X-Men: The Winds of Change
By Ldynwaitin
Chapter Thirty Six
Mrs. Morse's Little Boy
Eight transparent ropes of light quickly snaked away from the Mansion and down the gap. Turning into it their tips stopped. Moving up they scanned left then right.
"Don't…move," Charles whispered.
They all stood still and watched the ropes of light. One of the Nob's curiously took a step forward; Banshee instinctively grabbed him. Suddenly halting, the light-ropes flew down the gap. Banshee screamed at one of the ropes. It stopped and moved lower, under his scream.
It quickly wrapped itself around his leg and began to drag him down the gap. Havok and Cyclops tried to grab him but they had to duck as several of the ropes lashed out at them. Cyclops opened his visor and used his eye beam, the tip exploded. But it did not do what he had hoped for. The tip of the rope began to split and grow until five thinner ropes grew out of it.
"Don't blast them!" Cyclops frantically shouted, but it was to late. Havok hit three of the ropes with a plasma blast. The ends exploded, and split into fifteen thinner strands. They snaked and wiggled down the gap. Everyone tried to run from them, but they were to quick. The ropes wrapped tightly around them. Charles struggled as two ropes curled around his chest. Trapped on Alessia, he was being dragged down the gap. All of them were, and there was nothing they could do to stop them.
Magneto snarled in rage as he was pulled towards the mansion. He tried to lift his hands, but the ropes entangled them together. Riptide created a tornado, but the ropes just squeezed him tighter. Charles searched for a way to help them. He heard a grunting and saw Peter struggling to pull the ropes off him. He noticed that the ropes totally ignored him. Closing his eyes, he contacted Mystique.
"Raven, stay back, this thing has ensnared us. You can't help us if you are caught too."
"What can I do?" Mystique returned. She was frightened, the ropes of light had all her friends. If they were powerful enough to hold Magneto, what could she do?
"The ropes are ignoring Peter. I think you'll be safe as long as you maintain your Nob form. You must hurry, we're being dragged towards the mansion."
Mystique could see Banshee and Cyclops already being tugged towards the mansion. The eight ropes of light were pulling them back to the mutant hybrid that was controlling them. Everyone was struggling to break the ropes of light, but nothing worked.
Charles was pinned in Alessia. He was pulled up the steps and into the mansion. They were all hauled into the large foyer. Peter and the other Nob's struggled to pull them back.
Seeing her companions dragged inside, Mystique ran after them, she had to find some way of freeing them. Even though Charles said they would ignore her, she was still careful to stay clear of the ropes of light. The Nob's entered the mansion first, she followed them in. She was taken aback with the splendor and richness of the mansion.
She was standing in a giant foyer. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling. Everywhere she saw different colors of blue. She was awakened from her reverie as she saw her friends being dragged towards a large staircase. Peter and the Nob's ran ahead, they stood in front of the stairway.
"Don't let go!" Peter shouted. "We need to help our friend," he told the other Nob's. They tightly held hands, standing their ground. In answer to the living barricade the ropes grew longer. Everyone shouted and screamed as they were whipped in the air and over the Nob's. They all crashed down on the staircase behind the Nob's.
They tried to grab anything to stop from being pulled up the stairs. But once someone managed to get a hand free a thin thread of rope latched onto it. Charles was having the hardest of time. Trapped on Alessia he was rolled, spun and bumped up the stairs. They were pulled down a carpeted hallway to another staircase.
Magneto grunted as he was pulled up each step. "How high is this blasted place?"
"No idea," Charles replied as he was slammed against a wall before being dragged around a corner and down a hallway on the third floor. They realized they were getting close to the end when they were pulled down a long dark hallway. Dragged past two double doors, they entered a huge room. It was the most ornately decorated room Magneto had ever seen. Tall windows lined one side of the room. Ornate columns stood in the center of the room. At one end was what looked like a throne. Sitting on it was the hybrid that controlled the ropes of light. He was an elderly man, gray haired. The ropes of light came from his fingertips. He pulled his hands back, everyone was tugged towards the center of the room.
Once they stopped moving the hybrid stared curiously at them. The ropes remained tightly wrapped around their victims. Mystique carefully entered the room. All of the Nob's followed her. She saw Peter run to Charles side, his light eyes glared angrily at someone sitting on a throne at the far side of the room. This was where the light-ropes came from. She had to be careful, she had no idea if he could see through her disguise. She needed to find a way of saving her friends. She slowly walked behind a pedestal.
She saw a rainbow of colors fluctuate through the ropes. Concentrating on his victims, the hybrid never took notice of the Nob's. Suddenly one of the Nob's grabbed Mystique. Glancing down she saw the reason why. A man with a cat-like face was lying on the floor. The ropes were still wrapped around his body, but were not attached to the hybrid. First thing Mystique noticed was that the colors were gone, they were a pale grey. She grimaced as she saw his face was dried out, almost mummified.
Searching around, Mystique spied another mutant with green skin, wrapped in a cocoon of light-ropes, he was still attached to the light-hybrid, but most importantly, he was still alive. She saw the hybrid look at the green mutant. His eyes glowed brighter. The colors in the rope undulate up and down towards the captured hybrid. As they pulsed faster the green hybrid began to scream. His cries echoed in the room. Then Mystique actually saw his face begin to dry out.
The light-hybrid closed his eyes, and lay his head back, he sighed in ecstasy as the cocooned mutant was being sucked dry. As he gasped his last breath the lights dimmed, and then went out. The rope broke off, snapping back into the light-hybrids finger. He opened his eyes, they glowed with power. He stood up and began to move forward, towards his other prisoners.
Mystique's companions were in greater danger than she thought. She needed to find a way to stop the hybrid before he sucked the life out of them.
The light-hybrid walked up to his captives. He went to Charles first, Alessia was sitting on her side, he was struggling to right her. With a flick of a finger, the rope pulled him to sit up.
"I know you," the light-hybrid said. "You was with Sinister." He said the name with disgust. "I saw you helping the other hybrids."
"Yes," Charles panted. "My name is Charles Xavier, and my friends and I came here to rescue you."
"Oh, then you're the ones that started all this ruckus?"
Charles nodded his head. "Yes, that was us." The man stood up straight. "Names Luther, Luther Morse."
"Luther," Charles sighed. "If you could be so kind, would you release myself and my friends? We really are no threat to you."
Luther squinted one eye. "How do I know it's not a trick?"
"I give you my word, no one will harm you."
"Oh, I know that's not going to happen." He wiggled his fingers, everyone flinched as the ropes grew tighter. "But I'm in a bit of a pickle here."
He began to walk around them. "See, I wasn't exactly a prisoner here. I was what you would call, a volunteer."
It was then Charles saw a madness flash across the mans eyes. "Found me in a prison he did. I was all set to be hung. He gave me so many promises, hopes of a future where I could go about my killing without anyone trying to stretch my neck!" he growled.
He squatted in front of Charles, "He said I could hunt mutants." He wiggled his fingers, "I could suck them dry as a bone." Charles flinched as the ropes pulled tighter. "And you went and spoiled it. It's all ruined now. If I start killing humans again, they're going to put me back in that cell. Going to make me dance in the air 'til ol' Luther isn't here anymore."
"He's mad," Magneto said.
"Oh yes," Luther laughed. "Mad as a hatter. Been that way most of my life. As I was growing up Pa said I was only good for one thing, killing. I proved that, the day I slit his throat and stuffed him. I keeps him in my cabin. So's I could tell him, 'Who's good for nothing now old man, huh? Who's good for nothing now?'"
"We're all going to die," Nelson moaned.
Luther skirted over to Nelson. He leaned over and sniffed him. He sneezed and wiped his nose. "Just a stinkin' human, won't get much off of you."
He moved over to where Banshee was laying. He tried to let off a scream, but the ropes were tightly wrapped around his mouth. Luther sniffed Banshee. He closed his eyes, "Yes, now you smell delicious." Opening his eyes, he grinned and tapped his finger on his head. "Mrs. Morse's little boy ain't no dummy. The ropes, they let me see what your power is." He jammed his finger in Banshee's side, "Now you, I can see that your power comes from your mouth. So I shut it."
He went to each one, sniffing them, touching them. He stopped at Magneto. He took in a long deep breath. "Oh yes," he sighed. "Like Charles Xavier there, the two of you are enough to keep me well fed for weeks."
"We don't have weeks," Charles said. "Look, Sinister has bombs planted all over the Facility. In a little less than an hour they're set to go off. This entire mountain top is going to go down, and you with it."
"Oh," Luther said. He stood up, he looked at them in a thoughtful manner. "Now that makes things different, very different."
He began to walk towards the throne, sitting down he seemed to be in deep thought.
"That didn't help any," Magneto hissed to Charles.
"Well I had to try something. If he realizes his life is in danger, perhaps he'll release us."
Mystique moved closer to where her friends were being held. She went from pillar to pillar. She had no idea how she was going to stop Luther. She cursed herself, she was always berating Charles for treating her like a child, never trusting in her skills.
Well now they were all trapped and she had no idea how she was going to save them. Hiding behind a pillar, the Raven inside her told her to run. Mystique told her to save her friends. She worriedly looked around, what was she going to do?
Mystique heard her friends cries of pain. She knew what she had to do, she didn't know why she even hesitated. Their lives depended on her. She ran to a pillar close to where Havok was lying, she heard a groaning, looking up she saw a chandelier swinging back and forth. She immediately knew it had to be Magneto.
Magneto stared up at the chandelier. Once he was dragged inside the room he searched for something he could use to help his companions. He found a weapon above them. Sinister's ego would not allow him to buy anything cheap to display in his home, only the best. The chandelier was thankfully made of a metal that Magneto could control. Keeping his eyes focused on it, he began to make it swing back and forth. Once he had it moving fast enough he yanked it out of its settings in the ceiling. He brought the chandelier down, controlling it he moved it straight to Luther.
Hearing a tinkling of glass above, Luther looked up. He saw the chandelier swinging back and forth, until it was ripped from its moorings. Immediately he jumped out of the throne just as the chandelier swooshed over his head.
"Release us," Magneto shouted. "Or the next time it will come down on your head."
"Oh good, you wants to play," Luther madly replied. "I love a good game. My turn." Mystique's heart leapt as she saw the lights on the rope undulating faster. "Oh yes, I can taste your power," Luther cooed.
They all began to scream in pain as the lights in the rope undulated towards Luther. Magneto fought to bring his hands up, but he was not strong enough to keep the chandelier in the air. It crashed into the doors that led out of the room. Charles closed his eyes, he had to stop this mutant. He screamed as the lights on the ropes that entangled him raced faster. Peter struggled to take the ropes off, but they would not budge.
"Do that again," Luther urged him. "All of you, use your powers. Never tasted anything so delicious."
Mystique had to find a way to save her companions. Getting as close as possible, she moved to stand behind the hybrid. She noticed that several of the Nob's followed her. Luther was concentrating so hard on sucking the energy from her companions he did not notice her. Changing into her blue form, she pulled the knife out that Benny gave her and plunged it into Luther's back.
Immediately he screamed, but Mystique found they were being echoed by the others. Luther began to turn his head, Mystique quickly changed back into a Nob. As he looked back he only saw several Nob's behind him. He had no idea who stabbed him.
A rope of light came out of a finger. It snaked back and wrapped around the handle of the knife. It jerked and tugged as he tried to pull the knife out of his back. Mystique had to do something before he pulled the knife out. She quickly changed back to her blue form. She jumped on the hybrid and grabbed the knife. She plunged it deeper into his back.
The rope of light began to snake around her, but she tightly held onto the knife. She twisted and dug it in. Luther howled in agony. His blood began to pour out of the wound. Mystique heard her companions screaming in pain, but she ignored them. Their only hope was killing this hybrid. Pulling the knife slightly out, she jammed it in to the hilt. Luther's head fell back, he gasped, and fell to the ground.
Mystique tried to grab the knife, but the rope wrapped around her leg and pulled her back with the others. Luther struggled to sit up. The lights fluctuation's moved quickly down the ropes now. The wound on his back slowly began to close up.
"Witch," Luther angrily hissed. He struggled to stand. "I'm going to suck you and everyone here dry to the bone."