Part 27 – Forfeit
"Jean, Magneto's on Level 6."
"Say what?" came Logan's voice.
"How do you know that? Did you find him?" Jean asked.
"No. Just got a little inside info," Kari replied, motioning for Bobby and Kitty to follow her down the hallway.
"O…kay. Where are you now?"
"Still on Level 3," Bobby answered while they turned a corner and scanned for any enemies.
"Okay. Um…there should be a door on your left a few feet down in that hallway. That should lead to Level 5. You'll have to find your way from there. Logan and I will come for you, Jean and Storm are heading for Level 2." This was Scott.
"Okay, whatever. See you then."
Kari found the door and opened it without caution. She was still extremely angry by Toad's words. But from what she understood, he was lying spread-eagled in the hallway, bloody and beaten to a pulp after she had discerned Magneto's whereabouts from him. This was surprising to Kitty and Bobby, but they just stood there and watched until she finished. The both of them exchanged glances every minutes and just stared in half disbelief, have fear that she might turn to them looking for another target. After this event, they simply tried not to stare at her out of suspicion and fear as they walked. As they found Level 5 and continued to travel down the long hallways in search for something leading to Magneto, they weren't doing well on their part not to stare. Nevertheless, they remained silent.
Kari walked in front, but she knew the other two were looking at her. It seemed like a sixth sense, but she didn't blame them. She reached into her pocket and pulled out John's lighter looking down at it as she walked, running the tips of her fingers over it. Were Toad's words true? Did John really want revenge? She looked over her shoulder to get half a glance at the other two. She knew she had probably frightened them, but what else was she supposed to do?
"You could have let him go."
What? And let him run and tell Magneto we were heading to him?
"Even some enemies deserve mercy."
This
from the demon that continued to scream at me to kill John at all costs.
"That was different."
Oh really? How?
"You had no idea who I was for one, and second, John was going to kill you anyway."
Shut up.
"He had that look in his eyes, you knew he would have done it. It was kill or be killed."
SHUT UP!
Kari stopped suddenly, staring at the ground, unknowingly narrowing her eyes fiercely. She clenched her fist around the lighter tightly.
"Kari?" Bobby asked. She stood there, unresponsive. She continued to glare at the ground. Her hand shook as she flexed it around the small object.
I thought you changed. It was this side of five minutes ago you were practically speaking with sympathy.
"I'm still a demon, Kari. I'll never change my methods. My main method is still kill or be killed. In Toad's case, he wasn't in the condition to even fight you."
My ass he didn't.
"Fine. Don't listen to me. The only thing I will stand by is that almost every situation is kill or be killed. Though once your enemy is incapacitated, leave them to suffer. I still have a vengeful soul, but since yours is merged with mine, I've been shown the spirit of sympathy. Otherwise, I'm still the same. Nothing has changed."
Bull shit.
Kari looked up, her fists still clenching. Bobby and Kitty exchanged glances for half a second. Kari sucked in a deep breath, and looked over her shoulder.
"Sorry. Let's keep going."
"Are you okay, Kari?" Kitty asked.
"I'm fine."
"Level 6!" Bobby said suddenly. Kari and Kitty stopped and Bobby pointed to a clearing where two double doors were. They all looked at each other and stood there. Kari slowly slipped the lighter back into her pocket.
"Shouldn't we wait for everyone else?" Kitty asked. Just as Bobby was about to make an answer when they heard small cries, like a struggle on either sides of the hallway, and yells of "MAGNETO'S THIS WAY!" and "HURRY, WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!"
Kari jumped back when she saw flashes of red and heard thuds. More yells and struggled, another red flash, and then Multiple Man's copies appearing out of nowhere. All at once the three teenagers were surrounded. The copies filled up the hallway and barricaded the two doors ahead of them.
"Back up, I'll hit them!" came Scott's voice.
"NO! You'll hit the kids!" came Logan's.
"Huh?"
Just over the heads of the copied men, Kari spotted Scott's red visor and felt a small rush of relief. At least they weren't alone now.
"Well, then get them, LOGAN!" Scott argued.
BAMF!
Kari cried out, startled, as Nightcrawler teleported with two other students, including Jubilee, who started shooting her energy at the copies. Nightcrawler leapt over their heads and fell into another group, attacking them from there.
"BOBBY!" Kari yelled. He nodded and shot ice all over the floor, freezing the copies to the ground by their ankles. Kari jumped and did a kick attack on several of Multiple Man's copies. As soon as she did, they disappeared and more appeared in their place.
"FIND THE ORIGINAL!" Logan yelled, cutting the others down as he ran around. Scott had to aim carefully to hit his targets, while the other students assisted in any way they could. Kurt did a couple bamf attacks, teleporting the enemy onto another side of the hallway, and then shooting around the room in puffs of smoke, kicking and hitting, then disappearing.
"Cyclops, shoot the door!" Jubilee yelled.
"MOVE!" he yelled, pushing around the fighting mutants. He aimed and with a large red blast the two doors flew opened.
"GET INSIDE!" Logan yelled, "CYCLOPS, KILL THEM ONCE WE'RE IN!"
"ALL RIGHT!"
The students and Logan rushed inside and hid, backed against the wall and Scott shot a huge red blast down the hallway, eliminating all of the copies at once. Then there were no more.
"Wolverine, how nice of you to join us."
Everyone's gaze was suddenly torn to the middle of the room, where Magneto was sitting in a chair facing them, behind him a large panel of controls with three enormous screens.
"You were watching us, I take it?" Logan asked in a gruff tone, clenching his clawed hands.
"Oh, I'm sorry, did I not warn you about the cameras?" Magneto said sarcastically. At his side were the original Multiple Man, Juggernaut…
…and John.
Kari froze, her eyes wide, not taking her eyes off of him. Bobby gave her a sideways glance.
"Cyclops, hit the computers," Logan said under his breath. There was a nod and Magneto began to speak.
"My congratulations to escaping the jets, I must admit I didn't think you would be able to get everyone out. Though I doubt you'll be able to get off of the lake."
Scott raised his hand and Kari yelled suddenly.
"NO!" She grabbed his arm and pulled it away.
"What are you doing!" Logan growled. Within the next few second, unnoticed sheets of metal leaned against the wall shifted, bent, and closed a cage around them.
"I'd love to stay and explain my whole plan, but I'd be late for my next attack."
Magneto stood up and the screens on the giant computer shut off.
"My boy, go get our patients, will you?"
"Of course." Multiple Man multiplied into at least ten and filed out of the room.
"Where are they going?" Bobby asked, mostly to the others.
"I understand you found my little storage area down in Level 2? They're going to retrieve them. I think they're ready."
"For what?" Kitty asked. Magneto merely smiled. Suddenly, there was a bamf and Kurt appeared in the room.
"Nightcrawler!" Bobby said thankfully.
"Get us out of here, quick!" Jubilee exclaimed quickly. Kurt merely looked at them with a blank stare. Then he turned away from them.
"Kurt?" Kitty said.
And everyone watched with gaping expression as Kurt walked slowly over to Magneto, and gave an obedient bow.
"Take me," Magneto said in a low voice.
Everyone watched as Kurt nodded. Kari began to panic, even though she had still not taken her eyes from John. She felt a low growl erupt in her throat, and grabbed Logan's arms. He stared in complete confusion as she threw his hands across the new-formed metal bars of the cage, slicing them open enough for her to squeeze through. She jumped between the bars and sped at Magneto. She was seconds from him as Kurt wrapped his arms around the elder mutant when John appeared in front of her and in the blink of an eye, grabbed her arms and snapped them behind her back, locking her where she was, making her immobile. She kept her eyes wide in shock and fear, and then with a loud bamf, Kurt disappeared with Magneto.
"NO!" Logan yelled angrily. With another bamf, Kurt reappeared and grabbed John, disappearing with him as well, leaving Kari standing there with her arms still behind her back. She was in such shock that she was still under the belief John had his hands locked on her wrist, and his chin still resting on her shoulder angrily, making sure she didn't move a muscle. Like she was back in the simulation room, his hands were strong and solid, not budging once they had a grasp on her wrists. They also seemed uncaring, whether he snapped a bone or not, as long as he kept them locked in place. And the way he had his chin rested on her shoulder, as though he was trying to taunt her. She had frozen the whole time, hardly daring to even take a breath, and she almost swore she felt her heart stop its very beating.
She stood there, rooted to the ground, all the feeling in her body tingling in her wrists and her left shoulder, which she had forgotten had previously been impaled by Spyke's attack in the woods. As her mind subconsciously drifted to it, a gigantic jolt of pain ran to it and she suddenly realized the inside of her jacket was wet with blood. Whether it had soaked through or not, she wasn't sure, but she suddenly grasped it with her hand, clutching it tightly in hopes to stop the bleeding. It must have been opened recently, not before in the hallways, and she suspected it was because John had forced her arms behind her in such a quick motion that she felt her shoulders crack. As a faint echo she heard the shinking of Logan's claws cutting through the rest of the metal bars and everyone rushed out, looking around. None of the Brotherhood in sight. Bobby ran to Kari, who seemed to turn pale and then suddenly stumbled to her knees. She shut her eyes tightly and looked down, watching thick trickles of blood lake into and over her half gloves.
"Kari, are you okay? You're bleeding!" Bobby said suddenly, kneeling down and seeing the small puddle of red that was forming under her arm. They heard a bamf and Kurt appeared beside Scott, making him jump.
"YOU TRAITOR!" Logan yelled suddenly, retracting three claws on one of his hands to grab the teleporter's collar. Kurt widened his bright yellow eyes in fear and confusion. Logan raised his three claws on the other hand and held them close to the man's blue neck.
"W — WHAT?" Kurt cried helplessly.
"Logan, let him go," Kari said in a cracking tone. Logan turned his head with an angry glance.
"HE JUST LET MAGNETO ESCAPE!" he exclaimed furiously.
"No, I didn't! What are you talking about?" Kurt said innocently.
"He didn't do it, it wasn't him." Everyone stared at Kari. She grabbed Bobby's arm and pushed herself up.
"Teleport us outside, fast." Kurt looked completely confused, and Logan didn't look particularly happy about releasing him.
"Logan! Scott! Can you hear us?"
"What is it Jean?" both men said at the same time, giving each other side-glances and a pause.
"Kurt, take me outside," Kari mumbled. She was seeing spots in the sides of her eyes, and she clutched her shoulder harder.
"But —" Kurt started.
"TAKE US OUTSIDE!" Kari yelled, her head going light. She steadied herself on Bobby suddenly and he almost toppled to the side.
"Are you all right?" he asked, concerned.
"KURT!" Kari said, getting frustrated.
"Right, right, okay."
In a bamf Kari found herself back outside. In another ten seconds, everyone in the room had been transported to the outside, Logan and Scott still talking with Jean.
"What the —" Bobby froze. The entire lake had been thawed from his previous motion, when he had frozen it all so Magneto could not drown them. It was all frozen now, and where there was a giant helicopter, that could easily fit around twenty people, floating in the air, next to it was Storm, her arms outstretched, clouds forming overhead. Everyone looked towards her as a wind picked up.
"They're CLONES Logan!" Jean said over the headset.
At the same time everyone said, "HUH?"
"Magneto's made clones! I don't know how but he's somehow gained access to our DNA, and he's using the "anti-virus" he made to activate our mutant genes!"
"You're kidding me," Scott said, dumbfounded.
"Obviously not, because Storm's out here, and she's fixin' to make on hell of a hurricane!" Logan said quickly. The wind picked up speed and rain started to fall. Then suddenly, a thick downpour started, coming down in dense sheets that doused them all in water. Kari blinked as much of it out of her eyes as she could. It was like trying to see through a water spattered windshield in a car. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the water, but she was only covered in more. It was pouring so fast and hard that she felt like she was imprisoned.
"LOGAN!" Bobby screamed suddenly. Everyone turned and saw the water behind the broken dam rising fast.
"SCOTT!"
Jean and Storm came rushing to them, apparently they had exited the underground with a few other students. Everyone already assumed the others to be dead. The water level was rising fast, and it had already risen about an inch over the landing gear of the jets.
"GET ONBOARD, NOW!"
Everyone ran for the first jet near them and Storm went to the controls, looking out of the front of the jet at herself, making this huge rainstorm.
"He's trying to flood us out," Kitty said quickly.
"Quick, strap in everyone!" Jean ordered. Everyone ran to their seats and Kari dropped into hers, losing her balance from the loss of blood. Her arm was now matted with water and blood, her gloves soaked and she was leaving a trail where she went. She unzipped her jacket and pulled it down far enough to see the sickening sight of her wound. Her shoulder soaked in blood in a horrifying splotch, sticking to her skin, spilled all the way down her arm and all over the inside of the jacket sleeve. She suddenly froze. Out of the window she saw the "cloned" Storm drop out of the sky and almost hit the ground. She levitated just a second before and landed with a soft thud. Magneto's helicopter landed quickly and he rushed out to help her. The rain was starting to thin out, and all at once a giant tidal wave started at the edge behind the dam.
"GET US IN THE AIR!" Logan yelled. Kari looked around frantically and saw Magneto put the clone's arm around his neck, helping her onto the plane. She clenched her fists and ran off the deck just before Storm shut it in order to keep the water from getting in. She heard yell from inside as she gathered all of her energy to run after Magneto before he could get to the helicopter. If the rest of X-Men were going to run, let them do it. She wasn't giving up. It was now or never to catch Magneto before he did something drastic to the human race. She was just close enough to grab him when he turned around and raised one hand. Small miniscule fragments of iron in the sand on the ground rose up and formed semi-round needles. They levitated, then shot at her, sending her flying backwards and pinning her to a piece of broken wall not far from the jet, a remain of the ruin. She hung there by the sleeves and back of her jacket due to the fact she had previously unzipped it. She tried to move, but all she could do was kick her legs helplessly as Magneto glared at her.
"Let it go, girl. You're not strong enough to defeat me. You should have realized that before. And now you're going to die here as the weak pretender. You should never have left your home. You've not the strength to fight this battle. You're a disgrace to the mutant race. Remember that as you die."
He turned and helped the clone into the helicopter, disappearing from sight. Then he reappeared by the door, giving her one last look. She felt the temperature drop at her feet and looked down with a gasp. The water was rising, and it was just now at the tip of her boots. She widened her eyes. That's what he had meant.
She was going to drown.
She tried to move her arms without success. She watched helplessly as the helicopter rose above ground level, and started lifting into the air. Among that image was Bobby running towards her.
"NO! BOBBY GET BACK ON THE JET! GO BACK!" she yelled. The tidal wave behind the dam was growing in height. It was merely seconds before it would come crashing down. They had to take off before that. She couldn't let them die.
"BOBBY, GO BACK! GET AWAY!"
"I'M NOT LEAVING YOU HERE!" he yelled.
"GET AWAY!" she repeated. She saw the cockpit of the jet and caught one glimpse of Kurt. He disappeared and reappeared by Bobby.
"NO!" he yelled as Kurt teleported him onto the jet. She watched them reappear inside as Bobby struggled to get out. Storm activated the engines and started liftoff. She knew she had no chance to follow them. She was stuck there, and she was going to die. She dropped her head and stared hopelessly at her feet, watching the water level rise. Soon it would consume her and she would drown. She felt time slow down, and it was though all she could hear was her heartbeat, it pounded in her ears as she realize her fate. All because she had been arrogant.
("You are SO arrogant, you know that?")
She narrowed her eyes.
("Me, arrogant? Look who's talking, Ms. 'I act smart and use big words to insult people.'")
She widened her eyes slowly and heard John's voice ring in her head.
("When are you ever going to leave me ALONE!")
She looked up through her wet hair and saw Magneto's helicopter lifting slowly.
("Look at you! You're nothing like me. Who are you to tell me what to do? I can do things far beyond your abilities. So quit acting like you know everything. Quit acting like you know me.")
Kari felt her fists clench and she bent her knees, putting her feet flat against the wall. She pushed as hard as she could and her arms slipped out of the jacket, exposing her wound to the freezing air. She felt a rush of harsh stinging and winced. She landed on one knee in the inch deep water. She looked up and watched the X-Jet hovering above the lake. Looking behind her, she watched the tidal wave stop its massive growth, and then begin to drop. She cried out and ran. She ran for her life. She ran for everything she had once fought for. She ran for Bobby. She ran for Kitty.
And she ran for John.
Speeding as fast as she could, splashing water into the air above her head until she swore she was running on top of the water. She felt the ground rising above her and realized she was running on an incline that lead up to a hill. The helicopter looked the size of a dollar bill at the base of it, and as she ran, she got closer to it.
CREVAN! she yelled for help. She felt her feet move faster, her lugs pump harder. She gritted her teeth as she ran up, up, until she came to the edge of incline. With all the speed she had, she kicked off and jumped all the way to the door of the helicopter. Again, everything was in slow motion. The tidal wave crashed down seconds before she had kicked off, bashing into everything under it, ripping and crumbling everything left on the ground. Just as she her feet left the ground, the water came flooding over the spot she had jumped from with a great whoosh, and crashed over the remaining rocks and trees, covering everything in a deep pool of ice water.
She had lunged, her fangs the only part of her transformation left, which were baring fiercely at Magneto, who saw her out of the corner of his eye, and turned in shock. He backed up a step. She was centimeters from the entrance of the door, a mere two feet from him, when John rushed from his seat and leapt at her in Magneto's stead. Knocking all remaining breath from her lungs, all 155 pounds of him slammed into her, earning a wide-eyed silent scream from Magneto, and both teenagers plummeted to the icy black lake.
