The sounds of chaos surrounded Bobby Drake, each echoing shout and crash ricocheting through the cold, concrete walls of the prison. He stood frozen just outside his cell, his wide eyes darting between the two men who had burst into his world with promises of escape. He didn't know who they were or where they came from, but he knew they were Mutants just like him.
They had introduced themselves as Angel and Cyclops, but Bobby barely had time to process the names before the shouting of guards and stomping of boots growing closer focused his mind on the present. instinctively, Bobby pressed himself against the wall, his heart pounding as he looked in the same direction as Cyclops and Angel to see prison guards rushing toward them.
The only thought on Bobby's mind was, 'What have I gotten myself into?'
Yet while Bobby panicked, Angel and Cyclops did not.
The former stepped forward, his massive, feathery white wings spreading out wide, the movement making Bobby flinch as the feathered appendages revealed their true size. Angel's posture was confident, even defiant yet Bobby noticed for the slightest moment, that the fists by Angel's side clenched and unclenched. It reminded Bobby of him when he was younger, trying to gather up the courage to jump into the pool for the first time, nervous and yet excited about what would happen next.
Bobby then turned to Cyclops who stood beside him, curious to see how he reacted to the idea of facing the guards. His face was mostly obscured by a face mask that covered everything below his nose, but his body language radiated serenity. He was not nervous or excited, he was calm and relaxed, his stance steady and his movements deliberate as he adjusted the gloves on his hands. The only thing visible, his eyes were focused and sharp, a flash of red appearing in them that made Bobby nervous.
The guards opened the door to their cell block, shouting orders as they poured in to block the trio from any attempt at escape. Some were armed with batons and tasters, others with rifles.
It was then that all hell broke loose.
Bars keeping prisoners in their cells opened and there was a momentary pause before prisoners surged out, their eyes gleaming with malicious glee as they cheered viciously. Bobby felt his heart freeze, but his two fellow Mutants did not as Angel's wing flapped, the wind stalled a few prisoners who came at them. He then launched himself into the fray, Bobby's jaw dropping as he watched Angel use his wings like battering rams.
One prisoner lunged at him, but Angel ducked underneath the strike awkwardly and threw an uppercut that caught the prisoner on the underside of his chin. He stumbled back stunned, but Angel wasn't quick enough to block another who rushed him from the side. The baton he had taken from a guard struck Angel's shoulder, staggering the Mutant who let out a hiss of pain. Yet his wings swung out, smacking the prisoner into the wall who slumped down unconscious. It was then that Angel leapt into the air and came down on the first prisoner with a double-footed stomp that sent him skidding across the floor.
Bobby winced, keeping his position by the entrance to his cell as he watched the events unfold. 'Is this his first fight?' Bobby wondered to him as he watched Angel fight against the prisoners and guards. He had never been in a fight himself, but Bobby just looked to be swinging wildly at times, almost being reactive and wild. There were moments when he seemed to know what he was doing, but largely he seemed to just be lost in the heat of the moment.
It was then that Bobby turned to Cyclops once more.
When he did, he felt his eyes widen in shock as he looked upon the bodies strewn across the floor, some dangling over the railing, each and every one of them was unconscious. The prisoners who had attempted to come at them from behind were all unconscious, some with broken bones from what Bobby could see.
As for Cyclops, he was walking toward him.
He stepped over the bodies without pause, his left hand upon his right shoulder as he rolled the joint around, right arm outstretched. Bobby couldn't really believe what he was seeing as Cyclops walked past, Angel jumping over the railing to the bottom floor leaving Cyclops to move on the guards that had regrouped.
It had only been a matter of seconds, possibly a minute at most in which Bobby had been watching Angel fight. Yet in that time, Cyclops had handled over a dozen prisoners without so much as a scratch to show for it. As he walked toward the guards, not a break in his stride, Bobby imagined he was about to witness the same thing again.
His movements, just as Bobby had expected, were nothing like Angel's.
He was sharp and efficient, striking with an ease that bordered on graceful and yet powerful.
A guard swung a baton at him, but Cyclops sidestepped smoothly as his arm grabbed the man's wrist. With nought but a twist, he flipped the man over while simultaneously grabbing the baton with his other hand, pulling it free. As the guard landed, Cyclops struck him across the face with a baton before his eyes flashed red. The beam of energy shot out fast and with precision, striking the raised rifle from another guard's hands. He followed the beam, leaping forward to close the distance, driving a knee into the guard's stomach, grabbing his collar with his free hand while swinging his baton into the face of a guard to the side.
Cyclops spun, throwing the guard he had in one hand to the guard he had struck with the baton, the two crumpling to the ground. As more guards approached Cyclops threw the baton at the lead striking him in the head and sending him stumbling. It disrupted the guard's momentum, staggering those behind him allowing Cyclops to close the distance easily.
'What the fuck?' Bobby could only stare in complete shock
Cyclops didn't stop moving, his strikes were precise, each one timed perfectly to counter his opponents' attacks. He alternated between grappling, striking, and using his blasts of energy, seamlessly switching between techniques as though it were second nature. The few prisoners who had recovered from their fight with the guards and joined the fray quickly regretted their decision. One swung a metal pipe at Cyclops, only to find himself disarmed and on the ground in seconds with a broken jaw and nose. Another tried to tackle him from behind, but Cyclops twisted just in time, using the man's momentum to throw him into a wall, his face leaving a bloody imprint as he slumped down to the ground.
"Angel, focus!" Cyclops barked, his voice sharp but controlled.
Angel gritted his teeth as he swung his wings again, knocking two guards to the floor. But Bobby could see it, the difference between them was night and day. Angel fought like someone desperate to prove himself, while Cyclops fought like someone who'd done this a thousand times before.
Bobby's hands trembled as he pressed himself further into the wall, the sound of his own breathing loud in his ears. The chaos was overwhelming, the shouting, the crashing, the flashes of red light, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from Cyclops.
'How does he do that?' Bobby thought, his chest tightening. 'He's so…in control. Is that what it means to be a mutant? To fight like that?'
A sudden yell snapped him out of his thoughts as he turned to see that a guard had managed to grab Angel from behind, pinning his wings awkwardly against his back. "Cyclops!" Angel shouted, struggling to break free.
Cyclops turned immediately, his eyes flaring red as a precise optic blast struck the guard square in the side, sending him flying backwards. Angel stumbled forward, regaining his balance just in time to deflect another attack with his wings.
"Keep moving," Cyclops ordered, his voice cutting through the chaos as he finished off the last of the guards in his path. "We don't have time for mistakes."
Angel nodded, his expression frustrated but determined as he took the air, landing on the first-floor walkway just behind Cyclops. "Hey, kid!" Angel called as he looked back to Bobby. "You might want to stick close unless you want to get trampled."Bobby swallowed hard, his legs feeling like jelly as he stepped away from the wall, moving hesitantly toward Angel.
-X-
The radio, stolen from a guard, on Cyclops's belt crackled to life, the voice on the other end frantic.
"The mob outside—they've breached the gates! Repeat, the gates are open! They're coming in!"
Bobby's blood ran cold, he and Angel both looked to Cyclops, who remained entirely impassive and calm at this development. "What do we do now?" Angel asked nervously, wings twitching.
Cyclops didn't hesitate. "We stick to the plan. Get Bobby out of here. You can only fly one of us out at a time. Get Bobby out and I'll remain behind and make my own way out."
"What?!" Angel spun toward him, his voice rising. "You can't be serious. You're expecting me to leave you behind with a group of prisoners, guards and a mutant-hating mob?"
Cyclops turned to face him, his glowing eyes steady. "I've got this. Just do your part." Angel opened his mouth to argue, but Cyclops raised a hand, silencing him. "Get him out of here, Angel. That's an order."
Before Angel could protest further, Cyclops turned and fired a precise blast at the wall beside them. The concrete crumbled under the impact, leaving a jagged opening that led to the outside, the cool night air rushed in, carrying with it the distant shouts of the mob.
"Go," Cyclops said, his voice leaving no room for argument.
Angel clenched his jaw, his hands curling into fists.
Then, without another word, he turned to Bobby and grabbed him by the arms. "Hold on tight," Angel said, his wings spreading wide, Bobby barely having time to register the words before Angel lifted him off the ground as his powerful wings propelled them through the opening and into the night.
-X-
The room fell eerily silent as Cyclops stood alone, the sounds of Angel's departure fading into the distance. He let out a slow breath, his gaze sweeping back toward the cell block. A few unconscious bodies of prisoners and guards were scattered, those that had attempted to get in their path or were simply unfortunately in their way.
He could hear the sounds of the prisoners being suppressed by the arrival of more guards back in the cell block they had just come from. They would soon come this way and not simply just to chase after them, but because he was in the way of them and the angry mob that had broken into the prison. Cyclops was uniquely positioned between the guards and the mob.
He could escape, run away from here and not get involved in this.
But he had no intention of running.
It was time the world received its first message of what happened when a Mutant-hating mob encountered a Mutant. He knew his actions could fan the flames, but Cyclops accepted that because only by fanning the flames could the message of fear be spread. If every time they encountered a mob such as this they ran away, the mobs would continue because they would not understand that Mutants when cornered were dangerous, not truly. Understanding and cooperation were all well and good, but if the consequences were not made clear, then it would never stick.
That was something Cyclops had understood.
It was something Scott agreed with.
He would not run away from mobs like these, he would not cower in the face of them nor would he allow their misguided hatred to see them free of consequences. Scott would fight for Mutant rights and cooperation with humanity, but not if it meant things like these to go unpunished. He had seen enough incidents like these in Cyclops' memories to know that if they got to Bobby then it would very likely result in Bobby's death. Maybe not intentionally but it would develop that way.
So, rolling his shoulders and evening his breathing, Scott prepared himself for what was to come as the faint glow of his eyes grew in intensity.
"Alright," he muttered to himself, his voice low. "Let's finish this."