Evolution: Posthumanity (An X-Universe series)

Krypteia

For Wolfsbane, Magik and Sunspot, it was like coming home. Here they were at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters alongside Thunderbird and Roulette. The school was closed, and legally owned by Emma Frost, but this wasn't a social call. They were here as part of a mission. Tunnels led from Xavier's to the Morlock Tunnels beneath New York City. In theory, it would have been easier to have Magik teleport them to their destination, but the timing had to be perfect. If they arrived too early or too late, things might not work out right. Instead, they had to take the long way.

"Yuck," said Roulette. "I do not want to be in these sewers."

"Try doing it with an enhanced sense of smell," Wolfsbane said.

"I'm glad that isn't one of my enhanced senses," said Thunderbird. "Sight and sound are good enough for me."

"Let's just do this," said Magik.

"I concur," Sunspot added.

"Roulette, you get the locks," Thunderbird said.

Moving to the number pad that kept the door from opening, Roulette began to make guesses. After the first failure, a voice informed her than two subsequent failures would permanently disable the door. The second attempt yielded no results, and the door reminded her about disabling the door, adding that it would also incarcerate the person making the attempt until an authorized person at Xavier's released them. Worried, Roulette summoned a white disc – meant to grant good luck – and grasped it tightly in one hand while the other worked the keypad. This time she was successful and the door slid open.

"Third time's the charm," Roulette said.

"Wolfsbane," said Thunderbird. "I know you hate the smell, but you and I need to scout ahead. If you could go wolf, that'd be great."

"I don't really need to anymore," said Wolfsbane. "My senses are very keen, even in human form. But I'll do as you ask."

For those who were aware, and paying attention, Wolfsbane could be seen passing through what had once been considered to be her normal human form – an unattractive, flat-chested girl with bristly hair. At the end, she became a large, red-furred wolf. People had once tried to classify what kind of wolf she was before realizing that she fit no known breed.

Wasting little time, Wolfsbane ran ahead into the tunnel. Thunderbird followed suit, not only able to keep pace but actually having to slow down. The other Hellions followed behind them, though not nearly as quickly.

"This is tedious," said Magik. "I don't want to walk all the way to Manhattan when we could be there in seconds."

"Ms. Frost had good reason to tell you not to do that," Sunspot said. "If you accidentally teleport us to another time it could ruin everything."

"Why work in teams if we can't combine our powers? Roulette, want to mix and match or would you rather trudge through the sewers?"

"With a little luck," Roulette began. "We'll end up exactly when and where we want to be."

Roulette summoned a white disc and threw it at Magik. At the moment of contact, Magik summoned five of her stepping discs to teleport them to the Morlock Tunnels. They landed right in the midst of several Morlocks. Magik, Wolfsbane, and Sunspot were able to identify a few of them right off. There were Sunder, Caliban, Plague, Leech and Masque. There were also several others they didn't know, but their target was present.

"What have we here," asked Masque. "Five pretty young mutants, perhaps?"

Masque was a hideous creature to behold. He, she or it was horribly deformed and hidden behind a hood. Even that failed to completely hide Masque's features, but that might have been intentional.