Ch. 4
Y/N rubbed at their eyes as they felt themselves become more present in the world. It wasn't long before the dust in the air led to them coughing and hacking causing the others to start waking up. Raising a hand to their chest to scratch they let out a hiss as they yank it away. Right, their last death was pretty brutal.
"How is everyone else feeling?" Y/N asked as they started to assess wounds.
"My chest totally hurts!" Kitty whined out as she was looked over.
"My head is pounding," Pietro winced as he prodded at the area he was shot in. Nothing lethal, but it will leave a very noticeable scar.
"My throat hurts," Kurt rasped out.
"Okay, Kurt, don't speak unless you have to. We need to look around and see if we can find a first aid kit. None of our wounds are lethal right now, but, if we don't treat them they will be." Y/N explained as they started looking through drawers and cubbies.
It took time but a kit was eventually found and the children quickly cleaned and bandaged their wounds so they could leave the decrepit place.
"What, like, happened?" Kitty questioned as she looked at the bodies suspended above them.
"It looks like the place was attacked some point after we died, hopefully, whoever did it still left something for us to escape," Y/N responded as they wrapped their arms tighter around the person closest to them.
"Good riddance I say, these people were insane!" Pietro exclaimed as he sidesteps a corpse while still holding onto Kurt. Letting go might make maneuvering easier, but it feels impossible to do right now.
"Let's just look for a vehicle."
With that, the group fell silent as they searched what was once their prison. The more they searched the more gruesome everything looked. Whoever attacked the lab took it very personally. Turning into another hallway led them to what looked like a very large garage with multiple vehicles to choose from.
"Oh thank goodness, let's hope they have gas that's useable," Y/N sighed as they looked around for keys.
"Found the keys!" Pietro shouted as he pressed the unlock button causing a car to turn on.
"Finally, this place gives me the total creeps," Kitty responded as Kurt nodded in agreement with her.
"I'll drive," Y/N said as the other tried to whine until they were stared down.
Once everyone was buckled up Y/N pushed the button that was above them. Thankfully their guess was correct and the door out pulled itself high enough for them to leave.
The road outside was covered in fallen leaves and overgrowth. It looked like it hadn't been touched in years. Eventually coming to a crossroads Kurt pointed to the right not looking up from the map he found in the glovebox. Y/N patted the tail wrapped gently around their arm to thank him. Looking in the rearview mirror revealed that Pietro and Kitty had fallen asleep against each other causing them to smile before refocusing on the road.
By the time they found a gas station it had been a few hours, Y/N stopped the car and got out to refill the tank. As they did the others started to wake up and got out to stretch their legs. Once the nozzle started clicking it was rehitched and the tank shut.
"Okay, the gas station should have a payphone. Do you guys want to stay in the car or go inside?" Y/N asked.
"We're staying with you," Kurt answered so quickly he started coughing causing Pietro to pat him on the back.
"Alright we'll also try to find some Motrin or something for the pain," Y/N muttered as they started to walk to the convenience store.
"Where are we?" Kitty asked as she gripped Y/N's arm.
"Hammond Village."
"Oh nice, my dad has a safe house here. Well, it's more like a warehouse but it gives us somewhere to hide while we wait." Pietro rambled seeming to have more energy than before.
"Good to know, want to drive there after we're done?"
"Hell yes, I do!"
Y/N chuckled at his excitement glad that the others seemed to be coming back to themselves.
Entering the building they made note of the passed-out cashier and whispered to the others to stay quiet before continuing through the aisles. As the group moved through the aisles they grabbed anything they might need ranging from pain medication and fresh bandages to protein bars and water. Eventually, the payphone was found hidden in the back away from prying eyes and ears.
Y/N used their magnetism to unlock the coin box at the bottom and took what they needed out before putting it back. Taking a breath before inserting the coins and pressing in the number to the institute they waited with bated breath. When somebody on the other side picked up Y/N let out a shaky exhale of a laugh. Causing the others to look hopefully at each other in the cramped booth.
"Hey it's Y/N, Pietro, Kitty, and Kurt are with- No I'm not going to say that Pietro. Because while it may be funny to us it may not b- Fine! Pietro says our deaths were greatly exaggerated."
"Is Logan there, Logan it's me! Kitty!"
"What about my mom? I need to say sorry for vorrying her."
"Kurt your throat is still healing you can tell her when you see her, Kitty please don't be so loud you'll wake the cashier, and Pietro stop trying to grab the pho- yes I'll tell them. Why did you all squeeze into here anyway? It's only meant to fit one person I- whatever," Y/N lets out a sigh as they pinch their nose, "We're in Hammond Village, Pietro says that Mr. Lensherr has a safehouse so we're going the- Kitty stop trying to yell into the phone. We're going to the safe house now... We miss you and, never mind, see you soon."
Y/N hung up and wiped at their eyes, "So that safe house? I can use some sleep."
"Yeah, hopefully, it won't take too long for the adults to get here," Pietro spoke as they left.
Once everyone was in the car Pietro started driving as Y/N leaned against the window.
It was thirty minutes before the car came to a stop, half of the protein bars were eaten through, and the floor had random trash scattered about it. The children were exhausted from the day and stumbled out of the car into the alleyway it was parked in. Nothing was said as the children followed him to the warehouse as they held onto each other to conserve some kind of warmth.
The warehouse inside was dusty and full of tarp-covered boxes. The group hid inside a section in the furthest back corner.
"Hey, Kurt, if you had to could you teleport us to just the other side of this wall?" Y/N questioned as they placed a hand on the wall thinking.
Kurt nodded, and at the tilt of his head started to explain what they were thinking.
"I'm coming up with a plan B, we don't know how much time has passed. The headlines I saw when we walked by the newspaper didn't mention anything about mutant hate when they were full of anti-mutant rhetoric just before we died. If anything they seemed to speak incredibly highly of us, as if there was never hate. We don't know how much everyone else has changed and if it was for the worse or not. I should've grabbed a paper." They huffed out as they leaned onto Kitty.
"Why the worry?" Kitty questioned as she ran a hand through matted hair.
"Something feels wrong," Y/N lets out a yawn, "I'm probably just tired."
"Tell me about it, you're eyes are darker than Wanda's eyeshadow... I hope she's okay," Pietro said as he settled down beside them.
"I'm certain she is Pietro, let's just sleep for now."
Kurt let out a hum of agreement as he laid down wrapping arms and tail around Kitty making the rest of the group lie down. It wasn't long before the warmth of each other's bodies lulled them all into sleep.
-*-
Charles set the phone down as the others in the room stared with a mixture of expressions. He could feel the hope radiating from them amidst the shock and wariness that plagued them.
"Prepare the blackbird. Erik will lead the retrieval mission. Wanda, Rogue, Mystique, Logan, Jean, and Scott will go with him. Everyone else will prepare the medbay and their rooms so our children have a place to be kept when they are returned."
"Things have changed a lot, they're already going to be skittish with what they went through. What are we going to do if they try to run?" Mystique questioned.
"Bring tranquilizers, they might not recognize us with how much we've changed. Especially with everything they went through, And, as much as we want these to be our children Jean needs to verify. Once she confirms that it is them, bring them back by any means necessary." Charles answered as they left the conference room to prepare.
-*-
The sound of a jet flying above caused me to start waking up, nudging the others as I sat up. Hopefully, it's the blackbird, my memory has gotten fuzzy with everything that has happened. I placed a finger over my mouth and tapped my ear when I saw Kitty and Pietro open their mouths to start talking. The moment they nodded I shut my eyes to focus only on hearing. It wasn't long before I started to hear the sound of footsteps walking to the front of the warehouse.
"People are coming, when they enter stay quiet. I'll try to pry into their minds to make sure it's safe for us. If it isn't I'm going to snap the wires of the bags above us to create a distraction. The moment that happens Kurt will teleport us to the other side of the wall and we'll lose them in the trees. Any questions?" The moment they shook their head in acknowledgment I peaked out of the cluster we were hiding behind to watch the doors.
A few minutes later the doors open and the people I heard before walk through. They look like our friends and family, but somethings was off about them. There was also somebody hiding just outside of my vision. They certainly looked older, but there was something in how they held themselves. I don't like it. I squinted my eyes to get a better look to try and figure out if it was safe., seeing something glint in their hands I raised my hands to prepare to snap the bands. That's when I saw Jean come out from where she was hiding.
"It's them, they're hiding in the furthest corner to the right." As soon as Jean confirmed our identities I yank my hand down and watch debris fall as Kurt teleports us.
We don't hesitate to start running into the forest, if I remember the map correctly there should be a river ahead. We'll need to cross it so we can throw them off our scents.
"Aim for the river, Logan is the only one who can track us!" I shouted to the others as I heard the sound of metal being torn off behind us.
"Why are we running!" Kitty shouted back.
"They've changed for the worse and brought tranqs!" I responded as I made sure that they stayed in front of me.
The moment I answered Kitty the pace was picked up. It wasn't long before a tranquilizer flew by us narrowly missing Kitty. It caused Pietro to freeze though, and the people sent to collect us did not miss their opportunity.
The sight of Pietro being shot again like before caused Kitty to start panicking. Just as I turned back to pick up Pietro and continue running Kitty ended up being hit in her panic. Noticing a sheet of metal I used my magnetism to slide it under her and levitate it to keep running urging Kurt on as he started to slow down.
A few more feet and Kurt ends up stumbling causing him to also be tranquilized. As he falls I scoop him up with the sheet metal and force myself to run faster even as I feel my wound bleed through my bandages. I could feel blood trickle down from my nose as I pushed myself to avoid tranqs and bumps in the terrain.
As the river comes into view I speed up ignoring the blood running down my neck and torso. Then everything stops as I hear a metal clang and suddenly find myself falling forward. It took all of my concentration to not crush Pietro and to keep the other two from suddenly falling. The moment I set Kitty and Kurt down the pain made itself known causing me to start crying from it.
Looking back I see that a bear trap had snapped onto my right leg and I couldn't tug it out. Biting into my cheek as I heard the people chasing us get closer I force myself to stand up. Biting harder to suppress a shriek of pain as the teeth bite further down I force myself to turn to face the oncoming threat, spitting out the blood that flooded in from where I bit.
Logan walks up to me carefully, low to the ground, "Pup, we just want to help. Please let us help you."
"Says the one hiding a tranq behind his back!" I growl out as I let my blades come out.
"I'm sorry, there's just too much that has changed." The moment Logan said that I sensed a dart coming from a different direction.
I use my magnetism to deflect it not realizing that Jean was flying over in the direction I sent it. Jean doesn't notice it and I watch in horror as she starts to fall. It took longer than it should've to get the sheet metal from under Kurt and Kitty to catch her with it as I let out a shout.
In my moment of panic I forgot that she was a skilled telekinetic.
Her seemingly getting hit was planned and I realized that when I stepped back when I hear another one be fired. While I dodged it I stepped too far back and I ended up falling backwards with a cry as the beartrap tore my flesh more. The amount of blood loss was making my vision go fuzzy.
I see who's supposed to be Magneto approach, reaching for Pietro. I don't hesitate to throw my body over his, snarling as I point a blade at the imposter.
"Please, I just want my son. You've done so well protecting him and the others, but you need to let us take over now." He spoke gently as he knelt in front of me and I shook my head.
"No, no, I can't," I see Mystique approach Kurt and don't hesitate to slam the sheet metal in front of her, nearly taking her hand with it and ignoring the blood that starts flowing from my nose again, "You can't have them!"
"You've pushed yourself too much sugar, just let us help. We just want to take you home, promise," Rogue persuaded as she approached.
"Stay back! I'll hurt you!" I know I'm delirious, I can't just let these people take my friends though. We still need to go home.
I feel someone messing with the bear trap and I let out a snarl as I try to cut them away with the blade on my shin. Looking back I see it's the Scott and Logan look-alikes.
"It's okay kiddo, we're just helping. You've been so strong but you don't need to be anymore. We're here now." Scott tried to placate.
I watched him carefully as he continued prying the beartrap open with the Logan's help. The moment it was wide enough I yank my leg away and lunge myself at the Magento with a shriek. They must've expected that because Logan wrapped his arms around me being sure to keep a grip on my wrists no matter how I thrashed.
"Please, cub, just calm down. It's a lot I know and we're all different now but it is us," Logan murmured as he rubbed his cheek along the side of my head. Like how parent cats do to their kits.
I breathe out as I stare at my hands considering.
Then I felt a needle imbed itself and inject a cold fluid into my veins.
I started thrashing as much as possible to get away, to fend them off, just something.
"Jean! We had them, why did you do that?!" I heard Scott shout as my movements grew more sluggish.
"You didn't, I read their thoughts. They were going to use their magnetism to try and use their finger bones as projectiles." Jean informed as Logan let out a hurt sound.
I watch Magneto pick up Pietro to cradle him close to his body, Wanda walking up to smooth down his hair and leaving a kiss on his forehead. I couldn't keep myself from bawling and begging as any metal in my area only slid along the ground a few inches at my command.
"Please don't, just take me, leave them alone please!" I continued to beg as Mystique and Rogue collected Kurt.
The moment Jean picked up Kitty I started shouting, "I'll kill you! I'll kill you all! Bring them back!"
"Scott another dose please, their rage is keeping the other tranq at bay." I heard the monster holding onto me speak and I picked up my thrashing. I felt another prick and more hands on me.
"I'm sorry kiddo, we didn't have a choice." The voice said as I felt myself be picked up and moved.
There were gentle voices the entire time and even softer hands. It was nice, I felt a gentle rumble in my chest as I relaxed into the arms holding me. It wasn't much longer until I was fully under.
-*-
Jean sends a message to The Professor as she brushes Kitty's hair from her face. It took longer than she'd like to take off. The kids were far more injured than they were expecting. Kitty's blood coated the front of her uniform and hands. Jean held her carefully chest to chest as her worse injuries were all along her back. They'd need to get Kitty's lungs examined to make sure there wouldn't be any lasting damage to them.
Jean flicks her eyes over to Y/N and watches as Scott bounces between all of the children. Such a worry-wort, especially after Nathan.
Pietro had injuries along his legs, an open wound over his left eye, and a small wound on the back of his head. He had Magneto and Wanda fussing over him, the one time Wanda tried to wander off Magneto gently pulled her back into her seat.
Kurt had a wound on his neck, needle scars along the back of his lower spine, and what looked to be dissection cuts along his tail. The cuts on his tail weren't documented in any of the files they retrieved. Rogue and Mystique were whispering promises and apologies as they gripped onto him as if he'd disappear at any moment.
Y/N easily had the worst injuries of the group most likely due to them going through the Weapon X program and intentionally making themselves the target of ire from the scientists and guards so the others could suffer less. The one on their chest was of the most concern as it hadn't managed to heal completely yet. Logan held onto them as he kept checking over their wounds and cleaning away all of the blood that he could.
Scott finally sat down beside her and ran fingers through Kitty's hair as he let out a sigh, leaning against her to bury his face into her shoulder.
"They take after you Scott," Jean spoke to him making him look at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Y/N, they didn't hesitate to step into the role of a leader. Everyone's bandages look like they were done by someone else, but Y/N's looks like they did it themself. They didn't hesitate to try and sacrifice themself if it meant the others could get away. You have done that several times," Jean explained as she kissed his forehead, "even when we asked you to not do it."
"They always did act older than they were. Has The Professor said anything about helping the children heal from what they went through?" Scott asked as he tucked a strand that came loose behind Kitty's ear.
"He has, he's researched something called age regression. He intends to... persuade the children to do so. He says it'll be good for them if they act like the children they are supposed to."
"They're going to fight us on that Red," Logan spoke up as he held a hand to Y/N's cheek.
"We're expecting it already, we'll just have to prove that it is what's best for them," Jean responded as they felt the blackbird start its descent.
The moment the aircraft landed everyone hurried to get the kids to their rooms so Hank could look them over. The rooms that belonged to the children have been thoroughly cleaned and searched. Anything deemed dangerous was removed, sharp corners were filed down, and cameras were placed outside doors and windows so the children could have privacy but could not leave without their family knowing.
Blankets and plushies that carried the scent of each family member were placed. There were scratching posts, teething toys, and lavender-filled pouches hidden in pillows. There was a craft room made so that the children could let their creativity loose when they wished. Under supervision, of course, sewing machines can be very dangerous after all. The children will also have counseling sessions with The Professor and Hank to help them readjust to mansion life. They'll also need to be watched once they're allowed to use their mutations again. There's no telling how the trauma may have impacted the children's gifts.
The moment the children were placed in their proper beds the rest of the family paced the halls as they waited for Hank to complete his examination.
By the time Hank came out to tell them how bad everything was hours had passed by already. He looked visibly upset and distressed by what he discovered with his eyes brimming with tears and hackles raised he started to list everything he discovered.
"I examined the children based on how severe the wounds were when they were described and how they looked from the video sent to us so long ago. Starting with Y/N they are going to need active supervision for several reasons. The wound on their chest was prone to reopening even in their sleep. I believe that while yes they do have very quick regenerative abilities, rivaling even yours Logan, the wound seems to be impacted by either their trauma or their malnourishment. Not only that during their examination I concluded that they have hypermobile EDS, which is a degenerative disorder caused by the body's inability to produce collagen properly. Most people with their specific EDS have mobility aids in the form of canes, crutches, braces, and wheelchairs depending on how bad the degeneration has become. On top of all of that, Y/N is also now a feral mutant so they will be going through the changes that ferals do in what is essentially a second puberty. With how different they are from the rest of the ferals here there is no telling just how severe the changes will be.
Pietro will have to go through physical therapy once the fractures on his legs are healed. Going from the wounds I would say that the scientists pushed his body to the point of collapsing, repeatedly. In fortunate news, the gunshot he suffered did not cause any brain damage. He will also require braces as his knees have endured permanent degradation from how much he was pushed and the lack of proper nutrition for his body to properly repair itself.
Kitty will also be required to be supervised. When I checked her lungs I picked up on her wheezing whenever she breathed. If we are fortunate it will pass with time, she may require lung exercises to assist in healing.
Kurt will heal without trouble, the most I would recommend for him is vocal exercises after the healing process. During healing keep his speaking to a minimum.
All children will need to be kept on diets focusing on nutrition and be eased into eating full meals again. Until then we can fill any gaps in their diet with smoothies or pureed food to keep it light on their stomach. Light exercising after they are healed until their body is fully healthy again." Hank finished flipping the pages closed on his clipboard.
"Thank you, Hank, until they are healed we will put missions on hold unless they are of the utmost importance," Charles said as he watched his children who remained unharmed shift in their spots, "I have nothing else for any of you. You are free to spend your time with the children as you wish." Once he finished talking he left them to their devices. He'll visit the children once the others have settled, until then he has many sessions and lessons to plan for.