Trapped, half-buried in the middle of the Nevada desert, Magneto's floating sphere fortress had now become a prison to some of the greatest mutants in the world.
Only now, they were no longer mutants.
Unable to open the fortress without the use of his magnetism, Eric Magnus Lensherr had immediately turned to his servants, but they too were stripped of their god given powers, unable to blow the doors or rip the steel, unable to penetrate the walls of the fortress or open the doors. They were all completely trapped inside.
Eric sat in his chair in the center of the fortress, contemplating a means of escape. They had no weapons, they'd never had need of any. Oh they had a few gas canisters for disabling mutants (those that needed to breath anyway) but for the rest they had rely extensively on their own power, which was now gone. To confound his worries, Victor was starting to get impatient. The big man (now not quite so big, but still frightening in his own way) was pacing like a caged tiger, and Eric knew it was only a matter of time before his natural need for freedom and bloodlust drove him to attacking the other Acolytes. Or, chilling thought, himself.
Worse, Piotr was standing to one side, thinking. That was always a bad sign. Eric had enlisted him for muscle, not brains. But if he was thinking, he could be thinking what Eric was now. Without his powers, one on one, Eric would be defeated. Nothing would be keeping him in check now, except the threat hanging over his family. Eric would simply have to be cautious in future.
"Oiy mates!" shouted John as he barged in, as usual, as loudly as possible. Stealth simply was not the red-heads forte. "Gambit says he thinks he found an exit!"
Eric, Victor and Piotr immediately gave chase after him, hoping against hope of escape from their metal prison. True, they were safe inside, but oxygen was limited, since it was airtight, and their food supplies would only last a few weeks at most.
They arrived at one of the heating vents, currently off, since the hot Nevada desert did its own job of keeping the giant sphere well heated. The cooling units had been switched on instead. The sphere was designed, not only with its lord and master to influence it with a thought, but to conceivably survive in any part of the world for long periods of time. Solar powered, it was damn near indestructible and impenetrable.
Remy slipped out of the hatch and leapt gracefully down to his feet. Of all his Acolytes, Remy was the least affected by their newfound loss of powers. The boy was incredible resourceful, as Eric had noticed when he'd first been recruited. Agile, daring, skilled, he was everything his other associates were not. If Piotr were the brawn, he was the brain. If John was the cannon fodder, Remy was the scout.
"False alarm," he said, using his metal staff to slip the grate back into place. "Gets much too small to slip through after about twenty feet. And that just about does it."
"Damnation..." cursed Eric, slamming his fist against the wall in anger.
"There is another option you know," stated Remy, but Eric cut him off.
"Absolutely not. I have been made to look a fool in front of Xavier once before... I will not do so twice. Find a way out... all of you," he ordered angrily, stalking off as the others turned to one another, then once again divided up to search the sphere. They'd been working for hours, each in their own quadrant. Jason was still in medbay, recovering from his injuries. After Eric had returned from the spider stone incident, he had been very, very annoyed, and Jason had been blamed for his error. The illusionist was lucky to still be alive, but he would likely remain out of commission for the time being.
So they continued to find the impenetrable fortress for an exit.
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Remy LeBeau was beginning to get rather sick of Magneto. He'd signed up with the man because he'd needed a way to test his skills and have a little fun, maybe meet a few nice mutants girls. Things hadn't gone quite as glamorously as he'd hoped.
Still, if nothing else, he had met the Rogue.
And the pretty southern belle was certainly worth everything else he'd been through the past few months.
For now though, he was sick of Magneto. He was losing sight of purpose with his stupid vendetta against the X-Men and Apocalypse.
Remy found that slipping into the communications bay remarkably easy. Thought it was in the middle of the sphere, and thus not a priority searching for an escape. The others were all checking there perimeter for a hole in the wall or some such. Though he hadn't mentioned, it, he -had- found a way out some time ago. Being a thief, he had an innate knack for finding the weak points in any system almost instinctively. The sphere was no exception. True, it'd taken him longer than most, but he'd still found a way out. A narrow access tunnel running along the bottom of the sphere, originally designed for the tiny gas-robots to go in and out and stun those approaching mutants they had no desire to face directly. Remove the robots, and even Piotr or Victor could've fit through the tunnel with little trouble.
Still, once out, what would they do? Wander off down towards Las Vegas, starve and die on the way? Plus, they'd have to leave Jason behind, he was in no condition to walk. Oh no, he didn't think so.
Where was the fun in that?
Remy smirked flicking the switch on the communication board that was, he noticed, state of the art. Useful in communicating with their many hidden installations around the world, where their gear and technology was stored. Even if their enemies took out one, there were more than a dozen left over. Like a squirrel burying its nuts, he thought.
"Hello? Anyone recievin' me?" he asked, leaning against the console, smiling charmingly at the as of yet blank screen. Suddenly it flickered, to be replaced by a rather astonished fellow with blue-black hair and a linebackers build, wearing a pair of glasses. "Oh terribly sorry... must have the wrong number..."
"Gambit?" asked the man. Gambit raised an eyebrow. The man wasn't known to him... or was he. Something about him seemed familiar.
"Yeah. Was wonderin' if your Professor was around for a nice little chat," he replied.
"Certainly... let me see if I can't locate him," replied the large man as he moved out of Remy's view. Definently something familiar about him. The way he moved, the way he talked. Yet he couldn't recall.
Still, he kept his thoughts to himself and smiled charmingly as the visage of Professor Charles Xavier came into his view.
"Bonjour," he said with a little tip to his temple and mock salute.
"Er, yes... Greetings, Gambit. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Well seems we're in something of a pickle here. I suppose you all recall the last time you can visitin' us?" he asked.
Xavier did not know, though he thought he did. Where Gambit was referring to the impromptu rescue of the Scarlet Witch, Professor Xavier thought he was talking about the destruction of the Rebirth, before he'd been recruited. Regardless, the conversation continued with neither divulging that information.
"Indeed... a sphere that cannot be penetrated, short of the power of magnetism," replied the Professor, wondering where this was going.
"Got it in one," replied Gambit. "Though you didn't mention teleportation as a viable way in, but that's neither here nor there. Best we cut to the chase right away..."
"Very well, what is your predicament? Not Mesmero, I hope."
"Nah," replied Gambit casually, though inwardly he trembled with rage. He'd hated that mindbender for taking control of his mind. If he ever got the chance he'd repay it him with a five-card hand... right to his ugly tattooed face. "Nothin' like that. But I'm afraid the main man here is sorely lacking in a way to open this giant sardine can. And us sardines are gonna spoil in a week or so if our air supply runs low."
"Then it has affected you as well," said Professor X, and Gambit quickly pounced on the conversational tidbit he'd just let slip.
"Oh, X-Men lackin' them super powers as well?" he asked, flipping a card between his fingers in a nervous habit he'd picked up.
"Indeed. But we still have some resources that may be able to free you... just give us the coordinates and we'll be there as soon as possible," replied Xavier.
"Near the beautiful city of Las Vegas, mon ami. Maybe fifty miles north of the city. Big metal sphere, can't miss us," he replied.
"Thank you."
"Naw, thank you, Professor X," he said with a tip of his hand and a deft flip of the switch, severing communications. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait.
They'd come.
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"X-Men," he said and all eyes turned to him. "We have an emergency. Scott, prepare the Blackbird. Bobby, get Sam and Roberto, we'll be needing the backup. Jean, with me," he stated, and watched with a small amount of pride as his students quickly broke off to their assigned tasks. Powerless, they were still a team.
"What's going on Professor?" she asked, as the two of them headed at a much more leisurely pace to the elevator and down to the blackbird.
"We've just received a transmission from Magneto," he replied, steepling his fingers. "Apparently they are suffering from the same phenomenon as we are... they've become trapped inside of his fortress, because only he can open it..."
"... and he's lost his power," she said, not missing a beat.
"Indeed... that is why we are going to assist them. Get suited up, and when the others arrive have them assist you in bringing in some of the high-power explosives from the basement," he said, as the elevator reached the final floor with a pleasant ding, and he exited, boarding the Blackbird with Scott, already suited and at the controls.
Within moments the X-Jet had been loaded and the cargo secure, the X-Men suited up and ready to go. Scott opened the doors and brought the Blackbird out with the speed and precision of an experienced pilot as they adjusted their course and made their way to the Nevada desert to save their greatest enemy.
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"All troops have been withdrawn sir."
"Excellent... now we can finally begin Phase III"
"Remember, I want prisoners this time."
"I'm aware of that, you freak. You'll get what you want, same as I will."
"Just so we understand one another."
Authors Notes:
In case anyone is confused, I shall give the Acolytes real names, as this story deals with non-mutants, and I will be using their non-codenames throughout it. Also have plans to put a number of the Acolytes into civilian garb, which I'm still waiting for Evo to do. Eric Magnus Lensherr (Magneto), Remy LeBeau (Gambit), Piotr/Peter Rasputin (Colossus), St. John Alberdyne (Pyro), Victor Creed (Sabertooth) and Jason Wyngarde (Mastermind). I figured there was a reason Mastermind didn't show up in Dark Horizons, so this is my take on why he was out of commission for so long.
Elisabeth Braddock-Grey: Pepsi! How dare you! Coke is the way! But the cheezits are nice, danke! *scarfs down on 'em*
Todd Fan: *enjoys it* Sweeeeeeeet… thank you ma'am, may I have another? ^_^
Rogue Pryde: This Romy may disappoint you, though I shall do my best.
Impulsive Thoughts: More to come.
Gyuumajo: Rogue, Evo Rogue at least, strikes me as the sort who tends to look on the bad side of most everything, until her friends show her the good things. That is what I have attempted to do here. Fret not, for she is my favorite character, I will not torment her too much. As for the movie, I wanted to pick something that said Rogue to me, I actually wanted to pick something from Lesli's "Night at the Movies" contest, but nothing seemed right to me, so I scanned down my own DVD collection.
Unknown Source: Same as I told Gyuumajo concerning Rogue. I know she's not a manic depressive, but still, I hate stories where she loses her powers and suddenly becomes so open and free and all-baring (and sometimes even a slut). Things will proceed gradually. Oh and plenty more of all your favorite mutants coming up. Plenty. As for Wanda and Magneto duking it out? Well, maybe later, but right now she's still confused, she doesn't have her real memories back yet.
Rogue14: My, my, so impatient. No suggestions/complains/criticisms?
Snitter in Rivendell: That was a long weekend for me, gave me plenty of time to write. Now unfortunately things are going to be a bit slower. Glad you like what you see, plenty more where that came from, and things'll come up as quick as humanly possible.