Chapter Twenty-Two:
*BAMPF*
Nightcrawler reappeared a short distance in front of their small group, listening and looking down the hall carefully. After he was sure there was no one waiting in the shadows to attack them, he turned around and nodded to the others, and then disappeared again.
A moment later, Gambit and Rebecca followed, with Toad and Pyro behind them. In between, the two wasted mutants in white trudged along obediently. Eddie, the shrieker gripped Paul, the pusher's arm tightly, his eyes wide with fear. Paul glanced down at him every now and then, and forced an encouraging smile on his face. Eddie had always been the youngest, out of the six of them, and Paul had always been the oldest, the one the others looked to for guidance when their ever changing march of faceless commanders offered none.
Paul, for the most part, kept his eyes fixed on the young woman in front of him. She only looked slightly like her mother, he decided, though his only clear memories of Charlene McGee were warped by the images of the flames around her as she destroyed a doomed small town. But that was nearly a quarter century ago, and Paul's mind was torn a little more each time he 'pushed' someone.
*BAMPF*
Nightcrawler appeared again, and was about to give the signal to continue, when the sounds of shouting rang up the corridor. He tilted his head and listened. Even though the words were muffled, he could easily tell which direction they were echoing from.
"I think I hear someone!" he called back, and waited for the others to run up beside him before continuing on.
"I heard it, too," Rebecca said with a relieved grin, that fell from her face immediately. The shouting had faded, but a sense stronger than her ears told her something was wrong.
Eddie felt it, too, and gripped Paul's arm in terror.
"Cody…" he said, as low as he could with his powerful voice.
"Sid," Rebecca said aloud, with more urgency, and began to sprint down the hall.
"Hey!" Toad shouted and chased after her quickly. Pyro followed, along with the two X-Men. The two wasted mutants stood still and watched them disappear down the hall.
Paul looked down at Eddie, his face grave but resolute.
"We have to follow them," he said, and the smaller mutant began to cry.
"I know…" Eddie said, swallowing a sob, "We always do…"
Rebecca lost all feeling except for the need to get to her brother. The floor beneath her bare feet was getting colder, as was the air around her, but she only felt Sid's pain. When she reached the end of the hall, she slid to stop, and stared out over the hanger with confusion. Toad ran up to her with fury and gripped her upper arms.
"I told you to bloody st…" he began and then fell silent at the scene before them.
The circle of soldiers had widened, and a solitary mutant dressed in white stood with his hands outstretched toward the X-Men and Brotherhood. Magneto was the only one still on his feet, though his power was wavering.
Pyro and Gambit stood behind them with uncertainty, but Nightcrawler quickly locked his gaze on William Stryker. He inhaled sharply, and walked up to the others.
"Mein Gott," he breathed, "It is Stryker…"
Rebecca tried to take a step forward, but Toad held her in place.
"What's happening to them?" she shouted, and Toad felt the heat through his gloved hands.
"He's draining them," Paul's voice said from behind them, in an unemotional, matter-of-fact tone, "He's stealing their powers…he will eventually kill them…"
"What do you mean kill them?" Rebecca screamed back at him.
Paul looked at her bitterly, "What the hell do you think I mean?"
Toad spun around, grabbed the 'pusher' by the throat the slammed him into wall. Gambit had to take a quick side step to avoid being hit by the mutant, who did not struggle as Toad shook him viciously.
Eddie cried out, and then spotted Max and Jack and ran to them, instead of risking being attacked by the green mutant himself.
"Fuckin' bastard," Toad shouted at the dying mutant. Paul began to laugh until Toad tightened the hand around his neck.
Nightcrawler was looking quickly between the 'pusher,' the pale mutant and Stryker beyond, and finally on Xavier's slumped form in his chair.
"How do we stop him?" he asked, and laughter bubbled from Paul's throat again.
"You…can't…" he struggle to speak through Toad's grasp, "He…taking…powers…he'll…never…stop…never…have…enough…"
Rebecca's face darkened, and her fists clenched at her sides. She could see Sid kneeling on the floor, his hands gripping his head in pain, and anger flared inside of her. From across the hanger, she could see the uniformed man standing apart from the soldiers, grinning manically as the pale mutant drained the life from her brother…killed her brother…
"He wants power…" she said, her voice almost a growl, "I'll give him fucking power…"
Pyro felt the fire first, his eyes locking on Rebecca as the orange glow began to surround her. Her wide blue eyes stared to glow with the same light, the hottest part of the flame.
Rebecca took a few steps forward, focusing entirely on the pale mutant. She raised one hand, letting the fire gather there. The red and orange flames wrapped around her hand in a delicate dance, and then suddenly burst out in a directly line toward the pale mutant.
***
Cody was lost…the powers being drawn into him were such a rich mix of pleasures. His half-aware mind filled with life, and a dreamy sigh escaped his lips. So much power, so much he could barely tell the difference between them as they entwined and were drawn into him.
Suddenly, he stumbled backward as Rebecca's flames struck him in the chest. He did not fall, as the fire absorbed into his skin, but his eye widened with wonder, with overwhelming sensory overload…but mostly, with recognition.
His pull on the other mutants faltered, as the new power filled his mind, more pure energy from one than from all the others.
***
Magneto jerked forward, and gasped with relief as he felt his power returning. The numbness in his limbs burned as blood rushed back into his hands. His face, which had been becoming nearly as pale as Cody's, began to gain color again. He stood up slowly, straightening his uniform almost unconsciously, and saw the line of fire cutting in between himself and Xavier. He turned, and slowly smiled as he saw the source of the flames.
***
Xavier sat up, inhaling deeply, and looking around at the X-Men.
"Scott," he said, and Cyclops was getting to his feet.
"Professor…what happened?" he asked and took a protective stance between Xavier and the roaring fire.
Xavier could not immediately reply, and heard another voice speak softly at his side.
"Becca…" Sid said as he got to his feet, and then began to shout, "Becca! Stop!"
He tried to run toward her, but Wolverine grabbed his arm and stopped him.
"Whoa…hang on, kid…" he said but Sid tore free of his grip.
"You don't understand!" Sid replied, "She might not be able to stop!"
***
Stryker roared in fury as he felt the heat of the fire.
This new power was distracting Weinberg from his mission. The other mutants were getting to their feet. The loose circle of soldiers was breaking up, as some men fled in terror.
His plan was falling apart…again.
"No…" he growled, and then his voice rattled the room, "NO!"
***
Rebecca took deep controlled breaths as the fire flowed out of her hand. In her moment of anger, she did not consider the consequences of releasing so much of the fire, but the power was being absorbed as soon as it hit the pale mutant. She felt a measure of control through the exchange of power. She generated the fire, so she felt no pull as the others had, no pain. Rebecca Malloy felt a pure rush of exhilaration, as her power, so often held back and chained, began to grow in her mind.
The pale mutant, now reaching out toward her, suddenly grinned. The expression was much like that of Stryker…utterly mad.
His grin startled her, staring into his eager eyes, and she suddenly pulled her power back, and lowered her hand. The flow of fire dissipated into the air, and a hush fell over the room.
The silence was broken, as Cody Weinberg's voice, unused for over two decades, cracked in his throat.
"Firestarter…" was all he said, and began to take slow, methodical steps toward her.
Sid was faster, however, as he tried to race to his sister's side.
Cody, now very much aware of all things around him, reached his hand out toward Sid, and the young man stumbled.
"No…" Cody said, repeating the General's words, but the tone was mocking…almost playful.
As the pale mutant approached Xavier, Cyclops stepped forward defensively. Cody shifted his hand toward him, never taking his eyes off Rebecca.
"No…" he repeated, and Cyclops grasped onto the Professor's chair for support.
As he closed in, Gambit and the others began to feel him drawing their powers, just enough to keep them from reaching him.
"No…No…No…" Cody said over and over, and anyone who tried to approach him felt their powers draining after only a few steps.
Rebecca stood her ground, glaring at the mutant, and raising her hands again.
Cody's grinned widened, exposing many more teeth than usual.
"Yes…" he hissed as he stopped within ten feet of her and closed his eyes.
Rebecca screamed as the fire was torn from her. Waves of flame began to explode from her body, all immediately flowing toward Cody. This was not like before, when she was sending the power out, when she had control. This was an attack, the power he was taking was no longer the fire she created, it was all the life within.
"Let me go!," she screamed above the crackle of the flame, but the mutant could no longer hear.
***
Rogue gasped in surprise as an odd sensation ran along her skin. She held her gloved hands up and stared at them. For a moment, she felt as though she was touching someone, absorbing power…
But there was no one near her. What the hell was going on?
Mary walked up beside her and frowned.
"What it is?" she asked, and Rogue dropped her hands.
Her dark eyes glistened in the cold air, and she began to run toward the compound. There was power building within, she could feel it…she could feel power being taken…
Something instinctively drove her onward, the sense of power being stolen, and a life being taken…something she had to stop.