Ch. 2
The adults of the mansion have grown more frantic once the first day passes. It was to the point that none of the remaining children could leave without an adult with them. Not that the children were complaining, they've even stopped sleeping by themselves either searching for each other or one of the adults to feel safe enough to fall asleep.
All members of the mansion have been searching non-stop for their missing ones. There hasn't been much luck. It's gotten to the point that Hank made trackers for everyone that he hid in the food. They knew about it, they didn't care, were even happy that there was another safety blanket.
Those who weren't searching were training or reinforcing defenses. Their home wouldn't feel safe until they found the people who had the gall to sneak in and steal some of them away. Like some bogeyman that they were told about when they were much younger.
Time continues to march on cruelly, ignorant of those who beg for more to find their missing.
It's been weeks now since we've been taken by Stryker. They've started more intrusive procedures on the other three, harvesting their marrow and pieces of flesh. At least they're given time to heal before their next session. Making myself the scientist's and guard's main source of aggravation has been working. They've been content taking their frustration out on me and not the others. As far as I'm concerned that means I've been doing my job as the current unofficial leader. I'm not sure how that happened, they just looked to me for advice on everything and I answered.
As for my sessions, they transferred the organs that create electricity in electric eels to me so I could have some form of electromagnetism. I presume so Magneto can't have control of me like he can with Logan. They also put a mind control chip into my neck. It doesn't work because of the mutation I was born with. When they order me to do something through the chip it pops up as a side objective that I can ignore very easily. I've managed to convince the scientists that the chip is just faulty so they've been working on a new one before my next session.
They plan to do another splice. Going from what I could overhear it's the blood of a telepath that they had in containment before they escaped. After that final splice I'm going to get everybody out. So long as everyone does what I say it should go without a hitch. I've even managed to reach enough levels to unlock a boost as a backup. I'd rather not use it if I can avoid it though.
The boon allows me to have others respawn with me, the catch is that it'll take longer to come back. The time it'll take for the respawn to finish depends on the number of people in the group and the amount of damage taken before our death. Whoever I choose also can't respawn until I die myself. There is a very easy solution for that problem if push comes to shove though. I stopped my thinking as an assistant slid the first meal of the day through the door of the cell.
"Do you think the adults will find us?" Kurt whispered as we started to eat.
Pietro scoffs, "If they haven't found us yet then they won't ever be able to."
"Don't talk like that Pietro! There's totally hope for us!" Kitty hissed out.
"Pietro isn't wrong, if they haven't found us yet then there isn't a trail for them to find us. We'll have to depend on each other to get out. When that happens, you need to do exactly as I say. Understood?"
They hesitated before nodding that they did and we went back to eating. I'm glad that we started whispering instead of talking at a normal volume. Ever since my first splice my senses have heightened to insane levels. The first day of trying to figure out how to handle it was full of tears and irritability. I could hear things as far away as the lab as if they were only a few feet away. I ended up hiding underneath the blankets just to hide from everything. It eventually became manageable but some things still hurt. Like the lights, when we finally get out I will be changing the lights in my room to much dimmer lights. If I decide to have them at all that is.
Once we were done with the rations they gave us guards opened the door and grabbed onto me. I'm pretty sure they smacked my head against the edge on purpose. Must be time for the final splice, it's about time. I might give myself a day to heal from it and learn to use it properly. After that though I'm getting us out.
I was dragged to the same lab from before and they made quick work of strapping me down to the table. The same assistant from this morning attached the IV to my arm and I shut my eyes as the blood started to flow into me. When the laser turned on I wince as the splicing began.
It was thirty minutes before I heard the beep of my collar turning off. Shortly after that, the rush of information from everyone around started to flood in. A migraine quickly developed as I started to cry from the overstimulation. I knew I wouldn't have much time so I delved into as many minds as I could so I could get every ounce of information that I could. Eventually, I found Stryker's mind and I had to swallow back vomit once I saw what he did to his own son. The information I gathered from his mind though was valuable and made the disgust worth it.
The moment the collar turned back on I was grabbed and dragged back to the cell. I took a moment to breathe and hauled myself into my corner, sticking my legs out so that the camera could see them and it would like I wasn't trying to hide. Stupid military and it's cutting corners. Taking the time to breathe before I approached the others to join their circle and started a harpy hare game.
We used the game as a way to ensure that we could speak with each other without our tormentors finding out any information we had.
I leaned over to Kitty, "Tomorrow night, get sleep tomorrow,"
Kitty's eyes twinkled as she passed the message to the person beside her.
Pietro leaned onto me, "What did they do to you?"
"They gave me telepathy. Tomorrow night will be our best chance with the schedule I got from Stryker's head."
We continued passing messages for the next couple of hours until the time came to sleep.
As the others slept I pondered. They won't like what I have to do when they discover it, but if everything goes well they won't find out until the only option they have is to just accept it. Should something go awry there is always plan B even if it's more risky. There's no guarantee that when we respawn it will be safe. With that turning in my head I drifted into sleep.
The next day we were left alone so we spent the time recuperating. Truth be told it didn't take long for us to become clingy with one another. Whoever was in the cell would cling to each other. It only becomes troublesome when Kurt would forget to mind his tail and it wrapped around someone's neck. It was Pietro, he didn't sleep by Kurt for a week after that. Since that incident, Kurt was always a little more mindful and kept his tail to legs and torsos. Arms were too entangled with each other to get wrapped.
"I think we should go to the ice cream parlor after this is all done," Kurt spoke up tilting his head back to look at us. We were currently lying on the floor in a circle with our heads by each other, legs in the air resting against the bunks, and arms holding onto each other.
"I would love to do that!" I responded as I ignored the twinge in my heart.
"I could slow down for that," Pietro laughed as his face went into Kurt's shoulder to laugh at his own joke.
"That's if the adults, like, ever let us out again!" Kitty laughed along.
"That's okay, if we call it training Scott would so help us," I joked along with her.
"He totally would!"
It wasn't long before we devolved into giggles as the labs grew quiet. Once they were completely silent I got up and sat underneath the camera.
"You three aren't going to want to watch, it's about to get pretty gruesome," I whispered to them as I created a new save.
"Okay, we'll turn away," Kurt said as he and the others did.
I waited to see if they would try to take a peek. When I felt certain that they won't I raised my forearm to my mouth and sunk my teeth into my skin. It took a few tries before I found the first pick I needed. It moved more than I thought it did from the first splice. Setting beside me I took a breath before I raised my other arm to get the second one. I had to tear away more flesh as it sunk deeper instead of changing location but I got it. Once the picks were removed it didn't take long to disable the collar. At first, I was worried that the collars would send a notification whenever they were turned on or off, but they don't. Nobody here ever thought that mutants would have a plan to remove them. But I did, so with a smile I shoved the picks back into my arms and watched my skin stitch itself together. I sent a mental pulse through the area we were in to assess who was left. Only the guards for the night shift, perfect, I tore the collar from my neck and got up.
Crouching in front of the other three I raised my hands to their collars and turned them off with my electromagnetism before gently taking them off, "Okay, let's get out of here."
"When we pass those bars the alarms will go off, we still haven't recovered from our last session so we still can't use our abilities properly." Pietro worried.
At his concern I used my new telepathy to share how to get out, "It'll be okay, just move as quick as you can and you'll get out. Is everyone ready?" The moment they nodded I helped them up, "As soon as these bars open we start running."
I drew them into one more hug before turning to the bars of our cell. Raising my hands I made a prying motion and the bars warped to my command, crumpling into each other. Alarms started to blare causing everyone to start speeding out. As we ran I carefully fell back behind them so they wouldn't notice.
The first turn came up, and as it did I heard the guards start to catch up behind us. Once the other three turned the corner I sent a projection that looked like me to follow them as I turned and ran in the direction we came from to keep the guards from catching them. I don't have to win, I just need to slow them down until the others get out.
The moment I could see the guards I stopped and used my magnetism to force their guns away. I won't be able to do that much more, it takes too much energy. Especially with me using some of my concentration to keep the projection up. Considering my options I let my blades come out and waited for their next move. I hoped they took the opportunity for what it was, a silent offer of mercy.
The moment they pulled out their pistols I charged. I didn't want to hurt anybody, but they hurt my friends, they hurt me! I offered them the chance to turn away still and they didn't take it. So whatever I do to them is on them. I took out a few of them before I felt a punch to my temple that caused me to blackout for a second.
The guards took the moment to try to grab onto me. I felt somebody grab onto my arm and a knife slash into my torso. I used my other arm to cut them away from me.
"Guys! Y/N's gone!" I heard Kitty start to shout
"They telepathed us! We need to go back for them!" Kurt responded as I heard them run towards me.
I tried to refocus myself so I could make another projection to intercept them and get them out. The feeling of being shot and hit kept breaking the focus as I heard my friends grow closer. I let out a cry as I jammed the blade on my leg into somebody, did someone manage to slip out to call for backup? There weren't this many before.
I saw the other three turn the corner and start sprinting once they saw what I was in the middle of.
"Turn back! I'll be fine!" I shouted at them as I knocked someone else down. There were only a few left, why can't they understand that?
"The hell we're doing that!" Kitty retorted as they battled off the remaining guards.
Kurt stood triumphantly over the guards he knocked unconscious, "See! We could've helped too!"
"Yeah! What is it with you trying to put all the wei-" The sound of a gunshot filled the air as a hole was made above Pietro's left eye. I let out a shout as I caught his body. Why couldn't he just run this one time?!
Everything moved so quickly. I tried to tell the others to run while they can but one of the guards snuck up behind Kurt to slit his throat so deeply his head had started to separate from his body. Another further back had a shotgun and pulled the trigger, hitting Kitty in the back.
I tried lunging at the nearest guard but a collar attached to a pole was locked over my neck and I was yanked back. Looking behind me to figure out a solution I see Stryker strolling towards us, like he was in the fucking park.
"If your friends didn't turn back to help you they would've succeeded in escaping, I'm almost impressed," Stryker stares me down as he tilts his head, "You're going to die knowing that you were the cause of your friends' death. After that, I'm going to send the footage to that professor of yours to rile them up. They won't be able to get their revenge though because they'll be dead too. I'm going to kill every single one of you disgusting freaks." He finishes as he grabs onto my hair and yanks my head so far back I can feel my neck creak.
I watched Stryker look down at the blood-soaked floor and stare at something in repulsion. Following his gaze I saw that it was Kitty he was staring at, she had grabbed onto his leg and was trying to sink him into the floor. She could barely get the sole of his shoe to sink. I started to thrash when I saw him raise his gun and started to screech as he unloaded the magazine into her.
"See, they act like animals. It's only mercy we put them down like animals," Stryker said to nobody in particular.
He turned his gaze to me and pulled out a knife, "You though, you've caused a lot of problems."
The feel of the knife being stabbed into my stomach and yanked up caused me to start screaming again. His hand entering the hole he made and yanking out the organs he could reach only added more pain. The guard holding onto the pole attached to my collar used it to force me down onto the ground. Trying to get up only had boots stopping onto my arms. I moved my head to glare at Stryker and was met with his beat stomping on my head, repeatedly.
"Oh, that's right. You have adamatium on your skeleton so that won't work. Then again, you should be feeling the effects of blood loss right about now. If not, then you're already dead."
Stryker let out a sigh at another failed weapon before turning away from the massacre. He has a message to send after all.
Hank ran through the mansion calling out for the professor as he held the cracked tablet in his hands and tears ran down his face.
I'm in my office, Hank.
Hank sprinted into the office of The Professor and placed the tablet on his desk, "We're too late Charles, our children are dead."
The video began to play, and as it did the metal in the room started to collapse in on itself. Charles' grief was so great that it couldn't be contained and started to project itself on everyone in the mansion. He buried his face into his oldest friend and lover's torso as he grasped tightly to one of Erik's hands.
"I'm going to kill them, Charles."
"We."
"What?"
"We are going to kill them, Erik. They have crossed a line I can not forgive."
At his declaration, the rest of the family stormed in to see what was upsetting their professor. It took Ororo taking the tablet to watch the video before the other adults got their answers. She passed the tablet once the video was done and sunk to the floor with her hands covering her mouth as she cried. Logan stormed out with his brother as their growls filled the air. Mystique knelt beside Ororo to comfort her, weeping as it sunk in that her son was dead and the clouds darkened.
"I'm going to call Forge, I believe he has an invention that can track where the video came from," Hank spoke up as the weeping continued.
"While you do that we'll tell the children what happened," Erik responded as his love called their children to them.
As news spread of what happened rage, hate, and grief filled the mansion as they prepared to storm the lab. Forge did have a tracker for them to use. Once he arrived with it the other adults left while Forge stayed to watch the kids. The only children who did come with were Rogue and Wanda since their siblings were there, were taken, were slaughtered.
It didn't take the blackbird long to reach the location of the lab that became their lost children's tomb. The moment the door opened those that came leaped out and started making their way to exact their revenge.
The guards that were outside were met with lightning and hail by Storm, her eyes so white that her power leaked out from them. Charles used his telepathy to inform the others about the location of guards, any he deemed too close he melted the brains of. Erik used the metal around them to impale anyone he saw, displaying their bodies by suspending them above everyone. The ferals were too far gone to even be recognized as human, their bodies were coated in blood and viscera from how viciously they tore into their enemies. Wanda's vein looked black from how dark the magick she drew upon was, fears were made real as blood boiled. Mystique used the fear of the murderers to slip in and out of the crowds as her daughter absorbed their life away.
Stryker was the one who went through the most pain. He didn't think he'd be found nor that they actually had the ability to so ruthlessly tear them apart. Skin was peeled away as the death of his wife was played on loop, fine metal fibers flowed through his body and contorted his body until limbs snapped out of place, Mystique took the form of his wife to taunt him as she laughed, wind took his breath away as he was given just enough to keep him alive to endure the torture so that he'll know a fraction of their pain.
Eventually, the pain was too much and he succumbed. Once he did the lab was thoroughly searched. Everything was gathered to be brought back to the mansion to be sifted through. That was when they discovered that Stryker was exchanging messages with S.H.I.E.L.D. so that they could have more living weapons. A new target was found and a new plan for a better future made.