X-Men Mission: The Grotesque and the Sublime: The Wheel Turns

[x-dominion.livejournal.com]

The X-Men head back to the SSA hanger, and find a lot more than they barginned for.



The SSA complex - which was simply a single runway and a large hanger which was connected with a flight tower that serviced another handful of similar runways - was quiet. Considering the riots that encompassed the rest of LowTown, it was a tiny haven of calm in the chaos. The gates were unguarded and the doors of the hanger open. Kane paused, looking over at Dugan.
"Do we just walk in or-"

"I guess so. This isn't like Archie." Dum-Dum reached under the back of his shirt and pulled out an automatic pistol. "I don't like this."

"That's not a good sign."

Jean slipped her hand away from her temple, shaking her head. "I'm having trouble picking out individual signatures so I'm not sure what's going on," she said.

"There are people in there but I don't know who or how many."

It didn't feel right to her either.

She nodded. "I think going in is the only thing we can do right now if we want to get some answers."

They were trained professionals, the ones who were crazy enough to run toward danger instead of away from it. Even if all signs pointed to 'No Exit.'

"When the telepath is getting a bad feeling, it seems like a big red flag to me." Bobby made his way to Yvette's side, glancing down at her, he lowered his voice before he checked in with her. "You still feeling alright about everything?" Bobby had been on enough missions now to know that when the cop and the person with mental abilities were getting a bad feeling, it was time to prepare yourself and those around you.

Yvette nodded, although the way her hair had stiffened into long spikes was a good indicator of her state of mind. "I will be ready," she replied, quietly. She was an X-Man now - she was trained for this.

Hank pulled out a smaller version of his touch-pad he had left back on home and started to strike the digital keys, "There is no cellular signal here either, which would seem to indicate a jamming device of some sort. I may be able to hone in on it and disable it, but it might be inside the building itself." Generally people using jammers placed them high up to maximize their effective range, but there was no assurance it was not just part of the warehouse's list of features.

"In short, it seems that we may be walking into a trap," the blue doctor looked up at the roof and tried to find a way to climb up without much success. Turning to their liaison, "Mister Dugan, if I may recommend a course of action?"

"Hey, this is your party, man. You tell me what the plan is."

The doctor nodded and took a moment to assess the likelihood of his plan working as he looked around the assembled super-heroes. "Alright, Iceman, Firestar will go high, find a skylight or vent to enter through and keep in radio contact if you see anything. I will take Penance and will stalk around the back, keeping low and finding a rear entrance- barring that, we'll make one with this," Hank pulled a pocket sized cutting torch out of his utility belt and grinned, glad he had it. "Phoenix, Dominion, Husk and Mister Dugan will enter through the main doors, likely springing the trap and distracting whomever is inside as the other two duos make their entrances. Phoenix can protect Dugan if it is a trap while Dominion and Husk provide support. As I'm hoping I'm wrong about this situation, if it's not a trap, the bait has two teams ready to back them up at a moments notice in case things go south or the target decides to rabbit." He looked around the group to assess their reactions. "Thoughts?"

"I'm not the biggest fan of 'Garrison goes in leading with his face' but I've got nothing better." Kane shrugged, and started towards the doors of the hanger with Dugan in tow.

Hank nodded in response, "Then what if we left a team here to cover the bait's retreat? As a just in case measure I mean. Husk and Dominion perhaps?"

"Whoa, as the 'bait' in question, I don't like walking in with nothing but the sexy doctor lady and the cornpone cutie backing me up, no offense." Dugan said. "If there is someone in there, and they're like you guys, we could be taken out before any one of you gets a more than a couple of steps towards the doors."

"I'm hurt, chickpea," Paige drawled, sliding out of her skin and into what appeared to be a dull titanium. "There. Now I'm an actual human sheild. Big girl knickers on, now."

Jean, Garrison and Paige fanned out behind Dum-Dum as they approached the hanger. The open doors showed his plane - an old C-23 - carefully stowed away. Dugan crept towards the door, moving with an operational skill that belied his normal demeanor. Unfortunately, the hanger was not only South Seas Airlines office, but also their temporary cargo depot, and other than the area around the plane, it was cluttered and confused, with plenty of places to hide.

There was no sound as they entered, and Dugan slowly made his way to the office in the back. The door was ajar, and he nudged it open with his foot, pistol at ready. The entryway revealed Corrigan sprawled under his desk, lying in a dark pool of blood. Flies buzzed thickly around the prone form.

"Shit."

Jean stared grimly at the body, wanting to move closer but only able to look from a distance at the moment. "He's been dead for awhile," she said. She could immediately tell that much.

"Flies only come after the body has started to decompose. And this many means they've had time to breed." The pallor to his skin was also a big indicator, as well as the smell.
She shook her head. "I'm sorry," she said.

"I think we should be leaving now." Kane said, looking around the building. "I hate to be the cliche, but I've got a bad feeling about this, eh?"

"Yeah, let's-" Dugan was cut off by the sound of twisting metal as the plane dominating the hanger suddenly started to move. It shuddered, lifted up into the air, and then was thrown directly at them, forcing them to scatter. The plane crashed and pinwheeled, destroying the office and smashing through part of the hanger wall. A man approached the wreckage, hugely proportioned and dressed in non-descript fatigues.

"Slayback, Washout, take the others. I'll handle these four."

***

The sound of the crash inside the hanger made them pause, and from their vantage point, they could see the wall bulged out and then collapse as part of the fuselage of an airplane was forced through it. The call at gone over the comms, and they knew that their team was under attack. The skies were clear, and they angled down, looking to enter the fray from an unexpected point and unbalance the opposition. However, Bobby suddenly found the slide under his feet turning slushy, and without warning, the ice slide broke apart, ending him hurtling towards the ground. Angel dove and was able to grab his arm, but instead of climbing back up to get some altitude, she found herself hovering in place, as a thin trickle of blood ran over her lips from her nose.

Before she could react, she felt herself yanked from the air by an invisible force, and both she and Bobby slammed down hard on the hanger roof. One of the nearby doors clanged open, and a tall, wiry black man stepped out from it, regarding them carefully.

Even though Angel had managed to flare brighter the moment before impact, the only thing she had managed to accomplish was just a little more shielding before she'd slammed onto the roof. The shield saved her from any horrible sort of injury but she still felt the impact and the breath was knocked out of her lungs. Gasping, she laid there as she felt the pressure from inside her body, blood trickling into her mouth.

Still, she couldn't afford to stay there long, so she started to try and struggle to her feet, or at least to her knees, as the fire around her form flickered and grew, washing everything around her in a blue color.

Bobby blinked a few times as he struggled to find his own feet. His iced over body was still in one piece, although the impact still hit him hard, and it took him a bit to realize what had happened. As he saw the man step out in front of him, he was able to put a hand up on his knee, using it as a base to push himself up to a vertical base. He was clearly out of breath, but he did his best to stand up straight and talk at least halfway normally. "Alright buddy, that was a cool magic trick." He squinted slightly as he stepped forward. "But if that's all ya got, why don't you stand down so my friend and I don't have to hurt you."

"They sent children. That I didn't expect." He said, and reached out. Bobby could feel something fighting with his powers for control of his icy exterior. Before he could react, the entire pectoral plate flashed from ice to boiling water, exploding off of him, scalding his chest and face, and weaving dangerous cracks through the rest of him. "Girl, stay down and I'll make this quick."

Bobby fell to his knees. "Crap!" He closed his eyes trying to keep focus on the air around him in a desperate attempt to keep his body fused together. It was proving to be difficult as he also needed to focus on refreezing his chest at the same time. "Wasn't expecting that."

For a moment, Angel paused, indecision clear on her face as Bobby struggled against whatever that guy was doing to him. Her eyes narrowed for a moment as she came to a decision - he wanted her to say down, she'd stay down. But just because she wasn't moving didn't mean that her powers were locked down. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated on the area beneath the two X-Men and forced the molecules to become more and more excited, sending the temperature of the space beneath them soaring from comfortable to hot as hell and climbing.

The man leapt back from scalding ground, and reached out with one hand. Above them, a cloud seemed to tremble, and then constrict, as a flood of water collapsed on to them on the roof. The impact drove all three of them to their knees, with a huge splash.

***

Hank's cutting torch was almost halfway through the circle he was cutting in the sheet metal wall when the sounds of crashing metal reached them. There was a tremendous crash, which jerked them both to the feet, looking at the now partially demolished side of the hanger. He turned to say something to Yvette, but was forced to dive aside at the last moment as a red flash caught her square across the back and flung her like a mutant IED ten feet into the wall.

Behind her, emerging from his hiding place was a bizarre, yellow skinned man. His left eye was cybernetic, and his hands were sheathed in metal that ended in short, sharp claws. He looked Hank up and down, his eye making clicking sounds, before rushing forward at the mutant, arms spread.

The blue doctor certainly hadn't considered that the trap was set to encourage the team to split up and in this instant, he felt very foolish. Fortunately, there was no time to dwell on the feeling as the creature moved quickly. At the last second, Hank launched himself to the side, hoping that the man would collide with the weakened section of wall. As he rolled to a stop, he didn't bother to look behind himself to see if their assailant had been stopped, instead rushing to Yvette's side. "Penance," he said, sliding next to her, "are you alright?"

She was lying on her side, half-curled into a ball as she gasped for breath - the impact had knocked the wind out of her. She managed a nod, then her eyes widened and she reached for Hank's jacket front, yanking him down as another red beam passed narrowly overhead, leaving the smell of burnt fur. Yvette let Hank go, grimacing at the holes she'd made in the leather of his uniform, and forced herself up onto all fours so they could defend themselves.

The man had hit the wall, but merely to use it to turn faster, bouncing off on an angle and coming back around to close with them. With his blasts, he could force them to close in the range of his claws, and did just that. The first two swipes were just show, forcing them to give up ground and let him prepare to challenge two at a time.

***

"I don't know who you are but-" Kane started, but was cut off by the report of two shots, both striking the approaching man in the chest and driving him back. Dugan held the pistol in the standard Weaver grip.

"Hit first, talk later." The former SHIELD agent said, stepping forward with a withering barrage of fire. His accurate shots were buffeting the man, but he neither fell nor seemed to notice any pain beyond the impact. When Dum-Dum's hammer fell on an empty chamber, he was caught by a punch that lifted him off his feet and sent him skidding along the cement floor for a dozen metres.

Jean shook her head, realizing the already inexplicably muffled amount of telepathy she had was now completely gone. She didn't have time to worry about that, and instead tried testing out the status of her other ability in grandiose fashion.

The massive propeller ripped off the plane and came at their assailant in such a fashion that it pinned the man to the wall, burying the blades deep into the concrete.

"I don't know how long that will hold him, but I'd imagine its more seconds than minutes."

"Seconds I can work with." Kane said, moving forward in an enhanced sprint, closing with the man as he pulled the propeller from the wall behind him. Kane landed a thunderous blow across the man's face and another to the gut that would have crushed a car. But the third was caught by the wrist, leaving Kane with the sinking realization that he was stronger than him. A kick to the inside of the knee staggered the mysterious figure for a moment, but he held his grip and drove three straight punches into Kane's face, leaving him reeling as lights exploded in his vision.

No grimace, no indication of pain. Invulnerability, perhaps. But he had been somewhat slowed down by Garrison's attack, if only for a moment.

Knees bending, Paige was ready to spring in, jump on the giant's shoulder blades if she had to, but paused when Jean raised a hand.

"Dominion, down!"

Jean sent one of the metal beams previously used to hold up the now demolished office wall, flying toward the man's face, to give Garrison time to regroup and get away if needed.
The problem was, how do you stop an invulnerable man?

Garrison hit the ground as the metal beam smashed into their opponent. The man reeled for a moment, sinking to his knees from the impact. Kane blinked away the spots in his vision as he got to his feet. Before he could move on the man, movement registered out of the corner of his eye, and her turned to see a figure emerge silently from the shadows behind Jean. It was a woman, in a strange grey uniform. She had her arms spread, in a fashion that reminded him of the crane position in kung-fu, but the end of her hands glittered with long claws as she dropped towards the X-Man.

'Phoenix, behind you!"

Telepathy gave her certain advantages, like being able to sense, if even for a brief moment, the presence and proximity of a person. Right now, she did not have that, but it did not mean she was defenseless. They had been training for the past few weeks in the event their powers were disabled.

Learning how to fight with one's abilities helped to hone the natural human senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell, like being able to feel the subtle shifting of the current in the air as someone approached.

Luckily, however, she still had one out of two of her mutant abilities. So when the woman snuck up behind her she spun around with a telekinetic shield to block the attack. It took her a moment to realize who was attacking. Her eyes widened.

"You....?"

***

Bobby was able to catch his breath, at least able to keep himself together for the moment. His mind quickly shifted to the offensive. This guy was good, and he needed to work together to subdue him as quickly as possible. "Firestar!" His voice screeched over the water. "Do you have a visual on the guy?" He was on his knees, but his strong frozen exterior was enough to keep him stable. Stable enough to begin to focus on the air around him, slowing it's molecular pattern down. Even now, the water around him began to frost. Some type of projectile seemed to be the right first assault.

Angel shook herself and sent what felt like a river of water flying off her back as she struggled to regain her foot again. The sudden douse of water had completely shut her powers down but steam was rising off of her as she reactivated that. She blinked her eyes, trying to see, but it was easy enough for her to pinpoint his heat signature - easier than trying to see by normal sight at the moment, anyway. "Two o'clock," she said, even as she whipped a fireball the size of her head in that direction.

The fireball was eaten up as a flare of water crashed into it, hissing to steam in a second. Angel felt her body lock up and she could just make out the man making a pushing gesture. It was like being pulled along by a million tiny hooks under her skin, and she was flung backwards, crashing into Bobby and the two of them rolling to the edge of the roof, almost going over.

"I'm going to boil the blood in your veins." The man said, stalking forward through the steam and mist.

Bobby clung to the edge of the roof, checking quickly to make sure that Angel hadn't tipped over. He was able to barely make out the form standing behind the wave. With one hand wrapped around the edge of the roof, he slowly pushed the other one forward, fighting against the wave. "You know what the funny thing about water is?" He screamed to no one in particular. "It freezes." With a burst of concentration, he began freezing the molecules in the water around him, pushing it as quickly as it could back towards the man.

"You know the other funny thing?" He replied, and Bobby's push stopped like hitting a brick wall. "It still remains water. And water's been my bitch since before your daddy first slipped off your mom's panties." The wave of icy water twisted and roared up, flashing back into steam; a roiling, scalding cloud mass that towered over them. With a slight smile, he smashed down with it at the two; a deadly force that would instantly parboil them both.

With the guy concentrating on the cloud mass instead of yanking them around by the blood in their bodies, Angel found the strength to move. She lunged, slamming her shoulder against Bobby's side, to send him tumbling to the side and away from the cloud right as it came down on her head.

"Firestar!" Bobby screamed and instantly ran towards his teammate. At that moment, he wasn't worried about the fight, he just needed to make sure she was ok.

Before he could reach her, a blast of water slammed into them both, knocking them from their tenuous position at the edge of the roof, and sending both of them toppling to the concrete below.

There was a lot of pain as Angel landed and there were a few things that no longer felt just right. Between the shock of the steam and the fall, she'd had no chance to shield herself at all. But she was less hurt by the steam than Bobby had been afraid of and, as she managed to get a knee under her, Angel's fire went from a simple shielding to the next level. In a moment, she was completely engulfed by roaring blue flames to the point that her features disappeared almost completely.

"Iceman?" she called out, keeping an eye on their attacker.

Bobby's eyes flickered and slowly opened. "What was the plate number on that truck?" It took him a while to stumble back up to his feet, now in his normal form. The fall had knocked him unconscious for a moment, and caused the revert. A good thing considering the steam around him. But as he got up, he stomped his foot onto the ground, resuming his ice form as he glared up towards the roof. "I'm fine... but this guy is really starting to piss me off." To be honest, his whole body was aching, and it was difficult for him to find the energy to keep up his concentration, but he wasn't going to admit that.
　
She had to be careful not to get too close to Bobby - her heat was bad enough to him normally but in his ice form ... "I think," she said, softly, as droplets of her blood from her nose sizzled as they dripped, "that we need to run."
　
"Don't have to tell me twice." Bobby quickly began to form a chute on the ground, propelling his feet and the rest of his body forward. "You take the lead. I'll watch our little buddy." He hoped she was already gone. If not, he would at least make himself a speed bump on their quick retreat.
　
***

Hank rolled to the left and put himself on open ground, shedding the now ruined coat and sharply exhaling the scent of his own singed fur. "One chance," he paused, dodging a high swipe that had no real intention of connecting, "to surrender."

"Amateurs." The man spat, and feinted left with the claws, forcing Hank to push right and then catching him with an impossibly fast blow behind the knee. He fell heavily, and the man's cybernetic eye glowed red as focused on him.

Yvette came at him from the right, fast and silent as Logan had taught her. She aimed low, dragging her talons across the back of his thigh, looking to hamstring him and slow him down.
Her claws scored a nasty slash down the back of his leg, but unexpectedly hit metal, and the impact jarred up the length of her arm. The man pivoted, viper quick, with a strike that dug into the side of her face, and tore across the bridge of her face. Only her goggles prevented his claws from tearing her eyes out. He followed it up with a hammer-like punch back across the bridge of her nose, sending her stumbling back.

From behind the man-thing, a bestial roar was followed by a heavy kick to the lower back. Hanks boots connected with a solid crack on the assailant’s spine as he pointed his toes further, attempting to stun him by jostling a kidney. Before the creature could react and backslash him, the Beast was already flipping back, landing in a crouch before launching himself over the head of their foe, sending a boot into his face as he came down next to Yvette. 'This is Beast and Penance,' he screamed into the psychic radio link-up that Jean had established for the team, 'we've encountered heavy resistance and are pulling out.' The doctor carefully picked up, Yvette- making certain not to brush himself against any of her exposed skin as he slumped her over his shoulder and started to slowly climb the warehouse.

The blows had made the man reel back, but he didn't back off much, seeing them in full retreat. He put his hand to his ear and nodded twice. It was only then that he focused on Hank's climb and his eye glowed. The beam lanced out, connecting them for an instant, before the concussive blast punched both mutants through the weakened metal walls and sent them toppling to the concrete floor of the interior of the hanger.

***

Jean had not met the woman face to face, but she knew of her presence at Alkali Lake that day, as well as Scott and Logan's memories of her. She also knew she was supposed to be very dead.

But the status of death could more often than not be a temporary condition in their line of work, as seemed to be the case.

"How?"

"It won't matter soon enough." The claws hissed, driving her back from her position, just as the other man staggered to his feet. Now, they found themselves between two opponents.

It helped to be a research nerd, for the most part; Paige at least recognised the woman, and knew the mostly likely areas of attack. Of course, it also meant that she knew she was most definately dead, and that tended to cause a little bit of pause.

Garrison watched the flickering blades as the chip in the back of his skull tried to analyze her attack patterns. Sensing an opening, he struck, diving forward and catching one wrist. She hissed, and kicked straight up, smashing into his jaw, but it wasn't enough to break the hold as he pulled her towards him and lash out with a mighty right cross.

The building reverberated with a metallic sound as Kane bellowed in pain. Punching her with full force across the face should have nearly torn her head off, but instead, the Canadian's right hand was a mess of shattered bone. Adamantium. Her skeleton had to be bonded with adamantium, like Logan's. As his brain tried to process through the pain, she snaked back her hand, and her claws slashed out, opening up four large rents across the right hand portion of his chest. His omni-skin tried to configure to stop the attack, but the adamantium cut cleanly through, and only his last minute twist to the side saved him from having his chest torn out. Bleeding, Kane staggered back, ruined hand clamped over his chest and preternatural endurance working overtime.

A doctor's mind worked differently than a regular person. It had been honed and trained into reacting without panic at the sight of injury. At least, that was supposed to be the norm. The patient was generally not someone well known, which made it easier to put up that wall of detachment. But their situation was unique. It could be described more like a military unit than anything in terms of the need for medical care in high risk combat.

And the key to working well in combat was knowing your teammates. But knowing the person had its advantages and disadvantages, such as watching your teammate's blood spray into the air.
Her mind had two immediate thoughts, both working against one another: the doctor side of her saw the wound and immediately leapt toward potential treatment for the injury, and the human side of her wanted to lash out in concern and anger.

Right now the human side won out, knowing it was the better candidate for eventually letting the doctor side take over and get done what needed to be done.

Jean sprinted toward Deathstrike, sending a TK blast toward the woman with the equivalent force of being hit by a truck going 20 MPH.

"I’d like to see you try that with me."

The blast sent her tumbling, but she rolled with the invisible force, coming to her feet in a crouch, claws splayed. Her eyes only flickered away from Jean's for a second, and she smiled thinly.

"You should have died quietly, like at Alkali Lake. Now, we have to make this about pain." She said, and only last second movement caught the metal beam that she'd smashed into the other man coming towards her head as he re-entered the fray. Off to one side, the building shook with an impact as Beast and Penance were smashed through the wall by an explosion, and landed heavily to the concrete floor not far from where they battled.

Closest to the newest additions, Paige went to their side, quicky scanning for desperate injuries. "Welcome to the party, we're getting our ass kicked. Switch-"

Another whumping noise alerted them to another incoming. This time it was Angel on her own power, burning hot and fast as she streaked around a corner, pushing herself in an attempt to out distance the reach of her opponent. She only had a moment longer in the air before she hit the ground, bouncing several times, but not as badly as she first had. She was starting to outdistance the prick and she struggled to regain her footing despite the flairs of pain.

She looked to the left and saw Bobby emerge but had to wonder if the guy was gaining on them or leaving them alone. But with him 'safe' for the moment, Angel gritted her teeth and blinked back tears, more like steam now, as she headed towards the others on the field.
Yvette was dazed from the punch to the face, her eyes swelling shut from the claws raking across them. She rolled limply across the concrete floor, not even sure which way was up for a moment, before raising her head. She hurt - she hurt like she hadn't hurt since the mine in Bosnia - but she was an X-Man now. Her team needed her.

She wobbled to her feet, using one hand to support herself in a crouch. Over there were Angel and Bobby. Jean and Paige were still on their feet, but Garrison was bleeding, heavily. And Hank, where was Hank? There was a sound behind her and she whirled, barely avoiding another blast from their original combatant. Her responding claw swipe was more instinctive than deliberate, lashing out at his midsection.

The claws slashed through the shirt, but again they met metal underneath with a squeal. The man jumped back, circling around to try and flank them.

Hank had taken the bulk of the impact against the concrete, trying to protect his young teammate- he was dazed and assuredly had a concussion as a result of his chivalrous efforts. Laying prone against the cement, he slowly became aware of the scuffle happening around them. Their clawed attacker had followed them inside and was facing down Yvette who looked just as shaky as he felt. "No," he grunted, as a surge of protectiveness swelled up inside his gut and forced him to wobbly feet. Her assailant was better than she was- possibly better than he was too, but he had to try and help Yvette.

He placed himself on Yvette's flank, blocking the incoming attack with a great deal of effort and getting knocked to a knee in the process. He wasn't strong enough, nor were, from quick calculations, his teammates around him. "No," he grunted again as he felt his knee bruising beneath his weight.

Hank may have checked the rush on Yvette, but he exposed his torso to do so, and the man's vicious underhand swipe caught him across the abdomen. They tore through the fabric and fur, and cut deep furrows across the muscle. The claws were too small - and Hank's bulk too much - to penetrate deeply, but the bloody swath still drove the breath from his lungs and forced him back, clutching the wound.

The sounds of the blows the others took were almost deafening. Chaos reigned, the world shuddering around them. Jean's own blood pulsated in her ears to the rapid beat of her heart, quickened by fear and alarm. They were losing, badly.

She started to try to send a thought out but soon forgot her telepathy had been turned off. So she used the old fashioned method: their communicators. Each had a wireless ear-piece that would hopefully keep the enemy from hearing the plan. Because right now it was the best one she had that ensured getting them all out safely.

"Husk, Penance and Iceman, get Dominion, Dum-Dum, and Beast toward the closest exit. We're retreating. Head for the Blackbird," Jean said quickly and quietly into her communicator as she slipped behind the plane for a moment in the confusion.

"Firestar, as they’re leaving, I want you to blind Deathstrike and the others with a burst of light so they can’t tell which direction the others are escaping to." She could tell all of them were in rough shape but it was better to push them and then give them time to heal later than one, or all of them dying.

"I’ll help her distract them until all of you are out, and then Firestar and I will be close behind you. When I give the signal, that’ll let Firestar know when to time the blast. Iceman, cover Husk and Penance in case any of them try to pursue them. If Firestar and I not there in ten minutes, go without us. If that happens we’ll meet you guys back at the established check in point. Get ready."

Jean let out a telekinetic blast, slamming her closest opponent—the man who felt no pain—against the wall before stepping out from behind the airplane and turning to Deathstrike with narrowed eyes.

"Deathstrike! It's time we end this."

Her eyes flickered to Angel.

"Now!"

Spinning around, Angel's front exploded outward in a riot of blue flames as she turned herself, essentially, into a flash bomb. She tried to limit the amount of fire on her back for Jean's sake but she didn't have that much fine control over it so she hoped that the older woman was keeping her eyes firmly shut. For added measure, she flung several balls of fire towards Deathstrike, more flash than substance as Angel scrambled backwards towards Jean.

The flare forced them back, retreating back from the closing trap with the flames. Behind her, the X-Men pulled themselves up, just as Dugan stumbled to his feet. He steadied himself against the wall for a second and then slammed his hand into the fire alarm. Above them, the sprinkler system kicked on, but in the heated atmosphere of the upper part of the hanger, which had concentrated the heat from the fight, flashed into steam, and even as the flare dissipated, a veil of steam fogged the room.

"Can we go now? I didn't schedule dying on my calendar for today?" Dugan called out.

"Death, always scheduled for tomorrow, but at least now you get to start on drinking and ugly shirts early?" Paige pinged back, already herding him over to the exit. She scanned for Garrison, moving over to help him to his feet. "Penny, Iceman, get Blue over there and let's try to make it out in one piece."

Drake didn't need to be told twice to save his own skin. Pulling his shut alongside Hank, he helped throw the blue arm around his own shoulders before turning back towards the door. "Those who fight and run away... I forgot the rest, but let's get the hell out of here."

Hank gave a half-laugh, half-groan as he staggered toward the exit with assistance, he was still bleeding and would certainly need attention on the plane ride back- he was thankful Jean would be there to provide it. Weakly he said, "Truer words, have never...been spoken. Shall we...away?"

"Yes." Yvette wasn't in much better shape than the rest of them, but she was staunchly covering Hank and Bobby's backs, as well as she could. The combination of her swelling eyes and the steam made it almost impossible for her to see, so it was more a token effort than anything.

"God, I hate Madripoor," Angel muttered, staggering and reaching out to steady herself on Jean's arm. "I smell and my blood hurts." She was starting to not make much sense in the grand sense of context but she didn't care, she just wanted to sleep for days.

"Only thing left to figure out," Kane said, leaning on Paige as she helped him from the building and their inglorious retreat from a lost battle. "is who the hell where those guys?"

Jean let Angel lean against her as she made various flying objects strike the bad guys she could see to keep them guessing while they left. They were beaten and broken, taken off guard.

As they made their way toward the Blackbird she could feel her telepathy coming back and knew there was a long, bloody night ahead of her. She was going to be up to her elbows in gauze, antibiotics, and twine. And the idea medical care in the part of Madripoor they were in consisted of a dirty floor and some towels. Definitely out of the question. She'd have to make due where she was.

"Not sure, but I'd love to find out," she said to Garrison.

Deathstrike she knew, but the rest were still a mystery. But this time, they knew their opponents and how they worked. It would hopefully give them a better chance if they ran into them in the future. Hopefully.

Deathstrike's resurrection left her with more questions than answers, though. How did she escape Alkali Lake? How could she have healed from the attack Logan inflicted on her, even with a healing factor? Did someone help her? If so, who? And why was she interested in human trafficking?

They were things she knew probably wouldn't be answered any time soon.