Earth-717: X-Men Vol 3
Chapter 7: Sinister Developments
"Get away from her!"
Helen pulled Cassie away and stood against the far wall. Bart was standing behind her. Cassie looked at her older sister with concern, but her parents made sure she stayed put.
"M-Mom? What's . . . . what's happening to me?"
"Don't move!" said Bart. "Don't come any closer!"
"Dad?"
Her hands lit up with orange energy. Her family could feel the heat even though she was standing several metres away. She looked down at her palms and screamed.
"Oh God," said Helen. "She's one of them."
"No. No, please. Please . . . ."
She took a step towards her family.
"I SAID STAY BACK!"
Cassie gulped.
"What's wrong, Angie?"
She looked down at her younger sister. She then shook her head and stepped back, accidentally bumping one of her hands against a wooden credenza placed near the wall. The credenza was instantly set on fire, causing Helen to scream.
"No, no, no . . . . no, I didn't mean to . . . ."
"Move!"
Bart ushered Helen and Cassie out of the room, leaving her behind. Cassie held out her hand, reaching out for her sister.
"Angie!"
She looked down at her glowing hands and cried out in horror. Her scream then stopped as she found herself inside of a specialized containment cell. It was made of transparent, fireproof material, and stood in the centre of a research facility. It was mostly dark, with a single light shining down on the cell from the facility's roof.
She was sitting on a stool, which was the lone object inside the cell. She had been alone for hours. Then, two men in lab coats walked into the room and approached her.
"Angelica Jones?"
She didn't respond. The man who spoke waited a few seconds before continuing.
"We'd like to introduce ourselves. My name's Doctor Watson, and this is Doctor Isaacs. We've been assigned by the state to assess your condition."
She swallowed the saliva in her mouth and stared at Watson. She had bags under her eyes and was rubbing her hands together.
"Where's my family?"
Watson and Isaacs glanced at each other for a moment before looking forward.
"They're at home," said Isaacs. "They're all fine."
She breathed in and out a few times before asking her next question.
"Can I see them?"
Watson took a step forward and put his hands together in front of him.
"Angelica . . . . your parents were the ones who reported you to the authorities. They've signed an agreement that gives us full custody of you, and they've specifically asked to sever all contact."
Her heart fell out of her chest. Watson frowned.
"I'm sorry."
She looked down at her hands. At the moment, they looked perfectly normal to her. The two scientists gave her a couple minutes to process the information. Isaacs then adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
"We're gonna do our best to take care of you," he said.
She didn't look up as he spoke.
"You'll be treated very well. The government wants to know more about . . . . your kind. Hopefully, our work here will help people like you. Hopefully."
"We'll give you some time," said Watson.
The two scientists walked away, and everything faded to black. She then opened her eyes and looked at her hands again. However, this time they were covered in gloves. She was standing inside the cell, but was wearing her newly-created suit that she had designed to help her channel her powers. She lit up her hands, and smiled upon seeing the glowing orange energy adjusting to her thoughts.
"Excellent," said Watson, looking down at a datapad. "Looks like your suit is working just as intended. You've got quite a knack for this, Angel . . . . er, Amanda."
"Let's give it another go," said Isaacs.
At that moment, the door to the room exploded. She looked at the explosion in shock as a humanoid figure burst into the room at lightning speed. She could barely make out any of its features as it rushed for Watson and Isaacs. They only had time to scream before it had snapped both of their necks. She fell to the ground in surprise as the figure finally stopped and looked at her.
The Sapphire Weapon stared at her in silence for a few seconds before firing a beam of blue energy from his right hand. Once again, everything went dark. Her eyes burst open, and she realized that she was still wearing her bodysuit and her orange goggles. However, she could not move, having been strapped to a vertically aligned metallic table.
She screamed and struggled against her restraints, but to no avail. Then, for the first time, she heard a voice she would never forget.
"I certainly hope you're comfortable."
She narrowed her eyes as Sinister stepped into view.
"We wouldn't want you to feel out of place."
She was so horrified by the very sight of Sinister that she found herself incapable of speaking in his presence. He started to pace around the table, gently brushing his fingers against her skin, causing her to shiver and hold her breath. The sweat that dripped down her temples as he touched her felt like a filthy, disgusting secretion that made her skin crawl.
"I must say that I'm quite impressed with your ingenuity. Designing a containment suit that can channel your abilities. That is something I can respect. The scientific process at work."
Sinister walked in front of her and stared at her with his red, pupil-less eyes. A set of injectors attached to wrist cuffs then locked into place around her arms.
"That's what we'll be doing together."
Sinister laughed as the acid was injected into her skin. She felt her body being burned from the inside. As every cell in her body lit up in agony, she screamed as loud as she possibly could.
But no one could hear her.
Amanda's eyes burst open as she woke up. She was breathing fast and heavy, and her entire body was covered in sweat. Her hands were clenched, holding bunches of the sheet she was laying on. As a gentle breeze from the open window massaged her skin, she closed her eyes and focused on slowing down her breathing.
She then heard a knock at the door to her motel room. She waited a couple seconds before she responded. Her voice was weak and hollow.
"It's open."
Bobby turned the doorknob and stepped into the room.
"Hey. I heard you crying in your sleep. Are you . . . .?"
Bobby didn't finish his question. Amanda looked at him, and he could clearly see the tears forming in her eyes.
"I could go," he said.
"No . . . ."
Amanda shook her head.
"Don't."
Bobby closed the door behind him before walking over to Amanda's bed. He then sat down next to her as she placed her head back against her pillow. Bobby found himself wanting to look at her, but he also felt like he was intruding. Sensing his hesitation, Amanda then sat back up, wrapping her arms around her knees.
"You were talking again," said Bobby. "In your sleep."
"What did I say?"
"Just a few words here and there."
Amanda sighed and looked down.
"Who's Cassie?" asked Bobby.
"Someone from a long time ago," answered Amanda.
Bobby looked away. Amanda rubbed her hands together as she realized that she was deflecting once again. She then took in a deep breath and decided to give a real answer.
"She was my sister."
Bobby slowly turned to look back at Amanda.
"My younger sister. I haven't seen her since . . . . not for a long time."
"Do you miss her?"
"She's the only part of my old life I'd ever want to have back."
Amanda ran her fingers through the hair over her left ear.
"Listen, Bobby . . . . I wanted to say that I'm sorry. You've treated me so well, and I . . . . let's just say I haven't returned the favour."
Bobby smiled. He then reached forward and gently took her closest hand in his.
"I shut you out," continued Amanda. "I've said some very cruel things. I shouldn't have done any of that."
"I think you're allowed to be a bit distant," said Bobby. "Especially after . . . . everything."
Amanda shook her head as the tears returned.
"It's just . . . . I can't get it out of my head. Any of it. I see my parents' faces, I see the look in their eyes, and it goes right through me. I wasn't their daughter anymore. I was this . . . . this monster, this thing. In an instant, I was something they couldn't recognize, and I couldn't recognize them. As if being born the way I was meant that I was worth nothing to them. It's why I changed my name. The girl they gave that name to doesn't exist anymore."
Bobby rubbed Amanda's palm with his fingers.
"And then I feel the pain. The burning inside, that makes me wish I was dead. When I think of what he did to me, and I can't ever not think of what he did to me, I feel sick in my own skin. Nothing washes it off. I'm just consumed by it. I keep telling myself it's not my fault, it's not my fault. It doesn't matter. Nothing washes it away."
Amanda stopped talking as the tears fell off her face and onto the sheets. Bobby then moved closer to her. Keeping his left hand on hers, he then wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and placed his right hand on her forehead. Amanda trembled at first, but then leaned her head against Bobby's shoulder.
In truth, Bobby didn't have the words to comfort the girl next to him. He did not know what to say to ease her pain, as much as he would like to. The only thing he knew was that in the short time he had known Amanda, he had felt a connection with her that was stronger than any he had felt in years. She reminded him of happier days.
Of days spent with Judy.
Bobby had no idea what was to come in the future. While he knew that both Scott and Amanda wanted revenge on Sinister, Bobby did not know what would happen when they finally cornered the villain. But as he caressed Amanda's scarlet hair, he did know that no matter what happened, he would do anything in his power not to lose her.
For the next couple hours, the two young mutants slept in each other's arms. For the first time in a long time, Amanda was finally able to sleep without reliving her horrific experiences as Sinister's prisoner. When the morning sun started to appear over the horizon, Scott knocked on the door and entered the room.
Bobby and Amanda opened their eyes and groggily looked over at Scott.
"Come on," said Scott. "We've got work to do."
The X-Men were all sitting around the main compartment of the jet, looking dejected and defeated. Jean, Logan, Storm, Piotr, Rogue and Moira were all present, each of them not looking at the others. Moira had programmed the jet to hover in stealth mode over the ocean while the team took some time to absorb the gravity of their situation.
Moira had tried to contact SHIELD, but realized that the communications system had been damaged by falling debris during the escape. Without the special encrypted encoding frequency that had been built into the jet, she had no way of directly reaching the organization. She was sure that they would learn about what happened to the Institute soon enough, but at the current moment, she felt completely lost.
Unable to take the silence anymore, Piotr spoke up.
"What do we do now? We have to do something."
"He's right," said Logan. "I know we're all hurtin', but we're still here, and that means we can hit back. Anybody got any ideas? Anybody?"
"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help to ya'll," said Rogue, her voice sullen.
"Hey," said Logan. "Don't talk like that, kid. You got Jean out of there safely. You did good."
"She absorbed my bullets like they were nothing," said Moira, almost as if she couldn't hear anyone else in the room.
"How do we combat an enemy we know nothing about?" asked Storm.
Jean exhaled.
"I know who she is."
Everyone turned to look at Jean as she spoke.
"Her name is Madelyne Pryor. I never brought her up because I never thought I would see her again. Especially not looking like that."
"What do you mean?" asked Storm.
Jean took a couple moments to collect her thoughts.
"This is difficult to explain," she said. "But I'm gonna try. When I was captured by Mister Sinister, I saw some of his experiments. One of them involved Madelyne, but she didn't look like that at the time. She was blonde. Had a different face. She was human, and a member of a group that Sinister referred to as the Purifiers."
"A mutant-hate organization," said Moira. "SHIELD has some files on them."
"Yeah," said Jean. "Anyway, Sinister captured her as well. Said that she was gonna be a test subject for a special project. Apparently, he wanted to replicate my powers, but in a person that he could control. So he took Madelyne, and, and . . . ."
Jean placed a hand over her mouth, clearly having difficulty saying her next words. Storm, who was sitting closest to Jean, placed her hand on her back in a comforting gesture. After a few more seconds, Jean was ready to continue.
"He put her in some, some sort of capsule. It melted her. I saw her melt as she screamed."
Rogue winced.
"He took her . . . . flesh, I don't know what to call it . . . . and made it incubate, or something. Like a cocoon. And then it hatched, and . . . . it was Madelyne, but she was different. He used my DNA to do it. I, I have no idea how it's possible, but . . . . he, he turned her into me. Madelyne is an older version of me."
The team took a few moments to process the information they had just received.
"How the hell does that work?" asked Logan.
"But I don't get it," said Moira. "If it was your DNA, then she would have your powers, right?"
"Yeah," said Piotr. "Instead, she is like a T-1000. I liked that movie until now."
"But something must have gone wrong," said Jean. "The Genesis Camp was destroyed, and her body was in one of the labs there. I thought she would be dead, but . . . . maybe the process wasn't finished? But somehow, she survived, and now, instead of having my powers, she can . . . . do whatever it is she does. Must also be why she's not under Sinister's control."
Jean sighed.
"But the worst part is that I couldn't sense her on the astral plane. She has no psychic signature, so she can't be attacked mentally. I've never seen that before. I didn't even know it was possible."
"This is crazy," said Logan.
"That may be true, Logan," said Storm. "But we cannot be swayed from our task. Whatever manner of foe this Madelyne Pryor may be, we must find a way to band together and take the fight back to her. If she was a member of the Purifiers before her transformation, then I doubt her plans stop at merely trying to destroy the X-Men."
"She took Charles," said Moira. "That's reason enough for me to take her down."
Rogue gulped.
"Don't mean to be steppin' over anybody's toes, but she just trounced the lot of ya. Reckon we gotta have some kind of a plan, right?"
"What we need is backup," said Piotr.
"I tried to reach SHIELD, but with the communicator down, I . . . ."
"Not SHIELD," said Jean.
"You got someone else in mind?" asked Logan.
Jean took a deep breath before answering.
"We need to find Scott."
