Prologue
Ororo
tossed and turned in her bed. Sleep eluded her for yet another night. A storm
started to brew out side, matching the turmoil inside of her.
"I
must find her. He took her from me, and I will have her again." The low
mantra repeated, whispered among the grounds of the Xavier Institute as its
speaker slithered closer to the house, tripping no security systems, alerting
none to its evil presence.
Professor
Xavier awoke with a start. Something foreign was in his school. He could feel
it. It was somewhat familiar, as if he had contact with the intruder. He needed
to summon someone who could check this out before he could get out of the bed.
Taking a glance at the sky through the huge window above his bed, he thought
better of waking Ororo and opted to call Scott and Jean instead.
{Jean,
Scott, I need for you to check for an intruder in the mansion.} the Professor
called telepathically to two of his favorite students.
{Professor?}
came Jean's sleepy reply. {Are we in any serious danger?}
{I'm
not sure, but I would like for you two to check it out.} Xavier said, yawning
slightly.
{Okay,
we'll get moving. I'll keep you updated.}
{Thank
you Jean.} As Xavier sat up in his bed, and looked again at the brewing storm, he
decided to see what was bothering Ororo.
{Ororo?
Ororo, what's wrong? Why the turmoil?}
{Professor,
hello. I have my Windrider back.}
The
Professor started. He now realized who it was - the Shadow King. {You can't
possibly inhabit Ororo. She is a psi blocker. She will expel you from her
mind.}
{Perhaps.
But for as long as I hold on, I become cemented on her psyche, making it harder
for her to try and pry me away, let alone control her emotions. In this
heightened emotional state, ironically enough, it will make it easier to
control her, as well as gain access to her powers. Face it, Xavier, I have
won.}
Xavier
called to Jean and to Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, while getting into his hover
chair.
{Jean,
I need for you and Scott to secure Ororo and bring her down to the medlab. I
will explain everything when I get there.}
{Professor,
what is wrong with her?}
{She
is not herself, and if she resists, knock her out.} He could feel her confusion
and doubt, but right now, they had to save Storm.
Up
in her attic room, Ororo awoke, feeling disoriented, and feeling another in her
mind.
{Ah,
you're awake. Wonderful. I want you to be there for the moment when they won't
be able to save you any longer.}
That
voice... It felt so familiar...the Shadow King!
"Where
are you, monster? I thought I had taken care of you once and for all!" She
jumped up, and walked around her room, looking for any signs of intrusion.
{Ororo,
I am in the one place you and Xavier's team can't get to. YOUR MIND!} The
mental echo left a streak of pain in her mind, causing Storm to double over,
forked lightning lancing through the sky.
{What
do you want from me? Why can't you leave me alone?! How many times must I
destroy you?}
{Windrider,
I will have you for my queen. You are wasting away here in Xavier's ranks. You
aren't realizing your true potential. You can and will rule the world. Once you
are under my control for good, we will bring down such destruction and chaos as
has never before been seen on this planet. I know that deep down inside, in the
part that you keep hidden even from Xavier, you want this. Let me guide you to
your destiny!}
{NO!
Do you hear me?! I will not give in to every single emotion I have! I need control
so that I don't kill my friends and family! You will not cause me to lose
them!} Ororo staggered slowly to the door, then dropped to the floor,
unconscious.
Jean
and Scott were climbing the stairs four at a time.
"Why
are we doing this? What did the Professor say?" Scott asked his wife as
they hurried to Storm's loft.
"All
he said was bring her to the medlab, so that's what we're going to do, sweetie.
He also said she might...she might..." Jean trailed off.
"She
might what?"
"She
might try to resist. We're to get her to Hank any way possible short of taking
her out." Jean couldn't look at Scott when she said those words.
"Is
he crazy? Why would she resist? And why is it he always knows more of what's
going on than we do, and we're the ones in it?"
"I
don't know. But we're here."
Jean
opened the door to Storm's room. The sight they were greeted with left them
speechless.
Ororo
was floating unconscious in the middle of her room, lightning crackling around
her body, winds swirling her gown, making her room into a war zone.
"So,
what do you think we should do?" Scott yelled, just trying to stay upright
in the gale force winds.
{I'm
going to scan her mind!} Jean said telepathically.
{Ororo,
what's wrong? It's Jean, your sister. What's wrong?}
{Leave
us alone.}
{Oro-
Shadow King!?}
{Yes,
Jean. Leave before I shut down your mind.}
{You
can't do that. I'm much more powerful with the Phoenix Force. I can take you
out.}
{Perhaps,
but if you don't extract me in a careful way, you will shut down Ororo's mind
forever. Not even you will be able to get her back. Do you really want to
murder your "sister" as you put it?} Sensing Jean's apprehension, he
gloated slightly. {I thought so. Weak spineless fools! That's why I have won!}
"Scott?"
"Yes,
Jean?"
"The
Shadow King has Ororo. You've got to hit her so she goes unconscious. Just
enough to knock her out."
"Are
you sure? I mean, she's going to wake up with quite a headache."
"I'm
very sure, hurry!"
Cyclops
had readied his visor, about to shoot, when Ororo woke up.
"She
is mine!"
"Shadow
King! You're going nowhere."
"Oh
really? And what do you think you could possibly do with your puny powers? Do
you have any idea how powerful she really is? The little power she throws
around isn't nearly half of her true ability, and you meager mortals can't even
fathom! Why do you think she was worshiped as a goddess? Because she is! And
now she's mine!"
The
Shadow King, in Storm's body, flew towards the skylight, blasting a hole in the
ceiling and jetting out into the night rainstorm.
"SCOTT,
NOW!"
Cyclops
released a powerful optic blast, and caught Storm's retreating figure in the
back.
"NO!
MY GRIP ISN'T STRONG ENOUGH! DAMN!" the Shadow King said as Ororo's form
swiftly flew back into the room, landing hard on the floor.
"I...will..."
She was out.
________________________________________________
In The Medlab...
"Hank,
what's going on? Is she all right?" The Professor asked as his hover chair
entered the lab.
Hank,
a.k.a. Beast, was usually a jovial person, but now, he had a grim set to his
face.
"Professor,
I am afraid that the Shadow King's hold on Ororo will only get stronger. We
must find some way to eradicate his persona from her body soon, because his
mind isn't bound to her body like her own mind is. 'Ororo' could get knocked
out, but the Shadow King would keep on coming. He doesn't have a secure hold on
her powers, or her mind for that matter, but that will change within a week,
and then we won't be able to separate them. When they fully fuse together, they
will be the most powerful mutant on the face of the earth. And there won't be a
thing any of us can do to stop them."
"I
was afraid of this. Are there any ideas? Jean? Scott? We must save her."
Xavier rubbed his temples slightly.
"Professor,
why don't we enter Ororo's mind? If there is anyway to rid her of the Shadow
King, then it will be in there."
"Jean,
that's a wonderful idea, but there might be a problem if he's gotten a hold of
Storm's psi shields. She has a magnificent will, due mostly to the fact of the
strong control she has on the weather and her emotions. It would prove futile
to try to attack them. If only she could help us... Hank, is Ororo still in
control now?"
Hank
looked at the monitor of Storm's brain waves. "Yes, for right now. I don't
know for how much longer, though."
"Then
that's all we need. Jean, you can contact her, and tell her we need her help to
get in; then if she goes under again, you're through, and can get that piece of
scum out of there." Scott said as he paced behind Hank.
{Ororo...
Ororo, we need your help.}
{Jean?
Jean, what's wrong with me?...By the Goddess, I remember! Get him out of my
mind!}
Outside
the weather became turbulent, as its mistress became more distressed.
{Ororo,
this is the Professor. We are here to help you, but we need your help right
now.}
{Whatever
you need, if I can do it, I will.}
{We
need you to let down your guard. We can't get in with your shields up. We are
going to try to expel the Shadow King from inside your mind. We have a better
chance from in there.}
{I'll
try. I don't know how long I can keep them down, the weather will go crazy
until they are back up. I don't want to hurt anyone.}
{Ororo,
you will hurt more if we waste any more time. Can you do it?}
{Goddess...yes.
Yes, I can. But please hurry!}
Jean
and the Professor were taken to different beds in the infirmary and made
comfortable. Then they both started the journey into Ororo's mind.
"I
get an unusual feeling about this, Scott. I know this is the best way, but I'm
still unnerved." confided Hank nervously.
Scott's
reply was lost in the humongous crash of thunder that practically ripped
through the air outside. The sky became dark, huge clouds materializing out of
nowhere. The winds picked up, uprooting small bushes and ripping out grass.
Hail the size of soccer balls pelted the ground, leaving large rents in the
land. Then all was silent.
{Jean,
we're in!}