Something Wicked This Way Comes
Part I: The Secret Room
Evan had learned better than to ask what was behind locked doors in the Xavier Institute. They had told him on several occasions if the doors were locked it was for the students own good. But if the door wasn't locked it couldn't hurt, could it?
He smirked as he put his finger to one of the many locked doors. A sudden burst of marrow shot through his fingertip, filling the keyhole. Evan unlocked the door and looked around again. The coast was clear.
The teen removed his new "skeleton key" and put it in his pocket, then walked into the room, being sure not to shut it completely.
No lights lit his way, aside from that which poured in from the open door. "Where's the light switch?" Evan asked, finally sure of his solitude enough so he dared to speak out loud. His hands slide over the metal walls. They felt cold to the touch. In fact, the entire room felt cold.
He tucked his left arm in his right elbow, and continued to search for the lights witch with his right hand.
"Come on, come on," Evan groaned.
"What are you doing in there?" he heard someone call from behind. Evan could tell by the slight hint of a southern accent and the pitch that it was Rogue.
"Uh- I was skateboarding down here, and the door was open. I wiped out and my board went in this. room," Evan lied.
"Geeze, Evan, when are you going to stop skateboarding inside the institute?"
He could feel his face blushing, and was glad that Rogue could not see him clearly. At least what he had said was better than telling her the truth. All he needed was another lecture from Xavier, or worse yet his aunt.
"Come on, Evan. Let's get Logan, or Mister McCoy, or someone who knows their way around down there so that you don't kill yourself before you find your board."
"No!" Evan hesitated. He knew that if the two of them went for one of the adults that he would get busted. It wasn't easy having a telepath as a headmaster. "I've got to get it now. I've got a competition with Pietro in about an hour, and if I miss it he'll never let me live it down. You know how he gets, Rogue. Especially around me." He paused for a second. At least the part about the competition wasn't a lie. And Rogue knew that. "Please, Rogue. You know that if the Prof finds out I was boarding down here he'll ground me. And if one of the other adults find out what I've done they'll just watch me till someone can find the Prof."
Rogue groaned in frustration. "Fine, fine. I'll help you. But only if you turn on the lights."
"I'm working on it."
He watched as Rogue entered the room and started to close the door behind her. The hinges creaked, echoing in the vast room. Evan wondered just how big this room actually was. The first time he had been in the entrance way he'd been astonished, and lower level rooms could dwarf even that. He stepped forward, and then the floor gave way.
"Rogue!" Evan screamed as he started to slide down into oblivion. He didn't know how far he had gone. The lights that had once accompanied him from the doorway quickly disappeared. He struggled to grasp onto the floor, but it was too smooth to grasp. He wanted to shoot out a spike, but knew although it would stop his descent it would also reveal that he had been there. The teen decided he had no choice but to continue sliding to the bottom. Finally he reached a flat surface again. Evan rolled for a bit, and then shook his head, weary from his fall.
"Evan!" he heard Rogue shout from above. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah!" he called back. He could hear his voice echo up the swirling slide. "I'm so busted," he whispered to himself.
"I'm going to get someone!"
"No! Just look around up there for some sort of switch or something. There must be someway to get up from here!"
"We don't even have lights, you want me to find someway to get you up here now!"
"Rogue, come on! And be careful where you step!"
"Did you find your skateboard at least?"
Evan shook his head. "No!" he called back. And he wouldn't until he returned to his room and looked where he left it.
At the top of the slide Rogue found a button. She winced, not sure if she wanted to press it. If Evan was going to get her in trouble, she swore to herself she'd tell Jean that it was he who stole her underwear. Her fingers circled the button, and finally she pushed it. The room was immediately illuminated, and Rogue could see that it went deep underground, deeper than the rest of the mansion at least.
As she started to observe the slide-way the floorboard that she was standing on lurched forward. Rogue grabbed onto it, trying to make sure that she too didn't fall. The lower she went the more lights turned on. Rogue guessed that if Xavier were doing his wheelchair would be placed on this platform while it descended deep into the bowls of the Institute.
She could feel the temperature drop significantly. On the lowest of levels she could actually see her breath. She kind of wished that she had just left Evan down there and gotten someone. How did he ever talk her into this? He wasn't even her type.
The platform came to a halt, and the dive was completely illuminated.
"Alright, where's your skateboard and let's get out of here," Rogue said.
As she did she could see that Evan was already approaching yet another door that they should not be going into.
"Evan, your skateboard did not go in there!"
"I know. But why we're here, aren't you the least bit curious?"
"You remember what curiosity did to the cat, right?" Rogue continued to look around. "You didn't lose your skateboard in here, did you?"
Evan ignored her. He was too excited about seeing what was behind the new door.
"Evan, come here right now, or I'm gonna leave you down here."
He stepped towards it, and the doors slid open. No security down here.
"Evan!"
Evan stepped inside of the doorway, and they quickly shut behind him.
Rogue wanted to leave. She knew that she should. It would serve Evan right; spend a couple of hours down here, alone in the dark and think about what he had done. She groaned in frustration again and walked towards the door. It opened for her as it had for Evan. And, just as it had with Evan, shut quickly as she entered.
"I can't see," Rogue said, not attempting to hide her disgust.
"Come on, help me find a switch."
Rogue felt something touch her breasts. She swatted it away. "Okay, I don't care if it is pitch black in here, you cop another feel the gloves are coming off. literally."
"What're you talking about? Where are the lights?"
As Evan spoke the room illuminated. They could see numerous bars above their heads, much like exorcize bars or something a giant bird might perch on. It was ice cold inside of the room, and despite her best efforts Rogue felt her teeth chattering.
Something growled.
"What is he up to down here?" Evan asked out loud, more to himself than to her.
He started to walk forward. If front of them was some sort of plant growth, the likes of which neither of them had seen before. Blue leaves spotted with green dots sprouted from the cactus-looking plants. The body of the plants heaved in and out, as if it were literally inhaling the air they were breathing. Small spikes grew from the body and branches of the plant, which was only about three and a half feet tall. Some grew on the walls around them, but most were growing on the floor, leaving barely any room for them to enter the alien jungle.
The growling returned. This time it was closer.
"There's an explanation to this, Evan. Don't worry. A simple, logical explanation."
"Neat," Evan said. He was not scared. He moved between the bushes. With every move he made he was sure not to disrupt the spikes that housed them. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks.
"What are you doing over there?" Rogue asked.
Another growl.
"R- R-" Evan started, unable to form full words. Fear had completely engulfed him.
Rogue walked forward, also making sure that she didn't touch any of the plant bodies. "Oh my god," Rogue uttered as she approached the clearing that Evan had discovered only a few seconds before. She covered her mouth, half holding back nausea; half holding back the screams that threatened to erupt from her throat. She tried to tell herself this wasn't real, that this was some sort of sick joke that the adults played on students that were too curious, but in her heart she knew that was only false hope.
Another growl.
There, in front of the two X-Men, they saw a collection of human bones. Some were picked clean, while others still held small traces of muscle and blood. One had a body that was still intact. The girl had been stripped and then torn open. The same horrific face she had worn when she died was frozen in place, emitting an everlasting muted scream.
"Let's get out of here, right now," Rogue whispered. She put her gloved hand around Evan's arm and started to pull him along, making sure that he heard her.
Evan followed, too scared to speak. He believed that his hair would have been scared white, if it hadn't been already. How could-
Something grabbed his legs and pulled him to the floor. Evan screamed, instantly shooting two spikes out of his feet. Whatever had him whimpered in pain.
"Evan!" Rogue screamed.
Evan stood up, his body now covered with tiny quill. His leg was torn. "Let's get out of here!" he screamed to her.
Rogue turned and ran. They heard the growling again, but neither of them looked back. They couldn't look back. They didn't want to, and they couldn't know what was behind them. If they did, the monster would surely have them in its grasp, using their fear to capture them.
The two reached the door. Rogue pounded on it loudly.
"How do we get out of here?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"Well how did you get in?"
"I just walked in here and the thing opened!"
As he spoke the doors slid open. The two X-Men fell forward, and the door quickly shut. They heard the monster on the other side banging against the metal doors. It growled long and loud, leaving their bodies cold with fear.
"What the hell was that?" Rogue asked.
Evan shook his head. "I-I'm not sure."
They heard another banging sound at the door.
"I vote we get out of here, right now," Rogue whispered.
"Me too."
With that the two stood up and exited the secret room; all the while Evan was pulling quills from his arms and legs.
In minutes, they were back in the main part of the Institute. Both of them were ready for a nap, and Evan had missed his competition with Pietro.
Part I: The Secret Room
Evan had learned better than to ask what was behind locked doors in the Xavier Institute. They had told him on several occasions if the doors were locked it was for the students own good. But if the door wasn't locked it couldn't hurt, could it?
He smirked as he put his finger to one of the many locked doors. A sudden burst of marrow shot through his fingertip, filling the keyhole. Evan unlocked the door and looked around again. The coast was clear.
The teen removed his new "skeleton key" and put it in his pocket, then walked into the room, being sure not to shut it completely.
No lights lit his way, aside from that which poured in from the open door. "Where's the light switch?" Evan asked, finally sure of his solitude enough so he dared to speak out loud. His hands slide over the metal walls. They felt cold to the touch. In fact, the entire room felt cold.
He tucked his left arm in his right elbow, and continued to search for the lights witch with his right hand.
"Come on, come on," Evan groaned.
"What are you doing in there?" he heard someone call from behind. Evan could tell by the slight hint of a southern accent and the pitch that it was Rogue.
"Uh- I was skateboarding down here, and the door was open. I wiped out and my board went in this. room," Evan lied.
"Geeze, Evan, when are you going to stop skateboarding inside the institute?"
He could feel his face blushing, and was glad that Rogue could not see him clearly. At least what he had said was better than telling her the truth. All he needed was another lecture from Xavier, or worse yet his aunt.
"Come on, Evan. Let's get Logan, or Mister McCoy, or someone who knows their way around down there so that you don't kill yourself before you find your board."
"No!" Evan hesitated. He knew that if the two of them went for one of the adults that he would get busted. It wasn't easy having a telepath as a headmaster. "I've got to get it now. I've got a competition with Pietro in about an hour, and if I miss it he'll never let me live it down. You know how he gets, Rogue. Especially around me." He paused for a second. At least the part about the competition wasn't a lie. And Rogue knew that. "Please, Rogue. You know that if the Prof finds out I was boarding down here he'll ground me. And if one of the other adults find out what I've done they'll just watch me till someone can find the Prof."
Rogue groaned in frustration. "Fine, fine. I'll help you. But only if you turn on the lights."
"I'm working on it."
He watched as Rogue entered the room and started to close the door behind her. The hinges creaked, echoing in the vast room. Evan wondered just how big this room actually was. The first time he had been in the entrance way he'd been astonished, and lower level rooms could dwarf even that. He stepped forward, and then the floor gave way.
"Rogue!" Evan screamed as he started to slide down into oblivion. He didn't know how far he had gone. The lights that had once accompanied him from the doorway quickly disappeared. He struggled to grasp onto the floor, but it was too smooth to grasp. He wanted to shoot out a spike, but knew although it would stop his descent it would also reveal that he had been there. The teen decided he had no choice but to continue sliding to the bottom. Finally he reached a flat surface again. Evan rolled for a bit, and then shook his head, weary from his fall.
"Evan!" he heard Rogue shout from above. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah!" he called back. He could hear his voice echo up the swirling slide. "I'm so busted," he whispered to himself.
"I'm going to get someone!"
"No! Just look around up there for some sort of switch or something. There must be someway to get up from here!"
"We don't even have lights, you want me to find someway to get you up here now!"
"Rogue, come on! And be careful where you step!"
"Did you find your skateboard at least?"
Evan shook his head. "No!" he called back. And he wouldn't until he returned to his room and looked where he left it.
At the top of the slide Rogue found a button. She winced, not sure if she wanted to press it. If Evan was going to get her in trouble, she swore to herself she'd tell Jean that it was he who stole her underwear. Her fingers circled the button, and finally she pushed it. The room was immediately illuminated, and Rogue could see that it went deep underground, deeper than the rest of the mansion at least.
As she started to observe the slide-way the floorboard that she was standing on lurched forward. Rogue grabbed onto it, trying to make sure that she too didn't fall. The lower she went the more lights turned on. Rogue guessed that if Xavier were doing his wheelchair would be placed on this platform while it descended deep into the bowls of the Institute.
She could feel the temperature drop significantly. On the lowest of levels she could actually see her breath. She kind of wished that she had just left Evan down there and gotten someone. How did he ever talk her into this? He wasn't even her type.
The platform came to a halt, and the dive was completely illuminated.
"Alright, where's your skateboard and let's get out of here," Rogue said.
As she did she could see that Evan was already approaching yet another door that they should not be going into.
"Evan, your skateboard did not go in there!"
"I know. But why we're here, aren't you the least bit curious?"
"You remember what curiosity did to the cat, right?" Rogue continued to look around. "You didn't lose your skateboard in here, did you?"
Evan ignored her. He was too excited about seeing what was behind the new door.
"Evan, come here right now, or I'm gonna leave you down here."
He stepped towards it, and the doors slid open. No security down here.
"Evan!"
Evan stepped inside of the doorway, and they quickly shut behind him.
Rogue wanted to leave. She knew that she should. It would serve Evan right; spend a couple of hours down here, alone in the dark and think about what he had done. She groaned in frustration again and walked towards the door. It opened for her as it had for Evan. And, just as it had with Evan, shut quickly as she entered.
"I can't see," Rogue said, not attempting to hide her disgust.
"Come on, help me find a switch."
Rogue felt something touch her breasts. She swatted it away. "Okay, I don't care if it is pitch black in here, you cop another feel the gloves are coming off. literally."
"What're you talking about? Where are the lights?"
As Evan spoke the room illuminated. They could see numerous bars above their heads, much like exorcize bars or something a giant bird might perch on. It was ice cold inside of the room, and despite her best efforts Rogue felt her teeth chattering.
Something growled.
"What is he up to down here?" Evan asked out loud, more to himself than to her.
He started to walk forward. If front of them was some sort of plant growth, the likes of which neither of them had seen before. Blue leaves spotted with green dots sprouted from the cactus-looking plants. The body of the plants heaved in and out, as if it were literally inhaling the air they were breathing. Small spikes grew from the body and branches of the plant, which was only about three and a half feet tall. Some grew on the walls around them, but most were growing on the floor, leaving barely any room for them to enter the alien jungle.
The growling returned. This time it was closer.
"There's an explanation to this, Evan. Don't worry. A simple, logical explanation."
"Neat," Evan said. He was not scared. He moved between the bushes. With every move he made he was sure not to disrupt the spikes that housed them. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks.
"What are you doing over there?" Rogue asked.
Another growl.
"R- R-" Evan started, unable to form full words. Fear had completely engulfed him.
Rogue walked forward, also making sure that she didn't touch any of the plant bodies. "Oh my god," Rogue uttered as she approached the clearing that Evan had discovered only a few seconds before. She covered her mouth, half holding back nausea; half holding back the screams that threatened to erupt from her throat. She tried to tell herself this wasn't real, that this was some sort of sick joke that the adults played on students that were too curious, but in her heart she knew that was only false hope.
Another growl.
There, in front of the two X-Men, they saw a collection of human bones. Some were picked clean, while others still held small traces of muscle and blood. One had a body that was still intact. The girl had been stripped and then torn open. The same horrific face she had worn when she died was frozen in place, emitting an everlasting muted scream.
"Let's get out of here, right now," Rogue whispered. She put her gloved hand around Evan's arm and started to pull him along, making sure that he heard her.
Evan followed, too scared to speak. He believed that his hair would have been scared white, if it hadn't been already. How could-
Something grabbed his legs and pulled him to the floor. Evan screamed, instantly shooting two spikes out of his feet. Whatever had him whimpered in pain.
"Evan!" Rogue screamed.
Evan stood up, his body now covered with tiny quill. His leg was torn. "Let's get out of here!" he screamed to her.
Rogue turned and ran. They heard the growling again, but neither of them looked back. They couldn't look back. They didn't want to, and they couldn't know what was behind them. If they did, the monster would surely have them in its grasp, using their fear to capture them.
The two reached the door. Rogue pounded on it loudly.
"How do we get out of here?" she asked.
"I don't know."
"Well how did you get in?"
"I just walked in here and the thing opened!"
As he spoke the doors slid open. The two X-Men fell forward, and the door quickly shut. They heard the monster on the other side banging against the metal doors. It growled long and loud, leaving their bodies cold with fear.
"What the hell was that?" Rogue asked.
Evan shook his head. "I-I'm not sure."
They heard another banging sound at the door.
"I vote we get out of here, right now," Rogue whispered.
"Me too."
With that the two stood up and exited the secret room; all the while Evan was pulling quills from his arms and legs.
In minutes, they were back in the main part of the Institute. Both of them were ready for a nap, and Evan had missed his competition with Pietro.