Tested

Disclaimer: Characters and Premise are borrowed from the Marvel, I'm not making any money.

Part 10

Between the strobe like light of his explosions Gambit caught glimpses of the structure behind reality, of the energy patterns the world was built upon and flashes of the emotions surrounding him. In those fleeting moments of clarity he knew how to manage the power raging through him, consuming him.

Then, like smoke, it would slip through his fingers leaving him to struggle for control, to ride the surge of power blind.

A woman pointed a gun toward Gambit, her thrill of triumph singling her out in his mind. A moment before she pulled the trigger Gambit gestured toward her and her clothing became a bomb sheathing her body.

Remy felt the acid backwash of his powers flowing through his veins, eating at him, hollowing out his body. He felt like a paper lantern containing the sun.

In the momentary flashes of sight he watched people shielding their eyes, turning away from him. The hard, white light emanating from him drove off shadows, drained colors. The harsh glare was reflected back at him by the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the very eyes of the men he was there to destroy.

Remy felt the floor disintegrating beneath his feet and hurried on.

****** ****** ******

Nathan prowled restlessly around the helicopter as Delores worked to make Pierre comfortable and applied a field dressing to his wound. Lapin sat in the entrance to the helicopter, he was supposed to be helping Nathan stand guard, but his gun lay beside him, practically forgotten, as he scrubbed at the blood coating his arms and chest. As soon as they'd reached the helicopter he'd stripped off his shirt but the blood had already soaked through to his skin.

"Day dream later," Nathan announced startling the red haired teen.

Lapin jumped, snatching his gun. "Wit' de feud an' all yo'd t'ink I'd be more comfortable wit' dis," Lapin stammered as he realized who'd startled him. "Trut' be tol' it hasn' been so much of a big deal since 'fore I was ole 'nough to notice. I mean we don', didn' like each other or rien, mais no one died, we jus' fooled 'round. An' when we fought Candra, it was different, de adults were wit' us, none of m' close friends got hurt too bad. Not to mention us mos'ly usin' crossbows at home…"

"Don't make excuses," Nathan said. "Just keep the gun in your hand and your eyes peeled."

Lapin nodded, coloring lightly.

"Do you think you can keep your mind of business long enough for me to go find Belladonna and Singer?" Nathan asked.

"Oui," Lapin said. "I'll keep 'Lores an' Pierre safe."

"While you're at it keep our retreat open as well," Nathan said stalking toward the compound. Under his breath he muttered, "How'd I let a bunch of kids talk me into a hair brained rescue like this one? Should have taken over from the moment I signed on. Nothing I could do to help Tyler, I'm no doctor, but this… this is right up my alley and I'm not letting that girl die."

Nathan moved quickly through the compound, bypassing hallways marked with the scorched signature of Remy's power in favor of the trail of bullet riddled corpses Singer had left in her wake.

As the trail grew warmer Nathan realized its nature had changed; the killing wasn't the incidental removal of obstacles anymore, it was the goal.

Nathan frowned unhappily. "Damn fool kids," he muttered. "No sense of priority."

A few minutes later he rounded a corner and found Belle standing undecided at the intersection of two corridors, Singer was trailing reluctantly after her.

"It's well past time to go," Nathan said flatly.

Belle spun aiming her weapon at him. Singer grabbed the rifle's barrel and yanked it skyward. "He's our pilot," she hissed.

Nathan nodded shortly. "And our scheduled departure was several minutes ago. Stop screwing around!"

"Forget dis," Belle snapped starting down one corridor. Nathan grabbed her shoulder and spun her back around. Belle pulled a knife. Nathan knocked it out of her hand then popped her under the chin.

Swinging Belle's unconscious body over his shoulder Nathan turned back in the direction he'd come from. "I'm not carrying the both of you," he told Singer. "Either come or be left behind."

"Dis wasn' my idea," Singer said. "I been tellin' Belle we gotta go since I caught up wit' her."

Nathan didn't bother to reply and Singer fell in step behind him.

****** ****** ******

Remy's breath came in ragged, pained gasps. He clasped his knees to his chest; unable to continue moving, every scrape of strength and will that he could muster was focused on keeping his power from ripping his flesh apart.

In some ways the most frightening part of it was the feeling that he wouldn't die if that happened. Afterwards he sensed he wouldn't be Remy anymore, or even human, but he wouldn't be dead. A part of him was tempted to just let go, to become his power. It sang to him, called to him, whispered of unlimited power, the power to burn the world to a cinder, to release the sort of energy that would make Magneto's threat of a nuclear disaster look like a kid playing with firecrackers and that was what was truly scary.

Around him Remy could sense everything coming apart. The freed atoms swirled as if caught in a whirlwind buoyed up by the power fluxing through him, begging him to let it go. The only thing holding it back was Remy's knowledge that his friends still might still be close enough to be caught in the wave of destruction.

****** ****** ******

Elsewhere in the compound Dr. Cornelius stared at the monitor screen. The remains of the army he'd been given where arrayed in a nervous semi-circle at the edges of the screen. A roiling ball of plasma that consumed everything it touched filled most of the view though. It was expanding; eating through floors, walls and ceilings and somewhere at the heart of the storm was the demon-eyed mutant boy who'd wrecked so much havoc on his forces and facilities. The only thing Cornelius could compare this to was witnessing the birth of a star…from a distance that could be measured in meters rather than light-years.

Cornelius watched with a hungry sense of wonder, imagining the power he'd wield assuming he could break the boy to his will… and assuming he survived the next few minutes.

****** ****** ******

Nathan climbed into the helicopter unceremoniously dropping Belle in a seat and starting preparations for take off.

Singer hopped in behind him, securing Belle's seat belt then taking her own place.

"Wait, Remy ain't back…" Lapin began.

"He said to leave him," Singer stated.

"Mais we ain't really goin' to do it," Lapin exclaimed.

"An' have him blow up de 'copter?" Singer disagreed. "Hell yes we are."

"Non!" Lapin yelled back.

"Get in your seat and shut up!" Nathan barked in a tone of voice that wouldn't be questioned.

"Dis be wrong," Delores said taking a stand beside Lapin.

Behind them the roof of the complex disappeared a bright glow that competed with the early morning sunshine streamed out from the facility, the leading edges of the light carried a faint tinge of the distinctive pink color of Remy's powers, it's heart was pure, blindingly intense, white light.

"He's your friend, but it would be a fool's errand to go back," Nathan said. "You said yourselves that he was a danger to everyone near him."

Regretfully Lapin and Delores took their places and the helicopter lifted into the skies under Nathan's sure control, leaving the base and Remy behind.

Home

Next

Please Send Feedback