The New Mutants

Demon Bear

Running down the hall, we haled ass all the way down to Dr. Reyes' office to see if Rahne was able to get Dani out of the secret room. 

Thankfully the doors to the office were already open and I followed Sam through, and I immediately saw Rahne and Dani. Relief flooded my body and I felt like I was able to relax a bit, but it didn't last long. I saw that Dani was practically slumped in the chair and gasping and Rahne running her hands through her hair. 

"What the hell is going on?" Berto asked, "Where's Dr. Reyes?"

"She tried to kill Dani." Rahne said, walking over to Berto's side. "What?" Sam asked in disbelief. 

"I knew something was off about Dr. Reyes." I said, darkly and walked over to Dani. "Are you okay, Dani?" I asked, grabbing her hand and shoulder closest to me and giving it a squeeze. 

Dr. Reyes always gave me some dark vibes, but murdering a minor who's supposedly her patient? That went even beyond what I thought she was capable of.

"I'll be okay." She breathed out and tried to nod. "Just try to stay calm and don't move too quick, okay? Hopefully whatever she gave you will leave your system soon and we don't want you to fall down when you're not at a 100%." I said gently. Dani blinked slowly and gave an even slower nod. 

My heart clenched nerves. God, I hope Dani was okay and nothing too dangerous was injected before Rahne was able to get there. 

"That test? It wasn't a test." Rahne exclaimed. "She tried to kill her."

"My file." Illyana said from over in the opposite side of the room, my attention going to her now. She stood up with a red folder in her hands. "Patient reviles authority, but her fragmented psyche and base hatred for humans makes her a prime candidate for the program."

She walked over to stand between Rahne and Berto, eyes never straying from the papers in front of her, "Conclusion...a killer with limitless potential." Illyana said, looking up with tears in her eyes. "Recommended continued investment." 

She hit Berto with her file and stomped over to the chair by Dr. Reyes' desk and brought Lockheed to her chest. 

"The program?" I asked, walked over to Berto who opened up the file and all four of us were reading it with disbelief. Every word that Illyana was saying was printed on the first page in black and white, making it impossible to deny that maybe the words were wrong, or she read them incorrectly. 

Berto closed the file as we were done with it and saw the front of it, "Essex Corporation." 

"That must've been the place I saw." Dani said, her voice sounding a bit clearer though still breathy. "She wasn't prepping us to be X-Men." Rahne added, "She was prepping us to be killers." 

A chill ran down my spine. 

I wasn't a killer. What I did before was an accident, but this Essex Corporation only saw the potential of what I could do for them. 

"We don't have much time." Dani said, getting up from her chair a bit shaky but overall better than I thought she would've. "Reyes wants me dead and it won't be long before she comes back to finish the job." She stood in front of us with a determined look. 

"How? This place was designed to keep us inside." Berto asked, "All our powers, it won't work. It's useless." 

Okay, Debby downer Berto. Not exactly helping. 

"No, it isn't." Dani said, looking at Rahne. "We got each other out of our cages. We can get out of this." 

"That's all well and good." Sam said, breaking up the moment Dani put us in and took a step towards us from his spot by the drawers. "But she's still got force fields around the building. The windows...everything. How're you going to get past that?" Sam asked, looking in Dani's eyes.