Disclaimer in Part One
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An Meal Ready to Eat is a vile military version of lunchables.
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Start turning the girl into the ground
roll the new love over
The drive to Apgar had taken approximately three days. They stopped for half a day when they reached the abandoned Military base in Great Falls, Montana. They'd picked up an arsenal of weapons and MRE's. They had picked up plenty of food, but it was always best to be safe. Andrew had been fascinated by the black wrapped Army food, and marveled over the tiny bottle of Tabasco and the after dinner mint. The main course itself was less exciting, but it would be adequate should they need to survive on it.
The continued journey to Apgar had proven uneventful, and they'd arrived at their destination anticipating everything from the conditions of the cabins they hoped to inhabit to the general quality of what life would bring them in this new place. The convoy rolled to a stop and all the mutants scrambled out of the vehicles to take in their new surroundings.
It was breathtaking. Apgar Village was the first place they had been to that didn't show signs of the damaged world. Lake MacDonald spilled out fifty feet from where they'd stopped. It was deep blue, serene and utterly peaceful. Douglas fir's, ponderosa pines and thousands of evergreen trees covered the landscape.
And the ground wasn't strewn with bodies as it had been in every other area. The world was alive and thriving here, and it was beautiful. Erik headed towards the cabins in the distance while the remainder of the road weary gang walked down to the picturesque lakeshore. He found the office of what had been the base of cabin rental operations and bent the hinges of the locked door until it sprang open. The room was dusty but appeared to be in good order. There was no telltale stench of death, so Erik explored freely in the closet until he found a locked box. When he shook it the box rattled, so it looked like he'd found the keys to the cabins. Using his powers once again Erik opened the box and found the labeled keys as he smiled to himself and took the box outside.
The cabins were clustered into two groups. One was more traditional hotel rooms, while the other group was of two-story cabins. Erik fished through the keys until he found one that corresponded with cabin one. The door creaked and the room remained dark when he clicked at the light switch. He wasn't surprised that there were no electricity, but a trip down to Columbia Falls and they could pick up some generators. All of the furniture appeared to be intact and Erik was pleasantly surprised by the size of the rooms. The kitchen was a little bit on the small side, but the living room, bathroom and downstairs bedroom were all to scale. A nice sized loft filled the upstairs.
Erik chuckled lightly to himself. This place would be livable. It would be a most welcome change from the sterile environment of the underground bunker. Andrew deserved to play outside in the sunshine like a normal child. Jubilee and Scott's baby would have the chance to grow up in the light of the world. And Marie, he needed to find a cure. Only one seemed very likely to work and Erik was torn on if he could in fact go through with such a plan, but she was his world-she couldn't die. He shook his head and started towards the lake. Darkness wouldn't set in for another few hours but it would be best to get a head start on moving into the cabins before darkness.
He found everybody wading in the water except for Andrew who had emerged himself completely despite the cold. A mountain lake in August was still a mountain lake. Slipping off his shoes, Erik joined his family, and he had indeed come to think of them as a family. He was related to Marie by blood, but he thought of Scott, Jubilee and Kitty as his own children, and Andrew as a grandchild. He even called him grandpa, but Victor was another matter. He'd bee in the Brotherhood since Erik had founded it, but over the years the two men had never formed more than a professional relationship with each other. His thoughts were interrupted however as Andrew caught his right leg and pulled Erik until he overbalanced and fell into the cold water.
His less than graceful journey into the water was met by hearty laughter from the rest of the group. Erik himself chucked and watched as Scott, Kitty and Marie fell victim to Andrew's antics. Victor made a big show of resisting, but was eventually taken down by the little water sprite. Jubilee alone remained untouched and sat on the rocky beach with a smile on her face. Andrew couldn't swim yet, but he was clearly enjoying himself. She was thankful that the small group of mutants were so good with her son, they'd each taken great steps to make his childhood happy in a bad situation, she looked forward to the arrival of the next addition of the Summers' family.
An hour later and quite a bit wetter, they piled into the trucks and drove into the area in front of the cabins. After living in such close quarters everybody was very appreciative for the chance of having his or her own space. There were plenty of cabins around and it was agreed that Kitty, Marie, Erik and Victor would have their own places while The Summers took a slightly larger cabin for their new home. They spread out throughout the site, but stayed close enough to be within shouting distance.
For Marie it would be the first opportunity to live on her own, and the Summers wouldn't have to share a bedroom with their son. An inside joke between them was that they'd perfected the art of silent sex, which was verified by Jubilee's second pregnancy. Victor chose a cabin at the far end of the field, away from the rest of them. He appreciated them, but he hated to be confined. Victor had only gone underground because Erik had asked him.
He knew he could survive on the outside by himself. Radiation, anthrax, the haunta virus-none of those affected him. But the mutant massacre was something Victor couldn't avoid forever. He stood out too easily, and there were only so many places to hide by yourself. With a group, you always stood a better chance that someone else would die.
A few days later Erik couldn't hide the truth anymore. Marie had fallen ill the day before with a high fever and fatigue. His decision was made. Marie was resting in her cabin and Erik knew the window of opportunity was short. He'd made tough decisions before, but never one that so greatly affected hiss family. When Mystique had taken ill he'd been out of his mind with grief. She'd died so suddenly, and he hadn't seen the symptoms before, but with Marie it was a different matter. Marie was the reminder of his wife, and his greatest creation. The bond between them was deeper than blood. They had survived the apocalypse, and lived in a confined space for five years. Losing her now would be too hard, too much after everything that had already happened.
"Come in" Victor's voice called from inside the room.
"Hey Erik, whadda ya want?"
"Marie's sick. Its Legacy." Erik said, point blank.
"You want me to heal her?" Victor said.
"You know you're the only one who can help her."
"Erik, we agreed about this already, you want to go back on your word?"
"She'd my daughter Victor!" Erik said, his voice hard as steel.
"You'll recover Victor."
"What's in it for me Erik?"
"What do you mean?" He asked, voice controlled.
"I want a reason why. You wouldn't give her to me two years ago. A man has needs."
"Marie won't go for it."
"She will if you ask her too. She adores her daddy." Victor spat.
"Can we discuss this at a more opportune time?" Erik asked neutrally.
"This is very opportune for me Erik."
Erik narrowed his eyes at the leering man. It would be Victor to pull something like this; he was notoriously patient, but very ruthless. "Fine."
"Let's go." The large man said, leading the way to the door.
Erik nodded thankful that Victor was making this easier, he'd angered him, which made him feel less guilty about what would happen, he still regretted deeply what would happen, but Marie was his blood. Victor wasn't, that's all it boiled down too.
The men entered the cabin to find Marie stretched out, sleeping on the hide-a-bed in her cabin. "Does she know?" Victor asked.
"She guessed, she's a smart girl. Her mother had it." Erik said, pain evident in his voice.
Victor nodded in agreement, and tried to shake the sleeping woman awake. "I'm gonna heal you Marie." He said with uncharacteristic tenderness.
Erik kept a close watch on the hairy mutant. "Use your hand on hers, it works best that way." He lied.
He's seen Marie's mutation in action once before and he knew that it made no difference if it was lip to lip or hand to hand. He just didn't want Victor's lips near Marie's own. Besides it was easier this way. Victor took the young woman's hand and within seconds he was on his knees unable to pull away. Erik stepped forward and pushed down on Marie's arm pinning Victor in place. The feral mutant was convulsing and his eyes had rolled back into his head. Marie had failed to wake from the ordeal, which proved how far gone she already was from the illness.
When he was sure Victor was dead, Erik removed his daughter's hand from the corpse. He kicked open the back door of the cabin and set to work. He'd laid a sheet of plastic on the ground and tied the ends up with rope. An axe and several burlap bags were waiting to be used.
Marie awoke the next day, and much to her surprise she felt good. Really, really good. No aches, no fever, no fatigue. She stretched luxuriously, and went out the back door to enjoy the morning view. To her surprise she'd seen a small amount of blood on the ground, puzzled she bent down to look and was surprised to find several oranges hairs. Had a cat killed something here? No, that was silly there were no cats for miles around.
Her heart started thumping as realization kicked in. She had had Legacy, which stalled for nobody, and yet here she was feeling fine and dandy. The only cure for the virus was to be immune, and precious few mutants had that gift, she knew only one. Victor. Victor had orangey hair, and wasn't vulnerable. She had the only power that could kill him. Deduction drew to the fact that Marie had killed Victor Creed. The growl in her head confirmed that.
Chocking back a sob Marie raced around the building and ran to her father's house.
"Is it true?" She whispered.
"Yes." Erik said, not caring to insult her intelligence and act as if he didn't know what she meant.
"How could you?"
"Legacy. It took your mother Marie, you know it almost took you." Erik's voice shook.
Her fears confirmed she slammed the door and jumped in the nearest truck. She didn't know how to drive, but she could access Victor's memories and go from there. With a shaky hand she started the truck and took off.
Hours later Marie was over the Canadian border in what had been Watercrest National Park. Her anger had finally subsided and the tears were now starting to flow, pretty soon she was almost driving blind and she swerved off the road. The resounding 'Thud' forced her foot to slam down on the brake. She parked the car and opened the door afraid of what she'd find.