'Damn it!' Stryker was furious. All his hard work was seconds from being completed, and this girl was about to destroy it all. 'Start the process now!'
'Sir, we still need to calculate...'
'That's an order God damn it!'
Crystal's eyes shot open, and she sprung to her feet. She didn't feel groggy, there was sudden alertness as soon as woke. Her eyes shot to the Terrigen Crystals and followed the vents up to the top of their containers. Stryker had made it easy for her. Her ears pricked as the machine sprung to life. The crystals began to realise a purple mist, slow at first but before long they were surrounded in a thick cloud, toxic to three of the four mutants locked up.
'Nice of you to join us, Crystal.'
'Sorry Eric, I was a little busy.' She knew he was using humour to keep her calm. She, Eric, and the professor had had several conversations on what she needed to do once they were in this situation. Eric had been concerned Crystal would lose her nerves and let her anxiety take control.
'Better late than never I suppose. Keep calm, it will feel overwhelming.'
'What's he talking about. Chrissy, what are you planning?' Crystal had envisioned all the different scenarios that would result in her being in the room with the crystals, but this was by far the worse. Peter would have to stand by helplessly and watch as she absorbed a lethal dose of Terrigen mist. At least, at this moment, he was powerless to stop her. Tears filled her eyes, unable to contain herself, they began to stain her face. Her head turned to see her father, who gave her a brief nod and a half-hearted smile. They had said their goodbyes.
The mist was now working its way up the pipes. She would need to act now. She stretched out her fingers, solidifying the air about her companions' containers. It forced all the mist in her direction.
Stryker had caught onto what she was doing. She thought he would respond aggressively, but he just smiled. 'It's a good effort on your part Crystal, but how long do you think you'll be able to hold it'. His head turned to the scientist controlling the machines. 'Let's give her a challenge. Turn it up to 100%'.
'Sir, we've only ever gone up to 20%. I have no idea what that will do to them'. Stryker's reply was just a glare that could kill. A dial was turned and the mist seemed to quadruple in volume. It roared up the vents ready to attack her willpower. She was out of time.
'Eric, look after them for me'. Crystal looked at the man who had filled her with fear the first day she met him. Now, she was entrusting him with the safety of the two men she loved the most.
'You have my word'.
'Chrissy. You're scaring me. What is going off'. Poor Peter. She'd have never got away with this if he'd had his powers. His mind would have worked faster in this limited time. Hell, if he had his powers, she'd probably be sat in Paris by now. He would have ran her out of the country to keep her safe.
'Peter,' His name got stuck in her thought. She choked on the sound, knowing that she had to say goodbye through the glass wall between them. 'I'm sorry.' The tears were blurring her vision. But that wasn't all. The mist was now filling her container. It was swirling around her feet, wrapping itself up her lower legs. 'I lied. I had to lie, or you wouldn't have let me come here. Don't blame anyone else, I made them lie'. The mist was clucking her neck now, beginning to evade her airways. It strung as scratched at her throat. She took one last look at him, taking in all his features. His hair, his cheekbones. Those deep brown eyes that shook her down to her soul. Even though she had hoped that Peter wouldn't be in the room with her when she'd imagined it, her final words to Peter were always set in stone. 'I love you.'
'Chrissy! Stop it! Stop it!' His hands were banging against the glass, trying to force a break, but it was no use. He was powerless. His mind wasn't working sharp enough. It was lagging, trying to keep up with what was happening. Peter knew he was never the smartest in the room, but his speed had always allowed him to keep up with what was being said. What was happening now was pure agony. He was slowly realising that Crystal had come here on a suicide mission and all he could do was watch.
The mist had filled her container now and she still had enough willpower to seal off her container to prevent any mist from escaping. The only place it could travel now was through her. She thought the pain would be excruciating as she absorbed the mist, but it was a numbing process. It felt like her mind and body had been separated. Every cell in her body was awakening. It strengthened her very core, igniting a fire in her that Stryker could have only dream off. A jolt in her stomach snapped her mind back, connecting her back to her body.
Peter didn't know who was looking back at him, but it wasn't Crystal. It was a distorted version. Her face had lost its natural glow. Her cheekbones were sharper, harsher. Those deep blue eyes that he loved now had a dusty purple overlay that was truly disturbing. But worse of all, she was staring at him, but there was no sense of recognition in her face.
Her hands were alive with electricity. She could feel everything. Every droplet of water in the air. The earth below them. The lake outside pushing against the wall. The power was intoxicating, which allowed it to push her memories away. Stryker was right, whatever he'd done to this process, she was forgetting herself. She didn't care. Or at least, she couldn't focus on her memories enough to want to care. One thing she could focus on clearly was Stryker's face. It invaded her memories, his snarl haunted her. Words echoed across her mind, 'when I get out of here I'll boil you alive'. Her eyes snapped to meet his. All she could consider was revenge. Her fingers pulsed with energy as she lifted them up to the glass. She barely needed to think about her powers. They were instinctive to her will. As her fingertips brushed against the glass, the four containers shattered.
He couldn't react fast enough to the scattering of the glass, but as soon as the containers broke, Peter felt his mind sharpen. They could stop her now. He still wasn't at full capacity, but he was himself enough to approach Crystal. 'Chrissy, look at me. Hey'. His hand rested on her shoulder, causing her to turn around. He went to smile at her, but she threw her arm backwards throwing him backwards, into the wall.
Guards ran towards them, targeting Crystal. The darkness in her mind was driving her forward. As the mini army ran towards her, guns locked on she saw only one option. She drew her hand forward, grabbing the air around their necks. With a flex of her fingers, she snapped their necks. Twenty soldiers dead in seconds.
'Crystal, you need to stop, listen to me. This isn't you'. She turned to face the voice drawing her in. She knew she should recognise him, but her memory was full of fog. She could feel him pushing on the edge of her mind, but he couldn't get in. The darkness didn't want him to. Her action was drawn back to Stryker. He was smiling, he wouldn't be for much longer. Pulling the water droplets from the air, Crystal formed large blocks of ice around his feet, trapping him. She was going to be methodical in this process. As she did this, she pulled at the earth holding back the dam. She'd weaken its structure enough that it would slowly destroy the compound, meaning she didn't need to rush Stryker's demise.
'Charles, what is she doing? You said she wouldn't survive this'. The men around her were scrambling, but it meant little to her at this point. They posed no threat.
'She shouldn't have. We knew she'd overdose on the mist. We were told as much. But now, she's all anger. Her other emotions are shutting down, detaching her from herself'. The professor's voice broke as he continued to witness the horror unfolding in front of his eyes.
'Shut her down Charles.'
'I can't. There's a small part of Crystal trying to cling on. If I shut her down, that's the part that will be lost. I won't be able to bring her back.'
Peter's head had bounced off the wall. When he came to, he was himself. Full speed, quick thinking. But, even with all that, he didn't know how to respond to Crystal tearing Stryker apart. Eric and Charles clearly had no idea what to do. What he did take from their argument was that there was a piece of Crystal in there.
'Professor, can you hold her long enough for me to speak her?'
'Maybe. She's trying to hold onto a few memories. Maybe we can help pull one particular one forward'.
Crystal had put Stryker though all the physical pain she wanted to. Now she was ready for him to burn. Her hand turned inwards, ready to form a small ball of fire. As she went to throw her creation, the room melted away. She was in a garden. She'd been there before, many times. There was a pergola facing her. Her mind was raging war against itself. The darkness was pushing for her to ignore the image in front of her, but she knew that this memory was good. She wanted to lean into it. But, it was incomplete. The memory included another person.
'Do you remember this Peter? It's the clearest memory she has right now'. The professor was concentrating on his hold Crystal, so didn't bother to check for Peter's answer.
He'd rushed to her the first time they had lived through this. However, he knew he should approach with caution. This Crystal was easily startled. She sensed him coming. 'Peter, my head is burning and I can't control it'. She was crying now, her face blotchy from the emotional pain she was suffering. The memory flickered around them.
'Keep her in the memory, Peter. She needs it as an anchor to pull her back to reality.' The professor spoke quickly, not wanting to disturb the scene for longer than necessary.
'You're thinking about it too much. You need to relax. It will happen if you find a way to calm yourself'. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her in. His left hand gently wrapped around her wrist, be careful of the fireball she was controlling. 'Mind if I help?'
She gave him the briefest of smiles. She was there, listening to him trying to react to his voice. 'I'm not going to be able to do it anyway. It's too strong. I didn't think I'd live through it. It hurts so much.'
She was in pain, all he wanted was to make it stop. She needed to fight off the effects the mist was having on her mind. She needed to remember who she was, what she meant to him. He could barely get the words out. 'Relax. Focus on what you really want. Clear your head and picture the result'.
'That's easy for you to say. You're not the one being overpowered by an alien rock'. A huge smile shot across her face, she was nearly back to him.
He couldn't help but laugh, 'That's not what you said'.
'I love you'.
'Chrissy, don't say that like you're saying goodbye. You can fight this. You already sound more like you. Push it away.'
'I don't want to spend my whole life fighting this. One psychic blast would be enough to end it'.
He spun her around to face him. His hand cupped her chin, as his thumb stroked her cheek. Crystal leaned into him, her hands resting against his chest, waiting in anticipation. He couldn't deny her what she wanted, he never could. Slowly, he tilted his head so his lips could meet her. It was soft and gentle. She was holding back, trying to keep control of her mind.
It was working. Peter watched as her eyes began to clear, the dusty purple draining away, leaving two beautiful blue pools. Her skin was revitalized. He didn't know how or why, but this moment was given Crystal enough drive to fight off the mind-controlling effects Stryker had infused with the mist. It only lasted for the briefest of moments, but Peter watched it unravel, seeing the life return to her face cell by cell.
She pulled away from him, her eyes tried to focus on his face. She was exhausted. Her body and her mind collapsed on her, leaving her to pass out in Peter's arms.
As he tried to wake her, they heard the sound of the dam wall crack. It was Eric who spoke, 'Peter, we need to leave. Now.'