X-Men: Evolution

Blood Magics

33. Nets and Pitfalls

They'd been flying for hours. Dragon felt restless, not knowing if they were getting close or not; she only knew that they were, at least, flying in the right direction this time.

A lot of the others were as restless as she was, as they shifted about in their seats. A lot of them had brought some things, books or small games or were listening to the same kind of music player Rahne had shown her, but were getting as agitated as Dragon felt. Some of Rogue's fear had diminished, but her sadness had increased, and it was taking forever.

The only person who seemed able to wait patiently- not including Jean, who was flying the jet- was Remy. He sat in a seat at the back, a strange collar around his neck that was making a strange black colour pulse over his body and especially up to his head, and one hand locked to the arm of the chair he was in with a handcuff, which Dragon didn't really understand. A few of the students occasionally spoke to him, and he spoke back to them when they did, but it kind of looked like he was in some pain to Dragon.

Tabitha went back to speak with him several times, getting closer to him than the other students did, and she was the one person he did seem to get a little annoyed at, but it didn't seem to bother Tabitha much.

Ahead, Dragon noticed an odd pattern in the colours… a very unnatural- looking one.

"What's that?" She asked, frowning as much as her facial structure allowed.

"What?" Jean responded tersely.

"That… that black net. There's a big black net in the colours up ahead… it's huge. We're flying right towards it."

"There's no net, Dragon. The sky looks normal. It's empty."

"Maybe it's just in the colours, then? I can see it. There's a big black net. Looks like it goes for miles."

"There's no net, Dragon." The older girl ground out. "Unless something changes with Rogue, please be quiet." Jean raised a hand and rubbed at her head.

Feeling put- out, Dragon fell silent. There was, however, definitely a net, and they were flying right into it. Within a couple minutes, they were passing through; whatever the net was, it wasn't stopping the jet from flying through, nor was it stopping anything else that Dragon could tell. But she knew it wasn't normal; she'd never seen anything like it before.

A few minutes after they entered the net, Dragon felt it.

"Ah! We flew over her! Rogue's on the ground around here!"

Jean's head shot up. "You're certain?"

"Yes! She's behind us now!"

"Everyone, strap in!" Jean called. "We've reached the area, and I need to find a place to land!"

That, Dragon noted, might be difficult to do; there were quite a few trees in the area, and the forest looked packed. The few spots not filled with trees were covered with rocky cliffs jutting this way and that.

Still, everyone scrambled into seats and buckled in; Jean pulled the jet around into a loop and began a slowly widening spiral with Dragon giving directions as best she could, until Jean finally found an area with enough space for them to land.

"Alright, everyone. First things first; we can't ignore caution. Let's get some camouflage on the jet." Jean ordered. "I didn't see any signs of people we need to worry about, so we can probably make do with a quick job, but let's not neglect it entirely."

A couple of people grumbled, but once the door was open, Roberto grabbed a large green net out of a storage compartment and headed outside with it, several people following. Dragon frowned and began to head after them, as did Jean, but someone clearing their throat gave them both pause.

Remy still sat in the chair; he lifted the hand chained to the chair pointedly.

"You're staying here." Jean told him, shaking her head.

He frowned. "Then why'd you even agree to bring me?"

"In case there was any kind of emergency."

"And what good am I going to do here?"

"It's a plan Z, okay? If something happens, I'll turn off your collar remotely."

"And the handcuff?"

Jean gave him a look. "If we return and you're still here, handcuffed to the chair, then as far as I'm concerned, that's proof you're on our side and willing to play by our rules. I'll talk to the professor about it. If something happens and you have no choice but to get out, then knowing what I do about you, the handcuff isn't going to stop you, now is it?"

Remy scowled at her. "For the record, this is not a good decision for you. Sinister likes his traps. You may well walk right into one."

"We'll take our chances. Look, I brought you along because I didn't know what other alternative would be good."

"You brought me along because I could help."

"And if it comes down to it, you will. I don't know what we're walking into, so all I want to do first is take a look and see what we can find."

"Those kids on a recon mission? Have they even trained for that? I've noticed a lot of your X- Men are a lot more of the "frontal assault" type people."

Jean stared at him for a long time, then sighed. "You're not wrong."

"Then leave the surveillance to someone who knows how to do it. I'm quite familiar with the concept."

"And I'm quite familiar with why that is. I'm also familiar with what some of the others might think if we just sent you in ahead when we haven't decided if we trust you or not yet."

"So you'd rather put those kid's lives up for gambling?"

Jean flared with anger. "Don't be stupid! And don't think that we're stupid! Yes, most of us have better powers for fighting than for anything stealth- wise, but we do know how to be careful."

"You'd better. Sinister will always have the upper hand in his own building."

"You got out."

"I got lucky. Sinister was angry enough over something that he forgot to check and see if I brought friends with me. Luck ain't something I like to count on in a situation like this, and you shouldn't be counting on it either."

"I'm not. What I'm counting on are the people I've learned that I can count on. Maybe one day, you'll be one of them too, but right now you're not, and I have to take that into account. Wait here. Dragon, wait with him."

"Me? How are you going to find Rogue, then?" She asked, confused. Not only was she completely baffled as to why Jean had brought Remy if she wasn't going to let him help, she also didn't understand why she didn't seem to think it was a good idea to trust Remy when he was perfectly nice. Dragon certainly liked him better than Tabitha.

Also, she wasn't sure why she was suddenly being left behind when they still had to find the others. Okay, sure, if they were going into a fight Dragon knew she wasn't very useful… all of her failures at hitting her target board in the Danger Room proved that. But they hadn't exactly been able to land the jet on the entrance to Sinister's lab.

"I'm going to have Rahne scent track them. Even if they haven't been walking around, once we get close enough to the area you were trying to point out, she should still be able to smell them at least a bit."

"You think so?" Dragon walked out of the jet and partway down the ramp, just so she could see what the other students were doing. They had unrolled the net overtop of the jet, and were throwing branches on top to hide it more. Dragon guessed that maybe it might be hard to see for anyone flying high overhead… someone on the ground wouldn't be fooled. Although, there wasn't anyone on the ground nearby except for them, so she guessed that it would be fine.

"Okay, that's good enough!" Jean called. "Let's go!"

"Which way is it? I got turned around from all those circles." Jubliee groaned.

"I know the general direction. Rahne, think you could turn wolf and tell me when you detect scent that's not just jungle? Or… whatever this place is?" Jean glanced around.

"Right." Rahne stood for a moment… then frowned. "I… something's wrong."

"What?"

"I… I can't transform. I tried to turn wolf just now, but… nothing happened."

"Not a good time to lose control of your power." Tabitha looked at her scornfully.

"I didn't! It's just… not there."

Frowning, Tabitha held on hand up… and simply stared at it. "Huh?"

Roberto lifted his arms towards the sky, towards where the sun shone on him, and simply stood like that. "I… my powers are gone, too!"

A couple of the others tried to produce their own powers, with similar failed results.

"What's happening?"

Jean's eyes flickered around each person. For a moment, her expression twisted; Dragon thought she looked scared. But then her face hardened.

"Alright, don't panic." She ordered. "If something is blocking our powers, then it's probably Sinister's doing. We'll… once we take a look at what kind of set up he has we'll work out a plan. We'll just have to shut off whatever he's using… it'll be technology just like our containment cells."

"It's not tech like ours if he's got our powers shut off from way out here!" Ray yelped.

"Yes, it is. It's just… stronger. Okay, if Rahne can't track them, that leaves…" Jean faltered a little, then sighed and looked at Dragon. "That leaves you. Looks like you're coming with us after all."

Wolfsbane was right behind Dragon along with Jean as she led the way. There had been a little arguing before they set off; Dragon wanted to bring Gambit with them, but Jean put her foot down; she believed that was a bad idea.

In honesty, Wolfsbane didn't think anyone even had an idea. Jean seemed to think that once they got a look at what was in Sinister's lair, that they could formulate a plan, but every hair on Wolfsbane's body was bristling. This was dangerous; this was bad.

But they couldn't just go home. Maybe they could save themselves that way, but they would be abandoning their friends, and Wolfsbane wasn't interested in that in the least. It wasn't happening.

She just wished that they really did have a plan they could work with, one that could soothe her raised hackles and bristling fur.

Hair. She didn't have fur right now. Because she couldn't transform. Because her mutant powers weren't working.

She didn't like this one bit at all.

The closer they got, the more Wolfsbane started feeling the air scream at her, much in the way that it did when the shadow person was in the forest. She hadn't felt it back at the jet, but it was thick in the air now, and she could tell that Dragon could feel it, too; though the girl had been happy to lead them at first, she was getting jumpier.

She stopped, however, at the base of a cliff; after some sniffing, Dragon was able to locate a deep crack in the rock. It was narrow, and at first glance it was well tucked out of sight behind a rocky outcropping, but they were certain this was it; turning on a flashlight and pointing it directly inside showed that while the crack was narrow, it opened up a little inside and there were clearly- carved stairs leading downwards.

Wolfsbane looked at it with the trepidation of, here we go again. Checking the lab in New Orleans had been unpleasant enough. Her fur had crawled with unease then, too, though not nearly as strongly as it did now.

Boom- Boom, however, held no such concern.

"Let's go, then! I want this shut off so my powers are back on!" She declared. She headed forward.

"No, stop! The first step is funny!" Dragon cried.

"What?" Jean asked.

"The step! It's got a funny pinky- brown colour. All of the lights making the black net are coming out of that hole, too, and they aren't normal!"

"Good grief, tell me when she starts making sense." Boom- Boom rolled her eyes and entered.

"Stop!"

"Boom- Boom, enough! Don't forget, we're not just marching in there!" Jean reached in and seized the girl's arm before her foot could land on the third stair, and pulled her back up. Dragon, who'd squawked in alarm when Boom- Boom's foot had landed on the top one, bolted under a bush. "We have to be cautious. First we send in someone quietly, to take a look around. We can't let our presence here be known yet."

"Oh, my dear, it's far too late for that." The voice, gravelly and unfamiliar, sent chills down Wolfsbane's spine. She growled, but before she could do anything else, her instincts shrieked; she lunged to the side, and the ground opened under everyone's feet. Wolfsbane didn't jump far enough; she reached the very edge of the pit that had opened under them, as the others fell, and seized at plant growth at the sides. They began ripping out of the ground, not strong enough to hold her; she clawed for better purchase. Purple eyes stared at her from under a bush, terrified.

Her hand seized a tree root; it held, and she pulled. Her training paid off; her body rose up, and she dragged herself out, ending up on all fours next to the bush Dragon had hidden under. She felt the girl come out and grab at her shirt, now tucked under Wolfsbane's stomach.

"Rahne?"

Wolfsbane wrapped her arm around her. "It's okay." She wheezed.

"Oh, I think not." The voice spoke again. "Very close, though."

A familiar noise and the smell of sulphur was the only warning Wolfsbane got before her shoulders were seized, and her surroundings disappeared. Almost immediately, she was kneeling on a cold, concrete floor; the person let go of her and she heard the noise and caught the scent again; Wolfsbane froze, still on her knees… still curling over Dragon.

Footsteps had her lifting her head to look at the man form the video they had all seen. He was on the other side of cage bars, but no less terrifying… more so, actually, since the one locked up was her.

"Too bad for you." He said simply. "Your friends, as well. You saved me the trouble of working out how to get the rest of you. It appears I will be busy for quite some time to come." He smiled, and the expression made him look all the more terrifying.

Then, he looked away. "You two." He said. "You're going to help me put the rest in cages. Let's go."

Turning her head as he walked away, Wolfsbane felt a sharp jolt of fear; Kurt and Rogue followed him. Kurt's blue fur had acid- green splotches, and a device strapped to his back; Rogue's white bangs had turned green, and she, too, had green mottling her skin. Neither of them were restrained, but both followed Sinister without hesitation.

Hands touched Wolfsbane, and she flinched.

"It's alright." A familiar, gentle voice reassured her. Beast. "It's me. Are you alright? Why are you positioned like that? Are you injured?"

"No." Wolfsbane panted, keeping her eyes on Sinister. "I just… what's going on?"

"Your arrival at the entrance tripped an alarm." Storm was the one to answer her. "Sinister brought up a camera… and then triggered the pitfall once he could see you. He has shut down everyone's powers… everyone except Kurt and his own. And Kurt and Rogue have both been given his control serum."

"Now they're going to bring the others in here… I'm not sure where they are right now, exactly, but no doubt that trap he sprung captured everyone else." Xavier's voice was grim; Wolfsbane carefully looked around, and spotted him as low to the ground as she was.

"Rahne, you haven't moved. If you're injured, I need to know." Beast pulled on her shoulder.

"Wait, wait!" Wolfsbane hissed.

Sinister, Kurt, and Rogue stepped out of the room. Wolfsbane looked around. She could see one option… just one.

The gaps between the bars were too small for a human to get through. But for someone not much bigger than the average cat…

Straightening up onto her knees, Wolfsbane pulled Dragon out. She looked around fearfully; Wolfsbane could feel her trembling.

Dragon had been held captive before; Wolfsbane remembered being told that much. She could only imagine what memories this could be bringing back.

Crawling towards the edge of the cage, Wolfsbane shoved; Dragon tumbled to the ground, falling against the bars. Her right wing flopped open, and Wolfsbane cursed. Reaching up, she yanked the ribbon out of one of her pigtails, yanked Dragon's wing back against her body, and wrapped the ribbon around it, tying the wing shut as fast as she could. As soon as it was secured, she shoved Dragon again, pushing her partway through.

"You can fit, Dragon! Go, run! Go now! Run!" Wolfsbane snapped.

Dragon flailed. Wolfsbane saw tears.

She also heard footsteps.

"Go!"

Dragon got to her feet and bolted, racing towards a doorway; the angle Wolfsbane was at meant she couldn't see what was beyond it, and she prayed that was the way out and that Dragon would somehow escape.

What the rest of them were going to do, Wolfsbane had no idea. They had come without a plan, simply just in desperation. Now, they had just made the situation worse.

The others were brought in and shoved into various cages. Sinister now had all of them. All except a small girl running for her life. Everywhere Wolfsbane looked, the situation was hopeless.

In the cage next to theirs, Wolfsbane noticed Jean slide a hand into her pocket; the pocket she'd put the remote to Gambit's inhibitor collar.

Right. The only ones right now that could come to their rescue was a tiny dragon child, and a former Acolyte that may or may not be on their side.

If they couldn't get out on their own, those two were going to have to pull off some kind of miracle. If they could even trust the Cajun ex- thief.

A/N: Why weren't those idiots more careful? Tabitha in particular. Eesh.

Well, one stroke of luck: given that Dragon, by some miracle, never showed up on the drone camera footage, Sinister never saw her. He didn't know to look for her, and with her either under a bush or under Wolfsbane when he was watching through the camera, he has no idea she's here. She'll get away.

The question is, what now? Just her and Gambit left for the rescue?

Sinister should be put on notice. ;)