Impatiently, Stacey sat in a chair in the conference room by the large table waiting for Frostbite to call the meeting. As she was waiting, tapping her long, green nails on the table, she noticed Mist entering the room. Stacey stood up and went over to her
'Hey, Mist. Have you heard anything from Ben and Greena?'
Mist shook her head, 'Like you, Green Girl, I haven't heard anything from either of them in two days.
'I wonder if they've run into trouble?' Stacey asked.
'That could be the reason why Frostbite has called the meeting,' Mist suggested.
Stacey bridled, 'I swear, Mist, if that bitch, Greena, has betrayed Ben, she'll answer to…'
Before she could finish speaking, Frostbite walked in with Violet, Powerhouse, Flamethrower, and Shifter. From his expression, Stacey could tell that he had bad news. Making his way to the end of the table, he ordered them all to sit down. Seeing the rest of the mutants sitting, Stacey and Mist sat down.
As soon as they had all settled, Frostbite spoke, 'Everyone, please listen up. I'm sorry to have to tell you but Ben has been captured by Dr Young and her allies.'
'Captured? What do you mean captured?'
'It's that green-skinned bitch, she's betrayed him, hasn't she?'
Frostbite slammed his hand down on the table. 'That's enough of that, Powerhouse! Greena's on our side and the boss trusts her the same way he trusts us.'
'So how did the boss manage to get himself captured, Frosty?' Shifter asked, 'I mean it's not like him to go down without a fight.'
Frostbite turned towards him, 'I don't know, Shamus, but what I do know is that at the moment, he is in a lab and they are planning to do some research on him.'
'Research? You mean like some sort of twisted experiment?' Stacey asked, frightened.
Frostbite stood up from his chair and went over to her.
'Stacey,' he said in a cold but fair voice, 'I don't know what is happening at the base, but according to Greena, Dr Young and the army want to get their hands on our DNA, and the boss is their first test subject.'
Mist, who had been sitting next to Stacey stood up from her chair, 'So, Frostbite, how are we going to get him out?'
Violet shouted over, 'Can't you teleport us all to the base, Mist? Then we could launch our attack.'
Powerhouse interrupted. 'Didn't you hear, Violet?' He barked, 'The base is an impenetrable fortress. As soon as we go inside, we'll be picked off one by one.'
Mist looked at him and lowered her head, 'So, what do we do now , just wait?'
Shifter slammed his hand onto the table, 'No, we can't wait. We all should honour the boss. If it was one of us, what do you think he would do?'
Frostbite turned and eyed him, 'Do you have a plan, Shamus, or are you just wasting our time?'
Shamus smiled at the taller man, 'Yes, I do have a plan, what if Mist teleports only two of us?'
All the mutants turned towards him and listened carefully to what the little man had to say, 'If we only send two of us we could probably get in there unnoticed. One of us could rescue the boss while the other one shuts that damned security system down.'
Frostbite smiled, 'That sounds like an excellent plan, Shamus, but who should we send?'
'I'll go!' shouted Stacey. Everyone in the room looked at her, their eyes wide in surprise.
'Why are you volunteering to go, Stacey? To get yourself killed?' Violet asked bitterly.
'I volunteered, because unlike the rest of you, I can use stealth and the element of surprise,' she said forcefully, 'And I think Shifter should come with me as he can disguise himself as one of the soldiers on the base.'
Shifter grinned, 'I really like this girl. See, Frosty, I told you that I have quite a following, didn't I?'
Frostbite didn't say anything as he made his way back to the end of the table, sat back down and looked at Stacey, 'Once you and Shifter are in the base, I want you to contact me. Is that clear?'
'Understood, Frostbite.' She replied confidently.
Frostbite turned to Mist, 'Once you have teleported Stacey and Shifter into the base, teleport yourself back here.'
Mist didn't say anything she just saluted him. Again Frostbite addressed Stacey, 'I'm counting on you, Stacey, and you too, Shifter. Once the security system is down, we can make our way into the base and begin our attack.' He paused as he saw Stacey, Mist, and Shifter standing in a circle holding hands, 'Good luck to you both. Be sure to keep in contact with me once you have Ben and when the security system is down.'
'Don't worry, Frostbite, we'll get it done, won't we, Shamus?'
'Oh, yes, lass,' Shifter replied.
Before he or Stacey could say anything else, all three of them disappeared in a puff of blue smoke.
'Godspeed to you all.' Frostbite shouted as he went back to his chair and sat back down.
Ben was restless as he tried to get to sleep. It had been well over two hours since Greena had seen him. As he closed his eyes and rested his head on the pillow, he felt someone else's presence in the lab. Opening his eyes, he spotted a young, female lab assistant by Dr Young's desk. She had long, dark brown hair and was slim with her back turned to him. Ben smiled as an idea came into his mind, what if I could escape using her as my puppet? He closed his eyes and began to concentrate.
At first, the young woman didn't seem to notice anything. Coming over to his bed, she gently pulled the needle from the vein in his arm, and put it in a dish. As she was covering his arm with a cottonwool pad and a piece of micropore tape, she felt a sharp pain inside her head. Stopping for a moment, she raised her hands to her head and screamed in pain. In an instant, it was over, as Ben had complete control over her mind. Opening his eyes, he found her standing in front of him, her face reminiscent of Stacey's as she leant over to him.
'Get these restraints off me.' He ordered as the woman went over to the desk.
By the desk was a small computer console with a row of buttons. In the middle was a large, red button. As the young lab assistant pressed it, the restraints fell away. Ben got to his feet and went over to the desk to the computer. As he was logging on, he became aware of three more mutants somewhere in the base.
Seeing the woman standing behind him, he commanded, 'Wait outside.'
Ben turned his attention back to the computer, which was logged on to the user's screen. He clicked on Dr Young's profile and up popped a password protection screen. Ben smiled to himself. Since reading John Watts' mind, everything had been revealed to him about the base, including computer passwords, security clearance, even entry codes to certain rooms in the base. Concentrating on the task at hand, he began entering Dr Young's password. On pressing the enter key, he was pleased to find that the computer granted him access. As the desktop came up, Ben clicked on the start menu bar. He scrolled over to the documents folder and clicked on it. When the folder opened, he noticed a document titled 'serum'. Interested, he pointed the mouse over it and began to open the document. Once open, Ben started to read and found that not only did it contain the serum's ingredients but also its effects. Pulling a USB drive from his trouser pocket, he gently inserted it into the computer and copied the document. Once he had finished, he deleted Dr Young's copy and shut the computer down. Making his way out of the lab, he found the assistant waiting for him.
'Come on, let's go.' he shouted to the woman.
As they were about to walk away from the lab, he spotted two armed figures coming towards them. Ben stood still, fearful as his control over the lab assistant had drained his power level. Closing his eyes, he waited, expecting the worse. Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from behind the two soldiers, and could sense two mutants approaching. As they made their way behind the soldiers, there was an unexpected silence as both men were knocked to the floor. Opening his eyes, standing next to the unconscious figures were Stacey and Shifter. Seeing her, Ben came running towards her and fell into Stacey's arms.
Ben couldn't believe his luck as he held Stacey in his arms, as they hugged each other, he noticed that she was shaking.
'Is everything all right?' He asked as he let go of her.
As Stacey lowered her head, he could see tears streaming from her dark green eyes., Gently, he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, brushing her tears away.
'Ben, I thought I had lost you.'
'Lost me? What do you mean?'
Shifter came forward to him, 'What the lass means, boss, is we thought that you might be dead.'
Ben looked at the small Irish man and smiled, 'Dr Young wanted me kept alive for her experiments.'
'What about Greena, Ben?' Stacey enquired, 'Did she betray you?'
'Stacey, without her, I would never have got into the base.'
'You really trust her don't you, babe?'
'I do, but not as much as I trust you.'
Stacey noticed the lab assistant, 'Who's your friend, babe?'
'Oh, yeah, I almost forgot about her, I think she is one of Young's assistants.'
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers, as he did, the assistant passed out against the door.
'Is she dead?' Stacey asked, looking at her prone body.
'No.' he reassured her as he walked up to her and put his hand into one of her lab coat's pockets, 'Just out cold.' He said as he turned towards Stacey.
Stacey looked at him puzzled as she noticed that in his left hand he held what looked like a glass vial, inside was a thick, red liquid.
'Is that what I think it is, boss?' Shifter asked as Ben put it in his trouser pocket.
'Yes, Shifter, it's my blood.'
Stacey came up to him and put her hand on his chest.
'Did she take much from you, babe?'
'It was enough so that she could analyse what effect the serum had on me. Look, I think that it would be best if we moved now. Dr Young's more than likely not aware of my escape yet and that's the way I want to keep it for the time being.'
They started to move down the long corridor that connected the lab to the rest of the base, as they were walking Stacey looked back at him.
'Did Dr Young hurt you?'
'No, not at all. Why do you ask?' He said as they passed through an open door and turned left down another corridor.
Stacey gave him a puzzled look, 'It's just that I noticed those marks on your face, babe.' Ben ran his hand across his cheek and felt the marks.
'Dr Young scratched me, Stacey. But it didn't hurt,' he said smiling.
'Which part of the base is the security console located in, boss?'
'We just need to keep going on past this corridor, Shamus it…'
At that moment, they reached a doorway. Inside was a large monitor and a console. The three of them looked at each other in amazement as they stepped inside.
'Now, we all need to be very careful,' Ben advised them as they stepped inside and started to look around,
'What are we looking for, Ben?' Stacey asked, turning towards him, seeing a troubled look in his eyes..
' Greena told me about this place and how to shut it down. We need to find a large, red button.'
Shifter smiled as he turned towards back towards him, 'You mean like that one over there, boss?'
In front of a monitor, sticking out of a console was a large, red button. Beneath it, in huge, red letters was a sign that read 'Do Not Touch'.
'Looks like Greena was right, boss.' Shifter acknowledged.
'So, who would like to do the honours?' Stacey asked as she wrapped her arms around Ben.
'I think that you should be the one to push the button, Stacey.' Ben said, gently holding her arms.
Stacey made her way to the console, feeling her whole body shaking. Ben and Shifter looked on as she took a few careful steps towards the console. As she held out her hand she felt it trembling as she reached out to push the button. Ignoring it, she slammed her hand against the button. For a moment, nothing happened, then as if by magic, the monitors started flickering off. Ben slid his arm around Stacey's shoulders.
'Well done, Stacey,' he said enthusiastically, 'Now, let's contact Frostbite and the rest of Haven.'
Stacey turned and smiled at him as she took his hand, and all three of them left the room laughing and smiling, knowing that in just a few hours the base would be nothing but rubble.
It was mid-morning as Frostbite sat at the table in the meeting room, his arms folded and a worried look on his face, sat either side of him were Mist and Powerhouse, all three of them becoming impatient.
'Hey, Frostbite.' Mist said as she reached for the large jug of water in front of her, 'Do you think Green Girl and Shifter have managed to rescue Ben yet?'
'I don't know, Mist.' he said as he got up from his chair and walked over to the window.
Turning to face her and Powerhouse, his mobile phone in his jacket pocket started ringing loudly,
'Frostbite here.' he said in his heavy, Russian accent.
'Hello, old friend,' said the familiar English voice at the other end, 'I'm sorry if I kept you waiting.'
Mist's and Powerhouse's eyes lit up as they saw the smile spread across Frostbite's face.
'Ben, I take it you have managed to escape ?'
'I have, thanks to Stacey and Shamus,'
'So, were you able to shut down the security system as well?'
'Yes, no worries, Sergei. That's all been taken care of. And I have some more news for you. I have found and copied a list of chemicals that were used in the serum they used on us.'
Frostbite gasped in shock, 'What? Seriously, Ben?'
'Seriously, Frostbite,' he replied as he, Stacey, and Shifter ran into a room containing a range of weaponry.
'Look, Sergei, we can talk about this later, but I want you to immediately assemble all members of Haven and meet us inside the armoury as soon as you can.'
Before Frostbite could reply, the phone went dead.
'So, Ben's out of danger.' Mist said, relieved.
Frostbite looked at her and nodded.
'Powerhouse, Mist, get the rest of the team, we're going hunting!'
They headed out of the room, leaving Frostbite on his own.
***
Inside the armoury, Ben, Stacey, and Shifter were breathing heavily. Shifter turned to Ben, 'That was easy enough wasn't it, boss?'
'If you ask me, it was too easy.' Stacey commented, clearly troubled, 'Ben, aren't you worried that this might be a trap set up by Dr Young?'
'You worry too much, Stacey,' he replied as he made his way towards a heavy locker, 'Thanks to you, we've shut down the base's security system, effectively killing their communications and leaving them vulnerable and helpless. So, how could we possibly be walking into a tr…'
Frozen with fear, he stopped mid-sentence.
'Oh, my God,' he muttered, 'I can sense human soldiers coming this way.'
Stacey glared at him, 'See? I told you it was too easy. Now, what are we going to do?'
'We can always try to fight our way out of here.' Shifter suggested.
'What, fight the whole damned army, Shamus? You must be out of your mind!' Ben said incredulously.
They all froze as footsteps echoed down the corridor outside the armoury, Ben closed his eyes and scanned the minds of the soldiers approaching the door, Stacey grabbed his arm and cuddled up to him, as his eyes flicked open. Ben's breathing quickened as Shifter came closer.
'Well, how many of them are there, boss?' He whispered.
Ben's face was pale with fear, 'Twenty-five, if not more, Shamus.' He replied quietly, trying not to alarm them 'All armed with AK-47s,'
'So, we ended up rescuing you only to be captured ourselves?' Stacey moaned.
Ben tried to sound upbeat, 'Don't worry, Stacey, I have an idea,' as he spoke, the sound of heavy footsteps came from outside the armoury.
'Well, well, well,' said a voice Ben was all too familiar with, 'So,, you did manage to escape.' It boomed as the footsteps grew louder and a figure slowly entered the armoury.
'Watts,' Ben growled, as he came into the armoury a squad of soldiers following behind him.
John looked at the three mutants standing before him and smiled, slowly stepping up to Stacey and putting his hands around her neck. 'So, this is the green-skinned bitch Dr Young had all the trouble with, oh, so long ago.'
'Let her go, Watts.' Ben roared as he clenched his fists.
'Or what?' Watts sneered as he let go of her neck, 'As you can see, Fox, you and your little group are surrounded. Make one wrong move and all three of you are as good as dead.'
Shifter turned to Watts. 'You piece of human filth,' he shouted as he raised his fist, 'You are nothing but a waste, a disease that needs to be…'
Drawing a small handgun from his holster, Watts pressed it against Shifter's chest.
'You scum talk too much!' Watts pulled the trigger.
There was a loud bang as Shifter's body fell to the floor. Ben and Stacey ran over to him, Stacey placing her hand over the wound.
'Babe, is he dead?' She asked as she started sobbing over his body.
Ben nodded, turning to Watts, 'Why did you do that? He wasn't even a threat to you and yet you shot him!'
Watts looked at him and gave him an evil smile, 'You freaks should know your place in this world, Fox. You were created to be used in warfare.' He pointed his gun at Ben, 'Do you want to die next, Fox, or should I kill your green girlfriend?'
Ben looked at him forlornly. 'No, Watts, no one else has to die here. We surrender.'
Watts smiled and turned to the soldier standing behind him, 'Slap them in cuffs and take them to Dr Young. She will be delighted to see both of these freaks.'
The soldier did as he was told and led them into the main corridor. As they made their towards the lift, Ben's eyes began to glow as he had another vision.