Nervously, Stacey looked at Ben as they stood in the lift surrounded by five soldiers. It had only been a few minutes since they had witnessed Shifter been killed in cold blood by Lieutenant Watts. They had been led away by him and a small squad of soldiers and forced into a lift that was now slowly taking them to the top floor where Dr Young was waiting for them. As the lift crawled up to the third floor, Stacey and Ben looked at each other.
'Ben,' Stacey whispered, 'are you all right?'
'Shut up, you green-skinned freak,' Lieutenant Watts yelled.
Stacey had almost forgotten that Shifter's killer was in the lift with them, standing with his back to the doors. He waved his handgun at her to emphasise his point.
'See this gun? Say anything else to your boyfriend,' He said as he held the gun against her chest, 'I'll kill both of you if you try anything or say another word, so don't piss me off, you green-skinned bitch!'
Stacey clenched her hands tightly, thinking about him shooting Shifter in cold blood. She realised he would have no problem killing her or Ben. The lift came to a halt as it reached the third floor, the doors sliding open and Watts stepping out backwards, facing them and the soldiers flanking them.
'Okay, men, listen up!' Watts ordered, his gun still pointing at Ben and Stacey, 'Dr Young wants these two freaks alive and unharmed, but if either of them try anything funny, you are authorised to use extreme force, do I make myself clear?'
'Sir, yes, sir!' they all shouted in unison.
'Good. Now let's get these freaks to Dr Young,' he said smiling.
Stacey felt a soldier putting his hands on her back and pushing her, sending her flying out of the lift. As she stumbled, she turned towards Ben as another soldier struck his face with the butt of his rifle. He didn't do anything as blood poured down his face, just stared at the young man,
'Stop that, soldier,' Watts ordered, 'Dr Young wants him undamaged.'
The soldier looked at Watts, stopping immediately and saluting.
'You two,' Watts growled at two soldiers who were still standing in the lift, 'Take Fox and that green-skinned freak into Dr Young's office, try to patch him up.'
Saluting, they stepped over to Ben who was now sat on the floor, his face covered in blood,
'All right,' one of them barked, 'on your feet.'
Grabbing him under his arms, they carried him down the corridor. Stacey again felt someone's hands on her back, quickly turning her head, she came face to face with a young, black soldier.
'Move it, you bitch!' He said aggressively.
With her hands still handcuffed behind her, Stacey could do nothing. Giving him a hard and cold look, he pushed her along the corridor. Reaching a door, Stacey was pushed inside the room and could see it was different from the rest of the base. At the far side stood an oak desk with a laptop on it and a leather office chair. As the walls in the room were painted red, she knew this wasn't a military installation but Dr Young's private office. Stacey was pushed again, landing on the floor, the young soldier who pushed her rushing back out and locking the door behind him. Ben was sitting by the desk on a small, wooden chair, as Stacey got back on her feet and went over to him.
'Ben, are you all right, babe?' He looked beaten.
'I've failed, Stacey,' she hugged him.
'What do you mean, babe?' She asked softly.
For the first time since he became a mutant, he felt guilty, 'I let Shamus die, I also allowed them to capture you, and God knows what Young plans to do with us.'
'Ben, what happened to Shifter wasn't your fault, it was Watts. He's…'
The sound of someone unlocking the door interrupted her. They watched as the handle slowly turned.
'Whoever comes through that door, be ready,' he said, sounding worried.
'Who do you think it is, Ben?' She asked softly.
'I sense Dr Young and a few soldiers are with her. There is someone else but I can't tell who it is.'
Staring at the half-open door, fear ran through their bodies.
Stacey and Ben were terrified as Dr Young stepped into the with several heavily armed soldiers. She glared at Ben and gave Stacey an evil look as she made her way towards the chair behind her desk. The soldiers marched to the far wall and lined up with their guns at the ready.
'Hello, Stacey,' Dr Young hissed as she sat down on the leather chair, 'How nice to see you again.'
Stacey gave her a cold stare clenching her teeth.
'You probably want to know what I have in mind for you.' Dr Young sneered malevolently.
Stacey continued to glare at her, slamming her hand down on the desk. 'Why are you so interested in ruining my life?' She demanded, 'Can't you see that us mutants only want to live in peace?'
The soldiers pointed their guns at her and cocked their guns in response to her outburst, but Dr Young raised her hand and ordered them to stand down.
'My dear, Stacey,' she said mockingly, 'You, Ben, and the rest of the mutants are worth far too much to us to just let you go like that. As I said before, the military needs super soldiers to help us win wars.'
'Is that all we are to you ? Nothing but cannon fodder?'
'As your boyfriend has more than likely told you, some mutants are hardier than others. Take you, for example, you have a super healing factor that lets your body heal wounds that could be fatal to a normal human. Imagine, Stacey, the lives that could be saved in war thanks to people like you.'
Ben looked daggers at Dr Young, 'You're nothing but a monster, Dr Falsehood! Advertising an opportunity to young people, only for them to be experimented on and used by the British and American governments for warfare.'
Dr Young leapt out of her chair and slapped his face. 'Too many innocent people die in warfare. Too many precious troops are being killed on the battlefield. This is my answer to our problem!'
Stacey stayed silent, brooding over how Ben blamed himself over Shifter's death. The once strong, young mutant she had known was now a shadow of his former self. Turning her attention to Dr Young, she stood and glowered at her, her eyes full of rage,/
'What do you intend to do with us now, Doctor?'
'Isn't it obvious, my dear? I intend to hand you over to the British military.'
'And what about Ben, where is he going?'
'Ben is staying here at the base.'
Ben started laughing aloud.
'What's so funny, freak?' One of the soldiers asked as he held his rifle up to Ben's head.
'No one is going anywhere, Young.' Ben said defiantly.
'And why is that, Ben?' She questioned derisively.
'Because the cavalry are on their way. That's why!'
Suddenly, the room was filled with blue smoke. Emerging from the smoke came Frostbite, Mist, Powerhouse, Violet, and Flamethrower. Dr Young's face dropped as she turned to face Ben.
'You dirty, rotten bastard,' she raged 'You planned this all along, didn't you?'
Ben smiled at her, 'Not just me, Doctor. I had a little help from a friend of mine.'
Dr Young looked at the soldiers, 'What are you waiting for? Open fire!' She screamed as she ran out of the room.
Frostbite looked at the soldiers as he stretched out his hands and released an icy blast, freezing them all before they had a chance to shoot.
'You're late as usual, what kept you?' Ben joked.
Frostbite smiled as he touched Ben's handcuffs, freezing them, Ben broke them off his wrists, letting them shatter to the floor. Frostbite did the same to Stacey's, as soon as he had he turned to Ben.
'Where's Shifter, Ben?' He asked.
'I'm afraid Shifter won't be joining us. He's dead.'
'How? Who killed him?' Mist asked, raising one of her handguns.
Watts shot him, there was nothing that Stacey or I could do.'
Frostbite looked at his friend, 'Ben, I know you have done your best for us all, but I think it's now time for revenge.'
'I agree with you on this one, Frostbite, but let's not forget that we have two targets now, Dr Young and Lt Watts.'
'What are your orders, Ben?' Violet asked..
Ben turned towards the purple skinned woman and smiled, 'Normally, I wouldn't say this, but we need to kill Young and Watts before they can do anymore harm or damage.'
'Stacey,' he said softly, 'Are you with me on this one?'
Stacey looked at him then at the frozen bodies of the soldiers in the corner of the room.
'Yes, Ben, I'm with you.'