Sinister Descent

Chapter 1 – Excuse me, Miss

"You have crossed me for the last time, Sinister." Apocalypse growled as he pulled the syringe out of his leg and held Sinister up by the throat. Sinister grinned slightly and didn't so much as flinch as Apocalypse choked him. "It will not happen again."

Then, Sinister began to struggle against Apocalypse as intense pain overwhelmed him.

When Apocalypse released him, he fell to the floor of his lab, unconscious.

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March 13, 1851

"Excuse me, Miss, but would you like to share my umbrella?"

Nathaniel Essex walked closer to the soaking-wet woman walking in front of him and felt his heart skip when she turned to him and smiled.

"Thank you, sir." She replied, huddling with him under the umbrella. "I was not expecting the rain when I left today!"

Nathaniel smiled shyly. "This is London, Miss. There is no lack of dark, rainy nights like this.…Oh, please excuse my lack of manners. My name is Nathaniel. Nathaniel Essex."

"Rebecca Milbury." The woman replied as they came to an intersection. "I live about a mile that way," she said, pointing one way. "Do you live far?"

Nathaniel shrugged. "Not at all. May I accompany you to the door?"

In truth, he lived two miles in the opposite direction, but that seemed completely irrelevant at the time. "What a kind gentleman." Rebecca said. "May I ask what brought you out into this terrible weather tonight?"

Nathaniel smiled. "I am a physician, and delivered a baby earlier tonight. A lovely, healthy daughter to a friend of mine."

"A physician? You look quite young. You must be quite the scholar." Rebecca replied, with a slight grin. "My best wishes to your friend and their new baby."

"I'll certain pass them along." He replied. "And what brings a lovely lady such as yourself out tonight?"

"I was visiting a dear friend of mine, and simply lost track of how much time had passed." She said. "Oh! Dr. Essex, did you just say I was lovely?"

Essex froze. "Huh?" Then he looked down at the ground. "I suppose I did. My apologies for being so crass, Ms. Milbury." He said, embarrassed.

When he walked her to the doorsteps of Milbury Manor, he was greeted by Lord Milbury, one of the patrons at the asylum where Essex spent most of his days. "Dr. Essex! What a surprise! My thanks for bringing my daughter back in good condition. Please, come in!"

Lord Milbury smiled as he noticed the young doctor watch his daughter walk up the stairs with a shy smile. "Rebecca is beautiful, is she not?"

Essex, uncomfortable with having his attraction to Rebecca noticed, looked away and crossed his arms. "Indeed. She is quite lovely."

Lord Milbury lead Essex into his study, where they spent the better part of the hour discussing the asylum, politics, and medicine. Essex has always liked Lord Milbury; where many of the other patrons seemed to look to him to find fault with the manner in which he ran the asylum, Milbury was undeniably kinder and had come to Essex's defense in the past. There were quite a few 'experimental,' treatments that the other patrons often asked him to employ upon his patients, only to have Essex refuse them. Essex had very little life other than his job, and cared dearly for most of his patients. He had gone so far as to lock himself in the dark for a month just to see if it could possibly be a reasonable treatment for age-related mental deterioration. None of his patients were ever subjected to that and Essex had gained a reputation for being very much against most of the newest practices for the mentally ill.

"Dr. Essex, what are you feelings on the newest treatments mentioned in the journal?" Lord Milbury asked.

Essex put his tea down and frowned. "I fail to see the benefits of inflicting pain on my patients. Really, I do believe insanity is an illness, not a behavioral issue; I hardly think beating a person with pneumonia would serve any purpose, neither do I think these are effective treatments for the mentally ill." He looked up at the clock and stood. "While I have enjoyed speaking with you, it's nearly midnight and I must be on my way."

Lord Milbury lead him to the door. "Do come visit soon, Nathaniel." Then he leaned in and winked at Essex. "And feel free to come visit Rebecca as well."

Essex shyly smiled. "Oh, I hardly have the time for—"

"Nonsense!" Milbury said. "Please, I am positive Rebecca would love to see you again."

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Sinister jerked up from the ground. "Rebecca?"

It was the first time he had uttered her name in over a century.

He slowly stood up, and looked down at his hands, which were a healthy shade of peach, the tips slightly pink. His tongue felt along the edges of several flat incisors near the front of his mouth. His rough, impenetrable skin? Gone. Razor-sharp teeth? Gone. Mutation? Gone.

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Disclaimer: Don't own Marvel.

Next Chapter: Sinister visits his wife's grave

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