-A/N-: I'll be doing review replies first. This will (most likely) be the last time I'll be replying to any of your reviews as there are only a couple of chapters until the end of this sequel (finally). However, feel free to send me a PM or email if you feel like asking any questions pertaining to the Stranger saga. I will guarantee a reply, even if it's hate-mail or a flame. Don't be shy! I love responding to emails and such as it makes me happy to communicate with my readers on a deeper level.
You can still drop a review if you wish; they are still very welcome. ANYWAY, THIS FIC IS OFFICIALLY ONE YEAR AND 48 DAYS OLD.
lets go for life wont wait: Hmm, yes, I should have put more Ryro action in the last chapter, and I regret not doing so. But of course, they were all just too worried about everything else happening around them that I doubt romance would have been on their minds at that moment. The last chapter was meant to shed more light on the whole situation concerning the bad guys. Despite this fic being of the angst/romance genre, it looks like it's turning into a mildly action/adventure fic!
we-r-the-cure: I didn't want to kill Mags! I loved him too:( Well, hopefully this long chapter makes up for his death. And yeah, Pietro… tsk tsk… The kid has obviously been very hurt by what Mags did in the past. Can't blame him much. I have plans to do a short fic relating to the Stranger-verse about Quicksilver's past though. It could very well detail his life and explain a few things…
SkyRogue: The wait wasn't too long, I hope! Mmm, Magneto's death didn't affect you much? What are you, inhuman? Haha, nah, I never liked him at first either. But then his character just grew on me and I think he deserves credit for being such a powerful, upfront and honest mutant. Yes, Blacken has Rogue's powers too. After all, you can't say that no two mutants can have the same abilities! It's a small chance, but it's possible! I've never watched Heroes, though…
Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: Ezekiel Blacken's powers are similar to Rogue's (GASP!) which means he's been a mutant all along. This chapter will reveal why the man, despite being mutant, wants other mutants dead.
PyroWhore: NEW REVIEWER! With an interesting penname! LOL. Well, I'm really glad you've enjoyed this fic thus far. It has been up for almost 14 whole months now, in case you wanted to know.
Psyc0gurl0: Yes, a big showdown. Our X-Men/Brotherhood team will try to take down the evil Ezekiel Blacken once and for all in this chapter!
TallLankyBitch: Wow. I'm a fan of the good girl/bad boy thing too! Looks like we could be good friends. LOL. Anyways, thanks for joining us on the Stranger Saga boat! It's almost ending, but at this point in time, I'm definitely planning another sequel (as if one was enough!). Thanks for the review! Hope to hear more from you!
the sillylittlepanda: I FULLY AGREE WITH YOU THAT MAGNETO HAS BEEN REDEEMED. Oh yeah, I tried fixing up some (if not all) of the typos in the last chapter. LOL. I'm just a perfectionist sometimes. Aww, I love you too! Your review was a real morale booster!
Alexandra-Black: Yeah, Magneto's demise was sudden and unexpected. But now that he doesn't get to kick Blacken's ass, Pyro will probably do it for him, in honour of his death.
The Truth About Roses: Pietro's main reason for doing what he did was mainly because he resented his father for abandoning him in the past. It doesn't have much to do with Pyro, but Pyro's existence does fuel his hatred even more. And don't worry, I won't be leaving you hanging for six months ever again. ;)
carter13, coup fatal, Anigen: THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS! THEY MEAN A LOT.
WARNING: Violence, death and all sorts of colourful language abound.
---
The dank, shady room, illuminated only by the little sunlight creeping in through the broken window, which was completely and utterly destroyed by the stunt that Blacken had pulled just minutes ago, seemed almost clammy and suffocating. Even though the room was, by and large, fairly big compared to the others they'd seen before, it now felt small and uncomfortable, as though somehow the walls were closing in on them.
Storm stood, stony-faced and silent, glaring daggers at Callisto, who had a self-absorbed smirk plastered on her dark face. She would have been quite pretty, Storm surmised unconsciously, but decided that the expression she wore at that moment took away any demure attractiveness she had.
Any one of them could have made the first move, really. But in this standstill – this sizing-up of each other – Storm realised that the girl was only waiting for her to make that first move—to start something.
'Take care of these two. And then kill the boy. He's useless to us now. After all, with the father gone, his part of the deal no longer exists.'
Storm recalled the last words out of Blacken's mouth and cast a cursory glance towards Mystique's prostrate form. The blue shape-shifter was still on her knees by her fallen comrade's side. There was no mistaking the grief and indignant sorrow on her face – she looked almost ready to break down in tears.
Storm couldn't help but feel sympathy for Mystique. For a fleeting instant, the weather manipulator was sure that the woman had always unconditionally held Erik Lensherr in high esteem, even though she had hated him after he had contemptuously dismissed her from the Brotherhood. Whether it was love or just purely respect and devotion, Storm did not know. What she did know, however, was that the woman was in no condition to fight back if Callisto was going to stay true to the Blacken's word of 'taking care' of them.
Magneto's death had been a slap in the face for Storm as it made her realise how dangerous the whole situation was. A million broken thoughts and emotions were racing through her mind whilst her staring competition with Callisto continued.
Blacken was a mutant! But then, why in the world would he want to eliminate the rest of the our race? It was something Storm was unable to answer unless she passed the man off as insane and genocidal. But then again, Callisto was working for him! And with what Blacken had said before, could Pietro have had something to do with it all as well? It made no sense! And the others! The kids! It dawned on the weather manipulator that Blacken had probably gone to hunt down the others who were searching the lower part of the building. Damn. They need to know that we're dealing with mutants and not homo sapiens!
She needed to get to the rest, and fast.
If Callisto wasn't going to make the first move, then so be it! Storm's eyes clouded over quite suddenly and a blusterous gust of wind took over the room, seemingly to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. Callisto tensed ever so slightly, eyes gleaming expectantly in the semi-darkness. And then, without prior warning, Storm let loose an immense web of lightning from her outstretched fingertips and directed them straight at the mutant before her without mercy.
The dazzling incandescence of the sparks of electricity – enough to probably power the whole building for at least a week – lit the room with a deafening clap of thunder. Callisto moved out of the way, her reflexes also, unfortunately, lightning fast. She had successfully managed to avoid the attack completely, much to Storm's chagrin.
"You've definitely gotta' try something new, chica!" Callisto shouted conceitedly, letting loose a bark of laughter, "You're a Class Four! Surely you can do better than that!"
Storm wasn't quite sure how the hell she knew that, but took this opportunity of communicative initiation to yell back, "Why are you doing this? Just what is that maniac thinking?!" in hopes of shedding some light on the whole situation.
Callisto didn't answer immediately, running straight for Storm at breakneck speed and backhanding her in the back of her head. Storm cried out in pain but recovered quickly enough, grabbing her attacker by the wrist and yanking her to the ground, where she tripped and stumbled, hindering her ability to zip out of harms way. Storm was more than ready to fry her once more, electricity already crackling at the palms of her hands, when Callisto hastily lashed out with one foot in a hooking motion, catching Storm by surprise and causing her to lose balance.
The weather witch fell face-first onto the dusty floor, her lightning bolt harmlessly bouncing off one of the walls and dissipating, her body hitting the ground unceremoniously.
Callisto had already picked herself up and was looking down at the fallen Storm. She reached out one hand to grab her around the throat, her expression much like one of a maliciously unstable murderer.
"Why am I doing this?" Callisto said at last, replying Storm's question in a loud voice, her hold around her captive's neck tightening ruthlessly, causing Storm to wince in pain and gasp for air. "I'm doing this because I can!"
"Blacken-" Storm coughed hoarsely, trying in vain to speak, "Blacken – wants to – kill off the mutant – race…! He said so! Whatever he's thinking of… He – He'll kill you too!"
"You don't know the whole story!" Callisto snapped, suddenly angry, but Storm was sure that the girl's grip around her neck slackened a fraction at her outburst. "I trust him and his plans for the domination of mutantkind!"
What?! Storm squirmed. She did not much understand what the hell that meant, but it seemed to her that what Blacken wanted was a paradox and a mockery of what Erik Lensherr once wanted.
Callisto dragged the weakened Storm to her feet, fingers still inches from crushing her windpipe, fingernails digging painfully into her flesh. She could feel blood dripping down the side of her neck, which could have been sweat for all she knew, but Storm didn't quite have the time to care.
"Now, it's my turn to inflict some real pain," the superhuman speed-gifted mutant spat, backing Storm towards one of the walls.
Not if I can help it, Storm grated in her mind, bringing a knee up and slamming it against Callisto's stomach as hard as she could. Callisto's hold on her neck disappeared almost instantly as the girl doubled over in a cry of pain, an expression of fury and hate taking over her face.
Storm took this momentary interval to run past the girl and back to Mystique's side, wiping off what was indeed blood from her neck with a shaky hand.
I could really use some help right about now, Storm wanted to say to the shape-shifter, but did not want to seem disrespectful. The woman was still in shock and mourning the death of her ex-leader. She could understand and sympathise. In fact, she was quite surprised at how well Mystique was holding it all in and hadn't already started to sob. Storm knew that she herself had broken down crying when Xavier had been killed by Jean Grey.
But whatever the case, she desperately hoped that Mystique would snap out of it soon and come to her much-needed aid.
"You're going to suffer for that," Callisto growled, panting heavily as she recovered from the harsh blow to her abdomen and started to move menacingly towards her archrival once more.
"Where – where's Pietro?" Storm asked quickly, hoping to prolong the pause in the fight to get a little information out of the 'bad guy' and at the same time, trying hard not to think that the boy had sold his soul to the devil and indirectly caused his own father's death. Pietro couldn't have, she told herself, wanting so much to believe it. He was one of our students for crying out loud! Storm was having an internal dispute with herself and just didn't seem to recall that there was a time when another one of her students had turned traitorous in the past as well.
"Pietro?" Callisto echoed, stopping in mid-stride, as though confused for a few seconds. "Oh. You mean his son?" her eyes darted to the only lifeless person in the room. "He's got some crazy reflexes, that kid. In fact, he could probably best me in a race," she frowned, "not that I'll ever tell him that."
"Where. Is. He?" Storm said, this time slower and more forcefully.
"How the hell would I know? Although I do have to kill him later," Callisto added smilingly. "It's funny how his poor daddy's dead. But he'd probably be happy that he is now. Hah!"
A split second later, Callisto found herself being flung clear across the room and into a wall.
She looked up, stars swimming around her head, to see that Mystique had at long last gotten up.
And she was agonizingly livid.
Must've been something I said, Callisto assumed, quickly rising from the ground. Her smile had vanished.
Storm looked relieved. It was finally two against one. And if it was hand-to-hand combat Callisto wanted, she stood no chance against Mystique, that much Storm was sure.
"DON'T – YOU – EVER – TALK – ABOUT – HIM – THAT - WAY!" Mystique roared, voice shaking with anger, eyes brimming with hatred.
"I talk about whoever I want, however I want," Callisto bit back sourly, rubbing a sore arm, still unable to believe that she had completely missed catching sight of Mystique's advancement earlier.
Mystique just about had enough of this obnoxious twit. She flew straight at the speedster, arms outstretched and ready to rearrange the girl's face.
Callisto sidestepped Mystique, came around from behind her, and aimed to hit the woman from the rear. The shape-shifter was not stupid; she had been expecting such a move from the start. Bringing her arm back, she elbowed the girl in the ribs and consecutively smacked her directly in the face with a balled fist. Then proceeded to twirl around on the spot and kick her assailant in the side quite gracefully, but with so much force that it sent Callisto crashing to the ground, narrowly missing the metal spear that used to be part of the room's window frame.
"You deserve a fate worse than death," Mystique hissed viciously, striding up to where Callisto's crumpled form lay and wrenching her up painfully by her hair.
Callisto looked up into the reptilian eyes of Mystique and for the first time that day, felt true fear.
Desperately, she pushed back at her captor and managed to break loose of her hold. Mystique stumbled back a bit. But that was all the time Callisto needed to back away towards the door. Deciding that a fight against Mystique wasn't of her best interest right now, Callisto thought it would be better if she went after Pietro instead.
"You haven't seen the last of me!" she yelled, racing out the door in a flash and leaving the two other women alone in the room.
And we'll be waiting, Storm thought of shouting back, but knew that it would only prove useless. She wished that Callisto would meet a sticky end one day. She really, really did.
Meanwhile, Mystique had already gone back to Magneto's side, now breaking down entirely and crying freely. She put her arms around the dead man, as though not ready to let him go, and she let her head rest against his unmoving chest, her sobbing unceasing.
As the weather manipulator looked on pityingly, she thought silently to herself that she would never have guessed that her heart would break over the sight of Raven Darkholme weeping over the lifeless body of Erik Lensherr.
Haltingly, she walked up to Mystique, half-cautious and tense, in case the woman decided to attack her as well in a fit of unsuppressed, unpredictable resentment. She knelt down next to the shape-shifter carefully, and put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly, if not awkwardly.
Mystique didn't even seem to notice.
She loved him, the weather manipulator realised. Even though she hated him on the outside, she never stopped loving him on the inside.
"Raven…" Storm murmured quietly, after what seemed like several minutes later, trying to hide the growing concern in her voice. She didn't want to bring it up, but she had to. "We – we have to go. The others… we have to find them and warn them…"
There was still no reaction.
"They could be in danger… Logan and Pyro and them…"
Mystique twitched when she heard Pyro's name. She looked up blearily, seeming to finally comprehend Storm's words.
They could be in danger… Logan and Pyro and them…
She had already lost one. She sure as hell did not want to lose the other…
The blue-skinned mutant tried to clear her head, blinking back tears.
However, seconds later, a huge rumble coursed through the building from underground, which caused both women to lurch forward and the furniture in the room to crash to the floor in a clamour.
Earthquake? Here!? NOW!?
"We've got to go!" Storm yelled this time, standing quickly and hoping against hope that the earthquake was natural and not, in fact, set off by a certain evil mutant.
No sooner were the words out of her mouth when a second jolt sent Storm to her knees once more and caused a deafening creak to resonate around the whole building. Cracks appeared on the ceiling and spidered down along the walls, sprinkling them in a fine powder of dust.
Damn!
Things didn't seem to be going well at all. One of them was dead, people who were meant to be dead were coming back to life, they had no idea if the others were fine and whether they've found Rogue, and to top it all off, the whole building was about to come down on top of them.
Perfect, Storm thought sardonically.
---
"Well, well, well. Look who we have here," Ezekiel Blacken said in a soft, patronizing voice that sounded as though it belonged to the devil himself. He surveyed the group before him from where he stood rather hungrily, like how a cat would look at a trapped mouse. "I was right in guessing that the rest of you would be down here. Ah, and you've found her. Very good," he commented, looking over at Rogue, his smile widening even more. "I haven't forgotten what you did to my face, girl," he said to her.
Marie D'Ancanto looked to where she had inflicted those long, bloody fingernail cuts on either side of the man's cheeks and couldn't help but feel a slight, grim satisfaction. You damn well deserved it, she wanted to scream at him as loudly as possible. But she didn't, because the man was dangerous. She knew, with every fibre of her being agreeing unanimously, that this man was definitely the one person she feared. She feared him, loathed him, was utterly terrified of him… all because she knew what he was and what he could do. He was, quite literally, her. And Rogue had always been afraid of her own powers.
John Allerdyce was glaring fixedly at the man before them. In the back of his mind, he was silently congratulating Rogue on a job well done at her attempt to scratch his face off. But the fear expressed on the face of the girl he loved had instantly set him on edge. She had, after all, said that this man was highly dangerous, and a mutant no less. John wondered what his powers were, and he really hoped to hell that it wasn't anything that involved water. But whatever the threat, John swore to himself he would always protect Rogue no matter what. Even if he had to risk everything to save what he held dear. The pyrokinetic manipulator's fingers twitched in anger and contempt as he remembered that Blacken was the very man who had kidnapped his Marie from under their nose.
Bobby Drake was frowning. He was finally here, face-to-face, with the man who murdered a whole bunch of people and claimed that he would extinguish the mutant race. He did not want to know how such an evil, twisted man could actually exist in this world. Of course, what he hadn't realised yet – what he hadn't heard Rogue say to John - was that Blacken was in fact a mutant himself, and that made it all the more twisted.
Kitty Pryde never knew that a person could ever look so insane and evil. This was the man who had caused much distress throughout the mansion. This was the man who killed Warren's father at Worthington Labs! And Angel… The poor, poor Angel… Kitty felt herself shake with apprehension. Surely he was only human! Surely the five of them could take him down easily… Right? Her reassured beliefs were about to be turned upside down.
Logan bristled. He could practically smell the fear from Rogue, the anger from Pyro, the hesitance from the Iceman and the nervousness from Shadowcat. It was all he could do to keep himself from lunging at Blacken and ripping him to shreds.
"You all seem a little quiet," Blacken said then, "What's with you people? Too afraid to say anything to little old me?" His voice held a mocking lilt. A mocking lilt that hit a nerve.
That's IT! Logan roared like a caged animal and flew at Blacken, his adamantium claws extending with a metallic 'snikt'. The sooner he decapitated the maniac the better, he told himself.
Blacken, anticipating Logan's attack beforehand, stopped him in midair with one sweep of his arm. Logan's eyes widened considerably before Blacken sent him soaring overhead and into one of the walls rather painfully. John was pretty sure he heard a loud crack resound throughout the large, underground chamber. The Wolverine was still being held several feet up against the wall, as though pinned down by an invisible force.
Logan grunted, his face contorted in a mixture of expressions ranging from spite to agony. And he had finally made sense of the whole thing.
"Look out," he growled from where he was, "He's a metal manipulator! Just like Magneto!" he said, although not entirely sure if he was right. It was the only way he could possibly get his head around the overwhelming powers that Blacken was displaying at the moment, though.
"Metal manipulator?" Blacken echoed in amusement. "Oh, no, no. My powers way surpass that of magnetokinesis, my friend," he grinned. "But I'm so glad you like my new ability."
Rogue suddenly felt sick to her stomach, knowing exactly how he got those powers in the first place. No, he could not have…
"You…" her voice faltered and died halfway and she swallowed, trying again. "You killed him," she whispered. It was not a question, and as much as she hoped that Blacken would just laugh and say no, he did not kill him but just stole some of his powers, Rogue was not that stupid. The man was ruthless and there was no way he'd let someone live if he could help it. And so, hers was not a question, but a statement of truth that she didn't want to believe.
Blacken's eyes left Logan – although he still held the man in place – and they landed on Rogue. Ah, she's finally caught on. "Yes, child, I killed him. The mighty Erik Lensherr -" he announced, louder this time, "- leader of the mighty Brotherhood of Mutants is dead. And now, I have his powers to prove it!"
There was a moment of heavy silence.
John felt himself go cold, the whens, the whys and the hows racing through his mind. "You're lying," he said in a flat, emotionless voice. But the look on his face betrayed his words. There was no point in Blacken lying, was there?
"Not lying," Blacken said smugly, demonstrating once more the powers he had stolen by letting Logan slide off the wall and on to the floor in a crumpled heap.
Rogue wanted to throw up. She could not believe it. This had to be a fucking nightmare! Ezekiel Blacken had killed the man who had once tried to kill her. And although she had every right to hate Erik Lensherr, this was going too far. For him to be dead… was just… absurd!
And the look on John's face at that very moment was breaking her heart. It looked as though he was not taking this revelation very well. What seemed to be a hundred different emotions were coursing through him at the same time, and the most noticeable emotion seemed to be anger.
"So," Logan was saying as calmly as he could through clenched teeth, "you killed him." He had picked himself off the ground, seemingly as good as new once more. What ever bone he had snapped due to coming into contact with the wall had now obviously been healed.
"Of course."
"Why? Why murder us? Why murder the mutant population when you yourself are a mutant?"
"Because I can," Blacken replied simply. "… Well, if you really want to know, I have planned my domination for a long time. You see, I have a dream."
Logan tried very hard not to snort, despite the situation.
"I want to be the only mutant left on the planet -" Blacken continued.
Fat chance, Logan wanted to say.
"- and to reign over the humans—make them fear me. I want the mutants eradicated so that I can be the one to own their powers!" he crowed.
"You are insane," Logan muttered, not understanding what the man was implying, not understanding that the man was telling him exactly what his mutant powers really were.
"Oh, really? Wouldn't you like to own every power in the universe and be the only one of your kind left to savour the taste of victory? Wouldn't you?"
"So that was your plan all along? What the hell happened to your homo sapien followers, then?" Logan asked, although deep down, he already knew the answer.
"I no longer needed them," Blacken replied nonchalantly. "They're dead, of course."
Kitty choked back a gasp.
"And what of the Cure? Why steal it?" Logan pressed.
"Ah. Yes, the Cure. Curious vaccine, isn't it? Well, you already no doubt heard that the Cure's effects will fade with time. But do you know what exactly happens when you regain your powers after the suppressant recedes from your mutant bodies?" the man asked, eyes glittering. When his question was met with uncomfortable silence, he went on, "Your powers heighten. They get much more powerful than what they were before; almost doubling, if not tripling. That's why I wanted the Cure so badly."
Rogue, strangely enough, didn't seem to find all this too surprising. She had known for quite some time now that her powers were acting up bizarrely. Now she finally had her doubts confirmed that it was indeed the Cure that was causing it to become increasingly powerful and also, increasingly unstable.
"So you were lying, then. You didn't want to Cure to make it permanent. That was just a ruse to get yourself on national television!"
"Clever."
Logan was not amused. "Why and how the hell did you kidnap Rogue and Pietro in the first place?" he growled.
"I assure you, I did not kidnap Pietro. Sure, I got the girl. But the boy was, at that time, on my side. How do you think I managed to kidnap the girl? I couldn't have just waltzed into your little school and grabbed her now, could I?"
Rogue started. So Pietro did do the kidnapping after all. That definitely explained why she hadn't heard nor seen anyone in the kitchen until it was too late.
"So Pietro was working for you all along!" Bobby exclaimed. It was probably the first time he'd said anything to the man.
"Well, not exactly. He was just too blind-sighted by his hatred for his father that he was willing to do whatever it took to get his revenge on him. So much so that he took my offer. We made a deal. He was to help me get you people here while I was to promise him a chance to get even with his dad. But the thing is, I was the one who killed his father, meaning his end of the deal does not exist anymore."
"Go to hell!" Rogue snarled sharply. She was suddenly furious.
Blacken's smile disappeared momentarily and he spread his arms out wide, as though imploring to Rogue. "Come now, you and I should be on friendlier terms! After all, you and I aren't so very different, are we? Both mutants, both gifted with immense power," he smirked, "…both cursed with the same life-stealing abilities."
There were several sharp intakes of breaths. Rogue felt like she had been slapped.
"There, I said it," Blacken mused. "Your mutant codename, so I've learned, is Rogue, is it not? Well, guess what mine is? Blackguard. A full synonym of the word 'rogue'. Ezekiel 'Blackguard' Blacken," He murmured. "You and I can kill people with out bare hands. See? Shouldn't we be best of friends? Allies?"
"ENOUGH!" John roared. "Shut the hell up and get the fuck out of the way or I'll kill you myself!"
"You'll what now?"
"You heard me!"
Blacken snorted. "Clear as crystal, my boy. It was just so amusing to hear you say it the first time, I wanted to hear it again."
Before John knew what he was doing, he had lit his wrist igniter and sent a pillar of flame straight at the man. Blacken barely got out of the way in time, launching himself off the last step on the staircase which he was standing on and soaring over theirs heads with his stolen powers of levitation and coming to land a few feet behind John, Kitty, Bobby and Rogue. All of them whipped around to face him. He was now standing with his back to the end of the basement where the flammable gas canisters stood not far away. Their exit was free.
"Huh. Magnetokinesis seems to be more useful than I initially thought," Blacken mused out loud. But he didn't look so happy anymore after John's abrupt attack.
"Why Rogue? Why did you get that bastard to kidnap her? Not anyone else?" John yelled, the image of a terrified Marie engraved into his memory forever. Magneto was dead, and all this time, Marie could've died too. "Why wasn't it me? OR SOMEONE ELSE?"
"It wasn't me who chose the hostage, you fool!" Blacken snapped. "It was the boy. I suppose he thought she was an easy target and decided that she was the perfect one to bring to me. Good thing he did, too! If not, I would never have known she existed and of the kind of power she possesses." And then, Blacken frowned, remembering something. "She tried to drain me, that bitch," his eyes snapped back to Rogue, "Well, she got a nasty surprise as soon as she found out she couldn't kill me." He chuckled. "We can touch each other without killing the both of us. I believe it's a cancellation effect of a sort. Pity. She's a fiery one, that one. I would've had my way with her had I the time. Bet none of you guys would probably ever get a chance."
Bobby and John had murder in their eyes and had every intention to let their powers of the elements destroy the man before them.
But Logan got to him first in another enraged attempt to stab the guy through. This time, Blacken's patience had reached its limits. He raised a hand and a huge chunk of the steel pipe from the ceiling above broke off. He sent the mass of steel hurtling towards the Wolverine from his left. Logan was almost a foot away from Blacken when he was knocked to the side of the chamber like a golf ball with a horrible 'crunch'.
"No!" Rogue screamed as all eyes followed the flying body, which landed a few feet away.
A huge gash, now leaking a large amount of blood and soaking the Wolverine's shirt, had resulted from this blow and Rogue was horrified. Logan was knocked out cold and she did not know if he would be getting up anytime soon, if ever. She wanted so much to run forward to see if he was okay, but was too afraid to get close to Blacken.
"You are one sick son of a bitch," John snarled as he and Bobby took a step towards Blacken, both poised to attack.
Kitty strode forward as well, standing her ground and glaring at the man. "Y'know," she said defiantly, "we aren't going down without a fight!"
The man was not listening. In fact, he was creating a number of marble-sized balls of something in his hands.
"Remember what they said about that girl, Whatshername Smith?" he was saying as he gathered the balls of somethings in his hand. "Remember when they said they didn't know what killed her? Was it poison? Some viral infection that weakened the life system? Hah! They were clueless! And they thought it was a bomb that killed Worthington! They were nearly right, that time."
He sent them flying towards Kitty. They looked like glowing balls of…
"MOVE!" John shouted at Kitty and shoved her to one side just in time before the handful of somethings touched her. They exploded on the ground where she had been standing moments before.
"DON'T GET IN THE WAY!" John threw over his shoulder at Kitty as Bobby dragged her away and put her next to Rogue. He sent another pillar of fire at Blacken, who had somehow managed to deflect it with some unknown power that once belonged to someone else.
"You two stay back," Bobby said quickly to the girls.
"But I can phase through - !"
"Let us handle this," Bobby cut through Kitty's dispute hastily. "See if you can grab Logan and get out of here," he gestured to the open exit just behind them. "No buts!" he added quickly, seeing the indignant looks on both their faces. "Just go!" And then he quickly turned to join John once more in the fray.
Blast after blast of ice and fire shot towards Blacken and in one instance, Bobby managed to successfully strike the man in the arm with a blast of ice that was initially meant to hit his head. Blacken's arm literally froze. It was encased in a block of solid ice.
"Nice shot, Drake," John commented.
"Thanks."
But Blacken fixed his predicament quite quickly when his whole arm burst into flame and melted the ice quiet neatly. That just about wiped Bobby's satisfied look off his face and replaced it with disbelief.
"What the h -" John had no time to gape because Blacken lifted an arm, which was now not on fire anymore, and the ground beneath them shook violently, as though an earthquake were happening that very moment.
The two boys cursed as they fell to the floor on hands and knees. Rogue and Kitty, who were dragging Logan towards the stairwell, were huddled together on the ground.
"Just give up, you're all going to die anyway!"
"If we're going to die at your hands, we sure as hell won't make it easy for you!" Bobby yelled back.
There was another jerk in the ground and this time, the ceiling sounded like it was about to cave in. The ground from under them split and rocks spewed forth from below. A huge wall of stone about a meter thick started to rise all of a sudden, and it separated Bobby and John from Blacken. It acted almost like a shield for the man.
The two boys looked at each other, unstably getting to their feet.
"Well," said Bobby with a grim smile. "Shall we?"
John didn't need to read his friend's mind to tell what he was planning. "We shall."
And the Iceman froze the stone wall in a mass layer of ice. The whole chamber seemed to drop in temperature in seconds. Even John felt the subzero iciness emanate from the continuous blast. When Bobby was satisfied that he had covered the whole rock wall in ice, he stopped.
"Go for it, 'Dyce."
John sparked his igniter and sent what was probably the biggest ball of fire he'd ever conjured up at the wall.
The wall cracked and exploded almost immediately at the sudden extreme change in temperature.
Bobby and John covered their faces with their arms as chunks of rock and pebble flew in all directions.
The wall was no longer there.
"Good to see you were at least paying some attention back when we had classes."
"Shut it, Drake. I aced Physics, thank you very much." John managed a small smirk before a metallic projectile whizzed passed him, narrowly missing his head. The smirk promptly disappeared.
Blacken was getting very impatient. X-Men shouldn't be this hard to take down, should it? He made an elaborate gesture and somehow generated magma in his hands that looked much like a huge rock on fire. He sent the magma blast straight at Bobby, who immediately countered the attack by freezing the thing in midair. It crashed to the ground harmlessly and shattered into a million pieces of ice and stone.
Blacken hurled a psionic ball of explosive energy in Bobby's direction once more, this time, it was no longer the size of a marble. Bobby was caught off-guard and the explosion sent him flying backwards. His head hit the banister of the staircase painfully and he crashed to the floor just a foot from Kitty, who screamed his name.
John just about had it with this. Stepping over rubble and shards of metal, he glanced at his fallen friend quickly to make sure he wasn't too badly injured before turning back to glare at Blacken. Enough of this shit, he thought to himself and ruthlessly hurled a mass of flame at the man, hoping to catch him by surprise.
It wasn't the case.
"You never learn, do you?" Blacken smirked as he raised himself off the ground just in time to avoid John's attack. Then, he snapped his fingers.
John's igniter suddenly exploded. Blacken had done something to the metallic pieces in the contraption.
"Crap," John muttered as he let the now-useless wrist igniter drop to the ground, his eyes following Blacken intently as he watched the man land gracefully once more. Then, he glanced back to make sure the others were fine. Bobby was just getting back on his feet, being supported by a terrified Kitty. Red liquid was trickling down his forehead and he looked positively unstable and lightheaded. Logan was still unconscious, his bloodied shirt looked much too bloody. Rogue… He caught her eye and she seemed to be pleading with him to please not get hurt. Rogue, Rogue, Rogue… Marie…
John faltered for a moment, then slowly looked towards Bobby, his eyes overly bright.
It was pointless to run now, even though the exit was just feet away. Blacken would just be after them in a heartbeat. And he was way more dangerous than any of them anticipated. He could kill them so very easily. Right now, he was just toying with them!
John Allerdyce realised bleakly that it was now, or never.
Blacken raised his arms once more…
This could be the only fucking way.
… John's hand went swiftly to his pocket…
It'll only be me and that will be fine.
… A bunch of razor-sharp pieces of metal rose from the ground…
Drake will know what to do.
… He took the zippo lighter out…
I'll send this bastard straight to hell.
… The metal pieces shot straight at John towards his chest…
Crap.
… John ducked, and most of them missed him completely. But one of them sliced through his shoulder, and another across his mouth…
Dammit!
… Blacken crowed with laughter, Rogue cried out as though she were in pain, and John dropped to his knees, panting. It was now…
Marie… This is the only way… I'm sorry.
… or never…
The zippo clinked open. And John lit it quickly, his mind already made up.
"You must be really stupid," Blacken muttered. And the zippo flew out of John's hand to hover just out of reach, in between the two of them.
"Out of firepower," the blackguard observed. "I'm sorry, my boy. You lose."
"No. I'm sorry," Pyro grinned maliciously, wiping the blood off his lower lip shakily, "YOU LOSE!"
The lighter, still levitating in midair, still lit with its glowing, small flame, flared up like a massive, dazzlingly bright serpent, coiled and ready to spring forward. It unfurled itself magnificently and briefly looked like a large, blazing dragon - his very last momento that the others would remember him by - before shooting straight towards Ezekiel Blacken. Only, it didn't quite hit him at all. Instead, it engulfed the flammable, explosive gas tanks behind him.
… Forgive me…
'BANG!'
The place exploded. Literally. Bobby Drake just barely had enough time to encase Rogue, Kitty, Logan and himself in a dome of ice before the blaze swallowed them whole.
"JOHN!" Rogue screamed as the explosion rocked the place perilously. "PYRO! JOHN!" She screamed his name over and over and over again, but her cries were drowned out by the roaring of flames and deafening crashes of the ceiling coming down in enormous chunks on top of the section where John and Blacken were just moments before.
Don'tbedeadDon'tbedeadDon'tbedeadDon'tbedeadDon'tbedeadDon'tbedeadDon'tbedead… PLEASE. Oh god…
Fire and large pieces of debris ate at the ice barrier that shielded them, and nothing could be seen through the blue, hazy wall but a bright glare of orange light. She lunged forward, clawing desperately at the barrier of ice, hoping to get through it somehow and GET. JOHN. OUT. OF. THERE.
"Rogue!" Bobby said loudly, trying very hard to keep the wavering in his voice to a minimum. "Don't…" he came from behind her and held on to her struggling form tightly, tearing her away from the wall. "Don't get too close!"
Rogue screamed again, this time crying uncontrollably. "Don't, Bobby! Bobby, save him!" she shrieked, pleadingly. "DO SOMETHING!"
"There's nothing I can do!" he shouted over her sobbing and the clamour of steel on concrete. "There really isn't!" he said, as though it were the most matter-of-fact thing in the world.
Rogue refused to believe the crap he was saying.
"Can't you PHASE through?!" she implored to Kitty suddenly, all logic and common sense leaving her. She was much too distraught to think straight. To think anything.
Kitty was silent, her heart shattering. She knew that she couldn't do what her friend wanted. She would already have done it if it were possible. She tried hard not to think about the fate that Pyro had orchestrated for himself.
"Please, Rogue…" Bobby begged. "It's too dangerous, you know that. We've… we've lost enough," he murmured.
Rogue wailed despairingly, breaking down completely and dropping to her knees. Why, why, why, why, WHY?!
"The whole damn building's coming down! We'll be trapped here if we don't MOVE!" Bobby was getting frantic now. "Rogue! Come on!" he yelled, grabbing a dazed Logan, who was now barely regaining consciousness, by the arm and hoisting the man up to his feet. "Let's get out!"
With a last, choking sob, Rogue reluctantly turned her back on the raging fire just beyond the ice wall and fled, with Kitty Pryde reaching out with a gloved hand and grabbing Rogue's own hand in what she hoped was a comforting gesture, tugging her along.
They escaped through the stairwell and ran through the lobby towards the exit, still shell-shocked at what happened just moments before. The fire that John instigated had burnt through the ceiling and was already eating its way through the first floor. The building rumbled dangerously, threatening to collapse at any moment.
Up ahead, Bobby could see Storm and Mystique. They were carrying a body. Bobby knew it was Magneto's. Despite the strange pang of sadness, he gave a relieved shout and sprinted towards them as fast as the added weight of Logan would allow him. Kitty and Rogue followed right behind.
The group of them ran wordlessly out of the burning building and managed to get out just in time to watch it crumble to the ground.
They watched it. They just stood there, as though time stood still and the only thing that was in motion was the asylum in front of them giving way and caving in on itself. There was nothing to say to each other.
Nothing at all.
It dawned on both Storm and Mystique immediately what must have happened to John.
And Mystique… she was mortified. She had lost everyone.
Logan and Storm… had lost a fellow team member.
Bobby and Kitty… had lost a friend…
And Rogue…
Rogue…
A terrible wave of anguish swept over Marie D'Ancanto and she started to cry once more.
…
And she didn't know when she stopped crying, even after the lonesome flight home.
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-A/N-: Oh, gosh... I think I'll cry writing the next chapter... It will be the final one, followed by an epilogue.
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