ENTER MAYHEM
CHAPTER 14: PRODIGY 6
Mystique walked around the young girl studying her intensely. The girl Prodigy 6 never took her eyes off the screens, she was totally focused, yet her eyes had a glossed over look to them.
"Is she even awake?" she asked Sinister.
"Yes she is, you see Mesmero and I have been using our telepathic powers on the girl to create not only mental shields and barriers, but to also keep her personality and certain memories buried.
"So she's a zombie."
"Essentially yes, but she's extremely deadly and powerful, with the serum I gave her."
Mystique looked away from the girl to Sinister. "What serum?"
"With the blood sample from Prodigy 7, and the notes I still have from his experiments, I have recreated the serum to some extent that was used on him and given it to her." He smiled proudly at his work.
"You see now her powers have been amplified. She used to only control gravity around herself, but now that range and the intensity have been increased. She has also gained the ability to alter the mass of whatever she touches."
"Alter the mass how?" Mystique was getting genuinely interested now. I f that serum could really increase a mutant's power she wanted it herself.
"Well she now can make something as light as a feather, giving her the appearance of super-human strength, but after a short distance it regains it's original mass, but with her gravimetric abilities, it won't lose velocity, or more importantly impact.
Mystique looked back to this young girl, if she really could do this, it would make her a deadly foe indeed.
"Unfortunately I still have to run test, to see if the serum will keep her powers permanently or if this is just temporary." He walked off leaving Mystique alone with the girl.
"Hmmm, permanent or not, this could be vary useful." She said to herself, a wicked smile forming on her face as she began to make her own plans.
BACK AT THE INSTITUTE
It had been a quiet week, Jamie continued his personal training with Vincent and much to his surprise Jamie was doing really well. Sam and Tabitha were getting even closer, in fact some times you'd need a crowbar to pry them apart.
Xavier had let them start going out again alone, but said they still should be careful. It had taken everybody three whole days to convince Vincent to leave the mansion, and that he wasn't a jinx. Pam and Ray flirted with each other every time they saw each other but nothing further.
Kitty, Amara, Jubilee and Amy spent a lot of time at the mall. The Brotherhood had been giving the X-men a wide berth, especially when Vincent was around, thought the X-Men didn't know why but they weren't complaining.
Kitty and Lance went out a couple of times, usually Lance would screw up and Kitty would come home all pissed off at him, and the next day they would make-up.
Rogue and Vincent however didn't avoid each other, but there were a few awkward silences, but they were few and mostly they got along fine. In fact others were starting to see that the two were getting along well, and the rumors were suddenly everywhere by the end of the week.
It was Sunday again, Vincent was in his room, glad of the fact that his ribs had healed enough so they didn't cause any pain anymore when he moved his arms, they were still slightly black and blue, but only hurt slightly when he poked them.
He was currently on his bead he had just finished a sketch in his personal sketch book. No one knew of his artistic talents, and he kept the book hidden in his closet. Some of his drawings were vary personal and some were symbols or manifestations of his memories and emotions.
Luckily he didn't have to sit somewhere and sketch in public, with his memory all he had to do was remember what he wanted to draw and it was crystal clear to him. After he had finished he turned through the pages looking at all the drawings.
He stopped at one that meant a lot to him personally. It was a drawing in great detail of a woman's face. She was beautiful looking, about in her early thirties, with shoulder length flowing hair. A single name was written at the bottom that read 'April'. He lightly brushed his hands over the image.
"I never got the chance to know you, but I miss you..." he whispered to himself, tears were threatening to come out of his eyes. "....mother."
He closed the book and put it back in his closet. Looking at that drawing always made him feel sad and depressed. Yet he could never look away at it. He often wondered what his life would have been like if she was alive, would she be proud of him? Would she have loved him, despite his mutation?
Unfortunately he would never know. She was brutally taken from him, like his childhood, his life, his real name.
He didn't even know her last name, when he was born, what did she name him. The name he went by was given to him. Father Michaels had named him Vincent in honor of his brother. The last name Freeman, Vincent had chosen as for himself, which had a double meaning to him that no one knew about.
He turned to his CD player and put in Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. He got out his guitar and plugged in the amp. Training, drawing, and music were is greatest outlets in life. He started to play along with the songs and even sang with it especially the parts that Chester Bennington sang.
****
It was about thirty minutes later that Rogue was walking to Vincent's room. They had gotten along pretty well, and she found herself enjoying his company a lot lately, but whenever things got too close they both pushed away.
When she got to his room she could hear the faint sound of music coming from the room she leaned in to hear the song better.
"I've lied to you, the same way that I always do, this is the last smile, that I'll fake for the sake of being with you."
She recognized it as "Pushing me away" by Linkin Park, one of her favorite bands. When she opened the door she was surprised to see Vincent sitting on the edge of his bead, playing an electric guitar and singing along.
What surprised her even more was that he was really good. Luckily his back was to the door and he hadn't heard her yet, so she leaned against the door watching him.
"The sacrifice of hiding in a lie, the sacrifice is never knowing."
"Why I never walked away, why I played myself this way, now I see your testing me pushes me away."
She saw that he didn't just follow along but put even more emotion into the song, than on the CD.
"I've tried like you to try everything you've wanted to, this is the-" Vincent suddenly stopped as when he looked up from his guitar had noticed on the edge of his vision that his door was open.
He turned around sharply to see Rogue there in his doorway. "Uh....how long have you've been there?" he nervously asked her.
She walked into his room closing his door. "About just after ya started singing this song." She could see his embarrassment on his face.
She sat down next to him. "Ya know you're really good, where did ya learn to play like that?"
Vincent just shrugged. "I learn things pretty quickly, I first started about five years ago, I also learned to play the piano from Father Michaels, and a flute with Master Kensuke."
She gave a smirk then. "Ya just full of surprises aren' ya?"
"Hey, what can I say I'm deep, and mysterious." He joked to her.
****
At a construction yard in Bayville, the work crew had just gotten off work and where on their launch break.
Phil, who was working the high steal that day sat down on at a table on the partially constructed floor. He had just opened his launch box, when he saw someone on one of the girders.
"What the hell?" He said to himself. He walked over to the person. As he got closer he saw that it was a young girl wearing some kind of black body suit. "Hey how the hell did you get up here girl?"
She didn't respond, at first he thought she was a jumper that got in somehow, and wanted to end it all. He looked around to see if he could find the radio and call down to the others to call the police.
"Hey there don't do anything you'll regret girl." He calmly said to her. He was working his way slowly to the radio trying not to frighten her.
"I regret nothing, for there is nothing." The girl said in a monotone voice. "They will come to me. If you value your life you will leave....now."
Phil didn't understand what was going on, he thought this girl must be nuts. Then he saw her reach out and touch one of the beams. Suddenly he heard the groaning sound of metal giving way. Then the entire bean just fell down like the rest of the building couldn't hold it any longer.
He saw her calmly walking across the beam, touching others, and they too fell, at this rate the entire place is going down, Phil thought to himself.
He ran like hell to the elevator and pressed the down button, he just hoped that he could get to the bottom, before what ever that girl was doing to the building didn't cause it to collapse on him.
****
Xavier was in Cerebro when it picked up a mutant signature in Bayville. He reached out to the mutant's mind but found that he was being blocked. This was vary odd and disturbing for Charles.
The only way someone could block him like that is if they had prepared their mind for a telepath. He found the location of the mutant, and had summoned Logan and Storm to him.
He was continuing to try and get into the mutant's mind, when Cerebro had analyzed the mutant, apparently she too had mutant enhanced DNA. Storm and Wolverine entered into Cerebro.
"Hey Charles what's up?" Logan asked him.
Charles turned around to face them. I have found a new mutant in Bayville Logan, I want to and Storm to take a team out there, and I would like you to take Vincent with you, he should be healed enough to go and I would want him there." He told him.
"Any particular reason Charles?" Ororo asked him.
"Apparently she too has mutant enhanced DNA."
"You think there is a connection between this new guy and Vincent?" Logan asked of him.
Xavier placed his fingers together in front of his face, deep in thought. "Let's just say I wouldn't be too surprised Logan."
***
Later Storm and Logan were in the X-Jet heading towards the new mutant. Kitty, Rogue, Scott, Kurt, Jean, Bobby and Vincent were also there.
"So Scott any idea who we're going to see?" Iceman asked him.
Cyclops turned to Bobby "All anyone knows is that there's a mutant turning a construction site into a demotion site."
"Great that's going to look good on the 6 o'clock news." Bobby grumbled.
Booby looked over to see Vincent rolling his shoulders and stretching a little. "You nervous man?"
Vincent looked up at him. "Nope just loosening up, if there's going to be a fight I want to be ready."
He stopped stretching and opened a pocket on his jacket, and pulled out his 'X-Men' bandana as he called it. He placed the symbol between his hands, bent his head and started to speak in Japanese. After he finished he ceremonially put the bandana on, and tied it tight.
"Vhat vas zat?" Kurt asked.
"It's just a little thing my sensei taught me, it's kind of like a saying the samurai in his family said before going into battle, you could say it was kind of like getting their game faces on."
"So vhat does it mean?" Kurt said.
"Loosely translated it says, Grant me the courage to face my enemy, grant me the wisdom to fight my enemy, grant me the strength to defeat my enemy, grant me the chance to die with honor."
"Die with honor?" Kurt said shocked.
Vincent just shrugged. "To a samurai they accept both victory and defeat going into battle. To them it didn't mattered if they lived or died as long as they fought with their best abilities and served with honor."
"Whoa those guys were hardcore huh?" Bobby asked Vincent.
Vincent just nodded. They all lurched as the X-Jet came to a halt and landed.
"Alright we're here everybody out." Logan ordered them.
They all exited the jet and all were amazed at the sight before them. The entire building was in ruins, several beams were imbedded into the ground. A water main had burst and a large pool was forming in the deep end of the construction site.
"The master said you would come." Said a voice. They looked around and saw a young girl walk out from behind some debris. "And you've brought Prodigy 7 with you."
The others looked on in confusion. Rogue was the first to notice the look of horror on Vincent's face. She had never once had seen him scared at anything, he faced The Juggernaut without blinking, yet what that girl had said scared him.
"Vincent what's wrong?" She asked him. The others turned to look at Vincent and were also shocked by his expression. Then Vincent's face then changed from horrified to enraged.
"Where did you hear that?" He yelled at her.
She cocked her head slightly "Don't you remember me?"
Vincent looked hard at her, there was something familiar about her, then when he looked into those strange green eyes, it hit him.
"You." Was all he could say.
"Ah you remember me, 7. Yes it is me, Prodigy 6." Said plainly said. She talked like she didn't really care and always had a blank look on her face.
She then looked on at the others. "My master Sinister wishes to convey a message, forget about the humans, and stop fighting us, they are the real enemy, and the inferior race, he is giving you this chance to join him."
"Look kid you can tell this Sinister creep, no deal." Logan said to her.
She merely cocked her head again, her face still an impassive mask. "Then I am under orders to destroy you all, my master can't afford you to interfere."
She raised her hands out to them and suddenly they all collapsed onto the ground as if a great weight was pressed on them.
Vincent however managed to stand up slightly with his strength he looked at her. "Please don't do this, you don't have to do any of this." He pleaded with her.
She ignored his pleased and increased the gravity around them. Vincent was sent to his knees, while the others cried out in pain.
"Vincent...you....got ....to ....get...her." Scott strained to get out.
Vincent knew that the lives of his friends depended on him now. He had no choice, he didn't what to hurt her, but she was leaving him with no other option. So he raised a hand at her and fired and energy blast at her.
But to the surprise of everyone the energy blast was warped but invisible gravimetric fields and the energy was deflected around her.
Mayhem might have missed his shot, but thankfully she had to concentrate a little to get that blast away from her, and had lessened the force she was applying to them.
Kurt had taken this moment to teleport behind her. When he had reappeared behind her, she turned around to attack but was too slow and Nightcrawler had kicked her in her side, and she went down, and so did her powers.
The other got up then. They all now moved onto the girl, but she recovered quickly, she altered the gravity around Kurt to anti-gravity and sent him hurtling into the air.
Kurt had luckily grabbed a piece of material sticking out of the wreckage and was holding on for dear life.
Rogue was the closest to her and had a grab for her, but she back flipped backwards out of her reach. She then grabbed the remains of a fence and surprisingly hurled the thing at Rogue with incredible speed.
Rogue couldn't get away in time and the fence wrapped around her and sent her flying into the deep pool of water some yards away. Vincent saw this and saw that not only Rogue was trapped but she was sinking into the water.
"Guys I got to get Rogue." He shouted to the team.
"Go for it we got her." Cyclops said.
Vincent took off to Rogue but when he got there, she had already gone under and with the water so muddy and dark he couldn't see her. He saw bobbles in the water but they suddenly stopped.
He knew she must be out of air, so he dived in. He searched frantically for her, he found the fence and pulled the entire thing out of the water. He flew quickly to the side and ripped it open to get Rogue out.
He checked her out, and saw that see wasn't breathing. He looked to the others but they were too busy. Storm was trying to get Kurt, who kept flying off into the sky, Kitty had to phase through several large objects thrown at her and every time she phased the gravity increased and threatened to take her too deep into the Earth for her to get out.
Cyclops' eye beams were just as useless as Mayhem's energy attack was. Jean had given up trying to get into the mind of the mutant, and was trying to stop other objects from hitting her team mates.
Logan and Iceman kept getting either slammed into the ground or had huge objects through at them.
Vincent knew that Rogue didn't have long, and with the other so busy he had only one choice. He had to give her CPR or she'd die.
He knew that her powers would absorb his memories and his life force, but it was a risk he was willing to make. McCoy told him once that his powers gave him an abundance of energy, which is why he only needed six hours of sleep and why he tired not so easily.
He figured that this would mean that he might get a few breaths in, before he blacked out. He placed her into position and tilted her head back. 'I'm sorry for what I'll put you through.' He thought to himself and hoped she would get that memory.
He took a deep breath then as quickly as possible gave her a breath. He then bumped on her ribcage, slightly dazed. He gave her another breath and suddenly the world was spinning, but he kept on going. He gave her one more breath, and when he took his lips away she coughed up the water.
'Good....she'll...she'll...make....'But then he slumped into the ground beside her unconscious.
The other however where not doing so well, now it was both Kurt, Bobby and Logan that were stuck in the air and Jean and Storm were doing their best to help them. Scott and Kitty were still dodging all the debris and gravity fields that were being thrown at them.
It didn't look good for the X-Men until a crimson blast of energy had hit Prodigy 6 in the back. She was sent flying and landed hard. She lost all concentration and Bobby, Logan and Kurt came crashing to the ground.
They all looked over expecting to see Mayhem, but they saw Rogue instead, hovering in the air, her hands and eyes glowing. "That will be just enough out of you." She said, her accent fully gone.
Prodigy 6 had gotten up, and glanced at Rogue. She calmly started to raise her hand, but She was hit again from behind, this time from Cyclops.
She grabbed a girder and hurled it at him, but it stopped just before it got to him, thanks to Jean. Kurt teleported again and tried the same maneuver before, but this time she was ready and grabbed his leg and sent him flying into Iceman.
Storm called upon the winds, and suddenly 6 found herself in a wind storm. She had to cover her eyes from all the dust being blown into her face. She didn't notice when Kitty phased out from under the ground, and grabbed her legs until it was too late.
Kitty had phased her feet into the ground and she was stuck. She was about the try and pry loose her feet with her gravity powers, when he felt a tap on her shoulder.
She looked to her right and was faced with a wet and really pissed off Rogue. "Drown me will you." And gave 6 a left cross with just enough power in it to knock her out.
When she was down, Storm stopped the winds and they all gathered around her. Scott looked to Rogue "Rogue what happened to Vince?"
She darted off at super speed and came back with an unconscious Vincent in her arms. "I was drowning and he had to give me CPR, I don't know how much I took, we need to get him to Beast and fast." Her voice filled with worry.
"Sure thing stipes, but what about her." Logan said looking down at Prodigy 6.
*Logan I would like you to bring her with you* Xavier communicated with him.
*Charles are ya nuts? Look at what she did* He sent pack to him.
*Please Logan I feel that see was not in control*
Logan gave a low growl but accepted it. "All right Kitty get her out of there, Xavier wants us to take her with us."
NEXT UP CHAPTER 15: AFTERMATH
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CHAPTER 14: PRODIGY 6
Mystique walked around the young girl studying her intensely. The girl Prodigy 6 never took her eyes off the screens, she was totally focused, yet her eyes had a glossed over look to them.
"Is she even awake?" she asked Sinister.
"Yes she is, you see Mesmero and I have been using our telepathic powers on the girl to create not only mental shields and barriers, but to also keep her personality and certain memories buried.
"So she's a zombie."
"Essentially yes, but she's extremely deadly and powerful, with the serum I gave her."
Mystique looked away from the girl to Sinister. "What serum?"
"With the blood sample from Prodigy 7, and the notes I still have from his experiments, I have recreated the serum to some extent that was used on him and given it to her." He smiled proudly at his work.
"You see now her powers have been amplified. She used to only control gravity around herself, but now that range and the intensity have been increased. She has also gained the ability to alter the mass of whatever she touches."
"Alter the mass how?" Mystique was getting genuinely interested now. I f that serum could really increase a mutant's power she wanted it herself.
"Well she now can make something as light as a feather, giving her the appearance of super-human strength, but after a short distance it regains it's original mass, but with her gravimetric abilities, it won't lose velocity, or more importantly impact.
Mystique looked back to this young girl, if she really could do this, it would make her a deadly foe indeed.
"Unfortunately I still have to run test, to see if the serum will keep her powers permanently or if this is just temporary." He walked off leaving Mystique alone with the girl.
"Hmmm, permanent or not, this could be vary useful." She said to herself, a wicked smile forming on her face as she began to make her own plans.
BACK AT THE INSTITUTE
It had been a quiet week, Jamie continued his personal training with Vincent and much to his surprise Jamie was doing really well. Sam and Tabitha were getting even closer, in fact some times you'd need a crowbar to pry them apart.
Xavier had let them start going out again alone, but said they still should be careful. It had taken everybody three whole days to convince Vincent to leave the mansion, and that he wasn't a jinx. Pam and Ray flirted with each other every time they saw each other but nothing further.
Kitty, Amara, Jubilee and Amy spent a lot of time at the mall. The Brotherhood had been giving the X-men a wide berth, especially when Vincent was around, thought the X-Men didn't know why but they weren't complaining.
Kitty and Lance went out a couple of times, usually Lance would screw up and Kitty would come home all pissed off at him, and the next day they would make-up.
Rogue and Vincent however didn't avoid each other, but there were a few awkward silences, but they were few and mostly they got along fine. In fact others were starting to see that the two were getting along well, and the rumors were suddenly everywhere by the end of the week.
It was Sunday again, Vincent was in his room, glad of the fact that his ribs had healed enough so they didn't cause any pain anymore when he moved his arms, they were still slightly black and blue, but only hurt slightly when he poked them.
He was currently on his bead he had just finished a sketch in his personal sketch book. No one knew of his artistic talents, and he kept the book hidden in his closet. Some of his drawings were vary personal and some were symbols or manifestations of his memories and emotions.
Luckily he didn't have to sit somewhere and sketch in public, with his memory all he had to do was remember what he wanted to draw and it was crystal clear to him. After he had finished he turned through the pages looking at all the drawings.
He stopped at one that meant a lot to him personally. It was a drawing in great detail of a woman's face. She was beautiful looking, about in her early thirties, with shoulder length flowing hair. A single name was written at the bottom that read 'April'. He lightly brushed his hands over the image.
"I never got the chance to know you, but I miss you..." he whispered to himself, tears were threatening to come out of his eyes. "....mother."
He closed the book and put it back in his closet. Looking at that drawing always made him feel sad and depressed. Yet he could never look away at it. He often wondered what his life would have been like if she was alive, would she be proud of him? Would she have loved him, despite his mutation?
Unfortunately he would never know. She was brutally taken from him, like his childhood, his life, his real name.
He didn't even know her last name, when he was born, what did she name him. The name he went by was given to him. Father Michaels had named him Vincent in honor of his brother. The last name Freeman, Vincent had chosen as for himself, which had a double meaning to him that no one knew about.
He turned to his CD player and put in Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory. He got out his guitar and plugged in the amp. Training, drawing, and music were is greatest outlets in life. He started to play along with the songs and even sang with it especially the parts that Chester Bennington sang.
****
It was about thirty minutes later that Rogue was walking to Vincent's room. They had gotten along pretty well, and she found herself enjoying his company a lot lately, but whenever things got too close they both pushed away.
When she got to his room she could hear the faint sound of music coming from the room she leaned in to hear the song better.
"I've lied to you, the same way that I always do, this is the last smile, that I'll fake for the sake of being with you."
She recognized it as "Pushing me away" by Linkin Park, one of her favorite bands. When she opened the door she was surprised to see Vincent sitting on the edge of his bead, playing an electric guitar and singing along.
What surprised her even more was that he was really good. Luckily his back was to the door and he hadn't heard her yet, so she leaned against the door watching him.
"The sacrifice of hiding in a lie, the sacrifice is never knowing."
"Why I never walked away, why I played myself this way, now I see your testing me pushes me away."
She saw that he didn't just follow along but put even more emotion into the song, than on the CD.
"I've tried like you to try everything you've wanted to, this is the-" Vincent suddenly stopped as when he looked up from his guitar had noticed on the edge of his vision that his door was open.
He turned around sharply to see Rogue there in his doorway. "Uh....how long have you've been there?" he nervously asked her.
She walked into his room closing his door. "About just after ya started singing this song." She could see his embarrassment on his face.
She sat down next to him. "Ya know you're really good, where did ya learn to play like that?"
Vincent just shrugged. "I learn things pretty quickly, I first started about five years ago, I also learned to play the piano from Father Michaels, and a flute with Master Kensuke."
She gave a smirk then. "Ya just full of surprises aren' ya?"
"Hey, what can I say I'm deep, and mysterious." He joked to her.
****
At a construction yard in Bayville, the work crew had just gotten off work and where on their launch break.
Phil, who was working the high steal that day sat down on at a table on the partially constructed floor. He had just opened his launch box, when he saw someone on one of the girders.
"What the hell?" He said to himself. He walked over to the person. As he got closer he saw that it was a young girl wearing some kind of black body suit. "Hey how the hell did you get up here girl?"
She didn't respond, at first he thought she was a jumper that got in somehow, and wanted to end it all. He looked around to see if he could find the radio and call down to the others to call the police.
"Hey there don't do anything you'll regret girl." He calmly said to her. He was working his way slowly to the radio trying not to frighten her.
"I regret nothing, for there is nothing." The girl said in a monotone voice. "They will come to me. If you value your life you will leave....now."
Phil didn't understand what was going on, he thought this girl must be nuts. Then he saw her reach out and touch one of the beams. Suddenly he heard the groaning sound of metal giving way. Then the entire bean just fell down like the rest of the building couldn't hold it any longer.
He saw her calmly walking across the beam, touching others, and they too fell, at this rate the entire place is going down, Phil thought to himself.
He ran like hell to the elevator and pressed the down button, he just hoped that he could get to the bottom, before what ever that girl was doing to the building didn't cause it to collapse on him.
****
Xavier was in Cerebro when it picked up a mutant signature in Bayville. He reached out to the mutant's mind but found that he was being blocked. This was vary odd and disturbing for Charles.
The only way someone could block him like that is if they had prepared their mind for a telepath. He found the location of the mutant, and had summoned Logan and Storm to him.
He was continuing to try and get into the mutant's mind, when Cerebro had analyzed the mutant, apparently she too had mutant enhanced DNA. Storm and Wolverine entered into Cerebro.
"Hey Charles what's up?" Logan asked him.
Charles turned around to face them. I have found a new mutant in Bayville Logan, I want to and Storm to take a team out there, and I would like you to take Vincent with you, he should be healed enough to go and I would want him there." He told him.
"Any particular reason Charles?" Ororo asked him.
"Apparently she too has mutant enhanced DNA."
"You think there is a connection between this new guy and Vincent?" Logan asked of him.
Xavier placed his fingers together in front of his face, deep in thought. "Let's just say I wouldn't be too surprised Logan."
***
Later Storm and Logan were in the X-Jet heading towards the new mutant. Kitty, Rogue, Scott, Kurt, Jean, Bobby and Vincent were also there.
"So Scott any idea who we're going to see?" Iceman asked him.
Cyclops turned to Bobby "All anyone knows is that there's a mutant turning a construction site into a demotion site."
"Great that's going to look good on the 6 o'clock news." Bobby grumbled.
Booby looked over to see Vincent rolling his shoulders and stretching a little. "You nervous man?"
Vincent looked up at him. "Nope just loosening up, if there's going to be a fight I want to be ready."
He stopped stretching and opened a pocket on his jacket, and pulled out his 'X-Men' bandana as he called it. He placed the symbol between his hands, bent his head and started to speak in Japanese. After he finished he ceremonially put the bandana on, and tied it tight.
"Vhat vas zat?" Kurt asked.
"It's just a little thing my sensei taught me, it's kind of like a saying the samurai in his family said before going into battle, you could say it was kind of like getting their game faces on."
"So vhat does it mean?" Kurt said.
"Loosely translated it says, Grant me the courage to face my enemy, grant me the wisdom to fight my enemy, grant me the strength to defeat my enemy, grant me the chance to die with honor."
"Die with honor?" Kurt said shocked.
Vincent just shrugged. "To a samurai they accept both victory and defeat going into battle. To them it didn't mattered if they lived or died as long as they fought with their best abilities and served with honor."
"Whoa those guys were hardcore huh?" Bobby asked Vincent.
Vincent just nodded. They all lurched as the X-Jet came to a halt and landed.
"Alright we're here everybody out." Logan ordered them.
They all exited the jet and all were amazed at the sight before them. The entire building was in ruins, several beams were imbedded into the ground. A water main had burst and a large pool was forming in the deep end of the construction site.
"The master said you would come." Said a voice. They looked around and saw a young girl walk out from behind some debris. "And you've brought Prodigy 7 with you."
The others looked on in confusion. Rogue was the first to notice the look of horror on Vincent's face. She had never once had seen him scared at anything, he faced The Juggernaut without blinking, yet what that girl had said scared him.
"Vincent what's wrong?" She asked him. The others turned to look at Vincent and were also shocked by his expression. Then Vincent's face then changed from horrified to enraged.
"Where did you hear that?" He yelled at her.
She cocked her head slightly "Don't you remember me?"
Vincent looked hard at her, there was something familiar about her, then when he looked into those strange green eyes, it hit him.
"You." Was all he could say.
"Ah you remember me, 7. Yes it is me, Prodigy 6." Said plainly said. She talked like she didn't really care and always had a blank look on her face.
She then looked on at the others. "My master Sinister wishes to convey a message, forget about the humans, and stop fighting us, they are the real enemy, and the inferior race, he is giving you this chance to join him."
"Look kid you can tell this Sinister creep, no deal." Logan said to her.
She merely cocked her head again, her face still an impassive mask. "Then I am under orders to destroy you all, my master can't afford you to interfere."
She raised her hands out to them and suddenly they all collapsed onto the ground as if a great weight was pressed on them.
Vincent however managed to stand up slightly with his strength he looked at her. "Please don't do this, you don't have to do any of this." He pleaded with her.
She ignored his pleased and increased the gravity around them. Vincent was sent to his knees, while the others cried out in pain.
"Vincent...you....got ....to ....get...her." Scott strained to get out.
Vincent knew that the lives of his friends depended on him now. He had no choice, he didn't what to hurt her, but she was leaving him with no other option. So he raised a hand at her and fired and energy blast at her.
But to the surprise of everyone the energy blast was warped but invisible gravimetric fields and the energy was deflected around her.
Mayhem might have missed his shot, but thankfully she had to concentrate a little to get that blast away from her, and had lessened the force she was applying to them.
Kurt had taken this moment to teleport behind her. When he had reappeared behind her, she turned around to attack but was too slow and Nightcrawler had kicked her in her side, and she went down, and so did her powers.
The other got up then. They all now moved onto the girl, but she recovered quickly, she altered the gravity around Kurt to anti-gravity and sent him hurtling into the air.
Kurt had luckily grabbed a piece of material sticking out of the wreckage and was holding on for dear life.
Rogue was the closest to her and had a grab for her, but she back flipped backwards out of her reach. She then grabbed the remains of a fence and surprisingly hurled the thing at Rogue with incredible speed.
Rogue couldn't get away in time and the fence wrapped around her and sent her flying into the deep pool of water some yards away. Vincent saw this and saw that not only Rogue was trapped but she was sinking into the water.
"Guys I got to get Rogue." He shouted to the team.
"Go for it we got her." Cyclops said.
Vincent took off to Rogue but when he got there, she had already gone under and with the water so muddy and dark he couldn't see her. He saw bobbles in the water but they suddenly stopped.
He knew she must be out of air, so he dived in. He searched frantically for her, he found the fence and pulled the entire thing out of the water. He flew quickly to the side and ripped it open to get Rogue out.
He checked her out, and saw that see wasn't breathing. He looked to the others but they were too busy. Storm was trying to get Kurt, who kept flying off into the sky, Kitty had to phase through several large objects thrown at her and every time she phased the gravity increased and threatened to take her too deep into the Earth for her to get out.
Cyclops' eye beams were just as useless as Mayhem's energy attack was. Jean had given up trying to get into the mind of the mutant, and was trying to stop other objects from hitting her team mates.
Logan and Iceman kept getting either slammed into the ground or had huge objects through at them.
Vincent knew that Rogue didn't have long, and with the other so busy he had only one choice. He had to give her CPR or she'd die.
He knew that her powers would absorb his memories and his life force, but it was a risk he was willing to make. McCoy told him once that his powers gave him an abundance of energy, which is why he only needed six hours of sleep and why he tired not so easily.
He figured that this would mean that he might get a few breaths in, before he blacked out. He placed her into position and tilted her head back. 'I'm sorry for what I'll put you through.' He thought to himself and hoped she would get that memory.
He took a deep breath then as quickly as possible gave her a breath. He then bumped on her ribcage, slightly dazed. He gave her another breath and suddenly the world was spinning, but he kept on going. He gave her one more breath, and when he took his lips away she coughed up the water.
'Good....she'll...she'll...make....'But then he slumped into the ground beside her unconscious.
The other however where not doing so well, now it was both Kurt, Bobby and Logan that were stuck in the air and Jean and Storm were doing their best to help them. Scott and Kitty were still dodging all the debris and gravity fields that were being thrown at them.
It didn't look good for the X-Men until a crimson blast of energy had hit Prodigy 6 in the back. She was sent flying and landed hard. She lost all concentration and Bobby, Logan and Kurt came crashing to the ground.
They all looked over expecting to see Mayhem, but they saw Rogue instead, hovering in the air, her hands and eyes glowing. "That will be just enough out of you." She said, her accent fully gone.
Prodigy 6 had gotten up, and glanced at Rogue. She calmly started to raise her hand, but She was hit again from behind, this time from Cyclops.
She grabbed a girder and hurled it at him, but it stopped just before it got to him, thanks to Jean. Kurt teleported again and tried the same maneuver before, but this time she was ready and grabbed his leg and sent him flying into Iceman.
Storm called upon the winds, and suddenly 6 found herself in a wind storm. She had to cover her eyes from all the dust being blown into her face. She didn't notice when Kitty phased out from under the ground, and grabbed her legs until it was too late.
Kitty had phased her feet into the ground and she was stuck. She was about the try and pry loose her feet with her gravity powers, when he felt a tap on her shoulder.
She looked to her right and was faced with a wet and really pissed off Rogue. "Drown me will you." And gave 6 a left cross with just enough power in it to knock her out.
When she was down, Storm stopped the winds and they all gathered around her. Scott looked to Rogue "Rogue what happened to Vince?"
She darted off at super speed and came back with an unconscious Vincent in her arms. "I was drowning and he had to give me CPR, I don't know how much I took, we need to get him to Beast and fast." Her voice filled with worry.
"Sure thing stipes, but what about her." Logan said looking down at Prodigy 6.
*Logan I would like you to bring her with you* Xavier communicated with him.
*Charles are ya nuts? Look at what she did* He sent pack to him.
*Please Logan I feel that see was not in control*
Logan gave a low growl but accepted it. "All right Kitty get her out of there, Xavier wants us to take her with us."
NEXT UP CHAPTER 15: AFTERMATH
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