(This is what I wrote a very long time ago… so Sonya never made any input
of this, it's not done and it's all my writing/editing, stupid sister… Anyways,
I just wanna say this: Mouse was not based on me! I didn't even come up with
her! In fact, the first chapter was written by my sister, I only helped with
the plot, some dialect and finally editing. The rest I can take credit for
writing fully though. I'm sorry this isn't done yet, but it will give you a
better understanding of what's gonna happen. Cao for now.)
Disclaimer: I am in
no way making money off of this story. All characters except for Mouse, Thorn
and Talisman are owned and copyrighted by Marvel Comics. Feel free to use any
and all characters I have made, or reference to my work (I consider that a
compliment).
Spoilers: I will
not betray anyone and tell you something important fools.
Summery: Yet
another mutant shows up at the mansion and her presence brings back Talisman's
memories. This is the finally book in the "Mouse Trap" series so a lot of questions
will be answered about the past.
Prologue
The fight was over, so to
speak. They came and failed. Leaving thinking they were victorious. But were
they? She had been looking for Sonny for a bit now. She had been the first to
disappear. Then Talisman was gone. It wasn't long after before she deemed her
dead. She had hidden in the trees. Hiding, running, quitting, and all things
she had never done before. Until she learned that sometimes you didn't always
win. Today was such a day.
Her
two closet's friends were dead, and what was worst is she was lost. Or at least
she wanted to be lost. The more she wandered the more chances she had of
finding someone. She wouldn't give up just yet, even if she was wandering
around here for weeks. They had to still be alive… they had to.
She
had to rest. Sitting by the trunk of a tree she could relax, fighting for a
half hour straight had been exhausting and quite a learning experience. Her
mutant powers were weird. She could control plant life to sum it up, until today
she didn't know that. Before today she could somehow throw thorns from her
hands, which is where her nickname Thorn had come from. Although her friends
still tended to call her by her real name.
Alexis couldn't think of a
worse fate than being alone. But she wouldn't give in, even if she was a
mutant. The whole point of leaving was to find a 'better place'. In Salem New
York there was a place she could go for people like her, Charles Xavier's
school for mutants. But of course they should have known that no matter what,
the Watchers would find them, they could see it all, they knew everything.
From now on Alexis Katrina
Rose would always have that constant fear of being found and killed. The only
thing that contorted her on that note was that she would be with her only true
friends again.
Book of Thorn
Talisman
stood there speechless as Alexia slowly withdrew from their embrace. She knew
who she was. Everything came back. The day they first met in their childhood,
what had happened that they had to leave right up to the fight. Her name. She
knew her name. Petra Weisheit. And this girl, Alexis, was her best friend.
"Oh
my god, Alexis. What happened? Where'd you go?" Talisman asked.
"I
stayed in the forest, I had to find you. The thought of you two being dead… I
just could not take it," she answered almost crying with joy.
"You
two being dead."
"You
two"
"Two."
"Sonny…" Talisman realized
with shock. She had known Sonny… Mouse, and Mouse had kept everything away from
her. It must have been her that took her dog tags… why did she want to keep the
past away from her?
"Where
is that sister of yours? She is ok?" Alexis asked in a worried tone.
"She's
fine… just fine… physically at least."
"What
do you mean?"
"Well
a couple of things have happened since the fight," Talisman said leading her to
the living room so she could sit down. "After the fight I hit my head and got
amnesia. I stayed with a family for a couple weeks, but when I was downtown
some watchers found me and attacked me. Two mutants here, Gambit and Rogue,
saved my life. I came here and found Sonny. I could recognize her but she
denied knowing me. I have no clue why. That night my mothers dog chains went
missing, I just realized that she must have taken them, probably to keep me
from getting my memory back. But I do not know why."
"Why
in the world would your own sister do that?"
"I
do not know, but I have every intention on asking her today."
It
was then if on cue Mouse and Nightcrawler walked in. It took a lot of will
power on Mouse's part to not show any reaction to Thorn and Talisman sitting
there. They were talking about the past, getting her memory back. To say the
least she was in deep-
"Sonny!" Thorn said jumping
up and wrapping her arms around her.
"Uh…"
She had no clue what to say, not with Nightcrawler standing there confused. She
had no choice right now, she couldn't do the same thing she had done with
Talisman, and what about Talisman? Was she hurt that her own sister denied
knowing her? She would. "Thorn. I thought you were dead… I thought you were
both dead… I…"
What
could she say? There was so much guilt in her heart at the moment, but things
had to be said. They had to explain everything, to themselves… and perhaps the
other X-Men. Her past couldn't be held back anymore, there was no reason.
"You
are mutants you three. I am sorry, but as a watcher it cannot be so."
"What
are you saying?" Mouse, the eldest of them stepped forward. The head Watcher
wasn't so tough.
"I
am saying that we cannot except mutants in out society. And as the law you
cannot leave."
"But…
that would mean…" Talisman couldn't say it. She couldn't think of it.
"I
am sorry."
Two
men started to move forward to apprehend them. Mouse looked around for someone,
anyone who would stand up for them. No one showed sympathy. Finally her eyes
fell on her father. He showed no sympathy, as she pleaded with her eyes he only
looked away with a disgusted look on his face. The tear began to form. She
could feel someone grab her arm.
"NO!"
She swung around and scratched the man with her newly formed claws. He let go
and grabbed his bleeding eye.
"Devil!"
A man from the audience called and slowly other people began to pick up.
Mouse went over to her younger sister to protect her. They couldn't do this; they'd find a way out. Thorn lifted her hand to the other man and a spry of thorns hit his face sending him screaming. Still more Watchers began to approach. They couldn't fight everyone off. Finally they simply gave up and let the men carry them away to their certain doom.
That night Mouse didn't sleep. They were all in a small room with no window and barely room to move in. Tomorrow she knew they would die. She couldn't let that happen. The three of them had grown up together. They were always titled different and outcasts, they came together and then one day their mutant powers came out. Everyone was scared and now they were doing something about it.
"I'm
sorry I haven't been here in a while my darlings," the woman's voice came from
the now open door. "The army's been keeping me busy."
"Mother!"
Mouse got up shielding her eyes from the light.
"I
came to get you out of here. Come before someone notices."
The
two woke up Talisman and Thorn and then the four began to walk towards the exit
of the building. It didn't take long for people to see they were gone and soon
the four were running from yelling voices.
They
reached the end of the Watchers territory. A place that so many feared and
others talked about one day passing over it, today it would happen for the
first time against the elder. But they were too slow and they were being
attacked. Their mother pulled out a gun and shot the two men chasing them in
the legs only to stun them.
"I'll hold them off but you three get the hell
out of here!" She yelled at them.
"No mother, you do not have to," Mouse pleaded
with her.
"Someone has to hold these bastards back. You
can't keep running!"
"No mom!" Talisman yelled out grabbing her
mother.
Her mother reached for her neck and took a
necklace off putting it in the now crying girls hand.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"Leave now."
"I do not want to."
"Leave!"
Mouse grabbed Talisman's hand and held back the
tears. "I'll take care of them mother… I promises," with that they began to
run, over the edge of their territory and into the world they knew everything
about leaving their mother behind. It wasn't long before they heard a scream
that could only belong to their mother. Talisman had tried to go back then but
Mouse had stopped her.
"She gone…" Talisman would later say to Mouse
when they were in hiding.
"I am sorry Petra," she tried hard to not hold
back tears, yet Talisman was doing it so well, almost like she didn't fully
understand, maybe she didn't.
"Do not be sorry, you did not kill her."
Thorn was in the corner watching them; she was
the toughest of them. She barely showed any emotion other than being annoyed.
Normally she would try to cheer them up, but what could she say? She loved them
both like her own sister's and they accepted her as one. But she had never
thought of their mothers the same. And now? Now she could do nothing but stare
and wonder what they were thinking? All she could think of was how she was
betrayed, how they all were betrayed.
Nightcrawler sat there in amazement. He has heard of mutants not being excepted, but to be murdered be the people you called family for it. Talisman had tears slowly coming down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath, she then looked at Mouse with hurt in her eyes.
"Can I have them back?" She asked Mouse.
"Have what?" Nightcrawler asked for her.
Mouse looked away and then put her hand in her pocket looking for something. She finally took out the dog tags and gave them to Talisman. "I missed her… I was going to give them back to you once you got your memory back."
"What was her name?" Talisman asked. "Nobody ever told me, I just knew her as mother."
Mouse sighed, "Carrie Rebecca Hanes."
Talisman put the dog tags on her neck and tried to remember all she could about her mom. She wasn't a Watcher, instead a girl their father had become in love with. One day we went to the elder and asked if her could pursue her, he was allowed to and two years after returned with a wife pregnant. They gave birth to Mouse and then four years later Talisman, then one day when Talisman was ten she left longing for home, promising to come back. She sacrificed herself for them she loved them so much.
"So, after this what happened?" Nightcrawler asked getting very curios.
"Maybe we should take a break," Alexis said. "I am starving."
"My sentiments exactly," Talisman said getting up and then leading Alexis to the kitchen leaving Nightcrawler and Mouse alone.
"Why wouldn't you tell us your past Mäuschen? It's not so bad," Nightcrawler said trying to break the ice that had settled.
"It is, I mean afterwards. The Watchers found us and we began to fight… I… I left them there. I left them to die even after I promised to take care of them," Mouse was trying to hold back the tears she knew would come.
"But they're alright," Nightcrawler said trying to comfort her.
"But do they forgive me?"
When Talisman and Alexis entered the kitchen Talisman almost grabbed Alexis to get her out of there. Why? Because Bobby Drake stood there making a sandwich. He looked up at them and smiled.
"Hey there Talisman."
"Hello Bobby," she answered grimly.
"Who's your friend?" He asked pointing to Alexis.
"This is Alexis Rose… but you can call her Thorn."
"Thorn? Nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine," she said sarcastically but Bobby didn't quite catch it.
"So you guys in here to get food?" Bobby asked clearly trying to start a conversation.
"What? A kitchen to get food? What gave you that idea?" Thorn said.
Talisman held back her smile. "Yeah, we are here to get something to eat, we are starved."
"Need any help?"
"No, it is ok."
After several more minutes the two girls slowly convinced Bobby to go bug someone else, like Rogue. Once he was gone they raided the shelves for something to eat.
"Hey, chicken noodle soup. Wanna try it?" Talisman asked.
They both knew what it was, but they both had never tried it. Maybe now that they were free they could try all the things they had spent hours learning about and watching. Life would be very different now that they were mutants and had the freedom some only dreamed about from where she came. Thorn and Talisman felt more alive then ever before.
Talisman made two servings and then they found a table to sit at.
"So what is it like?" Alexis asked.
"What is what like?" Talisman looked at her best friend.
"Not being able to remember everything in the world for a couple weeks?"
"Well first of all I did not know how much knowledge I had forgotten and it was like living a new life. What was it like to like in the forest for s few weeks with infinite knowledge?"
"Lonely… and boring." Alexis said with a smile. "Nah, it was interesting. I got to know the nature a lot better than any Watcher could. I connected you could say, and it was like I could call that place… home."
"Heh, I almost had the feeling of home too. But it was an illusion, I do not think I will ever have the feeling of home again."
"You will Petra, you will. I think after all of this Watcher business is finished I will go back to the forest, not that one, but I big one in Canada, maybe Algonquin Park. I love that place."
"Did somebody mention Canada?" A low voice came from the doorway, Talisman tuned to find the short black haired man she had seen with Mouse when she had first arrived. He was the one with amnesia, Wolverine.
"Yeah, we are from there," Talisman answered.
"So you have your memory back?" He said politely.
"Yes, thanks to my friend here."
He looked at Thorn, "Hey there."
"Hey," Thorn said.
Wolverine stayed for a bit and they chatted a bit about Canada and how lovely it was. After a while he left to go play around in the danger room with Gambit leaving the girl to do some dishes. They didn't mind at all, like they said before, they wanted to do everything they had ever seen, even work.
Thorn couldn't stop herself from drifting back to her past thought. There were some things she couldn't let go off. Her garden was one thing. She was always good with plants and she owned and cared for her own rose garden. Her and roses always went together, it was even her last name. Being in the forest was like having her own garden again, but it really wasn't. She would never have that garden again; they had probably torched it or dug it up or some other awful thing to forget her.
Some things she'd never forget or forgive, if they touched her garden she'd kill them all… well sort of.
"So what is the rest of the story Mäuschen?" Nightcrawler asked Mouse after super.
"You mean when we met up with the Watchers again?" Mouse made sure.
"Ja."
"Come with me," she said leading him away.
They went down to the lower levels of the mansion until they finally got to the meeting room. Professor Xavier, Talisman, Thorn, Beast, Wolverine, Gambit, Rogue and Phylocke were all there. They had al been brought there to finally get the full story of the three girl's past.
They were sticking by the
forest so they wouldn't be seen so easily. Of course they knew that no matter
where they went the Watchers would find them. It had been days, maybe weeks,
but they were finally in New York City. Now they had to get to Salem. It took
them longer because they walked all the time, they didn't want to go near
civilization. It slowed them down even more that Mouse hadn't slept since they
were still on the Watchers ground. But they were all equally tired.
So when the six watchers
attacked them they weren't very ready. It was the same watchers that had
attacked Talisman after, only one more. They fought as best as they could but
it was almost failed from when they started. Their powers were still very new to
them and they didn't have the right control.
Thorn and Mouse seemed to fight
the best and Talisman simply tried to keep people away from her using her
telekinesis. But what could that do?