A/N: How's this for a quick update (jeez, it was only 2 months!)? And for a little action? And what about that killer ending? Tell me what you think!! And no, it's not (just) going to be a Sinister story. That would be way too easy for our heroes.
Jean screamed. It echoed through the house, bringing Marie running from the kitchen and Remy running from the basement. The sounded reverberated off the high ceilings and seemed to sound for an eternity. Remy was calling her name, but didn't get an answer. As harsh as the sound that filled the house was, the silence that came after was far more potent.
"Remy, she's in here!" Marie yelled, lifting the young girl's head up. The office door had been ajar. The chair was turned over and Jean lay in a heap at the desk. Marie felt for a pulse and was relieved when her eyes began to flutter. "Jean?"
Remy burst into the room. "Jeannie? Are you okay?"
"I would be better if you stopped yelling," she muttered. "Scott?!" She tried to stand, failing miserably as her legs refused to comply.
"Where is he?" Marie asked, just noticing his absence.
"I don't know. Hurt…" Jean said, wearily lying back down against Marie. She couldn't stop the tears that coursed down he cheeks. "Remy, find him please."
He was torn. He didn't want to leave his sister, but on the other hand, he did want to help Scott. The turning back and forth made it look like he was performing some strange dance.
Go, now! It was not a tone to be questioned.
Remy went.
Logan looked down disdainfully at the arms they were carrying. They were doing this the easy way. There is nothing that screams inept, coward, and amateur like using guns and bombs. There's no finesse when you leave a bigger mess than necessary.
Creed didn't like it either. He had already been denied the chance to slice and dice, but now it was a grab and blow situation. They weren't even supposed to hang around to see the mess.
They worked silently, placing the explosives around the property. The house was strangely quiet and still, yet they had to be inside. Logan and Victor had been watching the house for several hours, and they hadn't seen anyone leave.
"Just remember, grab the boy and the girl. The others are expendable," Logan said, looking through the binoculars for the inhabitant's position.
Remy found Scott passed out in the bathroom, a small cut on his forehead where he hit the sink when he fell.
"Scott!" he yelled, checking for vital signs. A pulse beat strong and Scott breathed easily. But he didn't answer. Remy wasn't sure what to do next. He heard you weren't supposed to move people with head injuries, but surely a bump on the head was okay, right?
He's unconscious. Just stay there with him. Jean said.
Are you all right? Remy asked, folding the bath mat into a pillow.
Yeah. Marie and I will be up there in a second. Just as Jean said that, Scott let out a low moan.
"The girl's are in the 2nd room, left side. The boys are in the west bathroom," Logan said. "One of each is on the ground. Let's hit them while they're weak."
"Let's go!" Creed said, jumping up and stalking to the house. Logan shook his head and headed towards the back door. Time to earn that paycheck – and a little revenge.
"Ugh," Scott said, willing the pain to go away. He wished that he would have stayed asleep. The bed was awfully cold and hard. Surely that wasn't right.
"Scott, are you okay?" Remy asked, peering down at him. He turned to grab a towel to clean the blood off his head.
"Yeah. I feel like I've been hit with a Mack truck, though." He rubbed his eyes in slow circles. It was bright from beneath his lids. He wasn't sure he wanted to open his eyes.
Logan broke into the house with ease. Apparently the thieves didn't worry about anyone breaking in on them. He listened carefully and heard Victor on the stairs. Logan picked up his pace. If they did this correctly, they would follow each other out the door, one little brat in tow each.
On the landing, they could see shadows in the room the girls were in. Logan headed that way and pointed Victor towards the bathroom.
"I'm okay!" Jean said, exasperated. Marie was – hovering. She just wanted to make sure Scott was okay. The pain he felt was still vibrating in her head. In fact, she still couldn't sense anything or anybody yet. Still, something felt strange. She cocked the head to the side, listening.
Marie looked at her, and then did the same. A floorboard creaked. She knew it wasn't Scott or Remy. She immediately pushed Jean towards the closet.
"You're in no shape for trouble. Stay here and stay quiet." Marie's tone brooked no argument. Jean didn't even try; she closed the door and cried out to Remy in warning.
Which is why he was ready when Victor burst into the room. Unfortunately, there wasn't much room to maneuver, and Scott was positioned right in the way. Remy was severely over-muscled. And then Scott evened the odds. He opened his eyes.
Jean could hear Marie in the hall, and it didn't sound good. Even though she had been trained at the Institute, it was Logan who had taught her all her best moves. It was Logan who knew her style, her strength, and her weaknesses. Marie was out of breath and out of time.
Then the blast ripped through the house.
"What the fuck…!" Victor yelled as he was slammed into the far wall. Red beams shot out of Scott's eyes and propelled Creed across the room. Scott yelled in surprise-pain-fear. He looked around wildly, seeing nothing but a room blurred in a blinding red. He heard the crashes and explosion as his line of vision ripped through stone, wood, and brick. He heard the girls yelling in the distant, he heard Remy swearing behind him, he heard a prayer run through his mind over and over again.
"Fuck, Scott! Close your eyes!" Remy yelled, diving to the side as Scott looked towards his voice. That finally got through. The ensuing silence after the dust settled was vast. Victor was struggling to his feet, Remy was trying to catch his breath and Scott was afraid to move. In the other room, Marie was coughing in the doorway, watching helpless as Logan dragged a dazed Jean from the closet. Logan didn't even seem fazed.
"Creed! Let's go!" His mind was too chaotic for Jean to penetrate. Just a glimpse here and there was all that was visible to her.
Please, stop him, Jean thought, hoping somebody would hear her.
Victor had his attention on the boy. He didn't notice (or care) when Scott ran out the door, slamming into walls or debris. Remy picked up a good sized rock and tossed it from hand to hand. Then it began to glow pink.
"You think you're little rock is going to stop me?" Creed growled, advancing steadily.
Logan couldn't wait very much longer for Creed to show up. Scott was blowing things up left and right as he staggered towards them.
"Hey, you better stop that! Yer gonna hit the girl!" Scott paused, but only for a moment. It was in that moment Creed blasted through the window. Without Remy. Logan wasted no time in dragging Jean to the van. "Just wait. When we leave this place, we're gonna blow it sky high, and your little friends won't no what hit them."
He obviously didn't know her powers. Jean quickly told Remy and Marie to get out of the house. And to stay out of the way of Victor, who was running to catch up. He musta known that Logan would leave him behind with no regrets. Scott was gaining on them, too. Jean tried to help him by showing him the way, but Logan wasn't making it easy to see.
She couldn't make him stop, she couldn't get away, and she couldn't count on anyone else to help her out. Yes, things did not look good for our Jeannie.
"Get in the damn car!" Logan shouted to Creed while he dumped the girl in the back.
'He's almost here!' Jean thought, watching Scott run straight towards her.
"I didn't grab the boy!" Creed yelled, sounding both disappointed and ashamed. Logan shook his head.
"It's okay. That one will do." He quickly injected Jean with a green fluid and did the same to Scott as he reached the van.
Remy and Marie stood leaning against each other as they watched the van turn the corner. It wasn't until they heard a soft hissing that they realized they better get the hell out of the way. Suddenly, their wounds didn't matter and the fatigue melted from their bones. The house turned to blaze and they could only watch the last semblance of normalcy turn to black.
They did what was expected of them. They limped down the street after the van, one foot in front of the other, wiping the blood out of their eyes. This time they did it hand in hand.