Disclaimer thingie: Marvel owns the X-Men and all of their relatives. BBC/Lionheart own Doctor Who and Ms. Sam-Jones. Highlander is, iirc, owned by Rysher Entertainment. Buffy is owned by Joss Whedon (all hail the Master) and Fox/WB.
Marya, otoh, is mine. Borrow her without asking and I'll have my lackeys get medieval on your roody-poo candy ass.
Notes: And here, folks is more divergence from Marvel time...
PG13/R for swearing and some nastiness.
Dedication: To Lynxie, because she's half-co-plotter, or something. And because she wouldn't let me stop writing -.- To Acetal for betaing this monster, it ain't over yet, bub. To KayJay and Mitai and Alicia for the origin of the crazy idea. And to Tapestry for helping Lynxie kick me and get it finished.
The Rise and Fall of the House of DeZorga
Chapter Five: Fighting for Your Life and Remembering to Still Buy a Lotto Ticket
by Suzy DeZorga
I could remember the first time I'd shocked someone by killing in cold blood. It had been shortly after my fiftieth birthday. The Round Table had collapsed and the land had faded into mediocrity. Another time storm slid me sideways in time, and to my surprise, I found myself in a completely different world.
It was Earth, though. In the mid-Eighties, from what I could tell. And I'd landed in the midst of some sort of invasion. It took me a few days to acclimate myself and get used to the lingo. And then I met him. He wasn't very different looking or anything, he was just...odd.
"Who's the invading blokes?" I asked him. "It's the Cybermen. They're trying to change Earth's history again," he replied. They didn't succeed.
I never did learn his name -- he said it wasn't pronounceable in any Earth-born dialect or language. But I did have a grand time adventuring with him. I stayed because he'd told me he thought he could get me back -- not that it happened. He let me stay because I was good in a fight.
And so we traveled. Me in my ever-increasing wardrobe of black T-shirts (one had the notable saying of, "Power is THERE to be shamelessly abused!") and he in his multicoloured jacket. We traveled through time and space until we ran into a future version of himself.
The future version of the Doctor was a younger man, his hair medium length and a lovely auburn. Unlike the bombastic sandy-haired one, he was gentle and harsh at once. I liked him immediately, for which his current companion, a Ms Sam Jones, decided I had to be evil incarnate.
I went with the future version, since he said he knew how to send me back. He did. But not until we'd had one more adventure during which I'd killed a station commander. The man had been evil incarnate. That still hadn't been enough for the Doctor. "But he was a human being!" "So were the three million people whose deaths he ordered!" "He wasn't ARMED." "He was still thinking, wasn't he?"
Ms Jones was probably very happy to see me go.
I decided we were going to need just a little more backup. I knew who to get, too. Two phone calls made, and I had some extra company that would meet us when we hit the Big Apple. At some point, Forge had cornered Raven and he was coming with us.
Nearly all of them had gotten over their surprise at my cold-blooded killing. Not that many of them were bothered. But he HAD looked like someone they knew. That had to wig out anyone.
We were taking the Xavier van again. I doubted the professor would want to know why we were using it, so didn't tell him. It was evening. We went out to dinner -- but to the city, this time. I'd promised no bar fights.
---
Our backup was waiting at the corner of Fifth and Washington. "What took you so long?" Buffy demanded softly, as she clambered into the van. "I nearly thought dad would catch me."
"Sorry. We got caught in traffic coming into downtown." I hated traffic. There was a reason I normally used a 'cycle.
Buffy blew air out and shrugged. "No biggie. So, who are all the costumed peoples?"
"Buffy. Raven Darkholme, Madelyne Pryor, Forge, Cable, Domino, Lorna Dane, Logan, Remy LeBeau and Betsy Braddock. Guys, Buffy Summers." The introductions made, I went back to negotiating the streets of New York.
"Summers?" Maddie snorted, "There are a lot of the buggers around. Who's your father, child?"
"Tom Summers." Buffy shrugged. "Why?"
"Just wondering if the genes you'll get from him will make our mission fail," Maddie muttered darkly.
Betsy snorted. "Oh, stuff it, Madelyne."
"Battle nerves, dear?" Raven inquired sweetly.
"No, just making sure I come out of this alive."
"What are you all so bloody worried about?" I demanded, skidding around another corner. "There's minimal security on the safehouse. No one is dying."
"But you can't promise that," Buffy said softly, from my right.
I shot a glance at the Slayer. "Don't even think it. You are SO not dying on my watch, Buffy Summers." I nodded, then grinned evilly. "Besides, how would I explain it to Giles?"
"Oh, please -- whoa, watch out for that guy!"
Split-second reflexes had me slamming on the breaks and we came screeching to a halt about six inches from a tallish man with dark hair. He glared into the van at us.
"I don't think he's very happy with us," Buffy observed calmly.
"Just...Don't anyone leave, okay?" I felt the need to apologise to the guy. Besides, he felt familiar. Quickly opening the door and hopping out, I found myself confronted with 32 inches of steel. Japanese steel, by the look of it. "Nice sword. Mind pointing it somewhere else?"
"Not until you..." His voice trailed off and the sword dropped and then disappeared. "Marya."
"Been a while." I nodded. "Is there a reason you were playing chicken with a van?"
"Wasn't paying attention." He looked a bit embarrassed for a moment, then shrugged. "You wanted me for backup?"
"Calling in that favour, yes." I reached for the door and hauled myself into the seat then leaned back out, "Get in. I'll explain on the way."
He went around to the back and clambered in the door Dom silently opened for him. I restarted the van and moved off again, this time being a bit more careful. "Okay, people, the man we just acquired as backup is--" I turned a corner and thought of something.
#Connor?#
~What?~
#Connor or Russell?#
~Connor is fine.~
I shut down the link and refocused. "Connor McLeod. Connor, I'd like you to meet Buffy Summers, Raven Darkholme, Domino, Cable, Madelyne Pryor, Forge," I paused to grab another breath, "Lorna Dane, Betsy Braddock, Logan and Remy LeBeau."
"Our mission, people, should you decide to accept it, is to raid a safehouse created by an evil genetic mastermind from a different dimension."
I waited for questions from the silence, then snickered. "You people have been hanging around me too long."
"Duh," Buffy said.
Raven snorted. "Just give us our assignments."
"Right." I reached into my mind, remembering the vital information. "Raven, you, Forge and Lorna take the side door. It's halfway down the alley when we get there. Betsy, you, Logan, Remy and Maddie take the back. Nate, Dom, you're with me. Buffy and Connor. Backup. Stay with the van, I'll call -- or, one of the telepaths will call -- if you're needed. Don't, if you can help it, let the van get stolen or yourselves arrested. Connor, try not to call any other Immortals."
I'd attempted to pair people up so that they were working with people they knew. I wanted to put a telepath with each team, but I knew it wouldn't -- wait. "Betsy?"
"Yes?" The Asian bodied telepath looked up from inspecting Connor's sword. I could see it in the rearview, and I wondered how she'd convinced him that quickly to let her look at it.
"Stay here at the van with Buffy and Connor. Nate," I glanced over my shoulder at the silver-haired man, "much as I hate breaking you and Dom up, could you go with Raven?"
"Why don't I go with you, and Nate and Dom with Forge and Lorna?" Raven knew why I was dividing us up.
"That works." I nodded and pulled the van to a halt. "Try to keep in contact, ladies, Nate." I smiled grimly and hopped out of the van.
---
Raven and I waited at the van until I heard the okays from the other two teams. We were all four linked into a mental net. Sort of. Nate, Maddie, Betsy and I. Not that Maddie and Betsy seemed to happy to play together. I sighed and hoped they'd get over the anger and deal. Soon. Hopefully before we ended up losing both.
I'd have to ask later why the animosity. At the moment I was more concerned with saving the life of one Dr Henry McCoy. If what I'd picked up of the living conditions he was in, it wasn't going to be pretty. No food, only water, and he was hanging against a wall by his arms.
"We're only the diversion, you know."
"I guessed," Raven said calmly.
"Front doors being bad for sneaking in and saving lives," Connor said dryly.
"Sneaking? What's that?"
I snorted at Buffy. "Something you only do once in a great while? You were noting once that you fell through more windows..."
She laughed, her laughter bright and silvery in the night air. "Yes, Marya, I tend to need subterfuge when doing my fighting."
"Or something like that," Connor inserted dryly.
#We're ready,# Maddie whispered down the link.
#That was quick,# I replied. #Nate?#
#We're in place,# he reported.
#Good.# I turned to Connor and hugged him. "For luck." I explained.
"Ah, luck. Well, then." Before I had a chance to blink, he'd dipped me back and kissed me soundly.
Raven was snickering when I finally came back to myself. I looked up at Connor bemusedly. "Wow, that was...Wow."
"I'd forgotten how much fun kissing you was," he said softly. Almost wistfully.
At least, I hoped it was wistful.
"Let's go, Rave."
"Right-o, boss."
As we left I heard Buffy muttering about getting left behind when everyone was off having fun. Connor replied that he preferred waiting in backup. And then we were out of earshot.
The streetlights around us illuminated the area quite well, making it difficult for anything short of a frontal assault.
"We go in with guns blazing?"
I grinned. Sometimes, Raven knew me better than I knew myself. "Yes."
Before we'd left, I'd taken the time to change my T-shirt. It was black and ripped and torn in several place. "If there can be only one, what's the point?" blazed across the front in purple and blue. It was a combat-ready shirt, which meant I'd worn it several times before while fighting. It was on its last legs, and I was going to miss it.
Two huge double doors graced the front of the warehouse. Not quite the quiet entrance I was looking for. Then I spotted the smaller door inset into the left one. "Perfect."
I slipped up to the door, Raven covering my back, and began picking the lock. I could have used TK on it, moved the tumblers, or just turned the handle inside. That would have expended energy, though. More than I wanted to lose at this juncture. A few clicks and a muttered curse and we were in.
Raven again covered my back as we slipped into the vast room. I could feel it was vast, even without seeing it. Things echoed. And then the motion sensors turned on the lights.
We were blinded for an instant, both warily watching the shadows and blinking rapidly. And then we could see them.
"Shit." My voice echoed in the room, sounding hollow and frightened.
"Fucking hell." Raven's voice joined mine in echoing around us.
They were huge. And there had to have been hundreds of them, the floor to the warehouse having disappeared to accommodate the creation of more. And more. "Sentinels," I whispered. "Bloody hell."
#We're in,# Cable reported, suddenly. #What's the situation there?# He must have felt my shock.
#Sentinels. Hundreds of them. Shit, I thought the govern -- oh. Duh. Watch your backs.# I turned to Raven. "We need to find the control center. Shut them down."
"I think we're going to have to deal with *them* first."
I blinked and looked towards where Raven was pointing and cursed. "Bloody..."
Three Sentinels had activated and were beginning to stride towards us. "Intruders. Destroy."
"Get into cover, I'll hold them off," I snapped, reaching for the gun I'd grabbed from the vast weapons locker in Nate's room. A few shots slammed into the first Sentinel and then I was moving, ducking and weaving away from the fire I'd drawn. #Nate! Maddie! There're activated sentinels. Watch your backs.#
#Yes, mom,# Maddie replied dryly. #We're in, by the way.#
#Good -- shit.# I threw myself into a diving roll and came up to fire a TK blast into the foremost Sentinel's power cells. The robot staggered and then collapsed as the power cells fractured like glass under the assault. I knew they weren't going to all be that easy. And more were awakening.
"Raven, we've got to get to where McCoy is!" My cover disappeared under relentless strafing from the two and I backflipped to hide in an alcove next to the stairwell. I knew he was downstairs, I couldn't sense him -- not without dropping my shields more -- but I knew from the memories.
Raven appeared next to me, gun in hand. "Down?"
"Down." I turned and jumped down the first flight, Raven following. Behind us the Sentinels stopped firing and tried to follow. They wouldn't fit down the stairwell. Yet.
#Ah. Sentinels. Toy men to knock down.# Maddie sounded like she was having fun.
#TK blast to the power cells.# I shot the schematic to her. The one I'd picked from the impostor's memories. #This should help. Nate? How goes it?# We dropped through another level. Behind us, I could hear the sentinels ripping up the uppermost level of the stairwell.
#Nothing, yet.#
#Good.#
We hit the bottom level and stopped. I took one side of the door, Raven the other. "Ready?"
She nodded. I grinned and yanked open the door, throwing myself through and coming to a halt. Not quite the main control center, but close. Main corridor to it, and the cell we were heading to was off to our left. Raven glanced to the right.
Indecision caught me for an instant, then I gave in to what was needed. The Sentinels needed to be shut down before we could make good our plans. McCoy could wait, he'd waited long enough as it was. "Control room. We've got to shut down the Sentinels." In a hazy back corner of my mind, I sort of knew what the Sentinels were going to be used for. And it needed to be stopped.
"C'mon." I trotted down the corridor, the gun held loosely in my hands. It might not have worked against the robots very well, but against a human, it would be brill. I slowed just before the door to the control room and sent a few mental feelers into the room. Nothing. There was no human or mutant in there. Which didn't mean there weren't robots.
Raven waved me on and I slid around the lip of the door, back to the wall. A quick glance showed nothing in the room that moved. A large viewscreen covered the farthest wall, while equipment dotted a few benches and the other walls equally. "Empty," I said. Not clear. I wasn't about to commit myself to that when I knew there might be something lurking.
Robotic or human, it didn't matter. Raven slipped in behind me and glanced around. "Empty is right."
I stared at some of the computer terminals, feeling an odd sense of deja vu -- the memories again, I think. "There, those are the ones that control the Sentinels." I walked over to them and set the gun on the console. Within easy reach, but not in the way as I began to type.
"Access codes, access codes..." Something clicked in my mind and I was typing them in, adding the needed control codes. And then I sent all of the sentinels into self-destruct mode, delaying it for twenty minutes. Long enough for us to get out, I hoped.
"Charges set," Raven reported, from the doorway. "Let's get McCoy."
"Right." One last set of commands and we were out of the room.
#The Sentinels just froze.# Maddie sounded disappointed.
#Sorry. They're going into shutdown/self-destruct mode. Twenty minutes. Nate?#
#Under heavy fire, at the moment. Some sort of mutant crew.#
#Maddie get over and help him -- wait, send Logan down here.# I needed, suddenly, to get up to where Nate and Dom were. Something was going to happen, my precog senses were awakening, sending flashes of death, battle, blood. Someone would die, and soon.
#He's on his way.#
#Shit.# It was Dom down the link she and Nate shared. #That's Alex Summers.#
"WHAT?" Raven looked at me oddly, and I shook my head, speeding up a bit. Maddie had echoed my yelp of shock.
#Brainwashed, by the look of it,# Nate reported tersely.
Another corner turned and three humans were training their guns on us. "Shit," I muttered.
"Bloody--" Raven threw herself back around the corner.
"Um, hi?" I dropped my gun and slowly raised my arms.
"Gerry, pat her down. Don't move, lady." The one in charge gestured at me with his gun.
They were sending one to pat me down? That was stupid. As soon as he got close enough, I whipped out a TK tendril and pulled him in front of me. A shield. My arms slipped around him while they were still gawking, and his gun fired, killing the two there. The one in my arms whimpered. "I'm sorry. But you knew who you were working for." His neck snapped with ease.
"Raven?"
She poked her head around the corner. "Done having fun? You never leave any for me," she complained, stepping around to join me.
I riffled the pockets, looking for wallets and ID. Three minutes later, I pocketed what they had without looking at it. We'd sort it out later, after the big explosions.
McCoy's cell was directly in front of us, now. I reached out and checked the door for booby traps. None. Opening it was the work of a second, and the door creaked inwards. I shoved it back flush with the wall and peered in.
Slumped against the far wall was a man -- some might call him a beast -- his fur looked dull and unwashed and blue. "McCoy," I said softly.
He didn't even stir. I knew it was a lie, though. He was awake and waiting. I sighed. "Don't play this game, man, we haven't the time. Rave, watch the corridor, there are a few more human guards running about."
"Yes, boss," she replied dryly, as I stepped further into the cell.
The apparatus installed into the ceiling dripped slowly onto the prisoner. The fluid looked like water, but I couldn't be sure. The cell stank of unwashed fur, a bit of wet dog and fear. The captive had been there for a long time -- at least three months. I sighed and inspected the manacles holding him in such an uncomfortable position.
"I'm sorry this took so long." I reached out and carefully smoothed the hair back from his face. He looked old and bruised, under the fur. "You know," I said conversationally, as I began working on the manacles, "we met, once. You probably don't remember me."
I smiled slightly and cursed under my breath. The manacles were going to take longer than I'd thought. There hadn't been keys on the guards, which meant the impostor must have had the keys in his lab. Somewhere.
"It was about five years ago. Avengers Mansion." I slipped a hand around his neck and checked his pulse. Thready, but there. "You'd come to have a reunion of sorts with Cap and Iron Man."
Raven's head popped back in. "Something's coming."
"Sod." I stopped working on the left manacle and ran silently to crouch next to the doorway.
Out in the corridor, whatever it was stopped for a second, then, "Suzy, quit hiding, I can smell both of you. And Hank."
"Logan," I whispered softly, relaxing. "Get in here, old man, I can't keep up this tensing and relaxing shit much longer. My nerves can't take it."
He chuckled and stepped into the cell, then froze. "Those manacles--"
"Need to come off, yes." I was already moving to the wall again. "Watch the corridor."
I stared at the manacles, then shrugged. "Sod this." TK tentacles slithered under the manacles, finding the weakest point and slipping into it. They shattered, a rain of little slivers of metal fell around us and I caught the man as he fell forward. "Ooof."
Staggering a bit, I managed to get McCoy leaning against the wall, with me as support. "Raven, Logan, could you give us a hand here?" I croaked.
They swiftly helped me hold him up. "We don't have time for him to be comatose." I dropped into a light trance and reached into his body. Healing energy flowed out of me and into him, soothing tired muscles, torn with a lack of vitamins and minerals.
#Oh, GODS!# Maddie's mindvoice dragged me out of the trance and I swayed for a minute, scrambling to get my shields back up. An instant of chaos and then they snapped into place.
#What?#
#It's Dane.#
#What about Dane?#
#She's...# Maddie's voice trailed off and Nate's took over. He sounded hoarsely afraid. #She's dying.#
#Not on MY watch,# I snarled back at them. "Raven, you know how to get out of here. Take Logan and Hank and GO. I have to hit the surface as fast as possible."
"Why?"
"Lorna just took a hit that might kill her."
"Go," Logan barked at me. I didn't wait to hear any more, I turned and took off at a dead run for the stairs. #Betsy, get Connor and Buffy to the back area, they're in need of more cover. Lorna's down.#
#I heard,# The ninja replied calmly. And then I ignored everything and threw myself up the stairs. Five flights to go.
Dane wasn't a friend, I barely knew her. Four flights.
I didn't even know if she thought Grey was full of it or not. Three flights.
Hell, I didn't even know if she was going to turn around and betray me. Two flights.
But I couldn't let her die. Not. On. My. Watch. One flight. I was panting as I cleared the top landing and dodged around the frozen sentinels. "The back, the back." A flash of gunfire sounded and I followed it. Across the factory floor, through a set of doors, and then I was barreling into a young woman. We fell over in a pile of arms and legs, both of us cursing.
"Get off me, you fucking bitch."
"Shut up, you bloody in the way bint." I threw myself into a roll that ended with me standing in front of the back door the little bitch had been covering. "I don't have time for this."
"Wha--"
My mind slipped around hers and I shut it off. "Sorry, Fatale, m'dear, you're an annoyance."
I didn't wait, but dove out the door and took in the situation. Maddie was standing protectively over an unconscious blond man, while Cable yelled at her. Connor and Buffy were just now skidding around the corner, while Dom and some guy who kept shape-shifting were squared off. Betsy slithered into the scene and looked bored. And Remy was standing by a pile of rubble, holding someone's hand. At least, it could have been someone's hand. They were buried under the pile.
Lorna, my mind catalogued. I felt sickened. Out of all of us, she was the one with the least kills on her life. The least stain. And she was the first one to have fallen. I ran towards them and dropped to my knees.
"I'm sorry."
"She's still alive, Louisa."
"I know." I said softly. But for how long? I didn't bother to vocalise that, just dropped into a light trance. #Betsy! I'm going to need you...#
#On my way.#
The rubble showed with a malignant green glow in front of me. I needed to move it before I could even get to Lorna. Why hadn't anyone else done it? Like Nate? I swore and deepened the trance, pulling on a few reserves. The dash up the stairs had cost me.
For an instant, the rubble sat there, triumphant. And then it moved, hovering up and moving to the right. I checked what was there and smiled. "Dom, incoming!"
The dark-haired merc blinked in shock as the rubble suddenly appeared and dropped onto her assailant.
I turned back to Lorna and moaned softly. She looked like she'd been hit by a truck, or worse. A great force had shattered her ribs and then torn her open from sternum to navel. Intestine and other matter spilled out around her, and I could barely hear her breathing. That she was still alive was a miracle. If I was able to keep her intact until we reached the medical facilities of the X-Mansion, that would be another.
First things first. I carefully set a hand to each side of her shattered ribs and began a network of TK tentacles. Weaving, I gradually slipped lower, pulling the contents of her stomach and abdomen back into place and putting a TK wall in front of them. Stay.
Her breathing began stabilising as the shattered ribs pulled themselves back into place. I winced at the pain I was causing but there was no way to siphon the pain off without losing control of something.
#Marya, I can block her pain receptors.# Betsy.
I sent wordless thanks and then gratefully breathed easier as the pain lessened to a dull roar. TK held together the young woman in front of me. TK and my will power. It wasn't going to be enough. I reached into myself and tapped the healing energies again. I was going to sleep for a week after this, I decided, as the energy came and filled me, slipping into the woman in front of us.
For an instant, the lattice-work of healing overlaid the TK net. And then the healing sank into the viscera of Lorna's body and began its work.
As bones and skin reknit, I fed more and more power into the matrix. As I fed, I felt myself beginning to drain. My energy lessening. Fatigue would take me soon, but I didn't care. Lorna's life was NOT extinguishing. Not on MY watch.
Betsy slipped deeper into my mind and began feeding me her own energy. I didn't even ask how she'd figured it out, just accepted the deep red currents and fed them to Lorna.
#Marya...# Maddie's voice slipped into my thoughts. #We're at the surface. We have to leave. Two minutes before the charges go.#
#Can't. Need to...stay stable.# I fought the exhaustion that was suddenly swamping me and checked Lorna's condition. The healing had reset her shattered ribs, and closed her abdomen off to the night air. But her body was still in shock.
#She's movable,# Betsy pointed out calmly.
"Yeah, but am I?" I reopened my eyes, still keeping a light trance so the TK net would stay wrapped around Lorna. "Someone's going to have to carry both of us."
"I've got Marya." Connor slipped his arms under me and lifted. "Thank God you're a light 'un."
"Yeah, they all say that," I managed, as Remy carefully picked Lorna up, trying not to break the link I was still holding. "You navigate and steer and stuff." I mumbled, falling back into a deeper trance to keep hold of Lorna's insides.
I don't remember the hustle to the van, I do remember the explosion from behind us as the sentinels self-destructed and the charges took out the main control room and reactors.
---
The drive back to the mansion passed in a blur as I fought to stay conscious and keep Lorna stable. Oddly enough, I noted that the van was more crowded than it had been. We'd picked up two prisoners, the blond man and the young woman I'd knocked out. I had no idea what had happened to the amorphous shapeshifter.
At some point, I think we dropped Buffy and Connor off -- neither needed to come back to the mansion, and it was a less crowded drive afterwards.
It was literally a work in endurance to stay conscious. I could feel the time ebbing away at my control, and even Nate joining the link and lending strength wouldn't have been enough. Maddie joined the link and the rush of power was suddenly heady and intoxicating, and almost too much for my abused senses to channel. I did, though. And Lorna was stable when we pulled up in front of the mansion.
#Can I pass out now?# Everything was reduced to motor functions and telepathy. Bed sounded very inviting.
#Not quite yet,# Maddie replied softly, as people began to boil out of the mansion in response to Logan's knock.
#Please, mum?# I wasn't above begging. Especially when the prospect of chatting with the looming figure of Jean Grey was imminent.
Nate snorted at me, #Deal, Susanna.#
#But I don't wanna,# I moaned pathetically. #Besides, I'm about to fall over if anyone moves me.#
I suddenly realised something, as Lorna was carried into the mansion, Maddie following and keeping her stable, it was December 24th.
"What the HELL did you DO?" Grey was now in front of me, yelling.
"Oh, shut up, Grey. I brought back your Henry McCoy. Merry fucking Christmas." And I finally let go. The world went black as I spiraled downwards, noise going away and unconsciousness swamping me.
---
End Chapter Five
=====
'I stood at the kitchen sink, my radio playing songs like "Tainted Love" and "Love is Strange"...'
__________________________________________________
© 2000 Suzy DeZorga
Marya, otoh, is mine. Borrow her without asking and I'll have my lackeys get medieval on your roody-poo candy ass.
Notes: And here, folks is more divergence from Marvel time...
PG13/R for swearing and some nastiness.
Dedication: To Lynxie, because she's half-co-plotter, or something. And because she wouldn't let me stop writing -.- To Acetal for betaing this monster, it ain't over yet, bub. To KayJay and Mitai and Alicia for the origin of the crazy idea. And to Tapestry for helping Lynxie kick me and get it finished.
The Rise and Fall of the House of DeZorga
Chapter Five: Fighting for Your Life and Remembering to Still Buy a Lotto Ticket
by Suzy DeZorga
I could remember the first time I'd shocked someone by killing in cold blood. It had been shortly after my fiftieth birthday. The Round Table had collapsed and the land had faded into mediocrity. Another time storm slid me sideways in time, and to my surprise, I found myself in a completely different world.
It was Earth, though. In the mid-Eighties, from what I could tell. And I'd landed in the midst of some sort of invasion. It took me a few days to acclimate myself and get used to the lingo. And then I met him. He wasn't very different looking or anything, he was just...odd.
"Who's the invading blokes?" I asked him. "It's the Cybermen. They're trying to change Earth's history again," he replied. They didn't succeed.
I never did learn his name -- he said it wasn't pronounceable in any Earth-born dialect or language. But I did have a grand time adventuring with him. I stayed because he'd told me he thought he could get me back -- not that it happened. He let me stay because I was good in a fight.
And so we traveled. Me in my ever-increasing wardrobe of black T-shirts (one had the notable saying of, "Power is THERE to be shamelessly abused!") and he in his multicoloured jacket. We traveled through time and space until we ran into a future version of himself.
The future version of the Doctor was a younger man, his hair medium length and a lovely auburn. Unlike the bombastic sandy-haired one, he was gentle and harsh at once. I liked him immediately, for which his current companion, a Ms Sam Jones, decided I had to be evil incarnate.
I went with the future version, since he said he knew how to send me back. He did. But not until we'd had one more adventure during which I'd killed a station commander. The man had been evil incarnate. That still hadn't been enough for the Doctor. "But he was a human being!" "So were the three million people whose deaths he ordered!" "He wasn't ARMED." "He was still thinking, wasn't he?"
Ms Jones was probably very happy to see me go.
I decided we were going to need just a little more backup. I knew who to get, too. Two phone calls made, and I had some extra company that would meet us when we hit the Big Apple. At some point, Forge had cornered Raven and he was coming with us.
Nearly all of them had gotten over their surprise at my cold-blooded killing. Not that many of them were bothered. But he HAD looked like someone they knew. That had to wig out anyone.
We were taking the Xavier van again. I doubted the professor would want to know why we were using it, so didn't tell him. It was evening. We went out to dinner -- but to the city, this time. I'd promised no bar fights.
---
Our backup was waiting at the corner of Fifth and Washington. "What took you so long?" Buffy demanded softly, as she clambered into the van. "I nearly thought dad would catch me."
"Sorry. We got caught in traffic coming into downtown." I hated traffic. There was a reason I normally used a 'cycle.
Buffy blew air out and shrugged. "No biggie. So, who are all the costumed peoples?"
"Buffy. Raven Darkholme, Madelyne Pryor, Forge, Cable, Domino, Lorna Dane, Logan, Remy LeBeau and Betsy Braddock. Guys, Buffy Summers." The introductions made, I went back to negotiating the streets of New York.
"Summers?" Maddie snorted, "There are a lot of the buggers around. Who's your father, child?"
"Tom Summers." Buffy shrugged. "Why?"
"Just wondering if the genes you'll get from him will make our mission fail," Maddie muttered darkly.
Betsy snorted. "Oh, stuff it, Madelyne."
"Battle nerves, dear?" Raven inquired sweetly.
"No, just making sure I come out of this alive."
"What are you all so bloody worried about?" I demanded, skidding around another corner. "There's minimal security on the safehouse. No one is dying."
"But you can't promise that," Buffy said softly, from my right.
I shot a glance at the Slayer. "Don't even think it. You are SO not dying on my watch, Buffy Summers." I nodded, then grinned evilly. "Besides, how would I explain it to Giles?"
"Oh, please -- whoa, watch out for that guy!"
Split-second reflexes had me slamming on the breaks and we came screeching to a halt about six inches from a tallish man with dark hair. He glared into the van at us.
"I don't think he's very happy with us," Buffy observed calmly.
"Just...Don't anyone leave, okay?" I felt the need to apologise to the guy. Besides, he felt familiar. Quickly opening the door and hopping out, I found myself confronted with 32 inches of steel. Japanese steel, by the look of it. "Nice sword. Mind pointing it somewhere else?"
"Not until you..." His voice trailed off and the sword dropped and then disappeared. "Marya."
"Been a while." I nodded. "Is there a reason you were playing chicken with a van?"
"Wasn't paying attention." He looked a bit embarrassed for a moment, then shrugged. "You wanted me for backup?"
"Calling in that favour, yes." I reached for the door and hauled myself into the seat then leaned back out, "Get in. I'll explain on the way."
He went around to the back and clambered in the door Dom silently opened for him. I restarted the van and moved off again, this time being a bit more careful. "Okay, people, the man we just acquired as backup is--" I turned a corner and thought of something.
#Connor?#
~What?~
#Connor or Russell?#
~Connor is fine.~
I shut down the link and refocused. "Connor McLeod. Connor, I'd like you to meet Buffy Summers, Raven Darkholme, Domino, Cable, Madelyne Pryor, Forge," I paused to grab another breath, "Lorna Dane, Betsy Braddock, Logan and Remy LeBeau."
"Our mission, people, should you decide to accept it, is to raid a safehouse created by an evil genetic mastermind from a different dimension."
I waited for questions from the silence, then snickered. "You people have been hanging around me too long."
"Duh," Buffy said.
Raven snorted. "Just give us our assignments."
"Right." I reached into my mind, remembering the vital information. "Raven, you, Forge and Lorna take the side door. It's halfway down the alley when we get there. Betsy, you, Logan, Remy and Maddie take the back. Nate, Dom, you're with me. Buffy and Connor. Backup. Stay with the van, I'll call -- or, one of the telepaths will call -- if you're needed. Don't, if you can help it, let the van get stolen or yourselves arrested. Connor, try not to call any other Immortals."
I'd attempted to pair people up so that they were working with people they knew. I wanted to put a telepath with each team, but I knew it wouldn't -- wait. "Betsy?"
"Yes?" The Asian bodied telepath looked up from inspecting Connor's sword. I could see it in the rearview, and I wondered how she'd convinced him that quickly to let her look at it.
"Stay here at the van with Buffy and Connor. Nate," I glanced over my shoulder at the silver-haired man, "much as I hate breaking you and Dom up, could you go with Raven?"
"Why don't I go with you, and Nate and Dom with Forge and Lorna?" Raven knew why I was dividing us up.
"That works." I nodded and pulled the van to a halt. "Try to keep in contact, ladies, Nate." I smiled grimly and hopped out of the van.
---
Raven and I waited at the van until I heard the okays from the other two teams. We were all four linked into a mental net. Sort of. Nate, Maddie, Betsy and I. Not that Maddie and Betsy seemed to happy to play together. I sighed and hoped they'd get over the anger and deal. Soon. Hopefully before we ended up losing both.
I'd have to ask later why the animosity. At the moment I was more concerned with saving the life of one Dr Henry McCoy. If what I'd picked up of the living conditions he was in, it wasn't going to be pretty. No food, only water, and he was hanging against a wall by his arms.
"We're only the diversion, you know."
"I guessed," Raven said calmly.
"Front doors being bad for sneaking in and saving lives," Connor said dryly.
"Sneaking? What's that?"
I snorted at Buffy. "Something you only do once in a great while? You were noting once that you fell through more windows..."
She laughed, her laughter bright and silvery in the night air. "Yes, Marya, I tend to need subterfuge when doing my fighting."
"Or something like that," Connor inserted dryly.
#We're ready,# Maddie whispered down the link.
#That was quick,# I replied. #Nate?#
#We're in place,# he reported.
#Good.# I turned to Connor and hugged him. "For luck." I explained.
"Ah, luck. Well, then." Before I had a chance to blink, he'd dipped me back and kissed me soundly.
Raven was snickering when I finally came back to myself. I looked up at Connor bemusedly. "Wow, that was...Wow."
"I'd forgotten how much fun kissing you was," he said softly. Almost wistfully.
At least, I hoped it was wistful.
"Let's go, Rave."
"Right-o, boss."
As we left I heard Buffy muttering about getting left behind when everyone was off having fun. Connor replied that he preferred waiting in backup. And then we were out of earshot.
The streetlights around us illuminated the area quite well, making it difficult for anything short of a frontal assault.
"We go in with guns blazing?"
I grinned. Sometimes, Raven knew me better than I knew myself. "Yes."
Before we'd left, I'd taken the time to change my T-shirt. It was black and ripped and torn in several place. "If there can be only one, what's the point?" blazed across the front in purple and blue. It was a combat-ready shirt, which meant I'd worn it several times before while fighting. It was on its last legs, and I was going to miss it.
Two huge double doors graced the front of the warehouse. Not quite the quiet entrance I was looking for. Then I spotted the smaller door inset into the left one. "Perfect."
I slipped up to the door, Raven covering my back, and began picking the lock. I could have used TK on it, moved the tumblers, or just turned the handle inside. That would have expended energy, though. More than I wanted to lose at this juncture. A few clicks and a muttered curse and we were in.
Raven again covered my back as we slipped into the vast room. I could feel it was vast, even without seeing it. Things echoed. And then the motion sensors turned on the lights.
We were blinded for an instant, both warily watching the shadows and blinking rapidly. And then we could see them.
"Shit." My voice echoed in the room, sounding hollow and frightened.
"Fucking hell." Raven's voice joined mine in echoing around us.
They were huge. And there had to have been hundreds of them, the floor to the warehouse having disappeared to accommodate the creation of more. And more. "Sentinels," I whispered. "Bloody hell."
#We're in,# Cable reported, suddenly. #What's the situation there?# He must have felt my shock.
#Sentinels. Hundreds of them. Shit, I thought the govern -- oh. Duh. Watch your backs.# I turned to Raven. "We need to find the control center. Shut them down."
"I think we're going to have to deal with *them* first."
I blinked and looked towards where Raven was pointing and cursed. "Bloody..."
Three Sentinels had activated and were beginning to stride towards us. "Intruders. Destroy."
"Get into cover, I'll hold them off," I snapped, reaching for the gun I'd grabbed from the vast weapons locker in Nate's room. A few shots slammed into the first Sentinel and then I was moving, ducking and weaving away from the fire I'd drawn. #Nate! Maddie! There're activated sentinels. Watch your backs.#
#Yes, mom,# Maddie replied dryly. #We're in, by the way.#
#Good -- shit.# I threw myself into a diving roll and came up to fire a TK blast into the foremost Sentinel's power cells. The robot staggered and then collapsed as the power cells fractured like glass under the assault. I knew they weren't going to all be that easy. And more were awakening.
"Raven, we've got to get to where McCoy is!" My cover disappeared under relentless strafing from the two and I backflipped to hide in an alcove next to the stairwell. I knew he was downstairs, I couldn't sense him -- not without dropping my shields more -- but I knew from the memories.
Raven appeared next to me, gun in hand. "Down?"
"Down." I turned and jumped down the first flight, Raven following. Behind us the Sentinels stopped firing and tried to follow. They wouldn't fit down the stairwell. Yet.
#Ah. Sentinels. Toy men to knock down.# Maddie sounded like she was having fun.
#TK blast to the power cells.# I shot the schematic to her. The one I'd picked from the impostor's memories. #This should help. Nate? How goes it?# We dropped through another level. Behind us, I could hear the sentinels ripping up the uppermost level of the stairwell.
#Nothing, yet.#
#Good.#
We hit the bottom level and stopped. I took one side of the door, Raven the other. "Ready?"
She nodded. I grinned and yanked open the door, throwing myself through and coming to a halt. Not quite the main control center, but close. Main corridor to it, and the cell we were heading to was off to our left. Raven glanced to the right.
Indecision caught me for an instant, then I gave in to what was needed. The Sentinels needed to be shut down before we could make good our plans. McCoy could wait, he'd waited long enough as it was. "Control room. We've got to shut down the Sentinels." In a hazy back corner of my mind, I sort of knew what the Sentinels were going to be used for. And it needed to be stopped.
"C'mon." I trotted down the corridor, the gun held loosely in my hands. It might not have worked against the robots very well, but against a human, it would be brill. I slowed just before the door to the control room and sent a few mental feelers into the room. Nothing. There was no human or mutant in there. Which didn't mean there weren't robots.
Raven waved me on and I slid around the lip of the door, back to the wall. A quick glance showed nothing in the room that moved. A large viewscreen covered the farthest wall, while equipment dotted a few benches and the other walls equally. "Empty," I said. Not clear. I wasn't about to commit myself to that when I knew there might be something lurking.
Robotic or human, it didn't matter. Raven slipped in behind me and glanced around. "Empty is right."
I stared at some of the computer terminals, feeling an odd sense of deja vu -- the memories again, I think. "There, those are the ones that control the Sentinels." I walked over to them and set the gun on the console. Within easy reach, but not in the way as I began to type.
"Access codes, access codes..." Something clicked in my mind and I was typing them in, adding the needed control codes. And then I sent all of the sentinels into self-destruct mode, delaying it for twenty minutes. Long enough for us to get out, I hoped.
"Charges set," Raven reported, from the doorway. "Let's get McCoy."
"Right." One last set of commands and we were out of the room.
#The Sentinels just froze.# Maddie sounded disappointed.
#Sorry. They're going into shutdown/self-destruct mode. Twenty minutes. Nate?#
#Under heavy fire, at the moment. Some sort of mutant crew.#
#Maddie get over and help him -- wait, send Logan down here.# I needed, suddenly, to get up to where Nate and Dom were. Something was going to happen, my precog senses were awakening, sending flashes of death, battle, blood. Someone would die, and soon.
#He's on his way.#
#Shit.# It was Dom down the link she and Nate shared. #That's Alex Summers.#
"WHAT?" Raven looked at me oddly, and I shook my head, speeding up a bit. Maddie had echoed my yelp of shock.
#Brainwashed, by the look of it,# Nate reported tersely.
Another corner turned and three humans were training their guns on us. "Shit," I muttered.
"Bloody--" Raven threw herself back around the corner.
"Um, hi?" I dropped my gun and slowly raised my arms.
"Gerry, pat her down. Don't move, lady." The one in charge gestured at me with his gun.
They were sending one to pat me down? That was stupid. As soon as he got close enough, I whipped out a TK tendril and pulled him in front of me. A shield. My arms slipped around him while they were still gawking, and his gun fired, killing the two there. The one in my arms whimpered. "I'm sorry. But you knew who you were working for." His neck snapped with ease.
"Raven?"
She poked her head around the corner. "Done having fun? You never leave any for me," she complained, stepping around to join me.
I riffled the pockets, looking for wallets and ID. Three minutes later, I pocketed what they had without looking at it. We'd sort it out later, after the big explosions.
McCoy's cell was directly in front of us, now. I reached out and checked the door for booby traps. None. Opening it was the work of a second, and the door creaked inwards. I shoved it back flush with the wall and peered in.
Slumped against the far wall was a man -- some might call him a beast -- his fur looked dull and unwashed and blue. "McCoy," I said softly.
He didn't even stir. I knew it was a lie, though. He was awake and waiting. I sighed. "Don't play this game, man, we haven't the time. Rave, watch the corridor, there are a few more human guards running about."
"Yes, boss," she replied dryly, as I stepped further into the cell.
The apparatus installed into the ceiling dripped slowly onto the prisoner. The fluid looked like water, but I couldn't be sure. The cell stank of unwashed fur, a bit of wet dog and fear. The captive had been there for a long time -- at least three months. I sighed and inspected the manacles holding him in such an uncomfortable position.
"I'm sorry this took so long." I reached out and carefully smoothed the hair back from his face. He looked old and bruised, under the fur. "You know," I said conversationally, as I began working on the manacles, "we met, once. You probably don't remember me."
I smiled slightly and cursed under my breath. The manacles were going to take longer than I'd thought. There hadn't been keys on the guards, which meant the impostor must have had the keys in his lab. Somewhere.
"It was about five years ago. Avengers Mansion." I slipped a hand around his neck and checked his pulse. Thready, but there. "You'd come to have a reunion of sorts with Cap and Iron Man."
Raven's head popped back in. "Something's coming."
"Sod." I stopped working on the left manacle and ran silently to crouch next to the doorway.
Out in the corridor, whatever it was stopped for a second, then, "Suzy, quit hiding, I can smell both of you. And Hank."
"Logan," I whispered softly, relaxing. "Get in here, old man, I can't keep up this tensing and relaxing shit much longer. My nerves can't take it."
He chuckled and stepped into the cell, then froze. "Those manacles--"
"Need to come off, yes." I was already moving to the wall again. "Watch the corridor."
I stared at the manacles, then shrugged. "Sod this." TK tentacles slithered under the manacles, finding the weakest point and slipping into it. They shattered, a rain of little slivers of metal fell around us and I caught the man as he fell forward. "Ooof."
Staggering a bit, I managed to get McCoy leaning against the wall, with me as support. "Raven, Logan, could you give us a hand here?" I croaked.
They swiftly helped me hold him up. "We don't have time for him to be comatose." I dropped into a light trance and reached into his body. Healing energy flowed out of me and into him, soothing tired muscles, torn with a lack of vitamins and minerals.
#Oh, GODS!# Maddie's mindvoice dragged me out of the trance and I swayed for a minute, scrambling to get my shields back up. An instant of chaos and then they snapped into place.
#What?#
#It's Dane.#
#What about Dane?#
#She's...# Maddie's voice trailed off and Nate's took over. He sounded hoarsely afraid. #She's dying.#
#Not on MY watch,# I snarled back at them. "Raven, you know how to get out of here. Take Logan and Hank and GO. I have to hit the surface as fast as possible."
"Why?"
"Lorna just took a hit that might kill her."
"Go," Logan barked at me. I didn't wait to hear any more, I turned and took off at a dead run for the stairs. #Betsy, get Connor and Buffy to the back area, they're in need of more cover. Lorna's down.#
#I heard,# The ninja replied calmly. And then I ignored everything and threw myself up the stairs. Five flights to go.
Dane wasn't a friend, I barely knew her. Four flights.
I didn't even know if she thought Grey was full of it or not. Three flights.
Hell, I didn't even know if she was going to turn around and betray me. Two flights.
But I couldn't let her die. Not. On. My. Watch. One flight. I was panting as I cleared the top landing and dodged around the frozen sentinels. "The back, the back." A flash of gunfire sounded and I followed it. Across the factory floor, through a set of doors, and then I was barreling into a young woman. We fell over in a pile of arms and legs, both of us cursing.
"Get off me, you fucking bitch."
"Shut up, you bloody in the way bint." I threw myself into a roll that ended with me standing in front of the back door the little bitch had been covering. "I don't have time for this."
"Wha--"
My mind slipped around hers and I shut it off. "Sorry, Fatale, m'dear, you're an annoyance."
I didn't wait, but dove out the door and took in the situation. Maddie was standing protectively over an unconscious blond man, while Cable yelled at her. Connor and Buffy were just now skidding around the corner, while Dom and some guy who kept shape-shifting were squared off. Betsy slithered into the scene and looked bored. And Remy was standing by a pile of rubble, holding someone's hand. At least, it could have been someone's hand. They were buried under the pile.
Lorna, my mind catalogued. I felt sickened. Out of all of us, she was the one with the least kills on her life. The least stain. And she was the first one to have fallen. I ran towards them and dropped to my knees.
"I'm sorry."
"She's still alive, Louisa."
"I know." I said softly. But for how long? I didn't bother to vocalise that, just dropped into a light trance. #Betsy! I'm going to need you...#
#On my way.#
The rubble showed with a malignant green glow in front of me. I needed to move it before I could even get to Lorna. Why hadn't anyone else done it? Like Nate? I swore and deepened the trance, pulling on a few reserves. The dash up the stairs had cost me.
For an instant, the rubble sat there, triumphant. And then it moved, hovering up and moving to the right. I checked what was there and smiled. "Dom, incoming!"
The dark-haired merc blinked in shock as the rubble suddenly appeared and dropped onto her assailant.
I turned back to Lorna and moaned softly. She looked like she'd been hit by a truck, or worse. A great force had shattered her ribs and then torn her open from sternum to navel. Intestine and other matter spilled out around her, and I could barely hear her breathing. That she was still alive was a miracle. If I was able to keep her intact until we reached the medical facilities of the X-Mansion, that would be another.
First things first. I carefully set a hand to each side of her shattered ribs and began a network of TK tentacles. Weaving, I gradually slipped lower, pulling the contents of her stomach and abdomen back into place and putting a TK wall in front of them. Stay.
Her breathing began stabilising as the shattered ribs pulled themselves back into place. I winced at the pain I was causing but there was no way to siphon the pain off without losing control of something.
#Marya, I can block her pain receptors.# Betsy.
I sent wordless thanks and then gratefully breathed easier as the pain lessened to a dull roar. TK held together the young woman in front of me. TK and my will power. It wasn't going to be enough. I reached into myself and tapped the healing energies again. I was going to sleep for a week after this, I decided, as the energy came and filled me, slipping into the woman in front of us.
For an instant, the lattice-work of healing overlaid the TK net. And then the healing sank into the viscera of Lorna's body and began its work.
As bones and skin reknit, I fed more and more power into the matrix. As I fed, I felt myself beginning to drain. My energy lessening. Fatigue would take me soon, but I didn't care. Lorna's life was NOT extinguishing. Not on MY watch.
Betsy slipped deeper into my mind and began feeding me her own energy. I didn't even ask how she'd figured it out, just accepted the deep red currents and fed them to Lorna.
#Marya...# Maddie's voice slipped into my thoughts. #We're at the surface. We have to leave. Two minutes before the charges go.#
#Can't. Need to...stay stable.# I fought the exhaustion that was suddenly swamping me and checked Lorna's condition. The healing had reset her shattered ribs, and closed her abdomen off to the night air. But her body was still in shock.
#She's movable,# Betsy pointed out calmly.
"Yeah, but am I?" I reopened my eyes, still keeping a light trance so the TK net would stay wrapped around Lorna. "Someone's going to have to carry both of us."
"I've got Marya." Connor slipped his arms under me and lifted. "Thank God you're a light 'un."
"Yeah, they all say that," I managed, as Remy carefully picked Lorna up, trying not to break the link I was still holding. "You navigate and steer and stuff." I mumbled, falling back into a deeper trance to keep hold of Lorna's insides.
I don't remember the hustle to the van, I do remember the explosion from behind us as the sentinels self-destructed and the charges took out the main control room and reactors.
---
The drive back to the mansion passed in a blur as I fought to stay conscious and keep Lorna stable. Oddly enough, I noted that the van was more crowded than it had been. We'd picked up two prisoners, the blond man and the young woman I'd knocked out. I had no idea what had happened to the amorphous shapeshifter.
At some point, I think we dropped Buffy and Connor off -- neither needed to come back to the mansion, and it was a less crowded drive afterwards.
It was literally a work in endurance to stay conscious. I could feel the time ebbing away at my control, and even Nate joining the link and lending strength wouldn't have been enough. Maddie joined the link and the rush of power was suddenly heady and intoxicating, and almost too much for my abused senses to channel. I did, though. And Lorna was stable when we pulled up in front of the mansion.
#Can I pass out now?# Everything was reduced to motor functions and telepathy. Bed sounded very inviting.
#Not quite yet,# Maddie replied softly, as people began to boil out of the mansion in response to Logan's knock.
#Please, mum?# I wasn't above begging. Especially when the prospect of chatting with the looming figure of Jean Grey was imminent.
Nate snorted at me, #Deal, Susanna.#
#But I don't wanna,# I moaned pathetically. #Besides, I'm about to fall over if anyone moves me.#
I suddenly realised something, as Lorna was carried into the mansion, Maddie following and keeping her stable, it was December 24th.
"What the HELL did you DO?" Grey was now in front of me, yelling.
"Oh, shut up, Grey. I brought back your Henry McCoy. Merry fucking Christmas." And I finally let go. The world went black as I spiraled downwards, noise going away and unconsciousness swamping me.
---
End Chapter Five
=====
'I stood at the kitchen sink, my radio playing songs like "Tainted Love" and "Love is Strange"...'
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© 2000 Suzy DeZorga