Telling Peter to slow down was, as Erik had expected, the equivalent of telling someone to swallow a mountain: they just couldn't do it. He'd had to shake his head at Peter's insistence that, no, he was going to get Kayla right away. As soon as Logan realized he was already late, the argument was practically over.
After he was gone, the issue of what to do with Stryker's son came up. Killing him now that he was helpless felt foolhardy, but taking him with them would be foolish too. He'd been strong enough to give Charles trouble and it was unlikely they could use him as a bargaining chip against Stryker.
However, the fact that he was now slung over John's shoulder, gagged and bound, showed how well those points had been received. In some ways he was relieved, but it also meant he would have to keep a close eye on him.
Erik irritably tapped his comm link.
"Mystique, how's the download coming?" he asked.
"Good," she said, "What was up with the headache?"
"Another one of Stryker's mutants," he said, "He was dealt with. Quicksilver's on his way to pick up Kayla right now, meaning they should be in position soon."
"Still heading to the lab?"
"Yes," said Erik, turning the corner, "Do you know where Stryker is?"
There was a pause. No doubt she was flickering through security footage.
"I've got a lock on his location," she said, "The download's almost done. You all focus on Essex. I'll take care of things with him on the way out."
"That's not part of the original plan," said Erik.
"No, but it's easier," she said, "I'll be seven minutes extra, tops. I don't think that'll affect things too much."
Erik snorted.
"You know that's not true," he said.
"I'll make it true," she said, "If I'm having an issue, I'll tell you. You just focus on Essex and those Weapon X assholes."
He looked at John and Chris out of the corner of his eye.
"It's mostly taken care of," he settled on.
"Good. I'll see you at the exit."
"Damn!" Peter said.
He knelt down, panting. Things felt a little hazy, but he figured he'd dropped them by a good location. There was lots of cover provided by the trees and rocks, and no one was looking. By their estimation, it would be out of the blast range. The most they would get was singed when he pulled the trigger.
However, the wooziness was starting to kick back in again, and he felt ill. Kayla's hand touched his shoulder.
"When was the last time you had something to drink?" she asked.
"Um...I dunno," Peter said, "In the car. Maybe. It was Tab."
She rolled her eyes and reached into her bag. He took the moment to take a really good look at her. It seemed like she'd stopped bleeding, so maybe he wouldn't have to duct tape her. That was kind of a shame, because he'd wanted to see if that would work.
Kayla took out a canteen and handed it to him.
"Water, now," she said.
He didn't argue. His throat was scratchy, something he couldn't believe he hadn't recognized before then. Peter gulped half of it down in one go, resting his back against a tree. It felt strangely comfortable, and the urge to fall asleep started to creep in.
"Miss Wolverine, if I start to fall asleep, can you like, slap me?" he asked, "I need to stay awake."
She rolled her eyes, but it wasn't the kind of irritated eye roll he got from Raven or Logan. It was a bit more playful, kind of like she actually thought he was funny. Peter squinted at her, taking another drink of water from the canteen.
"How old are you?" he asked.
Kayla raised her eyebrows as she started reloading her gun.
"That's not a polite question," she replied.
"No, I wanna figure something out," he said, "How old are you?"
She tilted her head back, thinking. He didn't like that she had to think about it.
"Twenty-seven," she said.
"Holy shit, that's one year older than me!" Peter blurted.
Kayla shouldered her gun, nodding as though waiting for him to start making sense. He gestured at her.
"How old is Logan?" he asked.
She laughed and Peter sighed. She just thought he was asking because he thought Logan was too old for her. He started taking another sip of water.
"Peter, Logan's more or less immortal," she said, "He was born in 1835."
Peter spit out the water. Kayla withdrew, shaking her head in disgust. He realized then some of the water had sprayed onto her arm.
"Totally sorry about that," he said, "But son of a monkey, I did not know that. Dude's over a century old!"
"Yeah. Ask him about the Civil War sometime and prepare to have your mind blown," she said, "Ask him about any war actually: he's fought in every American one since then."
He suppressed the urge to drink some more water so he could spit it out.
"But to answer your question, I'd say he's stuck somewhere in his early to mid-thirties," Kayla said, "There are worse ages to be stuck in."
"Like?" asked Peter.
She grinned and locked the ammunition in place.
"Sixteen," she said, "You're slightly gawky, your voice cracking, and eternal acne? No thanks."
"Shit, yeah," Peter said, "Sixteen sucked."
He drank some more water, wondering if he should let the topic drop. It wasn't exactly the time to talk about it right now, but he felt it needed to be addressed.
"But...you've been through so much more than I have," he said, "Like, you've just...I know the last three years were pretty screwed up, four or so I guess, but...yeah..."
She stopped what she was doing, and he wondered if he sounded as big an idiot as he felt. When she turned to him though, he didn't see contempt. All he saw was a quiet acknowledgement of his words.
"When I was ten, I thought tough was not crying when my dad stitched up a knee I'd cut open on the ground. When I was twenty-three, I thought the epitome of tough was being able to go the whole day without eating to make sure Emma had enough food," she said, "I could live on coffee and crackers if I had to. I thought that was the worst of it. I didn't know about that little part inside of you that makes it so you don't throw up when you see someone disemboweled, that part of you that lets you pull the trigger. I didn't know then."
Kayla sighed.
"No matter how strong you think you are, there's always another level that will be required," she said, "Killing people isn't strength but, what I went through…I was surviving Peter. My survival required their death. That's all."
She shrugged. He pulled his legs up to his chest, taking a long gulp of water.
"Children change things Peter," she said, "I'm sure Laura's already changed Logan. He's never been great with children, but I remember seeing him hold her, like she was this precious thing. They're…she's the part of me that's that level of tough I was when I was ten. I want to preserve that as much as possible, but I know you have to be strong in this world. I just want…I want the best for her."
Kayla shouldered her rifle, putting it into position.
"Even if I don't want growing up knowing about that other level of tough, I want to let her know that I can be that for her," she said, "I want to be able to protect her no matter what happens. Children change everything. You'll understand that one day, I think."
Peter didn't answer. He thought of the little sister he'd never know. Had she changed his father? Had she been the real reason Magneto hadn't risen in ten years? Had his father wanted to be something else for her, wanted to protect her, change?
Would he want to change for him? Peter finished the water and leaned back. He didn't know but, as the feeling built in his chest, he knew he wanted to find out as soon as he could. The time was running out when he could pretend otherwise.
Raven slipped the floppy disk into a case in her pack and moved through the hall. She'd seen Stryker try to coordinate efforts for a while in his command office. He'd been doing a pretty decent job, especially considering he didn't know everything that was going on.
But, at the same time, she was also there in time to see that he left once it became clear the facility had been breached. Raven had marveled at his cowardice for a moment, but it shouldn't have surprised her. He probably hadn't survived Logan's rampage at the compound by bravely staying put.
She slipped through the doors, moving slowly. She came across a guard who looked rather dead, blood coming from a slash in his chest, and she swore under her breath. They'd have to have a talk with Logan about curbing these tendencies. Charles was averse to these things, and Raven really didn't want to have to deal with a lecture. Not when they were back at the school where Kurt might overhear.
However, he did provide a good template. She took some of his standard weapons as she hid the body, taking note of his different physical features. Mystique shifted, and she started charging down the halls. Erik and the rest were on the other side of the compound, and anyone she'd run into now would just think she was trying to get into her position. No point in walking when you could run.
Stryker was trying to leave by one of the back exits. She wondered if she could do things quietly, maybe just knock him out, but she didn't know how things were going with Erik and the rest. Raven would just have to move as quickly as possible while keeping as cognizant of what she was doing as she could. It would kind of be fun to see Stryker stand trial after all, even if she would only hear it secondhand.
Raven rounded the corner, and saw movement. She ducked just in time to avoid being put in a chokehold. She spun and turned back, slamming her elbow into Stryker's stomach and shoving him in front of her. He hit the ground, but pulled a gun.
She dodged the first shot and slapped it out of his hands before he could fire again. He kicked at her legs, knocking her down. Stryker dropped then, the weight of his knee pressing onto her stomach and knocking the air from her lungs. His hands went around her throat, ready to squeeze out the rest of the air.
Her throat constricting, she brought around one of her hands, shifting back into her real skin. Her throat became more slender, giving her a slight advantage. As Stryker sought to readjust his grip to a smaller neck, she backhanded him, letting the spikes on her hand dig into his face.
He pulled back, and Raven reached for a weapon. The gun was right there, and it would be easy to shoot him in the head and have it be done with. There was something else at her hip though, something taken from the dead guard, something much better.
Raven drew the taser and aimed it for his forehead. The lines went out, latching onto his face and sending juddering bolts throughout his body. He fell away from her, twitching. Raven took a moment to savor a deep breath, greedily drinking in the air.
Once she had enough oxygen to ensure she wasn't about to pass out, she got to her feet. The twitching had all but stopped, but she could see Stryker was still moving. She gave him a thin smile.
"Payback really is a bitch," she said.
Then she lashed out with her foot, kicking away any shreds of consciousness.