Here's the first chapter of a story that I started a while back. Part of me wanted to wait until I finished my other stories before I posted this but the other part of me wanted to just post this and get some feedback.
I don't own any of the X-Men franchise. It belongs to Marvel Comics and all of its other proper owners.
By the way, if you find any mistakes, just let me know in a review. My usual beta was not up to reading a 5,000 word chapter for a series she did not know very little about.
Staring at the large and picturesque manor from beyond the gated driveway, John Allerdyce, better known to most of the country as Pyro for his ability to manipulate fire, had to think that the place looked more like a prison than a boarding school for "gifted children." He let a bitter laugh work its way out of his throat as he remembered how much he had tried to avoid the exact thing that he was now about to do. He reached into the pocket of his much abused black jeans and pulled out a small metal lighter emblemized with the design of a shark. Flipping the top of the lighter open and letting the flames rush out from it, John allowed his powers to announce his presence, like he always did. However, instead of the inferno rushing out to consume everything in its path, the fire coalesced into the form of a small dragon. At his bidding, the dragon soared over the tall gate and brick fence that protected the house's inhabitants and glided to an open window on the third floor of the mansion. John could not hear the young woman's reaction to his fiery creature, but he could see her expression of disbelief when she ran to the window and looked out into the night, seeing him standing in the shadows.
To say that Katherine Pryde looked surprised at his mysterious appearance was an understatement; she looked downright astonished as she ran straight through the gate in front of him, having used her abilities to walk out of the school without opening any of the doors or the gate itself. John held his arms out to the younger teen, wincing when her slight frame rammed against his bruised and battered body. The dragon fluttered over behind Shadowcat and vanished when it reached the two young mutants.
"Hey, Kat," he whispered into her hair, pulling her even tighter as he ignored the twinges of pain that spread from his injuries.
"John, oh, God, John," she sobbed, clutching tight to his unzipped sweatshirt. She only loosened he hold when she felt a shudder rip through his body due to the pain from his numerous injuries. Noticing the pain marring his normally strong features, Kitty released him from the tight hug that she had had him in, grabbing his hand to phase him through the fence and onto the sprawling lawns belonging to the manor. She only released his hand when he had been pulled completely through the door, and he followed her to the sliding wood paneling that concealed the elevator down to the basements belonging to the X-Men. Seeing Kitty reach out to open the doors, John reached out to stop her.
"Are you sure, Kat? I don't want you to get in trouble for asking me to come back here." Kitty's slight smile at his query confused him.
"After you left, the professor noticed that I was acting differently than I had been. If you remember, he was the one who first introduced us because you were failing chemistry. He told me that I could invite you back if you were willing. He told Miss Munroe, Doctor McCoy, and Mister Logan that he had told me that. The three of them had also noticed the change. Bobby and Rogue also changed."
"Alright, Kat, as long as I won't get you in trouble." He finally allowed himself to be led into the modern-looking cylindrical elevator that appeared when the sliding panel moved away. He leaned against her as the elevator began to move. He focused on, rather than the pain, the fact that he was back at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, a place he had sworn to himself that he would never return to. He was so caught in his thoughts that he barely noticed the elevator coming to a stop or Kitty pulling him out of it. He did notice, however, the scent of leather and bleach that seemed to blanket the area. The whirring of an electronic door opening snapped him out of his dazed state.
"Doctor McCoy!" Kitty called, pulling John further into what he could now identify as the medical wing. He jumped slightly, then winced in response, when the blue-furred man codenamed Beast appeared in the doorway to his private office.
"Ah, Kitty, and you must be Mister Allerdyce. Come in, come in. Don't think I didn't notice that wince." Beast motioned them to join him next to one of the cots in the room, the motioned for John to lie down in it. He quickly removed the burned, bloodied, and slashed T-shirt that John had on, John having removed his sweatshirt when he and Kitty entered the infirmary. The young woman and the doctor both grimaced sympathetically when they saw the damage that had been inflicted to the young man's chest and abdomen. "Miss Pryde, since I do not foresee you leaving anytime soon, would you mind helping me?"
Reaching down to gently touch her friend's injuries, Kitty shook her head empathetically. "I'll help."
"You don't have to, Kat," John told her soothingly, reaching out with his left arm to grasp her hand with his.
"But I want to. No one else besides Rogue would help Doctor McCoy right now, and she left after Bobby kissed me while I was helping him with his homework. What do you want me to do, Doctor McCoy?"
The older man had noticed the wince that Kitty had not when she mentioned Robert Drake and the pain he had caused their Rogue. Nodding at the cabinets, he quickly gave her a verbal list of things to gather for him. Within moments she had returned, clutching the items to her, having forgone opening the doors in favor of just reaching through them to retrieve what she needed. Beast nodded his thanks, than got to work bandaging the numerous abrasions on his patient's body, some of which looked like they dated from before the large fight at the Worthington laboratory on Alcatraz Island. Kitty, knowing that her help was now mainly in keeping John calm for when the Institute's resident doctor had to clean any of the injuries, sat down on the edge of the bed that John was lying in, placing her hand over his in a comforting way.
"What do you mean Bobby kissed you?" Only when the words passed through the space in front of him did John realized how harsh they sounded. To any other person he would not have minded, but Katherine Pryde, the X-Men's Shadowcat, was different; she made him feel ashamed that he was acting like he was. With Magneto, Mystique, and the rest of the Brotherhood he would not have felt the need to apologize, but now he felt compelled to. "Sorry," he said, wincing slightly as he spoke. "I sounded like a bit of a jerk right there."
"Don't worry about it," was the only reply that he got. "And after you left Bobby started growing more distant to Rogue, and I guess he saw me as his new target, to put it mildly. He practically followed me everywhere when Rogue was in class and we weren't, sometimes even when she wasn't in class. After she left it got even worse and I really just stayed in my room. Miss Munroe lets me go out after lights-out because she knows what's happening, but she can't stop Bobby from following me around."
"I'm sorry about the professor. I know that you were taking advanced classes from him and that you were close. Storm's in charge now?" He silently hoped that the answer was yes, as Storm would be more courteous than the Wolverine.
"Yeah. Mister Summers would have been her first choice, but he was killed by Doctor Grey a few months ago. Everyone, even-" Kitty's statement was cut off by the sound of the school's alarm system, which was accompanied by a loud crash that the three mutants could hear even from the basement. John felt a shock separate from the impact. "What was that?" Kitty practically screeched.
"There were a few people who didn't go with Magneto to the Worthington Lab facilities on Alcatraz. One of them was a young woman who he had captured in an effort to try and get her to help him. What he hadn't realized was that she would refuse to help completely. When she did he refused to release her. I was one of the few he trusted enough to guard her." John was rushing to explain, just as Hank was rushing to finish bandaging his wounds. Within moments, though, his work was unneeded, as his patients injuries had started healing just as rapidly as Logan's did. When he looked down at his now unmarred chest he smirked slightly. "That would be Vie." When he noticed the confused looks on both Beast's and Kitty's faces he elaborated on his previous statement, "That's her name, Violet Blackwood."
"Well then, should we not help the young Miss Blackwood?" the blue-furred doctor questioned.
"Like, really, John, shouldn't we go and help her?" She looked to where John had been sitting, but was surprised to see that he was already standing next to her.
"Let's go, then." His statement was concise, lacking his usual eloquent way of elaborating on every word. Neither of the other two mutants in the room could argue the fact that he was undoubtedly concerned about what was happening only a short distance away from them. He led the way to the elevator, the others following right behind. When they reached the main floor, the two X-Men were stunned by what they saw, but John only shook his head slightly in amusement.
A thin girl with chocolate brown hair wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and a beat-up denim jacket was fighting off several people, all of whom Pyro confirmed to be members of the Brotherhood of Mutants. The three mutants were all attacking the girl at once, and Kitty could see from their coordinated attacks that they were used to fighting together. The lead attacker had silver-colored hair and moved with an unnatural speed. The second was grossly overweight, his bulk not affecting his strength in the slightest. The last of the three foreign mutants had light brown hair, and the ground vibrated with his every step. The constant shaking did not seem to effect the girl's fighting in the slightest, her motions fluid despite the near-constant jostling that racked through her legs and up the rest of her body.
Even more unnatural, even to the three observing mutants, was the bright purple glow that emanated from the brunette. When the glow faded the young woman ran at the three males, her speed matching that of the silver-haired one. The punches that she threw at her adversaries similarly matched the strength of the overweight blonde. Within mere moments all three Brotherhood mutants were unconscious on the ground. The woman shook her head twice in the direction of the fallen people, then turned around to face the people watching the fight. John was not surprised to see that most of the mansion's previously sleeping inhabitants had flowed out the main doors and were fanned out behind him, Kitty, and Doctor McCoy. He was also not surprised to see the brown-haired girl sway where she stood, her legs buckling under her as she collapsed.
Hank reacted first, agilely traversing the space between himself and the young mutant who had just passed out. After gently picking the girl up into his long arms he turned back around and waited for a moment as the people in front of the door moved out of the way.
"Mister Allerdyce, do you mind joining me in the MedLab, as it seems you are the only person present who knows anything about Miss Blackwood's abilities?" Hank's voice reached John's ears just a Logan turned around to look at him, no doubt having caught his scent only moments after the wind flung it towards him. The fang-barring grin that the feral mutant was somewhat reassuring of the fact that he would not be killed while he could potentially save the life of the girl incased in Doctor McCoy's long furred arms. The words that he spoke were what the grin had not been: part acknowledgement that he was back and part silent threat.
"John. Who's your friend?" At his question the clawed man nodded to Violet.
Aware of the fact that the question that Logan had just asked was at the front of everyone's mind even though he was not at telepath like the late Jean Grey or Charles Xavier, the pyrokenetic mutant pitched his voice the way he had learned to while with Magneto and said, "Her name is Violet Blackwood. Magneto had wanted her to fight with him, but she refused to so he kept her locked up at the camp."
"Logan," Beast said calmly, "though I am sure you have more questions for the newly returned Mister Allerdyce, I would greatly appreciate his help caring for Miss Blackwood." Logan grunted in reply, but allowed Hank to carry Violet into the mansion with Kitty and John close behind. Getting in the elevator for, the small group stayed silent until it dinged and they entered the MedLab. Only when the brown-haired girl had been laid carefully down upon one of the makeshift beds in the room did the blue-furred mutant turn to the two younger mutants who had accompanied him. Kitty was looking at her in shock and awe, and John was watching her with a critical eye. "Mister Allerdyce," the doctor said, catching the pyrokenetic's attention easily, "what are Miss Blackwood's abilities? From the myriad that we just saw I do not want to guess and cause more injury than she has already received."
"She calls it imprinting. She's learned how to control it to the point that she can absorb the abilities of anyone she wants, mutant or not."
"Like Rogue?" Kitty gasped.
John nodded. "Exactly like. Hers is telepathic, though, and not through physical contact. When Magneto had her captured, she told me a few things about what she could do. I think she's absorbed someone with a healing factor before."
Doctor McCoy nodded slowly. "Then we don't have to worry about her injuries. I would, however, like to-" He was cut off by an unfamiliar telepathic voice that cut through not only his mind but those of Shadowcat and Pyro as well.
You would not have had to worry about them to begin with. They are all superficial. And if you want to look into who I am, Doctor McCoy, you will not be able to find anything. People really did not know how to keep good records when I was born.
Beast looked down at the bed in shock, not used to having his patients speak to him while they were lying unconscious in a hospital bed. He was even more surprised to see her eyes flutter open and focus in on John.
"I still say that your hair looks stupid like that." Pulling several strands of her own hair away from her face, she glared at the ends of them. She then sighed and looked to the other male in the room. "Thank you for your concern, Doctor McCoy, but I should be fine in a few moments." She then turned to the other female in the room. "You must be Kitty Pryde. It is nice to finally meet you."
"Miss Blackwood, if you wouldn't mind explaining to me the nature if your abilities. Mister Allerdyce did explain it somewhat, but I'm afraid that it only served to leave me with more questions." Beast's statement caused the girl to look away from her discussion, and she tilted her head slightly to convey her confusion.
"I am afraid that I cannot really explain it any better than John did. Everyone who I have met has been at least slightly confused by my powers. They wonder how someone is physically and mentally able to balance the strain of so many different abilities. They also wonder how I am able to do my absorptions."
By now Violet had moved around on the bed so that she faced the three other mutants with her legs hanging off the edge. They watched as her face became distanced, almost seeming to be looking past them at something else in the room. The two X-Men were even more confused to see her hold her hand out, as though waiting for something to be placed there. Pyro quickly placed a black plastic lighter in her outstretched appendage, keeping his metal one in his pocket. Beast and Shadowcat watched in amazement as Violet flicked the lighter open with the practiced ease of someone used to the motion, then, with a flowing movement of her hand, caused the small flicker of a flame to expand and dart across the MedLab. Astonishment filled their faces as the fire formed figures, one obviously human and one constantly shifting that the watchers took to be a mutant. Violet nodded to the figures then allowed them to dissipate, leaving no trace that they existed except for a little smoke and the slight scent of ash.
"I can imprint on both regular humans and mutants. Even mutants who wear suppressors or took the cure. Mystique led the special mutant division of the FBI to the Brotherhood camp and I was able to imprint on her powers to escape even though she had been shot with the cure."
"What about controlling your powers?" Kitty asked eagerly. "Rogue can't, but with the way you're talking it sounds like you can."
Violet looked at the small but energetic brunette, then glanced toward John with an eyebrow raised. He just rolled his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Some of the first times I absorbed people I had no idea what was going on. One of the first people I imprinted on was telepathic. Because of her knowledge I was able to slowly gain control. I still had a few accidents though, the most obvious of them being a woman with a very advanced healing factor when I was seventeen. That was a few hundred years ago, and, as you can tell, it has affected me to the point that I do not age at all. You mentioned Rogue before, right, John?"
"A few times. I was wondering how her powers worked through skin to skin contact and yours were psychic. I actually saw her outside a cure clinic that Magneto had told me to destroy."
Kitty gasped at her old friend's words. She found it hard to believe that Rogue would get the cure. No matter how much she hated her abilities and the fact that she hurt anyone she touched, she had been through far too much to give up her powers quickly. When she looked back up at the bed, for she had glanced down at her faintly quivering hands, she noticed that the older woman had placed her fingers on her temples and closed her eyes. This did not surprise her, but the faint humming that accompanied the gesture was unfamiliar, as neither Doctor Grey nor Professor Xavier did that even when stretching their abilities to their limits.
Violet's eyes snapped open, their royal purple irises glowing slightly and the color leeching into the normally white sclera. "She did not take the cure. She turned away at the last minute and went south. I can sense desperation and hopelessness in the decision. I can ask a friend of mine who lives in New Orleans to find her?"
Doctor McCoy and Kitty stared at her incredulously while John looked unimpressed. Suddenly Kitty started quivering and John recognized the beginnings of one of her hyper streaks. Violet, it seemed, was more than prepared for the hug that the petite phaser intended to tackle her back onto the medic bed with. She easily caught the young woman in her arms and prevented either of them from falling down. "Hey, John," she started, "do you still have my cell?"
Pyro merely reached into the innermost pocket of his battered jacket and extracted a slim silver and black phone which he handed to its rightful owner. Violet proceed to flip the thin device open and turn it on, sending a thin jolt of lightning into the outlet port when she noticed the sliver of color left in an otherwise empty battery icon on the screen. Pressing the keypad, she dialed a number and held the phone up to her ear. The three onlookers were surprised that, instead of greeting the person on the other end, she rattled off several sentences in rapid French that not even Hank was able to follow. "Alright, he is going to be looking for her, so there is nothing more I can do there. However, you could introduce me to the people struggling to eavesdrop on our conversation outside the door." She proceeded to pry Kitty's arms open and slide to the ground before either of the men in the room could stop her from doing so.
Beast shook his head at the tenacity of the woman in front of him and walked over to the mechanical doors with the traditional X sigil embossed onto it to admit the members of the school who were standing outside of it. Robert Drake, Ororo Munroe, Piotr Rasputin, and Logan all entered. Bobby glared at John and walked forward to stand next to Kitty but halted when he received an even more deadly stare from her. Piotr and Ororo both stayed near the door, watching their teammates with some trepidation, and Logan ignored everyone in the room other than Violet, zeroing in on her like a missile. When Violet noticed this she quirked her head and then gasped.
"Jay?"
"Elizabeth?"
Violet grinned suddenly and bolted across the room faster than any of the others could follow, slamming into Logan and wrapping her arms around his waist in a vise-like hug. "It is good to see you again."
Logan's only response was to rest his head against her, his eyes shut tightly against the outside world. Suddenly he shuddered harshly, snapping his eyes open to stare at the woman in his arms. "How did you-?"
"A few years back I absorbed a healer. What Stryker did just severed the neural pathways to your memories. I did nothing but repair those pathways and make them the way they had been before you got two adamantium bullets through the skull." She shrugged depreciatively, trying to play down what she had just managed to accomplish. "It was really no big deal."
Every other mutant in the room stared at her, confusion evident on their faces. Quickly, though, Bobby's expression turned to one of suspicion. "How would you be able to do what the Professor was never able to do? How do we know we can trust you at all?"
Violet looked pained at the words, and Kitty could see how much even an infinitesimal amount of trust and faith meant to the much older female. As soon as she opened her mouth to retort back at Bobby, though, a high pitched cry broke her from her thoughts. When she turned to look next the bed where Violet had been standing she was surprised to see her bent almost double and clutching her head in pain. Logan, however, was the first to react, swiftly moving to pull her up and against his broad chest. When she stopped holding her head Violet blinked and faintly shook her head. She looked past the team of mutants assembled in front of her, then rattled something off in rapid Japanese. Logan released her and she stepped away from him. She then looked back at Wolverine and said another few words in Japanese. He nodded his head, glared at Iceman in a clear warning, and walked out of the room, only to return a few minutes later holding a brand new sketch book and pencils in his hands from the art room on the first floor of the mansion. He shook his head and rolled his eyes slightly when he noticed that everyone was in the exact same places that they had been when he left with the exception of Violet, who had sat back down on the bed that Beast had put her in only a short time before.
Violet held out her hands and Logan placed the book and pencils in the outstretched appendages. She quickly flipped to the first page, then picked up the pencil and started sketching, her movements too fast for any of the people watching to follow. John assumed that she was tapping into Quicksilver's abilities to finish the drawing as fast as she possibly could. The only reason he could think of was that she had seen something vitally important that would affect everyone present. He looked over at the mutants watching and because of that he caught the expression on Storm's face before he saw the completed sketch. When he did look back Violet in order to see the drawing he understood why she looked as stunned as she did. Even without the telltale quartz glasses, visor, or even color, the visage staring out from the penciled shores of Alkali Lake was unmistakably that of Scott Summers.
The drawing showed Cyclops unconscious on the rocky shore only a few meters away from the edge of the water. All of the people present who had also been present at the rescue from the facility there recognized the stretch of beach as the place where the Blackbird had stood during the rescue, before Rogue had flown it closer to the others, Bobby and John standing behind her seat and helping her along. Ororo and Logan also recognized the spot where they had found the body of Jean Grey after she had been taken over by Phoenix. Storm, the incredulous look still openly displayed on her face, was the person who openly took control of the situation. She hustled Violet up and out of the room, motioning to Logan to follow her. When she saw that Violet was going to set the blank notebook down she shook her head, apparently unable to speak. The two almost ancient mutants followed the weather witch, sharing a confused glance on the way out the room that did not go unnoticed by Kitty or John.
Violet and Logan were both slightly confused by the actions of Ororo Munroe. Violet resorted to telepathy to speak to Logan, not wanting to break the silence.
What do you think is going on, Logan?
I'm not quite sure, Vie. Logan's response was riddled the same confusion that was on his face. It could be that Ro didn't want everyone to know about your picture of Shades.
The teenaged-looking woman just nodded in reply as they entered the headmistress's office. Ororo closed the door before turning to speak to either of the other mutants.
"Violet, did Magneto or Pyro tell you anything about Scott?"
"Both John and Erik mentioned him, though not to me. I overheard them talking to Calypso when he woke up the Phoenix. I was able to read both of them to learn who they were talking about."
"Then you would be aware of what happened to him." At the other woman's nod Storm continued, "I want you two to go and see if your vision was correct. From Pyro's reaction I'm assuming they usually are?"
Violet nodded again then spoke to Logan through their link, Would you mind terribly if I brought John and Kitty along? She only said anything aloud when Logan said that he did not mind brining the two younger mutants with them.
"We would go, but I have a request to make. I can tell that you do not completely trust John. I would like to bring him and Kitty with us. John himself mentioned to me several times that he wished to return to Lake Alkali."
"Logan?" Ororo was obviously unsure of herself, something that Wolverine was unused to seeing.
"I don't mind, Ro. If the kid needs this it could be helpful."
Within moments they had procured the headmistress's permission and back on their way to the basement yet again. They split off after exiting the elevator, Violet going to the MedLab and Logan to the hangar, needing to prepare the Blackbird for the trip.
Violet walked in through the automatic doors, seeing Hank McCoy take John's blood pressure.
"Doctor McCoy, I guarantee you that the boy is healthy. If I did not know the extent of my healing abilities I would have a lot of problems."
"Ah, Miss Blackwood, to what do I own this visit?"
"I actually wished to speak to John and Kitty, if you would not mind?" Violet said, phrasing her simple statement as a question. She only spoke again when the Doctor gave his consent and walked into his office. A wall of purple fire leapt from Violet's hands and solidified into a barrier around the three mutants.
"I have a proposition for the two of you. Miss Munroe thinks that Mister Summers may still be alive thanks to the contents of my vision. She wants Logan and me to go to Alkali to see if he is there. I want the two of you to come with us."
She noted the stunned looks that passed over John's and Kitty's faces. The two teenagers looked at each other than back at the oldest of the three in the room.
"Why us?" Kitty asked. "Why not Piotr or Bobby?"
Violet saw the cringe on John's face at the second name. "Mister Drake does not trust me, and I would rather not be around him while he is in the mood he is in. As for why I am asking you, neither of you have given me reason to distrust you. Miss Munroe already gave Logan and me permission for you both to join us. Hopefully by the time we return Remy will have found Rogue and we can pick the two of them up before we return."
Pyro smiled crookedly and held out his hand to Shadowcat. "What do you say, Kat?"
Kitty took his hand and allowed him to puller her to her feet as Violet touched the purple wall that surrounded them. She let the two students lead the way to the hanger and onto the larger of the two crafts there.
There you go. There's the first chapter. And before I get any farther I want to give you a little bio about Violet.
Elizabeth Blackwood, who also goes by the name of Violet Blackwood, is a mutant with similar powers as Rogue. Violet's powers, however, are triggered mentally rather than through physical, skin-to-skin, contact. Her powers first triggered when she was fourteen and went haywire. She absorbed, or imprinted, on everyone around her and had no way to stop the absorptions. She did not gain any control until she was sixteen, when she imprinted upon a telepath. She stopped aging when she was seventeen after imprinting on a woman with a highly advanced healing factor. She then traveled around the entirety of North America, meeting James Howlett, later known as Logan or Wolverine, in Canada shortly after him and his half-brother, Victor Creed, ran when his powers manifested. Logan calls her Elizabeth when he first sees her because that was the name he knew her by. She also calls him Jay sometimes.
Yes, the woman with the healing factor who Violet meets is in fact Logan's grandmother. That should give you an idea of how old she actually is.
Also, another quick note, this does not follow X-Men: First Class, and only follows part of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I really don't like the part about Remy being twenty or thirty years older than the students at Xavier's, so lets just say that it was someone else, maybe Remy's biological father. He's also going to have his trademark eyes, red iris and black sclera, in this story.