Attempt of Escape
Arwen didn't know how her little prison room was balancing on the pole, but as long as she didn't plummet to the earth and die, she'd survive, quite literally. For some reason, Magneto found her more of a threat than any other mutant. She peeked down at the beach below her and saw she was the only one on the small desert island. She didn't understand why she needed to be in a tower, balancing on a pole if she was on her own desert island. Did Magneto expect her to swim somewhere? She sighed and sat down against the wall away from the window.
"Hello!" A man that she definitely didn't know appeared at her window. He seemed to be glowing, and he was flying. There were wings on his feet and wide hat and he held a scepter with ribbons in one of his hands.
"Who are you?" Arwen asked slightly hesitantly.
The man smiled and laughed lightly. "I'm your grandfather, young one."
Arwen's jaw dropped. Her grandma never mentioned her grandfather, and her father's parents had died when he was a child. This man, however, was clearly not all human. Realization slowly dawned on her. Her grandfather was a mutant. Her mother probably was as well, but hid it from her father. "But, how did you find me? I've been here for a few days, and the only one who knows I'm here is Magneto."
The man simply laughed as he pulled out a small knife and cut through the solid metal bars as if they were butter. He climbed in and Arwen noticed, yet again, something was different about him. He was very tall and held a mysterious glow about him. "Not even that man can keep you hidden from your own father."
Arwen furrowed her brow. "My father doesn't care about me any more. And how the hell can that asshole find me? He works in publishing tax law."
The man looked surprised. "You mean, your mother never told you who your real father is? That man was no more than a foster father. When your mother wanted to get pregnant, she was denied fertility. So, your father's sister said she'd make your mother fertile if she slept with your true father for one night. You were conceived that night."
Arwen stared at the man. None of what he was saying made sense. "You lost me."
The man just smiled again. "I am Hermes. The messenger of the gods. Child of Zeus. And your true father is Apollo, god of the sun, prophecy, music, flocks and wolves, medicine, and archery. And, he's not happy that you've been locked away by a mere mortal, so he sent me here to tell you that he will arrive tonight at sunset to set you free."
Arwen swayed for a moment, then fainted for the first time in her life.
It hadn't been more than a few days, but Mastermind had brainwashed the minds of more of Xavier's boys than he was comfortable with. When Scott began pursuing Jean again, he knew he had to do something to stop the happenings. As long as they were brainwashed, they couldn't help with the escape. And if they weren't helping to escape, they'd never make it off the island until Magneto had his army.
Logan, Jean, and the Professor began searching the large mansion for Mastermind. Logan was using his heightened sense of smell and Jean and the Professor sweeping the area for his mind. Finally, after several hours, they seemed to stumble upon a secret passage in the mansion's kitchen cupboard.
"Remember, Jean, keep your telepathic walls up so as to keep Mastermind from brainwashing you," the Professor said as they slowly traveled down the ramp. "And if I say leave, I want you both to leave." The Professor made a point to catch Logan's eye.
"I swear, the best liquor on the island is down this way," Pietro said to Bobby and Sam, two of the few boys Mastermind had yet to reach. "Right down this hidden ramp."
"And why exactly are you showing us this?" Sam asked. "You don't like us, remember?"
"I figure, hey, we're all stuck on this island for a long time, might as well try to get along, right?"
"Or, you two could just join Rose, Rebecca, and me for a quick jog around the island," Ray said coming into the kitchen with the girls.
"Plus, it's noon," Rose said. "A little too early to be drinking."
"It's five o'clock somewhere," Pietro quickly interjected.
Rose lowered her eyes at him. "First off, that line doesn't work anymore. Second, five is still way too early to be drinking. Finally, why are you so eager to get them drunk? Gotta little man crush or something?"
Pietro narrowed his eyes. "I was just trying to be generous, but I've learned my lesson. There's no being nice to an X-Geek." He zipped off before anyone could talk again.
"You weren't really going to go down there, were you?" Ray asked.
"Hell, I wanted some good alcohol," Bobby said. He was about to walk down the ramp, but Ray and Sam each caught an arm and pulled him back. Ray flicked his forehead.
"Don't you think that's where Magneto's hiding Mastermind?" Ray snapped.
"Oh, uh, I was just playing along so that I could take Mastermind out," Bobby laughed.
"You're an idiot," Rebecca mumbled.
"Okay, I'm ready for that run now," Rose said after downing a glass of water.
"You were being serious?" Rebecca asked.
Rose nodded. "You weren't?"
"I thought he was kidding," Rebecca said pointing at Ray.
"Nope," Ray said. "I'm really going for a run before I eat. We might be on a small island, but I'm not letting that stop my training."
"Wow," Rebecca laughed. "You are way too weird for my tastes. And what's your reason, Rose?"
"I'm a runner," Rose said. "It's my thing."
Duke was strolling the beach, looking for a couple to mess with in the head. In the distance, he saw two figures running in is direction. He jumped behind a shrub before they could spot him. As the two approached, he began to smirk. "Oh, my darling sister, it's time for a bit of payback. Time for your first kiss. Too bad you're going to hate it."
"I see you've found me, Professor," Mastermind said from the shadows in the basement. "Good."
"Mastermind, you must stop what you are doing before Magneto gets his wish," Charles Xavier said. "Don't you see, you're as much a prisoner here as the rest of us."
"That is where you are wrong, Professor," Mastermind yelled. He used his power to project images of a mutant ruled world in the Professor's head. It showed mutant freedom and humans agreeing with the mutants, rather than fighting them.
"That isn't the world Magneto envisions at all, Mastermind," the Professor yelled. "He wants mutant domination of the world. He wants to enslave the humans."
"They are inferior beings," Mastermind said.
"You are wrong, Mastermind," the Professor yelled. "They are equal to us. All are equal."
"They will never be equal," Mastermind said. "They will always hate us. Magneto wants our freedom."
"But at what price, Mastermind?" the Professor asked. "Lives will be lost."
"It will be worth it," Mastermind replied.
"You're wrong," Jean yelled. "There can be peace, but we have to work for it and we have to show the humans we mean no harm."
Kitty hadn't seen Logan or the Professor in hours, which was the only reason she was peeking into every room looking for Lance. After fifteen minutes of searching, she found him watching a movie with Piotr and a few Morlocks. After checking to make sure that Logan was nowhere in the vicinity, she entered the room quietly and approached Lance.
"Hey, Lance," Kitty whispered into his ear.
Lance smiled and turned his head so his lips could meet hers. "Pretty Kitty," he said in a low voice. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
"To the fact that I'm bored and I miss you," Kitty said tugging at him to leave the group of mutants and to go away with her.
"Didn't your professor tell you not to spend time alone with me while we're on this island?" Lance asked once she had pulled him into an empty room.
"He's just afraid of what Rose's brother is doing to everyone's minds," Kitty said. "I haven't been near him, and I don't think you've been near him. And he certainly isn't here." Kitty got on her tiptoes, ready to kiss Lance, when an angry yell rang through the house.
"Xavier!" Magneto yelled furiously. "Where are you?"
The Professor, Jean, and Logan all turned to leave Mastermind, who Logan had just thrown into a wall. Whatever Magneto was furious about, it seemed that it was almost time to begin the plan Kitty had told him.
"Where is she?" Magneto yelled lifting the Professor out of his wheelchair and sending Logan flying backwards so he couldn't attack.
"Please, Magnus," the Professot said calmly. "Who are you talking about?"
"Don't you dare try those tricks on me, Xavier," Magneto yelled dropping the bald professor back in his wheelchair. "Arwen. Where is she?"
"I am certain I have no idea, Magnus," Professor Xavier replied.
"You forgot where you put her?" Jean asked. "That's rather careless of you, Magneto."
"If I recall correctly, you took her away almost immediately," Logan said picking himself up off the ground.
"She's gone missing," Magneto snarled in an almost animal-like way. "And the bars were cut smoothly through. So, unless there is another magnetic manipulator, I'd say that adamantium was used."
"I haven't left this island," Logan snapped. "Nor had X-23. So turn around. I don't even have a clue where she might be. Or why you're so obsessed with her."
Magneto yelled angrily and then began floating away in one of his metal spheres before he could be caught.
"Professor," Amara approached the man later when he was in the library. "I know why Magneto took Arwen."
The Professor looked up, very interested in the information she knew. "How do you know?"
"Wanda told me," Amara said. "Apparently Magneto believes that Arwen is, well, the daughter of one of the ancient Greek gods. I believe Apollo to be exact."
The Professor stroked his chin. "That wouldn't necessarily give her powers, Amara," he said. "But it would enhance any mutant powers."
"What if she was more than half god?" Amara asked. "I mean, what if before Apollo, another god or goddess gave birth to her mother?"
The Professor nodded. "It's quite possible. Could you please get me Hank, Ororo, Logan, and Jean?" Amara nodded and left the room.
Arwen opened her eyes to find that she was quickly moving in a vehicle that didn't have a roof. She look around too see a young man holding the reigns. She was in a chariot. Thinking about what the other man had told her, she realized that she was probably in Apollo's chariot. And, if what Hermes had told her was true, Apollo was her father. This brought a new horde of questions to Arwen's mind. The first of which was how to address him.
"Um…" she began quietly, not even sure if he could hear her.
"You're awake," the man said, his voice ringing with power. "How was your rest, my daughter?"
"It was fine," Arwen said. Actually, she didn't feel rested at all considering she had passed out. "Where are you taking me?"
"I was just going to ask where you wanted to go," Apollo answered.
Arwen thought for a moment. "I'd like to help my friends who have been captured by Magneto," she finally said.
"I thought you might," Apollo said. "I've sent Hermes to speak with your Professor and to launch an attack. Unfortunately, Zeus has forbid us to help you in the attack against Magneto. Which is why we are stopping at Mt. Olympus first."
"Why there?" Arwen asked.
"We have gifts to give you," Apollo said. "And Zeus has to consult you on your future."
After a few hours, the chariot arrived atop Mt. Olympus in the clouds. Apollo helped Arwen down and then led her to meet Zeus. To Arwen's surprise, all the gods were gathered.
"Young Arwen," Zeus smiled. "Blessed with powers. We are all pleased to see you. Seventy-five percent goddess." He paused and looked at her, stroking his beard. "You're only fifteen, but before your next birthday, you have a choice that must be made. You can choose your destiny. Goddess or human."
Arwen's eyes widened. "I have to what?"
"In December, you will turn sixteen," Zeus said. "Before then you must choose if you would like to join us on Mt. Olympus, or if you'd like to live the life of a human. I do not want you to make a hasty decision, so I'd like you to wait until everything in your life has sorted out to think. But, it would seem that you have a problem with your friends. So, we have some gifts for you. From Hephaestus, impenetrable armor that Magneto cannot control. From Eros, a quiver of love arrows. From Athena, a grant of protection. And from Hermes, winged-sandals so that you may have the speed of the gods."
"Thank you," Arwen said with a bow.
"Take care," Zeus said. "Now, be off, for the battle has already begun."
"Listen to me," Apollo said as Arwen pulled her armor on while in the chariot that was taking them to the island. "Your music is your greatest weapon. It will break the hypnosis cast upon some of your peers. Take my bow as well to shoot Eros's arrows so you will not miss and take this wooden flute so that you may have music. I will be around to help guide you, but I cannot help fight. Stay safe, my daughter."
Hours earlier, on the island…
"Are you sure this is all of it?" the Professor asked Wanda.
"All on the island," Wanda said. "I'm certain."
"Then we begin," the Professor said. Amara and Rogue, who had recently touched Roberto because he was still under Mastermind's brainwashing, both powered up and began blasting the metal with all their might. Jean was working on reversing Mastermind's brainwashing. Dr. McCoy was gathering all the students and other mutants to the underwater bridge Lance and Amara had been working on. And Logan, Kitty, Sam, and Bobby, they were fending off those on Magneto's side.
"That metal's meltin', alright," Rogue called to Amara. "Ah still think we ought to turn up the heat."
"Just a bit more," Amara said. "Where's the Professor?"
"Storm took him out of here a few minutes ago," Rogue said. Finally, the metal reached a temperature so hot it set on fire. "And about time, too."
Upon noticing that his island was in utter chaos, Magneto called all his Acolytes and the Hellions to help him fight. Mastermind finally crawled out of his hole and began commanding all those under his control to fight against those trying to escape.
"I wouldn't be making a bridge if I were you," Scott growled reaching for his sunglasses and approaching Lance. "And what have I told you about Kitty?"
"Scott…" Jean began approaching him. "What's gotten into you?"
"Attack," Magneto yelled appearing in the distance.
It began too fast to counter. Magneto's side quickly subdued the others. The well trained Hellions, the tricky Acolytes, and the blumbering Brotherhood alongside all the brainwashed X-Men males. "I want everyone in pairs," he announced. "Every male, choose your mate."
"We're not dogs, Magneto," Kitty yelled. "You can't just breed us."
"I think you'll find I can," he said. "Eros, pick a rough mate for her. And make sure it's not Avalanche."
"No!" Lance yelled, struggling in Sabretooth's grip. "Leave her alone, damn it." As he yelled, the ground began to shake.
"Do something about him," Magneto snapped.
"How about you do something about this," Wanda yelled hexing her father with her powers. Magneto fell to the ground, but he quickly stood up. Suddenly, there was a slight rumble in the background and everyone turned around to see that forks and spoons were flying in their direction. Everyone who could, fell to the ground as all the silverware, followed quickly by larger metal objects, began sticking to Magneto by a power magnetic attraction.
"Father!" Pietro yelled, letting go of Paige and Megan, who he had somehow captured. However, before even Pietro could approach Magneto, the man yelled and sent all the metal flying in every direction.
"I should have known better than to bring you here, Wanda," Magneto snarled.
Paige and Megan, however, didn't waste any time and turned to help their fellow teammates also captured. Paige shed her skin and gave herself an acid skin to burn anyone who attacked her while Megan began spreading pixie dust, which could cause illusions, thus confusing those holding people captive. Kitty phased from the grip she was in and then began helping others phase out of their grip.
Magneto, seeing Kitty was loose, tried to bring up his hidden metal boxes, only to find that they were dripping and melted and no longer the substance he had spent years perfecting. "That's a little too hot, don't you think," Rogue said with a smile. She jumped at Magneto, reaching for the little exposed skin on his face. He flew out of her reach, but that didn't seem to stop her. She had apparently already had fought with Jetstream. While she had not taken him out of the fight, she had gained his ability to fly.
Jean never thought she would end up in a face-off against Scott, but she had. Scott's powerful optic beam blasted at her, and she threw up a telekinetic shield for herself. As Scott's beam grew more powerful, Jean began to push against it, trying to close her shield around him, but not so that he would get hurt. However, before she could finish her work, someone struck her in the back of the knee and she lost all control as she fell down.
Kitty, Rebecca, and Rose found themselves surrounded by Tarot, Roulette, and Nuclear. Roulette threw three black disks, one at each of the X-Men. In retaliation, Rebecca tried to block the solid bad luck and found that she could turn her luck into solid objects as well, such as ninja stars of good or bad luck. A star of bad luck cut right through the disk heading toward Rebecca and sliced Roulette's cheek, causing her to take a step backwards and fall. Each half of the disk Roulette had thrown at Rebecca curved off the collided with the other two disks she had thrown. When Roulette tried to stand back up, she found that she had fallen into a spot of quicksand. When Tarot's creations charged at Kitty, she just phased through the attacks, then grabbed onto the creations from behind and pulled them deep into the sand. After several of these, Kitty pulled one right under Tarot, and when she tried to call back her creation, the sand beneath her collapsed and she fell into a deep pit. Rose kept trying to grow plants to attack Nuclear, but he kept killing them off with his radioactive ability. Finally, Rose growled and quickly, a cage of weeds sprung up around Nuclear, and as he killed that off, Poison Oak and Poison Ivy grew up around him and wrapped him up. By the time he escaped, he couldn't stop scratching.
Arwen saw the fireworks as she approached the island. She grabbed her new wooden flute and closed her eyes. She just needed to help free the minds of all of Mastermind's victims. How hard could that task actually be?
She tried to think of a song, any song that she could play. But, for the first time, nothing came to mind. She couldn't even think of the last song she had heard or listened to. As the battle grew closer, she began to freak out. She couldn't go charging into a battle. She didn't know how to fight, how to move swiftly in armor. She knew one thing. She needed help.
That's it! She thought to herself and brought the flute back up to her lips. "Let your minds be free," she whispered and then began to play the random tune she found in her mind.
