Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evolution
Okay, I see you like the story so far (**wipes sweat from forehead**), given that I haven't seen the reviews for the second chapter, yet. Anyway, I'm really hoping to get in The Brotherhood, so this chapter will probably be a little longer than the others. Oh, and for any Morlock fans, they'll be coming along later on.
~*~ - mindscape
*~* - dreamscape
*~*~* - flashback
(sp.?) - did I spell it right?
The Mutant
Chapter 3
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Nate opened his door and looked around the room, his eyes focusing on the two shotels in the corner. He walked over to them and grabbed the straps that went around his shoulders. But, this time, instead of strapping the massive swords so they would crisscross his back, they would now curve outward, on either side of the spines on his back. With his height, the tips of the blades should rest about an inch from the floor. After setting the straps he grabbed the swords and placed them next to the two sets of smaller straps that held them in place, which automatically grabbed the blades and secured them.
"Now, all that's left is to get there," he said adjusting them to a snug fit, but not too snug that he couldn't ditch them in an emergency.
He stepped out of his room and hurried through the halls of the Institute, not even bothering to pay any attention to the others. Everyone he passed by seemed interested in the fact that he was carrying the two weapons. Bobby stepped up to him and asked where he was going, but Nate just casually moved him aside without a word. Obscenities were uttered, and a small matter of telling the Professor was considered. To his surprise, and relief, he didn't run into Rahne on his way, thinking it best to not see her at the moment.
After a few minutes he finally stepped into the hangar, and stopped. Kneeling, checking her bag, next to the open door of the X-jet was Rahne, dressed as if she was going hiking. He sighed when he saw her there, making sure everything was in order.
"And where do you think you're going?" he asked standing over her.
"With you, the Professor said I should," she said getting to her feet and shouldering the backpack.
"Is that so?"
"Mmhmm," she nodded.
"Fine, come on," he walked up the stairs into the jet quickly followed by the metamorph. "Do you even know where I'm going?"
"The Professor didn't tell me a lot, he just said you might need some company."
"I see, just don't touch anything."
"Okay."
They walked into the cockpit, and up to the pilot and co-pilot seats, and, as with Scott's car, Nate eyed his seat with the same look of disdain. Surely there must be a way to alter this chair without completely ruining it. He ran many different solutions to the problem through his head, but finally decided on destroying it. His tail flicked forward and easily cut the back right down the middle, as well as a hole large enough for his tail to get through.
Once he was situated in the chair, he began the preflight checks on everything; fuel, flight plan, everything. It was another five minutes before the massive turnstile beneath the jet rotated it to the opening. He lightly pushed the throttle and it began to move forward, slowly at first but gained speed.
*****
Once they were at maximum altitude, Nate pushed the button for the autopilot, having already laid in a course and landing area. The seat slid back and he got up, walking to the end of the cockpit. He sat down on one of the benches that spanned the length of the fuselage. Reaching under the seat he brought out a small box and opened it, taking out a wetstone (a type of stone used for sharpening a blade). He grabbed one of his shotels and placed the stone at the base of the blade, then swiped it up the length of the blade.
"Why are you doing that?" Rahne asked sitting on the bench opposite him.
"It give me something to do," he said calmly, not even lifting his head to look at her. 'I don't know why I didn't just leave her back there, this has nothing to do with any of them.'
There was no more talking between them, no sounds besides the scraping of the stone, and the almost inaudible hum of the engines. After a good hour of working on the first sword, Nate laid it down and picked up the second one.
*****
It was another two hours before they reached the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, and another half hour till they were finally over the forests of Lithuania, almost at the western border of Russia. The forward engines cut off, and power was sent to the VTOL engines on the bottom (VTOL: Vertical Take Off and Landing). The landing gear opened and the jet settled in a small clearing. Nate grabbed his shotels, already in their straps and hooked them around his shoulders. He stepped up to the side hatch and pressed the button to open it.
Before it was open all the way, he reached out and tore the panel off the wall and slid quickly through the door. The instant he was out the emergency lockdown program began sealing all the doors and froze the controls. Rahne flung herself at the door, and hit it just as it shut and locked. She banged her hands against it for a few minutes before quieting down.
Nate looked up at the windows in the cockpit, watching her try to start the engines. He reached into his pocket and took out a small communicator.
"Sorry to have to do this to you Rahne, but this has nothing to do with the X-men," he said into it; he knew she could hear her, the lockdown didn't inhibit that.
"Are you working for Magneto?" she asked in a worried voice.
"No," he turned and started walking away, "I'm looking for my mother."
"You're mother? Wait, what if someone finds me?"
"Press the flashing green button, it'll activate the camouflage that Forge installed," he flicked the switch to turn off the communicator.
He reached the edge of the thick forest and leapt into the trees, swinging easily from one to the other. Such a thing was easy, too easy, he figured if she really wanted him to stay away, there would be traps. From what little he could remember of his mother, he knew she was always prepared. And the explosion that came from the branch he had just grabbed was proof of that. He dropped, until he grabbed another, weaker branch, swung once, and let go, the branch snapping as he did. His arm swung out and he snagged the trunk of a tree some twenty feet away, wrapping pretty much his entire body around it, including his tail.
"Well," he looked back at the missing branch and huge gouge in the tree, "that was fun."
He clawed his way down the tree till he was a few feet above the ground, and simply jumped from trunk to trunk, never touching the ground, or going too high to have to use a branch. There wasn't much else for him to do at the moment but leap from tree to tree, the distance between getting larger with each gap. Through the gaps he saw his target, and it wasn't what he was expecting. What he saw was a rather large, and Russian-looking, castle. It wasn't long before he ran out of trees and was at the edge of the castle's yard, the green grass sloping right up to the front steps. Before he stepped onto it, he picked up a few stones.
Sitting back on his tail, he surveyed the building in front of him. For starters it was large, but looking more closely he could see a few laser platforms housed in the turrets, and, from the looks of it, there was a motion sensor grid going across the entire yard, and there was a grid on each of the windows. He sighed and tossed a rock out onto the grass, which promptly set off a large bear trap.
'This shouldn't be too hard,' he thought and looked up at the camera that had just focused in on the rock then turned to look at him. 'Then again...'
His thought was interrupted as the lasers turned and fired at him, bouncing harmlessly off his scales, those that hit his face did nothing anyway (lasers have no effect on organic objects). He ran forward, onto the lawn, dodging the traps as the lasers continued to fire at him. One bear trap did snap shut on his leg, but the teeth simply bent out of the way.
"You'd think she was preparing for war," he said as he ripped the trap off. "But, to be honest, I don't have time for this."
He grabbed his shotels and brought them around to the front, reflecting the lasers right back at the turrets and destroyed them, then hooked a chain to pommel of one, and brought it behind him. Whipping the massive blade forward he let go, throwing it at front door. It stuck the wood and demolished it, completely; he the tugged and it came back to him, ripping the rest of it off its hinges.
"I want some answers, and there is no way I'm leaving without them."
Without the lasers obstructing him, and careful placement of his feet, he was at the door in no time. Upon stepping through it he was able to see just what was inside...nothing. The walls were bare, not a single picture, or mirror, or even one of those small tables that usually have pictures on them. Just gray, everywhere he looked; gray walls, gray ceiling, gray floor. He turned his head this way and that, trying to spot anything that might give him some sort of clue as to where she could be.
He walked the halls, almost getting lost a few times, but still there was nothing. Every room he looked in was empty, bare of all things that might have given him an idea as to what it was used for. The last door he came to was a large metal one, and it was locked.
"Let's see, foot and a half of high tensile, tempered steel," he said while placing his ear against it and tapping it with his claw. "No problem."
Grabbing the large turnstyle (like the kind on bank vaults), he dug his talons into the stone floor, and pulled. His tail flailed around, slashing long gashes in the stone walls, floor and ceiling. Eyes closed and brow furrowed, he pulled, feeling the door begin to give way, and doubled his efforts. The bolts in the hinge were bulging, ready to pop, which they did, and careened around the hallway, ricocheting off the walls. Bolts of electricity whipped from the exposed components of the electronic lock as the door was pulled further from the wall. Deciding to put his tail to better use, he jammed the spade into the floor, and use it to pull his entire body back, while he still pulled with his arms and pushed with his legs.
"Just...a little...further," he grunted through gritted teeth, and finally it tore from the wall.
With a huge bang it crashed to the floor, just as he stepped out from under it. What was on the other side was the complete opposite of what was behind him. In contrast to the stone corridors of the rest of the castle, this part could only be described as cozy. The floor was still stone, but instead of the granite, it was limestone, and the lower third of the walls were wood paneled, the rest had sheet rock and wallpaper. Spanning the length of the hall was a lavishly decorated Oriental rug, and the walls were adorned with paintings, as well as some photos. There were also several small tables, with lamps on them, giving the corridor a cheerful setting. Along the walls, in between the tables, were doors.
He stepped through the doorway and placed his foot on the rug, being careful not to rip it. Down the hall he walked, looking at the pictures on either side. Most were of people he didn't know, others were of his mother in various places. One was Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower, and another was from Rome, she was standing in the center of the Coliseum. Hatred welled up inside him again, and there was pain shot through his head; reaching up, he found that two small horns were pushing through his skin. His attention was then drawn to a painting that appeared to be of his father, his mother, and a very young him, sitting on his mother's lap. He raised his hand, the tips of his claws sharpening themselves, and was about to slash the painting.
"I do wish you wouldn't destroy that," a woman's voice said from the end of the corridor.
His hand stopped, and he turned to look at her, eyes narrowing. She stood about 5'9", with long black hair down to her waist, the back half pulled into a braid, the front half was left to fall naturally. Her eyes shone like emeralds under the long ebony bangs in front of her face, and her lips were curved into a slight frown. In her hand, at her hip, was a Colt 1911. She wore a regular pair of khakis and a T-shirt.
"It's the only one I have of the three of us," she said. "What, no hello?"
Nate was beyond talking at that point as his tail lashed out, knocking the gun from her hand, and then pressing her to the door behind her. He was not being careful this time, as the pointed scales poked through the thin shirt, and into her flesh. Her face, though, remained a stoic look as she continued to stare at him.
"Why?" he growled through his teeth.
He stepped forward, brandishing the blade on his elbow, covering the twenty feet between them in no time at all, and placing it against her throat.
"Why is this happening to me?"
She calmly raised her hand and pushed his tail away, and used the other to gently lower his arm. Her expression seemed to soften while she did it.
"To be completely honest...I don't know," she said turning away from him.
"LIAR!" he roared, literally. "You do know, now tell me."
His clawed hand gripped her shoulder, digging his claws through her skin, right to the bone. He could feel her wince at the pain, and squeezed a little harder.
"I don't know -why- it's happening," she sighed, "but I do have something that could help you understand."
"What is it?" he asked letting go of her shoulder.
"A very old painting," she opened the door and stepped through. "Follow me."
Nate just shrugged and went after her; there was just something about this woman, something he couldn't explain. Sure, she was a his mother, but she was more than that, she was the person who had dumped him in the woods when he was only twelve years old, leaving him nothing but his shotels. Yet, at the particular moment, all the hatred had fled his mind, and he couldn't remember ever being closer to her. This was what he could figure out.
"Watch your head," she said as if it should be obvious.
"Right," Nate was already walking with his legs at half-mast, so to speak, as to not hit his head on the doorframe.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Nate saw a room lit by not lamps, but torches on the walls. The room was stone gray, like the castle beyond the metal door. Across the entire wall across from him was a massive tapestry. On that tapestry were dragons on the left, humans on the right, and something that looked eerily like him in the middle. The figure in the middle seemed to be suffering from either side's attacks on it.
Out of pure instinct, no conscious thought involved, Nate dropped to his knees in front of it. There was something oddly familiar about looking at it, like he had seen it before. But that was impossible, the tapestry had to have been at least seven hundred years old. He stood up and walked towards the painting, looking closely at the center figure. On the left of it appeared to be a dragon, shielding from view a human woman.
"What does it mean?" he reach up, about to touch it.
"The two down here"-she points to the dragon and the woman-"are most likely the hybrid's parents," Erica said as she stepped up next to him. "Just look at how he protects her from both sides."
"I realize that, but what does it mean?"
"It means that there was a war between humans and dragons, but one escaped," she explained. "That one had a family, shown here with the hybrid. And that family continued through the centuries. Apparently, though, females are not exposed to the transformation that comes with being part of that family."
"Why not?" Nate asked, his brain becoming a little slow from the intake of all the information.
"Because it's our family."
"Oh."
"The reason you never met your grandfather, or any of your uncles on my side of the family was because they always begged for death when the transformation neared its peak," she hung her head as tears welled at the corners of her eyes. "And we granted them that wish. It's our family's curse."
"Why couldn't you just tell me about this at the beginning?" he asked her.
"Because I didn't want to have to watch you suffer like my father and brother did."
"Thank you," he said and turned to leave.
"Wait," he heard her say, "please, stay."
"Sorry, but I can't."
"I know there's nothing I can do to make up for all those years, but at least let me try."
"Don't worry, I'll come back, but right now, there are people waiting for me."
"Okay."
"Seeya Mom," he waved and took off up the stairs, leaving Erica to stand there with a small smile on her face, and tears in her eyes.
"Huh, who's waiting for him?"
Nate was up the stairs, through the halls, and out into the forest in no time. He didn't realize it, but he had been away from the jet for over an hour, and Rahne was probably getting extremely bored. He did have what he came here for, and that information was worth more to him than anything the world could offer. He leapt from tree to tree, being, again, mindful of the explosives that were still there. After about fifteen minutes he arrived at the clearing, and saw the distorted outline of the X-jet.
"Well, everything seems to be fine here," he said and walked over to the hatch, pressing the remote control he had grabbed before leaving.
The hatch opened and he stepped inside, looking down at Rahne, who had apparently dozed off while waiting. He lifted her up and placed her in the copilot's chair, strapping her in then settled himself in the pilot's seat. After all the formalities, he pushed the throttle forward slowly, and when they were above the trees, he cut the VTOL, and switched to the forward engines.
*****
A few days passed, and Nate took his time down in the hangar to ponder the information his mother had given him. So it wasn't a true mutation that was causing the change, but some ancient magic from his dragon ancestor. Whatever it was, he was determined to make sure it didn't take him over. From what Erica had told him his grandfather and uncle had both lost themselves in the change, becoming completely like dragons. For all essential purposes they had both simply faded from existence.
'I don't care,' he thought from his position on the floor. 'I refuse to let something like this rule my life.'
No one was with him tonight, the others had all gone to beach the previous day, leaving him at home to sleep. He had never really liked the saltwater anyway; it always got between his scales and was a bitch to get out. It was that night he saw how this would be a punishment, but at the same time, it was when he could be alone to think. Though, to tell the truth, thinking got old very fast.
If these changes continued as his mother said they would, then he would become a danger to them, and everyone who could possibly be stupid enough to cross him. And all that would only escalate when his transition was complete, and then no one would be able to stop him. The knights of old had used swords augmented with powerful magic to kill dragons, but all of those swords are gone, or in a museum somewhere.
"A book might help," he got up and headed for the door. "Everyone's sound asleep, so there shouldn't be any need to lock the door."
He locked the door all the same, and made his way to the library. Once inside he looked all around for a suitable book, climbing up and down the tall shelves trying to find something. At last he had found it, the book that Professor Xavier had been reading, about dragons. When he approached the door, he heard the sound of running feet, and upon looking around the corner, he saw a few of the younger students making a break for it. He didn't let it bother him as he rounded the corner and unlocked the door.
*****
The next night was Nate's last night of guard duty, and at the moment he was on his hands and knees, pain radiating from his back. But this pain wasn't from a transformation, it was from the muscles in his back bending and shifting to where he wanted them. And after a few more minutes, the spines on his back began to fold flat against the scales. His arms gave out and he laid on his stomach, then rolled over onto his back.
'Finally,' he thought and winced a little at the lingering pain.
Suddenly the alarms went off, and his eyes snapped open. He stood, still breathing heavily, and looked towards the door. It opened and Rogue ran in, followed by Kitty, Kurt, Beast, and Xavier.
"What happened?" he asked quickly.
"It's the brotherhood, they've been spotted near the Bayville chemical plant," Xavier said ushering him towards the jet.
"Right."
*****
Within ten minutes they had reached their destination and landed in the parking lot. A few cars were parked there, but it was mostly empty. The doors to the lobby had been ripped from their hinges, and the ground around it was smashed and broken, like a great force had caused an upheaval of the ground.
"Professor, let me go in first," Nate said while digging his talon into the ground. "I can get in, disable a couple of them, and get out without them even noticing."
"Well, alright," Xavier agreed after a few minutes of thought. It wouldn't have mattered, since Nate had already started running towards the building.
Nate reached the door and ran down the small corridor that led to the lobby. When he reached the corner he pressed against the wall and peered around it, seeing it was clear he signaled to the others. There was complete silence as he rounded the corner and dropped to all fours, and ran ahead, his claws and talons dulled and softened for silence. He ran until there was total darkness, but it didn't make much difference to him; his eyes had shifted earlier that day. The hall was lit up bright as day.
He saw the window in one door was lighted, and crawled up to it, raising his head just enough to see through the window. What he saw was five mutant teenagers emptying a vat of green liquid into small cylinders. When one began to turn around he ducked out of the way. He crept back into the darkest area he could find, and swung his tail forward and hit the door handle. The handle swung up, unlatched, and the door opened ever so slightly, with a rather loud creak.
"What was that?" he heard one say.
"The door must have popped open," another said. "Toad, I thought you latched it."
"I did."
"I'll check it out," a girl's voice this time.
The door opened all the way, and a shaft of light illuminated the hallway. A red-clad young girl stepped out and looked either way. She should have looked up, since Nate had crawled up the wall and was sitting on one of the hanging fluorescent lights. His tail swung down and wrapped around her middle dragging her up to his level. Her eyes widened upon seeing him.
"Shh," he said placing a finger to his lips then slammed his forehead into hers, knocking her unconscious.
He lowered her to the floor, and dropped down next to her. A small bit of blood trickled down her face from the part that had hit the front spine on his head. With any thought Nate brought her head to be level with his and lightly licked at the blood. On his second lick he caught himself and dropped her.
'What was that?' he asked himself while backing away from the girl.
His head snapped to the side when he heard footsteps inside the room. He quickly jumped to the light again and looked down.
"Hey Wanda, what's taking so long?" one of the previous voices asked. Avalanche came to the door and saw Wanda on the floor. "Guys, we got..."
He never got to finish as Nate's tail spade clubbed him upside the head. Nate saw the blood oozing from Wanda's wound and had to hold himself back from going down and having more. He spied a vent above him and ripped it open, not being at all quiet about it and climbing inside.
"Nate, what's happened?" he heard Beast whisper through his communicator.
"Something's wrong," he gasped as a pain shot through his back, "with me. I'm heading back."
"Alright, we'll take it from here."
"Right."
As he made his way through the shaft, he saw the others run by under him. There was the strong impulse to help them, but he knew he had to follow Beast's orders. Besides, he didn't know what he would do if he saw that blood again. It hadn't tasted bad, but it still creeped him out all the same. He reached the lobby and punched through the vent, and dropped down to the floor. He shook his head, trying to get the picture of Wanda's bleeding head out of his mind, and the pain in his back had gotten slightly worse.
'No, you will wait,' he commanded mentally to whatever was happening to his back. And with a little concentration the pain did subside, but was still there.
A blur went by him, and his tail lashed out, wrapping around said blur's ankle. Quicksilver tripped and let go of the cylinder he had been carrying. It flew through the air, turning end over end as it did. Before it could hit the ground, it stopped, and floated there. Xavier appeared and the canister floated over to him.
"Let go of me!" Quicksilver yelled as he punched Nate's tail over and over.
Nate didn't feel anything, but did notice the blood coming from the mutant's hands from punching his scales. It smelled similar to the girl's but was different, not right. Still with his tail around Quicksilver's ankle, he dragged the struggling mutant back to him, and lifted him into the air.
"What's the chemical for?" he asked calmly.
"Ask Magneto," Quicksilver said and spit at him.
Nate sighed, "I was hoping we could do this peacefully, but I guess not."
A look of fear crossed the young mutant's face as Nate raised him up as far as his tail would go, about 25 feet in the air. The scales were stretched apart, and the skin beneath them was visible. A malicious smile crossed his face as he whipped the boy down towards the pavement.
TBC
There, the chapter's done, that was quick. I told you I would get the brotherhood in here, and I did. It'll continue from here next chapter. What's in the canister, what is it for, and why does magneto want it? All these questions will be answered next chapter, and maybe some more. Anyway, that's all for me for now, buhbye.
Okay, I see you like the story so far (**wipes sweat from forehead**), given that I haven't seen the reviews for the second chapter, yet. Anyway, I'm really hoping to get in The Brotherhood, so this chapter will probably be a little longer than the others. Oh, and for any Morlock fans, they'll be coming along later on.
~*~ - mindscape
*~* - dreamscape
*~*~* - flashback
(sp.?) - did I spell it right?
The Mutant
Chapter 3
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*
Nate opened his door and looked around the room, his eyes focusing on the two shotels in the corner. He walked over to them and grabbed the straps that went around his shoulders. But, this time, instead of strapping the massive swords so they would crisscross his back, they would now curve outward, on either side of the spines on his back. With his height, the tips of the blades should rest about an inch from the floor. After setting the straps he grabbed the swords and placed them next to the two sets of smaller straps that held them in place, which automatically grabbed the blades and secured them.
"Now, all that's left is to get there," he said adjusting them to a snug fit, but not too snug that he couldn't ditch them in an emergency.
He stepped out of his room and hurried through the halls of the Institute, not even bothering to pay any attention to the others. Everyone he passed by seemed interested in the fact that he was carrying the two weapons. Bobby stepped up to him and asked where he was going, but Nate just casually moved him aside without a word. Obscenities were uttered, and a small matter of telling the Professor was considered. To his surprise, and relief, he didn't run into Rahne on his way, thinking it best to not see her at the moment.
After a few minutes he finally stepped into the hangar, and stopped. Kneeling, checking her bag, next to the open door of the X-jet was Rahne, dressed as if she was going hiking. He sighed when he saw her there, making sure everything was in order.
"And where do you think you're going?" he asked standing over her.
"With you, the Professor said I should," she said getting to her feet and shouldering the backpack.
"Is that so?"
"Mmhmm," she nodded.
"Fine, come on," he walked up the stairs into the jet quickly followed by the metamorph. "Do you even know where I'm going?"
"The Professor didn't tell me a lot, he just said you might need some company."
"I see, just don't touch anything."
"Okay."
They walked into the cockpit, and up to the pilot and co-pilot seats, and, as with Scott's car, Nate eyed his seat with the same look of disdain. Surely there must be a way to alter this chair without completely ruining it. He ran many different solutions to the problem through his head, but finally decided on destroying it. His tail flicked forward and easily cut the back right down the middle, as well as a hole large enough for his tail to get through.
Once he was situated in the chair, he began the preflight checks on everything; fuel, flight plan, everything. It was another five minutes before the massive turnstile beneath the jet rotated it to the opening. He lightly pushed the throttle and it began to move forward, slowly at first but gained speed.
*****
Once they were at maximum altitude, Nate pushed the button for the autopilot, having already laid in a course and landing area. The seat slid back and he got up, walking to the end of the cockpit. He sat down on one of the benches that spanned the length of the fuselage. Reaching under the seat he brought out a small box and opened it, taking out a wetstone (a type of stone used for sharpening a blade). He grabbed one of his shotels and placed the stone at the base of the blade, then swiped it up the length of the blade.
"Why are you doing that?" Rahne asked sitting on the bench opposite him.
"It give me something to do," he said calmly, not even lifting his head to look at her. 'I don't know why I didn't just leave her back there, this has nothing to do with any of them.'
There was no more talking between them, no sounds besides the scraping of the stone, and the almost inaudible hum of the engines. After a good hour of working on the first sword, Nate laid it down and picked up the second one.
*****
It was another two hours before they reached the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, and another half hour till they were finally over the forests of Lithuania, almost at the western border of Russia. The forward engines cut off, and power was sent to the VTOL engines on the bottom (VTOL: Vertical Take Off and Landing). The landing gear opened and the jet settled in a small clearing. Nate grabbed his shotels, already in their straps and hooked them around his shoulders. He stepped up to the side hatch and pressed the button to open it.
Before it was open all the way, he reached out and tore the panel off the wall and slid quickly through the door. The instant he was out the emergency lockdown program began sealing all the doors and froze the controls. Rahne flung herself at the door, and hit it just as it shut and locked. She banged her hands against it for a few minutes before quieting down.
Nate looked up at the windows in the cockpit, watching her try to start the engines. He reached into his pocket and took out a small communicator.
"Sorry to have to do this to you Rahne, but this has nothing to do with the X-men," he said into it; he knew she could hear her, the lockdown didn't inhibit that.
"Are you working for Magneto?" she asked in a worried voice.
"No," he turned and started walking away, "I'm looking for my mother."
"You're mother? Wait, what if someone finds me?"
"Press the flashing green button, it'll activate the camouflage that Forge installed," he flicked the switch to turn off the communicator.
He reached the edge of the thick forest and leapt into the trees, swinging easily from one to the other. Such a thing was easy, too easy, he figured if she really wanted him to stay away, there would be traps. From what little he could remember of his mother, he knew she was always prepared. And the explosion that came from the branch he had just grabbed was proof of that. He dropped, until he grabbed another, weaker branch, swung once, and let go, the branch snapping as he did. His arm swung out and he snagged the trunk of a tree some twenty feet away, wrapping pretty much his entire body around it, including his tail.
"Well," he looked back at the missing branch and huge gouge in the tree, "that was fun."
He clawed his way down the tree till he was a few feet above the ground, and simply jumped from trunk to trunk, never touching the ground, or going too high to have to use a branch. There wasn't much else for him to do at the moment but leap from tree to tree, the distance between getting larger with each gap. Through the gaps he saw his target, and it wasn't what he was expecting. What he saw was a rather large, and Russian-looking, castle. It wasn't long before he ran out of trees and was at the edge of the castle's yard, the green grass sloping right up to the front steps. Before he stepped onto it, he picked up a few stones.
Sitting back on his tail, he surveyed the building in front of him. For starters it was large, but looking more closely he could see a few laser platforms housed in the turrets, and, from the looks of it, there was a motion sensor grid going across the entire yard, and there was a grid on each of the windows. He sighed and tossed a rock out onto the grass, which promptly set off a large bear trap.
'This shouldn't be too hard,' he thought and looked up at the camera that had just focused in on the rock then turned to look at him. 'Then again...'
His thought was interrupted as the lasers turned and fired at him, bouncing harmlessly off his scales, those that hit his face did nothing anyway (lasers have no effect on organic objects). He ran forward, onto the lawn, dodging the traps as the lasers continued to fire at him. One bear trap did snap shut on his leg, but the teeth simply bent out of the way.
"You'd think she was preparing for war," he said as he ripped the trap off. "But, to be honest, I don't have time for this."
He grabbed his shotels and brought them around to the front, reflecting the lasers right back at the turrets and destroyed them, then hooked a chain to pommel of one, and brought it behind him. Whipping the massive blade forward he let go, throwing it at front door. It stuck the wood and demolished it, completely; he the tugged and it came back to him, ripping the rest of it off its hinges.
"I want some answers, and there is no way I'm leaving without them."
Without the lasers obstructing him, and careful placement of his feet, he was at the door in no time. Upon stepping through it he was able to see just what was inside...nothing. The walls were bare, not a single picture, or mirror, or even one of those small tables that usually have pictures on them. Just gray, everywhere he looked; gray walls, gray ceiling, gray floor. He turned his head this way and that, trying to spot anything that might give him some sort of clue as to where she could be.
He walked the halls, almost getting lost a few times, but still there was nothing. Every room he looked in was empty, bare of all things that might have given him an idea as to what it was used for. The last door he came to was a large metal one, and it was locked.
"Let's see, foot and a half of high tensile, tempered steel," he said while placing his ear against it and tapping it with his claw. "No problem."
Grabbing the large turnstyle (like the kind on bank vaults), he dug his talons into the stone floor, and pulled. His tail flailed around, slashing long gashes in the stone walls, floor and ceiling. Eyes closed and brow furrowed, he pulled, feeling the door begin to give way, and doubled his efforts. The bolts in the hinge were bulging, ready to pop, which they did, and careened around the hallway, ricocheting off the walls. Bolts of electricity whipped from the exposed components of the electronic lock as the door was pulled further from the wall. Deciding to put his tail to better use, he jammed the spade into the floor, and use it to pull his entire body back, while he still pulled with his arms and pushed with his legs.
"Just...a little...further," he grunted through gritted teeth, and finally it tore from the wall.
With a huge bang it crashed to the floor, just as he stepped out from under it. What was on the other side was the complete opposite of what was behind him. In contrast to the stone corridors of the rest of the castle, this part could only be described as cozy. The floor was still stone, but instead of the granite, it was limestone, and the lower third of the walls were wood paneled, the rest had sheet rock and wallpaper. Spanning the length of the hall was a lavishly decorated Oriental rug, and the walls were adorned with paintings, as well as some photos. There were also several small tables, with lamps on them, giving the corridor a cheerful setting. Along the walls, in between the tables, were doors.
He stepped through the doorway and placed his foot on the rug, being careful not to rip it. Down the hall he walked, looking at the pictures on either side. Most were of people he didn't know, others were of his mother in various places. One was Paris, in front of the Eiffel Tower, and another was from Rome, she was standing in the center of the Coliseum. Hatred welled up inside him again, and there was pain shot through his head; reaching up, he found that two small horns were pushing through his skin. His attention was then drawn to a painting that appeared to be of his father, his mother, and a very young him, sitting on his mother's lap. He raised his hand, the tips of his claws sharpening themselves, and was about to slash the painting.
"I do wish you wouldn't destroy that," a woman's voice said from the end of the corridor.
His hand stopped, and he turned to look at her, eyes narrowing. She stood about 5'9", with long black hair down to her waist, the back half pulled into a braid, the front half was left to fall naturally. Her eyes shone like emeralds under the long ebony bangs in front of her face, and her lips were curved into a slight frown. In her hand, at her hip, was a Colt 1911. She wore a regular pair of khakis and a T-shirt.
"It's the only one I have of the three of us," she said. "What, no hello?"
Nate was beyond talking at that point as his tail lashed out, knocking the gun from her hand, and then pressing her to the door behind her. He was not being careful this time, as the pointed scales poked through the thin shirt, and into her flesh. Her face, though, remained a stoic look as she continued to stare at him.
"Why?" he growled through his teeth.
He stepped forward, brandishing the blade on his elbow, covering the twenty feet between them in no time at all, and placing it against her throat.
"Why is this happening to me?"
She calmly raised her hand and pushed his tail away, and used the other to gently lower his arm. Her expression seemed to soften while she did it.
"To be completely honest...I don't know," she said turning away from him.
"LIAR!" he roared, literally. "You do know, now tell me."
His clawed hand gripped her shoulder, digging his claws through her skin, right to the bone. He could feel her wince at the pain, and squeezed a little harder.
"I don't know -why- it's happening," she sighed, "but I do have something that could help you understand."
"What is it?" he asked letting go of her shoulder.
"A very old painting," she opened the door and stepped through. "Follow me."
Nate just shrugged and went after her; there was just something about this woman, something he couldn't explain. Sure, she was a his mother, but she was more than that, she was the person who had dumped him in the woods when he was only twelve years old, leaving him nothing but his shotels. Yet, at the particular moment, all the hatred had fled his mind, and he couldn't remember ever being closer to her. This was what he could figure out.
"Watch your head," she said as if it should be obvious.
"Right," Nate was already walking with his legs at half-mast, so to speak, as to not hit his head on the doorframe.
When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Nate saw a room lit by not lamps, but torches on the walls. The room was stone gray, like the castle beyond the metal door. Across the entire wall across from him was a massive tapestry. On that tapestry were dragons on the left, humans on the right, and something that looked eerily like him in the middle. The figure in the middle seemed to be suffering from either side's attacks on it.
Out of pure instinct, no conscious thought involved, Nate dropped to his knees in front of it. There was something oddly familiar about looking at it, like he had seen it before. But that was impossible, the tapestry had to have been at least seven hundred years old. He stood up and walked towards the painting, looking closely at the center figure. On the left of it appeared to be a dragon, shielding from view a human woman.
"What does it mean?" he reach up, about to touch it.
"The two down here"-she points to the dragon and the woman-"are most likely the hybrid's parents," Erica said as she stepped up next to him. "Just look at how he protects her from both sides."
"I realize that, but what does it mean?"
"It means that there was a war between humans and dragons, but one escaped," she explained. "That one had a family, shown here with the hybrid. And that family continued through the centuries. Apparently, though, females are not exposed to the transformation that comes with being part of that family."
"Why not?" Nate asked, his brain becoming a little slow from the intake of all the information.
"Because it's our family."
"Oh."
"The reason you never met your grandfather, or any of your uncles on my side of the family was because they always begged for death when the transformation neared its peak," she hung her head as tears welled at the corners of her eyes. "And we granted them that wish. It's our family's curse."
"Why couldn't you just tell me about this at the beginning?" he asked her.
"Because I didn't want to have to watch you suffer like my father and brother did."
"Thank you," he said and turned to leave.
"Wait," he heard her say, "please, stay."
"Sorry, but I can't."
"I know there's nothing I can do to make up for all those years, but at least let me try."
"Don't worry, I'll come back, but right now, there are people waiting for me."
"Okay."
"Seeya Mom," he waved and took off up the stairs, leaving Erica to stand there with a small smile on her face, and tears in her eyes.
"Huh, who's waiting for him?"
Nate was up the stairs, through the halls, and out into the forest in no time. He didn't realize it, but he had been away from the jet for over an hour, and Rahne was probably getting extremely bored. He did have what he came here for, and that information was worth more to him than anything the world could offer. He leapt from tree to tree, being, again, mindful of the explosives that were still there. After about fifteen minutes he arrived at the clearing, and saw the distorted outline of the X-jet.
"Well, everything seems to be fine here," he said and walked over to the hatch, pressing the remote control he had grabbed before leaving.
The hatch opened and he stepped inside, looking down at Rahne, who had apparently dozed off while waiting. He lifted her up and placed her in the copilot's chair, strapping her in then settled himself in the pilot's seat. After all the formalities, he pushed the throttle forward slowly, and when they were above the trees, he cut the VTOL, and switched to the forward engines.
*****
A few days passed, and Nate took his time down in the hangar to ponder the information his mother had given him. So it wasn't a true mutation that was causing the change, but some ancient magic from his dragon ancestor. Whatever it was, he was determined to make sure it didn't take him over. From what Erica had told him his grandfather and uncle had both lost themselves in the change, becoming completely like dragons. For all essential purposes they had both simply faded from existence.
'I don't care,' he thought from his position on the floor. 'I refuse to let something like this rule my life.'
No one was with him tonight, the others had all gone to beach the previous day, leaving him at home to sleep. He had never really liked the saltwater anyway; it always got between his scales and was a bitch to get out. It was that night he saw how this would be a punishment, but at the same time, it was when he could be alone to think. Though, to tell the truth, thinking got old very fast.
If these changes continued as his mother said they would, then he would become a danger to them, and everyone who could possibly be stupid enough to cross him. And all that would only escalate when his transition was complete, and then no one would be able to stop him. The knights of old had used swords augmented with powerful magic to kill dragons, but all of those swords are gone, or in a museum somewhere.
"A book might help," he got up and headed for the door. "Everyone's sound asleep, so there shouldn't be any need to lock the door."
He locked the door all the same, and made his way to the library. Once inside he looked all around for a suitable book, climbing up and down the tall shelves trying to find something. At last he had found it, the book that Professor Xavier had been reading, about dragons. When he approached the door, he heard the sound of running feet, and upon looking around the corner, he saw a few of the younger students making a break for it. He didn't let it bother him as he rounded the corner and unlocked the door.
*****
The next night was Nate's last night of guard duty, and at the moment he was on his hands and knees, pain radiating from his back. But this pain wasn't from a transformation, it was from the muscles in his back bending and shifting to where he wanted them. And after a few more minutes, the spines on his back began to fold flat against the scales. His arms gave out and he laid on his stomach, then rolled over onto his back.
'Finally,' he thought and winced a little at the lingering pain.
Suddenly the alarms went off, and his eyes snapped open. He stood, still breathing heavily, and looked towards the door. It opened and Rogue ran in, followed by Kitty, Kurt, Beast, and Xavier.
"What happened?" he asked quickly.
"It's the brotherhood, they've been spotted near the Bayville chemical plant," Xavier said ushering him towards the jet.
"Right."
*****
Within ten minutes they had reached their destination and landed in the parking lot. A few cars were parked there, but it was mostly empty. The doors to the lobby had been ripped from their hinges, and the ground around it was smashed and broken, like a great force had caused an upheaval of the ground.
"Professor, let me go in first," Nate said while digging his talon into the ground. "I can get in, disable a couple of them, and get out without them even noticing."
"Well, alright," Xavier agreed after a few minutes of thought. It wouldn't have mattered, since Nate had already started running towards the building.
Nate reached the door and ran down the small corridor that led to the lobby. When he reached the corner he pressed against the wall and peered around it, seeing it was clear he signaled to the others. There was complete silence as he rounded the corner and dropped to all fours, and ran ahead, his claws and talons dulled and softened for silence. He ran until there was total darkness, but it didn't make much difference to him; his eyes had shifted earlier that day. The hall was lit up bright as day.
He saw the window in one door was lighted, and crawled up to it, raising his head just enough to see through the window. What he saw was five mutant teenagers emptying a vat of green liquid into small cylinders. When one began to turn around he ducked out of the way. He crept back into the darkest area he could find, and swung his tail forward and hit the door handle. The handle swung up, unlatched, and the door opened ever so slightly, with a rather loud creak.
"What was that?" he heard one say.
"The door must have popped open," another said. "Toad, I thought you latched it."
"I did."
"I'll check it out," a girl's voice this time.
The door opened all the way, and a shaft of light illuminated the hallway. A red-clad young girl stepped out and looked either way. She should have looked up, since Nate had crawled up the wall and was sitting on one of the hanging fluorescent lights. His tail swung down and wrapped around her middle dragging her up to his level. Her eyes widened upon seeing him.
"Shh," he said placing a finger to his lips then slammed his forehead into hers, knocking her unconscious.
He lowered her to the floor, and dropped down next to her. A small bit of blood trickled down her face from the part that had hit the front spine on his head. With any thought Nate brought her head to be level with his and lightly licked at the blood. On his second lick he caught himself and dropped her.
'What was that?' he asked himself while backing away from the girl.
His head snapped to the side when he heard footsteps inside the room. He quickly jumped to the light again and looked down.
"Hey Wanda, what's taking so long?" one of the previous voices asked. Avalanche came to the door and saw Wanda on the floor. "Guys, we got..."
He never got to finish as Nate's tail spade clubbed him upside the head. Nate saw the blood oozing from Wanda's wound and had to hold himself back from going down and having more. He spied a vent above him and ripped it open, not being at all quiet about it and climbing inside.
"Nate, what's happened?" he heard Beast whisper through his communicator.
"Something's wrong," he gasped as a pain shot through his back, "with me. I'm heading back."
"Alright, we'll take it from here."
"Right."
As he made his way through the shaft, he saw the others run by under him. There was the strong impulse to help them, but he knew he had to follow Beast's orders. Besides, he didn't know what he would do if he saw that blood again. It hadn't tasted bad, but it still creeped him out all the same. He reached the lobby and punched through the vent, and dropped down to the floor. He shook his head, trying to get the picture of Wanda's bleeding head out of his mind, and the pain in his back had gotten slightly worse.
'No, you will wait,' he commanded mentally to whatever was happening to his back. And with a little concentration the pain did subside, but was still there.
A blur went by him, and his tail lashed out, wrapping around said blur's ankle. Quicksilver tripped and let go of the cylinder he had been carrying. It flew through the air, turning end over end as it did. Before it could hit the ground, it stopped, and floated there. Xavier appeared and the canister floated over to him.
"Let go of me!" Quicksilver yelled as he punched Nate's tail over and over.
Nate didn't feel anything, but did notice the blood coming from the mutant's hands from punching his scales. It smelled similar to the girl's but was different, not right. Still with his tail around Quicksilver's ankle, he dragged the struggling mutant back to him, and lifted him into the air.
"What's the chemical for?" he asked calmly.
"Ask Magneto," Quicksilver said and spit at him.
Nate sighed, "I was hoping we could do this peacefully, but I guess not."
A look of fear crossed the young mutant's face as Nate raised him up as far as his tail would go, about 25 feet in the air. The scales were stretched apart, and the skin beneath them was visible. A malicious smile crossed his face as he whipped the boy down towards the pavement.
TBC
There, the chapter's done, that was quick. I told you I would get the brotherhood in here, and I did. It'll continue from here next chapter. What's in the canister, what is it for, and why does magneto want it? All these questions will be answered next chapter, and maybe some more. Anyway, that's all for me for now, buhbye.