Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the use of her character Dr. Ilehana
Xavier. I do own Blaze, and appreciate authors not using her without
asking.
A/N: The sequel to Dark Is The Hour, set four months later, but hopefully this is fairly self-explanatory so you shouldn't have to have read it. Feel free to check out that story though if there is anything else you want to know, and reviews are always welcome for both stories (Hint hint!). Enjoy...
Scene 01
"Can anybody tell me what the characteristics are that make seasonal flood plains so tempting for human habitation?" Ororo Munroe addressed her geography class at Xavier's School, but as she did she glanced out the window uneasily. Was there someone out there? "No? All right then, for next time read chapter seven section five of your texts. Class dismissed."
Bobby and Kitty exchanged quizzical glances, they had both had their hands up to answer the question. In front of them, Colossus nodded his head towards the clock; they still had fifteen minutes to go. Bobby shrugged in return and the whole class started towards the door, not wanting to miss out on an unexpected extra break.
By now Storm was satisfied that there was nothing outside; that she must have imagined the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. But knowing it didn't comfort her. Briefly she thought about going and telling the Professor, but he was so busy all the time now so she dismissed the idea. Maybe some fresh air would settle her nerves...
The great wooden front door of the manor house closed with a clunk behind her. Storm set off, not into the endless grounds as she had intended, but down the gravelled drive. She still couldn't get rid of the feeling of being watched. As she walked the crisp winter sun clouded over and the sky fell dark and brooding. Reaching the end of the drive, she put a hand to the cold gate, the stillness of the winter morning almost suffocating her. Suddenly with a rumble like thunder a special delivery van pulled up in front of her and stopped, engine idling.
"This Xavier's School?" The uniformed driver asked, intent on his electronic notebook.
"Yes." Replied the eloquent young woman. "Can I help you?"
"Package for Ms Munroe. Sign here." The man handed the notebook to Storm, and she obliged though a little confused. She hadn't been expecting anything. The box he gave her was no less confusing. It was large and roughly bound, with foreign stamps and a smudged postmark.
"Bye now." Said the delivery driver as he climbed back into the truck and set off. Storm didn't even acknowledge him; she was already heading back to the school wondering if it was possible she'd known this parcel was coming?
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"Tell me again, why are we doing this?" Pyro dropped a heavy piece of unidentifiable equipment hard on the cold floor in stubbornness.
"I would have thought," Mystique replied in her million voices, "That you of all people would understand what we are trying to achieve here."
For a moment he stood and looked at her sleek blue back as she played with her computer terminal. When she finally turned and faced him, he knew she was expecting an answer.
"I know what we are doing, yeah. We're building a mutation accelerator. But how do we know it will even work? And why's it so important we have it?"
"Eugh. Do you have so little imagination?" Suddenly the blue woman began to change, morphing into a stunning redhead as she walked towards John. Long red curls framed a delicate face, putting red lips seemed to long for his kiss, and deep, soulless brown eyes challenged his very perspectives. Pyro gulped heavily as Mystique grabbed his jaw in a cold, hard grip.
"A few months ago I met a girl. Her name is Blaze, and her powers are very similar to yours. She can control fire. But more than that she is agile, fast, intelligent..." She slurred her last word, pointing out her insult to him. "And she can create fire of her own." Letting go of John almost violently, Mystique turned and walked away again, shape-shifting back into her own shape. "When we finish this machine as Magneto has ordered, perhaps he will let you use it to gain equal powers to Blaze."
"She beat you, didn't she?" Pyro grinned manically. "That's why you came back here sulking. You got your ass whooped!"
"More than you know." Mystique's long fingers tapped away again on the keyboard, working on the plans she had emailed to herself before Blaze could destroy that console in Jacobi's lair. Had it really been four months ago? "But I can be patient, when I need to be..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The knife cut quickly through the tape on the box, splitting it open like a gutted fish. Almost nervously Storm plucked at the shredded paper packing, teasing it away. The corner of a brown envelope became visible, and she pulled at it, tugging till it was in her trembling hand. Elegant fingers ripped the corner, slid inside and opened it. A note, handwritten on heavy embossed paper.
Storm,
We have been watching you. We know everything about you, Air-Goddess, Phantom of the Ages. Nearly it is your time. Nearly but not quite. You know this too; you can feel the change in the winds. Re-double your training; be quicker, stronger, better. You will need all the skills and powers you possess. Then we will be in touch. In the meantime, may chance this gift will aid your memory...
It was unsigned, and the letter formation was unfamiliar to Storm. Yet they said they knew her? Reaching back into the box, her fingers brushed something metallic. A ring, gold and heavy and engraved with runes she couldn't understand. It was beautiful, with a single solitaire diamond set into the wide gold band. Unthinking, Storm slid it onto her right-hand thumb, watched it as it glinted in the light, and almost, almost she could remember seeing this ring somewhere before...
A/N: The sequel to Dark Is The Hour, set four months later, but hopefully this is fairly self-explanatory so you shouldn't have to have read it. Feel free to check out that story though if there is anything else you want to know, and reviews are always welcome for both stories (Hint hint!). Enjoy...
Scene 01
"Can anybody tell me what the characteristics are that make seasonal flood plains so tempting for human habitation?" Ororo Munroe addressed her geography class at Xavier's School, but as she did she glanced out the window uneasily. Was there someone out there? "No? All right then, for next time read chapter seven section five of your texts. Class dismissed."
Bobby and Kitty exchanged quizzical glances, they had both had their hands up to answer the question. In front of them, Colossus nodded his head towards the clock; they still had fifteen minutes to go. Bobby shrugged in return and the whole class started towards the door, not wanting to miss out on an unexpected extra break.
By now Storm was satisfied that there was nothing outside; that she must have imagined the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. But knowing it didn't comfort her. Briefly she thought about going and telling the Professor, but he was so busy all the time now so she dismissed the idea. Maybe some fresh air would settle her nerves...
The great wooden front door of the manor house closed with a clunk behind her. Storm set off, not into the endless grounds as she had intended, but down the gravelled drive. She still couldn't get rid of the feeling of being watched. As she walked the crisp winter sun clouded over and the sky fell dark and brooding. Reaching the end of the drive, she put a hand to the cold gate, the stillness of the winter morning almost suffocating her. Suddenly with a rumble like thunder a special delivery van pulled up in front of her and stopped, engine idling.
"This Xavier's School?" The uniformed driver asked, intent on his electronic notebook.
"Yes." Replied the eloquent young woman. "Can I help you?"
"Package for Ms Munroe. Sign here." The man handed the notebook to Storm, and she obliged though a little confused. She hadn't been expecting anything. The box he gave her was no less confusing. It was large and roughly bound, with foreign stamps and a smudged postmark.
"Bye now." Said the delivery driver as he climbed back into the truck and set off. Storm didn't even acknowledge him; she was already heading back to the school wondering if it was possible she'd known this parcel was coming?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Tell me again, why are we doing this?" Pyro dropped a heavy piece of unidentifiable equipment hard on the cold floor in stubbornness.
"I would have thought," Mystique replied in her million voices, "That you of all people would understand what we are trying to achieve here."
For a moment he stood and looked at her sleek blue back as she played with her computer terminal. When she finally turned and faced him, he knew she was expecting an answer.
"I know what we are doing, yeah. We're building a mutation accelerator. But how do we know it will even work? And why's it so important we have it?"
"Eugh. Do you have so little imagination?" Suddenly the blue woman began to change, morphing into a stunning redhead as she walked towards John. Long red curls framed a delicate face, putting red lips seemed to long for his kiss, and deep, soulless brown eyes challenged his very perspectives. Pyro gulped heavily as Mystique grabbed his jaw in a cold, hard grip.
"A few months ago I met a girl. Her name is Blaze, and her powers are very similar to yours. She can control fire. But more than that she is agile, fast, intelligent..." She slurred her last word, pointing out her insult to him. "And she can create fire of her own." Letting go of John almost violently, Mystique turned and walked away again, shape-shifting back into her own shape. "When we finish this machine as Magneto has ordered, perhaps he will let you use it to gain equal powers to Blaze."
"She beat you, didn't she?" Pyro grinned manically. "That's why you came back here sulking. You got your ass whooped!"
"More than you know." Mystique's long fingers tapped away again on the keyboard, working on the plans she had emailed to herself before Blaze could destroy that console in Jacobi's lair. Had it really been four months ago? "But I can be patient, when I need to be..."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The knife cut quickly through the tape on the box, splitting it open like a gutted fish. Almost nervously Storm plucked at the shredded paper packing, teasing it away. The corner of a brown envelope became visible, and she pulled at it, tugging till it was in her trembling hand. Elegant fingers ripped the corner, slid inside and opened it. A note, handwritten on heavy embossed paper.
Storm,
We have been watching you. We know everything about you, Air-Goddess, Phantom of the Ages. Nearly it is your time. Nearly but not quite. You know this too; you can feel the change in the winds. Re-double your training; be quicker, stronger, better. You will need all the skills and powers you possess. Then we will be in touch. In the meantime, may chance this gift will aid your memory...
It was unsigned, and the letter formation was unfamiliar to Storm. Yet they said they knew her? Reaching back into the box, her fingers brushed something metallic. A ring, gold and heavy and engraved with runes she couldn't understand. It was beautiful, with a single solitaire diamond set into the wide gold band. Unthinking, Storm slid it onto her right-hand thumb, watched it as it glinted in the light, and almost, almost she could remember seeing this ring somewhere before...