Chapter 22: The Lizard, The Octopus & The Mutants
[B.L.A.K.E H.T Lab HQ]
[20 Minutes Prior]
[General POV]
DING!
The elevators came to a stop with a dinging sound, opening up to a wide, white, brightly lit lab — One filled with what Mystique could only assume to be stasis tubes.
"Whoa…" Mystique navigated the rows and rows of stasis tubes, surprised by the sheer number of them. It was quite stunning. And while most were empty, some held actual people.
Mystique saw a grey, fully body armoured person with a single horn coming from his head that resembled Raven of a rhino. She saw who she remembered to be Electro — the scientist turned super villain — he was hooked to a machine that seemed to provide him with sustenance as he powered the building.
"Well, that explains why the place doesn't appear on the power grid — They're using him to power the place." As Mystique walked around, she spotted a sight that froze her to the core. There, on the fifth tube of the left row, caught unconscious in eternal stasis, was the grandfather of mutants.
"Apocalypse…" every hair on her body raised up at the sight. "How did they manage to capture him? How is he even on Earth? Last I knew, he was on the Blue Side of the Moon."
Mystique was beginning to realize that this Lewis Blake is much more dangerous than she had initially predicted. As she forced herself to move, she noticed a stand erected from the ground to the right labeled "Serums & Samples". 'What is this? Lethal Serum? Post-Sentry Samples? Pre-Sentry Samples? Synthetic Sentry Serum? Lucas Vial? Chris Vial? Is he running a blood drive?'
Mystique wasn't sure why, but she chose to take the Synthetic Sentry Serum before continuing.
'Is there a reason you took that Raven?' Wanda asked telepathically.
"It's least likely anyone will miss it," Mystique answered as she walked. "Plus, I have a feeling it will give us the edge we need in the future."
As Raven came to a stop before the tube of her target, she made the motion of checking his vitals.
'He's breathing. He must've already resurrected himself — Yet he stays unconscious for some reason. Wanda, can you teleport him from here?'
'I can, but it will take time to gather the energy,' was her telepathic answer.
"Ok, we first need to —" Mystique made a move to press a button, but before she could, a blaring alarm sounded — And instantaneously, all entrances and exits sealed shut, blocked by impenetrable steel. "What's going on?"
[Intruder Detected. Initiating Shutdown Sequence.]
[Deploying V1 Battle Drones.]
A hole opened up in the ceiling beside her and out came a legion of 10+ drones — armed with angry blasters that didn't look like something Mystique wanted to get hit with.
[Stand By. An Admin Is On The Way.]
[Stand By. An Admin Is On The Way.]
'V1 Battle Drones? An admin?' Mystique thought, heart racing. 'Shoot. Should I escape?'
Looking at the astral form of Wanda to whom only Mystique could see, Raven asked, "How much time do you need to teleport Exodus out of that tube and out of here?"
"At least 5 minutes," Wanda answered, hands already glowing with crimson power. "You'll need to buy me that much."
Nodding in affirmative, Mystique turned to the approaching 10+ drones. "You'll have 4."
Then, transforming her wrists to claws resembling the Beast, shifting her legs into legs resembling the same mutant, Mystique grew leathery, almost bat-like wings from her back, alongside a crimson tail, resembling an old lover of hers. Also, atop of her head, she grew antelope-like horns and her body thickened, hardened and reinforced itself in both muscle and hide, resembling that of a white rhino.
[Mystique Forms Reference Images]:
As she charged at the robotic drones, they fired at her but her reinforced rhino-like hide kept the kinetic blasts from piercing her skin. At best, they left welts and cuts — Nothing serious.
She herself handled a great many of them, taking out 7 with relative ease. They weren't anything serious — They fired consecutively, and with near perfect precision, but against someone like Mystique, who dealt with Sentinels for a living, they were hardly any trouble.
Little did she know these weren't the more advanced and dangerous drones.
'They are adaptive, targeting me from various, more vulnerable angles as the fight progresses,' Mystique realized as she finished her 9th drone with slightly more difficulty than before. 'They're learning and because they're robots, when one learns something they all do. Gah! This is why I hate robots. And where the Hell is Pietro?'
As if summoned by her thoughts, a blur of movement destroyed the remaining 7 drones almost instantaneously, before making a stop dramatically before Raven. "Can you ever do anything yourself, you old hag?"
[Pietro Maximoff Reference Image]:
"Yes, Pietro," Mystique transformed back into her true form, holstering up her gun. "Call the lady with a gun, an 'old hag'? Real smart, boy."
"Would you have preferred the term, 'old swine'?" challenged Pietro, ever irritating.
"I should —" she didn't get to even take the threatening step or finish that sentence.
Why?
Because the elevator dinged and a squadron of automatons with in-built blasters came out — And with them, two scientists: One with eight metallic, almost octopus-like arms, techy and smart; the other seemingly ordinary.
[Dr. Otto Octavius/Doc Oct Reference Images]:
"Well, well, well," said the ordinary one as the duo became surrounded by the 10 automatons. "You certainly aren't the Boss. So, do tell, what are mutants doing in the Restricted Sector?"
Looking in the peripheral vision, Mystique locked eyes with Quicksilver, who nodded. Speeding ahead in answer, Pietro dealt with 5 of the automatons.
Raven even managed to get rid of two more in a shoot out.
Unfortunately, just as Pietro moved to the 8th automaton, the 8 limbed scientist — Otto, by his nametag — sent out a blast at lightspeed — One meant to disarm/weaken fast targets.
It worked almost perfectly, hitting Pietro right in the chest, causing the speedster to hit the wall, creating a dent.
Mystique, abandoning her blaster, transformed into her form from before, charged at the remaining automatons.
'If I can take out the remaining robots, then me and Pietro can double-team Alister Otto,' Mystique thought, knowing Pietro will get out of that hole eventually. 'That's our surest chance out of this place.'
But Mystique barely defeated the automaton, intending go for the last one when a heavy punch sent her flying back by multiple meters, crashing into a tube, causing it to crack upon impact.
THWOOM!
As she came to, Raven got to her feet, strugglingly, she saw that, beside the 8 armed scientist, whose head was hanging in shadows, it was empty. At the spot she first was, was the "normal-looking" scientist, his arm transformed green, muscular and clawed.
[Dr. Connors Reference Images]:
"You must not know who you are infiltrating, young lady," the scientist named "Curt Connors" spoke, transforming into a lizard — A giant one with hardened scales, shrills and spikes, claws and fangs, his lab coat and pants in tatters. "This is BLAKE Labs. There will be order in this lab once more — Even if I have to enforce it. Dr Otto, prepare —!"
FWOOOM!
A metallic arm sent the lizard man flying mid-sentence, forcing him unconscious, temporarily.
"What the hell—?" Raven was stupified.
He walked on 4 of his robotic legs, as if possessed, the one known as "Dr. Otto" had two serums in one free hand and a very unconscious rhino man in another, as well as an unconscious Apocalypse in a third.
Mystique and Quicksilver backed up in shock, too horrified to actually want to fight that… that thing.
Of course it must not want to fight them either as it blew a blast to the roof, leaping and drilling its way away to the surface.
"Guys, quickly before he wakes!" Wanda's voice caused Pietro and Raven to look her way — She was there physically and Exodus was gone. This mission had succeeded and behind her, a crimson portal was shimmering. "Come on!"
[Wanda Maximoff Reference Images]:
Needing no words, Pietro lifted Raven into his arms, bridal style, and together they followed Magneto's daughter into the crimson portal, unaware that a great 45 minutes later, a certain special vehicle would be arriving at the front of the building…
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I apologize for the short and late chapter today. I have been busy but I have not given up on this story. I'll post another soon, thank you XD! Please feel free to comment on how you thought the story went pls and thank you!