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! Also I know nothing about geography, but I did check my coordinates in an atlas, if a rather old one. If it's wrong, I'm sorry.
Scene 27
"We've got it!" In a whirlwind of energy Ilehana and Gambit burst into Professor Xavier's office, interrupting his lesson. Usually so patient, today Xavier was feeling less than helpful, his head was spinning and he was nauseous from the extended time without his powers. Without his powers, still bald and still unable to walk, meaning there was absolutely no justice in the world. It had been lucky that Ilehana's school had taught her Latin when she was younger; this latest project for which she was more qualified than her father had at least kept her mind off the despair of losing her powers.
"No offence Ilehana, Gambit, but this must be the fifth time you have interrupted my lessons with the same report, only to have your code- breaking skills fail on the very next phrase from Blaze's notes." Ilehana and Remy were too excited to hear the tired, sullen aspect to the Professor's reply. Quickly with the help of Kitty and Peter they cleared the Professor's desk and laid out a roll of paper covered in notes, symbols and abbreviations.
"This time we got it right, Professor, I sure." Gambit pulled Blaze's now rather moth-eaten notes out of a pocket of his coat and scattered them over the roll of paper.
"Kitty, here's a piece of chalk. Write down the letters as we translate them on the blackboard okay?" Ilehana requested of her biology student. "It works like this Dad, the top line is obviously the runes, the row below indicates their individual alphabetic value from the book Gambit 'borrowed', and the bottom row is the letter that rune stands for when all the letters are shifted back by twelve places. Gambit, what's the first symbol on the first line of coding?"
"It look like a dead fish to me, Chere. A dead fish standin' on its head." Gambit ran his fingers along the line of runes. "Here, dis one."
Soon after, they had decoded all the runes in the first statement and turned to see what Kitty had written on the board.
"It sure don't look like it means anything to me." The girl said, disappointed.
"That's because it's in Latin." The Professor commented, impressed despite himself.
"It says 'The Dragon King rises, feathered serpent over water, air, earth and flame." Ilehana said in a humble voice. "Rogue, could you be in charge of writing down the translated phrases from everyone?" Rogue looked up, she hadn't even been listening, and nodded abashedly. "We've enough code wheels for five teams, and Gambit has already divided up Blaze's notes. It would be a big help if you could all chip in. Logan, Scott and Kurt will be here to help too, soon as their classes finish."
As soon as all the children were working away, Ilehana turned to her father. "I hate to have to ask, but what are you thinking?"
"I'm staggered. This really is excellent work, Ilehana. And I'm intrigued by this Dragon King idea. Dragons have been such powerful mythical figures in legends right across the world, from the Chinese water dragon, the Celtic fire-breathing winged serpent, dragons in Egypt, and South and Central America..."
"That not all, Professor." Gambit cut in. "I know who Garthen Doking is." The tall, brown-haired Cajun took Kitty's chalk with a charming smile, making the girl blush. Then on the board he wrote in capital letters the name Garthen Doking. Underneath, crossing off each letter from the name as he used them he wrote 'the dragon king'. "It an anagram, an' not a very good one. Garthen Doking is trainin' Blaze, Storm and maybe other girls with elemental-type powers to take over the world for him, to make him dis dragon king."
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Garthen Doking sat behind his desk in his private office, idly tapping his pen on the tabletop. He could do nothing now but wait for the Amentha to proclaim the right time for their prophecies to come true. It did not bother him that their legend may in all probabilities not be true, he had simply fallen in love with the genius of the idea. Convince a cult that you are indeed their traveller, their Dragon King back from the dead, gain their complete support across the globe by presenting them with the four Dark Elements under his own power, then with the support of the cult and the power of the four mutant girls, take over the world. Simple, yet effective. This world has far too long ignored the power of those who do not follow the rules.
He looked at his four goddesses as they stood to attention in each corner of the room, just in front of one of his four stone dragon sculptures, one from each of their countries of origin. They were far-gone under his control now, and under the spell of their own powers, as he had taught them to walk within a fine line of the end of their control. He didn't even need to befuddle them with charm anymore, they believed his every word without question, and he doubted they would even recognise their own mothers. It may have upset certain Amentha members, Elizabeth to name one, that he and not they were in control of the Dark Elements, but Elizabeth as one had been too easily silenced, drowned in her own bathtub.
Now all he had to do was wait...
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"What are these symbols Cajun?" Logan asked, "They don't exist on this chart of yours."
"You sure?" Both Gambit and Ilehana dropped their own investigations and came to see. The children, Scott, Kurt and the Professor had all gone to eat. Logan hadn't been too keen on leaving Gambit and Ilehana working alone yet again, so he'd stayed even as the sun set and he began to crave a beer. Now, cigar in his hand and a frown on his face he'd made it to the notes that recorded what was on Blaze and Storm's rings.
"Yeah I'm sure." He couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice. Did they think he was stupid or something?
"They are tally marks, Logan. See, a set of numbers in a circle to join them together. Blaze's ring has a five and a two. Storm's has a three and a eight." Ilehana reached over Logan's shoulder to point out his stupidity, feeling his shoulders turn ridged and cold against her. She pulled her hand back to rest her fingers on his shoulder, wishing she had her powers.
"Coordinates." Remy was sure. "You got a map?" Ilehana fetched a globe from a shelf and placed it on the desk. Gambit spun it for a moment, thinking, before stopping the globe with his hand. "Four two-figure numbers to a coordinate, degrees and minutes, latitude and longitude, and presumably four rings. We have two numbers from two rings, a thirty-eight and a fifty- two. Can't be sure but I'd say chance is they is latitude, thirty-eight degrees and fifty-two minutes north."
"How on earth do you know that Cajun?" Logan was incredulous. Gambit turned the globe to show Vixen and Wolverine where his finger had rested to stop the globe.
"Coz that's the latitude of Washington D.C., an' I bet that's Garthen Doking's first target if he wants to take over the world. It all in these rune note things, the Dark Elements risin', the Dragon rulin' again..." Gambit shrugged.
"How very original." Commented Wolverine to Ilehana's smile, as he let his adimantium claws slip through his knuckles.
A/N: Reviews always welcome! Also I know nothing about geography, but I did check my coordinates in an atlas, if a rather old one. If it's wrong, I'm sorry.
Scene 27
"We've got it!" In a whirlwind of energy Ilehana and Gambit burst into Professor Xavier's office, interrupting his lesson. Usually so patient, today Xavier was feeling less than helpful, his head was spinning and he was nauseous from the extended time without his powers. Without his powers, still bald and still unable to walk, meaning there was absolutely no justice in the world. It had been lucky that Ilehana's school had taught her Latin when she was younger; this latest project for which she was more qualified than her father had at least kept her mind off the despair of losing her powers.
"No offence Ilehana, Gambit, but this must be the fifth time you have interrupted my lessons with the same report, only to have your code- breaking skills fail on the very next phrase from Blaze's notes." Ilehana and Remy were too excited to hear the tired, sullen aspect to the Professor's reply. Quickly with the help of Kitty and Peter they cleared the Professor's desk and laid out a roll of paper covered in notes, symbols and abbreviations.
"This time we got it right, Professor, I sure." Gambit pulled Blaze's now rather moth-eaten notes out of a pocket of his coat and scattered them over the roll of paper.
"Kitty, here's a piece of chalk. Write down the letters as we translate them on the blackboard okay?" Ilehana requested of her biology student. "It works like this Dad, the top line is obviously the runes, the row below indicates their individual alphabetic value from the book Gambit 'borrowed', and the bottom row is the letter that rune stands for when all the letters are shifted back by twelve places. Gambit, what's the first symbol on the first line of coding?"
"It look like a dead fish to me, Chere. A dead fish standin' on its head." Gambit ran his fingers along the line of runes. "Here, dis one."
Soon after, they had decoded all the runes in the first statement and turned to see what Kitty had written on the board.
"It sure don't look like it means anything to me." The girl said, disappointed.
"That's because it's in Latin." The Professor commented, impressed despite himself.
"It says 'The Dragon King rises, feathered serpent over water, air, earth and flame." Ilehana said in a humble voice. "Rogue, could you be in charge of writing down the translated phrases from everyone?" Rogue looked up, she hadn't even been listening, and nodded abashedly. "We've enough code wheels for five teams, and Gambit has already divided up Blaze's notes. It would be a big help if you could all chip in. Logan, Scott and Kurt will be here to help too, soon as their classes finish."
As soon as all the children were working away, Ilehana turned to her father. "I hate to have to ask, but what are you thinking?"
"I'm staggered. This really is excellent work, Ilehana. And I'm intrigued by this Dragon King idea. Dragons have been such powerful mythical figures in legends right across the world, from the Chinese water dragon, the Celtic fire-breathing winged serpent, dragons in Egypt, and South and Central America..."
"That not all, Professor." Gambit cut in. "I know who Garthen Doking is." The tall, brown-haired Cajun took Kitty's chalk with a charming smile, making the girl blush. Then on the board he wrote in capital letters the name Garthen Doking. Underneath, crossing off each letter from the name as he used them he wrote 'the dragon king'. "It an anagram, an' not a very good one. Garthen Doking is trainin' Blaze, Storm and maybe other girls with elemental-type powers to take over the world for him, to make him dis dragon king."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Garthen Doking sat behind his desk in his private office, idly tapping his pen on the tabletop. He could do nothing now but wait for the Amentha to proclaim the right time for their prophecies to come true. It did not bother him that their legend may in all probabilities not be true, he had simply fallen in love with the genius of the idea. Convince a cult that you are indeed their traveller, their Dragon King back from the dead, gain their complete support across the globe by presenting them with the four Dark Elements under his own power, then with the support of the cult and the power of the four mutant girls, take over the world. Simple, yet effective. This world has far too long ignored the power of those who do not follow the rules.
He looked at his four goddesses as they stood to attention in each corner of the room, just in front of one of his four stone dragon sculptures, one from each of their countries of origin. They were far-gone under his control now, and under the spell of their own powers, as he had taught them to walk within a fine line of the end of their control. He didn't even need to befuddle them with charm anymore, they believed his every word without question, and he doubted they would even recognise their own mothers. It may have upset certain Amentha members, Elizabeth to name one, that he and not they were in control of the Dark Elements, but Elizabeth as one had been too easily silenced, drowned in her own bathtub.
Now all he had to do was wait...
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What are these symbols Cajun?" Logan asked, "They don't exist on this chart of yours."
"You sure?" Both Gambit and Ilehana dropped their own investigations and came to see. The children, Scott, Kurt and the Professor had all gone to eat. Logan hadn't been too keen on leaving Gambit and Ilehana working alone yet again, so he'd stayed even as the sun set and he began to crave a beer. Now, cigar in his hand and a frown on his face he'd made it to the notes that recorded what was on Blaze and Storm's rings.
"Yeah I'm sure." He couldn't keep the annoyance out of his voice. Did they think he was stupid or something?
"They are tally marks, Logan. See, a set of numbers in a circle to join them together. Blaze's ring has a five and a two. Storm's has a three and a eight." Ilehana reached over Logan's shoulder to point out his stupidity, feeling his shoulders turn ridged and cold against her. She pulled her hand back to rest her fingers on his shoulder, wishing she had her powers.
"Coordinates." Remy was sure. "You got a map?" Ilehana fetched a globe from a shelf and placed it on the desk. Gambit spun it for a moment, thinking, before stopping the globe with his hand. "Four two-figure numbers to a coordinate, degrees and minutes, latitude and longitude, and presumably four rings. We have two numbers from two rings, a thirty-eight and a fifty- two. Can't be sure but I'd say chance is they is latitude, thirty-eight degrees and fifty-two minutes north."
"How on earth do you know that Cajun?" Logan was incredulous. Gambit turned the globe to show Vixen and Wolverine where his finger had rested to stop the globe.
"Coz that's the latitude of Washington D.C., an' I bet that's Garthen Doking's first target if he wants to take over the world. It all in these rune note things, the Dark Elements risin', the Dragon rulin' again..." Gambit shrugged.
"How very original." Commented Wolverine to Ilehana's smile, as he let his adimantium claws slip through his knuckles.