sighed. She had known going in as bait was going to be rough, she just hadn't expected it to be happening the way it was going. "Let's go."
They walked back down the hall but this time rounded the corner to face Creed and Jake. "Sir, I think I've found the problem." Creed looked up and gave Rogue a disgusted sickening look. Mystique continued, "I caught her trying to get in the main doors."
Creed walked over to Rogue looking her over. "I remember you," he said.
"Awe gee I'm flattered," Rogue replied. Creed motioned for Rage to strike. He took out his beater walked in front of Rogue and struck her in the stomach. Rogue fell to her knees the air knocked out of her.
Creed looked down at her and she raised her head to glare right back at him. "Where are they freak?" Creed asked her.
Rogue decided to play dumb, "Who?" 'Man was she toast. She would be lucky if she made it down to the labs.'
Creed grabbed Rogue from under one arm and hauled her to her feet. He held her up looking into her face. "Your team," he hissed. She just stared at him. "Tell me where your freaky team of mutant scum are, Rogue!" 'Uh oh, he really did recognize her. She had to think fast.'
"They ain't here," she lied.
"Then who the hell are my men fighting?"
"Ah don' know. Ah came on mah own. Ah needed t' see the drug firs' hand. Does it actually work?"
She started to throw him off but then he composed himself back to his sour anti-mutant self. "Why do you care? You are an X-Man. A freak of nature, you fight to protect other monsterus diseased beings such as yourself."
Rogue and Mystique hated every word coming out of his mouth, but they played their rolls almost flawlessly. "Ah don' want t' be a freak any more! Ah'm tired o' livin' in a house where nobody likes meh. There all scared o' meh or hate meh."
Creed looked at Rogue. "Why didn't you just order it then?" 'I want the truth out of this monstrosity.'
"Oh ya, 'cause that wouldn't look suspicious or nothin'. An anti-mutant drug comin' t' a home for' mutants."
Creed laughed, "Why not another address?"
'God this game was tiring.' "Ah ain't got one."
"How did you find my base? It is invisible to all, and yet here you are breaking and entering, and by the looks of it putting up quite a fight to get in." He nodded towards her bleeding head. "Why are you really here and where is the rest of your team!" Creed was starting to raise his voice.
Rogue shifted to stand taller. "Well that's a lot o' questions Creed. What one d' ya want meh t' answer first?"
Creed motioned to the wall and Rogue was tossed and pinned against it, her handcuffs dug into her wrists. She winced slightly. Creed walked over to her again. "One, how did you find me?"
'No point in lying any more. He was seeing right through her.' "Ah do mah homework when it comes to scum like you!"
'He knew he would break her. When he was done with her she and all her freaky friends would be dead and the FOH would finally have won. There would be no X-Men to protect mutants and they would all perish.' "Two, why are you really here mutant?"
"T' stop ya from killin' more mutants!"
"Three, WHERE IS THE REST OF YOUR TEAM!"
"Ah don' know." Rogue said coolly.
Creed grabbed Rogue out of Rage's hold and turned her towards the door. He then shoved Rogue back into Mystique's grasp. "Then I guess we will have to find them," and with that Creed led the way down to the Security Room.