Chapter Eighteen: It's Payback Time!
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. Reader, however, does belong to me.
Negrath: Hi! I'm glad you like the story! Anyway, you're right, it isn't canon (although it would be awesome if something like it ever were…). It's in Chapter Two- Car Trouble. It is 3rd on the chapter bar, as I have a prologue. It's right at the beginning of the chapter.
Cammy: Latin final? Yikes! Sounds frightful. Yup- go Tabby! She doesn't need her bombs to take revenge on people- she just likes to use them for that purpose! She will protect her man and her friends however she must. That's our Boom-Boom! About Revanche- she'll be making an appearance very, very soon, but free? We'll see… And about the payback- you won't have to wait very long at all.
Sparky Genocide: Ah, yes… I'm a Sweet Transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania… No, really! I love the RHPS too. Yeah, Masque is a big jerk. He might just fit in with the Acolytes, except he'd rather be important down in the sewers than a low-level guy in a big organization. Re. Sam: Yes, that's exactly where it came from. Romyness? Yup, there's some coming up eventually…
Red Witch: I'm glad you loved it! Hawk cares about all the people under his
command, and tries to help them when he can (which isn't that often, since most
of them are beyond help- just the way we like them!). Tabby doesn't take
anything lying down- and her time with the Brotherhood has taught her all about
revenge! As for Low Light- the incident at Morrisseau probably still follows
him, although he doesn't have nightmares as much as he once did, so he knows
what it's like to survive something really bad when so many others don't.
L1701E- Nope, I don't think Masque knows about karma- but he does now! Yup, maybe the Watchers do confuse Sam for one of their immortals, setting up a crossover… hmm…
The strike force sent to the Appalachians was full of nerves and grim resolve. It was time to fight back!
The force came in two waves: a small recon unit, to be followed by the main offensive.
The recon unit consisted of Althea, Jean, Kitty, Kurt, Mrs. S., Remy, Logan, Thorn, Todd, Storm Shadow, and Xi. With the exception of Jean and Mrs. S, who would be handling the telepathic communication, the group was responsible for sneaking into the compound and scouting it.
That part proved almost too easy. It was practically child's play for Kitty to scout her way into the compound, and then return to phase the others through. They split up into groups for safety- Althea, Kitty, and Thorn; Kurt, Storm Shadow, and Xi; and Remy, Logan, and Todd.
It was the first group which made the first discovery.
"What are these?" Kitty breathed. The three of them had stumbled into a room full of strange glass tanks.
Althea looked at the tanks. She had never seen anything like them, but she knew what they were.
"These are cloning tanks," Storm Shadow said, wiping off the condensation on one. He saw that it was empty. "I have seen similar ones, but these are highly advanced. It seems that, in addition to destroying life, these monsters are experimenting with creating it." He wiped the condensation off the rest. All were empty.
*Are you reading us?* he asked telepathically. The idea of all of them being telepathically interconnected was somewhat unnerving, but he saw the need for it- enough for him to let his mental guard down to allow the telepathy.
*Loud and clear, monsieur ninja* Gambit told him.
*I don't know what they want with cloning tanks* Logan grunted, *but I ain't willing to find out.*
*Agreed* Storm Shadow and his team left the chamber, unaware of the three pairs of eyes that were watching them from a hidden part of the room.
"Master," one of them rumbled into a comm link the moment the intruders were out of earshot, "we have guests."
Polaris was with Essex when the report came. In her mind, Malice cheered. It was about time! Now, to get away, and get free reign at the Xavier Institute when the greater force came knocking.
In her cell, Destiny sat up just a little straighter as the paths of the future changed yet again. She saw a numbers of paths the incoming attack might follow. In some of them, she was freed. In others, she was not. In still others, she was killed. She hoped that that she could avoid the latter two fates.
***
After the recon team got the layout of the place, it was time for the main strike force to attack.
The issue of got to go was contentious. Everybody on every team and group concerned demanded to go.
It was finally decided that Jamie, the Triplets, and Elisabeth would stay behind. Jamie and the Triplets due to their age, and Elisabeth due to her lack of experience. None of them were happy about it. Of the others, all the other Misfits would go, as well as all the other New Mutants, and all the X-Men. The Outriders, all of them- as Hepcat and Hound Dog had healed- would be going, and Willow would be going along with them. A number of Morlocks, including Evan, would be going, and Sean was going on his own behalf. In addition, a large contingent of Joes would be along- the Misfit handlers, Storm Shadow, Jinx, Lady Jaye, Flint, Beach Head, Barbecue, Leatherneck, Wet Suit, Bazooka, and Snake Eyes, with Wild Bill providing air support and Lifeline to treat the wounded.
"Wish me luck," Pietro said as he and Elisabeth managed to catch a moment alone.
"Good luck," Elisabeth said, and then they kissed.
"You'd better come back," she said afterwards.
"Count on it," Pietro grinned, and zipped off.
***
"So they're off," Gabrielle said from the window, as she watched the X-Jet speed off. A two-pronged attack was chosen- a small strike force to stir things up, and a larger force that would corral the Marauders that tried to flee, while simultaneously handling the defences.
"Does anybody else feel nervous?" Moira asked. Gabrielle and Xavier nodded.
"Have you given instructions about Polaris?" Gabrielle asked Xavier.
"Yes, I told them that Polaris is being controlled, and that she is to be brought here to be freed."
"Is that all?" Moira asked. Xavier nodded. "Even after all this time, I still cannae believe that your son David had so much darkness inside him that he could create Malice."
Jamie's gasp was heard outside the door. Xavier looked up, annoyed, and then his expression became resigned.
"Come in," he sighed. Jamie, the Triplets, and Elisabeth entered.
"I'm sorry, sir," Elisabeth said contritely. "We didn't mean to overhear, we just wanted somebody to wait with."
"Well, I'm afraid you did overhear, Psylocke," Moira told her. "Charles, Gabrielle, ye may as well tell them everything now."
"I agree," Gabrielle sighed. She had hoped to keep this a secret.
"Very well," Xavier nodded. "As I assume you've figured out, David isn't just Gabrielle's son. He's mine too. He is a mutant- potentially among the most powerful of us all." The young mutants took some of the remaining seats.
"He has many different powers: telepathy, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, shapeshifting, and teleportation, among others. The catch is that David himself cannot control his powers. Each power is controlled by an aspect of his personality, which have broken off into their own identities."
"You mean he has multiple-personality disorder?" Daria asked.
"In a word, yes. He has as many personalities as he does powers. Each personality is separate and distinct, and they shared control of his body. For that reason, David was kept apart from most people until something could be done. Only someone beat us to it."
"Malice," Elisabeth reasoned.
"Yes," Gabrielle said softly.
***
"Which way do we go now?" Rogue whispered to Remy. She, Remy, Lady Jaye, Flint, Jinx, Wanda, and Fred were one wing of the strike force. Althea, Kitty, Lance, Evan, Logan, Snake Eyes, and Spirit were the other.
Remy pointed left.
"On the count of three," Flint mouthed. "One, two-"
"Three!" Scrambler laughed as he jumped out of his hiding place. He knocked the guns out of Flint's and Lady Jaye's hands, and almost brushed Remy before running off. As the others went after him, the ground underneath began to shake. Arclight.
***
"Arclight!" Kitty hissed. "They know we're here!"
"You got that right, Pretty Kitty," Vertigo called as she stepped in front of them. She used her powers, but fortunately everyone knew to avert their eyes. A good plan, but a bad idea, as Scalphunter started shooting. Dodging bullets when one's eyes are closed is damned difficult.
***
"And so it has begun," Essex muttered in the control room. "How did they find us? No matter." Essex touched a switch on the control panel. If he knew Joe tactics, there would be some form of aerial cavalry coming in any minute now. Sure enough, the blips on his radar proved him right. Well, when they got close enough, they would be in for one very nasty surprise!
He looked down at the maps of the headquarters. Eight of his servants were either engaging the enemy or still in position. Polaris and Sabretooth were missing, and so was one of his two-man stealth jets. Suddenly, the mystery of how they could have been found became clear to him. He ran a diagnostic on the Cloaking Shield, and found it ever so slightly misaligned. It was slight, but more than enough to allow detection.
"Brilliantly played, Malice," he hissed. Polaris may debate what he does, but she doesn't defy him. Malice, though… she would be severely punished, even if she did kill the chosen one while she was in Bayville. But there would be time for that later.
Essex retreated to his specially made hiding place, which held a number of monitors and comm devices. He had a battle to fight.
***
"Marauder Central, dead ahead!" Wild Bill called.
"Looks like a nice place," Wet Suit said sarcastically.
"Blackbird, do you copy?" Wild Bill asked.
"We're reading you, Tomahawk," Ororo's voice came through the comm link. "Would you like the left or the right?"
"It don't matter to me," Wild Bill smiled. "You pick."
Suddenly, large portions of the ground began to open up.
"What the-"
Sentinels started flying out of the holes. Lots of them.
"Oh boy."
***
"Malice was… is the embodiment of David's darker emotions," Gabrielle went on. "She is his hatred, his cruelty, his… well, his malice. She is also extremely forceful- she was able to control the body much longer than any of the other personalities."
"Longer than David?" Quinn asked.
"Not at first, but eventually, yes."
"When David's powers manifested, and his personalities emerged, I took him here," Xavier said.
"I had difficulty with him," Gabrielle confessed. "It is… difficult caring for that many people, even if they only have one body between them. While Charles attempted to teach him control, I took a job caring for- a friend's children. However, after a time, he let me go so that I could care for my son."
"I believed that David was as controlled as he could be, short of my interfering telepathically," Xavier explained. "Doing so was out of the question. Even if I would have, David's mind is shattered. Any sort of tampering would only fragment it further. I was confident I taught each personality some level on control- some more than others, I admit- but I failed to take Malice into account. When I thought I had curbed her actions, it turned out that she was only biding her time."
"What did she do?" Brittany asked.
"Malice has the power to control minds by feeding them negative emotions. She can manipulate people into doing what she wants. She can even control them for periods of time, but direct control is taxing. Anyway, after David left my care, Malice slowly began to manipulate David's other personalities, which she was only able to do because they are all incarnations of David, and not whole. Soon, for all intents and purposes, there were only two minds in his body- his, and hers. And she used that leverage to… well, there are some things you're not old enough to hear."
"I'm not even old enough to hear them," Moira told them, before anyone could protest.
"But the main thing she did was to kill people," Gabrielle said suddenly.
"I was hoping to gradually lead into that," Xavier told her. Gabrielle shrugged.
"I've never believed in sugar-coating things to teenagers. Do any of you kids know what the M Cult murders are?"
"I remember those!" Jamie said.
"You remember them?" Gabrielle asked.
"Well, I read about them. They were the ones where kids would kill their entire families and paint an 'M' on every mirror in the house, right?"
"Right," Xavier sighed. "What internet sites do you visit?"
"Anyway, it was Malice," Gabrielle told them. "She used her powers to take over those teenagers. When they were done with the murders, she would take control and paint those M's on the mirrors. She used the blood of the victims to do it."
"Why would she do this?" Elisabeth asked.
"To create pain, fear, and confusion," Xavier told her. "From the community, from the friends and family of the dead, and from the innocents she used as her tools. These things give her pleasure."
"The murders occurred once every month," Gabrielle reminisced. "During that time, David changed. I wasn't sure why. He became withdrawn, and haunted. He never said why, but I assumed that it was because of the murders. The killers were all childhood friends of his, you see."
"Eventually, I discovered what Malice was doing, and I went to put a stop to it," Xavier said. "Storm, Wolverine and I came to end it by any means necessary."
"What happened?" Trinity asked him in unison.
"We fought," Xavier said slowly. "Malice and I fought on the Astral Plane. But not before she tormented us. She entered all of our minds, and decided to play with us by playing on our fears. She tormented me with a childhood fear of rats. She got Logan by playing upon his memory difficulties. Then, she hit Ororo with her claustrophobia- which backfired. Ororo's claustrophobia was too powerful for Malice to handle. The shock loosened her control over Storm, and Storm drove Malice's consciousness out of her body, and into a mirror. I saw my chance to free David, and I took it. I entered his mind, barely managed to calm him down, and I freed all of his personalities. We then fought Malice- the personalities, David, and myself. Not even Malice could stand up to that many minds working against her in unison. I believed her destroyed, but before she vanished, Malice put her strength into one final assault on David's mind. He was catatonic for a long time, and when he returned to himself, he was as is he is now- with the mind of a child."
"Whoa," Elisabeth breathed. She didn't know what to say.
And then, a large metal something crashed through the window.
***
"How many of these damn things are there?" Scott shouted as the Sentinels attacked.
"Too many!" Ororo called back. "Cyclops, take the controls. I have some robots to reduce to scrap metal! Everybody else- to the ground as quickly as you can!" Ororo ran to the back hatch, opened it, and flew out.
"Ye heard the lady!" Banshee called. "Who wants to go for a flight?" Jean lifted herself, Peter, and Hank out of the X-Jet. Sam grabbed Tabby, and made a miraculous 'Cannonball' departure (miraculous, because nothing was damaged). Kurt grabbed Ray and Bobby, and Roberto flew out.
"Looks like it's you and me, lass," Sean told Amara. "Be prepared, though- I'm told this is a wee bit disconcerting the first time."
Going to the hatch, Sean grabbed Amara's hand and started screaming.
'No,' Amara reflected as they flew off. 'Dr. MacTaggart's comment was right on- he does make Celine Dion sound like a bass!'
"Land this thing!" Beach Head called to Wild Bill.
"I'm tryin', but these Sentinels ain't making it easy!"
Kurt bamfed in.
"Who vants to fly AirNightcrawler?" he asked.
"I will!" Bazooka grinned, grabbing Kurt as Beach Head did the same. Todd made some damned impressive leaps getting Xi and Pietro to the ground, and going back for Cover Girl and Shipwreck. Low Light grabbed the Blind Master and Barbecue and leapt to the ground, shifting into a metallic form and cushioning their fall.
"Are you guys okay?" he asked after he landed.
"That… was not a method of travel I'd like to use any time soon," the Blind Master told him.
"You can say that again!" Barbecue groaned.
Between the two of them, Kurt and Todd managed to clear the helicopter of everybody but Wild Bill, who joined Scott, Ororo, and Sean in the fight in the skies.
"Well, they've got the skies," Beach Head called. "It's up to us to kick some robot ass on the ground! YO JOE!"
"YO JOE!" Everybody, regardless of team, shouted back, and the fight was on.
***
"And the battle is met," Essex mused as the Marauders fought within and the stolen Sentinels fought outside. He noted the presence of Samuel Zachary Guthrie, the one called Cannonball. Scalphunter had told him that the boy was shot in the heart. For the boy to survive, when Scalphunter was sure of his death… well, it would not be the first time Essex fought an External, and a junior High Lord with imperfect control of his powers wasn't likely to pose nearly the headache of Crule, Absalom, or any of the others.
He was nothing if not a realist- he knew that if so much of a remnant of his enemies met up with each other, this operation would be doomed. A shame- he had not yet succeeded in eliminating the old woman known as Plague. He knew the danger of the double-game he was playing, but he also knew he couldn't allow his former master to succeed in his goals. He flicked a switch. Time to let loose the reserves.
***
Elisabeth looked up to see Polaris bind the unconscious Professor and Gabrielle with chains using her powers. The two locked eyes.
"Don't even bother wasting your powers on me, Brit," Polaris sneered. "You'll need them for something much bigger."
"Put them down!" Daria commanded. She and her sisters began to glow, and they zapped Polaris with psychic lightning. The lightning staggered her a bit, but didn't drop her.
"I'm protected, girls," Polaris snickered. "The same block on mind-reading takes the sting out of your lightning. And, like I said, you really should save it."
Elisabeth heard a distant sound, like the front door being kicked in.
"Little pigs, little pigs, let me come in," a voice taunted. Sabretooth!
"I warned you," Polaris called down, taking her captives with her.
"Oh, God, what are we gonna do?" Jamie said, clearly scared but trying hard not to show it. Elisabeth thought quickly, and stumbled on a solution.
"Girls, Jamie, go to the Danger Room with Dr. MacTaggart," she told them, pointing the unconscious Moira. "Once you get there, lock yourselves in. I don't care what you have to do- just make it so that nobody can get in there."
"You're going to fight Sabretooth?" Quinn goggled. "Fighting him isn't gonna be like fighting Wolverine in training!"
"I know," Elisabeth said grimly. "But I can buy you some time."
"We've been trained as ninjas since we could walk," Brittany reminded her. "We can help- we might even be able to do a better job!"
"I know," Elisabeth sighed. "But if anything happens to me, you four may be the last line of defense we have."
"No pressure," Quinn quipped. She and her sisters picked up Moira.
"I'll lead him away," Elisabeth promised. "Just close down the lower floors!"
"Gotcha," Daria nodded grimly, and Elisabeth left the room and ran to the foyer. There he was, in his hideous glory.
"Well, well, well," he purred. "What do we have here?"
Elisabeth smiled, and then grabbed a vase and threw it at him. He let it shatter against him.
"A feisty one, huh?" he grinned. "Lemme show you what I do to feisty frails."
"Fine," Elisabeth grinned. She suddenly realized that she was enjoying this. She didn't know why, but she was. "But you have to catch me first!"
She sprinted up the stairs at top speed. His laughter followed her. She knew that if she could get to her room, get to her sword-
She heard motion behind her. Risking a look back, she saw him already coming for her. Damn- she should have remembered that cats like to toy with their prey! But too late to turn back now…
***
"Murderer!" Rogue yelled as she flew at Arclight.
"Actually, I prefer 'murderess'," Arclight laughed as she dodged Rogue's blow.
"Like it matters," Wanda muttered as she stood up. She pointed at Arclight, and she could feel her hex power build.
"I don't think you want to do that," a crystalline voice drawled. Wanda recognized it, and she wasn't the only one. Standing behind her, leaning in a doorway, was a grinning Prizm.
"Miss me?" he asked.
***
"ARRGH!" Logan roared at Scalphunter, and charged the moment that Scalphunter had to recharge his weapon. He didn't make it. An enormous arm punched through a wall, and hit the runty Canuck through the opposing wall. The arm was soon joined by the body it belonged too.
"Guess who's back?" Blockbuster grinned.
***
"YEOW!" Pietro yelled as sharp pain in his calves dropped him to the ground.
"What is it, yo?" Todd asked.
"I don't know, but it hurts!" Pietro yelled.
"It's supposed to," a voice behind them smirked. Looking behind them, they saw a dead man.
"No way," they both breathed.
"Believe it, boys," Riptide smirked. "I think Elton John put it best: 'I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch, the bitch is back!'" He began spinning, and throwing stars started shooting at them.
Yup, I'm ending it here. It's obvious what happened to Blockbuster, Prizm, and Riptide, right? Essex doesn't let his people go easily when he can help it. Stay tuned for the second last chapter of "The Mutant Massacre:"
Chapter Nineteen: Round Two!