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 25
Storm, Blaze, Tsunami and Gaia were all strangely quiet these days. There were a million reasons for them to have left by now, Garthen's mad story being the main one. But somehow not one of them had suggested that they quit while they were ahead. Instead they sat in one or other of their rooms, thoughts echoing silently between them, as though all will they had between them had been sucked dry.
Someone cleared his throat in the doorway to Blaze's sitting room. All four young women looked up at once, as thought the same puppeteer held their strings. Garthen smiled at his young protégées, and they smiled back unthinking. Then as though the sun had come up to banish the dark, they each shook their heads and came back into their own minds a little.
"Ladies, may I introduce you to Professor Elizabeth Bartholomew?" A strange brunette woman entered, as Storm and Blaze both winced at the word 'Professor'. Why did that ring echoes in both their minds? "Elizabeth, meet Storm, Blaze, Gaia and Tsunami, my Dark Elements."
"I'm truly pleased to meet you all." Elizabeth smiled a cruel smile, baring whiter than white teeth. "May I greet you on behalf of the Amentha, and offer you our support for your work."
"Our work?" Gaia had been the most freethinking of the Dark Elements in recent days. Something in her considerate mind still questioned every little thing, keeping the others on the conscious side of brainwashing.
"To join the people of the world together as one under the Dragon King." Elizabeth sounded incredulous. "Has Garthen not told you?"
"Maybe, Garthen's told us a lot of things." Blaze shrugged at the woman apathetically, not able to remember any examples right at that moment. Storm put her fingers to her forehead as though trying very hard to remember something important, or else to fight off a headache.
"Ladies, let us not linger here on such a lovely day. Elizabeth and the other Amentha have a surprise prepared for you. Let us go to the arena."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The arena was exactly that, a Romanesque amphitheatre in the middle of nowhere. They flew in on Garthen's private helicopter, dropped down out of the deep blue sky into this great stone bowl in the middle of the desert. In the seats all around there were nameless people, the Amentha, thousands of them from all corners of the world.
"These people want to see you use your powers, my Dark Elements." Garthen addressed them. Elizabeth frowned as she saw sweat forming on his brow, he used too much of his power to control them. "In your past lives before I, the traveller, found you, you learned great control over your elemental powers. But now you are reborn, and the elements are not meant to be controlled. Here it is safe for you to loose control, free your souls and become goddesses."
In the stands as if on cue, the crowd pulled on helmets and oxygen tanks, they would take no chances. Elizabeth and Garthen did the same as they walked to the dais at the far side of the arena. The helicopter took off, disappearing over the stands and away. The four young women stood alone and uncertain in the centre of the ring.
**What are we supposed to be doing? ** Blaze's red-hot voice cut through their minds. She was still the best at forming coherent communications with their new telepathic link, though she could not explain why. Storm sometimes thought that she might know, but couldn't quite remember.
**Loosing control. ** Storm's airtight sarcasm replied lightly.
**Against them! ** Tsunami was always the most excitable, but now she seemed exhilarated. Following her mental pointing the other three spun round to see four heavy tanks rolling clumsily towards them, guns ready.
**Leave them to me. ** Gaia replied stoically, holding out her hands and *willing * the dry earth to buckle and surge beneath the tanks' caterpillar tracks. With a groan so deep it was felt rather than heard, the land tilted, rearing up like a bronco horse. The first tank began to slip sideways into its fellow, and the crowd roared all around them.
**Not without me! ** Tsunami didn't need to extend a hand. Turning transparent and fluidic she called the water out of the very ground with a wail like a legendary siren singing sailors to their deaths. It surged in great geysers from the ground, hot and steaming. The first water plume hit a tank square underneath, lifting its still turning caterpillar tracks from the ground beneath. Somehow the men inside got a missile away, before the geyser tipped the tank sideways and onto its roof.
"Gales." Storm whispered as the missile pelted towards her. Suddenly the wind surged, whipping around the arena, blowing up dust and hammering into Tsunami's water columns. The missile was blown off course just enough that it crashed harmlessly into the ground. "Lightning" was the next single word order from the mistress of air. Obedient, clouds gathered and darkened the once clear blue sky. With power enough to destroy a small building, a single lightning bolt came crisp and white from cloud to third tank, blowing it apart before it too could launch a weapon.
Blaze watched amazed as from the now-watered bare earth, tendrils of weeds came clambering over the first tank, wrapping it in a cocoon of green as it tried to drive off the cracked earth Gaia had stranded it on. Exhausted, Tsunami had to let her water columns fade and fall. She collapsed to the ground as the final tank bore down on her. Shouting out, Blaze leapt across the distance between them and stood in front of the water sprite. Flame surged around the red-haired mutant until it was as if she were on fire herself. As the tank drove at her, she did not flinch. It drove straight up to her but she did not move. It went to mow her down like grass in spring, but instead the heat Blaze gave off melted the metal superstructure. Gradually the entire tank turned to molten metal and mangled plating. Both Blaze and Tsunami remained unharmed.
Gasping for air, Blaze slumped to the floor, her clothing in tatters and ringlet hair plastered to her face with sweat and ash. In a second Storm was at her side, whilst Gaia picked up the much smaller Tsunami in her arms and stood her upright.
"Fabulous ladies!" Garthen exclaimed. "But we still have areas to work on. Endurance for one I see, and you Storm barely let yourself go. Now, showers and lunch I think!"
Besides Garthen, Elizabeth shivered with dread for the first time since she had heard of Garthen's finding of these chosen girls. It was one thing to know there were mutants with godlike powers abroad in the world, even to believe, as she did, that some of them may even be gods in their own right. It was quite another she now found to see their raw power with her own eyes, to know what they would be unleashing on the world. And all around, the other Amentha screamed and clamoured for more. Let the world be afraid, for their time had come, and the Dragon King would be proclaimed King of All once more...
A/N: Reviews always welcome!
Scene 25
Storm, Blaze, Tsunami and Gaia were all strangely quiet these days. There were a million reasons for them to have left by now, Garthen's mad story being the main one. But somehow not one of them had suggested that they quit while they were ahead. Instead they sat in one or other of their rooms, thoughts echoing silently between them, as though all will they had between them had been sucked dry.
Someone cleared his throat in the doorway to Blaze's sitting room. All four young women looked up at once, as thought the same puppeteer held their strings. Garthen smiled at his young protégées, and they smiled back unthinking. Then as though the sun had come up to banish the dark, they each shook their heads and came back into their own minds a little.
"Ladies, may I introduce you to Professor Elizabeth Bartholomew?" A strange brunette woman entered, as Storm and Blaze both winced at the word 'Professor'. Why did that ring echoes in both their minds? "Elizabeth, meet Storm, Blaze, Gaia and Tsunami, my Dark Elements."
"I'm truly pleased to meet you all." Elizabeth smiled a cruel smile, baring whiter than white teeth. "May I greet you on behalf of the Amentha, and offer you our support for your work."
"Our work?" Gaia had been the most freethinking of the Dark Elements in recent days. Something in her considerate mind still questioned every little thing, keeping the others on the conscious side of brainwashing.
"To join the people of the world together as one under the Dragon King." Elizabeth sounded incredulous. "Has Garthen not told you?"
"Maybe, Garthen's told us a lot of things." Blaze shrugged at the woman apathetically, not able to remember any examples right at that moment. Storm put her fingers to her forehead as though trying very hard to remember something important, or else to fight off a headache.
"Ladies, let us not linger here on such a lovely day. Elizabeth and the other Amentha have a surprise prepared for you. Let us go to the arena."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The arena was exactly that, a Romanesque amphitheatre in the middle of nowhere. They flew in on Garthen's private helicopter, dropped down out of the deep blue sky into this great stone bowl in the middle of the desert. In the seats all around there were nameless people, the Amentha, thousands of them from all corners of the world.
"These people want to see you use your powers, my Dark Elements." Garthen addressed them. Elizabeth frowned as she saw sweat forming on his brow, he used too much of his power to control them. "In your past lives before I, the traveller, found you, you learned great control over your elemental powers. But now you are reborn, and the elements are not meant to be controlled. Here it is safe for you to loose control, free your souls and become goddesses."
In the stands as if on cue, the crowd pulled on helmets and oxygen tanks, they would take no chances. Elizabeth and Garthen did the same as they walked to the dais at the far side of the arena. The helicopter took off, disappearing over the stands and away. The four young women stood alone and uncertain in the centre of the ring.
**What are we supposed to be doing? ** Blaze's red-hot voice cut through their minds. She was still the best at forming coherent communications with their new telepathic link, though she could not explain why. Storm sometimes thought that she might know, but couldn't quite remember.
**Loosing control. ** Storm's airtight sarcasm replied lightly.
**Against them! ** Tsunami was always the most excitable, but now she seemed exhilarated. Following her mental pointing the other three spun round to see four heavy tanks rolling clumsily towards them, guns ready.
**Leave them to me. ** Gaia replied stoically, holding out her hands and *willing * the dry earth to buckle and surge beneath the tanks' caterpillar tracks. With a groan so deep it was felt rather than heard, the land tilted, rearing up like a bronco horse. The first tank began to slip sideways into its fellow, and the crowd roared all around them.
**Not without me! ** Tsunami didn't need to extend a hand. Turning transparent and fluidic she called the water out of the very ground with a wail like a legendary siren singing sailors to their deaths. It surged in great geysers from the ground, hot and steaming. The first water plume hit a tank square underneath, lifting its still turning caterpillar tracks from the ground beneath. Somehow the men inside got a missile away, before the geyser tipped the tank sideways and onto its roof.
"Gales." Storm whispered as the missile pelted towards her. Suddenly the wind surged, whipping around the arena, blowing up dust and hammering into Tsunami's water columns. The missile was blown off course just enough that it crashed harmlessly into the ground. "Lightning" was the next single word order from the mistress of air. Obedient, clouds gathered and darkened the once clear blue sky. With power enough to destroy a small building, a single lightning bolt came crisp and white from cloud to third tank, blowing it apart before it too could launch a weapon.
Blaze watched amazed as from the now-watered bare earth, tendrils of weeds came clambering over the first tank, wrapping it in a cocoon of green as it tried to drive off the cracked earth Gaia had stranded it on. Exhausted, Tsunami had to let her water columns fade and fall. She collapsed to the ground as the final tank bore down on her. Shouting out, Blaze leapt across the distance between them and stood in front of the water sprite. Flame surged around the red-haired mutant until it was as if she were on fire herself. As the tank drove at her, she did not flinch. It drove straight up to her but she did not move. It went to mow her down like grass in spring, but instead the heat Blaze gave off melted the metal superstructure. Gradually the entire tank turned to molten metal and mangled plating. Both Blaze and Tsunami remained unharmed.
Gasping for air, Blaze slumped to the floor, her clothing in tatters and ringlet hair plastered to her face with sweat and ash. In a second Storm was at her side, whilst Gaia picked up the much smaller Tsunami in her arms and stood her upright.
"Fabulous ladies!" Garthen exclaimed. "But we still have areas to work on. Endurance for one I see, and you Storm barely let yourself go. Now, showers and lunch I think!"
Besides Garthen, Elizabeth shivered with dread for the first time since she had heard of Garthen's finding of these chosen girls. It was one thing to know there were mutants with godlike powers abroad in the world, even to believe, as she did, that some of them may even be gods in their own right. It was quite another she now found to see their raw power with her own eyes, to know what they would be unleashing on the world. And all around, the other Amentha screamed and clamoured for more. Let the world be afraid, for their time had come, and the Dragon King would be proclaimed King of All once more...