I stayed sitting for a moment longer, holding the thermos with one hand while the other tapped on the metal table.
The polite smile I'd given Kitty faded the second they turned the corner.
They were young, loud and, despite their powers, terribly careless.
"SID, do you have them?" I whispered, barely moving my lips toward the hidden mic on the collar of my jacket.
"Affirmative, sir. Biometric tracking confirms the identities: Katherine Pryde, Robert Drake, John Allerdyce, Illyana Rasputina, and Jubilation Lee. Kurt Wagner is 45 meters above ground, positioned on a gargoyle of the Chrysler Building. They are heading directly toward the Purifiers' exclusion zone."
"They're way too confident," I muttered, putting the mate back into my backpack. "They're about to walk straight into a bear trap thinking it's a daycare."
I stood up and started walking in the opposite direction, slipping into a dark alley.
I couldn't just show up and say, "Hi, I know I'm a stranger but don't go in there."
Illyana, little Magik, already suspected me. If I approached them again, they'd get defensive and I'd waste precious time.
"SID, deploy the tactical recon drone 'Grey Matter Eye'. I need thermal vision on the Purifiers' shelter. I want to know how many men they have on the rooftops."
"Deploying… Sir, I detect twelve snipers with electromagnetic pulse weapons on the upper perimeter. There is also a biological containment unit in the basement, right where the young Kincaid is located."
I stopped in front of a brick wall, away from prying eyes. I looked at my wrist. The Omnitrix pulsed there, as if eager to jump into action already.
"I'm not letting these kids end up on a dissection table just because Xavier didn't teach them to check their flanks," I said, turning the dial on the watch.
==============================================================
POV KITTY PRYDE
We stopped in front of the heavy wooden door of the "Helping Hand Shelter."
Kurt stayed above to watch over us from the skies.
Bobby had his hands in his pockets, already chilling the air around him, John played with his lighter, and Illyana… well, Illyana looked ready to summon her sword at any moment.
"Remember," I whispered, looking at each of them, "we came for Cessily. Don't look for a fight unless it's necessary."
I pushed the door, expecting armed guards, secret labs or at least a hostile atmosphere. But what I saw instead threw me completely off.
The inside was wide, warm, and flooded with a soft yellow light filtering through clean stained glass. There were no weapons, no screaming, just peace.
We walked down the central aisle and froze, trying to take in the scene.
Dozens of people in gray and white robes — the community uniform, I guess — moved calmly. They were tending to mutants, but not like prisoners.
To our left, a man with green scales covering his entire face was chatting happily with a young member of the shelter while he bandaged his arm.
Farther ahead, in a carpeted area, I saw a group of kids; one of them had a prehensile tail and another pointy ears, both laughing while a woman from the staff read them a story.
"This… isn't what I expected," Bobby murmured, his shoulders dropping as the cold vapor from his hands faded.
"Looks like a Red Cross clinic, but with a better budget," Jubilee added, putting her sparks away and curiously watching an elderly mutant whose trembling hands were releasing tiny electric sparks while a nurse offered her a cup of tea.
Even John shut his lighter. The aggressive attitude we came in with suddenly felt out of place, almost rude in such a welcoming environment.
"Welcome, seekers?" A soft, mature voice pulled us from our astonishment.
A woman in her forties, brown hair neatly tied in a bun and a smile radiating motherly serenity, approached us. She wore the same gray outfit as the others, with a small silver cross hanging from her neck.
"Don't just stand there, young ones. No one is a stranger here," she said, extending her hands warmly. "My name is Martha. Have you come seeking the word, or perhaps one of you needs a place to rest from the noise of the outside world?"
I looked at Illyana, who still had her jaw tense, then back at the woman. I felt strangely embarrassed for having come in imagining a massacre.
"We… are looking for a friend," I said, trying to soften my tone. "Her name is Cessily. She's a girl with… silver skin. We believe she came here recently."
Martha's smile widened, seeming genuinely pleased.
"Oh, young Cessily! Yes, a charming girl, though she came with a very burdened heart. She's in the meditation wing, speaking with one of our counselors. She was very anxious to find a way to 'feel' again. Please, come in. You may wait for her in the dining hall, or if you'd like, I can show you how we work here while she finishes her session."
We were silent for a few seconds after Martha's invitation.
Bobby looked at Jubilee, who simply shrugged with a "why not?" expression, while Pyro pocketed his lighter with an indifferent gesture, as if the place had already convinced him.
Illyana looked at me; the tension was still there, but seeing no guards or cells, her shoulders relaxed a little.
"Well… I guess we don't lose anything by coming in and waiting for Cessily here," I said, looking at my friends. They all nodded slightly. "Wait, we're missing one."
I touched my earpiece.
"Kurt, come down. Looks like everything's fine."
Suddenly, a puff of bluish smoke and the characteristic smell of brimstone filled the space next to us.
With a loud BAMF!, Kurt appeared with his usual agility, hanging briefly from a railing before landing gracefully on the floor.
Martha jumped back, hand over her chest in fright. Her eyes widened at the sight of Nightcrawler's blue skin, tail, and features.
"Oh dear!" she exclaimed, startled.
"A thousand apologies, ma'am!" Kurt said quickly, giving a small courteous bow. "I did not mean to startle you. I am Kurt Wagner. A pleasure."
Martha let out a nervous laugh and regained her composure surprisingly fast. She adjusted her tunic and smiled again.
"Don't worry, young man. You just caught me off guard," she said kindly, waving it off. "In this place we have seen miracles of every shape and color. You are all welcome. Please, come in."
She motioned for us to follow her deeper into the shelter. Kurt looked at us and smiled, relieved to see no disgust or fear directed at him.
============================================================
We started walking behind her.
Everything looked so perfect, so human… that part of me wanted to believe we were wrong about this place. Maybe it really was a shelter, a safe space where mutants could finally relax… maybe they could even help Cessily more than the mansion could.
We walked down the main hallway, and the sense of relief in the group was almost tangible. Bobby was already whispering how much this place reminded him of the Mansion, but with a more spiritual touch.
Martha walked ahead of us lightly, greeting every mutant we passed by name.
"You see, kids," Martha said as she guided us toward the east wing, "the outside world is often too fast and cruel for those who are 'special.' Here we don't try to change them by force. We offer a place where their burden can be lighter."
We passed by an inner garden where a man with stone skin sat beneath a tree, eyes closed as sunlight washed over his face. He looked at peace. It really seemed like we'd worried for nothing.
Illyana's paranoia in the cafeteria about spies and ambushes now felt like teenage exaggeration.
Even I felt a bit silly for having come in so tense.
"Cessily is right behind those double doors," Martha pointed toward an area that looked more private and quiet. "She's in an introductory session. It's a delicate process, but if you'd like, you may wait in the lounge nearby. I'll bring you something to drink."
"Thank you, Martha. Really, sorry for coming in… a bit defensive," I said, scratching the back of my neck shyly.
"Don't worry, dear. Fear is the world's language, but here we speak the language of understanding. Make yourselves comfortable."
We sat on extremely comfortable leather sofas.
Jubilee sank into one and sighed.
"Okay, I'm officially retiring from the 'mutant kidnapping detective' business. This place is amazing. Did you guys see that chocolate fountain in the dining hall?"
"It's almost too good to be true," Illyana murmured, though her fists were no longer clenched.
She just watched the décor, confused by the lack of hostility.
"So, Illyana…" Pyro said, staring at the ceiling with mock disappointment. "Where are the hordes of zealots? Where are the death traps? You promised me a massacre and all I see is nice people sharing cookies."
Illyana didn't answer. She stood leaning against a column, arms crossed, eyes locked on the door Martha had just gone through.
"Admit it, 'Yana," Pyro continued, laughing. "The only real threat here is that chocolate fountain. Jubilee might drown in pure joy."
"Hey!" Jubilee protested, wiping a tiny streak of chocolate from the corner of her mouth. "It's Belgian chocolate, John! That's a worthy death."
Magik shot Pyro a cold glare, the kind that usually precedes a forced trip to Limbo. Her pale eyes glowed dangerously.
"My instincts never fail," Illyana growled. "Something about this place doesn't fit. There's no echo of evil, but there's no… soul either. It's like everything is a stage set. Something is very wrong here, but I just can't see what yet."
Bobby let out a half-laugh while taking a sip of a glass of ice water he'd chilled himself.
"Come on, Illyana, relax a bit," Bobby said, winking at me. "Are these the same instincts that told you the guy at the café was a high-risk spy? Because it seemed to me the only thing he wanted was the courage to ask Kitty for her number."
I sank deeper into the couch, feeling my cheeks heat up again.
"Stop it! It was just a polite greeting."
"It was a 'tactical beauty assessment,' according to Illyana," Pyro teased, making Bobby and Jubilee burst into laughter.
Little by little we all calmed down again, letting a comfortable silence return to the room.
Kurt, who had been looking at a peaceful landscape painting on the wall, turned toward us with that thoughtful expression he gets when something weighs on his mind.
"Tell me something," Kurt said, folding his three-fingered hands over his knees. "Do you really think Cessily will be okay here?"
Jubilee, who had just returned from the table with a glass full of liquid chocolate, sipping it like it was fine wine, shrugged.
"I mean, the place is nice and there are no tight yellow uniforms," Jubilee said after licking her lip. "If she wants to stop being a T-1000 and live a normal life, this seems like the least traumatic place to try."
"That's nonsense," Pyro muttered, stretching his legs over a coffee table and grabbing a bottle of mineral water Martha left. "The girl is a high-class mutant. Sooner or later she'll get bored of praying and oatmeal cookies. People like us don't belong in aquariums, no matter how clean they are."
Bobby took a long drink of his cold water and shook his head.
"Don't be so cynical, John. Not everyone wants to be stuck in the middle of a faction war. If Cessily finds a way here to… I don't know, feel human again, who are we to judge? Sometimes the mansion feels like a barracks, and this feels like a home."
"A home that's a bit too perfect," Illyana added softly.
Bobby offered her a glass of water kindly, but she just looked at it and shook her head, declining without leaving the column.
Kurt sighed, looking at the clear liquid in his own glass before drinking a bit.
"I understand what all of you are saying," the blue demon said gently. "Regardless of whether Cessily decides to come back with us or stay here… I just hope she finds happiness. She deserves it after everything she's been through. I can't imagine how hard it's been not feeling anything for so long."
I looked at Kurt, touched by his eternal optimism.
All of us, except Illyana, were sharing a moment of relaxation, drinking and chatting.
The water was fresh, and Jubilee's chocolate smelled amazing.
"You're right, Kurt," I said, feeling a strange warmth spread in my chest. "If she's happy, then we… we…"
I stopped.
For a moment, my tongue felt heavy. I shook my head, thinking it was just fatigue from walking around the city.
"Kitty?" Bobby asked, but his voice sounded strangely distant, like he was speaking underwater. "You just went pale all of a sudden."
I saw Kurt trying to set his glass down on the table, but his movements were clumsy, slow, as if the air had turned into molasses.
The world thickened.
A heavy warmth began crawling up my neck, clouding my vision as if someone had placed a smoky filter over my eyes.
I tried to move my hand to set the glass of water on the table, but my fingers weighed like lead. The glass hit the wood with a dull thud that rattled my teeth.
Beside me, I heard a thump.
Bobby tried to stand up, but his legs simply gave out and he collapsed back onto the couch, his stare vacant and his mouth slightly open.
Kurt, my poor Kurt, tried to hold his head, but his hands trembled violently before going limp on his knees.
Suddenly I felt strong hands gripping my face. It was Illyana.
"Kitty! Look at me!" her voice sounded distant, like she was shouting from the end of a tunnel.
I felt her force my eyelids open.
Her eyes, always sharp and clear, were now full of panic.
She looked into my pupils and let out a growl of pure disgust. Before I could react, she snatched the glass still in my hand and hurled it to the floor, shattering it into a thousand pieces.
"Everything is drugged!" she roared.
In a burst of dark light, her Soulsword appeared in her hand, bathing the room in a silvery glow.
Illyana spun toward the door, ready to gut whoever was behind it, but before she could take a step, the doors slowly opened.
Martha walked in. But she was no longer the kind woman who had welcomed us. Her smile was still there, but now it was cold, empty of anything resembling humanity.
"You're right, dear," Martha said, lifting her finger in a soft "ah-ah" gesture that made me sick. "But I wouldn't recommend using that. You see, the sedatives we use here are… special. They don't just put the body to sleep; they suppress the will. They make you docile, calm… and very, very cooperative."
Martha took two steps forward and fixed her gaze on Jubilee, who was holding her chocolate cup with trembling hands.
I watched tears stream down Jubes' cheeks; she was terrified, but her face was strangely relaxed.
"Jubilation, dear," Martha said sweetly, "would you break that glass you're holding and stab yourself in the neck with one of the shards?"
"No… please…" Jubilee babbled, but her body didn't listen to her.
My eyes filled with tears as I watched my friend squeeze the glass until it shattered.
She grabbed the longest, sharpest shard and brought it straight toward her own throat.
"STOP!" Illyana shouted, her sword vibrating with fury. Her knuckles were white from gripping the hilt so tightly.
"Stop, Jubilee," Martha commanded just as the glass grazed the skin of the girl's neck.
Jubilee froze, her arm stiff and her eyes pleading, begging silently for someone to save her.
Illyana was tense, glaring at Martha with hate.
I tried to focus, tried to phase through the floor to get help, but I couldn't.
It was like my brain had forgotten how to connect to my power.
"Guys…" I managed to say. My voice dragged slowly, but I fought to make it sound steady. "Listen to me… we're going to be okay."
I watched Jubilee's hand trembling violently as she held the broken shard millimeters from her throat. I wanted to scream, to jump and rip it from her hand, but all I could do was talk.
"Don't be scared…" I continued, forcing every word as I looked at Bobby and then at Kurt. "We're going to get out of this. Just… hold on. We're X-Men… we always get through this."
"How touching," Martha interrupted, crossing her arms smugly. "'We're going to get out of this.' I adore youthful optimism, truly. But chemistry is an exact science, Katherine. No matter how much you believe… your blood belongs to me now."
Martha walked through the center of the room, ignoring Illyana's sword.
"Honestly, we hadn't gotten anything truly valuable since we opened this 'refuge' a year ago. Some low-level mutants, nothing useful. But imagine our surprise when young Cessily came begging us for help… and better yet, saying her friends would come straight here."
Martha looked at us with gratitude.
"Thanks to her help, we won't have to shut this operation down. We have material to experiment with for years."
She turned back to Illyana, her tone hardening.
"Now lower the weapon, child. Or I can't promise your friends will finish this day with all of their parts intact."
I saw Illyana's eyes flick from Kurt, to Jubilee, then finally stop on me.
The hatred radiating from her was almost tangible, but the lives of my friends hung by a thread Martha controlled.
At last, with a sigh, Illyana lowered her arm. The Soulsword vanished into thin air, leaving only fading blue sparks that died before touching the floor.
"That's better," Martha said, relaxing her shoulders with satisfaction. "You're a very smart young lady, Illyana. Understanding there is no way out is the first step to true—"
She didn't finish.
In a blink, the air itself tore open. Before Martha could react, Illyana swung her arm violently.
A portal of white light and Limbo stepping discs opened right behind her.
Illyana threw herself backward into the portal. Her eyes met mine one last time before the dimensional rift snapped shut with a harsh crack, leaving the room in absolute silence.
Martha froze, hand stretched toward the empty space where Magik had been a second ago.
The guards raised their weapons, confused, looking everywhere. Long, agonizing seconds passed where no one dared breathe.
Then the silence shattered.
It was a rough laugh, one that began faint and grew, dripping arrogance. Pyro.
Even though he could barely sit upright, John was laughing in Martha's face.
"That was…" Martha inhaled deeply, trying to compose herself, though a vein throbbed angrily on her forehead. "That was unexpected."
She turned her gaze to John, eyes narrowed.
"I'm surprised, young man," Martha said, walking toward him, "that in your situation, you can laugh. Do you not understand that now that your friend is gone, I have no reason to be 'nice' to the rest of you?"
Pyro didn't look away. His bloodshot eyes burned with defiance as he stared straight back at her.
"Do you think I care?" John spat, a crooked grin on his face. "Illyana got away. And she's not the type to curl up somewhere and cry."
John let out another hiss of laughter.
"As soon as she reaches the mansion and tells the teachers what's happening here… the X-MEN will come. And believe me, 'Martha,' they won't be knocking politely. They'll come here and kick your racist, worthless asses until there's nothing left of this dump."
A spark of hope burst in my chest when I heard him. He was right. We were trapped, drugged, vulnerable… but the countdown to this place's end had just begun.
Martha clenched her fists and glanced at one of her guards.
"Take them. Now. And double the dose. I don't want them talking again until they're on the operating table. Get everything ready. We're leaving as soon as possible."
============================================================
POV ILLYANA
The icy air of Limbo brushed my face for only an instant before the portal closed behind me.
I shot out the other side into a metallic hallway of cold walls.
I leaned against the wall for a second, confused.
I'd tried to jump straight to the mansion or at least several kilometers away from this place, but it was like space itself had thickened, like trying to swim through cement.
I'd only moved a few meters inside the same damn building. Something was keeping me from moving freely, a sort of invisible pressure numbing my connection to Limbo.
I summoned my Soulsword, lighting the place with its signature silver-blue glow.
"Bastards…" I muttered, hatred burning my throat.
The hallway's silence didn't even last three seconds.
"There she is! Subject 14-B! Fire!" someone shouted from down the hall.
The thunder of automatic rifle fire tore through my ears.
Without thinking, I swung my sword in a perfect arc before me. The enchanted steel didn't just block the bullets; they disintegrated on contact with its energy, spraying sparks across the corridor.
I saw three guards in tactical formation. One of them, clearly the leader, frantically reached for his helmet comm.
"Central, this is Team 4! The jumper mutant is in sector C-4. Repeat, we have her in sector C—!"
I didn't let him finish.
I roared in fury and slashed the air horizontally. A shockwave of pure energy burst from my sword, a crescent of blue light that slammed into the three soldiers. Their vests shattered and they were hurled back against the far wall.
But the damage was done. My position was blown.
I began hearing heavy boots pounding the metal. They were coming from everywhere. Dozens of footsteps, the creak of tactical gear, safeties being switched off.
"Corner her! Don't let her open another portal!" they shouted through the speakers.
I ran.
My heart pounded with a mix of adrenaline and the desperate need to save Kitty and the others.
A squad appeared ahead of me at an intersection; before they could aim, I summoned a stepping disc beneath my feet. I dropped into the void and reappeared instantly on the ceiling, hanging from a pipe as their shots tore into the floor where I'd been a second earlier.
"Up here, idiots!" I yelled at them.
I jumped again, opening another portal mid-air to appear behind them.
My sword sliced through the air, blocking bursts of fire and smashing rifle butts aside. I'd go in through a wall and come out of the floor, appear behind one soldier to launch him into the next.
But there were too many. For every ten I knocked down, twenty more appeared.
"I'm not stopping…" I panted, blocking another burst that forced me back. "Not until I get them out of here."
===========================================================
My lungs burned. The ozone smell from my portals mixed with the rancid stench of gunpowder, filling the hallway. I couldn't stop. Every second I lost was another second Martha could make good on her threats against Kitty and the others.
I was about to round a corner at full speed when, out of nowhere, a gloved hand shot from the shadows of a recess to my left. It was so fast I barely reacted; an arm wrapped tightly around my waist, yanking me into the darkness of a side corridor as another hand clamped firmly over my mouth.
"Damn them!" I thought, rage exploding in my chest. "I'm not a victim. I am the Queen of Limbo."
I braced my legs, using my center of gravity to spin on my own axis.
I slammed a sharp elbow backward, gaining space, and in one fluid motion I grabbed my attacker's arm, reversed our positions, and smashed him into the wall with a metallic crash.
In a blink, my sword was millimeters from piercing his throat, glowing with murderous light.
But I froze. My breath caught in surprise.
"Wait! Stop!" the voice came from inside the helmet, distorted by a metallic modulator.
In front of me wasn't a guard. The one who'd grabbed me wore advanced tech armor. My eyes locked on the sleek futuristic helmet and the glowing circular emblem on his chest.
"Legion?" I whispered, recognizing him from countless internet videos and news reports.
I hesitated a second. That tiny pause was enough. He raised his hands in peace… then quickly grabbed my arm and yanked me toward him, pressing me tightly against his body in the darkest corner of the corridor.
"Don't move," he ordered in that robotic voice.
I watched him move his hand toward a panel on his forearm.
Suddenly, a thin line of light, almost invisible, spread from his position, covering us both like a transparent veil that distorted the air.
Barely a second later, the echo of heavy boots sounded right in front of us.
I froze. Two soldiers stopped exactly in front of where we were. They were so close I could smell them.
Only that strange wall of light separated us, but they were looking straight through us as if we weren't there.
"Where the hell did she go?" one of them growled, scanning both ends of the corridor. "We had her surrounded a moment ago."
"The frequency inhibitors shouldn't let her jump far. She couldn't have gone anywhere. Check the next block," the other replied, adjusting his helmet.
Suddenly their radios screeched.
"All units! Movement detected in the south cell block! Move immediately!"
"Roger! Let's go," the first one nodded.
Both soldiers took off running, their steps fading until silence returned.
I pulled away from his grip sharply, though I still held my sword up. I looked at the line of light, then back at the symbol on his chest.
"What are you doing here?" I asked with distrust.
"Here? Well, you know," he replied lightly, "doing a bit of sightseeing, but the room service is terrible. Too many guns, not enough hospitality."
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HOW ARE YOU ALL? HOPE YOU'RE DOING GREAT, AND I ALSO HOPE YOU HAD A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS.
WE'RE GOING TO LEAVE THIS CHAPTER HERE. IT SEEMS THE YOUNG AND INEXPERIENCED X-MEN GOT CONFIDENT AND LOWERED THEIR GUARD, WALKING RIGHT INTO A TRAP. FORTUNATELY, MAGIK FOLLOWED HER INSTINCTS AND MANAGED TO ESCAPE, UNEXPECTEDLY RUNNING INTO AN INFILTRATED LEGION. WHAT WILL THIS DUO OF HEROES DO NOW TO SAVE THEIR FRIENDS?
NEW YEAR IS GETTING CLOSE. JUST LIKE WITH CHRISTMAS, I WISH YOU A GREAT END OF THE YEAR WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE, AND THAT YOU EAT AMAZING FOOD. I'LL MAKE SURE TO EAT AS MUCH MANTECOL AS I CAN :)
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR COMMENTS AND ALL YOUR SUPPORT, I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
PS: 4,833 WORDS. THIS WAS A LONG CHAPTER AND I HADN'T EVEN REALIZED LOL