CHAPTER 81-SECRETS IN THE BLACKBIRD
The Blackbird's engines purred steady, slicing through the dark above the sea. Inside, the cabin was quiet but tense.
Scott Summers sat rigid in the copilot's seat, arms crossed, visor glowing faintly in the dim light. His jaw worked like granite. He wasn't speaking to Moira. He hadn't spoken since they'd lifted off.
Moira MacTaggert broke the silence. "Ye've the look of a man chewing glass, Scott. Out with it."
His voice was low, tight. "You didn't think to tell us? That this island-your island-houses a mutant prison?"
Moira flinched but held her ground. 'Not a prison. A facility. Somewhere to study the ones we catch. Try and turn them away from violence."
"You mean lock them up." His visor caught the cabin lights, a crimson gleam across the black glass. "Experiment on them. And you thought that was your choice to make?"
Moira's eyes flashed, her accent thickening. "What would ye have me do? Let them roam free? Tear apart villages? Spill blood in the streets? No. If I can find a way to change them, I'll bloody well try."
Scott didn't answer. His hands clenched tighter.
The ship dipped lower, the coastline rising in the windshield. The lab complex loomed ahead-dark, cold, faceless.
They set down on a landing strip carved into the cliff. The hatch hissed open. Inside the corridors, fluorescent lights buzzed weak and pale. The smell of sterilized metal hung heavy.
A sound drew Moira's attention. She darted ahead, heels clicking across the floor, and found a figure sprawled in the corridor. Green suit, yellow piping, breathing ragged but alive.
"Jamie!" she gasped, kneeling. "Jamie Madrox!"
Scott came up behind her, tensing. "Who is he?"
"A mutant," Moira said quickly, checking his pulse. "He can split himself, replicate... he's one of the first I tried to help. God help me, what's he doing here-"
Jamie stirred, groaned, and his eyes fluttered open. He looked around in panic before clutching Moira's arm.
"You... shouldn't have come..." His voice was hoarse, every word scraped raw.
Moira leaned closer. "Jamie, tell me. What happened?"
He swallowed, coughed, fought for words. "Magneto... he's back. Stronger. Erik the Red... he used some device. Restored him. Took me down... like a child's toy."
Scott froze in place. His fists tightened until his gloves creaked. "That's impossible. He was reduced to an infant. He wasn't a threat anymore."
Jamie's face twisted in fear. "He is now. And you're walking into his trap."
The floor trembled beneath them. Distant, muffled-but unmistakable-the sound of battle. Explosions, shouts, the roar of unleashed power.
Scott shot to his feet. "The team."
Moira grabbed his arm. "Scott, don't! You'll only-"
He tore free, visor glowing like a furnace. "Get Jamie to the Blackbird. Keep him safe. If Magneto's back, he won't stop until Xavier's in the ground. And I won't let him stall us here while he takes the Professor."
He sprinted down the corridor, every footstep echoing, the sounds of war growing louder with each stride.
Moira knelt by Jamie, trembling, watching Scott vanish into the smoke.
"God help him," she whispered.