Welcome Back folks. Just a little note to let you all know what happened in the last chapter. The War has Started. The Legionnaires have evacuated the entire population of 31st century Earth into the phantom zone. The Legion and X-Men have suffered some serious casualties. Qpid or Carmen Rodriguez is deceased. Mon-El is suffering from magic-induced injuries. Forge is currently bleeding and comatose. Scarlett Maximoff and her ancestor, Wanda Maximoff, are both suffering from injured ribs. Sun Boy has some broken bones and is unconscious. Avalanche is comatose. Now that that is taken care of, the disclaimer:
Although I wish I did , Sadly I do not own DC Comics, Marvel Comics, The Legion of Superheroes or the X-Men, nor any of their actual characters.
And Now:
END OF THE WORLD
CHAPTER 12
THE TIDE TURNS
Lana and Pete moved down to the infirmary to help take care of the injured Legionnaires and X-Men. Their abilities were better suited for close hand to hand combat and were not, hopefully needed at this stage of the battle. They were joined by the Legion of Substitute Heroes who had offered to help with the injured. They had all been inflicted with very minor injuries in the first day of the battle and as a group decided to withdraw from the actual combat until they would be needed. The most seriously injured of the group was Forge. They had managed to stop the bleeding of his wounds but he was still in a comatose state. Pietro seemed to be recovering from his physical injuries. It appeared that he also had a super fast healing system that came along with his powers.
However, that was not the case with his emotional wounds. He was in a state of depression and confusion over the loss of Qpid. Pietro was sad because he thought he had finally found a girl he liked and might have been able to have a relationship that lasted longer than one night with for once in his life. He really had liked the girl. She was a lot like him, personality and power wise. But now she was...gone. Dead without even a chance to defend herself. He found himself hating the mutant who fired the mental blast.
But no matter what Rogue or his sister or anyone said, he felt like it was his fault. He alone had the speed that could have saved her. Had he not been admiring the view that her red spandex uniform had offered, he may have been able to save her. He could have prevented her gruesome death.
Even before they were on the battlefield, he could have saved her. He could have protested against her joining him in the future. Or he could have stayed home himself. He hated himself for wanting to get in on the action. He had never seen war first hand. But now that he had, he wished he was still so blissfully naive. For a bitter moment, he cursed the Legion for needing the X-men, the X-men for having defeated Apocalypse previously, Apocalypse for existing, and many other things.
He turned away from the others, most of whom who had no idea why he was so sullen and miserable and decided it was because he had not imagined war to be so bad. He was really hiding the hot tears that slid silently to his pillow.
Normally he would have simply loved having a pretty young lady such as Lana Lang showering him in concern and paying full attention to any injury he might have. But now was not the time for it as he was just in a mood to stew in his thoughts and newfound emotions.
Lana sighed, sensing he was upset. She put a hand on his shoulder. "If you want to talk about anything, I'm ready to listen."
"Go away." He snapped.
Lana shook her head sadly. "Alright. I hope you feel better." She moved on to check on the other injured members.
Sun Boy had a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder. He too would be out of action for a while, a fact he was not very thrilled about. She moved to check on the other patients.
Both Scarlett Witches were suffering from bruised ribs from the collision with the tree. Both were in pain, but conscious. Everyone figured that with a couple good days of bed rest they'd be as good as new. Wanda was starting to go crazy with sitting still. She claimed that even though she had a cracked rib, and several others bruised, as well as a sprained arm that she was fine. Her spirit was admirable but she was instructed to stay in bed.
She turned her attention to her brother and sighed. She knew why he wasn't being himself. She felt just as rotten inside. She had hated Carmen from the moment she had met the girl. But that did not mean Carmen deserved the fate she got. She pondered this whole fight and couldn't believe how stupid it was. All this hurt, all this chaos, was not even needed. Just because a bunch of bullies had decided they wanted to take over everything, innocent people and time itself were in danger.
She shook her head and looked at Scarlet who looked rather pale and distraught herself.
"Hey kid, you okay?" She asked softly.
Scarlet bit her lip. "When I signed up to be a legionnaire, I never thought that...something like this would happen." Her voice was soft and low, almost like a whisper. "So many people got hurt, and so many more people are going to."
Wanda nodded and sighed. "When I joined the X-men, the biggest threat was my father. But even he didn't kill just for the sake of killing. He just had a distorted sense of right and wrong."
Scarlet turned to her mentor. "Magneto? That's like what the history books said."
"My father makes-er made history?" Wanda raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. All of you guys did. Well I guess it would be do." The younger Scarlet Witch frowned. "They need to write an instruction book for how a girl should talk when speaking with anyone from the past."
Wanda laughed and smiled. "Or the future for that matter."
Scarlet grinned. "It's probably a whole language that needs to be written. I bet my little sister Anna could do it. She's only eight but she's a genius. Her power helps her catalogue things into her memory and-" Scarlet's eyes teared up.
"Are you alright?" Wanda asked.
"I'm fine. I just, miss my family a lot." Scarlet frowned. "I had a fight with Anna and her twin brother Kurt just before I left. If something happens to me or them, and I never get to apologize and tell them how much I really don't hate them..."
"Oh don't talk like that." Wanda comforted the younger girl. "You'll be alright. And so will they. They are safe and sound in the Phantom Zone."
Scarlet nodded. "You're right, but still."
Wanda sighed. "At least your siblings are safe." She looked over to her brother. "I'm afraid mine's going to do something stupid and get himself killed."
Scarlet bit her lip. "For my sake, I hope he doesn't."
"What do you mean?" Wanda asked curiously.
"Well, if he gets killed now, before he marries Crystal and has a family-" She paused, not knowing if she should be telling her ancestor this. "Well I don't wanna screw up the time stream so I'll not say much but without him I don't exist."
"Scarlet, I think we're probably messing the time stream just by being in here. I mean, you're alive and my age about a thousand years from the time when I'm my age. It's confusing." She crinkled her nose. "And I really don't think you have anything to worry about. I know my brother. I saw that..." She paused trying to think of how to describe Crystal, whom she had met the day previous and had liked about as much as Carmen. "person, yesterday. And barring a severe personality change, you'll exist, don't worry."
Scarlet smiled in amusement. Pietro made a choking noise from his bed, protesting what his sister was implying, but said nothing more.
Wanda frowned, wishing he would have even jeer and teased her about Toad. She couldn't stand seeing him this deflated and listless.
Scarlet noticed her concern and frowned. "He'll be alright, Wanda. It's gonna take all of us to snap back from our first real fight in our first real war."
Wanda nodded. "Still, I'm not used to seeing him this way. It's scary."
Pietro heard and smiled, not that she could see of course. It touched his heart that his sister was so concerned about him. But right now he just wanted to be alone.
Scarlet then murmured something about it being a long time since she had been to the ladies room and took off, with the promise of bringing back an iced tea from the fridge in the kitchen for Wanda.
She moved relatively slowly, careful not to smart her own injuries from her encounter with Crystal and the tree. And as simply as that Wanda felt alone.
She hated the silence, it was slowly eating her alive. With nobody to talk to, she found that the last moments of Carmen's life replayed repeatedly. She wished she could turn back time and not create that hex bolt. Or maybe she could have been nicer to the girl. It wouldn't have killed her, and it certainly wouldn't have killed Carmen.
In the awful, tight silence, Wanda realized she'd give just about anything to have Toad call her one of his silly nicknames or pester her. It was odd, she had never dreamed she'd miss it. But right now she'd do just about anything to see him if he could take away the silence and give her somebody to talk to.
"G'day mates!" A cheery voice called into the room. "Here's hoping all of you are decent cause Oy don' wanna see anybody's underclothes." The voice was followed by a grinning Pyro. "Just here to check up on our resident sickies." He laughed until he saw Lana. "The bloke upstairs says you and Petey here should go take a break. You ain't done anything but work with these people since sun up."
Lana smiled and nodded. She and Pete thanked him and headed upstairs.
Pyro walked by each person and checked their charts. Wanda watched him and had no doubts that he had no idea what he was looking at, considering he was holding the chart he was currently examing upside down.
He approached Pietro's bedside and raised an eyebrow. "Hey mate, you okay? You look a li'l pale. Well, paler than usual anyway Snowball."
Pietro rolled over scowling. "Shut up and go away."
"Well excuse me for tryin' ta be friendly." Pyro rolled his eyes. "You can just go back to being a grumpy little bug." He stuck his tongue out and walked towards Wanda who was watching the whole exchange with amusement. As he got closer she shut her eyes.
She held them shut for a few moments and then when she figured he must be gone, she opened them only to find his big greenish blue eyes wide and staring from only about six or so inches away from her own face.
She yelped in surprise and pushed him away. "What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack!"
He chuckled. "Oy knew you wer'n't sleeping, Sheila." He smirked, amused. "Saw those perty blue eyes of yours across the room. Brightest thing in here."
A pinkish tinge appeared around her cheeks and ears. "Um, thanks." She murmured.
He dropped into a chair near her bed. "So how are you feeling."
Wanda scowled. "I'm fine. But apparently they must keep me in here. They say its for my own good. But I know better. They want me back in that Asylum."
He laughed. "That ain't true, Sheila. They don't want you hurting. Those ribs of yours, they need time to heal up proper."
"I can't stand all this stupid sitting around and doing nothing!" She groaned. "I want to go run laps or do a danger room sim or play ping-pong; anything that will get me out of this room!" She sighed. "I'd even welcome Toad attempting to cling to me. I think if he magically popped in right now, I'd be so happy to see him that I might lose my head and go kiss him or something equally crazy."
Pyro wrinkled his nose. "So you and Slimeboy, eh? Well, who'da thunk. Thought you hated his stinky guts." He shrugged casually.
"Yeah, well...I'm not so sure. I've had a lot of time to evaluate the way I feel about a lot of things." She sighed. "And to be honest, I miss the attention, just a little." She admitted.
Pyro shook his head pityingly. "If he's the only bloke gonna give you attention, it ain't us what are the crazies." He winked.
"What?" Wanda asked, puzzled slightly.
"He can't be the only bloke turnin' his head to ya, Sheila."
Wanda shrugged and smirked. "Guess its my charming personality."
Pyro laughed. "Pretty face and a quick, sharp tongue. You gotta be joshin' me when you say the only guy what pays you any attention is Wart face. Really you must hafta beat back the blokes with a bat, right?"
Wanda shrugged again. "Nope."
Pyro's jaw dropped. "Now, that, is a damn shame." He tutted. "Anyway, how're you likin' the future so far?"
Wanda blinked. "Um, I haven't had much time to look around or anything. But if it wasn't so war desecrated maybe I'd like it."
"Well from what Oy've heard mutants here have peace. Kinda nice ta know all this work Baldy and Bucket head...er mean yer dad of course, makes us do pays off eventually." He nodded wisely.
"That would be nice." Wanda sighed. "Just hope we live long enough to see it happen." She muttered under her breath.
"Oh, don't go talking like that, Sheila." He smiled gently. "We'll pull through...We got to. If for nothing other than we seriously gotta explore the cool stuff this place has to offer." He grinned amazed. "Did you know the refrigerators here talk to ye? Actually ask you what you want to eat! And then it serves it to ya."
"Seriously?" Wanda laughed.
"Yeah!" Pyro chuckled. "And the computers! Oy dunno squat about the machines but that I snuck on to one last night and Croikey! It sure looked advanced."
Suddenly the heavenly scent of breakfast wafted upon the infirmary.
"Mmm. Smells like Remy's making breakfast." Pyro grinned. "Sweet bloke he is, doing up food for this many people."
Wanda sniffed and sighed. "I hate being injured. When I get out of here, I'm gonna find that stupid elemental bitch and break all of her ribs. See how she likes being introduced to a tree."
Pyro chuckled nervously. "Somethin' tells me to stay far away when you get your chance."
Wanda nodded with a smug smirk. "I won't do too much. Just give her a teeny taste of her own treatment." She sighed. "Look, you should probably go and enjoy your breakfast. If Remy went to all that trouble, you should thank him."
Pyro frowned. "Oh Oy've had his cooking before. An' true, he's a great cook, but really Oy don' even know half the people up in that mess hall. Even mosta the X-men are strangers to me. If Oy go on up, the only person who'll really put up with me will be busy tryin' his darndest to impress Rogue." He sighed in partial disgust.
"I imagine that would get old fast." Wanda agreed. Even she was getting sick of the googoo eyes Remy tuned to Rogue.
"You have no idea. The bloke's totally obsessed. If Oy had a nickel for evertime Oy caught him pining over the Sheila, or trying to get me to go an' spy on the X-geeks before we joined...just to catch a glimpse of her walkin' by her bedroom window...well I'd have a lot of nickels." Pyro rolled his eyes irritably. "He'd be doin' us all a favor if he'd just pull her into a tight hug and tell her how much he loves her as he ignores her damn powers and kisses her so she can see for herself."
"That would be sweet...but disturbing...very disturbing..." Wanda frowned. "Why would you suggest something like that? I mean, as a guy isn't it your job to discourage that stuff?"
Pyro smirked mysteriously. "Never play with stereotypes, Sheila." He winked. "Someone might just surprise ya."
"Really?" Wanda asked amused. "And what could surprise me about you? Honestly when you were a toddler, you know, from Forge and his stupid time thing? Well anyway I dealt with everything from feeding ducks to fishing crayon out of your mouth. And telling you that Jean's doll wasn't meant to be a burnt sacrifice to Rogue. So really I don't know if I'm physically able to be surprised by you or the others any more." She laughed.
"Oh really, you think you know all about me?" He grinned.
She frowned. "Actually not really. I just know some habits and quirks. I don't really know anything about the person you are...just a little."
He shrugged. "Oy can say the same. Don' know much bout you either."
"Kinda odd, isn't it?" Wanda quirked an eyebrow. "I mean, we've both lived at Xavier's for a while, but the only things I know about you are that you used to work for my father, your codename is Pyro, you are a pyromaniac with pyrokinetic ability, and your first name is John."
"Saint John, Sheila." He winced.
"Oh?" Wanda blinked. "That's...kinda odd."
"Well, Oy didn' get te request a name myself when I was a kid, Sheila." He frowned. "That one is all on moy rental units. You think Oy'm nuts..." He rolled his eyes.
"I didn't say that." Wanda mumbled quickly.
"Oh then 'low me te introduce moyself." He grinned. "Saint John Barnabas Allerdyce, three time ward of the Sydney Institution for the mentally unsound, at yer service, Luv." He mock bowed and grabbed her hand to kiss her knuckles.
She laughed. "Quite an introduction."
He shrugged. "Oy got a lotta spare time on me hands. And maybe Oy've spent a lil too much time around me mate Gambit."
She nodded. "It shows."
"Well, Sheila, breakfast smells pretty good."
"Oh right." Wanda shook her head, having forgotten about it. "You go right ahead. I'll just stay here and maybe throw something at my brother to see if he's even alive." She tried to mask the hurt in her voice.
Before he could reply, Pietro hmphed from where he had been surreptitiously watching with narrowed eyes. "I'm fine Wanda." He snarled.
She snapped her head over to stare at him. Why was he always so predictably in her business and acting like a rabid watch dog when ever she talked to anybody?
"Well well, Snowball's alive after all. How about that?" Pyro chuckled.
"Get lost Pyro." Pietro growled.
"Touchy, touchy." Pyro rolled his eyes. "Ain' doin' nothin' wrong Speed bump."
Pietro's eyes were narrow, like a cat's. He crossed his arms and scowled.
"Alright, Oy'm goin'." Pyro rolled his eyes. "Croikey, ain' like Oy was hurtin' her or somethin, mate. Sheila, Oy'd talk to yer kid brother bout how over protective he is, if Oy was you anyway."
Wanda rolled her eyes. "You just go eat your breakfast. Tell Rogue I said hi and tell Remy I'm going to hex him halfway to Sunday if he doesn't take your advice." She winked.
"Actually, Sheila, Oy'd say you can tell 'em yerself." Pyro said reasonably.
"What are you talking about?" Pietro snapped. "She's hurt. She needs to rest! She can't be getting all worked up over Rogue or especially Gambit!"
"Look Quickie, believe it or not, Oy actually know what Oy'm talking about, so sod off."
Pietro fell silent and glarey.
"Okay. Now Oy know this ain't a game. Oy'm a hundred percent serious. But Oy know a way for you to get up to breakfast."
"How?" She asked curiously. "I've been condemned to bed rest until I'm all healed." She scowled. "Pietro, when I get out of here, I'm gonna go beat your future wife within an inch of her evil soul." She informed him as casually as though she just commented on the weather. "Hope that's alright with you."
Pietro gulped nervously. "Um,..." He didn't really know what to say so he just settled for staring at her.
"Croikey, love, ye jus' made 'im speachless! Someone should call the worl' record people!" Pyro laughed in amusement. Wanda even cracked her own smile. "Now as Oy was sayin', Oy know ya sposed ta rest an' all but you want that breakfast as much as Oy do. Oy can see it in those perty blue things yer passin' off as eyes." He winked.
"Wanting something doesn't make it happen." Wanda sighed bitterly.
"Yeah, but medical knowledge helps a bit, Sheila." He winked. Her curiousity peaked.
"You know about cracked ribs?"
"Not an expert or nothin', but Oy know enough." He nodded. "Damn painful things, broken ribs." He winced at a resurfacing memory. "When I was a kid, no more'n six or seven, Oy had a run in with one nasty brute of a tree too. Fell outta moy brother's treehouse. Eleven feet straight down. Broke me royght ahm and cracked two ribs. Docta said oy was lucky not ta crack moy skull open or break moy neck the way oy landed."
"Woah." Wanda blinked, awed. Then she remembered what he had said. "So what did you do?"
"Well, moy ahm was in a cast fer a while. But it wasn' much more than a pain. Oy'm left handed anyhow so wasn't that big a deal. But those ribs...every time Oy breathed it hurt loike Hell." He recounted. "An' Oy couldn' do any liftin' or anything that involved moving around much. But moy mom and pop didn't see this as an excuse to miss Sunday School. So they stuffed me in a wheel chair an' hauled moy butt wherever they wanted it."
Wanda paused for a moment and then Pietro laughed. "Oh yea, that's great. Wanda in a wheel chair? Please who is she, Xavier for crying out loud!" He snorted. "She's not that helpless for crying out loud! She's injured not crippled!"
Pyro frowned. "And Oy didn't hear anyone say she was, mate."
"I am not your friend, and I don't ever plan on it." Pietro growled.
"And Oy'm very thankful for that." Pyro smirked. "Now anyway, Sheila, as Oy was tryin' to tell ya, if ye don't mind a wheel chair Oy can bring ya almost anywhere ye wanna be."
Wanda pondered for a moment and he took this as a good sign. He skipped over to the corner of the infirmary and brought a chair over. She frowned.
"I don't want people to see me in that thing." She wrinkled her nose. "People will think I'm weak."
"Sheila, you are not weak. Temporarily outta commission, sure, but yer definitely not weak. Nobody could say that about you. Ye took a full attack in battle with an older and more experienced opponent. She flung you pretty hard into that tree." He smiled for her benefit and reached for her hand. "Oy don't think yer weak at all."
She smiled softly for a moment. "I can't stand being so damn helpless." She scowled. "It's not bad enough it hurts like crazy!" She exploded. "But noooo...to add insult to injury I'm stuck and pretty much immobile."
"I know, its awful ain't it?" Pyro nodded soothingly. "But Oy'm willing to bet ya all the pixy stix in moy pillow back home, and all 3412 lighters Oy've ever owned that your friends ain't gonna think yer weak." He paused before grinning. "And if any of 'em give ya any trouble, well ya got one prime institution escaping lunatic with a flamethrower backin' ya up."
He smiled assuringly at her. She glanced hesitantly at the chair, and then his outstretched hand and then his comforting smile. She bit her lip.
"C'mon Sheila. Oy know yer hungry. Don' tempt me to light a fire under yer bum to get you moving now." He laughed and wagged an eyebrow.
Wanda winced silently as she lightly pushed the blanket off of her body, revealing a conservative set of simple black pajamas. Even that small movement sent tremors of sharp pain through her.
"Careful, not too quickly." He advised, seeing the pain in her facial expressions. "Just be careful not to overdo it." He said calmly. "Easy does it."
Wanda slowly climbed, with his help to a standing position.
She tried to take a hesitant step toward the chair and lurched with a yelp of distress as pain hit again. She gritted her teeth and flinched.
"Maybe this isn't such a hot idea." Pyro said gently. "Do you want to lay back down?"
"I'm fine." She forced a smile and took a tiny step. She found that slow steps, like a baby learning to walk, did not hurt as much if she was slow and cautious. She reached the chair and sat down with a relieved sigh. "See?"
"Great job!" Pyro smiled. "If you're all set, Oy can take ya up to breakfast?"
Wanda scowled. "I can manage on my own."
"Really? Cause Oy'm not so sure you can push the chair without yer arms and if ye move those, yer gonna hurt like nobody's business."
"I got into it on my own didn't I?" She asked stubbornly.
"Yeah, but-"
"Watch and learn." Wanda smirked. She planted her hands firmly on the wheels and her feet onto the foot rests. She tried gently easing the wheels around but the shooting pain was nearly maddening. She swore bitterly and froze until the pain subsided. He looked at her with an 'I told you so' frown on his face. "Ok, so I couldn't do it right. But watch this!"
She put both feet on the floor and concentrated. She moved her feet and shuffled along about half an inch.
"Maybe Oy'm wrong, but Oy'm thinkin' you won't get anywhere fast that way." He said, very amused.
"You'll see." Wanda assured them. "I'll get there... eventually."
"Yeah, in plenty of time for Christmas dinner." He rolled his eyes. He walked calmly around to the front of the wheel chair.
With a knowing look, he gently eased her feet up onto the rests and moved back behind the chair. He was slowly pushing her along and ignoring her threats of being hexed into next week if he didn't let her do it herself right that instant.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Rogue was hard at work. She had woken up early. She was drowning in regrets and what ifs as bad as anybody. Perhaps worse. Carmen should be alive. That blast was meant for Rogue, not Carmen.
Rogue needed to find a way to push the confusion and worry out of her mind. So when she had woke up at 6:30 from a horrible nightmare, she decided she may as well go and fix something for the haggard base of warriors.
She didn't know if she would be able to fix special meals given the massive number of people at the base, but she knew cooking would at least pull her spirits up.
She had started making scrambled eggs, cheating a bit by using Jamie's power to create duplicates of each egg she put into the huge cooking bowl. She added some vegetables and seasonings and let them cook.
She rubbed her temples and turned to the coffee pot. After setting it to percolate, she sighed and dropped into a chair and closed her eyes. Each and every one of the psyches she'd ever absorbed were trying to give her advice on how to feel better about the loss of Carmen. And it was upsetting her worse.
She stiffened as something told her somebody was creeping up on her. She scowled and turned around, striking a fighting pose. If somebody wanted a fight, they'd come to the right girl.
"Woah, hold de fire, Chére." Remy put his arms into the air. "Remy be comin' in peace."
Rogue lowered her raised fists in confusion. She had never ever heard Remy approaching her from behind before. His training as a thief gave him the ability to be incredibly silent. Apparently Remy was just as confused.
"Y' okay, Chére?" He asked gently.
"Ah...Ah don' know." Rogue said, puzzled.
"Remy didn' mean t' startle y'." He said worriedly.
"No, that ain' it...Ah heard ya." Rogue said with confusion penned across her face.
"So den why y' jump like de hounds of hell were snarlin' at yo' heels?" Remy quirked an eyebrow.
"No ya don' get it. Ah actually heard ya sneakin' up on me! Ah ain' neva heard ya befo'."
"Chére, Remy was not sneakin' up on y'. He smelt breakfas' an'... quoi!"
"Ah heard ya. Ah knew somebody was behind me. An' Ah wasn' usin' Logan's hearin' or nothin'." She stared at him. "Were ya bein' clumsy or somethin'?"
"Non, Remy don' t'ink so." He scratched his chin.
"Weird." Rogue commented and shrugged. "Maybe Ah used a power an' didn' know it. So ya came fo' food huh?"
"Oui, Remy smelt eggs an' coffee. An' yo' not de only person who be needin' de mo'nin' dose of caffeine."
Rogue frowned. "Shouldn' ya be restin'? Mesmero's assault on yo' mind was pretty nasty."
Remy shrugged. "Remy got a g'nite sleep an' took a few aspirin an' voila. No mo' headache."
"Are ya sure?"
"Roguey, Remy be a big boy. Can tie 'is own shoes an' everythin'." Remy joked. "Trust Remy, he know if he alright o' not."
"Ah guess." Rogue sighed.
"Besides, yo' une fille who be lookin' like she be needin' a good healt'y talk."
Rogue bit her bottom lip and looked away from him. "Ah guess Ah could use the company."
"Chére?" He asked in concern. "Y'alright? What Remy say?"
"It ain' you." Rogue sighed, getting a distant look in her eyes. "Ah jus'...Ah wanna go home." She said sadly.
Remy moved closer. He could feel misery, guilt, horror, and shame rolling off her like water off a duck's back. But the biggest emotion his empathy read was fear.
"Chére...what happened?"
She whimpered and shook her head. "Ah don' wanna talk about it."
He gently took her petite form into his arms. "Shhh, it be okay." He murmured into her ear. "Y' can tell Remy."
"That girl died 'causa me." Rogue whispered, afraid he'd be disgusted or angry with her.
"What fille?" Remy asked gently, rubbing her back soothingly.
"Pietro's girlfriend. Carmen. Ah don' even know mucha anythin' bout her. An' Ah never will. Cause she's dead." Rogue murmured. Upon seeing his confused look she recounted the tale.
"What are y' talkin' bout, mon ange?" Remy asked quietly. "Dat wasn' yo' fault, Chére. Dere wasn' anythin ya coulda done."
"Don' ya get it?" Rogue hiccupped, tears streaking her cheeks. "That psychic blast was aimed fo' me. Somehow Ah made it go off at her."
She broke off and buried her face in his tee shirt. It served the dual purpose of hiding her tears and allowing her to embrace his warmth.
"Aw Chére." Remy said softly, holding her close. "Dat wasn' yo' fault. An' it wasn' Wanda's either. Or Quickie's. De on'y one t' blame be dat fou chienne, Phoenix V."
He managed to feed her a little comfort with his empathy. Just enough to stop her crying, but not enough so that she'd get suspicious.
"Chére, Remy don' know much bout dis kinda warfare. Mais he do know dat we can' give up jus' yet. Dis fight be crucial. We gotta stop dis once an' for all. An' we can on'y avenge Carmen's deat' by winnin."
Rogue forced the tears to stop. She looked up at him, and gave him a bleary eyed smile. "Yo' right. But it doesn' make the hurtin' go away."
"Non, Chére, but dat be what sep'rates y' from dem. Y' capable o' hurtin'. Means y' have a heart." He smiled as she pondered that. He looked over at the eggs, which had long since shriveled and burnt with Rogue's absence.
"Chére, Remy be ashamed o' y'." He waggled a finger in front of her face. "A Sout'ern lady such as y'self cookin' breakfast an' not even makin' de bare essentials."
She laughed weakly. "Ah wasn' thinkin' clearly."
"Well dat be alright, Remy be here t' save y' from certain disaster an' disgrace." He rubbed his hands together. "Y' sit right back an' let Remy work a bit of magic.
Soon the scents of bacon, grits, biscuits and gravy, and a fresh batch of eggs had filled the kitchen and was wafting around the base, drawing the able bodied legionnaires and X-Men from their quarters.
Soon the remainder of the uninjured Legionnaires and X-Men joined them. Every one sat down to eat. Rogue, Ms. Marvel, Cyclops, Jean Grey, Element Lad and Saturn Girl joined Mon-El and Super Girl at their table. Once Gambit had finished with his cooking, he joined them as well. The conversation soon turned to the battle before them.
Saturn Girl was the first to speak. "I think that we should divide ourselves into groups. Each group would battle one of the villains. We clearly outnumber them. The enemy is composed of 7 remaining villains. Cyclops II was rendered unconscious and was placed in the Phantom Zone when we hid the city. The inhuman elemental, Crystal Maximoff Summers is trapped in a power nullifier and will not be a factor unless she is released. Phoenix V, while a powerful adversary, has developed an uncertainty about her own abilities. When we were battling each other, I sensed remorsefulness about her, almost like she really did not want to be there. She is also teetering on the brink of insanity. Mordru, Mesmero and Apocalypse appear to be the strongest of our remaining foes. Universo's heart does not appear to be in this battle either. The Time Trapper is still formidable and needs to be neutralized."
"Mesmero is a strong telepath with the ability to use a super hypnotism on his foes," Jean Grey said. "He is also completely loyal to Apocalypse, and will not be turned away from his mission. Still, he has his weaknesses. He is prone to paranoia and seems to have claustrophobia as well. If we can secure him in a way that gets him enclosed and unable to control his mental processes, we can take him out of the battle as well"
"I know this is a stupid question," Scott began. "But how does one go about neutralizing a person who is able to manipulate the fabric of time itself?"
Brainiac 5 stared at Scott. "With a time neutralizer, of course," he wisecracked, laughing at his little joke. Everyone else laughed as well. Even Scott had to crack a smile. "Seriously, we need to get all of them into a power nullifier in order to neutralize them. We can't afford to allow the Time Trapper or Apocalypse to escape through time as they have done in the past. And Mordru is nearly indestructible. We can imprison him but he always manages to escape."
"How do we do that?" Asked Bobby.
"That is where the Legion Espionage Squad comes in." Mon-El said. "Their abilities make them uniquely situated to carry out this mission."
Just then, Element Lad moved over to the table. Invisible Kid, Phantom Girl, Shadow Cat, Nightcrawler, Duo Damsel, Shrinking Violet, Colossal Boy and Chameleon Boy followed him. "Did I hear someone mention the Espionage Squad?" Asked Invisible Kid.
Just as Mon-El was about to answer him, there was a loud boom from outside and the building began to shake. Ms. Marvel trained her x-ray vision outside. "It's Mordru again," she said. The legionnaires scrambled. They knew that if Mordru were there, the rest of their enemies would be there too.
"Stop!" Shouted Saturn Girl. "We can't just rush out there right now." The rest of the Legionnaires and X-Men halted in their tracks. Looking at Mon-El, Saturn Girl realized that he was in no condition to face the powerful sorcerer outside. "Mon-El, you need to stay inside and recuperate further. Super Girl, you are now in charge."
Super Girl looked around. Finally, she seemed to be making up her mind about who should confront Mordru. "Pyro, Do you have the ability to control any flame including one caused by Magic or Sorcery?" She asked.
Pyro looked at the maid of steel. "Well, Oy neva tried magic foire befor." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "But Oy'll take a whack at it." He grinned gleefully. He hadn't been allowed to play with fire so much back home.
"Good," replied Super Girl. I want you to join Saturn Girl, Rogue, Shadow Lass, Princess Projectra, Element Lad, Invisible Kid and Ultra boy on the team that confronts Mordru. Gambit, Jean Grey, Cyclops, Colossus, Super Boy, Shadow Cat, and IceMan will take on Mesmero. Blok, Wildfire, Star Boy, Cosmic Boy, Chameleon Lad, Duo Damsel, Ms. Marvel and I will take on Apocalypse. Brainiac V and Matter-Eater Lad will assist Rond Vidar in neutralizing Universo. Colossal Boy, Shrinking Violet, Phantom Girl, White Witch, and Dream Girl will attempt to subdue the Time Trapper. Karate Kid, Night Crawler, Lightning Lad, Light Lass, and Ferro Lad will try to take out Phoenix V. Remember we want their powers nullified. If it's avoidable, don't hurt them too badly."
Saturn girl spoke up. "Perhaps, Super Girl, I would be better served in assisting the groups attacking Phoenix V, than Mordru. She is a powerful telepath and my presence would be able to overcome that. Put Lightning Lad with Mordru's group instead of me."
"You may be right, Saturn Girl," Super Girl replied. "Lightning lad will join the group attacking Mordru and Saturn Girl will work with the group assigned to take out Phoenix V. If any of you complete your tasks, move over to the nearest group and help them. We have enough injuries to deal with. Be careful out there. Long Live the Legion"
Carol caught up with her sister. "Supergirl?"
The girl spun and smiled. "Call me Kara."
"Oh. OK. Kara, I've been wondering if you've seen my best friend, Carmen. She's the Spanish girl with a red stripe in her hair. I haven't seen her, and I'm worried. She isn't in any of the rooms, or the infirmary. And I haven't seen her since yesterday."
Super Girl looked at her younger sister and choked up. Tears started forming in her eyes. "Yes, Kiral," replied Super Girl, using her sister's Kryptonian name. "I do know what has happened to Carmen."
Then Super Girl began telling Ms Marvel the story of how she had found the cave they had been in and transported the injured to before restoring the city of Metropolis. She also told her how she had found Carmen's headless body and her detached head, and wrapped them in her cape and buried them outside the cave. Carmen would be buried with full legion honors after the battle was over. "Unfortunately, Kiral, I do not yet know how she died but we will find that out soon enough."
When Kiral heard her friend had been killed, she began weeping softly. Super Girl put her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Try to pull yourself together, sis. We have more tough battles to face, today. Carmen may have been the first Legionnaire to perish in this war, but let's not allow you to join her in that honor or to allow her to die in vain." Then Super Girl and Ms Marvel moved to join the rest of their group.
As Super Girl finished her orders, the groups all gathered together. Each Legionnaire or X-Man was carrying a power nullifier on their belts. Each of the members of the Espionage Squad was carrying two power nullifiers and was leading their respective teams out of the Legion Headquarters. Saturn Girl watched as her group took to the skies in search of Phoenix V. Phoenix V saw them coming. She unleashed a psychic barrage at Karate Kid and Ferro lad. Ferro Lad turned himself to Iron and Karate kid, with his intense mental discipline, was able to dodge the blast. Suddenly, she saw Saturn Girl flying towards her. She contemplated taking on Titan's most powerful telepath once again but remembered her previous encounter with Jean Grey and Saturn Girl. Then Phoenix V did an unusual thing. She raised her hands and descended to the ground. Once on the ground, she sank to her knees and turned off her flames. Imra and her fellow Legionnaires followed her to the ground, stunned.
Saturn Girl slowly approached the girl. "Are you surrendering, Phoenix?" She asked in a surprised voice.
Phoenix V nodded her head. "Yes, I surrender," she replied in a tired little girl voice. "I want to go home. And I want my brother. And most of all I just want out of this damn war."
Saturn Girl nodded to Night Crawler. He calmly teleported over to where Phoenix V was kneeling and put the power nullifier around her neck. Phoenix was now a prisoner. Then Kurt grasped her arm and teleported both of them to Legion Headquarters. Once inside, he turned her over to Mon-El who quietly led her down to the detention levels. After he placed her in a cell and locked the door, Mon-El turned his attention to the other occupant in the detention level. Micro Lad was sitting quietly in his cell when Mon-El walked over to him. Micro Lad moved over near the cell door when Mon-El called him. Mon-el entered the cell and placed his power nullifier around Micro Lad's neck.
"What is this for?" Lalo asked. "I turned myself in. I am not going anywhere. And yes, I know the phantom zone projector is not there right now. I have had a lot of time to think while I was imprisoned and in the 21st Century. While I cannot undo the horrible crimes I committed, I am determined to become a model citizen when I am released from prison.
Mon-El looked at Lalo Muldoon. "I have to do this, Lalo for a couple of reasons. One, you are right about the phantom zone projector being removed. I can not have you escape, and, two, until this war is over, you would be considered a precious commodity for our foes or they could endanger you. We owe you the right to a full opportunity to present your case in court. The power nullifier is for your own protection as well as the Legion's."
Lalo shrugged his shoulders in acceptance and moved back over to his cot. Mon-El then left the cell and went up to the medical facility to check on his injured teammates.
Meanwhile back outside, Kurt had teleported back to his group. Once he rejoined them, they all went to join the group battling Mesmero. This battle did not seem to be going well for the Legionnaires and X-Men. Mesmero was using his telepathic abilities to attack their minds. He would use whatever bad memories he would find in their minds to distract them. Cyclops had been forced to endure the plane crash that had killed his parents and separated him from his brother. Additionally, he had to relive the abusive scenes of his youth spent in orphanages and foster homes. When Mesmero had distracted his opponent sufficiently, he would unleash a psychic blast, rendering them unconscious. He had already taken out Cyclops, Colossus and Iceman when Saturn Girl's team arrived. Gambit was the next to succumb, as Mesmero utilized the same memories he had used the day before. Once again, Gambit's psychic shields and charged cards were insufficient to defeat the evil telepath. Super Boy caught Gambit as he was falling to the ground and gently laid him on the ground. As Saturn Girl's team arrived, Super Boy sped off to assist Shadow Cat. Kitty had just taken a massive jolt from some kind of ray gun that Mesmero was using. Apparently she had been able to phase through the beam the first time but was still weakened by the shot. The psychotic mutant fired another blast at Shadow Cat. This one never reached its intended target. Super Boy flew directly into the path of the blast. Unfortunately, this ray gun was a molecular disruptor. A hole appeared in Super Boy's cape and uniform. Suddenly, he felt like his whole body was on fire. The intense pain that followed caused the Kryptonian youth to black out. He crashed to the ground, screaming in agony. Saturn Girl used her flight ring to order Light lass and Night Crawler to transport the injured back to the medical wing of Legion Headquarters. Karate Kid and Ferro Lad looked at the unfolding battle and the injured victims. Both of them looked at each other. Ferro Lad looked at Super Boy and Colossus, both now unconscious. He immediately moved to help Light Lass and Night Crawler begin moving the injured teammates back to Legion Headquarters.
"If this guy can take out Super Boy and the nearly invulnerable Colossus, He will be able to take me out as well even in my iron form," he thought.
Karate Kid looked like he was about to go join Jean Grey and Saturn Girl against the mutant telepath, Mesmero. Suddenly, his decision was made for him. A psychic concussion blast had ricocheted off of Jean's Psychic shield and caught him square in the back. With a groan, he sank to the ground. Kurt had already teleported Colossus and Iceman to the infirmary. Light Lass used her power to make objects super light to transport Super boy and Gambit back as well. When Night Crawler returned, he was carrying a six-foot long board. He quickly slid the board under the now unconscious Karate Kid and teleported him to the infirmary as well. Light Lass and Kurt both returned to find a now screaming Kitty Pride on the ground. While the particle disruptor had not gotten her, she appeared to be in the grip of a full-fledged hysteria and panic attack. Night Crawler immediately teleported his teammate to the infirmary and deposited her in a bed right next to her boyfriend, Avalanche who was still mercifully unconscious from the previous day's battle. With tears in his eyes, her returned to the battle. He watched for a few moments as Saturn Girl, Jean Grey and Light lass all fought Mesmero. Light Lass directed her attack towards the molecular disruptor and fired three massive lightning bolts at Mesmero's hand. Electrifying the weapon caused him to lose his grip on it. Then She used her power to make it super light and float out of Mesmero's hand. Saturn Girl and Jean Grey, meanwhile were busily deflecting his psychic blasts with their psychic shields. Mesmero had not noticed Kurt's return. Seeing his opportunity, Kurt waited but an instant and teleported behind the evil telepath. Mesmero had just been hit with a blast from Jean Grey and appeared to be stunned. Quickly, Night Crawler took out his last power nullifier and snapped it around Mesmero's neck. Saturn Girl had seen Night Crawler and shot a blast at the nullifier, activating it for him. Mesmero glowered at the three Legionnaires as he realized that he was now unable to utilize his powers anymore. And to think, he had been one of the people who had developed and used the infernal device on other mutants and now he was caught in one himself.
Apocalypse saw the power nullifier being slapped on Mesmero's neck. He knew the device would be inescapable. Apocalypse had spent several hours the night before trying to remove the one from Crystal Maximoff Summers and had not been able to do so. He probably could have forced it off her using all of his mutant abilities but the ensuing concussion would have killed her. He still needed her until the plan was complete. He would just have to try again later to remove it. She was safely at their secret base of operations outside of Metropolis in her containment pod. In his own battle, he was busily engaged in mortal combat. Seeing his best horseman captured was distracting. He did not see Star Boy gesture with his hand. Suddenly, Apocalypse felt like he weighed 50 tons. He was beginning to sink into the ground. After a moment of surprise, he grinned and allowed himself to phase through the ground and come up behind Star Boy. He utilized the power of absorption on Star Boy and then turned his own power against the legionnaire. Now, it was Star Boy's turn to collapse under his own weight. He fell into unconsciousness. Apocalypse was about to dispatch the Legionnaire when he was hit by two beams of intense heat. Super Girl and Ms. Marvel were teaming up against him. At the same time, Wild Fire opened his visor and focused a powerful beam of Star Energy directly at the super mutant. He erected a super force shield around himself just in time. Then he tried to penetrate the minds of his attackers. Saturn Girl had just arrived to join this battle. She saw him defeat her close friend, Star Boy and was very angry. Then she saw him turn on Super Girl, Ms. Marvel and Wild Fire. She also noticed that Duo Damsel had not split in two but was hiding behind a giant rock. The rock appeared to have two well hidden eyes peering from it. Imra ginned at the sight. Chameleon Kid was providing the cover for Duo Damsel, hoping for the opportunity to slap a power nullifier on Apocalypse. Saturn Girl sent a psychic blast at Apocalypse, joining the fray. Being hit from four directions at once was very difficult for Apocalypse. He looked bewildered for a moment.
Mordru was also taking a toll on the legionnaires assigned to battle him. He was probably the most powerful of the villains and he enjoyed wielding that power. Invisible kid and Ultra Boy had already fallen. Ultra Boy was unconscious but Invisible kid appeared to be dead. Shadow lass was the next one to fall to the ground unconscious. Rogue saw her three teammates fall. Projectra was casting illusions to cover their disappearance from the battle. Rogue made her way over to her fallen comrades. She laid one hand on Ultra Boy and one on Shadow Lass. She absorbed both of their abilities and began using them against Mordru. She was also joined by Element Lad, who was busily changing the atmospheric elements around Mordru in an effort to render him unconscious. Pyro had taken on the attempt to control Mordru's magical flames that were attempting to consume the Legion headquarters. After a few moments he was able to gain control of the flames and move them back towards the evil wizard.
Meanwhile, Universo appeared to be conversing with the Time Trapper. He had stayed close to his master in order to prevent any suspicion being cast upon him. Rond Vidar, Braniac V, Colossal Boy, and Matter-Eater Lad appeared to be on the ground injured. Shrinking Violet and Phantom Girl were nowhere to be seen. Light Lass, Jean Grey, Ferro Lad and Night Crawler were moving over to help the White Witch and her sister, Dream Girl in their battle with the vicious pair. White Witch was busily hurling magical bolts of power at the Time Trapper and Universo. The Time Trapper kept manipulating the time stream to evade the magic bolts. The White Witch was beginning to tire from her exertions when Light Lass and her group joined the fray. Light Lass aimed a bolt of lightning at Universo. At the same time, Jean Grey was probing The Time Trapper's mind. Like Phoenix V, she was unable to make any sense of the workings of the villain's mind. Kurt bampfed behind the two villains. He had secured a power nullifier From Rond Vidar's unconscious body and was preparing to try to snap it around the Time Trapper. Suddenly, a bright green stream of energy hit him in the back, causing him to black out. When he awoke, he found the power nullifier around his own neck and the Time Trapper and Universo were gone. Apocalypse and Mordru had also disappeared. The Legionnaires looked stunned. Slowly, all of the uninjured began moving together. The only ones who were not injured or unconscious, were Phantom girl, Shrinking Violet, Super Girl, Jean Grey, Ms. Marvel, Ferro Lad, Wild fire, Duo Damsel, Chameleon Kid, Light lass, Lightning Lad, Ultra Boy, Rogue, Element Lad and Saturn Girl. It had not been a good day for the Legion and X-Men casualties. The group looked around at their fallen teammates. Slowly, they all began to pick up the injured casualties. and bring them back to Legion Headquarters. Along the way back, Saturn girl remembered that she had placed Mesmero in a tree for safekeeping. She went and collected the angry glowering, evil mutant and harshly shoved him into one of the detention cells at Legion HQ.
Well that is it for this chapter. Four baddies down and four to go. Cyclops II is in the phantom zone. Crystal Summers is in a power nullifier back at The bad guys base of operations. Phoenix V and Mesmero are currently in detention cells and power nullifiers, courtesy of the Legion. There is more trouble ahead for our heroes. They have suffered even more casualties and more grim news is coming. Will they have enough to take on the four meanest villains left? Stay tuned for the next chapter. But before you go, please take the time to review what you have read. Make use of fanfiction's wonderful tool to allow us poor authors to know what you like or dislike. Thank you and until next time, bon chance.