Scene Thirteen
Vixen used her predatory nose and hearing to find Beast without too much effort. She and Mac entered the storeroom that was Hank McCoy's cell to see him all but hanging by his shackles. Nevertheless, the blue furry mutant smiled at his rescuers, knowing the white tiger without introduction. Mac was fast enough to find the key to the restraints on the bunch he had taken and free Beast.
Beast, meet Mac Taylor. Mac, this is Hank McCoy, aka Beast.
"Pleasure." Mac grunted as he freed Hank's other wrist so that he was completely free. Beast massaged his wrists, and then stretched out his back.
"Oh my, that feels good." He turned to Vixen in distress. "We have to destroy everything they have here before we leave. They know too much..."
Easy, my friend, we will deal with it all. Can you help?
"As Shakespeare said in Julius Caesar "Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war..."" Beast smiled "or as they say today, "lemme at it!"
Vixen laughed at her friend's manner, even as they were both shocked to hear Mac mutter "Act three, scene one." She turned on her heel and exited the room again, letting Beast slip past her to lead the way. Mac kept his position at the rear of the group, glancing back behind them every so often. They walked for a couple of minutes, Beast leading them unerringly toward the lab where he had been working.
Both Vixen and Mac were impressed by the equipment that Beast had had on hand to use in the creation of the mutation enhancer that Magneto and his team wanted. Both regretted but understood the need to destroy it. Before they did so, Beast checked that all his notes were present. "Of course," he admitted dully, "I can't advise you as to whether they have copies of them. If I was holding me, I'd have duplicated everything."
We'll never be sure of that, Hank. But reason says they'll never understand your scrawl. Vixen almost giggled her agreement. So, fire? Chemical explosion?
"Both." Mac smiled, catching Beast's eye and the two of them went to work, Vixen keeping an eye and an ear out for trouble. Mac put his years of Marine training and chemistry lessons to work, building a small but powerful incendiary device, Beast setting tinder ready to blow the whole lot. He used his notes to do so.
Mac and Beast retreated to the door and stood admiring their work. Out in the corridor, Vixen tensed, her nose going up and inhaling deeply. She had no time to warn her comrades as she was thrown down the corridor by a snarling Sabretooth The feral mutant dug his claws into her side with a vengeance, he owed her these blows for battles past, and just as he pulled his claws out to stab them in again, three shots rang out in quick succession. The bullets from Mac's gun struck Sabretooth in the back of the head, the shoulder and the nape of his neck. He fell forward onto Vixen's tiger body, causing her to yelp in pain. Beast and Mac hurried to pull Sabretooth off Vixen, who had unintentionally morphed back into her human state. She was as pale as a ghost, her hands clutching her side. She looked up at Mac, and tried to move.
"He'll heal, and quickly." She nodded at the beast-like man at her side. "We need to get out of here!"
"He'll recover?" Mac blanched, remembering Wolverine doing the same.
"Yes." Beast scooped Vixen up into his arms.
"No, Hank, you'll need to set the fire. Mac?"
Mac ducked under Ilehana's outstretched arm, taking most of her weight and dragging her away from the lab. As they drew closer to the main battle area, Mac and Vixen could hear it still going on behind the doors; although to Mac it sounded tamer that before. Beast waited until they were closing in on the warehouse space, keeping a watchful eye on the prone Sabretooth. When Vixen gave him the telepathic nod, Beast set the fire and bounded down the corridor on all fours. All three both felt and heard the lab go up in flames, the vibrations running through the walls, ceiling and floor. Whether it was deafness from the explosion, or their own shock at the sound, all the sounds of the battle in the open space next door stopped.
Vixen listened to the thoughts of those next door to us, and as Wolverine felt her presence brush her mind, he gave her a blow by blow account of what had happened since she had left. After Magneto had pinned him, Cyclops had finally got a hit square on Magneto, the Master of Magnetism knocked off his feet by the blow – "huh, about time Bub." Wolverine had commented grumpily. Sabretooth had disappeared, Toad had hit Storm with a glob of toxic venom, she'd had to suffer Cyclops burning the stuff from her skin; she was in pain but still on her feet. Toad had scarpered in the chaos that followed; Wolverine couldn't understand why the little runt hadn't hopped away sooner. Pyro had come to and tried to cause more trouble, but Jean had him pinned with her telekinesis. No sign of Mystique, but they were thinking of going after Toad...
Slow down, Logan. Vixen begged wearily. She was losing blood and Logan's run down was making her dizzy. Forget Toad, he's a pest, nothing more. Let's go.
Where are you? Years of communicating telepathically with both Ilehana and Charles Xavier had made Logan proficient in using their links to ask his own questions.
"Right here." Vixen pushed the door open. She glanced at Pyro, arms rigid at his side and eyes wide, and then pointedly looked away. The boy had run from the relative safety of the X-Men to join Magneto's cronies a few months ago. That betrayal still angered Vixen, and she would not waste her breath on the creature he had become. A glance at Jean made the telekinetic force Pyro into sleep.
Wolverine frowned at another man having his arm around his woman, then realised how Vixen was holding herself. He ran up to her, face full of worries, all but shoving Mac out of the way. Vixen looked like hell, she was pale and her eyes were glazed with pain.
"I look that good, huh?" She gave Wolverine a lop-sided grin. "And don't be rude to Mac, he saved my life."
"Oh." Wolverine gave the human the once over before ignoring him again. Mac frowned, but shrugged to himself. He didn't need this stranger's approval.
"I may not have your gift for healing Logan, but I'm not dead yet. We're done here, let's go home."
Mac watched as Wolverine lifted Vixen into his arms, despite her protests. He led the team out of the warehouse. The rest of the team trailed after him. Mac stood for a moment, looking at the devastation the mutants had wrought and feeling grateful that the chaos had been contained within one warehouse. But for how long? Mac knew that Magneto and Mystique's team had been put down for now, but they were all still alive and free. He was used to his jobs ending in one of two ways; either the perp was caught, the evidence usually damning them before they could damn themselves, or – and Mac always ended up regretting these moments – the perp died at their own hand or at Mac's. It didn't feel right leaving it like this, leaving these mutants free to attack again.
We'll be there to stop them, Mac. Wherever they go, whatever they do, we are the guardians of the human and mutant races.
You're right. Mac thought back to her. Of course you are. I didn't understand before, I'm still not sure I understand completely, but I'm starting to.
Good. Now, are you coming? She showed him a picture of home; of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, suggested a tour and a chance to meet some more of her team-mates. Mac smiled at the thought and nodded to himself.
He turned to leave the warehouse, and found himself face to face with himself.