I do not own claim to any of the X-Men or their universe (just my girl Mimik) and i make no money from this. Please review, let me know what your thinking, I'd really appreciate it!

Hours later I get dragged barely conscious and bleeding profusely back to the barracks. The others are sleeping and the soldiers don't turn on the lights to wake them.

I get tossed back into my cell and I just lie there on the cold floor, too tired and weak to bother crawling to the cot. When the lights suddenly flash on everyone startles awake.

I knew the first one to see me was Nightcrawler, because I heard his horrified whisper, "Mien god!"

He hurries over to me kneeling next to me hands hovering over my back, scared to touch me. He looks at Beast and Cyclops who are now paying attention as well, "Vhat should I do?"

I cough up a bit of blood from my bitten tongue, "Nothing you can do bub, just go back to sleep. I'll be right as rain tomorrow…"

Cyclops viciously whispers, "This is what you want us to become?"

I smile, "You wouldn't last being me. And so that's why I'm you're new whipping girl. Get it?"

I choke out a laugh, "If you fuck up, fail, or even refuse to brush your fucking teeth, it's my fault. That's why I was made leader, so you could live longer…"

Jean starts crying, "I'm sorry, oh god, I'm so sorry."

I struggle to get on my hands and knees, my arms shaking as I try and hold myself up, "Don't. Don't cry, don't feel sorry for me. I don't need your fucking sympathy. I've lived longer than anyone who's ever felt sorry for me and truth be told, I'll probably live longer than all of you. So all of you go back the fuck to sleep and leave me alone."

I crawl over to my cot and slowly, painfully lift myself up. Nightcrawler comes over and helps me up despite me saying, "Get off me! Go away!"

I lie on my stomach on the cot and listen to Beast calming down Cyclops, Storm comforting a crying Jean and Bobby asking what just happened.

The raw bloody flesh on my back a reminder to all of them about who they belong to in Wraith's scar pattern of choice, an X.

.

I wake to Taps playing again and see that no one is talking to me or even looking at me now. Sabertooth doesn't show up this time, it's just one of Wraith's lackeys. He takes us to the cafeteria and I'm actually allowed to eat. Must be they don't want me to run low on energy, makes me suspicious as to what they're planning…

We're all then taken to the training grounds and I start on the basic stuff. I watch them as they progressively become colder, they're still not ready to become actual killers, but give me a week and have Wraith provide them with a few more examples and they'll learn.

At least they won't have to undergo the same kind of experimentation I did.

After they surgically replaced my bones when I was about seven years old I went berserk, completely uncontrollable. My blind rage caused me to destroy the entire lab they had set up for the adamantium experiments. They lost too much data and equipment to be able to repeat the process for another mutant.

I had to go through an entire year of retraining in order for them to actually be able to use me again.

Every once in a while I have these fits of rage, everything just goes red and I start attacking everyone. I've been good lately but I have a feeling one is long overdue. Wraith just tends to bring out the worst in me, which is probably something he does on purpose now that I think about it.

I smell someone familiar and turn to see Wraith walking up to the grounds with his goons and Sabertooth.

I go to call the X-men and Wraith holds up his hand to stop me. He walks up and stands next to me watching the two teams run their courses.

I watch him out of the corner of my eye; he's acting quite… normal. He keeps watching them and asks me, "So you think they are ready for a mission huh? You think they'll be able to take out a couple of targets for me?"

I nod, "If pushed them right they might be able to take out a few, but not a whole base or anything like that, not yet."

He nods, "Call them in and bring them to the briefing room, I got a high class priority mission on the list for you all."

He walks away, Sabertooth right on his heels. A couple of his goons stay behind and wait for me to gather them up.

I sigh and snap my fingers, the sound echoes throughout the grounds sending little balls of light to appear in front of each of the mutants.

It was a basic little power I stole from a kid who the Doctor had brought in, thinking he'd have more power than he did. He didn't make it through the first gene alteration.

They all stop what they were doing at the signal and walk over to me, tired, angry, and sad.

"Wraith wants us all in the briefing room; he's got something for us to do."

They just glare, Cyclops especially, like he can just blame everything that's been happening to him on me. Nightcrawler on the other hand smiles at me and nods slightly.

We follow the goons to the main building and into the briefing room, which is like a huge control room. It's got a huge monitor, a holographic projector, and computers with qualified soldiers manning them. It's where they keep track of mutant activities and world happenings that need their attention.

Wraith is there, standing in front of the large monitor, waiting. I step forward and they all line up behind me.

Wraith turns and smiles, "It looks like you've gotten them trained pretty well so far."

He eyes the group behind me and says, "Well muties, it's time for you first live action mission."

I can bet they gave him a scared look or something 'cause he gave a satisfied grin and then turned to the screen which started showing us pictures of a building in the middle of a desert.

He points to the building, "That there is the hideout of a biochemical terrorist organization. As we speak they're putting the final touches on a weapon massive enough to take out the US' entire Eastern seaboard in one fell swoop. We'd have our men take them out ourselves, but only problem is they have a security system so tight a human couldn't get through there. And that's where you mutants come in."

I didn't remark on the fact about how he technically said that we weren't human.

"How many targets Sir?" I just know he grinned at that one.

The pictures change and it shows a layout of the building with an X in one of the rooms and then pictures of two men next to it.

He points to the x, "The weapon is there in the center of the building heavily guarded, you don't have to kill the guards, they have no information of use, just incapacitate them. The two men here are you targets; they are the scientists in charge of making the weapon. They are the ones with the information and they're the ones who need to be dealt with."

I can sense the others behind me tense up, "Any directions for approach and execution, Sir?"

He nods, "Seeing as you have the two teams I'm gunna have one team go in through the front and head for the scientists, while the other team goes in through the back and heads for the bomb. I want your team on the scientists and the other on the bomb and as for the final execution of the men; I'll give you addition information come time."

"And when are we conducting this assault?"

He turns to look at me, "You all leave in the morning and Sabertooth will be heading the operation from your ride out and will be your eyes and ears for any unforeseen problems. Is everything clear?"

"Transparently, Sir."

He smirks, "Good and I don't think I need remind you of what will happen if you or your team fails me in anyway?"

"N-no sir."

He chuckles and then waves his hand to his men. They escort us back to the cells and leave. I sit on my cot and contemplate the mission.

I could've done this on my own… Is he that desperate to twist these kids? Who are they that they would perk his interest to begin with? Why are they so important to him? I am their weapon; they don't need any more mutants with limited powers.

I walk to the front of the cage and sit down cross legged, looking at Beast and Cyclops. "So who exactly are the X-men?"

Bobby pipes up from next door, "We are duh, and I thought you were at least that smart."

"I know that, I mean as a team, who are you guys? What do you stand for? Why are you known?"

Beast understands, "The X-men were one of the first mutant faces in the world. When the mutant revelation happened we led the way into mainstreaming; helping other mutants to come into the world without fear of persecution. We fight for equal rights for both mutant and human and we stop those who wish to ruin that."

"I see, so you're like the mutant ambassadors to the world then?"

Cyclops snorts, "Well we were until your buddy, Wraith, attacked our home and kidnapped us. Who knows what happened to the Professor."

"HE. IS. NOT. MY. BUDDY!"

Cyclops looks at me, touching his newly reclaimed visor, threatening me, "Then why were you kissing his ass back there?"

"BECAUSE I'M TERRIFIED OF HIM! There, you happy I said it? If you haven't noticed he likes causing pain, lots of it. I've lived here for 14 years and when he was hired onto the project my life turned into a nightmare, more than it already was. I've learned that if you obey, do everything he says down to the letter, he takes it a bit easier on you 'cause it takes a bit more for him to muster up enough anger to really hurt you."

He drops his hand, looking at the ground.

"And now I know why he wants you guys so badly. If you are the mutant's public face, what would happen if he turned you all into mindless killers?"

Beast sits up straight, "That would cause mass anti-mutant hysteria. It would-"

"Start a war? Yeah, it would be the war that he's been dreaming about for years."

Storm slides closer to the corner of the cell so she can see me, "So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know if there's anything you can do. You disobey, you may not live to brag about it and if you do obey him and actually start killing people, then we may not have much of a planet left… I've killed people, most of them while I was under their mind control therapies. But you guys won't have to worry about the mutant they were using for that, she had the misfortune of being in a room when… Let's just say she's not around anymore."

Cyclops crosses his arms, "So what? Are we just gunna sit by as the whole world goes to hell?"

"Personally I couldn't give a rat's ass about what happens to anyone else, but I'm sure you all will be devastated and probably have a mental break down if things were to escalate like that. And I don't think I'm willing to deal with a bunch of whine-asses, crying every time you so much as poke a kitten."

Nightcrawler shakes his head, "Even though you have given up on the vurld, the vurld has not given up on you."

I sneer at him, "I don't need a pep talk from the happy go lucky committee, so shut up."

He frowns but continues to look determined.

"Now look, it's my team that is going after the scientists and I have an idea to help keep your reps clean. There's no helping my record, but if you ever get out of here and anything about this place gets leaked, you won't have blood on your dainty hands."

Beast seems sad but interested, "So what are you thinking?"

"I'll let you know when you need to know. These walls have ears…"

He nods and looks up at the newly installed camera on the ceiling.

"Now you should all try to get some sleep if you can. You're gunna need as much energy as you can muster cause tomorrow you gotta help save the world."

I chuckle at my poor attempt at humor and then get up and walk back over to my cot. I hope everything goes well tomorrow, I'd like to not get more scars if possible…

.

We were woken early and hurried to the cafeteria and told to eat fast and then we were all taken to the airfields where they had a stealth jet prepped and ready for takeoff.

Once we all got onboard Sabertooth passes out communicator earpieces and says, "Once we get there I want information every two minutes.

He picks up a small bag and tosses it to Cyclops, "These are your compact bombs; I want you to place them throughout the facility as you head to the target, when there you are to place the rest around it and then get out of there as soon as you can."

He tosses another bag at me, "The same goes for your team on the way to your targets. Once both are taken care of you have three minutes to exit the building before I set 'em off and it goes up in flames."

I grip the bag and nod, I hate having to take orders from this asshole.

We arrive after a two hour flight and Sabertooth says, "We got you all as close we can without being seen, you're gunna have to walk the rest, it's about 5 clicks North and don't let the looks fool ya, it's supposed to look like an old abandoned warehouse."

We all get off the jet and it takes off again. We seem to be in a huge flat desert; barely any signs of wildlife what so ever.

I look at Nightcrawler, "Exactly how far can you go and how many can you take with you?" He thinks for a second, "About two miles and three other people besides me."

"Ok good, I'll take the rest and we'll port twice to get in as close as possible before we go into stealth mode."

I grab hold of my team members, Storm, Jean, and Colossus and port northwards as Nightcrawler does the same with Beast, Cyclops, and Iceman. We end up looking at the facility from a small ridge about a mile away.

"Ok Storm I want a bit of rain with heavy fog and make it seem to come up somewhat naturally so we don't raise too many suspicions."

Slowly rainclouds begin to form and generate a gradual fog. Once she's done I tell the second team to make their way around back and let me know when they're in position. I inform Sabertooth that we're about to head in and we'll keep in touch as we go. I get Cyclops' go ahead and we begin the approach slowly moving through the fog, my senses on full alert.

I whisper to Jean, "Let me know if you catch anyone's thoughts nearby, the rain may mute their scents."

She nods silently and we continue towards the building. We reach the front door without any trouble what so ever and I hear the same from the other team. I check the door and find a hidden pass code system.

"Sabertooth, do you have access codes or am I using my key?"

Sabertooth replies over the earpiece, "Go ahead and use the key."

I extract the claws on my right hand and punch them into the keypad. It sparks and then beeps, unlocking the door.

"I love that trick."

I slowly open the door and peek inside, seeing a guard, and so as I open the door fully I shift to look like him in his blue uniform and walk up to him. He holds out his hand and asks for ID what seems to be Iranian. I hold up my hand peacefully and then deck him in the face, knocking him out cold. I check the adjacent rooms and hall and signal to the other so to come in because it's clear.

Jean looks at the guard, "Why does this place seem so empty? I thought it was well guarded."

"It is, but not just by people." I point to the hallway leading into the facility.

"The floor and walls have electronic trips and lasers that will sound the alarm as you as you walk across it, unless you have someone further in to disable it."

I point out holes in the wall, "That there either contains a sleeping gas or deadly high powered lasers as a secondary measure. But this is actually not as high tech as I was expecting for these guys. Do you sense anybody at the end of the hall Jean?"

She glares at me, "I'm not a human radar."

"Listen, if we don't get this done, then there will be thousands of people killed and I'm sure that won't sit well on your conscience."

She sighs, "Fine, there are three guards in a room at the end of this hall; I think they're playing cards in the security room."

"Ok, Storm a little bit of mist if you would."

She calls up a thin mist to flood the hall and I watch as all the laser trips become visible, "Ok I'll be right back, Colossus, block the door so no one else can get in."

Storm puts a hand on my shoulder, "Are you going to stop them alone?"

"I'll get in there and shut off the security system for the whole building, giving and the boys in the back an easier time. Don't worry I got this, I can do this kind of stuff in my sleep."

I wrap my tail around my legs and then copy Nightcrawler's ability to stick to walls and jump up to the ceiling. I crawl, upside-down along the ceiling avoiding all the lasers and at the end of the hall I sniff, trying to find the room the guards are in. To my right is a door with a keycard swipe and a stink of sweat and booze.

I drop down and knock on the door, turning into a hot, leggy, blonde chick. One of the men opens the door and grins, saying to his buddies that a new toy just showed up. One asked how I got in, but didn't really seem to care.

I walk inside and close the door, smiling invitingly at the three men. They all stand up and walk over to me and then I strike, hitting pressure points on all of them so they drop without a peep.

I head over to the control system and look it over, it seems pretty basic.

I press a few buttons and pull up the security override, "Sabertooth?"

The earpiece crackles, "What runt?"

"You got any info on the security override code? I don't know if we got the time to spare to hack it."

He grumbles, "You're lucky our informant gave us that one, it's HYDRABX1."

"Hydra? Really? They're involved in this? That's just great…"

I type in the simplistic password and it opens up, I shut down the entire security grid.

"Alright guys come on through its all good."

"Cyclops you guys hear that?"

He sounds breathless, "Got it, we're almost there, they have a lot of men guarding this area back here."

Must be they didn't expect someone to come walking in their front door. I throw a few bombs around the room and step out and meet up with Storm, Jean, and Colossus.

"Alright guys almost there, come on."

We head down the corridors, following a mental image of the map Wraith showed us.

I pass by a room and then get jumped by a couple guards that were coming out. Colossus picks them both up off me and he knocks their heads together and then tosses them back in the room. He then offers a hand and helps me up.

"Thanks." He just nods.

After a few twists, tossed bombs, and turns and locked doors we end up at the final door.

I look at the others, "You ready for this?"

Storm frowns, "It's not like we have much of a choice in the matter."

I unsheathe my claws and wrench the door open.

.

The room was huge and you could definitely tell it was a laboratory. It was covered in computers, test tubes, microscopes, charts, and other tables scattered with stuff. And in the corner of the room were two men huddled in fear.

"Sabertooth, we've found them."

He chuckles in my ear, "Good, now Wraith gave specific orders that the red head and the water witch are the ones to perform the extermination."

Jean goes wide-eyed, "I-I can't…"

Sabertooth growls and says, "You can and you will, Wraith told me if you refuse to comply that I get to detonate pretty boy's implant."

I walk over and grab the two scientists who are now begging for their lives, crying and talking about their families in some Middle Eastern language or other.

I shove one off onto Colossus and tell Storm, "Do it. He was willing to help kills thousands of people."

Storm shakes her head and I sigh, frustrated. Please let this work…

I use Jean's power and communicate to her via telepathy, "Play along, charge up some electricity and give him a shock. Not enough to kill just enough to really hurt. OK?"

She looks at me, confused at first and then nods, building up an electric charge between her hands. I hold the old man's arms behind his back, his strength still from his younger days, but no match for me. She shocks him and then I send another wave through him, stopping his heart and brain.

He goes limp and I drop him and then look to Jean, "You're turn."

She starts crying and over the earpiece Sabertooth threatens Cyclops safety and then we hear a scream come through the earpiece, Cyclops' scream. I run over and grab her hand using her power to communicate with her too.

"You don't have to kill him, just use enough power to give a massively painful headache; I'll take care of the rest. They can track your energy spikes and so this way it makes it seem like you killed him."

She grips my hand and then points her other hand and the younger, dark haired scientist who is crying and struggling uselessly in Colossus' steel grip. He starts to scream in pain and then I secretly gesture my hand towards him as well and then overload his brain and his head bursts, splattering Colossus with brain matter and such.

He drops the body with a look of disgust and horror. I shoot water out of my hand at him and rinse off the gore. He nods his thanks, still shaken.

"Hey Furball, it's done. Storm and jean did what you ordered, now let Cyclops get back to his end of the mission."

He grumbles, "Bout time, now toss the rest of your bombs and get out of there."

Beast's trembling voice comes over the earpiece, "We have a problem here. The bomb has been remotely armed and is set to go off in ten minutes."

Sabertooth start swearing up a storm and I take action, "Alright you three get outta here and meet at the extraction point. Beast, I need you and the other to get out of there too and make it snappy cause we got less than ten minutes now."

Nightcrawler buts in, "But vhat about you and ze bomb?"

"Don't worry about me you all need to get out of the blast radius if I happen to fail."

I push them out of the room and run out after them, "Now get going our part of the mission is done anyways."

They hesitate and then run for the exit but I head the opposite direction. I continue to follow my mental map and know I'm in the right area when I start seeing unconscious guards throughout the halls.

"Sabertooth, do you have the schematics on this bomb?"

Silence… "Sabertooth!"

I hear mumbling, "Yeah, yeah I heard you. Give me a minute…"

"We don't have too much time to spare you know."

I finally reach the room and find an empty table with a small round device on it. I run up to it and see it to be completely barren of any buttons or symbols except for a little LED screen which read five minutes left and counting.

"How's it coming Fuzzhead?"

"I've got it, but how's that gunna help you? You can't see it…"

"Remember that one tech mutant, the one who could link into electronic signals?" Sabertooth grunts in acknowledgment.

"Beast, have you gotten back on the plane with him yet?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"I need you to translate the schematics into a tonal binary and play it over the earpiece. Are you able to do that?"

Beast doesn't answer at first, "I believe so, I may need a few minutes, I-"

"You have less than three."

I slowly start to peel back the casing and discover the amazing technological chemical combination underneath. The wiring seems to have a good failsafe that could instantly trigger the bomb.

"Minute thirty left, Beast."

After a moment of silence I hear it and shift to the mutant I spoke of. My different hearing abilities instantly translate the tones I hear into an image in my head. When I got the full image I search for the wires and chip set that I need. It was hidden under another panel beneath the chemicals. I short circuit the chip and resistor there and then clipped a yellow wire. The timer stopped at exactly four seconds…

"Kim? Kim? You there? Did it work?"

"Yes Creed, I'm still alive. Arm those bombs and get me the fuck out of this sandbox."

.

I pull out the chemicals, making sure they are separated before I port out of the building to the ridge and find Nightcrawler waiting for me there. His face lights up when he sees me, but he doesn't say anything. We port back to the rendezvous point and get back on the jet.

Sabertooth gets the pilots to get us in the air and then turns to me.

"What the fuck was that? What happened in there?"

"It would seem that one of the scientists was able to set the timer on the bomb before the girls took 'em out. So I fixed it."

He throws his headset to the ground, smashing it, "You could've just let the fucker blow and we wouldn't have had to go through that shit."

"If that bomb had gone off and the fumes and debris got caught up in the wind it would've eventually created a poison rain taking out most of the Middle East and then even spreading further. Instead of dealing with hundreds of thousands dead we would've had millions and what would Wraith have said about that?"

He slugs me in the face and then sits down, frustrated and pissed.

I rub my jaw, "Careful there Creed, you wouldn't want me thinking that you were actually worried about me."

He growls and leans back in his seat. The others were watching this display in awe. I look at Storm and Jean and they're didn't even look unhappy. I glare at them and make a crying motion with my hands. They suddenly switch to melancholy and Jean starts up some tears. The others look confused at that exchange, but don't say anything.

I walk over to Cyclops, "Good leadership out there. I can see why you were made their leader to begin with."

He smirks and says, "You were pretty good yourself, I guess."

Beast looks at me and says, "Tonal binary into images via thought process? That is brilliant."

"I'm just glad you're genius enough to figure how to create something like that. Or else I would be a shiny metal prop for some sci-fi horror movie"

With the X-men in higher spirits for once I sit down and close my eyes, taking a nap before we get back to the base.