Disclaimer: I only own Blaze; Ilehana Xavier is used with express
permission of Corrinth; I do not own and am making no profit from the X-Men
characters or their world.
A/N: Please read and review!
L'ange de morte 3
"Storm, Wolverine and Vixen all report their respective targets still moving along the tangents we hypothesised last week. The Horsemen do not spend much time at all in a single place, simply causing as much damage and panic as they can in a day before travelling at night. They do not sleep or eat, and pay little notice to our efforts to stop them."
Cyclops listened dutifully to Professor Xavier as the older man updated their battle plan on the large briefing room screen, marking the latest positions of three of his precious X-Men, including his daughter Ilehana. Inwardly Scott Summers seethed at not being allowed to track one of the mysterious Horsemen of the Apocalypse himself, but the Professor need him here to help coordinate and record their different attacks. Cyclops' eyes fell on the last dot on the screen, the fourth dot for the fourth horseman and the fourth missing X-Man.
"No word from Gambit yet?" Scott tried to keep his disapproval out of his voice, an effort wasted when talking to a powerful psychic.
"No. And before you suggest it, no I will not use Cerebro to track Gambit down. He has shown enough distaste in the past for telepathic contact without me using my powers with no good reason." Xavier didn't give voice to his own fears that all might not be well with his X-Man, and spoke as much to himself as to Scott as he concluded. "Gambit needs this chance, Scott. Have a little trust in him."
"Trust a thief?" Scott couldn't bite his tongue. He had nothing against Gambit personally, but he was hardly the most reliable member of the team.
"Gambit's ears is burnin', t'ink you maybe talkin' about me Cyclops?" Remy stalked into the room, pushing a dejected Archangel in front of him still bound in heavy chains.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Gambit? Who said you could bring that madman in here? Are you insane?" Cyclops started forward as Gambit pushed Archangel to knee on the floor.
"I knows what my orders were, Cyclops. But I got new information..."
"Maybe I'd better explain," A female voice rich with an English accent spoke from the door. "That man's under mind control, he doesn't know what he's doing. I was hoping the Professor could fix him?"
"Blaze?" Cyclops' jaw dropped open, now he was really confused. The Professor however was the epitome of calm, driving his wheelchair forward so he could reach to touch Archangel's temples with the tips of his fingers.
"I fear you are right, Blaze." He pulled away after only a second. "Scott, pass this information on to the other X-Men. Blaze, Gambit, take him through to my office where I can work in peace."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Archangel, l'ange de morte, struggled as if his life depended on it as Xavier approached where he was sitting. The chains still bound him tightly, the X-Men were taking no chances, and the fire mutant stood just behind Warren's shoulder, ready to stop the horseman if he tried to fight off the Professor. Blaze's face was a tumult of uncertain emotions, but she stood her ground, knowing duty came first.
Outside the door Gambit waited for news, red-on-black eyes narrow and hard, the card he toyed with in his fingers ready to be used as a weapon if Worthington tried to leave in a sudden. He didn't like any of this one bit, especially Blaze's involvement with this guy, but he did trust the Professor. He leant back on the wall in the corridor, listening as the Professor moved forward to begin.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A while later, Xavier recoiled from Archangel's mind sweating and panting, expression of horror on his face. Archangel's shouts and threats got worse; he threatened them all with the might of Lord Apocalypse's wrath.
"Please, Professor?" Blaze hated to beg, but she could somehow tell that Xavier was still holding back, trying to inch his way forward through the lies and deceit Apocalypse had polluted Warren's mind with. The desperation in her voice made Xavier's mind up for him. He punched straight through the mesh of Apocalypse's tendrils and for a brief moment felt like he was getting through to the real Warren Worthington. The winged mutant strained hard against the chains, trying to avoid Xavier's mind touch. Blaze came and put her hands on his shoulders to hold him still just as Xavier realised he was not going to win this telepathic battle. He pulled out as Apocalypse's power reached after him, trying to suck Xavier into his control.
"Argh!" Archangel screamed, "What is happening to me? What... What have you done to me?" He stared around the room, unseeing, striving against the chains that bound him.
"Release him, Blaze. I'm afraid I have done all I can..." Xavier was exhausted. Blaze looked from her mentor to her friend, fear making her not able to understand.
"I... Where is Apocalypse?" Warren asked the room, eyes still clouded over and confused. "He will pay for what he has done to me! I will have my revenge!" He twisted in the chains and looked up at Blaze stood behind him. "I know you, I recognise your face. Won't you set me free? I will not harm you now. I must find Apocalypse. This is his fault; I've lost everything because of him. I will see him destroyed..."
"Alright..." Blaze put a finger to a link of the chain, heating it until it dripped molten to the floor. Archangel stood; wings expanded and shook his head.
"Thank you my friends." He looked from Blaze to Xavier, "But I must find..."
"Apocalypse. Yeah I know." Blaze put her hands on her hips to stop them from shaking. This confused version of Warren was almost as bad as l'ange de morte. "But please, let us help you? You need to rest and..."
"There is no time, he calls the Horsemen to him as we speak! I must make him pay!" And with that Warren launched himself into the air and flew straight through the glass of the window.
"I'm sorry Blaze." The Professor spoke carefully. "But there was so much hatred and evil in that man's mind, I could not scour it all. He may come round, one day, to remember who he really is, but he will need time."
"Okay." Blaze sighed, looking out the broken window after Warren. "I guess at least now he's not hurting innocent people..."
"Are you alright?" Xavier asked quietly. Outside in the corridor Gambit pocketed the card he had been toying with and left. He didn't want to hear the conversation she was about to have with the Professor, he didn't need to know how much Worthington had meant to her or any of that crap.
"Not really." Blaze shut her eyes to fight off tears, the sarcasm in her voice hiding her pain. "But at least I'm home now right? Huh, some welcome..."
**Is your child well? ** Xavier asked gently telepathically in case anyone was listening. He was the only other one in the house who knew why Blaze had left months ago, a secret he had kept to himself despite the anxiety amongst the rest of the team at her sudden departure. He knew that was how Blaze wanted it keeping. **How old will he, she be now? **
**She, ** Blaze allowed a small smile at the thought of her daughter. **Jessica Lauren. She's five months now. **
**Jessica le Beau? ** Xavier pried.
**So it says on her birth certificate. And no, I can't and won't tell him. He won't understand or forgive me. I can't be responsible for tying him down to a family he doesn't want. And Jessica is safe now, with a proper family... With a mother who's a lot less likely to get her killed...**
**I think you are being too hard on yourself...**
**No, I'm not. This isn't the first time I've acted like an X-Man first and thought about what it'd do to Jess second. I only ever wanted her to be safe, have a normal life without anyone trying to hurt her. But as I'm seemingly incapable of staying out of trouble and away from danger...**
"Professor?" Scott entered without knocking. "We got a problem, the Horsemen have all disappeared, fast. No one knows where they went."
"Disappeared?" Xavier threw his telepathic apologies to Blaze and noted her acceptance that duty called. Didn't it always? The Professor left, worrying about the safety of his own daughter.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
She walked through the familiar gardens and grounds of the school with all her heart a million miles away, or however far it was from here to L.A. Maybe Xavier would never understand why she had done what she'd done, but it was her choice, and one she'd not made lightly. Stopping in the secluded gazebo, she leant her forehead against an upright, heart broken. Only then did she realise she wasn't alone as his soul-searching eyes burnt into the back of her neck.
"Go for it, le Beau. Whatever you're thinking about; yelling at me, hitting me, whatever, just get it out of your damn system." There was no emotion in her voice, just a bone-deep weariness.
"I'se thinkin' the energy better used beatin' the merde outta l'ange de morte for goin' loco an' breakin' your heart..." He didn't approach her, his voice as devoid of tone as hers.
"Ha, as if." Blaze turned to lean backwards on the railing, looking up at her old friend. "Warren didn't break my heart, somebody else has already done it. And no, don't go getting ahead of yourself, it wasn't you either Rem."
"You gonna tell me 'bout it?" He asked, the wind taken out of his sails a little.
"No. So don't ask me to again." Let him think he had a bit of manly competition, it'd do him good. Jessica's dainty hand, coiling around her finger, brought sudden tears to her eyes. Blaze nearly collapsed, but found herself caught in strong arms that wrapped around her and felt so warm.
"Chere..." Remy kissed the top of his friend's head gently. How could he be angry with her when she was hurting? "I missed you... nobody round here get Gambit's sense of humour."
"Well you got to admit it is an acquired taste..." She pulled away from him and they smiled amicably, shyly at each other.
"Welcome home Blaze."
A/N: Please read and review!
L'ange de morte 3
"Storm, Wolverine and Vixen all report their respective targets still moving along the tangents we hypothesised last week. The Horsemen do not spend much time at all in a single place, simply causing as much damage and panic as they can in a day before travelling at night. They do not sleep or eat, and pay little notice to our efforts to stop them."
Cyclops listened dutifully to Professor Xavier as the older man updated their battle plan on the large briefing room screen, marking the latest positions of three of his precious X-Men, including his daughter Ilehana. Inwardly Scott Summers seethed at not being allowed to track one of the mysterious Horsemen of the Apocalypse himself, but the Professor need him here to help coordinate and record their different attacks. Cyclops' eyes fell on the last dot on the screen, the fourth dot for the fourth horseman and the fourth missing X-Man.
"No word from Gambit yet?" Scott tried to keep his disapproval out of his voice, an effort wasted when talking to a powerful psychic.
"No. And before you suggest it, no I will not use Cerebro to track Gambit down. He has shown enough distaste in the past for telepathic contact without me using my powers with no good reason." Xavier didn't give voice to his own fears that all might not be well with his X-Man, and spoke as much to himself as to Scott as he concluded. "Gambit needs this chance, Scott. Have a little trust in him."
"Trust a thief?" Scott couldn't bite his tongue. He had nothing against Gambit personally, but he was hardly the most reliable member of the team.
"Gambit's ears is burnin', t'ink you maybe talkin' about me Cyclops?" Remy stalked into the room, pushing a dejected Archangel in front of him still bound in heavy chains.
"What the hell do you think you're doing Gambit? Who said you could bring that madman in here? Are you insane?" Cyclops started forward as Gambit pushed Archangel to knee on the floor.
"I knows what my orders were, Cyclops. But I got new information..."
"Maybe I'd better explain," A female voice rich with an English accent spoke from the door. "That man's under mind control, he doesn't know what he's doing. I was hoping the Professor could fix him?"
"Blaze?" Cyclops' jaw dropped open, now he was really confused. The Professor however was the epitome of calm, driving his wheelchair forward so he could reach to touch Archangel's temples with the tips of his fingers.
"I fear you are right, Blaze." He pulled away after only a second. "Scott, pass this information on to the other X-Men. Blaze, Gambit, take him through to my office where I can work in peace."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Archangel, l'ange de morte, struggled as if his life depended on it as Xavier approached where he was sitting. The chains still bound him tightly, the X-Men were taking no chances, and the fire mutant stood just behind Warren's shoulder, ready to stop the horseman if he tried to fight off the Professor. Blaze's face was a tumult of uncertain emotions, but she stood her ground, knowing duty came first.
Outside the door Gambit waited for news, red-on-black eyes narrow and hard, the card he toyed with in his fingers ready to be used as a weapon if Worthington tried to leave in a sudden. He didn't like any of this one bit, especially Blaze's involvement with this guy, but he did trust the Professor. He leant back on the wall in the corridor, listening as the Professor moved forward to begin.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A while later, Xavier recoiled from Archangel's mind sweating and panting, expression of horror on his face. Archangel's shouts and threats got worse; he threatened them all with the might of Lord Apocalypse's wrath.
"Please, Professor?" Blaze hated to beg, but she could somehow tell that Xavier was still holding back, trying to inch his way forward through the lies and deceit Apocalypse had polluted Warren's mind with. The desperation in her voice made Xavier's mind up for him. He punched straight through the mesh of Apocalypse's tendrils and for a brief moment felt like he was getting through to the real Warren Worthington. The winged mutant strained hard against the chains, trying to avoid Xavier's mind touch. Blaze came and put her hands on his shoulders to hold him still just as Xavier realised he was not going to win this telepathic battle. He pulled out as Apocalypse's power reached after him, trying to suck Xavier into his control.
"Argh!" Archangel screamed, "What is happening to me? What... What have you done to me?" He stared around the room, unseeing, striving against the chains that bound him.
"Release him, Blaze. I'm afraid I have done all I can..." Xavier was exhausted. Blaze looked from her mentor to her friend, fear making her not able to understand.
"I... Where is Apocalypse?" Warren asked the room, eyes still clouded over and confused. "He will pay for what he has done to me! I will have my revenge!" He twisted in the chains and looked up at Blaze stood behind him. "I know you, I recognise your face. Won't you set me free? I will not harm you now. I must find Apocalypse. This is his fault; I've lost everything because of him. I will see him destroyed..."
"Alright..." Blaze put a finger to a link of the chain, heating it until it dripped molten to the floor. Archangel stood; wings expanded and shook his head.
"Thank you my friends." He looked from Blaze to Xavier, "But I must find..."
"Apocalypse. Yeah I know." Blaze put her hands on her hips to stop them from shaking. This confused version of Warren was almost as bad as l'ange de morte. "But please, let us help you? You need to rest and..."
"There is no time, he calls the Horsemen to him as we speak! I must make him pay!" And with that Warren launched himself into the air and flew straight through the glass of the window.
"I'm sorry Blaze." The Professor spoke carefully. "But there was so much hatred and evil in that man's mind, I could not scour it all. He may come round, one day, to remember who he really is, but he will need time."
"Okay." Blaze sighed, looking out the broken window after Warren. "I guess at least now he's not hurting innocent people..."
"Are you alright?" Xavier asked quietly. Outside in the corridor Gambit pocketed the card he had been toying with and left. He didn't want to hear the conversation she was about to have with the Professor, he didn't need to know how much Worthington had meant to her or any of that crap.
"Not really." Blaze shut her eyes to fight off tears, the sarcasm in her voice hiding her pain. "But at least I'm home now right? Huh, some welcome..."
**Is your child well? ** Xavier asked gently telepathically in case anyone was listening. He was the only other one in the house who knew why Blaze had left months ago, a secret he had kept to himself despite the anxiety amongst the rest of the team at her sudden departure. He knew that was how Blaze wanted it keeping. **How old will he, she be now? **
**She, ** Blaze allowed a small smile at the thought of her daughter. **Jessica Lauren. She's five months now. **
**Jessica le Beau? ** Xavier pried.
**So it says on her birth certificate. And no, I can't and won't tell him. He won't understand or forgive me. I can't be responsible for tying him down to a family he doesn't want. And Jessica is safe now, with a proper family... With a mother who's a lot less likely to get her killed...**
**I think you are being too hard on yourself...**
**No, I'm not. This isn't the first time I've acted like an X-Man first and thought about what it'd do to Jess second. I only ever wanted her to be safe, have a normal life without anyone trying to hurt her. But as I'm seemingly incapable of staying out of trouble and away from danger...**
"Professor?" Scott entered without knocking. "We got a problem, the Horsemen have all disappeared, fast. No one knows where they went."
"Disappeared?" Xavier threw his telepathic apologies to Blaze and noted her acceptance that duty called. Didn't it always? The Professor left, worrying about the safety of his own daughter.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
She walked through the familiar gardens and grounds of the school with all her heart a million miles away, or however far it was from here to L.A. Maybe Xavier would never understand why she had done what she'd done, but it was her choice, and one she'd not made lightly. Stopping in the secluded gazebo, she leant her forehead against an upright, heart broken. Only then did she realise she wasn't alone as his soul-searching eyes burnt into the back of her neck.
"Go for it, le Beau. Whatever you're thinking about; yelling at me, hitting me, whatever, just get it out of your damn system." There was no emotion in her voice, just a bone-deep weariness.
"I'se thinkin' the energy better used beatin' the merde outta l'ange de morte for goin' loco an' breakin' your heart..." He didn't approach her, his voice as devoid of tone as hers.
"Ha, as if." Blaze turned to lean backwards on the railing, looking up at her old friend. "Warren didn't break my heart, somebody else has already done it. And no, don't go getting ahead of yourself, it wasn't you either Rem."
"You gonna tell me 'bout it?" He asked, the wind taken out of his sails a little.
"No. So don't ask me to again." Let him think he had a bit of manly competition, it'd do him good. Jessica's dainty hand, coiling around her finger, brought sudden tears to her eyes. Blaze nearly collapsed, but found herself caught in strong arms that wrapped around her and felt so warm.
"Chere..." Remy kissed the top of his friend's head gently. How could he be angry with her when she was hurting? "I missed you... nobody round here get Gambit's sense of humour."
"Well you got to admit it is an acquired taste..." She pulled away from him and they smiled amicably, shyly at each other.
"Welcome home Blaze."