Voices' Warnings: Speeches
Wanda awoke at nine the next morning. She easily slept through the bustling noises, as Beast ordered people around the infirmary while he tried to stop Magneto's bleeding, external and internal. There were no chemicals to make sleep deeper, and Xavier said there was no telepathic reason. Irene had told him that Richard's methods of mind control was very subtle, but she was being controlled by Richard at the time, so the validity of the statement was suspect. She happened to awake in the one minute that Beast left the infirmary to get some fruit to eat.
Wanda briefly wandered where she was, but quit worrying once she looked to her right. When she had fought her father the night before, all she had been able to do was hurl him against a wall before she passed out. What she saw before her was a broken body, not possibly created by a crash against a wall. There were bandages on each shoulder and calf, each soaked with blood. His abdomen was wrapped thoroughly, and several incisions looked to have been recently sewn shut. Timidly, she walked toward him. She again had the pure hatred for him that she once had, but she also had not forgotten the way it had been while her memory had been limited. She reigned herself to simply looking over his scars.
She soon found her vision blocked by a wall of blue fur. "I must ask you to return to your bed."
"I'm fine. I was knocked out, just like all of his lackeys."
"Very well, then I must escort you to Charles' office."
Wanda sighed. "Fine." She had never enjoyed her meetings with Xavier, but all of their past conversations happened while she was locked up and dragged around with a collar. Beast gave her the clothes that she had brought in wearing, and gave privacy to put them on. Wanda wondered why they had gone through all of the medical procedures. They knew she wasn't physically injured, and it wasn't as if they had anyone they had to report to or lie to about why she was there.
She entered the office slowly, taking in the elegance that Xavier was able to afford. He was there, of course, not attempting to cover up his anticipation of this conversation. "Sit, please," he motioned to a chair across from his desk. "I would like to ask you about what happened last night."
"I figured," she said, not showing too much courtesy to the man that had numerously recommended that she stay in the institutions.
"Could you tell me why you decided to suddenly attack last night? We've been under the impression you no longer held any ill will toward your father."
"The only reason I wasn't trying to kill my father recently was because they had some guy change all of my memories of him."
"And, last night?"
"Last night those memories came back."
Charles leaned forward in his wheelchair. "Why did they come back?"
"I had help," she answered questioningly. She could see that the line of questioning wasn't going to be focused on her.
"May I ask who from?"
"Richard: the guy from the news. But I bet you already knew that."
"Wanda, I'm worried for you and your teammates. Young Richard showed a blatant disregard for all of your lives by having you draw Magneto in, then in his savage attack on Magneto himself. All I'm asking is your cooperation, and I may be able to remove Richard as a danger."
"You won't be able to do that."
"What makes you say that?"
"I spent some time at the institute he was in. We were in adjacent cells. There was a pretty big… window to the next cell. He told me all about some of the things he wanted to do once he got out, though he never got into very many specifics. He always talked about three people he was going to get for getting him locked away. I never knew we had a common enemy. Even when he wasn't talking to me, I could hear him plotting what he was going to do once he got out. He never shut up either. He only slept about twice a week. I'm actually glad I was there for only six months. I'm sure you heard about the little "going-away" party he threw for me."
"I must not have."
Wanda looked surprised. "Well, that thing that they had around his arm: it didn't work too well all of the time. That thing couldn't block out too many power at once, so he overloaded it. That was Hell. All of the prisoners turned against each other and had a massive riot. He got some of the guards to unlock the doors. Most of those people needed 24-hour surveillance. They went around killing and eating each other for four hours until they all just stopped and went back to their cells. Well, the ones that survived. When the National Guard arrived, the only one out of his cell was Richard, just lying on a lunch table, laughing. I was transferred two hours later."
Charles looked down: straining. "I do remember that. Why haven't I thought of this before?"
"Because he didn't want you to. Guards weren't allowed down the hall we were in, probably because Richard made the Chief of Security make it a rule. There were other reasons, though. They didn't want them near me because of my violence, and any guard they tried to make walk by Richard's cell would sooner quit. After the employees protested enough, they made it a rule to not go near us."
"Why?"
"Most of them died. They'd take two trips past his cell then go home early and shoot themselves. The ones that were stopped ended up in their own padded rooms. You didn't think about the party because… 'you're a slave to your mind, and your mind is a slave to him.' At least, that's what he said to me once; he was really cocky. That's why he was never transferred; no one would go near him except Dr. Hendrich."
"Why not Dr. Hen-"
"Wait," she interrupted him. She looked down in thought, and then began laughing.
"What?"
"What did you plan to ask me when I came in here?"
Charles took a moment to think about this. "I meant to ask you why Richard chose you, and what you knew about him."
"I meant to tell you to let me out of here and then storm off." She laughed again. "I can't believe I let him do that to me again."
"He's controlling us," Charles stated.
"Yeah. He likes to be subtle, though, so he changed the way we'd react to something, most likely seeing each other, in a way that seems logical to us… and he just did it again. I would never use those terms."
"He made that somewhat obvious, though. Your diction and speech patterns changed."
"Yeah. When I know to watch out for what I say, it's all him saying it, just through me."
"How is he doing this, what are his powers?" Charles had to be careful of what sentences he was going to speak, and he had to concentrate to push the words out through an inner-drive that urged him to follow a script.
"He can read minds, but not like you. He can't search through memories or anything. He can only tell what someone is thinking right then. But he can force you to think of something through his mind control. That's what he's been using to make us say what he wants. As far as he told me, there's really no limit to what he can make you do or think."
"Are you saying that, or is it him?"
"Me. As far as I can tell."
"What about his ability to sense mutant abilities?"
"He said he couldn't use that while that band-thing was on. Since that power was constantly active, the band focused on it more than the other two powers."
Charles thought to himself for a moment. "That's all of the information I need right now. Thank you."
"Can I go home now?"
"I don't think that would be a good idea."
Wanda's attitude came back. "I answered all of your questions. You're not going to keep me here by force."
"I wasn't planning on it. You do have to realize, however, that every one of the Brotherhood is potentially a pawn for Richard, especially you."
"And you think you can protect me? I know he's already been strolling around this house. He'll find me and use me if he wants to."
Charles straightened his back. "It is true that he has caught me somewhat unaware. He has ambushed me with his covert actions. But I will recover, and when I do, there will be no safer place from the mind of Richard Prenson." She didn't look convinced. "You may need reminding of where you are," he said as politely as possible. "We are not powerless. With you helping us against him, this whole situation will be over much more quickly."
Wanda looked at him for a moment. "Fine, but only for a month. If he's not under control by then, I'm out of here."
"Very well. I'll have Ororo set up a room."
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Mystique, for the first time in a while, was too shocked to move. She'd hoped that Richard had been killed somehow in the last nine months. It was a stupid thing to hope for, but it was better than picturing how he was now, lying on her sofa, half-asleep. "Sit down," he forced through a yawn.
"I'd rather not."
"Too bad." Her legs lead her over to the nearest chair and sat her down.
"Killing me won't achieve anything."
"I haven't killed anyone, not yet."
"I heard about what you did to Magneto. Are you telling me he survived that?"
"He is currently unconscious in Xavier's infirmary."
"Why didn't you kill him? He deserves it. Not for what he did to you. But-" she quickly stopped talking, but it wasn't of her volition.
"Don't ramble." He stood up, as did she, again due to her legs. "Why should I have killed them? I'm just getting my payback. I'm not trying to bring justice to the world, just to me. Magneto didn't kill me, neither did Creed. All they did was rough me up a bit, and I returned the favor. Speaking of which, you got a couple of good shots in there as well." His fist crashed into her gut, sending her flying back into the chair. "But it's really what you did afterward that had a big impact on me. I wouldn't be half of what I am today if it weren't for those four years without my powers." Mystique briefly felt as though her body was being separated from her mind. She no longer felt linked with her skin or inner workings. She felt as she did back when she was ten, before her powers manifested and she was just a blue-skinned freak who refused to go to school. She knew what he had done, but refused to believe it. She tried to simply change the color of her hair, and was unable to do it.
"Is any of this actually making you feel better," she said through clenched teeth.
"Yes, actually. And I'm sure you'll feel better, too, once this is all over."
"What do you mean once this is all over? You've got your revenge on the three of us. When are you going to be done?"
"Okay, I lied. I'm not just getting revenge for myself."
"Who else, then?"
"Rogue, of course. You imprisoned the only person that could help her control her powers, then proceeded to use her on that damned Brotherhood of yours." He kneeled down in front of her chair. "How many people did you have to impersonate to push the adoption through?" Mystique's eyes widened. "I'm impressed that you and Irene were able to keep it a secret from me for so long. You actually had me believing that you two didn't want her around. You're the only person that has tricked me since my powers activated. Don't think it will ever happen again." He stood back up. "I can't understand why you did it, though. Why did you erase her memory? Wouldn't she have been a lot more useful if she trusted you instead of not knowing you? Wouldn't it have been easier to just put her in Irene's care with Mastermind's fuzzy memories in place instead of having it that I found her a back alley? And I especially don't understand how putting her in that white-trash hellhole for a month was better than keeping her mind the way it should be."
"I was forced to do all of that," Mystique said. "Do you honestly think I wanted to?"
"I can feel that you did. I can't understand why, though, because your mind is a mess. The next time you see that dirty little illusionist, make sure he doesn't get anywhere near you. He does sloppy work, and he's done nearly irreparable damage to you. Make sure that you tell Magneto that the next time he cons you into following him." He turned to walk out of the house. "Have fun. I hope you'll be able to pluck up the courage to leave the house every now and then."
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"I can't believe the Professor didn't tell us about this before," Jean said, lugging a huge bedspread around while carrying several lamps and nightstands with her mind. "First he lets Wanda stay here, and now he just tells that we're getting a new student and a new instructor today."
"Well," Scott said, carrying his own sets of furniture, "Apparently, this happened quite suddenly."
"I guess so. This was set up awfully quick."
"I think I heard that Mr. Cassidy and the Professor used to know each other. So the Professor probably agreed a lot quicker."
"What about the short notice?"
"I think he was using Cerebro all morning."
"Looking for what?"
"I don't know." Scott squeezed the blankets and maneuvered his arms around so he could see his watch. "Crap. Their plane arrives in ten minutes."
"Let's just hurry."
Less than ten minutes after that, Kurt was letting two new residents into the mansion. Scott and Jean finished setting up the rooms just in time to be at the top of the stairs while Xavier shook hands with Mr. Cassidy.
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Charles wheeled over to refill Sean's glass of Bourbon. "I must impress upon you how little I approve of your timing. I do not know how Mr. Prenson behaved while staying at your manor, but he has shown little in the way of cooperation since he arrived here."
"I know. He was a little hard to get along with at first. He's just someone you gotta trust."
"He has done nothing to earn it among us. What did he do to gain yours?"
"He saved m'daughter from about fifty soldiers."
"What," Charles said in shock. "Why were there soldiers after Theresa?"
"They weren't workin fer any government. Some organization was tryin t'blackmail me into workin fer em by holding Theresa hostage. By the time I got there, they were takin' each other out."
"Are you entirely sure that's what the soldiers were doing?"
"Aye, very sure. It doesn't matter what I think, though, 'cause yer not gonna trust him anyway."
"I don't mean to seem paranoid, but I can't imagine why he's resorted to the methods he's using while working toward good intentions."
"I don't know either, but like I said, y'gotta trust him. He's not evil, Charles. He's a sinister little bastard, and he'll scare ye t'death every so often, but he's not evil."
"You understand why I can't trust the words of someone who was exposed to him. I'm also having difficulty imagining any other reason he would be in Ireland."
"I can understand that."
"You honestly trust him?"
"That I do. With my daughter's life."
"He's very dangerous," Charles said to himself, mostly.
"Everyone under this roof is dangerous, Charles, if properly motivated." With that, Sean decided he'd been awake long enough and went up to his new room.
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The house that Mystique had been staying in, and probably would only leave at night now, was in L.A., so she could be as far as possible from Richard. It didn't help her that Richard could just walk through any airport, wearing or carrying anything, without incident, and get on a plane without a ticket. He had gone straight from what he did to Magneto to the airport. He was almost late for his flight, since Magneto was so lax about falling into Richard's trap for him.
While driving back to the airport, though, Richard felt a presence that he hadn't felt in years. It was different, though. For instance, the last time Richard had spoken to Dr. Hendrich, he wasn't a mutant. Very close to him was another mutant, who was screaming against the will of her own body, which Richard could tell was not under her control. Richard focused on the signal, he was less than a mile from its origin.
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"Jubilation, what are you looking at," asked Mr. Lee, noticing his daughter had been catatonic at the window sine he'd last passed by the room. She didn't give a verbal response. Instead, her hand smoothly rotated around, her fingers pointed at her father. "What are you…" he didn't care to continue and dodge a blast of energy at the same time.
"What's going on in" Mrs. Lee had to hit the floor as well. Dodging the shot caused it to hit some curtains which immediately caught flame. Lee crawled to the end of the kitchen behind a sofa and down the hall, all the while remaining hidden from her daughter. Her husband was already on the phone, waving for his wife to join him, huddled on the floor as he gave the police his address.
Jubilee was still in the living room, waiting for her next order. It was soon to come. The door slowly creaked open, and a gangly man, almost too tall to go under the door without ducking, walked into the house. He looked down the hall, where Jubilee's parents were still crouching with the phone dangling between them. He then stalked his away over to Jubilee. "Kill them," he whispered in her ear. Without hesitating, she followed the order. The black-haired stranger chuckled to himself. "This will work excellently," he spoke to the zombie-like girl. "We best be getting out of here," he said, noticing the quickly spreading fire. Already, supports from the ceiling were collapsing into the house. Outside, the sound of screeching tires rang throughout the neighborhood. "That must be the police," Hendrich said, "Let's add to the publicity. Follow me," he said, heading to the front door. Instead of the police car he had expected, Hendrich found a car with a "Hertz" license-plate. He took a few paces to see if anyone was in the vehicle, but found no one. "Destroy it," he said, turning to his slave.
Looming over her, with one hand around her waist, was the last person Hendrich wanted to see. "Wake up," he whispered to her. She shook her head, trying to get her normal senses back.
"Mom! Dad!" she cried, running back to the house. Richard grabbed her arm before she got too far.
"No," he simply said to her. She tearfully watched as her house fell apart from the flames, but she didn't venture into it. "Since you were expecting a police officer, Dr. Hendrich, I'll try to accommodate. Get up against the wall." Hendrich ran to the burning house and threw his back against the nearest wall. The heat coming from the house emanated from the wall, causing the doctor's skin to boil. "I'll say that this is a clear violation of our agreement, doctor." Richard looked into the window, spying the two burning human figures. He noticed a fallen beam and pulled off a two-foot long splinter. He pulled the splinter out of the house, but placed the point back into the fire. "We agreed that you wouldn't engage in any anti-mutant activity. I didn't expect the extremes to which you would go in order to break that agreement, actually becoming a mutant yourself, and a hypnotic one at that. Were you really that jealous of me?"
"I just thought I'd fight fire with fire."
"Speaking of which," Richard pulled the smoking tip of the splinter out of the house. "You shouldn't have chosen to be a hypnotist, they have a very obvious weakness." Hendrich's eyes preyed themselves open in horror. "That's right, doctor, now don't blink."
The good doctor's screams could be heard over a mile away.
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The chapters will be getting longer soon, don't worry.
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