As Raven appeared again outside, the X-men were already tired and could barely hold the Pirate's hits and attacks. Master Puppeteer was still controlling Cyclops, who was now shooting everyone, uncontrollably. Nightcrawler laid on the ground next to a toasted Kitty. Raven ordered Myst to move them away from the fight, which he complied by placing them next to Storm.
At this time, Rogue screamed, startling Raven and Myst. She had gotten sick of dodging Shocker's bolts and jumped her without her gloves on. Rogue wasn't ready for all the energy she received, neither was Shocker prepared to live without her energy. Raven commanded Monarch to leave Jean to Dome and get Shocker to the truck; Dome was to support Monarch on her new task. Myst went back to throwing energy knives at Spyke.
"I didn't know you could do that," said Raven, walking near Myst.
"There are lots of things you don't know about me," he answered, smiling.
"Let's go," Raven called out.
"I'm almost done with this one," shouted Master Puppeteer.
"Me too," said Brawn.
Brawn had bruises and blood on her. She had viciously fought Beast; throwing the last few punches and kicks, she decided that it was time to finish the fight. She struck Beast on the chest, making him hit a wall, he sat down rubbing his head.
Monarch flew down, got Shocker, and landed in the truck. Dome was already sitting there, eyeing Raven's attitude. Master Puppeteer made Cyclops hit Rogue and Spyke; then, he let Cyclops regain control and walked toward the truck. Dizzily, Cyclops tried reaching for his glasses but couldn't shake off Master Puppeteer's paralyzing combination. Jean concentrated and lifted Raven up but Myst stunned her with one of his energy knives. Raven jumped back to the ground and motioned Myst to follow her to the truck.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Raven! Pay attention!" screamed Tom, on her belt.
She stood straight and concentrated. Suddenly her eyes widened and she shot her hand past the truck. The ground started raising forming a ramp high enough for someone to jump past the vehicle. They could all hear the roaring of a bike coming toward them.
Logan sped up toward the ramp and jumped the truck. He came to a screeching halt, which made his bike turn around, and looked at Raven.
*He's early,* she thought. *Very good, Logan. I thought Xavier's institute would've made you soft, but I see it's not true.*
*How dare you?* he thought. *After all I've done for you, you still attack my home?*
She could feel his feelings, so could he with her. They eyed each other for a moment and he popped out his claws as she released her blade. He attacked with all his fury. It's been a long time but she could still block most of his blows. She couldn't believe that he still fought in the same style as before; big mistake.
He kicked her on the side and she dodged it. She returned the blow with her pole but he caught hold of it, swung it and made her fall seven feet from him. He was about to slice her to pieces when she held out her hand and made a tentacle come out of the ground and hit him on the chin. He fell near Cyclops' feet, who had now managed to sit up.
*Still using the same dirty tricks,* he thought as he brushed a little blood that trickled down his cheek.
She could sense his disapproval, but brushed it off. She couldn't endanger the others just because of a little grudge that he couldn't possibly forget.
*It's not like he hasn't forgotten all the other things that happened between us,* she thought sarcastically.
She charged toward him, scythe in hand, ready to attack. As she leaped to strike down, Cyclops told Jean to concentrate on his glasses; she did so and blasted Raven, full power, toward a little thicket that was to the right of the path. Myst was about to attack Cyclops but Raven grunted in disapproval.
"Raven!" cried Logan. "It's my fight, bub. Ya stay out of it, eh?" he growled as he picked Cyclops up by the collar and threw him back on the ground.
Raven got up and ran into the thicket. Logan ran after her and soon they had disappeared. Cyclops stood looking at them and then turned to look at the Pirates who were just standing around waiting for their leader. He wondered why they weren't ransacking or destroying the mansion or even trying to destroy them; they had already won the fight, it would be very easy to just kill them. But still, they just stood there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inside the thicket, Logan looked around for Raven.
"I know ye're here," he whispered. "I can smell ya."
He looked around and found her form near a tree. She wasn't moving, just standing. He studied her figure. She had her hair down, her mask was clearly off, since her lips were parted, she didn't have her scythe out. He thought that was weird behavior considering her reputation, but still he attacked. As he got close to strike her, she moved around the tree. He quickly turned around, but found her face-to-face on him. He froze. She put her hands on his neck and pulled his lips close to hers. She kissed him.
Her smell was intoxicating. It had been so long since he last smelled her or touched her hair or even kissed her. He didn't want to let himself go but he also wanted her. He extended and retracted his claws several times. Then, with a wild thought, he welcomed the kiss. His arms, as if automatically, embraced her tenderly. It really had been a long time.
She wasn't expecting such reaction from him. Normally, she'd have to fight him a little more than that to get what she wanted, so she took advantage of the situation for a moment. Suddenly, she remembered that she had a mission to complete, he was going to hate her even more, but she had to do what she came here for.
Logan moved his hand on her hair and pulled her even closer, a move which she repaid by slipping a small, square thing into his mouth. Suddenly he understood everything; she was using him again. Angrily, he pulled her away from him and pushed her by the neck. She fell almost outside the thicket. She looked at him and felt his anger; ashamedly, she slipped her mask back on. She regretted having to do that but it was the only way.
Logan fell to his knees and gripped his hair. He wanted to kill her, to slice her up until there was nothing left. He took the thing out of his mouth and saw that it was a chip. He had seen one of these before and knew what it was for; still, he wanted to destroy it. Actually, he thought about doing it, but he looked at her. She was moving out of the thicket with her head down. He knew her better than that--she wouldn't do something without a good motive behind it. So he decided to wait.
He placed the chip on his pocket and charged up. She was going to get what she wanted but he was also going to hurt her for it.
Logan got out and found her ready for an attack. He charged up to her and they started fighting. He dropped her but she pulled him from the collar with a tentacle. He landed on his back; she charged up as before. Cyclops thought twice before doing anything, but as he shot another blast, Dome was ready and protected Raven. She struck her scythe down. It hit the ground near Logan's head. He looked into her eyes, and he got even angrier at her when he saw that they were hurting. He pushed her with his feet. She somersaulted many times and landed inside the truck.
"Let's go!" she screamed.
The truck came alive and left the mansion with a roar. Logan looked after them.
*Next time,* he thought and retracted his claws.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back at the theater, they got out of the truck and went inside. Raven did the necessary healing on them and picked up her things to leave.
"Something I don't understand is that they knew how to block most of our powers," said Shocker.
"I noticed that too," said Dome.
"Do you know anything about it, Raven?" asked Monarch.
She didn't answer, just left the room. Outside, she found Myst looking at her.
"You did it, didn't you?" he asked.
She looked away.
"I can see your facial features, you don't need to use that mask with me," he said taking her mask off.
"I had no other choice. I didn't want Daniel to hurt any of them."
"But what about us?"
"You guys can take care of yourselves just fine."
"Well, that you got right," said Brawn behind her, near the door. She was very angry at Raven, but still didn't attack her. She had heard of her reputation before.
"Leave," said Master Puppeteer. "NOW!!!!!!!"
"No problem," she said, but Myst blocked her path.
"Look into my eyes," he said taking his mask off.
She tried diverging it but couldn't. His eyes were so full of love and care for her; feeling she hadn't seen or felt in a long time, even when she was with Logan. It was all so pure and beautiful that it struck her heart in the worst way possible. They stood looking at each other for a moment, then, he put her mask back on. She hurried past him, once again with her heart and soul in pieces.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she reached the night air, she put her hood on her head and walked towards the mansion. She couldn't forgive herself for what she had just done but, as an Oracle, it was her duty to prevent the bigger things that were heading to Bayville. The X-men needed to be safe and she was going to make sure they were, even if it killed her.
As she reached the gates, she changed her body and made went inside. Cerebro's sensors couldn't detect her when she was so close to the ground. She perched at the roof waiting and watching like a living gargoyle.
At this time, Rogue screamed, startling Raven and Myst. She had gotten sick of dodging Shocker's bolts and jumped her without her gloves on. Rogue wasn't ready for all the energy she received, neither was Shocker prepared to live without her energy. Raven commanded Monarch to leave Jean to Dome and get Shocker to the truck; Dome was to support Monarch on her new task. Myst went back to throwing energy knives at Spyke.
"I didn't know you could do that," said Raven, walking near Myst.
"There are lots of things you don't know about me," he answered, smiling.
"Let's go," Raven called out.
"I'm almost done with this one," shouted Master Puppeteer.
"Me too," said Brawn.
Brawn had bruises and blood on her. She had viciously fought Beast; throwing the last few punches and kicks, she decided that it was time to finish the fight. She struck Beast on the chest, making him hit a wall, he sat down rubbing his head.
Monarch flew down, got Shocker, and landed in the truck. Dome was already sitting there, eyeing Raven's attitude. Master Puppeteer made Cyclops hit Rogue and Spyke; then, he let Cyclops regain control and walked toward the truck. Dizzily, Cyclops tried reaching for his glasses but couldn't shake off Master Puppeteer's paralyzing combination. Jean concentrated and lifted Raven up but Myst stunned her with one of his energy knives. Raven jumped back to the ground and motioned Myst to follow her to the truck.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Raven! Pay attention!" screamed Tom, on her belt.
She stood straight and concentrated. Suddenly her eyes widened and she shot her hand past the truck. The ground started raising forming a ramp high enough for someone to jump past the vehicle. They could all hear the roaring of a bike coming toward them.
Logan sped up toward the ramp and jumped the truck. He came to a screeching halt, which made his bike turn around, and looked at Raven.
*He's early,* she thought. *Very good, Logan. I thought Xavier's institute would've made you soft, but I see it's not true.*
*How dare you?* he thought. *After all I've done for you, you still attack my home?*
She could feel his feelings, so could he with her. They eyed each other for a moment and he popped out his claws as she released her blade. He attacked with all his fury. It's been a long time but she could still block most of his blows. She couldn't believe that he still fought in the same style as before; big mistake.
He kicked her on the side and she dodged it. She returned the blow with her pole but he caught hold of it, swung it and made her fall seven feet from him. He was about to slice her to pieces when she held out her hand and made a tentacle come out of the ground and hit him on the chin. He fell near Cyclops' feet, who had now managed to sit up.
*Still using the same dirty tricks,* he thought as he brushed a little blood that trickled down his cheek.
She could sense his disapproval, but brushed it off. She couldn't endanger the others just because of a little grudge that he couldn't possibly forget.
*It's not like he hasn't forgotten all the other things that happened between us,* she thought sarcastically.
She charged toward him, scythe in hand, ready to attack. As she leaped to strike down, Cyclops told Jean to concentrate on his glasses; she did so and blasted Raven, full power, toward a little thicket that was to the right of the path. Myst was about to attack Cyclops but Raven grunted in disapproval.
"Raven!" cried Logan. "It's my fight, bub. Ya stay out of it, eh?" he growled as he picked Cyclops up by the collar and threw him back on the ground.
Raven got up and ran into the thicket. Logan ran after her and soon they had disappeared. Cyclops stood looking at them and then turned to look at the Pirates who were just standing around waiting for their leader. He wondered why they weren't ransacking or destroying the mansion or even trying to destroy them; they had already won the fight, it would be very easy to just kill them. But still, they just stood there.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inside the thicket, Logan looked around for Raven.
"I know ye're here," he whispered. "I can smell ya."
He looked around and found her form near a tree. She wasn't moving, just standing. He studied her figure. She had her hair down, her mask was clearly off, since her lips were parted, she didn't have her scythe out. He thought that was weird behavior considering her reputation, but still he attacked. As he got close to strike her, she moved around the tree. He quickly turned around, but found her face-to-face on him. He froze. She put her hands on his neck and pulled his lips close to hers. She kissed him.
Her smell was intoxicating. It had been so long since he last smelled her or touched her hair or even kissed her. He didn't want to let himself go but he also wanted her. He extended and retracted his claws several times. Then, with a wild thought, he welcomed the kiss. His arms, as if automatically, embraced her tenderly. It really had been a long time.
She wasn't expecting such reaction from him. Normally, she'd have to fight him a little more than that to get what she wanted, so she took advantage of the situation for a moment. Suddenly, she remembered that she had a mission to complete, he was going to hate her even more, but she had to do what she came here for.
Logan moved his hand on her hair and pulled her even closer, a move which she repaid by slipping a small, square thing into his mouth. Suddenly he understood everything; she was using him again. Angrily, he pulled her away from him and pushed her by the neck. She fell almost outside the thicket. She looked at him and felt his anger; ashamedly, she slipped her mask back on. She regretted having to do that but it was the only way.
Logan fell to his knees and gripped his hair. He wanted to kill her, to slice her up until there was nothing left. He took the thing out of his mouth and saw that it was a chip. He had seen one of these before and knew what it was for; still, he wanted to destroy it. Actually, he thought about doing it, but he looked at her. She was moving out of the thicket with her head down. He knew her better than that--she wouldn't do something without a good motive behind it. So he decided to wait.
He placed the chip on his pocket and charged up. She was going to get what she wanted but he was also going to hurt her for it.
Logan got out and found her ready for an attack. He charged up to her and they started fighting. He dropped her but she pulled him from the collar with a tentacle. He landed on his back; she charged up as before. Cyclops thought twice before doing anything, but as he shot another blast, Dome was ready and protected Raven. She struck her scythe down. It hit the ground near Logan's head. He looked into her eyes, and he got even angrier at her when he saw that they were hurting. He pushed her with his feet. She somersaulted many times and landed inside the truck.
"Let's go!" she screamed.
The truck came alive and left the mansion with a roar. Logan looked after them.
*Next time,* he thought and retracted his claws.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back at the theater, they got out of the truck and went inside. Raven did the necessary healing on them and picked up her things to leave.
"Something I don't understand is that they knew how to block most of our powers," said Shocker.
"I noticed that too," said Dome.
"Do you know anything about it, Raven?" asked Monarch.
She didn't answer, just left the room. Outside, she found Myst looking at her.
"You did it, didn't you?" he asked.
She looked away.
"I can see your facial features, you don't need to use that mask with me," he said taking her mask off.
"I had no other choice. I didn't want Daniel to hurt any of them."
"But what about us?"
"You guys can take care of yourselves just fine."
"Well, that you got right," said Brawn behind her, near the door. She was very angry at Raven, but still didn't attack her. She had heard of her reputation before.
"Leave," said Master Puppeteer. "NOW!!!!!!!"
"No problem," she said, but Myst blocked her path.
"Look into my eyes," he said taking his mask off.
She tried diverging it but couldn't. His eyes were so full of love and care for her; feeling she hadn't seen or felt in a long time, even when she was with Logan. It was all so pure and beautiful that it struck her heart in the worst way possible. They stood looking at each other for a moment, then, he put her mask back on. She hurried past him, once again with her heart and soul in pieces.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When she reached the night air, she put her hood on her head and walked towards the mansion. She couldn't forgive herself for what she had just done but, as an Oracle, it was her duty to prevent the bigger things that were heading to Bayville. The X-men needed to be safe and she was going to make sure they were, even if it killed her.
As she reached the gates, she changed her body and made went inside. Cerebro's sensors couldn't detect her when she was so close to the ground. She perched at the roof waiting and watching like a living gargoyle.