Tested
Disclaimer: Characters and Premise are borrowed from the Marvel, I'm not making any money.
Part 9
"Dere, she's bein' held dere," Remy said leaning over his pilot's shoulder and pointing. The grizzled mercenary nodded, rolling his eyes at the obvious statement, the complex below was the only sign of mankind they'd seen in over twenty minutes.
"By savin' her yo' make up for your son dyin'," Remy whispered, reinforcing the spell his empathetic powers had woven around the mercenary, praying he'd been gentle enough for the man's mind to survive intact. "Yo' can let go of de guilt den Nat'an."
"Remy," Singer called, offering him a gun.
"Non, got m' powers, dey be bettah dan any gun," Remy replied. "Everyone else ready for dis?"
"We're ready Remy," Lapin said.
"Den take her down," Remy said to Nathan. "Yo' wait wid de 'copter, make shor our retreat ain't cut off, we'll get ma Belle."
"Fine, clear a landing zone," Nathan ordered with a glance at Singer.
The Assassin girl slid open a door and leaned out to spray the landing pad with bullets, handling her machine gun like the professional she was. For good measure Remy added a few explosions to the mix.
Seconds before the helicopter touched down the five teens jumped out to storm the building.
Singer took point with Remy at her shoulder, using his explosions to destroy anything that might have provided cover from her machine gun. He'd considered projecting a shield of fear around them but didn't know how to target their opposition without affecting his friends as well. Delores followed him, clutching her medical bag and trying not to look at the bodies Singer and Remy left behind. Lapin and Pierre covered the group's rear; each of them carried a handgun with a certain distasteful reluctance.
A flash of color drew Lapin's attention to a side passage. "Dere!" he yelled in warning, turning to fire.
Pierre followed suit but the two boys rapidly realized there were two many soldiers for them to keep from being overwhelmed.
"Remy, a little help here!" Lapin yelled, snapping off several quick shots then loading a fresh clip into his gun.
Remy turned in time to see Pierre collapse, hands pressed over a bullet wound in his gut. "No, he cried and Gambit's form seemed to catch fire. Tendrils of pink energy snaked out from him to touch off random explosions.
The soldiers pulled back as several of their guns took on the pink glow characteristic of Gambit's power then exploded. Lapin glanced at the flame wreathed weapon he carried then with a fatalistic shrug tossed it after the soldiers like a grenade. Singer held her machine gun close, using her body to shield it from Remy's pyrotechnics. "Aim it at dem!" she yelled.
"Tryin'," Remy cried. "Yo' keep goin', get Belle. Lapin, 'Lores, get Pierre to de 'copter. M' de distraction, don' wait for me when yo' leave."
"Remy…" Lapin began to protest.
"Go! 'M too dangerous," Remy yelled, using his empathy to touch off his friends' fight or flight reflexes.
Lapin and Delores pulled back, dragging Pierre between them. After a few steps Lapin swung Pierre into his arms. Delores snatched up the gun the injured boy had dropped and moved to guard their retreat.
For a moment Singer's aim drifted toward Remy then she shook herself and resumed her advance. Remy picked the heaviest concentration of soldiers and headed right toward them.
When his friends' footsteps had faded in the distance Remy released his tenuous grip on his powers. Any object his eyes focused on for more than a few seconds exploded. He left glowing footprints in his wake like landmines. The effects of his empathy caused the opposing forces to dissolve into chaos, half of them dropping their weapons and fleeing in terror while the remainder turned their weapons on anything that moved.
****** ****** ******
Belle woke knowing her baby was gone. She took stock of her surroundings and condition; she was whole. She was not pregnant. She was back in her cell. The door was standing open and she was not alone; Mary White was leaning against the back wall of the cell.
Belle surged to her feet only to stumble as a wave of dizziness struck her.
"Your lover-boy is here to rescue you, wouldn't want to miss that," Mary commented as Belle recovered herself.
"M' bebe?" Belle demanded.
"You lost it," Mary replied. "Your own fault really, you shouldn't have pulled all those dumb stunts."
A look of pain crossed Belle's face, she ducked out of the cell door, slamming it after her. Mary White watched her go then flipped on a comm. Badge. "Mission accomplished," she said and a black portal appeared to retrieve her.
****** ****** ******
Lapin's breath came in harsh gasps as he tried to run without jostling the wounded friend in his arms. He couldn't let himself think about blood slowly saturating his shirt where Pierre's body was cradled against him or about the shallow, pain-filled breaths that marked the other boy's fight for his life. Anything that might slow him down had to be ignored.
Delores held position a yard ahead of Lapin, nervous sweat gleaming against her coffee colored skin, her years of training as a healer taking a backseat to the lessons in self-defense and survival that had been drilled into her ever since she could walk. She hadn't picked up a weapon since beginning her training with Tante Mattie, but she held the gun with practiced ease and a morbid part of her mind giggled, "Jus' like ridin' a bike."
Delores heard the tramp of boots coming toward them and gestured for Lapin to pause. The pair pressed themselves against the wall and waited. A moment later one of the base's numerous guards and a tech rounded the corner; Delores shot the guard and took aim at the tech. "Start runnin' if yo' to live," she said.
Both Delores and Lapin breathed a sigh of relief as the unarmed man made the smart choice and turned tail.
"Jus' a few more minutes," Lapin panted.
"He's gonna be fine," Delores said. "Gut wounds can take days 'fore dey kill."
" 'Ssumin' de bad guys don' finish all of us off 'fore Singer gets back," Lapin said.
"Dat is de 'ssumption," Delores replied. "Come on."
Lapin fell back as they reached the door to the landing pad, letting Delores scout ahead.
"It's clear," a cool, collected voice called. Delores saw their pilot standing in front of his helicopter, the barrel of a large, intimidating rifle resting casually against his shoulder.
Lapin and Delores exchanged a relieved look then jogged out to the helicopter.
****** ******* ******
Singer glanced back down the hall making sure she'd left her friends behind; almost grateful circumstances had driven them apart.
As soon as she'd seen the size of the sprawling complex she'd known what she'd have to do, but it was her secret, a secret she'd only ever shared with Belle because Belle would have felt the same if their places had been reversed.
Singer opened a closet door and slipped inside. She settled herself in lotus position her machine gun resting in her lap, covering the door then she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. A moment later she was back on the other side of the door, back in the hall, or at least a part of her soul was.
Barely more than a ghost Singer's consciousness sped down the halls at the speed of thought. When she reached a dead end she thought about her body and she was instantly back where she'd begun ready to try another path.
When Singer found a dead body in a area the rescue team hadn't reached yet she grinned. The man had died of a slit throat and the blood was still flowing. "Chere-Belle, knew yo' wouldn' sit 'round waitin' to be rescued by no one, not even your husband," She said to herself opening her eyes and running to retrace the path her astral wanderings had discovered.
Once she reached the body in the flesh Singer paused listening for sounds of fighting. Three bodies later she spotted Belle. The blonde girl was stalking yet another guard. There were tears on her cheeks but Belle's eyes were cold and hard, her movements purposeful and predatory.
Singer waited until Belle had her kill then drew the other girl's attention with a low whistle.
"Hey chere, yo' been busy?" Singer asked.
"Dey took m' baby, 'm gonna kill dem all," Belle said with icy determination.
"Not practical Belle. We kill everyone we come 'cross, oui. Mais we don' seek dem out. Pierre's down, dey're waitin' for us to get out of here so's he can get patched up proper," Singer said. "Remy's a'ready los' Belle, somet'ing wrong wit' his powers. Yo' hold us up mebbe we lose Pierre too."
"Non, gotta kill dem," Belle cried.
"Den yo' die and Remy died for rien!" Singer snapped.
Belle hesitated. A door slamming sounded behind them. Belle turned and ran on silent feet toward her new prey. With an annoyed shake of her head Singer followed.
Home
Next
Please Send Feedback
