What's that? The X-Men don't belong to me? *gasp*
A/N: SOOOO much thanks to Joe (FightingKirbys).yay! His character is here!
Cold. Shadowy. Evil. The sound of machinery whirred in the distance. Voices echoed against the cave walls. A lone dark figure sat in an ornate throne, positioned on a platform above the main floor. The figure brooded, eyes piercing the souls of the men below.
She goes by the name Dysis, though many of the men fear to utter her name. She is as beautiful as she is evil, and many underestimate her for her youth. Her power seems nearly infinite; control over the elements of earth, wind, fire, water, and emotion. Her great power has also given her great wealth and she has built her magnificent fortress in the depths of the Catskill Mountains. She has also been able to privately fund what she considers her hobby, genetic engineering. Many of the men below her were clones of her original dozen or so minions. Without moving, she finally addressed them.
"You will capture him. You will bring him back alive. Use any means necessary but he must be returned to me alive or I will restructure your DNA while you scream for mercy."
The leader of the group stepped forward and nodded. "It will be done, milady."
With that, Dysis' men exited the cavern and headed out on their mission. Dysis sat in thought for a moment, then stood up as she summoned a gust of wind to carry her down one of the many corridors. She soon arrived in a large room that looked nothing like her main hall. It was brightly lit, with computers, machinery, and tables situated throughout. She walked over to a large tank, filled with a green, bubbling liquid. A male in his early twenties, floated lifelessly inside. A breathing device was strapped to his head, and several tubes attached to his body. Dysis smiled and touched the glass thoughtfully. She had met Simon Leavy in Manhattan not long ago. A gang was giving him trouble, and she remembers smiling at how mercilessly Simon had destroyed them. His powers seemed purely for defense; crystallized formations on his body that were nearly unbreakable. After watching him for some time, she hoped she could utilize this power, and turn him into something more. It pleased her when she found out that Simon was willing to take part in the experiment. Something about him seemed special to her, and she wanted him to reach his full potential. For now, she was satisfied with furthering her scientific studies.
"My first successful genetic alteration on a mutant," she smiled. "What horrors will you wrought upon the world? Do not fail me.Fatalis."
----------********----------
"Are you sure you won't come with us, Lizzy?" Rebecca pleaded with her friend.
"I'd really like to Becca, but I'm on duty in the Com Room in a little while. I don't want to accidentally be late," Liz sadly replied. She glanced up at Pip who looked equally disappointed that she wouldn't be joining them.
"Well, ye can't skip out on yuir duties. We'll do it again real soon though." Pip rubbed her shoulder and smiled.
"You're going to hold down the fort, right Liz?" Dinah spoke in a commanding tone, which made Liz smile. Jack briefly glanced at Dinah, then looked away muttering to himself.
"Yes m'am," Liz saluted.
"Don't worry, ah'll keep them outta trouble," Jack broke in, accenting on the reference to himself.
They said their goodbyes and Dinah, Pip, Rebecca, and Jack headed towards the garage. Jack climbed into the driver's seat of a bright red, Shelby cobra and fired up the engine. Rebecca and Dinah both rolled their eyes, while Pip's eye's lit up at the sight of the beautiful piece of engineering. They climbed in and headed towards New York City.
The drive took about an hour and Jack soon found a place to park. The group of four commenced wandering the streets of New York, enjoying the sights and sounds of the culture. Rebecca and Dinah visited the American Museum of Natural History for the first time, and marveled at the collections of prehistoric animals. Jack and Pip wandered through Central Park and conveniently ended up in FAO Schwartz. Rebecca and Dinah had to conveniently drag them away from the toys and candy.
----------********----------
An old man in a long, black trench coat stood leaning heavily on a cane in an alley facing eight young men. They too, wore black but also carried ropes, knives, and several other small weapons. The old man was tall and thin, yet still muscular. His eyes were very dark and looked almost black except for a ring of brown around the edge of the iris. One of the gang members stepped towards the old man and held up his knife to him.
"We've got a friend who's taken a real interest in you. It's a shame that we can't kill you.she's made it clear that she wants you alive." The young man continued forward, but the old man held his ground.
"It is most unfortunate for your lady friend, that I will not be joining you this evening." The old man smiled.
"I don't think you understand. She wants you, and she's gonna get you."
The old man shrugged and remained where he was.
Meanwhile, down the street, Dinah, Rebecca, Jack, and Pip continued to wander the streets of New York. They were talking amongst themselves, when Dinah suddenly stopped. Rebecca turned around and gave her a questioning look, but Dinah held up a hand to quiet her.
"I hear something."
The others stopped and looked around their surroundings. A noise like something large hitting a wall caught Jack's attention. He teleported himself and the others up the street to an alley where the noise originated from.
Several young men where harassing a much older man. The old man staggered away from the wall, but a thug shoved him back against it.
"We have to help him." Dinah began to step forward, but Jack put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her back. She jerked away and looked back towards the alley.
The old man got his bearings and stood his ground again. Another man charged at him. The old man flipped his cane so the bottom was in his hand and hooked the loop around the attacker's ankle. The thug hit the ground hard, cracking his head on the pavement.
Pip raised his eyebrows. "Which one are we supposed to be 'elping?"
The thugs were growing angrier by the minute and began to swarm the old man. Dinah gave a silent nod and the X-Tremes entered the fight. The old man used his cane to disarm his opponents and thrust the curve of the cane towards the thugs to knock them back. Bright flashes of red light caught his attention and he watched as sticks of energy were thrown into a thug and exploded on impact. The man was thrown clear across the alley from the explosion of dynamite. The old man turned his attention to the leader of the group, who now advanced on him. Dinah meanwhile, turned and noticed the man in the trench coat fighting - though he was clearly many years older, his movements were sharp and quick, almost as if he knew the punches his opponent was going to throw, even before the opponent did.
By now, the thugs had noticed that there were more mutants to deal with. Only the leader remained to attack the old man. One went straight for Rebecca and grabbed her by the arm. He gripped tightly and spun her around to face him.
"Hey there, beautiful."
Rebecca responded with a purple energy ball to his face. The force knocked him off her, and she charged up another ball. The man stood up and brandished his knife. She ducked as he swung at her and threw the energy ball into his midsection. Rebecca glanced to her right and watched as Jack jumped and kicked a thug in the jaw. She saw him blink out of sight, then reappear on the other side of the thug and kick him in the spine. She looked to her left and saw Pip duck below two thugs that charged at him. The men he was fighting were large and powerful, but they were also very slow. He continued to duck underneath their punches and land a few of his own. Finally, one of them came after Pip with a spiked club. He swung it at his head, but Pip quickly held out his hand and slowed the movement of the weapon. He glanced at Rebecca as she tossed another purple ball, then smiled as he ducked and the club swung at its normal speed into the other thug's face. Pip straightened and grinned at the hoodlum with the club. He drew back quickly and punched him in the nose causing the thug to bend forward. With a chop to his exposed neck, the pathetic sap fell to the ground unconscious.
Jack crouched down slightly and glared at the last attacker. The adversary stood where he was and stared straight at Jack. Jack began to grow uncomfortable under the gaze, and the thug noticed this. Jack grew impatient and angry as his movements continued to be studied. He leapt up and charged at the thug. The opponent ducked down and used Jack's momentum to toss him off balance and land flat on the ground behind him. Jack lay on the ground for a moment.
"What the hell.?"
He shook his head and jumped up. Jack backed up a bit, and then crossed over closer to his opponent. The rival stood just as he had before, observing Jack's movements. Again, Jack attacked first by swinging his fist at the thug's head. The thug easily ducked and returned the punch. Jack continued with his spin, and though the punch caught him in the side, he was able to bring his knee up hard into the thug' jaw. They both backed off for a moment, then Jack teleported behind the thug and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. The man struggled for a moment and grunted as Jack pushed his arm to the breaking point and forced him down. Jack grinned, but the thug surprised him. He slammed his head back into Jack's nose. There was a crack and Jack immediately let go and covered his bleeding nose.
The old man had been kicking and beating at the leader back for a while now, but he was growing tired. The leader of the gang noticed this and smiled to himself. He pulled out his knife and held it up to the man.
"I'm getting really tired of this, buddy. How about you just come with us quietly and avoid any more trouble, okay?"
"I will not be taken anywhere." The old man spoke firmly. The gang leader glared at him and took another step forward.
"You're making this a lot harder than it has to be." The leader took another step forward. He held the knife at the old man's stomach. "Come with us now."
Jack wiped the blood off his face and glared at the gang member through slightly swollen eyes. The thug stood back up and rubbed at his arm slightly. Jack's anger got the best of him and he ran towards the thug, then teleported in mid-leap. He reappeared just in front of the gang member and he received the full force of Jack's attack.
The old man glared at the leader. "I will n.AUGH!" The last gang member flew backwards into the old man. As he was knocked forward, the leader stiffened his arm and his grip on the knife, instinctively preparing for impact. The knife went deep into the old man's stomach and the leader felt warm blood cover his hand. Everyone who was standing immediately stopped and looked in the direction of the old man and the leader. The gang leader let go of the knife and backed up, trembling. The old man covered his stomach with his hand, his eyes wide.
"Oh no.oh God no." Dinah rushed over to the old man. He still stood, but did not appear to notice her. She looked into his eyes, which were full of fear, but she was distracted by a sound from behind her. She turned around just in time to see Jack tackle the gang leader and slam him into the wall.
"What the hell do you think you're doin', attackin' some old guy?"
"Jack! Get off him, he's not our concern at the moment." Dinah glared at her teammate.
"Look, obviously you don't know how to handle this." Jack glared back.
"Get off him now." Anger flashed in Dinah's eyes. She held her temper in check and returned her attention to the old man.
"This man needs medical attention. Pip, can you call and see." she stopped mid-sentence as she saw the expressions on her friend's faces. She turned and watched in surprise as the old man had turned around and stared at the man that had been kicked into him. The air surrounding them almost looked like it was water as it flowed and rippled. The old man's eyes glowed slightly as the rippling slowed and dispersed. His eyes stopped glowing but now looked blank and dead. The lifeless body fell to the ground. Dinah rushed over and checked for a pulse, but found none. She sighed and looked at the ground, then watched with curiosity as the younger man on the ground stood up. His eyes glowed for a moment, then returned to normal. Dinah squinted at his face, and realized that this man now had the same eyes as the man she was crouched over.
"You.you're a mutant aren't you?" Dinah said softly as he stood up and slowly walked over to him.
He backed away from her and looked frantically around at his surroundings.
"Where.who." The stress from being hit so hard still affected the body, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Dinah went over to him, and called over her friends.
"Jack, teleport us back to the car. Rebecca, call ahead to the mansion and see if they can pick us up on the way. Pip, help me with him."
Pip lifted up the younger man's body, and Dinah held on to the older man's body. Jack concentrated and they all disappeared and reappeared next to the cobra. They carefully placed the bodies in and headed on their way back towards Salem Center.
"C'mon.somebody pick up.Hello? Hank? It's Rebecca. Look, we got into some trouble and we need someone to come out here and pick us up. Yeah.yeah.it's a medical emergency. Ok.the cobra.ok.thanks Hank." Rebecca clicked off the cell phone.
"Someone's gonna swing by, pick up these guys and probably Dinah, then the rest of us will drive back on our own."
Dinah nodded. "Alright. Pip, drive as fast as you can, but cautiously. Jack.next time, you play by my rules."
"What are you talking about?" "Jack looked at her through swollen eyes.
"You got reckless again. You hold some responsibility for this man's death. I realize it was an accident, but there are such things as too many accidents."
"Look, I don't why you think you can go off and tell me I don't know what I'm doing. Liz wasn't here to back you up, so I picked up the slack."
"So now you're going to blame this on Liz?"
Pip glanced back at Jack through the rear view mirror.
"No! I'm just saying."
"Look, we'll talk about it later. Right now we've got bigger problems to deal with."
Several minutes passed in a tense silence. Soon, the sound of the Blackbird could be heard in the distance.
A/N: SOOOO much thanks to Joe (FightingKirbys).yay! His character is here!
Cold. Shadowy. Evil. The sound of machinery whirred in the distance. Voices echoed against the cave walls. A lone dark figure sat in an ornate throne, positioned on a platform above the main floor. The figure brooded, eyes piercing the souls of the men below.
She goes by the name Dysis, though many of the men fear to utter her name. She is as beautiful as she is evil, and many underestimate her for her youth. Her power seems nearly infinite; control over the elements of earth, wind, fire, water, and emotion. Her great power has also given her great wealth and she has built her magnificent fortress in the depths of the Catskill Mountains. She has also been able to privately fund what she considers her hobby, genetic engineering. Many of the men below her were clones of her original dozen or so minions. Without moving, she finally addressed them.
"You will capture him. You will bring him back alive. Use any means necessary but he must be returned to me alive or I will restructure your DNA while you scream for mercy."
The leader of the group stepped forward and nodded. "It will be done, milady."
With that, Dysis' men exited the cavern and headed out on their mission. Dysis sat in thought for a moment, then stood up as she summoned a gust of wind to carry her down one of the many corridors. She soon arrived in a large room that looked nothing like her main hall. It was brightly lit, with computers, machinery, and tables situated throughout. She walked over to a large tank, filled with a green, bubbling liquid. A male in his early twenties, floated lifelessly inside. A breathing device was strapped to his head, and several tubes attached to his body. Dysis smiled and touched the glass thoughtfully. She had met Simon Leavy in Manhattan not long ago. A gang was giving him trouble, and she remembers smiling at how mercilessly Simon had destroyed them. His powers seemed purely for defense; crystallized formations on his body that were nearly unbreakable. After watching him for some time, she hoped she could utilize this power, and turn him into something more. It pleased her when she found out that Simon was willing to take part in the experiment. Something about him seemed special to her, and she wanted him to reach his full potential. For now, she was satisfied with furthering her scientific studies.
"My first successful genetic alteration on a mutant," she smiled. "What horrors will you wrought upon the world? Do not fail me.Fatalis."
----------********----------
"Are you sure you won't come with us, Lizzy?" Rebecca pleaded with her friend.
"I'd really like to Becca, but I'm on duty in the Com Room in a little while. I don't want to accidentally be late," Liz sadly replied. She glanced up at Pip who looked equally disappointed that she wouldn't be joining them.
"Well, ye can't skip out on yuir duties. We'll do it again real soon though." Pip rubbed her shoulder and smiled.
"You're going to hold down the fort, right Liz?" Dinah spoke in a commanding tone, which made Liz smile. Jack briefly glanced at Dinah, then looked away muttering to himself.
"Yes m'am," Liz saluted.
"Don't worry, ah'll keep them outta trouble," Jack broke in, accenting on the reference to himself.
They said their goodbyes and Dinah, Pip, Rebecca, and Jack headed towards the garage. Jack climbed into the driver's seat of a bright red, Shelby cobra and fired up the engine. Rebecca and Dinah both rolled their eyes, while Pip's eye's lit up at the sight of the beautiful piece of engineering. They climbed in and headed towards New York City.
The drive took about an hour and Jack soon found a place to park. The group of four commenced wandering the streets of New York, enjoying the sights and sounds of the culture. Rebecca and Dinah visited the American Museum of Natural History for the first time, and marveled at the collections of prehistoric animals. Jack and Pip wandered through Central Park and conveniently ended up in FAO Schwartz. Rebecca and Dinah had to conveniently drag them away from the toys and candy.
----------********----------
An old man in a long, black trench coat stood leaning heavily on a cane in an alley facing eight young men. They too, wore black but also carried ropes, knives, and several other small weapons. The old man was tall and thin, yet still muscular. His eyes were very dark and looked almost black except for a ring of brown around the edge of the iris. One of the gang members stepped towards the old man and held up his knife to him.
"We've got a friend who's taken a real interest in you. It's a shame that we can't kill you.she's made it clear that she wants you alive." The young man continued forward, but the old man held his ground.
"It is most unfortunate for your lady friend, that I will not be joining you this evening." The old man smiled.
"I don't think you understand. She wants you, and she's gonna get you."
The old man shrugged and remained where he was.
Meanwhile, down the street, Dinah, Rebecca, Jack, and Pip continued to wander the streets of New York. They were talking amongst themselves, when Dinah suddenly stopped. Rebecca turned around and gave her a questioning look, but Dinah held up a hand to quiet her.
"I hear something."
The others stopped and looked around their surroundings. A noise like something large hitting a wall caught Jack's attention. He teleported himself and the others up the street to an alley where the noise originated from.
Several young men where harassing a much older man. The old man staggered away from the wall, but a thug shoved him back against it.
"We have to help him." Dinah began to step forward, but Jack put a hand on her shoulder, keeping her back. She jerked away and looked back towards the alley.
The old man got his bearings and stood his ground again. Another man charged at him. The old man flipped his cane so the bottom was in his hand and hooked the loop around the attacker's ankle. The thug hit the ground hard, cracking his head on the pavement.
Pip raised his eyebrows. "Which one are we supposed to be 'elping?"
The thugs were growing angrier by the minute and began to swarm the old man. Dinah gave a silent nod and the X-Tremes entered the fight. The old man used his cane to disarm his opponents and thrust the curve of the cane towards the thugs to knock them back. Bright flashes of red light caught his attention and he watched as sticks of energy were thrown into a thug and exploded on impact. The man was thrown clear across the alley from the explosion of dynamite. The old man turned his attention to the leader of the group, who now advanced on him. Dinah meanwhile, turned and noticed the man in the trench coat fighting - though he was clearly many years older, his movements were sharp and quick, almost as if he knew the punches his opponent was going to throw, even before the opponent did.
By now, the thugs had noticed that there were more mutants to deal with. Only the leader remained to attack the old man. One went straight for Rebecca and grabbed her by the arm. He gripped tightly and spun her around to face him.
"Hey there, beautiful."
Rebecca responded with a purple energy ball to his face. The force knocked him off her, and she charged up another ball. The man stood up and brandished his knife. She ducked as he swung at her and threw the energy ball into his midsection. Rebecca glanced to her right and watched as Jack jumped and kicked a thug in the jaw. She saw him blink out of sight, then reappear on the other side of the thug and kick him in the spine. She looked to her left and saw Pip duck below two thugs that charged at him. The men he was fighting were large and powerful, but they were also very slow. He continued to duck underneath their punches and land a few of his own. Finally, one of them came after Pip with a spiked club. He swung it at his head, but Pip quickly held out his hand and slowed the movement of the weapon. He glanced at Rebecca as she tossed another purple ball, then smiled as he ducked and the club swung at its normal speed into the other thug's face. Pip straightened and grinned at the hoodlum with the club. He drew back quickly and punched him in the nose causing the thug to bend forward. With a chop to his exposed neck, the pathetic sap fell to the ground unconscious.
Jack crouched down slightly and glared at the last attacker. The adversary stood where he was and stared straight at Jack. Jack began to grow uncomfortable under the gaze, and the thug noticed this. Jack grew impatient and angry as his movements continued to be studied. He leapt up and charged at the thug. The opponent ducked down and used Jack's momentum to toss him off balance and land flat on the ground behind him. Jack lay on the ground for a moment.
"What the hell.?"
He shook his head and jumped up. Jack backed up a bit, and then crossed over closer to his opponent. The rival stood just as he had before, observing Jack's movements. Again, Jack attacked first by swinging his fist at the thug's head. The thug easily ducked and returned the punch. Jack continued with his spin, and though the punch caught him in the side, he was able to bring his knee up hard into the thug' jaw. They both backed off for a moment, then Jack teleported behind the thug and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back. The man struggled for a moment and grunted as Jack pushed his arm to the breaking point and forced him down. Jack grinned, but the thug surprised him. He slammed his head back into Jack's nose. There was a crack and Jack immediately let go and covered his bleeding nose.
The old man had been kicking and beating at the leader back for a while now, but he was growing tired. The leader of the gang noticed this and smiled to himself. He pulled out his knife and held it up to the man.
"I'm getting really tired of this, buddy. How about you just come with us quietly and avoid any more trouble, okay?"
"I will not be taken anywhere." The old man spoke firmly. The gang leader glared at him and took another step forward.
"You're making this a lot harder than it has to be." The leader took another step forward. He held the knife at the old man's stomach. "Come with us now."
Jack wiped the blood off his face and glared at the gang member through slightly swollen eyes. The thug stood back up and rubbed at his arm slightly. Jack's anger got the best of him and he ran towards the thug, then teleported in mid-leap. He reappeared just in front of the gang member and he received the full force of Jack's attack.
The old man glared at the leader. "I will n.AUGH!" The last gang member flew backwards into the old man. As he was knocked forward, the leader stiffened his arm and his grip on the knife, instinctively preparing for impact. The knife went deep into the old man's stomach and the leader felt warm blood cover his hand. Everyone who was standing immediately stopped and looked in the direction of the old man and the leader. The gang leader let go of the knife and backed up, trembling. The old man covered his stomach with his hand, his eyes wide.
"Oh no.oh God no." Dinah rushed over to the old man. He still stood, but did not appear to notice her. She looked into his eyes, which were full of fear, but she was distracted by a sound from behind her. She turned around just in time to see Jack tackle the gang leader and slam him into the wall.
"What the hell do you think you're doin', attackin' some old guy?"
"Jack! Get off him, he's not our concern at the moment." Dinah glared at her teammate.
"Look, obviously you don't know how to handle this." Jack glared back.
"Get off him now." Anger flashed in Dinah's eyes. She held her temper in check and returned her attention to the old man.
"This man needs medical attention. Pip, can you call and see." she stopped mid-sentence as she saw the expressions on her friend's faces. She turned and watched in surprise as the old man had turned around and stared at the man that had been kicked into him. The air surrounding them almost looked like it was water as it flowed and rippled. The old man's eyes glowed slightly as the rippling slowed and dispersed. His eyes stopped glowing but now looked blank and dead. The lifeless body fell to the ground. Dinah rushed over and checked for a pulse, but found none. She sighed and looked at the ground, then watched with curiosity as the younger man on the ground stood up. His eyes glowed for a moment, then returned to normal. Dinah squinted at his face, and realized that this man now had the same eyes as the man she was crouched over.
"You.you're a mutant aren't you?" Dinah said softly as he stood up and slowly walked over to him.
He backed away from her and looked frantically around at his surroundings.
"Where.who." The stress from being hit so hard still affected the body, and he fell to the ground, unconscious. Dinah went over to him, and called over her friends.
"Jack, teleport us back to the car. Rebecca, call ahead to the mansion and see if they can pick us up on the way. Pip, help me with him."
Pip lifted up the younger man's body, and Dinah held on to the older man's body. Jack concentrated and they all disappeared and reappeared next to the cobra. They carefully placed the bodies in and headed on their way back towards Salem Center.
"C'mon.somebody pick up.Hello? Hank? It's Rebecca. Look, we got into some trouble and we need someone to come out here and pick us up. Yeah.yeah.it's a medical emergency. Ok.the cobra.ok.thanks Hank." Rebecca clicked off the cell phone.
"Someone's gonna swing by, pick up these guys and probably Dinah, then the rest of us will drive back on our own."
Dinah nodded. "Alright. Pip, drive as fast as you can, but cautiously. Jack.next time, you play by my rules."
"What are you talking about?" "Jack looked at her through swollen eyes.
"You got reckless again. You hold some responsibility for this man's death. I realize it was an accident, but there are such things as too many accidents."
"Look, I don't why you think you can go off and tell me I don't know what I'm doing. Liz wasn't here to back you up, so I picked up the slack."
"So now you're going to blame this on Liz?"
Pip glanced back at Jack through the rear view mirror.
"No! I'm just saying."
"Look, we'll talk about it later. Right now we've got bigger problems to deal with."
Several minutes passed in a tense silence. Soon, the sound of the Blackbird could be heard in the distance.