Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is worth mentioning, k?
A/N: Yes, it's me! I am back. Hi there, all of you who missed me sooo much (I'm sure). Well, anywhosies (best word ever), do you remember those kids on the bench by the ice-cream parlor? Ya, they're back. This chapter might get really confusing, so if you can't follow, or have any questions, just let me know in your review (HINT HINT!) then I'll get back to you, k? Anyways, here we go...
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Lisa
The strangest thing happened to me. We were all sitting on the bench, like always, and then Alex, who is usually fairly logical, said, "My hair is pink." Now this was a stupid thing to say, because it had nothing to do about our conversation (which had been about some of our favorite actors) but it also was not true, as Alex's hair is blonde.
Then we realized something even stranger; somebody was tapping into both her and my brains, and stealing information. Sounds weird, huh? Well, not so weird as you think. Not quite so weird because my friends and I live in a world that has many members of another, more powerful race of human beings living hidden, for fear of death or imprisonment. Not quite so weird if you knew that my friends and me were part of this hidden race.
One of my friends, Jenny, tapped the kid's mind that was invading ours, and traced her back to somewhere in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. Which was amazing, since we were in the middle of New York City. Then we found out that she wasn't some random crazy person trying to steal random information from people's minds, but that she was actually trying to help herself escape from some top-secret mutant holding facility of some sort, and that all she really wanted was to know how to use my gift, which was anti-deception.
Natasha, who was held in similar place until she had escaped about two years before, was instantly sympathetic, and begged Jenny to trace the mutant, and find her. The four of us were soon all caught up in the mental chase of this strange, powerful mutant, since Jenny had tied us together with some strange mental bond that none of us really understood. It took Jenny about ten minutes to find the girl, and then tracking her took all of our combined energy. We were all exhausted, but what we found scared us badly enough to keep tracing her. She had killed at least two people already. She had injured even more badly. She had searched out a mutant that would help her escape from a room full of holographics.
We watched, amazed, through this girl's eyes, as she made her way down to a dark, damp basement, and one at a time release many more mutants, none that were more than about eighteen, from their cruel prison. We were surprised at her courage, and slightly afraid of her determination as she sent most of the group on ahead and risked her life for two people who turned out to be her enemies.
We watched her fight, growing more and more exhausted, until Tasha broke the mental bond that we had grown.
"I can't take it any more!" she cried. We came out of our trance and stared openly at our friend.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Nike
We faced the oncoming sea of office workers on shaking, tired legs. Pyro still wasn't letting his candle-like flame go out. I knew that no matter what we did, it just wouldn't be enough. Opal was about to do something drastic, but I had a better idea.
"Wait," I said, holding out my hand. She stopped.
"Yes?" she asked.
"They are all just wearing glasses, or contacts. Can you take those away?" She nodded, reaching out her hand for a telekinetic attack on the onslaught. For a moment, I was amazed that I didn't have to tell her the rest of my plan. Then I remembered that to her my mind was an open book. The others two weren't so easily convinced.
"What are you doing?" Pyro asked, "I say we fry 'em." I shook my head as his little fireball grew.
"We are going to make them join us," I said. That's when the bullet came.
It came out of nowhere, and I didn't know what was happening. It was going straight for my chest. In a flash, Pyro was there, leaping in front of me. Time seemed to slow down. I saw him jump, and then fall hard on his shoulder. A sickening crunch echoed throughout the dull, gray hallway. I looked down at him, instantly seeing his pain. James was kneeling at his side in an instant, with his shirt off and over the crimson wound on Pyro's heart. This all really took only a matter of seconds, but it seemed like days.
I didn't have much time top think, because just then, Opal shot one hand in front of her. Countless pairs of glasses, sunglasses, and contacts flew off many pairs of eyes.
"Who did this?" I commanded, pointing at Pyro, who lay bleeding to death on the ground. "I think you should tell me." One man stepped forward, holding a gun.
"It was me." The other people moved forward.
"Stop moving," I commanded them. They stopped. I turned to the man who shot Pyro. "Die." I said. I didn't really mean it; it just shot out of my mouth. He dropped dead, please excuse the pun.
"All of you," I said, glaring around the crowd, quickly counting numbers. Only thirty. Not as many as I had hopped. "Join with us to rebel against your boss." They all nodded. "Mutants are not bad," I said, just for added effect, "They do not wish to hurt you." They all nodded, to show they understood. "Wait here," I said. Then I kneeled by Pyro's side. I couldn't help it. Tears seeped to my eyes, spilling down on his crimson-coated shirt.
"Pyro?" I said, choking on my own voice, and it came out as a strangled squeak. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Pyro? Can you hear me?" He opened his eyes and smiled weakly.
"I'm good," he said, "Don't worry." I kept crying, knowing that he was going to die. The bullet was right in his heart. "Nike," he murmured, "I- I. A-Are you alright?" His breath was shallow. I placed two fingers on his neck, looking for a pulse. I found it, and it was dying slowly.
"I'm fine," I said, "But, I- I love you." I don't know what made me say those words, they just spilled out. What scared me most was that I knew they were true. He smiled again.
"I-I-" the pulse grew weaker under my fingers. His breathing stopped, and the determined beat of his heart ceased, never again to start. I buried my face in his bloody shirt and wept, oblivious to all that was going on around me.
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Mike
Peter offered to carry Jen for a while, and I reluctantly gave in. Jen was in shock, majorly. She probably couldn't move even if she had wanted to. It's a god thing that she as light, or we would probably be stuck there to be killed by the next wave of guards.
The three of us were moving as fast as possible, which wasn't very fast, considering we had to stop every five minutes or so to regain our energy. She was sucking it from us. Soon, she would die from the overdose, I was sure.
We had been moving through the forest for about half an hour, and most of it was spent resting. There was no sign of the caves that we were supposed to be meeting the group at, and I figured that we were hopelessly lost.
"Jen?" I whispered, as Peter set her down by an apple tree that was dry, and brown. The snow hadn't come yet, which was odd, so close to Canada, and in mid-December. "Jen?" I asked again. Peter was kneeling beside me. "We have to wake her up," I said. He nodded.
"But how?" he asked.
"I dunno," I replied, staring at her. Her eyes were closed now, and she looked near death. "I don't know how to treat for shock," I said, "I'm not a doctor."
"That's it!" Peter cried, "We need to find a doctor!"
"In the middle of nowhere?" I asked him. He looked slightly defeated, and slouched back against the dead tree.
"So, how do we wake her?" He asked me, staring up into the sky which ws now turning darker. It would be night soon.
"First, we have to find everyone else," I said. We got up, and made our way towards what we hoped would be the rest pf the group.
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Meg
Mike and Peter and Jen were still fighting. I looked through the trees, and saw, far in the distance, their small forms battling the guards. Then I kept running with the rest of the group. It would take another half hour to get to the caves. I just hoped that we were all up to it.
We kept running, and then we gradually slowed to a walk. Panting hard, we continued our journey to what we hoped was freedom. Then the caves were ahead of us. The sky was turning red, an omen for blood and suffering. That's what my Grandmother used to say. "If there is blood in the night sky, then blood is shed by one you hold close." I prayed that that someone was not Mike. He had saved so many of our lives that he couldn't just die now.
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Peter
We trudged wearily onwards, trying desperately to stop Jen from sub-consciously taking our energy. I wasn't working. She just wouldn't wake up. I hoped that someone would be able to help her once we got to the caves. The coves! How were we supposed to find them? We had been walking in circles for what seemed like hours. It was night, and the stars were shining brightly overhead.
"Peter?" I heard someone calling my name far off, "Mike? Jen?" Mike and Jen had fallen asleep. I was keeping watch for a while.
"Over here!" I called, standing up, and almost falling out of the apple tree, which was where I was sitting. "I'm here!"
Meg was coming through the woods. I knew that it was her just from the sound of her voice. She came into the clearing, and I leapt from my perch to greet her.
"We thought you were done for," She said, wrapping me in a tight hug. I returned the gesture gratefully.
"So did we," I admitted. "Jen is in shock. She doesn't know what's happening, and is stealing our energy without knowing it. Meg tutted in her motherly way, gently waking Mike.
"Jen?" she whispered to the sleeping, curled up form that used to be a tower of bravery. "Can you hear me? It's all right, Jen. You can tell me what it wrong. It's ok." She sat down beside her, and wrapped an arm around her to stop her from shivering. Jen's eyes snapped open; they looked pale, and they glowed slightly in the darkness.
"I killed him, Meg," She said, rocking back and forth. Mike and I sighed happily. We thought that she would die. "I killed him. I was getting too much. Too much. I gave it to a thistle. Then it grew. Oh, it grew fast." She wasn't rocking now. Her head was in her hands, and she was moaning in between sobs.
"It's all right. You didn't kill him on purpose. It's ok, Jen. Come on." Mike and I stared as Meg miraculously cured Jen of her shock. Jen stood on shaking legs. I felt a rush of energy, and I realized that Gen was trying to give back what she had taken throughout the day.
"That is yours," She said. Meg steered her over to me, and she clamped a hand sturdily around mine, our fingers interlocking.
"She knows you best," Meg said. Jen sighed happily. She was now like a small child, just needed to be reassured. The four of us made our to the caves, and Jen held my hand the whole way.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A/N: Yes, I am setting up some pairings. Can you tell? Let me know what you think of this chapter. REVEIW REVIEW REVIEW!
A/N: Yes, it's me! I am back. Hi there, all of you who missed me sooo much (I'm sure). Well, anywhosies (best word ever), do you remember those kids on the bench by the ice-cream parlor? Ya, they're back. This chapter might get really confusing, so if you can't follow, or have any questions, just let me know in your review (HINT HINT!) then I'll get back to you, k? Anyways, here we go...
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Lisa
The strangest thing happened to me. We were all sitting on the bench, like always, and then Alex, who is usually fairly logical, said, "My hair is pink." Now this was a stupid thing to say, because it had nothing to do about our conversation (which had been about some of our favorite actors) but it also was not true, as Alex's hair is blonde.
Then we realized something even stranger; somebody was tapping into both her and my brains, and stealing information. Sounds weird, huh? Well, not so weird as you think. Not quite so weird because my friends and I live in a world that has many members of another, more powerful race of human beings living hidden, for fear of death or imprisonment. Not quite so weird if you knew that my friends and me were part of this hidden race.
One of my friends, Jenny, tapped the kid's mind that was invading ours, and traced her back to somewhere in the middle of the Appalachian Mountains. Which was amazing, since we were in the middle of New York City. Then we found out that she wasn't some random crazy person trying to steal random information from people's minds, but that she was actually trying to help herself escape from some top-secret mutant holding facility of some sort, and that all she really wanted was to know how to use my gift, which was anti-deception.
Natasha, who was held in similar place until she had escaped about two years before, was instantly sympathetic, and begged Jenny to trace the mutant, and find her. The four of us were soon all caught up in the mental chase of this strange, powerful mutant, since Jenny had tied us together with some strange mental bond that none of us really understood. It took Jenny about ten minutes to find the girl, and then tracking her took all of our combined energy. We were all exhausted, but what we found scared us badly enough to keep tracing her. She had killed at least two people already. She had injured even more badly. She had searched out a mutant that would help her escape from a room full of holographics.
We watched, amazed, through this girl's eyes, as she made her way down to a dark, damp basement, and one at a time release many more mutants, none that were more than about eighteen, from their cruel prison. We were surprised at her courage, and slightly afraid of her determination as she sent most of the group on ahead and risked her life for two people who turned out to be her enemies.
We watched her fight, growing more and more exhausted, until Tasha broke the mental bond that we had grown.
"I can't take it any more!" she cried. We came out of our trance and stared openly at our friend.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Nike
We faced the oncoming sea of office workers on shaking, tired legs. Pyro still wasn't letting his candle-like flame go out. I knew that no matter what we did, it just wouldn't be enough. Opal was about to do something drastic, but I had a better idea.
"Wait," I said, holding out my hand. She stopped.
"Yes?" she asked.
"They are all just wearing glasses, or contacts. Can you take those away?" She nodded, reaching out her hand for a telekinetic attack on the onslaught. For a moment, I was amazed that I didn't have to tell her the rest of my plan. Then I remembered that to her my mind was an open book. The others two weren't so easily convinced.
"What are you doing?" Pyro asked, "I say we fry 'em." I shook my head as his little fireball grew.
"We are going to make them join us," I said. That's when the bullet came.
It came out of nowhere, and I didn't know what was happening. It was going straight for my chest. In a flash, Pyro was there, leaping in front of me. Time seemed to slow down. I saw him jump, and then fall hard on his shoulder. A sickening crunch echoed throughout the dull, gray hallway. I looked down at him, instantly seeing his pain. James was kneeling at his side in an instant, with his shirt off and over the crimson wound on Pyro's heart. This all really took only a matter of seconds, but it seemed like days.
I didn't have much time top think, because just then, Opal shot one hand in front of her. Countless pairs of glasses, sunglasses, and contacts flew off many pairs of eyes.
"Who did this?" I commanded, pointing at Pyro, who lay bleeding to death on the ground. "I think you should tell me." One man stepped forward, holding a gun.
"It was me." The other people moved forward.
"Stop moving," I commanded them. They stopped. I turned to the man who shot Pyro. "Die." I said. I didn't really mean it; it just shot out of my mouth. He dropped dead, please excuse the pun.
"All of you," I said, glaring around the crowd, quickly counting numbers. Only thirty. Not as many as I had hopped. "Join with us to rebel against your boss." They all nodded. "Mutants are not bad," I said, just for added effect, "They do not wish to hurt you." They all nodded, to show they understood. "Wait here," I said. Then I kneeled by Pyro's side. I couldn't help it. Tears seeped to my eyes, spilling down on his crimson-coated shirt.
"Pyro?" I said, choking on my own voice, and it came out as a strangled squeak. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Pyro? Can you hear me?" He opened his eyes and smiled weakly.
"I'm good," he said, "Don't worry." I kept crying, knowing that he was going to die. The bullet was right in his heart. "Nike," he murmured, "I- I. A-Are you alright?" His breath was shallow. I placed two fingers on his neck, looking for a pulse. I found it, and it was dying slowly.
"I'm fine," I said, "But, I- I love you." I don't know what made me say those words, they just spilled out. What scared me most was that I knew they were true. He smiled again.
"I-I-" the pulse grew weaker under my fingers. His breathing stopped, and the determined beat of his heart ceased, never again to start. I buried my face in his bloody shirt and wept, oblivious to all that was going on around me.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Mike
Peter offered to carry Jen for a while, and I reluctantly gave in. Jen was in shock, majorly. She probably couldn't move even if she had wanted to. It's a god thing that she as light, or we would probably be stuck there to be killed by the next wave of guards.
The three of us were moving as fast as possible, which wasn't very fast, considering we had to stop every five minutes or so to regain our energy. She was sucking it from us. Soon, she would die from the overdose, I was sure.
We had been moving through the forest for about half an hour, and most of it was spent resting. There was no sign of the caves that we were supposed to be meeting the group at, and I figured that we were hopelessly lost.
"Jen?" I whispered, as Peter set her down by an apple tree that was dry, and brown. The snow hadn't come yet, which was odd, so close to Canada, and in mid-December. "Jen?" I asked again. Peter was kneeling beside me. "We have to wake her up," I said. He nodded.
"But how?" he asked.
"I dunno," I replied, staring at her. Her eyes were closed now, and she looked near death. "I don't know how to treat for shock," I said, "I'm not a doctor."
"That's it!" Peter cried, "We need to find a doctor!"
"In the middle of nowhere?" I asked him. He looked slightly defeated, and slouched back against the dead tree.
"So, how do we wake her?" He asked me, staring up into the sky which ws now turning darker. It would be night soon.
"First, we have to find everyone else," I said. We got up, and made our way towards what we hoped would be the rest pf the group.
~ * ~ * ~* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Meg
Mike and Peter and Jen were still fighting. I looked through the trees, and saw, far in the distance, their small forms battling the guards. Then I kept running with the rest of the group. It would take another half hour to get to the caves. I just hoped that we were all up to it.
We kept running, and then we gradually slowed to a walk. Panting hard, we continued our journey to what we hoped was freedom. Then the caves were ahead of us. The sky was turning red, an omen for blood and suffering. That's what my Grandmother used to say. "If there is blood in the night sky, then blood is shed by one you hold close." I prayed that that someone was not Mike. He had saved so many of our lives that he couldn't just die now.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Peter
We trudged wearily onwards, trying desperately to stop Jen from sub-consciously taking our energy. I wasn't working. She just wouldn't wake up. I hoped that someone would be able to help her once we got to the caves. The coves! How were we supposed to find them? We had been walking in circles for what seemed like hours. It was night, and the stars were shining brightly overhead.
"Peter?" I heard someone calling my name far off, "Mike? Jen?" Mike and Jen had fallen asleep. I was keeping watch for a while.
"Over here!" I called, standing up, and almost falling out of the apple tree, which was where I was sitting. "I'm here!"
Meg was coming through the woods. I knew that it was her just from the sound of her voice. She came into the clearing, and I leapt from my perch to greet her.
"We thought you were done for," She said, wrapping me in a tight hug. I returned the gesture gratefully.
"So did we," I admitted. "Jen is in shock. She doesn't know what's happening, and is stealing our energy without knowing it. Meg tutted in her motherly way, gently waking Mike.
"Jen?" she whispered to the sleeping, curled up form that used to be a tower of bravery. "Can you hear me? It's all right, Jen. You can tell me what it wrong. It's ok." She sat down beside her, and wrapped an arm around her to stop her from shivering. Jen's eyes snapped open; they looked pale, and they glowed slightly in the darkness.
"I killed him, Meg," She said, rocking back and forth. Mike and I sighed happily. We thought that she would die. "I killed him. I was getting too much. Too much. I gave it to a thistle. Then it grew. Oh, it grew fast." She wasn't rocking now. Her head was in her hands, and she was moaning in between sobs.
"It's all right. You didn't kill him on purpose. It's ok, Jen. Come on." Mike and I stared as Meg miraculously cured Jen of her shock. Jen stood on shaking legs. I felt a rush of energy, and I realized that Gen was trying to give back what she had taken throughout the day.
"That is yours," She said. Meg steered her over to me, and she clamped a hand sturdily around mine, our fingers interlocking.
"She knows you best," Meg said. Jen sighed happily. She was now like a small child, just needed to be reassured. The four of us made our to the caves, and Jen held my hand the whole way.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A/N: Yes, I am setting up some pairings. Can you tell? Let me know what you think of this chapter. REVEIW REVIEW REVIEW!