Guards came from the hatch to escort me to Stryker's lab. About ten well armed soliders flanked me and I surmised that one of them had a remote to my collar in case anything happened. This time we took a route that I was unfamiliar with. It was a long walk and I felt by a subtle decline that we were going lower into the earth. We reached a tunnel that stretched out almost indefinitely.
As we walked my mind raced with what I could do to escape this. Stryker didn't strike me as someone who was interested in cutting a deal. We reached the end of the tunnel were a steel door was open and a few scientists moved around ignoring us. The group remained on standby perhaps waiting for Stryker.
I few minutes passed when a loud echo was heard throughout the entire base. The soldiers clinched their rifles preparing for anything than all the lights went out. Even the red light of my collar signifying it was on turned off.
I turned to look at the guard next to me. The only light here was the red glow from my chest and I was able to see his face in the darkness. Using facial muscles that weren't used in years I saw fear begin to form on the man's face from a smile I formed after years of confinement.
My hand grasped his head and I activated level 1 of my thermal powers burning a hole in his face. The sound of guns firing went off for a moment until only the repeated sound of a dead controller clicking could be heard. I dropped the guards corpse and turned to the rest.
I butchered all of them, scientists included.
When I finished I began to melt my collar and realized it was made to resist large amounts of heat needing me to raise my thermal power to level 3 momentarily. I cracked my neck feeling relief when it fell to the floor. From the heat I emitted my shirt had burned off in the process but thankfully my pants and shoes remained. I took a rifle and few clips from the dead soldiers stuffing them in my pockets. Throughout my training they taught me that running at a man with my powers was a luxury and killing from a distance was far more efficient.
I ran across the long tunnel until I reached the labyrinth of hallways of the base. Here the alarms were going off and the intercom sounded throughout the base, "all available personal meet in level 1 and 2 for backup. Remaining able bodies earse all documents of importance."
They forgot the hail HYDRA part at the end I thought. Seems someone either came in uninvited or is leaving without permission. I walked through the tunnels looking for an exit or a map but only finding a few HYDRA personal eliminating them all.
Hitting a dead end I grew frustrated and realized I would have to open every steel door if I wanted to find blue skies. When I found sealed doors I used an ability I hadn't shown before. I breathed fire trying to melt it but only level 3 of my power manged to burn through it. It was more of preference doing it that way then punching them with heated fists.
Many of the rooms I opened were just laboratories with recently killed experiments and burning documents or computers. Few were storage rooms and after a half an hour past I found myself in an empty base. All I heard were gun fire echoing throughout the tunnels but it was disorienting were they originated from.
I was melting a door open revealing a room with a couple scientists left behind with a couple mutants strapped to metal tables. They were preparing to inject something in them but I shot them all before they could. I entered the room to inspect for an exit and saw that these mutants were around my age. One had an odd visor, another blue skin, a normal looking dude, a girl with brown hair, one with white hair, another with short red hair, and a girl with a streak of white going down her black hair but she looked deceased.
Their mouths were covered and they mumbled for me to free them. I did so only because I wished someone had when I was in their place, I felt time was running out. I freed the redhead first, "thank you." She blurted out as she quickly moved to help the others. Once they were free I started to leave, "wait our friend isn't responding." I heard the redhead cry out.
"She's dead. I'm leaving." I said.
I heard muffled noises of pain, "Bobby, she'll drain you."
"She can still live Kitty. Rogue just needs some borrowed time." Bobby said.
I turned to see what was happening and watched as he collapsed to the floor with the guy with a visor barely catching him. Intrigued I walked back to see what was really occurring.
The blue skinned guy spoke, "please help her. These barbarians injected something in her before you arrived to safe us. Rogue absorbs the life force of whoever her skin comes into contact. If we could pool our efforts we could revive her before its too late." Said the man in an accent I couldn't place.
Judging by the fact no one else was next in line after Bobby I guessed no one else had a healing factor like mine. I grabbed the knocked out girl's forearm but removed my hand feeling a shock. What an odd feeling. Hoping my own mutation would kick in I held her arm sensing her life stealing ability working. It didn't feel at all that bad and I thought Bobby was being overly dramatic.
A minute went by and Rogue shot up in shock from being so near to death. She made eye contact with my hand and her eyes spread wide open. The blue skinned guy was the first to hug her. I left them to their little celebration and walked back out into the labyrinth.
I heard running behind me and nearly pointed my rifle at them, "could you not make so much noise? This is an active war zone." I said with no emotion just annoyance.
The redhead spoke, "we need to stick together."
The guy with a visor whispered but I could hear his voice, "you sure following this guy is wise? For all we know he could just be interested in killing than finding the exit."
"Shh Cyclops." Said Rogue watching me with eyes that made me uncomfortable.
Surpisingly the blue skinned guy came up to me with an outreach hand with a friendly smile, "Kurt Wagner, an honor meeting...?"
"626.", I turned back to my exploring hearing how they thought my behavior to be weird. They followed me in their own version of silence. I felt closer to the exit as gunfire could be heard much louder, well at least for my ears. We reached a turn and I could hear the breathing of a group of men around the corner.
I put my hand in front of the group of mutants behind me halting them. Without feeling a need to take precautions I ran into the open firing at the soldiers who returned fire. Only I survived the ordeal.
The redhead came up to me while looking at the bullet holes in me as they healed with a red glow, "I know a teacher with similar skills. Is your glowing chest part of your mutation? Or did they... Never mind, sorry for asking."
I didn't answer her and started heating up my chest to melt the door that these soldiers guarded. Meanwhile I heard the mutants behind me struggle with the sight of dead corpses. Hot flames came out melting the door and I went in hoping to see an exit but found an odd room. It had a bridge with two men in their 30s-40s in wheel chairs; in an oval chamber with panels for walls.
"Professor!" I heard them scream as they went to help one of the disabled people.
I walked next to the lonely one seeing how he was an experiment as well. He looked at me with sinister eyes despite looking hopeless if he wanted to attack.
"He's stuck, this guy is messing with his mind." Said the redhead.
"Can't you help him Jean?" Asked Cyclops.
"I...I can't. I could make it worse than what it is." The redhead said now known as Jean I noted.
Kurt, the blue skinned guy spoke to me, "can you help him escape this trap?"
"Sure." I said in a monotone voice shooting the other guy in the head. They looked at me in shock, "take your professor, I'm moving."
The white haired girl didn't struggle much with what I did and wheeled him out while he was waking up from what ever torture he endured. They followed me in silence. I reached an intersection and couldn't decide whether to go left or right, both sides echoed with battle.
I went left with the group behind me turning around a bend until the tunnel filled with man made smoke. Movement was coming from behind me as well, we were pinned.
"Protect the rear if you can I got the front." I said.
They prepared for the inevitable. From the smoke three guards appeared running at us. Before I could shoot a bullet hit their backs killing them. A moment passed before a different group of armed men appeared in different uniforms, they had an emblem with some semblance to an eagle on theirs.
"Bravo squad here, we found a group of teenagers possibly mutants along with a ill Charles Xavier. One of them is armed, asking for the director to mitigate the situation. Over." Said one of them.
I held my ground waiting for the slightest response. Behind us arrived the group I heard earlier. I expected gun shots but heard a sarcastic voice, "easy now. Wouldn't want another mutant massacre on your hands."
"Inform Fury that the X-men are here. Over." Said the armed men.
A slow clap sounded in the tunnel as the smoke started to lift, "no need. I'm here." A black man revealed himself wearing a trench coat and an eye patch with a calculating gaze, "I thought I told you X-men that I had the situation covered."
"Assurances, it's hard to trust the government nowadays. Besides I'm not an X-men just a friend of dear old Charles here." Spoke a stern voice.
"You should be behind bars." Replied Fury, "what do you say you get your ass out of my jurisdiction and I'll uphold the accord to keep mutants safe."
A weary voice spoke, "they were experimenting on mutants, children, here. For years."
"Professor are you really fine enough to speak." Asked the sarcastic voice from earlier.
"I'm fine Logan." Said the professor.
"This whole facility is secret. The U.S.A government had no hand in this. And once my people register everything in here, you can rest assured they'll get their due. I'll do you one better, they'll die just like these poor souls." Said Fury motioning to the corpses of the guards.
"The mutants here leave with us, that is not up for discussion." Said the professor.
Fury put his hands on his hips, "fine. A compromise. Now leave, your in the way."
The group behind me started to leave and I lowered my rifle but remained in position. A hand grabbed my arm, Jean spoke, "aren't you coming with?"
I looked for the first time behind me. Apart form the group I walked with earlier I saw a blue furry man that looked like a beast, a man with three claws extending from his hands, another with a peculiar helmet, a man covered in metal, and a woman with blue skin and scales with red hair.
"No." I said.
Fury spoke immediately, "excuse me? Listen pal I'm fine with throwing hands if thats what you'd like."
I felt a spike in my head, no my brain. Someone tried to peak into my mind but failed, a voice appeared instead, "stand down my boy. There's no need to fight. It's over."
Instinctively I turned to look at the professor in his chair, "fuck off." I said and he looked confused then a hint of worry appeared in his eyes.
I turned to look at Fury, "I want to kill all of them." I said blunty.
He analyzed me, "I don't babysit kids."
"HYDRA trained me. And I want to show them the 'fruits of their effort'." I replied with anger.
He stepped closure, "hold on. No one mentioned HYDRA. As far as Intel goes this is Stryker's base."
"My caretaker, Dr. List said he was a 'friend' of HYDRA. From what he told me, HYDRA gave him this base for his success in biological weapon experiments, not Stryker." I responded.
He looked me dead in the eye, "you're coming with me."
"Wait Fury. This isn't what we agreed to." Said the professor in a stern voice.
"He looks like his balls dropped, and it's a free country he can decide." Said Fury moving out of the way and waving his hand dramatically if I wanted to go with his men.
I looked down at Jean's hand, "take your hand off me please."
"They'll throw you at this HYDRA or whatever organization without carrying for your safety. They won't see you as a person." She said.
"I've made my decision." I said plainly.
"Wait, Beast give me your X-phone." She said. The blue haird man threw a metal apparatus at her to catch, "this is just a cellphone director Fury. In case he wishes to leave." Jean handed me the device.
"As long as it's just a cellphone. Alright that's enough time wasted." He said.
Jean returned to her people and I watched as they all left with a couple giving me a weird look. The professor however eyed me like a hawk for some reason.
Fury directed his men to inspect the base before talking to me as countless personal invaded the tunnels. "Just follow the stream of me people coming in, it isn't that difficult to find the way out from here. I'll alert my agent Coulson and he'll take care of you while I clean up this mess. Oh and don't misbehave, you don't want to see me pissed off...how do I call you kid?"
"626." I answered.
"I see. We'll speak soon." He said walking off.
I followed the corridors as more soldiers walked in to sweep the entire base. After a couple of turns I entered a large hanger bay. Groups of more specialized people roamed here, scientists, agents I was unsure. I saw body bags and a few people tagging them as fallen allies or enemies. Jets or a carrier, perhaps a mix of them entered the bay or left with equipment.
A couple people glared at me with curiosity but continued their work. I didn't know where to go from here until a man came up to me in a suit. He had a tablet, "hello, I'm agent Coulson. Follow me please, the quinjet will escort us to the Helicarrier."
I walked behind him as he led me into what he called a quinjet. It was just us and the pilot inside, "hey would you mind giving me the rifle. Safety protocols." I forgot I had it in my hands and handed over, "thanks. Please strap in to one of the chairs. It's going to be a few minutes until we reach your new home."