Just a reminder! The X-Men don't belong to me! What a surprise, huh?

A/N: Thanks to Bryan, Joey, and Potionsmaster! YAY

Chapter 6: Weary Wanderer

A small boy wandered down the street with out any real destination in mind. A tattered, brown poncho covered his body, and a dingy cap was pulled tightly down over his head. People passed him on the street and stared. Some offered money, others passed by with dirty looks and rude comments like, "Freak" and "Filthy Mutie".

The boy's name is Darius and he is in fact a mutant. The odd thing is, is that he is only 8 years old. Mutation usually comes with puberty, but Darius is very special. He is blind, and there are only deep black pits where his eyes should be. He is also orphaned. He killed his father by accident and a killer mutant, named Sabretooth, killed his mother. Darius continued to wander down the street, remembering how his mother had sounded when she died. It was a sickening noise. He could still hear the buildings crashing down, the flesh being ripped apart. The smell of fire and blood. He especially remembered the murderer's voice.

"Shame you can't see your mom die boy'o, but you'll feel it."

The voice echoed through his mind as he continued to wander the streets. He stopped only once, in front of an electronics store. He listened very carefully. Something he heard had caught his attention. A news report was playing. He listened.something about a battle.a recent battle. He heard names being mentioned; X-Men, mutants, The Brotherhood. Then he heard a voice. Not just any voice. THE voice.

"It's your time to die boy'o!"

He heard the voice and chills ran up and down his spine. He could feel his anger rising and he wanted to lash out. The monster that killed his mother was so close, he could taste it. People on the streets watched as black tendrils flowed like water from out of the boy. They flickered with some kind of unseen energy. As he heard the voice again, he spun around and the tendrils flailed about in the air wildly. Concussive blasts from the tendrils slammed into the store and into the street. People screamed and ran away. Darius heard the screams and it only angered him more. The energy that was coursing through him was being channeled through the blacks tendrils and causing destruction everywhere. He refused to stop until the voice was gone from his head.

~~~~~~******~~~~~~

Rebecca pointed to the radar and turned her head to speak to Dinah.

"We're almost there.just another ten minutes."

"Good. I don't want to have to worry too much about the police getting involved.

"I think it's a little late for that." Dinah turned her attention to Liz. She was looking over some monitors in the back of the jet. "Seems like the police are already involved."

Sure enough, when the jet finally touched down, flashing red lights and officers could be seen everywhere. Jack grabbed hold of everyone and with a small flash, the group disappeared. They reappeared again just meters away from a large armored vehicle. Pip looked around quickly and pointed to a small group of officers. The group watched as the officers beat a child over the head with a nightstick and loaded him into the truck.

"Alright.here's the plan," Dinah kept her voice low and darted her eyes back and forth between her team mates and the truck. "We're going to do this the old-fashioned way. We need a diversion, a way to stop the truck, and a way to rescue the kid. Suggestions?"

"Well," Liz thought quickly to come up with some strong tactics. "Diversions seem to be your and Rebecca's specialty. To stop the truck.hmm.well, we could just slow time down a bit," she glanced at Pip who gave her a quick smile. "Jack could get Pip in front of the truck easily enough."

"There's nothing wrong with the plan.other than how the hell are we supposed to get the kid?" Jack was sounding worried, and with good reason. The truck had started and would soon be on it's way.

"I'll take care of that." Liz held her head up confidently.

"How? You can't rip through metal." Jack didn't want to sound mean, but he was trying to look at the plan realistically. "I'm sure you can rip through that armor like it were paper.but, and don't take this the wrong way, can we be sure that you'll morph?"

She looked straight at him and for a moment her look seemed very dark and cold. It vanished quickly, leaving only a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "I'll morph. Just worry about your job."

Jack only nodded his head. He glanced at Rebecca, then at Dinah. Dinah nodded to the group and they jogged off to strategic areas around the mob. Jack held on to Pip's arm and they both transported in front of the truck, which was speeding away. Pip held out his hand and narrowed his eyes in concentration. His arm and eyes glowed a bright ice blue as the truck came to a halt just in front of them. Officers from every else began to close in on the truck. A loud explosion could be heard and Liz looked around and smiled as she saw another stick of "dynamite" fly into the air. A purple glowing orb soon followed it, and they both exploded, causing a very convenient distraction for the advancing police. Liz looked back to the armored truck. She could see Pip in front of it, sweating from the strain of holding it and the officers inside still. She sprinted over to the truck and as she did, a low rumbling growl came from the depths of her throat. Her body glowed just as it did earlier and to the surprise of many people, including her teammates, she had morphed completely and was lunging at the back of the truck. She gripped the doors hard and dug her claws into the metal, ripping and tearing savagely. The door finally gave way and her muscles strained against the force of pulling the door open. The small child tilted his head in her direction, but said nothing. She started forward, but her body was exhausted from morphing. She fell down in a crumpled heap on the ground. Her body glowed again as she reverted to her human form. She was able to remain conscious, but she was still very weak. Police began to swarm around them again and she growled in a vain attempt to keep them back. Jack suddenly appeared in front of her and grabbed her hand, and the boy's. They vanished just as the first officers reached the truck.

~~~~~~******~~~~~~

*beep beep*

"C'mon.wake up.there yeh go.nice and easy now."

Liz could just make out the sound of Pip's voice. Everything was dark and distant voices and rhythmic beeping were all she could hear. Gradually, the bright light began to rise again and as Liz began to wake up, her senses were overwhelmed by reality.

"Ugh.oh man.how.how long have I .been out.?" Liz struggled to get the words out as her body fought against her, not wanting to wake up.

"About 'alf an 'our. The strain from teleportin' knocked you out." Pip smiled at her as he gently placed a damp cloth against her head. Liz looked around the room. She felt very dizzy and weak still, and that bothered her.

"Everybody.get back.ok?

"Yeah. The boy's restin' in the other room. Dr. McCoy and the Professor are watchin' over 'im now. We got back a little while ago, and brought yeh directly 'ere. Everybody's been pretty worried."

"I feel loved," She sat up slowly. The dizzy feeling almost made her fall over, but she steadied herself and after a few deep breaths the feeling went away. She smiled to herself as she literally felt her strength coming back.

"Are yeh alright, Lizzy?" Pip was sounding very worried.

"I'm fine. Nothing the ol' healing factor can't fix."

She hopped off the table and wandered over to the examining room on the opposite side of the hall. Hank and Xavier were still inside, watching over the child. She looked towards the main lab and noticed that Dinah, Rebecca, and Jack had come in. She also noticed how Pip very inconspicuously put his arm around Dinah as he told her about Liz's updated condition. She raised an eyebrow, then turned away and went back to the child's room. She tapped lightly on the door and walked in.

"How's he doing, Professor?"

"I was just about to ask you a similar question, Elizabeth." Xavier glanced up at her quickly, then turned his attention back to the boy.

"I'm alright. I was feeling kind of exhausted there for a while, but I'm much better now."

"I wish the same could be said for our little friend here." Xavier sighed.

"Why? What's wrong?" Liz sat down in one of the chairs across from the bed.

"He's had a rough time. Life on the streets certainly isn't suitable for children as young as he is." Hank put some equipment away, and checked on the monitors as he spoke.

"I think I'm going to try to see his mind. It's risky in his condition, but I believe it is necessary." The Professor placed his hands over the child's temple and closed his eyes. Liz and Hank remained quiet, so that the Professor could concentrate with out distraction.

The boy's mind was.dark.very dark and cold. As Xavier wandered throughout the planes of the mind he felt himself shiver. An icy voice could be heard echoing from every direction.

"Your time to die, boy'o..."

Xavier wandered further into the depths of the child's mind. "Darius? Are you here? I am here to help you. Do not be afraid."

Again, the voice echoed, this time louder and directly behind Xavier. He could only make out a shadowy figure in the distance, and then a woman's scream. He darted his eyes about to find the source, but had no such luck. Before he had a chance to do anything else, glowing black tendrils erupted from out of nowhere. They wrapped themselves around Xavier and the shadowy thing. Xavier screamed as the concussive energy hit him. He could feel his energy drain away.and still the cold laughter and the voice echoed.