xp_logs | Genosha: The End of the Beginning: Fumbling Out

The broken teams start to flee.

Behind them was a rumble of thunder as Ororo continued to push the Genoshan forces back. The air crackled with static electricity from the weather-manipulator's lightning blast and overhead the lights flickered, some completely dark as the damage to the prison block made itself apparent. There was a door at the end of the hallway, but as they reached it they could see the electronic keypad spitting sparks, the sliding door itself open an inch or two.

Callisto didn't hesitate; striding toward it, she just grabbed and hauled it to the side as she reached it, the auto-release mechanism giving a satisfying crunch and a rather less pleasant screech as it attempted without success to resist her efforts.

She turned to check the two mutants behind her were keeping up, staying by the door and holding it open as they approached. "Don't touch the frame," she said. "Serious fuckin' static off this thing."

Nico turned towards Maddie. "You first." She then turned around, looking for a moment at the place where Ororo was fighting. They couldn't do anything for her and it sucked, but Nico could at least give them a better chance at getting away, should some managed to slip by Ororo. Kneeling, Nico started mumbling as she focused on a spell. "peeK eht seimene ta yab. reffO efas egeassap ot eht sdneirf." Releasing as much energy as she could without compromising her mobility, Nico's hands sent a wave of black energy that cracked the ground and then raised as a tall, wide barrier before vanishing. Standing up, she quickly bit her finger, invoking the Staff of One just in case. "That should give us more time, and hopefully Ororo can get behind it."

Maddie didn't bother to look back as she ran through the threshold and into another flickering hallway, and promptly came to a sudden stop. She turned her head side to side into the dark abyss that engulfed each end of the corridor. It all looked familiar, and Maddie swore they had taken her down this way, but she couldn't be sure. And since everything seemed look the same, it was possible that she was somewhere totally new; there were probably hundreds of identical hallways in this place.

"Um, guys," her voice was barely loud enough to hear over the din. "I don't know which way to go."

Nico lifted the Staff of One. "Escape Route." A light beam shot from the staff, taking a turn and dashing towards the exit, leaving a clear trail for them to follow. "I'm almost moderately sure we are the only ones who can see the trail, but let's hurry anyway."

Calliso didn't have to be told twice, and she ushered the other two to run in front while she brought up the rear.

They'd left the prison area behind them, but not the pursuit. Alarms were going off all over the place and the halls rang with the sound of booted feet. Even with the utmost stealth, it wouldn't be long before the orange jumpsuits Garrison and Angelo were wearing were spotted and the small group taken.

Jean could feel the blood rushing and her heart pounding behind her ears as doorways rushed by along the hall, none providing any sense of sanctuary. It was all going to hell. Her team. ALL of her goddamn team...Paige...Jim...Sarah... Vance...she was supposed to lead them and what had she lead them into? They were gone. Not dead. She couldn't think that way.

But in the meantime she had to think of those that were with her. The ones she could immediately help.

"Here. Sit tight," Jean said, ducking into an alcove in the hallway as the footsteps stomped closer in cacophonous rhythm and shadows loomed around the corner.

"I have an idea."

Kane eased Angelo down, where the man could lean against the wall. The elation at seeing the X-Men had quuickly dissipated when the ambush had been sprung. Now they'd been forced to retreat, and in the middle of the Citadel, it wouldn't be long before they were found and recaptured.

"You holding up, Angelo?"

"I'll be fine." He was leaning on the wall pretty heavily, though, and looking pale. "When we get out of here."

Jean stood near the edge of the corner of the alcove. Angelo and Garrison looked worse for wear but they were walking and talking. Generally that was a good sign, but there were far too many blunt force injuries and streams of dried and fresh blood for her to leave it at that. She wanted to get a better medical assessment as soon as possible. Haller's stunt had caused her to lose her medical bag, however.

The footsteps were almost right on top of them. She could hear the faint jingle of the keys on their key rings.

~They're coming. Stay here. Don't move. I'm going to get us some temporary camouflage. ~

Narrowing her eyes, Jean stepped out from behind the alcove. There were three magistrates, two men and one woman. It was almost like karma wanted her to do it.

And how could she ignore karma's wishes?

The magistrates paused in their tracks, startled. Two reached for their guns while one went for their radio. The radio clicked off before the man could even touch the button and the guns flew from the other two magistrate's hands. As they had shoulder straps on their guns the guns went with them as they both slammed into the wall and hit the floor with a clean, methodical slump.

The third one was frozen in place, his feet hovering slightly off the ground with his arms spread out. He started to scream for help before the scream was choked off by the the man's belt that had once been around his waist wrapping around his mouth. His eyes widened as Jean's fist connected with his face and he dropped to the ground.

Jean glanced over her shoulder. "Their uniforms should buy us some time. But we need to hurry."

The air seemed warmer than usual, even for the tropical climate of the prison.

Kane gave her a long look, but said nothing as he focused on stripping down the guards. They weren't going to be perfect fits, but fortunately, the heights were close enough that even if it was uncomfortable, it didn't look grossly out of place. Genosha had already quashed any lingering body modesty, as they quickly shrugged into the uniforms. Kane was much more interested in getting armed. Being without his powers was bad, but also without his gun and badge was worse. He gave both automatic rifles a quick once over before passing one over to Angelo.

"This is better, but shooting our way out through the front door isn't an option either. What's the backup escape plan, Doc?"

Jean ignored Garrison's expression, keeping an eye--both mentally and physically--on the hallway behind and ahead of them as she buttoned a gold button on the jacket she was 'borrowing' and adjusted her hat. The woman was shorter than her by at least four inches but she wore boots that came up to her calf so it hid the 'high water' hemline. The boots were also somewhat smaller, making them a bit uncomfortable but they were manageable. She could change back into her uniform later.

"We go out the back door."

There was always one. Service tunnels, loading docks, windows. With a place like that having a back way in to hide the skeletons was the usually a common practice. They got in through a window after all.

Jean's eyes became unfocused for a few moments before she nodded ahead. "This way. There's a guard post up ahead, but past that seems to be the physical plant area. Less guards."

Angelo's guard uniform was somewhat too big for him, but not so much so as to risk tripping him up. He nodded. "If we can bluff our way past the guard post, it'll be a good start."

"So, what, we're the squad that just got the crap kicked out of us?" Kane shrugged. "Might work. At least get us close enough that if they question it, we're in a position to jump them. Or bleed on them."

A nearby closet door made a faint popping noise as it opened and the three unconscious guards floated inside. The door closed behind them. "Don't give them enough time to call in reinforcements," Jean said. She wasn't in the mindset for banter. She wanted to get as many people as she could out and bring the damn thing down. She couldn't get Scott out of her mind. Seeing the way Haller looked at Betsy...

"We'll just play it by ear. We can't go back the way we came. Let's go," she said.

Angelo just nodded and pushed himself up off the wall to follow the others.

Kane and Angelo followed Jean's lead, hoping that the other Magistrates wouldn't notice the fact that Jean was obviously still wearing a too small uniform. He was more worried about Angelo. The man was obviously struggling, likely concussed from the blow he took recently.

The guard station wasn't the most fortified section, meant for internal security only. He took over helping Angelo along, more than he needed, but playing the role of an injured squad might help.

Jean brought up the rear as they approached the station, in case Angelo collapsed. She had grabbed one of the guns to play the part, even if the feeling of the metal felt wrong in her hand.

~~Garrison I need you to do the talking if they say anything. I'm trying to shield our faces so they don't recognize us.~ And that took concentration.

There were three guards on duty. She didn't have time to wipe their memories, hence the outfits, but she had a feeling that their face might be known so as they drew closer she played with the guards' perception, making them think they were seeing the guards whose clothes they had stolen. They just needed enough luck to get past and further into the recesses of the building.

Angelo said nothing, slumping in Garrison's supportive grip more than he would have if not play-acting. Hopefully if the posted guards saw a badly injured colleague, they wouldn't ask questions. Indeed, between that and Jean's running interference, the trio seemed to be in luck - the men at the station were showing no more alarm than would be expected.

The guard station was on full alert, and there was no where in the bare hallway to hide. They were challenged the second they cleared the corner, as a sentry held up one hand.

"Hang on there."

"With all due respect, fuck that." Kane spat out. "Where's the other response team? We just ran head first into a damn strike force."

"Slow down." The sentry keyed his comm. "Sargent, I've got an injured patrol here. Roger." He turned, waving them to follow as he walked to the bunker like node and keyed the door. "So what happened?"

"Sortee coming out of the prison level. Ambush team was engaging, but we caught a TK trying to break out. Pushed him back, but not before getting bounced off the walls and ceiling a couple of times." Even if Kane's accent didn't quite match up, cop banter was the same the world over, and the man was more convinced by his tone and body language than his actual words.

"They shouldn't have been able to penetrate this far. You better tell the-" He stopped as he turned, and looked down the barrel of the pistol Kane had leveled at his face. The Canadian pressed a finger to his lips, indicating silence, and waved Jean past. They could see the three others, now past the doors, and vulnerable. With a sharp blow, Kane rendered him unconscious.

Jean shot down the corridor, her footsteps light and quick as she used the security key card that she had borrowed along with the guard's clothing to get through a door up ahead, turning the handle as soon as the light turned green. She kept the door open, hanging back long enough until Garrison and Angelo were through.

"There are more coming. At least five, with more on the way when the Sargent radios his men to follow up. We need to look for some sort of ventilation or exhaust duct work. Something that will lead outside," she said, then, after a moment.

"How're we doing?" The further they got away from the actual prison area, the less of a chance of finding medical equipment. She had one long shot, though. Many manufacturing areas were required to have a fully stocked first aid kit in the event of emergencies.

"Alive", Angelo said tiredly. "Guy hit me in the head with his gun when we first got here. Had a headache since."

"Yeah, I expect they'll do more once our buddy pulls the alarm." Kane said, hustling them down a set of metal stairs. In the background was the dull roar of industrial machinery and the sound of water. As they went, the corridors got increasingly labyrinthine, girded by pipes and conduits. "Must be the physical plant for the Citadel. Man, it's huge."

"Since?" Jean repeated. Since had been days. "Any dizziness, nausea, blackouts?"

She glanced up ahead. It was easy to get lost, and she couldn't link up with any nearby guards for fear of losing her concentration should any problems arose.

"Maybe there's a map."

Though that might've been too much to ask. If there wasn't they'd have to improvise.

"Nausea only for a minute after, blackouts no, dizziness a little bit", he recited. "Might be somethin' for new hires, they've gotta get them."

"Assuming we blunder into the human resources office down here." Kane stopped and felt a pipe. He could feel the vague vibration of water flowing through it. "OK, water is either going up into the building or down and out of the building, right? If we follow them, maybe they'll lead to an access way or a sewer out. Won't be the prettiest, but least likely place people are going to hang around, right?"

"Hopefully," Jean agreed. With so many people scattered around it was hard to search every single solitary place.

"Mind if I look at your pupils?" Jean said, nodding to Angelo. She no longer had her flashlight but she could at least check to see if he had a blown pupil.

"Sure." He moved over into a source of dim light so she could see better, tipping his head towards her.

Jean gently tilted his head back just a tiny bit more, checking the way the light reflected in his eyes. "At first glance none of your pupils seem to be blown but until I get better equipment I'd like to do a more thorough examination once we get somewhere safer."

Her voice seemed a bit less than optimistic on that, emphasizing the word safer rather than safe. Nowhere here was safe.

"Tilt your head back down please. I want to check your head wound."

She hadn't seen any fresh blood on the back of his jumpsuit but since they had very temporary free moment she wanted to use it.

He nodded carefully and obeyed, wincing as Jean touched the wound for all she was trying to be gentle.

"Sorry, sorry," Jean said softly, then let out a breath. "You're going to need a couple of stitches but the blood has coagulated. That's good. Unfortunately unless we find some anesthetics those stitches will not be pleasant."

Jean let go of Angelo's head but not before gently squeezing Angelo's shoulder and casting a look to Garrison.

"We should keep moving."

"Only one way to go." Kane said, resuming their track downwards. Twice, they had to hide themselves behind boilers and chiller units as workmen and patrols went past. Finally, they caught a break when a wall map showed the discharge housing a floor below. As they went down, Kane matched the symbols on the pipes to those on the map, and angled off following signs painted on the wall.

Finally, they stopped, looking at a concrete spillway that had been grated over. Water rushed past, sour smelling but fortunately much less than sewage. "Greywater exit. I'm guessing it flows into the normal storm sewers. Those will exit outside the Citadel."

Though she was loathe to leave the Citadel since her team and most of her students were still there, escaping to get help was their priority. So the sight of the spillway brought a faint smile to her face. Been awhile since she was happy to see water. Albeit foul smelling water.

"I'm game."

"Could smell worse", Angelo said wryly, leaning down to examine the grate. "Let's do it."