Check || Your Move

Overview: Shortly after the first encounter with the genetically altered humans, the X-Men take the captured leader to the X-Mansion for questioning, where her stall tactics fail to keep the X-Men from learning her secrets.

The Main Characters:
Dawn - Font color: Deep Sky Blue
Silver - Font color: Yellow
Tabitha - Font color: White
Gabrielle - Font color: Dark Pink
Renegade General - Font color: Tomato Emily - Font color: Navy Blue Victor - Font color: Green

Hardly an hour had passed since the brutal street brawl in the city alleyway had ended and the X-Jet had safely returned those mutants who triumphed to the manor. The street itself was left in ruin – splintering pavement and fractured edifice walls were lingering testaments to the efforts of a handful of mutants against a sizeable, unsanctioned band of renegade human experimentals. The metropolitan area would likely never know of what had been accomplished by the mutants there that morning; however an unnatural force seemed to acknowledge their staggering endeavors and a gleam of morning sunlight marbled the sky, leading their heavy hearts home.

Whether the ship had been guided by Que or simply autopilot, Dawn hadn’t paid attention – her steely gaze never left the malevolent general whom she had tossed quite violently (of her own volition) into the intermediate holding cell in the back of the ship. Dawn’s lithe frame was centered in the doorway, making her the only being the woman could really look at other than the metallic walls that encircled her. The sunlight from the ship’s front-most windows silhouetted her shape, magnifying the fact that her entire physical composure was wilting slightly from exhaustion. However, her gaze signaled to the opposition growling on the floor only a few feet in front of her that, if pressed, she held no scruples (and had the means) to finish her off.

At least, for intimidation’s sake, Dawn made that idea apparent.

Now, in the brig, Dawn slowly sank into a large leather office chair, facing the cell which now held the woman who had been in charge at the street scene. The room itself was still powering itself up (being that the generators were dust filled and sedentary from lack of use) and the dull whir of energy hummed within the room. Other than that noise, however, the room was silent. Dawn allowed her arms to rest on the sides of her chair, but other than that, she hardly moved for a good minute or two. There before her was another general, of some sort, and Dawn felt a degree of connection with the woman. How many times had Dawn herself fronted a battle? Be that as it may, while the woman was a commander, the military notions were the result of precise martial programming. If there had been any sort of compassion for her troops (let alone her mission), Dawn might have pitied the woman. Might. Instead, she sat there locked in a silent battle of will, tapping her fingernails lightly against the metallic studs at her fingertips. “How do you propose we do this?”

The question hung in the air as Dawn mentally summoned a notepad and a pen to her lap. Crossing one leg over the other, she scratched a few personal notes at the top of the page. There, sitting as business like as she could manage, Dawn’s air might have been quite unnerving – while disheveled, her approach was unwavering and her all-too-professional posture was quite eerie due to her batter physical appearance. Brushing a finger past her eye, Dawn wiped away a slim trace of blood that had been following her facial contours, however the red stream returned only moments later. No matter.

“Never mind. You’re going to start from the beginning. Now.”

Silver hadn't let go of her arm since she'd boarded the X-Jet. For one it would probably have ached a lot more than it did, considering how easily the bone could shift. She could practically feel her bruises growing, she'd been beat up pretty badly before, but never, ever had a bruise like the three that plagued her now, or ever had a broken limb hit with a big stick. But it made it sort of sink in to her, how extremely real and terrifying this all was. How badly the 'real world' with 'real humans' wanted to get rid of them. It made Silver feel horribly, horribly alone, hated, like some dog that had bitten it's owner and was now threatened by the public whenever they got the chance.

However bad (or painful) the situation, Silver could only be glad, for things as simple as no one died. No, that was a -simple- matter, it was an important matter, but she thought of it simply because it only took a snap of the neck, as she'd learnt. Gabrielle, especially, was still alive after that explosion, but Silver could only be worried if she'd recover fully. But this was Gabby, she would, and if she can't, no one can.

She shifted her gaze from her arm to in front of her, she was sitting on one of the metal benches that lined the wall, too afraid trying to strap herself into anything would do more harm or cause more pain. She knew Dawn was at the holding cell, undoubtedly trying to coax the information she needed from the humans' leader. She has mental capabilities, I don't think that should be too hard, she can break into that pretty little head and wrench it out if she needs to. Silver thought, of course, in /her/ state, she could barely shape two kilograms of metal in mid-air. Normally she would've loved to close her eyes and lay back, practising finding the strings and currents of the Earth's natural magnetic field, or following the pattern the X-Jet made by flying through the air so.

This was more annoying than she thought. It would take too much concentrationg to be enjoyable, and now she just felt like sleeping. She thought bitterly, resting her head on the wall.

Shortly after the X-Jet had safe in the garage, the battered blonde had been taken the Medical Bay of the X-Mansion. It was not till nearly an hour later that she stirred, with only the hum of medicinal machinery to greet her. Using her elbows to support her weight, Gabrielle remained motionless as bright blue eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the fluorescent lighting. Though her vision was slightly blurred, Gabrielle could quickly tell that she shared the room with no one.

“Dawn? Que?”

The words resonated in the emptiness of the Med Bay. The smudge-free steel counters and other perfectly positioned, unbothered items throughout the vicinity, suggested that the only other person who had even entered the Bay didn’t stay long - but perhaps just long enough to gently place Gabrielle on a hospital-like bed.

The young woman’s mind was slow to react to her attempts of recalling the final moments of the battle. Flashes of exploding fire hydrants and fallen foes (and friends) melded into one. But one thing stood out in particular… “That damn bomb.” Instantly, Gabrielle knew where the remainder of the X-Team was, “like hell there’s going to be an interrogation without me…” That was enough for the young woman to will herself to animation, for her wounds were now forgotten.

Slender hands ripped off the electrodes that covered her chest and head, and they fell softly onto the bed that had just now became vacant.

Gabrielle’s trek downstairs was swift enough, not even a full minute had passed before the silver door that divided the subbasement hallway from the Brig had been swung open violently. As eyes shifted towards the blonde, she walked definitely in front the prisoner and fluidly grabbed a nearby steel chair and swung it around so that the her lean neck peered over the back of the chair.

To the sergeant's right was Dawn, to the back was Silver, though all had outwards signs of injury, no mistake could be made as to the three's resolve. If the human was wise, she'd be quite afraid of what retaliation the girls were willing to do and were easily capable of.

“Did I miss the beating?”

"Pssh," Lauren scoffed. "Who needs it," she declared, diamond spreading over her entire body again. "But if you two plan on staying up here shooting mutated fish in a barrel, you can count me out," she said, walking towards the edge of the roof. She flashed them a quick smile over her shoulder before she walked off, landing admist the group of humans.

She immediately surveyed the group before they had time to react. Only one human lay motionless on the ground, a diamond shard protruding from his head.

"Hmm.. Should have done better.." she commented just as the group moved in towards her.

Trapped. Caged. Damn, it’s all the same.

Animalian instincts conducted the entirety of thought in the woman that crouched in the center of the holding cell. “Tell you what?” When speaking, her thin lips curled, revealing unusually large and sharp teeth. The curl morphed into a grotesque smile which remained on her face for the remainder of the conversation. While her current position was not one of much power, she did hold knowledge that the little pretties in front of her needed. Yes. And she didn’t have to tell.

Her eyes, dark with an eerie yellow ring, darted from Dawn (who was still seated in front of her) to the blond that had entered. How was she still standing? Shifting her weight from one leg to the next (and trying not to look a little uncomfortable at the thought of a “beating”), she focused on the injured woman. “I’ll tell you one thing” she spat, still smirking slightly, “and that’s that you all were close to death. I could smell it.”

Moving her gaze from Gabrielle to Silver (whom she hadn’t made eye contact with yet), she continued, “I still can. You bleed. You’ve bled. And you will again. Pretty soon, you won’t have any left. None at all.”

Swiping at the energy-formed bars barricading her in the cell, the woman emitted a low growl. “Like I said, I’ll tell you nothing. Nothing more.”

Silver let her gaze drift slowly back down to the caged woman before them, and she studied the one who had just led that horrific attack as Dawn spoke. Gabrielle entered and quickly took her attention, always ready for the fight, even though she looked decidedly knocked about. She almost flashed her a smile, but her gaze was retaken by the human general, and Silver snarled at her words, "We may bleed, but your entire set of troops has been eliminated, by us few here, every single one of them." Hatred flashed in her eyes, how could such a woman be so cruel, lead her men and women to their demise, and show no regret, only still the hate that pulsed through her blood for the mutant-kind.

Still clutching her arm, Silver went eerily calm, her outward expression melted to one of neutrality, and her voice was void of any undertones of emotion,"There has just been a slaughter. You are unaffected by it, and can only still sit there and sneer your empty threats at us. You will tell us everything."

She sat back, and looking as if she hadn't done anything, and had been sitting and watching the entire time, but if you could notice the coldness around her you would know. It was then that Tabitha appeared, and her demeanour quickly warmed up. She smiled as the other girl sat down beside here, and watched as the shadows seamlessly formed a sort of cast. "Thank you, I don't really want to get involved in this." Getting up and smiling at Dawn and Gabrielle, she winked a goodluck, and ignored the woman in the cage. "Thanks again, Tabitha."

A feral sort of growl emitted from Gabrielle as the general’s eyes narrowed in on Silver. With a sudden, violent movement, the blonde lunged at the cell, the force of her actions sent the steel chair she had been sitting in crashing to the floor. And quicker than anyone would be able to see, a slender arm grabbed out for the General’s neck through the energy containment field. If the mere fact that the young woman had the sheer strength to break through that nearly impenetrable barrier didn’t leave the General seriously contemplating her last utterance, the fact that Gabrielle’s remained un-phased by the electrical burns were already beginning to form along her arm. Undoubtedly the General was no stranger to the technology that currently kept her the mutant’s captive, with that came the knowledge that -ordinarily- a similar action by anyone else would’ve resulted in the loss of the limb that had attempted to even graze against the energy barrier.

“You have more threats, you direct them to -me-” Gabrielle growled, tilting her head to the side to ensure eye contact was established with the General. Squeezing the woman’s neck slightly tighter before releasing her hold would hopefully be all the further encouragement that would be needed in order to get some information. There was no further need for physical intimidation now, for her point had been made: not even this cage could protect the General from an angry and invulnerable Gabrielle.

Picking up her earlier discarded seat, the young woman again to her spot to Dawn’s side. Her formally furrowed brow relaxed slightly as she returned to had she had been sitting before anger had swept over Gabrielle in an un-ignorable fashion. “Now that we have some ground rules established, I do think my friend asked you a question that you have yet to answer…”

"Hey, I think we're out of...milk..." Victor blinked in the doorway to the brig, before stepping in, and looking around a little. It seemed that some form of meeting was taking place, most likely about the woman inside of the cell. "Er..." Victor was now in a bad place. He could either leave and wonder what events were taking place currently, or he could pretend to leave and reenter through the heating ducts. "So...if you need...anything from Wal-Mart...I'm gonna go"

As he turned, he broke into a stride that told everyone currently in that room that Victor wanted to get the hell out of there. Now. Once he heard the door close behind him, he vaporised next to a vent. His sublimed body was sucked into the heating duct. It took a while for him to make his way to the brig again this way, but he managed to make it.

Once again he found himself in the same room with the same people. This time, though, he was a fine mist that unless someone was looking particularly close at him nobody would see or notice.

The chair the General was sitting in tilted dangerously backwards as soon as the blonde released the grip she formally held on the older woman’s throat. A gasp emerged from the callous female, though it was unknown if it was for the temporary lack of oxygen, or from fearing that she would be sent into the energy bars that kept her prisoner. The chair, however, steadied, and all four legs of the metal seat eventually returned to the ground. For a moment, the general remained sitting silently, a snarl still tugging on her thin, chapped lips.

Damn, these mutants were strong. Which was a pain in the ass, actually. Had the hundreds of her fallen victims been this determined? Maybe. This powerful? That remained to be seen. Dark eyes scanned the room, as if she was sizing up her opposition. And make no mistake that she was actively taking notes in regards to each mutant. Their apparent powers, their demeanor, anything that could prove useful when she escaped from her god-forsaken cell away from the pathetic beings that held her captive.

Everything the mutants were doing only allowed the General to formulate new ideas on how to defeat them. It was clear that strong bonds lied behind each member of the X-Men, with both of the female leaders evidently protective of their underlings. Such displays of devotion and compassion usually caused the woman to feel physically sick. But now? Now it was empowering, for it allowed the General to plainly see more than one way to execute the demise of them all.

So the General would let them continue their hollow threats, and half-hearted attempts at intimidation. It would be she that left this meeting with the knowledge to destroy her enemies, not the mutants.

Silence was the only gift that she would bestow this day. And she had it in ample supply.

Tabitha rose with Silver and made her way to the door, her boots softly clunking as she crossed the room. "Good luck with the torture. I'll get the shadows to bring a Hillary Duff CD later. That'll make anyone crack." She waved to the two older mutants and let herself out, disappearing into the bright silver hallways that made up the sub-basement of the mansion, heading for the infirmary.

Angry eyes glared at the silently seated General. It was not only her lack of talking that was beginning to test Gabrielle’s patience, but the way the woman had glanced at each of the mutants she was being questioned by. The blonde herself had some limited experience of the training that the militant members of the anti-mutant collation undergo in regards to resist interrogation techniques. They were disciplined well enough to refrain from uttering a single word, even amidst some rather brutal torture that was intended to break the resolve. But it never did. It was well known that some of the new militant recruits often died during their interrogation training, a testament to the sheer determination and loyalty that was either beaten or already instilled into their very core.

In fact, it seemed that the General was doing her very best not only to resist answering Dawn’s questions, but also appeared to be systematically surveying the mutants, obviously attempting to gather information about her captures. “This is no reconnaissance mission, General.” The young woman snapped, quickly directing the older woman’s attention back to her, and away from the other, younger members of the X-Team, “And I wouldn’t stay silent too much longer, if I were you. My friend Dawn here can simply rip the information from your mind, leaving it permanently destroyed and you will remain nothing but a blubbering and hollow shell of a person.” Gabrielle leaned in towards the General, face a mere couple of centimeters from either side of the columns of energy that provided the cage that kept the older woman their captive, and by now the blonde’s glare had turned into an evident smirk, “They didn’t teach you to avoid that in training, did they?”

Victor held his breath. They must not know that he is here. He had been in secret, a covert observer of the proceedings. He felt like a spy, like James Bond, going unnoticed in the deepest bowels of a restricted area, in a place where if he was found he would most likely be destroyed. He laughed silently to himself as he thought of this. He was watching everyone, and none of them could hardly even see- SPLASH.

Aanndd now Victor was in a liquid form, which quickly reformed into his skinny humanoid self. He coughed silently and sat in a chair, crossing one foot over the other knee. He then folded his hands, and looked down, hoping that nobody would notice that he managed to splatter out of seemingly nowhere.

Looking up, he blinked at Gabrielle. Gabby, to him, was always a nice person. Granted that he truly never talked to her, she still seemed nice. And so did Dawn. But the two of them when faced with this enemy were so...Fearsome. He would have to be that fearsome if he would truthfully get involved with the entire X-Men project. The thought made his stomach cringed.

He did take a quick glance to Dawn when Gabrielle mentioned her ability to rip the memories from the general.

Note to self: Don't anger Dawn. Or Gabrielle.

He bit his lower lip and leaned backward, feeling awkward and out of place, but still curious about what would happen to the general and what the blonds were capable of.

Emily hadn't been present at the fight in the city, and she had to admit she was glad she wasn't. When the team had returned all she noticed were the cuts, gashes, bruises, and blood on each person who had fought. However, Emily knew that these injuries didn't stop the X-Men from prevailing.

Emily quietly stepped into the room containing the captured Renegade General. She summoned a chair from the corner and placed it by Victor. Quietly, Emily sat down hoping to find out what had happened. Dawn and Gabrielle seemed to be interrogating the prisoner. Emily could tell from the outside injuries on both their bodies just how bad things had gone. This only made her even more appreciative that she wasn't at the fight. Now, all she could do was wait and see what would happen.

There was momentary look of fear upon the General’s face. It was brief, but it’s appearance nonetheless suggested that she was not all too fond of the idea of having her mind damaged, and her memories scrambled to the point that they would no longer be recognizable. She had heard of such mutant abilities before - powers over the mind… but had never seen them in action until earlier that day. Lifting objects with nothing but mental will alone is one thing… But these mutants were guided by some sort of sense of ethics or X-Men code of conduct or some other guideline that the General herself did not have to abide by. These pathetic excuses for mutant renegade warriors would not dare cross that line.

No, the Sentinel Revitalization Project would be kept secret, locked tightly and deeply inside her mind.

And the X-men? They can all go to hell.

The General began to laugh, it was feigned at first, but it eventually evolved into some sort of sadistic, almost eerie cackle, “You won’t have to wait too much longer, now.”

Emily leaned back in her chair as the final bits of the Renegade General's laugh echoed around the room. She couldn't believe that after the series threats and interrogation that the General still wouldn't reveal the information. Most of all however, Emily couldn't believe the Renegade General would risk becoming a living doll. Emily concluded that it was simply the way of people like her.

And then an idea hit her. Why couldn't Emily simply take the information and then share it with Gabrielle and Dawn? It could be ages before someone decided to take actual action and force the information out of the general. Sooner was much better than later. Emily then rose from her seat. As she walked toward the cage she spoke to the Renegade General.

"You know, I could also 'rip' the information from your simple mind. It would be all too easy to take it from you and then leave you here. Of course, I would have to get permission from Gabby first, but I'm positive she wouldn't mind. Anyway, if you feel the need to change your mind, do so now."

Gabrielle’s face instantly displayed an expression of intrigue as Emily spoke freely towards the General. The young blonde instantly liked the idea. The girl had promise for one, and the fact that the girl’s mastery over mental techniques was (most likely) not nearly as advanced as the Phoenix’s was the primary reason for believing Emily’s suggestion was indeed promising. And the General’s unwillingness to cooperate peacefully had long since eroded away the X-Leader’s own self-placed ethical barriers that had kept the conversation (thus far) on a more civil note.

“Oh, that’s an even better idea. You see, the Phoenix, in all likelihood, could simply slip in and out of your mind without you ever being aware of her presence. But this one…?”Gabrielle motioned towards Emily with a nod of her head, “Is but a mere trainee - whose tactics may not be as surgically precise… It’d be a great deal messier…” The young woman thought for a moment, glancing back and forth between Emily and Dawn before finally reaching a decision. “Do it, Emily. I don’t care how, I don’t care what’s left of her - I pity her for her blind hatred, and for assuming our threats were hollow.”

"Well, if you're sure," Emily mumbled as she glanced at Gabrielle,"I guess I'll do it." Emily positioned herself in front of the Renegade General. With a deep sigh, she placed her hands in front of her and blinked her eyes. She looked into the General's eyes as she thought about what she was about to do.

"Sorry about this..." Emily said to the General before closing her eyes and beginning the probing of the General's mind. It took a while to find what she was looking for and Emily wanted to make things as painful as possible, but once she had locked in on the information she began to take it all. Images of sentinels flashed in Emily's mind. She saw buildings, where she assumed the sentinels were "born." Worst of all though, was when Emily saw the sentinels being unleashed upon the world. Destruction and fighting were developing in Emily's mind as she stole the information from the Renegade General.

Finally, Emily had seen enough. She stopped peering into the General's mind and let her hands fall to her side. All Emily had seen was fresh in her mind and she was prepared to give Gabrielle or Dawn any information they needed.

Emily fell over once she had dropped the connection. A chair was summoned to catch her. She breathed in deeply a few times before she acknowledged Gabby. Slowly spinning around in her chair, Emily faced Gabrielle.

"Allow me to show you," Emily said to Gabrielle. She lifted her hands so that they were positioned around either side of Gabby's head. Like before, she closed her eyes and "opened" her mind. Emily was going to transfer the information to Gabby's mind. Duplicating the information, she began telepathically sending the copy to Gabrielle. The copy of information in Emily's mind was slowly disappearing and making its way to Gabby, so that it was as if Gabrielle had had it all along. This was a much more efficient manner then merely telling Gabrielle, and it ensured that Gabrielle would remember it.

When the transfer was finished, Emily leaned back in her chair once again. Crossing her arms across her chest, she gazed around the room before looking back at Gabrielle.

"That is what I saw."

Gabrielle could feel her pupils dilate as the images of destruction and carnage were transferred psychically from Emily. For a few brief moments only, the young woman remained still, amazingly having the forethought to try commit to memory every detail of the vision that flashed before her. And when it was all said and done, long forgotten fragments of memories that had been discounted now seemed to possess new importance, and seemed to tie in with the vision that the blonde had just witnessed.

“I know this.. Knew of it long ago…” Piercing blue eyes seemed to dart around the room, not really focusing on anything, but obviously signified that Gabrielle was deep in thought. “I heard of the Sentinel program, during my own internment with the military…” (Well, actually Gabrielle snuck around in the more secret parts of the facility since no one could really stop her …) At the time, the whispers around the camp were merely rumors, justified only by the arrival of top scientists and daily, massive shipments of high-grade metal and technological supplies. ‘Building material’, they had called it. Gabrielle laughed softly, wishing she had taken the threat more seriously at that time.

“Not only do they have the older models, but the new ones… Smaller, but twice as fast, twice as strong, and they have some degree of regeneration.” The young woman turned back towards the other X-Men. And though the link between the genetically altered humans and the Sentinel Advanced project had not yet been determined, a plan of action was already formulated. While it hardly verified from Gabrielle’s patented ‘raid the base and kill everyone in sight’ approach, it was restrained in the aspect that the X-Men didn’t know where the Sentinels were manufactured -or just how long it would be before they would face their mechanical foes. Their only saving grace? The hope of surviving the first few wave of Sentinel attacks to rip from /their/ memory the data needed for their demise.

“It appears our battles have only just begun, my friends.”

|X| The Sentinels are coming, it's only a matter of time, now... |X|