The first thing that Greer could sense was the harsh smell: Antiseptic, latex, bleach.
The next were the sounds: beeping and whispered voices.
Her mind raced to wake itself because all of this could only mean one thing: Greer was in some type of laboratory. With needles and doctors and pain and...
"Greer? Greer I want you to follow my voice..." Xavier's calm tone resonated in Greer's mind, blocking out any panicked thoughts and slowly Greer opened her eyes to see the Professor, Jean and Dr. McCoy standing around her.
Greer just blinked a few times as the threesome all shared the same relieved look at seeing Greer open her eyes.
"How are you feeling?" The Professor asked. Jean took a seat at the edge of Greer's bed. Greer was having trouble focusing and looking down noticed that she was in some type of hospital gown. Seeing as how she had been able to heal for the last four years, the entire experience of even being in some type of infirmary...was a bit surreal.
"Where - "
"Greer you're back at the Mansion in the infirmary." Hank took out a small flashlight and checked Greer's eyes as he spoke. "You've been asleep for almost three days. Now I know everything might seem alright but I need you to tell me about any procedures you might have undergone at...the facility." Hank gave her a serious look but Greer just shook her head as if she was having trouble hearing.
"What do you mean procedures? What's going on?" Greer still felt...slow. As if everything was happening around her faster than she could keep up.
She rubbed her forehead as if to clear out the cobwebs.
"Greer, you've been through a horrible ordeal. Three days ago we rescued you from a facility controlled by Weapon X. You were gone for over a month. We sedated you and brought you to the infirmary to make sure you were alright. Now the grogginess will pass but please, listen to Dr. McCoy." Greer wasn't sure if the Professor had spoken out-loud or telepathically but either way Greer nodded her head and looked back at Dr. McCoy.
"Greer this is important. I've checked all of your blood work and you had been given strong doses of Mescaline and Diethylstilbestrol...along with some other compounds we are still analyzing" Greer gave him a confused look. "In combination they make the mind susceptible to suggestion and control. We're not sure what the unknown compounds are but we think they were targeted for mutants. We kept you under so that your healing factor could burn the remainder of it from your system. Now...I'm confident they didn't implant you with anything, but before I can discharge you...I need to be sure."
Greer looked over to Jean and Xavier and had the thought that maybe they weren't just here to make sure she was alright.
They were here to make sure she wasn't programed to hurt anyone.
"Greer there is no need to worry about that. I already did a thorough search and there is no evidence of psychic tampering with your mind. The drugs that Hank spoke of are out of your system. We are just concerned for something that we might not know to look for. So please, Greer, I know that it is difficult but if you can answer -"
"No. No there wasn't any surgeries." Greer whispered, tossing off the blanket and sitting on the edge of the bed so that she wouldn't have to face the threesome. Jean moved closer and gently rubbed Greer's back. She didn't really notice.
Greer was still piecing back together how she had ended up in the infirmary.
She remembered everything that had happened at Weapon X. Greer was pretty sure her mind was never going to forget that. Then there had been running...and woods...and...
"Logan!" Greer's head spun around the infirmary looking for him and caught her breath when she saw him across the room, against the far wall. He looked like he was sleeping...
"Don't worry about Logan. This was hardly the first time we've had to deal with someone attempting to control him. Both I and the Professor have methods to help him. In fact, his current state seems to be more self-induced then anything we've done. Looks like his body is just healing itself at this point. He'll be fine." Greer finally exhaled in relief. At least Logan was safe.
But Greer still felt off...like she was missing something important. Her mind still felt slow and she was doing her best to remember what had happened after. She remembered getting off the plane. She remembered someone screaming her name -
"Where is he?" Greer's voice returned to its normal tone and her eyes regained their focus as she slowly turned her attention to Xavier. Jean and Hank tried to divert Greer's attention.
"Greer we are just trying - " "Greer maybe we should go upstairs and get you some -"
But Greer was on her feet now and bearing over Xavier who met her gaze with one as hard. Jean looked shocked and Hank concerned. Greer had never acted like this before, but Greer didn't notice either reaction. She only cared about one thing.
"Where. Is. Apex?"
Three days ago...
After dosing both Greer and Apex with the sedatives the Mansion always had in stock should Logan or any other advanced healer ever need surgery, Greer was moved along with Logan to the infirmary. Peter meanwhile had been charged with delivering Apex to the containment cell reserved for Sabertooth.
Once Hank had drawn some blood and done a range of scans on Apex, he had turned his attention to Greer and Logan in the infirmary. As Hank left, Xavier wheeled himself in front of the vibranium-enforced cell.
Taking a breath to center himself, Xavier reached out to Apex's mind.
From what he had felt on the jet, Apex had psychic guards beyond anything he had brushed against. Even Logan was easier to sense...Weather they were some form of his mutation or training, the Professor was not yet sure.
Hank had taken on the task of mapping exactly what they were all dealing with in terms of Apex's powers, but now, with Apex still and his mind placed under heavy sedative, might be his only chance to glean something from the feral's well guarded mind.
As Xavier searched, at first he could only find darkness. Again and again he brushed against the psychic guards. But this time, Xavier knew what he was looking for - or more precisely, what to avoid.
Hours passed and finally the Professor felt a way in and immediately began searching. He tried going backwards to early memories, but found nothing. Unfortunately, Xavier had anticipated as much. Weapon X seemed to prefer to work with blank slates then the complications of dealing with something as troublesome as a past.
Instead Xavier focused on more recent memories. The images and feelings that flashed were a severe split of focused details: faces, names, locations, bodies, weaknesses, altitudes, ranges. The rest were flashes of intense pain. Agony. Training. The Professor shook his head as the thought found him. Still the Professor pushed, searching for details of the self. Of who it was this mind belonged to...Throughout his search, Greer's face would flash...
get out
Xavier froze. Darkness descended yet again and he found himself able to see his body standing in the darkness.
get out
Turning, Xavier found Apex on his knees, his eyes closed as if waiting...or perhaps in some form of meditation. Xavier realized it must have been Apex's voice that had spoken.
"My name is Charles Xavier. You are safe in my school. I am trying to help -"
get out
"Apex please. Allow me to -"
GET OUT
"Professor, you shouldn't be in here alone." Scott stood behind the Professor as he slowly opened his eyes, releasing a sigh of frustration. The Professor looked disappointingly at Apex. The only proof he was alive was the steady rise of his chest.
"I will be fine Scott. Now might be the only chance we have to glean some knowledge from him. Find out what we need to know before we can make a decision on how best we can help him..."
"Help him? Professor that...beast is exactly where it belongs. He's no different then Sabertooth." Scott said firmly.
"Scott! We know next to nothing about him. And for now he is in our care. We have yet to know how he came to be controlled -"
"Or working for..." Scott muttered but Xavier ignored him.
" - by Weapon X. I shouldn't have to remind you what that program is capable of. They are a mix of the world's greatest sadists and manipulators of mutants. Now before we pass judgement on him we will do our best to see who it is we are actually dealing with and we will not judge him any differently then any other wayward mutant we would bring in. Am I clear?"
Scott managed to curtly nod his head.
"Now, please, I will need to concentrate." With a curt nod of his head Scott headed down the hall and posted a list for cell watch on the Mansion's server. The Professor might want to help that beast but Scott had higher priorities.
Two Days Ago...
Apex awoke slowly, a familiar grogginess slowing him and a dull pain in his temples.
I hate psychics. Apex had fought and trained with psychics before. They always left him with a headache...although it had been a while since he had any difficulty with one. Most likely Xavier had attempted to sift through his mind.
The thought made him uneasy...
Moving to the edge of the bed, Apex took in his surroundings. The walls were smooth and without edges, each side bending into the next. Leaving no edge to gain leverage on to expose whatever might have laid beneath. The room was bare save for a similarly designed toilet. There was no door, simply a reinforced, bulletproof piece of glass. No bars that he could reach through and no smell or sounds penetrated the walls.
All of it pointing to the obvious conclusion that, "I'm in a box. Again..." Apex gripped the edge of the metal frame in anger. Anger at his blindness. For failing to listen to his instincts. Tigra had lied. This had all been a trap. A ruse. A way to -
No...that didn't add up. Tigra had been blasted along with him. Which meant she was likely a prisoner here as well. Fine.
He already knew where the holding cells were located. The hanger was not far, one level above. He would escape, find Tigra and leave. But first...he had a guest...
"Give me something Hank. I need to at least know what I'm dealing with before I go down there." Scott, Hank, Orroro and Xavier were in the central monitor room, the focus now on the main screen showing a rousing Apex.
"My initial hypothesis was correct. Beyond the obvious physical mutations, he is capable of registering a targets strengths and weaknesses. Now I am not sure if that is a result of his underlying or forced mutation..."
"Wait, are you saying he's not like Greer? He's actually a mutant?" Scott looked back at the screen.
"It would appear so. Now his genes are such a mess it's hard to tell where the forced mutation starts and the inherent begins, but it seems that he was indeed a mutant before he underwent much the same procedure as Greer. Although the advancement of his mutation suggests that either he was a feral before or that they have enhanced the impact of the feline/feral mutation. To what end...I am not sure." Hank said gravely.
"Guided mutation...forced mutation...weaponized mutation." Xavier's brow furrowed at the ramifications of such evidence.
"There's more. I went over the scans and there is an alarming amount of scar tissue covering much of his body. There's also evidence of a number of incorrectly healed forced breaks." Hank had Apex's full body scan appear on screen.
"I thought he was a self-healer like Logan and Greer?" Orroro asked confused.
"He does heal...but not at the same level. His healing is indeed accelerated, but that appears to be the extent of it. While Logan and Greer heal to a perfect state, it appears our patient heals as much the same way that you or I do. That explains the scar tissue and incorrectly healed fractures." Hank explained.
"What did you mean when you said, 'forced breaks?'" Xavier inquired. Hank sighed before pointing at a number of marks on Apex's right arm.
"Look here for example. See the even spacing of these abrasions on the bone? Each one is healed evenly apart and was broken in the same manner. Too precise to be an accident. My guess is that they were testing his abilities...or some form of twisted punishment..." The room remained silent as the information sank in.
"We know as much as we can. It's time we found out the rest." Soctt turned and made his way down to the containment cells.
Last thing he needed was to start feeling sympathetic for the monster that put two of his team in the infirmary.
The following hours ended with Scott slamming off the lights to the detention cells and releasing a rather creative stream of curses.
He had attempted every interrogation technique and had gotten no where. Scott would have believed Apex had been asleep the entire time if his eyes hadn't been open and never left the floor.
Frustrated, Scott met with Xavier, Orroro and Jean back in the main debriefing room.
"That's it. Just let him sit down there and rot until he decides to talk. This has been a complete waste a time." Scott fumed as Jean tried to calm him. Orroro however remained silent. She had been watching Scott's attempts at questioning Apex and had read Jean's debriefing and considered a different approach.
"I will speak with him."
"Excuse me?" Scott asked incredulously.
"You are too involved with this. Too angry. We are not supposed to be interrogating him. We are trying to ascertain if we can trust him and build trust within him as well." Scott opened his mouth to retort but the Professor raised his hand to cut him off.
"Allow Storm a pass at him. She's right Scott. Your mind is raging." Scott just tossed his hands up and handed the smartpad with his notes to Storm.
Giving an impatient look to Scott and a thank you to the Professor, Orroro made her way down to the containment cells, taking a seat in the chair Scott had left. Apex appeared to register no change between Scott leaving, the return of the lights, or Orroro's presence.
The pair sat in silence for almost an hour until finally Ororo spoke first...
"Apex...is there something else I can call you?" Orroro looked up from the pad she was holding hoping to engage, but Apex remained seated with his eyes on the floor.
"Apex for now then. Can you tell me how you came to be under the control of Weapon X?"
Silence...Time for a different approach
"Greer is fine by the way. She's recovery in our infirmary. Safe." Apex's ears twitched at the sound of Greer's name. Orroro allowed a small smile. There it is...
"We're running some tests but we're still concerned about her. Can you tell me what Weapon X wanted with her?" Apex turned his head away from Orroro, clearly weighing what Orroro was asking him. Unsure if this was simply a trick to get him to talk or if Tigra was indeed in trouble...
"We're worried Weapon X might have implanted devices. Is there something -"
"New...acquisitions...are inserted with locator chips. In the neck, beneath the left ear." Storm looked alarmingly towards the camera and Xavier immediately called Hank in the labs.
"I disabled it." Ororo looked back at Apex.
"Excuse me?"
"I damaged it during one of our training sessions. They never got a chance to replace it before your arrival." Apex didn't raise his head when he spoke but Ororo tried to get him to look at her regardless, scooting back the chair and taking a place on the floor outside the glass door.
"That was very brave of you." Apex just shifted and didn't respond. C'mon...you trust Greer...trust us...
"Why are you here?"
Silence...
"What did Greer tell you about this place? About us?" ...
"She said there wouldn't be anymore cages." Apex met Storm's eyes with that comment before returning them to the floor. Storm started to get a grasp on what was going on. First they had taken Greer away from him and then they had locked him in a cage. Likely the exact opposite of what Greer had promised would be waiting for him.
"But you understand why we needed to take precautions?" Storm tried hopefully.
"I never would have let me on the jet." Apex looked up at Storm. "You should have left me there." But Ororo just shook her head in response.
"Greer trusts you. So we are going to trust you. You just have to let us." Apex remained silent but Storm thought the message might have gotten through. "Try eating the food next time it's sent down. I promise you'll like it." With that Storm got up and left.
Apex wasn't sure what to make of what just happened. Either this was the most creative attempt at breaking him down or Tigra had spoken the truth about these mutants...either way, he was getting them both out of here...
One Day Ago...
"Ummm...excuse me?"
This was definitely some kind of new method of breaking him down.
After reacting to Storm the previous day, mutant after mutant had taken turns every few hours coming down to...I dunno...talk to him. It was all very hard to understand. They never asked him for or about anything having to do with Weapon X. They just talked.
He hadn't responded since Storm but that didn't seem to be deterring anyone. God...even Shadowcat, the one he had stabbed with the power-dampener knife, had come down to speak with him...although he noticed she had remained incorporeal the entire time. Now, it appeared to be Jean Grey's turn.
"Was hoping you'd talk back to me this time." Jean said optimistically. He had never heard so much optimism directed at him as the last twenty-four hours. It was wearing on him.
Silence
"Greer is doing well. We're all hoping she'll be waking up soon." And they kept mentioning Greer. Each one. As if they cared -
"I wanted to thank you for saving her. I don't think I ever got a chance to do that." Apex looked up briefly and met Jean's green eyes. He could tell she was tempted to try reading him. He was surprised when she didn't.
"I got most of what happened from Greer right after we found her. I saw what they did to her. She doesn't think she would have survived without you. So thank you." And with that Jean got up and left Apex once again alone to consider what had been said to him.
He had never thought of himself as having saved Greer. He didn't save anyone. It's just not what he did. Not what he was trained to do. And yet...
Apex shook his head. He didn't like where this line of thinking was headed. Besides, it was almost time to leave...
Now...
Kurt was on watch duty. Not that there was much to watch. Just the jerk that had taken Logan and been kind enough to leave him laid-up in the infirmary for a week. And all he was doing was sitting there. For hoooouurrrsss. Kurt had refused to participate in the new strategy headed by Orroro and Jean and was firmly on the side of Scott. Besides, rumor was spreading that Fury and the Professor had had a row. Seemed S.H.I.E.L.D wanted the beast as well. Of course, Xavier was having none of it and simply refused to even admit that he was even here. Kurt was tempted to just teleport the jerk to Fury's office with a note saying, "Bitte."
Kurt's boredom was caught by the video feed from the elevator. It looked like the Professor, Jean, Hank, Orroro and...***BAMF!***
"Greer!" Kurt teleported just as the doors were opening and the smile on his face dropped as quick as his open arms at the look on Greer's face. It was not a face he wanted directed at him and Greer was quite a sight, 'dressed' in only only the briefs and sports bra she had had on under her hospital gown. Greer didn't seem to notice as she stormed past with the others in her wake.
"You put him in a cage? Are you all insane?!" Greer was beside herself as she made her way through the security doors to the cell they were holding Apex in. "Of all the decisions you could have made, that must easily have been the stupidest one." Greer almost hissed out the last part.
"Greer, try to see reason." The Professor was finding it difficult to keep up with Greer's long strides. "He attacked this Mansion. Our home. He assaulted us. He took Logan. Was responsible for your disappearance. We needed to take - "
"You needed to show him compassion. You needed to trust me. But instead you locked him..." The group paused in front of the reinforced cell before Greer whipped around, fists clenched at her sides and furious.
"Where? Where is Apex?"