Chapter 6- Sacrifice for Love
Wolverine kneeled and examined the ground. He brought a pinch of grass to his nose, sniffed it, then let it drop. He turned around to face Storm and the students they had brought with them. Wolverine gestured that they were still on track, and that Jean had come this way. Cyclops studied the wooded area around them. It all seemed familiar.
"It looks like she’s headed towards the wreckage," said Cyclops. "In fact, the wreckage should be just a few yards over there."
"Very well," said Storm. "Let us split up, and search the area. There must be some sort of entrance or hidden path nearby. Cyclops… Shadowcat… you two will go with Wolverine, and search that area. Nightcrawler… Rogue… Spyke… you three are with me. Now, we must hurry."
The X-Men split into their two teams and began searching the area. Shadowcat followed Wolverine and Cyclops as they moved through the shrouded area searching for any sign of Jean. Suddenly, Shadowcat saw something that caught her attention. "Hey guys, over here!"
Cyclops and Wolverine quickly joined Shadowcat. They found her kneeling next to what resembled a fuse box. "Seems kinda outta place in the middle of nowhere," suggested Shadowcat.
"You’re right," agreed Wolverine. "Fry it!" Shadowcat nodded and began to make her hands intangible. She phased her hands right through the fuse box. Almost instantly, the sparks began to fly from the box. Within seconds, part of the forest began to shimmer and was replaced with a facility that had been cloaked. "I don’t believe it. Come on you two, we need to find the entrance."
"Hey, Wolverine," called Shadowcat, "let’s take the express back door." Understanding, Cyclops and Wolverine immediately ran towards Shadowcat, and placed a hand on her shoulder. Then, as she began to phase, the trio of mutants began to walk through the wall of the facility and into the unknown.
As the building shimmered into view, Storm and the students accompanying her were startled. "By the Goddess!" cried Storm. "Where did this building come from?"
"It must’ve been cloaked," suggested Spyke.
"Hey," cried Nightcrawler. "I found a vay in. Come on."
"Nightcrawler, wait!" cried Rogue.
"Quickly, follow him," said Storm. As fast as their legs could carry them, they entered the building. They didn’t get far before they found Nightcrawler standing at the end of the hall. "Nightcrawler!"
"Uh, Storm," said Nightcrawler, "I think I found the guy that grabbed Jean."
Storm and the others focused their attention on the door that had just opened. Out stepped a man with an extremely pail reflection. His eyes were red, and he was sporting a neatly trimmed goatee. As he stepped into the light, the X-Men felt goosebumps start to pop up over their skin.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Jean Grey?" demanded Storm.
"You may call me Mr. Sinister," he responded, "and as for Miss Grey, she is no longer of your concern."
"I beg to differ!" cried Storm. Then, she stretched her arms wide and her pupils became completely white. The thin breeze that had been blowing through the corridor was now becoming a gust. "I call upon the powers of the Storm! Lightning!" Several bolts of lightning heeded her call and erupted from Storm’s hands. The lightning bolts connected directly on Mr. Sinister’s chest. He stumbled backwards a few feet, and then refocused his attention on his attackers. "Impossible!" whispered Storm, amazed that the man was still on his feet.
Mr. Sinister chuckled at Storm’s look of shock. "Now, it’s my turn," he said. Mr. Sinister took his left hand and pressed the backside of his glove on his right hand. Suddenly, four panels erupted from the floor and touched the ceiling, encasing Storm within a box. It wasn’t long before Storm began to bang on the panels pleading to get out. After a few seconds, the panels exploded, but Storm fell to the ground as well. Her claustrophobia and the recoil from the lightning she used to take out the panels had rendered her unconscious.
"You look like a man with a lot on his mind," cried Rogue. Mr. Sinister had no time to react as he turned to see Rogue leaping onto him. Rogue wasted no time in bringing her hands to Sinister’s face and trying to absorb his power. At the moment of contact, Rogue began crying out in agony. She was only able to hold her grip a few seconds before she fell to the floor clutching her head. "Ahhh! Summers… must get Summers! Alone… NOOO!" Unable to control the power, Rogue quickly passed out.
"And then, there were two…" said Mr. Sinister as he noticed Nightcrawler and Spyke were the last ones remaining. Mr. Sinister pulled himself to his feet, shaking off the effects of Rogue’s attack.
"Where’d you learn to count, ‘bub?" Mr. Sinister turned to see Wolverine, Cyclops and Shadowcat emerging from one of the walls. Wolverine wasted no time in throwing himself at Sinister. He began slicing away at Mr. Sinister, but it seemed to be futile, because as soon as he sliced, Sinister’s skin appeared to regenerate. "What the…?"
"Nightcrawler, get Rogue and Storm out of here, now!" called Cyclops. Nightcrawler wasted no time in pulling his fellow teammates towards him and then disappearing in a cloud of brimstone. "Shadowcat, see if you can find Jean. We’ll cover you." Shadowcat nodded and disappeared into the nearest wall as she proceeded with her search. "Spyke, let’s give Wolverine a hand with this bozo."
Spyke started firing several mini-bone missiles at Mr. Sinister, but just like Wolverine’s claws, they did very little damage. Plus, whatever damage was done was regenerated almost instantly. "Fools, you’ll never stop me, I am Mr. Sinister!"
"Yeah, well I’ve heard just about enough," cried Cyclops. Then, he fired an optic blast that nailed Mr. Sinister in the shoulder. Sinister cried out in pain as he grasped his wound, and stared at Cyclops in awe. "Well, looks like you’re not as tough as you thought," continued Cyclops as he fired another blast. This blast nailed Sinister in his thigh.
"Ahhh! Curse you, Summers!" cried Mr. Sinister. He raised his hand and fired several yellow energy blasts throughout the room. Cyclops, Wolverine and Spyke all took cover avoiding Sinister’s volley.
"We’ve got to take this guy out, and we’ve got to do it now," cried Spyke.
Cyclops nodded. Finding his chance Cyclops got to his feet and fired several optic blasts. One of them nailed Mr. Sinister in the opposite shoulder. At this point, Sinister was barely able to raise his arms to fire another energy blast. "This one’s for Jean," muttered Cyclops to himself. The final blast nailed Mr. Sinister in the chest. The evil scientist collided with the wall and slid to the floor, out cold.
"Now, let’s find Jean," said Cyclops.
Shadowcat phased into a room that looked like a laboratory. She surveyed the room quickly and saw Jean strapped to an examination bed. "Jean!" she called. Shadowcat wasted to no time running to the aid of her friend. "Jean are you all right?"
"Kitty! Look out for Madeline!" cried Jean.
"Who?!" said Shadowcat. Then, she noticed several surgical knives flying directly towards her. As a reflex, Shadowcat phased and the knives passed right through her. She turned to find the knives had planted themselves in the wall behind her. Shadowcat refocused her attention on the girl that had impersonated her friend. "Is that the best you can do?"
Madeline was upset by the taunt. "Well, little girl, you can save yourself, but can you save your friend!" Madeline raised her hands, and as she did so, several other surgical knives rose into the air. Then, Shadowcat realized that Madeline’s target was Jean. Madeline gestured for the knives to move forward directly towards Jean. Still restrained, Jean had no way of avoiding being hit.
"Jean! NOOO!" Cyclops stepped in front of the Jean and protected her. The knives would have to go through him to get to Jean. Scott stared directly into Jean’s eyes waiting for the impact of the knives to fill his body. Jean stared into Scott’s eyes, begging him to move, but it was useless, his decision was made. However, the impact of the knives never came.
Cyclops turned around to see all the knives were hovering in mid-air just in front of him. He looked across the room, and saw Madeline gazing at him with tears in her eyes. Then, slowly, the knives began to fall to the floor. Cyclops turned around, and quickly removed Jean’s restraints. Then, they both turned and stared at Madeline as she gazed upon the couple.
Then, slowly a smile began to spread across her face. "Now, I understand," said Madeline.
Suddenly, beakers began to explode all around them. Cyclops looked around to see what was causing it. "It’s her," called Jean. "She’s doing it."
"Listen, you don’t have to do this," called Cyclops. "You don’t have to be alone." Cyclops walked towards the exit as the explosions continued around him. However, he continued to hold onto Jean’s hand. Near the door, Wolverine and the others continued to call to him.
"You’ve made your choice," said Madeline, "and you made the right one."
Suddenly, a valve directly in front of Madeline exploded. She became clouded behind the mist that was now filling the room. He could feel Jean pulling on his arm, beckoning him to leave.
"Scott, we have to leave," pleaded Jean. The explosions continued to roar all around him. "Scott, please." Reluctantly, he turned and left. However, before they exited the building completely, Cyclops came to a halt.
"Sinister! He’s gone!" he yelled.
"Forget it, Junior," said Wolverine. "He’s probably long gone by now, and if we don’t haul tail, the other’s will be picking us up with a spatula! Now move!" Cyclops and Jean followed Spyke and Shadowcat out of the building, as Wolverine brought up the rear. As they exited the building, and got a safe distance away, the building exploded.