DISCLAIMER: Not mine. Got it?
AUTHOR'S NOTES: EEP! It's been ages since I wrote any of this! My muses still haven't returned. (My new English teacher scared them away) I have been granted with a temporary removal of my writer's block though, so here's another chapter! I've upped the rating to R because of violence. I hope this doesn't deter anyone. Oh, by the way...*glomps all people reading this* Thankyou for being patient and waiting for me to get my thumb outta my ass! Not literally of course... :D
Pauly Sherman knew that he was going places. Sure, the only job he could get was working the night shift in the lobby of his mother's hotel. Sure, he wasn't a ladies man, or wasn't particularly smart or inovative. But Pauly Sherman knew that it was only a matter of time before he got his lucky break. That beautiful woman who had walked in tonight had only confirmed that thought of Pauly's.
She had wanted him. Badly. He knew it.
With a happy sigh, Pauly leant back in his rickety chair, and put his booted feet up on the desk. The small, slightly chubby man knew that his mother would yell at him for that if she walked in on him, but Pauly wasn't worried about her. He was hip. He was cool. He was suave...
This is what Pauly was telling himself when the three people pushed open the glass doors and walked in, the cool night air that billowed in a reflection of the frosty looks on their faces. One was dressed in a strange form fitting outfit, dead black with shimmering blue highlights. It looked almost as if the night sky had wrapped itself around the pasty skinned man in his sunglasses and hat, like a mother held her child.
The other man was a tall, bulky looking guy. The type of body that Pauly had always dreamed of having, it rippled with muscles that showed clearly through the spandex suits he was wearing. The stunning blonde beside him was also dressed in spandex, a colourful dress with swirls adorning it.
Pauly glanced down at his faded plaid shirt and jeans. Obviously he was more out of touch with the current fashion styles that he had previously thought he was, if spandex was in. Dismissing this thought for the moment, Pauly took his feet off the desk, stood up, and plastered a smile onto his shiny red face. Blood vessels in his face that had burst from over-drinking stretched hideously with the motion.
"Can I help you?" Pauly asked politely running a hand through greasy hair.
The pale man sneered down at him. "I suppose so. I'm looking for a Remy LeBeau. Is he staying here?"
Pauly resisted the urge to scowl. What was it with this LeBeau character and late night guests? How the heck had he gotten so popular while Pauly, the very epitome of good looks, was so much of a nothing? "I'm sorry, I can't let you go up to see him." he lied.
The man raised one black eyebrow above his glasses, a cultured act. "Is that so? Alright, may I leave a message?"
The tiny man considered. "Alright then." he grumbled. "What's your name, mister?"
"Sinister." The man said calmly. "Mr Sinister."
Pauly stared at him increduously. "What the hell-? Sir, what's your real name?"
'Mr Sinister' leant down, and Pauly unconsciously leaned in closer to hear him. "That is my real name. And I'm about to show you how I got it. Victor?"
The muscle man grinned. In a smooth motion that was too quick for Pauly to pick up, one hand swiped through the air, before returning to rest at his side. Pauly stared in amazement as blood dripped from one of the claw-like fingers to the floor, and formed a pool at his feet. Where had that come from?
It was only then that Pauly realised that he was feeling strangely dizzy. Looking down at his front, he was horrified to see that his plaid shirt was stained red and torn. He reached down to clutch at the gaping wound that stretched from his chest to his naval, and moaned as something black and slimy slid out of the gash into his hands. Desperately, Pauly tried to shove his insides back in where they belonged, and his knees gave way beneath him. He sat back down in the chair, feeling very limp. A chill raced up and down his spine that the warm air inside the hotel did nothing to deter.
His last memory was of the pale skinned man- truly, Sinister- flipping through the blood spattered book that kept records of all whom were staying in the hotel. Obviously finding what he was looking for, he beckoned at the man called Victor and the woman, and they headed for the elevator. Pauly's vision became blurred then, and his body went stiff in the chair.
Pauly Sherman really was going somewhere.
Straight to death.
~~~~~
Rogue sighed slightly against Remy's shoulder, eyes closed. The warm breath rebounded off him, and washed over Rogue's face in a gentle wave. She had never felt anything like this, not in any of the memories that she had ever deserved. Nothing in her wildest dreams could have prepared her for the alternating warm and cold shocks that ran up her spine, the melting she felt inside her. After being so alone and isolated from the world for many years, it was a pleasant sensation.
She wished she knew what the hell the feeling was.
"Roguie...?"
"Hmm?" she murmured back, eyes still shut.
"I can see feet t'rough de crack at de bottom of de door. I t'ink someone is out dere."
And, with that damning sentence, a clawed hand blossomed from the center of the door with a sickening crunch sound.
Remy's arms instantly loosened, and the two sprang apart, ready for action. Rogue's years as a terrorist had prepared her for situations like this, and she felt no flutter of fear in her stomach as the hand withdrew, and the door shuddered violently with another crunch. Someone on the outside was trying to batter their way into the room.
"Rogue!" Remy yelled at her. "Seein' as you can fly, do you t'ink we could go out de window?"
How was he managing to stay so calm throughout this? Rogue wondered vaguely as she nodded her confirmation and ran for the open window, Remy beside her. The window, glass fractured from her previous tappings on it, was wide open. Seeing as Remy's room was on the third floor, the window was strategically placed near the ceiling to prevent people from jumping to their deaths. And, through a stroke of bad luck, it was too narrow for Rogue to hold Remy and fly out of. She would have to go first, and grab Remy as he made his way out. The two young adults noticed this immediately. And the only way for Remy to get the height needed to go out the window was...
"Rogue, 'elp me wid dis." Remy yelled, running over to the dresser and pushing hard against one side of it. Rogue flew over, and leant against it as well.
"Watch out, Swamp Rat!" She screamed out, lightly pushing the heavy dresser. Aided by the amazing strength given to her at Ms. Marvel's expense, it was a matter of seconds before it was beneath the window, the tan carpet ripped up and ruined by it's passing.
Remy stared at her in amazement for a moment, before they climbed up on it. Before they could make it through the window though, the hinges of the door gave way and the wood fell to the floor. Both turned to see a huge hulking man, a petite blonde woman, and a dark, mysterious man whose presense could only be described as sinister.
"Sabretooth..." Rogue heard Remy hiss beside her, and she turned to look at him. His black and red eyes were narrowed, and his handsome face twisted in to a mask of pure hatred. Leaping off the dresser, he picked up the first thing that came to hand- a beige lamp- and, for the first time since coming to New York, utilized his mutant power.
~~~~~
Scott Summers was bored out of his mind. He would never admit it of course. He was the leader, and as a leader, he couldn't let the facade he kept up slip at any stage. The only people who had seen him for what he truly was were the telepaths of the household, and he knew that Jean, his love, and Professor Xavier, surrigate father, would never tell anyone just what exactly his inner persona was.
That of a human being. And a bored one, at that.
Sinking lower into his seat, Scott groped blindly for his coffee mug, which was somewhere on the table beside him, never taking his hidden eyes off the computer monitors for a second. There was no telling when a situation might arise, and the X-Men had to be on alert at all times. That was why he was sitting in an uncomfortable chair in the monitor room at 2:30 in the morning on watch for any disturbances.
Finally locating the coffee, Scott took a large drink, and grimaced as the bitter and long cold liquid raced down his throat. Absoloutely revolting. But Scott couldn't take his eyes off the computers to go make himself some more. He was the leader. It was his duty to stay diligent. He knew that the other X-Men found this sense of loyalty to the team amusing. He knew that any other in his place would be wearing casual clothing, and not full battle costume. He knew that any other would not hesitate to go set the coffee maker.
Scott envied their ability to be so relaxed. Some days he thought that he would give up his position of leader just to be able to be in that frame of mind.
Suddenly red lights began blaring all over the instrument panels. There was a faint whirring sound, before the disembodied voice that Xavier had chosen for Cerebro began to repeat the words "New mutant detected" over and over.
Lethargy instantly pushed aside, Scott leaned forward in his seat. He let one hand race across the keyboard in front of him, entering the passwords and instructions for Cerebro to bring up the stats on the new mutant, while slapping at a large red button with the other hand. Somewhere in the room a computer hummed, and Scott knew from experience that the speakers in every room of the house were cracking and blaring to wake up the sleeping occupants.
Picking up a radio mike from beside the panel, Scott spoke into it. "X-Men, new mutant detected. Report to monitor room immediately, full uniform. Cyclops out." Slapping at the red button again, Scott began to study the on screen readouts of the new mutant.
Name: Unknown
Age: Unknown, estimate 20-25
Gender: Male
Power: Transfers potential energy to kinetic energy
Location: Belnord Hotel, 207/209 West 87th Street
Status: Extremely volatile
Scott frowned, and typed in a new command, as the doors slid open and a host of mutants in assorted outfits entered the room. The computers hummed as they processed his request, and new information scrolled up on the screen.
Nearby mutants: Rogue, known Brotherhood member
Sabretooth, affiliation unknown
Vertigo, affiliation unknown.
"X-Men, we have a new mutant detection." Scott said calmly, finally facing the rest of the team. "We should approach with all caution, as he has the potential to be extremely dangerous. There is three mutants nearby, whom we all know- Rogue, Sabretooth and Vertigo. They could either be trying to recruit him or kill him. Either way, it's up to us to grab him. X-Men, move out."
As they left to go to the hanger, Scott reflected one more time. Yes, it would be nice to be normal, and relaxed just for once. But not now. Now was not the time to be Scott Summers, normal man. He had to be Cyclops, team leader. It was his duty.
~~~~~
As Remy let tingling energy fill the lamp, Sabretooth flashed his pointed teeth at Remy and Rogue in a gruesome parody of a smile. "So, LeBeau, we met again." he said mockingly, voice low and gravelly. "And with another pretty frail. I'll have fun with this one."
With a bellow of rage, Remy hurled the lamp at Sabretooth as hard as he could. The furry mutant's eyes widened slightly in shock, as he raised a hand to bat it away. Instead, the lamp exploded the moment it hit his forearm, and he yelled in shock and pain. The skintight sleeve of his outfit had melted away, showing that the skin underneath was now red and swollen, and covered with large white blisters.
The cry turned into a growl, and Sabretooth lunged at Remy, the claws on his hands looking sharp and deadly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of brown, white and green, and Sabretooth's body was knocked out of midair by one very angry Rogue. The two smashed into the door of the bathroom, and kept going until they were stopped by the tiled wall. Chips and dust of the cool tiles fell to the floor as Rogue and Sabretooth began a flurry of punches and kicks.
Suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and Remy groaned as something burnt his stomach. He'd almost forgotten about the other two people, his hatred for Sabretooth blinding his vision. The woman was merely standing there, a cool look of disdain on her face. The pale skinned man in the black outfit had his hand outstretched, pointed towards Remy. Even as the red-eyed mutant watched, the hand began to glow a faint yellow, before something shot out and hit him in the chest.
It hurt, whatever it was. The force of the blast made him fly backwards in a sickening parody of Sabretooth's and Rogue's scuffle, and he hit the wall hard. Remy's body slumped slowly to the floor, where he lay limp like a rag doll, his own breathing harsh in his ears. He watched distantly, as Rogue turned and yelled in horror, "Remy, no!"
Something warm was trickling down the back of his neck, seeping under the collar of the t-shirt he was wearing. His vision began to wavor. Just before blackness took over Remy heard a horrible screeching noise, which made him sick to his stomach, before he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.
Rogue watched as Remy's beautiful eyes went blurry. There was a stripe of red down the beige wall, blood from the wound on the back of his head that had rubbed off as he slid down. Rogue could see the simple white shirt become a deep red around the collar, and felt her whole world drop from beneath her.
That's when the strange screaming sound started.
"Yah!" Rogue hollared, clutching at the sides of her head. All of a sudden, everything was swimming around her and she felt nausious. The sound- which wasn't really a sound, more an odd sensation in the back of her head- intensified, and Rogue fell to her knees.
"Surrender to the power of Vertigo." The blonde woman chanted. While seeming slight and insignificant a few moments ago, she radiated power now, an entranced look on her face.
"What...did you do...you blonde bitch?" Rogue gasped out, and immediately felt the urge to vomit. "Stop!" The woman didn't answer. The patterns on her dress swum before Rogue's eyes even more so from the rest of the room. Her entire head was aching.
"Now, Sabretooth!" The man in black- when had he put on ear muffs?- ordered in a sharp, barking voice. Something cool slid into place around Rogue's neck, and shut at the hollow of her throat with a soft snicker. As it closed, Rogue could almost feel strength being sapped from her muscles. The nausia and pain Rogue was feeling increased, and she fell bonelessly to the ground, unconscious.
Sinister removed the ridiculous ear muffs from his head, and let them drop to the carpet. Across the room, Sabretooth was doing the same thing. Vertigo looked as cool and unruffled as she always did, examing the colorful paint on her nails as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
Waving a hand at the two prone figures, Sinister sniffed faintly in disgust. "I had expected more resistance, and I hadn't even anticipated upon Mystique's brat being here and having to use the collar on anyone else but LeBeau. Pick them both up, and take them to the car. We need to get to the base before LeBeau wakes up and utilises his mutation."
Just before he left the room Sinister left one last parting comment for his two henchmen. "Do be careful with Miss Rogue. That Genoshan collar is only a prototype. I'd hate for it to malfunction, and lose some of my best lackeys to that skin of hers." As he walked down the hallway to the elevator, Sinister allowed a small smile to cross his blood red lips as he heard the worried murmurings of Vertigo. He liked to keep those who served him in a state of fear.
~~~~~
Cyclops hissed in frustration at the sight of the dead man in the lobby. The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the stench of death, and beside him, Wolverine was wrinkling his nose in disgust. At moments like these, Cyclops really didn't envy his sense of smell.
"Four people entered this hotel within the last half hour." he informed the team's leader in his gravelly voice. Taking a deep breath, his forehead crinkled slightly with concentration. "First was Rogue- her scent is the faintest. Then three others- Sabretooth, Vertigo, and..." his blue eyes widened. "Sinister! Bastard!"
Standing a short distance away was the woman he loved. Jean's green eyes were shut, and her forehead was puckered with concentration. Scott had seen that look enough times to know that she was using her telepathy. Colossus was over by the dead man, futilely checking for a pulse. Cyclops had to admire his strength- he wouldn't have been able to do the same thing without feeling violently ill.
There was a soft BAMF! noise and a pinkish cloud smelling suspiciously of sulfur appeared in the air a split second before a blue furry mutant seemed to appear out of it. As the cloud faded away, the young man fixed his bright yellow gaze on Cyclops. "I have finished my floor by floor search, herr Cyclops." Nightcrawler said in soft, accented German. He rocked back on his heels, tail twitching slightly. "I have found what we are looking for. Third floor, room number six." his voice faltered for a second. "It's not a pretty site."
Cyclops quickly processed the information. "Right. Jean, Wolverine and Colossus, with me. Nightcrawler, stay here in case someone comes back." he slapped at the communicator on his belt, turning it on. "Storm, this is Cyclops. Are you there?"
There was a faint hissing sound. "I hear you, Cyclops." His second-in-command's voice came back clearly a moment later. "What is the situation?"
"You and Angel are to remain in the skies, and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Report in, no matter how small it looks."
"I copy Cyclops. I'll inform Angel of the plans right away. Storm out."
Cyclops pressed another button on his belt, connecting him to another member of the team. "Sprite, are you there?"
"Sure am, Cyc." Kitty's light teenage voice floated back along the line, and Cyclops allowed a faint smile to cross his face. No matter how tough things got, Kitty's youthfulness always reminded him that life truely was the antithesis to the death he so often saw in his line of work.
"I want you to report back to the lobby right away. We've found what we're looking for." he informed her. "You and Nightcrawler will supervise for anyone who may return. Understood?"
"Be there in a moment!" she said cheerfully. Cyclops turned off the channel, and gestured at Jean, Wolverine and Colossus.
"Let's go."
~~~~~
Gah, I'm sorry it's so short, but I think its best for the story if I leave it there. I may have stuffed a few things up, since the whole Marauders thing happened before I even thought of looking at a comic, so I have no way of knowing whether the Phoenix Saga had happened by this time, or if the X-Men knew who Vertigo and Sabretooth were (though I'm pretty sure they did.)
A big thankyou to all whom reviewed- I'm not going to say who you are, because Fanfiction.Net is down and I can't go to retrieve your names, but you know who you are. I really hate this story, but I am going to finish it- be patient with me if it takes me a while to get parts out.