Disclaimer: The X-Men and Highlander characters belong to their prospective owners and not me. I only wrote this fanfic for my own entertainment and I'm making no money so don't sue me. It would be a waste of time.
Of Mutants and Immortals
By Animefreek
**denote thoughts
Chapter Sixteen
Amanda found her daughter lying unconcious on the floor as she was coming down the stairs from her room. A torrent of emotions came flowing through her body as she quickly rushed toward her daughter and called out for help and Duncan. By now the X-Men were a finely oiled machine when it came to preparing the medlab and Catherine was quickly shuffled their in the arms of her father.
Hank was perplexed to say the least. All of Catherine's vitals were completely normal and by all his accounts she should be wide awake. Amanda was holding her daughter's hand and praying that all those years ago when she made her daughter that some mistake in calculations wasn't causing this strange behavior now. She gave all the information about Catherine's physiology that pertanent to Hank that morning and barely missed becoming the object an experiment herself. Labs may have suited her fancy before but now they were a constant reminder of all the friends and the lover she'd lost.
Suddenly Catherine let out a groan and was beginning to open her eyes, much to the relief of Amanda. "How long was I out this time?" Catherine asked while holding her head and trying to sit up. Hank tried to get her to lay back down, but Amanda knew that if she wanted to sit or even walk out she'd do it no matter what anybody said. She was stubborn like her father. Fortunately Duncan, Conner and the rest of the X-Men had gone to various places to try and dig up clues on where Methos could have gone. Joe had to go the local Watcher HQ and try to prevent an all out war on immortals from breaking out. She didn't envy him his job, playing both sides of the same card was risky and the Watchers have been know to turn on their own.
"You've been out about an hour now." Amanda spoke softly while brushing Catherine's hair out of her face. "Realy. It only felt like I was out a couple of minutes." Catherine said, then turned her attention on her very hairy doctor. "Got anything for a headache in your little black bag doc?" Catherine said weakly.
"Most assuredly my young comrad. You will be without that minor annoyance soon." Hank said cheerfully. Catherine wasn't sure of whether he was happy that she was all right or the fact she was lying still long enough for him to examine her some more. Immortals had of late become a hobby to him and he wanted to know as much about their systems before and after immortality set in as he could. He'd already found out that immortal blood was a universal donor and was immune to every disease that he could get his hands on without frightening the rest of the inhabitants of the mansion. Duncan had become a willing particpant at first but was now tired of being a human pin cushion. Conner on the other hand wouldn't even go near the lab.
Catherine turned on her side to face her mother and mouthed the words "We need to talk". Amanda nodded and kissed her on the forehead. "Hank could we have a moment?" Amanda ordered more than asked. Hank shuffled out of the room to let the two talk in private.
"Mom Methos is coming back with reinforcements and you need to tell me everything you know about Cass and her powers." Catherine stated bluntly. Amanda was dreading that question because she didn't have all the answers and most of them were incomplete. "Well hun its a long story." Amanada paused and sighed. "Well you're immortal and right now I'm patient so spill." Catherine said with a smirk.
"Okay but you asked." Amanda straightened in her seat and began. "Cassandra as far as I know was a mutant and an immortal like you will become, but most of her skills focused around the occult and real magic. She had been taught by some of the greatest sorcerers throught time. Merlin, Morgan, to name a few." Amanda said softly. Catherine's head was spinning. "So all that stuff about King Arthur and his knights and Merlin isn't a myth." Catherine asked. Amanda knodded.
"So where do I start?" Catherine queried. "At the beginning or at least with some of Cassandra's books, lets take a trip to her estate. I'm sure Richie is their and he may know where she kept her journals." Amanda stated. "I don't want to tell the others about this just yet, who knows what Conner, Dad, and the others might do if they find out. I'm starting to creep Dad out as it is." Catherine said with a smirk.
After they left the mansion, to the protest of Hank they ended up in front of Cassandra's estate just in time to catch Richie parking in front of the door. "Richie!" Catherine yelled as she ran up to him and embraced him tightly. Richie was glad to see her but he wasn't happy that she was out in the open without Duncan or one of the X-Men to protect her. If she were to become an immortal at her age she wouldn't last very long on her own and not to mention the mental damage. Being a child on the outside and an old woman on the inside would drive her crazy. Kenny would be a great example for that arguement, who knew where that little phsycopath was or what he was planning.
Richie directed the two women toward Cassandra's neglected study. All three were amazed at how many books she'd been able to stuff into such a small space. Many of the older volumes were stacked on the floor. Amanda and Catherine started on those first. Richie went to Cassandra's bedroom to look for his friend's journals. All Catherine and Amanda told him was that they needed all of Cassandra's Journals so they could know what to do next. Most of the day was spent in silence as both mother and daughter read through the old texts. Catherine and Amanda realized that some of the texts were priceless to any collector or museum but for now they had to smother their mutual want of worldly possessions and enter Cassandra's world.
**Latin is a dead language but thankfully mom saw fit to teach it to me anyway.** Catherine thought to herself as she read on of Cassandra's journals. ** What a perfect place to hide your journals, right in plain sight.** Catherine found it hard to believe half of what she was reading incantations, spells, stories of Cassandra's loves and loses. Amazing. There was so much to learn about the powers that Cassandra possessed and could summon. It made Catherine wonder why Cassandra didn't use them against Methos. She came up with two answers. One, she couldn't for some reason or two, she wanted to die. The last made her shudder. Could a person live so long, seen so much that they wanted to die? **How long will I live before I want to die?** Catherine thought while looking over at her mother.
Amanda smiled and looked up at her daughter. Catherine was growing into a woman that would someday astound the world, she had to live and write a new future. Maybe she could stop the game. Amanda shook herself out of her revelry as soon as she saw her daughter's head drop and her hand rise to her temple.
**Oh great I'm going to black out again.** Thought Catherine. To her surprise she didn't, instead she stood and found herself walking toward a painting in the main hall of the estate. The portrait was of Cassandra in an almost antebellum dress. As she reached up to touch it she saw flashes of Cassandra's past. She knew how to use the rest of Cassandra's powers now and as a demonstration she changed the appearence of her clothes to match the dress of in the portrait. At that moment she was part witch, part immortal, and felt more human and alive than in any other part of her life. She remember what the incantations where for and how to preform them. This was her edge against this new enemy and Methos.
Amanda watched in amazement as her daughter's aire changed from thoughtful to all knowing. Just like Cassandra's gaze. She watched as her senses felt the swirl of power and knowledge. Richie watched too but the expression on his face wasn't awe, it was fear.
Meanwhile back at the mansion Hank was getting a royal butt reaming from Conner and Duncan about letting Amanda and Catherine go out alone. The Professor had never seen Duncan so mad. He tried to calm the fears of the two immortals to no avail. The Professor did the only thing he could do, say that Hank was no match for the combined talkative power of Amanda and Catherine together. This caused the Highlanders to pause and then burst out into laughter. At that moment Catherine and her mother waltzed into the rec room with broad smiles as if nothing had happened at the estate.
"What"s all the yelling about?" Catherine said as she plopped down beside Bobby and placed her chin on his shoulder. Duncan was about to blow his top when Amanda sauntered in front of him and put a finger to his lips and kissed him on the cheek. Just as she thought this was enough to throw him off for a second, just long enough to give Catherine a chance to speak. "Mom and I went to Cassandra's to see if we could figure out Methos' next move was from Cassandra's journals after all she knew him best." Catherine said with a strange knowing tone. Jean looked at the young girl and sensed something was different.
Duncan couldn't argue with the logic of the move but he could argue with the lack of thought toward personal safety. Conner was upset but not as much. He knew that the girl had to make decisions on her own especially concerning her fate. Methos wasn't playing by the rules and neither could they anymore. "Catherine what did you find out?" Conner asked blankly. No way was Catherine going to freek anyone else out by telling them she was a witch now and could bacically do all the stuff that witches were believed to do. "Nothing much, (big lie) we found some of Cassandra's old journals but nothing that give us an edge (another lie) or tell us whats going on in Methos' mind.
**Gee what am I suppose to say? Methos whose trying to kill me may not be Methos at all. Lets try and spare his life, maybe we can change him.** Catherine thought to herself as she and Bobby listened to the others make plans and check databases. **I think tonight I'll see just kind of link I have with Methos. From what I saw at Cassandra's Methos' mind might not be his to control. Their seemed to be some kind of struggle.**
Jean couldn't help but try to peak into Catherine's mind, but she get through her defenses. **Professor, I get past Catherine's defenses now, somehow she seems stronger than me now.** Jean thought to the Professor. **I sense something different about our newest member is different. Let her come to us.** The professor thought back.
A week passed after the happenings at Cassandra's estate and Catherine's attempts to contact Methos through their link had had few if any results. She definately knew that the man trying to kill her wasn't in control and she also knew that the one in control was growing more powerful and parnoid by the second. She managed to explain what was happening to Duncan, Conner, Jean, and the Professor. None were pleased, but the Professor seemed the least pleased of all. This intruder in the mind of Methos had all the ear marks of one of the Professor's worst and most powerful enemies.
Over the same week Amanda was becoming more and more nervous around Remy. She didn't know what to say to him or how to say it but she had to figure it out soon. There was no way she was ready to reveal that part of her past to Duncan or her daughter. There was no way she could make it up to Remy either.
Remy found himself watching Amanda intently for some time. He couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her. Then it hit him like a tone of bricks as he heard Amanda talking in a heavy French accent. "Mon petite, light of my life." Amanda said teasingly. Remy remembered a woman who said that to him when he was a little boy and told him she'd always take care of him. Remy rushed toward the two women.
"Tell me you are not Amanda Dupree Labeau!" Remy shouted. Amanda bowed her head. "I am or at least I use to be." Amanda said quietly. Remy went down on his knees sobbing. "Mom whats going on here?" Catherine asked confused. "Catherine I want you to meet your step-brother." Amanda said slowly.
Meanwhile somewhere dark a tortured soul was begging to be released from its prison. A pale middle aged man sat looking into a mirror sweating, trying to fight against an evil unknown to him. "I don't want to kill her she's no threat to me, she's my best friend's daughter. She doesn't want to fight, she just wants to be left alone." Methos screamed into the mirror before the pressence took control again. **This girl's attempts at contact are shattering my control. She has to die now, I won't let her grow strong enough to destroy me.** The pressence spoke telepathically.
Okay how you like that. review please. I want more that Five reviews I don't care if they are from the same person. just review and let me know what you think. I know its only one chapter so sue me. The end is coming soon.
Of Mutants and Immortals
By Animefreek
**denote thoughts
Chapter Sixteen
Amanda found her daughter lying unconcious on the floor as she was coming down the stairs from her room. A torrent of emotions came flowing through her body as she quickly rushed toward her daughter and called out for help and Duncan. By now the X-Men were a finely oiled machine when it came to preparing the medlab and Catherine was quickly shuffled their in the arms of her father.
Hank was perplexed to say the least. All of Catherine's vitals were completely normal and by all his accounts she should be wide awake. Amanda was holding her daughter's hand and praying that all those years ago when she made her daughter that some mistake in calculations wasn't causing this strange behavior now. She gave all the information about Catherine's physiology that pertanent to Hank that morning and barely missed becoming the object an experiment herself. Labs may have suited her fancy before but now they were a constant reminder of all the friends and the lover she'd lost.
Suddenly Catherine let out a groan and was beginning to open her eyes, much to the relief of Amanda. "How long was I out this time?" Catherine asked while holding her head and trying to sit up. Hank tried to get her to lay back down, but Amanda knew that if she wanted to sit or even walk out she'd do it no matter what anybody said. She was stubborn like her father. Fortunately Duncan, Conner and the rest of the X-Men had gone to various places to try and dig up clues on where Methos could have gone. Joe had to go the local Watcher HQ and try to prevent an all out war on immortals from breaking out. She didn't envy him his job, playing both sides of the same card was risky and the Watchers have been know to turn on their own.
"You've been out about an hour now." Amanda spoke softly while brushing Catherine's hair out of her face. "Realy. It only felt like I was out a couple of minutes." Catherine said, then turned her attention on her very hairy doctor. "Got anything for a headache in your little black bag doc?" Catherine said weakly.
"Most assuredly my young comrad. You will be without that minor annoyance soon." Hank said cheerfully. Catherine wasn't sure of whether he was happy that she was all right or the fact she was lying still long enough for him to examine her some more. Immortals had of late become a hobby to him and he wanted to know as much about their systems before and after immortality set in as he could. He'd already found out that immortal blood was a universal donor and was immune to every disease that he could get his hands on without frightening the rest of the inhabitants of the mansion. Duncan had become a willing particpant at first but was now tired of being a human pin cushion. Conner on the other hand wouldn't even go near the lab.
Catherine turned on her side to face her mother and mouthed the words "We need to talk". Amanda nodded and kissed her on the forehead. "Hank could we have a moment?" Amanda ordered more than asked. Hank shuffled out of the room to let the two talk in private.
"Mom Methos is coming back with reinforcements and you need to tell me everything you know about Cass and her powers." Catherine stated bluntly. Amanda was dreading that question because she didn't have all the answers and most of them were incomplete. "Well hun its a long story." Amanada paused and sighed. "Well you're immortal and right now I'm patient so spill." Catherine said with a smirk.
"Okay but you asked." Amanda straightened in her seat and began. "Cassandra as far as I know was a mutant and an immortal like you will become, but most of her skills focused around the occult and real magic. She had been taught by some of the greatest sorcerers throught time. Merlin, Morgan, to name a few." Amanda said softly. Catherine's head was spinning. "So all that stuff about King Arthur and his knights and Merlin isn't a myth." Catherine asked. Amanda knodded.
"So where do I start?" Catherine queried. "At the beginning or at least with some of Cassandra's books, lets take a trip to her estate. I'm sure Richie is their and he may know where she kept her journals." Amanda stated. "I don't want to tell the others about this just yet, who knows what Conner, Dad, and the others might do if they find out. I'm starting to creep Dad out as it is." Catherine said with a smirk.
After they left the mansion, to the protest of Hank they ended up in front of Cassandra's estate just in time to catch Richie parking in front of the door. "Richie!" Catherine yelled as she ran up to him and embraced him tightly. Richie was glad to see her but he wasn't happy that she was out in the open without Duncan or one of the X-Men to protect her. If she were to become an immortal at her age she wouldn't last very long on her own and not to mention the mental damage. Being a child on the outside and an old woman on the inside would drive her crazy. Kenny would be a great example for that arguement, who knew where that little phsycopath was or what he was planning.
Richie directed the two women toward Cassandra's neglected study. All three were amazed at how many books she'd been able to stuff into such a small space. Many of the older volumes were stacked on the floor. Amanda and Catherine started on those first. Richie went to Cassandra's bedroom to look for his friend's journals. All Catherine and Amanda told him was that they needed all of Cassandra's Journals so they could know what to do next. Most of the day was spent in silence as both mother and daughter read through the old texts. Catherine and Amanda realized that some of the texts were priceless to any collector or museum but for now they had to smother their mutual want of worldly possessions and enter Cassandra's world.
**Latin is a dead language but thankfully mom saw fit to teach it to me anyway.** Catherine thought to herself as she read on of Cassandra's journals. ** What a perfect place to hide your journals, right in plain sight.** Catherine found it hard to believe half of what she was reading incantations, spells, stories of Cassandra's loves and loses. Amazing. There was so much to learn about the powers that Cassandra possessed and could summon. It made Catherine wonder why Cassandra didn't use them against Methos. She came up with two answers. One, she couldn't for some reason or two, she wanted to die. The last made her shudder. Could a person live so long, seen so much that they wanted to die? **How long will I live before I want to die?** Catherine thought while looking over at her mother.
Amanda smiled and looked up at her daughter. Catherine was growing into a woman that would someday astound the world, she had to live and write a new future. Maybe she could stop the game. Amanda shook herself out of her revelry as soon as she saw her daughter's head drop and her hand rise to her temple.
**Oh great I'm going to black out again.** Thought Catherine. To her surprise she didn't, instead she stood and found herself walking toward a painting in the main hall of the estate. The portrait was of Cassandra in an almost antebellum dress. As she reached up to touch it she saw flashes of Cassandra's past. She knew how to use the rest of Cassandra's powers now and as a demonstration she changed the appearence of her clothes to match the dress of in the portrait. At that moment she was part witch, part immortal, and felt more human and alive than in any other part of her life. She remember what the incantations where for and how to preform them. This was her edge against this new enemy and Methos.
Amanda watched in amazement as her daughter's aire changed from thoughtful to all knowing. Just like Cassandra's gaze. She watched as her senses felt the swirl of power and knowledge. Richie watched too but the expression on his face wasn't awe, it was fear.
Meanwhile back at the mansion Hank was getting a royal butt reaming from Conner and Duncan about letting Amanda and Catherine go out alone. The Professor had never seen Duncan so mad. He tried to calm the fears of the two immortals to no avail. The Professor did the only thing he could do, say that Hank was no match for the combined talkative power of Amanda and Catherine together. This caused the Highlanders to pause and then burst out into laughter. At that moment Catherine and her mother waltzed into the rec room with broad smiles as if nothing had happened at the estate.
"What"s all the yelling about?" Catherine said as she plopped down beside Bobby and placed her chin on his shoulder. Duncan was about to blow his top when Amanda sauntered in front of him and put a finger to his lips and kissed him on the cheek. Just as she thought this was enough to throw him off for a second, just long enough to give Catherine a chance to speak. "Mom and I went to Cassandra's to see if we could figure out Methos' next move was from Cassandra's journals after all she knew him best." Catherine said with a strange knowing tone. Jean looked at the young girl and sensed something was different.
Duncan couldn't argue with the logic of the move but he could argue with the lack of thought toward personal safety. Conner was upset but not as much. He knew that the girl had to make decisions on her own especially concerning her fate. Methos wasn't playing by the rules and neither could they anymore. "Catherine what did you find out?" Conner asked blankly. No way was Catherine going to freek anyone else out by telling them she was a witch now and could bacically do all the stuff that witches were believed to do. "Nothing much, (big lie) we found some of Cassandra's old journals but nothing that give us an edge (another lie) or tell us whats going on in Methos' mind.
**Gee what am I suppose to say? Methos whose trying to kill me may not be Methos at all. Lets try and spare his life, maybe we can change him.** Catherine thought to herself as she and Bobby listened to the others make plans and check databases. **I think tonight I'll see just kind of link I have with Methos. From what I saw at Cassandra's Methos' mind might not be his to control. Their seemed to be some kind of struggle.**
Jean couldn't help but try to peak into Catherine's mind, but she get through her defenses. **Professor, I get past Catherine's defenses now, somehow she seems stronger than me now.** Jean thought to the Professor. **I sense something different about our newest member is different. Let her come to us.** The professor thought back.
A week passed after the happenings at Cassandra's estate and Catherine's attempts to contact Methos through their link had had few if any results. She definately knew that the man trying to kill her wasn't in control and she also knew that the one in control was growing more powerful and parnoid by the second. She managed to explain what was happening to Duncan, Conner, Jean, and the Professor. None were pleased, but the Professor seemed the least pleased of all. This intruder in the mind of Methos had all the ear marks of one of the Professor's worst and most powerful enemies.
Over the same week Amanda was becoming more and more nervous around Remy. She didn't know what to say to him or how to say it but she had to figure it out soon. There was no way she was ready to reveal that part of her past to Duncan or her daughter. There was no way she could make it up to Remy either.
Remy found himself watching Amanda intently for some time. He couldn't shake the feeling that he knew her. Then it hit him like a tone of bricks as he heard Amanda talking in a heavy French accent. "Mon petite, light of my life." Amanda said teasingly. Remy remembered a woman who said that to him when he was a little boy and told him she'd always take care of him. Remy rushed toward the two women.
"Tell me you are not Amanda Dupree Labeau!" Remy shouted. Amanda bowed her head. "I am or at least I use to be." Amanda said quietly. Remy went down on his knees sobbing. "Mom whats going on here?" Catherine asked confused. "Catherine I want you to meet your step-brother." Amanda said slowly.
Meanwhile somewhere dark a tortured soul was begging to be released from its prison. A pale middle aged man sat looking into a mirror sweating, trying to fight against an evil unknown to him. "I don't want to kill her she's no threat to me, she's my best friend's daughter. She doesn't want to fight, she just wants to be left alone." Methos screamed into the mirror before the pressence took control again. **This girl's attempts at contact are shattering my control. She has to die now, I won't let her grow strong enough to destroy me.** The pressence spoke telepathically.
Okay how you like that. review please. I want more that Five reviews I don't care if they are from the same person. just review and let me know what you think. I know its only one chapter so sue me. The end is coming soon.