They left the office, following Logan's nose. The sounds of pursuit faded as they moved deeper into the building. He strained to pick up any lingering scent of Jubilee, Everett or Angelo. Anne and Gambit followed closely, the tall Cajun taking up the rear.

Anne let herself be swept along by the two men, feeling strangely detached as she sent her mind out to look for the kidnapped teens. She found herself grateful that her telepathy was not entirely dependent on being in contact with the energies of nature.

She thought that the psi-buffer might inhibit her from scanning the people in the building, but she quickly realized that it was only good for preventing scans and transmissions of psychic energy. Anne overcame her distaste of looking in other's minds as she jumped from one consciousness to another.

I have to find those kids.

She could not stand to remain in one place for long, finding herself continuously shocked and repulsed. The minds of those in the facility were profoundly devoid of anything meaningful. Mindless, uncomprehending darkness took the place of thought, with a handful of commands taking the forefront of their scant thought processes.

Kill. Capture. Stun.

Brainwashed. Completely purged of their identities. Anne could taste the rising bile in her throat as she forced herself to continue scanning everyone in the building.

Several minds were shielded from her, which furthered her uneasiness. No one else she had scanned knew anything about Jubilee, Everett or Angelo.

Finally, she latched on to a mind filled with images of Logan.

:Jubilee?: Anne sent.

:Wh—Anne? Is Wolvie there?:

:Yeah, and he's taking the building apart for you. How's Everett and Angelo?:

:Fine:

:All right. Hold on tight, we're coming.:

"Logan, Remy! I found Jubilee. We've got to go this way." Anne pointed down an adjoining corridor they were approaching.

"How is she?" Logan rasped as Anne took the lead from him.

"Wishing that she were with you." Anne replied absently, scanning ahead for anyone approaching.

There was a group advancing from an adjoining hall, and Anne signaled to the two men. There was no other way around them. She created a psi-whip, the same that she had used on Bobby and Scott, the thin coil of blue green flame looped around her right hand. Anne could feel Gambit and Logan on either side of her, and for the first time since she met them, she touched their minds...and linked them together.

She could not stop herself. The link came naturally— practically falling into place as she reached out to the two men. Anne could sense their surprise, knew that they felt her own shock. But there was no time for any other reactions as they came face to face with the enemy.

:Mon Dieu:

:Where are their mouths?:

The five men and women before them all wore stark white uniforms, and in their hands they held metallic poles the length of Anne's forearm. Their eyes were blank, their skin pallid, and they had no mouths. Smooth skin covered the entire portion of their lower faces.

They launched themselves at the trio, faces completely devoid of expression.

Anne crouched, loosening her psi-whip as Gambit charged a playing card and threw it at the nearest attacker. The man barely paused, even though he emerged from the blast missing an arm. As Gambit threw another card, Ann lashed out with her psi-whip, catching an approaching man at the side of his head. Mid-strike, she altered the weapon slightly. His eyes bulged as the blue flame cut into his body and mind. What little was left of his consciousness disintegrated at the contact. He collapsed, soundlessly writhing on the floor like an eel. Logan launched himself at the three remaining attackers, adamantium claws flashing in the light.

Gambit and Anne could feel each blow he made, sense the bloodlust creeping upon his mind like a dark wave. One of the women managed to raise her metallic rod above his head, half of her face missing. Logan felt the warning from his friends and disemboweled the woman before she could strike the blow. He pushed her away at the same time, the woman slamming up against a wall. Her weapon clattered to the floor.

Logan snarled, his face and body smeared with blood not his own. Anne struggled to keep his rage from overtaking her.

:Logan!:

Anne sent him what she had taken from Jubilee's mind, the images that she held so dear. The effect was startling. The bloodlust left his mind completely, and waves of worry washed over Gambit and Anne. Stepping over the bodies, the trio continued to lope down the hall. This time, when Anne cast out her thoughts the other two shared the experience with her. Their separate sensations mingled in Anne, emotions intertwining into a deep-rooted bond that she could feel she was the focus of.

The two men could not sense each other as well as they could her, and the three of them carefully avoided entering too deeply into each others minds. Logan especially guarded his privacy, though he did not protest the link like Anne thought he would. There was something exhilarating in the fact that the three consciousness' melded together, as though they were one person. Their single minded purpose strengthened under the three fold weight of their determination, and their stubborn, fearless need to win lent power to their bodies.

Less than a minute after their first skirmish, they were approached by more of the disfigured men and women. Bodies crowded in the hall as they rushed towards Gambit, Logan and Anne. Anne lashed out with her psi-whip at the first wave of oncoming bodies, but as she darted forward her foot slipped, and she collapsed on one knee. Gambit and Logan felt her begin to fall, and they watched in horror as a rod descended upon her shoulder. They could not move fast enough to save her.

:Annie!: Logan's shout reverberated in her mind even as she was struck.

Instead of bouncing off the flesh and bone of her shoulder, Anne felt the rod sink into her body and begin to vibrate. Pain blinded her as she felt her body being torn apart from the inside out.

She felt the immediate screams of the other two men as though they were her own. They were drowning in her agony.

Must keep them safe. she thought, as she began to lose consciousness.

Desperately flailing in her mind, she snapped the connection that held the three of them together. Her pain did not lesson, but she knew her friends were no longer sharing in her suffering.

Anne could feel her muscles begin to liquefy, the veins beneath her skin bursting. She arced her back in a soundless scream as blood began to drip from her eyes, nose and ears.

Then, darkness.

"Anne?"

"Chica, I think she's de—"

"Shut up, Ange! It's only been fifteen minutes. Ev, hand me some of that water they left us."

"Sure thing, Jubes."

*riiippp*

"You gonna clean up her face, chica? She needs a doctor, not a bath."

"Shut up, Angelo."

"Sure thing, Ev. Geez, why don't I just...sit here in a corner and play with my skin or somethin'."

"Good idea."

"Lemme clean ya' up Anne. I know I wouldn't want to wake up with a lot of blood on my face. There we go...come on, Anne. Come on..."

Anne slowly emerged from unconsciousness into a world of pain and yet more darkness. Someone was speaking to her, and she was dimly aware of a cool, wet cloth gently moving across her face.

She groaned, the sound tearing itself from the deepest confines of her throat.

"Anne?" someone asked urgently, sounding as though they were speaking through a tube. It took several long moments for Anne to sift through her memories, blindly groping for the name to attach to the voice that seemed so familiar.

"Jub-lee?" she croaked.

"Shhh..."

Anne swallowed, the contraction of her throat muscles bringing a new wave of pain.

"Where...Lo-gan...Rem-y?

"Don't know, Anne. The ones who brought you here weren't exactly the talking type, if you know what I mean." She was trying to make a joke, but Anne could tell that it was to cover her worry.

"Help...me...sit...up." Her voice was coming easier now.

"Are you sure?"

No, she wasn't. In fact, she was fairly certain that she might pass out again if she tried, but she had an obligation to get Jubilee, Angelo and Everett away from here, and there was no guarantee that Logan, Gambit or the others would be coming for them.

Don't think that! She shrieked in her mind. They're alive...you would know if they weren't.

"Please." She whispered to Jubilee. Anne could not see her face, but she felt fingers wrap around her hand, and squeeze.

"Ev, Angelo? Help us, will ya?"

Anne heard the shuffling of feet, and then two pairs of hands slid under her shoulders and head.

"One...two....three."

Anne clamped her lips tightly together, but she could not help but whimper as fire danced along her muscles. Her joints felt as though they were only loosely set in their sockets, and though they lifted her as gently as they could, Anne felt her shoulder dislocate and then just as easily slide back into place.

They set her up against a cold, hard wall. She remained very still, limbs limp as she waited for the pain to subside.

"I can't...open my eyes."

Anne felt warm breath on her cheek for a moment, and then the person withdrew.

"Your eye lids are caked with blood. Ange, hand me that water and the rag I was using."

"Sure thing, chica."

A moment later, Anne felt something cool and wet press over her eye lids and gently rub.

"Some rescue...huh?" Anne murmured to the teens.

"We've been in worse. 'Sides, they haven't treated us too bad."

"Angelo!" Another male voice hissed. Presumably, Everett.

"That's all right," Anne whispered. "No one your age should have to go through anything like this."

There was a heavy silence, and Anne tried to open her eyes beneath the cloth. It took some painful straining, but finally they parted. Anne was surprised to find the room they were in was well lit and painted white. Jubilee swam into dim focus, as did a tall black youth standing over her shoulder. To her left squatted another teen, his skin gray and his eyes worried.

Beyond them was a stainless steel door, without a door knob. There was no furniture, and a few plates of food and cups of water were lined against the wall to her right.

Anne tried to stretch out her mind beyond the confines of the room, and found that she could not. Her powers were gone.

"Mutant inhibitors, I assume?"

Three nodding heads were her answer.

"Has anyone come in here?"

"Only when they brought you." Everett answered solemnly.

"Those were some really creepy dudes." Jubilee added, twisting her face into a grimace.

Anne silently agreed.

Without warning, a clicking noise came from the direction of the door. The teens stiffened, rising quickly to their feet. Anne steadied herself against the wall, summoning up as much of her strength as possible. Which was not very much.

The door swung open and two disfigured guards entered, metal rods held in an easy manner by their sides. Anne tried to suppress a shiver when she saw the weapons. The agony was still fresh in her mind.

On their heels came another man, this one with his face intact. He was slim and tanned, his dark hair shot with gray. He studied each of the mutants, his steel blue eyes lingering on Anne for a long moment. The door closed behind him with a soft click.

"We were not expecting a rescue mission. I must commend you on your efforts." He spoke quietly to Anne.

Anne narrowed her eyes, her lips white with pain.

"Why did you kidnap these children?"

He remained silent, his eyes intense as they roved searchingly across her face.

"Why?" she demanded.

He blinked, as if hearing her for the first time.

"Experimentation," he answered absently. He immediately dismissed her question, asking one of his own.

"Tell me, are you familiar with the term, HAP. H-A-P?"

"No."

"Then you know nothing about the Human Advancement Project?"

Anne watched him guardedly. She could tell by the way he was staring at her that he thought she was lying. She clenched her teeth as a wave of nausea passed over her.

"Why are you asking me?"

He studied her, his lips pressed into a perplexed frown. Anne locked eyes with him, dimly aware of the three teens stirring uneasily under the expressionless gazes of their guards.

He took a step forward and crouched just in front of Anne.

"I cannot believe I am mistaken," he whispered tersely, his fingertips brushing his lips in concentration. "But your presence here would be beyond belief."

"What are you talking about?" Anne asked in frustration. She could not stand the idea that she was too weak to defend herself.

"Your face." he surprised her. "You look so much like a woman I once knew. Her name was Annabelle Romiro."

Anne froze. Annabelle Romiro. Romiro. Her mother's name before she married her father.