Chapter 2
They had ended up taking Beast's Jeep since Nathan felt that he had put Colossus through so much in the past few days. He had released the Juggernaut in his drive to kill Russell, and there was also Deadpool's constant harassment of the X-Man.
To be honest, he kind of felt bad for the guy.
They drove in silence, with Marie sitting in the passenger seat and Bobby and Kitty in the back, resting their heads on each other in a cute couply gesture. They had drifted off to sleep a while ago, but Rogue was still awake, staring ahead at the empty road.
Her eyes were wide, hands clenched on her lap as she continued to stare forward. Nathan frowned as he turned to face her for a quick second before looking back out toward the road. "First time, running free like this?"
Marie jolted in surprise when Nathan spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "Um, not really," she replied hesitantly. "It's just been a while since I was out here with this much freedom."
He nodded in understanding. "So, you're mutants, too. What can you do?"
She bit her lower lip. "When I make physical contact with someone, skin-on-skin contact, I absorb their powers and strengths. I almost killed a guy I liked when they manifested."
Nathan winced. "Shit... That must have given you quite the shock."
Marie nodded, resting her head on the headrest. "I ran away from home when my parents found out. Wolverine, Logan, he found me and we were found by the X-Men. I met Bobby and Kitty there." She smiled gently as she reminisced on these old memories.
Nathan looked up at the rearview mirror to see the aforementioned mutants. "What do they do?"
"Bobby can manipulate ice. Kitty can phase through physical objects," Rogue said shortly, wrapping her arms around her chest as she shivered. "Where are we going?"
Taking notice of the temperature, Nathan moved to activate the car's heating system. "All mutant trafficking circles back to New Orleans. Not only is it a crime hotspot where the officials turn their heads the other way, but it's also placed at a prime location where you can send mutants overseas. International business," he spat out the last bit. "It's disgusting."
Rogue studied him. "You've dealt with this kind of stuff before?"
Nathan scoffed. "I've killed bastards like these too many times to count." He paused, thinking back to their earlier conversation. "You said that the Professor went talking to Magneto? He's a friendly now?"
Marie shrugged. "I don't know. We're not really kept in the loop, but I heard from Kurt that there's an uneasy truce between the X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants that went back a couple of months. Why? Do you think that Magneto's behind this?"
Nathan exhaled loudly. "I don't know. I'm just trying to keep an open mind."
Silence engulfed the vehicle once more, and Nathan could feel the dark and uneasy cloud settling over Marie's mind. Feeling sympathetic for the girl, he spoke again, "You should sleep, too. You're no use to your friends if you're exhausted and unable to function."
Marie nodded slowly, eyes drooping already. "Yeah... wake me up if something happens."
Long after she had fallen asleep, Nathan was left with his tormented mind. Am I doing the right thing? Am I in over my own head? What would Aliya say? What would she do?
I hope Wade follows through on his end of the job...
"He WHAT?!"
Scott stormed past Jean to reach Wade, who had just casually dropped the metaphorical bomb of the century. He violently seized Wade's shirt, shaking him once. "Are you sure, Wilson? I'm not playing games, here."
Wade nodded rapidly. "Yeah! Cable said he was kidnapping the kids! At least, I think he said that." He drifted off in thought, a frown on his face before he shrugged. "Eh. Pretty sure it was something like that."
Scott dropped Deadpool, turning to face the others. "I told you we couldn't trust him," he growled angrily.
Erik Lehnsherr, Magneto, crossed his arms beside Xavier. "Then we must make haste. Charles, can you locate them with Cerebro?"
The Professor nodded slowly. "Yes, I can. Although, I do think there is something more to this. Cable did not project any malicious thoughts when we first met him."
Raven, who had been with Charles and the X-Men when they went to visit Erik, placed a hand on Charles' shoulder. "We can't trust everyone."
Logan, who had been pacing the room frantically, snarled angrily. "When I find the bastard, I'm gonna tear out his fucking throat."
Meanwhile, Wade, who was watching the entire scene couldn't help but feel that he had said something very very wrong.
"Where are we?"
"Alabama, I think," Nathan responded. "We're almost there."
Kitty shifted in her seat. "What happens when we get there? New Orleans is a pretty big place. How are we going to find them?"
Nathan smirked. "I know a guy," he said. "He doesn't know about me; not yet, at least. But he will."
Right after he had spoken, a man had materialized in the middle of the road. Marie screamed and pointed, and Nathan jerked the wheel to avoid the head-on collision, making the vehicle crash in a nearby tree.
Thankfully, no one had been seriously jostled by the impact. Nathan nevertheless frantically asked to ensure that no one was seriously hurt before getting out of the wreckage to confront the guy.
"Oh man, I'm so sorry," said guy responded, and upon closer inspection, Nathan realized that it was another kid. The kid didn't have any bags or belongings on him but was simply dressed in silver apparel and goofy aviator goggles. His hair was shockingly silver, matching his clothing.
"What the hell were you doing in the middle of the fucking street?" Nathan growled. The kid nervously raised his hands. "Hey, take it easy. I miscalculated my stopping distance. I'm a really fast runner; my name's Peter Maximoff."
Nathan paused. "You're Quicksilver? Magneto's kid?"
Peter tilted his head in confusion. "Quicksilver? I like the name, but it's not mine."
"Not yet," Nathan said, remembering the kid in the future. He was much older and more serious, but there was no mistake; this was indeed the same mutant in the future.
Peter quirked an eyebrow. "What, you're from the future?"
"Yeah," Nathan said shortly, ignoring Peter's incredulous expression as the other kids emerged from the damaged car. "Look, we're all mutants, too. We're with the X-Men, and I'm looking for their friends who have been taken in a mutant trafficking ring of sorts. We need to get to New Orleans. Do you want to come with?"
Bobby caught up to them. "What, you know him?"
Nathan waved him off. "Yeah, in the future. Look," he said, turning his attention back to Peter, "If you help us, we can get you to the School; something tells me that you're on the run with nowhere to go or stay."
Peter looked between Nathan and the three kids behind him before looking back to Nathan. "Sure, I'll help. So, New Orleans, huh? We'll need a car to get there, though," he said, wincing after looking at the remains of what had been Beast's car.
Nathan shut his eyes tightly and sighed.
In the end, they had ended up walking a certain distance until they reached a small shopping mall. Nathan had picked the most suitable and easily accessible car, an SUV, and was able to hotwire the vehicle easily before the mutants drove away and toward their destination.
"So... you think that your friends were kidnapped by a mutant trafficking ring?" Peter spoke through a full mouth. The owner of this car had conveniently bought Chinese takeout and put it in the back where the kids were sitting and helping themselves.
"Yeah," Kitty responded, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "We're going to meet a guy that Cable knows in the future. He thinks that this guy will be able to identify where our friends went and who captured them."
"Another thing," Nathan interjected, "When we get there, you four are staying in here." At their resounding complaints, he raised his voice so that he'd be heard over them. "The area we're going into is extremely dangerous, especially for mutants. I can't be out there watching my back and yours. You are going to stay in here while I get the information we need. Got it?"
Disappointed mutters of reluctant assent were received, and Nathan settled back in his seat, satisfied with their answers.
Another couple of hours landed the group in the city, still alive and moving in the night. The kids stared out their windows in awe as they took in the sights, marveling at the city's beauty while Nathan navigated his way through the crowded streets toward his intended destination. Gradually, the extravagant city scenery transformed into the other half of the landscape; bleak and desolate areas where people stood in dark corners and met others in shifty and suspicious interactions. Nathan's grip on the wheel tightened nervously, continuing to look ahead as he passed through the streets.
Eventually, he came to a stop in front of a dilapidated yet recognizable casino labeled, "Corbeau Casino," in bright and flashy neon letters. Nathan parked the car a little bit away from the entrance, turning around to face the kids. "Remember: don't get out of this car. If something happens..." he drifted off, realizing that he didn't have any way to contact them. Rogue wordlessly handed over her own phone to him, which he took quickly. "Thanks," he grunted, grabbing his bag and walking out toward the entrance.
Nathan strolled in confidently, ignoring the looks he was getting as he walked through the crowd to the back of the casino, walking into the employee's room and going up to the office in the back. Throwing the door open, he strode over to the man sitting at a desk. "I need to see the man upstairs; Remy LeBeau," he stated punctually.
The man behind the desk stammered, taken aback by his sudden appearance. "Um... he's not available right now. Can I get a name?"
Nathan seized the man by the coattails of his suit, growling in his face. "He'll make time for me. Get me up there, now."
The guy was quick to follow Nathan's orders, nodding rapidly and grabbing a set of keys with trembling hands as he turned around to face the wall behind him, pressing a button on the wall. The elevator that was concealed from the naked eye opened, and the man stepped inside with Nathan right on his heels. The receptionist pushed a button going to the top floor, and the two went up in silence.
When the doors opened, Nathan stepped through, pushing the man back into the elevator to prevent him from leaving. "No. You go back, and if you trigger some kind of alarm, I'll blow up your brains from up here with my mind. Got it?"
The man started to shake even harder, nodding frantically. "Yes! I understand. You don't have to worry about me! He's just in the office ahead," he said, choking around his words as he pointed down the hallway to the set of double doors at the end. Nathan snorted at the elegant and sleek design of the place, shaking his head. "Piss off," he said, stepping out.
He walked toward the office as the traumatized receptionist fled in the opposite direction, shoving the doors open and walking inside. Inside, LeBeau was staring out the window deep in thought but had turned at Nathan's sudden appearance. "What the hell do you want?" the mutant growled, moving toward Nathan with malicious intent.
Nathan held him back with a telekinetic push that didn't take the strain off of keeping the TO in check. LeBeau looked up at Nathan in shock, and he took this opportunity to start talking before things got ugly. "Look, I'm not here because you owe me money or because I want to kill you. I'm here with some kids who are like me; mutants. Their friends have gone missing, and we suspect it was a mutant trafficking ring. I thought you'd be able to recognize some of the kids and point me in the right direction."
Gambit hesitated, studying Nathan with a suspicious look through narrowed slits. "Fine. You've got any pictures for me?"
Nathan unlocked Rogue's phone, flipping through images taken of other students at the school. LeBeau frowned in dawning recognition as Nathan continued to flip through the photo gallery. "These are those X-kids," he said, shaking his head. "I can't get involved in this."
"I'm not giving you a choice," Nathan growled. "Who's the abductor? Where is he?"
Gambit's eyes lit up a deep luminescent violet as Nathan aggravated him. "I'm not telling you shit," he spat angrily.
Nathan was about to pull out a pistol stashed in the back of his pants when he heard footsteps behind him. Both he and LeBeau whipped around to see the four kids run into the room, huddling around Kitty.
"Goddamn it!" Nathan shouted, glaring at them. "I told you to stay in the car!"
Rogue looked between Nathan and Gambit, studying the tension in the room. "I take it your questioning isn't going so well?" she asked innocently.
Nathan growled in annoyance, gesturing between her and a confused LeBeau. "You try, then. If I try talking to the asshole again, I'm gonna put a bullet between his eyes."
"I told you already, I'm not telling you anythin' about those kids," Remy hissed, eyes darting frantically between Marie and Nathan. "They'll send guys after me and they'll fucking kill me."
Nathan was about to say something along the lines of, "and what makes you think I won't," but Marie beat him to it. "So come with us," she pleaded, "When we tell Xavier what you did for us, we can protect you!"
"Please," Kitty added her voice to the conversation, "We just want our friends back."
Gambit hesitated, his gaze lingering on Rogue's face for a few seconds before he sighed. "Fine. I'll help ya, but I'm comin' with. He went to the computer on his desk, pulling open a file. Nathan's eyes widened slightly, turning to look at the kids. Rogue flashed him a charming smile, and he shook his head, fighting back a small smile.
"Here," LeBeau spoke up, turning the face of the computer so that the others could see the screen. It was a map of what appeared to be a small island in the middle of nowhere that supported a facility. "Your kids weren't taken through the trafficking cycle. Not entirely, at least. They were put through the beginnin' stages to make it look that way, but this guy," he said, pointing to an image in the top left corner, "William Stryker. He took these kids - handpicked them - and brought them here. I think they're doing illegal experiments on them."
Nathan sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Fuck. We're going to need air transport to get there. Shouldn't we contact the X-Men and let them take care of this?"
Bobby shook his head. "It'll take too much time telling them everything. We need to get there and help them as fast as possible; who knows what's happening to them if Stryker's involved?"
Remy coughed. "So, I think this is a good time to mention that I've got a 'copter on the roof?"
Nathan settled for shooting LeBeau the dirtiest look he could muster.
"They were definitely here," Logan stated loudly so that everyone could hear him.
The X-Men along with Magneto and Mystique were at the scene of Beast's wrecked car, surveying the damage. Logan gave another experimental sniff, scrunching his nose in confusion. "Someone else was here, too. They picked up another kid, and went that way," he said, gesturing in a certain direction.
Scott clenched his fists in anger. "He picked up another kid? We need to hurry after them before it's too late!"
Logan took a step back. "I don't know, Slim. How the hell did this Cable guy carry all three, maybe four, of them all the way to a distance greater than a mile that way?"
"You think that they went with him willingly?" Ororo asked, a contemplative frown settling on her face.
"It isn't a bad idea," Raven piped up from beside her friends. "These kids are probably devastated that their friends went missing. With you guys out of the picture picking me up and meeting with Erik, they would have taken action, probably blackmailed this Cable into helping them, and went on their way."
Erik chuckled as Scott took in this information, looking at the chaos. "How brave and noble of them. Remember when we were like this, Charles?"
Xavier sighed, shaking his head in exasperation. "Unfortunately, yes."
They landed on the shore of the island, away from any viewing angles from the facility.
LeBeau stretched lazily, still sitting on the helicopter. "So, I'll just stay here then."
Nathan looked between the huge looming structure of the facility, then toward the kids, and then walked back to the aircraft with Peter in tow. He spoke in a hushed voice to Peter and Remy: "If things get hairy, I want you to use your speed to get them out of here," he said, pointing to the three other kids whilst looking down at Peter before turning his attention to Gambit. "If they get here, you leave. Understand? Even if I'm not here."
Gambit smirked. "Ya don't have to tell me twice, old man." He sighed contently, leaning into the seat comfortably and crossing his arms over the back of his head.
Nathan and Peter caught up with the others, with Nathan pushing ahead. "You all stay behind me," he ordered firmly. "Always watch your back, and stay on high alert. You grab my attention if something happens, okay?"
After getting their nods of consent, Nathan turned and led the walk up the shore cliffs to the building. The trek was not long, but the stones were slick from the rainfall that the island was currently receiving, and he had to pause often to make sure that the kids were okay.
"I prefer running on flat and safer surfaces, thank you very much," Peter huffed, eliciting chuckles from the others. Nathan ignored them, concentrating on the climb.
At last, when the sky started to split with lightning and thus rumble with thunder, the mutants had finished the climb and stood on flat ground, looking ahead toward the complex. Nathan set his jaw grimly, unshouldering his rifle. "Remember what I said," he shouted through the weather, walking forward.
They maneuvered themselves around the building and toward the back where there was an open hangar. Nathan reached into his bags, taking his time to set charges on the various aircraft. Once he had run out of charges, he set trackers on the others, making sure that if anyone managed to escape, they wouldn't get very far. With this task done, he led the kids to the door leading into the complex, kicking it down and leveling his gun.
He fired at the two unsuspecting guards stationed at that entrance, moving past them before their bodies hit the floor. He intercepted another soldier around a corner, grabbing a knife from his belt and driving it into the man's neck. The soldier gurgled as the blood left his neck before he collapsed, dead. Kitty looked down at the man's open eyes, swallowing silently as she looked away, keeping close to Nathan.
The soldier from the future pressed onward, taking out the soldiers with practiced ease before he found himself before a heavily-guarded door with panicking soldiers. He fired his way through them, staining the ground dark red and leaving one cowering man alive.
Nathan gripped him with his metal arm, lifting him up to his feet. "Open this door. Now." The man did as was instructed, opening the door before he reacted suddenly. He whipped around, drawing a pistol quickly from his holster and managed to shoot Nathan in the gut. With Nathan reeling from the pain, the man took his chance to escape, running in the opposite direction before he stopped in his tracks, encased in a thick layer of ice.
Bobby panted, eyes wide in shock as he took in what he just did. Nathan groaned, pulling his hand away from his gut to reveal his own blood. Of course, with my piss-poor luck, the bullet hit the flesh side of my gut. "Cable? Are you alright?" Kitty asked softly.
Suddenly, the white lights shifted to a bright red, and the whining sound of an alarm sounded out. Nathan gritted his teeth. "We have to hurry," he ground out through the pain. "The kids should be inside; I could pick up their thoughts when I entered the building. Help them out, hurry!"
As the kids moved to do as Nathan instructed, the cybernetic mutant leaned against the doorframe, clutching at his wound in agony. Already his vision was starting to blur, and he knew that he was losing too much blood too fast. He blinked wearily, and the Rogue appeared in front of him, looking at him worriedly. "Nathan, we've got them. All of them, including some other kids. How are you holding up?"
Nathan looked past her, seeing an additional twenty to thirty kids with anxious faces, and waved her off, trying to alleviate her concerns. "I'm fine," he answered gruffly. "Let's go." He pushed himself off the wall, stumbling forward to lead them out of the complex.
Activation code confirmed. Launching self-destruction sequence in 20 seconds.
Nathan cursed aloud, looking back to the kids and up to the ceiling. It had taken them minutes to get where they were, and with the wound, Nathan knew that they wouldn't be able to leave. Thinking quickly, he turned to Peter. "You, how many kids can you get out in ten seconds?"
"Uh... maybe twenty?" Peter said.
Nathan separated the kids, putting ten aside. "Get them out," he said, indicating the youngest ones that he put aside. Peter disappeared from view, along with some of the kids. As the ten kids were disappearing, Nathan pulled the remaining kids along with Bobby, Marie, and Kitty as close to him as possible.
Launching self-destruction sequence in 5 seconds.
"Get down as low as you can," Nathan urged, letting his telekinesis loose and forming a protective barrier around himself and the children.
The explosions around them muffled the screams, and Nathan shut his eyes tight in concentration before everything went dark.
Peter gasped audibly as he viewed the complex collapse before settling down into rubble.
What had once been a huge and impressive building was now a pile of concrete and metal, scattered fires lit throughout the wreckage. His newfound friends were probably lying dead underneath there...
He heard the sound of a plane, forcing him to turn around and look up to the sky. The Blackbird in all its glory was starting to set down, and out of the back emerged Xavier and Erik. They approached a stunned Peter and the other children, with Remy running up to meet them.
"What the hell happened?" Gambit asked roughly. "I heard explosions-"
"Hello, Peter," Xavier said gently. "What happened?"
Peter took in a shaky breath. "I met your students and Cable on the road. They picked me up, and then we went to him," he said, pointing to Remy, "who told us who was taking the kids. So, we came here and Cable led us - Bobby, Kitty, and Marie - into the complex and we found the kids and freed them, but Cable got shot, and there was this self-destruct sequence that was activated, and Cable told me to get as many of the younger ones out as possible-" he broke off into sobs. "They were still in there," he hiccupped. "I was too slow."
Xavier placed a comforting hand on Peter's shoulder. "You did good, Peter Maximoff. You saved as many kids as you could." He turned his head to the burning rubble, frowning in concentration before his eyes widened in pleasant surprise. "Erik, we have to hurry. They're still alive."
Erik raised a brow in disbelief. "You think that Cable could have kept up a psionic barrier for so long in his wounded state? And with his... condition?" he said, lowering his voice so that no one else could hear.
Xavier nodded once. "Yes. Could you lift up the metal over there?" he asked, pointing out a specific area.
Erik lifted his hands, raising them slowly as the scraps slowly levitated. Jean gasped, seeing them first as she flew over, leading Storm to there the blue protective bubble was located. When they landed, Marie looked up through teary eyes. The kids were fine, some passed out from stress under the situation, but Cable was lying on the ground, wheezing as he struggled to stay conscious. Metal started to creep slowly up his neck, and Ororo frowned in concern. "Cable, you can let the barrier go now. Magneto lifted the rubble up; we have the kids. They're safe."
Nathan coughed, spitting blood out of his mouth as his vision darkened and he slipped into unconsciousness.