Toulon meets the Rogue
"This is impossible," said Scott as he looked at the three puppets on the table. Rogue and the Professor had revealed them to all the X-Men and Rogue explained all she knew about them, which wasn't much.
All of the X-Men had opened mouths and a look of pure shock. Kurt slowly walked up to the puppet called Pinhead and began to run one of his fingers over the puppets red sweater. Kurt said in his accented voice, "you sure are buff little guy. Has somebody been feeding you steroids or something like that."
Pinhead gave an angry grunt and hit the furry mutant's hand away. None of the puppets really trusted these X-Men yet. They didn't want to open up to them at least until their master arrived.
Kurt backed away and sat back down. Rogue pulled up a chair and sat next to the puppets on the table. "It's ok Pinhead, you guys can trust them."
"So you knew these guys could move when you like, found them in the mall," Kitty asked, as she tried not to sound so child like. Seeing these doll like things moving made her feel kind of like a little girl again, when she wished her dolls were alive.
"Kind of," said Rogue. "Ah knew that there was something weird about them. Ah just didn't know exactly what."
Scott asked, "do you know anything else about this Toulon guy, besides that the nazis were hunting him down and he shot himself?"
Rogue shook her head. She looked back at the puppets. They were looking around the room at each one of the X-Men and the younger students.
Jean stood up and walked over to the puppets. She was just as interested in them as every one else. She couldn't help but want to touch them.
She reached out her hand towards Tunneler and said, "hey, little guy."
Tunneler started up the drill on his head and pointed it at Jean's hand. She retracted it quickly to avoid a serious injury.
Jean gave a frustrated grunt and said, "will you guys stop attacking us when ever we try to get close to you."
Rogue stood up and said angrily, "they just don't trust you guys yet Jean. Just give them a little time."
Jean apologized and sat down. "How come these things only trust you," asked Bobby looking at the puppets.
"They're puppets Bobby," said Rogue, "and Ah don't know why they trust me."
The creature that was sent by Suetek was watching the meeting. He was out of the heating vents now and standing in the doorway of the room the students were in.
Blade began to look around the room. He looked toward the doorway and saw the creature looking in at them. He knew what it was right away.
The X-Men watched as Blade gave a little gasp. The other two puppets turned to the doorway as the creature ran away.
"What's wrong with them," asked Kitty.
The puppets jumped off the table and ran out of the room. Rogue watched them leave. "Wait guys, where are you going," she yelled after them, but they were gone.
The Goth ran out of the room and looked around the halls, but the puppets were no where in site. She ran back in the room and said to the X-Men, "those guys don't know their way around the institute, they could get lost."
The X-Men we surprised by the worry in her voice. Scott stood up and said, "don't worry Rogue we'll help you find them." Jean, Kitty, and Kurt left the room with Scott and Rogue as they went to look for the puppets.
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Andre Toulon the second followed Wanda as best he could. He tried hard to catch up with her, but it was difficult with his can supporting him. His puppets followed close behind him.
They had been moving slow all day and it was now getting dark. Eventually Wanda stopped. "Well this is it, the Xavier Institute," she said pointing to a huge mansion.
Andre walked up to the gate and tried to open it without success. He looked at Wanda and asked, "how the hell am I suppose to get in here?"
"That's your problem," she said. "I led you here and now you're on your own," and she left him.
Andre gave her a cursing look and turned back to the gate. He saw a little mechanical pad off to the side. He began to slowly run his thumb along it.
The pad suddenly buzzed and said, "access denied."
Andre backed away from the box. He looked down at Decapitron and said, "Decapitron short circuit this thing."
Decapitron nodded and let out a strong electrical current at the pad. It gave out a few electric volts and then shut down.
Andre reached for the gate and opened it slowly. He held it open for his puppets and then entered himself.
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Inside the institute Blade led Pinhead and Tunneler to the bottom of the staircase near the front door.
Suddenly the handle to the door began to move. The Puppets turned and watched the door open. Young Toulon entered the room with the other four puppets. He immediately saw Blade and the other two.
"You guys are here," he asked relieved. "Does that mean that Rogue is here?"
Blade nodded. Andre smiled at this fact. He then heard a screeching sound coming from the top of the stairs. He looked up and saw the creature that was sent by Suetek.
"Jesus Christ,' he yelled out in surprise. The creature ran away. Andre would have followed it, but he had difficulty going up stairs really fast.
He looked down at Blade and asked, "was that thing sent by Suetek?"
Blade nodded. "Oh perfect," Andre said angrily. "We've gotta get that thing before it gets Rogue. Pinhead, you and Six-shooter team up and search up those stairs. Torch you go with Tunneler and search to, and Decapitron, you'll go with Jester. I want you guys to go upstairs and split up into seperate groups. Blade I want you to show me which of these X-People is Rogue ok?"
They all nodded. "Let's move," said Andre. The other six puppets ran upstairs as Blade led Andre to the room that the X-Men were just in. When they arrived their the room was empty. "Where are they," young Toulon asked Blade. Blade shrugged. They both began running through the house looking for Rogue.
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Jean had separated from the other X-Men. She figured that they would be able to find the puppets quicker if they all had split up. She had received a mind probe from the Professor saying that the other students were looking as well. Now she was confident that the puppets would be found quickly.
Jean knew that these puppets wouldn't do them any harm, but she was just eager to find them again. Rogue seemed to be attached to these puppets for some reason, and she wanted to do this for her.
She heard a strange grumbling sound coming from her room. The red head opened her door slowly and entered. "Hello," she called. She then remembered the names that Rogue said the puppets had. "Tunneler, Pinhead? Are you guys in here?"
A sudden screech came from the top of her dresser. She turned around and saw the strange small creature standing on her dresser. The creature leapt onto her face and began to scratch her with it's sharp claws.
She began to scream as the thing clawed her. Jean let out a burst of her mind power and sent the creature flying across the room. It hit a wall and then landed on the floor motionless.
Jean knelt down holding her scratched up face. There were only three sets of scratches, but they had hurt so much.
She looked over at the creature on the floor. It instantly stood back up and attacked her once again. It's sharp claws dug into her chest.
The young girl tried to pull the creature away, but it was very strong for it's small size. The pain in her chest became immense and she blacked out.
Outside of the room young Andre heard the girl screaming. He ran into the room and saw the creature on her. "Hey," he yelled angrily and hit the thing off the girl with his cane.
The creature stood back up and lunged at the Puppet Master. Blade stood in its away and knocked it down with his hook. The creature stood up again.
It saw an open window and leapt out of it. Andre tried to catch it, but the thing was to quick. He watched as the creature landed on the ground and ran away.
Andre turned back to the girl on the ground. He knelt down beside her and turned to Blade, "is this Rogue?"
Blade shook his head. Andre was relieved by this, but was still concerned for the girl who ever she was. He felt the girls pulse. It was a slow steady beat.
The door to the room then slammed open and in walked Logan. He had heard the girl screaming and went to see what was wrong.
Andre stood and looked at the man in front of him. Logan looked from the boy to Jean bleeding on the floor.
"What did you do to her," the man asked angrily.
"What are you talking about," Andre asked. He then looked at his hands and saw that some of the girl's blood was on them. "Oh shit Look sir I had nothing to do with this here."
Logan let his claws out of his hands and said, "don't lye to me."
Andre jumped back at the sight of those claws. Logan jumped at the boy readying his blades. The boy dodged the attack and ran out the door, Blade followed close behind him.
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Rogue kept looking through the halls. She wanted to find the puppets quickly. She didn't know why she cared so much about them right now; she had not had them for very long.
Rogue heard a menacing laugh behind her. When she turned around she saw the puppet called Six-shooter standing behind her. She looked down at the little six-armed cowboy as he pulled out all six of his guns.
The puppet aimed his weapons at the girl, but before he could fire a small muscular arm extended in front of him.
Rogue saw Pinhead stand next to the puppet she hadn't seen yet. "Pinhead, do you know this guy," she asked. Pinhead nodded.
Rogue looked back at the little cowboy. She began to walk over to it. Just then young Toulon ran around the corner and crashed into the pale girl.
They both fell backwards and landed on the floor. Blade turned the corner as they fell.
Andre stood back up and looked down at the girl. Rogue looked up at him prepared to yell at who ever it was, but when she saw his face all she could say was, "oh mah God, It's you."
Andre said, "you can mean a lot of things lady," and then began to run again.
Rogue stood back up and said, "you're the Puppet Master."
Andre stopped and turned to the girl. "You know who I am?"
"Yeah," said Rogue. "Ah've been wondering when you were gonna find me ever since you sent these puppets to me."
Before Andre could say another word Logan rounded the corner with his extended claws. Andre took off again and Logan followed him.
Rogue yelled after the man, "Logan wait, he's the" but he was already gone.
Rogue looked down at the three puppets and said, "you guys stay here," and she ran after Logan.
Of course the puppets didn't listen to her. They ran down the hall, prepared to protect their master.
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Andre ran as fast as he could. He stopped when he came to the stairway that led to the entrance of the institute.
He began to run down them as quick as he could. His bad leg made it hard for him to keep his balance as he ran at that speed.
Soon his cane slipped out from under his hand and he fell the rest of the way down. As he hit the bottom he looked at his empty right hand.
He looked up and saw his snake headed cane near the top of the stairs. The boy dressed in black pulled himself to his feet as he saw Logan appear at the top of the stairs.
Andre began to hobble to the front door. When he was about five feet away he fell down once again. Logan ran down the stairs and stood in front of the fallen boy.
"Why did you attack that girl," he asked angrily.
"I didn't," said Andre as he stood back up.
Rogue arrived at the top of the stairs and saw what was happening. She heard Logan say, "if you didn't do it then explain why her blood is on your hands."
Rogue ran down the stairs as Andre said, "go screw yourself."
Logan was about to attack. Just as he began to lunge at the boy Rogue stood in his path and yelled, "no, Logan! Don't hurt him!"
Logan stopped and said, "what the hell's wrong with you Rogue? He attacked Jean."
"That wasn't me," said Andre. "The reason her blood is on my hands is because I was checking her to see if she was still alive, and luckily she is."
"How do I know your telling the truth," Logan said. His voice sounded very harsh.
"Please Logan," said Rogue, "don't hurt him. Just trust me here, he's not here to harm anyone."
Logan stood motionless. He wasn't sure whether he should trust this guy. Before he could make a decision he felt small hands grab him by the ankles.
He was pulled off balance and landed flat on his face. When he looked up he saw all the puppets standing in front of Rogue and Andre.
Blade and Decapitron stood side by side. Behind them were Torch, Pinhead, Jester, Tunneler, and Six-shooter.
They were ready to attack the man that would cause harm to their master. But before they could Andre said, "don't attack him. He was just protecting his friend."
The puppet's yielded their attack and walked back until they were next to their master. Rogue looked at all the new puppets in the institute. "Are their any more of these puppets," she asked Andre.
The boy just shook his head. Logan stood back up as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. When they turned around they saw Kitty and Amara coming towards them.
"What's going on down here," asked Kitty. She sounded very worried about something. "We found Jean unconscious in her room with these huge cuts in her face and chest. Then we heard you guys screaming down here."
"Is Jean all right," asked Logan.
"Yeah," said Amara, "Ororo and Hank took her to the infirmary. They're gonna stitch up her wounds."
They both looked behind Logan and saw the boy dressed in black standing behind them. Rogue was helping him keep his balance on his good leg. The boy said to them, "could one of you get my cane over there on the stairs?"
The girls didn't move, they just stood there starring at him. They then looked from the boy to the seven puppets on the floor.
Rogue shook her head and quickly got the cane for the boy. After she handed it to him he said, "now where is this infirmary?"
"Why do you want to know," Kitty finally spoke.
"Because the wounds on her body need to be treated in a specific way," said young Andre. "If they're not tended to properly then they won't heal."
"I'll show you there," said Logan, still in an untrusting voice. "But I'm not sure if the others will listen to you, I mean we don't know you at all."
Andre said, "well they will have to trust me." Logan was about to lead the way, but the boy stopped him. "First things first," he said and then turned to the three girl.
Rogue was standing next to Kitty and Amara. Andre asked, "which one of you is Rogue?"
The three girls were silent. Rogue looked at the boy and then stepped forward. "Ah'm Rogue."
The boy then looked at the girl as if he were observing her. He then said, "all right. I'm sure you have plenty of questions for me, but they will have to wait."
Then he followed Logan to the infirmary.
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All the X-Men were sitting in the living room. They had all learned about the presence of Andre and the other puppets in the institute after he had helped take care of Jean.
Now they all saw the puppets standing before them in the institute. They had learned their names quickly and Andre was about to explain to them what ever they wanted to know.
He paced, using his cane for support as he began. "I know you all probably have a lot you want to know about the puppets and myself. I'm just not quite sure where I should begin."
Rogue, who was sitting closest to the boy said, "how about telling us your name first."
The boy shrugged and said, "my name is Andre Toulon."
"That's impossible," Kurt interrupted, "Andre Toulon killed himself shortly after World War 2"
"I know," said Andre, "he was my grand father. I was named after him."
He then paused and looked at his puppets. He looked back at the X-Men and continued, "my grandfather Andre learned of a magic long ago that was stolen by a secret society that had pledge their allegiance to the demon lord Suetek. The magic formula had the ability to give life to inanimate figurines. Not just artificial life, real life and independent thought.
The magic also has the ability to bring people back from the dead, and if used correctly it can give any one everlasting life."
The X-Men sat with open mouths. "How is that possible," Hank asked.
"I don't know," said Andre. He changed the subject, "Suetek has been trying for centuries to get back the magic that was stolen from him. He was bent on my grandfather's death, and the death of all the people he cared for. The secret of my grandfather's puppets has been past down to many people over the years until finally it made its way back to me. Unfortunately Suetek knows I have it now. He and his watchers, his followers, will stop at nothing to get it from me."
"Well, if Suetek knows where you are then why hasn't he come after you yet," asked Ororo. All the X-Men were very interested in his story now.
"Because in a way he is trapped," said Andre. "He was imprisoned in a cavern deep below the center of the Earth. His followers and he can come up only if they posses their Totems Totems are like puppets made of flesh and blood, however they have no life of their own. The only way they can be given life is if possessed by Suetek or his Watchers. That was the thing that attacked your friend Jean."
The X-Men had a look of fear in their eyes, except for Bobby. "Right," he said, "you know this is really hard to believe. I mean I can see that these puppets move, but come on. Magic and some weird ancient society run by a demon."
Rogue looked angrily at Bobby and said, "will you shut up. Ah now this is hard to believe, but stillAh want to hear this." The young Goth knew that she played some sort of roll in this whole thing with the puppets and Suetek. Why else would Andre and the Puppets be looking for her.
Andre continued once again. "The only way the Totems can move without being possessed is if they are given the formula that gives my puppets life. But that isn't the main reason why Suetek is after me. He wants to use the magic for his own immortality."
"Wait a minute," Kitty interrupted, "if this guy Suetek is like, a demon why does he need this formula to live forever?"
"Well, it's true that Suetek is a demon," Andre answered, "but he isn't immortal for some strange reason. He has been able to keep himself alive for so long because of his own little spells and elixirs that he created himself, but they don't give him life for very long. He must take them every so often. But with the formula stolen by my grand father he would only have to take it every half century. And also if he were to get the formula and give his Totems life, they would be able to release Suetek from his prison deep below the Earth."
Andre sighed and said, "I have been able to stay hidden from Suetek until now. Unfortunately he isn't the only one after the magic."
"What do you mean he's not the only one," asked Scott. He leaned forward in his chair.
Andre said, "before I was born my father had found the Puppets in the Bodega Bay in where my grandfather had shot himself. He had found them with a "friend" of his whose name was Vonce. My dad was planing on taking the puppets with him, but sadly that wasn't the case."
Andre began to sound angry, "it turned out that Vonce was the member of a strange demonic cult called the Hanzain Cult. I have no idea what Hanzain means and I don't care. The cult had been looking for the puppets for such a long time. They wanted to know the formula for their own cruel intentions. My father left the puppets hidden in the Bodega Bay in. Shortly after he married my mother he retrieved them again without Vonce's knowledge."
The X-Men were silent for quiet some time after Andre finished his tale. The boy obviously had a lot of responsibility even at such a young age.
Rogue finally broke the long silence. "Andre, before you explain anything else, or before any one else asks you any questions, there is one thing Ah have to know. What do Ah have to do with this whole thing? Why have you been looking for me?"
Andre turned to her and said, "you should know Rogue."
"Well Ah don't," she said a little more harshly.
"What do you mean you don't know," said Andre. "You were suppose to have been told about me and about the puppets when you turned five."
"Ah don't know what you're talking about," said Rogue.
Andre gave and angry groan and said, "your weren't told anything? God damn it, looks like grandpa Toulon was right about Mystique, she couldn't be trusted."
Rogue's eyes turned wide, "wait, you know Mystique? And you know that Ah was left with her?" She spoke with so much shock in her voice.
"Why wouldn't I," said Andre, "It was our grand father's idea for you to be left with her even though he didn't quit trust her."
Rogue spoke even more surprised, "what do you mean our grand father?"
Andre gave a sigh and looked down at his puppets. They all nodded to him. He turned back to Rogue and said, "now listen Rogue, what I'm about to tell you will probably come as quite a shock to you. But"
Rogue interrupted, "WILL YOU JUST TELL ME ALREADY!!!!"
The other X-Men jumped at the sudden raise in Rogue's voice. She had yelled loudly before, but never that loud.
Andre took a deep breath and said, "ok, here it comes I'm your brother Rogue."
The young Goth stood with both her eyes and mouth wide open. She had just met this boy, and he said he was her brother. The only word that came out of Rogue's mouth after that was, "what?"
"I'm your brother," said Andre, "your twin brother, we may not be identical, but we are twins. You are a part of the Toulon family Rogue. Your name is Rogue Toulon."
Rogue didn't no what to say. She didn't no whether to be happy, angry, or even confused. Those words just seemed to echo in her mind. "I'm your brother Rogue." They had hit her like a bag of hammers.
The other X-Men were just as effected by this news as Rogue was. They had hoped that the Goth would have found her family, but they didn't know she was related to a man who held such a great secret.
Rogue suddenly felt very dizzy. She began to stumble a little. The information she just received was too much for her to handle right now. She suddenly passed out.
Logan quickly caught her so she didn't hit the floor. The other X-Men stood around her to make sure she was ok.
Andre said, "I knew I shouldn't have just blurted it out like that." He walked up to the now unconscious Rogue and asked, "is she gonna be alright?"
The Professor looked at him and said, "she'll be fine. I guess she just couldn't really handle what you just told her and she blacked out."
"Wait," said Kurt, "are you saying Rogue just fainted?"
Xavier nodded. Both Kurt and Kitty began to chuckle a little. They never thought Rogue was the kind of person who fainted.
They stopped laughing when they saw Andre giving them an angry look. The puppets stood by and watched as Logan carefully took their master's sister out of the room.