The Truth Hurts
Chapter XXXV: Incoming
By: Michelle
As Rogue looked back and forth between Iceman and Gambit, she felt her head spin. How could I have been so stupid? Why did I let myself fall for both of them at the same time? Wait. Do I feel the same way about both of them?
Her eyes shifted to Iceman. Bobby's my boyfriend. He was the first boy in the school to accept me for who I am. He's not really afraid of me or my power. He's always been so patient with me. We can talk to each other about almost anything. We are almost inseperateable. Jubilee swears we are joined by the hip or something. I care about him a lot, but I'm not sure if I love him.
Her eyes turned in Gambit's direction. Remy's my.friend.no best friend.no crush.no.Oh I don't know. I know on the outside He acts all big and bad, but deep down he's definitely a sweetie. It's been obvious from the start that he has been crushing on me since the moment Ororo brought him to Xavier's. I wonder if he stayed because of me. He's not afraid of me. In fact, he's been quite the daredevil when trying to touch me. She smiled to herself. We've almost kissed twice today. And the thing is, I didn't pull away like I usually do to Bobby. I wanted to kiss him.passionately. I care about him, but I'm not sure what I am feeling for him right now.
She looked down at her gloved hands. I always keep every one at an arms distance, except Bobby and Remy. Now, I have two people who I have let get close to me and I am afraid to let either of them go. She closed her eyes tight. How could I let my guard down? How could I let them get so close to me when I know I can never have either of them beyond a barrier of clothing? She opened her eyes glowing bright blue. How could I let myself fall in love with.?
Iceman watched as Rogue thought about her decision. I should never have gone to that debate. How could I be so stupid? I practically handed her right over to him. He glared at Gambit long and hard. He did this on purpose. The fucking thief intentionally stole her away from me. Alls he wants to do is lead her on and break her heart like he does to all the other women he's had.
Iceman turned his attention back to Rogue. Look at her. He's made her so confused already. How could I let him steal her spirit away from her? The smile on her face. The blush of her cheeks. The glitter of her emerald eyes.
Gambit felt the wave of emotions from Rogue and Iceman hit him hard. There was no doubt in his mind that Iceman blamed him for Rogue's confusion. Mon Dieu, what have I done? I cared about her so much. Besides Stormy, she is the only person who really understands me. She was one of the few that never judged me when Stormy brought me to Xavier's. And look what I have done to her.
He looked over to see the confused expression on her face. I never wanted to hurt her. I just wanted to.love her. He looked inter her emerald eyes and watched them turn blue. I love her too much to hurt her anymore. He sucked in a deep breath, knowing what he had to do.
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Kurt felt sick to the stomach as he adjusted his image inducer. He looked the part he was about to play, but he knew he had to act the part. That was the key.
Azazel smiled as his son disguised himself as one of the most lowlife human in the world. He was actually quite proud Kurt was being so bold. There is no doubt he is my son. Too bad this will hurt him as much as it will hurt Raven.
Kurt looked over to the man who claimed to be his father. "How.how do I look?"
"Perfect." Azazel replied. Too perfect. "Just be careful of your accent."
"Ja.I mean yes." Kurt answered. I can do this. I know I can. He took in a deep breath and walked out of the shadows in his disguise.
Azazel crouched down as his disguise faded, revealing his true form. That's it Son. Keep walking. His eyes glowed golden yellow, his tan face flushed to its natural red glow, and his tail swished around. Now Raven, you will pay dearly for what you have done.
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Graydon stepped back as Gambit walked forward. She's going psycho again. He though remembering the last time her eyes began changing color.
Rogue looked back and forth at the two men. How do make a decision like this? She thought as she felt Gambit grab her hand. "Remy.I."
Iceman's eyes widened. She can't seriously be choosing him, can she?
"Shhh." He said and placed her hand in Iceman's. "There is no decision to made." He looked down at Iceman squeeze her hand. "Bobby is ya beau. He care lot 'bout ya."
Rogue looked her hand that held Bobby's. She looked up at her boyfriend. Why am I not happy about this? Then, her eyes met Remy's.
He turned quickly away from her glance and walked. He couldn't look at her anymore. It just hurt too much. She's too good for a worthless thief like me anyway. Somehow, he wasn't convinced of his conclusion. So, he put on his best poker face as he hid his true feelings from her.
Rogue felt her boyfriend tighten the grip on her hand. Part of her wanted to squeeze it in return, yet at the same time she wanted to shove it away. She was even more confused now than before. I thought Remy liked me. She wanted to feel him hold her in his arms again and tell her everything is going to be alright. But, she decided to keep her distance, because judging by his action, it seemed as though Remy didn't feel that way about her like she thought. Instead, she stared at him with a longing in her eyes.
Iceman smiled in victory seeing his competition back down. This was easier than I thought. Then, he looked over to Rogue hoping to meet her emerald eyes. Instead, he found her eyes staring at Gambit with a hint of sadness. I can't believe this is happening to me. He just wanted to die inside. "Let's.let's get out of here."
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As the ice around his hands began to melt, Pyro thought of bitter sweet revenge. That fucking ice cube is going to pay for this. He fumed as he finally got free.
Pyro held a rolling hot wave of fire hit the wall of ice that blocked him from getting through. Just wait, Bobby Drake. I'm going to burn you so bad you'll melt.
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"Storm." Xavier said into his headset. "Storm, Storm are you there." Why isn't she answering? "Gambit, Wolverine." Something is wrong.
"Professor, like something is totally jamming the signal." Kitty replied as she adjusted the controls. "I can't even override it."
"Keep trying. We." Xavier paused in mid-sentence. He could feel something coming and it scared him as he felt the minds of so many approaching.
The mutants are in the base.Prepare for an attack.I want men going via the roof and ground.Keep your eyes open.Make sure our leader is protected.Annihilate any mutants you come across.
"Professor."
Xavier snapped from his daze.
"Look." Kitty pointed out the window to the numerous helicopters and jets with the letters F.O.H. on the side heading towards Magneto's base.
"My God." Xavier said realizing right off the bat that they were. "The F.O.H."
"Like, who are they?"
"The Friends of Humanity." He looked into her still confused face. "Mutant hunters."
"Like, how do they know we are here?" Kitty asked as she began to worry about Colossus and the rest of the X-men.
"Senator Creed." Xavier replied, slightly angry at himself for not picking up on it earlier. "He's their leader. He knew Mystique would come after him, so he set her up.He set all of us up."
"Like how are we suppose to warn the others." Kitty began to panic. "The communicators are like totally down and Magneto is blocking your telepathy from reaching them in his lair."
"We are just going to have to do this the hard way." Xavier replied as he lowered the ramp of the Blackbird.
Kitty sighed, wondering how that was humanly possible considered they were in the woods and the Professor was in a wheelchair. Come on Kitty. She followed him out the Blackbird somehow knowing they were going to be alright.
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Iceman turned and gently pulled Rogue to follow him.
Her first instinct wasn't to follow him; instead she pulled her hand out of his grip.
"Rogue."
"Shhhh." She fussed at him. "Do ya'll hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That noise." Her eyes blazed blue as she looked towards the ceiling. "It sounds like helicopters."
"They be landin' on de roof." Gambit agreed with her. Mon Dieu what's going on? Instinctively he began calling into the headset. "Professor.Stormy.Kitty."
Graydon smiled wickedly to himself. It's about fucking time.
"Stormy." Gambit began worrying. Why aren't the headset's working? "Kitty."
"That's impossible." Iceman said thinking they were both nuts. "No one else knows we're here."
"On the contrary." Graydon stepped into the middle of the triangle of mutants that seemed to form. "My rescuers know I'm here."
Despite his agility, Gambit couldn't react fast enough to block the kick Graydon slammed into his side. He howled out in pain as he fell to the floor. He fought the wave a blackness passing across his eyes.
Graydon spun around just as quick to knock Iceman's feet from under him. He turned next to Rogue. "You're next sister unless you move out my way."
Rogue backed away allowing him to run off and run to her love's side.
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Magneto sat up and felt the pounding in his head. I had to hire a woman with so much damn baggage: two psychotic ex-lovers, one nightcrawler, one sniveling little mutant hating bastard, and one rogue. How much worse can this get? He was nauseated but fought it as best as he could as he stood up.
Then, he felt it. The presence of more metal. Helicopters. Jets. Damn. His hands balled into fists. How dare that bastard deceive me? He wants to play games with me, and then I'll play games with him.
He placed his helmet on and went to look for Mastermind, allowing the Friends of Humanity to flood into his trap.
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"Jubilee, are you alright?" Colossus asked as he helped her sit up.
"I'm alright." Jubilee said feeling her cheek, and then she jumped remembering what happened last time. "Hey"
"It's me." Colossus said knowing why she reacted the way she did. "Jubes trust me."
"Prove it."
"I think Kitty is cute."
"Duh." She said as she stood up, then she watched him blush. "Yeah, it's you." She looked around the room. "But where's Mystique."
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Graydon ran down the tunnel as fast as his legs could carry him. How the fuck do I get out of this damn place? Never mind. He saw the stairway with the recovering Pyro and knocked him out the way with ease.
He practically flew down the stairs knowing if he didn't get out of there he was going to be at the mercy of a dozen mutants. They just keep appearing out of nowhere. When he reached ground level, he skid to a halt at the sight of blood bath between two very familiar mutants.
"Thanks for inviting me to dinner Raven." The short hairy Canadian said to his mother that seemed to be fascinated by him.
"It is always a delight to have you here."
"Whatever." He grumbled as he ignored her comment. He bent down and ruffled the seven year old Graydon's hair. "Bye kid. Raise hell for your father for me."
Graydon smiled and fixed his blonde hair as his father grumbled in the background. "Bye, Mr. Logan."
"See ya'll around." Logan lit up a cigar and fit it in the corner of his mouth. "Bye."
Graydon eyed the first man with amazement as he saw the set of metal claws extended from his hands. "Mr. Logan."
His voice was enough to distract Wolverine, giving Sabretooth the opportunity to punch him.
As Graydon watched his parent's old friend fall to the ground, he wondered what more could he encounter in his escape. The growl quickly informed him of what was next. Sabretooth. "Vater." He lifted his eyes to meet the man who gave them that dark soulless look.
"Well, well, well." His father replied sending chills down his spine. "If it isn't my son, the famous slayer of mutants."[1]
Graydon tore towards the door he saw on the other side of the room with his father in hot pursuit. He hated to admit it, but Sabretooth was the one man that scared the shit out of him. At this moment, he was surprised he hadn't soiled himself already.
After what seemed like an eternity of running, he finally reached his destination. He grabbed the door handle, turning to see Sabretooth with his razor sharp claws. He pulled it to find that it opened rather easy, seeing the F.O.H. with their guns ready. He turned and pointed at his father. "SHOOT IT!"
Sabretooth's body shook as the rain of bullets shred through him. He dropped like dead weight with his blood forming a puddle around him.
"Give me that." Graydon felt no more fear as he snatched a gun out of on of the officer's hand. He walked over Sabretooth's lifeless body. He aimed with his finger on the trigger. I hate you. You abomination to mankind. You.you mutant. I hate you Vater.
BANG.
Graydon looked at the splashed blood on his pants, then at the hole in his father's head. "I want every mutant in this place to join this one's side."
"Yes, Senator Creed."
Graydon turned to the two young mutants helping up his parent's old friend. They were too far away to take an acurate shot. "Let's go."
They followed their leader, leaving Sabretooth's body where it was. Little did they know, part of Sabretooth's mutation was regeneration? His body was already beginning to heal itself. It wouldn't be long before he would come for revenge.
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Kurt walked down the hallway toward them. I feel like such a slime ball.such a deceitful looking creature.Oh wait.I'm disguised as.He felt so low in the disguise he chose, but he knew his true form wasn't going to get him any answers. He had already tried that. Instead, he had to settle for this.
His girlfriend, Ororo Munroe AKA Storm, was on the floor. He loved her so much. He wanted nothing more that to wrap her up in his arms, whisk her away from there, take her to her room and whisper sweet nothings in her ear. Instead, he had to walk past her. He quickly cast a quick gaze to her eyes, flashing their natural golden color to her so she know that underneath the monstrous disguise she was wearing, there was her Kurt Wagner.
He stopped in front of his mother, Mystique. He didn't know her, yet he loved her no matter what she had done to him. She was his mother, his flesh and blood, the woman who gave him life and tried to kill him. He had so many questions to ask her. He almost didn't know where to start, but he made his first step by addressing her in the rudest way possible. "Hello Mutter."
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Jubilee and Colossus' eyes widened as they watched Wolverine fall to the ground. Then, they saw Sabretooth tear after a scared shitless Senator Creed.
Wolverine sat up and cracked his neck. Fucking Sabretooth. I'll get him back for that.
"Wolverine." Jubilee rushed over and hugged him. "You're alright."
"What happened kids?" Wolverine asked as he looked at Jubilee's cheek.
"Mystique got away." Colossus answered. "We don't know where she went."
"Well knowing Mystique." Wolverine stood up and cracked his back. "She went after a bigger target."
"Storm."
Their heads turned at the sound of the gunfire that echoed the room. Then, they saw Sabretooth's body drop like a log.
Wolverine could smell the hatred of the men as Graydon took a final shot into Sabretooth's head. "We gotta get out of here." He said as Graydon looked at them as the next target. "Up the stairs, NOW."
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Rogue rushed to Gambit's side. 'Are you alright?" She asked in a shaky voice.
Gambit waited a few seconds as he fought the blackness trying to take over him. I'm gonna be fine. It don't be hurtin' dat bad. He winced slightly as he sat up. "Gambit alright." He watched the room spin round and round.
"Ya sure."
"He fine." Gambit lied as the spinning slowly went away. "He just gonna have a nasty bruise dat's all." He reassured her trying not to make her worry. He tried to stand by himself, by winced in pain again. Merde.
"Here, let me help you." Thankful she had his trench coat on, she allowed him to drape his arm around her next as she wrapped and arm around him carefully avoiding touching his 'bruised' side. It wasn't until she tried to help him up before she realized how heavy he was. "Bobby can you help me."
As He sat there watching the display, he let the words slowly sink in his head. Bobby.can.you.help.me. Help her with him. Is she insane? I'm here on the floor too, yet she runs to him. "Help him yourself."
"Bobby, he's hurt."
"You think I care." He answered and dusted himself off.
"Bobby." Rogue's eyes brightened blue as she watched him make no move to help. "Fine." She sucked in a deep breath and put all of her strength into helping Gambit up. She surprise herself at how strong she was, but then again she was thankful
Why is she helping me like this? Gambit thought as he allowed her to help him stand. He placed his free hand on his throbbing side. Guess somebody does think about me as more than a thief.
Iceman turned away from them. She wants him, than fine. She can have him. With all his anger building up inside, he fought the tears welding up in his eyes.
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Mystique walked towards Storm ready to pull out the gun she had hiding in her boot. It was one of the draw backs to being a shape shifter. She could look like anyone, but she couldn't use their mutant powers. It didn't matter anyway. Either way she was going to make sure Storm was dead.
However, before she reached for the gun, she saw something in the corner of her eye. It was him. Graydon Creed was free and coming towards her. How did he get away from Magneto and Mastermind? Those fools. You can't trust them to do anything right.
Storm slowly looked over at Mystique wondering why she hadn't made the death blow. She turned her head to see Graydon Creed walking in their direction. He looked as intimidating in person as he did on TV.
Graydon turned to glance at her with his soulless eyes. Her breath nearly stopped as she saw them flash gold for a brief moment before he returned his gaze at Mystique. Oh goddess. What is he doing?
"Hello Mutter." Graydon said as he stopped a few feet in front of her. He gave her one of the most sinister smiles he possessed. "You look surprised to see me."
[1] X-men Season 4 Episode "Bloodlines"