Yiaks! Well, here we go with chapter 19.
** A few notes – This is obviously treading into uncharted movie fic territory, seeing that the inevitable X3 has yet to come out, so I'm feeling a tad bit anxious about whether or not this is going to work out… But…. Seeing that I have no idea what is supposed to happen, we're going to carry on with Rob's wonderful story as I see fit.
Also, another note ** Some other mutants that could be named Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Film are also going to make a few appearances in this fic because they rock so damn much. I have no idea how old THEY are supposed to be in the movie universe, but I'm just making all this up. Agh! All of this is super duper scary! Ah! So when X3 comes out, no one come running to me telling me that all of this is wrong! Please! Only so much I can do!!!
(with no further ado, we are pleased to bring you) Chapter 19
**********
Pyro was creeping around the corridor, though seeing his circumstances, it was basically pointless. There was very little that someone could do when they were tracking a person like Crimson - all one could do was wait and see if he showed his face.
Which was what Pyro was NOT willing to wait for.
Yet he was on a mission, so Pyro continued on, knowing that he could not trust his senses - any sound could be an illusion, anything he saw could be a mirage. It was difficult looking for someone who could be walking right next to you without you even noticing, but Pyro was persistent. He HAD to prove to Magneto that he was better.
It had been nearly five months since Crimson had joined the Brotherhood, and through out that time, he had been steadily rising in his skills. Pyro even had to admit to himself that it was clear that Magneto thought Crimson was a better ally than him. If only Crimson knew WHY he was there…
Pyro kept walking down the corridor – sure, this mission was only a training battle – but he was determined not to fail.
He stopped walking. He had reached a dead end – somewhere where there had never been a dead end before. Pyro wheeled around on his heel and stared down the opposite end of the hallway as if expecting to see someone. He knew to be on his guard – Crimson was obviously there – but what could he do?
There was the sound of laughter – Pyro clenched his hands into fists, and continued to stare down the hallway. He wasn't about to start looking for Crimson – and he would not allow him to make the first move.
Pyro grabbed his lighter, and as quickly as he could, he lit a flame. He caught the fire in his hand and held it there – either Crimson was no longer there or he was allowing Pyro to use his powers. The second option was not a very encouraging thought – and just to prove himself, Pyro shot a wall of fire down the hallway towards where the dead end had appeared.
Crimson most likely had not expected that – because the dead end disappeared from Pyro's sight. Pyro smiled in victory, despite the fact that it was a small victory.
" You haven't won yet," Pyro heard Crimson's matter-of-fact voice, and the sound of approach – he wheeled about just in time to see a large, ferocious dog running towards him. Pyro shot another wall of fire at the dog – it disappeared just before the fire consumed it. Pyro turned the other way, where the dead end used to be, and shot another wall of fire towards it for good measure.
Pyro stood panting for a few moments – he was becoming far too frustrated than he should have allowed himself, but these kind of battles were pointless. How much longer could he keep trying to beat Crimson?
There was nothing but silence, and after standing for a few more moments, Pyro decided to keep moving.
He kept the flame in his hand, as a way to see if Crimson was close enough to use his powers of preventing a mutant from using their power. Pyro walked slowly – listening as hard as he could for any sound of approach. He knew it was useless, but it was better than standing still and waiting for Crimson to make the first move.
Pyro stopped dead in his tracks with a yelp of surprise. The flame in his hand had burned before it flickered out. Crimson was going to make his attack.
Pyro kept his hand balled into tight fists as he looked around himself. He felt cornered, vulnerable, and moments away from losing yet another battle. He waited.
He did not have to wait long.
Only a few moments after he had lost control over his power, Pyro felt a blow to the back of his knee, his leg knocked out from under him. He was caught at surprise and fell to the ground, hitting his back hard against the rock floor. He jumped back up to his feet, yet his feet were knocked out from under him again. This time he fell forward, his reflexes working fast enough for him to throw up his arms and prevent him from hitting his chin on the ground.
He could not get back up.
Crimson dug his knee into Pyro's back, and held both of Pyro's hands to the ground. Pyro looked at his arms – pinned to the ground by an unseen force. Then, just in a blink of the eye, there were red hands. Pyro could hear Crimson's victorious laugh as the hands faded to a tan color.
" Big surprise," Pyro muttered sarcastically under his breath, hating every time that he lost a battle to Crimson – how could fighting Crimson even be close to being fair?
" Hey, I gave you PLENTY of opportunities," Crimson said, still not standing up even though he had clearly won, " You just chose not to take them."
Pyro gritted his teeth together, but said nothing.
He had lost, yet again – or so he thought.
In a flash, Crimson was knocked clear off Pyro with a cry of alarm and fell to the ground a few feet away. He rolled to a stop, coughed in surprise – but was up on his feet in a matter of moments. Crimson stood ready, but Pyro was just as fast to react.
He had lit his lighter and caught a flame just as quickly as it took for Quicksilver to make another pass at Crimson. Crimson did not even have the time to use his own powers – he was knocked to the ground once again, hardly even a glimpse remained of the mutant who was fighting him.
Crimson did not even bother getting to his feet again – he stretched out with his ability, and sought out this new attacker. He could hear Pyro growling with anger as he lost control over his powers and burnt his hand once again. Crimson heard another sound as well, the sound of his assailant falling out of his sprint as he lost control over his abilities as well.
It was then that Crimson jumped back up to his feet, and he used his powers to make it so that the two mutants he was fighting could no longer see him. He smiled to himself – he loved watching them when they knew that he was right in front of them but they could no longer see him. To Crimson, it was fun to watch as that emotion gripped them – they were powerless. They could not use their abilities, they could not see their attacker, and all they could do is wait.
Crimson had won yet again.
********************************
Todd was sitting in the lounge, hardly even paying attention to what was going on around him – instead his interest was in the camera cell phone that his mom had given him months ago. He was concentrating on developing his powers as much as he could, and as the days went by, his abilities were becoming more and more defined.
At the moment, he had been trying to access memories from Nightcrawler – to pinpoint a certain memory from his days in the Munich Circus. So far, he wasn't doing too bad – he had reached memories of a circus, but nothing even close to the particular stunt that Kurt had mentioned. It would have been much easier if Todd could have just used the television to display his power – but Multiple was quite reluctant to give it up.
" Is this it?," Todd asked, biting his lip in uncertainty, and gave Kurt the phone. He looked at the memory displayed for a moment before shaking his head.
" Uh, nein," Kurt began, " There veren't angels in it."
Kurt gave the phone back to Todd, and shrugged.
" Were there ANY without angels in them?," Todd asked himself, realizing that he didn't have as much control over his powers as he had thought.
In another corner of the lounge, Adrian was sitting on the couch next to Multiple, leaning forward with keen interest.
" Look, I'm sorry, I have to make some rules," Adrian said, cutting into their conversation, and smiled. On the opposite end of the lounge, a confused looking Nightcrawler peered back with interest.
" Vat rules?," Kurt asked.
" Okay, see, I'm sorry to break it to you," Adrian started in a terribly fake authoritarian voice, " But I mean, there's got to be some sort of rules. I just can't feel safe teleporting if there weren't 'porting rules."
" Huh?," Kurt asked, more confused than before.
" Rule one," Adrian began, ignoring the interruption, " A teleporter can't teleport another teleporter. There's no way that would ever work."
" Vhy vouldn't it vork?," Kurt asked, now completely engrossed in Adrian's rule-making, and ignoring the fact that he was there to help Todd.
" Because!," Adrian exclaimed with the most ridiculously exaggerated voice, " I mean, where would we go? It would be chaos! Mass pandemonium would break out! End of the world! Stuff like that. It's got to be made into a rule – no way I'm taking a chance with that one."
Neither Kurt nor Adrian said anything, and Adrian – apparently already bored with his game of making up rules – got up and teleported from the lounge altogether. The room filled with a silence with an air of bewilderment on it.
" How about this one?," Todd asked Kurt, and handed him the camera phone once more. Kurt took it and looked at it for a brief moment.
Kurt shook his head once again and replied, " There veren't trees in the circus."
Todd took the phone and looked at the memory he had displayed there – it had absolutely nothing to do with the circus at all.
" Oh, I give up," Todd said, thrusting the phone into his pocket and rolling his eyes at his own inability to control his powers.
For a few moments, he sat there fuming over the fact that he worked so hard and yet seemed to constantly loose control. He was hardly paying attention to his frustration, because the second his anger took priority over his concentration, the television in the lounge flickered menacingly.
Jamie was sitting at the couch, and turned around to give Todd a disapproving look.
" Uh… Todd?," he asked.
That was enough for Todd to snap out of his brooding, and he looked up at the television screen. The sight was enough to make his blood run cold.
The memory was a familiar one – Todd was standing at the foot of the stairs, looking up as his brother tried to evade him.
" 'They said you're a mutant,'" Todd heard his own voice say over the TV speakers, and then the memory cut out from the screen. Todd got up out of his seat and stormed out of the lounge.
No matter how much time had passed – he was still furious that his brother had joined the Brotherhood. How could Rob do such a thing? He understood that Rob had been under mind control when he had made his attack on the mansion – Professor Xavier had explained to him all about that – but Todd had always believed that his brother was smart enough to know the difference between right and wrong.
Couldn't Rob realize that joining a group of radical mutants who wanted humankind to be exterminated was wrong?
Or did he think like them now?
Todd hated that uncertainty – it was on his mind so much that if he wasn't concentrating, he would accidentally display memories of his brother upon whatever monitor was close. He got frustrated with himself when he did that – it only reminded him of what had happened.
Truth was – that was why he was having such a hard time at controlling his powers. He spent so much more time trying to block his own memories of his brother's existence that he had little energy left to spend on developing his powers.
And the fact that he had lost control only made him more furious.
********************
Okay, a bit of a short one – sorry! I don't know when I'll update next, but I'll let everyone know, kay?
Review already!
Deke
** A few notes – This is obviously treading into uncharted movie fic territory, seeing that the inevitable X3 has yet to come out, so I'm feeling a tad bit anxious about whether or not this is going to work out… But…. Seeing that I have no idea what is supposed to happen, we're going to carry on with Rob's wonderful story as I see fit.
Also, another note ** Some other mutants that could be named Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Film are also going to make a few appearances in this fic because they rock so damn much. I have no idea how old THEY are supposed to be in the movie universe, but I'm just making all this up. Agh! All of this is super duper scary! Ah! So when X3 comes out, no one come running to me telling me that all of this is wrong! Please! Only so much I can do!!!
(with no further ado, we are pleased to bring you) Chapter 19
**********
Pyro was creeping around the corridor, though seeing his circumstances, it was basically pointless. There was very little that someone could do when they were tracking a person like Crimson - all one could do was wait and see if he showed his face.
Which was what Pyro was NOT willing to wait for.
Yet he was on a mission, so Pyro continued on, knowing that he could not trust his senses - any sound could be an illusion, anything he saw could be a mirage. It was difficult looking for someone who could be walking right next to you without you even noticing, but Pyro was persistent. He HAD to prove to Magneto that he was better.
It had been nearly five months since Crimson had joined the Brotherhood, and through out that time, he had been steadily rising in his skills. Pyro even had to admit to himself that it was clear that Magneto thought Crimson was a better ally than him. If only Crimson knew WHY he was there…
Pyro kept walking down the corridor – sure, this mission was only a training battle – but he was determined not to fail.
He stopped walking. He had reached a dead end – somewhere where there had never been a dead end before. Pyro wheeled around on his heel and stared down the opposite end of the hallway as if expecting to see someone. He knew to be on his guard – Crimson was obviously there – but what could he do?
There was the sound of laughter – Pyro clenched his hands into fists, and continued to stare down the hallway. He wasn't about to start looking for Crimson – and he would not allow him to make the first move.
Pyro grabbed his lighter, and as quickly as he could, he lit a flame. He caught the fire in his hand and held it there – either Crimson was no longer there or he was allowing Pyro to use his powers. The second option was not a very encouraging thought – and just to prove himself, Pyro shot a wall of fire down the hallway towards where the dead end had appeared.
Crimson most likely had not expected that – because the dead end disappeared from Pyro's sight. Pyro smiled in victory, despite the fact that it was a small victory.
" You haven't won yet," Pyro heard Crimson's matter-of-fact voice, and the sound of approach – he wheeled about just in time to see a large, ferocious dog running towards him. Pyro shot another wall of fire at the dog – it disappeared just before the fire consumed it. Pyro turned the other way, where the dead end used to be, and shot another wall of fire towards it for good measure.
Pyro stood panting for a few moments – he was becoming far too frustrated than he should have allowed himself, but these kind of battles were pointless. How much longer could he keep trying to beat Crimson?
There was nothing but silence, and after standing for a few more moments, Pyro decided to keep moving.
He kept the flame in his hand, as a way to see if Crimson was close enough to use his powers of preventing a mutant from using their power. Pyro walked slowly – listening as hard as he could for any sound of approach. He knew it was useless, but it was better than standing still and waiting for Crimson to make the first move.
Pyro stopped dead in his tracks with a yelp of surprise. The flame in his hand had burned before it flickered out. Crimson was going to make his attack.
Pyro kept his hand balled into tight fists as he looked around himself. He felt cornered, vulnerable, and moments away from losing yet another battle. He waited.
He did not have to wait long.
Only a few moments after he had lost control over his power, Pyro felt a blow to the back of his knee, his leg knocked out from under him. He was caught at surprise and fell to the ground, hitting his back hard against the rock floor. He jumped back up to his feet, yet his feet were knocked out from under him again. This time he fell forward, his reflexes working fast enough for him to throw up his arms and prevent him from hitting his chin on the ground.
He could not get back up.
Crimson dug his knee into Pyro's back, and held both of Pyro's hands to the ground. Pyro looked at his arms – pinned to the ground by an unseen force. Then, just in a blink of the eye, there were red hands. Pyro could hear Crimson's victorious laugh as the hands faded to a tan color.
" Big surprise," Pyro muttered sarcastically under his breath, hating every time that he lost a battle to Crimson – how could fighting Crimson even be close to being fair?
" Hey, I gave you PLENTY of opportunities," Crimson said, still not standing up even though he had clearly won, " You just chose not to take them."
Pyro gritted his teeth together, but said nothing.
He had lost, yet again – or so he thought.
In a flash, Crimson was knocked clear off Pyro with a cry of alarm and fell to the ground a few feet away. He rolled to a stop, coughed in surprise – but was up on his feet in a matter of moments. Crimson stood ready, but Pyro was just as fast to react.
He had lit his lighter and caught a flame just as quickly as it took for Quicksilver to make another pass at Crimson. Crimson did not even have the time to use his own powers – he was knocked to the ground once again, hardly even a glimpse remained of the mutant who was fighting him.
Crimson did not even bother getting to his feet again – he stretched out with his ability, and sought out this new attacker. He could hear Pyro growling with anger as he lost control over his powers and burnt his hand once again. Crimson heard another sound as well, the sound of his assailant falling out of his sprint as he lost control over his abilities as well.
It was then that Crimson jumped back up to his feet, and he used his powers to make it so that the two mutants he was fighting could no longer see him. He smiled to himself – he loved watching them when they knew that he was right in front of them but they could no longer see him. To Crimson, it was fun to watch as that emotion gripped them – they were powerless. They could not use their abilities, they could not see their attacker, and all they could do is wait.
Crimson had won yet again.
********************************
Todd was sitting in the lounge, hardly even paying attention to what was going on around him – instead his interest was in the camera cell phone that his mom had given him months ago. He was concentrating on developing his powers as much as he could, and as the days went by, his abilities were becoming more and more defined.
At the moment, he had been trying to access memories from Nightcrawler – to pinpoint a certain memory from his days in the Munich Circus. So far, he wasn't doing too bad – he had reached memories of a circus, but nothing even close to the particular stunt that Kurt had mentioned. It would have been much easier if Todd could have just used the television to display his power – but Multiple was quite reluctant to give it up.
" Is this it?," Todd asked, biting his lip in uncertainty, and gave Kurt the phone. He looked at the memory displayed for a moment before shaking his head.
" Uh, nein," Kurt began, " There veren't angels in it."
Kurt gave the phone back to Todd, and shrugged.
" Were there ANY without angels in them?," Todd asked himself, realizing that he didn't have as much control over his powers as he had thought.
In another corner of the lounge, Adrian was sitting on the couch next to Multiple, leaning forward with keen interest.
" Look, I'm sorry, I have to make some rules," Adrian said, cutting into their conversation, and smiled. On the opposite end of the lounge, a confused looking Nightcrawler peered back with interest.
" Vat rules?," Kurt asked.
" Okay, see, I'm sorry to break it to you," Adrian started in a terribly fake authoritarian voice, " But I mean, there's got to be some sort of rules. I just can't feel safe teleporting if there weren't 'porting rules."
" Huh?," Kurt asked, more confused than before.
" Rule one," Adrian began, ignoring the interruption, " A teleporter can't teleport another teleporter. There's no way that would ever work."
" Vhy vouldn't it vork?," Kurt asked, now completely engrossed in Adrian's rule-making, and ignoring the fact that he was there to help Todd.
" Because!," Adrian exclaimed with the most ridiculously exaggerated voice, " I mean, where would we go? It would be chaos! Mass pandemonium would break out! End of the world! Stuff like that. It's got to be made into a rule – no way I'm taking a chance with that one."
Neither Kurt nor Adrian said anything, and Adrian – apparently already bored with his game of making up rules – got up and teleported from the lounge altogether. The room filled with a silence with an air of bewilderment on it.
" How about this one?," Todd asked Kurt, and handed him the camera phone once more. Kurt took it and looked at it for a brief moment.
Kurt shook his head once again and replied, " There veren't trees in the circus."
Todd took the phone and looked at the memory he had displayed there – it had absolutely nothing to do with the circus at all.
" Oh, I give up," Todd said, thrusting the phone into his pocket and rolling his eyes at his own inability to control his powers.
For a few moments, he sat there fuming over the fact that he worked so hard and yet seemed to constantly loose control. He was hardly paying attention to his frustration, because the second his anger took priority over his concentration, the television in the lounge flickered menacingly.
Jamie was sitting at the couch, and turned around to give Todd a disapproving look.
" Uh… Todd?," he asked.
That was enough for Todd to snap out of his brooding, and he looked up at the television screen. The sight was enough to make his blood run cold.
The memory was a familiar one – Todd was standing at the foot of the stairs, looking up as his brother tried to evade him.
" 'They said you're a mutant,'" Todd heard his own voice say over the TV speakers, and then the memory cut out from the screen. Todd got up out of his seat and stormed out of the lounge.
No matter how much time had passed – he was still furious that his brother had joined the Brotherhood. How could Rob do such a thing? He understood that Rob had been under mind control when he had made his attack on the mansion – Professor Xavier had explained to him all about that – but Todd had always believed that his brother was smart enough to know the difference between right and wrong.
Couldn't Rob realize that joining a group of radical mutants who wanted humankind to be exterminated was wrong?
Or did he think like them now?
Todd hated that uncertainty – it was on his mind so much that if he wasn't concentrating, he would accidentally display memories of his brother upon whatever monitor was close. He got frustrated with himself when he did that – it only reminded him of what had happened.
Truth was – that was why he was having such a hard time at controlling his powers. He spent so much more time trying to block his own memories of his brother's existence that he had little energy left to spend on developing his powers.
And the fact that he had lost control only made him more furious.
********************
Okay, a bit of a short one – sorry! I don't know when I'll update next, but I'll let everyone know, kay?
Review already!
Deke
