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Issue #19 |
"Darkness Binds" Written By Tom Moses |
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Stalking the darkened grounds of Xavier's former school, a ghost of a woman moves through the trees. Katherine Pryde had lived the majority of her adolescence in the very house which she now spies upon. Though no longer her home, a much different purpose brings her here. Recruiting. The newest person to employ her abilities wishes her to find more like her, those easily swayed to the opposite side of the fence Xavier has built within their race.
As the most current information says, not a single telepath resides in the house any longer. A clean entrance and exit from someone as able as Pryde would be a walk in the park without the safety net of telepaths. The job is easy enough. The night is perfect; no moon, the sky hidden by clouds. The rain is annoying, uncomfortable and creating too much noise to be useful. Her ability would stop all the annoyance if she were stupid enough to try and use her intangibility more than she needed to.
The security system would know her all to well if she weren't careful tonight. Becoming intangible at just the wrong time would clue the X-Men and countless reservists around the world the Mansion had just been compromised. That kind of attention would be a definitive set back, and for the low priority this mission held it would also be a sever disappointment. Kitty is supremely confident in the security systems, for the simple reason of the confidence she carries within her own work. Flaws do exist however; and she above all else knows exactly where to search for them.
A break in the den lights, the teleporter has finally gone. Kitty checks her equipment, ensuring everything she needs is in place and moves her head in every direction to check her environment. Sure there is no danger in the immediate vicinity Kitty drops from her perch in a tree. The ground makes a splash as the soaked ground protests her sudden fall. Ducking her head, she dashes across the open grounds, keeping her items close to her body as best she could in order to remain quiet.
Her dull black figure stops short of the eastern wing's south wall. Peering through the window she watches the demon's path until the doors close behind him. She smiles behind her featureless mask, counting the number of bricks that hold the window in place. A deep breath and not so much as a thought of the matter, she slips through the solid wall as if it were a thick fog she couldn't see past.
Quickly she becomes tangible again, knowing the sensors will pick up her energy signature only after a few seconds after she activates her mutant ability. The room is as dark as the night outside, she folds down a bulky set of goggles over the mask eyelets and her problem is solved with a flood of green illumination. Careful not to make the slightest noise, Kitty follows the path of the demonic teleporter toward the main atrium of the mansion.
Pryde moves closely along a wall, pressing her back against the expensive imported wood. She allows her electronics to amplify her sensory perceptions, enhancing her views of the room she searches. The night vision she is dependant on isn't as perfect as daylight, the limited natural light due to the storm outside keeps even the goggles hindered. Her sight is not completely dependable, but her hearing enhancement ear pieces more than make up for it. The earpieces she wears are of her own design, painstakingly crafted to detect small sounds normally gone unnoticed. The augments are small enough to be comfortable, yet the perfect size to allow her hearing to go unhindered.
She can only revel in Xavier's habitual willingness to keep this house the same as it was built originally. For all the times it has been added upon, or destroyed for that matter, the main buildings will always remain the same in its reconstruction.
Large wooden doors block her path, Kitty crouches low to inspect for any addition or modification to her original systems. She discovers Xavier is more a creature of habit than she first thought. "Nothing ever changes," she thinks to herself, making a final inspection of the door to search for stray rays of light.
Kitty pictures the layout of the house in her mind. Behind these doors lies the main atrium of the large house. The best plan of action will be to make a run toward the staircase, which lies within in the center of the large entryway. Her goggles see no excess light coming from the doorway, which should mean that there wouldn't be anyone inside that area of the house that could be an obstacle. Kitty keeps her crutched pose, preparing herself for her dash.
Once again checking her equipment, she makes sure that she won't make any excess noise in running and sets the safety filters on her goggles. Kitty is only intangible for a split second, just enough to pass through the solid wood frame of the doors. Quickly she becomes solid and doesn't stop running until she reaches the safety behind the wide staircase.
The darkness prevails throughout the main hall, though she kept the safety filters in place. Coming out from behind the stairs and keeping to her plan she takes several careful steps. Kitty climbs the stairs without single noise made from the hardwood floors, maintaining her careful stepping she places herself against the wall to the left corridor of the second floor.
Still not a single light in the house, and taking her movement very carefully, Kitty follows the hall the hall to in front of her. Taking a passing glace at each one of the name placards, she only knows the name she is after not the room. Not many names make her take anymore than a quick notice as she passes each of the rooms; however, she halts suddenly when she reads her targets name on the door near the end of the hall: Cecilia Reyes.
Kitty knows she's already used more of her abilities than she should have, and the entry into this room would take an exceptional amount of care if she wanted to take the easy way out of the house. Instead of making a stupid mistake and alerting the security system, Kitty takes slow care to turn the doorknob. A painful effort is taken to avoid making any sound; once the door is open she makes a swift side step and closes the door just as carefully.
The doctor lay sleeping in the south corner of the room; the only sound in the room is a faint hint of metal passing though nylon as the would-be assailant removes a sedative dart from the pouch around her calf. Kitty hopes the dart will make contact with the doctors' skin without any trouble; it would be a shame if other means would have to be taken to overcome Reyes's defensive shielding.
Once again taking her steps slowly and silent, Kitty moves inches away from the sleeping doctor, lifting the night vision goggles from her eyes and allowing her eyes to adjust to the natural light. Unimpressed at the meager size of the room, she searches the environment for the best possible route of escape. Kitty then returns her attention to the sleeping doctor, taken by surprise at the need to shake herself from staring at the woman. The sight is almost hypnotizing to Kitty; she stops to watch her a little longer. It's an odd thought process for her, but Cecelia is so peaceful, pristine.beautiful?
Taking a moment to restructure her thoughts, she folds the bottom half of her mask away from her face to breathe easier. Kitty passes slowly to Cecilia's arm with the sedative-laced dart. Only to get within inches of the doctor's skin, she curses within her mind as the needle bends without the slightest pressure. "Damn," Kitty thinks, it was now time for more drastic measures.
"I wonder." She thinks, silently phasing her arm she takes a quick swipe through Cecelia causing no harm to herself or the doctor. Kitty bends low to remove another dart kept at her calf, keeping her eyes on the doctor she peers ahead her eyes just above the doctors mattress. She peers ahead, eyelevel with the sleeping Doctors' mostly uncovered features. Strangely she stays for a moment, idly admiring.
Kitty shakes the feeling off, phasing her arm partially she decides to finish the ordeal. Closing in slowly she approaches the doctor's forearm, passing through her shield before allowing that part of her arm to become solid again. Kitty's mind becomes distracted again as her hand traces the Doctors' partially exposed stomach. The sedative dart falls to the ground, the distraction becoming more important than the job at hand as Kitty's hand pries underneath the fabric of Cecilia's nightgown.
It hits her without warning; the pain is fierce and quick. Her breathing halts in order to suppress a scream, her teeth grinding together and eyes closing tight. Doctor Reyes jumps awake in a sudden fit of pain unaware of what is happening. Cecelia is only able to let out a small scream before Kitty takes measure into her own hands. Completely phasing her body as well as the doctors', Kitty locks her lips onto the doctors at first in order to stifle the scream. The lengthy hold on the doctor takes away the strategy of needing silence and brings another thought into her mind.
The pain passes and Kitty is able to free her arm from the doctors' shield, Cecelia works past the sudden shock and discomfort and pushes the unrecognized figure to the floor. "I swear to God," Cecilia stammers, "Please tell me that just didn't happen!" She repeats several times before lunging down on the female form. Not taking a second thought Cecelia takes advantage of the dazed assailant, pounding her fists repeatedly into Kitty's face before tearing the mask and goggles from her face. "Pryde!?!" Cecilia sounds with shock that she doesn't notice the lights spring on. "What the Hell are you doing!"
"Looks to me, Kitty was after a little bit of her namesake Cece." A single voice sounds from behind the crowd gathered in Cecilia's doorway. "You know, War" Bobby Drake nudges the winged man at his left, "I always thought there was something odd about her."
"Drake, for your sake I hope your girlfriend heard that." Doctor Reyes says before punching her assailant into unconsciousness.
"I did." Zelda voices and drags her significant other away from the crowd by his ear. "And he'll definitely regret it."
Pushing his way past the crowd of gatherers, Alex Summers looks over the gear strewn about the room and finally the face of the unconscious woman. "We need her restrained and quickly." He orders, "Warren, head down and prepare the holding cell; I'll do my best to steal Bobby from Zelda and meet you below the grounds."
Hours pass, save the searing pain passing through her head, Kitty would have guessed things were as normal. Quite the contrary; however, she now sits bound to a cold metal chair. Her clothing mostly stripped from her body and the only clothing to protect her from the artificially cold air was nothing more than her under garments.
"Finally, you're awake." Kitty hears a familiar voice.
Despite her pain, she tries to lift her head to see the originator of the voice. Combined with the aches Kitty finds her head nearly too heavy to lift, "What am I wearing?" She asks with a weary voice.
Cecilia steps close to the captive Pryde. "Its' something McCoy cooked up. A neural inhibitor or something of that."
"Cecilia?" Kitty asks, clearing her throat, "What's going on?"
"Don't even start playing games with me." Cecilia says raising Kitty's head for her. "Two things I want to get past you: One, I don't like my privacy invaded. And Two, no one touches me without my permission."
"Now that we're clear on your intentions," Kitty squints her eyes trying to squeeze the haze out of her vision, "why don't you tell me what the hell you're talking about."
Cecilia opens and closes her fists with quick succession, her anger clearly painted on her face. "Pryde, you have no idea how much it took convincing the others, especially Summers, to allow me to come down here on my own. I want some damn answers, I don't want to play twenty questions, and you are going to answer me if you want me to stay calm."
"Cecilia. I haven't seen any of you for nearly a year, my neck is killing me because of McCoy's new fashion statement, and honestly I'm feeling a little out of place at the moment." The captive explains, "I think you can appreciate the fact that I'm not in the mood to play games either."
Cecilia paces in front of Kitty allowing her comments to finish. The statement Kitty is able to piece together earns her nothing productive from Cecilia's state of mind. To make Kitty's head pain worse, Cecilia throws a closed fisted slap to the base of Kitty's jaw line. "Consider that you're warning."
"Warning for what?" Kitty asks defiantly spitting blood from her mouth.
"Try that act again, and you're one dead kitty cat." The preserver of life said leaving the young woman speechless.
Katherine Pryde rolls her head back and forth against the back of the chair, straining her hands in a futile attempt to test and retest her bonds. A deep breath inward and she hesitantly accepts her fate, her face falling down towards her lap, "God I'm going to be late to class."
Several floors below the surface of the earth the weary X-Men gather in their aptly named 'war room.' The early morning circumstances wearing on all in attendance, the six occupants struggle at finding something to discuss while they wait for Cecilia Reyes to return from Kitty's holding cell while some struggle just to stay awake.
Alex Summers sips on a coffee mug and strains to keep his eyes open. The past few weeks had been rough on the entire group, roster changes and leadership shuffles not withstanding. "Five more minutes and Zelda could you drag Cecilia so we can get on with this meeting and back to sleep?"
"Well at least you're learning to assign jobs according to those talented." Bobby laughs though he doesn't move from his reclined position, nor do his eyes open. "She's good at that dragging thing."
"Humph." Zelda laughs at Drake's response, pushing him from his chair. "Keep that up and even my room will become off limits to you."
The room erupts in laughter at the expense of their frosted teammate, and all but stops when Cecilia Reyes storms through the mechanical doors. Not hesitating for a moment the doctor heads straight for her chair and with her arms folded across her chest, she gives the room a once over. "Let's get this over with."
"I hear that." Bobby climbs into his chair paying careful attention to the blonde beside him.
Clearing his throat Alex stands and looks toward Doctor Reyes, "Kitty didn't say anything important did she?"
"Of course not," the doctor maintains a defiant tone, "it'd be too easy just to spill out the truth so she's playing the 'what's going on' game."
Alex holds out his hands in hopes the gesture will halt Cecilia's rant. "Look, we already know that mind control is a possibility, considering Jamie losing control of a number of duplicates."
"Jamie was also under the same persuasion, and he remembered pretty much everything that happened." Bobby's opinion makes itself known, "Kitty knows more than she's letting on."
"Madrox would be a difficult person to keep under control Bobby." Henry McCoy interjects, "studies conducted on Jamie with Jean's help many years ago showed that even her mental probes strained with every duplicate that he produced. Judging the fight we were involved with X-Corps months ago, and the extreme number of his duplicates we were facing it stands to reason that if the mind control that his duplicates still felt was all but lost on the original."
The entire room echoes with a hundred theories bouncing off the walls. The chaotic noise is difficult for anyone person to keep up with, as Zelda is keenly aware. Her attention changes each moment a new voice adds it's own theory to the event, though she tries to study the silent Doctor Reyes most of all. Awestruck at the chaos that has taken over this meeting she wonders why she followed Bobby downstairs to begin with, "What if the control is affected by distance?"
Zelda's eyes close as the room immediately quiets. She grits her teeth and opens one eye at a time, nervous at her suggestion she looks to Hank for some sign of approval. "It would stand to reason." McCoy places his large hand on the woman's shoulder, "Whoever is behind the X-Corps organization is making himself very difficult to find. It is not hard to assume when Kitty was knocked unconscious the control could have lost its grip on her."
"Jamie never fell under the influence again," Alex reminded, "It would be safe to assume Kitty might not understand what was happening to her."
"Figures. You people have all the equipment in the world to read a persons mind and you're making accusations?" Doctor Reyes slams her hands onto the table top, "So what some sicko is not only controlling people from a distance, he or she also wants to get a little long distance porn scene while they wait?"
A hand lightly grips Cecilia's shoulder, "I can appreciate your anger Cecilia," Storm's voice tries it's best to soothe the woman's anger. "I'm sorry but you're going to have to relax for a moment and look at this event objectively. Katherine is an extremely guarded young woman, what happened early this morning is not something she would have done of her own free will."
"Ladies, Gentlemen, I'm sorry but I need to know what we're going to do about this situation. I have a meeting to hold with my board of directors in three hours and I'm afraid that has to take precedence today."
"That's fine Warren," Storm says, "You and Bobby will not be involved in anything that's decided about this. The project that you and Bobby are working on is too important to side step."
"And I must say I'm still on schedule to discuss some strange goings on with the Avengers in New York this afternoon as well."
Storm adjusts her sling, a small attempt to make her left arm a little more comfortable. "Alex, Cecilia and I will be plenty of personnel to get the information we need from Katherine."
"Shit, give me a few minutes alone with her and I'll give you all the information you want."
"And anymore outbursts like that and you too will sit this exercise out Doctor Reyes." The weather witch uses more emphasis on her title than her name in hopes to calm her nerves with a reminder of her position.
The door swings open and Kitty opens her eyes to look upon Kurt Wagner walking inside. He brings a chair with him, setting it down not far from the captive woman; he sits calmly in front of her. "Kitty?" Kurt asks as though he expects someone else to answer. "Can you tell me why you are here?"
Her eyes are still hard to open, the left side of her face beginning to show signs of bruising. "Kurt, if this place wasn't so familiar I'd ask where I am."
"I see you are hurt."
"I had a check up with Doctor Reyes." Kitty nearly laughs at her own sarcasm, "What's going on Kurt?"
"I was going to ask you that very question. We have not heard a sound from X-Corps in a number of weeks and now you wish to break into the mansion and into Cecilia's room?" Nightcrawler calmly asks. "Why have you joined their ranks Kitty?"
A look of wonder fills the facial features of young Katherine Pryde; she attempts to say several things but fails to emit any words. "Kitty, the last anyone has of seen you was in Genosha after Elizabeth's murder. You and several others had sided with Bishop's allies and kidnapped Cyclops."
"Betsy was murdered?!? If this is a joke," Kitty states mater of fact. "This isn't funny."
Wagner stands close to Kitty, his face showing a sting of pain with the mention of Elizibeth Braddock's name. "Kitty, you were in Genosha. You gave Cyclops a very cryptic message about why you had joined X-Corps several months ago. Now just last night you break into the mansion, and we find you unconscious at Cecilia's feet after she claimed you sexually assaulted her."
"Kurt.I," her throat is dry as she repeats her partial sentence and interrupted by the door opening once again. Walking through the open doorway this time is another familiar face, but only partially.
"Ororo?" Kitty gasps upon the sight of the woman that is perhaps her greatest friend and confidant. Ever remaining graceful, even beyond the sling along her left arm and the burns over the left side of her face and neck. Storm's presence in the room forces Kitty Pryde quiet all over again.
"Hello Kitten." Ororo forces a smile and stands next to Kurt. "How are you doing?"
The disapproving looks add to the pain in her jaw and face. Though the haze in her vision has passed the fog in her mind is ever present, "Please tell me what I'm doing here Ororo."
Steve Rogers has always been a man to notice within a crowd; six foot tall it was hard to exactly miss him especially in a quiet corner of a steak house. Walking past the doors and the smiling at the hostess Henry McCoy is an evenly matched prize to be matched in any crowd, even under the blanket of a holographic disguise. The two old friends from another life stand in front of one another and shake hands, Rogers offering the hidden mutant a seat across of his.
"Salutations and greetings to you again Mr. Rogers, I hope my tardiness can be forgiven." Henry McCoy offers a pun as he takes his seat, "How is the imaginary world treating you these days?"
Cubes of ice had only given way to a higher level of water by the time McCoy approached the table, thankfully the drink was still cold. "Life seems a little imaginary lately Hank. Or at least I wish it were, you're jokes are a welcome sound from the old days for sure."
"Trust me, the conundrum is only commonplace in our line of occupation Steven," the beast of a man hails the waitress with a simple hand gesture and a toothy grin. "12 ounce sirloin, as rare as you can legally prepare. Shall I live dangerously with a double serving of your mashed potatoes and a sweetened iced tea, please?"
Steve nods at the waitresses request for a food order and she walks away, "At least your appetite stays the same after all these years." The two men laugh, "I'm going to be blunt Hank, I know you have commitments with Xavier, but we've come under a lot of strain lately and speaking frankly without Pym in our ranks our scientific expertise has been sorely limited."
"Hank's loss was a shock to us all Steve."
"Sadly I wish I could say it stops at that," The often times called Sentinel of Liberty halts to clear his throat. "Vision is a large casualty, Tony is very ill and refuses to see a doctor, and Janet.well I'd understand if her situation wouldn't need much explanation."
"How is she Steve? Really?"
The humor Henry McCoy is most known for has left the table and more than likely this plane of existence as the two men slip in a conversation of all business. "Indeed I don't have to spell out that she isn't doing well. Janet is speaking much especially to any of us, though if I'm not around I do ensure that she is looked after."
"You don't mean to imply."
Steve holds his hand in regards to Henry's assumption, "No Hank, I
don't believe things have escalated to make Janet want to take her own
life, though as her friend I make sure she knows someone is always
there to talk to her."
"You are a gentleman even beyond the suitable means, Steven." Henry McCoy compliments his friend with as little words as he can muster. "If you plan to ask me to return to the Avengers, you must know that the X-Men are also in upheaval and I cannot abandon one group of friends in their time of need to aid others, it will only complicate matters within our communities."
"I know Hank, perhaps you can come to the mansion in a limited arena. Janet is my main concern and she needs a friend more than ever right now. Also Tony is ill and refuses to see a doctor, insisting he needs to find out why Vision is not responsive."
The conversation stops as Henry notices the waitress coming with his order. A large order he is no longer hungry for, the X-man and Avenger opts to sip on his iced tea. News of his friends' troubles weigh on his conscious, "Steve, allow me to notify Storm of my absence and brief the good Doctor Reyes on what I am currently working toward. I'm sure the X-Men can get along without me for a few weeks, and at least it'll give me a reason to act on this reserve status you requested of me not so long ago."
"I'm sorry?" Captain America coughs out a mouth full of water, "Reserve status?"
"You invited myself and Warren Worthington to a status of reservist duty by letter almost two months ago Steven, have things been so hectic that you forgotten about recruiting Jamie Madrox as well?" Henry continues a civilized chuckle until the stone cold face Beast had only seen on Steve while in his Captain America garb changed the situation.
"I sent no letters Hank. The Avengers are in no position to invite new members to sit in reserve, in fact I'm hoping you'll help resolve this situation with Tony and Vision before I start calling up former reservists."
"What about Jamie?"
A blank look is painted on Steve Rogers face, "I know he's held in good standing with Reed, as well as the X-Men, and frankly our government loves most of their former X-Factor team, but I haven't been in the mindset to actively seek recruits."
"This is most disconcerting Steven, and it needs to be looked into." Henry says mater of fact, "Cecilia Reyes was nearly kidnapped early this morning, and this X-Corps situation is getting far out of hand."
"You know you have access to any resource the Avengers store in the Mansion and our jurisdiction. I'll be happy to grant that access to any member of the X-Men you see fit, you're friend must be found."
Henry stands from the booth, "I am certain my access card will still allow me to pass through security?"
"Your access to the mansion was never deleted my friend."
"The mansion doors have always been open to me? I cannot pretend that I am not flattered Steven, and I must inquire what it Jarvis have on the menu tonight." McCoy offers his hand to the most famous of super heroes,
"I take it we'll see you at the Mansion later tonight then?"
"Indeed you will," Henry stands and shakes the hand of Captain America. "Whatever stresses you find yourselves in my friend, do me one favor, please leave your considerations as far away from Wolverine and Spider-Man, lord knows what kind of trouble that'll show your enemies."
