Chapter Two: Ghost from the Past
My brain was still half-asleep when I woke up the following morning, and at first I couldn't remember where I was. I had been expecting to wake up in the room the four of us shared at the mansion, and I was disoriented for a few moments, until I remembered where we were. I had a vague feeling in the back of my mind that something bad had happened, something terrible, but I couldn't quite reach through the sleepy fog that clouded my mind to recollect exactly what it was.
I put on my clothes and stumbled half-awake out of the room, heading for the shower. I tried the bathroom door, and it was locked. I could hear somebody else using the shower, and I cursed the drawback of living in this house: there was only one bathroom. Instead I walked downstairs to find something to eat, hearing the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. When I got there, I saw Chloe and Felicity sitting at the kitchen table, chatting happily together, empty cereal bowls sitting in front of them. They both looked so carefree and innocent, and it was now that I remembered what had happened last night.
Chloe was pregnant. Pushing my telepathy out, I could sense the presence of the embryo inside of her. I knew I would have to tell her about it sooner or later, before she found out for herself, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell her now. She was so happy, so relaxed, so young. It was not right for the burden of motherhood to placed on her shoulders at age sixteen. She still had so much of her life to enjoy, to explore and to learn, before being tied down to a family. I hated myself for it, but at the same time I felt a wonder and awe at the thought that I was to be a father. And besides, there was nothing we or anybody else could do about it now. We couldn't change the past.
Both of the girls heard me coming into the kitchen, and turned to smile brightly at me.
"Hi!" Fliss greeted me. "You're too late to catch me getting out of bed; I've already got my clothes on."
"You really are shameless," I said to her.
"Is Chris still angry?" Chloe asked.
I realised it had to be Chris who was in the shower. Felicity giggled once more and said, "A bit. He's really convinced that Neil's trying it on with me. I think he's jealous,"
"It's not right," I said. "You shouldn't be tormenting him like that. I don't like what you're doing to me either, making me out to be some kind of voyeur."
I couldn't deny that Felicity was attractive – she was a classic American blonde beauty – but I didn't really take any interest in other girls' looks, now that I was committed to Chloe. I was content to have Fliss as a friend, and I didn't like the way she was trying to imply an affair between us. I could read her mind and I knew that she also found me attractive, and, if circumstances had been different, she might have fallen in love with me instead.
"It's just a joke!" she was saying. "You don't need to take it so seriously!"
"Yeah, well, I've got other things on my mind."
"You mean the attack last night?" said Chloe.
I nodded, "That, and – "
Biting my tongue, I stopped myself. I couldn't tell her. Not yet. Not while she was so happy and carefree.
"And what?" she asked.
"Tell you later. I – "
It was then that I felt it. From inside of Chloe, a tiny consciousness came, questing out towards me. My heart jumped in shock, and I just about managed to keep the surprise from showing on my face. Our child, even as a day-old embryo, had a consciousness, a telepathic presence, and was trying to communicate, obviously having sensed my own mind projecting towards Chloe. The tiny presence reached me, and I felt its thoughts inside my head. The unborn baby's mind wasn't developed enough to handle words or ideas; all it could send me was raw emotions: curiosity, fear, and a desire for reassurance.
"What were you going to say?" said Chloe.
"I…uh, nothing…" I mumbled.
I responded to the baby's mind, trying to reassure it. I tried but couldn't tell if it was going to be a boy or a girl. Paternal instincts, something I had never felt before, flowed out from my mind to the child. It was one of the most incredible feelings I had ever experienced. I was going to be a father. This little mind, this little miracle, inside Chloe was going to be my baby son or daughter. It sensed my fatherly affections, and the tiny consciousness was calmed. I felt the most amazing sense of awe and wonder at what had just happened. I had to be the first man ever to communicate with his child before it was even born. I wondered what Chloe would make of it.
I was distracted from my thoughts as Chris entered the room, newly showered and dressed, running a hand through his still-damp hair.
"Morning, all," he yawned. "How's my happy family this morning?"
Happy family. If only he knew. I was too worried to be hungry, so I grabbed an apple for breakfast, and watched as Fliss walked over to the sink to put her empty cereal bowl to be washed. She was in fact extremely attractive, I decided. Nice face, nice figure, well developed for a fifteen year old. Although I admired her appearance, I told myself I could not view her with any romantic interest. My heart already belonged to Chloe.
"When are we setting out on this mission type thing?" Chris asked, reaching for the cereal packet. "I forget exactly what it's about."
"Liar, you remember fine well," said Fliss, moving over to flick a stray hair out of his eyes.
"As soon as possible," I said in answer to his question. "I think it's best we move quickly, before we give our attacker another chance to strike."
"Well, I'm ready," said Chloe.
I looked at her, and came to a decision. It wasn't an easy decision to make. I wasn't sure how to begin, "Chloe, can I talk to you for a second? Alone?"
"OK…"
We walked out into the hallway, and I led her into the living room, closing the door behind me.
"What's up?" she said.
"You're not coming with us."
"Pardon?"
"You're not coming with us. You're staying here at the house."
"Uh, why?"
"Because it isn't safe. The assassin could attack us again at any time. I don't want you in danger."
She was impatient and a little angry, "Haven't we had this discussion a million times already? I thought we had agreed I was entitled to risk my own life!"
"It's different this time. It isn't just your life. Chloe – "
I made the decision. There was no turning back now. It was time to tell her.
" – Chloe, you know we have no secrets from one another," I said. "That's one thing we promised each other early on in our relationship. What I'm about to say, you probably don't want to hear, and I don't want to tell you, but I have to. Chloe – you're pregnant."
I wasn't quite sure how I had expected her to react. Crying, screaming, slapping me, smiling and embracing me, were all possible scenarios I had imagined. I certainly hadn't expected her to react calmly, give me a small nod, and reply, "I know."
"Know?!" I cried in surprise. "How could you possibly know?"
"I can feel her inside me. She's telepathic, like her father."
"She's been 'talking' to you too?"
"Yes."
"How do you know she's a girl?"
"Because I'm her mother, and she knows she can trust me completely. She telepaths everything to me. She's not so sure about you. She's shielding herself from you."
"She can do that?"
"Apparently."
"Chloe…" I hesitated. "I…I don't know what to say. I'm sorry."
"Sorry for what?"
"For making you pregnant, of course. Aren't you mad at me?"
"In a way. But at the same time, I'm happy to be pregnant. It just feels as if it's…right. As if it was meant to be this way. I don't feel like I'm not ready. It's as if it was written somehow, before it happened. It was always going to happen and there was nothing we could do to stop it. She's destiny's child."
I wasn't sure what to make of that. I said nothing for a moment, then I brought myself back to the main point of the conversation, "So you understand why I don't want you in danger."
"Yes. But staying here at the house won't make me safe. Suppose the attacker knows where we live. Suppose she comes here and I'm alone. The safest place that I – and our daughter – can be is with you and Chris and Fliss."
"Yeah…I suppose you're right…"
"There's one thing I don't understand, though."
"What?"
"How can our daughter be using her telepathy when she's hasn't even been born yet? The Professor told us that mutants only start to use their powers when they enter puberty, or just before."
"Well," I said. "If you think about it, our child isn't really a mutant. You're a mutant because you developed powers and genes your parents didn't have. She's only inherited her telepathy from my genes, which means she can use it right away. She's not a mutant; she's just the child of her parents."
"Do you think she has any of our other powers?"
"I don't know. Ask her."
Chloe shook her head, "She wouldn't understand. She can only sense emotions and feelings."
"Of course. Chloe?"
"Yeah?"
"You really are OK with us having a baby? I mean, you aren't thinking of having an abortion?"
Chloe was shocked, "Of course not! She already has a consciousness! Abortion would be nothing less than murder!"
"I agree. I – "
"What?"
"I…I'm just a bit confused, and still a little shocked," I admitted. "I've found out you're pregnant, and all I feel is this sense of awe and disbelief; disbelief that we have created something so wonderful. I just keep wondering if this is the way my father felt when he discovered my mum was expecting me. It seems to me that he would just have seen me as an opportunity, as a tool to use in his experimentation."
"I don't know," she said. "But I know you'll be a better father than he was."
"That wouldn't be hard. I'll try my best. Anyway – you're ready to go?"
"Yes."
"OK. With luck, we won't run into any trouble. We can meet Constantine, talk to him, then report back to the Professor."
"Right."
"And Chloe?"
"Yes?"
"If we do run into danger, promise me that you'll put your own safety first, and won't risk yourself for our sake. Promise me you'll keep the baby safe."
"I promise. The safest place I can be is next to you. That's where I'll be, whatever happens."
I wasn't sure if I agreed with that, but I didn't argue. I went through into the kitchen to check on the others. Chris had just finished eating. Felicity flashed me a sexy smile, and I sensed Chris' anger rising again.
"If there's something going on between you two, I want to know about it right now," he demanded.
"There isn't," I said. "Fliss, stop fooling around. The situation is too serious for you to be acting like a kid."
"Well, I am a kid. I'm 15 years old," she grinned. "You're the one who's being old and stale."
I ignored her and said, "So you're both ready to go?"
Chris and Fliss both nodded, "Yup."
"All right. We'll leave in ten minutes."
The Professor had given us the address of the Matthews residence, but as I consulted a street-map, it seemed to be more of an estate: a large manor house, extensive gardens and a courtyard, and a small area of surrounding forest. It wasn't as big as Xavier's own estate, but it still promised to be impressively opulent. It was about two miles away from my own house, and we decided to travel on foot, as going more slowly would give me a better chance of detecting any traps that had been set, or unfriendly mutants that were lying in wait for us.
"It's still cold," Fliss was complaining as we left the house. "Isn't it ever warm in this country?"
"Not what a New Yorker would call warm, no," Chris said.
"We find your country too hot," Chloe added.
"I'd hate to be here in winter," the blonde girl muttered.
We had been walking for about ten minutes when I sensed the presence of another mutant, nearby. It wasn't anyone I had ever encountered before.
"Hold on," I said, putting out a hand to stop the others. "There's another mutant somewhere near."
"Where?"
"Is it your attacker?"
I frowned as I tried to pinpoint the position of the mutant. My gaze fell upon a heavily pregnant woman who was walking on the other side of the street. She wasn't a mutant herself – the baby inside her must have been.
"False alarm," I said. "It's OK."
The pregnant woman reminded me that Chloe too was expecting a mutant child – somehow, while thinking about the mission, I'd actually managed to forget this – and it all came flooding back. As the four of us – or should it be the five of us? – continued on our way, I forced myself to stop thinking and worrying about the baby, and keep my concentration on the mission. Accomplish the mission, keep Chloe and the baby safe – that was all that mattered right now.
It wasn't until we came close to the Matthews estate that I could begin to sense the presence of other mutants. There were four of them inside the estate, but at this distance I couldn't quite identify any of them. One was obviously Constantine himself – I didn't know who the other four were.
"There are four mutants here," I said to the others. "I can't tell who they are at the moment. I'll need to get closer."
"Are they friends or enemies?" asked Fliss.
"I don't know. Be ready to run – or fight – if I tell you."
"Whatever you say," she giggled, prompting another glare from Chris.
I ignored her once again. Felicity really was being silly. Maybe it was a phase girls of her age went through, or maybe it was just her way of reacting to the danger she found herself in. She knew I was already in love, so why she kept flirting with me – or at least pretending to – was a mystery. I put it out of my mind.
We came to a high brick wall, and a huge pair of iron gates that blocked the entrance to the estate. By the gates was a small intercom device, presumably connected to the interior of the manor house. The gates could probably be opened electronically from there. I pressed the button and waited for a response. It came after a few moments, "Yes?"
"Hello, I'd like to speak to Constantine Matthews," I replied, speaking into the device.
"Who is it?"
"My name is Neil Rosiçky. I have something important to discuss with him."
There was silence for a few seconds, then the voice said, "You may come in. Please proceed to the manor house where someone will meet you."
"Thank you," I said, and a moment later the gates silently sprung open.
I looked at the others, "So far, so good."
Chloe nodded and Fliss gave me a hopeful smile. Chris was looking slightly less pleased, "I don't like this. What if this Constantine turns out to be an enemy? We could easily be trapped in here."
"We'll be fine," I said. "If he's trying to trap us, I'll read his mind and know about it in advance."
"I suppose so. Lead the way."
I went first through the opened gateway, and the others followed behind me. I could still sense the four other mutants inside the estate, and I concentrated on trying to identify them. Two of them seemed familiar – that was all I could tell at the moment – and the two others I had never met. I wondered who it could be. Had the Professor decided to send some of the other X-Men ahead of us? Could Magneto also be on to this?
We walked towards the manor house, crossing the wide open paved space that was the courtyard, and the mutants' minds became clearer. None of them was Xavier or Magneto. One of them was – or was she? – yes, she was – one of them was the girl who had attacked me the previous night.
"We may be in trouble," I said. "My attacker is here."
Fliss' eyes widened, and Chloe took a step closer to me, "Here?"
"They're coming," I said quickly. "All four of them, they're closing in on us. They're spread out in a square. I can read their minds now – oh, sh*t, it's a trap!"
I could see two of them now, walking across the courtyard towards us. The female – tall, dark and slender – who I had identified as my would-be assassin, padding across the ground as silently as a shadow. She stood at the north west corner of the courtyard, watching us intently. At the north east corner stood a man, about my own age, his arms folded, a triumphant smile on his face, supreme confidence brimming in his mind.
"So you survived after all," he said to me.
"You were the one who sent her?" I asked.
"Yes."
"You're Constantine, aren't you? Why did you want her to kill me?"
He smiled lazily, "I would have thought that was obvious. I want power – I want the world in my grasp – and you're the only one powerful enough to stop me from getting it."
"You were given mutation implant therapy, right? That's what warped your mind?"
Constantine laughed, "No, I received the same treatment as you, when I was a new-born baby. Like you, I'm still completely sane. I just have a different set of objectives."
"Obviously. What made you so hungry for power?"
"Simply the knowledge that it could be mine. Don't you feel the same?"
I didn't respond right away, and he continued, "We could do it together, you know. You and I. We could rule the world. Who could stop us? Anything we wanted, anything at all, we could have."
"I already have everything I want," I said, thinking of Chloe and the baby. "I'm not interested in power."
"In that case, I will have to kill you."
I tried to stop myself from panicking. Things had gone wrong, badly wrong; nothing had turned out as we had expected. Somehow it had never occurred to me that Constantine might already have chosen to go down the path of darkness. We were trapped now, inside his estate, surrounded by him and his associates.
"There are other mutants more powerful than me," I told him. "They will stand in your way."
"Like who?"
The Professor and Magneto sprung to mind. Neither of them would want to see Constantine take supreme power, although in Magneto's case it would only be because he wanted supreme power for himself.
What were we supposed to do now? The Professor hadn't told us what to do in this eventuality. I knew I had to make a decision, and make it fast. Talking to Constantine probably would not work; I doubted I was a persuasive enough arguer to change his mind, and I hadn't quite mastered using my telepathy to control other people's minds. Running was an option, but getting away would be difficult when we were surrounded. Fighting was the third choice, but again it was risky, since we didn't know what powers they possessed. I decided to try and buy some time.
"Constantine…" I began. "It doesn't have to be this way. You don't have to seek power. Power is fleeting."
"Not if you have enough of it," he responded. "Listen, Oculus – yes, I found out your name too – I don't have time to waste with you. You have two choices: join me or die."
"What a cliché," Chris muttered under his breath. "Neil, I'm ready to fight."
"Me too," said Fliss.
"Do whatever you think is best," Chloe whispered to me.
Chloe. The baby. I couldn't risk a fight. I knew I could not live if either of them was killed. That did not, however, mean I could back down to Constantine. I couldn't join him. I wouldn't join him. I would do what was right. Running seemed the only option. I glanced behind me to assess our chances of escape.
At the south west and south east corners of the courtyard stood the other two mutants. The first one was unfamiliar to me, and looked completely normal, apart from his feet, which seemed slightly oddly shaped. Was that his mutation? I turned my gaze to the other. This was the second of the two mutants whose presence had seemed familiar to me. My heart rose in my mouth and my blood ran cold as I recognised who it was. It couldn't be. How was this possible?
"Ocelot!" Constantine snapped. "Choose your prey!"
The mutant with the strangely shaped feet gave a sharp-toothed grin, and extended his arm to point at Fliss. Chris' eyes narrowed and he stepped protectively in front of her.
"Impervious, likewise!"
The mutant at the south east corner raised a hand to point at Chris. I frowned. Impervious? That was wrong. This mutant went by a different name. Chloe's fear rose as Ocelot and Impervious began moving towards us, slowly, carefully, not giving us any avenues of escape. I turned back round to see Constantine, smiling confidently, and the girl assassin, her index finger slowly lengthening into a foot-long blade. Fliss gave a little shriek, and I turned round to see why. Ocelot was now running across the ground towards her, on those strangely shaped feet, so much like a big cat's, running at a speed no normal person would ever have been capable of. Long, razor sharp claws extended from his fingers as he closed in on us.
Constantine laughed, "Your move, Oculus."
I couldn't even begin to think of a plan. My mind was in a turmoil, still thrown by the mutant who was now steadily walking towards Chris. It was impossible, it had to be. For the one called Impervious was an enemy we had thought long dead. I told myself I had to be mistaken, but there was no way I could have mistaken that person's face.
A/N: Please leave a review; it will motivate me to write more.
