Bottom of Form
I watched as Eric and the X-men dispatched with the perimeter soldiers. From Stryker's office, I had a multitude of computer and television screens before me. In one, I could see the kidnapped schoolchildren from Xavier's; in another, I could see something far more entertaining.
Between Eric, the real Wolverine, Jean Grey, Ororo, and the Nightcrawler; Stryker's soldiers didn't stand a chance. He had looked directly into a security camera and smiled, he knew I saw him. He also knew that I smiled back.
The soldiers on the other side of the door were making some very interesting noises; Stryker had ordered them to get this door open. Was it possible they would succeed before the others got here? This question ran through my mind as I stood to meet whatever challenge faced me on the other side.
The door made a grinding noise, almost as if it were being pulled and twisted. Once I heard the humming noise of Eric's power, I was relieved. The door was ripped off the hinges, revealing everyone from the jet, without so much as a scratch on their stupid leather costumes.
Eric walked into the room, the first to join me. He rarely said things to me with words; his actions always spoke for his heart. He gave me a look to let me know how much he appreciated my effort to help.
Through some subtle manipulation of the situation, the X-men would have to split up. I clicked on the image of the captured students; immediately, Storm and Nightcrawler went for the live bait. That left Jean and Logan to come with us to stop Xavier.
Again, through some trickery, Logan saw where Stryker was heading, and he took off after them on his own. That left Jean Grey with us. She is weak in her powers; a little telekinesis wouldn't stop Eric or me when it came time for us to get her out of our way.
However, we didn't even need to take her down because Scott did it for us. His optic blast separated us, and she told us to go on ahead. Eric and I were now going to be able to manipulate Xavier into killing Stryker before we rescued him. It was almost too easy.
We had discarded with more of Stryker's soldiers, right outside of the chamber...we were so close.
We almost made it.
I have been beaten before; I have been slapped, punched, kicked, and bitten.
I've been stabbed.
Not one of those abuses could compare with what I went through when Xavier attacked me with his brain. I could feel his mind connect with mine, how it searched my DNA for the mutant gene, and then attack me through my own powers. It started as a blinding headache, and within seconds, it had advanced to a full body seizure. I fell to my knees in pain, clawing at my head.
I saw Eric in front of me. He felt it too, but his helmet blocked out most of the pain. He was protected from Xavier's power...temporarily. Soon, the small amount of pain that he felt would escalate until it matched my own. I curled my body, trying to shield myself from the invisible threat, but it was no use; the pain came from every direction, ripping me apart!
I looked down at my leg, and saw it change...without my consent. It was then that I realized Cerebro was forcing me to morph. The metal on the wall was somewhat reflective, and I could see the horrible monster that it had made me become.
I had Wolverine's claws sprouting from Nightcrawler's hands; Yuriko's face with Rogue's hair; Senator Kelly's suit had appeared with my scales. Oh, God, I was hideous! The worst part was that I knew I was powerless to stop it.
"Eric," I cried, even my voice had taken on a shattering tone of both man and woman, "Hurry!"
He had looked back at me, and saw what was happening. He was scared and angry, but determined to overcome this for me, for himself, for all mutant-kind. He wouldn't let Stryker win, not this way or any other. I could feel myself get closer to the edge of death. Very soon, it would be all over.
My vision swam until everything was blurry. Then it went dark.
'Goodbye Eric. We tried...'
Images from my past came back to me, my life flashing before my eyes.
It was like watching a slide show of my past. I saw my mother. She looked like me, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She sat on the couch, allowing the town drunk to grope her right in front of me when I was little. Was that fat, drunken slob my father? How many times had I run away from that house? She hated me even before I mutated. My "lifelong friends" that said we would be together forever rejecting me after they saw the horrible thing that I had become. If they could see me now...The street gangs that I had hid from for months; hearing of the Xavier school.
Eric.
His face came into my vision. He's like a fallen archangel: his face is handsome, but troubled. His powers over the most primal forces has made him as great as he is terrible. I watched his mouth form words, but I could hear nothing.
Slowly, I began to hear sounds that grew in volume. The sounds formed into words. His words; they cut through the haze that had covered my mind like sunshine in a rainstorm.
"Mystique?" he asked gently. My eyes opened, but it hurt to take in the light. I realized that I was on the floor, and he was gripping my shoulders, holding me up. My body felt like it was liquid on the inside, and my mind was a mess. It no longer hurt, but it was too difficult to focus or pay much attention to my circumstances. For a while, I couldn't tell where I was or why I was there.
Eric breached the chamber door and went inside, leaving me to collect myself. I heard him inside, talking to the Professor. I sat on the floor for a few moments, making sure that all of my parts still fit together properly, and I was satisfied that I'd be fine. I shook my head, waking my brain up, and heard him say something about rules before I stood up and looked inside. He had risen to the center of the room and rearranged the tiles that made up the Cerebro globe.
He looked to me from where he hovered, and I understood immediately.
I entered the Cerebro chamber, and by my third step, I was William Stryker.
"There's been a change of plans..."
In doing this, Eric would lose Charles forever. I know it pained him. Before, he was willing to sacrifice Rogue, now he was willing to sacrifice his oldest and most cherished friendship. Charles knew that Eric was willing to do whatever it took to win the war, but I'm sure he never expected this level of betrayal.
Deep down, I don't think Eric did either.
He closed the doors behind himself, and sighed. "It didn't have to come to this...but now it has." That was all he said by way of explanation. He felt no remorse for the humans who would die, and neither did I. No, the only source of his pain was the knowledge that he and Xavier's friendship would die along with the rest of the population.
He led me out of the dam, and we headed towards a helicopter pad.
The walk to the helicopter was brisk; neither on of us liked the cold weather very much. Someone had caught up to the real William Stryker before us, and done the liberty of chaining him to the front wheel. Eric smiled dangerously as he saw him. No doubt he was realizing that everything that had happened today- my near death experience, the very real death of Eric and Charles's friendship- was all Stryker's fault.
I let Eric handle the situation himself. He and Mr. Stryker had unfinished business to attend to.
While I began the start-up sequence for the chopper, I noticed someone in the woods watching us. It was that boy Eric had talked to on the X-jet. What was he doing all the way out here? Why wasn't he back on the plane with Rogue and her boyfriend?
Eric looked at him intently, and the boy returned the level stare without a blink. For a long moment, neither one of them moved. Then, Eric opened the door with his power. It was an unspoken invitation, which the boy gladly took. He came across the snow, flicking his lighter.
Pyro was a welcome addition to our family.
I watched as Eric and the X-men dispatched with the perimeter soldiers. From Stryker's office, I had a multitude of computer and television screens before me. In one, I could see the kidnapped schoolchildren from Xavier's; in another, I could see something far more entertaining.
Between Eric, the real Wolverine, Jean Grey, Ororo, and the Nightcrawler; Stryker's soldiers didn't stand a chance. He had looked directly into a security camera and smiled, he knew I saw him. He also knew that I smiled back.
The soldiers on the other side of the door were making some very interesting noises; Stryker had ordered them to get this door open. Was it possible they would succeed before the others got here? This question ran through my mind as I stood to meet whatever challenge faced me on the other side.
The door made a grinding noise, almost as if it were being pulled and twisted. Once I heard the humming noise of Eric's power, I was relieved. The door was ripped off the hinges, revealing everyone from the jet, without so much as a scratch on their stupid leather costumes.
Eric walked into the room, the first to join me. He rarely said things to me with words; his actions always spoke for his heart. He gave me a look to let me know how much he appreciated my effort to help.
Through some subtle manipulation of the situation, the X-men would have to split up. I clicked on the image of the captured students; immediately, Storm and Nightcrawler went for the live bait. That left Jean and Logan to come with us to stop Xavier.
Again, through some trickery, Logan saw where Stryker was heading, and he took off after them on his own. That left Jean Grey with us. She is weak in her powers; a little telekinesis wouldn't stop Eric or me when it came time for us to get her out of our way.
However, we didn't even need to take her down because Scott did it for us. His optic blast separated us, and she told us to go on ahead. Eric and I were now going to be able to manipulate Xavier into killing Stryker before we rescued him. It was almost too easy.
We had discarded with more of Stryker's soldiers, right outside of the chamber...we were so close.
We almost made it.
I have been beaten before; I have been slapped, punched, kicked, and bitten.
I've been stabbed.
Not one of those abuses could compare with what I went through when Xavier attacked me with his brain. I could feel his mind connect with mine, how it searched my DNA for the mutant gene, and then attack me through my own powers. It started as a blinding headache, and within seconds, it had advanced to a full body seizure. I fell to my knees in pain, clawing at my head.
I saw Eric in front of me. He felt it too, but his helmet blocked out most of the pain. He was protected from Xavier's power...temporarily. Soon, the small amount of pain that he felt would escalate until it matched my own. I curled my body, trying to shield myself from the invisible threat, but it was no use; the pain came from every direction, ripping me apart!
I looked down at my leg, and saw it change...without my consent. It was then that I realized Cerebro was forcing me to morph. The metal on the wall was somewhat reflective, and I could see the horrible monster that it had made me become.
I had Wolverine's claws sprouting from Nightcrawler's hands; Yuriko's face with Rogue's hair; Senator Kelly's suit had appeared with my scales. Oh, God, I was hideous! The worst part was that I knew I was powerless to stop it.
"Eric," I cried, even my voice had taken on a shattering tone of both man and woman, "Hurry!"
He had looked back at me, and saw what was happening. He was scared and angry, but determined to overcome this for me, for himself, for all mutant-kind. He wouldn't let Stryker win, not this way or any other. I could feel myself get closer to the edge of death. Very soon, it would be all over.
My vision swam until everything was blurry. Then it went dark.
'Goodbye Eric. We tried...'
Images from my past came back to me, my life flashing before my eyes.
It was like watching a slide show of my past. I saw my mother. She looked like me, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She sat on the couch, allowing the town drunk to grope her right in front of me when I was little. Was that fat, drunken slob my father? How many times had I run away from that house? She hated me even before I mutated. My "lifelong friends" that said we would be together forever rejecting me after they saw the horrible thing that I had become. If they could see me now...The street gangs that I had hid from for months; hearing of the Xavier school.
Eric.
His face came into my vision. He's like a fallen archangel: his face is handsome, but troubled. His powers over the most primal forces has made him as great as he is terrible. I watched his mouth form words, but I could hear nothing.
Slowly, I began to hear sounds that grew in volume. The sounds formed into words. His words; they cut through the haze that had covered my mind like sunshine in a rainstorm.
"Mystique?" he asked gently. My eyes opened, but it hurt to take in the light. I realized that I was on the floor, and he was gripping my shoulders, holding me up. My body felt like it was liquid on the inside, and my mind was a mess. It no longer hurt, but it was too difficult to focus or pay much attention to my circumstances. For a while, I couldn't tell where I was or why I was there.
Eric breached the chamber door and went inside, leaving me to collect myself. I heard him inside, talking to the Professor. I sat on the floor for a few moments, making sure that all of my parts still fit together properly, and I was satisfied that I'd be fine. I shook my head, waking my brain up, and heard him say something about rules before I stood up and looked inside. He had risen to the center of the room and rearranged the tiles that made up the Cerebro globe.
He looked to me from where he hovered, and I understood immediately.
I entered the Cerebro chamber, and by my third step, I was William Stryker.
"There's been a change of plans..."
In doing this, Eric would lose Charles forever. I know it pained him. Before, he was willing to sacrifice Rogue, now he was willing to sacrifice his oldest and most cherished friendship. Charles knew that Eric was willing to do whatever it took to win the war, but I'm sure he never expected this level of betrayal.
Deep down, I don't think Eric did either.
He closed the doors behind himself, and sighed. "It didn't have to come to this...but now it has." That was all he said by way of explanation. He felt no remorse for the humans who would die, and neither did I. No, the only source of his pain was the knowledge that he and Xavier's friendship would die along with the rest of the population.
He led me out of the dam, and we headed towards a helicopter pad.
The walk to the helicopter was brisk; neither on of us liked the cold weather very much. Someone had caught up to the real William Stryker before us, and done the liberty of chaining him to the front wheel. Eric smiled dangerously as he saw him. No doubt he was realizing that everything that had happened today- my near death experience, the very real death of Eric and Charles's friendship- was all Stryker's fault.
I let Eric handle the situation himself. He and Mr. Stryker had unfinished business to attend to.
While I began the start-up sequence for the chopper, I noticed someone in the woods watching us. It was that boy Eric had talked to on the X-jet. What was he doing all the way out here? Why wasn't he back on the plane with Rogue and her boyfriend?
Eric looked at him intently, and the boy returned the level stare without a blink. For a long moment, neither one of them moved. Then, Eric opened the door with his power. It was an unspoken invitation, which the boy gladly took. He came across the snow, flicking his lighter.
Pyro was a welcome addition to our family.