Chapter Fourteen: Devil
Now that your rose is in bloom
A light hits the gloom on the gray
~Seal
The holding cell reeked of human waste and unwashed bodies. As Ororo came to her senses, she rubbed the side of her head, which ached with the coming migraine. She fought to recall just what, exactly, had happened.
Her last memory was of following Logan into the courtyard at the order of some disembodied voice. Her hands had obviously been unbound at some point. Before she chanced opening her eyes, she concentrated on listening for familiar voices.
Under the hum of what sounded like massive machinery, she picked out distinct vocal patterns coming from all around her, mingled with the sounds of shuffling footsteps and stirring bodies. Wherever she was, at least she was not completely alone.
Among the many voices, she honed in on a soft Southern accent and thick German brogue.
“Kurt? Marie?”
At her call, she heard several pairs of feet rush toward her. Only when a gentle, gloved hand captured hers did she open her eyes. Her friend knelt above her, a small, wan smile on her youthful face.
“Hi.”
“Hello,” Ororo countered with a smile. “What happened?”
“Nerve gas,” Kurt Wagner otherwise known as Nightcrawler chimed in. “We were worried.”
“Nerve gas?” she shook her head, trying to clear the cobwebs some friendly spider had woven into her mind.
“Yes, that’s how they trap the mutants,” Marie went on, helping Storm sit up. “Peter an’ Jubi are in here with us. Ah don’t know where they took Logan though.”
Logan?
“What do you mean?”
She felt the girl’s slender shoulders shrug as she held up her leader’s weight. “All ah know is that when ah came to, Kurt was here with a few of the others that got themselves snatched.”
Chancing a look around, at last, Ororo spotted several dozen mutants milling about the large, open containment area. Many of them seemed skittish, jumping at the slightest sound. A few even bore signs of very recent abuse.
“What in the name of the Goddess is going on here?”
“Allow me to explain.”
The trio turned, Marie waving at a tall, dark skinned mutant that moved toward them. Ororo could not place where, but she was certain they had met before. The man’s smile was friendly, though guarded, as if he had been spurned and wounded far too many times to truly trust someone.
“My name is Michael Vaughn, I’m a mutant based out of France.”
“Ororo Munroe of the X-Men.”
He chuckled, reaching down to help Marie and Kurt settle her on a nearby cot. She shook her head again, trying to brush off the remnants of the gas.
“I know. I was a prospective student some years ago,” Michael grinned. “Unfortunately, my parents weren’t thrilled with the idea. I was living in the closet, so to speak, when I was captured.”
“Oh,” Ororo nodded, suddenly remembering the young man with hopeful eyes.
“You’re in the top headquarters for the Friends of Humanity, the absolute fanatical headquarters,” Michael continued, idly touching Ororo’s brow. “Nice cut you’ve got there. Hey, Kurt, grab that kit for me?”
As Kurt shuffled off to follow Michael’s order, Marie settled on the bed beside Ororo.
“I’m a doctor, I just want to make sure you don’t get an infection,” he explained. “One of the sympathetic guards smuggled a medical kit in for me. I do what I can.”
“That is very kind of you,” Storm smiled. “What do you mean “fanatical”?”
“The Friends of Humanity originated here in Germany, under the guidance of a very disturbed monk named Kittrel,” Michael stated somberly. “He was dedicated to the eradication of all mutants.”
“Lovely sentiment,” Storm muttered as Kurt returned with the first aid kit.
For a moment, Michael dug through the contents, producing a cleansing solution and bandage for her wound. Once he set to work, he continued.
“Kittrel died some years ago, but his following was huge,” said the dark man. “It especially flourished in the U.S. during the Mutant Registration crap.”
“Of course,” Ororo hissed when the cleanser stung at the cut upon her brow. “That would have been perfect timing for such sentiments.”
“Right-o,” Michael agreed. “The main headquarters, here, is based largely on religious zeal, but in the States it’s just blind hatred. It was actually starting to calm down once you destroyed the base in Canon County.”
Slightly surprised, Ororo looked up at him, smiling as he gently affixed the bandage on her wound. “I would have thought otherwise.”
“So would I,” he shrugged. “I think they figured you were just too much. They’d planned to go underground, come back again when they got more powerful.”
“What changed?”
Michael paused for a moment, ensuring that the younger mutants were out of his hearing range by a quick glance around.
“The Leader.”
“What?” Marie’s voice was filled with disbelief.
“That’s what they call him,” Michael cleared his throat as he set to packing his supplies up again. “He appeared at the gates several weeks ago, the others treat him like he’s Christ reborn. They follow his orders eagerly, no matter how bloody.”
“Bloody?”
“This was originally just a holding facility. Most mutants captured were questioned then moved to another base in Russia for “work”. Think Holocaust.”
Marie and Ororo shuddered in unison.
“Yeah,” Michael ran a hand over his face. “But once The Leader showed up…he ordered mutants executed by the dozen. There was a huge influx a few days ago, but most of them have already been killed.”
“My God,” Rogue whispered, clinging to Kurt’s hand.
“And that is what they mean to do with us?”
Michael nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
“The Militia?”
“In the Leader’s pocket.”
“Is there any chance at escape?”
Michael’s eyes suddenly lost their dark, hopeless look, replaced by blind faith.
“I was hoping you and the X-Men might help with that,” he whispered. “The Leader may want all mutants dead, but you’ve still got most of them piss-in-their-pants terrified of you.”
“See now,” Rogue nudged Storm with her elbow playfully. “Isn’t that nice?”
“Hush now, Marie,” Ororo said quickly. “I must try to contact Jean.”
The others lapsed into immediate silence as Ororo closed her eyes. Drawing on her love of her friend, she controlled her breathing, carefully dropping the mental blocks she’d kept in place so long.
With a gentle shove, she reached out to find Jean’s consciousness. In mere seconds, there was the warm, solid feeling of relief and her friend’s voice echoed in the vaults of her mind.
My God, Ororo!
Jean, we are all right for now.
Where are you?
I would guess only several kilometers from the jet’s crash site.
Activate your homing beacon, we’re not far.
Ororo reached for her neck, pulling at the hard metallic chip imbedded just beneath her flesh. It was a prototype of Henry’s, but the theory was sound. After fiddling with the chip for several seconds, she heard a soft click and Jean sighed in her mind.
There you are. We’re only minutes out.
Good. Jean, Logan is not with us. We do not know where he has been taken.
Hang on.
She fell silent, dimly aware that Michael was whispering warnings to her. Guards were approaching, likely to take another batch of mutants to the slaughter. Ororo let a wave of impatience wash over her so that Jean could feel it.
I found him. He’s in another holding cell. Thank God, he’s not hurt.
Then why do I sense apprehension from you?
Because…he is feral, Ororo. Completely.
Oh, no.
If you can get out of the cell, distract the guards and try to calm him. I fear our simply popping into the room may be the death of many people.
Can you shut him down mentally?
Ororo, he’s in an animal state. My powers have no effect over natural instinct.
All right. I will see what we can do. Jean…
I know. Hurry.
Ororo opened her eyes, giving the worried people surrounding her a small smile.
“The cavalry is on the way, but we have another problem.”
She quickly repeated the conversations between herself and Jean, aware that the guards were quickly approaching. Michael nodded his agreement with Jean’s assessment of Logan’s condition, then went on to explain that he was familiar with the compound.
Though he was a mutant, an empath as he explained, his medical knowledge was sometimes useful to their captors.
“If your friend is right, he’s in the high security center,” Michael said quickly. “I think they’d want him contained until they found a way to exterminate him.”
“Is there any way out of this cell?”
Michael nodded. “The guards will open it to take mutants out. But they’re armed.”
Ororo shot a glance to Colossus. The large man nodded. “I will go first.”
“How many others can fight?” Storm asked, the sounds of guard footsteps fast approaching.
“All, if you can give them hope of escape,” Michael jerked his head toward Kurt. “Come on, let’s rally the troops.”
As the two men moved off, Ororo turned to Rogue.
“Get Jubilation and find a place for you two to fight. I will be directly behind Colossus.”
“Right,” she nodded. “Goal is ta get the guards in here and us out, right?”
“Very good.”
Storm managed to get to her feet as the others scrambled to follow her orders. She took up a place beside Colossus directly in front of the electrified gate. The murmur of voices from the mutants in the cell with them climbed several decibels, as though they were on a battlefield preparing for war.
A group of four guards approached the gate, each bearing large rifles. Ororo nodded to Peter, knowing he would wait for the perfect moment to show his mutation.
“Weg vom Gitter! Sofort!"” One guard shouted, raising his rifle ominously.
Peter deliberately took three steps backward. Ororo moved back as well, hoping to be unnoticed as the men punched in a code. The electric hum from the bars died and the gate popped open.
The grinding sound of metal on metal echoed in the large cell, followed by shouts of joy from the detained mutants. Colossus, in all his metallic glory, stepped forward. The fearsome scowl on his otherwise handsome face made several of the guards step back in fear.
But the first two opened fire.
Bullets bounced off of her metal friend, making the guards cry out in fear and anger. They stepped into the cell, two at a time.
Ororo lashed out with her fist, connecting with the jaw of the first captor before the guards were overwhelmed by angry, suddenly freed prisoners.
The revolution had begun.
~**~
Storm, Rogue, Colossus, and Jubilee rushed down the corridors at full speed. Leading them, Peter repelled bullets and tossed guards as though they were Tunza’s chew toys. Jubilee let loose violent electric sparks and Rogue’s right hook laid out any who came in contact.
Ororo concentrated on following Jean’s mentally whispered commands, hoping to find Logan before he hurt himself.
The compound was not so vast as one would think. Many of the intersecting corridors were much shorter than it seemed. Whenever possible, the mutant team would restrain their captors without brute force, locking them in rooms and disarming them.
Freed prisoners were distracting many of the guards with their prison break. Michael had led them to the other holding cells, hoping to emancipate any others still trapped inside. They had all agreed that the compound would be destroyed the instant everyone was out.
Ororo found the door that would lead them to Logan, waiting until Colossus called the all-clear before she rushed up to it. Jean’s whispered voice said they were landing and would arrive to save the day in mere seconds.
Peering into the small, thickly glassed window at the top of the door, Storm searched for her feral love. Logan had likely been told that his friends were dead, setting his ferocity too deadly levels. She would have to convince him of her identity quickly.
When she could not see her Wolverine from the window, she opened the door, instructing the others to cover her back.
She stepped inside cautiously, searching for signs of Logan. The entire room was filled with the implements of torture. Wide examination tables complete with restraints filled the center of the cavernous room, flanked by wheeled carts housing sharp instruments.
This was likely where they “extracted” information from captured mutants. Ororo would revel in its destruction.
“’Ro?”
The low, husky growl was familiar. It came from directly behind her, so Storm turned quickly.
Logan was bolted to the wall, his hands spread out too far for his beloved claws to be of any use to him. His head hung weakly, as though he’d been exhausted by some vigorous means of torture.
“Logan?”
“R-Run.”
A gasp of shock left her lips at his whispered, terrified plea. Without thinking, knowing that whatever he was warning her about was to be feared, she turned to run back to the safety of her X-Men.
It was too late.
“I knew you’d come for him.”
The youthful and sadistic voice was coupled by the slam of a door. Ororo, for the first time in months, stood face to face with terror.
“Jeffery.”
He smiled then, a slow, evil smile that sent shivers of fear down her spine. Rooted to the spot by her consuming dread, she could only gape at the young mutant that stood before her.
The spy. The child. The reason for so much of her physical and personal pain was standing now clutching a long, wide bladed knife.
“You do remember me,” he said with a maniacal gleam in his eye. “I was starting to think you’d forgotten all about me.”
“How could I?” she countered, willing her voice to be strong. “Your brother tried to kill me.”
“I know,” he clucked his tongue sadly. “And I really was sorry about that.”
“L-Let her go,” Logan’s slurred voice demanded weakly from behind her. “It’s me you want.”
“No, Wolverine, that’s not what I want,” he shouted. “I want you to suffer as I suffered!”
“We have no parents or siblings for you to take,” Ororo said, her voice similar to the one she used for teaching. “You may torture and kill us, but we are the only family we have.”
Jeffery laughed. He threw his head back in a fit of hysterics that rattled the very walls around them. “Is that what you think, you stupid bitch? That I would go through all of this just to kill you?”
Storm was thinking fast. Lightning was not an option with so much metal to act as a conductor. But a gust of wind might by her some time.
Before she could implement her new plan, Jeffery was in front of her, that enormous knife pressed to her throat.
“I don’t think so, bitch,” he growled in her ear.
“Let her go!” Logan’s shout was stronger than before.
“NO!”
Jeffery’s roar made Ororo’s ears ring. He dug the blade of his knife into her throat.
“One more word and I’ll start slicing.”
Both trapped mutants fell into silence. Ororo pleaded with her mind for Jean to hurry. The only chance they had was if their friends managed to subdue their fanatical captor.
“I don’t just want to kill you,” Jeffery said again, his voice oddly loving. “I’m going to take something you both hold dear.”
“I don’t…have…anything,” Logan grunted.
Slowly, as a lover’s caress, Jeffery brought the blade of his knife down from Storm’s throat. She held back a whimper as it crossed her breast, her ribcage, and stopped at the point just below her navel.
“Yes, Wolvie, you do,” Jeffery whispered. “Your son.”
Time stopped. Ororo’s eyes filled with tears as she met the startled, terrified gaze of her lover. She hadn’t known. No, it was not possible. They had only so recently been reunited.
Indiana.
The thought came unbidden. That night, their first reunion in Indiana. Her fear, that of a new mother, crept into her heart. She may not have known the child growing inside her, but in that moment, she loved him more than life itself.
“Ahh,” Jeffery cackled. “Neither of you knew. Isn’t that great?”
Ororo did whimper as the blade dug into the leather of her uniform. It would easily pierce material and slice into her flesh. It could kill her unborn son.
“You see, I have my minions,” he paused. “I’ve always wanted to use that word.”
Logan strained against the bonds holding him. Ororo could almost see his rage building as tears splashed down his cheeks.
“I have my minions perform a lovely little medical checkup on every mutant, to find how best to kill them,” Jeffery went on. “Imagine my surprise to find this little whore was carrying Wolverine, Jr.”
“Please…” Ororo plead. “He has done nothing to you.”
Jeffery shrugged, the knife piercing her uniform as he deftly flicked his wrist. “Yeah, but I don’t care about that.”
He moved again. Ororo closed her eyes, bracing herself. Logan tore at his bonds.
In a moment, my son, it will all be over. And we will soon be with you.
