The Demon's Angel

Chapter 49

Kurt
I woke up happier than normal, or at least the happiest I'd been in the past few months. I didn't understand why. Maybe it was the prospect of this mess finally ending...? Either way, I️ was in a much better mood than the previous night.

     After helping to pack, I️ sat down on the jet, watching as everyone moved around me, performing various tasks. Logan was changing into a uniform of sorts. Curiously, I️ stared. Rouge and Bobby seemed fairly interested too. They were looking at one still in its locker in the back. Bobby spoke up. "Where's our's?" he asked. Where they supposed to have one...? Logan answered the question for me. "On order," he replied. "Should arrive in a few years." Bobby huffed. I️ hid a grin behind my hand.

  I️ glanced over at Mystique and Magneto. Both were looking at Rouge and whispering. When she turned to look back at them, Magneto smirked slyly. "We love what you've done with your hair," he chuckled. Mystique laughed beside him. Rogue pulled off her glove angrily, but Bobby grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away. "It's not worth it," he muttered.

    I stared at the hologram as Storm spoke. "See the density changes in the terrain? Those are tire tracks. That's the entrance, and this shows the depth of ice covering the ground." She pointed at a tunnel shaped entrance. "This is recent water activity," Jean commented. "If we go in, Stryker could flood the spillway..." Storm looked at me. "Can you teleport inside?" she asked curiously. I shook my head. "I have to know vhere I'm going, ozervise I could end up in a vall," I explained nervously. I shuddered, imagining how awful that would be. 

     "I'll go," growled Logan. "I have a feeling he'll want me alive." Magneto stalked in, Mystique behind him. "Whoever goes into the dam needs to be able to operate the spillway mechanism," he stated calmly. "What do you intend to do? Scratch it with your claws?" Mystique smirked. Logan scowled. "I'll take my chances," he said angrily. Magneto's face lost its humor. "But I won't."

    I looked down. "I know my opinion isn't really zat important to ju, but I agree," I said carefully. "I refuse to risk failure at getting in zis place... I need to help my friend. Ve all have someone in zere that ve see as vorth saving, even if zey aren't in zere really. All of mutant-kind is depending on ze success of zis..." Everyone was staring. "He has a point," said Storm eventually. Therefore, a different plan was put into action.   

    As Logan strode down the tunnel, Logan scowled beside me. "If she fails, I'll make a point to say that I told you so," he muttered. I hesitated slightly before patting his back. He swung around to glare at me, claws ripping out of his knuckles. I refused to flinch, despite my instincts screaming at me to teleport away before he killed me. "Ve vill all be in zere in a minute," I said quietly. He huffed but said nothing else on the subject, his claws retreating.

   We continued watching the cameras as Mystique made her way forward. Soldiers flooded from different doors within the tunnel until she was surrounded. She put her hands in the air, allowing herself to be lead into the main building as a small smile played on her lips. However, her compliancy ended as Stryker suddenly realized the trick we'd pulled. His face twisted, and he ordered the soldiers to do something. The soldiers advanced, but she transformed, fighting until she slid directly beneath the sealing door. I grinned as I caught a glimpse of the gesture she flashed at Stryker before disappearing.

      Just as easily, she made it into the control room disguised as Stryker. "I'm in," she reported cooly into her headset. "She's good," admitted Logan.  Magneto grinned. "You have no idea." It was time for us to move.

   We made our way in much less carefully than Mystique did, knocking out any soldiers that got in our way. We rounded a corner, reaching the control room. They had managed to break in, but they hadn't opened the door yet. The two soldiers breaking in whipped around, but Jean quickly disarmed them. Instead, we opened the door.

    Mystique whipped around, but she relaxed once she saw us. Jean looked at the monitors intensely. "Found it?" she asked. Mystique nodded. "A large portion of energy from the dam has been diverted to this chamber," she said. "Cerebro," stated Jean calmly, nodding in agreement. "Can you shut it down from here?" asked Storm urgently. Mystique shook her head, and Magneto turned to her. "Come. There's little time," he said urgently. Jean glared at him. "Not without us," she retorted.

   Storm's gaze was drawn to a different security camera, specifically one that showed several children trapped in a room. "My god," she gasped. "The children!" She turned to me. "Kurt! Will you come with me?" I nodded seriously. She glanced at Mystique. "Where are they?" Mystique didn't even look up. "In a cell one level down." Storm nodded. "We'll get the children and meet you at Cerebro." "I'll try to find Scott and the professor," replied Jean.

   Right before we left, Storm turned around. "Will you be alright without us?" she asked. Jean smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine." Storm nodded, and we hurried away.

    The place was like a maze. I didn't recognize most of it, since I'd been blindfolded for most of my time outside of my cell, but it was also chillingly familiar, especially as we grew closer to the children's cell. Biting down my rising panic, I pushed onward, following Storm.

    "Help us, anybody!" Storm and I froze. "Listen," she hissed. The cry sounded again. "Help!" Storm was off, running towards the sound. "Get us out of here!" cried a young girl as we reached a grate. "Jubilee?" "Storm!" "We're coming!" she called. Before she even looked at me, I was gone.

    The children stepped back as I appeared. "Come on," I hissed urgently. One child, Jubilee, was the first to walk forward and take my hand. Soon, another followed. I smiled, relieved, before delivering them to Storm. Soon, the others were all out of the cell, too. As I appeared at the top once more with the last of the children, I looked over Storm's shoulder. At the end of the hallway, brandishing a wicked looking knife, stood Elizabeth.

    She stood in the now-ragged sundress that she had enjoyed wearing around the circus. Her bare feet were cut and bleeding in places. Her hair was wild, and the ghost of some savage grin played on her lips.

    My eyes widened as I turned to Storm. "Run," I whispered. Storm's head whipped up. "Take the children and run!" I yelled. Storm swung around and saw Lizzie. Her eyes began to turn white. I grabbed her shoulders. "Please!" I cried. "Let me take care of her! Get the children to safety, but I refuse to leave without her!" Storm's eyes cleared. She nodded seriously and rushed the children in the opposite direction. I, however, turned to face my best friend.