The New Mutants

By: Joey

Disclaimer: Sorry, I don't own these characters, Marvel Comics and I believe KidsWB! (or at least they do for the Evo version) does

Chapter 3

"Demon Bear-Part 1"

Previously: The team hitchhikes to Boston, and tours the Massachusetts Academy. However things go awry when the headmistress, Emma Frost, attempts to make sure that they stay by controlling the team's minds. Soon a fight erupts between the New Mutants and Frost's own team of super-powered youths, known as the Hellions: Roulette, capable of tossing "luck discs" red good and black bad, Catseye, a girl able to morph into a were-cat, Tarot, capable of creating monster from tarot cards to fight on her behalf, and Empath, capable of sensing and manipulating people's emotions. Thankfully the team was rescued by the joint effort of James Proudstar and Doug Ramsey, who later joined the team as Warpath and Cypher, respectively.

******

Prologue:

Michael Whitecloud walked along the street, alone. It was late, and he had spent perhaps too much time at the pub drinking and partying. He thought he had heard some steps behind him so he turned to check. No one was there. He shrugged and kept walking. A few blocks later he thought he heard a growl of some sort. He checked again, but nothing was there, aside from some fog that had started to roll in. He turned back and kept walking, until he heard more steps, and a louder growl. He quickly stepped into an alley, hoping that the thick fog would mask his actions.

"Who's there? Come on! Show yourself!" he yelled out, pulling out a knife he kept hidden in his boot for protection. He heard the growling again. It sounded almost like a bear, and it seemed to come....right behind him.

He turned around, brandishing his knife, but all he could see was pure darkness, a sudden movement caught his eye, and everything went red.

******

She screamed, a cold a sweat upon her brow. It was the third nightmare in five days. Could the legend really be true? Why was she seeing these visions? The girl curled herself up, crying, as her grandfather came into the room, trying to comfort her.

******

Sundance, Colorado.

It had been an interesting few months for the team. They'd traveled cross country in what was, for all intents and purposes, a stolen van, thankfully they'd managed to avoid any unfriendly encounters with the law. During brief stays in towns they'd taken odd-jobs for support, though thankfully Roberto had managed to get some money from his father to help them for now. They'd aimed to try make some sort of permanent home in California, and only made a brief stopover in Denver, put ended up get entangled in a plot involving the mob, and two musicians named Dazzler and Longshot, mutants in their own right. After getting some cash for their bank account from the two grateful musicians, the team had only meant try and take a small stop in Sundance and get on the road, after all, Frost and her Hellions were still out there.

******

The kitchen of the small bed-and-breakfast, Medicine Bow.

Sam walked into the kitchen, still sleepy. The others were crowded around the table eating their breakfast, consisting of pancakes and bacon. He sat down and waited for his own plate.

"Late sleeper, huh Sammy?" James said, his head buried in the days newspaper.

"Yeah, ever since we've been on the road Ah've been sleeping in later an' later." he replied, before starting to dig into his plate of food.

Doug was reading the other end of James's newspaper and an article caught his eye. "Wow, look at that! A murder occurred last night!" he exclaimed, surprised that something like that could happen in such a peaceful area.

James turned the paper over. "Really?" he said, and started to read the report as the rest of the group crowded around to get a look at the paper.

"Michael Whitecloud, twenty-five, was found dead in the alley near fourth and ten at five-thirty am this morning, so far, the police have no clues as to who the murderer could be, though they do know that it the third in a series of murders that have plagued the area for the past week. All the victims were cut and torn badly in what almost seemed like an animal-like ferocity."

Everyone looked at each other worriedly, events like this were one of the reasons they had splintered off from Xavier, they knew what they needed to do, but were interrupted by one of the owners.

"So, everyone doing ok here?" she said, smiling.

"Yes madam, thank you very much for the breakfast." Amara said, graciously.

"But what do know about these murders?" Roberto threw in eagerly, interrupting whatever Amara was going to say (so she kicked him in the shin under the table and shot him a glare).

"You all really want to know, huh? Well they started about a week ago, and they've been pretty grisly, in fact, they're in the same style of some murders that happened fifteen years ago. Now, I'm not trying to scare you young kids or anything, but they say that it was the legendary Demon Bear that committed those murders, and a lot of people think that it's come back, for whatever reason." the woman said as she collected the used breakfast dishes.

James nodded his head, "Thanks for the information Mrs. Corsi, we just might do some detective work on our own."

"Well, all right," She replied, " but please, be careful."

******

The group decided to split into three groups: Roberto and Amara would check around bars and popular hangouts for information about the victims, while Rahne and Doug would check out the local library for any old newspaper articles on the previous murders, and Sam and James would check in with some of the local Cheyenne shamans to try and get some information on the Demon Bear itself. They also brought some walkie-talkies with them in case anything major came up.

******

Rahne had found a few old local newspapers at the library and sat next to Doug, who was working on his laptop with Warlock, searching for relevant articles.

"Selfriend Doug, I have come up with a list of the five victims from the previous set of murders." Warlock spoke out, and then displayed a list of names.

"Ok, we have Jonathan SkyeRunner, Thomas Cloudkicker, Jennifer Sunstar, and William and Peg Lonestar, though the bodies of the last two were never found." Doug said, listing off the names.

Rahne spoke up, "I found a reference to the two of them gettin' married Dougie, an' from what I read it was a pretty big event, not many people disapproved of the match. They had a daughter named Danielle an' apparently she still lives here."

"Hmmm, interesting. We should tell the others once we get done here, their daughter might have some insight into things." he replied, typing a few things into his laptop.

"But why?" Rahne said, wondering how the girl could be of much use or interest.

"It says here that all the victims, and that includes the three current ones, had shamanistic bloodlines." Doug said, looking up.

******

Roberto and Amara hadn't had much luck, most of the bars wouldn't even let them in. Finally one of bartenders had relented when they had been forced to display their powers.

"Michael Whitecloud?" the bartender said, once they had been seated and gotten down to business. "Yeah I knew him. His father was a shaman in training, but things didn't work out between him and the current one, Black Eagle. He'd been trying to be an apprentice himself, but things just never quite worked out, Michael was too much of a party animal, I guess. It was a shame, he was a nice guy too."

"Well, what about the other two people who were killed?" Amara asked, trying to keep track of all the information.

"Sarah Sixkiller and Lily Whitewolf? They were nice girls, They're relatives had been shamans in the past too. Really weird how all these people who had magick in their blood were killed. Makes me glad no one in my family was ever a shaman or an apprentice." the man said, setting down two cans of soda for the both of them.

Roberto nodded in thanks, and said, "What about this rumor that the Demon Bear got 'em, what do you think about that, man?"

The bartender shook his head, "No way, that's too unbelievable, and trust me, I've heard them all."

******

Sam and James approached the residence of the village shaman, Black Eagle, it had taken they awhile, but they had finally found the place, after a lot of referrals and wrong turns from bad directions.

"Hey Sam, for right now, you might want to let me do some of the talking. I know some tribes still have some hostility about you and you're kind." James said, trying to explain things in the easiest manner.

Sam nodded his head, "Ah understand James. Just lead the way buddy." he said.

They knocked on the door, and heard a beckoning call to come in. As they walked in, Sam took in the room. It was rustic, built with wood and old designs, and was full of objects that must have had some sort of mystical relevance. He then gave the elderly man a look. He looked to be about Professor Xavier's age, and his skin was almost a tan color, from being out in the sun for so long. His hair had streak of gray and white, but rather than detract of him, they added an almost wisdom filled mystique to him.

"Excuse me, honored shaman Black Eagle, my name is James Proudstar, of the Apache. My friend and I have come for information regarding the Demon Bear." James said, with honor and reverence in his deep voice.

Black Eagle nodded, slowly. " I know, my son. and you're friend may speak. All are welcome here."

Sam gave a polite nod, saying, "Thank you sir."

"As for the Demon Bear, I know of it....all too well." the elder man said, a look of sadness in his eyes. "I have even encountered it. It is a mystic beast, and as such it can only be defeated through mystical means."

"So you're certain that the demon is responsible for the murders?" James said sternly.

"Yes, yes I am, " Black Eagle said, "in fact I-", he was interrupted when a teenage girl entered the room.

"Oh! Excuse me for interrupting you, Grandfather, but I believe it is time for our daily rituals." She said.

"Oh yes, thank you.", he said, and then he gestured his hand towards James and Sam, "These young men have come to me seeking some advice. The taller one is James Proudstar, of the Apache, but I don't think I got the name of his companion..."

"Ah'm Sam Guthrie, sir, and it's nice ta meet you miss." Sam said, blushing a little.

She smiled, "It's nice to meet the both of you," she said, "my name is Danielle Moonstar, but please, call me Dani."

Black Eagle walked up to the three of them and said, "I'm sorry, my friends, I know you have traveled a long way, but Dani and myself must perform our rituals. Please, stop by tomorrow."

James nodded his head, "Yes, elder. We will come by tomorrow at a more opportune time." he replied, "Come on Sam, let's head back to the Medicine Bow."

******

Later that night, the team got back together to share what information they had managed to get.

"I programmed Warlock with a list of all the people in the community, as well as the information of the victims, with his help we should be able to get an accurate prediction of who the Demon Bear may try and attack next." Doug said, typing in a few buttons.

"Well, has he finished yet?" Sam said, "Ah'm sure the information will come in handy."

Warlock's voice came up from the computers speakers. "Yes, I have selffriend Sam, by self's best estimation, the next two targets will be village shaman Black Eagle, and village resident Dani Moonstar."

At that revelation, the others looked at each other nervously, Sam especially looked rather pale.Finally, Rahne spoke.

"We have to do something, she could be in danger even as we speak!"

******

Dani Moonstar was scared. She had stepped outside without telling her Grandfather. She somehow felt that those boys she had met would be able to help her with the nightmare visions she had been having, and had gone out to try and find the place they were staying. She had not counted on such a thick fog, she had tried to traverse through it, but it just seemed to get worse and worse as time went on. She started to panic when she thought she heard footsteps, and later when she began to hear strange noises. Finally, she could take no more and turned around.

What she saw made her blood run cold, she opened her mouth to scream, but no noise came out. It was the demon from her dreams.

The Demon Bear had found it's next prey.

End of third chapter.

Authors notes: Hope I did a good job, I tried to make this little bit more of a mystery/horror kind of deal. The Demon Bear story is actually based off of a four part story arc in the actual New Mutants comic, and it's recommended read if you can find (Issue # 18-21, if I remember correctly). As always, C&C is greatly appreciated!

Next Chapter: The conclusion of the Demon Bear saga! There are still some surprises in store for our heroes, so be there!