A/N For those waiting with baited breath for updates, I'm going to be a little slow for the next few weeks, RL kicked me in the teeth big time and I'm having to deal with a tragedy. I should be back to writing quicklyagain soon, I just have to deal with RL first.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She was right it wasn't alive. It was some kind of robot. The table moved, angling her back. She felt something force its way inside her and she screamed. She couldn't struggle, her claws wouldn't work against the thick metal restraints, even if she could reach them.

Once the machines were finished, the room went dark, totally dark. The table stayed slightly inverted and she started to get light headed from the blood rushing to her head. She closed her eyes, or did she, she really couldn't tell. Her ears picked up a faint air movement. She figured it was some kind of climate control. The table creaked a bit with her slight movements, but those were the only sounds other than her own heartbeat and breathing.

She wasn't sure of time; she really had nothing to gage it by. The lights coming up suddenly, and the machines powering on startled her.

"Withdrawing blood for testing." The voice said again. She could hear the mechanical arm move, and felt the prick into the side of her neck. The machines stayed on, but she didn't know if it was five minutes or hours.

"Insemination successful." The voice said. She screamed again. She couldn't believe this was happening.

"Good." A disembodied voice said, it vibrated through the room but she didn't recognize it. "Leave the subject in place for final implantation, and then move it to breeding room 3."

She shuddered. She hoped to hell that voice had a real throat she could rip out when she got out of here."

The lights powered down again.

XXXXXX

He stood behind his master, watching the process. Something about this breeder bothered him. He felt the pressure of his master's attention and felt the fleeting feeling disappear. It wasn't his concern. The female would breed warriors for Apocalypse until she died from over use, just like the other two.

The second one wasn't taking the insemination after three attempts, and Death thought they may have to give up, although the draining mutation would make a strong offensive weapon for his master's warriors.

"Make one more attempt, then terminate if unsuccessful." His master ordered.

The third had taken the insemination, and the combination of hers and Pestilence's mutation would give their warriors both seismic and plasma offensive abilities.

"Are you pleased with your breeder, Death?" Apocalypse asked, not even looking at him.

"It doesn't matter to me; as long as it produces warriors for your army." Death said. Somewhere deep inside, where the part of him that was the animal, that was his strength, let out a silent roar in protest. That was its mate on that table, and the only way she should produce offspring should be from the surge of his loins, not through some machine.

XXXXXX

"Chuck, what the hell do you mean you can't find them. They disappeared almost a month ago." Logan ranted.

"This Apocalypse is powerful. Unless I can find a breach in his shields, I won't be able to find them. I promise, Logan, I am looking every day. Rogue knows how to take care of herself, it is Malena and Jubilee I am worried about most."

"Damn it, we can't just sit here and do nothing."

"We aren't doing nothing, Logan." Storm said. "We're doing everything we can to find them."

"It doesn't feel like it." He muttered. The three had disappeared the same night. They hadn't considered that Apocalypse would want more than Malena. He should have thought of it, should have realized Rogue was in danger too.

"Logan I am scanning for them constantly. All of the students' mental patterns are loaded in Cerebro and I have a passive scan going constantly, so even if the shields drop for a second it will pick up a location."

"It better." He growled, releasing his claws in frustration. The pain reminded him he had to stay strong and ready to save his girl.

"I have one other option, and I am trying to persuade the mutant to help us. It is very delicate, no one knows of his mutation, and it could be dangerous to him to assist us."

"I'll show him dangerous if he doesn't."

"Logan, please, it is a long shot at best. He is an animal empath, and I am hoping he can connect with Victor's highly developed animal instincts."

"Well shit." Logan stormed out. If they were down to animal empaths to try to find Sabretooth Chuck was getting desperate.

XXXXXX

Malena woke up this time dressed in a baggy jumpsuit in an eight by four cell with a fold down bunk and a built in toilet. The room had three cameras so there was absolutely no chance at privacy. She could smell that it had been thoroughly sanitized. She heard her stomach rumble and wondered what time they fed the lab rats.

She heard a noise outside her cell, a noise she recognized.

Paff "Damn!"

"Jubes?"

"Lena?"

"Yeah."

"Shit they got Rogue too." Jubes said. Malena figured out she was in the cell to her left. The cells had solid doors so there was no way to look outside.

"How do you know?"

"'Cuz sedatives don't work that well on me, so I wasn't totally out when they took us."

"Who?"

"Some guys I'd never seen before, I didn't realize you were with us too. I saw them toss Rogue into the van before they realized I was still awake, and they hit me to knock me out. We have to have been here a while, the cut on my head is healed, I'd say a month at least."

"God, Logan must be going nuts."

"Yeah...and now..." Jubes sounded scared.

"Now what?"

"Well, I mean I assume you've been through what I have. Which means we're both pregnant, and they have to be trying with Rogue too?"

Malena thought about that a moment. Logan was going to freak.

"So do you know who they used?"

"No, whatever they used to...well it didn't let out any scent..."

"Shit."

Malena silently echoed the sentiment.

XXXXXX

"Very bright, your breeder." Apocalypse said as Death watched the monitor. He just grunted.

"Perhaps, I will let you impregnate her yourself next time."

Death shrugged, and tried to force down the surge of animal rage. He felt the strong mental control from his master, and the rage settled down to boil in his gut. He felt his master's eyes on him and bowed his head in submission.

His master walked out of the room, and Death felt the pressure from his master's mind ease as he focused on someone else. These few moments were all he had, and he felt the rage course through his body, with no way to release it. He felt like his muscles were charged with electricity, and hoped his master would have a mission for him soon.

He felt a brief touch, not his master, but something else, something that touched only the raging animal. Death forced the touch away from his conscious mind and left it to the animal.