A Song of Steel and Fire
Chapter 6: The Firebird Suite
Artemis grinned as she watched the wrestling match in the clearing from her perch in one of the taller trees. Eric was feeling better today and he, Alex, and the two pups were rolling around in a pile in the dirt. She'd been out gathering berries and rhubarb, but when she'd heard the noise on her way back in, she'd quickly scaled the tree to have a look unobserved…and it really was adorable to see the four of them rough-housing together. Her observations, however, were soon interrupted by a plaintive whine from below. She glanced down to find Shadow staring up at her.
Come down, Hunter. You should not be higher than me.
Artemis let out a wolfish chuckle as she slipped easily down from her branch, moving to her knees and giving him his due nuzzle beneath his jaw before rising a little to give him a good scratch behind the ears.
You are still my baby brother.
Shadow shook his great head from side to side and smacked a paw against Artemis' shoulder. Then he nosed her face, pointing her gaze in the direction of the wrestling pile.
Does that mean I get some say in your choice of mate?
Artemis gave several yips, tilting her head to the side.
What do you think of him?
Shadow also tilted his head to the side, giving a few quiet yips before resting his head on her shoulder.
He is strong. Lightning will fell many beasts for you.
As Artemis had predicted when she'd first known Alex, he had come to be known to her wolf family as Like the Lightning. Tilting her head even further to the side, Artemis directed her brother's gaze to one member of the tumbling group, giving a questioning whine.
And the pup?
Shadow's entire countenance grew guarded at this. He shook himself all over and his gaze shifted between her and the human child several times.
I think your pup is dangerous, Hunter.
Artemis offered a quiet howl of protest.
What harm is he? He is only a pup.
Shadow sniffed the air for several minutes, shook his head again, then scratched at the dirt with his paw, whining gravely
That is true…but there is still something dangerous sleeping inside him. The name I will call him is Ember. His heat is small now…but the potential exists for it to burst into an open flame…and fire destroys everything it touches. Your Lightning knows this. Ember will know it, too. The best any of us can do is protect him…and hope he remains an ember.
With that, Shadow padded away from her, beginning to howl out a sad song about a pup who was too fast for her own good…their beloved Swift Wind. As the other wolves joined in the chorus, Alex extricated himself from the puppy pile and came to sit beside her.
"What are they doing?"
"Singing for Swift Wind…and for Ember," she said, watching the three young ones with a sad smile.
"Ember?"
"It's what they're going to call him…Eric…and his song is already too much like Swift Wind's for my liking…a pup with too much power."
Alex didn't need to say anything more. He understood what she was talking about. Draping an arm around her shoulders, he held her close while they watched the little ones play…and listened to the wolves sing their lament for a child who had died too soon.
XxX
For Erik, being without his power was like being submerged in cold, deep water. All of his other senses seemed slow and muted. He could see metal all around him…the walls, the tables, Shaw's instruments…blades, needles, and syringes…but he couldn't feel any of it. It was like the years had never passed and he was still a helpless child…only this was even worse than before. Back then, he'd at least had some sense of the metal around him, even if he couldn't yet control it. Now…it was like his mutation was gone…as if it had never been. What was he without it?
"It won't be forever," Shaw constantly reassured him, running blades along his tough skin and deftly reopening all the old scars. "Just until you understand."
"Understand what?" he hissed, struggling not to cry out, even as his body screamed in agony.
"That you can't have both peace and power. It isn't possible…and I won't have you giving up your power for something as useless as a family."
"They're not…useless," Erik said softly, not looking at Shaw. "They're…the only things that matter."
Shaw sighed. "And that's exactly why we had to go back to square one. I thought I'd beaten that out of you."
"You won't…not ever."
"Are you really going to start underestimating me now, Erik…when you know just what I'm capable of?" he asked, slapping the flat of the blade hard against the younger mutant's thigh. The only sign of pain Erik showed was a tiny wince.
"I do know what you're capable of, Herr Doktor…but I know what he's capable of, too. I'm not afraid," he said, his voice a little stronger this time.
"Oh, I think we both know what exactly your beloved is capable of," Shaw said with a sneer. "Really, I'd say he's capable of killing just as many as you did…just to save your life."
He's trying to get a rise out of you. Don't give him anything.
"Anyone's capable of it," the metal-kine said sagely.
"But you don't believe he would do that," Shaw pressed.
"He wouldn't have…not before…but then you and I came along."
"Oh? So you admit you're at least partly responsible for the changes in him?" Shaw asked, his voice rising in interest.
"I know it. If it weren't for me…my feelings for him…you wouldn't have become as interested in him as you did," he answered honestly.
"Maybe that's true…but we can never know, can we. Even if we hadn't been connected through you, your Charles has a very interesting mind…and I would know. I've known every. Last. Inch. Of him…just as you have," he said, shuddering in pleasure as he remembered. Erik felt a flare of anger begin to burn in his chest at this.
Don't give him anything. You're stronger than this.
"Telepaths really are exquisite creatures," Shaw went on. "They can't resist reaching out to touch other minds. They're like addicts that way, I've found…almost…sluts for it."
"Shut up," Erik couldn't quite keep from growling.
"I know you've seen it…what Charles and I did together. Emma showed you."
"You didn't do anything together. That was…rape," Erik hissed, barely able to make himself say the word. "You raped him…even if it was only in his mind…it still happened."
"He liked it, though…the battle between us…the press of our minds. He came for me, you know?"
"I said 'shut up'!" Erik shouted, his control snapping as he struggled against his restraints. The only thing he accomplished was to make his wounds even worse and to exhaust himself of the little strength he'd regained. Shaw chuckled as he watched.
"That isn't going to help, Erik. You're still weak from Florence. Bleeding to death certainly isn't going to make things any better."
Finally conceding that the struggle was pointless, Erik collapsed back on the table, breathing heavily. "If you were…just going to let me bleed to death…you would have done it a long time ago."
Shaw outright laughed at this. "You know me well, mein Liebkind. You were right, though."
"About what?" he ground out.
"What you said to Charles on your first night together. I never did take your virginity…like I did with the others. I'm amazed you managed to keep it as long as you did."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Erik asked, now thoroughly confused along with being exhausted and in pain.
"The fact that nothing seems to motivate the two of you quite like the threat of harm to the other."
"What are…you getting at?" Erik asked, though the sinking feeling in his stomach told him he already knew.
"Do you know…what the Nazis did to homosexuals?" Shaw asked, smiling down at him as he rested a hand on his forehead. When he remained silent, the older mutant shook his head. "You wouldn't, would you. You weren't quite old enough to be considered in that category…but when they weren't castrating them, a favored pastime was to rape them with broken rulers. While I could do that to you, somehow…I don't think it would quite send the message I want."
Before all of this had the opportunity to really gel in his mind, Shaw slammed his head back against the table. With the extra force of Shaw's mutation behind the blow, Erik could almost swear his skull had split open with the pain. He barely even noticed when Shaw undid his restraints, let alone attempted to do something about it. Shaw's words were a dazed jumble in his head as he was turned onto his stomach.
"I'd like to tell you this won't hurt a bit, but…heh, I'd be lying, wouldn't I," he said as he re-strapped him to the table. The metal surface was already slick with blood…the coppery scent of it hung heavy in his nose. The next thing he felt was a hand on his bare ass.
For a moment, he felt panic. For a moment, he struggled against the pain, the fear, the restraints, the disorientation…the humiliation…but he soon gave up on it. After all…it was only pain. What more could Shaw really do to him?
"Do you…really think you can hurt me anymore?" he pointed out, his voice thick and bleary.
"No," Shaw crooned as he mounted him, leaning down close to whisper in his ear. "Not physically, anyway. That you've evolved beyond…but this isn't for you."
"Ich…Ich verstehe nicht…"
"This is for Charles…and for your son. They will see this…and it will ruin them," he explained, licking his ear.
"Was?"
"The only way I can hurt you, Erik…is to hurt them…and this will most certainly hurt them…to see this happen to you."
"Nein…nein…" he whispered, struggling briefly, but unable to coordinate his mind and body, still dazed from Shaw's blow. "Du kann nicht…"
"I can, Erik," he whispered back as he positioned himself, "and I will."
"Bitte…bitte…nicht…dies nicht tun. Nur Mich töten," he pleaded. If Charles and Eric saw this…his life would be over.
"Oh, mein Schatz…that would be much too easy."
After that…there was only pain.
XxX
When Pele finally came out of her drugged sleep, she didn't know where she was. When she saw the lab-like set up around her cot, her first thought was that she was still in Auschwitz. What had she done to make Sebastian angry this time? Why would he bring her here? When the door to the ward suddenly began to open, she was on her knees almost immediately.
"I won't do it again! I'm sorry! Please…don't keep me in here!" she pleaded, not looking up.
"Pele, you…what are you talking about?" an unfamiliar voice asked. Now that she thought on it, her own voice sounded strange.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Pele?" the stranger said quietly, kneeling before her. "Come on. Look up. Look at me."
Slowly, Pele complied, her fear dissipating as a furry, blue visage filled her line of sight.
"Hank?" she mumbled uncertainly as memory slowly began to return.
"Yes. You know me…don't you? I'm your friend. I'm not going to hurt you."
"I…I didn't…know where I was," she explained as he helped her climb back up onto the cot. "The nightmares…they were all so real…"
"That mix they had you on was extremely potent. I don't even want to think about half of the drugs that were in your system. There was one I've never even seen before. If my hypothesis is correct…it was some sort of rudimentary telepathy-blocking drug."
"Shaw can do that?"
"Well, he certainly has the resources to develop something like that. My guess would be you were his guinea pig."
"Wouldn't be the first time," the young telepath said bitterly. "Where's everyone else? Are they all right?"
"No," Hank finally answered after several minutes of silence. "Mystique and Sean are okay…enough, anyway, but…the Hellfire Club took Erik."
"Oh, God…"
"Mm-hm," Hank nodded at the expression of horror and pity on her face. "As you can imagine, Charles isn't taking it too well."
"Where is he?"
"He's been in Cerebro for four days now. He wouldn't even accept medical attention. I'm worried, but…none of the alarms have gone off, so…he must be holding up okay."
"Yeah…sure…" Pele said slowly as a disquiet look worked its way across her face. If none of the sensors had been tripped, the professor was more than likely all right.
Unless…
"Shit!" she hissed as she jumped up from the cot, darting from the med ward.
"Pele? What is it?" Hank asked, the worry in his voice rising as he hurried after her.
Pele didn't hear him. She made straight for Cerebro. The faint psychic whispers she heard from within already beginning to terrify her. The moment she reached it, she began to pound on the door.
"Charles! What the Hell are you doing in there?"
No answer. There was only the faint psychic signature she knew all too well.
"Stop this right now, Charles! You know this is dangerous!"
Still nothing. The faint presence she detected almost seemed to laugh.
"I know you think you need to find Erik, but this isn't the way! If you think throwing away your sanity to use this power is going to make Erik happy, you're wrong!"
Charles belongs to me, Pele. Even your strongest barrier can't keep us apart forever…not when he needs me…when he wants me.
"No!" she screamed, pounding on the door even harder. "I don't want to fight you, Charles! Don't make me!"
Stay back!
It was Charles this time…the real one, his voice strained and desperate in her head.
I have to find him. I have to! I have…to save him!
This isn't the way. Do you really think Shaw hasn't found a way to block your power? You can search the world over and never find a trace of them, no matter how long you look. Please, Charles, please…let me in.
No, he answered decisively after a lengthy silence. Pele sighed, her fists slipping from the door and coming to rest at her sides, clenched so tightly as to be drawing tiny droplets of blood from her palms.
"Then you leave me no choice."
Moving both hands up to her temples, Pele slowly began to work her mind through the tangled web that was Cerebro, reaching for Charles' mind. All the while, she trembled. She knew she could do this…but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid.
"Pele…what are you doing?" Hank asked her.
"Getting him out of there," she answered, deftly twisting her way through the strands of psychic energy. As she wrapped herself around his mind, he 'eyed' her warily.
Don't interfere, he warned her.
Too late for that, she said before lashing out at him.
Briefly, they grappled together, tearing into each other's minds. Under normal circumstances, Charles would have easily defeated her, but he had pushed himself to the brink of death, and he was caught somewhere between himself…and someone else. Pele easily broke the connection.
The moment the link was severed, the machine shut down. The door slid open and, for a moment, they stood, staring at the sight before them in shocked horror.
The helmet had been torn from the wiring. The connector cables had somehow been wired directly into Charles' temples. Blood leaked down the sides of his face as he turned to look at them. Telekinetic wind whispered through the cavernous machine, signifying the nightmare presence, but the most horrifically recognizable thing of all was the blaze of blue flame in his lost eyes.
"Charles…" Pele whispered in agony.
"W-why…?" he barely managed to choke out before collapsing. One of the cables ripped violently from his head as he sprawled across the console, a small arc of blood spraying into the air in its wake.
"Charles!" Hank shouted as he ran forward. As Pele fell to her knees, dumbstruck, she vaguely noticed others rushing past her. They must have been drawn by the commotion.
Shouts filled the air, but it seemed to Pele that she had suddenly gone deaf. The only thing she was capable of perceiving anymore was the bloodied telepath as Hank and Alistair carried him from the machine…and all she could think as she watched him bleed was…
…I could have stopped this.
XxX
Hank and Alistair were in surgery with Charles for the rest of the night. He'd used his latent telekinesis to wire Cerebro directly into his brain in order to deepen the connection to the machine. The brain itself was unharmed, but the tiny holes in the skull had to be sealed and his head stitched up. Apart from the surgery, a blood transfusion was also required, as he'd lost a considerable amount…a contingency that Hank was, thankfully, well prepared for.
Once Charles was out of critical condition and Hank finally had him hooked up to I.V. drips and a feeding tube, there was nothing to do but wait. Alistair, Elsie, and Haley kept themselves busy trying to keep the atmosphere calm and at least semi-normal for the students. Hank, Sean, and Mystique kept themselves busy trying to track the Hellfire Club, with occasional assistance from Haley, as Mystique would go running anytime Destiny indicated the slightest distress. The baby really was due any day now. Pele was still somewhat in shock after her brush with Onslaught. The only one of them who seemed to maintain even a vague sense of control was Destiny.
Currently, Mystique was sitting in the living room with her while Haley and Sean worked a lead and Hank checked up on Charles and Pele. Destiny was lying on the couch with her head in Mystique's lap. As Mystique stroked her auburn hair, the shapeshifter struggled with the words she wanted to say.
Every time a situation like this one arose…at least, one which she hadn't been previously informed about…she couldn't help but be upset by the things her lover had known about beforehand. She may have promised to stand with her through this, but she was like any other mortal. Just because she understood…didn't mean she was any less horrified by what Destiny had known would happen to Charles. She had to think very hard about where to turn the conversation. There was no sense in talking about what had already happened…or what would happen…no matter how much she was starting to fear for Charles and Erik's safety…and for the birth of their son.
"You know…you never did tell me."
"Tell you what?" Destiny asked as if she didn't already know.
"About how Irene Kinross became Moira MacTaggert. It isn't exactly fair. I mean…you know the sob story of poor little Raven Darkholme, whose parents tried to drown her when her skin turned blue," she said, trying to sound casual, "but I don't know the sob story of Irene Kinross."
"There's not much to tell," she said, also trying to sound casual as she glanced down at their joined hands, which rested on her bulging stomach. "My mum married the wrong man is all."
"And that man was…?" Mystique pressed.
"Joseph McLeod. They were college sweethearts…went through medical school together. She says the first few years of marriage were good…before I was born. The three of them were a happy little family. But then, well, her career took off and his, ah…didn't," she said delicately.
"He turned violent," the shapeshifter supplied.
"Yeah. As most bad marriages will go, it started with the drinking and the shouting…then escalated to violence. She never said it as such…and I didn't know for certain until my power manifested, but…I know now…that I was conceived the first time he raped her, so…I was definitely an accident," she said, her face carefully blank as she tried to remain casual.
"Irene-"
"The war just pushed them further apart," she continued, trying to get everything out. "He went to serve as an army medic and she stayed at home. With her medical expertise, she was roped into the development of biological weapons. When Alistair was old enough, he joined up, too…and both he and our father came back different people. The big brother I loved so much was quieter and more reserved…and Joseph was worse than ever. He drank himself stupid, couldn't hold a job…took it all out on Mum. She took the worst of it onto herself…tried to keep it from me…because I was so young…but his anger did turn on me eventually…" she murmured, her voice trailing off.
"What did he do?"
Destiny didn't say anything, but the images projected into Mystique's head spoke much louder than any words ever could.
Irene was in the shower…couldn't have been more than sixteen. She was humming quietly to herself as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair, thinking about what she ought to wear for her date that night…when the curtain was suddenly ripped open and she was grabbed from behind…slammed to the shower floor…and a tongue that tasted of whiskey was shoved into her mouth.
"You look so much like your mum, ye know…li'l slut!" Joseph's drunken voice slurred in her ear.
"Dad…stop…please stop…" she begged, terrified, and still dazed from having her head slammed against the floor. The water was still going, washing the filth from his clothing down onto her.
"I'll teach ye…to be like her!" he growled as he forced her legs apart.
"Daddy! Please!" she cried.
It didn't matter how loud she screamed. Mum was out shopping and Alistair wasn't home from work yet. No one could hear her.
The water had run cold by the time he'd finished.
"I tried to hide it…I did," Destiny whispered, the only indication of her emotion the strength with which she gripped Mystique's hand. "I was so…ashamed. I thought it was my fault. It happened…three more times…but that first time…he got me pregnant."
Mystique couldn't stop the gasp of horror that came at this. Before she could say anything, though, Destiny barreled on, needing to get it out now.
"That's how it all came out. I'd never been on a date before…never had a boyfriend…the night it happened was supposed to be my first date. Mum and Alistair…demanded to know who the father was…and it all just…came out. I couldn't stand it anymore. Then…when he came home that night…he and Alistair went for a drive…and I never saw him again. Until my mutation manifested…I didn't really care to know what had happened to him," she answered in response to the question Mystique didn't ask.
"And…and did you…the baby…?"
Destiny shook her head. "No. The same night Alistair and Joseph went for a drive, Mum took me to the hospital where she worked…and performed the abortion herself. I didn't care…I was still too much in shock over everything. No one ever knew."
"God…God…Irene…" Mystique murmured several times, barely able to process it…and still, the precog carried on.
"When I was old enough…I left. Got as far away as I could…came to America….took my mum's first name and her mum's maiden name…left Irene Kinross behind. When I was a full citizen, I joined the CIA…made myself into a woman good enough to be a field agent. I never wanted to be that weak again," she hissed. "That…that was who I was when I first met you and Charles."
"How did you survive it?" Mystique finally made herself ask. "All alone? At least Charles and I had each other."
"Even I'm not sure about that, though…I think what I'd say now…with everything I know…is that I survived because I had to. I couldn't let him beat me. But you know, somehow…after my power manifested…my own pain didn't seem to matter as much anymore. It seemed…insignificant…in the grand scheme of things."
"What are you talking about? Of course it's important," Mystique insisted, laying her forehead against Destiny's. "You should know…better than most…your pain makes you who you are."
"Maybe it did…before I was a mutant…but I'm afraid there…there's so much now…that a lot of my self's been lost along the way. I see events as images on a screen…viewed through a wall of glass. I know Charles and the others are my friends…but they're also pieces in this cosmic chess game in my head. There's very little that's still mine…that belongs just to me."
"Like what?"
"You," she said, pulling Mystique's head a little further down to kiss her lips. "You and Kurt."
"I guess…you precogs and telepaths all need something to keep you sane…when you've got the whole world in your heads. I don't think I ever understood that with Charles. I expected too much of him," Mystique said, feeling guilty as the revelation moved through her.
I didn't really understand…how much he needs them.
"He doesn't blame you for it. Even other mutants can't really understand."
Placated only slightly by this thought, another one soon alighted in her head.
"Hey…Kurt's not going to be a precog, is he?"
Destiny laughed quietly at this. "No…and thank whatever powers there are for that. We'd pretty much cancel each other out constantly. No, I…I think you'll like his mutation very much."
XxX
"So, Emma, feeling up for a little telepathy?"
Emma kept her face carefully blank as she looked up to see Shaw striding into the living quarters. The last time the group had parted, it had not been on good terms, and Shaw had mostly been in with his little toy since then.
"Perhaps…but I thought you were enjoying your alone time with Erik."
"Oh, I have been; make no mistake, but I find myself in need of your particular talents once again."
"And why is that?" she asked, knowing she was pushing her luck.
"With Charles, it was sedatives. With Erik, it will be hallucinogens. I've already started introducing them with the current regimen. I might need you to steer a little bit…and maybe take some keepsakes for Charles."
Emma's trademark chilly smile crept across her face at this. "Now that I could do."
XxX
(A/N) Okay, got a few translations for this one.
Ich…Ich verstehe nicht = I…I don't understand. Was? = what? Du kann nicht = You can't. Bitte…bitte…nicht…dies nicht tun = Please…please…don't…don't do this. Nur Mich töten = Just kill me. (My German getting any better?)
Don't really have any other notes except to say that…yeah, I am one messed up little writer.