Scott clipped his fake nametag over the pocket protector hole of his
white lab coat and waited for Bobby, Rogue, Wolverine, Bishop, and Warren to
do the same. He tried not to smile as Bishop struggled with the coat,
trying to get it to fit around his muscular torso.
"Worthington, I thought you said these things would fit." The big man
grumbled before he finally gave up and allowed the coat to hang open.
"That's the biggest size we had, Bishop," Warren stated. "I didn't
exactly have time to go shopping."
The group merged, standing side by side, all working hard to appear
calm. "We're ready, Dad," Scott called to his father. "The sooner this is
over with, the better I'll feel."
"Wait just a moment, son." Corsair moved to a control panel and pushed a
button. A small door opened and Christopher reached inside and pulled out a
ring. He held it out for his son.
"Take this," he said as Scott placed the piece of jewelry on his right
index finger. The red stone flashed twice and then stopped. "It's a
tracking device. If you get into trouble, twist the stone a complete turn
and we'll be able to pinpoint your location and mount a rescue attempt."
"Let's hope we don't need to." Cyclops embraced his father, and then
reluctantly pulled away. "We'll be back soon."
Turning to the X-Men, he said. "Let's go."
Corsair shouted to his navigator, "Ch'od, do it."
_____________
Getting inside the base was a piece of cake compared to finding the
secret elevator that would take the group down to the underground levels.
With his special sense of hearing, Wolverine heard the sound of an elevator
approaching and motioned the group to hide in the shadows.
As the group lurked in the darkened recesses, a door opened and someone
stepped out. With a stack of folders tucked under his arm, the individual
was in such a hurry to get away that he wasn't paying attention to his
surroundings.
Once the man disappeared down the hallway, Scott waved for the group to
enter the elevator.
"It smells like something has died in here." Drake waved his hand over
his nose, after the elevator doors closed and started downward. "You'd
think with the money that's being pumped into this place, Sinister could
afford a decent cleaning service."
The elevator stopped and the group held its breath as the door opened.
Adjusting the white coat, Scott stepped out and glanced down both directions
of the hallway. With a relieved sigh, he turned to the group and
announced. "It's all right, the coast is clear."
Bishop moved out into the hallway, glanced left and then right. Turning
to Scott, he cocked his laser rifle and asked, "Where now?"
Wanting to secure their area as quickly and quietly as possible, Scott
spoke to those members of his team who could fly. "Rogue, you and Warren
fly up ahead." He ordered, motioning with his hand towards the left. "And
keep in touch. I don't want us separated."
"Ah'm on it, Sugah," Rogue and Warren took to the air as the remaining
group moved down the opposite direction. In less than a minute, they were
back with Rogue and delivering some bad news. "We can't go in that
direction, Scott. It's a dead-end."
"I don't like this, Cyke," Wolverine admitted after looking around the
corner. The corridor veered off towards the right and into a darken
hallway. Logan popped out his claws, ready for a fight. "Almost like we
are bein' led this way on purpose."
"Agreed." Bishop acknowledged. The ex-cop kept his gun ready, aimed and
his eyes moving in search for an unseen enemy. "This would be a good place
for an ambush."
"Just stay alert. Sinister's known for his trickery." Cyclops told
him. It had been hard enough to discover that Sinister had cloned Jean with
the whole Phoenix debacle, then to learn he was also responsible for the
complete destruction of his and his brothers' childhoods.
Closing his eyes, he tried to come to grip with what had happened over
the last few hours. He was determined to build a new relationship with his
two estranged brothers. However, something darker was nagging at him now,
and he knew what it was.
"You all right, Scott?" Warren flew down, landed, and began to walk side
by side with his oldest friend.
"I guess the thought of facing Sinister again is making me edgy."
Cyclops admitted with a deep-frustrated sigh. "It's hard knowing the man
who completely destroyed any chance I might have had of leaving the
orphanage with an adopted family also had a hand in shattering my two
brothers childhood's too." He looked around the darkened hallway.
"Somehow, this place feels like his main base of operations."
"It's all right, Scott. If anyone knows how you feel, it's me." Angel
placed his hand on his leader's shoulder. "Only instead of it being
Sinister, it was Apocalypse."
"We all make mistakes, guys." Bobby whispered. The two older men
stopped and stared at him in disbelief. The Iceman shot them a confused
look. "X-Men stick together or has that changed?"
"We seemed to have forgotten that lately." Warren admitted reluctantly.
"Our worst enemy has been ourselves."
"Ya'll wanna pay attention ta what we been saying, huh!" Rogue shouted
at the three men. Angel, Scott, and Bobby walked over to where the group
had gathered. Rogue lifted an eyebrow. "Mind telling the rest of us what's
going on?"
"We were talking about Sinister and his handy work in Scott's family."
Angel explained to the others. "Scott also thinks this is Sinister's main
base of operations." Warren turned to Cyclops and offered a favorable
suggestion. "I say we wipe it off the face of the planet."
Rogue snickered, "Ah get first shot at Sinister."
Before anyone could comment, the floor opened and everyone tumbled down
into darkness. The ceiling closed just as quickly and gas filled the room.
Rogue tried to fly to the top but was overcome with the fumes and fell
unconscious to the floor.
Scott dropped to his knees, trying in vain to blast a hole into a wall he
couldn't see. Just before he lost consciousness, Scott heard a sinister
laugh.
_____________
The group assembled inside the War Room was an angry and upset bunch of
Marauders. If given half a chance, they would have killed the first person
they encountered.
Watching the X-Men falling into their well-planned trap delighted one of
their party. Satisfied that he finally had something useful for Sinister to
hear, Scrambler turned away from the viewing screen to inform the other
Marauders of his discovery.
"Inform the Boss that we have them. He'll be pleased to hear none of the
X-Men are moving, not even Wolverine." When nobody responded to his news,
Scrambler shrugged his shoulders and radioed Scalphunter himself with the
information. After the conversation ended, Scrambler turned to the
Marauders and asked. "Where's the Boss?"
"Do I look like a mind-reader to you, stupid?"
"All I asked was a simple question." Scrambler glared at the man with
the rude attitude. "If you don't know the answer, Riptide, then don't open
your big mouth."
"Will you two just shut up!" Blockbuster replied. The door opened and
Scalphunter walked into the room, followed by Sabretooth. It was clear to
everyone Creed was still angry at Sinister for the earlier incident. Creed
glared at the Marauders but remained silent.
Seconds later, Arclight entered the room. "The Boss is on his way."
It was only a few minutes later that Sinister and Gambit entered.
"What's he doing here?" Blockbuster suddenly yelled in protest as he
pointed to Gambit. Sinister reacted as if he was expecting the question
from the Marauder. Essex's gloved hand balled into a fist.
As soon as it happened, Remy's eyes started glowing liked Sinister's.
Blockbuster opened his mouth, shocked at what was happening. "Whoa, Boss,
what did you do to him?"
"Why don't you show him, Remington," Essex said as several of the
Marauders retreated a few steps.
Remy's eyes narrowed into thin slits as he eyed the unsuspecting
Marauder. Blockbuster suddenly realized the zipper on his jacket was
glowing. He quickly threw it off and tossed it away, just before it
exploded, taking half the wall with it.
"Does that answer your question?" Riptide laughed. He nodded in
Gambit's direction and added, "I'm impressed."
"Impressing you isn't so hard to do," Arclight replied. She picked up
the remains of Blockbuster's jacket and examined the damage to the wall. "I
saw a lot of explosives when I was serving in Vietnam, but this is
remarkable." She looked at Gambit and then at Sinister. "He just looks at
something and it explodes?"
Sinister nodded, pleased that his handy-work was admired.
"We can finally say good bye to the X-mansion for good," Arclight laughed
maniacally. "I never like to admit when I'm wrong, but it looks like you're
going to be a great addition to the ranks of the Marauders."
"Marauders?" Sinister started laughing. "You believe him to be a
Marauder?"
The Marauders glanced at one another, shrugged, and slowly joined in with
the laughter.
A force bolt hit the floor.
"Fools!" Sinister shouted, his voice roared like thunder. The laughter
stopped abruptly. "Do you believe I would allow you to associate with my
son?" Essex placed both of his hands on Remy's shoulders and announced.
"Remington belongs only to Sinister."
"Son?" Scrambler smirked. "It's bad enough that LeBeau gets away with
murder around here, now you're calling him your son?"
"Jealous, are you?" Sinister asked, eyeing the Marauder suspiciously.
"Perhaps you would like to undergo the same process he has?" He opened his
hand and offered it to the Marauder. "Come to me, Scrambler. We will see
if you are worthy to be called son."
Kim II Sung was many things, but foolish wasn't one of them.
"Uh, Boss," he stuttered as he took a step backward, trying to get a
little distance between himself and the generic scientist. "I meant no
disrespect, Sir." Sinister's eyes began to glow, making the Marauder even
more edgy. "Look, I..."
"Dis one is a coward, Father," Remy smiled smugly. "Allow me to deal
with dis trash."
"No, I have need of him for now." Sinister put his hand on Gambit's
shoulder, stopping the young man's progress. "Return to your quarters," the
scientist ordered. "I will come for you later to continue your training."
Scrambler heaved a sigh of relief but the way Gambit was staring at him
made him extremely nervous. It seemed LeBeau was stalking him with his
eyes. He felt something warm and looked down to investigate. The buttons
on his shirt were glowing.
Sinister spun Gambit and the two faced each other. "What I gave you, I
can take away." The scientist angrily issued an ultimatum. "Obey me, or
force my hand."
Gambit glanced at Scrambler, then with a slight smile, added before
leaving, "Another time, mon ami."
"Junior might just bump ya off an' save me th' trouble, Essex," Creed
smiled a huge grin, flashing his fangs in the process. "Th' boy might be
useful fer somethin' after all."
Sinister glared at Sabretooth. "I grow tired of your snide remarks,
Creed."
"Do ya feel th' earth moving?" Creed asked, refusing to back down. His
cold dark eyes flashed with defiance. With a malicious chuckle, he added,
"That's me shaking in my boots."
Sinister began to chuckle. "Victor, you are one brain cell away from
joining the animal kingdom." He approached Sabretooth quickly. In two
quick steps, the two were staring at each other. "Utter one more word and I
will remove it."
Sabretooth laughed hard, but wisely kept his thoughts to himself.