Gryphon (Completed)

Chapter 7: Shot Down

The trip didn't last too long, we weren't stopped by anything on the way there. The only thing was... we had to borrow a jet, well, sort of, but it was really easy to take without anyone noticing, so we did.

"How far away are we from the island?" Cat asks.

"About 10 miles out." I reply and turn to Nightwing. He's driving the jet cause no one else can.

"What are you thinking about?" I ask his mouth turns up at the corners in a small smile, but it seems forced.

"I've never actually met this Magneto guy before, so I was just thinking about what's going to happen when we get there." I nod my head in agreement.

"We'll just have to land on the island closest to it, I can fly some of us over there and we can split into two teams, one team goes to the north side of the building and the other to the south side." They all nod and I pair Dick with Leah, and I stay with Cat. Cat sticks a gun in her waistband, I guess it's just in case, but I'm overwhelmed with a feeling of deja vu.

"Did I know you before the cave?" I ask her, and confusion envelops her face.

"No, I've never met you before the cave, I just knew you by reputation." I nod in response and my sword materializes in my hand, the carved metal intricately curving through vines and flowers. The bone handle is cool and smooth in my rough hands.

I feel the ship land and I grab Dick's team and fly to their side, I then return to Cat and we land near a door with no form of security that I can feel. I go through and I'm hit with a multitude of visions that I can barely hold off and when I do I hear a gun click behind me.

"Cat, watch out..." the dart hits me in my shoulder and another in my neck. Good thing it wasn't a real gun, but who, I turn my head slowly and Mystique is standing in the place of Cat. Oh man, no wonder she was Masked. I try to run but my muscles feel slow, like I'm running through water. Another pair of footsteps catches my attention and I see Magneto stroll down the hall in slow motion. A clash of sounds fill my eardrums and Dick runs in the room and tackles Magneto, it's too much and I feel like I'm paralyzed, I can't move except for the slow uneven breathing, but it's starting to wear off.

Dick is pinned to the wall by a piece of metal and I try to move my wings, the serum is almost completely gone from my bloodstream. I jump up and lunge at Magneto who doesn't see me coming and I infect him with h5n1, Avian Influenza. The symptoms take effect immediately and he's brought to his knees in pain and I can feel heat rolling off of him. The metal holding Dick falls to the ground and I smile at him.

A gun cocks by my head. "Heal him, now, or this time I make sure you stay dead." Mystique's voice breathes into my ear and I quickly unsheathe my sword and knock the gun out of her hand.

"Please don't, I don't want to hurt you so please don't make me." She stares at me, mouth agape and I turn to walk towards Dick. A pain like fire spreads from my knees to my thighs and a strangled scream escapes my lips, like it wasn't sure if it wanted to come out or not. Nightwing is, again, held to the the wall by a piece of metal that is almost cutting into his throat. I am unable to walk, so how would I be able to escape without backup... the earpiece. I reach for it quickly and call in to Analise.

"We need you to come pick us up, quick."

"Where are you?"

"North-east side of the building, watch out, Mystique was pretending to be Cat."

"Alright, will do."

Static answers my silence and the earpiece is ripped out of my ear by an invisible force. Magneto and Mystique stand smiling with victory as our earpieces float tauntingly farther than either of us can reach. All the while my leg is bleeding from the bullet but it doesn't seem too bad. I try to move, but all that causes is pain, more bleeding, and weird, guttural noises to come out of my mouth.

"I don't think these will help you, my dear." Magneto says and crushes the earpieces with his powers. I look back down at my wound and my head becomes dizzy at the sight of my bone. It looks like splinters and hurts less than my death, but more than anything other than that. The sound of the bullet had never even reached my ears, but the second one registers just fine. It tears cleanly through my upper arm, but it doesn't come out the other side and I can feel it digging into my muscle. My vision wanes and flickers but I try to keep from blacking out. Someone's name is called out from the background. It's mine, and Dick is the one yelling it, until Mystique hit the back of his head with the but of her gun. It hurts to stay awake and one of the last things I see is Leah running into the room and breaking the metal that's holding Dick and I feel the room closing in.