Jean closed the front door of the mansion and breathed a sigh of relief. For now the army was focused on their retrieved Weapon and that meant the students, the X-Men were safe. She glanced up at a soft giggle, her eyes searching the foyer. Catching the faint light from the rec room she moved toward it and paused in the doorway.
Sitting side by side on the couch were Rogue and Logan. Recently, they’d gotten back from wherever the hell they’d gone after the battle. In the ten days they’d been back, Jean had been on the chilly end of their affection. Neither spoke to her unless it was about work or a mission, and she had to admit she missed the harmless flirting Logan had often engaged in with her in the past.
“You two are up late.”
“Not really.” Rogue replied as Logan pulled her closer to him. “You’re getting in awfully late. Your boyfriend wear you out?”
“I was working. Someone’s got to protect the students.”
The pair on the couch glanced sharply at her, skepticism on their faces. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Logan ground out.
“Nothing. I’m sorry. Good night.” Jean waved off their stares and hurried up the stairs. Slipping into the rooms she shared with Scott, Jean headed for a quick shower then bed.
“Did you get what you went after?”
“They’ve forgotten we ever existed.”
“I don’t like this.” Scott rolled over and sat up, his gaze on his wife. “You realize that if Logan even thinks you’ve talked to the military about that girl he’s gonna rip you apart.”
“Logan won’t ever find out. Besides, I left him completely out of the discussion. I merely said that’d I believed she was headed north. That she’d attacked us and the army that night and had vanished afterwards. They seemed to believe me.”
“Let’s hope you’re right.” Scott sighed as Jean stepped into the bathroom and closed the door. “Because, if you’re wrong, Jean, you may have sentenced all of us to death, at Logan and Rogue’s hands.”
Flexing her fingers she wondered if she could use a nail or a claw to cut the chain. Concentrating hard she extended her nails only to find the angle wouldn’t let her get any damage in the chains. They’d been smart in their manner of restrictions - neither nail nor claw would release her.
Struggling against the chains, she barely felt them bite into her wrists. Instead she growled and snarled at the restrictions, her ears telling her the guards were returning.
“Aw look, our playmate’s nearly healed,” one chortled as he waited for his partner to enter the room before closing the door.
“Good. Ain’t never liked fucking a corpse.”
Swallowing harshly, she narrowed her eyes at the guards and snarled. Experience had taught her that those words always preceded a great deal of pain and humiliation.
The first sight of a syringe sent a bolt of fear and rage through her. Jerking within her bonds she twisted in an attempt to avoid the needle. The cold hands on her naked waist held her steady as the guard approached.
“Come on now, be a good girl. Take your medicine,” the guards laughed even as she snarled and hissed at them.
Hissing at the sting of the metal going into her flesh she kicked out at the two guards. The sound of their laughter as the drug began to take effect filling her head with its twisted merriment.
Like a spinning top the room started to rotate, spinning out of control in a blur of bright colors and sound even as the pressure and pain from her arms faded. The hard cement floor rose steadily, too quickly for her to react as the chains were released.
Grunting as the air was knocked from her, she shook her head even as she struggled to get to her feet. Something told her the floor wasn’t safe, even as the scent of latex and spermicidal teased her.
The click of metallic buttons on the cement only confused her. Shaking her head, hoping to clear it she focused on the blurry figure disrobing a foot away from her. The familiar crinkle of a small square told her where the smells were coming from and she felt something twist within her gut.
Hitting the floor as the two guards scrambled for their clothes suddenly, she lay still floating in the now familiar haze of drugs. Curled into a fetal position she closed her eyes even as the sound of explosions reached her.
Curling tighter into herself she lay there, unmindful of the sounds drifting through the ceiling and walls. Grateful for the cold of the cement she lay still, silently ignoring the silent tears tracking down her face and soaking the long curls she was shrouded in.
The guard at the western lookout never saw what killed him. There was no sound, no warning at all for him to react to. One moment he was calmly lighting a smoke the next he was staring down as his head was ripped from his body. Had anyone thought to check on him they’d have known that the devil had opened the gates of hell.
Moving through the shadows, silent as death herself the small group advanced until they reached the largest building. Muted growls and snarls were the only sound as they stopped before a door.
“Tear it open.” Soft, feminine the voice was laced with rage, hatred, and a darker, more sinister note.
Deadly claws sank into the metal, shredding it as easily as paper as muscled arms bunched and flexed as the male ripped the door off its hinges, opening the building to their assault.
Stepping into the light the four mutants glanced around, their desire to get to their sibling as strong as their desire to destroy the monsters. Multi colored eyes flashed as they swung around, assessing, evaluating the situation intently.
“This way.” Turning he began to trot down the cold, impersonal corridor. Sniffing periodically he paused before a door and sneered. “Monsters.”
“Play.” The female grinned at him, flashing elongated canines menacingly.
He nodded with a quick jerk of his head. His main concern was finding her, finding the Weapon that had been taken from the wild. With quick steps he hurried away from his siblings and down another, darker corridor.
Stopping as he spotted two guards he grinned, his teeth flashing in the muted light. Moving forward he began to growl under his breath, his fingers flexing with the need to crush their bones.
“Intruder alert!” One screamed as he darted for the large red button on the wall. He never made it. Two steps away from it he felt claws sinking into his body, ripping into his organs, shredding his flesh. The warm, pulsating warmth that raced over his body made him wonder what was happening, but only death could tell him.
The second guard didn’t get off so easily. Before he could raise his weapon he found his arm gripped within two powerful hands. Screaming in agony as the appendage was ripped from his body he stumbled a moment before falling to the ground only to have his skull crushed beneath a massive foot.
Her body screaming in agony she hung silently, her feet barely skimming the floor. The scent of burnt flesh, hair, and cotton hung heavily in the air even as the sadistic laughter faded away with the footsteps.
Alone in the silence she swung uselessly, the cold air drifting over her exposed flesh. She ignored the twitching muscles in her legs; instead she focused on the itch in her hands. Glancing up painfully she stared at the fading black spots on her hands from the third degree burns. Beneath the skin lay new claws, new weapons to replace the wings that had been ripped from her body. Mewing softly in agony she curled tighter around herself, the tickle of blood oozing down her flesh mildly irritating but she ignored it.
The screech of metal twisting had her blinking as white light flooded her cell, blinding her. Raising a shaky hand to cover her eyes she waited for the newest torment, a deep longing to bring them pain within her. Grabbing at the slim collar around her neck she tugged on it, growling and snarling as a large, male frame stepped into the room.
The low, angry hiss of the intruder made her pause and she shifted, crawling away from the door. They had caught a litter mate – they would make him hurt her in new and horrific ways.
“Shh. I will not hurt you.” Moving quickly he scooped her into his arms, pulling her against the heat of his naked chest so her head was filled with the soothing sound of his heart beating. With a dark look at the bloody, scarred cell he turned and stepped out into the corridor. A howl rent the air and a moment later it was answered.
Reaching up she grabbed her head even as she growled in fury and pain. A low growl answered her and a moment let a warm, if somewhat rough touch landed on her shoulder. Blinking her eyes in the hopes of clearing them she stared up into the familiar golden cat eyes that stared at her.
Smiling gratefully she blinked as she was lifted off the floor and into life. Snuggling into the warmth of the chest beneath her cheek she closed her eyes, her body soaking up the warmth and compassion from her litter mate.
Even as the echo of a new howl settled within her mind, she slipped into the blessed darkness. Welcoming the lack of pain, the horror of her existence she embraced unconsciousness. The only thought within her mind was that she would pay the red-haired monster back for this.
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