***Warning>>> The following scenes of Assets are intended
for mature readers only. This material contains sexually
explicit situations and violence. If you are easily
offended you may want to refrain from reading the next
installment of ASSETS.
"Well, we don't have much to go on," Iceman remarked, fidgeting as he looked up from the
window. He'd been watching the clouds and ocean zip by below them and thinking.
"When do we ever?" Warren said cocking a brow.
Archangel sat piloting the Blackbird as it cut through the air at incredible speeds. They would
land in Stonehaven, Scottland within the next ten minutes.
Cyclops sat before the on-board computer listening to Beast's transmission. He'd already re-run
the message a number of times, as if he were trying to decipher some sort of code from it.
"Scott, darling, do you really think that it's going to explain anymore? We've listened to Hank's
message so many times that you know it by heart. You haven't missed a thing," Phoenix said, standing
behind her husband with a hand on his shoulder.
Cyclops ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Jean could feel his tension and
confusion--even without her psychic rappaport--it was so thick she couldn't have cut it with a knife. She
saw a familiar glint of determination from behind his ruby-quartz visor as he looped the transmission once
again.
{{Beast to mansion. We are in dire need of assistance. Our situation is as follows: Rogue has
been taken prisoner by Mr. Sinister...(static) Gambit and Emeryld have followed in immediate
response...(static) Wolverine, Storm, Psylocke, and I have followed in hopes of being some assistance,
your help would be much appreciated. Please locate us at the following coordinance...(static) Caution.
Beast out.}}
Cyclops let out an exasperated sigh, "There has to be something--"
"Does there, Scott? Or maybe it's that you just want something to be there," Jean asked.
"What?"
"Maybe there is no hidden message. It could just be a call for back-up, completely unrelated to
you or I, and not some profound way for Sinister to trap the two of us. Is there a hidden meaning in
Hank's words, or is it that you can't think otherwise because it's Sinister we're dealing with?" Jean was
becoming concerned with Scott's preoccupation with the audio transmission. She knew how badly just the
mention of Sinister's name bothered him--even if he refused to admit it--she knew.
"No, Jean, I know there's something," Scott muttered, "I mean, what would Sinister want with
Rogue?"
"Well, she is a major asset to us, you can't deny that," Warren commented over his shoulder in
an almost business-like Wallstreet manner.
"And she does have some major ass--"
"Bobby!"
"Sorry, bad timing," Iceman said looking down. "I was just trying to look on the bright side.
Y'know lighten things up?"
"We know Bobby, just ill timing," Jean said with a synthetic smile.
Jean sensed that he was truly concerned over Rogue's well-being. She even thought that Bobby
had a crush on their resident southern belle. He'd been the one who went after her when she'd absorbed
Gambit's memories; the one who tried to help her cope with it. Rogue had even accompanied him on a
trip to his parents house. The two of them seemed to lean on each other for support.
Bobby's possible feelings for Rogue would explain why he'd always hated Gambit so much. He
felt like the friend who was never appreciated, almost betrayed in a way. While he was there for support
and goofing around... it was Remy who'd always seem capture Rogue's attention--even if all the two
seemed to do is ride an emotional roller coaster. No doubt Gambit was the one who was going to bare the
brunt of this situation in Bobby's mind.
Phoenix continued with her thoughts aloud, "Warren's right, though. Rogue is valuable to us.
We couldn't pull off a lot of things without her on the team. Horrible as it is to admit, at times, if she
wasn't our human shield, most of us would probably be dead right now--"
"I'm not saying she's not important." Cyclops defended himself, "What I mean is, Sinister would
have thought about that long ago. He's never taken an interest in Rogue before--"
"Maybe he was," Bobby interjected, "Maybe you just never noticed it before because we were all
always worried about him coming after you and Jean. Because you were all so--"
"What!" Cyclops cut him off sharply, moving close.
Jean stopped him, holding him back from invading Iceman's territory, "He does have a valid
point, Scott."
"Jean he just said..."
"He 'just said' something that is partially true. You were the one looking for a hidden meaning.
Well, Bobby just may have uncovered it."
Iceman looked almost as puzzled as Cyclops.
"We were always caught up in assuming that Sinister was after us for our genetic make-up...
while Sinister also has hundreds of other options as well. We aren't the only ones with extraordinary
mutant powers."
"We never said that we were," Scott defended, calming somewhat.
"And we never said that you did," Jean continued gently. "Now here's what I think: we all forget
the whole why and the details of this mission--we can deal with all of those later. Right now our main
focus is on freeing Rogue."
"Jean's right," Warren agreed. "It doesn't matter why Sinister wants her, the important thing is
we keep him from having her."
"Yeah," Bobby said, after a pause, he looked up at Scott. Shuffling a bit uncomfortably, "Cyke?
I'm sorry. I don't know--I guess I just kind of lost it..."
Cyclops nodded and gave a half smile, "We've all been under a lot of stress--"
Phoenix hid an ironic smile, "We're ALWAYS under a lot of stress, and sometimes it takes it toll
when things get tight. Times like now. We just have to learn to deal with our emotions and--"
"We're there people," Archangel announced from the cockpit.
Cyclops fell back into command mode again, "Phoenix, take point and scan for anyone who may
cause a problem. Iceman, we're going in as quiet as possible. Surprise is our best element now. So
instead of blasting our way in, any locks? Freeze them."
"Got it."
"Archangel, you've got air cover."
"No problem."
"Other than the locks, Iceman and I will take the flanks. Let's move!"
***
Archangel swooped out of the Blackbird the moment Cyclops opened the hatch. Phoenix lowered
the rest of them to the ground. The Blackbird's defence program kicked in and was immediately,
holographically, cloaked--disappearing into the view around them. The sight they met was an entirely
different story. An enormous castle towered over them.
A castle wasn't completely to startling to Robert Drake. He'd expected that Sinister's lair may
well be a castle... they were more common place in Scotland of course. But none of the X-men could have
well expected the metal fortress which loomed before them. Bobby watched Worthington's reaction and
was surprised he hadn't fallen right out of the sky. If the man wasn't already blue, Bobby was sure he
would have seen Archangel turn a shade of green.
The spires and turrets of the castle looked as if some sort of steel armored them. The drawbridge
was certain to be made of adamantium or some such metal. The whole complex seemed almost alive, as if
the entire castle were a gigantic computer terminal. Which if that's what it was, it wouldn't have
surprised him a bit. But if they didn't know that they were after Mr. Sinister... they would have guessed
Magneto.
Rogue was in there somewhere. Held in Sinister's possession, like a princess that needed her
knight in shining armor to rescue her. And even though the ominous building intimidated Iceman a bit,
he was determined to be the knight to save her, "Kind of like some twisted fairy tale, huh?"
"You're telling me, Ice," Warren said, dropping to the ground beside him.
***
"The impregnable fortress," Jean remarked quietly.
"Time to use that history of war and strategy the Prof taught us, huh?" Iceman continued.
Cyclops hadn't said a word since leaving the Blackbird. He was standing still, as if deep in
thought. He was examining the building before him. The building was glowing, small lights and
electrode chips everywhere. Scott could feel the energy pulsating, hear it humming around him. A metal
computer castle in the middle of the Highlands.
Looking up he spoke finally, "No, I don't think so. We proceed with what we had originally
planned. Ice the locks."
"What?! No offence or anything, Cyke, but are you cashews? I mean it's a giant computer--like
some video game from Hell!"
Cyclops nodded. "I know, but what computers don't like is water. You can short out the entire
system."
"I thought we were going in quietly?" Archangel asked.
"I also said surprise is our best move. What better way to surprise them with shorting out all of
their power systems?"
"Keep moving," Psylocke said from behind Curran, who had been slowing significantly. She was
stalling.
The woman glanced back at Psylocke bitterly as she continued down the corridor. She'd been
utterly silent since agreeing to lead the two X-men to Rogue's cell--which they still had yet to reach.
Psylocke didn't trust Curran or her silence a bit.
She'd been keeping a constant monitor on Curran's thoughts. Elizabeth Braddock was becoming
impatient. She snapped a question at Curran suddenly, just to keep her from teleporting to the cell
herself. She knew that they had to keep an eye on Curran to be sure she didn't run and alert Sinister just
yet.
"What were you planning on doing with that medi-kit?"
"Examine the prisoner, obviously," Curran answered in a cold monotone voice.
"That much goes without asking, of course," Beast continued, "but why the need for
examination? Why would Sinister be concerned with her health?"
"The girl slashed her wrists, losing an excessive amount of blood. I was to examine her and see
that she make a full recovery--"
"She's been harmed?!" Beast replied incredulously.
"What have you done to her?" Psylocke demanded, twisting Curran's arms sharply behind her
back.
"Nothing! She did it herself," Curran's voice strained under the pain.
"Psylocke, we need not to resort to force just yet," Beast said calmly.
She glanced up at Beast, the garish red mark over her left eye--left by the Crimson Dawn--made
her look seriously dangerous. Looking threatening wasn't the only effect of the Crimson Dawn. Psylocke
had been manifesting new powers: teleportation which she called "shadow walking" among other
changes. Her personality was altering itself. It seemed as if her memories were slowly fading
away--regressing. She WAS dangerous as a whole, and it was not wise to make her angry, to which
Henry McCoy was trying to prevent currently.
Psylocke sighed finally and released Curran's arm.
"Why would Rogue harm herself?" Dr. McCoy pondered aloud, "Or more puzzling: how?
Unless Sinister--"
"Nulled her powers. The girl was trying to escape. Sinister warned her that she'd only hurt
herself, but she kept at it until she nearly bled to death. She slashed her wrists on the shackles," Curran
finished. She paused in thought, then laughed, "The look on her face when she found her powers stripped
was priceless!"
Betsy's already slanted eyes narrowed into slits--her psionic blade flickered in her hand.
"Psylocke," Beast warned.
"The pink psionic knife disappeared. Her voice sharp, like an edged piece of glass, as she
spoke,"Talking now, are we? Not a word before and now we can't seem to shut you up. Then tell me
something, if she lost so much blood, why the vials?"
Curran only grinned.
Psylocke's psionic knife flared to life again, "Spill it, or I won't hesitate to dash this into your
pretty little cranium. And believe me, it hurts. Severely."
Swallowing, knowing that Psylocke was serious, Curran answered, "Sinister wants a fertility test
run..."
"Why?" Psylocke snapped, "and I'd answer quickly."
"He's found that she's the key to--"
"The key to what?"
Curran switched gears, not telling the full truth, but enough to keep Psylocke from killing her
then and there--enough to make a psi believe she wasn't keeping something hidden, "The key to be sure
LeBeau carried out his part of the bargain."
Suddenly, there was an explosion and a piercing scream reverberated through the tunnel: echoing
in Rogue's voice.
Psylocke acted. She threw Curran across the passage way and grabbed a hold of Beast's. The
two of them were pulled into the shadow and disappeared in the direction of the sound.
"Oh, my..." Were the only words that Beast could utter at the sight he and Psylocke saw before
them, as they reappeared in front of Rogue's barred cell. Beast stared in disbelief and opened his mouth to
try again, only resulting in the same, "Oh, my..."
A gagging sound caught Storm's attention. Her head snapped upward to find the source. There
Ororo saw Emeryld gasping for air--she was choking, swallowing her tongue.
Instinctively Storm moved forward and reached for the cell. She wouldn't do much good, if any
at all, in her present situation but she could at least try to help.
Suddenly a shooting pain stabbed in her neck--as quick current of electricity had shocked her.
Hairback seized her by the waist and yanked her backward forcefully. She spun to face Sinister--who sat
holding the collar control like a tyrant would hold court. The geneticist only smiled his jagged grin.
A hurricane raged in Storm's eyes, "By the Goddess, why will you not let me aid her? Can you
not see she is suffering!"
Sinister glanced at the writhing Serina.
"Have you no compassion at all?"
"And what help would you be, Ororo Munroe? There is little you can do for her. I do wonder
why she would suddenly go into convulsion like this though..." he answered her, caressing his chin.
Wolverine's claws extended and a feral growl of rage emanated from his throat. Slab and
Hairbag jumped to hold Wolverine back. Even with the collar and shackles, Logan was still be far a
dangerous man.
He spurned the thugs and crouched behind Storm roaring, "Let 'er outta the zoo, if y'don't want
her dead b'fore ya can use 'er. S'rina ain't the type who can stand lock-up long b'fore one o' her seizures,
an' they've been known t'cause comas."
Sinister stood abruptly did a double-take from the retching form of Serina in her cell to
Wolverine. Sinister released the lever that held the cage above the room, lowering it to the ground.
"Dazzo!"
Immediately a blonde man in glasses came rushing in, a medical kit in hand. He no sooner
unlocked the cage then he was pulling Serina out of it. Ororo watched as the woman's head tossed from
side to side, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. Emeryld kicked and lashed out in all directions,
seemingly having lost control of all her movements.
Storm could not restrain herself from moving forward to at least try to hold-down or comfort her
surrogate daughter. As Ororo came up closer to Serina, she noticed an instant clear headed glitter in her
green-gold cat eyes, then it was gone. But a split second was all it took for Storm to realize then what was
really happening. A split second that Sinister and his aid had missed in their preoccupation to hold her
down, to treat her.
Storm stared at Wolverine, who felt her eyes on him. He looked up and gave her a look that told
her that he already knew what she did, as well. Storm shifted her bound arms up toward her neck,
indicating that the collar had to be removed from Serina's throat. Logan nodded in agreement; however,
being that the collars were most likely made from adamantium Wolverine's bone claws would be no good
to them.
Emeryld continued to thrash her head still tossing from side to side. Her hair had been tossed
loose from the French twist she'd put it up in earlier that afternoon. It had been loose when she began
looking more feral in her cell. A few stay bobby-pins came free from her entangled hair and lay scattered
on the floor. One was all Storm needed, but Sinister had suddenly turned his attention to her.
Sinister pulled Ororo up by the slave collar about her own neck, glancing at his henchmen,
"Hairbag! Slab! Free her arms."
Storm stared at him fiercely, with a tinge of confusion in her gaze. As Hairbag unlocked the
shackles and let them fall from her wrists, Sinister spoke to her, "Hold Serenity's head still."
Sinister began rapping orders to Dazzo and busied himself from keeping Emeryld's legs from
kicking continuously, while Ororo moved to hold Emeryld's head. Storm's hands were free, which was
more than she could have hoped for. She slid one hand under Serina's neck and the other picked one of
the hair-pins off the ground. She then slid the other hand deftly behind Emeryld's neck and into the lock
mechanism of the collar. With a few agile turns the collar unclasped with what would have been an all
too loud click, but with all the commotion it made the barest sound. Storm the released her grip from
Serina.
Suddenly Emeryld lashed out with tremendous force, knocking Sinister and Dazzo away from her
before she disappeared in a burst of power.
Rogue lay with her eyes clenched shut. She refused to open her eyes, not for anything. If she so
much as looked at Gambit she wasn't sure what would happen. Her earlier confusion and fear gave way to
waves of anger and shame.
Gambit towered over her, pinning her arms up over her head. She lay stripped beneath him on
the cold stone floor. Rogue writhed, struggling to move away as he pushed closer. She pulled frantically,
but his grip on her wrists where like iron, and the more she fought the more pain shot through her already
injured arms.
Rogue was furious with herself at seeing how useless her efforts against him were. She cried out
wordlessly. Even without her powers Rogue was far from a defenseless woman. She was strong, yet,
Remy was an even stronger man--one who's been trained to rely on what he had, and not the stolen
super-human strength, which Rogue had come to take for granted.
Knowing that she couldn't escape Remy's holding her down, Rogue inched up and away from
him.
"Non, Chere," Gambit reached up grabbing her wrists in one hand, while he pulled her back to
him.
"NooOOOOO!" came Rogue's outcry, her voice raising in volume and pitch. Hot tears ran down
her face as the searing pain pulsed through her entire being. She threw her head from side to side, back
arching in agony.
Her cries were a mixture of anger, remorse, pain... and the anguished dying scream of a shattered
heart.
"God, Remy, no please..." Rogue implored agonizingly, "Please, ah'm beggin' you!"
Her pleas echoed thunderously in Gambit's ears. He couldn't stand the tortured anguish that
poured from her lips like hot acid. He needed to quiet her, for his own sanity, for his own peace.
"Shh, it all be over soon," he gasped. Closing his eyes, he leaned closer and pressed his lips
against Rogue's to quiet her. He removed his hand from her waist. He placed two fingers over her lips as
he drew away.
***--Her silent scream resounded over and over again in his mind. Serina lay bound and
gagged, stretched on the table before him, as he tore her gown away. Her normally sultry voice cried out
in terror to his drugged psyche, "This cannae be happening!"
A wave of remorse washed over him as he brushed against the ivory skin of her thigh. It was soft
and smooth; a delicate piece of cream satin tainted by his now savage touch.
His actions were becoming rough, tactless. Not at all the articulate and gentle hands of the
well-trained thief, the lover. His demeanor no longer belonged to him. He was no longer himself-- but
cruel and brutal.
The voices around them cheered him on, watching them, and the thought of conquering her fixed
a terrible grin to his lips--***
A sharp pain welled in Remy's hand. His eyes flew open to look into Rogue's enraged emerald
glare. She'd bitten him! Bitten him hard enough to draw a good amount of blood-- hard enough to knock
him back to the present.
Gambit wrenched his hand away, stifling a yelp. But the sensation sparked something anew
inside of him, a sensation that bordered on the brink of pain and pleasure. He stared down into her
infuriated eyes, vaguely realizing that those eyes were only emerald, and not the gold-green cat eyes that
belonged to Serina.
"Git-off-me!" Rogue gasped.
Ignoring the blood, Gambit clamped his hand down fully on her mouth, with his entire hand, and
gasped, "Hush now! I'm tryin' t'be... as gentle ...as I can, 'siderin' de... circumstances--"
However, the feeling that was rising, coursing through him, was making what he was doing far
from gentle.
Rogue furiously tossed her head to the side and choked out raggedly, "Y'said--y.y.you l.loved
me..."
"I do--"
"Is THIS love!?" she shrieked excruciatingly.
"Don' make me hurt you worse, femme, now le silence!" Gambit almost howled. His mind was
muddled now, wandering between knowing if he was with Serina or Rogue. He was caught in the space
between reality and his memories.
Rogue relaxed suddenly; her defensive tension vanishing. Gambit felt it leave her, as he came
crashing down on top of her again, pressing her flat against the stone.
"Ah said-git-off'a-me-NOW!" She lashed out then, kicking him. She sent Gambit staggering
back across the room.
She'd drawn her legs up and anchored her feet on his narrow hips and stomach. Pushing hard,
she drove him away from her powerfully. She was free now for the time being. Rogue pushed herself up
and quickly scrambled away from him, toward the seemingly safe arms of the shadows.
Gambit stood stunned, the wind knocked from his lungs, by the surprise of Rogue's kick. Enraged
by his wounded pride and his unsatisfied obligation, Remy surged after her. Rogue mule kicked him in the
jaw, sending him flailing backward again.
When Gambit drew his hand away from his mouth, blood came with it. His eyes narrowed,
burning red and fierce; the infernos of Hell reflected in their depths. His now warped sense of reality
caused him to snap. With a snarl, Remy lunged after her, snatching her around the waist and hoisting her
up.
"No more, Remy!" she cried, desperately clawing to grab hold of anything that keep him from
dragging her back across the room, "Remy, don't!"
Rogue's hands only grasped empty air as he wrenched her from the shadows. Her face hit the
cold stone as he threw her to the other side of the room into the harsh light.
Gambit snatched up his trench coat momentarily then discarded again, stalking toward where
Rogue lay. A card flittered down, when he tossed the coat, to lay discarded on the floor: a tattered queen
of hearts. The card she once gave him... the one she had left him with when she had abandoned him in
Antarctica. He'd kept it.
But sentiment meant nothing at this moment in time and Rogue knew it. Now it was live or die.
She tried to pull herself up--tried to get away before he got to her--but she was grabbed by her shoulders
from behind. Gambit wrenched her up to her knees.
Rogue writhed in his grasp, unable to escape this time. Her hands were held painfully behind her
back. If they had been free she could have scratched him, done anything to make him let go, but he had
found a way to hold her so she could no longer fight back. Rogue watched in agonizing horror as she saw
the ace of hearts that her held. It began to crackle and glow with deadly energy.
"Dat wasn' too bright, girl," Gambit crouched behind her, bending close, as he whispered to her
venomously. He wound her long hair in his free hand and pulled, jerking her head back: exposing her
throat, "I t'ink, me, dat you best apologize..."
"Ah--ah'm s.s.s-orry, R-remy," she whispered, feeling the searing heat of the energy radiating
from the card
"Que? I didn' hear you. Speak up femme!" he inched the card closer.
"Ah'm sorry!" she cried, tears staining her face. She closed her eyes tight, wishing it was only
some terrible nightmare. Praying it would all just go away. That she'd wake up any minute...
"Promise to b'have?" he asked with cold calm.
"Yes."
"Look at dis card an' remember it good. B'cuz one more trick like dat an' it goin' be a big part of
your life. Comprendez vous?" he purred, arching a brow.
"You gave me a card once, Chere, an' if you don' watch it, I give you one you not soon t'forget,"
Gambit drew the card, crackling dangerously close, across the base of her throat.
Rogue gasped at the burning sting of hot energy, as it singed her skin.
Gambit cast her back down before him on the floor. He leaned over her and stroked her cheek,
still holding the card in his other hand, "Sometime's education be painful. You be a stubborn one, but you
goin' learn..."
"If ye are goin' to do that to anyone, you do it to mae! I've been there before, and I'll do it again
if I have to," Came a voice from behind him, near the door.
To Be Continued in..........
Assets 4