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Ice Princess - Happy birthday!
Magneto sat beside his distraught daughter. "I woke up and Remy… It was like he was trapped in a nightmare." Wanda said.
Magneto put a hand on her shoulder. "I have faith that Mastermind will be able to help him."
Almost an hour later Mastermind and Remy came in. Wanda ran to embrace Remy. "S'okay cherie. Just got lost in some old memories I guess."
Magneto waited until the pair left then turned on Mastermind. "Explain yourself."
Mastermind gulped as the metal plates rattled around him. "Gambit's mind is difficult to manipulate. His biokinetic charge acts like static to psions. My illusions don't take as firmly. What happened tonight was that his own, true, memories began resurfacing."
"In other words, you are incompetent."
"My lord Magneto!"
"However that does not explain why he is sleeping with my daughter."
"I swear I had nothing to do with that."
"You were supposed to create a past for them that would bind them to me." Magneto stated. "Not to one another. He has already deserted me once over his friendship with Pietro."
Mastermind cringed. "I did my best. Gambit's mind resists my efforts. I couldn't simply rewrite his memories. I had to work within the structure that existed. Wanda's memories had to match his. I didn't make them lovers."
Magneto waited.
"I tried different scenarios with Gambit until one took. He's more receptive to caring for your children than he is to giving up his dislike of you."
"I can't afford to lose both him and Sabretooth."
"Wanda remembers you as a loving father, I suggest you do nothing to dissuade her. I did not intentionally set the current events in motion, but she could prove an effective means of tying him to you. Keep her loyalty and you keep them both."
"Perhaps. I would have preferred if you had simply done the job correctly."
Mastermind watched as Magneto swept out of the room. Under his breath he muttered. "Mayhap the job would have been simpler if you weren't such a bastard."
****** ****** ******
Pietro flinched at the painfully bright light dragging him from unconsciousness. "Oh my head. What… Rogue! We kissed! Her powers don't work on me. Jean's did thought. Owe, my head." He looked around and found that he was in the middle of a desert.
"It's about time you woke up."
Pietro spun to face Mystique. Rogue stood beside her. The teenager's expression was oddly blank. Her eyes were glassy, like a sleepwalker's. "What did you do to her?"
"If I were you I wouldn't be worried about Rogue." Mystique said.
"Boring! We quit the Brotherhood. I don't have to listen to you anymore." Pietro exclaimed. "I'll just take Rogue and go."
"Rogue." Mystique ordered with a smile at the girl. Rogue held out an open hand then clenched it. Pietro screamed. His ankle felt like a vise had been closed on it. He collapsed to his knees in the sand. "I didn't want to do that until you were awake." Mystique said.
"Bitch." Pietro spat as he glared up at her.
Mystique smiled. "Killing you is almost as good as killing your father."
"Aww, you're just saying that." Pietro interrupted.
"Cyclops left me trapped and helpless. I'm looking forward to seeing his bleached bones. The other two are nothing more than a fringe benefit. Neither of them has ever had an independent thought in their lives. Avalanche isn't worth the bother…"
"In other words, you couldn't find him." Pietro said.
Mystique glared. "And then there's you. Your father kept you safe and protected while he experimented on my son, for that reason alone you deserve to die."
"Oh yeah, kill me to get at my father. Now there's a plan." Pietro said. He rolled his eyes. "It's really going to tear him up when you finish the job he ordered Sabretooth to do."
"My son suffered so he could protect you!"
"Like you care about Kurt." Pietro snapped. "You never even talked to him when you had the chance."
"You interfered!" Mystique thundered. "And on top of everything else, you dare presume to date my daughter?"
"How many kids have you abandoned?" Pietro asked. "And do you ever wonder why it is that none of them want you back?"
"It's been a joy talking with you, but you have a big day ahead of you. So why don't you get busy and die." Mystique snarled. "Come along Rogue."
Rogue took Mystique's hand and the pair levitated into the air. Pietro stared after them for a moment. Then he bit his lip and stood up. He fell back to his knees with a yelp of pain as soon as he put weight on his shattered ankle. "Oh this is just peachy." He said.
Several miles away he saw a red beam slash through the sky. "Scott is such a boy scout." Pietro said. He sounded a little relieved. "Who else comes with a built in flare gun?"
He tried to get to his feet again then cursed. Pietro crawled toward some sagebrush. "Oh this is going to make a great splint." He groused as he tugged at the scraggly desert plant.
****** ****** ******
Lance and Kitty wandered along a dirt road between fields of green stuff that neither could identify. It was Sunday morning and both of them had felt uncomfortable being the only ones in Andrew and Dora's house. After they'd finished a silent breakfast Kitty declared she was going for a walk. Lance had followed after her without comment.
"Are you really mad about me becoming scarce last night?" Kitty asked. "I mean I barely know if you want me here sometimes."
Lance took a few moments to kick at a rock in the road. "I'm glad you stayed." He said. "You're a lot better at talking to old people than I am."
"I thought you were doing fine. You looked like you were enjoying your great uncle Joseph's stories." Kitty said.
"He's cool." Lance admitted. "Heck all I had to do was shut up and let him talk and he was happy. But some other people drug him off to play pinochle or something. Then Marilyn 'tell me all about yourself' showed up."
"I think I remember her. Flowered prints right?" Kitty asked. Lance nodded. "I told her about Ororo's flower gardens in excruciating detail."
"See that's why you can't just wander off." Lance complained. "I tried talking about Todd nearly burning the house down when he tried to make dinner. She got this totally horrified look. How do you know what's okay to say?"
"I don't know… Just practice I guess. There were always social things at the Synagogue or with Mom and Dad's co-workers. I'd always feel a little out of place 'cause most everyone is old and I'd always get bored. When you're a kid in grade school talking is never interesting and grown ups go one and on…" Kitty grinned. "I've said some really stupid things over the years, but you get used to it and it gets easier."
"Small talk with old people." Lance said with disbelief. "Normally the only reason I talk to adults is when they're trying to control my life. Principals, teachers, police, social workers, foster parents, there weren't many of them that I actually talked to beyond them telling me what I should do and me coming up with variations on 'screw you'. Just talking with people, that's kind of new."
"It'll get easier." Kitty said. "Don't look now, we've got a shadow."
Lance glanced back and caught sight of Nicky following them. "Hey." He said.
"Lance!" The little boy exclaimed happily. Kitty intercepted him before he could jump on Lance, since he didn't seem to notice his impromptu jungle gym was injured. "What ya doing? I was bored. Who's she?"
"That's Kitty." Lance said.
"I'm Nicky, very pleased to meet you." The boy informed her before turning back to Lance. "I walked all the way over to Grandma and Grandpa's all by myself, almost, and I didn't get lost once. Grandma always has the best cookies… Well I like my mom's cookies too but she hides them better."
"Does your mom know where you are?" Kitty asked.
Nicky scowled at her.
"Okay we better take you home." Kitty said.
"Lance she's no fun." Nicky protested.
Lance shrugged helplessly, he shot Kitty a quick grin. "Which way's home kiddo?" He asked.
****** ****** ******
Todd hopped to the top of a dune. "Yo Pietro!" He yelled cupping his hands around his mouth.
"It took you long enough." Pietro said. He limped toward Todd.
"Quickie, what happened?"
"Mystique." He said. "She took Rogue, broke my leg… Rogue had Jean's powers. There's something wrong with her."
"We can worry about that after we get out of here." Todd said as he offered Pietro a hand. "I just realized something, Mystique broke your leg, she took Cyke's shades, but she just dumped Freddy and I. I think I should feel insulted or something yo."
"Ouch! Don't hop." Pietro complained.
"Hey is someone there?" Scott yelled. He turned toward them blindly.
"Just me and Quickie." Todd yelled back. "Our favorite shape-shifting witch broke his leg."
"I'll signal for Fred to come back." Scott said. "No airplanes right?"
"You're clear." Todd said.
Scott turned his face toward the sky and opened his eyes. "Todd, are you still feeling alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I don't know why you're so worried." Todd said.
"With your mutation I wasn't sure how you'd handle heat." Scott said. "But I guess you've got some horny toad in your make-up."
"Don't say that 'round Moira." Todd replied with a grin.
"Get your mind out of the gutter." Scott laughed. "Quicksilver, how are you doing?"
"I've got a broke leg. Mystique has my girlfriend. We're lost in the middle of a desert. What kind of dumb question is that?"
"It seemed like the thing to say." Scott said dryly. "Did either of you see anything that looks like shelter? We've got to get out of this sun."
****** ****** ******
Colossus sat before the security screens in Magneto's base and wished for something exciting to happen. Even something as mundane as Pyro setting off the fire alarms again would be welcome. He hated monitor duty; it gave him too much time to contemplate his situation.
He found himself watching Gambit and Wanda with morbid fascination. The couple seemed content, almost happy as they cuddled on the couch reassuring themselves after the previous night's glitch in Gambit's reprogramming. He wondered if they were the lucky ones. Everyday he lived in fear of failing Magneto and losing his sister forever. He remembered Gambit asking him if Magneto owned his soul as well as his body. "No, my soul is still my own," he whispered to the screen, "but I fear you can no longer say the same."
"Talking to yourself mate?" Pyro asked. "And everyone says I'm the crazy one." The Australian's hair was little more than stubble and there were a few burns on his hands and head.
"I am afraid Pyro." Colossus said. "Magneto will never set us free. If we fight him he will have Mastermind rewrite our memories to make us more sympathetic to his cause."
"Or he'll decide we aren't worth the effort and have us killed like he tried with his son." Pyro said. "You're just now figuring out that we're screwed?"
"No, I try to hope but…"
"At least 'Tooth's gone."
"I would face Sabretooth before Mastermind." Colossus said.
"Speak for yourself." Pyro replied. "You can't hide from Sabretooth and when he finds you he'll play with you. The way I see it, if a body runs now they could get lucky. Maybe Magneto doesn't find you. Still even if he does… the big man don't have time for games. He'll either kill you quick or turn you over to Mastermind and you end up like those two: Dumb and happy."
"So why don't you leave or are you here willingly?" Colossus asked.
"I still like living more than I like the odds." Pyro said. "And yeah, I came willingly. Magneto talks a good line, but this place? It's Hotel California mate. You can check out but you never leave. … Now that isn't supposed to be here. I'll take care of it."
Colossus glanced at the screen and groaned when he saw what had caught Pyro's attention. A calico cat had somehow gotten in the base. Visions of flambéed feline filled Colossus' mind. "I would think you would have had enough fun with fire." He said with a gesture toward the burns Pyro had suffered during Wanda's attack.
Pyro shrugged. "You always hurt the ones you love. I don't mind."
"I will deal with the cat. You stay here." Colossus said as he shook his head.
"You take all the fun out of life." Pyro sulked. He watched as Colossus appeared on the monitor and started looking for the cat. "Here kitty, kitty." Pyro mocked. Then he saw the cat appear behind Colossus. It shifted into Rogue. "That isn't good." Pyro said as he slapped the alarm button. It came too late to warn Colossus. Rogue grabbed his arm with her bare hand and a moment later the big man passed out.
Pyro ran toward the problem site. The X-Man was still standing over Colossus' unconscious body when he arrived. She turned and stalked toward him. Pyro wrapped her in flames. "That'll show you girl!" He exclaimed.
A moment later Rogue reached out of the flames. Her skin was metal and untouched by the fire. Her hand closed on Pyro's wrist and she pulled him toward her with a strength that was well beyond what she should have had. Her other hand reached up to make contact with Pyro's cheek.
Gambit and Wanda burst in. Rogue gestured toward Wanda and the girl found herself pinned against the wall by an invisible force. Rogue darted across room and to confront Gambit. She snatched his cards out of his hand before he had the chance to throw them. Then she clasped his hand, their fingers brushed and he collapsed.
"Let me go!" Wanda shrieked as Rogue turned toward her. "Why are you doing this? My father will…" Wanda's rant trailed off as Rogue reached out and touched her.
"What is the meaning of this?" Magneto demanded.
Rogue gestured and his helmet flew off. She reached out with the combined telepathic might of the Xavier and Jean Grey. A dark shadow seemed to flare around Magneto. Rogue flinched back. Her expression was confused for a moment.
She recovered a moment later and summoned winds and lighting. Magneto countered by summoning the metallic dust in the air to form a shield around him that blocked the wind and channeled the lighting to the ground. Rogue tried to disrupt his shield with a telekinetic blow but found their strengths were equal.
A giant metal spider assembled itself out of I-beams and other scraps of metal. It attacked Rogue. She danced around is clumsy strikes combining the speed she'd acquired from Quicksilver with the gymnastic agility of Beast, Toad and Nightcrawler and the raw strength of Sunspot, Blob and Colossus.
Rogue used Cyclops' power to blast the creature apart. As it began to reassemble itself she turned toward Magneto. The blue glow of one of Wanda's hex bolts formed around her hand. When it struck Magneto his powers went dead. He crashed to the ground along with the steel girders and the shield of dust. Rogue strode across the room toward him. Magneto backed away until his shoulders struck a wall of crates. He lashed out in an attempt to punch her. Rogue twisted to the side too quickly for the eye to follow. She reached up and touched him.
Once Magneto was down she scanned the base for other presences. //I'm not here. Don't see me.// Mastermind thought at her. Rogue walked directly to his hiding place. He sighed in helpless surrender as she reached for him.
***** ****** ******
"Watch out Cyke. There's a rock over that way." Todd said as he pointed.
Scott stopped dead. "Define 'that way'." He ordered. He'd torn off a strip of material from the bottom of his nightshirt to use as a blindfold. It helped him remember to keep his eyes closed.
"Oh yeah, sorry. Ten o' clock." Todd clarified.
Cyclops nodded.
"Do you have to carry me like a sack of potatoes?" Pietro complained. Over the course of the day his pale skin had turned a fiery red and was starting to blister.
Fred had a healthy sunburn of his own. He thought about Pietro's complaint. "I could let you walk." He offered.
"Come on the blood's rushing to my head. This is embarrassing."
Fred grinned.
"Whoa! Big pothole at twelve o' clock. And a crack from about three to one. And… Yo, this whole place is a mess." Todd exclaimed.
Cyclops paused he tilted his head to one side. "Craters and cracks. Guys, does that sound familiar to anyone?"
"You're right. It looks like a post-Avalanche parking lot." Todd said.
"I think I know where we are." Cyclops said. "We should head to the Northwest."
Todd glanced back at Fred. "Northwest is which way?" He asked.
"Don't look at me."
Cyclops sighed and pointed.
"Um, Cyke you've had your eyes closed for hours. How do you know?" Todd asked.
"The sun was just rising when I regained consciousness." Cyclops explained. "It's that way."
"The blind leading the hopeless." Pietro said sarcastically then gulped. "I'm going to be sick."
"You shut up." Fred snapped.
"No, literally. Put me down!"
Fred quickly swung Pietro to the ground. The sudden movement pushed the silver haired teen's nausea over the edge.
"Todd, how much truth is there to Evan's albino insults?" Cyclops asked quietly.
Todd frowned at him in confusion. "You forgot what he looks like this fast?"
"I wear ruby quartz shades 24/7." Scott sighed. "The only color I see is red."
"Quickie's real pale."
"Hell." More loudly Cyclops said. "We need to start looking for a narrow canyon. There's an abandoned base there. We'll have water and shelter. Maybe even equipment to call the mansion. So lets keep moving."
"I'm tired." Fred complained after several hours of walking. He sat down suddenly.
"Watch my head!" Pietro yelped as he was summarily dropped.
"And I'm hungry and I'm thirsty."
"We're all thirsty." Cyclops said. "Complaining won't help. Look we're getting close. We can't just sit out in the sun."
"I don't like it here." Fred complained.
"Yo, I don't think Mystique dropped us here 'cause she thought we'd have fun." Todd said. "What's wrong with you?"
Pietro stared at Todd. "You tan funny." He announced randomly. "You look like dessert camouflage."
"At least he is tanning. I'm all burned." Fred humphed.
"It's about time that we ended up in a situation where my mutation is the best." Todd said.
"Why isn't Scott burning?" Pietro asked.
"I metabolize sunlight to power my optic blasts. I don't burn." Scott replied. "Can we go now?"
"Its not fair." Fred stated. "Pietro and I's mutation should help too."
"Well you're feet aren't cut like everyone else's." Scott pointed out. "This place wasn't designed for bare feet."
"I think I'm going to puke again." Pietro announced.
Scott frowned with concern. "Guys I really think we should keep moving."
"There's something wrong with them isn't there?" Todd asked quietly.
"Heat exhaustion at the very least." Scott said. "You really feel fine?"
"Yep."
"Okay. I want you to scout ahead. If anything at all feels wrong come back. The three of us aren't exactly in the best shape to form a search party."