Disclaimer: I do not own, nor am I making any money from the X-Men
characters. Thank you to Corrinth for the use of her character Dr. Ilehana
Xavier. I do own Blaze, and appreciate authors not using her without
asking.
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 12
"You laughed, didn't you?" Pyro asked Mystique in a peeved voice as he stood leaning against the doorframe like a true truculent teenager. Mystique didn't even bother to look up; this conversation had been a long time coming between Magneto's young recruit and herself.
"Yes."
"Why? What's so funny? Did you only take me along the other day so I could get beat up by some girl?"
"Yes." Mystique finally gave him her full attention. "You have to understand, John, that we are trying to teach you a valuable lesson here. No matter how fantastic you think you are, there will always be somebody better with your own special gift than you. In your case, Blaze is far more powerful with her fire than you are, for now at least."
"If I'm so useless why do you keep me around here? Why don't I just go sulking back to Xavier's?" He didn't try to hide the anger in his voice. "You set me up and you admit it, what kind of a brotherhood is this?"
"A brotherhood where we can show you how no matter what the adversity, there will always be a way to improve the situation. That was the most important lesson Magneto has ever taught me, and now we pass it on to you." She was away with the computer-fairies again, punching the keyboard like there was no tomorrow. If she didn't get these files secured, and the X-Men arrived, there would be no tomorrow for this latest plan of Magneto's.
"You mean, like that machine? If I were to use it, I might become the most powerful mutant with fire?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. We wont know until you try it." She had him now, she was sure of it. Pyro had been nothing but a hindrance to the mutation accelerator project since he'd arrived to help her. All those morals Xavier had corrupted him with made him hesitant to try new things. It had been Magneto's idea to bribe the boy with power to turn him into a test subject, one of the first of Magneto's planned super-mutant army. But Mystique had known exactly how to get the cocky youth to want that power so badly. As Pyro left the room frowning, Mystique pondered how a short sighted, petty human crime lord such as Jacobi could have understood mutants so well that he knew most would do anything to further their own powers. Now Magneto could bring those early, hesitant plans of Jacobi's into true fruition, build an army with which to liberate all of mutant-kind.
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"Crush, my dear mutant-brother!" Magneto put down his cup of tea with slight regret and welcomed the mutant Mystique ushered into the breakfast room with a smile. He was briefly amazed at the size of the all-muscle mutant, before wondering just what the mutation accelerator would do to improve the younger man. He wondered that often these days, flights of fancy he supposed that made Mystique mistress of telekinesis or Sabretooth capable of charming anyone into anything... He doubted he'd ever bother with the thing himself, he was quite well endowed with powers; it was power itself that he craved now.
A scant half hour later, Magneto sat in the observation area as Mystique lashed Crush to the operating table and double-checked the flow rates of the tubes of isotopes. Nobody else was present, or even knew about this first test. The chances of this first experiment working were slim. Magneto wished there were another way to test the machine, but Mystique assured him that there was not. With the flick of a button on the complex control panel, the powerful motor whirred into life. Oh well, too late to worry now.
Suddenly Crush cried out, Magneto glanced worriedly at his schematic display, but it seemed only to be the multitude of needles that had penetrated the mutant's body. The display changed again as the different fluids started their way from flasks under the table, through tubes and into Crush's body. Crush shut his eyes in fear as two giant mechanical arms reached out over him to inject more chemicals to more precise regions of his anatomy. The contents of the flasks dwindled slowly, Crush appeared to have passed out, and then Mystique cried out.
"Look! It's working!" She pointed to the mutant's already think-set neck, which was now ballooning with new muscle tissue, new blood vessels, and a fine coating of pale purple hairs. As Magnetos watched in awe, Crush began to sprout a fine down of purple all over his face, arms, neck and chest. Muscle bloomed everywhere, the already huge man was visibly growing, DNA in hyper drive. But also the man didn't look so much like a man anymore, his face was changing. Nose elongated, became a snout over powerful hyena jaws. His name had never seemed more apt.
"No! Wait!" Magneto shouted, noticing blood dripping from Crush's ear just as a monitor started bleeping. "Something is wrong!"
"His brainwaves have dropped right down, there's a blood clot on the brain!" Mystique ran from one monitor to another, trying to stop the machine quick enough. Magneto raised a hand and jammed the metal pumps. But it was already too late, the monitors flat lined, blood poured from every orifice of Crush, nose, ears, mouth. Muscle, newly grown now collapsed in on itself, as did his face. Soon there was nothing that would have been recognisable as Crush left on the table. He was dead.
"Get rid of this." Magneto ordered, disgusted. "And prepare for another test. Make it slower, less accelerant over a longer period of time. Adjust for the next subject's relative body mass too, and prep them too. I will be in my office."
With that he stormed out, frustrated. So close, so very close...
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"Keep her steady Rogue, you're doing well." Cyclops praised his young co- pilot at the helm of the Blackbird. They were fast approaching Magneto's newest lair and Scott was convinced their arrival would be expected. Expected meant heavily guarded, possible casualties. Meant he needed his mind on formulating a precise plan, which was why he was glad Rogue had really improved her flying skills under his tuition.
In the back, Wolverine fumbled annoyed with the collar on his black X-Men uniform. Nothin' changed, not really anyway. Nightcrawler appeared to be meditating, eyes closed and face calm. Bobby tapped his fingertips impatiently on the seat in front of him, keeping one careful eye on Cyclops and Rogue. Content as he could be, Xavier backed out of the minds of his X- Men. He trusted them to do what they were trained for, and he would help them if he could. Somehow, the Professor had a feeling that today would be a very long day.
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 12
"You laughed, didn't you?" Pyro asked Mystique in a peeved voice as he stood leaning against the doorframe like a true truculent teenager. Mystique didn't even bother to look up; this conversation had been a long time coming between Magneto's young recruit and herself.
"Yes."
"Why? What's so funny? Did you only take me along the other day so I could get beat up by some girl?"
"Yes." Mystique finally gave him her full attention. "You have to understand, John, that we are trying to teach you a valuable lesson here. No matter how fantastic you think you are, there will always be somebody better with your own special gift than you. In your case, Blaze is far more powerful with her fire than you are, for now at least."
"If I'm so useless why do you keep me around here? Why don't I just go sulking back to Xavier's?" He didn't try to hide the anger in his voice. "You set me up and you admit it, what kind of a brotherhood is this?"
"A brotherhood where we can show you how no matter what the adversity, there will always be a way to improve the situation. That was the most important lesson Magneto has ever taught me, and now we pass it on to you." She was away with the computer-fairies again, punching the keyboard like there was no tomorrow. If she didn't get these files secured, and the X-Men arrived, there would be no tomorrow for this latest plan of Magneto's.
"You mean, like that machine? If I were to use it, I might become the most powerful mutant with fire?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. We wont know until you try it." She had him now, she was sure of it. Pyro had been nothing but a hindrance to the mutation accelerator project since he'd arrived to help her. All those morals Xavier had corrupted him with made him hesitant to try new things. It had been Magneto's idea to bribe the boy with power to turn him into a test subject, one of the first of Magneto's planned super-mutant army. But Mystique had known exactly how to get the cocky youth to want that power so badly. As Pyro left the room frowning, Mystique pondered how a short sighted, petty human crime lord such as Jacobi could have understood mutants so well that he knew most would do anything to further their own powers. Now Magneto could bring those early, hesitant plans of Jacobi's into true fruition, build an army with which to liberate all of mutant-kind.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Crush, my dear mutant-brother!" Magneto put down his cup of tea with slight regret and welcomed the mutant Mystique ushered into the breakfast room with a smile. He was briefly amazed at the size of the all-muscle mutant, before wondering just what the mutation accelerator would do to improve the younger man. He wondered that often these days, flights of fancy he supposed that made Mystique mistress of telekinesis or Sabretooth capable of charming anyone into anything... He doubted he'd ever bother with the thing himself, he was quite well endowed with powers; it was power itself that he craved now.
A scant half hour later, Magneto sat in the observation area as Mystique lashed Crush to the operating table and double-checked the flow rates of the tubes of isotopes. Nobody else was present, or even knew about this first test. The chances of this first experiment working were slim. Magneto wished there were another way to test the machine, but Mystique assured him that there was not. With the flick of a button on the complex control panel, the powerful motor whirred into life. Oh well, too late to worry now.
Suddenly Crush cried out, Magneto glanced worriedly at his schematic display, but it seemed only to be the multitude of needles that had penetrated the mutant's body. The display changed again as the different fluids started their way from flasks under the table, through tubes and into Crush's body. Crush shut his eyes in fear as two giant mechanical arms reached out over him to inject more chemicals to more precise regions of his anatomy. The contents of the flasks dwindled slowly, Crush appeared to have passed out, and then Mystique cried out.
"Look! It's working!" She pointed to the mutant's already think-set neck, which was now ballooning with new muscle tissue, new blood vessels, and a fine coating of pale purple hairs. As Magnetos watched in awe, Crush began to sprout a fine down of purple all over his face, arms, neck and chest. Muscle bloomed everywhere, the already huge man was visibly growing, DNA in hyper drive. But also the man didn't look so much like a man anymore, his face was changing. Nose elongated, became a snout over powerful hyena jaws. His name had never seemed more apt.
"No! Wait!" Magneto shouted, noticing blood dripping from Crush's ear just as a monitor started bleeping. "Something is wrong!"
"His brainwaves have dropped right down, there's a blood clot on the brain!" Mystique ran from one monitor to another, trying to stop the machine quick enough. Magneto raised a hand and jammed the metal pumps. But it was already too late, the monitors flat lined, blood poured from every orifice of Crush, nose, ears, mouth. Muscle, newly grown now collapsed in on itself, as did his face. Soon there was nothing that would have been recognisable as Crush left on the table. He was dead.
"Get rid of this." Magneto ordered, disgusted. "And prepare for another test. Make it slower, less accelerant over a longer period of time. Adjust for the next subject's relative body mass too, and prep them too. I will be in my office."
With that he stormed out, frustrated. So close, so very close...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Keep her steady Rogue, you're doing well." Cyclops praised his young co- pilot at the helm of the Blackbird. They were fast approaching Magneto's newest lair and Scott was convinced their arrival would be expected. Expected meant heavily guarded, possible casualties. Meant he needed his mind on formulating a precise plan, which was why he was glad Rogue had really improved her flying skills under his tuition.
In the back, Wolverine fumbled annoyed with the collar on his black X-Men uniform. Nothin' changed, not really anyway. Nightcrawler appeared to be meditating, eyes closed and face calm. Bobby tapped his fingertips impatiently on the seat in front of him, keeping one careful eye on Cyclops and Rogue. Content as he could be, Xavier backed out of the minds of his X- Men. He trusted them to do what they were trained for, and he would help them if he could. Somehow, the Professor had a feeling that today would be a very long day.