Chapter 65: The Cat and the Soldier pt. 2
-Xavier Institute, October 30th, 1999-
After everyone got their Halloween shopping done, they could now focus on getting ready for Damian's second birthday party, and they were extra excited since Drake would be able to join in festivities.
In fact, currently the blue skinned two year old was busy in the play pen with his friends Alex and Drake, while trying to teach The younger tykes to talk with… Varying degrees of success.
Alex was speaking pretty clearly but was unfortunately not able to speak in full sentences, and what little he could speak was pretty simple in comparison to Damian's vocabulary.
Drake on the other hand couldn't say two words in the same sentence without letting out small roars mid sentence.
All of this caused their friend and tutor to facepalm in exasperation. "I'm surrounded by idiots." He said to himself. Word to the wise, if a baby says they're surrounded by idiots, it'll shock you no matter who you are.
"What on earth is Damian doing?" Chelsea asked as she, Rogue, Amanda and Fox were chatting in the kitchen with Jean and Ororo.
"No idea. Probably baby things, or something." Rogue shrugged.
"So Rogue, since Gavin's business has been doing really well, I've been wondering, has he tried… ya know, popping the question?" Jean asked while dropping her voice to a whisper as to not draw the attention of everyone else in the other room. The southern girl blushed at the question but shook her head.
"No… Not yet." She replied.
"He hasn't mentioned anything to me about it." Amanda stated.
"Or Devin. He usually tells him everything, and then he usually tells me." Roxy added.
"He might be trying to surprise everyone." Rogue mused.
"Or maybe he doesn't feel ready to do that yet." The Shirakumo matriarch commented.
"Maybe…" The southern belle sighed. "I just hope he figures it out soon."
(Elsewhere)
-Sever Family Home, Sleepy Hollow NY, 1999-
Back with the Severs, the family was having breakfast with Bast and Romano with food that was brought to them courtesy of the neighborhood. Apparently this was a common occurrence since the family were outstanding members of the committee. As they talked, the topic shifted to things related to the childhoods of the siblings. Right now, the topic of discussion was…
"Wait wait wait, Johan did what?!" Bast asked with a laugh before she drank some water.
"Mom, don't you dare finish that story-!" The soldier tried to interrupt. He was dressed in casual wear consisting of a plain black shirt and dark blue jeans.
"-He just bolted right out the door… In a pink and white furry cat suit! It even had cat ears and a tail!" Alice finished with a massive grin, causing Bast to burst out laughing to the point she started banging her fist on the table before she started rolling around on the floor clutching her midsection as tears of amusement escaped her eyes. Johan could only groan as he put his face in his hands to hide his embarrassed face.
The story in question being? Apparently Johan's love for cats went back that far, and even got a furry cat suit for Halloween and didn't care about the colors. This happened when he was eight.
"Though unfortunately he ended up getting rid of it after our first cat, River, passed away. The suit looked almost identical to him so he didn't want to keep it around." Katerina added solemnly. It was true, but it was still sad. Bast stopped laughing and looked at her boyfriend with a sad face before she gave him a hug, which he reciprocated.
"I wish I could've met that cat. I would've snuggled with him." Romano said sadly. Katerina wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close.
"...So! Who wants to hear a story about Katerina?!" Alice asked, trying to get to a new topic and succeeded. Johan suddenly had an evil gleam in his eye.
"I know a good one…!" He said with a grin, causing his sister to give him a pointed look.
"Johan, don't you dare think about telling that story!" She warned. The eldritch girl was clothed in a forest green shirt, a grey hoodie, and black jeans that hugged her legs.
"Oh, you mean the time you stole three bowls of candy by shocking them stiff?" He chuckled. Romano instantly started snickering while his sister glared at him.
"How'd she manage that?" He asked.
"She made all of them think she was a sexy 20 year old and that she was naked." Johan replied. Romano's snickering evolved into chuckles.
"Was this in her early days as a mutant and she was still learning?" He asked with a grin.
"It was. The look on her face when we found out was priceless!" The soldier laughed while Katerina glowered at him.
"I actually took a picture! Here, take a look!" Anton said with a grin, taking out a picture and handing it to the light manipulator. Romano took it and his chuckles became full blown laughter when he saw his girlfriend's shocked look on the picture while also finding her childhood self adorable.
"Not cool guys!" The girl snapped angrily.
"So, what can you both tell us about yourselves? What were your family lives like?" Alice asked Bast and Romano.
"Well before I had to spend most of my life in HYDRA's clutches, I had to work three jobs in order to help me and my mom get by." Romano explained. "I tried reconnecting with her after I was freed, but… I found her in a hospital really sick with Pneumonia, luckily I was able to talk for a while but… she ended up dying a few weeks later." The man explained sadly.
Everyone looked at him sadly before his eldritch girlfriend pulled him into a comforting hug.
"My family life was.. Somewhat normal until my Mutant traits manifested, and then my dad threw me out of the house because of it. My family was very traditionally Muslim so they thought I was cursed for being disobedient. Though the rest of my family hated that it happened, so there's that." Bast started. "After I got free from HYDRA, I worked at various homeless shelters to try and lose them. When that phase of my life was over, I managed to reconnect with my family at Beverly Hills…" Here, she looked at Johan and smiled. "And met the man who I knew I could trust." She finished as she leaned into him. Johan just smiled and held her close.
"I'm assuming that your mother divorced your father and gained custody of your siblings?" Anton guessed.
"No, my father was killed in a suicide bombing during a pilgrimage to the holy land." Bast corrected. "Karma's a bitch, I guess. I don't really care where he is in the afterlife now. Though personally I hope he's in hell." She added with a shrug.
"I want to say something about disrespecting deceased family members, but I can't really come up with anything." Alice admitted as she scratched the side of her head.
"Well… I guess it kind of is karma…" Anton shrugged, unsure of what to say himself. He then scowled. "I still hate HYDRA, though." He added.
"Everyone in this house does." Johan commented flatly. "Though it is currently destroyed."
"How?" Alice questioned.
"It was destroyed by a boy who's going to the Institute I'm working at." Bast told her. "His name is Gavin Mathias-Vlad Shirakumo, aka Vampyr. An absurdly powerful mutant."
"Do I wanna know how absurdly powerful?" The patriarch of the family asked warily.
"He destroyed an entire base in one move, and has fought gods and won." Johan told him.
"... So the bottom line is HYDRA's no longer a thing?" The green eyed mother asked, choosing to ignore the part about him fighting gods for the moment.
"Yep." Katerina nodded. Alice then turned to her husband.
"Get the wine and sparkling water out, dear! Time for a late celebration of HYDRA's destruction!" She told him.
"Will do." Her husband nodded as he left to get said beverages.
"So Johan, are we still going to go on that carriage ride tonight?" Bast asked.
"Oh yeah. Nothing is getting in the way of that ride." Her boyfriend replied seriously. He had been looking forward to it for the longest time, and refused to let anything stop it from happening.
"Good." She smiled as she hugged his arm.
(Elsewhere)
In the woods outside of the town of Sleepy Hollow, a man in green armor with purple gloves, boots, and a cape was walking through them. Though what was really odd about him, was a glass dome that was over his head.
This was Winston Beck, aka Mysterio. Disgruntled magician, master of illusions and one of Spider Man's many many enemies.
"If the people of Sleepy Hollow believe the Headless Horseman is a myth, I will gladly prove them wrong." He muttered darkly.
Though as he said this he came up to an old and abandoned English church where a giant sickly looking willow tree stood in front of it. But before he could enter, the very same specter he spoke of came riding into his path. "Leave this place now, Magician, or perish." The horseman warned, brandishing his battle ax as fog rolled in behind him.
"I came here for a reason, and I will not leave until my goal is achieved." Mysterio declared as magic gathered in his hands.
"Then you will burn in the depths of Hell!" The horseman yelled as his horse reared up and bellowed before they changed at Mysterio with ax in hand.
(Later on, elsewhere)
With Bast and Johan, the two were currently riding in a carriage down the cobblestone streets of the town, enjoying the scenery and each other's company, with the catwoman holding her boyfriend's hand and purring as she nuzzled the man happily.
"The fact that you can purr is and always will be adorable. I love you so much, sweetheart." Johan sighed as he returned her nuzzles.
"I love you too, honey." His girlfriend purred in reply, her tail flicking and wrapping around his arm while he scratched the back of her pointed ears.
"I think it's really great that you and the others have finally been able to start normal lives." He told her. "... Did you ever find out what happened to your mother and brothers?"
"Yeah, we ended up getting along great. Chelsea was able to reconnect with her family, too. I'm not sure about Marcus, though." She nodded.
"That's good." The soldier nodded. The two continued to cuddle inside as the carriage ride went on, things couldn't be better.
(Elsewhere)
-Midnight-
At the same church where the Headless Horseman and Mysterio were fighting, it was one minute until midnight and the Horseman and his horse were both unconscious. Mysterio meanwhile was using his magic to carve a set of symbols on the trunk of the willow tree.
"Open, Gate to the realm of Dormammu!" The magician yelled as a hellflame portal opened and two people stepped out. The first was a woman with long black hair, porcelain skin, enchanting features and green eyes who was wearing black lipstick and eyeshadow and was in a green medieval dress. And the second was a ten foot tall purple armor clad demon with a burning head and glowing red eyes.
This was Dormammu, and the evil sister of King Arthur Pendragon, Morgan LeFey.
"Welcome to Earth, Dormammu and Morgana." The domed magician greeted the two.
"About time you made the portal, Winston. What took so long?" Morgan snapped while examining her long nails.
"The trek here, for starters. And I had to deal with the Horseman." He replied, jutting a thumb at the unconscious Hessian ghost and spectral steed.
"That does not matter now, Morgana. What matters now is that we must start preparing for the lunar eclipse tomorrow night. For our plan to succeed, our timing must be perfect." Dormammu told the two.
"Of course, milord." Morgan nodded.
"Soon we'll be ruling over a world where monsters are real, and Halloween lasts for eternity." Mysterio nodded.
"Yes." The Demon agreed.
(Elsewhere)
-Xavier Institute-
As everyone was cheering and laughing as Damian blew out his candles and everyone started eating ice cream cake (Alex, Damian and Drake deciding to be messy again). Goliath suddenly seemed to get an ominous feeling in his bones, as did the rest of the Gargoyles.
"Did you feel that, lad?" Hudson whispered to the purple Gargoyle.
"Indeed, it feels as though there has been a surge in magic, though I know not where." Goliath nodded.
"You think it's Demona?" Brooklyn asked.
"It's possible, but unlikely, what with her working with Magneto and all." Lexington put in.
"Let's just hope it's nothing serious." Broadway said, getting nods in return.
"You said it, Broadway." Angela nodded, who was looking at Bronx, who was currently licking all three of the baby's faces clean.
Alisa noticed how her friend's demeanor had changed and decided to see what was up. There was definitely something going down right now.
(Elsewhere)
In one of Magneto's many hideouts, Demona was currently speaking with the Master of Magnetism.
"You're certain they'll try tomorrow night?" He asked the female gargoyle.
"Yes. The timing is unmistakable. If it happens tomorrow night, the world will be trapped in a never ending Halloween." Magneto nodded seriously.
"And you seem unenthusiastic about it." The man noted.
"While I will admit that this new world would be a haven for my kind, I would much rather live here in secret than live in a world under the heels of Mysterio, Morgan LeFey and Dormammu." The red haired gargoyle woman stated firmly.
"I'm sure that Goliath will agree with that statement." The magnetic man nodded.
(Elsewhere)
Limping through the fog of night and with his steed in tow, the horseman continued to move on in hopes of finding a patch of hallowed ground to rest at and regain his strength.
Though he soon did find one, and both he and his trusty mount both collapsed in front of the space between two tombs at a local cemetery. The tomb of one Ichabod Crane and one of none other than the Horseman's own family… The Severs.
As the two spectral figures rested, an ethereal flaming Harley Davidson motorcycle rolled up to the cemetery, and its rider watched the two intently. The rider in question was a leather biker garb clad flaming skeleton with glowing eye sockets and chains wrapped around his body.
This was Johnny Blaze, aka the Ghost Rider. "... So, you're still kicking, old man." The Rider said as he slowly rolled towards the sleeping horse and horseman.
Dragon Emperor0: Man, everyone's turning out this Halloween aren't they? First the horseman, then Mysterio, then Morgan LeFey and Dormammu, and now the Ghost Rider? Who's next? Mephisto?
ThermalsniperN7: I dunno, but this is gonna be one hell of a Halloween for the Severs and company. Also… Just… Can we just acknowledge that Johan has the goofiest eight year old Halloween costume ever? It's hilarious how someone so badass can have something like that in his childhood!
Dragon Emperor0: No kidding, and to be completely honest I half expected Katerina to have dressed up in the skimpiest thing possible. Like a string bikini or something.
ThermalsniperN7: Nah. What she did happened when she was somewhere around nine or ten. Stuff like that wouldn't have come to her until MUCH later. And then there's Johan and Bast's carriage ride… I find it absolutely adorable that our resident catwoman is basically putty in her man's hands.
Dragon Emperor0: Why wouldn't she? Johan's been nothing but supportive of her and while other people always ridiculed her for how she looks, he loves that part about her. These two are just like Rogue and Gavin almost.
ThermalsniperN7: True. I wonder how they'll deal with the developing situation... Only one way to know. Anyway, see you guys next chapter!
Dragon Emperor0: Have a good Devils Night!
