Darkness caressed the night and a few bright starts gleamed through the blackness. Professor Xavier woke from another disturbed sleep, another experience of the same confusing messages. He began to fear that his powers were slipping from his control -- could that explain why he was unable to understand more of the ethereal communications? Yesterday he had attempted to look up the coordinates from his dreams, but even checking the most current star-map the X-men had, he found that the coordinates were too far out in space to determine anything about the place.
Xavier maneuvered himself onto his wheelchair and wrapped a robe around his shoulders. He became aware of the fact that Storm, Gambit, and Nightcrawler had returned from their mission and he met them in the main hall downstairs. Storm offered to update him, as Nightcrawler and Gambit retired to their rooms, though Xavier could have guessed at the mission’s result solely from observing Storm’s face.
“We could not find any trace of them,” Storm reported, as she settled into a leather chair inside Xavier’s office. Based on the team’s reconnaissance, it looked as if the Morlocks had left their home permanently, and signs of struggle were minimal. “We don’t have any theories as to what their destination was”.
“I will try to use Cerebro,” the Professor responded.
“You are planning on waiting a few days though, right?” Storm queried gently. She looked into the eyes of the teacher whom she so admired and could almost feel his weariness.
“Yes. Yes, I believe that would be wise,” he agreed.
***
“You not still awake, chere?” Gambit whispered. His entrance into their room in the dead of night was silent. He had ensured the handle of the door did not creak, and no sounds could be heard as he removed his clothing. Rogue didn’t respond, and Gambit was glad that his lover could continue her sleep undisturbed.
As much as Gambit wanted to join her in slumber right away, his investigation of the Morlocks’ former habitat left him in need of a shower.
The running water from the adjoining bathroom’s shower stirred Rogue. She rubbed her eyes and silently cursed herself. She had wanted to stay awake to ensure that Gambit made it home safely, even though this mission was a low-risk one. She had wanted to be there greet him when returned. She turned the alarm clock towards her and saw that it was two a.m.
“Can’t believe I fell asleep,” she muttered, as Gambit emerged from the bathroom with a towel around his waist. “I wanted to be up to see you and make sure you got back safe”.
“Don’ be crazy, chere. I’d rather you get your rest”. His fire-red eyes had the ability to see well in the dark and he could discern that she didn’t have her collar on. He wanted to kiss her, but putting that Genoshan torture device on would always have to be Rogue’s choice.
“I ain’t that tired anyway; don’t think I fell into a deep sleep. So how’d it go?” she asked.
As Gambit filled her in on their unsuccessful mission, Rogue rummaged around the dresser and pulled out a collar. She placed the device around her neck. The metal felt cool against her skin, though she knew it would soon share her warmth and heat up.
“Hope wherever dey are, dey okay,” he finished, sliding onto the bed next to Rogue. His voice turned to honey. “You put your collar on, chere. You want Remy to touch you?”
Rogue nodded, accepting his embrace. Gambit gently kissed her, starting with her shoulder and working his way up to her neck. She smelled vaguely of perfume, and he could feel her pulse beating when he pressed his lips against her neck. When Remy reached her lips, she returned the kiss but not with her usual passion.
“What’s wrong, chere?” Gambit whispered, as his hands leisurely caressed her back and shoulders. The thin material of the sage green nightgown he had given her allowed the sensations of touch to be felt thoroughly.
“Nothin’, Remy. Just that sometimes I feel silly havin’ to wear this collar”.
Gambit reached for one of her hands and began kissing it. “Don’t make no difference to me. And the collar lets us touch each other. Remy always be thankful for dat day you asked Beast to lend you one that he was studyin’ and you put it on”.
Rogue couldn’t suppress a smile at the memory either. She had been too shy and nervous back then to ask Remy for anything more than a few kisses, and he had been so respectful of her need for time. She would never forget the shock of touching someone with her bare skin and the sensation of his lips against hers. The weeks they spent after that, Gambit patiently teaching her and Rogue gradually shedding her fears, had convinced her. If she hadn’t known that she loved him before, she knew it for certain then.
“But if it’s botherin’ you, maybe you outta ask Xavier again,” Gambit continued. “He could try again to help you get control of your powers”.
Rogue shook her head. “We tried already, but that ain’t the main reason why I won’t ask him again. Remy, that man looks exhausted. He needs ‘bout a three month vacation “ and he don’t need people askin’ him for things”.
Gambit looked into her eyes. Her forehead had a slight wrinkle above her nose. “Dat’s what dis is. You worried more ‘bout the FOH and what the team’s gotta deal wit’ den the collar”.
Rogue moved closer towards him and put her arms around his waist. “I think you’re right,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. “Sucks to be a mutant now”.
“Not when we’re toget’er dough. Not jus’ you an’ me but the whole team”. Gambit paused and took a breath. “Never though I’d be sayin’ somethin’ like dat a few years ago. But it’s true. Used to like to work on my own, but it’s better wit’ the whole group. Wit’ all the shit the X-men’s been through, ain’t nothin’ we can’t handle now. T’ink of it. T’ink of all the battles we won, the times when the odds were against us. No different wit’ FOH. T’ings look bad now but we’ll win eventually. We always do”.
Rogue sighed. “You’re right, Remy. You’re always right,” she said, her voice containing more of its signature spunkiness. “We’ll beat those bastards!” She then lunged at Gambit, covering his body with hers.
Gambit smiled at seeing the return of the Rogue he knew, as she covered his face with kisses. Her kisses grew more and more insistent and she began to grind her body against his. She soon hiked her nightgown up as Remy gently slid the thin straps of the top down and pressed his warm lips to the flesh.
***
“I don’t think we’re the only ones still up tonight,” I said to Jubilee. I reached into the freezer, the cold feeling good against my skin. “Okay, chocolate or rocky road or Ben and Jerry’s Karamel Sutra?”
“Rocky road,” Jubilee responded as she reached for two bowls and spoons. We scooped out the ice cream and topped it with whipped cream and walnuts. We were getting low on walnuts, and I made a mental note to add that to the next shopping trip’s list.
“I was telling Jean once about our late-night refrigerator raids,” she continued, giggling, “and she couldn’t believe that we could just get up in the middle of the night and start eating, and then go to bed and have a normal day the next day.”
“Once she has the baby, she’d better get used to a lot of getting up in the middle of the night herself, from I hear. That’s what my mom told me anyway”.
“I wonder what names they’re thinking of. We didn’t ask at the meeting”.
At Jubilee’s mention of the briefing, I had to say, “I’m so glad to be talking about something other than FOH or battle plans. Talking about Jean and Scott’s baby is a good thing. And hey, are you happy about Siryn coming? Sounds like she’s about your age”.
“Yeah, that’ll be cool,” she responded, her mouth full of ice cream. “But I don’t know anything about her, only met her once”.
“It’ll be nice once you’re not the baby of the group though. Being the youngest’s not all that fun”.
“Yeah, I know. Sometimes I gotta wonder what things would be like if I’d joined the X-men now instead of a few years ago. Maybe people would think of me as an adult instead of a teenager”.
“You’re still technically a teenager,” I said, pointing a chocolately spoon at her.
“I’m old enough for a relationship! I want a boyfriend”.
Hearing Jubilee say that wasn’t new for me, but it was kinda new hearing how serious she sounded. Maybe it had something to do with all of FOH’s power. It almost made you feel like the world was ending, and everything now had urgency behind it. Especially, I would assume, losing one’s viriginity.
“Well, there are lots of guys here”.
“Yeah. And thanks to all these stupid laws, I can’t have a non-mutant boyfriend. So let’s see my choices,” she began, counting on her fingers. “Two of them are taken. The Professor’s like a father. Or grandfather. Beast I just can’t imagine”.
“He’s a good looking guy,” I cut in, shrugging. I wasn’t sexually attracted to him myself though.
Jubilee looked surprised. “Look, I love the guy but I just can’t even imagine being in a relationship with him”.
I nodded. “The kiss test. If the thought of kissing someone weirds you out, it’s a sign he’s not right for you”.
“Totally. So where was I? Wolverine “ no way, he thinks of me like his little sister and he’s not looking at any female other than Storm lately anyway. Then you got Nightcrawler, who’s a priest”.
“Monk”.
“Whatever!”
“That still leaves Angel and Colossus and Cannonball. Oh, and Forge. They’re the ones who seem like they really want girlfriends”.
Jubilee shook her head. “I’ve known Angel too long “ there’s that whole kid sister thing with him too. And he really is too old for me- he’s gotta be close to Scott’s age”.
“He is”. I was glad she’d written him off, since Warren wasn’t my favorite person and I knew the feeling was mutual. I went on, “I don’t know how old Forge is but he’s gotta be older than Warren, I’d guess”.
“I know”.
“So…we’re down to Peter and Sam then,” I said, not sure why I used Colossus’ and Cannonball’s real names. “There’s a plus to Sam; he didn’t know you when you were 15 so the whole kid sister thing shouldn’t be there.” I swirled my spoon around in my ice cream. “Peter’s a really sweet guy though. Well, they both are”.
“I can’t see myself with Peter. I sometimes feel crazy ridiculous standing next to him “ he’s like a foot and a half taller than me and he weighs double or triple what I do “ and there’s something else.” She paused. “I think Peter’s still dealing with Kitty’s death,” Jubilee said.
My eyes widened for a moment at her perceptiveness. I sometimes forgot that she truly was not a bratty kid anymore. She still had her spunky personality but she had matured a lot. And there likely was some truth to her words. Peter and Kitty had actually ended their romantic relationship years ago, but obviously he was shaken by her death, more so than any of us.
As I nodded, I tried to get us back to lighter topics and asked, “So then what about Sam?”
Jubilee shrugged. “Wouldn’t he have said something by now if he’s interested in me?”
“Maybe he’s a shy southern gentleman. Or maybe he’s afraid Wolverine would kick his ass,” I laughed before adding, “But…you don’t seem all that interested in him yourself”.
“The kiss test. For some reason, I can’t imagine kissing the guy. I mean, I kinda could but I’m not like dying to, you know?
“I gotta figure something out though,” she continued. “Look how happy Jean and Rogue are. I want a relationship too,” she insisted, sounding scarily way more serious than I was used to from her.
But I wasn’t about to argue with her. I wanted a relationship too. I knew that I didn’t need one to make me feel complete and whole or to make me happy, but I also knew that going to bars and having blow jobs with guys I just met wasn’t that fulfilling anymore either. I’d read about and seen movies with couples who were loving and affectionate with each other -- in bed as well as out of it -- and I’d frankly never experienced that. Heck, I’d almost never actually spent the night sharing a bed with someone. I wasn’t 19 anymore and I really wanted to wake up next to someone, to grow with them, to deal with problems together. I’d seen Rogue and Remy do it over the last few years and they both sure looked better for it.
But given the isolation we lived in, with FOH growing more powerful each day, things didn’t look too promising for either Jubilee or myself.
As I went up the stairs to my bed that night, I noted that Jubilee had been wearing the pajamas I got her for Christmas last year. The top was a solid color with a picture of a wrapped gift, and the bottom had images of candy canes and sleighs. I pulled the covers around myself with thoughts of that Christmas on my mind. The tree trimming, sitting around the fireplace with the others and drinking spiced cider, seeing the looks on the others’ faces during the “secret santa” gift exchange, Jean and Gambit’s annual argument over what dishes to prepare. I drifted off to sleep just fine then, thoughts of FOH replaced by warmth and happiness instead.
***
A horrible screeching sound grabbed Professor Xavier from his slumber. His hands rushed to his ears to try to block the cacophony but it was futile. The noise morphed into constant pain until he blacked out. He didn’t feel the metallic collar gripping him when the FOH soldiers placed it around his neck.
***
At first I thought I was having a terrible nightmare. I kept blinking my eyes and seeing gray dots in front of me but the terrifying images wouldn’t go away. I even went so far as to pinch myself in an attempt to snap out of the nightmare, and when it didn’t work, I had to accept that I was sitting inside a cell with an inhibitor collar on. An FOH insignia was on the wall. My head felt as if someone had been beating me for a few hours.
But at least I wasn’t alone. FOH had dumped all of us inside one large cell. I looked around the room as my eyes got less hazy. Everyone was there, most looking less dazed than I must’ve. There was enough room for us to sit on the floor or on a wooden bench and enough left over for a few of us to pace. Other than the FOH logo on the wall, the cell was as bare as could be.
I dimly heard the others discussing what had happened. ‘They could not have penetrated our defense grid without help…’, ‘Or new weapons. We don’t know what they could’ve developed…’, ‘They have all the top scientists’, ‘Their weapon has to be very strong to have knocked us all unconscious…’, ‘I think it is based upon Banshee or Siryn’s powers “they found a way to replicate them…’, ‘Maybe they kidnapped them and tortured them until they helped….We were expecting them at the Institute a few days ago’, ‘Banshee knows some of our defense codes’.
Hank walked over to me. “Are you alright?” he whispered, helping me to my feet. “We’re all slowly recovering from whatever they did to knock us out; you will feel like yourself again soon”.
“Thanks,” I replied, still shocked at everything. I guess it wasn’t a total surprise that FOH had the technology to beat our defense grid. They have so many brilliant scientists at their disposal. The others kept talking and didn’t really know if FOH had somehow mimicked Banshee’s or Siryn’s powers or created that weapon on their own. But I was really glad when they started talking about breaking out of the cell. There had to be a way.
But as soon as the others began speculating on escape methods, several FOH soldiers approached our cell. They stood facing us on the other side of the force field, and one of them pressed a button on a hand-held device. We could only watch helplessly as Jean, Jubilee, Cannonball, and Forge fell to the ground, screaming in agony.
“Stop it!” Cyclops demanded. He rushed to Jean’s side.
I looked at them and saw the panic in his eyes. I saw that his glasses were on the floor since he no longer needed them.
“There is no need for this!” Hank added, fervently.
After what seemed like an endless amount of time, the FOH solider took his finger off the button and whatever he was doing to the four stopped. Jean, Jubilee, Cannonball, and Forge slowly staggered to their feet, panting. Wolverine and Storm had their arms around Jubilee, assisting her. The others were similarly helped. Cyclops looked like he wanted to kill the guy, and I saw Jean put a protective hand on her belly. I also saw the way Cyclops looked at his wife, the caring and the love, and wished someone would look at me that way.
Finally the FOH soldier spoke. “Nice little device I have here. It will make sure you mutant scum are compliant. All I have to do is decide which of you I want to torture and press a button. So you do what we say or we torture you “ we can leave these devices on for hours. They won’t kill you “ but after a few minutes of the agony, you’ll wish you were dead”.
“What do you want from us?” the Professor asked. He sat on the floor of the cell. Obviously his hoverchair was gone.
The man continued as if the Professor hadn’t spoken. “So stay in your cell, don’t talk, and stop planning an escape. It’s hopeless”.
Another soldier opened his mouth. “We have two force fields containing you in this cell. You can’t break through them. You can’t do anything except follow our orders”.
“Where are we?” Storm asked.
“Shut up, bitch,” one of the soldiers answered. He then shrugged and pressed a button, and Storm closed her eyes, gripping her collar. For a split second I thought she’d somehow be strong enough to withstand the pain, but she swiftly fell to the floor screaming. Wolverine and Rogue rushed up to her.
“You made your point!” Cyclops yelled. “Stop that at once”.
“We give the orders here, mutie freak. Keep your disgusting mouths shut at all times!”
I heard more footsteps and saw about five other FOH soldiers join the ones who were taunting us. Somewhere along the way one of them pressed the button that stopped Storm’s torture. Again, Wolverine held her as she tried to recover. It was weird seeing Storm, normally so solid and so incredibly powerful, taken down so easily by those damn collars. Wolverine looked more pissed than I’d never seen him.
So I suppose I don’t need to say that I was scared out of my mind. Seriously, my heart was speeding faster than ever and I was probably hyperventilating. While I was shaking with fear, I got another reminder why I’ll never be more than a partial X-man. A half X-man. The others looked worried, that’s for sure. But they also looked alright. Half the team had just been tortured and even they were starting to recover fast. Nobody but me was trembling in fear. You could see that they were assessing the situation and figuring out our next move. Fleetingly I thought about how much I admired and loved the rest of the team, and I prayed we’d get out of this mess. But all I could do was try to get my breathing down to a normal rate and try to control the panic that had started in my stomach and had spread to every muscle in my body.
You know I really try hard not to hate myself “ and I don’t, most of the time I think I’m pretty okay “ but I sure felt like a loser then. I think the others are just comprised of stronger material than I am. I don’t have the bravery gene or the strong-fighter gene.
At one point, Hank came up to me, probably seeing my distress, and put a hand on my shoulder. But no sooner had he done so than one of the soldiers pointed at us and waved the horrible device. Hank stepped away.
As I was thinking all these thoughts, the now sizable group of FOH stood outside our cell watching us. Then they began to talk.
I knew that some “ or most “ people hated us mutants. I watched the news, saw our intelligence reports on FOH, and heard first-hand from the others who had dealt with FOH personally. Jubilee and Wolverine had had some particularly harrowing encounters with them. But I had also been a bit isolated too. In the past few months, I had hardly left the mansion except for quick shopping trips or the occasional jaunt to the bar.
So I wasn’t prepared for the venom that the soldiers spewed at us. They spent the next…twenty minutes? Two hours?...telling us just what they thought of mutants.
I told myself it’s just words, it’s just names. They want to tell us that we’re “mutant shit” and we deserve to die, that’s just their wrong attitude. If they tell us we’re “born of the devil” and we “f--- our mothers” and we are “subhuman garbage”, then why do I care what these maniacs think?
But for some reason I looked at the ground or at my hands and felt too embarrassed to look at the others during the tirade. I kept hoping it would end soon. It was hard to think against this constant stream of hatred.
And then FOH said some things that chilled me to the bone. A very official-looking guy walked in “ he had some sort of rank insignia that indicated he was a top dog. The other soldiers saluted and stopped talking when he arrived.
“I just received word from headquarters,” the official said. “The top four should be here in five to seven hours”.
The official then turned to us. “Did they tell you what’s going to happen to you when the top four get here?” This one spoke more slowly than the others and his tone was commanding. Somehow I felt forced to look up again and listen.
By now we’d learned not to talk back, so he repeated forcefully, “Did they?”
“No”, Cyclops answered. He made the one word sound somehow strong and defiant.
A ghastly smile came over the face of the FOH leader. “Then let me do the honors of explaining what awaits you. The top leaders of the entire FOH organization are spending time with some Canadian mutant freaks called Alpha Flight. We captured them yesterday. We’re getting ready to kill them “ as we will all of you as well “ but we’re having lots of fun with them first. The leaders are raping all of the women, and making the men watch”.
He paused and just looked at us. I felt my face drain of color. That sick feeling in the pit of my stomach was almost intolerable now. I looked back down at my hands and hoped that I wasn’t literally squirming. I couldn’t dream of looking at the others right now.
“After they finish their fun with Alpha Flight, they’re going to kill them. A simple bullet to each skull, we think. After all the f---ing, Alpha Flight is going to be happy when it happens. So we just need to wait for our four leaders to finish with that other group of mutant filth. And when they’re done with the festivities, our leaders are going to come here next”. He then paused and asked, speaking slowly, “And guess what they are going to do to you?”
No one responded and he didn’t force any of us to either. He then stroked his face and added, “Hmmm…maybe we should rig a live video feed in here so you can see what awaits you. Get you prepared. We’d start doing the f---ing of your females right now but we do have to defer to our leaders “ they get first pick of the spoils of war, that sort of thing. We’ll join in after they get here”.
After a few moments of silence, the guy went on. “Suddenly you’re all so quiet. Before, I was told, we couldn’t shut you up. So quiet now”. He took a breath. “Well, enjoy waiting and thinking about what will happen to you”.
The guy then turned to the other FOH soldiers. “This is a glorious day! Two mutant groups captured and defeated”.
He turned and walked down the hallway. A few soldiers remained outside our cell, holding those control devices and staring at us.
And now the area was eerily quiet, with that man’s words repeating themselves over and over again in my head. I still couldn’t look at the others. I think I wasn’t trembling anymore but felt nauseated and found it hard to breathe. Pretty soon, my ears started to slightly ring though I don’t know if it was due to the strange silence or fear or some residue of the weapon that attacked us.
I’m not sure how long we waited there. When I lifted my head, I vaguely saw some of the others tugging at their collars or approaching the force field, but the minute someone made any sort of move like that, the soldiers raised the collar control device ominously.
There was one point where FOH threw into our cell several large bottles of water and a bucket. (How thoughtful! I guess they didn’t want anyone passing out from thirst while we waited). The others made motions as if to rush the door, but there was no chance. The cell had two force fields and they worked kind of like an air lock. When one was off, the other remained on, so there was no way to get out “ though Cyclops and Wolverine tried. And they ended up not only getting nipped by one of the force fields but also ended up being tortured with the collars for their attempt. It was a while before either one revived.
***
The X-men continued to wait in their cell, fighting the rage and fear that threatened to overwhelm. Any attempts to discuss possible escape plans “ not that escape seemed remotely feasible “ were thwarted by the torture-device on the collars. Any attempts for one X-man to try to touch or comfort another was similarly and brutally thwarted as well. The cell had no windows, nothing but smooth walls and the force field. Despite their anxiety over what FOH had promised, the keen minds of the group continued to consider possibilities for escape but had to abandon them one by one.
At one point, Cyclops attempted to improvise. He walked towards the force field and tried to approach one of the guards with a request. As soon as he opened his mouth, the guards used the torture device on Jean, not Scott. They left it on for over two minutes and when they finally shut it off, Jean took several minutes to regain consciousness. “Don’t touch her,” the guards warned Scott when he tried to offer some comfort.
“No talking “ to us or to each other!” another guard barked out.
The guards’ shifts were short, so as to avoid any possibility of them not being alert and ready. Never were there fewer than three guards standing outside the cell, and they watched every movement made by the group. They appeared eager to use the torture devices.
Rogue decided to try something. As the others watched, Gambit unsure if he should silently attempt to dissuade her, she approached the force field. She locked eyes with one of the guards and extended her index finger, gesturing directly at him. She raised her eyebrows and gave an unmistakably lusty look to him.
“Maybe you an’ I could find somewhere ---“
Her voice was cut off by the torture device. As Gambit lunged towards her, he was held back by Colossus and by the warning of the soldier who menacingly waved the remote control device at him. Rogue screamed agonizingly loudly, her voice ringing in the others’ ears for an interminable amount of time before she fell over, still.
“Nice try, mutant filth. How stupid do you think we are?” one of the guards said.
“Don’t worry, she’ll wake up before our leaders get here,” another gloated.
After an unknown amount of time had passed, the FOH leader who had spoken to the group earlier walked by the cell. “Just three more hours,” he informed them. “Then FOH’s top four get here, and then the fun really begins. I’ve already picked who I’m going to f--- first, once our leaders are finished”. He paused and pointed at Jean. “You”.
***
Storm’s mind was exhausted. She had silently contemplated countless escape plans but not one was feasible.
She was able to keep her claustrophobia at bay. The cell was crowded, but large. Storm had room to move or at least stretch. But given what FOH promised to do later, claustrophobia was the least of her worries.
She sat across from Wolverine. Storm made eye contact with him a few times, seeing her own despair and rage mirrored on his face. She marveled at how well he was handling himself. Mostly, however, she wished that she had done more than simply consider asking him to go camping with her in the past. If they truly were to be tortured and then killed, Storm wished she had not postponed this. She doubted that she would be given a second chance, but had a few ideas of what she would do if the X-men did manage an escape.
***
TO BE CONTINUED
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