ANNOUNCEMENT: Two new stories-Like a Boss: Tainted Love and We're in This Together Now, along with the update wave! Enjoy! :o)

A/N: Thank you for the great reviews! :o)

Chapter 4.

Emma Frost follows the man into his office, as he chats enthusiastically about the girl's talents. "She's more deadly than I ever could have imagined!" he says. "You really did a wonderful job, wiring up her mind with that trigger scent."

The woman smiles slowly. "Thank you," she says.

Rice sits down behind his desk, runs his hands through his hair. "Oh man. I think—you know that big job coming up? For the Kingpin?"

Frost's smile fades.

"She's ready!" he says, almost shouting.

"No, she's not. She's far too raw," the woman protests. "She doesn't even have a uniform yet. None of them do."

Rice sits up. "Excuse me?"

"You said that they would still be my students," she says, with an air of importance. "I only helped you because you said they would still be mine."

"They are," he says. He gets up, and moves around the table, his eyes dangerous, locked on Frost's icy blue ones. "But you…" he reaches out, grabs her chin in his hand, and she trembles slightly. "You are mine, Frost. And by extension…so are your students. Do you understand?"

Shaking slightly, Frost nods.

"Or do I have to remind you of what I can do?" Rice asks. "You can't see inside my head…I took care of that. And I can blow your precious little head up at any time I want." He pauses. "Or your students. Wouldn't that little Hellion shit be better without his head? Then he'd stop bleating at me all the time."

"Please…" Frost breathes.

Rice grins, the dangerous look fading from his face. "Since you asked so nicely, sweetie pie! But she will be ready for that mission, okay?"

After a moment, a long drawn out moment, the woman nods, and Rice laughs.

"Excellent," he says.

…

"What was that?" Hellion hisses, later.

They are back in the cell, licking their wounds and trying to gather courage. Or X is, at least. She gazes at the boy.

"I did what had to be done," she says finally.

"No one has to kill!" He says angrily. "No one has to obey them! I'd rather rot in this cell for the rest of my life than do what they say."

X smiles slightly. "Well…I wouldn't. I'm getting out."

Silence. The others look at each other uncertainly.

"I have a way," she says. "I have a plan. I know how to get out. I need some things…but I know how we're going to do it."

"Really?" the metal-skinned girl asks, her voice soft and hopeful. She is lying on the floor, her cheek pressed against her arm.

"No, Mercury! We can't trust her!" Hellion looks at the redhead angrily.

"If she knows a way to escape…" Mercury sits up. "Even the chance of her knowing a way to escape…that's good enough for me."

"No! Just no! I'm not losing you…not going to let you take crazy risks. She's a murderer." He turns his glare to X.

"We'll all be murderers pretty soon if we stay here," the blue-haired girl pipes up, from where she is leaning against the dark-skinned boy. "That's what they're training us for. To be their assassins…and worse. I'm with you, X. Lead the way."

"If Surge goes, so do I." Her companion's voice is calm.

"You would!" Hellion says, his tone dripping with venom. "Mercury's out…and so am I."

"You don't speak for me!" Mercury hisses.

"Yes I do!" he snaps. "You could get hurt…you could die!"

"Do you call this living?" the metal-skinned girl asks, her voice a little softer.

A few moments pass, and Hellion looks uncertainly at X, then grits his teeth together.

"What do you need?" he asks.

X lets out a breath she hadn't realized she's been holding. Mercury grins, scoots over and envelopes the boy in a hug. "I knew you wouldn't hold out on me!"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm only in it because you guys are going to get yourselves killed without me. But I have a condition. If I see it getting hairy…and I say it's over…it's over, okay guys?"

"You got it!" the metal-skinned girl says.

"Sure," Surge says.

Hellion looks at X, and she hesitates, then nods slowly. "Yeah…okay."

"Okay," he says.

The girl gets to her knees, and crawls closer. "So, the things we'll need...a map…then fire…a vial of my trigger scent… a keycard and the codes to the doors."

"I'll get the map," the boy says, without hesitation. "I can move things with my mind…and I know where one is. I saw it when they brought us in."

"Awesome!" Mercury says. "Oh man…I can't wait to be out of here."

"Me three," Surge says.

X smiles slightly, and catches Hellion's eyes. She hopes he doesn't see weakness or fear in her face…because these people need her to lead them right now.

…

Sometime after this:

Everyone looks up as the huge steel door begins to rattle as it slides out of the way, to reveal a group of soldiers, dressed in full combat gear—head to toe—and wearing heavy duty gas masks. The men are wielding cattle prongs; X can see bright blue sparks travelling in between the gaps on the ends of their weapons.

"You!" the man in the front says, pointing at Hellion. "Get up, you piece of shit."

"Out of da way," a female voice says. The men part, and in the space the menacing woman of earlier appears, her broad features set in a scowl. She looks at the boy and her lips tighten, while her eyes sparkle slightly.

In her hand is a syringe.

"You been called to the Office," she says. "Rice wants to talk to you."

"Whatever," Hellion says with a defiant curl of his lip, but his tone wavers, as his eyes fix themselves on the medication.

The woman advances.

"Oh my god," Mercury says softly, but X gives her a look of warning. She knows that the boy has something planned; best to let him call the shots right now.

Now the dark-skinned woman is stabbing the needle into the boy's bare arm. He hisses, but X, who is watching intently, sees the tip of the syringe bend sharply to the side, so that the drug—which, no doubt, is a sedative—never touches him.

Glancing up at his face, the girl sees a strange green light fading from the back of his pupils. It reminds her of the blood of the creatures she'd fought, in the courtyard.

"Awright," the woman says. "Get up, boy!" She kicks Hellion in the side and he makes an ooooph! noise, then scowls at her.

"Do as I say."

With a pointed glance at X, the boy gets to his feet, and allows the woman to force him toward the doorway.

…

"Do you understand why you're here?" Rice's voice is soft, as he looks over his desk at the boy. Not that he is much older than Hellion; perhaps by four or five years. That is where their similarities end, because the former's face is filled with greed and sadistic pleasure, while the latter wears an expression liken to that of a stubborn martyr.

The boy remains silent, his lips pressed together in a line, his neck flexed tightly as if he is swallowing something unpleasant. His faded blue eyes are like brick walls: impassable.

Rice doesn't like this. But he does like breaking people like this.

"Kimura…let's show him, shall we?" he says, off-handedly, to his enormous assistant.

She nods, steps forwards, and grasps both of the boy's wrists with a large, heavy hand…and wrenches.

Hellion says nothing. Muscles jump in his temples as he grits his teeth.

"Come now," Rice says lazily. "That's hardly going to make him think twice."

Kimura nods, and sets to work.

"Ugh!" the boy lets a small gasp slip, as his arm slips out of its shoulder socket with a pop!

"GRRRNK!" as her hand twists his wrist, and it begins to make crackling noises.

"RRRRGH!" as she manipulates his dislocated arm.

"ARRRGH!" She's pulled out a scalpel now.

"AHH!" His cries are getting louder as his face gets bloodier.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" he roars, as she withdraws a smoking, blood-covered cordless drill from his shoulder.

"JESUS CHRIST! PLEASE, STOP! STOP!"

The grill torch pauses in the wound, and Kimura looks up questioningly.

Rice grins. "Sorry, kid, that's not what I want to hear. You know what I'm waiting for."

"FUCK—" Hellion sees the drill coming again.

…

The girl stands with the others, in the metal training room. She'd listened to the faint sounds of his screams until Frost had come and retrieved the rest of the cell's inhabitants, for 'training'. "I don't like what is being done to the boy," she says in a gentle voice. "But it is necessary. You aren't at the school anymore and will have to accept your new environment. Let Hellion be an example to all of you."

"We can't just stand around and let them torture our friend!" Mercury hisses. "We have to do something!"

"What can we do?" the dark-skinned boy asks. "They'll hurt us…or even kill us…if we try to stop it. And they'd kill him, to make a point."

"I think you'd be more concerned if it was her in there, Prodigy," the redhead says, her tone sharp as she nods toward Surge.

"He's right, Mercury," the girl with blue hair speaks up. "Besides…remember his duties to us?" She is talking about the map, but has avoided saying so in case Frost can hear.

X watches the woman in the observation box, as she fiddles with controls on the panels before her. "What are her abilities?" she asks.

"She can read minds," Prodigy says. "And turn into a diamond."

"Read minds?" she echoes, now looking at the boy. Her concerns are apparent.

"Relax. She'll only read what we project. So as long as we're careful about our thoughts when she's near…"

"ALRIGHT, I'VE SET UP THE SIMULATION," Frost's voice echoes loudly through the chamber. "THIS SCENARIO WILL FOCUS ON TEAMWORK, SINCE X-23 IS A NEW ELEMENT FOR THE REST OF YOU…AND YOU ONLY HAVE FIVE DAYS TO PREPARE FOR YOUR MISSION."

"What mission?" Surge demands.

"Beginning simulation," the mechanical ceiling voice says. "In three…two…one…"

X's eyes drift closed.

…

"Alright, kids, we've got our work cut out for us," a familiar voice is saying.

The girl opens her eyes with a small gasp, and looks eagerly at her father. He gives her a small smile, then his vision shifts, and she too looks around. Standing on either side and slightly behind are her cellmates, including Hellion, who looks unhurt—despite his hoarse yelling of few moments ago—and determined.

Everyone but herself is dressed in black leather uniforms, with yellow combat gear like straps, harnesses, eye shields, gloves and heavy lace-up boots. In contrast, X is suited in the skirt with ribbons, as if she doesn't need the extra protection.

"The enemy's attacking in force," her father says. "Lucky for you, they're stupid enough to think that God's on their side." He grins. "They haven't seemed to realize the big man in the sky don't give two shits about any of us."

The man pauses, surveying his troop. "You'll be fighting Purifiers today….religious fanatics who think you have dirty blood, because you're different. It's up to you to show who's superior. But remember…your ultimate goal is the map."

X's eyes widen.

"That's in the enemy's base camp. You'll need to fight your way across the field, and probably fight the General, too, before you can get it." Her father surveys them. "Ready, guys?"

"Let's get to it," Hellion says, on her right. She glanced at him, and sees the determination in his faded blue eyes, the stubborn set of his mouth, the slight wrinkling to his nose. He's going to get revenge for something.

She has a brief knowledge—like a memory—of the sound of his tortured cries; and then it is gone, and she wonders again who he's trying to get revenge on.

"Good luck, kids!" Her father slides out of view.

Now they are walking, marching forward onto the battlefield, joined by their purpose, their mission. Before them is a sea of bodies, a nearly solid, white mass of enemies that are wielding firearms and other weaponry.

All aimed at them.

With a roll of what sounds like thunder, triggers are pulled, and bullets fly. The air in front of them ripples slightly, and the ammunition never reaches them; it halts in midair.

Turning her head slightly, the girl sees that Hellion's eyes are lit from within, a brilliant green color. His expression is now livid, and silently states: people are going to die. The shrapnel turns tail and explodes outward, back to its origin.

A faintly blue blur passes X, and she sees that the others have taken this as their cue to dive into the battle. She charges forward, reaching to her back for the handle of the katana; her heart is pounding in her ears. She feels a kind of rush, as if she enjoys this, as if she is filled with the energy of the fight.

X whirls the blade in a wide circle over her head, then brings it scything down on the white mass surrounding her. A splash of warm blood rains on her face; she twirls the sword and jabs backwards, catching a man who had sought to shoot her point-blank in the back. Then her katana is in the throat of the woman on her right; sweeping through the legs of the man on the left; swinging down to split the head of the large, bulky person in front of her.

Her opponents become blurred, distorted; they no longer have genders, or faces, or religion, or even a name. They are just a writhing mass of material for her blade to carve, as if she is a divine sculpting artist of flesh.

"X!" screams Mercury, from several yards away. She finishes introducing her katana into her opponent's stomach, then yanks it out, and runs toward her companion, who is stumbling backward, confronted with an enormous…robot?

"TARGETS ACQUIRED!" it informs them, in a many-toned, mechanical voice.

"Oh shit!" Mercury says. "I think it's a—"

"Why the HELL is there a pink robot here?" Hellion butts in rudely.

X glances at the boy. He is breathing hard and similarly splattered in blood, but does not appear wounded; his eyes seem, somehow, to be more alive.

"Never mind how it got here…let's just destroy it," she says.

The boy glances at her. "I like the way you think," he comments. Then all three of them are pelting the pink chassis, using various attacks.

CHINK! CHINK! CHINK! as X's katana rams into the robot's side, drawing a trail of sparks on impact, but not penetrating. She makes a high-pitched, rolling noise of frustration, then throws her katana aside.

"We're not affecting it!" Hellion yells.

X stares up at the robot, her dark hair swirling around her pale face like a cloud. Her features are set, fixed in seriousness; she's trying to remember.

Then she does.

They can cut through anything…and trust me, it's going to come up.

Uncertainly she looks down at her hands. Before her eyes, a picture flashes briefly; a memory, faraway and distant, where it can't touch her. A face so like her own, the mouth open slightly as blood forms bubbles at the corners, her eyes wide, and not comprehending.

Shaking her head slightly, she spreads her fingers.

SNIKT!

"Move back," she tells the others.

SHLUNK! as the blades between her digits slide into to unyielding body of her opponent like it's skin is made of butter. Exerting gentle pressure upward, she hears grating and sparking noises as she cuts through various components inside.

"Cut it to pieces, X!" Hellion yells, from a few feet away. That is all the encouragement she needs. She brings her other hand smashing into the midsection, and there is a huge explosion of bright white light.

"It's down!" Mercury says. "Come on—the tent's that way." She points ahead of her; X withdraws her claws and re-shoulders her Katana, feeling—in some way—vindicated, as if she is doing what she was born to do. She follows the others, her green eyes very vividly alive.

After about five minutes of on-and-off running and battling, the group sees a large tent.

"How do we do this?" Mercury asks.

"I think…I think we just doit!" X says, reaching back and pulling her sword out. "We charge them…take them by surprise…Hellion, you get the map. We'll storm the general."

Inside the tent, the General looks up sharply, as the edge of a blade rips through the fabric at the door. He reaches out and grabs the edge of the map on the table in a hurried manner, his eyes bulging.

Shrrrrrip!

X pushes the useless cloth out of her way and meets the man's eyes. Behind her, Hellion gasps.

"That's William Stryker!" he shouts, after a moment. "He—he killed my friends! My best friend!"

"Well," X says, her eyes still on those of General Stryker's. "Now we kill him back."

"You can try!" the man snarls.

"No," the girl replies, her Katana covering half of her face as she holds it up. "I will."

"Take that map away! Don't let her get it!" the General shouts, shoving a rolled up tube into the hand of a courier, who turns and runs out of the tent through a door on the other side. "No! Go after him!" X shouts, as Stryker begins to charge, a hunting knife raised in his hand and a savage grin on his face.

Hellion runs out of the tent after the courier; Mercury is fighting Stryker's minions…and now X is in action, every fiber of her being focused on hitting the General with her sword, but he is just as fast as her. Around and around they dance, their blades hitting the tent support poles instead of flesh.

Then the General unexpectedly reaches into his coat, withdraws a pistol, and shoots, catching X in the shoulder. She cries out, but the pain is over before it has begun.

That's your last weapon. No one can stop you, kitten.

X reaches to her side, pulls out her father's revolver, and holds it up at the General's surprised face. Then she depresses the trigger. BANG! Click. BANG! Click. BANG! Click. BANG! Click. BANG! Click. Click. Click…

William Stryker falls backward, light shining out of the horrible mess of his head. X looks at her revolver, realizing she's run out of bullets; just as she's thought that, Hellion reappears at the door to the tent, out of breath. "I couldn't catch him!" he pants.

"I'm finished here," she says, moving toward him. "In what direction did he go?"

"He grabbed onto a plane ladder before I could stop him. I can only carry one unit at once, and I was lifting myself…but I'll fly us there…c'mon."

Moments later, they are ripping through the air at what must be several hundred miles an hour, their hair pushed back flat, their eyes narrowed to slits, their clothes billowing around their frames like kites. X sees the aircraft; a shining bomber plane, in specific a Junkers Ju 88 model. On its sides are painted black circles, with a white cross; and below the flier hangs a rope ladder, at the end of which dangles a solitary figure, dressed in the Purifier robes and hoisting a tube with a strap over his shoulder.

The girl reaches back and withdraws the Katana from its casing. "BRING US IN CLOSE!" she shouts over the wind, struggling to speak around the roar. Her mouth is very dry as Hellion somehow adjusts their trajectory; that ladder is growing close, and she'll need to do two things at once.

"I'm going to cut the ladder…and you're going to drop me," she says, her lips against the boy's ear.

"ARE YOU INSANE?" he shouts back. "WE'RE THOUSANDS OF FEET IN THE AIR! YOU'LL DIE!"

"No, I won't," X says, her green eyes glued to the target. "Nothing can kill me. Be prepared." She repositions the sword in her hand, and reaches out as they near the ladder; with one swift slash, the blade slices cleanly through the rope, and the Purifier lets out a blood-curdling screech as he stumbles backward into nothingness.

"NOW!" she shouts.

"NO!" he insists, looping around. Suddenly they are rushing toward the ground, the force of gravity adding speed to their descent. X blinks away the tears, preparing herself by reaching out; within a few moments, they are level with the falling Purifier, and she has less than half a second, but it is enough. Her hand closes around the strap, and the map is suddenly in her possession.

"I'VE GOT IT!" she screams in triumph.

Beside her, Hellion grins; they meet the ground and skim it by inches, then he lets them go. After a gentle tumble, the girl rights herself and scrambles to her feet, then holds the tube above her head and closes her eyes.

…

"Take him back to his cell," Rice says in disgust, his eyes on the bloody figure sitting on the hard chair, his dark haired head bowed forward so his chin touches his chest, his slowly bruising eyes held shut.

"Are you sure?" the woman standing behind this boy asks. "I could cut something off." Chock! as she slams the blade of a large knife into the wooden post of the chair. "Something small, to start. Token. A finger…or…"

She licks her teeth, and Rice laughs. "While I admire your bloodlust, Kimura…not today. I'm a generous man…and I'm going to give him time to think this over." A menacing pause. "I'm sure he'll make the right choice, won't you, kid?" His voice is entirely serious now, his eyes bulging slightly as he leans over his desk.

Hellion doesn't respond. Rice grins and gives a nod to Kimura, then heads around his desk to the door; she bends down and begins to roughly yank at the straps tying the boy to the chair. She doesn't notice the slight glow his pupils, or hear—amongst the ripping of straps—the slight shrrrip sound, as the map on the wall of Rice's office detaches, and zooms toward him, then disappears down the front of his shirt.

"Come on!" the woman hisses, grabbing Hellion by his injured arm and dragging him to his feet. "You got lucky this time, boy…but don't tempt me!"

He doesn't answer, just licks the blood off his lip.

…

X opens her eyes, to see that everyone is staring at her again. She looks down to her hand; the map is not there. She feels a momentary swell of panic, and swallows, then

her eyes raise to the observation booth.

Frost's icy blue eyes are glued on her, and her alone.

"WELL DONE," her voice comes again, echoing in the room. "X, YOU ARE MAGNIFICENT. A WELL-OILED MACHINE. YOUR TEAMMATES, HOWEVER…" a pause. "THEY NEED TO LEARN TO BETTER WORK AROUND YOU. YOU ARE THE STAR, AND THEY ARE THERE TO MAKE THE EXERCISE EASIER FOR YOU."

X looks around slowly. The other kids have expressions of horror, curiosity, confusion…and anger.

"I'm NEVER going to get good at killing, Frost!" Surge shouts.

"YOU WILL NEED TO IMPROVE QUICKLY IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE," Frost replies coolly. "YOU HAVE BEEN ASSIGNED A MISSION IN FIVE DAYS TIME…AND YOUR CLIENT IS THE KINGPIN."

Gasps. The others stare at the woman with wide eyes; X fails to understand who the Kingpin is. Judging from the reactions of the others, however, he is not someone to be trifled with.

The doors open, and the soldiers enter the room, holding their cattle prongs high.

…

"HELLION!" Mercury screams, breaking free of the soldier's grip as they enter the cell, and see the boy curled up on his side, in the corner. He's bleeding heavily from many perforations and holes in his skin; he's got multiple lumps and swellings, including his eyes, which are only open to slits. It is painfully obvious that he has been brutally beaten.

"What did they do to you?" she demands, kneeling by his side. X approaches slowly, cautiously, her wide green eyes asking a question.

For a moment, she doesn't think the boy even recognizes her.

Then, his head moves. Up and down, very slowly. Yes.

He has the map.

X relaxes slightly, and she lifts her head higher.

The door rattles as it shuts behind the troop of soldiers, and Hellion sits up slowly, the metal girl beside him protesting, but he ignores her. His hand goes to the waistband of his ragged pants, and as he pulls his shirt out of the way, the map is revealed.

He pulls this out and holds it up toward her. "Get us oudda here," he says, between his swollen and split lips.

X nods, reaching out. Her fingers close around the paper. She makes a fist with her other hand, and—SNIKT!—the claws burst out, from between her knuckles, reflecting the sterile white light of the cell. Everyone takes an involuntary step back, except for Hellion, who watches her with swollen eyes; and she realizes he's not afraid of what she will do, because he is already in a lot of pain. More wouldn't matter.

She kneels, and begins to cut one of the tiles out of the floor. After this she gently pries it up with a claw, then scrapes a small space in the cement underneath in which to store items. A few moments later, she slips the paper in the gap, and replaces the square.

"One down," she says.