Utilizing their night vision, the X-Men moved forward. Wolverine was wholly focused on getting a whiff of anyone coming near, or that they were coming up on. To varying fraction, Storm, Beast and Cyclops were partially focused on encountering someone, and partially focused on taking in what was presently around them.

Cyclops' eye in particular roved across the lab equipment housed in each room. Some seemed uniform, like the multitude of rooms were simply for executing the same procedure on multiple subjects at once. While other pieces were distinct, telling of some specialization one room had compared to another.

Papers, mostly loose as though spilled from a hastily grabbed stack, though also a couple clipboards mounted beside walls like medical charts on the end of a bed, filled in some of the details of what this floor was used for.

And it made Cyclops' insides churn with vexation.

Even without having a history himself it would've -making so free with the most innocent- but being he [i]had[/i] once been "here" himself; a child-turned-someone's test subject. . . he had a particular sensitivity -a particular [i]hatred[/i] towards anyone who would be party to that.

It was the same with Wolverine, minus being a [i]child[/i] experiment. Though he could smell the fear that permeated this space when they'd first walked in. Had felt the cold splash of unwelcome, triggering familiarity; he didn't feel the need to gawk at charts and contraptions to confirm and brood over it. Only felt a doubling down of wanting to do what they came here for, and [i]finish[/i] this place.

Suddenly everyone's attention was taken by the sound of the gunshots --followed by more.

[color=yellow]"Shit."[/color] He'd just been turning at the scent of something coming up from a door somewhere behind them when it happened. Though following this utterance, Wolverine actually turned his attention back to the direction they'd been going; he knew what happened. Something else that didn't warrant lookin' at.

The others were just in time to see the agent suffer more intense damage to their ribs than Cyclops had previously endured.

The X-Men's leader presently stared at Ryder like [i]'what the Hell!?'[/i] and checked the temper that was rising--[i]towards himself.[/i]
Ryder hadn't been craftily deceitful. She wasn't going rogue. She'd made it very clear what this mission was to her: retribution

Cyclops was evidently a fool to think otherwise; what motivation did Ryder have to go easy?
[color=#0096FF][i]'This can't happen again, team. Let's be sure Ryder isn't left alone.'[/i][/color] He communicated via the X-Men's private channel, with a new kind of guilt mixing in with what he was currently experiencing: it wasn't just about a body count, the lives lost, and how that would reflect on the X-Men or mutants at large. It was also about leaving Ryder open to get hurt more. [color=#0096FF][i]'I'm sorry, Professor.'[/i][/color] Given the link between Ryder and Xavier, he was likely to know every instance of pain she experienced, and more than Ryder being "on the team" with them, Cyclops felt responsible for her as a fatherly proxy in Xavier's absence.

His [i]physical[/i] absence, anyway, for he was still there astrally.

[color=#7393B3][i]'I am sorry-[/i][/color] his distraction was what had allowed Ryder to be caught off guard, and so he vowed as much as implied the echoed command to his X-Men: [color=#7393B3][i]'That [b]will not[/b] happen again. But if it is the only thing I have over you, Ryder, it is [b]years[/b] --[b]experience[/b] in [b]this[/b] world. Your retribution may only lead to a successive need as from it, more come to view you as less than a person, and something which must be [b]put down[/b]. I implore you again, for your [b]own[/b] sake not m--'[/i][/color]

Jean had to interrupt Xavier: [color=#DAA06D][i]'--Guys! We might have a teleporter on our hands. I could detect Becker's signature [b]somewhere[/b] before-'[/i][/color] -Jean wasn't able to pinpoint him in the facility any more than she could've warned Ryder of the agent who'd come up from behind- [color=#DAA06D][i]'-now it's no where and some new one is in its place.'[/i][/color]

Her phrasing had been coincidental; Jean couldn't know exactly "in it's place" this new signature was.

Beast turned. [color=#4169E1][b]"Ryder, per chance could we be encountering others of your ilk? Though either lacking your will or freedom to express it?"[/b][/color]

Cyclops tensed. The Umbra agents were one thing. 
If other [i]manipulated mutants[/i] --[i][b]children[/b][/i] had to face the same ultimatum for being sicced on Ryder.

He wanted to speak ahead of Ryder having a chance--make it [i][b]very clear[/b][/i] [b][i][u]they[/u][/i][/b], the [u]X-Men[/u], would be handling them if that were the case. But Cyclops held back. Just like there was no reason to think Ryder would go easy on the Umbra agents, there was no reason to think she'd extend her retribution to other experimental subjects. Acting on some knee-jerk fear she would was, to put it simply, wrong. And counter to what they represented.