A/N ~ Many thanks to everyone for the support and comments. I hate ranting, so I try to stay away from it where I can, but it's nice to know I didn't drive everyone away by going off on one like that. So a big thank you to Makura Koneko, Ambrosia (I was wondering where you went; glad to see you're still with us ^_^ ), UnknownSource, Krazy Xanadu, Yma, Remedy=Chill and *B. May the Good Luck Bunny knock at your doors.
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Eighteenth Fragment ~ Fade
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"Water," Ariel called tiredly. "Clean water for trade."
The morning crowd had gone, and it was raining. That was bad for business. On wet days people set out all their pots and pans and took the water for free. There was generally quite a bit of bucket stealing, too. In the end, a lot of perfectly good water wound up sloshed across the street.
Well, he would pick that up later, and demand food or money for it. In the meantime, he had to defend his barrels against over-zealous thieves.
He looked dolefully at the wet streets... and suddenly had an idea. He'd found a *lot* of basements in his searches for clean containers, empty of anything remotely valuable, and still watertight.
He sat on a stoop, his barrow parked nearby, and appeared to watch the water flow. What none could tell was that he was caching rainwater in basements for later, when the supplies of water would be low. And, should any find his caches, they wouldn't blame him for doing so. It'd just appear that the water had found its way in there.
It never hurt to invest.
*******************
She was obviously insane. You just needed to look in her eyes to see that. Grasshopper wasn't too worried though. She could recover. Jubilee, rescued from a human-forced brothel, had been a broken wreck when she first arrived. Now she was one of their most powerful, passionate priestesses.
The new girl, who had introduced herself as Wanda, had been found wandering the wastes, muttering and dancing, heedless of her dehydrated condition and the rabid bands of humans that stalked the area.
The green crackles around her fingers had betrayed her mutancy, and one of the scouts had brought her in before being dispatched again. Now she walked by Scry's side, softly humming to herself.
"You'll like it here," Scry had started to say. "We're well stocked on supplies. We look after ourselves well, and this place is full of mutants."
"We don't let no humans in, 'cept for those Goddess people. They're harmless enough," Grasshopper added, pausing for them to catch up to his long stride.
"Tra la la, tra la la la..." Wanda crooned some forgotten tune, unmindful and blank. She smiled at the empty, smashed in windows they passed like old friends.
"Don't worry about feeling alone, you're not the only new mutant here. Or you won't be soon, at any rate." Grasshopper tipped his head. "Scry here recently detected another mutant in a town not too far away. One who can move water. We'll be approaching him soon to join us. Then you'll have company."
"Tra, la, la, la, tra la la la, tra la la, tra la la la!" she half-sang, half-giggled, and pounced on a dust mote.
Grasshopper and Scry exchanged glances. "So..." Grasshopper continued, trying desperately to make some sort of coherent conversation, "what's your power? Scry couldn't make it out."
This seemed to spark some sort interest. "I'm a coin spinner," she replied. "I dance with dice and read the cards. I'm one with Lady Luck."
Both Scry and Grasshopper stopped in their tracks.
"Lady Luck!" gasped Scry, and put a hand to his forehead as his powers kicked in unannounced. "The prophecy! She's... she's the one. She's the *one*!"
Grasshopper usually wasn't one to let emotion cloud his tone or judgement, but Scry's excited urgency was catching. "Tell me, do you have a brother?" he asked, nearly breathless.
Wanda only smiled. A diamond smile, like a cat. "Mmm-hmm. My little Pie-Pie, fast as a white lie, not very shy." She giggled again, high and mocking. "Think I'll tear out his eye..."
"Oh great Earth God!" cried Scry in exultation. He always was one for pomp. "Oh mover of the poles, it's *her*, child of the God!"
Grasshopper looked at him, caught the pointed glance, and sighed. He bent down on one knee, begrudgingly making a show of offering himself to her and speaking the words he knew were expected of him. By Scry, anyway. "My Lady," he said, "we've waited many years for this. We knew you'd come. We knew the prophecies spoke true. But come, please, we must show you our," he near choked on the word, "our faith."
Wanda, even if she had been sane, would probably not have understood what was going on. As it was she was totally confused, but happy to be led around for now.
So it was that Grasshopper and Scry took her to the centre of Mutie Town, to where their makeshift temple sat, located there by their own brand of zealots. It had been the local church once, and most of the tall, stained glass windows were still whole and intact. They glittered down, welcoming the trio in through the large wooden doors. And there, Wanda was introduced to self-titled High Priestess Jubilation.
She was dressed in crimson robes, black hair pushed back with a symbolic headpiece. It had been cut short during her time in the brothel, to keep patrons from having anything to grab onto, but now was growing out a little. On her back she carried a book, a conglomerate work containing the complete prophecies of Scry and the one the Goddess' people called 'Seer'; collected from the tomes the wanderers carried in their carts.
Scry ran ahead to forewarn her of Wanda's coming.
When Wanda and Grasshopper arrived, the young priestess fell to her knees.
"Lady Luck meets Brother Time," she intoned strangely. "And may I, as a humble servant of He who Rides on the Earth's Essence, humbly greet you."
Wanda did not have a generally quick mind; her insanity seemed to fuzz most things out. But her thoughts were incredibly sharp when it came to some subjects. The mentioning of her brother brought it to crystal clarity. She cast around, drinking in the strange sights, smells, and words. Suspicions were forming about these people, as were ideas...
As were plans.
And in the mind of a maniac, that's rarely a good thing.
"Where shall I meet Brother Time?" she cooed in her sweetest tones.
Eager to show off her great knowledge of the prophecies, Jubilee said, "At the place where earth, sky and water meet, and there all shall be engulfed by fire."
"And when shall this be?"
"Soon... many of the other prophecies and signs have already come to pass. Soon the time shall come when the Lord of Earth and Lady of Sky shall meet, and bring their two worlds together. Then shall hope begin life afresh."
Lady of Sky? Wanda neither knew nor cared for that name. But the other... "Who is the Lord of Earth?"
"Ah," sighed the fanatic, only a little disappointed that Wanda hadn't already figured out to whom they were referring, given her lineage. "I was hoping you'd ask me that. But why simply tell you? Come with me, and I'll *show* him to you."
Wanda followed meekly. They passed through another set of wooden doors and into the enormous hall beyond. And there, she saw something that made her blood hot like fire.
At the end of the hall, carved intricately with a combination of mutant powers and tools, was a mighty statue. A man, resplendent in a helmet and cloak. He had strong cheekbones and fierce eyes, visible even from this distance.
"Behold!" cried Jubilee. "Our Lord of Earth, our saviour - Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Soon, when Luck and Time have fought between the elements, soon he shall come. He shall come with those he saved and he shall take us as his children also to a better place! And the world that has been shattered shall be made whole by him, in his image, and all humans shall perish for the rise of a new age! The dawn of Mutantkind's - "
Wanda's eyes clouded, and in that instant she saw red. "Fools!" she spat, cutting Jubilee off rudely. "Magneto, a saviour? He's death. He's betrayal. I know him better than any of you idiots! He'll use and abandon you, just like he did me. And just like I will you!"
With that, she grabbed the book off Jubilee's back, tearing at the strong halter keeping it in place. Her fingertips glowed green as a hex-bolt sputtered and flew, severing the leather. Jubilee screamed and fell, a large bloody hole in her chest.
Wanda turned and swiped her powers at the mammoth statue, quickly reducing it to rubble.
Finally, she turned to Grasshopper and Scry, both struck dumb by the power and swiftness of her attack.
"I want fast transport," she hissed, brandishing glowing fingers. "Give it to me now, and I'll leave you be. Don't, and I'll reduce both you and this place to a pile of smoking wreckage before you can blink."
Grasshopper almost started forward, but her words stopped him cold. His own life he would forfeit, but not all those around him in the ruin of the town. They'd all come here for protection, for safety, for a little peace in a world that despised them.
She endangered that peace. And somehow, deep inside his gut, he knew that she could do what she promised without even breaking a sweat.
Fighting back a snarl, he called a guard and arranged some transport - a fast car with a tank full of fuel. It was a sacrifice, since the town had no other, and fuel was scarce these days. But it was small compared to what she threatened.
Wanda jumped in without a backward glance and drove away at full speed.
No-one in Mutie Town was sad to see her leave, and the only thing that followed her flight was Scry's mournful wail as he held Jubilee's cooling body in his arms.
*******************
Wanda drove with a smile on her face. She knew what to do. Firstly, pick up the other new mutant - the one with control over water. He'd be useful. Plans, plans, plans... planning, planning, planning... so much to do, but do it she must. Only then she could face Pietro, and grind his face into the dust.
She also knew where they were to meet. The only place where earth, air and water met was a river or the sea. Too far inland for the waves, so that left a river. More specifically, a bridge over one. The nearest major bridge was over the Mississippi, not too far for her to travel. 'Soon' meant he was close by. 'Soon' meant she knew where to meet him.
She had the book, too. The prophecies in that would be most... helpful. She flipped it open on the dashboard and divided her attention, smile turning into a grin of confidence.
She knew just what she was doing. She didn't just have luck on her side. She had fate, too.
*******************
A dark and cold night had fallen. The roadblocks and people who guarded them were long gone, as were the human-based towns, and the bus had parked for the night, keeping hidden as best it could in a withered patch of woodland. Logan had refuelled with little fuss or to-do, and now Kurt was giving out food from their supplies, so generously secured by Pietro.
As he handed a bowl of tinned stew to the Speedster himself, Pietro took him aside.
"Hey, Kurt," he said, "about that mutt."
"Pietro, are you still sore about that? Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but - "
"Nonono, it's not really about that. It's just... well, there's a limit to how much even *I* can scavenge and... well, this bus is getting very crowded, if you know what I mean. All I'm saying is that perhaps we shouldn't go adopting every creature we see, okay?"
"Ja, I see. But I'm not sure I agree."
"Well, it's up to you. Just something to think about, is all." With this, Pietro went about the speedy task of eating his meal.
Kurt sighed, and turned to the one person who hadn't received her share - Robyn. He had an extra big bowl for her. He wanted her to keep her strength up, and to apologise for not spending more of the day with her. They'd been just two for so long, he wasn't entirely sure how being with so many people all at once was affecting her.
She sat huddled by the window, still covered in the blanket Alvin had put over her before. She seemed as attached to this as she had been the one in the basement back in Bayville.
"Liebe? I have some lovely stew for you. Est ist gut, ja?"
"No," said a small voice from the huddle of blankets. "'M not hungry."
Kurt frowned. Both he and Robyn were both emaciated. They seldom got even half the amount of calories for keeping them alive and healthy. To hear Robyn refuse food was strange. Unless...
"Robyn, there's plenty of food here. Enough to last us all many days. There's no need to go without for my sake."
"S'not that. 'M just not hungry."
Kurt could not help but be a little worried. Perhaps Robyn wouldn't eat because she was upset with him? He moved forward to comfort her. As he did so, he pushed down the blanket so that he could see her face, and gasped in shock at what he saw.
Robyn's normally smooth fur was ruffled, matted with sweat. Her usually springy whiskers drooped, and the slit pupils of her eyes were narrow. She shivered madly.
"Kurti," she whimpered, "please, put the blanket back on. I'm so cold."
"Cold!" cried Kurt. "Mein Gott, Liebling! You've got a temperature higher than mine!"
"Kurti," Robyn whimpered again. "Kurti, I don't feel so good."
The others, hearing Kurt's exclamations, moved forward to see what was happening.
Alvin pushed his way up to the front, muttering about herbs and healing. He checked her over, touching her fur, looking into her eyes, and asking questions.
"Was ist los? What's wrong with her?" Kurt demanded, sounding as panicky as anyone there had ever heard him.
"She has what is generally known as shivering sickness," Alvin replied, something strange in his voice.
"Is... is that bad?" whispered Daisy, hiding behind Logan's legs.
"Yes and no. It is easily treatable in the Goddess' lands. We have plants there that can cure it. However, I have none of these with me now."
"Oh, Gott..."
"I do, however, have some which may alleviate the symptoms - buy her time until she can be treated."
"And... if she's not treated?" Kurt's shivers of fear echoed those of the fevered Robyn. She looked so ill, so wan and weak. Where was her life? Her bounce? Where had it gone so quickly?
"Then," said Alvin reluctantly, "she... I'm afraid she will die."
Kurt gasped, and fell back against the bus wall, hand to his mouth. "Nein... nein," he whispered.
"But it shouldn't be a problem," Alvin put in quickly. "If all goes well then we should be at my homeland soon. Don't worry, I'll take care of her and do everything I can to help her."
"Can't we find these herbs someplace else?" asked Rogue. "I mean, p'raps if we was to keep a look out whilst we was drivin?"
"My dear," murmured Alvin sadly, "in this wasteland I would consider myself most fortunate to find a common garden weed, let alone a specific medical herb. The chemical residue isn't exactly full of nutrients for plant-life."
"Oh. Yeah... I guess so. Sorry. Sometimes I forget, I guess. Sometimes I wake up with the smell of cut grass, if you take mah meaning." She sighed, and let Mystique put her arm round her again.
"Hold on, hold on," said Lance suddenly. "How did she get sick? Are we gonna get it too? Is it contagious, I mean?" He looked pointedly at Hope.
"No," said Alvin slowly. "No, not really. I'm not sure how she got it. It's generally carried by saliva, though kisses and suchlike. So unless any of you have been kissing her..."
"That mutt!" cried Pietro. "That damn mutt, Clive! I bet that it licked her, and she put her hand in her mouth and that's how she got it!"
"Animals such as dogs *can* be carriers," Alvin said, looking around thoughtfully.
"Ya dumb Elf!" Logan growled, rounding on Kurt angrily. "Why the hell did ya have to go bringin' that creature on board anyway? Whaddya think this is? Swiss Family Robinson?"
Now it was Kurt's turn to get snappy. "If you mean that I want to get us through this with some semblance of family and sanity - and even, perhaps, civilisation - then ja, Logan. I do think this is the Swiss Family Robinson. I'm sorry, maybe I was wrong, but it's me who'll pay the price... Robyn is... has been the one think keeping me sane, keeping me alive over the last few years. If she should die... if I should fail her like I failed the others, I... I don't know what I'll do."
Logan eased off, but not by much. "Listen, Elf," he grunted, "I understand how y'feel. But Daisy's been around that dog a lot too - probably more than Robyn - and if *she* gets sick, if she comes to any harm, then I swear I'll have your blue-furred hide nailed to the bus. Understand, bub?"
"Ja, Herr Logan," Kurt said coldly.
With that, Logan moved away and, grabbing Daisy by the collar, led her outside. "Come on, shortstuff," he said. "We're taking ya for a bath. Get all that nasty dog saliva off ya."
Kurt sank down to the floor, head in his hands.
Something whimpered.
He looked up to see the tiny form of Clive, looking at him with her head cocked on one side, innocent as any young animal.
"Who'd have known you'd be so much trouble?' he whispered sadly, feeling less anger and more wretchedness at the world. Was everything precious to him fair game?
Clive, for her part, only yapped happily, oblivious to the damage she had caused.
*******************
Daisy looked on worriedly as Logan retrieved a disused gasoline can of water, bowl, and small gas stove from the parked jeep. He cursed profusely as they made their way to the ground, shortly followed by himself. With a practised hand he poured a small amount of liquid into the bowl and set it atop the lit stove, then sat back and waited for it to heat up. From seemingly nowhere he then produced a bar of soap that smelled like carbolic and ordered her to strip off.
Daisy glanced fearfully at the bus. "But what if somebody comes out an' sees me?"
Logan grunted dangerously. "They ain't that stupid, kid."
Biting her lip, Daisy did as she was bid and soon was standing stock still as he doused the soap and began washing her down with it. He was gentle, perhaps more so than some would think him capable of, and more than once she giggled inadvertently as he scrubbed at her and rinsed the ticklish bubbles and foam off again.
When he stood behind her, rubbing suds into her scalp, Daisy finally plucked up enough courage to speak again.
"Logan?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"Is Robyn gonna be okay?"
Logan was silent for a moment.
"Logan - "
"I heard ya, kid. Robyn's... she's real sick, accordin' to God-Boy."
Daisy scuffed her scaly little feet. "Back home, lotsa people used to get sick. Not many of 'em got better again."
_Shit._ "But back home you didn't have God-Boy, and all his healin' know-how, did ya?"
"No," she allowed, and was quiet for a few seconds. Then, abruptly, she turned on the older mutant and blurted, "I'm scared, Logan. All them that died, Pa always said it were my fault, 'cause... 'cause I'm a mutie." Her pale eyes were filled with tears, and Logan blanched to see his tough little Daisy on the verge of a sobbing fit.
Waitasecond, *his* Daisy? When the heck had that happened? Time was he never would've got close to people, for fear of outlasting them and seeing them grow old and die. How on earth had he managed to get himself tied to this stubborn, outcast tyke? Never would've happened in the old days...
_Old days._
Daisy grabbed at his hand, and a sliver of soap slid stingingly close to her left eye. She blinked, but otherwise didn't flicker for a moment. "Logan, I'm scared that... that Robyn's sick 'cause of me. That she's gonna *die*... 'cause of me." She sniffed, and her eyelashes glistened with something saltier than soap.
Logan looked at her, expression inscrutable. Then he dropped to his knees and enveloped her in a bear hug that surprised even himself. The little lizard-girl hiccupped as he stroked her hair and whispered calming shushing noises Ororo had used to use whenever one of the kids were distraught or upset.
"Shhh, s'alright, Daisy. Y'ain't to blame, no matter what your Pa used to say." _Bastard! If ever I meet him again, I'll gut him on the spot!_ "Robyn's sick because of that damn dog - "
"Clive?" Daisy pulled back a little to look at him. "Does that mean you're gonna get rid of her?"
"Well..." Logan bit back the 'yes' at the doleful look on her face.
"Please don't," Daisy said pleadingly. "Clive's a good puppy, really. I'll make sure she stays outta the way n' stuff - honest."
"I dunno, kid." Logan dropped his gaze and sighed. "I don't want you to get sick like her."
"*Me* get sick?" At this, Daisy seemed genuinely surprised. "But Logan, I thought you understood; I *can't* get sick."
"Excuse me?"
"Never been sick in my life. Not once, 'cept for those sore-y things you cleaned up. That's why Pa always said I was the one making everyone else sick, and why he'd punish me." Her expression turned a little embarrassed. "He used to hit me, but I never got no scars like the others when their pa's hit 'em. See?" She turned around a little and showed him her flat, if scaly back.
Logan lightly brushed it. There wasn't a mark on her. Not even the boils he'd lanced a few days previous. "Ya mean to say ya got better real quick?"
"Uh-huh. Pa used to say that I'd gone scaly again even before the next belt-lash got me. I never saw it, but Pa wasn't one for lies 'bout stuff like that."
_Well I'll be jiggered._ Logan's eyes widened in shock. _Healin' factor, maybe? P'raps somthin' similar?_ "And to think, I was wonderin' what your powers were gonna turn out to be." _Latent mutant genes in her parents, I'll bet. Be interestin' to see if'n she gets any more powers n' that._ "Why didn't you say nuthin'?"
"You never asked." She turned back again and shivered a little.
Logan noted the action and decided to forego the rest of the bath in favour of a blanket he threw over and vigorously rubbed her down with instead.
"Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"You never answered me. Is Robyn gonna die?"
He sucked a breath of air in through his teeth and shot a look at the bus, where a furry blue figure could just be seen through the window. "Honestly? I don't know, kid. I just don't know."
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To Be Continued...
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Eighteenth Fragment ~ Fade
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"Water," Ariel called tiredly. "Clean water for trade."
The morning crowd had gone, and it was raining. That was bad for business. On wet days people set out all their pots and pans and took the water for free. There was generally quite a bit of bucket stealing, too. In the end, a lot of perfectly good water wound up sloshed across the street.
Well, he would pick that up later, and demand food or money for it. In the meantime, he had to defend his barrels against over-zealous thieves.
He looked dolefully at the wet streets... and suddenly had an idea. He'd found a *lot* of basements in his searches for clean containers, empty of anything remotely valuable, and still watertight.
He sat on a stoop, his barrow parked nearby, and appeared to watch the water flow. What none could tell was that he was caching rainwater in basements for later, when the supplies of water would be low. And, should any find his caches, they wouldn't blame him for doing so. It'd just appear that the water had found its way in there.
It never hurt to invest.
*******************
She was obviously insane. You just needed to look in her eyes to see that. Grasshopper wasn't too worried though. She could recover. Jubilee, rescued from a human-forced brothel, had been a broken wreck when she first arrived. Now she was one of their most powerful, passionate priestesses.
The new girl, who had introduced herself as Wanda, had been found wandering the wastes, muttering and dancing, heedless of her dehydrated condition and the rabid bands of humans that stalked the area.
The green crackles around her fingers had betrayed her mutancy, and one of the scouts had brought her in before being dispatched again. Now she walked by Scry's side, softly humming to herself.
"You'll like it here," Scry had started to say. "We're well stocked on supplies. We look after ourselves well, and this place is full of mutants."
"We don't let no humans in, 'cept for those Goddess people. They're harmless enough," Grasshopper added, pausing for them to catch up to his long stride.
"Tra la la, tra la la la..." Wanda crooned some forgotten tune, unmindful and blank. She smiled at the empty, smashed in windows they passed like old friends.
"Don't worry about feeling alone, you're not the only new mutant here. Or you won't be soon, at any rate." Grasshopper tipped his head. "Scry here recently detected another mutant in a town not too far away. One who can move water. We'll be approaching him soon to join us. Then you'll have company."
"Tra, la, la, la, tra la la la, tra la la, tra la la la!" she half-sang, half-giggled, and pounced on a dust mote.
Grasshopper and Scry exchanged glances. "So..." Grasshopper continued, trying desperately to make some sort of coherent conversation, "what's your power? Scry couldn't make it out."
This seemed to spark some sort interest. "I'm a coin spinner," she replied. "I dance with dice and read the cards. I'm one with Lady Luck."
Both Scry and Grasshopper stopped in their tracks.
"Lady Luck!" gasped Scry, and put a hand to his forehead as his powers kicked in unannounced. "The prophecy! She's... she's the one. She's the *one*!"
Grasshopper usually wasn't one to let emotion cloud his tone or judgement, but Scry's excited urgency was catching. "Tell me, do you have a brother?" he asked, nearly breathless.
Wanda only smiled. A diamond smile, like a cat. "Mmm-hmm. My little Pie-Pie, fast as a white lie, not very shy." She giggled again, high and mocking. "Think I'll tear out his eye..."
"Oh great Earth God!" cried Scry in exultation. He always was one for pomp. "Oh mover of the poles, it's *her*, child of the God!"
Grasshopper looked at him, caught the pointed glance, and sighed. He bent down on one knee, begrudgingly making a show of offering himself to her and speaking the words he knew were expected of him. By Scry, anyway. "My Lady," he said, "we've waited many years for this. We knew you'd come. We knew the prophecies spoke true. But come, please, we must show you our," he near choked on the word, "our faith."
Wanda, even if she had been sane, would probably not have understood what was going on. As it was she was totally confused, but happy to be led around for now.
So it was that Grasshopper and Scry took her to the centre of Mutie Town, to where their makeshift temple sat, located there by their own brand of zealots. It had been the local church once, and most of the tall, stained glass windows were still whole and intact. They glittered down, welcoming the trio in through the large wooden doors. And there, Wanda was introduced to self-titled High Priestess Jubilation.
She was dressed in crimson robes, black hair pushed back with a symbolic headpiece. It had been cut short during her time in the brothel, to keep patrons from having anything to grab onto, but now was growing out a little. On her back she carried a book, a conglomerate work containing the complete prophecies of Scry and the one the Goddess' people called 'Seer'; collected from the tomes the wanderers carried in their carts.
Scry ran ahead to forewarn her of Wanda's coming.
When Wanda and Grasshopper arrived, the young priestess fell to her knees.
"Lady Luck meets Brother Time," she intoned strangely. "And may I, as a humble servant of He who Rides on the Earth's Essence, humbly greet you."
Wanda did not have a generally quick mind; her insanity seemed to fuzz most things out. But her thoughts were incredibly sharp when it came to some subjects. The mentioning of her brother brought it to crystal clarity. She cast around, drinking in the strange sights, smells, and words. Suspicions were forming about these people, as were ideas...
As were plans.
And in the mind of a maniac, that's rarely a good thing.
"Where shall I meet Brother Time?" she cooed in her sweetest tones.
Eager to show off her great knowledge of the prophecies, Jubilee said, "At the place where earth, sky and water meet, and there all shall be engulfed by fire."
"And when shall this be?"
"Soon... many of the other prophecies and signs have already come to pass. Soon the time shall come when the Lord of Earth and Lady of Sky shall meet, and bring their two worlds together. Then shall hope begin life afresh."
Lady of Sky? Wanda neither knew nor cared for that name. But the other... "Who is the Lord of Earth?"
"Ah," sighed the fanatic, only a little disappointed that Wanda hadn't already figured out to whom they were referring, given her lineage. "I was hoping you'd ask me that. But why simply tell you? Come with me, and I'll *show* him to you."
Wanda followed meekly. They passed through another set of wooden doors and into the enormous hall beyond. And there, she saw something that made her blood hot like fire.
At the end of the hall, carved intricately with a combination of mutant powers and tools, was a mighty statue. A man, resplendent in a helmet and cloak. He had strong cheekbones and fierce eyes, visible even from this distance.
"Behold!" cried Jubilee. "Our Lord of Earth, our saviour - Magneto, Master of Magnetism. Soon, when Luck and Time have fought between the elements, soon he shall come. He shall come with those he saved and he shall take us as his children also to a better place! And the world that has been shattered shall be made whole by him, in his image, and all humans shall perish for the rise of a new age! The dawn of Mutantkind's - "
Wanda's eyes clouded, and in that instant she saw red. "Fools!" she spat, cutting Jubilee off rudely. "Magneto, a saviour? He's death. He's betrayal. I know him better than any of you idiots! He'll use and abandon you, just like he did me. And just like I will you!"
With that, she grabbed the book off Jubilee's back, tearing at the strong halter keeping it in place. Her fingertips glowed green as a hex-bolt sputtered and flew, severing the leather. Jubilee screamed and fell, a large bloody hole in her chest.
Wanda turned and swiped her powers at the mammoth statue, quickly reducing it to rubble.
Finally, she turned to Grasshopper and Scry, both struck dumb by the power and swiftness of her attack.
"I want fast transport," she hissed, brandishing glowing fingers. "Give it to me now, and I'll leave you be. Don't, and I'll reduce both you and this place to a pile of smoking wreckage before you can blink."
Grasshopper almost started forward, but her words stopped him cold. His own life he would forfeit, but not all those around him in the ruin of the town. They'd all come here for protection, for safety, for a little peace in a world that despised them.
She endangered that peace. And somehow, deep inside his gut, he knew that she could do what she promised without even breaking a sweat.
Fighting back a snarl, he called a guard and arranged some transport - a fast car with a tank full of fuel. It was a sacrifice, since the town had no other, and fuel was scarce these days. But it was small compared to what she threatened.
Wanda jumped in without a backward glance and drove away at full speed.
No-one in Mutie Town was sad to see her leave, and the only thing that followed her flight was Scry's mournful wail as he held Jubilee's cooling body in his arms.
*******************
Wanda drove with a smile on her face. She knew what to do. Firstly, pick up the other new mutant - the one with control over water. He'd be useful. Plans, plans, plans... planning, planning, planning... so much to do, but do it she must. Only then she could face Pietro, and grind his face into the dust.
She also knew where they were to meet. The only place where earth, air and water met was a river or the sea. Too far inland for the waves, so that left a river. More specifically, a bridge over one. The nearest major bridge was over the Mississippi, not too far for her to travel. 'Soon' meant he was close by. 'Soon' meant she knew where to meet him.
She had the book, too. The prophecies in that would be most... helpful. She flipped it open on the dashboard and divided her attention, smile turning into a grin of confidence.
She knew just what she was doing. She didn't just have luck on her side. She had fate, too.
*******************
A dark and cold night had fallen. The roadblocks and people who guarded them were long gone, as were the human-based towns, and the bus had parked for the night, keeping hidden as best it could in a withered patch of woodland. Logan had refuelled with little fuss or to-do, and now Kurt was giving out food from their supplies, so generously secured by Pietro.
As he handed a bowl of tinned stew to the Speedster himself, Pietro took him aside.
"Hey, Kurt," he said, "about that mutt."
"Pietro, are you still sore about that? Look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you but - "
"Nonono, it's not really about that. It's just... well, there's a limit to how much even *I* can scavenge and... well, this bus is getting very crowded, if you know what I mean. All I'm saying is that perhaps we shouldn't go adopting every creature we see, okay?"
"Ja, I see. But I'm not sure I agree."
"Well, it's up to you. Just something to think about, is all." With this, Pietro went about the speedy task of eating his meal.
Kurt sighed, and turned to the one person who hadn't received her share - Robyn. He had an extra big bowl for her. He wanted her to keep her strength up, and to apologise for not spending more of the day with her. They'd been just two for so long, he wasn't entirely sure how being with so many people all at once was affecting her.
She sat huddled by the window, still covered in the blanket Alvin had put over her before. She seemed as attached to this as she had been the one in the basement back in Bayville.
"Liebe? I have some lovely stew for you. Est ist gut, ja?"
"No," said a small voice from the huddle of blankets. "'M not hungry."
Kurt frowned. Both he and Robyn were both emaciated. They seldom got even half the amount of calories for keeping them alive and healthy. To hear Robyn refuse food was strange. Unless...
"Robyn, there's plenty of food here. Enough to last us all many days. There's no need to go without for my sake."
"S'not that. 'M just not hungry."
Kurt could not help but be a little worried. Perhaps Robyn wouldn't eat because she was upset with him? He moved forward to comfort her. As he did so, he pushed down the blanket so that he could see her face, and gasped in shock at what he saw.
Robyn's normally smooth fur was ruffled, matted with sweat. Her usually springy whiskers drooped, and the slit pupils of her eyes were narrow. She shivered madly.
"Kurti," she whimpered, "please, put the blanket back on. I'm so cold."
"Cold!" cried Kurt. "Mein Gott, Liebling! You've got a temperature higher than mine!"
"Kurti," Robyn whimpered again. "Kurti, I don't feel so good."
The others, hearing Kurt's exclamations, moved forward to see what was happening.
Alvin pushed his way up to the front, muttering about herbs and healing. He checked her over, touching her fur, looking into her eyes, and asking questions.
"Was ist los? What's wrong with her?" Kurt demanded, sounding as panicky as anyone there had ever heard him.
"She has what is generally known as shivering sickness," Alvin replied, something strange in his voice.
"Is... is that bad?" whispered Daisy, hiding behind Logan's legs.
"Yes and no. It is easily treatable in the Goddess' lands. We have plants there that can cure it. However, I have none of these with me now."
"Oh, Gott..."
"I do, however, have some which may alleviate the symptoms - buy her time until she can be treated."
"And... if she's not treated?" Kurt's shivers of fear echoed those of the fevered Robyn. She looked so ill, so wan and weak. Where was her life? Her bounce? Where had it gone so quickly?
"Then," said Alvin reluctantly, "she... I'm afraid she will die."
Kurt gasped, and fell back against the bus wall, hand to his mouth. "Nein... nein," he whispered.
"But it shouldn't be a problem," Alvin put in quickly. "If all goes well then we should be at my homeland soon. Don't worry, I'll take care of her and do everything I can to help her."
"Can't we find these herbs someplace else?" asked Rogue. "I mean, p'raps if we was to keep a look out whilst we was drivin?"
"My dear," murmured Alvin sadly, "in this wasteland I would consider myself most fortunate to find a common garden weed, let alone a specific medical herb. The chemical residue isn't exactly full of nutrients for plant-life."
"Oh. Yeah... I guess so. Sorry. Sometimes I forget, I guess. Sometimes I wake up with the smell of cut grass, if you take mah meaning." She sighed, and let Mystique put her arm round her again.
"Hold on, hold on," said Lance suddenly. "How did she get sick? Are we gonna get it too? Is it contagious, I mean?" He looked pointedly at Hope.
"No," said Alvin slowly. "No, not really. I'm not sure how she got it. It's generally carried by saliva, though kisses and suchlike. So unless any of you have been kissing her..."
"That mutt!" cried Pietro. "That damn mutt, Clive! I bet that it licked her, and she put her hand in her mouth and that's how she got it!"
"Animals such as dogs *can* be carriers," Alvin said, looking around thoughtfully.
"Ya dumb Elf!" Logan growled, rounding on Kurt angrily. "Why the hell did ya have to go bringin' that creature on board anyway? Whaddya think this is? Swiss Family Robinson?"
Now it was Kurt's turn to get snappy. "If you mean that I want to get us through this with some semblance of family and sanity - and even, perhaps, civilisation - then ja, Logan. I do think this is the Swiss Family Robinson. I'm sorry, maybe I was wrong, but it's me who'll pay the price... Robyn is... has been the one think keeping me sane, keeping me alive over the last few years. If she should die... if I should fail her like I failed the others, I... I don't know what I'll do."
Logan eased off, but not by much. "Listen, Elf," he grunted, "I understand how y'feel. But Daisy's been around that dog a lot too - probably more than Robyn - and if *she* gets sick, if she comes to any harm, then I swear I'll have your blue-furred hide nailed to the bus. Understand, bub?"
"Ja, Herr Logan," Kurt said coldly.
With that, Logan moved away and, grabbing Daisy by the collar, led her outside. "Come on, shortstuff," he said. "We're taking ya for a bath. Get all that nasty dog saliva off ya."
Kurt sank down to the floor, head in his hands.
Something whimpered.
He looked up to see the tiny form of Clive, looking at him with her head cocked on one side, innocent as any young animal.
"Who'd have known you'd be so much trouble?' he whispered sadly, feeling less anger and more wretchedness at the world. Was everything precious to him fair game?
Clive, for her part, only yapped happily, oblivious to the damage she had caused.
*******************
Daisy looked on worriedly as Logan retrieved a disused gasoline can of water, bowl, and small gas stove from the parked jeep. He cursed profusely as they made their way to the ground, shortly followed by himself. With a practised hand he poured a small amount of liquid into the bowl and set it atop the lit stove, then sat back and waited for it to heat up. From seemingly nowhere he then produced a bar of soap that smelled like carbolic and ordered her to strip off.
Daisy glanced fearfully at the bus. "But what if somebody comes out an' sees me?"
Logan grunted dangerously. "They ain't that stupid, kid."
Biting her lip, Daisy did as she was bid and soon was standing stock still as he doused the soap and began washing her down with it. He was gentle, perhaps more so than some would think him capable of, and more than once she giggled inadvertently as he scrubbed at her and rinsed the ticklish bubbles and foam off again.
When he stood behind her, rubbing suds into her scalp, Daisy finally plucked up enough courage to speak again.
"Logan?"
"Yeah, kid?"
"Is Robyn gonna be okay?"
Logan was silent for a moment.
"Logan - "
"I heard ya, kid. Robyn's... she's real sick, accordin' to God-Boy."
Daisy scuffed her scaly little feet. "Back home, lotsa people used to get sick. Not many of 'em got better again."
_Shit._ "But back home you didn't have God-Boy, and all his healin' know-how, did ya?"
"No," she allowed, and was quiet for a few seconds. Then, abruptly, she turned on the older mutant and blurted, "I'm scared, Logan. All them that died, Pa always said it were my fault, 'cause... 'cause I'm a mutie." Her pale eyes were filled with tears, and Logan blanched to see his tough little Daisy on the verge of a sobbing fit.
Waitasecond, *his* Daisy? When the heck had that happened? Time was he never would've got close to people, for fear of outlasting them and seeing them grow old and die. How on earth had he managed to get himself tied to this stubborn, outcast tyke? Never would've happened in the old days...
_Old days._
Daisy grabbed at his hand, and a sliver of soap slid stingingly close to her left eye. She blinked, but otherwise didn't flicker for a moment. "Logan, I'm scared that... that Robyn's sick 'cause of me. That she's gonna *die*... 'cause of me." She sniffed, and her eyelashes glistened with something saltier than soap.
Logan looked at her, expression inscrutable. Then he dropped to his knees and enveloped her in a bear hug that surprised even himself. The little lizard-girl hiccupped as he stroked her hair and whispered calming shushing noises Ororo had used to use whenever one of the kids were distraught or upset.
"Shhh, s'alright, Daisy. Y'ain't to blame, no matter what your Pa used to say." _Bastard! If ever I meet him again, I'll gut him on the spot!_ "Robyn's sick because of that damn dog - "
"Clive?" Daisy pulled back a little to look at him. "Does that mean you're gonna get rid of her?"
"Well..." Logan bit back the 'yes' at the doleful look on her face.
"Please don't," Daisy said pleadingly. "Clive's a good puppy, really. I'll make sure she stays outta the way n' stuff - honest."
"I dunno, kid." Logan dropped his gaze and sighed. "I don't want you to get sick like her."
"*Me* get sick?" At this, Daisy seemed genuinely surprised. "But Logan, I thought you understood; I *can't* get sick."
"Excuse me?"
"Never been sick in my life. Not once, 'cept for those sore-y things you cleaned up. That's why Pa always said I was the one making everyone else sick, and why he'd punish me." Her expression turned a little embarrassed. "He used to hit me, but I never got no scars like the others when their pa's hit 'em. See?" She turned around a little and showed him her flat, if scaly back.
Logan lightly brushed it. There wasn't a mark on her. Not even the boils he'd lanced a few days previous. "Ya mean to say ya got better real quick?"
"Uh-huh. Pa used to say that I'd gone scaly again even before the next belt-lash got me. I never saw it, but Pa wasn't one for lies 'bout stuff like that."
_Well I'll be jiggered._ Logan's eyes widened in shock. _Healin' factor, maybe? P'raps somthin' similar?_ "And to think, I was wonderin' what your powers were gonna turn out to be." _Latent mutant genes in her parents, I'll bet. Be interestin' to see if'n she gets any more powers n' that._ "Why didn't you say nuthin'?"
"You never asked." She turned back again and shivered a little.
Logan noted the action and decided to forego the rest of the bath in favour of a blanket he threw over and vigorously rubbed her down with instead.
"Logan?"
"Yeah?"
"You never answered me. Is Robyn gonna die?"
He sucked a breath of air in through his teeth and shot a look at the bus, where a furry blue figure could just be seen through the window. "Honestly? I don't know, kid. I just don't know."
*******************
To Be Continued...
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