Chapter 25: Your Friendly Neighborhood Eldritch Abomination

"What the hell is she doing here?" Colonel Stryker snapped when he saw Moira walk past the little window in the drab green door of the interrogation room.

"That's hardly your concern, Colonel." Agent Mathews covered smoothly. He had no idea what she was here for either, but letting it show would be a rookie mistake. He was well beyond that. "I suggest that you answer the question."

"She's on medical leave." Colonel Stryker recalled. Agent Mathews continued to watch him impassively.

"You seem very concerned with CIA matters." He observed.

"You know that I've been read in on the mutant problem, Agent. You were there!" Stryker snapped.

Mathews took a deep breath and continued, still refusing to justify Stryker's objections with a direct or informative response. The Colonel was a suspect right now, and that's how Mathews was going to treat him.

"Agent MacTaggart." Johnson greeted as she joined him and Captain Kinkaid behind the two-way mirror, giving no outward indication that he was at all surprised to see her there.

"Do we have anything yet?" She asked, coming to stand beside him and observe Mathews' progress.

"Not much. He's got no alibi for the time of the break in, but we don't know what motive he would have to do this either." Johnson informed her wearily. "He isn't giving us anything."

Moira smiled humorlessly.

"Missing Peter, Sir?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Johnson confirmed "We could really use him right about now." He glanced warily over his shoulder at Captain Kinkaid, then added more quietly. "Any way you could get a line out to him? Off the record."

Moira faltered for a second, surprised by her superior's behavior and his apparent knowledge of their unsanctioned activity. Then again, he wasn't asking her to tell him what it was, and she knew how much her partner trusted him, and vice-versa.

"I'll see what I can do." She replied in a neutral tone. "But you should know that I wasn't aware that he was MIA until this afternoon."

Johnson nodded, returning his attention to the interrogation.

Moira looked down at her hands, gathering up her resolve before she added deceptively smoothly "You also might be interested to know that he was looking into Stryker before we lost contact. He hadn't yet shared the intel. with me, but he did mention that Stryker was up to something mutant-related."

Johnson narrowed his eyes at the new angle she'd presented him and looked over at her thoughtfully.

"If you'll excuse me, Sir. It's time for my next dosage." Moira stated and headed out of the room. Johnson considered his options for a moment, then nodded to Kinkaid.

"Stay on her." He ordered simply, turning back to the window. Kinkaid barely hesitated.

"Yes, Sir." He acknowledged and left the older agent to his thoughts.

"That man you saw was the message." Charles considered aloud from his seat beside Raven on the living room couch, as Erik paced back and forth behind them.

"That's what he said." Cain rumbled, watching Erik warily from where he stood at the right arm of Raven and Charles' couch. It had not escaped him that the magnekinetic had been orbiting his stepbrother like a satellite ever since my little outburst, and he didn't like it one bit.

"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense." Alex said frowning, and secretly wondering how long it would be before one of the two alpha-males in the room lost it and turned on the other. He was betting that it would be Erik. Considering their situation, it was a pretty safe bet.

"He's probably someone that Francis knew in the other timeline." Charles guessed. "Perhaps Marie can make some sense of it when she and Logan return from the lab."

"That might take a while." Alex remarked, wincing as he remembered the carnage that my transition had made out of Logan's back and the massive wound it'd left on the side of his head. It was only Logan's indestructible adamantium skeleton that had stopped him from sustaining brain and organ damage, not that it actually would've mattered. Raven hugged herself and leaned a little closer to Charles. She shuddered to think what might've happened to her adoptive brother if he hadn't been able to shield himself with his telekinesis so quickly.

"Logan should be fully recovered in a day or two, according to Hank." Charles relayed. Then he stilled, his eyes going out of focus for a beat. "Oh. Marie's on her way." He added, somewhat surprised by her promptness.

"She is? And there she is." Raven said as Marie appeared in the doorway behind Cain, looking drained and sullen. There was red-stained, gauze bandage taped over the right side of her throat where the blast had damaged her skin. Ooops.

"Hey, Mom." She greeted, waving halfheartedly with a bandaged hand. Then she turned her attention to Erik as she entered. "You mentioned a message?"

Cain cleared his throat and turned to address her. "It was a man."

"The green man?" Marie inferred. "Jubilee said somethin' about findin' him in her closet."

"Yes, that's the one."

"Describe 'im."

"He was too big for the closet." Cain remembered. "About my height, but a slighter build, dark hair, literally white skin, sounded English."

"He had a scepter." Erik put in, perhaps a tad bothered by Cain's usurping his part in the conversation. "He was also rude, self important, and overly-amused by our reactions. He mentioned April 11th before disappearing. It seemed to mean something to Francis."

"Loki." Marie determined, frowning down at the rug at her feet as she mulled it over "April 11th was around the first time he arrived on Earth. It's a reference to the Chitauri invasion."

"The Chi-what-ee?" Cain murmured. Raven rolled her eyes.

"Loki?" Darwin questioned from the doorway, where he'd been hovering more or less unnoticed until that moment "Like the Norse god?"
"Exactly." Marie agreed distractedly. "Why would he… Wait. You said that he disappeared. How?"

"The air sort of…" Cain gestured vaguely. "Flickered and he was just gone."

"Golden green?" Marie said, squinting at him. He and Erik exchanged a bemused look.

"No, red." Erik corrected. Marie smiled.

"She's back."

"Who?" Raven asked, frowning. Charles paused for a moment, watching Marie's face as she looked up at Erik and her smile grew, then Charles' face lit with recognition.

"Wanda's escaped!" He realized, then frowned again. "But why would she want…"

"She wouldn't betray us." Marie affirmed, looking annoyed by her own thoughts. "She was never completely on our side, but she was always more of an ally than anythin' else. Francis on the other hand…" She trailed off with a shrug. "Depends if it suits 'im."

"She would know that." Charles pointed out. "Why relay the message through him?"

"She needed to code the message in a way that Farouk an' Sinister wouldn't pick up on, right? So she used references to the twins' time workin' with the Avengers."

"What are the Avengers?" Cain asked impatiently.

"Exactly." Marie said, gesturing to him as she continued to lock gazes with Charles. "The only people who could've recognized the reference were Francis, Pietro, or Me… Maybe you if Francis ever bothered to play fair. So what does it mean…"

"She's escaped. She'll be trying to find a way to join back up with us." Erik offered walking over to stand at Marie's side.

"Okay… Loki, the Chitauri invasion… Manhattan." She deduced.

"That's pretty vague." Cain remarked, earning another reproachful glare from Erik.

"I wasn't an Avenger. If you want specifics you'd have to ask the twins… Or Francis, I guess." Marie admitted. "They used to hang out at Stark Tower, but seein' as it won't be built for over a decade; I'm guessin' that's missin' the point."

"We need somewhere to start, and that's as good as anything." Charles stated decisively, grabbing his cane and readying to leave. "I have a feeling it would be best to locate them before Francis does."

A little bell tinkled merrily, breaking the silence in the dark but cozy little bookshop, announcing Wanda's arrival. A petite, Asian girl with a burgundy and brown patterned headscarf partially concealing her young face, stepped out of the back room. Clever hazel eyes flickered fleetingly over Wanda before she settled into her chair and opened a battered old paperback.

"Xi'an—" Wanda began coming to lean against the other side of the counter, beside the register.

"I don't know you." The teenager replied without looking up.

"Well, you don't know me." Wanda agreeed, "We actually used to be on relatively good terms… in another life." Wanda smiled, tight and closed-lipped, as the other mutant's gaze met hers again, trying for friendly and trustworthy.

"You want a book, Agent Maximoff, or will you be on your way now?" She asked, her French accent getting almost unnoticeably heavier.

"You've been watching me."

"Ever since you re-entered the city."

"Yet another anomaly." Wanda observed, unfazed. "You're not supposed to be able to do that yet."

"I'm also here ahead of schedule, right? Terrific. Don't care. I can't help you."

"I can buy a book if it makes you feel better, but I really do need a tiny, little favor." Wanda persisted apologetically.

"Out."

"Karma…" Wanda began, then hastened after the girl as she strode out from behind the counter, heading towards the front entrance. "Karma! Wait. Just hear me out, okay? I wouldn't be here without a very good reason. It's perfectly safe. I swear!"

"You say that now, Maximoff, but we both know that's not entirely true." Karma disagreed, sounding far beyond her fourteen years of age. She pulled the door open to usher the unwanted Avenger out of her uncle's shop but Wanda pushed the door shut.

"Tell me what you know."

Karma scoffed, averting her eyes.

Wanda continued to stare intently down at her. "This is important. You know that. They've already gotten to you. I can see that and I'm sorry. We are doing everything we can to make this right." She eyed the headscarf meaningfully. "You know you can't hide forever."

Karma fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Help me."

Karma let out a heavy sigh and looked up. "Death."

Wanda frowned, uncertain of what exactly that meant but doubting she was going to like it. She'd sort of come here hoping to find them a way out.

"You can pull it off, but they'll both have to die."

Wanda stilled, running through all the possible scenarios in her head at lightning speed as she carefully schooled her expression. "I'm listening."

Marie and Cain turned into a dingy looking alley and took shelter under the somewhat underwhelming green awning so they could look at their map once again.

"This is not working." Cain grumbled.

"And that is not helpin' at all either." Marie remarked, studying their section thoughtfully.

"I hope Erik and Darwin are having better luck than we are."

"Better."

"We have been searching for four hours and so far no one has seen anything at this point someone should be getting lucky."

Marie looked up at him.

"What?"

"Nothin'. Look, Stark Tower was like the tallest structure in Manhattan. It aint much but maybe…"

"Good enough. Come on. I know where we should look."

"You think…"

"Not the Empire State Building."

Marie stopped at the mouth of the alley.

"It's not tactically appropriate." Cain explained, then noticed her incredulous expression. "Trust me; I know about this stuff."

"Where, then?"

"There's a construction site we passed an hour ago. It's fairly close to finished."

"The new sky scraper." Marie drawled blandly. "Fuck. That building does sorta fit the bill."

Cain pulled up the collar of his drab grey jacket to protect his neck from the chill wind that had picked up. "In a bad way?"

"Not great." Marie confirmed, shoving her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat. "Damn, I miss cell phones." She muttered to herself. This whole situation was filling her with a strong sense of impending doom.

I stepped out of the stairwell on the thirteenth floor and strolled down the windy, colorless halls, passing the first two doorless doorways until I reached the one letting in light from the outside. Ah, perfect. This room still lacked an outer wall, leaving one side of the room exposed to the city below. I checked the wristwatch that I'd nicked from Erik's room. Then I strolled over to sit against the far wall with one leg dangling out over the edge, casually tearing down one of the sheets of hanging plastic that covered the gap and let it fall. I had some time to enjoy the view of the city, which was nice. Besides, this way if I was lucky, I might be able to see them coming. The wind whistled around me as I watched the sunset, and I held out my hand to check how I was faring in the chilly weather. My hands were pale and blotchy-looking, decidedly purplish at the fingertips. I should have grabbed my coat and gloves. I couldn't help thinking that Pete would probably get all cross when he saw me before forcibly pushing the thought aside.

It was better to focus on the goals ahead of me, the moves I had to make. Anything else was a distraction. I went into a light, meditative state while I waited, leaving my mind open in order to recognize the arrival of any familiar minds close by. Pietro was the first to arrive. Typical. I chose not to outwardly acknowledge his presence until he had already walked up beside me.

"Where's your coat?" He inquired.

I knew it. He paused, waiting for an answer, I could hear the frown in his voice when he tried again. "Fluke?"

I opened my eyes and looked up at him.

"Good. Didn't think you were really asleep." He remarked, turning to look out at the sunset. "Quite the view." Quicksilver turned his impassive face down to regard me again. "I see why you chose it." He was wearing his spy face, the mask he wore on his covert missions. I locked eyes with him, my face a blank slate.

"It's so good we understand each other." I returned, rising to my feet as Wanda came down the hallway towards us. I looked out to the rooftop across from us as Erik and Darwin jogged out onto it, having caught sight of us.

"Looks like Vater's caught up." Pietro noted, sounding as carefree as always. I checked my watch again as Wanda joined us, remaining by the doorway. Well, of course she would.

"You've betrayed us." She stated with the slightest hint of venom, right before Apocalypse popped into existence beside me. The Shadow King's speedster blurred into the doorway behind her and she whirled round to face him.

"You know me." I said with a shrug. Wanda moved to grab something out of her pocket. I shook my head at the speedster and he grabbed her arms and spun her, pinning her against the wall with her hands secured behind her back.

"Wanda!" Pietro exclaimed and started forward, but I reached out my left hand and transitioned it, blasting him backwards through the wall. He scrambled to his feet coughing and sputtering. He scowled and spit a mouthful of blood in my general direction, looking both injured and furious.

"Francis! NO!" I heard Vater shouting. There was more, but I tuned him out. Apocalypse vanished from his place behind my right shoulder and I chose not to dwell on why.

"You're making a mistake." Pietro ground out, stumbling forward to lean on the destroyed wall.

"Pete, don't! If you're going to—" Wanda began to instruct him, but the merc knocked her out.

"You could join me." I offered, knowing exactly what my obstinate older brother was going to say.

"I'd rather take my chances." Pietro responded, then rushed forward and swung me down hard into the floor behind him. He immediately turned to drag me back up by my collar.

The other speedster began to step towards us. I could feel Marie getting uncomfortably close to his position.

"Don't interfere." I ordered, as I kneed Pietro hard in his injured ribs and he fell back, wheezing. So I grabbed his shoulder and kneed him in the face for good measure, pausing to glance over at the other speedster as he and Marie began to fight. Pietro grabbed me by the shirtfront and threw me back, standing up straighter and wiping more blood away from his mouth. I rolled to my feet and charged forward to punch him. Pietro decided to be an ass about it, grabbed my head and held me out at arms length, which is so unfair.

"Thank God you're short." He gasped out with a lopsided smile, still obviously out of breath, a strange thing for him. I made a manly, irritated sound and he …well, I think it was a chuckle it was difficult to be sure.

"Vater is bound to be furious." Pietro continued, grabbing my arms when I tried to force my way out of his hold, and spinning me around so he could pin both to my chest and trap me against the wall behind him. "Apocalypse won't kill him. You know that. We will stop you."

Instead of letting him trap me, I ran up the wall and used his own grip to spin him away towards the opening. He almost fell but caught his balance at the last minute, ripping off another section of hanging plastic in the process.

"Then I suppose it's a shame that you don't carry a gun." I reflected aloud.

Pietro's eyes widened. "Francis! Fratellino, please don't!"

I jumped into a spin and kicked him out through the gap.

"NOOO!" Marie screamed. There was a moment of complete silence, broken only by the deafening click of the safety on her gun being released. She was aiming straight at my chest, but the mercenary hurled her away through the broken wall before she could shoot me.

I barely registered it. I didn't hear any of the others react. I didn't wait long enough for that. I just turned and ran away into the hallway with a moderately disturbed speedster following close behind me, carrying my remaining sibling on his shoulders.

A/N: Yeah, I know: that ending was horrible. That's part of the reason it took me so long to post this. I had to get the next part started before I could put this up. It does get better IMHO, and I'll probably be able to post the next chapter sooner because of that(fingers crossed). Anyway, thanks for reading this, special thanks to icefox94 for taking the time to review.