Four
As in any battle the slow and weak, then the brave and stupid were the first to die-it cleared the way for the real fight to begin. Dripping in blood from those she had slaughtered Malice revelled in the feeling of fear around, above and running through her. From the way champions died under her hand to the ones who cowered before her dark blood soaked visage. Even amongst these malformed masses her all black eyes drew terror. She sucked in every last drop of it and sent it careening back into their minds amplified ten times.
Wading through the melee Malice could feel blood coagulating on her arms sinking through the short gloves she wore. She closed her eyes and let it all swirl around her-a blissful smile on her face. This was a virtual treasure trove of nightmares and the opportunity to wallow in each was not to be missed. Out of nowhere Malice felt a streak of hot pain course down her arm; her eyes snapped open and focused on the shallow cut that lanced her right arm.
"That's right!" Her opponent-a heavily armoured young man cried out from his station five feet away; more spikes pushed through his coating, "More where that came from!"
Malice smiled and pulled the pair of specially designed asps she carried when killing with her bare hands grew tiresome. Releasing them to their three foot length she smiled invitingly to the young man so anxious to throw his life away. He roared forward swinging a larger spike as a staff trying to take her head off at the shoulders
Malice ducked the hastily aimed blow and brought her right hand asp to bear against the boy's kidneys; cracking some of the bone plating that was supposed to protect him. He staggered back breathing heavy a little bit of blood trickled from his mouth, "Shit!"
Using his disorientation Malice attacked again, swinging her asps in short parries made faster by her body's enhanced reflexes. The boy tried to keep up but his reaction time was just too slow; he didn't even notice that Malice was backing him against a wall. Feinting with her left asp Malice dropped both weapons to her sides and put her forward momentum into a high kick.
The boy didn't have a chance to dodge as the five inch stiletto heel of Malice's boots rushed towards one of his most vulnerable and sensitive spots. Jarred by the impact Malice fought to keep her balance as the boy screamed in agony-she had hit her target. Pulling back her leg Malice grinned as the boy clutched his face; whoever had trained him had never taught the child to expect a heel in the eye. No one expected the bad guys to fight dirty any more.
Opening up Malice could feel the boy's reason leaving him in wash after wash of blinding pain. The small fabric pouch that he wore ripped open and a picture floated out. Kneeling down she picked it up, a flash of recognition hit; her body had known these people once. Images moved in front of her black eyes as malice swept through her host's memories-the irony of it all ripped a giggle from her throat.
On the ground the boy whimpered in pain bringing her focus back to him, this was too easy. Licking her lips Malice moved closer to lap up all of his suffering. "X-Men!" The harsh sound of Arclight's voice carried above the din.
The sadistic smile on Malice's face widened-this one had called for his old friends-this would be fun. Today was a beautiful day to be alive.
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Stretching out her arms Rogue forced herself to keep flying at the same speed as Angel, even though all she wanted was to surge ahead. Lives counted on how fast they could reach the Morlocks, and from the sound of things speed was at the utmost importance. It had taken Kitty and the Professor ten minutes to locate the Morlocks-the Blackbird was en route with the X-Men who had been at the Mansion. But it was up to them to act as the first wave.
Illyana had been left with Warren's butler and they were busy setting up a makeshift hospital with a mutant Doctor the play boy knew. Once things had died down they would transport everyone to the Mansion where Beat would take over. It would be Kurt's job to 'port the injured to the penthouse for triage. Turing her head to the right ever so slightly she grimaced to her partner, "You think you can move faster old man?"
"I'm not using a cane just yet," the reply came and the winged mutant immediately stepped up the pace, "We're almost there."
Over the rushing of blood in her ears Rogue could hear the sounds of the fight echoing through the sewers, pulling just ahead of Angel she broke into the clearing first. It took all of Rogue's will power not to vomit-dead bodies littered the ground, broken and bleeding-but the smell of all the bloodlike fresh hamburger was the most offensive thing. For once she understood fully why Kitty was a vegetarian. Below her a tall, hugely muscled woman with dark hair sneered and let out a loud cry, "X-Men!"
Rogue swooped down to hit the woman but found herself propelled backwards into the wall by the impact, "Damn."
The woman smiled and moved closer, "It'll take more than that little girl."
Cracking her neck the way Wolverine had shown her as a way of intimidating her opponent Rogue bared her teeth, "I've got more."
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Panting Nightcrawler followed the large sliver back of Colossus into the fray; the large Russian was to provide cover for him to transport the injured out of the sewers so that they could get medical attention. Kneeling down at the first body he came across Nightcrawler had to fight bile rising in his throat-who ever it had been they were not alive; you didn't survive having you intestines spilled on the floor.
Choking back tears the blue boy waded through the mess trying desperately to find any living-but every scaly, fuzzy, twisted body he crossed was lifeless. It was obvious that the killers didn't intend for there to be survivors. "Mien Gott."
Fear oozed down his spine like molasses, he wasn't so different from the Morlocks. If it hadn't been for the Professor he would be one. Tears ran down his furry face as Nightcrawler faced what surely must have been hell.
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Wading through the crush of bodies Malice tugged her captive along enjoying each of his little pain noises as they melded with the screams of the people Harpoon and Riptide were killing indiscriminately. He tried to struggle against her but it was no use-he was too weak form blood loss and because of the experiments done on her host body she was too strong. As she passed Morlocks dropped to the ground to writhe in agony making a path for her-Malice enjoyed pushing the boy's pain into his friends.
A tug and a whimper brought Malice's attention back to the boy-then hope. Furious that he could dare hope at a moment like this she scanned the area for its source. A young woman was trading blows with Arclight-floating just out of the larger woman's reach then sneaking in to deliver her own hits. The white locks that framed her face had a mind of their own had drifted into her eyes, but the girl didn't even push to push them away-there was something familiar about her.
"Rogue!" the gasping of the boy caught in her grip brought Malice back to the real world.
Silently she thanked him for jogging her memory-for giving her the key to not only beating the girl but destroying her. Malice smiled widely-things were getting better by the second.
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"Rogue!"
At the sound of her voice Rogue turned-it sounded so much like Evan even through the rasp of pain. Squinting in the darkness she made out the form of a woman holding a struggling spiky body. "Evan!" Rogue lifted from the ground avoiding her opponent's attack and moved towards the former X-Man.
In the blink of an eye the woman shifted Evan so that her hands were on either side of his neck, ready to snap it. Rogue growled at the woman whose face was shrouded in shadows, "Let him go!"
"Whatever you say," then three things happened at once-the woman's hands twitched, Evan's head tilted at an unnatural angle and the woman dropped him allowing herself to step into the faint light.
Rogue's heart jumped into her throat. It wasn't possible. This couldn't be happening. The woman smiled coldly, her black eyes like starless night skies. Like a tidal wave fear began to course through every synapse in Rogue's brain-she had to get out of here…they would kill her…make her pay for the people she had killed.
Tears welling in her eyes Rogue pulled her hands to her head; these were not her thoughts. "Get out!" she cried falling to her knees.
"Now, now Rogue." Pure evil glinted in the woman's eyes, "Is that how you greet your friends when come back from the dead for you?"
The woman threw back her head and laughed increasing Rogue's panic to a fevered pitch. It was too much for Rogue; the combined pain of Carol Danvers, Bender and every other person she had absorbed overwhelmed her mind. Before she sank into unconsciousness Rogue looked into that familiar, strange face and wondered what had happened to turn Cypher into the monster standing above her.
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All of the air rushed out of Angel's body in one fell swoop as the mountainous mutant threw him against the wall. Things weren't going quite as he had expected when the brilliant idea to dive bomb the none-too-bright looking killer had struck him. He had envisioned a quick battle ending in his unquestioned victory. Instead the dim wit was throwing Angel around like a sack of potatoes not a fully grown man with a sixteen foot wingspan.
Groaning as he slid to the ground Angel shook his head wishing that in future there would be a detailed warning on days he was likely to get his ass kicked. He would save the trouble by staying in bed. "Pretty birdie." His attacker murmured with all the simpleness of a child.
A large hand reached out and grasped him by the throat while the other grabbed his right wing pulling it taut. The feeling of hands on his wing made Angel struggle but it was the look on his face that terrified the millionaire even more-it was the look worn by little boys who pulled bugs wings off for fun.
"Caught yourself a Birdie eh Blockbuster?" the purple haired man moved forward a wicked grin on his ugly face, "Want him displayed proper like?"
The giant idiot nodded enthusiastically and Angel watched as the other man began forming one of his energy spears between his hands. Closing his eyes Warren Kenneth Worthington the third prayed to a God he doubted existed to stop the inevitable from occurring. No answer was forth coming. Then the real pain began.
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"Evan!"
Rogue's voice called to Shadowcat as she tried to pull a barely breathing girl out of the pile of bodies that trapped her. Whirling around she tried to pinpoint the location of her team-mates while phasing the girl free.
As the girl began to move through the pile Shadowcat prepared to let go so that the girl could be transported-Nightcrawler would be returning any moment. Suddenly, red hot pain passed through all of her nerve endings. It was as if a blast of pure energy had passed through her ripping her open. I'm intangible…it shouldn't have hit me, Shadowcat thought between gasps of pain.
Biting her lip in concentration she tried ignore the pain and return to her solid form. Terror widened the innocent eyes of Katherine Pryde when she discovered that she could not.
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Waving away his telltale puff of brimstone Nightcrawler searched for the slight form of Shadowcat-she was supposed to be clearing survivors for him to take back to Angel's apartment. They had agreed to meet here in five minutes-more than enough time for him to 'port four times and back again.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw her trying hard to free someone from a pyramid of bodies when Rogue's voice cut through the chaos, "Evan!"
He watched as Kitty turned to the sound of Rogue's voice to Nightcrawler's horror the brunette didn't see the large purple haired man lift his hands making a glowing spear appear. Before Nightcrawler could react the man threw the projectile straight at the X-Woman. It passed right through her intangible body sending a red light flashing through her.
Even over the distance that separated them Nightcrawler could see his friend's pain-it was so obvious. Terror spread across her pretty features and for a second Kurt Wagner thought his heart would burst with her suffering-then white hot pain seared up his back. Blindingly sharp pieces of metal cutting through his arm leg and back. Lifting his head Nightcrawler howled his agony.
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Colossus heard Rogue's hoarse shout and spun to see what had caught her attention. He watched as the woman in the shadows broke the young boy's neck-the one who had been an X-Man before his mutation had gotten out of control. The death of such a young person tugged at Colossus bringing unbidden memories of Asli back to the fore of his mind.
The woman stepped towards Rogue forcing Colossus to blink; it wouldn't have been the first time he had hallucinated Asli's face in the last year. But there was something about the all black eyes and sadistic set to the lips he had dreamed of kissing that told him it wasn't really Cypher. His attention turned to Rogue as the young girl fell to her knees clutching her head.
It was the girl's scream of agony that set Colossus charging through the battle to help her. Rogue was one of the few people who knew what kind of hell this last year had been for him-Colossus could not let anything happen to her. Swinging his fist he knocked the Asli look-a-like away from Rogue to end whatever mind game the woman was using, "Enough."
She flew backward from the impact and Colossus followed doggedly allowing her a brief respite to return to her feet. There was a nasty smirk on the face so like his former love's, "Didn't your mother teach you not to hit women?"
"In your case," he lifted his metal plated fist in the air to strike her again, "She would make an exception."
Before his very eyes the blackness faded from her eyes leaving him face to face with Asli Fraser's silvery, grey eyes. She looked around him lost and confused the vulnerability on her even face made his heart jump, "Piotr? Where am I?"
His heart leaped in his throat-after all the nights he had dreamed of this moment-prayed for it-wanted to sell his soul for it. Somehow she was still alive. "Asli?"
Without thinking he shook off his metal form and pulled the small woman close to him; the only thing that mattered in the entire world was the feel of her skin, the smell of her hair. All of the loss he had felt tearing his soul apart dissipated-with her in his arms Piotr Rasputin was a whole man once more.
When it came the pain was unbearable-white hot splinters of hurt pushing deep into his unprotected skin. He tried to grip Asli to stay on his feet but instead she let him slide down her body to the ground. Breathing deep he looked up at his beloved's face but her grey eyes were all black once again. She leaned down and placed a light kiss on his lips, "Not any more."
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Okay so this wasn't my usual 'uber fastness' but pretty close…I'm surprised at my output in the last week or so…all I had to do was stop sleeping. Egads! Why didn't I think of it sooner.
You know the drill by now…I don't own the song 'Devil You Know' it's Econoline Crush's…yay! More CANCON!
Econoline Crush – Devil You Know
Everything is a mess
I have to come to confess
Sold out all my beliefs
I'm a liar and a cheat
Searched my soul in despair
Callused heart is rubbed bare
How I wish to believe
In your innocent dreams
Delicate love, precious and pale
Tempted and torn
Broken and failed
Don't leave me here
Don't leave me alone
I am the one
The devil you know
I'm your man on the cross
I'm the soul you have lost
I'm the choice you regret
One you wish to forget
Lover broken and sad
Lost the dreams that you had
How I wish I could be everything that you need
Now on with the responses!
Star-of-Chaos - Sorry I missed you last turn…I hadn't gotten your review yet. I might let Cyke live…Its more fun to hurt him while he's alive. And…yes, Rogue in this arc has a very very evil streak…she and Asli were blackmailing Pyro. She'll get back at him…
Ish – Thank you, thank you…I'd like to dedicate my new 'Ishandahalf award for uber fastness' to me! All me! Muhaahahahahahaha! *cough* oh yeah…thanks. I'm glad Malice is scary…I wanted her scary…its more fun. Yep, I'm thinking htat Illyana get 'crushes' on all the boys at one point or another…just to be cute. And I really do love writing her…so innocent…yet such a shit disturber. Are you happier now that he can't say 'Moo Juice' any more? I didn't like him any way…YAY! You liked the GNR! And here I thought everyone ignored my song choices.
Ravyn Nyte – Okay as long as it wasn't *that* predicable…then I'd have to throw myself from a cliff. Yeah so far I have twelve stories mapped out in all. It really was my plan to bring Cypher back but her death was a nice plot device. Besides, she's not the same lovable smart ass any more…so technically she is dead. Malice in my world is a Sadistic bitch of the first order…makes her very liberating to write. I loved the boogey man line…I made spooky faces as I wrote it. The creative line was a cop off of Vampire Willow in Buffy. In cannon Illyana becomes the magician/teleporter Magik…who gets trapped in Limbo, blah, blah, blah. I think I'll just let her have mutant powers…sort of a cross between Scarlet Witch and Nightcrawler. Done…he's doing it himself…and well Jean doesn't play much of a role in my fic. I pretend she's not there.
And to the silent readers…thanks.