Finally a Past
Inside the room, there was perhaps twenty various mutants. More mutants appeared behind Jean and Gambit and edged them into the room. Wolverine was chained to the wall, apparently unconscious. In the middle of the room stood Mr. Sinister.
Jean recoiled in fear. Mr. Sinister was her worst enemy. He'd always wanted her and Scott's DNA, to clone "the perfect mutant." He had already gotten Scott's, but he was still chasing her. She had hoped he would never catch her.
Gambit narrowed his eyes against past memories. Sinister had been a large part of his past, the worst part. He'd once worked for Sinister, and Sinister claimed Gambit had never paid him back. He wasn't about to start now though.
"You know, I couldn't have picked two more perfect X-Men if I'd been given the choice myself." He smiled his toothy grin. "In case you're wondering, no, I did not capture your friend just to lure you here. Wolverine has fascinated me, actually. I have been reading up on him and I believe he will make an excellent candidate for my research." Sinister held up old portfolios from the Canadian government, on the experiments that had previously been performed on Wolverine. His advanced healing factor had aided his chance of survival, and therefore, made him a superior test subject.
Jean glared at Sinister, knowing how much Wolverine resented the fact that people had played god with him. "Research" like Sinister's was inhumane and often deadly. He didn't really care if his subjects lived or died, as long as he got his information.
"However, since you've both decided to join us, you are welcome to stay. In fact, I insist." Mutants approached the X-Men; and Jean and Gambit exchanged looks, preparing for a battle they knew they would lose. < Maybe we should save our strength for later,> Jean whispered into Gambit's mind.
< Non, petite. We fight now an' we fight later. Dere be no savin'. Maybe we get lucky an' get out now.> He didn't sound too optimistic.
< I understand. Raise your shields.> Jean was referring to the psychic shields Gambit had around his mind. She didn't know how he made them, nor did she care at the moment. She only hoped she didn't hurt Wolverine too much. She sent out a gigantic psychic blast, blowing out the minds of any that were unarmed. She hated killing so many people, but it was unavoidable at the minute.
Gambit leapt through the air and landed next to Wolverine. With a flip of his wrist, he sent deadly charged playing cards hurling through the air. They exploded at various spots in the room, releasing the kinetic energy he'd stored in them. Then he touched Wolverine's chains, charging them just enough to explode without seriously hurting Wolverine. Suddenly, something slammed into his side and he turned to fight.
The odds now drastically more towards their favor, Jean sought to find them a way of escape. She knew they'd easily become lost in all the corridors of the compound, so she sought to find an outside wall to break through.
"Not this time, my sweet." Strong arms encircled her and a needle pressed into her neck. With a sigh, Jean collapsed in Sinister's arms.
Gambit saw Jean go down and knew that he could not win without a teammate. But, he couldn't leave Jean behind either. He knew all too well what would happen to her if he did. He scooped Wolverine up onto his back and threw another round of cards.
Suddenly, the building rocked and a hole blasted through the wall, sending debris flying everywhere. Gambit blinked and tried to right himself, but a gust of wind swept him off his feet. After another second, he realized it was carrying him right out of the building. Then he saw Ororo. She looked every inch the angry goddess. She stood in the middle of an electric cloud, sparks and wind flying from her. Her hair whipped about in the storm and her eyes stood out, bright white.
However, Sinister had slipped out of the room with Jean just as Storm entered. Knowing that her moment of surprise was over, Storm had to retreat. Using a hurricane, she picked up her teammates and flew away.
Once a safe distance away, she set them all down and checked on Logan's condition.
"He got Jeanie." Gambit definitely sounded angry. He clenched and unclenched his fist until Storm forced him to sit so she could check his wound. She stopped the blood flow and bandaged the wound, but announced that they needed to go to a hospital.
"We are not leavin' Jeanie dere. Is out of da question."
"Of course we aren't leaving her there, but you need medical attention."
"Ororo, listen ta me. Da longer we leave her dere, da more chance we ain't getting' her out. At least not da same as she was when she went in."
"Cajun's right. We gotta go back."
"Logan!" Storm threw her arms around Wolverine, glad he'd finally awoke from the drugs.
"Hey Stormy." He gave her a tender hug for a minute and then pulled away gently. "We can't leave Jean to scum like that. But first, we need a plan of attack."
"Gambit has an idea."