Chapter 16 – The Human Defence League's Secret Weapon
Author's note – Merry Christmas, or other appropriate solstice celebration. As requested, here is the next chapter. Enjoy!
"Kurt, you can stop playing dead now," Kitty whispered as they finished the dress rehearsals.
Kurt got to his feet, and looked over at Mrs McCann, "How was that?" he asked.
She nodded, "I think that you have improved significantly since you first started coming to rehearsals. But don't you have something more urgent to concern you right now?"
Kurt sighed, and took out the piece of paper that Oliver had given him at the Halloween Party. "The HDL," he said quietly, "I guess there's little time to relax, we had better find out just what they are up to, and if possible, put a stop to it, whatever it might be."
"This is just a reconnaissance mission," Mrs McCann reminded him, "don't go in there expecting it to be all glory. Get the information, then just get out. There are channels that we can go through to stop whatever it is that they are planning, you do not have to put yourselves in unnecessary danger."
Kurt nodded, "I'll try to remember that. But I really do think that we should be getting on now, if we are to find out what it is that they are planning."
"Agreed," said Mrs McCann, as they made their way towards the door of the schoolroom, "and I have to lock this place up now, anyway, since no one else will be using it tonight," she produced a key and locked the school behind them.
Kurt looked back at her momentarily, and then looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. Oliver had circled a building on the map, making it clear that this was where they needed to go. Kurt knew the place, he had passed it several times; it was about halfway between the school and the Brotherhood Boarding House. It was just an old building, some kind of warehouse by the look of it, run-down and covered in graffiti, looking as if it had not been used for several years. It would be a good place for a secret meeting, though, the sort of place that was overlooked, because it did not seem important enough to even demolish. Kurt passed the note to Kitty, "You know this place?" he asked.
Kitty nodded thoughtfully. "Shouldn't we get changed first, though?" she looked down at her Juliet costume, grinning slightly self-consciously.
Kurt shook his head, "No need," he said, "follow me, and I'll show you why."
Kitty gave him a slightly confused look, but nevertheless followed him without comment. Kurt could have easily teleported himself close to the rundown building, but he wanted Kitty to come along with him, and besides, he had never teleported another living creature before, and was not sure how it would affect her if he were to try teleporting her now. Also, he was still a bit wary about using his teleporting ability after all that trouble with his mutant power suddenly stopping last month. It did not take them long to reach the old abandoned building, anyway. Kurt quickly darted behind a nearby bush, and indicated for Kitty to do the same. They watched as a couple of people, wearing black leather jackets and matching leggings, entered the building. Kurt wondered about their clothing momentarily. It was probably some kind of uniform, he decided, and besides, most people did not seem to care that much what other people wore, as long as they left them alone. Kurt winked at Kitty, and then pointed his watch at the nearest figure. He pressed the yellow button, and a moment later, it looked as if he was dressed in the same black jacket and leggings ensemble. "Clever, huh?" he asked, and then reached into his backpack, and removed his spare watch, which he gave to Kitty. "Just point it at one of them, and press the yellow button," he said, as he watched her put the watch on her wrist. Kitty gave him a slightly worried look, but did as he instructed. A moment later, it seemed as if she, too, was wearing a black jacket and black leggings.
"This could have such a huge impact on the fashion industry," she said, looking down at herself appreciatively, and then looking back at the watch on her wrist.
"Uh, yeah," muttered Kurt uncertainly, "I guess so. But we have a far more immediate problem to worry about right now." He indicated where a couple more people dressed in black leather were entering the decrepit building. Then he and Kitty followed them inside.
It was dark inside the room, but Kurt's eyes soon adjusted to what little light there was. Kitty seemed to have more trouble adjusting to the dim light, as she kept bumping into him – not that he minded – so he took her hand in his, and led the way towards where a figure dressed all in black was standing on the other side of what looked like a black altar. By his side, towering above him, there was a huge robot, not unlike the one underneath the Brotherhood Boarding House. Kurt felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, and a vague sense of déjà vu. Oh, so they're going to do the same thing as the mutants are they, but from the other side. So, it's not enough that they want to kill us all, they can't even manage to be original about it. And here I am in a room full of mutant haters all dressed up in black as if they are all colour blind or something. I must be mad.
"Brethren," this came from the figure beside the robot at the front of the room, "the time is upon us. The age of mutant rule has come to an end," he said, his voice quiet, but echoing in the sudden silence that had instantaneously descended upon the room. The man continued, "We will no longer live in dominion and fear of those who oppress us, those who consider, because of the accident of birth which means that they have been blessed with unearned gifts, that they can dominate, rule, control and demand servitude from those who, through no fault of their own, have not been given such gifts. And yet, irony of ironies, it is the hated mutants themselves who have given us, real human beings, the means to their own destruction. There are, in this very room, spies who have infiltrated into the demonic heart of the mutants' lairs, those brave men and women who, at great personal cost to their own safety, have ventured deep into the forbidden pits of the mutant colonies. And what did these brave humans discover, I hear you wondering. These brave people found out that our enemies have been planning, plotting against us in their secret underground domains, developing a weapon, not unlike this weapon you see before you right now," here he indicated up towards the robot, "a weapon designed to destroy us all."
Kurt looked up at the robot for a moment, and stifled a sigh. Honestly, did these obsessives have to go on so much about the evil of their enemies? It was like listening to the Brotherhood members and their hatred for those who lacked mutant abilities, but from the other side. He turned his attention back to the man at the front of the room, hoping that no-one had noticed that he had been momentarily distracted from his monologue.
"But how can we be sure, I hear you ask, that this weapon will not be used in order to hunt and destroy real people," the man went on, "and that it will only be used on those inhuman creatures that seek our domination and the slavery of our kind?" He nodded his head once, looking over the crowd, a sympathetic expression etched on his face, "An understandable concern," he said, "and one that I do not think it is unreasonable for you to have. Indeed, one that we have been working tirelessly to resolve, for quite some time. But fear not, brothers and sisters! For this weapon has already been tested. Only last month, an invisible gas was released into the air, a gas that has no visible effect on real people, but one which temporarily made all of the inhuman mutants unable to utilise their vile abilities, and which has marked them out especially, meaning that this robot will only attack those that were so effected by this gas. So this robot will be able to detect all of those vile mutants, with the tiny exception of those whose mutant powers have only developed since the release of this gas. Indeed, it would not surprise me if a mutant had not infiltrated our organisation even as we speak, but if that is the case, then it will soon be revealed."
Kurt looked at Kitty nervously, as she squeezed his hand so hard that it hurt. Then they both turned their attention to the robot, which even now was casting an orange-eyed glow over all of the members of the room in turn, slowly moving towards where Kurt and Kitty were watching it in horror. "We have to get out of here!" whispered Kitty urgently.
Kurt shook his head, as the robot scanned his chest, "It's too late…" he whispered back.
Kurt watched in horror as the robot's eyes suddenly became a bright red colour, and a moment later, it was striding towards Kurt and Kitty. Kurt did not even know when he had started running, but a moment later, he found himself racing out of the building, Kitty's hand still held tightly in his own. The robot was following them, leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Kurt was vaguely aware of the HDL members cheering and shouting amongst themselves, but he took no notice. He just had to get away from that robot as soon as possible, and so he just ran, determined just to stay ahead of the robot, which was following them with a kind of metallic relentless determination.
"We have to get to the school," Kitty managed to say in between gasping for breath.
"Why?" Kurt asked, looking back at the machine that was nearing on them with every one of its strides.
"Because that thing is going to hurt civilians if we don't," she explained, "it's after us, but it doesn't seem to care who or what it destroys while trying to get us. At least Mrs McCann told us that the school will be empty at this time, so we won't have to worry about anyone else getting hurt."
Kurt merely nodded. He was having enough trouble thinking about his own survival, without really having given much thought to anyone else. And Kitty did have a point. Besides, he was not sure where to go himself, so the school seemed to be as good a place as any. They changed direction slightly, making their way back towards the school. The robot continued to follow them, always a few feet behind them, but never seeming to tire. Well, of course it wouldn't, Kurt reasoned, that thing's a machine, whereas Kitty and I are flesh and blood and prone to get exhausted after we've been running for a while. He turned and looked at Kitty. She nearly tripped, and Kurt remembered that she was wearing her Juliet dress, even though it was disguised by her watch, and realised that her dress was hardly the most appropriate clothing for her to be wearing while running. Kitty gave him a slightly apologetic look, and got to her feet, stumbling as she made her way back towards the school.
The robot continued to follow them, with the determination of a predator intent on catching its prey, which, Kurt realised with a sinking sensation in his stomach, was essentially what it was. The robot just crashed through buildings and walls as though they were made out of cardboard, leaving destruction everywhere it went, simply going through obstacles rather than stepping around them. "This isn't working," Kurt heard himself say, his voice full of panic.
"I have an idea," said Kitty, "hold your breath."
"What?" Kurt asked.
"Just do it, you never know, it might work," she replied.
Kurt obediently held his breath. The next minute, he was walking through a wall. It was like moving through jelly, everything seemed to have slowed down, and there was a slightly unreal, tinted quality to everything around him. So I'm being phased through a wall, he thought to himself. Kitty thinks that this will get that robot off of our trail. You never know, it might work. He looked around, but there was the robot still, and although it looked fuzzier, it seemed no less determined to reach its prey. Kurt realised that he would soon need to take a breath, and wondered what would happen if he did so while still phased. Would he get bits of brick and mortar in his lungs? He never found out, as they emerged from the wall, and became - what was the term? Unphased? In any case, Kurt was able to breath once more, which was a good; whereas the robot was still on their trail, which wasn't. Kitty gave Kurt an apologetic look, "It didn't work," she said shaking her head sadly.
Kurt gave her a weak smile, "It was worth a try," he said.
Kitty returned the smile, and phased them both through the locked door leading into the school. Perhaps they could lose the robot here. After all, Kurt had himself been lost in this place before, and there were underground store rooms that they could hide in. Kitty seemed to have the same idea, as she led him down to the basement, the place where they stored Christmas decorations, sports equipment, and dusty old files on previous students. "This is a good hiding place," Kurt said, looking around the dimly lit room. There was a small window near the ceiling, which seemed to be the only source of light in the room.
Kitty nodded, "If it works," she said nervously, "if we have somehow managed to lose that thing. If we haven't, then we're trapped."
Kurt looked around himself nervously. She was right, there was only one door, and if that was blocked, then there was no other exit – which should not really be an issue for mutants who could phase and teleport, but there was always the possibility that their powers would stop working again.
Now that he had finally stopped running, Kurt tried to get his breath back. Although he did not find teleporting difficult, it did take a lot of concentration, and, right now, he was not sure if he could muster enough of that concentration to be able to teleport. He was just going to tell Kitty this, when suddenly the door burst open, spreading pieces of wood all around them, as the robot entered the room, its glowing red eyes shining eerily in the dim light. Kitty looked at Kurt nervously, "I don't think I can phase anymore," she said, her voice sounding tired and terrified, "and I don't think I can run any more, either."
Kurt gulped, as the robot advanced on them. He felt tired to, but he knew that he could not just give up, however much the thought of lying down and doubtlessly dying seemed to be quite appealing at the moment. "We have to keep going," he whispered.
"Where?" asked Kitty, "that thing's blocking the only exit to this place."
Kurt looked around the room. Since it appeared to be some kind of storeroom, surely there must be something in here that could be used as a weapon against the robot. He found an ancient hockey-stick and half a brick in the corner. He threw the brick at the robot, but it just bounced off of it, without it even seeming to notice that it had been hit, and leaving not so much as a dent. Then Kurt lifted the hockey-stick high above his head, ready to use it as a weapon - until he saw Kitty's expression. Then he dropped it, realising that it would have no more effect than the piece of brick. If this robot was based on the one below the Brotherhood Boarding House, then nothing in this room would be of any use against it. They would need some kind of nuclear weapons at least, and those were not exactly likely to be just lying around in a school store room...
"Have you any other ideas?" Kitty asked, "Because I can't think of any way to get away from that thing."
"Um, just one," Kurt admitted, "but I've never done anything like this before..."
The robot was closing in on them now, and Kitty's voice sounded panicked as she said, "Try it, try anything, it does not look like we have much choice right now..."
"Um, right," said Kurt, grabbing her hand, and, for the first time, teleporting while bringing another living being along with him. It was a lot harder than just teleporting by himself; he had to consider the extra matter that he was teleporting, and had to make sure that that matter would arrive in an undamaged state at the required destination. Kurt thought towards the Brotherhood Boarding House, towards safety, towards where that giant robot was not.
A moment later, he landed in an ungraceful heap upon the living-room floor in the Brotherhood Boarding House. There was no sign of any robot, which was very welcome; however Kitty was lying pale and unconscious on the floor of the Brotherhood Boarding House, which was a far less welcome sight. Kurt cautiously shook her, trying to wake her up, gently at first, and then gradually more roughly, but nothing he did seemed able to bring her back to consciousness once more.