A/N: Looooooooooong chapter, the longest one yet, my apologies, but I
figured you folks deserved it after the three week delay. Though this is
long, its not that great, b/c, I must admit, I'm not very good at writing
battle scenes, and this ends up being a bit more depressing than I had
hoped for, but oh well, I just go where my muse takes me. Hope you all
like it! Just this and the epilogue left!
************************************************************************
Sunlight streamed through a prism hanging in the window, sending rainbows dancing merrily across the richly painted room. Sighing, Arisnoë sat on the elegantly carved window seat, her chin resting delicately in her hands, her elbows propped up on the window sill as she appraised the sight before her. Not a cloud marred the blue canvas sky, allowing the sun to shine brightly over Bayville. Arisnoë had never seen such a beautiful day. Sure, there were times in Saudi Arabia when the sun had shone in a cloudless sky, but that just made the barren desert all the more unbearable. Here, there was green everywhere, drinking in the sun's golden light and radiating in the glorious magnificence of it all. 'I've never really appreciated life until now.' Arisnoë thought to herself, smiling, 'I've never really appreciated it until Evan showed me how much there is to live for.' She turned her head away from the window, watching as the rainbows danced across her room. She was captivated by the splendor of the rainbows. Who could ever imagine that so many colors were held by light and that all you needed to find them was a piece of glass?
Slowly the rainbows began to fade, taking the raw beauty from the lifeless room. Arisnoë glanced anxiously out the window, knowing that in order for the light to die away, something had to be covering the sun, but what could it be? Hadn't she determined just moments ago that there wasn't a cloud in the sky? Her breath caught in her throat as a jagged bolt of lightening sliced across the sky, followed by a distant clap of thunder. "The Weather Witch," she moaned bitterly. Raven had warned her about Storm, and Arisnoë had seen the images in others' minds, she knew the danger this woman was capable of.
Closing her eyes, Arisnoë inhaled deeply, focusing her thoughts on Raven. When she thought their two minds made the connection, she quickly projected an image of Storm drawing nearer, cosing in on her sanctuary. (A/N: For those of you who are confused, Arisnoë can only project images and see images from others' minds. She's not telepathic. But she can pick up words and emotions from these dreams - much like when Jonas receives the memories in "The Giver") After projecting the image, Arisnoë saw a scene of a boy clad in green armor moving swiftly across town towards her carefully hidden home. Opening her eyes, Arisnoë felt hope rising within her. Raven was sending over the other mutants! Perhaps there was a chance of survival after all.
********************************Meanwhile*******************************
'This is it, we're finally going to get rid of the Dream Walker!'
'That b**** is finally going to get what she deserves!'
'What's rock tumbler doing here?'
'Hehe, Goggle-boy looks so thrilled to see me.'
'He's not mad at me, is he?'
'Vhat is taking so long?'
The thoughts bounced around Jean's head, none of which were hers, but she didn't bother trying to control it - emotions were running too high, there was no way she could block out every thought in the anxiety filled room.
The X-men all looked so professional in their streamlined uniforms, leaving Lance to look slightly out of place in his bulky homemade one, and Tabitha in her "Sirens" outfit. But if either one of them noticed, they didn't show it. The way they were lounging around, chatting, and laughing nervously, anyone could have sworn that they were just another X-man.
A silent hush fell over the assembled crowd as Xavier wheeled into the room, "I fear there is no delaying this any longer." He spoke regretfully, "but I do hope that by handling this maturely we can prevent a war. Scott, Jean, and Kurt will teleport to this girl's home. You will try to talk to her as if you were talking to a new recruit for the first time; like you did with Evan and Kitty. If she shows any signs of resistance, or tries to enter your minds, or inflict harm on you in any way, have Kurt teleport back and the rest of us will take the jet over. Storm has created a simulated storm over that area so no one will notice the high level of activity." He looked at Scott as though he was expecting some form of protest. "Understood?" They nodded. "Very well then, off with you."
The three students gathered together and disappeared into a puff of blue smoke, leaving the rest of the Institute waiting fretfully behind.
************************************************************************
"Ah, I can't take much more of this, they ain't gonna show." Toad hopped nervously back and forth across Arisnoë's bedroom as she eyed him with distrustful distaste.
"Don't worry, if the boss lady said they'd show, then they'll show." Pietro leaned casually against the door.
"What I want to know is what happened to Avalanche?"
Pietro shrugged, "Who knows? Personally, sis, I think he got cold feet. Alvers never did have the stomach for this stuff. He's always been a poser."
"God, you are daft!" Wanda rolled her eyes, falling back onto Arisnoë's king-sized bed.
Arisnoë slowly rose from her place on the velvet window seat. "I zink she means zat zis 'Avalanche' isn't frightened."
"Oh yeah? And what makes you think that? What do you know about Lance?"
She bit her lip at the cruelty in his voice. Hadn't this boy been asking her out just a few days ago? "I know zat he loves zat ozzer girl, zis 'Kitty', and zat he would do anyzing for her, even give his own life. A man like zat is not often afraid of petty things like zis."
As Pietro eyed her coolly, trying to figure the girl out, Fred turned to Toad and muttered bewilderedly, "I always thought Lance was our leader . . ."
"Hey, hey! What's that?" Toad hopped excitedly by the window as a puff of blue smoke materialized outside.
"That," Pietro stated elatedly, "is our cue." And with that, he raced out of the room, the others lumbering behind him.
*******************************Meanwhile********************************
Landing on a street filled with heavy fog, Scott, Jean, and Kurt peered around uneasily. "Vell, ve're here, ve might as vell do vhat ve came here to do . . ."
"Kurt's right. C'mon, Jean," Scott strode toward the intricately carved mahogany door, preparing to ring the scarlet coated doorbell, when suddenly the gilded handle turned and the door opened on its own, revealing the one person no one had expected to see.
"Miss me, Summers?"
************************************************************************
*Bamf* "Professor! The Brotherhood!"
Charles started. "The Brotherhood? You're sure?"
"Ja, Quiksilver opened the door. Ve are going to need some help. I think negotiations are out of the question."
The professor sighed, "Alright, Kurt, take the trained X-men with you, the rest of us will follow in the jet."
Rogue, Evan, Kitty, Lance, and Tabitha gathered around Kurt as the newer recruits groaned in protest, mumbling about how unfair the ordeal was, though they followed the professor none-the-less.
"What are you doing here?" Evan inquired rudely, staring at Tabitha. "You're not trained!"
"Hey," Lance intervened. "The Klepto stays; she'll be more help than you will, spike-boy."
"Hey, I don't need a guy to stand up for me, Alvers, you better watch it."
Turning to Kurt, Rogue rolled her eyes, "Can we just get outta here already? Before them three start their own war?"
Kurt gave a curt nod, getting the other 5 to huddle together, praying that they'd arrive in time to help the stranded Jean and Scott.
************************************************************************
"What. Do. You. Think. Is. Taking them. So. Long?" Jean managed to gasp out while attempting to suspend Blob with her telekinesis.
"No idea." Cyclops shot Blob out of Jean's grasp with his optic blast, turning his focus on the circling Quiksilver.
"Can't catch me, one-eye." Quiksilver shouted as he spun dizzy circles around the duo.
Cyclops shot frustrated blasts at the boy, leaving scorched dentin the previously smooth road.
"That's not helping!" Jean, who normally would have endeavored to telekinetically impede her opponent, had learned from her last encounter with Quiksilver that this would only make matters worse. Cyclops, apparently, had forgotten that the arrogant boy was theoretically unstoppable.
"We haven't even seen the Dream Walker yet!"
"Dream Walker?" Blob stood up, revealing the body cast he had left in Arisnoë's front lawn, and scratched his head in confusion. (A/N: Why is scratching your head a symbol of confusion?)
"Heh, he means Tantalus." Toad blew his cover (he had bee sneaking up on Cyclops) by opening his mouth. Jean whirled around, sending a TK blast at Toad.
"Thanks!" Scott yelled, shaking his head at the near miss.
"No problem, though it will be if Nightcrawler doesn't show up soon!"
At that precise moment, a distinct aroma of sulfur wafted through the air, followed by a puff of blue smoke. "So, how much have ve missed?" Kurt, Kitty, Lance, Evan, Rogue, and Tabitha stood on the pavement, surveying the sight before them.
"Apparently a lot." Shadowcat mused, staring at the mold of Fred's enormous outline in the flattened grass.
"But we're not too late," Spyke added, sending a spike sailing through Toad's shirt, nailing him to a tree.
"Hey! Lemme down! You stupid porcupine!" He swiped at the spike, trying to free himself.
With the new mutants having arrived, along with the Brotherhood's leader turned traitor, the cowardly group began to retreat.
"Woohoo!" Shadowcat cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "Can this get any easier?"
"Don't you mean harder?" A surly feminine voice rang out.
The X-men turned to see the Scarlet Witch descending from Arisnoë's bedroom window.
"Oh man! We're in trouble now!" Evan groaned.
"You said it."
With the sudden appearance of the Scarlet Witch, the lacking battle rapidly raged on.
"Yo, Avalanche!" Quiksilver slowed long enough to pause in front of a stony-looking Avalanche. "What gives? Turning on us again? You know the boss doesn't welcome back traitors."
"Who said I wanted to be welcomed back?" Avalanche clenched his fists, sending a roll through the ground, knocking Quiksilver off his feet. "Jean! Now!"
Jean focused her energy on the fallen terror, lifting him in the air and positioning him against the brick wall, allowing Spyke to pin him to it.
"Hey! Let me go!" He struggled to no avail.
"Score!" Spyke shot passed on his skateboard, slapping Avalanche's hand as he passed.
Avalanche smirked at the squirming Quiksilver. "Tell the boss I said 'hi'."
"Y'know," Cyclops turned his head towards Nightcrawler without taking his eyes of the mêlée. "I had my doubts, but it looks like Avalanche may have actually changed for the best."
"Ja, it looks that vay, but he vas the leader of the Brotherhood, vhy vould he give that up for a team that may never trust him?"
"You've got a point there, ah!" Cyclop's blasts suddenly slipped away from his target of the Scarlet Witch and were being aimed towards Shadowcat. "Shadowcat! Watch out!"
Kitty whirled around, preparing to phase as the red beam penetrated her body, when Lance dove, attempting to push her out of the way, only to find himself soaring through her translucent body. "Ow!" He landed with a loud smack against the pavement, causing Kitty to giggle. "Hey," he rubbed his shoulder, "It's not funny."
As hard as she tried to maintain a serious face, Kitty could not stifle her bursts of laughter. "I'm," gasp, "sorry." She laughed harder. "As sweet as it is," she smiled as he waited patiently for her to finish, "you can't keep trying to save me. I can totally handle myself. Besides, you could, like, get hurt again." At that she began to giggle again until Lance tugged sharply on her ankle, pulling her to the ground with him as another beam narrowly missed her head.
"Seems like your not always right," Lance smirked as Kitty nodded meekly, staring at the charred tree, only paces behind where she had been standing moments before.
"Cyclops, like, cut it out already!"
"I can't!" He staggered backwards, trying to regain control of his powers.
A sigh was emitted somewhere behind him. "I'm really sorry 'bout this, Scott." Rogue grabbed the back of his bare neck with her ungloved hand.
The disastrous light coming from his eyes flickered and died as he let out a moan and sank to the ground, slipping out of consciousness.
Rogue removed her hand and stared down at the beautiful boy lying unmoving on the cold pavement. Turning her gaze from Cyclops to the Witch still wreaking havoc in the sky, her vision was filled with a heavy red mist as her anger built. "This is all yer fault, Witch!" She shrieked, preparing to blast Wanda from the sky.
"No," A commanding voice filled with terrible sadness projected from the doorway, it iz mine."
All of the mutants, X-men and Brotherhood alike, turned to face the cloaked and hooded creature.
"Tantalus!" Quicksilver yelled from his place still positioned on the wall, "What are you doing out here? Mystique said for you to stay inside!"
Tantalus raised her glimmering eyes to Pietro's ice cold ones. "Zis is my fault, I 'ave caused all of zis and I 'ave come to correct it."
"I know that voice," Evan muttered softly, causing Kurt to study him curiously. Out of the blue, Rogue's voice ricocheted across his mind. "'I zank you for you kindness'". 'No, it can't be,' Evan could feel panic rising within him. But Evan's worst fears were confirmed as Tantalus rose her hooded head, and he caught a flicker of gold reflecting the rare sunlight. 'Her cross necklace . . . no, no, it can't be here!"
"Ah, vhat's a 'Tantalus'?" Nightcrawler whispered.
"Tantalus, temptress or tempter, is part of a Greek Myth." Kitty explained. "Tantalus offended the God's in some major way, so the condemned him to a life of eternal hunger and thirst. He stood in a pool in Tartarus, the Underworld's place of punishment, and each time he reached down to drink some of the water it drained away. There was also branches above the pool loaded with fruit, but each time Tantalus tried to grab some, the branches moved from his grasp. So he was always tempted. And I guess that's her power, to tempt us."
"Ah, so is she the Dream Valker?"
"That would be my guess."
"And she can enter our thoughts?" Tabitha popped up beside the duo, shortly followed by Jean.
"Well, technically she can only see and project images . . ." Jean clarified.
"So, she can enter our thoughts," Boom Boom stated again.
Jean shrugged, "Basically."
"We. Are so- dead."
"Yup."
************************************************************************
It was like some horrible dream. The kind that starts of pleasantly, but it ends in a terror-ish nightmare. You know you're dreaming, but as hard as you try you can't wake up. You scream until your voice is hoarse and your throat is parched but no one can hear you. And when the dream reaches its horrific climax and all you want is for it to end, it slows down to an almost rewound rate, almost as if time is moving backwards.
With the additional challenge that Tantalus offered the X-men, the war continued on into the night. Enraged by the amount of attention her enemies were focusing on Tantalus, the Scarlet Witch began hurtling objects at Scott's still unconscious body which Kurt had teleported to a semi-safe ditch at the side of the extravagant house.
"Stop!" Jean shrieked, firing a TK blast at Wand who deftly shielded herself. "You could kill him!" Her mounting vexed anger was lucid.
Sensing Jean's deadly rage, Tantalus turned, sending her an image of she and Scott embracing on a white sandy beach. Jean staggered off, feeling dazed and confused, leaving her vulnerable to the Scarlet Witch's wicked wrath.
Attention roused by Jean's pained cry - after being struck by the blunt end of a flying spade - Nightcrawler 'ported into the air and grabbed Wanda's waist, breaking her concentration.
As the two toppled from the dusky canvas of a sky, the debris that had continuously encircled Wanda's body flew off at odd angles. A brick narrowly missed Kitty and Lance's heads, worn-out gloves smacked Jean's glazed over face, and a faded watering can landed with a thud on the grass next to Scott. But the most deadly weapon of all seemed propelled by a higher power, the saw's sharp blades glinted in the moon's celestial light as it sped towards a heavy tree limb positioned strategically over Evan's unprotected head.
Breaking free of the tree, the limb slowly began to fall and those who saw it stood frozen, a dull buzzing filling their brains, impairing their thinking process, preventing them from any course of action.
What happened next happened so fast that the others had a hard time believing it. A scream pierced the still night air as Arisnoë dove forward, slamming into Evan's buff body and sending him sprawling to the ground just beyond the tree.
Images of Evan as a street skater in New York came spiraling into her mind. She could picture him so clearly, soaring down the street, weaving in and out of cars, his helmet strap tight under his chin, the wheels of his skateboard swerving on the tarred pavement.
"Arisnoë!" Evan's voice shattered the silence and she was bombarded by images of his love for her.
"I love you too, Evan," she whispered to him, projecting her love into his mind as the branch hit her skull with a resounding crack, and then there was only darkness.
************************************************************************
************************************************************************
Sunlight streamed through a prism hanging in the window, sending rainbows dancing merrily across the richly painted room. Sighing, Arisnoë sat on the elegantly carved window seat, her chin resting delicately in her hands, her elbows propped up on the window sill as she appraised the sight before her. Not a cloud marred the blue canvas sky, allowing the sun to shine brightly over Bayville. Arisnoë had never seen such a beautiful day. Sure, there were times in Saudi Arabia when the sun had shone in a cloudless sky, but that just made the barren desert all the more unbearable. Here, there was green everywhere, drinking in the sun's golden light and radiating in the glorious magnificence of it all. 'I've never really appreciated life until now.' Arisnoë thought to herself, smiling, 'I've never really appreciated it until Evan showed me how much there is to live for.' She turned her head away from the window, watching as the rainbows danced across her room. She was captivated by the splendor of the rainbows. Who could ever imagine that so many colors were held by light and that all you needed to find them was a piece of glass?
Slowly the rainbows began to fade, taking the raw beauty from the lifeless room. Arisnoë glanced anxiously out the window, knowing that in order for the light to die away, something had to be covering the sun, but what could it be? Hadn't she determined just moments ago that there wasn't a cloud in the sky? Her breath caught in her throat as a jagged bolt of lightening sliced across the sky, followed by a distant clap of thunder. "The Weather Witch," she moaned bitterly. Raven had warned her about Storm, and Arisnoë had seen the images in others' minds, she knew the danger this woman was capable of.
Closing her eyes, Arisnoë inhaled deeply, focusing her thoughts on Raven. When she thought their two minds made the connection, she quickly projected an image of Storm drawing nearer, cosing in on her sanctuary. (A/N: For those of you who are confused, Arisnoë can only project images and see images from others' minds. She's not telepathic. But she can pick up words and emotions from these dreams - much like when Jonas receives the memories in "The Giver") After projecting the image, Arisnoë saw a scene of a boy clad in green armor moving swiftly across town towards her carefully hidden home. Opening her eyes, Arisnoë felt hope rising within her. Raven was sending over the other mutants! Perhaps there was a chance of survival after all.
********************************Meanwhile*******************************
'This is it, we're finally going to get rid of the Dream Walker!'
'That b**** is finally going to get what she deserves!'
'What's rock tumbler doing here?'
'Hehe, Goggle-boy looks so thrilled to see me.'
'He's not mad at me, is he?'
'Vhat is taking so long?'
The thoughts bounced around Jean's head, none of which were hers, but she didn't bother trying to control it - emotions were running too high, there was no way she could block out every thought in the anxiety filled room.
The X-men all looked so professional in their streamlined uniforms, leaving Lance to look slightly out of place in his bulky homemade one, and Tabitha in her "Sirens" outfit. But if either one of them noticed, they didn't show it. The way they were lounging around, chatting, and laughing nervously, anyone could have sworn that they were just another X-man.
A silent hush fell over the assembled crowd as Xavier wheeled into the room, "I fear there is no delaying this any longer." He spoke regretfully, "but I do hope that by handling this maturely we can prevent a war. Scott, Jean, and Kurt will teleport to this girl's home. You will try to talk to her as if you were talking to a new recruit for the first time; like you did with Evan and Kitty. If she shows any signs of resistance, or tries to enter your minds, or inflict harm on you in any way, have Kurt teleport back and the rest of us will take the jet over. Storm has created a simulated storm over that area so no one will notice the high level of activity." He looked at Scott as though he was expecting some form of protest. "Understood?" They nodded. "Very well then, off with you."
The three students gathered together and disappeared into a puff of blue smoke, leaving the rest of the Institute waiting fretfully behind.
************************************************************************
"Ah, I can't take much more of this, they ain't gonna show." Toad hopped nervously back and forth across Arisnoë's bedroom as she eyed him with distrustful distaste.
"Don't worry, if the boss lady said they'd show, then they'll show." Pietro leaned casually against the door.
"What I want to know is what happened to Avalanche?"
Pietro shrugged, "Who knows? Personally, sis, I think he got cold feet. Alvers never did have the stomach for this stuff. He's always been a poser."
"God, you are daft!" Wanda rolled her eyes, falling back onto Arisnoë's king-sized bed.
Arisnoë slowly rose from her place on the velvet window seat. "I zink she means zat zis 'Avalanche' isn't frightened."
"Oh yeah? And what makes you think that? What do you know about Lance?"
She bit her lip at the cruelty in his voice. Hadn't this boy been asking her out just a few days ago? "I know zat he loves zat ozzer girl, zis 'Kitty', and zat he would do anyzing for her, even give his own life. A man like zat is not often afraid of petty things like zis."
As Pietro eyed her coolly, trying to figure the girl out, Fred turned to Toad and muttered bewilderedly, "I always thought Lance was our leader . . ."
"Hey, hey! What's that?" Toad hopped excitedly by the window as a puff of blue smoke materialized outside.
"That," Pietro stated elatedly, "is our cue." And with that, he raced out of the room, the others lumbering behind him.
*******************************Meanwhile********************************
Landing on a street filled with heavy fog, Scott, Jean, and Kurt peered around uneasily. "Vell, ve're here, ve might as vell do vhat ve came here to do . . ."
"Kurt's right. C'mon, Jean," Scott strode toward the intricately carved mahogany door, preparing to ring the scarlet coated doorbell, when suddenly the gilded handle turned and the door opened on its own, revealing the one person no one had expected to see.
"Miss me, Summers?"
************************************************************************
*Bamf* "Professor! The Brotherhood!"
Charles started. "The Brotherhood? You're sure?"
"Ja, Quiksilver opened the door. Ve are going to need some help. I think negotiations are out of the question."
The professor sighed, "Alright, Kurt, take the trained X-men with you, the rest of us will follow in the jet."
Rogue, Evan, Kitty, Lance, and Tabitha gathered around Kurt as the newer recruits groaned in protest, mumbling about how unfair the ordeal was, though they followed the professor none-the-less.
"What are you doing here?" Evan inquired rudely, staring at Tabitha. "You're not trained!"
"Hey," Lance intervened. "The Klepto stays; she'll be more help than you will, spike-boy."
"Hey, I don't need a guy to stand up for me, Alvers, you better watch it."
Turning to Kurt, Rogue rolled her eyes, "Can we just get outta here already? Before them three start their own war?"
Kurt gave a curt nod, getting the other 5 to huddle together, praying that they'd arrive in time to help the stranded Jean and Scott.
************************************************************************
"What. Do. You. Think. Is. Taking them. So. Long?" Jean managed to gasp out while attempting to suspend Blob with her telekinesis.
"No idea." Cyclops shot Blob out of Jean's grasp with his optic blast, turning his focus on the circling Quiksilver.
"Can't catch me, one-eye." Quiksilver shouted as he spun dizzy circles around the duo.
Cyclops shot frustrated blasts at the boy, leaving scorched dentin the previously smooth road.
"That's not helping!" Jean, who normally would have endeavored to telekinetically impede her opponent, had learned from her last encounter with Quiksilver that this would only make matters worse. Cyclops, apparently, had forgotten that the arrogant boy was theoretically unstoppable.
"We haven't even seen the Dream Walker yet!"
"Dream Walker?" Blob stood up, revealing the body cast he had left in Arisnoë's front lawn, and scratched his head in confusion. (A/N: Why is scratching your head a symbol of confusion?)
"Heh, he means Tantalus." Toad blew his cover (he had bee sneaking up on Cyclops) by opening his mouth. Jean whirled around, sending a TK blast at Toad.
"Thanks!" Scott yelled, shaking his head at the near miss.
"No problem, though it will be if Nightcrawler doesn't show up soon!"
At that precise moment, a distinct aroma of sulfur wafted through the air, followed by a puff of blue smoke. "So, how much have ve missed?" Kurt, Kitty, Lance, Evan, Rogue, and Tabitha stood on the pavement, surveying the sight before them.
"Apparently a lot." Shadowcat mused, staring at the mold of Fred's enormous outline in the flattened grass.
"But we're not too late," Spyke added, sending a spike sailing through Toad's shirt, nailing him to a tree.
"Hey! Lemme down! You stupid porcupine!" He swiped at the spike, trying to free himself.
With the new mutants having arrived, along with the Brotherhood's leader turned traitor, the cowardly group began to retreat.
"Woohoo!" Shadowcat cheered, pumping her fist in the air. "Can this get any easier?"
"Don't you mean harder?" A surly feminine voice rang out.
The X-men turned to see the Scarlet Witch descending from Arisnoë's bedroom window.
"Oh man! We're in trouble now!" Evan groaned.
"You said it."
With the sudden appearance of the Scarlet Witch, the lacking battle rapidly raged on.
"Yo, Avalanche!" Quiksilver slowed long enough to pause in front of a stony-looking Avalanche. "What gives? Turning on us again? You know the boss doesn't welcome back traitors."
"Who said I wanted to be welcomed back?" Avalanche clenched his fists, sending a roll through the ground, knocking Quiksilver off his feet. "Jean! Now!"
Jean focused her energy on the fallen terror, lifting him in the air and positioning him against the brick wall, allowing Spyke to pin him to it.
"Hey! Let me go!" He struggled to no avail.
"Score!" Spyke shot passed on his skateboard, slapping Avalanche's hand as he passed.
Avalanche smirked at the squirming Quiksilver. "Tell the boss I said 'hi'."
"Y'know," Cyclops turned his head towards Nightcrawler without taking his eyes of the mêlée. "I had my doubts, but it looks like Avalanche may have actually changed for the best."
"Ja, it looks that vay, but he vas the leader of the Brotherhood, vhy vould he give that up for a team that may never trust him?"
"You've got a point there, ah!" Cyclop's blasts suddenly slipped away from his target of the Scarlet Witch and were being aimed towards Shadowcat. "Shadowcat! Watch out!"
Kitty whirled around, preparing to phase as the red beam penetrated her body, when Lance dove, attempting to push her out of the way, only to find himself soaring through her translucent body. "Ow!" He landed with a loud smack against the pavement, causing Kitty to giggle. "Hey," he rubbed his shoulder, "It's not funny."
As hard as she tried to maintain a serious face, Kitty could not stifle her bursts of laughter. "I'm," gasp, "sorry." She laughed harder. "As sweet as it is," she smiled as he waited patiently for her to finish, "you can't keep trying to save me. I can totally handle myself. Besides, you could, like, get hurt again." At that she began to giggle again until Lance tugged sharply on her ankle, pulling her to the ground with him as another beam narrowly missed her head.
"Seems like your not always right," Lance smirked as Kitty nodded meekly, staring at the charred tree, only paces behind where she had been standing moments before.
"Cyclops, like, cut it out already!"
"I can't!" He staggered backwards, trying to regain control of his powers.
A sigh was emitted somewhere behind him. "I'm really sorry 'bout this, Scott." Rogue grabbed the back of his bare neck with her ungloved hand.
The disastrous light coming from his eyes flickered and died as he let out a moan and sank to the ground, slipping out of consciousness.
Rogue removed her hand and stared down at the beautiful boy lying unmoving on the cold pavement. Turning her gaze from Cyclops to the Witch still wreaking havoc in the sky, her vision was filled with a heavy red mist as her anger built. "This is all yer fault, Witch!" She shrieked, preparing to blast Wanda from the sky.
"No," A commanding voice filled with terrible sadness projected from the doorway, it iz mine."
All of the mutants, X-men and Brotherhood alike, turned to face the cloaked and hooded creature.
"Tantalus!" Quicksilver yelled from his place still positioned on the wall, "What are you doing out here? Mystique said for you to stay inside!"
Tantalus raised her glimmering eyes to Pietro's ice cold ones. "Zis is my fault, I 'ave caused all of zis and I 'ave come to correct it."
"I know that voice," Evan muttered softly, causing Kurt to study him curiously. Out of the blue, Rogue's voice ricocheted across his mind. "'I zank you for you kindness'". 'No, it can't be,' Evan could feel panic rising within him. But Evan's worst fears were confirmed as Tantalus rose her hooded head, and he caught a flicker of gold reflecting the rare sunlight. 'Her cross necklace . . . no, no, it can't be here!"
"Ah, vhat's a 'Tantalus'?" Nightcrawler whispered.
"Tantalus, temptress or tempter, is part of a Greek Myth." Kitty explained. "Tantalus offended the God's in some major way, so the condemned him to a life of eternal hunger and thirst. He stood in a pool in Tartarus, the Underworld's place of punishment, and each time he reached down to drink some of the water it drained away. There was also branches above the pool loaded with fruit, but each time Tantalus tried to grab some, the branches moved from his grasp. So he was always tempted. And I guess that's her power, to tempt us."
"Ah, so is she the Dream Valker?"
"That would be my guess."
"And she can enter our thoughts?" Tabitha popped up beside the duo, shortly followed by Jean.
"Well, technically she can only see and project images . . ." Jean clarified.
"So, she can enter our thoughts," Boom Boom stated again.
Jean shrugged, "Basically."
"We. Are so- dead."
"Yup."
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It was like some horrible dream. The kind that starts of pleasantly, but it ends in a terror-ish nightmare. You know you're dreaming, but as hard as you try you can't wake up. You scream until your voice is hoarse and your throat is parched but no one can hear you. And when the dream reaches its horrific climax and all you want is for it to end, it slows down to an almost rewound rate, almost as if time is moving backwards.
With the additional challenge that Tantalus offered the X-men, the war continued on into the night. Enraged by the amount of attention her enemies were focusing on Tantalus, the Scarlet Witch began hurtling objects at Scott's still unconscious body which Kurt had teleported to a semi-safe ditch at the side of the extravagant house.
"Stop!" Jean shrieked, firing a TK blast at Wand who deftly shielded herself. "You could kill him!" Her mounting vexed anger was lucid.
Sensing Jean's deadly rage, Tantalus turned, sending her an image of she and Scott embracing on a white sandy beach. Jean staggered off, feeling dazed and confused, leaving her vulnerable to the Scarlet Witch's wicked wrath.
Attention roused by Jean's pained cry - after being struck by the blunt end of a flying spade - Nightcrawler 'ported into the air and grabbed Wanda's waist, breaking her concentration.
As the two toppled from the dusky canvas of a sky, the debris that had continuously encircled Wanda's body flew off at odd angles. A brick narrowly missed Kitty and Lance's heads, worn-out gloves smacked Jean's glazed over face, and a faded watering can landed with a thud on the grass next to Scott. But the most deadly weapon of all seemed propelled by a higher power, the saw's sharp blades glinted in the moon's celestial light as it sped towards a heavy tree limb positioned strategically over Evan's unprotected head.
Breaking free of the tree, the limb slowly began to fall and those who saw it stood frozen, a dull buzzing filling their brains, impairing their thinking process, preventing them from any course of action.
What happened next happened so fast that the others had a hard time believing it. A scream pierced the still night air as Arisnoë dove forward, slamming into Evan's buff body and sending him sprawling to the ground just beyond the tree.
Images of Evan as a street skater in New York came spiraling into her mind. She could picture him so clearly, soaring down the street, weaving in and out of cars, his helmet strap tight under his chin, the wheels of his skateboard swerving on the tarred pavement.
"Arisnoë!" Evan's voice shattered the silence and she was bombarded by images of his love for her.
"I love you too, Evan," she whispered to him, projecting her love into his mind as the branch hit her skull with a resounding crack, and then there was only darkness.
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