Down below Emma could hear the sounds of battle. One of her penthouses was located in the Hellfire club so she could be near the action when something important was happening. Right now was one of those occasions. It was the Black Cardinal and Rook vs. the Black King and Queen. So far she didn't know who was winning.

The canisters of cosmic energy had been delivered that afternoon. She kept an eye on that and had left before anything could be done with them. Although the battle was on the other side of the board the members of the Hellfire club were opportunists. If they had the chance to kill the White Queen and assume her place in the confusion then they would.

That was why she sat in diamond form in her rooms. Guards were posted outside of her door, but she didn't think they would last too long. One day she was going to good bodyguards. Emma was a weapon, and a dangerous one, but it would be nice to have someone competent watching her back.

Bored she clicked her fingers together and watched the lights dance. The fight should go on for several more hours. Then she would be either welcoming Jason or killing off his faction. If she had to kill off his faction then she could end up damaging her power base forever. Emma Frost had decided to do something despite the White Queen's disapproval.

One way or another she was going to have to look her most regal; like someone who couldn't be questioned. She got up and went to her closet, rifling through potential outfits. As she did she wondered just where they had gotten so much cosmic energy in the first place.

They'd put him in the machine again that day. Alex could feel the pain as the wounds enlarged. They weren't bleeding, but he was sure the minute he did something strenuous they would. He'd counted them. There were three in his chest and four in each of his arms. His legs only had two each.

He pushed himself into a sitting position on his cot. Beneath the pain he could feel a semblance of the energy that had been with him his whole life. Without the chest plate it might be hard to control, but he was sure he could do it. And it had to be today. Another day and he had the feeling he was going to die. Now he just had to wait for that stupid slop they intended to feed him.

Alex heard footsteps in the hall. He got up and stood next to the door, flattening himself up against the wall. The door swung inward, but it swung on the other side. They might have thought he'd be too weak to try anything, but he was an X-man. X-men were tough and hard to kill. They were about to find that out.

The door opened and Alex barreled into the guard. The tray flew into the air, food going everywhere. To his surprise he saw that there was another guard with the first one. Alex reasoned that he was probably there to give Lorna her food. He dropped his tray and started fumbling for his dart gun.

Grabbing the dropped tray Alex hit him in the head with it. More food went into the air, followed by blood. He sidestepped the guard who went for his foot and stepped back. His missions with the X-men and the occasional prison fight had given him good preparation for fighting under stress. If this wasn't stress then he didn't know what it was.

"Both of you better run," he warned them.

The first guard went for his dart gun while the other one got to his feet.

"That's the way it's going to be?" snapped Alex, "Fine."

Summoning his strength he blasted both of them. Some of it went into the walls but enough of it got the guards. To his surprise he found it was stronger this time; possibly because of his anger. Maybe Erik was onto something with that. There was a sizzling noise but he ignored it. Walking to the guards he searched the charred bodies for key cards. He gathered them all up and went to Lorna's door.

One by one he tried them out. Finally the door opened and he stumbled in. The room was much like his, except there was no machine or metal. Instead there was just a cot Lorna lay on, unconscious or asleep. It was a hastily improvised table and he knew they were scared of what she could do with metal now. They must have amped up her drugs and tranquilizers pretty high.

He could see things cords hanging from the ceiling. From the marks on her bare arms he figured that they attached there. That must have been what Martinique had been using to torture her. Alex couldn't make out anything else.

Hobbling over he shook her. Lorna's eyes opened and she pushed herself up.

"Alex?"

"Yeah," he said, "We gotta get out of here-"

He was cut off when Lorna grabbed his head and smashed his lips into hers. Alex's eyes widened. All of their kisses had been gentle things; most initiated by him. This one clicked their teeth together and felt like he was being eaten. If they weren't trying to escape then he'd definitely explore this a little more.

They parted, gasping.

"Happy to see me?" he asked.

"What do you think?" she countered, sliding off the table.

Alex grinned and held up his pass cards.

"I have a couple of these, and I think power for a few more blasts. Not many though," he said, "So far I haven't tripped the alarm, but I don't think that's going to last. We have to get out of here, but I don't know where we're going."

"We'll just have to be extra careful then," Lorna said, peering out the door to her room, "I can use my powers too, but I'm not in the best condition."

One of her hands had rested on the doorframe for support. Neither of them were running at full power.

"They might have mutants working for them too, whoever these people are," said Alex, "She mentioned Stryker, but I don't think she really works for him."

"Let's just concentrate on getting out," Lorna said.

He joined her at the door frame. No guards had come looking for the first two so they headed down the corridor. There was only one door out and Alex tried the pass cards again. One worked and they slipped out of the door and into a staircase. A few signs pointed up and down the stairs, saying things like lab, cafeteria, transmission, office, testing.

"The cafeteria's probably our best shot," said Alex, "I can't imagine them keeping the cafeteria too far from the exit. And I haven't seen any windows, so we might be underground. In that case up is best."

"No, we have to go down," Lorna argued.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"The transmission room," she said, "I bet you can transmit signals. Moira's been teaching me Morse code."

"Which means...?"

"I could get a message out and they could track the signal and find us," said Lorna, "It's worth a try. I mean, we don't know where we are and we have no money. Not to mention we're not in the best shape. Face it; we're going to need a ride out of here."

Alex nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

They crept down the stairs. He tried the pass key on the door and it opened. There was no one in the hallway but they could hear movement inside the rooms. Both of them kept low, trying not to attract attention. When they found the room marked 'transmission' they flung the door open.

The two scientists inside looked at them with surprise. Before they had time to press anything their metal chairs and wrapped around them, pinning them in place. Metal melded over their mouths and stuck them into place. Alex shut the door and looked at Lorna, who was panting heavily. They couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Flashing lights covered the entire room as well as buttons and switches. Lorna limped to the keyboard and cracked her knuckles. Her eyes swept over the control board. Pursing her lips she started tapping away on buttons and adjusting a dial. Her eyes scanned it again and then pressed a button.

"I've sent a message," she said, "Even commercial airlines are going to pick up on it. They won't understand it, but if the rest are anywhere in the area they'll know what it means. And I'm sure they're looking for us."

"Definitely," Alex replied.

She opened her mouth but a crash made them look around. One of the scientists had thrown themselves at the alarm button. A siren sounded and red lights flashed.

"God damn it!" snapped Alex.

He grabbed Lorna's hand and they hurried into the hall. On the way out he kicked the scientist in the head. People were pouring out into the hallway, pointing at the two of them and screaming. Soldiers were coming down the stairs too. Lorna waved her arm and their guns flew out of their hands. He supplemented her attack wiht a blast from his chest and the soldiers went down.

More screams echoed as scientists cowered in their rooms. Some were even crying and blubbering. He felt a surge of anger. These were the people who had hooked him up to a machine and tried to drain him. After that they had the nerve to start acting like they were frail and helpless? It made his blood boil.

Alex felt like menacing them a bit, but even through his anger he knew they didn't have the time or power for that. Together they walked over the soldiers, heading up the stairs. All around them the lights were still flashing and the siren had somehow gotten louder. Footsteps stomped on the floors above them. Neither of them knew where they were going. The only thing they knew was that they had to keep moving.