Quick Note; I'm sorry, I forgot to post this up so no one gets a tad confused! (slaps her hand; Bad me!) Anyways; In mah fic, Rahne's gonna end up bein a little younger than the time would have her; such as the age of ten or eleven; I just see her as the cute little girl. Now; if you didn't see Underworld, I suggest you do; the plot was amazing; however the action could have been a little better; but, aside from that; there's a war going on between Vampires and Lycan's, Lycan's being werewolves. In this fic; the Vampire elder is Marcus; if you saw the movie, you'll know why. And Kraven is still alive; if you saw the fic, you'd know what I'm talkin' about. Otherwise, let's move on, shall we? WOOHOO! Oh yeah, the "senior" members of the X-Men are grown up; over 18, stuff like that. Well, I'll shut up now.
England
The heavy doors slid open, echoing throughout the large room, as Kraven stepped into the room, his boots causing the loud thud noise as he walked towards Marcus, whom sat in his throne from just being awakened from his century slumber.
Marcus glared at his top servant, as he strode towards him, finally coming to a halt at the foot of the throne, kneeling with his head bowed. Marcus had reached the immortal age of three hundred; his pale skin nearly shone in the darkness of the room. The wrinkles on his skin were slowly tightening, as his body continued to gain composure from his century long sleep. Tubes were inserted in his back, providing the remaining blood of the other elders of the Vampire clans that had awoken him. His pale gray eyes moved downward, to look at Kraven, who had knelt with silence.
"I'm sorry, my lord. We were unable to catch the Lycan child." Kraven lowly told the elder vampire.
A growl rose in Marcus' chest at the sound of the failure. "What of the girl's family?" Marcus asked finally.
Kraven kept his head bowed, unable to bring himself to face the ancient man who sat in front of him. "We eliminated them all. She got away."
Marcus stood, yet stayed at his throne, due to the tubes still remaining into his back. He looked down at Kraven, "That child is the last of the pure blood of Lycans!" He slightly leaned down to his servant, "If you do not bring her to me alive, you will pay for the failure!" Kraven's head lifted up at the warning, his brown eyes gleaming with slight fear, as Marcus continued, "She must be brought here for the proper execution! We cannot let her survive! If she does, our species will not survive!" Marcus warned.
Kraven shuddered, as he attempted to bring himself to explain the reason of their failure, "My lord, the Lycans are aware we are after her. They're bound to be after her as well," He gulped, as he glared up at Marcus, "And she had been saved by mortals."
Marcus' lip twitched at the word, "Mortals? You allowed yourself to be defeated by mortals?!"
Kraven stood, immediately trying to defend himself, "But, they had these strange powers, my Lord. There was no way around it!"
Marcus leaned towards him, his eyes flaring with rage and annoyance, "Make a way around it!" He then stood away from the vampire, "Find her!"
*~*~*~*
Logan led the X-Men and the young Rahne off of the Velocity, towards the mansion. Elizabeth walked side by side with Rahne, and the young girl grabbed onto her arm tightly. Elizabeth frowned slightly at the young girl's fear, but understood why it still swam through her mind. Elizabeth stopped, just as they reached the double doors leading into the mansion, and slightly squatted, "Come." She warmly smiled, offering the young girl a piggyback ride.
Rahne reassured herself that she was now safe; safe in the care of the Institute, and away from the stalkers in Scotland. She smiled slightly, as she climbed onto Elizabeth's back, and Elizabeth secured her hold, and followed the others into the lower levels of the mansion. "I dinna know how to thank you all." Rahne lowly said.
Elizabeth shook her head, "Don't worry, luv. They won't come after you again." She reassured the young girl.
Rahne held on tightly, as she rested her head into the thick purple hair in front of her face. She had looked up to Elizabeth, as well as Rogue and Jean as her big sisters while she stayed at the Institute. Elizabeth especially. Jean had formed a closer bond with Amara, while Rogue just basically tried to keep her forming bonds with the others at a neutral state. Rahne had come to realize, how much she had missed the institute; where people like her had resided.
Elizabeth had grown fond of the young girl since she first said a word to her; she adored the innocence that Rahne had; as well as the childlike playfulness of her personality. She had a soft spot in her heart for Rahne; she kept in contact with her while she was in Scotland.
They finally made their way into the planning room, where Charles had been waiting for them. Elizabeth turned her back to a chair, and let Rahne plop herself into the comfortable seat. Logan crossed his arms, as he stood near the large roundtable, as Charles made his way to the young girl. He gently placed his hand onto her arm, giving her a comforting squeeze, "How are you, Rahne?" He gently asked.
At the question, her mind immediately snapped her back into reality, as the obvious fate of her family came to her mind, "My family…" Her voice trailed off, as a sob rose in her throat.
"I'm so sorry, my dear." Charles frowned.
Elizabeth immediately handed her a tissue, as she knelt at the side of the seat. "Rahne, can you give us a clearer picture of what happened? Do you know who those men were?" Jean asked, concerned.
Hesitantly, Rahne shook her head at both questions. "Jean, I don't think it's a good idea that she discuss her night." Elizabeth commented.
Charles nodded in agreement, "She has had a traumatizing night," He focused on the young girl, "What you do need, is sleep. We can discuss this when you're ready."
Rahne nodded. "Alright."
"Elizabeth, why don't you take Rahne to a room where she can get a good night's sleep." Charles offered.
Elizabeth stood, holding out her hand, "Come luv."
Rahne grabbed onto Elizabeth's hand, and followed her out of the room. "I got bit by one of 'em. His teeth pierced through my arm!" Logan told Charles.
Charles looked up at him, glancing at him in shock. "And then, they just disappeared." Scott added.
Charles sighed heavily, "Well, everyone has gone to sleep; we'll discuss this further tomorrow morning." Charles told them.
*~*~*~*
Rahne looked into the vacant room. Shivering, she ran her hands up and down her arms, paranoia and fear instilled in her body. "Are you alright, luv?" Elizabeth asked from behind her.
"Betts, I'm scared ta be alone. I dinna want ta be by myself." Rahne's voice shook as she spoke.
Elizabeth nodded with understanding, "I'm sure Remy won't mind sleeping in another room tonight," She smiled, "You may bunk with me if you'd like."
Rahne turned to face her, "If it's no trouble?"
Elizabeth shook her head, giving her a warm smile, "None."
*~*~*~*
Remy turned from the balcony, as he heard the door in the room open. He frowned as he saw Elizabeth walk into the room, followed by Rahne. He quickly put out his cigarette into the standing ashtray on the balcony. "Remy, Rahne will be staying in here tonight." Elizabeth told him.
Remy walked into the room, "Alright, petite. I'm takin' over for security watch tonight anyway."
Rahne crawled into the queen sized bed in the middle of the room, and lied her head onto the fluffy pillow. Elizabeth looked at Remy with question, "Hank is doing his massive research; he says it's an all-nighter. So I volunteered to take up the job." Remy answered her silent question.
"Alright," Elizabeth sat onto the bed, next to Rahne.
Rahne lied her head onto Elizabeth's lap, quickly falling asleep. Elizabeth sat against the head board, leaning her head back in near exhaustion. Remy sat on the other side of Rahne, and looked down at her, as Elizabeth lightly pet Rahne's face for comfort. A sleepy smile came over Rahne's lips, "She alright?" Remy whispered to Elizabeth, careful not to wake the young girl.
Elizabeth looked up at him, as she continued to stroke her hand on the young girl's face. She solemnly shook her head at Remy's question, "They tried to kill her, luv." She whispered.
Remy shook his head slowly at the answer. His empathy could pick up the fear from Rahne, "Well, luv, you'd better take up to your duties." Elizabeth whispered.
Remy nodded, and carefully leaned towards Elizabeth, careful not to disturb Rahne's sleep, and the couple kissed each other's lips goodbye. Remy took another glance at Rahne, and stood, walking out of the room. After the door closed, Elizabeth looked down at the young sleeping girl, and sighed heavily, "Don't worry, luv. I'll take care of you." She whispered.