Jack Brea stood on the balcony outside his French windows. The Evening air
was slightly cold, the way he liked it. He turned and looked at the uniform
that sat on the bed. The Uniform of the Firebrand. It was the man he was,
the man he'd always wanted to be, it was the outfit of a hero. But tonight
he wore a different uniform. A uniform from his past but also the uniform
of a hero. It shared the Blue waistcoat of the Firebrand, but the rest was
Red, Scarlet in fact. He slowly pulled the mask over his face, watched as
the LCD display come to life as if only a few minutes had passed since he
last wore it, for tonight The Scarlet Spider rode again.
He fired a web line onto a near-by building, swinging like a child from the
super strong line. He enjoyed the feeling of freedom. To set aside the X
Man Firebrand and just live life as the Spider for a while.
[You just want to forget the failure. Back in the Morlock tunnels, Angel
trusted you, as a team-mate and as a friend. His wings were destroyed WHAT
kind of friendship is that? You Failed him. But did you make up for that
failure? No. Did you sit by his bed when he as close to death? No. You
locked yourself away. Hiding from everyone, not saying anything about that
day. You could have made a difference, if you'd have been there for Warren
he could still be alive today. His suicide was the aftereffect of your
failure. You don't disserve to wear either uniform.]
Jack's mind flashed back to Warren's funeral. He stood in the back, hoping
nobody would turn around, hoping nobody knew he was there. As they slowly
dropped Warren coffin into the ground, a tear ran down his cheek. He
watched as Charles told everyone that Warren was a true hero. He may have
died a broken man, but he had the soul of a hero, even at the end. Upon
hearing this, Jack turned and left.
[So you ran. But you didn't run back to the mansion did you? You took the
cowards way out and continued running. Running from everything that had
been you life up-until then. You RAN, like a child. For six months you
continued running. But the pain didn't go away did it? It stayed with you.
Following you like a chain around your neck. I'm willing to bet that if it
wasn't for Shalimar, you'd still be running... the true sign of a failure.]
The near-by park was empty when Jack landed. He ripped his mask off,
tossing it into the pond. he then ripped the Web shooters from his wrists,
throwing them into the air before punching the lamp-post he'd used to land,
with his powers activated, it bent double. After all that, he just sat
down... Wishing he'd died in the tunnels...
Bea had followed him, and with her own superhuman speed and acrobatics, she
ricocheted off surrounding objects catching the web shooting bracers, her
metallic costume glinting in the light so that she looked like a angel in
silver...
"What are ye runnin' from, Jack?" she asked in a gentle tone, "Ye should know ye can't outrun me."
"I wasn't running, at least that wasn't why i took this swing. Every so often i just like to put on this old thing and live a different life. But tonight... My past is catching up to me. I failed Warren, i failed the X Men... and i failed myself."
The Otherworlder settled down beside him, slipping an arm around his shoulders... offering him a shoulder to cry on, should he wish it. He hugged Bea as he recounted the tale of the Morlock Massacre. and despite himself, despite everything manly and macho... he begin to cry. Bea privately though him more the man for allowing himself to finally grieve for his losses, and letting himself go... She just held him, rocking him gently, laying her pale cheek against his dishwater blonde/brown hair, some of her earlier exploits coming to mind--and saddened she couldn't tell him that she knew how he felt.... "After Warren's funeral i left the Institute. All i had was a change of clothes and my bike. I set out to cross the states, running from all the pain etc. It didn't help. So i keep running cutting myself off from everything that that made me the man i am. It was only saving a women's life that started to open my eyes." Jack recounted the tale of Shalimar Fox, A Mutant That was chased by GS Agents. Dispite her Feral mutants skills she was outnumbered, Jack had jumped in and let lose for the first time in years, Pushing his powers to their limits and taking out the sixteen Humans without killing them. She'd thanked him by showing him around Mutant X's base. Their Leader Adam had offered him a place on the team, after a lot of proding from Shalimar, he'd joined. For the next few months Jack began to believe in himself once again, when Jean asked him to return to the X Men, he jumped at the chance. He'd set his past aside and learned to live with it, until now. Bea just held him, and continued stroking his hair as she listened, finally speaking in a heavier, near brogue, "Yer n'less a man... Ev'n Otherworlders can be afraid, fer all we be far more 'an "mere" mortals like ye and yer X- Men. Liz an' I--we nae be any good to SHIELD any more, so we took early retirement and wot not--she still be out o' sorts about loosin' Wisdom th' way she did... Blames 'erself becuase 'er Sight gift cannae predict every bloody contingency, an' no matter 'ow well she planned, we still be the only two to make it out..."
"I Know how she feels. I've set my past aside, whats done is done, but every so often my mind goes back to that day. Every so often i can't just can't shake the feeling that I'm going to screw up again and get someone close to me killed."
"Nae matter wot way ye look at it, Bonnie Jack," she continued gently, "I dinnna know nary a soul who be infalliable... an' I dinna think any less o' ye fer yer past..."
"That makes one of us. A Lot of the time i don't feel alive unless i'm out there cheating death. But that changed when i met you. With you i feel like my old self and the past just melts away..." Jack paused, something felt wrong, He pushed Bea out of the way as a jet of flame burnt the ground where they were a second ago, Jack fished his mask out of the pond and gave it a quick blast of Bio Plasma to dry it out.
"G'day Mates. I couldn't help but overhear your little heart to heart." The Blond man said, A Large Naplam Tank on his back.
After resnapping his web shooters onto his wrists Jack fired two shots, Pyro smiled as he destroyed the webs with a blast of flame.
"That all you got Spiderman? Well, here's how you do it." Again Pyro fired, Still not in his right frame of mind Jack was hit, being cast back a good 100 feet into the pond.
"Now you and me are going to go at it. Did i tell you that Purple makes me horny?" Pyro smiled and licked his lips.
"Oy, wot makes ye think I get all 'ot an' bothered with a scrawny dumb- blond like ye, Sinjin?" Bea taunted as she shifted her internalised kinetic energies, dodging the arrogant pyrokinetic's blasts at over 100 miles per hour, "Besdies, aren't ye gettin' a litle old fer this?"
"Me? Old? Come now, you should know better then anyone that Age equals experience. Plus i ain't Scrawny, I lost wieght and look better then ever thankyou very much!" Pyro retorted, as he made a flame-demon to grab Bea.
"I be thinkin' yer standin' on shakey ground, luv," she chuckled as she did a flip over his head and landed--triggering a shockwave and a blinding flash of light that would leave the Aussie seeing spots for over an hour-- and knocked him off his feet...
"Y'know, ye weren't such a bad lad back in 'Nam, but ye must be getting dementia at yer advanced age, Sinjin Allerdyce!" Bea reminded him, "I was ne'er that interested in ye then, and certainly not now... Unless ye've forgotten th' lass from MI6 that saved yer tail--which might explain why ye've still got th' 'ots fer me..."
"I Ain't forgoten. I thought I'd give you a chance to change your mind. Now that That Punk Spiderman is outta the picture."
Bea poured on the speed, moving around the mercenary mutant who was rubbing his watering eyes, removing the nepalm tank...hurling it miles away with her superhuman strength...
"GO home, fer cryin' out loud, Sinjin..." she grumbled as she looked at the pyrokinetic, "Yer too old fer this nonsense--and ye'd make a bloody hell of alot more money if ye went t'work fer Red Adaire like I told ye to after Kuwait! Yer not to old t'put yer pyrotechnic experience to a *good* use, luv...but at this rate yer goin' t'get yer fool self killed!"
"Problem is Magneto gave me a better dental plan." At last Pyro lashed out, with his tank gone he was down to his feet and fists.
The Otherworlder picked him up and swung him around repeatedly at highspeed, with him facing outward--trying not to laugh when the old boy turned vomit-comet... at which point she calculated the arc, andsent him flying into another pond with a tremendous splash...
...she was more worried about Jack at the moment and literally flew to where she'd seen him land.
"Hey, gorgous..." she called, "Ye alrgiht?"
Jack came up, coughing up water and blood. He shook the cobwebs lose from his mind and looked around. Bea had done all the hard work, all he had to do was pull himself together.
"Let's get th' bloody hell out o' here, eh?" she suggested.
"That *Cough* Sounds like a bloody good idea. Where the Hell did Pyro come from? Last time i saw him he was locked in Ravenscroft."
"Yer flight leaves a trail of fire that'd be visable fer miles at night," Bea observed as she scooped him up, "Let yer knight in shinin' armor carry ye outta here, an' shall we head back t'th' castle?"
"That's the second best offer i've had all day." Jack said as he pulled off his mask once again, tucking it into his belt. He kissed her and smiled, "Thanks. For being here, for listening to my little problems." Bea kissed him back, enjoying the taste of his lips and... She locked her mind back into the immediate present, "No worries, sweets! Ye needed t'talk, and I've got ears t'listen with...
Jack Looked at her, Here was a women that not only liked him, but had just saved his ass. You don't get many of them to the dollar. He thought to himself. The ex-SHIELD agent swatted him gently on the arse before scooping him up and launching herself into the night sky, the faint reflections of light from the park dancing on her mirror bright armor, "Y'think ye can stand another bath? Yer going t'be chilled t'the bone when we get back! An' I think I can keep m'hands offa ye long enough to get some sleep fer both of us!"
"Thanks. Sleep is what i need round about now. No offense baby-lish." He smiled at the Otherworlder.
"No worries, sexy," she teased him as they soared over the New York country side.
"So tell me something. Outta all the guy's you've met along the way, why me? I'm just a lonely Englishman with baggage."
"Yer different." she explained, "Yer not afraid of me, and you're not afraid of yerself or wot y'feel..." "I'll buy that." Jack replied, "It makes me sound butch." He laughed
Jack lied his head back and drifted in a daydream, he woke as the pair landed in the grounds of the Institute. He was unsure of the time but a few students were still outside playing while trying to keep any noise to a minimum. He saw Li Xi-Bao nod and smile, His "little Sister" seems to approve of his taste in women. He'd taken her under his wing after Kairo's Death, she'd been a friend to Kario for years despite the age gap between them. He'd found a note from Kario asking him to find Li and protect her so he brought her to the Institute.
The young Chinese Girl walked over to the landed couple and looked at Bea. "Take care of him, Or you and i will be having words." Her Tone was playful, but with an undertone of Venom. She meant no harm by the warning.
"Don't worry, toots," Bea chuckled, "I don't bite... unless asked!" "I'm glad to hear." Li said as she turned away and walked off. "Ok So you want to drop me off at my room? I have plenty of space and stuff." He winked, "I'll leave it up to you."
"What are ye runnin' from, Jack?" she asked in a gentle tone, "Ye should know ye can't outrun me."
"I wasn't running, at least that wasn't why i took this swing. Every so often i just like to put on this old thing and live a different life. But tonight... My past is catching up to me. I failed Warren, i failed the X Men... and i failed myself."
The Otherworlder settled down beside him, slipping an arm around his shoulders... offering him a shoulder to cry on, should he wish it. He hugged Bea as he recounted the tale of the Morlock Massacre. and despite himself, despite everything manly and macho... he begin to cry. Bea privately though him more the man for allowing himself to finally grieve for his losses, and letting himself go... She just held him, rocking him gently, laying her pale cheek against his dishwater blonde/brown hair, some of her earlier exploits coming to mind--and saddened she couldn't tell him that she knew how he felt.... "After Warren's funeral i left the Institute. All i had was a change of clothes and my bike. I set out to cross the states, running from all the pain etc. It didn't help. So i keep running cutting myself off from everything that that made me the man i am. It was only saving a women's life that started to open my eyes." Jack recounted the tale of Shalimar Fox, A Mutant That was chased by GS Agents. Dispite her Feral mutants skills she was outnumbered, Jack had jumped in and let lose for the first time in years, Pushing his powers to their limits and taking out the sixteen Humans without killing them. She'd thanked him by showing him around Mutant X's base. Their Leader Adam had offered him a place on the team, after a lot of proding from Shalimar, he'd joined. For the next few months Jack began to believe in himself once again, when Jean asked him to return to the X Men, he jumped at the chance. He'd set his past aside and learned to live with it, until now. Bea just held him, and continued stroking his hair as she listened, finally speaking in a heavier, near brogue, "Yer n'less a man... Ev'n Otherworlders can be afraid, fer all we be far more 'an "mere" mortals like ye and yer X- Men. Liz an' I--we nae be any good to SHIELD any more, so we took early retirement and wot not--she still be out o' sorts about loosin' Wisdom th' way she did... Blames 'erself becuase 'er Sight gift cannae predict every bloody contingency, an' no matter 'ow well she planned, we still be the only two to make it out..."
"I Know how she feels. I've set my past aside, whats done is done, but every so often my mind goes back to that day. Every so often i can't just can't shake the feeling that I'm going to screw up again and get someone close to me killed."
"Nae matter wot way ye look at it, Bonnie Jack," she continued gently, "I dinnna know nary a soul who be infalliable... an' I dinna think any less o' ye fer yer past..."
"That makes one of us. A Lot of the time i don't feel alive unless i'm out there cheating death. But that changed when i met you. With you i feel like my old self and the past just melts away..." Jack paused, something felt wrong, He pushed Bea out of the way as a jet of flame burnt the ground where they were a second ago, Jack fished his mask out of the pond and gave it a quick blast of Bio Plasma to dry it out.
"G'day Mates. I couldn't help but overhear your little heart to heart." The Blond man said, A Large Naplam Tank on his back.
After resnapping his web shooters onto his wrists Jack fired two shots, Pyro smiled as he destroyed the webs with a blast of flame.
"That all you got Spiderman? Well, here's how you do it." Again Pyro fired, Still not in his right frame of mind Jack was hit, being cast back a good 100 feet into the pond.
"Now you and me are going to go at it. Did i tell you that Purple makes me horny?" Pyro smiled and licked his lips.
"Oy, wot makes ye think I get all 'ot an' bothered with a scrawny dumb- blond like ye, Sinjin?" Bea taunted as she shifted her internalised kinetic energies, dodging the arrogant pyrokinetic's blasts at over 100 miles per hour, "Besdies, aren't ye gettin' a litle old fer this?"
"Me? Old? Come now, you should know better then anyone that Age equals experience. Plus i ain't Scrawny, I lost wieght and look better then ever thankyou very much!" Pyro retorted, as he made a flame-demon to grab Bea.
"I be thinkin' yer standin' on shakey ground, luv," she chuckled as she did a flip over his head and landed--triggering a shockwave and a blinding flash of light that would leave the Aussie seeing spots for over an hour-- and knocked him off his feet...
"Y'know, ye weren't such a bad lad back in 'Nam, but ye must be getting dementia at yer advanced age, Sinjin Allerdyce!" Bea reminded him, "I was ne'er that interested in ye then, and certainly not now... Unless ye've forgotten th' lass from MI6 that saved yer tail--which might explain why ye've still got th' 'ots fer me..."
"I Ain't forgoten. I thought I'd give you a chance to change your mind. Now that That Punk Spiderman is outta the picture."
Bea poured on the speed, moving around the mercenary mutant who was rubbing his watering eyes, removing the nepalm tank...hurling it miles away with her superhuman strength...
"GO home, fer cryin' out loud, Sinjin..." she grumbled as she looked at the pyrokinetic, "Yer too old fer this nonsense--and ye'd make a bloody hell of alot more money if ye went t'work fer Red Adaire like I told ye to after Kuwait! Yer not to old t'put yer pyrotechnic experience to a *good* use, luv...but at this rate yer goin' t'get yer fool self killed!"
"Problem is Magneto gave me a better dental plan." At last Pyro lashed out, with his tank gone he was down to his feet and fists.
The Otherworlder picked him up and swung him around repeatedly at highspeed, with him facing outward--trying not to laugh when the old boy turned vomit-comet... at which point she calculated the arc, andsent him flying into another pond with a tremendous splash...
...she was more worried about Jack at the moment and literally flew to where she'd seen him land.
"Hey, gorgous..." she called, "Ye alrgiht?"
Jack came up, coughing up water and blood. He shook the cobwebs lose from his mind and looked around. Bea had done all the hard work, all he had to do was pull himself together.
"Let's get th' bloody hell out o' here, eh?" she suggested.
"That *Cough* Sounds like a bloody good idea. Where the Hell did Pyro come from? Last time i saw him he was locked in Ravenscroft."
"Yer flight leaves a trail of fire that'd be visable fer miles at night," Bea observed as she scooped him up, "Let yer knight in shinin' armor carry ye outta here, an' shall we head back t'th' castle?"
"That's the second best offer i've had all day." Jack said as he pulled off his mask once again, tucking it into his belt. He kissed her and smiled, "Thanks. For being here, for listening to my little problems." Bea kissed him back, enjoying the taste of his lips and... She locked her mind back into the immediate present, "No worries, sweets! Ye needed t'talk, and I've got ears t'listen with...
Jack Looked at her, Here was a women that not only liked him, but had just saved his ass. You don't get many of them to the dollar. He thought to himself. The ex-SHIELD agent swatted him gently on the arse before scooping him up and launching herself into the night sky, the faint reflections of light from the park dancing on her mirror bright armor, "Y'think ye can stand another bath? Yer going t'be chilled t'the bone when we get back! An' I think I can keep m'hands offa ye long enough to get some sleep fer both of us!"
"Thanks. Sleep is what i need round about now. No offense baby-lish." He smiled at the Otherworlder.
"No worries, sexy," she teased him as they soared over the New York country side.
"So tell me something. Outta all the guy's you've met along the way, why me? I'm just a lonely Englishman with baggage."
"Yer different." she explained, "Yer not afraid of me, and you're not afraid of yerself or wot y'feel..." "I'll buy that." Jack replied, "It makes me sound butch." He laughed
Jack lied his head back and drifted in a daydream, he woke as the pair landed in the grounds of the Institute. He was unsure of the time but a few students were still outside playing while trying to keep any noise to a minimum. He saw Li Xi-Bao nod and smile, His "little Sister" seems to approve of his taste in women. He'd taken her under his wing after Kairo's Death, she'd been a friend to Kario for years despite the age gap between them. He'd found a note from Kario asking him to find Li and protect her so he brought her to the Institute.
The young Chinese Girl walked over to the landed couple and looked at Bea. "Take care of him, Or you and i will be having words." Her Tone was playful, but with an undertone of Venom. She meant no harm by the warning.
"Don't worry, toots," Bea chuckled, "I don't bite... unless asked!" "I'm glad to hear." Li said as she turned away and walked off. "Ok So you want to drop me off at my room? I have plenty of space and stuff." He winked, "I'll leave it up to you."