I do not own claim to any of the X-men (only my girl Mimik), and make no money from this. Please let me know what you think so far and I hope you enjoy the read.

"Judging from your expression, you must be happy to see me." Wraith grins and pats the bed, "Come one and sit next to your pal."

I finally recollect myself and say, "Wh-when did you get back sir? If I had known I wouldn't have been out…"

He laughs and stands up, "Don't bullshit me, you were hoping I wasn't coming back. But I am and I brought some new friends home with me for you to play with. Wasn't that nice?"

Something's not right… He isn't usually this happy. Unless…

"So I take it your mission was a success then?"

He walks up to me and pats me on the shoulder, I flinch and he smirks, "It was and now time for the next step."

"Next step? What do you me-"

Suddenly he stabs me in the arm with a huge syringe. I react without thinking and I slug Wraith in the face.

He grins and says, "Good girl."

Then I get hit in the back of the head knocking me over. I roll over and look up to see Sabertooth grinning as well. What's going on? What did I do? Wraith comes into view holding a bleeding nose and says, "You thought that you could get away with doing whatever the fuck you felt like 'cause I was gone? Did you forget that you're just a little mutant psycho? It seems like I'm going to have to remind you of your status here."

My vision is starting to fade and my head feels heavy. He turns to leave and then stops and looks back at me, "And by the way, the nose is going to cost you." The last thing I saw was his boot smashing down onto my face.

.

In the prisoner barracks the new captives that Wraith captured are whispering amongst themselves about their current situation in the dark. The other occupants who've been there longer just ignore them and lie on their cots in their cages. The barracks is basically is a hallway with cages on either side. The six new captives were split up in sets of two. Two groups were in cages right next to each other while the other was directly across the hall from them. Surrounding them are the other prisoners, mutants from all walks of life. One's who just wanted to hide from people, ones who wanted to just be normal, and those who hated humans or used their powers for crime.

The lights flash on and the whispering stops. Wraith walks in from a room at the end of the hall. He walks right to the center where his new prisoners are and stop, grinning at them. "So my little muties how are the accommodations? I hope they are to your liking."

A muscular young guy with reddish brown hair and a bandage around his eyes stands up and faces towards Wraith, "What do you want with us? Who are you people?"

Wraith laughs, "I don't want you and if it were up to me you'd be six feet under. As for who I am, my name Is Colonel Wraith, your new boss. You are no longer X-men; you are the property of Project X and my new play toys."

The young man clenched his fists and yells, "We are not your property! Where is the Professor? Let us out of here or so help me-"

Wraith pulls out his gun and aims it at the clueless boy, "What? What are you gunna do pretty boy? Pull off that bandage of yours and you might end up hurting your pretty little girlfriend."

The young man unclenches his fists and sits down. Wraith lowers his gun but doesn't put it away. The door at the end of the hall opens and a couple soldiers walk in dragging a body in between them. Wraith grins and says to the X-men, "This is your new team leader. She will help you in your training and eventually your missions."

As the body is dragged closer a young guy with brown hair whispers to his huge, muscular, dark haired bunk mate, "Is she dead?"

Wraith overhears and chuckles, "Close but no. She's just undergone some rigorous… reconditioning. I'll leave you all to get acquainted. I'll see you freaks tomorrow, when your training begins."

The girl is thrown in one of the center cages right next to one occupied by a pair of X-men. The cage also has a young man with yellow eyes who has a tail and has a fine black-blue fur covering his body. Wraith and his men leave, all attention to returning to the girl lying unconscious on the cold steel floor.

The blue elf-like boy goes over to her and shifts her position so she is at least comfortable. He looks at the two in the cage across from him worried. The bandaged man and his companion a large muscular ape-like man covered in blue fur are sitting on their cots watching and listening. She looks to be around their ages and seems to be covered in bruises and cuts that seem to be sealing up slowly. After a little bit she begins to stir…

.

Oh my head… I open my eyes and the light creates an immediate headache. What is that noise? Voices? I sit up and as I take in my surroundings I start feel sick with terror. This is a cage… No! I thought I was free of this! What could I have done to be brought back here? I can smell the horror and pain like a thick perfume…

I try to calm down assess the situation; there are others here, more prisoners of the Project and of Wraith no doubt. In the cage across from the one I'm in are a couple of guys, one a blue furry gorilla looking guy (he seems to a bit older than the other prisoners) and the other a muscular reddish brown haired guy with a bandaged over his eyes who looks like he's got a stick up his ass or something. In the one I can see next to theirs is a couple girls, one is dark skinned with pure white hair (who seems to also be older than the others) and the air just seems to swirl and crackle around her; the other is a pretty, red haired girl. In my cage with me is a guy who has dark blue skin, a tail with an arrow-like tip, yellow eyes, two toes on each foot, and three fingers on each hand.

"I take it you guys are Wraith's new toys?" I sit up and lean against a wall, looks like I'm still in my favorite form rather than my mutant one.

The gorilla guy comes to the front of his cage, "It would seem as if we are all captives now. If I may ask what is your name?"

"Me? You can just call me Kim and yes I guess were ALL prisoners now." I clench my fist and then hiss at the pain. When did I get hurt? Wraith must've beaten me while I was unconscious. Damn him! I wasn't supposed to be back here. My cellmate taps me on the shoulder. "What?"

He points to my fist that I still had balled up; I was digging my nails in so deep I was bleeding. I unclench it and watch as the wounds heal up, the blood just reabsorbing into my skin.

The gorilla guy was watching and remarks, "Fascinating, you seem to have similar regenerative properties to that of our friend, Wolverine."

I sit straight up at that name, "Wolverine? Is he here?" I go to stand up but I'm still weak from those drugs and the beating and having to heal all that so I fall back down on my ass.

The bandaged guy huffs and says, "He's not here, that jerk left us the day before we got dragged here."

I slump. "Damn, he's the only who's ever made it outta here and lived to tell about it…" And I was hoping to see a friendly face…

The redhead pipes up, "Wolverine escaped from here? He never mentioned it before."

I chuckle dryly, "He probably doesn't remember, knowing the good doctor."

The bandaged guy crosses his arms, "Wraith says you're going to be our new team leader, that true?"

"He said what? You're team leader?"

The bandaged guy stands up, "So why does he think you're fit to be our leader then?" Definitely has some sort of stick up his ass.

I grab the bars and slowly pull myself up. The blue guy tries to help me put I push him away. I lean against the wall and say, "I don't know, but I'm about to ask."

I check the ceiling right outside the cage and spot the little thing I'm looking for. A hidden camera so they can watch us all. I look at the bandaged guy, "What's your power?"

He frowns, "Why?" Looks like I've got everyone's attention now. "I'm gunna get someone in here, now what's your power?" He lifts up half the bandage and looks down at the floor before opening his eye. A red 'laser beam' shoots out of his eye, burning the metal of the cage. "Ok good enough."

Gorilla guy looks puzzled, "May I inquire as to what you plan to do with the knowledge of Cyclops mutant ability?"

I snicker, "Cyclops? Really that's your name? Well at least it isn't the worst I've heard." I look up at the hidden camera and use 'Cyclops'' power to take out the hidden camera.

"Ok we got about 40 seconds before the guard on duty comes to check out why the camera went dead. If we're lucky tonight Jimmy will be on duty, he's a moron."

Red head looks confused, "How do you know this?"

"I've been here a while…"

.

Right on time the door opens and in walks Jimmy. He's short and bad tempered but he's as smart as a box of rocks. He walks over and looks up at the camera, "Alrighty, which one of yall fucked up the security camera?"

I move to get his attention. "Oops looks like I ruined it…"

He turns to looks at me, shocked, "Why are you in here?"

"Wanna hear something funny?"

He frowns, "What?"

I wave my finger calling in him closer. He steps into range, "Well to tell the truth, I was in here interrogating this blue bastard here." I point my thumb to the blue guy in my cell with me. "And somehow I got locked in here too. Funny right?"

He frowns scratching his head, "You didn't have a key?"

"Nope I was told it's a new security measure."

He steps forward, "Really? No one told me."

The others are getting restless; they better not screw this up.

"You've only been on duty for how long? A couple hours maybe? So how could anyone have told you yet, you've yet to be briefed on today's prisoner changes and any changes in codes."

He pulls out his card key, "Well I guess that makes sense. I mean you are the Alpha captain and all…" He swipes it and the cage door pops open.

"Thanks Jimmy, I owe ya one." He smiles and I grab him, spinning him around putting my claw blades to his throat. "Sorry Jimmy but I haven't spent the past five years licking Wraith's boots to end up back in a cage again!"

I grab his key card and tell the others, "I can't guarantee you'll all get out or even live past tonight but I can at least give you a chance."

I struggle with Jimmy over to gorilla guy and bandage boy and go to swipe the card, when all over a sudden a pain emanates from my neck throughout my body. I spasm and drop to the floor, letting Jimmy go and dropping the card in the process.

It's taking all my strength not to scream out in pain. It's like I'm being electrocuted from the inside and with my skeleton being completely metal, it feels like I'm burning. No. Frying... Writhing in pain I didn't hear the others shouting or the entrance of Wraith and his goons until a boot is slammed into my stomach, leaving me breathless. I look up and see him smiling from ear to ear.

He waves a little thing that looks like a remote and says, "How's the upgrade? When you were out I had the good doctor hook you up with a new toy he came up with while I was away. Remember that wiring you have going on? Well now that's connected to a little device that can generate enough electricity to light up a city. And all I have to do is press this little button here. Isn't that just… funny?"

I roll over onto my hands and knees, shaking but using all my strength and pain training. It's excruciating, my body just keeps twitching and I think I can smell my flesh burning. Wraith laughs, "You're just too damn stubborn to know when to give up. I'll make you a deal then, you come over here and kiss my boots and I'll make it stop."

I grit my teeth and say, "F-fuck y-you!"

Wraith shakes his head, "Don't say I didn't try."

He pushes a button on his remote and I scream as the pain intensifies. I can't even move… Then Wraith kicks me again and says, "Get her back in the cage."

I'm lifted up by hands with rubber gloves on them and tossed back into the cell. The door slams shut and Wraith smirks at me form the other side, "Like I said before, you need to remember your place. But just so you don't think I'm such a bad guy I'm making you these muties' leader. You're gunna help them learn to be killers just like you. And the best part is if they fuck up it'll be on your head. So you better heal fast 'cause tomorrow its gunna get a whole lot worse." He presses the button again and it all stops.

.

I think I blacked out for a few minutes from sheer relief because when I came to Wraith was gone and the blue elf guy was leaning over me staring. I push him away and try to sit up and my skin crackles. I look down to see my skin blackened in parts from the intense shocking. "Fuck, this is gunna take forever to heal…"

Cyclops sighs, "So you said you've been here a while, how long we talking?"

I force myself to sit up, hissing at the pain as my entire body screams out due to the fried nerve endings. I cough and say, "Too long… I've been here since I was four years old, so about 14 years."

Gorilla guy looks sad, "Dear God, how could one survive all this for that long?" "You learn to live, to cope-" Cyclops cuts me off, "To kill?"

"Yeah, to kill, but as you can tell my options are quite limited. So tell me, who are you people? I gotta know names if I'm going to your new leader…"

Some of my skin slowly begins to heal and I cringe. Cyclops huffs and lies down on his cot. Gorilla guy nods and says, "My name is Hank McCoy also known as Beast. My compatriot here is Scott and is, as you know, called Cyclops. The two ladies to my left are Ororo Munroe also known as Storm and Jean Grey. In the cell to your right, even though you can't see them, there is Iceman, Bobby Drake, and Colossus, Piotr Rasputin. As a team we call ourselves the X-men. Unfortunately I do not know the name of your blue cellmate."

"Beast huh? Well like I said my name is Kim, I don't like using either of my code names, Mimik aka Project Pandora."

It was Cyclops' turn to make fun, "Project Pandora? That's a great name." He chuckles and then goes silent again.

"It wasn't my first choice either, but when you look at it from the myth point of view it kinda makes sense…"

Beast nods, "They are claiming to be Pandora in a way, releasing all evil upon the world. And by the evil they mean you. Correct?"

I nod and then I look at the blue elf guy who's been surprising quiet this while time, "So may I ask you name, seeing as we'll be roomies and all."

He sighs, "Hallo mein name ist Kurt Wagner, aber Sie können mich anrufen Nightcrawler."

"German? Really? You can't speak English? How the hell have you lived this long?"

He shrugs. "Well there is no way I can stand listening to you talk like that if I don't have to, come here." I pat the spot next to where I'm leaning.

This is gunna kill my heal time, but there's no way I can have a team member who can't even speak. He walks over and crouches next to me, waving his tail. "I don't think this is gunna hurt but you should brace yourself, just in case."

I painfully lift a hand and touch his forehead and then I try to muster what energy I have left. I feel it shoot up into my hand and into Nightcrawler. Suddenly his eyes go wide, "Mein God! I can speak English now! Zank you! Vere did you learn to do such amazing sings?"

"Truthfully? I killed a mutant with multi-linguistic capabilities..." He pauses for a moment, shocked, and then he starts to continue rambling on in his German accent, but the lack of energy and the pain… I just couldn't stay conscious anymore…

"Hallo mein name ist Kurt Wagner, aber Sie können mich anrufen Nightcrawler." Means "Hello my name is Kurt Wagner, but you can call me Nightcrawler."