Chapter Seven: The Calm
The characters in this fic, by and large, do not belong to me. The X-Men, and related characters, are the property of Marvel Comics. GI Joe, and related characters, belong to Hasbro. The Delgado children (Althea, Brittany, Daria, Quinn, and Claudius), Xi, Sgt Snuffles, and the Eloi belong to Red Witch.
Six Days Ago:
The unintelligible mutterings were the first thing Sabretooth heard. He opened his eyes. Looking down at him was Grey Crow. Sabretooth blinked as he tried to remember what happened. Oh yeah- after Magneto said he could go if he could bring back some new soldiers. He returned to the designated spot at the designated time. Grey Crow was there. When he said that Magneto said yes, Grey Crow apologized, and then gassed him. It must've been strong stuff, to knock him out.
"Welcome to the base," Grey Crow said simply.
"You better-"
"Have a good reason for knocking you out? Come on, Victor. I can't take chances with the location of our HQ." He extended a hand, and helped Sabretooth stand up.
Sabretooth took a look around. The room was dark, and there was only one person besides Grey Crow in it- an Asian man who looked at Sabretooth with something very like a sneer. Sabretooth gave the man something very like a murderous grin, and began to plot an 'accident.'
"This is Scrambler," Grey Crow told Sabretooth. "He's one of our most valuable members."
The three left the room and began to walk down a metal hallway. They soon came to a room. In the room, was a table. Seated at the table were a number of people, some clearly mutants.
"So this is Sabretooth," a large, mighty woman said as she stood up. "Scalp said that you're quite the hunter.
"Yeah, I am," Sabretooth grunted.
"Really?" a man asked. He was medium sized, at best, with long hair.
"Wanna find out for yourself?" Sabretooth grinned wickedly. He was grateful to Grey Crow for the opportunity to hunt, but so far it was more trouble than it was worth.
"That's quite enough," another voice said from the table. A kid with long green hair stood up and looked Sabretooth square in the eye.
"You've been invited to be here because Scalphunter said you're the best hunter he's ever seen," the girl continued, "and coming from him, that says something. He's the field leader of this little operation, and I am the liaison with our boss- and no, you won't be meeting him yet. You've already met Scrambler, Arclight," the woman nodded, "and Riptide." The man sneered. "The others are Vertigo," the third woman, a tiny blond thing, nodded, "Harpoon," a short, muscled Inuit nodded gravely, "Prism," the crystal-man, obviously, "and Blockbuster," who was one big mother. "I am called Polaris."
"Now that you've met our happy little group," Grey Crow said sarcastically, "here are the rules: I'm in charge. You do what I say, or you're out… permanently."
"Fine," Sabretooth nodded. This was as it should be.
"And you don't go for the maim, only for the kill."
"No argument here," Sabretooth grinned. That was why he was here.
"Good. Welcome to the Marauders."
***
Five Days Ago:
"So, you're an orphan?" Elisabeth asked as she played chess with Scott. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Scott shrugged. "I've found my brother, and I've got an uncle living in Spain, and cousins in Sunnydale- that's a small town in California."
"Why didn't
your family take you in?"
"Nobody knows. I do know they tried to take me in, but the judge wouldn't let them. Like I said, I don't know why. Checkmate."
"Damn! Good match."
"You too."
"Do they know about you? That you're a mutant, I mean?"
"Not yet. News about our identities hasn't spread that fast, and I don't think they know I go here. I keep meaning to tell them, but I always chicken out. Old habits are hard to break out of, I guess. I will one of these days, though."
"You should. It feels good to let things out."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Hey, Elisabeth," Kitty said as she phased through the wall, "these came for you." She handed Elisabeth a bouquet of flowers. Elisabeth took them, sniffed them, and sighed. Scott made a disgusted noise.
"Again?" he asked.
"I'm really going to have to ask him to stop," Elisabeth smiled. "We're running out of vases."
"I, like, think it's totally sweet that he gives you flowers every day," Kitty smiled.
Scott rolled his eyes- not that anyone could see, under his glasses.
'What kind of a guy gives a girl a bouquet of flowers every day, even though they've only had one date?' he thought.
'The smart ones,' a familiar (and ticked off) voice replied. Time to get more flowers for Jean, before she started comparing him to Quicksilver (and if the other guys with girlfriends were smart, they'd do the same).
***
Rogue looked at Remy.
"So, what's the surprise?" she finally asked.
"Remy's so glad you asked, chere," he smiled. "See, it hasn't been so easy, us dating. We have to be careful, and not do t'ings dat other couples do… like kiss."
"So?" Rogue felt a little nervous. This wasn't a… no, of course it wasn't. He wouldn't break up with her like this.
"So, Gambit has a gift," he said, as he opened his dresser, and pulled out a small box. He opened it, and showed Rogue the contents.
"Oh, Remy," she breathed. It was a silk scarf. It was beautiful. But… "What's it got to do with us not bein' able ta touch?"
"You'll see," he smiled, and then he loosely wrapped the scarf around the lower half of his head. "It seems to Remy dat you have to touch a person's skin to hurt them. If they're covered, then you're harmless- well, mostly." Under the scarf, he flashed a grin.
Rogue's eyes widened with comprehension. Remy stepped in closer.
"May I?" he asked softly. Rogue nodded. Remy leaned in, and kissed her.
It wasn't like anything she'd ever felt before. The silk was amazingly sheer, and smooth. She could feel the heat of his lips through the silk.
After a few moments, the kiss broke. They stared at each other.
"Dat was… even better than I hoped," he said quietly.
"It was wonderful," Rogue told him, just as softly.
"Non, not really. It gets better- much better. One day, I hope I can show you what it's really like."
"It's more than I hoped I'd ever be able to have," Rogue said, and her eyes began to tear up. They kissed again.
***
Four Days Before the Prologue:
"So, like yeah, it was so much fun," Kitty said animatedly to the person on the other end of the phone.
"I wish I could've been there," Lance replied, a little wistfully.
"Well, I did invite you."
"Yeah, but something… came up."
Lance seemed a little defensive.
"You mean like, suddenly?"
"Yeah."
"What was it?"
"Sorry, but it's top secret- y'know, as in 'if I told you, I'd have to kill you.'"
Kitty heard a voice say "Tell her! Tell her!" in the background.
"Uh, could you hold on a minute, Kitty?"
"Sure."
Kitty heard what sounded like an earthquake, followed by a very satisfying "OW!"
"Now where was I?" Lance asked as he came back on.
"Secret assignment."
"Oh, yeah. Well, I can't talk about it."
They were silent for a while.
"Well," Lance said, almost like he was trying to change the subject, "my schedule's clear for the next couple days, so do you wanna go out sometime?"
"Oh, I'm studying for my exams. The only night I have study-free is tonight, so- can you go out tonight?"
"Yeah! Hey- Pietro says that dance club in Bayville's pretty good, it opens early and closes late, and it doesn't have a cover charge. Wanna go there?"
"Sure. How about I meet you there at 7:30?"
"Great! See you then! Bye!"
"Bye!"
Kitty hung up the phone, and frowned. Lance didn't quite sound like himself. He sounded a little shaky, like he was almost totally drained or something and trying to hide it.
Lance hung up his phone and sighed. He'd had another attack a couple days ago- in fact, it started a few hours after they returned from trying to tag along on Pietro's date. It was a bad one- it was only half as long as his attacks normally went, but it was twice as intense. Lance overheard Lifeline talking to Spirit. It could be just an isolated incident… or it could be a sign of something bad. Neither of them knew that Lance was conscious while they discussed him- and neither had seen fit to tell him. Lance's fists clenched. Why hadn't they? Why the hell not? It was his life, his health, his… everything that was on the line! Lifeline had suggested- not ordered, but suggested- that Lance stay in the Pit for the next few days for observation. Screw him. He was gonna have this date. He was gonna dance, and laugh, and talk with the one girl he loved. He was gonna forget- at least for one night.
***
"Look alive, ladies and germs," Scalphunter said, calling the attention of the others. "We've got our map of the Bayville sewer system to review- yet again."
The map was marked by various colours. The green areas were the areas least likely for the Morlocks to live in. Yellow were the even odds. Red marked the most likely areas.
"I still say they're here," Riptide pointed to a yellow area. "We've all heard of the 'Power-8' break-ins. That had to be done by our prey."
"No, they'd have moved," Scrambler argued.
"I can't see why Sabretooth just doesn't go down into the sewers and find them for us," Vertigo sniffed.
"'Cause it don't work like that," Sabretooth said as patiently as he could. This was a hunter? "There're ways to hide your scent, and the Morlocks use 'em. I'd be able to find 'em eventually, but they'd know we were coming by then. They've got a guy named Caliban, an' he can detect mutant signatures if he's lookin' for 'em."
"Which is why we have to be on the lookout to follow one of them, if we want to follow the schedule," Arclight concluded. "Why don't we just send Prism down there?"
"Are you kidding?" Prism asked. "I know a few of the Morlocks- and they know me! The moment they found I was there, the jig would be up, and I'd have to fight my way out- not a problem, but they'd be on the lookout, afterwards. They'd fight- or worse, they might even move- and we might not be able to do this in the timeframe."
The Marauders shuddered. Sabretooth noted this with interest. Grey Crow wasn't the type to be easily spooked. This boss had to have some wicked painful punishments.
***
Tommy studied her map intently. It led her north, to where her friends lived. When Mole left the Alley, a few of the Morlocks went with him. Tommy wasn't one of them, but she did consider it, to the point where she flipped a coin to decide whether or not she'd go too. Obviously, she stayed.
She'd been to what became the home of the Eloi a few times. They were nice enough- kinda flaky, and with a strange need for committees, but truly nice and good people.
She was used to travelling. She could survive in the wild, and when necessary, she could use her powers to tag along in a vehicle going north. She didn't dare stay in them too long, though, or she'd risk getting discovered, lost, or end up going places she didn't want to go.
She remembered the last time she'd been up there that the Outriders found her within minutes of getting close to the camp. She wondered if they knew all the routes, or it maybe- just maybe- there was a way that they didn't know about…
***
Three Days Before the Prologue:
"This vas a good idea," Kurt smiled as he snuggled closer to Amanda.
"I know," Amanda smiled, snuggling closer to Kurt.
They were sitting together, wrapped in a blanket. They were on a park bench, on a bluff overlooking Bayville. It was beautiful night. The moon was full, and all the stars were visible, a rarity for any city.
"So how do you think you did on all the exams?" Amanda asked.
"I did just fine, and can ve please not talk about them anymore?"
"Okay," Amanda grinned.
They basked in silence, and the sounds of nature.
"So vhat did you tell your parents about vhere you are tonight?"
"Oh, I told them the truth- I just didn't say that you'd be here with me."
"Sneaky."
"I thought so." Amanda cuddled in even closer. At most other times, her mother might scry her to see what she was doing, but not at this point of her cycle. She had better things to do with her waning strength.
***
Scott knocked on Jean's door. "Special delivery for Jean Grey," he grinned. In his hand was a bouquet of roses.
"Oh, Scott," Jean breathed, "they're lovely."
"Well, in that case, sign here," Scott said as he puckered up. Jean kissed him full on the lips.
"Look, Scott," Jean began, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I've just… I haven't been sleeping well, lately."
"Why not?" Scott asked. This wasn't good.
"I've been having the nightmare again." Jean finally said.
Scott hugged her. He knew what the nightmare was. First finding out about your powers was always traumatic- well, not so much for the mutants who looked different (like Kurt), because they obviously had other things to worry about- but what Jean went through the very first time her telepathy emerged... that was bad.
***
Low Light and Cover Girl watched with resigned amusement as the children went at it yet again. Some things were preventable, but others just had to be allowed to happen, because it was safer that way. In this case, it was watching Blob and Xi fight over Xi's new stash of cookies, which was definitely the latter. As long as it didn't get too destructive, they were just going to sit back, share a flask of whiskey, and enjoy the show.
"I tell ya, I didn't eat your cookies! That time," Fred said for the umpteenth time.
"And I tell you, that is not what I have heard!" Xi called back.
"Do you believe him?" Cover Girl asked.
"The Blob?" Low Light snorted. "Hell, no."
"I dunno," Cover Girl said thoughtfully. "I don't think Fred's this persistent. He wouldn't keep denying it this long."
"And speaking of persistent," Low Light snickered. Looking up, Cover Girl saw Shipwreck in a snazzy tux. "Three guesses where he's going."
"Doesn't he ever give up?"
"No."
"You'd think even he would get it through his skull that she's not interested."
"It takes a hammer to get something through his skull."
"Amen."
Silence for a moment. Well, silence punctured by the sounds of much arguing and fighting.
Low Light noticed that Cover Girl was just looking at him, and not saying anything.
"What?" he asked, a little irritably.
"Your hair," she said. "You're growing it out, a bit."
"So?" Was it noticeably longer? It had been a while since his last haircut.
"It looks good."
"Thanks," he grunted after a moment. He hated his hair. Most of the women he'd ever known had shown jealousy over his hair, and so did some of the men. He didn't know why. And his father… well, forget his father…
"It's a good look for you," Cover Girl went on.
Low Light blinked. No one had ever said that before- well, nobody except Una, but she was a special case, being his sister and all.
"If you say so," was all he said.
Silence for a while.
"God," Cover Girl finally snorted, "you're pretty thick, aren't you?"
"What?" Suddenly it hit him. No, it couldn't be. "Are you… trying to flirt with me?"
"What do you think?" she asked, before she pulled him into a kiss.
"Yeah, I'd say you are," he managed to say after the kiss was done. Cover Girl made a disgusted sound and looked away. "Hey!" He stepped in front of her. He blushed, and then pulled his glasses off. "Next time," he said softly, "talk about my aim." He leaned in, and kissed her, and she kissed back.
From her hidden vantage point in the bushes, Bree grinned in triumph. She knew it would take the direct approach to get her friend to clue in to Cover Girl's attraction. She took a quick look at the time and date on her watch, saw that by now the kids noticed and were cheering and whistling, and went off to find Snow Job. She had winnings to collect. The Cover Girl/Low Light first kiss was at 17:07 of Monday of the very week Bree had picked for them to finally lock lips. And the fact that Bree made an innocent suggestion to Courtney was a coincidence, of course… Now, all she had to do was arrange their first date, and her winnings could double.
***
Two Days Before the Prologue:
Tommy looked around. She was sure she passed that tree two hours ago.
She sat against it and sighed. Maybe trying to surprise her friends wasn't a good idea. But, by this point, she was lost.
She stood up. It wouldn't do any good to sit and mope. She picked a direction, and resolved to buy a compass at the next possible opportunity.
***
"COME BACK HERE, YOU LUNATIC! AND GET SOME CLOTHES ON!"
It was a calm day at the X-Mansion. And then, the Misfits came for a visit.
The usual thing happened.
"WHEE! FEEL THE BREEZE!" Xi yelled as he ran by, half the mansion on his heels.
"Why didn't you tell me that he gets like this when he eats cookies?" Elisabeth asked Pietro, as they watched the carnage.
"Some things it's better to discover on your own," Pietro grinned.
"If you say so…"
"KITTY IS
MINE!" Peter shouted as he engaged in another wrestling match with Lance.
"NO, SHE'S MINE!" Lance
shouted back.
"Would you two boys knock it off? Although, it is, like, so sweet you're both fighting over me…"
"Shouldn't someone talk to her? They're going to destroy the lawn?"
"They've done it before. They'll do it again. And talking to the Kit-Kat is like talking to a brick wall. You need a hammer to penetrate that skull."
"And speaking of things that need to be hammered…"
"WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?" Shipwreck screamed as Ororo chased him. He was dressed in leopard skin bikini briefs.
"THE STRIP-O-GRAM!"
"Strip-o-Gram?" Pietro marvelled. "That's a new one."
"If he really wanted to impress her, he should have asked Bree to lend him her special helicopter," Elisabeth laughed. Pietro shot her a blank look.
"You know, the one that she used to take him to the cabin."
Pietro still looked blank.
"Don't tell me you haven't heard this story!"
"COME BACK HERE, TOAD!"
"COME GET ME, SCOOTER!"
"If you do that again, Althea…"
"You'll do what, exactly, Red? Let me kick your ass one more time?"
"I'll show you an asskicking, you…"
"Will you maniacs shut up?" Remy screamed from inside. "Remy cannot hear Emeril!"
"Don't make me come out there!" Fred added. Emeril Lagasse was one of the few major chefs that both of them admired.
"Oh my God!" Pietro wheezed. He was laughing so hard he could barely speak. "I can't believe we haven't heard that! And I thought we heard all the good stories!"
"They were probably afraid you'd never let Bree or Edwin hear the end of it," Elisabeth laughed.
"Oh, believe me, we won't," Pietro grinned as many possible solid-gold-helicopter-related pranks entered his mind.
"Here's to a job well done, ladies," Daria grinned as Trinity looked down at their prize: a stripped-to-his-underwear-and-hog-tied Jamie Madrox.
"Here's to another peaceful afternoon with the X-Men and the Misfits," Wanda said sarcastically, as she and Rogue made a mock-toast with their Pepsi's.
"Here's to liquor, beer, wine, spirits, and all kinds of alcohol!" Xavier sighed as took a large gulp of his drink and surveyed the chaos from the safety of his office.
"Amen!" Logan, Jinx, Low Light, Cover Girl, Beast, and Roadblock chorused.
***
One Day Before the Prologue:
"Hello! What's this?"
"What is it, Prism?" Arclight asked.
"I think we've got a signature!" Prism said excitedly. He was looking at a screen that was attached to an odd-looking contraption. "It's heading to the Eloi!"
"What's that thing?" Sabretooth asked.
"That's supposed to be a mutant tracking machine," Scalphunter sighed.
"'Supposed' to be?"
"The last time Prism got a signature, it turned out to be a moose in heat."
"I've fixed it!" Prism protested.
"And how did you do that?"
"I borrowed some of your parts," Prizm grinned.
"THAT WAS YOU?!?" Scalphunter quickly assembled a gun and started shooting. Prizm dodged, and started firing his laser-light back. Everybody hit the deck.
"Stop them, will you?" Polaris snapped. "I have to inform the master."
"It's probably another moose!" Blockbuster called over the fracas.
"You know the rules!"
Minutes later, Scalphunter and Prizm sat growling at each other as the others separated them and Polaris used her private communicator.
"We go check it out," she said as she returned to the room.
"Fine," Scalphunter muttered. "Scrambler, Sabretooth, Vertigo, you're with me. The rest of you stay here. If it pans out, we'll let you know."
***
Tommy grinned as she looked down from her vantage point. She was in a tiny mountain pass, and from it, she could see the homes of the Eloi in the valley below. And there really was a blind spot in the Outriders' route. She considered going down from where she was, but she changed her mind. She knew how to find the main route in from where she was, and she didn't want to rub her discovery in the Outriders' faces- too much. Barring a disaster, she'd make it there in time for supper.
Humming to herself as she set off, she reflected on how good it was to realize you know where you are after you've been lost.
***
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes," Scalphunter growled as he watched the young mutant hike along, cheerfully oblivious to the threat not a few yards away. "Prism's gonna be impossible to live with after this."
"What do we do now?" Scrambler asked.
"Scrambler, Vertigo, you're with me. Sabretooth, retrace her tracks. None of the Eloi leave their valley unescorted, so chances are this little girl knows a way out that they don't."
"And a way out is also a way in," Sabretooth grinned wickedly. "I'm on it."
***
"That's not an Eloi," Prism hissed as he saw her. It was much later, and the rest of the Marauders had been assembled. "Her name's Tommy, and she's a Morlock. She didn't go with Mole and his little band when they left the sewers."
"If she's a Morlock, then she can lead us to them," Vertigo smirked.
"Good girl," Riptide said sarcastically. "You can see the obvious."
"So we jump her?" Blockbuster asked.
"Not yet," Scalphunter frowned. "How tough is she, Prism?"
"Not very," Prism snorted.
"Then why don't we have some fun with her?" Polaris asked, a wicked light in her eye.
"What?" Scalphunter asked irritably.
"We could force her to lead us to her people, but why don't we make her run to them? It'll take longer, but we'll still be within the timeframe."
"And how do you figure that?"
"Just listen…"
Many of the others laughed as Polaris finished.
"That's great," Sabretooth grinned. The others nodded.
"You think you can follow her?" Arclight asked.
"In my sleep," Polaris snorted. "She'll never even know I'm there- until I want her to."
Harpoon and Scalphunter didn't like it. They enjoyed the kill as much as any of the others, and they liked to play as well, but they felt that overly tormenting the prey beforehand was… tacky.
"She can't lead us into any form of a trap if she doesn't know she's being followed," Harpoon said reluctantly. Scalphunter nodded. Harpoon was right.
"Then let's get at it," he told his team.
***
Tommy cursed a bit as she quickened her pace. Her suppertime arrival estimate was far too optimistic.
Oh, well. It wasn't long now. Any minute now, she'd reach the outer limits of the Outriders' patrol route, and it wouldn't take long to get noticed from there.
She suddenly felt a gust of wind in front of her face. Then she heard a thunk. Looking to her right, she saw a quivering shooting star embedded in the tree. She felt more wind, and heard another thunk. It came from a tree to her left.
And then, she felt several winds, and heard many thunks. The trees around her all had shooting stars sticking out of them.
"Well, aren't you just a precious thing," a cruel voice whispered. Tommy looked around. She didn't see anybody, and the voice could have come from anywhere.
"You're just an innocent, wandering the woods, aren't you?" the voice asked.
"Y-yes, yes I am," Tommy gulped. Whoever it was, it wasn't an Eloi, or an Outrider.
"Too bad," the voice said mock-sympathetically. "I hate innocents. I'm afraid I'm just going to have to kill you."
The shooting stars suddenly exited the trees, and made a line in Tommy's path. They were joined by others, until row after row of stars were blocking her way.
"Now, make this entertaining, and run," the voice hissed.
Begin Prologue.
Yeah, I know- it took me long enough. I'm sorry! I know- don't be sorry, just write faster. I will- I'll try. Well, you're up to speed, and now the real action begins. There's gonna be blood, and there's gonna be character death. Who's gonna die? Read and find out in "The Mutant Massacre:"
Chapter Eight: Sneak Attack!