New York City
The ragtag mutant group known as the X-Men - descended the boarding ramp of the sleek Jet in the middle of a clearing. Cyclops silently ordered the team to split and Storm and Wolverine led Gambit off into the fog that the weather-witch had spun.
Scott turned briefly to Cable, dressed in a similar uniform, though the sleeves had been torn off; then to Iceman and nodded. "It's up to us to find her. Just be careful… try not to make too big of a scene." He looked back to the stranger and watched him as he checked the firearms he had brought with him. "We don't want anyone getting hurt if they don't need to be."
Cable nodded and followed as the two others led him into the city.
Downtown
The dark shape pierced the night, the screech of the wind heard for miles in any direction. With the slightest adjustment the form hurtled downward and suddenly, to the onlookers below, the angel of death appeared.
With a wicked grin the metal-winged demon flexed and razor sharp feather sprang from the wingtips, striking some of the bystanders and causing a panic. Within seconds the street was alive with screams and the angel merely cackled in delight.
The crowd scattered and soon another form emerged from the darkness of an alley. She was grotesquely thin and her shroud clung to her corpse-like body. She reached a hand out and suddenly a passerby collapsed. The man's body began to shrivel and soon the mutant's body regained fullness. "Wallow in your famine, flatscan!"
Sinister watched from the shadows, marveling at the pestilence he had helped unleash on the 'normals' and looked to the sky. He spotted the dark shape and smiled. "Ah, there you are. Let War be unleashed!"
The crimson blast came from nowhere, striking 'Famine' in the chest and sending her hurtling backwards. Sinister's gaze shifted and he spotted the newcomer, recognizing him instantly. "My dear Scott…"
There was a flash of movement as the angel of death took off again and spun in midair, turning to fire another barrage of metal feathers at the interlopers. The projectiles froze almost instantly, the spreading ice keeping Death from remaining in the air until finally he began to plummet.
Something slowed his descent and allowed him to safely touch ground, while the ice continued to envelop him.
Cable slumped backwards against a wall, the strain on his telepathic powers almost knocking him into unconsciousness.
Sinister scowled. "So Scott… you brought friends to play!"
Wind suddenly kicked up, followed by a light rain that seemed to grow in intensity. Storm floated softly to the ground and turned to Gambit. "Get the people out of here!"
Gambit sighed. "You take all d'fun, no?"
Storm merely glared with frosted eyes and the Cajun nodded, turning and dashing toward the scrambling crowd.
Wolverine stopped dead in his jog. "There's someone else."
Sinister watched with anticipation, then looked up and smiled. "Right on time."
Something barreled into Wolverine, sending him careening into a nearby building and knocking a few of the bricks free. With a groan he collapsed and the fighting stopped.
Scott looked up and his mouth hung wide. "Oh god. It's rogue."
Marie stood in the middle of the street, dressed in a tight, form-fitting uniform and turned to see Iceman approaching from her flank. He reached his hands out and the air around him began to solidify and he fired the frozen blast, hoping to catch her but missed.
Rogue had seen it coming and suddenly disappeared upward, stopping thirty feet from the ground where she hung. "Now, now… that ain't playin' nice!"
She quickly streaked downward toward Bobby; her fist brought back for a lethal punch and was stopped, mere inches from his face. She struggled against the power that subdued her and screamed in protest.
The X-men stared in awe and Cable emerged. "She isn't goin' anywhere."
Gambit followed close behind him and could only watch, his mouth agape.
Wolverine turned his attention once more to the shadowy form that tried to slink away and pointed, his claws outstretched. "There!"
Cyclops acted instantly and fired a blast, striking the fleeing man in the side but he kept his pace and disappeared around a bend.
Wolverine growled, taking off into a sprint. "Dammit, are you blind with only one eye?" He yelled back.
He followed the trail and rounded the same bend and froze. It was a dead end and his quarry was gone. What was worse is that he smelt the same thing he had when he got back to the mansion.
This punk had cased the place
-Hoohaw! That was fun to write! My first action sequence in this fic! Don't worry, there's much more to come and I'll try not to disappoint. Just a side note, thanks again for the kind words.
-Ryko
