*cough* So... I decided to cut the chapters in half (which I was doing, but this works better)
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.
That said, Marya is MINE. Touch her and die a horrible death (I'm specialising in nasty things through the eye, right now)
Also. I've gotten some complaints on my treatment of Jean Grey. My apologies. But. You're going to have to wait. *innocent look* It will all be explained in the end.
Second note: The end is a very LONG way off. Hang on for the ride.
Third note: I've been told that the first five chapters will be online soon. My archivist is very slow. ~_~
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 6: Only a Fool's Here to Stay
by Suzy DeZorga
I didn't know what day it was, I didn't know the time. I was only vaguely certain that I was in a bed and covered in a blanket. But someone was trying to wake me up. Of that I was most definitely certain. Because said person was shaking me and threatening to deluge me in water if I didn't wake up this instant.
"Bugger off, Maddie," I croaked. I felt like a house had fallen on me and then an earthquake had dropped me and the house into a tidal wave. I hurt. Battle nerves had woken me, though, and they refused to let me go until I answered the threat. Not that there was one.
"I can't. Wake up, you stupid bitch, I need your help."
One eye cracked open to glare up at her. "Bugger. Off." I paused and realised that Maddie was looking terribly worried. My foggy brain decided that was bad and began waking the rest of me up.
If I'd thought it hurt before, now was worse. Nerves I'd only barely known existed flared into painful life and throbbed. Apparently, prolonged exposure to my patient had sent up sympathetic resonance in my body. Psychosomatically, I felt like my ribs had been shattered, my guts ripped out and my skull fractured.
The pain must have shown on my face, because Maddie suddenly looked a little concerned. "Are you all right?"
"Nothing a few moments of meditation won't clear. Or, failing that, a large breakfast." My stomach rumbled in sympathy at me.
"Meditate, then," she snapped impatiently.
"Give me a bloody moment," I mumbled, already beginning to drop into a light trance. For an instant, my brain didn't want to relax. Then it did, and I was awash in a sea of blue-green and silver net. My shields. I smiled slightly and found my own pain centers, slipping in and readjusting them. For a moment the phantom pain lingered, then it dissipated, leaving my own aching body behind. I sighed and tweaked the pain centers a bit tiredly.
Euphoria, of a sort, washed over me. With a slight gasp, I came out of the trance. I lay there for a moment, fully waking up and remembering the events of the night before.
"Awake now?"
"Yeah." I looked at Maddie. Her eyes were surrounded by dark shadows and she looked as exhausted as I still felt. Maybe she hadn't been the channel for a ton of energy the night before, but she'd certainly helped.
"What's up?" Staggering out of bed and scrounging for clothing with a visitor is not normal etiquette. Maddie had that urgent look about her, though. So I scrabbled for a t-shirt and a pair of jeans while she filled me in.
"It's Alex. He's been brainwashed--programmed. And I can't break through it. They've got him in a holding cell...Stupid people."
"Brainwashed." I stopped to pull my t-shirt over my head. 'Had enough of being undead? Let me stake you.' it read in blood-red on black. "I think I remember something about that from the memories we grabbed."
"Yes, it's there--I found it, but..." She turned away from me. "Dammit, I fucking HATE feeling helpless."
"Boots, boots," I mumbled, trying to figure out the best way to break the kid's conditioning. "One thing at a time..."
"One thing?" She whirled and glared at me as I pulled on my footwear. "God, you're a cold bitch, Marya."
"No," I replied after a moment of consideration, "a tired and ready to eat my boots one. Before we do anything, I'm going to have to eat breakfast. Something meaty and juicy--or a bunch of vitamins."
"Food. I need your help and you want food."
"Not want. Need. I depleted myself badly last night. If I don't eat nourishing stuff and replenish, I'll collapse into shock." I pondered for a moment. "In much the way I went to sleep when we got in."
"Shock sleep."
"Exactly." I stepped out my door and looked over my shoulder. "Coming? You can watch me devour a bunch of stuff."
"God, I'm glad I don't have to eat," she muttered in reply.
---
The walk to the kitchen was uneventful, which meant we didn't run into any of the people that wanted my head on a platter. I wasn't sure who they all were, but I knew it included at least Grey. And, regretfully, Scott. Most likely, anyway.
The kitchen was a bit more crowded than I was prepared for. Luckily, Betsy and Raven were there, too. Apparently, Excalibur had made it over from England sometime while we were off on our mission. They'd had to fight a demon before coming over. Nice to know we weren't the only ones fighting demons.
I was too tired to do more than grunt in greeting before heading for the fridge to raid it. Behind me I could hear a buzz of conversation, but it didn't interest me. The fridge had nothing that didn't require some sort of preperation. Except for an apple, buried in the back. "Bloody 'ell," I mumbled. The apple lasted all of a minute as I wolfed it down.
"Mare, I keep forgetting how fast you can eat," Raven commented dryly.
"Like a good soldier," I heard Dom say, before a plate of eggs, bacon and cheese was shoved into my hands. "Eat."
I didn't need any more prompting, just sat down and began shoveling the food in. It probably looked sick and gross but it was what I needed. And it wouldn't be enough. Coffee would be good, too.
"Gods, Pete, that's almost as gross as watching you eat."
"'S a higher art form, love."
But I wasn't listening to the two team members of Excalibur. Instead, I was gazing with rapture at the nearest cup of coffee. The contents of the plate were in my stomach, now. And my body was happily buzzing for its caffeine fix. I gazed with mute appeal at Scott. He blinked and shrugged, then handed me his coffee.
"Scott!" Grey squeaked indignantly at him, as I gratefully delved into the caffeine goodness.
"She looked like she needed it, Jean." "But, but--"
"Oh, stuff it, Grey." Raven set another plate down in front of me. "More?"
I rubbed a hand over my eyes and nodded. The plate had a fruit salad and toast. I was betting it wasn't Raven's. The fruit tasted wonderful to my dry and parched throat (coffee does not hydration make). The toast was a little on the dry side, but I didn't care. I needed the nutrients it would provide.
Dom handed me a glass of orange juice as I was wiping up the last of the salad. I downed it without even stopping.
"You were hungry, weren't you?" Scott sounded almost worried about me.
"Depleted my reserves last night," I mumbled, looking around for more. My body was quickly burning up the food recently dumped into it. I'd need some more in a few hours, but I was somewhat sated by now.
"You look like death warmed over," someone else observed.
I looked. It was someone I hadn't ben introduced to, yet. She was young, red-haired and felt...angry, in some way. I shrugged. "I feel worse. And, since apparently, everyone plans to not introduce me, I'm Marya DeZorga."
"Mare," Raven pointed out calmly, "you never gave us a chance."
Shrugging, I continued gazing steadily at the young woman in front of me. Trying to remember why she felt familiar.
"Rachel Summers," she said, grudgingly. And that's when it clicked.
I'd seen her in the Mother Askani's mind. Looking much as she did now, if a little younger. That, and the residual Phoenix Force I could sense in the child.
The creation of the Phoenix Force is not well-known. Most people assume it was created when the universe was. Untrue. One of the Old Gods decided to have an interest in me. I think because I was travelling back and forth through time so much.
His name was Loki, and when I first saw him, he was a lovely young man. I was, if I recall correctly, about seventy at the time. I hadn't been with a man in years, and Loki was an accomplished lover. Little did I know he'd decided to use me to create something.
When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn't sure what to do. At the time, I didn't KNOW he was a God. Within a week, I was swollen as if I'd spent the last nine months carrying the child. I knew that was wrong, of course. So did the people around me. The village I was living in cast me out. And so, I wandered the moor, waiting for my lover to come back.
By the time he did, our daughter was already physically four years old. She'd only been born four hours before. One hour per year, which was a bit frightening to me. Loki reassured me that it was normal. That our daughter was a prototype. Something he was contemplating making more of.
I try not to think about the birth. I'd never had children before this, being an Immortal, I wasn't supposed to be fertile. Thank you, soup-genes. In any event, the birth had gone not too badly, and my daughter was gorgeous.
She didn't stay mine for long. One of the wierd things about mixing my genes with Loki's was a child of incredible power. And will. She basically turned seventeen later that night, told us to go fuck ourselves and disappeared.
Loki was not pleased, to say the least. Especially since she'd been HIS pawn. I was very proud of my daughter, though. Not many women have the balls to tell the Trickster God to fuck off.
I did, though. Oddly enough, I never have seen him again, though I hear ocassional reports about him.
The Phoenix, as my daughter chose to call herself, became one with the universe. At some point in time, she bonded with the M'Kraan crystal and became its Guardian. In more recent years, she had bonded with first Jean Grey (taking over Grey's life and cocooning her) and then Rachel Summers. And, in the future, she would bond with Meggan Askani.
I'd learned all of the latter information from Meggan herself. Meggan had told me there were others bonded with the Phoenix, but hadn't deigned to tell me who. So, Rachel was familiar. And she was upset.
Why, I wasn't sure, and I realised I didn't have time to get into it. Not at the moment, with Maddie suddenly grabbing my arm to drag me imperatively somewhere.
"Maddie, wha--"
#I need your help.#
My tired brain tried to assimilate that it needed to use telepathy. #Okay.#
I gave a tired wave and smile to the kitchen and we decamped for better climes. I hoped. Maddie dragged me along down many corridors--or it felt that way, anyway. Until we were near the Danger Room. I recognised it only by vague memories of the training session from days before.
"Why?" I stopped short in the middle of the hall and resisted further towing by Maddie.
She looked at me and sighed when she caught the implacable look in my eyes. "It's Alex."
I waited for more.
"We brought him back with us, and he's been brain-washed by that fucking scumbag, McCoy."
"And you want me to break his programming."
"I don't trust Chuckles; Grey, the stupid cow, wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole; and Braddock couldn't do it."
"So I have to." I rubbed a weary hand over my eyes and straightened my shoulders. "Let's get this show on the road."
She led me into the Danger Room, which was set up with little cubes as cells. Sabes was in one, sort of drooling, by the looks of him. In the second was a young woman with a Genoshan collar on. She glared at me. I stared impassively back at her. She had very short, dark hair, and a tatoo over one eye. She was SO not happy to be in her cage. and the collar probably chafed.
In the third was our object. He was pacing fractiously, like a stallion that can smell a mare in heat. He had blond hair and was a slight bit shorter than Scott, but I knew they had to be brothers. He caught sight of us and snarled wordlessly.
"I see he's very cordial." Something ocurred to me. "How's Lorna, by the way?"
"In stable condition. Thanks to US." Maddie snorted. "Not that THEY gave a shit about that. OR about us bringing back Henry. All Grey cared about was telling everyone how horrible you are."
#Am I correct in thinking that Alex had something to do with Lorna's condition?# It was something I'd been wondering, ever since I recalled that Summers' mutant power was plasma blasts of force. Lorna had looked like she'd been hit by a train.
#Yes.# Maddie shrugged. #Fix him, then I'll explain?#
I snickered. "Sure, Maddie, I always like making sure the people who hurt my allies are fixed." I looked in at Alex. "Hello."
"Stupid bitch. You're like them, not letting me be myself!"
"Whoa. Hyped up on the angsty anger, much."
"So..." Maddie poked me in the side. "Can you?"
"Yes." Looking over the situation, I decided on comfort, first and foremost. "Maddie, can you whip--ah." I walked to the side and came back with two chairs. "Here. Let's be comfortable. For once."
I didn't wait for Maddie. Instead I dropped lightly into a trance and inspected my shields. They would need to be in top shape for this, since I didn't know how long it would take. And, my brain was so tired, I really hoped this went quick.
#Maddie, keep watch, okay? It'd be really fucking bad if someone stopped me in the middle of this.#
#Got it.#
Silence for a time as I gathered myself. I'd deprogrammed others before. Cult members, mainly. I worked for a section of the FBI once, helped deprogram operatives that got caught and brain-washed. Of course, this wasn't going to be as easy as that. It'd been twenty years since then and the drugs available now made the job much harder.
With a sigh, I reached out and slipped into the brain of the man in the box. For an instant I felt resistance. Then I was through the barrier and floating above his conscious mind. I could feel his surface thoughts. They weren't complimentary to the X-Men as a whole and Xavier and Scott in the near side.
#Well, no time like the present.# With another breath I dove down into Alex's brain.
Immediately I knew it was going to take careful precision to excise the programming and leave the lad's memories intact. What was it they say? Read-only? That would have to be the only way his memories would work. I sighed again. The programming was already deeply entrenched, too. It'd been in place for longer than three months.
I frowned. It lay on top of a network of previous attempts, too. I wondered what would happen once I'd unraveled the true Alex Summers.
---
End Chaper Six
=====
'I stood at the kitchen sink, my radio playing songs like "Tainted Love" and "Love is Strange"...'
__________________________________________________
© 2000 Suzy DeZorga
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.
That said, Marya is MINE. Touch her and die a horrible death (I'm specialising in nasty things through the eye, right now)
Also. I've gotten some complaints on my treatment of Jean Grey. My apologies. But. You're going to have to wait. *innocent look* It will all be explained in the end.
Second note: The end is a very LONG way off. Hang on for the ride.
Third note: I've been told that the first five chapters will be online soon. My archivist is very slow. ~_~
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 6: Only a Fool's Here to Stay
by Suzy DeZorga
I didn't know what day it was, I didn't know the time. I was only vaguely certain that I was in a bed and covered in a blanket. But someone was trying to wake me up. Of that I was most definitely certain. Because said person was shaking me and threatening to deluge me in water if I didn't wake up this instant.
"Bugger off, Maddie," I croaked. I felt like a house had fallen on me and then an earthquake had dropped me and the house into a tidal wave. I hurt. Battle nerves had woken me, though, and they refused to let me go until I answered the threat. Not that there was one.
"I can't. Wake up, you stupid bitch, I need your help."
One eye cracked open to glare up at her. "Bugger. Off." I paused and realised that Maddie was looking terribly worried. My foggy brain decided that was bad and began waking the rest of me up.
If I'd thought it hurt before, now was worse. Nerves I'd only barely known existed flared into painful life and throbbed. Apparently, prolonged exposure to my patient had sent up sympathetic resonance in my body. Psychosomatically, I felt like my ribs had been shattered, my guts ripped out and my skull fractured.
The pain must have shown on my face, because Maddie suddenly looked a little concerned. "Are you all right?"
"Nothing a few moments of meditation won't clear. Or, failing that, a large breakfast." My stomach rumbled in sympathy at me.
"Meditate, then," she snapped impatiently.
"Give me a bloody moment," I mumbled, already beginning to drop into a light trance. For an instant, my brain didn't want to relax. Then it did, and I was awash in a sea of blue-green and silver net. My shields. I smiled slightly and found my own pain centers, slipping in and readjusting them. For a moment the phantom pain lingered, then it dissipated, leaving my own aching body behind. I sighed and tweaked the pain centers a bit tiredly.
Euphoria, of a sort, washed over me. With a slight gasp, I came out of the trance. I lay there for a moment, fully waking up and remembering the events of the night before.
"Awake now?"
"Yeah." I looked at Maddie. Her eyes were surrounded by dark shadows and she looked as exhausted as I still felt. Maybe she hadn't been the channel for a ton of energy the night before, but she'd certainly helped.
"What's up?" Staggering out of bed and scrounging for clothing with a visitor is not normal etiquette. Maddie had that urgent look about her, though. So I scrabbled for a t-shirt and a pair of jeans while she filled me in.
"It's Alex. He's been brainwashed--programmed. And I can't break through it. They've got him in a holding cell...Stupid people."
"Brainwashed." I stopped to pull my t-shirt over my head. 'Had enough of being undead? Let me stake you.' it read in blood-red on black. "I think I remember something about that from the memories we grabbed."
"Yes, it's there--I found it, but..." She turned away from me. "Dammit, I fucking HATE feeling helpless."
"Boots, boots," I mumbled, trying to figure out the best way to break the kid's conditioning. "One thing at a time..."
"One thing?" She whirled and glared at me as I pulled on my footwear. "God, you're a cold bitch, Marya."
"No," I replied after a moment of consideration, "a tired and ready to eat my boots one. Before we do anything, I'm going to have to eat breakfast. Something meaty and juicy--or a bunch of vitamins."
"Food. I need your help and you want food."
"Not want. Need. I depleted myself badly last night. If I don't eat nourishing stuff and replenish, I'll collapse into shock." I pondered for a moment. "In much the way I went to sleep when we got in."
"Shock sleep."
"Exactly." I stepped out my door and looked over my shoulder. "Coming? You can watch me devour a bunch of stuff."
"God, I'm glad I don't have to eat," she muttered in reply.
---
The walk to the kitchen was uneventful, which meant we didn't run into any of the people that wanted my head on a platter. I wasn't sure who they all were, but I knew it included at least Grey. And, regretfully, Scott. Most likely, anyway.
The kitchen was a bit more crowded than I was prepared for. Luckily, Betsy and Raven were there, too. Apparently, Excalibur had made it over from England sometime while we were off on our mission. They'd had to fight a demon before coming over. Nice to know we weren't the only ones fighting demons.
I was too tired to do more than grunt in greeting before heading for the fridge to raid it. Behind me I could hear a buzz of conversation, but it didn't interest me. The fridge had nothing that didn't require some sort of preperation. Except for an apple, buried in the back. "Bloody 'ell," I mumbled. The apple lasted all of a minute as I wolfed it down.
"Mare, I keep forgetting how fast you can eat," Raven commented dryly.
"Like a good soldier," I heard Dom say, before a plate of eggs, bacon and cheese was shoved into my hands. "Eat."
I didn't need any more prompting, just sat down and began shoveling the food in. It probably looked sick and gross but it was what I needed. And it wouldn't be enough. Coffee would be good, too.
"Gods, Pete, that's almost as gross as watching you eat."
"'S a higher art form, love."
But I wasn't listening to the two team members of Excalibur. Instead, I was gazing with rapture at the nearest cup of coffee. The contents of the plate were in my stomach, now. And my body was happily buzzing for its caffeine fix. I gazed with mute appeal at Scott. He blinked and shrugged, then handed me his coffee.
"Scott!" Grey squeaked indignantly at him, as I gratefully delved into the caffeine goodness.
"She looked like she needed it, Jean." "But, but--"
"Oh, stuff it, Grey." Raven set another plate down in front of me. "More?"
I rubbed a hand over my eyes and nodded. The plate had a fruit salad and toast. I was betting it wasn't Raven's. The fruit tasted wonderful to my dry and parched throat (coffee does not hydration make). The toast was a little on the dry side, but I didn't care. I needed the nutrients it would provide.
Dom handed me a glass of orange juice as I was wiping up the last of the salad. I downed it without even stopping.
"You were hungry, weren't you?" Scott sounded almost worried about me.
"Depleted my reserves last night," I mumbled, looking around for more. My body was quickly burning up the food recently dumped into it. I'd need some more in a few hours, but I was somewhat sated by now.
"You look like death warmed over," someone else observed.
I looked. It was someone I hadn't ben introduced to, yet. She was young, red-haired and felt...angry, in some way. I shrugged. "I feel worse. And, since apparently, everyone plans to not introduce me, I'm Marya DeZorga."
"Mare," Raven pointed out calmly, "you never gave us a chance."
Shrugging, I continued gazing steadily at the young woman in front of me. Trying to remember why she felt familiar.
"Rachel Summers," she said, grudgingly. And that's when it clicked.
I'd seen her in the Mother Askani's mind. Looking much as she did now, if a little younger. That, and the residual Phoenix Force I could sense in the child.
The creation of the Phoenix Force is not well-known. Most people assume it was created when the universe was. Untrue. One of the Old Gods decided to have an interest in me. I think because I was travelling back and forth through time so much.
His name was Loki, and when I first saw him, he was a lovely young man. I was, if I recall correctly, about seventy at the time. I hadn't been with a man in years, and Loki was an accomplished lover. Little did I know he'd decided to use me to create something.
When I found out I was pregnant, I wasn't sure what to do. At the time, I didn't KNOW he was a God. Within a week, I was swollen as if I'd spent the last nine months carrying the child. I knew that was wrong, of course. So did the people around me. The village I was living in cast me out. And so, I wandered the moor, waiting for my lover to come back.
By the time he did, our daughter was already physically four years old. She'd only been born four hours before. One hour per year, which was a bit frightening to me. Loki reassured me that it was normal. That our daughter was a prototype. Something he was contemplating making more of.
I try not to think about the birth. I'd never had children before this, being an Immortal, I wasn't supposed to be fertile. Thank you, soup-genes. In any event, the birth had gone not too badly, and my daughter was gorgeous.
She didn't stay mine for long. One of the wierd things about mixing my genes with Loki's was a child of incredible power. And will. She basically turned seventeen later that night, told us to go fuck ourselves and disappeared.
Loki was not pleased, to say the least. Especially since she'd been HIS pawn. I was very proud of my daughter, though. Not many women have the balls to tell the Trickster God to fuck off.
I did, though. Oddly enough, I never have seen him again, though I hear ocassional reports about him.
The Phoenix, as my daughter chose to call herself, became one with the universe. At some point in time, she bonded with the M'Kraan crystal and became its Guardian. In more recent years, she had bonded with first Jean Grey (taking over Grey's life and cocooning her) and then Rachel Summers. And, in the future, she would bond with Meggan Askani.
I'd learned all of the latter information from Meggan herself. Meggan had told me there were others bonded with the Phoenix, but hadn't deigned to tell me who. So, Rachel was familiar. And she was upset.
Why, I wasn't sure, and I realised I didn't have time to get into it. Not at the moment, with Maddie suddenly grabbing my arm to drag me imperatively somewhere.
"Maddie, wha--"
#I need your help.#
My tired brain tried to assimilate that it needed to use telepathy. #Okay.#
I gave a tired wave and smile to the kitchen and we decamped for better climes. I hoped. Maddie dragged me along down many corridors--or it felt that way, anyway. Until we were near the Danger Room. I recognised it only by vague memories of the training session from days before.
"Why?" I stopped short in the middle of the hall and resisted further towing by Maddie.
She looked at me and sighed when she caught the implacable look in my eyes. "It's Alex."
I waited for more.
"We brought him back with us, and he's been brain-washed by that fucking scumbag, McCoy."
"And you want me to break his programming."
"I don't trust Chuckles; Grey, the stupid cow, wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole; and Braddock couldn't do it."
"So I have to." I rubbed a weary hand over my eyes and straightened my shoulders. "Let's get this show on the road."
She led me into the Danger Room, which was set up with little cubes as cells. Sabes was in one, sort of drooling, by the looks of him. In the second was a young woman with a Genoshan collar on. She glared at me. I stared impassively back at her. She had very short, dark hair, and a tatoo over one eye. She was SO not happy to be in her cage. and the collar probably chafed.
In the third was our object. He was pacing fractiously, like a stallion that can smell a mare in heat. He had blond hair and was a slight bit shorter than Scott, but I knew they had to be brothers. He caught sight of us and snarled wordlessly.
"I see he's very cordial." Something ocurred to me. "How's Lorna, by the way?"
"In stable condition. Thanks to US." Maddie snorted. "Not that THEY gave a shit about that. OR about us bringing back Henry. All Grey cared about was telling everyone how horrible you are."
#Am I correct in thinking that Alex had something to do with Lorna's condition?# It was something I'd been wondering, ever since I recalled that Summers' mutant power was plasma blasts of force. Lorna had looked like she'd been hit by a train.
#Yes.# Maddie shrugged. #Fix him, then I'll explain?#
I snickered. "Sure, Maddie, I always like making sure the people who hurt my allies are fixed." I looked in at Alex. "Hello."
"Stupid bitch. You're like them, not letting me be myself!"
"Whoa. Hyped up on the angsty anger, much."
"So..." Maddie poked me in the side. "Can you?"
"Yes." Looking over the situation, I decided on comfort, first and foremost. "Maddie, can you whip--ah." I walked to the side and came back with two chairs. "Here. Let's be comfortable. For once."
I didn't wait for Maddie. Instead I dropped lightly into a trance and inspected my shields. They would need to be in top shape for this, since I didn't know how long it would take. And, my brain was so tired, I really hoped this went quick.
#Maddie, keep watch, okay? It'd be really fucking bad if someone stopped me in the middle of this.#
#Got it.#
Silence for a time as I gathered myself. I'd deprogrammed others before. Cult members, mainly. I worked for a section of the FBI once, helped deprogram operatives that got caught and brain-washed. Of course, this wasn't going to be as easy as that. It'd been twenty years since then and the drugs available now made the job much harder.
With a sigh, I reached out and slipped into the brain of the man in the box. For an instant I felt resistance. Then I was through the barrier and floating above his conscious mind. I could feel his surface thoughts. They weren't complimentary to the X-Men as a whole and Xavier and Scott in the near side.
#Well, no time like the present.# With another breath I dove down into Alex's brain.
Immediately I knew it was going to take careful precision to excise the programming and leave the lad's memories intact. What was it they say? Read-only? That would have to be the only way his memories would work. I sighed again. The programming was already deeply entrenched, too. It'd been in place for longer than three months.
I frowned. It lay on top of a network of previous attempts, too. I wondered what would happen once I'd unraveled the true Alex Summers.
---
End Chaper Six
=====
'I stood at the kitchen sink, my radio playing songs like "Tainted Love" and "Love is Strange"...'
__________________________________________________
© 2000 Suzy DeZorga