Title: "Bloody Vision"
Author: Pirate Turner
Rating: R
Summary: Generation X is all dead, all, that is, except for one . . .
Disclaimer: Monet "M" St. Croix, Emplate, Generation X, and all other characters mentioned within this story are © & TM Marvel comics and are used without permission. Everything else is © & TM the author, Pirate Turner. I make absolutely no profit whatsoever off of this story, and it is for entertainment purposes only.

Fear grew thick in her throat and her pulse quickened as she walked alone through the school, the high heels of her boots echoing through the long, shadowy halls. Her brown eyes frantically scanned her surrounding area for some sign of the others, any sign that she was not alone. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she desperately wanted to call out to them but could not find her voice.

Finally, after what seemed like days of walking through a valley of death, she found a small figure curled up against the side of the hall. She dashed over to the small figure and knelt beside her. Grabbing a hold of one yellow-clad shoulder, she turned the figure over . . . and her breath stopped at the sight of the blood that covered the younger face. "J-Jubilee . . . " Her shaky voice barely managed to breathe as she shook her team mate, but the only response Monet received was the rolling of Jubilee's head straight off of her shoulders.

With a short scream, Monet leapt back, jumping away from Jubilee's dead body as if she had suddenly been scalded. The back of her feet met with something hard, and she fell backwards. Her hands moved to the floor beneath her only to find that it was not a floor at all. Her body froze. Only her eyes could move, and even they could only look at what she had landed on top of. Angelo's bloodied, beaten body lay crumpled beneath her.

Monet screamed again, jumped up, and started to run but had only taken a few steps when lights began to come on, slowly revealing what was hidden in the depths of the shadows. Bodies were scattered everywhere, and no matter where Monet turned, she was faced with the dead body of a fallen team member. She began to run, but the bodies only began to repeat themselves, as if they were moving just enough that she was still forced to look at them.

Her chest heaved, and a scream seemed permanently stuck in her throat. Tears filled her panicked eyes and ran down her cheeks, blurring her vision to where all she could see was the bodies of her team mates, of her friends, of the only real family she had known since her mother's death. She tried to scream, but no sound would come out. Suddenly, she felt a strange, cold liquid falling onto her head, and blood ran into her eyes. She swiped it quickly away, and when her hands had moved, she found herself staring upwards . . . straight into the unmoving blue eyes of Penance. The scream finally broke from her lips and echoed throughout the entire school.

A dark, cruel chuckle came from just behind her, and Monet whirled around only to find Emplate stepping from the shadows. "Now, now, sister," he scolded her with mock gentleness. "That's no way to act after . . . "

She broke him off. "After what you did, you -- "

He shook his head. "No, after what you did, dear sister." He looked pointedly at her hands, and Monet's entire body trembled as she rose her hands and turned her palms upwards. Two tiny mouths filled with blood-stained fangs gnashed up at her. She screamed again, and this time her screams would not be stopped.

The world around her shook as if caught in an earthquake, but she found herself caught in Emplate's grip and being shaken by him instead. She struggled against him but could not break free. His face blurred, replaced by her tears, and then, at long last, Penance's face. As Monet came to, Penance turned and bounded away through an open window. Monet sat up, shaking like a tiny leaf caught in a full-blown gale, and found herself in the safety of her bedroom. Her breathing remained labored and her body trembling even as she realized that it had only been a nightmare.

The End